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Local leaders, activists and educators of color try to make sense of it all PAGE 12

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INSIDE VOL. 27, NO. 41 | COVER PHOTO: YOUNG KWAK

COMMENT 5 NEWS 8 COVER STORY 12

CULTURE 26 FILM 30 MUSIC 31

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he BLACK LIVES MATTER demonstrations are believed to be the largest protest movement in U.S. history, with tens of millions of Americans participating in rallies in all 50 states. And it’s not nearly over: In Portland, for example, protesters have taken to the streets every night since late May, and in recent days, unidentified, camo-wearing federal agents have snatched protesters off city sidewalks and whisked them away in unmarked vans without explanation.

In America. In 2020. It’s a show of force that the Trump administration plans to deploy in other cities, even as state and local officials vowed to fight back and likened the federal response to authoritarianism.

For this week’s cover story, we turned to local leaders, activists and thinkers of color to reflect on this moment in American history. We didn’t tell anyone what to write, but we did suggest they consider what had them angry, inspired, hopeful or disheartened. We also asked: What do you wish people understood better?

Find their powerful answers beginning on page 12.

— JACOB H. FRIES, Editor

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1227 WEST SUMMIT PARKWAY, SPOKANE, WA 99201 PHONE: 509-325-0634 | EMAIL: INFO@INLANDER.COM THE INLANDER is a locally owned, independent newspaper founded on Oct. 20, 1993. It’s printed on newsprint that is at least 50 percent recycled; please recycle THE INLANDER after you’re done with it. One copy free per person per week; extra copies are $1 each (call x226). For ADVERTISING information, email advertising@inlander.com. To have a SUBSCRIPTION mailed to you, call x213 ($50 per year). To find one of our more than 1,000 NEWSRACKS where you can pick up a paper free every Thursday, call x226 or email frankd@inlander.com. THE INLANDER is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia. All contents of this newspaper are protected by United States copyright law. © 2020, Inland Publications, Inc.

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WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE RADIO STATION IN THE INLAND NORTHWEST AND WHY?

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ALISON KOCH: KPND!!! They have a great rotation of blues, rock, indie, alt… love what they have been playing for years!

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JANE TANFEI: 90.3 KPBZ — it’s wonderful to listen to the stories and experiences of other people around the world.

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Normally, we ask our question of the week of people we randomly encounter on the street. But with the coronavirus pandemic, we instead asked our followers on social media to share their thoughts.

AT KENDALL YARDS

SHANE MABREY: Definitely 92.9 and only because of Dave, Ken and Molly.

I love listening to them as I start my day. They’re funny, smart, and caring people.

STEVE SCHAEFER: Kool 107.1 for my generation of music, and all the PBS stations in the area. Informative, broad subjects, less bias.

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LORRI STONEHOCKER: The Wayback Hour on KYRS. Always learn new music history. Great stories.

SAM CASSEL: Rock 94.5, Scott Steele, Gary Allen, Dalton Chamberlin do an amazing job running that station, play great music, support the local community and love the Mosh Pit Allstars.

JOSH ELIAS HANRAHAN: 96.1… They just play the best alt music by far.

They remind me of 105.7 the Peak back in the day!

SARAH DANAE: 89.5 jazz out of EWU. It’s not always jazz!

MATT BEHRINGER: Depends on my mood, if I want music, Alt 96.1 for a variety of good music that the others don’t play. But, 90.3 is the most underrated station — public radio to really make you think. A wide variety of intellectual topics.

SHERRY BENTLEY: 100.7 KXLY for news in the morning. Other times, I listen to 89.5 KEWU, as I love the jazz music they play. When I’m in the mood for country, I listen to 104.5 Hank FM. I’m so glad we still have local radio options for those who do not have unlimited data and still enjoy listening to broadcast radio! n

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M

y husband and I were discussing plans for the week — not much to deliberate, lately we are working from home, working on our home or hanging out at home.

But that Sunday I wanted us to take our kids to a Black Lives Matter protest — that Sunday especially because their auntie Inga was speaking. He had a landscaping project underway, he countered. But upon returning from a run, he looked at me and said: “I do realize that this is the moment you’ve been working toward for the past 20 years. I tend to think day-to-day, but big picture, of course we need to take the children to the protest and especially they need to hear Inga.”

These are dark days: 45, the pandemic, Putin’s unchecked machinations on global domination, and continued violence against Black and Brown bodies. But since BLM protests have gone national and global and since wider audiences are embracing discussions about, and often commitments to, real systemic change, I’m feeling more hope, even excitement.

Protests do not erupt out of a nonviolent “normal.” The norm has been violence and those whose lifestyles fit into American norms occupy lives built upon a multi-layered continuity of historical and present disparity and violence. This multiform violence is waged against and visited upon the bodies and lives of those on the “other” side of the normal/other binary constructed by American dominant culture, as well

as against the earth — also constructed by American frontiers-people and the U.S. government as an other to be penetrated, subjugated, exploited.

But we are not made to compete and exploit — these are learned behaviors. U.S.-led global capitalism — and the 1 percent reaping its fiscal benefits most — want us to tie our visions of happiness and empowerment with purchases and purchasing power. But happiness studies — and surely life itself — have long been exposing the lie in these linkages. The ultra-wealthy are more likely to be miserable than those whose basic needs are just met. Happiness is understood to be yoked to something, however, and that something is a sense of purpose.

Because human beings are one entity, our purpose is singular. When we use the resources to which we have access to work toward freedom — freedom from oppression, exploitation and other forms of violence — we begin to also understand, perhaps even experience, what it means to be free and to be deeply happy, too. There are countless ways to do this work.

Implicit in the work is the understanding that we are ultimately and intimately connected. Your degradation degrades me and mine degrades you. There is copious evidence of this, and

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there are people whose lives and work serve as a testament to it: Angela Davis, Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Toni Morrison and so many others. When you’re doing work toward truth and reconciliation, social justice and reparation, its intrinsic rewards outshine and outlast all extrinsic treasures.

I teach diverse literatures through explicitly anti-racist pedagogy at a predominantly White institution. In the last month, my work inbox has been full of beautiful expressions of gratitude and commitment from former and current students. They are happy because they know where they stand in response to this unprecedented historical moment. Many of them attribute their senses of purpose and belonging in the Black Lives Matter movement and the current moment to their critical engagement with the works of racialized writers in college. They see around them the fear and misunderstanding in those individuals and communities who have, perhaps until now, managed to keep their own implication in the historical and contemporary realities of race and racism, disparity and exploitation, at bay. These young people, instead, feel ownership in and hope for the possible future carved out by the movement.

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My husband, kids and I did get to listen to my sister-friend Inga’s passionate, eloquent speech that Sunday. My hope, for all of us, is that we embrace this moment as both a beginning and a return. The unsettling of many of our lives could make possible a recovery of our better selves through reconnecting with our potentially beautiful interdependence. This unprecedented historical moment could be the start of a better era whose reward for imagining beyond current parameters, striving against disparity, and fighting for justice is a resilient and collective joy. n

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JULY 23, 2020 INLANDER 7

INNOVATION

SMOOTH SUSTAINABILITY A Sandpoint company’s airplane technology makes flights more environmentally friendly while responding to conditions

BY SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL

W

ith a novel coronavirus spreading rapidly in America, flying by private charter has become more popular, but there’s a high environmental cost to flying.

In 2018, global aviation accounted for enough greenhouse gas emissions that if the industry were a country, it would be the sixth largest emitter of carbon dioxide, according to the Environmental Energy and Study Institute. Those emissions are also growing at an alarming pace, already 70 percent higher this year than they were in 2005.

While sustainable airplane modifications are on the horizon for larger aircraft, including more environmentally friendly alternative fuels and even electric propulsion, Sandpoint-based Tamarack Aerospace Group has patented technology that is already being used to save private jet owners on fuel and emissions in a major way.

Over the last decade or so, Tamarack engineers have designed and perfected “active winglets” that can save about 25 percent on fuel by reducing drag on the wings by about the same amount.

People who’ve flown on Southwest Airlines will likely recognize a winglet as the piece at the end of a wing tip that typically points upward, explains Tamarack President Jacob Klinginsmith.

8 INLANDER JULY 23, 2020

The piece is meant to counteract some of the physics of flying.

“When the wing is creating lift, it also creates drag, creating a vortex where the air wants to go from the bottom of the wing to the top,” Klinginsmith says. “The winglet slows that drag, and helps save fuel.”

Winglets themselves aren’t new. Klinginsmith explains that, in fact, the technology has been known for about a century. But it was only during the fuel crisis of the 1970s that major airlines started installing them on aircraft.

Here’s where Tamarack’s technology gets interesting. Those traditional winglets reduce drag by about 4 percent or 5 percent, saving about the same in fuel costs, he says.

But Tamarack’s active winglets also include a wing extension that can move a connected flap in a fraction of a second to react to weather conditions and reduce different stress on the wing.

Because of that extra active piece, wings don’t have to be reinforced with heavier components like with traditional winglets, Klinginsmith says.

The lighter parts and responsive wing extension have resulted in up to 33 percent less drag for some of the 100 business jets Tamarack has upgraded, while making for a smoother ride, he says.

MANY APPLICATIONS

An easy way to think of it, Klinginsmith says, is like holding a heavy weight. It’s easier to hold that closer to your body than farther away.

The moving wing extension that’s partnered with Tamarack’s winglet acts kind of like someone coming and helping push up your hands that are holding that weight. It makes for overall lighter planes with much more fuel efficiency.

“If you’re always going to be flying between a city pair,” Klinginsmith says, “the modification pays for itself in fuel savings.”

While the patented plane modification still has another year or two to go before it can be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration for commercial airliners, Klinginsmith says it’s already helping some private jet owners see massive savings.

“One of my favorite stories is a customer who has a business in Carlsbad, California, and a home in Bozeman, Montana, so he goes back and forth all the time between those two locations,” Klinginsmith says. “He knows how much fuel he usually burns for that trip, and his first trip with the active winglets, he saved 700 pounds of fuel.”

Some quick math translates that’s more than $300 in savings just one way.

“The environmental aspect is really important, too,” he says.

“It’s the biggest modification someone can do to an aircraft right now to make an impact.”

Not only does the modification decrease drag and fuel usage, it also makes it easier to climb to higher altitudes.

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The wing extension can move a connected flap in a fraction of a second to react to weather conditions and reduce different stress on the wing. TAMARACK AEROSPACE GROUP PHOTOS All of that combined means the technology could have some military applications as well, he says. The technology makes it easier to climb through thin air in hot or high areas and expands the potential flight time for planes that might otherwise have to remain grounded.

“We’re taking a 10-hour airplane and making it a 13- or 14hour airplane,” Klinginsmith says. “It almost changes the business model, because you have to talk about different crew accommodations, because you’ll be in the air so much longer.”

With private charters, say, on the East Coast, there may be some opportunities to prevent stops to refuel midway between the northern coast and the south, he says.

“There’s a lot of trips between New York and Florida, for example. The customers who have the Citation jets we offer winglets for, they can’t make that trip without stopping,” Klinginsmith says. “Unless they put the winglets on. Then they can make the full trip without stopping.”

That not only saves on fuel, but time. Customers may not enjoy the inconvenience of stopping midway, and it also reduces the amount of time hired pilots need to remain on the clock, he says.

“The pandemic has definitely increased charter aircraft demand. People are looking for ways to get around if they need to without being around such big crowds,” he says. “There’s a lot of opportunity there.” n samanthaw@inlander.com

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10 INLANDER JULY 23, 2020

NEWS | CORONAVIRUS

Musical Chairs Local musicians and comedians appeal Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s ban on live entertainment

BY NATHAN WEINBENDER

W

hen some counties in Washington moved into Phase 2 of pandemic reopening plans, businesses with restaurant licenses were finally allowed to open their doors for dine-in service, as long as they operated at half capacity. For businesses that booked live music for its customers — a solo artist playing an acoustic guitar in the corner of a dining room, say, or a small band performing on the outdoor patio — this represented a chance to pay gigging musicians for the first time since March.

Nightclubs and concert venues won’t be allowed to reopen until Phase 4, but the state’s original reopening orders didn’t explicitly deal with live music in spaces with restaurant licenses. But as cases of COVID-19 started spiking again earlier this month, and as many cases were traced back to specific bars and restaurants, the outlines were Gov. Jay Inslee updated to be clearer: All live music is now prohibited until Phase 4.

