August 30, 2024 • 41 mins
BIN News anchors Bri Wood and Morgyn Wood join Host Ramses ja on today's podcast to review this week's major stories.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's been another busy news week and we like to
review the major stories of the week here on the
Black Information Network. Today, we are joined by Black Information
Network news anchors Morgan Wood and Bree Wood to discuss
this week's major stories. This is the Black Information Network
Daily Podcast and I'm your host, ramses Jah. All Right,
Morgan and Bree the Dynamic duo, Welcome back to the show. Morgan,
(00:22):
how have you been since we last spoke.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Oh, I've been great, Still on a quite the high
from DNC and we've got a lot of content that
we've were able to generate. So make sure you guys,
you know, continue to listen to the Black Information Network
and check out The Black Perspective on Sundays at nine
am and nine pm. Of course this podcast here. Just
super excited to be back.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
All right, Well, we got a lot to get to Brie.
I need to know what you've been up to as well.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Yeah, okay, so you know, we've got a lot of
political stuff happening. I didn't get to attend the DNC.
It looked like it was a concert, it was so
well produced. But you know, political season is here and
so everything that we are focused on right now mainly
has to do with the Vice president and her opponents
and her VP pick. So you know that's keeping the
(01:11):
news cycle and us very busy. But I've been well,
thank you.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
Well.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
This is one of those moments that reminds us of
I suppose why we do what we do. This is
the exciting time, and I can hear the excitement and
both of your voices, and I would love for that
excitement to translate to our listeners. So let's not keep
them waiting any longer. First up, full of fear from
the excitement of the DNC and with the live debate
on the horizon, supporters of Donald Trump are trying everything
(01:36):
in their party to stop the momentum of Kamala Harris,
including making claims that she is ineligible to run for president. Rie,
let's start things off with you, tell us more about
the story, and then Morgan will come to you to
get your thoughts next.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Yeah. So, according to news sources, the National Federation of
Republican Assemblies has cited the eighteen fifty seven dread Scott
versus Sandford Supreme Court decision to our gut that Vice
President Kamala Harris is actually ineligible to run for President.
I thought that was very gutsy in the decision. Now,
the Supreme Court ruled that slaves weren't US citizens and
(02:11):
weren't protected by the federal government. Now, the claims about
Vice President Kamala Harris's eligibility to run for president have
been circulating for some time, but of course they're unfounded.
The NFRA also claims that the ruling, which was overturned
by the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments to the Constitution, which
abolished slavery and declared all people born in the US
(02:32):
to be citizens of the US, it still supports their
interpretation of constitutional requirements for presidential candidates. So they are
arguing that her parents were not born American citizens at
the time of her birth, so therefore they're not making
her a natural so therefore that makes her not a
natural born citizen. The fact that her parents were not
(02:52):
yet American citizens when she was actually born. So according
to the Constitution, fires that a presidential candidate be a
natural born citizen, first at least thirty five years old,
and a resident of the United States for at least
fourteen years. Now, the Vice President meets all of that criteria,
and she was born in Oakland, California, So that makes
(03:14):
her a natural born US citizen and fully eligible to
run for president, regardless of the fact that her parents
were not citizens. That was overturned. So in a statement
the NFRA president, his name is Alex Johnson, he said,
in part, quote, we firmly believe that FAE Democrat Miss
Harris should never hold office for any of the many
(03:34):
reasons people choose to highlight, including her party's tactics on
dividing people by race and class end quote. So personally,
I just see this as another scheme to try to
undermine her credibility. Now you don't have to like her
or even agree with her politics, but citing an overturned
racist ruling, in my opinion, is just absurd.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Yeah, and then calling the other folks racist when what
you're clearly doing is textbook racism is also boggles the mind. So, uh, Morgan,
let's get you to weigh in here.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
So that statement goes on to say these policy these
policies have historically resulted in widespread suffering, economic collapse, and
the erosion of individual freedoms. The Democratic Party praise on
the ignorance of voters.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
How dare they Okay, how dare they come with this?
Speaker 2 (04:26):
It's always something you know, it's giving I'm losing, and
I'm just reaching for whatever it is I can to
distract and deflect from what is going on within your
own party, which is the same things that they were
coming out and saying about the Democratic Party and Biden
being too old and all of these things.
Speaker 5 (04:46):
Well, now you got the old guy.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
The Republicans got the old guy and the so called
unfit guy based on the fact that he has thirty
four counts felony counts and you know, among other things,
pending lawsuits and and some more. So, Yeah, this seems
like they're just trying to grasp at anything, and it's
it's it's it's getting old. Just to the point that, uh,
(05:12):
former President Barack Obama said, this is a sequel, and
the sequel is never better than the original. I mean,
we've seen this done, not to this extent with Obama,
but you know, they did the same thing with him.
They questioned his you know, where he came from, his citizenship,
and and of course you know that of his parents.
Speaker 5 (05:32):
So I'm not surprised. But at the same time.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
This is very very uh what was the word you use,
bree gutsy of them to pull up the dread sky.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
That's reaching, that's beyond. That's a stretcher, armstrong reach.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
You know.
Speaker 4 (05:51):
It's one that's different.
Speaker 5 (05:54):
Yeah, definitely different. It's one thing to you know, make
fun of the name.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
It's one thing to question, you know, where someone is
coming from. But to reach into a ruling like that
and then think that that is something that you can
actually stand.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
On, Yeah, with your whole chest. They just sit outside
with that one.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
It is desperation. It is desperation because they see the
momentum behind her campaign and they are feeling the energy
from her side of the aisle, which has not been
felt in a very long time. She completely flipped the
script in a month.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Yeah, and I think that you know, breed to attack
onto that and indeed to tack onto what Morgan was saying.
