Native Lampod is a production of iHeartRadio in partnership with Reezon Choice Media. Hello, everyone, we are just about to get started. We have a really important conversation today was one of my favorite commentators. This is a special edition of Native Lampods, my solo pod. I'm Angela Rye and we are going to go ahead. Shout out to Daniel in the comments Welcome home. That is our official.
Song writer and rapper.
So I want to go ahead and get started with Legally hype A B.
Tucker, who is.
One of my favorite attorneys and someone who is absolutely skilled and brilliant on the issues we're going to discuss today. I stepped into it yesterday with some of y'all and it's fine. We're gonna talk about where I'm wrong, where I know I'm right, and I'm sure that Legally Hypo have some things to add them, maybe a little different,
So we can go ahead and get started. Now. We are talking Prop fifty, which is on the ballot in California in this upcoming election on November fourth, and we're also talking about you have a new sum So let's get started. Hey, hey girl, Hey, how are you. I'm excited about this so y'a frames your glasses are so cute. I'm going to tell you that in one of the posts you put up the other day with a little will go to yeah, you should have rocked it today. Since everybody want to be a thug in.
My comments, I know, and I normally do when I do my Prop fifty stuff.
You called me slipping a little bit.
Hank go hug you. Okay, Well, I want to do this first because I think this is the most important thing. Hearing the objections around timing, I want to start with what's most important. The main thing right now is the election that's coming up on November fourth. So I would love for you to tell people in your labman's terms and you gonna lay women's terms, what is Prop fifty and why should California voters care and why should the rest of the country be good allies?
Yeah?
I mean so, the way I've been framing it for my audience is Prop fifty is basically our way to buck up against racism in this country. Right, So you have Republican led states, right, you got red states.
This what we're doing in California.
Is pretty much on the back of where Texas had
us messed up. They started redrawing their districts so that they had the Republicans would have more political power in Congress, right to a point where people didn't even know that that's how representatives were chosen, like, oh, you could read all the lines, yes, right, so they read draw them so that black people and brown people would basically have less of a stay in their boat, right, and so we wouldn't have the same type of representation when we
got to Congress. So what California said where Prop fifty was like, okay, bet Texas, we got some for you.
You want to read.
All your lines, we can get our pencils and we can redraw them too, but we're gonna one up you with that one, as opposed to just slick slick this in our constituents, right, slick dis in Californias and being like, we just gonna do what we want to do. We're gonna let California choose. Is this what you want to do do?
They went low, do you want to squabble up?
So went Prop fifty is basically California's way to squabble up against Texas and say no, we're not gonna play with you like that. We're gonna we're gonna balance out the score, right, And what we're gonna do is, if y'all still some Republican seats, we're gonna make them seats Democrat in California, and it's gonna be even, it's gonna be balanced. So it's basically like a head head up fade against Texas.
Right now, did that make sense? That makes service sense to me. It makes perfect sense to me. Now for those of you who are like I want to know what the Secretary of State's official voter guide says or read that to you. Prop fifty authorizes temporary changes to congressional district maps in response to Texas partisan redistricting legislative
constitutional Amendment. I want to take this moment to shout out Jelanda Jones, who many of us got to know from her very fierce advocacy around what was happening in Texas and the co coliar I did her first interview when she decided to say, okay, well, since y'all don't want to do nothing, I'm gonna be right here and they so we're gonna lock you on the House Shabor floor. And she was like, mine, somebody bring me some snacks. So we're very clear that this is not just something
that's impacting California as California voters. It is across the country. The math does not really math for us. I think we should be honest about that. Yeah, in a lot of ways, this is going to be an uphill battle. But yes, unquestionably vote yes on Prop fifty. For additional information on Prop fifty, the guest voters, that's the only information I'm willing to give you right now is at Stop Election Rigging dot com. This is a ballot measure
that is being championed by Governor Gavin Newsom. It is also a ballot measure that was passed and that's how it got on the ballot to begin with, by the California State Legislature. So let's be very clear about that now. This is where the trouble began, your friend. So yesterday, first of all, I want to shout out our new social team.
But our new social team is with all the smoke.
Okay, so they are captioning things in ways then you know, maybe I wouldn't capturing it that way, but it's fine. It's a learning lesson. We're learning a pattern. And there was a lot of engagement on the posts, and I thought it was actually healthy because there are folks who do have misinformation on what's going on in California, not really clear about what happened with Gavin Newsom last week.
And the reparations measures that we're calling reparations measures that I actually have an argument for, they're not necessarily reparations as we would normally see them. And then the timing, So some of the things that came up sis is folks felt like I shouldn't have posted that video because the timing is bad given the Prop fifty vote, which
is in two weeks now, it's roughly two weeks. And then of course early voting has already began here, folks who are mailing in ballots are already mailing in ballots, so they're like, why you got to do this right now? Why you messing with Gavin right And then the other thing that came up is somebody said, well, I don't know why you're doing this. We're never getting reparations. Not
willing to see that point. And then the other thing that has come up quite a bit is why would you attack Gavin Newsom when he's the only fighter we have against Donald Trump, and I think that some of my issue with that is I think that people have.
To walk into gum at the same time.
And when I say that, people are like, all right, well you you are saying that we can walk at your gum, but people can't ever really discern or decipher what's on a ballot what's not.
And I would just say to that, I resent that.
