Are we truly wielding our power or just occupying space? Join a powerful discussion on voting rights and civic engagement in America today. Rashad Robinson, host of the Global Black Economic Forum, sits down with civil rights leaders Nicole Austin Hillary and U.S. Senator Cory Booker, alongside Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, to dissect the evolving landscape of Black political power.
With more Black representatives in Congress than ever before, the panel grapples with whether this increased presence truly translates into tangible power and lasting change. They explore the systemic challenges and injustices that persist, questioning if old strategies are enough to secure future victories.
This essential conversation dives deep into how we can shift our focus from mere representation to effective power-building. Discover the insights and calls to action needed to ensure our voices not only are heard but also translate into meaningful progress for our communities.
#VotingRights #CivicPower #BlackPolitics #RepresentationMatters
With more Black representatives in Congress than ever before, the panel grapples with whether this increased presence truly translates into tangible power and lasting change. They explore the systemic challenges and injustices that persist, questioning if old strategies are enough to secure future victories.
This essential conversation dives deep into how we can shift our focus from mere representation to effective power-building. Discover the insights and calls to action needed to ensure our voices not only are heard but also translate into meaningful progress for our communities.
#VotingRights #CivicPower #BlackPolitics #RepresentationMatters
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Now we turn to voting rights and civic power in America today. Joining the Global Black Economic
00:08Forum stage, please welcome our moderator, Rashad Robinson, civil rights leader and author of From
00:17Presence to Power. The president and CEO of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Nicole
00:24Austin Hillary. Congresswoman from the state of Texas, Jasmine Crockett. And from the state
00:37of New Jersey, U.S. Senator Cory Booker.
00:48Can I just say I'm happy y'all decided to come see us instead of Cardi? Amen! Hallelujah!
00:54How are we doing Essence Fest? How are we doing? I can't hear you. How are we doing Essence Fest?
01:03So, good afternoon. We are going to jump right into a conversation around one of my most favorite,
01:11favorite topics. And that's the topic of power. You know, as the voice of God, as the voice above
01:19mentioned, I've got a book coming out this month that I'm not going to spend any time
01:24talking about it. I'm going to resist that. But I'm going to be talking about it later today
01:29and tomorrow. But if I had to summarize it in one word, it is exactly what this panel is
01:35about. And that is power. You know, one thing about power is how we use it. How we think about
01:47it today
01:47and how we think about it tomorrow. Not just how we think about presence and visibility,
01:54but how we think about the role of moving us forward. What it actually looks like for our people.
01:59So I've spent the last 13 years leading an organization that I recently left that was founded in the
02:07aftermath of a catastrophic event right here in this city, Hurricane Katrina. Black folks were literally
02:13on their roofs begging for the government to do something and left to die. And the thing about
02:19moments like that is that they truly do illustrate power. Our lack of power, what's happening, and the
02:26difference in the through line between what is unfortunate and what is unjust. What is real and what is
02:33not real. And the way in which injustice, behind every injustice, there is someone behind it. There is
02:42someone profiting from it. There are systems that are putting us in harm's way. And so our ability to take
02:49those forces on every single day is the whole ball game. And so we want to have a real conversation
02:55about power
02:56in this moment. So the seats are being withdrawn in Congress, and they're being stolen right under us.
03:04We're watching our rights being rolled back across corporations, across culture, across so many
03:10different factions of how society operates. We're watching a leader being able to say anything they want
03:18about us as well as our African and Caribbean cousins. And what is clear is that so many of the
03:26strategies and the
03:28assumptions that let us walk into this moment will not be the strategies and the assumptions that allow us to
03:35walk out of this moment.
03:37Amen. Amen.
03:39And so the question that I want us to wrestle with today, it isn't whether we're present. We are absolutely
03:46present.
03:47It is whether that presence has become power. And if it hasn't, what are we prepared to do differently?
03:55So I've got three people that I am so proud to have worked with in many different ways. I respect
04:01these three
04:02folks immensely and so much of the work that they do every single day on behalf of our communities.
04:07And I want to jump right into the first question. And we all can answer it in your own way
04:13from your own experiences.
04:15So right now, there are more black people in Congress than ever before.
04:24The CBC is bigger than it has ever been. And there's more black representation across almost every institution that we
04:34can name.
04:35And I do not want to discount that. That is not nothing.
04:38But there was always a theory. The theory was that representation would translate into more power.
04:44That we get more of our people in the room and that we can get more for our people out
04:49of that room.
04:50And a lot of folks are looking around right now and are asking whether or not that is still true.
04:56Whether or not it is translating to durable winds or even basic justice in moments that are incredibly tough for
05:04all of us.
05:06Now, sometimes this conversation goes where a lot of these conversations go, and it goes to Donald Trump.
