Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: From Syracuse to the University of Albany to the streets of Baltimore, Tasha Frieda McBride has made a difference. This week as part of Art Night in Schenectady. Shown inside the Schenectady County Office Building's first two floors, there will be a photo exhibit entitled An Artist's Perspective Defying a Broken System. A powerful civil rights photo series capturing the struggle for justice through historic imagery. And in celebration of Black History month, Tasha Frieda McBride for the first time will have her own photos on display as part of an essay entitled Broken Concrete. She will be the Schenectady County Human Rights Commission first featured artist. I caught up with Officer McBride in a phone interview from her home in maryland. Tasha Freedom McBride, please tell me your story.
So I, yeah, I caught you at the Rotterdam Community center, and you were just absolutely amazing.
[00:01:02] Speaker B: Thank you. I tried.
[00:01:04] Speaker A: I appreciate that you're just one of those people that, you know, doing this for a while, you're just, like, impactful, and your message was so meaningful. And that was another reason why I kind of wanted to start this podcast and reach out to people that, you know, have a story to tell and have interesting backgrounds and. And make a difference in so many ways. So I appreciate catching you down in. Down in Maryland right now and. And your crazy schedule and the winter that it is.
[00:01:39] Speaker B: It is cold outside.
[00:01:41] Speaker A: So just a little bit.
It's. It's interesting. Like, you know, you. You. You grew up in Syracuse.
[00:01:49] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:01:50] Speaker A: And then went to school at University at Albany.
[00:01:53] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:01:55] Speaker A: Very proud of that school. My wife has two degrees.
[00:01:58] Speaker B: It's a great school.
[00:02:00] Speaker A: Are you in a situ? Did you find your calling multiple times so far in your life?
[00:02:08] Speaker B: You know what?
I don't know how you got to that, but absolutely, yes, I absolutely did.
You know, growing up, I was very talkative.
I'm more of an observer. So I used to sit and watch people and, you know, I was so amazed by it, but I didn't want to, like, talk to a lot of people and do a lot of things, but I wanted to write about it. So, you know, in grade school or in high school, I would write a little bit, and then I would stop. And then, you know, it didn't go much further than that. Then when I got to college, I became a mentor and I did some of the same things. And then I started writing plays, and then I did that for a couple of years there. I performed a lot around Albany, actually. And then I left and went to Maryland. And when I got to Maryland, the scene was a little different. I still wrote A little bit. I did a little stuff still in Albany, but then I kind of stopped. And then I picked it up again and did a couple of things here, and I was like, okay, maybe it's just time for me to put the pen down or just write for myself. And, you know, it stopped for a long time. And just recently I started again. It's like you can't get away from what you've meant to do. I guess so, absolutely. I pick it up, I put it down, pick it back up, and I just love to do it, you know, I think that's part of my calling to know. Try to entertain people in a educational way, I would say, to get them to think about certain things. So, yes, absolutely, yes to that question.
[00:03:46] Speaker A: When you look at your body of work and continue.
Have you always been a giving individual? I mean, where did. Where did that come from, that. That trait?
[00:04:02] Speaker B: That's funny. So growing up, I always thought I was a smart kid. Didn't always get the best grades until I got into, like, middle school, whatever, you know. But I remember Officer Friendly coming to our class, a police officer coming. And from there, I just looked at them in awe, and I was like, wow, there's a police officer that's coming to talk to kids. And this is like, in sixth grade, actually, you know. You know, I remember the. What the officer looked like and everything. And I was like, she's really in here talking to us, and she's out there protecting and serving, and she has time to come in here and talk to us little kids. Like, I just could not get over that. And it stuck with me until I went, you know, to college and everything else. And I was like, you know what? I'm going to be a mentor. And that lasted until this day. They're no longer my mentees. I call them my friends now because I kept that relationship with those kids that became grown adults and just kind of flourished into, you know, a beautiful relationship between us. And from that, even at work, I'm a community officer. I'm still out in the schools. I'm like, giving back. From what I saw that officer give me when I was in grade school, I love it. It's just something about giving to people with no. No wants or any needs. I always say, give the blessing. Don't dictate the blessing. You know, you can give as much as you want, but you can't dictate how somebody reacts to it. Or as long as you know you're giving it for the right reason, you'll.
