WEBVTT - 365 Days 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:15.040 Good morning, peeps, and welcome to wokee F Daily with 0:00:15.200 --> 0:00:19.759 Meet your Girl Danielle Moody. Recording from the Brooklyn Bunker. Folks, 0:00:19.800 --> 0:00:22.200 I'm very excited about the show that we have in 0:00:22.280 --> 0:00:25.960 store for you today. Today we have had a conversation 0:00:26.360 --> 0:00:31.080 with the executive director of Michelle Obama's initiative when we 0:00:31.160 --> 0:00:34.360 all vote, Stephanie Young. And then later in the show, 0:00:34.560 --> 0:00:38.080 we have our one on one with Principal Deputy White 0:00:38.080 --> 0:00:43.640 House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre. You know, in thinking 0:00:43.640 --> 0:00:47.720 about right this past three hundred and sixty five days 0:00:47.840 --> 0:00:52.559 with the Biden administration, I provided you all with my grades, 0:00:52.720 --> 0:00:55.760 some of you provided yours back in the comment section, 0:00:55.840 --> 0:00:58.680 and again I say keep them coming. You hit me 0:00:58.760 --> 0:01:02.360 up on social media using the hashtag woke and tell 0:01:02.400 --> 0:01:04.560 me what you think about the last three hundred and 0:01:04.640 --> 0:01:08.000 sixty five days under this administration. But what I will 0:01:08.040 --> 0:01:14.920 say right now, as today officially starts day two, not 0:01:15.120 --> 0:01:18.720 day two, excuse me, year or two of this administration, 0:01:18.959 --> 0:01:25.160 is that it cannot be understated the consequences that we 0:01:25.200 --> 0:01:30.840 are being faced with. Twenty twenty two, which is twenty 0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:39.160 twenty two, has significant crises that we are seeing each 0:01:39.200 --> 0:01:47.120 and every day. For instance, run death Santis in Florida 0:01:47.240 --> 0:01:53.960 has just passed legislation that would bar the teaching conversation 0:01:54.640 --> 0:01:57.720 whether in private business or in public spaces, whether in 0:01:57.800 --> 0:02:01.760 school or not. And when I say public or spaces, 0:02:01.800 --> 0:02:06.360 I mean public schools right, or colleges, I mean private 0:02:06.440 --> 0:02:11.040 businesses to be able to have conversations that make white 0:02:11.080 --> 0:02:14.840 people uncomfortable. Yes, yes, that is actually a fucking thing. 0:02:15.840 --> 0:02:22.840 And what is so detestable about that is it is foreshadowing. Right. First, 0:02:22.840 --> 0:02:27.440 the battle was with the fake outrage around critical race theory. 0:02:28.120 --> 0:02:31.720 And on top of that, you were seeing five hundred 0:02:31.880 --> 0:02:38.120 plus voting restriction bills, voter suppression bills that are operational 0:02:38.280 --> 0:02:43.919 in forty nine states. You are seeing book banning, right, 0:02:44.040 --> 0:02:49.440 banning of authors of color, and all of this brings 0:02:49.480 --> 0:02:53.040 me to one place. The other day, I was watching 0:02:54.240 --> 0:02:59.799 a documentary and it was wild because it was following 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:08.000 this provocative Chinese artist who is now banned from China. 0:03:08.040 --> 0:03:10.520 And I might have mentioned this in the show before. 0:03:10.600 --> 0:03:14.359 After I watched the documentary, which please excuse me, the 0:03:14.360 --> 0:03:18.120 title of it fails me right now. But oh no, 0:03:18.200 --> 0:03:20.960 it wasn't a documentary. No, it was sixty minutes, and 0:03:21.000 --> 0:03:23.079 we did have a conversation about this. It was sixty 0:03:23.120 --> 0:03:27.080 minutes because what this artist learned and what spurred him 0:03:27.200 --> 0:03:31.280 into his art, which was battling against and continues to 0:03:31.320 --> 0:03:36.520 battle against the Chinese government, which is very dangerous, very 0:03:36.600 --> 0:03:39.400 very dangerous. It is not like what I do on 0:03:39.520 --> 0:03:42.520 ookay Ap daily. It is not like, you know, what 0:03:42.720 --> 0:03:45.080 any of us who sit comfortably in the United States 0:03:45.080 --> 0:03:47.640 to do when we are railing against government as of 0:03:47.760 --> 0:03:51.760 right