Previously on Switched at Birth...
- Young Money, baby! - Oh, my god!
That's totally insulting. You know that, right?
- You don't like Lil Wayne? - Whatever.
I'll see you later.
- Were you offended? - Not really.
I get why people are upset,
but I don't let stuff like that get to me.
Come on. College isn't supposed to be a safe space.
I'm tired of not having a voice.
You suck. You're a freaking embarrassment.
Get off my field right now! Get off!
Why are there cotton balls everywhere?
Because somebody's trying to put us in our place.
White girl gets intimidated,
the guy gets expelled.
The entire Black Student Union
gets intimidated, three-day suspension.
Dean Peterson and I reviewed the case.
We just couldn't prove intent.
- So you're hunger-striking? - I'm camping in front of the BSU
and refusing to eat until those guys are expelled.
We won't go! We won't go!
- All right, that's enough! - We won't go! We won't go!
Hey!
- Hey! Let her go! - Hey!
Hey! We're just standing here! Hey!
I'm okay.
- We won't go! - We won't go!
We won't go! We won't go!
_
Hi, Sharee. I'm Richard Peterson, Dean of Student Well-Being.
I thought... Professor Marillo was...
I'm the Associate Dean.
Oh.
Hi.
So, I hear we had some trouble on campus today.
I didn't mean to push you.
I'm so sorry about that.
What happened at your last school, exactly?
You dropped out?
It didn't work out.
And I needed to be closer to my mom.
And I'm sure you don't want to go through two schools in one year.
I don't intend to drop out. I like it here.
Really?
Hmm... Doesn't seem like it.
It was a peaceful protest.
And student protest is fine.
We just can't allow violence.
Again, it was an accident.
But there are real issues here on campus.
Am I in trouble?
Well, you've got good grades and you've had a hard road,
so we're going to give you a pass on this one.
But I do not want to see you in this office again.
We both expect your enrollment here
at UMKC to be problem-free from here on out.
- Are we understanding each other? - I understand.
- Okay. - Thank you.
Both of you.
I'm reaching out to the Asian and Latino student associations
to try to get their support.
Great. Keep it up.
- Mm, not this one. Let's go with the other one. - Uh-huh.
These just came in.
Love it.
Look at these!
And I've contacted all the campus bloggers.
Hopefully, somebody bites for an interview.
Hey, you're back.
- Are you okay? - Yeah.
Listen, if you aren't cool being here for whatever reason...
I'm fine. What's this?
Whatever you're doing,
count me in.
- Synced and corrected by chamallow - - www.addic7ed.com -
Number one, we demand the immediate expulsion
of the students who are behind the hate crime
in front of the Black Student Union.
Number two, we demand the number of black students
and black faculty be increased by ten percent.
What about increased scholarship?
Black people guaranteed on every decision-making board?
And the curriculum.
Their history is a requirement.
Ours should be a requirement, too, instead of an elective.
I don't think we can mandate that.
- Why not? - And what happened
to renaming the Sherman building?
- We decided not to include that. - Who decided?
A group of us.
We decided that if there are too many demands, it gets diluted.
We won't get taken seriously. People will make fun of us.
Yo, I don't give a damn about what people say.
They named a building after a slave owner.
That is documented.
But nobody thinks about that when they walk by.
It's just a sign on a door. It doesn't impact our lives.
No, it does impact us.
It makes us inconsequential.
It tells us that the money he gave
was more important than whose backs he made it on.
I understand that, but it's just a symbol.
- Symbols matter. - Damn right they do.
But we have to be realistic, and it's more important to get
money for jobs and resources than a stupid building renamed.
Yeah? We deserve it all.
- Mm-hmm! - You're damn right!
Uh, Iris?
We did something like this at my high school,
trying to keep it deaf and limit the number
of hearing students allowed in.
In my experience, it's not a bad idea
to ask for more than you're willing to settle for.
All right.
I'll ask for the Sherman building
to be renamed after a person of color.
No, you demand, not ask.
Demand.
Okay, listen up.
