March 22, 2025 • 22 mins
Our guest is Sharen Sierra King - Journalist, public speaker and former radio host as well as a resident of Lincoln Heights Ohio...the place that is making national headlines for the Nazi demonstrations and the community response.
In the second half of the show, we discuss Lincoln Height’s response to the Nazi demonstrations, and how these actions can be replicated if necessary in communities around the country. We also discuss other ways people can—if necessary—resist the forces of this administration .
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Keep on riding with us, says, we continue to broadcast
the balance and defend the discourse from the Hip Hop
Weekly studios. Welcome back to Civic Cipher. I am your
host Rams's job. Big shout out to my brother q Ward,
who I know is supposed to be back in the studio,
but he will be back soon. I promise. We are
working all that out, but we are in good hands.
We are joined by Sharin Sierra King, journalist, public speaker,
(00:21):
and former radio host, life member of the NCNW as
well as NAACP, where she is actively engaged in public
public policy advocacy, voter protection efforts, and racial justice initiatives
at both the local and national levels, and also a
resident of Lincoln Heights, Ohio, the place that is making
national headlines for the Nazi demonstrations and the community response.
(00:42):
And we will be discussing that community response during this
part of the show, So stick around for that and
so much more because this is such an interesting conversation
that a lot of people are able to learn from.
But before we get there, it is time to discuss
Ba becoming a better ally Baba and today's Baba. We're
(01:02):
going to share from the website of Libertybank dot net. Yeah'
sor right, we're talking about money today, all right. In
nineteen seventy two, Liberty Bank and Trust Company was chartered
in New Orleans, Louisiana, with a focus on service, integrity
and a sincere interest in community and business development. Over
five decades later, Liberty Bank and Trust has over one
(01:23):
billion dollars in assets and branches in eleven states, making
it the largest Black or African American owned financial institution
in the United States. Liberty Banks growth has been the
result of acquisitions, fruitful partnerships, aggressive marketing, strong management, staff, productivity,
and the trust and enjoys in the community. It all
adds up to an efficient, well captured, well capitalized, sorry
(01:44):
institution that is perfectly positioned to continue fast paced growth
in both profits and assets. Liberty Bank has been serving
its communities for over fifty years with a commitment to
exceptional customer service, personalized solutions, and community involvement. They are
passionate about helping more people at more freedom. There's real
freedom there. The freedom you have as an individual to
(02:04):
attain your goals, as a business, to achieve your idea
of success, or even as a community that is gathering
strength to reach its full potential. Read more about them
at Forbes Business Insider, Business Wire, Fortune Magazine. It's a
long list and they are making headlines and that's why
we wanted to highlight them again or our Bobas segment again.
(02:27):
You can find out more at libertybank dot net. And
for those of you interested in finding a new financial institution,
our call to action here is that you give Liberty
Bank your consideration. We have done our best to vet
them again Forbes Business Insider, Business Wire, Fortune. It's a
much longer list than that. You don't need to even
(02:49):
take our word for it. You can definitely read about
them with some of those more reputable financial institutions and
hopefully make the right decision. All right, back to you, I.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Can endorse the Birdy Bank.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Okay, good, good, I love that. I am a member, right,
I love that? Okay, perfect. That's that's some serendipity for
you right there. All right. We've been having a conversation
about Nazis marching on Lincoln Heights, in my opinion, a
(03:26):
disgusting display of white supremacy, and the police's response, which
in many people's opinions, was simply to provide cover for
the Nazis. Yes, And now we're going to discuss the
(03:47):
community's response to those two elements, the Nazis' initial move
to try to intimidate this black town and the police's
do nothing approach to I don't hate Tate, thank you.
(04:08):
There it is. That was way simpler. So I want
to share a bit of a story and then we'll
have a conversation about the community response, because it turns
out that community is quite resilient. And you know, I'm
not a big fan of historically on this show. I'm
not a fan of guns. I'm not a fan of violence.
I'm not a fan of That's not my thing. My
heart just doesn't it's not in my heart that way. Q.
(04:30):
On the other hand, he's got a little bit more
room for that, right, And that's okay, you know, that's
that's okay. It takes place for all of it, right, right.
