Omkari Williams 00:20
Hello, and welcome to Stepping Into Truth, the podcast where I talk with people about how we all get free. I'm your host Omkari Williams, and I'm very happy that you're here with me today. One of the reasons I love doing this podcast so much is that I get to speak with people making a difference in their corner of the world, people who saw a problem and decided to do what they can to make things right. My guest today, Emerald Snipes Garner is the youngest daughter of six children, and is currently the Executive Director of her nonprofit, We Can't Breathe Incorporated, which is named in honor of her late father, Eric Garner and her sister Erica Garner. She is the author of Finding My Voice: On Grieving My Father, Eric Garner, and Pushing For Justice. And it is my great pleasure to welcome Emerald to the podcast today. Hi, Emerald, I'm so glad you're here with me today. How are you doing?
Emerald Garner 01:18
I'm doing well. How are you?
Omkari Williams 01:20
I am doing well. And I have to say, you know, when I was reading your book, I thought, I can't even imagine all the things you're taking on. And the thing that sort of struck me was, you didn't start off intending to be an activist. Activism found you through the murder of your father and the untimely death of your sister Erica. So how do you navigate taking on the responsibility of really pushing for justice for them? On top of all the other things that you are responsible for, your child, your sister's children. How do you just move through the world and keep all those balls up in the air?
Emerald Garner 02:06
At this point, I feel like they're octopus arms. I'm juggling a lot, you know, kids they're a lot. But we're working it out together, we're finding a system, we're finding a way to function. And it's been very difficult. But I think that finding the balance is being able to focus on the kids, have time for them, focus on my career, have time for that, focus on myself, you know, having time for that. So it's just trying to balance those things. So every time I get a minute to just do nothing, I take advantage.
Omkari Williams 02:40
This is a very wise thing because you something that's in the conversation a lot right now is rest. And how most of us need a lot more rest than we're getting. And I don't by rest, just mean sleep, I mean, also just disconnecting from all of the things we're responsible for, and just letting our brains and our nervous systems kind of calm down. And anyone with children knows that that's already challenging. But you're also working to create this organization and build out this organization that you want to have make profound social change. And that right there is a huge task. And I want to start with talking about trauma. Because right now we hear the word trauma thrown around pretty casually. You know, people say, Oh, that was so traumatic. I'm like, No, trauma is not a bad experience at the grocery store, right? You know, someone banged into you with their cart. What happened to you and your family was actually a traumatic experience. And for those who don't know, the backstory, would you tell us what happened to your dad, and then how this has led you into the work that you're doing.
Emerald Garner 04:06
On July 17, in 2014, my father was killed by a police officer in Staten Island due to a chokehold and, you know, that just spiraled into a viral video and us just being plastered all over, the news. Us meaning my family, and it led to us, you know, getting getting the story out seeking justice. And ultimately, we didn't get the justice that we deserve. But we push through and we receive some forms of justice. I feel like justice to everyone has a different face. And our case, we didn't get the the police officers arrested. They weren't indicted, a lot of things didn't happen for us. But we were able to get the Eric Garner law, we're able to advocate for other families of community violence and police brutality. And we're able to come together as a community of survivors and do what means the most to us. So I think that when we face these traumatizing situations, we try to find a way to kind of put our minds and our hearts at ease. And sometimes it takes eight years. And sometimes it takes eight months. And you know, it's not an easy transition. And sometimes it'll take the lifetime. And for some people, there's no going forward. And I tried to push through, and let people know that there's, there's another side to this.
Omkari Williams 05:25
Yeah, I mean, that's really important. And your sister was the one, your sister Erica was the one who, initially after your dad's murder, picked up the baton and said, Okay, I'm gonna push for change, because this should never have happened, and it should never happen again. And then she passed away unexpectedly of a heart attack, when she was very young, leaving you to take in her children and raise them. And I'm curious, because that by itself would be a terribly traumatizing experience, not just for you, as someone who'd recently lost her father. But now also your sister is gone. Now also, you are responsible for your sister's kids, they're also traumatized, because their mother is gone, the one who was old enough to understand what was happening. And I'm curious as to how you work to break that cycle of trauma, not only for yourself, but for your sister's kids, and your own child, because that cycle of trauma is something that I think, particularly people of color, Black people are very familiar with in this in this country. And we are trying to break those intergenerational traumatic circumstances. So how do you address this, so you're not just passing it on from one family member down on for the next five or six or seven generations.
