What's The Plan? with Van Jones

Wherever you're listening to this or watching this around the world, we've got a message for you too. This is about the aspiration generation. This is about all of us coming up from nothing. This is about all of us aspiring and succeeding. And we have a very special episode today.

Not only is it with my brother and my friend Van Jones, who I think is a I believe is beyond and ahead of his time, which is why some people give him drama and problems because they don't really understand the frequency that he's on, and he does not always take the time to break down how he's thinking. He's too busy doing and moving than to be overly

concerned about how something is being interpreted. He rather his results speak for him, but I think it's important to be able to understand van So they listened to him. So they said that more people trust him because he I believe is one of the true thought leaders for the twenty first century. Now, keep in mind we killed doctor King. Keep in mind that Doctor King's friends called him Martin Luther King, Martin Luther Kumb Uncle Tom fell Out, one of the and these were his friends talking, you

want to peace rise. Keep in mind it wasn't the Afrikaans, it was the a n C that actually undercover threatened to take out Nelson Mandela because he was quote negotiating with the enemy quote. He had brought the Firmer Well, an africaner, on his cabinet as vice president when he became president. That was certainly ahead of his time, and nobody agreed with what he was doing. But he was a moneymaker. He was a guy bringing the cash and he was a cachet. So some people kept it quiet,

but real talk. It was people in his own party who really had great animus for him because he was just a visionary. And it was Gandhi who wanted to bring two countries together into one. And he was killed for that. It was Shimone Perez once again killed trying to bring something rational peace to the Middle East, a solution, I mean, go on and on and on. It was you know Malcolm X who came back from Mecca and said, gee, all white people are the devil. I just prayed with

white people in Mecca. He was dead within two weeks. He's messing with somebody's business. To the President, Duke Clinton once said, it's hard to get some mighty agreed to the truth when the lie is paying your paycheck. But this to be that diabolical or that cynical, It just could be. Look, I'm fighting a short term battle for the survival of my people, and I don't know what you're doing with you being the person with a vision.

Maybe fighting a long term not only a battle, but trying to win the war, and those two strategies may look different. I'm a partnership guy, the protest guy, maybe like Bunk John O'Brien. I think they understand now what I'm trying to do. But when I first started this work, people call me all kinds of names. Man, They rolled their eyes, gre capitalism, financial literacy, Ah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Now they get it right. But when I first started this, the protest people really thought that I was a waste of time. But I needed the protest people to set up the situation where the companies and governments and entities and communities wanted to partner with a guy like me to create an environment where there was no need for protests anymore. I say all this to say we have a radical movement of common sense, Van and I. But Van is even more on the forefront of progressive innovative

thought than I am in many ways. But he takes less time to explain his city Agen. He's always explaining somebody else's situation. That's what he does on CNN all the time, explaining somebody else's situation. So I want, I believe, and Van does not know. Van does not know I'm about to say this. This is all live and in the moment. We have not talked about this, and other than Van saying ask me whatever you like, I believe that we are in this moment in history. Van's heard

this part before. I believe we're sitting in a moment in history, but history does not. He'll feel historic when you're sitting in it, because like another day, I believe this is the third reconstruction. Van has heard me say this before. Some of the listeners have heard me say this before, from the streets to the suits, from civil

rights to civil rights. What you have not heard me say is I think we need a radical transformational approach to the new capitalism, to the new economy, to the future. And that part I want that. And I think if people can hear you say your vision on that part, which we have not discussed, and you did not know I was going to say, But if I gave you the charge of saying what's bold and audacious? If you knew there was a future and you knew you could not fail, what would you say? What would you do?

not for a century, but for three centuries. Why how is that consistent with any high spiritual understanding of anything? Why are we here as African Americans. We'll never know the answer, but you could choose to say that the West Western civilization needed a soul, needed a moral compass, needed something within it that could keep its worst impulses and check and insist that it reached its highest goals and aspirations. And that's really what African Americans, in my mind,

is what we are. We If you took African Americans out of this country, even just on a political policy voting basis, this country would lurch so far into authoritarianism and despotism that you would have a menace on the planet. It's such which you've never seen before. And so we have a responsibility.

Europe when it's time to struggle something. And the thing about that we're only ten percent of a country's only five percent of the world. So this is a tiny, tiny little group of people. Somehow world culture revolves around us. From hip hop, beyoncely just took over country music. I mean, the tiny little group of people has produced world class culture, has produced world class literature, has produced world class political leadership.