But i't me to share the story and get everyone
brought up to speed, okay. This from Newsweek. Residents of
a majority black town in Ohio have reportedly launched an
armed patrol for their protection after criticizing the police response
(04:52):
to a neo Nazi demonstration in February, the Cincinnati suburb
of Lincoln Heights garnered national attention after a neo Nazi
group way swastika flags and hurling racial slurs demonstrated on
a highway overpass on the edge of the community on
February seven. The incident sparked outrage, with residents at a
town hall questioning why officers from the neighboring village of
(05:12):
Evandale and deputies from the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office who
responded to the incident made no citations or arrests. They
expressed concerns that they would not be safe if another
similar incident occurred. Residents then stated the Lincoln Heights Safety
and Watch Program Sorry. They then started the Lincoln Heights
(05:34):
Safety and Watch Program. I hope I say this right.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Durrance Durronce Daniels.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Durrance Daniels, Okay.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Whose name it resonates throughout the valley as well. Yes,
his grandfather was one of our soos ship pastors.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Okay, okay, so here's somebody knows Everybodyim okay, good, good,
So all right, so I'll continue. Durrance Daniels, the watch
group spokesperson, told the Washington Post in February that residents
took up arms shortly after the neo Nazis left, and
community leaders formed the program in order to organize them.
The program coordinates about seventy guards to watch the roads
leading too into the town and go on arm patrols.
(06:10):
The Post reported Ohio law allows anyone legally permitted to
own a gun to open carry without a permit. The
group also patrols in your bus stops to make sure
students go to school safely. According to an NBC News report,
So you know again, I'm not a fan of guns.
Historically on this show, I have said, you know, I'm
(06:35):
not going to hide from this. Now, I'm going to
tell you how much I love this, but I'm not
going to hide from it. Okay, guns exist to end life.
That's it. That's the only that's the nature of the
deployment of that device. It's not a knife where you
can carve something with it, prepare food. No, it's just
to end life. And I don't believe that my purpose.
(07:00):
I was not created to end life, right, So for
me personally, my decision that's not right. When it's my time,
it'll be my time. I will live my life well,
and when my time comes, I will look at it
like a man and I will face that moment and
hopefully live that moment well too. However, I love this.
I love it, Oh my god, I love it so much. Right, Oh,
(07:22):
because you know, there's there's something to be said about
people who do feel like guns are for protection. I
historically have pushed back against that narrative because if someone
has to drop on you, something that's more protective is
(07:43):
a bulletproof vest. Right, protection is the name of the game.
But in mass this display certainly does provide a preventative
form of protection. Right. And as a fan of the
Panthers from from Oakland, right, I'm a fan of the Panthers.
(08:04):
You know, these these great leaders, these great movements in history. I,
like you, was made to learn about them, Yes, from
my father, doctor Rudolph Wayne Taylor, you know, who was
a minister. And you know, as we discussed in the
first part of the show, the church is again the
cultural watering hole for a lot of black communities. So
(08:25):
in Compton, California, Greater Grace Memorial Church of God in
Christ was that I hear it, right, But also you
know there are people like doctor Kimilla Westenberg, my teacher
in college, who was also a member of the NCNW,
who made sure that I learned about the Panthers and
about the misinformation and disinformation campaigns from the government. What
(08:48):
the Panthers stood for and stood on. The Panthers were
not They did not exist to harm people. They existed
to protect people, and that's what they did, largely children exactly.
And because there is such a deep did hatred that
is emboldened by the political administrations of the time or
even this even this current administration, because there's a deep
(09:13):
seated fear of black people gaining too much relative to
white people, that violence often erupts from that phenomenon, not
from black people just owning guns and patrolling their own streets.
And so I wanted to make sure that I stated
that now I want to let you, let you go
right now, because these are people, these are your people, Okay,
(09:36):
so let me get you started. Is this the right response?
Speaker 2 (09:41):
It was the right response for the moment, because if
you do not show it, I believe coming from the
upbringing I came from. Yes we had peaceful marches, Yes
we had peaceful pastors sharing what we should be doing
as a collaborative. But that moment in time, my babies
(10:01):
were coming from school. Yeah, that two thirty getting off
the bus. If not, then then when I don't longer
own a gun. But my mother had a gun on
her at all times, traveling back and forth to sell,
Alabama where we lived. It just was a matter of fact.
(10:23):
My mother was epitome of a black panther as far
as that the high yellow red hair come from Selma,
raised by her grandfather who kept a shotgun, you know,
by him at all times. Now do I believe in
the carry and just going into restaurants, No, but you
know here in Arizona happens all the time I was
(10:43):
at the doctor's office, guy was hosting his forty five.
