Understanding Kamala Featuring Sophia Casey, Tia Oso and Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey

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Welcome. I'm Eric Fleming, host of A Moment with Eric Fleming, the podcast of our time.

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The following program is hosted by the NVG Podcast Network. The NVG Podcast Network.

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Music.

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Hello and welcome to another moment with Eric Fleming. I am your host, Eric Fleming.

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And today we're going to be talking about Vice President Kamala Harris.

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No, I'm not lucky enough to gotten an interview with the Vice President or even

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anybody on our campaign staff, but I have,

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secured three guests that are going to talk about understanding the Vice President

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a little bit as a candidate and as a potential president.

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And we're going to talk about the media is covering her and her leadership style

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and all that kind of stuff.

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So I think it's going to be good for the listeners to listen to people who have

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expertise in these particular subjects and have had the opportunity in one case,

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one guest to actually interview her.

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And so that you would have a better sense, the vice president,

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as we are very, very close to this election.

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So, y'all stay tuned, listen in.

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This is going to be really, really good, and I know you're going to enjoy it,

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and you're going to get something positive from it.

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So, let me go ahead and get this started with a moment of news with Grace Chee.

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Music.

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Thanks, Eric. A new Reuters-Ipsos poll shows Vice President Kamala Harris leading

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Donald Trump by a narrow margin of 46 to 43 percent,

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while a Wall Street Journal poll shows Trump ahead of Harris 47 to 45 percent.

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Over 28 million Americans have already cast early voting or mail-in ballots.

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The exonerated five, wrongfully convicted as teenagers in the 1989 Central Park

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rape case, have sued Donald Trump for defamation over his false statements during

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a recent presidential debate. A U.S.

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Judge ordered Rudy Giuliani to relinquish control of valuable assets to two

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Georgia election workers, who are seeking nearly $146 million from him for defamation.

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Prosecutors in Arizona dropped charges against Tyron McAlpin,

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a deaf black man with cerebral palsy after body cam footage of his violent arrest

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sparked public outrage.

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U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkin unsealed additional evidence in the federal

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election subversion case against Donald Trump.

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Texas death row inmate Robert Robertson, facing execution for allegedly murdering

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his daughter, received a reprieve to testify before lawmakers considering reforms

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related to wrongful convictions.

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A drone launched towards Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's home in Quesaria

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was confirmed by military sources to have originated in Lebanon,

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though no group claimed responsibility for the attack.

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A Tennessee court ruled that the state cannot enforce its abortion ban in certain

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medical situations, allowing doctors to perform abortions if a woman's health is at risk.

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A federal judge blocked Florida from threatening TV stations with prosecution,

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for airing ads supporting a pro-abortion rights measure.

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A Michigan judge dismissed a Republican effort to prevent some overseas Americans

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from voting in the state.

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And Mike Jeffries, the former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, received a 16-count

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federal indictment for sex trafficking and prostitution.

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I am Grace Gee, and this has been a Moment of News.

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Music.

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All right. Thank you, Grace, for that moment of news. And now it is time for

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my first guest. Yes, I said plural guest.

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I have Sophia Casey and Tia Olso.

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We're going to be talking about how the media has been dealing with Madam Vice

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President and how it's impacting the election and the community as a whole.

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So let me do my introductions.

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Many people offer solutions, few deliver results.

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As a master certified coach through the International Coaching Federation,

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executive life coach, authorpreneur and corporate trainer for several organizations,

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Sophia Casey does much more than support individual and corporate clients with problem solving.

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She helps leaders of all calibers get transformative results that catapult their organizations.

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She is applauded as a thought leader in the coaching industry and has mentored,

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trained and coached thousands of executives and leadership, career and life coaches.

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Ashantiya Tia Oso is a specialist in using narrative messaging,

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arts and culture to catalyze change.

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As a senior director for Media 2070, she leads the work to build black narrative

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power and advance media reparations as a necessary project for collective liberation.

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Tia has organized for over 12 years, leading successful campaigns to mobilize

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thousands of advocates on issues

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ranging from migrant rights to racial justice to public arts policy.

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Her work is rooted in the legacies of black organizing and ancestral resistance

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and inspired by Afro-futurist visions.

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Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct honor and privilege to have as guests

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on this podcast, Sophia Casey and Tia Oso.

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Music.

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Right i have sophia casey

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and tia also am i saying your

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last name right to you yes if you were

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nigerian you would say osho but we're american right

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now so you know i i

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understand we know i appreciate my you

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forgiving my americanism uh well i'll do the best i can an old show you could

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say okay okay all right so ladies i y'all are on the show because we we've got

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a we got an interesting situation that's happening in a few days it's going on right now,

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but we got this sister and we'll

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get into that debate about whether she's a sister or not but we

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got this sister running for president of

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the united states and she's currently the vice president

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and what I want to talk to y'all

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about is as black women how

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do you feel that she is being portrayed in the media and and what is that relationship

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and how you would if you were given a chance how you would guide her through

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this but let me what I normally do is start off with a quote to kind of break

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the ice first of all did I say how y'all doing are y'all y'all I'm good. How are you doing, Eric?

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If you said it, you can say it again. So hi.

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All right. All right. So here's y'all's quote.

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Politicians aren't concerned with political fallout from shutting out reporters.

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They instead believe that new ways to communicate mean they no longer need journalists

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to reach the electorate.

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What does that quote mean to either one of y'all? Well, immediately what came

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up for me is that they no longer need journalists because they're not always

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necessarily telling the truth. They're creating the truth.

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And from my experience with many journalists, journalists are about telling

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the truth and telling the facts and telling the story with the facts.

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But historically, politicians have created their own truth.

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And and i imagine a lot of them

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see their job as convincing you that

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what they say is the truth is actually the truth but i

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kind of sort of agree with that interesting interesting

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can you repeat the quote again for me eric okay i

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moved away from it and okay let me see

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sorry that's all right well basically the quote was this

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this this this there was this article i had pulled up

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and it was saying that politicians don't

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need journalists anymore because they

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have all these other outlets as far

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as dealing with podcasts and

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you know they can go directly on the internet and use social media to get their

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message across so what do you what do you think about that because you you are

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part of that new age it's like y'all you you your organization media 2070.

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Wants to support the black press, but it's beyond just the newspapers.

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It's it's the podcast. It's the Internet people.

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It's the creatives and all that. So how do you respond to to that criticism

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that politicians don't need traditional journalists anymore?

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Got it. Yes. So I think that the idea that politicians need journalists and

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journalism is, you know, the relationship between the two is really a tricky

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one, especially when we're talking about Black people and Black communities.

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And so, you know, Media 2070, where the Media Reparations Campaign were launched

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with this essay that talks about the history of media,

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the media system and media institutions harming Black communities,

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and how even like the birth of the Black press came out of the need to defend

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Black communities, protect Black communities, and give us the information that

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we really need and deserve.

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And so this idea that politicians don't need journalists, I think we're actually

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talking about like, oh, the traditional broadcast, right?

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And newspaper institutions are no longer the gatekeepers, right?

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Of politicians being able to reach mass audiences because of technology,

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because of social media, because of blogs, and also how people consume their media.

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Everybody's not sitting down to watch the news every day. Now,

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the Black women voters in my family, they watch the news every day, okay?

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I think that's always going to be the case. But the way that people consume

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media and get their information is very much diversified outside of the big

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broadcasters and newspapers.

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And I think that it's necessary and it can be really a good thing.

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And the way that we think about media is it's important for us to break up those

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monopolies because the with media consolidation it's a handful of wealthy white

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men are deciding what everybody gets to watch and read and that's a problem right exactly because,

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Well, look, I feel like they they can't they can't infiltrate is how we share

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stories and media updates just within community. Yes.

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Within community. They're trying to figure out how to touch it.

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But they can't they can't catch the code. Right. They can't crack the code.

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And that's always been the case. And it used to be that it was fine because

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of corporate media power.

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They used to be able to just ignore us and just leave leave the black people

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over there to their own devices but again because of how disruptive social media

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and new media is now they have to try to contend with it right yeah and they

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seem like they they seem like they were very very.

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Upset now i'm gonna read this white woman said something her name was margaret sullivan she said sure.

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Vice President Harris deserves scrutiny, but she doesn't deserve smears and

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stereotypes amplified by journalists and pundits addicted to clicks.

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And I want Sophia to address this one first because you're a life coach.

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So your whole thing is about helping people get their act together,

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bottom line, and how to deal with certain things.

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One of the things that this lady sullivan

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was talking about was when when when vice

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president harris first became the nominee or

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it looked like she was going to be the nominee a lot

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of the republicans started saying that she was a dei hire and

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and so how would you how would

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you tell because she i think she handled it you know

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she just basically ignored it but it's like how do you how do you how do you

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navigate a client of yours or as a black woman how do you navigate that that

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that accusation it was like well the only reason why you are in the position

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you in because you know we have to give it to a black person.

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Well, you know, in the line of work that I do, and I work with predominantly

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Black women, C-suite executives, so they're confronted with this all day,

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every day, upside down, every which way, absolutely.

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And the thing that I support them around is what is their truth? What is their truth?

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I mean, historically, for Black women, for Black people, we've always been told

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who we are, who we are, how we should show up, what's our truth.

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And so I really support them around being clear about what their truth is,

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because especially a lot of my clients work in corporate America.

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So they're going to the battlefield. I call corporate America the battlefield.

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They're going to the battlefield each and every day and where people are telling

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them who they are, telling them which rooms they can be in and which rooms they can't join.

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I've even experienced that in my career many, many, many times.

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And so I really encourage them to be very clear about their own self-awareness

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because they're going to need that. They're going to need that.

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Also, make sure they have a village, a village of support.

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Sometimes it can be tough. You out there in that that world and you're getting

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beat up constantly and being asked to prove yourself and jump higher,

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jump higher, jump higher than them.

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Jump higher and jump higher. How do you take care of yourself and how do you

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take care of your mental health?

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And one of the best ways is to make sure that

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you are surrounded by people who know who you

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are because there are times at least for me maybe I'm just talking about me

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but there are times sometimes I forget like when I've been out there on the

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battlefield day in and day out and sometimes that stuff actually stings but

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I think Vice President Sharon did a wonderful job and like I'm saying she ignored

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it she ignored it she has some good uh.

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There's some discommunication people or several other persons, but I think it has.

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And he put them saying DEI higher.

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They actually, for some people, they actually changed the title and definition of DEI.

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Like by saying she's a DEI higher, they kept conveying that that means less than, less than.

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And I have it that Vice President Harris actually was proud to be DEI,

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but she didn't get her job because she is DEI. Yeah.

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I think that, you know, because the flip side is how are we supposed to take it? Right.

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It's like, if, if you are a black person in the United States and you hear a

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person of the other party saying that one of your leaders or somebody that you respect,

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somebody from your community only got there because of how, how are we supposed to take that?

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And how, how are we supposed to respond to the media when they, when they amplify that?

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Either one or the other. Oh, I think, you know, a lot of what's happening is

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that, And I say, unfortunately,

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that a lot of us rely so much on media as our truth that some of us actually

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believe what's been said and what's been said about her.

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And I can tell you, as a former employee of the White House,

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there's very little that is reported that is actual truth. A lot of it is made

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up story to convince you.

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You know, I said it's the best marketing game in town.

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It's to convince you of what they want you to believe is the truth.

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And I'll leave it at that. I'll leave it at that.

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Yeah, I'll expand a little bit on, Sophia, what you're starting to talk about

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is that, you know, we have to understand that the role of the media in our society

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and how media is positioned, right, is to be the arbiters of the truth, is to inform.

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That's what it's supposed to be, right? And it's supposed to be like the high

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standard that we're holding media institutions to.

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I think when we're talking about Vice President Kamala Harris,

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the thing that we need to understand is that not only is she a Black woman,

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and I know people want to argue about whether or not she's a Black woman,

00:19:51.813 --> 00:19:54.753
but the way that I know she's a Black woman is because how she's being treated.

00:19:56.213 --> 00:19:58.953
A woman of any other race or

00:19:58.953 --> 00:20:02.413
ethnicity wouldn't be questioned about her identity in

00:20:02.413 --> 00:20:05.893
such a way it just wouldn't happen and you

00:20:05.893 --> 00:20:09.393
know obviously she's a multi-ethnic person but

00:20:09.393 --> 00:20:12.593
race and ethnicity are two different things and the way that race works right

00:20:12.593 --> 00:20:16.613
the social construct that race is she's being racialized as a black woman because

00:20:16.613 --> 00:20:20.553
literally nobody but a black woman will be questioned about whether or not she

00:20:20.553 --> 00:20:25.573
knows who she is i mean who her father is and dig into her birth records and

00:20:25.573 --> 00:20:27.413
all of these other things. That just wouldn't happen.

