WEBVTT - 041523 Jevin Hodge on the Importance of Local Elections (Part 2) 0:00:00.360 --> 0:00:05.600 And now watching my mic back like. 0:00:07.680 --> 0:00:08.560 We can strike. 0:00:10.160 --> 0:00:11.640 From headquarters behind. 0:00:11.680 --> 0:00:16.560 In those of you just tuning into Civiccycer, I am 0:00:16.640 --> 0:00:20.640 in host ramseys John. He is Ramsay's Jah. This again 0:00:20.880 --> 0:00:25.040 is not the Quiet Storm, this is Qward. I'm just 0:00:25.040 --> 0:00:27.840 trying to get my voice back and you guys are 0:00:27.880 --> 0:00:31.200 tuned in to Civic Cycle. Indeed, special guest with us 0:00:31.200 --> 0:00:36.480 today Jevin Hodge, who is helping us navigate the complexities 0:00:36.520 --> 0:00:39.680 of local elections, local governments. We're having a good stories 0:00:39.840 --> 0:00:43.040 we're having I'll tell you, so, uh, stay tuned. We 0:00:43.080 --> 0:00:45.040 got a lot more show for you. We're going to 0:00:45.120 --> 0:00:48.920 talk about some of the good things that happen when 0:00:49.000 --> 0:00:53.120 people do engage in local elections. Right, So, what we've 0:00:53.159 --> 0:00:57.040 talked about so far tendencies, but we have some examples 0:00:57.200 --> 0:01:02.760 in recent history, recent weeks indeed, of folks like really 0:01:03.200 --> 0:01:05.000 knocking it out of the park. And so I'm happy 0:01:05.040 --> 0:01:09.479 to get into those stories next and hopefully we can 0:01:09.480 --> 0:01:13.200 continue to galvanize the support we need to make the 0:01:13.200 --> 0:01:15.440 world into what we want. But first and foremost, let's 0:01:15.480 --> 0:01:18.120 talk about becoming a better ally. B a Ba Baba. 0:01:18.880 --> 0:01:22.440 Today's Baba is sponsored by Major Threads for the finest 0:01:22.480 --> 0:01:27.200 in men's sportswear check major threads dot com. And for 0:01:27.280 --> 0:01:32.120 today's allies an example of becoming a better ally, we 0:01:32.160 --> 0:01:39.319 want to shout out a couple of municipal governmental bodies. Okay, 0:01:40.760 --> 0:01:44.360 earlier in the show, we mentioned Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, 0:01:44.440 --> 0:01:49.800 the too Tennessee House representatives that were expelled, and I 0:01:49.840 --> 0:01:52.680 told you the story had a happy ending. Well, the 0:01:52.720 --> 0:01:59.080 two were both reinstated. The Memphis Commission voted unanimously to 0:01:59.160 --> 0:02:03.480 reinstate just In Pearson this past Wednesday after he was 0:02:03.520 --> 0:02:07.520 expelled from the Tennessee State Legislature, and the Metropolitan Nashville 0:02:07.600 --> 0:02:14.359 Council unanimously voted to reinstate Justin Jones. And so despite 0:02:14.639 --> 0:02:22.600 the Conservative majority expelling these two gentlemen from the Tennessee 0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:28.880 House of Representatives for protesting that body's inability to tackle 0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:33.919 the issue of gun violence and the proliferation of gun 0:02:34.000 --> 0:02:39.920 violence in the state, and with the recent mass shooting 0:02:40.919 --> 0:02:42.640 at the school I forget the name of the school, 0:02:42.639 --> 0:02:48.160 but the religious school that was there. Now these other 0:02:48.200 --> 0:02:50.520 bodies have come in and reinstated them, and that I 0:02:50.600 --> 0:02:55.160 believe his true allieship, especially with the unanimous vote all 0:02:55.200 --> 0:02:58.640 these guys did was create new enemies and they didn't 0:02:58.639 --> 0:03:01.320 need them. And all they did was galvanize a community 0:03:01.760 --> 0:03:04.840 to try to fight for what's right for our children, 0:03:04.919 --> 0:03:08.600 for ourselves, for our posterity, which is our responsibility in 0:03:08.600 --> 0:03:11.040 this country. So to those two bodies, we salute you, 0:03:11.080 --> 0:03:15.000 thank you for being the allies. Now let's talk about 0:03:15.000 --> 0:03:18.919 some positive stuff, some good things that happen when we 0:03:19.040 --> 0:03:21.400 vote local before we move on. 0:03:22.240 --> 0:03:25.080 Because we have someone who I consider an expert in 0:03:25.160 --> 