WEBVTT - Human Rights Attorney Yannick Gill on How Trump’s First 100 Days Affected Marginalized Communities (Part 1) 0:00:00.560 --> 0:00:03.240 Broadcasting from the Hip Hop Weekly Studios. I'd like to 0:00:03.279 --> 0:00:05.720 welcome you to another episode of Civic Cipher, where our 0:00:05.760 --> 0:00:09.119 mission is to foster allyship empathy and understanding. I am 0:00:09.119 --> 0:00:10.240 your host, ramses. 0:00:09.960 --> 0:00:12.920 Jaw, he is Rams' joh, I am q Ward. You 0:00:13.400 --> 0:00:15.200 are tuned into Civic Cypher, Yes you. 0:00:15.160 --> 0:00:18.640 Are, and we appreciate that because we are trying to 0:00:18.720 --> 0:00:23.120 do some good work at a time that is challenging 0:00:23.120 --> 0:00:26.520 for people who want to do good book. But today 0:00:26.560 --> 0:00:31.000 we feel fortified and we feel alike it is the 0:00:31.000 --> 0:00:34.080 best time to redouble our efforts because we are going 0:00:34.159 --> 0:00:36.640 to be talking with someone who has earned our respect, 0:00:36.760 --> 0:00:40.880 someone that has been in the media space with us before. 0:00:40.920 --> 0:00:42.960 We've been able to have conversations with him before, and 0:00:43.000 --> 0:00:46.839 we're happy to introduce him to you, our listener. He 0:00:46.880 --> 0:00:48.720 goes by the name of Yannick Gill. He's a human 0:00:48.800 --> 0:00:52.760 rights lawyer based in Washington, d C. He's worked in 0:00:52.760 --> 0:00:55.640 Congress with two progressive members of the House of Representatives. 0:00:55.880 --> 0:00:58.840 He is an accomplished human rights advocate defending marginalized people 0:00:58.840 --> 0:01:02.360 across the United States and abroad. And today we are 0:01:02.400 --> 0:01:06.199 going to be discussing Donald Trump's first one hundred days 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:08.240 in office. So welcome to the show, Yanick. 0:01:09.280 --> 0:01:10.559 Glad to be here with you both. 0:01:10.840 --> 0:01:13.039 Yeah, yeah, man, we appreciate it. Man, I know you're 0:01:13.040 --> 0:01:14.880 a busy guy and you're taking the time out to 0:01:14.959 --> 0:01:17.880 kind of help us make heads or tails of the 0:01:17.920 --> 0:01:21.000 goings on. The political goings on out there in DC 0:01:21.400 --> 0:01:22.040 really means. 0:01:21.840 --> 0:01:22.600 A lot to us. 0:01:24.360 --> 0:01:28.480 We're also going to be discussing, you know, the attacks 0:01:28.480 --> 0:01:30.640 on DEI, which is something that we cover quite a 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:32.840 bit on this show. But you know, this is an 0:01:32.920 --> 0:01:39.120 ongoing conversation. We have a way Black History fact and 0:01:40.480 --> 0:01:42.720 Baba that I really want you to stick around for. 0:01:42.760 --> 0:01:45.120 I'm really excited about both of those if we can 0:01:45.160 --> 0:01:48.240 get to them, because I anticipate us having a really 0:01:48.240 --> 0:01:51.120 important conversation today with Yanick. But we have so much 0:01:51.120 --> 0:01:54.480 for you to stick around for, so please be sure 0:01:54.560 --> 0:01:57.680 to hang out and learn as we learn. But before 0:01:57.680 --> 0:02:00.800 we get to the learning, let's celebrate. As always. Now 0:02:00.880 --> 0:02:04.680 is the time for some Ebony excellence, shall we? 0:02:05.960 --> 0:02:07.000 Yeah? I think we shall. 0:02:07.080 --> 0:02:11.440 So today's Abny excellence. This comes from WSBTV two andre 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:13.640 three thousand and big Boy. We're on the ballot for 0:02:13.720 --> 0:02:16.480 the very first time. The only real question is whether 0:02:16.560 --> 0:02:19.280 or not they would go into the Hall of Fame together. 0:02:19.919 --> 0:02:22.880 On Sunday Night Live on American Idol, it was announced 0:02:22.880 --> 0:02:26.160 that Atlanta's own hip hop legends, Outcast, will be headed 0:02:26.160 --> 0:02:28.320 to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. 0:02:28.440 --> 0:02:30.959 They will join seven other performers who will be inducted 0:02:30.960 --> 0:02:34.880 into the performer category. Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Joe Crocker, 0:02:35.040 --> 0:02:38.040 Cyndi Lauper, Soundgarden, and The White Stripes all will join 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:41.360 Outcast and receiving their award November eighth and the Peacock 0:02:41.400 --> 0:02:43.760 Theater in Los Angeles. Andre three thousand and Big Boy 0:02:43.800 --> 0:02:46.680 aka Outcast teamed up way back in the early nineteen 0:02:46.760 --> 0:02:49.520 nineties when they were high school students in Atlanta. Did 0:02:49.560 --> 0:02:52.239 two release their first album in nineteen ninety four. The 0:02:52.320 --> 0:02:55.120 duo have won six Grammys for their work over the years, 0:02:55.400 --> 0:02:58.040 peaking with their highly acclaimed speaker Box Slash the Love 0:02:58.080 --> 0:03:01.080 Below album, which was released in two thousand three. Both 0:03:01.120 --> 0:03:03.360 Andre and Big Boy have produced a handful of solo 0:03:03.400 --> 0:03:06.440 albums since two thousand and seven, but they did team up, 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:09.520 team back up and toured briefly in twenty fourteen. The 0:03:09.520 --> 0:03:11.560 two men have appeared in several films and TV shows 0:03:11.560 --> 0:03:14.799 over the years, and their legend only continues to grow. 0:03:15.120 --> 0:03:21.720 And I don't know if you have heard any of 0:03:22.080 --> 0:03:28.440 Q's and my other takes for folks that kind of 0:03:28.480 --> 0:03:31.480 grew up listening to us, you'll know that, at least 0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:34.160 I have said on many occasions then I've never had 0:03:34.160 --> 0:03:37.520 any pushback from Q that Outcast is the best hip 0:03:37.600 --> 0:03:41.000 hop group of all time. And we can have that conversation. 0:03:41.080 --> 0:03:44.080 We might have to have it another day, but a day, 0:03:44.280 --> 0:03:46.640 it might be another day. But yeah, that includes n 0:03:46.800 --> 0:03:48.800 w A you know I am from counting, but that 0:03:49.280 --> 0:03:52.400 it includes in w A Wu Tang, you know, ghetto boys, 0:03:52.480 --> 0:03:54.760 you know, you name it. Outcast the best group of 0:03:54.800 --> 0:03:56.920 all time. To see them get their just do and 0:03:57.040 --> 0:03:59.200 be inducted into the rock Hole rock and Roll Hall 0:03:59.200 --> 0:04:01.680 of Fame is so shout out to Outcast, all right, 0:04:02.480 --> 0:04:08.160 mister Yannick Gil do us a favor. So again, we 0:04:08.240 --> 0:04:10.760 have had conversations with you on the Black Information Network, 0:04:12.280 --> 0:04:18.040 and you always bring a sense of clarity to the 0:04:18.279 --> 0:04:27.520 massive amount of political stories, headlines goings on that you know, 0:04:27.920 --> 0:04:32.240 the lay person, ourselves included because we're not political strategists. 0:04:32.240 --> 0:04:34.599 We haven't worked with Congress folks. You know, we kind 0:04:34.640 --> 0:04:39.240 of cover the news, but for folks that aren't as 0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:42.320 familiar with your work like we are, talk a little 0:04:42.320 --> 0:04:44.880 bit about your background and sort of what qualifies you 0:04:44.960 --> 0:04:47.680 to help us make heads or tails of Trump's first 0:04:47.680 --> 0:04:49.640 one hundred days in office. 0:04:49.920 --> 0:04:52.400 Absolutely, and again, I'm really happy to be here with 0:04:52.440 --> 0:04:56.279 you all. I describe myself in a simple way. I'm 0:04:56.680 --> 0:04:59.320 a town of immigrants, I'm a Florida man, I'm a 0:04:59.400 --> 0:05:04.040 black man. But I'm also a lawyer. And I've also 0:05:04.040 --> 0:05:07.680 had the privilege of advising members of Congress on how 0:05:07.680 --> 0:05:13.280 to navigate different issues that impact everyday folks. And no 0:05:13.320 --> 0:05:15.680 matter what level of education you have, no matter what 0:05:15.880 --> 0:05:18.760 job title you have, some of those core principles that 0:05:18.800 --> 0:05:21.800 I began with is really how I analyze the law, 0:05:22.160 --> 0:05:26.119 how I navigate these issues, and how I approach this 0:05:26.440 --> 0:05:29.800 new challenge that we're all in, whether you want to 0:05:30.520 --> 0:05:33.640 or not. And in my new role as Senior counsel 0:05:33.960 --> 