WEBVTT - From Hollywood to the Senate: The Fight for Change 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:01.680 I'm Tamika d. Mallory and the. 0:00:01.680 --> 0:00:03.239 Ship Boy my Son in general. 0:00:03.320 --> 0:00:05.040 We are your host of t M. 0:00:05.120 --> 0:00:09.600 I Tamika and my Son's Information, Truth, Motivation and Inspiration, 0:00:10.080 --> 0:00:11.960 name New Energy. 0:00:14.800 --> 0:00:16.079 What's good my son Lennon? 0:00:17.040 --> 0:00:21.480 Oh, you know, life, life be life, and so I'm 0:00:21.520 --> 0:00:23.320 just putting up with it. 0:00:23.320 --> 0:00:27.880 It's crazy, Like my thoughts about what we've been discussed today, 0:00:28.680 --> 0:00:31.520 it's so different from last week to what is going 0:00:31.560 --> 0:00:36.240 on in the world today. It's really just everything. Every 0:00:36.280 --> 0:00:38.920 America is like the gift that keeps on giving. But 0:00:39.120 --> 0:00:42.120 you know, I don't know. I don't know about the gifts, 0:00:42.520 --> 0:00:44.880 but it gives all the time. 0:00:45.400 --> 0:00:48.479 Yeah, America is very strange, man. I just try to 0:00:48.520 --> 0:00:51.960 find the little joy man that I can. You know, 0:00:52.080 --> 0:00:54.800 my my son won his championship. Shout out to Caston. 0:00:55.720 --> 0:01:00.240 You know, he plays with the Red Bulls young team 0:01:01.080 --> 0:01:04.959 and they had a tournament this weekend that was draining. 0:01:05.040 --> 0:01:06.760 It was like one hundred degrees out there. I don't 0:01:06.760 --> 0:01:09.440 even know how those kids play in these soccer games, 0:01:09.480 --> 0:01:14.120 but they was undefeated. They looked like a professional team 0:01:14.160 --> 0:01:16.440 out there. So I want to shout out them. Shout 0:01:16.440 --> 0:01:19.200 out all the soccer parents who are out there cheering 0:01:19.319 --> 0:01:22.000 and you know, doing what we do. So it was 0:01:22.040 --> 0:01:25.360 a dope event, you know, just watching him, just seeing 0:01:25.400 --> 0:01:28.040 him just grow like when you you know, when you 0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:31.119 when you play sports, because I played sports my whole 0:01:31.120 --> 0:01:35.160 life and I played basketball, and you don't you don't 0:01:35.160 --> 0:01:39.920 really see or you don't know how you and you 0:01:39.959 --> 0:01:43.000 know how you getting better. But I'm just watching him, 0:01:43.040 --> 0:01:45.759 like he started at five years old and he's now 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:49.480 ten and for the last five years, just watching him 0:01:49.520 --> 0:01:54.080 grow and his skill level just increase so much because 0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:56.720 he really loves the sports. So just shout out to 0:01:56.760 --> 0:01:58.960 him and shout out to the team. So that's why 0:01:59.000 --> 0:02:01.200 I find my joy and this stuff. And then you 0:02:01.280 --> 0:02:04.160 got to come back to the real world. We're all 0:02:04.240 --> 0:02:08.079 of you know, the nonsense is happening. It's just like, Lord, 0:02:08.080 --> 0:02:10.000 have much we can't get. We can't get it. Broke 0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:10.880 a break. 0:02:10.639 --> 0:02:14.920 Man, Yeah, no, I mean, it's it's a lot. Put 0:02:14.919 --> 0:02:19.119 it that way. But I also had a great weekend 0:02:19.280 --> 0:02:22.119 of spending time with my family. It was my family reunion. 