0:03:29.560 the space with us today, I just want to pose 0:03:29.600 --> 0:03:33.000 a question before we change the temperature in the room. 0:03:33.080 --> 0:03:39.080 Good former athlete myself, the most difficult losses I faced 0:03:39.120 --> 0:03:42.440 from Little league all the way through college, or that 0:03:42.720 --> 0:03:46.640 barely losses we lost by a field goal, or we 0:03:46.760 --> 0:03:49.960 lost by a last second three pointer, or you know, 0:03:50.400 --> 0:03:52.240 we're up in the bottom and that team hits a 0:03:52.240 --> 0:03:55.360 home run, they clear the bases and they win. Emotionally, 0:03:55.400 --> 0:03:59.680 those have always been the hardest to rebound. Film with 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:06.520 an apathetic tenor really being more present now than I 0:04:06.520 --> 0:04:08.840 can remember in my lifetime. I'm sure there were times 0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:11.720 in history before where that might have been the space 0:04:11.760 --> 0:04:14.680 that we lived in. But coming off of electing Barack 0:04:14.720 --> 0:04:18.039 Obama and then going into the election after he was 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:20.839 done and really not feeling like we had a candidate 0:04:20.839 --> 0:04:22.839 that we loved. And I'm sure a lot of people 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:26.839 felt that way in our most recent election. In cases 0:04:26.920 --> 0:04:29.120 like yours, where you do galvanize the community and you 0:04:29.200 --> 0:04:32.800 do wake up people who might not have been participating 0:04:33.560 --> 0:04:38.880 to get that close and not cross the finish line, 0:04:39.040 --> 0:04:44.080 how do you reawaken and remotivate and re engage with 0:04:44.200 --> 0:04:47.040 people who really did believe in what you were doing 0:04:47.080 --> 0:04:49.039 and what they thought you'd be able to do for 0:04:49.560 --> 0:04:54.080 your constituency if you were elected. When you get that close, 0:04:55.000 --> 0:04:57.960 it's not just deflating for you, it's very deflating for 0:04:58.000 --> 0:05:00.640 those who support you and for those who you know, 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:03.000 really some i'm sure wanted you to do it again, 0:05:04.200 --> 0:05:08.560 starting back from zero, starting back from go. How do 0:05:08.640 --> 0:05:11.279 you get that community to re engage and to wake 0:05:11.360 --> 0:05:14.120 back up and to remind them that everything you sought 0:05:14.120 --> 0:05:15.880 out to do is still there to be done. 0:05:16.640 --> 0:05:21.960 I appreciate the question. I'll tell you it is very difficult, 0:05:22.000 --> 0:05:27.080 as you highlight it. But number one, the work never stops. 0:05:27.560 --> 0:05:31.080 It never stops, and so and that's when loser draw 0:05:32.240 --> 0:05:34.760 and I believe that this is my calling. My calling 0:05:34.839 --> 0:05:37.919 is to serve. Whether that's an elected office or not, 0:05:38.600 --> 0:05:42.840 my calling is to serve. So for me, it's being strong, 0:05:43.080 --> 0:05:47.080 not only for myself but for the community and continuing 0:05:47.120 --> 0:05:50.920 to remind folks that this is a part of the process. 0:05:51.240 --> 0:05:53.440 You don't always get, you know, you don't always get 0:05:53.440 --> 0:05:55.080 what you want, when you want it, how you want it. 0:05:55.440 --> 0:05:59.719 But I will say this is highlighting the victories when 0:05:59.720 --> 0:06:02.880 they come right, because, like you said, you know, even 0:06:02.920 --> 0:06:05.159 though you may lose the game by three, one of 0:06:05.160 --> 0:06:06.920 the players might have had one of the highest scoring 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:09.800 games of their entire career, and because of that they 0:06:09.800 --> 0:06:12.880 may go off to the next level. Right, And that's 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:15.040 what we are experiencing right now. 0:06:15.040 --> 0:06:16.080 We didn't win this. 0:06:16.160 --> 0:06:20.279 Battle, but we accomplish so much. We got new people involved, 0:06:20.279 --> 0:06:22.920 we got