Topic   National Uprisings Against Police Brutality,  George Floyd, Police  ReformTitle: Rising Up Toward Freedom:  Optimism and HopeParticipants:  Denise Spencer, MBABroadcast Air Date: 06/12/20Time: Station: KUCR 88.3 FM Riverside, CAKUCR station page: http://www.kucr.orgArchive pages: https://soundcloud.com/stoppretending, http://www.dreport.orgSend comments about this segment to: [email protected]Segment produced in KUCR, the radio station of the University California in Riverside.Disclaimer: The views expressed are the sole responsibility of  the respective speakers and do not represent the endorsed position of  the UC Regents, UC Riverside or KUCR.Discussion Topics: Did Covid-19 create a catalyst for change in this country and other countries? How do we create a new normal that is inclusive? This is a painful time, but it is also a hopeful time. We must be encourage by the bravery and tenacity of this upcoming youthful generation. The murder of George Floyd and the lives of all the people that were cut short will give us life and gives freedom. How do we build a world where the children of today do not  get to know the kind of oppression experienced by the past? How has the police historically used violence to create and enforce the category of “people of color?” Why  do some people tell us to wait and be patient for society to change,  when we stand on the benefit of generations before us that were  impatient and fought to change things for the better? The  movement of protest is representative of the United States because  “every community” is standing in solidarity in support that Black lives  matter. Is this the beginning of revolutionary change? “A taste of freedom is what I long for…”- Denise Spencer We owe the mass movement of uprising our hope. How did the Covid-19 shelter in place protocols create a population of greater awareness? How  do we make peace with the contradictions of aspiration stories of  liberty and freedom, while understanding that the United States was  built on legally supported inequality? Can the police be both good and bad? What is the effect being able to prove police abuse through video? Racism is a mechanism of control to help the people in the money maintain their status. The increments of change that we have seen in our lifetime come from the type of revolutionary action we see today. This is not the time to throw up our own roadblock in our minds, we must the people   fighting for a better world. We owe it to people protesting on the streets, to let go of our [academic] rhetoric and join them. The days of oppression will end, we demand police reform. Why did the White House put a second fence?