00:20:28.333 --> 00:20:31.753
And the other thing that I think that is at play is with her being a woman.

00:20:31.953 --> 00:20:37.753
There's a term that Black feminist Moya Bailey coined in 2010 to talk about

00:20:37.753 --> 00:20:43.693
specifically the way that Black women are treated in online digital spaces called misogynoir.

00:20:43.873 --> 00:20:49.113
So not just misogyny being anti-women, but there's a specific way that Black women are treated.

00:20:49.433 --> 00:20:53.593
And so she coined this term and misogynoir to help understand and discuss it,

00:20:53.813 --> 00:20:57.173
the specificities of how Black women are treated in online discourse.

00:20:57.433 --> 00:21:01.453
And so not only was she called a diversity hire, and then, you know,

00:21:01.533 --> 00:21:05.053
they flipped the term DEI around to say it means didn't earn it.

00:21:05.393 --> 00:21:09.473
They're calling Kamala Harris a tramp and saying that she slept her way to the top.

00:21:09.593 --> 00:21:13.513
And that's the only way that she got into the places in space that she is.

00:21:13.673 --> 00:21:17.513
They also have called her, you know, because of the mysterious...

00:21:18.703 --> 00:21:22.243
Ethnicity situation. They say, oh, we don't even know who this woman is.

00:21:22.803 --> 00:21:27.683
She's the vice president of the United States. She was a senator.

00:21:28.043 --> 00:21:30.603
She was the attorney general for the state of California.

00:21:31.163 --> 00:21:34.663
Somehow we don't know her record. We don't know what she does.

00:21:35.143 --> 00:21:40.623
And another hashtag that I'll have people point to online is if you search the

00:21:40.623 --> 00:21:42.243
hashtag Black women at work,

00:21:42.903 --> 00:21:46.323
Black women have been talking on social media for a while about this idea that

00:21:46.323 --> 00:21:51.503
just by entering any corporate space, as a Black woman, your credentials,

00:21:51.983 --> 00:21:53.903
your competency, your education,

00:21:54.683 --> 00:21:57.803
your expertise are all called into question.

00:21:57.983 --> 00:22:00.023
It doesn't matter how many letters you have behind your name.

00:22:00.183 --> 00:22:03.243
It doesn't matter what your track record is.

00:22:03.383 --> 00:22:06.403
We're put into a position of having to constantly prove ourselves.

00:22:06.563 --> 00:22:11.563
And you can tell in the tone of the coverage and the ways that people want to,

00:22:11.663 --> 00:22:16.703
the type of scrutiny that Kamala Harris is being subjected to is this idea that,

00:22:16.743 --> 00:22:18.463
oh, now you have to prove yourself again.

00:22:19.883 --> 00:22:25.523
We're going to take away the fact that you've made amazing accomplishments as an individual.

00:22:26.063 --> 00:22:29.243
Right now here today, we're going to act like you've never done anything before,

00:22:29.743 --> 00:22:31.323
and you're just being met with

00:22:31.323 --> 00:22:36.323
this scrutiny and this skepticism simply because she is a black woman.

00:22:37.003 --> 00:22:42.743
That is why. I mean, that's what's at the root of it. Yeah. Go ahead, Sophia. I'm sorry.

00:22:43.543 --> 00:22:46.643
The fear of knowing Thank you.

00:22:47.483 --> 00:22:51.563
That not only could she do the job, she's actually done the job.

00:22:51.983 --> 00:22:55.603
And she's doing the job, doing the job.

00:22:55.943 --> 00:23:03.223
So I have it that it's so rooted in fear that she's already well experienced at doing the job.

00:23:03.283 --> 00:23:08.403
And now she's going to do circles around all of them who have come before her,

00:23:08.563 --> 00:23:10.583
who have tried to do the job.

00:23:11.063 --> 00:23:14.483
It's all rooted in fear. And I totally agree with you, Tia.

00:23:14.483 --> 00:23:19.103
It would not even be a conversation we wouldn't even be having this conversation on this podcast,

00:23:20.543 --> 00:23:26.543
about the scrutiny that she's getting if she were not seen as a black one right

00:23:26.543 --> 00:23:33.363
yeah i mean black yeah i mean i i totally agree with that you know but it we

00:23:33.363 --> 00:23:35.763
you know we got some of our own people.

00:23:37.403 --> 00:23:40.463
Saying it i mean it's like when we're talking about social media

00:23:40.463 --> 00:23:43.503
it's like if you go on x the the

00:23:43.503 --> 00:23:46.623
the black on youtube the black folks

00:23:46.623 --> 00:23:50.043
that are out there and and and some of them are sisters it

00:23:50.043 --> 00:23:53.863
was one thing to see some of these dudes doing it but it's like to see some

00:23:53.863 --> 00:23:58.363
of the sisters out here saying or she there was they alex wagner just interviewed

00:23:58.363 --> 00:24:05.123
a sister in philadelphia and she said in this in this group she got up she found

00:24:05.123 --> 00:24:07.403
some black trump supporters in philadelphia,

00:24:07.863 --> 00:24:10.763
and this one sister got up there and said

00:24:10.763 --> 00:24:13.583
well we know she ain't black that's a given that's already

00:24:13.583 --> 00:24:16.443
understood you know and it was like of course

00:24:16.443 --> 00:24:19.983
everybody in that room was amen in that and so you know

00:24:19.983 --> 00:24:23.783
but then you actually had a young man from guatemala saying he was down with

00:24:23.783 --> 00:24:29.323
detention camp so i you know they they're on a whole nother planet as far as

00:24:29.323 --> 00:24:38.443
self-respect and self-love I just you know but it's like how do we deal with that as far as.

00:24:39.255 --> 00:24:45.335
People, it's one thing for corporate media or mainstream media or conservative media to say that.

00:24:45.555 --> 00:24:50.235
But how do we deal with it when it's in our own community? How do we address that?

00:24:50.595 --> 00:24:56.335
I mean, we have to understand the roots of these perspectives coming from misinformation

00:24:56.335 --> 00:25:01.335
and disinformation and people being radicalized online and digital spaces.

00:25:01.335 --> 00:25:06.815
And the danger is when we have mainstream media legitimizing those perspectives

00:25:06.815 --> 00:25:09.455
instead of pointing out the fact that, you know,

00:25:09.675 --> 00:25:16.415
it's the same roots of birtherism and skepticism around when President Obama was running for office.

00:25:16.415 --> 00:25:22.435
And this idea that now, instead of understanding how race works and ethnicity

00:25:22.435 --> 00:25:26.595
works and coming from a very educated and practical perspective,

00:25:26.595 --> 00:25:29.875
we get to legitimize conspiracy theories.

00:25:30.235 --> 00:25:36.255
And, you know, there's a lot of conversation around Black identities right now

00:25:36.255 --> 00:25:38.535
in various online spaces.

00:25:38.535 --> 00:25:42.475
And so we're legitimizing those perspectives as though that is how race works

00:25:42.475 --> 00:25:47.015
and operates, especially in Kamala Harris's life. And we know,

00:25:47.315 --> 00:25:52.715
right, in the lived Black experience, we know that no Black person is exactly the same.

00:25:53.315 --> 00:25:57.455
Myself, my mom's African-American. My dad is an immigrant from Lagos, Nigeria.

00:25:57.815 --> 00:26:05.235
Nobody has ever said you're not Black to me until I got on the interwebs earlier this year.

00:26:05.415 --> 00:26:08.475
Oh, you're not Black. Since when?

00:26:08.675 --> 00:26:12.095
Since when is that how race works? So why are we legitimizing these kind of

00:26:12.095 --> 00:26:15.615
fringe ideas? instead of contending with the fact that, oh no,

00:26:15.795 --> 00:26:19.835
Black identity is definitely nuanced, but that doesn't mean that Kamala Harris isn't Black.

00:26:20.095 --> 00:26:25.815
How do we also, I feel like there's some underlying conversation that aren't

00:26:25.815 --> 00:26:31.375
happening that are being kind of mixed in with this idea around Kamala Harris's

00:26:31.375 --> 00:26:35.455
identity because it's rising to national prominence.

00:26:35.835 --> 00:26:39.215
But there are severely...

00:26:40.462 --> 00:26:46.542
Both parties are really flawed in how they approach engaging Black voters and Black communities.

00:26:46.942 --> 00:26:52.162
And so some of these conversations are a proxy for the ways that Black people

00:26:52.162 --> 00:26:55.502
are being treated, Black communities are being treated, the services we're not

00:26:55.502 --> 00:26:57.142
getting, the investments we're not getting,

00:26:57.422 --> 00:27:01.802
the way that our votes are being taken for granted is being played out in this,

00:27:01.922 --> 00:27:03.802
well, she's not Black conversation.

00:27:03.802 --> 00:27:06.962
It's like that doesn't actually have anything to do with Kamala Harris's identity

00:27:06.962 --> 00:27:11.762
and everything can do with Black people and Black voters and how significant

00:27:11.762 --> 00:27:14.242
of a voting bloc we are in this nation.

00:27:14.642 --> 00:27:18.682
And because we are such a significant voting bloc in this nation,

00:27:18.962 --> 00:27:23.222
it's just a repeat of what's always been done to our people.

00:27:23.402 --> 00:27:26.122
So we can take this away, see it back.

00:27:26.702 --> 00:27:28.682
What did slave masters do?

00:27:29.362 --> 00:27:32.962
They elevated those Black people

00:27:32.962 --> 00:27:35.782
who had lighter skin like this

00:27:35.782 --> 00:27:38.702
has been indoctrinated in us years and

00:27:38.702 --> 00:27:41.662
years and decades and decades and so it was

00:27:41.662 --> 00:27:46.902
not a surprise to me that we would have some black people say i'm not down with

00:27:46.902 --> 00:27:51.902
her and i'm not down with her because she's not black it's all a part it's all

00:27:51.902 --> 00:27:55.822
a part of the game it's all a part of the scene so i was not surprised by that

00:27:55.822 --> 00:27:59.042
and i even had some folks in my circle,

00:27:59.222 --> 00:28:02.582
a very, very close circle who actually feel that way as well.

00:28:03.202 --> 00:28:06.762
Yeah, I just, you know, I just thought it was interesting that.

00:28:08.261 --> 00:28:15.101
You know, when when when Trump went to the NABJ meeting in Chicago and and made

00:28:15.101 --> 00:28:18.541
that statement, oh, well, now she's black. I thought she was Indian.

00:28:18.821 --> 00:28:21.921
Now she was black. I guess, you know, when you wrote them checks to her when

00:28:21.921 --> 00:28:26.161
she was running for, you know, attorney general or U.S.

00:28:26.201 --> 00:28:29.601
Senate, whichever one he was donating to. I think he donated to both.

00:28:29.941 --> 00:28:33.581
It was like, I guess you thought she was an Indian. So that was OK.

00:28:34.041 --> 00:28:35.661
You know, she was from South Asia.

00:28:36.381 --> 00:28:39.041
It was all right but if you was black you wouldn't have wrote

00:28:39.041 --> 00:28:41.801
the check i mean you know i'm just but then

00:28:41.801 --> 00:28:44.421
people ran with that and people ran with that in the

00:28:44.421 --> 00:28:47.381
community and then and then the other thing now

00:28:47.381 --> 00:28:52.301
he's just he's he's gone on a rampage and now he's saying that she's stupid

00:28:52.301 --> 00:28:58.961
and she's lazy and and and and those folks are just eating it up and it's like

00:28:58.961 --> 00:29:05.781
that's why And then and then and then but we still have people in our community that's parroting that.

00:29:06.161 --> 00:29:12.261
And so what what what would it what would it I mean, you know,

00:29:12.401 --> 00:29:13.861
we're this close to the election.

00:29:14.501 --> 00:29:20.141
People are not going to change their minds, but I'm looking at the big picture.

00:29:20.261 --> 00:29:26.561
I'm looking at what happens on November the 6th when when all this this part is over.

