Creative Force & Sly Civility Featuring Keldamuzik, Dr. Donna J. Nicol, and Dontaye Carter

WEBVTT

00:00:00.017 --> 00:00:06.117
Welcome. I'm Erik Fleming, host of A Moment with Erik Fleming, the podcast of our time.

00:00:06.417 --> 00:00:08.977
I want to personally thank you for listening to the podcast.

00:00:09.337 --> 00:00:12.737
If you like what you're hearing, then I need you to do a few things.

00:00:13.257 --> 00:00:19.377
First, I need subscribers. I'm on Patreon at patreon.com slash amomentwitherikfleming.

00:00:19.757 --> 00:00:24.637
Your subscription allows an independent podcaster like me the freedom to speak

00:00:24.637 --> 00:00:27.957
truth to power, and to expand and improve the show.

00:00:28.517 --> 00:00:32.837
Second, leave a five-star review for the podcast on the streaming service you

00:00:32.837 --> 00:00:35.577
listen to it. That will help the podcast tremendously.

00:00:36.457 --> 00:00:41.917
Third, go to the website, momenteric.com. There you can subscribe to the podcast,

00:00:42.297 --> 00:00:47.257
leave reviews and comments, listen to past episodes, and even learn a little bit about your host.

00:00:47.817 --> 00:00:51.877
Lastly, don't keep this a secret like it's your own personal guilty pleasure.

00:00:52.577 --> 00:00:57.077
Tell someone else about the podcast. Encourage others to listen to the podcast

00:00:57.077 --> 00:01:02.417
and share the podcast on your social media platforms, because it is time to

00:01:02.417 --> 00:01:04.177
make this moment a movement.

00:01:04.537 --> 00:01:10.197
Thanks in advance for supporting the podcast of our time. I hope you enjoy this episode as well.

00:01:12.397 --> 00:01:17.357
The following program is hosted by the NBG Podcast Network.

00:01:21.520 --> 00:01:56.880
Music.

00:01:21.877 --> 00:01:25.737
Thank you. Thank you.

00:01:53.917 --> 00:02:00.197
Thank you. Hello, and welcome to another moment with Erik Fleming.

00:02:00.417 --> 00:02:02.777
I am your host, Erik Fleming.

00:02:03.457 --> 00:02:06.497
So today, I've got three guests.

00:02:07.037 --> 00:02:14.997
One is an artist who has a special project I wanted to highlight today.

00:02:15.991 --> 00:02:20.611
That she uses her business to help people in certain causes.

00:02:21.031 --> 00:02:26.391
I have an educator who has written this incredible book about another educator

00:02:26.391 --> 00:02:29.311
and the struggles and the triumphs she had.

00:02:29.611 --> 00:02:39.371
Then I have a young man who wants to be mayor of a city in Georgia that I have some ties to.

00:02:40.251 --> 00:02:45.811
And so I was very, very happy that I got all three of them.

00:02:45.991 --> 00:02:50.831
So, yes, y'all, it's going to be a long show. But look, I hope y'all appreciate

00:02:50.831 --> 00:02:56.211
the fact that I'm getting these people in and we're engaging in these incredible

00:02:56.211 --> 00:03:03.431
conversations and that you understand that there are people out here that are

00:03:03.431 --> 00:03:04.871
really trying to make the difference.

00:03:04.871 --> 00:03:11.791
In this world where we're seeing that idiocracy is being rewarded as being normal,

00:03:12.051 --> 00:03:17.831
where mediocrity is being treated as greatness, it's good to hear and listen

00:03:17.831 --> 00:03:22.111
to people who are really, really doing the work, who are really,

00:03:22.171 --> 00:03:24.291
really trying to do something positive.

00:03:25.351 --> 00:03:31.211
And, you know, so I appreciate y'all's indulgence in listening to these conversations.

00:03:31.211 --> 00:03:32.911
I appreciate y'all's support.

00:03:33.531 --> 00:03:37.651
And we're just, we're going to keep it going. As always, you know,

00:03:37.791 --> 00:03:41.831
we're still, that magical number of 20,000 subscribers, we're still trying to

00:03:41.831 --> 00:03:46.331
get y'all to do that here on Patreon.

00:03:47.371 --> 00:03:50.871
And, but you know, it's like, I know the word is spreading.

00:03:51.411 --> 00:03:55.271
I get emails. I get people that are requesting to be on the show.

00:03:55.451 --> 00:04:00.271
I get people who are saying, we appreciate you interviewing this person and

00:04:00.271 --> 00:04:02.531
all this stuff. So I know y'all listening.

00:04:03.334 --> 00:04:07.514
But the subscriptions will help a lot because there's some things,

00:04:07.754 --> 00:04:10.134
and I've told you before, there's some things I want to do.

00:04:10.394 --> 00:04:13.114
I'm very fortunate to have Grace.

00:04:13.734 --> 00:04:17.554
But there's some more things I want to add to that because I want this to be

00:04:17.554 --> 00:04:19.074
as comprehensive as possible.

00:04:19.434 --> 00:04:25.234
We're saying this is the podcast of our time, and it's awesome to get people

00:04:25.234 --> 00:04:27.654
in our time that's really doing some good things.

00:04:28.114 --> 00:04:32.154
But as always, we want to do some more. And the main reason I want to do more

00:04:32.154 --> 00:04:34.994
is for you all, the listeners.

00:04:35.514 --> 00:04:40.294
So, you know, whatever you can, you know, it's only a dollar subscription.

00:04:40.754 --> 00:04:43.874
Whatever you can do, I greatly appreciate it.

00:04:43.934 --> 00:04:49.914
But I do appreciate the fact that you are listening and that you put up not

00:04:49.914 --> 00:04:55.954
only with the time, but even my commentary at the end, which, yeah, I will have one.

00:04:56.594 --> 00:05:01.454
Because something happened that I know that if it happened to me,

00:05:01.474 --> 00:05:07.214
I don't know if I would have been as classy about it. I'm just being honest.

00:05:07.894 --> 00:05:11.814
And it really, really sends a message. There's actually a couple of things that happened.

00:05:12.474 --> 00:05:16.094
I'll lightly touch on the other one, but it still bothered me.

00:05:16.154 --> 00:05:17.234
So I want to say something.

00:05:17.574 --> 00:05:20.614
But nonetheless, this is a good show.

00:05:20.754 --> 00:05:25.654
So let's go ahead and kick it off. And as always, we kick it off with a moment of news with Grace G.

00:05:26.640 --> 00:05:31.760
Music.

00:05:32.441 --> 00:05:36.221
Thanks, Erik. Judicial intervention forced the U.S.

00:05:36.621 --> 00:05:40.961
Justice Department to scale back President Trump's attempted takeover of the Washington, D.C.

00:05:41.101 --> 00:05:45.141
Police force, allowing the city's police chief to remain in command.

00:05:45.541 --> 00:05:49.061
During a White House summit, President Trump pledged that the United States

00:05:49.061 --> 00:05:53.321
would help guarantee Ukraine security in any deal to end its war with Russia.

00:05:53.541 --> 00:05:57.901
A federal judge in Miami siding with environmental groups ordered a halt to

00:05:57.901 --> 00:06:01.561
new construction and the removal of equipment at a migrant detention center

00:06:01.581 --> 00:06:03.121
in the Florida Everglades.

00:06:03.281 --> 00:06:07.981
A New York appeals court threw out a half-billion-dollar penalty against Donald

00:06:07.981 --> 00:06:11.441
Trump while upholding the fraud case against him. The U.S.

00:06:11.781 --> 00:06:15.661
Department of Justice is halting all visitor visas for individuals from Gaza

00:06:15.661 --> 00:06:18.661
to conduct a full and thorough review of applicants.

00:06:18.901 --> 00:06:23.481
The Texas legislature approved new congressional maps after Democratic lawmakers

00:06:23.481 --> 00:06:25.381
in Texas returned to the state.

00:06:25.541 --> 00:06:27.501
The California Assembly passed

00:06:27.501 --> 00:06:31.201
legislation to have a redistricting referendum on the November ballot.

00:06:31.681 --> 00:06:35.461
President Trump is urging the first black female Federal Reserve governor,

00:06:35.701 --> 00:06:39.881
Lisa Cook, to resign based on allegations about mortgages she holds.

00:06:40.321 --> 00:06:46.041
Hamas agreed to a proposed 60-day ceasefire with Israel that includes a prisoner exchange.

00:06:46.421 --> 00:06:50.761
President Trump has pledged to issue an executive order to end the use of mail-in

00:06:50.761 --> 00:06:54.901
ballots and voting machines ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

00:06:55.161 --> 00:07:00.401
The U.S. has announced criminal charges against Haitian gang leader Jimmy Cherizier

00:07:00.401 --> 00:07:04.621
and a North Carolina man for conspiring to violate sanctions and raise funds

00:07:04.621 --> 00:07:06.781
for Cherizier's gang activities.

00:07:07.241 --> 00:07:13.001
Elon Musk has decided to halt plans for a new political party to focus on his companies.

00:07:13.361 --> 00:07:17.141
And the measles outbreak in West Texas has officially ended,

00:07:17.441 --> 00:07:21.781
with the state now focusing on vaccination campaigns to prevent future cases.

00:07:22.061 --> 00:07:27.121
I am Grace G, and this has been a Moment of News. .

00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:32.240
Music.

00:07:32.087 --> 00:07:35.767
All right. Thank you, Grace, for that moment of news.

00:07:35.987 --> 00:07:40.487
And it's time now time for my guest, Keldamuzik.

00:07:41.147 --> 00:07:46.887
Keldamuzik is a multifaceted hip hop artist, actress and entrepreneur known

00:07:46.887 --> 00:07:51.047
for her powerful lyricism and dynamic presence in the entertainment industry.

00:07:51.047 --> 00:07:56.307
With a deep passion for storytelling, she seamlessly blends her music with her

00:07:56.307 --> 00:08:01.347
background in acting, creating an authentic and unique voice within the hip-hop scene.

00:08:01.687 --> 00:08:07.867
Beyond music, Keldamuzik has also made waves as the host of the popular talk

00:08:07.867 --> 00:08:13.507
show Diva Talk Tonight, where she showcased her charisma and ability to connect

00:08:13.507 --> 00:08:15.327
with a diverse range of personalities.

00:08:15.327 --> 00:08:20.047
Her entrepreneurial spirit shines through with the launch of Tam's Berets,

00:08:20.327 --> 00:08:23.547
a fashion brand that reflects her creative vision and style.

00:08:24.127 --> 00:08:30.407
Drawing influences from a variety of genres, Keldamuzik's music captures deep

00:08:30.407 --> 00:08:33.327
emotional resonance while pushing the boundaries of hip hop.

00:08:33.327 --> 00:08:37.527
Whether on stage, in front of the camera, or through her business ventures,

00:08:37.787 --> 00:08:43.547
she continues to inspire and connect with fans worldwide, constantly evolving

00:08:43.547 --> 00:08:45.807
in every aspect of her career.

00:08:46.127 --> 00:08:50.447
Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct honor and privilege to have as a guest

00:08:50.447 --> 00:08:53.627
on this podcast, Keldamuzik.

00:08:54.800 --> 00:09:04.400
Music.

00:09:04.687 --> 00:09:08.667
All right. Keldamuzik. How are you doing, sister? You doing good?

00:09:09.607 --> 00:09:13.807
Good. I'm good. Thank you so much for having me. Well, I'm really,

00:09:13.927 --> 00:09:15.707
really honored to have you come on.

00:09:16.027 --> 00:09:22.347
And just so you know, you're not the first musician or musical artist to come on the show.

00:09:22.347 --> 00:09:28.047
So, but, you know, there's a couple of things that you're doing that kind of

00:09:28.047 --> 00:09:34.687
got my attention and I wanted to highlight that and just just talk a little bit about you.

00:09:34.967 --> 00:09:37.927
And, you know, we'll throw a little politics in there. You know,

00:09:38.167 --> 00:09:41.527
nothing too heavy. Don't want to get your fan base upset with you.

00:09:41.647 --> 00:09:42.127
You know what I'm saying?

00:09:43.027 --> 00:09:48.927
Yeah, it's all good. All right. So normally I start off with a couple of icebreakers,

00:09:49.227 --> 00:09:52.607
and the first icebreaker is usually a quote.

00:09:52.787 --> 00:09:55.147
So this is a quote I want you to respond to.

00:09:55.507 --> 00:10:00.107
There is no limit to what you can achieve with the right mindset.

00:10:00.867 --> 00:10:08.327
There's no limit of what you can achieve with the right mindset. Yes, ma'am. Yes.

00:10:09.107 --> 00:10:15.647
So what is your response to that quote? Oh, my response is, I agree.

00:10:17.108 --> 00:10:22.108
You know, it takes a lot of thought, it takes a thought process,

00:10:22.108 --> 00:10:25.568
and that's what creates the mindset.

00:10:26.868 --> 00:10:31.388
That's what's going to determine how far you go in your career.

00:10:31.888 --> 00:10:36.968
And whatever career it is that you chose, it's all about the way you go about

00:10:36.968 --> 00:10:45.228
doing it, and it's your mindset that is the reason why you move that way or go in that direction.

00:10:46.028 --> 00:10:49.488
So, you know, there are a lot of people out there who are career driven.

00:10:49.908 --> 00:10:52.508
There are people who are driven about a lot of things.

00:10:53.388 --> 00:11:00.968
But it just really takes persistency, consistency, and drive.

00:11:02.108 --> 00:11:06.828
Yeah. All right. So now the next icebreaker is called 20 questions.

00:11:07.668 --> 00:11:12.428
So what I need you to do is give me a number between 1 and 20.

00:11:13.188 --> 00:11:18.828
Okay. So this is your question. What is the one thing you hope the new administration

00:11:18.828 --> 00:11:22.028
will do or not do during their term?

00:11:22.488 --> 00:11:26.408
I'm going to have to say reparations. Give us reparations.

00:11:27.128 --> 00:11:31.208
Okay. You want to elaborate on that or you're going to leave it like that?

00:11:31.748 --> 00:11:35.348
I'm going to leave it like that. Okay. All right. That's cool.

00:11:36.148 --> 00:11:40.968
All right. When did you realize your passion for music? And then when did you

00:11:40.968 --> 00:11:44.928
realize that you wanted to be immersed in the business of entertainment?

00:11:45.906 --> 00:11:50.046
Yeah, my passion for music started when I was around 16 or so.

00:11:50.446 --> 00:11:52.886
Started writing, started working with producers.

00:11:53.386 --> 00:12:01.126
And when I got older, I turned 21, is when I actually relocated from San Jose to Oakland.

00:12:01.566 --> 00:12:07.446
Signed with an independent label called Squad Music Group. Actually recorded an album.

00:12:07.826 --> 00:12:14.246
Released the album. You know, did the whole street slash guerrilla marketing thing.

00:12:14.246 --> 00:12:19.386
Passing out flyers and CDs and promo CDs everywhere, at schools,

00:12:19.606 --> 00:12:23.866
universities, anywhere where I could reach my demographic.

00:12:24.746 --> 00:12:30.186
And gosh, the way things have changed right now with technology, music is going with it.

00:12:30.386 --> 00:12:36.086
So that means as artists, we have to go with it and find different ways to keep

00:12:36.086 --> 00:12:41.746
our music relevant, to keep people in tune to everything that we do.

00:12:43.186 --> 00:12:46.106
So yeah it's just really a passion of

00:12:46.106 --> 00:12:48.906
mine yeah so i see i thought

00:12:48.906 --> 00:12:51.866
you were from oakland originally so you were from san jose

00:12:51.866 --> 00:12:55.906
and then you you moved to oakland correct yes

00:12:55.906 --> 00:13:03.686
okay all right san jose home of the cow palace i think that's in frisco is it

00:13:03.686 --> 00:13:08.126
frisco well i know the shark does the san jose sharks play there or they used

00:13:08.126 --> 00:13:13.206
to they used to play there yes san jose sharks yes Yeah, yeah. Okay, that's cool.

00:13:13.546 --> 00:13:19.106
See, something else to write down. All right, so what has been the toughest

00:13:19.106 --> 00:13:23.466
thing to overcome being an artist slash businesswoman?

00:13:23.846 --> 00:13:27.086
I would say the toughest thing...

00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:37.699
I would say your appearance. So it's like if you're dressed down.

00:13:39.259 --> 00:13:43.839
Then you're not appealing to the other males in the industry,

00:13:43.839 --> 00:13:48.039
which means you don't really want to pursue your career in front of the camera.

00:13:48.039 --> 00:13:51.579
You want to do, you know, work behind the camera.

00:13:51.779 --> 00:13:56.079
But if you're dressed, you know, it's somewhat sexy, then it's like,

00:13:56.279 --> 00:13:58.419
oh, okay, you want to be the next so-and-so.

00:13:58.619 --> 00:14:03.139
You know what I mean? And now we're going to have you look like that to the extreme.

00:14:04.079 --> 00:14:07.319
So it's all about your appearance, unfortunately. You know, it's like,

00:14:07.379 --> 00:14:09.319
why can't I just dress like Billie Eilish?

00:14:09.639 --> 00:14:13.839
Where I don't give a damn and I can still make sexy music.

00:14:14.139 --> 00:14:18.179
You know, I go, well, you know, why can't I be Aaliyah?

00:14:18.579 --> 00:14:24.419
Right? Or why can't I be someone like the brat who still dresses like a tomboy,

00:14:24.659 --> 00:14:26.719
still makes music for the ladies?

00:14:27.059 --> 00:14:30.239
You know what I'm saying? And then if we want to, you know, go fast forward,

00:14:30.519 --> 00:14:35.419
you have artists like, you know, Meg Thee Stallion and Glorilla, you know what I mean?

00:14:35.599 --> 00:14:40.919
They used to make fun of Glorilla for being too skinny and, you know,

00:14:41.119 --> 00:14:46.779
not really looking the part per se, when it doesn't matter.

00:14:47.019 --> 00:14:49.899
You know, her music speaks for herself. She's a gorgeous girl,

00:14:50.199 --> 00:14:56.479
you know? So it really is tough because they wouldn't run this across men, right?

00:14:56.959 --> 00:15:02.239
Any rap artist, male rap artist, male singer could kind of do whatever they

00:15:02.239 --> 00:15:03.659
want. And there's no judgment.

00:15:04.679 --> 00:15:09.279
Yeah, you know, in my, you know, Jodeci is what comes to mind with me.

00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:13.679
And, you know, KC and JoJo, I love them as far as musicians.

00:15:13.779 --> 00:15:17.299
But they didn't get that job because of their looks.

00:15:17.579 --> 00:15:20.599
I just, you know, they can come at me if they want to.

00:15:20.839 --> 00:15:25.399
But they know the truth. You know what I'm saying? But they could sing and they

00:15:25.399 --> 00:15:28.019
were very talented. And so they got their break.

00:15:28.179 --> 00:15:30.479
And so I understand what you're saying.

00:15:31.799 --> 00:15:35.399
So where does that pressure come from? Does it come from producers?

00:15:36.019 --> 00:15:39.659
Does it come from the record labels?

00:15:40.659 --> 00:15:44.939
Who exerts that pressure to say, okay, well, you need to dress this way.

00:15:45.379 --> 00:15:50.239
Because I literally heard somebody and, you know, I used to have a side host.

00:15:50.239 --> 00:15:54.479
I used to Uber a lot here in Atlanta and I picked up a lady who was a record

00:15:54.479 --> 00:16:00.879
producer and she was telling me the story about this guy who he was a rap artist.

00:16:01.079 --> 00:16:04.379
He, she didn't tell me his name, but he, he had an Instagram account.

00:16:04.499 --> 00:16:07.819
And so he's got a children, a child that has special needs.

00:16:08.059 --> 00:16:13.779
And so his child had a major achievement and he put that out there on his Instagram page.

00:16:14.219 --> 00:16:17.619
And she, and a couple of other execs said, take that down.

00:16:18.486 --> 00:16:21.306
Cause that's going to mess up your image. First of all, folks don't even know

00:16:21.306 --> 00:16:24.906
that you married with kids based on what we've put out there.

00:16:25.166 --> 00:16:29.026
And then, and then now you turn around and say you, you know,

00:16:29.026 --> 00:16:31.806
you're a proud dad and your child's got special needs and all.

00:16:32.066 --> 00:16:34.086
He said that takes away from your image.

00:16:34.426 --> 00:16:38.166
And she, and then she was kind of, I guess she was kind of like confessing,

00:16:38.286 --> 00:16:39.826
like maybe I shouldn't have done that.

00:16:39.926 --> 00:16:43.386
Or, but it's like, if he wants to make money, that's what he has to do.

00:16:44.206 --> 00:16:45.906
So where does, where does that

00:16:45.906 --> 00:16:48.606
pressure come from? what you were talking about, about the appearance.

00:16:48.846 --> 00:16:54.066
It comes from just the higher-ups, you know, the people who are handling your

00:16:54.066 --> 00:16:59.786
social media marketing, your management, your PR person, you know,

00:16:59.866 --> 00:17:01.526
even friends and family.

00:17:01.946 --> 00:17:05.506
They just want to see you in a different light. They want to see you in the

00:17:05.506 --> 00:17:09.846
rock star life and not the everyday person wearing, you know,

00:17:09.946 --> 00:17:14.746
normal sweatpants and sweatshorts and a hat or whatever.

00:17:14.966 --> 00:17:18.846
You know, we want to see you look like You are

00:17:18.846 --> 00:17:22.046
a star And you know some of the examples Are

00:17:22.046 --> 00:17:25.326
you know when you watch America's Got Talent Or American Idol Like

00:17:25.326 --> 00:17:28.106
how people kind of already come in there ready As if

00:17:28.106 --> 00:17:31.486
they've been doing this So that's the

00:17:31.486 --> 00:17:34.746
kind of Pressure I get you know you need to Look the part

00:17:34.746 --> 00:17:38.166
and I'm like What is looking the part And they're

00:17:38.166 --> 00:17:41.086
like looking the part Is looking different from everyone else

00:17:41.086 --> 00:17:50.886
Standing out and Being special And I'm like huh Okay So I've always had issues

00:17:50.886 --> 00:17:55.866
With my appearance Because I did grow up As a tomboy You know what I mean So

00:17:55.866 --> 00:18:00.146
I've always like Hated wearing dresses And skirts And.

00:18:01.454 --> 00:18:05.194
Should I have flat feet? So it's hard to wear heels, but I got to wear them anyway.

00:18:05.514 --> 00:18:10.254
You know, when I dress up, though, I impress.

00:18:11.514 --> 00:18:15.094
I clean up really good, I should say. Yeah, I understand.

00:18:15.534 --> 00:18:19.514
Yeah, I'm not going to argue with you about that. But, you know,

00:18:19.594 --> 00:18:21.854
and you also mentioned Billie Eilish.

00:18:23.174 --> 00:18:29.614
And why do you think that she can get away with her appearance as opposed to,

00:18:29.694 --> 00:18:31.154
say, you or other artists?

00:18:31.454 --> 00:18:36.574
Particularly because of her demographics and the music that she sings and the

00:18:36.574 --> 00:18:41.734
way that she's marketed and promoted to her fan base.

00:18:41.914 --> 00:18:48.594
You know, it is all about her music when you listen to her. It's not about anything.