0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:25.280 I have terrible allergies that I'm dealing with as a 0:02:25.320 --> 0:02:28.560 result of being in that whatever they call it, I 0:02:28.560 --> 0:02:31.160 mean the heat in Alabama and I know it was 0:02:31.200 --> 0:02:34.959 hot everywhere across the country, but the heat in Alabama 0:02:35.160 --> 0:02:37.560 was like nothing I've ever felt in my life before, 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:41.440 especially as I was leaving on the last day. It 0:02:41.480 --> 0:02:44.800 was the hottest day. And oh man, I mean you 0:02:44.840 --> 0:02:47.640 couldn't even stand outside to put your suitcase in the 0:02:47.720 --> 0:02:51.720 car without sweating all over. It was so hot. But 0:02:51.880 --> 0:02:54.320 it was hot and it was fun. We had a 0:02:54.360 --> 0:02:58.600 great time. My family. Every two years we get together, 0:02:58.680 --> 0:03:02.679 you know, I notice. I was just thinking, like how 0:03:02.760 --> 0:03:07.200 important it is to try to bring family together. I 0:03:07.360 --> 0:03:11.640 notice that in my family, like all the generations, even 0:03:11.680 --> 0:03:14.720 the little kids are excited because they know they're going 0:03:14.800 --> 0:03:19.440 to get an award for who graduated and you know 0:03:19.560 --> 0:03:23.200 who's done this and that and the best you know, 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:27.359 reading scores and whatever. Ethic is so important. Like if 0:03:27.360 --> 0:03:31.400 we don't reward our children and let them feel like 0:03:31.560 --> 0:03:36.600 they are, like they're being celebrated from their family and 0:03:36.680 --> 0:03:39.080 from their community, that's like where do they go? So 0:03:39.200 --> 0:03:42.200 I love that about my family reunion. Every two years 0:03:42.200 --> 0:03:44.720 we get together in a different state and moves around. 0:03:45.480 --> 0:03:49.720 And that also gives a young person or a person 0:03:49.840 --> 0:03:52.960 period who may not ever go out of town anywhere. 0:03:53.400 --> 0:03:56.160 The opportunity to, you know, get to go out and 0:03:56.200 --> 0:03:58.800 see things that's happening in the world. So I'll be 0:03:58.880 --> 0:04:01.280 happy about it. I get really really excited, and I 0:04:01.360 --> 0:04:06.560 make it a priority. But yes, hot is an understatement 0:04:06.600 --> 0:04:09.280 in terms of what's been going on. But let me 0:04:09.360 --> 0:04:14.160 get to my thought of the day. So this is 0:04:14.200 --> 0:04:18.839 a topic that I think some people will. You know, 0:04:18.960 --> 0:04:21.960 people always coming after me like, oh, we have to, 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:25.120 you know, be careful what we say right now, because 0:04:25.680 --> 0:04:29.840 you know, we don't we don't want to excuse me. 0:04:29.839 --> 0:04:32.640 We don't want to offer Donald Trump any chips. And 0:04:32.720 --> 0:04:36.000 I get that. So of course, you know, I'm anti 0:04:36.160 --> 0:04:42.200 Trump becoming president all the way. But you know, something 0:04:42.320 --> 0:04:46.200 has been giving me like a cringey feeling, and I 0:04:46.240 --> 0:04:49.520 wanted to make it my thought of the day for 0:04:49.640 --> 0:04:53.640 others and for you to chime in. I keep seeing 0:04:53.720 --> 0:04:58.279 people say that Donald Trump is a convicted FELA, and 0:04:59.360 --> 0:05:04.560 they are like using it as you know, it's like 0:05:05.160 --> 0:05:08.000 it's like it's like when they say it, they're saying 0:05:08.040 --> 0:05:11.839 it with a certain level of disdain. Right, and granted 0:05:12.839 --> 0:05:22.240 his charges, his his his consistent, consistent illegal activity that 0:05:22.560 --> 0:05:25.560 has been going on before he even ran for president, 0:05:25.640 --> 0:05:29.440 This is stuff that people didn't necessarily know, but it's 0:05:29.480 --> 0:05:37.760 been uncovered, the lies and his racist behavior and just 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:42.159 just his his what I'm looking for the right word 0:05:43.080 --> 0:05:46.640 criminal activity period. He's just that's it. I mean, it's 0:05:46.680 --> 0:05:52.039 so clear. And so I understand. I completely understand that 0:05:52.240 --> 0:05:55.680 in his case, or in the case of Donald Trump, 0:05:56.320 --> 0:05:59.920 when people say he's a convicted felon, they're really speaking 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:06.000 to the rate charges. And you know, the colossal, if 0:06:06.040 --> 0:06:10.479 you will, of findings by the courts, jury, of his 0:06:10.600 --> 0:06:15.080 