September 8, 2025 • 28 mins
The NFL has record-breaking number of Black quarterbacks this season. Hear more about this story on part 2 of today's podcast.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Still broadcasting from the Civic Cipher Studios. This is the
QR code where we share perspectives, seek understanding, and shape outcomes.
The man you're about to hear from is a man
that I enjoy laughing with. We do laugh despite how
it looks and despite the content that we cover more
(00:21):
than anyone. Just my favorite person. He is the Q
in the QR code. He goes by the name of
q Ward.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
It's interesting that we have to point out my people
that we laugh, because most of the time when you
all hear our voices, we're discussing this really really heavy,
really difficult reality that we now live in, and we
do try to find time to have human experiences like
you know, love and laughter. But that's my brother, the
(00:51):
R in the QR code, he goes by the name
ramses Jah.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Indeed, stick around. We're gonna be talking about a record
breaking number of black quarterbacks in the NFL and a
dea seizure that resulted in them having to pay double.
But right now it is time for Q words clapback
where he asks hoax or informant a slide of hand
again on Epstein, what's going on with maga Q?
Speaker 2 (01:17):
So you know I like to point out the reason
why the clapback even exists. My brother gets to listen
to me kind of get upset about things that are
happening in our life in the news daily, and thought
that we should highlight that because he seems to think
(01:38):
his brother is brilliant. I don't know where he got
that idea for, because you know, this isn't scholastic takes here.
This is just how I feel, regardless the things that
we're dealing with. So I've kind of been stuck in
one space and it's calling out one of the laziest
political magic tricks you'll ever see again. For years, MAGA
(02:03):
has demanded the Epstein files, release the names, release the logs,
show us the truth. They treated it like it was
the ultimate smoking gun, proof of the deep state, proof
of elite corruption, and again a way to own the libs. Well,
thirty three thousand pages were released, and Trump's response, it's
(02:27):
a hoax created by the Democrats to distract us all
and just like that, the tens of millions of people
that once called it the most important issue in America
forgets that it mattered at all. But wait, oh wow,
(02:49):
it gets even sloppier. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who in
my opinion, might be the actual most dangerous person in
our country, came out claimed Trump wasn't just clean in
all of this, but he was actually an informant, supposedly
(03:11):
helping federal law enforcement and prosecutors bring Epstein down for
more than a decade. That was the line, Trump the informant,
except the next day Speaker Johnson's office walked it back.
(03:34):
No FBI informant, no undercover hero. At best, Trump was
willing to help, according to what victims' attorneys had said
years ago. So ramses, which is it is? So? Is
the Epstein list going to bring down the deep state
(03:54):
and all the powerful Hollywood elites? Or is Epstein as
an idea? The case, the files, the list, the evidence,
all of it a hoax created by Democrats to what
end We don't know they did. They created back before
he was the president, so that one day in the
(04:14):
future if he became Okay, so never mind or okay,
wait because Trump said that it was a democratic hoax,
but or was or was Trump the inform Okay, so
all of those things can't be true. It is kind
(04:36):
of my point. I'm getting confused trying to even have
an inventory of all the different things have been said.
So forgive me. And here's the thing, man, this isn't
just about justice, or maybe not about justice at all,
and Trump's America, it's about loyalty. When they thought the
Epstein files could smear Democrats or Hollywood or the quote
(04:57):
unquote deep state, MAGA could and stop talking about it.
They wanted every document, every name, every flight log, everything,
but the second accountability might circle too close to their guy.
As I've said before, the story changes now it's all
fake or better yet, he was the secret hero. No accountability,
(05:21):
flatly propaganda, and it shows that in a MAGA world,
loyalty is the only thing that matters. And that's the
trick distraction. Instead of looking at what's actually in those
thirty three thousand pages, what the survivors went through, what
real transparency should look like, we're left debating whether Trump
was a hoax victim or an FBI informant. And those
(05:47):
stories are coming from the same people. So I'll let
you guys try to figure that out. Neither is true,
by the way, yeah, of course not. Both were designed
to muddy the waters, to confuse the conversation, and to
let powerful people walk away unscathed. That's the sleight of hand,
(06:07):
the shiny object they hold up to try to distract you,
and it works because their base is willing to forget
what they were demanding five minutes ago if it protects
their leader. Think about it and entertainment. When somebody gets
caught in a scandal, accountability comes fast. Shows get canceled,
(06:29):
contracts get pulled, and in some cases his careers are over.
And politics accountability can be turned into a hoax, rewritten
as a secret hero and no other field can you
rewrite the story mid scandal and keep your loyal following.
(06:49):
But we realize it's not about truth. It's about controlling narratives.
Somebody said that to me in real time. Actually not
about facts, it's just a both I get so here
we are at our clapback. MAGA begged for Epstein files
for years, demanded transparency, and now those files drop. Trump
(07:13):
calls it a hoax. Speaker Johnson tries out the informant
tactic and then walks it back. They can't keep their
own story straight, and they don't care because this was
never about justice. It was always about protecting the brand,
protecting the good guys which they actually consider themselves. Accountability
is not optional, or at least it shouldn't be. The
(07:35):
survivors deserve more than a magic trick, and the country
deserves leaders who don't think this is a first grade
class that they can trick with a simple sleight of hand.
