March 8, 2025 • 22 mins
Our guest is Jacob Raiford AKA Roqy Tyraid—Hip Hop activist and community organizer.
In the second half of the show, we break down Trump’s address to congress and point out many of the inconsistencies in his administration. We also reassess what life will be like under this president.
Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/civiccipher?utm_source=search
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
If you're just tuning in to Civic Cipher, keep on
riding with us as we continue to broadcast the balance
and defend the discourse from these hip hop weekly studios.
Welcome back, I am your host, Ramsey's job. Big shout
out to q Ward, who is not in the studio today.
He is tending to a family matter, but he will
be back in the studio next week. Have no fear though,
because we are joined by the one and only Jacob
(00:21):
Rayford aka Rocky Tirade, one of my favorite activists and
a person that has gotten a lot of attention, you know,
for his protests and a lot of coverage for you know,
his capacity to galvanize a community toward a specific goal.
And you know, today we're discussing ways that communities and
(00:43):
individuals can organize and respond to political hostilities as well
as local grievances. Stick around because this part of the
show we're going to be discussing Donald Trump's recent address
to Congress, so that should be interesting. But before we
get there, it is time to be Aba. Become a
better ally Baba, and today's Baba, we want you to
check out BlackGirl Ventures dot org.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
We do believe in girl power.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
We do believe in black girl magic and around here,
both Q and I say, and I'm sure you would agree, Rocky,
that a black woman is as close to God as
you can be on earth. Scientifically listen and otherwise listen.
Oh ye, please hear me out. BlackGirl Ventures dot Org.
At BGV, they create access to capital, capacity, and community
(01:31):
for under resourced entrepreneurs that enable business sustainability and create
intergenerational wealth for a more equitable society. They were founded
in twenty sixteen by serial entrepreneur and computer scientists Ami Bell.
They have a passion for finding solutions and the unique
challenges underresourced entrepreneurs face and accessing local and financial capital
to grow their businesses.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
They were oh sorry.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Their unique style pitch competition is the largest pitch competition
globally for underrepres and women founders. They combine the premise
of shark tanking Kickstarter by activating community participation and donating
to support women owned businesses directly.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
They have funded over four.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Hundred and fifty women of color, held over fifty BGB
pitch programs across fifteen cities, and served over one hundred
thousand founders. Sorry, that's ten thousand founders soon though one
hundred thousand.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Their pitch alumni are collectively generating over ten million dollars
in revenue and supporting over three thousand jobs. They currently
have four signature programs, BGB Pitch, BGV, Next Gen Emerging Leaders, Fellowship,
and Pull Up and Pitch, and is now the largest
ecosystem building for underrepresented women founders on the East Coast.
For more, visit BlackGirl Ventures dot org, or if you
(02:41):
want to contact them directly, you can do so at
contact at BlackGirl Ventures dot org. Again, that's BlackGirl Ventures
dot org or contact at BlackGirl Ventures dot org. So yeah,
check out their website if you want to know more.
I know I went through that fast, but they are
some awesome folks there.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Good.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
All right. So Donald Trump's address to Congress, you know,
I thought that was a State of the Union addressing.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Yeah, it usually happens around the same time. But I
guess he just decided that I don't want to do it.
It's just going to be me talking. Can have monologue,
you know, I don't know, I don't know what it was.
It is. It is wild, to say the least. I
wish there were something positive to take away from that.
But well, yeah, let's go through it.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Let's go.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
First thing, Al Green, so, Al Green, Congressman. He was
removed from the chamber for standing up and effectively calling
out Donald Trump for his lies, his inconsistencies, his diminished
capacity as a diminished his non existing capacity to be
(03:54):
an effective leader to protect the interest of the entire
country instead of just protecting the interest of one facet
of the country. And I'm sure that all that was
wound up in his because i Q and I both
have talked to a representative Green on the Black Information Network.
We've we've interviewed him before and he's like that. So
(04:17):
him getting thrown out was, if I'm honest, the kind
of energy I want to see.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
I agree, I totally agree.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
No, I mean, you know, at the end of the day,
I may work within the party structure, and I'm very
happy to have that ability, especially in these given these
these very specific and necessary times. But you know, at
the end of the day, like we're all human beings
and people are scared and when you when you see
you know, the emails and you take the calls and
you have the dialogue with folks, you know, people want
(04:48):
that energetic, that that emotion. You know, these are very
emotional times. And so you know, one of the things
I appreciate about Congressman Green is again as you had mentioned,
his u his pension for speaking up, for saying the
right thing. And what I was talking about the earlier
was we need to not be afraid of rocking a
(05:12):
boat that MAGA is currently sinking, you know. And so
if you know, we're we are removing the tenets of
a representative democracy. We are destroying the foundations of administrations
and and are putting our cross hair on things such
as the Department of Education, you know, uh and and
(05:32):
and other facets of our society. You know, we are
are are aiming at completely dismantling Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid.
