"I Rise"

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -Now is the time -- -Now is the time -- -Now is the time - -To make a change.

♪♪ -Now is the time for action.

-To change the world for the better.

♪♪ -We need to stop over-policing black and brown students.

I'm nervous.

They don't need police.

They need more counselors.

We were there.

And I loved it.

-"Romeo and Katrina" is centered on an Asian and Black love story.

-I'm doing something good.

I'm doing something to help other people.

Why can't you see that?

-We have to get as many legislators as possible to pass police reform bills.

-I'm the number one target for white supremacists.

-Don't you pull out that [beep] gun out.

-Just today we got a death threat.

-I have accepted that I might have to die, but I'm not accepting that my family has to die.

If you mess with a black kid, I am coming for you.

♪♪ ♪♪ [ Group vocalizing ] ♪♪ ♪♪ -Now is the time for everyone to step up and fight against racism and oppression.

-Now is the time to take action.

-[ All shout ] -Black Lives Matter.

Black Lives Matter.

-♪ You should've been downtown ♪ ♪ The people are risin' ♪ -Now is the time for a new generation of superheroes to finish the unfinished business of the Civil Rights Movement.

-Our tool is our democracy.

-Activism, organizing, and artistic expression.

-We're knocking on doors, we're getting people activated.

-Sign petitions and call representatives.

-And do the hard work.

-And as the late, great brother John Lewis would proclaim, make good trouble.

-♪ Oh my, time heals all but you outta time now ♪ ♪ Judge gotta watch us from the clock tower ♪ ♪ Lil' tear gas cleared the whole place out ♪ ♪ I'll be back with the hazmat for the next round ♪ -This work is not easy.

-It can be emotional and overwhelming.

-And it takes a lot on your mental health.

-It's going to require a lot of resilience, strength, and courage.

-And each of us need to do our part.

-Because the time is now.

-And because I believe and because I hope.

-The time is now.

-Right now.

-You know what?

You're not in trouble.

Can you come into the precinct for me?

-Um...no.

-If you didn't do anything wrong, what do you have to hide?

-No.

Everything can be dealt with here, right?

-"Am I suspected of committing a crime, or am I free to go?

Am I suspected of committing a crime, or am I free to go?"

And say, "You know what, police?

I'm gonna call Black Lives Matter Utah.

I'm gonna call Lex, and she's coming right over here."

How do I look?

Ooh.

I'm glad I looked at that.

I'm Lex, I'm the founder of Black Lives Matter Utah.

Okay.

My start to activism was in 2014, 2015, when Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner were murdered.

In recent years, homicides committed by police were ranked the second highest rate of death in the state.

And Utah has the highest rate of in-custody deaths in the nation.

-What are you doing?

-Police here are a fraternity of bullies.

-I'm on the ground.

I'm on the ground.

Why are you fighting me?

-A black person is suspect immediately.

I've been profiled many times driving.

That's one of the reasons my wife does most of the driving.

-When I was with my wife, who is white, and my kids, the police officer pulled me over.

He came over to my wife's side of the vehicle and proceeded to ask her if she was there of her own volition and if I had raped her or anything like that, while our kids were in the back of the van.

-September 10th, I get a phone call that a police officer shot and killed my cousin Bobby Duckworth.

Bobby was experiencing a mental health crisis.

Police showed up, shot and killed him.

Shot him seven times.

-On March 23rd, 2019, our son had been shot 11 times in his home by police.

Jamal will be permanently disabled for the rest of his life.

-I moved to Utah when I was one year old and the bullying started in my life here.

Kids making fun of my hair, kids making fun of my butt.

A kid would drive by my house in the middle of the night and scream, "We're gonna kill you, N-word."

And sometimes it was physical abuse.

I was being raped every day by my daycare provider.

So, I was just victimized.

But I grew up, and I'm angry.

If you mess with a black kid, I am coming for you.

I will be the person I needed when I was a kid.

Our organizational structure is truly a multi-pronged approach.

We hit the streets to protest police who brutalize and murder people.

We work with legislators on both sides of the aisle to pass legislation that would stop police brutality from occurring.

And we also work with police to hold them accountable for their actions and to correct the wrongs that they've already committed.

[ Cheering and applause ] Oh, I can't hear you!

[ Cheering louder ] -I went to my first protest, and I saw Lex on the stage and I got chills.

This is who I wanna follow.

-Activism is the hardest thing I've ever done.

Doors have been slammed in my face.

I've been called too controversial.

-If you're outspoken here, you're watched.

On top of that, you're getting death threats.

-Hey, don't you pull that [bleep] gun out.