Dean Peterson is required to review any petition
that gets at least 1,000 signatures.
Now, that sounds like a lot, but there's a lot of us.
Deadline is tomorrow by 6:00 PM.
If we miss this, we'll have to wait until
next semester's administrative review,
so time is essential.
Plus, I'm not eating until he gives in, so please hurry.
Thank you!
Excuse me? Can I talk to you about racism on this campus?
Hi, do you have a minute to sign a petition
asking Dean Peterson to review demands from the...
- Hi, can I talk to you... - I got to get to class. Sorry.
Of course you do.
- What's this about? - Hi. Thanks for stopping.
This is a petition asking the Dean of Student Well-Being
to make some changes about how students of color are being treat...
You want to force them to hire
unqualified professors because they're black?
And what, fire white professors just because they're white?
Wait, no. Not at all.
There are plenty of qualified black professors,
and no one's getting fired.
This is reverse racism. You know that, right?
Demanding special privileges, extra money,
just because of the color of your skin?
Are you kidding me?
Hey, Sharee. Hi, Chris!
Hey.
So, you remember how we promised
that you would have a driver every week
so you could visit your aunt.
So, this week, it's my very own daughter, Bay.
Yep.
Oh, I'm sorry. I got to run.
- You two okay? - Good.
Okay. Okay.
So, I guess I'm gonna need your digits.
- Hm. - Dude, that's the coach's daughter.
You might want to watch it.
Yes, and my boyfriend,
Travis, has already told me a lot about you.
So, yeah. I need a half an hour's notice.
I got to go. See you later, Sharee.
- See you. - Later, Bay.
Can I ask you something?
What's up?
Some of us from the BSU are
getting together to ask Dean Peterson to address
some concerns about how we're being treated on campus.
Nah. Not for me.
What you mean, not for you? You're not black?
I can't afford my name on stuff like this.
We got our last game of regionals in four days.
Next stop, College World Series,
then the Majors.
You think you're above it because you're an athlete?
Pretty much.
What's going on?
Nothing. All good.
See you around, Martin Luther King.
Uh-uh. You can't be doing this here.
I was just having a conversation.
I don't want the athletes bothered, all right?
This is your work-study. Leave it outside.
Got it. Won't happen again.
So, it turns out, I suck at this whole activism thing.
I stood outside for three hours.
I only got 15 signatures.
It's hard to get people to stop what they're doing
and listen to a stranger.
- Hey, how's your mom doing? - She's good.
Not too thrilled about all this.
Says I should focus on my schoolwork.
Plus, this thing keeps freezing up on me
'cause it's five years old,
and I got two papers due on Friday.
You know, this whole systemic racial injustice thing
is really putting a dent in my day.
You know, when I was seven,
I went to the state fair with my parents.
Standing in the ice cream line, speaking Spanish...
and the woman next us told us to go home.
And she was pretty upset with us.
I was confused. I was wondering why she wanted us to go home.
- She meant wherever you came from. - Mm.
It's a very scary feeling for a little kid to feel hate
from a grown-up for something you can't change.
I was four when I was called the N-word for the first time.
Hm.
It was a little girl at school.
I don't think she knew what it meant.
I know I didn't.
So, I went home and I asked my dad.
I had a history lesson before I got out of preschool.
Did you tell people that when you asked them to sign it?
How important it is to you, how personal?
I don't like to think about that stuff,
let alone talk about it.
I think you're gonna have to.
So, you're telling me I should go back out there?
I'm telling you no one ever said
it was gonna be easy.
But it's worth it.
You tell your story, people will listen.
Hmm?
Hi, my name is Sharee. Sorry to interrupt.
I need to speak to you...
Where we at?
803 signatures.
That's it?
That's it.
800 is a lot.
The policy is a thousand or he won't consider them.
We have to prove we have campus-wide support.
We have to ask for more time or go in with what we have.
- We'll look weak. - Well, what do you want to do?
- Sorry, I'm late. - We don't have enough.
- I have some. I have a bunch. - How many?