0:05:36.920 with Human Rights First, I'm able to do it all. 0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:40.880 Human Rights First is an amazing organization where we have 0:05:40.960 --> 0:05:47.159 a unique view of providing both litigation advocacy both here 0:05:47.680 --> 0:05:50.880 meaning the United States and abroad, and these first one 0:05:50.920 --> 0:05:54.479 hundred days, I've shown us that the strike of the pen, 0:05:55.000 --> 0:05:57.680 the change of a tariff, the impact of any of 0:05:57.720 --> 0:06:00.520 these laws don't stop with our borders, does stop with 0:06:00.560 --> 0:06:04.400 any race, gender, any orientation. It's impacting all of us. 0:06:04.640 --> 0:06:07.360 So above all these things, I say I'm an advocate 0:06:07.440 --> 0:06:09.880 because that's where all of us need to be right now. 0:06:09.920 --> 0:06:12.840 In twenty twenty five, you. 0:06:12.800 --> 0:06:19.120 Talked about the stroke of a pen, tariffs, the kind 0:06:19.160 --> 0:06:26.400 of muzzle velocity executive order, disruption of seemingly every marginalized community, 0:06:26.480 --> 0:06:28.720 not just like you said in our Borders, but across 0:06:28.760 --> 0:06:35.520 the world. The first hundred days man the executive orders 0:06:35.520 --> 0:06:40.960 and their impact on our communities. Specifically from your purview, 0:06:41.040 --> 0:06:43.080 what does that look like, what does that feel like? 0:06:44.440 --> 0:06:47.320 And should we feel as kind of helpless and hopeless 0:06:47.320 --> 0:06:48.080 as we do. 0:06:50.480 --> 0:06:54.800 So the feeling is valid. As a millennial, I get 0:06:54.839 --> 0:06:58.320 tired of hearing the word unprecedented, but in this case 0:06:58.480 --> 0:07:02.480 it's very very true. Donald Trump has signed an unprecedented 0:07:02.480 --> 0:07:06.640 and historic. Infamous is how our kids will probably learn 0:07:06.680 --> 0:07:09.680 about it in a few years. But one hundred and 0:07:09.760 --> 0:07:13.480 forty two executive orders in the first one hundred days, 0:07:14.320 --> 0:07:19.120 he has moved at a neck breaking pace, impacting every sector. 0:07:19.400 --> 0:07:22.760 So whether or not you're really into politics in one 0:07:22.760 --> 0:07:25.880 way or another, you felt it. This has been issues 0:07:26.320 --> 0:07:30.600 of immigration, asylum, human rights that I work on on 0:07:30.640 --> 0:07:33.720 a day to day basis. It's been issues tied to 0:07:33.880 --> 0:07:37.360 student loans, which many of us can relate to issues 0:07:37.400 --> 0:07:41.680 tied to the climate, policing and the like. But your 0:07:41.760 --> 0:07:45.480 question tied to how it's impacting us disproportionately, meaning black 0:07:45.520 --> 0:07:51.480 and brown communities, is key. Within his first day in office, 0:07:52.200 --> 0:07:57.000 President Donald Trump assigned several executive orders, and what it 0:07:57.040 --> 0:07:59.880 did is it placed us in a situation of KAO 0:08:00.360 --> 0:08:05.440 and fair that is still reverberating across the country. Namely, 0:08:06.240 --> 0:08:10.360 he tried to insinuate the immigration that is the foundation 0:08:10.480 --> 0:08:13.559 of our culture, the foundation of the United States, whether 0:08:13.560 --> 0:08:16.640 it be forced as it has been for the descendants 0:08:16.640 --> 0:08:23.440 of chattel slavery, or willing economic immigration, or most recently 0:08:23.680 --> 0:08:29.880 asylum seekers. He tried to paint this as an invasion 0:08:30.840 --> 0:08:35.840 and as you set executive orders to try and circumnavigate 0:08:35.920 --> 0:08:38.640 some of the barriers that exist, some of those checks 0:08:38.640 --> 0:08:40.840 and balances that we all learned about with the bill 0:08:40.880 --> 0:08:44.840 on Capitol Hill and is now pushing forward to attack 0:08:44.840 --> 0:08:52.480 our constitutional rights, namely basic fundamental human rights like the 0:08:52.559 --> 0:08:56.880 ability to protest, the ability to congregate. All of these 0:08:56.920 --> 0:09:01.520 things have been challenged by a plethora of again one 0:09:01.600 --> 0:09:06.680 hundred and forty two executive orders, many of which are 0:09:06.800 --> 0:09:11.840 actively being challenged in the courts as