Because, like, first of all, if you a black girl in America, we learned how to double dutch, that is better than walking into and at the same time. Okay, they might not know about double dutch, but I know about double dutch. And I think like, if we can walk, we can drive, we can wrap while we drive it, we can stop at the light, we can signal, we
can do multiple things at once. And right now we're in an environment where we got to walk into gum because of the shut Now we got to walk into gun because of the attacks on the Monica MacIver and Tis James and Fannie Willis who they're now going after. We have to walk into gum because we are seeing
trouble on every side. Not to mention this man has decided to tear a hole in the in the east wing of the White House and is seeking his own reparations restitution from the Department of Justice to the tune of two hundred and thirty million dollars. That would be our taxpayer dollars. But every time black folks need something, my good sister, we have to wait our turn, wait in line.
It's not time.
And I think that that is actually a great disservice to our folks.
So here's my issue. I want to know why.
We cannot say we should vote yes on Prompt fifty because that is in our strategic best interest, that is in a line with our political power, that ensures that we have access to the ballot box. And then when we go, there are people who think and hopefully also look like us when we go, because what they've done in Texas and what they're doing in North Carolina, what they're doing in Missouri, and what they're doing in Indiana
and Texas absolutely is racist. Yeah. So if that's the case, we have to have people who will be filters in combat that. But I want them to keep that same energy when black people need to be made whole. So now that's what I wanted to say about that.
Yeah, So I agree, So I don't think that we're incapable of walking and chewing gum, right, But going back to the driving analogy, like you still have to learn how to drive, and everybody hasn't got their lesson, I think is what the argument is in the comment section, right.
So I don't think.
That you're wrong in addressing it, right, putting it out there and being like we need to look at both sides of this. But I think what people are concerned about. But it seemed like what I read comments people are concerned about is what we're learning is a lot of people.
Just can't walk and choose them right.
They either learn how to walk and then learn how to chew, right, or didn't learn how to walk and learn how to chew and now we're having to teach them simultaneously.
Majority, I don't want to say majority.
What we're finding out is a lot of people are more civically illiterate than we probably assume. So I think it's more of a concern from those who are one check minded, right that Okay, well we're not explaining to people, you know about Prop fifty. People are unable to separate Prop fifty from Gavin Newsom, and there in lies the issue.
So why let's talk, let's stop, let let's be right there, let's be right there.
Why Because Gavin is the face and that's all people understand, right, Gavin is the face of Prop fifty. Gavin is the governor. Right, people don't understand it's levels to this. It's the whole state legislator that had to write this and redraw this.
He andrew map the.
First Okay, I'm pretty sure he didn't sit in that meeting. They probably the legislative sat in that meeting, decided what they wanted to do and then put it on his desk and said this will be rolling with. Right, But he is the face, right, all they see is two faces, Chump and Gavin, two white boys duking it out. And that's where we come here to educate and say, Gavin is one thing. Gavin is the artist and Prop fifty is the song. So you're gonna have to separate the artists from the song.
Right.
You ain't really gotta like the artists. You ain't gotta like everything they do, how they move, but that song is a.
Banger right there.
Right, You don't gotta agree with everything they wear or how they speaking, how they talk.
And matter of fact, if they do somebody line, you should call them out.
But that doesn't mean that this one here right here ain't no banger.
Right, So it's teaching people, look this this my gem might even gonna hold you, But I ain't gonna sit at dinner right with.
The artists because I don't really fool with you like that, Right, That's what we have to get people to like recognize as we start to as we work towards doing better at educating people about how civics works and the bureaucracy of it all. But also at different levels, people only know executive, judicial, and legislative.
They don't know who where.
I also question if they even know that, because that's the point. Right, Like you are talking about like they're like timing, I'm like, I didn't choose the timing if I were if I were on his team, and I don't.
Know that you would do this, but if I would have if I'm.
On his team, I'm saying, Hey, if you're waffling at all about doing what's in the best interests of black folks right now, you should hold this until after the election.
That's what I would do. And then that's not I don't know if.
Peoples advised that and didn't listen or what. But I'm like, y'all, I'm not the timing issue here. This happened last week for Mamaria's birthday. We got reparation vetos. Do you understand? And my thing is this, like he has one role and as an executive, he has to sign into a lot or veto legislation that comes to him from the state legislature. That is important to understand. In addition to that, we have a role as the citizens. We can say that ain't cool. I don't like that. I'm gonna hold
you accountable on that. But what I'm not about to do over here is lose my political power. I'm not going to be further restricted. I'm not gonna have ninety Gavins now or worse, ninety Trumps right, because you're not going to represent my best interest. So I'm gonna make sure you do. And the only way I can make sure you do is tell you what my agenda is. Now, here's the real issue on timing. I'm not your timing problem. Friends, Okay, we have not been in alignment on what a black
agenda looks like. We would say and maybe you might be a little younger than me, so you may not remember this. But when when Barack Obama was sworn into office, black people are like, finally we about to get free, y'all. Now people wrote articles like, oh, we're post racial now right, racism is over. It's bad hallelujah. They said, Okay, now, I know he's black. But what we gotta do is we gotta wait till the second term. See, because in the second term, that's when black people gonna get free.
Howbolition is going to be realized when Barack Obama's second term comes. And what we don't always understand is that there are windows of opportunity. If you lose a majority, the window is gone. If you lose you know, the running make the window could be gone. If you lose a particular outline an issue, the window is gone. So what we have to understand is there is never a bad time a poor time to seek justice.