We are we we are looking to you know, affect
folks in a way that is detrimental to their their
lives instead of truly representing them, you know. And and
just seeing someone like Congressman Green speak in that capacity
(05:58):
is inspiring to say, they.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Released yeah, and and especially when you look at the
contrast of the rest of the Dems, because I did
see that they were wearing shirts.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
And absolutely yeah, yeah, shout out to.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Uh Congressman Frosts because you know that's our guy too,
and he famously walked out during the speech and no
Kings live here on the back of his shirt and.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
What with with our with our congresswoman Yasmin, I'm sorry,
who was also protesting. And I think that you know,
it does speak to you know, folks having different approaches
but working in concert.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
So now now I.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Want to be clear that I like the approach that
is disruptive. I like that one more. But I understand
that there's you know, everybody has their line. And if
what I what I said before is that I'm grateful
that the Democrats didn't do nothing right, and so I'll
take that.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Also.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Donald Trump, he bragged about pulling the nation out of
the Pair Climbing Accord and the World Health Organization. Now
when he did that, we were I you know, Donald
Trump is like a child that doesn't want to eat
his vegetables, right, and then you give him some power
(07:19):
and he doesn't have to eat his vegetables, and so
he just throws all the vegetables on the floor and
just now he's eating candy. Him pulling out of the
World Health Organization and him pulling out of the Paris
You know, climate agreement climbing accord was bad enough, but
for him to brag about it at this address, you know,
(07:41):
I cannot like. These are things that shouldn't really be partisan.
These are things that no one should be bragging about.
And whether or not it is in fact wasteful, the
premise of both of those things is to ensure the
longevity of our species, which you would imagine should come
(08:01):
before our country, right, because if our species is doomed,
if our planet is doomed, then what good is a country.
It's going to be a rock full of rocks.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
I would venture to say that I don't think anything
that he's done, especially in this new administration of his,
has been partisan. This has been centered around emboldening his power,
protecting himself from a legal accountability, and empowering those who
keep him from seeing the justice that he should see.
(08:32):
When you have thirty four counts, thirty four felon accounts,
and have operated as someone who victimizes and exploits individuals,
and that's like the motif tief of your career. He
has weaponized the most sacred branch in American government to
(08:54):
protect himself from accountability and that should scare people.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Well, so not, it's that absolutely, But the other part
of this, I think is that so I used to
think that him opposing the World Health Organization, him opposing
the Paris Climate accurt, him opposing the scientists that say
(09:20):
that climate change is real, these sorts of things. I
thought that he would simply oppose those things because they
were things that Democrats espoused, right, so if they like it,
then we hate it. And that's just the binary I
believe to exist in his mind. But it ends up
being the case that a lot of donors, a lot
(09:40):
and this is true for Democrats too. I don't want
to act like they're blameless, but a lot of donors,
a lot of people that have a vested interest in
a fiscal interest in certain policies being the case, have
basically influenced our politics. And I'm not the first person
to say this, but just to have him gubbowling down
(10:00):
on it like he's proud of it feels crazy, right.
And it's the same with the with the Masterlings and
the gun lobbyists, Like everybody knows, okay, we sensible gun
laws make sense. I'm not a gun person. I just
don't think that I was put here to end to life.
It's just not that's not my thing. But but I
do recognize that we live in a country where that's
(10:21):
that's a part of it, you know what I mean.