[00:05:36] Speaker A: Be blessed either way, you voiced that at that young age that you decided that you wanted to become a police officer.
How was that received among your peers and among your friends?
[00:05:54] Speaker B: I think everybody was fine with it, to be honest.
I had a couple of friends in high school when they saw it, because I posted it online, it was like, you a police officer? What? Because I was a jokester, too, and I played around a lot. You know, I thought I was gonna go into social work, too, but I chose to be a police officer. But everybody was pretty cool with it, even to this day. Even with, like, me experiencing the riots in Baltimore and, you know, some of the things where people just hate the police and we get all this negativity. I would say 99% of the people that I know are supportive of my career because there's always going to be a bad apple in the bunch. But if you know a good officer, you could say, well, yeah, that officer did that, but Officer McBride, this is what she does. And you can see it online. And I'm doing all this stuff and whatever, and I'm out talking to people. So I never got, like, a bad, you know, I would say rap, as they used to say back in the day. I never got a bad rap for being an officer. Most people are very supportive of it. They're not very shocked about it. They see me doing my thing.
So I never really had a problem with being a police officer in my community.
[00:07:07] Speaker A: Do you think your thought process, your ability to use the written word, the verbal word, communicate, and again, I hearken back to seeing you live at Rotterdam Community Center. Do you think that ability has helped you in your career as a community officer?
[00:07:31] Speaker B: Absolutely.
I always tell people, because one time in my life, I was a CO for two years. That was interesting. But I always tell people that being a police officer is more about knowing how to communicate with people than taking them to jail, if that makes sense. You can talk to people. You could talk, you know, relate to what they're going through, the problems. We get called for all types of stuff. But if you show up on the scene and you got an attitude and you like what you want and all that stuff, you're not going to get anywhere. But if you show up on the scene, it's like, all right, talk to me. Tell me what's happening. Let me try to see if I can help you. What can I do to help you? And you give them resources, and you're really engaged in what they're telling you, and you're communicating that to them, then it Works out.
You know, communication is key to anything, I think. You have to be able to be able to talk to people and just tell them, no, I'm here for you. So communication is a big part of my job. I mean, I use it every day, and I don't even like public speaking, to be honest with you. But it just happens to work in my favor, so. And it works well. So I know how to communicate to people. I use my experiences that I. In my personal life to talk to people or what I've learned, and I just go from there. It's very important.
[00:08:53] Speaker A: The message you had when I saw you here in Schenectady, how close is that or how relatable is it to teens, young people you communicate with in Baltimore?
It was powerful.
The best word I have is powerful. It was just so moving to me all the way in the back, back there to see your passion come out as you were speaking.
How relatable is that to, you know, young people that you're working with down there in Baltimore now?
[00:09:33] Speaker B: I think it's very relatable. The. The one thing, and it's crazy that I'm working on something with author right now. I'm trying to come up with, like, a.
A title for the next project we're doing, because I try to write pieces where there's no time cap on it. I wrote that piece during the riots, and I don't know how many years ago that was, but it's still relatable to today, you know, so it's like, I go through a lot of things as an officer, and I see how the teens act and how they're reacting. And during that time, I was like, you know, we're going through this riots, and we got all this stuff, and I understand why people are upset and mean, but what about this over here? Why are you hating me? And I'm still out here trying to protect and serve, and you're just trying to do all the negativity to continue to put the police down. That doesn't work. I mean, and some kids get it, and some kids don't. More, I think, understand it now than anything.
But not even teens, just people in general. You know what I mean? Because I am the first person you're gonna call when you're in trouble, but you hate me. I am the first person who's gonna run out and try to save your life, but you hate me. And it's like a balance beam of the two, and you have to sit and look at it, and they do. And it's like, no, I need the police. No, I don't need the police. I need them. I don't. So it's very interesting. So I think it's very relevant, and I think it's very connecting when they do get it. And most of them do. I'll say most of them do.
[00:11:11] Speaker A: Reading part of your bio.
