He's a black

person.

Let me just try to make the point clear.

I'm making a policy distinction.

Maybe this will help.

In the Congressional Black Caucus, where I was the executive director for some years, but several years ago, we had a black Republican that chose to join, his name was Allen West.

Generally, black Republicans in Congress do not caucus with Democrats, and so they don't participate in the Congressional Black Caucus.

And then we just got to get lumped in the greater pool for everybody else.

If you tell them they know what molly is, you know what a molly whop

is.

So also, kids, we grew up with just say no.

So please continue to say no to drugs.

But a molly whop is not a drug.

Molly whop is when you get drunk.

Get your ass dragged.

I just want to salute to you.

Break it down on what's happening and if people can still pull up on us.

Absolutely.

So the people's election night.

And since you're welcome, I don't know if you're hopping to another state before the end of the night, but 8 p.m. to midnight Eastern.

We are going to be live in New York City to register.

You have to RSVP at people's election night dot com.

At that point, we'll share the address for security reasons.

I want FAMU to be an R1 institution.

Angela Rye, would you like to close with anything?

Yes.

I, um, hope that the Florida voters, uh, equip themselves with the facts today, because people sound good, um, doesn't necessarily mean that they're telling you the truth.

Um, it's really important here that we talk about the SNAP benefits that are being cut and what people are gonna be able to do to afford their groceries, to be able to afford housing, to be paid the wages they deserve.

And as Black men and Black women are suffering historical unemployment rates, we need to have solutions that move us forward, and we can't do that with people who won't be even be honest about what their actually policy positions are and have to study what the outcome is when folks are suffering.

Why? We gotta take your blood pressure.

Well, yeah.

I just, I think for me, y'all know, like, there's nothing worse than being lied to.

But I think that if Republicans stay home, stay home, I think it'll be an even better night.

One of the things that I have been fascinated with over the last couple of days is Haley Stevens, your colleague in the house.

Yeah, I'm going to bring it up.

I'm going to bring it up because you caught a lot of flack for endorsing James Tallarico not appearing with the.

James Salarico, though, and Haley Stevens said, hold my beer.

I'm going to go ahead and endorse the Republican show up to perfecting church where he couldn't get a standing ovation.

I'm talking about Mike Rogers.

And you want to tell them again what you're doing tonight one more time on Netflix, please? What we're doing? What we're doing, yes.

Mm.

The folks that we talked to in the South, um, almost had an attitude generally of, "Y'all are about to see what fascism looks like.

We live under that with the gover- governors and the state legislatur- legislatures we have who, based on who is in control." And I think that the harsh reality that we have to deal with is, um, from administration to administration, uh, the Mississippi Delta hasn't changed economically.

Um, from administration to administration, there are rural parts of Georgia and Tennessee, um, and, um, Oklahoma [laughs] that haven't shifted.

And I think that what would be in our best interest as people of color is for us to figure out where those inroads and bridges exist for people across, you know, rural and urban communities, um, and those who are economically impacted regardless of their racial background.

Now, I'll say, um, shout out to Kimberle Crenshaw, we know what it means to hold intersectionality in our bodies.

Uh, but do you think that the, the fights, that the resilience of Black folks in those pockets of America that you were talking about, that people are actually listening and taking lessons from that?

Well, and I should, I should say there are, um, some real similarities in some of our urban centers too, where economic conditions haven't changed, including in New York, including in parts of LA, um, in- including in parts of, in New Jersey, right? Like, there are people who also haven't seen real shifts regardless of who's in charge, and that's why you see some of those, like, ignorant posts or people go on TV shows and say, "Well, look at how terrible things are in New York.

And it, this is a problem that is systemic, and it's just every single cycle, but it feels more intense this year because there's so many potentially winnable races.

You know, Joy, it also feels, um...

The, the injury feels particularly acute because of how long we've been having these discussions.

You know, I worked for the Congressional Black Caucus, and the amount of times that members have had to say that Black elected officials or Black candidates also deserve to be in what the DCCC, or the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, calls the Red to Blue Program.

If you run in a competitive seat, just because somebody's Black doesn't mean that they don't have a shot.

If you don't invest in the race, it is harder to win, full stop.

Should money be out of politics? Absolutely.

[laughs]

Mm-hmm.

And I think that it is, um, woefully dishonest.

It's, it's irresponsible, and I think we need something to make sure that, um, we can find our news somewhere.

And so, uh, one of the things that came to mind was, like, what happened with Jay, um, someone accusing him of being with a underage girl.

