February 17, 2021 • 40 mins
Friend of the show Melody Bray joins us once again to celebrate recent political victories and to discuss how to honor organizers.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, this is Annie and Samantha and welcome to Stephane.
Never told your production of I Heart Radio. Okay, guys,
we are back today with one of our faiths, Melody Bray.
Welcome back, Thank you, Thank you. Y'all are my favorite too.
(00:30):
We loved having yeah obviously because we're like, please, can
you come back? How about now? How about now? How
about today? I'll always have time for you And if
you have been listening when Melodies on, we do typically
dive real deep into politics and regards with black women
in the fight and the push that they've had as
well as advocating and what it looks like on local levels.
(00:50):
And of course the journey and the fight is not
over at all. It never will be, obviously, but it's
only fair that we come to celebrate the victories when
we can, including that we made it through the inauguration
about any big, big, big books than the swearing in
of Georgia's first black senator and the first Jewish senator
(01:12):
and the youngest seated senator today and uh to talk
about what it looks like for the future and how
we make sure to not slow down. So welcome back, Melody,
thank you, thank you, it's been great. I am just
basking in the glow of calm and normous. That's so
(01:32):
sad that we're like it's normal. My bar is very
very low, very low. Yeah, I think we all are.
A news story that said Joe Biden more masks on
White House balcony. I was like, wow, wow, so it is.
(01:53):
It's hilarious. And the fact that that now, yeah, people
are getting mad about things that are so ridiculous, that phenomenal.
Let's go back to just talking about the filibuster whatever, right,
you know? Yeah, And you know, Melody, you and I
had a brief moment where I was like texting you
pretty soon after the Senate seats were called, and I
was like, yeah, you know, we're gonna have to have
(02:14):
you back on the show. And then before we could
even talk about plans of when you should come back,
all hell broke loose. Yeah, and we everything just paused.
So I didn't get to ask you then, which is
appropriate that I should ask you. Now, what was your
reaction when you saw that Warnock and as off or
claiming the victories of and calling for the Senate win.
(02:36):
Working together leading up to it, we all kind of
said to one another. It's not about the wind, guys,
you know, it's about us fighting for people, empowering, giving
them a voice, making sure that folks know that somebody
is listening to them, and they have avenues provided to
them to express their vote. But I'm gonna go ahead
(02:56):
and say it's better when you win, um right. The
first half of the next day was glorious. It was
like I got up, the sun was shining. Um you know,
the text and the emails and phone calls among one another,
it was just I mean, here in Georgia having the
(03:16):
goal post moved from November three out to January five,
and a lot of us gave up our thanksgivings and
our Christmas is and our New Year's time. You know,
some folks didn't travel to see family because they were
serving people out on the streets and didn't want to
put their family in at risk. To know that that
sacrifice actually resulted in the result you wanted, it's just great.
(03:41):
And then being able to see them get sworn in.
You know, it's so rare that you work hard on
something you get that immediate gratification as opposed to like
years from now, I'll till that soil and I'll be
able to, you know, reap something from it. So it
was great for half a day. For half a day,
(04:02):
I mean for sure. I know the night before, I
don't know about you. I think we did text a
little bit. I was like, I stayed up all night
the night before, going back and forth, chacking results, checking results.
What was your night like? We got word from the
Georgia Democratic Party at about five o'clock p m. Four
Poles closed that things were looking very good, in a
(04:22):
very confident way, more confident than I would have expected.
So I went to sleep kind of feeling like I'm
gonna wake up and this is all going to turn
out a lot. I went to sleep with confidence, so
and you were all exhausted. Um, So it was, I
mean it was. It was very clear, very early, uh,
(04:44):
with internal polling of how it was going to land.
And I don't think I have asked you any of this.
How did you respond? How did you react the night before?
And then the morning you woke up? Well, I not
having this connection that worked party either. I thought it
was going to be much closer than I had ever
(05:06):
believed it would possibly be, but the Democrats would still lose.
And I was happy with that, but I was pretty like,
I'm just gonna go to bed knowing when I wake
up it's gonna be sad news. Yeah, and that's that's
kind of been my way since even before Donald Trump win.
Like that night, I was like, I'm not staying up
(05:26):
for this because I know my mind is it won't
be good for me. So yeah, that's kind of my
thing is I try to unplug from it as much
as I can, and then in the morning I will
deal with it. So that's kind of how I was.
And I was trying to manage my mom's expectations because
my mom, this is from a really conservative area in Georgia,
(05:47):
but she was really excited and she's like, what if
they win and what if they win? And I was like, Mom,
get your head out of the closs calmed down down. Yeah.
I actually was doing a back and forth texting or
d m NG with producer Sophie who is a part
of our Heart Network who lives in California. So she
(06:08):
and I were just going back and forth talking about
the issues that we actually, you know, talked about Loffler
and the connotations that she would bring in had she
had one. So it was a weird like interaction to
see someone on the outside of perspective looking in and
being like, good luck, guys, even though again we don't
necessarily like, yes, we voted, but as for a person
who did a little bit of volunteering but not a lot,
(06:31):
don't feel like that was much we can do outside
of that. But it was really interesting to talk about,
like within our circle. How obviously it affected us very deeply.
It is a thing because it's Georgia. That's where we live,
this is where our representatives and things are changing, and
we'd never really like when the last time we spoke,
we all talked about fifty fifty we're gonna give at
(06:54):
least just I finally just get one of them. I'm
gonna be really happy. But to do this like blue
my expectation out of the water. I was like, oh
my god, it happened. It happened in my lifetime, as
you know, in this moment. And then having someone from
California being like, oh my god, y'all are gonna save
the country type of thing, I was like, what. There
(07:16):
was something about like being in this space at that
time that was just a really slightly you could feel
the momentum, you could feel the energy that you know
you're from California just didn't have the benefit of being
able to to kind of feel what the ground swell
felt like while you were here for those maybe two
(07:37):
weeks leading up to it. So I need to also ask,
because I have to did you get a chance to
celebrate both of you? And if you did, what did
you do? Did I get a chance to celebrate? And
I know when chaos broke, I feel like I was
in like everything's falling apart. So I don't remember actually celebrating,
but maybe the day of they're swearing in is when
I actually celebrated. But did y'all get a chance to
(07:59):
do so? Well? I on Inauguration Day, as you know, Samantha,
I celebrated New Year. I did like champagne, I ate
keys and greens and yeah, like I did. I did
my New Year. I was like, well on January six,
I was like, I got okay, one, you screwed me
over already, I'm gonna try again January. So that was
(08:21):
kind of my day of like releasing a breath and
taking that moment of wow. I really didn't think this
would happen in Georgia, Like, I still have a lot
of problems with Swing states and that whole narrative. But
I felt like one of the hottest girls at a
party or something like looking at me, so much attention
(08:45):
coming your way. Somebody postcars, So that that's been interesting. Yeah, no,
I did. I honestly, it's you asking that question. Is
actually the first time that I was like, I guess
I didn't really celebrate, which is pretty sad to think
(09:05):
of it, but no, yeah, I didn't realize that we
went out to drinks that night on the fifth, like
before anything really came in after the poles are closed, um,
and that was it. So maybe some celebration is in order. Yeah, immediately,
come on, you've been working too hard not to celebrate.