We have had one black president already, might have a second. Hard to know what is going on with this group.

praise him. No matter what you say about us. We still children of about how God you can have the klan outside the church right now with the lynch ropes ready, we're still going to be singing. You cannot steal our joy. That that no pressure, no diamonds. That's what I'm saying. That the three hundred years of pressure on the Black community has produced diamonds, diamonds of culture, diamonds of philosophy, diamonds of insight, diamonds of political resilience. And the world

needs those diamonds now. So when I look at our community, I don't look at us as victims. I look at us as a source of necessary assets. The same way Africa has necessary They call them rare earth minerals, say, any rare earth minerals, they're africa abundant minerals. They're to you, they're were to you, but they're abundant in Africa. In the same way that Africa has necessary minerals, necessary gems, DM cobalt, necessary for the AI revolution to work, necessary

for the clean energy revolution to work. All you know, there's no cloud computing those, there's nothing in the Cloudsy's or our our data centers on Earth using materials from Africa. So the same way that Africa is materially necessary for the next human civilization, Black people are culturally and spiritually necessary for the next human civilization. And so when you see me move, I don't move like most people that you expect, because I'm not coming from victim mindset. I'm

just I just. I'm happy to go talk to anybody, Republican, Democrat, rich, poor, white house, jail house, because I'm standing in a tradition of greatness. I'm standing in a tradition of ex assumption, standing in a tradition. You know, you mentioned doctor King, who was doctor King. First of all, why do we call doctor Martin Luther King junior? Junior? Because his daddy was already famous. Daddy King was already famous. You had

to say junior. Because this little kid came along. They had to run away from Atlanta, hied up in Montgomery to try to get his own feet under him, and did such a beautiful job. When the women let that the bus boycott that he winds up standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at thirty three years old, Yes, thirty three years old. I wouldn't let thirt three year old borrow my card. He's dead thirty three year old black kids standing up there and you know, reading a

speech of staff wrote that wasn't very impressive. And then, but thankfully Mahelia Jackson that heard him give a similar speech six weeks earlier in Detroit. And in the Detroit speech six weeks earlier, he had a fumbling conclusion about having a dream, and Mahalia Jackson standing behind this thirty three year old kid who's basically bombing, tell him about your dream, Martin, tellbut a dream. And you noticed Doctor King stops and looks up in freestyles. He turns to jay Z.

three hundred years. He has talked about a world that had never existed, and he spoken into existence as a radical afro futurist, freestyle hip hop kid on the steps like you know, so when when you when? When that's what you come from. Yes, that there's a now a statue of him in the city. Basically it's acknowledging him as the final founder of a democratic republic. Thomas Jefferson

wasn't able to found a democratic republic. Thomas Abraham Lincoln wasn't able to found a democratic republic, George Washington, none of them. It took Doctor King, Eli, Joe Baker, Fan lou Hammer, John Lewis, the Civil Rights generation to find Andrew Young to finally complete the work of creating a

democratic republic on these shores worthy of the name. And so when you come from that, no pressure, no diamonds, you can then walk into a room with Republicans, walk into a room with Jared custerm walk into a room with Donald Trump, walk into a room with Wall Street people as you do, walk into a room with Silicon Valley people as we both do, and sit there like

an equal. Because they may have a financial blessing that our community lacks, but we have a cultural blessing, a spiritual blessing, a political blessing that is unmashed on planet Earth. The son now live talking about the future. What is the future? The future for a black people should be? How do we make Wakanda real?

else to lose. That doesn't work well. So Andrew doctor King with with march shut down the economy. White folks in the town were going crap, were going crazy because their walls were on fire after several weeks of no economics, economic activity, because most of the folks in the town were majority black. Then he would send Andrew Young quietly

behind closed doors in a business suit. Take the tape down, take off your your overalls, Andy puts you go meet with these hundred business leaders who have these whites only signs up, negotiate with them behind closed doors, get them to take those whites only signs down. And what people don't realize is that doctor King never wanted Andrew Young arrested. Ever.

