Full Transcript for Creative Force & Sly Civility Featuring Keldamuzik, Dr. Donna J. Nicol, and Dontaye Carter

we're seeing that idiocracy is being rewarded as being normal, 00:03:12.051 --> 00:03:17.831 where mediocrity is being treated as greatness, it's good to hear and listen 00:03:17.831 --> 00:03:22.111 to people who are really, really doing the work, who are really, 00:03:22.171 --> 00:03:24.291 really trying to do something positive. 00:03:25.351 --> 00:03:31.211 And, you know, so I appreciate y'all's indulgence in listening to these conversations. 00:03:31.211 --> 00:03:32.911 I appreciate y'all's support. 00:03:33.531 --> 00:03:37.651 And we're just, we're going to keep it going. As always, you know, 00:03:37.791 --> 00:03:41.831 we're still, that magical number of 20,000 subscribers, we're still trying to 00:03:41.831 --> 00:03:46.331 get y'all to do that here on Patreon. 00:03:47.371 --> 00:03:50.871 And, but you know, it's like, I know the word is spreading. 00:03:51.411 --> 00:03:55.271 I get emails. I get people that are requesting to be on the show. 00:03:55.451 --> 00:04:00.271 I get people who are saying, we appreciate you interviewing this person and 00:04:00.271 --> 00:04:02.531 all this stuff. So I know y'all listening. 00:04:03.334 --> 00:04:07.514 But the subscriptions will help a lot because there's some things, 00:04:07.754 --> 00:04:10.134 and I've told you before, there's some things I want to do. 00:04:10.394 --> 00:04:13.114 I'm very fortunate to have Grace. 00:04:13.734 --> 00:04:17.554 But there's some more things I want to add to that because I want this to be 00:04:17.554 --> 00:04:19.074 as comprehensive as possible. 00:04:19.434 --> 00:04:25.234 We're saying this is the podcast of our time, and it's awesome to get people 00:04:25.234 --> 00:04:27.654 in our time that's really doing some good things. 00:04:28.114 --> 00:04:32.154 But as always, we want to do some more. And the main reason I want to do more 00:04:32.154 --> 00:04:34.994 is for you all, the listeners. 00:04:35.514 --> 00:04:40.294 So, you know, whatever you can, you know, it's only a dollar subscription. 00:04:40.754 --> 00:04:43.874 Whatever you can do, I greatly appreciate it. 00:04:43.934 --> 00:04:49.914 But I do appreciate the fact that you are listening and that you put up not 00:04:49.914 --> 00:04:55.954 only with the time, but even my commentary at the end, which, yeah, I will have one. 00:04:56.594 --> 00:05:01.454 Because something happened that I know that if it happened to me, 00:05:01.474 --> 00:05:07.214 I don't know if I would have been as classy about it. I'm just being honest. 00:05:07.894 --> 00:05:11.814 And it really, really sends a message. There's actually a couple of things that happened. 00:05:12.474 --> 00:05:16.094 I'll lightly touch on the other one, but it still bothered me. 00:05:16.154 --> 00:05:17.234 So I want to say something. 00:05:17.574 --> 00:05:20.614 But nonetheless, this is a good show. 00:05:20.754 --> 00:05:25.654 So let's go ahead and kick it off. And as always, we kick it off with a moment of news with Grace G. 00:05:26.640 --> 00:05:31.760 Music. 00:05:32.441 --> 00:05:36.221 Thanks, Erik. Judicial intervention forced the U.S. 00:05:36.621 --> 00:05:40.961 Justice Department to scale back President Trump's attempted takeover of the Washington, D.C. 00:05:41.101 --> 00:05:45.141 Police force, allowing the city's police chief to remain in command. 00:05:45.541 --> 00:05:49.061 During a White House summit, President Trump pledged that the United States 00:05:49.061 --> 00:05:53.321 would help guarantee Ukraine security in any deal to end its war with Russia. 00:05:53.541 --> 00:05:57.901 A federal judge in Miami siding with environmental groups ordered a halt to 00:05:57.901 --> 00:06:01.561 new construction and the removal of equipment at a migrant detention center 00:06:01.581 --> 00:06:03.121 in the Florida Everglades. 00:06:03.281 --> 00:06:07.981 A New York appeals court threw out a half-billion-dollar penalty against Donald 00:06:07.981 --> 00:06:11.441 Trump while upholding the fraud case against him. The U.S. 00:06:11.781 --> 00:06:15.661 Department of Justice is halting all visitor visas for individuals from Gaza 00:06:15.661 --> 00:06:18.661 to conduct a full and thorough review of applicants. 00:06:18.901 --> 00:06:23.481 The Texas legislature approved new congressional maps after Democratic lawmakers 00:06:23.481 --> 00:06:25.381 in Texas returned to the state. 00:06:25.541 --> 00:06:27.501 The California Assembly passed 00:06:27.501 --> 00:06:31.201 legislation to have a redistricting referendum on the November ballot. 00:06:31.681 --> 00:06:35.461 President Trump is urging the first black female Federal Reserve governor, 00:06:35.701 --> 00:06:39.881 Lisa Cook, to resign based on allegations about mortgages she holds. 00:06:40.321 --> 00:06:46.041 Hamas agreed to a proposed 60-day ceasefire with Israel that includes a prisoner exchange. 00:06:46.421 --> 00:06:50.761 President Trump has pledged to issue an executive order to end the use of mail-in 00:06:50.761 --> 00:06:54.901 ballots and voting machines ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. 00:06:55.161 --> 00:07:00.401 The U.S. has announced criminal charges against Haitian gang leader Jimmy Cherizier 00:07:00.401 --> 00:07:04.621 and a North Carolina man for conspiring to violate sanctions and raise funds 00:07:04.621 --> 00:07:06.781 for Cherizier's gang activities. 00:07:07.241 --> 00:07:13.001 Elon Musk has decided to halt plans for a new political party to focus on his companies. 00:07:13.361 --> 00:07:17.141 And the measles outbreak in West Texas has officially ended, 00:07:17.441 --> 00:07:21.781 with the state now focusing on vaccination campaigns to prevent future cases. 00:07:22.061 --> 00:07:27.121 I am Grace G, and this has been a Moment of News. . 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:32.240 Music. 00:07:32.087 --> 00:07:35.767 All right. Thank you, Grace, for that moment of news. 00:07:35.987 --> 00:07:40.487 And it's time now time for my guest, Keldamuzik. 00:07:41.147 --> 00:07:46.887

Keldamuzik is a multifaceted hip hop artist, actress and entrepreneur known 00:07:46.887 --> 00:07:51.047 for her powerful lyricism and dynamic presence in the entertainment industry. 00:07:51.047 --> 00:07:56.307 With a deep passion for storytelling, she seamlessly blends her music with her 00:07:56.307 --> 00:08:01.347 background in acting, creating an authentic and unique voice within the hip-hop scene. 00:08:01.687 --> 00:08:07.867 Beyond music, Keldamuzik has also made waves as the host of the popular talk 00:08:07.867 --> 00:08:13.507 show Diva Talk Tonight, where she showcased her charisma and ability to connect 00:08:13.507 --> 00:08:15.327 with a diverse range of personalities. 00:08:15.327 --> 00:08:20.047 Her entrepreneurial spirit shines through with the launch of Tam's Berets, 00:08:20.327 --> 00:08:23.547 a fashion brand that reflects her creative vision and style. 00:08:24.127 --> 00:08:30.407 Drawing influences from a variety of genres, Keldamuzik's music captures deep 00:08:30.407 --> 00:08:33.327 emotional resonance while pushing the boundaries of hip hop. 00:08:33.327 --> 00:08:37.527 Whether on stage, in front of the camera, or through her business ventures, 00:08:37.787 --> 00:08:43.547 she continues to inspire and connect with fans worldwide, constantly evolving 00:08:43.547 --> 00:08:45.807 in every aspect of her career. 00:08:46.127 --> 00:08:50.447 Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct honor and privilege to have as a guest 00:08:50.447 --> 00:08:53.627 on this podcast, Keldamuzik. 00:08:54.800 --> 00:09:04.400 Music. 00:09:04.687 --> 00:09:08.667 All right. Keldamuzik. How are you doing, sister? You doing good? 00:09:09.607 --> 00:09:13.807 Good. I'm good. Thank you so much for having me. Well, I'm really, 00:09:13.927 --> 00:09:15.707 really honored to have you come on. 00:09:16.027 --> 00:09:22.347 And just so you know, you're not the first musician or musical artist to come on the show. 00:09:22.347 --> 00:09:28.047 So, but, you know, there's a couple of things that you're doing that kind of 00:09:28.047 --> 00:09:34.687 got my attention and I wanted to highlight that and just just talk a little bit about you. 00:09:34.967 --> 00:09:37.927 And, you know, we'll throw a little politics in there. You know, 00:09:38.167 --> 00:09:41.527 nothing too heavy. Don't want to get your fan base upset with you. 00:09:41.647 --> 00:09:42.127 You know what I'm saying? 00:09:43.027 --> 00:09:48.927 Yeah, it's all good. All right. So normally I start off with a couple of icebreakers, 00:09:49.227 --> 00:09:52.607 and the first icebreaker is usually a quote. 00:09:52.787 --> 00:09:55.147 So this is a quote I want you to respond to. 00:09:55.507 --> 00:10:00.107 There is no limit to what you can achieve with the right mindset. 00:10:00.867 --> 00:10:08.327 There's no limit of what you can achieve with the right mindset. Yes, ma'am. Yes. 00:10:09.107 --> 00:10:15.647 So what is your response to that quote? Oh, my response is, I agree.

00:10:17.108 --> 00:10:22.108 You know, it takes a lot of thought, it takes a thought process, 00:10:22.108 --> 00:10:25.568 and that's what creates the mindset. 00:10:26.868 --> 00:10:31.388 That's what's going to determine how far you go in your career. 00:10:31.888 --> 00:10:36.968 And whatever career it is that you chose, it's all about the way you go about 00:10:36.968 --> 00:10:45.228 doing it, and it's your mindset that is the reason why you move that way or go in that direction. 00:10:46.028 --> 00:10:49.488 So, you know, there are a lot of people out there who are career driven. 00:10:49.908 --> 00:10:52.508 There are people who are driven about a lot of things. 00:10:53.388 --> 00:11:00.968 But it just really takes persistency, consistency, and drive. 00:11:02.108 --> 00:11:06.828 Yeah. All right. So now the next icebreaker is called 20 questions. 00:11:07.668 --> 00:11:12.428 So what I need you to do is give me a number between 1 and 20. 00:11:13.188 --> 00:11:18.828 Okay. So this is your question. What is the one thing you hope the new administration 00:11:18.828 --> 00:11:22.028 will do or not do during their term? 00:11:22.488 --> 00:11:26.408 I'm going to have to say reparations. Give us reparations. 00:11:27.128 --> 00:11:31.208 Okay. You want to elaborate on that or you're going to leave it like that? 00:11:31.748 --> 00:11:35.348 I'm going to leave it like that. Okay. All right. That's cool. 00:11:36.148 --> 00:11:40.968 All right. When did you realize your passion for music? And then when did you 00:11:40.968 --> 00:11:44.928 realize that you wanted to be immersed in the business of entertainment? 00:11:45.906 --> 00:11:50.046 Yeah, my passion for music started when I was around 16 or so. 00:11:50.446 --> 00:11:52.886 Started writing, started working with producers. 00:11:53.386 --> 00:12:01.126 And when I got older, I turned 21, is when I actually relocated from San Jose to Oakland. 00:12:01.566 --> 00:12:07.446 Signed with an independent label called Squad Music Group. Actually recorded an album. 00:12:07.826 --> 00:12:14.246 Released the album. You know, did the whole street slash guerrilla marketing thing. 00:12:14.246 --> 00:12:19.386 Passing out flyers and CDs and promo CDs everywhere, at schools, 00:12:19.606 --> 00:12:23.866 universities, anywhere where I could reach my demographic. 00:12:24.746 --> 00:12:30.186 And gosh, the way things have changed right now with technology, music is going with it. 00:12:30.386 --> 00:12:36.086 So that means as artists, we have to go with it and find different ways to keep 00:12:36.086 --> 00:12:41.746 our music relevant, to keep people in tune to everything that we do. 00:12:43.186 --> 00:12:46.106 So yeah it's just really a passion of 00:12:46.106 --> 00:12:48.906 mine yeah so i see i thought 00:12:48.906 --> 00:12:51.866 you were from oakland originally so you were from san jose 00:12:51.866 --> 00:12:55.906 and then you you moved to oakland correct yes 00:12:55.906 --> 00:13:03.686

okay all right san jose home of the cow palace i think that's in frisco is it 00:13:03.686 --> 00:13:08.126 frisco well i know the shark does the san jose sharks play there or they used 00:13:08.126 --> 00:13:13.206 to they used to play there yes san jose sharks yes Yeah, yeah. Okay, that's cool. 00:13:13.546 --> 00:13:19.106 See, something else to write down. All right, so what has been the toughest 00:13:19.106 --> 00:13:23.466 thing to overcome being an artist slash businesswoman? 00:13:23.846 --> 00:13:27.086 I would say the toughest thing... 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:37.699 I would say your appearance. So it's like if you're dressed down. 00:13:39.259 --> 00:13:43.839 Then you're not appealing to the other males in the industry, 00:13:43.839 --> 00:13:48.039 which means you don't really want to pursue your career in front of the camera. 00:13:48.039 --> 00:13:51.579 You want to do, you know, work behind the camera. 00:13:51.779 --> 00:13:56.079 But if you're dressed, you know, it's somewhat sexy, then it's like, 00:13:56.279 --> 00:13:58.419 oh, okay, you want to be the next so-and-so. 00:13:58.619 --> 00:14:03.139 You know what I mean? And now we're going to have you look like that to the extreme. 00:14:04.079 --> 00:14:07.319 So it's all about your appearance, unfortunately. You know, it's like, 00:14:07.379 --> 00:14:09.319 why can't I just dress like Billie Eilish? 00:14:09.639 --> 00:14:13.839 Where I don't give a damn and I can still make sexy music. 00:14:14.139 --> 00:14:18.179 You know, I go, well, you know, why can't I be Aaliyah? 00:14:18.579 --> 00:14:24.419 Right? Or why can't I be someone like the brat who still dresses like a tomboy, 00:14:24.659 --> 00:14:26.719 still makes music for the ladies? 00:14:27.059 --> 00:14:30.239 You know what I'm saying? And then if we want to, you know, go fast forward, 00:14:30.519 --> 00:14:35.419 you have artists like, you know, Meg Thee Stallion and Glorilla, you know what I mean? 00:14:35.599 --> 00:14:40.919 They used to make fun of Glorilla for being too skinny and, you know, 00:14:41.119 --> 00:14:46.779 not really looking the part per se, when it doesn't matter. 00:14:47.019 --> 00:14:49.899 You know, her music speaks for herself. She's a gorgeous girl, 00:14:50.199 --> 00:14:56.479 you know? So it really is tough because they wouldn't run this across men, right? 00:14:56.959 --> 00:15:02.239 Any rap artist, male rap artist, male singer could kind of do whatever they 00:15:02.239 --> 00:15:03.659 want. And there's no judgment. 00:15:04.679 --> 00:15:09.279 Yeah, you know, in my, you know, Jodeci is what comes to mind with me. 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:13.679 And, you know, KC and JoJo, I love them as far as musicians. 00:15:13.779 --> 00:15:17.299 But they didn't get that job because of their looks. 00:15:17.579 --> 00:15:20.599 I just, you know, they can come at me if they want to. 00:15:20.839 --> 00:15:25.399 But they know the truth. You know what I'm saying? But they could sing and they 00:15:25.399 --> 00:15:28.019 were very talented. And so they got their break. 00:15:28.179 --> 00:15:30.479 And so I understand what you're saying. 00:15:31.799 --> 00:15:35.399 So where does that pressure come from? Does it come from producers? 00:15:36.019 --> 00:15:39.659 Does it come from the record labels? 00:15:40.659 --> 00:15:44.939 Who exerts that pressure to say, okay, well, you need to dress this way. 00:15:45.379 --> 00:15:50.239 Because I literally heard somebody and, you know, I used to have a side host. 00:15:50.239 --> 00:15:54.479 I used to Uber a lot here in Atlanta and I picked up a lady who was a record 00:15:54.479 --> 00:16:00.879 producer and she was telling me the story about this guy who he was a rap artist. 00:16:01.079 --> 00:16:04.379 He, she didn't tell me his name, but he, he had an Instagram account. 00:16:04.499 --> 00:16:07.819 And so he's got a children, a child that has special needs. 00:16:08.059 --> 00:16:13.779 And so his child had a major achievement and he put that out there on his Instagram page. 00:16:14.219 --> 00:16:17.619 And she, and a couple of other execs said, take that down. 00:16:18.486 --> 00:16:21.306 Cause that's going to mess up your image. First of all, folks don't even know 00:16:21.306 --> 00:16:24.906 that you married with kids based on what we've put out there. 00:16:25.166 --> 00:16:29.026 And then, and then now you turn around and say you, you know, 00:16:29.026 --> 00:16:31.806 you're a proud dad and your child's got special needs and all. 00:16:32.066 --> 00:16:34.086 He said that takes away from your image. 00:16:34.426 --> 00:16:38.166 And she, and then she was kind of, I guess she was kind of like confessing, 00:16:38.286 --> 00:16:39.826 like maybe I shouldn't have done that. 00:16:39.926 --> 00:16:43.386 Or, but it's like, if he wants to make money, that's what he has to do. 00:16:44.206 --> 00:16:45.906 So where does, where does that 00:16:45.906 --> 00:16:48.606 pressure come from? what you were talking about, about the appearance. 00:16:48.846 --> 00:16:54.066 It comes from just the higher-ups, you know, the people who are handling your 00:16:54.066 --> 00:16:59.786 social media marketing, your management, your PR person, you know, 00:16:59.866 --> 00:17:01.526 even friends and family. 00:17:01.946 --> 00:17:05.506 They just want to see you in a different light. They want to see you in the 00:17:05.506 --> 00:17:09.846 rock star life and not the everyday person wearing, you know, 00:17:09.946 --> 00:17:14.746 normal sweatpants and sweatshorts and a hat or whatever. 00:17:14.966 --> 00:17:18.846 You know, we want to see you look like You are 00:17:18.846 --> 00:17:22.046 a star And you know some of the examples Are 00:17:22.046 --> 00:17:25.326 you know when you watch America's Got Talent Or American Idol Like 00:17:25.326 --> 00:17:28.106 how people kind of already come in there ready As if 00:17:28.106 --> 00:17:31.486 they've been doing this So that's the 00:17:31.486 -->

00:17:34.746 kind of Pressure I get you know you need to Look the part 00:17:34.746 --> 00:17:38.166 and I'm like What is looking the part And they're 00:17:38.166 --> 00:17:41.086 like looking the part Is looking different from everyone else 00:17:41.086 --> 00:17:50.886 Standing out and Being special And I'm like huh Okay So I've always had issues 00:17:50.886 --> 00:17:55.866 With my appearance Because I did grow up As a tomboy You know what I mean So 00:17:55.866 --> 00:18:00.146 I've always like Hated wearing dresses And skirts And. 00:18:01.454 --> 00:18:05.194 Should I have flat feet? So it's hard to wear heels, but I got to wear them anyway. 00:18:05.514 --> 00:18:10.254 You know, when I dress up, though, I impress. 00:18:11.514 --> 00:18:15.094 I clean up really good, I should say. Yeah, I understand. 00:18:15.534 --> 00:18:19.514 Yeah, I'm not going to argue with you about that. But, you know, 00:18:19.594 --> 00:18:21.854 and you also mentioned Billie Eilish. 00:18:23.174 --> 00:18:29.614 And why do you think that she can get away with her appearance as opposed to, 00:18:29.694 --> 00:18:31.154 say, you or other artists? 00:18:31.454 --> 00:18:36.574 Particularly because of her demographics and the music that she sings and the 00:18:36.574 --> 00:18:41.734 way that she's marketed and promoted to her fan base. 00:18:41.914 --> 00:18:48.594 You know, it is all about her music when you listen to her. It's not about anything. 00:18:48.794 --> 00:18:55.434 It's not about her personality or certain lingo that she uses or whatever. 00:18:55.574 --> 00:18:58.174 It really is about her music. 00:18:58.394 --> 00:19:01.254 And yeah, that's pretty much it. 00:19:01.454 --> 00:19:05.714 Whereas, you know, with hip hop, with R&B, there's definitely a standard, 00:19:05.714 --> 00:19:09.814 you know, and each time somebody comes out, 00:19:09.994 --> 00:19:17.354 it's just like, you know, who has the biggest ass, who has the best fillers, 00:19:17.654 --> 00:19:18.814 who, you know what I mean? 00:19:18.834 --> 00:19:23.514 It's like competition in that way and not music competition when it should be. 00:19:23.994 --> 00:19:30.034 Yeah, I got you. Is there a correlation or connection with the arts and politics? 00:19:30.414 --> 00:19:35.114 And if so, how do you express it? 00:19:35.774 --> 00:19:38.994 Arts and politics Well, I definitely think that, 00:19:39.634 --> 00:19:42.474 Artists need to use their platforms to a certain 00:19:42.474 --> 00:19:49.514 extent To voice their opinions on politics And anything else that's important 00:19:49.514 --> 00:19:55.034 to discuss At the same time I think that we all have to realize that we do have 00:19:55.034 --> 00:20:01.814 a job to do And we don't want to overdo it To where we're stepping over our boundaries And, 00:20:02.054 --> 00:20:05.054 you know, it's no better than someone working 9 to 5 Right. 00:20:05.234 --> 00:20:08.794 You have, you know, a bunch of people working nine to five daily, 00:20:09.094 --> 00:20:11.094 two people sitting next to each other at a desk. 00:20:11.614 --> 00:20:18.074 One is, you know, one believes in this politician, the other one doesn't, 00:20:18.214 --> 00:20:19.974 whatever, sparks up a conversation. 00:20:20.374 --> 00:20:26.334 And then it turns to an argument. Right. And it turns to the point where either, you know. 00:20:27.201 --> 00:20:29.921 Verbally, a fight is going to break out, or even physically, 00:20:30.141 --> 00:20:33.401 or just, you know, it's going to be reported to HR somehow. 00:20:33.801 --> 00:20:39.001 So almost with artists, we don't want to overstep our boundaries too much because 00:20:39.001 --> 00:20:41.241 we do want to keep our fans. 00:20:41.401 --> 00:20:46.141 We don't want you to forget that just because I voted or liked for this person, 00:20:46.261 --> 00:20:51.821 it changes my music. It changes my image. It changes how you see me, right? 00:20:51.921 --> 00:20:54.981 I don't want your perception to change of me. 00:20:54.981 --> 00:20:59.341 And so for me, that's why I never talk about politics, religion, 00:20:59.741 --> 00:21:05.781 or anything that's really sensitive and touchy, because I don't want people 00:21:05.781 --> 00:21:13.861 to lose track of who I am as an artist and as a person that you look up to or 00:21:13.861 --> 00:21:15.441 that you see yourself equal to. 00:21:16.321 --> 00:21:19.601 Yeah but you you said that you you you 00:21:19.601 --> 00:21:23.101 think that artists should use their platform though if 00:21:23.101 --> 00:21:26.421 if need be my question following up 00:21:26.421 --> 00:21:32.721 would be if you do decide to do that i'll use lebron james as an example lebron 00:21:32.721 --> 00:21:39.161 got out there when you know right after um michael brown got killed and eric 00:21:39.161 --> 00:21:43.101 garner and him and derrick rose were wearing i can't breathe t-shirts. 00:21:43.981 --> 00:21:48.641 And one of the political commentators got on and said, shut up and dribble, right? 00:21:49.281 --> 00:21:53.681 How would you, how would you, how would you feel if, you know, 00:21:53.841 --> 00:21:56.921 you decided to take a stand on something and then they just said, 00:21:57.041 --> 00:21:58.641 just go back to the studio? 00:21:58.821 --> 00:22:01.001 How would you, how would you respond to that? 00:22:01.806 --> 00:22:07.146 Right, yeah. No, I would be offended. At the same time, I would expect it, 00:22:07.226 --> 00:22:11.426 because if I am going to put my political views out there to the masses, 00:22:11.706 --> 00:22:14.146 then you kind of have to expect everything that comes with it. 00:22:14.146 --> 00:22:18.406 So my thing is It's 00:22:18.406 --> 00:22:21.866 okay to be vocal But for me specifically 00:22:21.866 --> 00:22:24.926 I'd rather be vocal through 00:22:24.926 --> 00:22:31.286 the music And talk about what I want to say Rather than stand on a podium And 00:22:31.286 --> 00:22:37.006 verbally say out of my