If you get freedom of speech, then you also get
a bunch of crazy people that can go buy guns. Well,
you have a right to have a gun, but you know,
if you can't pass certain tests.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
I think that.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
And and for Donald Trump, because he's got the NRA there,
it's just it's an impossible It's.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Like a figure for a leg lock.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
And so when I look at these things, to me,
it feels crazy to brag about them like he's doing
something great for this nation. When we saw how the
World Health Organization benefited, uh, it benefited us to be
a part of that. When he calls a virus can.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
It doesn't care about it either. He is He is
a textbook psychopath. He has no concern, care, or care
about the well being of others. As you can see,
he doesn't care about family members. He will throw people
under the bus, exploit individuals. What do you think that
he feels about you? So when he's talking about you know,
(11:22):
using language and misinformation, about say like cutting removing taxes
and things of that nature. They don't go out there
and explain that, you know, these are things that are
tied to public education, or social programs or the infrastructure
of our country. Are just the various things that we
need to be able to live productive lives. He's playing
(11:44):
he's weaponizing populism. Uh and and and playing into again
like the the the cult of personality politics that he
has used to propel himself into office in order to
get people on his side so he can pull the
rug from underneath their feet and continue you hoarding and
consolidating power. There is nothing centered around representing anybody who
(12:07):
voted for him, and there are I would say, millions
of people at this point who are starting to recognize
that when you start purging jobs and administ in administrations
that again hold up the foundation of our government.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
Well, it's not just that it goes deeper. Oh yeah,
So he was on stage touting his executive order banning
transgender women in sports. Now I looked into this might
have been three four months ago, so you know, it's
(12:43):
not as fresh as my memory as I would like,
but I remember seeing something to the effect of, you know,
there were I believe it was four people that were
playing sports actively that were born biologically male, playing in
(13:03):
a uh in a female league, in like a public
school setting or something like that. Uh throughout the United
States of America. There were four people, and there was
something like three of them didn't even fully qualify because
the sport wasn't like a it wasn't a like a
(13:25):
male sport that or a female something like that, right,
But but four people that that this.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
It just doesn't happen. It just it just it just doesn't.
It just doesn't happen. So so you got we got three.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
It's it's it's it's it's just it's something that I
don't even really feel like comfortable having a conversation about
because it's it's just so rooted in in in phobia
and and and hate for other individuals, and when you're
talking about folks who are who it received multiple forms
of prejudice from family members, from community members, from the
(13:58):
you know, you're they're elected officials, from school boards. Like
seeing this rhetoric out there is outright disgusting and it
should grab you emotionally and you should feel compelled to
speak out about it.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
And I want to add to this that you know
where I was going with that is that imagine getting
on stage and bragging about an executive order that affected
four people out of call it three hundred and eighty million,
and getting an applause from the Republicans like this is.
First off, it's as you mentioned, it's cruel. It doesn't
(14:34):
fundamentally change anything. That doesn't fundamentally change anything about anyone's
way of life. No one even knows who these four
people are. I don't even want to it's it doesn't
even really. Yeah, it's at the end of the day,
weaponizing people's phobia, which is rooted in the lack of
engagement with other communities.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Thank you for saying, and.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
We need to call it out. The thing that was
so powerful about twenty twenty. We have been talking about
black lives matter since about what twenty fourteen, twenty fifteen,
twenty twelve, early twenty early to twenty mid twenty tens
of what have you and what I had seen that
was so different and so profoundly impactful. When it comes
to myself and other individuals, it's all black lives matter.
(15:17):
It's all of us or none of us. This is
something that is rooted in the rainbow coalition of Fred hamptonsoely,
this is something that is classist in nature. We are
together on this same ship. These people out there, they're elons,
you know, these trumps. They don't care about any of us.
We need to recognize the beautiful uniqueness of each other
and prop that up. And when someone uses that or
(15:39):
weaponizes someone's identity, we need to lock arms and push
against that. As a community. There is no way forward,
but all of us across the.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
Finish let me add something here because I want to
make it live for certain people. One of the places.
So I grew up in church, right, My father was
a minister, so I literally grew up in My grandfather
was a same with you, church folks. Often enough are
(16:07):
people that try to push back against human beings whose
sexuality is, or even identity, sexual identity lies outside of
the traditional male female binary right, And when it's black
church folks in particular, it blows my mind because already
(16:30):
black people should be the last folks discriminating against somebody, right,
Black folks should be the last folks using the Bible,
weaponizing the Bible against other human beings. Because black folks
know full well that the Bible has been weaponized against
us to justify slavery. Right, and black folks know better
than anybody you don't speak for God, right, isn't that
(16:54):
isn't a crazy world to live in, right? And so
what you're saying, I want to make that live for
those people who either are that or no people like that,
because of course, the point of the show is to
empower our listeners so that they can take it into
their individual communities around the country and make the changes
around the water coolers and at the workplaces and then
the dinner.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Tables, et cetera.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
But I just I wanted to make sure that I
let you know that I appreciate you saying that and
breathe the.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Oh yeah, yeah, all of us and none of us. Yeah,
so we're aware for the school at Marshall P. Johnson,
you know, so found to people.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Oh yeah, we're here. What else did he?