now. But what struck me is that there is 0:03:51.800 --> 0:03:59.200 nowhere written in their public education system, in museums, in 0:03:59.240 --> 0:04:03.840 any artifacts, anything that has to do with Tianamen Square. Now, 0:04:03.920 --> 0:04:06.000 for those of you who either may be too young 0:04:06.360 --> 0:04:09.480 or too old or somewhere in the middle, and just forget, 0:04:10.480 --> 0:04:19.800 Tianneman Square was students in China protesting right against the government, 0:04:20.720 --> 0:04:25.120 and the government, in the face of opposition, rolled out 0:04:25.320 --> 0:04:35.440 tanks that would kill at least twenty plus students. After 0:04:36.279 --> 0:04:41.480 the government killed its own citizens, they would then pass 0:04:41.560 --> 0:04:46.640 a law that would make it illegal for the families 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:53.360 of those that were slain to mourn publicly, to speak 0:04:53.400 --> 0:05:01.320 at all about the child that they had lost. Now 0:05:01.520 --> 0:05:05.760 you may think, holy shit, nothing like that could ever happen. 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:10.680 But the fact is is that Tianamen Square is something 0:05:10.720 --> 0:05:14.680 that we are taught about in the United States and 0:05:15.160 --> 0:05:20.480 many other nations are taught about right when you're learning 0:05:20.480 --> 0:05:23.599 about government and comparative governments and protests in all of 0:05:23.600 --> 0:05:29.440 these things. But the Chinese have completely wiped it out 0:05:29.800 --> 0:05:35.440 of any teaching. It is more so rumor, right that 0:05:35.640 --> 0:05:39.840 spreads from person to person by word of mouth, But 0:05:40.080 --> 0:05:43.680 no one has ever heard of it, right, No one 0:05:44.279 --> 0:05:47.400 has ever read about it, no one has ever been 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:52.920 taught about it. And so generation after generation that has 0:05:53.000 --> 0:05:57.440 been born since and less their families were to tell them, 0:05:58.720 --> 0:06:02.960 would not know because there is no documentation. Why do 0:06:03.080 --> 0:06:08.159 I bring that up Because every single act that is 0:06:08.200 --> 0:06:12.760 happening right now that Republicans are doing, whether it is 0:06:13.000 --> 0:06:19.080 DeSantis's fiefdom in Florida, if it's Abbot's kingdom in Texas, right, 0:06:20.560 --> 0:06:27.520 these people are passing legislation to ensure that generations of 0:06:27.839 --> 0:06:33.840 white Americans and black and brown Americans, even though Mitch 0:06:33.920 --> 0:06:39.120 McConnell does not believe African Americans are Americans. In his 0:06:39.279 --> 0:06:42.279 latest quote unquote slip up, I don't think it was 0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:48.479 a slip up. This is what they want. They want 0:06:48.480 --> 0:06:54.560 our history obliterated, whitewashed. Only tell them the good stuff, right, 0:06:54.680 --> 0:06:57.480 Only tell them the stuff that makes white people feel 0:06:57.600 --> 0:07:02.120 good and look good. Maybe we'll hold up a Martin 0:07:02.200 --> 0:07:06.960 Luther King. But when they're done right with public school curriculum, 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:10.840 when they're done passing all of their legislation, we could 0:07:10.880 --> 0:07:13.400 get to a place where we're not able to murmur 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:18.280 these things out in public. The truth I can recall, 0:07:18.360 --> 0:07:20.640 and I've shared this with you before, when I went 0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:25.520 to Israel and Palestine back in twenty fifteen, you were 0:07:25.600 --> 0:07:33.080 not allowed to publicly talk about the quote unquote conflict. Right, 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:37.680 These are things that could get you targeted. That they 0:07:38.000 --> 0:07:43.080 the Israeli government has listening ears right and eyes everywhere, 0:07:44.760 --> 0:07:50.600 so people would whisper in public. This is our future. 