mouth How I feel because The world is not balanced Everyone's 00:22:37.006 --> 00:22:39.246 unbalanced And little by little 00:22:39.246 --> 00:22:44.326 We all try to change the world With our perspective on you know, politics. 00:22:45.066 --> 00:22:49.746 Health care, community, schools, education, all that stuff. 00:22:49.986 --> 00:22:53.906 But there's only one person who has that power, and that's the person who's 00:22:53.906 --> 00:22:55.186 running the system right now. 00:22:55.706 --> 00:23:01.306 And, you know, it's unfair because it doesn't include everybody, 00:23:01.306 --> 00:23:05.746 but then it's fair because you just kind of just have to roll with it, 00:23:05.766 --> 00:23:08.986 no matter who's in office that is, you know, not just the person who's in office. 00:23:09.126 --> 00:23:12.906 Now I'm just saying whoever is in office is going to make those decisions. 00:23:13.186 --> 00:23:16.586 And it's kind of like, what are we going to do at this point? 00:23:16.806 --> 00:23:20.786 You know what I mean? There's nothing we can do. We can do things that, 00:23:20.906 --> 00:23:25.406 you know, within ourselves, families, small communities, which is always great. 00:23:25.586 --> 00:23:31.146 But at the end of the day, our voice only matters to us and to people who listen to us. 00:23:32.166 --> 00:23:35.046 Yeah. But, you know, it all depends on how big 00:23:35.046 --> 00:23:38.026 your circle of us is right yeah yeah 00:23:38.026 --> 00:23:43.346 you know because taylor swift is you know taking the mantle a certain way beyonce 00:23:43.346 --> 00:23:47.086 is taking the mantle a certain way bruce springsteen but then there's a whole 00:23:47.086 --> 00:23:50.726 lot of artists who are just kind of like yeah i don't want that pushback and 00:23:50.726 --> 00:23:57.326 so i'm just gonna keep you know keep doing what i'm doing right yeah but you know so i understand, 00:23:58.421 --> 00:24:05.341 If you were given the opportunity to serve in government, what social issue would you tackle first? 00:24:06.461 --> 00:24:11.601 Ah, what social issue would I tackle first? 00:24:11.601 --> 00:24:22.561 It would have to be lack of activities for kids at school and lack of extracurriculum 00:24:22.561 --> 00:24:25.401 classes, after-school programs. 00:24:25.401 --> 00:24:33.461 I think those were really needed for kids because they do want to look forward 00:24:33.461 --> 00:24:39.621 to doing something after school that's going to help them elevate, elevate their grades, 00:24:39.981 --> 00:24:41.801 elevate their mindset, 00:24:42.381 --> 00:24:45.561 and, you know, have like a change of scenery. 00:24:45.561 --> 00:24:53.521 So, you know, that goes from playing sports, taking an art class, a theater, 00:24:53.981 --> 00:24:59.061 just something that really doesn't pertain to just sitting at a desk all day 00:24:59.061 --> 00:25:01.621 and looking at the projector or the teacher. 00:25:01.621 --> 00:25:04.581 I would definitely tackle those issues. 00:25:04.921 --> 00:25:07.241 I would definitely tackle on, 00:25:07.241 --> 00:25:12.481 you know, issues when it comes to how black people are treated in America. 00:25:13.081 --> 00:25:18.741 You know, just because you see a black person and, you know, 00:25:18.861 --> 00:25:23.901 right away, you know, you feel some type of way about them. you prejudge them. 00:25:24.101 --> 00:25:27.881 You know, you see a black man with a hoodie on and, you know, 00:25:27.961 --> 00:25:30.161 you have all these suspicions about him. 00:25:30.541 --> 00:25:36.961 Or you see a black girl and you think she's this loud, obnoxious, 00:25:36.981 --> 00:25:42.461 you know, chick with baby daddies and she's going to steal out of Walmart or whatever. 00:25:42.701 --> 00:25:49.961 I think we need to stop prejudging. We need to understand and judge every individual 00:25:49.961 --> 00:25:53.841 as we meet and speak to them and not because of their appearance. 00:25:54.601 --> 00:25:59.861 So I would tackle issues like that, racism, obviously. 00:26:00.181 --> 00:26:03.101 And then for the youth, making sure 00:26:03.101 --> 00:26:08.901 that they have everything they need when it comes to education and just their 00:26:08.901 --> 00:26:15.581 upbringing to give them the best upbringing in life so that they said they've 00:26:15.581 --> 00:26:20.221 experienced playing one sport in life even if they, you know, 00:26:20.281 --> 00:26:23.021 don't intend to do anything with it. 00:26:23.121 --> 00:26:27.381 Or, you know, they took a painting class or, you know, there was a theater class. 00:26:27.561 --> 00:26:33.141 Just something that complements what they're learning in school now. 00:26:33.821 --> 00:26:38.301 Yeah. Now, did you have a program when you were growing up that kind of got 00:26:38.301 --> 00:26:42.261 you interested in music or tapped into something? 00:26:43.162 --> 00:26:47.762 Yeah, in middle school, it was pretty cool because one of my teachers, 00:26:47.762 --> 00:26:49.842 she was like my advisement teacher. 00:26:50.082 --> 00:26:54.482 And so she offered the class and after school program for theater. 00:26:54.742 --> 00:27:00.982 And so I remember I joined that. And even though it was just a few of us, it was pretty fun. 00:27:01.382 --> 00:27:05.602 And then another lady came into our school and she was scouting for students 00:27:05.602 --> 00:27:07.382 who wanted to become puppeteers. 00:27:07.382 --> 00:27:12.022 And so we, you know, every Tuesday we would get to leave, you know, 00:27:12.222 --> 00:27:17.782 third period or whatever and travel to an elementary school and put on a puppet 00:27:17.782 --> 00:27:22.902 show and earn credits for that and, you know, get fed good lunch and, 00:27:22.982 --> 00:27:25.022 you know, miss all the boring classes. 00:27:25.802 --> 00:27:28.822 So, yeah, stuff like that I think is cool. Yeah. 00:27:29.262 --> 00:27:34.102 And, you know, there's been a lot of talk in the news about

the crime rates 00:27:34.102 --> 00:27:39.342 in cities, but a lot of the black mayors have taken that attitude, 00:27:39.342 --> 00:27:41.642 that approach you're talking about, 00:27:41.942 --> 00:27:44.982 especially Mayor Scott in Baltimore. 00:27:44.982 --> 00:27:50.382 More, he has done a lot to try to create more programs. 00:27:50.622 --> 00:27:53.782 Mayor Johnson in Chicago, you know, I can go on. 00:27:53.902 --> 00:27:58.282 It's like, you know, it's like people that live in the community understand 00:27:58.282 --> 00:28:01.862 what the community, or from the community, understand what the community needs. 00:28:02.562 --> 00:28:08.222 And, you know, so that's why I just, I wanted to ask you that question. 00:28:09.476 --> 00:28:14.556 So I've got a couple of more. The Kennedy Center Honors is one of the highest 00:28:14.556 --> 00:28:17.616 honors for lifetime achievement in American arts. 00:28:17.756 --> 00:28:22.076 And I'll make my blessing to you that one day that you'll be able to wear one 00:28:22.076 --> 00:28:26.736 of them medallions or whatever that they give the folks at the Kennedy Center. 00:28:27.536 --> 00:28:34.536 How do you feel about the current president just basically taking over the center? 00:28:34.676 --> 00:28:37.976 Because what he's done, no other president has ever done that. 00:28:37.976 --> 00:28:41.916 They've, you know, they participate, they'll show up at the event and, 00:28:41.976 --> 00:28:45.116 you know, sit in the box and clap for whoever's getting the award, 00:28:45.236 --> 00:28:49.156 but they've never had, we've never had a president that just said, okay, 00:28:49.536 --> 00:28:53.716 you know, I'm going to be the chairman of the board and I might even rename 00:28:53.716 --> 00:28:55.816 it, rename it after me, you know. 00:28:56.336 --> 00:29:00.296 As an artist, how do you feel about that intrusion? 00:29:00.296 --> 00:29:09.356 I feel like when anyone has the power to have an opinion or have some control 00:29:09.356 --> 00:29:13.016 over anything, it's just what they're going to do. 00:29:13.136 --> 00:29:18.896 And our job is to make sure it doesn't affect us in a negative way. 00:29:18.896 --> 00:29:22.796 You know, it's just like on a smaller level. 00:29:23.376 --> 00:29:26.896 You know, whether you're at work or school and they change the principal or 00:29:26.896 --> 00:29:32.956 the supervisor and these people come in and start mandating everything and, 00:29:33.196 --> 00:29:39.196 you know, just changing everything, like everything to where it's not to your liking. 00:29:39.256 --> 00:29:42.616 And now you have to adapt to that. 00:29:43.036 --> 00:29:46.036 But it's just kind of like, what are you going to do at this point? 00:29:46.196 --> 00:29:50.136 You know what I mean? That's why it is very important to create social groups 00:29:50.136 --> 00:29:55.616 and nonprofit organizations to help each other out, whether it's financially, 00:29:56.076 --> 00:30:01.096 whether

it's, you know, you're going through a mental crisis, whether it's, you know, 00:30:01.316 --> 00:30:07.016 lowering the cost of education for children, or whether it's trying to obtain 00:30:07.016 --> 00:30:11.936 free medical care or discounted medical care. 00:30:11.936 --> 00:30:17.896 Just anything that is not, you know, when someone new steps in the place, 00:30:18.076 --> 00:30:23.616 we need to make sure that we are okay and that it doesn't affect us somehow. 00:30:24.256 --> 00:30:27.016 Yeah. Yeah. I understand the navigation. Yeah. 00:30:27.136 --> 00:30:32.136 You gotta, you just gotta, you know, make your way around whatever obstacles 00:30:32.136 --> 00:30:37.296 are there and just always, always compare our journey in America is to being 00:30:37.296 --> 00:30:40.296 the track person that runs the hurdles, Right. 00:30:40.696 --> 00:30:44.796 You know that the hurdles are there. You got to get over those hurdles to get 00:30:44.796 --> 00:30:48.436 to the finish line. So you just do what you got to do. You just cross those hurdles. 00:30:49.596 --> 00:30:55.236 Yeah. So I understand that. But speaking about nonprofits and causes and all 00:30:55.236 --> 00:31:02.836 that, talk to the listeners about TAMZ and its collaboration with the nonprofit Hair to Stay. 00:31:03.742 --> 00:31:08.622 Yeah, yeah. So Tamz, they are berets. I have 10 different colors. 00:31:08.822 --> 00:31:10.842 Discovered Tamz during the pandemic. 00:31:11.182 --> 00:31:16.842 Because of Tamz, I've been producing and hosting fashion shows as well as performing at them. 00:31:17.142 --> 00:31:21.362 And what's really cool is I bring on my customers to walk for me. 00:31:21.962 --> 00:31:26.702 Customers, fans, friends, family, strangers off the street. 00:31:27.042 --> 00:31:32.842 I'm not looking for traditional models. I have the non-traditional models. 00:31:33.082 --> 00:31:34.942 And that's what's bringing and 00:31:34.942 --> 00:31:40.602 creating this community now of beautiful people, men and women, whoever, 00:31:40.882 --> 00:31:49.502 because it's about expressing yourself through a hat and not an outfit that 00:31:49.502 --> 00:31:52.042 you wouldn't wear every day outside. 00:31:52.322 --> 00:31:56.582 Whereas with the hat, you would, because the hat can make up the rest of the outfit. 00:31:56.902 --> 00:32:01.422 You could plan or create your outfit based on the beret. 00:32:01.882 --> 00:32:08.502 And so, excuse me, so we've partnered with organizations, hair loss organizations, 00:32:08.502 --> 00:32:11.582 that have helped spread awareness about the berets. 00:32:11.762 --> 00:32:14.662 So for one, we did an event with Boldly Me. 00:32:14.882 --> 00:32:20.162 They were an alopecia organization, and they had their annual fundraiser, 00:32:20.262 --> 00:32:22.062 and they had me come talk about it. 00:32:22.282 --> 00:32:26.702 The owner or the founder and I talked about the berets and our collaboration, 00:32:26.702 --> 00:32:29.782 and I donated Berets to their organization. 00:32:30.522 --> 00:32:34.382 Now, with the partnership that I have with Hair2Stay, 00:32:34.682 --> 00:32:38.102 what they do, they're a non-profit that 00:32:38.102 --> 00:32:48.882 raises funds for an expensive cooling system device or cooling item that made 00:32:48.882 --> 00:32:54.822 for cancer patients to stimulate their hair to grow back. And so... 00:32:55.847 --> 00:33:01.447 The idea with our partnership with the Berets is that I have a page on their website. 00:33:01.807 --> 00:33:07.067 And for those who are in the process of growing their hair back, 00:33:07.447 --> 00:33:13.787 you know, or if they are still bald, purchase a beret. 00:33:14.467 --> 00:33:20.227 And that will, you know what I mean, enhance your looks. It's not to eliminate 00:33:20.227 --> 00:33:25.687 anything because you look great. But it's just to enhance and to give you more confidence. 00:33:26.207 --> 00:33:30.987 And some of those proceeds go to Heritage Day and then the other proceeds go to TAMS. 00:33:31.127 --> 00:33:34.227 So with that being said, we have an event coming up October 4th. 00:33:34.307 --> 00:33:39.767 It's their annual fundraiser where it's a take a walk fundraiser. 00:33:39.767 --> 00:33:44.427 So what we do is we walk all around Chrissy Beach in San Francisco, 00:33:44.427 --> 00:33:56.007 and we're walking to raise funds about the cooling stipulant that's made for patients with cancer. 00:33:56.007 --> 00:34:00.927 We're trying to raise awareness, to raise money, to pay for that for cancer 00:34:00.927 --> 00:34:04.627 patients that can't afford the cooling stimulant, that is. 00:34:04.627 --> 00:34:07.567 Yeah yeah what i was and that's 00:34:07.567 --> 00:34:10.407 and that's one of the main reasons i wanted you 00:34:10.407 --> 00:34:13.947 to come on to talk about this because you know 00:34:13.947 --> 00:34:17.347 i i know that politics is 00:34:17.347 --> 00:34:22.207 a delicate subject for people to talk about but what what i always try to do 00:34:22.207 --> 00:34:26.727 with my show is to show that people are doing the work and they're not elected 00:34:26.727 --> 00:34:29.867 to anything they're not even running for anything but they're doing the work 00:34:29.867 --> 00:34:35.467 and just the whole concept of you getting average ordinary people to, 00:34:36.207 --> 00:34:39.087 participate in, in your fashion shows. 00:34:39.949 --> 00:34:45.089 That builds self-esteem, that builds character, that builds community. 00:34:45.549 --> 00:34:52.129 And I wish that some people in politics understood that concept, right? 00:34:52.329 --> 00:34:56.029 Because it's like if you can build community, if you can build self-esteem, 00:34:56.029 --> 00:34:58.549 you can build trust, right? 00:34:58.649 --> 00:35:03.009 Then you can get some things done. You will have some partners in the community 00:35:03.009 --> 00:35:07.329 to make sure because everybody has bought in. And that's and that's the

reason 00:35:07.329 --> 00:35:12.409 why your business has been successful is because you've got a buy in. Right. 00:35:13.069 --> 00:35:18.829 Right. And so that's, you know, people may not think it's it's, 00:35:18.829 --> 00:35:21.449 you know, politics, you know, but but it is. 00:35:21.449 --> 00:35:27.109 And I just and I'm really, really glad that you came on to kind of talk about, 00:35:27.269 --> 00:35:30.689 you know, what you're doing and to talk about, you know, what you've been doing 00:35:30.689 --> 00:35:33.929 as far as how you got to this point, because it's important. 00:35:34.069 --> 00:35:37.769 It's important for people to understand stories of, you know, 00:35:37.869 --> 00:35:41.969 you don't have if you're in a situation, you don't have to be in a situation. 00:35:41.969 --> 00:35:47.489 If you get exposed to something, because that's a political issue as far as 00:35:47.489 --> 00:35:52.989 providing the arts for schools, providing those after school programs, right? 00:35:53.589 --> 00:35:59.389 All that stuff is in. And so when you can show somebody that has taken advantage 00:35:59.389 --> 00:36:05.909 of those activities or opportunities and has put themselves in a position to 00:36:05.909 --> 00:36:09.329 turn around and help others and to be successful in the community, 00:36:09.469 --> 00:36:10.589 financially and otherwise, 00:36:10.989 --> 00:36:14.609 that's really should be the ultimate goal of politics. 00:36:14.869 --> 00:36:17.049 So, Keldamuzik, I don't know 00:36:17.049 --> 00:36:20.409 how to tell you this, girl, but you're as political as anybody else. Yeah. 00:36:22.665 --> 00:36:25.365 Thank you. All right. 00:36:25.525 --> 00:36:31.125 So if people want to, you know, get your, your, you know, touch into your music, 00:36:31.385 --> 00:36:36.185 touch into TAMZ, touch into anything that you're doing, how can they do that? 00:36:36.685 --> 00:36:40.885 Yeah, they can visit my website, keldamuzik.com. 00:36:41.225 --> 00:36:49.845 K-E-L-D-A-M-U-Z-I-K.com. You'll find my music on there, music videos, 00:36:50.225 --> 00:36:53.765 my latest films, the TV show I have with the Hodges, 00:36:54.185 --> 00:36:59.805 my talk show to Diva Talk Tonight on Tubi, my upcoming events. 00:37:00.065 --> 00:37:03.425 There's just so much on my website. So enjoy. 00:37:03.845 --> 00:37:06.465 Well, ladies and gentlemen, she's not lying. 00:37:07.225 --> 00:37:12.385 Kelda's doing a lot of stuff. And I'm just glad that she took the time out to 00:37:12.385 --> 00:37:16.985 talk to little old me on this podcast. So Keldamuzik, again, it's been an honor. 00:37:17.305 --> 00:37:23.545 One rule that we have is that once you've been on, you have an open invitation to come on. 00:37:23.725 --> 00:37:27.665 So if something is kind of like, Brother Erik, I need to talk about something, 00:37:27.945 --> 00:37:30.925 just come on the show. We'll talk about it. We'll get it out there. 00:37:31.805 --> 00:37:36.745 Okay. Yeah, will do. All right. Thank you, Kelda, as always, 00:37:36.965 --> 00:37:40.965 for being you and for coming on. 00:37:41.505 --> 00:37:45.805 All right. Thank you, Erik. All right, guys, we're going to catch y'all on the other side. 00:37:46.160 --> 00:38:04.400 Music. 00:38:04.725 --> 00:38:10.585 All right, and we are back. And so now it's time for my next guest, Donna J. 00:38:11.045 --> 00:38:16.985 Nicol. Dr. Donna J. Nicol is the Associate Dean of Personnel and Curriculum 00:38:16.985 --> 00:38:21.165 and Professor of History in the College of Liberal Arts at California State 00:38:21.165 --> 00:38:22.405 University, Long Beach. 00:38:22.765 --> 00:38:27.805 She is the author of Black Woman on Board, Claudia Hampton, the California State 00:38:27.805 --> 00:38:30.925 University and the Fight to Save Affirmative Action. 00:38:31.205 --> 00:38:37.645 A biography of Dr. Claudia Hampton, the first black woman trustee in the California 00:38:37.645 --> 00:38:39.385 State University system. 00:38:40.065 --> 00:38:46.745 Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct honor and privilege to have as a guest on this podcast, Dr. 00:38:47.005 --> 00:38:48.805 Donna J. Nicol. 00:38:49.840 --> 00:38:59.440 Music. 00:38:59.287 --> 00:39:06.167 All right. Dr. Donna J. Nicol. How are you doing, ma'am? You doing good? I'm doing good. 00:39:07.827 --> 00:39:14.887 Well, that's a good thing. It's kind of hard nowadays, but school's about to 00:39:14.887 --> 00:39:16.647 start for you if it hasn't already started. 00:39:17.067 --> 00:39:23.807 It starts on Monday. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you like teaching and I love teachers. 00:39:23.867 --> 00:39:25.667 I love professors and all that. 00:39:25.807 --> 00:39:31.087 So, you know, I'm sure this is kind of a good thing, new minds to play with 00:39:31.087 --> 00:39:33.047 and all that kind of stuff. Well, 00:39:33.307 --> 00:39:36.887 you know, I made the transition to administration to, was it last year? 00:39:37.267 --> 00:39:44.387 So I spent 20 years as a faculty member, but now I am associate dean in charge 00:39:44.387 --> 00:39:46.627 of supporting the faculty. 00:39:46.807 --> 00:39:52.067 So I do personnel matters and all the curriculum for the College of Liberal 00:39:52.067 --> 00:39:54.407 Arts. Okay, so you're a handholder now. 00:39:55.647 --> 00:40:01.107 I'm a handholder, yes. Sometimes I'm a disciplinarian, which is weird sometimes, 00:40:01.387 --> 00:40:02.707 but sometimes you got to do it. 00:40:02.987 --> 00:40:08.727 But I'm responsible primarily for recruiting, hiring, evaluating faculty. 00:40:09.047 --> 00:40:12.987 Okay, well, congratulations on that. That sounds like that's going to be a lot of fun. 00:40:13.467 --> 00:40:18.527 All right, so normally I'd like to start off with a couple of icebreakers. 00:40:18.927 --> 00:40:22.027 The first icebreaker I throw at the guest is a quote. 00:40:22.407 --> 00:40:26.827 And I just want to get your response to this quote. We live in a world which