00:29:27.801 --> 00:29:30.601
And now whether she first of

00:29:30.601 --> 00:29:33.321
all i think she's gonna win i think she's gonna win big and i'll get into that in

00:29:33.321 --> 00:29:36.201
a minute but when this election is over

00:29:36.201 --> 00:29:39.201
right this has opened

00:29:39.201 --> 00:29:42.121
up some really really serious divides in

00:29:42.121 --> 00:29:45.281
the black community tia you kind of mentioned it because one

00:29:45.281 --> 00:29:48.761
of the things that really has pissed me off is i'm

00:29:48.761 --> 00:29:51.621
of an age where when i was in college we were all about

00:29:51.621 --> 00:29:54.501
pan-Africanism it was like it didn't

00:29:54.501 --> 00:29:57.821
matter what part of the globe you were from all of

00:29:57.821 --> 00:30:01.061
us were African and we our goal was to connect

00:30:01.061 --> 00:30:03.781
and it's like now that we've thrown

00:30:03.781 --> 00:30:07.601
some money in the conversation we started talking about reparations because

00:30:07.601 --> 00:30:11.461
that's the truth behind it now all of a sudden well you ain't black and all

00:30:11.461 --> 00:30:16.361
it goes back to I always refer to the the thing in school days when Lawrence

00:30:16.361 --> 00:30:21.301
Fishburne got in there and said what's up brother you know and Giancarlo's

00:30:21.621 --> 00:30:25.381
esposito's character is like i'm not african i'm from detroit you know what

00:30:25.381 --> 00:30:31.461
i'm saying and and now we're now we're living that argument in real life so on november the 6th.

00:30:32.081 --> 00:30:41.821
2024 how how do we get past this election and start using the platform or or

00:30:41.821 --> 00:30:46.221
even advising vice president harris how do you start bringing the community

00:30:46.221 --> 00:30:49.041
back together because it's this This is a division.

00:30:49.201 --> 00:30:53.561
This is real. This is really happening. And I'm really concerned that that's

00:30:53.561 --> 00:30:58.941
going to impact, you know, in my vision, how she governs, but even more so how

00:30:58.941 --> 00:31:01.901
we move forward, regardless of who's in office,

00:31:02.361 --> 00:31:04.801
to get things that we need done.

00:31:05.696 --> 00:31:10.256
Yeah, it's a great question, Eric. And I think that the adversarial relationship,

00:31:10.756 --> 00:31:13.696
you know, any Black woman, like I said, any Black woman who has ever had a job

00:31:13.696 --> 00:31:17.656
where she had authority could tell you Kamala Harris is about to have a hard time as president.

00:31:18.216 --> 00:31:21.456
She's going to have a hard time with her cabinet. She's going to have a hard

00:31:21.456 --> 00:31:24.456
time with Congress. She's going to have a hard time with constituencies.

00:31:25.056 --> 00:31:30.756
And this, the battle around the, what is the Black agenda, right?

00:31:31.056 --> 00:31:34.656
How do we win reparations? And the fact that there are so many,

00:31:34.876 --> 00:31:39.776
to me, bad actors and prominent influential, you know, with microphones,

00:31:40.076 --> 00:31:43.716
honestly, influencing the way that black people are talking about it in a way

00:31:43.716 --> 00:31:45.036
that is really divisive.

00:31:45.036 --> 00:31:47.936
And, you know, I could put my conspiracy theory hat on and say,

00:31:48.056 --> 00:31:51.956
well, who's paying these people, you know, to say that only certain people are

00:31:51.956 --> 00:31:53.536
black and the rest of y'all ain't black.

00:31:53.956 --> 00:31:57.896
And who's paying these people to say, well, we need to disaggregate our data

00:31:57.896 --> 00:32:01.976
for the United States census so that we're making sure that only certain people

00:32:01.976 --> 00:32:04.816
are going to get reparations. H.R. 40 has never been passed.

00:32:05.336 --> 00:32:08.856
Why are we already, you know, who's going to get the payout? okay

00:32:08.856 --> 00:32:12.576
how is it the conversation is

00:32:12.576 --> 00:32:15.436
happening now because there's a possibility of a black

00:32:15.436 --> 00:32:18.416
person being in charge and we know

00:32:18.416 --> 00:32:23.136
they're going to take care of their own so we better start dividing them even

00:32:23.136 --> 00:32:29.116
more than even more to be divided enough exactly exactly sophia and so i think

00:32:29.116 --> 00:32:32.796
that it's not just a question around unity but it's a question around strategy

00:32:32.796 --> 00:32:36.696
and it's a question of I want to see the numbers of who,

00:32:36.876 --> 00:32:40.336
how many of these people are actually voting and where they're situated.

00:32:40.336 --> 00:32:45.056
I want to see how we're contending with, you know, your congressional representation,

00:32:45.056 --> 00:32:49.776
the people who actually move the levers of power that we need to have influence on,

00:32:50.196 --> 00:32:56.096
you know, Jamal Bowen and Cori Bush were both primaried out of their seats this year.

00:32:56.296 --> 00:33:00.316
And I don't see these people talking about those, you know, lineage African

00:33:00.316 --> 00:33:04.336
Americans losing power in Congress, people who actually were in position,

00:33:04.616 --> 00:33:07.756
would be in position, right, to help move a Black agenda forward,

00:33:08.356 --> 00:33:10.836
champions of Black representation.

00:33:11.796 --> 00:33:16.756
So I feel like it's time for us to get very serious about what it means for

00:33:16.756 --> 00:33:19.696
us to have, quote unquote, Black political power in this country,

00:33:19.696 --> 00:33:25.416
because we aren't being strategic about it, from my perspective.

00:33:25.496 --> 00:33:30.556
And I think that having Kamala Harris presidency isn't going to change anything

00:33:30.556 --> 00:33:33.336
about any of that. It will just be...

00:33:34.107 --> 00:33:37.567
It will feed into the vitriol. It will feed into the divisiveness if we're not

00:33:37.567 --> 00:33:41.107
more clear about what the motivations are of these people who are trying to

00:33:41.107 --> 00:33:44.787
divide our community and doing it successfully in a lot of ways.

00:33:45.247 --> 00:33:51.007
And we'll continue to be successful by giving us all something to churn and

00:33:51.007 --> 00:33:56.087
talk about and post on social media and have discourse about.

00:33:56.667 --> 00:34:00.527
Meanwhile, we're missing the bigger picture, the bigger picture.

00:34:00.667 --> 00:34:06.427
And like you said, Erica, I believe the bigger picture is about what happened on November 6th.

00:34:06.887 --> 00:34:10.247
I don't think there's going to be this humongous change that all of a sudden

00:34:10.247 --> 00:34:13.887
happened when she does win the election.

00:34:14.287 --> 00:34:18.627
We still have an enormous amount of work to do. And so I feel like all that's

00:34:18.627 --> 00:34:22.927
happened with this churn and everything, all it's done, at least for me,

00:34:23.107 --> 00:34:26.847
is just bubble up the issues that we already have.

00:34:27.187 --> 00:34:31.967
Yeah. Yeah, I agree totally. And see, Sophia, you had a taste of it because

00:34:31.967 --> 00:34:34.627
you worked, you know, in the White House.

00:34:34.987 --> 00:34:39.947
I was actually elected official. And the thing that kind of pisses me off and it's happened.

00:34:40.627 --> 00:34:43.447
It happened with the young brothers that were

00:34:43.447 --> 00:34:47.647
in tennessee one of them went on the breakfast club and he

00:34:47.647 --> 00:34:50.547
said something to the fact that you know

00:34:50.547 --> 00:34:53.527
when when we pass legislation for black folks in

00:34:53.527 --> 00:34:56.427
tennessee that lifts all tennesseans up and they were

00:34:56.427 --> 00:34:59.687
going in on him what do you mean all things

00:34:59.687 --> 00:35:02.547
and all that and so they took a they've taken a

00:35:02.547 --> 00:35:05.527
clip from an interview the vice president did

00:35:05.527 --> 00:35:09.167
years ago where a few

00:35:09.167 --> 00:35:12.467
years ago where she she was saying something about

00:35:12.467 --> 00:35:15.887
policies and she said that it's something

00:35:15.887 --> 00:35:18.927
to the effect dissimilar that it's like everything that's going

00:35:18.927 --> 00:35:22.847
to be done what what can we do to

00:35:22.847 --> 00:35:25.927
to better inform people in our

00:35:25.927 --> 00:35:29.347
community that when you

00:35:29.347 --> 00:35:32.667
are in a position like that you cannot be

00:35:32.667 --> 00:35:35.727
it's it's technically it's unconstitutional it

00:35:35.727 --> 00:35:38.487
would be race specific right and that was

00:35:38.487 --> 00:35:41.567
to our benefit because they were creating laws that were specifically

00:35:41.567 --> 00:35:44.767
to to keep us from attaining full

00:35:44.767 --> 00:35:50.367
citizenship but it works both ways so we can't turn around and pass laws strictly

00:35:50.367 --> 00:35:57.087
for black folk so how do we how do we get that message out to people and generate

00:35:57.087 --> 00:36:01.687
the kind of support within the community through better understanding.

00:36:03.103 --> 00:36:06.203
Yeah, that's a good question. I think we can look at the role of the Black press

00:36:06.203 --> 00:36:11.003
and Black media in properly informing people and not being obsessed with like

00:36:11.003 --> 00:36:13.203
clickbait, like you're describing.

00:36:13.383 --> 00:36:17.983
I think that that has been the role of the Black press and Black media in the past.

00:36:18.403 --> 00:36:22.963
And it can be that role again. We saw a lot, we've seen, you know,

00:36:23.083 --> 00:36:27.903
a lot of mistakes, you know, that have been made around being too coddling.

00:36:28.043 --> 00:36:32.383
If I, we roll back the Wayback Machine to talk about how excited people were

00:36:32.383 --> 00:36:33.923
to have a Barack Obama presidency.

00:36:34.323 --> 00:36:39.763
You know, where was the day, the first hundred day agenda from the black community, right?

00:36:40.063 --> 00:36:43.863
Instead of this kind of idea that, well, now he's in office.

00:36:44.163 --> 00:36:48.223
We made songs. My president is black. We're super excited.

00:36:48.543 --> 00:36:53.463
And any critiques that were leveled against him, there was not strategic alignment

00:36:53.463 --> 00:36:58.743
around how to hold the presidency accountable now that we've delivered you into

00:36:58.743 --> 00:37:00.983
office, it's okay with 95% of our votes.

00:37:01.043 --> 00:37:06.543
I think that there's a significant role for Black media to play in both political

00:37:06.543 --> 00:37:12.623
and civics education about now that this person has the power of the pen,

00:37:12.803 --> 00:37:15.103
now that this person is in control of the executive branch.

00:37:15.603 --> 00:37:20.103
Let's talk about the other levers of power that they're going to have to contend with.

00:37:20.283 --> 00:37:25.203
And also let's articulate our issues in a way that is not just race specific,

00:37:25.203 --> 00:37:28.883
but actually what is it that this person can do?

00:37:28.883 --> 00:37:32.063
Where are the jobs programs where the infrastructure bills where

00:37:32.063 --> 00:37:35.003
are the education you know bills

00:37:35.003 --> 00:37:37.743
and how are those things being funded why is so much

00:37:37.743 --> 00:37:42.723
of our money going to the military and foreign military operations we could

00:37:42.723 --> 00:37:48.743
challenge our black press and our black media to better inform our constituencies

00:37:48.743 --> 00:37:52.623
in our communities and not you know waste the huge platforms that they have

00:37:52.623 --> 00:37:56.263
asking questions about you know whether or not you smoke weed yes yes,

00:37:56.775 --> 00:38:02.275
Yes, yes. And whether or not you black and whether or not you do this and whether

00:38:02.275 --> 00:38:04.015
or not you're a gun holder. Well, hello.

00:38:04.455 --> 00:38:06.695
Have you looked at her past career? Of course, she's a gun holder.

00:38:07.335 --> 00:38:11.775
Like it's distraction. Yeah. Yeah. So.

00:38:13.055 --> 00:38:18.975
As as I figured we were going to be, we were going to use up most of the time.

00:38:19.515 --> 00:38:25.175
And this is a great discussion, but I want to close out with this and I'll tell the story real quick.

00:38:25.175 --> 00:38:32.255
So in 2016, I was still in Mississippi and my alma mater, Jackson State,

00:38:32.795 --> 00:38:37.715
wanted me to come on, start off the radio program on election night for the

00:38:37.715 --> 00:38:38.435
election night coverage.