we speak. You see, 0:09:12.400 --> 0:09:17.200 the president trump playbook is something that we saw in 0:09:17.280 --> 0:09:23.360 Trump One, where he throws something flagrantly illegal at the 0:09:23.400 --> 0:09:27.720 wall to see if it sticks. Many groups like human 0:09:27.760 --> 0:09:32.120 rights first turn around and seue, and in most cases 0:09:32.120 --> 0:09:34.480 we were able to win and uphold some of our 0:09:34.520 --> 0:09:39.320 constitutional fundamental rights. But in the interim is where the 0:09:39.320 --> 0:09:45.480 pain comes to black and brown communities. For example, when 0:09:45.480 --> 0:09:49.640 we have situations where US citizens are now being questioned 0:09:49.640 --> 0:09:55.280 of their citizenship, are being placed into immigration proceedings. We know, 0:09:55.600 --> 0:09:59.040 just taking a step out of his technicalities, that some 0:09:59.080 --> 0:10:02.520 of these economics disparities that exist hit black and brown 0:10:02.559 --> 0:10:05.400 folks the worst. So while you may be listening to 0:10:05.440 --> 0:10:08.200 this and think, wow, that's crazy. If I got arrested, 0:10:08.600 --> 0:10:11.560 what would I do? You might have access to bail money, 0:10:12.080 --> 0:10:14.280 might have access to a cell phone, You may have 0:10:14.400 --> 0:10:17.480 some way to get out, But if you don't have 0:10:17.880 --> 0:10:20.960 that money, that liquid bread on hand. What happens to 0:10:21.000 --> 0:10:25.080 you that question is not just a legal fact pattern, 0:10:25.600 --> 0:10:27.800 but it's what people are experiencing now on a day 0:10:27.840 --> 0:10:31.040 to day basis under Trump's America because of this onslaught 0:10:31.120 --> 0:10:33.240 of executive orders that he's unleashed. 0:10:33.840 --> 0:10:38.440 Yeah, you know, one of the things that I have 0:10:38.600 --> 0:10:43.720 discovered because I was really interested in this last election 0:10:43.880 --> 0:10:48.040 and how it was the case that we as a 0:10:48.080 --> 0:10:50.520 country were able to re elect someone that we said 0:10:50.559 --> 0:10:56.640 no to, especially when compared to Kamala Harris, who we 0:10:56.679 --> 0:10:59.319 felt was We're not the only ones that felt that 0:10:59.360 --> 0:11:03.320 way objectively, was the most qualified, you know, candidate whoever 0:11:03.559 --> 0:11:07.480 ran for president in the history of the country. She 0:11:07.520 --> 0:11:09.440 had worked in all three branches of the government. She 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:12.760 was just exceptionally qualified. Served as a vice president. Of course, 0:11:14.520 --> 0:11:16.360 how were we able to get back there? And I 0:11:16.520 --> 0:11:19.560 learned that, you know, as you mentioned, Donald Trump is 0:11:20.040 --> 0:11:24.880 kind of cutting through protocol, the constitution, you know, the rules. 0:11:25.559 --> 0:11:29.000 I learned that a huge amount of his voter base 0:11:29.640 --> 0:11:34.720 absolutely does not care that he breaks the rules, does 0:11:34.760 --> 0:11:37.320 not care that he has no fidelity to the constitution. 0:11:37.520 --> 0:11:42.240 That's what they want. They want him to be their 0:11:42.360 --> 0:11:45.480 guy and to protect their interests. And these are the 0:11:45.480 --> 0:11:48.960 people in Middle America, the reliably read states that feel 0:11:49.280 --> 0:11:51.920 overlooked and you know, and they're never going to give 0:11:52.000 --> 0:11:55.000 up on Donald Trump. It's just they feel afraid. They 0:11:55.080 --> 0:12:01.840 feel they feel disenfranchised, and they feel that and they've 0:12:02.800 --> 0:12:04.719 gotten to the point where they feel like they've been 0:12:04.720 --> 0:12:07.400 discriminated against. You know, we had a conversation recently Q 0:12:07.520 --> 0:12:11.199 and I about you know, white evangelicals and how they 0:12:11.200 --> 0:12:15.839 are reliably you know, Trump Trump's voter base, you know 0:12:15.880 --> 0:12:17.960 what I mean. And when you think of Donald Trump 0:12:18.000 --> 0:12:22.200 and you think of evangelicals, it's not their morals that 0:12:22.240 --> 0:12:24.440 they're voting on, and you would think that rather it's 0:12:25.000 --> 0:12:26.800 what are they