You've always been an artist, and then it wasn't until 2020 that you re embraced photography and still photography. So how did that spark?
[00:11:29] Speaker B: So when I look at things, we always had those little Kodak cameras, and I used to look at them a lot. And then I think in 2020, I started really looking when I was working patrol, I would never forget, in the Central district in Baltimore City. And I was like, man, that would be a great picture right there. Just capturing people, you know, in their everyday lives or people who are struggling and doing, you know, because it tells a story of its own, even stories that I don't even know of. So I kind of went out and I. I bought my first camera, and I just fell in love with it, learning it, realizing that I could capture people's essence and their ability to live outside of the norm, on the streets, or just people in their everyday happiness. So it sparked up a flare in me. So I bought a couple of cameras since then, and I take it upon myself to learn how to use it, because you got to learn your craft. And it's like every day growing excitement to go out there because you never know what you're going to see. And I have a.
I have an edge over some people because I can capture stuff in uniform and be bold with it and just go out there and stand out there and take pictures where some people, you know, you go out there with a camera and they're like, what are you doing? Such and such. You can't do that. You can't take pictures versus a police officer. I can get out of my car and take pictures and I can talk to people. There goes the communication. Be like, you know, can I take a picture of you? You know, what you're doing or how you're sitting. It's just beautiful to me. And I just want to capture it so it works out.
[00:13:07] Speaker A: I find it impressive. Are you surprised that coming back to photography, that here we are five years later and, you know, you're part of an exhibit back here in Schenectady?
[00:13:22] Speaker B: I am.
I am. Because every now and then I would just, you know, the stuff that I gave author, I've. Most of that stuff wasn't online, but I posted some of the stuff just to just put it out there, let people see some stuff. And I was like, one day I'm gonna do something with these. And then, you know, I put them in a folder and I actually had to go find some of them because I had no idea. And then I was surprised. Off was like, you know, you have. Send me some. Some Photoshops that you have. You know, I want to put them in the exhibit. And I was like, exhibit? You know, I didn't think nothing. I was like, yeah, okay, Arthur, whatever. Here, take the pictures, whatever. And then he showed me what he was doing, and I'm absolutely blessed. I'm honored that he would even think of me to put me in that type of thing. Because, you know, you take your own pictures and you think they're great, but when he tells you that other people are looking at him like, oh, my Lord. These are, like, very fascinating, you know, interesting pictures. You know, I'm excited about that. To see, to let other people see my art, it's almost like unspoken word. I get fascinated when I can see people's faces when I'm performing or the reaction after or when people come to me, if people come to me after and say, oh, that picture you. You posted up there was. Was great. I really understood that, you know, it spoke to me without even having any words. I. I really enjoy that type of.
[00:14:43] Speaker A: Interaction as a photographer.
We have our niches.
I've worked with phenomenal photographers that have niches that I look at their work and I'm amazed. And then I have certain things that I'm drawn to as a photographer.
What are some of the things that you're drawn to as a photographer? When you're out there as a civilian or you're out on patrol, what makes you stop and in a sense, lift your camera to capture a moment?
[00:15:14] Speaker B: I call it street photography, where you're just riding and you see someone in their routine that might be so off that you're like, people don't know that other people are living like this.
You see it on TV sometimes, or you might say, well, there's maybe one or two. But there's a lot of people out in the world that are very happy. You get your happy pictures. There are some people who are struggling big time, who are on the streets. And if you can capture that moment, even though it may be a sad moment, it's beautiful in a way, because you get to show other people, look how blessed you are because you're not living in this manner, or this person still thinks they're blessed and they're living in that manner. They're. They're living in their truth, even though we might not be able to comprehend how they're even doing it. And that's the beautiful thing about it. So I like to do street photography. I want to show people how people are actually living and surviving and being comfortable in that. Even if I don't agree with everything, even if other people can't understand, it is still a beautiful thing. Because there, I've seen drug addicts, I've seen homeless people. I've seen people who've lost everything. I've seen people out there begging, and they're still smiling, laughing, enjoying life, and just like, hey, what's up? Sure, take the picture. All right. Or I'll take a picture from, like, two blocks away just to get the. The shot and. And I'll go make a donation to somebody. They don't even know why I'm giving them a donation, because I was able to capture them in a very vulnerable state. That's just beautiful to me.
