Two More Weeks

old school and a traditionalist. But this year, I said, let's just get this show on the road, frankly, and get it done, get it done, and get it done early. Right now, millions of Americans, millions millions of Americans have

already cast their ballot. And what I think is really important, and you'll hear from our friend Jonathan later this week, but what I think is really important and encouraging is the anecdotes that are coming out of states like Georgia and North Carolina and most recently in Tennessee, with people talking about how long the lines have been in states and in places where traditionally early voting folks are in and out because you know, they're in gerrymandered places where

they have been kind of depressed into feeling that their votes do not matter. So why would I show up early and why would I vote at all? And so I think that listening to folks say that the lines are long and that people are feeling hopeful, and there's something about this moment that feels different is encouraging. I know that it is hard, though, to kind of muster and hold on to the faith and hopeful. It's because

we have a fear of being let down. And the fact is, folks like that is just part of what it means to be human. You know, sometimes things work out and sometimes they don't. And I know where my anxiety and fear is at this moment as we get closer and closer to the final day of voting, because we know what's at stake. We've been talking about it four years on this show, four years. I kind of want to reminisce with you for just like a moment

about why WOKF started. WOKF started in the spring summer of twenty seventeen, and I had just moved back from Washington, DC to New York and I started a new job, and I needed an outlet because following the devastation of the twenty sixteen election. I was just like miserable, and I knew that a lot of people were also feeling the same way, just depressed and uninspired and devastated, like this country that we thought that we knew let us down.

And so I started the show. I was asked if I was interested in continuing podcasting, and I had been podcasting for a while, but then it was just like, hey, this is live radio. Do you want to do that? And I started the show just as a way to get things off of my chest. And it's been several years now that I have been doing WOKF and WOKF you all have followed me, some of you, from different

networks into different places and finally landing here. And the fact is is that WOKF was started as a reaction and a rebuff to Donald Trump and the Republicans and this idea that like they were going to drag America kicking and screaming back to you know, not even the

twentieth century, but like the nineteenth century. And I knew that there were more people that were conscious but that left on the twenty sixteen election, frankly, and they thought that, you know, I'm not really that excited by Hillary Clinton, and her ascension is inevitable, and they just kind of let it rock and we all know how that fucking

ended up. I feel like America, though, since the twenty sixteen election, I would like to say, has learned a lot, while mainstream corporate media hasn't learned anything, as it pertains to their coverage of Donald Trump. I do believe that Americans have learned a lot. In twenty twenty, in the midst of global health pandemic, people showed up in mass to vote against Donald Trump and to say that this is not who we are, this is not what we want.

It was a different time. Thousands of Americans were dying a day from COVID, where Donald Trump told them to inject bleach, where saving a life could mean just covering your fucking face with a piece of cloth. But he couldn't bring people to do that and instead divided the country. It is where we stand right now, and I have no flights of fancy in believing that if Donald Trump is defeated again in twenty twenty four that poof you know,

all of our problems disappear. No, that to me is when the real hard work begins, because then it is when we will have to as Americans, figure out what we want this country to be moving forward and how we're going to put the pieces back together again. And that is going to take just as much work as it took to get rid of Donald Trump in twenty twenty to rebuild this country because we know that it is broken, and we know that Republicans will continue to

try and tear it apart. And that's why I pray and continue to speak to all of you in saying that we need to make this win so resounding, so resounding that one that Republicans can't steal it, and two so that they get the fucking message that we're not interested in their Project twenty twenty five. We're not interested in their misogyny, we're not interested in their racism, we're

not interested in their hate. And so they need to go back to the drawing board and figure out who they're going to be and what the next iteration of Republican will be, because this last ten years of trump Ism, this ain't it. That's what I hope, that's the place

that I hope that we get to. And so that's the energy that I'm going to put out I'm not going to talk about what could possibly happen because it's a waste of time with two weeks to go, With two weeks to go, we need to just truly get Americans in the mindset that this is possible, that everything is possible to do, and that with enough hope, with enough power, that we can get things done. So that's where I am, that's where I find myself today. I

watched a video Keith Boykin put it out. Keith Boykin is the person that has been on the show before, and he put up a video of a conversation at a black barbershop with a group of black men talking about the upcoming election. And what we know right now is that there's been a lot of chatter in mainstream corporate media about black men voting for Donald Trump. And there's been a lot of chatter about, oh, fifteen percent, twenty percent of black men are voting for Donald Trump.

