The Protest Coverage Podcast

In this episode of The Protest Coverage Podcast community organizer Power Malu takes us through his journey from boxing prospect and music video fixture to traveling the world and being a voice for the people looking to lead a healthy lifestyle.

In Part II of our discussion with 21-year-old Prakash Churaman, we learn what his future goals are beyond his case and how he envisions a world where coercion of false confessions is eliminated by legal mandate.

Prakash Churaman is fighting for his life. The 21-year-old was arrested when he was 15 on a murder charge and forced to wait behind bars for four years before his trial was completed in 2018. After being convicted, Churaman won his appeal and had the conviction overturned in June 2020, prompting The State of New York to offer a plea bargain that would virtually set him free, but with a B-class felony on his record. Churaman turned down the offer, proclaiming his innocence and the belief that "the NYPD kidnapped him at the age of 15." As a result the State is still pursuing a conviction at his new trial, set for July 14. If Churaman is convicted, he faces life in prison.

In a new segment of The Protest Coverage Podcast co-host Amanda Fariah explores what happens after the news cycle has moved on from tragedy, after the story is no longer trending, after the hashtag disappears from our social media timelines. In our first installment of AFTER THE HASHTAG Amanda is joined by Toshira Garraway, whose fiancé Justin Tiegen was found dead in a recycling bin in St. Paul, Minnesota back in 2009 under mysterious circumstances.

Power Malu is a well-known organizer in New York City who has a wealth of experiences that led him to starting The Overthrow Community Fridge. In future episodes we will dive into Power touring the world, pioneering hip-hop television shows and how it all started with learning lessons from his father, a professional boxer. In this episode Power explains how he helped to create New York City's first-ever plant-based community fridge.

On the first day of the Derek Chauvin trial proceedings, the people of Minnesota (with a little New York City sprinkled in) shared their thoughts with our Amanda Fariah and predicted whether or not justice will be served for George Floyd.

Organizer and Tigrayan native Wegahta Tessema helps unpack the situation in Ethiopia's northernmost region where hundreds are killed everyday and millions face starvation.

In this week's episode, we talked with an organizer in the Black Trans community in Washington D.C. Onika Williams has endured hardships most of us could never even imagine; from living in the foster care system and contracting HIV after being forced into sex work, to being stabbed by a member of her community and refusing to press charges so as not to expose that individual to the carceral system. Follow along as Onika explains her journey in Part One of our interview.

After recording 20 episodes, The Protest Coverage Podcast tkes a look back this week with clips from some of our most memorable moments.Listen back to clips from episodes featuring Dwreck Ingram, Chivona and Hawk Newsome, Vidal Guzman, Amanda Fariah and Lucy Baptiste from our trip to D.C.and musician Caanan Towns.

Northern New Jersey organizers Victor and Nick recount an incident with municipal police that appeared to end without issue, only to resurface a few days later. Victor explains how he deals with being profiled and Nick recounts how an interview with a reputable newspaper resulted in facing jail time.

Jap Singh, an Indian American activist from the Sikh community in NYC, discusses what Sikh community is and the impact of the agriculture bills passed by the Indian parliament in September 2020. Jap also shares how his activism with BLM laid the foundation to organize Kissan protests here in NYC, and his goal in raising awareness about issues Indian farmers are experiencing and finding solutions.

In this episode we sit down with Hennessy Garcia to discuss her journey to become an activist and organizer, the obstacles that she has navigated and how that pursuit of has shaped the person that she is today.

On Dec.12 we made a trip to Washington D.C. in order to cover the MAGA Caravan Part 2 and subsequent counter-protest by Anti-Fascist and Black Lives Matter supporters. During our trip we witnessed a very different tone than the protests we have generally covered in NYC. In this episode we reflect on the things we witnessed that day and how it potentially reflects a deeply divided country. During this episode we will be using some background audio we captured which does contain strong language and captures two explosions, which thankfully resulted in no serious injuries. If you suspect this type of audio may be too heavy to consume right now, then we recommend skipping this episode and we can catch you up next week.

For this episode we thought it would be interesting to throw back to an interview we did back in June to hear what this whole movement started as. Gia Lisa has been a consistent voice within the BLM movement, and in these early days you can hear a a mixture of drive and uncertainty as Gia talks about her ambitions for what these protests will accomplish and how that compares to what we hear from activist leaders today.

Jermaine Greaves, the founder of Black Disabled Lives Matter, shares his experience with attending protests as someone in a wheelchair. He also discusses how important it is for him to continue to fight to have a voice in the Black Lives Matter movement as it grows.

Jes Davis is an actor and radical activist whose message is informed by every aspect of her life. She calls for a fundamental restructuring of society through highlighting her own personal experiences with racism in entertainment, education, and medical care.