I'm in Atlanta right now, which is the only international city in the in the traditional South almost have a trade dollar economy built on civil rights, social justice and in the philosophy Andrew Young that was mentored by doctor King. And doctor King never wanted Andrew Young arrested because he was his negotiator with as he called it, the white folks, and Andrew Young going cut that deal to get the

whites only signs down. And and so the applauses around doctor King and the visualization of the marching, but really it was doctor King's setting it up, and Andrew Young paying it, paying it off, and and and so some people need to understand that the elegance yea that doctor King wasn't saying that he loved talking to he loved everybody. He didn't love talking to everybody, he didn't love hanging around everybody, and he didn't necessarily leve what was coming

out of everybody's mouth. But what he wanted was results for our people. Now, you and I have only had one major disagreement, uh, that I can remember. And I called you one day during the former president's why I didn't even say his name, the former President's White House, and uh, and you were saying things. I love what you were doing, but I like what you were saying. I didn't like the way you were saying. You were being,

in my opinion, overly gracious. Uh. And I said, I said, Van, you can say uh, And I think actually you confidence. I think later on you can say that thank you, mister president for doing this thing. That was the right thing to do. But please don't praise the guy as a person because you don't You don't know him. I don't know him. He don't even know himself. But that's dangerous because now you're endorsing him versus dors his act. Now I think that you're just being effusive. You you

love everybody, and of course you love the moment. But do you did you understand what I was saying then it was a correct way to differentiate that you were really.

Put in playing me forward? And if and then you think about it, you're dealing with Donald Trump, who who supposedly is a master of what do you call it the art of the deal? That's his deal, the art of the deal. So the question is what do we need to get out of a deal? And what does he need to get out of a deal? And is there a way to get a deal that, to your point, is win win, but that the cause that that that

the benefit to us is higher than cost. Yes, so I know Donald Trump needs affirmation that everybody please listen to this.

did say thirty five. If I got Donald Trump to get thirty five people out of prison, I should get the Nobel Peace Broud, right. But we but we got thirty five thousand out. It wasn't just Van Jones. It was a Keem Jeffries, it was Jared Kushmer, was a lot of people, but I was I was a face I was willing to put my face against that furnace because what if we lost, What if we went through all that and we didn't get anything, Well, then I

just like it looked like a fool. But you still have the NAACP in position, You still have al Sharps in a position, you still have the Obama's imposition. And all you had is like one black dude on CNN, make full of himself. That's not much of a sacrifice. But what if we win and you want.

And here's the problem. Black lives matter. Black Lives Matter has now created a Democratic party that has to be for criminal justice reform. Has to be because black lives eat you live if you're not. So what happens you have Corey Booker comes out and he says, I'm for deep criminalizing marijuana at the federal level. And nobody attacks Corey Booker for that?

Donald Trumpe on this issue? Say, listen, this issue has devastated the black community with the federal government putting black people in jail for stef White folk's been doing it the whole time. So what happens Donald Trump runs not as a Willie Horton attacking black people. He runs said, hey, I'm a criminal justice guy. We made it safe and maybe a criminal look, we'll see, we'll see, but we made it. I think what people understand is by working

with Donald Trump, sacrificing me is just a punt. It doesn't matter. You're no worse off if I humiliate myself. But not only did we get those people home, Corey Booker didn't get attacked, Joe Biden did't get attacked in twenty twenty is the only elections is nineteen eighty eight. The Republicans did not attack Democrats on crime. We made it safe for Democrats to be Democrats on crime because we got Republicans who also were standing up saying we

got to do something different. Now look where we are now here we are back. Now it's all cats and dogs and blah blah blah. The Republicans are back. But we created a safety for both parties to be smart on crime. And so my soul is arrested. Now, did I say stuff that people didn't like in my community? Yes, I did, But I said all that stuff over again.

Some I would, some my would. But what I was trying, I was just trying to do something John that hadn't been done before room And so sometimes you know, sometimes you we all might get in the ditch and get some money on yourself trying to get out of it. But when we opened up the car door and all them people came home, my soul was wrested.

And by the way, let me remind everybody the civil rights president for the last one hundred years is arguably President Johnson, who signed four civil rights bills, three of which directly because of doctor King and Andrew Young and doctor Dorothy Hyde and all these heroes and she Rose and John Lewis, et cetera. And one of the bills in light of doctor King's assassination, which is an open

housing Act. But this guy Johnson is probably has the most foul mouth before the former president, the most foul mouth of any president before or since, and had interesting views on Jews blacks and women are Jews women, And had interesting ways to describe black people behind closed doors. And if you had heard what he had to say, back then, you would have just uh, you would have recoiled. You would have said, I'm not talking to you, but that we would have got us would have won the