0:07:52.600 --> 0:07:56.520 We want to believe that what we have seen, the 0:07:56.680 --> 0:07:59.880 extreme versions of things that we have seen take place 0:08:00.040 --> 0:08:04.280 in other countries. We have been kidding ourselves and believing 0:08:04.320 --> 0:08:09.240 that it could never happen here. But it can. It 0:08:09.360 --> 0:08:14.120 is happening. It's happening every single moment of every single 0:08:14.160 --> 0:08:18.640 passing day. That we do nothing about voting rights, that 0:08:18.760 --> 0:08:24.320 we do nothing about stopping the culture war that Republicans 0:08:24.360 --> 0:08:28.880 have renewed and backed with their white supremacist desires and 0:08:29.040 --> 0:08:34.400 ambitions for what they believe America should look like. So 0:08:34.480 --> 0:08:38.160 here we are, folks, this is where we are going, 0:08:38.880 --> 0:08:43.040 and it's not great. It's actually really bad. And so 0:08:43.120 --> 0:08:47.560 we'll talk to Stephanie Young about what her organization is 0:08:47.600 --> 0:08:50.560 going to be doing in the coming year and the 0:08:50.559 --> 0:08:54.680 coming months. We'll talk to Karin Jean Pierre about what 0:08:54.800 --> 0:08:58.040 is on the agenda for year two, given that there 0:08:58.160 --> 0:09:01.040 is more wind in their face then at their back. 0:09:01.480 --> 0:09:07.760 That is coming up next, Folks. I'm so excited to 0:09:08.120 --> 0:09:12.320 welcome to woke F for the very first time Stephanie Young, 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:16.800 who is the executive director of When We All Vote, 0:09:17.800 --> 0:09:21.240 an organization that is dedicated and was launched, i believe, 0:09:21.320 --> 0:09:27.480 by the former First Lady, my forever first Lady, Michelle Obama, 0:09:28.880 --> 0:09:35.920 working right against Republican obstructionism with regard to voting restrictions. 0:09:37.200 --> 0:09:41.160 Since the twenty twenty election, Stephanie, we have seen five 0:09:41.280 --> 0:09:46.400 hundred plus right voter suppression policies that have been instituted 0:09:46.440 --> 0:09:51.480 across forty nine states. Just this week, we witnessed voting 0:09:51.559 --> 0:09:56.520 rights die right. Martin Martin Luther King week. Right, we 0:09:56.559 --> 0:09:59.560 start off the week with his birthday, watching the same 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:03.640 republic look ins, same Democrats quote Martin Luther King, and 0:10:03.720 --> 0:10:08.400 yet fail fail on behalf of all Americans. How are 0:10:08.400 --> 0:10:13.280 you feeling? Let me ask you at this moment about 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:17.079 the work that you are doing. Yeah, well, first, thanks 0:10:17.080 --> 0:10:20.840 for having me. You know, there's always there's never a 0:10:20.880 --> 0:10:23.000 bad time to talk about voting rights, and now it's 0:10:23.000 --> 0:10:25.680 like become the popular thing. And I think a part 0:10:25.679 --> 0:10:27.920 of the problem and the reason why we're even here 0:10:28.000 --> 0:10:32.440 is because we don't talk about voting enough consistently. You know, 0:10:32.559 --> 0:10:37.360 today I would just say, yes, of course, we're somewhat discouraged. 0:10:37.440 --> 0:10:39.560 But being a Hill staffer work in the federal government 0:10:39.600 --> 0:10:42.600 for many years, I understand that it's cyclical and we'll 0:10:42.640 --> 0:10:46.199 be right back here at some other point soon. But 0:10:46.240 --> 0:10:49.560 it's going to be a push from us the people. 0:10:49.600 --> 0:10:53.080 And I think that sometimes we forget that we actually 0:10:53.120 --> 0:10:56.440 have the power in these moments because it feels so 0:10:56.520 --> 0:11:01.040 overwhelming and so frustrating. And I don't want to create 0:11:01.800 --> 0:11:05.120 false hope for people, but I do want to remind 0:11:05.160 --> 0:11:07.800 people that we do have an opportunity to pick up 0:11:07.800 --> 0:11:10.960 the phone and call care cin Cinema and call Mansion 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:14.480 and call our senators and call other senators and tell 0:11:14.520 --> 0:11:17.800 them how we feel. And they count every tweet, they 0:11:17.840 --> 0:11:21.360 count every voicemail, they count every letter, every email