Politics and Fashion

It was in Albany, Albany, my Brother's Keeper Foundation. They take young educated boys, black and brown boys, and they you know, they joined this organization in which they take them on trips and they educated them. They give them leadership classes and you know, and they have to maintain a certain g p A. So it was just dope to see young brothers like that. That's what's up. That was during the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus up in Albany, New York this weekend. A lot of great stuff happened

up there. So this week we wanna talk about fashion week. You know, fashion week is probably something we wouldn't really be discussing on this show, except there were more claims of racism within the fashion industry. A model, you know, a model has said that she was asked to wear some things that she didn't like and didn't feel we're appropriate. So we'll talk about that. Bloomberg has entered the race, um, and he's coming fools. No, yeah, but that's not no,

we're not going to do that. Mini, just absolutely outrage. But anyway, no, seriously, we should not be named calling um. But anyway, he's he's in the race now. And there's been a lot this weekend on this Bloomberg thing, and I want to definitely unpack it all you want to unpack the Bloomberg. There is then a day on Mississippi the Parchment prison situation. Uh, there have been more deaths in fact to this weekend, the total that the state has been has sort of agreed to, if you will.

And reason why I say that it is because there's a different number coming from the streets. The streets say more people have died, but the state has released about nineteen people who have died under their care. And this has been over the last like two or three months, so it's really a crisis. Um. And then of course, you know, I give my update on the coronavirus, because I watched the coronavirus like I'm watching a storm. I'm watching it every single day. Uh, eighteen thousand, Lord, excuse me,

let me get that right. Eighteen hundred people have died, and that does not diminish in all the number, because eighteen hundred, eighteen thousand whatever. It is a virus that is going thripping through UM any particular country and and now spreading into other places. Is is dangerous, and it's something that we have to be vigilant about and pay

attention to. UM. You know, as I was watching MSNBC this morning, they were talking about the flu, regular influenza flu, and how many more people have died this year from the flu than the coronavirus. So when you put it in perspective, what they've said is that most people who get the coronavirus, they just have regular symptoms, like they have a cold, and so long as they don't have other health challenges, you know, elderly or very very young, you should be okay. So it's not a cause for

us to panic and be super concerned. But I never believe anything that anything that spreads this fast, uh, can be quite dangerous, just to reiterate that when you put it in perspective in terms of the regular influenza flu that all of us are subjected to every day as we travel about, go to work, go to school, your kids go to school, and all of that. Actually, pe for are dying more from the flu than they are

from this. However, this particular virus has come forward in a shorter period of time and it's you know, and and the numbers are pretty high, so you know, be vigilant, because I'm certainly being vigilant. Oh and guess what they said on MSNBC today as the number one thing that any individual should do is to wash their hands. How did you know? Because I'm on the guys around me all the time about just washing their hands. That's it, just washing hands. But it brings me to my thought

of the day. My thought of the day is around a comment on an Instagram post, so I talked about parchment prison. I posted that another man died over the weekend, and a young woman wrote to me in the comments I thought jay Z was handling this. And I sat and really pondered on that, like, Wow, I thought that jay Z is handling the jail people to keep dying

in the prison. So she thought jay Z was handling it because she's seen yeah I And I responded to her and said, one man cannot help or cannot solve four hundred plus years of oppression, and she wrote back to me, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm talking about Parchment prison, Like what are you talking about? And it just totally went over her head. And then I felt bad because I realized that one I did not invest enough in

that conversation. I probably should have had more dialogue with her, because I think I lost after that because she never came back. But the only thing is so many of our people. I looked at her profile and she's and you know what, today, since I did look at her profile, I'm gonna go DM this sister and fix my error. And the teacher and an educator and carr in and not out um. But I thought about how so many

of our younger people. I really think that there is an elevator to justice and an elevator to success in general, and there is none. Like you have to take the staircase. It's the long hard way. And everything that we're talking about today, from the Fashion Week piece to presidential politics to Parchment Prison. It's a process. It's a process. There are steps to move forward for us to just always diminish any level of growth and evolution that we make

in progress that we make. We we we we shortend ourselves. We don't give ourselves an opportunity to grow. We don't we look for the microwave answer to everything, and that's not really I think social media has kind of created that where people want to see something go from start to completion quickly. But I also understand it, which is why I want to go back to that young system

and have a conversation with her. I also understand that people kind of feel like this so much bullshit happening in the world that it's like, yeah, show me to nitty gritty, like get me quickly to what what's the plan here? Right, because folks don't necessarily feel invested or confident about what Jay's doing with the NFL, what you and I may be doing in Parchment Prison, what they're just not and they don't feel like they're the comfort of their living room has gotten any better. And I

get that. It's like people are looking for the tangibles. So if people are still dying in Parchment prison, Then what the hell are we all excited about when these moments come where we do have uh, where we we

we tout success. So for instance, on the updates, right, the first thing that happened was Unit twenty nine is closing down now by the way, keeping it all in perspective, and I want to make sure that I write down so we go back to your point about the P S A s and what what they've done, um one jay Z. But to keep it all in perspective as it relates to you. In the twenty nine it was never supposed to be open in the first place. It

was not. It was actually a condemned building where prisoners were moved because things were happening in the unit that they were in and they were trying to get control. I believe that they were in more of like a um like a dormant, a dorm when you call it a dorm status, dormitory status, right, yeah, a dormitory status. It was more communal, and because of a couple of incidents that took place, they moved people to an older

jail that was more secure. So they say, because there were more cells and what have you, UM and so they and so that building was already condemned, hadn't been open in many, many years. Someone says, at least a decade, that's what I heard, that it had not been open. And so the fact that they put prisoners in that building in the first place was asolutely wrong, crazy outstand it just out just ridiculous. All the words you want to think of to describe wrong, and a crime should

never They should never have moved prisoners there. So when they come out and say we're closing down you and it's incremental, it's like, you know, it's incremental, It's like, okay, but the reality is, actually it was supposed to be closed and it really wasn't and y'all just used it for the time being because you didn't have any will to put it. So it's kind of like a little bit of fools go. It's it's a little bit of fools.