(09:27):
Make a note Smith, professional advice. I got you. Come on,
come on, I got you. It's gonna be like a
office coffee but yeah, I got you office coffee free,
right free. I think we can don't promise her that well. Alright, Stickler, Samantha, So,
(09:57):
as an advocate who you have been working on this
for a while and it has been a lot of
hard work that you put into it, can you summarize
what this last year has been like for you and
for people who have been trying to make change. It's
hard to speak for an entire like people people about
(10:19):
trauma best. I think that particularly enjured it. It's a
special time ether COVID on top of it, and a
lack of opportunity, the normal opportunity you have to connect
with people and relationally build something with people. And then
we were given this gift of having a common goal
(10:41):
that we can work towards together, complete strangers in a
lot of a lot of situations, and I don't have
to talk about like where you're from or what do
you do for a living or any of those pleasantries.
We cut the crap and what do you need for me?
And how can I help? And how are we going
(11:02):
to get this thing done together? And so this past
year for me has been an amazing blessing of being
able to collectively work toward and make an impact with
people who I normally wouldn't cross paths with. And even
in the before times, you know, that's been amazing and wonderful.
(11:22):
And I think it also gave an opportunity to think
about how many times are there things that were presented
that seem like they would never happen or seem like
they're impossible, and so we just don't even embark on it.
But there's a vision and you get a few people
to come alongside you in that like what can be accomplished.
(11:44):
Um So, coming out of the cluster that was to
walk away as a group of organizers in Atlanta with
that sentiment, I think that that has the ability to
really change this state moving forward if we continue to
remember that and keep it at the forefront of our minds.
(12:19):
It's been a long, hard road and we know organizations
have been working for a while now. When we talk
about Black Voats Matter and Latasha around who has been
working and I think they had a huge ordeal in
eighteen where their busses which they toured through uh Georgia
trying to get people to vote, especially black voters to
come out, older black voters taking them out, and they
(12:40):
were stopped by the state as pandering and all these
things that it was so obnoxious. But to see them
in this fight and get to this point to be
able to push and get these results, which has been
a long time in the making. I mean, the question
is where do we think we go from here? I
mean it feels like we can only go to the back,
to the bottom. You know what, I'm there this the
(13:04):
pessimist of me. But but as a state and as
the new political mission has stepped into power, what do
we see? What do we Where do we go from where?
How do we continue to push the progress? So to me,
it's that exact sentiment of seeing things that seem like
they will never come to fruition come to fruition, having
that push progress forward. So, okay, now we have two
(13:25):
Democratic senators in Georgia, our entire General Assembly are state Senate,
and our state House are majority control Republicans. And the
conventional wisdom is that is the way it always will
be because it's Georgia. Well, take a lesson that we
just learned and say that that doesn't have to be
(13:46):
the way it always is if we can mount up
people who have a vision and are able to articulate it,
and it's done in a way that other people have
that vision and want to make change. So where do
we go from here? Is not resting on our laurels,
(14:07):
not saying like we've checked a box, we're good. We
need to make sure and that goes outside of Georgia.
You know, South Carolina was real close. You know it
was real close. There was there was a possibility there,
and towards the end you can get into the quote
unquote scandals and whatever that that affected lintograms race there
(14:28):
or some folks were talking about, you know what happened
here in Georgia. Easily, that same blueprint could be utilized
in Mississippi or Louisiana or perhaps even Alabama because of
the same kind of demographic makeups that are in those states.
And what would happen if all of a sudden you
(14:49):
have all these little purple and blue pockets that pop
up in the South. What would that do? So to
answer your question, where do we go from here? Is
we remember and use that as a motivator working forward
that like things can change if we decide that we
want to change them. Right, and you're talking about Alabama,
I mean they had Doug Jones as a Democratic senator
(15:11):
and that was shocked. That was a shock amongst a
lot of politicians and a lot of people within Alabama
and around the country. But again that was also credited
to once again black women stepping up and really pushing
him forward and talking about the need for this type
of change and then it kind of slipped away, and
whether it's because people got comfortable, or whether it's because
(15:35):
the other Republican party came up and we realized this
is a hard fight slash less suppressed more, which is
another conversation we need to talk about. But yeah, we're
definitely looking at other states like that and why it's
important to keep up the momentum is a huge, huge
conversation that we have to keep having. I'm gonna lie,
I'm scared that it's going away. I think that fear
can be healthy, if fear kept within its bounds can
(15:58):
be a great motivating that's fair, that's true. True. Yeah,
I love the idea that other states and people in
other states are looking at Georgia and thinking, oh, like
maybe maybe this can be done. And you know, there
has been this wonderful feeling of Wow, Georgia elected to
(16:20):
difmocrats I never thought would happen. But then on the hand,
you have like Marjorie Taylor Green, So there's like that
kind of where I'm like, damn it, it's true. Yeah,
that's true. But talking about different states and kind of
like what you were talking about, Samantha with suppression. Um
what should we be paying attention to in different states
(16:44):
that are ramping up, like putting laws in place um
our statutes in order to suppress votes. So keep in
mind that, you know, we've been talking about federal election,
but the majority of voter rights legislation is coming from
the state level. There have been has been discussion on
the federal side of putting some teeth back into the
(17:06):
Voting Rights Act, but there's no guarantee in that. And
then when you do that, the people who actually implement
it are still on the state level. So we need
to focus on that. Your state senators, your state House representatives,
what are they doing and so things that I would
encourage people to do. Watch the nightly news. I know,
(17:28):
it's like a six o'clock I'm not going to sit down,
and the woman with way too much makeup on her
face and the guy with the spray hair on like it.
It feels like it could be a complete waste of time.
But at the very least, like fast forward through on
your DVR. DVR at fast forward through and see what
pops up because they are reporting on it. Subscribe to
(17:51):
your local newspaper and support local journalism, and even if
it's an e read that pops into your email inbox,
a lot of them have like a politic splog or
a politics newsletter that goes out to be able to
just see what's happening, and then if something does happen
that looks like it's going to negatively affect people's rights
(18:14):
at the ballot box, talk to your representative. These folks
are not voted in by hundreds and hundreds of thousands
of votes, particularly in non presidential years. It's a very
small electorate that goes out for local, down ballot, non
presidential elections. So your vote is far more powerful than
(18:37):
you think it is. And speaking of that, we're seeing
it in Georgia. We're seeing it in real time and
it's being blested pretty quickly. Places like Wynette County which
had a big turn alt for marginalized votes, like this
was a big area that did turn blue and it
gave a significant amount of votes to help flip it.
And we have the new chairwoman of the election board
(18:57):
coming out strong talking about we're gonna take out the
absent the voting were no excuse after state voting, or
we're never gonna win again. And she is identified as
a Republican party, so she outright said if we want
to win, we have to take away votes. Said the
thing you're not supposed to say out, which is like
voter suppression. One on one, guys, don't be sneaking about it,
(19:19):
but that that's that conversation is we're gonna see this
in high gear, and they're gonna do it when they
think people aren't paying attention. Because we also know that
within our state they're talking about doing the double voter
I D check, essentially saying that Okay, not only do
you have to show it to us once, you have
to send us another copy of it again to verify,
which is an absurdity in itself. It's like it's already
(19:40):
complicated to register because and also you need a typically
identifying number, So why do we need to do photo
copies to mail in to mail in to mail in
essentially like repeatedly, Also, if you've ever been underage and drank,
it's not hard to forge a photo copied driver's license, Like,
(20:04):
is this going to be the level of security that
we're putting over voting system? Photo copy driver's licenses? Like,
come on, that's clearly they're not only are there better ways,
but you're clearly showing your hand as to you're just
wanting to make this overly complicated, make it over compiated.
