Oral History Interview with Nolan Griggs

Title: Oral History Interview with Nolan Griggs
Interviewee: Nolan Griggs
Interviewer: Drew Miller
Description: Nolan Griggs is a 19 year old from Brentwood, TN. As Nolan states in the interview, Brentwood is a wealthy and rather conservative suburb of Nashville. Nolan is currently a full time student enrolled at Sewanee: The University of the South. He is a member of the golf team as well as Sigma Nu Fraternity. Nolan is very passionate about school and golf, so he spends most of his days working on these activities. Additionally, Nolan enjoys keeping up with the news and politics. He believes that following world news and our country's politics is a key factor in better understanding the world we live in.
Transcript: Drew Miller(00:02):
This is Drew Miller from Suwanee, the University of the South. It is Sunday, February the 18th at 5:20 PM and I am with
Nolan Griggs (00:14):
Nolan Griggs and I'm from Nashville, Tennessee.
Drew Miller(00:18):
Awesome. Thank you, Nolan, for being here. Today. We're going to talk a little bit about the Black Lives Matter movement. This is an oral history project. I think there's some pretty cool stuff going on here, but let's just start out with some general questions to get us going. So you said you're from Nashville. Were you born in Nashville?
Nolan Griggs (00:39):
Yes, born in Nashville.
Drew Miller(00:42):
Awesome. So where you currently live, which is Suwanee, obviously you're a Suwanee student, different from where you were raised in Nashville.
Nolan Griggs (00:51):
I am from a suburb just outside of Nashville. It is a predominantly white area and very conservative, and I would say that differs from Suwanee because Suwanee is a liberal arts school and there's a lot of different ethnicities and races and things along those lines in this area.
Drew Miller(01:14):
Nice. Cool. So where did you find community as a child? I know obviously we're on the golf team together, so I'm sure golf had a big role when you were a kid.
Nolan Griggs (01:29):
Yeah, community as a child, I would say into middle school. I was in a lot of clubs, golf, obviously, national honor, society, deca, things like that. I'm also religious. I attend church, so that's also a big community that I partake in and then into college, pretty similar.
Drew Miller(01:50):
Yeah. So you'd say it's all been pretty similar today as where you used to obviously play golf and stuff. As a child, you're still doing the same stuff.
Nolan Griggs (02:00):
Yes, correct.
Drew Miller(02:01):
Awesome. So I know you're a student, obviously a student at Swanee playing golf. What would you say your journey to this role was? Would you say you're working hard in high school, middle school, all that good stuff?
Nolan Griggs (02:14):
Yes, definitely putting forth a lot of effort in high school, middle school into college. Totally.
Drew Miller(02:22):
Awesome. So what kind of traveling have you done? Have you done any maybe a favorite trip you've done with your family?
Nolan Griggs (02:31):
Yes. So this summer I went to The Bahamas and Bora Bora. Last summer I went to Italy. So those were definitely my top trips by far.
Drew Miller(02:42):
That's awesome. And how would you say you've experienced some international cultures in your life?
Nolan Griggs (02:49):
That's a tough one. I would say that traveling to new countries expose you to new languages and cultures, meeting different types of people. I would say it's a very important part of maturing and developing. I think trying new food, meeting new people, speaking new languages, being exposed to things you aren't accustomed to, all of those traits are very important to one's growth.
Drew Miller(03:13):
Yeah, that's great. You make a pretty good point there. I've done some traveling and stuff myself, and I've definitely noticed similar things to that. And I also think that can definitely help us roll into what we really want to talk about with the interview, which is the Black Lives Matter movement. One thing that I definitely think we can talk about, which doesn't really relate to it, is how we receive news. Would you say you look at news on social media, your cell phone, or you watch it on tv?
Nolan Griggs (03:47):
Yes. So I watch CNN Fox, I will at New York Times, the Guardian, the Economist, and then obviously social media. Everybody's on their phones constantly, so it's pretty difficult not to see the news on your phone.
