PBS American Portrait

applause

Hey, y'all. I'm Grits. We're here to celebrate that Black lives matter before they are taken. The fact that we are killed for simply asking to matter, simply asking to live-- I mean, we're all here because we understand how it seems like that's the barest of necessities and yet here we are. All right. Sound check.

acoustic guitar plays

I'm Tisha, but I prefer to use Grits. So I spent a lot of my life trying to figure out what it meant to be Black, being embarrassed by being Black. And I remember distinctly my mother said, "You can never not be Black." Like, you can let go of a lot of things, but your skin is not one of them. And then on May 25th of 2020, George Floyd was murdered. Um... With a knee upon his neck, he was strangled to death. And this... awoke something in me. And that's when I knew that something had to give. And so, yeah, I thrust myself into the movement here. And I instantly joined Black Asheville Demands. And I began doing work through Black Asheville Demands to advocate for the divestment and the investment of the Police. I'm pulling up to see my family. One of the first times in a long time. And I'm just really excited to see their faces. It doesn't scare me, but, um--I'm scared-- yeah, it do-- It's necessary. I know it's something that needs to be done. But you wish it wasn't your child. I just wish it wasn't my child doing it. But whose child, then? Mm. - If not your child, whose child? So-- - I'm selfish. 'Cause somebody else-- - Well, I understand that. But there has to be someone to fight that good fight. Like Mr... - John Lewis. Lewis said. The work we're doing within the movement, you know, for me, is one of the most selfless things that I can do. This isn't for me. You know, I will probably not see the product-- the final product of this change, but at least I can be a small part. I'm doing it for the people who came before me. I'm doing it for the people who will come after me.