05:11And for this question, I want to hold off on Donald Trump because we will always have an opponent.
05:16There will always be someone on the other side of what we are facing.
05:21And so I want to talk about us. If in each of your sort of own ways, if sort of
05:30we have less power than we've had in years,
05:33but we have more representation, what are we going to do different?
05:36What does it look like and how do we change our strategies?
05:40And I want to start with you, Senator Booker.
05:42I want to say ladies first, always.
05:45But look, what we need to understand is that it is not an on-off switch.
05:54Power is built for generations. It's built in years.
05:58Look at the tearing down of women's reproductive rights.
06:01That effort did not start overnight.
06:04It was something that they built upon time and time again.
06:08So I'm really proud that we have more representation of African Americans in the Senate than we've ever had.
06:15When I got to the Senate, I was the only black senator in the Democratic caucus, only the fourth black
06:21person ever elected.
06:22And even within my own caucus, I was very upset with a lot of things that I was seeing.
06:27One was that staffs and chief of staffs and legislative directors, there was really no representation the way it should
06:35be.
06:36And just starting to fight battles to see more people in the room when it happens.
06:40And as a result of that, I've seen everything from sickle cell funding going up, HBCU funding going up, maternal
06:47mortality becoming a more central issue than a sideline issue.
06:51And so what we have to start doing is understanding that this is not a one-time game, and if
06:56we don't get what we want, we get frustrated.
06:58We've got to continue to organize and mobilize to build that power.
07:03And the second thing I want to say, because we see it, there are black people that are Republicans that
07:07have come in and out.
07:08A black face doesn't guarantee you black power or black advancement.
07:13What I want to do is hold everyone accountable to build the kind of power that no matter who the
07:18senator is from a particular state, from every race,
07:22is that black people are having their agenda represented in Washington.
07:26This is about work, this is about building, this is about continuing and being unyielding and unstoppable.
07:32Is there anything about the strategies, though, that we have employed in the past that we should be changing or
07:38evaluating as we move forward?
07:40Again, I don't want to, you've got two of the most women I respect the most.
07:44I just want to say this.
07:46My grandfather was a Republican.
07:48Most blacks during the 1920s and 30s were Republican.
07:52My grandfather didn't become a Democrat because he liked the party or definitely didn't like the jackass.
07:58But what he became for is because the Democratic Party was going to stand up for the issues that he
08:04and his Detroit community cared about.
08:06He was from Monroe, Louisiana, moved up to Detroit, became a Democrat.
08:11And my grandfather said the reason why we became Democrats because it was the party of civil rights, labor rights,
08:17women's rights, environmental issues, and the like.
08:20But he wasn't blindly loyal.
08:23My family talks to me to this day that the Democratic Party has been too feckless in terms of getting
08:29things done when we hold power.
08:31We need a renewal of the Democratic Party.
08:34We need a new Democratic Party and a new deal for America because a lot of folk in my community
08:40is the only senator that lives in a black and brown community, working class at the poverty line.
08:45What people say to me all the time is, okay, I see the things that you've been doing, but we're
08:49still not seeing the change that we need.
08:51And I'm telling people right now, the Democratic Party needs its own comeuppance, and we need to have a renewal
08:57of our party and a new generation of leaders.
09:00And that's why I'm excited to sit next to these two women on the couch because they really represent the
09:06best of who we are, but more importantly, who we must be in the coming years.
09:11A new generation of leaders. Congresswoman Crockett. Congresswoman Crockett.
09:23I love y'all back.
09:25So if you were reading my face, then y'all know I was making all the faces for a lot
09:30of reasons.
09:31Number one, yes, we do have the largest Congressional Black Caucus that we've ever had.
09:37That number is a total of 62 out of 535 seats across the House and the Senate.
09:44That is 62. Right now, as many of you probably know, they started in Texas with this redistricting nonsense and
09:52specifically went after black representation.
09:55Texas has more African Americans than any other state, yet somehow we are only going to have, going back to
10:02Congress, three African Americans.
10:04Our delegation tended to have approximately five. Each congressional district is approximately 766,000 people.
10:14They have decided in a state like Texas that our voices would be valued at one fifth of the strength
10:21of our Anglo brothers and sisters.
10:23So, yes, is there more progress to be made? Absolutely. Because I was only the 55th black woman to ever
10:30swear into the United States House in the first place.
10:34There's a lot that we have not gotten done. The problem is that when it comes to some folk, they
10:40say we've done too much.
10:42And then other folks say we haven't done enough. And the reality is that two things can both be true.
10:49And that's exactly what we're dealing with. I like what the senator had to say, though, about the party, because
10:56right now, when you look at how people feel about the Democratic Party and the Republican Party,
11:01no one seems to be happy with either side. But unfortunately, none of us can afford to ever sit it
11:08out.