Certain musical activities, like group singing, can be so-called “super-spreader events,” as the act of inhaling and exhaling deeply promotes the spread of respiratory aerosols. In Mount Vernon, Washington, earlier this year, a socially distanced indoor choir practice resulted in 53 positive cases and two deaths.

But what are the dangers of a single musician performing to a limited audience in an outdoor setting, where transmission of the virus is considerably lower?

Daniel Mills, a local musician who performs as Son of Brad, was booking several shows a week on the patio of the Osprey restaurant, and he spoke to the Inlander just a couple weeks back about the thrill of putting on shows after a long live music drought. But those outdoor performances have since been shut down following Gov. Jay Inslee’s order. Mills says he has contacted Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward about the financial fallout of canceling such gigs and has penned an open letter to both her and the governor.

“My concern with this rule is that it unnecessarily ends paid work for dozens of musicians,” he writes in a copy of the letter obtained by the Inlander. “If the governor deems a restaurant safe enough to operate because it complies with all regulations, then why doesn’t he deem it safe to host live music at these locations, as long as these restaurants can continue to comply with all of the same regulations to the same effect?”

The owners of the Spokane Comedy Club are taking a similar stance against the orders, putting up an online petition last week pleading with the governor to allow them to open again. As of this writing, nearly 3,000 people have signed it.

“When we have a restaurant license and fall into every other restaurant category, we should be allowed to simply have a performer as long as we are following all of the other guidelines,” the petition says.

In its petition, the Spokane Comedy Club says that, were it to reopen, it would restrict capacities and keep tables 6 feet apart.

All customers would be subject to mandatory temperature checks before entering the venue, and customers and staff are required to wear masks. n

We stand with those who peacefully stand for equity and justice.

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12 INLANDER JULY 23, 2020

This is

AMERICA

2020 has no precedent. First came COVID, then economic collapse and, finally, massive demonstrations believed to be the largest protest movement in American history. There’s a lot to unpack, and we turned to a diverse group of local leaders to help us make sense of it all. We let contributors choose their topics, but among the questions we posed to them was this: What do you wish people understood better?

We’re grateful for their responses. (JACOB H. FRIES)

A SENSE OF BELONGING Diversity is exactly what makes our nation great

By Luc Jasmin III

A

s I was helping my daughter get ready for bed last month, she tells me, “I don’t want to be Black anymore, Daddy. It’s too hard.” She just graduated from kindergarten in June.

When I look at my daughter, I see a free spirit, zest for life, a girl who knows how to make the most stoic person in the room laugh, a stubborn intelligence and Brown beauty that is unique to this corner of the world.

I am a Black Haitian American man from a community near Boston where dozens of cultures come together and not only cooperate, but view each other’s unique perspectives as levers to strengthen the community. In the era when I felt I most belonged, I was surrounded by many people who looked and thought like me and many people that did not. My culture and my Blackness were parts of my identity that were appreciated by my community. I was not insulated from racism, but overall, the diverse perspectives in the community came together to operate like one machine.

When I think about my daughter living in Spokane, the difficulty that she is picking up on at the tender age of 6 is rooted in her lack of belonging. Her beauty in her color is interpreted by many who don’t look like her simply as “difference.” This isn’t inherently wrong — we all notice what is different and all have biases — we just need to be brave in talking about them and addressing them.

While human nature is to be curious and crave to learn about difference, it also is to be comfortable with what is familiar. This is the paradox that Spokane, a visually homogeneous community, faces during this time of emphasis on racial equity.

Lately, we have started to see more interest in holidays and events that celebrate non-European tradition. The Lunar New Year and Juneteenth are two examples that have stuck out to me. It is important to be able to “see” ourselves in our communities; by embedding diverse traditions into our local culture, we make it easier for those who look, think or have different cultural backgrounds than the majority to feel like we belong.

The tension over identity that communities are facing contradicts the intended “united” identity intended for this

nation. We are trying to preserve our own identities under one umbrella which is causing that tension. Instead, we need to be open to difference and accept that everyone has a different identity. No one has to lose a sense of his/her own identity; to hear other ideas, experiences and philosophies around living can build a more comprehensive individual approach to our world and compassion for others.

When someone is fluent in a language and is teaching it to someone who is new to it, it is imperative to have grace and patience with the learner if they are there to learn. If an individual shows up to learn, we need to approach conversations about race the same way. Having grace with others that may not be at the same place as you are right now is to be patient and kind. Progress is rarely made through accusations and self-righteous dialogue.

The diversity in the United States is exactly what makes our nation great. Diversity is opportunity — opportunity to learn from each other, to build on each other’s strengths and to build a unique society that values difference. We can go much further as a community and as a nation when we embrace difference.

At the end of the day, all of us just want to feel like we have a place. All of us want a sense of belonging and all of us want a sense of acceptance. One day, I hope that if my daughter has a daughter of her own, that she never has to question if she belongs in her community because it never occurs to her to question it; she just knows she does. n Luc Jasmin III is the owner of Parkview Early Learning Center in Spokane County and president of Washington Childcare Centers Association. Growing up a first-generation Haitian American propelled him to understand and focus on, among other factors: equity, racial bias, and cultural differences. His fundamental goal is to help create a solid foundation in which all children can be successful; regardless of their parents, racial background, religious affiliation, economic standing or any other unnecessary obstacle.

About the

GEORGE FLOYD MURAL

L

ate last month, a mural popped up on the back of Shacktown Community Cycle in downtown Spokane. Large in the foreground is a portrait of George Floyd. Behind him are protesters — one holding a sign reading “No justice, no peace” — and giant letters spelling “BLM.” Daniel Lopez, a muralist whose work can be found scattered around town, created the art piece to honor Floyd and the people protesting his death.

A week later, the mural was vandalized with white paint splashed over the faces of Floyd and a Black protester behind him. Lopez acted quickly and restored the artwork by repainting the protester’s face and a portion of Floyd’s.

The lower portion of Floyd’s face is now covered with a pixelated grid.

From Spokane artist Daniel Lopez: “My inspiration for the mural was to show our Black community that we support them and we rock with them here in Spokane. We are a very loving, growing and accepting community.

FACING PAGE: Local artist Daniel Lopez in front of his George Floyd mural. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO “As my initial creation for the design: Once George Floyd was murdered, I was watching events unfold over the course of weeks. It was a rollercoaster of emotions. It was all moving so fast for me I wasn’t sure how I felt from one moment to the other. About three weeks later, I was approached about painting that wall and I felt a ‘loud’ BLM was in order. An ongoing protest and memorial.

“The vandalism was heartbreaking and disappointing because not only did I feel for the shop owner who is a dear friend, but also for our Black community.

It was discouraging for me. I almost felt like giving up street art in general and moving on, throwing in the towel. Focusing on paintings. But the next morning I dusted myself off and went and painted the existing pixels, bringing censorship and color into the mural which I feel was the missing puzzle piece that actually completed the mural.”

JULY 23, 2020 INLANDER 13

This is

AMERICA

UNMASKING THE MONSTER IN US

Artist Asia Porter paints the second “T” on a mural featuring the words “Black Lives Matter” in downtown Spokane on Sunday. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

Collectively, we must understand that we are all in this together

By Edmundo M. Aguilar

I

s it masks that are polarizing the country, or is it White supremacy? From Walmart to Costco, people in the United States are applying their constitutional freedom card as an excuse to throw raging fits for not wanting to wear a mask. White supremacy isn’t easily defined by a Confederate flag flying-tiki torch carrying-proud boy. It is more complex and sophisticated than that. White supremacy is conscious and unconscious ideas about White superiority and entitlement; hence, people feeling a brazen reaction when asked to wear a mask for the sake of others. Equally important, this superiority complex can be internalized and easily triggered by anyone who has assimilated to U.S. culture. Critical race scholar Frances Lee Ansley breaks down White supremacy as “a political, economic, and cultural system in which Whites overwhelmingly control power and material resources… and relations of White dominance and non-White subordination are daily reenacted across a broad array of institutions and social settings.”

These tantrums are unmasking the entitlement and

14 INLANDER JULY 23, 2020

privilege reenacted daily in our social settings, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This intention of “you can’t tell me what to do. I tell you what to do’’ is connected to a long history of domination and control masked behind the idea of freedom.

People are dying by the tens of thousands because of this superiority complex and inept leadership. Since late March, President Trump has been pushing for the idea of packing churches and restarting the economy, knowing lives will be lost. Locally, some small businesses in the Spokane area are adhering to the federal government, but coincidentally telling state government officials to tread lightly, keeping their businesses open during the stay-at-home orders. Nevertheless, consciously or not, their resistance in the name of the economy is racially charged. The evidence shows that those choosing to ignore health experts comes at the expense of Black, Indigenous, people of color and immigrant communities. The Spokane Regional Health District states that these particular communities of color are more susceptible to the

virus because they are a large part of the essential workforce. Not to mention their living circumstances, underlying health conditions, and distrust because of language barriers or citizenship status.

It’s difficult to have faith in a system when back in March, after downplaying the novel virus, the Trump administration finally declared a national emergency. Meanwhile, when mainstream media began to report that Black and Latinx communities were disproportionately affected by COVID-19, the crisis ceased to exist. Adam Serwer from the Atlantic writes, “White Americans are also suffering, but the perception that the coronavirus is largely a Black and Brown problem licenses elites to dismiss its impact.”

This immediately resulted in Rush Limbaugh, who recently received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to chime in, “If you dare criticize the mobilization to deal with this, you’re going to be immediately tagged as a racist.”

We’ve seen this gaslighting before with the politicization of Obamacare. Many White voters, who didn’t know it was also called the Affordable Care Act, would rather see its demise because it gives them the illusion of protecting their individual right to do what they want. Scholar and author of the book Dying of Whiteness Jonathan M. Metzl claims, “White backlash politics gave certain White populations the sensation of winning, particularly by upending the gains of minorities and liberals; yet the victories came at a steep cost.” People would rather die, as Metzl reveals in his book, than to accept Obamacare in order to maintain White America’s investment atop of an imaginary racial hierarchy.

These strategies aren’t new. Divide and conquer has long been a technique that can be traced back to the first colonial rebellion in 1676. Bacon’s Rebellion consisted of a militia of both Black and White indentured servants and Black enslaved who captured and burned down Jamestown, challenging the ruling class. Legal scholar Michell Alexander explains, “The events in Jamestown were alarming to the planter elite, who were deeply fearful of the multiracial alliance of [indentured servants] and slaves… In an effort to protect their superior status and economic position, the planters shifted their strategy for maintaining dominance. They abandoned their heavy reliance on indentured servants in favor of the importation of more Black slaves.” These mechanisms to create a wedge between Whiteness and the other can also be linked back to slave codes of 1705. Slave holders would punish, even execute an enslaved person for rebelling, and be granted full immunity. Today, this state-sanctioned violence can be traced to the killing of unarmed Black people. Additionally, immigrant communities are feeling the burden of domination and control through policing, as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement train citizens to target and physically apprehend them.

As of this moment, there are 3.5 million people infected with COVID-19, and almost 140,000 have died from it nationwide.

Locally, more than 2,000 have been diagnosed and 44 people have perished in Spokane County. The numbers are rising. Yet, people are still refusing to wear masks in public despite evidence showing that covering your face helps flatten the curve. This willful ignorance is grounded in White superiority and entitlement, and Black, Indigenous, people of color are suffering because of it.

And so are White people. The late literary genius and civil rights activist James Baldwin said, “People who shut their eyes to reality simply invite their own destruction, and anyone who insists on remaining in a state of innocence long after that innocence is dead turns himself into a monster.” Until we are collectively able to fully understand that we are all in this together, and respectfully wear our masks in public to protect one another, we will be haunted by this monster that has been around since the birth of this nation. n Edmundo M. Aguilar is an adjunct professor of race and culture studies at Eastern Washington University. He earned his Ph.D. in Cultural Studies and Social Thought in Education at Washington State University. His work centers on catalyzing systemic social change through documentary film, and other media forms, in which he critically interrogates identity and oppressive experiences.

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JULY 23, 2020 INLANDER 15

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BRICK

BY BRICK If you want to get someone or something off your back, stand up!