Emerald Garner 07:05
Right now, I'm really focused on making sure that they're finding some type of normalcy, they were in it with us. So in the beginning, we were taking Kaylee and Alyssa, that's my daughter and my sister's daughter to protest and then you know, stuff started getting a little out of hand with the riots and stuff like that. So we stopped taking them to protest. Me and my daughter, we were already receiving mental health services. And then when my sister passed away, and my niece started receiving services, as it pertains to her mom, and my nephew is five now, so he's starting to receive his services. And I think that it was really important to find another person for them to talk to, that was outside of the box. I didn't want my niece to feel like if she shared certain details about you know, how she's living, how she's going, and they're going to come back and tell me, and then I'm just going to know everything. So it just, you know, she's like, Oh, if I talk to grandma, she's just gonna go tell my aunt anyway. But I wanted her to be able to have another outlet to express her feelings and express how she really, really feels without feeling like, oh, did I say too much? Did I not say too much? Are they gonna tell my aunt and I told her, like, if you're not gonna hurt yourself, or hurt anybody else, whatever you say to your therapist, is between you and your therapist. So I think that that helped her to find a lane of her own to say, Okay, well, I know, if I'm having a really, really tough day, I could talk to you about these things. But if I'm feeling like, I want to talk to somebody else and get a different perspective, I have my therapist, or I have this person, or I have that person that I could talk to. So that was important.
Omkari Williams 08:33
Yeah, I think that's really wise, especially because, you know, in the Black community, there's a very fraught relationship often with getting mental health services. And actually something that you talk about in the book that I thought was really interesting in the context of this is that you said, one of the things you want to create is a 24 hour community center for youth, as one way of addressing the crisis of lack of care for kids in our community. And not just physical care, but also a place for emotional care for them. So would you speak about what your vision for that 24 hour community center would be?
Emerald Garner 09:14
Yes. So I want to have like a multi use center, and I started the nonprofit and the three pillars are hearts for Justice Act, the fight for justice, and jobs for justice. And I really focused on act-ify for justice, because when I was a teenager, it wasn't there wasn't a lot of places to go past like six o'clock, seven o'clock, and it was difficult to find things proactive to do and now now in these days, it's even more difficult to find things to do. So I wanted to make sure that there was a number that somebody can call. We're working on building out, you know, safe spaces where we can, you know, help people come from where they are in a traumatic situation to a safe space where they can think it out, think it through. You don't have to be in the situation to figure out how you're going to get out of the situation. You need a peace of mind, so I want that center to be a place where young people can come, call, text, email, or whatever, and somebody is available to meet them where they are, you know. Like, sometimes you just need to talk it out, like I'm so frustrated today. Like, I know that I'm not going to leave my job today. But I need to vent about some of the things that's been going on. And if I tell this person, they're gonna go to the boss, and then I'm got to get fired. But if I have another person to talk to, and help me work out how I'm gonna deal with my work issues or school issues, it'll help me better navigate finishing the job or finishing school or finishing the tasks that I have at hand.
Omkari Williams 10:37
So you're really looking at it as kind of a crisis hotline in a way, right that if someone's struggling,
Emerald Garner 10:45
Right, it's like a crisis call in one. Right?
Omkari Williams 10:48
Exactly. It's like, okay, you're struggling with this, you can either make a call, or if you have physical proximity to where the center is, you can go in there directly, but you're sort of looking at it as sort of whole service environment for people, young people who are in a situation where they may not know what to do, they may not know how to do it, even if they know what to do, et cetera. Is that Is that about right?