new people engaged, We got new people invited 0:06:23.160 --> 0:06:25.960 into the democratic process that otherwise would have never been 0:06:26.000 --> 0:06:29.840 invited or engaged. I got folks that volunteered and worked 0:06:29.920 --> 0:06:33.480 on the campaign that literally came in off the streets 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:35.680 and was like I saw or heard about you, or 0:06:35.680 --> 0:06:37.400 I read about you in the paper, and I just 0:06:37.440 --> 0:06:39.279 wanted to meet you. And then now they're working in 0:06:39.360 --> 0:06:42.440 politics to engage and get people involved, you know, and 0:06:42.480 --> 0:06:46.280 so like we got to highlight those victories. But I 0:06:46.560 --> 0:06:48.400 there's a quote that I live by from one of 0:06:48.400 --> 0:06:51.840 my favorite shows, West Wing. I love Wes Way and 0:06:52.000 --> 0:06:54.440 the President. Bartlett on one of the episodes said that 0:06:54.920 --> 0:06:57.719 every time that you think that you measured your capacity 0:06:57.760 --> 0:07:00.560 to challenge, you will look up and you will be 0:07:00.640 --> 0:07:04.800 reminded that the capacity may well be limited. And in 0:07:04.839 --> 0:07:07.680 this moment, you know, I thought I met that capacity 0:07:07.880 --> 0:07:11.880 for this challenge. But you know, life still goes on 0:07:12.040 --> 0:07:14.240 in the world will continue to turn, and now we 0:07:14.240 --> 0:07:17.720 push ourselves to greater limits because we're ten times more 0:07:17.760 --> 0:07:22.440 resilient than we were when we started this process of it. 0:07:22.720 --> 0:07:28.480 Okay, all right, so let's get this party started. I'm 0:07:28.520 --> 0:07:31.239 going to do a little reading from b et dot com. 0:07:31.640 --> 0:07:35.160 The California lawmaker envisions a state wide system to notify 0:07:35.240 --> 0:07:40.480 people that a black child or a young woman is missing. Interesting, 0:07:40.880 --> 0:07:43.760 you might say, but allow me to read on, in 0:07:43.800 --> 0:07:47.520 hopes of reducing the disproportionate number of them who disappear 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:51.480 every year. If his proposed legislation is enacted, the nation's 0:07:51.560 --> 0:07:56.720 largest states would have an ebony alert system. Not to 0:07:56.760 --> 0:07:59.800 be confused with an Amber alert. Why do we need both? 0:08:00.480 --> 0:08:04.800 Please listen all right. State Senator Stephen Bradford, a Democrat, 0:08:04.840 --> 0:08:07.520 introduced Senate Bill six seventy three to quote address the 0:08:07.640 --> 0:08:10.840 often ignored or lack of attention given to black children 0:08:10.840 --> 0:08:13.480 and young black women that are missing in California. 0:08:14.080 --> 0:08:14.360 Quote. 0:08:14.920 --> 0:08:18.960 In March twenty third, statement from Bradford's office said the 0:08:19.000 --> 0:08:23.080 measure would authorize law enforcement agencies to request activation of 0:08:23.080 --> 0:08:26.040 the Ebony Alert if it would help their investigation of 0:08:26.080 --> 0:08:28.480 a missing black youth or black women ages twelve to 0:08:28.520 --> 0:08:31.440 twenty five. The system would also encourage traditional and social 0:08:31.480 --> 0:08:36.160 media outlets to disseminate information about the missing person. Scores 0:08:36.160 --> 0:08:41.319 of black children are excluded excluded from Amber alerts because 0:08:41.320 --> 0:08:45.000 they are disproportionately classified as runaways compared to white children, 0:08:46.240 --> 0:08:49.679 the statement said, citing information from the Black and Missing Foundation. 