Amplified & Authentic Featuring Lisa Durden

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Welcome. I'm Erik Fleming, host of A Moment with Erik Fleming, the podcast of our time.

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I want to personally thank you for listening to the podcast.

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If you like what you're hearing, then I need you to do a few things.

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First, I need subscribers. I'm on Patreon at patreon.com slash amomentwithericfleming.

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Your subscription allows an independent podcaster like me the freedom to speak

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truth to power, and to expand and improve the show.

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Second, leave a five-star review for the podcast on the streaming service you

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listen to it. That will help the podcast tremendously.

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Third, go to the website, momenteric.com. There you can subscribe to the podcast,

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leave reviews and comments, listen to past episodes, and even learn a little bit about your host.

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Tell someone else about the podcast. Encourage others to listen to the podcast

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and share the podcast on your social media platforms, because it is time to

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make this moment a movement.

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Thanks in advance for supporting the podcast of our time. I hope you enjoy this episode as well.

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The following program is hosted by the NVG Podcast Network.

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Music.

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Hello, welcome to another moment. With Erik Fleming. I am your host, Erik Fleming.

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And today I've got a special guest coming on and she is a very dynamic person,

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very, very outspoken and a voice that we need in the community.

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And she's been doing it for a while. She's also very talented as far as media

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is concerned. She's been a successful producer of documentaries and television specials.

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And I'm really, really honored that she took the time to come on the podcast.

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So she's going to be my only guest on this episode because as you know,

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the week that we're recording that it was Juneteenth.

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So, yeah, I took a minute to enjoy the festivities in Atlanta.

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I hope that those of y'all listening, you had a good week because Father's Day

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was that Sunday and then leading up to Juneteenth.

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So I hope that everybody that listens had a good and productive week and had

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some fun, had some special moments.

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You know despite what's going on in this nation we still have to live our lives

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right and we still have to find joy and if there's anything black people can do,

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is that we can find joy right so and i hope that part of your joy is listening to this podcast,

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we're still on our mission to get 20 000 subscribers so please go to patreon.com

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slash Momentary Fleming and sign up for a subscription.

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If you want to pay more, you can.

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There'll be some options there, and you might get something nice out of it if you do.

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But I just need y'all to go ahead and make that happen, right?

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We're going to keep doing what we're doing.

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So let's go ahead and get this show on the road. And as always,

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we kick it off with a moment of news with Grace G.

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Music.

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Thanks, Erik. Nationwide protests organized by No Kings drew millions opposing

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Trump's policies on immigration and federal cuts, marking the largest demonstration

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since his return to office.

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President Trump celebrated the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary and his 79th birthday

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with a military parade in Washington featuring tanks and troops.

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A gunman posing as an officer killed a Minnesota Democratic lawmaker and her

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husband, wounded another legislator's family, and eluded authorities for two

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days before being captured.

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Escalating attacks between Israel and Iran, including strikes on nuclear sites

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and civilian areas, triggered casualties and fears of a broader conflict.

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The U.S. Supreme Court upheld Tennessee's

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ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors in a 6-3 ruling.

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The Trump administration temporarily paused immigration raids targeting industries

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reliant on migrant labor, but reversed the decision to maintain its daily arrest quota. The U.S.

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Senate Republicans proposed amendments to Trump's tax bill, including making

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some business tax breaks permanent and capping state and local tax deductions,

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leading to criticism from House Republicans.

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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass lifted a downtown curfew that was enacted after

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protests related to raids on undocumented migrants began.

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The Senate confirmed Olivia Trusty as an FCC commissioner following the resignation

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of two members, with her term lasting until June 30.

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A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from denying passports to transgender

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and non-binary Americans.

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New York City Comptroller Brad Lander was detained but later released after

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being arrested at an immigration court.

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McDonald's settled a $10 billion lawsuit with Byron Allen's companies over claims

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of racial stereotyping and ad spending, agreeing to buy more ads on black-owned media in the future.

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And a baby born prematurely to Adriana Smith, a brain-dead woman in Georgia,

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was delivered via emergency C-section and is currently in the neonatal ICU.

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I am Grace Gee, and this has been a Moment of News.

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Music.

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All right. Thank you, Grace, for that moment of news. And now it is time for my guest, Lisa Durden.

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Lisa Durden is not your ordinary voice in the media landscape.

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She's a provocateur and a truth teller, wielding the power of storytelling to

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redefine our collective narrative.

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Lisa's voice is her activism, resonating as a brilliantly outspoken ABC News

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contributor, social justice journalist, content curator, multi-hyphenate media

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maker, and thought leader.

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She's a recognized national media personality gracing such esteemed platforms

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as ABC News 2020, News Nation,

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Revolt TV's Revolt Black News, Fox Souls, Being Black with Tammy Mack, CBS News, The Dr.

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Oz Show, and the former My9 Network Chasing News series.

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Ms. Durden frequently serves as a panelist for the African American Leadership Forum, among others.

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Her portfolio is as diverse as the community she represents by producing award-winning

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films and critically acclaimed unscripted

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series that delve into issues of significance to the Black community,

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including ABC 2020's two-hour documentary special Diary of a Killer,

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Hulu series The Conversations Project.

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A&E Network series Neighborhood Wars 2, The Griot's HBCU First Look Let's Talk

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series, Girls Matter Documentary.

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PBS Paris Blues and Harlem film, Verizon PSA Conversations with Mom,

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and the Star-Studded Revolution Awards, to name a few.

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In September 2024, she launched the limited series Vice President Kamala Harris,

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She Readied the Podcast, where she served as host and executive producer.

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Lisa's work has garnered widespread recognition, including being featured in

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the 2024 Rolling Out Presents Entertainment Innovators Shaping Visual Storytelling

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and Cultural Narrative Series.

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Names Swag Her Magazine's Wednesday Wonder Woman and Glambitious Magazine's

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Making Black History Month highlight in 2021.

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In 2015, Rolling Out magazine featured

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her as a Black intellectual for her trailblazing work in news and media.

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Her numerous accolades include the Community Service Award for Women in Media Network, Newark,

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the Vanguard Award for Excellence in Communications from Seton Hall University,

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and the Phenomenal Businesswoman Award alongside Newark Mayor Ras J.

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Baraka. She has also received the Outstanding Journalism and Community Service

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Award from Project Redirect,

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the Woman on Fire Award from the Newark Circle of Sisters, and the Leadership

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and Communication Award from Progressive Achievers, among many others.

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In 2021, Lisa earned her Master of Fine Arts in Social Documentary Film from

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New York School of Visual Arts, further solidifying her role as a mentor and leader in the industry.

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Unapologetically single and child-free because she wants to be,

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Lisa proudly embraces her journey.

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Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct honor and privilege to have as a guest

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on this podcast, Lisa Durden.

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Music.

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All right, Lisa Durden. How you doing, sister? You doing good?

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Well, I'm doing as good or as well as one could expect with this climate,

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you know, personally and professionally, both is always hanging in the balance.

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You know, if you're Black, it's hanging in the balance either way,

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but when you're Black, during a Trump administration, who knows what's going to happen?

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So yes, as much as one could expect.

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Well, I definitely echo that sentiment. I definitely feel where you're coming from. Yeah.

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Well, I'm really honored to have you on. You have been somebody I've watched on occasion.

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You know, and, you know, it's like, it's always good to have people that are

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willing to go on different shows.

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I don't really watch Fox News much, but the few times that I have watched Fox

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News, I have seen you on there.

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And, yeah.

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It's interesting that you say you watch Fox News because I don't watch Fox News.

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Since I'm a news, a social justice journalist and a news professional or a media

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professional, I get asked to go on lots of platforms.

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So if I was never on that platform, I would not have known those shows existed

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because I don't watch Fox News for anything.

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So it's interesting that you said you watch Fox News. I'm going to be interested

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to see this conversation because nobody I know who's black watches Fox News.

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Yeah, well, I know who's black.

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I understand. Well, I don't watch it like as a fan. And, you know,

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every now and then I'll pull in the most, the person I would watch the most

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on there would be Harris Faulkner because he's black.

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Other than that, I don't really watch it. I pretty much stay out of the ecosystem.

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But every now and then I might turn it on to kind of see what spin they're putting

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on a particular issue. Yeah.

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I'm just saying, yeah. But yeah. And I go on other platforms too.

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But yes, that's always the most infamous one. Yes. Yes. Yes, ma'am.

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All right. So icebreakers. I usually start off with a couple of icebreakers.

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So the first icebreaker is a quote.

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Free speech doesn't matter if you're a professor. Make people mad and you're

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in trouble. What does that quote mean to you?

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Well, I think at this point, it means the same. I mean, I don't think the free

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speech thing has anything to do with being a professor, because as we see, before the words,

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the phrase cancel culture became a phrase, I've experienced it myself.

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But now we have been coining the phrase in recent years.

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So I think free speech is supposed to be free, but they charge you for it,

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whether you're a professor or not.

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So I believe in free speech, even when I don't agree with the speech.

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But unfortunately, people like to deal with things when it's convenient.

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So either we have free speech or we don't.

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There's an old song that I grew up listening to.

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My parents played all the time. And the title of the song was,

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Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby?

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So either you are or you're not. So I stand by that. And listen, I'm a tough cookie.

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I don't have a problem with the fact that you don't agree with me or if you don't.

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Even on my own social media platforms, when I post things on my platforms,

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I do a kitschy thing as a way to invite folks to come in and feel comfortable having discourse.

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So every time I post something, I end with something that I say, OMG, is it only me?

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Now that I have been saying that thing for years, people know that I mean,

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do you agree or disagree?

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People come on there, they battle me, and some agree. And the ones who battle,

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I don't get mad if it gets tied and people get, you can't curse me out and call

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me names, but people get sarcastic and tell me off. I tell them back off.

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I feel like if you invite people to something, then don't get mad when they don't agree.

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So social media is social. Or if you're putting comments out there in any way,

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not just social media, it's social. So I don't cancel people on my page.

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You can go on my page and see all kinds of stuff.

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People go, oh, you always say it. They say it. And some people go, I like it, Lisa. Yeah.

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So, you know, I'm not the kind of person that kind of stands by something.

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But yet, you know, then you start to smell a little hypocrisy, right?

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I don't like that aroma. So I believe in free speech for anybody.

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You shouldn't charge for it. I shouldn't get an invoice after I use it. It's a problem.

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Yeah. And it's funny. I'm glad you brought up your tag, your hashtag,

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because I was thinking about using that as a quote.

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And I said, no, that might be too corny.

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Let me let me do a little more research and pull some out.

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Yes. All right. All right. So now this is the other one, which I call 20 questions.

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So give me a number between one and 20.

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Uh, 19. Okay.

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What are some values you think most people share, even if they express them differently?

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I think most people share the values of respect, be kind.

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They may have different meanings to people, but everybody wants respect.

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People feel like we should all be kind, although we're not. But when we verbally

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say it, people say those things. So it's very common no matter where you live in the world.

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Respect is kind of a huge thing. So respect, be kind, be nice,

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help others, you know, give these kinds of, you know, niceties or,

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you know, social mores, if you will.

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Now, I don't know the definition from person to person, but I don't see a whole lot of it on some people.

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But if you ask somebody, we would all say the same thing, whether you're in

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Japan, whether you're in America, whether you're in Africa,

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whether you're in Asia, whether you're in the North or the South or Newark or

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New York, ask a five-year-old, or you can ask a 45-year-old or somebody 80.

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They would say the same thing. So those are some of the things.

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But now practicing those things, well, I'm hearing Jeopardy music. Ding, ding, ding.

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That's another story. Yes. Yeah, I understand that too.

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All right. So recently, Newark was one of the cities that hosted the State of

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the People Power Tour. Yes.

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When asked how did Newark become one of the cities you stated,

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when we started talking about the State of the People Power Tour,

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a lot of folks said, why Newark?

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I said, why not Newark? Because Newark has been leading movements forever.

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We are the Renaissance City. We are Brick City.

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What makes Newark a special place for you? Well, you did your homework, boo. Clap for that. Yes.

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So I'm glad we did this interview in June because now you have a few updated things I've done.

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Yes, I said that because I was one of the people that was a part of the development

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team for State of the People Power Tour.

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I was on the comms team and I was on the production team for panels.

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I was one of the moderators of a panel called Art is Activism.

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But once I became a part of the project and I started kind of posting things,

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people started getting in my DMs because the State of the People Power Tour

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went to, I think they still have a couple more CDs left to go.

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But they were doing a 10-city tour around the country.

