YOUR
YOUR RADIO, WE GET MURDER, WE GET ALCOHOL. NOBODY IS DOING NOTHING ABOUT I WISH THERE IS
SOMETHING I CAN DO TO HELP. I
DON'T WANT OTHER MOTHERS TO GO
THROUGH IT THIS THIS COUNTRY
NEEDS BRIDGE BUILDERS DON'T BE
AFRAID TO REACH OUT TO SOMEONE
WHO MIGHT NOT BELIEVE EXACTLY
LIKE YOU BELIEVE AND THAT'S
JUST A FEW SECONDS. THIS IS SO
POWERFUL AS MANY OF YOU KNOW
POLITICALLY RACIALLY THIS PAST
YEAR AMERICA HAS FELT MORE
DIVIDED THAN EVER. BUT THIS
DOCUMENTARY IT'S CALLED A
UNITED STATES IS HOPING TO
CHANGE ALL OF THAT. AND THIS
MORNING WE HAVE THE FILMMAKER
BEN RAKHI JOINING US AND SUSAN
BROO AS WELL. GOOD MORNING TO
BOTH OF YOU. GOOD MORNING. ANY
MINUTE NOW, SUSAN, I WANT TO
START WITH YOU BECAUSE YOU SEE
A CLIP OF YOU IN THAT PIECE AND
YOUR DAUGHTER HEATHER HIGHER.
SHE DIED WHEN A CAR HIT HER
DURING A COUNTERPROTEST AND
THIS DOCUMENTARY SHARES YOUR
STORY. TELL US ALL ABOUT THIS.
OH, IT'S BEEN AN INTERESTING
JOURNEY OF THE LAST FEW YEARS
GOING ON FOUR YEARS SINCE HER
MURDER AND WHAT THE POINT OF ME
PARTICIPATING IN THIS FILM IS
IS TO REACH OUT TO PEOPLE SO
THAT WE CAN CATCH THEM BEFORE
THEY GET TO THE EXTREMES AS SO
MANY WERE AND THE UNITE THE
RIGHT RALLY IN TWENTY
SEVENTEEN. BUT LET'S GET TO
PEOPLE AND TALK TO PEOPLE AND
MAKE CONNECTIONS WITH PEOPLE SO
WE DON'T HAVE THAT SORT
OF VIOLENCE SO THAT WE DON'T
HAVE THAT SORT OF HATRED AND
ANGER AND FRUSTRATION AND WE'VE
SEEN THAT BOIL OUT TIME AND
TIME AGAIN IN OUR COUNTRY AND
THE YEARS SINCE THAT WAS NOT
THE BEGINNING OF HATE NOR IS IT
THE END OF HATE. BUT WE CAN PUT
AN END TO HATE BY REACHING OUT
TO ONE ANOTHER. AND SUSAN, I
JUST WANT TO SAY I'M SO SORRY
FOR YOUR LOSS AND YOU HAVE BEEN
VERY OUTSPOKEN SINCE THEN. IN
FACT, YOU KNOW, IN PARTS OF THE
CLIP FROM THE DOCUMENTARY YOU
SAY A WHITE GIRL HAD TO DIE FOR
PEOPLE TO CARE. YOU'VE SAID
THERE SAID SEVERAL RALLIES AS
WELL. TELL US ABOUT THAT
IMPORTANT MESSAGE THERE.
UNFORTUNATELY PEOPLE OFTEN ONLY
RESPOND TO A CRISIS WHEN THE
PERSON LOOKS LIKE THEM. SO WE
HAVE TOLERATED BLACK PEOPLE,
BROWN PEOPLE DYING FOR
CENTURIES AND FRANKLY HAVE ONLY
GIVEN OUT A CURSORY GLANCE FOR
THE MOST PART AND WE'RE PAST
THAT NOW LET'S MOVE PAST THAT.
I WAS VERY HEARTENED TO SEE
MUCH MORE PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
AS WELL AS OTHER MURDERS CAME
TO LIGHT IN TWENTY NINETEEN
TWENTY TWENTY AND I HOPE THAT
PEOPLE CONTINUE TO STAY
INVOLVED IN COUNTERACTING HATE.