that 0:11:21.400 --> 0:11:24.400 they get. I think right now, as a community of 0:11:24.400 --> 0:11:27.360 folks who care about democracy in this country, that we 0:11:27.440 --> 0:11:30.120 have to rest over the next week and get our 0:11:30.160 --> 0:11:33.760 strength back, because we are headed for a fight for 0:11:33.800 --> 0:11:37.480 our democracy in a way in which we have never been. 0:11:37.840 --> 0:11:41.120 And I know that when we were faced with Donald 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:47.280 Trump and you know that very problematic administration, people were 0:11:47.320 --> 0:11:50.480 motivated for many, many, many different reasons why to go 0:11:50.520 --> 0:11:54.480 out and vote. And as a non partisan organization, you know, 0:11:54.520 --> 0:11:57.600 we felt like it was it was an easier kind 0:11:57.600 --> 0:12:00.280 of message probably in twenty twenty that you know, let's 0:12:00.280 --> 0:12:02.600 take your focus on your future. You can take your 0:12:02.640 --> 0:12:04.840 future back by making sure you make your voices heard. 0:12:05.400 --> 0:12:08.760 And now our messaging is going to have to shift 0:12:08.800 --> 0:12:11.080 a little bit because you know, as we go into 0:12:11.120 --> 0:12:15.040 the midterms, this is going to determine the next couple 0:12:15.080 --> 0:12:18.079 of years of this Biden administration, whether or not it's 0:12:18.120 --> 0:12:20.839 going to be taken over. And you know, none of 0:12:20.920 --> 0:12:23.000 the things that we want to see done from criminal 0:12:23.000 --> 0:12:25.760 justice reform, you know, to climate change and all these 0:12:25.800 --> 0:12:30.199 different issue areas that we all care about as Americans, 0:12:30.920 --> 0:12:34.199 or we're just going to be stalled continuously. So we're discouraged, 0:12:34.240 --> 0:12:36.960 but yet we know that now is the time to 0:12:37.040 --> 0:12:39.600 rest so that we're ready for the fight ahead. And 0:12:39.640 --> 0:12:41.960 if you hadn't seen it, we did release the New 0:12:42.040 --> 0:12:45.439 York Times a pledge with thirty other voting rights on 0:12:45.640 --> 0:12:48.400 voter protection organizations saying what we're prepared to do. We 0:12:48.480 --> 0:12:50.880 kind of knew this was coming, so we said, we're 0:12:50.920 --> 0:12:53.160 prepared to register a million voters. We're prepared to get 0:12:53.200 --> 0:12:55.439 one hundred thousand people to push Congress to do the 0:12:55.559 --> 0:12:57.920 right thing. We're prepared to recruit one hundred thousand volunteers. 0:12:57.960 --> 0:13:01.320 We're prepared to recruit lawyers all over this country to 0:13:01.400 --> 0:13:04.920 help those voters who will face voter suppression in their cities, 0:13:04.960 --> 0:13:09.240 in their states, to help them navigate this new, unfortunate normal. 0:13:09.840 --> 0:13:11.600 And one thing I just want to say before turning 0:13:11.600 --> 0:13:13.800 it right back to you is that people might have 0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:16.520 missed it. But the other day Mitch McConnell said, maybe 0:13:16.520 --> 0:13:19.200 he was last night or today. He literally said, yeah, 0:13:19.240 --> 0:13:22.080 there's a missmotion that I'm sorry for that day, but 0:13:22.080 --> 0:13:25.760 I'll say that again. Mitch McConnell said, there's notion that 0:13:25.800 --> 0:13:29.439 African Americans can't vote, but they've voted at the highest 0:13:29.520 --> 0:13:33.800 levels like other Americans or as Americans. As American Americans 0:13:34.200 --> 0:13:38.560 are not Americans in twenty twenty two. So we're dealing 0:13:38.600 --> 0:13:41.040 with an old devil that we have always dealt with. 0:13:41.320 --> 0:13:43.400 Um I think right now it's just more blatant than 0:13:43.480 --> 0:13:47.880 ever before. And if you think in this moment, let 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:50.319 me just rest it back, it doesn't matter, doesn't count. 