- 10 hours ago
We are confronting the most existential moment in our history with the dismantling of the voting rights act, redistricting in many parts of the south, and a threat of minority representation across the board. In fact, one party can take control of 19 seats overnight; leading to the decimation of the congressional black caucus and Black political power. There were 72 Black elected officials in 1964 and it increased to 10,000 in 2026. This year threatens to wipe out all of that process. What can you do?
Angela Rye, Lawyer, Political Commentator, Ceo Of Impact Strategies, And Cofounder Of Reasoned Choice Media
Andrew Gillum, Politician, Former Florida Gubernatorial Nominee, And Producer
Bakari Sellers, Attorney, Former South Carolina Representative, And Political Analyst
Angela Rye, Lawyer, Political Commentator, Ceo Of Impact Strategies, And Cofounder Of Reasoned Choice Media
Andrew Gillum, Politician, Former Florida Gubernatorial Nominee, And Producer
Bakari Sellers, Attorney, Former South Carolina Representative, And Political Analyst
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00:00We are confronting the most existential moment in our history with the dismantling of the Voting Rights Act, redistricting in
00:09many parts of the South, and the threat of minority representation across the board.
00:15In fact, one party can take control of 19 seats overnight.
00:21The next segment, midterms and voting.
00:25Please welcome to the GBEV stage, all three co-hosts of the Native Land Pod, Andrew Gillum, Bakari Sellers, and
00:36Angela Rye.
00:41Plus, U.S. House of Representatives for the 10th District of New Jersey, Congresswoman LaMonica McIver.
00:50U.S. House of Representatives for the state of Texas, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett.
01:03And state senator from the 5th District of Louisiana, including New Orleans, Royce DuPlessis.
01:26Y'all better get on in here.
01:31Get on in here.
01:33Yo, yo, yo.
01:34Let's talk about some things.
01:36Welcome home, y'all.
01:37This is Native Land Pod.
01:39There's some rowdiness going on right somewhere.
01:41But we're so excited to be here at Essence Fest.
01:46This is our third time being here.
01:49So really, really excited.
01:51We have some tremendous guests with us today.
01:53As you all heard, we got Senator Royce, Congresswoman LaMonica McIver, and Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett.
02:03And one thing that I think is really important in this moment, Andrew and Bakari, is understanding who our fighters
02:10are.
02:10The people who we know are going to champion our causes, be the conscience, when the nation has lost theirs,
02:15even as it celebrates its 250th anniversary.
02:19So I just want to thank you all for being with us today, and I'll yield to my co-hosts.
02:24One, two, three.
02:26All right.
02:26Good evening.
02:27Well, good afternoon, everybody.
02:28I'm sure you've been hearing on the news, on the Internet, so on and so forth, around redistricting and the
02:35withdrawing of power from black voters.
02:38And you've also been hearing at the same time that there have been black representatives, elected officials, civil organizations who
02:45have been stepping up to make sure that we don't lose our power.
02:49So today we want to have a brief conversation around what it is that we've got to do, each of
02:53us, me, you, and our cousins and them, to make sure that we don't lose the power that our ancestors,
03:00our forefathers and foremothers fought so hard for us to attain in the first place.
03:05So as we finish our introductions, just get ready for that very brief conversation where we work together to move
03:11power for black people forward.
03:13Bakari?
03:14I'm just happy to be here.
03:16So first of all, I'm from the big city of Denmark, South Carolina, where we have three stoplights and a
03:20blinking light.
03:21And my mom and dad always tell me the two most important words in the English language are the words
03:25thank you.
03:26And so before we start, I want to say a special thank you.
03:29And I think that we need to give a special round of applause to the young lady to my right,
03:33Jasmine Crockett.
03:34So thank you, Jasmine.
03:37And I ain't going to lie to you, I ain't even recognize who she was when she came in, her
03:41hair did, makeup on.
03:43She always did.
03:44Her hair is always doing this.
03:45I was like.
03:46Almost out of Congress.
03:48Almost.
03:49And this young lady to my left has been going through more than anyone should have to bear.
03:57Sometimes, you know, when you say your prayers at night and you're like, God, I don't want to be your
04:00fiercest soldier.
04:02This year you could put me at the back.
04:04I've gone through so much.
04:06I want you all to pray for her to not only have a very healthy pregnancy, but a very healthy
04:11birth.
04:11And I want you all to pray for her to get through these trials and tribulations that they are putting
04:16her through.
04:18It feels really, really weak of me to say God doesn't give you more than you can bear because you're
04:23bearing more than I could ever do.
04:24So God bless you.
04:26And then I just, I love to have a couple of light-skinned friends.
04:30I think everybody should have one or two light-skinned people in their life.
04:35Angela has Nicole Hannah-Jones.
04:37And I have Royce.
04:39So give a shout-out to one of the best.
04:42And I don't know if you all were watching him.
04:43He's not starting these color complex issues on God's Day.
04:46He was outside sweating when they were doing the redistricting here in Louisiana.
04:50He was filming himself sweating, patting his head.
04:54But he was in there giving a good fight.
04:56And Royce is somebody that we all need to make sure that we understand that we're all in this together.