Three hundred and eleven!
- Are you serious? - What?
How the hell did you do that?
I stayed up all night. I went to pizza parlors, fraternity row.
My hands are freezing, but I got 'em.
1,114 signatures!
The demands are going in.
Great job. You really pulled through for us.
_
Hey, I saw that Starving4Change is trending on Chat Bandit.
I know! And did I tell you,
I finally got a campus blogger to meet with me.
Uh... actually, I better get going.
That's great. I'll stay here, support the cause.
Thanks.
So, why a hunger strike?
It feels a little extreme.
Sometimes drastic measures are needed to affect real change.
Like when Alice Paul's hunger strike helped win over
public opinion for the women's right to vote
or when Cesar Chavez's hunger strike led
to better wages and rights for farm workers.
And please get in that this is inspired
by the Black Lives Matter national movement
and that it is not just about things going on on this campus,
but on campuses across this country.
Uh, awesome. Thanks.
It's great stuff.
You're from Anchorage, right?
- You grew up in Hillside? - I did!
My uncle works at Safeco Oil. He's an engineer in the fields.
I think he works for your dad, uh... Luke?
No way! Yeah, Luke Watkins, that's my dad.
Beautiful country up there.
- It is. - Well, uh, good luck.
Okay. Thank you.
Well, if it isn't the princess of Hillside
here to grace us disenfranchised folk with her presence.
What are you talking about?
"While articulate, strong-willed and passionate about her cause,
it may be surprising to learn that Watkins was born
to a white father
and attended an exclusive private high school in a suburb
where her family home is appraised at almost a million dollars."
So what? How is any of that relevant?
You were raised white.
Living a white life.
My mom was black.
You look like a fraud, which means we look like frauds.
This article makes us look like a bunch of ungrateful whiners
who freak out at the first sign of adversity.
Who cares that I grew up with money?
It's not like it shields you from racial injustice.
Really? It doesn't shield you from redlining?
It doesn't shield you from a piss-poor education?
I am not gonna debate you about which one of us blacker,
especially not because of one stupid article.
Which you never should have done!
You know the media's biased against us!
Do you remember Hurricane Katrina?
The press said that black families were "looting" food,
but white families were "finding" it.
Don't lecture me.
Mike Brown gets killed by the police,
and they print the scariest picture of him they can find.
But that Boston Bomber kid, who terrorized a city,
gets his Facebook picture on the cover of Rolling Stone.
"Good kid gone bad."
I never said I represented every black person.
You're the face of the movement!
You have to have adversity in your past
or no one will care about any of us!
They want to write us off in any way possible.
You just gave them the perfect excuse.
I think it's time I take over.
What? I started this!
I haven't eaten in days! That's how committed I am.
You are welcome to continue the hunger strike if you want,
but I am taking over.
I got it!
It's Dean Peterson's response.
"Our school has always been one of inclusion and diversity.
The students associated with the cotton ball incident
have been disciplined in accordance with school policy."
Blah, blah, blah!
What does that even mean?
It means Dean Peterson ain't doing jack.
I don't matter to them.
They'll just let me starve to death.
Peterson's doing nothing? Fine.
But are we gonna stand by and do nothing?
- No! - Hell no!
- What do we want? - Justice!
- When do we want it? - Now!
- What do we want? - Justice!
- When do we want it? - Now!
- What do we want? - Justice!
- When do we want it? - Now!
- What do we want? - Justice!
- When do we want it? - Now!
- What do we want? - Iris? Iris!
- Now! - Iris!
- When do we want it? - Get help!
- What do we want? - Justice!
- When do we want it? - Now!
Look, thanks for coming, but I'm okay.
We have pho, and chicken noodle, clam chowder.
No.
Iris...
please, this is serious.
I'm not eating until the kids
who put out the cotton balls are expelled.
Okay, but you heard what the doctor said.
Low blood pressure, ketoacidosis...
these are things that can kill you.
She's right. There's no world in which
losing your life is a win for the cause.
Say I eat.