00:38:39.235 --> 00:38:42.655
So, you know, I got on my T-shirt, I got on some sweats, you know,

00:38:42.715 --> 00:38:46.935
I go down to the station, you know, because we're going to be doing this on the radio.

00:38:47.475 --> 00:38:52.835
So then the numbers started coming in and all of a sudden it's like it's not

00:38:52.835 --> 00:38:54.515
the slam dunk with Hillary.

00:38:54.515 --> 00:38:57.415
It's now it's like donald trump's about to win this election

00:38:57.415 --> 00:39:00.295
so now it's like eric we need you on the tv

00:39:00.295 --> 00:39:03.155
station i'm like oh my god you know what i'm saying so it's like

00:39:03.155 --> 00:39:05.975
like it's in t-shirts and sweats but now i'm on

00:39:05.975 --> 00:39:09.415
the tv station talking trying to explain why

00:39:09.415 --> 00:39:12.295
this has happened i bring this up because i

00:39:12.295 --> 00:39:17.975
think a similar situation is getting ready to happen i think all the pundits

00:39:17.975 --> 00:39:23.915
all the media people are saying oh it's close you know this is this is neck

00:39:23.915 --> 00:39:29.015
and neck and all that stuff they said that about hillary and trump you know

00:39:29.015 --> 00:39:31.675
with with hillary being ahead.

00:39:32.375 --> 00:39:38.275
I think it's it's it's gonna be another one of those nights where it's like,

00:39:38.875 --> 00:39:45.995
she's gonna win and she's gonna win in a commanding way that's just me and that's

00:39:45.995 --> 00:39:49.275
just my assessment of what I'm seeing,

00:39:49.455 --> 00:39:54.615
the energy that people, the issues that are out there that are motivating people to go vote.

00:39:54.795 --> 00:39:58.135
There's going to be some states that people think she's going to win and she's

00:39:58.135 --> 00:40:00.635
not because of a particular issue.

00:40:00.835 --> 00:40:04.875
And then there's some states where there's like writing her off and she's going to win big.

00:40:05.075 --> 00:40:11.395
I think there are people in states where she may not win, but in the House seats and the Senate seats,

00:40:11.595 --> 00:40:14.515
those candidates are going

00:40:14.515 --> 00:40:17.495
to benefit from just the the third

00:40:17.495 --> 00:40:20.675
what it what does y'all take on that and

00:40:20.675 --> 00:40:26.875
and yeah that's just it what do y'all think am i do you think that is going

00:40:26.875 --> 00:40:31.935
to be close based on what y'all hearing and and all that kind of stuff or do

00:40:31.935 --> 00:40:36.975
you think that she's going to be his brains out i i actually don't think it's

00:40:36.975 --> 00:40:40.495
going to be close i think she's going to win with strong numbers and.

00:40:41.346 --> 00:40:46.766
As evidence for me, as evidence by how much the mainstream media is trying to

00:40:46.766 --> 00:40:49.126
convince us that it's going to be really, really close.

00:40:49.246 --> 00:40:52.506
No, not that it's going to be really close. It's really, really close right now.

00:40:52.846 --> 00:40:56.346
I feel like it's just more of the same of what we've been talking about.

00:40:56.846 --> 00:41:02.846
Media is a powerful, powerful, powerful tool, so powerful that it can convince

00:41:02.846 --> 00:41:05.046
us of what is our reality.

00:41:05.446 --> 00:41:10.766
So I'm actually one who doesn't believe that is so, so close right now.

00:41:10.906 --> 00:41:14.086
And I don't believe it'll be so, so close on November 5th either.

00:41:14.366 --> 00:41:17.726
In fact, I'm actually working in the middle of the day on November 5th.

00:41:18.066 --> 00:41:22.506
So I'm not watching so much of that and hearing so much of that commentary back

00:41:22.506 --> 00:41:25.586
and forth and up and down, but I can do that because I'm not in media.

00:41:26.106 --> 00:41:33.286
So I'm actually hosting a, if you will, like a business conference call for

00:41:33.286 --> 00:41:37.666
predominantly Black coaches to focus on November 6th and beyond.

00:41:38.166 --> 00:41:43.166
So I'm not stuck to stand there because I'm like, We need to focus on what happens

00:41:43.166 --> 00:41:47.066
next, what happens next, and not get so wrapped up into that.

00:41:48.241 --> 00:41:52.441
Yeah. Thank you for that, Sophia. I too will be trying to distract myself during

00:41:52.441 --> 00:41:56.661
the horse race type of coverage because that's what's interesting,

00:41:56.801 --> 00:41:57.901
right? And that's what gets them ratings.

00:41:58.081 --> 00:42:02.601
And that's what unfortunately mainstream media is very invested in is that horse

00:42:02.601 --> 00:42:04.501
race. It's so close. It's neck and neck.

00:42:04.821 --> 00:42:11.421
Stay tuned right here. Okay. So you don't miss more of our blithering on about how close it is.

00:42:12.821 --> 00:42:16.461
I think that the thing too, I mean, I hope it isn't close.

00:42:17.221 --> 00:42:20.021
The thing that I'm going to be paying attention to, honestly,

00:42:20.181 --> 00:42:24.641
is the tone of the coverage and how much our media,

00:42:25.261 --> 00:42:32.661
again, gives legitimacy and undue weight to skeptics and detractors of Kamala

00:42:32.661 --> 00:42:37.581
Harris and the way that they're going to shape, to your point, Sophia,

00:42:37.761 --> 00:42:41.481
our understanding of whether or not she's a legitimate candidate,

00:42:41.481 --> 00:42:44.321
whether or not she won by a big enough margin.

00:42:45.321 --> 00:42:47.181
Oh, well, and then, you know, what they're also going to do,

00:42:47.301 --> 00:42:50.661
and this is not even a racial thing, but this is just a way that I feel like

00:42:50.661 --> 00:42:53.981
people treat Democrats and Republicans in the media.

00:42:54.421 --> 00:42:57.141
You know, the very next thing they're going to say is, oh, well,

00:42:57.241 --> 00:43:00.721
what type of concessions are they going to be willing to make to the Republican

00:43:00.721 --> 00:43:02.741
Party? Because, you know, you got to unite.

00:43:03.141 --> 00:43:07.401
The Republican leaders get to, you know, be the dictators and set the agenda.

00:43:08.301 --> 00:43:11.101
Democrats get to be the ones who are, you know, the uniters,

00:43:11.201 --> 00:43:14.421
and they need to spend all of their energy uniting the nation now that things

00:43:14.421 --> 00:43:15.601
have become so divisive.

00:43:15.741 --> 00:43:18.581
So they're going to, you know, are they going to make her the mammy of the nation

00:43:18.581 --> 00:43:22.241
and say, oh my gosh, Pamela Harris, why aren't you bringing us together and

00:43:22.241 --> 00:43:26.741
healing our racial wounds from 400 years, right, of strife?

00:43:27.081 --> 00:43:30.421
You know, you better make sure that you bring this country together now after

00:43:30.421 --> 00:43:33.501
they've been calling you a tramp for six weeks.

00:43:33.981 --> 00:43:38.721
Yeah, see, yeah, not to cut you off to you, but when you said the mamma,

00:43:38.801 --> 00:43:40.841
it was like mamala, they're already using the term.

00:43:40.981 --> 00:43:43.741
I've heard that there's this is mamala we

00:43:43.741 --> 00:43:46.441
need you mamala the next minute she ain't got no

00:43:46.441 --> 00:43:55.101
kids now which is it it goes

00:43:55.101 --> 00:44:01.381
back to what i said earlier this is not new black women built this country black

00:44:01.381 --> 00:44:08.301
women cleaned up constantly we still cleaning up after the mainstream mistakes

00:44:08.301 --> 00:44:10.681
and mess up. It's no different.

00:44:11.101 --> 00:44:14.841
So it's like, I want to spend my energy focused on, okay.

00:44:16.441 --> 00:44:19.941
With her winning, with her winning, there's still a lot of work to do,

00:44:20.221 --> 00:44:27.141
a lot of work to do, and making sure that I don't end up in spaces and I'm supporting

00:44:27.141 --> 00:44:31.201
others with not ending up in spaces where we are looked at as mama love.

00:44:32.155 --> 00:44:36.555
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And, you know, should the other scenario happen and

00:44:36.555 --> 00:44:40.235
she doesn't win the way that they're going to try to lay it at her feet?

00:44:41.015 --> 00:44:44.935
Yes. That same dynamic. Now, they're not going to lay it at her feet.

00:44:45.035 --> 00:44:46.335
They're going to lay it at people like me.

00:44:46.455 --> 00:44:49.475
They say you black men didn't do it. Y'all black men didn't come out here.

00:44:50.555 --> 00:44:56.375
I'm about if the if the other scenario happens is like is it's like they all

00:44:56.375 --> 00:44:58.455
going to be you black men didn't do enough.

00:44:58.635 --> 00:45:02.855
So that'll be a whole nother show. We had to come back and do that one. sold us out.

00:45:04.875 --> 00:45:09.035
They're already ready they've already

00:45:09.035 --> 00:45:16.015
started it okay we all have it isn't funny okay but it is funny because like

00:45:16.015 --> 00:45:20.655
since when have you ever put the burden of this nation's victories on black

00:45:20.655 --> 00:45:26.855
men's shoulders since when we first black men voters to be the saviors but all of a sudden.

00:45:27.955 --> 00:45:30.815
You know because it might be tight because black men

00:45:30.815 --> 00:45:33.895
are you know for better or worse expressing you

00:45:33.895 --> 00:45:37.495
know political viewpoints that are not falling in line and

00:45:37.495 --> 00:45:40.255
we expect again mamala to get all the black men to

00:45:40.255 --> 00:45:43.415
fall in line i said how is that fair to anybody that's

00:45:43.415 --> 00:45:46.315
in the discussion yeah and we

00:45:46.315 --> 00:45:49.375
don't talk about any other voters like this no we

00:45:49.375 --> 00:45:52.375
don't we don't and just real quick i remember when

00:45:52.375 --> 00:45:55.195
i was on the state executive committee this this white member came

00:45:55.195 --> 00:45:58.195
to me and said eric we got to get all those you you

00:45:58.195 --> 00:46:00.935
got to you got to get all these black folks out we got to get them

00:46:00.935 --> 00:46:03.775
i said i said and i need you to get

00:46:03.775 --> 00:46:07.195
one out of four your neighbors that's

00:46:07.195 --> 00:46:10.175
all i need i just need one out of four

00:46:10.175 --> 00:46:13.335
your neighbors including you to support and

00:46:13.335 --> 00:46:15.995
and we'll we will win the election we're gonna

00:46:15.995 --> 00:46:20.415
do our part i need you to do yours so you know they don't they don't get that

00:46:20.415 --> 00:46:22.955
accountability but look that's gonna have to be another episode we're gonna

00:46:22.955 --> 00:46:28.075
have to get y'all to come back Sophia definitely another episode absolutely

00:46:28.075 --> 00:46:35.335
so Sophia Tia tell folks how they can get in touch with y'all and and and stuff that y'all doing,

00:46:36.368 --> 00:46:40.508
Just you find me Sophia Casey ever, everywhere, everywhere, everywhere.

00:46:40.848 --> 00:46:46.268
And the thing that I am most focused on and most committed to right now is increasing

00:46:46.268 --> 00:46:51.028
the number of black credentialed and certified coaches on this planet to be

00:46:51.028 --> 00:46:52.968
able to support the aftermath.

00:46:54.108 --> 00:46:56.988
So Sophia Casey everywhere. Awesome.

00:46:57.308 --> 00:47:02.668
Oh, my name is Tia Oso. You can follow Media 2070 on all platforms,

00:47:03.048 --> 00:47:07.008
Instagram dot com slash media dot two zero seven zero.

00:47:07.628 --> 00:47:12.848
Our website is media reparations dot org. You can find me at T.O.

00:47:13.028 --> 00:47:15.088
So on LinkedIn, as well as Instagram.

00:47:15.908 --> 00:47:19.828
And yeah, we are fighting for a media system that loves black people.

00:47:20.028 --> 00:47:23.628
And so you can join us, join our email list and follow us online.

00:47:24.248 --> 00:47:27.948
All right. So Sophia Casey, T.O. Show. Thank you all so much.