But the reality situation is is something that wasn't happening the day before, right, So that's what we have to be able to explain the nuance in all of this. To our we don't feel like, you know, it's having a conversation with my brother David Banner, like we have real conversations. He'll call me and just check on me from time to time, and he was like, a people are jaded, like we need a win, he said, they want to see wins, like we have to give them

something as tangible. We have to we have to make the goal. We have to set a goal, and we gotta win that goal and say, look, we got the goal that we said, right, because they want to fight and they know that we need justice, and they know they wanted quality and equity and all of those things, but they haven't seen a real win. They don't even know where the wind looks like. And we're not presenting it like, look, we want this. So I think I think that's them, and I think also it's you know.

And then and then if you don't feel like you're winning the larger fight, then you just gotta win in your little box. So it's like I go to work, I take care of my kids. We're not havn't you know. We're not trying to cause any problems. We don't want any problems. We're doing the best we could do right here and this little this little area. And so since we can't win the larger battle, let's just focus on our our home and our you know, our little four

square miles around us. So on the Parchment piece, the other update is that because of the lawsuits that jay Z filed, they now are able to go into the prison with inspectors, so people who are able to look into the sewage system. That's another it's incremental. They're going in to be able to look at the jail and be able to assess what the prison and assess what is happening there, what the conditions are, and how the prisoners are living. That's important because you need that for

your lawsuit. You also need that so you're able to continue to have conversations with the local government to talk about why things need to happen now, not waiting for a lawsuit that's in ten years and five years, but right now there has to be steps taken to deal with the humane the humanity of those people who are locked up inside of Parchment prison. Um and so you

know that that also was another big step. But again someone wrote on my Instagram page there was a report that was like three hundred pages that came out five or six years ago that basically condemned the prison. So why are we here now? And I think that why, you know, like, why now all of a sudden are we talking about a new report. It seems like it's just basically a merry go round, go round and round.

But the thing that folks have to understand is that opportunity, timing, and and and and and and circumstances all have to sort of meet, right, So you could have a report out from five years ago, but then five years ago they may not have been as much movement on the ground, you know, they may not have been as much energy where people are out there calling for justice around this

issue or or bringing attention to the outrage. And then, unfortunately, which is what I wrote in my post yesterday, when you're fighting, you're in a major fight against this system. People get hurt, people even die. And in this moment, the components that are coming together is that you have someone like Jay Z and Rock Nation Team Rock that's out there suing the Department of the well not Department of Justice, but they're suing the Department of Corrections, suing

the state on behalf of these prisoners. Then at the same time you also have us, all of us out there bringing attention to the local fight where Ms. Sharon and Lukia Mamamba and Leah Campbell and Danielle Holmes Um the Poor People's Campaign, the Mississippi Prison Coalition, they're out there, so that you have those two things coming together and then unfortunately you have loss of light, so you have more attention on the situation and therefore you may be

able to move uh towards exactly. And that's what. Oh yeah, I just want to march and rally, and I'm trying to march and I try to explain to him it's about bringing awareness. It's about bringing awareness and also unifying people with like minds. The people that you know are gonna be by the side to see how many people

actually share a frustration from one subject. When when the government officials see that and when we put that on the news, it makes them say, Okay, we don't need some type of uprising from our people because the people are not happy. So if we don't deal with their issues and talk about what they they're angry about, then we're gonna have a problem. So when people cant, oh,

I don't know about launching, No, it's definitely necessary. Like you said, you know, these things bring awaitness and because it's highlighted because Jay Z is talking about it because you know, um, the people are dying and we're able to put this on national news because those things that happen is it moves the need of a lot faster than situations that are happening in other towns of other states.

Who where we putting together departments. It happens and this this right here, Unfortunately, the life, the lives that have been lost in this situation, it is probably gonna pay the way so other lives don't have to be there's

a sacrifice. And unfortunately, just like years ago in the Attica it's when those brothers low state life because they was being treated in humane, you know, and the change the New York justice system, correction system, a lot of things that they weren't able to get, you know, visits and packages and things of that nature. They fought and

died for those things. So we look at a different, different time in a new moment to recreate what justice looks like with prison reform looks like, and even imagine someplace where that is in prison. But in the process there's going to be reforming real Yeah, you know, I got a call from a woman, um the other day and our our co founders, Linda Sarsoo and Angelo Pene attorney Angelo Pinto. But with me and I just happened to put the call on speaker phone. Didn't even know

who was calling. In fact, it was a nine oh one number that I get calls from often, but I don't answer because I don't know who it is. But this day I answered the phone. I put the lady on speaker phone, and she says to me, Hi, uh. You know. She was an older countrywoman and she said that she was trying to get someone to check on her son and Parchment that he told her he didn't even have clean water, that the water is brown, and she's trying to get on the visiting list, but no

one will answer the phone for her. She's worried about her son, doesn't know what's going on. And then she said, and do you know why he's in there? And I said, I said, well, what happened to him? Man? She said, he supposedly, you know whatever, So less than a hundred dollars worth of drugs to an undercover cop. And do you know how much time they gave him? Sixty years? Because that's how the justice system, the injustice system plays.