(20:24):
And also this whole narrative of people wanting to be
fraudulent voting, which we already know is not a thing,
this whole idea that what they say dead people are illegal,
which is started to self the local immigrants, they're doing
the illegal votes, illegal votes, and you're like, no, these
people are literally trying to remain in the country and
just remaining in the shadows because you've put the fear
(20:46):
of God in them that if they do anything wrong,
any bit things wrong, that they're going to be deported
at any moment or detained for months and months and
months and months at a time. So I'm looking at
all of that, what can we do to make sure
not only are we on top of things again, not
only calling out representatives, how do we highlight and make
sure these things do not go under the radar. So
(21:07):
the first thing I would say is this might sound
super simple, but paying attention to who you vote for
because we're not always in the rooms, we're not always
on the committees, we're not presenting the bills, but our
representatives are and should be, and so pay attention to that.
And when it comes election time and folks are doing
(21:27):
door knocking and they're doing their town halls or you know,
coming to those neighborhood meetings, ask the question, what's your
position on this? What are you planning to do to
protect my right to vote for you? If I choose
to do that, make sure that they know before they
even get into the seat that this is important to
you as a constituent. So I think that that's that's
super important and a relatively easy you know, it's only
(21:51):
going to come up every two to four years that
you're having to kind of do that kind of work.
Another thing that I've found in my research has actually
really help, so doing the phone calls, doing the letters,
that kind of stuff. Sure it is noticed and it
can be noticed, but doing things as a group tends
to get more attraction. And maybe it's not voter rights,
(22:13):
maybe it's transportation, maybe it's climate change, maybe it's I
want more biplanes in my city. Having small coalitions, it
does not have to be fancy. You don't need a
website or a web page. Just having a few people
go down to your capital periodically to engage with your
(22:36):
representatives on a particular issue. Two things happen. One is
that they perceive you to be organized even when you're not,
which is powerful. Second is that you're not the new
kid that pops up when the bill of issues suddenly arises,
like they're like, oh, Samantha, yeah, you come here every
(22:57):
quarter just to talk about your desire for you know,
increased subway access. Now we've got this bill up. If
it's between taking a call from Samantha and taking a
call from Annie, who I've never seen before, I'm gonna
talk poor poor Annie. I'm gonna talk and her group
(23:20):
and her group of you know for rag tag friends
that go down there talk to their foes and then
go eat lunch, you know, afterward. So a little bit
goes a long way. And the last thing I would say,
So I did this, and the reason that I say that,
in Atlanta we have a huge issue with exclusive gentrification,
um and so I did some work in affordable housing
(23:42):
on the city side, and it wasn't a big group
of us, but we showed up at city council meetings
and it wasn't long before the city council members were like, so,
what do you suggest? What do you think we should do?
And we didn't have any idea because we weren't anticipating
they would ask such a question, but they asked the
(24:03):
question because we kept showing up, so to show up.
I love that this kind of reminds me of the
Parks on Wreck episode or she's suspended, so she can't
sit and do nothing. She starts creating groups and organizations
PCP remember y'all not for the DRUP vaguely, but she
(24:24):
was like, I'm gonna be advocate and I'm going to
get into their faces and we need to change and
make this Parks great. And so she decided as a
citizen to create a group. Anyway, it was a great episode,
but it does kind of remind me of that situation.
And and oftentimes, much like her group and a lot
of these groups, it is female centric, Like it ends
up being mainly women who are these organizers and come
(24:45):
out with these conversations and these knees and realizing, hey,
this is how we do it. And I think it's
very interesting that when you look at that perspective, you're like,
there it is, that's why women get things done. I mean,
we're pretty good at communicating, so let's use it for
the good, you know. So how do we honor people
(25:22):
who have been tirelessly fighting to push for voter rights
and fighting suppression and bringing awareness to these issues within
individual states and specifically to this Senate race and Georgia
Sintaid is near and dear to our hearts. Yeah, I think,
And this isn't just the folks who have been working
(25:42):
on this recently, Like this is like civil rights two
point oh or three point oh. So I would even say,
like we're not even necessarily honoring the work that we
are presently doing. We are honoring the history that has
come before us for decades. And I'm doing my best
to honor and what I'm doing, you know, in my city.
(26:04):
So how do you do that? Being involved as much
as you can? I mean, everybody has a lot on
their plate. We've got jobs, we have family, we've got
COVID and the reality that we're living in. Sit and
think about what matters to you and try to make
an impact in what matters. Maybe voting rights is not
(26:27):
your thing. I don't even think that's necessarily the point
is to get everybody on board to say, like, you
need to care about this, but you do need to
care about something, and if all must care about something
and do something in that something area, that can multiply
change and kind of increase impact. So I think the
(26:50):
honoring the low hanging fruit is like vote and you know,
make sure your vote is informed in that kind of thing.
I think the true honoring is actually do what you
see other people doing in an area that really impassions you,
that really fires you up, and let's multiply this thing.
And specific to that, we when talking about addressing specific
(27:13):
issues or interests or passions, what are some things that
we need to pay attention to when it comes to
rights for women and right specifically with women of color.
I know one of the big conversation is ratifying the
e r A or the Equal Rights Amendment, which is
still a conversation and it is absurd to me, but whatever,
But what is some of the key issues that we
should be paying attention to as this new administration is
(27:34):
has taken power. Yeah, well, first, when you said that,
so recently, I was watching an episode of The West Wing,
which is from like early two thousands that they were
talking about the r A and I'm like shaking my head,
like how we still talking about this same thing, but
in that same level of frustration, I think we can
(27:56):
take a little bit of encouragement by even seeing Biden
cabinet picks so far of really being intentional about picking
women and women of color and a very like diverse
descent and putting him into the positions of power, and
we know what that does and how that trickles down
and how those policies will be shaped differently because it's
(28:21):
a different perspective on the table than has been there traditionally.
So that's one thing. And then secondly, also being encouraged
by how the Vice President Harris has already been utilized
within the administration, So for folks who may not know,
typically a vice president, you know, isn't really incorporated into
(28:43):
the day to day of the white like they have
their own policies, kind of like the first Lady. They
have their pet projects that they do, and they're kind
of brought in um as a hired gun occasionally, particularly
on a big Senate vote or something like that. But
in this case, by all reports, Kamala is in on
(29:05):
the briefings, she's in on the meetings, she is participating
in the setting of the agenda. So I'm encouraged by
that to know that women and women of color are
going to be crafting the policies that matter to us.
I think that's huge. But one last thing I would
encourage people to do as well. Biden did run on
(29:27):
specific women's agendas and it's still up on the website.
Go check it out. I right before we came on,
I logged in just to make sure that it's still there. Um,
he has a section on Biden's agenda for women, and
read over it and commit it to memory. Because I
honestly don't care who you are. I still want to
hold you accountable come time for election and know that
(29:51):
you are actually following through on all the things that
you promised me when I voted for you. Right, And
that's a great segue into my last question, because that's
definitely a big conversation as we have this. Oh, thank
you black women who have worked so hard. Thank you
women of color who have pushed for these boats and
you know, tirelessly went forward and kept pushing and kept
(30:11):
pushing and work your asses off to get this done.
Now they're like, okay, we got you here. You're acknowledging
that we did this all. Are you going to hold
up your part of the margat this conversation that yeah,
that you said that you would make these changes and
make these corrections that have been so important for years,
and and that's kind of that question is, so, how
do we keep the people we elected that we said
(30:34):
we want you to be in this position? How do
we hold them accountable? Yeah, And that goes back to
making sure that you have a pulse on what's going on.