Emerald Garner 11:16
Right. Absolutely. I always encourage the youth that I work with, they're like, oh, you know, I need to get a job. I'm like, okay, so you need to get a job. But how are you going to get to the job? Do you have the proper attire to work at that job, because if you're a hostess, you have to, you know, wear a certain outfit, and not all jobs require a uniform. So if you work out the job, do you have sufficient clothing, to feel comfortable to do your job, if you work in customer service, and you don't have the proper clothing, you know, you can't do customer service in sweat suits. So you might want to put on a business suit because it makes you feel empowered, you don't have money to buy a business. So we have other programs like Dress For Success. There's Goodwill, they offer job interview clothing. So you know that the young person may not know about those services, because they're, they're young people. So they don't know about Dress for Success, they don't know what the goodwill offers. All they know is that the Goodwill is where you drop off things that you don't want. But they don't know that there's so much more to that. So it's a part of teaching them how to navigate and how to find the resources that they need.
Emerald Garner 12:19
So I was a part of plenty of programs and internships, but I can get an internship and they'll pay me every two weeks to go to this internship. And then over here is where I go to get a MetroCard because I need to get to the internship. And then over here is where I get to meet with my job counselor, because they're going to help me to write my resume so that if this is not what I want to do, I can go somewhere else. So I've always had to go to multiple places to get the things that I needed. So if there was, if there was one place that was consistent for young people to go find the things that they needed, it actually helped to build out what it is that they want to do, I think that it will be helpful for young people. Because when you have these crises, it's like there's nobody really there to focus on what your issue is. Because a lot of your elders are like, Well, I have bigger things to deal with, I have to deal with this, I have to deal with that. So for us, it's very small. But for them, this is their life. This is all that they know. And this is the crisis that they're in. So it doesn't matter how small it is, they still need the support to build it out and figure it out.
Omkari Williams 13:21
I really appreciate that you say that because I often have had the thought that people forget. Oh, it's like we get older and we forget how important things feel when you're younger. I mean, it's so much more a part of your life. And you don't have the whole backstory of time, where you get to see that oh, yeah, most things work out. So diminishing the importance of those things for young people, I've always felt that that was really harmful, that you're doing them a disservice when you're saying, Oh, that's not a big deal, or I don't have the time for this. So I really appreciate that you are thinking in this holistic way of creating a space for young people that can support them, and also, coincidentally help keep them out of environments that are potentially dangerous for them. If they have somewhere to go, that is a safe space, a welcoming space, a space where people are upholding the best of them, then they're less likely to wind up in a space where trouble is around the corner. So I think that that's also really, really important. And I as I said, I appreciate that you're working on that.
Emerald Garner 14:35
Thank you.
Omkari Williams 14:38
So I want to get back to your father's story a bit, because on June 8, 2020, the Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act was signed into law in New York State. And you know, the timing of that, it was just a couple of weeks after the murder of George Floyd, right. And he repeated the words that your father said before his death, I can't breathe. I would love to hear you talk about getting that Act passed in New York State, what it means for you. And then also, it's the law here in New York. But you all are working to make it a federal law so that it would apply across the board. So would you talk a bit about that as well?
Emerald Garner 15:27
Yes, we're working with Kirsten Gillibrand and Elizabeth Warren to re-present it so that it can become a federal law, because the killings haven't stopped, unfortunately, and the list keeps getting longer. And as I've stated, before, multiple times, and in the book, we need the right people in the right seats in order to get the change that we want. So it's not just about going out to vote, it's going out to vote for the person that could make the change that we need, that can do can pass the policies that we need passed and pass the laws that we need passed. So that's why I always encourage people to go out and vote, know your state know, who's in the seats know who, what they stand for, know what they support, because I see how difficult it is to navigate, it's like, you know, making sure that things are in order, and we have the support that we need. We need that from elected officials from our council members are senate members we need we need the right people. And so I always say that it's important to get involved in your communities.
Omkari Williams 16:38
How did you get that Anti- Chokehold Act passed? How did you manage to do that? That's an enormous accomplishment?