Activist and former Rikers island inmate Vidal Guzmán sheds light on why abolishing prisons will require as much philosophical change as it will legislative, and how difficult being reintroduced to society can be with systems punitive rather than rehabilitative.Follow us on Instagram @nycprotestcoverage and on Twitter @nycprotestcvrge for breaking news, photos, videos, and livestreams. Please leave a five-star review if you enjoyed this episode and share it with a friend.

Last week, we introduced you to the Stonewall Protests, the weekly demonstrations that mark where the Black Lives Matter community in NYC plants its flag in the fight for Black queer and Black trans liberation. This week, Tom takes you on a deeper dive as organizer Qween Jean addresses outdoor diners enjoying their "white picket dinner," bicyclist Maddy explains her role in protecting demonstrators, and protesters Marieke and Glori discuss how the Stonewall Protests have become the largest marches in the city.Follow us on Instagram @nycprotestcoverage for breaking news, photos, videos, and livestreams. Please leave a five-star review if you enjoyed this episode and share it with a friend.

"This world that we're in today only exists on Thursdays. It only exists here."For many LGBTQ+ protesters in the Black Lives Matter movement, Thursdays have become church. Every week at 5 p.m., led by organizers Joel Rivera and Qween Jean, The Stonewall Protests meet at the Stonewall Inn in Manhattan to fight for Black queer and Black trans liberation. But they have also become home for many in the community. They have become family. NYC Protest Coverage's Tom Ella joined the crowd to find out why.In this first part, Tom chats with activist Neptunite and photographer Josh Pacheco to learn about what makes the Stonewall Protests so special, homophobia within the Black community, what other organizers can learn from Stonewall, and more.Follow us on Instagram @nycprotestcoverage for breaking news, photos, videos, and livestreams. Please leave a five-star review if you enjoyed this episode and share it with a friend.

Now that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are projected to be the President and Vice President-elects, where does that put the Black Lives Matter movement? Tom Ella heads down to Washington Square Park where thousands of New Yorkers gathered to celebrate the Democratic victory to gauge exactly how protestors are feeling about the results of the election.

Documentarian Ron Weaver (@rw2productions) has been following Donald Trump across the country lately, occasionally posing as one of his supporters, in order to gain a better understanding of Trump's relationship with his audience. In this interview, Ron unpacks how his conversations with the individuals at these rallies changed his perception of both the current political climate, and where it could possibly be heading.

When Rodrick Covington isn't performing on Broadway, he can be found leading protests with the Unite NY organization. In this emotional interview with Editor-in-Chief Kevin Xavier, he discusses several breaking points that led to him taking an active role within the Black Lives Matter movement as well as his personal choice to keep his motivations as a protestor rooted in love rather than hate—and focusing on the system rather than individual officers. To learn more about Unite NY, follow them on Instagram.

On today's episode we chat with musician Caanan Towns who recently wrote the song "So Many", where he describes his own perspective of societal racism and his frustration with how progress stemmed from the recent protests seems to have slowed in some ways.

This is it. The third and final part of our sweeping interview with Chivona and Hawk Newsome, the sibling cofounders of Black Lives Matter Greater New York.Kevin Xavier and Tom Ella talk with the Newsomes about what the Black Lives Matter movement looks like in other countries, how they think the protests will evolve after the upcoming election, and what time off looks like to them and how important self-care is to the activist community.Thank you so much to Nikara Warren for the intro and outro music this week. Her debut album with Black Wall Street is coming soon, and you can find more of her work on her website.NYC Protest Coverage (@nycprotestcoverage)Editor-in-Chief: Kevin Xavier (@kevinp.xavier)Managing Editor: Tom Ella (@mrthomasella)Director of Photography: Jason D. Little (@halide.hustle)Senior Correspondents:Derek French (@southern.caliphoto)Lucy Baptiste (@flicks_by_lucy)Katie Godowski (@katiegodowski_photography)Sarah Barton (@alittlelion)Jan Marie Rico (@janmarierico_photography)Chidi Nobi (@nobifilms)Deb Fong (@deb_fong_photography)Ken Ji (@gken9999)Audio Engineer: Tucker Winstanley (@tuckerwins)

This is part two of three of our wide-ranging interview with Chivona and Hawk Newsome, the sister-brother duo that cofounded Black Lives Matter Greater New York.

In this emergency episode of the Protest Coverage Podcast, Managing Editor Tom Ella and Editor-in-Chief Kevin Xavier sit down with Allison, a 19-year-old girl who was struck by a speeding SUV during a recent "Justice Ride" cycling protest and hospitalized, and her father Stanley. Allison and her father take listeners through their experience, how it has affected their sense of safety while protesting and what the aftermath has been like.