And it's gonna be way easier to talk to your
local representing like you can't. You can try and call
up Biden to give the piece of your rhyme. Try that. Um,
(30:54):
it's gonna be a little easier to get to your senator,
it's going to be even easier to get to your
as representative. So as you go down the ballot, to
be able to reach out to these folks, um. And
again in the same way of doing it in coalition
groups in areas that matter to you. So women's issues
(31:16):
like healthcare, if that's an issue for you, UM, and
making sure that women's health centers are protected and funded,
then you're allowed to express that in a group on
a consistent basis to your representative and they start to
get to know you. They have an office in Washington,
but they all have a local office in their district
(31:37):
and they are oftentimes are either physically there or representative
is there to take a meeting on their behalf. Make
a meeting, go talk to them. That's how you hold
them accountable. Yeah, I love that. Make a meeting sounds
so Professor like, I'm I'm already like, make a meeting.
For instance, I did have one girlfriend whom she has
(31:59):
a magic brain injury and she needs ketamine injections, which
is like a I believe a schedule three narcotics, so
you have to go through all these hoops. But that's
literally the only way that she can function. And there
was some issues with they were going to do a
crackdown on the fed level on ketamine injections, and insurance
(32:21):
wasn't going to cover it anymore, and she literally would
be fed with. She went down to at this time,
it was Senator Isaacson's office. She calls me from the
office and she's like, what do I do? And I'm like,
don't leave until someone talks to you. And so she
went to the nice secretary who was lovely and asked
if there was time, and they said, oh, you know,
we could take a take a message and and and
(32:42):
reach out to you. And she was like this, okay,
I'll wait, and she just sat in the front office
and they gave her a meeting because oh, I guess
this chick isn't leaving, and I guess. I mean that's
why I say, do something that matters to you, because
for her, the different prince was whether she could work
or not, whether she could get out of and so
(33:05):
sitting in the office for a little bit longer ain't
no thing, because it's better than laying in bed, right,
But they don't want you sitting there for days at
a time. Well, they don't want that negative attention in general,
and as we know, which is unfortunate to where we are.
And we could also talk about the whole labeling of
cancel culture and it being uh misconstrued to being canceled
(33:27):
as opposed to being held accountable. And there's a whole
different conversation and we've actually talked about it before, but
we can definitely see it playing out today in politics
as they're like, oh, because I'm far right there canceling
me and like, you're still talking, You're not canceling calm now,
which is a whole Also one of our representatives who
(33:48):
she continues to say that as well, this is just
cancel culture, and I'm like, well, you literally said that yourself.
There's no editing. You're being called out for the things
that you've said. So take responsibility, which is a whole
different conversation in itself. And it makes me sad that, yes,
people like her have taken away from some of the
great things that is happening, such as Senator Reverend Warnock
(34:11):
coming out and coming hard in about the voting rights conversation,
as well as Senator Osof coming in with his new agendas.
And I love it because it's like, yes, let's get
this underway, and and it's been phenomenal to see and
said that the first couple of weeks is just trying
to undo some of the things in the past four years.
But it's at the same time kind of like yeah,
(34:33):
having the bricks lifted off of your already beaten down
body from the This past Sunday, I was sitting watching
Meet the Press and I was just like playing on
my phone and I kind of looked up just to
see what they're talking about, and I was like, oh,
you know, just the point like cabinet appointments, went back
(34:54):
to playing on my phone. It was just so nice.
It was so nice. I'm excited, and we know again
there's a lot of work ahead, and we know that
that we have to keep our representatives and are elected
officials accountable. And that's a conversation, because yes, the conversation
(35:14):
is is this a true democracy? Has this being is
this a fair representation? And there's a lot of back
and forth about wealth is it? You know? And and
that's something that we have to be a part of
as well, and pushing and making sure those changes happen
and making sure that our voices are heard and that
people who can't advocate for themselves that we are able
(35:35):
to do that because it has to happen. It has
to be a thing in order for true democracy to happen. Again,
we know as a huge conflict and debate in itself.
And I will say just for one thing that I
guess I should call myself out on that you bring
up the idea that my friend could sit in that
office for a while, is a point of privilege like,
(35:56):
she's not an hourly worker. She talked to her boss,
let them know what they were doing. So when you're saying,
you know, speaking on behalf of people who can't speak
for themselves, that I'm glad you bring that up because
it's a very good point that there were plenty of
other people who were also getting those same infusions, those
cademine infusions, who are suffering with the same consequences as
(36:16):
my friend, and she was in a position of privilege
to be able to do something about it um and
she chose to use her privilege to help herself but
also benefit others. So I think it's important to keep
that in mind too. And yeah, that's definitely a conversation
you know that I have had as a social worker
coming through trying to be like, this is why I'm
doing this, this is what I want to do. But
(36:37):
it's so easy to be swept up with being angry
that I forget that part. I forget the part about oh,
this is not just about me. But yeah, I think
we definitely have to keep having these conversations. And though
the dramatic bits are kind of listened, I guess because
we have pushed out, voted out, some of the more
(37:00):
um horrific incendiary tinder boxes. Right, we still have to
keep paying attention and we still have to have that conversation.
We still have to look at our local areas, and
we're not the only one. I know. California is going
through some big things on their local level, including the
fact that they appointed for now vice President Harris, which
(37:21):
felt kind of insulting for a lot of these citizens
to California, and I think that's something that should be
talked about. Why are we not allowing for that to happen?
Why can't they vote? What's the problem? You know, it
is a lot of things that we have to look
at and keep talking about and talking about the fact
that this does affect women and those marginalized to the core.
(37:42):
Like if things are not fixed for the marginalized community
and for those who people aren't paying attention to sometimes
are ignoring both of those things, it becomes a massive problem.
And it becomes what has been happening as of late,
including the riots. I mean less, we forget seventy million
people voted in the other direction. Those people are still here,
(38:05):
They're still in our country. There's still our bosses, there's
still our neighbors. A man leaving the White House doesn't
change the landscape of our country, that's true. But we
can still celebrate the victories that we have and we will,
and damn it, we will. And you better get a
bought you some whisky not too long ago? Did I've
(38:27):
already finished that bottle? Though I was gonna say it
wasn't actually a long time ago. Probably all you another
bottle because it's been a while, it's been two years.
Time doesn't exist in mind quarantine to yeah, but I
will buy you another one so you could actually celebrate
as you have put in a lot of work, and
you've put in a lot of work for us, and
you're definitely gonna be coming back on still because we're
(38:47):
gonna keep talking about the different issues that are affecting
especially when we talked about gentrification and housing for women,
because that's still a thing. But we just want to
thank you for being here and doing that work, and
doing that work the ground, and coming back and reporting
to us and also continuing to teach others to do more,
because I think that takes a lot out of people,
(39:08):
and for you to be able to do that, for
you to be willing to do that is huge and
it has been a privilege for us. So thank you
so much, Melane, thank you, thank you, Thanks guys, And
honestly like doing things from your passion, it just doesn't
it doesn't feel quite as taxing or like work. Like
this was an amazing year and I'm super proud of
(39:29):
what we as a state we're able to do. And
it's nice to win. It feels better when you win,
like final line in a movie like in Between there's
been this battle between two I'm talking about The Godfather,
which I have seen it but don't remember, but like
at the end, the winning size like it's nice to win,
(39:57):
so perfect. I love it. Yes, thanks as always for
joining us a Melody. Where can the good listeners find you? So?
You can find me on my own local political podcast
called Civic s I V I K on any place
that you listen to or download your podcast. Yes, and
absolutely do that. Listeners can't wait until you return Melody
(40:22):
in the meantime. If you'd like to contact us, you
can our emails Stuff Media mom Stuff at ihart media
dot com. You can also find us on Instagram at
Stuff I've Never Told You are on Twitter at mom
Stuff Podcast. Thanks It's always to our super producer Christina.
Thank you, Rosina, and thanks to you for listening stuff
I never told you the production of I Heart Radio.