You gotta do that.
And so what my my urging would be, since you're talking about people being typically engaged, is one for the folks who think they are political strategists and have no political background whatsoever.
I'm fine with that. You could educate you too.
Make sure you know that right now is not the midterms, baby, midterms are in twenty twenty six. If you want to be a political strategist and advise people, make sure you let them know that their obligation is to go to the polls. That's their role, but they also that's not the only role we have as citizens.
We also have a role to hold the.
Elected officials accountable, whether we voted for them or not. Right, I want to vote, But if that wasn't your person, that's not the person that you wanted. They still work for you because your taxpayer dollars pay them, and so you have every right to hold them accountable because you're accountable at the ballot box. Right.
But I think also like.
Sorry not to cut you off, but like also emphasizing that part of your civic engagement and civic duty is to have discourse and disagreement and to be able to call out government.
Right.
That's the whole purpose of the First Amendment is to be like, oh, you got me messed up. I need to say something about this, And it does not benefit us not to speak up, because what happens is we play quiet, and we play passive and then we get passed over, but it's our opportunity, right.
For something to turn for us.
We see everybody else getting loud and proud and ignorant and whatever, and they get exactly.
What they're asking for, right, So we also have to.
Be mindful of if we don't say nothing, they don't know we watch it, you know what I mean? Like I always tell people, if that is your RSVP, if you don't speak up and say nothing, you're not URSVP. So why should they care about your issues? So as things go down the timeline right and we start stretching,
he starts seeking other positions and other opportunities. We didn't forget how you did us back in October of twenty twenty five, right when you got aspirations for another day in the future, right, Like that needs to be done. It's also a learning lesson for Gavin and his team as well, because if you didn't pay attention to the fact that this could have caused could cause a ripple.
Effect that none of us won't.
You'll pay attention to it later and know better than to do some crazy stuff like that ahead of time. Right, Like you said, the tiiny issue is not on you. His team put that out there. They allowed it to be out there. He signed that paper on whatevery date he signed it. He knew somebody was gonna have to
say something about it. What you shouldn't underestimate is the power of the black voice to call you out about it and people to feel some type of way you should be put on notice that what you did is.
Out of line.
Black people don't like it and they disagree with it, and that could be an issue for you later, even if it's not one with regards to Prop fifty right now. And I think that's I think that's it too, because what I and I even said is somebody was like, why don't he come on the show.
I was like, he's welcome on the show.
I want to hear his justification for this right and I want to say, like, I think Prop fifty your idea.
You know.
One of the reasons why I think Prop fifty has been hitched to Gavin Newsom is because he was like, oh.
You're doing that, I got answers. I love that.
I think that he has been a formidable sparring partner with Donald Trump. Formidable. I also think he can do better by black people. Yeah, it is not either or it is both. In you can be a formidable opponent to this fascist and you can also do right by us. That is just what it is. And I don't want I'm not in the mentality or and I no longer have the interest to wait my turn. We've been waiting
our turn since sixty nineteen. We've been waiting our turn for something that belongs to us because we ask her to. We'd ask to be here to begin with. And so I think the other thing that I want to do, and then I want to I want to lest some folks in. I want to just touch briefly on on the bills that he did veto, because I think it's worth people in understanding. I also kind of don't like the fact that they're called reparations bills because they're not
traditional reparations packages. Folks got creative, and I want to also apply the legislators that dropped these bills. So again, this is not about voting no on PROD fifty vote yes on PROD fifty, to be very clear, because I know people get confused when too much time goes back. So Assembly Bill seven was introduced by Assembly Member Isaac Bryant past the legislature. This was for post secondary education admissions preference for descendants of slavery. Right, they have Assembly
Member Tina mckinner AB fifty seven. This is the California Dream for All program for descendants of formerly enslaved people. And this is this is a measure that also passed. Tina is based in Inglewood. Here's yeah, Okay, we keep going. The next one by Tina mckinnery is civil Rights, the Civil Rights Department racially addressing racially motivated imminent domain. And then there are two more Assembly members shaw D El Harary.
I think I'm saying that right, a Department of Consumer Affairs measure and licensing in particular that would give preference to applicants who are descendants of slaves and of enslaved people, I like to say. And that Assembly Bill seven sixty six by doctor lache Sharp Collins. This was with state agencies and departments that involve ensuring DEE and I included in strategic plans with state departments. Now, this is my point.
This is something that these are bills that, like, we had measures like this that protected us at least three of the five on the federal government level, these things have been eliminated. So if you want to be a formidable opponent against Donald Trump, that means you have to bring back the things that he's eliminated. That means you have to protect us on the state level where we're no longer covered. That is the theme. Formidable opponent is
not just sparring, it's not just trolling in Twitter. It's also making sure that your policies are the antithesis of fascism. So what he did approve was a study. And this is my other beef. Fopa all that smoke for Wes Moore, for Governor Wes Moore and Maryland for saying, I'm veat on in this study because we juste studied enough, we are clear, and I'm gonna tell y'all that's my guy.
I was mad at him. I was like, you can't beat all this because the message is is bad and he was like, no, I'm ready to move to action. So I'm like, okay, well what's the action. So here's this is the exact opposite situation. Black people introduce measures to say here are the actions we would like to see. And he said, nah, I'm good, I'm gonna take a study. Bertie had a study. San Francisco did a study. People are saying that reparations is not likely in this environment.
