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Welcome home, y'all, Welcome to another episode, Episode one and three, only three that really count, but whatever, I am Bakari sellers, I'm your kind of host. With these three amazing people, we have Andrew Gillim, We're switching it up a little bit. We're gonna introduce the Fellas first, yes, yes, and then we have Angela Rye and we have the amazing immaculates across and so I just want to say, welcome home.
I never remind me of your question. You just triggered me.
Yeah, I know, I know.
You guys say that.
One of the viewer was like, and I got a question of you, and miss Cross, I got a question.
So we're gonna start with what's on your heart and mind? What's some of the things you want to talk about. I don't want to start with you.
It's so much in the space one we should acknowledge. We're here in Texas. Deal yes, very much like Florida for me. But what's on my heart mind is this shutdown which is now showing up up for a lot of our government workers. It's the first week so the second week that they haven't gotten a check and so thus you know, stuff is getting desperate. We should talk about them.
Yeah, Angel, Yes, I agree, and the pass forward. What can our community do because we've always had to rely on each other when we couldn't rely on the government. I think on that, apparently you can't rely on good information these days. So I want to talk about NAACP's endorsement, alleged endorsement of Abigail Spamberger, which never happened, but we'll get into that.
Yeah, as always, I want to I want to get into this viewer question. We have a viewer question about going into uncomfortable spaces having uncomfortable conversations, and I always like to hear from our viewers, so definitely want to be sure we get to that.
And I wanted to talk about the verses between cash money and no limit. I don't know if y'all saw.
That, but we should because I didn't even know versus was still happening.
I can't believe y'all missed that. But that's been good.
Huh, Okay, we'll talk about it.
Yeah.
But also also on a more serious note, something that we all care about, which is justice, and accountability. It's not justice. You have to be very very clear with your language. Justice is Sonya Massey being here with her family. But accountability is the fact that the officer was found guilty this week of second degree murder of Sonia Massey. So may may your memory be a blessing and may she now be able to rest in peace.
Can you just remind the audience what.
I mean, Sonia Massy is first of all, the problem that I have is, I guess, like a lot of you, all the litany of names of unarmed African Americans who
were gunned down at the hands of state violence. But Sonya Massey, if you recall as someone who actually called nine one one to her home and the officer came in, and you've seen the image in her it looks like her din or living area, and you can see the kitchen in the back, and didn't take long for him to murder her, execute her, kill her in our own home.
Didn't she say God bless you?
Yes, she did say God bless you. And so I just you know I and you know we're in Houston, We're in Texas. Shout out to Benjamin Crump and others who you know carry that torch and do great work in that space. But I wanted to make sure we gave some breath because we get a lot of tragedy in our communities and very rarely does that tragedy lead
to anything other than more tragedy. Yeah, but at least we can get people that there is if you stay in the fight, then you can get some sense of accountability.
And regardless of how they sully the name of it, the point here is black lives still matter, Black lives must matter, black lives do matter.
But on the same note of black lives matter, you also wanted to we were talking about on the way over here that you wanted to make a point because a lot of our people in the Caribbean are.
Facing Hurricane Melissa. So I know that you wanted to.
Just yeah, I get into it.
Yeah, well I think we're into it. We are definitely into it. I was just gonna say, you know, on this point, as natural disasters ravage not just our communities but also brothers and sisters in the Caribbean, and we're facing FEMA cuts along with all of the other cuts with this government shut down, I just think that we need to be paying attention to how we meet the needs of our brothers and sisters throughout the diaspora, certainly
in Jamaica, certainly in Haiti, certainly in Cuba. And I think we definitely don't know the full impact of everything that's happened just yet, but we need to be paying attention to that, donating where we can, if y'all can provide, can, goods, services, water, whatever we can do to make sure that we meet those needs. I think we need to all be leaning in right now.
Let's start from here, Andrew, let's delve into that. I mean, we're talking about the government shutdown. I don't know what they were on the government shut down? Yeah, what we It seems like a blur, and people watching I don't really think they care what they were on. It's whether or not needs and services and met. So what are your initial thoughts?
I mean, just to say the desperation, I'm not. You know, it's crazy to see people who are on the everyday experience middle class, however hard they're holding onto it, but get up every day doing what they can to make away for themselves and for their families, and not from a sense of struggling necessarily, but really a sense of empowerment.
These are jobs, careers that they aim for, they got them, and to one day be secured in that position, bringing home your regular income, doing the things that you are regularly obligated to do, rent, mortgage, food, so on and so forth, and maybe even leisure in life. So now find yourself standing in a food bank line has to be more than a blow to just your stomach, right, I mean, there is so many questions of how do
I get here? How did we get here? How did the government go from being an institution that's supposed to exist to uplift and to support us and to have our back should we ever find ourselves falling through the net. It is the catch safe. But what happens when that government comes right the problem? It becomes the crisis it is self invented. And then the president doesn't care enough to see it resolved, to back from Asia, maybe not have gone, maybe to deal with his own government which
is shuttered. His own government. Employees across the range of the federal government, the largest employer in the in the United States, not having the basic needs that they need to survive. And the fact that we have a Republican president or Republican majority in the US and Republican Speaker of the House, and the Republicans collectively controlling the whole of government. It's a shame that they can't keep it open.