05:01And the work that you did does not go unnoticed.
05:03And so with that, I know Angela and Andrew are going to talk a lot.
05:06That was my two minutes.
05:07I probably won't say anything else the rest of the show.
05:10And the cool part about it is everybody was already introduced.
05:13So that was amazing.
05:14Now, since we're here, I think it's really important for us as we're contemplating what this 250th means, where we
05:24find our home.
05:24We open our show every week with Welcome Home, y'all.
05:28And I'm starting to feel real houseless in the Democratic Party.
05:35We've been talking.
05:36Don't start, Bakari.
05:37We've been talking about this a lot on the show.
05:39Go on over there, then.
05:40Excuse me.
05:40Go on over there.
05:41Where?
05:42To them.
05:43No.
05:43So, anyway, let me make my point, because you don't even know where I'm going.
05:47Maybe you do, but just hush.
05:48So my thing is, where do we go when we're not feeling, seeing appreciation?
05:56And I'm going to use some examples.
05:59The first example is LaMonica McIver.
06:03Many of you all have heard about her advocacy.
06:06The federal government indicted her for engaging in constituency services, making sure that Delaney Hall, which you all are reading
06:13about in the news regularly, hearing about and watching about all of the abuses at Delaney Hall, she was on
06:20the front end because she knew it was going to happen.
06:22And because the federal government couldn't handle what she did, they pressed charges.
06:27This woman is facing federal charges with child.
06:32I haven't heard about no legal defense fund from the party.
06:37That's my first issue, so Bakari can argue with himself.
06:40Second issue, some of y'all's favorite politicians were out campaigning with James Tallarico when we were fighting for our
06:51voting rights with redistricting.
06:53And I don't know where the folks were.
06:56And so our dear sister here is in the fight for her life.
06:59Sometimes at odds with us, we don't always agree on every single thing, but around what happened with the Senate
07:04race.
07:05And we know that Jasmine is one of our fiercest advocates.
07:07We needed her in Congress, whether it was in the House or the Senate.
07:10We know we need Jasmine.
07:13And so Jasmine, I'm going to speak for her.
07:16Phil's taken for granted.
07:17Royce, you got to be a little more PC in the South sometimes.
07:20But I would argue that for the folks who are saying, the Dixiecrats who are saying, you just redraw the
07:27maps and somebody, Democrat, some Democrat is going to win, even if it's at the expense of the Legislative Black
07:33Caucus.
07:33I just see it being taken for granted.
07:35So y'all tell me where we go from here.
07:38One of y'all.
07:41Was that a question?
07:42I will jump in.
07:44And if y'all know me, I like to make sure that the audience is actually awake and paying attention.
07:49And so my question, first of all, to the audience is, do you feel as if you have a home
07:54within the Republican Party?
07:55Raise your hand if you do.
07:57Okay.
07:57No, no.
07:58Y'all, we got one now.
07:59No.
08:00One.
08:01Anybody feel like they got a home within the Democratic Party?
08:06But the reality is that there are so many people that did not clap for either.
08:11And that is the problem right now.
08:13Even when we look at the last presidential election, we know that more people didn't vote than voted for either
08:20the Democratic or the Republican nominees.
08:23And so the question is, what will it take for people to actually feel as if they have a home,
08:28specifically within the Democratic Party, as black folk?
08:32Now, when you talk about my little sister, I literally was tearing up.
08:36Because I don't feel like people understand how hard LaMonica has gone for this country.
08:46LaMonica is facing 17 years in prison.
08:49There are people that have raped children.
08:52And they haven't even been arrested.
08:54We know that they have raped children.
08:57And they have not even been arrested.
08:58In fact, the vast majority are lining their pockets right now.
09:02And this woman who decided to have the audacity to do what she was elected to do, which was to
09:08show up and do oversight.
09:10They decided that they basically wanted to say, hey, black girl, we are going to put you in your place
09:17because we didn't want you here in the first place.
09:19And that is akin to what I have experienced as it relates to trying to make sure that I could
09:25ascend to the Senate because we need real ones at every single level of government that will not back down
09:33and will not bow down in the face of the hypocrisy that we see playing out.
09:39So, number one, I'm going to give you a task because I don't believe in coming here and trying to
09:44pretend like it's all kumbaya.
09:46If you have never heard of LaMonica McIvor, I am saying now I need you to go and donate to
09:51her campaign.
09:52I don't care if it's $5 or $10, but she is facing multiple millions of dollars in attorney's fees.
09:59And we already know that this DOJ is not a DOJ that has ever stood up and done the right
10:05thing for people that look like us no matter what level of government we occupy.
10:13First of all, I just want to thank my sister, Jasmine.
10:17Look, at the end of the day, I think it's really important that I want to hone into the point
10:21of the folks who did not answer the question that they belong either or, which is the scary part for
10:26me as we approach the midterm general election.
10:31So many people are so upset they are staying home, they are not engaged, they are not informed, and that
10:36is what's going to make us lose big if we don't get out and we don't get people out to
10:41vote, especially those who look like us.