peers and others who know that he has been criminal 0:06:15.160 --> 0:06:20.520 mind criminal activity for a long time. Got it. But 0:06:20.640 --> 0:06:25.360 there is something about me hearing people say, oh, if 0:06:25.360 --> 0:06:29.520 you want a convicted felon to be your president, you know, 0:06:29.560 --> 0:06:33.200 he's a convicted felon, and it's being used a certain 0:06:33.240 --> 0:06:36.320 way that just gives me a cringy feeling, because I 0:06:36.360 --> 0:06:39.840 don't ever want us to get into the habit of 0:06:40.040 --> 0:06:44.360 looking at people who have felonies, right, everybody who has 0:06:44.360 --> 0:06:47.279 a felony and being able to say they are not 0:06:47.440 --> 0:06:51.320 qualified for xyz thing because they have a felony. So 0:06:51.520 --> 0:06:54.720 I was trying to figure out how to balance those 0:06:54.760 --> 0:06:59.839 two conversations, because I understand all the dangers of Donald Trump. 0:07:00.200 --> 0:07:04.040 I understand that he should not become president again of 0:07:04.080 --> 0:07:08.960 the United States. I understand how dangerous, problematic, and the 0:07:09.000 --> 0:07:12.440 type of energy that he brings up in the country, 0:07:12.480 --> 0:07:16.880 the type of energy that he creates, the toxicness of 0:07:16.920 --> 0:07:22.440 his participation in the society that we live in, being 0:07:22.480 --> 0:07:26.440 on TV throwing out there, you know, just constantly every 0:07:26.520 --> 0:07:29.640 time you hear from him, there's something that he says 0:07:30.040 --> 0:07:34.160 that absolutely one hundred percent make lets me know and 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:38.000 reminds me and confirms for me that this man is 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:41.200 not fit to be president. So I get that, and 0:07:41.240 --> 0:07:46.800 I also understand those people who say, well, in addition 0:07:46.920 --> 0:07:50.320 to that, if you have a felony and you can 0:07:50.400 --> 0:07:53.040 still run for president, then we need to look at 0:07:53.080 --> 0:07:57.760 the laws that act everyday people live under and how 0:07:57.880 --> 0:08:02.640 their lives are being impacted by having a felony conviction. Right. 0:08:02.880 --> 0:08:06.200 So I think that those things are very clear. Donald 0:08:06.240 --> 0:08:10.360 Trump dangerous, bad for the country as far as I'm concerned. 0:08:10.720 --> 0:08:14.720 And if you are a convicted felon and Donald Trump 0:08:14.760 --> 0:08:16.960 has one set of rules, then there's to be the 0:08:17.000 --> 0:08:20.280 same rules for others. And in fact, we need to 0:08:20.440 --> 0:08:24.080 look at we need to review how people living with 0:08:24.240 --> 0:08:27.680 felonies are existing in the world in general, because we 0:08:27.840 --> 0:08:31.160 know that there is the what is it the collateral 0:08:31.280 --> 0:08:35.600 consequences that our brother Jay Jordan talks about to a 0:08:35.640 --> 0:08:39.319 person coming home with a felony. So that's those things 0:08:39.360 --> 0:08:44.280 I understand. But I still cringe when I see certain people, 0:08:44.840 --> 0:08:49.640 especially white folks, writing convicted fela, convicted felon, because I 0:08:49.720 --> 0:08:52.840 feel like that does not just stop at Donald Trump 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:57.040 and all the truths around him. It extends to a 0:08:57.120 --> 0:09:01.120 community of people who, to be quite clear, I would 0:09:01.200 --> 0:09:04.800 prefer to have some of my friends that had felonies 0:09:05.120 --> 0:09:09.000 to lead me any day over certain people who have none, 0:09:09.280 --> 0:09:11.960 no felony, and I don't trust them. So I just, 0:09:12.280 --> 0:09:14.480 you know, I know that for some people it's kind 0:09:14.480 --> 0:09:16.160 of like what the fuck we're talking about, because you 0:09:16.280 --> 0:09:18.840 know what, you know why we're saying what we're saying. 