Let's Talk About It

I’m moving “Let’s Talk About It! to PodBean. The URL is https://sammyortiz.podbean.com. It’s also on iTunes. I hope you’ll continue to listen. Im going to focus on my personal brand on Anchor.

At what point doe we call White men who kill people terrorists? There was no hesitation to call the killer in New York a terrorist. Why the hesitation when they’re White? Somebody please help me understand...

Addiction is a crime for people with more melanin than White people. In the 80’s when Crack was an issue, the solution was to criminalize those addicted to it. Today, White’s are addicted to Opiates. That is not criminalized. On the contrary, it’s an epidemic that needs to be treated. How hypocritical to state things differently based on skin color. Addiction didn’t discriminate.

The Civil War was fought over slavery! It was not about the North and the South’s inability to compromise. Little by little the narrative is being changed in hopes to rewrite history.

I spent time with Dave today. He sought me out to ask questions on what he could do to aid the conversation about racism amongst his white brothers in the church.

Lecrae is causing quite the stir due to leaving White Evangelicalism. People of color don’t feel reflected in the movement and there’s a mass exodus taking place.

In my interview with Eric we cover things like “Take the Knee”, to White privilege, to what we can do to end White Supremacy. It was determined that we’d have to revisit the last point.

The POTUS’s recent visit to Puerto Rico did nothing more than show how inept and insensitive he is in dealing with people. His mockery of how Puerto Rican’s speak shows his bias and racism.

Folks lost their minds this weekend concerning “Take the Knee” as athletes protest police brutality and injustice. Also, today marks the 60th Anniversary of the Little Rock Nine.

Clark Pfaff speaks about his epiphany on what people of color go through on a day to day basis unlike white dominant culture. A very candid conversation about white privilege.

Whitesplaining is real. I experienced myself. The Jason Shockley verdict reopens the wound that never heals. Racism is the symptom, white supremacy is the disease.

Tyrone Peterson speaks about what it was like growing up as a white kid in a predominantly black neighborhood. He gives perspective about what it's like to receive bias as a white person.

How should we respond to racial inequity? Should it anger us? Should it call us to action? What should our posture be towards or against it?

I had a conversation today and that's what somebody told me. What does that mean, "I don't see color!"? If you press people who say this, they'll say something even weirder, "I have a black friend."

Here are some call-ins about ending white supremacy. You too can call in if you download the Anchor app.

The problem isn't white privilege. It's white supremacy! We must remove it from an individualistic perspective so that we can address the system and put an end to it.

Nearly 300 alumni from Liberty University are returning their diplomas on September 5th in protest of Jerry Falwell Jr's support of Donald Trump comments concerning Charlottesville.

Dr. Dwight Perry talks about his experience as an African American man living through the Civil Rights Movement. He expresses his concerns about the silence from White Evangelicals.

The only one who can heal us our hurts is Jesus! Listen as I tell of how God has brought redemption to my story. I experienced racism from a white kindergarten teacher. Today I'm married to one.

Dear White American Christians, please speak out against racism! Now is the time to raise your voices. Don't remain silent like you did during times of slavery and the civil rights movement.

Skirmishes break out at the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville,VA.

Bernard Emerson talks about what it's like to be black. Tells stories about how the police treated youth in Oakland, CA when he was growing up. Gives a different perspective on reconciliation.

Model Ashley Graham said on her interview with New York Magazine, 'I Know I'm on This Pedestal Because of White Privilege'.

My wife and I speak about what it was like being an interracial couple when it was not as accepted as it is today.

Diversity in the workplace in important! It's a representation of the community at large. I go to the most diverse barbershop in Wesley Chapel, FL., with the only black barber in town.

Emmett Luis Till was 14 years old when he was brutally abducted and killed in 1955 for supposedly flirting with a white woman named Carolyn Bryant. She later admitted to lying about the whole thing.

Russell Johnson, Area Director for Urban Young Life in Tampa Bay speaks on how leaders in the Latino and African American community carry the entire race in their shoulders.

Dr. Steve Smith with Church Equippers speaks about his experiences with racial bias. He gives his perspective on what justice looks like and how racial reconciliation can be achieved.

Are white people more valuable than nonwhites? This is the impression that's given by the reaction to the death of A white person by police.

Jasmine Shepard should have been the first Black valedictorian at Cleveland High School in Mississippi. But she was denied this honor when she was forced to share it with an unqualified white student.

I interviewed Darryl Williamson, pastor of Living Faith Bible Fellowship and asked him if he had ever experienced racial bias, what does justice look like to him, and we could pursue reconciliation.

What does justice look like for somebody who has experienced implicit racial bias? Is it as easy as saying please forgive me, so now just forget about it?

St. Petersburg, FL Mayoral candidate Paul Congemi tells audience members to "Go back to Africa if they don't like it here in the United States"

A white Minneapolis woman killed by police whose cameras were off insights an outcry for a thorough investigation. Is the sentiment different because she was white?

From here on out I'll be doing mini-casts and interviews. Would love for you to call-in, but you need to download the Anchor app from my station at anchor.fm/letstalkaboutit

Why is it that the conversation about inequality often times leads to defensiveness and anger? Why can't we just agree to disagree and still have the difficult talks?

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the riots in Newark, NJ where 26 people dies after 5 days of violence.

While today we celebrate the 241st birthday of our independence, not all in this country share the sentiment of that liberty and freedom from tyranny.

Welcome to Let's Talk About It. • We need racial reconciliation! • Keep it up!