00:47:27.948 --> 00:47:33.508
I really enjoyed this discussion and look forward to y'all, you know,

00:47:34.288 --> 00:47:38.408
y'all, y'all, y'all have a standing invitation to come back.

00:47:38.588 --> 00:47:42.168
Your, your, your friend Tiana understands that rule.

00:47:42.388 --> 00:47:47.028
So if you, anytime y'all want to, y'all want to come back home,

00:47:47.188 --> 00:47:48.228
just feel free to do that.

00:47:48.308 --> 00:47:51.468
And we'll, we'll, as a matter of fact, we might need to come back after the

00:47:51.468 --> 00:47:55.448
election sometime and, or maybe after the inauguration and see what's going

00:47:55.448 --> 00:47:57.828
on. We give everybody a little break. You know what I'm saying?

00:47:58.348 --> 00:48:01.448
But yeah we'll come back and and and finish up on this.

00:48:02.000 --> 00:48:21.360
Music.

00:48:23.668 --> 00:48:29.208
All right. And we are back. So now it is time for my next guest, Dr.

00:48:29.448 --> 00:48:31.728
Nii Cordelay-Corte.

00:48:32.148 --> 00:48:37.788
Dr. Nii Cordelay-Corte is a political journalist, Pepperdine University professor

00:48:37.788 --> 00:48:41.908
and prominent convener in the fields of dialogue and social change.

00:48:41.908 --> 00:48:46.208
Born into a Ghanaian American family, Dr.

00:48:46.328 --> 00:48:51.028
Corte holds a doctoral degree in organizational leadership and a master's degree

00:48:51.028 --> 00:48:55.428
in social entrepreneurship and change from Pepperdine University.

00:48:55.728 --> 00:48:59.788
He also holds a bachelor's degree in political science with a minor in critical

00:48:59.788 --> 00:49:03.388
approaches to leadership from the University of Southern California.

00:49:03.388 --> 00:49:08.348
Throughout his career, he has been featured on various media outlets,

00:49:08.708 --> 00:49:15.048
including the Oprah Winfrey Show, MSNBC, CBS News, CNN, News Nation.

00:49:15.628 --> 00:49:22.028
Sirius XM, The Grill, and as a daily news anchor for Fox Broadcasting and Fox Soul.

00:49:22.028 --> 00:49:28.808
He currently serves as host of a more perfect union radio talk show and podcast

00:49:28.808 --> 00:49:34.048
produced by KBLA Talk 1580, owned and operated by Tavis Smiley.

00:49:34.248 --> 00:49:39.788
Before returning to his passion for political journalism for over a decade, Dr.

00:49:39.948 --> 00:49:45.168
Corte has been actively engaged in policy advocacy efforts on issues ranging

00:49:45.168 --> 00:49:51.148
from civil and human rights to childhood obesity, obesity to senior issues.

00:49:51.148 --> 00:49:54.688
These experiences have been foundational to Dr.

00:49:54.808 --> 00:50:00.728
Corte's distinctive approach to political journalism, where he aspires to humanize

00:50:00.728 --> 00:50:08.148
leaders, listen for teachable moments, cautionary tales and challenges underlying assumptions.

00:50:08.808 --> 00:50:16.088
And so he also has written a book called Kamala, the Motherland and Me.

00:50:17.328 --> 00:50:24.468
And so we're going to be basing our conversation off of this new book that's just been released.

00:50:24.668 --> 00:50:29.228
So, ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct honor and privilege to have as a

00:50:29.228 --> 00:50:33.608
guest on this podcast, Dr. Nhi Cordelé.

00:50:34.000 --> 00:50:43.440
Music.

00:50:45.342 --> 00:50:51.662
All right, Dr. Nii Coeur d'Ale, how are you doing, Doc? You doing good?

00:50:52.262 --> 00:50:56.042
I'm doing well. How are you doing, sir? I'm doing fine, my brother. I'm doing fine.

00:50:56.202 --> 00:51:01.082
Look, and I know we press for time, so I appreciate you taking the time out

00:51:01.082 --> 00:51:04.002
to come on my little podcast and talk about something.

00:51:04.102 --> 00:51:07.962
I think this is something that's near and dear to our heart and dealing with

00:51:07.962 --> 00:51:10.082
the topic about the vice president.

00:51:10.762 --> 00:51:17.082
So what I normally do is start off with a quote And this is from your book And

00:51:17.082 --> 00:51:22.602
the name of the book, by the way, is Kamala, the Motherland in Me That Dr.

00:51:22.742 --> 00:51:28.042
Corday wrote And it was talking about his experience With the vice president

00:51:28.042 --> 00:51:34.102
when she did an overseas trip to Africa And she went to three countries And

00:51:34.102 --> 00:51:37.642
he can kind of elaborate on that a little bit But your quote is this.

00:51:38.462 --> 00:51:43.402
Despite the angry stares and even snickers from around the room,

00:51:44.142 --> 00:51:48.222
Vice President Harris never paused or hesitated in her response.

00:51:48.622 --> 00:51:55.742
Without missing a beat and standing tall with shoulders arched back, she said, I'll start.

00:51:56.042 --> 00:52:00.682
I have raised this issue and let me be clear about where we stand.

00:52:00.682 --> 00:52:06.522
First of all, for the American press who are here, you know that a great deal

00:52:06.522 --> 00:52:10.342
of my work in my career has been to address human rights issues,

00:52:10.642 --> 00:52:17.462
equality issues across the board, including as it relates to the LGBTQ plus community.

00:52:17.682 --> 00:52:22.922
And I feel very strongly about the importance of supporting freedom and supporting

00:52:22.922 --> 00:52:28.702
and fighting for equality among all people and that all people being treated equally.

00:52:28.702 --> 00:52:33.762
I will also say that this is an issue that we consider and I consider to be

00:52:33.762 --> 00:52:39.262
a human rights issue and that will not change. Talk to me about that quote.

00:52:40.383 --> 00:52:44.643
Well, I think it was a very powerful demonstration of allyship.

00:52:44.943 --> 00:52:49.763
You know, what does it look like when allies show up in rooms that you're not in?

00:52:50.083 --> 00:52:53.583
In this case, I happen to be in the room. I happen to bear witness to that.

00:52:53.683 --> 00:52:58.283
But I thought it was important to include that in the book so that people understood,

00:52:58.283 --> 00:53:02.643
you know, that when she says that, you know,

00:53:03.543 --> 00:53:09.223
while her positions on certain policies may have changed to meet this moment,

00:53:09.223 --> 00:53:13.563
and to meet the power of the office that she's seeking as president,

00:53:14.103 --> 00:53:15.583
her values haven't changed.

00:53:15.703 --> 00:53:18.603
And I saw plenty of examples of that.

00:53:18.963 --> 00:53:24.423
The example that you just read included throughout the trip to Africa,

00:53:24.763 --> 00:53:30.903
from Ghana to Tanzania to Zambia, I saw her wield her power,

00:53:31.103 --> 00:53:34.043
her influence on the world stage. I saw how it was received.

00:53:34.423 --> 00:53:40.863
I found her to be a competent, cutting edge leader capable of meeting the moment.

00:53:40.983 --> 00:53:46.483
And I think there are so many of our fellow Americans that have seen that on the campaign trail.

00:53:46.483 --> 00:53:50.143
I think for folks who've been following her career for many years,

00:53:50.303 --> 00:53:56.603
I think we've seen her grow as a leader, grow into each office that she's occupied.

00:53:57.363 --> 00:54:01.963
And I believe that This is a leader that...

00:54:03.321 --> 00:54:10.361
Does not see the hopes and dreams and ambitions of black Americans as at odds

00:54:10.361 --> 00:54:12.141
with black people around the world.

00:54:12.461 --> 00:54:18.101
And so, oh, my goodness, you know, we have, you know, an American leader,

00:54:18.421 --> 00:54:25.301
potentially the next president of the United States, who wants not just turn the page,

00:54:25.481 --> 00:54:29.101
you know, on other folks who've occupied that office, but she wants to turn

00:54:29.101 --> 00:54:34.621
the page on these sort of antiquated views of Africa, right?

00:54:34.801 --> 00:54:40.521
She goes to Africa and she sees the possibilities. She sees possibilities for investment.

00:54:41.081 --> 00:54:46.081
Possibilities to invest in cutting edge technologies, possibilities in terms

00:54:46.081 --> 00:54:51.721
of supporting the creative economy there in a way that's not disconnected from

00:54:51.721 --> 00:54:55.981
the hopes, dreams, and ambitions of Black Americans and all Americans here.

00:54:56.381 --> 00:55:01.241
Right. And to me, it was a symbol of her courage.

00:55:01.261 --> 00:55:07.141
And you kind of alluded to that because the backdrop of that response was a

00:55:07.141 --> 00:55:12.581
question from a New York Times reporter who was aware that in Ghana,

00:55:12.781 --> 00:55:15.701
there was legislation at the time that was

00:55:15.701 --> 00:55:18.941
going to make it a crime to to be involved

00:55:18.941 --> 00:55:23.181
in same-sex relationships and and

00:55:23.181 --> 00:55:26.381
why and she asserted the american

00:55:26.381 --> 00:55:33.681
position to her colleague who is the president of ghana and and of course he

00:55:33.681 --> 00:55:38.541
gave a classic response well it's not even an issue yet because no legislation

00:55:38.541 --> 00:55:42.741
is passed you know he gave a real political answer but but i thought that that

00:55:42.741 --> 00:55:46.361
was also a good example about courage so that leads me to this question.

00:55:46.981 --> 00:55:54.661
What else did you learn about her leadership style and how effective a president you think she would be?

00:55:55.641 --> 00:55:59.741
On her leadership style, she's very detail-oriented.

00:55:59.961 --> 00:56:04.761
I think sometimes too detail-oriented, sometimes over-prepared.

00:56:04.761 --> 00:56:11.161
And I think we see examples of that in her responses to questions even on the

00:56:11.161 --> 00:56:18.221
campaign trail, where it's very easy for her to think as a lawyer, right?

00:56:19.641 --> 00:56:27.381
And I think she's really grown as a leader in terms of being able to communicate

00:56:27.381 --> 00:56:31.801
her positions without getting too lawyerly, right? Yeah.

00:56:32.552 --> 00:56:40.532
She cares a lot. She cares deeply, deeply about the future. She cares deeply about young people.

00:56:40.812 --> 00:56:46.872
Every stop, almost every stop on this trip in Africa, she didn't miss an opportunity

00:56:46.872 --> 00:56:54.092
to remind those of us that are part of the press corps and anybody who would listen that by 2050.

00:56:54.732 --> 00:56:59.712
One in four people on the planet Earth will reside in Africa.

00:56:59.712 --> 00:57:04.652
Where right now the average age on the continent is 19, right?

00:57:04.872 --> 00:57:09.412
And so she understands that if we aren't in the business of creating more opportunity

00:57:09.412 --> 00:57:11.752
and investing in young people,

00:57:12.112 --> 00:57:20.732
then our future as a world superpower, our future in terms of being a leader

00:57:20.732 --> 00:57:24.032
in the global economy is going to be uncertain.

00:57:24.392 --> 00:57:28.052
And again, she's connecting the dots to the dreams and ambitions,

00:57:28.512 --> 00:57:33.072
not just the young people in Africa, but black people across the diaspora.

00:57:33.532 --> 00:57:38.812
She sees us because she is us. She is a part of us.

00:57:39.432 --> 00:57:43.392
I've got to say one of the best compliments I've received since publishing this

00:57:43.392 --> 00:57:47.552
book came from a brother, a brother who tapped me on the shoulder.

00:57:47.692 --> 00:57:51.712
And he said, Dr. Corte, aren't you the author of Kamala, the Motherland of Me? I said, yes, sir.

00:57:51.952 --> 00:57:54.212
He said, I'm reading your book. I said, well, thank you.

00:57:54.532 --> 00:57:57.972
He said, I'm on chapter three. I said, oh, really? He said, yeah.

00:57:58.312 --> 00:58:05.072
He said, your book is a Kamala Harris myth buster, myth buster.

00:58:05.692 --> 00:58:11.312
And he said, as much as they try to make it seem like she's not like us already

00:58:11.312 --> 00:58:16.412
on chapter three of your book, I feel like she's more like us than I thought.

00:58:17.292 --> 00:58:23.532
Yeah. And that was going to lead into my next question about this whole notion of her blackness.