00:18:48.794 --> 00:18:55.434
It's not about her personality or certain lingo that she uses or whatever.

00:18:55.574 --> 00:18:58.174
It really is about her music.

00:18:58.394 --> 00:19:01.254
And yeah, that's pretty much it.

00:19:01.454 --> 00:19:05.714
Whereas, you know, with hip hop, with R&B, there's definitely a standard,

00:19:05.714 --> 00:19:09.814
you know, and each time somebody comes out,

00:19:09.994 --> 00:19:17.354
it's just like, you know, who has the biggest ass, who has the best fillers,

00:19:17.654 --> 00:19:18.814
who, you know what I mean?

00:19:18.834 --> 00:19:23.514
It's like competition in that way and not music competition when it should be.

00:19:23.994 --> 00:19:30.034
Yeah, I got you. Is there a correlation or connection with the arts and politics?

00:19:30.414 --> 00:19:35.114
And if so, how do you express it?

00:19:35.774 --> 00:19:38.994
Arts and politics Well, I definitely think that,

00:19:39.634 --> 00:19:42.474
Artists need to use their platforms to a certain

00:19:42.474 --> 00:19:49.514
extent To voice their opinions on politics And anything else that's important

00:19:49.514 --> 00:19:55.034
to discuss At the same time I think that we all have to realize that we do have

00:19:55.034 --> 00:20:01.814
a job to do And we don't want to overdo it To where we're stepping over our boundaries And,

00:20:02.054 --> 00:20:05.054
you know, it's no better than someone working 9 to 5 Right.

00:20:05.234 --> 00:20:08.794
You have, you know, a bunch of people working nine to five daily,

00:20:09.094 --> 00:20:11.094
two people sitting next to each other at a desk.

00:20:11.614 --> 00:20:18.074
One is, you know, one believes in this politician, the other one doesn't,

00:20:18.214 --> 00:20:19.974
whatever, sparks up a conversation.

00:20:20.374 --> 00:20:26.334
And then it turns to an argument. Right. And it turns to the point where either, you know.

00:20:27.201 --> 00:20:29.921
Verbally, a fight is going to break out, or even physically,

00:20:30.141 --> 00:20:33.401
or just, you know, it's going to be reported to HR somehow.

00:20:33.801 --> 00:20:39.001
So almost with artists, we don't want to overstep our boundaries too much because

00:20:39.001 --> 00:20:41.241
we do want to keep our fans.

00:20:41.401 --> 00:20:46.141
We don't want you to forget that just because I voted or liked for this person,

00:20:46.261 --> 00:20:51.821
it changes my music. It changes my image. It changes how you see me, right?

00:20:51.921 --> 00:20:54.981
I don't want your perception to change of me.

00:20:54.981 --> 00:20:59.341
And so for me, that's why I never talk about politics, religion,

00:20:59.741 --> 00:21:05.781
or anything that's really sensitive and touchy, because I don't want people

00:21:05.781 --> 00:21:13.861
to lose track of who I am as an artist and as a person that you look up to or

00:21:13.861 --> 00:21:15.441
that you see yourself equal to.

00:21:16.321 --> 00:21:19.601
Yeah but you you said that you you you

00:21:19.601 --> 00:21:23.101
think that artists should use their platform though if

00:21:23.101 --> 00:21:26.421
if need be my question following up

00:21:26.421 --> 00:21:32.721
would be if you do decide to do that i'll use lebron james as an example lebron

00:21:32.721 --> 00:21:39.161
got out there when you know right after um michael brown got killed and eric

00:21:39.161 --> 00:21:43.101
garner and him and derrick rose were wearing i can't breathe t-shirts.

00:21:43.981 --> 00:21:48.641
And one of the political commentators got on and said, shut up and dribble, right?

00:21:49.281 --> 00:21:53.681
How would you, how would you, how would you feel if, you know,

00:21:53.841 --> 00:21:56.921
you decided to take a stand on something and then they just said,

00:21:57.041 --> 00:21:58.641
just go back to the studio?

00:21:58.821 --> 00:22:01.001
How would you, how would you respond to that?

00:22:01.806 --> 00:22:07.146
Right, yeah. No, I would be offended. At the same time, I would expect it,

00:22:07.226 --> 00:22:11.426
because if I am going to put my political views out there to the masses,

00:22:11.706 --> 00:22:14.146
then you kind of have to expect everything that comes with it.

00:22:14.146 --> 00:22:18.406
So my thing is It's

00:22:18.406 --> 00:22:21.866
okay to be vocal But for me specifically

00:22:21.866 --> 00:22:24.926
I'd rather be vocal through

00:22:24.926 --> 00:22:31.286
the music And talk about what I want to say Rather than stand on a podium And

00:22:31.286 --> 00:22:37.006
verbally say out of my mouth How I feel because The world is not balanced Everyone's

00:22:37.006 --> 00:22:39.246
unbalanced And little by little

00:22:39.246 --> 00:22:44.326
We all try to change the world With our perspective on you know, politics.

00:22:45.066 --> 00:22:49.746
Health care, community, schools, education, all that stuff.

00:22:49.986 --> 00:22:53.906
But there's only one person who has that power, and that's the person who's

00:22:53.906 --> 00:22:55.186
running the system right now.

00:22:55.706 --> 00:23:01.306
And, you know, it's unfair because it doesn't include everybody,

00:23:01.306 --> 00:23:05.746
but then it's fair because you just kind of just have to roll with it,

00:23:05.766 --> 00:23:08.986
no matter who's in office that is, you know, not just the person who's in office.

00:23:09.126 --> 00:23:12.906
Now I'm just saying whoever is in office is going to make those decisions.

00:23:13.186 --> 00:23:16.586
And it's kind of like, what are we going to do at this point?

00:23:16.806 --> 00:23:20.786
You know what I mean? There's nothing we can do. We can do things that,

00:23:20.906 --> 00:23:25.406
you know, within ourselves, families, small communities, which is always great.

00:23:25.586 --> 00:23:31.146
But at the end of the day, our voice only matters to us and to people who listen to us.

00:23:32.166 --> 00:23:35.046
Yeah. But, you know, it all depends on how big

00:23:35.046 --> 00:23:38.026
your circle of us is right yeah yeah

00:23:38.026 --> 00:23:43.346
you know because taylor swift is you know taking the mantle a certain way beyonce

00:23:43.346 --> 00:23:47.086
is taking the mantle a certain way bruce springsteen but then there's a whole

00:23:47.086 --> 00:23:50.726
lot of artists who are just kind of like yeah i don't want that pushback and

00:23:50.726 --> 00:23:57.326
so i'm just gonna keep you know keep doing what i'm doing right yeah but you know so i understand,

00:23:58.421 --> 00:24:05.341
If you were given the opportunity to serve in government, what social issue would you tackle first?

00:24:06.461 --> 00:24:11.601
Ah, what social issue would I tackle first?

00:24:11.601 --> 00:24:22.561
It would have to be lack of activities for kids at school and lack of extracurriculum

00:24:22.561 --> 00:24:25.401
classes, after-school programs.

00:24:25.401 --> 00:24:33.461
I think those were really needed for kids because they do want to look forward

00:24:33.461 --> 00:24:39.621
to doing something after school that's going to help them elevate, elevate their grades,

00:24:39.981 --> 00:24:41.801
elevate their mindset,

00:24:42.381 --> 00:24:45.561
and, you know, have like a change of scenery.

00:24:45.561 --> 00:24:53.521
So, you know, that goes from playing sports, taking an art class, a theater,

00:24:53.981 --> 00:24:59.061
just something that really doesn't pertain to just sitting at a desk all day

00:24:59.061 --> 00:25:01.621
and looking at the projector or the teacher.

00:25:01.621 --> 00:25:04.581
I would definitely tackle those issues.

00:25:04.921 --> 00:25:07.241
I would definitely tackle on,

00:25:07.241 --> 00:25:12.481
you know, issues when it comes to how black people are treated in America.

00:25:13.081 --> 00:25:18.741
You know, just because you see a black person and, you know,

00:25:18.861 --> 00:25:23.901
right away, you know, you feel some type of way about them. you prejudge them.

00:25:24.101 --> 00:25:27.881
You know, you see a black man with a hoodie on and, you know,

00:25:27.961 --> 00:25:30.161
you have all these suspicions about him.

00:25:30.541 --> 00:25:36.961
Or you see a black girl and you think she's this loud, obnoxious,

00:25:36.981 --> 00:25:42.461
you know, chick with baby daddies and she's going to steal out of Walmart or whatever.

00:25:42.701 --> 00:25:49.961
I think we need to stop prejudging. We need to understand and judge every individual

00:25:49.961 --> 00:25:53.841
as we meet and speak to them and not because of their appearance.

00:25:54.601 --> 00:25:59.861
So I would tackle issues like that, racism, obviously.

00:26:00.181 --> 00:26:03.101
And then for the youth, making sure

00:26:03.101 --> 00:26:08.901
that they have everything they need when it comes to education and just their

00:26:08.901 --> 00:26:15.581
upbringing to give them the best upbringing in life so that they said they've

00:26:15.581 --> 00:26:20.221
experienced playing one sport in life even if they, you know,

00:26:20.281 --> 00:26:23.021
don't intend to do anything with it.

00:26:23.121 --> 00:26:27.381
Or, you know, they took a painting class or, you know, there was a theater class.

00:26:27.561 --> 00:26:33.141
Just something that complements what they're learning in school now.

00:26:33.821 --> 00:26:38.301
Yeah. Now, did you have a program when you were growing up that kind of got

00:26:38.301 --> 00:26:42.261
you interested in music or tapped into something?

00:26:43.162 --> 00:26:47.762
Yeah, in middle school, it was pretty cool because one of my teachers,

00:26:47.762 --> 00:26:49.842
she was like my advisement teacher.

00:26:50.082 --> 00:26:54.482
And so she offered the class and after school program for theater.

00:26:54.742 --> 00:27:00.982
And so I remember I joined that. And even though it was just a few of us, it was pretty fun.

00:27:01.382 --> 00:27:05.602
And then another lady came into our school and she was scouting for students

00:27:05.602 --> 00:27:07.382
who wanted to become puppeteers.

00:27:07.382 --> 00:27:12.022
And so we, you know, every Tuesday we would get to leave, you know,

00:27:12.222 --> 00:27:17.782
third period or whatever and travel to an elementary school and put on a puppet

00:27:17.782 --> 00:27:22.902
show and earn credits for that and, you know, get fed good lunch and,

00:27:22.982 --> 00:27:25.022
you know, miss all the boring classes.

00:27:25.802 --> 00:27:28.822
So, yeah, stuff like that I think is cool. Yeah.

00:27:29.262 --> 00:27:34.102
And, you know, there's been a lot of talk in the news about the crime rates

00:27:34.102 --> 00:27:39.342
in cities, but a lot of the black mayors have taken that attitude,

00:27:39.342 --> 00:27:41.642
that approach you're talking about,

00:27:41.942 --> 00:27:44.982
especially Mayor Scott in Baltimore.

00:27:44.982 --> 00:27:50.382
More, he has done a lot to try to create more programs.

00:27:50.622 --> 00:27:53.782
Mayor Johnson in Chicago, you know, I can go on.

00:27:53.902 --> 00:27:58.282
It's like, you know, it's like people that live in the community understand

00:27:58.282 --> 00:28:01.862
what the community, or from the community, understand what the community needs.

00:28:02.562 --> 00:28:08.222
And, you know, so that's why I just, I wanted to ask you that question.

00:28:09.476 --> 00:28:14.556
So I've got a couple of more. The Kennedy Center Honors is one of the highest

00:28:14.556 --> 00:28:17.616
honors for lifetime achievement in American arts.

00:28:17.756 --> 00:28:22.076
And I'll make my blessing to you that one day that you'll be able to wear one

00:28:22.076 --> 00:28:26.736
of them medallions or whatever that they give the folks at the Kennedy Center.

00:28:27.536 --> 00:28:34.536
How do you feel about the current president just basically taking over the center?

00:28:34.676 --> 00:28:37.976
Because what he's done, no other president has ever done that.

00:28:37.976 --> 00:28:41.916
They've, you know, they participate, they'll show up at the event and,

00:28:41.976 --> 00:28:45.116
you know, sit in the box and clap for whoever's getting the award,

00:28:45.236 --> 00:28:49.156
but they've never had, we've never had a president that just said, okay,

00:28:49.536 --> 00:28:53.716
you know, I'm going to be the chairman of the board and I might even rename

00:28:53.716 --> 00:28:55.816
it, rename it after me, you know.

00:28:56.336 --> 00:29:00.296
As an artist, how do you feel about that intrusion?

00:29:00.296 --> 00:29:09.356
I feel like when anyone has the power to have an opinion or have some control

00:29:09.356 --> 00:29:13.016
over anything, it's just what they're going to do.

00:29:13.136 --> 00:29:18.896
And our job is to make sure it doesn't affect us in a negative way.

00:29:18.896 --> 00:29:22.796
You know, it's just like on a smaller level.

00:29:23.376 --> 00:29:26.896
You know, whether you're at work or school and they change the principal or

00:29:26.896 --> 00:29:32.956
the supervisor and these people come in and start mandating everything and,

00:29:33.196 --> 00:29:39.196
you know, just changing everything, like everything to where it's not to your liking.

00:29:39.256 --> 00:29:42.616
And now you have to adapt to that.

00:29:43.036 --> 00:29:46.036
But it's just kind of like, what are you going to do at this point?

00:29:46.196 --> 00:29:50.136
You know what I mean? That's why it is very important to create social groups

00:29:50.136 --> 00:29:55.616
and nonprofit organizations to help each other out, whether it's financially,

00:29:56.076 --> 00:30:01.096
whether it's, you know, you're going through a mental crisis, whether it's, you know,

00:30:01.316 --> 00:30:07.016
lowering the cost of education for children, or whether it's trying to obtain

00:30:07.016 --> 00:30:11.936
free medical care or discounted medical care.

00:30:11.936 --> 00:30:17.896
Just anything that is not, you know, when someone new steps in the place,

00:30:18.076 --> 00:30:23.616
we need to make sure that we are okay and that it doesn't affect us somehow.

00:30:24.256 --> 00:30:27.016
Yeah. Yeah. I understand the navigation. Yeah.

00:30:27.136 --> 00:30:32.136
You gotta, you just gotta, you know, make your way around whatever obstacles

00:30:32.136 --> 00:30:37.296
are there and just always, always compare our journey in America is to being

00:30:37.296 --> 00:30:40.296
the track person that runs the hurdles, Right.

00:30:40.696 --> 00:30:44.796
You know that the hurdles are there. You got to get over those hurdles to get

00:30:44.796 --> 00:30:48.436
to the finish line. So you just do what you got to do. You just cross those hurdles.

00:30:49.596 --> 00:30:55.236
Yeah. So I understand that. But speaking about nonprofits and causes and all

00:30:55.236 --> 00:31:02.836
that, talk to the listeners about TAMZ and its collaboration with the nonprofit Hair to Stay.

00:31:03.742 --> 00:31:08.622
Yeah, yeah. So Tamz, they are berets. I have 10 different colors.

00:31:08.822 --> 00:31:10.842
Discovered Tamz during the pandemic.

00:31:11.182 --> 00:31:16.842
Because of Tamz, I've been producing and hosting fashion shows as well as performing at them.

00:31:17.142 --> 00:31:21.362
And what's really cool is I bring on my customers to walk for me.

00:31:21.962 --> 00:31:26.702
Customers, fans, friends, family, strangers off the street.

00:31:27.042 --> 00:31:32.842
I'm not looking for traditional models. I have the non-traditional models.

00:31:33.082 --> 00:31:34.942
And that's what's bringing and

00:31:34.942 --> 00:31:40.602
creating this community now of beautiful people, men and women, whoever,

00:31:40.882 --> 00:31:49.502
because it's about expressing yourself through a hat and not an outfit that

00:31:49.502 --> 00:31:52.042
you wouldn't wear every day outside.

00:31:52.322 --> 00:31:56.582
Whereas with the hat, you would, because the hat can make up the rest of the outfit.

00:31:56.902 --> 00:32:01.422
You could plan or create your outfit based on the beret.

00:32:01.882 --> 00:32:08.502
And so, excuse me, so we've partnered with organizations, hair loss organizations,

00:32:08.502 --> 00:32:11.582
that have helped spread awareness about the berets.

00:32:11.762 --> 00:32:14.662
So for one, we did an event with Boldly Me.

00:32:14.882 --> 00:32:20.162
They were an alopecia organization, and they had their annual fundraiser,

00:32:20.262 --> 00:32:22.062
and they had me come talk about it.

00:32:22.282 --> 00:32:26.702
The owner or the founder and I talked about the berets and our collaboration,

00:32:26.702 --> 00:32:29.782
and I donated Berets to their organization.

00:32:30.522 --> 00:32:34.382
Now, with the partnership that I have with Hair2Stay,

00:32:34.682 --> 00:32:38.102
what they do, they're a non-profit that

00:32:38.102 --> 00:32:48.882
raises funds for an expensive cooling system device or cooling item that made

00:32:48.882 --> 00:32:54.822
for cancer patients to stimulate their hair to grow back. And so...

00:32:55.847 --> 00:33:01.447
The idea with our partnership with the Berets is that I have a page on their website.

00:33:01.807 --> 00:33:07.067
And for those who are in the process of growing their hair back,

00:33:07.447 --> 00:33:13.787
you know, or if they are still bald, purchase a beret.

00:33:14.467 --> 00:33:20.227
And that will, you know what I mean, enhance your looks. It's not to eliminate

00:33:20.227 --> 00:33:25.687
anything because you look great. But it's just to enhance and to give you more confidence.

00:33:26.207 --> 00:33:30.987
And some of those proceeds go to Heritage Day and then the other proceeds go to TAMS.

00:33:31.127 --> 00:33:34.227
So with that being said, we have an event coming up October 4th.

00:33:34.307 --> 00:33:39.767
It's their annual fundraiser where it's a take a walk fundraiser.

00:33:39.767 --> 00:33:44.427
So what we do is we walk all around Chrissy Beach in San Francisco,

00:33:44.427 --> 00:33:56.007
and we're walking to raise funds about the cooling stipulant that's made for patients with cancer.

00:33:56.007 --> 00:34:00.927
We're trying to raise awareness, to raise money, to pay for that for cancer

00:34:00.927 --> 00:34:04.627
patients that can't afford the cooling stimulant, that is.

00:34:04.627 --> 00:34:07.567
Yeah yeah what i was and that's

00:34:07.567 --> 00:34:10.407
and that's one of the main reasons i wanted you

00:34:10.407 --> 00:34:13.947
to come on to talk about this because you know

00:34:13.947 --> 00:34:17.347
i i know that politics is

00:34:17.347 --> 00:34:22.207
a delicate subject for people to talk about but what what i always try to do

00:34:22.207 --> 00:34:26.727
with my show is to show that people are doing the work and they're not elected

00:34:26.727 --> 00:34:29.867
to anything they're not even running for anything but they're doing the work

00:34:29.867 --> 00:34:35.467
and just the whole concept of you getting average ordinary people to,

00:34:36.207 --> 00:34:39.087
participate in, in your fashion shows.

00:34:39.949 --> 00:34:45.089
That builds self-esteem, that builds character, that builds community.

00:34:45.549 --> 00:34:52.129
And I wish that some people in politics understood that concept, right?

00:34:52.329 --> 00:34:56.029
Because it's like if you can build community, if you can build self-esteem,

00:34:56.029 --> 00:34:58.549
you can build trust, right?

00:34:58.649 --> 00:35:03.009
Then you can get some things done. You will have some partners in the community

00:35:03.009 --> 00:35:07.329
to make sure because everybody has bought in. And that's and that's the reason

00:35:07.329 --> 00:35:12.409
why your business has been successful is because you've got a buy in. Right.

00:35:13.069 --> 00:35:18.829
Right. And so that's, you know, people may not think it's it's,

00:35:18.829 --> 00:35:21.449
you know, politics, you know, but but it is.

00:35:21.449 --> 00:35:27.109
And I just and I'm really, really glad that you came on to kind of talk about,

00:35:27.269 --> 00:35:30.689
you know, what you're doing and to talk about, you know, what you've been doing

00:35:30.689 --> 00:35:33.929
as far as how you got to this point, because it's important.

00:35:34.069 --> 00:35:37.769
It's important for people to understand stories of, you know,

00:35:37.869 --> 00:35:41.969
you don't have if you're in a situation, you don't have to be in a situation.

00:35:41.969 --> 00:35:47.489
If you get exposed to something, because that's a political issue as far as

00:35:47.489 --> 00:35:52.989
providing the arts for schools, providing those after school programs, right?

00:35:53.589 --> 00:35:59.389
All that stuff is in. And so when you can show somebody that has taken advantage

00:35:59.389 --> 00:36:05.909
of those activities or opportunities and has put themselves in a position to

00:36:05.909 --> 00:36:09.329
turn around and help others and to be successful in the community,

00:36:09.469 --> 00:36:10.589
financially and otherwise,

00:36:10.989 --> 00:36:14.609
that's really should be the ultimate goal of politics.

00:36:14.869 --> 00:36:17.049
So, Keldamuzik, I don't know

00:36:17.049 --> 00:36:20.409
how to tell you this, girl, but you're as political as anybody else. Yeah.

00:36:22.665 --> 00:36:25.365
Thank you. All right.

00:36:25.525 --> 00:36:31.125
So if people want to, you know, get your, your, you know, touch into your music,

00:36:31.385 --> 00:36:36.185
touch into TAMZ, touch into anything that you're doing, how can they do that?

00:36:36.685 --> 00:36:40.885
Yeah, they can visit my website, keldamuzik.com.

00:36:41.225 --> 00:36:49.845
K-E-L-D-A-M-U-Z-I-K.com. You'll find my music on there, music videos,

00:36:50.225 --> 00:36:53.765
my latest films, the TV show I have with the Hodges,

00:36:54.185 --> 00:36:59.805
my talk show to Diva Talk Tonight on Tubi, my upcoming events.

00:37:00.065 --> 00:37:03.425
There's just so much on my website. So enjoy.

00:37:03.845 --> 00:37:06.465
Well, ladies and gentlemen, she's not lying.

00:37:07.225 --> 00:37:12.385
Kelda's doing a lot of stuff. And I'm just glad that she took the time out to

00:37:12.385 --> 00:37:16.985
talk to little old me on this podcast. So Keldamuzik, again, it's been an honor.

00:37:17.305 --> 00:37:23.545
One rule that we have is that once you've been on, you have an open invitation to come on.

00:37:23.725 --> 00:37:27.665
So if something is kind of like, Brother Erik, I need to talk about something,

00:37:27.945 --> 00:37:30.925
just come on the show. We'll talk about it. We'll get it out there.

00:37:31.805 --> 00:37:36.745
Okay. Yeah, will do. All right. Thank you, Kelda, as always,

00:37:36.965 --> 00:37:40.965
for being you and for coming on.

00:37:41.505 --> 00:37:45.805
All right. Thank you, Erik. All right, guys, we're going to catch y'all on the other side.

00:37:46.160 --> 00:38:04.400
Music.

00:38:04.725 --> 00:38:10.585
All right, and we are back. And so now it's time for my next guest, Donna J.

