TO
TO THE
TO THE CLASSROOM. IDAHO WAS THE 47TH STATE IN THE COUNTRY TO
OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZE
MARTIN LUTHER KING,
JUNIOR DAY -- AS A
HOLIDAY.
SEVEN YEARS AFTER
PRESIDENT REAGAN MADE
IT ONE IN 1983 -- IDAHO
AGREED TO GO ALONG IN
1990.
AND ONLY THEN --
UNDER THE NAME --
IDAHO HUMAN RIGHTS
DAY.
SOME COULD CERTAINLY
SEE THAT AS SOMETHING
THAT IS ON PAR WITH
HOW BLACK AMERICANS
HAVE HISTORICALLY BEEN
TREATED IN IDAHO.
BUT IF YOU ASK PHILLIP
THOMPSON -- THE
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF
IDAHO'S BLACK HISTORY
MUSEUM -- HE DOESN'T
SEE IT THAT WAY.
PHILLIP IS A 6TH
GENERATION IDAHOAN --
HIS DAUGHTER IS THE 7TH.
HE LIKES TO POINT OUT
THAT HIS FAMILY MOVED
HERE AS HOMESTEADERS
-- SOMETHING THAT
WASN'T EVEN ALLOWED
BY THE CONSTITUTION IN
OUR NEIGHBORING STATE
OF OREGON.
HE SAYS IDAHO HAS
NEVER HAD SEGREGATED
SCHOOLS.
WE PASSED CIVIL RIGHTS
LEGISLATION THREE YEARS
- BEFORE - WE DID IT AS A
NATION.
BRIAN HOLMES SAT
DOWN WITH PHILLIP
TODAY -- ON THIS M-L-K
-- IDAHO HUMAN RIGHTS
DAY -- TO FIND OUT WHY
HE SAYS IDAHO ACTUALLY
HASN'T BEEN AS BAD FOR
BLACK AMERICANS AS IT
HAS BEEN IN A LOT OF
OTHER PARTS OF THE
COUNTRY.
TO ILLUSTRATE THAT --
PHILLIP POINTS OUT THAT
THIS YEAR -- 2021 --
MARKS THE 100TH
ANNIVERSARY OF THE ST.
PAUL BAPTIST CHURCH.
THE BUILDING THAT
HOUSES THE BLACK
HISTORY MUSEUM.
IT WAS BUILT IN BOISE IN
1921 -- A WATER-SHED
YEAR IN AMERICA --
PHILLIP SAYS -- WHEN IT
CAME TO RACE.
THAT'S
THAT'S THE SAME YEAR OF THE TULSA, OKLAHOMA RACE RIOTS,
WHERE THEY WERE
WIPING OUT BLACK
PEOPLE IN MASS AND IN
ADDITION TO THAT, THERE
WERE 32 OTHER RACE
RIOTS ACROSS THE
COUNTRY, BUT BLACKS
FELT IT SAFE TO
PHYSICALLY ESTABLISH
AND ALSO BUILD THE
CHURCH AT THAT TIME IN
IDAHO AND THAT'S KIND
OF ANALGOUS. YOU'VE
GOT TO KIND OF TAKE
THIS HALF STEP BACK AND
COMPARE THE TWO:
WHAT WAS GOING ON
LOCALLY AS FAR AS BLACK
PEOPLE IN COMPARISON
TO THE NORM
NATIONALLY
MASS LYNCHINGS WERE
GOING ABOUT
EVERYWHERE ELSE, BUT
IDAHO IS ONE OF 7 STATES
ACCORDING TO NAACP
THAT HAD LYNCHINGS
BUT NEVER LYNCHED A
BLACK PERSON
I'M NOT TRYING TO SAY
THAT WE'RE SOME RACIAL
UTOPIA THAT FIGURED IT
ALL OUT, I'M SIMPLY
SAYING LOOK AT WHY
BLACKS WERE ABLE TO
THRIVE HERE
BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T
HAVE THE STRUCTURE PUT
IN PLACE TO ENSURE YOU
COULDN'T DO ANYTHING.
