Join The Gist of Freedom with host Roy Paul as he speaks with attorney activist Michael Coard.

 

Michael Coard will discuss how voters and city officials decided after being sued for police brutality it was more feasible to shutdown Jennings Missour's Police department. 

Michael Coard — lawyer, activist, teacher — on defending the bad guys, fixing the city’s court system, hating on hip-hop, and forever changing the way you see George Washington

Criminal defense attorney Michael Coard is in constant motion. One minute he's involved in a high-profile cop-murder case; the next, he's hosting a radio show on WURD; then he's off to teach a hip-hop music course at Temple. His biggest project of late? Fighting the National Park Service to reinterpret American history. A North Philly kid who once dreamed of a baseball career, Coard harbors the highest hopes for his hometown even as his work keeps him ensconced in our city's underbelly. Over lunch at Butcher & Singer, we talked about why he does it all, and where he draws inspiration.