00:38:11.045 --> 00:38:16.985
Nicol. Dr. Donna J. Nicol is the Associate Dean of Personnel and Curriculum

00:38:16.985 --> 00:38:21.165
and Professor of History in the College of Liberal Arts at California State

00:38:21.165 --> 00:38:22.405
University, Long Beach.

00:38:22.765 --> 00:38:27.805
She is the author of Black Woman on Board, Claudia Hampton, the California State

00:38:27.805 --> 00:38:30.925
University and the Fight to Save Affirmative Action.

00:38:31.205 --> 00:38:37.645
A biography of Dr. Claudia Hampton, the first black woman trustee in the California

00:38:37.645 --> 00:38:39.385
State University system.

00:38:40.065 --> 00:38:46.745
Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct honor and privilege to have as a guest on this podcast, Dr.

00:38:47.005 --> 00:38:48.805
Donna J. Nicol.

00:38:49.840 --> 00:38:59.440
Music.

00:38:59.287 --> 00:39:06.167
All right. Dr. Donna J. Nicol. How are you doing, ma'am? You doing good? I'm doing good.

00:39:07.827 --> 00:39:14.887
Well, that's a good thing. It's kind of hard nowadays, but school's about to

00:39:14.887 --> 00:39:16.647
start for you if it hasn't already started.

00:39:17.067 --> 00:39:23.807
It starts on Monday. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you like teaching and I love teachers.

00:39:23.867 --> 00:39:25.667
I love professors and all that.

00:39:25.807 --> 00:39:31.087
So, you know, I'm sure this is kind of a good thing, new minds to play with

00:39:31.087 --> 00:39:33.047
and all that kind of stuff. Well,

00:39:33.307 --> 00:39:36.887
you know, I made the transition to administration to, was it last year?

00:39:37.267 --> 00:39:44.387
So I spent 20 years as a faculty member, but now I am associate dean in charge

00:39:44.387 --> 00:39:46.627
of supporting the faculty.

00:39:46.807 --> 00:39:52.067
So I do personnel matters and all the curriculum for the College of Liberal

00:39:52.067 --> 00:39:54.407
Arts. Okay, so you're a handholder now.

00:39:55.647 --> 00:40:01.107
I'm a handholder, yes. Sometimes I'm a disciplinarian, which is weird sometimes,

00:40:01.387 --> 00:40:02.707
but sometimes you got to do it.

00:40:02.987 --> 00:40:08.727
But I'm responsible primarily for recruiting, hiring, evaluating faculty.

00:40:09.047 --> 00:40:12.987
Okay, well, congratulations on that. That sounds like that's going to be a lot of fun.

00:40:13.467 --> 00:40:18.527
All right, so normally I'd like to start off with a couple of icebreakers.

00:40:18.927 --> 00:40:22.027
The first icebreaker I throw at the guest is a quote.

00:40:22.407 --> 00:40:26.827
And I just want to get your response to this quote. We live in a world which

00:40:26.827 --> 00:40:29.027
respects power above all things.

00:40:30.187 --> 00:40:33.287
Power intelligently directed can lead to more freedom.

00:40:34.167 --> 00:40:39.567
Unwisely directed, it can be a dreadful, destructive force. What does that quote mean to you?

00:40:40.445 --> 00:40:43.645
Absolutely, there's a responsibility that comes with having power,

00:40:43.945 --> 00:40:52.405
and power can be used for the greater good if it is used with the idea of helping more people,

00:40:52.905 --> 00:40:58.825
you know, whether it's helping them with, you know, economic help or providing them with shelter.

00:40:59.305 --> 00:41:04.605
But it can also be very destructive because it is also very seductive in terms

00:41:04.605 --> 00:41:07.645
of people wanting to amass more and more power for the sake of it.

00:41:07.645 --> 00:41:14.405
And then they hoard the power or the benefits that come with having power.

00:41:14.625 --> 00:41:21.365
And so there's a real slippery slope with having too much power if you aren't

00:41:21.365 --> 00:41:25.765
keeping at the forefront using power in a responsible way.

00:41:25.765 --> 00:41:30.805
I think it was Toni Morrison that says that, you know, once you get power,

00:41:31.085 --> 00:41:34.585
you need to utilize that power to help other people, to bring people along.

00:41:35.045 --> 00:41:38.825
So there is a great deal of responsibility with it.

00:41:38.945 --> 00:41:44.565
And I think too often people just want to have power in their back pocket because

00:41:44.565 --> 00:41:49.505
they want more opportunity or more resources than everyone else,

00:41:49.565 --> 00:41:51.045
especially in a capitalist system.

00:41:51.045 --> 00:41:57.205
And, you know, the person who has the most, you know, resources or toys is the winner.

00:41:58.045 --> 00:42:03.365
Yeah. And it's funny that I'm hoping that this guest comes on next week because

00:42:03.365 --> 00:42:06.165
we're going to talk about that capitalism piece a little bit,

00:42:06.165 --> 00:42:10.405
because I've always thought that we did capitalism wrong. But that,

00:42:10.505 --> 00:42:11.565
like I said, that's another show.

00:42:11.925 --> 00:42:15.085
So the next icebreaker is 20 questions.

00:42:16.325 --> 00:42:20.505
OK, so I want you to give me a number between one and 20.

00:42:21.345 --> 00:42:29.225
Okay. What is the one thing you hope the new administration will do or not do during their term?

00:42:31.680 --> 00:42:35.060
New as in upcoming or new as in current new as

00:42:35.060 --> 00:42:37.860
in current oh my god i mean

00:42:37.860 --> 00:42:40.920
we haven't even been a year in yet i'm just saying it's still it's

00:42:40.920 --> 00:42:43.660
still new believe it or not i know it feels like we've been there for

00:42:43.660 --> 00:42:49.780
like eight nine years but it's only been a few months yeah i just wish they

00:42:49.780 --> 00:42:54.100
would oh my goodness i don't even know where to begin with that one i wish they

00:42:54.100 --> 00:42:58.120
would stop messing with you know i'm an educator so i wish they would stop messing

00:42:58.120 --> 00:43:01.140
with the department of education I wish they would let,

00:43:01.900 --> 00:43:06.860
you know, stop messing with the university, stop messing with Pell Grants for

00:43:06.860 --> 00:43:12.740
low income students, stop getting involved in things that should be more local

00:43:12.740 --> 00:43:15.100
based issues when it comes to education.

00:43:15.680 --> 00:43:21.180
So, yeah, I wish they would just stop. You know, I don't even want them to do

00:43:21.180 --> 00:43:23.000
anything at this point. I just need them to stop.

00:43:25.060 --> 00:43:29.580
I understand. Yeah. All right. Well, now I can see the disciplinarian coming

00:43:29.580 --> 00:43:30.860
out in you. Now I can see that.

00:43:31.780 --> 00:43:36.680
All right. So speaking about education, we want to talk about this book that

00:43:36.680 --> 00:43:39.480
you wrote called Black Woman on the Board.

00:43:39.860 --> 00:43:44.720
And I know that's the short title, but I usually do that. I let the author give

00:43:44.720 --> 00:43:45.980
the whole title and all that stuff.

00:43:46.340 --> 00:43:49.220
But the book is about this woman named Dr.

00:43:50.580 --> 00:43:56.140
Claudia Hampton. So I want you to tell the listeners who was Dr.

00:43:56.280 --> 00:44:00.320
Claudia Hampton and why did you feel compelled to tell her story?

00:44:01.160 --> 00:44:05.900
Yeah, so Dr. Hampton was the first Black woman trustee in the California State

00:44:05.900 --> 00:44:10.480
University system and the first woman to chair the board of trustees.

00:44:10.860 --> 00:44:18.720
It's speculated that she was probably the first Black woman trustee in the nation.

00:44:18.980 --> 00:44:22.900
But really why I wanted to highlight her is.

00:44:23.729 --> 00:44:29.169
Well, two reasons. One, we don't know a lot about trustees and what they do

00:44:29.169 --> 00:44:34.329
behind the scenes in universities and how much they influence policies and programs.

00:44:34.589 --> 00:44:38.549
So that's one part of it. But the second part, and probably the most important,

00:44:38.829 --> 00:44:44.669
is I wanted to highlight her style, her leadership style, and how she got things

00:44:44.669 --> 00:44:48.949
done in the midst of a backlash against affirmative action.

00:44:48.949 --> 00:44:53.869
And so she was really principally responsible in the California system for the

00:44:53.869 --> 00:44:57.629
implementation of affirmative action, even when everyone around her,

00:44:57.909 --> 00:45:02.429
including governors, didn't want to implement affirmative action.

00:45:02.569 --> 00:45:08.389
It had already been passed by executive order, but they slow walked the implementation.

00:45:08.649 --> 00:45:15.429
And so I really think it's important for us to look at, particularly in the post-civil rights era.

00:45:15.689 --> 00:45:22.009
There's more attention to the civil rights era and then to kind of like,

00:45:22.109 --> 00:45:26.649
we forget that there is a period of activism that's still happening.

00:45:27.089 --> 00:45:30.249
And so while everyone was kind of moving toward Black power,

00:45:30.529 --> 00:45:35.669
there's this Black woman who's having to try to negotiate with these white folks

00:45:35.669 --> 00:45:37.229
to implement affirmative action.

00:45:37.409 --> 00:45:42.009
And so, you know, it's kind of offering a counter-narrative that,

00:45:42.209 --> 00:45:47.529
one, Black people were still doing activism in the post-civil rights era,

00:45:47.529 --> 00:45:53.749
but also that there was a range of leadership approaches, and I wanted to highlight hers.

00:45:54.109 --> 00:45:57.649
So what was the time frame that she served on the Board of Trustees?

00:45:58.089 --> 00:46:00.989
From 1974 to 1994.

00:46:01.509 --> 00:46:05.769
So 20 years, she was the second longest serving trustee. Yeah.

00:46:06.009 --> 00:46:12.269
So I just wanted to get some context as far as time frame for the listeners

00:46:12.269 --> 00:46:15.629
to understand, because, you know, when people understand the time,

00:46:15.749 --> 00:46:18.529
they're like going, oh, yeah, I'm sure that was really tough then.

00:46:18.529 --> 00:46:20.309
And she was only black. Okay. Yeah.

00:46:21.271 --> 00:46:29.771
Talk about, well, before I even ask that question, what about her life could you relate to?

00:46:30.391 --> 00:46:36.591
Well, she was an educator, a K-12 educator before she joined the board of trustees.

00:46:36.831 --> 00:46:41.351
So she worked in Los Angeles Unified School District as a elementary school teacher.

00:46:41.551 --> 00:46:45.791
And then she became the director of schools and community relations,

00:46:46.011 --> 00:46:50.631
which is an office that monitored kind of the implementation.

00:46:51.291 --> 00:46:54.991
Of race-based initiatives across the school district.

00:46:55.091 --> 00:47:00.371
I was a junior high school teacher in LA Unified, so we had some parallels in

00:47:00.371 --> 00:47:01.891
terms of working in the same district.

00:47:02.131 --> 00:47:09.091
But also, I was the first Black woman to be promoted and get tenure in women's

00:47:09.091 --> 00:47:10.771
studies at Cal State Fullerton.

00:47:10.931 --> 00:47:15.951
And so that first kind of parallel, I saw some similarities because,

00:47:15.951 --> 00:47:17.571
Because, you know, people assume

00:47:17.571 --> 00:47:23.311
when you're the first, it's some kind of marker of achieving equality.

00:47:23.311 --> 00:47:28.251
But in actuality, you're still just because you might have broken one barrier,

00:47:28.471 --> 00:47:31.671
you still have to you still have so many doors you have to go through in order

00:47:31.671 --> 00:47:33.811
to, like, really make change happen.

00:47:34.311 --> 00:47:37.571
And so I saw I saw similarities there.

00:47:37.711 --> 00:47:41.071
But then we diverged in terms of our politics. Our politics were definitely

00:47:41.071 --> 00:47:43.551
different than mine. OK, I got you.

00:47:43.951 --> 00:47:47.131
All right. Well, let's talk about that a little bit. Talk about the concept

00:47:47.131 --> 00:47:53.171
of sly civility and more specifically how Dr. Hampton effectively used it.

00:47:53.951 --> 00:47:58.831
Yeah. So sly civility is a resistance strategy that was kind of coined and phrased

00:47:58.831 --> 00:48:01.391
by an Indian cultural theorist named Homi Bhabha.

00:48:01.491 --> 00:48:06.851
And he says that particularly in the context of India being colonized by the

00:48:06.851 --> 00:48:12.451
British, he said that there's three ways to approach that Indians have to approach

00:48:12.451 --> 00:48:14.091
dealing with a colonizer.

00:48:14.491 --> 00:48:18.231
One approach is to mimic the colonizer and act just like them.

00:48:18.631 --> 00:48:22.391
Another one is to become a hybrid, so they kind of take some of their culture

00:48:22.391 --> 00:48:26.511
and some of the British culture and merge the two, like they learn how to speak

00:48:26.511 --> 00:48:32.071
English like the British, dress like the British. But the third way is called sly civility.

00:48:32.331 --> 00:48:40.191
And so sly civility says that if you gain access to these institutions dominated by colonizers,

00:48:40.411 --> 00:48:46.371
what you need to do is to be civil with the colonizer because of their penchant for violence,

00:48:46.371 --> 00:48:52.871
and then learn their system and then pass the resources slyly on to your community

00:48:52.871 --> 00:48:57.771
so that more people have an opportunity to benefit from those resources.

00:48:57.771 --> 00:49:01.991
And so I use this to describe Dr.

00:49:02.191 --> 00:49:08.411
Hampton's approach because she knew she was running up against these white conservative

00:49:08.411 --> 00:49:13.351
men who, you know, didn't want her there, didn't know how she got there,

00:49:13.451 --> 00:49:16.251
to be perfectly honest. And then...

00:49:17.266 --> 00:49:25.186
In order to kind of get a seat at the table, she had to put on this face of civility for them.

00:49:25.346 --> 00:49:27.746
So she was very quiet. She was respectable.

00:49:28.046 --> 00:49:32.606
And then she realized, I have to negotiate with them.

00:49:32.646 --> 00:49:35.686
And the only way I'm going to be able to do that is for them to,

00:49:35.686 --> 00:49:43.346
I have to destabilize their, or make them not hyper-focus on me being a Black

00:49:43.346 --> 00:49:46.206
person because they were so racist.

00:49:46.206 --> 00:49:51.486
And so what she did is she played to the gender norm by cooking dinner for these white men.

00:49:52.106 --> 00:49:56.446
And that gave her a seat at the table. They became familiar with her and they

00:49:56.446 --> 00:49:58.846
started to say, well, she's our trustee.

00:49:59.686 --> 00:50:04.926
Whereas the white women who got on the board, they couldn't stand those white

00:50:04.926 --> 00:50:07.046
women because they were more feminist in their approach.

00:50:07.226 --> 00:50:13.566
And Hampton was like, no, I can't take on racism and sexism at the same time. I got to figure one.

00:50:13.746 --> 00:50:18.406
I got to, you know, play to the gender norm in order to placate their racism.

00:50:19.226 --> 00:50:26.806
Yeah. You stated that Dr. Hampton used the politics of respectability as a means to an end.

00:50:27.506 --> 00:50:33.426
Modern-day critics say that respectability politics is antithetical to African-American progress.

00:50:33.906 --> 00:50:39.006
In this current political climate, could Dr. Hampton have made similar progress,

00:50:39.006 --> 00:50:40.706
or are the critics correct?

00:50:41.752 --> 00:50:45.472
I believe she could have made similar progress. One example,

00:50:45.692 --> 00:50:50.552
at least, well, maybe not in this current administration, but in the recent

00:50:50.552 --> 00:50:54.552
past under the Biden administration, there was a Black woman who was in charge

00:50:54.552 --> 00:50:56.592
of the Office for Management and Budget.

00:50:56.872 --> 00:51:02.412
Was it Shalonda Jones? I believe was her name, but I might have her name incorrect.

00:51:02.712 --> 00:51:06.352
But she was called the Republican whisperer.

00:51:06.852 --> 00:51:11.972
And she was the person who would, anytime the government, you know,

00:51:12.072 --> 00:51:18.052
there was a government shutdown impending, she would go negotiate with Speaker

00:51:18.052 --> 00:51:21.612
Mike Johnson and the rest of the Republican contingent.

00:51:21.672 --> 00:51:25.312
And the way she did it was similar to Hampton. She was from Louisiana.

00:51:26.052 --> 00:51:29.692
And so everyone in the, you know, from Louisiana that was in Congress,

00:51:29.912 --> 00:51:35.012
she would send them gumbo and crawfish and make sure that they felt like they

00:51:35.012 --> 00:51:38.712
knew her personally so that they would be willing to negotiate with her.

00:51:38.952 --> 00:51:42.112
They didn't like the rest of the Biden administration, but they liked her.

00:51:42.292 --> 00:51:43.532
Shalonda Young, that's her name.

00:51:43.932 --> 00:51:48.032
And so there's current day examples of this.

00:51:48.352 --> 00:51:54.912
I would liken some of what Kamala Harris did as sly civility as well.

00:51:55.812 --> 00:52:03.932
That you can't always go into these spaces and just, you know,

00:52:04.052 --> 00:52:05.172
start telling people off.

00:52:05.292 --> 00:52:08.252
Like that would have been my politics is to tell them that they were wrong.

00:52:08.332 --> 00:52:10.012
I was raised in a Black radical tradition.

00:52:10.672 --> 00:52:17.012
But you realize once you get into these institutions that what you're up against,

00:52:17.172 --> 00:52:20.812
and so sometimes you have to outwit and outplay folks.

00:52:21.232 --> 00:52:26.512
And one of the ways is to build relationships with people that politically you

00:52:26.512 --> 00:52:27.652
don't see eye to eye with.

00:52:27.832 --> 00:52:31.872
But if you can, you know, break bread together, that will go a long way to help.

00:52:32.633 --> 00:52:38.233
Yeah, I can relate to that. You know, when I first got in the legislature, I was like you.

00:52:38.393 --> 00:52:41.353
I came in, I was speaking on bills.

00:52:41.533 --> 00:52:44.473
I'd only been there two days and I was speaking against the bill and people

00:52:44.473 --> 00:52:48.313
that were there because I came in during a special session in a special election.

00:52:49.293 --> 00:52:52.313
And so they had already started by the time I got in there.

00:52:52.473 --> 00:52:56.153
And it was like, bro, we don't even know what this bill is. Who is this guy

00:52:56.153 --> 00:52:58.433
coming up here? My machine didn't even work. Right.

00:52:58.953 --> 00:53:01.613
But then so I had to vote like I

00:53:01.613 --> 00:53:04.413
had to put the finger to my eye for yes and the

00:53:04.413 --> 00:53:08.393
no finger to my nose for no right but you

00:53:08.393 --> 00:53:13.093
know after I started going to these committee dinners and started hanging out

00:53:13.093 --> 00:53:17.373
with them a little bit you know then it was like yeah you know that Fleming

00:53:17.373 --> 00:53:20.753
guy's not as bad as we thought he was you know I'm saying we might even need

00:53:20.753 --> 00:53:25.733
to listen to what I was saying And there was one moment we were debating a bill

00:53:25.733 --> 00:53:27.313
and I started asking questions.

00:53:27.713 --> 00:53:32.153
And normally the speaker was kind of like, you know, he'd kind of like be doing his own thing.

00:53:32.293 --> 00:53:37.573
But this one particular day he sat there and started twirling that gavel and

00:53:37.573 --> 00:53:40.493
was leaning on the podium, listening to what I was asking.

00:53:40.853 --> 00:53:45.913
And everybody picked up on it. And that was the moment they said, OK, this guy is legit.

00:53:46.073 --> 00:53:50.213
Right. It's like he he knows what he's doing. So I I relate to that.

00:53:50.213 --> 00:53:54.593
You know, I wasn't the first black, although I was the only black on the transportation

00:53:54.593 --> 00:53:55.973
committee for four years.

00:53:56.533 --> 00:54:01.773
But it was just like that's that moment when you connect with them and whatever

00:54:01.773 --> 00:54:03.633
little subtle things you can do.

00:54:03.813 --> 00:54:07.073
And food seems like a common denominator.

00:54:07.273 --> 00:54:11.453
If you sit down with people, I'm not cooking for anybody, but if you sit down

00:54:11.453 --> 00:54:15.693
with people, all this stuff and eat with them, you kind of break that tension.

00:54:15.693 --> 00:54:22.573
So I feel that. What is the difference between radical uplift ideology and Black radicalism?

00:54:23.213 --> 00:54:29.393
So there's kind of racial uplift is Kevin Gaines' idea that you,

00:54:29.793 --> 00:54:35.673
even if you're upper class, if you want to call it middle to upper class in the Black community,

00:54:35.873 --> 00:54:43.173
that you are still going to support the community through whatever means talent,

00:54:43.353 --> 00:54:45.013
time, treasures, that sort of thing.

00:54:45.813 --> 00:54:47.653
But they tend to be...

00:54:48.828 --> 00:54:52.928
Racial uplift is still this kind of conservative approach to helping the Black community.

00:54:53.968 --> 00:54:59.628
Whereas Black radicalism is, you know, like you're going hard all,

00:54:59.848 --> 00:55:04.228
you know, like we demand respect for our humanity. We can come as we are.

00:55:04.388 --> 00:55:08.568
We shouldn't have to shrink ourselves down or wear our hair in a particular

00:55:08.568 --> 00:55:12.448
way or dress a particular way in order to make you feel comfortable.

00:55:12.668 --> 00:55:18.508
And so those are two. One is more of a pragmatic approach and the other is more

00:55:18.508 --> 00:55:19.808
of the radical approach.

00:55:20.388 --> 00:55:27.048
And so Hampton really embodied that pragmatic approach and that there needs

00:55:27.048 --> 00:55:29.388
to be a place for all of those approaches.

00:55:29.808 --> 00:55:33.628
Because you need the radical to raise the consciousness of the people,

00:55:33.888 --> 00:55:38.648
but you need the pragmatist to get things done on, you know,

00:55:38.708 --> 00:55:41.008
like the policy level or getting the funding.

00:55:41.008 --> 00:55:43.968
So it can be a broke both and

00:55:43.968 --> 00:55:47.448
but we have often you seen them as diametrically

00:55:47.448 --> 00:55:50.288
opposed to each other and I don't think they necessarily have to

00:55:50.288 --> 00:55:58.128
be All right So I guess radical uplift ideology is more like when you hear the

00:55:58.128 --> 00:56:03.848
phrase your your credit to your race kind of deal And black radicalism would

00:56:03.848 --> 00:56:08.928
be like stokely carmichael saying black power muhammad ali saying rumble black man rumble right,

00:56:09.605 --> 00:56:12.845
Yes. Okay. All right. I'm trying to make it simple for the listeners.

00:56:13.925 --> 00:56:21.425
My listeners are pretty smart, but when you can break it down to folks and they

00:56:21.425 --> 00:56:22.845
understand where you're coming from.

00:56:22.845 --> 00:56:27.565
So a quick way to understand this, Charles Hamilton came up with this kind of

00:56:27.565 --> 00:56:31.025
genealogy of Black power, and there's a continuum of Black power.

00:56:31.205 --> 00:56:35.265
And so you have on one end, you have the political bargainer,

00:56:35.405 --> 00:56:41.825
you know, the one who kind of who's on the inside, but they are comporting themselves

00:56:41.825 --> 00:56:43.425
in a way that makes white folks comfortable.