Mm.

And so we'll work through those claims together with our panel to talk about whether or not these things are true, um, and then what supporting evidence do we have, and really get into the depth of the conversations.

We don't know what happened to Nolan Wells, so we also have to be responsible about what we're putting out there.

We can also, you know, fuel the flame-

Okay.

Warner Brothers merger.

Um, that is pretty significant.

Okay.

And I think if it happens, um, you know, second to state-run media, that could be really scary.

Thank goodness.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Pop, pop, pop.

It's people first, and one of the things I saw on your social media, uh, Angie, you have, like most Floridians, "I don't fit in this box," or, "You can't put me in a box."

Yes

... to make sure you and your brother had food and, you know, like me, you had to take a bus across town because where we, where we went to school, it just wasn't good enough.

They didn't have books.

They didn't have supplies.

My first school had metal detectors, right? So when does it ever change? 'Cause it seems like we're in that same fight every year.

How are folks feeling?

I think they feel like us.

Like, you know, like what is going to happen? Tired, concerned, confused about all of the attacks.

You know, why would you ever want to make it more difficult for people to vote, to access the ballot box, to learn about their candidates, to vote for their interests? It's really very puzzling.

And then now $5,000 if the Republicans win, which is not ever going to happen.

But right now, did you hear the president's ban MSNBC, CNN and Politico from the White House? Your thoughts on that as a member, as a journalist?

My thoughts are I have never seen in our lifetime such a war on the freedom of the press.

And again, I'm looking at your face, always concerned about how you're doing and managing what you're up against.

OK, do we have your sound, Angela?

Yeah, I could hear you the whole time.

I don't know what was going on.

Technology.

Technology.

Well, I was saying thank you for creating this space.

I think you always walk in joy and always create opportunities to give everyone grace.

just not

And they want to tell us we can't afford healthcare and childcare.

You started naturally where you should as a physician and epidemiologist in health care.

What are the other issues you're hearing about from folks in Michigan that they care most about, regardless of party lines, racial lines, generational lines? What are you hearing from them?

That was part of it.

You know, you brought up when you were kind of responding to this idea about the slimming differences between the Republican and Democratic Party being Muslim.

And I think what's interesting about this era we're in now, as soon as you won the primary.

The attacks on your name, the hyper focus on differences began to rear their heads.

And I think what's remarkable about it is with any other religion, without your wife, who is also a doctor, a psychiatrist wearing a wearing hijab.

[laughs]

That was part of it.

You know, you brought up, um, when you were kinda responding to this idea about the, the slimming differences between the Republican and Democratic parties, um, being Muslim.

And I think what's interesting about this era we're in, we're in now, as soon as you won the primary, um, the attacks on your name, the hyper-focus on differences began to, um, rear their heads.

And I think what's remarkable about it is, um, with any other religion, without your wife who is also a doctor, a psychiatrist wearing a h- wearing hijab, you guys are the quintessential American, the story of the American dream, right? Um, college-educated, you know, child of immigrant, or, of an, an immigrant father.

Like any other's place, you would be the quintessential American dream.

So talk about how you're experiencing, um, Islamophobia now.

And, you know, every day Trump is coming after me, he's proving that.

Yeah.

To Lenard's point, um, you, any, any candidate on a national stage is being forced to contend, um, with the genocide, um, in Gaza.

And I think w- what is remarkable is in most cases, including in interviews you've done, um, the statement is made, Israel has a right to defend itself.

As a senator, you will have to vote on whether or not Israel should receive military aid.

How would you vote on whether or not the country gives Israel military aid?

Mm-hmm.

Democrats largely, especially establishment Democrats, response to that, even some in the socialist side who haven't dealt with their racism, said, "We agree with you.

There shouldn't be DEI." So much so that we can look at the spending from the autopsy report, um, in campaigns, which has been a problem for a very long time.

Right.

Shout out to Wes and Dawn.

And so the thing that I would say is that we could... creep up on elections that have ICE officers outside of polling locations, people ready to criminalize the good work that so many of our friends who do voting rights work are doing.

The election protection hotline may reach an all-time high for the calls they receive.

Now, hopefully that doesn't happen in the spirit of John Lewis.

But I think that we would be foolish not to prepare as if it would happen.

So just as a normal call to action, we do that on our show all the time.

Do you think that this is an indication of where the public is shifting such that we could see some of those outcomes you're talking about in the midterms?

Mm-hmm.

So I think that those are really the things that we need to be wrestling with.

There are a number of issues here.