[00:17:01] Speaker A: Were there challenges growing up for you, not only as an artist, but then as you look to expand your career to become a police officer?
Were there challenges? Was it even harder as a black female? When you look back, did you. What did you. Did you experience any pushback challenges or anything you had to. You felt like you had to overcome?
[00:17:30] Speaker B: I felt like I had to leave where I was. Even leaving Albany, to be honest, always felt like I didn't want to stay in Syracuse.
I felt like it was a gloomy place for me. So my basketball coach got me to go to the University of Albany, which was great. Not even on a basketball scholarship in another program. And there I kind of blossomed into the person I was, not even knowing who I wanted to be. And then I realized that I had done everything that I could in Albany. Like, I had exhausted everything. And that was the point where I realized that I wanted to be a police officer. I wanted to finish my career and say, okay, I did everything. I'm going to be a police officer now. But then I said, I don't want to stay in Albany, though. So I left. I came to Baltimore, and here is where I decided to really start my career and do the things that I wanted to do. So it's not any pushback or any.
I didn't have any real obstacles, I would say. I just always knew that I wanted to go a step further than where I wanted to be. I didn't want to get stuck. And people told me that was great in Albany, you know, you should stay here. Everybody knows who you are because you're doing theater and so forth. But I was like, well, I kind of did all that. It's time to do something different. And I didn't feel like I was making a major impact the way that I wanted to. I didn't feel like I was being the. I could be the police officer that I saw come to my school. I said, that's what I want to be. I need to go a step further and finish that gold mine.
[00:19:04] Speaker A: Is there a bucket list on the performance side within you that's still out there that you'd like to appear somewhere or record something or in that part of your life?
[00:19:20] Speaker B: A bucket list. I do have a bucket list. It's not that grand, to be honest with you. My bucket list just for this year, is just to get back into doing what I love, and that's performing. And that's what you saw in Schenectady. That was my first performance in a very long time.
Small bucket list is there's a young man that we actually won the first round of Apollo.
I don't even know what year that was in New York. I'm trying to link up with him to perform that in my next show so that I can have it on tape, because we didn't tape it. And I just. I just want to see where my writing takes me if I focus on it, if I indulge in it the way I used to, still maintaining a career, still doing what I love at work, and just see where it takes me as far as my need to be on stage or my need to teach doing my performance or just to have fun and hear the feedback from audiences and feel like I'm teaching somebody through my writing. That's my biggest bucket list.
I told somebody once, they were like, well, you should go out and do open mics and. And all this stuff. And I said, well, there's. I kind of shy away from those things because to me, and no offense to anybody else, but it don't have a purpose to me. I can get up and stand and I can perform and. And do something, but if I feel like I'm in a teachable environment and people are there to receive it in a way, and there's. There's a goal to it. I'd rather do that than hop around to different, you know, open mics and just get kudos. Oh, you're great. That's not why I'm there. I want you to go home. I want you to think about it. I want you to know that you're coming to something, that you're going to learn some stuff and you're going to hear some different things. That's kind of where my thinking is. So I guess those are my buckets. They're small, but they're big.
[00:21:17] Speaker A: To me, when you talk about your career and being impactful, as you know, a community officer and a performer and performing in front of the right people, as you said, open mic is accolades and working on a show more than anything, I think. But you also, you co authored a book about HIV and aids.
Where did that. How personal was that to you? And where did that. Where did that derive from?
[00:21:53] Speaker B: My mentor who I met from working at Sadaka Capital District, African American Coalition of aids. They kind of hired me and a couple of people to incorporate education and theater together.
She has. She's HIV positive, Vanessa Johnson. She was known very well there. She's in D.C. now, actually. She kind of drove that and I kind of went with it. And in doing that, I learned a lot about the impact and the effect of HIV and how it changed people's lives and the deeper meaning behind it of what got them in that situation to be tested positive. I mean, it's deeper than just saying, oh, I tested positive for HIV or, or now I've got the AIDS virus or whatever. What happened before that to lead you up to that? And those stories that those women tell or the men are so impactful and so teachable to other people that I really wanted to be a part of that and I had the opportunity to do that.