IT WASN'T EASY, BUT
THERE WERE LESS
OBSTACLES HERE BECAUSE
YOU DIDN'T HAVE THIS
EFFORT TO ENSURE THERE
WERE OBSTICALS. I MEAN,
HALF MY FAMILY CAME
OUT HERE AND
HOMESTEADED. THAT'S AN
OPPORTUNITY THAT WAS
AFFORDED TO BLACKS IN
IDAHO THAT WAS NOT
AFFORDED TO IN MANY
OTHER PLACES IN THIS
COUNTRY
COUNTRY THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE IN
ME
ME WOULD
ME WOULD SAY, 'WELL THAT'S BASICALLY PROBABLY BECAUSE OF
POPULATION BOTH IN
GENERAL BUT THE
POPULATION OF BLACK
PEOPLE IN IDAHO HASN'T
HISTORICALLY BEEN VERY
GREAT.'
EXACTLY
GREAT.' EXACTLY AND YES I AGREE WITH
THAT, THAT IS PART OF IT
TOO BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY
THEY DIDN'T TREAT THE
NATIVE AMERICANS AND
CHINESE VERY WELL,
THERE WAS INSTANCES
PUT IN PLACE TO ENSURE
THEY WERE OPPRESSED.
BUT IN LIEU OF THAT, THAT
DOESN'T REMOVE THE
FACT THAT IT WOULD
HAVE BEEN THAT MUCH
EASIER TO OPPRESS AND
ENSURE THAT BLACKS
COULD DO ABSOLUTELY
NOTHING BECAUSE WE
WEREN'T A CRITICAL MASS
TO BE A THREAT, BUT WE
ALSO WOULDN'T HAVE
BEEN A CRITICAL MASS TO
PROTECT OURSELVES
YOU WANT TO SAY
THINGS WEREN'T AS BAD
IN IDAHO AS COMPARED
TO OTHER STATES, BUT
JUST LOOKING AT THE
BLACK HISTORY MUSEUM
HAS A ROBE OF A KKK
MEMBER FROM A FAMILY
IN BOISE. THE ARYAN
NATIONS IN THE 1990S
HAD A STRONG
FOOTHOLD HERE IN
IDAHO. YOUR OWN
MOTHER, SENATOR CHERIE
BUCKNER WEBB SAID SHE
HAD A CROSS BURNED IN
HER FRONT YARD WHEN
SHE WAS A LITTLE GIRL.
HARD TO IGNORE THESE
THINGS
AND I'M NOT
ADVOCATING TO IGNORE
THEM AT ALL
I'M SIMPLY SAYING I EXIST
IN THE REALITY THAT
THESE THINGS ARE TO BE
EXPECTED, SIMPLY BEING
THERE LESS IS JUST A
PLEASANTRY. I NEVER
WALK OUT OF MY DOOR
ASSUMING THAT MY
BEING A BLACK MUSLIM IN
AMERICA IS GOING TO
. I'M SIMPLY SAYING THAT
ON THE SCALE OF THINGS
THE LIKELIHOOD AND THE
ABILITY
ABILITY TO THRIVE, YES IT TOOK WORK, YES IT TOOK PERCIEVERENCE, YES IT
TOOK TOYING A TIGHT
ROPE, WAS AT LEAST
ACCESSIBLE AND
AVAILABLE HERE
I HAVE A MORTGAGE
FROM MY GREAT GREAT
GRANDFATHER'S
PROPERTY...I WANT TO SAY
1912 OR 1909 I ALWAYS
MESS IT UP
AND A BLACK MAN
HAVING A LEGAL NOTE OF
TENDER THAT ENTITLES
YOU TO A GIVEN
PROPERTY...THAT'S A
RARITY IN EARLY
AMERICAN HISTORY...BUT
IT WAS AFFORDED THAT
OPPORTUNITY HERE IN
IDAHO
IDAHO
THE
THE SUMMER OF 2020 THOUGH WE HAD NEO NAZIS SHOWING UP AT
BLACK LIVES MATTER
SHOWING PROTESTS IN
DOWNTOWN BOISE
AGAIN, AND TO ME, IT'S
LIKE PAR FOR THE COURSE
I WOULD NOT EXPECT
OTHERWISE
I DON'T NAVIGATE THE
WORLD THINKING I WILL
NOT EVER ENCOUNTER
THESE PEOPLE I LIVE IN
THE REALITY...AND THEY
ARE FEELING
EMBOLDENED....IF THEY
ARE BOLD ENOUGH TO
ATTACK THE CAPITOL WE
SHOULD NOT BE SHOCKED
THEY SHOW UP AT A
RALLY
RALLY IN
RALLY IN BOISE IDAHO CAUSE THEY WILL SHOW UP AT A RALLY ANYWHERE
AND EVERYWHERE
BUT AGAIN I OPERATE
UNDER THIS PREMISE
THAT HUMANS DO
TERRIBLE THINGS
HUMANS WILL LOOK FOR
REASONS TO TREAT
SOMEBODY ELSE
HORRIBLY OR EXPLOIT
THEM...IT'S THE VIOLENT
ACTS OF ATTACK THAT I'M
MORE CONCERNED WITH
HISTORICALLY YOU'RE
SAYING IDAHO HAS BEEN
PRETTY
PRETTY GOOD...BUT WHAT ABOUT NOW AND GOING FORWARD, DO YOU STILL
FEEL THE SAME WAY?