afraid of? What do they think is 0:12:26.800 --> 0:12:29.640 happening to them? And they feel like they as human 0:12:29.720 --> 0:12:34.319 beings and their faith is under attack. But I want 0:12:34.320 --> 0:12:37.640 to shift gears here a bit. You know, we going 0:12:37.679 --> 0:12:42.480 into this last election, a lot of people were discussing 0:12:42.520 --> 0:12:45.480 the potential of Project twenty twenty five. It's Trump's Project 0:12:45.480 --> 0:12:48.040 twenty twenty five. He's going to implement Project twenty twenty five. 0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:50.360 And of course Trump famously pushed back. I think I've 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:52.600 never heard Project twenty twenty five. I've heard there's some 0:12:52.640 --> 0:12:56.280 good things, but we have Agenda forty seven. That's what 0:12:56.320 --> 0:13:00.440 we want to do for people that are why this 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:03.319 playbook where for people that are seeing Donald Trump fire 0:13:03.640 --> 0:13:07.680 people from key government predition, positions that are typically nonpartisan 0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:10.520 and installing loyalists. That was kind of one of the 0:13:10.520 --> 0:13:13.920 big things from Project twenty twenty five to all the 0:13:14.000 --> 0:13:17.319 other things that really mirror the either the spirit or 0:13:17.360 --> 0:13:19.880 the actual language of Project twenty twenty five. How closely 0:13:19.920 --> 0:13:23.000 do you feel that the first hundred days of Donald 0:13:23.000 --> 0:13:28.120 Trump's administration reflect what the thrust of Project twenty twenty five. 0:13:30.040 --> 0:13:33.480 You know, it's funny that you say changing gears, because 0:13:33.520 --> 0:13:37.040 the keyword in what I heard was afraid, which was 0:13:37.280 --> 0:13:41.680 woven in to Project twenty twenty five. The foundation of 0:13:41.720 --> 0:13:46.920 the plan was to hit all components of our society 0:13:46.960 --> 0:13:50.720 from every angle so that it was truly impossible to 0:13:50.800 --> 0:13:55.680 respond in a succinct, meaningful, and most importantly strategic way. 0:13:56.760 --> 0:13:59.920 So when we're looking at things from Project twenty twenty five, 0:14:00.920 --> 0:14:02.520 what jumps out to me are some of the most 0:14:02.520 --> 0:14:06.280 scary things that was talked about. Let's think about birthright citizenship, 0:14:07.880 --> 0:14:12.240 the Fourteenth Amendment and shrine list that anyone born on 0:14:12.280 --> 0:14:16.160 this soil would have access to citizenship in this country. 0:14:16.880 --> 0:14:20.920 This is something that again has a history tied to us, 0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:26.480 tied to black people, tied to the indigenous folks of 0:14:26.520 --> 0:14:31.960 this land. And in twenty twenty five, ignoring our constitution, 0:14:32.880 --> 0:14:37.400 ignoring years of precedent that the Court has analyzed over centuries, 0:14:39.480 --> 0:14:43.840 he challenged this but for a lawsuit. But for a 0:14:43.920 --> 0:14:49.680 lawsuit from similarly situated human rights organizations, it would have 0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:54.600 changed that. Chaos is one of the many components brought 0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:58.800 up in Pretentick twenty twenty five, whether it be leaving 0:14:58.840 --> 0:15:05.400 the Paris Agreement, attacking the World Health Organization. Brother There 0:15:05.480 --> 0:15:11.360 isn't enough time to go through the thick destructive points 0:15:11.560 --> 0:15:14.280 within it. But let's be clear that is by design. 