And that is the state we now live in. Now,
I am a proponent of protection. And if it takes
patrolling your neighborhood, because they're still come in there. I
could show you a picture where they've been like throwing
(11:04):
all this literature around about the KK. Literature can't hurt me,
but their guns can't. And for me when it comes
to my elders, my community in general, but my elders
and my babies, at all costs, you know I'm willing
(11:24):
to lay down my life because I was only raised
to make sure that I did everything I could. I'm
a peaceful protester, but I am literally arming myself with
the information to do the work. As a public policy advocate.
I go to DC, I go to the state capitals,
I go advocating for the funds for the health departments.
(11:48):
The state health departments, they look at me like, Okay,
S're in whatever, But no, all of this matters. If
we have healthy communities, then we can have a thriving community,
if we have collaboration with partners who see us in
affordable housing. As I mentioned, Avendo has their grocery store.
Lincoln Heights had everything they needed within Lincoln Heights grocery stores, butchers,
(12:14):
they had wood makers, they had I hired from my
home in Kentucky. I hired a granite man who taught
whose sons didn't want to learn it, but he did
all my stonework. We had everything, and we were cut off.
They annexed the land around Lincoln Heights so to commercial
(12:36):
so we couldn't expand. So that's how I feel about
what they're doing with the hate groups. They are cutting
us off. They are demeaning us or attempting to demean us.
So yeah, you know, the movement to patrol and protect
our citizens is real, and it's necessary at this time
(12:59):
because we can not depend on the Evendale Police. I
talked to Carton Colins, the co founder of the Heights Movement, yesterday,
and they've been waiting for three days from a response
from the Hamilton County Shriff's office. Three days for a
response to a meeting that happened this past week where
there were a drone, eleven police cars and they wanted
(13:25):
you before you came into your own community council meeting.
They arrested a young man. Now, I don't want it
throw anybody who leaves the bus. Somebody made a complaint
because they wanted to bring their guns in. Well, you know,
I've gone to places where you have to leave your
gun outside, the biker the Blues place downtown where the
(13:45):
bikers go, they lay down their colors and they leave
their guns outside. I'm not wanting to tell anyone what
to do with their gun. But there was a complaint
and the sheriff and the Hamilton County Sheriff showed up
in force. Where was that force when we were being intimidated.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
By the Nazis. Yeah, where was that force?
Speaker 2 (14:05):
The Evendelle police officer helped load the U haul with
their equipment and their flags.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
I would never touch.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
That flag, never. Yeah, So where was that force? And
I wasn't there. I know that the council meeting and
the Lincoln's council meeting was disruptive, and that the Hamilton
County Sheriff Department was out and they had a drone Lincoln.
He says, this big the council meeting isn't a building
(14:34):
smaller than your home. Uh, and they showed.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Up like that. Well you know this this display. Well,
let me let me make sure that I clarify a
couple of things too. I know that for me, the
guns are not for me. Not for me. I wish
that we lived in a world where nobody needed him.
(14:59):
I I've been fortunate enough to travel around the world,
and there are plenty of countries where nobody has a gun.
Been there, Yeah, exactly, nobody has a gun. The police
don't have guns, nobody. I've been to places where only
the police have guns, but they keep it in the
trunk of their car. Right. I've been to places where
everybody has guns, but police have guns, and they keep
their guns in the trunk of their car and they
(15:21):
have to make a call to get it out and
blah blah so that no one gets accidentally killed. Right,
there's responsible rules. So I've been to all these places.
I just know that no matter where I live, for me,
I don't think that I'm I was put here to
end of life. For other people, I recognize that this
is kind of a part of our nature, our history,
you know what I mean, Like we've going all the
way back to the beginning, we have killed each other.