11:09So the question is, how transactional do black folk want to be? Because there's actually a really good documentary, and
11:19it's on Barbara Jordan.
11:20And I was actually down here at Essence, and I was asked to participate in this, and it's called The
11:26Inquisitor.
11:27And if you don't know anything about Barbara Jordan, please read up on her, because she is that girl, or
11:33she was that girl.
11:35Listen, Barbara Jordan, for all my sorors in the room, they already know.
11:40She was the first black woman to be elected to the Congress from the state of Texas.
11:44She was a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. And just like her, I serve on judiciary.
11:50She served on judiciary when it came down to getting rid of a corrupt president.
11:54At that time, he was the most corrupt that we thought this country would ever see.
11:58But right now, Nixon is in his grave saying, hold my beer.
12:02Well, anyway, nevertheless, but the point is, black women specifically have been on the front lines of every movement.
12:11The question is, what are black women getting in return?
12:14And so, yes, we need to understand that all skin folk ain't kin folk.
12:19And it's not just them necessarily being Republicans.
12:22And so, it's not good enough for you to show up and do everything that you can in your community
12:27to make sure that you get the vote out.
12:29And then you go ahead and you say, you know what, but now I have to focus on keeping this
12:33roof over my head and making sure that my child goes to school.
12:37Unfortunately, you got to keep a check on folk.
12:39You got to make sure that they're actually bringing resources home.
12:43If they're not telling you what they're doing, you need to be asking the questions.
12:47Because at the end of the day, we work for you.
12:50In my office, we send out emails every week letting my constituents know exactly what I'm doing.
12:57We just got $25 million for transportation just this week for my district.
13:02So, I'm just saying, number one, when somebody comes at you and says, oh, you've got to help me because
13:10I'm a Democrat and it's about our democracy.
13:13You ask them, who is our?
13:15Who are you talking about?
13:17What exactly is it that you plan to do for my community?
13:21Do you even know what is happening in my community?
13:24Do you understand that black women specifically are under attack and they have been targeted?
13:29And we have the largest unemployment that we have ever seen before specifically for black women.
13:35Are you willing to stand up and say something and do something about that in this moment?
13:41Because it's not enough that you just go and vote for the person that has a D by their name
13:45and think that everything's going to be fixed.
13:48It is about making sure that they understand that we are partners.
13:51They are not your leader.
13:53We are partners.
13:54And if anything, we follow your lead because we represent you.
13:58And that's what we've got to demand in this moment is real representation.
14:03And when folks are not getting the right answer, what are we telling them to do?
14:08I mean, listen, you vote them out, number one.
14:11I mean, you know, let me just be real clear about a couple of things.
14:15The House, whether it's the state or federal, we are supposed to be closest to the people.
14:20We call it the people's house.
14:22Our elections are more often because we are supposed to keep up with the pulse of what is happening on
14:28the ground.
14:28You know what happens a lot of times, though?
14:30And y'all know it.
14:31Y'all complain about such and such been in office forever, right?
14:35People say that all the time.
14:37But that's the only name they know.
14:39So when they go to vote, they like, well, I got to vote for such and such.
14:42But if you ask them, tell me what they're doing.
14:45And I'm not saying just because you've been elected for a long time you're ineffective.
14:48But I am saying that we get on autopilot a lot.
14:52And we can't afford to get on autopilot.
14:54We got on autopilot and now we are absolutely under attack.
14:59We have to stay vigilant.
15:01They say that freedom must be fought for in every generation.
15:06I am here to tell you that we are in the midst of our generational fight.
15:11This isn't just about what happened back in the civil rights movement.
15:15You need to understand that there is a modern day movement that is taking place.
15:19And that is why they don't want you to know your history.
15:22They don't want you to understand that the greatness runs in your veins.
15:26That is the reason that the most educated demographic in this country is black women.
15:30Because our ancestors bled for it, died for it, were jailed for it.
15:34So I want you to tap in.
15:38Understand that you are great.
15:40Right now I'm going to ask this real quick question and then we're going to move on to Nicole.
15:44Raise your hand.
15:46And I just want you to be real.
15:47This is a real conversation with us.
15:49Raise your hand if in this moment you feel powerless.
15:56Let me tell you something.
15:57Number one, it breaks my heart.
16:00But number two, I already knew the answer.
16:02The question was, were you going to be willing enough to be vulnerable enough to tell me that you feel
16:09powerless?
16:10Let me just pour into you really quickly.
16:13Let me tell you, there is one group of people that they are most afraid of.
16:17And it is you that is sitting here right now.
16:21It is your power.
16:25You see, when we look at what they've done with lines, when we look at the anti-DEI,
16:31when we look at the attacks that are taking place, you are being targeted for a reason.
16:37Because y'all decided that y'all wanted nice things.