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The main headliners or the people who kind of put this together,

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Angela Rye, Tamika Mowry, and the usual suspects in the Black Power world.

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So they couldn't go everywhere.

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It's a new initiative. It's a movement, but it's new. They don't have enough money to go everywhere.

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So they had to be selective in terms of how many cities and where.

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So when they decided, okay, where are we going to go on this side of the country?

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Are we going to go to New York or Philadelphia? They came to Newark, New Jersey, baby.

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Brick City in the house. Yes, I have my peace sign up.

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Because they know that Newark is the renaissance city.

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First of all, it's a renaissance city. Newark has been in transition for many

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years, growing from the time we had the riots here in the 1960s all the way

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till now. because we realized that some of the bigger cities that had to deal

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with the riots from the 1960s, we had to rebuild.

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And Newark is one of the ones that has been rebuilding slower a little bit than

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New York, a little slower than Chicago in terms of like, you know,

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the economy and things like that.

00:18:37.900 --> 00:18:42.680
But we have been now since about the early 2000s or so, we've been the renaissance

00:18:42.680 --> 00:18:45.580
city, growing a lot quicker from about the early 2000s till now,

00:18:45.940 --> 00:18:50.240
you know, from construction to education to, our crime is down,

00:18:50.640 --> 00:18:52.040
innovation, all those things.

00:18:52.300 --> 00:18:54.920
So they thought, okay, let's land in Newark.

00:18:55.540 --> 00:18:58.280
And so I got a lot of pushback on my social media, you know,

00:18:58.360 --> 00:19:00.360
a little jealousy, a little hateration.

00:19:00.620 --> 00:19:04.180
So I said, let me just send this message. Why not Newark?

00:19:04.320 --> 00:19:07.420
So if you wanted to come to the State of the People Power Tour,

00:19:07.500 --> 00:19:09.360
you had to come to Newark if you were in Connecticut,

00:19:09.800 --> 00:19:14.360
Long Island, New York, Philadelphia, and all the local surrounding states and

00:19:14.360 --> 00:19:20.240
cities near Newark, because Newark is the birthplace of film. People don't know that.

00:19:20.520 --> 00:19:26.340
Newark is the birthplace of the movements. We had Amiri Baraka.

00:19:27.110 --> 00:19:32.050
If you don't know him, look him up. He was huge in the 60s and 70s in terms

00:19:32.050 --> 00:19:36.450
of pushing these kinds of narratives and talking about black power, power to the people.

00:19:36.990 --> 00:19:41.310
Newark is known for that. Not Chicago, not Atlanta, not Philadelphia,

00:19:41.610 --> 00:19:43.910
not even New York. Newark is known for that.

00:19:44.290 --> 00:19:48.510
Newark has a really big Muslim population. So around the time of Malcolm X,

00:19:48.570 --> 00:19:50.670
they had a lot of meetings here in Newark.

00:19:50.990 --> 00:19:54.730
So during the Malcolm X years, Newark was the landing place for those kinds

00:19:54.730 --> 00:19:58.370
of meetings and that energy. So Newark has had that energy for a long time.

00:19:58.550 --> 00:20:03.390
So really, for State of the People Power Tour to come to Newark,

00:20:03.490 --> 00:20:07.850
to me, that was, in essence, giving Newark its flowers. We deserve our flowers.

00:20:08.050 --> 00:20:11.330
Not because I was born and raised here and still live here. I just happened

00:20:11.330 --> 00:20:12.610
to be born and raised here and live here.

00:20:12.750 --> 00:20:16.610
But if I lived in New York, which I have for a short time, I would still know

00:20:16.610 --> 00:20:18.130
why because I know my history.

00:20:18.290 --> 00:20:21.070
So when you know your history, you don't ask why Newark. You would know that

00:20:21.070 --> 00:20:23.410
already. So I just had to kind of put some respect on our name.

00:20:23.510 --> 00:20:24.570
You know what I'm saying? him.

00:20:24.830 --> 00:20:29.550
Yeah, I understand. It was like Newark came to my attention when I was young,

00:20:29.650 --> 00:20:31.750
because when James Sharp was the mayor.

00:20:31.950 --> 00:20:34.310
Sharp James, yes. Oh, Sharp James, I'm sorry.

00:20:35.170 --> 00:20:39.830
And yeah, so I mean, it was like when, that's when, you know,

00:20:39.950 --> 00:20:42.330
because he was like, I think the first black mayor there.

00:20:42.470 --> 00:20:45.870
The second black mayor, but I think he had the longest, well,

00:20:45.970 --> 00:20:48.410
we don't have, yeah, longest serving mayor.

00:20:48.490 --> 00:20:50.650
We don't have term limits. I think New York has term limits,

00:20:50.650 --> 00:20:54.450
but we don't have term limits here in New Jersey or Newark. Well, New Jersey in general.

00:20:54.610 --> 00:20:57.250
So he was the longest. Kenneth Gibson was the first. Yes.

00:20:57.810 --> 00:21:00.890
That's right. Kenneth Gibson. I remember that name now. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

00:21:01.430 --> 00:21:06.330
All right. So, but it was, you know, Newark has always been in the radar and it was like,

00:21:06.510 --> 00:21:10.450
you know, when I did a lot of traveling when I was younger, it was like,

00:21:10.550 --> 00:21:14.730
it was cheaper to fly into Newark than it was to fly into New York City,

00:21:14.990 --> 00:21:16.470
any one of those airports. So.

00:21:17.136 --> 00:21:21.416
Kind of familiar with it. Didn't really get to learn a lot about the city.

00:21:21.616 --> 00:21:25.876
So I'm glad that one of his great ambassadors is on my program.

00:21:26.116 --> 00:21:30.236
Well, thank you. Yes. So I was proud to be a part of the State of the People

00:21:30.236 --> 00:21:32.836
Power Tour. I was proud that it was here in Newark.

00:21:33.056 --> 00:21:35.576
And we had a huge crowd.

00:21:36.056 --> 00:21:40.296
And I think that for those who were not familiar with Newark,

00:21:40.436 --> 00:21:43.056
although that's kind of rare now, because I think when Cory Booker was the mayor

00:21:43.056 --> 00:21:46.656
here, you know, he put Newark on the map in terms of like, you know,

00:21:46.736 --> 00:21:48.836
the media, because he was like a media darling.

00:21:49.176 --> 00:21:52.516
We had a documentary that I was a producer on called Brick City,

00:21:52.656 --> 00:21:54.736
the docuseries, and he was one of the main characters.

00:21:54.956 --> 00:21:58.496
And once that blew up on the Sundance channel when it was once in existence,

00:21:58.516 --> 00:22:02.716
I think it has since shut down, then people have heard about Newark in that way.

00:22:02.836 --> 00:22:05.276
So whenever I would go around, oh, you're from Newark, Cory Booker.

00:22:05.396 --> 00:22:06.256
Oh, Newark, Cory Booker.

00:22:06.356 --> 00:22:09.676
So that was when people started to hear about Newark a lot at that time.

00:22:09.816 --> 00:22:11.636
And he's still a pretty popular person.

00:22:11.896 --> 00:22:17.376
But so we became newsworthy, if you will, outside of, you know.

00:22:18.016 --> 00:22:23.216
Guns and stolen cars, you know, for other things like politics and other kinds

00:22:23.216 --> 00:22:24.956
of positive things that we do.

00:22:25.116 --> 00:22:30.916
So I want to also, as a person, I want to make sure we're building on that and expanding past that.

00:22:30.996 --> 00:22:37.576
So I felt like this is kind of like what was another element that just complemented

00:22:37.576 --> 00:22:38.716
Newark altogether as well.

00:22:39.256 --> 00:22:42.296
Yeah and when i the first one time

00:22:42.296 --> 00:22:45.296
i met gail king that was the first thing she asked me do you know cory

00:22:45.296 --> 00:22:49.076
booker and i was like no ma'am i haven't met him yet yeah and

00:22:49.076 --> 00:22:54.816
the only the only grief grievance i would say about the tour was that we got

00:22:54.816 --> 00:23:00.436
you got two of my favorite cities in there but you missed the third one so you

00:23:00.436 --> 00:23:04.696
got you got jackson mississippi in there that was That's where I went to school

00:23:04.696 --> 00:23:07.856
and actually did all my political stuff there.

00:23:08.176 --> 00:23:10.716
I currently live in Atlanta. Okay.

00:23:11.436 --> 00:23:16.356
Which, you know, just about everybody. It seems like they're coming out of here.

00:23:16.516 --> 00:23:21.076
But you missed out on Chicago. And I was like, oh, I would have loved to have

00:23:21.076 --> 00:23:26.916
seen Brandon Johnson on there and the mayor talking about, you know,

00:23:26.996 --> 00:23:29.876
what he's been doing and all that kind of stuff. But that's like two out of three.

00:23:30.476 --> 00:23:34.336
He got Jackson, Mississippi in the mix. It's like Jackson gets ignored a lot.

00:23:34.596 --> 00:23:38.776
And so, yeah, so I was glad that the tour came there.

00:23:39.076 --> 00:23:43.396
Yeah, and my family's from Atlanta originally. So actually, I have family and friends there.

00:23:43.476 --> 00:23:48.456
So when I travel down there, I always stay in Atlanta with my family and friends.

00:23:48.556 --> 00:23:50.476
I've got an uncle that has a restaurant down there.

00:23:50.616 --> 00:23:52.916
It's a takeout place. Why it's barbecued, you know.

00:23:53.276 --> 00:23:55.356
So you have that. So I'm very familiar.

00:23:56.016 --> 00:23:59.076
But yeah, so it would have been nice. But, you know, maybe the next tour,

00:23:59.256 --> 00:24:02.896
they'll spread to more cities, of course. Once these are successful,

00:24:03.016 --> 00:24:06.856
which they have been, I'm sure they'll do more during the next tour each year.

00:24:06.896 --> 00:24:09.676
I'm sure it's going to be a tour each year, I'm sure.

00:24:10.322 --> 00:24:13.662
Yeah. All right. So let's let's stay on Newark for a minute.

00:24:13.902 --> 00:24:17.122
Yeah. Because Newark has been in the news a lot recently.

00:24:17.822 --> 00:24:21.802
So let's start with the airport. What do you know about the airport?

00:24:22.462 --> 00:24:26.722
Can you shed some light on that? What's going on? I don't know.

00:24:26.882 --> 00:24:29.802
I'm just like everybody else. I've been hearing a lot about all the flights

00:24:29.802 --> 00:24:34.342
and, you know, all of the troubles with the staffing there and what's going

00:24:34.342 --> 00:24:39.962
on with the airlines. And, you know, and it's going to go into August or beyond.

00:24:40.542 --> 00:24:44.162
You know, I'm not for sure exactly what's going. I mean, I know what they're

00:24:44.162 --> 00:24:46.822
saying is going on. I'll say I don't know what's causing it.

00:24:46.962 --> 00:24:49.442
I don't know if they're able to fix it.

00:24:49.782 --> 00:24:52.322
I still hear a few things about flights.

00:24:53.142 --> 00:24:57.722
Is it like, you know, air traffic controllers? Are people losing their jobs?

00:24:57.862 --> 00:25:02.542
Are they having, are folks losing their jobs and they have one person doing 14 people's jobs?

00:25:02.782 --> 00:25:05.942
I'm sure that's happening now because of Doge and all the, you know,

00:25:06.022 --> 00:25:09.402
departments they got rid of, Department of Transportation and all kinds of different

00:25:09.402 --> 00:25:11.042
departments that affect all

00:25:11.042 --> 00:25:14.042
of our transportation in the air and on the ground and across the board.

00:25:14.462 --> 00:25:17.962
And maybe they, you know, decentralize.

00:25:18.062 --> 00:25:22.302
I just don't, it's like a moving target, this Doge thing and all the, I don't, I can't.

00:25:22.322 --> 00:25:27.622
I can't even keep up with all the departments that have been defunct and people have been laid off.

00:25:27.822 --> 00:25:30.982
So I think a lot of that has a lot to do with what's going on.

00:25:31.542 --> 00:25:34.342
I don't know when it's going to be fixed. I don't know what's happening,

00:25:34.442 --> 00:25:36.422
but I find it to be very scary, obviously.

00:25:36.802 --> 00:25:40.302
I've got to travel in August and September from Newark Airport.

00:25:40.462 --> 00:25:42.682
I'm entertaining not flying out of Newark Airport.

00:25:43.202 --> 00:25:45.922
I don't mind flying back because if my flight gets delayed, I don't care.

00:25:46.002 --> 00:25:48.762
But going to where I need to go, I want to get there on time.

