October 2, 2025 • 33 mins
In this episode of Please Say The Dailey, host Vanisha R. Dailey reflects on the legacy of Assata Shakur, the impact of the Black Panther Party, and the systemic injustices faced by marginalized communities. The conversation delves into the historical context of activism, government opposition, and the media's portrayal of racial issues, particularly in light of recent events surrounding Charlie Kirk. Vanisha emphasizes the importance of critical thinking and the need to address double standards in public outrage and media narratives.
Become a supporter of the show!
Thank you for visiting!
Vanisha R. Dailey, Please Say The Dailey
SayTheDailey@gmail.com
Become A Supporter Of The Show:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2452408/support
Instagram: @VanishaRDailey
Love the music playing on my podcast? Check out the talented @StrBabyJackson on Instagram and thank me later!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 00 (00:12):
You are now tuned in to Vanisha R.
Dailey.
Please Say the Dailey.
Hey, hey y'all! Welcome back toanother episode of Please Say
(00:36):
the Daily with me as your host,and I go by the name of Vanisha
R.
Dailey.
And this is episode 12.
How are you all doing outthere?
I am well, just trying tobalance all of the things
between school and personal lifehappenings.
I do have some pretty cool newsto share with you all though.
(00:58):
Ever since I started thispodcast, more than ever, I've
been told that I need to becomea voice actor of some sort.
And after not even two weeks ofattempting to venture off into
that space, I booked my firstnarration gig.
So now I'll have to be mindfulof protecting my voice and not
(01:18):
overworking it.
But I don't even know howthat's actually possible,
especially with me alwaysrunning my mouth about
something.
Anyway, let's switch up thevibe here because I've been
needing to get some things offmy chest.
But before I do that, please goahead and click the follow
(01:40):
button on this podcast so thatyou can keep up with me in the
future.
There has been so much that hashappened over the past couple
of weeks, and boy, oh boy, do weneed to have a conversation
about it because we are reallyseeing some heavy division
within society right now.
So let's get into it.
As soon as I got on Instagram afew days ago, I discovered the
(02:11):
heartbreaking news that AssataShakur had passed away.
When I saw it, I was reallyhoping that it was just a rumor,
because that wouldn't be thefirst time that certain rumors
about Assata's existence hashappened, and I'll explain why
here shortly.
But unfortunately, her passingaway had been confirmed by her
(02:33):
one and only child, herdaughter, Pakuya Shakur, on
social media.
For those of you who areunfamiliar with Assata Shakur,
she was a freedom fighter,initially a member of the Black
Panther Party, and later becameone of the most prominent
members of the Black LiberationArmy.
(02:54):
She was also a godmother to thelate West Coast rapper Tupac
Shakur.
She had been convicted offirst-degree murder and life in
prison for the death of a policeofficer.
This was a situation that hadtaken place on a turnpike in New
Jersey when two officersstopped the car that Assata and
(03:15):
two other members of the BlackLiberation Army were in.
This resulted in two peoplebeing killed, one of the BLA
members and one of the policeofficers.
Assata continued to maintainher innocence throughout her
life.
She said that she had beenframed, and based off of how
other prominent black figureshad been wrongfully accused by
(03:38):
authorities during the sameexact period, being held up on
charges and serving time behindbars, I have reason to believe
that there is a good chance thatshe was probably telling the
truth.
There had not been any evidenceof her firing a gun.
A neurosurgeon by the name ofDr.
Arthur Davidson, associateprofessor of surgery at Albert
(04:00):
Einstein College of Medicine,testified that it would have
been practically impossible forher to shoot a gun under these
circumstances.
She had been shot in her rightarmpit and left shoulder, which
caused her to be paralyzed inone of her arms.
Her clavicle bone was brokenand a major nerve was damaged
from the bullet impact.
(04:22):
The doctor added that she wasinnocent, and that her injuries
confirmed that her arms wereraised when she had gotten shot
by the officers.
This was an extremelycontroversial case that scholars
and activists have said was apolitically motivated anti-black
case.
And despite all of thisinformation, they still sent her
(04:44):
to prison.
She was there for a couple ofyears.
She was tortured and even putin solitary confinement in the
basement of an all-men's prison.
Talk about unethical.
She eventually escaped with thehelp of two other members of
the Black Liberation Army whowere also affiliated with the
Black Panthers.
(05:05):
It was later discovered thatAssata had been living in exile
in Havana, Cuba.
She was granted asylum by FidelCastro.
And even though she no longerlived in the States, that did
not stop her from continuing tobe vocal about her activism.
And she did that up until shepassed away there in Cuba.
(05:25):
In Oakland, California, Huey P.
Newton created the BlackPanther Party in 1966.
They were anti-capitalism,anti-imperialism, and
anti-racism, and had 48 activechapters all across the United
States from Philadelphia,Atlanta, Chicago.
And I was surprised to learnthat they eventually had a few
(05:50):
chapters overseas as well.
These young activists wereoutraged by the fact that the
civil rights movement did notchange the issues that Black
Americans were facing at thehand of oppression and police
violence.
They were ready to holdpoliticians accountable and were
willing to challenge policeforces for what they believed
(06:10):
in.
They were very organized as agroup and had an unbelievable
amount of power, intelligence,and reach.
We have not seen themobilization of black activism
in this way since then.
And after thinking about it fora bit, I truly believe that
it's because black people of thecivil rights movement were
(06:32):
largely Pan-Africanists.
There was power in theunification of Black people from
all over the globe.
And that's why we haven't seeninfluential movements like these
since, because we're so dividednow.
The members were well versed ontheir mission and what they
were fighting for.
Some of their focuses wereeducation, full access to job
(06:56):
opportunities, fair andimpartial justice in the court
system, access to landownership, housing, and the
ability to feed theircommunities.