You know, I know so many individuals who have lesser crimes, who have done non violent crimes and a servant life in prison, who have life in prison. So I've seen you know, the most drastic and you know, inhumane sentences, sentences for situations that most of are done out of poverty and confusion. You know, these are poverty is crimped

and itself. That's something we say all the time. And you know, and the system should be on traal for for making us living poverty to continuously live in poverty, from not providing opportunities in space to where people able to live above poverty. So you know, when you when you criminalize, over criminalize, you know, people who commit crimes out of poverty stricken conditions. It's just it makes no sense.

And that's what we're seeing in parture and that's what we most of those jails are, especially in those racist towns, because the laws are designed to completely cripple and the track black black and brown men. But you know, it's like who what men and women? You know, do you

put the cart before the horse? What they say, the chicken all the egg, Because on one hand, you know, I want to say, regardless of of the poverty, no matter where it is that I come from, what it is that I've been through, Choosing to knock a old lady over the head, or shoot a cop, or you know the different things we know of sell drugs and all of that should never be an option for us. And there are so many people who were able to navigate poverty, navigate all of these things. But there's a

way more people than weren't. So you're talking about the exception, not the rule. And I have that conversation with people all the time, not making it an excuse, but there's a reason. You know, if you look, if you look at trajectory, if you look at the real statistics, ninety more ninety plus people don't get out of those conditions. You know, the amount of people that actually overcome those situations and pull itself abody own bootstraps, it's very low.

And we look at them and we celebrate them, like when we celebrate the rich black people, and we look at it. We aspired to do that, and you know, and a lot of times people say, look, you can do this, and you can do this. Everybody doesn't have those opportunity means. A lot of these people is what what it takes to be successful in wealthy in America.

There's a culmination of things. There has to be skilled, there has to be dedication, there has to be luck, you know, and then it has to be some lessons. All these things got to happen at the exact same time. For those things that happense, opportunity is most important. If you look at most of our successful blacks in our culture, they were seconds away from losing their freedom or their life.

A lot of people have aspirations to have the skill and even have the wanting to do things with the opportunity just han't caught up to, you know, their urge. So that's what we're looking forward to, actually see some opportunities to present them. Well, yeah, opportunities. Well, a woman had much opportunity. She has been a model for fashion

Week for a long time. I think she said many years she's been doing fashion Week, but she never experienced something like what happened to her, uh this particular year fashion week. She says she was asked to wear um some airrings that were like big red lips. And when you say big red lips, you have to think about what black face looks like and understand the red lips

was a huge part of the black face representation. UM. And then the other thing was some other accessories that were monkeys, and they asked her the way that's a black woman to wear this during a show and she said no, she refused to wear it, UM and she said, you know it was It was a very difficult moment for her, probably the worst that she's ever experienced while

doing these shows. But they went on even though they did not make her wear them, well, they could not make her wear them, uh, and the issue was dropped. They still allowed other people to wear them. So you still see pictures in the New York Times, the Daily News of other models wearing these very very hurtful and racist symbols. But you know, she didn't participate in it.

Are we surprised, No, it's not about being surprised. And another thing that I remember that she said that one of the people told her and the story that it's okay to be uncomfortable for I bet you a white person like just just to sit there, just think about that. I'm telling you that something is making me uncomfortable that I don't want to wear it because it's going to get something that I feel and they look, don't worry about it. Just be It's okay to be uncomfortable seconds

somebody's moral compass. You know, that's an insult to their racial you know, heritage, and you tell them just be uncomfortable for seconds, but okay, continue, No, no, you you continue. I mean, it's just it's just people tell us that all the time. I just want to say for the sister that I I really appreciate the fact that her

career be ruined because now she's a troublemaker. She's too difficult to deal with as a black woman, she's too aggressive, and I'm sure all the stereotypes are being thrown around in the industry to describe her for making this taking this stance. But we as black women, let me speak as a black woman, are so proud that she stood up and said no. And sometimes that's what it takes

is to just say no, I won't do it. So yeah, just say no. And I mean that, like, don't allow people to make you feel uncomfortable for a few moments. But at least she knew there was something to feel uncomfortable about. Because I'm so I'm sure some people slap them ear rings right on and put those stories on them with like bring it on. They don't have a clue because they don't know their history. And obviously she's

been exposed and knows what these symbols mean. So lots of love to the sister, thank you was standing up and doing what she needs to do. But it just makes me think about last year around the Gucci black face sweater, and you know, I just sometimes my people, my people, my people. It makes me feel so just worn out right because there were people who really tried to argue with me last year when Gucci released their their sweater um and the sweater again it was like

half a face, a black face sweater. You can find it all on online. There was major outrage about this sweater. I think it was like eight hundred and something dollars they were selling. This sweater was on the wrong way and it was a big thing for them. They thought they had done something good and until people saw it and said what the hell is this? Like, you know, it was it was totally inappropriate and it was clearly a re enactment or if you will, or redesign of

black face. And there were people who tried to argue that we were making too much of a big deal out of it. It was just a sweat. It didn't necessarily look like black face. Why are we always trying to bring up old things in our history? And it's almost like we don't understand how stuff is connected, Like we think that things happened just by you know, just it just sort of like just happens. It's not Moses, yeah,

bias Moses. It's not connected to other issues. So now what we see, because remember the most thing about it is I don't want to but if we can be right, then why I even deal with it? If it's possible, If it's possible, if we look at this and said, and this is really really too similar to something that resembles black face, it triggers a lot of people. So since we can be right and it could actually be

based on that, let's just not do it at all. Right, resemblance that was the word I was looking for earlier, exactly. But but it wasn't just Gucci during that time. Product maybe a few months before that had some like black face, Hea Rains, Montclair had something, and then Burberry had a few incidents and I love Burberry, uh, and they had a few incidents with racist things. I think the one that really was like just oh, it was a noose.