0:08:50.080 --> 0:08:52.080 Black children also account for the thirty eight percent of 0:08:52.120 --> 0:08:55.240 reported missing children, even though they represent just fourteen percent 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:59.560 of the national population. So black children go missing at 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:04.640 higher rates, and they are taken seriously less often by 0:09:04.800 --> 0:09:10.320 the officials. And so this gentleman Stephen Bradford is trying 0:09:10.360 --> 0:09:16.319 to introduce legislation that would create a special alert system 0:09:16.440 --> 0:09:19.280 for black people because there is a need there. Now, 0:09:19.320 --> 0:09:24.559 if you're listening to this show, we count you as 0:09:24.559 --> 0:09:27.200 an ally. This is kind of the nature and the 0:09:27.200 --> 0:09:30.800 purpose of the show that we do. So I'm so 0:09:30.960 --> 0:09:33.240 used to dealing with folks who would try to pick 0:09:33.240 --> 0:09:35.640 this apartment like, oh, why do you need something? But listen, 0:09:35.679 --> 0:09:38.200 you understand. I just explained why we need something separate 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:41.760 because these folks don't take a serious In fact, one 0:09:41.760 --> 0:09:46.400 of the first shows I did with iHeart Sorry with 0:09:46.840 --> 0:09:51.640 Black Information Network was a show about missing while Black. 0:09:52.520 --> 0:09:56.400 So this gentleman was elected to local office in California 0:09:56.760 --> 0:10:00.880 and decided to make changes for perhaps community or district 0:10:00.920 --> 0:10:05.760 that he represents, and to affect change with a problem 0:10:05.800 --> 0:10:09.600 that exists in that community. And I think that this 0:10:09.679 --> 0:10:12.120 is the sort of thing, the sort of direct action 0:10:12.640 --> 0:10:15.680 that we can expect to see when we vote local. 0:10:15.920 --> 0:10:19.360 This is a positive thing because again, what is the number. 0:10:19.400 --> 0:10:22.840 It's thirty eight percent of reported missing children are black. 0:10:24.600 --> 0:10:26.880 And now we have somebody that's going to do something 0:10:26.880 --> 0:10:29.480 about it on the local level, because this isn't a 0:10:29.520 --> 0:10:32.200 federal thing yet. But you know, a lot of things 0:10:32.240 --> 0:10:36.760 like this start locally. So any thoughts on this, well. 0:10:36.600 --> 0:10:39.840 You know, it leads me to think about something that 0:10:39.960 --> 0:10:43.040 just is ingrained in my head, right, and it's the 0:10:43.080 --> 0:10:44.880 fact that you may not be able to change the 0:10:44.960 --> 0:10:49.079 world overnight, but you definitely can change your world overnight. 0:10:50.120 --> 0:10:52.480 And this is that first step, right, Like, this is 0:10:52.520 --> 0:10:57.320 that first step to changing the conversation, to utilizing the 0:10:57.320 --> 0:11:01.320 power of the pen, right to like following through on 0:11:02.000 --> 0:11:04.520 something that was brought up to him while on the 0:11:04.559 --> 0:11:08.800 campaign trail, or from an experience that he may have 0:11:08.880 --> 0:11:12.640 directly experienced, or from a constituent, and he's working to 0:11:12.800 --> 0:11:16.640 solve this problem. And so you know, I took my 0:11:16.800 --> 0:11:19.520 hat to Center for Bradford, you know, and I think 0:11:19.559 --> 0:11:23.839 that I will be very excited to follow this because, 0:11:24.120 --> 0:11:26.599 like you said, it's just a bill right now and 0:11:26.679 --> 0:11:29.360 it's going through the legislature in California. But I'm going 0:11:29.400 --> 0:11:31.200 to be very excited to follow this right to see 0:11:31.240 --> 0:11:33.600 the conversation, to see a dialogue that comes about it, 0:11:33.640 --> 0:11:36.720 but also to talk about the precedent that it sets, 0:11:37.120 --> 0:11:41.240 because sometimes you work to pass a law and it 0:11:41.280 --> 0:11:43.760 may not go anywhere, right, but what it does is 0:11:43.800 --> 0:11:47.480 it creates conversation that otherwise, isn't had I think that's right, 0:11:47.760 --> 0:11:50.320 and that's and that's I can't say that that's going 0:11:50.360 --> 0:11:52.079 to be the most important part of this, but it's 0:11:52.120 --> 0:11:54.680 going to be a very important part of this process 0:11:54.720 --> 0:11:57.600 because you just gave me statistics that I didn't know. 0:11:57.640 --> 0:12:00.320 I didn't know that thirty eight percent of missing in 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:02.240 this country were black children. I knew it was a 0:12:02.280 --> 0:12:04.240 high percentage, but you're telling me one out of every 0:12:04.320 --> 0:12:07.559 three children that go missing or black more than that, right, 0:12:07.640 --> 0:12:13.280 Like that is absolutely wholeheartedly, fundamentally ridiculous, and so it 0:12:13.480 --> 0:12:16.920 leads me very excited to see where this how this progress. 