0:15:15.040 --> 0:15:18.240 They wanted to make it to where the women's orgs, 0:15:18.640 --> 0:15:23.040 women's rights organizations versus the climate justice folks versus the 0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:26.520 civil rights folks versus the human rights folks, and immigrant 0:15:26.640 --> 0:15:31.840 justice folks were so scattered, were so concerned with these 0:15:32.000 --> 0:15:35.800 egregious attacks against our fundamental rights, that we didn't have 0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:39.320 time to strategize and fight back in a strategic way, 0:15:39.840 --> 0:15:42.600 in the way that they had been plotting and planning 0:15:43.400 --> 0:15:47.440 for four years, ruminating after what was still an embarrassing loss, 0:15:47.880 --> 0:15:49.640 which is why it took come so long to acknowledge 0:15:49.640 --> 0:15:56.680 that he had loss. So the playbook is there, and 0:15:56.840 --> 0:16:00.120 while we've seen components of it within these first one 0:16:00.200 --> 0:16:04.600 hundred days, that is already throwing our country into a chaos. 0:16:05.840 --> 0:16:09.000 Don't be fooled, it's only beginning. We are less than 0:16:09.160 --> 0:16:13.240 halfway through the year in what is supposed to be 0:16:14.360 --> 0:16:16.800 supposed to be Because, as I'm sure you all heard, 0:16:17.840 --> 0:16:24.160 our current president has ironically discussed the third term it 0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:30.720 is just a scary time. Doesn't really articulate the complexities 0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:36.440 both legally, socially culturally that we are up against right now. 0:16:37.320 --> 0:16:41.880 You know, it is so refreshing to hear someone else 0:16:42.400 --> 0:16:49.520 say afraid and scared. We are not typically comfortable with 0:16:49.560 --> 0:16:53.080 those feelings, and a lot of times our brothers and 0:16:53.120 --> 0:16:56.200 our sisters don't want to acknowledge them. I think we 0:16:56.280 --> 0:17:01.360 saw that during COVID nineteen. Right the the reason I 0:17:01.360 --> 0:17:05.359 think our people were so prone to buying into conspiracy 0:17:05.400 --> 0:17:08.560 theories was it was just fear and instead of saying 0:17:08.640 --> 0:17:11.399 I'm afraid to get the vaccine because I don't understand. 0:17:12.240 --> 0:17:14.480 We say we're going to get computer chips implanted in 0:17:14.560 --> 0:17:20.160 us in the vaccine, and the vaccine causes a list 0:17:20.200 --> 0:17:23.600 of things that should have sounded ridiculous, but again, no 0:17:23.600 --> 0:17:26.600 one wanted to acknowledge fear, so we explained it away 0:17:26.640 --> 0:17:30.320 with some things that just normally wouldn't have made sense 0:17:30.359 --> 0:17:34.320 to us personally. I've been having to deal with friends 0:17:34.320 --> 0:17:38.919 and colleagues, I'll flatly say, gaslighting me for being so 0:17:39.040 --> 0:17:42.719 upset at what I'm witnessing. And we use the words 0:17:42.760 --> 0:17:45.880 black and brown. In my world, that is a very 0:17:46.000 --> 0:17:50.280 very literal thing. My children are black, African American and 0:17:50.480 --> 0:17:57.400 Mexican Hispanic Latin mixed in a border state, and that 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:03.960 what we've seen happen with regards to immigration, with ice 0:18:04.200 --> 0:18:09.720 and raids and communication from the Department of Education or 0:18:09.760 --> 0:18:12.480 the school board or the GOP and the state that 0:18:12.520 --> 0:18:15.760 we live in where they are lockstep with the administration 0:18:15.840 --> 0:18:18.520 and the president. When you have to go get your 0:18:18.560 --> 0:18:21.160 first grader and your kindergartener from school because there might 0:18:21.200 --> 0:18:24.000 be an ice ray, trust me, that is an actual 0:18:24.520 --> 0:18:29.239 scary thing. So thank you for acknowledging that This is 0:18:29.320 --> 0:18:34.520 not just unprecedented, but in some cases terrifying watching someone 0:18:34.600 --> 0:18:39.040 completely ignore and disregard our constitution. One of the things 0:18:39.040 --> 0:18:42.400 that stood out to me that I was really caught 0:18:42.400 --> 0:18:48.040 off guard by was the private sector's preemptive bending of 0:18:48.080 --> 0:18:51.520 the need with regards to DEI. I knew that there 0:18:51.520 --> 0:18:54.680 were places that depended on federal funding that kind of 0:18:54.720 --> 0:18:56.879 didn't have a choice. They had to just fall in line. 0:18:57.480 --> 0:19:02.919 But watching these massively successful companies, in multi multi, multi 0:19:03.080 --> 0:19:09.159 billion dollar corporations preemptively kissed the ring and ben and 0:19:09.280 --> 0:19:13.080 knee was shocking for me. Maybe it shouldn't have been, 0:19:13.119 --> 0:19:18.440 but it was. How has that resonated in the position 0:19:18.520 --> 0:19:20.360 that you're in or from your purview. 