Um, I remember in 2006 when the Democrats took over, um, took over the, the House and the Senate, and, um, the, the language was around draining the swamp.

This, this used to be Democratic language, right? It was draining the swamp.

It was right after Jack Abramoff.

They wanted to clean up all of the ethics issues.

What do you think?

That's right.

Can you talk a little bit about how you would continue in this fight as a senator? Um, of course, all of the Voting Rights Act, uh, sections that have given us Black folks protection are g- are gutted.

We should be trying to make people's lives easier, not making their lives harder.

Any, any candidate on a national stage is being forced to contend, um, with the genocide, um, in Gaza.

And I think w- what is remarkable is in most cases, including in interviews you've done, um, the statement is made, Israel has a right to defend itself.

As a senator, you will have to vote on whether or not Israel should receive military aid.

How would you vote on whether or not the country gives Israel military aid?

I wanted to bring you in because there are updates, um, in the Carmelo Anthony case, and I wanted you to let us know what is happening in that case that changes, that potentially changes where we stand.

Yes.

Well, um, what has been made public is, um, the, there's been a notice for substitute of counsel filed.

Um, there are several new attorneys who have joined Carmelo Anthony's legal team.

Um, and it's, it's, it, it's important when you think about a matter like this, you think about, um, needing to have a dream team behind you.

And so, um, there are attorneys, the noted, uh, Russell Wilson, who's a great appellate attorney, um, leading that team of folks in, uh, Dallas, Texas, and very familiar with that community.

Um, Michael Ware is another one in the, um, third chair.

Mm.

Your thoughts.

Oh joy, you know I was.

I was reading about carmelo earlier you we recorded our show earlier today, and there are so many things that I think the number of conversations that you and I have just centering the humanity.

of young black boys, of black people, so often we are seen as a commodity.

Chattel, which we've been seen as since slavery and the rights that we have as a result of being deemed property historically suffer.

And so the thing that is remarkably challenging to me right now is Being able to hold space for the family that did lose their son, but also understanding that there is a black boy whose future is forever changed.

This boy was the captain of his football team, captain of his track and field team, a 3.7 GPA, worked at Foot Locker, worked at a supermarket, you know, really carrying his weight in ways that most of us, many of us urge our kids, our God kids, our nephews and nieces, you know, siblings to pursue.

She may win simply because there are so many black opponents running against her.

Okay, Angela, sorry about that.

No problem.

And I can't be on long either because, as you know, they are...

There's now a live press conference, um, at Minneapolis City Hall, um, where they are talking about this, trying to figure out what, um, evidence whatsoever there is that there was even a grand jury empaneled.

Georgia Fort, of course, has a hearing at 1:30 pm, um, and it's very important for those from Minneapolis who are watching to go out.

I am not a journalist.

I'm an advocate.

Right.

This seems ass backwards to me, like where people's obsessions in politics lie.

So, and I think that part of this is, you know, not only is it our responsibility, but I would say it's the responsibility of the media.

How often do you turn on the local news and hear about what's going on in a city council meeting or, you know, in a city council hearing if it's not a big vote coming up? Like a huge, you never hear about it.

Or a fight or a shooting at the council.

Yeah.

Or that.

St. Louis, this happens.

As far as where we are today, what is your view on activism and its participants Mainly those that are saying that they've started this movement or that sort of thing.

Yes ma'am

... um, I, I appreciate the point that you're making about media capitulating.

I think, um, one thing about all of us, we all had our own backgrounds in media in different capacities.

And one thing that people can be sure to get when they tune into Native Land Pod is an unfiltered approach, uh, well researched facts.

All of us are free.

Like we're not, um, w- we don't have some, a, a boss that we have to answer to for our opinions.

We are not, um, at the will of the Trump administration in any capacity, and we lead with our community.

Like, like what's broken about how mainstream media covers race and politics today?

Yeah.

It created some jobs.

It created some opportunities, so we are being victimized.

So there's something very empowering, like, in this moment where I've applied for 300 jobs, let's say, and I haven't been hired.

I am feeling like I'm a victim, but somebody's telling me there's a choice I can make where I'm no longer going to be a victim.

Now, when they get in that room, they're gonna realize that that rhetoric isn't all the way aligned, but there are some touch points-

Yeah.

Where was the time to stand your gro- on the Charlie Kirk resolution just two weeks ago? When was the time to stand your ground when you could have at least pushed back in terms of rhetoric and what you're saying? And so people are just like, "It's a fight, but it ain't with the white right weapons."