The woman at a fashion show last year fashion week was asked to wear a noose with her outfit as a part of a Burberry display during fashion Week, and that that model said no, she wouldn't wear it. So it's like, why do people not understand that all of this stuff. Somewhere along the line, a decision has been made and these designers are playing into it that they're going to try to bring back an error that was

extremely demeaning. What that was, an error that was extremely demeaning and oppressive and racist and violent towards black people. Like that's what they're doing, they're testing. So when we made the claims last year, you know about what Gucci had did and what product had did, and we took that sting in a lot of people saying we were trublemakers.

But there's a trend. You know, it hasn't stopped it. Understand, it's not gonna end because they didn't see a big enough outrage and people didn't make them feel like it was completely off right. And see Gucci's uh, their stocks fell by third last year. Their sales were down by a third last year. During this time that the black

face issue happened because people actually were protesting. The whole thing was that Gucci was going to that They hired a chief diversity officer, a woman who I think is amazing, but I'm not even sure that the woman is black. And the issue was about there, uh there, what they had done to offend black people. Um, so that's one. Then second, they're supposed to be distributing five million dollars,

which is nothing. That's no money, period. But nonetheless they were supposed to be distributing in five million dollars to organization is that do social justice work. I have checked with all the people I know, and no one has received the five million dollars. Maybe out you know. Trust me, I have a box full of belts and things that I want to wear, and that a bunch of other Gucci stuff that I would never be able to put on. I'll never wear it again in my life ever. And

that because we don't need that one brand. It's very we don't. We don't need them at all. We could just say if you disrespect us one time, we're done and we're moving on. And and the fact that their stocks was down during the time that we were protesting, is a good sign for our people. We probably would not be at the point today where a model is being asked to wear monkey ear rings and monkey lips.

But if Yo and I can't wait for us to get into the Bloomberg thing, and I hope I can even get my words out properly because I'm so frustrated. Do we want to be free or we just want master to be nicer? That's the question we have to because getting free would mean that the entire industry is so shaken by what happened, that no one has a fashion show with black face and and monkey ear rings,

and that no more nooses and body chains whatever. That would be freedom, because true freedom would say that every single fashion house we know we have to hire, do whatever is necessary to have diversity and sensitivity to racial concerns, and that these things cannot ever happen again. But because of the fact that they see, just give a little five million dollars, hire a little you know, person, one or two people here. And I don't want to say little as it is relates to a woman who I

believe is qualified. But let's just hire someone and that's all we gotta do. So even if we get in trouble, it goes away because once we get a few Nigros that are willing to stand with us, it'll be cool. Now, mind Judis is some of the same people who refuse to ever talk to Jay Z again exactly Bloomberg. So listen, please don't be Trump because I can't. I don't think that's cool. And well it's not because it's not necessary. It's very similar to the same thing that Snoop did.

The conversation changes from the actual issues to name calling, and it's not necessary. Listen to me, I think name calling and um cursing somebody that you say Doomberg and you say many, But why okay when you say many, Mike, what you're doing is basically trying to point out something that some people see as a shortcoming of someone, and

it's insulting. And I'm just trying to figure out how we get ourselves to the place where we can actually talk about the issue without having to de need or degrade. Let me tell you something that's a beautiful in ideology, you know, in theory, what you're saying is so beautiful. But we have a president in the White House, who has shown you that your theory doesn't work. It does work for the people that I don't. I'm not gonna ever,

don't compare me to him. But what I'm trying to tell you is this, we are in all gloves off error and you still playing by the political correct situation, morally correct. This ain't going to do it does because I don't need Yeah, and I was I have been wrong when I said it, But even still, I'm not gonna sit up here on a on a national platform, international platform and start calling people out there name. But so you do it on a regular platform, I think

there are different conversations. That's where the problem we are at it. We are at a time in America with the people that's voting, the young kids, they want to hear somebody that that that that's talking the language. Are you serious? Serious? That's why we got the world people, though we did not get Trump in the White House because of what he says. Because then you're putting yourself in the same bucket as the element of folks who voted for him. What do you mean I know who

did not vote for Trump? Who are the people that I work with, the people I love the people who who we are in the struggle every time they get you know, why do we have to resort to the same stuff that those people who we don't agree with because we didn't vote for that process. What I'm trying to tell you is I understand your premise. I'm just saying it's not that big of a deal and it's not that serious because people are gonna laugh and sometimes

you gotta have you gotta joke about something funny. And I and you know, I'm like totally not a supporter of Bloomberg's, but I still don't think it's funny to call people many and and Doomberg Dooomberg. Why it's as hilarious Michael Doomberg, because if we will be doomed, That's exactly what I had to say. Okay, well, there's some people that say that's not of that. He's got great platforms, he's got a lot of money, and everybody was saying that we got a lot of money, and he's got

a lot of money. He's gonna give us money, and he's giving us money to say these things that we're saying because he's got money. But the whole point, we got changing because he's got money. Because he's got money and he can and he can stand up, he's gonna and call him names. Yeah, he's gonna make the same back and forth. So people can't have this moral code right and say that Trump is the most disgusting person.

And when you look at Bloomberg over the history of what he's done in New York, his policies, his rhetoric, the way he's talked about people. If you listen to the tape that they have out now when he says you can pretty much zerox. You know what what the criminal look The description of a criminal is when he's young, he's black, between fifteen and this and four, I think, and you just throw them up against the wall, and you get the guns, and you get whatever, and and

you just keep throwing them against the wall. So when you can have a conversation about somebody who said that, who a year ago sat there and praised the ninety four crime bill, who has never apologized until he decided he was running for election for what he did with stopping FIRS, you know, when we can sit there and praise somebody like that, we have lost that way. We've

been gone. No, no, no, no, we've been gone, but this right here is the ultimate because you're voting you you're telling me that you're gonna replace Lucifer was saying, because that's that's what this is exactly. You You are pretty much going to vote a multi billionaire into office who has less allegiance than the multi millionaire that we just vote. And you see what that means. Why why do you think Trump has any elite And he doesn't.