Speaker 1 (17:27):
So he continued his attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
That's something that you know, I I for me for Ramses,
and you know, I'd love for you to weigh in
here too. I'm a really, really petty person and I
I got a long memory. Yeah, And when I don't
(17:50):
like somebody, I just don't like them. And so when
it comes to like today, I have to do some
running around. Yeah, and I did more running around than
I other wise would have because Walmart ain't on the menu. Targeting,
you know, was the safe way ain't on the menu,
you know what I'm saying. So I'm going to on
(18:13):
the Croger fries you know where we live, but it's
a Kroger brand.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
I'm going to.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
I don't buy on Amazon. I'm going to eBay, you
know what I'm saying, unless and if they want to
get problematic, I'll go to Facebook Mark. I will figure
it out. That's how petty I am like. You won't
get a dollar from this household. My children will not
spend money. Right, So for everybody that is, you know, uh,
upset about Donald Trump doubling and tripling down on his
(18:40):
anti DEI rhetoric, and and you know, I'm speaking to
people that know the history of it. It was intended
to offset the fact that black people were discriminated against,
and they've used it to say, well, this discriminates against
white people. These racism are right, it's the verse racism
(19:00):
argument to matter is that, you know, the overwhelming beneficiaries
of the policies have been white women, the overwhelming amount
of beneficiaries from it. But it's it's now coded language
to mean black, you know, and so anti DEI higher.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
And things of that nature.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
I saw something online that said, if you have to
remove the I tenants in order to find yourself in office,
maybe you are the diversity higher, you know. So so yeah,
that's but but yeah, your thoughts here in terms of
like weaponizing the idea of inclusivity again. You know, if
you have to close the door on on on well
(19:41):
qualified individuals, it shows that you might not be the
well qualified individual it is. You know, I look at it.
I can even look at myself in this because I
did say that work in party politics, Like I'm a
college dropout. I've been an artist for the majority of
my adult life, and here I am in this and
it damn sure isn't because I was just some sort
(20:05):
of let's push him through the door and say we
met a quota. No, I've brought considerable victories in the
space in which I operate in, you know, whether it
it not even just with an activist space, but in
actual like politics and policy. I am great at my
job and it has nothing to do with me being
(20:27):
pushed through because of my identity. And if in that case,
like we need to champion how great we are and
the roles that we have are black women, you know
they are disproportionately targeted. They you know, they the the
the pay disparity is is egregiously, egregiously low. And yet
(20:52):
you know we continue to show up and knock it
out the park. It's not because it's a quota, man,
It's because you what is it men in black bess
to the best of the best, sir, with honors, So
champ championing ourselves and in the way in which we
show up is one powerful way to uplift our impact
in the various industries in which we operate in.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Sure, Sure, and I appreciate you saying that. And you
know he went on he was saying, uh, you know,
he was praising the police. Of course, he was talking
about there being a bit of an adjustment period period
relative to his tariffs and so forth, and on and on.
You know how he is he gets up there and
he talks, well, we're here to remind you that you're
(21:36):
not crazy. If you took issue with with his address
and really with the state of things, because you know,
with all this stuff happening, you might feel like you're
being left behind, you might feel like you miss something. No,
you're not crazy. This is not normal, and we are
going to do our best to make sure that you
know that and you don't feel alone. So with that
(21:57):
in mind, I would like to thank you very much
for your time today, Rocky a k a. Jacob Rayford, UH,
the hip hop activist and community organizer. Do me a
favorite one more time drop your social media.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
Yeah again, thank you for having me on here. Rocky
to raid r O q y T y R A
I D and of course Jacob Rayford m R j
A c O b R A I f r D.
You know, let's let's continue to have that dialogue. If
you need me for any sort of work related to this,
just reach out. All of us and none of us
really really.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
Really love that. I love that.
Speaker 1 (22:29):
Of course, like I said, Qar is going to be
back on the show next week. Uh And if you
have any questions, any topics you want us to cover,
you can do so at cif E side for dot com.