Here we are again trying to clap back and trying
to demand accountability. Ramas. I just don't know if it'll
ever happen.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
It may not, but your job, I think is well
met by you. So I appreciate every single one of them,
even if it is directed at the same group of people.
All Right, so let's ask some dialogue. Okay, DA stops
(08:18):
a black man and seizes cash. Now FEDS must pay
double Okay. First off, again, we wanted to talk about
this story because I think, especially for people that have
not had the experience of being black in this country,
and for people who have not had the experience of
(08:40):
being a black man in this country. You know, whenever
we can offer some additional perspective, you know, I think
that it helps. We certainly get a lot of straight Christian,
white male perspective because they make movies and they you know,
program television stations and they whatever, their voices kind of
(09:01):
echo the loudest. You know, there are all the judges
and politicians and police officers and that sort of thing.
So we get a lot of that perspective. But both
Q and myself we've lived this reality, this actual reality
here and knowing how this administration further warps this dynamic
(09:33):
and further exacerbate, exacerbates a condition that is present in
this country that affects marginalized people, Brown people in particular,
it just feels like we need to share it because
this is like a real world story of what it's
like to be on the ground for folks that maybe
(09:54):
you don't have any black friends, maybe you don't know
any black men. Maybe you are a black man and
you need a reminder a black man and you need
a reminder of someone to tell you that you're not crazy.
So with all that said, this is from the Atlanta
Black Star. Georgia Mann won a legal battle against the
federal government after the DEA sees thousands of dollars from
him at the Atlanta airport because he looked suspicious. Brian
(10:17):
Moore Junior was about to catch a flight to Los
Angeles in March twenty twenty one, when DEA agents stopped
him after witnessing what they believed to be suspicious behavior.
Court documents state they questioned him and eventually obtained his
consent to search his bag, which contained eighty five hundred
dollars in cash. They seized the cash and let More
board his flight without charging him with a crime. Quote.
(10:41):
They told me that I looked suspicious and they were
just going to take my money based off the fact
that I looked suspicious, unquote, Mor told WSBTV. He goes
on to say I hadn't done anything wrong. I wasn't
doing anything wrong. The agents would claim they suspected the
cash was tied to illicit drug activities. However, More, an
aspiring music artist, was planning to use that money to
(11:04):
finance a photoshoot and music video in La Moore hired
an attorney and sued the government in hopes of reversing
the seizure. After more than a year of litigation, the
government asked the federal court to dismiss the case with
prejudice and eventually return More's eighty five hundred dollars. But
by the time the case was resolved, Moore had spent
more than fifteen thousand dollars in legal fees. He sought
(11:26):
to help from the or Sorry. He sought help from
the Institute for Justice to appeal his case to a
federal appeals court. Last month, the federal appeals court ruled
the government had to pay More's legal expenses as well.
Dan Albin, the attorney who filed Moore's appeals, said civil
asset forfeiture is often driven by profit, since agencies can
(11:47):
hold onto the money they seize quote, that gives them
a strong incentive to engage in seizures and forfeiture of
cash so that they can supplement their budget and spend
that money on virtually whatever they want. Album said, I
don't do you want to go first year? Q?
Speaker 2 (12:10):
What do we do once the government and law enforcement
and the military can do whatever they want to any
of us? Like this has always been a bigger picture conversation,
and this has always been the greatest fear. I'm not
the creator of this, so this is not an original thought,
(12:31):
but it is a profound one. Right, once they can
violate the rights of one of us, they can violate
the rights of any.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Of us, any of us.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Yeah you understand, so, yeah, they can deem black people
criminal by a parent. They can declare trans people suffering
from mental illness and deny them their constitutional rights. They
can hear people speaking Spanish and determine, even though they
(13:03):
know no Spanish, that what they're talking about is criminal
in nature and suspicious, and that they should be arrested
and detained and deported because of it. Citizens and non
citizens alike, they can find the loophole to violate whoever
that they want, And when everyone else just watches it happen,
they understand they've now broken into a new threshold. They've
(13:26):
crossed another line with no resistance, with no accountability, with impunity.
So they keep going, and they keep pushing. And what
I continue to warn is that one day everyone who
is not again white, heterosexual, maybe Christian right because you
can just say Christian, you don't have to actually practice it,
(13:47):
so Christian and rich. Everyone who doesn't fall into that
category won't have rights, won't have protections, but beyond that
won't have access to resources, food, capital. If things continue
on the trajectory that they're on. That is a very
very real reality, because who says when they have to stop?