Maybe they got reparations in Ebston, they got them in Charlottesville, thinks our good brothers Wes Bellamy. We've seen it.
Happen in Tulsa.
It's not what we want, but it is something. So I need the people who are saying they represent us to be moving in the right direction. That makes us something like Prop fifty easy because we're seeing our political power, because we're.
Feeling empowered in other areas as well.
We come into both.
We got to do both.
So let's let's see.
Who we got in here.
If you all are interested in raising a point, let's say you mad, you mad at something I said, you mad at something they be said. You want to come in and be an an amen corner, We're gonna let you in. The rules of engagement are don't call nobody out their name. Not only would you get removed from the conversation, will likely be blocked from further speaking with either of us. Make sure that you have factual information, otherwise either one of us is liable to cut you off.
We can't even help it. It's the attorney innur.
The thing. We have to make sure that we are having respectful factual discourse. Yes, it's prop fifty all day, but we also want to hear that wherever you are, you take care of black people. I take my nails after that shut out so to get them paid.
Look you see, I got my hands down. Normally talk on my hands, but yeah, you know, okay.
If you want to win in, make sure you send it a request and I'm gonna put you in. There were some people who had already requested. I don't know if they are still wanting to.
We do look k and eye glasses time. They said, it's the glasses for me. We look at you and.
Our little friend jerious hijerious. Okay, So if anybody wants to win in what have.
You, let's let me see.
Here.
Let's see it's y'all they do. You know, I want us to be great. We're gonna have to answer your questions in the comments because for whatever reason, every time I try to add another person to the chat, it kicks off the entire life.
It's so frustrated. But attain like they watch it. We know, not chopping to have you on the list. I'll put the big wretch.
Listen, listen, but I you know, this is the thing. Somebody was in here just over and over again, and I'm just gonna acknowledge him.
So he feels seen. He's just like delete the post.
And that's one of the things that kept coming up to people, are like, well you said this, and I'm like, no, See what you don't understand about me is I'm a truth teller. No matter what, I'll tell the truth about me and let you know, like, hey, I messed up.
For those of you who just came in, I said.
One of the things that I do see as challenging is I didn't love the name of the sticker that was across our video from our social team. But it's fine.
You know, it was a betrayal. I think it's not.
It doesn't it's not town and Mount to sitting at home and not voting on Prop fifty. You should vote. Yes, I'm Prop fifty. But they're different. They're different, and I don't think that we should conflate the two issues. We have an obligation to be accountab with the voting booth. He has an obligation not to for sake, Black people who have been the Democratic Party's base in every city, in almost every city in most states throughout the Union. And there's just an obligation.
So I don't know.
If people have questions, we're gonna have to answer them for me.
Yea son said, I'm new to politics. What do you want me and other black men to do? Vote and then talk to each other about it. And if you don't understand it, find somebody you know, find a trusted source.
You know on this source you can follow me to get.
The information a way that you can understand it and ask questions. That's one issue, like, don't be afraid to ask questions, especially if you don't understand what's going on.
That's gonna help you more than anything. Because you don't ask questions.
If you let somebody feed you a bunch of bullcraps, at some point it's gonna start sounding good to you. So make sure you ask questions and get clarity. But vote yes on Prop fifty.
Yeah right, And if you're in California and.
You have a felony, you may it will be eligible to vote as long as you are not inclustrated. So just because you got a feeling, you don't mean you don't need to go and cast your votes.
You should.
Yeah, exactly, exactly. I love that, somebody said, And now I'm trying to find it. They say, Oh, I'm from Oakland, California. I've voted yes and mailed my ballot already. Good, tell your mom and take your friends, make.
Sure that they all go vote.
Now here is this other issue. I think it's important. I think that we should be able to criticize, to challenge, to hold accountable our elected officials. We started talking about that on the last live that just surprisingly and somehow went out.
But I think that we've got to.
Be able to do both things, and part of that is being really informed. So at the top of the last live, we talked about what Prop fifty was. There's somebody in here asking if they can vote for Prop fifty even though you live in New Jersey. You can't if you're not a California voter. But there should be some version of it that comes out of New Jersey.
You all have an election.
If you're registered to vote in New Jersey, there's an election that's very very important. It's your gubernatorial election. That is, who is going to be the next governor of New Jersey. That is very very important because it will dictate this outcome and how New Jersey responds to this same thing that California has responded to, which is this nationwide decimation
of black political power. What Donald Trump is doing, in lockstep with Republican legislatures, with Republican governors, is trying to prevent us from being able to exercise our franchise and if we do, having to vote for people who don't necessarily represent our best interests. So one of the things that's super scary to me a B is being a
former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus. They're talking about the caucus could be shrunk its sixty two right now, it should be sixty three, but Gray Abbott wanted to wait until November four to fill So that's your turner seat after he passed. May God rest his soul. But what they're saying is we could end up with half the size of the caucus. That we could end up with only thirty somethings members of the caucus. That is devastating.
There were more than that when we were celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the CVC when I was the ED. So that's also very very very important for us to understands. California is doing its part, but this isn't just on California, this is itself.
The nation has a responsibility to respond.
Because we'll also lose our political capital, right and our political seniority within the CVC right Congression of Black Caucus.
That's another major thing.