battle and lost the war. Who created affirmative action? Yes it was teed up by Kennedy and Johnson, but it's codified by Nixon? Who who? And now there was games being played and all that kind of stuff, And it doesn't matter. But the point is nothing good comes easy, and and and and and who signed is the legislation for doctor King's holiday? Who did more for Africa? So so so you I remember Andrew Young, bachelor, Andrew Young cursed me out, man. Uh. The only time he's cursed

me out. I was with President with President Bush, the son, and I had asked him for financial literacy bill, and and uh he had promised that he'd get financial literacy policy done it. Eight months had passed by, and I got you disdistraught, and Andrew and bast you said, how you doing? I don't know? This is some bs is not gonna He cursed me out. Blah blah blah blah blah. John stop it be skeptical. Don't be cynical, because when you're cynical, you've lost hope. This is not about you,

this is about all of us. It's not get yourself out of this right. So your job is assume that man's a good man with that council. You go in there and get that man good counsel and make him look good. Make this his idea. Right now. I'm not going to say that from a president is a good man, but I will say that your job to make him look good, got him assign that legislation. Because there's only one client in Washington. It's the president of the United

States of America. It's a literal fact in a most Washington uh power.

they can't tweet. They're literally captives. And what my progressive and liberal counterparts were wanting me to do was to say I'm going to abandon them until I have a president that I like. Yes, now, that could have been four years, eight years, twelve years, or sixteen years. I didn't know how long you were going to be dealing with the Trump presidency. It could have been Trump for eight years and then Obanka for eight I didn't know

what we're dealing with. What people were asking me to do is to say, I spent twenty years working on behalf of those folks. I was in the Obama White House. After I left Obama's staff. I was in Obama's White House every week, begging for help for those folks, trying to build support for those folks.

or pardon them all. I don't know what this man is going to do, but you're telling me I have to abandon those people for four years, eight years, twelve or sixteen until I have a president that I like. How do I justify that to those people for whom every day is precious and and can never be returned. And so I said, listen, somebody has to go. And it should not be Obama. It should not be Obama's husband.

never respect me. I believe me. I believe you know uh and and bast Young has taught me well, crocodile being old. F Listen without being defensive. Always leave even your adversary with their dignity, because if you don't, they'll spend the rest of their life working to make you miserable.

You and I believe the same thing. I'm on a few people of color, black people who've advised black Democratic and Republican US presidents, and people will stay to me, Well, was it like to go to dinner with the president? Hang out this president? Hanging with that president? I'll say, Well, one president I like, and I go to dinner. One president I respect, and I go to dinner I respect

more one more than I like them. I like I like one more than I than I respect and like the others, but I'm still going to dinner because the president of the United States of America. There's not twelve at a time, It's just one I brought. I brought President Bush in South Central a By the way, he is a nice guy. People called him the devil. I think it with jay Z or somebody called it not jay Z's. I mean, sorry, excuse me, jay Z. I love you, man. Kanye called him the devil years ago.

People would love to get President Bush back now. I mean, my god, please, I'm.

even deeper topic. You've got a bold, audacious, challenging, amazing, out of the box thoughtfulness about the future of all of us in the economy as it relates to black people in particular. Let's talk about the black Jewish situation. Let's talk about AI, artificial intelligence, which is your offwork

grade from your coding work. Uh, let's talk about what you've you've done with this or your plans are for one hundred million dollars gift from bezos and how and by the way, the pain that that has brought you, uh, which is no good d show going punished?

Heaven forbid. Eighty ninety hundred years from now, she might be buried on the Moon or Mars, because within one hundred years will be a fully space fearing civilization that is not the civilization I grew up in. In other words, my children are going to grow up in a different human civilization than when I was born into. The question is will it be human and will it be civilized?

Will it be human and will it be civilized? And that is for us as grown people to determine in terms of policy, in terms of philosophy, in terms of technology, in terms of the companies that we found. We're not founding. You think you're founding a new company or a new firm or a new fund. No, you are co founding a new human civilization that will happen in which people will have almost godlike powers, but will they be godly?

world wars. So you don't ever want again to have one group determine the future in that way. We need each other Number one, number two as we think about Okay, you listen to them. The people who are in charge of AI, the people are in charge of quantum computing, the people who are in charge of biotech, the people in charge of space, the people who are in charge of the blockchain, they all say the same thing. They

want to disrupt everything. They want to disrupt everything. They're going to disrupt this industry, They're going to disrupt that industry. Goes okay, Okay, that doesn't bother me because the status quo has failed my people anyway. But what's the plan to disrupt poverty? Am you're disrupting everything. What's the plane

of disrupt pollution? What's the plan to disrupt prisons, what's the planet disrupt polarization, You're going to disrupt everything, but you seem to have left a few things out, which is where it's so important for people, the diamonds that all this pressure produced, to step forward in our genius, to step forward in our dignity, to step forward in our wisdom and say, hey, as we create this new human civilization, let's do it in partnership. Partnership, not pity.

