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00:00What does it mean to me to be on the cover of Essence?
00:05I prayed for this moment.
00:07Literally all of my life as a kid,
00:09I literally said, I'm gonna be on the cover of Essence.
00:12I'm gonna be a star.
00:13And being on this cover is bigger
00:16than just seeing Pinky Cole.
00:18Being on the cover is every single entrepreneur
00:21who has big dreams to make it,
00:23to make their business go viral
00:25and make multi-million dollars
00:26and just really realizing their dream.
00:28And people get to see it through me,
00:31a girl from East Baltimore
00:32who had big dreams and big visions
00:34and was able to manifest them
00:36that landed me to this opportunity here.
00:39And that's what we've got to ask.
00:39And so I'm excited.
00:40I feel good.
00:41How do I feel?
00:43I'm still living in the moment.
00:45You know, it's funny because as entrepreneurs,
00:48we always talk about being on big platforms
00:50and letting the world know about our organizations.
00:53And now they're about to see,
00:54you know, that two entrepreneurs that have restaurants,
00:57what we stand for, the mission that we own.
00:59And it's so, you know, we're so grateful for that.
01:01Yeah.
01:02It feels like a dream.
01:04And to be able to have my friends and family
01:07witness this moment
01:08and to be able to walk into a store
01:10and we pick ourselves up off the shelf,
01:12like that's priceless.
01:13You can't pay for that.
01:14So I'm excited that what we've built
01:17has gotten us here.
01:18And I'm even more excited to know
01:20that this is only the beginning.
01:21Yeah.
01:22And for me, I get to see,
01:23well, my 88-year-old grandmother,
01:25she get to see, you know, me in the markets.
01:28You know, she raised me.
01:30I told her when I started this business,
01:31when I was losing all my family,
01:33that she would see her grandson break barriers.
01:35And that's what I'm doing.
01:36You know, you got to try to figure out,
01:38you know, what's important
01:39and still try to keep time for everything
01:41in your life that you love.
01:42But this is the part that's building the part
01:44that's going to take care of what you love.
01:46So you got to leverage that out.
01:48So when people say,
01:49make time and do this and do that,
01:50yes, you have to make time for your loved ones
01:52because that's important.
01:53But I also got to get to this bag
01:55so I can help my loved ones
01:56when I ain't here no more.
01:57So I think that is the most important thing right now
02:00is managing and leveraging the time.
02:01And that's what we're both working on.
02:03I think we're doing a good job
02:04at, you know, what we got in our lives going on.
02:06You're doing a great job.
02:07Yeah.
02:16I think we're doing a good job.
02:46Gratitude is a must.
02:47Yeah.
02:48We see blessings for all by my right hand.
02:51Bustle to us with the friends
02:52that they call for below one time.
02:54They sit down in a class
02:55and we go and then only set the road
02:57and we go on with the road.
02:59To us.
02:59Yeah.
03:00Yeah, we give thanks.
03:03We have to give Joshua blessings upon me.
03:06And say me be tell them the story.
03:08Joshua blessings upon me.
03:10And that's how I mean I give him the dog.
03:12This is for all by my right hand.
03:15Bustle to us with the friends
03:16that they call for below one time.
03:18They sit down in a class
03:19and we go and then only set the road
03:21and we go with the road.
03:22Ain't no party like an essence fest party.
03:27The cultural reset you've been waiting for
03:29is back online and live in New Orleans.
03:31Oh, oh, oh, for the night.
03:40Why am I on my own on a Friday night?
04:01Oh, oh, oh, oh.
04:31Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
05:01Oh, oh, oh, oh.
05:31Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
06:01Oh, oh, oh, oh.
06:31Oh, oh, oh, oh.
07:01Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
08:01Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage Caroline Wonga, CEO of Essence and
08:22Alfonso David, President and CEO of Global Black Economic Forum.
08:32Hi, hey, how you doing?
08:44Great.
08:45So I am Caroline Wonga.
08:48I have the honor of leading this cultural institution called Essence and this fabulous moment called
08:54the Essence Festival of Culture.
08:56It's all about the black joy that helps us be blackity, blackity, black, black, black.
09:04And what I'm most excited about is that as we bring together the festival that is the
09:09largest festival in the nation by per day attendance, we bring together the best of black.