Contrary to popular belief, theBlack Panthers were not a group
based on violence, nor werethey a hate group.
They were just very focused andpassionate about their mission.
(07:19):
Freedom, equality, and justicefor black people who had
historically been mistreated inAmerican society.
They had a newspaper thatreached over 100,000 people
across state lines, and withinthis newspaper, they shared the
stories of black people from allover that were dealing with
racial violence and inequality.
(07:40):
They educated the readers byteaching them how to spot
political propaganda that wasset in place to purposefully
misinform, mislead, and redirectthem from their focus.
According to PBS.org, they hadcommunity survival programs that
were there to develop positiveinstitutions to help give access
(08:02):
to viable resources in theircommunities.
They had over 60 programsdedicated to this cause.
They made sure to help otherblack people get registered to
vote.
They set up medical stations.
They even had community fooddrives.
We have the Black Panthers tothank for the free lunch
programs that we see in publicschools today.
(08:24):
These black folks organizing ina successful manner amongst
their own in a country that hascontinued to set obstacles in
place to bar them from havingaccess to upward mobility in
society was huge.
Racist white America was notokay with any of this.
(08:44):
They felt threatened and had tofigure out a way to dismantle
them from continuing on.
The Panthers often foundthemselves in so much trouble
and just being caught up in actsof violence with authorities.
They wanted to put an end tothe Black Panthers.
Edgar J.
Hoover, who was actually thedirector of the FBI at this time
(09:09):
frame, labeled the BlackPanthers as being a terrorist
group.
Now just think about how theword terrorist is viewed in
American society.
This struck fear into people.
After just two years of theorganization running, they were
targeted by the FBI underCOINTELPRO.
And I need y'all to hear me outon this because this is not an
(09:32):
opinion nor speculation.
It has been proven that theFBI, COINTELPRO, murdered,
framed, and spied on people thatwere a part of the Black
Panther Party, in addition toother leaders and organizations
of the civil rights movement.
Marcus Garvey, the NAACP,Thurgood Marshall, and MLK, who
(09:54):
was ultimately killed by them.
Have you ever heard of theAngola III?
This was Robert Hillary King,Albert Woodfox, and Herman
Wallace, who were all BlackPanthers that had been
wrongfully imprisoned.
They served over four decadesof solitary confinement.
They were innocent.
(10:15):
Sadly, Albert Woodfox spent 40years of his life in solitary
confinement, which is apparentlythe longest time ever recorded
in American history.
He was in a six by nine footcell and locked away for 23
hours a day.
He passed away just six yearsafter he was exonerated.
(10:40):
Adding more salt to the wound,two Panther members that went by
the names of Fred Hampton andMark Clark were both killed
during an FBI raid.
They basically set them up andhired an informant by the name
of William O'Neill to give theminside details on the Black
Panthers.
(11:00):
And in this situation, WilliamO'Neill spied on the members and
relayed all of that informationback to the FBI.
This William person was able togive specific details on Fred
Hampton's apartment layout, andhe also drugged him so that the
FBI could successfully attackhim during the raid, where he
(11:22):
was asleep in bed next to hispregnant partner.
This case was eventuallybrought to trial, and the
families of Hampton Clarkreceived a settlement of over $1
million, making it one of thehighest amounts paid out to a
civil rights case.
There are records of more than20 different members being
(11:44):
framed and set up by the FBI.
This forced some of themunderground and away from the
public for their safety.
The Black Liberation Army wascreated to refocus and continue
pushing the goals of the BlackPanther Party and their mission
toward black liberation inAmerican society, power to the
people, they had tostrategically move differently.
(12:07):
It was only when the Panthersstarted exercising their Second
Amendment right to bear armsthat the National Rifle
Association all of a suddenstarted supporting gun
legislation in America.
Yes, you heard correct, it wasonly too much when black people
displayed equal power andability, aka racism.
(12:31):
The members staged a protest onthe stairs of the California
State House, announcing thatthey would officially be bearing
arms to protect themselves.
They would march the streetswearing all black and carrying
rifles.
The powers that be wereinfuriated and wanted to put an
end to black politicalorganizations completely.
(12:54):
It was fair game at this point.
And you know that wheneversituations like these happen in
society, the black people areviewed as the issue while the
main problem gets ignored.
It's not the systemicinequalities, not the racism or
injustice, it's the fact thatblack activists were beginning
to outsmart the very system thatwas set in place to keep them
(13:18):
struggling in every facet oftheir lives.
They didn't want black peopleto have access to resources that
could improve the overallquality of their lives.
Even though the organizationwas slowly dismantled by the
government, COINTELPRO, many ofthe members ventured into
(13:38):
educational spaces and continuedto do the work of grassroots
activism.
Imagine getting bullied everyday at school.
These five kids mess with youevery day.
And then finally, you muster upthe courage, gather your
friends to stand up in defense.
Most people don't see an issuewith that scenario.
(14:00):
But when it's a black politicalgroup holding authority and
politicians accountable, it's athreat.
You know the rest.
How are people notunderstanding this Charlie Kirk
(15:15):
situation and how it's drawingattention to a much bigger
problem that has always beenpresent and always happening
within American society sincewho knows when?
Because let me tell you, if thedepth in which you have to add
to this conversation aboutCharlie is at the shallow, basic
discussion level of whethersomeone's death by way of public
(15:38):
murder is ethical or not, you,my friend, need to put on your
critical thinking cap.
There's so much more to unpackabout this, starting with the
racial double standards thatonly seem to have consequences
when it's a black person or aperson of color.
Marginalized groups of peoplehave never been given even a
(16:02):
minuscule of the grace that hasbeen allotted to CK.
And yet here we are, showing up200,000 deep at his military
memorial, putting flags at halfstaff, and making him out to be
some positive martyr.