16:40Because you somehow understood how to organize.
16:43Because somehow you are the same people that, unfortunately, your ancestors were dragged from their homes.
16:53And so many didn't make the journey across that ocean.
16:57But I can tell you that you are all the roses that grew through the concrete.
17:03They understand your strength.
17:06Don't let them make you feel powerless, especially right now.
17:10That is the only way they win is if you feel powerless.
17:14Once you tap into who you are and whose you are, I promise you, just like somehow we were able
17:22to loosen those shackles,
17:23there are other shackles that you will loosen for future generations if we stick together and don't allow people to
17:30divide us.
17:31All right.
17:34Nicole.
17:38Well, first of all, Rashad, what I was going to say has now changed as I've listened to these.
17:43All right.
17:44They have sparked so many things in me.
17:46First of all, Rashad, you all, Rashad and I have been getting into trouble, good trouble together for a long
17:50time.
17:51A long time.
17:52My husband calls us part of the civil rights mafia.
17:54And that's a good mafia.
17:56Yes.
17:56Let me tell you all a couple things that really underscore what you heard from the senator and our congresswoman.
18:02Number one, I am proud and privileged to serve as the president and CEO of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.
18:09We are celebrating 50 years this year.
18:13Yes.
18:1450 years.
18:14And we were started, when you talk about power, and you heard Senator Booker talk about how power, we have
18:22to invest in it and it grows and it doesn't just start overnight.
18:2550 years ago, those original members of the Congressional Black Caucus said, we need a foundation that does three things.
18:33Number one, we need to invest in our own future talent and leadership.
18:38Because when young black students are coming to Washington and they want opportunities, they are not getting them.
18:43Because their mothers and fathers don't know senators and congresspeople.
18:46They can't necessarily afford to pay their rent so they can work for free.
18:51They said, we need a foundation, a mechanism that will level the playing field.
18:55That's what we do.
18:56We put more black interns on Capitol Hill than any other organization in this country.
19:02Every summer.
19:04Every spring.
19:05Go visit the website.
19:07So your children can be paid to work in DC.
19:09We provide scholarships for our students, for undergraduate, for law school, for medical school, and we provide fellowships.
19:18And here's why this is important.
19:20And here's why this is about power.
19:22If we are not creating the pipeline for the next generation of leaders, we are ceding our power.
19:30Yeah.
19:30We are ceding our power.
19:33We have to ensure that our young people have opportunities, that they have doors open to them.
19:40Because that's how we're going to see the next Senator Booker.
19:42That's how we're going to see the next Representative Crockett.
19:46We have to invest in them.
19:47So when we talk about power, it is a multi-pronged strategy.
19:52There is not one answer up here.
19:54It is what Senator Booker said.
19:56It is what Congresswoman Crockett said.
19:58It is what I am saying.
19:59We have to understand that the strategy is going to require all of us and it's going to require different
20:05variables.
20:06And here's the other thing you need to understand is this.
20:09Our power, our power exists in each and every one of us.
20:15You do not have to have some fancy title like President and CEO or Senator in order to be powerful.
20:21Please understand that.
20:23Each and every one of you, the communities where you sit, the churches where you are, the sororities, including Alpha
20:32Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated.
20:37The clubs that you belong to.
20:39That is where power is built.
20:42You all have to be strategizing, figuring out how we're going to take over the world.
20:47Don't just wait for the folks on these stages to tell you how to do that.
20:51We are looking to you.
20:53That is how we are going to do it.
20:55Mobilizing and strategizing and everyone understanding that they have individual power, owning it and leaning into it.
21:03Because that's not what is expected of us.
21:05What is expected is that we are all looking for one leader, a messiah.
21:09That is not how this is going to work.
21:11They can keep thinking that's what we are going to do, but we know better.
21:14And we have a different strategy.
21:16The strategy for power, amassing it and wielding it, lies within each and every one of us and investing in
21:23that next generation of leaders.
21:27Yes, thank you.
21:28So, kind of using a TV show analogy, you know, in this current moment with the state of corporate power,
21:37even some of the recent rulings from the Supreme Court, it can feel like so many candidates, especially black candidates,
21:44can keep getting cast as sort of the best friend, the sidekick, rather than the star of their own show.
21:53Particularly black candidates are often times asked to show up for everyone else, on everyone else's issues and stories, especially
22:02corporations and billionaires, big tech companies with data centers coming into our communities, and often times not getting anything in
22:12return.
22:12These folks are sometimes taking our vote for granted.
22:15I think about big tech, I think about APAC, I think about many of these organizations which are singularly focused
22:22on issues, and then say nothing when our votes are being stripped away, when our rights are being stripped away,
22:29when we are being put in harm's way.
22:30I remember 2020, and the huge number of corporations who made statements that they reneged on.