"I ain't voting until Black lives matter."That was ethos behind Chivona and Hawk Newsome, the sister-brother duo that cofounded Black Lives Matter Greater New York around their mother's kitchen table in December 2016, and their fight for Black liberation.Kevin Xavier and Tom Ella spoke with the Newsomes in an extensive three-part interview. In this first installment, the civil rights leaders discuss how Democrats profit from Black poverty, why Hawk enjoys sparring with Fox News, when (and why) the destruction of property is sometimes necessary, how to break the police's "blue wall," and more.Though you'll only hear Kevin and Tom today, NYC Protest Coverage is comprised of a diverse, extraordinarily talented team. We're so excited for you meet the whole family.NYC Protest Coverage (@nycprotestcoverage)Editor-in-Chief: Kevin Xavier (@kevinp.xavier)Managing Editor: Tom Ella (@mrthomasella)Director of Photography: Jason D. Little (@halide.hustle)Senior Correspondents:Derek French (@southern.caliphoto)Lucy Baptiste (@flicks_by_lucy)Katie Godowski (@katiegodowski_photography)Sarah Barton (@alittlelion)Jan Marie Rico (@janmarierico_photography)Chidi Nobi (@nobifilms)Deb Fong (@deb_fong_photography)Ken Ji (@gken9999)Audio Engineer: Tucker Winstanley (@tuckerwins)

If you've heard Dwreck Ingram's name in the news lately, it's likely because he livestreamed a five-hour NYPD raid of his apartment last month. Approximately 50 officers shut down his entire block, deploying dogs, a helicopter and even a drone, but apparently had no arrest warrant.Kevin Xavier and Tom Ella sat down with Dwreck, one of the cofounders of NYC activist group Warriors in the Garden, to get his perspective on the experience, his subsequent call for unity among activist groups, Joe Biden's VP pick of Kamala Harris, and so much more.Though you'll only hear Kevin and Tom today, NYC Protest Coverage is comprised of a diverse, extraordinarily talented team. We're so excited for you meet the whole family.NYC Protest Coverage (@nycprotestcoverage)Editor-in-Chief: Kevin Xavier (@kevinp.xavier)Managing Editor: Tom Ella (@mrthomasella)Director of Photography: Jason D. Little (@halide.hustle / @jdevaunphotography)Senior Correspondent: Derek French (@southern.caliphoto)Senior Correspondent: Lucy Baptiste (@flicks_by_lucy)Senior Correspondent: Katie Godowski (@katiegodowski_photography)Senior Correspondent: Sarah Barton (@alittlelion)Senior Correspondent: Jan Marie Rico (@janmarierico_photography)Senior Correspondent: Chidi Nobi (@nobifilms)Senior Correspondent: Deb Fong (@deb_fong_photography)Senior Correspondent: Ken Ji (@gken9999)Audio Engineer: Tucker Winstanley (@tuckerwins)

Welcome to the Protest Coverage Podcast! In this quick introduction episode, Editor-in-Chief Kevin Xavier and Managing Editor Tom Ella chat about the Black Lives Matter movement, how each became involved in the protests, and the goal of NYC Protest Coverage.Subscribe today to hear our first official episode tomorrow, an interview with Dwreck Ingram, one of the co-founders of activist group Warriors in the Garden. As well, make sure you're following us on Instagram at @nycprotestcoverage for striking protest photography, videography, livestreams and news.If you have any feedback, questions or news tips, email us at nycprotestcoverage@gmail.com, and please leave a five-star review in your podcast app of choice if you enjoyed this episode. Thank you so much for listening, and see you next time.Though you'll only hear Kevin and Tom today, NYC Protest Coverage is comprised of a diverse, extraordinarily talented team. We're so excited for you meet the whole family.NYC Protest Coverage (@nycprotestcoverage)Editor-in-Chief: Kevin Xavier (@kevinp.xavier)Managing Editor: Tom Ella (@mrthomasella)Director of Photography: Jason D. Little (@halide.hustle / @jdevaunphotography)Senior Correspondent: Derek French (@southern.caliphoto)Senior Correspondent: Lucy Baptiste (@flicks_by_lucy)Senior Correspondent: Katie Godowski (@katiegodowski_photography)Senior Correspondent: Sarah Barton (@alittlelion)Senior Correspondent: Jan Marie Rico (@janmarierico_photography)Senior Correspondent: Chidi Nobi (@nobifilms)Senior Correspondent: Deb Fong (@deb_fong_photography)Senior Correspondent: Ken Ji (@gken9999)Audio Engineer: Tucker Winstanley (@tuckerwins)