00:25:48.882 --> 00:25:51.182
So I'm wondering, should I drive to Philly and go out of Philly?

00:25:51.622 --> 00:25:54.342
Who wants to drive to Philly from Newark? It's an hour and a half, two hours.

00:25:54.982 --> 00:25:57.742
Damn sure I'm going to drive to New York to fly to, you know,

00:25:57.902 --> 00:26:02.522
I've got to fly to Detroit for the National Association of Black Journalists Convention.

00:26:02.782 --> 00:26:06.862
And then I've got to fly to Michigan. I'm going to be doing a conversation with

00:26:06.862 --> 00:26:10.022
Clarissa Shields at a conference. That'll be in September.

00:26:10.662 --> 00:26:14.782
So I don't know. I think what I'm going to do is I'm going to probably just

00:26:14.782 --> 00:26:16.522
do one of those flights where, like, let's hope.

00:26:16.702 --> 00:26:22.062
I mean, the airport's still functioning and there's flights happening. So I think to To.

00:26:23.231 --> 00:26:29.291
Diminish the potential of flights being canceled or delayed, I think if I go on a 7 a.m.

00:26:29.471 --> 00:26:33.791
Or 6 a.m. flight, I might stand a better chance. I'm going to take flights a

00:26:33.791 --> 00:26:34.651
little earlier than normal.

00:26:35.031 --> 00:26:37.831
I'm not doing no 11 o'clock flight because I'm probably never going to get over there.

00:26:38.531 --> 00:26:42.111
But yeah, so is it disheartening and disappointing? Yes, because I think that

00:26:42.111 --> 00:26:45.151
when you're talking about a major city like the city of Newark,

00:26:45.271 --> 00:26:48.751
people don't realize the city of Newark is the biggest city in the state of New Jersey.

00:26:49.031 --> 00:26:52.211
People don't understand, who are not familiar with Newark in that way,

00:26:52.351 --> 00:26:55.771
that we have the Newark International Airport.

00:26:56.131 --> 00:26:59.971
So a lot of people fly into Newark, even who are going into New York,

00:27:00.031 --> 00:27:01.491
because New York is a nightmare.

00:27:01.731 --> 00:27:06.911
So a lot of folks, celebrities, you know, sports figures, entertainers,

00:27:07.431 --> 00:27:12.191
professionals, a lot of conventions and conferences go on here in Newark.

00:27:12.311 --> 00:27:14.771
And if not in Newark, in New York, where they'll drive over,

00:27:14.991 --> 00:27:18.291
but they'll land in Newark because we have a hotel right there at the airport.

00:27:18.631 --> 00:27:20.491
You get off the plane, and you're right there at the Marriott.

00:27:20.591 --> 00:27:21.851
It's literally right there at the airport.

00:27:21.971 --> 00:27:25.451
You can just take a car and you're right there. So a lot of activity happens

00:27:25.451 --> 00:27:28.611
and we have rebuilt a lot of the sections of the Newark Airport.

00:27:28.931 --> 00:27:31.451
The Newark International Airport is gorgeous and things like that.

00:27:31.571 --> 00:27:37.391
So people, we have a lot of hope to have more travel coming here because we

00:27:37.391 --> 00:27:38.931
want Newark to be a destination city.

00:27:39.331 --> 00:27:42.011
And people, when they come here, they eat here, they sleep here,

00:27:42.111 --> 00:27:44.431
they buy here, they travel here and it helps the economy.

00:27:44.731 --> 00:27:49.491
So I hated to hear all of the trouble with the airport because now it starts

00:27:49.491 --> 00:27:51.751
to make me go, oh, well, I'm flying to Newark.

00:27:51.811 --> 00:27:54.591
Now it's going to affect the economy a little bit. It's all interconnected, you know?

00:27:55.431 --> 00:27:59.071
Yeah. Yeah. And I'm hoping that it's not a situation.

00:27:59.831 --> 00:28:03.811
I don't think it will be because there was, you know, in Jackson and in Charlotte.

00:28:04.813 --> 00:28:08.153
There's been a situation where the state's been trying to take over control

00:28:08.153 --> 00:28:12.353
of the airports. Oh, really? And that's been, but that's been a black-white thing.

00:28:12.933 --> 00:28:18.093
The Republicans in the legislature are trying to take control of airports in

00:28:18.093 --> 00:28:19.633
majority black-run cities.

00:28:21.213 --> 00:28:23.873
I can try to do it here because Newark is a black city too, yeah.

00:28:24.053 --> 00:28:27.213
Yeah, so I don't think the New Jersey legislature is going to do that.

00:28:27.353 --> 00:28:31.053
But, you know, that's just something to watch whenever. Yeah,

00:28:31.513 --> 00:28:37.693
because Jersey, luckily, for what it's worth, Jersey, well, most of Jersey is

00:28:37.693 --> 00:28:41.673
for the most part, not most, a large portion of Jersey is Democratic.

00:28:41.773 --> 00:28:48.173
But, yes, we have a large portion of, obviously, Republican cities in New Jersey, too.

00:28:48.353 --> 00:28:51.593
But Newark, being the biggest city in New Jersey, it's mostly Democratic.

00:28:51.593 --> 00:28:55.213
So that's a nice lion's share of the Democratic population.

00:28:56.013 --> 00:29:01.153
Yeah. All right. Right. So next is the indictment of Congresswoman LaMonica

00:29:01.153 --> 00:29:07.613
McIver, which was predicated on the attempt to arrest and indict Mayor Ras Baraka,

00:29:07.873 --> 00:29:11.913
who you mentioned his dad when you were talking about Newark.

00:29:12.293 --> 00:29:17.933
So how's the community been responding to that? Well, the community has been responding very well.

00:29:18.053 --> 00:29:22.873
And we stand by Congresswoman LaMonica McIver because she had every right

00:29:22.873 --> 00:29:24.133
to be in the detention center.

00:29:25.073 --> 00:29:30.853
And she didn't break in. They let them go in. And when they told them to exit, they left.

00:29:31.073 --> 00:29:34.533
When they were outside of that gate, we saw they were on public property.

00:29:34.693 --> 00:29:37.053
I have the right to walk down any street in the state of New Jersey,

00:29:37.433 --> 00:29:41.513
any street in the city of Newark, any street. The sidewalk is public property.

00:29:41.653 --> 00:29:45.193
They were not inside the gate at that point. when I guess somewhere along the

00:29:45.193 --> 00:29:47.893
way a call was dropped and said, get their asses out of there.

00:29:48.093 --> 00:29:52.013
I don't know because all of the ICE workers were fine initially.

00:29:52.553 --> 00:29:56.733
They opened the doors and let them in. So maybe when the news jumped into it

00:29:56.733 --> 00:29:59.473
saying, oh, they're in there, maybe they got the bat phone and said,

00:29:59.633 --> 00:30:02.133
you let them in there, and they might have said, get the hell out of there.

00:30:02.753 --> 00:30:08.133
That's all, you know, remained to be seen as to why they invited them in, then invited them out.

00:30:08.693 --> 00:30:13.033
But once they got out, all of that war zone mess that they had going on,

00:30:13.133 --> 00:30:19.633
pushing that narrative of negativity was all done for clicks, was all done for,

00:30:20.153 --> 00:30:24.333
you know, to hopefully be able to stir up the algorithm because,

00:30:24.413 --> 00:30:27.253
you know, phones are going to be popping to make it seem like there's a war

00:30:27.253 --> 00:30:31.153
going on and we get a chance to shoot them and choke them and kill them and

00:30:31.153 --> 00:30:33.273
all that. So luckily that didn't happen.

00:30:33.573 --> 00:30:39.393
But I feel like when you are serving the people in your position as a congresswoman,

00:30:39.613 --> 00:30:43.093
that is your job to make sure everybody's safe, even those in the detention center.

00:30:43.685 --> 00:30:48.505
And also your fellow politicians.

00:30:48.765 --> 00:30:54.605
So even though she's a congresswoman now, people forget she was also the Central Ward councilwoman.

00:30:54.745 --> 00:30:58.685
She worked under the Barack administration when he was the mayor.

00:30:58.805 --> 00:31:02.145
She's just recently a councilwoman. So that's somebody she's had a longstanding

00:31:02.145 --> 00:31:06.165
relationship with professionally and that this woman wants to make sure that

00:31:06.165 --> 00:31:10.845
all of the individuals who are there to protect the people are also protected.

00:31:11.685 --> 00:31:14.085
And also, people don't realize, I think, don't quote me on this,

00:31:14.165 --> 00:31:17.465
but I think that how she knew Ras Baraka way before she became a politician,

00:31:17.665 --> 00:31:19.085
she went to Central High School.

00:31:19.245 --> 00:31:22.005
And I think that was her teacher or either a principal, whichever one.

00:31:22.145 --> 00:31:23.725
She's known him since she was a child, a teenager.

00:31:24.105 --> 00:31:28.305
So she's always looked up to him. And then because she saw this man as somebody

00:31:28.305 --> 00:31:31.965
that she could look up to, she became a person that wanted to be in politics like him.

00:31:32.305 --> 00:31:34.765
That's the point. When you see yourself, you may want to be yourself.

00:31:34.765 --> 00:31:37.765
So I feel like she did the right thing.

00:31:38.005 --> 00:31:44.745
And I feel like they're trying to, you know, weaponize what she did and want

00:31:44.745 --> 00:31:48.405
to make an example of her and show her and those kind of things.

00:31:48.525 --> 00:31:52.265
And I hate to jump in and say black woman, but you see how they dropped the

00:31:52.265 --> 00:31:54.325
charges against Ras Baraka as they should?

00:31:54.825 --> 00:31:57.085
They're not going to drop the charges against her. She's a black woman.

00:31:57.285 --> 00:31:59.165
How dare you, black woman?

00:31:59.785 --> 00:32:03.285
How dare you? How dare you, black man? But how double dare you,

00:32:03.905 --> 00:32:05.885
black woman? we're not letting you go.

00:32:06.265 --> 00:32:09.865
We want to make sure you don't even think about that again if you even entertain

00:32:09.865 --> 00:32:11.565
the fact that you can be a man.

00:32:11.825 --> 00:32:14.525
You know, man? Who you think you are, man?

00:32:15.045 --> 00:32:17.705
Because even a black man has black male privileges.

00:32:18.542 --> 00:32:22.922
Up against his black female counterpart, not up against his white male counterpart

00:32:23.382 --> 00:32:26.662
So male privilege, he still gets a percentage of that.

00:32:26.802 --> 00:32:30.902
It's like what happened to, what's her name, when she got found out she was

00:32:30.902 --> 00:32:32.802
insider trading, Martha Stewart.

00:32:33.482 --> 00:32:37.182
Men had been being busted for insider trading for years, Microsoft,

00:32:37.682 --> 00:32:38.982
Enron, all kinds of people.

00:32:39.262 --> 00:32:43.942
But how dare a woman, although she's white, it's still a woman up against her

00:32:43.942 --> 00:32:45.082
white male counterpart.

00:32:45.342 --> 00:32:48.582
They wanted to make an example of her. I think it was only $50,000 that she

00:32:48.582 --> 00:32:52.102
decided to pull out, whatever, and they put her ass in jail.

00:32:52.342 --> 00:32:57.122
They wanted to make her know, don't you, all women watching, don't let this be you.

00:32:57.642 --> 00:33:00.782
So that's what they're doing with LaMonica. They're making an example of her.

00:33:00.922 --> 00:33:05.182
And secondly, my sister is very politically astute, sort of smart,

00:33:05.242 --> 00:33:07.362
but not as astute as my sister. She loves politics.

00:33:07.842 --> 00:33:12.102
They feel like they want to have another situation where they can get rid of

00:33:12.102 --> 00:33:17.262
people who are Democrats in the Senate. so you can have another person there that's a Republican.

00:33:17.422 --> 00:33:20.602
If you get rid of her and you censure her and things like that and you lock

00:33:20.602 --> 00:33:23.682
her up and she's out of the position, you can just slide your other person up

00:33:23.682 --> 00:33:27.722
in there and make it even stronger for you to get all your mess through all the legislation.

00:33:28.102 --> 00:33:34.282
So that's still like, oh, this is an easy way to get some more MAGA monsters

00:33:34.282 --> 00:33:36.862
in there. So I think all of those things are at play.

00:33:37.102 --> 00:33:40.242
But I hope that she doesn't get convicted.

00:33:40.842 --> 00:33:44.242
And I feel like if she does get convicted, I hope they don't give her jail time

00:33:44.242 --> 00:33:46.702
because if they give her jail time, it's going to be a problem.

