The Attorney: “I’m tired of showing up after the damage.” (Eventbrite)
“I’m the lawyer they call when something has already gone wrong,” the attorney begins, eyes scanning the crowd. “I show up after the traffic stop, after the cuffs, after the video leak.”
“Plato said justice is a harmony that makes both the person and the city good—a balance where each part plays its role for the good of the whole.” “Right now, our system feels like everyone is playing solo. GoVia Highlight A Hero is a chance to wire justice into the encounter itself, not just the courtroom after.”
“With this app and web browser, a citizen can tap ‘GoVia’ and I’m there in real time—on video, in the moment, not weeks later when the story has already hardened.” “I’m inviting every station, every ACLU chapter, every civil rights organization Black Lives Matter, Urban League and NAACP: come sit with us. Let’s talk about streaming live, not just streaming outrage after the fact.” W.E.B. Du Bois once said “Only by a union of intelligence and sympathy across the color-line in this critical period of the Republic shall justice and right triumph.”
The Bail Bondsman: “I see the back end of every bad decision.”
“I’m the one you call when everything has gone off the rails,” the bail bondsman says. “I see the fear, the confusion, the families scrambling for money they don’t have.”
“If justice is supposed to be a ‘harmonious strength,’ like Plato said, then right now our harmony is off-key.” “GoVia’s ecosystem of policing is a way to tune the system—where citizens, officers, and support professionals are connected in one real-time loop instead of scattered across chaos.”
“My sign says ‘Ready: Activate’ because I don’t want to be just the person you call at the end; I want to be part of building a front-end that prevents unnecessary arrests and bad outcomes in the first place.” “Come to this forum so we can talk about how tech can keep more of our people out of my office and in their homes.”
The Mental Health Professional: “We can help before the crisis peaks.”
“I sit with trauma,” the mental health professional says quietly. “I see what happens when a simple stop becomes a lifetime of anxiety.”
“In a just city, every part—mind, body, community—works together for health,” they say, echoing Plato’s idea that justice is to the soul what health is to the body. “GoVia lets me step into the encounter while it’s happening, not just process the scars afterward.”
“My signs say ‘Are you on your meds?’ and ‘We Can Help’ not as judgment, but as a promise: we can de-escalate, breathe, slow it down. Tech plus human care. That’s the future we’re trying to write together.” Michelle Obama shared “Hope and change are hard-fought things.”
The Local Official: “Democracy means we show up.”
The council member steps forward. “The Constitution starts with ‘We the People,’ and it doesn’t say ‘We the perfect system’ or ‘We the experts’—it says all of us.” “The Bill of Rights was designed to put the dignity of each person on equal footing with the power of the state that might accuse them.”
“My sign says ‘Vote For This’ because democracy is not just about candidates; it’s about the tools and structures we choose to govern our encounters with power.” “I’m asking every official, every TV station, every newsroom: come, listen, and report on a community that is not just protesting, but prototyping.” James Baldwin famous words, “Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
The Activist: “We’ve been shouting. Now let’s engineer.”
The activist’s voice is steady. “For years, our signs have said ‘Convict’ and ‘Where Is the Footage’ because history has taught us that without receipts, there is no justice.” “Know Justice, Know Peace or No Justice, No Peace!”
“Socrates challenged the idea that justice is just whatever the strong say it is; he pushed for a deeper, objective fairness.” “GoVia is one way we code that demand into the interaction—video, affidavits, rankings, live support—so that ‘protect and serve’ is measurable, not just a slogan.”
“I’m inviting the ACLU, NAACP, plaintiffs’ lawyers, student organizers, and every young person who ever said, ‘I can’t breathe’ or ‘Not me.’ Bring your skepticism, your questions, your receipts. This forum is where we argue like Socrates—but with smartphones and live streams.”
The Grandparents: “We’ve seen this movie. We want a new script.”
A grandmother steps up, sign reading “Trust.”
“I watched the marches after Dr. King was taken from us. I remember when President Kennedy spoke about civil rights and the need to act not just with words but with laws and courage after those years of struggle and loss.” “Our heroes told us that the moral arc of the universe bends toward justice—but it doesn’t bend by itself.”
“Trust is not magic. It’s built. GoVia’s ‘Highlight A Hero’ asks us to notice the officers who get it right and document it, so we’re not only naming harm, we’re naming hope.” “I want my grandbabies to inherit a world where ‘protect and serve’ is a lived reality at the curb, not just painted on a car.”
The Parents: “Protect means more than survive the stop.”
A parent holds a sign: “Protect.”