I mean, I was thinking about even more than that. You know, these maga talking points of America first, and we just spent forty billion dollars bailing out Argentina. And even when people talk about snap benefits and EBT. I had a friend of mine who just texted me two days ago. I was talking to Ellen about it, and you know, he was like, can you help me with Thanksgiving? Because you know we're not our EBT is not going to be starting the first It's just not going to
be the same. So, you know, I've been thinking about this, like that's where I'm from. You know, Denmark, South Carolina is a poor rural community, Bamberg, poor rural community. So how do I stand in the gap a community that poured into me so much. So I'm like calling on the phone. I'm talking to Charlemagne because he does like three or four of them, Like how do we make sure that we do these? So I got my partners were going out scraping up turkeys, and other things just
to stand in the gap. So that's kind of the tangible thing you're doing to make sure that you have the cans of And I don't even know if everybody who's who's watching this fully grasp it. I think many do,
but not everybody. But you have like the cans of cranberry sauce, and you go and get a couple of sweet potatoes, and you get you know, maybe one of those five or six pounds, and you just hand out as as many as you can so that people can have that fellowship that is Thanksgiving because we're here now, but coming up, you know, in a couple of days, those those cards aren't aren't going to be refilled.
There there are some places where they're already not like out of commission. There's no snap. And for those of you at home, food stamps are also what we're talking about. I think that because we're saying EBT and SNAP and we all do it interchangeably. If you have the car, you know as EBT, right. But I think there are a few things. One is there's a woman I saw online talking about she's already skipping meals so that she
and her significant other can eat together at night. The other thing that I think is really important for us to understand is normally people are providing food around the holidays in particular, but there are people hungry right now. And this is not a shot to what you're saying at all. It's important too, but like, how do we make sure that we okay, that we answer the call, literally answer the call, no matter where it's ringing, and hope you'll get to it quickly. Because at the end
of the day, we are all we have. There is no reason why we can't meet the needs, especially when so many of us have an abundance. I will tell you just this one point. This is actually shameful. I throw away so much food. I order a lot of food. Y'all know, Like we sit down and we eat, and we want to try all the things. Maybe now the call is maybe we don't try that one thing. We order an extra entree and ask somebody nearby if they need it, if they want it.
Well, I'll just tell you I have someone in my immediate family. As we've talked about, who gets food stamps, and even the amount that people get is not a robust amount, and there are so many restrictions on how you can spend the money now. Thankfully, in my family, you know, I can subsidize the needs of my immediate
family member who gets this benefit. But we're definitely looking at a reassessment of my finances and a reassessment of hers, because what I've tried to say is when this benefit goes away, we should not make the assumption that it will return. And so even though SNAP benefits are from the federal government, they are administered by the states, and so states have the option to tap into emergency funding
to keep this going. But the thing is if they tap into that, that will take away from something else. And I think the danger is a lot of people, when you're hungry, you don't care, and we're looking at people I'm in such a place of privilege that I can subsidize my family. But there is actually a lot of sound from people in these food lines to your point, who definitely need the help, Like this woman here.
They were the subsidizers.
That's all.
We didn't hurt anybody.
We don't deserve this.
What does.
This distribution mean?
I mean, if it means to me, it means the world to me what they're doing, because sometimes you for you feel forgotten. You go to work to help people.
That's our job to help people. That's all the week we go in every single day.
This is day twenty eight.
The last paycheck we got was for seven days through the end of September.
That's it. So we've been there every single day.
We've been there every day.
Who's thinking of us.
We didn't hurt anybody, I promise you.
We give our best.
We have good people that go to work every single day to.
Give them back. I'm sorry one that was some kind of heart wrenching, kind of emotional sound that we've been talking about. I wanted to make three policy points. The first thing that people need to know is that there is enough emergency reserve fund for the government to keep this open for another two to three weeks.
It's enough money to open it, period.
But I'm just saying like, they have the reserve fund for two to three weeks. Now, that's not a long time. But we're talking about people literally going hungry. So if anybody wants to say, oh, if Democrats open up the government today, then they're not. No, no, no. Donald Trump has made a conscious decision and sometimes cruelty is the point. Number Two, there is something that you can do. I mean, democratic governors can sue, and thirty of them have or
excuse me, attorney generals have sue. Twenty of them have have suit the United States Department of Agriculture where these funds come from. So if you're in a state, I'm like, I'm on Alan Wilson's ass Republican. He wants Donald Trump's endorsement. So he's not moving. However, like, we have tens of thousands of people in South Carolina that are going hungry simply because you want Donald Trump's endorsement, and so you need to file suit to the USDA and do your
job to represent South Carolina first. And the last thing is, which is somewhat policy, somewhat humanity is fundamentally there is this belief and I see it on I see it amongst Republican elected officials. I see it on X, I see it on Instagram. You know, why don't people get a job? That's so crazy, But it just discounts the fact that we have a working poor in this country, and that a lot of they say, oh, all these immigrants, sorry, but what about Okay, No.
You can't get it if you do not have a job. In most states, you can't even pull down the benefit.
Without the work.
The work requirement is the point.
Most of the different Most of the people are white, the.
Majority of recipients.
Yes, yes, so I'm just like this. The racial undertones and the xenophobia that comes along with this debate is something that has been rubbing me the wrong way.