(14:11):
Once they point to a citizen and violate that citizen
and plain view of all other citizens, and all other
citizens just turn their head. Then there's no reason for
them to stop. There's laws, but if there's no one
to enforce them, then what happens. So a single man
can decide that the Department of Defense is the Department
of war, Youni laterally make that choice. Everybody just watches,
(14:36):
so we're not supposed to feel helpless, but it's hard
not to when we're watching what happens every day or
every other day, with no resistance, with no one stopping it,
with no one coming to save us. It's hard not
to feel powerless and helpless and hopeless.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
You're absolutely right, man. Them coming after trans people's Second
Amendment rights because of point one percent of mass point
one point one percent of mass shooters, I think it's
actually less than that have been trans is crazy, especially
considering that trans people live such dangerous lives, especially if
(15:20):
they're out. There are people that will actively try to
harm those folks if they choose to exercise their Second
Amendment right. This makes the world dangerous for them, more
dangerous for them for black people. I've seen the police,
the LAPD steal money from people and just send them
(15:46):
on their way. I've been pulled over and taken out
of my car at gunpoint. A yellow car, yellow Dodge Neon.
This is it had one of those fast and furious things.
Back in the day, I thought it was cool. But
this is when I was in college. I got yanked
out of my car. Shotguns. All the police were there
(16:08):
pointing guns at me. He handcuffed me, ripped up my wrists,
handling me, took all my homework out of my backpack,
dumped it on the sidewalk, everything because of how I looked.
Nobody ever had to pot none of that sort of stuff.
You and I both know that we do have to
(16:30):
move sometimes with cash because we work in entertainment. We
have long stories and entertainment. I shared on Civic Cipher
a story where once upon a time I got pulled
over driving my he's my now brother in law's car.
I just sold a car because I I invested in
a used car dealership, part owner of a used car dealership.
(16:52):
I just sold a car earlier that day. I had
ten thousand dollars and the money bricks from the bank.
You remember, I used to have all that money all
the time. At the university place whatever, Yes, I do,
and I had to tuck that money into my boots.
I had like some timulins on because I didn't want
the police to see me with all that money in
that Dodge Magnum. That was a horrible look, me in
(17:16):
the middle of the night and a Dodge Magnum with
ten thousand dollars. But I had done nothing wrong. But
I know the assumption for those folks is Okay, he's
got money, he's got to have drugs and a gun,
and then they escalate things in their own mind. I
get it doesn't matter what I say. Fortunately I was
able to say, hey, I'm Rams's job from the radio.
(17:37):
You can google me. You know what I mean. But
to everyone else who's not me, or to the version
of me that was younger and could not rely on that,
it's a scary world to live in. And these people
can just take advantage of you, take your money, which
further makes your circumstances challenging and leaves you with even
less options. There's no accountability, and this administration has insulated
(18:03):
them even further from consequences. So it's a scary time.
But I'm glad that we get to end on a
high entertainment. The NFL has a record breaking number of
black quarterbacks. Okay, Now I don't know too much about anything,
(18:23):
obviously when it comes to sports, I say it all
the time, but I do know that black quarterbacks are
kind of special. I'm a music guy. My brother is
Raka Iris Science of the Dilated Peoples for folks that
may not have known that, and Raka has a song
from back in the day. It's called work the Angles.
(18:45):
For folks that aren't familiar, you can look up Dilated
People's Work the Angles is the song from way back
in the day. Awesome song, the second most successful piece
of independent vinyl ever. Okay, I'm really proud of that record,
like it's like a family jewel for us. But in
any event, on that song, Evidence, the other rhymer in
(19:07):
my brother's group, it's my brother, it's Evidence. In DJ Baboo,
Evidence says something like I bring flows more rare than
black quarterbacks. And I just remember that bar and remembering that, well,
are black quarterbacks rare? And so I always paid attention
to that piece of information as it came up over
(19:30):
the years. So this is a story that I actually
have a little bit of context where I certainly won't
have as much as UQ, but I just wanted to
share that because this is kind of exciting.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
From the Black Information Network, The NFL season is kicking
off with a record number of black starting quarterbacks hoping
to lead their teams to a Super Bowl championship. According
to USA Today, sixteen black quarterbacks are slated to start
in Week one of the twenty twenty five NFL season,
the most in league history. The record breaking high comes
just two seasons after Kandace came. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback
(20:02):
Patrick Mahomes or Mahomes. I think that I'm saying that right.
I always want to say Mahomes, but it doesn't sound right. Mahomes,
those Mahomes, Okay, I got right, all right? And Philadelphia
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts I know him, became the first
pair of black quarterbacks to face off in the Super Bowl.
Starting qbs for Week one of the twenty twenty five
(20:23):
season include Mahomes, Hertz, Bryce Young, Caleb Williams, cam Ward
I like him already, c J. Stroud, Dak Prescott, Gino Smith,
Jaden Daniels, Jordan Love, Justin Fields, Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson,
Michael Pennix, Junior, Russell Wilson, and Spencer Rattler. So I
(20:46):
don't know. If that was the end of the story,
I would say that this is very exciting, but I
know it's not. Because I'm really anxious to hear your
thoughts here, and since we didn't get to pregame any
thoughts because we saved it for this moment, everybody gets
you to hear your initial reaction. So let's go.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
So, Patrick Mahomes and Dak Prescott, you read it as Prescott.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Okay, in Arizona, there's a city called President.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
I knew exactly. That's yeah. I don't want you to
continue to say it like that. Moving forward, people might
wonder why it's such a rarity or why it's such
a big deal that now half there are thirty two
teams in the league. Sixteen of those teams are starting
with black quarterback.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
The reason why that's such a big deal is because
it was never about ability, not physically anyway. The myth
was that we were cognitively not capable of playing quarterback
because it's the position on the field that requires the
(21:55):
most intelligence.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Yes, I remember here, and.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
Because Black people, of course, were born with smaller brains
and are and black people are less intelligent, and that's
the science. Remember, of course they cannot play the most
important position on the field. That's also the same reasoning
that they used to use, and I think some of
(22:19):
them actually still feel. White head coaches are disproportionately white.
