Civic Cipher

Send us a Text Message. This week we are joined by Jacob Raiford AKA Roqy Tyraid…the notable emcee/activist! He sits down to discuss the importance of holding public office as well as his personal journey and how folks can follow in his footsteps. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @CivicCipher @iamqward @ramsesja Consideration for today's show was provided by: Major Threads men...

Send us a Text Message. In the second half of the show, we discuss the efforts put forth by Jacob/Roqy from his position at the ACLU that allows public filming of police while on duty. He shares how he was able to protect our rights and how this can be replicated in communities across the country. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @CivicCipher @iamqward @ramsesja Consideration for t...

Send us a Text Message. This week we are discussing the massive brawl on the Alabama Riverfront that went viral. We try and make sense of why it was seemingly a special moment for Black folks despite the violent optics and narrative that many are trying to associate with the fight. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @CivicCipher @iamqward @ramsesja Consideration for today's show...

Send us a Text Message. In the second half of the show, we discuss the song ‘Try That in a Small Town’ by Jason Aldean and the effort to push the single to #1 on the charts. We examine solidarity on the right and far right and how the organizational efforts of these folks often shape outcomes for the rest of us. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @CivicCipher @iamqward @ramsesja Cons...

Send us a Text Message. This week we are joined by a conservative pundit and filmmaker Ami Horowitz. In the first half of the show, we discuss his background and his attempts to foster conversations between the political left and the political right. We offer a critical examination of some of his work while also allowing him to explain his motivations and the outcomes from his social experiments....

Send us a Text Message. In the second half of the show, we discuss the strained relationship between Black people and Jews that has seen new stressors in recent years. Our guest Ami Horowitz helps us identify potential sources of this strain as well as potential solutions and starting points for conversations between our two tribes. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @CivicCipher @ia...

Send us a Text Message. In the first half of the show, we discuss the Florida Education System’s new standard of education where students will be taught that slavery was a benefit to Black people because it allowed Black people to develop skills. This asinine rebrand of chattel slavery receives a critical examination. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @CivicCipher @iamqward @ramsesj...

Send us a Text Message. In the second half of the show, we discuss a poll that suggests that Trump voters believe racism against White people is a bigger problem in this country than racism against Black people. Our Way Black History Fact sees us talking about Freddi Washington…a potentially White-Passing Black woman who became famous in the 1920s and 1930s. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com F...

Send us a Text Message. In the first half of the show, we discuss the death of Breonna Taylor and the mountain of evidence that has come to light since her death suggesting that her death was closer to an execution than an accident. We also review the relationship between the officers involved, elected officials, and even a real estate developer. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @C...

Send us a Text Message. In the second half of the show, we discuss a viral video showing an older Black woman being brutally attacked by police in Lancaster, CA. We give you the details of the encounter and try to reimagine the outcome if we held police to a more human standard of decency and scrutiny. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @CivicCipher @iamqward @ramsesja Consideration...

Send us a Text Message. In the first half of the show, we discuss a the Mississippi officers who tortured and sexually assaulted Black suspects at their home for 90 minutes. We ask why there is still blind support for policing and why people are so opposed to rethinking how policing should be done. We also question the outcomes and ask critical questions about public safety. Support the Show. www....

Send us a Text Message. In the second half of the show, we discuss the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Affirmative Action. We spend time explaining Affirmative Action and how it has benefited marginalized communities. We also discuss the hypocrisy of the Supreme Court and how voting has critical implications when it comes to things like this. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @...

Send us a Text Message. In the first half of the show, we discuss a viral incident where police were called on a Black couple shopping at Bed Bath and Beyond for having expensive items in their cart. We discuss the harmful stereotypes associated with Black people and how they shape our lives. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @CivicCipher @iamqward @ramsesja Consideration for today&...

Send us a Text Message. In the second half of the show, we talk about how Black protesting is often rebranded as rioting, how rioting is not chronicled with an emphasis on fear when the (incredibly frequent) riots are based on a sports team winning or losing, and ask about the moral implications of allowing one’s preconceptions and stereotypes to shape their world view. Support the Show. www.civic...

Send us a Text Message. In the first half of the show, we discuss the Brooklyn neighborhood that began using community policing to deal with many of their own issues. The positive impacts that this rethinking has had are far beyond what police could hope to do by themselves. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @CivicCipher @iamqward @ramsesja Consideration for today's show was pr...

Send us a Text Message. In the second half of the show, we talk about Black fatherhood and the myths that Black men don’t take care of our children or leave our children to be raised solely by their mothers. We discuss the history of these stereotypes and how damaging they have been. Our Way Black History Fact covers the largest mass deportation in U.S. History. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.c...

Send us a Text Message. In the first half of the show, we discuss the news story about Aderrien Mury, the 11-year-old who was shot in his home after he called the police to come help and obeyed the officer’s commands. We also talk about a story from last year that just made national news concerning 54-year-old Dexter Barry who died in police custody because he was not allowed to receive medication...

Send us a Text Message.   In the second half of the show, we talk about a recent story that saw Amanda Gorman’s poem from President Biden’s inauguration that has been banned in Florida. We discuss the person behind the banning and ask vital questions to understand who this nation is centering and who this nation is ignoring. Our Way Black History Fact discusses the Zoot Suit Riots.  Support the Sh...

Send us a Text Message. In the first half of the show, we catch up on some of the numerous incidents of racism in the news this past week including attacks on Black people, Mexican people and immigrants, and Asian people being used as a tool for White supremacists. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @CivicCipher @iamqward @ramsesja Consideration for today's show was provided by:...

Send us a Text Message. In the second half of the show, we try and get to the root of the GOP’s obsession with the former president and try to understand what people are looking for and why he seems to resonate with them—often at the expense of the security of Black and Brown people in this country. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @CivicCipher @iamqward @ramsesja Consideration for...

Send us a Text Message. In the first half of the show, Ramses tells a story of a recent profiling incident that put him at odds with a police officer in a neighborhood into which he is planning to move. He tells of how police will often exaggerate, change their story, or sometimes outright lie in order to justify their prejudice and profiling under the name of keeping the peace. Support the Show....

Send us a Text Message. In the second half of the show, we ask ‘Who gets to decide who lives or dies?’ We cite recent examples of people who were needlessly killed because they made the (White) people in the story feel afraid. The problem is further illuminated when we show how these killers are often celebrated as heroes for protecting everyone against the (Black) threat. Support the Show. www.ci...

Send us a Text Message. The two main political parties in this country are not the same. Recently we both had a conversation with a friend who suggested that he didn’t need to concern himself with politics because both parties were exactly the same. In the first half of the show, we identify some of the right’s policies, ideologies, and culture that led to the RWDS (Right Wing Death Squad) and has...

Send us a Text Message. In the second half of the show, we discuss the lack of accountability on the right and how it affects the nature of politics in general as well as the ripple effect it has on our country as a whole. Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @CivicCipher @iamqward @ramsesja Consideration for today's show was provided by: Major Threads menswear www. MajorThreads.c...

Send us a Text Message. For today’s show, we spend the first half discussing some recent examples (and some now historical examples) of private White and White-passing citizens harming Black people and receiving no consequences or minimal punishments for their actions.  Support the Show. www.civiccipher.com Follow us: @CivicCipher @iamqward @ramsesja Consideration for today's show was provide...