But the other thing that I think we have to take stock of is going back to this discretionary fund. They have the ability to fund snap benefits for three weeks, as you said, and then in those three weeks, guess what happens The continuing resolution that they would have passed that would have been very harmful would be up anyway. The next CR is November twenty first, so they can fund it literally through the next CR to hopefully get
people through at least their Thanksgiving groceries. Maybe it's because, as you to your points, if it's still not enough money, most of the folks have to get some type of subsidy and certainly are working more than one job. So I think this is the point. And I guess my plea to all of us would be, while we know we should be able to rely on our government for support, policy is supposed to be people first. If we cannot,
we still have each other. And I was saying on the Afrotech stage earlier, because that is why we are in Houston, that I think it's so important for us to understand how reliable we are as human beings. My algorithm has shifted because I posted enough of the folks who've been filling in the gap around snap the you know, the free lunch for government workers, even for the folks who've been furloughed or laid off, free lunch for governmentkers.
Come get a meal, you can get fried fish, shrip whatever. And then also coming to get groceries from farmers, the farmers that have said come and take whatever you want, this is yours. I am so encouraged by that because it tells me that the humanity is not gone, like our empathy is not gone.
I value that, Angela. The resilience of people. Yeah, is like the hero story in this But it angers me to no degree that in the wealthiest nation and the history of the world that we're talking about people having to rely on their local pastor's generosity or their local neighbor's charity in order to pull down on what are basic human needs.
Speaking of pastors, I want to roll this clip from Jamal Brian and Carrie Brian where they showed their humanity and sacrifice in offering to the church.
To do this with you, give God some praise for our first lady An. I've been in an earnest prayer and Friday, the Holy Spirit arrested me and it really shook me.
But I got peace knowing that I was hearing the voice.
Of the Holy Spirit.
Since March, three hundred thousand black women have lost their jobs. Knowing that this is the highest unemployment rate for black people in over fifteen years, Knowing that government workers and government contractors have been furloughed and have not received a check, even while senators and congress people are receiving theirs, Knowing that forty three million people are not receiving food benefits.
The Holy Spirit arrested me in prayer.
I was on a plane headed to Chicago, and the Lord dropped in my spirit, and I want you to hear the heart of your pastor that I didn't feel, in good conscience, or in good faith, or in good faith that it would be appropriate today for me to do an over and above offern I didn't feel like it would be right to ask people to march down with five thousand, two thousand, three thousand and one thousand.
When people don't know how they're gonna pay their rent, they don't know how they're gonna take care of their kids, don't know how it is that they're gonna eat. Y'all ain't saying nothing to me. I know that this ain't popular. I know this ain't gonna go viral. They always talk about the negative stuff churches do. But I felt like we had a higher responsibility.
I love the fact that we can still find social justice and empathy and compassion in church houses, and I think we definitely saw which I think one of.
The challenges though, because we're talking about snap benefits, there are some things that even though we can rely on each other, to feed each other has been a tradition, and certainly we can look back to civil rights leaders, particularly the Black Panther Party, who was able to meet the need of the people. But then there is just an infrastructure of government that services us. And when we think about of the people, by the people, for the people,
what does it look like when it includes us? And right now we're seeing in air traffic controllers TSA staff. We all travel a lot, and so walking through those lines knowing that those TSA workers are showing up not getting paid, a lot of military force is not getting paid. But also the number of black women who lived in service to this country, to our community who have been laid off from the federal government has a ripple effect
across multiple states. And so they're cutting their nose off despite their face because social Security checks all the things that need to be processed where black women stood in the gap and did those things. Eventually, that is going to hit white America and more specifically is going to hit Maga America, and they are going to feel the impact of this. And I fear that they are not
curious enough to connect the dots. That they are armchair Fox News watchers who will continue to regurgitate the same right wing talking points that are demonstrably false and willfully ignorant.
I you know, I have two minds, and this may be controversial, but in some ways I wish that they weren't able to bail out individual pieces of Americans. Yes, during this time, I agree, because when you are big and bad enough to accept the consequence of shutting down the federal government everyday. Americans need to know what that means.
And if this week we can pay a soldiers, and then next week we can pay you know, the farmer folks, and then the next week ices you know, buckle back up, and then the next week that they do something else. This is an unsustainable system. At some point the dime stops coming. And where we are, by the way, just so that we're all abundantly clear paying What this shutdown is about is the government ran out of money to pay the bills that it has already incurred. Correct, this
is not about future spending of the government. This is not about obligations that are ten years down the line. This is the US government. Our elected officials have spent more money than they've taken in and so because they don't have what it takes to demonstrate leadership, they've just decided they would stop collecting, stop spending. Not stop collecting,
stop spending until the opportunity moment is right politically. But what I've never understood about the debt ceiling is that it never seems to be explained as clearly as possible, is that this is you going out to eat a red lobster or wherever your favorite place is and then walking out on the bill nothing else.
This is also about appropriating funds to authorization measures, so policy which you probab it out at a couple of shows ago. The big, the big beautiful bill that is a big, ugly mass. This is also supposed to be funding that. And there are a lot of people who are of good will who are saying, we actually don't support this. These things that you're going to fund aren't going to be funded at the levels that we agree with, or the things that you're offering as contingencies for those
funds are also not moral. So that's another big part of this that I don't think that we can escape. The biggest point I want to drive home today is they are robbing Peter to pay Paul, and I think that we have to understand that that mass also does it math in the law. I agree, Paul is definitely a billionaire in this analogy.
Is the largest American wealth. But but it's not.