(15:43):
That's just a part so to others vcs too, So
it's perhaps just a part of nature. And it may
be inescapable folks could argue that that's not where I'm
trying to go with this. I do feel like, however,
with this particular display, those masks that I saw in
the article, the black people masked up with the tactical
(16:08):
gear and the bulletproof vests and the big, the huge guns,
walking children across the street, black children across the street,
I believe that that is it is necessarily intimidating. It
is it is a display that suggests, all right, well,
(16:30):
if you want it, I got it. If you want
to try me, come try me. And that, I think
switches the narrative from add these are people who are vulnerable,
and we can go and pick on them, and we
can go and further marginalize and subjugate them and diminish
(16:52):
their what are their capacity to push back? It changes
the narrative from that to Okay, these people need to
be real expected. We need to be very careful how
we go about trying to intimidate them, or we should
probably leave these people alone. And that's a more favorable
position to be in given this current administration. We can
get back to the kumbayas and stuff. Once we get
(17:14):
to the we get to the table, to the table. Thanksce,
Will you allow us to the table, back.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
To the table the table and have fair We've never
had fair and equal. But yeah, And I think because
they came dressed like that, we need to meet.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Them dressed like that exactly. And this and I love
that because there's been a lot of complaints about, you know, Democrats,
to kick this up a level to politics, there's been
a lot of complaints about Democrats and their response to
Republicans holding all the levers of government, and it feels
to a lot of people quite limperistic, you know, And
(17:53):
I do recognize that there's a lot of nuance there.
I don't want to pick on Democrats unnecessarily, and I
do want to make sure that I do acknowledge that
there are at least more than one Republican person. We
don't see the world the same way, but they're trying
to do the right thing by black folks, the Constitution,
et cetera. They just feel how they feel whatever. But
(18:17):
in terms of like the way that this political administration
has really stripped from the federal level a lot of
the progress that black people have been pursuing. And there
you go that too. Yeah, you know, kind of where
we are is let's let's use what we can where
(18:41):
we are, when we're when we can right now, when
we can write and you know, if at present it's
still legal for black folks to bear arms because we're
still considered citizens, yes, so far, but that's what I mean,
if that's still the truth for us, then where we
are right now, using what we can right now, that
(19:03):
feels viable in the same way that and I was
going to ask you about this, in the same way
that boycotting feels viable. You know. One of the things
that has come not from Democrats specifically, but from we'll
say more progressive minds, has been okay, well, if all
these corporations are going to ben the need to Donald
Trump when they don't.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Need to, they don't have to write at all.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
And they have short memories apparently because they don't realize
that presidencies only last four years and black people last
forever and have been here forever. So you made a
strange bedfellow of this president. But if that's how you feel. Again,
more more progressive minds have kind of called for boycotts
of you know, amazons, of course, target walmarts, et cetera.
(19:49):
And so I want to get your thoughts on that too.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Well, I want to backtrack for just a moment. Donald
Trump thinks he's going to be president forever, forget the
four years, forget the four years. So he does believe
he's going to be our next dictator forever for humans,
especially for him.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
But on the.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Boycott side, yes, again, I love to go back to
my roost because that's who I am today in a
more progressive manner. But the churches have always boycotted going
back to you know, post slavery. It was a way
for us. And if you look at doctor King Junior's book,
(20:31):
Community or Chaos, where do we go from here? He
mentions that we go we need to go back because
we really didn't do it well enough. And he lays
out a platform and and I give this book to
everyone I can. I mean I gifted to them. He
leaves Community or Chaos? Where do we go from here?
(20:55):
And it's his last book and his wife did the
forward to it. But if we do not boycott with
our voices and our dollars, then without a gun, where
else do we havet I.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
Love that, you know what, It's it's crazy because there
are people who will invest in a system that's suppressing.
There are black people who are still on Twitter. I'm
gonna say that again. There are black people who are
still on Twitter. They don't they don't want to walk
away from their Twitter followers. And and to me, I'm like, okay, well,
(21:28):
you're investing in your own oppression. Thank you death and
you know not just you know what's taking place in
Lincoln Heights in terms of the community's response. But these
these boycotts, this this this exercising of what freedoms we
still do enjoy to spend our dollars and invest where
(21:49):
the soil is fertile. Yes, and to deny. And I'm
very petty and I hold grudge it so well and
I kind of love.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
It, know yourself.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Yeah, So anyway, we'll leave it right there. I would
love to thank you for taking the time to come
up and talk to us before you go. Is there
any social media, any websites, anything like that you want
to Yeah, well, it's.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Really simple to find me, even though I on Twitter.
I don't use Twitter, but I take my name on
everything so no one can use my name.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
So it's Sharin.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Sierra s h A r E N S like Sam
I E R R A. If you google Sharin Sierra
then you'll find me across my platforms and look for
a podcast coming soon. I'm returning back to media, okay,
to returning back to media. But most of all, do
(22:38):
what you can where you are, with or without me,
do what you can't.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
Where you are. I love that. I love that, and
don't forget. You can follow us on all social media.