09:14But what that also means is we bring the best of all of us to this place.
09:18And there's a wonderful moment we're about to have as a part of this wonderful weekend that
09:23you could put in your black joy bag and take back with you in those places where you slay
09:28what you do.
09:29So my friend here is going to tell you a little bit about what we're going to spend some time
09:33doing today.
09:34But I need y'all to have some energy that is the joy, that is the fact that we out here
09:39being black with each another.
09:46Hello, hello everyone.
09:48So as Caroline said, one of the things that we want to make sure we do when we convene as
09:53a group is talk about issues that are important to our community.
09:57Social justice issues, economic justice issues, issues that are affecting our daily lives.
10:03And that is what you're about to hear.
10:06And we want to thank all of you for coming, for engaging with us in the way that you have
10:11been.
10:12And I hope that you hear something interesting today about how we're going to try to transform
10:18our culture.
10:19Thank you so much for joining us.
10:21And you're going to now be introduced to a panelist or to a moderator and to our vice
10:27president of the United States.
10:28So thank you.
10:33Please welcome Emmy-winning actress and leading millennial voice, Kiki Palmer.
10:52Hello.
10:53Can you guys hear me?
10:54Is this mic on?
10:55There it is.
10:56All right.
10:57How you guys doing?
10:58Wow.
10:59I am so excited to be here.
11:00We are all back and together at Essence Fest.
11:01Let's give it a round of applause to be back together again.
11:02I'm looking forward to this conversation.
11:03I know there's so much I'm going to be able to learn and we're just going to have a good
11:05time.
11:06So without further ado, I don't want to keep us waiting.
11:07You've already been waiting long enough.
11:08Let's please give a warm welcome to Madam Vice President Kamala Harris.
11:13Let's please give a warm welcome to Madam Vice President Kamala Harris.
11:50Wow.
11:51I mean, so you guys, I really got lucky.
11:54I got the opportunity to sit with the Madam VP.
12:04I got an opportunity when I did Lightyear, Madam Vice President held a big event in her
12:10home where children got to come and watch and play and also meet astronauts from NASA.
12:15We got to talk about all the great things that you're doing with NASA.
12:17And I got a chance to sit and talk with her and really, you know, kind of get to know her
12:21in a really casual way, which I feel really lucky to have gotten that chance.
12:25But there was something I wanted to ask you.
12:27You know, we have something in common.
12:29I didn't get to say it then, but you know, I've been memed a couple of times, but you are
12:33part of my favorite meme with, we did it, Joe.
12:38And so I have to ask you, obviously the excitement of the election hitting you in that moment.
12:44What were you thinking when you saw how that just went so viral?
12:48Well, first of all, it is so good to be with you, Kiki.
12:51It is so good.
12:52And hello, Essence Baz.
12:55We're back.
12:58We are back.
13:00It was, you know, that day.
13:02Well, so you'll remember the election happened, but it took a while for the, for it to be declared.
13:09Right.
13:10And so my husband and I were staying in Delaware so we could be near the vice president elect.
13:17I mean, president elect at the time.
13:20And I work out every morning.
13:23And so he and I worked out together and we were then going back to the house and he was like, I'm going to walk a little bit more and cool down.
13:32And so he started to walk.
13:34I went up to the house and I went upstairs to go take a shower.
13:38Yes.
13:39I'm going to give you all kinds of information you weren't expecting.
13:41And so I turned on the shower because it was cold.
13:44Remember, it was winter.
13:45And so I turned on the shower so the water could heat up.
13:48And I got a text and it said they declared the race.
13:53Whoo!
13:54I ran downstairs.
13:55I didn't even turn off the shower.
13:57Ah!
13:58Wattabill high.
13:59I ran downstairs and I come out the house.
14:03Doug, Doug, I'm trying to find my husband.
14:05He's down the hall or down the, the, the pathway and he's got his earbuds in.
14:11So I'm there saying, they, they call the race and I'm waving at him.
14:15And he's just waving back because he's listening to music.
14:18He's just waving back.
14:21And then he came up and, um, and then the president called.
14:26Joe Biden called.
14:27And so that meme is from my husband standing there videotaping me having the call with the president.