It's not true. The reality is that eighty five to ninety percent of black men vote with aligned with black women, which is democratic. Nonetheless, what I thought was really important about this conversation is that it was a real conversation. It was a real conversation with black men about not only supporting a black woman, but some of the men in the barbershop haven't voted in over a decade because they've been really disenchanted with the Democratic Party and haven't

had their issues and their needs. And so what they were talking about was being disappointed, being let down by different administrations and unpacking, you know, some of the lies that have been told by Donald Trump about what he will do, and folks saying, I don't even think about myself in this moment. I'm thinking about you know, how old is your mother. One gentleman says, my mother is fifty six, And he said, well, how would it feel if you knew that Donald Trump was trying to raise

the retirement age. This other man said, well, look, my mother is close to sixty and walks with a limb, and I couldn't bear to think about her having to work another ten to twenty years. She can't, It's like physically impossible. She's just barely hanging on now. So what does it say that the Republican Party wants to take away Social Security, wants to take away Medicaid? And so the men in the barbershop were just like nah, that can't happen. These are programs that are needed. They're needed

for our community in particular. You know the conversation that I watched, it was about a seven minute clip, and it was so heartwarming in its vulnerability and in its honesty because nobody was being judged or made to feel small or stupid about what they knew versus what they didn't, and frankly, they knew a lot. And by the end they were just like, look, you know what, I realized, this isn't even about me. This is about my mom,

this is about my sisters. And if black women have been trusted to raise all of us and raise us, well, then why wouldn't we trust a black women to lead? When they said that, When they said that, I really like choked up, because that's real. Black women are heads of households and are raising sometimes their families their children alone.

Because of our incarcerle system that punishes black men and black boys at greater rates, then they do their white counterparts, meaning that they take those black men and black boys out of communities and put them in the prison industrial complex. And so there has been so much destruction at the hands of the state with regard to black families that have put black women in really tough pause posicians. They've always met the moment, but it doesn't make it any easier.

And so for those black men to acknowledge that and then say, like, why wouldn't we then trust the black woman to lead the country when she's been leading us and carrying us and taking care of us, It really struck me. And so those conversations feel new as well and feel really welcomed. So I do believe that something

different is happening. I do believe that we are in a different place and space with this election, and I will continue to hope that what we are seeing with early voting and these long lines, that people are exhausted by Donald Trump, as Obama you know, has said on the campaign trail, he was just like, we're tired, you know, we're tired of this man. We're tired of the vulgarity, We're tired of the depravity, we're tired of the insanity. And it's like it's finally time to close the book

on him. You know. My hope is that not only do we close the book on him, but that we throw the book at him. Just this week, Today's only Wednesday, but on Monday, the former Central Park five, now exonerated five,

have sued Donald Trump for his defamation. And what we know about all of these lawsuits that are waiting in the wings, that are pending, is that if Donald Trump loses this election, he loses his get out of jail free card, which means that he will finally, in shallah, finally have to face some type of accountability, whether that is monetarily. Because I'd love to see this mfor broke, do you know what I'm saying? Like, I would love

to see Donald Trump broke, broken, shunned. Those are my two favorite things because I still believe that it is less likely that this man will end up in prison because he's still a former president, whether or not he was a good one. So what I would like is that he's broken, shunned, can't afford his you know, legal fees, and like no one is coming to mar A Lago anymore, nobody, you know, Like he's not getting invitations anywhere anymore. Like that to me would be perfect for a man that

just needs and craves attention. Is that if he loses, and he's a two time loser, that all the people that have been hyping him up and holding him up like weekend at Bernie's. Will walk away and then we'll watch him slowly crumble. That's what I hope, That's what I'm rooting for. Just think about it for a moment.

Think about not having to worry about Donald Trump anymore, not have to talk about him anymore, not have to give a shit about any of the things that are coming out of his mouth anymore, because they bear no fruit. I think about the way that I felt almost ten years ago, in twenty fifteen, Almost ten years ago. I don't even remember what it's like to have that kind of ease anymore, but just the idea. Just allow it to kind of swirl around in your head and like,

my shoulders drop. So that's what's possible in two weeks, folks, And that's what I am hopeful for two weeks, you know. And the funny thing, and I've said this before, I was like, how long was it until we knew who won the election in twenty twenty? It was only five days. It felt like five months. It was five days. We had the election on Tuesday, and by that Saturday it was official, God willing, It's not that long but just the thought that in two and a half weeks we

could not care anymore about Donald Trump. Oh yeah, I'm just like thinking about it. I will close out with this today, which is to make sure that all of you go to ballot dot org and make sure that you know of all of the ballot measures propositions that you may be voting on in your state. That you have an idea of what you're voting for, what you're voting against. That there isn't be in a lot of states, including in New York, there is you know, abortion that

is on the ballot and protecting that. There are other places where abortion, the rights of certain elected officials, the power that certain elected officials and offices have, all of those things are also being voted on. And while they explain things to you on the back of your ballot, I think that it's important to go in knowing in

greater detail about the measures. So if you head to ballot dot org, you get a good rundown put in your state and it'll tell you what you're voting on, and that is a good way to keep track, so that you're walking in with the understanding of how many measures you're voting for. And whether you're voting yes or no or what have you. Glean as much information as possible, continue to send notes and text messages and have those conversations with your family members, young and old about what

their voting plan is. And you know, if you have the treasure, donate. Continue to do so so that Kamala and Walls can blast the last bit of their money on television, on radio and do the blanketing that they need to do. Continue to canvas. All of these things matter, particularly in the last two weeks. So buckle up, friends, and let's get this shit done. Let's get it done. That is it for me today, dear friends on wok app as always, Power to the people and to all

the people. Power, get woke and stay woke as fuck.