So the quarterback and the head coach, the two most
important positions for any team in the NFL for a
long time, were almost reserved exclusively for white men, and
(22:43):
there were always outliers. You know, you had Doug Williams
in the eighties, Randall Cunningham, More and Moon, but again
these were outliers. One or two black starting quarterbacks at
a time. Almost per generation, you moved into Steve Air
mcn and Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick, Cordell Stewart who
(23:03):
they used to call Slash, very very prominent and successful quarterbacks,
Charlie Batch becoming one of the first black quarterbacks that
was allowed to be a seasonal backup, because even when
black quarterbacks got a chance to be a starter, it
was past fail and if you failed, you could not
(23:24):
even maintain your position as a backup quarterback on a team.
You had to be the starter and extremely successful or
out of the league where you see very average or
even below average white quarterbacks make careers out of being
the backup, ten twelve year careers. You know, you fast
forward to a time where Vince Young came into the
(23:47):
league and was very successful. Following him, Robert Griffith tremendous athletes,
but then that became the story they can't really throw
the ball that well, they're just very athletic. Patrick Mahomes
came along and shattered that myth as now probably the
(24:08):
most prolific, intealented quarterback the NFL has ever seen. Son
of a professional athlete. His dad, Patrick Mahomes Senior, was
a professional baseball player in Major League Baseball. So Patrick
Mahomes and all the names that you just read off,
all of these young, hyper talented guys coming into the
(24:30):
league making a name for themselves and showing that the
black quarterback is not some urban myth. We've always been capable.
We just have to be given the opportunity. And like
I've said before with regard to sports and the success
of black athletes, the rules are static, everyone knows them,
(24:56):
and the game is being played live in real time
in front of the audience. It makes cheating us very difficult.
Every field is the same length, the rules are the
same for every team, on every television and every city
every weekend, every Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, when football
(25:18):
is being played, all of us know the rules. They're
enforced in real time universally, and it is one of
those cases where capitalism wins out. Professional sports is one
of the spaces where capitalism even beat out racism, kind
of because Colin Kaepernick took a knee, another historically talented
(25:42):
black quarterback took a knee and protest of law enforcement
killing black men unarmed, and people in power decided that
was too much, So integration and professional sports happened more
(26:02):
for capitalism even then the desire to win, especially when
owners realize you don't have to win to be successful.
These professional league's profit share, so the worst teams in
the league make money just like the best teams. So
(26:22):
hopefully this is not a blip but a trend toward
people with open minds and some of those who just
see the profitability and profit profitability in it, giving the
most talented people on the field and opportunity and realizing
that sometimes more than not, that most talented person can
(26:44):
be black.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
Let me ask you a question, Q. Do you remember
we covered a story of the NFL was pretending to
interview black people for a head coach position.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Remember that? Yeah? So the Rooney rule, based on the
owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, a person who has a
black head coach who's been there for a long time
and has given opportunities to black athletes and black leaders
for a long time, was a rule that required NFL
(27:18):
teams to interview someone black for their head coaching position
every year. Some teams interview a black coach just to
satisfy that rule, with no intent on actually hiring them,
And a lot of these coaches are hip to it now, right,
So it's a In some cases it's backhanded and assaulting
(27:39):
when you know you're there just to check that box.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
Do you think that these this trend by the NFL
to have more black quarterbacks means that the NFL might
be moving in a direction that is positive and inclusive
or do you think it's just the teams kind of
bowing to the forces of like as you mentioned, capitalism.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
I think for there's only so long you can ignore
that the best player on the field just so happens
to be black. Yeah, okay, but I don't think it's
benevolence either. We do still live and operate in a
capitalistic society. Sure, the best guy means we win more,
We're on TV more, we sell more jerseys, we sell
more hot dogs. Like all of it plays apart.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
Okay, Well, thank you very much for that, and that's
going to do it for us here on the QR Code.
Today show is produced by Chris Thompson. If you ask
some thought you'd liked to share, please use the red
microphone talk back feature on the iHeartRadio app, and while
you're there, be sure to hit subscribe and download all
of our episodes. Also be sure to check us out
on all social media at Civic Cipher. I have been
your host. You can find me on all social media
at Ramsey's Job.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
I am q Ward on all social media as well.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Do us a favor and join us right here next
time as we share our news with our voice from
our perspective right here on the QR Code. And until then, peace, Peace,
Still broadcasting from the Civic Cipher Studios. This is the
QR code where we share perspectives, seek understanding, and shape outcomes.