0:13:50.559 --> 0:13:52.920 Why would they be going through these great links if 0:13:52.960 --> 0:13:55.000 you didn't matter and if your vote didn't count. They're 0:13:55.000 --> 0:13:57.319 afraid of you. They're afraid of the American people. They're 0:13:57.320 --> 0:13:59.400 afraid of the American voter because they know that we 0:13:59.440 --> 0:14:01.760 are not on their side. So we have to show 0:14:01.760 --> 0:14:04.160 them that we're ready for the fight. And I encourage 0:14:04.160 --> 0:14:05.840 people to rest, but let's get ready. We gotta go. 0:14:06.840 --> 0:14:09.439 You know, Stephanie, a couple of things that you've said, 0:14:09.760 --> 0:14:13.240 you know, prompt so many different questions, But the first 0:14:13.240 --> 0:14:16.520 one that I want to ask you here is do 0:14:16.559 --> 0:14:24.000 you think that Democrats right recognize the urgency of this 0:14:24.080 --> 0:14:28.240 moment because even when you mentioned the fact that you know, 0:14:28.800 --> 0:14:33.000 longtime Hill staffer, right, like we we initially cross paths 0:14:33.040 --> 0:14:35.720 many many moons ago when when I was a fellow 0:14:35.720 --> 0:14:41.200 with the Congressional Black Caucus, and you know, I didn't 0:14:41.200 --> 0:14:43.400 realize that at the time that those are the glory days. 0:14:43.640 --> 0:14:46.800 Yet I would have had I would under siege, I 0:14:47.600 --> 0:14:50.800 would I would add no idea. But you know, do 0:14:50.880 --> 0:14:54.040 you think you know? And you said, like, we've been 0:14:54.080 --> 0:14:57.000 here before, we'll be here again. I think that this 0:14:57.040 --> 0:15:00.520 moment is different though, because I don't believe that once 0:15:00.760 --> 0:15:05.080 Republicans gain power, that whereover going to go back to 0:15:05.240 --> 0:15:07.920 what it was before. So do you think that the 0:15:08.280 --> 0:15:12.880 urgency of this, of the need for voting rights to 0:15:12.920 --> 0:15:16.600 secure our democracy, do you think it's being seen? Yeah? 0:15:16.760 --> 0:15:18.840 So two things. And I want to clarify when I 0:15:18.880 --> 0:15:20.480 when I met, we're going to be here again, meaning 0:15:20.720 --> 0:15:23.000 we're not going to not see the voting rights legislation 0:15:23.000 --> 0:15:25.680 come up again, right, Okay, so we'll see, Well, well 0:15:25.920 --> 0:15:29.080 we'll have another opportunity, I believe, right, and that is 0:15:29.160 --> 0:15:32.400 when and how hard we push um, you know, conquerors 0:15:32.400 --> 0:15:35.360 to the right thing. Yep, you're right, like we haven't 0:15:35.400 --> 0:15:38.120 been in this moment, and I think that we definitely 0:15:39.000 --> 0:15:43.120 if Republicans are um, you know, in the majority, they 0:15:43.160 --> 0:15:45.480 have shown this is only a fact, and again if 0:15:45.480 --> 0:15:48.600 they were Nonharts organizations, not only a fact that they 0:15:48.640 --> 0:15:51.080 have shown that they have no interest in ensuring that 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:53.440 the American people have equal access to the ballot box 0:15:53.440 --> 0:15:56.000 and that we have freem fair elections. Instead, they care 0:15:56.080 --> 0:15:59.120 more about how are they going to make sure that 0:15:59.200 --> 0:16:03.280 the electoral call process is to their liking in order 0:16:03.360 --> 0:16:08.600 to potentially try to legitimate the or make legitimate the 0:16:08.800 --> 0:16:13.280 argument that the twenty twenty election was raped or was wrong. 0:16:14.000 --> 0:16:17.000 So they've already shown where they stand when it comes 0:16:17.000 --> 0:16:18.880 to voting rights. And I don't want to get I 0:16:18.880 --> 0:16:22.520 don't want us to get confused about that, but I 0:16:22.560 --> 0:16:24.880 will say this. I think a problem is that voting 0:16:24.960 --> 0:16:29.160 rights has been painted as like a black issue. Yes rights, 0:16:29.200 --> 0:16:32.280 it's not a black issue. It is an American democracy issue. 0:16:32.640 --> 0:16:36.040 And as long as any politician, Democrat or Republican still 0:16:36.040 --> 0:16:38.440 believes this is a black people issue or a brown 0:16:38.520 --> 0:16:40.840 people issue, it won't get addressed in the way that 0:16:40.880 --> 0:16:43.200 it needs to be. And I can say that speaking 0:16:43.280 --> 0:16:48.160 as a formal federal government employee, that our issues are 0:16:48.240 --> 0:16:51.200 seen as sometimes like I don't want to say a 0:16:51.200 --> 0:16:53.960 pet project, but like a specialty project that you check 0:16:54.000 --> 0:16:56.640 in on a national holiday. Yeah, it's opposed to like 0:16:56.760 --> 0:16:59.920 being a part of Like it's an elective. If you're 0:17:00.000 --> 0:17:02.200 if you're if you're thinking about, if you're thinking about, 0:17:02.440 --> 0:17:04.640 you know, high school, you think about it's an elective. 