This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovich from Bloomberg Radio. Story on the Bloomberg It talked about, more than two months into America's vaccine roll out, a community clinic that serves the poorest of the poor on Birmingham's majority black north Side has
yet received its first dose. So this is something that has disturbed us and we are definitely watching it and it's striking as we have all month long been talking about struggles and successes when it comes to black history, So we wanted to kind of take a step back and get some thoughts on that and more. Joining us once again as Bishop Wayne T. Jackson. He's founder and
CEO of the Impact Network. It's a privately owned African American inspirational TV network, uh some ninety million in the US according to them on Dish, on Direct TV, Comcast and more. And Bishop Jackson back with us on the phone in Detroit. Bishop Jackson, nice to have you back
with us. Um, how are you I'm buying grol? Thank you for asking well, and you know, as I said, you know, we've been watching very closely the inequities when it comes to the vaccine rollout and and you know, here we are talking about also Black History Month and and going through the history of Black Americans and Black Americans here in this country and the progresses and the
and the struggles. When you take a step back, what are the successes or what what is it that you think people need to really understand when it comes to Black history and when it comes to the progress and also to the steps that still need to be taken. Well, Carol, you just you know reported that in the poors of the pours of community, um, some of them have not even received one dose of the vaccine. And we know that that our community are the ones who are impacted
the most in the negative way. And it gives goes back to a lot of times people don't understand or African Americans have to go do just based on who who we are and how we had to be kidnapped, our forefathers kidnapped from Africa, brought up the ear stript of their names and was you know, made to do free labor and then kept back from being educated and
then put a name on us and so degrading. And then when you look at things you see, well, well you know they're being out anger this and that you know, if you walked into the shoes of a lot of African American especially when it comes to the opportunity as being entrepreneurs whatever, you you know, you would feel the same way. But you can't be in that mode because it's not going to do you any good. But you have to get up and you have to fight, and you have to fight. But was right and and make
sure that we are hurt. And I really believe that, you know, even your report before I got on it just showed you that's just how it is. Why is it still just how it is? Well, because people at the top, you know, refused to make changes and because they want to have the status quo. And we just need to make sure that we're able. You know what you're reporting, the Bloomberg reported about, you know, what's writing was wrong. I really believe that the change had to
come from the top down. I'm hoping that I'm praying, Carol, that we see this new administration. Uh and I know of the president head as you know, being very focused on the disenfranchise and even with the African American people of color community to at least, you know, give us an opportunity to be able to help live the American dreams. You know, my car host Tim Stantovic, you know, reminded
me yesterday when we were watching President Biden. He was talking about um the latest on the vaccine when we saw the fifty million individual in the US at the vaccine, and he talked specifically about working with the private sector
and educating the public on face masks and vaccination. But he also talked about a new initiative that they were launching with private sector companies asking them to encourage workers as well, and also about reaching out to community leaders to reach segments of the population that maybe aren't thinking about getting the vaccine or don't want to or nervous about it, and understandably so, especially within the black community. Have you been approached, um by anyone in the administration
or by political leaders to help with this? Oh? Yes, we have um my effect um Our Mayor Mary Duggan of Mayor of Detroit. UM the office reached out to us myself, our ministry. We have a very large ministry that's here in the city of Detroit. Uh. I guess about maybe a Hunt Alvin Square, a seat of of space that we can help the community in and what
we're doing working with the mayor's office. Uh, we're bringing in seniors and we're bringing in those who would normally not even go to maybe a public place, but they will take and have more confidence to go to place they're familiar with, like a church in the neighborhood and so forth for song. And we're doing um this we start in March twentieth, uh, to just use our facility to be able to bring people in and get them
back vaccinated, get the vaccine in. And because it's so important, especially elderly those who can normally just get out the house, we have to make sure that we encourage the macm hey listen, just got about forty seconds left here, and I want to go back to Black History Month because I think, you know, we do this month and we do a lot of reports here at Bloomberg and it's really important. But you know, we need to be thinking
about Black history. I think many people would argue, uh, and I agree with Throughout the year, it's never just something we should stop talking about. What do you hope people think about going forward when it comes to Black history and improving things? And just in about forty seconds, well opportunity. I believe that what we all need to do, we have to do this together. And I believe that first of all, African American has got to make sure
that we're still ending up and understand. We can't wait for government to someone else to help us. We must move forward when it comes to what we must do in supporting each other, also our of corporations and our government. We need to look down on the African American community and and be able to work with us and to be able to give us the twols that we need, especially finances. Uh, you know, we we don't have the finances to do what we need to do. And just
working together, Yeah, the money part of it is so crucial. Uh. And we've had a lot of guests on our are actually telling us that Bishop Jackson be well, founder and CEO of the Impact Network on the phone in Detroit