00:58:24.432 --> 00:58:27.872
You know that she she

00:58:27.872 --> 00:58:30.612
is you know people are trying and you know

00:58:30.612 --> 00:58:36.312
these are people who are trying to portray her a certain way you know it was

00:58:36.312 --> 00:58:41.312
very deliberate that Donald Trump said what he said at the NABJ meeting to to

00:58:41.312 --> 00:58:47.492
to put that seed in in of doubt in the community and it's the same seed of doubt

00:58:47.492 --> 00:58:49.412
that was put in when Barack Obama ran.

00:58:51.432 --> 00:58:53.832
What characteristic or what.

00:58:55.535 --> 00:59:03.115
What did she do for you personally that made you realize that she had that kind of connection,

00:59:03.355 --> 00:59:11.115
that she identified and understood who she is and why we we in the community shouldn't doubt that?

00:59:11.655 --> 00:59:17.595
Well, let me just say, as a black gay man, I think that question has come up for me over the years.

00:59:17.595 --> 00:59:21.875
I remember many years ago before I returned to journalism, when I was doing

00:59:21.875 --> 00:59:26.455
advocacy and organizing work related to Proposition 8 in California.

00:59:26.455 --> 00:59:30.215
That was the ban against same-sex marriage in California.

00:59:30.595 --> 00:59:37.275
And the same night where when California elected, helped to elect President

00:59:37.275 --> 00:59:43.935
Obama, it was the same night that folks in my home state supported a ban on same-sex marriage.

00:59:43.935 --> 00:59:50.875
And so what ensued was years of public education work to bridge the gap,

00:59:50.995 --> 00:59:55.075
to challenge people's assumptions about who they thought LGBTQ people were and

00:59:55.075 --> 00:59:56.115
who they, in fact, they were.

00:59:56.655 --> 01:00:01.755
And so there are many times where even I've received that question,

01:00:02.315 --> 01:00:06.875
you know, you know, are you are you black first or are you gay first? Right.

01:00:07.555 --> 01:00:13.135
And and so I think there are a number of folks that are oftentimes put in position

01:00:13.135 --> 01:00:17.455
where we have to sometimes, you know, validate our blackness.

01:00:17.875 --> 01:00:22.895
And I think, you know, unfortunately, this is what it looks like if you're Kamala

01:00:22.895 --> 01:00:24.135
Harris and if you're running for president.

01:00:24.295 --> 01:00:27.675
I remember many years ago having a conversation with Dr.

01:00:27.895 --> 01:00:29.975
Karanga, the founder of Kwanzaa.

01:00:30.395 --> 01:00:35.055
And, you know, we're talking about blackness right through a wide lens.

01:00:35.055 --> 01:00:38.995
And I'll never forget the one thing that he shared with me is that for him,

01:00:39.115 --> 01:00:44.735
his operational definition of blackness came down to color, consciousness and commitment. Right.

01:00:45.175 --> 01:00:51.015
You know, being black isn't just the aesthetic of being black. Right.

01:00:51.495 --> 01:00:56.795
Oh, you know, or, you know, your hips or, you know, your big bone or whatever,

01:00:57.115 --> 01:00:59.635
you know, light skin, dark skin, whatever.

01:01:01.243 --> 01:01:05.223
There's a consciousness and commitment. And the fact that this trip to Africa

01:01:05.223 --> 01:01:09.143
took over a year, it was over a year in the making.

01:01:09.983 --> 01:01:13.503
She was very much involved, very directive with her team.

01:01:13.723 --> 01:01:20.063
She spent more time on foreign soil in Africa than any other place around the world.

01:01:20.583 --> 01:01:25.103
Right? And so when you think about the consciousness and commitment that that

01:01:25.103 --> 01:01:32.943
requires to unflinchingly lean into the possibilities on this continent, right?

01:01:33.163 --> 01:01:40.883
And to use your bully pulpit, to use your office to bring attention to what's happening there,

01:01:41.283 --> 01:01:47.763
what needs to happen there, and what's holding back members of the Black diaspora

01:01:47.763 --> 01:01:51.263
on the continent, what's holding them back from their dreams,

01:01:51.423 --> 01:01:53.523
their ambitions, and their potential.

01:01:53.823 --> 01:01:57.983
That's what she did. And, you know, I've got to tell you,

01:01:58.323 --> 01:02:07.483
part of the reason why I wrote this book was because I was taken aback at the

01:02:07.483 --> 01:02:12.423
caricature of Vice President Kamala Harris and,

01:02:12.543 --> 01:02:16.663
quite frankly, the mis and disinformation around who she is and what she was about.

01:02:17.363 --> 01:02:23.383
And I thought to myself, what a shame. What a shame if the American people and

01:02:23.383 --> 01:02:26.743
people of conscience around the world didn't know what happened here.

01:02:27.343 --> 01:02:30.283
Yeah, because, you know, when I was thinking about it, I said,

01:02:30.543 --> 01:02:32.863
this brother wrote a book about nine days.

01:02:33.323 --> 01:02:37.383
You know, when most people write a book is like about nine years or,

01:02:37.383 --> 01:02:41.103
you know, nine decades or something like that.

01:02:41.103 --> 01:02:47.823
But it was like it was like that you could tell that that trip made a significant

01:02:47.823 --> 01:02:53.623
impact on you, that you felt compelled that you had to that you had to write this book.

01:02:53.823 --> 01:02:59.583
And I think it's I think it's great that you did that, which kind of leads to this question.

01:03:00.775 --> 01:03:06.255
What you had already heard some stuff about her before you went on this trip,

01:03:06.255 --> 01:03:09.715
but now it's being amplified because she's running.

01:03:09.915 --> 01:03:15.115
So what are the what is your opinion about these stereotypical tropes? Right.

01:03:15.775 --> 01:03:20.275
The D.I. hire. She's lazy. She's unprepared. She's not tough enough to handle

01:03:20.275 --> 01:03:23.255
position. I one of my co-workers came to me on that.

01:03:23.415 --> 01:03:26.115
He's like, brother, Eric, you know, I like her.

01:03:26.235 --> 01:03:29.855
But man, is she going to be able to she's going to be able to do that job,

01:03:29.955 --> 01:03:32.935
brother? Is she going to be up there and be able to deal with these foreign leaders?

01:03:33.115 --> 01:03:35.675
And I was trying to break them down and tell them, I was like,

01:03:35.775 --> 01:03:37.495
she's the vice president now.

01:03:37.715 --> 01:03:40.875
All these people she knows already. She knows all these people.

01:03:41.235 --> 01:03:44.435
She's dealt with them in a limited capacity, but she's dealt with them.

01:03:44.535 --> 01:03:45.675
At least she knows their names.

01:03:46.075 --> 01:03:47.755
Kind of elaborate on that for me.

01:03:48.215 --> 01:03:52.275
Well, I can tell you what I witnessed in Africa, witnessing Vice President Harris

01:03:52.275 --> 01:03:58.335
on the world stage, standing toe to toe with the presidents of Africa and Tanzania

01:03:58.335 --> 01:04:03.135
and Zambia. and other diplomats, she held her own.

01:04:03.375 --> 01:04:09.035
I mean, she was at the table, you know, talking with these world leaders about

01:04:09.035 --> 01:04:11.255
potentially reorganizing their debt.

01:04:11.575 --> 01:04:16.255
You know, the debt that they are saddled with and the challenge of servicing

01:04:16.255 --> 01:04:21.795
that debt is at odds with their ability to invest in innovation in their country, right?

01:04:22.275 --> 01:04:24.855
National security related issues. You know, there are

01:04:24.855 --> 01:04:28.055
a lot of hot spots around the world you

01:04:28.055 --> 01:04:30.735
know we have issues not just in the middle east you know

01:04:30.735 --> 01:04:34.635
but we have issues around the world including the continent of africa you know

01:04:34.635 --> 01:04:39.915
where there are there are terrorist cells uh that exist there remember boko

01:04:39.915 --> 01:04:45.835
haram remember the terrorist group that you know took those young girls you

01:04:45.835 --> 01:04:50.375
know and it's taken years to get those young girls back Right.

01:04:50.495 --> 01:04:53.695
Well, that happened on the continent. And so talking to them.

01:04:54.708 --> 01:05:00.888
Not as a public health case, not as a humanitarian case, but talking to them

01:05:00.888 --> 01:05:07.728
as a national security partner, talking to them as a partner in building shared economic prosperity.

01:05:08.408 --> 01:05:17.048
Talking to them as a partner in the effort to combat climate change. Right.

01:05:17.268 --> 01:05:22.588
I would have never thought that we would be in a place like Panuka Farms,

01:05:22.708 --> 01:05:27.688
which is outside of Lusaka, Zambia, where they're using AI powered technology

01:05:27.688 --> 01:05:31.428
to fight against the effects of climate change.

01:05:31.428 --> 01:05:34.888
That's what's happening on the continent and wouldn't have known that,

01:05:34.948 --> 01:05:40.468
you know, if the vice president and her team hadn't curated this experience.

01:05:40.768 --> 01:05:47.588
And so there are leaders in industry that take the calls from Vice President Harris.

01:05:47.588 --> 01:05:53.228
She has raised over she's raised billions of dollars in public private partnerships,

01:05:53.228 --> 01:05:56.648
just working the phones behind the scenes.

01:05:56.808 --> 01:06:01.388
And so, you know, I think there's a lot of work that the vice president is doing

01:06:01.388 --> 01:06:07.808
and has done both out front and behind the scenes that demonstrates that, you know,

01:06:08.168 --> 01:06:13.548
she she is ready for the next step in leadership.

01:06:13.548 --> 01:06:17.268
In this case, it looks like her run for the presidency.

01:06:17.688 --> 01:06:23.768
She is doing commendable work that I don't think she gets nearly enough credit for.

01:06:24.808 --> 01:06:28.488
And so I thought it was my duty that people would know more about it.

01:06:28.568 --> 01:06:30.628
And that's why I wrote Kamala, the motherland in me.

01:06:31.828 --> 01:06:37.488
How confident are you that the majority of American voters will see her positive

01:06:37.488 --> 01:06:40.608
attributes and will vote accordingly? Yeah.

01:06:41.475 --> 01:06:46.935
No, this race is going to be a tight race. And right now, as we sit here,

01:06:47.055 --> 01:06:55.315
there have been a number of polls that have affirmed that this is a race where it is they're tied.

01:06:55.975 --> 01:06:59.535
You know, it's it's a statistical dead heat.

01:06:59.755 --> 01:07:05.455
And so that to me says it's going to be a turnout election. And whichever candidate

01:07:05.455 --> 01:07:09.455
is able to turn out the majority of their supporters plus one,

01:07:09.675 --> 01:07:11.835
right, will become our next president.

01:07:12.235 --> 01:07:23.115
And the effects of their presidency across the diaspora could not be more stark, could not be more stark.

01:07:23.115 --> 01:07:27.655
Actually, in the book, I interviewed VP Harris.

01:07:27.855 --> 01:07:32.575
It's the only book interview she's done as vice president. And I asked her straight up,

01:07:32.875 --> 01:07:39.495
straight no chaser, what's at stake for Africa, for the black diaspora,

01:07:39.495 --> 01:07:44.415
if Trump gets another term in the Oval Office? And she answers that question.

01:07:44.715 --> 01:07:49.855
She answers that question. And so, you know, my job is not to tell people how

01:07:49.855 --> 01:07:52.255
to vote, but my job is to give people information.

01:07:52.635 --> 01:07:56.475
And in this age of heightened mis- and disinformation.

01:07:56.995 --> 01:08:01.835
The role of journalists, the role of storytellers, the role,

01:08:02.055 --> 01:08:08.255
you know, of folks that are in community could not be more important.

01:08:08.255 --> 01:08:15.215
I believe that the vice president's secret weapon may be those sort of disaffected

01:08:15.215 --> 01:08:22.315
Republicans, you know, that are fed up with the former president and the movement that he's created.

01:08:22.555 --> 01:08:28.135
I think those orphaned Nikki Haley voters, for example, you know,

01:08:28.435 --> 01:08:37.155
may be a part of the coalition that gets VP Harris over the finish line on Election Day.

01:08:37.155 --> 01:08:43.375
I also think that, you know, independent voters, it's hard to look at the evidence

01:08:43.375 --> 01:08:49.815
to look at, you know, the plan that these respective candidates are offering for the future. And.

