Speaker 1: Good morning, peeps, and welcome to wok F Daily with
Speaker 1: me your girl, Daniel Moody, recording from the Home Bunker. Folks,
Speaker 1: as we head into this holiday season, I want to
Speaker 1: give deep thanks and gratitude to every single one of
Speaker 1: you that has supported me and independent media and this
Speaker 1: show over the last several years. It has been at
Speaker 1: times an uphill battle to stay on top of all
Speaker 1: of the horrendous news, and at other times, you know,
Speaker 1: a majority of the time extraordinarily rewarding speaking to so
Speaker 1: many thoughtful people who, in their different modes and industries,
Speaker 1: are trying to advance democracy, are trying to offer critical
Speaker 1: analysis and paths of hope and faith for the listeners
Speaker 1: to walk. It is going to be a really difficult
Speaker 1: time ahead, and you know that I don't ever sugarcoat
Speaker 1: things or try and pretend that they're not going to
Speaker 1: be as bad as they are. And the fact is,
Speaker 1: I have no idea, none of us really know. We
Speaker 1: have history as our guide, but we don't really know
Speaker 1: truly what we're in for. But we do know that fundamentally,
Speaker 1: the America that we have known will not exist anymore.
Speaker 1: And for the last ten plus years, our country, our
Speaker 1: democracy has been creeping towards authoritarianism. Donald Trump proved that
Speaker 1: he didn't even need to be in the White House
Speaker 1: for that to continue to creep forward, with the attacks
Speaker 1: on media, with the attacks on political opponents, with the
Speaker 1: fact that he was the first former president to actually
Speaker 1: never go away from the spotlight, to never leave the stage,
Speaker 1: and to continue to see discourse and distrust, and it
Speaker 1: has overwhelmed us to the point where millions of people
Speaker 1: decided not to vote, or handful of people peeled off
Speaker 1: and decided that Donald Trump's vision of America and his
Speaker 1: narrative that he had created was what they believed in.
Speaker 1: And this show started in twenty seventeen as a response
Speaker 1: and reaction to Donald Trump's administration because I honestly, I
Speaker 1: was genuinely, like all of you, gobsmacked that someone like
Speaker 1: him would be following the historic presidency of Barack Obama.
Speaker 1: But then, if you are a student of history and
Speaker 1: understand whitelash and what happens every time there is significant
Speaker 1: progress in this country for black people, particularly, there is
Speaker 1: always always resounding backlash to those advancements, so steep in
Speaker 1: fact that this Civil War and reconstruction ushered in one
Speaker 1: hundred years of Jim Crow. We have only truly had
Speaker 1: a democracy in this country for the last sixty years,
Speaker 1: where those who weren't expressly written into the Constitution were provided,
Speaker 1: after blood, sweat and tears, the opportunity to be full
Speaker 1: fledged citizens of this country. And now here we are
Speaker 1: where once again progress is being stopped dead in its tracks,
Speaker 1: and what comes next may indeed last a century or more.
Speaker 1: You know, our friend Jonathan Mepzil, you know, says, you know,
Speaker 1: sometimes he feels like the guy in the midst of
Speaker 1: the one hundred Year War three years in saying, oh
Speaker 1: my god, when is this going to end? And that
Speaker 1: is kind of how I feel as well. You know,
Speaker 1: I can't express the deep disappointment, devastation and grief that
Speaker 1: I am. I'm still processing from the last three weeks
Speaker 1: of where this election landed us, but also the last
Speaker 1: several years of turning on a microphone every single day
Speaker 1: to try and offer truth and critical thinking and a
Speaker 1: deeper analysis of where we want this country to go.
Speaker 1: And I'm proud. I'm proud of the work that I've done.
Speaker 1: I'm proud of the conversations that we have had. That
Speaker 1: being said at the end of this year, wokaf will end.
Speaker 1: And as you know, I host, as people say, fifty
Speaker 1: eleven podcasts and shows, but wokapp has been my flagship show.
Speaker 1: It has been an idea that I was able to
Speaker 1: turn into a really incredible project over the last several years.
Speaker 1: And when faced with whether to continue this show or
Speaker 1: end it, I made the really hard decision that it
Speaker 1: was time for a new chapter. Don't be confused by
Speaker 1: me leaving WOKF that I'm leaving the airwaves. That is
Speaker 1: absolutely not happening until somebody pulls the microphone from me.