I am at Rams's Jock q As, I am q Ward.
We are Civic Cipher on all platforms. Be sure to
give us a follow, and until next week, y'all peace,
Keep on riding with us, says, we continue to broadcast
the balance and defend the discourse from the Hip Hop
Weekly studios. Welcome back to Civic Cipher. I am your
host Rams's job. Big shout out to my brother q Ward,
who I know is supposed to be back in the studio,
but he will be back soon. I promise. We are
working all that out, but we are in good hands.
We are joined by Sharin Sierra King, journalist, public speaker,
(00:21):
and former radio host, life member of the NCNW as
well as NAACP, where she is actively engaged in public
public policy advocacy, voter protection efforts, and racial justice initiatives
at both the local and national levels, and also a
resident of Lincoln Heights, Ohio, the place that is making
national headlines for the Nazi demonstrations and the community response.
(00:42):
And we will be discussing that community response during this
part of the show, So stick around for that and
so much more because this is such an interesting conversation
that a lot of people are able to learn from.
But before we get there, it is time to discuss
Ba becoming a better ally Baba and today's Baba. We're
(01:02):
going to share from the website of Libertybank dot net. Yeah'
sor right, we're talking about money today, all right. In
nineteen seventy two, Liberty Bank and Trust Company was chartered
in New Orleans, Louisiana, with a focus on service, integrity
and a sincere interest in community and business development. Over
five decades later, Liberty Bank and Trust has over one
(01:23):
billion dollars in assets and branches in eleven states, making
it the largest Black or African American owned financial institution
in the United States. Liberty Banks growth has been the
result of acquisitions, fruitful partnerships, aggressive marketing, strong management, staff, productivity,
and the trust and enjoys in the community. It all
adds up to an efficient, well captured, well capitalized, sorry
(01:44):
institution that is perfectly positioned to continue fast paced growth
in both profits and assets. Liberty Bank has been serving
its communities for over fifty years with a commitment to
exceptional customer service, personalized solutions, and community involvement. They are
passionate about helping more people at more freedom. There's real
freedom there. The freedom you have as an individual to
(02:04):
attain your goals, as a business, to achieve your idea
of success, or even as a community that is gathering
strength to reach its full potential. Read more about them
at Forbes Business Insider, Business Wire, Fortune Magazine. It's a
long list and they are making headlines and that's why
we wanted to highlight them again or our Bobas segment again.
(02:27):
You can find out more at libertybank dot net. And
for those of you interested in finding a new financial institution,
our call to action here is that you give Liberty
Bank your consideration. We have done our best to vet
them again Forbes Business Insider, Business Wire, Fortune. It's a
much longer list than that. You don't need to even
(02:49):
take our word for it. You can definitely read about
them with some of those more reputable financial institutions and
hopefully make the right decision. All right, back to you, I.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Can endorse the Birdy Bank.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Okay, good, good, I love that. I am a member, right,
I love that? Okay, perfect. That's that's some serendipity for
you right there. All right. We've been having a conversation
about Nazis marching on Lincoln Heights, in my opinion, a
(03:26):
disgusting display of white supremacy, and the police's response, which
in many people's opinions, was simply to provide cover for
the Nazis. Yes, And now we're going to discuss the
(03:47):
community's response to those two elements, the Nazis' initial move
to try to intimidate this black town and the police's
do nothing approach to I don't hate Tate, thank you.
(04:08):
There it is. That was way simpler. So I want
to share a bit of a story and then we'll
have a conversation about the community response, because it turns
out that community is quite resilient. And you know, I'm
not a big fan of historically on this show. I'm
not a fan of guns. I'm not a fan of violence.
I'm not a fan of That's not my thing. My
heart just doesn't it's not in my heart that way. Q.
(04:30):
On the other hand, he's got a little bit more
room for that, right, And that's okay, you know, that's
that's okay. It takes place for all of it, right, right.