Utterly ridiculous, okay?
When I saw all of thishappening, I said to Jesse, I
(16:27):
would not be surprised if theytry to put up a monument
dedicated to him.
And lo and behold, the state ofOklahoma made it happen much
quicker than I would have everthought.
They pushed a bill to havestatues of Charlie Kirk placed
on every university campus inthe state of Oklahoma.
(16:48):
I hate to say it, but I wouldnot be shocked to see that
happen across the United States.
I just found out that they areworking on trying to get his
face on the silver dollar fornext year.
It still has to be signed offby Congress and the president.
But the real question is, ishow did we even get to this
(17:10):
level of idiocy?
This doesn't even seem real atthis point.
African Americans have beendealing with political violence
since we were forcefully broughtinto this country.
It is literally ingrained intothe very fabric of America's
history.
Did we forget about policebrutality?
(17:33):
The same people thatmiraculously felt empathetic
enough to speak up about CharlieKirk have likely been silent
about these other publicmurders.
And how much you want to betthey were the same ones yelling,
Blue Lives Matter! Back theblue! Three mass shootings took
(17:54):
place just this past weekend,and we know that there is a high
chance of the shooters beingwhite men.
Why?
Because this is the commontrend.
There are also multiplegenocides currently happening
throughout the world.
Why hasn't the discussion ofpolitical violence been brought
(18:15):
to the table before now?
Where was the public outragefrom citizens prior to Charlie?
Sounds like selective outrage.
Hello, double standards ofwhiteness.
Charlie Kirk's killer wasabruptly charged with murder
(18:36):
with the potential of facing thedeath penalty, not even a full
week after his death.
While families of black peoplewho lost their lives to
political violence have to hearthat the person who killed their
family member is on leave fromtheir job, collecting a
paycheck.
And rarely do we see thesefamilies get justice from these
(18:57):
acts of violence.
People are literally beingfired from their jobs for being
vocal about the hatred thatCharlie was so loud and proud
about.
Can you believe that a seniorjournalist from the Washington
Post was fired for quoting theexact words of Charlie Kirk?
At least 20 FBI agents arecurrently under fire because
(19:22):
they were found in oldphotographs kneeling in response
to George Floyd, who was killedby a police officer.
But do you all remember howthey kicked Colin Kaepernick to
the curb after he startedkneeling in protest to police
brutality at the NFL games?
Well, conservative fans of theNFL have typically preferred
(19:46):
politics to stay out of thesport, at least that's what they
said.
But a lot of them seem to be infull support of the eight
football teams who chose tocommemorate Charlie Kirk.
Hmm, gotta love those doublestandards of hypocrisy.
You know what?
The first thing that I tooknotice to when Charlie Kirk's
(20:09):
death hit the headlines was howthey were wording the titles of
the news articles, mentioningthat he had a wife and two young
children before discussing thevitriol of the messages that he
spread.
Dr.
Allison Wiltz posted on X,quote, George Floyd was a father
too, and Charlie Kirk calledhim a scumbag.
(20:32):
Hmm.
Yeah, I'll give you a moment onthat.
These journalists are veryaware of what they are doing.
They use specific language tosoften how a person is viewed,
to encourage others to see thegood nature and will within an
individual by humanizing them.
(20:52):
Now, why would they do that?
Well, because they're likelyright-leaning themselves and
biased in Charlie's defense.
Do you think that the mediagave Assata Shakur the same
grace?
I'll let you be the judge.
Here are two articles, bothwritten by the Associated Press
(21:14):
AP News.com.
Assata Shakur, a fugitive blackmilitant sought by the U.S.
since 1979, dies in Cuba.
And then we have Charlie Kirk,who helped build support for
Trump among young people, diesafter campus shooting.
(21:35):
Do you see the differencethere?
They did the same exact thingwith the Katrina victims in New
Orleans, where literallyeveryone was going into stores
trying to find food forsurvival.
But they labeled the Blackpeople as looters in the media,
while white people were viewedas being resourceful in such an
(21:58):
extreme time of need.
What was even the purpose ofusing the word black in the
headline about Assata?
And then they mention youngpeople when referring to
Charlie, to once again show goodgrace to his character.
Oh, he was just so passionateabout leading the youth of the
(22:19):
American people.
Yeah, I bet he was, for goodreason too.
Because they are the mostvulnerable and impressionable to
groom into indoctrination.
They needed someone to pushthose backwards messages of
Charlie's, teach them earlybefore they're able to
consensualize the nonsense thatthey're being fed.
(22:39):
In a Pew research study, theysurveyed 5,000 Black adults to
see how they thought blackpeople were usually depicted in
the media.
An undeniable 63% ofparticipants said that black
people are typically viewed in anegative way compared to other
groups of people.
(23:00):
Only 28% of the participantssaid that they believe that it's
equal.
Now, why they lying?
Charlie Kirk went to differentuniversities to debate young
adults about his beliefs thatwere solely Christo-centric,
traditional, and veryantiquated.
(23:22):
He was unable to have an actualdebate outside of his religious
lens.
And even when he venturedoutside of that, his opinions
were racist, xenophobic, sexist,misogynistic, heavily
homophobic, transphobic.
The way that he had thiselitist way of presenting
himself in these debates spokevolumes to how his fans had
(23:45):
clearly been encouraging him.
Them folks have been blowinghis head up.
When I Googled his name, youknow how a person's stats will
show up on Wikipedia?
Well, apparently he was sixfeet two inches tall, and when I
saw that, it made perfect sensethat he felt even more so
emboldened to conduct himselfwith this arrogant,
(24:08):
hyper-masculine energy that heused to abuse other people to
project dominance and power.
It's an intimidation tactic.
The most concerning thing aboutthis man's death has been the
extreme denial, not just fromthe media in general, but people
on social media.