01:08:50.963 --> 01:08:57.543
Know, decide that you want to return back to the, you want to return the former

01:08:57.543 --> 01:08:58.963
president to power, right?

01:08:59.103 --> 01:09:04.883
And so I think the biggest question right now for folks is really between VP

01:09:04.883 --> 01:09:06.063
Harris and staying home.

01:09:06.443 --> 01:09:10.843
And former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie recently said as much on The View.

01:09:11.063 --> 01:09:15.823
I think if you're not supporting the former president, you probably made that

01:09:15.823 --> 01:09:17.943
decision right now. But I think

01:09:17.943 --> 01:09:24.403
the onus is on the VP to give people an affirming reason to support her.

01:09:24.763 --> 01:09:32.423
And the book, Kamala, the Motherland and Me, is chock full of anecdotes and

01:09:32.423 --> 01:09:37.943
reasons, quite frankly, for folks to support her leadership. Right.

01:09:38.263 --> 01:09:43.103
When I wrote this book, she was vice president. She was not the Democratic nominee for president.

01:09:43.303 --> 01:09:47.923
And so I don't want your listeners to think that, you know, this is sort of

01:09:47.923 --> 01:09:52.483
an 11th hour effort to support the Kamala Harris campaign.

01:09:52.483 --> 01:09:57.863
It just so happens that this book came out a couple of days after she became

01:09:57.863 --> 01:09:59.503
the presumptive Democratic nominee.

01:10:00.223 --> 01:10:03.603
And, you know, that just makes the story all the more important.

01:10:03.603 --> 01:10:09.123
Well, that's also my argument about divine intervention. Just real quick,

01:10:09.303 --> 01:10:11.503
I don't think it's going to be close.

01:10:11.743 --> 01:10:17.423
And based on some of the events that have been going on and just the way certain

01:10:17.423 --> 01:10:22.943
things are happening, I just think the dynamic and I was the candidate in 08 for the U.S.

01:10:23.003 --> 01:10:26.023
Senate when Obama ran. And it was very similar.

01:10:26.243 --> 01:10:28.923
It was like you could feel that undertow. Right.

01:10:29.323 --> 01:10:35.203
And you could you could see it happening. And so I'm more convinced now than

01:10:35.203 --> 01:10:41.003
it has been than ever before that it's it's not going to be as close as people think.

01:10:41.143 --> 01:10:45.163
I think she's going to win big. But that's a discussion for another day. look, you got to go.

01:10:45.483 --> 01:10:52.303
But before you go, tell people how they can get this book and how people can

01:10:52.303 --> 01:10:55.203
tune into your show and how people can reach out to you.

01:10:55.863 --> 01:11:00.783
Absolutely. And I really thank you for the opportunity to talk about Kamala, the motherland in me.

01:11:01.283 --> 01:11:04.323
I believe it is some of my best work yet.

01:11:04.483 --> 01:11:09.763
And so I can't wait for folks to pick it up and take me up on this invitation,

01:11:09.763 --> 01:11:11.423
Join this literary journey.

01:11:11.703 --> 01:11:18.223
You can get it on Amazon, on Barnes and Nobles, on Mahogany Books and any online

01:11:18.223 --> 01:11:20.443
book retailer. You can get the book there.

01:11:20.603 --> 01:11:26.063
You can also tap into my show, my radio talk show called A More Perfect Union

01:11:26.063 --> 01:11:29.743
on KBLA Talk 1580, the Tavis Smiley Station.

01:11:30.826 --> 01:11:36.006
Each day, from the White House to your house, we're tracking some of the biggest political headlines.

01:11:36.206 --> 01:11:42.486
We're engaging in conversations with compelling leaders on the front lines and

01:11:42.486 --> 01:11:44.006
engaging in expert analysis.

01:11:44.226 --> 01:11:46.406
And so it's 1 p.m.

01:11:46.766 --> 01:11:51.526
Pacific, 4 p.m. Eastern. People can join us live by simply downloading the KBLA

01:11:51.526 --> 01:11:56.866
app to listen to us live or on demand or simply tell Alexa to play KBLA 1580.

01:11:57.126 --> 01:12:02.346
And there I am for your listening pleasure. and people can follow me on IG at Dr.

01:12:02.766 --> 01:12:07.246
Nikortelai. That's D-R-N-I-I-Q-U-A-R-T-E-L-A-I.

01:12:07.706 --> 01:12:12.226
Well, Dr. Nikortelai-Korte, thank you for doing this.

01:12:12.346 --> 01:12:15.926
I had the privilege of interviewing Tavis back in 1997.

01:12:17.146 --> 01:12:22.426
So if he vaguely remembers that, then I don't want him getting mad with me for

01:12:22.426 --> 01:12:23.986
keeping you longer than you need to be.

01:12:24.146 --> 01:12:28.306
But I greatly appreciate you writing that book and I greatly appreciate you

01:12:28.306 --> 01:12:30.346
coming on the podcast. Thank you so much, brother.

01:12:31.206 --> 01:12:35.806
Absolutely. And Eric, can I just say one last thing? Go ahead. As we sit here today.

01:12:37.006 --> 01:12:43.686
One of the things that is dismaying to me, the fact that the LA Times,

01:12:43.686 --> 01:12:48.766
the newspaper of record in my adopted hometown of LA.

01:12:49.886 --> 01:12:53.086
Opted not to issue an endorsement.

01:12:53.086 --> 01:12:57.806
When the editorial staff had drafted an endorsement for VP Harris.

01:12:58.306 --> 01:13:04.206
We have learned that the Washington Post has scuttled an endorsement of Vice President Harris.

01:13:04.886 --> 01:13:11.246
And there are some reports that Jeff Bezos, their owner, was a part of that.

01:13:12.266 --> 01:13:23.386
I want to underscore the moment that we're in, where seeking the truth has never been more important.

01:13:23.626 --> 01:13:30.106
I want to commend the leadership over at the Houston Chronicle who issued their endorsement.

01:13:30.386 --> 01:13:35.126
I also want to end the leap of the Philadelphia Inquirer who issued their endorsement,

01:13:35.426 --> 01:13:37.566
both having endorsed VP Harris.

01:13:37.766 --> 01:13:40.306
And I want to salute them.

01:13:40.786 --> 01:13:44.046
Back to what you said earlier about courage.

01:13:44.326 --> 01:13:51.066
You know, people demonstrate courage when they demonstrate courage in the face of, you know,

01:13:51.326 --> 01:14:00.226
potentially losing favor with people that they wish to enjoy support from.

01:14:00.406 --> 01:14:06.966
And so I just want to take a moment out to salute my fellow journalists that are on the front lines.

01:14:07.106 --> 01:14:11.086
I'm putting their bodies on the line in pursuit of truth so that we,

01:14:11.306 --> 01:14:13.966
the people, can make the best possible decisions.

01:14:14.206 --> 01:14:18.986
Decisions if i didn't share that with you today well i appreciate that and that's

01:14:18.986 --> 01:14:25.146
going to be a good segue for how i'm going to close the show so doc thank you so much for that and.

01:14:26.320 --> 01:14:37.200
Music.

01:14:39.686 --> 01:14:45.506
All right. And we are back. And so now I want to close out a little bit.

01:14:45.666 --> 01:14:52.746
Before I do, let me let me thank Coach Casey, Sister Osho, Osho and Dr.

01:14:52.886 --> 01:14:54.906
Corte for coming on.

01:14:55.826 --> 01:15:01.566
Greatly appreciated the time that they were able to give to to offer some insights,

01:15:01.566 --> 01:15:08.866
hopefully dispel some rumors and myths, give their perspectives on those rumors and myths,

01:15:09.726 --> 01:15:11.906
and give you a better understanding.

01:15:12.526 --> 01:15:19.126
Because I feel, and I've had this conversation with co-workers and all that,

01:15:19.126 --> 01:15:22.526
and I've got some co-workers that's supporting the other guy,

01:15:22.706 --> 01:15:25.126
and I've got some co-workers that are supporting her.

01:15:26.006 --> 01:15:30.066
And I've had some co-workers that have some questions about the vice president.

01:15:30.066 --> 01:15:35.126
And, you know, I did my best based on my knowledge,

01:15:35.326 --> 01:15:42.886
experience and training in the political world to make my case for why I think

01:15:42.886 --> 01:15:45.666
that she will be an incredible president.

01:15:47.486 --> 01:15:52.466
And it'll be more than just the history she would make and being the first female.

01:15:52.466 --> 01:15:58.846
I think that she is going to be a generational leader because the times dictate that.

01:15:59.386 --> 01:16:05.326
And unlike her opponent, I believe she's going to rise to that moment. Right.

01:16:05.846 --> 01:16:08.186
Because when he had the chance, he did not.

01:16:10.606 --> 01:16:18.306
And and that was a shame. You know, when when people say that they want somebody to fail.

01:16:18.826 --> 01:16:24.086
Right. Like Jim DeMint in South Carolina. I will never forgive that man for that.

01:16:26.424 --> 01:16:31.964
Don't want your elected officials to fail. You don't want that because failure

01:16:31.964 --> 01:16:35.244
or you don't even want them just to suck at the job,

01:16:35.684 --> 01:16:42.904
let alone fail because we all suffer from that regardless of who you vote for.

01:16:43.404 --> 01:16:48.364
Right. Once the dust is settled and the oath is taken and the transfer of power

01:16:48.364 --> 01:16:53.964
has happened, you want government to work regardless whether your person got

01:16:53.964 --> 01:16:56.124
it or not. You want it to function.

01:16:57.224 --> 01:17:09.104
And we saw between 2017 and 2021 what it looks like when government is not functioning

01:17:09.104 --> 01:17:14.404
or when government is not prepared or when government and leaders in government

01:17:14.404 --> 01:17:17.064
don't rise for the occasion, right?

01:17:17.624 --> 01:17:19.724
So we don't want a repeat of that.

01:17:20.344 --> 01:17:25.964
At least I don't. And so that's That's why I'm supporting the vice president.

01:17:26.164 --> 01:17:29.424
That's why I'm encouraging everybody to support the vice president.

01:17:29.644 --> 01:17:33.604
But most importantly, I want people to vote, right?

01:17:34.284 --> 01:17:38.884
I'm not going to give you a speech about that, but I am going to touch on something that Dr.

01:17:39.044 --> 01:17:44.884
Corte closed out with, and that's this whole issue of courage, right?

01:17:45.564 --> 01:17:49.624
It's not going to take courage to vote. It takes commitment to vote.

01:17:49.624 --> 01:17:54.984
It takes understanding your responsibility to vote. It takes courage to lead.

01:17:55.644 --> 01:18:01.784
It takes courage to do the right thing, even if it's not popular.

01:18:02.504 --> 01:18:06.564
It doesn't take any courage to do the wrong thing. That's the easy way.

01:18:07.304 --> 01:18:12.644
I just, when I think about that, I think about, and this is my Christian teaching

01:18:12.644 --> 01:18:13.804
coming out, so y'all forgive me.

01:18:15.124 --> 01:18:19.484
But, you know, when Jesus was in that desert and Satan came up to him and said,

01:18:19.964 --> 01:18:22.264
God, you can have all this, everything.

01:18:23.104 --> 01:18:27.924
I will surrender the world to you if you just come on board,

01:18:28.184 --> 01:18:29.724
if you denounce your father.

01:18:30.584 --> 01:18:35.284
That's where we get the phrase, you know, man doesn't live by bread alone, right?

01:18:36.284 --> 01:18:39.704
You biblical scholars can correct me if I got that wrong. But do you get to

01:18:39.704 --> 01:18:43.824
just what I'm saying? And he resisted the temptation to show this purpose.

01:18:44.504 --> 01:18:47.124
For us, that would be an act of courage.

01:18:47.824 --> 01:18:49.504
For him, it was his mission.

01:18:50.844 --> 01:18:57.964
But he did the right thing. And so today, as we're recording this,

01:18:59.064 --> 01:19:05.644
two major newspapers in the United States decided not to endorse a candidate

01:19:05.644 --> 01:19:06.944
for president of the United States.

01:19:06.944 --> 01:19:11.124
The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post.

01:19:12.632 --> 01:19:16.432
Now, there were some papers that did. I think the Houston Chronicle is very

01:19:16.432 --> 01:19:21.192
smart to do that, saying Vice President Harris is supposed to be in Houston

01:19:21.192 --> 01:19:25.452
on the day that we're recording this.