By Betsy Wilkerson

“T

he weight of oppression is palpable and physical, each brick representing every individual and witness encounter with racism, the stories of what our parents, grandparents, and greatgrandparents endured, each talk we have had to have with our daughters and sons. These bricks are countless and add on regularly to our backs,” writes author and educator Alicia Montgomery. She captured my thoughts of why I feel tired.

I have personally spoken of the talks I have had with my son and daughter. More bricks, now I am talking with my grandson and granddaughters. You will hear Black folks say that they are “tired of being sick and tired.”

Just think if you started carrying bricks from the time you were old enough. Bricks in grade school because your skin or hair is different, bricks if you don’t live in the right

neighborhood, bricks if you are athletic and smart, more bricks when folks ask how did you get here, more bricks as to why are you here. Go on to college, discrimination in employment, discrimination in housing, discrimination just for living Black and then we die. There are many Blacks who are successful and who have reached their dream, we can only guess on the many bricks they have/ endured on their backs.

Some people have asked me why I am not more angry and mad. Well, I am! Here we lay under these bricks, under the weight struggling to get up and have our opportunities, to claim our place in America as full citizens. The old folks in the Black church would say, “If you want to get someone or something off your back, stand up!” I have to say the bricks have only made me stronger. As a single Black mom, I had to survive and provide for my family and the struggle is REAL! No one knows how much weight they can endure, and what the breaking point is. Protest, rallies, marches and the outrage of recordings on the phone, Black lives being taken was our breaking point... more bricks on our backs.

In one of my many video-conferencing meetings, Dylan Dressler, a young lady of color who works with

THIS IS HOME The nightmare facing immigrants

By Lili Navarrete

M

y name is Lili Navarrete. I am the director of public affairs and Raiz of Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho, vice president of Hispanic Business/ Professional Association, vice chair of the Commission on Hispanic Affairs and my most important title: I am an immigrant. My family and I have been in the U.S. for more than 30 years now. Yes, we went through the whole system to obtain our American citizenship, hoping we would live the so-called American Dream and have a chance in life like every human being deserves.

But lately, as immigrants, we are living the American nightmare.

The rhetoric, xenophobia and health disparities are making the lives of immigrants a tribulation. We have come to a point where if we go out, due to the color of

16 INLANDER JULY 23, 2020

our skin or the language we speak, we are being yelled at, “Go back to your country,” “speak English,” “You’re not American,” and many other insults. I often ask White folks: “Why do you think we leave our countries where we have family, we know the language, we love our culture and our food? Why would we travel thousands of miles knowing that we could be raped or killed? Why would we travel thousands of miles to have our children taken away from us and be put in cages where they are sexually abused, malnourished, placed with strangers and not be seen again, or die alone?”

We come to the “Land Of The Free” to seek a better life for our families. As humans, we have the right to survive. Many immigrants escape from poverty, domestic violence, famish or being murdered. People ask why we

the Native Project, said, “We are only 6 percent of the population in Spokane, why do we have to do 94 percent of the work?” I thought basic math.

For Spokane’s Black folks the bricks are heavy and our backs are bowed. To all the many allies who have helped to make our burden lighter, thank you.

This is a long journey and we need you to be able to go the distance and get some of these bricks off our backs, and don’t let others put them back on.

Let us take a note from Scripture when Christ said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” Let us help with each other’s yokes and truly be our brother and sister’s keeper. n Council Member Betsy Wilkerson grew up in Spokane and has strong family roots within District 2. She is proud to be the second African American woman to serve as a council member in the city’s 147year history and has raised two children in the city.

Now, as a grandmother of three, Betsy is dedicated to making sure that every resident of the city has the tools to succeed in life and that Spokane remains the City of Promise that attracts people from all over to make it their hometown.

don’t come the right way? There’s barely a right way with the current administration.

I have been a naturalized U.S. citizen for almost two decades now. Instead of traveling, I choose to advocate for the marginalized community and immigrant rights in Spokane. I know what my community is going through.

I know the need, and I am here, along with other allies, family and friends who support me. Seeing DACA folks succeed and given this new opportunity by the Supreme Court decision makes me believe that our work as advocates is essential. We are not done yet. We need a pathway to citizenship for DACAmented folks and we will get there. We need to abolish ICE. We need to shut down detention centers.

In my role at Raiz of Planned Parenthood, we’ve helped expand reproductive health care to undocumented communities, stop warrantless searches from ICE and Border Patrol, reach out to farmworkers, provide food assistance and more. At Planned Parenthood, we believe that health has no borders, and that the ability to live and thrive without fear and to access health care are basic human rights.

This is why I do what I do. The good news is that we won’t stop. We are here. Home is here. n Lili Navarrete immigrated to Spokane with her family from Mexico City in 1988. She graduated from Eastern Washington University with a bachelor’s degree in international affairs and minors in economics and business administration. Advocacy is central to her career. She is the director of public affairs and Raíz at Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho where she fights for reproductive rights, immigrants, and marginalized communities.

She was also the 2020 EWU Activist in Residence.

CHOOSING OUR FUTURE How obstacles become opportunities

By Bethany “B.Lyte” Montgomery

I

t’s hard to think positively right now. There’s so much going on, and “normal” no longer exists. This virus, along with many other things, has taken its toll on the world. Nothing will be the same. Is that a good thing?

I’ve been experiencing fear and anxiety. Not knowing what tomorrow will bring. Not able to socialize in public. Not able to see people’s beautiful smiles. Not this. Not that. A whole list of not’s. It’s easy “not’ to think positively right now. COVID 19, social unrest, racism, police brutality, capitalism, the stock market, unemployment, politics. 2020. Damn.

BL ACK LIVES M AT T E R Eastern Washington University stands steady in its resolve to eradicate racist and prejudicial acts, while fostering a community that drives equity, ensures inclusion, and celebrates diversity.

We are committed to dismantling systems of oppression that prohibit the full engagement of Black, Brown, and Indigenous people.

We recognize and appreciate the contributions of these individuals and embrace the Black Lives Matter movement by respecting the lived experiences and voices of the Black community. ewu.edu/blm

However, I remind myself that obstacles are opportunities.

Our attitude determines our altitude. Everything happens for a reason. We can choose to respond or react. Life is what we make it. Rise above adversity. The clichés go on and on. The thing about clichés is there’s truth to them. Many positive outcomes have resulted from recent events. Families have built stronger bonds. There’s been time for reflection and creation of new projects. Less stress since many do not have to commute and sit in traffic. Less pollution. New entrepreneurs and businesses born.

Communities united, standing up for justice. Overlooked social issues given a bigger platform. Awareness raised. Reform made.

Yes, there is good and bad. Let’s make a conscious choice to focus on the positive. To breathe life into our world. To embrace change and rise to the occasion.

The first step is changing how we think. Looking at things from a different angle. Expressing gratitude. Understanding we are the key. Choosing to open the door to our dreams, not our nightmares, because what we focus on expands.

2020, we thank you! n Bethany Montgomery is a poet and public speaker who created an organization called Power 2 The Poetry. Learn more at power2thepoetry.com

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JULY 23, 2020 INLANDER 17

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AMERICA

STEP NO. 1

Admit there is a problem

By Rickey “Deekon” Jones

2

020 has been a year of intensity and education.

While there are many topics that I wish could be better understood, our desire for equity is of utmost importance and may be the foundation for building community in our cities.

I’ve learned that fighting with individuals who do not believe themselves to be racist is not the leap forward we need. Fighting racist systems is where the power lies. The word “racist” triggers people and, honestly, sometimes even pushes people to side with a group they would typically avoid.

In seeking equity, my goal is to gain understanding by providing context. Our U.S. history is steeped in racism, and those of us who have been here for many generations don’t even recognize our daily actions that perpetuate the historical behavior. That is not a condemnation; it’s a fact.

For example, look to the very touchy clash of “All lives matter.” Let’s put to rest this misnomer that Black people think their lives matter more than White lives or any other race. We all agree that American chattel slavery happened.

Most agree that freeing slaves was a good thing. Some agree that even after the Emancipation Proclamation, Black people were still treated as second-class citizens.

Current events such as the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor are a cry to be treated as human beings finally. Black lives have not mattered throughout American history. Black lives should matter more than they have historically. We call for Black lives to only carry the same weight of accountability when ending in murder and mistreatment as others currently receive. Not more than White lives or other people of colors’ lives and experiences.

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A police officer stands in a cloud of smoke during a George Floyd protest in Spokane on May 31. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO We welcome all to the table to sort these details out and push for a community to unite against the same systems that have perpetuated violence toward BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and White people who haven’t had the benefit of wealth and influence. The power has always been with the people, but we have been at a standstill due to a divide.

Here are some systemic racism issues in our city that are rooted in data.  The Black community represents 2 percent of Spokane, and 14 percent of police use-of-force incidents are against Black people.  That same 2 percent makes up 12 percent of the county jail population.  On average, Black inmates are locked up for 27 days, While white inmates are incarcerated for an average of 15 days.  The Washington State Supreme Court issued a letter recognizing the devaluing of Black lives in the legal community.

We haven’t even delved into loan rates, business opportunities, housing or medical disparities. These are some of the undeniable issues. These statistics have nothing to do with asking someone if they are racist nor calling people racist.

This plea is to tackle the data.

This information is how we fight systemic racism.

With this data in hand, now we ask the mayor of Spokane, the City Council, the county commissioners, the chief of police and the sheriff if they want to correct this factual and concrete problem. This conversation is what has been missing from the docket over the centuries. If the answer is that these systems see no problem, we have to hear that from these leaders as well. No more sitting back and insinuating that there is a problem, but “This can’t be solved overnight.”

I’m suggesting this can be solved rather quickly.

Here’s my fantastic dream of building that seemingly elusive bridge to the Black community (and any community this type of data reflects):

1. Admit there is a problem. Racism in policing is supported by independent data as well as police data.

Acknowledgment goes a long way.

2. Apply a course of action with the public to correct this problem. A plan is a significant vote of confidence and can also be evaluated for outcomes and effectiveness.

3. Include the population most impacted in solving the crisis. Some subgroups are impacted even more so than others, and these voices are almost unanimously overlooked.

4. If the Spokane Police Guild opposes any of the work needed to be done to correct systemic racism, the most significant show of community and an instant bridge would be to come together and stand against that structure.

Community support and trust are critical to keeping the divide between police and citizens as small as possible, and we could become a model for other cities to follow. The natural progression from “us vs. them” to the “guardian mindset” can include a whole new view of our law enforcement officers in our city.

I’m hopeful that our voices are heard, and our leaders will have a new conversation.

Eliminating systemic racism in one sector lays the groundwork for it to eradicate others.

For our opposers, remember, as long as there is the freedom to brutalize one group, there will be means to brutalize all groups. Stay safe. n Rickey “Deekon” Jones is a Nez Pearce Tribal Member originally from Lapwai, Idaho. As the founder of New Developed Nations, a Spokane-based addictions and co-occurring disorders nonprofit, Jones has focused his time and efforts into building resources for community improvement. Rickey also sits on the Juvenile Justice Council, Racial Equity Committee and has partnered with Harvard University’s School on Addictions for further research and development.

Learn more about NDN at newdevelopednations.com.

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This is

AMERICA

Demonstrators march through Riverfront Park on June 7 during a protest against the death of Breonna Taylor, a Black EMT in Louisville. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

SILENCE IS DEAFENING A Valedictorian’s plea to Gonzaga Prep

By Ilina Logani

A

s a valedictorian and 2018 graduate of Gonzaga Preparatory School, I can say with confidence that I knew the best of Gonzaga Prep — including an education that has propelled my collegiate success and a community I care about immensely.

I can also attest, as one of Prep’s few students of color, that this same education came hand-in-hand with Gonzaga Prep’s institutional racism, both insidious and overt.

A classmate once told me I would only get into college because I was Brown. Faculty members asked me where I was “originally” from before even asking my name. I was often confused for other students of color by administrators. Still, nothing impacted me more from my years at Gonzaga Prep than watching a student walk through the front doors in November of 2016 and bellow “WHITE POWER” down the hallway.

