An Incredible Week for Democracy

you with some level of hopefulness. But on this good Friday, waking up to the news that Britney Griner is free, that after ten months in Russia in captivity, after being sentenced to nine years for empty vape cartridges found in her suitcase as she was working in Russia, because we don't pay female athletes anything on par with male athletes in this country, let alone just you know, women in general, that required her to be in Russia on the offseason,

is finally released. President Biden. The Biden administration had been working behind the scenes, as we know, to negotiate an exchange and it was a one on one exchange with a notorious arms dealer that had been in prison convicted in New York and it was serving out a twelve year prison sentence to be released in twenty twenty eight

has been swapped for Brittany Griner. Now, folks, do not trouble yourselves with the bullshit that is going to be coming out and that has already started spewing out from the right about how this was a terrible decision on Biden's part. And yes, of course, because we don't get they don't give a fuck about black people, they don't give a fuck about queer people, and they just want to uphold Putin, you know, as their savior. Do not let that news take away from what an incredible story

this is. Now we have no idea what kind of condition Brittany Grinder is in, but we do know that her healing process can begin now that she is finally on her way home to her wife, to her family,

to her friends, to her teammates, to her community. This comes on top of Georgia once again showing up and showing out and denying white supremacy in the face of voters suppression, in the face of all that is evil that was propping up herschel Walker, the most unqualified man to do mostly anything, but damn sure unqualified to be a Senator of the United States. Defeating him at the ballot and electing Reverend Warnock for a six year term

as a US Senator. To be the first black man elected in Georgia for a six year term is nothing short of herkey Land, and so I tweeted this earlier today. It is not often that we get to celebrate victories these days. It feels like we are always hanging on by a thread. And so when victories do find themselves at our doorstep, folks, embrace them, embody them, celebrate them, uplift them, and hold them close to your heart, because we will need that as energy to keep going, to

keep fighting, to keep persevering. This was an incredible week for democracy, an incredible week for justice, and an incredible week for freedom. And I can think of no one better to join me in conversation with regard to how we are closing out this midterm election and how we are closing out this horrific traumatic experience for Britney Griner. Then my friend the host of Make It Plane, the Reverend Mark Thompson, that conversation is coming up next. Folks.

You know, for the entire year we have been doing a countdown to the midterm elections with our good good friend the Reverend Mark Thompson, host of Make It Plane, and you know we were able to talk. Mark, I believe it was the day, the day of the final

day to vote for midterm elections. Now the results are in, and not only are the results in general of where we stand as Democrats in both the House and the Senate, but we have just completed what feels like Georgia's seventeen thousandth election that it has had over the course of this year. So I just want to get your initial thoughts on, you know, based on all of our conversations that we have had, how you think things have turned out and how you feel about it. Well, first of all,

as always a pleasure to be here with you. And yes, first you have to congratulate Georgia voters for once again black voters in the South and some white voters even for saving America. I went over the course of the past weeks and several days in Georgia canvassing with black voters matter, and I felt as though I had to do it. My conscience would not allow me to sit idly by with the risk of my people waking up Wednesday morning and herschel Walker being in the Senate, I

just could not live with myself. So I had to do something, as others did. As a matter of fact, my contribution to what Black Voters Matter had already been doing in Georgia was just a drop in the ocean. But I was thankful that they allowed me to participate with them and go out and meet voters and talk to people and encourage people to get out to vote. Now,

to be clear, we operated under nonpartisan auspices. But when you get people to vote, when you save the people, this is your sacred, blood stained obligation to do this. They tend to vote the right way. One woman, even on Tuesday we engaged. She kept asking me, well, who do you want me to vote for. I can't really tell you that in this capacity, but I don't know who to vote for. I said, we'll just vote, and then I said, you don't know who to vote for? And then she looked at me and she says, well,

I know who I don't want to vote for. I said, well, then you need to act on that. You need to vote. The fact of the matter is, and I don't think we say this enough, So I'm going to say it as much as I can, Ladies and gentlemen, when one doesn't vote, you are still voting because you're helping the person whom you might not want to see in office get in office, because you haven't cast your vote for the other person, the right person, the person you've chosen.