0:09:19.360 --> 0:09:23.880 But I still feel a little cringey when I hear it, and. 0:09:23.880 --> 0:09:26.920 I understand, you know, and you know, being a convicted 0:09:26.920 --> 0:09:32.120 feeling you know, I'm definitely advocating for rehabilitation right for 0:09:32.280 --> 0:09:36.320 the opportunity to show that I can be a productive 0:09:36.360 --> 0:09:39.320 member of society. I think it's about actions, right, I 0:09:39.320 --> 0:09:42.480 think it's less about words than actions. I think in 0:09:43.200 --> 0:09:48.200 Donald Trump's situation is multifaceted. Right, when we talk about 0:09:48.240 --> 0:09:55.079 him being a convicted felon, there's never been any rehabilitation 0:09:55.240 --> 0:09:59.319 or retribution from Donald Trump. He's consistently had a lifestyle, 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:02.760 a way in which he lived his life that is 0:10:02.840 --> 0:10:06.200 criminal rights. That's who he is. So when people say 0:10:06.240 --> 0:10:10.319 he's a convicted felam and he just got convicted yesterday, right, 0:10:10.400 --> 0:10:13.840 so what has he done to show that. Okay, I 0:10:13.920 --> 0:10:16.040 just got convicted of a crime yesterday that I did 0:10:16.040 --> 0:10:18.480 three or four years ago, and I'm still living the 0:10:18.480 --> 0:10:21.560 same way. So when we're sitting there having this conversation 0:10:21.600 --> 0:10:24.880 about Donald Trump, it's not like the average person who 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:28.480 has sat and done their time in prison, and during 0:10:28.480 --> 0:10:31.240 the time them during their time in prison, you've seen 0:10:31.320 --> 0:10:34.520 them grow. You've watched the evolution of that individual. They've 0:10:34.720 --> 0:10:39.000 written books, they've they've created programs within the prison system. 0:10:39.080 --> 0:10:41.880 For ten years straight, they lived their lives in a 0:10:41.920 --> 0:10:45.240 different manner outside of the criminal activity that it was 0:10:45.280 --> 0:10:48.720 convicted of. Right, So they're showing you that they want 0:10:48.800 --> 0:10:51.880 to be rehability, they have been rehabilitated, and they want 0:10:51.920 --> 0:10:54.520 to be a productive member of society. So I think 0:10:54.679 --> 0:10:56.480 both of those things are right. I think, yeah, we 0:10:56.840 --> 0:11:00.720 need to also look at, you know, how these collateral 0:11:00.800 --> 0:11:06.040 damages affect felons and people who have been convicted of crimes. 0:11:06.240 --> 0:11:09.280 If we're gonna say that what Donald Trump did is okay, 0:11:09.320 --> 0:11:10.959 and he can still run for president if you can 0:11:11.040 --> 0:11:16.079 run for the highest position in the land. But you 0:11:16.120 --> 0:11:20.199 can't be a barber, right, but you can't. You can't 0:11:20.880 --> 0:11:23.920 help at the basketball at the school. Right, you can't 0:11:23.960 --> 0:11:26.040 do none of these things. But you can run for 0:11:26.160 --> 0:11:28.560 where you could get the codes to the bombs, and 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:31.880 you can raise World War. You can do anything you 0:11:31.920 --> 0:11:35.040 want to. You can rewrite the constitution, you can put 0:11:35.400 --> 0:11:38.720 justices in office. Right when you telling me that you 0:11:38.760 --> 0:11:41.680 can do all those things as a as not just 0:11:41.760 --> 0:11:46.719 a felon, but a recently convicted individual of crimes. Right 0:11:46.760 --> 0:11:50.120 where your whole cabinet, pretty much everybody who ran in 0:11:50.160 --> 0:11:52.520 your cabinet, who is a part of your administration is 0:11:52.600 --> 0:11:57.880 locked up. Right, you use the presidency as a criminal enterprise, 0:11:58.040 --> 0:12:01.800 like U reco charge stem from being the president. 0:12:01.880 --> 0:12:05.120 Actually in New York, what he was found guilty of 0:12:05.640 --> 0:12:09.720 is like inflating his business numbers and work his net 0:12:09.760 --> 0:12:13.640 worth or his value rather so that they get loans 0:12:13.679 --> 0:12:16.880 and all that. He's been doing that for decades now, 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:19.959 you know what I'm saying. So these are continuous crimes. 