(24:29):
Have we forgotten that we arein a digital age where any and
everything that you post via theinternet will forever exist?
It's very easy to find so manyexamples of him spreading
malice.
And still, the amount of peoplethat have tried to shift his
character into being that ofintegrity is mind-boggling.
(24:54):
William Wolfe, who is theexecutive director for the
Center for Baptist Leadership,posted on X, quote, his entire
project was built on reachingacross the divide and using
speech, not violence, to addressand resolve issues.
(25:14):
End quote.
Now, why does this quote soundlike it's about MLK?
Somebody tell me.
Because that would make waymore sense if that's who this
was about.
But it ain't.
Charlie has said that some gundeaths every year are necessary
so that we can have the SecondAmendment to protect our
(25:38):
God-given rights.
This is at the same time thatwe are seeing a major influx of
mass shootings all over.
How much hatred and extremismcan a person spread on a public
platform and still be embracedby society?
Clearly, more than I realizedbecause the things that Charlie
(26:00):
has said is wild.
And I know you all have heard alot of this stuff already, but
trigger warning.
He said that he supports publicexecution and that children
should also witness thesekillings happen so that they
learn early on that this is whathappens to people that make bad
decisions.
Something else that Charlieasserted was that young women
(26:23):
should do away with modernityand should get married earlier
on and have multiple children.
At another event of his, therewas a 14-year-old girl who said
that she wanted to go to schoolto be a political journalist,
but she wanted to hear CharlieKirk's opinion about it because
she knew that he was not insupport of higher education.
(26:45):
This man really sat up thereand said, there needs to be an
MRS degree, which is theimplication of women going to
school just to find a husband.
He said that she should go toschool to find a life partner,
and that college is a scam.
But also, going to college is agood idea if you're going to
(27:09):
find a husband.
Um, is this your king?
Okay, quick side story.
I honestly contemplated noteven adding this part into the
episode because it's just socrazy and ridiculous.
I don't even have the words forit, honestly, but I think it's
necessary that I spreadawareness and hopefully bring
(27:32):
some attention to the weirdstuff that is currently
happening in our society.
So while I was doing researchfor this episode, I wanted to
find direct quotes directly fromCharlie Kirk, things that he
said, right?
I ended up finding his podcast,which was featured on a website
called Rumble.com.
I've never heard of it, butthere were so many red flags
(27:54):
around this entire situation.
Starting off with how when Ifinally found the video that I
was looking for, the audiowasn't working on it.
It was muted.
And then they wouldn't let meskip any of the ads.
Anytime I tried to skip the ad,it would just replay over and
over.
Then it clicked that they'relikely trying to cover his
(28:15):
tracks up a bit.
Okay, fine.
So I made a fake account to getonto the website and have full
access to the video.
When I got on the website, noteven 15 seconds into the video,
they kept trying to make me addmore information to my account.
It's almost like they werevetting me.
They wanted to know what othertypes of things I was interested
(28:37):
in as far as the podcasts.
And of course, whose podcastwas number one on the list and
already selected?
Charlie Kirk's.
Go figure.
When I finally made it back tothe video, it kept playing these
weird AI-generated ads, andsomething told me to just take a
moment and actually look atwhat the ads were about.
(28:58):
And wow, I could not have madethis stuff up.
This is not satire.
This is real.
This is what I saw and heard.
They played an advertisementthat talked about an ointment
that you could use to grow a newset of teeth, y'all.
I'm not kidding.
There was another video thattalked about an herb that cures
(29:21):
dementia, as well as a berrythat can cure your high
cholesterol.
All of these videos wereliterally centered around the
healthcare industry, big pharma,and they kept using these
trigger words and were basicallyprefacing the messages to make
it seem as though you don't needthe medical industry at all,
and that you can take mattersinto your own hands.
(29:43):
This sort of false informationbeing publicized on such a major
platform tells me that theyknow that they can pull the wool
over their followers' eyes,because in the kindest way to
say it, they'll be none thewiser.
So of course they have peoplefollowing this mess without
question.
Let's not forget, Charlie Kirkhas a major organization by the
(30:08):
name of Turning Point USA thatwas actually just listed as an
extremist group.
And even with that information,they still decided to
intertwine that organization inpublic school systems across the
USA.
Unfortunately, thisorganization will continue to
(30:29):
grow as Well, now that his wifeis in control of it.
There are so many issues withall of this.
Do not let this be youbelieving this nonsense.
Please do your research, askquestions, find trusted sources
and individuals that are actualexperts in their fields.
(30:50):
Charlie Kirk was not an expert,and even with that, he still
had such a big following.
As I've observed how people areresponding to all of this stuff
that's happening and watchingpeople align with Charlie, which
is alarming in itself, morethan ever, I can see just how
(31:11):
deeply seated white supremacy isin this country.
So we have to use discernmentand the power that we do have to
organize, educate ourselves,and those around us.
Share information and continueto be aware.
Because being silent,complacent, naive, or convincing
yourself that this isn't yourfight will not protect you from
(31:34):
what is unfolding.
And to close things off, I willleave you with a quote from
Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Quote (31:41):
The honor that I draw out of this is not that things
will necessarily be better in mylifetime, but that I will make
the contribution that I'msupposed to make.
And that, my friends, concludesthis episode of Please Say the
(32:13):
Dailey.
I know that was a lot ofinformation, but I hope that
this message reaches the peoplethat need to hear it most.
And I hope that you out therecurrently listening were able to
take something from thismessage that I shared today.
Tell me your thoughts about allof this.
How are you feeling aboutwhat's going on around us?
(32:34):
Leave me a comment by clickingthe link in the description box,
or you can head over toInstagram and shoot me a DM at
@VanishaRDailey.
I would love to hear yourthoughts surrounding these
topics.