22:38Nicole, you probably got checks from folks that you probably haven't heard from since then.
22:43And sort of this dichotomy between presence and power I think is incredibly important in this moment.
22:49Sort of, what do we do in this situation where we do have an APAC showing up in districts, where
22:57we do have big tech showing up in these districts, and they're influencing these districts, do we take the money
23:03or do we not?
23:04What do we demand from them in this moment and what not? And how do we think about whether or
23:10not the line has moved, the floor has been raised, the ceiling has been raised?
23:16And I feel like these are issues that are very much in the air as we're watching this primary season.
23:21And so, as we're thinking about power, I think I want you all to address sort of this moment of
23:27APAC, of big tech, of these industries that are playing such an incredible role.
23:33I'm going to go to you first, Congressman Crockett, and then we can go back around. Yeah.
23:37I think that this has to come down to a candidate and their values.
23:41I don't think that people should be doing things that run contrary to what it is that they stand for.
23:48If a candidate feels as if they align with APAC, then they should take APAC money if they feel like
23:55they align with APAC.
23:56But at the end of the day, when you're trying to win a race, you have to know who it
24:01is that you're trying to represent.
24:03And do the people of that community also align?
24:06I also will tell you that there is a bit of, like, a misconception around some of this.
24:12So I may get a little granular and the senator can help me out.
24:17People think that, you know, an APAC comes in and drops off a bag of $10 million.
24:23And then the candidate gets to put that in his pocket and decide which way.
24:26That's not really how it works. I know that's how it's characterized.
24:31But any super PAC that gets involved, they get involved and they run what's called an independent expenditure.
24:38For us that sit in Congress, we have individual donation caps.
24:42So the most that anybody can actually give us directly to our campaign is $3,500 per leg of our
24:50race.
24:50So when people are like, oh, that person took millions of dollars, a lot of times, depending on who it
24:56is, they've never even had a conversation with the super PAC.
24:59They're not allowed to coordinate.
25:01Now, you talk about the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court just handed down a new decision that is going to
25:08be harmful specifically for Democrats.
25:10I'm going to be honest.
25:11And that decision does allow for a level of coordination that we've never seen before between candidates and, like, the
25:20DCCC, the DNC, and DSCC, these large entities that take in a lot of money.
25:27So I will say this because I can go on and on and on for days.
25:32I've never taken APAC money.
25:36And I will tell you that when I ran for Senate, they were able to get people emotionally aroused by
25:43just claiming I took APAC money.
25:46It was to the extent that I was like, well, maybe APAC should have dropped some dollars because I got
25:50accused of the shit anyway.
25:52And at least I would have had more TV.
25:54I mean, I don't really know.
25:55And so what I will say is that it is important for you to understand who the candidates are, regardless
26:02of what super PACs get involved, don't get involved.
26:05You need to understand who the candidates are.
26:07And honestly, those voters that took the time to actually look at FEC filings, which are required, those voters that
26:16actually cared if they cared to know whether or not I was an APAC candidate, they learned that I wasn't.
26:21But what the right has figured out and what some people that really want to be disruptors, even on the
26:28left, have figured out, let me just say that this person is taking dirty money and then that person will
26:35lose votes because they got somebody else that they want to prop up.
26:37So my deal is a person may say, let's say you have a community that's super black, who knows what
26:46APAC would want with a super black community, but it happens.
26:49Okay.
26:49Your question should be, what is this candidate going to do for me and mine?
26:54Like that has to be your first priority because that person is going to DC to be your voice.
26:59And you have to make sure you hold them accountable as it relates to big tech.
27:03If we're talking about AI and data centers and crypto, you need to understand where that candidate is coming from.
27:11It may be that that candidate is not going to have the money to actually be able to run for
27:16Congress.
27:18How much, let me ask y'all, how many of y'all think it costs about $500,000 to run
27:23for the house?
27:24Raise your hand.
27:27How many of you think it costs about a million dollars?
27:29Raise your hand.
27:31Got a couple.
27:321.5.
27:34All right.
27:34So y'all are getting the point.
27:35It actually costs more than that.
27:37So it costs a lot of money.
27:39And so what happens is a lot of your realist candidates don't have that money.
27:43They can't self fund.
27:45Right.
27:46And frankly, they don't have the infrastructure to get the small dollar donors to actually be able to get the
27:52money.
27:52So some people, they may actually apply for some of these.
27:55But at the end of the day, you've got to know your candidate and know where they stand on your
27:59issues specifically,
28:00because they may be better on your issues than somebody else who doesn't say take APAC money.
28:07But they also may not care anything about police brutality or voting rights or black maternal mortality.
28:15They may not care about anything else.
28:17So what I will say is that black people can never afford to be single issue voters.