0:17:04.960 --> 0:17:07.000 It's not part of the court. It's not you know. 0:17:07.160 --> 0:17:11.040 Voting rights has never been one of the core tenants. 0:17:11.400 --> 0:17:14.080 And I say this as a staunch Democrat, even of 0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:17.400 the Democratic Party. It is it has always been the 0:17:17.440 --> 0:17:20.600 thing that those a loud and complaining black and brown 0:17:20.680 --> 0:17:23.800 people over there with their signs, it's what they need. 0:17:24.080 --> 0:17:26.520 And I'm saying to myself, I'm like, this is this 0:17:26.760 --> 0:17:28.399 and it isn't you. I mean, I know that you 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:32.800 said your organization is nonpartisan. Voting rights is supposed to 0:17:32.840 --> 0:17:36.440 be a nonpartisan issue because in order to elect one 0:17:36.520 --> 0:17:39.919 party or the other, everyone needs to be able to vote. 0:17:40.000 --> 0:17:41.639 Everyone needs to be able to vote. And at the 0:17:41.720 --> 0:17:45.120 end of the day, like I think, the reason why 0:17:45.160 --> 0:17:46.960 it does not get the amount of attention that it 0:17:47.000 --> 0:17:49.720 deserves consistently, and the reason why we're in this moment 0:17:49.800 --> 0:17:51.359 is because it has been paint as a black issue, 0:17:51.359 --> 0:17:55.280 and I think that both Democrats and Republicans have couched 0:17:55.560 --> 0:17:57.399 in that way. I mean even when I go on 0:17:57.440 --> 0:18:00.040 television to talk about this, It was on MSMC the 0:18:00.200 --> 0:18:02.520 day and they're like, well, black, black people really want 0:18:02.600 --> 0:18:06.879 voting rights. That's what we all want, voting rights. And 0:18:06.920 --> 0:18:08.920 if you think that these five hundred voter suppression bilts 0:18:08.920 --> 0:18:12.360 to not unpact white people, working class people, people disabilities, 0:18:12.560 --> 0:18:15.840 then you're mistaken. It impacts all of us. And until 0:18:16.240 --> 0:18:20.680 politicians recognize that in both parties, then yeah, I think 0:18:20.720 --> 0:18:23.679 it always will be relegated to like the back of 0:18:23.720 --> 0:18:26.439 the line, a check, you know, a box checked right 0:18:26.480 --> 0:18:29.720 before election, another kind of pet project or an elective 0:18:29.760 --> 0:18:31.720 as you said, And I think it's a comment upon 0:18:32.720 --> 0:18:36.439 every American of goodwill, every American who believes in true democracy. 0:18:36.800 --> 0:18:38.520 They all need to stand up. We all have to 0:18:38.560 --> 0:18:40.919 stand up with our collective voices about voting rights and 0:18:40.960 --> 0:18:43.199 take this out of like the black and brown you 0:18:43.200 --> 0:18:46.639 know column, Let's do some good and give them a 0:18:46.720 --> 0:18:48.520 right to vote. Like what are we even talking about. 0:18:48.560 --> 0:18:51.680 It's twenty twenty two, So I think that's that's one 0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:55.040 of the things that has bothered me in this conversation consistently. 0:18:55.320 --> 0:18:59.400 And I think that that's why the administration frankly approached 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:01.600 it in this way, because they catch it as a 0:19:01.640 --> 0:19:05.640 minority issue as opposed to a real problem, an issue 0:19:05.720 --> 0:19:09.760 for our democracy, Like are you kidding me? We're talking 0:19:09.800 --> 0:19:12.760 about over five hundred bills and they've passed in places 0:19:12.800 --> 0:19:16.200 like Texas and Georgia. We know this, um. And and 0:19:16.359 --> 0:19:19.879 in Florida right now, the governor is literally talking about 0:19:19.960 --> 0:19:26.200 having police like election police were not