So when you talk about people sitting on these different committees, in different committee assignments, you know, we got seniority in those places, so we have voices in them, put in those on those assignments. For a reason, these people would
love to put black folks in some RinkyDink assignment. And not that none of them like they all matter, right, but they would love to make sure we don't have access to things like oversight, right, like they don't want to send in those positions judicial whatever the you know, they will do everything they can to keep us out of there. And so again this affects everybody, but it's separate again, voting.
For Prop fifty, voting in favor.
Of voting yes on Prop fifty is separate from criticizing a politician, right, holding them accountables, hold an accountable here that we should.
Also like reframe that like if so.
For example, ABA, you know this, counselor when you have employees, somebody works for you and they're not doing they're not performing as you want them to perform you want them. You're saying, hey, you didn't turn in your weekly report last week, and I need to know what you did. You get the.
Information on what they did, and you're like, well what was you doing? Us?
Asking people who work for us.
Who we pay with our taxpayer dollars is the same.
As reviewing your employee. How are they performing? Did they meet the mark, did they meet the goal, did they meet the deadline? Did they perform as you expected them to perform? You laid out what you wanted. Now this is the part where I think is on us. But you lay out ideally what you want, and you judge them based on whether or not they meet the needs, the priorities, the objectives that you.
Laid out for them.
When they do not do that, you can hold them accountable. You can challenge them in a meeting, you can challenge them in a public forum, or you can challenge them at the ballot box by not voting for them. Now, the other thing that's been scary to me is the number of people who thought that Gavin Newsom was up for reelection, because that's not what we were talking about. Now, to AB's earlier point, you might have been the face
of Prop fifty. He might have been the first one to say I'm feeling froggy and I'm leap unless go Texas, which was great, but like, he's not running for office right now. He is telling us to find our voting power and to recognize that, to realize that, to exercise it by supporting Prop fifty. That is a different ball of wax. Completely.
Absolutely mm hmm.
I agree, And I think that's where we need to separate, right and we have to stop. I understand that people are on different levels when it comes to their civic education, but we don't learn if we don't speak up. And in addition to that, this is the other thing. If you have never said nothing, it would have been a whole hooping negross.
Who would have been like.
People nothing out flouting right.
So then the one time, not saying that this is the only time, but the one time were like, okay, well this discacle, this is specifically for black people, and we're speaking up people that you trust, you know, in leadership positions.
Then spoke up and said so that now you're like.
But you should have said it, say tomorrow, next week, I.
Can tomorrow or just catch up, because if not, we're going to continue to be left behind. And I think this also puts it on us as leaders, us as communicators, right those of us who understand what's happening to also have those conversations. And I've been screaming this since the Pop fifty stuff went down. We got to talk to people who we don't necessarily always agree with or always want to talk to, or who don't look like us.
We have to get outside of our circles.
My number one thing with Prop fifty, which is why I always earn my goals when I do, we'll talk about Prop fifty because I told them, folks, I want to talk to the auntie who come outside with her shower capone and her cigarette hanging out her mouth. She got a three leg dog named Toto, and all she wears flip flops right yup.
Because she's a.
Voter too, and this is going to affect her and she may not be in my inner circle of people, but I have to know how to communicate with her because what happens to her is going to have an effect on me. So I have to educate her and the best way I possibly can and inform her this is what's going on. But in addition to that, I also have the responsibility to give you the tool and say, but if they got you messed up, for me to say something about it, right, I cannot make you feel shackled to a vote.
That's not how it's words. Stuff feels slavery.
And here's the thing. So I want to go into this because a lot of this is where when you started talking about this part, because they probably missed your whole Prop fifty part, which is the problem with the sound by culture we live in. Right, we did a whole thing on why it's so important to vote for Prop fifty. What is Prop fifty Red Street? From the official Voter's Guide from the Secretary of State's website.
We passed that, Yes, we passed that. Now we're in the nuance.
Of what it takes for people to feel seen in the process. So for those of you in the comments, let me make something really clear to you. I've spent my life's work doing this. I just spent my entire summer and part of the spring, going to state after state, city after city, listening to and hearing from people, not talking to them about voting, but just asking them how they're doing, just asking them what they need and where we kind of meet that. I think we mess up
right now. Ab is we will come at somebody and be like, oh, what is somebody you doing? I need you to go vote. We didn't ask them how they're doing. We didn't ask them about their child who's incarcerated. We didn't ask them about that student loan debt that they're carrying. We didn't ask them about the food as if they're living in We didn't ask them if they have clean
drinking water. And my argument is the only way to grow the base, to grow the pull of voters is to make sure that you're taking care of people's basic needs and not bypassing them. When somebody has a disagreement or something that is worthy of a response, you don't just say, oh, you just ignorant and your timing is off. That's not what we do. I think that there's something different. There's somebody in the comments right now saying we're bad
mouthing the governor. No, we do. We're asking the governor to think tactically about what he's doing. If you need voters, if you need to engage in the politics of addition and multiplication, what you don't do is something that is going to cause them to sit down right before a critical election, the critical election for the other folks in the there who are saying, well, who do you have?
If it's not Gavin, then who is it? Gavin is not on the ballot, friends, So you want to be the person engaged in educating the folks who you need to get to the ballot box for Prop fifty And you don't even know it's not a mid term You don't even know that Gavin Newsom is not on the ballot. You're telling me that we're doing the same thing that we did to Kamala Harris.
No ideaable.