Just that peace. There's also impoundments. There's there's all they're breaking the law coming and going. Even the anonymous donation to the military to pay in the military is breaking the last.
Frightening because we don't know where that money. The largest military we'll come from.
What I'm saying, Timothy me pronounced his name. It's not anonymous. His first name is Timothy, but melon, he's somebody who donated.
Already, half of ideas stand that this is individual and largest.
Buying a military, and you can turn our military into mercenary.
So that's right.
I have one question to put.
I have a question for you.
It's a legal question, and I don't know if you'll be able to answer.
La.
We'll try, Okay, all right, I did better than chairs whoever, whoever can answer this. But I have seen a movement online of people saying the only thing they can do is to opt out of paying taxes, that.
There is a way from us terrible.
Like you, there's a whatever you know when you're getting your paycheck and you can opt out, saying like, no.
Either went to jail for that.
Because I'm telling you, if people have been responding ready across.
Line, let me tell you what's going on targets. First, Okay, them fees and fines gonna add up so quick your head gonna spend, and then you're gonna get that letter saying it's a lean and then you're gonna be like, well, I'm militant, I'm gonna opt out, and then you're gonna have that agent knock at your door. And then by that time you're going to whatever low load middle to low low load security camp.
Like you have a tax bill, I mean your paycheck that you get every two.
We understand exactly what you're saying. I'm saying when you mark zero withholdings and protesting because I'm gonna keep my tax dollars because I don't like how you spending my tax dollars. You are going to go to jail.
Okay, you're gonna pay me.
You didn't spend your money on a new car that you thought you wasn't.
It You talking about tears.
We talk about terrors too.
Yeah, you know.
Where they put Wesley Snipes.
I don't know.
Respectfully, this is a white people conversation that we can to see. I asses out of.
Like, regardless of who caused this, and I know that's kind of hard to separate, but regardless of who caused this, and some viewers are gonna be like, whatever, you can't say regardless.
Of what the Republicans caused it.
But regardless of that fact, right period, regardless of that fact, for a lot of people, their trusting government is going to be broken, shattered. But I'm just saying, so how do we how do we rebuild that? I mean, we have we have so many important things coming up that are going to require those people who now have a And if it was distrustful, it's damn sure distrustful. Now it's like not getting caught cheating once, but damn you know, got cault cheating twice.
These people can't forget who is causing the suffering. These people can't. They can no longer continue to disconnect their everyday lives from what is happening. But they don't pick they don't, they may not, but about what they do to me? What it is that we about what we
have to do? Because right now, the reason why our framer said you have a democracy if you can keep it correct, it's because they knew that if left our own devices meet, we might take our eye off the ball and say, let them do what they're doing over here. I'm living my life and we.
Know it's not even a democracy. But that's a whole correct.
My only point is is for anybody who is confused about one who started it and who caused it, and while we're still experiencing it, do not be confused in the future when we are talking about who created the worst man made suffering that we've experienced so far modern day time. Man made this is and it's the federal government. But I'm Republican.
But here's the thing that I want y'all to consider, okay, and that is when you are suffering the harm and experiencing the pain and facing the consequence, is you don't really care, but you must. I understand what you're saying. I understand what you're saying.
Because I've been there. I know on the side of suffering. I am some days now on the side of suffering.
I understand.
I am saying we cannot have a short term marriage.
That is the problem.
I understand what you're saying. I think there is a huge gulf between. There's a huge gulf between you must and I can't, and we have to figure out a way to bridge it because until you're out of your suffering, you I don't even know, and I'm not trying to project this on anyone, but I don't even know. If it's humankind can process whose fault it is. You're just enrage that you're experiencing, especially when it's not by any means anything that you did that.
I can't articulate the point any better. I hear your.
Must how I'm.
Gonna tell you how. I'm gonna tell you how one the people who we vote for currently, how the onus on them to show up Like our Democratic attorney generals, they during this moment have to be filing suit have to be doing those things.
Let's speak of the House of the Republicans who haven't been to work since.
But I'm talking about things people like literally can see, touch and care about. Right. The other thing is the other thing is which I'm gonna say, is that the CBC and a lot of the Democratic Caucus members have just gone somewhat invisible. You don't see them out, You're not hearing from them at these town hall meetings, in these streets. You're not seeing them launching these food banks. And I'm not saying they're not doing it, But what I am saying is that we're not commanding that attention
on our efforts. The next thing I will say is that twenty twenty six becomes even that much more important because if Democrats get control of the House, people are going to be looking at them. This is going to be one of the more consequential elections for Democrats because they're going to be looking at us to provide tangible resources even in a very lopsided government, because they have this fundamental distrust and the golf is getting bigger and bigger for both parties.
I just feel like, I hear what you say. It's hard to and I'm always going to be the CBC bias, but like, how do you expect for them to go out and do these things? They are in a fight for their lives most of them. They are doing them. They're not breaking through, they're not covering them. That's certainly the truth, and I agree with that. I agree. I'm
not fighting, y'all, I'm a grant. But I also think that they are also put on their heels because they're in the fight for their lives, just protecting their seats. Every single we like the caucus will likely shrink to have its size correct. So not only are they going to have to go out to try to win elections in districts that they've not running before, the makeup is so different. So we're asking them to carry a responsibility
that they should as public servants. But also with this new found district, these new constituents they don't know, may not carry.