14:35Oh, we did it, Joe.
14:37We did it.
14:38You're the president of America.
14:40I mean, that's just my favorite clip.
14:42But I also have to ask you, right, because I think I have, I think I have some unrealistic expectations on how it actually is to work in the White House, right?
14:50I think a lot of my peers and I, we often talk about it in our minds.
14:53We think it's like, okay, something comes in and you're like, this is what we're going to do.
14:56You know, but how is it really on a day today?
14:59You know, are you and the president sitting down and strategizing?
15:02Are you emailing?
15:03What is the process of actually trying to get things done and working there?
15:07Well, like I said, I work out every morning.
15:10I'll just give you kind of a day in the life.
15:12I work out every morning and, um, I start my day reading the presidential daily brief.
15:18We call it the PDB for short.
15:20Yeah.
15:21Which is classified information generated by our intelligence community about hot spots around the world and threats to our national security.
15:30So I read that every morning and my office in the West Wing is, I don't know how many feet, not very far, you know, a minute to get from my office to the Oval Office.
15:42And so often when I arrive at the West Wing, I'll walk down to the Oval Office and the president and I will have a meeting with the heads of our, uh, our, our intelligence community, including often the secretary of defense will be there.
15:58The secretary of state will be there.
16:00Um, the director of the CIA will be there and we will talk about the threats to our nation and the priorities that we face.
16:09And so that is often how the day will start.
16:12And then there will be heavy day to start.
16:14Well, yeah, there's a lot, there's a lot of decisions to be made.
16:17And, um, and then the day will proceed.
16:20I'll tell you one of my favorite days recently was the day that, um, I went over to the Capitol.
16:29You see, as the vice president, I'm also the president of the Senate.
16:33And right now in the United States Senate, we have a 50 50 split between Democrats and Republicans.
16:38So it is often the case that I go to break the tie.
16:42So I'll go up to the Capitol.
16:44But this day I went up to the Capitol because there was a vote occurring on who would be the next justice on the United States Supreme Court.
16:53We know, and oh my, what a, you know, and I, I was in very, very actively involved in that process of choosing her.
17:04Um, and, and so I went to the Senate so I could preside when she was then voted on to be the next Supreme Court justice.
17:16Yes.
17:17And of course I am talking about Katanji Brown Jackson.
17:21Woo!
17:22Justice Katanji Brown Jackson.
17:25Oh my gosh.
17:26And it was so special, Kiki, because, you know, I got there and then it was taking a while for the vote to happen.
17:33And then two of my friends and, and, and colleagues when I was in the Senate, uh, Raphael Warnock, Senator Warnock from Georgia.
17:41Let's get him reelected, please.
17:46And Senator Cory Booker from New Jersey.
17:51And so the two of them walked up when I was in the chair because there was a pause.
17:57And I had just finished on my stationery writing a note to my goddaughter, Helena, who's actually here with me today, to talk to her about as a, you know, 17 year old young black woman.
18:10What this day would mean for her.
18:13Yeah.
18:14In her life.
18:15And I wrote her a note and I had some extra stationery.
18:17And so when the two of them came up, I said, well, y'all need to write a note to somebody too.
18:22So I handed them my stationery and then each of them also wrote a note to someone in their life about the meaning, the historic meaning of that day.
18:32I don't know if everybody, you know, experiences like that, but it's awesome to hear you talk about it, not just in a logistical sense, but also an emotional sense.
18:40Uh, you know, because I think it's important that we know that it's, that it's human, you know, to humanize the people that are working in government.
18:47And to know that at least with you, uh, Madam VP, that there's heart going into it as well.
18:52Um, speaking about the, the Senate and things you've done, one of the most important jobs you did in the Senate was holding Trump officials and nominees accountable as a member of the judiciary, judiciary committee, excuse me.
19:03But most notably when now Justice Kavanaugh struggled to identify any laws that give the government power to make decisions about the male body, which brings me to what just happened last week, you know, where he and five other justices voted to overturn Roe versus Wade.
19:20I mean, I know personally for me that just seems ridiculous and it really puts me in an apathetic space to feel like, well, if you can come back and change things that are already settled, what is going to happen next?
19:32So I have to ask you, what, where were you when you heard the news? And I mean, what do we do now? How do you feel? You know?