0:19:22.359 --> 0:19:29.600 It has made collaboration that much more tricky within the 0:19:29.680 --> 0:19:34.800 nonprofit space. Just as a man, it's made shopping that 0:19:34.920 --> 0:19:39.119 much more difficult, sure way, and I have to consider 0:19:40.320 --> 0:19:44.080 as a pedestrian where I'm shopping, how I'm getting just 0:19:44.200 --> 0:19:49.280 basic goods. Because our power lives with our dollar, so 0:19:49.800 --> 0:19:53.560 let's be clear when it comes to companies protecting their 0:19:53.600 --> 0:19:58.760 bottom line. I am less shocked. And that may be 0:19:59.200 --> 0:20:03.280 the skeptic of me, It may be just an analysis 0:20:03.359 --> 0:20:06.760 of us history and the history of capitalism across the world. 0:20:08.400 --> 0:20:13.960 Where I have been grappling and still am grappling with 0:20:14.200 --> 0:20:21.360 just the impact is the attack on diversity, equity inclusion 0:20:21.440 --> 0:20:28.240 programs within our federal government, within our schools, because so 0:20:28.400 --> 0:20:34.080 many people that I know in love have been hurt 0:20:34.840 --> 0:20:43.320 by what has been a surgical attack on communities that 0:20:44.160 --> 0:20:48.160 don't reflect how the Trump administration wants America to look. 0:20:49.760 --> 0:20:55.600 These DEI programs have nothing, nothing to do with the 0:20:55.640 --> 0:21:00.280 way that is discussed in twenty twenty five. And it 0:21:00.320 --> 0:21:02.600 breaks my heart that when I hear the word DEI, 0:21:03.359 --> 0:21:08.919 I feel compelled to provide an explanatory comma to punctuate 0:21:09.000 --> 0:21:10.760 it with, oh, but this is what it means in 0:21:10.760 --> 0:21:15.920 this context, because the definition is within the name diversity, equity, 0:21:16.000 --> 0:21:20.880 and inclusion, but no different than woke, no different than 0:21:22.119 --> 0:21:31.320 equality or equity. The powers that be have attempted, Hey, 0:21:31.359 --> 0:21:33.760 you know what, I'll give flowers where they do. They 0:21:33.840 --> 0:21:41.480 have taken the words that we use to articulate justice, power, freedom, 0:21:41.720 --> 0:21:46.520 equality and rebranded it in a way that has folks 0:21:46.520 --> 0:21:49.119 confused about what's really going on. So when it comes 0:21:49.160 --> 0:21:53.760 to the way that DEI has been attacked, I am 0:21:53.800 --> 0:21:56.720 still grappling with it. And in this case, it's not 0:21:56.800 --> 0:22:00.920 just fear of what's to happen next, it's anger because 0:22:00.960 --> 0:22:04.520 it's surgical. You all can think again, I grew up 0:22:04.560 --> 0:22:08.080 in Florida. I'm in DC now, but not having been 0:22:08.119 --> 0:22:10.840 to y'all's border communities, I could take a while guess 0:22:10.840 --> 0:22:15.440 and say, you've seen a black postal worker. Why? Because 0:22:15.520 --> 0:22:22.480 black folks have disproportionally represented the federal workforce for decades, 0:22:23.480 --> 0:22:28.360 for decades, and by attacking diversity, equity inclusion in this 0:22:28.440 --> 0:22:33.119 new form and fashion, they're attacking black communities. They're making 0:22:33.119 --> 0:22:36.639 it to where you have less access to upward mobility 0:22:37.440 --> 0:22:43.280 than you would have without access to federal jobs, and 0:22:43.320 --> 0:22:47.720 while simultaneously attacking diversity acuity inclusion programs to get access 0:22:47.760 --> 0:22:55.080 to a higher education. Again, I give pause thinking about 0:22:55.359 --> 0:22:57.680 how it is that we're supposed to approach this because 0:22:57.720 --> 0:23:02.080 of such a complex on our human rights. 