Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Bloomberg
Speaker 1: Quick Takes Tim Stinovich from Bloomberg Radio. Story on the
Speaker 1: Bloomberg It talked about, more than two months into America's
Speaker 1: vaccine roll out, a community clinic that serves the poorest
Speaker 1: of the poor on Birmingham's majority black north Side has
Speaker 1: yet received its first dose. So this is something that
Speaker 1: has disturbed us and we are definitely watching it and
Speaker 1: it's striking as we have all month long been talking
Speaker 1: about struggles and successes when it comes to black history,
Speaker 1: So we wanted to kind of take a step back
Speaker 1: and get some thoughts on that and more. Joining us
Speaker 1: once again as Bishop Wayne T. Jackson. He's founder and
Speaker 1: CEO of the Impact Network. It's a privately owned African
Speaker 1: American inspirational TV network, uh some ninety million in the
Speaker 1: US according to them on Dish, on Direct TV, Comcast
Speaker 1: and more. And Bishop Jackson back with us on the
Speaker 1: phone in Detroit. Bishop Jackson, nice to have you back
Speaker 1: with us. Um, how are you I'm buying grol? Thank
Speaker 1: you for asking well, and you know, as I said,
Speaker 1: you know, we've been watching very closely the inequities when
Speaker 1: it comes to the vaccine rollout and and you know,
Speaker 1: here we are talking about also Black History Month and
Speaker 1: and going through the history of Black Americans and Black
Speaker 1: Americans here in this country and the progresses and the
Speaker 1: and the struggles. When you take a step back, what
Speaker 1: are the successes or what what is it that you
Speaker 1: think people need to really understand when it comes to
Speaker 1: Black history and when it comes to the progress and
Speaker 1: also to the steps that still need to be taken. Well, Carol,
Speaker 1: you just you know reported that in the poors of
Speaker 1: the pours of community, um, some of them have not
Speaker 1: even received one dose of the vaccine. And we know
Speaker 1: that that our community are the ones who are impacted
Speaker 1: the most in the negative way. And it gives goes
Speaker 1: back to a lot of times people don't understand or
Speaker 1: African Americans have to go do just based on who
Speaker 1: who we are and how we had to be kidnapped,
Speaker 1: our forefathers kidnapped from Africa, brought up the ear stript
Speaker 1: of their names and was you know, made to do
Speaker 1: free labor and then kept back from being educated and
Speaker 1: then put a name on us and so degrading. And
Speaker 1: then when you look at things you see, well, well
Speaker 1: you know they're being out anger this and that you know,
Speaker 1: if you walked into the shoes of a lot of
Speaker 1: African American especially when it comes to the opportunity as
Speaker 1: being entrepreneurs whatever, you you know, you would feel the
Speaker 1: same way. But you can't be in that mode because
Speaker 1: it's not going to do you any good. But you
Speaker 1: have to get up and you have to fight, and
Speaker 1: you have to fight. But was right and and make
Speaker 1: sure that we are hurt. And I really believe that,
Speaker 1: you know, even your report before I got on it
Speaker 1: just showed you that's just how it is. Why is
Speaker 1: it still just how it is? Well, because people at
Speaker 1: the top, you know, refused to make changes and because
Speaker 1: they want to have the status quo. And we just
Speaker 1: need to make sure that we're able. You know what
Speaker 1: you're reporting, the Bloomberg reported about, you know, what's writing
Speaker 1: was wrong. I really believe that the change had to
Speaker 1: come from the top down. I'm hoping that I'm praying, Carol,
Speaker 1: that we see this new administration. Uh and I know
Speaker 1: of the president head as you know, being very focused
Speaker 1: on the disenfranchise and even with the African American people
Speaker 1: of color community to at least, you know, give us
Speaker 1: an opportunity to be able to help live the American dreams.
Speaker 1: You know, my car host Tim Stantovic, you know, reminded
Speaker 1: me yesterday when we were watching President Biden. He was
Speaker 1: talking about um the latest on the vaccine when we
Speaker 1: saw the fifty million individual in the US at the vaccine,
Speaker 1: and he talked specifically about working with the private sector
Speaker 1: and educating the public on face masks and vaccination. But
Speaker 1: he also talked about a new initiative that they were
Speaker 1: launching with private sector companies asking them to encourage workers
Speaker 1: as well, and also about reaching out to community leaders
Speaker 1: to reach segments of the population that maybe aren't thinking
Speaker 1: about getting the vaccine or don't want to or nervous
Speaker 1: about it, and understandably so, especially within the black community.
Speaker 1: Have you been approached, um by anyone in the administration
Speaker 1: or by political leaders to help with this? Oh? Yes,
Speaker 1: we have um my effect um Our Mayor Mary Duggan
Speaker 1: of Mayor of Detroit. UM the office reached out to
Speaker 1: us myself, our ministry. We have a very large ministry
Speaker 1: that's here in the city of Detroit. Uh. I guess
Speaker 1: about maybe a Hunt Alvin Square, a seat of of
Speaker 1: space that we can help the community in and what
Speaker 1: we're doing working with the mayor's office. Uh, we're bringing
Speaker 1: in seniors and we're bringing in those who would normally
Speaker 1: not even go to maybe a public place, but they
Speaker 1: will take and have more confidence to go to place
Speaker 1: they're familiar with, like a church in the neighborhood and
Speaker 1: so forth for song. And we're doing um this we
Speaker 1: start in March twentieth, uh, to just use our facility
Speaker 1: to be able to bring people in and get them
Speaker 1: back vaccinated, get the vaccine in. And because it's so important,
Speaker 1: especially elderly those who can normally just get out the house,
Speaker 1: we have to make sure that we encourage the macm
Speaker 1: hey listen, just got about forty seconds left here, and
Speaker 1: I want to go back to Black History Month because
Speaker 1: I think, you know, we do this month and we
Speaker 1: do a lot of reports here at Bloomberg and it's
Speaker 1: really important. But you know, we need to be thinking
Speaker 1: about Black history. I think many people would argue, uh,
Speaker 1: and I agree with Throughout the year, it's never just
Speaker 1: something we should stop talking about. What do you hope
Speaker 1: people think about going forward when it comes to Black
Speaker 1: history and improving things? And just in about forty seconds,
Speaker 1: well opportunity. I believe that what we all need to do,
Speaker 1: we have to do this together. And I believe that
Speaker 1: first of all, African American has got to make sure
Speaker 1: that we're still ending up and understand. We can't wait
Speaker 1: for government to someone else to help us. We must
Speaker 1: move forward when it comes to what we must do
Speaker 1: in supporting each other, also our of corporations and our government.
Speaker 1: We need to look down on the African American community
Speaker 1: and and be able to work with us and to
Speaker 1: be able to give us the twols that we need,
Speaker 1: especially finances. Uh, you know, we we don't have the
Speaker 1: finances to do what we need to do. And just
Speaker 1: working together, Yeah, the money part of it is so crucial. Uh.
Speaker 1: And we've had a lot of guests on our are
Speaker 1: actually telling us that Bishop Jackson be well, founder and
Speaker 1: CEO of the Impact Network on the phone in Detroit