What is stamped indelibly in my mind is not simply the triumphant look on my peer’s face but, too, the image of my school hallway with every classroom’s door standing wide open. What I cannot forget is my 16-year-old self waiting in shock for a faculty member to step through one of those open doors and confront this student. I waited in vain.

Years later, I am still left with a deep sense of isolation and betrayal. To those faculty and staff who unquestionably witnessed this moment, I do not know how to impress upon you just how inadequate your response was — how deafening your silence.

I share this story within the context of a national reckoning with inaction. Language, both tool and weapon, has power. Yet the most important lesson I took away from my education at Gonzaga Prep was the equal and incredibly deleterious power of silence. The day no faculty member stepped into the hallway to address the

20 INLANDER JULY 23, 2020

utterance of a White supremacist slogan was the day I began to recognize a pattern of willful silence at Gonzaga Prep.

Such silence has manifested not only in Prep’s inaction in the face of racism but also in their actions, taken under the guise of equity, that succeed only in upholding the status quo. This silence exists in the way Gonzaga Prep has checked-off diversity assessments like items on a grocery list. It surfaces in their hiring of a director of equity and inclusion who has endorsed the use of the N-word by non-Black students in classical literary contexts. Silence enabled Prep to redact, against the opinion of Spokane’s NAACP President, a photo of students wearing KKK robes in their 1968 yearbook (as reported by the Spokesman Review).

No matter the good intent behind these silences, the end result for me and my peers of color continues to be the same: We were and are left alone in that hallway, feeling unsafe at our own school. It is the responsibility of those in positions of power to be proactively present, to recognize racism without being told, and to work towards tangible change. Yet time and again, it falls upon your students of color to force you to pay attention and react.

Such is the dilemma in academic spaces where students are taught and governed by an almost entirely White faculty, administration, and board of trustees.

Past students have demanded change before. We

deserve measurable evidence of improvement; you ask us instead to be patient and tell us that you are trying. I ask in turn: What does your trying look like? Is your trying an active dismantling of racist patterns, or is your trying a passive tinkering with the rules?

To my former teachers, mentors, and administrators, I know this is not the best that you can do. I write because I care deeply for this school and for all students, current and future, who attend Gonzaga Prep. I care enough to hold you to a high standard — one you have, thus far, failed to meet. I write to offer you ways in which to do better.

Step One: ensure that your faculty and staff match the diversity of Spokane’s 15 percent non-white population within the next five years. Where proportionally you should have at least 21 faculty of color on your staff, you currently have fewer than five.

Step Two: measure and report the impacts that your efforts towards diversity and equity have had using student and faculty surveys.

Step Three: reevaluate your leadership. You owe it to your students of color to learn where you’ve made mistakes and work towards amending them.

If you cannot learn enough to change what’s needed, consider if you are the best person for your role.

I do not write alone: A coalition of 20 Gonzaga Prep students of color, both alumni and currently attending, will be sending your administration a letter suggesting institutional changes that will help the school actionably move towards racial justice and equity.

We urge you to share this letter with the public and to listen with open ears. We invite you to walk through the door we have opened. n Ilina Logani is an undergraduate student at Columbia University studying English and economics with the intent to pursue a legal career after college. She is the web editor of the Columbia Literary Review, has delivered a TEDx talk about liminality and race, and is the co-founder of the student group Frontiers of Justice, which aims to help students at Columbia restructure conversations around social justice through a student-developed course, interdisciplinary panels, and conscientious community engagement.

WELCOME TO THE MOVEMENT

You are not alone.

You matter.

We want the kind of justice that scares people

By Jac Archer

R

acial reckoning: That’s what some people are calling this moment in history. Suddenly ordinary people — people who aren’t activists, organizers and had heretofore been content to be insulated by Whiteness — appear to be truly reckoning with race for the first time.

For those just reckoning, this is a time of newfound energy, but personally, I’m tired.

There is a weariness that resides between my chest and gut, that no amount of mindclearing exercise, mindfulness, rest, reflection, or trendy self-care remedies can touch.

I’m tired because anger is exhausting.

Behind my fatigue I am angry with everyone who just woke up and realized racism is real. I am angry because even though protests around the country haven’t stopped, even though hundreds of actions are happening nationwide every day, the media coverage has almost completely dropped off. I’m angry because in the last month, six Black and Brown men have been found hanging from trees from Texas to California. Old-school lynching is back, and it’s being swept under the rug as “suicide.” I’m angry because I’m afraid.

I’m afraid this racial reckoning will fade from the streets as quickly as it did from cable news.

I’m afraid that even if this isn’t just another cause of the week for the people who have the privilege of tuning out racial violence by taking a “weekend to unplug,” there will be so much White violence within the movement from self-proclaimed “allies” that those of us who never walk without our IDs will be forced to carry the weight of Whiteness in every corner of the fight for liberation until our backs eventually break. Until my back eventually breaks. Because I’m not like the heroes I read about. I’m not Fred Hampton. I’m not Angela Davis. I’m not strong like that.

Breaking is not an option, and for me, neither is separatism. So instead, I welcome the newcomers. We were all newcomers once, rocking the boat, our enthusiasm a liability before it was honed into strength, through teamwork.

So, to the non-Black people new to the racial reckoning, for whom marches and car processionals, and packing public meetings (by Zoom this time, of course) are novel to your weekend schedule: Welcome.

I’d like to offer you a word of orientation.

First, let’s clarify what this moment is not. It is not about the president, or any single election.

It’s not about scoring partisan political points, or owning your Trump-loving uncle on Facebook.

Joining this movement means understanding that racism is backed into all of America’s institutions — not just policing or the prison industrial complex — but public schools, business, scientific discourse and, yes, both major political parties.

The movement is not about sign waving, marching, protest art, car processionals, pulling down statues, or filling up the Monroe Street bridge. It’s not even about donating to Black-led organizations (though we’ll happily take your money to build our liberation war chest). These are all tactics, means to an end, but the tactics are not the objective.

The objective is justice.

We want the kind of justice that scares people, the kind that takes persistence and unbending integrity to achieve, that breaks systems down to their foundations, examines the rot, and if necessary, hammers the foundations to rubble and clears the land for a garden. We want reparations. We want public investment and community repair. We want new policies, new systems and new institutions.

If you join this movement, your life will change, and it will be harder. You will need to get comfortable with discomfort, become used to correction, learn to step back, to decenter yourself, to listen to what people say and resist the urge to fixate on how it is said. You will have to learn to leverage or surrender your privilege as necessary, and to carry immense emotional weight, while recognizing what you carry is not as heavy as what is carried by the Black people with whom you stand in solidarity.

Nothing about this will be easy. You in? n

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Jac Archer, who prefers the gender-neutral pronoun “they,” is a writer, activist, organizer and local sexuality educator in Spokane. They serve on the steering committee for Spokane Community Against Racism (SCAR) and as a Human Rights Commissioner for the City of Spokane.

JULY 23, 2020 INLANDER 21

This is

AMERICA PHOTOS

Visit Inlander.com/Slideshows for more photos of this mural, including detail shots of each letter painted by various local Black artists.

The new mural is located on the side of the building at 244 W. Main Ave. in Spokane. YOUNG KWAK PHOTO

AMERICAN CHILD Isn’t being accountable to America’s promise the highest form of patriotism?

By Inga Laurent

L

oving parents do not simply hope for a child’s development, they aid in its progression. Their awareness of good attributes does not preclude them from imagining potential. This pattern parallels in adults, who love themselves, seeking improvement. They embrace positive qualities (kindness, intelligence, empathy) while acknowledging adjacent possibilities. (Could I eat more nourishing foods, be less judgmental, have more patience?)

An inherent tension then arises in loving — acceptance alongside aspiration. Denial, deflection and dismissal are counter-productive for growth. Development — of a child, the self or societal — demands holding these truths together. We are miraculous and malleable, intertwined in an infinite state of becoming.

Arguably, this notion is transferable to nations. After all, a country is actually a composition of her people.

There are certainly attributes of America I admire. Ingenuity. Individual agency. Entrepreneurial energy. Diversity of thought coexisting. As surely as I am the daughter of Rose and Guy Laurent, I am a child of yours, America. Grateful for being raised well — nurtured with a relative sense of freedom for formulating and voicing an opinion, reared with immense access to knowledge of the rights and responsibilities citizenship carries, fostered with a deep appreciation for egalitarian ideals.

And there are certainly attributes I find as problematic. I understand unearthing the unfavorable is uncomfortable, but to quote Renaissance poet Pietro Aretino, “I love you, and because I love you, I would sooner have you hate me for telling you the truth than adore me for telling you lies.” We cannot fix issues by ignoring them, failing to comprehend their root causes. Being labeled “merciless” for exercising critical thought on our history and systems is frustrating. To me, questioning means care.

In my first job post-graduation, providing legal

22 INLANDER JULY 23, 2020

services to victims of domestic violence, I bore witness to frequent and gross miscarriages of justice in our family law system. On our screens, we watch, horrified, as countless lives are taken, all presumed innocent under the law. In his Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson sounds the alarm for every citizen: “We have a system which treats you better if you are rich and guilty than if you are poor and innocent.”

These issues, though immense, aren’t limitations on our potential. While living in alignment with our aspirational values is arduous, this country has always instilled the value of taking pride in honest, hard work worth doing. So let’s get to it, Spokane:

The Initial Encounter?

I am grateful to Spokane Police for completing the “One Mind Campaign,” which allowed some officers to take 40 hours of crisis intervention training, learning to de-escalate tense situations and that Chief Craig Meidl stated his desire to build trust. I also applaud decisions to fire an officer who kicked a handcuffed suspect in the genitals (though this decision is under review) and find it reasonable that an undersheriff received an unpaid suspension for saying “ex-wives should be killed.”

And I imagine us doing better. What would a radically different policing model look like? What if departments investigated and adopted more procedural justice and “principles of good policing?” What if they track upstanding officers to learn about positive encounters with the public and modeled training on these types of behaviors? Can we have a more nuanced conversation about how we’ve foisted too much on police? 911 cannot be the response for every issue — homelessness, addiction, mental health crises along with wanton, willful violent crime. To move between these must create a disjointed, jarring experience. It seems like a setup, a

recipe for disaster, ripe with possibility for blame shifting by politicians who have failed to pass effective policies and properly deal with societal issues. How quickly does being caught in this crossfire wear a person down? When that burnout naturally occurs, what kind of response (healthy or un) does police culture dictate?

Recently, I watched the Dalai Lama address over 1,000 UK Metro Police, putting to use mediation tools for improving public interactions and personal wellbeing.

I was moved to see so many taking agency in choosing healthier responses. They take their oaths seriously, recognizing the immense responsibility due to those they have chosen to serve. From within, they are forging a better way. Also, in neighboring Oregon I read about CAHOOTS, a medic/crisis worker team responding to calls, assessing and assisting folks, helping them receive a higher level of care with necessary services. The program has been around for 30 years. In 2019, they answered

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Bail?

I am grateful to those who worked tirelessly to bring the Bail Project here and for judges who carefully review every case file, crafting fair, individualized responses.

And I’m incredibly concerned about how bail operates. Is innocent until proven guilty still a thing we’re doing? Nearly half a million people sit in jails on any given day just waiting for their cases to be heard pre-conviction, sometimes months, sometimes years.

Have folks heard the tragedy of Kalief Browder?

If you have access to funds, securing a quick release is likely. If you don’t, the wait can be catastrophic, causing immense losses to relationships, jobs and housing, making recidivism more likely. The longer folks are incarcerated, the less they have to lose.

I have plenty more thoughts/questions on court proceedings, confinement and release, but I’m running short on space. I’m lucky enough to be joined by people from within and outside our system, working for something better. Though I still worry. I see us slowly giving away pieces of our democracy’s soul, abandoning our idea of liberating strife. And I can’t help but question — doesn’t this country want to actualize, instead of simply profess, its principles? Isn’t being accountable to America’s pledge — of liberty and justice for all — the highest form of patriotism, the action that actually makes us great, what really makes us, America the beautiful? n

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Inga N. Laurent is a local legal educator and a Fulbright scholar. She is deeply curious about the world and its constructs and delights in uncovering common points of connection that unite our shared but unique human experiences.

JULY 23, 2020 INLANDER 23

This is

AMERICA

ARE YOU LISTENING?