If you enjoyed this episode,please consider becoming a
sponsor of this podcast so thatI can continue using my voice to
(32:54):
educate and spread awareness.
You'll find that link in thedescription box as well.
Remember, there are manydifferent forms of activism, and
we all have an important roleto play.
We are in very interesting andconcerning times.
It's important that we considerour mental health in these
fragile moments.
So please take care ofyourselves.
(33:15):
Until next time,
You are now tuned in to Vanisha R.
Dailey.
Please Say the Dailey.
Hey, hey y'all! Welcome back toanother episode of Please Say
(00:36):
the Daily with me as your host,and I go by the name of Vanisha
R.
Dailey.
And this is episode 12.
How are you all doing outthere?
I am well, just trying tobalance all of the things
between school and personal lifehappenings.
I do have some pretty cool newsto share with you all though.
(00:58):
Ever since I started thispodcast, more than ever, I've
been told that I need to becomea voice actor of some sort.
And after not even two weeks ofattempting to venture off into
that space, I booked my firstnarration gig.
So now I'll have to be mindfulof protecting my voice and not
(01:18):
overworking it.
But I don't even know howthat's actually possible,
especially with me alwaysrunning my mouth about
something.
Anyway, let's switch up thevibe here because I've been
needing to get some things offmy chest.
But before I do that, please goahead and click the follow
(01:40):
button on this podcast so thatyou can keep up with me in the
future.
There has been so much that hashappened over the past couple
of weeks, and boy, oh boy, do weneed to have a conversation
about it because we are reallyseeing some heavy division
within society right now.
So let's get into it.
As soon as I got on Instagram afew days ago, I discovered the
(02:11):
heartbreaking news that AssataShakur had passed away.
When I saw it, I was reallyhoping that it was just a rumor,
because that wouldn't be thefirst time that certain rumors
about Assata's existence hashappened, and I'll explain why
here shortly.
But unfortunately, her passingaway had been confirmed by her
(02:33):
one and only child, herdaughter, Pakuya Shakur, on
social media.
For those of you who areunfamiliar with Assata Shakur,
she was a freedom fighter,initially a member of the Black
Panther Party, and later becameone of the most prominent
members of the Black LiberationArmy.
(02:54):
She was also a godmother to thelate West Coast rapper Tupac
Shakur.
She had been convicted offirst-degree murder and life in
prison for the death of a policeofficer.
This was a situation that hadtaken place on a turnpike in New
Jersey when two officersstopped the car that Assata and
(03:15):
two other members of the BlackLiberation Army were in.
This resulted in two peoplebeing killed, one of the BLA
members and one of the policeofficers.
Assata continued to maintainher innocence throughout her
life.
She said that she had beenframed, and based off of how
other prominent black figureshad been wrongfully accused by
(03:38):
authorities during the sameexact period, being held up on
charges and serving time behindbars, I have reason to believe
that there is a good chance thatshe was probably telling the
truth.
There had not been any evidenceof her firing a gun.
A neurosurgeon by the name ofDr.
Arthur Davidson, associateprofessor of surgery at Albert
(04:00):
Einstein College of Medicine,testified that it would have
been practically impossible forher to shoot a gun under these
circumstances.
She had been shot in her rightarmpit and left shoulder, which
caused her to be paralyzed inone of her arms.
Her clavicle bone was brokenand a major nerve was damaged
from the bullet impact.
(04:22):
The doctor added that she wasinnocent, and that her injuries
confirmed that her arms wereraised when she had gotten shot
by the officers.
This was an extremelycontroversial case that scholars
and activists have said was apolitically motivated anti-black
case.
And despite all of thisinformation, they still sent her
(04:44):
to prison.
She was there for a couple ofyears.
She was tortured and even putin solitary confinement in the
basement of an all-men's prison.
Talk about unethical.
She eventually escaped with thehelp of two other members of
the Black Liberation Army whowere also affiliated with the
Black Panthers.
(05:05):
It was later discovered thatAssata had been living in exile
in Havana, Cuba.
She was granted asylum by FidelCastro.
And even though she no longerlived in the States, that did
not stop her from continuing tobe vocal about her activism.
And she did that up until shepassed away there in Cuba.
(05:25):
In Oakland, California, Huey P.
Newton created the BlackPanther Party in 1966.
They were anti-capitalism,anti-imperialism, and
anti-racism, and had 48 activechapters all across the United
States from Philadelphia,Atlanta, Chicago.
And I was surprised to learnthat they eventually had a few
(05:50):
chapters overseas as well.
These young activists wereoutraged by the fact that the
civil rights movement did notchange the issues that Black
Americans were facing at thehand of oppression and police
violence.
They were ready to holdpoliticians accountable and were
willing to challenge policeforces for what they believed
(06:10):
in.
They were very organized as agroup and had an unbelievable
amount of power, intelligence,and reach.
We have not seen themobilization of black activism
in this way since then.
And after thinking about it fora bit, I truly believe that
it's because black people of thecivil rights movement were
(06:32):
largely Pan-Africanists.
There was power in theunification of Black people from
all over the globe.
And that's why we haven't seeninfluential movements like these
since, because we're so dividednow.
The members were well versed ontheir mission and what they
were fighting for.
Some of their focuses wereeducation, full access to job
(06:56):
opportunities, fair andimpartial justice in the court
system, access to landownership, housing, and the
ability to feed theircommunities.
Contrary to popular belief, theBlack Panthers were not a group
based on violence, nor werethey a hate group.
They were just very focused andpassionate about their mission.
(07:19):
Freedom, equality, and justicefor black people who had
historically been mistreated inAmerican society.
They had a newspaper thatreached over 100,000 people
across state lines, and withinthis newspaper, they shared the
stories of black people from allover that were dealing with
racial violence and inequality.