THIS NARRATIVE OF WE
BEGIN THE BASTIAN OF
WHITE SUPREMACY AND
ACTUALLY
ACTUALLY BECOMING THE CONDUIT FOR PEOPLE WHO ESPOUSE THOSE
THOUGHTS COMING
FIRECTILY HERE
THAT WE WILL BECOME
KIND OF LIKE THIS MUCH
MORE TRADITIONAL
IDEOLOGY THAT COULD BE
KIND OF ANTITHETICAL TO
WHAT WE HAVE BEEN
HISTORICALLY
US BEING THIS ODDLY,
FOR LACK OF A BETTER
WORD, PROGRESSIVE
STATE WHEN IT COMES TO
CIVIL RIGHTS WOMEN
VOTING ETCETERA,
ETCETERA
THAT IF WE DON'T COME
TO BEAR WITH THAT AND
LET THOSE KNOW THAT
THIS IS HOW WE
NAVIGATE, THAT THIS IS
HOW WE MOVE, WE ARE
NOT SUBSCRIBING TO THIS
OPPRESSIVE IDEOLOGY
OPPRESSIVE IDEOLOGY
THEN
THEN WE
THEN WE WILL LOSE THAT, WE WILL LOSE WHAT WE'VE HAD AS FAR AS
BEING THREE YEARS
AHEAD ON THE CIVIL
RIGHTS ACT, GIVING
WOMEN THE RIGHT TO
VOTE, LACK OF
LYNCHINGS
WHEN YOU ALLOW
PEOPLE WITH HATEFUL
AND EVIL IDEOLOGIES TO
CONGREGATE HERE IT'S
JUST A MATTER OF TIME
BEFORE THAT POWDER
KEG EXPLODES
KEG EXPLODES
PHILLIP
PHILLIP POINTS TO A 2018 STUDY BY THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER
THAT SAID IDAHO WAS
THE MOST HATEFUL STATE
IN THE COUNTRY -- PER
CAPITA -- BASED ON HOW
MANY HATE GROUPS WE
HAD.
HE SAYS SINCE THE
RELEASE OF THAT STUDY --
IDAHO HAS ACTUALLY
BEEN ONE OF THE FEW
STATES THAT HAS
LOWERED OUR NUMBER
OF HATE GROUPS.
HE ALSO AGREES --
OUTSIDE OF HOW BLACK
PEOPLE HAVE
HISTORICALLY BEEN
TREATED -- IDAHO HAS
SHOWN IT HAS NOT BEEN
SO PROGRESSIVE WHEN IT
COMES TO, SAY
TRANSGENDER RIGHTS.
OR HE SAYS -- DESPITE
BEING ONE OF THE FIRST
STATES TO ALLOW
WOMEN TO VOTE -- THERE
SEEMS TO BE THIS PUSH
THESE DAYS TO TAKE AWAY
A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO
CHOOSE WHAT SHE CAN
DO WITH HER BODY.
AS FOR PEOPLE WHO
MOVE HERE LOOKING FOR
THAT HYPER-
CONSERVATISM THAT IS
ANTI-EVERYTHING --
PHILLIP HOPES WHEN
THEY DO GET HERE --
THEY LEARN TO DIAL IT
DOWN A NOTCH -- AND
REALIZE OUR