28:21And also, we can't afford to allow people to get us so emotionally aroused that we don't do our own
28:28research about the candidates,
28:30as well as whatever outside committees are trying to plan their races if they're trying to plan them.
28:36Nicole?
28:38Nicole?
28:39Is there money that we should walk away from?
28:41Nicole?
28:42Let me say this to you.
28:43The foundation, we have a lot of corporate partners, but let me tell you two key things about them.
28:49What we always ask of our partners is this.
28:52We want you around the table, not just because you have the resources, but we want you around the table
28:58if and only if you support who we are,
29:01what we do, and what our mission is and what we are about.
29:03And our mission is about empowering the global black community.
29:08If you are putting your money in the right place to make sure that we are supporting the next generation
29:14of leaders,
29:14to make sure that we are doing research around policies that are going to make black communities better,
29:19if you are putting money into making sure that we can go into Chicago like we did three weeks ago
29:24and have a summit on the south side to talk about health disparities, to talk about economics, to talk about
29:31education,
29:32then yes, I want you around the table with us.
29:35If that is not your agenda, thank you, but you can be somewhere else, okay?
29:40But if your walk and your talk are aligned, I want you with us.
29:45And let me say this.
29:47There are companies who are showing courage in this moment.
29:51There are some companies who are showing, many who are showing courage in this moment.
29:55We know that many of them have been afraid because they have been told don't support diversity,
30:01don't support initiatives that will help underprivileged and underserved communities.
30:06There are so many who have said we are going to continue to stand behind and beside organizations like yours
30:13who do this work
30:14because we believe that is what democracy is really about and we believe that is what this country should look
30:20like.
30:20So just like you know who your friends are and who your enemies are, you have to know them.
30:27You have to know who's going to stick behind you and who's going to stay with you.
30:30And there are funders who are saying, yes, we want to continue to do the right thing.
30:34And they also know that this is cyclical, that in this moment where they stand now is where we're going
30:40to be looking in two years,
30:42in four years to see where do they stand.
30:44And we are going to want those partners who believe in us and believe in our communities.
30:49Senator Booker.
30:50Look, this is perhaps the most important question that there is.
30:53But I want to just say something to an aside.
30:56Anybody that accuses Jasmine Crockett of being owned or controlled by some outside group,
31:02by anybody, she is literally the embodiment of unbought and unbossed.
31:07And I want to say that right now.
31:08So that's outrageous to me.
31:11So I want to really be specific about why this is perhaps one of the most important questions
31:18in any political question you're going to hear right now.
31:21Let me tell you what is happening to our federal government.
31:25We have allowed the normalization of the greatest corruption ever existing at any point in our country's history.
31:34All three branches of government are now thoroughly corrupted by massive concentrated power and wealth.
31:43The Article III branch of government, so-called Supreme Court,
31:47those justices now can take unlimited gifts from billionaires, literally RVs and vacations and tuition,
31:56and they circle around them and they have interests in matters that are before the court.
32:01In New Jersey, that would get a judge arrested and thrown in jail, but we've normalized it.
32:07In my branch of government, you have hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars being poured of corporate cash,
32:14but that's not even the majority of it.
32:17Then you get all of this dark money being spent that has driven up the cost of running for office.
32:23In the Senate, we literally have a Senate where most of the people there represent the top 1% of
32:30the economic burden
32:31because it's so hard for people that don't have money now to actually run for office.
32:37We have senators that trade stocks. It is a corrupt system.
32:41And don't get me started on the executive branch.
32:44You told me not to mention Donald Trump, who made $2 billion in office last year, grifting off of the
32:51office.
32:52We need to break this system of corporate influence and control.
32:58I started with myself 10 years ago and said I will not take corporate PAC money.
33:04Last year when this APAC thing was started and other things, I said I will not take issue-oriented PAC
33:09money as well.
33:11But we need to change the entire system.
33:14I will be rolling out in the coming weeks an omnibus anti-corruption bill that's going to put term limits
33:21on the Supreme Court,
33:22ethics rules on the Supreme Court, stop congresspeople from trading stocks, ending dark money in politics, ending the PAC system,
33:32because that's what they have right now. They can't beat organized people.
33:37Their hope is that you don't organize or mobilize and they are definitely investing a lot of money in stopping
33:45you from voting right now.
33:47That's why a corrupt court is undermining and gutting the Civil Rights Act. Why?
33:53Because it's about power and it's about their money.
33:56When black people vote, we get a greater and bigger democracy.
34:01When they put hurdles in front of you, when they put obstacles in your way, we got to remember where
34:07we came from.
34:08The reason why America has such a robust democracy is because black people, when they tried to stop us from
34:15voting, we found a way to democratize our nation anyway.
