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San Luis Obispo’s Tianna Arata again on national TV

March 11, 2021

Tianna Arata

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

San Luis Obispo activist Tianna Arata made her second national television appearance since her arrest following a protest last July, this time stating she has to fight hard as a black woman just to be free. Even though Arata was never held in jail, for months following her arrest for detaining others against their will, her supporters chanted to set her free.

On Tuesday night, ABC aired a segment of its “Soul of a Nation” show that included Arata; Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, and Chi Osse, a New York City Council candidate. Sunny Hostin, who co-hosts the ABC talk show “The View,” moderated a discussion with the three activists.

The discussion touched upon “black Twitter,” meaning the community of black Twitter users, and Generation Z, to which Arata belongs.

At one point during the segment Arata said, “I have to fight so hard as a black woman to just be free.”

Likewise, Arata discussed facing racism as a child. She said there were never other black people at her schools, and while in elementary school, everyone treated her as “other.”

After being asked what to do as a Generation Z leader, Arata said, “peaceful, beautiful, like joyous protest.”

Previously, in an August interview with ABC’s Byron Pitts, Arata described the July 21, 2020 protest that led to her arrest as “super filled with joy.”

During the July protest, Arata led a group of demonstrators onto Highway 101 in San Luis Obispo and blocked traffic in both directions. While the group was marching through town, Arata led the chant, “Fuck your comfort,” aimed at diners at restaurants.

Arata and others chased down people attempting to get away. The events that took place during the protest have led to a contentious ongoing court case involving Arata and other protesters, one who kicked an officer in the crotch and another who broke a car window with a skateboard.

Neither Arata, nor any of the other participants in the Soul of a Nation segment addressed the case while on the show. One of the participants in the segment, Cullors, previously spoke at a rally held in support of Arata in front of the San Luis Obispo courthouse.


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She attended a program for juvenile delinquents in SLO and never left town.


12

Typical Central Coast behavior. Again, I will say that this town needs to bring themselves into the reality that they are just racist. Dan Dow was so rabid on his mission to destroy Tianna that he destroyed his own case, had to be removed. Meanwhile, she’s been made a symbol of the white supremacy of SLO County. She’s on a national stage and her treatment here will probably put a big dent in SLO’s “Happiest City” fairy tale. Y’all can’t control your racism and America knows that now. All you “grownups” on this thread should be ashamed. But you have to gain some knowledge before you can fully understand what’s going on in this little white fishbowl. As someone from the South (and white) I’ve heard everyone of your attacks out of the mouths of so many “good” people. Good people don’t blame Black people for who they are, they accept them into society as equals. This young lady got underneath white SLO’s skin. Get used to it, the world is changing and white supremacy is running scared. And it should be. Join up with the rest of humanity or don’t. We’ll be fine without your hate.


-75

I haven’t heard anybody attack Tianna for her skin color, simply for her ideas- that’s how adults debate in a public forum. I have heard the other side criticize our white skin (while ignoring the fact we’re not all white.) Why don’t you try arguing the ideas and philosophies instead and put aside petty attacks about things we can’t change. Do you insult people for being short too or having freckles or disabilities?


20

It sounds like you’re the racist, attributing a characteristic to everyone of a certain melanin content in their skin. People in SLO aren’t racist, they just don’t like people smashing their windows, seeing their officers being attacked, and getting stopped in traffic to be lectured by someone on how bad of a person they are. You’re the one that brought up Tianna’s skin color. None of us care about that.


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