If our lives, voices, and community matters, we should not remain an afterthought

By Kitara Johnson

I

want to start out thanking the Inlander for asking how African Americans feel and elevating our voices. The truth is, it is not often that a person of color is asked what it is that they think or feel. In fact, it is usually asked privately as an afterthought stemming from current world injustices and tragedies.

When asked, “How are you feeling given the current cultural climate?,” I can honestly say I have gone through every response on the typical continuum of trauma: fight, flight and freeze. I’ve had to be intentional with my focus and where I target my energy because as a veteran with PTSD and years of complex trauma, it could cost me my employment, sobriety, and literally my own life.

During these times, it seems as if members of the African American community are not being given the time to grieve or process these injustices as I’ve witnessed

local organizations take it upon themselves to organize community efforts to protest — only later asking people of color to lead them in the charge.

This not only undermines our representation and bypasses our trauma but also sends the message, “I know what’s best for you, let me help you do things my way! Here are the best practices that worked in my affluent community, and it will help you, too.”

This leads me to ask, Why do you have to find people of

color to engage your voice, instead of having meaningful conversations and building these relationships from the start? Why can’t we care before it all goes wrong, and we are forced to care? Black lives matter and so do our voices if we ever want to fix the perpetually broken public system.

I believe the movement to raise awareness about injustices in the Black community has been hijacked by well-intentioned people who have not only made the movement about their own advocacy efforts, but their personal guilt and politics as well. These are the same people who tell people of color how to feel, how to act and what to do to fix our communities without ever having lived our experiences. I look at complex systems that continue to remain broken by politicians, well-intentioned White leaders and organizations who continually oppress communities by stereotyping the experience and learning how to use the language of the oppressed without making real systemic change.

I hear comments from people who throw out labels like bricks from their glass houses and instead of throwing those bricks back, I often wonder what would happen if we all collected those bricks and built a table, a community, a place where we collectively heard each other and brought

FROM THE GROUND UP If there is no struggle, there is no progress

By Mason Maxey

F

irst and foremost, I want to acknowledge that the movement has been especially positive for people of color as well as everyone who has taken the time to listen. Even the request from the Inlander to receive personal accounts is another example of the great strides people are taking to increase dialogue and awareness regarding this topic.

Unfortunately, we must maintain a watchful eye towards the issues of race, racism, police brutality, equality, etc., as those issues will not be addressed quickly.

We must do what we can daily to make sure the voices of those asking for support are not drowned out by the other large issues that face our society today. For me, as a mixed Black-White man growing up in Spokane, I was somewhat insulated from a lot of the harsh realities that other Black men have had to face as they grew up. My father is an attorney and he and my mother have done an excellent job educating us to treat everyone with dignity and respect. I am thankful to this day for their teachings and the opportunity they provided my brothers and I to

24 INLANDER JULY 23, 2020

grow up in an area and school district that doesn’t suffer as much from these issues in a visible way.

It was when I came into adulthood and began my travels and experiences to other parts of the country that I have been subject to the more glaring discrimination that exists in the world. I have been called the Nword plenty of times and each time I have felt that people have used it as a last resort in an argument or conversation to put you down and make you feel less than, more so than being a true statement of hatred. I do not condone the use of the word whatsoever, but I do want to highlight the fact that for the majority of the times I have been called that word my friends, White and Black, have rallied to support me and make sure that I am alright.

The issue today in my opinion is the narrative that as people of color gain ground, so to speak, White folks especially have treated it as if they are losing ground. I do not find this argument compelling as the consistent message that movements such as the Black Lives Matter preach is simply equality. Only those who wish to see

all sides and communication styles together?

Together, I believe we can fix these broken systems. Personally, I have made the conscious decision to continue to be a unifier in the community as I have come to believe the pathway of a peacemaker is traveled differently than that of a fighter. It takes building relationships and bridges even when you want to burn them down to the ground. I have often found that if I burn a bridge, it becomes even harder to cross back over.

talking around the community and not address current policies and procedures that negatively impact our community. If you want to help, build clinics that address the unique needs of minority health, educate and diversify your staff, and stop inviting people of color to councils and commissions, then encourage group think. Utilize these conversations to listen with empathy, and a new perspective, most importantly the perspective: “I understand that I will never truly understand.”

July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness month.

Let’s bring behavioral health counselors on college and school campuses that specifically address institutionalized systemic inequities and its long-term effects. Remember to always check yourself and especially your privilege. Just because you know the language does not mean you aren’t a part of the problem.

Sometimes the very people advocating for us are the same people that silence us the most. Black Voices Matter. n

“I believe the movement to raise awareness about injustices in the Black community has been hijacked by well-intentioned people.”

Trust me, if you are tired of seeing these injustices, Black people have endured this a lot longer than you, as they themselves are exhausted from experiencing them. Challenge yourself and others to adopt the message, “Nothing for us, without us!” If our lives, voices, and community matters, we should not remain an afterthought.

We do better when we all stand together.

Are you listening? Here’s my advice.

You want to better the Black community?

Create scholarships, provide paid internships and stop telling us how we should look, feel or vote. Stop encouraging involvement walking and

things remain the same so that they may be insulated from punishment or true consequences for their ignorance will use this tactic, but it still hurts to see people you respect and admire disingenuously support your cause while at the same time being worried that they will be “canceled” if they make incendiary remarks on this issue. I believe if this is something that people are worried about, then they must embark on ONLINE a journey of enlightenFind these and other ment to try to underessays at Inlander.com/ stand that equality for ThisIsAmerica. all will make everything in our society better as a whole.

I would also like to point out that as a Black man, I also have to make sure I am not close-minded in my approach to civil rights, meaning I have a responsibility to make sure that I am inclusive of all groups who are subject to discrimination, including but not limited to: LGBTQ issues, women’s empowerment issues and trans rights, to name a few. Doing so is the only way all of our groups will be heard in the way they deserve. Arguments against all of the groups named are always based on a lack of understanding and ignorance. However, the best thing about ignorance is that it can always be changed through education — something I

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Kitara Johnson is a community leader, advocate, disabled Army veteran, consultant and trainer. She serves as the chief diversity officer at a local nonprofit education and health care organization.

believe to be the salvation for most of the issues I have highlighted.

A quote that often resonates for me is one made by the great Frederick Douglass: “If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground.” This quote is especially pertinent when I hear friends and family alike cast dispersion on the efforts of minority groups and cling on to old traditions that have been rooted in oppression. The systems in place need a complete makeover from the ground up and small patches of progress only serve to incrementally benefit the cause while silently maintaining the status quo.

Ultimately, a lot of work is still left to do, but I am confident that through the education of new generations, history has also taught us that with each passing of the torch, things continue to get better. n Mason Maxey, the son of Bevan and Martine Maxey, attended Ferris High School and the University of Washington, where he earned a degree in physiology. He graduated from Gonzaga University School of Law in spring 2020. He plans to join Maxey Law Offices in Spokane and practice family and criminal defense law.

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JULY 23, 2020 INLANDER 25

RADIO

Golden Oldies Spokane’s KOOL 107.1 FM is an audio museum of rock’s early years

BY NATHAN WEINBENDER

26 INLANDER JULY 23, 2020

I

f you tune into local radio station KOOL 107.1 FM for an hour, you’ll hear all the typical oldies you might expect — the Beatles, the Stones, golden-era Motown, doo-wop, 1960s girl groups. But mixed in with the old reliables are oddities and novelties you either forgot about or have never heard anywhere else: fad songs, Vietnam protest anthems, garage-rock obscurities, dark story-songs and everything in between.

“When you look at the amount of music that was available in that first 30 years of rock ’n’ roll,” says KOOL owner Bob Fogal, “there were thousands and thousands of songs heard on the radio and on albums and 45s that people purchased and were playing in their dorm rooms and frat houses. So that’s what we’re trying to recreate.

“It’s almost more like a museum of music, and this is a snapshot of what people were listening to from the mid-’50s to the mid-’80s.”

Fogal’s voice is also the one you hear most often in the afternoons on KOOL, a font of trivia about the famous and not-so-famous songs you’ve just heard. Born and raised in Spokane, Fogal has been at the controls of KOOL since 2012, though his obsession with radio began when he was a kid in the 1950s.

“These were the early days of rock ’n’ roll — Elvis, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, all those guys,” Fogal recalls. “I just fell in love with the radio, and fell in love

with the music and the disc jockeys. They were bigger than life.”

He briefly thought about going into law, he says, but the siren song of rock ’n’ roll kept calling.

“I don’t have the talent to be a world-class musician or rock star,” he remembers thinking, “but I do want to play the music.”

Fogal’s first gig on the airwaves was at a Seattle station in 1970, making just $1.60 an hour, and he then returned to Spokane as a DJ on KSPO 1230 AM, which was a country station at the time.

“But that’s not what I really wanted to do,” he says.

“I wanted to play rock ’n’ roll. I wanted to play the Beatles.”

He would eventually get to do that on Spokane’s 97 KREM, and he’d continue bouncing around the country DJing on at least 15 different stations. He and his wife were going to settle down in Palm Springs, California, working in real estate and running an AM oldies station on the side, but then he heard about KOOL, a station that had traded hands several times and was back on the market in 2012.

In real estate terms, it was a bit of a fixer-upper: “The equipment and engineering problems were bigger than we thought,” Fogal says with a laugh, “which is why nobody else wanted to buy it but me.” ...continued on page 28

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CULTURE | RADIO “GOLDEN OLDIES,” CONTINUED...

He eventually ironed out the issues and now KOOL’s signal touches all edges of Spokane County. KOOL originally had an office in the Jefferson building downtown, but now Fogal broadcasts from the comfort of a home studio in his basement.

“The listeners really don’t care if you’re broadcasting from the penthouse or the basement,” Fogal says, “as long as they get the Beatles every hour.”

While corporate radio stations typically rotate through a few hundred tracks, KOOL currently has a library of 4,500 songs (“We like to say we’re rocketing our way to 5,000,” Fogal says), and primarily depends on local advertising and donations through its Oldies Preservation Society, which is devoted to keeping early rock ’n’ roll history alive.

Of course, there’s a challenge built into the very model of an oldies station: Your demographic skews older, and it’s rare that you’ll amass younger listeners as the years progress. It’s why the catalogs of most so-called oldies stations — including Spokane’s 101.1 FM — accrue newer songs while pushing out older ones.

But Fogal says he has been surprised by the age diversity of the KOOL listeners he talks to: Young listeners are attracted to KOOL, he says, because they have the same nostalgia for the music as their parents and grandparents, or because they’ve stumbled upon vintage artists through

Bob Fogal broadcasts from his basement. some kind of streaming algorithm.

“When I was talking to them, I was trying not to be rude or anything, but I’d say, ‘Why the heck do you listen?’” Fogal says. “And their stories were, ‘I love going over to my grandma and grandpa’s house and they would play all this music. I couldn’t find it anywhere else, and then I found your station.’”

And that fan base seems to be growing, Fogal says, and primarily through word of mouth.

“You can tell by the number of phone calls, the number of emails and communication from people that said, ‘Somebody told me about your station, and I’m in love with it and I’m telling everybody I know,’” he says. “We’re not doing any marketing. You don’t see any billboards or anything. It’s kind of like this big radio secret.” n

HAPPENING THIS WEEK

THEATER STAGE TO SCREEN

ARTS WEST IS BEST

STAC One Acts: A Virtual Festival & Fundraiser • Sat, July 25 from 7-8 pm • Donations accepted • Online at facebook.com/spokanetheater

New Western Vibe • Through Aug. 8; open daily 11 am-6 pm • Free admission (masks required) • Art Spirit Gallery • 415 Sherman Ave. • Online at artspiritgallery.com

Local theaters’ curtains might not open again for some time, but those involved with the region’s scene are putting their heads together to bring entertainment to the community and to support the organizations that bring this art form to life. The Spokane Theater Arts Council (STAC) is hosting a virtual performance of locally penned one-act plays with the intent of using funds raised to diversify local theaters’ upcoming seasons with more productions by playwrights of color or who identify as queer, along with other marginalized communities. Specifically, the funds are marked to cover royalties to produce such plays on local stages. For the virtual performance, viewers are treated to a lineup of one-act plays written by established Spokane-based playwrights Sandra Hosking and Matthew Weaver, under the direction of Nike Imoru, Marlee Andrews and Devonte Smith.