The man you're about to hear from is a man
that I enjoy laughing with. We do laugh despite how
it looks and despite the content that we cover more
(00:21):
than anyone. Just my favorite person. He is the Q
in the QR code. He goes by the name of
q Ward.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
It's interesting that we have to point out my people
that we laugh, because most of the time when you
all hear our voices, we're discussing this really really heavy,
really difficult reality that we now live in, and we
do try to find time to have human experiences like
you know, love and laughter. But that's my brother, the
(00:51):
R in the QR code, he goes by the name
ramses Jah.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Indeed, stick around. We're gonna be talking about a record
breaking number of black quarterbacks in the NFL and a
dea seizure that resulted in them having to pay double.
But right now it is time for Q words clapback
where he asks hoax or informant a slide of hand
again on Epstein, what's going on with maga Q?
Speaker 2 (01:17):
So you know I like to point out the reason
why the clapback even exists. My brother gets to listen
to me kind of get upset about things that are
happening in our life in the news daily, and thought
that we should highlight that because he seems to think
(01:38):
his brother is brilliant. I don't know where he got
that idea for, because you know, this isn't scholastic takes here.
This is just how I feel, regardless the things that
we're dealing with. So I've kind of been stuck in
one space and it's calling out one of the laziest
political magic tricks you'll ever see again. For years, MAGA
(02:03):
has demanded the Epstein files, release the names, release the logs,
show us the truth. They treated it like it was
the ultimate smoking gun, proof of the deep state, proof
of elite corruption, and again a way to own the libs. Well,
thirty three thousand pages were released, and Trump's response, it's
(02:27):
a hoax created by the Democrats to distract us all
and just like that, the tens of millions of people
that once called it the most important issue in America
forgets that it mattered at all. But wait, oh wow,
(02:49):
it gets even sloppier. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who in
my opinion, might be the actual most dangerous person in
our country, came out claimed Trump wasn't just clean in
all of this, but he was actually an informant, supposedly
(03:11):
helping federal law enforcement and prosecutors bring Epstein down for
more than a decade. That was the line, Trump the informant,
except the next day Speaker Johnson's office walked it back.
(03:34):
No FBI informant, no undercover hero. At best, Trump was
willing to help, according to what victims' attorneys had said
years ago. So ramses, which is it is? So? Is
the Epstein list going to bring down the deep state
(03:54):
and all the powerful Hollywood elites? Or is Epstein as
an idea? The case, the files, the list, the evidence,
all of it a hoax created by Democrats to what
end We don't know they did. They created back before
he was the president, so that one day in the
(04:14):
future if he became Okay, so never mind or okay,
wait because Trump said that it was a democratic hoax,
but or was or was Trump the inform Okay, so
all of those things can't be true. It is kind
(04:36):
of my point. I'm getting confused trying to even have
an inventory of all the different things have been said.
So forgive me. And here's the thing, man, this isn't
just about justice, or maybe not about justice at all,
and Trump's America, it's about loyalty. When they thought the
Epstein files could smear Democrats or Hollywood or the quote
(04:57):
unquote deep state, MAGA could and stop talking about it.
They wanted every document, every name, every flight log, everything,
but the second accountability might circle too close to their guy.
As I've said before, the story changes now it's all
fake or better yet, he was the secret hero. No accountability,
(05:21):
flatly propaganda, and it shows that in a MAGA world,
loyalty is the only thing that matters. And that's the
trick distraction. Instead of looking at what's actually in those
thirty three thousand pages, what the survivors went through, what
real transparency should look like, we're left debating whether Trump
was a hoax victim or an FBI informant. And those
(05:47):
stories are coming from the same people. So I'll let
you guys try to figure that out. Neither is true,
by the way, yeah, of course not. Both were designed
to muddy the waters, to confuse the conversation, and to
let powerful people walk away unscathed. That's the sleight of hand,
(06:07):
the shiny object they hold up to try to distract you,
and it works because their base is willing to forget
what they were demanding five minutes ago if it protects
their leader. Think about it and entertainment. When somebody gets
caught in a scandal, accountability comes fast. Shows get canceled,
(06:29):
contracts get pulled, and in some cases his careers are over.
And politics accountability can be turned into a hoax, rewritten
as a secret hero and no other field can you
rewrite the story mid scandal and keep your loyal following.
(06:49):
But we realize it's not about truth. It's about controlling narratives.
Somebody said that to me in real time. Actually not
about facts, it's just a both I get so here
we are at our clapback. MAGA begged for Epstein files
for years, demanded transparency, and now those files drop. Trump
(07:13):
calls it a hoax. Speaker Johnson tries out the informant
tactic and then walks it back. They can't keep their
own story straight, and they don't care because this was
never about justice. It was always about protecting the brand,
protecting the good guys which they actually consider themselves. Accountability
is not optional, or at least it shouldn't be. The
(07:35):
survivors deserve more than a magic trick, and the country
deserves leaders who don't think this is a first grade
class that they can trick with a simple sleight of hand.