For more podcast from I Heart Radio, vis at the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Hey, this is Annie and Samantha and welcome to Stephane.
Never told your production of I Heart Radio. Okay, guys,
we are back today with one of our faiths, Melody Bray.
Welcome back, Thank you, Thank you. Y'all are my favorite too.
(00:30):
We loved having yeah obviously because we're like, please, can
you come back? How about now? How about now? How
about today? I'll always have time for you And if
you have been listening when Melodies on, we do typically
dive real deep into politics and regards with black women
in the fight and the push that they've had as
well as advocating and what it looks like on local levels.
(00:50):
And of course the journey and the fight is not
over at all. It never will be, obviously, but it's
only fair that we come to celebrate the victories when
we can, including that we made it through the inauguration
about any big, big, big books than the swearing in
of Georgia's first black senator and the first Jewish senator
(01:12):
and the youngest seated senator today and uh to talk
about what it looks like for the future and how
we make sure to not slow down. So welcome back, Melody,
thank you, thank you, it's been great. I am just
basking in the glow of calm and normous. That's so
(01:32):
sad that we're like it's normal. My bar is very
very low, very low. Yeah, I think we all are.
A news story that said Joe Biden more masks on
White House balcony. I was like, wow, wow, so it is.
(01:53):
It's hilarious. And the fact that that now, yeah, people
are getting mad about things that are so ridiculous, that phenomenal.
Let's go back to just talking about the filibuster whatever, right,
you know? Yeah, And you know, Melody, you and I
had a brief moment where I was like texting you
pretty soon after the Senate seats were called, and I
was like, yeah, you know, we're gonna have to have
(02:14):
you back on the show. And then before we could
even talk about plans of when you should come back,
all hell broke loose. Yeah, and we everything just paused.
So I didn't get to ask you then, which is
appropriate that I should ask you. Now, what was your
reaction when you saw that Warnock and as off or
claiming the victories of and calling for the Senate win.
(02:36):
Working together leading up to it, we all kind of
said to one another. It's not about the wind, guys,
you know, it's about us fighting for people, empowering, giving
them a voice, making sure that folks know that somebody
is listening to them, and they have avenues provided to
them to express their vote. But I'm gonna go ahead
(02:56):
and say it's better when you win, um right. The
first half of the next day was glorious. It was
like I got up, the sun was shining. Um you know,
the text and the emails and phone calls among one another,
it was just I mean, here in Georgia having the
(03:16):
goal post moved from November three out to January five,
and a lot of us gave up our thanksgivings and
our Christmas is and our New Year's time. You know,
some folks didn't travel to see family because they were
serving people out on the streets and didn't want to
put their family in at risk. To know that that
sacrifice actually resulted in the result you wanted, it's just great.
(03:41):
And then being able to see them get sworn in.
You know, it's so rare that you work hard on
something you get that immediate gratification as opposed to like
years from now, I'll till that soil and I'll be
able to, you know, reap something from it. So it
was great for half a day. For half a day,
(04:02):
I mean for sure. I know the night before, I
don't know about you. I think we did text a
little bit. I was like, I stayed up all night
the night before, going back and forth, chacking results, checking results.
What was your night like? We got word from the
Georgia Democratic Party at about five o'clock p m. Four
Poles closed that things were looking very good, in a
(04:22):
very confident way, more confident than I would have expected.
So I went to sleep kind of feeling like I'm
gonna wake up and this is all going to turn
out a lot. I went to sleep with confidence, so
and you were all exhausted. Um, So it was, I
mean it was. It was very clear, very early, uh,
(04:44):
with internal polling of how it was going to land.
And I don't think I have asked you any of this.
How did you respond? How did you react the night before?
And then the morning you woke up? Well, I not
having this connection that worked party either. I thought it
was going to be much closer than I had ever
(05:06):
believed it would possibly be, but the Democrats would still lose.
And I was happy with that, but I was pretty like,
I'm just gonna go to bed knowing when I wake
up it's gonna be sad news. Yeah, and that's that's
kind of been my way since even before Donald Trump win.
Like that night, I was like, I'm not staying up
(05:26):
for this because I know my mind is it won't
be good for me. So yeah, that's kind of my
thing is I try to unplug from it as much
as I can, and then in the morning I will
deal with it. So that's kind of how I was.
And I was trying to manage my mom's expectations because
my mom, this is from a really conservative area in Georgia,
(05:47):
but she was really excited and she's like, what if
they win and what if they win? And I was like, Mom,
get your head out of the closs calmed down down. Yeah.
I actually was doing a back and forth texting or
d m NG with producer Sophie who is a part
of our Heart Network who lives in California. So she
(06:08):
and I were just going back and forth talking about
the issues that we actually, you know, talked about Loffler
and the connotations that she would bring in had she
had one. So it was a weird like interaction to
see someone on the outside of perspective looking in and
being like, good luck, guys, even though again we don't
necessarily like, yes, we voted, but as for a person
who did a little bit of volunteering but not a lot,
(06:31):
don't feel like that was much we can do outside
of that. But it was really interesting to talk about,
like within our circle. How obviously it affected us very deeply.
It is a thing because it's Georgia. That's where we live,
this is where our representatives and things are changing, and
we'd never really like when the last time we spoke,
we all talked about fifty fifty we're gonna give at
(06:54):
least just I finally just get one of them. I'm
gonna be really happy. But to do this like blue
my expectation out of the water. I was like, oh
my god, it happened. It happened in my lifetime, as
you know, in this moment. And then having someone from
California being like, oh my god, y'all are gonna save
the country type of thing, I was like, what. There
(07:16):
was something about like being in this space at that
time that was just a really slightly you could feel
the momentum, you could feel the energy that you know
you're from California just didn't have the benefit of being
able to to kind of feel what the ground swell
felt like while you were here for those maybe two
(07:37):
weeks leading up to it. So I need to also ask,
because I have to did you get a chance to
celebrate both of you? And if you did, what did
you do? Did I get a chance to celebrate? And
I know when chaos broke, I feel like I was
in like everything's falling apart. So I don't remember actually celebrating,
but maybe the day of they're swearing in is when
I actually celebrated. But did y'all get a chance to
(07:59):
do so? Well? I on Inauguration Day, as you know, Samantha,
I celebrated New Year. I did like champagne, I ate
keys and greens and yeah, like I did. I did
my New Year. I was like, well on January six,
I was like, I got okay, one, you screwed me
over already, I'm gonna try again January. So that was
(08:21):
kind of my day of like releasing a breath and
taking that moment of wow. I really didn't think this
would happen in Georgia, Like, I still have a lot
of problems with Swing states and that whole narrative. But
I felt like one of the hottest girls at a
party or something like looking at me, so much attention
(08:45):
coming your way. Somebody postcars, So that that's been interesting. Yeah, no,
I did. I honestly, it's you asking that question. Is
actually the first time that I was like, I guess
I didn't really celebrate, which is pretty sad to think
(09:05):
of it, but no, yeah, I didn't realize that we
went out to drinks that night on the fifth, like
before anything really came in after the poles are closed, um,
and that was it. So maybe some celebration is in order. Yeah, immediately,
come on, you've been working too hard not to celebrate.