19:41This is a serious matter.
19:44Yeah.
19:51And it requires all of us to speak up, to speak out and to be active.
19:57So I was on my way to Aurora, Illinois, to meet with Congresswoman Lauren Underwood, who is an outstanding member of Congress because she and I, over the years when I was in the Senate and now as vice president, have been working on the issue of maternal mortality and in particular black maternal mortality.
20:21Yes.
20:22And we've been working on this issue for a very important reason, which is in the United States, black women are three times more likely to die in connection with childbirth.
20:32Native women are twice as likely to die. Rural women, one and a half likely, more times likely to die. And understand that among all so-called developed nations, we are the worst on this issue.
20:49So it has been a longstanding area of focus for me to focus on women's health and safety and well-being. And I've been able to then, as vice president, bring this issue to the stage of the White House to talk about what we need to do to protect and to ensure that women have the resources they need.
21:11So, for example, we've been able to encourage states to extend Medicaid coverage postpartum from two months to 12 months because a woman needs support beyond two months when she has just given birth to a human being.
21:29We deserve these things.
21:30We have taught we have dealt with the fact that there is racial bias in the health care delivery system. And so what we need to do when we recognize that a black woman walking into a clinic or a doctor's office or an emergency room is less likely to be taken seriously.
21:45So this is the work we've been doing. We've been looking at it in the in the context of the unique stressors that women face and in particular black women face and what that does to have effects on their health and well-being.
21:59So Lauren Underwood and I have been doing this work. I was flying from D.C. to Aurora, Illinois, to meet her in her district.
22:06Yes, to announce more work that we are doing on maternal health. And wouldn't you know, on the course of that trip, the Supreme Court.
22:16With the Dobbs decision for the first time in the history of our nation.
22:23And what is so outrageous about this on every level is one, it is the taking of a right that was given and guaranteed and something that we took for granted to be settled law.
22:48Yeah. So what that means then in terms of what else might be vulnerable that we otherwise thought was settled law, including issues like contraception, including issues like same sex marriage, including the intimate decisions that people should be able to make about what I call heart and home without government interference.
23:09Yeah. What essentially has happened is the statement has been made that the government has a right to come in your home and tell you as a woman and as a family what you should do with your body.
23:22Oh, my gosh. And the and the point has to be this.
23:26We have to recognize where a nation that was founded on certain principles that are that are grounded in the concept of freedom and liberty.
23:35We also know that we've had a history in this country of government trying to claim ownership over human bodies.
23:43Exactly. Yes, that is. And we had supposedly evolved from that time and that way of thinking.
23:52So this is very problematic on so many levels, the impact that it is going to have on women without means, what it will mean for, you know, somebody who has financial means.
24:04This is really probably not going to have much of an effect on them.
24:07But imagine that the facts are the majority of women who get an abortion, the majority are mothers.
24:14So if she has to leave her state to go for the reproductive health care she needs, we're looking at the fact that if she works, which she probably does, she's going to lose time from work potentially without leave without paid leave.
24:29She's going to have to figure out what to do with her kids and the cost of the child care, at least for overnight, not to mention bus fare or train fare or airfare and a hotel room.
24:43All to make one of the most intimate decisions that she should have a right to make without government interference, that she should have a right to make with her pastor or her priest or her rabbi and her family, but not getting permission from the government.
25:01And it's I mean, it's so it's it's awesome to hear you say these things.
25:05I knew I in my heart knew that you that you would feel this way, but I just wonder then what what we can do.
25:11You know, what does you know what I mean?
25:13In one hand, I'm looking at you and I know that, yeah, there has been evolution that things have changed.
25:17We talk about our justice.
25:18You know, we talk about eight years or however so ago when we had Obama in office and we see that things are somewhat different.
25:25But then now there's all this delayed response to what we've experienced, you know, these four years prior.
25:31And I just, you know, how do we move beyond the apathy that this gives us?
25:37What are we now then?
25:39What can what can our move be?
25:41So first I'll say this, you know, I did an analysis trying to look at the states that are attacking a woman's right to choose and the states that are attacking voting rights.
25:54And there is an interesting intersection.
25:57At least 11 states are doing both at the same time.
26:00No surprise there.