But I'm just trying to tell you he has less money, so he might need a couple of people to donate here and there that they might have to act like I like you people, and I needed you to do this more. Michael bloom Work has changed the laws in New York State to fit him. He had three terms and then when he voted to get him a term, changed the laws. Then't got out of office and got this and change the law back so nobody else can

do it. What you The things that you're naming are so traumatizing to me as a New Yorker who not I wasn't just I'm not just a regular New Yorker who just goes about work every day. I literally was in the belly of the fight against Bloomberg and his policies. At the time, I worked for Revenew Sharpton, who was one of the leading voices um again stopping frisk in

the city. And we worked alongside a lot of folks, the eight the in the New York Civil Liberties Union, unions in general, like eleven ninety Knot the Black Zeo, the current mayor uh An in double A, CP Hazel Dudes, Marvin byng Um, I mean, you name it. We were working together to fight against Bloomberg and the stopping FRIS policy. Yo, when I listened to people on the news, It's like I'm living in the twilight zone. Ended stopping FRIS. No,

he didn't just end stopping FRIS. First of all, he went to court and spent millions of dollars trying to fight against the end of stopping frisk, even after a judge ruled it unconstitutional. And he didn't just he didn't, and and all of those things didn't just happen. We put fifty thousand people in the street down Fifth Avenue to his house on Father's Day in order to get the real attention of of of New Yorkers and people

across the country. This didn't just happen. And I remember because I said blood, sweat and tears, and some people like, oh, you know, you're being dramatic, and sometimes we are a little dramatic. But whatever, they're like this, we're being dramatic. No, no, no, I remember in the midst of the Sean Bell March.

During the Sean Bell March, I remember there being so much confusion and tension between the police and the protesters and all of that that people got cut and bruised and they were literally bleeding because I had on a white jacket and the blood was on my jacket when I got home. And Sean Bell, for those people who don't know, he was shot um when police fired forty bullets at his car on his wedding day. Joe Guzman was hit seventeen times in that shooting. Uh and Trent

Benefield was also shot in the car. And Sean Bell died before his wedding. Okay, this this happened under the Bloomberg era. It's not like I just don't and and so they're like, well, he apologized, but to your point, he apologized right before running for president. Jud just show up because you need something. And now of a sudden, you're sorry, and then people don't even give you a fight. Like I thought we were in a primary season. So in the primary season, what I thought happens is that Okay,

Bloomberg wants to run. He apologized. Cool. Now we sit here and we look at the different campaigns and the different candidates. We asked some questions, We do the work. I didn't know that we decide that as soon as somebody jumps in the race that more that a hundred black mayors that uh, you know, all types of prime and the figures would just decide to crown someone that the Black delegation has not has not considered. And I'm gonna tell you there are a lot of people who

are coming at me saying and there. People are respect their people. I respect. Most of them are much older, and I do listen to them when they come to me and give me advice. But I think that they are making there's a miscalculation that's going on here that we're just gonna deliver the black vote to Bloomberg without making sure that he has had to court this community. That's not gonna happen. My thing is this, and I'm gonna tell you this. I don't listen. I'm telling you

on National TV. I would not vote for Bloomberg if God came down and told me. If God came and said it, that's the only way I would do. Listen. If God came and told me I had God might send me to hell Michael Bloomberg. It's a lot of people that said Michael Bloomberg could not get a vote for me if he was the last candidate, and a lot of people say didn't have anything else if he was he had the Last Drop award, and I was

thirsty for me. The calculation that because a black mayor or a black influencer has decided that to crown Bloomberg does not necessarily translate to people on the ground. It doesn't. And that's and that's what That's what I'm trying to tell you, that Bloomberg is trying to buy the election. And when you look at the support from people, because as people are swayed by the media, and that's what happened. He is a media you know, a media tycoon, pretty and he knows how to speak, he knows how to

spend the media. So what happened is over a short period of time he has been able to train people to say brush and train people say, well, Bloomberg is the person everybody is saying, so let me go with that. It's become familiarity. And he knows that when you put something everywhere all over the media, if you control the media, you control the people. And that's what's happening at this time.

But the people don't haven't really brought into they thinking that they don't have a day like, oh well, people are saying this or they don't support because most of them don't even know what he's talking about or what he's done, so they just seeing something. It's just been thrown at them at once. So that's what the word is. But the reality is he does not have the support.

He has not courted this this committee. Well, he's supposed to drop a criminal justice criminal justice platform and dropping his to be one of the best platforms because he obviously has some strong people, people who I love. I'm very hurt and disappointed. Uh in there seems like blind support. What I'm saying is, don't try to come and tell me about all these wonderful things about Bloomberg. Don't do

that to me, because that's insulting. It's insulting. Let's let's just be real and say we want to beat Trump and we don't really care about his past, we don't

care about anything. We just want to beat Trump. I can respect that, have that conversation with me, But just to give you a comparison, like you said about the media and how the media is so powerful, and Bloomberg knows this his advertisement and the announcements that he's been putting out, the endorsements, just like you were saying that, look at what's happening with Elizabeth and Bernie, And that's somewhere because most folks are like, well, what do you

think we should do? If it's not Bloomberg? Then what as if he's like the only other choice and is nobody else running? But whatever, I'm somewhere between Elizabeth and Bernie.