00:56:43.425 --> 00:56:47.125
But that's in order to get the resources to the community.

00:56:47.365 --> 00:56:51.305
And then on the other end is like the Stokely Carmichael's and the Panthers

00:56:51.305 --> 00:56:56.345
and so forth, who are saying this this whole system is fundamentally racist.

00:56:56.505 --> 00:57:00.985
We need to tear it down and rebuild it where it acknowledges us as human beings.

00:57:00.985 --> 00:57:06.345
So I think of all of this as black power, but there are just different degrees of black power.

00:57:06.345 --> 00:57:11.885
Yeah, and I totally agree with that assessment, Doc, because if you go to any

00:57:11.885 --> 00:57:18.885
black caucus of number in the United States, you will see those dynamics.

00:57:19.205 --> 00:57:24.025
We have one guy, I used to call him the phantom because he could be in a room

00:57:24.025 --> 00:57:27.085
with all white guys, all white people in the lounge.

00:57:28.165 --> 00:57:30.845
And, and he'll come back and tell us everything that they said.

00:57:31.425 --> 00:57:34.785
And they don't have a problem talking around him, but he just,

00:57:34.905 --> 00:57:38.185
you know, he just blends in and then he just, and he's darker to me and he'll

00:57:38.185 --> 00:57:41.105
just, it'll come out as a, Hey brother, get ready to do X, Y,

00:57:41.165 --> 00:57:42.005
and Z. You know what I'm saying?

00:57:42.825 --> 00:57:46.405
And then we had the older members, you know, that could, you know,

00:57:46.605 --> 00:57:49.065
Fleming's a little hotheaded. Let me tell you what he was trying to say.

00:57:49.185 --> 00:57:52.525
Right. And then it was me and a few others that were like raising hell all the time.

00:57:52.685 --> 00:57:58.825
So, but like you said, all together, collectively, as we effectively utilize

00:57:58.825 --> 00:58:00.705
each other's talents, that was power.

00:58:00.985 --> 00:58:06.045
And that gave us a lot of leverage to, because a lot of people don't understand

00:58:06.045 --> 00:58:10.725
based on numbers, black legislators are more effective in killing stuff than

00:58:10.725 --> 00:58:11.905
they are getting stuff passed.

00:58:12.545 --> 00:58:16.485
Because if you, if, if, if we weren't there, oh my God,

00:58:17.145 --> 00:58:21.865
I just, even we, we had this system when I was in,

00:58:22.405 --> 00:58:26.505
and this is like 20 some years ago, There was one black legislator in the state

00:58:26.505 --> 00:58:31.825
of Arizona, and she was like about 4'11", and that sister could shut down the

00:58:31.825 --> 00:58:35.145
whole Capitol building because she was she literally could say,

00:58:35.165 --> 00:58:39.545
I am speaking for all the black people in Arizona when I'd stand up or fight for something.

00:58:39.545 --> 00:58:45.645
So anyway, all right, you're bringing back all these good memories, Doc.

00:58:46.425 --> 00:58:50.365
Coretta Scott King said to abandon affirmative action is to say that there is

00:58:50.365 --> 00:58:52.525
nothing more to be done about discrimination.

00:58:52.965 --> 00:58:57.145
Yet the prevailing conservative mantra is to end affirmative action,

00:58:57.285 --> 00:58:58.405
especially in education.

00:58:58.845 --> 00:59:02.625
Are we to believe that there is nothing more that can be done about discrimination?

00:59:02.665 --> 00:59:05.385
And if not, then what can be done?

00:59:06.194 --> 00:59:10.214
Oh, there's so much that needs to be done, can be done, should be done.

00:59:10.714 --> 00:59:16.374
And to say that we don't need affirmative action is to say that white folks

00:59:16.374 --> 00:59:21.194
are done with affirmative action, like in terms of, you know,

00:59:21.254 --> 00:59:22.534
they didn't want it anyway.

00:59:22.734 --> 00:59:27.574
It was an executive order to begin with. So that already tells you it didn't

00:59:27.574 --> 00:59:31.074
even get through Congress, you know, in order for it to happen.

00:59:31.214 --> 00:59:35.054
Johnson had to do it as an executive order. And it's still in 65,

00:59:35.114 --> 00:59:41.234
and it still took until 1974 for there actually to be rules on implementation

00:59:41.234 --> 00:59:42.634
from the federal government.

00:59:42.814 --> 00:59:49.354
They had to be sued by white women, feminist groups sued the federal government.

00:59:49.674 --> 00:59:52.334
The NAACP had to join into these

00:59:52.334 --> 00:59:55.294
fights. So they didn't even want to implement it. You know, what is it?

00:59:55.714 --> 01:00:00.674
Entrance convergence. Their interests didn't converge with Black people's interests,

01:00:00.694 --> 01:00:04.114
so they didn't support affirmative action. And so there's always been,

01:00:04.134 --> 01:00:08.714
you know, a backlash against affirmative action. This is not new.

01:00:08.854 --> 01:00:15.774
It's just repackaged now as anti-DEI, you know, anti-woke, all of this type of stuff.

01:00:15.974 --> 01:00:19.314
But, you know, if they're being honest, they have hated this.

01:00:19.414 --> 01:00:26.334
They have hated this idea of leveling the playing field or making things equal since its inception.

01:00:26.794 --> 01:00:29.074
So in terms of what can be done.

01:00:30.131 --> 01:00:34.491
Well, one, if, you know, like overturned the Harvard, the Students for Fair

01:00:34.491 --> 01:00:40.071
Admissions versus Harvard case in 2023, it's based on a whole bunch of faulty logic.

01:00:40.391 --> 01:00:45.831
To begin with, Edward Blum, who brought the case, was a conservative entrepreneur.

01:00:45.831 --> 01:00:50.051
He calls himself, you know, an entrepreneur and a legal entrepreneur.

01:00:50.051 --> 01:00:56.251
And what he's going to do with that is use philanthropy, you know,

01:00:56.351 --> 01:01:01.071
like big philanthropic organizations to prop up his organization.

01:01:01.511 --> 01:01:06.931
It really wasn't even, he had only one Asian American who was willing to join

01:01:06.931 --> 01:01:12.111
that case. Most Asian Americans were like, hey, no, we want affirmative action, too.

01:01:12.451 --> 01:01:15.491
You just let this one guy speak for the rest of us.

01:01:16.451 --> 01:01:21.991
And then they narrowly focused affirmative action or their animus toward race.

01:01:22.131 --> 01:01:26.211
They did not focus it on any other protected class.

01:01:26.571 --> 01:01:31.751
So that just tells you right there it's inherently racist. But now what's happened

01:01:31.751 --> 01:01:38.191
is it's extended that the Harvard case is being used not just for admissions,

01:01:38.191 --> 01:01:43.851
it's used against race-based scholarships and other type of prep programs for students.

01:01:44.291 --> 01:01:50.251
And that's not what the law says, but people are so worried that there will

01:01:50.251 --> 01:01:54.471
be this kind of federal backlash against them if they continue to implement

01:01:54.471 --> 01:01:58.911
race-based scholarships and that sort of thing that people are going too far with it.

01:01:58.911 --> 01:02:05.411
And California can tell you what will happen, what's going to happen once the

01:02:05.411 --> 01:02:07.431
Harvard case gets fully implemented.

01:02:07.771 --> 01:02:14.431
Our Black student population cut exactly in half, you know, and it's dropping fast.

01:02:14.991 --> 01:02:19.071
And so we're trying to figure out workarounds and so forth And we've had to

01:02:19.071 --> 01:02:22.691
go to community foundations to establish scholarships for Black students in

01:02:22.691 --> 01:02:26.391
the private sector Because there's no, you know,

01:02:26.511 --> 01:02:31.531
state protection for these programs and for these scholarships So there's a

01:02:31.531 --> 01:02:33.171
whole lot that can be done,

01:02:33.331 --> 01:02:36.671
should be done Because we have not rectified,

01:02:37.231 --> 01:02:38.811
you know, brought parity.

01:02:39.728 --> 01:02:43.668
And people have to have the law in order to do the right thing.

01:02:43.848 --> 01:02:47.428
I don't think people just inherently are going to do the right thing without the law.

01:02:48.108 --> 01:02:53.528
Yeah. And, you know, I was thinking about when we had the Ayers case in Mississippi

01:02:53.528 --> 01:02:57.808
and and then Tennessee State was in a similar situation.

01:02:57.808 --> 01:03:03.268
It was like part of the settlement was the historically black colleges had the

01:03:03.268 --> 01:03:10.068
onus to get, you know, 50 percent of their student population as white.

01:03:10.488 --> 01:03:15.488
But there was no onus on University of Tennessee or Ole Miss or Mississippi

01:03:15.488 --> 01:03:18.528
State to get the black population at 50 percent. Right.

01:03:18.868 --> 01:03:23.068
Yeah. And, you know, I mean, the schools got money out the deal.

01:03:23.068 --> 01:03:27.968
It was like, OK, I guess that was an example of sliceability or whatever.

01:03:28.088 --> 01:03:33.228
But it was like we didn't they put the onus on us.

01:03:33.408 --> 01:03:39.288
And then now they turn around and saying, well, you know, should we have black kids at Harvard?

01:03:39.628 --> 01:03:42.828
Should we have black kids at the North at North University of North Carolina?

01:03:43.008 --> 01:03:46.348
Should we have them at Michigan if they can't, quote unquote,

01:03:46.588 --> 01:03:53.228
meet the standard? But what you were addressing was it didn't address the legacy part.

01:03:53.488 --> 01:03:58.288
So if my daddy wrote a check to the University of Michigan and they built a

01:03:58.288 --> 01:04:02.508
nice dorm with my last name on it, then I'm getting into that school.

01:04:02.788 --> 01:04:04.288
Right. Yeah. And they didn't.

01:04:04.808 --> 01:04:09.468
Nobody, nobody wanted to address that. It was very interesting to see Harvard

01:04:09.468 --> 01:04:13.868
kids actually debate that point. It was like a kid that actually was a legacy

01:04:13.868 --> 01:04:18.468
admission saying, so if I was black, I couldn't get in.

01:04:18.568 --> 01:04:22.248
But because my daddy made a check, I can't.

01:04:22.528 --> 01:04:25.128
Yeah. Is that fair? You know what I'm saying?

01:04:25.468 --> 01:04:29.948
So, yeah, I don't know. Is there...

01:04:31.149 --> 01:04:36.609
What is a way, you said workaround, give me an example of a workaround other

01:04:36.609 --> 01:04:38.809
than the private scholarships you're talking about.

01:04:39.049 --> 01:04:41.509
Yeah, there's a thing called holistic review.

01:04:42.009 --> 01:04:45.689
So holistic review looks at your application.

01:04:46.089 --> 01:04:52.669
So most of the time when students apply, we convert their GPA or their school

01:04:52.669 --> 01:04:55.309
competitiveness rank into this quadratic equation.

01:04:55.449 --> 01:04:59.749
And it kicks out a formula and it ranks your students.

01:05:00.269 --> 01:05:07.589
But holistic review would say we're not going to rely simply on these numeric markers of admission.

01:05:07.589 --> 01:05:12.529
We're going to use the totality of, you know, if a student,

01:05:13.109 --> 01:05:16.909
for instance, grew up in a single-parent household or they were homeless for

01:05:16.909 --> 01:05:22.709
a period of time or, you know, they had all kind of, they overcame all kind of hurdles,

01:05:22.929 --> 01:05:29.569
we would actually do a holistic review of their application and use those qualitative factors,

01:05:29.829 --> 01:05:31.549
not just the quantitative factors.

01:05:32.329 --> 01:05:36.769
And so that's what the University of California had to do because they were

01:05:36.769 --> 01:05:43.209
losing Black and Brown students at an alarming rate after affirmative action was gone in 1996.

01:05:43.529 --> 01:05:48.849
And so they had to slowly start to implement holistic review as a workaround.

01:05:49.289 --> 01:05:52.289
So they're not considering race, right?

01:05:52.509 --> 01:05:56.709
But they're considering all of these other things, income, homelessness,

01:05:57.309 --> 01:06:01.649
you know, or this student did all of this kind of volunteer work that we normally

01:06:01.649 --> 01:06:05.529
don't count toward admission, but now we're going to use that as a factor.

01:06:06.209 --> 01:06:11.089
Yeah. So did the state of California track these young people?

01:06:11.289 --> 01:06:15.869
Did they go to other states to go to college or did they just not go to school at all?

01:06:16.700 --> 01:06:22.440
A lot of them didn't go, particularly the black students. A lot of them either

01:06:22.440 --> 01:06:24.240
did not go or they went out of state.

01:06:24.800 --> 01:06:30.120
Yeah. And the other part of the problem is that, you know, and we know this.

01:06:30.280 --> 01:06:36.080
The problem is also at K-12 where the students aren't adequately prepared to

01:06:36.080 --> 01:06:37.440
get into the university.

01:06:37.440 --> 01:06:44.680
But more importantly, is that certain groups of students are not given the same

01:06:44.680 --> 01:06:48.960
kind of courses that would allow them to matriculate into the university.

01:06:49.220 --> 01:06:56.160
So Black students are grossly kind of ill-advised on what classes to take.

01:06:56.280 --> 01:06:59.740
So they'll take courses that will get them a high school diploma,

01:06:59.740 --> 01:07:05.000
but they won't count toward admission to the Cal State system or the University of California.

01:07:06.080 --> 01:07:13.640
And so we have a huge swath of black students who just would not make it into

01:07:13.640 --> 01:07:15.660
one of our state schools,

01:07:16.320 --> 01:07:22.200
whereas some of the HBCUs would bring those, you know, like bring those students

01:07:22.200 --> 01:07:26.700
in and help them, help them, you know, overcome whatever, you know,

01:07:26.800 --> 01:07:28.160
deficiency they may have.

01:07:28.160 --> 01:07:31.320
California used to have programs.

01:07:31.700 --> 01:07:36.580
We used to have a thing called the special admit program. And that would allow,

01:07:36.940 --> 01:07:41.500
if you were, say, for instance, you were missing one year of high school science,

01:07:41.500 --> 01:07:47.740
we would let you into the university and we would offer you tutoring support

01:07:47.740 --> 01:07:49.420
in order for you to catch up.

01:07:49.420 --> 01:07:55.680
Well, when affirmative action was gone, they started to chip away at the special admit program.

01:07:55.960 --> 01:08:00.120
And it was the way in which special admit is still on the books technically,

01:08:00.120 --> 01:08:03.980
but the way it's been implemented is it has targeted black students.

01:08:05.820 --> 01:08:12.940
So let's wrap this up. What do you want readers of the book to take away from

01:08:12.940 --> 01:08:16.960
it? So I really want people to take away two things.

01:08:17.180 --> 01:08:23.400
One, the power of the trustees to make policies and to thwart policies, really.

01:08:23.700 --> 01:08:30.400
They have a lot of say over what happens all the way from buildings,

01:08:31.060 --> 01:08:35.780
tenure decisions, what students get in. They set the prices for tuition.

01:08:37.280 --> 01:08:41.640
But, you know, the public is really unaware of who they are These people are

01:08:41.640 --> 01:08:46.020
not elected They are appointed by governors So they are very much political

01:08:46.020 --> 01:08:51.740
appointees And they often do the bidding of the person that appointed them Claudia

01:08:51.740 --> 01:08:55.260
Hampton was appointed by Ronald Reagan And she and Ronald Reagan did not have

01:08:55.260 --> 01:08:57.040
the same politics She was a Democrat,

01:08:57.240 --> 01:09:02.180
he was a Republican You know, he was anti-affirmative action She was pro-affirmative

01:09:02.180 --> 01:09:04.300
action She was her own person,

01:09:05.151 --> 01:09:09.631
And that leads to my second point that I want readers to understand is that

01:09:09.631 --> 01:09:16.311
there are ways in which you can be an effective leader as a Black person in

01:09:16.311 --> 01:09:21.291
these institutions and still have the community at the forefront of everything you do.

01:09:21.291 --> 01:09:27.931
Claudia Hampton not only cooked dinner for white men, she was responsible in

01:09:27.931 --> 01:09:35.231
budget crisis. She made sure that affirmative action never got underfunded or funding was taken away.

01:09:35.731 --> 01:09:39.851
And she just used the kind of power of her personality and her organizational

01:09:39.851 --> 01:09:43.971
skills in order to bring people along. People who were like,

01:09:44.131 --> 01:09:46.411
we don't like affirmative action, but we love Claudia Hampton.

01:09:46.591 --> 01:09:51.251
And she's like, fine, I'll I'll take that if that means these black kids will

01:09:51.251 --> 01:09:54.371
be able to get a college education. Yeah.

01:09:55.031 --> 01:09:56.191
Well, Dr.

01:09:57.211 --> 01:10:01.611
Donna J. Nicol, it's really been an honor to talk to you.

01:10:01.831 --> 01:10:07.231
I can tell that we just, you know, kind of scratched the surface a little bit.

01:10:07.231 --> 01:10:13.051
But since you've been a guest now, you have an open invitation to come back.

01:10:13.371 --> 01:10:18.311
And I would love to keep talking to you about education as a whole,

01:10:18.611 --> 01:10:24.391
especially higher education in the United States, because there's a lot of other

01:10:24.391 --> 01:10:27.971
issues that we can get into, not just the racial aspect of it,

01:10:28.051 --> 01:10:30.551
but even the value of a higher education at this point.

01:10:30.711 --> 01:10:35.591
So I'd love for you to come back, especially now that I know you're an administrator now.

01:10:36.351 --> 01:10:40.231
So, but, but I thank you for coming on and sharing this and where can,

01:10:40.511 --> 01:10:43.831
so where can people buy the book?

01:10:43.971 --> 01:10:46.291
How can people reach out to you? All the other stuff.

01:10:47.075 --> 01:10:55.315
So you can go directly to my website, which is www.donnajnicol.com.

01:10:55.315 --> 01:11:00.575
I actually have on the page some audio of Claudia Hampton that I was able to

01:11:00.575 --> 01:11:01.635
retrieve from the archive.

01:11:01.795 --> 01:11:05.435
So you can hear her in her own words talking about, you know,

01:11:05.515 --> 01:11:08.655
she said, well, they called me the affirmative action trustee.

01:11:08.855 --> 01:11:13.355
And so she talks about that and how she played the game of boardsmanship.

01:11:13.355 --> 01:11:16.315
That was the way she described what she did.

01:11:16.415 --> 01:11:20.715
So you can hear on the website, but you can also go under the research page

01:11:20.715 --> 01:11:25.075
and that's where you can find the direct link to purchase the book.

01:11:25.175 --> 01:11:29.055
If you go onto the press page, which is University of Rochester Press,

01:11:29.215 --> 01:11:32.815
there's a discount code on there. So you can get 35% off on the book.

01:11:32.895 --> 01:11:37.295
If you go through the press page, it's a little cheaper than what you would

01:11:37.295 --> 01:11:39.535
pay on Amazon, but I have the Amazon link too.

01:11:40.215 --> 01:11:46.715
Okay. All right. Well, again, Dr. Nicol, I appreciate you coming on and look forward.

01:11:47.115 --> 01:11:52.395
Hopefully you'll have a great school year this year and look forward to seeing

01:11:52.395 --> 01:11:57.275
whatever else you're going to write about or do in the education field.

01:11:57.715 --> 01:12:03.375
Oh, thank you again for having me. I really enjoyed the conversation and I would be happy to come back.

01:12:03.735 --> 01:12:06.075
All right, guys. And we're going to catch out on the other side.

01:12:06.960 --> 01:12:25.200
Music.

01:12:22.715 --> 01:12:26.875
We'll see you next time. All right. And we are back.

01:12:27.055 --> 01:12:33.035
And so now it's time for my next guest, Dontaye Carter, a native of Orlando, Florida.

01:12:33.195 --> 01:12:39.835
Dontaye Carter is the founder and owner of Carter Media Group and an alum of Florida A&M University.

01:12:39.835 --> 01:12:43.955
He has served as the vice chair of the school governance council at Dunwoody

01:12:43.955 --> 01:12:49.555
Springs Elementary, an executive board member of the PTO and as chair of the

01:12:49.555 --> 01:12:50.715
North Fulton Democrats.

01:12:51.195 --> 01:12:55.855
He is also the first vice president of the Atlanta NAACP and serves as the communications

01:12:55.855 --> 01:12:57.835
chair for the Georgia NAACP.

01:12:58.515 --> 01:13:05.855
In addition, he served as a board member of Cure Childhood Cancer for two years, concluding in 2024.

01:13:06.775 --> 01:13:13.115
Dontaye Carter announced his second candidacy for mayor of Sandy Springs on January the 19th, 2025.

01:13:13.595 --> 01:13:16.595
He finished second in his previous run in 2021.

01:13:17.195 --> 01:13:19.995
Dontaye lives in Sandy Springs with his wife, Dr.

01:13:20.095 --> 01:13:25.575
Karen Creed, board certified OBGYN at Northside Hospital, and their six-year-old

01:13:25.575 --> 01:13:29.915
daughter, co-author of the book, My Daddy and Me, Kyleigh.

01:13:30.495 --> 01:13:34.515
Ladies and gentlemen, it's my distinct honor and privilege to have as a guest.

01:13:34.515 --> 01:13:37.915
On this podcast, Dontaye Carter.

01:13:39.600 --> 01:13:49.200
Music.

01:13:49.046 --> 01:13:52.906
All right. Dontaye Carter. How you doing, brother? You doing all good?

01:13:53.586 --> 01:13:58.146
Oh, man, I'm doing all right. How you doing over there? I'm doing better than you. I'm not running.

01:13:58.966 --> 01:14:03.206
So, you know, I appreciate you being out here in these trenches and all that.

01:14:03.326 --> 01:14:08.186
But I always tell people if I'm not running for office, I'm doing great because I've been through it.

01:14:09.766 --> 01:14:13.906
That's it. Yeah. So, look, let's go ahead and get this going.

01:14:13.906 --> 01:14:16.106
I do a couple of icebreakers, right? Right.

01:14:16.346 --> 01:14:19.026
And so the first one is a quote.

01:14:19.446 --> 01:14:23.786
And the quote is, if you want to go quickly, go alone.

01:14:24.166 --> 01:14:28.706
If you want to go far, go together. What does that quote mean to you?

01:14:29.426 --> 01:14:32.346
You know, I think it speaks to a lot of what we're trying to accomplish right

01:14:32.346 --> 01:14:35.626
now. That's bringing people together so that we can go the distance.

01:14:35.826 --> 01:14:41.026
You know, we understand that we live in a system that systemically impacts us.

01:14:41.126 --> 01:14:45.806
And so untangling this system and democracy, democracy only works for those

01:14:45.806 --> 01:14:48.646
who have the numbers, right? That's what it is.

01:14:49.126 --> 01:14:52.346
And it's most basic terms. You go out and get the numbers.

01:14:52.846 --> 01:14:57.146
You can set precedent. You can set policy. You can set the things that you want to set.

01:14:57.146 --> 01:15:00.726
And so that's what we spent the last four years doing is getting out there and

01:15:00.726 --> 01:15:02.866
bringing people together so that we can truly go the distance,

01:15:02.866 --> 01:15:07.926
not just winning this election, but also so that we can have the numbers on city council, right?