What you don't know is that's a big sister to me. I would never What you should be asking is what Gavin was doing to Kamala Harris. Now we'll hold that to November fifth. He was not right or died for Kamala. So y'all out here caping for this man and this man ain't on the ballot. Prop fifty's on the ballot. Your voting rights are on the ballot, Your voter representation
are on the ballot. There's a case before the Supreme Court right now where they're probably going to gut Section two of the voting rights at we're the ones that need to support. Barack Obama did a live yesterday with and that's great. He should people should vote. Yes, I'm Prop fifty. But let me tell you something. We partially are in this mess because there are people y'all go
google who who wanted independent redistricting commissions. So you should go and look who those people are, because they're the same people who probably thought that we were in a post racial era, that we had overcome, that we no longer needed affirmative action, that we probably would never get reparations. They're probably the same people. I am not willing to sacrifice black progress to make a white anybody feel good. You're going to have to do us in the best
needs of my community if you want our votes. That's how that works. But on this particular measure, he's not on the ballot. You're on the ballot. Prop fifty is about our voter representation, and guess what the reason why it really doesn't matter is because Prop fifty and congressional redition doesn't impact Gavin either. It impacts whether or not someone who looks like ab has a seat to actually run in. Do you understand, Like, let's be very clear
about what is on the table. So y'all want to argue whether or not he's gonna be your next president, that's up to y'all. Right, that's fine, but that election is three long years away. Donald Trump has made us feel like it's been one hundred years. We've been a hundred years of slave baby, Like whoa and you want I mean, we're not even on that yet.
This is the longest twenty years on my life and we ain't even a year. And yet you go on.
He started on Martin Luther king Day and I had a dream of a nightmare ever since, honey, Okay, I can't wake up. Yeah, And then that's crazy. They really can't understand. And this is so sad, Doug, I see you in the comments. We're not bashing your governor. We're asking You're asking me about timing. Ask your governor about timy why he couldn't hold his veto at least to the other side of this vote. If he was gonna
veto it. He shouldn't have been beatoing these bills anyway, and then saying that, well, it's because it violates Prop.
Two on nine.
Prop two on nine is an anti affirmative action measure from the nineties. Whether or not you're the descendant of an insulat person does not matter in Prop two or nine. If your lawyers know how to argue the thing, right, come on, counselor m hm.
So that's the point they saying it.
I'm blessing, so I'm gonna go here to be I was passionate.
I wasn't trying to get cash.
I know it.
No, it's okay to be passionate.
I know someone that come and says like, how do we make it simpler to combat the GOP? Right? And I think again, part of it is, this is us simplifying it for you, right, This is us engaging in the conversation and saying, okay, well somebody missed something somewhere, so let's go back and let's talk about it.
Right.
Don't be mad at the eight students.
Right when we come in trying to teach the A medio class, right, we do our best. We got to work together, right, And it's not to say that you know people are dumb, but it's to say that you're not as advancing the knowledge. And that'say, okay, we too are learning how to recommunicate right to the environment that we're in now to get y'all ready, get y'all civically engaged in in client right. So you also have to help us help you by being willing to do the
work and being willing to learn. And again that goes back to asking questions too, because during the election, all I did was sit and talk to people, and I got called slow, stupid, dumb and retarded so much that I don't know what I'm talking about.
You don't understand. You don't live in the hood no more.
You elevated da dada, And I'm like, and I still have family, I still have friends, I still got issues.
I ain't gonna job.
I just graduated law school, you know what I'm saying. So I still have the same issues. So the reality is that we doing our best to communicate, but we cannot do the work that's supposed to be done right. We cannot speak up on behalf of the black community just because some people may be confused then that mean you need to nudge your neighbor and be like, did you get it?
You got the notes?
You know what I'm saying.
You need some help.
Hey, I don't quite get it.
Let me ask the question before you start attacking people. And then we can't get mad when you go attack people and then you get attacked back.
I don't know about you, but don't look you come at me. We're gonna tell for top.
You know what I mean.
This is a I think it's a learning experience for experience for all of us. But then also like we need to stop being concerned about combattling with the GOP because they full of crap and a lot of these you know, Republicans, especially in the House, are maga Republicans.
They came in with Trump. They already believed that they have already been sold on that idea and those ideas. That is where they are.
We now have to reach to our youth right and have these conversations and realize that we having this conversation with youth and adults. So now we all have to work together in community to communicate and teach each other about how democracy works. And part of a democratic society is to be able to say, yes, I'm passing my vote for this, but I still need to let you know you out of pocket.
Right when Martin Luther King Jr. It was him and Lyndon Johnson, right, they was doing this.
They did this all the time. You ain't all the way right. I don't agree with how you moving. Black people need that right to buy vote. You need to sign the vote in the right side, do X, Y and Z right. But you we're still calling out your racism. We're still calling out.
Where you are wrong.
Right, both things. The blind s could be a blind spot. Yeah. One of the things that I really appreciate about the conversation we're having is like, how do how could if we were advising Governor Newsom, what would we have said to not have him in the crosshairs around timing that y'all are trying to project on me. It's not my timing issue. I reported out something he did just last week.
It's not last year.
It was last week again on my mother's eighty second birthday. Now, what I want to say is this, we're both saying we would have advised it. Bruh. If you're gonna make your wrong decision, make that decision after the November fourth election. But really you should reconsider some of the veto notes that I'm reading through. When they veto a bill, governors respond with their rationale for why in the bill about the preferential consideration for descendants of enslaved people. He said,
they can already do that. I don't need to sign this. This law is unnecessary. Just sign it because what it says, right, what it says is that, like we have something a ab I know you know this. In Congress when a bill is submitted, sometimes they have something in the almost like a preamble of the bill that's called a sense of Congress. The sense of Congress establishes intention. Treat that bill like intention, and just sign it into law, you know.