I haven't decided. I have very serious concerns with Bernie Sanders and his ability to be able to articulate his plans that are great policies that I see on his website, that what he's talking about, what is Sarah gets are talking about, is great, but how it is translated when it comes to black people and black women specifically, I don't hear it. Elizabeth does a much better job to me,

in particular dealing with black women, she doesn't. Although those are very strong issues, I think I have got so tired of people knowing how to say all the right things to black people and never doing them that I understand what's happening. All these people that that have been saying that proper things about black people have taken pretty much everything that Bernie has actually lived, he's been talking about.

He ran on this campaign four years ago, and his platform he's he's been, he's been living, actually showing these things. And now they've they've said, Okay, Bernie has a floor. He doesn't actually talk to black people. We need black people, So we're going to take all the ship he's doing and we're gonna pander. Listen, what we're going to do is pander because this is not It is because Warren

was not saying all of the ship. She wasn't. She took that man's whole medical, informed prison, everything that he's did, she took his whole platform, and then she just put let me talk to black women in front of it because somebody in her camp told her to do this, and I've watched it specifically, just like when you think at Mike Blue, when you look at Mike Bloomberg's campaign, he got Mike for blacks. Like this ship is so even with Trump, Trump, everybody is pandering too black people.

Trump had a whole speech where he just did nothing but getting black people. No, I don't want that. That's not what I want. I want people to actually no, no no, no, no, no no, no, no no no. I want people to do ship because I've watched this happen for years. I've I've heard people say black ship, this is gonna have a black people, We're gonna do this with black people. This is gonna have I'm telling you black people, black people, black black people, and eight ship happening. I want somebody

that's actually going to do something. See, we get so comfortable in the words and people lying to us and pander into us. And you know, Hillary had motherfucking hot source in our bag. Like I don't want to hear that. I'm tired of that. Ship don't work for me. I'm looking at Burnie and I'm looking over his history. What he said and what he's done shows me that he actually wants to make real change, or I don't feel

that there's anything wrong with me wanting both. I want you to have a platform that will address my issues and be able to articulate it. Because, by the way, when we talk about Bloomberg, what we've said is he doesn't owe us anything because he that he's he's the one we're gonna owe him. By the time he finished paying off everybody, not everybody, because there's some people who ain't gonna take a dime from him, but yet they still support him because they want to see Trump out

of office. But by the time he finished sprinkling his money around, buying all the ads, driving up the damn the damn rates for TV ads and everything else that he's doing, paying Ray Ray Keisha, everybody across the hood to go out and where they bloom Mike for Black America's Tommy finished doing all of that, we're gonna owe him.

He's not gonna owe us anything. And that came out of his mouth right because he stated he said whenever he said, I'm doing the same thing that everyone else does in terms of his his money and how he's paying for his campaign, he said, but the only thing is that other people need to take donations for people, and then they will owe them something later. Those people have expectations. I'm just not going that route. So he's telling you already his mind state is I'm buying everybody

and then they don't owe me anything. Then when you go back to the situation with Elizabeth and all of these other individuals who you just said that there's issues there, I want you to be able to tell me, hey, I need your vote. These are of things I'm gonna do. And as black folks who are who's one of the biggest voting polls, here's why. I understand what it is that you're dealing with. I need you to be committed

to me. I need just like he's saying he doesn't need to be committed, I need you to say I am committed. I'm committed to your issues. I understand black women, what it is that you're dealing with raising children. I understand infant mortality, so and as it relates to healthcare, I'm gonna try to address those issues. I understand criminal

justice reform. I understand your issues. That's okay, because as a black woman who votes ninety plus percent during the on the Democratic line, we deserve to hear our names called. Don't just tell me go read define print on the website. That has not worked. No, that's not No, it hasn't because no, let me tell you why. Let me tell you. I'm going to tell you why I'm wrong. I'm gonna tell you why you're wrong. Tell tell you why you're wrong.

Because Number one, there's been nobody. Bernie is the first. Let me let me, let me finish in what I'm saying. There's been no one like Bernie, and now Elizabeth as she has moved to the left because Bernie, definitely, Bernie has absolutely pushed people to the left. They have had to be more liberal if you will, and more progressive if you will, in their approach. So there's never been that.

So you've never had anyone to make these types of concessions for our communities, and not even so much concessions, I take that back, but to have platforms and plans that address our needs in the ways in which I see in their platforms. Right, you've never had that, and people committed verbally committed. At the same time, what you've had is folks saying, you know, we're gonna do stuff that's pretty much centrist. You know, it's things that it's

gonna be good. We're going to make more, get more homeowners, you know, we're going to make more, make sure more people happy. We're gonna know. I'm telling you they've been. They have not been extremely progressive platforms. They have not been. They just haven't been. So you never had this moment in what I'm trying to explain to you is Bernie Sanders has the most transformator, transformative platform of policies and everything. They all going to dramatically change black Okay, so boom,

this is what I'm trying to tell you. So what's happened is since he's done that and he's gained the people, he didn't go and pander to nobody. He's gooting. No, he didn't everyone listen to me. And and the problem is that he still won't pander everyone. You don't listen to me. I'm telling you what this issue is. The problem is that he still won't go up there and say, look, I'm running this platform because I just want all black

people to do this. And black people, well, okay, litt what I'm trying to tell you is that's the rest of them are doing. Every one of them, the people that you're saying it has been doing it, I think, but I'm telling you, let me just let me finish my thing. He has a platform that is the most transformative platform of all of the candidates, and it has ran on that before. When he was going to get Trump from the beginning, he came out with this, this is what I want to do. He's going to get

Hillary Clinton, regardless of who he was going against. He came out, he made his claim he would completely opposite everybody. They thought he was crazy. That man galvanized millions of people. He galvanized them because he showed them that He told him, you're not crazy. You're supposed to get free health kid, you're supposed to be able to go to college. These are things that are naturally supposed to do. The justicism is supposed to to make sure that things like this

don't happen. This is not no I'm not outside the box. This is happening in other countries every day. But they try to make you think that we're crazy. And he galvanized people with that, and everybody said, you know what Bernie is doing. Listen to everybody that's that we we feel is relevant, everybody that we feel that we're actually gonna give a vote to So tell me, so tell me the people that you go both for that that haven't gone with. But I don't understand what you say.

