#TalkRadio – April 2: A Special Week in The Fight for Racial Justice: Greenwood, Oklahoma Supreme Court Argument; Ahmaud Arbery 11th Circuit Hearing Update; and, a New Generation Stands Up In Phoenix

SPEAKERS:

Chief Egunwale Amusan: 12:00 PM – 12:30 PM ET
Commonly known as Chief Amusan ( pronounced Amooshawn), Chief Egunwale Amusan  is a Consultant and History Recovery Specialist who is a highly sought-after expert regarding the history of Greenwood; Former Advisor to the Black Wall Street Chamber of Commerce; Founder of the Black Wall Street Memorial March. which has been active for the past 29 years; Descendant of 3 Tulsa Massacre Survivors;  Owner of The Real Black Wall Street Tour Company; Board member at the Center of Public Secrets; Member of the Tulsa Remembrance Coalition, working in Partnership with Bryan Stevenson and the Equal Justice Initiative; Film consultant and Executive Producer of the documentary “Oaklawn”, which focuses on the 1921 Mass Graves investigation; Active member of the Oversight Committee; President of the African Ancestral Society, which has a social justice arm that works closely with Justice for Greenwood, the Terence Crutcher Foundation, HRW (Human Rights Watch), ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), and the LDF (Legal Defense and Educational Fund); Author of the new book “America’s Black Wall Street” 

Diane Arbery Jackson: 12:20 PM – 12:57 PM ET
Oldest Aunt of Ahmuad Arbery who was murdered by three racist White men for “jogging while Black” in “their neighborhood”. She is considered the matriarch of the family.

Rev. Dr. Cathy Clardy Patterson, Esq.: 12:30 PM – 12:57 PM ET
Senior Pastor, Fountain of Life Church in Scottsdale, Arizona; CEO of Empowering Arizona

Eldric Coleman: 12:30 PM – 12:57 PM ET
TJC Trainee for the April 2024 Phoenix Gen Z and Millennial Votes Matter Leadership Training; the State of Alabama Youth & College Division President; Student at Alabama State University; Member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity; has hosted events to get people registered to vote

Shaughnessy Rickmon: 12:30 PM – 12:57 PM ET
TJC Trainee for the April 2024 Phoenix Gen Z and Millennial Votes Matter Leadership Training; A native of Mississippi who is a Community organizer. She led a 16 week campaign that focused on voter registration, voter education, voter protection, and Get Out the Vote. It was a non-partisan effort to register and mobilize young Mississippians to vote in EVERY election. During the first 8 weeks, the campaign brought together college students, community volunteers, and grassroots organizations to register new voters and update voter information ahead of elections. She also hosted political education forums and canvassing/voter registration training around the state for volunteers. She was instrumental in making sure people got to the polls and vote. 

INTRODUCTION:

The Igniting Change Radio Show on Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024, from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Eastern Time, entitled, “A Special Week in The Fight for Racial Justice: Greenwood, Oklahoma Supreme Court Argument; Ahmaud Arbery 11th Circuit Hearing Update; and, a New Generation Stands Up In Phoenix”, will be live with Radio Show Co-Hosts and Transformative Justice Coalition (TJC) Co-Leaders Attorneys Barbara Arnwine, Esq. and Daryl Jones, Esq. and will feature special guests Chief Egunwale Amusan, Diane Arbery Jackson, Rev. Dr. Cathy Clardy Patterson, Esq., Shaughnessy Rickmon, and Eldric Coleman. We just want to remind our audience that April 4th will mark the 56th Anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is significant that so many issues of racial justice are at the forefront of our national attention. Our show will discuss three of these events. Diane Arbery Jackson will review the last week’s March 27th TJC and Allies’ Prayer Vigil and Rally for the Arbery Family at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. Listeners will learn a lot from hearing Chief Egunwale Amusan’s perspectives regarding the long fight for Justice for the Greenwood community and April 2nd Oklahoma Supreme Court argument. Eldric Coleman and Shaughnessy Rickmon are two people who will be trained this week in Phoenix, Arizona at the April 2024 TJC Gen Z and Millennial Votes Matter Leadership Training and will discuss why they applied and what they’re looking forward to about the training experience. During this Training, the Trainees will volunteer for a community service project at TJC’s “Full Court Press” Community Fair. Rev. Dr. Cathy Clardy Patterson, Esq., who has helped organize this Community Fair, will discuss the specifics of the event. 

On Wednesday, March 27th, Barbara and Daryl were in Atlanta, Georgia for the Transformative Justice Coalition and Allies’ Prayer Vigil and Rally for the Arbery Family that occurred prior to oral arguments before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals by the murderers of Ahmuad Arbery seeking to overturn their convictions of hate crimes. For background on the Amuad Arbery case, see: https://campaignlp.constantcontact.com/em/1122865384673/0b809be1-402f-4f6a-9efa-70907c014cd7 

The Next Gen Z and Millennial Votes Matter Training will be held this week, April 3rd – 8th in Phoenix, Arizona during the HBCU All-Stars 2024 games. This paid training opportunity will follow a train-the-trainer model and prepare 50 young people to go into their communities as voting rights advocates. Since 2016, TJC has invested in 15 trainings to enhance the leadership skills of those 18 – 35 years of age. 

