Civic Cipher

Send us a Text Message. The first half of this week's show focuses on Driving While Black. We use statistics that suggest that Black motorists are more likely to get pulled over by police and exactly what that means to Black individuals as well as Black communities. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @CivicCipher @iamqward @ramsesja Consideration for today's show was provid...

Send us a Text Message. The second part of the show is where we discuss the idea that the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. We discuss the gun problem in this country and why/how we should rethink what policing means. Our Way Black History Fact discusses the Floating Freedom School from 1847. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @CivicCipher @iamqw...

Send us a Text Message. In today's show, we discussed a court case in California where police officers sued the city because a Black Lives Matter mural caused them "distress." We discuss the origins of the phrase "Black Lives Matter" and give credit to the judge for handing out a fair decision.  Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @CivicCipher @iamqward @ramse...

Send us a Text Message. The second part of the show holds the discussion surrounding the passing of the Emmett Till Antilynching Act of 2022. This is a more positive discussion and we take the time to celebrate the passing of this piece of legislation--even if it's about 100 years late! Happy Women's History Month...our Way Black History Fact highlights Mary McLeod Bethune! Support the S...

Send us a Text Message. In today's show, we start off by discussing the apprehension of Black Panther Director Ryan Coogler at the bank while attempting to withdraw cash. Him being mistaken for a criminal bank robber is something that hits home for us and it was necessary to discuss it. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @CivicCipher @iamqward @ramsesja Consideration for today&a...

Send us a Text Message. The second part of the show deals with the ways police can justify the discharge of their weapons resulting in the loss of life...in many cases Black life. We discuss the feeling behind the lack of accountability and share what it feels like to live in a society that can blame us for our own deaths when our reality suggests that we are targets. Support the Show. www.civicci...

Send us a Text Message. The first part of today's show speaks to the increasing rates of suicide in the Black community. We discuss the potential sources and highlight some higher profile instances of suicide in the media. We feel this is something we need to discuss as a community so that we can provide better support to and for each other. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @C...

Send us a Text Message. The second half of the show takes a similar look at a different trial--that of the killers of Ahmaud Arbery. We hold a critical examination of the verdict and sentencing of this trial as well as discuss our Way Black History Fact--Thomas Fuller AKA the "Virginia Calculator"--a slave named  with marvelous mathematical abilities. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.co...

Send us a Text Message. The first part of today's show focuses on the verdict and sentencing of Kim Potter...The officer who killed a young Black man named Daunte Wright at a traffic stop. We examine parts of her trial and sentencing that stand out and warrant discussion. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @CivicCipher @iamqward @ramsesja Consideration for today's show was...

Send us a Text Message. The second half of the show asks a question that comes up frequently in our show in different ways. In our estimation, melanin is seen as violent, criminal, threatening...especially by police. We cite recent examples of this and offer our thoughts on how things are unfolding around us. We also finally get the chance to discuss Amir Locke who was killed during a no-knock rai...

Send us a Text Message. In the first half of today's show, we challenge the attacks that many right-wing pundits launched toward the decidedly Hip-Hop Super Bowl halftime show. From their cries that the show was overly sexualized to calls to ban Hip Hop outright, we felt that it was necessary to challenge these unfair, unfounded, and unwarranted claims that we percieve to be an attack on Blac...

Send us a Text Message. In the second half of today's show, Pineapple Lawyer AKA Amy Owen sits in with us as we discuss the controversy around Awkwafina's "Blaccent" as well as an instance of Actual racist behavior from a Black rapper and the double standard and lack of accountability. We challenge ourselves and our people to give what we expect to get in return. Our Way Black...

Send us a Text Message. In the first part of today's episode, we discuss several recent instances of Black-on-Asian attacks and reestablish our responsibility to our AAPI brothers and sisters. We deal with the fact that a failure to challenge racist anti-Asian behavior could potentially result in the perception of Black people having a double-standard. We take a hard look in the mirror and re...

Send us a Text Message. In the second part of the show, we discuss a few things including CRT, White Saviors, and more tweets from our new favorite social justice warrior, Dan Price. Our Way Black History Fact tells the story of the recently departed actor Sidney Portier. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @CivicCipher @iamqward @ramsesja Consideration for today's show was provi...

Send us a Text Message. In the first part of today's episode, we borrow from a social media influencer and businessperson named Dan Price. Recently a series of tweets from his account gave a numerical account of the Black experience in America. We thought it was worth examining and hopefully bringing it to life for you. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @CivicCipher @iamqward @...

Send us a Text Message. In the second part of the show, we discuss a new wave of attacks on the plight of Black America. These include legislation that was born out of the response of people filming police encounters, the banning of Critical Race Theory in many states, and companies limiting the free speech of their employees when they choose to support Black lives. Support the Show. www.civicciph...

Send us a Text Message. In the first part of today’s episode, we discuss Black wealth. There are many ways that income, wealth, and access to capital can shape the outcomes of societies and communities and we pay particular attention to the Black community and the disparities that are present when comparing to White Americans. We spend some time discussing how the myth of ‘trickle-down economics’...

Send us a Text Message. In the second half of the show, we discuss how elections are funded, salaries, and the influence of corporate donors over political candidates. We take a look at an excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail for our Way Black History Fact. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @CivicCipher @iamqward @ramsesja Consideration for today&ap...

Send us a Text Message. In the first half of today’s show, Leezah Sun stops by to discuss why it’s important to engage in the political process. We take a few moments to discuss some of the barriers she has encountered from her opposition as well as political party gatekeeping. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @CivicCipher @iamqward @ramsesja Consideration for today's show was...

Send us a Text Message. In the second part of the show, we discuss the phrase, “I’m not racist…I have a Black friend!” We peel away some of the layers to this often surface-level argument and try to encourage searching for deeper truths that have more to do with a whole race of people rather than just one Black friend. We also use our Way Black History Fact segment to discuss Yoga’s roots in Afric...

Send us a Text Message. The first part of today’s episode is dedicated to examining the so-called ‘progress reports’ from the cities who have defunded their police. We look at some of the misinformation, fear-mongering, and half truths that make for sensational headlines but fail to tell the full story.  Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @CivicCipher @iamqward @ramsesja Consideratio...

Send us a Text Message. For the second half, we examine unfair prison sentencing for Black and Brown people in this country. We have some recent examples of judges showing extreme biases or outright racism, as well as other recent examples of how wildly the justice system can swing…and just how unfair it is. Later in the program, we discuss the origins of Black History Month in our Way Black Histo...

Send us a Text Message. The first half of today’s episode focuses on a question posed to writer Ke’Aun Charles; “Could you tell me anything whatsoever that the Democratic party has done for Black people in the last 20 years?” We take inspiration from his response to offer some insight into why Black people largely vote Democratic in this country…it’s not really that complicated especially once the...

Send us a Text Message. In the second part of our New Year's Day episode, we continue the theme of looking at some of the positive outcomes from 2021! In this half, we discuss the outcomes or progress of discussions surrounding CRT, voting rights initiatives, the Stop Asian Hate movement, and the results of the incident on ASU's campus and their multicultural center. Our Way Black Histor...

Send us a Text Message. In today's episode, we discuss some of the progress we have seen over the past calendar year. In the first half of the show, we discuss the many high-profile trials and the favorable outcomes we have seen. We also discuss Juneteenth becoming a national holiday as well as some unlikely fans we seem to have gotten! Our Ebony Excellence goes out to a young man named Chidi...