Here we are again trying to clap back and trying
to demand accountability. Ramas. I just don't know if it'll
ever happen.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
It may not, but your job, I think is well
met by you. So I appreciate every single one of them,
even if it is directed at the same group of people.
All Right, so let's ask some dialogue. Okay, DA stops
(08:18):
a black man and seizes cash. Now FEDS must pay
double Okay. First off, again, we wanted to talk about
this story because I think, especially for people that have
not had the experience of being black in this country,
and for people who have not had the experience of
(08:40):
being a black man in this country. You know, whenever
we can offer some additional perspective, you know, I think
that it helps. We certainly get a lot of straight Christian,
white male perspective because they make movies and they you know,
program television stations and they whatever, their voices kind of
(09:01):
echo the loudest. You know, there are all the judges
and politicians and police officers and that sort of thing.
So we get a lot of that perspective. But both
Q and myself we've lived this reality, this actual reality
here and knowing how this administration further warps this dynamic
(09:33):
and further exacerbate, exacerbates a condition that is present in
this country that affects marginalized people, Brown people in particular,
it just feels like we need to share it because
this is like a real world story of what it's
like to be on the ground for folks that maybe
(09:54):
you don't have any black friends, maybe you don't know
any black men. Maybe you are a black man and
you need a reminder a black man and you need
a reminder of someone to tell you that you're not crazy.
So with all that said, this is from the Atlanta
Black Star. Georgia Mann won a legal battle against the
federal government after the DEA sees thousands of dollars from
him at the Atlanta airport because he looked suspicious. Brian
(10:17):
Moore Junior was about to catch a flight to Los
Angeles in March twenty twenty one, when DEA agents stopped
him after witnessing what they believed to be suspicious behavior.
Court documents state they questioned him and eventually obtained his
consent to search his bag, which contained eighty five hundred
dollars in cash. They seized the cash and let More
board his flight without charging him with a crime. Quote.
(10:41):
They told me that I looked suspicious and they were
just going to take my money based off the fact
that I looked suspicious, unquote, Mor told WSBTV. He goes
on to say I hadn't done anything wrong. I wasn't
doing anything wrong. The agents would claim they suspected the
cash was tied to illicit drug activities. However, More, an
aspiring music artist, was planning to use that money to
(11:04):
finance a photoshoot and music video in La Moore hired
an attorney and sued the government in hopes of reversing
the seizure. After more than a year of litigation, the
government asked the federal court to dismiss the case with
prejudice and eventually return More's eighty five hundred dollars. But
by the time the case was resolved, Moore had spent
more than fifteen thousand dollars in legal fees. He sought
(11:26):
to help from the or Sorry. He sought help from
the Institute for Justice to appeal his case to a
federal appeals court. Last month, the federal appeals court ruled
the government had to pay More's legal expenses as well.
Dan Albin, the attorney who filed Moore's appeals, said civil
asset forfeiture is often driven by profit, since agencies can
(11:47):
hold onto the money they seize quote, that gives them
a strong incentive to engage in seizures and forfeiture of
cash so that they can supplement their budget and spend
that money on virtually whatever they want. Album said, I
don't do you want to go first year? Q?
Speaker 2 (12:10):
What do we do once the government and law enforcement
and the military can do whatever they want to any
of us? Like this has always been a bigger picture conversation,
and this has always been the greatest fear. I'm not
the creator of this, so this is not an original thought,
(12:31):
but it is a profound one. Right, once they can
violate the rights of one of us, they can violate
the rights of any.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Of us, any of us.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Yeah you understand, so, yeah, they can deem black people
criminal by a parent. They can declare trans people suffering
from mental illness and deny them their constitutional rights. They
can hear people speaking Spanish and determine, even though they
(13:03):
know no Spanish, that what they're talking about is criminal
in nature and suspicious, and that they should be arrested
and detained and deported because of it. Citizens and non
citizens alike, they can find the loophole to violate whoever
that they want, And when everyone else just watches it happen,
they understand they've now broken into a new threshold. They've
(13:26):
crossed another line with no resistance, with no accountability, with impunity.
So they keep going, and they keep pushing. And what
I continue to warn is that one day everyone who
is not again white, heterosexual, maybe Christian right because you
can just say Christian, you don't have to actually practice it,
(13:47):
so Christian and rich. Everyone who doesn't fall into that
category won't have rights, won't have protections, but beyond that
won't have access to resources, food, capital. If things continue
on the trajectory that they're on. That is a very
very real reality, because who says when they have to stop?