-Some people think we're terrorists.

We are hunted by white supremacists and by several militia groups.

-You don't need to know my name.

-No, you don't need to know my name.

-It's like trauma, death, infighting, and failure.

Good morning.

-Morning.

-Do you know most people don't eat fried chicken for breakfast?

-Did you know most people don't film their daughters while they're eating?

-We have to have a sense of humor to survive civil rights.

So, we use comedy to make things light in the house for Bliss, for everybody.

This is my husband.

What are you guys doing now?

-Just hanging out.

-Look at me.

One, two, three.

I have such a beautiful family.

This is Tab Uno.

I'm gonna doorknock for you today.

-Hello.

This is my dog bite from campaigning, right there.

-And what are you running for?

-The glorious opportunity to be a Utah House of Representatives member.

-The 2020 Election is important for so many reasons, but to people here in Utah, the key races in the House could change the trajectory of police reform throughout the state.

I can go anywhere.

So, I'm out here canvassing to get Tab Uno elected.

For me, it's not really about which party you're affiliated with; when it comes to keeping my people safe, I'm willing to work with whoever I can to make sure that we get police reform done.

This election is so crucial.

I'm big scared that we might lose, um... everything.

[ Voice breaking ] -When I told her, it's like, "Hey, you know, I'm supporting Black Lives Matter."

I'm paraphrasing a lot.

But immediately my mom goes straight to, like -- [ Imitating rapid dialogue ] -I see this a lot with the Vietnamese community, especially older generations, is that, with the Black Lives Matter movement, it's highly traumatic and triggering.

The moment she heard the words "Black Lives Matter," that's probably where her mind went because that's the extreme that she's hearing from the news.

And that's what she's scared of.

-I'm doing something good.

I'm doing something to help other people.

-Yeah.

-Why can't you see that?

Okay.

You got your plate?

I got my plate.

Let's roll some spring rolls.

-It's a masterpiece.

-Ooh!

That looks so good.

-No, it's a masterpiece of sloppy.

-My name is Christine.

I was born and raised on the Westbank of New Orleans.

I'm Vietnamese-American.

I'm a child of refugees.

Interior, various homes in New Orleans, night.

[Clap].

The musical that I'm writing, "Romeo and Katrina," is centered on an Asian and Black love story.

It's an all-Asian and Black cast.

"Romeo and Katrina," it is centered on a love story that I have experienced.

Remember when I was in high school -- -Yeah.

-And I went to that black -- the dance with the -- with that black guy, and you were like, "Ugh"?

Remember?

-Yeah -- but if we got married, you said my life would be more difficult, right?

-True.

-Yeah.

True?

Yeah.

It's harder for -- Because of the what?

Complexion?

It's harder if you're black, huh?

I pushed back on her, and I remember saying that, you know, love wins, and... and if we had mixed race kids, they would be beautiful because they would be my kids.

There she goes.

I didn't marry someone black.

Instead, I actually married someone white, who's a beautiful human being, and I love my husband and I love our daughter, but I realized that maybe my life is safer because I married someone white.

And that is so fundamentally wrong.

Disrupting racism one play at a time -- that's my way to hopefully share my vision of the future, my vision of what the world can be.

And I wanted to share those feelings with my mom.

"Why are you running to problems?"

she said.

You know, just like, "Keep your head down.

That's not your problem."

I don't wanna ask for problems.

I don't wanna break the peace in my family.

I don't want to lose what we worked so hard for.

But I do wanna try to make the world better.

[ Ringing ] -Hello?

-Hi, Ma.

How are you?

-Yeah?

-I just wanna share with you, you know, my first, uh... My first musical is on Saturday.

I want her to watch the show.

I want her to enjoy it and show she approves of my choices and my friends.

At the end of the show, I might ask you a question and pull you up on the camera and ask you what you think about the show.

-Okay.

-Is that good?

-Okay.

-So, let's make a show.

-Surveillance footage caught 38-year-old School Resource Officer, look at that, Willard Miller manhandling -- -He choked her.

-...the 15-year-old girl at a school for children with special needs.

-He literally choked her and then slammed her.

And she literally had her hands in her pocket.

That's -- Wow.

SROs stand for School Resource Officers.

Contract-wise, they are supposed to build a healthy relationship with the school students and themselves.

In real life, they're traumatizing as hell.

This particular video happened at St. Paul, Minnesota.

-You're under arrest.

-For what?

-Trespassing.

-Trespassing?

-I was coming to talk to a teacher.

I was trying to talk to -- [ Screaming ] -Data shows when police officers are present, suspensions go up, we have higher dropout rates and lower graduation rates.