You can also make a donation the show grows with
your support. You can also download this show in its
entirety in any previous episode as well. You can follow
me on all social media at Rams's job, you can
(22:51):
follow q At I Am q Ward on all social
media as well. And until next week, y'all peace,
If you're just tuning in to Civic Cipher, keep on
riding with us as we continue to broadcast the balance
and defend the discourse from these hip hop weekly studios.
Welcome back, I am your host, Ramsey's job. Big shout
out to q Ward, who is not in the studio today.
He is tending to a family matter, but he will
be back in the studio next week. Have no fear though,
because we are joined by the one and only Jacob
(00:21):
Rayford aka Rocky Tirade, one of my favorite activists and
a person that has gotten a lot of attention, you know,
for his protests and a lot of coverage for you know,
his capacity to galvanize a community toward a specific goal.
And you know, today we're discussing ways that communities and
(00:43):
individuals can organize and respond to political hostilities as well
as local grievances. Stick around because this part of the
show we're going to be discussing Donald Trump's recent address
to Congress, so that should be interesting. But before we
get there, it is time to be Aba. Become a
better ally Baba, and today's Baba, we want you to
check out BlackGirl Ventures dot org.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
We do believe in girl power.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
We do believe in black girl magic and around here,
both Q and I say, and I'm sure you would agree, Rocky,
that a black woman is as close to God as
you can be on earth. Scientifically listen and otherwise listen.
Oh ye, please hear me out. BlackGirl Ventures dot Org.
At BGV, they create access to capital, capacity, and community
(01:31):
for under resourced entrepreneurs that enable business sustainability and create
intergenerational wealth for a more equitable society. They were founded
in twenty sixteen by serial entrepreneur and computer scientists Ami Bell.
They have a passion for finding solutions and the unique
challenges underresourced entrepreneurs face and accessing local and financial capital
to grow their businesses.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
They were oh sorry.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Their unique style pitch competition is the largest pitch competition
globally for underrepres and women founders. They combine the premise
of shark tanking Kickstarter by activating community participation and donating
to support women owned businesses directly.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
They have funded over four.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Hundred and fifty women of color, held over fifty BGB
pitch programs across fifteen cities, and served over one hundred
thousand founders. Sorry, that's ten thousand founders soon though one
hundred thousand.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Their pitch alumni are collectively generating over ten million dollars
in revenue and supporting over three thousand jobs. They currently
have four signature programs, BGB Pitch, BGV, Next Gen Emerging Leaders, Fellowship,
and Pull Up and Pitch, and is now the largest
ecosystem building for underrepresented women founders on the East Coast.
For more, visit BlackGirl Ventures dot org, or if you
(02:41):
want to contact them directly, you can do so at
contact at BlackGirl Ventures dot org. Again, that's BlackGirl Ventures
dot org or contact at BlackGirl Ventures dot org. So yeah,
check out their website if you want to know more.
I know I went through that fast, but they are
some awesome folks there.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
Good.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
All right. So Donald Trump's address to Congress, you know,
I thought that was a State of the Union addressing.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Yeah, it usually happens around the same time. But I
guess he just decided that I don't want to do it.
It's just going to be me talking. Can have monologue,
you know, I don't know, I don't know what it was.
It is. It is wild, to say the least. I
wish there were something positive to take away from that.
But well, yeah, let's go through it.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Let's go.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
First thing, Al Green, so, Al Green, Congressman. He was
removed from the chamber for standing up and effectively calling
out Donald Trump for his lies, his inconsistencies, his diminished
capacity as a diminished his non existing capacity to be
(03:54):
an effective leader to protect the interest of the entire
country instead of just protecting the interest of one facet
of the country. And I'm sure that all that was
wound up in his because i Q and I both
have talked to a representative Green on the Black Information Network.
We've we've interviewed him before and he's like that. So
(04:17):
him getting thrown out was, if I'm honest, the kind
of energy I want to see.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
I agree, I totally agree.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
No, I mean, you know, at the end of the day,
I may work within the party structure, and I'm very
happy to have that ability, especially in these given these
these very specific and necessary times. But you know, at
the end of the day, like we're all human beings
and people are scared and when you when you see
you know, the emails and you take the calls and
you have the dialogue with folks, you know, people want
(04:48):
that energetic, that that emotion. You know, these are very
emotional times. And so you know, one of the things
I appreciate about Congressman Green is again as you had mentioned,
his u his pension for speaking up, for saying the
right thing. And what I was talking about the earlier
was we need to not be afraid of rocking a
(05:12):
boat that MAGA is currently sinking, you know. And so
if you know, we're we are removing the tenets of
a representative democracy. We are destroying the foundations of administrations
and and are putting our cross hair on things such
as the Department of Education, you know, uh and and
(05:32):
and other facets of our society. You know, we are
are are aiming at completely dismantling Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid.