(09:27):
Make a note Smith, professional advice. I got you. Come on,
come on, I got you. It's gonna be like a
office coffee but yeah, I got you office coffee free,
right free. I think we can don't promise her that well. Alright, Stickler, Samantha, So,
(09:57):
as an advocate who you have been working on this
for a while and it has been a lot of
hard work that you put into it, can you summarize
what this last year has been like for you and
for people who have been trying to make change. It's
hard to speak for an entire like people people about
(10:19):
trauma best. I think that particularly enjured it. It's a
special time ether COVID on top of it, and a
lack of opportunity, the normal opportunity you have to connect
with people and relationally build something with people. And then
we were given this gift of having a common goal
(10:41):
that we can work towards together, complete strangers in a
lot of a lot of situations, and I don't have
to talk about like where you're from or what do
you do for a living or any of those pleasantries.
We cut the crap and what do you need for me?
And how can I help? And how are we going
(11:02):
to get this thing done together? And so this past
year for me has been an amazing blessing of being
able to collectively work toward and make an impact with
people who I normally wouldn't cross paths with. And even
in the before times, you know, that's been amazing and wonderful.
(11:22):
And I think it also gave an opportunity to think
about how many times are there things that were presented
that seem like they would never happen or seem like
they're impossible, and so we just don't even embark on it.
But there's a vision and you get a few people
to come alongside you in that like what can be accomplished.
(11:44):
Um So, coming out of the cluster that was to
walk away as a group of organizers in Atlanta with
that sentiment, I think that that has the ability to
really change this state moving forward if we continue to
remember that and keep it at the forefront of our minds.
(12:19):
It's been a long, hard road and we know organizations
have been working for a while now. When we talk
about Black Voats Matter and Latasha around who has been
working and I think they had a huge ordeal in
eighteen where their busses which they toured through uh Georgia
trying to get people to vote, especially black voters to
come out, older black voters taking them out, and they
(12:40):
were stopped by the state as pandering and all these
things that it was so obnoxious. But to see them
in this fight and get to this point to be
able to push and get these results, which has been
a long time in the making. I mean, the question
is where do we think we go from here? I
mean it feels like we can only go to the back,
to the bottom. You know what, I'm there this the
(13:04):
pessimist of me. But but as a state and as
the new political mission has stepped into power, what do
we see? What do we Where do we go from where?
How do we continue to push the progress? So to me,
it's that exact sentiment of seeing things that seem like
they will never come to fruition come to fruition, having
that push progress forward. So, okay, now we have two
(13:25):
Democratic senators in Georgia, our entire General Assembly are state Senate,
and our state House are majority control Republicans. And the
conventional wisdom is that is the way it always will
be because it's Georgia. Well, take a lesson that we
just learned and say that that doesn't have to be
(13:46):
the way it always is if we can mount up
people who have a vision and are able to articulate it,
and it's done in a way that other people have
that vision and want to make change. So where do
we go from here? Is not resting on our laurels,
(14:07):
not saying like we've checked a box, we're good. We
need to make sure and that goes outside of Georgia.
You know, South Carolina was real close. You know it
was real close. There was there was a possibility there,
and towards the end you can get into the quote
unquote scandals and whatever that that affected lintograms race there
(14:28):
or some folks were talking about, you know what happened
here in Georgia. Easily, that same blueprint could be utilized
in Mississippi or Louisiana or perhaps even Alabama because of
the same kind of demographic makeups that are in those states.
And what would happen if all of a sudden you
(14:49):
have all these little purple and blue pockets that pop
up in the South. What would that do? So to
answer your question, where do we go from here? Is
we remember and use that as a motivator working forward
that like things can change if we decide that we
want to change them. Right, and you're talking about Alabama,
I mean they had Doug Jones as a Democratic senator
(15:11):
and that was shocked. That was a shock amongst a
lot of politicians and a lot of people within Alabama
and around the country. But again that was also credited
to once again black women stepping up and really pushing
him forward and talking about the need for this type
of change and then it kind of slipped away, and
whether it's because people got comfortable, or whether it's because
(15:35):
the other Republican party came up and we realized this
is a hard fight slash less suppressed more, which is
another conversation we need to talk about. But yeah, we're
definitely looking at other states like that and why it's
important to keep up the momentum is a huge, huge
conversation that we have to keep having. I'm gonna lie,
I'm scared that it's going away. I think that fear
can be healthy, if fear kept within its bounds can
(15:58):
be a great motivating that's fair, that's true. True. Yeah,
I love the idea that other states and people in
other states are looking at Georgia and thinking, oh, like
maybe maybe this can be done. And you know, there
has been this wonderful feeling of Wow, Georgia elected to
(16:20):
difmocrats I never thought would happen. But then on the hand,
you have like Marjorie Taylor Green, So there's like that
kind of where I'm like, damn it, it's true. Yeah,
that's true. But talking about different states and kind of
like what you were talking about, Samantha with suppression. Um
what should we be paying attention to in different states
(16:44):
that are ramping up, like putting laws in place um
our statutes in order to suppress votes. So keep in
mind that, you know, we've been talking about federal election,
but the majority of voter rights legislation is coming from
the state level. There have been has been discussion on
the federal side of putting some teeth back into the
(17:06):
Voting Rights Act, but there's no guarantee in that. And
then when you do that, the people who actually implement
it are still on the state level. So we need
to focus on that. Your state senators, your state House representatives,
what are they doing and so things that I would
encourage people to do. Watch the nightly news. I know,
(17:28):
it's like a six o'clock I'm not going to sit down,
and the woman with way too much makeup on her
face and the guy with the spray hair on like it.
It feels like it could be a complete waste of time.
But at the very least, like fast forward through on
your DVR. DVR at fast forward through and see what
pops up because they are reporting on it. Subscribe to
(17:51):
your local newspaper and support local journalism, and even if
it's an e read that pops into your email inbox,
a lot of them have like a politic splog or
a politics newsletter that goes out to be able to
just see what's happening, and then if something does happen
that looks like it's going to negatively affect people's rights
(18:14):
at the ballot box, talk to your representative. These folks
are not voted in by hundreds and hundreds of thousands
of votes, particularly in non presidential years. It's a very
small electorate that goes out for local, down ballot, non
presidential elections. So your vote is far more powerful than
(18:37):
you think it is. And speaking of that, we're seeing
it in Georgia. We're seeing it in real time and
it's being blested pretty quickly. Places like Wynette County which
had a big turn alt for marginalized votes, like this
was a big area that did turn blue and it
gave a significant amount of votes to help flip it.
And we have the new chairwoman of the election board
(18:57):
coming out strong talking about we're gonna take out the
absent the voting were no excuse after state voting, or
we're never gonna win again. And she is identified as
a Republican party, so she outright said if we want
to win, we have to take away votes. Said the
thing you're not supposed to say out, which is like
voter suppression. One on one, guys, don't be sneaking about it,
(19:19):
but that that's that conversation is we're gonna see this
in high gear, and they're gonna do it when they
think people aren't paying attention. Because we also know that
within our state they're talking about doing the double voter
I D check, essentially saying that Okay, not only do
you have to show it to us once, you have
to send us another copy of it again to verify,
which is an absurdity in itself. It's like it's already
(19:40):
complicated to register because and also you need a typically
identifying number, So why do we need to do photo
copies to mail in to mail in to mail in
essentially like repeatedly, Also, if you've ever been underage and drank,
it's not hard to forge a photo copied driver's license, Like,
(20:04):
is this going to be the level of security that
we're putting over voting system? Photo copy driver's licenses? Like,
come on, that's clearly they're not only are there better ways,
but you're clearly showing your hand as to you're just
wanting to make this overly complicated, make it over compiated.