10:44They are disengaged and not informed, and it's because of, number one, we can talk about a lot of things
10:50of why it's like that, but specifically around candidates' messaging and how they're talking about how they're going to help
10:55you.
10:56Are they meeting you where you're at to talk about the things that matter to you most in your life?
11:01And at the end of the day, they're just not meeting the moment of that, but at the same time,
11:05we know that that doesn't mean we need to stay at home.
11:08We cannot stay at home at all.
11:11So that's number one, which is a lot of work that I need to do and that we need to
11:15do.
11:15But at the same time, as everybody's mentioned on this stage, yes, they are trying to prosecute me.
11:21They are trying to send me to jail for 17 years.
11:23Has it slowed me down?
11:26No.
11:27No.
11:29So if I can go through all of that, surely you can get folks to be engaged in the upcoming
11:35election.
11:36At the end of the day, there are so many people who fought for us to be here, for me
11:40to be here.
11:40So I cannot get weary in this moment, no matter the intimidation, no matter the bullying, no matter how much
11:47they come up against me,
11:48no matter how much this case costs for me to fight it.
11:51At the end of the day, they're not going to snatch my joy.
11:54They're not going to snatch my responsibility to serve the people of New Jersey's 10th congressional district in this country.
12:01Because Donald Trump and the DOJ didn't appoint me to be here with you all.
12:06The people elected me to be here.
12:08So that's why I continue to stand up and do the job that I need to do.
12:12Because at the end of the day, they're not going to stop me from doing that.
12:14And so we all have to have that type of courage.
12:17We need political figures, right, Congresswoman?
12:20We need political figures in this moment who are not punks.
12:25We don't got time for you to be no punk.
12:28This is not no scary work.
12:30This is serious work.
12:32It is dangerous work sometimes.
12:34And at the end of the day, when you take an oath and you say you are going to represent
12:37people,
12:38you got to be up for the fight no matter what.
12:47So when we talk about where we go from here, what's next, I think we all have to ground ourselves
12:53in the reality that there is no perfect Democratic Party, just like there is no perfect elected official.
12:59So let's rid ourselves of that fallacy.
13:02But when it comes to achieving what we deserve, we got to lead the cause ourselves.
13:08We have to go create it.
13:09We can't look to the Democratic Party and say, you know, we can look to them.
13:14If they're not delivering, we go and create a new thing.
13:18But we also got to be practical and realistic.
13:20So Angela said, we PC in the South, I don't really know what that meant.
13:24We have to, like, catch up on that.
13:27But we're in the super minority in the Louisiana legislature, right?
13:32Super minority.
13:33And if you don't have basic math to get a simple majority, you can't pass anything.
13:37The point being is that until we start showing up and getting people elected outside of Orleans Parish,
13:43East Baton Rouge, Shreveport, and other places, we're going to continue to lose.
13:47But we know that the majority of the people in the state do not accept or agree with the policies
13:53of the Republican Party.
13:54You have a governor who's Republican.
13:56You have two U.S. senators who are Republican.
13:58The Speaker of the House is Republican.
14:00The majority whip is Republican from Louisiana, right?
14:03They dominate, but we still rank at the bottom in terms of everything.
14:07We still rank dead last in terms of everything as a state, health care, education, criminal justice.
14:13So my message to anybody who's unhappy with the Democratic Party, I would hope you don't look to the Republican
14:18Party.
14:18But let's push ourselves as a Democratic Party to be better.
14:22And historically, I just want to point this out because we're in Louisiana.
14:28Today is the 4th of July.
14:31250 years.
14:32250 years.
14:34We're celebrating the history of this country, but I think we're also at a reflection point of where we go
14:38as a nation.
14:41Louisiana, right here in New Orleans, as we celebrate essence and we celebrate the beauty of black culture, black women,
14:46and black excellence,
14:48we can never forget that we're actually in Louisiana.
14:51And Louisiana, during Reconstruction, right after Reconstruction, right out of New Orleans was the first election of a black person
14:58to U.S. Congress.
14:59His name was John Willis Menard.
15:01This man was elected, but he never served.
15:05He was elected, but he never served because they didn't allow him to get sworn in.
15:10Just a few months ago, right here in the city of New Orleans, we elected a man by the name
15:14of Calvin Duncan.
15:17He was elected by 70% of the vote just last year.
15:21And you know what happened?
15:22When it came time for him to get sworn in, the governor and the attorney general nullified the election and
15:28did not allow this man to be sworn in.
15:30So that's critical.
15:32That didn't come from the Democratic Party.
15:33I'm just pointing this out, right?
15:35So I'm here to hold the Democratic Party fully accountable for whatever failures we're not achieving.
15:40But we ain't nothing to talk about when they're talking about, like, Republican Party.
15:44So we got to figure something else out, but we have to lead ourselves there.
15:47Can I jump in real quick on that?
15:48I'm sorry if that's what y'all heard me saying.
15:50That is not what I'm saying.
15:51I'm not pushing this sister over here.
15:53No, no, no.
15:53I'm not with you, friend.
15:55I love you.
15:56You can sit.
15:59Okay, I don't hear you, but I'm going to talk to you after.
16:01Go ahead.