So when that young woman said to me, I don't know who to vote for, but she knew who she didn't want to vote for, That's when I explained to her how important it is to vote. And I've been saying that to everyone. When you don't vote, you are actually really voting. When people don't vote for Joe Biden and they just assume he's gonna win, you're casting a

vote for Trump. Objectively, those of us who represent the progressive community, whom also intersectionally represent what doctor King called the beloved community before he died, the the the assignment, the moniker, the designation that got him killed. We are in the majority in America, African Americans and Latinos, all people of color, Indigenous people, lgbt qia, the working class, youth women. Obviously, we are in the majority voter. So

if we all vote, then we win. When we don't vote, we don't and those non votes go to the benefit of other people. So I was thankful to be a part of that. It was exhilarating, although in exhaustive experience, I still have not caught up on sleep. I was on a zoom when I got back home, flew flew back in the six am flight Wednesday morning. By four o'clock Wednesday afternoon, I'm on a zoom and I literally fell asleep on a zoom and everybody felt so sorry

for me. They just left me on his zoom. See I'm not literally crashed out in the zoom all the way back like this in the chair, just gone, and everybody just you know, prayed over me and they understood, and I had everybody's forgiveness later in today. But this was important, and you're right, seventeen thousand times to be specific, people had to vote five times in two years for Raphael Warnock. Georgians are thankful they get to exhale from

voting every year for something. They get a little break now, thank goodness, and they've earned it. But but God bless Georgia, God bless all the voters, and God bless all of you who contacted your friends and family and Georgia and got them to get out to vote. You know, I have to tell you that I had uh Latasha James on another show, um to to talk about the vote,

to talk about the energy on the ground. And that's kind of what I want to talk about because I think that we take for granted those of us who live in quote unquote blue States, those of us who live um in you know, in kind of democratic le protected or so we think, protected areas and regions of

the country. We take for granted the exhaustion right to your point about this, about the zoom, the exhaustion that people of Georgia have faced over the last five years, and how the policies have been in put in place

purposefully to exhaust the voters. And I just wanted you to be able to, you know, share a little bit more about what you heard from people on the ground, about the things, the ways that they have been you know, targeted, right, Like, I can't imagine what it must have been like to watch television in Georgia for the last like for the last five years. I mean, this senatorial race, I believe was historic in the amount of money that was spent

on advertising on targeting the people of Georgia. So I just want to get a sense from you Mark about you know, the energy of the people there, right, the resolve and the perseverance of the people of Georgia when they are inundated with vote of suppression, when they continue to be taxed year after year. Well, I was there weekend and watching TV was not a pleasant experience, So there is an inundation. Although I do think Ralphael Warnock

had the most effective commercials. Oh yes, I mean they were clear, they were cutting people of all racest talking about what was important in the election, and I think that helped him. I mean it. Georgia showed out again even on Tuesday in very respectable numbers. You talked about, you know, the fatigue. I've never really bought into fatigue and politics, but I have now because of Georgia. I mean, you know, and people imber with two people we talk

about Clinton fatigue. Wow, I mean it's a blessing. People didn't get Warnock fatigue having to go out and do this all the time every year for the past five years, practically for the past two years. Five times in the past two years. I should say so, But I think the commercials got over on people. I think that now it's time for Georgia. So these need need to be the next commercials. Now it's time for Georgia to get

rid of this primary system. It no longer serves the purpose that the white supremacists who set it up wanted it to serve, because we are now empowered to vote. It was originally meant to dilute our voting power, but now that we've shown the discipline that we have, it's made a difference. A matter of fact, Republicans are so stupid. If the if there had been no runoff in the first election with us Off, then us Off would not be in the Senate and the Republicans would have a majority,

see because he lost it anyone to run. Yeah, but they're so stupid they set themselves up for that failure. So so again, these are decisions. They make all decisions. They may end up causing losses for them, So maybe we shouldn't complain. Um, we beat back the red wave, the so called tsunonymy tsunami, the tsunami, let forgive me for and that never happening. So you know, I think that this is this is a turning point and a

major one. And let me just also say this, if I could Danielle and feel free coming out because I know I'm talking too much, um um, but I don't get talking my own show. So when i'm against I try to. You know what I'm saying. When you talk, when you're host, you don't talk. You guests talk. So I'm a guest. I get talked. I'm saying stuff, do you I don't even get time to say on my own show. Um in. This is the week, the week of the runoff was the week of the anniversion of

my gummy best boy Cat. When was the last time we as a people, or any people in America was so disciplined as they were in nineteen fifty five to not take the buses for over a year and walk to work. Who Who's going to do that today? What? What? What Americans are gonna do something like that? So selfless and self sacrificing for the good of all today, that's a lot to walk to work every day for three days.

So to put it in a relative context, going back out and voting in numbers like this five times to ensure that crazy people aren't seated in the Senate, especially herschel Walker. It to me is reminiscent of the discipline it took. It's not quite the same, but I think in the same objective context, it is folking going to walk to work every day for over a year now. People, we're not made like that anymore. People aren't built that way.