34:19We are at a moment of a generational test. We weren't called to march on the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
34:27We weren't called to do freedom rides. These new generations now who inherited a robust democracy are on our watch
34:34watching it be taken away from us.
34:37The question has got to be, what will we do on our watch?
34:41The Supreme Court and those nine members, that's really only six of them, they may have six votes, but we
34:47have millions of votes.
34:50They make a decision, we need to unleash a movement to recapture our democracy and end this corrupt system that's
34:58undermining the power of the people for only the people with wealth.
35:02So, we have one last question, and I want us to sort of get everyone in.
35:09I appreciate that, Senator Booker, because we can't go back, right?
35:12I often times say, there's not a time machine that I want to get in and go back to.
35:17Maybe for clothes and music, but nothing else.
35:22I say that to say that we will always lose in the back rooms if we don't have people lined
35:28up at the front door.
35:29So, you've got people in this room, you've got people on live stream.
35:33What are we asking people? What are we demanding people?
35:36What are we inviting people in to do in this moment that looks different than what we've done in the
35:43past?
35:44That looks different than the marches? That looks different than voting?
35:47Those things need to continue to happen too, but what is the engagement in this moment that looks different and
35:53feels different?
35:54Because this moment that we are in does look different and does feel different.
36:00Go ahead.
36:00I actually, I really do want y'all to go old school.
36:05And hear me out on this.
36:07For instance, you're all sitting here, so obviously, somehow you have a shared interest.
36:13You're at Essence and you came to this panel.
36:15But raise your hand if you actually said hello to the person sitting next to you.
36:21Okay, some of y'all did good.
36:23Some of y'all did good.
36:24If you haven't, holla at the person next to you when we're done.
36:28But my point is this.
36:30We have become disconnected.
36:33We are so, I mean, how many of y'all have been out to dinner and you see people that
36:38are allegedly on a date,
36:39but they both like in their phone?
36:41We are so disconnected.
36:44People used to know their neighbors.
36:45I grew up in St. Louis, my granny used to keep me and my cousins.
36:48And guess what?
36:50Everybody on the street knew who we belonged to.
36:53Because our neighbors communicated.
36:55Most people don't even know their neighbors.
36:57So what I am asking you to do is flex your power within your circle.
37:02Because we are not actually communicating.
37:04I personally believe one of the reasons specifically that our younger people are struggling with mental health crises in this
37:12moment is because there is a lack of connectivity.
37:15Because you will always be a lot more influential than any politician.
37:20And let me tell you why.
37:21Because most people do not believe politicians.
37:25They look at all of us and be like, what you want?
37:28They never think that politicians have a pure heart.
37:32And trust me, plenty of them don't.
37:33So I get you, right?
37:34But the reality is that I need you to engage in conversations where you say, you know what?
37:40I was listening to Congresswoman Crockett and she said, and I'm going to have you all do it, raise your
37:45hands if your health care premiums went up.
37:48You see that?
37:50I don't even know the vast majority of you, but I know your story because it is my job to
37:55know your story.
37:56I know how the policies that they are passing right now are detrimentally harming you.
38:02But you have more in common with the person that is sitting next to you than anybody else.
38:07So it is time to talk about not only your successes, because I know we want to flex about the
38:12things that we're doing that are good.
38:14But we have to talk about our struggles.
38:16And we have to understand that by educating people so that they know your insurance premium went up because of
38:23this big ugly bill.
38:24That's what Congresswoman Crockett had told us.
38:26Did y'all know about this bill?
38:27You have to start to get your civic education on in whatever ways you can.
38:32And the last thing that I will say is that we just did a daggone Love Island confessional video, child.
38:39Lord, that was my way of communicating, okay?
38:43You have to meet people where they are.
38:45So don't wait for us to come to you.
38:48If you know something, share it.
38:50Share it in your group chats.
38:52Make sure that every single week, raise your hand if you got a group chat.
38:56I know y'all got the family group chat.
38:57You got your line, sisters.
38:59You got all these group chats.
39:00And that's the only place we can't infiltrate.
39:02So what I need y'all to do is take one fact.
39:05Did you know that this happened this week?
39:09Did you know that our tax dollars went to this this week?
39:12Did you know that they indicted this person this week?
39:16And don't be sharing nothing that's a lie.
39:18So make sure you Google a couple of times to make sure that you're not sharing misinformation.
39:23But I promise you, they don't want you to be educated for a reason.
39:27And that is exactly why we have to put the honest on ourselves to get the information.
39:33So get the information, but then share it out to everyone that you can.
39:38And start getting to know your neighbors.
39:40Start getting to know your coworkers that you normally don't talk to.
39:44I promise you, when we can come together, they won't be able to look at people and say,
39:49well, the Haitians is eating the cats and the dogs.
39:52They will then say, but I know a Haitian, and they don't eat cats and dogs.