-A school resource officer escorting a middle school boy lifts and body-slams him.

-It's kind of like more to protect and serve white students, whereas it's like law and order for black students.

How is that a conducive environment when you're continuously scared, when you see what's happening to individuals who look like you, and then you're placed in schools which are supposed to be a safe place for you to learn?

-Principal Kevin Murray helps Officer Shaulis hold Williams down, while the teen... -Wow.

-...is handcuffed and Tasered.

-And then we ask ourselves, "Why do we have such a big achievement gap?

Why are black and brown students not performing well?"

I'm gonna start off by reading the open letter we sent as Ignite the Youth, a group of former and current students, to Superintendent Peterson and all of the school board members.

I started Ignite the Youth to remove school resource officers out of three of our 19 schools.

Only three schools have officers.

And what we're saying is we need to stop over-policing black and brown students and start investing in restorative justice practices, more after-school programming, more tutoring.

This is my old high school.

It's both like a site of, you know, memories, like, growing up, but also a site of being referred to the criminal justice system.

I was about 16, I'd say.

Me and this white individual would continuously go at it within our school.

Every time I would make a complaint or she would make a complaint, she would always get more understanding as opposed to the understanding I would get.

And then it went to a boiling point where we got into a physical altercation.

The assistant principal literally left all angry, came back with the officer, and he's like, "I want her charged now."

And so, I was charged with a felony assault.

And I was the only individual that was charged.

And it was scary.

[ Music playing in background ] [ Lighting burner ] My parents are originally from Somalia.

There's 10 of us altogether; six sisters, two brothers, and then my mom and dad.

My dad gets really excited when he sees me on the local newspaper.

He's like, "Oh, my God, I seen you on the paper!"

My mom gets very scared, I'd say; you know, like she tries not to mess things up too much.

It's like, this is a white man's world; you know, like you just kind of navigate it and try to fight your way slowly.

And so, I think...

I think she's more scared.

So, we have seven board members within our district.

The school resource officer contract ends on December 31st.

We're trying to get four board members to vote to not renew the contract with the City of Mankato and the Mankato Police Department.

We need four of them to vote against it because it's the majority.

The vote is happening December 21st.

What's standing in my way is white board members and a white superintendent with his white cabinet not being able to grasp just a little bit on why black and brown students do not feel safe with police officers in schools.

Some of the comments, messages, we have gotten: "It's these terrorists we need the cops for."

"Black Students Matter," and then, "So do white students."

"F to the hell off and just go back if you don't like it!"

They're intense.

It's scary.

But it's not scary enough to have me stop doing this work.

-Now is the time -- -For racial healing and true transformation.

-I founded the Black Lives Matter Tulsa chapter.

We have one of the worst pasts in history when it comes to racial issues.

And we can date back to 1921, the race massacre.

-I'm actually standing here in historic Black Wall Street.

During the 1921 race massacre, my great-grandfather saw bodies dumped off along the side of the railroad track.

This was all done in an effort to cover up one of the worst race massacres in the history of our nation.

-I was at a meeting in 2018 which put the search for mass graves into motion.

It's important to reconcile so you can build trust.

-This is my home town.

My group has been working to raise awareness about the 1919 Corbin race riot.

-In 1919, white vigilantes expelled all of the African-American citizens of this community.

-We've gathered these documents which are primary testimonies from victims of the 1919 race riot.

-Just as we as people need to come to grips with our traumas in order to overcome them, communities do, too.

-The story I had to learn was of my great-great-grandmother's 12,000-acre sugar plantation.

While there's no way that we can ever fully return what's been stolen from black and indigenous people, it's the work of my lifetime to keep showing up.

All of us white people do so anonymously.

We've been moving money to the Sogorea Te Land Trust and to the Black Solidarity Fund.

-I spent five years incarcerated from the time that I was 16 to 21.

There are a lot of people of color in the same position that I am and do not have what is considered liberty to grow to your fullest potential.

Now, I work for the Racial Justice Coalition.

My most recent success was getting a local reparations resolution passed unanimously.

-It's important to heal the wounds to be able to go on into the future.

And so that generations and generations to come will have an understanding of being unified and working together.

The truth is always important.

-So these are our police brutality victims murals.

The majority of the bills that we have up on the Hill represents a victim of police brutality, and that is the case for the Valencia family.

Bryan Valencia was a Spartan Race runner.

He ran competitively.

He ran marathons.

They're exercising out here in his honor right now.

-Yes, we are -- he, uh, you know, he loved burpees.

He loved to exercise.

Show me your burpee.