We aren't built for that. But if we can go out out in all these consecutive times to vote, then that's that's an important thing. And frankly, everyone will say that Jesus suffered and Dad, so we don't have to. Those who who suffered during the Montgomery bus boycott, those who died in Selma did so that so we wouldn't have to. So the least we can do is do what we did and vote as we did in Georgia

during the runoff. Yeah, I mean amen to that in so many different ways, because when people say, you know that I don't vote, or one side is just as bad as the other, you know, I get a sick pit in my stomach because I do believe right, and remember every time I vote, who died so that I could be able to press that button, right like I I think about that all the time, And that is you know, that that's the problem with teaching history, right,

with not reminding, having constant reminders, having constant anniversaries that lift up the people who did sacrifice their own lives so that yours could be better. So I appreciate you Mark for lifting that up. The last thing I want to say on Georgia is herschel Walker was an embarrassment, was an embarrassment of a candidate, was an embarrassment of

so many different things. And I just wanted to ask you if you think at all at all if Republicans will learn anything from trying to prop up literally prop up this man because he went on he by himself, always had his white handlers with him. If they will have learned anything from this loss and the kind of

candidates that they should be running moving forward. Well, see, even when they lose, they win because I think they actually get off on demoralizing us and putting people like that up, so to some extent, you know, they still got something out of that. They are probably more interested at this point because they know it's going to be challenging and continue to win elections with the changing demographics in this country, So they're still interested in demoralization and

cultural attack and the preservation of white supremacy. So they still got something out of that. They got a black man to say out loud, he doesn't mind being called a coon. Now, I had some white friends call me and so, man, we don't know what to say. This is just saying, you know, we don't want to speak out about I'm saying you're just said on man, I'm giving all white folks permission. Then whenever you see somebody call themselves a coon, you have permission to call them out.

You know what I say, it's one of my friends. What do you mean you don't know what to say? You know what that is. You know what a coon is, and how disgraceful that is? Say it, say something about it called out? Well, I don't know because I'm not black. No, no, no, you don't have to be black to say that an African American referring to himself and embracing himself as a coon is a setback and and something wrong there. Yeah, so you want to debate. You wanted to call me

and ask my permission. You know we're not Hey, let me say this carefully. Were not like other folks who don't allow others to speak about our experience. Hello, I think you know y'all get that later, h and when they're no consequences for its standing with us, in solidarity with us to say, you don't need to call somebody a coon, or you don't need to refer yourself as a coon. So I don't know that they learn anything, Danielle.

There's there's a sickness that they still get off on saying these things, doing these things, projecting these and having him running around and saying those types of things. I don't they they're not. I don't think for one minute they're finished. They may ultimately be finished politically, they may ultimately and they may know that, I mean sooner later numbers are gonna bear that out. There is no way that this is going to continue. So let you know

they're gonna you know, grasp, you know, hold on. What did Charlton Heston say that those who will take a gun from me, mister n ra A here, they have to pride from my cold dead hands. You know, we're gonna have to pride whatever, We're gonna have to pride from those who ultimately will go to the grave because Father Time is undefeated. But um, I don't know that they learned a dog on thing, switching gears with the

with the time that we have left. Um, you know, it isn't often that I say I tweeted this as that platform still stands, but on you know, it's like a three legged stool that our celebrations are very far and few between these days. Georgia being a major victory

for the Senate for democracy, for true leadership. Right. Brittany Griner, after ten months in a Russian prison, after being sentenced to nine years of hard labor in a Russian penal colony for having empty vape cartridges that other people, mind you in Russia, have just been deported for right, used as a political tool in this geopolitical warfare that has been going on between the United States and Russia for

quite some time. As Russia is in the midst of war in Ukraine, has finally been released and been traded for a Russian prisoner. I woke up to that news Mark and was in tears because as a black queer woman, my heart was breaking for Brittany to be held prisoner in a known homophobic, abusive country. We know how little we think about black people in this country and their worth. So the idea that our government would actually fight for her release. I want to get your reactions to this news.