0:12:17.080 --> 0:12:22.720 Sure, sure, so we seem like you got something. 0:12:23.440 --> 0:12:27.839 I mean, I kind of always do, right, Yeah, Mankind's 0:12:27.920 --> 0:12:32.480 implicit biases make all of these things such a heavy 0:12:32.559 --> 0:12:37.439 lift for us, right because you think something like this 0:12:37.480 --> 0:12:40.520 would be like universally accepted, but we know better, we 0:12:40.600 --> 0:12:43.160 know for sure than it wasn't. And the reasons why 0:12:43.280 --> 0:12:46.720 being things like you said, well, the black kids probably 0:12:46.800 --> 0:12:49.520 ran away. The white kids are probably missing, and we 0:12:49.520 --> 0:12:53.400 should probably get to looking for them. But the black 0:12:53.480 --> 0:12:55.520 kid probably just ran away and it'll probably be home 0:12:55.520 --> 0:12:57.040 in a couple of days. Give us a call back, 0:12:57.640 --> 0:12:59.800 you know what I mean. And it's just the way 0:12:59.840 --> 0:13:02.680 that we receive all information with regards to the skin 0:13:02.760 --> 0:13:05.559 that looks like ours, the lens that we see it through. 0:13:05.600 --> 0:13:10.240 Even decent, well meaning people, right, even those who are 0:13:10.240 --> 0:13:13.040 not overtly racist and who are not making decisions in 0:13:13.120 --> 0:13:17.040 bad faith, it's just their natural implicit bias to see 0:13:17.120 --> 0:13:19.520 us through a different lens, you know what I mean. 0:13:19.559 --> 0:13:22.160 So it's hard to not hear that in literally every 0:13:22.200 --> 0:13:24.320 story that we cover everything, you know what I mean. 0:13:24.360 --> 0:13:26.000 And like I said earlier, a lot of us have 0:13:26.080 --> 0:13:30.480 turned that off. It's intellectually beneath us to think that 0:13:30.520 --> 0:13:32.520 people look at the world that way because we've made 0:13:32.520 --> 0:13:34.640 so much progress in Barack Obama ie and man, we 0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:36.360 really got to stop blaming the man for all of 0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:38.960 our problems. And it's like, that's not what I'm saying. 0:13:39.920 --> 0:13:44.080 I'm just saying that, without fail, everything that happens in 0:13:44.120 --> 0:13:47.040 this country, and not just in this country, but more 0:13:47.080 --> 0:13:50.240 so here than probably anywhere else in the world, things 0:13:50.280 --> 0:13:53.160 are viewed through separate lenses when your skin looks like ours, 0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:56.240 and people are more slow to act when it comes 0:13:56.280 --> 0:14:01.560 to bringing about change and helps for us when we 0:14:01.600 --> 0:14:05.240 talk about mortality rates for black women and even Latino 0:14:05.280 --> 0:14:09.240 and Hispanic and under represented people giving birth the way 0:14:09.240 --> 0:14:11.280 that doctors treat them in the hospital was different. And 0:14:11.320 --> 0:14:14.199 I could go down the slippery slope and named every 0:14:14.200 --> 0:14:15.920 instance where that's true, but there's too many and we 0:14:15.920 --> 0:14:18.320 don't have enough time. So the look that you saw 0:14:18.400 --> 0:14:24.120 my face was like expletive again. Well, I know every time, 0:14:24.240 --> 0:14:24.640 I know. 0:14:24.560 --> 0:14:27.920 Why that look is on your face, and some listeners 0:14:28.000 --> 0:14:31.280 might know. But if you weren't listening to these couple 0:14:31.360 --> 0:14:33.840 of shows that we talked about, you had a very 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:38.760 I would call it. I don't want to call it traumatic. 