Why We Protest

How do Houston police officers "drop bait" and what does it mean? What do you feel when you protest? What is the significance of voting when dismantling racism? This episode, Arthur Maxwell Powell II discusses these topics with Mr. Demarcus Walker. Demarcus Walker is a Las Vegas, Nevada native that now reside in Houston, Texas. Demarcus is a graduate of Texas Southern University (TSU), an HBCU in Houston. At TSU, Demarcus was track and field athlete and coach. Now, Mr. Walker is a Black educator and founder of the Gents/Gems League.

Reach out to Demarcus Walker on,

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/demarcus.walker.5

This is my seventh interview, recorded on Thursday, June 11th, 2020.

International protests following the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbery have dominated recent news coverage. However, the peaceful demonstrations' character, purpose, and scale have been miscommunicated. Birthed out of his frustration, Arthur Maxwell Powell II created this podcast to have direct conversations with protestors from Las Vegas, NV to Washington, D.C. Check it out here: https://anchor.fm/whyweprotest Thank you for listening!

Main questions: How do you define “protest”? Why is protesting important? Why did YOU decide to protest? How did you prepare for protesting? What happened on the way to, during, and after your protesting experience? Has mainstream media and major news corporations reported on protests accurately? How so? What can we do to end systemic racism in our society? What keeps you hopeful that our descendants will line in a better world?

Is there an education disparity targeting Black America during the COVID-19 pandemic? What resources do teachers need for learning to be more effective? What should be incorporated when reforming education curriculums? This episode, Arthur Maxwell Powell II discusses these topics with Mr. Demarcus Walker. Demarcus Walker is a Las Vegas, Nevada native that now reside in Houston, Texas. Demarcus is a graduate of Texas Southern University (TSU), an HBCU in Houston. At TSU, Demarcus was track and field athlete and coach. Now, Mr. Walker is a Black educator and founder of the Gents/Gems League.

Reach out to Demarcus Walker on,

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/demarcus.walker.5

This is my seventh interview, recorded on Thursday, June 11th, 2020.

International protests following the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbery have dominated recent news coverage. However, the peaceful demonstrations' character, purpose, and scale have been miscommunicated. Birthed out of his frustration, Arthur Maxwell Powell II created this podcast to have direct conversations with protestors from Las Vegas, NV to Washington, D.C. Check it out here: https://anchor.fm/whyweprotest Thank you for listening!

Main questions: How do you define “protest”? Why is protesting important? Why did YOU decide to protest? How did you prepare for protesting? What happened on the way to, during, and after your protesting experience? Has mainstream media and major news corporations reported on protests accurately? How so? What can we do to end systemic racism in our society? What keeps you hopeful that our descendants will line in a better world?

Addie Mae Collins, 14. Cynthia Wesley, 14. Carole Robertson, 14. Carol Denise McNair, 11. These young, beautiful, black girls had their lives taken by an act of white supremacist terrorism in Birmingham, Alabama. White supremacists bombed the African-American 16th Street Baptist Church on Sunday, September 15, 1963.

In a Protestant Council of the City of New York panel discussion with James Baldwin and Reinhold Niebuhr, Dr. Thomas C. Kilgore, Jr. asked, “Does this faceless picture suggest to you a meaning of the Birmingham tragedy?” Baldwin rebutted, “It suggests to me several meanings. If I were going to be cynical this morning, I would say that the absence of the face is something of an achievement, since we’ve been victimized so long by an alabaster Christ. It suggests much more seriously something else, and to me it sums up the crisis that we’ve been living through. If Christ has no face, then perhaps it is time that we … give him a new face. … And make the whole ideal, the whole hope of Christian love, a reality.”

Baldwin challenges us to act with the “hope of Christian love” and give Christ “a new face” in the world.

This episode is was recorded on Tuesday, September 15th, 2020, exactly 57 years after the 16th Street Baptist Church.

International protests following the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbery have dominated recent news coverage. However, the peaceful demonstrations' character, purpose, and scale have been miscommunicated. Birthed out of his frustration, Arthur Maxwell Powell II created this podcast to have direct conversations with protestors from Las Vegas, NV to Washington, D.C. Check it out here: https://anchor.fm/whyweprotest Thank you for listening!

What is the difference between protesting in a privileged community versus a suffering community? As a Black woman, how does it feel to be honored by protestors during a Black woman-led protest? How much bias is shown on the news? This episode, Arthur Maxwell Powell II discusses these topics with Alexandrea Wilson. Alexandrea Wilson is a Chicago native, currently studying for her masters degree in social work focusing on the intersection between health outcomes, food security and justice.

Reach out to Alexandrea Wilson on,

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sincerelyalexw/

This is my sixth interview, recorded on Thursday, June 11th, 2020.

International protests following the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbery have dominated recent news coverage. However, the peaceful demonstrations' character, purpose, and scale have been miscommunicated. Birthed out of his frustration, Arthur Maxwell Powell II created this podcast to have direct conversations with protestors from Las Vegas, NV to Washington, D.C. Check it out here: https://anchor.fm/whyweprotest Thank you for listening!

Main questions: How do you define “protest”? Why is protesting important? Why did YOU decide to protest? How did you prepare for protesting? What happened on the way to, during, and after your protesting experience? Has mainstream media and major news corporations reported on protests accurately? How so? What can we do to end systemic racism in our society? What keeps you hopeful that our descendants will line in a better world?

What is growing up in "one of the most segregated [major] cites in America" (Chicago, IL) like? What is it like seeing someone get hit by a police car at eight years old? Is the Black Lives Matter and Civil Rights Movement polluted with sexism and patriarchy? This episode, Arthur Maxwell Powell II discusses these topics with Alexandrea Wilson. Alexandrea Wilson is a Chicago native, currently studying for her masters degree in social work focusing on the intersection between health outcomes, food security and justice. *Bonus* She reads a poem entitled, "I'll Make Room For You: Flowers for Breonna Taylor, Sandra Bland, and Aiyana Mo'Nay Stanley-Jones."