Drew Miller(04:02):
Yeah, social media is definitely a big one for me. You get all the big updates on the Instagram and Twitter, and obviously tiktoks really big these days. So I would say we see, especially our generation, we see a lot of our news on social media, so that plays a big role, and especially with a movement as big as the Black Lives Matter movement, the people that you follow definitely play a role in your view on the movement. So I would say that brings me into my next question, which is how'd you first encounter the Black Lives Matter movement?
Nolan Griggs (04:43):
I first encountered the Black Lives Matter movement in February of 2020, I believe, when I was scrolling on Instagram and saw a lot of black squares with the hashtag b lm, and I was confused at first, so I had to do a little bit of research, but that was my first initial introduction.
Drew Miller(05:09):
Oh, nice, nice, nice. And would you say, do you think something like that with the black squares is helpful to the cause? I know some people would look at that and just think it can be sometimes overused as people trying to make themselves look good rather than helping the actual cause. Do you have any thought on that?
Nolan Griggs (05:33):
My opinion on that matter is I'm afraid that when the Black Lives Matter movement was first introduced and became very popular, it was just a trend and people didn't really care about the movement. I think that the posting on Instagram was good until it wasn't. What I mean by that is spreading awareness is great, but when awareness turns into popularity and trends, that's where a line is crossed.
Drew Miller(06:03):
Yeah, no, that's for sure something I noticed. The awareness is great and all of that things, but I definitely think there are people posting things like that for the trends that don't really believe in it, which I definitely, I wouldn't say it is a problem because awareness is awareness, but I definitely think we saw some of that when that was going on. So I mean, another thing, and obviously this is a tough question. Everybody has their own opinion, everyone has the right to their own opinion, but what would you say your opinion is on the Black Lives Matter movement?
Nolan Griggs (06:40):
The movement itself, I'm not a fan of, definitely not a fan of, actually, let me rephrase that. I am a fan of the Black Lives Matter idea. I think that the movement itself and the people that ran the movement were very selfish and did things for themselves rather than the community. I think that when many, many people were donating to the Black Lives Matter movement, part of that money was being used for good causes, obviously. How could it not be? But the people that were in charge of that movement were taking large salaries for themselves, buying millions of dollars in real estate. And something else that is at the very top of my mind is Ozzy Osborne's wife donated $900,000 to the Black Lives Matter movement, and she didn't see anything being done with her money. So she asked for a refund and she couldn't get a refund. I think that all of these people put forth huge amounts of money, but you didn't really see the money going anywhere. The movement was good because awareness was being spread, but it doesn't cost any money to post on social media and have face-to-face conversations and educate others. So when people are donating all of this money, it's really tough to see positivity coming out of that.
Drew Miller(08:06):
So basically what you're saying is that the actual organization that ran the movement kind of clouded over an actual really good thing by doing some sort of shadish stuff with things like money. And then obviously I definitely think that doesn't help with it because it takes away a little bit from a good movement and gives the people that don't love the movement a little bit more firepower to kind of take down the movement. So I know you said you're from a conservative area in Nashville. What would you say your community's reaction was to the movement?
Nolan Griggs (08:51):
Obviously there was a lot of backlash in my, people couldn't really see both sides to the movement. I think that a lot of people were confused by the movement because it's a predominantly white area, and the African-American or black people that live in the area are very wealthy and they're not really affected by a lot of the problems. Black people endure African-Americans and black people have been disadvantaged for hundreds of years. So it's just a plain fact that the Black Lives Matter movement needed to happen. But in my area specifically, it was tough to see reactions, I would say. Right,
Drew Miller(09:39):
For sure. And I definitely think as with everything, and it gets tough that things like this, obviously it is a political matter, but it does get very separated from Democrat to Republican and it kind of takes away from a good movement, takes away a little bit from the movement when it's kind of clouded by a really political matter. So obviously me and you are both around the same age. You're what? 19, 18, 19.
Nolan Griggs (10:16):
Okay.
Drew Miller(10:16):
You're 19. I'm 21. Obviously our parents are in their forties and fifties. Would you say that there is a generation that's affected most by this movement, or do you think that it's all kind of similar? I would even say, and I know I'm asking you this question, but I guess I'll just give my opinion real quick. I would even say that probably the younger generation's affected a little bit more because of how much we're on social media. Would you agree with that at all?