Emerald Garner 16:47
We did a lot, I definitely send a lot of love and light to Change.org, for helping me to amplify the petition that I started, we got over 100,000 signatures. And I think I think it was like a week. And we did a lot of advocating, we did a lot of asking for signatures. And we were like, you know, we're gonna get all of these signatures, and we're gonna take it up to whoever it needs to go to. So we were like gearing up for like this mass action. And we told them, like, if you don't pass this bill, we are going to have mass action. So I was just advocating for everybody, like, listen, on this day, we're gonna have peaceful protest, in this state, this state, this state, all at the same time, and we're gonna let them know that we're serious about the things that we're doing. So it was just like, a lot of the things that I saw and learned over the years of working with Reverend Sharpton and being under the leadership of Ashely Sharpton and going to the hHuddle and doing all of these things. I'm like, okay, you know, what, I'm just gonna take everything that I've learned over the past couple of years, and we're going to do all of those things again. And we're going to keep doing that until they pass these bills. And luckily, they got them passed.
Omkari Williams 17:52
Well, I'm gonna say that luck was only maybe a tiny part of it, that, you know, bills don't get passed just because people are lucky, bills get passed, because people use the tools that are there to pass them. And you you mentioned Reverend Sharpton and his daughter, and how you learned things there, from National Action Network. And I'm wondering whether you feel like that kind of education is something that should be taught in schools, basically, you know, I think of it as civics, it's like, how do you apply pressure to the levers of government so that they are responsive to the citizenry of their country? And you seem like you have learned how to take an idea from this is what I want to have happen. And get it to. Okay, here's a bill. Here's, it's now going to go to the State Assembly, and then we're going to make sure that the governor signs it. So are these all skills that you learned from National Action Network and your association with Reverend Sharpton and the other people there?
Emerald Garner 19:10
Yes, absolutely. A lot of the people that I met along this journey was from going to National Action Network, you never know who you're going to be at a Saturday rally. And people say that all the time. And that's absolutely true. And I got connected with a lot of organizations, a lot of people through working with National Action Network. So I definitely do pay homage to them in my book, and I tell them people like this is how I found my purpose. So I've definitely utilized the skill of what I learned and how I can apply it to my everyday life and apply it to the things that I'm doing and the projects that I'm working on, and using that to build up. So I definitely have done different sessions and different workshops where I try to educate people about how they can turn an idea into something that they really want to do how to find their purpose. It's hard to figure out what it is that they want to do to contribute to the movement. Because as I say, all the time, I cannot go to every protest, I cannot go to every press conference, because I have three children at home. And it's very hard to get childcare and school pickups and drop offs and getting people ready for school and trying to get them out the door and taking taking a whole hour just to get out the door. It's just a lot. So yeah, I like to apply that. And I like to share the knowledge that I have with people that are dealing with the same trauma that I'm dealing with.
Omkari Williams 20:30
And I think the other thing, that's interesting to me, and that is just the idea that you don't have to do everything. You know no one person has to do everything, you can do the things that you can do. And there are other people there who are doing their piece and collectively, is how we get things done, rather than taking it on like this is all on me. Because if we do that, then it's too easy to get overwhelmed. Because there's just so much to do. And we are only one human being at a time. And there's just no way, right? So when you choose the things you're doing, are you very strategic about, I'm going to stay in this particular lane and let other people do their thing over here, or do you get involved more broadly?
Emerald Garner 21:26
Right now focusing on building up the infrastructure of We Can't Breathe, Inc, which is my nonprofit, we are figuring out the business side of it. But we're also doing advocacy, we're doing legislation, we're doing policy building. And if someone calls in say, hey, like we're doing this project over here, and you know, we would like to get some insight. I'm always available to take calls, do consultations, do things like that, because a lot of people did a lot of meetings with me. So I asked a lot of questions. And I'm like, hey, I want to do XYZ, this that, and the other. So they would just give me a list of few pointers of things to do like, Hey, I'm not sure what you could do on this end. But I know this, this, this, and this is here. And if you reach out to these organizations, and ask them the same questions, you'll get the answers. So I think that being able to share knowledge like that being able to share different skills and different resources is definitely a plus. And I appreciate being able to do that, given the things that I've learned. So it's definitely a great experience.
Omkari Williams 22:25
Yeah, I always feel like that's the best way. It's like, let's share what we can. And our focus is our focus, but we will share what we can and if everyone pays attention to their particular area, we will all get it done. Right? It's like we support each other. So besides the Anti-Chokehold Act, are there other changes in laws or ways of holding law enforcement accountable that you are seeking?