16:02No, no, no.
16:02I just wanted to jump in on that because I think that what you touched on is something that you
16:06probably didn't mean to highlight.
16:08Republicans are gangsta.
16:09Like, I'm not going to lie.
16:11And when you look at what this current administration is doing, they don't give a damn about nothing that anybody
16:16else is doing, right?
16:17But when it comes to the Democrats, people a lot of times, and raise your hand if you agree with
16:21me because I don't want to be the only one out here.
16:23Y'all don't even know what I'm about to say.
16:24But people think that Republicans, I mean, Democrats are weak.
16:28Like, Republicans, if they want to get something done, they get it done.
16:32Like, they decided that he wasn't going to swear in.
16:35They could care less about the votes.
16:37They could care less about a Democratic process.
16:39They couldn't care less about any of that.
16:41They decided that that black man was not going to swear in, and they did the thing.
16:46But the question is, where are the Democrats on answering on the other side when it comes to delivering for
16:52health care, when it comes to delivering for education?
16:54Like, will we go balls to the walls?
16:58And I think that that is why you end up with people that are like, you know what, I don't
17:02really mess with either one of them.
17:03Because it's like, I don't agree with these racist Republican policies.
17:07But at the same time, I'm not going to sit here and be like, well, this weak person has my
17:12back.
17:12For sure.
17:13So, can I just jump in real quick?
17:16Because you have a lot of people who are here, and they're here to see you all, and they come
17:22to Essence, and they drink good liquor, and they get dressed, and we go to white parties, and we celebrate
17:27what it means to be us.
17:30But I think a lot of people need to understand or ask themselves, how or what?
17:37And so, the question I have for you all is, yes, we have castigated, and yes, we have chastised, and
17:43yes, we have clearly identified what the issue is.
17:47But what can people in this room do?
17:49And I think that a lot of people want to leave here with something.
17:53Like, they want to leave here with a tangible ideal about what they can do to change their plight.
17:59When you go to CPAC, when you go to TPUSA, when you go to all of these GOP conferences, they
18:05always leave you with concrete ideals about we're going to—
18:08Why do you know that?
18:09Because I watch them.
18:11Okay, I'm just checking.
18:11My daddy used to tell me—when I ran for office in 2006, when I first got elected, I would watch
18:18Fox News, and I would watch Rush Limbaugh, because my daddy would say,
18:21you have to know what they're saying about you.
18:24You literally have to know what they're saying about you.
18:28Unless I know TPUSA goodie bag, we're going to ask Ellen.
18:34That's why I don't take Angela nowhere.
18:35So, anyway, so what my question for the three of you all is, with this audience—and sometimes it's a hard
18:41question for us to answer, but what can we tell this—because at the end of the day, these are—we are
18:47people who could afford flights.
18:49We are people who could afford a hotel.
18:51We are people who could afford Fashion Nova.
18:54Some of y'all are wearing Fashion Nova.
18:55I know it.
18:56I see it.
18:56I recognize it.
18:57But we are people who can be here in this space.
19:01And so my question is, what do we tell people in this space about how to improve our political plight?
19:08Well, I think, one—that's a good question—one is that we have to take some responsibility ourselves for where we're at,
19:16right?
19:17Stick with me.
19:19One, we're always just—a lot of us, especially black and brown people, we think that the civic process is only
19:26going out to vote.
19:27That's it.
19:28Like, and we—and barely doing that.
19:31After that, we let folks who we vote in just go and roam about their business.
19:36And then we get mad when they do not do the things that we want them to do to make
19:40our lives better.
19:42No, you have to stay on their ass.
19:46Literally, we meet with lobbyist groups all the time, different folks who are like, ah, this is what I want,
19:51this is what we want.
19:52And sometimes those lobbying groups don't look like us.
19:56They are not out there driving the force for the things that matter for them and their lives and their
20:01communities.
20:01And you have to make sure that you are holding people's feet to the fire past the election day.
20:07Once they get sworn in, you on them all the time.
20:10You're engaged.
20:11You're informed.
20:11You're staying into the fight.
20:13And that is what we have to do.
20:14We can't just vote and then get out of the game and think that someone's just going to have your
20:18best interest at heart.
20:19Look, we're elected officials, but at the end of the day, what makes me the best elected official that I
20:24can be in this moment is me listening to the people that I serve, me talking with them, meeting with
20:30them, and them telling me what it is that they want to see happen because I don't have all the
20:34answers.
20:35And those are the types of people you have to elect who are delivering real results and making sure that
20:40they are advocating for what you want.
20:42And when we're not in that game, you're getting looked over.
20:45And so that's the first thing that we have to do.
20:47We must be engaged and make sure that we're holding people's feet to the fire because no matter who we
20:52elect this November, right, a congresswoman, whoever we elect, if you don't make them accountable and responsible for your needs
20:59and for your community needs, then they're not going to do anything.
21:02They're going to do just like what folks are doing, turning their back on you and going on about their
21:06business.
21:07It's like I heard Reverend Al Sharpton say, you know, we got free and we went rogue.
21:13Like we forgot.
21:14We ain't free, though.