We are we we are looking to you know, affect
folks in a way that is detrimental to their their
lives instead of truly representing them, you know. And and
just seeing someone like Congressman Green speak in that capacity
(05:58):
is inspiring to say, they.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Released yeah, and and especially when you look at the
contrast of the rest of the Dems, because I did
see that they were wearing shirts.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
And absolutely yeah, yeah, shout out to.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Uh Congressman Frosts because you know that's our guy too,
and he famously walked out during the speech and no
Kings live here on the back of his shirt and.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
What with with our with our congresswoman Yasmin, I'm sorry,
who was also protesting. And I think that you know,
it does speak to you know, folks having different approaches
but working in concert.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
So now now I.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Want to be clear that I like the approach that
is disruptive. I like that one more. But I understand
that there's you know, everybody has their line. And if
what I what I said before is that I'm grateful
that the Democrats didn't do nothing right, and so I'll
take that.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Also.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
Donald Trump, he bragged about pulling the nation out of
the Pair Climbing Accord and the World Health Organization. Now
when he did that, we were I you know, Donald
Trump is like a child that doesn't want to eat
his vegetables, right, and then you give him some power
(07:19):
and he doesn't have to eat his vegetables, and so
he just throws all the vegetables on the floor and
just now he's eating candy. Him pulling out of the
World Health Organization and him pulling out of the Paris
You know, climate agreement climbing accord was bad enough, but
for him to brag about it at this address, you know,
(07:41):
I cannot like. These are things that shouldn't really be partisan.
These are things that no one should be bragging about.
And whether or not it is in fact wasteful, the
premise of both of those things is to ensure the
longevity of our species, which you would imagine should come
(08:01):
before our country, right, because if our species is doomed,
if our planet is doomed, then what good is a country.
It's going to be a rock full of rocks.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
I would venture to say that I don't think anything
that he's done, especially in this new administration of his,
has been partisan. This has been centered around emboldening his power,
protecting himself from a legal accountability, and empowering those who
keep him from seeing the justice that he should see.
(08:32):
When you have thirty four counts, thirty four felon accounts,
and have operated as someone who victimizes and exploits individuals,
and that's like the motif tief of your career. He
has weaponized the most sacred branch in American government to
(08:54):
protect himself from accountability and that should scare people.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Well, so not, it's that absolutely, But the other part
of this, I think is that so I used to
think that him opposing the World Health Organization, him opposing
the Paris Climate accurt, him opposing the scientists that say
(09:20):
that climate change is real, these sorts of things. I
thought that he would simply oppose those things because they
were things that Democrats espoused, right, so if they like it,
then we hate it. And that's just the binary I
believe to exist in his mind. But it ends up
being the case that a lot of donors, a lot
(09:40):
and this is true for Democrats too. I don't want
to act like they're blameless, but a lot of donors,
a lot of people that have a vested interest in
a fiscal interest in certain policies being the case, have
basically influenced our politics. And I'm not the first person
to say this, but just to have him gubbowling down
(10:00):
on it like he's proud of it feels crazy, right.
And it's the same with the with the Masterlings and
the gun lobbyists, Like everybody knows, okay, we sensible gun
laws make sense. I'm not a gun person. I just
don't think that I was put here to end to life.
It's just not that's not my thing. But but I
do recognize that we live in a country where that's
(10:21):
that's a part of it, you know what I mean.
If you get freedom of speech, then you also get
a bunch of crazy people that can go buy guns. Well,
you have a right to have a gun, but you know,
if you can't pass certain tests.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
I think that.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
And and for Donald Trump, because he's got the NRA there,
it's just it's an impossible It's.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Like a figure for a leg lock.