Emerald Garner 22:58
So along with the Eric Garner an anti chokehold bill, we had the Andrew Kearse Act and the Stephon Clark Law, which were the three pieces of legislation that we advocated for. So it was just for us educators, his wife, Angelique, and Stefan Clarke's brothers to Fontaine, we were just advocating for those three bills to be passed. And we also advocated for other bills, or we're advocating now for and qualified immunity. And also, you know, just making sure that we have just keep the momentum up about these bills and making sure that they get federally changed. So I think that the work that we're doing, which is building out policy for the federal legislation, kind of like, you know, runs alongside with making sure that we encourage people to vote. And that, you know, we tell people about the things that are happening. There are plenty of grants out there for people, startup organizations, women, led organizations, trans community organizations, there's a lot of support out there. So I think definitely going back to sharing knowledge and sharing the stuff that we have, and being able to, I'm always looking to partner with other organizations, because we can't do it all on our own. We can't do everything by ourselves. So we definitely need community to build.
Omkari Williams 24:08
I think that's really important because we live in a society that has a very much a competitive rather than a cooperative lens to it most of the time. And I always feel like that competition actually gets in the way of our accomplishing the things we want to accomplish, because it puts us in an us versus them mentality rather than an "us" mentality together. And I just think that's really important. And I'm glad to hear you say that because I think the more we say that and the more we get that message out, the stronger our movements are going to be across the board. So I want to change gears here a little bit because I was walking down the street the other day and someone was wearing a t shirt and it was a slogan about a political thing. And I started to think about how we have commodified crisis, right. Like, I can't breathe tee shirts, or Brittney Griner tee shirts or any kind of tee shirt like that, where someone's creating this tee shirt with the names, or words said by victims of various injustices on them. And they're using them to make money. And at the same time that I appreciate that they are making these people's names more visible, making these circumstances more visible, I'm honestly kind of disgusted by someone making money off of the death or misery of someone. And as a family member, I'm curious as to what your feeling about that is.
Emerald Garner 25:56
I've always advocated for, you know, people to not do those things. But I can see how people want to. And sometimes it's not malicious. And I see that like, you know, people are wanting to support like, oh, I can't really teach her, it took a very long time. For me to where I can prove t shirt, it was just a lot for me, like I didn't see it as a sign of disrespect. I saw it as a sign of solidarity, you know, they want to make sure that we get it out, you know, the more that is visible than what is out there. So I didn't see it as something malicious. So I appreciate the support for people that wore the I Can't Breathe tee shirts, and they wore it as a show of solidarity.
Omkari Williams 26:35
Yeah, I guess my question is less about the people wearing it than the people making them. Right? It's like, Are you donating that money?
Emerald Garner 26:45
Not all the time. They're not, they're not donating it. The reality is, people are making the T shirts, and they're not donating the money. Most of the time, the money doesn't come directly to the families. That's just the reality. And, you know, I used to, I'm gonna be honest, I used to get upset about it. But at this point is just like people make tee shirts to make money. Would it be nice for them to donate the money? Yes, at the time, you know, it was it would have been nice, but thinking about it now versus then it's like now it's like, okay, they made the shirts, they kept the money, like, you know, what can you do?
Omkari Williams 27:19
I see. I mean, I applaud your generosity of spirit.
Emerald Garner 27:24
It took a long time to get here. So I'm proud of myself.
Omkari Williams 27:27
It still bugs me, it's like, Come on, man. Don't do that. On the other side of that, though, is, and something you mentioned in the book is how helpful it is when you have people who have huge social media platforms, and they are amplifying your message. And you got a lot of support from basketball players, which was particularly meaningful to you, right? And would you talk about how that has really helped sort of put the message out there in a way that you as an individual no one knows, you know no one knew at the time, would have had a hard time with.