0:12:20.120 --> 0:12:23.320 And that's the point that I'm making. It's a hard 0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:27.920 person to choose to make the point on, right, because 0:12:28.120 --> 0:12:31.480 it's Donald Trump, and we already know again this man 0:12:31.600 --> 0:12:34.520 is a he's criminal minds like the TV show right 0:12:34.800 --> 0:12:36.560 he like you said, that was the word I was 0:12:36.559 --> 0:12:41.679 looking for, a lifestyle of crime and racism, right, So 0:12:41.760 --> 0:12:45.600 I already I understand that. What I'm saying, though, is 0:12:45.640 --> 0:12:48.880 that when I hear people or I see people, especially 0:12:49.000 --> 0:12:53.080 white folks, writing I don't want to convicted felon that's 0:12:53.160 --> 0:12:56.800 my president, you know, convicted fell in this and convicted 0:12:56.800 --> 0:12:59.800 felling that, I just feel a little bit of cringing 0:13:00.320 --> 0:13:04.200 because if that applies to a white man, then it 0:13:04.240 --> 0:13:07.120 makes me feel like it's very possible that it could 0:13:07.200 --> 0:13:10.959 also apply to black folks, brown folks and other people. 0:13:11.040 --> 0:13:14.480 The problem is, and it does, and it does. 0:13:15.800 --> 0:13:18.600 That's what Yeah, that's for My thing is like I 0:13:18.640 --> 0:13:21.160 came on from prison and I couldn't even travel. I 0:13:21.240 --> 0:13:23.800 was on. I came on for prison from a crime 0:13:23.840 --> 0:13:27.320 that I was convicted that supposedly happened, you know, in 0:13:27.400 --> 0:13:31.280 nineteen ninety seven, in two thousand and six, right, and 0:13:31.360 --> 0:13:33.960 I wasn't able to travel and do just do life. 0:13:34.400 --> 0:13:37.600 I wasn't able to travel to do business. I wasn't 0:13:37.600 --> 0:13:39.680 able to get my life back on you look at Bg. 0:13:40.080 --> 0:13:44.040 BG was convicted of a crime years ago, spent about 0:13:44.040 --> 0:13:46.760 thirteen years in prison to come home to something to 0:13:46.760 --> 0:13:49.320 tell him that he can't even go perform that They 0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:51.240 got to look at the songs, right, So this is 0:13:51.240 --> 0:13:52.880 what I'm trying to look at Meek Mill, he was 0:13:52.880 --> 0:13:55.760 on paper for eleven years for a problem that he 0:13:55.840 --> 0:14:01.520 committed as a teenager. So these collateral damages have altered 0:14:01.840 --> 0:14:05.040 meant a bunch of our lives. So how can somebody 0:14:05.559 --> 0:14:08.320 who just got convicted of a crime just be able 0:14:08.360 --> 0:14:10.720 to go to the highest court of the land and 0:14:10.760 --> 0:14:12.960 be it, I mean the highest position in the land 0:14:13.320 --> 0:14:17.199 and be able to write laws and write. 0:14:16.920 --> 0:14:24.200 Into practice laws well not really right, get laws. 0:14:24.320 --> 0:14:27.800 He has the ability to influence the laws that can 0:14:28.200 --> 0:14:31.360 pretty much wipe out what he did wrong, and he 0:14:31.400 --> 0:14:33.360 can influence it to say that no one did it. 0:14:33.400 --> 0:14:36.560 With the Supreme court he did it. I mean, they 0:14:36.680 --> 0:14:40.520 now have made the decision that if he if if 0:14:40.680 --> 0:14:45.800 his actions were committed as president, then more than likely 0:14:46.280 --> 0:14:50.600 they are not seen as illegal, and you know it 0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:54.680 is permitted or permissible, and you know, and I think 0:14:54.720 --> 0:14:58.760 that the bottom line to what I was thinking is 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:03.600 that there has to be a like America in and 0:15:03.640 --> 0:15:06.800 of itself. The layers have to be pulled open at 0:15:06.840 --> 0:15:09.600 some point in order for us to continue. We can't 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:14.200 keep like sweeping all of these things up, trying to 0:15:14.200 --> 0:15:16.960 push it in the corner, stick it under the rug, 0:15:17.360 --> 0:15:20.160 put it in the closet so people can come by 0:15:20.240 --> 0:15:22.760 and see us and think we're so beautiful and great. 