— CHEY SCOTT

Up next at Coeur d’Alene’s Art Spirit Gallery (which remains open under strict public health guidelines; masks are required and visitor capacity is limited) is a show paying homage to the great Western mythology. New Western Vibe is a group show featuring the work of four regional artists.

Viewers can enjoy the colorful and spunky animal-themed paintings of Shelle Lindholm with a geometric, mosaic-like technique. Ceramicist James Tingey uses his chosen media to explore form and function, while painter Travis Walker “speaks to a problematic perspective of the modern West” in paintings that may appear simple at first glance, but offer much for the viewer to interpret.

Finally, Chase Halland contributes trophy mount-inspired pieces covered in vintage Pendleton wool. If you can’t visit the gallery in person, the full show is also viewable online.

— CHEY SCOTT

SPORTS SKATE NIGHT

It might seem difficult to stay active and social while remaining isolated mid-pandemic, but this event that combines the freeskate period at a roller rink with so-called “ecstatic dance” might be the ticket. Co-hosted by Occupy Spokane, Spokane Skate and Kind Living Collective, this event is set to take over the Riverfront Park Pavilion for a couple hours every other Saturday evening, an open-air party that’s free and family-friendly.

How do you prefer to skate? On four wheels? On blades? A board?

Doesn’t matter. You don’t even need skates — merely show up and dance around on your own two feet.

And since you can stay 6 feet apart from everyone else in the wide open space that is the Pavilion, it’s compliant with the new statewide COVID-19 regulations.

— NATHAN WEINBENDER We Are One Skate & Ecstatic Dance • Sat, July 25 at 8:30 pm • Free • All ages • Pavilion at Riverfront • 574 N. Howard St. • facebook.com/ events/787108111858044

CULTURE | DIGEST

Manos: The Rise of Torgo

Baddest of the Bad HISTORY OF VIOLENCE Charles Harrelson was a petty crook and a killer-forhire throughout the 1960s and ’70s, but it wasn’t until he was convicted of the 1979 murder of federal judge John H. Wood Jr. that he was thrown in prison for life. The podcast series Son of a Hitman examines the sordid life of Harrelson, who died in 2007, with a focus on the nature of his guilt: Not only have his sons Brett, Jordan and Woody — yes, that Woody Harrelson — claimed their father was wrongfully convicted for the judge’s murder, but the drug dealer whose testimony brought about a guilty verdict later recanted his accusation. Oh, and there’s the business of Harrelson claiming (and then retracting the claim) that he was involved in the Kennedy assassination.

It’s a wild story. (NATHAN WEINBENDER)

E

BY QUINN WELSCH

veryone loves a good bad movie.

Overacting. Clumsy dialogue. Bad special effects. Unresolved subplots. These are all trademarks of poor movie making that aren’t worth our time. But when they all come together, they create the cherished cinematic disasters we know and love.

It’s important to remember that people put their heart and soul into making these films that we like to laugh at. So think of it like folk art. Maybe it’s not the “Mona Lisa,” but you’re still enjoying it.

For fans of bad movies, Amazon Prime offers a veritable treasure trove of movies of exceedingly poor quality. Here are some of my faves.

SUBURBAN SASQUATCH, 2004 Starring: Excessive gore!

Why we love it: The story revolves around a journalist investigating a rash of gruesome deaths at the hands of an angry dimension-hopping sasquatch with hilariously large areolas. Luckily, a Native warrior woman saves the day.

Budget: $3 for red food dye. $2 for cornstarch.

THE BUZZ BIN THE BIGFOOT ALIEN CONNECTION REVEALED, 2020 Starring: Logical fallacies!

Why we love it: I’ll just say it: Bigfoot is an alien. The “connection” is “revealed” in the first 10 minutes of this “documentary.” The remaining 80 minutes is like a History Channel fever dream after midnight.

Budget: One subscription to a stock footage gallery.

THIS WEEK’S PLAYLIST Some noteworthy new music hits online and in stores July 24. To wit: COURTNEY MARIE ANDREWS, Old Flowers. It’s a heartbreak album, and in this stellar singersongwriter’s hands, it’s bound to be a killer.

NEON TREES, I Can Feel You Forgetting Me. The power-pop crew returns with songs of solace for self-isolation.

X, Alphabetland. Released digitally in the spring and now available on vinyl and CD, the L.A. punk pioneers’ new one is a vital addition to their catalogue, one of the best albums of the year so far. (DAN NAILEN)

ALLEY ART The Alleyways Mural Project continues to grow in downtown Spokane with the installation of its second piece, a work

by Pullman artist Jiemei Lin. Located on the 100 North block alley between Howard and Wall.

The summery scene of two children swimming in pools in two separate panels is meant to represent “shared global connections.” The piece joins the first installation, the Fortune Katz mural by artists Erin Johnston and Tim Lacey III, completed last year. (DAN NAILEN)

WOO HOO! Music fans, head on over to @springfieldalbums on the ol’ Instagram and have a laugh thanks to the page creators injecting characters from The Simpsons onto heavy metal album covers, along with a few classic-rock covers, too.

Something about seeing Ned Flanders on Iron Maiden’s Piece of Mind, Chief Wiggum on Anthrax’s Fistful of Metal and Homer on Twisted Sister’s Stay Hungry is just delightfully silly. (DAN NAILEN)

PHOBE, 1995 Starring: Space mullets!

Why we love it: This quaint and, honestly, charming scifi-action flick filmed in Canada is about a former space cop who’s been called up for one last mission to destroy a genetic superweapon hiding on Earth.

Budget: $250. No, really.

MANOS: THE RISE OF TORGO, 2018 Starring: Torgo!

Why we love it: Fans of Manos: The Hands of Fate will enjoy this fan-made prequel detailing the backstory of the beloved groundskeeper. It’s a little too self-aware for me, but it pays homage to some of the weirdest scenes in the original Manos.

Budget: One sacrificial victim.

NOXIOUS, 2018 Starring: Florida!

Why we love it: Add environmental disaster, corporate corruption and murder together and you’re gonna get toxic zombies. Simple math. The plot to Noxious might be complicated, but at least it meanders aimlessly between cheerful shots of summertime fun and zombies tearing the faces off their victims.

Budget: 132 minutes of your life. n

‘I’M SORRY, DAVE...’

I’m not sure I’ve ever played a video game through the perspective of a computer, which is what makes Observation so interesting. In it, your space station has drifted wildly off course and has taken major damage.

Dr. Emma Fisher, seemingly the only survivor, is investigating what went wrong and how to contact Earth. Your ability to move throughout the ship is limited, so much of the game is controlled through various user interfaces and surveillance cameras to solve its riddles. Imagine 2001: A Space Odyssey, but through the perspective of HAL 9000. Similarly, the computer in Observation also seems to be hiding something. Recently added to Microsoft’s Game Pass. Also on Playstation. (QUINN WELSCH)

JULY 23, 2020 INLANDER 29

ANNIVERSARY

GREAT SCOTT!

Thirty-five years since blasting into theaters, Back to the Future is still a timeless classic

BY NATHAN WEINBENDER

I

s there anyone out there who doesn’t like Back to the Future?

Thirty-five years ago this month, Robert Zemeckis’ quirky sci-fi comedy hit theaters and announced itself as one of the greatest summer blockbusters in history, spawning sequels, video games, comic books and theme park rides. It’s the type of movie that always seems to be playing on cable, and that you stop to watch every time.

It’s the story of high schooler Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), a rock ’n’ roll-loving, skateboarding slacker who discovers the friendly neighborhood mad scientist Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) has made a time machine out of a DeLorean. It works, sending Marty hurtling back to 1955, where he has to orchestrate his parents meeting and falling in love, thereby ensuring he still exists in 1985.

Everybody knows that, but Back to the Future’s status as a beloved cultural icon wasn’t always cemented. Production on Future began in late 1984 with the role of Marty played by Eric Stoltz, then best known for small roles in teen comedies like Fast Times at Ridgemont High and The Wild Life. Just a couple weeks into filming, Zemeckis realized Stoltz was wrong for the part, replacing him with Family Ties star Michael J. Fox, who was Zemeckis’ initial choice for the part.

It was this kind of production hiccup, as well as special effects tinkering that continued a week before the film’s release, that gave Universal Studios skepticism about the film. Even the title was up for debate: Universal head Sid Sheinberg suggested it be called Spaceman from Pluto instead, though executive producer Steven Spielberg, who had far more faith in the project, shot it down.

Back to the Future ended up grossing $391 million worldwide against a $19 million budget (that’s the equivalent of $45 million in 2020 dollars), making it the highest grossing film of the year and beating out other financial hits like Cocoon, The Goonies and two huge Sylvester Stallone vehicles (Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rocky IV). The success of Future pointed Zemeckis’ career in the direction of groundbreaking special effects (Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Death Becomes Her, Forrest Gump), as well as the two Future sequels, which were both considerable hits but couldn’t overshadow their prede-

30 INLANDER JULY 23, 2020

Spaceman from Pluto probably wouldn’t have been as big a hit. cessor. The first Future is still the best.

T

here aren’t many movies that I’d deign to call perfect, but I’m willing to go out on a limb and say Back to the Future is a perfect movie. I’m gonna nitpick it anyway.

Cultural appropriation aside, it’s weird how Marty plays “Johnny B. Goode” to an enthusiastic ’50s audience who’d never heard it, and how Chuck Berry apparently hears a snippet of it over a backstage phone and goes on to write that very same song.

It’s also hilarious, in retrospect, that Marty is supposed to be the coolest guy around while spending most of his free time with some paranoid middle-aged scientist. John Mulaney even has a standup bit about it: “Marty McFly is a 17-year-old high school student whose best friend is a disgraced nuclear physicist … and we were all fine with it.”

And then there’s the running threat of incest, a surprisingly edgy element for a PG-rated comedy to take on. Marty is constantly avoiding the advances of his own mother, who comes on to him in such a strong way that it’s genuinely disturbing. There’s no way a subplot like that would make it past the screenplay stage these days.

Back to the Future is also a distinctly ’80s artifact, as much a Gen X touchstone as it is a baby boomer fantasy. It’s a fascinating reflection of the Reagan-era mindset: Its vision of the 1950s is as a predominately white utopia, where every front lawn is perfectly manicured and the countertops in every neighborhood malt shop gleam.

But I think it’s so easy to quibble with it because it’s so ubiquitous: We’ve been able to overthink it because it always seems to be there. And there’s a reason for that. Rewatching Back to the Future for what felt like the billionth time the other night, I was reminded all over again how fresh and funny it is, how ingeniously plotted, how feverishly paced. It’s fitting that the film’s climax involves a clocktower, because it’s as well-oiled and intricately constructed as a Swiss watch.

Yes, it is very much of its time, but it is nonetheless timeless. n

HAPPENING THIS WEEK

INTRODUCING HARRY

Summertime means watching movies outside with your family. Luckily, social distancing doesn’t get in the way of that at all. Check out a showing of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone at sunset on the CenterPlace Regional Event Center’s west lawn. If you arrive early, you can also peruse the mystical and magical wares of the Harry Potter-themed farmers market that’ll be around from 5-8 pm. The screening will also have kid-friendly activities before the movie starts. Grab your spot on the lawn, bring snacks, and enjoy the movie to get your primer on the Boy Who Lived.

— JEREMEY RANDRUP Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone • Fri, July 24 at dusk • Free • CenterPlace Regional Event Center • 2426 N. Discovery Pl., Spokane Valley • spokanevalley.org/moviesinthepark

FROM LEFT: Drive-By Truckers’ Patterson Hood, Dee Snider, Supersuckers’ Eddie Spaghetti, Hell’s Belles’ Adrian Connor.

HISTORY

NONE MORE BLACK As AC/DC’s Back in Black turns 40, the Drive-By Truckers’ Patterson Hood, Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider and more reflect on the album’s legacy

BY DAN NAILEN

W

hen Patterson Hood saw AC/DC in concert, they made an impression that not only made Hood a massive fan, but inspired him to write a song for his band the Drive-By Truckers stealing the title of that AC/DC tour: “Let There Be Rock.”

It was Thanksgiving weekend 1977 in Charleston, West Virginia, and Hood was visiting his grandparents.