During this Training, the The Transformative Justice Coalition (TJC), the Phoenix Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Empowering Arizona, and the Zion Institute are inviting the Phoenix Community to join them for a Full Court Press Community Fair at “The Well” on Saturday, April 6th from 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM at the Zion Institute, 1522 E. Southern Ave, Phoenix, AZ. This Community Fair will coincide with two major events: the HBCU All Stars Weekend and TJC’s Gen Z and Millennial Voting Rights Leadership Training. The fifty Gen Z and young Millennial leaders being trained by TJC will be volunteering to pass out books, basketballs, t-shirts, John Lewis buttons, and voter education information. The Phoenix Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta will be hosting free community and personal empowerment workshops. Empowering Arizona, which has worked with TJC for a number of years, will continue their leadership in providing voter registration and other nonpartisan voter education to empower Arizona voters. The Zion Institute is proud to once again host and serve the South Phoenix Community through this very special once-in-a-lifetime “Full Court Press” Community Fair. For more information, contact the front desk of the Zion Institute at 602-314-6022 or by email at adiaz@thezioninstitute.org. 

On April 1st, Justice for Greenwood sent out an email blast stating:

“April 2nd marks a significant juncture for the almost 103-year-old case in [Greenwood, Oklahoma]—this is our opportunity for a chance to get the justice we deserve by continuing our case in the Oklahoma District Courts. For over two decades, our founder Attorney Damario Solomon Simmons has steadfastly dedicated his career to this case and others like it, advocating for our community. Yet, we’ve never reached this critical stage in the 102 years Greenwood has faced this legal battle. For once this case deserves its chance to move forward. So many survivors have passed without witnessing this moment—only two remain, Lessing Benningfield Randle and Viola Ford Fletcher, both 109 years old. We can only hope that they will see the justice they’ve fought so hard for. On April 2nd at 1:30 PM CST, Justice for Greenwood is hosting a watch party for the Oral Arguments before the Supreme Court. Tune in at JusticeforGreenwood.org/watchparty.   

“For those in Tulsa seeking the energy of like-minded individuals, our local partners at The Terence Crutcher Foundation are hosting a watch party. Click here to register to join them. If you’re nearer to Oklahoma City, you can also view the event at Live Free OKC and Spiked Coffee. This isn’t just another hearing; it’s a plea to advance our case towards the justice it deserves.” (emphasis in original)

QUESTIONS:

• We just want to remind our audience that April 4th will mark the 56th Anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is significant that so many issues of racial justice are at the forefront of our national attention. Our show will discuss three of these events. 
• We want to welcome for his inaugural appearance on the show Chief Egunwale Amusan. Chief Amusan, you are the descendant of 3 Tulsa Massacre Survivors. Please tell our audience what happened between May 31 and June 1, 1921.
• Chief Amusan, tomorrow history will be made in Oklahoma after 102 years in the legal quest for justice after the Tulsa Massacre. Why is tomorrow’s Oklahoma Supreme Court Hearing important?
• Chief Amusan, please tell people about the two living survivors, Lessing Benningfield Randle and Viola Ford Fletcher, who are both 109 years old?
• Chief Amusan, how has the Community been reacting to the fact the Oklahoma Supreme Court will be hearing this case after these many years?
• Chief Amusan, how can people throughout the country and in Tulsa, Oklahoma join the Greenwood for Justice Watch Parties viewing today’s Oral Arguments?
• Chief Amusan, what do you think is the most important grassroots organizing that you think needs to happen in order to ensure strong voter protection and engagement in November 2024?
• Chief Amusan, what are your final thoughts to our listeners?
• Chief Amusan, thank you for all of your hard work. How do our listeners get in contact with you?
• Diane Arbery Jackson, last week, we were in Court in Atlanta, Georgia to hear oral arguments before the 11th Circuit of the murderers of Ahmuad Arbery who were seeking to have their hate crimes convictions overturned. You and your family showed up in force as did so many community members and TJC, NAACP Georgia, Black Voters Matters, and others. How did you think the arguments went?
• Diane, what did it mean to you to have the protest and press conference afterwards?
• Daryl Jones will direct people that they can watch the press conference from the Arbery Hearing on the Transformative Justice Coalition’s YouTube channel.
• Diane, What are the next steps?
• Diane, What are your final thoughts to our listeners?
• Diane, Thank you for all of your hard work. How do our listeners get in contact with you?
• Welcome to the show, Rev. Dr. Cathy Clardy Patterson, Esq.,  Eldric Coleman, and Shaughnessy Rickmon. Please introduce yourselves.
• Congratulations to Shaughnessy and Eldric on being accepted into the April 2024 Phoenix, Arizona Class of the Gen Z and Millennial Voting Rights Leadership Training held April 2nd – 8th. What are your hopes for this coming week?
• Rev. Dr. Cathy, our sincere thanks to you for all of your hard work in putting the “Full Court Press” Community Fair event together. This event will serve as the community engagement for the leadership training and as a fun and educational family event for the Phoenix Community. Please discuss with our listeners some highlights of this Community Fair and how our listeners get involved.
• Rev. Dr. Cathy, What are your final thoughts to our listeners?
• Rev. Dr. Cathy, Eldric, and Shaughnessy, Thank you for all of your hard work. How do our listeners get in contact with each of you?