(07:40):
They educated the readers byteaching them how to spot
political propaganda that wasset in place to purposefully
misinform, mislead, and redirectthem from their focus.
According to PBS.org, they hadcommunity survival programs that
were there to develop positiveinstitutions to help give access
(08:02):
to viable resources in theircommunities.
They had over 60 programsdedicated to this cause.
They made sure to help otherblack people get registered to
vote.
They set up medical stations.
They even had community fooddrives.
We have the Black Panthers tothank for the free lunch
programs that we see in publicschools today.
(08:24):
These black folks organizing ina successful manner amongst
their own in a country that hascontinued to set obstacles in
place to bar them from havingaccess to upward mobility in
society was huge.
Racist white America was notokay with any of this.
(08:44):
They felt threatened and had tofigure out a way to dismantle
them from continuing on.
The Panthers often foundthemselves in so much trouble
and just being caught up in actsof violence with authorities.
They wanted to put an end tothe Black Panthers.
Edgar J.
Hoover, who was actually thedirector of the FBI at this time
(09:09):
frame, labeled the BlackPanthers as being a terrorist
group.
Now just think about how theword terrorist is viewed in
American society.
This struck fear into people.
After just two years of theorganization running, they were
targeted by the FBI underCOINTELPRO.
And I need y'all to hear me outon this because this is not an
(09:32):
opinion nor speculation.
It has been proven that theFBI, COINTELPRO, murdered,
framed, and spied on people thatwere a part of the Black
Panther Party, in addition toother leaders and organizations
of the civil rights movement.
Marcus Garvey, the NAACP,Thurgood Marshall, and MLK, who
(09:54):
was ultimately killed by them.
Have you ever heard of theAngola III?
This was Robert Hillary King,Albert Woodfox, and Herman
Wallace, who were all BlackPanthers that had been
wrongfully imprisoned.
They served over four decadesof solitary confinement.
They were innocent.
(10:15):
Sadly, Albert Woodfox spent 40years of his life in solitary
confinement, which is apparentlythe longest time ever recorded
in American history.
He was in a six by nine footcell and locked away for 23
hours a day.
He passed away just six yearsafter he was exonerated.
(10:40):
Adding more salt to the wound,two Panther members that went by
the names of Fred Hampton andMark Clark were both killed
during an FBI raid.
They basically set them up andhired an informant by the name
of William O'Neill to give theminside details on the Black
Panthers.
(11:00):
And in this situation, WilliamO'Neill spied on the members and
relayed all of that informationback to the FBI.
This William person was able togive specific details on Fred
Hampton's apartment layout, andhe also drugged him so that the
FBI could successfully attackhim during the raid, where he
(11:22):
was asleep in bed next to hispregnant partner.
This case was eventuallybrought to trial, and the
families of Hampton Clarkreceived a settlement of over $1
million, making it one of thehighest amounts paid out to a
civil rights case.
There are records of more than20 different members being
(11:44):
framed and set up by the FBI.
This forced some of themunderground and away from the
public for their safety.
The Black Liberation Army wascreated to refocus and continue
pushing the goals of the BlackPanther Party and their mission
toward black liberation inAmerican society, power to the
people, they had tostrategically move differently.
(12:07):
It was only when the Panthersstarted exercising their Second
Amendment right to bear armsthat the National Rifle
Association all of a suddenstarted supporting gun
legislation in America.
Yes, you heard correct, it wasonly too much when black people
displayed equal power andability, aka racism.
(12:31):
The members staged a protest onthe stairs of the California
State House, announcing thatthey would officially be bearing
arms to protect themselves.
They would march the streetswearing all black and carrying
rifles.
The powers that be wereinfuriated and wanted to put an
end to black politicalorganizations completely.
(12:54):
It was fair game at this point.
And you know that wheneversituations like these happen in
society, the black people areviewed as the issue while the
main problem gets ignored.
It's not the systemicinequalities, not the racism or
injustice, it's the fact thatblack activists were beginning
to outsmart the very system thatwas set in place to keep them
(13:18):
struggling in every facet oftheir lives.
They didn't want black peopleto have access to resources that
could improve the overallquality of their lives.
Even though the organizationwas slowly dismantled by the
government, COINTELPRO, many ofthe members ventured into
(13:38):
educational spaces and continuedto do the work of grassroots
activism.
Imagine getting bullied everyday at school.
These five kids mess with youevery day.
And then finally, you muster upthe courage, gather your
friends to stand up in defense.
Most people don't see an issuewith that scenario.
(14:00):
But when it's a black politicalgroup holding authority and
politicians accountable, it's athreat.
You know the rest.
How are people notunderstanding this Charlie Kirk
(15:15):
situation and how it's drawingattention to a much bigger
problem that has always beenpresent and always happening
within American society sincewho knows when?
Because let me tell you, if thedepth in which you have to add
to this conversation aboutCharlie is at the shallow, basic
discussion level of whethersomeone's death by way of public
(15:38):
murder is ethical or not, you,my friend, need to put on your
critical thinking cap.
There's so much more to unpackabout this, starting with the
racial double standards thatonly seem to have consequences
when it's a black person or aperson of color.
Marginalized groups of peoplehave never been given even a
(16:02):
minuscule of the grace that hasbeen allotted to CK.
And yet here we are, showing up200,000 deep at his military
memorial, putting flags at halfstaff, and making him out to be
some positive martyr.
Utterly ridiculous, okay?
When I saw all of thishappening, I said to Jesse, I
(16:27):
would not be surprised if theytry to put up a monument
dedicated to him.
And lo and behold, the state ofOklahoma made it happen much
quicker than I would have everthought.
They pushed a bill to havestatues of Charlie Kirk placed
on every university campus inthe state of Oklahoma.
(16:48):
I hate to say it, but I wouldnot be shocked to see that
happen across the United States.