He saw an ad in the local newspaper for a show at the town’s Civic Center, AC/DC on their first American tour.

“I was 13 years old, which is probably the perfect age for something like that, and my grandmother took me,” Hood tells the Inlander from his Portland home. “She bought my ticket, it was $3 for three bands, and she sat in the parking lot with a flashlight and read a book while I was inside just getting my ass rocked off. That’s how I got turned on to AC/DC. I’d seen their name, I knew

their logo, but I had never heard their music. Not a note of it.”

Growing up in Alabama, Hood was already a voracious music fan. But his town only got one or two concerts a year, so he’d been limited to artists like Linda Ronstadt and Chicago. His AC/DC adventure was, to put it mildly, eye-opening.

“It was my first time experiencing that kind of rock show,” Hood says. “Girls taking off their tops, and just a cloud of weed. The Charleston Civic Center is a shithole.

It was a dump. But it was awesome. The best ever.”

If you listen to Hood’s often politically charged and progressive-minded music with the Drive-By Truckers (who were forced to cancel a Spokane July show), there’s little in common with AC/DC beyond the loud tools of the rock trade. But the Australian quintet led by guitarist brothers Angus and Malcolm Young forged the kind of

sound — basic, driving, blues-inflected rawk — that made headbanging fans of everyone from sorority girls to corporate suits, Top 40 pop lovers to adolescents destined to one day start their own bands.

Nowhere is this more clear than with Back in Black, AC/DC’s album celebrating its 40th anniversary July 25.

Back in Black has sold 50 million albums worldwide, and this past December the Recording Industry Association of America recognized its surpassing 25 million copies sold in the U.S. That’s more than any Beatles album, or any Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Billy Joel, Whitney Houston or Garth Brooks releases. The artists with albums that have sold more copies in America than Back in Black?

Michael Jackson and the Eagles. That’s it. That’s the list.

For AC/DC, Back in Black wasn’t just a massive breakthrough to the mainstream. They’d actually already had ...continued on next page

JULY 23, 2020 INLANDER 31

MUSIC | HISTORY

RELATIONSHIPS

“NONE MORE BLACK,” CONTINUED... that with 1979’s Highway to Hell, their sixth album and first to go platinum in America. But original lead singer and lyricist Bon Scott died six months after Highway to Hell’s release. And within six weeks the band had found a new singer in Brian Johnson and headed into the recording studio to try and keep up their momentum against massive odds.

What could have been a career-ending tragedy turned into AC/DC’s career-defining triumph.

D

ee Snider is a lifelong AC/DC fan. The lead singer for Twisted Sister and radio host recalls over the phone when he knew Back in Black was a touchstone for music fans well beyond his own metal and hard rock community.

In 2005 VH1 Classic tapped Snider to host A Very Classic Thanksgiving, a roundtable chat among musicians led by Mr. Sister himself.

“It was Teri Nunn (of Berlin), (E Street Band sax man) Clarence Clemons, MC Hammer, (the Monkees’) Davy Jones, Eddie Money. It was very weird,” Snider says. He had some questions written down to keep the conversation going, including one asking each guest to name one song that defined them as both a person and an artist.

“What song would that be, MC Hammer?”

Snider remembers asking. “And I’m thinking he’s going to go with ‘U Can’t Touch This.’ I thought everyone would go with their hits. And MC Hammer goes ‘bomp, ba-ba-bomp, ba-ba-bomp (the riff to Back in Black’s title track). And on queue, the whole table — including Davy Jones! — was banging their head to that riff! It just struck me that, without compromising, this record had infiltrated everybody, all genres, had reached a larger rock community and was appreciated and respected.”

While Snider credits Bon Scott’s vocal style for helping inspire his own, he considers Brian Johnson an ideal replacement on Back in Black, “a person that compliments the old vocalist but has a style of his own.”

The Supersuckers’ Eddie Spaghetti didn’t even know Brian Johnson was “the new guy” when Back in Black turned him into a fan. Growing up in Arizona, he was “kind of a new wave kid” more interested in the Knack, Blondie and the Cars. When he first heard “You Shook Me All Night Long” on the radio in 1980, on its way to becoming AC/DC’s first Top 40 single, he thought it was a new Rod Stewart song.

That tune, Spaghetti says from his San Diego home, “led me on this really incredible journey through the AC/DC catalog.” He considers AC/ DC part of the Holy Trinity inspiring his own long-running band, along with the Ramones and Motorhead. “I like that they purposefully don’t grow and they don’t change,” Spaghetti says.

“They’ve got a formula and they stick to it. And that’s what makes them special.”

AC/DC aficionados largely consider Bon Scott a better lyricist than Brian Johnson, and Back in Black was a massive hit despite some of the most juvenile, fumbling and, yes, offensive lyrics imaginable on songs like “Givin the Dog A Bone” and “Let Me Put My Love Into You.” Tunes like those taught Spaghetti a valuable lesson for his own songs.

“They kind of proved to me that the lyrics

don’t really need to matter that much,” Spaghetti says. “What you’re singing about doesn’t necessarily have to be the reason why you’re making the song up. It can just be about the rhythm and the cadence.”

A

drian Connor has been making a living the past 18 years playing guitar in Hell’s Belles, an all-female AC/DC tribute act, and she agrees the lyrics to some of AC/DC’s songs can be a little hard to take for a bunch of ass-kicking feminist rockers.

“When we first started the band, (original singer) Om (Johari) was quick to point out that Bon’s lyrics were way less anti-feminist than Brian’s lyrics were,” Connor says from her Austin, Texas, home, noting that on Back in Black, “some of the deeper cuts on the album are actually pretty antirespectful to females.”

Even so, it was Back in Black that made Connor a fan when she was going to Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien, Washington. At school assemblies, they’d play “You Shook Me All Night Long” and Connor says “I got goosebumps right away” when she first heard it. She was hooked for life.

Playing “Angus Young” in Hell’s Belles, Connor’s performed the entire AC/DC canon, and done tours where they play Back in Black in its entirety. Asked what makes that album special for fans, Connor has a simple answer: “Magic.”

“Just the quality of the songs. Being a person who learns a lot of their songs, [Back in Black] is their most difficult guitar work,” Connor says. “It’s very blues-based, but Back in Black has this balance.

The blues is there, but there’s melody to it that isn’t obvious.”

“It’s like Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, just a meticulously crafted record. And it holds up. I could go play it right now and it still sounds like a million bucks.”

32 INLANDER JULY 23, 2020

What is obvious is that Back in Black’s songs are, top to bottom, some of the most memorable in hard-rock history. They allow a tribute act like Hell’s Belles to perform everywhere from country bars to corporate yachts, and they’ve connected with a sprawling audience.

The Drive-By Truckers’ Hood says some might romanticize the Bon Scott era of AC/DC, but Back in Black is the gold standard for hard-rock albums.

“Back in Black, it’s like Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, just a meticulously crafted record,” Hood says. “And it holds up. I could go play it right now and it still sounds like a million bucks. “‘Hell’s Bells’ was a perfect opening. ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ is a perfect rock ’n’ roll single. ‘Back in Black’ is damn close to a perfect rock ’n’ roll single, too. My favorite is ‘Have A Drink On Me.’ Again, the parallel’s to Rumours, even though they’re different subgenres of rock.

Every songs seems like an essential piece of the puzzle. And the fact they put it out just months after Bon Scott died, I think it’s one of the most miraculous rock ’n’ roll stories.” n

Advice Goddess BLURT FORCE TRAUMA

I became friends with this awesome guy who moved into my apartment complex. I can tell that he’s into me, but he’s not my type at all. What should I say to tell him I’m not interested? ­ —Uncomfortable Telling a guy you aren’t interested before he asks you out is like coming up to a stranger in a bar and saying, “This seat taken? By the way, I find you sexually repellant.”

AMY ALKON Rejection shouldn’t be thrown around like croutons to geese. Social psychologist Mark Leary notes that romantic rejection can lead to people feeling ashamed for being “inadequately valued” by someone they’re romantically interested in.

The shame comes out of how high social status (being extremely valued by others) evolved to be the Amex Black Card of human interaction. It comes with important benefits, such as better access to resources, including a better choice of romantic partners. However, though shame is painful, the notion that it is a “bad,” maladaptive emotion is based in assumptions that passed for science (from 1971 by clinical psychologist Helen Block Lewis) that failed to look for the possible function of shame.

Emotions are evolved motivational tools that drive us to act in ways that enhance our survival and mating opportunities and help us pass on our genes. Accordingly, cross-cultural research by evolutionary psychologist Daniel Sznycer suggests that shame is a “defensive system” that motivates us to behave in ways that keep us from being devalued or further devalued by others in our social world. In a harsh ancestral environment, this could have kept us from being thrown out of our band and starving to death and/or getting eaten by a tiger. In the current environment, where food is plentiful and tigers mainly exist in cartoon form on cereal boxes, if you can avoid making a guy feel ashamed, it’s a good idea.

A feminism- and #MeToo-driven feature (or bug) of the current environment is that men are often afraid to be direct with women they’re into: “Don’t ask for what you want; just stare at it and hope it trips, falls into your lap, and decides you’re attractive.” If this guy seems interested but remains mum, there’s no reason to humiliate him by telling him you don’t find him attractive. Avoid flirty talk and body language and situations that could slide into makeout sessions, like Netflix ’n’ chillin’ together.

If he does ask you out or make a move, be immediately clear and direct: “I’m only interested in you as a friend.” (Ambiguous brushoffs like, “It’s not a good time” send the message, “Try again at a later date!”) If you can act like nothing awkward has happened between you, it should minimize his humiliation and shame. Sadly, sometimes “the birds and the bees” is a category that also includes “the vegetables,” as in, “I like you as a person, but I find you sexy like a potato.”

BLEACHABLE MOMENTS

I’m a 27-year-old elementary school teacher. My boyfriend wants to film us in bed, but I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it. I can’t help but play out some nightmare scenario that we break up and he does something awful with the footage. He’s a good guy, and I trust him, but this still seems like a reasonable fear to have. Should I just calm down and go with it, or should I tell him my fears? ­—Ms. Anonymous Your willingness to appear on video doing dirty hot yoga and making wounded animal noises should be directly disproportionate to how big you are on, say, keeping your job as a first grade teacher.

No matter how careful your boyfriend swears he’ll be, the reality is that any day can be turned into Casual Privacy Elimination Friday. Consider that “Oh, no... they hacked our cloud!” gets blurted out at major health care institutions with gazillion-dollar IT security. Also, as you note, today’s “I love you” can shift to tomorrow’s “I will ruin you!” and whoops, how did your sex tape get posted to 65 different websites in under an hour?

If you’re like many women, you find it hard to say no to requests from a person you love. Women tend to have more helpings of the personality trait “agreeableness,” which manifests in being kind, generous, warm, and cooperative. Research by psychologists William Graziano and Nancy Eisenberg suggests the underlying motivation is maintaining smooth, positive relationships with others.

However, just because you’re motivated to act in a certain way doesn’t mean you should, like when the cost of being “cooperative” could be potential career ruin. Steel yourself, and explain to your boyfriend that you really want to say yes, but you just can’t risk your students answering the question, “So, what did you learn in school today?” with “Teacher Likes It Kinky.” n

©2020, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. • Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405 or email AdviceAmy@aol.com (www.advicegoddess.com)

please drop it now. It’s an absurd argument. You all just repeat the narrative we hear on TV. The ONLY thing you truly have control over is yourself, and that’s where change begins. Please stop this Hate and Fear mongering!

Wake Up and Grow Up!

I SAW YOU SMOKER TRASHER We Saw You, yes, we did! July 7th, 10:30. High Dr., LightGold colored Toyota van. Casually flicking your butt out the window on to the Bluff. You butt is trash, it belongs in the garbage, it can cause a fire! Think about what you are doing. Please.

Grrrrrr! Smokey T. Bear

CHEERS BEAR LAKE SWIMMER Cheers to the gal swimming across Bear Lake on 7/13/2020. I was lazily paddling around in my kayak when I saw you powering by. Inspiring!

SPS LUNCH HEROES Thanks to the Spokane Public Schools staff who make and serve lunches to kids in the community. You are much appreciated!

CHEERS TO THE INLANDER AGAIN! You are appreciated for printing a variety of views. Not sure it will Wake anyone Up, as people are so easily triggered nowdays, and scared!