Speaker 1 (10:39):
And so when I look at these things, to me,
it feels crazy to brag about them like he's doing
something great for this nation. When we saw how the
World Health Organization benefited, uh, it benefited us to be
a part of that. When he calls a virus can.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
It doesn't care about it either. He is He is
a textbook psychopath. He has no concern, care, or care
about the well being of others. As you can see,
he doesn't care about family members. He will throw people
under the bus, exploit individuals. What do you think that
he feels about you? So when he's talking about you know,
(11:22):
using language and misinformation, about say like cutting removing taxes
and things of that nature. They don't go out there
and explain that, you know, these are things that are
tied to public education, or social programs or the infrastructure
of our country. Are just the various things that we
need to be able to live productive lives. He's playing
(11:44):
he's weaponizing populism. Uh and and and playing into again
like the the the cult of personality politics that he
has used to propel himself into office in order to
get people on his side so he can pull the
rug from underneath their feet and continue you hoarding and
consolidating power. There is nothing centered around representing anybody who
(12:07):
voted for him, and there are I would say, millions
of people at this point who are starting to recognize
that when you start purging jobs and administ in administrations
that again hold up the foundation of our government.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
Well, it's not just that it goes deeper. Oh yeah,
So he was on stage touting his executive order banning
transgender women in sports. Now I looked into this might
have been three four months ago, so you know, it's
(12:43):
not as fresh as my memory as I would like,
but I remember seeing something to the effect of, you know,
there were I believe it was four people that were
playing sports actively that were born biologically male, playing in
(13:03):
a uh in a female league, in like a public
school setting or something like that. Uh throughout the United
States of America. There were four people, and there was
something like three of them didn't even fully qualify because
the sport wasn't like a it wasn't a like a
(13:25):
male sport that or a female something like that, right,
But but four people that that this.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
It just doesn't happen. It just it just it just doesn't.
It just doesn't happen. So so you got we got three.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
It's it's it's it's it's just it's something that I
don't even really feel like comfortable having a conversation about
because it's it's just so rooted in in in phobia
and and and hate for other individuals, and when you're
talking about folks who are who it received multiple forms
of prejudice from family members, from community members, from the
(13:58):
you know, you're they're elected officials, from school boards. Like
seeing this rhetoric out there is outright disgusting and it
should grab you emotionally and you should feel compelled to
speak out about it.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
And I want to add to this that you know
where I was going with that is that imagine getting
on stage and bragging about an executive order that affected
four people out of call it three hundred and eighty million,
and getting an applause from the Republicans like this is.
First off, it's as you mentioned, it's cruel. It doesn't
(14:34):
fundamentally change anything. That doesn't fundamentally change anything about anyone's
way of life. No one even knows who these four
people are. I don't even want to it's it doesn't
even really. Yeah, it's at the end of the day,
weaponizing people's phobia, which is rooted in the lack of
engagement with other communities.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Thank you for saying, and.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
We need to call it out. The thing that was
so powerful about twenty twenty. We have been talking about
black lives matter since about what twenty fourteen, twenty fifteen,
twenty twelve, early twenty early to twenty mid twenty tens
of what have you and what I had seen that
was so different and so profoundly impactful. When it comes
to myself and other individuals, it's all black lives matter.
(15:17):
It's all of us or none of us. This is
something that is rooted in the rainbow coalition of Fred hamptonsoely,
this is something that is classist in nature. We are
together on this same ship. These people out there, they're elons,
you know, these trumps. They don't care about any of us.
We need to recognize the beautiful uniqueness of each other
and prop that up. And when someone uses that or
(15:39):
weaponizes someone's identity, we need to lock arms and push
against that. As a community. There is no way forward,
but all of us across the.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
Finish let me add something here because I want to
make it live for certain people. One of the places.
So I grew up in church, right, My father was
a minister, so I literally grew up in My grandfather
was a same with you, church folks. Often enough are
(16:07):
people that try to push back against human beings whose
sexuality is, or even identity, sexual identity lies outside of
the traditional male female binary right, And when it's black
church folks in particular, it blows my mind because already
(16:30):
black people should be the last folks discriminating against somebody, right,
Black folks should be the last folks using the Bible,
weaponizing the Bible against other human beings. Because black folks
know full well that the Bible has been weaponized against
us to justify slavery. Right, and black folks know better
than anybody you don't speak for God, right, isn't that
(16:54):
isn't a crazy world to live in, right? And so
what you're saying, I want to make that live for
those people who either are that or no people like that,
because of course, the point of the show is to
empower our listeners so that they can take it into
their individual communities around the country and make the changes
around the water coolers and at the workplaces and then
the dinner.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Tables, et cetera.
Speaker 1 (17:11):
But I just I wanted to make sure that I
let you know that I appreciate you saying that and
breathe the.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Oh yeah, yeah, all of us and none of us. Yeah,
so we're aware for the school at Marshall P. Johnson,
you know, so found to people.