Speaker 1: But I've been grappling for a long time with what
Speaker 1: it actually means in this day and age where people
Speaker 1: made the decision that they didn't want to be folk,
Speaker 1: that they made the decision that they would rather be
Speaker 1: led and led by a liar, that they would rather
Speaker 1: bury their heads in the sand. This elect kind of
Speaker 1: broke my heart, and I think that that is fair
Speaker 1: to say that I am heartbroken, and I need to
Speaker 1: figure out for myself what my resistance is going to
Speaker 1: look like moving forward. And for many of you, you've
Speaker 1: seen that I have launched a new show, a video
Speaker 1: streaming show, a live show where I can better engage
Speaker 1: with the audience in real time and have real time conversation,
Speaker 1: host town halls on Tuesdays of The Danielle Moody Show,
Speaker 1: provide call to actions on Thursday, and give people an
Speaker 1: opportunity in real time to be able to create and
Speaker 1: build community, even if that is just you know, thirty
Speaker 1: to forty five minutes a day. But there has been
Speaker 1: something about podcasting and speaking out into a void that
Speaker 1: hasn't continued to provide me with the kind of sustenance
Speaker 1: that I need in this moment, and that I think
Speaker 1: that audiences need in this moment. As people turn away
Speaker 1: from cable news, as folks turn away from legacy news,
Speaker 1: what I hear is that people are so thirsty for
Speaker 1: connection with one another. And that is why I launched
Speaker 1: my YouTube channel. It was because one I needed to
Speaker 1: actually be engaging with people, engaging with all of you
Speaker 1: in a different way. I needed to be able to
Speaker 1: kind of flex creative muscles and learn how to produce
Speaker 1: my own content and control all levers of my shows
Speaker 1: in the way that I haven't had the ability to do.
Speaker 1: And so I make this announcement today that you know
Speaker 1: the end of the year. December thirty first will be
Speaker 1: the last Woke af show, and I'm just filled with
Speaker 1: a mix of emotions around that. Like I said, I'm
Speaker 1: filled with deep gratitude for having hosted this show, created
Speaker 1: this show for years. It started out as, you know,
Speaker 1: a gig that I was doing on Sundays on Serious
Speaker 1: XM for three hours live taking calls and just being
Speaker 1: in conversation with people. And I miss that. I miss
Speaker 1: that daily interaction and hearing from real people. And that's
Speaker 1: why I went to YouTube, because I was like, put
Speaker 1: a question in the chat, comment on something. It just
Speaker 1: it feels livelier. I say that to say that I'm
Speaker 1: so appreciative of all of the support. You have no
Speaker 1: idea how many times I have felt defeated in this
Speaker 1: work and just wanted to, you know, give up and
Speaker 1: let other people do it and do it better. But
Speaker 1: I think that we are in a state of great
Speaker 1: transition in this country and in our own lives. Right
Speaker 1: If you're a person that you know believes in astrology
Speaker 1: and the way that I do, it's one of the
Speaker 1: oldest technologies on the planet. You know, We're ending one
Speaker 1: cycle of Pluto leaving Capricorn and moving into Aquarius for
Speaker 1: the first time. I think this was the last time
Speaker 1: that it'll be in Capricorn in our lifetime. And we're
Speaker 1: ending a fifteen year cycle, going back to two thousand
Speaker 1: and eight until now. And when I think about the
Speaker 1: last fifteen years, which is an incredibly long stretch of time,
Speaker 1: and I think about what two thousand and eight symbolized
Speaker 1: in our politics, of the election of the first black president,
Speaker 1: and now the probably our last election and the election
Speaker 1: of a known white supremacist and an Autocrat. We've been
Speaker 1: on a wild journey, you know. I started two thousand
Speaker 1: and eight young and fresh eyed, and so committed to
Speaker 1: American politics and so excited about the future of this country,
Speaker 1: and now fifteen years later find myself in deep grief
Speaker 1: over who I thought America was, who I thought that
Speaker 1: we had the possibility to be. And I say, and
Speaker 1: I've been saying as I try and reframe my thoughts
Speaker 1: around this election, that maybe Donald Trump is actually needed.
Speaker 1: Maybe the destruction of systems and of a country that
Speaker 1: never wanted to reckon with white supremacy, never wanted to
Speaker 1: reckon with white violence, domestic violence, and terrorism. Maybe people
Speaker 1: need to see it up close and personal, because we've
Speaker 1: sanitized all of our history so much so that in
Speaker 1: Red States you think that the Transatlantic slave trade was
Speaker 1: some type of internship. And according to Ron DeSantis, you know,
Speaker 1: slaves learn skills as opposed to you captured skillful, creative,
Speaker 1: innovative people, and then they built this country that you
Speaker 1: were too lazy your ancestors to do themselves. The reality
Speaker 1: is that sometimes destruction is necessary. Sometimes people have to
Speaker 1: lose things to recognize how very important things like freedom, bodily, autonomy, creativity,
Speaker 1: and innovation were and are. And I think that in
Speaker 1: a lot of ways America has taken for granted the
Speaker 1: things that were fought for tooth and nail, that people
Speaker 1: lost their lives for, shed blood for, shed tears for
Speaker 1: for generations. And you know, I have said this so
Speaker 1: many times on the Danielle Moody Show as of late,
Speaker 1: that all of us are not making it to the
Speaker 1: New World. We're not and we have to understand that
Speaker 1: that millions of lives are going to be lost in
Speaker 1: this deep, dark transitional state that this country and the
Speaker 1: world are going to go through. And what comes next,
Speaker 1: God willing, will be a rebuild that is more inclusive
Speaker 1: that is in recognition of never allowing an autocrat a
Speaker 1: dictator to ever take power again. But there is going
Speaker 1: to be years and years and years of hardship in
Speaker 1: order to get to the other side. Now, while I
Speaker 1: didn't need to be a part of the find out
Speaker 1: of the fuck around, as I continue to say, none
Speaker 1: of us did, because we've been doing the right things.