00:33:46.942 --> 00:33:49.102
I think there's going to be some marching.

00:33:49.702 --> 00:33:54.802
Yeah, I think you're on the right track as far as getting her out,

00:33:54.882 --> 00:33:59.222
but I don't think it's whoever replaces her is going to be a Democrat in that district.

00:33:59.562 --> 00:34:04.002
But the deal is, you know, they're trying to get, like you said,

00:34:04.122 --> 00:34:05.362
some legislation passed.

00:34:05.562 --> 00:34:09.902
So if there's one less Democrat on the floor when they're trying to push something through,

00:34:09.902 --> 00:34:12.862
because they've been very fortunate that the

00:34:12.862 --> 00:34:16.542
the the bill that they keep pushing the appropriations

00:34:16.542 --> 00:34:19.502
bill they're pushing they were able to push it because we had

00:34:19.502 --> 00:34:22.782
several democrats die and so their margin

00:34:22.782 --> 00:34:25.682
of of that they needed to get passed was

00:34:25.682 --> 00:34:28.582
lower and so that you know so that

00:34:28.582 --> 00:34:31.682
that was kind of i think more the mindset for a

00:34:31.682 --> 00:34:34.902
temporary situation more so than you know

00:34:34.902 --> 00:34:38.382
trying to replace somebody because she didn't women democratic state

00:34:38.382 --> 00:34:41.062
yeah yeah there's no way republicans win that

00:34:41.062 --> 00:34:44.302
and then what they what they've done is they've activated

00:34:44.302 --> 00:34:47.202
bonnie coleman that's what they've done now that

00:34:47.202 --> 00:34:51.422
you know miss coleman i know she yeah she's been a fighter for a while but i

00:34:51.422 --> 00:34:56.262
think you didn't you reinvigorated her if you watch her on tiktok she's been

00:34:56.262 --> 00:34:59.602
killing him and committing bonnie wasson i met before i've interviewed her before

00:34:59.602 --> 00:35:03.402
bonnie wasson coleman ain't playing she ain't no jokes don't don't wake up don't

00:35:03.402 --> 00:35:05.742
wake up auntie they don't play like that And I'm auntie now,

00:35:05.862 --> 00:35:09.242
although she's much younger than me, much older than I am, but she's still auntie.

00:35:09.582 --> 00:35:13.362
So for all those reasons, I feel like once again, you know, as a black woman,

00:35:13.502 --> 00:35:15.322
it's a little bit of a different relationship.

00:35:15.950 --> 00:35:22.090
The coming in hot is always a little hotter for a black woman.

00:35:22.970 --> 00:35:26.810
Yeah. Yeah. So let me, let me, let me, this is going to be my last,

00:35:27.010 --> 00:35:30.170
well, no, it's not going to be my last, well, it could be my last question on

00:35:30.170 --> 00:35:31.510
your work. I got the thing, you got time.

00:35:32.670 --> 00:35:36.250
So what's your thoughts on Mikey Sherrill? I don't even know if I'm saying her

00:35:36.250 --> 00:35:40.170
name right. Yep, that's correct. You know, I voted for Razz Baraka.

00:35:41.010 --> 00:35:43.010
I wouldn't say obviously because it doesn't mean it's obvious,

00:35:43.110 --> 00:35:48.350
but I did. But I'm the kind of person like this, even if I don't vote for you,

00:35:48.430 --> 00:35:51.330
because there have been many people I voted for since I was 18,

00:35:51.630 --> 00:35:55.330
I'm 61, that didn't win. I still expect you to do your fucking job.

00:35:56.030 --> 00:35:59.470
Right? So I don't know who's going to win because that was the primary.

00:35:59.990 --> 00:36:04.870
And so Mikey Sherrill won the Democratic nomination. So she's going to run against the Republican.

00:36:05.350 --> 00:36:07.590
I don't know who's going to win. I don't know much about her.

00:36:08.010 --> 00:36:13.110
I'm going to watch because I still, you know, I'm a Democrat just on paper,

00:36:13.250 --> 00:36:15.650
but I try to vote person, not party.

00:36:15.990 --> 00:36:18.850
I very rarely vote for a Republican, so I'm probably not going to vote for the Republican.

00:36:19.070 --> 00:36:22.890
But I have voted for somebody just on the ballot who I didn't know I've written names in.

00:36:23.050 --> 00:36:26.110
So I'm not going to just run over there and go, oh, since Mikey Sherrill's the

00:36:26.110 --> 00:36:28.270
Democratic nominee, I'm going to vote for her.

00:36:28.610 --> 00:36:31.730
I might write a person's name in if she doesn't convince me to vote for her.

00:36:32.010 --> 00:36:34.930
Or I might vote for somebody that's a random, you know, independent there

00:36:34.930 --> 00:36:38.330
if she doesn't convince me so right now she's from

00:36:38.330 --> 00:36:42.030
what I've been seeing on her promos and

00:36:42.030 --> 00:36:45.430
things like that it seems like she's you know interested in doing the right

00:36:45.430 --> 00:36:48.250
thing but I haven't seen any real debates or anything so I don't know what's

00:36:48.250 --> 00:36:53.790
going to happen I'll be watching if she is a person that I feel appears to be

00:36:53.790 --> 00:36:58.970
appears to be about her business and about the people I vote for her yeah.

00:36:59.845 --> 00:37:03.105
Yeah, well, she's running against Citarelli again. So, I mean,

00:37:03.225 --> 00:37:05.565
well, Citarelli's running again, let me put it that way.

00:37:06.545 --> 00:37:10.285
So he was the Trump guy that they put up last time.

00:37:10.645 --> 00:37:16.625
So that leads me to the follow-up is, why didn't you run? You ran for lieutenant governor before.

00:37:16.885 --> 00:37:19.865
Why didn't you run for governor at this go-round? Well, here's the thing.

00:37:20.445 --> 00:37:24.525
I was not interested in ever running for politics for political position.

00:37:24.685 --> 00:37:28.305
I was approached by the press of money for governor because I had been popular

00:37:28.305 --> 00:37:30.585
because of what happened with the whole Fox News thing.

00:37:30.725 --> 00:37:34.165
And all the media was covering why I got fired from Massachusetts County College

00:37:34.165 --> 00:37:36.565
after the Fox News thing. And I told Tucker Carlson off.

00:37:36.885 --> 00:37:40.465
Now I was ahead of the curve. They see what he got fired. So they see what happened

00:37:40.465 --> 00:37:41.525
many years later. He was a jerk.

00:37:41.765 --> 00:37:45.225
But nevertheless, so they thought this is the right person to,

00:37:45.225 --> 00:37:50.545
you know, put on my ticket. So I said, okay, give it a try, because I do believe in doing something.

00:37:50.765 --> 00:37:54.005
So that particular thing, I said, okay, I'll do the something because I was

00:37:54.005 --> 00:37:55.545
approached by that particular something.

00:37:56.425 --> 00:38:03.445
What was disgusting to me is people complain, the faction of folks who complain

00:38:03.445 --> 00:38:07.405
about, oh, the Democrats and Republicans, they're all the same.

00:38:07.945 --> 00:38:12.265
Nobody cares about us, and we need another party. There are other parties.

00:38:12.565 --> 00:38:14.365
I ran on the Green Party ticket.

00:38:14.705 --> 00:38:18.605
There have always been other parties. There's still other parties now, right?

00:38:19.185 --> 00:38:24.185
Not just Green Party, the Working Families Party, there's other parties.

00:38:24.465 --> 00:38:30.145
So I thought, well, all the millions of folks who complain they'll vote for us, they did not.

00:38:30.865 --> 00:38:33.205
So I learned that people are sheep.

00:38:34.360 --> 00:38:39.940
They're sheep. Because no matter how many times you see a commercial on television

00:38:39.940 --> 00:38:44.960
about the two leading parties, no matter how many mailings you get and door

00:38:44.960 --> 00:38:47.160
knockers and people come to your door,

00:38:47.520 --> 00:38:51.980
coffee clashes and all of that, if you really were sick of it,

00:38:52.260 --> 00:38:55.220
no one can make you go in that booth.

00:38:55.340 --> 00:38:57.560
And we used to push the button, then that would just bubble in.

00:38:57.720 --> 00:39:00.180
Bubble in a name you don't want to. You have the power.

00:39:00.580 --> 00:39:06.500
So all you had to do was bubble it at the time, just push the button for our team.

00:39:07.500 --> 00:39:13.420
Seth Coperdale and Lisa Durden. So people just, they talk more than they do. That was the sad part.

00:39:13.640 --> 00:39:16.880
So people really don't want other parties because they're there.

00:39:17.020 --> 00:39:18.120
They don't vote for them.

00:39:18.360 --> 00:39:21.600
People don't understand that they can just simply bullet vote.

00:39:22.480 --> 00:39:25.920
I bullet vote. I don't do line A all the way, although they took out lines recently.

00:39:26.120 --> 00:39:29.720
But you know, why are you doing line A all the way or any line?

00:39:29.900 --> 00:39:33.460
Why don't you just go and pick the person you want and then pick around the

00:39:33.460 --> 00:39:35.440
way you want. So people don't bullet vote.

00:39:35.660 --> 00:39:39.560
They like lines. People want turkeys and toys and they vote for them.

00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:45.760
If the pastor said vote for them, Pastor Jones said do it, you're going to do it. Amen. Amen. Amen.

00:39:46.160 --> 00:39:49.580
So it's just people are, and I don't want to say they're not astute.

00:39:49.980 --> 00:39:54.160
People say, no, they're not dumb. They don't need any more education.

00:39:54.160 --> 00:39:56.480
They know that they can vote for the person.

00:39:56.720 --> 00:40:02.200
People can read the basic names, they just don't want, they start thinking,

00:40:02.380 --> 00:40:05.700
well, nobody's going to vote for them, so they're not going to win.

00:40:05.880 --> 00:40:08.900
But you just said, by saying that, that just means you're not going to vote for them.

00:40:09.060 --> 00:40:11.740
If everybody who said, well, nobody's going to vote for them,

00:40:11.900 --> 00:40:14.300
voted for them, they'd win. Because people forgot.

00:40:14.940 --> 00:40:19.620
There was a time where nobody voted for Black people. When we started to be

00:40:19.620 --> 00:40:21.100
in politics, we lost the races.

00:40:21.440 --> 00:40:24.540
We lost because the world was very racist.

00:40:25.340 --> 00:40:29.280
But if we didn't keep voting for the Black person, we wouldn't have had the

00:40:29.280 --> 00:40:31.420
first Black mayor, the first Black whatever.

00:40:31.880 --> 00:40:37.080
It took time. So if you don't want the so-called usual suspects,

00:40:37.520 --> 00:40:40.080
then voting for the Lisa Durden's may not win the first time,

00:40:40.140 --> 00:40:47.780
but we got 9,000 votes in the state of New Jersey, and we have 300,000 people

00:40:47.780 --> 00:40:50.820
just in the city of Newark alone? Really, y'all?

00:40:51.480 --> 00:40:54.960
Bye. So I'm not running again. People ain't ready. They're not ready for this

00:40:54.960 --> 00:40:57.220
jelly. Ain't nobody ready for this jelly.

00:41:00.440 --> 00:41:04.520
Well, speaking about jelly, because I want to come back to the party point.

00:41:05.240 --> 00:41:09.240
Cory Booker in the 25-hour filibuster. How did you feel about that?

00:41:10.720 --> 00:41:13.620
I know that's your homeboy and all that stuff. How did you feel?

00:41:15.420 --> 00:41:21.900
I don't have a problem with it. However, I felt to some degree it was performative.

00:41:23.100 --> 00:41:28.700
If you were trying to pass something or block something, then okay.

00:41:28.980 --> 00:41:31.020
What was he trying to block specifically?

00:41:31.580 --> 00:41:32.880
What was he trying to pass?

00:41:34.054 --> 00:41:41.254
OK, so my belief is we know that, you know, the elections coming up midterms.

00:41:41.434 --> 00:41:46.614
I feel like, you know, you want to get your name out in the atmosphere like,

00:41:46.694 --> 00:41:48.474
you know, Jasmine Crockett.

00:41:48.774 --> 00:41:51.854
And that was something that you felt would be the thing.

00:41:52.074 --> 00:41:56.274
And it worked just for him to turn around and screw us in the behind when he

00:41:56.274 --> 00:42:01.214
allowed this other man to come in there to support this this this Republican. So.

00:42:01.934 --> 00:42:07.334
Yeah, Jared Kushner's dad, I think. Whatever. I think he got appointed to an

00:42:07.334 --> 00:42:09.194
ambassadorship. The dude. The dude.

