Thread by @opinion

Waking up in a parking lot for the first time is a little jarring, according to @FSBarry.

But peering out the RV window at a line of shoppers outside Trader Joe’s brings a sense of normalcy. It’s morning in America, amid mourning in America trib.al/dRAT2ZA

As Frank crosses the country in a Winnebago to find the spirit of America, he meets many people on the road.

One of them is a graffiti artist named Leon “Rain” Rainbow (@aerosoleon), who has lived in Trenton, New Jersey for two decades (video via @quicktake)

After the killing of George Floyd, Rainbow joined a peaceful protest that was coopted by looters, which sparked an idea: a project called “Rock the Boards.”

With some donations, “We painted lot of the boarded up windows that were smashed,” Rainbow said trib.al/dRAT2ZA

Graffiti is usually the bane of business owners and city officials. In Trenton, they have supported and subsidized it.

Far from being a sign of decay and disorder, it has been a visible rejection of neglect and an affirmation of the community’s support trib.al/dRAT2ZA

Driving into Philadelphia, murals guide the way to downtown:

🖌️Jackie Robinson
🖌️Muhammad Ali
🖌️A Salvation Army trumpeter
🖌️A message: RISE

@FSBarry’s next stop? Adam Weiner’s South Philly home trib.al/dRAT2ZA

Weiner leads the band @LowCutConnie and plays piano with uninhibited abandon — standing on his bench, kneeling on the floor, stripping down to underwear.

He sings about “people that are on the edges of society, underdogs and subcultures” trib.al/dRAT2ZA

His livestream shows have become a Covid hit.

“I have focused so much attention on racism and discussions of race, not just in America, but specifically in the entertainment business and music business,” said Weiner trib.al/dRAT2ZA

Long before the livestreams, Low Cut Connie was building one of the most diverse audiences in the music industry.

“My agent said, ‘You’re the only band where, when you see the line on the street outside the club, you have absolutely no clue who’s inside” trib.al/dRAT2ZA

That’s noticeably uncommon in the music industry.

Rock ’n’ roll began in Black America, but eventually, music became a segregated affair, like so much else in American life trib.al/dRAT2ZA

Weiner’s agency was baffled when he said he’d love to open for Janelle Monae.

“And we got offered a Kings of Leon leg of a tour, opening — and I said no. And the agency was so confused,” he recalled trib.al/dRAT2ZA

“I said, let me like break this down for you. One, from an artistic standpoint, I don’t want to look like a mini-Kings of Leon,” he told Frank.

“Who needs another package of just like White rock bands?” trib.al/dRAT2ZA

Weiner has also faced the challenge of holding his politically diverse fanbase together.

“We have a lot of conservative fans,” Weiner says. “I had a bunch of messages where people said, ‘I’ve been with you up till now.’” trib.al/dRAT2ZA

“There’s room for everybody here. And we’re allowed to disagree on things.’”

So he said, ‘If you’ll stick with me, I'll stick with you. You don't have to love everything I do.’” And the response? “Great –– Not in every case, but most" trib.al/dRAT2ZA