I just found out that they areworking on trying to get his
face on the silver dollar fornext year.
It still has to be signed offby Congress and the president.
But the real question is, ishow did we even get to this
(17:10):
level of idiocy?
This doesn't even seem real atthis point.
African Americans have beendealing with political violence
since we were forcefully broughtinto this country.
It is literally ingrained intothe very fabric of America's
history.
Did we forget about policebrutality?
(17:33):
The same people thatmiraculously felt empathetic
enough to speak up about CharlieKirk have likely been silent
about these other publicmurders.
And how much you want to betthey were the same ones yelling,
Blue Lives Matter! Back theblue! Three mass shootings took
(17:54):
place just this past weekend,and we know that there is a high
chance of the shooters beingwhite men.
Why?
Because this is the commontrend.
There are also multiplegenocides currently happening
throughout the world.
Why hasn't the discussion ofpolitical violence been brought
(18:15):
to the table before now?
Where was the public outragefrom citizens prior to Charlie?
Sounds like selective outrage.
Hello, double standards ofwhiteness.
Charlie Kirk's killer wasabruptly charged with murder
(18:36):
with the potential of facing thedeath penalty, not even a full
week after his death.
While families of black peoplewho lost their lives to
political violence have to hearthat the person who killed their
family member is on leave fromtheir job, collecting a
paycheck.
And rarely do we see thesefamilies get justice from these
(18:57):
acts of violence.
People are literally beingfired from their jobs for being
vocal about the hatred thatCharlie was so loud and proud
about.
Can you believe that a seniorjournalist from the Washington
Post was fired for quoting theexact words of Charlie Kirk?
At least 20 FBI agents arecurrently under fire because
(19:22):
they were found in oldphotographs kneeling in response
to George Floyd, who was killedby a police officer.
But do you all remember howthey kicked Colin Kaepernick to
the curb after he startedkneeling in protest to police
brutality at the NFL games?
Well, conservative fans of theNFL have typically preferred
(19:46):
politics to stay out of thesport, at least that's what they
said.
But a lot of them seem to be infull support of the eight
football teams who chose tocommemorate Charlie Kirk.
Hmm, gotta love those doublestandards of hypocrisy.
You know what?
The first thing that I tooknotice to when Charlie Kirk's
(20:09):
death hit the headlines was howthey were wording the titles of
the news articles, mentioningthat he had a wife and two young
children before discussing thevitriol of the messages that he
spread.
Dr.
Allison Wiltz posted on X,quote, George Floyd was a father
too, and Charlie Kirk calledhim a scumbag.
(20:32):
Hmm.
Yeah, I'll give you a moment onthat.
These journalists are veryaware of what they are doing.
They use specific language tosoften how a person is viewed,
to encourage others to see thegood nature and will within an
individual by humanizing them.
(20:52):
Now, why would they do that?
Well, because they're likelyright-leaning themselves and
biased in Charlie's defense.
Do you think that the mediagave Assata Shakur the same
grace?
I'll let you be the judge.
Here are two articles, bothwritten by the Associated Press
(21:14):
AP News.com.
Assata Shakur, a fugitive blackmilitant sought by the U.S.
since 1979, dies in Cuba.
And then we have Charlie Kirk,who helped build support for
Trump among young people, diesafter campus shooting.
(21:35):
Do you see the differencethere?
They did the same exact thingwith the Katrina victims in New
Orleans, where literallyeveryone was going into stores
trying to find food forsurvival.
But they labeled the Blackpeople as looters in the media,
while white people were viewedas being resourceful in such an
(21:58):
extreme time of need.
What was even the purpose ofusing the word black in the
headline about Assata?
And then they mention youngpeople when referring to
Charlie, to once again show goodgrace to his character.
Oh, he was just so passionateabout leading the youth of the
(22:19):
American people.
Yeah, I bet he was, for goodreason too.
Because they are the mostvulnerable and impressionable to
groom into indoctrination.
They needed someone to pushthose backwards messages of
Charlie's, teach them earlybefore they're able to
consensualize the nonsense thatthey're being fed.
(22:39):
In a Pew research study, theysurveyed 5,000 Black adults to
see how they thought blackpeople were usually depicted in
the media.
An undeniable 63% ofparticipants said that black
people are typically viewed in anegative way compared to other
groups of people.
(23:00):
Only 28% of the participantssaid that they believe that it's
equal.
Now, why they lying?
Charlie Kirk went to differentuniversities to debate young
adults about his beliefs thatwere solely Christo-centric,
traditional, and veryantiquated.
(23:22):
He was unable to have an actualdebate outside of his religious
lens.
And even when he venturedoutside of that, his opinions
were racist, xenophobic, sexist,misogynistic, heavily
homophobic, transphobic.
The way that he had thiselitist way of presenting
himself in these debates spokevolumes to how his fans had
(23:45):
clearly been encouraging him.
Them folks have been blowinghis head up.
When I Googled his name, youknow how a person's stats will
show up on Wikipedia?
Well, apparently he was sixfeet two inches tall, and when I
saw that, it made perfect sensethat he felt even more so
emboldened to conduct himselfwith this arrogant,
(24:08):
hyper-masculine energy that heused to abuse other people to
project dominance and power.
It's an intimidation tactic.
The most concerning thing aboutthis man's death has been the
extreme denial, not just fromthe media in general, but people
on social media.
(24:29):
Have we forgotten that we arein a digital age where any and
everything that you post via theinternet will forever exist?
It's very easy to find so manyexamples of him spreading
malice.
And still, the amount of peoplethat have tried to shift his
character into being that ofintegrity is mind-boggling.
(24:54):
William Wolfe, who is theexecutive director for the
Center for Baptist Leadership,posted on X, quote, his entire
project was built on reachingacross the divide and using
speech, not violence, to addressand resolve issues.