There we go.

-Say "yeah"!

-Bryan put himself into rehab and he spent 30 days there.

He was getting out the next day.

And his family gets a call that police shot and killed him.

What happened?

We don't have the body cam footage.

It's been over six months.

That's why we want a bill that says all body cam footage has to be released within 10 days of every officer-involved shooting, unedited with sound.

Because every time someone is killed by police, the district attorney gets up on the news and justifies the shooting.

Justice for Bryan.

-Yep, justice for Bryan.

-You might help us with some police reform bills?

Yeah.

Okay.

Thank you so much, Mr. Wheatley.

Thank you so much.

Bye.

Whoo!

-I'm out here honking and waving.

And I'm...

I'm dancing a little.

We're playing chess, not checkers.

We're playing the long game, and that means you get the right people into office, then you get your police reform bills passed.

Say, "We love Tab Uno!"

-We love Tab Uno!

-Got two copies of the Chronicle.

There we are, listed under "Theatre."

I am praying that I get a lot of guidance.

I want to make sure that Albert gets the accent right.

He's playing the father.

And in order to get that right, I need to speak to somebody who has that accent.

I'm using my art to build community.

How do I build that connection with my mom?

I'm thinking: have her be part of my process.

"Romeo and Katrina" starts with, essentially, my family's refugee story.

Hopefully, she'll be excited, and also, it's a way to see if she likes my stuff before I reveal it.

Hey, Mom!

How are you doing?

-Fine.

-Let's see.

I'm gonna say some words, Ma, and you repeat it.

Immigration.

-Immigration.

-You heard that, Albert?

-Yeah.

-Immigration.

Vietnam.

-Vietnam.

-My mom grew up in North Vietnam.

She comes to America, and she's... she's met with microaggressions or maybe straight-up racism.

You know, people slanting their eyes and saying like, "Choi yoi yoing," when they see you in the store.

No!

I don't wanna accept this.

I don't wanna accept that this is what it's gonna be like forever.

-Thirty years ago we came to New Orleans as the refugee to escape the communist.

We're now the refugee again to escape Hurricane Katrina.

-What do you think, Ma?

-My mom, she gave me notes.

So that shows that she's invested in my work because she wants me to do better, like all moms do.

They don't tell you what you want to hear; they tell you what you have to hear.

-Take care.

I hope to see you again soon.

-Okay, thank you.

Bye-bye.

-To see my mom getting invested, it makes me feel good.

Make me feel like... [ Sighs ] Connected to her.

I'm really hopeful about "Romeo and Katrina."

I want her to see that I am spending my time creating beautiful things.

I'm involved in things that are just, that are right, that confront anti-Asian racism, and also anti-blackness.

-So I'm going to connect with Rita real quick.

We're supposed to connect at 2:00, but life happens.

So I'm gonna see if she's available to talk real quick to discuss what we're going to do this Thursday at the community conversation.

The community conversation is -- It says, "Engage the school community and others to come together and discuss the use of school resource officers in Mankato Area Public Schools.

These engagement events will be facilitated by equity specialist."

"This feedback will be presented to the school board in December."

I heard -- I heard back from Stacy, and she sent me the questions that they're gonna ask.

They want us to tell personal stories now, I guess.

And this is the question that trips me up a bit, "How can schools and SROs deepen trust with all students and communities?"

It should just be, "How can schools deepen trust?"

Why are we adding school resource officers to that equation?

-It sounds like they've already made up their minds.

-Oh my, God!

I feel like my heart's twisting right now.

I'm super scared.

I'm not even -- I don't know if I'm scared or just nervous.

They said no cameras are allowed, so I'll see you all later.

[ Woman ] [ Man ] -You know how they -- Okay, so you know how they refused to let me speak at the meeting because they didn't want it to be skewed a certain way or anything of the sorts, right?

Show up, I see a lot of Somali parents, I see Sudanese parents, I see the white administrators.

They kept saying, "We need police.

They're doing these big drug busts that are keeping our kids safe."

And we're like, "Where are the big drug busts you're talking about?"

It's like they have these misconceptions and they're very ignorant to learning our ideas.

I had one come up to me afterwards and say I, as a young Somali girl, need to be quiet and not voice my concerns, and I need to show respect to the elders, and I should not be speaking out against them.

And I'm like, "I'm not speaking out against y'all.

I'm speaking out about the police in schools."

I didn't know who's this guy.

I didn't know -- of course, I'm gonna go to -- I need to watch what the enemy is doing!

I'm keeping close tabs on their ass.

Oh, it was so sad.

It was so sad.