01:15:08.006 --> 01:15:11.706
It's one thing to have a mayor who can sign executive order after executive order.

01:15:11.866 --> 01:15:15.926
It's another thing to have those three votes on city council that you can have

01:15:15.926 --> 01:15:17.986
people vote on and get your agenda passed.

01:15:18.126 --> 01:15:21.746
And so to me, that's what that quote really means is bringing people together,

01:15:22.206 --> 01:15:25.006
making sure that you have people in position so that you can go the distance

01:15:25.006 --> 01:15:26.466
to reach your goal. Yeah.

01:15:27.006 --> 01:15:30.246
All right. So the next icebreaker is what I call 20 questions.

01:15:31.546 --> 01:15:37.066
So I need you to give me a number between one and 20. Three.

01:15:37.966 --> 01:15:42.426
How should we balance rights, freedoms, and responsibilities?

01:15:43.326 --> 01:15:46.966
How should we balance it or how does this nation balance it, right?

01:15:47.886 --> 01:15:51.706
How do you balance it? Yeah, that's a personal question.

01:15:52.906 --> 01:15:56.666
Well, you know, I'm a very high moral type of guy.

01:15:56.866 --> 01:16:02.806
I truly believe in treating people the way you want to be treated in its simplest form.

01:16:02.906 --> 01:16:08.486
And so for me, I'm always looking at things as how, if the shoe was on the other

01:16:08.486 --> 01:16:12.326
foot, how would I want this, whatever this is being done to me?

01:16:12.446 --> 01:16:14.126
Would I think it's fair? Would I think it's equitable?

01:16:14.466 --> 01:16:19.266
How would I want that done in terms of if there's a wrong committed against me?

01:16:19.426 --> 01:16:24.086
How would I want those things amended? And so I think it's just important for

01:16:24.086 --> 01:16:28.706
me to look at through the lens of how would I want myself, my wife,

01:16:28.706 --> 01:16:29.806
or my daughter to be treated.

01:16:29.966 --> 01:16:32.406
And those are some of the things that I really focus on when I look at,

01:16:32.526 --> 01:16:35.166
when I think about the question that you just asked. Yeah.

01:16:35.906 --> 01:16:39.606
So you've lived in Sandy Springs for nearly a decade.

01:16:40.146 --> 01:16:44.426
What is it about Sandy Springs that makes it a special place to live?

01:16:45.301 --> 01:16:50.281
You know, I think what brought me here is my wife's an OB and she's required

01:16:50.281 --> 01:16:53.461
by law to be with it, you know, 12 to 15 minutes at a hospital.

01:16:53.621 --> 01:16:55.881
And so that's what brought us here.

01:16:56.481 --> 01:16:59.601
But as I've been here, as I've gotten to know the people, you know,

01:16:59.761 --> 01:17:04.801
Sandy Springs, it's changing drastically. It's 50 percent minority.

01:17:05.181 --> 01:17:08.101
And I think what people don't realize is when you say minority,

01:17:08.321 --> 01:17:13.261
it's not just black and Hispanic. I mean, we have people here from over 100

01:17:13.261 --> 01:17:14.941
different nations, right?

01:17:15.061 --> 01:17:19.501
So we're being exposed to a lot of culture here as well.

01:17:19.621 --> 01:17:26.321
And so for me, I grew up down in Orlando, East Orlando. And it reminds me a

01:17:26.321 --> 01:17:30.801
lot of where I came from, where you have the influx of diversity.

01:17:31.541 --> 01:17:35.341
And I think for me, that's something that I've always appreciated because you're

01:17:35.341 --> 01:17:38.181
able to see humanity for what humanity truly is.

01:17:38.421 --> 01:17:40.421
To me, that's something special. Yeah.

01:17:41.161 --> 01:17:45.601
So you ran for mayor in 2021 and finished second.

01:17:46.301 --> 01:17:50.001
What will be the difference this time that will lead your campaign to victory?

01:17:50.941 --> 01:17:54.241
We built community. And that's what we've been building for the last four years.

01:17:55.321 --> 01:18:00.261
We were endorsed by one of the longest serving principals here in the area after

01:18:00.261 --> 01:18:02.101
she retired, not long after she retired.

01:18:03.141 --> 01:18:07.901
And she was honest with her endorsement. She said, I saw him run just like a

01:18:07.901 --> 01:18:09.021
lot of people saw him run.

01:18:09.201 --> 01:18:15.601
And you know, after he ran we expected him to disappear and he never disappeared

01:18:15.601 --> 01:18:21.061
he kept showing up and I think for me that's what validated me in this decision

01:18:21.061 --> 01:18:23.801
to keep going is the fact that,

01:18:24.768 --> 01:18:29.128
For having folks like that that said, you know, seeing you never give up,

01:18:29.308 --> 01:18:33.348
seeing you continue to stay engaged, seeing you step up to support the community

01:18:33.348 --> 01:18:37.608
where you saw that there were needs, it meant a lot because we know that there are a lot of needs.

01:18:38.008 --> 01:18:41.408
We know everything from affordability, child care, health care,

01:18:41.488 --> 01:18:42.748
so many things are being impacted.

01:18:43.068 --> 01:18:45.968
We had a school that closed up here. And I think that, you know,

01:18:46.028 --> 01:18:50.308
we just have to, we got to ensure that we have folks who are in this for the

01:18:50.308 --> 01:18:53.348
long haul, who are looking at the best way to protect folks,

01:18:53.568 --> 01:18:57.688
looking at the best way to ensure that the city is affordable.

01:18:57.808 --> 01:19:01.148
And I think that's just the biggest thing. I think a lot of people are making money.

01:19:01.288 --> 01:19:04.648
We've got a ton of corporations up here. We got, I believe, more corporations

01:19:04.648 --> 01:19:06.288
up here than anywhere else in America.

01:19:06.888 --> 01:19:11.208
And a majority of them are paying taxes, you know. And so we're putting a bill

01:19:11.208 --> 01:19:14.848
on a lot of these things. And I think it's time to change that. Yeah.

01:19:15.648 --> 01:19:20.888
So, you know, hearing you tell the story about the retired principal,

01:19:20.888 --> 01:19:25.348
it just reminds me, in 1986, I first ran for office.

01:19:26.008 --> 01:19:31.288
And the one thing people said is like, well, you hadn't paid your dues and you got to pay your dues.

01:19:31.468 --> 01:19:34.828
Now, I didn't get elected until 13 years later.

01:19:34.828 --> 01:19:39.268
So I'm hoping that timetable is not your timetable, especially since you're

01:19:39.268 --> 01:19:43.588
running now. But, you know, it does mean something because a lot of those people,

01:19:43.588 --> 01:19:47.788
you know, saw that I was serious about it.

01:19:48.468 --> 01:19:54.368
And, you know, when the right office came, then I was able to get in with a lot of their support.

01:19:54.648 --> 01:20:02.708
And I'm hoping that that works for you. Like I said, more quicker than later in that case.

01:20:03.368 --> 01:20:07.568
What title do you draw from the most as a campaigner? husband,

01:20:07.908 --> 01:20:10.768
father, media consultant, or community leader?

01:20:11.468 --> 01:20:18.028
I think the one that I probably draw from the most is husband and father.

01:20:18.208 --> 01:20:22.468
I think, you know, that's the epitome of what keeps me going out here.

01:20:22.788 --> 01:20:25.428
That's, you know, again, you know, and I mentioned this earlier,

01:20:25.668 --> 01:20:33.628
it's like, you know, I didn't realize what type of position we were in until

01:20:33.628 --> 01:20:35.728
I went and worked for the Fulton County DA's office.

01:20:36.788 --> 01:20:40.088
And that's why I saw how laws were applied.

01:20:40.348 --> 01:20:47.148
And it just blew my mind, you know, that laws could be applied in a certain way.

01:20:47.448 --> 01:20:50.608
If you don't have good police officers that are doing their job,

01:20:50.748 --> 01:20:52.608
that are actually investigating these cases,

01:20:53.449 --> 01:20:58.049
it turns into this run-of-the-mill where it's an arrest, it's a prosecution,

01:20:58.269 --> 01:21:02.169
it's shipping folks off, and it's not until 20, 30 years later that you realize,

01:21:02.309 --> 01:21:04.029
man, we sent the wrong person down the road.

01:21:04.749 --> 01:21:10.729
And seeing how these things happen and happen with very well-intentioned,

01:21:10.869 --> 01:21:13.389
well-meaning folks blew my mind.

01:21:14.249 --> 01:21:17.909
That's when I decided and made that decision, you know what, I got to leave.

01:21:18.449 --> 01:21:22.409
I got to work outside the system so that I can really bring context to what's happening.

01:21:22.929 --> 01:21:26.409
So I leave the DA's office. I open up my own communications firm.

01:21:26.849 --> 01:21:30.429
I ended up getting hired on by an attorney by the name of Attorney Gerald Griggs.

01:21:30.549 --> 01:21:34.449
And one of the first big cases that hits my case is him working with the families

01:21:34.449 --> 01:21:36.909
involved in the R. Kelly case.

01:21:37.369 --> 01:21:43.109
And it wasn't until I'm looking through this and I'm reading through it.

01:21:43.209 --> 01:21:44.509
At the time, it was a charge.

01:21:44.729 --> 01:21:47.189
So it's a tough place to be in.

01:21:47.489 --> 01:21:52.489
I just remember talking out loud and my wife was just quiet.

01:21:52.809 --> 01:21:54.129
And I was like, babe, are you good?

01:21:54.949 --> 01:21:59.289
And I asked her again, because it was a deafening silence.

01:21:59.589 --> 01:22:03.189
And so she said, at some point, we need our husbands, our fathers,

01:22:03.409 --> 01:22:07.129
we need the men in our lives to act like they know there's a problem.

01:22:07.309 --> 01:22:11.109
And there's a real problem going on. The fact that you're helping me to raise

01:22:11.109 --> 01:22:14.789
a black girl and you're not seeing it for what it is bothers me.

01:22:14.889 --> 01:22:17.009
She was like, you can take that case for free for all I care.

01:22:17.809 --> 01:22:22.749
And I did end up taking it for free. And it was tough when I started looking

01:22:22.749 --> 01:22:26.089
at the laws and realizing that laws that were meant to protect women aren't

01:22:26.089 --> 01:22:30.689
sufficient enough, right? So I'm bounced from there and I get a call to help

01:22:30.689 --> 01:22:32.189
out with the Ahmaud Arbery case.

01:22:32.869 --> 01:22:35.329
And I'm working with the attorneys. is there and work with families.

01:22:35.569 --> 01:22:37.989
Another case that I took without taking a dime.

01:22:38.489 --> 01:22:44.009
And I started to see that not only are women and specifically black women not

01:22:44.009 --> 01:22:47.569
protected in these spaces, but man, we're not protected either.

01:22:48.209 --> 01:22:53.689
And then I go from there to looking at the laws that are in place in Sandy Springs

01:22:53.689 --> 01:22:57.129
and seeing that we don't even have a civil rights ordinance in place, right?

01:22:57.289 --> 01:23:02.289
So now we're talking about the fact that discrimination's not defined within

01:23:02.289 --> 01:23:03.789
the city limit. So what does that impact?

01:23:04.069 --> 01:23:07.389
That impacts those who work in the city, that impacts those who live in the city.

01:23:08.929 --> 01:23:12.449
And I get so frustrated when I hear the,

01:23:13.542 --> 01:23:20.062
Those who want to criticize say, well, Fulton County has a civil rights law.

01:23:20.362 --> 01:23:24.862
And it's like, you know, but now you're saying I got to go into a courtroom

01:23:24.862 --> 01:23:29.962
to talk about what was done to me and have this jurist decide whether or not

01:23:29.962 --> 01:23:33.182
I was discriminated against because we don't have a long city in the books.

01:23:33.302 --> 01:23:34.602
That's why Atlanta has one.

01:23:34.822 --> 01:23:39.442
That's why Brookhaven has one. That's why all these cities have one because

01:23:39.442 --> 01:23:41.222
they're doing that to hold folks accountable.

01:23:41.222 --> 01:23:46.522
And so, you know, as I started to look at the laws and see that, oh, man, like,

01:23:47.262 --> 01:23:53.802
it's not only do the laws we need to have on the books be there that aren't,

01:23:53.882 --> 01:23:56.842
but we still got our case stuff on the books, you know?

01:23:57.222 --> 01:24:00.542
Like, you know, a black man can't own a dog in the state of Georgia.

01:24:00.802 --> 01:24:05.222
Like, they'll tell you, man, well, we don't enforce it, but it's like, it's still on the books.

01:24:05.822 --> 01:24:09.402
Like, if you don't enforce it, take it off. Like, take it off.

01:24:10.702 --> 01:24:15.422
Why is it still there? You know, it's very similar to even on the federal government side.

01:24:15.622 --> 01:24:20.442
Every few years, you know, there's still a vote that has to take place on whether

01:24:20.442 --> 01:24:22.082
or not we retain the right to vote.

01:24:22.222 --> 01:24:26.762
It's like you think this stuff is crazy until you really start looking at it.

01:24:26.882 --> 01:24:28.682
And it's just, it's bananas.

01:24:28.962 --> 01:24:33.902
But, you know, I think all of those things, this is why I draw for me being

01:24:33.902 --> 01:24:39.122
a husband, me being a father, because it allows me to be open and feel these

01:24:39.122 --> 01:24:41.142
things in a way that pushes me to drive change.

01:24:42.241 --> 01:24:46.121
Yeah. Yeah. That's interesting about the dog thing.

01:24:46.241 --> 01:24:50.441
I did not, I did not, you know, cause I kind of, that's one of the things I

01:24:50.441 --> 01:24:53.021
look for those little obscure laws like that.

01:24:53.741 --> 01:24:59.361
And I didn't, like you said, there's some stuff in Georgia that needs to be improved.

01:24:59.541 --> 01:25:03.841
Did not realize it was illegal for a black man to own a dog in the state. That's, that's great.

01:25:04.101 --> 01:25:08.741
I, I understand the historical significance of it though, but it's still crazy.

01:25:09.401 --> 01:25:12.641
I got four of them, man. You know, the misdemeanors are lining up.

01:25:13.581 --> 01:25:16.861
Look, we could probably do a whole show on that.

01:25:17.821 --> 01:25:21.641
You have listed four priorities that you would like to address as mayor.

01:25:21.881 --> 01:25:26.941
Fair housing for all, stopping rent hikes and price gouging to protect renters,

01:25:27.661 --> 01:25:31.741
capping property taxes, keeping homeowners secure amid rising costs,

01:25:32.461 --> 01:25:35.841
strengthening communities, building community centers that unite and empower

01:25:35.841 --> 01:25:42.561
residents, and smart growth, preventing predatory development while fostering sustainable progress.

01:25:42.921 --> 01:25:48.841
Which of these four priorities would you like to see movement on during your first 100 days?

01:25:49.061 --> 01:25:53.961
Definitely the direct center and definitely affordable housing.

01:25:54.161 --> 01:25:57.941
Like these, Sandy Springs has over 50 acres of undeveloped city-owned land.

01:25:58.061 --> 01:25:59.321
Like we already own the land.

01:25:59.601 --> 01:26:05.121
And there are developers out there whose focus is affordability.

01:26:05.121 --> 01:26:09.221
That's what they build for Not just tiny homes Not just, I mean,

01:26:09.321 --> 01:26:10.461
that are looking at Okay,

01:26:10.721 --> 01:26:14.441
how do we build this home in the most effective Most affordable way They're

01:26:14.441 --> 01:26:20.541
already doing it The problem that we have is Throughout this nation, we have mayors,

01:26:21.201 --> 01:26:26.101
Who've, I mean, even in this In the city of Sandy Springs We've.

01:26:26.875 --> 01:26:30.135
They're funding all the campaigns. There's a lot of money that I've left on

01:26:30.135 --> 01:26:33.115
the table because they don't want me focused on certain issues.

01:26:33.295 --> 01:26:38.995
And what I'm telling them is, listen, not only does this impact people I love,

01:26:39.155 --> 01:26:41.295
but at some point it's going to impact me.

01:26:41.595 --> 01:26:45.035
Like you can't keep developing and building up around us, right?

01:26:45.315 --> 01:26:47.595
And think that we're going to be able to afford to stay in our homes.

01:26:47.695 --> 01:26:50.375
I've already seen it with, you know, there was a lady four years ago that says,

01:26:50.475 --> 01:26:53.295
I don't understand why you're talking about affordable housing.

01:26:53.455 --> 01:26:56.015
And then her husband retired and she has to move out of her home because they

01:26:56.015 --> 01:26:57.915
can't afford to keep things up.

01:26:58.055 --> 01:27:00.795
And that's what I'm trying to get folks to see is, you know, Dr.

01:27:00.875 --> 01:27:05.095
King said it so eloquently, and I'm not going to say it verbatim,

01:27:05.235 --> 01:27:09.455
but I mean, essentially what happens to one side is going to happen to the other.

01:27:09.655 --> 01:27:13.215
And if we don't start looking at things through a very collective lens about

01:27:13.215 --> 01:27:18.415
how these things impact and affect us, it's going to leave us in some very tough positions.

01:27:18.735 --> 01:27:23.635
And I mean, we're watching the middle class fade away in real time.

01:27:24.115 --> 01:27:27.795
And we may not be able to see the full glimpse of it in five years,

01:27:27.955 --> 01:27:29.255
but you're going to see it in 10.

01:27:29.515 --> 01:27:33.395
It's coming and it's coming fast. And so, you know, that's why,

01:27:33.715 --> 01:27:40.995
you know, I've been working so hard and fighting so hard because I care about these things.

01:27:41.215 --> 01:27:47.555
You know, I had two parents who went and fought for this country,

01:27:47.695 --> 01:27:48.875
who served in this military.

01:27:49.135 --> 01:27:54.375
I was literally born in Frankfurt, West Germany, before the Berlin Wall came

01:27:54.375 --> 01:28:00.415
down, as not just my father, but my mother were also there on the front line standing.

01:28:00.915 --> 01:28:05.135
You know, holding up democracy, you know, and I didn't even realize until I

01:28:05.135 --> 01:28:08.515
had a conversation with my mother recently, she's already, you know,

01:28:08.715 --> 01:28:13.495
pairing her little and going through these things to make sure that if anything happens to her,

01:28:14.075 --> 01:28:16.695
that my godparents are ready and all these things.

01:28:16.835 --> 01:28:21.775
And so when I think about the sacrifices When I see her go through what she

01:28:21.775 --> 01:28:26.915
went through over there, not just as a soldier, not just as being Black,

01:28:27.055 --> 01:28:28.815
but also as being a woman, right?

01:28:29.715 --> 01:28:34.695
It's when I see her go through all that, come back here, fight to get back on

01:28:34.695 --> 01:28:36.915
her feet, go through the challenges that she faced.

01:28:37.195 --> 01:28:41.335
Us being, for a small period, homeless, like dealing with the things that we dealt with.

01:28:41.635 --> 01:28:46.335
Like there's no reason that things should have spiraled out the way that they did.

01:28:46.475 --> 01:28:50.315
And we just have to be honest, you know? So in Sandy Springs over here where

01:28:50.315 --> 01:28:54.855
the Sandy Springs UMC is selling their land and developers coming in to build

01:28:54.855 --> 01:28:56.455
on it, the city gave them $5 million,

01:28:57.075 --> 01:29:00.455
gave them 10 years to pay off that $5 million loan and told them they didn't

01:29:00.455 --> 01:29:04.355
have to pay full taxes in the meantime to assure that they get their money back.

01:29:05.775 --> 01:29:08.475
There's no guarantees that we're going to get this money back.

01:29:08.775 --> 01:29:12.935
There's no guarantees that they're going to hire any small businesses from the city of Sandy Springs.

01:29:13.115 --> 01:29:16.195
No guarantees that they're going to use minority contractors.

01:29:16.195 --> 01:29:19.895
To me, that's not a benefit to the city Right? And,

01:29:20.835 --> 01:29:26.035
The cities do lose more and more with deals like this when we could be investing

01:29:26.035 --> 01:29:31.655
in rec centers, right, where we have programs there that help grow leaders,

01:29:31.895 --> 01:29:35.095
that, you know, put job training in there, give kids places to go.

01:29:35.315 --> 01:29:39.335
I mean, we have the land to do these things. We have the opportunity to do these things.

01:29:39.475 --> 01:29:44.575
But the reality is, is we have people that it's not in their best interest for

01:29:44.575 --> 01:29:48.195
them to do it so that it won't. And I think at that point, that's when we have

01:29:48.195 --> 01:29:51.755
to realize it's time to send some folks home. And that's what I'm going to do.

01:29:52.635 --> 01:29:56.935
So let me see if I got this right. So Sandy Springs, United Message,

01:29:57.075 --> 01:30:02.235
that's the church right there on Mount Vernon, right behind City Springs, the City Springs area.

01:30:02.695 --> 01:30:07.035
Yeah. All right. And that's kind of like where the city was founded, if I'm correct.

01:30:08.235 --> 01:30:11.395
That's where they found the little well and all that stuff. And the city grew

01:30:11.395 --> 01:30:14.595
from that. So they're talking about they're getting ready to move.

01:30:15.435 --> 01:30:19.355
Yeah, they're gone. They're already in a soul gland. Okay. And the developers,

01:30:19.375 --> 01:30:22.015
they got all type of tax abated. That's what I'm saying.

01:30:23.115 --> 01:30:26.975
Our property tax in Sandy Springs, 33% in the last six years,

01:30:27.235 --> 01:30:29.655
right? So that's a bill that homeowners are footing.

01:30:30.155 --> 01:30:34.335
That's extra rent that our renters are paying. I mean, it's bananas because

01:30:34.335 --> 01:30:39.455
they just, this past week, had a whole conversation about the millage rate and what to do with it.

01:30:39.455 --> 01:30:43.275
And they said, no, we'll leave it the same, even though they're bringing in

01:30:43.275 --> 01:30:48.555
hundreds of thousands of dollars more, possibly millions, if we get to the weeds of numbers.

01:30:48.895 --> 01:30:53.135
We're in a place where if we wanted to, we could lower the millage rate, right?

01:30:53.355 --> 01:30:58.475
And still lower the millage rate, still afford excellent services with police fire, all these things.

01:30:59.055 --> 01:31:02.155
But they're taking the burden off some of our homeowners, some of our renters, right?

01:31:02.295 --> 01:31:07.055
And we don't even have anybody in there. We know they're bringing in mixed use, right?

01:31:07.535 --> 01:31:11.955
We're giving them money. Why not incentivize them to actually make these rents livable?

01:31:12.095 --> 01:31:15.715
You know, I've sat down, I've talked to our educators, I've talked to our police.

01:31:16.275 --> 01:31:18.515
You know, what's affordable is $1,200 a month.

01:31:19.377 --> 01:31:23.857
I mean, it's not too many places where you're going to find $1,200 a month.

01:31:24.417 --> 01:31:27.117
You know, they'll tell you that, well, the police don't want to live in a city

01:31:27.117 --> 01:31:28.137
where they're going to arrest people.

01:31:28.297 --> 01:31:32.637
Nah, that's not what they told me, right? They said, if it's affordable, they'll live in a city.