0:15:23.280 --> 0:15:27.680 It is absolutely a country that I love, and I'm 0:15:27.800 --> 0:15:30.960 sure that you have parts about this country that you 0:15:31.080 --> 0:15:35.040 love as well. Right, But there is some deep rooted 0:15:35.440 --> 0:15:39.480 stuff that has not been addressed that we have to 0:15:39.600 --> 0:15:43.520 get to the heart of. Because again, when I listen 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:48.000 to people talk about Donald Trump being a convicted felon, 0:15:48.720 --> 0:15:52.440 right and them not wanting him to be president, what 0:15:52.560 --> 0:15:55.680 I understand is that what they're saying is one hundred 0:15:55.680 --> 0:15:58.960 percent right. But I also know that there are people 0:15:59.000 --> 0:16:02.200 who don't want pool to get a job because he's 0:16:02.240 --> 0:16:03.800 a convicted felon, and. 0:16:03.760 --> 0:16:05.720 I do want to he said it, and that's that's 0:16:05.720 --> 0:16:06.320 what the thing. 0:16:06.280 --> 0:16:08.160 Is for me, and I want to know what the 0:16:08.280 --> 0:16:12.720 standards are I wanted. I'm hoping that this opens up 0:16:12.800 --> 0:16:17.240 an opportunity to look at the standards that we're holding 0:16:17.640 --> 0:16:20.800 because if one is true, which is like you said, 0:16:20.880 --> 0:16:25.160 Poky's always been impacted and unable to work and unable. 0:16:25.400 --> 0:16:28.120 But here is a man that people are having to 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:31.200 try to use the fact that he's a convicted felon 0:16:31.480 --> 0:16:35.560 as a way to deter folks from voting for him. Right, 0:16:35.840 --> 0:16:38.800 That's that's what they're trying to use. And meanwhile, he 0:16:39.000 --> 0:16:43.800 just was a bad president. So listen everyone, today we 0:16:43.960 --> 0:16:51.720 are interrupting our entire show, our regularly scheduled programming, to 0:16:51.840 --> 0:16:55.840 bring a guest that is so important to us, someone 0:16:55.880 --> 0:16:59.720 who is a friend, a friend to us personally, a 0:16:59.760 --> 0:17:03.360 friend to TMI. The last time he was on, we 0:17:03.360 --> 0:17:08.840 were street Politicians, and he's here now under our new branding, 0:17:09.640 --> 0:17:12.919 but also a friend to the community, a friend to 0:17:13.000 --> 0:17:15.960 the people, and you all know him from your TV 0:17:16.080 --> 0:17:22.320 screens over many, many, many many years. His track record 0:17:22.800 --> 0:17:27.240 and his portfolio is extensive, and so you can go 0:17:27.359 --> 0:17:30.360 and do all the research and the reminders on the 0:17:30.400 --> 0:17:34.680 great Hill Harper and all of the entertainment that he's 0:17:34.680 --> 0:17:39.840 bought us over the years. Serious entertainment, real entertainment, fun entertainment. 0:17:40.119 --> 0:17:43.399 But what he's doing right now is not entertainment. It 0:17:43.480 --> 0:17:47.200 is serious. And we want to make sure that all 0:17:47.280 --> 0:17:50.560 of our listeners at every part of this country that 0:17:50.600 --> 0:17:54.280 you are aware that Hill Harper is a candidate for 0:17:54.640 --> 0:17:59.199 United States Senate, but especially if you are in the 0:17:59.280 --> 0:18:02.959 state of Mission, it is important that you all know 0:18:03.200 --> 0:18:06.919 that your vote is necessary. I believe it's first of August, 0:18:07.000 --> 0:18:09.800 think it's August six, but we're gonna hear that directly 0:18:09.880 --> 0:18:15.960 from Hill in a moment. There is a lot at 0:18:16.040 --> 0:18:18.800 stake in this election, and there are a lot of 0:18:18.880 --> 0:18:23.080 big money interest groups that are attempting to snuff out 0:18:23.200 --> 0:18:26.160 the will of the people and to stop us from 0:18:26.200 --> 0:18:29.040 being able to put people in office that we have 0:18:29.160 --> 0:18:33.320 all said very clearly we want to see leading this country. 