00:40:26.827 --> 00:40:29.027 respects power above all things. 00:40:30.187 --> 00:40:33.287 Power intelligently directed can lead to more freedom. 00:40:34.167 --> 00:40:39.567 Unwisely directed, it can be a dreadful, destructive force. What does that quote mean to you? 00:40:40.445 --> 00:40:43.645 Absolutely, there's a responsibility that comes with having power, 00:40:43.945 --> 00:40:52.405 and power can be used for the greater good if it is used with the idea of helping more people, 00:40:52.905 --> 00:40:58.825 you know, whether it's helping them with, you know, economic help or providing them with shelter. 00:40:59.305 --> 00:41:04.605 But it can also be very destructive because it is also very seductive in terms 00:41:04.605 --> 00:41:07.645 of people wanting to amass more and more power for the sake of it. 00:41:07.645 --> 00:41:14.405 And then they hoard the power or the benefits that come with having power. 00:41:14.625 --> 00:41:21.365 And so there's a real slippery slope with having too much power if you aren't 00:41:21.365 --> 00:41:25.765 keeping at the forefront using power in a responsible way. 00:41:25.765 --> 00:41:30.805 I think it was Toni Morrison that says that, you know, once you get power, 00:41:31.085 --> 00:41:34.585 you need to utilize that power to help other people, to bring people along. 00:41:35.045 --> 00:41:38.825 So there is a great deal of responsibility with it. 00:41:38.945 --> 00:41:44.565 And I think too often people just want to have power in their back pocket because 00:41:44.565 --> 00:41:49.505 they want more opportunity or more resources than everyone else, 00:41:49.565 --> 00:41:51.045 especially in a capitalist system. 00:41:51.045 --> 00:41:57.205 And, you know, the person who has the most, you know, resources or toys is the winner. 00:41:58.045 --> 00:42:03.365 Yeah. And it's funny that I'm hoping that this guest comes on next week because 00:42:03.365 --> 00:42:06.165 we're going to talk about that capitalism piece a little bit, 00:42:06.165 --> 00:42:10.405 because I've always thought that we did capitalism wrong. But that, 00:42:10.505 --> 00:42:11.565 like I said, that's another show. 00:42:11.925 --> 00:42:15.085 So the next icebreaker is 20 questions. 00:42:16.325 --> 00:42:20.505 OK, so I want you to give me a number between one and 20. 00:42:21.345 --> 00:42:29.225 Okay. What is the one thing you hope the new administration will do or not do during their term? 00:42:31.680 --> 00:42:35.060 New as in upcoming or new as in current new as 00:42:35.060 --> 00:42:37.860 in current oh my god i mean 00:42:37.860 --> 00:42:40.920 we haven't even been a year in yet i'm just saying it's still it's 00:42:40.920 --> 00:42:43.660 still new believe it or not i know it feels like we've been there for 00:42:43.660 --> 00:42:49.780 like eight nine years but it's only been a few months yeah i just wish they 00:42:49.780 --> 00:42:54.100 would oh my goodness i don't even know where to begin with that one i wish they 00:42:54.100 --> 00:42:58.120 would stop messing with you know i'm an educator so i wish they would stop messing 00:42:58.120 --> 00:43:01.140 with the department of education I wish they would let, 00:43:01.900 --> 00:43:06.860 you know, stop messing with the university, stop messing with Pell Grants for 00:43:06.860 --> 00:43:12.740 low income students, stop getting involved in things that should be more local 00:43:12.740 --> 00:43:15.100 based issues when it comes to education. 00:43:15.680 --> 00:43:21.180 So, yeah, I wish they would just stop. You know, I don't even want them to do 00:43:21.180 --> 00:43:23.000 anything at this point. I just need them to stop. 00:43:25.060 --> 00:43:29.580 I understand. Yeah. All right. Well, now I can see the disciplinarian coming 00:43:29.580 --> 00:43:30.860 out in you. Now I can see that. 00:43:31.780 --> 00:43:36.680 All right. So speaking about education, we want to talk about this book that 00:43:36.680 --> 00:43:39.480 you wrote called Black Woman on the Board. 00:43:39.860 --> 00:43:44.720 And I know that's the short title, but I usually do that. I let the author give 00:43:44.720 --> 00:43:45.980 the whole title and all that stuff. 00:43:46.340 --> 00:43:49.220 But the book is about this woman named Dr. 00:43:50.580 --> 00:43:56.140 Claudia Hampton. So I want you to tell the listeners who was Dr. 00:43:56.280 --> 00:44:00.320 Claudia Hampton and why did you feel compelled to tell her story? 00:44:01.160 --> 00:44:05.900 Yeah, so Dr. Hampton was the first Black woman trustee in the California State 00:44:05.900 --> 00:44:10.480 University system and the first woman to chair the board of trustees. 00:44:10.860 --> 00:44:18.720 It's speculated that she was probably the first Black woman trustee in the nation. 00:44:18.980 --> 00:44:22.900 But really why I wanted to highlight her is. 00:44:23.729 --> 00:44:29.169 Well, two reasons. One, we don't know a lot about trustees and what they do 00:44:29.169 --> 00:44:34.329 behind the scenes in universities and how much they influence policies and programs. 00:44:34.589 --> 00:44:38.549 So that's one part of it. But the second part, and probably the most important, 00:44:38.829 --> 00:44:44.669 is I wanted to highlight her style, her leadership style, and how she got things 00:44:44.669 --> 00:44:48.949 done in the midst of a backlash against affirmative action. 00:44:48.949 --> 00:44:53.869 And so she was really principally responsible in the California system for the 00:44:53.869 --> 00:44:57.629 implementation of affirmative action, even when everyone around her, 00:44:57.909 --> 00:45:02.429 including governors, didn't want to implement affirmative action. 00:45:02.569 --> 00:45:08.389 It had already been passed by executive order, but they slow walked the implementation. 00:45:08.649 --> 00:45:15.429 And so I really think it's important for us to look at, particularly in the post-civil rights era. 00:45:15.689 --> 00:45:22.009 There's more

attention to the civil rights era and then to kind of like, 00:45:22.109 --> 00:45:26.649 we forget that there is a period of activism that's still happening. 00:45:27.089 --> 00:45:30.249 And so while everyone was kind of moving toward Black power, 00:45:30.529 --> 00:45:35.669 there's this Black woman who's having to try to negotiate with these white folks 00:45:35.669 --> 00:45:37.229 to implement affirmative action. 00:45:37.409 --> 00:45:42.009 And so, you know, it's kind of offering a counter-narrative that, 00:45:42.209 --> 00:45:47.529 one, Black people were still doing activism in the post-civil rights era, 00:45:47.529 --> 00:45:53.749 but also that there was a range of leadership approaches, and I wanted to highlight hers. 00:45:54.109 --> 00:45:57.649 So what was the time frame that she served on the Board of Trustees? 00:45:58.089 --> 00:46:00.989 From 1974 to 1994. 00:46:01.509 --> 00:46:05.769 So 20 years, she was the second longest serving trustee. Yeah. 00:46:06.009 --> 00:46:12.269 So I just wanted to get some context as far as time frame for the listeners 00:46:12.269 --> 00:46:15.629 to understand, because, you know, when people understand the time, 00:46:15.749 --> 00:46:18.529 they're like going, oh, yeah, I'm sure that was really tough then. 00:46:18.529 --> 00:46:20.309 And she was only black. Okay. Yeah. 00:46:21.271 --> 00:46:29.771 Talk about, well, before I even ask that question, what about her life could you relate to? 00:46:30.391 --> 00:46:36.591 Well, she was an educator, a K-12 educator before she joined the board of trustees. 00:46:36.831 --> 00:46:41.351 So she worked in Los Angeles Unified School District as a elementary school teacher. 00:46:41.551 --> 00:46:45.791 And then she became the director of schools and community relations, 00:46:46.011 --> 00:46:50.631 which is an office that monitored kind of the implementation. 00:46:51.291 --> 00:46:54.991 Of race-based initiatives across the school district. 00:46:55.091 --> 00:47:00.371 I was a junior high school teacher in LA Unified, so we had some parallels in 00:47:00.371 --> 00:47:01.891 terms of working in the same district. 00:47:02.131 --> 00:47:09.091 But also, I was the first Black woman to be promoted and get tenure in women's 00:47:09.091 --> 00:47:10.771 studies at Cal State Fullerton. 00:47:10.931 --> 00:47:15.951 And so that first kind of parallel, I saw some similarities because, 00:47:15.951 --> 00:47:17.571 Because, you know, people assume 00:47:17.571 --> 00:47:23.311 when you're the first, it's some kind of marker of achieving equality. 00:47:23.311 --> 00:47:28.251 But in actuality, you're still just because you might have broken one barrier, 00:47:28.471 --> 00:47:31.671 you still have to you still have so many doors you have to go through in order 00:47:31.671 --> 00:47:33.811 to, like, really make change happen. 00:47:34.311 --> 00:47:37.571 And so I saw I saw similarities there. 00:47:37.711 --> 00:47:41.071 But then we diverged in terms of our politics. Our politics were definitely 00:47:41.071 --> 00:47:43.551 different than mine. OK, I got you. 00:47:43.951 --> 00:47:47.131 All right. Well, let's talk about that a little bit. Talk about the concept 00:47:47.131 --> 00:47:53.171 of sly civility and more specifically how Dr. Hampton effectively used it. 00:47:53.951 --> 00:47:58.831 Yeah. So sly civility is a resistance strategy that was kind of coined and phrased 00:47:58.831 --> 00:48:01.391 by an Indian cultural theorist named Homi Bhabha. 00:48:01.491 --> 00:48:06.851 And he says that particularly in the context of India being colonized by the 00:48:06.851 --> 00:48:12.451 British, he said that there's three ways to approach that Indians have to approach 00:48:12.451 --> 00:48:14.091 dealing with a colonizer. 00:48:14.491 --> 00:48:18.231 One approach is to mimic the colonizer and act just like them. 00:48:18.631 --> 00:48:22.391 Another one is to become a hybrid, so they kind of take some of their culture 00:48:22.391 --> 00:48:26.511 and some of the British culture and merge the two, like they learn how to speak 00:48:26.511 --> 00:48:32.071 English like the British, dress like the British. But the third way is called sly civility. 00:48:32.331 --> 00:48:40.191 And so sly civility says that if you gain access to these institutions dominated by colonizers, 00:48:40.411 --> 00:48:46.371 what you need to do is to be civil with the colonizer because of their penchant for violence, 00:48:46.371 --> 00:48:52.871 and then learn their system and then pass the resources slyly on to your community 00:48:52.871 --> 00:48:57.771 so that more people have an opportunity to benefit from those resources. 00:48:57.771 --> 00:49:01.991 And so I use this to describe Dr. 00:49:02.191 --> 00:49:08.411 Hampton's approach because she knew she was running up against these white conservative 00:49:08.411 --> 00:49:13.351 men who, you know, didn't want her there, didn't know how she got there, 00:49:13.451 --> 00:49:16.251 to be perfectly honest. And then... 00:49:17.266 --> 00:49:25.186 In order to kind of get a seat at the table, she had to put on this face of civility for them. 00:49:25.346 --> 00:49:27.746 So she was very quiet. She was respectable. 00:49:28.046 --> 00:49:32.606 And then she realized, I have to negotiate with them. 00:49:32.646 --> 00:49:35.686 And the only way I'm going to be able to do that is for them to, 00:49:35.686 --> 00:49:43.346 I have to destabilize their, or make them not hyper-focus on me being a Black 00:49:43.346 --> 00:49:46.206 person because they were so racist. 00:49:46.206 --> 00:49:51.486 And so what she did is she played to the gender norm by cooking dinner for these white men. 00:49:52.106 --> 00:49:56.446 And that gave her a seat at the table. They became familiar with her and they 00:49:56.446 --> 00:49:58.846 started to say, well, she's our trustee. 00:49:59.686 --> 00:50:04.926 Whereas the white women who got on the board, they couldn't stand

those white 00:50:04.926 --> 00:50:07.046 women because they were more feminist in their approach. 00:50:07.226 --> 00:50:13.566 And Hampton was like, no, I can't take on racism and sexism at the same time. I got to figure one. 00:50:13.746 --> 00:50:18.406 I got to, you know, play to the gender norm in order to placate their racism. 00:50:19.226 --> 00:50:26.806 Yeah. You stated that Dr. Hampton used the politics of respectability as a means to an end. 00:50:27.506 --> 00:50:33.426 Modern-day critics say that respectability politics is antithetical to African-American progress. 00:50:33.906 --> 00:50:39.006 In this current political climate, could Dr. Hampton have made similar progress, 00:50:39.006 --> 00:50:40.706 or are the critics correct? 00:50:41.752 --> 00:50:45.472 I believe she could have made similar progress. One example, 00:50:45.692 --> 00:50:50.552 at least, well, maybe not in this current administration, but in the recent 00:50:50.552 --> 00:50:54.552 past under the Biden administration, there was a Black woman who was in charge 00:50:54.552 --> 00:50:56.592 of the Office for Management and Budget. 00:50:56.872 --> 00:51:02.412 Was it Shalonda Jones? I believe was her name, but I might have her name incorrect. 00:51:02.712 --> 00:51:06.352 But she was called the Republican whisperer. 00:51:06.852 --> 00:51:11.972 And she was the person who would, anytime the government, you know, 00:51:12.072 --> 00:51:18.052 there was a government shutdown impending, she would go negotiate with Speaker 00:51:18.052 --> 00:51:21.612 Mike Johnson and the rest of the Republican contingent. 00:51:21.672 --> 00:51:25.312 And the way she did it was similar to Hampton. She was from Louisiana. 00:51:26.052 --> 00:51:29.692 And so everyone in the, you know, from Louisiana that was in Congress, 00:51:29.912 --> 00:51:35.012 she would send them gumbo and crawfish and make sure that they felt like they 00:51:35.012 --> 00:51:38.712 knew her personally so that they would be willing to negotiate with her. 00:51:38.952 --> 00:51:42.112 They didn't like the rest of the Biden administration, but they liked her. 00:51:42.292 --> 00:51:43.532 Shalonda Young, that's her name. 00:51:43.932 --> 00:51:48.032 And so there's current day examples of this. 00:51:48.352 --> 00:51:54.912 I would liken some of what Kamala Harris did as sly civility as well. 00:51:55.812 --> 00:52:03.932 That you can't always go into these spaces and just, you know, 00:52:04.052 --> 00:52:05.172 start telling people off. 00:52:05.292 --> 00:52:08.252 Like that would have been my politics is to tell them that they were wrong. 00:52:08.332 --> 00:52:10.012 I was raised in a Black radical tradition. 00:52:10.672 --> 00:52:17.012 But you realize once you get into these institutions that what you're up against, 00:52:17.172 --> 00:52:20.812 and so sometimes you have to outwit and outplay folks. 00:52:21.232 --> 00:52:26.512 And one of the ways is to build relationships with people that politically

you 00:52:26.512 --> 00:52:27.652 don't see eye to eye with. 00:52:27.832 --> 00:52:31.872 But if you can, you know, break bread together, that will go a long way to help. 00:52:32.633 --> 00:52:38.233 Yeah, I can relate to that. You know, when I first got in the legislature, I was like you. 00:52:38.393 --> 00:52:41.353 I came in, I was speaking on bills. 00:52:41.533 --> 00:52:44.473 I'd only been there two days and I was speaking against the bill and people 00:52:44.473 --> 00:52:48.313 that were there because I came in during a special session in a special election. 00:52:49.293 --> 00:52:52.313 And so they had already started by the time I got in there. 00:52:52.473 --> 00:52:56.153 And it was like, bro, we don't even know what this bill is. Who is this guy 00:52:56.153 --> 00:52:58.433 coming up here? My machine didn't even work. Right. 00:52:58.953 --> 00:53:01.613 But then so I had to vote like I 00:53:01.613 --> 00:53:04.413 had to put the finger to my eye for yes and the 00:53:04.413 --> 00:53:08.393 no finger to my nose for no right but you 00:53:08.393 --> 00:53:13.093 know after I started going to these committee dinners and started hanging out 00:53:13.093 --> 00:53:17.373 with them a little bit you know then it was like yeah you know that Fleming 00:53:17.373 --> 00:53:20.753 guy's not as bad as we thought he was you know I'm saying we might even need 00:53:20.753 --> 00:53:25.733 to listen to what I was saying And there was one moment we were debating a bill 00:53:25.733 --> 00:53:27.313 and I started asking questions. 00:53:27.713 --> 00:53:32.153 And normally the speaker was kind of like, you know, he'd kind of like be doing his own thing. 00:53:32.293 --> 00:53:37.573 But this one particular day he sat there and started twirling that gavel and 00:53:37.573 --> 00:53:40.493 was leaning on the podium, listening to what I was asking. 00:53:40.853 --> 00:53:45.913 And everybody picked up on it. And that was the moment they said, OK, this guy is legit. 00:53:46.073 --> 00:53:50.213 Right. It's like he he knows what he's doing. So I I relate to that. 00:53:50.213 --> 00:53:54.593 You know, I wasn't the first black, although I was the only black on the transportation 00:53:54.593 --> 00:53:55.973 committee for four years. 00:53:56.533 --> 00:54:01.773 But it was just like that's that moment when you connect with them and whatever 00:54:01.773 --> 00:54:03.633 little subtle things you can do. 00:54:03.813 --> 00:54:07.073 And food seems like a common denominator. 00:54:07.273 --> 00:54:11.453 If you sit down with people, I'm not cooking for anybody, but if you sit down 00:54:11.453 --> 00:54:15.693 with people, all this stuff and eat with them, you kind of break that tension. 00:54:15.693 --> 00:54:22.573 So I feel that. What is the difference between radical uplift ideology and Black radicalism? 00:54:23.213 --> 00:54:29.393 So there's kind of racial uplift is Kevin Gaines' idea that you, 00:54:29.793 --> 00:54:35.673 even if you're upper class, if you want to call it middle to upper class in the Black community, 00:54:35.873 --> 00:54:43.173 that you are still going to support the community through whatever means talent, 00:54:43.353 --> 00:54:45.013 time, treasures, that sort of thing. 00:54:45.813 --> 00:54:47.653 But they tend to be... 00:54:48.828 --> 00:54:52.928 Racial uplift is still this kind of conservative approach to helping the Black community. 00:54:53.968 --> 00:54:59.628 Whereas Black radicalism is, you know, like you're going hard all, 00:54:59.848 --> 00:55:04.228 you know, like we demand respect for our humanity. We can come as we are. 00:55:04.388 --> 00:55:08.568 We shouldn't have to shrink ourselves down or wear our hair in a particular 00:55:08.568 --> 00:55:12.448 way or dress a particular way in order to make you feel comfortable. 00:55:12.668 --> 00:55:18.508 And so those are two. One is more of a pragmatic approach and the other is more 00:55:18.508 --> 00:55:19.808 of the radical approach. 00:55:20.388 --> 00:55:27.048 And so Hampton really embodied that pragmatic approach and that there needs 00:55:27.048 --> 00:55:29.388 to be a place for all of those approaches. 00:55:29.808 --> 00:55:33.628 Because you need the radical to raise the consciousness of the people, 00:55:33.888 --> 00:55:38.648 but you need the pragmatist to get things done on, you know, 00:55:38.708 --> 00:55:41.008 like the policy level or getting the funding. 00:55:41.008 --> 00:55:43.968 So it can be a broke both and 00:55:43.968 --> 00:55:47.448 but we have often you seen them as diametrically 00:55:47.448 --> 00:55:50.288 opposed to each other and I don't think they necessarily have to 00:55:50.288 --> 00:55:58.128 be All right So I guess radical uplift ideology is more like when you hear the 00:55:58.128 --> 00:56:03.848 phrase your your credit to your race kind of deal And black radicalism would 00:56:03.848 --> 00:56:08.928 be like stokely carmichael saying black power muhammad ali saying rumble black man rumble right, 00:56:09.605 --> 00:56:12.845 Yes. Okay. All right. I'm trying to make it simple for the listeners. 00:56:13.925 --> 00:56:21.425 My listeners are pretty smart, but when you can break it down to folks and they 00:56:21.425 --> 00:56:22.845 understand where you're coming from. 00:56:22.845 --> 00:56:27.565 So a quick way to understand this, Charles Hamilton came up with this kind of 00:56:27.565 --> 00:56:31.025 genealogy of Black power, and there's a continuum of Black power. 00:56:31.205 --> 00:56:35.265 And so you have on one end, you have the political bargainer, 00:56:35.405 --> 00:56:41.825 you know, the one who kind of who's on the inside, but they are comporting themselves 00:56:41.825 --> 00:56:43.425 in a way that makes white folks comfortable. 00:56:43.425 --> 00:56:47.125 But that's in order to get the resources to the community. 00:56:47.365 --> 00:56:51.305 And then on the other end is like the Stokely Carmichael's and the Panthers 00:56:51.305