The thing is yeah, So what I'm asking of the CBC and the Democratic Caucus is during extraordinary times to put forth extraordinary effort. And that's what every nothing you said is incorrect. Yes, some of them just.
Don't know how we form our face to ask Democrats who are already doing the things that we're demanding, except not getting coverage for it, to take on another thing while then not a not holding Republicans don't care, but they've done a care because these new seats will include voters.
Why do I like?
So?
I mean I can I can, in one hand say Democrats need to do more and not only and if they are doing more, we need to make sure you.
Be any of this. When you said no one cares about who is responsible.
Because I'm saying that there, I didn't say no one. I said there's a group of people out the voters who who simply don't care. I mean, that's a fact. What I'm also saying is that I can say that Mike Johnson is the most feckless Speaker of the House we've ever had in the history of this countraest. He's completely what's the A word, advocated duty to Donald Trump to run the house right and and has he done
a food and dune. But my other point is that during these extraordinary times, we're talking about people going hungry right right, and so I'm waiting for you know, just thinking outside the box. I'm just making this up. I'm waiting for the Democratic Caucus poor Rule community tour just handing out turkeys, right and then and then visiting visiting local because I feel like and I know that sounds really like small or No.
I think that's marketing and they should do marketing. But this is where I don't know how we can I don't know how we can be insensed about people not eating and then no, not just you, all of us. I don't know if we can be insisted about people not being able to eat, but then tac political and strategic about how to resolve this, because at this moment the resolution is right in front of our eyes. The people who have the ability to end this are choosing
not to. Mike Johnson was the Speaker of the House where the greatest disagreement exists right now. Hasn't called the members of Congress back to Washington since the government got damned closed. Democrats have been in Washington, and it been told to be within two hours or four hours distance from Washington in DC. Since the government closed, they've been
there on the clock, wording right. So what I'm saying, the reason why all of this feels small is because we are not I think I think the problem is you among us. I think we are using a fly swatter by way of approach of how.
To fix it. I think that the can I think that the cancer that we're not.
Address these people from having to be responded.
Nobody's releasing them.
It is a release when we say it isn't if my mama saying that it was ch The reason why the expectation is where it is, the reason why expectations is where it is is because people who have the license to set expectations differently are capitulating. But he's saying, I know y'all not going to keep score about this, But I.
Just that's not what I'm saying. What I am saying, what I'm saying, what I am clearly saying, is that we have a cancer in this country that is only metastasizing, right, And I hear your point about what is going on in Washington, d C. But what I'm also saying is that there are fundamentally people who are being affected by this who don't necessarily care who broke it, right, who don't care who broke it? And if we don't, if we don't address this problem, then that cancer of distrust,
that cancer of apprehension is going to metastasize. And what I'm saying is that it's going to be so far beyond repair. And yes, this is of Donald Trump's doing. He wanted to sow in this distrust.
So the drive is the South.
No, no, no, no, no no. That first of all, that's no. That's simply an example of an actionable item that can be on a list of a million actionable items. Is the marketing a part of it, Yes, because people.
Want just as the time ball meeting, they can do that might get a food back at the end. But we want to talk about that.
And that, you know what, then then we let's do both. There's no there's no either or. But what I am saying is that saying that saying that this is where I think your idea fails because saying that you are in Washington, DC and I have to be two to four hours away from the count I said it and I'm fighting for you is not enough.
That was the information for you. But what I'm saying, what I actually said, was the solutions that we are proffering do not meet the scale of the child. Because I pose the question, so happy to have help on this one. Stop letting people off of who's responsible for us, notution, not for you, for anyone who may be condemented.
That's not a tangible solution.
It is if you let me finish, get the answer. That's number one. Let me give you number one, because number one is the most important part. This is the piece of Democrats keep losing elections for which is forgetting how we got here, forgiving everybody who got us here and then letting they ask is off the hook wom we're back in power and need to hold them accountable.
Right.
So the reason why I start an end and anytime I'm talking about this, I'm going to do it to tell you who bought this suffering to you is because largely it's out of most people's minds about whose fault because they don't really follow the process that closely. But when people know very clearly who bought them to the well or who kept them from the well, they know how to penalize their ass when they get the chance to. I may be down today, but tomorrow I'm coming for you.
I know who you are. I think it's important, not a nice to have and not a throwaway line. It is a mandatory thing to do, to tell people who has their foot on your neck. Number two, we have to do obviously mutual ae anywhere we have the opportunity in our communities to be the first line of response for our folks. That's from the elected to the local
parties to the neighbor. Right, you show up for each other, for one another, and the best way that we can in this moment, more churches need to pick up on the effort a Pastor Bryan and first Lady carry where they set the example for, Yeah we got to keep the lights on. Yeah we got to pay the mortgage to this big church. And it does make me a
little bit nervous when we start messing with that. But the moment requires an outsized response, not the typical, but an outsized response so they're going to do what they can from where their respective places are These food banks that you talked about earlier, who are right now going to be an increased demand, and who are their demand.
Will also whose supply is actually decreasing.
Sure, and guess what else, Now you are multiplying the needers because you took the people who are every day perpetually finding themselves in this cycle, and now you've laid on top of them folks who were part of the giving class. These are folks who are paying ties and offerings, they were volunteering at local organizations. They're what we would call, quote the responsible citizen, doing what they're supposed to do. So you've not met taken that group of people, set
them on top of this. On top of that, the stuff coming in isn't at the level that it needs to be, and so you have fewer supplies, a greater demand, all of it brought to you by the Republican leadership in Washington, DC, who could not care less about your suffering, not only because the suffering is the point, but they can't care less. They can't care less because their incentive structure is different. They don't necessarily count on your vote anymore.