26:01Right, guys?
26:02No surprise there.
26:03When we look at this issue, I think we have to, one, remember the words of Coretta Scott King, who I'll paraphrase.
26:12But she famously said the fight for civil rights, which is the fight for freedom, the fight for liberty, the fight for justice.
26:21The fight for civil rights must be fought and won with each generation.
26:28And when she said that, I think we know that, one, she was saying that the very nature of these fights is that whatever we gain, they will not necessarily be permanent.
26:40Therein lies the strength when we achieve the rights with the fragility of those rights, meaning if we are not vigilant to secure and to fight for them, we can't take it for granted.
26:53So there is that piece of it.
26:54But I think the second point she was making is because it is the nature of it that you have to be vigilant, don't be overwhelmed.
27:06Don't be overwhelmed to the point that we are disheartened and we think that we can't do anything about it.
27:12It's the nature of it that these gains will not be permanent.
27:15That's great.
27:16So we must be vigilant and we must, remember, we are always going to have to fight to maintain these rights.
27:21And it's such a good point because I think we do get caught up in thinking when there are great feats that have been accomplished that, oh, now it's done or, you know, we're surprised when it happens again.
27:30But when I look at the generations before me and what they had to deal with, I mean, even when we go back to slavery, if they found a way to keep moving, I better find a way to keep moving.
27:39You know what I'm saying?
27:40That's right.
27:41Because, I mean, hey, I don't know what it's like to be in a field.
27:44That's right.
27:45You know what I'm saying?
27:46I want to go quickly to, you mentioned some of the things you've been doing and we were talking about all the things that the administration has accomplished when we were, you know, back when we were at your home in D.C., you mentioned some great things about removing lead pipes also, which is a huge issue.
28:01You touched on a lot of things, but I just want to take a moment to speak to you guys about some of the things that specifically have been done.
28:07The executive order to promote access to voter registration and voting, where President Biden directed government resources to provide information about elections and increase access to voter registration opportunities, protecting black Americans' access to housing by combating housing discrimination, where President Biden directed the administration to address racial discrimination in the housing market.
28:30Let me add to that.
28:32So on the housing piece, it includes this piece.
28:37What we know is that for generations, housing appraisers, the people who come in and tell you the value of your house, we have been tracking the racial bias in those assessments such that we have examples of a black family getting an appraisal that was far lower than they knew the value of their house was.
28:57So then they have friends who were a white family and would have the white family come in and put up their family pictures and then get the house appraised and it appraised for much higher. Right? So we're dealing with that too, which is a long standing issue in terms of what needs to be reformed around just the appraisal system, much less what we need to do to make housing affordable and available to more families.
29:22Yeah. And that's just some of the things I mean from reducing college costs where you guys increase the maximum Pell Grant award $400. I mean, there's so many things here you guys that I could go on about. If you are interested in seeing everything that the administration has done up to date, you can go to whitehouse.gov.
29:37But I want to say this to you too, Madam VP, because I know you see people are always, you know, in your position, it's a hard job. You know, as many things as you get done, there's so many other things that people are saying you need to do, you need to do.
29:49You know, and there's a quote that I've always loved from Mother Teresa where she says, there can be no great things done, only small things with great love. Right? Because there's always going to be something.
30:01Yeah.
30:01So I want to ask you, how in your position do you approach A, that reality and B, knowing what task to start on first with so much to deal with?
30:14Well, one, we got to multitask, right?
30:19Women are good at that.
30:21And we are good at that. None of us would be sitting here if we didn't figure that out at some point. Right? So we have to multitask, but we have to look at, you know, what are the most critical issues? Right?
30:31So, for example, for me and for the president, one of the biggest issues that has been treated as maybe a small issue is, is, is anything that that affects children.
30:41I think, you know, sometimes in public policy, I think folks think because they're small people, it's a small issue. No, if you impact in a positive way the needs of a child, the entire community benefits for generations.
30:53And so we have been looking at what we need to do, for example, at also supporting children in the context of the family they are being raised. Right? So that grandmother or that auntie or that mother or that father. So what we have done, for example, is we have a, we have instituted a tax cut for childcare expenses like medication and school supplies, $8,000 a year tax cut.