--> 00:56:56.345 and so forth, who are saying this this whole system is fundamentally racist. 00:56:56.505 --> 00:57:00.985 We need to tear it down and rebuild it where it acknowledges us as human beings. 00:57:00.985 --> 00:57:06.345 So I think of all of this as black power, but there are just different degrees of black power. 00:57:06.345 --> 00:57:11.885 Yeah, and I totally agree with that assessment, Doc, because if you go to any 00:57:11.885 --> 00:57:18.885 black caucus of number in the United States, you will see those dynamics. 00:57:19.205 --> 00:57:24.025 We have one guy, I used to call him the phantom because he could be in a room 00:57:24.025 --> 00:57:27.085 with all white guys, all white people in the lounge. 00:57:28.165 --> 00:57:30.845 And, and he'll come back and tell us everything that they said. 00:57:31.425 --> 00:57:34.785 And they don't have a problem talking around him, but he just, 00:57:34.905 --> 00:57:38.185 you know, he just blends in and then he just, and he's darker to me and he'll 00:57:38.185 --> 00:57:41.105 just, it'll come out as a, Hey brother, get ready to do X, Y, 00:57:41.165 --> 00:57:42.005 and Z. You know what I'm saying? 00:57:42.825 --> 00:57:46.405 And then we had the older members, you know, that could, you know, 00:57:46.605 --> 00:57:49.065 Fleming's a little hotheaded. Let me tell you what he was trying to say. 00:57:49.185 --> 00:57:52.525 Right. And then it was me and a few others that were like raising hell all the time. 00:57:52.685 --> 00:57:58.825 So, but like you said, all together, collectively, as we effectively utilize 00:57:58.825 --> 00:58:00.705 each other's talents, that was power. 00:58:00.985 --> 00:58:06.045 And that gave us a lot of leverage to, because a lot of people don't understand 00:58:06.045 --> 00:58:10.725 based on numbers, black legislators are more effective in killing stuff than 00:58:10.725 --> 00:58:11.905 they are getting stuff passed. 00:58:12.545 --> 00:58:16.485 Because if you, if, if, if we weren't there, oh my God, 00:58:17.145 --> 00:58:21.865 I just, even we, we had this system when I was in, 00:58:22.405 --> 00:58:26.505 and this is like 20 some years ago, There was one black legislator in the state 00:58:26.505 --> 00:58:31.825 of Arizona, and she was like about 4'11", and that sister could shut down the 00:58:31.825 --> 00:58:35.145 whole Capitol building because she was she literally could say, 00:58:35.165 --> 00:58:39.545 I am speaking for all the black people in Arizona when I'd stand up or fight for something. 00:58:39.545 --> 00:58:45.645 So anyway, all right, you're bringing back all these good memories, Doc. 00:58:46.425 --> 00:58:50.365 Coretta Scott King said to abandon affirmative action is to say that there is 00:58:50.365 --> 00:58:52.525 nothing more to be done about discrimination. 00:58:52.965 --> 00:58:57.145 Yet the prevailing conservative mantra is to end affirmative action, 00:58:57.285 --> 00:58:58.405 especially in education. 00:58:58.845 --> 00:59:02.625 Are we to believe that there is nothing more that can be done about discrimination? 00:59:02.665 --> 00:59:05.385 And if not, then what can be done? 00:59:06.194 --> 00:59:10.214 Oh, there's so much that needs to be done, can be done, should be done. 00:59:10.714 --> 00:59:16.374 And to say that we don't need affirmative action is to say that white folks 00:59:16.374 --> 00:59:21.194 are done with affirmative action, like in terms of, you know, 00:59:21.254 --> 00:59:22.534 they didn't want it anyway. 00:59:22.734 --> 00:59:27.574 It was an executive order to begin with. So that already tells you it didn't 00:59:27.574 --> 00:59:31.074 even get through Congress, you know, in order for it to happen. 00:59:31.214 --> 00:59:35.054 Johnson had to do it as an executive order. And it's still in 65, 00:59:35.114 --> 00:59:41.234 and it still took until 1974 for there actually to be rules on implementation 00:59:41.234 --> 00:59:42.634 from the federal government. 00:59:42.814 --> 00:59:49.354 They had to be sued by white women, feminist groups sued the federal government. 00:59:49.674 --> 00:59:52.334 The NAACP had to join into these 00:59:52.334 --> 00:59:55.294 fights. So they didn't even want to implement it. You know, what is it? 00:59:55.714 --> 01:00:00.674 Entrance convergence. Their interests didn't converge with Black people's interests, 01:00:00.694 --> 01:00:04.114 so they didn't support affirmative action. And so there's always been, 01:00:04.134 --> 01:00:08.714 you know, a backlash against affirmative action. This is not new. 01:00:08.854 --> 01:00:15.774 It's just repackaged now as anti-DEI, you know, anti-woke, all of this type of stuff. 01:00:15.974 --> 01:00:19.314 But, you know, if they're being honest, they have hated this. 01:00:19.414 --> 01:00:26.334 They have hated this idea of leveling the playing field or making things equal since its inception. 01:00:26.794 --> 01:00:29.074 So in terms of what can be done. 01:00:30.131 --> 01:00:34.491 Well, one, if, you know, like overturned the Harvard, the Students for Fair 01:00:34.491 --> 01:00:40.071 Admissions versus Harvard case in 2023, it's based on a whole bunch of faulty logic. 01:00:40.391 --> 01:00:45.831 To begin with, Edward Blum, who brought the case, was a conservative entrepreneur. 01:00:45.831 --> 01:00:50.051 He calls himself, you know, an entrepreneur and a legal entrepreneur. 01:00:50.051 --> 01:00:56.251 And what he's going to do with that is use philanthropy, you know, 01:00:56.351 --> 01:01:01.071 like big philanthropic organizations to prop up his organization. 01:01:01.511 --> 01:01:06.931 It really wasn't even, he had only one Asian American who was willing to join 01:01:06.931 --> 01:01:12.111 that case. Most Asian Americans were like, hey, no, we want affirmative action, too. 01:01:12.451 --> 01:01:15.491 You just let this one guy speak for the rest of us. 01:01:16.451 --> 01:01:21.991 And then they narrowly focused affirmative

action or their animus toward race. 01:01:22.131 --> 01:01:26.211 They did not focus it on any other protected class. 01:01:26.571 --> 01:01:31.751 So that just tells you right there it's inherently racist. But now what's happened 01:01:31.751 --> 01:01:38.191 is it's extended that the Harvard case is being used not just for admissions, 01:01:38.191 --> 01:01:43.851 it's used against race-based scholarships and other type of prep programs for students. 01:01:44.291 --> 01:01:50.251 And that's not what the law says, but people are so worried that there will 01:01:50.251 --> 01:01:54.471 be this kind of federal backlash against them if they continue to implement 01:01:54.471 --> 01:01:58.911 race-based scholarships and that sort of thing that people are going too far with it. 01:01:58.911 --> 01:02:05.411 And California can tell you what will happen, what's going to happen once the 01:02:05.411 --> 01:02:07.431 Harvard case gets fully implemented. 01:02:07.771 --> 01:02:14.431 Our Black student population cut exactly in half, you know, and it's dropping fast. 01:02:14.991 --> 01:02:19.071 And so we're trying to figure out workarounds and so forth And we've had to 01:02:19.071 --> 01:02:22.691 go to community foundations to establish scholarships for Black students in 01:02:22.691 --> 01:02:26.391 the private sector Because there's no, you know, 01:02:26.511 --> 01:02:31.531 state protection for these programs and for these scholarships So there's a 01:02:31.531 --> 01:02:33.171 whole lot that can be done, 01:02:33.331 --> 01:02:36.671 should be done Because we have not rectified, 01:02:37.231 --> 01:02:38.811 you know, brought parity. 01:02:39.728 --> 01:02:43.668 And people have to have the law in order to do the right thing. 01:02:43.848 --> 01:02:47.428 I don't think people just inherently are going to do the right thing without the law. 01:02:48.108 --> 01:02:53.528 Yeah. And, you know, I was thinking about when we had the Ayers case in Mississippi 01:02:53.528 --> 01:02:57.808 and and then Tennessee State was in a similar situation. 01:02:57.808 --> 01:03:03.268 It was like part of the settlement was the historically black colleges had the 01:03:03.268 --> 01:03:10.068 onus to get, you know, 50 percent of their student population as white. 01:03:10.488 --> 01:03:15.488 But there was no onus on University of Tennessee or Ole Miss or Mississippi 01:03:15.488 --> 01:03:18.528 State to get the black population at 50 percent. Right. 01:03:18.868 --> 01:03:23.068 Yeah. And, you know, I mean, the schools got money out the deal. 01:03:23.068 --> 01:03:27.968 It was like, OK, I guess that was an example of sliceability or whatever. 01:03:28.088 --> 01:03:33.228 But it was like we didn't they put the onus on us. 01:03:33.408 --> 01:03:39.288 And then now they turn around and saying, well, you know, should we have black kids at Harvard? 01:03:39.628 --> 01:03:42.828 Should we have black kids at the North at North University of North Carolina? 01:03:43.008 --> 01:03:46.348 Should we have them at Michigan if they can't, quote unquote, 01:03:46.588 --> 01:03:53.228 meet the standard? But what you were addressing was it didn't address the legacy part. 01:03:53.488 --> 01:03:58.288 So if my daddy wrote a check to the University of Michigan and they built a 01:03:58.288 --> 01:04:02.508 nice dorm with my last name on it, then I'm getting into that school. 01:04:02.788 --> 01:04:04.288 Right. Yeah. And they didn't. 01:04:04.808 --> 01:04:09.468 Nobody, nobody wanted to address that. It was very interesting to see Harvard 01:04:09.468 --> 01:04:13.868 kids actually debate that point. It was like a kid that actually was a legacy 01:04:13.868 --> 01:04:18.468 admission saying, so if I was black, I couldn't get in. 01:04:18.568 --> 01:04:22.248 But because my daddy made a check, I can't. 01:04:22.528 --> 01:04:25.128 Yeah. Is that fair? You know what I'm saying? 01:04:25.468 --> 01:04:29.948 So, yeah, I don't know. Is there... 01:04:31.149 --> 01:04:36.609 What is a way, you said workaround, give me an example of a workaround other 01:04:36.609 --> 01:04:38.809 than the private scholarships you're talking about. 01:04:39.049 --> 01:04:41.509 Yeah, there's a thing called holistic review. 01:04:42.009 --> 01:04:45.689 So holistic review looks at your application. 01:04:46.089 --> 01:04:52.669 So most of the time when students apply, we convert their GPA or their school 01:04:52.669 --> 01:04:55.309 competitiveness rank into this quadratic equation. 01:04:55.449 --> 01:04:59.749 And it kicks out a formula and it ranks your students. 01:05:00.269 --> 01:05:07.589 But holistic review would say we're not going to rely simply on these numeric markers of admission. 01:05:07.589 --> 01:05:12.529 We're going to use the totality of, you know, if a student, 01:05:13.109 --> 01:05:16.909 for instance, grew up in a single-parent household or they were homeless for 01:05:16.909 --> 01:05:22.709 a period of time or, you know, they had all kind of, they overcame all kind of hurdles, 01:05:22.929 --> 01:05:29.569 we would actually do a holistic review of their application and use those qualitative factors, 01:05:29.829 --> 01:05:31.549 not just the quantitative factors. 01:05:32.329 --> 01:05:36.769 And so that's what the University of California had to do because they were 01:05:36.769 --> 01:05:43.209 losing Black and Brown students at an alarming rate after affirmative action was gone in 1996. 01:05:43.529 --> 01:05:48.849 And so they had to slowly start to implement holistic review as a workaround. 01:05:49.289 --> 01:05:52.289 So they're not considering race, right? 01:05:52.509 --> 01:05:56.709 But they're considering all of these other things, income, homelessness, 01:05:57.309 --> 01:06:01.649 you know, or this student did all of this kind of volunteer work that we normally 01:06:01.649 --> 01:06:05.529 don't count toward admission, but now we're going to use that as a factor. 01:06:06.209 -->

01:06:11.089 Yeah. So did the state of California track these young people? 01:06:11.289 --> 01:06:15.869 Did they go to other states to go to college or did they just not go to school at all? 01:06:16.700 --> 01:06:22.440 A lot of them didn't go, particularly the black students. A lot of them either 01:06:22.440 --> 01:06:24.240 did not go or they went out of state. 01:06:24.800 --> 01:06:30.120 Yeah. And the other part of the problem is that, you know, and we know this. 01:06:30.280 --> 01:06:36.080 The problem is also at K-12 where the students aren't adequately prepared to 01:06:36.080 --> 01:06:37.440 get into the university. 01:06:37.440 --> 01:06:44.680 But more importantly, is that certain groups of students are not given the same 01:06:44.680 --> 01:06:48.960 kind of courses that would allow them to matriculate into the university. 01:06:49.220 --> 01:06:56.160 So Black students are grossly kind of ill-advised on what classes to take. 01:06:56.280 --> 01:06:59.740 So they'll take courses that will get them a high school diploma, 01:06:59.740 --> 01:07:05.000 but they won't count toward admission to the Cal State system or the University of California. 01:07:06.080 --> 01:07:13.640 And so we have a huge swath of black students who just would not make it into 01:07:13.640 --> 01:07:15.660 one of our state schools, 01:07:16.320 --> 01:07:22.200 whereas some of the HBCUs would bring those, you know, like bring those students 01:07:22.200 --> 01:07:26.700 in and help them, help them, you know, overcome whatever, you know, 01:07:26.800 --> 01:07:28.160 deficiency they may have. 01:07:28.160 --> 01:07:31.320 California used to have programs. 01:07:31.700 --> 01:07:36.580 We used to have a thing called the special admit program. And that would allow, 01:07:36.940 --> 01:07:41.500 if you were, say, for instance, you were missing one year of high school science, 01:07:41.500 --> 01:07:47.740 we would let you into the university and we would offer you tutoring support 01:07:47.740 --> 01:07:49.420 in order for you to catch up. 01:07:49.420 --> 01:07:55.680 Well, when affirmative action was gone, they started to chip away at the special admit program. 01:07:55.960 --> 01:08:00.120 And it was the way in which special admit is still on the books technically, 01:08:00.120 --> 01:08:03.980 but the way it's been implemented is it has targeted black students. 01:08:05.820 --> 01:08:12.940 So let's wrap this up. What do you want readers of the book to take away from 01:08:12.940 --> 01:08:16.960 it? So I really want people to take away two things. 01:08:17.180 --> 01:08:23.400 One, the power of the trustees to make policies and to thwart policies, really. 01:08:23.700 --> 01:08:30.400 They have a lot of say over what happens all the way from buildings, 01:08:31.060 --> 01:08:35.780 tenure decisions, what students get in. They set the prices for tuition. 01:08:37.280 --> 01:08:41.640 But, you know, the public is really unaware of who they are These people are 01:08:41.640 --> 01:08:46.020 not elected They are appointed by governors So they are very much political 01:08:46.020 --> 01:08:51.740 appointees And they often do the bidding of the person that appointed them Claudia 01:08:51.740 --> 01:08:55.260 Hampton was appointed by Ronald Reagan And she and Ronald Reagan did not have 01:08:55.260 --> 01:08:57.040 the same politics She was a Democrat, 01:08:57.240 --> 01:09:02.180 he was a Republican You know, he was anti-affirmative action She was pro-affirmative 01:09:02.180 --> 01:09:04.300 action She was her own person, 01:09:05.151 --> 01:09:09.631 And that leads to my second point that I want readers to understand is that 01:09:09.631 --> 01:09:16.311 there are ways in which you can be an effective leader as a Black person in 01:09:16.311 --> 01:09:21.291 these institutions and still have the community at the forefront of everything you do. 01:09:21.291 --> 01:09:27.931 Claudia Hampton not only cooked dinner for white men, she was responsible in 01:09:27.931 --> 01:09:35.231 budget crisis. She made sure that affirmative action never got underfunded or funding was taken away. 01:09:35.731 --> 01:09:39.851 And she just used the kind of power of her personality and her organizational 01:09:39.851 --> 01:09:43.971 skills in order to bring people along. People who were like, 01:09:44.131 --> 01:09:46.411 we don't like affirmative action, but we love Claudia Hampton. 01:09:46.591 --> 01:09:51.251 And she's like, fine, I'll I'll take that if that means these black kids will 01:09:51.251 --> 01:09:54.371 be able to get a college education. Yeah. 01:09:55.031 --> 01:09:56.191 Well, Dr. 01:09:57.211 --> 01:10:01.611 Donna J. Nicol, it's really been an honor to talk to you. 01:10:01.831 --> 01:10:07.231 I can tell that we just, you know, kind of scratched the surface a little bit. 01:10:07.231 --> 01:10:13.051 But since you've been a guest now, you have an open invitation to come back. 01:10:13.371 --> 01:10:18.311 And I would love to keep talking to you about education as a whole, 01:10:18.611 --> 01:10:24.391 especially higher education in the United States, because there's a lot of other 01:10:24.391 --> 01:10:27.971 issues that we can get into, not just the racial aspect of it, 01:10:28.051 --> 01:10:30.551 but even the value of a higher education at this point. 01:10:30.711 --> 01:10:35.591 So I'd love for you to come back, especially now that I know you're an administrator now. 01:10:36.351 --> 01:10:40.231 So, but, but I thank you for coming on and sharing this and where can, 01:10:40.511 --> 01:10:43.831 so where can people buy the book? 01:10:43.971 --> 01:10:46.291 How can people reach out to you? All the other stuff. 01:10:47.075 --> 01:10:55.315 So you can go directly to my website, which is www.donnajnicol.com. 01:10:55.315 --> 01:11:00.575 I actually have on the page some audio of Claudia Hampton that I was able to 01:11:00.575 --> 01:11:01.635 retrieve from the archive. 01:11:01.795 -->

01:11:05.435 So you can hear her in her own words talking about, you know, 01:11:05.515 --> 01:11:08.655 she said, well, they called me the affirmative action trustee. 01:11:08.855 --> 01:11:13.355 And so she talks about that and how she played the game of boardsmanship. 01:11:13.355 --> 01:11:16.315 That was the way she described what she did. 01:11:16.415 --> 01:11:20.715 So you can hear on the website, but you can also go under the research page 01:11:20.715 --> 01:11:25.075 and that's where you can find the direct link to purchase the book. 01:11:25.175 --> 01:11:29.055 If you go onto the press page, which is University of Rochester Press, 01:11:29.215 --> 01:11:32.815 there's a discount code on there. So you can get 35% off on the book. 01:11:32.895 --> 01:11:37.295 If you go through the press page, it's a little cheaper than what you would 01:11:37.295 --> 01:11:39.535 pay on Amazon, but I have the Amazon link too. 01:11:40.215 --> 01:11:46.715 Okay. All right. Well, again, Dr. Nicol, I appreciate you coming on and look forward. 01:11:47.115 --> 01:11:52.395 Hopefully you'll have a great school year this year and look forward to seeing 01:11:52.395 --> 01:11:57.275 whatever else you're going to write about or do in the education field. 01:11:57.715 --> 01:12:03.375 Oh, thank you again for having me. I really enjoyed the conversation and I would be happy to come back. 01:12:03.735 --> 01:12:06.075 All right, guys. And we're going to catch out on the other side. 01:12:06.960 --> 01:12:25.200 Music. 01:12:22.715 --> 01:12:26.875 We'll see you next time. All right. And we are back. 01:12:27.055 --> 01:12:33.035 And so now it's time for my next guest, Dontaye Carter, a native of Orlando, Florida. 01:12:33.195 --> 01:12:39.835 Dontaye Carter is the founder and owner of Carter Media Group and an alum of Florida A&M University. 01:12:39.835 --> 01:12:43.955 He has served as the vice chair of the school governance council at Dunwoody 01:12:43.955 --> 01:12:49.555 Springs Elementary, an executive board member of the PTO and as chair of the 01:12:49.555 --> 01:12:50.715 North Fulton Democrats. 01:12:51.195 --> 01:12:55.855 He is also the first vice president of the Atlanta NAACP and serves as the communications 01:12:55.855 --> 01:12:57.835 chair for the Georgia NAACP. 01:12:58.515 --> 01:13:05.855 In addition, he served as a board member of Cure Childhood Cancer for two years, concluding in 2024. 01:13:06.775 --> 01:13:13.115 Dontaye Carter announced his second candidacy for mayor of Sandy Springs on January the 19th, 2025. 01:13:13.595 --> 01:13:16.595 He finished second in his previous run in 2021. 01:13:17.195 --> 01:13:19.995 Dontaye lives in Sandy Springs with his wife, Dr. 01:13:20.095 --> 01:13:25.575 Karen Creed, board certified OBGYN at Northside Hospital, and their six-year-old 01:13:25.575 --> 01:13:29.915 daughter, co-author of the book, My Daddy and Me, Kyleigh. 01:13:30.495 --> 01:13:34.515 Ladies and gentlemen, it's my distinct honor and privilege to have as a guest. 01:13:34.515 --> 01:13:37.915 On this podcast, Dontaye Carter. 01:13:39.600 --> 01:13:49.200 Music. 01:13:49.046 --> 01:13:52.906 All right. Dontaye Carter. How you doing, brother? You doing all good? 01:13:53.586 --> 01:13:58.146 Oh, man, I'm doing all right. How you doing over there? I'm doing better than you. I'm not running. 01:13:58.966 --> 01:14:03.206 So, you know, I appreciate you being out here in these trenches and all that. 01:14:03.326 --> 01:14:08.186 But I always tell people if I'm not running for office, I'm doing great because I've been through it. 01:14:09.766 --> 01:14:13.906 That's it. Yeah. So, look, let's go ahead and get this going. 01:14:13.906 --> 01:14:16.106 I do a couple of icebreakers, right? Right. 01:14:16.346 --> 01:14:19.026 And so the first one is a quote. 01:14:19.446 --> 01:14:23.786 And the quote is, if you want to go quickly, go alone. 01:14:24.166 --> 01:14:28.706 If you want to go far, go together. What does that quote mean to you? 01:14:29.426 --> 01:14:32.346 You know, I think it speaks to a lot of what we're trying to accomplish right 01:14:32.346 --> 01:14:35.626 now. That's bringing people together so that we can go the distance. 01:14:35.826 --> 01:14:41.026 You know, we understand that we live in a system that systemically impacts us. 01:14:41.126 --> 01:14:45.806 And so untangling this system and democracy, democracy only works for those 01:14:45.806 --> 01:14:48.646 who have the numbers, right? That's what it is. 01:14:49.126 --> 01:14:52.346 And it's most basic terms. You go out and get the numbers. 01:14:52.846 --> 01:14:57.146 You can set precedent. You can set policy. You can set the things that you want to set. 01:14:57.146 --> 01:15:00.726 And so that's what we spent the last four years doing is getting out there and 01:15:00.726 --> 01:15:02.866 bringing people together so that we can truly go the distance, 01:15:02.866 --> 01:15:07.926 not just winning this election, but also so that we can have the numbers on city council, right? 01:15:08.006 --> 01:15:11.706 It's one thing to have a mayor who can sign executive order after executive order. 01:15:11.866 --> 01:15:15.926 It's another thing to have those three votes on city council that you can have 01:15:15.926 --> 01:15:17.986 people vote on and get your agenda passed. 01:15:18.126 --> 01:15:21.746 And so to me, that's what that quote really means is bringing people together, 01:15:22.206 --> 01:15:25.006 making sure that you have people in position so that you can go the distance 01:15:25.006 --> 01:15:26.466 to reach your goal. Yeah. 01:15:27.006 --> 01:15:30.246 All right. So the next icebreaker is what I call 20 questions. 01:15:31.546 --> 01:15:37.066 So I need you to give me a number between one and 20. Three. 01:15:37.966 --> 01:15:42.426 How should we balance rights, freedoms, and responsibilities? 01:15:43.326 --> 01:15:46.966 How should we balance it or how does this nation balance it, right?