Emerald Garner 28:12
Like I said before, in the book, I appreciated the the players for wearing the shirts, and you know, some of them got fined for it. And I'm not saying that getting fired was a good thing. But just knowing that they wore the shirts and they were like, you know what, we're gonna stand up for this cause it doesn't matter how much money we're getting fined for. So it's just like, they helped each other out when it came to the fines. And I appreciate it. And I say all the time, like, Thank you for showing solidarity. Because without that, like, nobody would have known who Eric Garner was, and they wouldn't have known what was going on. And it would have been one side of the story out there would have been the police's side. So it amplifies the story, it got us the very little bit of tiny little piece of .0% of justice that we received, so I definitely appreciate them for amplifying it.
Omkari Williams 29:02
Yeah, when people who have that kind of power, put it out in that way. It always feels like a blessing. Right? It's like, yes, thank you for making it possible for more people to know what's happening here than otherwise would know. So something else that I've thought about when I was reading your book was the transition from being a victim to a survivor. Right? And not only for you, but for other people who have had experiences similar to yours, and how that transition allows you to go out and do the work that you are doing in the world. And I mean, I know that you know, victims and survivors are not a monolith. You don't all have the same experience. But what's the experience of moving from victim to survivor been like for you?
Emerald Garner 29:57
It's been difficult because it took a while for me to see myself as a survivor. After my sister passed away, and I started to realize most of the contributing factors to what happened to her, I'm like, you know, that could have very well been me too. So I say that, you know, I had to really take a seat and sit back and say, what is it that I really want to do? How am I really going to continue to live my life? What am I going to do with this life? And just figuring out where do we go from here? So as I said, I wanted to write a write the book, hopefully, that book turns into a documentary, so that I can have sustainability for me and my sister's kids, you know, I have three kids to sell to college. So what is the look in the next five years, I was sending my young people to college and making sure that they're safe, and that they move on into a life that is safe and comfortable for them?
Omkari Williams 30:48
Yeah, yeah. I wonder if simply the fact of them and having to take care of them actually helped you make that transition from victim to survivor more quickly? Because you kind of have to, right?
Emerald Garner 31:04
Yeah, I definitely had to.
Omkari Williams 31:05
Yeah, it's like, okay, well, this is no longer a choice, this is a gotta to do this. So let me figure this out, as I'm moving through it, because I don't know. And, you know, I think that often in life, that's the way it is, it's like, okay, I have no idea what I'm doing here. But I'm just gonna keep putting one foot in front of the other and, you know, pray. So I am someone who deeply believes in the power of story to change the world. And when we hear people's stories about the experiences that they've had, or the things they've seen, we understand them really differently. And we find points of connection, right. And something that I think is really important is that survivors lead these conversations. And I can maybe, maybe imagine what it's like to be in your shoes. But you know what it's like to be in your shoes. You are living the aftermath of this every day. And I would love for you to talk about how amplifying survivors stories is such an important part of this process of changing laws. It's like, if we don't hear the stories, we don't get it. Right.
Emerald Garner 32:20
Right.
Omkari Williams 32:21
So I'd love to hear about how you amplify other survivors stories, and how you encourage other survivors to use their stories as they can, because everyone's different.
Emerald Garner 32:33
I definitely talk about this a lot in the book, especially with the last couple of chapters with my interviews with other survivors. I talked to them mostly, because when you know, my story was happening, we were on every major news outlet, everybody knew who we were, we were all over the place. And not every story gets to mainstream media. And I see that and the other survivors that that's a really important part of what they feel like, oh, no, like, how did you get on the news? How did you do this? How did you do that? And it's just like, you know, if you pay attention, a lot of the times, it was my grandmother that was on the news, or my sister that was on the news, because I really did not feel comfortable doing interviews or anything like that. But, you know, I mustered up the strength that I did what I needed to do to get it done without taking the time and the care and money that I needed for myself.
Emerald Garner 33:23
So I just encourage them, if it's a no today, it's a no. If you schedule an interview, and that day is just hard for you, like let the interviewer know, like, today is a very hard day, can we cut it shorter? Can we schedule of five minutes before 10 minutes after whatever, like, you know, just try to make it comfortable for you. Because you have to keep reliving this tragedy over and over and over again, every time that you talk about it. So just letting people know how you feel and just just setting your boundaries, like, Hey, I don't want to watch the video, I don't want to see this clip, or I don't want to see this picture because it's triggering. Like just being able to voice those things would have been helpful for me at those times. So maybe it's not helpful for you. But this is what I learned over the past couple of years. I'll give you this knowledge so that it'll be a little bit easier for you.