In fact, as far as they're concerned, they wish they would no vote ever to be had again. They only get to exist in this space because the billion as who are backing them running separate elon Musk million dollars if you vote efforts and they think they can overcome democracy. What is that they think they can overcome it?
I really appreciated this conversation. I know we're not done, but I just want to say I get your point. My frustration with the who is to blame is I have anxiety around solving the problem. But I under I understand when you said it that way, when you got through your whole one A, B and C. I get it. But I also feel like I just want us to move different and I wonder if we're at the phase now where we have to lead by example.
So thank you that think.
Jump in, go ahead, double du.
No, go ahead. I was sitting go ahead. I always tell people that that being a pastor and being elected official.
You a pastor, no, okay, good, he's in, go ahead.
Gotta say, being an a pastor and being an elected official are two professions that have something very much in common. It's that people expect more from you than they expect from themselves. And Andrew, I go on TV every single night and articulate number one, Right, I articulate number one in your point and whose foot is on your neck so you're blue in the face. I'm with you on that.
What people are missing in that moment of distrust that I'm talking about the people who we're in the barbershops with, the people who are who we run into, the people who are in you know, maybe not in our clubs, maybe not in the Links or Jack and Jill, but maybe they are the people who are making sure that our trains run on time in our respective communities. That is secondary to them. Their pain is what's primary to them, and they want to see And you may not be
able to fix everything. You may not be able to pay their rent, you may not be able to get them meals every single night. But they are missing individuals doing number two of what you said, I hear you, But I'm just saying that we have to hold our people, the ones that are listening to us during this moment of extraordinary times. We have to ask them to have
extraordinary effort and actually listen. They are But I was going to end I was just gonna end this on this scripture real quick, because I believe that's where I started. But it's the Book of James. And we become a party of faith all the time. We always, I mean, you know, we are faithful people, but we have faith in our elected officials. But it teaches you that faith without works.
Is this just a straw man argument, is what I hear. But I don't like these people who you're talking about, our listeners, the ones who are going the extra mile trying to take care of folks to make sure that they have what they need, which is what we have always done always.
I can't gonna do that.
They're doing it, and so I don't understand why it doesn't make sense to compliment and to encourage more of that. And I wouldn't even think that this is the thing. I can say, one, two, and three. They're all one.
We need one?
Why are we in need? Is one?
How do we.
Meet in need? Is one?
But also you guys.
Me, then then then we don't make exceptions. We don't then tell something, I mean, all of us, we don't say who's the blame? And they say, but they shouldn't be.
I got some mistake to head on it for you to consider since Stiff said, I like the bag, she didn't want me in it. But I'm gonna claim my time real quick. Here's the only thing. There are some who are meeting the moment, it's not sufficient. And so I do think for those who have been struggling with how to meet the moment because they're like, I'm still in shock about what moment it is, they do need to get some Okay, why don't you do a free
turkey giveaway? They do need some of that urging, not because this is their fault or they're doing but because you're in the minority. So when you're in the minority, you are in the minority. I'm talking about. No, the Democratic Party is in the minority in the House and the Senate, they are. But but what I'm saying thing is when you're in the minority, you have an obligation to show people what life and politics could be like if you were in charge. And I think some of that.
And what it should be is that you don't have to do a turkey drive this weekend. No, what it should be is we gotta pay people with the goddamn money they are worth. Wetta we should be. No, I'm just saying.
No, this isn't the same Sure, no, because.
It's not the same thing. I want to make the point of difference clears.
I need to go to miss Cross.
It's simply to say it is not enough for what you when you're a democratic for elected to just show up and be at the Hamburger Drive. If you're there at the Hamburger Drive and you're not letting people know why we're here, let me finish and what has to happen through the system. Yes, how this whole ship has to reform because Turkey drives again in six months or six weeks.
I agree with that, But I think the only part I think you're missing from me. I'm not going to speak for me or for TIF. I know TIF. It's trying to weigh is. I'm saying it is that and some thing else. It is an alternative solution. It is not just like we're here to fight back against what they're doing. We are not in resistance. We are in opposition. Here's what the vision could be, Here's what it looks like it feels like to be with me. That is not being clearly articulated.
Nobody knows. What I'm saying is that people want to see and feel that concrete action. And that's not that's not a solve, that's not a bomb to the bomb BA l M to the crisis that's happening up there. But what it does do is help us with this cancer that's metastasizing in our own communities, one that we act like doesn't exist. And that's the trust deficit. And that's the trust deficit because there has been an action
in our communities, and there has been an action. And so let's talk about this other point real quick because we don't have that much time left. But what about the candidates that are running for office? I mean, listen, one of the states that's most important right now now, two of the states that are most important, and I hope people are watching. You want to change some you're talking about changing and putting your your your foot to
the pedal or your shoulder to the will. We got elections in New Jersey with Mikey Cheryl, and we got elections in Virginia with Abigail Spamberger, and so we.
In California ballot initiative.
And Proposition fifty. So I mean, we have things that really really matter here. And not only that, but Mikey Cheryl needs Newark County black, I mean the city of Newark black folk to come out. And it's a whole bushel of black folk in Virginia at Abigail Spamberg and needs.