31:19Wow. Now one Republican voted for it. We have extended the child tax credit. And in that in so doing in the first year reduced black child poverty by almost 40 percent. Cannot get a Republican to help us extend it beyond.
31:37But these are some of the things that we have been doing, understanding the generational impact, not to mention the work that we need to do that is about foreign policy.
31:47I have met with, I don't know, probably at least two, two dozen foreign leaders, prime ministers, presidents.
31:53I just recently convened the Caribbean prime ministers and presidents around what we should do as the United States, seeing them as our neighbors in the Western hemisphere and giving appropriate support there.
32:06And so we have to multitask looking at what we need to do domestically, what we need to do to bring down the cost of gas. Well, right. Right.
32:16I've seen a meme the other day that says me Googling online how to make gas at home. Okay.
32:21Oh, don't do that. Don't do that. Please don't do that.
32:29Hilarious. But it's true. I mean, there's so many things, but you guys have been, have been working.
32:35And I know some of the stuff is going to be a layover effect, right? Just like we're seeing layover effect from the last administration.
32:41A lot of the things you guys doing now are going to be immediate, but some things we're going to see as time goes.
32:45And we appreciate you for putting that work in.
32:47I want to take it back to something that we talked about also in D.C.
32:51Where, you know, I knew that you were from the Bay, but what was interesting to learn was that you grew up around a lot of civil rights leaders
32:57because your parents involvement with the civil rights movement.
33:00Yeah.
33:01And I want to ask you because like I was saying earlier, you know, in the millennial generation, we've just seen so many people lie to us.
33:06We've seen so many things unfortunate happen like Roe versus Wade being overturned.
33:10And we take it very personally where it does tend to bring on this apathy.
33:14But when I do think back to the generations before me, I think about the civil rights movement.
33:18I'm like, wow, they were up against a lot of even more daunting realities, maybe even the ones that we're facing now.
33:25Not to compare, but like you said, there's always a lot going on.
33:28Yeah.
33:29So you being around those kinds of people, what were some of the ways that they were able to reinvigorate themselves?
33:35Or even more so, how did they mobilize, right?
33:38Because I don't want to be that person that just looks at my government and says, oh, what are you doing?
33:43Yes, there's accountability that needs to be had, but I want accountability for myself as well.
33:49I want to know what I can do.
33:50You know what I'm saying?
33:51What can I do to get out there and encourage my peers, encourage myself and make sure that I'm being an active member in my society?
34:02Well, first and foremost, and I don't need to say it to you, Kiki, because you really do use your voice in such an extraordinary way.
34:09No, you really do.
34:10You really do.
34:11Thank you so much.
34:12You just, you have the courage to speak out and you're not concerned about putting your finger in the air to see if it's popular.
34:20You speak truth and I really appreciate and respect and admire that.
34:25But I will say, let's not discount what young leaders are doing right now because there's a lot of extraordinary leadership happening from our young leaders.
34:38And, you know, when I think about the civil rights movement and my parents and what they were doing, you know, they were in their 20s.
34:44Don't forget Dr. King was a very young man.
34:47So we have a history of these movements being fueled by students, by young leaders.
34:53And you could look at anything from who was taking to the street articulating with Black Lives Matter to who has been now out there marching on choice, who is out there leading on so many of the issues that are about the climate crisis that is pounding on the door for attention and swift response.
35:13So I see a lot of leadership happening among younger leaders.
35:19But here's what I would encourage folks to do who want to be more active.
35:23First of all, use your voice to talk to the people in your life, your family members, your neighbors, the people you work with about how issues are impacting you.
35:35Talk about how you know that if you were born like my goddaughter who's here in 2004, well, the world has put in dates around 2030 that we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or we are looking at an inflection point.
35:52And so what that will mean for you and for your children and your grandchildren, speak that in a way that people understand that you have an immediate investment in the outcome of the issue.
36:05Similar when we're talking about what's happening in terms of the work that we're doing on something like maternal mortality, similar to what we're talking about in terms of voting, where they are taking the rights of people to be able to express their voice in a democracy through their vote.
36:21Speak about that in a way that you can energize the people in your life to understand that when elections come up, I know Kiki and she has passionately told me how this concerns her and how my vote could impact the outcome of this decision.