21:15So I ain't going to lie.
21:17The crazy part about freedom is we ain't free until we all free.
21:20But go ahead, Andrew.
21:20Or at least half of us.
21:22Yeah.
21:23But Monica McGarver, Congresswoman McGarver brings up a really important point that hopefully the other two panelists can speak to.
21:29And that is put some contours to what does it mean to hold our elected officials accountable, particularly in the
21:35black community,
21:36because a lot of times it is rumored that the black vote goes the cheapest.
21:42It's the cheapest vote.
21:44It is you show up at the barbecue, you show up at the dance, you call out somebody's name, first,
21:50middle, and last, everybody last.
21:51They go to the church house.
21:53But it's the cheapest vote.
21:54So that's the cheapest vote is the one you don't have to pay much attention to.
21:58You don't have to maintenance it.
21:59You don't have to really care for it.
22:00You just go back and do the same thing you did the last time.
22:03And guess what?
22:04They show up.
22:06So when you talk about holding people accountable, I've been a mayor of a city.
22:09I know what it meant to meet with constituency groups that said, thank you for being there the last time.
22:14And now we need this from you.
22:16And the this from you never ended.
22:18There was always, I need a this from you.
22:20What does accountability look like when it turns from our people holding our people, those who are elected and look
22:27like us, accountable to the voter?
22:31I'll jump in really quickly just because you didn't hit my whole spirit with this cheap idea.
22:37You know, Ashley Etienne actually just did an article that was published by Essence.
22:42And in this article, she said that when they did this autopsy of what happened with the DNC and where
22:48they spent the money, 1%, 1% of the money went to black folk, went to black media, went to
22:58black outreach.
22:581% do you know who is the most loyal to the Democratic Party?
23:04It is black people.
23:06So you had 93% of black women vote for the Democratic nominee and close to 80% of black
23:13men vote for the Democratic nominee.
23:15And we lost, and they continued to spend money sinking it into people that were never coming to support our
23:22party.
23:23So we can start there when we talk about investments because I believe that we need to make demands.
23:29There is a, I've been trying to pump up, you know, PBS has some good, so long as PBS exists,
23:34y'all.
23:35PBS has some good documentaries, and they did one specifically about Barbara Jordan.
23:40Now, I love me some Barbara Jordan as a Texan and a congresswoman.
23:44One thing I learned when I actually watched it, it's called The Inquisitor.
23:48It is really, really good, and it's short.
23:50Y'all should watch it if you've not seen it.
23:52But Barbara Jordan goes on stage at the DNC.
23:56She gives this amazing speech, and everybody is pumped up because they've now heard the eloquence of Barbara Jordan.
24:03So then Barbara Jordan is asked to go out on this presidential campaign for somebody that they didn't necessarily think
24:10had a chance of winning.
24:11That was Jimmy Carter.
24:13She goes out, she campaigns, she hollers at black folks, she gets them to show up.
24:17Jimmy Carter wins that election.
24:20They ask, Barbara, what is it that you want?
24:23Barbara says, I want to be the top attorney for the United States.
24:28Now, this is after she done tore down Nixon, done her thing in judiciary, and all the things.
24:35Way before going viral was a thing, she went viral for tearing down, at that time, the most corrupt president
24:41we had in the United States.
24:43And you know what they told that black woman?
24:46They told her, oh, no, no, no, we got to put a white man in.
24:49So let me be clear about this.
24:51It is time for y'all to start to be transactional about your votes.
24:54It can't just be a matter of, oh, you want to get into office, and so, yes, you need me
25:00right now, but you don't ever show up any other time.
25:03Number one.
25:04Number two, you don't invest in my community.
25:06Number three, what policies are you working on that are actually going to better my economic situation, my health situation,
25:14my educational situation?
25:16It is not enough just to be that you're not the racist Republican, but that is what has happened with
25:22black folks, because they understood that we couldn't be a party with the people that actually want to lynch us
25:28every day.
25:29And so we sit up there, and we say that we are just voting for mitigation, but it's actually time
25:34for us to vote for uplift.
25:36And unfortunately, so many of these candidates do not care about uplifting us.
25:41This is why we have not advanced at the level that we should have at this point.
25:46So show up to city council, show up to the state house, and come to the U.S. house if
25:52you can afford to, because every single house is called the people's house.
25:56This is where they can look you in your face, and they have to tell you, yes, no, we only
26:01looked at you as a line item that we were crossing out.
26:04I didn't realize that behind that sickle cell research dollar, there was a real person.
26:10I didn't realize that that cancer that we were cutting out, that, oh, no, no, there are real people.
26:16Get in their faces and make them tell you, yes, I was elected to represent you, but I don't care
26:22about you.
26:23That is what you make them do.
26:25You show up, you get in their faces, and if they decide they're not going to represent you, you let
26:30them know that you will work hard to make sure they lose their seats.
26:39I want to start by answering Bakari's question really quickly about something tangible.
26:45This is not sexy.