But i't me to share the story and get everyone
brought up to speed, okay. This from Newsweek. Residents of
a majority black town in Ohio have reportedly launched an
armed patrol for their protection after criticizing the police response
(04:52):
to a neo Nazi demonstration in February, the Cincinnati suburb
of Lincoln Heights garnered national attention after a neo Nazi
group way swastika flags and hurling racial slurs demonstrated on
a highway overpass on the edge of the community on
February seven. The incident sparked outrage, with residents at a
town hall questioning why officers from the neighboring village of
(05:12):
Evandale and deputies from the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office who
responded to the incident made no citations or arrests. They
expressed concerns that they would not be safe if another
similar incident occurred. Residents then stated the Lincoln Heights Safety
and Watch Program Sorry. They then started the Lincoln Heights
(05:34):
Safety and Watch Program. I hope I say this right.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Durrance Durronce Daniels.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Durrance Daniels, Okay.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Whose name it resonates throughout the valley as well. Yes,
his grandfather was one of our soos ship pastors.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Okay, okay, so here's somebody knows Everybodyim okay, good, good,
So all right, so I'll continue. Durrance Daniels, the watch
group spokesperson, told the Washington Post in February that residents
took up arms shortly after the neo Nazis left, and
community leaders formed the program in order to organize them.
The program coordinates about seventy guards to watch the roads
leading too into the town and go on arm patrols.
(06:10):
The Post reported Ohio law allows anyone legally permitted to
own a gun to open carry without a permit. The
group also patrols in your bus stops to make sure
students go to school safely. According to an NBC News report,
So you know again, I'm not a fan of guns.
Historically on this show, I have said, you know, I'm
(06:35):
not going to hide from this. Now, I'm going to
tell you how much I love this, but I'm not
going to hide from it. Okay, guns exist to end life.
That's it. That's the only that's the nature of the
deployment of that device. It's not a knife where you
can carve something with it, prepare food. No, it's just
to end life. And I don't believe that my purpose.
(07:00):
I was not created to end life, right, So for
me personally, my decision that's not right. When it's my time,
it'll be my time. I will live my life well,
and when my time comes, I will look at it
like a man and I will face that moment and
hopefully live that moment well too. However, I love this.
I love it, Oh my god, I love it so much. Right, Oh,
(07:22):
because you know, there's there's something to be said about
people who do feel like guns are for protection. I
historically have pushed back against that narrative because if someone
has to drop on you, something that's more protective is
(07:43):
a bulletproof vest. Right, protection is the name of the game.
But in mass this display certainly does provide a preventative
form of protection. Right. And as a fan of the
Panthers from from Oakland, right, I'm a fan of the Panthers.
(08:04):
You know, these these great leaders, these great movements in history. I,
like you, was made to learn about them, Yes, from
my father, doctor Rudolph Wayne Taylor, you know, who was
a minister. And you know, as we discussed in the
first part of the show, the church is again the
cultural watering hole for a lot of black communities. So
(08:25):
in Compton, California, Greater Grace Memorial Church of God in
Christ was that I hear it, right, But also you
know there are people like doctor Kimilla Westenberg, my teacher
in college, who was also a member of the NCNW,
who made sure that I learned about the Panthers and
about the misinformation and disinformation campaigns from the government. What
(08:48):
the Panthers stood for and stood on. The Panthers were
not They did not exist to harm people. They existed
to protect people, and that's what they did, largely children exactly.
And because there is such a deep did hatred that
is emboldened by the political administrations of the time or
even this even this current administration, because there's a deep
(09:13):
seated fear of black people gaining too much relative to
white people, that violence often erupts from that phenomenon, not
from black people just owning guns and patrolling their own streets.
And so I wanted to make sure that I stated
that now I want to let you, let you go
right now, because these are people, these are your people, Okay,
(09:36):
so let me get you started. Is this the right response?
Speaker 2 (09:41):
It was the right response for the moment, because if
you do not show it, I believe coming from the
upbringing I came from. Yes we had peaceful marches, Yes
we had peaceful pastors sharing what we should be doing
as a collaborative. But that moment in time, my babies
(10:01):
were coming from school. Yeah, that two thirty getting off
the bus. If not, then then when I don't longer
own a gun. But my mother had a gun on
her at all times, traveling back and forth to sell,
Alabama where we lived. It just was a matter of fact.
(10:23):
My mother was epitome of a black panther as far
as that the high yellow red hair come from Selma,
raised by her grandfather who kept a shotgun, you know,
by him at all times. Now do I believe in
the carry and just going into restaurants, No, but you
know here in Arizona happens all the time I was
(10:43):
at the doctor's office, guy was hosting his forty five.