Or New Jersey states if these candidates are actually talking about what change they're creating. So I can't say that that's.
I also think at this time, when people are suffering, and as much that black people have poured into this country, that we ask of them again. We're asking of them again while the government is not living in service to you, we're asking you to live in service to these candidates, which is.
A lot of all a lot of to be made, right.
But I think to your point, Andrew, I think is really important for us to contextualize. And I love how you detail what because so many people ask what can be done? So I really love the intellectual exchangement. I'm coming. I'm really because I think I think you both made good points.
This clearly articulates my point here, and this is what I was talking about on a campaign. The messaging that Andrew was talking about usually suffices, right.
What you're talking about usually is efficient, but is what they do.
But the camp, what what I'm talking about is the campaign of reinforcing the messaging of who's to blame, how I will be the change, who's putting your foot on? But right now, right now, during this time, we need these campaigns to be more action oriented, particularly in our communities, and using your campaign as a vessel to do number one, one, one one.
As you were saying, Andrew, and Andrew, I just have to say this. Andrew knows this firsthand, like you can be as smart ass. Hold on, you've been a smart ass. But Andrew literally did this on his campaign. It was a tipping point for your campaign.
You didn't just.
Go and say, you know what you guys should do? You a protest?
He went down.
Excuse me, I said.
I've read I read six hundred and fifty questionnaires and one of the things I viewers don't like is cross talk.
So he actually didn't read it.
But keep going, Angel, if you could complete your thought, and Andrew d is this my camera see how the show runs smoothly?
You know what I was saying is looking when we were providing mutual aid to folks, I would never get out there providing mutual eight without disconnect, allowing people to
be disconnected from why we're experiencing what we're experiencing. And so I would say anybody saying either in saying and painting the picture, I'm saying, we may not, we may not buy our conversation feel like there's a there's as I feel the distance greatly because I feel, particularly in our political environment where the elected officials are coming out and doing service to some of these points but don't
feel any of it. So I can say the Republicans have bought us Da Da Da Da Da Dad and number two, but I need you to go out this Thursday and vote, so we send them a lesson and then their next that'sments like buses or rides to the polls. That's pretty statutorily what you do. What I'm saying is the moment is requiring something bigger. You can talk about the fact that we're right here at a food drive and I'm as unhappy about being here as I have
ever been about doing anything in my life. Not because I don't believe we should be first aid to one another. We've always been that. But in the wealthiest nation and all the world in all time, why are we standing out here begging each other for some chicken?
It's my pleasure to serve you, but I resent the nature.
I have to tell you about how we got so let me tell you we got to acknowledge that, and then let's talk about the kind of world we can have.
I agree, I agree. I think we have to be very forward looking. But I think the word service has changed. I think that service is more than the traditional service of you getting on your plane and going to Washington, DC. And I think the word service has become bigger, and I think that it has to become more because these are.
It's the people who give service to the word.
And the reason we're in this, the reason we're in this predicament with people in their trust deficit, is because we haven't held our people accountable for disagree.
The trust deficit that I think we are experiencing is systematic. It is not by accident. We didn't stumble upon it. People are not at a level of distrust for no reason. And largely and largely it has not been about the government shutdown.
That is.
That is so I would just say this, it's been building, and I would say it has been methodically inserted in the process. To how you destroy democracies is by you take the most capable, biggest, giant, most consistently deliverable entity in all the land, and you break it apart, piece by piece, so that one day you show up for a jury duty and the summons that was sent to
you was done in era. You shouldn't be here this morning at seven thirty to note yourself, do not respond to the next jury dutey something, because they don't got that shit together in the first place. They're gonna let us out. Okay, now we're at the state Unemployment office. Oh, you can't get those benefits, ma'am, because it shows that you have not been consistently every day for X number
of hours looking for a job for the last thirty days. Therefore, you will not get the benefits that you were looking forward to for this next month. Good luck paying your RAMT, mortgage, food, clothing, so on and so forth. Okay, well, now it's turn to page Now I'm showing up for my Social Security check and that's been on time ever since Dadada, it
ain't coming this week. Those locally grown farms who produce for the Local Share program, the Local Share program which then gives kids who don't have reliable meals on the weekends food they can take home in a grocery bag. But they mama then make food for over the weekend. Oh, those didn't show up. So it's the systemic and it isn't by accident, right, Russell volks Vogue is not wondering
how people are going to be fed this weekend. He is not wondering how government employees are going to make ends meet or what TSA worker shows up with the wrong attitude today, although well deserved because they get to pay their bills this month, is going to do something that then provocates another incident that causes I don't know, maybe the busiest airport in all the world to be
shut down. Right, so they then do there's crisis at the crisis at the crisis at the crisis they all created is the common denominator that then causes people to say, I can't trust this is the thing you wanted to lean lean on d D. And then the day when you need them, the democracy is gone and they're not responding. Were wondering, why shit you don't respond to A example B C D E F da da da da da da da so all I'm saying is that this isn't never, never,
never take a crisis for granted. Now you're in a crisis now, which means we have people's attainment. I think that, So what are we going to do with the attention now that we have it? So that it changes?
My only point is that in twenty sixteen, in twenty sixteen, Donald Trump made a conscience effort to erode our foundations of government, whether or not it's the jurisprudence, whether or not, it's our media, whether or not, it's just the fundamental tenets of everything we held to be true. We realized that, we realized that government was extremely fragile. I like the analogy of Donald Trump being a bull in a china shop.