Regardless of what the news has stated...90% of people were wearing masks anyways, even when we didn’t agree. Now it’s 98%. I used my eyes, not what I was Hearing... Can we

TAKING THE STING OUT A TRAUMATIC TIME We were camping east of Avery, ID on the St. Joe when I was stung a couple times by a bee/hornet/wasp. I ended up having a severe allergic reaction and as we set out to find the nearest hospital, we encountered a very helpful National Forest Service woman who directed us to Avery. There, the folks at the Avery Store & Motel were so incredibly helpful, getting me more Benadryl (trying to just give it to me instead of having me pay) and going so far as to give me their personal Epi-pen. Also, an off-duty physician was in the store and provided some much-needed guidance. From there it was on to St. Maries and Benewah General Hospital. The folks there were amazing and took great care of me. I just wanted to say a huge thank you to all of these people who helped get my wife and I through a traumatic adventure.

CHEERS TO THE GENUINE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS Cheers to the cyclist couple who stopped to help my mom and I at Higgins Point Wednesday afternoon. I have a rare genetic diagnosis that has had a neurological impact that the doctors have an idea about but don’t fully understand.

Between the pharmacy and insurance, my meds keep getting screwed up so I’ve been without a couple of them for two weeks now. I had an episode when I went up to the the restroom area and messaged my mom down at the docks I was in distress. She flagged the cyclists down for assistance on her way to meet me. It was not an emergency, but I was hot, shaky and in need of water and rest. The man asked if he could at least pray for me,

and I accepted. No preaching, and they hesitantly left. I’m not a Christian, but his calm kind words and energy were greatly appreciated. I want to say

“

JEERS TO THE VAPOR BRO I cannot believe that you will not let your wife out of the house unless she’s making money for you. It’s amazing

HARASSING OUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS Jeers to those who joined the July 18 Patriot Prayer bull horn protest organized by founder Joey Gibson in front

Cheers to the cyclist couple who stopped to help my mom and I at Higgins Point Wednesday afternoon.

thank you and let you know I made it home safely.

JEERS DRAGON LADY OF DELIVERY As a woman in a position of power, why are you treating your delivery drivers so disgustingly? Is it necessary to spend your days harrasing your employees?

Some of whom are being pushed to almost double their daily amount of deliveries. This is a trying time in the world. Every day after you throw a fit and scream at a driver for not having on something as simple as the “appropriate” socks, please put on a pair and go run laps around the building for 12+hours. Hopefully then you’ll begin to understand the shift you’re sending them out on. They are all just trying to survive the day. We ALL are. Please allow their safety and well-being to come before your unhinged need for Authoritarian Control. Honey is always sweeter. If you stick with vinegar dont forget your safety vest, you’ll need it for all that running!

SOUND OFF 1. Visit Inlander.com/isawyou by 3 pm Monday. 2. Pick a category (I Saw You, You Saw Me, Cheers or Jeers). 3.

Provide basic info: your name and email (so we know you’re real). 4. To connect via I Saw You, provide a non-identifying email to be included with your submission — like “petals327@yahoo.com,” not “j.smith@comcast.net.”

how far all of you have fallen in my absence. Almost like I was the only person around you with a conscience.

Fortunately, that isn’t my problem anymore. I left because the things you’re doing to your wife now you did to me all of our lives, and the thing your children are going to abandon you over. And you deserve all of it.

How long until you turn our childhood friend out onto the street and your metaphorical pimp status turns literal, all to get rich. You disgust me. Hire someone to lose my phone number, you cretinous dipswitch.

WEAR A MASK Full Jeers to all of you that will not wear a facemask. You’ve proved one thing to ALL the rest of us.

You do not care about anyone but yourself, a genuine Trumpism, it’s all about me, me, me, proof of a low brainpan.

Yes, I said it, “Deplorables”.

YOU CAN’T WEAR A MASK? So, simple question... If you cant wear a mask, for one reason or another, why don’t you just put on a face shield..It covers the requirements, and you can breathe through it just fine... Move on...

”

of Regional Health Officer Dr. Bob Lutz’ home. This was clearly designed to harass and intimidate. Contact the Spokane City Council — An emergency ordinance is needed now to curtail protests targeting individuals in their homes. There is good reason for concern regarding the safety of public officials. If a group wants to protest City or County ordinances, they may present their petition at their office — NEVER at their private residence. The city must find a way to stop protests in front of private homes. n

THIS WEEK'S ANSWERS T W O T E R M S O N A T A S P R O M O T E H I G H T E A I S S A R A E O R D E R I N E T C H E S R E E C E A S N O A S H U N S T O P U V W E M T S O L A C L U E S D S T V C R E W P A L P R O B S R A B A T T A M E S A M O A O L E G O L E S H U E Y S P O R E U S E R C E L T E R S C N N A C H E H E H A I R P I P E S T R A T U M S T A I N E R S E A L I F E N E W L E F T T A N A G E R

NOTE: I Saw You/Cheers & Jeers is for adults 18 or older. The Inlander reserves the right to edit or reject any posting at any time at its sole discretion and assumes no responsibility for the content.

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A car in the sun will get well above that level, and your house might as well if you don’t have air conditioning. So, keep your edibles in the fridge. Once you put them there, though, you’ll notice you’ve got a lot to work with.

For me, it starts with drinks. I purchased a 12-ounce bottle of lemonade with 100 milligrams of THC. That’s 10 servings. Do the math, and that’s 1.2 ounces per serving. Not exactly a thirstquenching amount on a hot day. Solution: Mix it.

“Throwing 10 milligrams of THC and a bit more than an ounce of lemonade into a sparkling mixed drink is perfect.”

I’ve been enjoying a can of lemon La Croix spiced up with about 1 ounce of Ray’s Lemonade. Throwing 10 milligrams of THC and a bit more than an ounce of lemonade into a sparkling mixed drink is perfect. Call me basic. I don’t care.

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Cool off your bong with a little ice.

Many bongs are built to hold ice cubes in the chamber to cool the smoke before you breathe it into your lungs. The life hack here, though, is that you don’t need a specialized bong. If an ice cube can fit into it, your bong can become a chiller. Slide them in softly, so you don’t damage your downstem, and you can easily pull some cold smoke through with your next bowl.

Whether you’re drinking, eating or smoking, in the summer it’s important to do so with a chill. Fortunately, that’s not particularly difficult when it comes to cannabis. n

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ACROSS 1. Like Barack Obama’s presidency 8. Some concert pieces 15. British tradition 16. Hype 17. Call for pizza, say 18. Creator and star of “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl” 19. Volleyball great Gabrielle 20. Carves in stone 22. “This comes ____ surprise” 23. Shade of gray 24. Pull a cork from 28. Alphabetic trio 30. Defib experts 32. Suffix with schnozz 33. Camera operators, gaffers, etc.

36. Crossword feature 37. 1960s radical org.

38. Morocco’s capital 39. Lobster’s feeler

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41. Cassini of fashion 42. Docile 43. American ____ 44. Target of a skin care strip 45. Flamenco cries 46. Lewis and Long 47. Med. drama locales 48. Person logging on 49. Boston athlete, briefly 50. MSNBC rival 51. Tooth trouble 53. Little chuckle 56. Layer 60. Scuba mouthpiece attachment 62. Oceanographer’s focus 63. Woodworker, at times 64. 1960s radical movement 65. Brightly colored bird

DOWN 1. Birch of “Ghost World” 2. Tangle around a surge protector 3. Nash who wrote “Parsley / Is gharsley” 4. Embolden oneself 5. French 101 verb 6. Big retailer in outdoor gear 7. What male lions have that lionesses lack 8. ____ and Span (cleaner brand) 9. “I’ve had enough of your big talk” 10. What gibberish makes 11. Stockpile 12. The Blue Jays, on scoreboards 13. ____ snail’s pace 14. “Told ya!”

21. Be appealing on screen 23. “So-o-o cute!”

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“MAKE LOVE”

25. Preparing mischief 26. Type of network 27. Be taken for 29. One doing cat scans?

31. Misses in Marseille: Abbr.

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33. Figure of speech 34. Joan of Arc quality 35. Good buddies on the road 39. Susceptible to sunburn 40. Julia of Hollywood

42. Unsatisfactory 43. Ed with the 2017 #1 hit “Shape of You” 48. Loosen, as neckwear 49. Rivera of the original “Chicago” 50. Phone 52. Wear after an accident 54. Sword for an Olympian 55. Frau’s spouse 56. Fig. in the form XXX-

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JULY 23, 2020 INLANDER 37

COEUR D ’ ALENE

cda4.fun for more events, things to do & places to stay.

Go Back in Time

Photo courtesy Cisco’s Gallery

Old fashioned fun can be found in abundance throughout North Idaho

T

ake a step back in time to experience Coeur d’Alene and the surrounding region in a whole new way this summer, with immersive historical experiences you might not know existed.

In Coeur d’Alene, the past is very much present in so many places. “Idaho Women in Leadership” is the newest exhibit at the MUSEUM OF NORTH IDAHO and family passes are only $10. Experience historical Coeur d’Alene in the permanent exhibit, from the first peoples who called themselves Schitsu’umsh to early settlers, logging and mining companies, or schedule a walking history tour with a local historian. Visit museumni.org.

Experience Coeur d’Alene history one artwork at a time with a SELF-GUIDED TOUR OF THE AREA’S PUBLIC ART, including several sculptures commemorating important contributors to the region’s history like The Idaho Farmer bronze statue at McEuen Park or Chief Morris Antelope along the campus of North Idaho College. Visit maps.cdaid.

C O E U R

D ’A L E N E

Upcoming Events

COEUR D’ALENE

org/art for an interactive and comprehensive map. You’ll also find one of the most impressive collections of authentic Native American art and artifacts at Cisco’s, in the heart of downtown Coeur d’Alene.

Experience Coeur d’Alene history one bite at a time in one of any number of businesses located in repurposed buildings. Try VAULT COFFEE in a former bank or COEUR D’ALENE COFFEE inside a gorgeously renovated former Elks Club building. Pop over to Sherman Square Park at Sherman and Sixth Street to view an artist rendering of old school Coeur d’Alene’s Playland Pier, then go over to Fort Grounds and ride the restored Playland Pier CAROUSEL for only $2 (cdacarousel.com).

Head east on Interstate 90 to visit the oldest building in Idaho: The 1850’s Mission of the Sacred Heart, better known as the CATALDO MISSION. For $5/car or $10/family, explore the mission, cemetery and restored parish house. You don’t want to miss

Coeur d’Alene Flea Market

Keep going on I-90 to experience WALLACE, Idaho, listed on the National Historic Register — the whole town! Catch a quirky production of whatever’s playing at the Sixth Street Melodrama (sixthstreetmelodrama.com), where shows are running in July and August with limited audience capacity for safety. Tour the Northern Pacific Railroad Museum, open daily (free; donations accepted, npdepot.org) or descend into the Earth for the Sierra Silver Mine Tour (Tickets: $916, silverminetour.org) to learn about the area’s natural resources past. Of course there are places to explore, from fun little eateries like City Limits Brew Pub to loads of antique shops. Visit wallaceidahochamber.com.

Sunset Dinner Cruise

Bands on Boats

Escape to the lake, and indulge in a sunset dinner cruise. This two-hour long cruise on Lake Coeur d’Alene features a gourmet buffet dinner and unparalleled views. Adults $59; departs

Ready to rock out on Lake Coeur d’Alene? The Bands on Boats series is back! The July 26 three-hour cruise features the ever-popular Hayes Carll.

JULY 26

DAILY

The Roosevelt Inn

from Independence Point at 6:30 pm; prepaid reservations are required.

Head to Coeur d’Alene’s charming Roosevelt Inn on the last Sunday of every month, and browse from more than 20 vendors selling handmade goods, antiques and food at this outdoor market. Free; 10 am-2 pm;

Sacred Encounters: Father De Smet & the Indians of the Rocky Mountain West, a multimedia exhibit addressing the earliest relationship between the local tribes and arriving Jesuit missionaries. Visit parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/parks/coeur-dalenes-old-mission.

JULY 26

Tickets $27.50; boarding begins at 6:30 pm at Independence point. Ages 21+.

cda4.fun for more events, things to do & places to stay.

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