I was expecting white rage.

I was not expecting Somali parents to come out the way they're currently coming out.

We may have to... Well, we probably will have to re-strategize and re-organize now that I think about it.

-Now is the time to protect your mind and your peace.

With so much that's going on right now, especially in regards to racial injustices.

-During a time when racial injustice is as prevalent as ever in our culture, we are being exposed to trauma at alarming rates.

-I don't want people to wait until it's too late to learn about the power of healing and mental health.

-I'm grateful for having strategies to cope.

-One of the few things that can simultaneously calm my anxiety and lift my mood is Hawaiian dance.

For me, Hula is life.

-My yoga, breath work, and meditation practices are the self-care tools that equip me to navigate the daily struggles and microaggressions I face as a black woman in today's America.

-Self-care for me, it looks like exercise.

I get to leave my problems at the gym, and it's a great stress-reliever.

-I think it's time for a run.

-I create art on multiple mediums.

-I perform.

-And I protect my body and I protect my thoughts.

-Now is the time for community-care.

-I started the nonprofit due to some personal tragedies I endured, and I found the homeless community.

We provide their wants, as well as their needs.

We're always there to protect and serve our community.

-Now is the time -- -To celebrate black joy.

-Now is the time for us to revive.

-And get more curious about who we're becoming because we have value.

-In a world that reminds us, or tries to tell us that we should not be joyous and happy -- that we should even heal -- it is our obligation to do that for the generations to come.

[ Indistinct, bleeping ] We're coming for you, Lex.

Bang-bang, [bleep].

-So my Republican uncle called my mom and said that I need to go into hiding because they're coming for me if Biden loses.

I used to give the death threats to anyone who would listen -- FBI, anyone -- and people just ignored me about it.

But now I know when people really are gonna kill me.

So my husband and I are sitting here, deciding where we're going to go into hiding right now.

What days do you have off?

-Thursday, the 5th, 6th, and 7th.

-So he has the 5th, 6th, and 7th off.

-Lex's safety, it's something that's certainly always on my mind even if I don't express it vocally.

But I know that what Lex is doing is right.

-I don't want you in this house after Election Day!

You just wanna stay here?

What if they drive by the house?

-They won't drive by the house.

-Ugh.

I've never understood why he... feels so safe all the time.

-'Cause I'm white.

It's like a shield.

[ Lex groans ] -Anyway, long story short, it's just -- it's stressing me out.

I have to get out of town because the election is coming up.

And they believe that if they kill me, they will be a hero forever, because I am -- I am the worst for them.

I am their worst nightmare.

You know, I have accepted that I might have to die, but I'm not accepting that my family has to die.

You know, there's this feel in the black community that we need to be intimidated, we need to hide.

But we shouldn't have to hide.

Will you hand me my gun?

Thanks.

I don't wanna cower.

I wanna protect my family.

My family, they are just beautiful people and they deserve to live long, happy lives.

Going on a field trip.

Going on a field trip, buddy.

Going on a field trip, buddy.

-This is "Arts Eclectic," spotlighting arts in Austin.

I'm Michael Lee.

The musical "Romeo and Katrina" has been a work in progress for about two years.

But the pandemic has delayed a full production of the piece.

So, Christine, tell me a little bit more about the musical itself.

You said that you play a character that's inspired by your own mom.

Is that -- Is she a mom in the show?

-Yeah, I play my mom, sort of.

Well, uh... Yeah... [ Laughs ] Don't all artists -- don't we all try to just resolve issues from our parents?

-So in, sort of, playing your mom's role instead of your own, are you sort of rewriting it at all?

-Yeah, I think that's like, you know, I probably have to talk to my therapist about that.

I have no idea.

I don't know.

I'm just writing what I wanna write.

I'm writing the world I wanna live in.

Okay.

-Okay, great.

-Bye.

-Thanks, guys.

Bye.

-Um...

I've been feeling like not myself fully.

Family is a big theme in my work, how I'm working things out with my mom.

You know, she knows that my plays deal with racism and then she tells me I'm running towards problems.

So what I told her, it's like, "Hey, you know, I'm supporting Black Lives Matter."

I'm paraphrasing a lot.

And then the first thing, she was like, "Oh -- people gonna be shooting guns!

Are we gonna be looting businesses?"

That's the first thing she went to was the most fearful place she could go.

-I see this a lot with the Vietnamese community, especially older generations, is that, with the Black Lives Matter movement, it's highly traumatic and triggering.

If you've lived through war, and you've gone through immigration trauma, risk-taking seems like a really bad idea.

And not realizing that those two things are different.

They're different kinds of risk.