00:42:09.774 --> 00:42:12.054
I'm like, whoopee, I don't even want to call your name. The dude.

00:42:14.094 --> 00:42:16.654
Whoopee doesn't like to call, whoopee doesn't like to say the president.

00:42:16.794 --> 00:42:20.214
She is, you know, him. She doesn't, she hasn't called him president.

00:42:20.854 --> 00:42:24.874
She won't say this man's name. So, the dude. So, that was very disappointing.

00:42:25.074 --> 00:42:29.454
So, like, in other words, that feeds into what most people feel is that Republicans

00:42:29.454 --> 00:42:30.274
and Democrats are the same.

00:42:30.854 --> 00:42:33.874
Yeah. And they are. I don't mean MAGA. I mean, Republicans, Democrats.

00:42:34.334 --> 00:42:35.914
So we can't tell the difference.

00:42:36.414 --> 00:42:39.014
There are nuances you can tell, but we can't tell the difference.

00:42:39.174 --> 00:42:40.554
That's exactly what we're saying.

00:42:40.794 --> 00:42:45.414
The move he made when he voted for the dude to be the ambassador. No.

00:42:47.054 --> 00:42:52.054
All right. So that also ties in with my next question. So Corrine Jean-Pierre.

00:42:52.874 --> 00:42:57.754
Yes. Said that she has left the Democratic Party to become an independent. Yeah, girl.

00:42:58.394 --> 00:43:04.634
Leave these fools. So the question was, should African-Americans follow an example?

00:43:04.814 --> 00:43:07.074
And I take it you say yes. Yes.

00:43:08.054 --> 00:43:14.174
Leave these fools in the dust. I happen to love her. I happen to respect her.

00:43:14.434 --> 00:43:16.714
I happen to think she's uber smart.

00:43:17.494 --> 00:43:22.174
I don't think she's a person that just, you know, jumps out and does things all nilly-willy.

00:43:22.374 --> 00:43:27.534
She's a very measured individual. I'm not measured, but, you know, I'm Lisa.

00:43:28.654 --> 00:43:34.514
But hell yeah, get the hell out, because I'm thinking about the Working Families

00:43:34.514 --> 00:43:36.574
Party myself. I'm so sick of it all.

00:43:36.754 --> 00:43:40.474
I'm so sick of the performance of everything. I'm so sick of people doing nothing.

00:43:40.914 --> 00:43:46.274
Honestly, the Trump administration, both the first time and now.

00:43:47.114 --> 00:43:53.314
Shined a light on a lot of the stuff the Democrats are not doing. You're busted.

00:43:53.914 --> 00:43:57.614
It shined a light on it. It's just the worst light now. But I saw it from the

00:43:57.614 --> 00:44:00.094
first time. And I don't mean all the Republicans in office.

00:44:00.274 --> 00:44:03.234
There are some that do a good job. I'm saying, generally speaking,

00:44:03.914 --> 00:44:04.854
Democrats. I'm sorry, Democrats.

00:44:05.274 --> 00:44:10.154
So when he came in office the first time, I'm like, oh, there's little holes in some stuff. Okay.

00:44:10.854 --> 00:44:15.294
This time it's like, oh, you're caught. A lot of the ones up there,

00:44:15.534 --> 00:44:17.714
a lot of the Democrats up there that have been sitting up there chilling,

00:44:17.914 --> 00:44:21.194
drinking gin and juice, you've been exposed. Yeah.

00:44:21.829 --> 00:44:26.109
You've been exposed. So now we know. So I'm with her. I'm out of here too.

00:44:26.529 --> 00:44:30.189
I'm just looking around. I'm fishing. You know that song by Usher?

00:44:31.029 --> 00:44:35.269
You make me want to leave the one I'm with to start a new relationship.

00:44:35.709 --> 00:44:42.949
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh. You make me want to... Democrats, you made Lisa Durden want

00:44:42.949 --> 00:44:45.009
to leave the one I'm with to start a new relationship.

00:44:45.829 --> 00:44:50.509
I'm out of here. I'm with her. Black people need to exit us out of here.

00:44:50.509 --> 00:44:56.349
To show, just like we showed Parjay that we don't play today,

00:44:56.349 --> 00:45:00.829
we need to show the Democrats that you need to earn our vote.

00:45:00.989 --> 00:45:04.649
And whenever Blacks say that they feel like they want to, Charlemagne said it,

00:45:04.709 --> 00:45:06.569
although I don't love everything about Charlemagne, but Charlemagne said it,

00:45:06.649 --> 00:45:10.389
Amanda Seale said it, make them, when you give your vote, you make them earn it.

00:45:10.489 --> 00:45:13.609
And they accuse them of trying to throw the election.

00:45:13.809 --> 00:45:19.489
You can't ever be a person that can question a Democrat or make them stand up

00:45:19.489 --> 00:45:23.889
to what they're saying, or you can't ever challenge them, or all of a sudden you're a Trumper.

00:45:24.109 --> 00:45:26.089
No, I'm not buying that narrative.

00:45:26.389 --> 00:45:30.109
Work. Your ass has got to work. You got to work.

00:45:31.009 --> 00:45:35.349
Yeah. And they can't say that about you because you had a podcast all about

00:45:35.349 --> 00:45:37.369
Vice President Harris during the election.

00:45:37.629 --> 00:45:39.989
So Vice President Kyla Harris, she made the podcast.

00:45:40.329 --> 00:45:44.949
Oh, by the way, on Newsflash, I was nominated for a New York Association of

00:45:44.949 --> 00:45:47.749
Black Journalists award that just went off yesterday.

00:45:48.389 --> 00:45:52.369
I was one of the nominees for the podcast. I didn't win, but I was in good company.

00:45:52.609 --> 00:45:56.169
Clap for that. It was nominated for a podcast award. Ooh, yes.

00:45:56.809 --> 00:45:59.869
Yeah, yeah. Well, I'm not surprised that you were nominated for an award,

00:46:00.469 --> 00:46:02.589
but congratulations on the nomination.

00:46:03.149 --> 00:46:08.609
So on Instagram, you said, DNC Vice Chair David Hogg ain't playing.

00:46:08.949 --> 00:46:14.449
He finna invest millions of dollars to launch efforts to primary out-of-touch dusty Democrats.

00:46:14.809 --> 00:46:18.249
I absolutely love this. Why do you love it?

00:46:18.669 --> 00:46:23.129
For the same reason why I love, some people, you know, people try to get out.

00:46:23.209 --> 00:46:31.009
Listen, people should not feel like they are in their job. You're in our job.

00:46:31.469 --> 00:46:34.169
So when he said, because he got sick of people, I'm guessing,

00:46:34.229 --> 00:46:40.209
I don't know the man, but people got, when Kamala Harris didn't win and,

00:46:40.209 --> 00:46:42.489
you know, the Joe Biden mess. And they say, get out of there.

00:46:42.589 --> 00:46:43.689
And then Trump went again.

00:46:44.289 --> 00:46:47.669
He's, and then all the Democrats saying, oh, we can't do nothing.

00:46:48.529 --> 00:46:52.049
You know, some of them that did that. I guess he was just sitting back getting

00:46:52.049 --> 00:46:55.149
disgusted. And he just came out with this. It's called do something.

00:46:55.409 --> 00:46:59.909
So when somebody's challenged me to do something, I ran for office. I've made a podcast.

00:47:00.309 --> 00:47:05.509
His do something is, I'm going to primary your asses. So now understand you

00:47:05.509 --> 00:47:09.789
got to earn your job. So I'm watching some of the people that he stands by, too.

00:47:11.129 --> 00:47:13.729
Who is he going to be primary? Who is he going to put up there to run?

00:47:13.869 --> 00:47:16.709
Who is he into? And I'm going to vote for them. If he says they're good,

00:47:16.829 --> 00:47:17.749
I'm voting for them. Yep.

00:47:18.616 --> 00:47:21.616
I don't care about the legacy person who's been there. I don't care if you've

00:47:21.616 --> 00:47:24.956
been there for 25 years. If he says vote for this person, I'm voting for them.

00:47:25.536 --> 00:47:28.796
Yep. Because you've shown me what you're not doing.

00:47:28.956 --> 00:47:33.116
So I was glad because it's shaking things up. You should not assume you're going

00:47:33.116 --> 00:47:36.636
to be in that seat. You should not assume that you deserve the job.

00:47:36.836 --> 00:47:38.956
You should not assume that people shouldn't run against you,

00:47:39.116 --> 00:47:42.836
you know, get it on the next time, kiss the ring, all that insanity.

00:47:42.836 --> 00:47:44.496
We ain't doing none of that. This is 2025.

00:47:45.076 --> 00:47:48.136
We are done. You're done.

00:47:48.796 --> 00:47:51.496
I love him oh i didn't even know who the guy was i'm like

00:47:51.496 --> 00:47:54.676
who's this what i did my little tiktok i love

00:47:54.676 --> 00:47:57.476
it yeah i i met him

00:47:57.476 --> 00:48:02.156
yeah i met him at the convention and i've been i'm trying to i'm trying to get

00:48:02.156 --> 00:48:07.856
him on the podcast so hopefully i'm awesome but you know i i made a decision

00:48:07.856 --> 00:48:13.676
like that too you know i i grew up in chicago yeah and you know i tell people

00:48:13.676 --> 00:48:16.916
all the time chicago politics is so organized.

00:48:17.176 --> 00:48:20.016
It was like my precinct captain was also my little league coach, right?

00:48:20.476 --> 00:48:24.956
So it's like, you know, when I got to Jackson, you know, I initially thought

00:48:24.956 --> 00:48:30.296
about going back to help Roland Burris when he ran for governor, but it didn't work out.

00:48:30.336 --> 00:48:32.556
And I'm kind of glad because I stayed in Jackson.

00:48:32.856 --> 00:48:39.316
Had I gone to Chicago, it was, you know, my contemporaries, they ended up getting elected in Chicago.

00:48:39.316 --> 00:48:42.156
It was like years. I had been, you know.

00:48:42.976 --> 00:48:46.056
Involved in politics and all that stuff and got elected before

00:48:46.056 --> 00:48:49.256
any of them got elected staying in Mississippi and it

00:48:49.256 --> 00:48:52.156
was just like in Chicago just like you wait your turn and all

00:48:52.156 --> 00:48:55.136
that kind of stuff exactly and so I I

00:48:55.136 --> 00:48:59.176
definitely understand where David's coming from I don't condemn him for it and

00:48:59.176 --> 00:49:03.776
I'm glad that he decided instead of staying in the leadership of the party that

00:49:03.776 --> 00:49:07.776
he just follows his heart and it's like this is what I'm going to do to contribute

00:49:07.776 --> 00:49:12.756
instead of being restricted of what I can do. This is what I think needs to happen.

00:49:13.016 --> 00:49:15.816
Well, he's not only not staying in the leadership of the party,

00:49:15.936 --> 00:49:19.976
but he is a leader in the party. See, that's the thing. Leadership based on who?

00:49:20.956 --> 00:49:24.176
Leadership is whoever's leading. I ain't got to lick you behind.

00:49:24.956 --> 00:49:29.216
Who? So he's a leader in the party and decided to show you, wait,

00:49:29.256 --> 00:49:31.416
wait, hold on. Let me lead this.

00:49:31.896 --> 00:49:34.296
And boom. Yeah. Yeah.

00:49:35.476 --> 00:49:39.416
I admire him for taking that stand. And anybody that can shut James Carville

00:49:39.416 --> 00:49:42.116
up, I'm down with that, too. But that's a whole nother still.

00:49:42.696 --> 00:49:45.536
Got a couple more questions I want to ask. All right.

00:49:45.656 --> 00:49:50.796
So it is estimated that five million people participated in a No Kings nationwide protest.

00:49:51.236 --> 00:49:55.516
And it was noted that black participation was sparse in the majority of them.

00:49:55.956 --> 00:50:01.256
Should we continue the strategy of keeping a low profile in protesting President Trump and his actions?

00:50:02.475 --> 00:50:05.575
I'm thinking a little bit differently now than I was back in January.

00:50:05.575 --> 00:50:09.555
So I'm still of the mind, if you feel like minding your black business,

00:50:10.035 --> 00:50:11.295
you mind your black business.

00:50:12.095 --> 00:50:15.695
I know that people don't like that because now we said that in the beginning.

00:50:15.995 --> 00:50:20.135
And then, you know, the blackity black blacks and the usual suspects and the

00:50:20.135 --> 00:50:25.155
typical, you know, political pundits and those, they're trying to now change

00:50:25.155 --> 00:50:27.635
the messaging. I know that people are on, you got to be on message.