Just it's one of those things where you're like, I want you to know the governor of this state is in alignment with you on values because he goes in some of these and he argues why his administration has already done some of these things, if they've already been done, say, these things.
Have already been done. But here's where we can continue to make advances. Not a problem.
Again, for those of you who are joining late, we are not arguing against Prop fifty, We are arguing yes for Prop fifty, that responsibility belongs to the voters in California. But we're also saying that Governor Newsom can make some different decisions to grow that base, to grow that.
Pull of voters, especially when we need them the most.
And I think that's just what it is, right, And I think to the point of growing the base too. Again, like we have to talk and we have to speak up for that to be a thing. Right, if we are silent and were like, no, we don't we don't want to off tokaydle Right, we don't have a base, right, we don't have a voice because.
They're gonna be like, oh, y'all stuff.
They're not chipping off their stuff, so we're not chipping even, right, And like you said, the blind spots if you don't have people, which is why representation matters, which is why Prop fifty is so important, which is why we are stressing get out to vote, because if you don't have people who look like you, think like you, understand your history, understand what you're going through, who have done the research, who can and will communicate with you, you will not get represented.
And there will be a lot of blind spots, right, and they will be intentional right, and some may just be like, oh, you know, we dismissed it, but we have to be aware that that is an issue too.
Yeah, let me go to this really quick, Sunshine and CALLI. I believe you were dming.
Me as well.
You say, no one is disagreeing with what you're saying, Angela, with all due respect, the timing is the issue. We love you and we thank you for all that you do. Sis, I love you too. I want you to take a monk moment now and just say what timing is the issue? Are you mad that my podcast talked about what Gavin Newsom had done Monday on Thursday? Are you mad that
it was just posted yesterday? Are you mad at Gavin Newsom for having vetoed these measures three weeks before a critical vote, not one where he's on the ballot, but where Prop fifty is on the ballot where we need to exercise our franchise to demonstrate our power. Who's timing? Are you mad at? I think y'all are projecting that on me because all I did was report out just like any news outlet, anybody with an opinion on political matters,
would report out. Here's the you know what I'm saying, Like they're talking about the timing if you said it now or three years from now. I'm not gonna wait three years for black people to get justice. I'm just not gonna do that.
So I'm so sorry that you think that we have time to wait.
Maybe talk to Lamonica mc ivor and Fannie Williams and Tis James. There is no time to wait. The more that they dehumanize us any And this isn't just on Gavin Newsommer of the State of California, this across the board, across the board.
Yeah, these are.
Issues that we face for centuries in this country. Our humanity has been questioned for centuries. So I can say, hey, I am questioning your judgment here, and I can still say, but over here you was a g Prop fifty is great, but yes I'm Prop fifty. And also, you're not doing my people like this over here, right, I'm not waiting because our lives are on the line, Like right now where you and I are talking, it's somebody that's just realizing when this weekend comes, they're not about to get
their next pay check. TSA Workers have not been getting a check since the end of September. Timing is everything, and we have to move different. We have to be strategic in this moment when the federal government is saying, if you do this, we're not checking for you. There are a lot of governors, and you know, there's two mayors who are saying, finally, just won't.
Get federal funds. In one of his veto knows.
He literally says he's not going to be able to do this because this is for the californ and Dream for All program, where there would have been ten percent of the fund set aside for descendants and form of enslaved people. He says here that they already made historic investments to expand equitable access to home ownership, but he also says that expanding the program in this way could jeopardize access to federal mortgage markets. Well, here's the thing.
This is the same federal government that has dismantled or decimated or defunded Civil Rights Division offices in every government agency. We can't do what the government will approve because the government isn't doing what's needed for the people. This is the same government that is willing to let healthcare premiums rise two, three, four, even five times. We can't do what what is gonna work for federal funding?
For me?
Spoke, we gotta do the right thing.
Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry.
Yeah.
If people's only issue is timing, then well then we're doing good.
I can agree on the substance we just don't agree on when you raise.
I hear that, all right, then we're doing it. Okay. You don't like when when it.
Got done, then you could be mad at Gavin Toode for signing it right before this happened or not or.
Not signing it. Yeah, sorry, not signing this, you know.
Excuse me?
Yeah, so I mean I need to study.
If you still can't get federal funding, what we're gonna do.
And again, like the issues have to get get red roads right, we have to.
Talk about them.
But if they follow you interpret what you said, we're not doing anything that Gavenue is says.
Okay, so.
This is an interpretation issue and not a communication issue.
Right, understand what she's saying. She didn't even answer me. I'm tiring she didn't wrot up a new argument. I responded to seeing people in California, they follow you, interpret what you said, as we're not doing anything that Gavin Newsom says yes to, including Prop fifty. They didn't say that.
That's all I know about.
So I think we'll just tell him to say yes for me at a B because me and AB said say yes to prophem.
Yes I'm Prop fifty, right, Yes, I'm Prop fifty.
And I think that they're gonna harm themselves. Gavin Newsom is not going to be in a redrawing congressional district. He's a governor. This isn't for Gavin Newsom. This is for our political power, and he's termed out.
He's leaving next year.