And that is the state we now live in. Now,
I am a proponent of protection. And if it takes
patrolling your neighborhood, because they're still come in there. I
could show you a picture where they've been like throwing
(11:04):
all this literature around about the KK. Literature can't hurt me,
but their guns can't. And for me when it comes
to my elders, my community in general, but my elders
and my babies, at all costs, you know I'm willing
(11:24):
to lay down my life because I was only raised
to make sure that I did everything I could. I'm
a peaceful protester, but I am literally arming myself with
the information to do the work. As a public policy advocate.
I go to DC, I go to the state capitals,
I go advocating for the funds for the health departments.
(11:48):
The state health departments, they look at me like, Okay,
S're in whatever, But no, all of this matters. If
we have healthy communities, then we can have a thriving community,
if we have collaboration with partners who see us in
affordable housing. As I mentioned, Avendo has their grocery store.
Lincoln Heights had everything they needed within Lincoln Heights grocery stores, butchers,
(12:14):
they had wood makers, they had I hired from my
home in Kentucky. I hired a granite man who taught
whose sons didn't want to learn it, but he did
all my stonework. We had everything, and we were cut off.
They annexed the land around Lincoln Heights so to commercial
(12:36):
so we couldn't expand. So that's how I feel about
what they're doing with the hate groups. They are cutting
us off. They are demeaning us or attempting to demean us.
So yeah, you know, the movement to patrol and protect
our citizens is real, and it's necessary at this time
(12:59):
because we can not depend on the Evendale Police. I
talked to Carton Colins, the co founder of the Heights Movement, yesterday,
and they've been waiting for three days from a response
from the Hamilton County Shriff's office. Three days for a
response to a meeting that happened this past week where
there were a drone, eleven police cars and they wanted
(13:25):
you before you came into your own community council meeting.
They arrested a young man. Now, I don't want it
throw anybody who leaves the bus. Somebody made a complaint
because they wanted to bring their guns in. Well, you know,
I've gone to places where you have to leave your
gun outside, the biker the Blues place downtown where the
(13:45):
bikers go, they lay down their colors and they leave
their guns outside. I'm not wanting to tell anyone what
to do with their gun. But there was a complaint
and the sheriff and the Hamilton County Sheriff showed up
in force. Where was that force when we were being intimidated.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
By the Nazis. Yeah, where was that force?
Speaker 2 (14:05):
The Evendelle police officer helped load the U haul with
their equipment and their flags.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
I would never touch.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
That flag, never. Yeah, So where was that force? And
I wasn't there. I know that the council meeting and
the Lincoln's council meeting was disruptive, and that the Hamilton
County Sheriff Department was out and they had a drone Lincoln.
He says, this big the council meeting isn't a building
(14:34):
smaller than your home. Uh, and they showed.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Up like that. Well you know this this display. Well,
let me let me make sure that I clarify a
couple of things too. I know that for me, the
guns are not for me. Not for me. I wish
that we lived in a world where nobody needed him.
(14:59):
I I've been fortunate enough to travel around the world,
and there are plenty of countries where nobody has a gun.
Been there, Yeah, exactly, nobody has a gun. The police
don't have guns, nobody. I've been to places where only
the police have guns, but they keep it in the
trunk of their car. Right. I've been to places where
everybody has guns, but police have guns, and they keep
their guns in the trunk of their car and they
(15:21):
have to make a call to get it out and
blah blah so that no one gets accidentally killed. Right,
there's responsible rules. So I've been to all these places.
I just know that no matter where I live, for me,
I don't think that I'm I was put here to
end of life. For other people, I recognize that this
is kind of a part of our nature, our history,
you know what I mean, Like we've going all the
way back to the beginning, we have killed each other.
(15:43):
That's just a part so to others vcs too, So
it's perhaps just a part of nature. And it may
be inescapable folks could argue that that's not where I'm
trying to go with this. I do feel like, however,
with this particular display, those masks that I saw in
the article, the black people masked up with the tactical
(16:08):
gear and the bulletproof vests and the big, the huge guns,
walking children across the street, black children across the street,
I believe that that is it is necessarily intimidating. It
is it is a display that suggests, all right, well,
(16:30):
if you want it, I got it. If you want
to try me, come try me. And that, I think
switches the narrative from add these are people who are vulnerable,
and we can go and pick on them, and we
can go and further marginalize and subjugate them and diminish
(16:52):
their what are their capacity to push back? It changes
the narrative from that to Okay, these people need to
be real expected. We need to be very careful how
we go about trying to intimidate them, or we should
probably leave these people alone. And that's a more favorable
position to be in given this current administration. We can
get back to the kumbayas and stuff. Once we get
(17:14):
to the we get to the table, to the table. Thanksce,
Will you allow us to the table, back.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
To the table the table and have fair We've never
had fair and equal. But yeah, And I think because
they came dressed like that, we need to meet.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Them dressed like that exactly. And this and I love
that because there's been a lot of complaints about, you know, Democrats,
to kick this up a level to politics, there's been
a lot of complaints about Democrats and their response to
Republicans holding all the levers of government, and it feels
to a lot of people quite limperistic, you know, And
(17:53):
I do recognize that there's a lot of nuance there.