Reach out to Alexandrea Wilson on,

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sincerelyalexw/

This is my sixth interview, recorded on Thursday, June 11th, 2020.

International protests following the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbery have dominated recent news coverage. However, the peaceful demonstrations' character, purpose, and scale have been miscommunicated. Birthed out of his frustration, Arthur Maxwell Powell II created this podcast to have direct conversations with protestors from Las Vegas, NV to Washington, D.C. Check it out here: https://anchor.fm/whyweprotest Thank you for listening!

Main questions: How do you define “protest”? Why is protesting important? Why did YOU decide to protest? How did you prepare for protesting? What happened on the way to, during, and after your protesting experience? Has mainstream media and major news corporations reported on protests accurately? How so? What can we do to end systemic racism in our society? What keeps you hopeful that our descendants will line in a better world?

What does it mean to be "pro-black"? What isn't being captured at D.C. protests? Who should we have learned more about in America's school system? How are African Americans "sheltered without living sheltered lives" in, what Rev. Dr. Frederick Douglass Haynes, III calls, these "Disunited States of America"? Arthur Maxwell Powell II asks Essence Epperson, Tuskegee University history major and Prince George’s County, Maryland native. Essence Epperson has her foot in multiple doors as she expresses her beliefs and racial identity through her writing, photography and painting.

Reach out to Essence Epperson on,

Twitter: https://twitter.com/essenceepps

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/essenceepps/

The Blackest Coffee: https://www.instagram.com/theblackestcoffee/

Recovering Pessimists: https://www.instagram.com/recovering.pessimists/

This is my fourth interview, recorded on Tuesday, June 9th, 2020.

International protests following the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbery have dominated recent news coverage. However, the peaceful demonstrations' character, purpose, and scale have been miscommunicated. Birthed out of his frustration, Arthur Maxwell Powell II created this podcast to have direct conversations with protestors from Las Vegas, NV to Washington, D.C. Check it out here: https://anchor.fm/whyweprotest Thank you for listening!

Main questions: How do you define “protest”? Why is protesting important? Why did YOU decide to protest? How did you prepare for protesting? What happened on the way to, during, and after your protesting experience? Has mainstream media and major news corporations reported on protests accurately? How so? What can we do to end systemic racism in our society? What keeps you hopeful that our descendants will line in a better world?

What does it mean to be "pro-black"? What isn't being captured at D.C. protests? Who should we have learned more about in America's school system? How are African Americans "sheltered without living sheltered lives" in, what Rev. Dr. Frederick Douglass Haynes, III calls, these "Disunited States of America"? Arthur Maxwell Powell II asks Essence Epperson, Tuskegee University history major and Prince George’s County, Maryland native. Essence Epperson has her foot in multiple doors as she expresses her beliefs and racial identity through her writing, photography and painting. 

Reach out to Essence Epperson on,

Twitter: https://twitter.com/essenceepps

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/essenceepps/

The Blackest Coffee: https://www.instagram.com/theblackestcoffee/

Recovering Pessimists: https://www.instagram.com/recovering.pessimists/ 

This is my fourth interview, recorded on Tuesday, June 9th, 2020.

International protests following the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbery have dominated recent news coverage. However, the peaceful demonstrations' character, purpose, and scale have been miscommunicated. Birthed out of his frustration, Arthur Maxwell Powell II created this podcast to have direct conversations with protestors from Las Vegas, NV to Washington, D.C. Check it out here: https://anchor.fm/whyweprotest Thank you for listening! 

Main questions: How do you define “protest”? Why is protesting important? Why did YOU decide to protest? How did you prepare for protesting? What happened on the way to, during, and after your protesting experience? Has mainstream media and major news corporations reported on protests accurately? How so? What can we do to end systemic racism in our society? What keeps you hopeful that our descendants will line in a better world?

Nigerian activist, orator, and change maker Eze. Chinedu Nwokeafor advocates for cooperation, collaboration, and Black excellence in education. This episode, Chinedu converses with Arthur Maxwell Powell II about the youth, systemic racism, mainstream media, being led by God, fighting for justice, and disrupting order. 

Activism has been a major pillar in the development of Chinedu. He has led major peaceful protests in the Baltimore area, since 2012. He prides himself on being a voice for his community as well as a leader to his peers. In 2012 he led hundreds of Morgan State University students through the streets of Baltimore as they demonstrated after Trayvon Martin Died. As the years went by similar demonstrations took place for Freddie Gray, Mike Brown, and so many others. Activism is dear to Chinedu's heart, and no matter what field he is in, he continues to question the status quo, and create new opportunities for growth and cooperation from opposing sides. Currently, Chinedu serves as a minority business liaison at Morgan State University. He was also a 2018 Forbes 30 Under 30 Scholar, China-U.S. Relations Fellow at Harvard (Project Pengyou), and plaintiff for the HBCU Equity Lawsuit. Ultimately, Chinedu envisions a career with the White House Initiative on HBCUs under the U.S. Department of Education. 

Reach out to Eze. Chinedu Nwokeafor: https://www.thechinedu.com/

This is my second interview, recorded on Tuesday, June 9th, 2020.

Main questions: How do you define “protest”? Why is protesting important? Why did YOU decide to protest? How did you prepare for protesting? What happened on the way to, during, and after your protesting experience? Has mainstream media and major news corporations reported on protests accurately? How so? What can we do to end systemic racism in our society? What keeps you hopeful that our descendants will line in a better world?