WE HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER TO
STOP THE HATE. WE HAVE TO WORK
TOGETHER TO MAKE THE WORLD A
BETTER PLACE FOR ALL OF US, NOT
JUST SOME OF US. THEN LET'S
BRING YOU IN NOW YOU KNOW
YOU'RE THE FILMMAKER BEHIND
THIS. WHAT ARE YOU HOPING
PEOPLE GAIN FROM THIS
DOCUMENTARY? YOU THE UNITED
STATES IS REALLY FOLLOWING THE
EVERYDAY AMERICANS THAT ARE ON
THIS DIFFICULT JOURNEY
OF TRYING TO BRIDGE OUR
DIVIDES. I THINK THERE'S A
THERE'S A REALIZATION THAT WE
CAN'T LIVE WITH THIS HOSTILITY
ANYMORE. IT'S AFFECTING ALL
OF US LIKE OUR FRIENDSHIPS, OUR
FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS, OUR
COWORKERS AND REALLY THE FUTURE
OF THIS COUNTRY. WE'RE AT THIS
TURNING POINT IN OUR HISTORY
WHERE WE ALL NEED TO RECOGNIZE
OUR ROLE IN THIS. ARE WE GOING
TO BE DIVIDERS OR ARE WE GOING
TO BE UNITERS AND THAT'S REALLY
WHAT THIS FILM IS ABOUT. MEDIA
HAS BEEN PART OF THE PROBLEM
OF DIVIDING US BUT IT COULD
ALSO BE PART OF WHAT BRINGS US
BACK TOGETHER THE LOUDEST
VOICES IN THE ROOM HAVE GOTTEN
THE MOST ATTENTION AND THAT'S
OF THE EXTREME WINGS OF THE
PARTY. BUT THE VAST MAJORITY
OF THIS COUNTRY WANTS TO
JUSTICE AND WANTS TO FIND A
PATH FORWARD. THEY JUST DON'T
KNOW WHAT TO DO AND WE REALLY
HOPE THAT THIS DOCUMENTARY CAN
BE A PART OF THAT BY SHINING A
LIGHT ON JUST NORMAL PEOPLE.
THIS ISN'T ABOUT ONLY OUR
ELECTED OFFICIALS SOLVING THESE
PROBLEMS FOR US. WE HAVE TO
ALSO BE A PART OF THIS AND IF
THERE'S ONE IDEA THAT WE HOPE
PEOPLE TAKE AWAY, IT'S THE IDEA
THAT EVERYONE HAS A ROLE TO
PLAY IN FINDING A PATH FORWARD
AND SO FOLKS CAN GO TO THE
WEBSITE OF UNITED STATES TV.
THERE'S A BUNCH OF RESOURCES
THERE AND HOW TO TALK POLITICS
WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND
THERE'S A PREMIERE COMING UP
THAT ANYONE CAN SIGN UP FOR ON
THE WEBSITE. SO IT'S A MOVEMENT
AND YOU KNOW, YOU STARTED
FILMING THIS AND THEN COVID
HIT. THAT'S AN INTERESTING PART
TO FILMMAKING I'M SURE OF THAT
IMPACT YOU YOU KNOW, IT WAS A
BLESSING ACTUALLY LOOKING BACK
BECAUSE YOU REALIZED THAT THE
COLLECTIVE MOOD OF THE COUNTRY
WAS SHIFTING AND YOU KNOW,
WE'RE ALL IN ISOLATION AND
WE'RE ALL SEPARATED FROM EACH
OTHER AND THAT SHOULDN'T BE
UNDERESTIMATED HOW MUCH ANXIETY
THAT GIVES FOR SOCIAL ANIMALS
AND CREATURES. AND SO IT
ALLOWED US TO PIVOT AND REALLY
SPEAK TO PEOPLE'S HEARTS. THIS
ISN'T LIKE AN ACADEMIC EXERCISE
.THIS IS A HARD MOVEMENT THAT
NEEDS TO HAPPEN AND WE'RE
LIVING IN EXTRAORDINARY TIMES
DIVISIVE ELECTION, A
INSURRECTION AND IMPEACHMENT
AND INAUGURATION AND THAT'S
JUST IN 90 DAYS. I MEAN WE HAVE