00:50:27.995 --> 00:50:30.755
So now they're trying to make us think differently. Well, y'all,

00:50:31.075 --> 00:50:32.515
you know, their issues are our issues.

00:50:32.615 --> 00:50:36.195
I get all of that because I do agree that if something's happening to one of

00:50:36.195 --> 00:50:39.015
us, it's going to eventually happen to all of us. So I totally agree with that 100%.

00:50:39.775 --> 00:50:43.295
But you can't reel me back in. You can't reel me back in. I'm minding my black business.

00:50:44.195 --> 00:50:46.415
I'm going to mind my black business, right?

00:50:47.535 --> 00:50:55.315
Now, I'm going to maintain a measure of knowledge and stay updated on what's going on.

00:50:55.715 --> 00:50:59.395
I'm not going to do anything to harm others. but I'm going to mind my black

00:50:59.395 --> 00:51:00.735
business because I'm exhausted.

00:51:00.975 --> 00:51:05.035
There is a thing called exhaustion. And for those who want to now start judging

00:51:05.035 --> 00:51:06.315
us, then you can just judge us.

00:51:06.415 --> 00:51:09.675
But I'm also of the mindset that if you feel like, okay, let me give,

00:51:09.775 --> 00:51:13.935
if you now feel that you're rested enough and you go, let me just dust it off

00:51:13.935 --> 00:51:18.895
and get yourself, you know, if you're first adult to see, take yourself and

00:51:18.895 --> 00:51:21.035
dust yourself off and try again. You know the song.

00:51:21.455 --> 00:51:24.875
If you're ready to dust yourself off and try again, I'm going to clap for you,

00:51:24.875 --> 00:51:28.295
give you a brown paper bag with some boiled

00:51:28.295 --> 00:51:32.095
egg and some fried chicken like we did when we couldn't stop in hotels and you

00:51:32.095 --> 00:51:35.335
go on ahead and do that march but Lisa's gonna go ahead and mind her black business

00:51:35.335 --> 00:51:40.795
yeah so I'm not not I'm not gonna encourage you to do or not to do I'm gonna

00:51:40.795 --> 00:51:44.415
say what you feel comfortable doing then you go ahead and do it and don't let

00:51:44.415 --> 00:51:47.415
nobody convince you of otherwise. Yeah.

00:51:48.255 --> 00:51:54.635
Yeah. So my last question for you, as I was doing my research and all that and,

00:51:54.635 --> 00:51:58.975
and listening to some of your previous interviews and watching some of the work you've done,

00:51:59.215 --> 00:52:02.295
there were two words that came to mind when I think about you,

00:52:02.315 --> 00:52:05.295
that's amplified and authentic. Yeah.

00:52:05.626 --> 00:52:09.786
Do you agree with that? Absolutely. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.

00:52:11.566 --> 00:52:15.746
Those definitions apply. I think so because it's intentional, right?

00:52:16.686 --> 00:52:19.046
Well, the authentic part, I just, over time, when you get older,

00:52:19.066 --> 00:52:21.566
you don't care anymore. So I don't think I was intending to do that.

00:52:21.926 --> 00:52:28.106
But I do intend to amplify whatever message I have, whatever narrative I need

00:52:28.106 --> 00:52:34.186
to push, whatever underserved group I want to introduce you to by storytelling.

00:52:35.206 --> 00:52:38.406
That's what that's with intention so whatever whatever

00:52:38.406 --> 00:52:41.286
I'm I consider myself a multi-hyphenate of course

00:52:41.286 --> 00:52:44.146
I write I'm a published essayist and and I

00:52:44.146 --> 00:52:46.986
write op-eds I'm also of course in front of the camera as

00:52:46.986 --> 00:52:49.706
a national television contributor and I use my voice as my

00:52:49.706 --> 00:52:54.786
activism and I'm also a documentary filmmaker and producer so all of the stories

00:52:54.786 --> 00:52:59.406
I produce are produced about women people of color underserved individuals like

00:52:59.406 --> 00:53:03.546
blind divas so I'm always not just talking about it I'm writing about it and

00:53:03.546 --> 00:53:07.226
I'm creating about it. So I mean to amplify.

00:53:07.406 --> 00:53:09.646
It wasn't something I planned on doing.

00:53:09.906 --> 00:53:14.246
It was something that I saw a need very, very, you know, early in my career.

00:53:14.426 --> 00:53:18.646
I said, why, you know, kind of like when you complain, how come they showed the show like this?

00:53:18.726 --> 00:53:23.226
Or why didn't they interview that person? Or how come when they did this movie, it was from that angle?

00:53:23.446 --> 00:53:26.766
I'd been that person too. And then once I was in front of the camera for the

00:53:26.766 --> 00:53:33.046
first time as the host of Brick You know,

00:53:33.226 --> 00:53:41.066
he tried to make it seem like he was calling an episode about this thing called Renaissance Golf Inc.

00:53:41.326 --> 00:53:45.986
When Tiger Woods was big, so this man in Newark had an organization called Renaissance Golf Inc.

00:53:46.166 --> 00:53:49.446
So they had some kids that were teaching golf. We interviewed them for a segment

00:53:49.446 --> 00:53:53.966
on Brick City, not the documentary, the Brick City, the entertainment show. I was the host.

00:53:54.166 --> 00:53:57.886
And when I started to sit in front of the camera reading the teleprompter.

00:53:58.186 --> 00:54:01.026
Hi, my name is Lisa Durden, and welcome to the show Brick City.

00:54:01.026 --> 00:54:05.186
On today's show and I saw Urban Golf I'm like well it's called Renaissance Golf

00:54:05.186 --> 00:54:10.146
that's an example of I didn't control the narrative and I said to the director well Al Clark.

00:54:11.055 --> 00:54:14.835
The organization's called Renaissance Golf Inc. He said, what does it matter?

00:54:15.295 --> 00:54:21.095
He had the words Urban Golf. You literally changed the name in the writing to

00:54:21.095 --> 00:54:22.915
call it what it's not to what?

00:54:23.035 --> 00:54:26.895
Maybe urban Negroes are coming on TV. Well, yeah, it's a black city.

00:54:27.315 --> 00:54:31.415
You're going to see them anyway, but you literally felt the need to change the

00:54:31.415 --> 00:54:33.075
name to like tease up to that.

00:54:33.395 --> 00:54:37.715
I had to stand by that. And that's when I turned into a filmmaker because I

00:54:37.715 --> 00:54:40.875
said, you know, being in front of the camera has no power. You need to be able

00:54:40.875 --> 00:54:41.955
to control the narrative.

00:54:42.195 --> 00:54:46.815
So that was what made me actually start to think about things with intention.

00:54:47.075 --> 00:54:49.075
I wasn't, I wanted to be in front of the camera and go home.

00:54:49.375 --> 00:54:52.715
So that's kind of how I got into that. So fast forward many years later,

00:54:52.875 --> 00:54:56.215
I'm here now. So that was the defining moment, if you will.

00:54:56.395 --> 00:54:59.795
So it's with intention because if they don't do it, then who will?

00:54:59.955 --> 00:55:05.315
And let's be honest with you, Ava DuVernay, Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry,

00:55:05.535 --> 00:55:10.535
or any other storyteller, or any other, Robin Roberts or anybody who's of color.

00:55:11.715 --> 00:55:14.915
Black, they can't do it all.

00:55:14.915 --> 00:55:17.715
The Lisa Durden's have some power where she's at, too.

00:55:17.995 --> 00:55:22.215
So then I feel like, again, do something. I'm doing my part.

00:55:23.055 --> 00:55:28.855
Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's cool. So Lisa Durden, let me thank you for taking time

00:55:28.855 --> 00:55:31.615
out and coming on the show.

00:55:31.815 --> 00:55:41.135
Again, I'm honored that you did that. And I can say honestly that you are somebody

00:55:41.135 --> 00:55:43.355
that we need in this time.

00:55:44.115 --> 00:55:49.615
It's like we don't need to rely on one person, but we do need a lot of people

00:55:49.615 --> 00:55:56.115
that are out here that are pushing things and being amplified and being authentic.

00:55:56.455 --> 00:56:01.995
So I want to thank you for being true to yourself. Now, if people want to get

00:56:01.995 --> 00:56:06.635
in touch with you, people want to follow stuff that you do and all that, how can they do that?

00:56:06.895 --> 00:56:12.995
Well, as you know, I'm on social media and I read all my DMs because you hit

00:56:12.995 --> 00:56:15.655
me up on social media. I read all of my messenger.

00:56:15.975 --> 00:56:19.875
I read the messenger. I read my LinkedIn. I'm on Facebook. I'm on LinkedIn.

00:56:19.875 --> 00:56:22.015
I'm on Twitter. I'm on Instagram.

00:56:22.555 --> 00:56:27.595
I'm on all the platforms. So if you want to reach me, I'm on all the platforms, Lisa R. Durden.

00:56:27.895 --> 00:56:32.635
And I think on LinkedIn, it's Lisa Durden. So Lisa R. Durden on Twitter, Instagram.

00:56:33.135 --> 00:56:36.915
I think I have a fan page, Lisa Durden fan page on Facebook.

00:56:36.915 --> 00:56:39.175
If you're old and you're still on Facebook, blah, blah, blah.

00:56:39.295 --> 00:56:40.715
So I'm reachable. Not a problem.

00:56:41.475 --> 00:56:43.975
All right. Well, Lisa, thank you so much, sister, for coming.

00:56:44.135 --> 00:56:47.135
I loved this. I loved it. Thank you. No, thank you for reaching out to me.

00:56:47.195 --> 00:56:48.915
I was like, oh, yes, I'll do the show. Absolutely.

00:56:49.655 --> 00:56:50.995
All right. It was so good. Yes,

00:56:51.055 --> 00:56:53.515
ma'am. All right, guys. And we're going to catch y'all on the other side.

00:56:54.960 --> 00:57:13.040
Music.

00:57:12.900 --> 00:57:24.180
All right. And we are back. So let me thank Lisa Durden for coming on and being authentic.

00:57:26.020 --> 00:57:30.880
You know, when I invited her, you know, when I invite guests,

00:57:30.980 --> 00:57:34.600
I have a certain expectation of what they bring to the table.

00:57:35.400 --> 00:57:38.100
And I haven't had a bad guest.

00:57:39.020 --> 00:57:46.760
You know, everybody is, you know, they're their true selves and,

00:57:46.780 --> 00:57:52.600
you know, they're the expert that I thought they were on particular issues.

00:57:54.020 --> 00:57:58.240
And there's been a couple of guests that I've had meetings prior to to kind

00:57:58.240 --> 00:57:59.960
of get a feel for what's going on.

00:58:00.620 --> 00:58:05.140
But for the most part, you know, it's like I offer the invite and they come

00:58:05.140 --> 00:58:09.600
on and they don't disappoint. and Lisa, you did not disappoint.

00:58:10.900 --> 00:58:17.500
It was an honor to have you on and thank you for just being your true self.

00:58:18.620 --> 00:58:23.640
And, you know, it got me thinking about where we are,

00:58:24.738 --> 00:58:31.038
As a people when it comes to this political discourse, right?

00:58:31.618 --> 00:58:36.618
And you've heard me say it on this show several times, and people that know

00:58:36.618 --> 00:58:41.078
me, when we've had these discussions, I'm 60 years old.

00:58:41.978 --> 00:58:47.938
And basically, that's how long Black people all over the country,

00:58:48.238 --> 00:58:51.798
not just in certain parts, but all over the country, have been able to vote.

00:58:51.798 --> 00:58:56.438
And we're just now getting to the point of political sophistication where,

00:58:56.838 --> 00:59:00.178
you know, we're having dynasties, right?

00:59:00.298 --> 00:59:07.898
We're having offspring of elected officials running and seeking public office, you know.

00:59:07.898 --> 00:59:17.518
And we're learning how to leverage our votes, you know,

00:59:17.638 --> 00:59:22.378
to make sure that particular candidates get elected or make sure that certain

00:59:22.378 --> 00:59:25.458
positions have black voices and faces in them.

00:59:26.078 --> 00:59:30.618
You know, I think about 1989 in Mississippi when black people made a decision

00:59:30.618 --> 00:59:32.978
that we're going to have black chance for judges.

00:59:33.498 --> 00:59:35.378
Right. You know.

00:59:36.598 --> 00:59:41.878
And, you know, even if we don't win, like, you know, what Lisa and I were talking

00:59:41.878 --> 00:59:44.318
about with Vice President Harris, right?