(14:11):
Once they point to a citizen and violate that citizen
and plain view of all other citizens, and all other
citizens just turn their head. Then there's no reason for
them to stop. There's laws, but if there's no one
to enforce them, then what happens. So a single man
can decide that the Department of Defense is the Department
of war, Youni laterally make that choice. Everybody just watches,
(14:36):
so we're not supposed to feel helpless, but it's hard
not to when we're watching what happens every day or
every other day, with no resistance, with no one stopping it,
with no one coming to save us. It's hard not
to feel powerless and helpless and hopeless.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
You're absolutely right, man. Them coming after trans people's Second
Amendment rights because of point one percent of mass point
one point one percent of mass shooters, I think it's
actually less than that have been trans is crazy, especially
considering that trans people live such dangerous lives, especially if
(15:20):
they're out. There are people that will actively try to
harm those folks if they choose to exercise their Second
Amendment right. This makes the world dangerous for them, more
dangerous for them for black people. I've seen the police,
the LAPD steal money from people and just send them
(15:46):
on their way. I've been pulled over and taken out
of my car at gunpoint. A yellow car, yellow Dodge Neon.
This is it had one of those fast and furious things.
Back in the day, I thought it was cool. But
this is when I was in college. I got yanked
out of my car. Shotguns. All the police were there
(16:08):
pointing guns at me. He handcuffed me, ripped up my wrists,
handling me, took all my homework out of my backpack,
dumped it on the sidewalk, everything because of how I looked.
Nobody ever had to pot none of that sort of stuff.
You and I both know that we do have to
(16:30):
move sometimes with cash because we work in entertainment. We
have long stories and entertainment. I shared on Civic Cipher
a story where once upon a time I got pulled
over driving my he's my now brother in law's car.
I just sold a car because I I invested in
a used car dealership, part owner of a used car dealership.
(16:52):
I just sold a car earlier that day. I had
ten thousand dollars and the money bricks from the bank.
You remember, I used to have all that money all
the time. At the university place whatever, Yes, I do,
and I had to tuck that money into my boots.
I had like some timulins on because I didn't want
the police to see me with all that money in
that Dodge Magnum. That was a horrible look, me in
(17:16):
the middle of the night and a Dodge Magnum with
ten thousand dollars. But I had done nothing wrong. But
I know the assumption for those folks is Okay, he's
got money, he's got to have drugs and a gun,
and then they escalate things in their own mind. I
get it doesn't matter what I say. Fortunately I was
able to say, hey, I'm Rams's job from the radio.
(17:37):
You can google me. You know what I mean. But
to everyone else who's not me, or to the version
of me that was younger and could not rely on that,
it's a scary world to live in. And these people
can just take advantage of you, take your money, which
further makes your circumstances challenging and leaves you with even
less options. There's no accountability, and this administration has insulated
(18:03):
them even further from consequences. So it's a scary time.
But I'm glad that we get to end on a
high entertainment. The NFL has a record breaking number of
black quarterbacks. Okay, Now I don't know too much about anything,
(18:23):
obviously when it comes to sports, I say it all
the time, but I do know that black quarterbacks are
kind of special. I'm a music guy. My brother is
Raka Iris Science of the Dilated Peoples for folks that
may not have known that, and Raka has a song
from back in the day. It's called work the Angles.
(18:45):
For folks that aren't familiar, you can look up Dilated
People's Work the Angles is the song from way back
in the day. Awesome song, the second most successful piece
of independent vinyl ever. Okay, I'm really proud of that record,
like it's like a family jewel for us. But in
any event, on that song, Evidence, the other rhymer in
(19:07):
my brother's group, it's my brother, it's Evidence. In DJ Baboo,
Evidence says something like I bring flows more rare than
black quarterbacks. And I just remember that bar and remembering that, well,
are black quarterbacks rare? And so I always paid attention
to that piece of information as it came up over
(19:30):
the years. So this is a story that I actually
have a little bit of context where I certainly won't
have as much as UQ, but I just wanted to
share that because this is kind of exciting.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
From the Black Information Network, The NFL season is kicking
off with a record number of black starting quarterbacks hoping
to lead their teams to a Super Bowl championship. According
to USA Today, sixteen black quarterbacks are slated to start
in Week one of the twenty twenty five NFL season,
the most in league history. The record breaking high comes
just two seasons after Kandace came. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback
(20:02):
Patrick Mahomes or Mahomes. I think that I'm saying that right.
I always want to say Mahomes, but it doesn't sound right. Mahomes,
those Mahomes, Okay, I got right, all right? And Philadelphia
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts I know him, became the first
pair of black quarterbacks to face off in the Super Bowl.
Starting qbs for Week one of the twenty twenty five
(20:23):
season include Mahomes, Hertz, Bryce Young, Caleb Williams, cam Ward
I like him already, c J. Stroud, Dak Prescott, Gino Smith,
Jaden Daniels, Jordan Love, Justin Fields, Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson,
Michael Pennix, Junior, Russell Wilson, and Spencer Rattler. So I
(20:46):
don't know. If that was the end of the story,
I would say that this is very exciting, but I
know it's not. Because I'm really anxious to hear your
thoughts here, and since we didn't get to pregame any
thoughts because we saved it for this moment, everybody gets
you to hear your initial reaction. So let's go.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
So, Patrick Mahomes and Dak Prescott, you read it as Prescott.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Okay, in Arizona, there's a city called President.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
I knew exactly. That's yeah. I don't want you to
continue to say it like that. Moving forward, people might
wonder why it's such a rarity or why it's such
a big deal that now half there are thirty two
teams in the league. Sixteen of those teams are starting
with black quarterback.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
The reason why that's such a big deal is because
it was never about ability, not physically anyway. The myth
was that we were cognitively not capable of playing quarterback
because it's the position on the field that requires the
(21:55):
most intelligence.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Yes, I remember here, and.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
Because Black people, of course, were born with smaller brains
and are and black people are less intelligent, and that's
the science. Remember, of course they cannot play the most
important position on the field. That's also the same reasoning
that they used to use, and I think some of
(22:19):
them actually still feel. White head coaches are disproportionately white.
