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Two women, a message, and a question back.

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To quote this piece: “Two women, a message, and a question back,” We Them Media, https://wethem.xyz/watch/a-question-for-the-city-north-philly-philadelphia. Each transcript line links to its second.

A note before this one: both women here talk about people being killed in their neighbourhood, and about guns, and it stays where they put it.

What is it like being a black woman in Philadelphia? Two women take the camera on together, one from North Philly. “As black people, we need to look out for each other,” the first says. The second: “a lot of killing, a lot of stray bullets going on.” Between them: “Start fighting and put the guns down.”

One says, “It’s tough. It’s hard.” The other: “At the end of the day, we strong black women out here. You can never break a black woman.” On black men: “Some of them are. I’m going to give you your props, but some of y’all gotta do better.” She has skin in it: “I got a son. I’m raising a king.”

Her message to young men: “Don’t let nobody tell you you can’t do shit. You can do whatever the fuck you want to do.” The other woman keeps hers to four words, repeated: “Put the guns down.” Three minutes, Philadelphia.

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Transcribed from the original audio and corrected for names. Search every transcript

These are the speaker’s own words. We have not checked their claims.

0:00A: Yeah, whatever you want.

0:02B: Okay, we gonna do it together.

0:03C: All right, listen, city shit. We need to get fucking better. As black people, we need to look out for each other. It ass.

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0:08B: No, a lot of killing, a lot of stray bullets going on.

0:12C: Real shit. Get y’all life together.

0:13B: Get better.

0:14C: Yeah.

0:14B: Get in the field. Start fighting and put the guns down.

0:16C: Yes, real shit.

0:18A: How is it being a woman in Philadelphia? A black woman in Philadelphia?

0:21B: It’s tough. It’s hard.

0:22C: It’s tough. At the end of the day, we strong black women out here. You can never break a black woman. A single black woman, black mother, you can’t break. You feel like black men are doing what you’re supposed to do? Some of them are. I’m going to give you your props, but some of y’all gotta do better.

0:35B: Absolutely.

0:35C: Y’all gotta do better, all right? As a Black man, you gotta do better. You a king. Do better. What’s king? I got a son. I’m raising a king.

0:43A: Okay.

0:43C: Yeah, do better. Go ahead, cousin. Yes. My son?

0:46A: Give a message to young Black men in Philadelphia.

0:48C: My message to Black men in Philadelphia? Don’t let nobody tell you you can’t do shit. You can do whatever the fuck you want to do.

0:53B: Put the guns down. Put the guns down. That’s my message to all the young men out there in Philadelphia. Put the guns down.

0:59A: Give a question for people across the city.

1:01B: Across the city?

1:01C: Yeah, question.

1:04A: No. Ask anything. Like the the point is to be curious, even if it doesn’t feel comfortable or organic.

1:10C: I don’t know.

1:12A: Three, two, one.

1:14C: My cousin, what’s going on? We we vlogging.

1:16A: Pick a question. What’s your name?

1:19B: Mama’s.

1:19A: Mama’s. It’s nice to meet you. I’m a say.

1:21B: Nice to meet you.

1:22A: So if you could ask people across the city one question, what would you ask them?

1:25B: Um, if you could change your environment, what would you change your environment to be? Did that make sense?

1:32A: Definitely, definitely. You make a lot of sense. Tipsy right now. But that’s okay.

1:36B: I wish I could. A lot of people, I know a lot of people wish they could change their environment and they can’t, you know. That’s my question.

1:44A: Are you from Germantown?

1:46B: No.

1:46A: What part of Philly?

1:47B: North.

1:48A: Okay. What’s your favorite part about North Philly? What’s your favorite part about North Philly? I’m a little bit drunk too.

1:52B: There is none.

1:53A: You don’t have a favorite part?

1:55B: I mean, the barbecue during the summertime.

1:58A: Okay.

1:59B: The music.

2:00A: Okay.

2:01B: The blocks popping. Everybody lit, having fun. But other than that, it’s just a lot of killing, a lot of Fighting and shit like that.

2:09A: So when you think about community, what comes to mind? Yo, my camera isn’t great, but it’s an iPhone.

2:13C: What? No, it looks crazy though. Let me help you out. Let me help you out.

2:16A: Oh, okay. Look at that. Look, I like that. That’s how you do it. That’s teamwork. So when you think about community, what comes to mind?

2:22B: Natural.

2:24C: Look at that pretty smile.

2:25B: People coming together.

2:26A: Okay.

2:27B: As one.

2:29C: Yeah.

2:30A: And when you think about one moment in your lifetime and not in Philadelphia, what is that?

2:33B: I’m sorry, say that again.

2:34A: Do you have a moment in Philadelphia that for you is like, that was community? If you had a moment that comes to mind when you think about community in Philadelphia, what comes to mind? Nothing.

2:42B: I mean, I can’t really think of much, but I probably like people marching on the streets saying like, stop the violence and shit like that.

2:51A: In 2020?

2:52C: 2022.

2:52B: Oh, wait a minute, wait a minute.

2:54A: This year?

2:54C: She said to the right, not to the left.

2:55A: What were they protesting?

2:56B: They was protesting like, you, like people die often in Philly. So people, families come out and they protest for their family members. So you might come across one here and there, and I came across a few.

3:10A: Yeah, yeah. Okay, thank you. Oh yeah.

That was the whole tape.

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