Episode 31- Etan Thomas and Raymond Santana

The Rex Chapman Show with Josh Hopkins

On the latest episode of the Rex Chapman Show with Josh Hopkins, the guys are joined by their Basketball News brother, Etan Thomas who just came out with his latest book, "Police Brutality and White Supremacy." Joining Etan today is Raymond Santana, one of the former "Central Park Five" to discuss his life and how he was wrongfully convicted. A powerful conversation on social justice and racial quality at a time when we need to hear it.

You can follow Etan Thomas on Twitter, Instagram, and listen to Etan's Podcast "The Rematch" on BasketballNews.com

4:00 - Growing up, Etan first became aware of social justice and police brutality as a result of the "Central Park Five", wanting to become a champion for those who didn't have his voice and his platform.

6:30 - Using Raymond's story and many others who experienced police brutality, Etan wanted to capture first hand accounts to ensure there are less and less of these kinds of sad and cruel stories.

11:00 - Raymond chronicled his arrest at 14 years old, where he was coerced into an admission of guilt, and put behind bars. He had a clean record and zero interactions with police, and felt he was taken advantage of by experienced police detectives that were hungry for a conviction.

16:30 - The impact of having support from someone like Rex Chapman or Josh Hopkins can be so important to advance these conversations and to champion these causes for racial equality and social justice.

25:40 - In the many portrayals of the story of the "Central Park Five", Raymond says Ken Burns' documentary was the most accurate and detailed where Raymond felt like he finally had a voice and a platform to stand on.

31:15 - How the insurrection of our nation's Capitol on January 6th is portrayed in a specific light because it wasn't 100,000 black and brown people that bought into "The Big Lie".

35:30 - At 14 years old, Raymond's life came to a screeching halt, and his hopes and dreams as a young kid just couldn't come to fruition. Within the first two weeks of the arrest, he was painted as an animal, and called "one of the five most hated human beings on Earth".

39:30 - How Etan's conversations with former police sheds light on reform, and getting past what weaponizing "Defund The Police'' is really about. The Police are tasked with mental health and wellness checks that can ultimately create more problems.

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