-Yeah.

She's just like black or white.

-Your homework is just to, like, be really proud of yourself for getting to this point.

Owning your decision and allowing the good feelings to just stay with you.

-Therapy is helping.

My therapist says things directly.

She says things that I wish -- I guess I wish my mom would say.

But my mom never had anybody tell her these things so directly.

-This is my husband... -My mom, she's complicated because she had a very complicated life.

-And this is my parents.

Both of them deceased.

-I like my mom's approval, no matter how old you get.

My show is two days away.

I want her to enjoy the show.

I think that'll be a really special thing to see.

-Now is the time to teach the truth.

-Now is the time for education, for liberation, and it is time to decolonize educational institutions.

-I was a young black kid that was home-schooled.

The curriculum that we used was very whitewashed.

And I can't even imagine how my life would have been impacted had my parents known more about history, had it been taught to them in the way that it should've been.

-I'm an eighth grade English teacher.

One of the things I'm doing to establish change for students is ask them how might we be drawn to or told certain narratives that aren't true?

So I start asking them, what are the single stories you've heard about Hawaii?

They all have a ton of stories: it's all palm trees, everyone thinks we live in grass huts.

And I take that and I start bringing that understanding to, "Okay, what are the single stories we've been told about the black community, about immigrants, and the Latinx community?"

-During my time in high school, I was quiet and ignored the hateful comments made by my peers and administrators.

I wanted to educate my former administrators about the pain and suffering that black, indigenous, and people of color have been facing.

-I decided to start an organization called Diversify Our Narrative.

Diversify Our Narrative is an organization committed to racial justice through educational reform.

-Here at the University of Mary Washington, I oversee the social justice teaching each semester.

We promote anti-racist education.

-We are here to ensure that our future generations, they can grow up in a country where they can learn about their lives, and their struggles, and their points of view of this country.

-I've organized with some alumni to advocate for our high school to implement anti-racist education and policies.

We call ourselves Alumni for Change and what we seek is for our alma mater to be an inclusive place for all students.

-So that someday when we say that all students will succeed, all students will succeed.

-I'm hopeful we're on the cusp of a new beginning.

-We're gonna be training student ambassadors.

This is going to be really quick, hopefully.

After the first community conversation, we decided to get a few student ambassadors to kind of help further our cause.

-I'm Kyla.

-I'm Olivia.

I'm a sophomore at West.

That's kind of it.

-Yeah.

I'm Matilda, also a sophomore at West.

-I'm Maddie, also a sophomore at West.

-Thank you all so much for coming.

This is gonna be kind of like a one-on-one, what we've been doing on Ignite, and how you guys can help.

We need you to bring along your friends, your classmates, your neighbors, your parents, and et cetera.

We need you present at the community conversations that are currently occurring.

We need to organize to the best of our ability because now we finally have a vote coming to the table.

-This work is important to me because black and brown students should never have to live in fear.

They should never have to feel anxious or scared to go down the hallways in their learning space.

-I personally do not think school resource officers are needed in high schools.

And I think that that money can be spent in different ways -- more mental health resources and resources for special ed kids.

-Board members are gonna be at this meeting.

So it is very important we speak up and hit on the points on each of these papers.

-And don't let them make it about the person.

Make it about the image of a police officer in schools and the intimidation that happens for those students.

-I was just gonna say, another point is when they go in and they don't take that badge off and see a fight and break it up because that's social-emotional learning; they're doing it because they see it as a criminal act.

As a future educator, I felt it was very important for me to become involved and passionate about this topic and to be an advocate for not only the students here in Mankato but for my future students.

-These are students who are still growing.

Half of them aren't even 18 yet.

So we need to continuously hit on that, that they don't need police -- they need more counselors, more social and emotional learning -- we need more of that instead of police just standing around and do nothing.

-Let's go!

-Right?

We're gonna head into the auditorium.

For the students who go here, if you guys can lead the way.

-The community conversation went pretty well.

I think students, for the most part, felt fairly heard and the adults that were in there were listening.

But at the end of the day, it all just has to do with the actions that they take after.

-So, we heavily dominated that.

Heavily dominated it.

A lot of the students that were there that were recruited, they ended up really liking it, which is like, "Yeah," like, "we need to get fired up."

A lot of the community members that were there, they're like, "Let us know where else we can go and how else we can help."

So, that was very exciting and helpful.

I'm ecstatic with the turnout on this one.

Like, we... we were there, and I loved it.

-I'm a direct descendant of the fellow behind me, General John Brown Gordon of the Confederate Army.

It's time to take him down and hand over the keys to a new set of leaders.