0:18:33.560 --> 0:18:35.840 We are trying to go in a new direction. But 0:18:36.000 --> 0:18:39.359 as we work hard to turn the tide, there are 0:18:39.440 --> 0:18:42.280 people who will work just as hard, if not harder, 0:18:42.600 --> 0:18:45.320 to turn it back or to keep it in a 0:18:45.359 --> 0:18:49.200 way that is not beneficial to our communities. And so today, 0:18:49.480 --> 0:18:53.080 as I said, we've interrupted our entire show to bring 0:18:53.359 --> 0:18:56.600 Hill Harper on and allow him to talk about what's 0:18:56.600 --> 0:19:00.679 happening in his race and just why is this even important? 0:19:00.920 --> 0:19:04.560 Why even run for Senate knowing that there would be 0:19:04.720 --> 0:19:07.679 so much, so much to come against him as he 0:19:07.920 --> 0:19:12.040 attempts to uh to to become the United States Senator 0:19:12.320 --> 0:19:16.600 from Michigan. So, Hill Harper, thank you so very much 0:19:16.640 --> 0:19:20.040 for joining TMI today. We appreciate you so much and 0:19:20.080 --> 0:19:21.120 it's good to see you. 0:19:21.560 --> 0:19:24.440 Thank you both for having me on this. These types 0:19:24.480 --> 0:19:28.040 of conversations is so important, and it's so important to 0:19:28.040 --> 0:19:31.199 spread the word. So you are offering this platform for 0:19:31.280 --> 0:19:34.479 us to have this discussion is huge. So thank you, 0:19:34.600 --> 0:19:35.879 thank you, thank you, thank you. 0:19:36.000 --> 0:19:36.160 Hill. 0:19:36.680 --> 0:19:38.520 I just want to know, you know, just being a 0:19:38.560 --> 0:19:42.960 fan of yours and just watching you as an artist, 0:19:43.080 --> 0:19:46.560 as an actor, and just just knowing you you know 0:19:46.640 --> 0:19:48.760 a lot more personally, I want to know what made 0:19:48.840 --> 0:19:51.240 you take the lead from that to this. 0:19:51.880 --> 0:19:56.480 You know, so many people are hurting and and and 0:19:56.720 --> 0:19:59.320 and you're talking about in every level, I mean almost 0:19:59.400 --> 0:20:03.080 every categgory, particularly when it comes to communities that have 0:20:03.160 --> 0:20:13.520 experienced generational poverty, under education, hyper mass incarceration, violence, crime, etcetera. 0:20:13.680 --> 0:20:17.240 All of the ills that we talk about. It's getting worse. 0:20:17.359 --> 0:20:19.560 And folks know and. 0:20:19.560 --> 0:20:23.359 Can feel that there's a fix in that they don't 0:20:23.359 --> 0:20:26.280 have a partner in government that's actually helping. And so 0:20:26.640 --> 0:20:29.520 when we think about the United States Senate, it is 0:20:29.560 --> 0:20:34.600 the most powerful deliberative body in the world. It determines 0:20:34.960 --> 0:20:39.800 the distribution annually. One thing about this. One hundred people 0:20:39.800 --> 0:20:44.440 in this country determine how seven point two trillion dollars 0:20:44.760 --> 0:20:48.960 are allocated annually. And folks don't break it down like that. 0:20:49.960 --> 0:20:52.639 The Senate is the most powerful body in all the politics. 0:20:52.760 --> 0:20:55.920 The President does not decide where the money goes. Let's 0:20:55.960 --> 0:20:58.800 be very clear about this. And so if we want 0:20:58.840 --> 0:21:02.320 to start to get reeces back to our communities that 0:21:02.440 --> 0:21:08.280 have been really beaten down, traumatized, choked out from multiple levels, 0:21:08.480 --> 0:21:10.119 we have to have a seat at the table. I mean, 0:21:10.200 --> 0:21:11.760 Shirley Chisham said, I you don't have a seat the table, 0:21:11.800 --> 0:21:12.520 bring a folding chair. 