01:15:47.886 --> 01:15:51.706 How do you balance it? Yeah, that's a personal question. 01:15:52.906 --> 01:15:56.666 Well, you know, I'm a very high moral type of guy. 01:15:56.866 --> 01:16:02.806 I truly believe in treating people the way you want to be treated in its simplest form. 01:16:02.906 --> 01:16:08.486 And so for me, I'm always looking at things as how, if the shoe was on the other 01:16:08.486 --> 01:16:12.326 foot, how would I want this, whatever this is being done to me? 01:16:12.446 --> 01:16:14.126 Would I think it's fair? Would I think it's equitable? 01:16:14.466 --> 01:16:19.266 How would I want that done in terms of if there's a wrong committed against me? 01:16:19.426 --> 01:16:24.086 How would I want those things amended? And so I think it's just important for 01:16:24.086 --> 01:16:28.706 me to look at through the lens of how would I want myself, my wife, 01:16:28.706 --> 01:16:29.806 or my daughter to be treated. 01:16:29.966 --> 01:16:32.406 And those are some of the things that I really focus on when I look at, 01:16:32.526 --> 01:16:35.166 when I think about the question that you just asked. Yeah. 01:16:35.906 --> 01:16:39.606 So you've lived in Sandy Springs for nearly a decade. 01:16:40.146 --> 01:16:44.426 What is it about Sandy Springs that makes it a special place to live? 01:16:45.301 --> 01:16:50.281 You know, I think what brought me here is my wife's an OB and she's required 01:16:50.281 --> 01:16:53.461 by law to be with it, you know, 12 to 15 minutes at a hospital. 01:16:53.621 --> 01:16:55.881 And so that's what brought us here. 01:16:56.481 --> 01:16:59.601 But as I've been here, as I've gotten to know the people, you know, 01:16:59.761 --> 01:17:04.801 Sandy Springs, it's changing drastically. It's 50 percent minority. 01:17:05.181 --> 01:17:08.101 And I think what people don't realize is when you say minority, 01:17:08.321 --> 01:17:13.261 it's not just black and Hispanic. I mean, we have people here from over 100 01:17:13.261 --> 01:17:14.941 different nations, right? 01:17:15.061 --> 01:17:19.501 So we're being exposed to a lot of culture here as well. 01:17:19.621 --> 01:17:26.321 And so for me, I grew up down in Orlando, East Orlando. And it reminds me a 01:17:26.321 --> 01:17:30.801 lot of where I came from, where you have the influx of diversity. 01:17:31.541 --> 01:17:35.341 And I think for me, that's something that I've always appreciated because you're 01:17:35.341 --> 01:17:38.181 able to see humanity for what humanity truly is. 01:17:38.421 --> 01:17:40.421 To me, that's something special. Yeah. 01:17:41.161 --> 01:17:45.601 So you ran for mayor in 2021 and finished second. 01:17:46.301 --> 01:17:50.001 What will be the difference this time that will lead your campaign to victory? 01:17:50.941 --> 01:17:54.241 We built community. And that's what we've been building for the last four years. 01:17:55.321 --> 01:18:00.261 We were endorsed by one of the longest serving principals here in the area after 01:18:00.261 --> 01:18:02.101 she retired, not long after she retired. 01:18:03.141 --> 01:18:07.901 And she was honest with her endorsement. She said, I saw him run just like a 01:18:07.901 --> 01:18:09.021 lot of people saw him run. 01:18:09.201 --> 01:18:15.601 And you know, after he ran we expected him to disappear and he never disappeared 01:18:15.601 --> 01:18:21.061 he kept showing up and I think for me that's what validated me in this decision 01:18:21.061 --> 01:18:23.801 to keep going is the fact that, 01:18:24.768 --> 01:18:29.128 For having folks like that that said, you know, seeing you never give up, 01:18:29.308 --> 01:18:33.348 seeing you continue to stay engaged, seeing you step up to support the community 01:18:33.348 --> 01:18:37.608 where you saw that there were needs, it meant a lot because we know that there are a lot of needs. 01:18:38.008 --> 01:18:41.408 We know everything from affordability, child care, health care, 01:18:41.488 --> 01:18:42.748 so many things are being impacted. 01:18:43.068 --> 01:18:45.968 We had a school that closed up here. And I think that, you know, 01:18:46.028 --> 01:18:50.308 we just have to, we got to ensure that we have folks who are in this for the 01:18:50.308 --> 01:18:53.348 long haul, who are looking at the best way to protect folks, 01:18:53.568 --> 01:18:57.688 looking at the best way to ensure that the city is affordable. 01:18:57.808 --> 01:19:01.148 And I think that's just the biggest thing. I think a lot of people are making money. 01:19:01.288 --> 01:19:04.648 We've got a ton of corporations up here. We got, I believe, more corporations 01:19:04.648 --> 01:19:06.288 up here than anywhere else in America. 01:19:06.888 --> 01:19:11.208 And a majority of them are paying taxes, you know. And so we're putting a bill 01:19:11.208 --> 01:19:14.848 on a lot of these things. And I think it's time to change that. Yeah. 01:19:15.648 --> 01:19:20.888 So, you know, hearing you tell the story about the retired principal, 01:19:20.888 --> 01:19:25.348 it just reminds me, in 1986, I first ran for office. 01:19:26.008 --> 01:19:31.288 And the one thing people said is like, well, you hadn't paid your dues and you got to pay your dues. 01:19:31.468 --> 01:19:34.828 Now, I didn't get elected until 13 years later. 01:19:34.828 --> 01:19:39.268 So I'm hoping that timetable is not your timetable, especially since you're 01:19:39.268 --> 01:19:43.588 running now. But, you know, it does mean something because a lot of those people, 01:19:43.588 --> 01:19:47.788 you know, saw that I was serious about it. 01:19:48.468 --> 01:19:54.368 And, you know, when the right office came, then I was able to get in with a lot of their support. 01:19:54.648 --> 01:20:02.708 And I'm hoping that that works for you. Like I said, more quicker than later in that case. 01:20:03.368 --> 01:20:07.568 What title do you draw from the most as a campaigner? husband, 01:20:07.908 --> 01:20:10.768 father, media consultant, or

community leader? 01:20:11.468 --> 01:20:18.028 I think the one that I probably draw from the most is husband and father. 01:20:18.208 --> 01:20:22.468 I think, you know, that's the epitome of what keeps me going out here. 01:20:22.788 --> 01:20:25.428 That's, you know, again, you know, and I mentioned this earlier, 01:20:25.668 --> 01:20:33.628 it's like, you know, I didn't realize what type of position we were in until 01:20:33.628 --> 01:20:35.728 I went and worked for the Fulton County DA's office. 01:20:36.788 --> 01:20:40.088 And that's why I saw how laws were applied. 01:20:40.348 --> 01:20:47.148 And it just blew my mind, you know, that laws could be applied in a certain way. 01:20:47.448 --> 01:20:50.608 If you don't have good police officers that are doing their job, 01:20:50.748 --> 01:20:52.608 that are actually investigating these cases, 01:20:53.449 --> 01:20:58.049 it turns into this run-of-the-mill where it's an arrest, it's a prosecution, 01:20:58.269 --> 01:21:02.169 it's shipping folks off, and it's not until 20, 30 years later that you realize, 01:21:02.309 --> 01:21:04.029 man, we sent the wrong person down the road. 01:21:04.749 --> 01:21:10.729 And seeing how these things happen and happen with very well-intentioned, 01:21:10.869 --> 01:21:13.389 well-meaning folks blew my mind. 01:21:14.249 --> 01:21:17.909 That's when I decided and made that decision, you know what, I got to leave. 01:21:18.449 --> 01:21:22.409 I got to work outside the system so that I can really bring context to what's happening. 01:21:22.929 --> 01:21:26.409 So I leave the DA's office. I open up my own communications firm. 01:21:26.849 --> 01:21:30.429 I ended up getting hired on by an attorney by the name of Attorney Gerald Griggs. 01:21:30.549 --> 01:21:34.449 And one of the first big cases that hits my case is him working with the families 01:21:34.449 --> 01:21:36.909 involved in the R. Kelly case. 01:21:37.369 --> 01:21:43.109 And it wasn't until I'm looking through this and I'm reading through it. 01:21:43.209 --> 01:21:44.509 At the time, it was a charge. 01:21:44.729 --> 01:21:47.189 So it's a tough place to be in. 01:21:47.489 --> 01:21:52.489 I just remember talking out loud and my wife was just quiet. 01:21:52.809 --> 01:21:54.129 And I was like, babe, are you good? 01:21:54.949 --> 01:21:59.289 And I asked her again, because it was a deafening silence. 01:21:59.589 --> 01:22:03.189 And so she said, at some point, we need our husbands, our fathers, 01:22:03.409 --> 01:22:07.129 we need the men in our lives to act like they know there's a problem. 01:22:07.309 --> 01:22:11.109 And there's a real problem going on. The fact that you're helping me to raise 01:22:11.109 --> 01:22:14.789 a black girl and you're not seeing it for what it is bothers me. 01:22:14.889 --> 01:22:17.009 She was like, you can take that case for free for all I care. 01:22:17.809 --> 01:22:22.749 And I did end up taking it for free. And it was tough when I started looking

01:22:22.749 --> 01:22:26.089 at the laws and realizing that laws that were meant to protect women aren't 01:22:26.089 --> 01:22:30.689 sufficient enough, right? So I'm bounced from there and I get a call to help 01:22:30.689 --> 01:22:32.189 out with the Ahmaud Arbery case. 01:22:32.869 --> 01:22:35.329 And I'm working with the attorneys. is there and work with families. 01:22:35.569 --> 01:22:37.989 Another case that I took without taking a dime. 01:22:38.489 --> 01:22:44.009 And I started to see that not only are women and specifically black women not 01:22:44.009 --> 01:22:47.569 protected in these spaces, but man, we're not protected either. 01:22:48.209 --> 01:22:53.689 And then I go from there to looking at the laws that are in place in Sandy Springs 01:22:53.689 --> 01:22:57.129 and seeing that we don't even have a civil rights ordinance in place, right? 01:22:57.289 --> 01:23:02.289 So now we're talking about the fact that discrimination's not defined within 01:23:02.289 --> 01:23:03.789 the city limit. So what does that impact? 01:23:04.069 --> 01:23:07.389 That impacts those who work in the city, that impacts those who live in the city. 01:23:08.929 --> 01:23:12.449 And I get so frustrated when I hear the, 01:23:13.542 --> 01:23:20.062 Those who want to criticize say, well, Fulton County has a civil rights law. 01:23:20.362 --> 01:23:24.862 And it's like, you know, but now you're saying I got to go into a courtroom 01:23:24.862 --> 01:23:29.962 to talk about what was done to me and have this jurist decide whether or not 01:23:29.962 --> 01:23:33.182 I was discriminated against because we don't have a long city in the books. 01:23:33.302 --> 01:23:34.602 That's why Atlanta has one. 01:23:34.822 --> 01:23:39.442 That's why Brookhaven has one. That's why all these cities have one because 01:23:39.442 --> 01:23:41.222 they're doing that to hold folks accountable. 01:23:41.222 --> 01:23:46.522 And so, you know, as I started to look at the laws and see that, oh, man, like, 01:23:47.262 --> 01:23:53.802 it's not only do the laws we need to have on the books be there that aren't, 01:23:53.882 --> 01:23:56.842 but we still got our case stuff on the books, you know? 01:23:57.222 --> 01:24:00.542 Like, you know, a black man can't own a dog in the state of Georgia. 01:24:00.802 --> 01:24:05.222 Like, they'll tell you, man, well, we don't enforce it, but it's like, it's still on the books. 01:24:05.822 --> 01:24:09.402 Like, if you don't enforce it, take it off. Like, take it off. 01:24:10.702 --> 01:24:15.422 Why is it still there? You know, it's very similar to even on the federal government side. 01:24:15.622 --> 01:24:20.442 Every few years, you know, there's still a vote that has to take place on whether 01:24:20.442 --> 01:24:22.082 or not we retain the right to vote. 01:24:22.222 --> 01:24:26.762 It's like you think this stuff is crazy until you really start looking at it. 01:24:26.882 --> 01:24:28.682 And it's just, it's bananas. 01:24:28.962 --> 01:24:33.902 But, you know, I think all of those things, this is why I draw for me being 01:24:33.902 --> 01:24:39.122 a husband, me being a father, because it allows me to be open and feel these 01:24:39.122 --> 01:24:41.142 things in a way that pushes me to drive change. 01:24:42.241 --> 01:24:46.121 Yeah. Yeah. That's interesting about the dog thing. 01:24:46.241 --> 01:24:50.441 I did not, I did not, you know, cause I kind of, that's one of the things I 01:24:50.441 --> 01:24:53.021 look for those little obscure laws like that. 01:24:53.741 --> 01:24:59.361 And I didn't, like you said, there's some stuff in Georgia that needs to be improved. 01:24:59.541 --> 01:25:03.841 Did not realize it was illegal for a black man to own a dog in the state. That's, that's great. 01:25:04.101 --> 01:25:08.741 I, I understand the historical significance of it though, but it's still crazy. 01:25:09.401 --> 01:25:12.641 I got four of them, man. You know, the misdemeanors are lining up. 01:25:13.581 --> 01:25:16.861 Look, we could probably do a whole show on that. 01:25:17.821 --> 01:25:21.641 You have listed four priorities that you would like to address as mayor. 01:25:21.881 --> 01:25:26.941 Fair housing for all, stopping rent hikes and price gouging to protect renters, 01:25:27.661 --> 01:25:31.741 capping property taxes, keeping homeowners secure amid rising costs, 01:25:32.461 --> 01:25:35.841 strengthening communities, building community centers that unite and empower 01:25:35.841 --> 01:25:42.561 residents, and smart growth, preventing predatory development while fostering sustainable progress. 01:25:42.921 --> 01:25:48.841 Which of these four priorities would you like to see movement on during your first 100 days? 01:25:49.061 --> 01:25:53.961 Definitely the direct center and definitely affordable housing. 01:25:54.161 --> 01:25:57.941 Like these, Sandy Springs has over 50 acres of undeveloped city-owned land. 01:25:58.061 --> 01:25:59.321 Like we already own the land. 01:25:59.601 --> 01:26:05.121 And there are developers out there whose focus is affordability. 01:26:05.121 --> 01:26:09.221 That's what they build for Not just tiny homes Not just, I mean, 01:26:09.321 --> 01:26:10.461 that are looking at Okay, 01:26:10.721 --> 01:26:14.441 how do we build this home in the most effective Most affordable way They're 01:26:14.441 --> 01:26:20.541 already doing it The problem that we have is Throughout this nation, we have mayors, 01:26:21.201 --> 01:26:26.101 Who've, I mean, even in this In the city of Sandy Springs We've. 01:26:26.875 --> 01:26:30.135 They're funding all the campaigns. There's a lot of money that I've left on 01:26:30.135 --> 01:26:33.115 the table because they don't want me focused on certain issues. 01:26:33.295 --> 01:26:38.995 And what I'm telling them is, listen, not only does this impact people I love, 01:26:39.155 --> 01:26:41.295 but at some point it's going to impact me. 01:26:41.595 --> 01:26:45.035 Like you

can't keep developing and building up around us, right? 01:26:45.315 --> 01:26:47.595 And think that we're going to be able to afford to stay in our homes. 01:26:47.695 --> 01:26:50.375 I've already seen it with, you know, there was a lady four years ago that says, 01:26:50.475 --> 01:26:53.295 I don't understand why you're talking about affordable housing. 01:26:53.455 --> 01:26:56.015 And then her husband retired and she has to move out of her home because they 01:26:56.015 --> 01:26:57.915 can't afford to keep things up. 01:26:58.055 --> 01:27:00.795 And that's what I'm trying to get folks to see is, you know, Dr. 01:27:00.875 --> 01:27:05.095 King said it so eloquently, and I'm not going to say it verbatim, 01:27:05.235 --> 01:27:09.455 but I mean, essentially what happens to one side is going to happen to the other. 01:27:09.655 --> 01:27:13.215 And if we don't start looking at things through a very collective lens about 01:27:13.215 --> 01:27:18.415 how these things impact and affect us, it's going to leave us in some very tough positions. 01:27:18.735 --> 01:27:23.635 And I mean, we're watching the middle class fade away in real time. 01:27:24.115 --> 01:27:27.795 And we may not be able to see the full glimpse of it in five years, 01:27:27.955 --> 01:27:29.255 but you're going to see it in 10. 01:27:29.515 --> 01:27:33.395 It's coming and it's coming fast. And so, you know, that's why, 01:27:33.715 --> 01:27:40.995 you know, I've been working so hard and fighting so hard because I care about these things. 01:27:41.215 --> 01:27:47.555 You know, I had two parents who went and fought for this country, 01:27:47.695 --> 01:27:48.875 who served in this military. 01:27:49.135 --> 01:27:54.375 I was literally born in Frankfurt, West Germany, before the Berlin Wall came 01:27:54.375 --> 01:28:00.415 down, as not just my father, but my mother were also there on the front line standing. 01:28:00.915 --> 01:28:05.135 You know, holding up democracy, you know, and I didn't even realize until I 01:28:05.135 --> 01:28:08.515 had a conversation with my mother recently, she's already, you know, 01:28:08.715 --> 01:28:13.495 pairing her little and going through these things to make sure that if anything happens to her, 01:28:14.075 --> 01:28:16.695 that my godparents are ready and all these things. 01:28:16.835 --> 01:28:21.775 And so when I think about the sacrifices When I see her go through what she 01:28:21.775 --> 01:28:26.915 went through over there, not just as a soldier, not just as being Black, 01:28:27.055 --> 01:28:28.815 but also as being a woman, right? 01:28:29.715 --> 01:28:34.695 It's when I see her go through all that, come back here, fight to get back on 01:28:34.695 --> 01:28:36.915 her feet, go through the challenges that she faced. 01:28:37.195 --> 01:28:41.335 Us being, for a small period, homeless, like dealing with the things that we dealt with. 01:28:41.635 --> 01:28:46.335 Like there's no reason that things should have spiraled out

the way that they did. 01:28:46.475 --> 01:28:50.315 And we just have to be honest, you know? So in Sandy Springs over here where 01:28:50.315 --> 01:28:54.855 the Sandy Springs UMC is selling their land and developers coming in to build 01:28:54.855 --> 01:28:56.455 on it, the city gave them $5 million, 01:28:57.075 --> 01:29:00.455 gave them 10 years to pay off that $5 million loan and told them they didn't 01:29:00.455 --> 01:29:04.355 have to pay full taxes in the meantime to assure that they get their money back. 01:29:05.775 --> 01:29:08.475 There's no guarantees that we're going to get this money back. 01:29:08.775 --> 01:29:12.935 There's no guarantees that they're going to hire any small businesses from the city of Sandy Springs. 01:29:13.115 --> 01:29:16.195 No guarantees that they're going to use minority contractors. 01:29:16.195 --> 01:29:19.895 To me, that's not a benefit to the city Right? And, 01:29:20.835 --> 01:29:26.035 The cities do lose more and more with deals like this when we could be investing 01:29:26.035 --> 01:29:31.655 in rec centers, right, where we have programs there that help grow leaders, 01:29:31.895 --> 01:29:35.095 that, you know, put job training in there, give kids places to go. 01:29:35.315 --> 01:29:39.335 I mean, we have the land to do these things. We have the opportunity to do these things. 01:29:39.475 --> 01:29:44.575 But the reality is, is we have people that it's not in their best interest for 01:29:44.575 --> 01:29:48.195 them to do it so that it won't. And I think at that point, that's when we have 01:29:48.195 --> 01:29:51.755 to realize it's time to send some folks home. And that's what I'm going to do. 01:29:52.635 --> 01:29:56.935 So let me see if I got this right. So Sandy Springs, United Message, 01:29:57.075 --> 01:30:02.235 that's the church right there on Mount Vernon, right behind City Springs, the City Springs area. 01:30:02.695 --> 01:30:07.035 Yeah. All right. And that's kind of like where the city was founded, if I'm correct. 01:30:08.235 --> 01:30:11.395 That's where they found the little well and all that stuff. And the city grew 01:30:11.395 --> 01:30:14.595 from that. So they're talking about they're getting ready to move. 01:30:15.435 --> 01:30:19.355 Yeah, they're gone. They're already in a soul gland. Okay. And the developers, 01:30:19.375 --> 01:30:22.015 they got all type of tax abated. That's what I'm saying. 01:30:23.115 --> 01:30:26.975 Our property tax in Sandy Springs, 33% in the last six years, 01:30:27.235 --> 01:30:29.655 right? So that's a bill that homeowners are footing. 01:30:30.155 --> 01:30:34.335 That's extra rent that our renters are paying. I mean, it's bananas because 01:30:34.335 --> 01:30:39.455 they just, this past week, had a whole conversation about the millage rate and what to do with it. 01:30:39.455 --> 01:30:43.275 And they said, no, we'll leave it the same, even though they're bringing in 01:30:43.275 --> 01:30:48.555 hundreds of thousands of dollars more, possibly millions, if we get to the weeds of numbers. 01:30:48.895 --> 01:30:53.135 We're in a place where if we wanted to, we could lower the millage rate, right? 01:30:53.355 --> 01:30:58.475 And still lower the millage rate, still afford excellent services with police fire, all these things. 01:30:59.055 --> 01:31:02.155 But they're taking the burden off some of our homeowners, some of our renters, right? 01:31:02.295 --> 01:31:07.055 And we don't even have anybody in there. We know they're bringing in mixed use, right? 01:31:07.535 --> 01:31:11.955 We're giving them money. Why not incentivize them to actually make these rents livable? 01:31:12.095 --> 01:31:15.715 You know, I've sat down, I've talked to our educators, I've talked to our police. 01:31:16.275 --> 01:31:18.515 You know, what's affordable is $1,200 a month. 01:31:19.377 --> 01:31:23.857 I mean, it's not too many places where you're going to find $1,200 a month. 01:31:24.417 --> 01:31:27.117 You know, they'll tell you that, well, the police don't want to live in a city 01:31:27.117 --> 01:31:28.137 where they're going to arrest people. 01:31:28.297 --> 01:31:32.637 Nah, that's not what they told me, right? They said, if it's affordable, they'll live in a city. 01:31:33.017 --> 01:31:36.977 My grandfather, he coached on the Police Athletic League when I lived up in 01:31:36.977 --> 01:31:39.317 Washington, D.C. I played on his baseball team. 01:31:39.757 --> 01:31:43.157 I mean, you create opportunities for people to serve in the community. 01:31:43.337 --> 01:31:47.377 They're going to step up and serve, but it's all dictated by who is at the top. 01:31:47.617 --> 01:31:51.897 Right now, at the top is the mayor. He's dictating the culture of the city. We got to change that. 01:31:52.597 --> 01:31:56.497 Yeah. Well, I was interested in somebody would say that about Sandy Springs. 01:31:56.657 --> 01:32:00.057 The police don't want to live where the crime is because, you know, 01:32:00.417 --> 01:32:05.157 for all intents and purposes, Sandy Springs is a safe place to live. It is not a hotbed. 01:32:05.797 --> 01:32:11.237 As a matter of fact, I get you. You and I can go over to Hammond Drive and that 01:32:11.237 --> 01:32:16.997 building is probably the hotbed of crime in Sandy Springs. It's not the, it's not widespread. 01:32:17.237 --> 01:32:22.157 And if you looked at that place, you're like going, really, this is where all the crime is happening? 01:32:22.357 --> 01:32:27.077 It's because it looks like a luxury condo. So, you know, I think that's kind 01:32:27.077 --> 01:32:28.077 of an outlandish statement. 01:32:28.097 --> 01:32:31.837 But, you know, when you're out there running, people are going to say stuff to you. 01:32:31.957 --> 01:32:36.157 So I'm glad that you were able to rebuff that a little bit. 01:32:36.397 --> 01:32:39.517 What is going to be the toughest priority to fulfill? 01:32:41.097 --> 01:32:47.157 Man, I think one of the toughest priorities