Nolan Griggs (10:48):
Yes. I
Drew Miller(10:49):
Was
Nolan Griggs (10:49):
Actually conflicted with what answer I wanted to give because I think the younger generation and the way older generation are affected equally. I think that younger people or most younger people are chronically online, so they're exposed to a lot of extremities, like the Black Lives Matter movement. I believe that the Black Lives Matter movement was an extremity towards the end for sure. So just being exposed to tons of pictures, videos, comments, news articles, everything along those lines constantly is very detrimental.
Drew Miller(11:26):
Right, yeah, no, I definitely understand that. And obviously it kind of leads us a little bit into the next question that I have for you, which is how would you say the movements impacted your life if it has at all? Obviously, we're not, both of us are both white from the United States, so it really hasn't impacted us all that much, but we've definitely been seeing these things on Instagram and you see even in real life. How would you say it's impacted your life?
Nolan Griggs (11:57):
I would say it has not impacted my life at all. I would say that I've always held the same standards in regards to race and treating people the same. So this definitely was not a shock to me for sure. I think that it was important to research and understand what the world was going through, but other than that, my life was not changed at all.
Drew Miller(12:25):
Yeah, no, definitely. And obviously it kind of came about out during Covid, so we were all trapped in our house anyways and kind of on our phones more. Do you think possibly there's a chance that the movement was kind of got blown up a lot more because of the timing that it happened with everyone being in their house kind of getting upset with the world and kind of polarizes something like that? Do you agree with that?
Nolan Griggs (12:53):
Maybe 100%. I think that so many implications came from the Black Lives Matter movement, and sadly, a lot of those implications were negative. And I do not remember the exact number off the top of my head, but billions of dollars in damages were done throughout the Black Lives Matter movement because people are participating in these extreme protests. And I think that if we weren't in a global pandemic and we were not at home on our phones for several hours a day, just obsessing over crazy matters like the Black Lives Matter movement, I don't think that what happened would've been such an extreme point in history.
Drew Miller(13:44):
Yeah, no, no, no, I definitely agree with you. And obviously as we said, social media is such a big deal. Do you think, and this is I guess a little bit broader than just the movement, but do you think the news that you're, do you think watching maybe just one, and I know you said you look at CNN Fox, things like that, but do you think for someone that maybe just watches Fox or someone that just watches CNN would have different opinions due to the fact that they just watched their one little news and they're both kind of trying to push their agendas?
Nolan Griggs (14:16):
Yes, I completely agree with that. Most people have already resided, resided in their political parties, so it's tough for the average person to branch out and watch a different type of news channel. But in my opinion, I believe it's very important to look at all news sources regardless of your opinions, because it's important to see not one side but all sides.
Drew Miller(14:38):
Yeah, I definitely think, and obviously it's the way with Biden and Trump especially, I think politics have become so, people have such strong opinions that they're stuck in, and I think it can really become a problem if you're only watching one sort of news channel and things like that. So I definitely think it's good that you've watched you look at multiple different things. How would you say that the movement succeeded?
Nolan Griggs (15:17):
I think that the movement succeeded in spreading awareness to tons of people in the United States and all over the world. I think that it changed a lot of people's minds.
Drew Miller(15:33):
Yeah, okay. Yeah, that's a good answer, and I definitely agree with that. And then I think something else we also have to touch on, because with every movement, and we've already talked about this a little bit, but with every movement, they succeed in some ways and they fail in some ways. So how would you say that the movement failed a little bit?
Nolan Griggs (15:52):
I think that the movement failed because of all of the protests and riots that happened all over the United States and major cities. I think that with a great message that the movement was trying to bring, the riots and protests that happened ruined that, and the Radical Rights minds could not get passed the idea of riots and protests and things like that happening. So that just gave them firepower to completely shut down the Black Lives Matter movement, regardless of what they were trying to say. I think that the movement had really good ideas and that the movement spread a lot of really positive awareness, but with the things that came along with it, that was just the weighing down factor that ruined the thunder that the Black Lives Matter movement was trying to bring. Yeah,
Drew Miller(16:52):
I think it definitely made it a lot easier for people that already were a little bit opposed to the movement and what was happening. It just kind of added fuel to the fire just because people are looking for things that might make the movement look worse. And then when you have all this rioting and looting and things like that, it definitely doesn't help with the movement. And even obviously, we see some of the leaders of the Black Lives Matter, we see some of the leaders of that movement taking money and things like that can really, really, really take away from a great cause and a great idea and something frankly that has been a problem in America for a while that needs to be fixed. So what would you say you think the current state of race relations is in the us?