In partnership. You have new technology, but you're gonna need government support. Black folks run politics. We have We have four black senators right now. We have a black Vice president who might become president. Keem Jeffers is likely to be the Speaker of the House. He's black. Of the top twenty cities, ten have black mayors. The biggest. We have a black governor of Maryland right next to DC Wes Moore, and the biggest most effective caucus in the

House of the black caucus. Black folk run politics.

the table. You have to come to the table and talk with us. And lastly, you have ethical issues with AI. And it turns out that the Black community, whatever ratchet stuff may be going on in the shadow, in the Black community, our light is as bright as any light on the earth when it comes to the Black civil rights tradition, when it comes to the Black church, when

it comes to Black spirituality. And so the three needs of AI political support, cultural adoption, and ethical guidance the Black community is a disproportionate triple superpower and ensuring that this technology winds up benefiting all and harming. So again we say the slogan is we want to make Wakanda real. When you look at the Marvel superhero universe, it's the Wakandas who are the most advanced in African nation using technology for heroic purpose. That is the cheat code in

the mind of the public. What if you had a real what kind of people say, Well, Van, now you're talking space fantasy stuff and stuff is ridiculous, Vans shut out. Ninety nine percent of black people don't know anything about AI. Nine nine percent these black children on anything about AI. What are you talking about? Your one hundred percent correct? And nine percent of white boat don't either. Nine percent

of white children don't either. This is called equality. The only equality you're ever going to see in foreigner years is that we are all equally ignorant of this future that's emerging, and we are equally positioned to do something about it if we decide to move first. And that's why when you came to help us in Atlanta, we did that AI Academy all day academy teaching grassroots leaders in Atlanta. You came and gave the keynote speech. As someone who's very close as you are, just Sam Altman

and the other great visionaries. It was significant. And the last thing I'll say is.

better people in the Jewish community? Now listen, The Black Jewish Alliance is important.

this Black Jewish I'm gonna call a situation. I'm gonna let him name it. Yeah, I'm go in like the boy jay Z go ahead and wrath. Yeah.

black people. That's not the point. The point is that the best people in the Jewish community, inspired by their cultural DNA of repair of the world. That's the core cultural DNA for the Jewish community is the world. That's

what the Jewish people are called to do. And the best people in the Black community who were inspired by our cultural DNA, which is justice for all, as black people all around the world, you just cannot get us away from justice for all, got together and in nineteen oh nine it was a Black Jewish alliance that was formed called the NAACP. Why was it a Black Jewish alliance? First of all, Jews were not considered white at that time white it is an elastic concept. At the time

it excluded Jews. But number two, our backs were against the wall both communities. You have to remember in nineteen oh nine, Jim Crow segregation of racial terror was so horrific, so barbaric, so bloody, so brutal against black people and Jewish people. It inspired Hitler. People think Hitler inspired himself. No, Hitler was inspired by what was happening in the United States.

slaves and now apartheid regime. No one had ever ever, ever in the history of the world, transformed a racial cast system into a democratic republican and it never happened. And so the best people in the Black community, best people in Jewish community created the NAACP in nineteen oh nine.

Then nineteen ten they created the organization we now called the Urban League, and then every decade after that, and we can go through that whole history, the best Black folks and the best Jewish folks basically co authored and co created something you now call American democracy. What American democracy is was basically co authored and co created by Black and Jewish activists, donors, scholars, lawyers, fighting side by side. And though if you like American democracy, thank of black

and think a jew, you're welcome basically where it came from. Now, now what's happening is we are getting pulled apart and and some of those reasons make sense, some of those reasons don't make sense. But it will not be good for either community, and it won't be good for the world if at least the best Black folk and the best Jewish folks can't find a way to support and help each other. You have to be very honest. The a lot of black colleges, a lot of black scholarships,

and a lot of black causes. When you look at the animal report you turn it over, those are Jewish last names. When it says Rosen, when it says gold, they chopped the berg off. But those Jewish families and h and also whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, it's also remarkable in the way that Blacks and Jews have tended to vote together as well and support causes together, and so you don't want to lose that when you don't have to.