01:31:33.017 --> 01:31:36.977
My grandfather, he coached on the Police Athletic League when I lived up in

01:31:36.977 --> 01:31:39.317
Washington, D.C. I played on his baseball team.

01:31:39.757 --> 01:31:43.157
I mean, you create opportunities for people to serve in the community.

01:31:43.337 --> 01:31:47.377
They're going to step up and serve, but it's all dictated by who is at the top.

01:31:47.617 --> 01:31:51.897
Right now, at the top is the mayor. He's dictating the culture of the city. We got to change that.

01:31:52.597 --> 01:31:56.497
Yeah. Well, I was interested in somebody would say that about Sandy Springs.

01:31:56.657 --> 01:32:00.057
The police don't want to live where the crime is because, you know,

01:32:00.417 --> 01:32:05.157
for all intents and purposes, Sandy Springs is a safe place to live. It is not a hotbed.

01:32:05.797 --> 01:32:11.237
As a matter of fact, I get you. You and I can go over to Hammond Drive and that

01:32:11.237 --> 01:32:16.997
building is probably the hotbed of crime in Sandy Springs. It's not the, it's not widespread.

01:32:17.237 --> 01:32:22.157
And if you looked at that place, you're like going, really, this is where all the crime is happening?

01:32:22.357 --> 01:32:27.077
It's because it looks like a luxury condo. So, you know, I think that's kind

01:32:27.077 --> 01:32:28.077
of an outlandish statement.

01:32:28.097 --> 01:32:31.837
But, you know, when you're out there running, people are going to say stuff to you.

01:32:31.957 --> 01:32:36.157
So I'm glad that you were able to rebuff that a little bit.

01:32:36.397 --> 01:32:39.517
What is going to be the toughest priority to fulfill?

01:32:41.097 --> 01:32:47.157
Man, I think one of the toughest priorities is really going to be,

01:32:47.217 --> 01:32:50.977
I think it's going to be a combination of two, right? Because something's going

01:32:50.977 --> 01:32:52.177
to change on one side or the other.

01:32:52.557 --> 01:32:57.117
It's either we do something about housing, or we got to bring income up, right?

01:32:57.777 --> 01:33:00.977
What we face in Georgia are a lot of preemptive laws.

01:33:01.657 --> 01:33:07.577
They set the corporate tax at, I think, 5.7%, which is bananas.

01:33:07.857 --> 01:33:11.497
They've allowed, because other cities, you look at California,

01:33:11.657 --> 01:33:14.257
New York, Texas, they're all charging these corporations a lot more.

01:33:14.257 --> 01:33:20.277
So they're coming in here, you know, not even paying half of what they paid

01:33:20.277 --> 01:33:26.857
in other states And they've made it illegal for cities to tax the corporations, a city tax,

01:33:27.377 --> 01:33:30.177
Which, you know, if you look at New York City and you look at the cities in

01:33:30.177 --> 01:33:35.617
New Jersey They're probably charging about 11.5% tax on these corporations that are there.

01:33:36.597 --> 01:33:42.517
I say all that because we hear a lot of these folks talking about They're bringing

01:33:42.517 --> 01:33:46.697
jobs, bringing jobs, bringing jobs Are they bringing jobs or are they bringing employees?

01:33:47.277 --> 01:33:51.157
Because the majority of these corporations already have their employees.

01:33:51.317 --> 01:33:52.897
They're not hiring from within the community.

01:33:53.077 --> 01:33:56.297
So we just got to have a real conversation about these things and about what,

01:33:56.597 --> 01:34:00.917
like, if we're cutting out all these tax benefits to where we already can't

01:34:00.917 --> 01:34:06.497
charge y'all a city business tax in the same manner that other states are, right?

01:34:06.597 --> 01:34:10.717
Like, yeah, they'll pay for their business renewal license, but we're not getting

01:34:10.717 --> 01:34:13.837
that same tax fee that other cities are getting.

01:34:14.257 --> 01:34:16.217
And y'all aren't paying property taxes.

01:34:17.388 --> 01:34:21.548
What are y'all bringing to the city? And I think for me, that's where a lot

01:34:21.548 --> 01:34:26.468
of the frustration is because, you know, Sandy Springs, we're at a real crossroads.

01:34:26.588 --> 01:34:28.248
This really is a tale of two cities.

01:34:28.648 --> 01:34:32.788
You know, you get on the other side of Abernathy and it's a different city.

01:34:33.088 --> 01:34:36.248
It doesn't look like you're driving south going in the bucket.

01:34:36.508 --> 01:34:41.388
It's a different city. And we've got to have real honest conversations about that.

01:34:41.528 --> 01:34:44.828
We've got to talk about what true investment looks like. We've got to talk about

01:34:44.828 --> 01:34:48.488
why we don't have an affordable housing advisory committee.

01:34:48.808 --> 01:34:51.588
I'm in here talking to my brother's girlfriend.

01:34:52.088 --> 01:34:56.648
She works for a chamber of commerce. I won't say which one, but she works for a chamber of commerce.

01:34:56.808 --> 01:35:00.328
And the first thing they had that they did with the city was they created an

01:35:00.328 --> 01:35:01.908
affordable housing committee.

01:35:02.048 --> 01:35:05.468
We don't have these things and we don't have them because they don't care.

01:35:05.688 --> 01:35:09.328
And that's just the reality. And so I think the challenge is,

01:35:09.488 --> 01:35:14.008
I know what we can do, but it's not going to take away from the obstacles in a way.

01:35:14.628 --> 01:35:19.428
We've really got to look at these preemptive laws that are impacting cities

01:35:19.428 --> 01:35:22.708
greatly, especially nobody's talking about the tariffs coming down,

01:35:22.828 --> 01:35:26.208
what that's going to mean for city services, which is why we're seeing a lot

01:35:26.208 --> 01:35:27.828
of cities trying to what?

01:35:28.048 --> 01:35:32.088
Not lower their millage rate, but actually going up. There are a ton of cities

01:35:32.088 --> 01:35:35.568
around us and they're doing that bracing for what these tariffs,

01:35:35.788 --> 01:35:38.168
how these tariffs are going to impact the way these cities run.

01:35:38.168 --> 01:35:41.928
And so we just, we got to have a real conversation. I'm talking to state leaders.

01:35:42.648 --> 01:35:50.128
They're saying that nobody in this North Fulton region has a plan on what they're

01:35:50.128 --> 01:35:51.068
going to do going forward.

01:35:51.068 --> 01:35:55.428
I think it's, for me, that's scary when I hear folks don't have a plan because

01:35:55.428 --> 01:36:00.828
if you've been in office 20 plus years, you should have seen a lot, right?

01:36:00.988 --> 01:36:04.968
We had a huge economic crash in 2008.

01:36:05.228 --> 01:36:09.588
You've been through that. You should know where we are now and have an idea

01:36:09.588 --> 01:36:11.208
of what that looks like going forward.

01:36:11.548 --> 01:36:15.208
But there aren't any. So that is going to be the biggest challenge.

01:36:15.208 --> 01:36:20.608
You know, the reality is, is economically, all indications are we're in a recession,

01:36:20.848 --> 01:36:24.808
but nobody's saying, you know, they're throwing money, you know,

01:36:25.168 --> 01:36:28.748
trying to cover up these, you know, wounds and putting band-aids in places.

01:36:28.908 --> 01:36:35.148
But the reality is, is we just have to be honest and understand that we got a lot of people out here.

01:36:35.628 --> 01:36:41.548
They're hurting Sandy Springs Public Schools. I took heat back in January when I said this.

01:36:42.668 --> 01:36:48.488
We're looking at a homeless student population of about 30% in our public school systems.

01:36:48.948 --> 01:36:52.988
A lot of this is because of displacement caused from development.

01:36:53.188 --> 01:36:55.148
It's because rent is off the chain.

01:36:55.868 --> 01:37:00.388
And, you know, folks would rather hide it than look at how to heal this situation.

01:37:00.528 --> 01:37:03.508
I'm saying these things are going to impact us.

01:37:03.708 --> 01:37:07.748
Like if you starve people of opportunity, these things will happen.

01:37:08.048 --> 01:37:12.188
You know, we had the largest fentanyl drug bust In the history of Georgia Right

01:37:12.188 --> 01:37:14.228
here in Sandy Springs this year,

01:37:15.138 --> 01:37:19.478
I said it's because there's a disconnect between the community and the people in office.

01:37:19.638 --> 01:37:23.658
Folks said, well, you know, you're going a little overboard with that, aren't you, Dontaye?

01:37:23.778 --> 01:37:28.378
No, the reality is, is if you've got a strong relationship within your community,

01:37:28.398 --> 01:37:29.938
you understand what the needs are.

01:37:30.258 --> 01:37:32.138
You're not pushing that top of the way through the city.

01:37:32.618 --> 01:37:36.838
The reality is, and we know that based upon the numbers. Before I ran,

01:37:36.918 --> 01:37:40.458
only 7,000 residents in this city turned out to vote.

01:37:40.658 --> 01:37:43.058
We are a city of close to 110,000 people.

01:37:43.498 --> 01:37:48.518
That's a lot of people not voting And look, if we're honest I'm going to be honest,

01:37:48.978 --> 01:37:53.298
I had somebody DM me saying Man, we didn't even know Sandy Springs was a city

01:37:53.298 --> 01:37:57.398
And they said that in 2025 And they live here We didn't know we had a mayor

01:37:57.398 --> 01:38:02.878
We didn't know we had elections I know folks who were born in this city Right,

01:38:02.998 --> 01:38:06.018
in this area Because a lot of people don't even realize There's historically

01:38:06.018 --> 01:38:07.538
black parts of Sandy Springs.

01:38:08.238 --> 01:38:13.158
That were pushed out And people were pushed out of this place because they put

01:38:13.158 --> 01:38:14.438
up the king and queen building, right?

01:38:14.818 --> 01:38:18.898
But people who lived here who have never voted in this election until they saw

01:38:18.898 --> 01:38:22.078
somebody that looked like them or somebody that was close to pigment to them.

01:38:22.118 --> 01:38:26.938
And so we just got to be honest about the fact that people aren't voting and

01:38:26.938 --> 01:38:29.058
they're not voting here in this city because they don't feel seen,

01:38:29.138 --> 01:38:30.558
they don't feel heard, they don't feel valued.

01:38:30.898 --> 01:38:35.518
And that's why we got to work overtime to go out there and let them know, hey, we are here for you.

01:38:35.858 --> 01:38:39.078
And if you get out and vote, you put your trust in me, we're going to make sure

01:38:39.078 --> 01:38:40.558
that you see it reciprocated.

01:38:41.038 --> 01:38:44.898
Yeah. So you mentioned north of Abernathy.

01:38:45.158 --> 01:38:50.258
The future of North End and Sandy Springs has become an issue the last couple

01:38:50.258 --> 01:38:52.078
of years, not just this election,

01:38:52.278 --> 01:38:57.458
but I think there was a young lady running for county commissioner that I know

01:38:57.458 --> 01:39:00.258
has been real active in that part of the city.

01:39:00.258 --> 01:39:03.178
And that was one of her main drives of running.

01:39:03.518 --> 01:39:07.938
The incumbent council member has spearheaded a number of economic development

01:39:07.938 --> 01:39:09.298
initiatives in that area.

01:39:09.678 --> 01:39:13.458
However, the challenger has stated that not only is it not enough,

01:39:13.458 --> 01:39:15.458
but it needs to go in a different direction.

01:39:15.898 --> 01:39:18.478
What is your vision for the North End?

01:39:19.418 --> 01:39:25.038
My vision, honestly, is we've. So when I look at the North End,

01:39:25.238 --> 01:39:27.078
it's the same way I look at the South End, right?

01:39:27.078 --> 01:39:31.438
We need to start from a community-centered focus perspective,

01:39:31.818 --> 01:39:35.118
start building a rec center on the north side, building one on the south side,

01:39:35.138 --> 01:39:42.258
right, and building businesses around that the families here, right, could use.

01:39:42.638 --> 01:39:45.778
The problem is I've gone to these meetings.

01:39:46.861 --> 01:39:50.501
If you look at what the demographics are on this north end, those same people

01:39:50.501 --> 01:39:51.821
are at none of these meetings.

01:39:52.461 --> 01:39:57.101
And so, you know, they put a goodwill in where a covert used to be.

01:39:57.441 --> 01:40:02.481
They've created a food desk, right? So now, again, it's the mayor's job to go

01:40:02.481 --> 01:40:04.381
out and find businesses to bring into the city.

01:40:05.561 --> 01:40:09.161
You can say, well, with the chamber, you can, listen, at the end of the day,

01:40:09.521 --> 01:40:12.241
the leader of the city is the mayor.

01:40:12.361 --> 01:40:15.601
The buck stops at the mayor. It's the mayor's responsibility to say,

01:40:15.681 --> 01:40:18.321
you know, we need a rec center up here on the north end for these kids.

01:40:18.521 --> 01:40:21.001
It's not enough to run around and talk about juvenile crime.

01:40:21.141 --> 01:40:23.121
You don't have safe places for kids to go.

01:40:24.041 --> 01:40:28.501
It's, hey, man, all we got up there is the publics. Some folks ain't going to

01:40:28.501 --> 01:40:30.821
the publics. There's a little pricey in some of these other locations.

01:40:31.381 --> 01:40:36.661
How can we get a more affordable option in here? How do we look at these things? It's the mayor's job.

01:40:36.841 --> 01:40:42.601
And again, we have the budget to incentivize these folks to come in.

01:40:42.601 --> 01:40:47.921
How they use the budget is what I have issues with because I believe we can

01:40:47.921 --> 01:40:51.161
be more community focused with the things that we do.

01:40:51.961 --> 01:40:58.061
And look at bringing in companies that are going to partner with our schools

01:40:58.061 --> 01:41:03.161
for apprenticeship programs to where we know all these kids aren't going to college.

01:41:03.921 --> 01:41:08.301
So how do we incentivize them, give them opportunities to where they don't feel

01:41:08.301 --> 01:41:12.021
like they're being left out on the island? That's the scariest thing to feel

01:41:12.021 --> 01:41:13.821
is when you feel like there's no opportunity.

01:41:14.441 --> 01:41:16.101
And that's what we're dealing with.

01:41:16.781 --> 01:41:21.661
Sandy Springs' greatest threat isn't crime. It's not somebody robbing you in the street.

01:41:21.841 --> 01:41:26.481
I mean, if we're honest, if we're honest, Sandy Springs' violent crime rate

01:41:26.481 --> 01:41:30.261
will have to triple just to reach the state average. This is a safe place.

01:41:30.941 --> 01:41:35.481
Crime is not our issue. Hopelessness is. And it's the mayor's job to go out

01:41:35.481 --> 01:41:37.981
and find those opportunities for the residents. Yeah.

01:41:38.861 --> 01:41:44.241
All right. Right. So Sandy Springs historically was supposed to be a sanctuary

01:41:44.241 --> 01:41:46.641
from the urban life of Atlanta.

01:41:48.941 --> 01:41:52.621
Now it is one of the 10 largest cities in the state of Georgia.

01:41:52.961 --> 01:41:58.501
How as mayor will you be able to maintain that sanctuary feel and embrace diversity

01:41:58.501 --> 01:42:01.601
while encouraging and managing growth?

01:42:02.778 --> 01:42:05.618
Sandy Springs is going to grow. That's just what it is.

01:42:05.778 --> 01:42:09.778
I think us tap dancing, I mean, we can go into history why Sandy Springs was

01:42:09.778 --> 01:42:13.238
founded, but Atlanta has boomed.

01:42:13.418 --> 01:42:18.758
There's no metro city that's not booming right now. That's just the honest to God truth.

01:42:19.198 --> 01:42:22.878
I think what we got to look at is how do we embrace the diversity.

01:42:23.258 --> 01:42:28.318
When you look at City Green, a lot of their performances in that arena,

01:42:28.458 --> 01:42:29.758
they're still ending in the red, right?

01:42:29.758 --> 01:42:33.758
They're bringing in Attractions but

01:42:33.758 --> 01:42:37.998
these attractions Aren't doing like I'm not Saying they don't have sellout performances

01:42:37.998 --> 01:42:42.318
What I'm saying is that at the end of the year They're still red in there And

01:42:42.318 --> 01:42:46.518
what I'm saying is if you know you have A substantial black population You have

01:42:46.518 --> 01:42:53.338
a substantial Hispanic population It's time to do more To bring in these Diverse performances,

01:42:53.678 --> 01:42:58.698
comedians Like it wasn't until I brought in Shula King for a Juneteenth event

01:42:58.698 --> 01:43:02.558
that the city tried to one-up meet and invite Kevin Hart.

01:43:02.638 --> 01:43:04.778
And I'm like, y'all should have been going there.

01:43:04.918 --> 01:43:09.178
It's like, yeah, Brennan, man, we have people here who can afford to go and

01:43:09.178 --> 01:43:12.538
spend money at City Green to listen and watch Kevin Hart.

01:43:12.758 --> 01:43:16.238
They will do it. How do we embrace these diverse audiences?

01:43:16.538 --> 01:43:21.058
And I think that's part of the issue of what we've had here.

01:43:22.358 --> 01:43:28.258
Let's stop talking about what this city was because according to what they wanted,

01:43:28.358 --> 01:43:31.138
They stopped doing that 15 years ago.

01:43:31.358 --> 01:43:36.178
If you look at the original plans for what they wanted this city to be,

01:43:36.438 --> 01:43:39.998
even the older folks, the seniors who've been around a long time,

01:43:40.078 --> 01:43:44.318
say, man, you know, so-and-so stopped that 15 years ago, right?

01:43:44.478 --> 01:43:49.038
The city's already veering towards owning the fact that they are going to be

01:43:49.038 --> 01:43:51.918
a very large urban suburban city.

01:43:53.038 --> 01:43:56.598
What I'm saying is, now that we acknowledge that's what we are,

01:43:56.798 --> 01:43:59.898
let's look at how we create a

01:43:59.898 --> 01:44:03.238
sense of inclusion that brings people to the table where we can maximize.

01:44:03.578 --> 01:44:08.798
I mean, if we're honest, before I ran four years ago, a lot of folks thought

01:44:08.798 --> 01:44:09.938
they still lived in Atlanta.

01:44:10.518 --> 01:44:14.438
Oh, this is Atlanta. And it's like, no, what do you mean? I'm voting for consenting.

01:44:14.598 --> 01:44:18.378
I'm not a guy that's like, you're not voting for consenting. No, you didn't, bro.

01:44:18.858 --> 01:44:26.178
You ain't been. This house has never been in the city limits of Atlanta You are in Sandy's furnace,

01:44:26.838 --> 01:44:30.218
You're not voting for Andre, you're not voting for Kasim. These are the people

01:44:30.218 --> 01:44:31.418
that are running in your ranks,

01:44:31.918 --> 01:44:35.998
But the reason they don't know Is because the things that they're Attracted

01:44:35.998 --> 01:44:39.658
to, they feel like they have to go South to get And what I'm saying is we can

01:44:39.658 --> 01:44:44.538
build that right here And folks, when we start talking about Building culture and community, folks,

01:44:45.038 --> 01:44:50.738
Immediately want to jump to just Oh, they need to just talk about rap and hip-hop

01:44:50.738 --> 01:44:53.258
and talking about, you know, low-income housing.

01:44:53.818 --> 01:44:57.678
Listen, people want to live in a place that's affordable.

01:44:58.198 --> 01:45:01.838
You get the best groups of people in places that are affordable.

01:45:02.158 --> 01:45:05.718
What I'm focused on is how do we keep this city affordable?

01:45:06.538 --> 01:45:09.638
Yeah. All right, so let's wrap it up with this question.

01:45:10.218 --> 01:45:15.958
When Kyleigh becomes 26 years old, what do you hope that she will say about you

01:45:15.958 --> 01:45:20.958
as a dad and as a political figure? Man, whoo-wee.

01:45:23.298 --> 01:45:32.298
That's a deep one You know, I'm not sure what she'll say What I'm hoping that

01:45:32.298 --> 01:45:40.878
she sees Is a dad that's willing to fight for her And fight for every child that's at her school,

01:45:42.046 --> 01:45:45.886
A dad that was willing to make sure that she understood how this political system worked.

01:45:46.226 --> 01:45:53.246
A dad that understood that she needed, as a woman, as a woman to be, to be empowered.

01:45:54.246 --> 01:45:59.566
And I know she feels it, you know, and I know that because she was in pre-K

01:45:59.566 --> 01:46:01.126
and organized her first protest.

01:46:01.786 --> 01:46:05.066
They cut her, they cut recess short by 15 minutes.

01:46:05.686 --> 01:46:10.006
And I don't know how she knew, but she knew. And she organized her class together

01:46:10.006 --> 01:46:13.526
and said, we're not doing, we're not going to nap time.

01:46:13.706 --> 01:46:16.706
We're not doing anything until we get the rest of our recess back.

01:46:17.286 --> 01:46:21.546
Our teacher called me and said, Mr. Carter, I need you to talk to your daughter.

01:46:22.146 --> 01:46:25.306
And I said, what in the world happened? She said, we had to cut recess short.

01:46:26.086 --> 01:46:27.306
We're just running behind.

01:46:28.166 --> 01:46:33.146
And she's in, oh, about recess. And the little girl got on the phone.

01:46:33.146 --> 01:46:37.206
And she's like, well, daddy, you said if you see something, you got to say something.

01:46:37.366 --> 01:46:38.966
Master Edmonds at four years old.

01:46:39.246 --> 01:46:43.206
And so even if it's her saying that when she's 26 years old,

01:46:43.486 --> 01:46:48.726
I want her to know that she's powerful beyond measure, that children she's going

01:46:48.726 --> 01:46:50.486
to school were powerful beyond measure.

01:46:52.146 --> 01:46:57.766
And that this is, you know, her daddy fought to make sure that she had a place,

01:46:57.946 --> 01:47:03.186
not just in this country, but in this city and a place that was affordable for them to return to.

01:47:03.646 --> 01:47:06.086
You know, I got a lot of folks with kids that live in any basement.

01:47:06.386 --> 01:47:07.686
They can't find anywhere to live.

01:47:07.906 --> 01:47:10.626
And, you know, my kid decides she wants to come back and live in my basement.

01:47:10.746 --> 01:47:12.906
By all means, baby, come on home. We love to hang.

01:47:13.466 --> 01:47:17.286
But if she said, daddy, I can't find anything. I can't find anything with what

01:47:17.286 --> 01:47:19.086
I'm making. To me, that's wrong.

01:47:19.906 --> 01:47:27.446
Yeah. All right. So this is the time where you make your spiel and tell people

01:47:27.446 --> 01:47:31.806
how to get in touch with the campaign, all that stuff. So go ahead and do your thing.

01:47:32.526 --> 01:47:40.046
Listen, y'all, I'm on every platform as Dontaye Carter or Dontaye for a minute. That's Dontaye spelled.

01:47:40.606 --> 01:47:44.086
D as in dog, O as in onion, N as in Nancy, T as in tiger, A as in apple,

01:47:44.226 --> 01:47:45.846
Y as in yellow, E as in egg.

01:47:46.366 --> 01:47:49.766
Connect with me. We've got ways for you to get involved with this campaign.

01:47:50.526 --> 01:47:54.246
This campaign, this People's Senate, I've left a lot of money at the table.