Nolan Griggs (17:49):
That's an interesting question considering that our country is completely divided between Democrats and Republicans, right? Most Republicans completely disagree with the Black Lives Matter movement. I think that the state of race relations is relatively positive. I think that there's a lot of buzz within our police system and defunding the police and things like that. That's a completely different argument. But aside from a couple issues, race relations has gotten slightly better over the past few years,
Drew Miller(18:29):
Which is good. And I think it's going to continue to keep getting better. I just think it's definitely a tough society to live in a little bit, in my opinion, when everything that people say is looked at so kind of carefully, a lot of people are incredibly censored now with what they have to say because the worry of getting canceled, I think obviously there is right and wrong, but I think the idea of cancel culture definitely takes away from people actually getting their real ideas out, which I definitely think is something that people should do for sure. What do you think, and this is a tough question, obviously, but what do you think is possibly in the future for the Black Lives Matter movement? And you might not have an answer for that, but
Nolan Griggs (19:24):
I think that the future of the Black Lives Matter movement is not bright. I think that with the current state of the country and the upcoming election, sadly the Black Lives Matter movement will be a political pawn that the Democratic Party will most likely use to buy votes. And the Black Lives Matter movement ruined their power a couple of years ago with the insane writing and looting that it's just hard to repair and image that has already been broken. I think that the only thing I see in the future is a lot of buzz leading up to and after the upcoming election from the Democratic Party using the Black Lives Matter movement to secure votes.
Drew Miller(20:17):
Right. Yeah, no, yeah, it's going to be interesting to see for sure what happens, especially with the election upcoming and with the guys polarizing as Trump. There's definitely going to be, and obviously politics get out of hand, and it's always been like that. So people will always use things to get an edge up, which is honestly a little bit sad to see for sure, because I really think it is a great movement and it's a great cause, and to see things like this be maybe a little used as political agendas or as you see obviously to make a little money, it definitely makes the movement suffer a little bit more. And then we talked a little bit earlier about the police. I think defunding the police is a crazy one because I think if obviously defunding the police wouldn't do anything. They're here to protect us, and I think everything would just get a lot crazier. I think. I don't really understand how someone could believe in defunding the police, and I don't really know how much that was related to the Black Lives Matter movement. But do you think even with an idea like defunding the police, is that another thing that might hurt the movement and take away from its main cause?
Nolan Griggs (22:00):
I think that they're separate movements, but the people that follow both movements are very similar, so they don't take away power from each other. But what I said about the upcoming election, I think that both those movements could be used to waste someone from voting on one side versus the other. Right,
Drew Miller(22:25):
Right. For sure. Yeah, this is a great topic to talk about. I was actually happy we got the opportunity to do this interview. I really haven't had, haven't had much one-on-one conversations with people, and we talked about some really good stuff. I really appreciated you giving me your honest answers to all these questions. That's all I have for you. Do you have anything, any kind of last comments or statements or anything like that you want to say, or is that good enough for you for the interview? I
Nolan Griggs (23:05):
Don't have anything personal to say, but I would just like to put out that with the way the world's going and people are getting older and our generation is able to vote in the next election, it's so important to get your own research and gather your own opinions, not follow just what you see on social media. I think that regardless of what you believe in, you have the right to vote in whatever you want, and you need to capitalize on the opportunity by doing your own research. I think that a lot can be done for the future if people give their honest, true opinions. And that's all I have to say.
Drew Miller(23:46):
Definitely. Well, hey Nolan, I really appreciate you doing this with me. I enjoyed it and I definitely learned a lot. Thank you.

Part of Nolan Griggs