0:23:03.119 --> 0:23:05.720 You know something about you know what you're saying. We 0:23:06.440 --> 0:23:12.560 found this out recently, that federal jobs. And it was 0:23:13.440 --> 0:23:16.400 after the Civil rights movement when all the laws were 0:23:16.760 --> 0:23:20.680 passed and it kind of helped make the country more fair. 0:23:22.240 --> 0:23:25.480 But federal jobs, the federal workforce was the one place 0:23:25.680 --> 0:23:29.720 in the country where black folks could get jobs without 0:23:29.840 --> 0:23:33.640 the private sector discrimination. And so that allowed a lot 0:23:33.640 --> 0:23:35.880 of black people to access the middle class, a lot 0:23:35.880 --> 0:23:40.040 of brown people to access the middle class. And you know, 0:23:40.119 --> 0:23:42.399 to be fair, the middle classes is shrinking, of course, 0:23:42.440 --> 0:23:48.000 but you know, the legacy middle class, you know from 0:23:48.080 --> 0:23:51.719 you know, the we'll call it the mid sixties to today. 0:23:54.040 --> 0:23:55.359 You know, a lot of the black folks that were 0:23:55.400 --> 0:23:59.639 able to access that was through federal, federal programs and 0:23:59.680 --> 0:24:00.320 federal jobs. 0:24:00.320 --> 0:24:01.080 That is what I mean to say. 0:24:01.119 --> 0:24:07.760 So, yeah, these these attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion, 0:24:07.760 --> 0:24:09.760 because Q does like when we say the whole title, 0:24:09.840 --> 0:24:16.200 so that people understand that as concepts they are not wrong, bad, 0:24:16.359 --> 0:24:20.359 inconsistent with our human nature. But when you it's easier 0:24:20.359 --> 0:24:23.800 to politicize it by calling a DEI. But the attacks 0:24:23.840 --> 0:24:27.639 have have definitely been attacks that we felt, particularly so 0:24:27.840 --> 0:24:31.520 in marginalized communities. I have just kind of like maybe 0:24:31.520 --> 0:24:33.800 a minute or so here, maybe a minute and a half, 0:24:33.840 --> 0:24:38.359 but I'd like to get your thoughts on the destruction 0:24:38.640 --> 0:24:43.800 of us AID and the Department of Education and and 0:24:43.800 --> 0:24:46.600 and all those other sort of ancillary Well, I guess 0:24:46.600 --> 0:24:49.280 they're not ancillary things, but the additional elements that that 0:24:49.320 --> 0:24:51.240 we don't talk about as as often as we probably 0:24:51.240 --> 0:24:52.000 should on this show. 0:24:52.920 --> 0:24:56.320 And you know, with a minute, I'll keep it very direct, 0:24:56.680 --> 0:25:00.720 keep it very simple. It's very easy to other what's 0:25:00.760 --> 0:25:05.159 happening to our Latino brothers and sisters if you have 0:25:05.359 --> 0:25:08.440 interactive with them, maybe you're in a state where the 0:25:08.520 --> 0:25:12.400 diasporas and is present. Is very easy to look at 0:25:12.400 --> 0:25:14.320 all the international issues and say, what does that have 0:25:14.359 --> 0:25:17.760 to do with me and mins right here? But when 0:25:17.800 --> 0:25:20.919 it comes to USAID, when it comes to the Department 0:25:20.960 --> 0:25:25.920 of Education, it's forcing you to remember that what happens 0:25:25.920 --> 0:25:28.920 to our brothers and our sisters, both here and abroad, 0:25:29.240 --> 0:25:34.840 will ultimately impact US. USAID is one of the primary 0:25:35.440 --> 0:25:39.919 sources for vaccinations across the world in many parts of 0:25:39.960 --> 0:25:43.200 the world, and what we don't recognize is that by 0:25:43.240 --> 0:25:48.680 simply stripping away access to life saving vaccinations, it's not 0:25:48.760 --> 0:25:52.360 only impacting a country that you may not have heard 0:25:52.440 --> 0:25:55.000 of or don't have any interest in going to. It's 0:25:55.040 --> 0:25:58.159 impacting any and everyone that goes onto a plane there 0:25:58.720 --> 0:26:02.879 and here and ultimately ends up walking around. That's how 0:26:03.280 --> 0:26:10.120 globalized society works. That's how communical communicable diseases work, and 0:26:10.240 --> 0:26:14.679 it's not something that stops by you staying in your 0:26:14.680 --> 0:26:18.040 community in twenty twenty five. If I want it to 0:26:18.040 --> 0:26:20.760 be on the opposite side of the world tomorrow, I 0:26:20.800 --> 0:26:23.040 can book a flight, hop on a plane and go. 0:26:23.520 --> 0:26:27.439 And most of us rust assured that the standards around 0:26:27.520 --> 0:26:32.800 health care and interconnection, it's going to be comparable, it's 0:26:32.800 --> 0:26:34.879 going to be safe. And that has lots to do 0:26:34.920 --> 0:26:38.200