01:47:54.506 --> 01:47:58.566
And I did that intentionally because I believe in people. I believe in what

01:47:58.566 --> 01:48:01.706
we could do. They could do what they did in the civil rights movement without the money.

01:48:01.906 --> 01:48:05.306
But they did what they did in the women's rights movement and the gay rights movement.

01:48:05.486 --> 01:48:10.006
Any movement that's happened in this country, they did it without the money.

01:48:10.526 --> 01:48:14.246
Maynard didn't have the money when he first ran for mayor in Atlanta.

01:48:14.966 --> 01:48:18.926
It's important for us to make sure that we are bringing people to the table

01:48:18.926 --> 01:48:23.426
so that we can make the best impact, but I can't do that without you.

01:48:23.566 --> 01:48:27.306
So I need you. So please, if you have time, tap in. All right.

01:48:27.406 --> 01:48:28.526
And so what's the website?

01:48:29.406 --> 01:48:34.646
It's www.dontayeformayor.com. And I also have dontayecarter.com as well,

01:48:34.706 --> 01:48:37.646
where you can learn a little more about me as the person, the dad. Yeah.

01:48:38.724 --> 01:48:45.404
Well, one of the things I noticed is that you can't spell Dontaye without donate, right?

01:48:47.924 --> 01:48:52.304
So, yeah, you know, y'all do what y'all can for them.

01:48:52.504 --> 01:48:58.244
Brother, I have admired you from afar since I've been around here in Georgia.

01:48:58.724 --> 01:49:03.904
And, you know, the brief time that we've been able to break bread and talk a

01:49:03.904 --> 01:49:07.724
little bit, even though we really haven't had a one-on-one, just the time that

01:49:07.724 --> 01:49:10.904
we've been able to spend, I know your heart's in the right place.

01:49:11.684 --> 01:49:17.224
And, you know, it was just the council person I was referring to when she first

01:49:17.224 --> 01:49:23.824
ran, she was like, I don't know, these people, they might not be ready for me and all this stuff.

01:49:23.844 --> 01:49:29.384
And I said, if I'd never met you and I just looked at your resume,

01:49:30.084 --> 01:49:33.164
you'll win and she did and so

01:49:33.164 --> 01:49:37.064
when when you look at resume and

01:49:37.064 --> 01:49:40.764
you know I don't have anything personal against certain people but

01:49:40.764 --> 01:49:44.824
I have a bias toward people that are good right and

01:49:44.824 --> 01:49:50.544
I want good people to get in office just to see what they could do and you know

01:49:50.544 --> 01:49:56.604
because people took a chance on me and and I and I managed to I think do some

01:49:56.604 --> 01:50:01.684
good things in the time that I was there and so So I want people to give you that opportunity, too.

01:50:01.864 --> 01:50:05.964
So I'm glad that you had time to come on. I'm glad you agreed to come on.

01:50:06.604 --> 01:50:11.304
And I hope that folks in Sandy Springs agree with my assessment and give you

01:50:11.304 --> 01:50:12.544
that opportunity to lead.

01:50:13.304 --> 01:50:16.624
I appreciate it. Thank you so much. All right. All right, guys.

01:50:16.744 --> 01:50:18.924
And we're going to go ahead and catch you all on the other side. Peace.

01:50:20.240 --> 01:50:30.800
Music.

01:50:31.019 --> 01:50:36.859
All right, and we are back. So I want to thank Keldamuzik, Dr.

01:50:37.059 --> 01:50:41.719
Donna Nicol, and Dontaye Carter for coming on the podcast.

01:50:43.579 --> 01:50:48.179
Kelda was very, very honored that I asked her to come on.

01:50:49.339 --> 01:50:53.799
And I don't think she really do why I wanted her on, but I wanted her to talk

01:50:53.799 --> 01:50:58.239
about what she's doing with her company, Tamz. Y'all please support that because

01:50:58.239 --> 01:51:02.299
she's really trying to do some good things off of that.

01:51:02.879 --> 01:51:08.019
And, you know, whether, you know, she didn't really,

01:51:08.339 --> 01:51:12.799
well, I don't say she was amused that I said you're a politician,

01:51:12.799 --> 01:51:18.719
whether you admit it or not, because, you know, she's having an impact in the

01:51:18.719 --> 01:51:21.059
community, trying to help people dealing with cancer,

01:51:21.779 --> 01:51:23.799
trying to empower people with self-esteem.

01:51:23.799 --> 01:51:26.699
You know plus she's doing her thing

01:51:26.699 --> 01:51:31.279
music wise and i think that's incredible and and

01:51:31.279 --> 01:51:36.439
you know she's she's trying to keep it black and that's hard in the entertainment

01:51:36.439 --> 01:51:41.159
industry but she's doing the best she can so you know i wanted to uplift her

01:51:41.159 --> 01:51:46.459
and let her know that somebody you know is paying attention not just to her

01:51:46.459 --> 01:51:51.199
her music which is an awesome collection if y'all go to.

01:51:51.939 --> 01:51:57.559
Apple Music, because I was about to say iTunes, but then somebody younger than me said, Mr.

01:51:57.699 --> 01:52:00.539
Fleming, don't say iTunes. It's Apple Music now.

01:52:01.019 --> 01:52:03.279
So if you go to Apple Music and,

01:52:03.859 --> 01:52:09.259
You'll see that she's been in a game for a while and her style has evolved,

01:52:09.279 --> 01:52:16.539
which is what you want anybody, any artist to to to be free enough to do that.

01:52:16.939 --> 01:52:23.819
And you'll be I think you'll be entertained by her her her style and the way

01:52:23.819 --> 01:52:25.519
that she she goes about her thing.

01:52:26.559 --> 01:52:31.899
Dr. Donna Nicole, I mean, Nicol. Yeah, we only scratched the surface.

01:52:34.439 --> 01:52:42.259
She's put a lot of time into this book and Black Woman on the Board.

01:52:42.819 --> 01:52:47.599
And I really want y'all to go, it's been out for a while, but I really want

01:52:47.599 --> 01:52:54.219
y'all to read that because it highlights what we have to do, right?

01:52:54.319 --> 01:52:59.539
When we're the Black person in the room, what would you do, right?

01:52:59.539 --> 01:53:05.419
And so Donna talks about what this sister did in order to fight for children,

01:53:06.019 --> 01:53:07.459
black children in California.

01:53:08.439 --> 01:53:12.279
And, you know, and Donna is, Dr. Donna is very, very modest.

01:53:13.039 --> 01:53:17.499
And, you know, but she, she's that same kind of person. As a matter of fact,

01:53:17.599 --> 01:53:23.499
she might be more like me as far as a firebrand kind and dealing with it.

01:53:23.579 --> 01:53:28.059
But she's got the same heart that she wants to help our folks.

01:53:28.779 --> 01:53:33.799
And she's got some projects coming down the road that'll, you know,

01:53:34.179 --> 01:53:37.359
highlight that even more. And then Dontaye Carter.

01:53:37.939 --> 01:53:40.659
So Dontaye is a young brother who...

01:53:41.957 --> 01:53:46.797
I would love to see the be the mayor of Sandy Springs and not just be,

01:53:46.857 --> 01:53:49.837
you know, for the black thing or the Democrat thing or whatever,

01:53:50.197 --> 01:53:54.537
because I just I want American leaders.

01:53:54.757 --> 01:53:58.657
Remember, that's what I've been preaching. I want people who give a damn about us.

01:53:59.157 --> 01:54:04.857
I want people to understand the day to day grind of working for a living.

01:54:04.857 --> 01:54:13.077
And, you know, yeah, he's doing okay compared to other black folks,

01:54:13.077 --> 01:54:18.217
but he's still a dad. He's still a husband.

01:54:18.237 --> 01:54:24.757
He's still a community person. He's still trying to, he really wants to do this

01:54:24.757 --> 01:54:27.877
for the right reasons. He's not trying to get money out of this.

01:54:28.417 --> 01:54:32.677
He's not trying to, you know, get his friends money out of this.

01:54:33.397 --> 01:54:39.477
Some of the people that he's had to tell, thanks but no thanks, you know.

01:54:39.777 --> 01:54:42.497
In politics, you've got to have those conversations.

01:54:42.837 --> 01:54:48.277
You know, there's a show coming on with Denzel that Spike Lee put together, and that's the theme.

01:54:48.437 --> 01:54:53.017
It's like all money ain't good money, right? But, you know, and you want to

01:54:53.017 --> 01:54:58.097
do things the right way, especially when it comes to working for the people.

01:54:58.357 --> 01:55:02.637
And Dontaye has been working for folks. He hasn't been elected before,

01:55:02.917 --> 01:55:06.237
but that doesn't limit you. And that's the thing we highlight.

01:55:06.437 --> 01:55:09.497
We highlight people that are not necessarily elected.

01:55:10.037 --> 01:55:14.317
You know, some might aspire to be elected, you know, and there are some that

01:55:14.317 --> 01:55:16.977
have come on that have been elected or are currently elected.

01:55:16.977 --> 01:55:22.957
But the reality is that this show is a reminder that there are people who are

01:55:22.957 --> 01:55:26.157
not elected that are doing the work, that are less.

01:55:27.117 --> 01:55:33.317
So, you know, since I'm not bound by any rules or regulations or anything like

01:55:33.317 --> 01:55:35.777
that, you know, I want to see this brother win.

01:55:37.337 --> 01:55:42.277
And, you know, we had talked about him coming on the podcast.

01:55:42.277 --> 01:55:46.317
And so I'm glad that he was able to carve out some time in the campaign to do that.

01:55:47.097 --> 01:55:53.457
And if you live in Sandy Springs, support his brother because he he's going to do you proud.

01:55:53.617 --> 01:55:55.997
He will literally be only the third human being.

01:55:56.557 --> 01:55:59.977
You know, people talk about it'll be the first black. He'll be literally the

01:55:59.977 --> 01:56:03.817
third human being to be the mayor of Sandy Springs.

01:56:04.917 --> 01:56:11.657
So let's give this brother a chance. Let's let's let's let's move into the the

01:56:11.657 --> 01:56:14.997
end of the 2020s and the 2030s with with new leadership.

01:56:15.337 --> 01:56:17.637
Right. All right, so now...

01:56:18.876 --> 01:56:22.916
Of things on my mind. Let me read you this story that kind of bothered me,

01:56:23.036 --> 01:56:24.856
and I took it from Reuters.

01:56:25.056 --> 01:56:30.056
It says, a Maine police officer who was arrested by Immigration Customs and

01:56:30.056 --> 01:56:35.396
Customs Enforcement, which we know as ICE, has agreed to voluntarily leave the country.

01:56:36.416 --> 01:56:41.676
John Luke Evans, a reserve officer with the Old Orchard Beach Police Department

01:56:41.676 --> 01:56:47.056
and a Jamaican national, was taken into custody by ICE on July 25th.

01:56:47.356 --> 01:56:53.276
The agency alleged that Evans overstayed his visa and unlawfully attempted to purchase a firearm.

01:56:54.056 --> 01:56:57.236
ICE confirmed that a judge granted Evans voluntary departure,

01:56:57.496 --> 01:57:01.316
which allows him to leave the country at his own expense rather than face deportation.

01:57:02.016 --> 01:57:08.036
Old Orchard Beast Police Chief Elise Shard previously said federal officials

01:57:08.036 --> 01:57:12.656
had informed the department that he was legally authorized to work in the U.S.

01:57:13.236 --> 01:57:16.656
The department received verification that he was eligible for employment through

01:57:16.656 --> 01:57:19.596
the E-Verify program before he was hired, Chard said.

01:57:20.116 --> 01:57:25.016
However, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin criticized

01:57:25.016 --> 01:57:31.276
the town's quote unquote reckless reliance on E-Verify, an online tool used

01:57:31.276 --> 01:57:33.596
to confirm work eligibility for employees.

01:57:34.296 --> 01:57:39.296
Chard said in a statement that the town will continue to use the online system

01:57:39.296 --> 01:57:43.796
amid its commitment to meeting all state and federal laws regarding employment.

01:57:44.136 --> 01:57:49.296
So the assistant secretary of Homeland Security just pissed off a police chief in Maine.

01:57:51.356 --> 01:57:56.996
Right. Because she's losing an officer. and then, you know, you want to criticize

01:57:56.996 --> 01:58:04.736
her for using the system that y'all have for us to do this kind of work, right?

01:58:07.076 --> 01:58:11.596
So, you know, the tragedy is, is here's this young brother, Mr.

01:58:11.756 --> 01:58:15.016
Evans, who, you know, he just wanted to do the right thing.

01:58:15.436 --> 01:58:17.416
He got into law enforcement.

01:58:17.896 --> 01:58:21.116
You know, if he thought he was an illegal person,

01:58:21.810 --> 01:58:26.630
he want to put on a gun and a badge and be even more of a target?

01:58:27.250 --> 01:58:32.950
I mean, they told him he could work. So, you know, he didn't have anybody over

01:58:32.950 --> 01:58:35.350
his shoulder, dotting his I's and crossing his T's.

01:58:35.490 --> 01:58:37.830
Once they said he was eligible to work, he went to work.

01:58:38.410 --> 01:58:44.670
And apparently he was a good officer because the police chief basically said,

01:58:44.750 --> 01:58:48.730
hey, look, we did what we were supposed to do to hire and we hired them,

01:58:49.610 --> 01:58:53.370
you know, and we're going to use that same system until you come up with something

01:58:53.370 --> 01:58:55.050
better. We're going to use that same system.

01:58:55.810 --> 01:59:01.730
So, you know, you can get off your high horse, you know, you can say reckless reliance.

01:59:01.870 --> 01:59:07.370
What, what, what hit, you know, what reckless reliance is supporting Donald

01:59:07.370 --> 01:59:10.610
Trump and believing that he's going to be a president that gives a damn about

01:59:10.610 --> 01:59:11.890
you, me, and anybody else.

01:59:11.990 --> 01:59:14.690
That's reckless reliance, right?

01:59:15.890 --> 01:59:22.470
That's the reckless faith that you thought that this guy was going to be different

01:59:22.470 --> 01:59:25.330
than he was the first time he served. That's reckless.

01:59:25.990 --> 01:59:32.050
For a police chief to hire a good person to be on their police department, that's not reckless.

01:59:32.390 --> 01:59:35.670
That's them following the law, right?

01:59:36.410 --> 01:59:39.750
Crossing their T's and dotting their eyes, right?

01:59:40.410 --> 01:59:46.450
So I'm glad that a judge was able to get to Brother Evans and allow him to leave

01:59:46.450 --> 01:59:54.810
on his own instead of being sent to Alligator Alcatraz or Gina or wherever they

01:59:54.810 --> 01:59:57.590
were going to send him in detention, you know,

01:59:58.050 --> 02:00:01.050
and he's just going to go back to Jamaica.

02:00:01.150 --> 02:00:08.330
So that's a good person that the United States has lost because folks at a convention

02:00:08.330 --> 02:00:12.670
in Milwaukee all had signs saying mass deportation now, right?

02:00:13.736 --> 02:00:19.816
That's that's the result of that. Right. You just want to kick everybody out that ain't you.

02:00:20.696 --> 02:00:24.036
These are the things that are going to happen. And not just police officers,

02:00:24.076 --> 02:00:28.736
but the folks that will repair your house when the storms come.

02:00:29.276 --> 02:00:32.776
And FEMA is not writing these checks anymore. Right.

02:00:33.576 --> 02:00:41.336
The people that feed you. Now, I'm not going to go as far as my shero,

02:00:41.476 --> 02:00:46.276
Jennifer Welch, and ban you from going to any restaurants that have an ethnic

02:00:46.276 --> 02:00:49.776
theme to them, which, by the way,

02:00:50.276 --> 02:00:53.336
she might have got Cracker Barrel in trouble because, you know,

02:00:53.656 --> 02:00:57.236
they put the spotlight on Cracker Barrel, and then they found out they changed

02:00:57.236 --> 02:01:01.416
the logo, and now these folks are mad about the logo being changed.

02:01:03.316 --> 02:01:09.856
That's the reckless stuff this misplaced anger I mean Kentucky Fried Chicken

02:01:09.856 --> 02:01:14.476
stop using the bucket y'all didn't have a protest about that the colonel's well

02:01:14.476 --> 02:01:16.376
I guess the colonel's still on the logo,

02:01:17.196 --> 02:01:20.056
but initially I don't think he just went to KFC,

02:01:21.336 --> 02:01:25.976
you know there wasn't no mass protest about that of course wasn't no internet

02:01:25.976 --> 02:01:32.116
like it is now when he did it but still you know I want to I want to say that

02:01:32.116 --> 02:01:34.916
Cracker Barrel is woke because they changed the logo?

02:01:35.316 --> 02:01:37.296
Really? What are we doing?

02:01:39.156 --> 02:01:42.976
You're not mad about your Medicaid being cut off. You're not mad about your

02:01:42.976 --> 02:01:46.956
Social Security being cut off, but you're mad about Cracker Barrel changing the logo.

02:01:47.956 --> 02:01:55.516
Anyway, so that's the issue with, you know, we're losing a good brother.

02:01:56.036 --> 02:02:00.036
You know, I don't know him. You know what I'm saying? If I drove through Maine,

02:02:00.216 --> 02:02:02.776
he'd probably be the first one to write me a speeding ticket. I don't know.

02:02:03.576 --> 02:02:09.016
He'd be doing his job if I was speeding, which I probably would have been.

02:02:09.176 --> 02:02:16.436
But nonetheless, you know, from what I gather, the chief wouldn't stick her

02:02:16.436 --> 02:02:22.656
neck out if he was nobody important or nobody special.

02:02:23.836 --> 02:02:31.916
Yeah, I'm just saying. Anyway, that was just one of the things I wanted to talk

02:02:31.916 --> 02:02:37.156
about because the other one, do I even want to address it because I'm going

02:02:37.156 --> 02:02:38.616
to get emotional about it.

02:02:39.941 --> 02:02:43.501
Well, you know, if you've been listening to the show, at least for the last

02:02:43.501 --> 02:02:48.101
two or three episodes, you know that I don't have a high regard for Greg Abbott

02:02:48.101 --> 02:02:51.421
and those Republicans in Texas.

02:02:52.481 --> 02:02:58.261
But it reached a new low. When the Democrats decided, OK, we've made our point.

02:02:58.781 --> 02:03:02.981
We know we can't stay away from the state forever. Although there is one sister

02:03:02.981 --> 02:03:05.381
that's like, I don't know if she's ever coming back.

02:03:07.041 --> 02:03:10.941
She might. she might finish her term in another state.

02:03:12.701 --> 02:03:16.641
But the majority of Democrats came back enough for them to have a quorum,

02:03:16.641 --> 02:03:23.841
and they did go ahead, as you heard in the news, and passed that god-awful gerrymandered

02:03:23.841 --> 02:03:25.801
congressional district,

02:03:26.761 --> 02:03:28.061
which will be challenged in

02:03:28.061 --> 02:03:32.041
court, you know, because that's what the California folks are going to do.

02:03:32.241 --> 02:03:36.321
It's like Kevin McCarthy has come from the dead, and now that California is

02:03:36.321 --> 02:03:39.881
like, okay, well, Texas, you did their thing, you know, we're going to do art.

02:03:40.701 --> 02:03:45.601
And so now there's going to be a referendum in November. And so Kevin McCarthy

02:03:45.601 --> 02:03:48.701
has jumped out and said, oh, we're going to raise money to stop it.

02:03:48.841 --> 02:03:56.841
It's like, bro, you, you might want to see this thing pass because the Republican

02:03:56.841 --> 02:04:01.501
party that you're trying to protect are the ones that kicked you out of office.

02:04:01.901 --> 02:04:06.961
They kicked you out of the Speaker's chair, they kicked you out of the party

02:04:06.961 --> 02:04:08.061
you didn't even run anymore.

02:04:08.761 --> 02:04:10.961
But now you want to stand on principle.

02:04:11.901 --> 02:04:18.361
You know, and I get it, but then I don't because it's like, there's no going back for you.

02:04:18.941 --> 02:04:24.221
If you raise this money and you stop to, you convince the people in California

02:04:24.221 --> 02:04:30.521
not to counter the folks in Texas with redrawing the lines, you're not going

02:04:30.521 --> 02:04:32.121
to be any good graces with these people.

02:04:33.121 --> 02:04:37.921
Donald Trump has loyalty to no one. He'll say thank you for your attention to

02:04:37.921 --> 02:04:41.381
this matter on Truth Social and keep it pushing. That's all you're getting.

02:04:42.121 --> 02:04:46.481
You know, you got to go to Mar-a-Lago. You got to be the Speaker of the House for a minute.

02:04:47.421 --> 02:04:50.761
I'd say let him ride this out. Good luck to you.

02:04:51.361 --> 02:04:56.301
You know, I tried to do my part. You didn't appreciate it. It's time to go.

02:04:57.341 --> 02:05:00.781
Nonetheless, it is what it is in California. But I want to get back to Texas.

02:05:02.121 --> 02:05:09.221
So when the Democrats came back, the Republicans had something waiting for them

02:05:09.221 --> 02:05:12.481
other than the stupid bill.

02:05:12.481 --> 02:05:20.461
They had set it up where if you wanted to leave the Capitol building,

02:05:20.461 --> 02:05:28.821
that you would have to sign this permission slip and agree that a law enforcement

02:05:28.821 --> 02:05:33.901
officer would basically escort you to and from the Capitol building.

02:05:35.224 --> 02:05:39.564
Sure that you, if you left, that make sure you came back, right,

02:05:39.704 --> 02:05:40.804
for the next day's session.

02:05:41.604 --> 02:05:46.344
So, of course, there was a sister who said, her name is Nicole Collier.

02:05:46.804 --> 02:05:49.384
She said, oh, hell no, I'm not doing that.

02:05:50.064 --> 02:05:57.584
So, they literally locked this sister in the building because she would not sign that slip.

02:05:57.924 --> 02:06:01.604
She would not sign off on somebody. She's a grown woman.

02:06:02.424 --> 02:06:05.524
If they all agreed, they were out of the state.

02:06:06.184 --> 02:06:09.224
They were not in Texas. They came back.

02:06:09.384 --> 02:06:14.244
If they came back, then they were ready to get this over with and move on with their lives.

02:06:14.844 --> 02:06:16.684
Get ready for the next battle that's coming.

02:06:17.544 --> 02:06:21.024
But you wanted these people to sign a slip.

02:06:22.304 --> 02:06:26.064
And, you know, and some people are just like, whatever, man, and keep it pushing.

02:06:26.384 --> 02:06:29.184
I'm not mad at them. Some people were calling them sellouts and all that.

02:06:29.284 --> 02:06:32.444
I said, if they were sellouts, they wouldn't have left in the first place.

02:06:33.124 --> 02:06:34.884
Because there were some Democrats that stayed.

02:06:35.684 --> 02:06:40.844
I'm just saying. They made sure it was not enough for them to sneak a quorum

02:06:40.844 --> 02:06:42.784
in, but there were some that stayed.

02:06:45.104 --> 02:06:49.244
And these people came back. They already like, bro, we just going to have to

02:06:49.244 --> 02:06:52.384
act a fool on the floor, say what we got to say.

02:06:52.584 --> 02:06:54.544
They're going to vote for this crap, keep it moving.

02:06:55.224 --> 02:06:58.424
So they had to sign a slip. It's like, look, whatever, brother.