You say everybody, we all looked at it and basically said, no, I'm not talking about us. I'm talking about the candidates. That candidates looked at this platform and said, this man is galvanized more than anybody. We need to change and adjust ours. And they pushed their ship to to mirror his right, and that's a mirror. But to get closer. You don't listen to me. I'm telling they've been still I agree with you. They are stealing it. They've been stealing.

Let me explain to you what they added to it is. You know what, we understand that the black base is the strongest base. So what we're gonna do is people who have never we never told to you, we never. First of all, we've never never been as progressive, none of us when we ran on any any political office before. He's mad, he's governor, accouncil whatever, We've never been as progressive before. So we're gonna make it and see like we are now. Because Bernie didn't and he gathered as

the people we never talked about black people. We never give a funk about what black people wanted or kid But now that we realize this moment quotes for us to talk about black people, We're gonna say whatever black people want us to say. Trump ran on a campaign of racism. Now that he realized that the black vote is the one of the strongest. That man had a whole motherfucker thing with the black person and we got black Trump, now we got this ship. Is so sad that we go for this. I know you can say

you I still don't think. I think that that is what's happening. I think what you're saying makes sense. But I don't think that all of us who are asking for Bernie to be more clear about his position as it relates to race are just people who want to be pandered too, and we just want somebody to just come and tell us all these things a lot to us. I think that it is good most of all are I'm telling you that, But I'm telling you I don't believe none of it. But I didn't believe. I didn't

tell you, I didn't say any of that. I'm saying that I think that it is a real problem when any particular candidate is unable to articulate his because guess what, when he speaks to the teachers, he knows how to talk to teachers. When he speaks to average he knows how to talk to But I don't believe. But then you're so what you're saying is so, what you are saying is that you support and all Lives matter strategy because I don't. I don't because I don't, because that's

what that is. That means. That means that when I speak to an audience, I'm speaking to everybody. And I hope that the black people who are sitting here who vote at a higher level than anybody else, because guess what. Some of the same white women who people thought were with them, they were with the Democrats, and they thought they were gonna vote for Hillary Clinton, they went and voted for Trump. So guess what. And those people are

some of them are teachers. So you know what, when you come to talk to a group of white folks, I mean a group of diverse people and they're black people in the room, talk to the ones that you know have the ability to put you in office. Speak straight to me, don't you don't ignore? But that's beautiful don't ignore me. Don't ignore and don't expect me to go read the fine print somewhere and then send your black surrogate out now. And again, my son, I'm not disagreeing.

That's why I said, I'm somewhere between Elizabeth and Bernie. And I do believe that moments in history will will stretch people, and it will make people have to lean in directions that they wouldn't have leaned in before. And so I think that Elizabeth has been doing some leaning, but I also can see where she's shaking on a few issues. To your point about the media, however, it is very clear and this is what makes Bernie more And I haven't decided because specifically as a black woman,

I have issues and challenges with it. But nonetheless, what I do know, and I'll say this and you can say whatever you want to say and I'm done, is that the enemy of my enemy is my friend in and it seems to me that people are not just running against Donald Trump, they're running against Bernie Sanders. That's

what I see. I see that there's an attempt to ensure that Bernie Sanders, and also Elizabeth Warren more so because of gender, with her and with Bernie there's a whole lot of other issues with socialism and all of that, but it seems to me that this whole thing with with with the bum rush of Bloomberg is about making sure that Bernie Sanders does not become the nominee. And if that is the case, if the system is working against someone, it makes me question the motives of what

is it? What is it and what and the reason why I was saying everyone is not leaning towards Bernie his platform because Bloomberg's platform, while I'm sure there's gonna be great pieces of it, will probably never ever address some of the things He damn sure ain't gonna deal with capitalism in the way that Burnie Bernie Sanders is because he's a billionaire and wants to obviously remain that way and and make more billionaires like him. And so I I you know, I'm I'm I'm with you, I

hear you. But I know that the sentiments that I shared that I feel are shared by many. There are many black folks sat and they waited. I'm sorry I'm talking too long, but let me say they sat and they waited. And people can take a page out of

Bloomberg's book. They sat and they waited, and Bernie Sanders, from what I can see, and the preachers that the preachers that I know, has never called a meeting with the type of high profile preachers across this country and sat down with them and allowed them to tell him some of their fears and concerns. Certain left, certain black folks, certain black women have never had an opportunity to get

in the room with Elizabeth Warren. She met with a group of women that I respect, but there were others that don't. I'm just saying because I'm talking about people that respect. So you try to tell me that the preachers that that that Trump sat with medly don't respect, I'll tell you when I say respect, I'm not talking about they just love them as a preacher. I'm talking about people who they believe, who they've seen on the

front lines with them and struggle. And No, those preachers have not None of your friend's husband, he wasn't one of the preachers that he's not on the front line of any issue. Okay, what I'm gonna saying, what I'm going to because this doesn't every right, but start let somebody whispering your ear sweet nothings and playing to give you nothing. I'd rather you don't wish in my ear at all, and talk to me and look me in my eyes and tell me something I might not all

the way agree with, and know that it's true. We have been caught in the whisping you end, rub your head and pander the black people ship for too long. If you look at this the reality, if you look at these people that we keep putting in office because they said the right things to black people, they never did the right things to black people. And that is a fact. That is a fact. So I don't need you to say the right ship to me. I need you to say the right ship that's gonna ultimately affect me.