(20:24):
And also this whole narrative of people wanting to be
fraudulent voting, which we already know is not a thing,
this whole idea that what they say dead people are illegal,
which is started to self the local immigrants, they're doing
the illegal votes, illegal votes, and you're like, no, these
people are literally trying to remain in the country and
just remaining in the shadows because you've put the fear
(20:46):
of God in them that if they do anything wrong,
any bit things wrong, that they're going to be deported
at any moment or detained for months and months and
months and months at a time. So I'm looking at
all of that, what can we do to make sure
not only are we on top of things again, not
only calling out representatives, how do we highlight and make
sure these things do not go under the radar. So
(21:07):
the first thing I would say is this might sound
super simple, but paying attention to who you vote for
because we're not always in the rooms, we're not always
on the committees, we're not presenting the bills, but our
representatives are and should be, and so pay attention to that.
And when it comes election time and folks are doing
(21:27):
door knocking and they're doing their town halls or you know,
coming to those neighborhood meetings, ask the question, what's your
position on this? What are you planning to do to
protect my right to vote for you? If I choose
to do that, make sure that they know before they
even get into the seat that this is important to
you as a constituent. So I think that that's that's
super important and a relatively easy you know, it's only
(21:51):
going to come up every two to four years that
you're having to kind of do that kind of work.
Another thing that I've found in my research has actually
really help, so doing the phone calls, doing the letters,
that kind of stuff. Sure it is noticed and it
can be noticed, but doing things as a group tends
to get more attraction. And maybe it's not voter rights,
(22:13):
maybe it's transportation, maybe it's climate change, maybe it's I
want more biplanes in my city. Having small coalitions, it
does not have to be fancy. You don't need a
website or a web page. Just having a few people
go down to your capital periodically to engage with your
(22:36):
representatives on a particular issue. Two things happen. One is
that they perceive you to be organized even when you're not,
which is powerful. Second is that you're not the new
kid that pops up when the bill of issues suddenly arises,
like they're like, oh, Samantha, yeah, you come here every
(22:57):
quarter just to talk about your desire for you know,
increased subway access. Now we've got this bill up. If
it's between taking a call from Samantha and taking a
call from Annie, who I've never seen before, I'm gonna
talk poor poor Annie. I'm gonna talk and her group
(23:20):
and her group of you know for rag tag friends
that go down there talk to their foes and then
go eat lunch, you know, afterward. So a little bit
goes a long way. And the last thing I would say,
So I did this, and the reason that I say that,
in Atlanta we have a huge issue with exclusive gentrification,
um and so I did some work in affordable housing
(23:42):
on the city side, and it wasn't a big group
of us, but we showed up at city council meetings
and it wasn't long before the city council members were like, so,
what do you suggest? What do you think we should do?
And we didn't have any idea because we weren't anticipating
they would ask such a question, but they asked the
(24:03):
question because we kept showing up, so to show up.
I love that this kind of reminds me of the
Parks on Wreck episode or she's suspended, so she can't
sit and do nothing. She starts creating groups and organizations
PCP remember y'all not for the DRUP vaguely, but she
(24:24):
was like, I'm gonna be advocate and I'm going to
get into their faces and we need to change and
make this Parks great. And so she decided as a
citizen to create a group. Anyway, it was a great episode,
but it does kind of remind me of that situation.
And and oftentimes, much like her group and a lot
of these groups, it is female centric, Like it ends
up being mainly women who are these organizers and come
(24:45):
out with these conversations and these knees and realizing, hey,
this is how we do it. And I think it's
very interesting that when you look at that perspective, you're like,
there it is, that's why women get things done. I mean,
we're pretty good at communicating, so let's use it for
the good, you know. So how do we honor people
(25:22):
who have been tirelessly fighting to push for voter rights
and fighting suppression and bringing awareness to these issues within
individual states and specifically to this Senate race and Georgia
Sintaid is near and dear to our hearts. Yeah, I think,
And this isn't just the folks who have been working
(25:42):
on this recently, Like this is like civil rights two
point oh or three point oh. So I would even say,
like we're not even necessarily honoring the work that we
are presently doing. We are honoring the history that has
come before us for decades. And I'm doing my best
to honor and what I'm doing, you know, in my city.
(26:04):
So how do you do that? Being involved as much
as you can? I mean, everybody has a lot on
their plate. We've got jobs, we have family, we've got
COVID and the reality that we're living in. Sit and
think about what matters to you and try to make
an impact in what matters. Maybe voting rights is not
(26:27):
your thing. I don't even think that's necessarily the point
is to get everybody on board to say, like, you
need to care about this, but you do need to
care about something, and if all must care about something
and do something in that something area, that can multiply
change and kind of increase impact. So I think the
(26:50):
honoring the low hanging fruit is like vote and you know,
make sure your vote is informed in that kind of thing.
I think the true honoring is actually do what you
see other people doing in an area that really impassions you,
that really fires you up, and let's multiply this thing.
And specific to that, we when talking about addressing specific
(27:13):
issues or interests or passions, what are some things that
we need to pay attention to when it comes to
rights for women and right specifically with women of color.
I know one of the big conversation is ratifying the
e r A or the Equal Rights Amendment, which is
still a conversation and it is absurd to me, but whatever,
But what is some of the key issues that we
should be paying attention to as this new administration is
(27:34):
has taken power. Yeah, well, first, when you said that,
so recently, I was watching an episode of The West Wing,
which is from like early two thousands that they were
talking about the r A and I'm like shaking my head,
like how we still talking about this same thing, but
in that same level of frustration, I think we can
(27:56):
take a little bit of encouragement by even seeing Biden
cabinet picks so far of really being intentional about picking
women and women of color and a very like diverse
descent and putting him into the positions of power, and
we know what that does and how that trickles down
and how those policies will be shaped differently because it's
(28:21):
a different perspective on the table than has been there traditionally.
So that's one thing. And then secondly, also being encouraged
by how the Vice President Harris has already been utilized
within the administration, So for folks who may not know,
typically a vice president, you know, isn't really incorporated into
(28:43):
the day to day of the white like they have
their own policies, kind of like the first Lady. They
have their pet projects that they do, and they're kind
of brought in um as a hired gun occasionally, particularly
on a big Senate vote or something like that. But
in this case, by all reports, Kamala is in on
(29:05):
the briefings, she's in on the meetings, she is participating
in the setting of the agenda. So I'm encouraged by
that to know that women and women of color are
going to be crafting the policies that matter to us.
I think that's huge. But one last thing I would
encourage people to do as well. Biden did run on
(29:27):
specific women's agendas and it's still up on the website.
Go check it out. I right before we came on,
I logged in just to make sure that it's still there. Um,
he has a section on Biden's agenda for women, and
read over it and commit it to memory. Because I
honestly don't care who you are. I still want to
hold you accountable come time for election and know that
(29:51):
you are actually following through on all the things that
you promised me when I voted for you. Right, And
that's a great segue into my last question, because that's
definitely a big conversation as we have this. Oh, thank
you black women who have worked so hard. Thank you
women of color who have pushed for these boats and
you know, tirelessly went forward and kept pushing and kept
(30:11):
pushing and work your asses off to get this done.
Now they're like, okay, we got you here. You're acknowledging
that we did this all. Are you going to hold
up your part of the margat this conversation that yeah,
that you said that you would make these changes and
make these corrections that have been so important for years,
and and that's kind of that question is, so, how
do we keep the people we elected that we said
(30:34):
we want you to be in this position? How do
we hold them accountable? Yeah, And that goes back to
making sure that you have a pulse on what's going on.