Then what?
Nothing changes.
I need to be as loud as possible.
And this is the only way I know how.
Until they're expelled, I'm not eating.
No. Sit-ins and picket signs are too passive.
This ain't the '60s. People will just walk past us.
We need to do something that Peterson can't ignore.
- Like what? - The Sherman building.
I say we go over there and tear that sign down.
That's your big plan, vandalizing school property?
We do that and Peterson can't ignore us any longer.
He'll have to address the demands.
We do that and we're criminals.
It's civil disobedience. I can live with that.
You guys, are we overreacting?
I mean, these things, they're little.
Cotton ball pranks? Name calling?
Should we be focusing on... I don't know,
health care, voter turnout,
black-on-black violence?
We will focus on all that.
But this is our battle now.
Those guys who put out the cotton balls,
if they aren't given a message,
if the whole school isn't given the message,
that we won't take it, they'll just go on doing it.
Sharee?
You're sitting over there, all quiet. What do you think?
Um...
I'm thinking about Iris,
laying in bed, literally putting her life on the line
for black students to be heard.
And then I'm thinking about Peterson who couldn't care less.
I'm thinking it's time we show them
if they're not going to change things, we will.
That sign's coming down.
Okay, Mr. Sherman,
your time being celebrated as a slave owner is over.
You want to do the honors?
I do indeed.
This is for the time a professor implied I wouldn't be here
if it weren't for affirmative action.
This is for the time the security alarm went off at the bookstore
and I was the only one who was stopped and searched.
This is for the time someone gave me a lawn jockey as a joke.
This is for those people who told me,
"You're pretty... for a black girl."
Hello?
- What are you doing? - It's my mom.
I got to take this.
Is that Marillo?
I'm going to go talk to her. You guys wait here.
Professor Marillo, wait up!
This is not the time... or the place.
I just want to ask you a question.
Can you please talk to me?
This isn't appropriate!
If you want to see me, come during office hours!
But I'm right here. Can we just talk?
Can you just tell me why you won't listen to us?
Professor, wait! Please, just...
Why won't you meet with us?
Why are you ignoring us?
Do you not believe us?
You guys, get out of here.
- What do we have to do... - Keeshawn!
We just want to talk!
What are you doing? Let her go!
Leave me alone!
Wait!
- Why would you do that? - You can't do that because it's not the right way!
Well, what is then?
What is?
I don't know.
I don't know!
God!
_
Mm-hmm.
Yes, sir.
You keep that up,
you're gonna kill 'em tomorrow.
Next stop, College World Series, baby.
I'm still waiting on some calls, but as of now,
three scouts are gonna be there for you.
Kid, your life is about to change.
- Mm! - Yeah!
- What's up, legs? - Hey.
What's wrong? Still mad at me 'cause I didn't sign that thing?
Hey, super star, how you doing?
Ready for the game tomorrow?
- Hey, I'm ready to get that W. - Good.
Sharee, here are the media contracts for the game tomorrow.
- Make sure Mike gets them, okay? - Of course.
Keep that positive attitude. You're gonna do great.
That's me. Mr. Positivity.
Bye, legs.
Chris. Chris, you can't play tomorrow.
Say what now?
Do you know how much money is on the line
for the school with this game?
They're getting paid almost a million dollars to broadcast it.
Yeah. Can you believe I get none of that?
Look, I know this is a lot to ask,
but if you and the rest of the team threaten to sit out the game,
Dean Peterson will have to meet with us.
He'd never let the school lose out on that much money.
You want me to sit out the biggest game of my life?
My friend Iris is literally starving herself for this cause.
She is putting her life on the line.
This game is my life.
I've been working for this since I was five years old,
and I'm finally about to get paid.
- This is bigger than you. - Yeah, I know it is.
I got an aunt, I got a little a brother, I got people to take care of!
And I'm not about to blow it
to make some point about some douche bags.
You don't actually have to sit out, just threaten it.
He'll cave in, he has to.
If you think I'm gonna take that chance, you're crazy.