Don't talk to me because you think that I'm the person that can get you to vote. Talk to me straight. I want to hear straight words. Talk to me straight words. I don't want to hear black people beautiful. Yeah, but that's not what that's not if that's not how you feel like, that's what I used to respect about Trump. Because Trump came in here saying everybody, I don't really care what you know. Now he realized I need to black vote. So my black American and and you know blacks.

This country is built on blacks. You know this is now he's saying Patform that he's done, he's running, he's running, but he ain't did ship And that's not true. That's not true. What is not true? On the next episode, did you see you see? What did you see? Did you see what Obama put up today for President's Day? The order that he signed to get the jobs that this man is trying to tell you, not the jobs. You know, I'm come on the jobs. What did he do?

But the First Step at has absolutely freed some people for Obama had an act all the I'm not saying that the First Step Act has been sweeping and that and Angelo, our partner, always talks about the issues with the First Step Act. All I'm saying to you is that he has things empowerment zones and other issues and other and other policies and amazos work for me because I got money, and other policies that he is touting

that he has that some people will agree with. I didn't say, I'm saying there are some people and we have to be able to speak to them. Anyway. Super Tuesday is coming up on March three, that's when Bloomberg is actually going to be on the ballot. Uh And at that point people have the right to go and vote for Bloomberg if that's what you want to do,

is look on the nominee. But I think you know, anybody that forces it down your throat and done doesn't really have a real conversation with you about who this man really really is. The the the the allegations of of sexual harassment in the workplace, where sixty women are telling their stories. It's been all out there this weekend. His comments on redlining, and guess what, when we talk about his comments on redlining, they're trying to spend it

his campaign and say that's not what he meant. But if you look at gentrification in New York City and how many homeless people have are as a result of his policies where he allowed the sweet favors to be given to the developers and took away from public house and and people who just lived in little, everyday tenement buildings, his red line and comments really are not that far apart. I believe that everything that Bloomberg has ever said is

what he actually means. So that's where I stand. I don't support Bloomberg, you know, and I don't believe there's anything that's going to happen from now until it's time for me to vote in New York that's going to change my mind. Yeah, good luck with that. Um. Even though I don't get nothing that just happened with Bloomberg, I'm going to go into another thing I don't get. So this is my segment. I don't get it, you know. And it's two things. And it's sad that we got

to keep talking about one of these things. And the first thing is, you know, um, Charles Barkley, Charles Walkley made some comments about Kobe Bryant during the interview. You know that once again with this class list, and and you know, he was talking about how, you know, Kobe Bryant, we're not trying to make him into a hero. Kobe Bryant quote unquote has some flaws that we all know about. We know what happened in Colorado. We we understand that. So we're not trying to make him into a hero.

We just want to talk about his basketball. For the life of me, I don't get while black people don't see the need to protect the integrity and legacy of our icons and leaders. Why do we feel the need to lend our voices platforms in our own star power to give validity to allegations and claims not proven facts, not undeniable preponderance of evidence, or even consistent with what

we may know about that individual. What is the obsession with speaking down and diminishing other blacks, especially after they've passed on. Why don't we see someone's death as sacred and as a time to reflect and respect a person's legacy in their family. Are we so damaged as a people that we don't even understand the need to lift each other in these times? There's definitely needs to be a family meeting because everything isn't for public consumption, But

we have to do better. We can screen Black lives Matter, but if those black lives don't matter the black people, they're not gonna matter to nobody. And the second one, this young six year old girl was admitted to a mental institution because she was unruly and for two days she had to do a mandatory two days. I just don't get it. I don't get why would someone tell you because of six year old girls and you she

already they had said that she had behavior issues. She was UM diagnosed with a d h D and UM did she also had behavior disorder and she became unruly. No one called the girl's parents, no one called to see nobody. And when you see that, the police actually came to get us, she was calm. She walked off with them. The officer had a good conversation with her.

Who made this rule? You know? I'm just understand. It's called the Baker Act, which allows the third party um physician to determine if a child is a danger to themselves or others around them, and based on that opinion, they can legally admit kids to mental institutions without parental consent or notification, and there's a mandatory two days stay. I just want to how is that a law who sat down decided that six year old should be placed in mental institutions? How do people not realize that this

is way more harmful than it is helpful. We are in such a morally absent time in this country that laws reflect m things like this. They should reflect the well being and safety of the people, and I can honestly say that this doesn't. And there are so many that aren't effective and sanctioned by the people, but taking disruptive kids to mental institutions is probably number one on my list. And the mother said that she sent her daughter to the school because the teachers they were supposed

to be able to deal with her disability. That's the reason why chose this school. And the school is saying that they did everything right. And the law itself, to me, is just wrong that a six year old is mandatory sitting in a mental institution without parental consent. Like what are we saying? Where where have we gotten in America that these things are okay? Well, at one point in America it was it was legal to be a slave, so slavery was lead so exactly, so we actually might

be doing better, and that's crazy. We just I think we think a lot of things have changed, but really the balls have just been moved around. It's the three car Molly, it's not under this experiencing so much trauma, you know, the young girls, And it's like I almost cried, like I couldn't believe it. I looked it up. Somebody saidn't to me. Then I looked it up and said, this really happened. But like I said, man, in these situations I just don't get it. Well, that's the end

of this episode of treet Politicians. We hope that you enjoyed yourself. Once again, if you have any topics you want to see us discussed, please leave us d m U S, Instagram, Facebook, pod, Let us know what you want to talk about, give us your feedback, let us know. We just want to make sure that everybody is getting what they want on the show, and we want to hear your input and we want to give you ours.

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