It is great news. In fact, I'll put it this way, hang all the missile too. Brittany Ground is coming home this Christmas. It's it's beautiful, it's touching. Um. And a lot of hard work went into this. And I'm gonna say something else that might sound controversially some people are getting credit and taking credit for this, but it was a lot of folk, including some of you who are our listeners, who join us in these prayervisials to to

bring her home. Um. Some represented that some of the things we were preparing to do, go out in the streets, have more privilege, which really always was a plan which we were planning to be in the streets more, to be at the we we had provisions at the Russian Embassy and the Russian Consulate. We were going to do more. And then some folks, well, don't do that, because that's gonna upset the White House, and the White House is gonna look bad and the Russians. But Malcolm said, bandon

means necessary. The very assertion that there were those of us who might do that made the White House get up an act. So it worked. So I want to commend those who involved in all those all those efforts. Victoria Kirby York at the National Black Justice Coalition, one of our LGBATS, great LGBT organizations, Angela Rye, Tamika Mallory, rem doctor Barber, so many who were involved in that process that that kind of moved the White House to do something. It's high time she come home. Um, I'm

I'm I'm grateful. I'm overjoyed as well. It makes me emotional too because the thought of that sister in that condition was absolutely horrifying, and we've yet to learn exactly how she was treated. I was on a call earlier today and even some of the government officials are going to give her the send the support to decide when she wants to share, Yeah, what her experience was. So, Um, I'm I'm glad that she's home and we all should

celebrate this. It's it's been from the run off to Brittany Grinder, Well, we'll remember the week when all of that happened as one of the greatest weeks in our time. Yeah, and you know, and I will say that I cannot imagine, um, what she was put through for those ten long months. But my heart rests easy that her healing, which will probably be lifelong UM emotional, mental, physical healing UM, can begin as as as she makes her way back home to her wife and to her family, to her friends,

to her team mates, and to the community. As you said, Mark, that has lifted her up in prayer, in coverage for the last ten months brought attention where without that attention, who knows what her fate UM would have been. And I think that it's really important for people to recognize. You know, sometimes we say that if the only action that you can do is to share something, to share a photo, to share some information, that all of us have a voice and have a platform, whether it's for

five people or five million people. And I don't want to downplay the fact that you know, images of her, articles of her you know, t shirts, all of these things were made and done to continue to have her name be said so that she wouldn't be erased and that she wouldn't be forgotten. That those things are powerful. You know, we we we all don't um march y'all can't afford to give money, UM, but understand that lifting her name up and her presence up is what also

played a part um in in having her en route home. Um. Mark last question for you, you know, as we get ready to turn the page on this year and go into twenty twenty three, Um, you know what what what message do do you want to send to people who again,

this has been a weary year. Right, we're we're hopefully going to be ending on these on these high notes, but it's been a weary, long year that has tested uh so many parts of our country, our democracy, our wherewithal um and so what do what do you what message do you want to leave for folks as they prepare to close out this year and begin anew in

twenty twenty three? What, as the scripture says, let us not grow weary in well doing Danielle for in due season season we shall reap if we don't lose heart. That has borne true in our experience in twenty twenty two. We didn't give up. We didn't give up, and we stopped the juggernaut that was predicted from the right wing. We stopped it. And they may have a majority air quote in the House, but it's a very slim one. And if someone sneezes that majority might be gone overnight.

We've held the Senate, we gained governorships. None of this has happened. No incumbent has held President has held the Senate in the midterms this way since nineteen sixty two. No incombent president has gained governorships this way since the thirty since Roosevelt. So this is the reward, folks, for eternal vigilance, for not growing weary. We have reaped the harvest, and so we should use this and be energized by

this to go forward. Let's make voting up and down the ballot, throughout the ballot second nature, just second nature. Just make that the absolute priority. And all were doing once has become second nature. We won't even realize. There's like blinking our eyes. We won't even realize we're doing it.

And we will vanquish those who would continue to disenfranchise us, that would continue to take away our bodily autonomy, that would continue to discriminate against us on the basis of race or gender or sexual orientation, that would bring harm to our loved ones, that would that would allow those who are law enforcement officers to continue to lynch us and to subjugate those who are immigrants to all types of harsh treatment. When we do that, we will continue

to win. So, folks, celebrate now what we've done, but remind yourselves that it happened because of you and because none of us grew weary. Reverend Mark Thompson, thank you so much for making time for us all year long in our in our monthly conversations. I tell you that I have deeply appreciate appreciated them. I look forward to continued conversations into twenty twenty three, and I wish you

a happy, healthy New Year. If I don't get to speak to you on air before them, well all of you and your entire audience, that woke air audience, may God bless you all. Merry Christmas, Happy Kuanza, happy honek or whatever holiday you celebrate. Me me, all the peace and joy be yours. That is it for me today, dear friends, on this good, great Friday. As always, power to the people and to all the people. Power, get woke and stay woke as fuck.