26:47This is not anything that's probably going to get you excited, but when the Congresswoman asked the question earlier about
26:53how you feel about this or that, or them's the Republicans and the hand raising,
26:57and I think if we asked a similar question around how many people in the audience knew every single person
27:04who was elected to represent where you live from the school board representative
27:10to the local police juror to your city council person all the way up to your congressperson, I'm not going
27:17to ask you all to raise your hands,
27:18but if you know every single one of your elected officials, every single one, right, so my challenge is when
27:29you leave here,
27:31go and find out every single person who was elected to represent you.
27:36Now, what will happen in that process is that you're going to be, okay, John Brown represents me to do
27:43X, Y, and Z.
27:44Okay, what does that mean?
27:46So what that's going to do is going to take us on a pathway of education, and now you're going
27:50to start asking more questions about what is this person doing for me,
27:53or better yet, what is this person not doing for me?
27:55So that's a simple ask that I have of everyone because it's not enough for when we're out, you know
28:01us all as elected officials
28:03or former elected officials to not know what we did or didn't do for you.
28:08So I think it really starts there.
28:09You can't hold us accountable if you don't know the roles that we have and we serve on your behalf.
28:13That's a first, and there's a lot more that we can do.
28:15But I want to just wrap up on that question following up to us, Congressman Crockett's point about how we
28:22hold one another accountable.
28:23Now, I've run some high-stakes races against non-black opponents.
28:27We all know about the race that Congresswoman Crockett just went through.
28:31Bakara, you've run statewide.
28:33Mayor Gillum, you've run statewide against non-black opponents.
28:36It's no secret that we get held to a different standard.
28:39My whole thing is if you're going to support somebody who's not from your community that doesn't look like you,
28:46you make it clear to that person that they understand the disparity,
28:50that they understand that the candidates are held to different standards, right?
28:55So when it comes time for accountability, they have to have some track record or some history of showing that
29:01they've been showing up to address those disparities
29:03and to address that because we're not honest about those things.
29:07We're really not.
29:08And I'm going to say it.
29:09We're not honest about the fact that we get held to different standards.
29:12And obviously, Congresswoman Crockett and Congresswoman McIvers, they are the standard bearers for that disparity, unfortunately.
29:20But I think we've got to have more of those honest conversations.
29:24So I have a question.
29:27I think that oftentimes, and we should, we litigate what our party should do for us, and that's a legitimate
29:35question.
29:36The question is, should we have these demands?
29:39The answer is yes.
29:40Then the follow-up question is, what should those demands be?
29:43And we try to lay those out because, you know, I have, we've all looked at the research, and black
29:50women, of course, voted at 93%, 94% for Kamala Harris,
29:53and black men voted at 82%, 83%, 84% for Kamala Harris.
29:58So we're always there.
29:59So I also think that this election coming up is probably one of the most important elections of our generation.
30:08And we say that all the time, right?
30:10It feels like we say that all the time, but I have not been in spaces where people have been
30:17more hurt than they are today.
30:20The pain that people are feeling right now, the single mothers that are not only nurses but then have to
30:29do DoorDash on the side,
30:31the teachers that have to go and teach our kids and still pick up part-time jobs.
30:37I mean, trying to make ends meet right now has become a gargantuan task, and so I believe that.
30:44I say all that to say, and this is a question for Jasmine more particular,
30:48because I think too much pressure and questions have been asked about what is Jasmine Crockett going to do in
30:55this election.
30:56My question to you is, what does James Tallarico have to do?
31:01Did I pronounce his name right?
31:02Yes.
31:02What does James Tallarico have to do to get Jasmine Crockett out and get black voters out and transform the
31:11politics of Texas?
31:14So I'm going to be very, very honest.
31:17That's why I asked, because I knew you were going to be honest.
31:19If you know anything about me, you know that I have always been unapologetically black.
31:24That does not mean that I am anti-anybody else, but Lord, do I thank him for making me a
31:31black woman.
31:32And so with that, I think y'all need to understand the background.
31:38You see, I could have gone back to the House.
31:40I could have figured out a way to get back to the House.
31:43I would have been elected.
31:44I had the best re-election numbers of any incumbent that was challenged in the state of Texas, Democrat or
31:50Republican.
31:50I could have made it back to the House, but the House would have been comfortable.
31:55I would have been one of 435.
31:58The reason that we don't have a lot of nice things is because we have a raggedy Supreme Court, and
32:03that came through the Senate.
32:05Okay?
32:06So if I say that I'm a public servant who actually wants to make a difference for the very same
32:11people that are the reason that I show up every day the way that I show up, then the challenge
32:17wasn't going back to the House.
32:18The challenge was actually flipping the script in the state that has more African-Americans than any other state and
32:25deciding that I would show up as one of 100 in the Senate.
32:28So that I could make a difference and use my background as a trained lawyer to make sure that I
32:33was tearing apart any single nominee that came before us and made sure that I shut that down.
32:40But just because somebody is a nominee as a Democrat, it does not necessarily mean that they have black people's
32:47issues at the forefront.
32:48So I just want to be clear about that.
32:51But my priority has not changed whatsoever.
32:56So for me, I still want to make sure that we have a majority in the Senate.
33:01Texas didn't feel like I was the one to make it happen.
33:05So it may not happen in Texas, or it may happen.
