00:00Hi, I'm Malaika Jabali, the Senior News and Politics Editor here at Essence.
00:15I'm Melissa Noel.
00:17And I'm Raina Reed Rayford.
00:19And we are here to dive into the big news and politics moments of 2023 that had us say,
00:27wow, what? And what the F?
00:31Let's kick it off with some good news.
00:34And we do have some good news this year.
00:36Sasha Obama graduated from the University of Southern California with her whole family in tow.
00:42Shout out to Barack and Michelle Obama.
00:45And moving on to foreign affairs,
00:48A. Marie spoke up for Palestinians when many in the world did not.
00:52They were disproportionately killed in the last two months, and she has been standing on business.
00:57Now, Raina, what is going on in the sports world?
01:00For all the sports girlies out here, we had Simone Biles returning to gymnastics
01:05and proving to everyone why she is the GOAT.
01:09Sha'Carri Richardson absolutely killed it on the track,
01:12becoming the fastest woman alive in 2023.
01:15Then in February, we had Super Bowl quarterback Jalen Hurts
01:19with the first Black female agent representing an NFL draft pick, Nicole Lynn.
01:25We also had Layla Edwards crushing it on the ice,
01:29becoming the first Black woman to play on the U.S. Women's National Hockey Team.
01:34And we cannot forget college sports.
01:37Coach Prime had us all rooting for the Colorado Buffaloes.
01:41And speaking of school, it is never too late to go after your dreams.
01:46Fantasia enrolled at the HBCU Central State University.
01:50Let's go, Fantasia, my forever American idol, and more.
01:54Mine soon, girl. I love me some Fantasia.
01:56Can't wait to see her in color purple, by the way.
01:59That's right. And you know it's all HBCU love over here.
02:02So, Melissa, can you talk about some moments that made us go, wait, what?
02:06You know, there were plenty of moments that gave us pause and made us say,
02:11wait a minute, now what is going on?
02:14On the topic of schools, let's stay on that for a minute
02:16because there were some crazy shenanigans happening at schools across America all year long.
02:21Now, we had a principal in Philadelphia who withheld the diplomas of two Black students,
02:27two Black young ladies to be exact, for dancing on the graduation stage.
02:31Now, I don't know about you, but if you can't dance during graduation,
02:34then how else are we supposed to celebrate such a big moment?
02:37In Florida, standards for history classes at public schools were approved
02:42to teach that Black people somehow benefited from slavery.
02:46Now, I don't know about you, but I can see no benefits there.
02:49Now, some schools in Texas continue to police Black hair
02:53with one student not only being suspended for more than half of the school year,
02:57but also being sent to an alternative program just because of his locks.
03:02Now, Texas schools keep making news for all the wrong reasons.
03:07Government officials and the courts gave us all pause throughout 2023.
03:12The governor of Alabama forced out a Black education official
03:15because of a teaching training book that reportedly had woke concepts
03:20that included language about inclusion and structural racism.
03:24Now to the Tennessee Three, who were three representatives that were protesting
03:29for stronger gun control after yet another mass shooting in the state.
03:34And instead of being celebrated for that, two of the members,
03:37Representative Justin Jones and Representative Justin Pearson,
03:41the two Black members of the Tennessee Three,
03:43were actually expelled from their positions,
03:44only to be later reinstated.
03:48We definitely were all shaking our heads at that one, for sure.
03:52We really were.
03:53And staying in Tennessee, police violence is still affecting us.
03:57We all may recall the case of Kyrie Nichols at the top of the year,
04:01where he was fatally injured by five Black police officers.
04:04It had to be our own people, right?
04:06In Memphis, Tennessee, and he died three days later.
04:09Then further south in Georgia, Atlanta deacon Johnny Hallman died on August 10th
04:15after former officer Karen Kimbrough used a stun gun on him
04:19and then handcuffed him following a minor traffic accident.
04:23His family is still fighting for justice.
04:26Now, Reyna, bring it on home.
04:28And here's what made us say WTF.
04:32There was not one, but two incidents of Black families losing custody of their children
04:39that made headlines.
04:41I cannot even imagine being en route to a family funeral
04:45like Deontay Williams and Bianca Claiborne,
04:48who were driving up from Georgia to Chicago,
04:51and a traffic stop left them separated from their children.
04:55Then further south in Texas,
04:57Rodney and Tamesia Jackson were using a midwife
05:00to treat their newborns jaundice.
05:02Their doctor wanted them to go to the hospital.
05:05This turned into an almost month-long battle
05:08against Child Protective Services.
05:11Now, Melissa,
05:12what other news has been impacting Black moms and their families?
05:16Now, you know, Reyna, women across America,
05:19and particularly Black women,
05:21have been adversely affected
05:22ever since the Supreme Court ended the right to abortion in 2022.
05:26This year, we saw a Black Louisiana mother
05:29who was told that her child would not survive
05:32due to a rare birth defect,
05:34but could not even get an abortion in the state.
05:36She had to travel to New York
05:38in order to have that procedure performed
05:40and to preserve her life.
05:42Then in Florida,
05:43because Florida continues,
05:45you know, it's not news if Florida's not in it,
05:47a Black mother lost half her blood
05:51and almost died
05:52after not being able to have labor-induced
05:55while she was experiencing a miscarriage
05:57due to the state's abortion laws.
06:00So we know that this is affecting Black women
06:02across the country,
06:04and unfortunately,
06:05we can expect to see many more stories like this.
06:08Now switching gears to agriculture.
06:18We talked about health, now to agriculture.
06:21Why farmers had the audacity to sue the government
06:23with claims of reverse racism?
06:26Of course they would.
06:27Of course they would.
06:28I can't.
06:31Of course they would.
06:33So Black farmers had the opportunity to,
06:36they were rejoicing just for a little bit
06:37after receiving notice
06:39that their debt would be forgiven
06:41via a congressional effort
06:43to help the USDA make up for
06:45what we know to be
06:46a history of discrimination.
06:48But their celebration was short-lived
06:51because of 12 white farmers
06:53who sued the government
06:54and complained that
06:56they were being discriminated against
06:57simply for being white.
07:00Come on, y'all.
07:01Well, I mean,
07:03we kind of got our lick back.
07:04So we've got one thing
07:06that was not on our bingo card this year.
07:10Raina, do you remember what that was?
07:12The Montgomery Riverboat Brawl.
07:15Oh my gosh.
07:17Literally.
07:20Who is joining me next year
07:21for the reunion on August 5th?
07:23I'm going to bring my folding chair
07:25and I'm also going to start practicing my swim stroke.
07:28We've got to stay ready.
07:30Stay ready.
07:31Y'all have to stay ready.
07:33And now we have a whole new meaning
07:35to bring a folding chair.
07:37Listen, I've seen some
07:38folding chair earrings.
07:40It's Christmas time.
07:41It's Kwanzaa time.
07:42If y'all still got time,
07:43make sure you find them
07:44folding chair earrings
07:45and gift it to your love boys, okay?
07:47This was a good moment for me for 2023.
07:49It's not you.
07:50It's capitalism.
07:51So that can be a part of the Kwanzaa package
07:53with those folded chairs.
07:54This is a great way to round out the year.
07:57Thank you for joining the news
07:58and politics team
08:00as we've talked about the wow,
08:02what,
08:03and what to be F moments
08:05of 2023.
08:06We'll see you next time.
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