mine is great. So and so we have to be very careful and recognize that anytime you look at something that when you get finished you feel really mad at one group, whether it's Republican, Democrat, Palestinian, Jewish, whatever it is, that's propaganda because no one group is all bad or all good. Right, All the Palestinians are not bad and they're not all good. All the Israeli is not all bad and not all good. All Americans are not bad

and not all good and all that. So anytime you see something and over and over again, your algorithm is having me. Every time you know you're madder and matter at one group and you think that you're justified, that's propaganda and so and then why why is it that when I open up my phone, Look, I hate what's happening in gods, and and I pray for those children and people every night. And why this is my twenty

year old son. Whenever he looks at his phone, he sees gossip, gossa, gosp goss, gossip, people dying in Haiti, No Haiti, goss God, people dying in Sudan, No Sudan, goss After Nigeria, Yeah, Gaza, Gaza, Gaza, women in Afghanistan, Yeah, gossa Goza. Now hold on a second, now, now, no, nobody, Look, I've been to the Holy Land. I was in Gaza before Hamas took over. I've been on in the West Bank. Personally, I've seen the IDEF, the Israeli defense forces treat Palestinians terribly.

Uh So, nobody has to explain I've been there personally, I know what's going on. But Gosa, Gods, gods, Gaza, Hold on a second, who does that benefit. We're not on a pathway for more safety for Palestinians. We're not on a paskway pathway for more safety for Israelis. We're certainly not on a pathway for more supportive and help for black people, but it's still happening. So could it be that someone is realized the value of a black mind. Could it be that somebody has realized the value.

and nobody's asked the question. But wait, wait a second. You're young black people. You have the ear of the world. You could bring both sides together, you could listen to each side. You could be the broker, you could be the power player. But no, no, you're just going to be out here marching on one side of the issue. On the in the country. You've never seen if somebody came to the hood trying to tell you we're for the bloods. You shouldn't be for the crips.

I'm not speaking this person. Know everybody should be blessed by our presence here because everybody needs it.

went and did some real research. And wait, wait, wait a minute, these are not These are not the same people as went into Palestine and with Palestinians ass raped and pillaged.

what we can agree on. Yes, you want to say something on that, but you speak at all to what the items that you think that we can find some agreement on. Uh, even in this tortured environment we find ourselves in in the world with regard to blacks, we don't want to see any war anywhere blacks getting ever and juice, okay, any of that.

no wars, so don't don't don't be mad. We're not gonna support that. We'll be will be neutral on Ukraine just because use white folk fight, but we're not gonna support for fight wars like this, So don't don't ask us to stop being black. Black people do not support wars like this. But there's four other ages. There's hostages, which we came over here as hostages. Just Jackson went

all around the world free in hostages. So we're trying to free hostages right now to us prison so we can we can support you when you say you want your children home, that's not a problem. There's also the hate crimes that are coming down against Jewish children.

He did not support Hamas Hamas was created to fight the PLO. We say, oh, well, you know, yeah exactly. We say, oh, well, Mendel, it's for the Palestinians. Well a second, yeah, but wish Palestinians. Is it's like saying you're for the Americans, which Americans.

Michelle and Mozambique that was Augustino Nito and Angola. That was a milk car Cabral in Guinea Bissau. That was a black panther party for self defense. Even Malcolm X said by any means necessary, he never he never heard a fly. And so we have high effects, high morals. Hamas does not. That's so no, no to Hamas. And lastly,

a secure homeland for Jews and for Palestinians. Know we understand that people won't to have a place of their own, and so no, will not support this humanitarian crisis in God. But we will support you on hostages, we can support you on hate crimes, we can support you that Hamas is not an example for our children and can't say that you just deserve a homeland. So that's four out

of five. That's prett damn good. And then based on that we should be able to get back to work together on opportunity agenda for everybody and a dignity agenda for everybody, which is in the interest in Black, Jews and the world. And so right now you've got people being in the Jewish community now being pulled off into anti Dei and anti woke and stuff like that, which is which is the same way. I don't want young black kids being used by Iran for an anti Jewish agenda.