Speaker 1: Clearly as a collective, this is something that the universe
Speaker 1: is saying that we need to go through. So as
Speaker 1: we seek out community, as we wake from this haze
Speaker 1: of and try and figure out what each of our
Speaker 1: roles are moving forward, understand that in times of darkness,
Speaker 1: there was still light. During the horrific terrorism and practice
Speaker 1: of slavery and Jim Crow, they were still dancing and
Speaker 1: jazz and delicious food being created and art being made.
Speaker 1: And we need to revel in that. We need to
Speaker 1: find those outlets, create those spaces that make us feel
Speaker 1: our full humanity, that have us really steeped and wrapped
Speaker 1: up in the delicious beauty that humanity does offer, even
Speaker 1: in and especially in times of darkness. I had the
Speaker 1: ability over the weekend to go to the Whitney to
Speaker 1: see the Ali exhibit. This astounding exhibit of the Alvin
Speaker 1: Ailey Dance Company and Alvin Ailey, the founder and creator,
Speaker 1: And it was just if you have the opportunity to
Speaker 1: come to New York to see it, or if you're
Speaker 1: in New York or close enough, it is worth the
Speaker 1: trip to see the inspiration to understand that. As I
Speaker 1: was looking at the dates of the births and deaths
Speaker 1: of some of these great artists that inspired and were
Speaker 1: friends with Alvin Ailey, you're looking at births in the
Speaker 1: nineteen hundred, nineteen twenty four, nineteen thirty nine, and seeing
Speaker 1: how long these incredible Black artists and poits, Lorraine Hansbury,
Speaker 1: Duke Ellington, Jacob Lawrence, how long of a life these
Speaker 1: people had, what they had seen, some of them born
Speaker 1: just at the beginning of what it would mean to
Speaker 1: be free, born, free and black in this country but
Speaker 1: not yet seen as a citizen, and what they created
Speaker 1: during that time. And as I was walking through these
Speaker 1: just huge rooms and taking in the art and the
Speaker 1: dance and the music, and the sculpture and the weaving
Speaker 1: and the quilts, and just it took my breath away
Speaker 1: and or reminded me that our lives are but like
Speaker 1: a blip in this long span and existence of the universe.
Speaker 1: But what we do with our time to make this space,
Speaker 1: this planet better is not about the external world being perfect,
Speaker 1: or being loving, or even being kind. But it is
Speaker 1: about the joy and the community and the connection and
Speaker 1: the beauty that we create in spite of it all
Speaker 1: is the testament of our humanity. And so I am
Speaker 1: grateful for those creatives. I'm grateful for to have been
Speaker 1: just marveling for a few hours in the whitney and
Speaker 1: just taking in my ancestors, these beautiful black legends who
Speaker 1: lived at a time where, on its face was pure despair,
Speaker 1: but what they created was indeed extraordinary, and we were
Speaker 1: all better off for it. So, as we move out
Speaker 1: of this hate into this new world, understanding that it
Speaker 1: is going to be filled with both the darkness and light,
Speaker 1: be the lantern. Figure out what your resistance looks like.
Speaker 1: It could look like gardening. It could look like monthly
Speaker 1: dinner parties and gatherings with friends and family. It could
Speaker 1: look like watercolor or poetry. It could look like rest.
Speaker 1: But now as we enter into this next phase, this
Speaker 1: next chapter, this next book, this next story, our entire
Speaker 1: lives do not have to be about how we react
Speaker 1: to this new regime. It can be about what we
Speaker 1: create in spite of it. So I thank you all
Speaker 1: so very much, and the next couple of weeks we
Speaker 1: will continue to provide analysis and interviews, and I really
Speaker 1: do hope that you all will join me over at
Speaker 1: my YouTube channel to connect with the community that I
Speaker 1: am building over there, And for those that are on
Speaker 1: Patreon and continue to support my work there, you will
Speaker 1: also see your Patreon populated with different work and musings
Speaker 1: and things that I am working on, and you will
Speaker 1: be the first to see. But I appreciate all of you,
Speaker 1: and I'm grateful for all of you, and I thank
Speaker 1: you for showing up for me all of these years.
Speaker 1: I wish you a holiday season filled with love, joy, gratitude,
Speaker 1: and peace. That is it for me today. Dear friends
Speaker 1: on Woke af as always, power to the people and
Speaker 1: to all the people. Power, get woke and stay Augus
Speaker 1: Fack