-Now is the time to take down Confederate monuments.

[ Cheering ] -Growing up in the South and seeing these Confederate statues all around, constant reminders that you are less than.

-We've had a massive demonstration at the Confederate monument downtown, demanding that it be removed.

We all felt that what was needed was a new symbol that people could rally around.

-Now is the time to get engaged.

The call goes out for artists to positively impact the city.

-As artists, it's important to highlight what's going on in society right now.

-Art has been really a way for me just to get my voice out there.

-I find myself looking around cities that have a lot of art, and I don't see myself.

I am painting Mary and Jesus, and I am painting them with brown skin.

-I hope that my actions, protesting, artwork, can help in the work of protecting and defending the humanity of the oppressed and restore a sense of humanity in the hearts of their oppressors.

-Now is the time to participate and take action in re-writing history.

-Now is the time for us to decide what we want our legacy to be.

-Hey, guys.

Don't mind my background.

I'm in a hotel.

I'm in hiding.

All right, we have Suzanne... We were receiving a few death threats there.

So we went into hiding for two days because we thought once they announced the election results for, um, Biden winning, that if they were gonna follow through on their death threats that we should be out of town.

So we just waited for two days -- nothing happened, so we drove back home.

Let's look up the election results.

Are you scared?

I'm scared.

Let's move this over here.

All right, can we see this?

♪♪ Don't like that.

♪♪ Um...

I just found out that Tab Uno lost... 62% to 38%.

I don't know what was I hoping.

Um... [ Sighs ] ♪♪ ♪♪ God.

There are no words to describe how hard this movement is.

♪♪ This movement is just pain.

It's just [bleep] pain.

It's pain every [bleep] day.

[ Groans ] ♪♪ It is Groundhog Day around here.

We relive the same nightmare over and over.

But you can't just give up.

You have to keep trying.

Thank you!

I'm gonna hug her!

I'm gonna hug her!

So, every day in January, Black Lives Matter will be on Capitol Hill so that when those votes come up, there will be an army.

They're watching you while you vote because at the end of the day, we are not going to back down until we get real, meaningful police reform.

-I'm hoping this get to somebody.

A friend of mine was driving down the street and she saw our last receptionist for the counseling center.

She walked up and talked to her, she's like, "Oh, my, God, Are you part of the group that's trying to push to get police out of schools?"

And my friend was like, "What are you talking about?"

"Like, Anisa and all of them are trying to get police out of schools.

Like, can you believe it?!"

-When this issue first came up, I was very much against it because of my own interactions with the SROs and having a child in crisis, and how useful they were.

But after speaking with friends and other people in the community, I'm completely on the fence right now.

-Let's not forget about some of those great things we've heard that these law enforcement officers do within our schools.

How many of them become de facto counselors or confidantes for our students?

-Our oldest son has special needs, and we've greatly appreciated the relationships that he has built with the SROs.

Also recognize that people have very different lived experiences, and so, you know, it may be time for us to take a look at the SRO model and see how best we can serve all kids in the school.

-I had a child go through Mankato East who had always had a tough time in school.

And I owe Officer Mortensen a lot of credit.

He had a lot to do with getting our kid through school and to graduate.

-Saying, "Well, I had a really great experience with this resource officer" should not counter the abuse and negative effect to their education that the students are voicing.

As a white person, I'm very interested in the language that other white people use to create a bubble for themselves that leads them to not really perceiving racism as a legitimate concern.

-I do feel a bit uncomfortable because they do have a uniform and gun.

And as the vote is coming near, I am excited and I'm also scared because I really want the SROs to not be in schools anymore.

-We just have one confirmed vote and three maybes.

We are hoping board members who seem to be on the fence vote to remove resource officers.

As of now, I'm feeling very nervous.

'Cause, like, November flew by, and basically now... [ Sighs ] We're going to get a decision.

-Thank you, Mr.

Chair, members of the board.

-This is a roll call vote.

If you would, please.

-Yes.

-No.

-No.

-Yes.

-No.

-Yes -Yes.

-Thank you very much.

Motion carries on a fourth read vote this evening.

-In a 3-4 vote, the contract was renewed with minor changes, like, the police officer will be removed from the middle school.

I refuse to celebrate the removal of one police, knowing the other two schools are suffering.

I am disappointed but not surprised.

I'm very excited about what we have been able to do.

We're able to question the legitimacy of having police in schools.

We as young individuals did that.

These systems are not as strong as we perceive them to be.

As Dr. Cornel West says a lot, it's "try again, fail again, fail again better."