is really going to be, 01:32:47.217 --> 01:32:50.977 I think it's going to be a combination of two, right? Because something's going 01:32:50.977 --> 01:32:52.177 to change on one side or the other. 01:32:52.557 --> 01:32:57.117 It's either we do something about housing, or we got to bring income up, right? 01:32:57.777 --> 01:33:00.977 What we face in Georgia are a lot of preemptive laws. 01:33:01.657 --> 01:33:07.577 They set the corporate tax at, I think, 5.7%, which is bananas. 01:33:07.857 --> 01:33:11.497 They've allowed, because other cities, you look at California, 01:33:11.657 --> 01:33:14.257 New York, Texas, they're all charging these corporations a lot more. 01:33:14.257 --> 01:33:20.277 So they're coming in here, you know, not even paying half of what they paid 01:33:20.277 --> 01:33:26.857 in other states And they've made it illegal for cities to tax the corporations, a city tax, 01:33:27.377 --> 01:33:30.177 Which, you know, if you look at New York City and you look at the cities in 01:33:30.177 --> 01:33:35.617 New Jersey They're probably charging about 11.5% tax on these corporations that are there. 01:33:36.597 --> 01:33:42.517 I say all that because we hear a lot of these folks talking about They're bringing 01:33:42.517 --> 01:33:46.697 jobs, bringing jobs, bringing jobs Are they bringing jobs or are they bringing employees? 01:33:47.277 --> 01:33:51.157 Because the majority of these corporations already have their employees. 01:33:51.317 --> 01:33:52.897 They're not hiring from within the community. 01:33:53.077 --> 01:33:56.297 So we just got to have a real conversation about these things and about what, 01:33:56.597 --> 01:34:00.917 like, if we're cutting out all these tax benefits to where we already can't 01:34:00.917 --> 01:34:06.497 charge y'all a city business tax in the same manner that other states are, right? 01:34:06.597 --> 01:34:10.717 Like, yeah, they'll pay for their business renewal license, but we're not getting 01:34:10.717 --> 01:34:13.837 that same tax fee that other cities are getting. 01:34:14.257 --> 01:34:16.217 And y'all aren't paying property taxes. 01:34:17.388 --> 01:34:21.548 What are y'all bringing to the city? And I think for me, that's where a lot 01:34:21.548 --> 01:34:26.468 of the frustration is because, you know, Sandy Springs, we're at a real crossroads. 01:34:26.588 --> 01:34:28.248 This really is a tale of two cities. 01:34:28.648 --> 01:34:32.788 You know, you get on the other side of Abernathy and it's a different city. 01:34:33.088 --> 01:34:36.248 It doesn't look like you're driving south going in the bucket. 01:34:36.508 --> 01:34:41.388 It's a different city. And we've got to have real honest conversations about that. 01:34:41.528 --> 01:34:44.828 We've got to talk about what true investment looks like. We've got to talk about 01:34:44.828 --> 01:34:48.488 why we don't have an affordable housing advisory committee. 01:34:48.808 --> 01:34:51.588 I'm in here talking to my brother's girlfriend. 01:34:52.088 --> 01:34:56.648 She works for a chamber of commerce. I won't say which one, but she works for a chamber of commerce. 01:34:56.808 --> 01:35:00.328 And the first thing they had that they did with the city was they created an 01:35:00.328 --> 01:35:01.908 affordable housing committee. 01:35:02.048 --> 01:35:05.468 We don't have these things and we don't have them because they don't care. 01:35:05.688 --> 01:35:09.328 And that's just the reality. And so I think the challenge is, 01:35:09.488 --> 01:35:14.008 I know what we can do, but it's not going to take away from the obstacles in a way. 01:35:14.628 --> 01:35:19.428 We've really got to look at these preemptive laws that are impacting cities 01:35:19.428 --> 01:35:22.708 greatly, especially nobody's talking about the tariffs coming down, 01:35:22.828 --> 01:35:26.208 what that's going to mean for city services, which is why we're seeing a lot 01:35:26.208 --> 01:35:27.828 of cities trying to what? 01:35:28.048 --> 01:35:32.088 Not lower their millage rate, but actually going up. There are a ton of cities 01:35:32.088 --> 01:35:35.568 around us and they're doing that bracing for what these tariffs, 01:35:35.788 --> 01:35:38.168 how these tariffs are going to impact the way these cities run. 01:35:38.168 --> 01:35:41.928 And so we just, we got to have a real conversation. I'm talking to state leaders. 01:35:42.648 --> 01:35:50.128 They're saying that nobody in this North Fulton region has a plan on what they're 01:35:50.128 --> 01:35:51.068 going to do going forward. 01:35:51.068 --> 01:35:55.428 I think it's, for me, that's scary when I hear folks don't have a plan because 01:35:55.428 --> 01:36:00.828 if you've been in office 20 plus years, you should have seen a lot, right? 01:36:00.988 --> 01:36:04.968 We had a huge economic crash in 2008. 01:36:05.228 --> 01:36:09.588 You've been through that. You should know where we are now and have an idea 01:36:09.588 --> 01:36:11.208 of what that looks like going forward. 01:36:11.548 --> 01:36:15.208 But there aren't any. So that is going to be the biggest challenge. 01:36:15.208 --> 01:36:20.608 You know, the reality is, is economically, all indications are we're in a recession, 01:36:20.848 --> 01:36:24.808 but nobody's saying, you know, they're throwing money, you know, 01:36:25.168 --> 01:36:28.748 trying to cover up these, you know, wounds and putting band-aids in places. 01:36:28.908 --> 01:36:35.148 But the reality is, is we just have to be honest and understand that we got a lot of people out here. 01:36:35.628 --> 01:36:41.548 They're hurting Sandy Springs Public Schools. I took heat back in January when I said this. 01:36:42.668 --> 01:36:48.488 We're looking at a homeless student population of about 30% in our public school systems. 01:36:48.948 --> 01:36:52.988 A lot of this is because of displacement caused from development. 01:36:53.188 --> 01:36:55.148 It's because rent is off the chain. 01:36:55.868 -->

01:37:00.388 And, you know, folks would rather hide it than look at how to heal this situation. 01:37:00.528 --> 01:37:03.508 I'm saying these things are going to impact us. 01:37:03.708 --> 01:37:07.748 Like if you starve people of opportunity, these things will happen. 01:37:08.048 --> 01:37:12.188 You know, we had the largest fentanyl drug bust In the history of Georgia Right 01:37:12.188 --> 01:37:14.228 here in Sandy Springs this year, 01:37:15.138 --> 01:37:19.478 I said it's because there's a disconnect between the community and the people in office. 01:37:19.638 --> 01:37:23.658 Folks said, well, you know, you're going a little overboard with that, aren't you, Dontaye? 01:37:23.778 --> 01:37:28.378 No, the reality is, is if you've got a strong relationship within your community, 01:37:28.398 --> 01:37:29.938 you understand what the needs are. 01:37:30.258 --> 01:37:32.138 You're not pushing that top of the way through the city. 01:37:32.618 --> 01:37:36.838 The reality is, and we know that based upon the numbers. Before I ran, 01:37:36.918 --> 01:37:40.458 only 7,000 residents in this city turned out to vote. 01:37:40.658 --> 01:37:43.058 We are a city of close to 110,000 people. 01:37:43.498 --> 01:37:48.518 That's a lot of people not voting And look, if we're honest I'm going to be honest, 01:37:48.978 --> 01:37:53.298 I had somebody DM me saying Man, we didn't even know Sandy Springs was a city 01:37:53.298 --> 01:37:57.398 And they said that in 2025 And they live here We didn't know we had a mayor 01:37:57.398 --> 01:38:02.878 We didn't know we had elections I know folks who were born in this city Right, 01:38:02.998 --> 01:38:06.018 in this area Because a lot of people don't even realize There's historically 01:38:06.018 --> 01:38:07.538 black parts of Sandy Springs. 01:38:08.238 --> 01:38:13.158 That were pushed out And people were pushed out of this place because they put 01:38:13.158 --> 01:38:14.438 up the king and queen building, right? 01:38:14.818 --> 01:38:18.898 But people who lived here who have never voted in this election until they saw 01:38:18.898 --> 01:38:22.078 somebody that looked like them or somebody that was close to pigment to them. 01:38:22.118 --> 01:38:26.938 And so we just got to be honest about the fact that people aren't voting and 01:38:26.938 --> 01:38:29.058 they're not voting here in this city because they don't feel seen, 01:38:29.138 --> 01:38:30.558 they don't feel heard, they don't feel valued. 01:38:30.898 --> 01:38:35.518 And that's why we got to work overtime to go out there and let them know, hey, we are here for you. 01:38:35.858 --> 01:38:39.078 And if you get out and vote, you put your trust in me, we're going to make sure 01:38:39.078 --> 01:38:40.558 that you see it reciprocated. 01:38:41.038 --> 01:38:44.898 Yeah. So you mentioned north of Abernathy. 01:38:45.158 --> 01:38:50.258 The future of North End and Sandy Springs has become an issue the last couple 01:38:50.258 --> 01:38:52.078 of

years, not just this election, 01:38:52.278 --> 01:38:57.458 but I think there was a young lady running for county commissioner that I know 01:38:57.458 --> 01:39:00.258 has been real active in that part of the city. 01:39:00.258 --> 01:39:03.178 And that was one of her main drives of running. 01:39:03.518 --> 01:39:07.938 The incumbent council member has spearheaded a number of economic development 01:39:07.938 --> 01:39:09.298 initiatives in that area. 01:39:09.678 --> 01:39:13.458 However, the challenger has stated that not only is it not enough, 01:39:13.458 --> 01:39:15.458 but it needs to go in a different direction. 01:39:15.898 --> 01:39:18.478 What is your vision for the North End? 01:39:19.418 --> 01:39:25.038 My vision, honestly, is we've. So when I look at the North End, 01:39:25.238 --> 01:39:27.078 it's the same way I look at the South End, right? 01:39:27.078 --> 01:39:31.438 We need to start from a community-centered focus perspective, 01:39:31.818 --> 01:39:35.118 start building a rec center on the north side, building one on the south side, 01:39:35.138 --> 01:39:42.258 right, and building businesses around that the families here, right, could use. 01:39:42.638 --> 01:39:45.778 The problem is I've gone to these meetings. 01:39:46.861 --> 01:39:50.501 If you look at what the demographics are on this north end, those same people 01:39:50.501 --> 01:39:51.821 are at none of these meetings. 01:39:52.461 --> 01:39:57.101 And so, you know, they put a goodwill in where a covert used to be. 01:39:57.441 --> 01:40:02.481 They've created a food desk, right? So now, again, it's the mayor's job to go 01:40:02.481 --> 01:40:04.381 out and find businesses to bring into the city. 01:40:05.561 --> 01:40:09.161 You can say, well, with the chamber, you can, listen, at the end of the day, 01:40:09.521 --> 01:40:12.241 the leader of the city is the mayor. 01:40:12.361 --> 01:40:15.601 The buck stops at the mayor. It's the mayor's responsibility to say, 01:40:15.681 --> 01:40:18.321 you know, we need a rec center up here on the north end for these kids. 01:40:18.521 --> 01:40:21.001 It's not enough to run around and talk about juvenile crime. 01:40:21.141 --> 01:40:23.121 You don't have safe places for kids to go. 01:40:24.041 --> 01:40:28.501 It's, hey, man, all we got up there is the publics. Some folks ain't going to 01:40:28.501 --> 01:40:30.821 the publics. There's a little pricey in some of these other locations. 01:40:31.381 --> 01:40:36.661 How can we get a more affordable option in here? How do we look at these things? It's the mayor's job. 01:40:36.841 --> 01:40:42.601 And again, we have the budget to incentivize these folks to come in. 01:40:42.601 --> 01:40:47.921 How they use the budget is what I have issues with because I believe we can 01:40:47.921 --> 01:40:51.161 be more community focused with the things that we do. 01:40:51.961 --> 01:40:58.061 And look at bringing in companies that are going to partner with our schools 01:40:58.061 --> 01:41:03.161 for apprenticeship programs to where we know all these kids aren't going to college. 01:41:03.921 --> 01:41:08.301 So how do we incentivize them, give them opportunities to where they don't feel 01:41:08.301 --> 01:41:12.021 like they're being left out on the island? That's the scariest thing to feel 01:41:12.021 --> 01:41:13.821 is when you feel like there's no opportunity. 01:41:14.441 --> 01:41:16.101 And that's what we're dealing with. 01:41:16.781 --> 01:41:21.661 Sandy Springs' greatest threat isn't crime. It's not somebody robbing you in the street. 01:41:21.841 --> 01:41:26.481 I mean, if we're honest, if we're honest, Sandy Springs' violent crime rate 01:41:26.481 --> 01:41:30.261 will have to triple just to reach the state average. This is a safe place. 01:41:30.941 --> 01:41:35.481 Crime is not our issue. Hopelessness is. And it's the mayor's job to go out 01:41:35.481 --> 01:41:37.981 and find those opportunities for the residents. Yeah. 01:41:38.861 --> 01:41:44.241 All right. Right. So Sandy Springs historically was supposed to be a sanctuary 01:41:44.241 --> 01:41:46.641 from the urban life of Atlanta. 01:41:48.941 --> 01:41:52.621 Now it is one of the 10 largest cities in the state of Georgia. 01:41:52.961 --> 01:41:58.501 How as mayor will you be able to maintain that sanctuary feel and embrace diversity 01:41:58.501 --> 01:42:01.601 while encouraging and managing growth? 01:42:02.778 --> 01:42:05.618 Sandy Springs is going to grow. That's just what it is. 01:42:05.778 --> 01:42:09.778 I think us tap dancing, I mean, we can go into history why Sandy Springs was 01:42:09.778 --> 01:42:13.238 founded, but Atlanta has boomed. 01:42:13.418 --> 01:42:18.758 There's no metro city that's not booming right now. That's just the honest to God truth. 01:42:19.198 --> 01:42:22.878 I think what we got to look at is how do we embrace the diversity. 01:42:23.258 --> 01:42:28.318 When you look at City Green, a lot of their performances in that arena, 01:42:28.458 --> 01:42:29.758 they're still ending in the red, right? 01:42:29.758 --> 01:42:33.758 They're bringing in Attractions but 01:42:33.758 --> 01:42:37.998 these attractions Aren't doing like I'm not Saying they don't have sellout performances 01:42:37.998 --> 01:42:42.318 What I'm saying is that at the end of the year They're still red in there And 01:42:42.318 --> 01:42:46.518 what I'm saying is if you know you have A substantial black population You have 01:42:46.518 --> 01:42:53.338 a substantial Hispanic population It's time to do more To bring in these Diverse performances, 01:42:53.678 --> 01:42:58.698 comedians Like it wasn't until I brought in Shula King for a Juneteenth event 01:42:58.698 --> 01:43:02.558 that the city tried to one-up meet and invite Kevin Hart. 01:43:02.638 --> 01:43:04.778 And I'm like, y'all should have been going there. 01:43:04.918 --> 01:43:09.178 It's like, yeah, Brennan, man, we have people here who can afford to go and

01:43:09.178 --> 01:43:12.538 spend money at City Green to listen and watch Kevin Hart. 01:43:12.758 --> 01:43:16.238 They will do it. How do we embrace these diverse audiences? 01:43:16.538 --> 01:43:21.058 And I think that's part of the issue of what we've had here. 01:43:22.358 --> 01:43:28.258 Let's stop talking about what this city was because according to what they wanted, 01:43:28.358 --> 01:43:31.138 They stopped doing that 15 years ago. 01:43:31.358 --> 01:43:36.178 If you look at the original plans for what they wanted this city to be, 01:43:36.438 --> 01:43:39.998 even the older folks, the seniors who've been around a long time, 01:43:40.078 --> 01:43:44.318 say, man, you know, so-and-so stopped that 15 years ago, right? 01:43:44.478 --> 01:43:49.038 The city's already veering towards owning the fact that they are going to be 01:43:49.038 --> 01:43:51.918 a very large urban suburban city. 01:43:53.038 --> 01:43:56.598 What I'm saying is, now that we acknowledge that's what we are, 01:43:56.798 --> 01:43:59.898 let's look at how we create a 01:43:59.898 --> 01:44:03.238 sense of inclusion that brings people to the table where we can maximize. 01:44:03.578 --> 01:44:08.798 I mean, if we're honest, before I ran four years ago, a lot of folks thought 01:44:08.798 --> 01:44:09.938 they still lived in Atlanta. 01:44:10.518 --> 01:44:14.438 Oh, this is Atlanta. And it's like, no, what do you mean? I'm voting for consenting. 01:44:14.598 --> 01:44:18.378 I'm not a guy that's like, you're not voting for consenting. No, you didn't, bro. 01:44:18.858 --> 01:44:26.178 You ain't been. This house has never been in the city limits of Atlanta You are in Sandy's furnace, 01:44:26.838 --> 01:44:30.218 You're not voting for Andre, you're not voting for Kasim. These are the people 01:44:30.218 --> 01:44:31.418 that are running in your ranks, 01:44:31.918 --> 01:44:35.998 But the reason they don't know Is because the things that they're Attracted 01:44:35.998 --> 01:44:39.658 to, they feel like they have to go South to get And what I'm saying is we can 01:44:39.658 --> 01:44:44.538 build that right here And folks, when we start talking about Building culture and community, folks, 01:44:45.038 --> 01:44:50.738 Immediately want to jump to just Oh, they need to just talk about rap and hip-hop 01:44:50.738 --> 01:44:53.258 and talking about, you know, low-income housing. 01:44:53.818 --> 01:44:57.678 Listen, people want to live in a place that's affordable. 01:44:58.198 --> 01:45:01.838 You get the best groups of people in places that are affordable. 01:45:02.158 --> 01:45:05.718 What I'm focused on is how do we keep this city affordable? 01:45:06.538 --> 01:45:09.638 Yeah. All right, so let's wrap it up with this question. 01:45:10.218 --> 01:45:15.958 When Kyleigh becomes 26 years old, what do you hope that she will say about you 01:45:15.958 --> 01:45:20.958 as a dad and as a political figure? Man, whoo-wee. 01:45:23.298 --> 01:45:32.298 That's a deep one You know, I'm not sure what she'll say What I'm hoping that 01:45:32.298 --> 01:45:40.878 she sees Is a dad that's willing to fight for her And fight for every child that's at her school, 01:45:42.046 --> 01:45:45.886 A dad that was willing to make sure that she understood how this political system worked. 01:45:46.226 --> 01:45:53.246 A dad that understood that she needed, as a woman, as a woman to be, to be empowered. 01:45:54.246 --> 01:45:59.566 And I know she feels it, you know, and I know that because she was in pre-K 01:45:59.566 --> 01:46:01.126 and organized her first protest. 01:46:01.786 --> 01:46:05.066 They cut her, they cut recess short by 15 minutes. 01:46:05.686 --> 01:46:10.006 And I don't know how she knew, but she knew. And she organized her class together 01:46:10.006 --> 01:46:13.526 and said, we're not doing, we're not going to nap time. 01:46:13.706 --> 01:46:16.706 We're not doing anything until we get the rest of our recess back. 01:46:17.286 --> 01:46:21.546 Our teacher called me and said, Mr. Carter, I need you to talk to your daughter. 01:46:22.146 --> 01:46:25.306 And I said, what in the world happened? She said, we had to cut recess short. 01:46:26.086 --> 01:46:27.306 We're just running behind. 01:46:28.166 --> 01:46:33.146 And she's in, oh, about recess. And the little girl got on the phone. 01:46:33.146 --> 01:46:37.206 And she's like, well, daddy, you said if you see something, you got to say something. 01:46:37.366 --> 01:46:38.966 Master Edmonds at four years old. 01:46:39.246 --> 01:46:43.206 And so even if it's her saying that when she's 26 years old, 01:46:43.486 --> 01:46:48.726 I want her to know that she's powerful beyond measure, that children she's going 01:46:48.726 --> 01:46:50.486 to school were powerful beyond measure. 01:46:52.146 --> 01:46:57.766 And that this is, you know, her daddy fought to make sure that she had a place, 01:46:57.946 --> 01:47:03.186 not just in this country, but in this city and a place that was affordable for them to return to. 01:47:03.646 --> 01:47:06.086 You know, I got a lot of folks with kids that live in any basement. 01:47:06.386 --> 01:47:07.686 They can't find anywhere to live. 01:47:07.906 --> 01:47:10.626 And, you know, my kid decides she wants to come back and live in my basement. 01:47:10.746 --> 01:47:12.906 By all means, baby, come on home. We love to hang. 01:47:13.466 --> 01:47:17.286 But if she said, daddy, I can't find anything. I can't find anything with what 01:47:17.286 --> 01:47:19.086 I'm making. To me, that's wrong. 01:47:19.906 --> 01:47:27.446 Yeah. All right. So this is the time where you make your spiel and tell people 01:47:27.446 --> 01:47:31.806 how to get in touch with the campaign, all that stuff. So go ahead and do your thing. 01:47:32.526 --> 01:47:40.046 Listen, y'all, I'm on every platform as Dontaye Carter or Dontaye for a minute. That's Dontaye spelled. 01:47:40.606 --> 01:47:44.086 D as in dog, O as in onion, N as in Nancy, T as in