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Oh yeah, we're here. What else did he?
Speaker 1 (17:27):
So he continued his attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
That's something that you know, I I for me for Ramses,
and you know, I'd love for you to weigh in
here too. I'm a really, really petty person and I
I got a long memory. Yeah, And when I don't
(17:50):
like somebody, I just don't like them. And so when
it comes to like today, I have to do some
running around. Yeah, and I did more running around than
I other wise would have because Walmart ain't on the menu. Targeting,
you know, was the safe way ain't on the menu,
you know what I'm saying. So I'm going to on
(18:13):
the Croger fries you know where we live, but it's
a Kroger brand.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
I'm going to.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
I don't buy on Amazon. I'm going to eBay, you
know what I'm saying, unless and if they want to
get problematic, I'll go to Facebook Mark. I will figure
it out. That's how petty I am like. You won't
get a dollar from this household. My children will not
spend money. Right, So for everybody that is, you know, uh,
upset about Donald Trump doubling and tripling down on his
(18:40):
anti DEI rhetoric, and and you know, I'm speaking to
people that know the history of it. It was intended
to offset the fact that black people were discriminated against,
and they've used it to say, well, this discriminates against
white people. These racism are right, it's the verse racism
(19:00):
argument to matter is that, you know, the overwhelming beneficiaries
of the policies have been white women, the overwhelming amount
of beneficiaries from it. But it's it's now coded language
to mean black, you know, and so anti DEI higher.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
And things of that nature.
Speaker 3 (19:20):
I saw something online that said, if you have to
remove the I tenants in order to find yourself in office,
maybe you are the diversity higher, you know. So so yeah,
that's but but yeah, your thoughts here in terms of
like weaponizing the idea of inclusivity again. You know, if
you have to close the door on on on well
(19:41):
qualified individuals, it shows that you might not be the
well qualified individual it is. You know, I look at it.
I can even look at myself in this because I
did say that work in party politics, Like I'm a
college dropout. I've been an artist for the majority of
my adult life, and here I am in this and
it damn sure isn't because I was just some sort
(20:05):
of let's push him through the door and say we
met a quota. No, I've brought considerable victories in the
space in which I operate in, you know, whether it
it not even just with an activist space, but in
actual like politics and policy. I am great at my
job and it has nothing to do with me being
(20:27):
pushed through because of my identity. And if in that case,
like we need to champion how great we are and
the roles that we have are black women, you know
they are disproportionately targeted. They you know, they the the
the pay disparity is is egregiously, egregiously low. And yet
(20:52):
you know we continue to show up and knock it
out the park. It's not because it's a quota, man,
It's because you what is it men in black bess
to the best of the best, sir, with honors, So
champ championing ourselves and in the way in which we
show up is one powerful way to uplift our impact
in the various industries in which we operate in.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Sure, Sure, and I appreciate you saying that. And you
know he went on he was saying, uh, you know,
he was praising the police. Of course, he was talking
about there being a bit of an adjustment period period
relative to his tariffs and so forth, and on and on.
You know how he is he gets up there and
he talks, well, we're here to remind you that you're
(21:36):
not crazy. If you took issue with with his address
and really with the state of things, because you know,
with all this stuff happening, you might feel like you're
being left behind, you might feel like you miss something. No,
you're not crazy. This is not normal, and we are
going to do our best to make sure that you
know that and you don't feel alone. So with that
(21:57):
in mind, I would like to thank you very much
for your time today, Rocky a k a. Jacob Rayford, UH,
the hip hop activist and community organizer. Do me a
favorite one more time drop your social media.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
Yeah again, thank you for having me on here. Rocky
to raid r O q y T y R A
I D and of course Jacob Rayford m R j
A c O b R A I f r D.
You know, let's let's continue to have that dialogue. If
you need me for any sort of work related to this,
just reach out. All of us and none of us
really really.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
Really love that. I love that.
Speaker 1 (22:29):
Of course, like I said, Qar is going to be
back on the show next week. Uh And if you
have any questions, any topics you want us to cover,
you can do so at cif E side for dot com.
You can also make a donation the show grows with
your support. You can also download this show in its
entirety in any previous episode as well. You can follow
me on all social media at Rams's job, you can
(22:51):
follow q At I Am q Ward on all social
media as well. And until next week, y'all peace,
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.