Transcribed and speaker-separated with AssemblyAI from the original audio, so nothing is masked. The letters are the model's speaker labels, not names; fillers are dropped by the model. Names corrected. Published in full so it can be read, searched and quoted. Search every transcript →
0:02AWhat’s interesting about We the People is, um, a community of people who live in proximity and know each other, who, uh, have various areas of experience and expertise to organize. Um, Ann Mintz is one of the first people that comes to mind. She’s always had for years house concerts or organized music events at Redding Terminal Market or any area musician. But she actually also was at Ben Franklin Institute as an organizer of -- look at all their displays and all what they do to outreach and communicate science to the community. So she was an experienced person to how to plan something. And we’ve seen these little uprisings, like in Minneapolis is one most famous.
0:02ABut we were organized before they got so beleaguered with their ICE, you know, visits. But they came through with organizing locally, and we had our version here in Germantown, West Mount Airy, Chestnut Hill, Elkins Park, you know, that vicinity of Philly and right over the edge in the Other state, and so someone said, “I can organize musicians.” Kenny Ulansek, he’s a big connector in the web of musical connections here, including Andre Salong. So he goes, “I think it’d be great to have musicians come and play and be a place where we’re actually being entertained as a serious speaker speaks to the issue of what’s happening to our immigration detention camps, our.” schools, our medical systems, our multitude of areas where there’s breakdown in social infrastructure, taking away the supports that we need.
0:02ASo we have to, like, be voices, basically. And we are, we the people, to say, oh yeah? We have some power, but we understand it’s locally. Done. And that model has been springing up all around the country, all around the world, and they’re the main drivers of getting social movements going. When you actually have people who want to show up in a shady little train station, um, uh, Allen’s Lane train station is where we first started. Oh, really? In April of last year on Wednesdays. So they called, oh, we’re about We the People and that idea from the Constitution saying it’s our government’s supposed to work for us, and it’s partnered with this society that cares and helps to make it happen.
0:02AIsn’t it all the government? It isn’t all the people. It has to be a partnership. Yes. And we can’t have basically a lot of the policing be our enemies, or the justice system failing us, or politicians that we’re going to get mad. We’re gonna hear -- listen to smart people and play some music and give ourselves a sense of hope because it is frickin’ dispiriting, traumatizing. That’s the word. That’s a frickin’ trauma to live in this society right now. What’s been happening since Donald Trump became president. I know it’s been analyzed. The trends were there beforehand. But he got on a big train, he got a lot of people on board.
0:02AAnd there are billionaires who have the capacity to absolutely train the algorithms that feed everybody’s social media feeds. And there’s kind of 2 camps: the more positive and the more, you know, the more -- I said positive -- more pro-social. Mm-hmm. They’re pro-social. And there was others who are not so much. It’s about what tax, you know, benefits I can get, what’s for me, outright graft, outright corruption, anti-science. So that’s the big picture of what we’re protesting. We the People, show up and videotape and find your -- grow your outlet, because that’s one thing we’re not -- we’re missing. We don’t have enough Um, like I told you, there’s, there’s written form.
0:02AYeah. And there’s some more verbal. Like, there’s way more than just the Moth Story Hour. By the way, we have our own storytelling in Philadelphia. Okay, that’s been going on. Yeah. No, no, a takeoff on Moth, um, Radio Hour, which is about people telling their stories. Oh, I’ve heard of Moth Radio Hour. They do do it in Philly, but guess what else we’ve started before the pandemic. First Person Arts also decided to do our own Philly version, and we would just put it out -- the organizers, not really we -- but come in and draw a number, and if your number’s drawn, You get to go on.
0:02AAnd so my first visit, that’s what happened. What happened? Did you go? My number was pulled. The first time? And you got 5 minutes and they give you a topic, what it’s going to be about. The things that come out of people’s mouths -- I did okay. I’m glad it was recorded and it went on the internet. So did all the other people on all that particular theme. That’s really cool. So, Maceo, I want to see you more. By the way, do you know about -- there’s a new media group that does interviews around town, and their whole thing is what’s happening in the community and put it on a local little channel.
0:02AGet it on just radio. It’s called G-Town Radio. Okay, yeah, I have heard of that. All right. Yes, it is. I’ve seen it. Yeah, that’s cool. Oh yeah, I’m, I’m gonna check it out. Check it out over there. Now, I met -- when I was there, um, I joined a little community on Maplewood, the Maplewood Collective. Um, so along the way, the mediums -- we knew that G-Town Radio was there, but there was another group I have some memory problems, uh, that started with a father and son who were, uh, like Germantown, Mount Airy family. And, um, they show up with their cameras and they shoot, and then they put it on the local TV.
0:02ADarn if I can remember. Anyway, I’m the one that told the Maplewood Collective, uh, group, um, we can get interviews. That’s what their whole purpose is about, is What’s happening, man? You know, let’s find out what’s happening. Get the stories. How did it come to be? What you doing? How do you frame things? Remember us talking about frames? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, we need to hear different people’s frames. That’s kind of my goal. All right, that’s it. That’s what you got. So I’ll see you around. Maybe you’ll come to Maplewood Collective.