And the reason I like that analogy is because whenever that bull leaves that china shop or dies or whatever, that china is forever damaged. You just don't put china back together. It's forever damaged, So that the fundamental way that we approach democracy has been forever damaged. I hope so. But my only point is that while all of these things that you enumerated are being ticked off, the problem is that people want to see someone not only fight
for them, which they feel is lukewarm at best. We've had that conversation on here whether or not you can meet that moment. But they're also saying, while I'm suffering, I'm watching these things happen. I'm watching these things happen. And so what happens to me and my friends and my family and my colleagues while we're suffering? Here I am and just going to food banks? Is this all that I have? Is this all that government has the offer?
But I think there's more to the discussion started people discussion.
And unfortunately, yeah, before.
We get out of here, they're gonna get mad at me if I don't do that.
I just want to say the audience really quickly that we know we said we would talk about other topics.
I'm na a c.
P and the.
Spamburger that's the alert.
Yes, And we said we would get to viewer questions and we definitely will next week.
So if you have a question, please send it in.
I just wanted to be clarified, Well, we can get to all of those topics that I know. It's difficult and we just go these names out and you don't know who we're talking about or so we will get to all those topics. But I just wanted to acknowledge that we told you at the beginning of the show we would and.
We'll do that.
Who cares about truth when the last morning's seen it?
I have a tta, but you you go, do you know?
And So to kick off the call to actions, Miss Cross, I just want.
To say to you, gentlemen, I really enjoy here in the back and forth between you guys. I found it insightful, enlightening. I was sitting here like really enlightened. I had nothing to say. I just wanted to listen. So my call to action to the audience. The past couple of weeks, we've had a lot of engagement on our platform. We talked about the movement of anti black or insite intellectualism
ravaging the black community. We've had guests on and we've had a lot of new viewers pay attention to our platform, and weiy in on YouTube, way in on Instagram, share the clips and have conversations about it. I hope on a day like today, where we've talked about really substantive things that are integral to a lot of people's lives, that we will get that same level of engagement, your same opinions, even in disagreement. We welcome that we want
to hear from you. This is no matter what your background is, no matter how you consider yourself, no matter if you agree or disagree, everyone is welcome home here. And if you're new to Native Land, this is the type of conversation that we normally have and we would just love to hear from you and see that same level of engagement when it doesn't involve a celebrities podcast, gossip or a beef.
Mis right, don't start no beef at home, y'all.
I would say pologies if I have been offensive to anybody during the the you know, the the gravity of the moment, it really is demanding I think something more of us, and I think you said that and we agreed. We may have different tactics on how to get there. But just like during the campaign when we said the sky was gonna fall and you know, Earth was cracking and the Savior was returning, today, Uh, it's all pretty much you know, kind of hand, you know, beginning to
pant itself out. And this is why elections do have consequences. Well for those of us who are sitting on the other side of its saying we told you. It has consequences. Consider for a moment that they didn't believe you because they haven't been able to believe you and what you say is going to happen or what you're going to do.
Ever, I just said that the whole show.
It was just why you're the different tactics, the brilliant one.
But to go further there is the American people are yes, resilient, and they are lots sterner and made of a lot of sterner things. And I think we give them credit for and they're also a lot smarter than we give them credit for. The fact that people can't hold two truths at the same time and American politics is ridiculous.
It is insulting it again. So my call to action is believe that people are strong enough to handle a multiplicity of facts and situations and occurrences, to be able to dial check them off, deal with them successfully or not, so as they go down the list, and at the end of the day still know what to do next, even if no one has instructed them. It's an intuitive, it's innate, it's guttural, and I bet anyybody who's writing now worried about a meal and can connect who is
causing that suffering. We'll get their vengeance.
And I hope that we meet this moment and we make sure that those people who are waiting on that meal, we can provide them with some very tangible hope that that meal is coming. And I think that all of our elected officials need to take that extraordinary step to do this. My call to action is very simple. I want everybody watching to, if you live in a red state or blue state, reach out to your attorney general
and ask your attorney general to do something. In particular, join the effort to sue the United States Department of Agriculture. Why because there are millions of people who are literally going hungry. And we talk about our faith often, but you have to walk it like you talk it.
And I hope that my campaign.
From the it was we talked about the campaign anyway.
This is episode number three hundred and sixty nine. No, it's not, No, it's not that episode. I'm tripping this episode. Everybody. It feels like I've been here for three hundred episodes days or until the next election. Please like subscribe, Please send all of your complaints.
It's till the midterm elections. There is an election for many of us.
But I do believe that viewers and listeners are capable to hold two truths. So you know, you know, you know when the elections in in UH Virginia and in UH New Jersey are and you know when the midterms are California. But it's been an honor and a privilege to be able to sit with these amazing people. I don't think I compliment them and tell them how great they are. And I hope that every viewer, everybody who's listening just is truly grateful for what the Native Lamp
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Welcome partnership with Choice.
Yeah, in partnership with Reason, Choice Media and I Heart. I haven't gotten my first check yet, so I.
Don't know.
Y'll hold of that. Well, when the name is on it, then I'll be able to say it a little bit better. Welcome home, y'allah, Welcome home to the natives landing on the podcast face that's a for greatness.
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