intimidation, um. And 0:19:26.240 --> 0:19:29.240 that is the trauma in which we've experienced generation after 0:19:29.280 --> 0:19:32.760 generation after generation as black people in this country. But 0:19:32.800 --> 0:19:35.120 now others will be subjected to it because again, this 0:19:35.200 --> 0:19:39.320 is not just a black issue, you know. Um. There 0:19:39.520 --> 0:19:44.359 is so much that is wrong right now. And I 0:19:44.400 --> 0:19:47.959 believe that, like myself, people who were holding onto this 0:19:48.040 --> 0:19:51.600 mustard seat of hope in the twenty twenty election, believe 0:19:51.720 --> 0:19:55.040 that a majority of our problems would go away if, 0:19:55.080 --> 0:19:57.480 in fact, we could come out in the midst of 0:19:57.520 --> 0:20:01.480 a health pandemic, stand out in line and do our 0:20:01.600 --> 0:20:06.119 part to vote out Donald Trump, right, a man that 0:20:06.200 --> 0:20:10.520 had become a cancer on this country and still continues 0:20:10.560 --> 0:20:15.880 to be and bring in a new administration, put adults 0:20:15.920 --> 0:20:19.280 back in charge and at the table. How do you, 0:20:20.960 --> 0:20:24.800 as an executive director of an organization that is about 0:20:24.800 --> 0:20:28.159 getting people to vote, what do you say now to 0:20:28.240 --> 0:20:31.680 the disenchanted right to the And I don't even want 0:20:31.680 --> 0:20:34.879 to say disenchanted, because I honestly believe you know, and 0:20:35.200 --> 0:20:38.880 my mother and my family members who are staunch Democrats 0:20:38.920 --> 0:20:41.800 watching MSNBC every single day, like voting and all of 0:20:41.840 --> 0:20:44.600 the things, are saying to me, what does it matter? 0:20:45.160 --> 0:20:48.199 And I think that there is a deep grief Stephanie, 0:20:48.200 --> 0:20:50.960 that is there right, Like there is a deep sadness 0:20:51.000 --> 0:20:53.080 that I don't even think that we talk about enough 0:20:53.600 --> 0:20:58.880 that people have about not being heard or seen or counted. Right, 0:20:58.960 --> 0:21:02.159 and that quote unquot nothing has changed. So what do 0:21:02.240 --> 0:21:06.879 you say to that aggrieved voter who said, I stood 0:21:06.880 --> 0:21:11.320 in line, I did my part, I've registered people, I donated. 0:21:11.760 --> 0:21:14.160 How are you telling me that we can't get voting 0:21:14.240 --> 0:21:16.679 rights passed, that we can't get police reform passed, and 0:21:16.720 --> 0:21:20.919 Democrats are uncharged. Yeah, look, I think that you know, 0:21:20.960 --> 0:21:22.800 I think about this every day because I have to 0:21:22.840 --> 0:21:25.600 motivate a team and there's a lot of young people 0:21:25.600 --> 0:21:28.560 in my team who've never worked in politics, who've never 0:21:28.600 --> 0:21:31.479 been through presidential cycles, who don't kind of know what 0:21:31.520 --> 0:21:33.840 this world is like. And let's be clear, we're an 0:21:33.880 --> 0:21:37.080 impresident at times, so it is different. And I have 0:21:37.119 --> 0:21:39.760 to talk to myself and give myself pep talks every 0:21:39.800 --> 0:21:42.080 single day. But I do know that this work is righteous, 0:21:42.080 --> 0:21:43.679 and I do know that this work is good. And 0:21:43.720 --> 0:21:46.240 I do know that your votes and your time, your 0:21:46.240 --> 0:21:48.440 effort are not in vade. And I think that a 0:21:50.080 --> 0:21:54.199 component of voter suppression is to depress you, is to 0:21:54.280 --> 0:21:56.600 make you feel like you know, there's no light at 0:21:56.600 --> 0:21:59.080 the end of the tunnel, it's never going to work, 0:21:59.160 --> 0:22:03.719 it doesn't matter. And that psychological suppression, you know, creates 0:22:03.800 --> 0:22:06.560 your athlete And I think that we have to guard 0:22:06.560 --> 0:22:10.760 ourselves and be careful by tutoring too close to the edge. 0:22:10.760 --> 0:22:13.160 And look, we're in a global pandemic still. My sister 0:22:13.359 --> 0:22:15.919 is fighting COVID right now, like we are in a 0:22:16.040 --> 0:22:20.160 situation where we're just we're being hit on by every direction. 