33:07But the calculation for me was increasing voter participation, specifically amongst African-Americans.
33:14And to be clear, while people want to beat up on black people in Texas, black people turned out at
33:19a rate of 20%.
33:20Anglos turned out at a rate of 7% in my primary.
33:25And over 90%, 93% of black folk, that is black men and women, voted for my candidacy.
33:32So I want to be clear about something.
33:34I am still focused on us.
33:37That is my main focus.
33:38So that may run through Mississippi, where a black man is now the nominee to become the next senator in
33:47Mississippi.
33:48It also runs through states where they are redrawn lines, such as in Wisconsin with Mandela Barnes, where I anticipate
33:55I am going to participate.
33:56Or Stacey Plaskett, who is running for governor of the Virgin Islands.
34:00You see, I am going to do everything that I can to make sure that I have the right people
34:05in position to make sure that we can minimize the harm specifically to black people, not just in one state,
34:12but throughout the country.
34:13So for me, I am going to be working everywhere.
34:16The best thing that I can do for James Tallarico isn't me standing on a stage with him.
34:20It is the fact that I endorse five candidates in the runoff who all happen to be black men in
34:27the state of Texas, and every single one of them won, and they're going on to November, meaning that they
34:33will pull out more black people to vote.
34:36People keep trying to say, well, Jasmine has to go and hold his hand.
34:40No, I don't.
34:42And don't worry about my math and how it works in my mind.
34:46Because the reality is that if you can give people more than one thing to vote for, then you have
34:52a better chance of getting them out to the polls.
34:54And honestly, some people are just not going to be sold on certain people that are running in the state
34:58of Texas.
34:59So the best thing that I can do is take down-ballot candidates who no one's ever heard of and
35:05do my best to uplift them and increase the voter participation in a way that we did in Texas.
35:11You see, a lot of haters got a lot of things to say about me and my race and how
35:15I ran it, but the reality is that there was a lot of racist—not a lot.
35:19It was racist.
35:20It was a racist race.
35:21It is what it is, right?
35:22But we live in America, as y'all are celebrating 250, okay?
35:26We know what this country is.
35:28But let me tell you the facts.
35:30There is no race that turned out more people to vote ever in the state of Texas except for Barack
35:38and Hillary.
35:39Did you hear me?
35:41Literally, our Democratic nominee during a presidential year last term got 500,000 votes.
35:49I got over double that.
35:51And I still lost.
35:53So listen, I say this with all sincerity.
35:57I am doing my part.
35:59But I also want y'all to recognize something that the senator said earlier.
36:03The reality is that people hold me to a completely different standard.
36:07The fact is, we have never seen anybody, quote-unquote, be pressured to jump into a Senate race to help
36:14out their opponent that beat them.
36:16Ever.
36:17This is the first time we have ever seen this in this country.
36:20And it just so happens that it ended up being a high-profile black woman.
36:24I am nobody's footstool, but I believe in doing everything that I can for the betterment specifically, not to the
36:34detriment of anybody else, but specifically for black people.
36:37And I am committed to that.
36:39I will continue to do that work.
36:42And that's that on that.
36:45Okay.
36:45So we have calls to action, and we got to be quick.
36:48So calls to action.
36:51Well, I'm going to say mine because I don't know if everybody's ready.
36:53I'm going to give y'all just a second.
36:55Jasmine raised an excellent point about supporting LaMonica McIvor.
36:59In order to support the congresswoman in all of these very expensive litigation costs associated with a trial that she
37:08should not be facing, the money has to go through her campaign.
37:11So I highly encourage you all to donate that.
37:13Also, just in case Merrick Garland was feeling blacker than normal, Merrick, if you're watching, why don't you go ahead
37:19and get your firm to donate because you ran us through this, friend.
37:22Okay?
37:23So why don't you go ahead and do that to your former attorney general.
37:25He can definitely support with some pro bono services.
37:28Go ahead, Royce.
37:29Your call to action.
37:30Yeah, so I'll reemphasize what I said earlier.
37:33Find out who your representatives are.
37:35I know it sounds super basic, and when we say go out and vote, I'm talking hopefully to a bunch
37:40of voters right now, chronic voters, but go out and tell all your other folks to vote.
37:45This November election is going to be crucial.
37:48It's already been said, probably one of the most consequential elections in our lifetime.
37:53So if we don't show up and take back this House and take back this Senate, y'all, it's going
37:59to be worse than it's ever been.
38:00So please, just get out there.
38:02Do your part.
38:03Find out who your elected officials are.
38:05I don't care.
38:05From dog catcher to U.S. Senate and just go out there and vote.
38:09Do not give away your power because choosing not to vote while we understand the frustration and the disaffectedness that
38:16exists, by not voting, you're surrendering your power.
38:20So that's always my call to action.
38:22Very straightforward.
38:23Thank y'all.
38:24And we're almost out of time, but I just want to...
38:27Almost.
38:27That thing says zero.
38:28Oh, okay.
38:30We're out of time, but I just want to basically elaborate what my sister Jasmine said.
38:35Be transactional with your vote.