00:59:44.998 --> 00:59:49.098
We made a commitment that we're going to get behind the system,

00:59:49.838 --> 00:59:57.978
right? And so, you know, it wasn't a matter necessarily of political party.

00:59:58.398 --> 01:00:04.218
It was more or less what direction do we want to go in?

01:00:04.338 --> 01:00:12.318
What direction do we want the country to go in that's favorable to us? Right.

01:00:13.458 --> 01:00:15.358
Because, you know.

01:00:16.718 --> 01:00:20.598
That's basically what we should be voting on. We should be voting for the person

01:00:20.598 --> 01:00:26.738
or persons that are going to advance black citizenship.

01:00:27.298 --> 01:00:33.578
And black citizenship is not just civil rights, but economic rights as well.

01:00:34.198 --> 01:00:36.738
Because, you know, black folks can get a job.

01:00:39.198 --> 01:00:42.958
Now, getting a house, that's a different conversation.

01:00:43.578 --> 01:00:49.378
We can get a job, you know, but, you know, now our focus needs to be more on

01:00:49.378 --> 01:00:57.258
building our wealth base and and solidifying our citizenship even more.

01:00:57.438 --> 01:01:02.098
We we've been allowed and some people don't like it when I use the term allowed,

01:01:02.098 --> 01:01:05.698
but we we've we've been able to get political positions.

01:01:06.458 --> 01:01:09.198
We've had a black president. We've had a black vice president.

01:01:09.478 --> 01:01:12.578
Right. We've had black governors, U.S.

01:01:13.018 --> 01:01:17.578
Senators, congressmen, state representatives, state senators.

01:01:18.618 --> 01:01:20.498
Mayors, county positions.

01:01:20.858 --> 01:01:23.518
We've been able to get those, right?

01:01:23.918 --> 01:01:27.378
In some places, we never thought we would get one.

01:01:27.818 --> 01:01:32.218
Can we say Omaha, Nebraska? Can we say Helena, Montana, right?

01:01:33.058 --> 01:01:37.018
But there's, you know, once you get into the political realm,

01:01:37.178 --> 01:01:41.658
then you realize there's a whole nother universe called economics,

01:01:42.218 --> 01:01:47.938
called wealth, that we need to fortify and build.

01:01:48.138 --> 01:01:54.118
We need to make sure that, you know, our numbers are better than for every hundred

01:01:54.118 --> 01:01:57.298
dollars a white person has, a black person only has five.

01:01:57.518 --> 01:02:00.318
We've got to do better than that. In the richest country in the world,

01:02:00.458 --> 01:02:01.378
we've got to do better than that.

01:02:02.398 --> 01:02:06.878
Or the wealthiest country, however you want to say it, right? We've got to do better.

01:02:07.378 --> 01:02:13.298
And so, you know, but there's still some things that we have to still address.

01:02:13.698 --> 01:02:15.498
We still have to address racism.

01:02:16.198 --> 01:02:20.998
We still have to address violence, perpetuated amongst ourselves,

01:02:21.318 --> 01:02:24.038
as well as perpetuated on us, right?

01:02:24.678 --> 01:02:31.078
And there's still some other issues that other communities are dealing with, that we deal with too.

01:02:32.578 --> 01:02:34.638
And we have to have a mindset that,

01:02:35.875 --> 01:02:39.995
The only way that we can have true justice in America, the only way we can have

01:02:39.995 --> 01:02:44.955
true prosperity in America is that everybody has a piece of the pie.

01:02:45.575 --> 01:02:49.175
That everybody is sitting at the adult table. Right.

01:02:49.895 --> 01:02:57.915
So, you know, most of the people that I have on address some aspect of that.

01:02:59.815 --> 01:03:03.195
And, you know, they're all interconnected.

01:03:03.955 --> 01:03:08.035
So if we're still having problems in this area, that's going to stop us from

01:03:08.035 --> 01:03:09.955
achieving in another area, right?

01:03:10.655 --> 01:03:16.155
So not everything's going to be perfect, but we've got to continue having an

01:03:16.155 --> 01:03:24.055
honest discussion about how to be more politically sophisticated, how to be more of a block.

01:03:24.055 --> 01:03:32.755
Not monolithic, but a block where the only thing we should be monolithic about

01:03:32.755 --> 01:03:35.015
is the advancement of black people.

01:03:36.135 --> 01:03:39.755
There will be some folks that will make intelligent arguments to say,

01:03:39.975 --> 01:03:42.075
look, we might need to look at the Republican Party.

01:03:42.695 --> 01:03:46.115
There are others that will make intelligent arguments and say we need to stay

01:03:46.115 --> 01:03:52.575
with the Democratic Party and get something out of this investment we've had for all these years.

01:03:53.015 --> 01:03:57.435
And there's others that say, you know what, we might need to create or get involved

01:03:57.435 --> 01:04:02.695
with another party, right, to build that block.

01:04:04.695 --> 01:04:12.235
Whatever we decide to do, we just need to continue to become more politically,

01:04:12.655 --> 01:04:14.055
have more political efficacy.

01:04:15.494 --> 01:04:18.834
In order to achieve that.

01:04:18.994 --> 01:04:22.494
We need to have more candidates that are politically available.

01:04:22.494 --> 01:04:25.614
That was a term I was trying to remember a few episodes ago,

01:04:26.394 --> 01:04:32.994
you know, that are appealing, not just to us, but to the masses of folks so

01:04:32.994 --> 01:04:36.474
that they can get elected in positions to help us. Right.

01:04:36.774 --> 01:04:39.754
It's one thing for black folks to run in districts that are majority black.

01:04:40.494 --> 01:04:45.614
It's another one to, it's another thing to get black folks elected to positions

01:04:45.614 --> 01:04:48.694
in areas that are not majority black, right?

01:04:48.994 --> 01:04:54.034
And there are some individuals that have managed to do it, but we got to get

01:04:54.034 --> 01:04:56.534
more strategic with it, right? Right.

01:04:57.734 --> 01:05:06.214
So, you know, over the holidays, you know, Father's Day and Juneteenth and,

01:05:06.394 --> 01:05:12.474
you know, we got Fourth of July coming up and we had Flag Day and all this stuff.

01:05:12.474 --> 01:05:15.754
So, you know, you get to thinking about all these things.

01:05:15.974 --> 01:05:21.534
And as I'm talking to people, you know, it's more than just the subject matter we talk about.

01:05:21.774 --> 01:05:25.014
It's like, you know, on the air. It's like some of the conversations we have

01:05:25.014 --> 01:05:29.294
off the air is just like, you know, just stirring up stuff.

01:05:29.434 --> 01:05:34.234
And that's, you know, I've been trying to promote this American leadership model, right?

01:05:34.234 --> 01:05:39.474
You know, a person that really gives a damn about what's going on as opposed

01:05:39.474 --> 01:05:45.874
to how many clicks they get on social media or how many news interviews they do, right?

01:05:46.434 --> 01:05:51.454
Somebody is actually using the position with the power that's given to them

01:05:51.454 --> 01:05:56.634
to make a positive impact and addressing the issues that need to be addressed

01:05:56.634 --> 01:06:00.874
as opposed to what would be popular at Starbucks.

01:06:02.434 --> 01:06:07.654
Or the neighborhood diner, right? So anyway,

01:06:07.714 --> 01:06:17.454
I just wanted to say that, but I do want to say one other thing before I get out of here.

01:06:18.555 --> 01:06:24.175
And I've addressed this before, but it seems like folks are not getting the

01:06:24.175 --> 01:06:25.875
memo, so I'll address it again.

01:06:27.055 --> 01:06:31.855
When people run for office, they're running to serve their community.

01:06:33.395 --> 01:06:40.815
We may not agree on everything that person stands for, right?

01:06:41.115 --> 01:06:46.275
Again, we have to vote for the person that's in our best interest when I'm talking

01:06:46.275 --> 01:06:48.395
about black folks in the best interest of the nation.

01:06:48.615 --> 01:06:50.735
And usually those two things go hand in hand.

01:06:51.515 --> 01:06:57.375
I'm just speaking on behalf of Black folks. I can't speak on Latino or Asian,

01:06:57.915 --> 01:07:01.795
you know, Pacific Islander viewpoints.

01:07:02.015 --> 01:07:05.655
But from a Black perspective, most of the stuff that we push for,

01:07:06.035 --> 01:07:11.395
you know, has a common thread with advancing the nation.

01:07:11.395 --> 01:07:23.135
And the history of this nation shows that our rise and our struggles are intertwined, right?

01:07:24.395 --> 01:07:32.395
But people run for these positions to, for the most part, to do something to serve their community.

01:07:32.615 --> 01:07:39.595
That doesn't make them a target for violence ever, right?

01:07:40.435 --> 01:07:45.795
In some states, you can go to jail for assaulting an elected official.

01:07:46.895 --> 01:07:52.795
That's like a state charge. I think Mississippi is one of those states, right?

01:07:53.535 --> 01:07:59.695
Mississippi is one of those states where it's like if a police officer detains

01:07:59.695 --> 01:08:05.755
you during a legislative session or 15 days before or 15 days after, they have to let you go.

01:08:05.755 --> 01:08:09.455
Not unless you have committed a major felony.

01:08:10.255 --> 01:08:14.755
They can't put you in jail. They can't keep you in jail, right?

01:08:14.955 --> 01:08:19.335
15 days before the session, 15 days after or during the session, they have to let you go.

01:08:20.689 --> 01:08:24.249
There was a situation where I was a witness at a trial.

01:08:28.249 --> 01:08:34.349
And, you know, it was like usually witnesses have to stay in the courthouse

01:08:34.349 --> 01:08:36.029
until they get called, right?

01:08:37.189 --> 01:08:43.529
So first day I did that. The second day the judge was like, is the representative still there?

01:08:43.709 --> 01:08:45.969
He said, yes. He said, you need to let him go.

01:08:46.309 --> 01:08:50.229
He needs to do his job. The Constitution says he cannot be detained.

01:08:51.649 --> 01:08:55.429
We'll call him when we need him. I didn't ask for that.

01:08:55.869 --> 01:09:00.129
The judge said, you know, that law applies.

01:09:01.489 --> 01:09:06.369
So what I'm saying is there's protections for people.

01:09:07.069 --> 01:09:13.009
And the need for that is because, you know, that people ain't quite wrapped too tight.

01:09:13.669 --> 01:09:19.729
You know, people take things to the extreme. People can't control their emotions.

01:09:21.429 --> 01:09:25.989
So sometimes the law has to step in to offer that protection.

01:09:26.229 --> 01:09:29.949
But as a, you know, a lot of times, well, I shouldn't say a lot.

01:09:30.649 --> 01:09:34.909
In some tragic circumstances, even that's not enough.

01:09:35.469 --> 01:09:38.429
And we found that out in Minnesota, right?

01:09:38.929 --> 01:09:44.349
You know, there's been numerous incidents here in Georgia, and it's happened

01:09:44.349 --> 01:09:50.529
in Mississippi. It's happened in Illinois. It's happened in Arizona, you know, at all levels.

01:09:51.649 --> 01:09:57.089
I mean, people have tried to assassinate presidents or presidential candidates, right?

01:09:57.569 --> 01:10:02.029
And it never should get to that point, ever.

01:10:03.089 --> 01:10:07.389
It should never get to that point. You can disagree with people.

01:10:07.989 --> 01:10:12.089
You can argue, debate, whatever.

01:10:12.569 --> 01:10:16.169
But it should never, ever reach the point of violence.

01:10:16.929 --> 01:10:20.069
Because that's not what these people signed up for.

01:10:20.709 --> 01:10:27.769
Yeah, they signed up for some battles within the parameters of whatever office

01:10:27.769 --> 01:10:30.389
they seek or get elected to.

01:10:31.109 --> 01:10:33.929
They're going to be challenged on TV. They're going to be challenged on the

01:10:33.929 --> 01:10:39.069
radio. They're going to be challenged in the newspaper. But nobody should ever fear for their life.

01:10:40.629 --> 01:10:45.489
And no matter how crazy it is out there now, that's still not acceptable.

01:10:46.209 --> 01:10:51.969
That's a line that should never be crossed. So to me, it doesn't matter what

01:10:51.969 --> 01:10:55.089
political party you're affiliated with.

01:10:55.329 --> 01:11:00.189
It doesn't matter what political ideology you espouse.

01:11:01.609 --> 01:11:07.169
Nobody has the right to take your life because they disagree with a position

01:11:07.169 --> 01:11:12.549
you took or a party you run under as an elected official.