This is becoming a powder keg situation.
I think that we should take this to President Hillard.
Oh, absolutely not.
Uh, it's my job to stop these issues
before they become administration-wide.
I told you a year ago that more attention needs
to be paid to these racial incidents.
Now we have frustrated kids
blocking professors' cars, tearing down signs,
just to try to get someone's attention.
- Now, this is getting out of hand. - Yeah, I agree!
The behavior's unacceptable.
And if Ms. Marillo will let me know the name
of the individual who approached her last night...
I don't know his name.
And I only told you about this to make you realize
that ignoring this isn't gonna make it go away.
And what's this I hear about a student who's hunger striking?
What's that about?
She's upset about the kids who put the cotton balls
in front of the BSU.
We couldn't prove intent.
We made them do sensitivity training.
- They should've been expelled, Richard. - Our job is to educate!
Are we gonna ruin young people's lives
over one error in judgment?
Look, the least you can do,
sit down with this young woman who's on the hunger strike.
- Make her feel heard. - I would love to,
but the fact is, we can't promise
10% black faculty and 10% Latino
and 5% Native American.
That's not how you run a university.
You strive to get the most qualified people of course,
but you can't mandate those things.
And what, overhaul our course load overnight?
That's just naive.
Look, I've heard your concerns and thank you.
This is my job to handle.
Just let me handle it.
_
Damn.
Hey!
Stop right there.
Hands in the air.
- Hey, you wanna get that flashlight out of my face? - Hands up right now.
My key broke off in the lock.
I'm a student here.
Let me see some I.D.
- I left my wallet upstairs. - All right, turn around then.
On your knees. Now.
I swear, I'm a student here.
Okay? You... Come upstairs. You can get my wallet.
I'm not stealing.
This is the last time I'm gonna tell you.
Turn around and put your hands on your head now.
Now!
Fine!
Punk-ass cops.
Get off me!
Stop resisting!
Get off me! Help!
But I didn't do anything!
Hey, shut up!
My pitching arm!
You're hurting my pitching arm!
What... what are you doing?
Yo, help me! Call your dad!
- What? - He's under arrest.
- Wait, for what? - Bike theft!
What? No! He's a student here!
I know him! His name is Chris Walker!
My boyfriend and I can both vouch for him!
My key broke in the lock!
It's the red one! It was my bike!
Hey, hey, hey, hey!
Here it is!
I didn't see that key.
You didn't ask!
Hey, are you okay?
I'm fine.
Chris!
I'm so sorry.
Thanks.
Look...
my dad worked the assembly line in Detroit.
32 years.
Showed up early, was the last one to leave,
took all the extra courses, you know, just waiting
to get promoted to manager.
Never happened.
Know who got tapped?
Folks who looked more like
what a supervisor looked like in their eyes.
From what I've seen, sitting by,
waiting to be acknowledged doesn't work.
You gotta take it.
I'm the opposite of you.
The good girl.
Never breaking the rules.
Well, not till now.
Did you really grow up in Alaska?
I really did.
Any other black people around?
Not too many.
My mom died when I was nine.
All of her relatives live on the mainland
and we saw them maybe once a year?
I can't imagine growing up like that.
My dad and my step-mom...
they're amazing.
They couldn't love me more.
But I always felt different.
Like an outsider in my own family.
And you're right,
you did have it harder than me in a lot of ways.
We never struggled for money.
I was lucky,
but in other ways, you had it easier.
You always knew who you were...
and...
that's something I'm still trying to figure out.
You've got the rest of your life to do that...
but only if you have a life.
You gotta eat, girl.
This is not the way.
I'm not eating.
Iris.
We'll find another way to fight back. I promise.
But this is too dangerous.
Didn't you read the hashtag?
Black lives matter.
You matter.
I know I do.
And maybe by doing this,
it'll show someone how important this is.
Respect.
Champ.
Time to warm up.
Opening pitch in 15 minutes.
I can't play, Coach.
What are you talking about you can't play?
What's going on?
I'm standing with the BSU.