He is termed out. Right, this is his last rodeo as governor. He got a little bit of time to get his team together for whatever he decided he's gonna do next.
Right, but he's turned out at this point.
He is just a.
Face, right, and now we have to learn how to separate the face from the proposition.
That's right, that's just what it is.
Prop fifty is about us as citizens, as American people, period. Prop fifty is about us, about us having representation, about us choosing our electors and not them choosing us. About people who look like us, think like us, breathe like us, talk like us, and been through what we've been through, having an opportunity to go represent us in the federal government.
That is what Prop fifty is about. It.
Don't gotten when when Gavin Newsom is long and damn gone, Prop fifty gonna still be what it is.
Yeah, right, well.
Only until twenty thirty.
That's the other thing.
This is a TIARS thirty six, and so that's the next.
Thing I want to do.
Yeah, I was gonna say, because come twenty thirty, they're going to be going back to our commission.
Right, we end up legislators don't have nothing to do.
They're going back to looking at the senses, which is when we were supposed to readraw lines anyway, But Republicans decided to cheat because they know they can't win during the twenty twenty six mid terms without cheating. You ain't got to rig the game if you good, if you know what you're doing, if you're balling the way you're supposed to be bothering, you ain't got to inflate your ball.
If your skills is.
On point, if the people agree with you and they rocking with what you're saying, if you have as many black people jumping over to the Republican bandwagon as you said, if you have as many black men jumping over, if you have as many Latino men and women jumping over to your bandwagon as you said, and if the only people voted for Democrats are as y'all say, illegals and criminals, then you shouldn't have nothing to worry about. You had everything in the world to worry about, which is.
Why they let off the gun.
And every Republican state is trying to figure out where they can grab some more seats.
You don't have to cheat.
If it's cool people have voted the way they wanted to vote. But a lot of these red states have been jerrymander and the reality is they are are undoing the things that civil rights leaders y'all, granny's y'all auntie, your great auntie, your great grandmother who marched.
And may have gotten beat right and may have.
Gotten ridiculed, may have lost their job, may have gotten threatened. The people whose houses got burned down because they wanted.
The right to vote.
And now all we gotta do is show up and mark yes on Prop fifty that have that opportunity and we're arguing.
About not criticizing some white man.
That's the issue.
It's not about Timy, It's about where our minds are at right now. We have to fight for ourselves. The white man ain't gonna save us, so he might have to get cussed out from time to time, whether we agree or disagree. They ain't got no problem telling us how they feel about.
Us at no point in time.
Before a trial, after a trial, before an election, during the election, in the middle of an election where we ain't even thinking about an election, they do it at all times. It is us who have to get out of the mindset. We gotta be cool and shut the job around Messa.
We not slaves no more.
But if we continue to think that like that, they will have control over us and the way, we will never come out of this.
So right about now, our focus is yes on Prop.
Fifty so that we continue to have our rights and we continue to have an opportunity to fight. We cannot fight with our hands tied behind our back. They are dismantling devoting rights at They plan in our face every which way. And we see here arguing about telling the white man you out of line for some stuff that Ain't got nothing to do with him and everything to do with us.
I'm done well, I agree, and with that, the doors of the church are open.
We began and we'll end.
This Instagram live There will also be available as a special episode of Native Lampid, a solo pod. Y'all have me working this week. I already did Tuesday, but AB came through us and assists. I'm really troubled by some of the things that I'm seeing, particularly just the division amongst our folks. I think that we can say vote yes. I'm Prop fifty again. It's a bill that authorizes our proposition that authorizes temporary changes to congressional district maps in
response to texas As partisan redistricting efforts. It is a legislative constitutional amendment. It requires an action by the voters. And at the same time, we are requiring that those who we pay, who are in elected office, who pay them with our hard earned taxpayer dollars, that they also are accountable to us. But they also taking a consideration what we need for policy. And here's one more thing I'll just add, y'all, I want you to continue engaging
in this conversation. Don't play politics as a zero sum game. You don't win that way. It's all about nuance, It's all about what's in the gray. And it's important for you to be educated throughout. When people are trying to educate you and you still find that their position is different than yours or there's a slight disagreement or a slight variation, you ain't got to call people out their names. You ain't got to disrespect people. You don't have to
come at people and start talking about out. You know, oh you sold out? Are you getting paid to do this? Let me be clear for both of us. I'm gonna talk to talk about me and my sister here. Don't nobody pay us for our positions.
Okay, we walk.
Up like this. Okay, we're very clear about who we are, what we stand for, and we are going to collectively work towards deliberation of our people at all times, especially in these dangerous and unprecedented times. So yes, bo, Yes, I'm Prop fifty and that is the least you can do. I urge you to get involved. I urge you to make demands. A shout out to state to the people. We had a black papers policy project that was led by David.
Jermaine Johns, Doctor David Johns got.
Over one hundred policy experts to write more than thirty five black papers. You can see what an agenda will look like when we come together. That then got pulled off in six weeks. We can do hard things. It's our version of Project twenty twenty five, and it's one that advances the needle on our stuff because we have every right to make demands of this government. We built this thing. We're gonna make sure that we are seen, heard and protected by this thing, and if not, we're
gonna build a new one. That's that on that Welcome home, y'all, Love you, ad love you, thank you for having me, Thank you, Sis, I'll take you care. Bye bye. Native Lampard is a production of iHeartRadio in partnership with Reezon Choice Media. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.