tiger, A as in apple, 01:47:44.226 --> 01:47:45.846 Y as in yellow, E as in egg. 01:47:46.366 --> 01:47:49.766 Connect with me. We've got ways for you to get involved with this campaign. 01:47:50.526 --> 01:47:54.246 This campaign, this People's Senate, I've left a lot of money at the table. 01:47:54.506 --> 01:47:58.566 And I did that intentionally because I believe in people. I believe in what 01:47:58.566 --> 01:48:01.706 we could do. They could do what they did in the civil rights movement without the money. 01:48:01.906 --> 01:48:05.306 But they did what they did in the women's rights movement and the gay rights movement. 01:48:05.486 --> 01:48:10.006 Any movement that's happened in this country, they did it without the money. 01:48:10.526 --> 01:48:14.246 Maynard didn't have the money when he first ran for mayor in Atlanta. 01:48:14.966 --> 01:48:18.926 It's important for us to make sure that we are bringing people to the table 01:48:18.926 --> 01:48:23.426 so that we can make the best impact, but I can't do that without you. 01:48:23.566 --> 01:48:27.306 So I need you. So please, if you have time, tap in. All right. 01:48:27.406 --> 01:48:28.526 And so what's the website? 01:48:29.406 --> 01:48:34.646 It's www.dontayeformayor.com. And I also have dontayecarter.com as well, 01:48:34.706 --> 01:48:37.646 where you can learn a little more about me as the person, the dad. Yeah. 01:48:38.724 --> 01:48:45.404 Well, one of the things I noticed is that you can't spell Dontaye without donate, right? 01:48:47.924 --> 01:48:52.304 So, yeah, you know, y'all do what y'all can for them. 01:48:52.504 --> 01:48:58.244 Brother, I have admired you from afar since I've been around here in Georgia. 01:48:58.724 --> 01:49:03.904 And, you know, the brief time that we've been able to break bread and talk a 01:49:03.904 --> 01:49:07.724 little bit, even though we really haven't had a one-on-one, just the time that 01:49:07.724 --> 01:49:10.904 we've been able to spend, I know your heart's in the right place. 01:49:11.684 --> 01:49:17.224 And, you know, it was just the council person I was referring to when she first 01:49:17.224 --> 01:49:23.824 ran, she was like, I don't know, these people, they might not be ready for me and all this stuff. 01:49:23.844 --> 01:49:29.384 And I said, if I'd never met you and I just looked at your resume, 01:49:30.084 --> 01:49:33.164 you'll win and she did and so 01:49:33.164 --> 01:49:37.064 when when you look at resume and 01:49:37.064 --> 01:49:40.764 you know I don't have anything personal against certain people but 01:49:40.764 --> 01:49:44.824 I have a bias toward people that are good right and 01:49:44.824 --> 01:49:50.544 I want good people to get in office just to see what they could do and you know 01:49:50.544 --> 01:49:56.604 because people took a chance on me and and I and I managed to I think do some 01:49:56.604 --> 01:50:01.684 good things in the time that I was there and so So I want people to give you that opportunity, too. 01:50:01.864 --> 01:50:05.964 So I'm glad that you had time to come on. I'm glad you agreed to come on. 01:50:06.604 --> 01:50:11.304 And I hope that folks in Sandy Springs agree with my assessment and give you 01:50:11.304 --> 01:50:12.544 that opportunity to lead. 01:50:13.304 --> 01:50:16.624 I appreciate it. Thank you so much. All right. All right, guys. 01:50:16.744 --> 01:50:18.924 And we're going to go ahead and catch you all on the other side. Peace. 01:50:20.240 --> 01:50:30.800 Music. 01:50:31.019 --> 01:50:36.859 All right, and we are back. So I want to thank Keldamuzik, Dr. 01:50:37.059 --> 01:50:41.719 Donna Nicol, and Dontaye Carter for coming on the podcast. 01:50:43.579 --> 01:50:48.179 Kelda was very, very honored that I asked her to come on. 01:50:49.339 --> 01:50:53.799 And I don't think she really do why I wanted her on, but I wanted her to talk 01:50:53.799 --> 01:50:58.239 about what she's doing with her company, Tamz. Y'all please support that because 01:50:58.239 --> 01:51:02.299 she's really trying to do some good things off of that. 01:51:02.879 --> 01:51:08.019 And, you know, whether, you know, she didn't really, 01:51:08.339 --> 01:51:12.799 well, I don't say she was amused that I said you're a politician, 01:51:12.799 --> 01:51:18.719 whether you admit it or not, because, you know, she's having an impact in the 01:51:18.719 --> 01:51:21.059 community, trying to help people dealing with cancer, 01:51:21.779 --> 01:51:23.799 trying to empower people with self-esteem. 01:51:23.799 --> 01:51:26.699 You know plus she's doing her thing 01:51:26.699 --> 01:51:31.279 music wise and i think that's incredible and and 01:51:31.279 --> 01:51:36.439 you know she's she's trying to keep it black and that's hard in the entertainment 01:51:36.439 --> 01:51:41.159 industry but she's doing the best she can so you know i wanted to uplift her 01:51:41.159 --> 01:51:46.459 and let her know that somebody you know is paying attention not just to her 01:51:46.459 --> 01:51:51.199 her music which is an awesome collection if y'all go to. 01:51:51.939 --> 01:51:57.559 Apple Music, because I was about to say iTunes, but then somebody younger than me said, Mr. 01:51:57.699 --> 01:52:00.539 Fleming, don't say iTunes. It's Apple Music now. 01:52:01.019 --> 01:52:03.279 So if you go to Apple Music and, 01:52:03.859 --> 01:52:09.259 You'll see that she's been in a game for a while and her style has evolved, 01:52:09.279 --> 01:52:16.539 which is what you want anybody, any artist to to to be free enough to do that. 01:52:16.939 --> 01:52:23.819 And you'll be I think you'll be entertained by her her her style and the way 01:52:23.819 --> 01:52:25.519 that she she goes about her thing. 01:52:26.559 --> 01:52:31.899 Dr. Donna Nicole, I mean, Nicol. Yeah, we only scratched the surface. 01:52:34.439 --> 01:52:42.259 She's put a lot of time into this book and Black Woman on the Board. 01:52:42.819 --> 01:52:47.599 And I really want y'all to

go, it's been out for a while, but I really want 01:52:47.599 --> 01:52:54.219 y'all to read that because it highlights what we have to do, right? 01:52:54.319 --> 01:52:59.539 When we're the Black person in the room, what would you do, right? 01:52:59.539 --> 01:53:05.419 And so Donna talks about what this sister did in order to fight for children, 01:53:06.019 --> 01:53:07.459 black children in California. 01:53:08.439 --> 01:53:12.279 And, you know, and Donna is, Dr. Donna is very, very modest. 01:53:13.039 --> 01:53:17.499 And, you know, but she, she's that same kind of person. As a matter of fact, 01:53:17.599 --> 01:53:23.499 she might be more like me as far as a firebrand kind and dealing with it. 01:53:23.579 --> 01:53:28.059 But she's got the same heart that she wants to help our folks. 01:53:28.779 --> 01:53:33.799 And she's got some projects coming down the road that'll, you know, 01:53:34.179 --> 01:53:37.359 highlight that even more. And then Dontaye Carter. 01:53:37.939 --> 01:53:40.659 So Dontaye is a young brother who... 01:53:41.957 --> 01:53:46.797 I would love to see the be the mayor of Sandy Springs and not just be, 01:53:46.857 --> 01:53:49.837 you know, for the black thing or the Democrat thing or whatever, 01:53:50.197 --> 01:53:54.537 because I just I want American leaders. 01:53:54.757 --> 01:53:58.657 Remember, that's what I've been preaching. I want people who give a damn about us. 01:53:59.157 --> 01:54:04.857 I want people to understand the day to day grind of working for a living. 01:54:04.857 --> 01:54:13.077 And, you know, yeah, he's doing okay compared to other black folks, 01:54:13.077 --> 01:54:18.217 but he's still a dad. He's still a husband. 01:54:18.237 --> 01:54:24.757 He's still a community person. He's still trying to, he really wants to do this 01:54:24.757 --> 01:54:27.877 for the right reasons. He's not trying to get money out of this. 01:54:28.417 --> 01:54:32.677 He's not trying to, you know, get his friends money out of this. 01:54:33.397 --> 01:54:39.477 Some of the people that he's had to tell, thanks but no thanks, you know. 01:54:39.777 --> 01:54:42.497 In politics, you've got to have those conversations. 01:54:42.837 --> 01:54:48.277 You know, there's a show coming on with Denzel that Spike Lee put together, and that's the theme. 01:54:48.437 --> 01:54:53.017 It's like all money ain't good money, right? But, you know, and you want to 01:54:53.017 --> 01:54:58.097 do things the right way, especially when it comes to working for the people. 01:54:58.357 --> 01:55:02.637 And Dontaye has been working for folks. He hasn't been elected before, 01:55:02.917 --> 01:55:06.237 but that doesn't limit you. And that's the thing we highlight. 01:55:06.437 --> 01:55:09.497 We highlight people that are not necessarily elected. 01:55:10.037 --> 01:55:14.317 You know, some might aspire to be elected, you know, and there are some that 01:55:14.317 --> 01:55:16.977 have come on that have been elected or are currently elected. 01:55:16.977 --> 01:55:22.957 But the reality is that this show is a reminder that there are people who are 01:55:22.957 --> 01:55:26.157 not elected that are doing the work, that are less. 01:55:27.117 --> 01:55:33.317 So, you know, since I'm not bound by any rules or regulations or anything like 01:55:33.317 --> 01:55:35.777 that, you know, I want to see this brother win. 01:55:37.337 --> 01:55:42.277 And, you know, we had talked about him coming on the podcast. 01:55:42.277 --> 01:55:46.317 And so I'm glad that he was able to carve out some time in the campaign to do that. 01:55:47.097 --> 01:55:53.457 And if you live in Sandy Springs, support his brother because he he's going to do you proud. 01:55:53.617 --> 01:55:55.997 He will literally be only the third human being. 01:55:56.557 --> 01:55:59.977 You know, people talk about it'll be the first black. He'll be literally the 01:55:59.977 --> 01:56:03.817 third human being to be the mayor of Sandy Springs. 01:56:04.917 --> 01:56:11.657 So let's give this brother a chance. Let's let's let's let's move into the the 01:56:11.657 --> 01:56:14.997 end of the 2020s and the 2030s with with new leadership. 01:56:15.337 --> 01:56:17.637 Right. All right, so now... 01:56:18.876 --> 01:56:22.916 Of things on my mind. Let me read you this story that kind of bothered me, 01:56:23.036 --> 01:56:24.856 and I took it from Reuters. 01:56:25.056 --> 01:56:30.056 It says, a Maine police officer who was arrested by Immigration Customs and 01:56:30.056 --> 01:56:35.396 Customs Enforcement, which we know as ICE, has agreed to voluntarily leave the country. 01:56:36.416 --> 01:56:41.676 John Luke Evans, a reserve officer with the Old Orchard Beach Police Department 01:56:41.676 --> 01:56:47.056 and a Jamaican national, was taken into custody by ICE on July 25th. 01:56:47.356 --> 01:56:53.276 The agency alleged that Evans overstayed his visa and unlawfully attempted to purchase a firearm. 01:56:54.056 --> 01:56:57.236 ICE confirmed that a judge granted Evans voluntary departure, 01:56:57.496 --> 01:57:01.316 which allows him to leave the country at his own expense rather than face deportation. 01:57:02.016 --> 01:57:08.036 Old Orchard Beast Police Chief Elise Shard previously said federal officials 01:57:08.036 --> 01:57:12.656 had informed the department that he was legally authorized to work in the U.S. 01:57:13.236 --> 01:57:16.656 The department received verification that he was eligible for employment through 01:57:16.656 --> 01:57:19.596 the E-Verify program before he was hired, Chard said. 01:57:20.116 --> 01:57:25.016 However, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin criticized 01:57:25.016 --> 01:57:31.276 the town's quote unquote reckless reliance on E-Verify, an online tool used 01:57:31.276 --> 01:57:33.596 to confirm work eligibility for employees. 01:57:34.296 --> 01:57:39.296 Chard said in a statement that the town will continue to use the online system 01:57:39.296

--> 01:57:43.796 amid its commitment to meeting all state and federal laws regarding employment. 01:57:44.136 --> 01:57:49.296 So the assistant secretary of Homeland Security just pissed off a police chief in Maine. 01:57:51.356 --> 01:57:56.996 Right. Because she's losing an officer. and then, you know, you want to criticize 01:57:56.996 --> 01:58:04.736 her for using the system that y'all have for us to do this kind of work, right? 01:58:07.076 --> 01:58:11.596 So, you know, the tragedy is, is here's this young brother, Mr. 01:58:11.756 --> 01:58:15.016 Evans, who, you know, he just wanted to do the right thing. 01:58:15.436 --> 01:58:17.416 He got into law enforcement. 01:58:17.896 --> 01:58:21.116 You know, if he thought he was an illegal person, 01:58:21.810 --> 01:58:26.630 he want to put on a gun and a badge and be even more of a target? 01:58:27.250 --> 01:58:32.950 I mean, they told him he could work. So, you know, he didn't have anybody over 01:58:32.950 --> 01:58:35.350 his shoulder, dotting his I's and crossing his T's. 01:58:35.490 --> 01:58:37.830 Once they said he was eligible to work, he went to work. 01:58:38.410 --> 01:58:44.670 And apparently he was a good officer because the police chief basically said, 01:58:44.750 --> 01:58:48.730 hey, look, we did what we were supposed to do to hire and we hired them, 01:58:49.610 --> 01:58:53.370 you know, and we're going to use that same system until you come up with something 01:58:53.370 --> 01:58:55.050 better. We're going to use that same system. 01:58:55.810 --> 01:59:01.730 So, you know, you can get off your high horse, you know, you can say reckless reliance. 01:59:01.870 --> 01:59:07.370 What, what, what hit, you know, what reckless reliance is supporting Donald 01:59:07.370 --> 01:59:10.610 Trump and believing that he's going to be a president that gives a damn about 01:59:10.610 --> 01:59:11.890 you, me, and anybody else. 01:59:11.990 --> 01:59:14.690 That's reckless reliance, right? 01:59:15.890 --> 01:59:22.470 That's the reckless faith that you thought that this guy was going to be different 01:59:22.470 --> 01:59:25.330 than he was the first time he served. That's reckless. 01:59:25.990 --> 01:59:32.050 For a police chief to hire a good person to be on their police department, that's not reckless. 01:59:32.390 --> 01:59:35.670 That's them following the law, right? 01:59:36.410 --> 01:59:39.750 Crossing their T's and dotting their eyes, right? 01:59:40.410 --> 01:59:46.450 So I'm glad that a judge was able to get to Brother Evans and allow him to leave 01:59:46.450 --> 01:59:54.810 on his own instead of being sent to Alligator Alcatraz or Gina or wherever they 01:59:54.810 --> 01:59:57.590 were going to send him in detention, you know, 01:59:58.050 --> 02:00:01.050 and he's just going to go back to Jamaica. 02:00:01.150 --> 02:00:08.330 So that's a good person that the United States has lost because folks at a convention 02:00:08.330 --> 02:00:12.670 in Milwaukee all had signs saying mass deportation now, right? 02:00:13.736 --> 02:00:19.816 That's that's the result of that. Right. You just want to kick everybody out that ain't you. 02:00:20.696 --> 02:00:24.036 These are the things that are going to happen. And not just police officers, 02:00:24.076 --> 02:00:28.736 but the folks that will repair your house when the storms come. 02:00:29.276 --> 02:00:32.776 And FEMA is not writing these checks anymore. Right. 02:00:33.576 --> 02:00:41.336 The people that feed you. Now, I'm not going to go as far as my shero, 02:00:41.476 --> 02:00:46.276 Jennifer Welch, and ban you from going to any restaurants that have an ethnic 02:00:46.276 --> 02:00:49.776 theme to them, which, by the way, 02:00:50.276 --> 02:00:53.336 she might have got Cracker Barrel in trouble because, you know, 02:00:53.656 --> 02:00:57.236 they put the spotlight on Cracker Barrel, and then they found out they changed 02:00:57.236 --> 02:01:01.416 the logo, and now these folks are mad about the logo being changed. 02:01:03.316 --> 02:01:09.856 That's the reckless stuff this misplaced anger I mean Kentucky Fried Chicken 02:01:09.856 --> 02:01:14.476 stop using the bucket y'all didn't have a protest about that the colonel's well 02:01:14.476 --> 02:01:16.376 I guess the colonel's still on the logo, 02:01:17.196 --> 02:01:20.056 but initially I don't think he just went to KFC, 02:01:21.336 --> 02:01:25.976 you know there wasn't no mass protest about that of course wasn't no internet 02:01:25.976 --> 02:01:32.116 like it is now when he did it but still you know I want to I want to say that 02:01:32.116 --> 02:01:34.916 Cracker Barrel is woke because they changed the logo? 02:01:35.316 --> 02:01:37.296 Really? What are we doing? 02:01:39.156 --> 02:01:42.976 You're not mad about your Medicaid being cut off. You're not mad about your 02:01:42.976 --> 02:01:46.956 Social Security being cut off, but you're mad about Cracker Barrel changing the logo. 02:01:47.956 --> 02:01:55.516 Anyway, so that's the issue with, you know, we're losing a good brother. 02:01:56.036 --> 02:02:00.036 You know, I don't know him. You know what I'm saying? If I drove through Maine, 02:02:00.216 --> 02:02:02.776 he'd probably be the first one to write me a speeding ticket. I don't know. 02:02:03.576 --> 02:02:09.016 He'd be doing his job if I was speeding, which I probably would have been. 02:02:09.176 --> 02:02:16.436 But nonetheless, you know, from what I gather, the chief wouldn't stick her 02:02:16.436 --> 02:02:22.656 neck out if he was nobody important or nobody special. 02:02:23.836 --> 02:02:31.916 Yeah, I'm just saying. Anyway, that was just one of the things I wanted to talk 02:02:31.916 --> 02:02:37.156 about because the other one, do I even want to address it because I'm going 02:02:37.156 --> 02:02:38.616 to get emotional about it. 02:02:39.941 --> 02:02:43.501 Well, you know, if you've been listening to the show, at least for the last 02:02:43.501 --> 02:02:48.101 two or

three episodes, you know that I don't have a high regard for Greg Abbott 02:02:48.101 --> 02:02:51.421 and those Republicans in Texas. 02:02:52.481 --> 02:02:58.261 But it reached a new low. When the Democrats decided, OK, we've made our point. 02:02:58.781 --> 02:03:02.981 We know we can't stay away from the state forever. Although there is one sister 02:03:02.981 --> 02:03:05.381 that's like, I don't know if she's ever coming back. 02:03:07.041 --> 02:03:10.941 She might. she might finish her term in another state. 02:03:12.701 --> 02:03:16.641 But the majority of Democrats came back enough for them to have a quorum, 02:03:16.641 --> 02:03:23.841 and they did go ahead, as you heard in the news, and passed that god-awful gerrymandered 02:03:23.841 --> 02:03:25.801 congressional district, 02:03:26.761 --> 02:03:28.061 which will be challenged in 02:03:28.061 --> 02:03:32.041 court, you know, because that's what the California folks are going to do. 02:03:32.241 --> 02:03:36.321 It's like Kevin McCarthy has come from the dead, and now that California is 02:03:36.321 --> 02:03:39.881 like, okay, well, Texas, you did their thing, you know, we're going to do art. 02:03:40.701 --> 02:03:45.601 And so now there's going to be a referendum in November. And so Kevin McCarthy 02:03:45.601 --> 02:03:48.701 has jumped out and said, oh, we're going to raise money to stop it. 02:03:48.841 --> 02:03:56.841 It's like, bro, you, you might want to see this thing pass because the Republican 02:03:56.841 --> 02:04:01.501 party that you're trying to protect are the ones that kicked you out of office. 02:04:01.901 --> 02:04:06.961 They kicked you out of the Speaker's chair, they kicked you out of the party 02:04:06.961 --> 02:04:08.061 you didn't even run anymore. 02:04:08.761 --> 02:04:10.961 But now you want to stand on principle. 02:04:11.901 --> 02:04:18.361 You know, and I get it, but then I don't because it's like, there's no going back for you. 02:04:18.941 --> 02:04:24.221 If you raise this money and you stop to, you convince the people in California 02:04:24.221 --> 02:04:30.521 not to counter the folks in Texas with redrawing the lines, you're not going 02:04:30.521 --> 02:04:32.121 to be any good graces with these people. 02:04:33.121 --> 02:04:37.921 Donald Trump has loyalty to no one. He'll say thank you for your attention to 02:04:37.921 --> 02:04:41.381 this matter on Truth Social and keep it pushing. That's all you're getting. 02:04:42.121 --> 02:04:46.481 You know, you got to go to Mar-a-Lago. You got to be the Speaker of the House for a minute. 02:04:47.421 --> 02:04:50.761 I'd say let him ride this out. Good luck to you. 02:04:51.361 --> 02:04:56.301 You know, I tried to do my part. You didn't appreciate it. It's time to go. 02:04:57.341 --> 02:05:00.781 Nonetheless, it is what it is in California. But I want to get back to Texas. 02:05:02.121 --> 02:05:09.221 So when the Democrats came back, the Republicans had something waiting for them 02:05:09.221 --> 02:05:12.481 other than the stupid bill. 02:05:12.481 --> 02:05:20.461 They had set it up where if you wanted to leave the Capitol building, 02:05:20.461 --> 02:05:28.821 that you would have to sign this permission slip and agree that a law enforcement 02:05:28.821 --> 02:05:33.901 officer would basically escort you to and from the Capitol building. 02:05:35.224 --> 02:05:39.564 Sure that you, if you left, that make sure you came back, right, 02:05:39.704 --> 02:05:40.804 for the next day's session. 02:05:41.604 --> 02:05:46.344 So, of course, there was a sister who said, her name is Nicole Collier. 02:05:46.804 --> 02:05:49.384 She said, oh, hell no, I'm not doing that. 02:05:50.064 --> 02:05:57.584 So, they literally locked this sister in the building because she would not sign that slip. 02:05:57.924 --> 02:06:01.604 She would not sign off on somebody. She's a grown woman. 02:06:02.424 --> 02:06:05.524 If they all agreed, they were out of the state. 02:06:06.184 --> 02:06:09.224 They were not in Texas. They came back. 02:06:09.384 --> 02:06:14.244 If they came back, then they were ready to get this over with and move on with their lives. 02:06:14.844 --> 02:06:16.684 Get ready for the next battle that's coming. 02:06:17.544 --> 02:06:21.024 But you wanted these people to sign a slip. 02:06:22.304 --> 02:06:26.064 And, you know, and some people are just like, whatever, man, and keep it pushing. 02:06:26.384 --> 02:06:29.184 I'm not mad at them. Some people were calling them sellouts and all that. 02:06:29.284 --> 02:06:32.444 I said, if they were sellouts, they wouldn't have left in the first place. 02:06:33.124 --> 02:06:34.884 Because there were some Democrats that stayed. 02:06:35.684 --> 02:06:40.844 I'm just saying. They made sure it was not enough for them to sneak a quorum 02:06:40.844 --> 02:06:42.784 in, but there were some that stayed. 02:06:45.104 --> 02:06:49.244 And these people came back. They already like, bro, we just going to have to 02:06:49.244 --> 02:06:52.384 act a fool on the floor, say what we got to say. 02:06:52.584 --> 02:06:54.544 They're going to vote for this crap, keep it moving. 02:06:55.224 --> 02:06:58.424 So they had to sign a slip. It's like, look, whatever, brother. 02:06:59.084 --> 02:07:01.484 Do I need to ride in car with you. You're going to follow me. 02:07:01.564 --> 02:07:04.864 What are we doing? Because I'm going to the house. And then I'm going to be 02:07:04.864 --> 02:07:06.504 back here to deal with this bullshit tomorrow. 02:07:07.104 --> 02:07:08.844 Right? Okay. 02:07:10.024 --> 02:07:13.024 But for those people who's like, no, I'm not signing that. 02:07:13.964 --> 02:07:18.564 There's no way you would have thought, okay, well, we're going to lock you in the building. 02:07:19.224 --> 02:07:23.724 The largest state capital in the United States, building-wise. 02:07:23.844 --> 02:07:26.724 It was one of the largest buildings in America at one time. 02:07:27.224 -->