I don't want to pick on Democrats unnecessarily, and I
do want to make sure that I do acknowledge that
there are at least more than one Republican person. We
don't see the world the same way, but they're trying
to do the right thing by black folks, the Constitution,
et cetera. They just feel how they feel whatever. But
(18:17):
in terms of like the way that this political administration
has really stripped from the federal level a lot of
the progress that black people have been pursuing. And there
you go that too. Yeah, you know, kind of where
we are is let's let's use what we can where
(18:41):
we are, when we're when we can right now, when
we can write and you know, if at present it's
still legal for black folks to bear arms because we're
still considered citizens, yes, so far, but that's what I mean,
if that's still the truth for us, then where we
are right now, using what we can right now, that
(19:03):
feels viable in the same way that and I was
going to ask you about this, in the same way
that boycotting feels viable. You know. One of the things
that has come not from Democrats specifically, but from we'll
say more progressive minds, has been okay, well, if all
these corporations are going to ben the need to Donald
Trump when they don't.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
Need to, they don't have to write at all.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
And they have short memories apparently because they don't realize
that presidencies only last four years and black people last
forever and have been here forever. So you made a
strange bedfellow of this president. But if that's how you feel. Again,
more more progressive minds have kind of called for boycotts
of you know, amazons, of course, target walmarts, et cetera.
(19:49):
And so I want to get your thoughts on that too.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Well, I want to backtrack for just a moment. Donald
Trump thinks he's going to be president forever, forget the
four years, forget the four years. So he does believe
he's going to be our next dictator forever for humans,
especially for him.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
But on the.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Boycott side, yes, again, I love to go back to
my roost because that's who I am today in a
more progressive manner. But the churches have always boycotted going
back to you know, post slavery. It was a way
for us. And if you look at doctor King Junior's book,
(20:31):
Community or Chaos, where do we go from here? He
mentions that we go we need to go back because
we really didn't do it well enough. And he lays
out a platform and and I give this book to
everyone I can. I mean I gifted to them. He
leaves Community or Chaos? Where do we go from here?
(20:55):
And it's his last book and his wife did the
forward to it. But if we do not boycott with
our voices and our dollars, then without a gun, where
else do we havet I.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
Love that, you know what, It's it's crazy because there
are people who will invest in a system that's suppressing.
There are black people who are still on Twitter. I'm
gonna say that again. There are black people who are
still on Twitter. They don't they don't want to walk
away from their Twitter followers. And and to me, I'm like, okay, well,
(21:28):
you're investing in your own oppression. Thank you death and
you know not just you know what's taking place in
Lincoln Heights in terms of the community's response. But these
these boycotts, this this this exercising of what freedoms we
still do enjoy to spend our dollars and invest where
(21:49):
the soil is fertile. Yes, and to deny. And I'm
very petty and I hold grudge it so well and
I kind of love.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
It, know yourself.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Yeah, So anyway, we'll leave it right there. I would
love to thank you for taking the time to come
up and talk to us before you go. Is there
any social media, any websites, anything like that you want
to Yeah, well, it's.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
Really simple to find me, even though I on Twitter.
I don't use Twitter, but I take my name on
everything so no one can use my name.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
So it's Sharin.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Sierra s h A r E N S like Sam
I E R R A. If you google Sharin Sierra
then you'll find me across my platforms and look for
a podcast coming soon. I'm returning back to media, okay,
to returning back to media. But most of all, do
(22:38):
what you can where you are, with or without me,
do what you can't.
Speaker 1 (22:44):
Where you are. I love that. I love that, and
don't forget. You can follow us on all social media.
I am at Rams's Jock q As, I am q Ward.
We are Civic Cipher on all platforms. Be sure to
give us a follow, and until next week, y'all peace,
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