02:06:59.084 --> 02:07:01.484
Do I need to ride in car with you. You're going to follow me.

02:07:01.564 --> 02:07:04.864
What are we doing? Because I'm going to the house. And then I'm going to be

02:07:04.864 --> 02:07:06.504
back here to deal with this bullshit tomorrow.

02:07:07.104 --> 02:07:08.844
Right? Okay.

02:07:10.024 --> 02:07:13.024
But for those people who's like, no, I'm not signing that.

02:07:13.964 --> 02:07:18.564
There's no way you would have thought, okay, well, we're going to lock you in the building.

02:07:19.224 --> 02:07:23.724
The largest state capital in the United States, building-wise.

02:07:23.844 --> 02:07:26.724
It was one of the largest buildings in America at one time.

02:07:27.224 --> 02:07:30.184
You could fit the Mississippi State Capitol inside.

02:07:32.056 --> 02:07:35.656
Texas state capitol. You probably fit the state of Georgia capitol in there,

02:07:35.876 --> 02:07:38.456
probably at the same time. That's how big this building is.

02:07:39.256 --> 02:07:44.176
You're going to lock somebody in there because they didn't sign a slip?

02:07:45.036 --> 02:07:50.376
No. And I told people, and people think sometimes I'd be hyperbolic when I say

02:07:50.376 --> 02:07:51.756
these things, but I know me.

02:07:52.296 --> 02:07:55.776
I know what kind of person, especially when I was a legislator,

02:07:55.856 --> 02:07:57.336
I know what kind of person I was.

02:07:58.196 --> 02:08:03.236
And I've meddled a lot as I've gotten older and away from that, But not that much.

02:08:03.516 --> 02:08:07.356
And definitely, I haven't lost my recollection of how I felt.

02:08:08.356 --> 02:08:12.536
I wish we had a situation like that in Mississippi, and they told me that Eric

02:08:12.536 --> 02:08:14.076
Fleming couldn't leave the building.

02:08:14.636 --> 02:08:19.596
Whereas one time in my life, I actually had the keys to the building, right?

02:08:20.016 --> 02:08:22.756
But you're going to tell me I can't leave the building?

02:08:23.696 --> 02:08:28.516
It's like, if you want me to have a police escort, this is what's about to happen.

02:08:29.236 --> 02:08:30.776
We about to get into a fight.

02:08:31.636 --> 02:08:37.276
If I have to assault somebody, if I have to, you know, the assault is the more

02:08:37.276 --> 02:08:39.916
intelligent word for what I really want to do.

02:08:40.576 --> 02:08:44.216
You know, the Speaker of House and I would be maybe brawling.

02:08:44.976 --> 02:08:48.436
And then you can have a police escort me to the county facility.

02:08:49.156 --> 02:08:52.056
And, you know, I'll have all the law enforcement watching me at that point.

02:08:52.936 --> 02:08:56.796
You know, you ain't got to worry about where I am because I'm going to be at the jail.

02:08:57.976 --> 02:09:02.716
Now, I can't ask Nicole Collier, who seems like a very, very classy lady. She's an attorney.

02:09:03.056 --> 02:09:06.336
You know, it doesn't look like she would punch anybody.

02:09:07.156 --> 02:09:12.596
Can't ask her to do that. But I know if that was me, you wouldn't have to worry about the police.

02:09:12.816 --> 02:09:17.436
You'd probably have several law enforcement officers on me because I'd be at the jail.

02:09:18.376 --> 02:09:21.456
I would not be locked in that Capitol building. If you're going to lock me up,

02:09:21.536 --> 02:09:24.456
lock me up in a place where you're supposed to lock people up. That'd be a jail.

02:09:25.156 --> 02:09:27.496
You're not going to lock me up in the place that I work.

02:09:28.376 --> 02:09:32.256
You know, we literally pass laws, federal laws against that.

02:09:32.676 --> 02:09:35.736
Just on a simple base that that's a fire hazard.

02:09:36.356 --> 02:09:42.556
You lock the employees into the job so they can't leave, so you can get these products out.

02:09:42.796 --> 02:09:44.716
They pass laws against that.

02:09:45.136 --> 02:09:50.376
Now, never mind laws as far as Texas Republicans go. The only laws they care

02:09:50.376 --> 02:09:52.676
about is the ones that they vote for.

02:09:54.157 --> 02:09:59.997
Other laws that say you can't do that, they either take you to court or just ignore you, right?

02:10:01.057 --> 02:10:07.757
But to try to lock a human being up, an elected official, you're going to lock them up at that job.

02:10:08.297 --> 02:10:10.637
Oh, it's better that you picked the right one.

02:10:11.537 --> 02:10:14.477
She kind of picked herself because she says she wasn't going to sign it.

02:10:14.637 --> 02:10:20.737
But, you know, there's no way, there's no way that you would have had me locked

02:10:20.737 --> 02:10:23.517
up in the Capitol building on High Street. There's no way.

02:10:24.217 --> 02:10:28.877
Now, like I said, either I'd been on Pascagoula Street at the city jail or I'd

02:10:28.877 --> 02:10:34.017
been down in Raymond at the county jail, but I wasn't going to be locked up in a Capitol building.

02:10:34.677 --> 02:10:38.977
And just like you gave me a ride to go down there, you're going to give me a

02:10:38.977 --> 02:10:41.657
ride because there's a law saying I really can't be detained.

02:10:42.697 --> 02:10:47.317
In Mississippi, there's a law that says I can't be detained because we're in session.

02:10:48.077 --> 02:10:52.117
So that means you're going to have to escort me back to finish my job.

02:10:52.257 --> 02:10:55.977
And then if the charges are not dropped, then, you know, you got to take me

02:10:55.977 --> 02:10:58.197
back to the jail. That's how that would work for me.

02:10:59.237 --> 02:11:04.597
But what it should tell people, the seriousness of it is, is what it should tell people is that,

02:11:05.497 --> 02:11:14.917
if we do not use every means necessary to stop these people through the courts,

02:11:15.077 --> 02:11:18.377
through laws, through counter-accidents like what California is doing,

02:11:18.657 --> 02:11:21.917
if we don't do what we need to do.

02:11:23.377 --> 02:11:25.577
Then there's only going to be one option.

02:11:26.077 --> 02:11:30.957
And I really am too old to be trying to shoot people. I'm really too old to

02:11:30.957 --> 02:11:33.657
be getting shot at, right?

02:11:34.697 --> 02:11:37.917
And people are like, oh, well, you shouldn't say that, bruh.

02:11:38.037 --> 02:11:42.677
If you don't do what needs to be done, if you don't get off of your butt and

02:11:42.677 --> 02:11:48.517
vote these people out, all of them out, then that's what's going to happen.

02:11:48.697 --> 02:11:54.277
If you don't want your children, if you don't want your household being in siege,

02:11:54.277 --> 02:11:59.117
if you don't want your children being in harm's way, you need to vote these people out.

02:11:59.537 --> 02:12:03.077
They've got to go. They have shown their hand.

02:12:03.237 --> 02:12:09.017
They are willing to lock people in buildings to get legislation passed they want.

02:12:09.457 --> 02:12:14.317
You have a president of the States who's saying, we don't want voting machines anymore.

02:12:14.397 --> 02:12:19.157
We don't want mail-in ballots, which by the way, if you are a military person,

02:12:19.477 --> 02:12:22.317
active duty overseas, and the president of the United States,

02:12:22.437 --> 02:12:24.837
your commander in chief says, I don't want you to vote anymore.

02:12:25.877 --> 02:12:30.717
Please find a way to vote that person out and anybody that supports him on that.

02:12:30.977 --> 02:12:35.877
Because the only way you can vote if you're deployed overseas is by mail.

02:12:36.577 --> 02:12:39.157
So he's basically telling you, I don't want you to vote anymore.

02:12:39.157 --> 02:12:41.797
And you're defending our nation overseas.

02:12:43.940 --> 02:12:49.320
Way they can vote is by mail. Voting by mail is cheating. No.

02:12:50.660 --> 02:12:54.280
The reality is, and some people have said it on other shows,

02:12:54.480 --> 02:12:58.080
that they tried to cheat in 2020 and he still lost.

02:12:59.040 --> 02:13:03.460
So he just figured, well, since we tried to cheat, then they must have cheated.

02:13:03.960 --> 02:13:10.520
No, you underestimated how many people were going to show up to get you out of the office, right?

02:13:11.000 --> 02:13:16.500
Because basically a million people died under your watch because you didn't

02:13:16.500 --> 02:13:21.880
take a threat seriously, and it wrecked everything, right?

02:13:22.480 --> 02:13:24.920
And we are still recovering from that.

02:13:25.720 --> 02:13:30.680
And maybe it was that fog that allowed you to get back in there, just barely.

02:13:31.380 --> 02:13:34.240
You know, people talk about Kamala Harris losing. It's like,

02:13:34.700 --> 02:13:39.420
bro, it wasn't like he beat the brakes off of her vote-wise.

02:13:40.040 --> 02:13:45.900
You know, the electoral count was is lopsided, but if Elon Musk keep talking,

02:13:46.080 --> 02:13:47.700
we're going to find out how that happened.

02:13:50.080 --> 02:13:54.740
Because he's kind of doing the thing where he's kind of doing the confessional day by day.

02:13:54.880 --> 02:13:58.140
Just keep a hot mic near him. He's going to tell it, right?

02:13:58.620 --> 02:14:04.880
But we're not saying throw out the election because of that, that we certified it.

02:14:05.080 --> 02:14:09.140
Even if we had our suspicions, all right, you got us this time,

02:14:09.300 --> 02:14:10.960
we'll get you four years from now.

02:14:11.960 --> 02:14:16.440
And obviously, they've looked at some kind of polling, internal polling,

02:14:16.620 --> 02:14:22.040
and realized we're about to get destroyed or else they wouldn't be doing this kind of stuff.

02:14:22.300 --> 02:14:27.260
Redistricting in between the 10 years? Really?

02:14:28.020 --> 02:14:31.820
It's gotten to that point that you've got to change districts?

02:14:32.740 --> 02:14:38.440
And then you're so blatant with it, you're not even trying to come up with a creative lie.

02:14:38.640 --> 02:14:44.440
See, the creative lie was you put somebody over the elections division of,

02:14:45.120 --> 02:14:49.620
Department of Justice who basically had her story together and say,

02:14:49.800 --> 02:14:54.300
well, we asked Texas to review their maps because there were some concerns.

02:14:56.093 --> 02:15:00.973
Had to lie teed up for you. But in your arrogance, because as the Speaker of

02:15:00.973 --> 02:15:05.953
the House in Texas says, we have the numbers, we can do whatever we want to do.

02:15:06.433 --> 02:15:08.693
So you did that, right?

02:15:09.413 --> 02:15:15.693
And somehow you thought that every American was going to be cool with that.

02:15:16.153 --> 02:15:20.333
And there's a state to your West that's bigger than yours.

02:15:21.013 --> 02:15:23.613
That's it. Hell no, that's not going to happen.

02:15:24.353 --> 02:15:27.693
Now what? Oh, now you got J.D.

02:15:27.813 --> 02:15:32.793
Vance running to Indiana and Ohio and Missouri. Oh, yeah.

02:15:33.333 --> 02:15:37.073
Yes, sir, Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, we'll gerrymander our states too,

02:15:37.193 --> 02:15:40.533
because we've got to keep the Republicans in power.

02:15:41.253 --> 02:15:46.773
What I would love to see happen is that they do all this machination,

02:15:46.773 --> 02:15:50.693
they rearrange all these districts and then you, the American people,

02:15:50.893 --> 02:15:53.613
show up and vote for the Democrat anyway.

02:15:54.113 --> 02:16:01.053
That's what I would love to see. I would love to see 535 Democrats in the United States Congress.

02:16:01.673 --> 02:16:04.873
That's not going to happen, right?

02:16:05.673 --> 02:16:11.573
That's wishful thinking. But wouldn't it be nice that you did all this evil

02:16:11.573 --> 02:16:16.113
stuff to manipulate and try to change the dynamics of the election and not allow

02:16:16.113 --> 02:16:20.213
people to vote or get the representation they deserve.

02:16:20.873 --> 02:16:24.753
You know, I had a black representative. Now I got this white one that doesn't

02:16:24.753 --> 02:16:28.173
like black people in the middle of the game. What are we doing?

02:16:29.013 --> 02:16:37.093
Right? And so I would love that their comeuppance would be that in those districts

02:16:37.093 --> 02:16:38.573
that they drew and said, Oh,

02:16:38.733 --> 02:16:45.073
yeah, but we're going to have 30 Republicans out of the 38 in Texas and then

02:16:45.073 --> 02:16:50.433
turn right around and you've got nothing. That would be beautiful.

02:16:50.993 --> 02:16:58.693
But there are some people, because of their reckless reliance to this MAGA philosophy,

02:16:59.473 --> 02:17:04.453
well, Donald Trump says it's good and I'm for it.

02:17:06.093 --> 02:17:09.993
So we're still going to have some gullible folks, right?

02:17:10.113 --> 02:17:16.013
We're still going to have some people who can't see the forest for the trees, but,

02:17:16.988 --> 02:17:21.468
can see the trees. They seem to be focused on the grass, right?

02:17:22.448 --> 02:17:26.188
So you're still going to have Republicans get in there, but it would just be

02:17:26.188 --> 02:17:32.108
amazing that they did all this mass in action, all this stuff to skew it and

02:17:32.108 --> 02:17:34.288
just, oh, we got to have this thing.

02:17:34.368 --> 02:17:37.308
And oh, yeah, they're going to pass, you know, they get in and then the next

02:17:37.308 --> 02:17:40.548
thing you know, they're going to pass some, try to force some kind of constitutional

02:17:40.548 --> 02:17:44.928
amendment to allow Donald Trump to stay in for another term,

02:17:45.088 --> 02:17:48.888
or they're going to declare martial law, whatever they're going to do, right?

02:17:49.368 --> 02:17:55.268
What you need to understand is that these people are telling you to your face,

02:17:55.268 --> 02:18:01.188
they will do anything, anything, anything to stay in power.

02:18:01.608 --> 02:18:06.188
You basically have a guy who wants to be like a dictator.

02:18:06.808 --> 02:18:10.148
He's expressed it. He wrote it off as a joke.

02:18:10.668 --> 02:18:14.168
You shouldn't have. Those of us that we're trying to tell you,

02:18:14.348 --> 02:18:17.048
this is real, this is really, really happening.

02:18:17.808 --> 02:18:24.248
Oh, well, you know, he's just an old man just spouting off of the mouth. No, he's delusional.

02:18:24.828 --> 02:18:31.188
He's got mental issues. He might be on the verge of dementia, but he's still an SOB.

02:18:31.928 --> 02:18:38.728
He's still evil. And what functional part he still has left and the people that

02:18:38.728 --> 02:18:43.008
he has around him have made the determination that he's going to be the last

02:18:43.008 --> 02:18:45.028
president the United States is going to have.

02:18:45.908 --> 02:18:48.908
And there are some of you who are down with that.

02:18:49.388 --> 02:18:54.948
What I am hoping is that the overwhelming majority, people that have never voted

02:18:54.948 --> 02:19:00.468
before, I hope that they decide this is the time, that it's like, no, this cannot happen.

02:19:00.888 --> 02:19:04.028
This is real. This is not a drill. This is really, really happening.

02:19:04.188 --> 02:19:05.648
And we need to shut this down.

02:19:06.288 --> 02:19:09.808
That would be beautiful, right?

02:19:10.108 --> 02:19:13.668
It'd be beautiful that some of these people that are trying to lock folks up

02:19:13.668 --> 02:19:18.368
in Capitol buildings get locked up in real prisons and get disbarred.

02:19:18.928 --> 02:19:24.188
That would be what they say, the French kiss on all that, right?

02:19:24.648 --> 02:19:28.428
Because there's got to be some repercussions for all of this.

02:19:28.948 --> 02:19:35.428
In order for the Constitution to be the viable document, Because James Madison

02:19:35.428 --> 02:19:39.828
kind of warned folks, not every person is going to be George Washington.

02:19:39.948 --> 02:19:44.168
Not everybody is going to be an honorable person as far as the presidency is concerned, right?

02:19:44.788 --> 02:19:49.728
You know, not everybody is going to yield power graciously.

02:19:51.168 --> 02:19:54.328
But they didn't think they needed to put those mechanisms in there.

02:19:54.508 --> 02:20:02.928
So we've been rocking and rolling for, you know, 200 some years as far as the Constitution goes.

02:20:05.068 --> 02:20:08.348
And, you know, seemed like we were going to be okay.

02:20:10.119 --> 02:20:14.599
This dude shows up and the people that have propped him up because the most

02:20:14.599 --> 02:20:17.159
dangerous person in America is Steve Miller. Y'all know that, right?

02:20:17.799 --> 02:20:22.019
Second most dangerous person is Steve Bannon. And I'm sure there's a third Steve

02:20:22.019 --> 02:20:24.759
in there somewhere doing something diabolical. Right.

02:20:25.819 --> 02:20:29.299
Wouldn't be amazing is that over the next 20 years, nobody names their children

02:20:29.299 --> 02:20:36.099
Steve based on the actions of those two individuals. That'd be crazy.

02:20:36.919 --> 02:20:42.599
You know, it'd be like Steve would be like Adolf. You can't name yourself in

02:20:42.599 --> 02:20:44.019
the United States that, right?

02:20:44.819 --> 02:20:49.359
Nonetheless, you know, those people are the ones pulling the string.

02:20:50.019 --> 02:20:54.259
And they're getting bold enough now where they're starting to show up in places

02:20:54.259 --> 02:21:02.259
where only cabinet secretaries or the vice president or ambassadors to show up, right?

02:21:02.759 --> 02:21:06.879
He's staff, kind of, sort of. but he's got like a special title.

02:21:07.079 --> 02:21:08.359
He's not the chief of staff.

02:21:09.399 --> 02:21:12.759
But he's the brains man. Susan Wilkes is not running anything. He is.

02:21:13.739 --> 02:21:17.259
And of course, somebody say, oh, that's sexist to say that she's not doing,

02:21:17.399 --> 02:21:19.359
bro, don't become a feminist now.

02:21:21.099 --> 02:21:24.119
We're just dealing with facts. Stephen Miller is running the show, not Susan.

02:21:24.879 --> 02:21:28.579
Susan was running the show. It'd be just like Kelly and all the other chiefs

02:21:28.579 --> 02:21:32.659
of staffs before that actually had a conscience and said, yeah,

02:21:32.679 --> 02:21:33.979
no, Mr. President, you can't do that.

02:21:34.719 --> 02:21:37.919
There's nobody in that White House that says no to him.

02:21:38.419 --> 02:21:43.839
That's why now the White House is starting to turn into some kind of golden palace.

02:21:44.839 --> 02:21:49.639
What are we doing right now? How are we even allowing this to happen?

02:21:50.139 --> 02:21:53.599
We're just going about our daily. We need to have a plan.

02:21:54.259 --> 02:22:00.279
We need to have, you know, like they encourage us to have an evac plan,

02:22:00.279 --> 02:22:04.299
whether you're at your job or whether you're, you know, at the home.

02:22:04.699 --> 02:22:06.319
You need to have a plan to escape.

02:22:07.019 --> 02:22:10.079
We need to have a plan to vote.

02:22:10.799 --> 02:22:13.999
No matter what kind of restrictions they try to put on, no matter what they

02:22:13.999 --> 02:22:18.299
try to take away, no matter how many precincts they try to close, we have a plan to vote.

02:22:18.879 --> 02:22:22.159
And we need to execute that plan when it's time.

02:22:23.059 --> 02:22:27.259
Because we've got to get good people in and we've got to get these corrupt,

02:22:27.639 --> 02:22:30.659
evil, gullible people out. They've got to go.

02:22:31.159 --> 02:22:37.399
We want those people in the shadows like Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon to be anathemas.

02:22:38.459 --> 02:22:41.539
We want them to be like boogeymen.

02:22:42.699 --> 02:22:47.899
They can only be in our nightmares. They can't be part of the American dream.

02:22:50.419 --> 02:22:56.519
We've got to get back to taking care of people and giving damn about people.

02:22:57.259 --> 02:23:02.839
Get the corruption out. If you get the corruption out, you'll dissuade a lot

02:23:02.839 --> 02:23:04.279
of these people from even getting in.

02:23:05.835 --> 02:23:10.515
So that's our assignment. You know, we got a young brother who believed in the

02:23:10.515 --> 02:23:11.895
American dream. He's got to go.

02:23:12.515 --> 02:23:18.055
We got a sister that's fighting for the American dream. She gets locked up in

02:23:18.055 --> 02:23:20.315
the Capitol building. Her freedom's taken away.

02:23:21.015 --> 02:23:28.935
And we got all these people, the president and the Steves, and just wrecking havoc.

02:23:29.675 --> 02:23:36.255
Greg Abbott, just wrecking havoc on our democracy, wreaking havoc on our nation.

02:23:36.595 --> 02:23:44.395
And it's more than just democracy at stake. This might be the most expensive Thanksgiving ever.

02:23:45.335 --> 02:23:53.015
Not just traveling, food. If we don't get this in check, we got a guy who's

02:23:53.015 --> 02:23:57.635
obsessed with trying to do anything that a black man did.

02:23:58.175 --> 02:24:02.655
I won a Nobel Peace Prize. I stopped all these wars.

02:24:03.435 --> 02:24:09.155
Dude, that's your job. That's your job. It's not about winning a prize. Do your job.

02:24:09.755 --> 02:24:14.715
I want this participation trophy. No, that's not how that works. Do your job.

02:24:15.135 --> 02:24:19.395
Take care of the American people. Make sure the world is not in total chaos.

02:24:20.315 --> 02:24:24.735
That there's no threat of a World War III. Can you do that without?

02:24:25.495 --> 02:24:28.335
Well, no, he can't. I'm not going to waste my time with this.

02:24:30.375 --> 02:24:35.075
So it's on us to get these people out, every one of them. I don't care if they're your friend.

02:24:35.215 --> 02:24:39.635
I don't care if they're your buddy at Backgammon or Pickleball. They got to go.

02:24:40.175 --> 02:24:44.115
All of them have to go. All of them have to go. I don't care if they hung out

02:24:44.115 --> 02:24:45.315
with you at the homecoming.

02:24:45.775 --> 02:24:49.595
You know, you were classmates with them in high school. They all have to go.

02:24:49.775 --> 02:24:51.135
They all have to go. They got to go.

02:24:52.175 --> 02:24:55.375
There's no political redemption for them.

02:24:55.895 --> 02:25:02.415
If they are going to these lengths, they can't come back to the fold.

02:25:02.635 --> 02:25:08.175
They have to be taken out of the process altogether because we can't trust them.

02:25:08.375 --> 02:25:10.635
They've proven that they're not worthy of our trust.

02:25:11.335 --> 02:25:14.715
They have to go. And speaking about going, I need to go too.

02:25:14.895 --> 02:25:18.115
I didn't plan to talk this long, but I knew I was going to get caught up in

02:25:18.115 --> 02:25:22.095
this because we've got work to do, ladies and gentlemen. We've got work to do.

02:25:23.355 --> 02:25:26.075
So thank you all for listening. Until next time.

02:25:27.600 --> 02:26:14.181
Music.