0:14:38.760 --> 0:14:41.960 Don't let me define your trauma. But it was an 0:14:42.000 --> 0:14:43.320 experience that was. 0:14:45.400 --> 0:14:48.440 Don't let Ramses call it traumatic. I'll say it on 0:14:48.480 --> 0:14:54.200 his behalf because unfortunately, I was an audience to an 0:14:54.240 --> 0:15:00.520 attempted abduction of my child, and all of us fathers 0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:03.560 puffed my chest out a little bit. Feel very heroic 0:15:03.640 --> 0:15:07.080 when it comes to the idea of someone doing something 0:15:07.120 --> 0:15:11.720 to our children, except in this instance, before jumping to action, 0:15:12.400 --> 0:15:16.080 I froze because my mind could not process that I 0:15:16.160 --> 0:15:19.960 was watching someone try to take my child out of 0:15:20.000 --> 0:15:23.600 my car while his mother wasn't paying attention because, of course, 0:15:23.640 --> 0:15:27.000 not not that she was actively distracted, She just, of 0:15:27.000 --> 0:15:28.960 course doesn't think somebody's going to walk up to the car, 0:15:29.040 --> 0:15:30.800 open the door with her in it and try to 0:15:30.840 --> 0:15:33.880 take my child. But it happened, and I saw it, 0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:36.960 and I wish i'd responded, No, I don't, because if 0:15:37.000 --> 0:15:40.200 iud responded faster, I'd probably not be doing the show 0:15:40.280 --> 0:15:42.280 right now, because I'd probably be serving time for my 0:15:42.320 --> 0:15:46.360 actions in the wake of witnessing that. But as I 0:15:46.440 --> 0:15:48.640 ran back from the interest to the grocery store, back 0:15:48.680 --> 0:15:51.800 towards my car to stop this man from taking my son, 0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:54.920 I called the police. And the police showed up and 0:15:54.960 --> 0:15:59.800 did nothing. They asked very few questions. They gave little 0:16:00.240 --> 0:16:03.320 know hope that something would be done in the aftermath, 0:16:04.120 --> 0:16:07.040 with their instructions being specifically to me, if something like 0:16:07.080 --> 0:16:11.080 this happens again, let us know. We're not going to 0:16:11.160 --> 0:16:13.600 launch an investigation. We're not going to go to see 0:16:13.600 --> 0:16:17.280 if there were security cameras. No, no, no, if it happens again, 0:16:17.360 --> 0:16:22.040 let us know outside of that. Sorry forget that. You 0:16:22.080 --> 0:16:24.320 can describe the people and their car and their car, 0:16:25.160 --> 0:16:25.840 none of that matters. 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:29.920 Well, okay, here's our car, and if you guys deal 0:16:29.920 --> 0:16:31.480 with something like this again. Let us know. 0:16:32.920 --> 0:16:36.320 I got an Amber alert a week later, same car, 0:16:36.640 --> 0:16:38.960 same description, successful kidnapping. 0:16:42.200 --> 0:16:46.880 Now if it had been your son, knowing what we 0:16:46.920 --> 0:16:50.240 know now how difficult it is to have a black 0:16:50.360 --> 0:16:55.400 child included in the Amber alerts, I think that one 0:16:55.400 --> 0:16:58.080 more time we should salute this gentleman, Stephen Bradford, for 0:16:58.560 --> 0:17:01.240 seeing a problem and doing something about it on the 0:17:01.280 --> 0:17:03.960 local level. So shout out to you, State Senator Stephen Bradman. 0:17:04.000 --> 0:17:06.800 May I want to jump in really quickly and not 0:17:06.960 --> 0:17:10.119 move too far past that and bring this back to 0:17:10.160 --> 0:17:15.480 the theme of this show that the situation that you 0:17:15.560 --> 0:17:21.280 just highlighted is horrific and I can only imagine the 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:25.440 pain that you feel you felt and you're sharing yet 0:17:25.440 --> 0:17:27.160 moment with us and the listeners. 0:17:27.200 --> 0:17:29.440 So I tip my hat to you, brother. 0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:33.760 You know, for for opening up and being vulnerable, and 0:17:33.800 --> 0:17:35.439 that is just it's just not easy. 0:17:35.520 --> 0:17:36.359 It's just not easy. 0:17:36.440 --> 0:17:38.360 So no that we here with you, We got you, 0:17:38.800 --> 0:17:40.560 we got your back. I appreciate it, brother. 