39:56Right?
39:56They won't be able to say that, oh, Congresswoman Crockett is low IQ basically because she black.
40:01Right?
40:02Because, no, I've got this very intelligent black friend of mine.
40:06So start to reconnect with people.
40:08So I'm going old school on this.
40:10All right.
40:10They're going to give us the hook, but I want to get you in Nicole and Senator Booker, of course.
40:13So, yes.
40:14All right.
40:14I'm a lawyer, so it's hard for me to be quick, but I will be.
40:17All right.
40:17I'm going to give you three things.
40:19Number one, each and every one of you has an expertise, a talent, a gift.
40:24I want you to determine what your talent or your gift is and use it for good.
40:30I don't care what it is.
40:32We all have something we can give to our communities.
40:35And when we use those talents collectively, it will make a powerful impact.
40:40Number two, I want you to make sure that you are being strategic
40:45and determining who in your communities are eligible to vote but are not registered.
40:52Get them registered and get them to the polls.
40:55Now, this is not a general just let's get it.
40:58Let's have a voting, you know, a day where we're just registering people to vote.
41:02I'm talking about with surgical precision.
41:05Find out in your own districts, in your own communities who is eligible, who is not registered,
41:12and get them registered to vote and get them to the polls.
41:15The Calais decision from the Supreme Court, as impactful as it is, you know how it can be overcome?
41:21If we get as many voters who are eligible to come out and vote, we can overcome the shenanigans.
41:29We can overcome the shenanigans.
41:31And number three, I want you all to remember your history and to be courageous.
41:37Do not be afraid in this moment.
41:40Do not be afraid in this moment.
41:42Our history has shown us that we are a resilient people.
41:46We have been bludgeoned, beaten.
41:48We have gone through hell and come back, but yet we are still here.
41:53You all are still here.
41:55You are beautiful.
41:55You are here in this moment.
41:57We are working together.
41:59Hold on to that courage and fear not.
42:02And remember, remember that in this moment where we are celebrating the 250th birthday of this country, it is because
42:11we were and we are.
42:13Yes.
42:17So, I'm a black man who grew up with, I'm here because of phenomenal black women who never gave up
42:26on me, who never ever quit on believing that I could have a better future.
42:32I was sitting in a confirmation hearing for this extraordinary black woman named Ketanji Brown Jackson.
42:40And I literally watched all the forces of darkness coming at her, surrounding her, almost to say that the most
42:48qualified woman ever, qualified person ever to be put up for the Supreme Court, that they were going to try
42:55to stop her, demean her, degrade her before they went on.
42:59And I remember when it got to be my turn to say, ask her my questions.
43:04I told her, sit back, my sister.
43:05I've got no questions for you.
43:07I just want to tell you what I know.
43:09And I'm going to tell it to every black woman that's here right now because I know this from my
43:16own family.
43:18Every one of you is facing a world that is always trying to tell you that you are not enough,
43:25that you are not worthy.
43:28But your ancestry, your DNA, the very fiber of your existence is a testimony to the truth of the matter
43:37that you are worthy, you are capable.
43:40You have within you the spirit of Sojourner Truth.
43:44You have within you the spirit of Fannie Lou Hamer.
43:47You have within you the spirit, all you entrepreneurs, of Madam C.J. Walker.
43:52Your very existence is a testimony that if they try to write you down in history with their bitter, twisted
43:58lies, they try to trot you in that very dust, you will rise.
44:03And I'm sorry to ask this of you, but right now more than ever, this nation needs the women of
44:10our community yet again.
44:12I know you're weary.
44:13I know you're sick and tired of being sick and tired.
44:16But the salvation of our country depends upon your strength and your wisdom and your love.
44:23And so this is our calling.
44:25This is our moment.
44:27The most common way, as Alice Walker says, that people give up their power is not realizing it, realizing they
44:34have it in the first place.
44:35You are powerful.
44:37You are strong.
44:39You are made in the image of God.
44:41And this nation needs your divinity now.
44:44I know the times are tough.
44:46I know it is a hard moment.
44:48But I know also that we shall overcome.
44:52We will not agonize.
44:53We will organize.
44:55We may be weary, but we will get back to work.
44:58And yet again, when this nation is lunging off the path of democracy, we will save this country and get
45:05it back on track and make sure that our tomorrows are better than our yesterdays.
45:11All right.
45:13Essence Fest, please give it up for Senator Cory Booker, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, and Nicole Austin Hillary of the Congressional
45:21Black Caucus.
45:22Thank you all very much.
45:23Let's get out there and let's find our power.
45:28Bye-bye, right at the campgrounds and the green next dagen.
45:29Bye-bye.
45:30Let's go to the Bayley Remote Squad.
45:32Bye-bye.
45:33We'll have to keep watching and go vlog.
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