So the quarterback and the head coach, the two most
important positions for any team in the NFL for a
long time, were almost reserved exclusively for white men, and
(22:43):
there were always outliers. You know, you had Doug Williams
in the eighties, Randall Cunningham, More and Moon, but again
these were outliers. One or two black starting quarterbacks at
a time. Almost per generation, you moved into Steve Air
mcn and Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick, Cordell Stewart who
(23:03):
they used to call Slash, very very prominent and successful quarterbacks,
Charlie Batch becoming one of the first black quarterbacks that
was allowed to be a seasonal backup, because even when
black quarterbacks got a chance to be a starter, it
was past fail and if you failed, you could not
(23:24):
even maintain your position as a backup quarterback on a team.
You had to be the starter and extremely successful or
out of the league where you see very average or
even below average white quarterbacks make careers out of being
the backup, ten twelve year careers. You know, you fast
forward to a time where Vince Young came into the
(23:47):
league and was very successful. Following him, Robert Griffith tremendous athletes,
but then that became the story they can't really throw
the ball that well, they're just very athletic. Patrick Mahomes
came along and shattered that myth as now probably the
(24:08):
most prolific, intealented quarterback the NFL has ever seen. Son
of a professional athlete. His dad, Patrick Mahomes Senior, was
a professional baseball player in Major League Baseball. So Patrick
Mahomes and all the names that you just read off,
all of these young, hyper talented guys coming into the
(24:30):
league making a name for themselves and showing that the
black quarterback is not some urban myth. We've always been capable.
We just have to be given the opportunity. And like
I've said before with regard to sports and the success
of black athletes, the rules are static, everyone knows them,
(24:56):
and the game is being played live in real time
in front of the audience. It makes cheating us very difficult.
Every field is the same length, the rules are the
same for every team, on every television and every city
every weekend, every Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, when football
(25:18):
is being played, all of us know the rules. They're
enforced in real time universally, and it is one of
those cases where capitalism wins out. Professional sports is one
of the spaces where capitalism even beat out racism, kind
of because Colin Kaepernick took a knee, another historically talented
(25:42):
black quarterback took a knee and protest of law enforcement
killing black men unarmed, and people in power decided that
was too much, So integration and professional sports happened more
(26:02):
for capitalism even then the desire to win, especially when
owners realize you don't have to win to be successful.
These professional league's profit share, so the worst teams in
the league make money just like the best teams. So
(26:22):
hopefully this is not a blip but a trend toward
people with open minds and some of those who just
see the profitability and profit profitability in it, giving the
most talented people on the field and opportunity and realizing
that sometimes more than not, that most talented person can
(26:44):
be black.
Speaker 1 (26:46):
Let me ask you a question, Q. Do you remember
we covered a story of the NFL was pretending to
interview black people for a head coach position.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Remember that? Yeah? So the Rooney rule, based on the
owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, a person who has a
black head coach who's been there for a long time
and has given opportunities to black athletes and black leaders
for a long time, was a rule that required NFL
(27:18):
teams to interview someone black for their head coaching position
every year. Some teams interview a black coach just to
satisfy that rule, with no intent on actually hiring them,
And a lot of these coaches are hip to it now, right,
So it's a In some cases it's backhanded and assaulting
(27:39):
when you know you're there just to check that box.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
Do you think that these this trend by the NFL
to have more black quarterbacks means that the NFL might
be moving in a direction that is positive and inclusive
or do you think it's just the teams kind of
bowing to the forces of like as you mentioned, capitalism.
Speaker 2 (28:03):
I think for there's only so long you can ignore
that the best player on the field just so happens
to be black. Yeah, okay, but I don't think it's
benevolence either. We do still live and operate in a
capitalistic society. Sure, the best guy means we win more,
We're on TV more, we sell more jerseys, we sell
more hot dogs. Like all of it plays apart.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
Okay, Well, thank you very much for that, and that's
going to do it for us here on the QR Code.
Today show is produced by Chris Thompson. If you ask
some thought you'd liked to share, please use the red
microphone talk back feature on the iHeartRadio app, and while
you're there, be sure to hit subscribe and download all
of our episodes. Also be sure to check us out
on all social media at Civic Cipher. I have been
your host. You can find me on all social media
at Ramsey's Job.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
I am q Ward on all social media as well.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Do us a favor and join us right here next
time as we share our news with our voice from
our perspective right here on the QR Code. And until then, peace, Peace,
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