0:17:41.680 --> 0:17:43.400 But bringing this. 0:17:43.440 --> 0:17:46.560 Back because that is a very good example of the 0:17:46.600 --> 0:17:51.360 reality that's too far often to black Americans in this country, 0:17:51.440 --> 0:17:53.760 Americans of color, and you know folks of color in 0:17:53.800 --> 0:17:58.080 this country, but the black community. And let me just 0:17:58.160 --> 0:18:02.080 give you a very tangible example of why your vote 0:18:02.119 --> 0:18:05.840 in your voice matters in these moments. Because you had 0:18:05.880 --> 0:18:08.399 a law a member of law enforcement who is a 0:18:08.400 --> 0:18:13.119 government official that taxpayers pay that individual salary. Well, the 0:18:13.160 --> 0:18:16.840 individual that that person reports to, ultimately is the. 0:18:16.880 --> 0:18:17.680 Chief of police. 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:21.440 The chief of police is ultimately reports to the mayor 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:23.920 and the city council, and that is a person who 0:18:23.960 --> 0:18:28.760 dictates the culture of that law enforcement agency, who's able 0:18:28.800 --> 0:18:31.760 to weed out the quote unquote bad apples or dictate 0:18:31.840 --> 0:18:35.480 how you respond to a situation. So when you elect 0:18:35.560 --> 0:18:38.400 a mayor and a city council member that cares about 0:18:38.440 --> 0:18:40.640 their community, that is of their community, that is from 0:18:40.680 --> 0:18:43.840 their community, then when those moments come for them to 0:18:43.920 --> 0:18:48.119 decide who is leading the law enforcement agency, those individuals 0:18:48.160 --> 0:18:51.520 are going to be who decides whether we're going to 0:18:51.560 --> 0:18:54.199 appoint someone to be the chief of police that is 0:18:54.240 --> 0:18:57.639 going to take issues like this serious, or they're going 0:18:57.680 --> 0:19:00.720 to give you a card and say call me later. Right. 0:19:00.800 --> 0:19:03.120 And so when folks say that their voice doesn't matter, 0:19:03.200 --> 0:19:05.879 when folks say that their vote doesn't matter, that you 0:19:05.920 --> 0:19:08.840 know the five hundred votes that may have decided the 0:19:08.880 --> 0:19:11.159 one election that may have been the deciding vote on 0:19:11.160 --> 0:19:14.440 who becomes the chief of police. Right makes a difference 0:19:14.480 --> 0:19:19.320 in every person's life in that community. But we forget 0:19:19.480 --> 0:19:21.399 Sorry to cut you off, but we just forget the 0:19:21.600 --> 0:19:26.119 power because we're so inundated with everything that happens in 0:19:26.200 --> 0:19:29.520 life that we forget to zoom out and see how 0:19:29.880 --> 0:19:33.360 you know your position is so powerful in a larger context. 0:19:33.800 --> 0:19:37.160 Now, I want to take a moment and talk about 0:19:37.160 --> 0:19:39.960 this five hundred votes thing because a lot of local 0:19:40.000 --> 0:19:43.159 elections are decided by margins. That then, and if you 0:19:43.240 --> 0:19:48.240 got five hundred followers on your Facebook Instagram, you can 0:19:48.440 --> 0:19:51.360 not only engage yourself, but you can engage people around you. 0:19:51.359 --> 0:19:54.440 You can get stuff done so you can change how 0:19:54.520 --> 0:19:57.560 the world, how your world moves, and how secure you 0:19:57.560 --> 0:20:00.840 feel in your world. I did an episode no Justice, 0:20:00.880 --> 0:20:04.600 No Peace, really explaining what that means, and without justice, 0:20:04.960 --> 0:20:07.840 you can have no peace. Don't want to stay up 0:20:07.840 --> 0:20:09.960 at night wondering about what if this goes wrong? With 0:20:10.000 --> 0:20:11.440 if that goes a lot of people think it's war 0:20:11.560 --> 0:20:14.200 versus peace. No having peace in your own life, So 0:20:14.240 --> 0:20:17.520 it's something to keep in mind now, let's talk about 0:20:17.600 --> 0:20:21.240 another good thing that happened in the state of Washington. 