0:21:12.640 --> 0:21:12.840 Why? 0:21:12.920 --> 0:21:14.280 Because you have to have a seat at the table, 0:21:14.520 --> 0:21:16.800 and we have it. We've only had twelve black senators 0:21:16.880 --> 0:21:19.120 in over two hundred and fifty years. If we had 0:21:19.160 --> 0:21:22.919 twelve right now, we still would be underrepresented. So, you know, 0:21:23.200 --> 0:21:25.320 attending to become the thirteenth black center in the history 0:21:25.320 --> 0:21:30.040 of this country is something that's vitally important, particularly now 0:21:30.200 --> 0:21:32.800 given the we're a decade and a half into what 0:21:32.800 --> 0:21:35.960 we're seeing happen with Citizens United, Citizens United. For those 0:21:35.960 --> 0:21:38.720 who are listening, you just understand many people think the 0:21:38.720 --> 0:21:41.520 reaction to the Obama presidency was the Tea Party. I personally 0:21:41.520 --> 0:21:44.760 believe the reaction the Obama presidency with Citizens United, which 0:21:44.800 --> 0:21:49.080 allows for unfettered, unlimited dark money to come into our politics. 0:21:49.160 --> 0:21:51.959 And you know, we can talk about we can talk 0:21:52.000 --> 0:21:53.879 about all of that, but the point is is that 0:21:53.920 --> 0:21:56.600 if we don't get seats at the table, in in 0:21:56.760 --> 0:21:59.439 bodies like the US Senate, things were going to continue 0:21:59.440 --> 0:22:01.960 to get worse. We're seeing we're seeing that happen. And 0:22:02.000 --> 0:22:04.520 so this is an open US Senate seed in Michigan, 0:22:04.600 --> 0:22:07.800 the first truly open Senate seed in twenty four years, 0:22:08.080 --> 0:22:09.920 and so this is a this may not come again 0:22:09.960 --> 0:22:13.040 in our lifetime, So this was the time to do it. 0:22:13.040 --> 0:22:15.480 It's the time to represent folks. It's the time that 0:22:15.600 --> 0:22:18.199 common sense, good people have to run for office. If 0:22:18.200 --> 0:22:22.199 we keep getting letting crazies occupy these seats, we're going 0:22:22.280 --> 0:22:25.200 to continue to get these crazy outcomes that we're seeing. 0:22:25.480 --> 0:22:29.600 Absolutely, tell me, what are some of the major issues 0:22:29.640 --> 0:22:33.199 that you see in the state of Michigan. And you 0:22:33.240 --> 0:22:36.520 know our audience, and I know there's a lot of issues, 0:22:36.560 --> 0:22:39.639 and you are obviously well versed in many of the 0:22:39.880 --> 0:22:43.480 different types of the diversity of issues and challenges. But 0:22:43.560 --> 0:22:46.040 our folks that are listening here are mainly black and 0:22:46.080 --> 0:22:51.600 brown people, and we also have a high concentration of 0:22:51.640 --> 0:22:55.320 black men who follow my son, who listen to my son. 0:22:55.359 --> 0:22:57.480 I want to know what are some of the issues 0:22:58.040 --> 0:23:00.720 that really are concerning to you that made you say 0:23:00.800 --> 0:23:02.760 I need to do this because I see. 0:23:02.560 --> 0:23:05.680 My people absolutely well. So first of all, let's just say, 0:23:06.080 --> 0:23:09.560 I want folks to be very clear. The United States 0:23:09.640 --> 0:23:12.840 setting is a federal seat, so anything I'm able to 0:23:12.920 --> 0:23:15.560 pass will apply to folks no matter where you are 0:23:15.600 --> 0:23:19.080 federally equally as far as Michigan. So I see this 0:23:19.160 --> 0:23:23.880 seat as a as a national seat, to be quite clear. 0:23:24.000 --> 0:23:27.920 This is about national representation, and and yes, I would 0:23:27.920 --> 0:23:30.760 be the center for Michigan and focused on issues relating 0:23:30.760 --> 0:23:34.480 to Michiganders, but that applies to everybody when we pass 0:23:34.520 --> 0:23:37.399 something federally, and so so when we talk about issues. 0:23:37.480 --> 0:23:42.760 Number One, healthcare, we have a healthcare cristis, particularly in 0:23:42.760 --> 0:23:45.720 our community. When we talk about high blood pressure, heart disease. 0:23:45.720 --> 0:23:47.960 When we talk about the impact of COVID and our community, 0:23:47.960 --> 0:23:50.520 we talk about the fact that that there are many 0:23:50.560 --> 0:23:53.760 of our communities are experiencing food apartheid. Some people refer 0:23:53.800 --> 0:23:55.560 to as a food desert, but I choose to use 0:23:55.600 --> 0:23:58.399 the other word because I believe it's systemic and not 0:23:58.560 --> 0:24:01.360 naturally a current. When we talk about the fact that 0:24:02.119 --> 0:24:06.000