01:19:25.572 --> 01:19:30.852
So it's good that they endorse her and the Philadelphia Inquirer as well.

01:19:31.052 --> 01:19:34.612
But then I got to check and see who else.

01:19:34.732 --> 01:19:39.672
I got to check on my old hometown paper, Tribune, the Clint Ledger's going to do all of them.

01:19:41.452 --> 01:19:44.952
But the Washington Post, the L.A.

01:19:45.052 --> 01:19:48.852
Times, I mean, she was the attorney general of California. She was a U.S.

01:19:48.952 --> 01:19:49.832
Senator from California.

01:19:50.792 --> 01:19:54.072
They didn't even play the homie card on that one, right?

01:19:54.892 --> 01:20:01.372
And then the Washington Post, the newspaper that is supposed to be the newspaper

01:20:01.372 --> 01:20:04.932
to make sure that what's going on in Washington, we know about.

01:20:04.932 --> 01:20:12.772
Their credibility is important as far as journalism goes, and they didn't have

01:20:12.772 --> 01:20:15.432
the courage to make an endorsement.

01:20:16.352 --> 01:20:20.672
And, you know, we've had some other groups you heard on the news,

01:20:20.952 --> 01:20:25.492
you know, the Arab American Association decided not to endorse either candidate

01:20:25.492 --> 01:20:28.752
because they didn't agree with either.

01:20:28.852 --> 01:20:33.672
They felt that both candidates were pro-Israel and didn't care about the Palestinian people.

01:20:34.992 --> 01:20:39.432
That that's interesting, but okay. And, you know, I, I don't really fault them

01:20:39.432 --> 01:20:40.692
for that. It's their organization.

01:20:40.952 --> 01:20:43.452
It's, they, they pulled their membership. That's how it goes.

01:20:43.632 --> 01:20:48.332
The teamsters, members wanted to go one way to leadership wanted to go another

01:20:48.332 --> 01:20:50.452
way. So they didn't do it. Right.

01:20:51.352 --> 01:20:55.672
But for a newspaper, I remember as a candidate, man, you know,

01:20:56.212 --> 01:21:00.752
run into the state newspapers, the Meridian star, the Clarence ledger.

01:21:02.312 --> 01:21:06.952
Now I'm trying to remember, you know, the son, Harold, Greenwood Commonwealth.

01:21:07.332 --> 01:21:12.492
I was running to all these papers. I had to make all these dates to the Natchez

01:21:12.492 --> 01:21:17.372
Democrats, all these newspapers to sit before the editorial board,

01:21:18.472 --> 01:21:21.752
and whether I felt I was going to get the endorsement or not,

01:21:21.892 --> 01:21:28.232
it was my obligation as a candidate to talk directly to the editorial board and make my case.

01:21:29.972 --> 01:21:35.192
Even without the endorsement, I got a story in that paper because they were

01:21:35.192 --> 01:21:39.412
going to cover me showing up at their respective.

01:21:42.072 --> 01:21:45.512
And it was just it's just there's it's just a rite of passage.

01:21:46.112 --> 01:21:52.032
Right. But even more so in this age where a lot of people are not using mainstream

01:21:52.032 --> 01:21:53.872
media, especially newspapers.

01:21:54.552 --> 01:21:57.092
Right. They're getting their stuff online.

01:21:57.832 --> 01:22:04.852
You know, whether it's Reuters or BBC or, you know, they're using cable news

01:22:04.852 --> 01:22:12.232
or, you know, they're trying to find a newspaper that's close to their political leanings, even.

01:22:12.992 --> 01:22:18.172
Right. To stay in a safe space, get to get the spin that they want to have. Right.

01:22:18.972 --> 01:22:21.952
So for two major newspapers, the L.A.

01:22:22.052 --> 01:22:29.712
Times and the Washington Post to sit this one out, probably the most important election.

01:22:30.312 --> 01:22:33.272
And I know people say every election is important, blah, blah.

01:22:33.372 --> 01:22:35.972
But I mean, just just just think about it.

01:22:36.572 --> 01:22:42.512
For the for the Generation Z, this is clearly the most important election because

01:22:42.512 --> 01:22:45.872
this is going to set the foundation. This is for a lot of them,

01:22:45.872 --> 01:22:46.892
their first time voting.

01:22:47.332 --> 01:22:52.472
This is going to set the foundation for the next 20 years about whether we're

01:22:52.472 --> 01:22:57.512
going to even have a democracy or not. It's just real talk.

01:22:58.672 --> 01:23:05.932
For those newspapers to sit it out, that, for lack of a better word, trifling.

01:23:08.252 --> 01:23:15.232
But, you know, I mean, I've never claimed to be unbiased.

01:23:15.372 --> 01:23:19.932
I'm not, this is not a straight news show. This is an opinion podcast.

01:23:20.692 --> 01:23:24.172
And so my opinions are what they are.

01:23:24.592 --> 01:23:30.692
I try to get guests that may not agree with my opinion, but it's an opinion-based show.

01:23:30.892 --> 01:23:33.652
There's never been any ambiguity about it.

01:23:34.592 --> 01:23:38.992
But for those newspapers, not to. That's crazy.

01:23:39.872 --> 01:23:46.812
But it reaffirms something for me. And again, for those of you who are not Christian

01:23:46.812 --> 01:23:53.512
or agnostic or atheist, you may not get what I'm saying.

01:23:54.952 --> 01:24:02.752
But we were taught in our faith that Satan was the fallen angel.

01:24:02.752 --> 01:24:15.372
And he fell to earth and his mission has always been division and chaos and to a degree death right.

01:24:17.170 --> 01:24:25.410
But we were also taught that when we were created, that we were given the charge

01:24:25.410 --> 01:24:31.650
of dominion over Earth, which meant that we were supposed to have dominion over Satan.

01:24:33.070 --> 01:24:42.770
And his mission henceforth was to keep us divided so we would never have clear dominion.

01:24:43.610 --> 01:24:47.850
And so when I see what is going on, when I hear the rhetoric,

01:24:48.030 --> 01:24:54.410
I watch how people are blindly supporting, people of faith are blindly supporting

01:24:54.410 --> 01:24:56.670
a guy who is the antithesis,

01:24:56.910 --> 01:25:02.130
the total opposite of what they were raised up to be, what they taught in Sunday

01:25:02.130 --> 01:25:06.710
school, what their fathers and their mothers instilled in them,

01:25:07.190 --> 01:25:09.810
their teachers, even in their private schools.

01:25:10.810 --> 01:25:14.650
Right? Because a lot of them went to church-based schools.

01:25:15.350 --> 01:25:20.810
When I see people tying themselves in knots and pretzels to defend supporting

01:25:20.810 --> 01:25:24.430
a particular person and demeaning the opposition,

01:25:25.250 --> 01:25:33.910
right, and to see my own people supporting somebody that they know is not in their best interest.

01:25:34.270 --> 01:25:36.210
But it makes them feel good.

01:25:36.730 --> 01:25:41.410
It makes them feel special to be contrary, right?

01:25:42.150 --> 01:25:48.410
Even to the point where they deny the opportunity for one of their own.

01:25:48.610 --> 01:25:52.630
And you can stay calmly, like, if you want to. If that makes you sleep well

01:25:52.630 --> 01:25:55.870
enough, well at night, that's fine. That ain't the truth.

01:25:56.890 --> 01:25:59.830
Brother, Dr. Corday gave you the test.

01:26:00.870 --> 01:26:04.550
Color consciousness and commitment gave you the test.

01:26:05.650 --> 01:26:09.570
And he said she passed it in his assessment.

01:26:10.270 --> 01:26:14.050
And he's probably not an easy professor to study.

01:26:14.810 --> 01:26:21.230
You know, I think you I think he can see through BS. Right.

01:26:22.010 --> 01:26:27.150
And so, you know, if that makes you feel better at night that you can say that

01:26:27.150 --> 01:26:31.730
she ain't one of us, that's that's fine. But as far as me and my house and me

01:26:31.730 --> 01:26:34.830
and my friend, we know. We know.

01:26:35.610 --> 01:26:39.450
Been there, done that. Don't want to see the rerun. Right?

01:26:41.396 --> 01:26:47.876
Even just all of that, all of this chaos and all this stuff and even the fear, right?

01:26:48.036 --> 01:26:54.716
Because really, for major newspapers not to endorse any presidential candidate,

01:26:55.016 --> 01:26:57.896
I mean, if they had endorsed Dr.

01:26:58.076 --> 01:27:00.756
West or Dr. Stein, that would have been better than nothing.

01:27:01.636 --> 01:27:06.916
Nothing? Miss Claudia out here running, you could have endorsed her. Nothing?

01:27:07.756 --> 01:27:13.916
Brother from Georgia with Chase, the Libertarian candidate. That door's down.

01:27:14.856 --> 01:27:18.296
Wanted to play it safe. Nothing. Nobody.

01:27:19.256 --> 01:27:22.116
But even that is an affirmation to me.

01:27:22.756 --> 01:27:27.676
That when it's all said and done, the 47th president of the United States is

01:27:27.676 --> 01:27:31.536
going to be the current vice president of the United States, Kamala Devi Harris.

01:27:32.336 --> 01:27:38.036
And on January 20th, 2025, on Martin Luther King's birthday,

01:27:38.496 --> 01:27:45.216
or at least a holiday, she's going to say those 35 words at 12 noon and assume the office.

01:27:46.196 --> 01:27:51.556
This just affirmed it to me. Now, I've done my part. I voted already.

01:27:51.996 --> 01:27:57.896
So the rest of y'all in podcast listening land, y'all need to go ahead and vote, too.

01:27:58.716 --> 01:28:01.356
Because most of y'all listening to this podcast are probably going to do the

01:28:01.356 --> 01:28:08.016
same thing I did and made sure that she had some help who voted for people that

01:28:08.016 --> 01:28:11.576
were going to be not only in the U.S.

01:28:11.676 --> 01:28:18.776
Congress but in the statehouse to make sure that the craziness doesn't continue

01:28:18.776 --> 01:28:24.536
at the local level and in my case to make sure that that trial that's supposed

01:28:24.536 --> 01:28:26.516
to happen here in Georgia goes forward.

01:28:28.450 --> 01:28:33.590
Willis is literally running against an election denier for her position, the district attorney.

01:28:34.830 --> 01:28:36.930
So, yeah, took care of that.

01:28:38.250 --> 01:28:43.130
So in my friends, listening audience, in y'all respective states,

01:28:43.350 --> 01:28:46.230
I expect y'all to do likewise. At least I hope you do.

01:28:46.770 --> 01:28:51.950
But this is just further affirmation that is going to happen.

01:28:52.570 --> 01:28:59.830
And so if I'm wrong, I'm wrong. and we'll deal with that when that comes,

01:29:00.190 --> 01:29:01.990
but I don't think I'm going to be wrong.

01:29:04.190 --> 01:29:09.930
And regardless, I want people to still have courage.

01:29:10.330 --> 01:29:12.490
I want people to still have hope.

01:29:13.090 --> 01:29:17.590
I want people to still have the will to fight for what is right,

01:29:17.590 --> 01:29:24.630
regardless of the issue, Whether it's reparations, whether it's reproductive rights,

01:29:25.010 --> 01:29:33.790
whether it's LGBTQA plus rights. Forgive me, guys, for that.

01:29:34.470 --> 01:29:38.990
You know what I'm saying. Whatever issue that you want to fight for,

01:29:39.250 --> 01:29:41.750
the ceasefire in the Middle East.

01:29:41.930 --> 01:29:44.330
How about a ceasefire in the Congo, right?

01:29:45.710 --> 01:29:51.550
Whatever issue that I hope that you continue to have that fight in you,

01:29:51.890 --> 01:29:55.710
that you still have that desire to make a difference, that you still have that

01:29:55.710 --> 01:30:01.390
will and that commitment to make the world a better place than what you inherited.

01:30:02.190 --> 01:30:09.790
If for nobody else but your children or your younger family members, they come after you.

01:30:10.890 --> 01:30:13.250
Right. Marley said it.

01:30:15.110 --> 01:30:18.190
Kendrick Lamar said, everything's going to be all right.

01:30:19.370 --> 01:30:24.570
We're going to be all right. But we have to engage and we have to fight.

01:30:24.880 --> 01:31:16.129
Music.