0:20:21.240 --> 0:20:24.520 So I'll read from the Olympian. Senate lawmakers voted twenty 0:20:24.560 --> 0:20:27.600 seven to twenty one Saturday afternoon for Houseville twelve forty, 0:20:27.600 --> 0:20:30.520 which bans the purchase and sale of assault weapons in 0:20:30.560 --> 0:20:33.400 the state of Washington. The bill was sponsored by Representative 0:20:33.840 --> 0:20:39.760 Strom Peterson, a Democrat from Edmunds, and was co sponsored 0:20:39.760 --> 0:20:42.800 by twenty five other Democratic lawmakers in the House at 0:20:42.800 --> 0:20:48.600 the request of Government j Ininsley and Attorney General Bob Ferguson. Quote, 0:20:48.600 --> 0:20:50.320 young people are taken to the streets and will hold 0:20:50.400 --> 0:20:55.359 us accountable if we don't do something, said Senator Pattie Curderer, 0:20:55.760 --> 0:20:58.240 a Democrat from Bellevue. She goes on to say, when 0:20:58.240 --> 0:20:59.959 we're talking about mass shootings and the killing of pea 0:21:00.000 --> 0:21:02.679 people quickly and without warning, we're talking about assault weapons. 0:21:02.680 --> 0:21:04.560 And that's why we're here today. We're here to say 0:21:04.920 --> 0:21:08.439 enough is enough. So they're doing what Tennessee couldn't do 0:21:08.560 --> 0:21:12.480 because they elected the right people in the state of Washington. 0:21:12.520 --> 0:21:14.560 So shout out to them. And then, last, but not least, 0:21:14.600 --> 0:21:17.560 I want to read another couple of neat little things 0:21:17.560 --> 0:21:19.960 that have happened, and again these are the direct result 0:21:20.600 --> 0:21:25.240 of voting in local elections. This one I'll read from 0:21:25.280 --> 0:21:32.200 Yahoo and Wisconsin, a liberal judge, Janet Otazuwitz, decisively defeated 0:21:32.200 --> 0:21:35.119 her conservative opponent, Daniel Kelly and security seat on the 0:21:35.119 --> 0:21:37.359 state Supreme Court in a race widely considered to be 0:21:37.760 --> 0:21:42.440 the most important election of twenty twenty three. Tazuwitz's victory 0:21:42.440 --> 0:21:44.720 will give liberals a majority on the Wisconsin Court for 0:21:44.760 --> 0:21:47.399 the first time in fifteen years. This potentially offers them 0:21:47.400 --> 0:21:50.240 the opportunity to strike down a nineteenth century law banning 0:21:50.280 --> 0:21:53.600 nearly all abortions and to redraw congressional maps that have 0:21:53.640 --> 0:21:57.520 allowed Republicans to dominate the Wisconsin legislature to pipe there 0:21:57.600 --> 0:22:00.200 despite their near fifty to fifty split the vote in 0:22:00.240 --> 0:22:03.159 the state. And then lastly, I'll read this We'll get 0:22:03.240 --> 0:22:06.960 your thoughts. And another high profile race in Chicago, the 0:22:07.000 --> 0:22:11.159 progressive candidate Brandon Jones beat the conservative Democrat Paul Vallas 0:22:11.280 --> 0:22:15.320 and the race Johnson, that is, Brandon Johnson misspoke in 0:22:15.359 --> 0:22:18.000 the race to become mayor of the nation's third largest city. 0:22:18.000 --> 0:22:20.679 The two victories come five months after Democrats overcame a 0:22:20.720 --> 0:22:23.399 prediction of a red wave in last year's mid terms. 0:22:23.720 --> 0:22:26.800 So I want to get your thoughts on and what 0:22:26.800 --> 0:22:31.120 what it means. The Wisconsin victory and of course the 0:22:31.200 --> 0:22:33.280 victory of Brandon Johnson in Chicago. 0:22:33.040 --> 0:22:35.600 And I think they all come back together, right, and 0:22:35.720 --> 0:22:38.760 we can even incorporate what happened in the great state 0:22:38.800 --> 0:22:42.359 of Oregon as well. Okay, And it showcases when you 0:22:42.480 --> 0:22:44.880 use your vote and you use your voice, good things happen. 0:22:45.440 --> 0:22:48.840 Right in the case with Oregon, right, the lawmakers listened 0:22:48.920 --> 0:22:51.359 to the needs of their community and the needs of 0:22:51.400 --> 0:22:55.480 the nation to ban assault weapons, right, and they took 0:22:55.560 --> 0:22:58.960 matters into own hands, right, and they they they passed 0:22:59.000 --> 0:23:01.720 policy that was reflect of the communities in which and 0:23:01.760 --> 0:23:04.399 what they were hearing, what they were saying. And Wisconsin, 0:23:04.480 --> 0:23:08.520 this is very important because the the third branch of government, 0:23:08.720 --> 0:23:12.600 the judicial system, and you know, different places do things 0:23:12.640 --> 0:23:15.359 very differently from the federal government. In Wisconsin, at the 0:23:15.400 --> 0:23:18.639 Supreme Court level, it is an elected position. What this 0:23:18.800 --> 0:23:23.240