38:39Hold them accountable each way of the time they're in office serving you.
38:44Point blank, period.
38:45And understand that we are in a state of emergency, y'all.
38:48This is not a joke.
38:49If my story's not enough for you to show how serious the moment is, it is serious.
38:56So be transactional with your vote.
38:58Yeah, mine is really quick.
39:00I think that we need to...
39:02One of the things that I saw earlier today was Nicole Hannah-Jones had her daughter with her today.
39:07And I just thought that was so powerful because we need to make sure that we're bringing young people into
39:12the fold.
39:13And you can't tell them that people die for this right to vote because that don't necessarily work.
39:20There are a lot of young people who are voters today.
39:24They don't even really know who Barack Obama is.
39:27We have to show them.
39:29And we have to bring them into the fold.
39:31And we have to meet them where they are.
39:33And so my challenge for all of you all is to go out and grab a high schooler, a middle
39:38schooler.
39:39Take them through the civic process.
39:40Show them why you vote.
39:42Talk to them about Jasmine Crockett.
39:44Follow them on Instagram, Jasmine and LaMonica and Royce.
39:48Do the things necessary so that young people feel a part of the process and we're meeting them where they
39:52are.
39:53Wait, Bakari, before you go, I got to shout out my baby.
39:55I can't keep going.
39:56My baby is here.
39:57My nine-year-old is here, Ziya, with me.
40:00Stand up, Ziya.
40:01On summer break.
40:02She don't want to stand up.
40:03She don't want to stand up.
40:04She was like, man, Essence Fest got a lot of old people here.
40:08Jasmine.
40:08I would just say that it's so important that as you learn some piece of information, and I hope that
40:14you learn something today.
40:16Raise your hand if you learn something today.
40:18Okay, praise God.
40:19All right.
40:19So what I need you to do is I am big on group chats.
40:23If you've ever heard me talk, I'm always talking about y'all group chats because it's the only place we
40:26can't infiltrate.
40:27I want you to take one piece of information that you learned that you did not know before you got
40:32here, and I want you to put it in your sorority group chat, your parent group chat, your family group
40:37chat, so that you are sharing this information.
40:39Never assume or presume that other people are just, like, so with it.
40:44I remember when I was actually about to vote, I'm snitching on one of my exes.
40:49He was a bruh for all of the bruhs that are in here, but nevertheless, I didn't know.
40:55Like, I don't usually date people who don't vote.
40:58I'm going to just put it out there.
40:59Ooh, I'm just putting y'all in all my, anyway.
41:01So, long story short, here it was.
41:04The election is coming about, and he was like, you know what?
41:07You going to be the first politician I voted for since Barack Obama.
41:11Y'all, he is a whole, like, aerospace engineer.
41:17Like, I never in my mind.
41:19He wasn't no aerospace.
41:20He got high.
41:20He wasn't no aerospace engineer.
41:23He smoked good weed talking about he was an aerospace engineer.
41:26We out of time.
41:27We ain't got time for this, the car.
41:28No, I'm just saying, do not assume.
41:31Do not assume who votes or who doesn't vote.
41:35That is the point that I'm trying to make to y'all.
41:37There have been so many unhoused people that have actually cast their votes for me.
41:41So, whatever you do, take whatever information you are learning from today and otherwise,
41:46and make sure you're spreading it all around.
41:49I can't believe you said that.
41:51I can't believe you did.
41:52I'm trying to make him look good.
41:53He didn't vote, but he was smart.
41:54But, Jazz, that might be the name of the show now, because that's funny as hell.
41:58I just want to do one quick shout-out, and I'm going to my brother, Andrew, for his call to
42:01action.
42:01It closes out.
42:02Kristen Powell, please stand up.
42:03Please stand up, sis.
42:04Black Census Project.
42:06If you haven't heard about it, Black Futures Lab has a booth right over there.
42:11Please take the Black Census Project.
42:13It's also important, Senator Royce, to know you're elected, but you also want to make sure
42:18they know what you demand and desire.
42:20Andrew Gillum.
42:21I just want to double down on Monica MacGyver.
42:25Y'all, she's being federally prosecuted for doing her job.
42:29We've got Republicans and foes on the opposition who make it their math to show us every kind of way
42:37in which they can take us out of the process.
42:39They take us out of the process through an election, through a Democratic primary.
42:43They take us out of the process by changing the rules of the game in the middle of the game
42:49to set us up for the loss.
42:50They also take us out by taking otherwise innocent people, prosecuting them.
42:56Whether they win or lose in that prosecution isn't the point.
43:00The point is to put you through the battle.
43:02Make it so plain that this place and this space is not for you.
43:08Let's prove them otherwise in the case of Monica MacGyver by whatever you can do, $5, $10, $20, $25,
43:18more, please, please, please put that resource behind her.
43:21She needs our help.
43:22And we also got to show the other side that we don't go down that easy.
43:26All right?
43:26We don't go down that easy.
43:28So that's my call to action.
43:29Let's throw our money where our mouth is.
43:31Thank you so much to our esteemed panel.
43:34This is Native Lamb Pod.
43:35Welcome home, y'all.
43:45to my life.
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