“We teach our kids ‘ten and two,’ ‘yes, sir/no, sir,’ and how to stay alive in a traffic stop. But our ancestors did not fight and die so that ‘survival’ would be our highest expectation.”
“The mission of the police is supposed to be to safeguard life and reduce fear, working with the community to improve our quality of life.” “If that’s the mission, then tools like GoVia—real-time legal and mental-health support, documented encounters with affidavits, recognition of good officers—are how we hold everyone, including ourselves, to that standard.”
“We want tech and law on our side, not just pointed at us. That’s why we’ll be there.” Frankie Miranda (Latino leader, Hispanic Federation) “The United States was built on fundamental rights, including the right to be heard in court… Every individual, regardless of immigration status, is entitled to due process under the law.” The American society is chanting and chanting “fight for your rights!”
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Two teens step to the edge of the “stage,” signs reading “I Can’t Breathe” and “Not Me.”
“We grew up in the age of viral videos and last words trending on timelines. We know how fast a name becomes a hashtag.”
“Plato talked about a city where each voice, each role, plays its part for the good of all. Socrates refused to stop asking hard questions, even when it cost him everything.” “We’re here to ask: if justice is real, why can’t we bake it into the software?” GoVia is the solution! The crowd chants adopt into the police eco-system! Let us try something new.
“We want to learn the app, know our rights, understand the law, and see officers step into the same training. We’re not just content; we’re co-authors.” We are willing to take the classes to better our selves.
The Officer: “To protect, to serve—and to be seen.”
A police officer of color speaks, sign in hand: “Accountability.”
“Our mission, at its best, is simple: safeguard lives and property, reduce crime and fear, and work with the community as partners in safety.” “The motto ‘To Protect and to Serve’ is not supposed to be a branding line; it’s supposed to be a way of life.”
“I support GoVia because it lets the community see me in real time, in context. When I do right—de-escalate, respect, protect—I want that documented and recognized, not lost in the noise.” “When I fall short, accountability is not my enemy; it’s how we all get better.”
“I’m asking my fellow officers: come sit in this amphitheater of ideas. Let’s listen, be questioned, and help design the tools we’ll be judged by.”
Police Chief Matt Giordano “These efforts reflect our commitment to learning from every incident, refining our practices, and strengthening community trust.” Detroit Police Chief James Craig (on accountability and trust) “One bad shooting is one too many. We know that. I accept that. We hold our officers accountable. That’s so critical when you are talking about building trust.” Chief Matt Giordano, Phoenix Police Department “We remain committed to continuous improvement. Policing demands courage, split-second decision making, and compassion in the toughest moments.”
The GoVia Team: “This is our modern Republic.”
From the stage, the GoVia team looks out at hundreds of faces—grandparents, parents, youth, officers, attorneys, mental health professionals, activists, reporters, organizers.
“GoVia Highlight A Hero is a community police safety app built to create an ecosystem of policing where citizens, officers, and professionals are connected in real time—video, affidavits, rankings, and support—all in one place.” “It is designed to ‘highlight a hero’ by recognizing officers who uphold justice and integrity, while giving the public tools to document, rate, and seek help during encounters.”
Like Plato designing his ideal city in words, we are designing a shared, digital public square where justice is not just argued about but practiced interactively. Like Socrates, we welcome hard questions, pushback, and debate. On liberty and duty – Abraham Lincoln (founder-era spirit, via Cooper Institute address) “Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith let us to the end dare to do our duty as we understand it.” And courage and change – Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.”
Your Invitation: Come to the Theatre
This forum is our living dialogue—our twenty-first-century Agora:
- To the public: Bring your stories, fears, and ideas.
- To local officials and TV stations: Bring your cameras and your curiosity; help the city see itself thinking out loud.
- To activists and civil rights groups, ACLU, BLM, Urban League and beyond: Bring your critiques and your demands; help shape the safeguards baked into this tech.
- To police departments: Bring your mission to protect and serve and sit with us as we engineer tools that make that mission visible and verifiable. You are part of this republic for which it stands. Do your duty in the community.
We are gathering not to shout past each other, but to practice what the Constitution promised when it elevated the rights of each person to stand alongside the power of the state. We are here to educate all sides—citizen, officer, and every professional in between—on tech, law, rights, and responsibility, so that justice becomes a shared craft, not a distant theory.
On April 18, from 4:30–6:00 PM, at 11310 Wade Park Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106, we invite you to step into this modern Greek theatre of ideas—where our chorus is multiracial, our stage is digital and physical, and our goal is simple: build a safer future together, one encounter at a time.
We the People can do this—if we show up, log in, learn, and listen. Join, register, get involved.