(25:14):
End quote.
Now, why does this quote soundlike it's about MLK?
Somebody tell me.
Because that would make waymore sense if that's who this
was about.
But it ain't.
Charlie has said that some gundeaths every year are necessary
so that we can have the SecondAmendment to protect our
(25:38):
God-given rights.
This is at the same time thatwe are seeing a major influx of
mass shootings all over.
How much hatred and extremismcan a person spread on a public
platform and still be embracedby society?
Clearly, more than I realizedbecause the things that Charlie
(26:00):
has said is wild.
And I know you all have heard alot of this stuff already, but
trigger warning.
He said that he supports publicexecution and that children
should also witness thesekillings happen so that they
learn early on that this is whathappens to people that make bad
decisions.
Something else that Charlieasserted was that young women
(26:23):
should do away with modernityand should get married earlier
on and have multiple children.
At another event of his, therewas a 14-year-old girl who said
that she wanted to go to schoolto be a political journalist,
but she wanted to hear CharlieKirk's opinion about it because
she knew that he was not insupport of higher education.
(26:45):
This man really sat up thereand said, there needs to be an
MRS degree, which is theimplication of women going to
school just to find a husband.
He said that she should go toschool to find a life partner,
and that college is a scam.
But also, going to college is agood idea if you're going to
(27:09):
find a husband.
Um, is this your king?
Okay, quick side story.
I honestly contemplated noteven adding this part into the
episode because it's just socrazy and ridiculous.
I don't even have the words forit, honestly, but I think it's
necessary that I spreadawareness and hopefully bring
(27:32):
some attention to the weirdstuff that is currently
happening in our society.
So while I was doing researchfor this episode, I wanted to
find direct quotes directly fromCharlie Kirk, things that he
said, right?
I ended up finding his podcast,which was featured on a website
called Rumble.com.
I've never heard of it, butthere were so many red flags
(27:54):
around this entire situation.
Starting off with how when Ifinally found the video that I
was looking for, the audiowasn't working on it.
It was muted.
And then they wouldn't let meskip any of the ads.
Anytime I tried to skip the ad,it would just replay over and
over.
Then it clicked that they'relikely trying to cover his
(28:15):
tracks up a bit.
Okay, fine.
So I made a fake account to getonto the website and have full
access to the video.
When I got on the website, noteven 15 seconds into the video,
they kept trying to make me addmore information to my account.
It's almost like they werevetting me.
They wanted to know what othertypes of things I was interested
(28:37):
in as far as the podcasts.
And of course, whose podcastwas number one on the list and
already selected?
Charlie Kirk's.
Go figure.
When I finally made it back tothe video, it kept playing these
weird AI-generated ads, andsomething told me to just take a
moment and actually look atwhat the ads were about.
(28:58):
And wow, I could not have madethis stuff up.
This is not satire.
This is real.
This is what I saw and heard.
They played an advertisementthat talked about an ointment
that you could use to grow a newset of teeth, y'all.
I'm not kidding.
There was another video thattalked about an herb that cures
(29:21):
dementia, as well as a berrythat can cure your high
cholesterol.
All of these videos wereliterally centered around the
healthcare industry, big pharma,and they kept using these
trigger words and were basicallyprefacing the messages to make
it seem as though you don't needthe medical industry at all,
and that you can take mattersinto your own hands.
(29:43):
This sort of false informationbeing publicized on such a major
platform tells me that theyknow that they can pull the wool
over their followers' eyes,because in the kindest way to
say it, they'll be none thewiser.
So of course they have peoplefollowing this mess without
question.
Let's not forget, Charlie Kirkhas a major organization by the
(30:08):
name of Turning Point USA thatwas actually just listed as an
extremist group.
And even with that information,they still decided to
intertwine that organization inpublic school systems across the
USA.
Unfortunately, thisorganization will continue to
(30:29):
grow as Well, now that his wifeis in control of it.
There are so many issues withall of this.
Do not let this be youbelieving this nonsense.
Please do your research, askquestions, find trusted sources
and individuals that are actualexperts in their fields.
(30:50):
Charlie Kirk was not an expert,and even with that, he still
had such a big following.
As I've observed how people areresponding to all of this stuff
that's happening and watchingpeople align with Charlie, which
is alarming in itself, morethan ever, I can see just how
(31:11):
deeply seated white supremacy isin this country.
So we have to use discernmentand the power that we do have to
organize, educate ourselves,and those around us.
Share information and continueto be aware.
Because being silent,complacent, naive, or convincing
yourself that this isn't yourfight will not protect you from
(31:34):
what is unfolding.
And to close things off, I willleave you with a quote from
Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Quote (31:41):
The honor that I draw out of this is not that things
will necessarily be better in mylifetime, but that I will make
the contribution that I'msupposed to make.
And that, my friends, concludesthis episode of Please Say the
(32:13):
Dailey.
I know that was a lot ofinformation, but I hope that
this message reaches the peoplethat need to hear it most.
And I hope that you out therecurrently listening were able to
take something from thismessage that I shared today.
Tell me your thoughts about allof this.
How are you feeling aboutwhat's going on around us?
(32:34):
Leave me a comment by clickingthe link in the description box,
or you can head over toInstagram and shoot me a DM at
@VanishaRDailey.
I would love to hear yourthoughts surrounding these
topics.
If you enjoyed this episode,please consider becoming a
sponsor of this podcast so thatI can continue using my voice to
(32:54):
educate and spread awareness.
You'll find that link in thedescription box as well.
Remember, there are manydifferent forms of activism, and
we all have an important roleto play.
We are in very interesting andconcerning times.
It's important that we considerour mental health in these
fragile moments.
So please take care ofyourselves.
(33:15):
Until next time,
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Bobby Bones Show
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.