01:11:13.169 --> 01:11:14.609
Nobody has that right.

01:11:15.489 --> 01:11:17.129
And I just...

01:11:18.646 --> 01:11:23.146
You know, I never felt that way when I was elected.

01:11:23.766 --> 01:11:27.246
I never felt threatened that way. You know, and it was like,

01:11:28.326 --> 01:11:33.846
again, I have to remind people that I was in office 25 years ago.

01:11:34.686 --> 01:11:40.406
So the Internet was not as sophisticated as it is now.

01:11:40.686 --> 01:11:51.186
Right. I mean, you know, people would say things and do all that stuff, but I never,

01:11:51.666 --> 01:11:57.286
if I had a state trooper escort me to something, it was because I needed to

01:11:57.286 --> 01:12:00.546
get somewhere faster than I could drive, right?

01:12:01.626 --> 01:12:04.786
And I had to get back at a certain time, right?

01:12:04.966 --> 01:12:11.686
That's to another event. That's the only reason why I had any kind of state trooper protection.

01:12:12.346 --> 01:12:18.906
It was a service that was given to us, you know, to help us do our job.

01:12:20.546 --> 01:12:26.006
But, yeah, most of the time I went places on my own, even when I was campaigning

01:12:26.006 --> 01:12:31.046
for the statewide office. It was like, yeah, I didn't have all that.

01:12:31.506 --> 01:12:32.966
I never felt threatened.

01:12:33.446 --> 01:12:37.106
You know, I've been places where I was the only black person in the room.

01:12:38.046 --> 01:12:41.206
Never felt threatened. Right.

01:12:42.406 --> 01:12:48.586
You know, maybe those folks weren't going to vote for me, but I never felt like my life was in danger.

01:12:49.126 --> 01:12:54.446
And no elected official should ever feel that way. Not especially at their home.

01:12:55.066 --> 01:12:57.606
Right. Nobody should feel like you can

01:12:57.606 --> 01:13:01.546
come to a legislator or any elected official's home and do harm to them.

01:13:02.226 --> 01:13:06.726
You know, I had people approach me in a grocery store or whatever.

01:13:08.483 --> 01:13:16.303
Cookouts, whatever. Church, you know, it's like you're supposed to be accessible.

01:13:16.743 --> 01:13:21.563
But how could I feel accessible if I felt like some random person was just going

01:13:21.563 --> 01:13:24.123
to come up and do harm to me?

01:13:25.143 --> 01:13:30.823
That's something that should not be on the mind of people running for public

01:13:30.823 --> 01:13:35.803
office because we have to interact with people. We have to interact with the citizens.

01:13:36.103 --> 01:13:38.043
We need people to vote for us.

01:13:38.923 --> 01:13:42.903
You know, we do that for the president and all that stuff because of the value

01:13:42.903 --> 01:13:47.383
of that position and, you know, violence has happened.

01:13:48.523 --> 01:13:53.263
But for those of us that are in smaller positions, and I don't mean smaller

01:13:53.263 --> 01:13:58.063
as far as being insignificant and all that, but, you know, you know what I'm saying?

01:13:59.083 --> 01:14:03.483
You know, it's just, it should never get to that point.

01:14:05.723 --> 01:14:09.503
And, you know, to me, it doesn't matter what race the person is or whatever.

01:14:09.683 --> 01:14:16.123
It's just violence is not the answer to solve our political differences.

01:14:17.263 --> 01:14:21.963
Now, people, you know, I've always been an advocate about toning down to rhetoric

01:14:21.963 --> 01:14:23.263
and all that kind of stuff.

01:14:24.143 --> 01:14:29.483
You know, I think that in the day and age that we're in, if people don't show

01:14:29.483 --> 01:14:33.583
respect for you, then you're not obligated to show respect for them.

01:14:33.783 --> 01:14:37.643
You could take the high route, high road if you want to.

01:14:38.703 --> 01:14:43.463
You're not going to get condemned for that. But I'm not going to condemn you

01:14:43.463 --> 01:14:48.503
if, you know, somebody's in your face being disrespectful or disrespectful,

01:14:48.503 --> 01:14:50.463
your position or your time or whatever.

01:14:51.563 --> 01:14:56.963
I'm not going to say you're not of caliber if you tell them where they could go and how to get there.

01:14:58.291 --> 01:15:01.851
I literally had somebody tell me, it's like, as long as I'm living,

01:15:02.031 --> 01:15:03.211
I'll never vote for you again.

01:15:03.371 --> 01:15:06.271
And at that time, I wasn't elected or anything. I told them,

01:15:06.351 --> 01:15:09.251
well, I'll wait till you die to run.

01:15:10.231 --> 01:15:15.411
That may sound cruel, but it's like, in the context of what was going on,

01:15:15.531 --> 01:15:18.051
it was like, that's a crazy thing to say to somebody.

01:15:18.831 --> 01:15:24.111
You know what I'm saying? It's like, we have to be respectful of each other.

01:15:24.511 --> 01:15:28.671
We have to. We don't really have to like each other.

01:15:31.291 --> 01:15:36.471
I don't know if I was listening to somebody or I read some.

01:15:37.731 --> 01:15:45.571
It was like somebody asked a famous person, do you like this other famous person?

01:15:45.731 --> 01:15:51.451
And that person said, no, we are not cool. We never have been cool. And I'm okay with that.

01:15:52.091 --> 01:15:59.571
You know, we've never been in a situation where we've been friends and that's okay.

01:15:59.991 --> 01:16:02.291
I don't have to be their friend. They don't have to be mine.

01:16:04.211 --> 01:16:08.111
But it's never to the point where we're like disrespectful to each other or

01:16:08.111 --> 01:16:10.451
we're always in some kind of combative position.

01:16:10.951 --> 01:16:12.711
You ain't got to like everybody.

01:16:13.811 --> 01:16:18.391
You do have to love people, right? You do have to have some love for people

01:16:18.391 --> 01:16:20.811
to have empathy for them and all that.

01:16:20.811 --> 01:16:25.631
But just because you love them in your spiritual sense doesn't mean that you

01:16:25.631 --> 01:16:31.351
have to like them, but that love allows you to help them if they need some help.

01:16:32.291 --> 01:16:36.431
You know, if you're in a situation to help somebody that you're not cool with,

01:16:37.131 --> 01:16:41.111
you know, if they haven't done actual harm to you, you help them.

01:16:42.171 --> 01:16:47.611
That's just, I don't know, maybe I'm wrong with that. But we ain't got to be friends.

01:16:48.451 --> 01:16:52.511
There's a lot of people, you know, in politics, you know, you help people even

01:16:52.511 --> 01:16:53.431
if they didn't vote for you.

01:16:54.271 --> 01:16:59.311
If they're your constituent, if they're somebody that reaches out to you,

01:16:59.771 --> 01:17:03.051
you help them if you can. Right.

01:17:04.111 --> 01:17:09.331
That's that's just the mindset we need to be in. We can't be angered to the

01:17:09.331 --> 01:17:11.791
point where it's like we want to take them out.

01:17:12.571 --> 01:17:15.691
I hear people say that a lot about the president.

01:17:16.551 --> 01:17:21.411
And I tell them, I don't want anything to happen to him. I don't.

01:17:22.611 --> 01:17:27.051
The only thing I wish would happen would be what we call in the Christian church,

01:17:27.211 --> 01:17:28.431
the Damascus Road experience.

01:17:28.651 --> 01:17:31.271
And you've heard me use that phrase interviewing some people.

01:17:31.271 --> 01:17:38.371
Because if you understand the story about Paul, you know, the Damascus Road

01:17:38.371 --> 01:17:41.451
is where he encountered Jesus, right?

01:17:41.551 --> 01:17:48.131
And changed his life from being a persecutor of Christians to being one of the apostles, right?

01:17:49.131 --> 01:17:50.231
And so...

01:17:51.829 --> 01:17:55.689
Would be the only thing I wish could happen. But I mean, he's almost 80,

01:17:55.889 --> 01:17:57.349
so I don't think that's going to happen.

01:17:57.909 --> 01:18:00.229
I think he is who he is, right?

01:18:01.789 --> 01:18:06.549
Maybe in his politics, but personality-wise, yeah, that's not going to happen.

01:18:07.289 --> 01:18:10.049
And in his mindset, why should he change? He's been president of the United

01:18:10.049 --> 01:18:12.929
States twice, so why should he change, right?

01:18:14.849 --> 01:18:18.529
But as far as physical violence, No.

01:18:19.189 --> 01:18:23.789
What is that going to solve? All that's going to do is cause more confusion

01:18:23.789 --> 01:18:28.669
and more anarchy and most definitely more violence.

01:18:29.769 --> 01:18:32.949
Right? So I don't want that to happen.

01:18:34.209 --> 01:18:41.349
And even though I can't turn back time and save the lives of those lawmakers,

01:18:41.869 --> 01:18:51.629
but that lawmaker in Minnesota, the former Speaker of the House, or fix, you know,

01:18:52.449 --> 01:18:56.549
the Congresswoman out of Arizona, her injuries that she's had to fight through,

01:18:56.849 --> 01:18:59.009
or people that have been,

01:18:59.629 --> 01:19:03.109
you know, We had a guy who got elected sheriff here in Georgia,

01:19:03.109 --> 01:19:09.129
and before he got sworn in, he got killed in his driveway by his opponent, right?

01:19:09.729 --> 01:19:12.729
So it's just all that is crazy.

01:19:12.989 --> 01:19:17.929
And I can't turn back time to fix that. But what I can do is try to encourage

01:19:17.929 --> 01:19:21.089
people to stop and don't do it anymore.

01:19:22.109 --> 01:19:28.209
And I hope that other people, not just the listeners, but other people that

01:19:28.209 --> 01:19:35.969
have a microphone like me, do the same thing and encourage people not to do that.

01:19:37.189 --> 01:19:43.609
You know, it's irregardless of what the dispute was about or what the political

01:19:43.609 --> 01:19:47.129
motivation of the person that committed the violence, it does not matter.

01:19:47.869 --> 01:19:53.789
The issue is we do not support violence toward elected officials.

01:19:54.009 --> 01:20:00.409
We don't support violence against anybody, but we're focusing in on elected

01:20:00.409 --> 01:20:02.449
officials. We don't endorse that.

01:20:02.829 --> 01:20:07.229
We condemn that. We do not want to see that happen ever again.

01:20:07.229 --> 01:20:14.209
We settle our differences in our respective arenas, whether that's city hall,

01:20:14.849 --> 01:20:19.329
county courthouse, state capitol, U.S. capitol.

01:20:19.829 --> 01:20:26.549
That's where we fight our battles, whether it's on a debate stage or at a county fair.

01:20:27.189 --> 01:20:31.129
That's where we fight our battles. We don't go to people's houses.

01:20:31.609 --> 01:20:35.389
We don't use guns. We don't use weapons.

01:20:36.349 --> 01:20:39.969
We just don't do that. That's not what this is about.

01:20:41.737 --> 01:20:45.577
Politics is a battle of the mind. It's a battle of the heart.

01:20:46.497 --> 01:20:50.537
When we ask, when the pastor used to ask the question, are all hearts and minds

01:20:50.537 --> 01:20:54.057
clear? Right? Do you have an understanding?

01:20:54.817 --> 01:20:59.637
So we should have an understanding. All hearts and minds should be clear that

01:20:59.637 --> 01:21:04.197
violence in a political sense is unacceptable.

01:21:05.497 --> 01:21:10.757
Nobody that takes an oath to serve office should ever feel threatened.

01:21:11.737 --> 01:21:17.137
By taking that oath. Now, people are going to have fears about whether they're not reelected or not.

01:21:17.297 --> 01:21:20.697
That's a whole other conversation, right?

01:21:21.317 --> 01:21:28.377
But nobody should be in jeopardy of losing their life for being an elected official.

01:21:29.037 --> 01:21:34.197
Or even aspiring to be an elected official. Because we've had incidences where

01:21:34.197 --> 01:21:37.817
people have been killed because they were running for something. Right?

01:21:39.417 --> 01:21:43.277
So let's do better. let's do better.

01:21:44.177 --> 01:21:50.297
Let's focus in on using the power of the vote, using the power of protest,

01:21:51.437 --> 01:21:54.937
using the power of activism to make difference.

01:21:56.477 --> 01:22:02.257
Don't resort to the power of violence. That's not an option.

01:22:02.997 --> 01:22:06.557
All right, guys. Thank you for listening. Until next time.

01:22:10.000 --> 01:22:54.699
Music.