Emerald Garner 34:10
So I have a support group that meets on Mondays is the Healing Justice Village support group and we meet we support each other, we go to each other's events, we go to each other's protests. And we just decided to support ourselves because we were tired of putting out a call to action, and nobody shows up. Or we put out you know, hey, can you sign this petition, and everybody has 5000 excuses why they can't sign a petition. But if a celebrity activist or celebrity puts out something you're quick to sign up, to sign on. So those things like that very little, but it definitely makes a big impact in our lives because we are fighting for the things and if we have a petition, of course it means something to us if somebody signs it, especially if you say that you support us, you're with us. If we have a protest, like I know that you can't stay the whole time. Could you come show your face, put your feet in the in the vicinity of where we're protesting so that we can feel the support of just a little bit. If you can't come send somebody, you know, like, you know what I'm saying all the time. So those are the things that we're looking for as support. So I started to let people know, like, tell them like, listen, it would mean a lot to me if you were physically present in this space, because I am fighting for justice. And this is my way, it may not be the way that you're used to, it may not be something that you normally do. But it would mean a lot for me, for you to show up here. And I think that those started to make a difference, and encouraging them to speak up and say, like, I need you to be here physically, so that I can feel support from you. I need you to do these things, so that I can feel support from you.
Omkari Williams 35:47
I think that's really important. Because I think often times what gets in our way isn't that we don't want to support someone. We don't know how. And so when you say, please do this, because this would mean a lot to me. You've just taken a huge obstacle out of my way. I don't have to try and guess what does Emerald want me to do? It's like, oh, Emerald just told me what she wants me to do. So now I know. So I think that's really important. And I think that that's something that not only in this circumstance, but kind of across the board in life. It's like if you want someone to do something, ask them. Nobody can read your mind, right? Even when we think we know you someone really well. We don't necessarily so it's good to ask. Our time is almost up. And I just want to ask you to give the listeners three actions that they can do to help you make the changes that you are seeking what are three things that would make a big difference in your work in the world.
Emerald Garner 36:50
The first thing is to get involved in any community action that means the most to you, whether it's a school board, things that involve your children with your mental health services or elderly services, just get involved in something and figure out what your purpose is in your community. The second thing that I will say is follow me on social media. Emerald Garner underscore on Instagram, Emerald Snipes on Facebook, and Twitter is We Can't Breathe, Inc. and I have Tik Tok now. So it is Emerald Garner on Tik Tok. I'm gonna start making videos really soon. With the kids and stuff because that's what they really want to do. And I've been kind of hiding them from the world. But now I'm pushing them out there. And the third thing is to just check in on all your friends, check in on your people, check in on somebody that you haven't spoken to in a long time, try to make amends with somebody who you left on bad terms with, if it's worth fighting for. So those are the things that I would like to encourage people to do.
Omkari Williams 37:49
Thank you. So you're basically asking us to just try and be better humans, okay.
Emerald Garner 37:57
In a different way, in a three step way.
Omkari Williams 37:59
Yeah, we can do that. We can do that. Emerald, thank you so much for speaking with me. It's really been a pleasure. Thank you so much for the work you were doing in the world. I am so sorry that this is the path that you have been put on. And I am grateful that you have. You are walking out with so much grace and so much generosity. So thank you.
Emerald Garner 38:23
Thank you so much.
Omkari Williams 38:26
Most of us are fortunate to not have had our way into activism be through a tragedy such as the one Emerald and her family continue to navigate. We do our work without that weight. But don't for one minute think that what you do isn't important. We each make our contribution to the healing of the collective through our actions. Emerald is working in her corner of social justice, we work in our corners, and together we've got it covered. Often the beginning is when we sit down and listen to the stories that people have to tell, stories that give us a glimpse into their world and connect us to our shared humanity.
Omkari Williams 39:06
Thank you for listening. I'll be back with another episode of Stepping Into Truth soon. And until then, remember that change starts with story, so keep sharing yours.