#TalkRadio – August 29: Racial Hate and Black Death

SPEAKERS:

Adora Obi Nweze: 12:00 PM – 12:57 PM ET
Member of the National NAACP Board of Directors; President, Florida NAACP; past educator in Florida

State Senator Tracie Davis: 12:00 PM – 12:57 PM ET
Florida State Senator for District 5; Former Florida State Representative for District 13; Former Deputy Supervisor of Elections; Advocate for the people of Jacksonville

Carmen Bolden Day: 12:00 PM – 12:57 PM ET
Founder of the Jelani Day Foundation; Mother of Jelani Day, a 25-year-old graduate student at Illinois State University whose body was found in the Illinois River; Carmen participated in the March on Washington’s 60th Anniversary this past Saturday

INTRODUCTION:

The Igniting Change Radio Show on Tuesday, August 29th, 2023, from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM Eastern Time, entitled, “Racial Hate and Black Death: Jacksonville Shooting, Jelani Day, and Ta’Kiya Young”, will be live with Radio Show Co-Hosts and Transformative Justice Coalition (TJC) Co-Leaders Attorneys Barbara Arnwine, Esq. and Daryl Jones, Esq. and guests Adora Obi Nweze; Florida State Senator Tracie Davis; and, Carmen Bolden Day.

This show will examine the serious threat of racist domestic terrorism as most recently exemplified by the racist murders of three Black people in Jacksonville, Florida and the troubling shooting of Ta’Kiya Young by police. We will also hear the story from Jelani Day’s mother’s heartbreaking quest to have a real investigation conducted of his death. 

The Jacksonville Shooting – “Jacksonville shooter killed Black shoppers with legally purchased guns”, August 28th, 2023 Article

It is important to note that in May 2023, the Florida NAACP issued a travel advisory warning Black people that Florida was a hostile state due to the policies of its Governor, which can be read here: https://naacp.org/articles/naacp-issues-travel-advisory-florida. “The formal travel notice states, ‘Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals. Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color.’…[NAACP President & CEO Derrick Johnson stated] ‘Under the leadership of Governor Desantis, the state of Florida has become hostile to Black Americans and in direct conflict with the democratic ideals that our union was founded upon.’”

The Jacksonville Shooting in particular has affected TJC. In June of this year, TJC, with the Florida NAACP conducted a 7-day “Stay Woke!, Florida” Rolling Protest to oppose the anti-Black, anti-LGBTQIA, anti-women, and book banning policies of Florida Gov. Ron Desantis and the Florida State Legislature. Despite Desantis’ appearance at a vigil for the shooting victims in which he decried the murders, TJC officially takes the position that this hate crime was precipitated by his inflammatory hateful rhetoric and actions. 

Jelani Day- “Jelani Day’s mother shares new developments two years later”, August 26th, 2023 Article

Learn more about the Jelani Day Foundation. https://www.thejelanidayfoundation.org/ “The Jelani Day Foundation (JDF) is at the forefront of the fight for change and equity to ensure families of color have the help and momentum needed during the search for their missing loved ones. Our focus is to ensure families have the dignity and respect that should be afforded to every human, regardless of race. The JDF provides financial, emotional, and professional resources for families of color in their critical, time-sensitive plight to reunite with their missing loved ones. Nothing can eliminate the pain of receiving the horrifying, life-changing news of a missing loved one; however, JDF plans to bridge the gap of disparity for those at-risk of systemic racial bias and discrimination during the process of their search.”

Ta’Kiya Young- “Blendon Twp. bodycam video in shooting of Ta’Kiya Young to be shown to family before release”, August 28th, 2023 Article

QUESTIONS:

SEGMENT ONE

• [Barbara and Daryl will give a reminder on the Black Farmers’ Discrimination Fund and thank those that helped to recruit the next Gen Z and Millennial Votes Matter Training, with 156 applications and Florida having the most applications.]
• What was your first reaction when you heard about the Jacksonville murders hours after the March on Washington?
• Senator Davis, was the actions of this racist killer foreseeable?
• President Adora, in May, the NAACP issued a travel advisory warning people that Florida was hostile to Black people, People of Color, and those in the LGBTQIA community. At that time, the Governor called the advisory a “joke”. What are your thoughts about that reaction today?

SEGMENT TWO

• Carmen Day, do you have a word to the people of Jacksonville?
• Carmen Day, it has now been two years since Jelani went missing and his body was then found under mysterious circumstances. What is it that you need from this nation, now, to address his death?
• Senator Davis and President Adora, are you familiar with Jelani’s story? 
• In these instances, how do we ensure that law enforcement does its duty?

SEGMENT THREE

• Senator Davis and President Adora, what words do you have for Carmen?
• Senator Davis, in your comments to MSNBC and other media, you have noted that a lot of blame belongs to the Florida State Legislature. What would be a righteous response to this situation?
• In the national coverage so far of the shooting, there are some predictable patterns that are emerging, such as everyone talking about mental illness, not guns or mental illness, not racism. How do we change the narrative?
• Racist hate always promotes racist violence. How do we get that principle understood in this time, especially as candidates are campaigning, many with a White Supremacist agenda? 
• Nearly every day, police kill at least one Black person and often, even where people are victims of unjustified shootings of unarmed Black people, these cases do not get national attention, like Ta’Kiya Young. We want to use this opportunity in this show to lift up her name and this cause. You will hear more from us in the future about her case and the situation.

SEGMENT FOUR

• [Barbara and Daryl will give reminder on the Black Farmers’ Discrimination Fund]
• Carmen, what has it meant to have your Foundation, and what does it do? How can people be supportive of you?
• Senator Davis and President Adora, what should people do right now to support Jacksonville: how do we help the families of the victims and help Florida?
• What are your final thoughts to our listeners?
• Thank you for all of your hard work. How do our listeners get in contact with you?

[Questions for USDA about the Black Farmers’ Fund]

• On Friday, July 7th, the USDA announced this $2.2 billion fund for Black Farmers. What is this fund?
• Let’s talk about some specifics of this fund. Who is eligible? 
• Let’s discuss who can apply and how can they apply to this new fund?
• How do we best outreach to all of these farmers, particularly Black farmers, who are eligible?

Final Questions to guests:

• What is the major work that you’re pursuing right now?
• 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 2023 and 2024?
• What are your final thoughts to our listeners?
• Thank you for all of your hard work. How do our listeners get in contact with you?