Chris, I really sympathize
with what you went through yesterday,
and we'll get into that later.
We'll have those cops reprimanded, we'll sue,
we'll do whatever you want, but right now,
there are three scouts sitting in the stands
waiting to throw money at you.
Money that you need.
- And I want that money more than anything. - Okay!
But I gotta take a stand.
I respect that. I get it.
Guys, give me a second here.
But sports are separate.
Well, maybe they shouldn't be.
I get that you're willing to make this personal sacrifice.
That's fine.
Look around this room.
What about your team? You owe them.
I'm on more than one team.
Guys.
Hey, can I talk to you guys?
Can you guys stop talking for one second, please?
Look, I know...
I kind of been cocky since I got here,
and I got no right to ask you all for anything,
but last night, I was assaulted
by police on campus.
They took me for a criminal.
They pinned me to the ground,
they kicked me in my back.
I had no idea what they were gonna do to me.
Nobody should have to go through
what I went through last night.
Things like that happen every day
to kids that look like me,
and we aren't being heard.
And so...
I'm sitting out the game today in hopes that we will be.
And I know this is a huge ask, I do...
but I hope you'll sit out with me too.
Wait, that's crazy. Why?
There's a bunch of scouts out there.
This is my one chance.
_
He's sitting out the game
because of the racial incidents on campus.
So... I need you to warm up.
You are pitching.
_
Travis.
_
I'm with Chris.
I'm sitting out too.
Thank you.
Thank you all.
Is he crazy? John, you gotta do something.
You gotta get your team out there.
We got camera crews!
We've... we've got a shot at doing something
that has never been done in the history of this school!
Mike, I am very aware of that.
I can't talk him out of it.
- Why the hell not? - Because they've made up their minds, Mike,
and I'm their coach,
and I'm gonna stand with my team.
Has the world gone crazy?
I'll tell you what, if you want a team out there,
you might want to make a call upstairs.
What's going on? Why aren't they starting?
I have no idea.
Two-minute warning for UMKC to take the field!
I'll find out what's going on.
- Oh, my god. - What?
I think I know what's happening.
Your team has 60 seconds to take the field
or this game's a forfeit.
They're gonna call, right?
They're not gonna let us forfeit.
Hey, Chris...
You absolutely sure about this?
Hey.
This is insane! He's gotta give in!
What did Peterson say?
He said he's not gonna be bullied by students.
UMKC forfeits.
East Indiana wins.
I'm so sorry.
I really thought it'd work.
So did I.
I'm glad you came.
I'm in it now.
Hey, everyone.
Thanks for coming.
I know it's been a hard week, but this is not the end.
I don't know what's next,
but we'll figure it out.
Did you hear?
They're sitting out!
- All of them! - Who?
Uh, lacrosse, uh, soccer, volleyball!
What are you talking about?
The other teams were inspired by baseball!
And they're all refusing to play
until we get a meeting with Dean Peterson.
Wow.
If football's in, we're golden!
Yo, football is in! Football, women's basketball,
- uh, tennis, golf... - Iris!
Everybody's working with us!
- You guys, this is exactly what we strive for. - Hello?
Everything that we wanted, we are getting!
- E... excuse me? - These people are shutting down,
and now they're gonna have to listen to us!
We did it, you guys!
- Uh-huh. - Everyone! Us!
We finally got their attention...
- Yeah. Yeah, it works for us. - ... and now we're gonna finally get what we want!
- Sure. Thank you. - You understand?
Because of the people in this room, we did it!
- That's why! - Keeshawn!
Everyone, please, can I get your attention?
That was the President of the university.
He expelled the guys who put out the cotton balls.
- Damn right! - Uh-huh!
Yes!
And, um, there's more!
He wants to meet with us tomorrow
to address the rest of our demands.
Yay!
You did it.
No, we did it.
And I am taking everyone to dinner!
Everyone?
Everyone!
- My brother! - My brother!
We're in. BSU!
- Synced and corrected by chamallow - - www.addic7ed.com -