0:22:20.280 --> 0:22:22.239 And first I want to say to the people who 0:22:22.280 --> 0:22:25.960 did show up, to the people who did vote, donate, volunteer, 0:22:26.040 --> 0:22:29.320 did all those things, We thank you, we appreciate you, 0:22:29.880 --> 0:22:32.080 and we hope that right now that you're getting your 0:22:32.160 --> 0:22:34.880 rest and know that your work was not in vain. 0:22:35.080 --> 0:22:38.640 And you know, I think that like one other thing 0:22:38.720 --> 0:22:40.800 to to kind of think through besides the fact that 0:22:40.840 --> 0:22:44.480 this is a psychological like warfare as well. It really is. 0:22:44.720 --> 0:22:47.920 So it's not just like physical manifestation of Okay, we're 0:22:47.920 --> 0:22:49.800 going to take away your early voting hours, but it 0:22:50.080 --> 0:22:53.320 is that psychological warfare as well. Is that, you know, 0:22:53.359 --> 0:22:57.560 a part of our duty as as American citizens citizens 0:22:57.720 --> 0:23:00.560 is to fully be a part of our government, and 0:23:00.920 --> 0:23:04.960 voting is only that one piece, It is not all 0:23:05.000 --> 0:23:08.520 of it. And I think that sometimes we put a 0:23:08.560 --> 0:23:11.080 lot of emphasis in just voting, But when I look 0:23:11.080 --> 0:23:14.280 at the stairstep of like engagement, that's just the first step. 0:23:14.680 --> 0:23:16.800 And what we have to do is that we have 0:23:17.000 --> 0:23:21.320 to keep and hold our elected officials accountable. And how 0:23:21.320 --> 0:23:22.880 do we do that. We do that in a multitude 0:23:22.920 --> 0:23:24.960 of different ways. You do that by picking up the 0:23:24.960 --> 0:23:27.080 phone and calling them and tell them how displeased or 0:23:27.119 --> 0:23:29.640 pleased that you are with them, and just as downtrive 0:23:29.800 --> 0:23:32.400 that you might be. Trust me, the Congress and those 0:23:32.400 --> 0:23:34.800 senators they're failing the same way too, and they sometimes 0:23:34.840 --> 0:23:36.840 see that motivation know that they're doing the right thing. 0:23:37.640 --> 0:23:40.960 I also encourage people to make sure that you're you're 0:23:41.000 --> 0:23:44.840 feeding yourself with a community of people who believe in 0:23:44.840 --> 0:23:47.040 the dream of what this country is supposed to be. Right, 0:23:47.560 --> 0:23:50.000 I think our democracy, I think I think we're mourning 0:23:50.280 --> 0:23:53.280 because we thought that we had a true democracy and 0:23:53.320 --> 0:23:55.560 everything was intact. And I think that we are just 0:23:55.880 --> 0:23:58.960 finally realizing that this is a work that we haven't 0:23:59.040 --> 0:24:02.040 yet realized, and that it's going to take all of 0:24:02.040 --> 0:24:06.239 our collective efforts consistently from advocating for the issues that 0:24:06.280 --> 0:24:10.080 we care about, by staying unfortunately in the streets and 0:24:10.720 --> 0:24:15.320 voices in that way, you know, by joining organizations like ours. 0:24:15.320 --> 0:24:16.960 We try to make it as easy as possible to 0:24:17.000 --> 0:24:19.360 build community within your own community of people who want 0:24:19.359 --> 0:24:22.479 to do this work, and by staying with it and 0:24:22.520 --> 0:24:25.480 staying at it. I also say this, like, and it's 0:24:25.520 --> 0:24:28.360 not to scare people, but you know what, right now, 0:24:28.480 --> 0:24:30.120 there's something that's going on and I don't think people 0:24:30.119 --> 0:24:32.560 are paying attention to it. Is that there are these 0:24:33.640 --> 0:24:36.119 characters of people around the country who are running for 0:24:36.160 --> 0:24:40.240 secretaries of state and most people that control the election 0:24:40.359 --> 0:24:42.760 in that state, and they have all said, all of 0:24:42.800 --> 0:24:45.760 these different characters, its cast of characters, that they would 0:24:45.800 --> 0:24:49.080 not have certified the twenty twenty election. I kid you not. 0:24:49.840 --> 0:24:52.959 They are preparing to hopefully elect these people to not 0:24:53.080 --> 0:24:56.920 certify the twenty twenty four election. So we just don't 0:24:56.960 --> 0:25:00.000 have a We don't have to choice to get dis 0:25:00.080 --> 0:25:03.800 urage and back down in this moment. And I'm torn 0:25:03.880 --> 0:25:07.200