[00:23:04] Speaker A: What is the best day for you as Officer McBride?
[00:23:10] Speaker B: The best day for me is Officer McBride going to work, getting all my gear together, going on the streets. I must talk all day. I go into the schools, I go in businesses. I just meet regular people. I have fun. I help out my co workers as much as I can. Even in the District, I try to keep things. Actually just started a photography wall in the district for every officer to have a picture on the wall. It's the small things that matter, I think, to people. And if you can help somebody by doing the simplest things to make them feel proud about seeing their picture on the wall or if you could say hello to somebody just walking because they don't know if it's okay to talk to the police or if you go into a classroom with kids. And last week I was giving out, you know, Valentine Day bags and we all had on little glasses, whatever Those moments have bigger impacts on those kids or those people than sometimes I can't even understand. I'll be walking down the street or I'll see a student that I haven't seen in forever, and they'd be like, oh, My God, Officer McBride, you came to my classroom back three, four years ago. But they remember, and that's why they know how to get along with police, because I explained it to them. You know, I'm going in there to have fun. But that's the good days that matter that carry on for years. So that would be a good day. Just doing my regular routine of just trying to just get along with people, just trying to be in a happy place. It doesn't always work like that, but for the most part, I would say 95% of the time, I have a great day. Even if it starts off bad, I have a great day.
[00:24:57] Speaker A: When you talk to young people about your career, what would you say to them to encourage them to, you know, go forth in the arts or to go, you know, into a position in law enforcement? What would you say to young people.
[00:25:17] Speaker B: Oh, why can't they do both?
I don't. I don't know how to answer that. They can do both.
[00:25:27] Speaker A: When you tell your story to young people and they come up and say, I want to be a police officer just like you, what guidance would you give them?
[00:25:41] Speaker B: The young person told me they want to be a police officer. I would absolutely tell them that it's a great career. I would tell them that they would have to work hard to get to where they want, and nothing is going to come easy. But I will also tell them, in the meantime, continue to do the stuff that you love the most.
Make it an even battlefield. You want to be an officer. Be successful at being an officer. You want to be a dancer. Make sure that every day that you're an officer, you think about what's going to make you a great dancer and continue to flourish in that and practice it and make sure you get that out of you. Just don't become police officer. You have to have something that you absolutely love, even if it's second, and just keep pushing that. Both you can have your career, but you can also do something amazing outside of work that you can actually incorporate in work.
Before I was a community officer, I was still doing community work. I just made it a part of my job.
[00:26:43] Speaker A: I think to date, you've accomplished all.
[00:26:47] Speaker B: I think I have. I'm happy about that.
[00:26:51] Speaker A: So you have plans to be back in the area anytime soon?
[00:26:57] Speaker B: I'm not going to make the art exhibit because I'll be at work, but I am planning. I'm actually writing a.
I don't even have a name for it yet, but it's more of a poetry show. That's what I put with other artists in it. I'm trying to come up with a theme for it, and I've actually been working on it today, trying to.
It's just a poetry show. I don't even have a name for it. I just want it to be great. So, of course, most likely I'll be the main attraction, but because I have some stuff that I would like to perform and get out and just be excited about it. But I'm going to also invite other artists in the area to come and partake in it, and we're going to have a great time.
[00:27:46] Speaker A: Oh, that's fantastic. We'll make sure you get the dates to us so we can get that published.
[00:27:50] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:27:51] Speaker A: And out to our readers, so. Fantastic. All right. I will let you go back to your day.
[00:27:58] Speaker B: Thank you. And I appreciate you.
[00:28:00] Speaker A: Absolutely. Thank you so much. And thank you for everything you're doing down there in Baltimore and, and, and just your, your work again, that I, that I've seen only once. But I, I, I don't think I'll ever forget it.
It's something that I, I've shared with other people and definitely can't wait to see you when you're up here in the Capital Region again.
[00:28:23] Speaker B: Absolutely. I look forward to it.