36:36Thank you so much for that. And I'm just I could literally sit here and talk to you all day long.
36:45I just want to say thank you to you so much and that for me personally, I want to be able to figure out all the ways I continue to be involved and get better and be more active.
36:55You know, I'm 28, but I wish I thought I would know more by then. My parents were having four kids by now and I don't know how they got around to it.
37:03So if there's anything that I myself can do or anywhere that I can go, a website or just any place or anyone out there, please let us know.
37:11Well, I will. And I think what I'd encourage is, for example, I know that you have a variety of interests, choice being one of them.
37:19Yeah. So there are a number of organizations that are working on that issue.
37:23And then figure out how you can volunteer there, how you can be an advocate, because the advocacy, the marching, the shouting is what brings about a lot of what has happened in terms of people being vocal about how the issue affects them.
37:38But I'll tell you another, there's something else that's equally important, and that is the power of coalition building.
37:45So, for example, I mentioned earlier that there are in many of the states that are attacking a woman's right to choose, they're also attacking voting rights.
37:54Well, let's think about the fact that historically it's different communities that have worked on those issues.
38:01But we're all under the same roof if it's about understanding how liberties are being attacked, how our democracy is being attacked.
38:09So let's work on the coalition also, which is bringing folks together, because there is power in those numbers, and there is power in knowing that the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us.
38:22See, the people who are trying to attack our rights are trying to make people feel small and feel alone.
38:28And different.
38:29Because they want you to believe you don't have power and that you're out there by yourself.
38:35And so we're not going to let that happen.
38:40And one of the ways that we won't is to bring everyone together and remember that there is a community of people that is invested in this.
38:49So don't believe that I'm too small to start.
38:53Don't be afraid to collaborate with others whether they look like me or not.
38:56As long as we believe in the same things, we can get to the common goal.
38:59And know that, hey, age is but a number, and we can all work together.
39:03Okay, I want to ask you this final question, and it's going to be maybe a question about a conversation you would have with your younger self.
39:13Okay.
39:14That maybe didn't know or maybe did know and have these dreams of one day being the vice president.
39:19What would you say to prepare yourself for this role?
39:22Well, first of all, don't hear no.
39:28Don't hear it can't be done.
39:34Don't hear nobody like you has done this before.
39:38I like to say I eat no for breakfast.
39:41I love when you say that.
39:44I love when you say that.
39:47Surround yourself with a community of people.
39:52It doesn't have to be a big group who love you and who will cheer you on and who will sometimes push you out the door to go and do.
40:04Those people who love you and you trust enough that when you fall down, they'll be there to laugh with you because you fell, but to help pick you up and keep you going.
40:14So choose, especially to the young leaders I'd say, but to all of us of every generation, choose who is in your life based on loving yourself and requiring that from other people.
40:31It's so important.
40:33Yeah.
40:34And so that's one thing.
40:35I would say the other thing is that to really know that you have so much to bring and you have to look inward, you know, and also have faith.
40:46You know, have faith and have faith in whatever it is you believe in that that you were destined to do great things, even when the obstacles are there, but to believe in yourself and to have faith in yourself.
41:02That's so important.
41:04And then finally, just to remember, you're not alone.
41:08I mean, so many of us have had the experience of walking into a room where they're we're the only one who looks like us or has had our life experience.
41:18And so to you, I would say when you walk in these rooms, remember this room for a minute.
41:27Remember this room and remember when you walk into those rooms that we're walking into that room with you.
41:34We are all in that room with you and we are applauding you and we are expecting you will carry our voice into that room and we are applauding you and we are with you every step of the way.
41:49So shoulders back, chin up and just be yourself.
41:55Be your marvelous self.
41:57Oh, madam vice president.
42:03I just thank you so much.
42:05I'm so grateful to have gotten the opportunity to see you up close in this way and see you speaking as people just stand for you.
42:12It's an inspiration.
42:13You truly are.
42:14And thank you for your time.
42:16Thanks for being here.
42:17So good to be here.
42:18And thank you guys for being a part of the conversation as well.
42:21And essence, obviously.
42:23Take care, guys.
42:24Bye bye.
42:27Bye bye.
42:57Bye bye.
43:27Bye bye.
43:28Bye bye.
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