And so it is a transformation, not just of the voting base, but now the Democratic Party is going to look more like its voting base, which is read as a threat by white voters, but is It helps to secure the affinity between black voters and the Democratic Party, because it's not just that there are white people leading a party that happen to benefit policy wise black people, but that black people become not just core constituents, but core leaders of the Democratic Party.

Like a multiracial leadership begins to appear led by black America.

You have to it's hard to imagine how upsetting this is.

You know, I grew up a young punk rocker.

And when I talk to young punk rockers today, they can't imagine that being a punk rocker.

was enough to get you labeled a gang member, right? You could be physically assaulted.

It was very common.

But do you see this breaking point that Nikki is describing?

Now they're just like, where's their home? That's

right.

And we forget how shocking...

This must have all felt great.

Remember, most people are still waking up in an America every day.

where they fundamentally believe that black people are inferior in every way unless you're black in america and it was again it was the natural order of things and no one saw this coming there were fears but no one saw the big leap of Eisenhower, right, federalizing troops to defend desegregation.

And we might, you know, unless we think this was just folks were doing it because it was the right thing, which would be phenomenal, right? That's not how it played out.

Eric, yeah, final word of this episode, and then we will pick up that story that Nikki just laid

... one inch on Black civil rights." And for the next 48, 58, 64, 16 years, uh, that is going to be, uh, the fight that is tearing the Democratic Party apart because you cannot reconcile the coalition.

Again, that is so accurate, Ab.

But I think the, the piece that's worth slowing down on, right, is this piece.

We typically jump too quickly from, uh, FDR, uh, uh, to Nixon, and, uh, we've already heard about the, the extraordinary contradictions within, uh, the New Deal Coalition, right? Uh, people had tangible transactional alliances, uh, but they did not have the same vision of, uh, democracy, right? Southern Democrats, uh, could support an activist federal government when it meant farm programs, right, infrastructure, uh, economic relief, uh, but those politicians, uh, were determined- Determined, determined that Washington not interfere, uh, uh, with Jim Crow.

And for me, that became the modern crux as I understand of, uh, the civil rights movement-

[upbeat music]

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Eric, on behalf of our entire clergy and community, thank you for being with us tonight and for always standing side by side in that single garment of destiny.

Thank you.

The music, incredibly beautiful and speaking to the heart.

Hello, beloved community.

I know why you are here because like me, you can feel the world trying to harden hearts and you refuse to allow it to harden yours.

Good evening, Central Synagogue.

Thank you for receiving me on the MLK Shabbat in this sanctuary and online.