April Ryan

And her exit leaves the White House without a press secretary fewer than three weeks from the midterms.

Joining me now is White House correspondent for The Contrarian and host of The T with April Ryan.

April Ryan, she's also the author of a new book, Notes on a Black Blacklash When a Black Woman Goes Viral.

April, thank you for being with me.

We'll talk about the book in just a moment.

We learn early how to compartmentalize, how to function through discomfort and delay tending to ourself because others are always watching, always waiting for us to falter.

That trap of the strong black woman trope.

April Ryan, always good to have you.

Thank you for joining us for another episode of The Contrarian Pod.

On The Tea with April Ryan, Martin Luther King III and Arndrea Waters King, the chairman and president respectively of the Drum Major Institute, joined April.

With only 20 days ahead of the midterm elections, the trio discussed building Black and brown political power and fighting legislative oppression at the ballot box.

And what I would add as a mother, you know, our daughter, um, just turned 18 in May.

But if you look closer, really look, it's about something much deeper.

It's about the quiet courage it takes to show up every single day and ask, who is being left behind? April Ryan has done exactly that for OH for 30 years.

She walked into the White House press corps in 1993, back when the air felt different, back when the role of the fourth estate still carried a certain weight of mutual respect, even amidst disagreement.

She wasn't there to cheerlead.

It's defined by the integrity of our work.

Let's commit to being better listeners, better supporters, better citizens.

Let's honor the April Ryans of the world by ensuring their voices are heard, respected, and protected.

By chaos when they speak, we all benefit.

I'm Tonya Mosley.

For nearly three decades, my guest today, journalist April Ryan, has reported from the White House briefing room, covering five presidents, from Bill Clinton to Donald Trump.

She spent most of those years at American Urban Radio Networks, a Black-owned national network.

Today, the Trump administration is in court with CNN, MS Now, and Politico after barring their reporters from the White House.

You're shaking your head.

Hmm.

That was my guest, April Ryan, with Sean Spicer in 2017.

Her new book is Notes On A Blacklash: When a Black Woman Goes Viral, and it's about what happened when the reporter asking the questions became part of the story.

Thank you so much for joining us for another episode of The Contrarian Pod.

On Coffee with Contrarians earlier today, Jen Rubin, Norm Eisen, and April Ryan discussed Trump's abhorrent comments about sacrificing Los Angeles and San Diego in the war with Iran.

April also talked about her new book, Notes on a Blacklash, and reflected on the time a Housing and Urban Development official in the Trump administration referred to her as Miss Piggy.

So in the book, I chronicle the trauma.

I am-- Today is Wednesday.