And it's gonna be way easier to talk to your
local representing like you can't. You can try and call
up Biden to give the piece of your rhyme. Try that. Um,
(30:54):
it's gonna be a little easier to get to your senator,
it's going to be even easier to get to your
as representative. So as you go down the ballot, to
be able to reach out to these folks, um. And
again in the same way of doing it in coalition
groups in areas that matter to you. So women's issues
(31:16):
like healthcare, if that's an issue for you, UM, and
making sure that women's health centers are protected and funded,
then you're allowed to express that in a group on
a consistent basis to your representative and they start to
get to know you. They have an office in Washington,
but they all have a local office in their district
(31:37):
and they are oftentimes are either physically there or representative
is there to take a meeting on their behalf. Make
a meeting, go talk to them. That's how you hold
them accountable. Yeah, I love that. Make a meeting sounds
so Professor like, I'm I'm already like, make a meeting.
For instance, I did have one girlfriend whom she has
(31:59):
a magic brain injury and she needs ketamine injections, which
is like a I believe a schedule three narcotics, so
you have to go through all these hoops. But that's
literally the only way that she can function. And there
was some issues with they were going to do a
crackdown on the fed level on ketamine injections, and insurance
(32:21):
wasn't going to cover it anymore, and she literally would
be fed with. She went down to at this time,
it was Senator Isaacson's office. She calls me from the
office and she's like, what do I do? And I'm like,
don't leave until someone talks to you. And so she
went to the nice secretary who was lovely and asked
if there was time, and they said, oh, you know,
we could take a take a message and and and
(32:42):
reach out to you. And she was like this, okay,
I'll wait, and she just sat in the front office
and they gave her a meeting because oh, I guess
this chick isn't leaving, and I guess. I mean that's
why I say, do something that matters to you, because
for her, the different prince was whether she could work
or not, whether she could get out of and so
(33:05):
sitting in the office for a little bit longer ain't
no thing, because it's better than laying in bed, right,
But they don't want you sitting there for days at
a time. Well, they don't want that negative attention in general,
and as we know, which is unfortunate to where we are.
And we could also talk about the whole labeling of
cancel culture and it being uh misconstrued to being canceled
(33:27):
as opposed to being held accountable. And there's a whole
different conversation and we've actually talked about it before, but
we can definitely see it playing out today in politics
as they're like, oh, because I'm far right there canceling
me and like, you're still talking, You're not canceling calm now,
which is a whole Also one of our representatives who
(33:48):
she continues to say that as well, this is just
cancel culture, and I'm like, well, you literally said that yourself.
There's no editing. You're being called out for the things
that you've said. So take responsibility, which is a whole
different conversation in itself. And it makes me sad that, yes,
people like her have taken away from some of the
great things that is happening, such as Senator Reverend Warnock
(34:11):
coming out and coming hard in about the voting rights conversation,
as well as Senator Osof coming in with his new agendas.
And I love it because it's like, yes, let's get
this underway, and and it's been phenomenal to see and
said that the first couple of weeks is just trying
to undo some of the things in the past four years.
But it's at the same time kind of like yeah,
(34:33):
having the bricks lifted off of your already beaten down
body from the This past Sunday, I was sitting watching
Meet the Press and I was just like playing on
my phone and I kind of looked up just to
see what they're talking about, and I was like, oh,
you know, just the point like cabinet appointments, went back
(34:54):
to playing on my phone. It was just so nice.
It was so nice. I'm excited, and we know again
there's a lot of work ahead, and we know that
that we have to keep our representatives and are elected
officials accountable. And that's a conversation, because yes, the conversation
(35:14):
is is this a true democracy? Has this being is
this a fair representation? And there's a lot of back
and forth about wealth is it? You know? And and
that's something that we have to be a part of
as well, and pushing and making sure those changes happen
and making sure that our voices are heard and that
people who can't advocate for themselves that we are able
(35:35):
to do that because it has to happen. It has
to be a thing in order for true democracy to happen. Again,
we know as a huge conflict and debate in itself.
And I will say just for one thing that I
guess I should call myself out on that you bring
up the idea that my friend could sit in that
office for a while, is a point of privilege like,
(35:56):
she's not an hourly worker. She talked to her boss,
let them know what they were doing. So when you're saying,
you know, speaking on behalf of people who can't speak
for themselves, that I'm glad you bring that up because
it's a very good point that there were plenty of
other people who were also getting those same infusions, those
cademine infusions, who are suffering with the same consequences as
(36:16):
my friend, and she was in a position of privilege
to be able to do something about it um and
she chose to use her privilege to help herself but
also benefit others. So I think it's important to keep
that in mind too. And yeah, that's definitely a conversation
you know that I have had as a social worker
coming through trying to be like, this is why I'm
doing this, this is what I want to do. But
(36:37):
it's so easy to be swept up with being angry
that I forget that part. I forget the part about oh,
this is not just about me. But yeah, I think
we definitely have to keep having these conversations. And though
the dramatic bits are kind of listened, I guess because
we have pushed out, voted out, some of the more
(37:00):
um horrific incendiary tinder boxes. Right, we still have to
keep paying attention and we still have to have that conversation.
We still have to look at our local areas, and
we're not the only one. I know. California is going
through some big things on their local level, including the
fact that they appointed for now vice President Harris, which
(37:21):
felt kind of insulting for a lot of these citizens
to California, and I think that's something that should be
talked about. Why are we not allowing for that to happen?
Why can't they vote? What's the problem? You know, it
is a lot of things that we have to look
at and keep talking about and talking about the fact
that this does affect women and those marginalized to the core.
(37:42):
Like if things are not fixed for the marginalized community
and for those who people aren't paying attention to sometimes
are ignoring both of those things, it becomes a massive problem.
And it becomes what has been happening as of late,
including the riots. I mean less, we forget seventy million
people voted in the other direction. Those people are still here,
(38:05):
They're still in our country. There's still our bosses, there's
still our neighbors. A man leaving the White House doesn't
change the landscape of our country, that's true. But we
can still celebrate the victories that we have and we will,
and damn it, we will. And you better get a
bought you some whisky not too long ago? Did I've
(38:27):
already finished that bottle? Though I was gonna say it
wasn't actually a long time ago. Probably all you another
bottle because it's been a while, it's been two years.
Time doesn't exist in mind quarantine to yeah, but I
will buy you another one so you could actually celebrate
as you have put in a lot of work, and
you've put in a lot of work for us, and
you're definitely gonna be coming back on still because we're
(38:47):
gonna keep talking about the different issues that are affecting
especially when we talked about gentrification and housing for women,
because that's still a thing. But we just want to
thank you for being here and doing that work, and
doing that work the ground, and coming back and reporting
to us and also continuing to teach others to do more,
because I think that takes a lot out of people,
(39:08):
and for you to be able to do that, for
you to be willing to do that is huge and
it has been a privilege for us. So thank you
so much, Melane, thank you, thank you, Thanks guys, And
honestly like doing things from your passion, it just doesn't
it doesn't feel quite as taxing or like work. Like
this was an amazing year and I'm super proud of
(39:29):
what we as a state we're able to do. And
it's nice to win. It feels better when you win,
like final line in a movie like in Between there's
been this battle between two I'm talking about The Godfather,
which I have seen it but don't remember, but like
at the end, the winning size like it's nice to win,
(39:57):
so perfect. I love it. Yes, thanks as always for
joining us a Melody. Where can the good listeners find you? So?
You can find me on my own local political podcast
called Civic s I V I K on any place
that you listen to or download your podcast. Yes, and
absolutely do that. Listeners can't wait until you return Melody
(40:22):
in the meantime. If you'd like to contact us, you
can our emails Stuff Media mom Stuff at ihart media
dot com. You can also find us on Instagram at
Stuff I've Never Told You are on Twitter at mom
Stuff Podcast. Thanks It's always to our super producer Christina.
Thank you, Rosina, and thanks to you for listening stuff
I never told you the production of I Heart Radio.
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