02:07:30.184 You could fit the Mississippi State Capitol inside. 02:07:32.056 --> 02:07:35.656 Texas state capitol. You probably fit the state of Georgia capitol in there, 02:07:35.876 --> 02:07:38.456 probably at the same time. That's how big this building is. 02:07:39.256 --> 02:07:44.176 You're going to lock somebody in there because they didn't sign a slip? 02:07:45.036 --> 02:07:50.376 No. And I told people, and people think sometimes I'd be hyperbolic when I say 02:07:50.376 --> 02:07:51.756 these things, but I know me. 02:07:52.296 --> 02:07:55.776 I know what kind of person, especially when I was a legislator, 02:07:55.856 --> 02:07:57.336 I know what kind of person I was. 02:07:58.196 --> 02:08:03.236 And I've meddled a lot as I've gotten older and away from that, But not that much. 02:08:03.516 --> 02:08:07.356 And definitely, I haven't lost my recollection of how I felt. 02:08:08.356 --> 02:08:12.536 I wish we had a situation like that in Mississippi, and they told me that Eric 02:08:12.536 --> 02:08:14.076 Fleming couldn't leave the building. 02:08:14.636 --> 02:08:19.596 Whereas one time in my life, I actually had the keys to the building, right? 02:08:20.016 --> 02:08:22.756 But you're going to tell me I can't leave the building? 02:08:23.696 --> 02:08:28.516 It's like, if you want me to have a police escort, this is what's about to happen. 02:08:29.236 --> 02:08:30.776 We about to get into a fight. 02:08:31.636 --> 02:08:37.276 If I have to assault somebody, if I have to, you know, the assault is the more 02:08:37.276 --> 02:08:39.916 intelligent word for what I really want to do. 02:08:40.576 --> 02:08:44.216 You know, the Speaker of House and I would be maybe brawling. 02:08:44.976 --> 02:08:48.436 And then you can have a police escort me to the county facility. 02:08:49.156 --> 02:08:52.056 And, you know, I'll have all the law enforcement watching me at that point. 02:08:52.936 --> 02:08:56.796 You know, you ain't got to worry about where I am because I'm going to be at the jail. 02:08:57.976 --> 02:09:02.716 Now, I can't ask Nicole Collier, who seems like a very, very classy lady. She's an attorney. 02:09:03.056 --> 02:09:06.336 You know, it doesn't look like she would punch anybody. 02:09:07.156 --> 02:09:12.596 Can't ask her to do that. But I know if that was me, you wouldn't have to worry about the police. 02:09:12.816 --> 02:09:17.436 You'd probably have several law enforcement officers on me because I'd be at the jail. 02:09:18.376 --> 02:09:21.456 I would not be locked in that Capitol building. If you're going to lock me up, 02:09:21.536 --> 02:09:24.456 lock me up in a place where you're supposed to lock people up. That'd be a jail. 02:09:25.156 --> 02:09:27.496 You're not going to lock me up in the place that I work. 02:09:28.376 --> 02:09:32.256 You know, we literally pass laws, federal laws against that. 02:09:32.676 --> 02:09:35.736 Just on a simple base that that's a fire hazard. 02:09:36.356 --> 02:09:42.556 You lock the employees into the job so they can't leave, so you can get these products out. 02:09:42.796 --> 02:09:44.716 They pass laws against that. 02:09:45.136 --> 02:09:50.376 Now, never mind laws as far as Texas Republicans go. The only laws they care 02:09:50.376 --> 02:09:52.676 about is the ones that they vote for. 02:09:54.157 --> 02:09:59.997 Other laws that say you can't do that, they either take you to court or just ignore you, right? 02:10:01.057 --> 02:10:07.757 But to try to lock a human being up, an elected official, you're going to lock them up at that job. 02:10:08.297 --> 02:10:10.637 Oh, it's better that you picked the right one. 02:10:11.537 --> 02:10:14.477 She kind of picked herself because she says she wasn't going to sign it. 02:10:14.637 --> 02:10:20.737 But, you know, there's no way, there's no way that you would have had me locked 02:10:20.737 --> 02:10:23.517 up in the Capitol building on High Street. There's no way. 02:10:24.217 --> 02:10:28.877 Now, like I said, either I'd been on Pascagoula Street at the city jail or I'd 02:10:28.877 --> 02:10:34.017 been down in Raymond at the county jail, but I wasn't going to be locked up in a Capitol building. 02:10:34.677 --> 02:10:38.977 And just like you gave me a ride to go down there, you're going to give me a 02:10:38.977 --> 02:10:41.657 ride because there's a law saying I really can't be detained. 02:10:42.697 --> 02:10:47.317 In Mississippi, there's a law that says I can't be detained because we're in session. 02:10:48.077 --> 02:10:52.117 So that means you're going to have to escort me back to finish my job. 02:10:52.257 --> 02:10:55.977 And then if the charges are not dropped, then, you know, you got to take me 02:10:55.977 --> 02:10:58.197 back to the jail. That's how that would work for me. 02:10:59.237 --> 02:11:04.597 But what it should tell people, the seriousness of it is, is what it should tell people is that, 02:11:05.497 --> 02:11:14.917 if we do not use every means necessary to stop these people through the courts, 02:11:15.077 --> 02:11:18.377 through laws, through counter-accidents like what California is doing, 02:11:18.657 --> 02:11:21.917 if we don't do what we need to do. 02:11:23.377 --> 02:11:25.577 Then there's only going to be one option. 02:11:26.077 --> 02:11:30.957 And I really am too old to be trying to shoot people. I'm really too old to 02:11:30.957 --> 02:11:33.657 be getting shot at, right? 02:11:34.697 --> 02:11:37.917 And people are like, oh, well, you shouldn't say that, bruh. 02:11:38.037 --> 02:11:42.677 If you don't do what needs to be done, if you don't get off of your butt and 02:11:42.677 --> 02:11:48.517 vote these people out, all of them out, then that's what's going to happen. 02:11:48.697 --> 02:11:54.277 If you don't want your children, if you don't want your household being in siege, 02:11:54.277 --> 02:11:59.117 if you don't want your children being in harm's way, you need to vote these people out. 02:11:59.537 -->

02:12:03.077 They've got to go. They have shown their hand. 02:12:03.237 --> 02:12:09.017 They are willing to lock people in buildings to get legislation passed they want. 02:12:09.457 --> 02:12:14.317 You have a president of the States who's saying, we don't want voting machines anymore. 02:12:14.397 --> 02:12:19.157 We don't want mail-in ballots, which by the way, if you are a military person, 02:12:19.477 --> 02:12:22.317 active duty overseas, and the president of the United States, 02:12:22.437 --> 02:12:24.837 your commander in chief says, I don't want you to vote anymore. 02:12:25.877 --> 02:12:30.717 Please find a way to vote that person out and anybody that supports him on that. 02:12:30.977 --> 02:12:35.877 Because the only way you can vote if you're deployed overseas is by mail. 02:12:36.577 --> 02:12:39.157 So he's basically telling you, I don't want you to vote anymore. 02:12:39.157 --> 02:12:41.797 And you're defending our nation overseas. 02:12:43.940 --> 02:12:49.320 Way they can vote is by mail. Voting by mail is cheating. No. 02:12:50.660 --> 02:12:54.280 The reality is, and some people have said it on other shows, 02:12:54.480 --> 02:12:58.080 that they tried to cheat in 2020 and he still lost. 02:12:59.040 --> 02:13:03.460 So he just figured, well, since we tried to cheat, then they must have cheated. 02:13:03.960 --> 02:13:10.520 No, you underestimated how many people were going to show up to get you out of the office, right? 02:13:11.000 --> 02:13:16.500 Because basically a million people died under your watch because you didn't 02:13:16.500 --> 02:13:21.880 take a threat seriously, and it wrecked everything, right? 02:13:22.480 --> 02:13:24.920 And we are still recovering from that. 02:13:25.720 --> 02:13:30.680 And maybe it was that fog that allowed you to get back in there, just barely. 02:13:31.380 --> 02:13:34.240 You know, people talk about Kamala Harris losing. It's like, 02:13:34.700 --> 02:13:39.420 bro, it wasn't like he beat the brakes off of her vote-wise. 02:13:40.040 --> 02:13:45.900 You know, the electoral count was is lopsided, but if Elon Musk keep talking, 02:13:46.080 --> 02:13:47.700 we're going to find out how that happened. 02:13:50.080 --> 02:13:54.740 Because he's kind of doing the thing where he's kind of doing the confessional day by day. 02:13:54.880 --> 02:13:58.140 Just keep a hot mic near him. He's going to tell it, right? 02:13:58.620 --> 02:14:04.880 But we're not saying throw out the election because of that, that we certified it. 02:14:05.080 --> 02:14:09.140 Even if we had our suspicions, all right, you got us this time, 02:14:09.300 --> 02:14:10.960 we'll get you four years from now. 02:14:11.960 --> 02:14:16.440 And obviously, they've looked at some kind of polling, internal polling, 02:14:16.620 --> 02:14:22.040 and realized we're about to get destroyed or else they wouldn't be doing this kind of stuff. 02:14:22.300 --> 02:14:27.260 Redistricting in between the 10 years? Really? 02:14:28.020 --> 02:14:31.820 It's gotten to that point that you've got to change districts? 02:14:32.740 --> 02:14:38.440 And then you're so blatant with it, you're not even trying to come up with a creative lie. 02:14:38.640 --> 02:14:44.440 See, the creative lie was you put somebody over the elections division of, 02:14:45.120 --> 02:14:49.620 Department of Justice who basically had her story together and say, 02:14:49.800 --> 02:14:54.300 well, we asked Texas to review their maps because there were some concerns. 02:14:56.093 --> 02:15:00.973 Had to lie teed up for you. But in your arrogance, because as the Speaker of 02:15:00.973 --> 02:15:05.953 the House in Texas says, we have the numbers, we can do whatever we want to do. 02:15:06.433 --> 02:15:08.693 So you did that, right? 02:15:09.413 --> 02:15:15.693 And somehow you thought that every American was going to be cool with that. 02:15:16.153 --> 02:15:20.333 And there's a state to your West that's bigger than yours. 02:15:21.013 --> 02:15:23.613 That's it. Hell no, that's not going to happen. 02:15:24.353 --> 02:15:27.693 Now what? Oh, now you got J.D. 02:15:27.813 --> 02:15:32.793 Vance running to Indiana and Ohio and Missouri. Oh, yeah. 02:15:33.333 --> 02:15:37.073 Yes, sir, Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, we'll gerrymander our states too, 02:15:37.193 --> 02:15:40.533 because we've got to keep the Republicans in power. 02:15:41.253 --> 02:15:46.773 What I would love to see happen is that they do all this machination, 02:15:46.773 --> 02:15:50.693 they rearrange all these districts and then you, the American people, 02:15:50.893 --> 02:15:53.613 show up and vote for the Democrat anyway. 02:15:54.113 --> 02:16:01.053 That's what I would love to see. I would love to see 535 Democrats in the United States Congress. 02:16:01.673 --> 02:16:04.873 That's not going to happen, right? 02:16:05.673 --> 02:16:11.573 That's wishful thinking. But wouldn't it be nice that you did all this evil 02:16:11.573 --> 02:16:16.113 stuff to manipulate and try to change the dynamics of the election and not allow 02:16:16.113 --> 02:16:20.213 people to vote or get the representation they deserve. 02:16:20.873 --> 02:16:24.753 You know, I had a black representative. Now I got this white one that doesn't 02:16:24.753 --> 02:16:28.173 like black people in the middle of the game. What are we doing? 02:16:29.013 --> 02:16:37.093 Right? And so I would love that their comeuppance would be that in those districts 02:16:37.093 --> 02:16:38.573 that they drew and said, Oh, 02:16:38.733 --> 02:16:45.073 yeah, but we're going to have 30 Republicans out of the 38 in Texas and then 02:16:45.073 --> 02:16:50.433 turn right around and you've got nothing. That would be beautiful. 02:16:50.993 --> 02:16:58.693 But there are some people, because of their reckless reliance to this MAGA philosophy, 02:16:59.473 --> 02:17:04.453 well, Donald Trump says it's good and I'm for it. 02:17:06.093 --> 02:17:09.993 So we're still going

to have some gullible folks, right? 02:17:10.113 --> 02:17:16.013 We're still going to have some people who can't see the forest for the trees, but, 02:17:16.988 --> 02:17:21.468 can see the trees. They seem to be focused on the grass, right? 02:17:22.448 --> 02:17:26.188 So you're still going to have Republicans get in there, but it would just be 02:17:26.188 --> 02:17:32.108 amazing that they did all this mass in action, all this stuff to skew it and 02:17:32.108 --> 02:17:34.288 just, oh, we got to have this thing. 02:17:34.368 --> 02:17:37.308 And oh, yeah, they're going to pass, you know, they get in and then the next 02:17:37.308 --> 02:17:40.548 thing you know, they're going to pass some, try to force some kind of constitutional 02:17:40.548 --> 02:17:44.928 amendment to allow Donald Trump to stay in for another term, 02:17:45.088 --> 02:17:48.888 or they're going to declare martial law, whatever they're going to do, right? 02:17:49.368 --> 02:17:55.268 What you need to understand is that these people are telling you to your face, 02:17:55.268 --> 02:18:01.188 they will do anything, anything, anything to stay in power. 02:18:01.608 --> 02:18:06.188 You basically have a guy who wants to be like a dictator. 02:18:06.808 --> 02:18:10.148 He's expressed it. He wrote it off as a joke. 02:18:10.668 --> 02:18:14.168 You shouldn't have. Those of us that we're trying to tell you, 02:18:14.348 --> 02:18:17.048 this is real, this is really, really happening. 02:18:17.808 --> 02:18:24.248 Oh, well, you know, he's just an old man just spouting off of the mouth. No, he's delusional. 02:18:24.828 --> 02:18:31.188 He's got mental issues. He might be on the verge of dementia, but he's still an SOB. 02:18:31.928 --> 02:18:38.728 He's still evil. And what functional part he still has left and the people that 02:18:38.728 --> 02:18:43.008 he has around him have made the determination that he's going to be the last 02:18:43.008 --> 02:18:45.028 president the United States is going to have. 02:18:45.908 --> 02:18:48.908 And there are some of you who are down with that. 02:18:49.388 --> 02:18:54.948 What I am hoping is that the overwhelming majority, people that have never voted 02:18:54.948 --> 02:19:00.468 before, I hope that they decide this is the time, that it's like, no, this cannot happen. 02:19:00.888 --> 02:19:04.028 This is real. This is not a drill. This is really, really happening. 02:19:04.188 --> 02:19:05.648 And we need to shut this down. 02:19:06.288 --> 02:19:09.808 That would be beautiful, right? 02:19:10.108 --> 02:19:13.668 It'd be beautiful that some of these people that are trying to lock folks up 02:19:13.668 --> 02:19:18.368 in Capitol buildings get locked up in real prisons and get disbarred. 02:19:18.928 --> 02:19:24.188 That would be what they say, the French kiss on all that, right? 02:19:24.648 --> 02:19:28.428 Because there's got to be some repercussions for all of this. 02:19:28.948 --> 02:19:35.428 In order for the Constitution to

be the viable document, Because James Madison 02:19:35.428 --> 02:19:39.828 kind of warned folks, not every person is going to be George Washington. 02:19:39.948 --> 02:19:44.168 Not everybody is going to be an honorable person as far as the presidency is concerned, right? 02:19:44.788 --> 02:19:49.728 You know, not everybody is going to yield power graciously. 02:19:51.168 --> 02:19:54.328 But they didn't think they needed to put those mechanisms in there. 02:19:54.508 --> 02:20:02.928 So we've been rocking and rolling for, you know, 200 some years as far as the Constitution goes. 02:20:05.068 --> 02:20:08.348 And, you know, seemed like we were going to be okay. 02:20:10.119 --> 02:20:14.599 This dude shows up and the people that have propped him up because the most 02:20:14.599 --> 02:20:17.159 dangerous person in America is Steve Miller. Y'all know that, right? 02:20:17.799 --> 02:20:22.019 Second most dangerous person is Steve Bannon. And I'm sure there's a third Steve 02:20:22.019 --> 02:20:24.759 in there somewhere doing something diabolical. Right. 02:20:25.819 --> 02:20:29.299 Wouldn't be amazing is that over the next 20 years, nobody names their children 02:20:29.299 --> 02:20:36.099 Steve based on the actions of those two individuals. That'd be crazy. 02:20:36.919 --> 02:20:42.599 You know, it'd be like Steve would be like Adolf. You can't name yourself in 02:20:42.599 --> 02:20:44.019 the United States that, right? 02:20:44.819 --> 02:20:49.359 Nonetheless, you know, those people are the ones pulling the string. 02:20:50.019 --> 02:20:54.259 And they're getting bold enough now where they're starting to show up in places 02:20:54.259 --> 02:21:02.259 where only cabinet secretaries or the vice president or ambassadors to show up, right? 02:21:02.759 --> 02:21:06.879 He's staff, kind of, sort of. but he's got like a special title. 02:21:07.079 --> 02:21:08.359 He's not the chief of staff. 02:21:09.399 --> 02:21:12.759 But he's the brains man. Susan Wilkes is not running anything. He is. 02:21:13.739 --> 02:21:17.259 And of course, somebody say, oh, that's sexist to say that she's not doing, 02:21:17.399 --> 02:21:19.359 bro, don't become a feminist now. 02:21:21.099 --> 02:21:24.119 We're just dealing with facts. Stephen Miller is running the show, not Susan. 02:21:24.879 --> 02:21:28.579 Susan was running the show. It'd be just like Kelly and all the other chiefs 02:21:28.579 --> 02:21:32.659 of staffs before that actually had a conscience and said, yeah, 02:21:32.679 --> 02:21:33.979 no, Mr. President, you can't do that. 02:21:34.719 --> 02:21:37.919 There's nobody in that White House that says no to him. 02:21:38.419 --> 02:21:43.839 That's why now the White House is starting to turn into some kind of golden palace. 02:21:44.839 --> 02:21:49.639 What are we doing right now? How are we even allowing this to happen? 02:21:50.139 --> 02:21:53.599 We're just going about our daily. We need to have a plan. 02:21:54.259 --> 02:22:00.279 We need to have, you know, like they encourage us to have an evac plan, 02:22:00.279 --> 02:22:04.299 whether you're at your job or whether you're, you know, at the home. 02:22:04.699 --> 02:22:06.319 You need to have a plan to escape. 02:22:07.019 --> 02:22:10.079 We need to have a plan to vote. 02:22:10.799 --> 02:22:13.999 No matter what kind of restrictions they try to put on, no matter what they 02:22:13.999 --> 02:22:18.299 try to take away, no matter how many precincts they try to close, we have a plan to vote. 02:22:18.879 --> 02:22:22.159 And we need to execute that plan when it's time. 02:22:23.059 --> 02:22:27.259 Because we've got to get good people in and we've got to get these corrupt, 02:22:27.639 --> 02:22:30.659 evil, gullible people out. They've got to go. 02:22:31.159 --> 02:22:37.399 We want those people in the shadows like Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon to be anathemas. 02:22:38.459 --> 02:22:41.539 We want them to be like boogeymen. 02:22:42.699 --> 02:22:47.899 They can only be in our nightmares. They can't be part of the American dream. 02:22:50.419 --> 02:22:56.519 We've got to get back to taking care of people and giving damn about people. 02:22:57.259 --> 02:23:02.839 Get the corruption out. If you get the corruption out, you'll dissuade a lot 02:23:02.839 --> 02:23:04.279 of these people from even getting in. 02:23:05.835 --> 02:23:10.515 So that's our assignment. You know, we got a young brother who believed in the 02:23:10.515 --> 02:23:11.895 American dream. He's got to go. 02:23:12.515 --> 02:23:18.055 We got a sister that's fighting for the American dream. She gets locked up in 02:23:18.055 --> 02:23:20.315 the Capitol building. Her freedom's taken away. 02:23:21.015 --> 02:23:28.935 And we got all these people, the president and the Steves, and just wrecking havoc. 02:23:29.675 --> 02:23:36.255 Greg Abbott, just wrecking havoc on our democracy, wreaking havoc on our nation. 02:23:36.595 --> 02:23:44.395 And it's more than just democracy at stake. This might be the most expensive Thanksgiving ever. 02:23:45.335 --> 02:23:53.015 Not just traveling, food. If we don't get this in check, we got a guy who's 02:23:53.015 --> 02:23:57.635 obsessed with trying to do anything that a black man did. 02:23:58.175 --> 02:24:02.655 I won a Nobel Peace Prize. I stopped all these wars. 02:24:03.435 --> 02:24:09.155 Dude, that's your job. That's your job. It's not about winning a prize. Do your job. 02:24:09.755 --> 02:24:14.715 I want this participation trophy. No, that's not how that works. Do your job. 02:24:15.135 --> 02:24:19.395 Take care of the American people. Make sure the world is not in total chaos. 02:24:20.315 --> 02:24:24.735 That there's no threat of a World War III. Can you do that without? 02:24:25.495 --> 02:24:28.335 Well, no, he can't. I'm not going to waste my time with this. 02:24:30.375 --> 02:24:35.075 So it's on us to get these people out, every one of them. I don't care if they're your friend. 02:24:35.215 --> 02:24:39.635 I don't care if they're your buddy at Backgammon or Pickleball. They got to go. 02:24:40.175 --> 02:24:44.115 All of them have to go. All of them have to go. I don't care if they hung out 02:24:44.115 --> 02:24:45.315 with you at the homecoming. 02:24:45.775 --> 02:24:49.595 You know, you were classmates with them in high school. They all have to go. 02:24:49.775 --> 02:24:51.135 They all have to go. They got to go. 02:24:52.175 --> 02:24:55.375 There's no political redemption for them. 02:24:55.895 --> 02:25:02.415 If they are going to these lengths, they can't come back to the fold. 02:25:02.635 --> 02:25:08.175 They have to be taken out of the process altogether because we can't trust them. 02:25:08.375 --> 02:25:10.635 They've proven that they're not worthy of our trust. 02:25:11.335 --> 02:25:14.715 They have to go. And speaking about going, I need to go too. 02:25:14.895 --> 02:25:18.115 I didn't plan to talk this long, but I knew I was going to get caught up in 02:25:18.115 --> 02:25:22.095 this because we've got work to do, ladies and gentlemen. We've got work to do. 02:25:23.355 --> 02:25:26.075 So thank you all for listening. Until next time. 02:25:27.600 --> 02:26:14.181 Music.