So keeping that hope and letting the oppressors know that they cannot take that away from us -- that we can imagine a better world.

We will continue to organize and we will accomplish this.

-Today is "Romeo and Katrina" show day.

And I have my mom showing up.

I want her to approve it.

Okay.

We're gonna do this thing.

How does she show approval in my choice of friends, of relationships?

I know that she likes them if she invites them into her home.

Starts in one minute.

-♪ It's been three years since the levee broke ♪ ♪ It's been three years since the flood ♪ -Ma?

Why do you always put Ba's face down when -- -Time to eat.

Look at all the good food I make for you.

-♪ Something ♪ -♪ Something more ♪ -♪ Something more ♪ -♪ Something more ♪ [ Vocalizing finale ] ♪♪ -I think we really created something that was really beautiful.

We can see in the chat there people who are really identifying with these characters.

They identify with their city.

They identify with the culture.

And they would not have had the opportunity to see themselves that way if Christine had cowered away from telling her truth.

And so it's so important that as young artists - - that we tell our truth and that we don't let anyone talk us out of that.

-My brother and my mom are Zooming in from New Orleans.

Westbank, New Orleans, hello.

That's my mom.

Hi, Ma.

-Hi.

-What did you think?

-Um, this is a wonderful program.

I watch each actors.

Thank you so much.

I wish you have a chance to come to New Orleans And I'm going to bring you to the seafood restaurant.

-Did you all catch how she showed her love?

At the end, she told people that they need to come to New Orleans, they need to enjoy the city.

She shows me that she approves of what I do and the friends that I get together.

Okay, you can run.

I haven't written Act II.

And I've been thinking about this.

When Romeo tells his mom that Trina is black, how does mom respond?

She'll tell him that life will be more difficult, that you will have to fight every day, and is that love worth fighting for?

And when Romeo says yes, I think Ma will say, "Then I will fight with you."

It's Romeo, Trina, and now Romeo's mom against the world.

They don't have to do it by themselves because we will all fight with them because love is worth fighting for, right?

-I really wasn't sure about my role in this entire movement as an Asian-American.

But I noticed that in my own community, there were many implicit biases that we all hold.

So this is something that I realized we were taught at a young age, and my whole goal is to dispel and unlearn these biases.

What I do is I create artivism.

And what this is, is art plus activism.

I've contributed what I can as an artist to teach others about what it means to be privileged, how to be anti-racist actively, and to be more self-aware about our implicit biases.

-Now is the time to stand together.

-Now is the time especially to take into account other people's struggles and understand where we can help and say, "I'll stand with you."

-It's been really hard, and I've lost friends and family members because I've started speaking up about racism online.

This journey of learning and uprooting racism is going to be a lifelong process.

So we can't let fear of saying the wrong thing or not knowing what to do keep us from speaking up or acting out.

-Black lives!

-Matter!

-I never expected that I would be an active participant in the movement for racial justice.

I attended the march on Washington and recently joined my school's prison outreach program.

-Some of the ways that Christians for Social Action are working to stand with the anti-racist movement include our seminar and webinar series on breaking cycles of racism.

We also lead a pilgrimage to the National Museum of African-American History and Culture to look at the intersection between faith and the justice movement.

-Now is the time to stand with each other.

-We can make a difference and we stand together and be unified.

-Before all lives matter, black lives must matter.

And I am really proud to stand here as an ally.

-Black lives matter!

-Black lives matter!

-Black lives matter!

-Hands up!

Don't shoot!

Hands up!

Don't shoot!

Hands up!

Don't shoot!

-I am heartbroken by the deaths, the beatings, the racism experienced by black Americans every day.

-What need to change is stop killing.

Stop the killing, bro.

That's it.

Point blank, period -- stop the killing.

-Say his name!

-Trayvon Martin!

-Say her name!

-Breonna Taylor!

-We're not gonna be asking anymore.

We are demanding.

-It's not about race anymore.

It's not about any of that.

It's about people.

Like, nobody deserves for their life to be taken.

-No justice!

-No peace!

-No justice!

-No peace!

-I stand in front of you knowing that every police officer ain't bad.

But that don't mean that we don't address the bad apples.

-Black lives matter!

-This is not over.

We're not stopping until we get justice, okay?

-That's behind me.

That's in front of me.

♪♪ -I have a father.

I don't want them to be next.

-I can't breathe!

-I can't breathe!

-I can't breathe!

-Black lives matter!

-One of the greatest accomplishments of racism is preventing us from imagining a world without racists.

But today, we have to envision a different world where black lives matter every day.

♪♪ ♪♪ [ Chorus vocalizing ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