I don't want Jews being used by the white nationalists for an anti black agenda. We need to come back to the table and get back to dignity, democracy and opportunity for all. That's what we've been about for one hundred years and we should be about that for the next hundred. And you will never have a more important century for the two cultural superpowers of Blacks and Jews to get together to fight for democracy, dignity and opportunity than this century, because it could we could have a

new Dark Ages or new Enlightenment. You can be a new dark agent and will it will come down to what, as usual, what Blacks and Jews do in large part, and so that conversation about that alliance, about AI and just about us, like we had our moment to be mad at everybody. But I don't think that we need ten more, twenty more and thirty more years of us custom now white folk and tell them that they're racist. I think I think the ones that have gonna agree

have already agreed. I don't think the rest of them are coming. I'd rather spend the next ten to twenty years creating a new human civilization with our values at the center, with our genius at the center, with our magic at the center. And if I'm misunderstood along the way, that's the price.

manipulated that situation. You use social media at that time in movies, Uh to turn that on its face and anybody members is the black face, all that kind of stupid stuff. He had a movie producer. I didn't. He argued with me about Uncle Tom, like I've done a movie about it. I want telling you that your movie was wrong. But look, you are ahead of your time. And any leader who is worth their salt, uh would

prefer to be respected and liked. Yeah, and uh and and is even willing to not be respected because they're standing on and I thank you.

working with billionaires. I'm working with Wall Street, I'm working with Silicon Valley, to take people out of prison, to put solar panels in the community, and to get education going for us for this new technological age. So yes, you should ask questions. Like you said, you should be skeptical. But if a brother or a sister is working with people who you think is the enemy, but they're getting the enemy to help you, that's a different a situation

than somebody's working with enemy to hurt you. And I don't think any Black people that thirty five thousand people came out of prison not mad at me. The young people that you helped us educate with AI are not mad at me. And the people who are trying to keep black colleges open and plaid scholarships open are not mad at me for trying to keep the Black and Jewish community together. And I'm happy when I say I'm happy, Bess understood, that's bravado. It hurts my feeling. I actually

be in therapy about it. I've cried tears about it, but my soul is rested. I'm at peace with what the path that I am walking. I'm not everybody's cup of tea. People may not agree. It has been very, very painful, but I finally come to a place John, where I believe in what I'm doing enough to be misunderstood by my own people.

one hundred million dollars with no strings attached. That's just only one person, Van Jones, And at the time gifted by the wealthy is the then wealthiest man in the world, who's no dummy. When I think about somebody who's standing on principal, Van Jones who comes up comes to mind. When I think about somebody my wife likes and my reads people really well her life, she lights up like a Christmas tree. But she Van Jones because she's all

about love and she knows he is too. When I want to see a good father, I met the son I met Van jones son. Young people don't play games they mean to roll their eyes. They will roll their eyes. They disrespect their parents, they will disrespect them in public. And this man, when Van Jones is talking and he's off to the side looking at his son, looking at his dad, is nothing but admiration and love. I mean, this guy is just like that's my dad, Like my

dad is doing it and rightfully so. And when I talk to him about his life, it wasn't I didn't have to beat him into submission. He just needed. All I do was reaffirming what you've already told him. But he's but he was respectful and considerate. And that young man that we want to see in black america's been a father, You've been a friend, You've been a mentor or so many you've been a help make you're you're a visionary. You're not perfect. You're not You're not saying

you are. That's not the point. But you're perfectly yourself. And I wish more people would stop talking about you. By the way, when I brought you Atlanta for a meeting of black men, it was packed. Everybody wanted to hear. This is recently, so there is no leadership without conflict, there is no there is no problems without some with some friction. So you can't grow without legitimate suffering and friction. So you're going to be in this crossroads where people

you're you're just ahead of your time. If people may not understand you, and that's okay, and you've made peace with that. But I want you to know that there's a lot of people rooting for you, Van Jones, and I'm just and I want you to shut it up and listen.

so which I greatly to appreciate. We can tell those stories sometimes as well.

nine this cost of the album. You got a million dollars worth of game, you got one hundred millions with the game, or the cost of your time. And make sure it pays dividends by sharing this audio conversation and in video conversation with your friends, with your loved ones, with people who may not understand this man who and when you're when you're listening, when they're listening, to tell him to shut their mouth and open their ears because God gave you two ears and one mouth. So you

listen twice as much as you talk. And if you don't and at the end of it, if you don't talk for an hour, at the end of it, you don't agree with Evans, then shut them down. But let's stop saying, don't bother me with the facts. I've already made up my mind. That's not a.