The biggest gripe that not just Republicans but a lot
of Americans had with the presumed ticket for Democrats was
that Joe Biden was so old. In fact, he's the
(06:46):
oldest person to ever like seek you know, the presidency,
you know, and since he withdrew and never technically formally
sought re election. Guess who now is the old this
person in the history of this country to seek the presidency?
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Would that be Donald Trump?
Speaker 4 (07:06):
Trump exactly.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
And so when you say flip the scriptory, that's literally
what happens. So every all of it all, they had
to eat all of those words. And this just feels
like the result of desperation, you know, and in addition
to all the other desperate things that they've tried to get.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
This isn't going to go anywhere, of course, but.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
You know, they're making fun of her, laugh and they're
trying to say that she's you know, they're using old
footage from different parts of her career to try to
define her character or something like that, these like little
clips here in that. Because she's technically a proficient candidate, right,
(07:43):
I would not call her perfect. I wouldn't call anybody perfect,
but she's technically a proficient candidate. And when you put
her in the ring with Donald Trump and you compare
apples to apples, even if you compare apples to oranges,
because that's really what people are going to have to do,
Oranges obviously will be more Donald Trump's thing, you end
up with her looking like the superior candidate, and you know,
(08:05):
everyone has to, you know, accept at some point that
we're going to vote the lesser of two evils. And
so people that even people who have drunk the kool
aid and feel like Kamala Harris isn't exactly who she is,
which is a proficient enough candidate to represent the interests
of this country. You know, you have to come to
terms of fact with the fact that she is a
far better option in terms of representing the interests of
(08:28):
this country than he is. And this desperate attempt and
these indeed desperate attempts to try to paint her as
a less viable option only show their desperation, not that
she is a less viable option. I'll share a bit
from the article here. It says the nfr's claims would
(08:49):
have made George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and other founding fathers
ineligible to be president since their parents were born in
British colonies. Right, So just the you can see the
mental gymnastics that they have to do in order to
try to make Kamala Harris seem like she's not a
viable candidate, so much so that they would they would
(09:12):
shoot themselves through the head if it meant that they
could hit their you know, their target, And that's that's
what it looks like to me. So they're like lining
up in front of the pistol, in the middle of
the pistol and the target and shooting themselves in the head,
and we're all watching it on full display, and it
just shows the desperation. So I don't expect anything to
(09:33):
come of this, but of course if it does, we
will be all over it and report that to you
as well. In the meantime, let's talk about civil rights
icon Al Sharpton, who made a visit to Howard University
this week and raised a few eyebrows with his comments
about the importance of our younger generation's need to better
balance their love for rap music with their civic duty
to vote Morgan. This time, we're going to start with you,
(09:54):
give us some details on the story in the bree
We're going to follow with you next.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Okay, I'll disclaim by saying that maybe the delivery wasn't
the best, but did he lie?
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Reverend Al Sharpton was at the Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel
at Howard University in Washington, DC, talking to students. When
he made the controversial comments, he basically told the students
to stop obsessing over rap music and to keep that
energy when it comes to their civic rights, excuse me,
civil rights and voting. So during his statements, he recalled
(10:24):
he talked about getting a phone call from from James Brown,
the godfather of soul, a few weeks before he died
in two thousand and six, and Brown the artist, basically
expressed to him that he was upset about the music
that he was currently hearing on the radio. He said,
he turned on the radio and every song, every rap
(10:46):
he heard was degrading. He said, when you were growing up,
you heard me say sing it or you heard me
sing say it loud.
Speaker 5 (10:53):
I'm black and I'm proud.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
You heard everything respect You heard Marvin Gay singing about
the war in Vietnam.
Speaker 5 (10:59):
What's going on? In What's going on?
Speaker 2 (11:01):
And he said, now all he hears is the N word,
hose and the B word. Mind you, he was in
the chapel saying this, and he said that to the students.
He spoke to them real deal Holyfield. So in those remarks,
he said, you know better than to degrade others, but
you are permitted to degrading yourself. That's why you can
con That's why they can convince you that you can't
(11:24):
make a black woman president. That's why you run around
not talking about can a black win. We already elected
a black and re elected him. So basically, what I
took away from this is that he was trying to
encourage students to use that keep that same energy when
you sing in your sexy reds and olatto's and your
(11:47):
Gloilla's nothing against them because I actually like some of
those songs that they but keep that same energy when
it comes to again, your civic rights or civil rights
and voting. He was saying that, you know, if you
did a song and uh, you used racial slurs about
an Irish person, it's gonna be called hate speech. You
(12:09):
do the song and you say something crazy about lgbt
q I a group, it's gonna be hate speech. But
you do the same thing and you're talking calling people
out of their names, it's gonna be hate speech all
these different groups. You say the same thing about a
Jewish person, it's going to be considered hate speech. But
the moment that you say the N word, it's free speech.
(12:33):
And he questioned, why is that? Why is that? So
he said, if you go on, if you allow people
to call you the IN word, and you able to
use the N word, then guess what you're gonna act
like one. So he's basically telling the students not to
take their vote for granted. I think he's just trying
to encourage them and meet them where they are. Again,
maybe the delivery wasn't the best, but again, did he
(12:54):
lie And that's essentially what I took away from that.
He did say, there's going to be a time in
your life or a crisis in your life that you're
not going to be able to google the answer, And.
Speaker 5 (13:07):
Yeah, it goes. It goes into just basically.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Understanding that your vote matters, because I think a lot
of times, you know, we were told, you know, people
died for us to vote and all of these things.
But it's like, you got to understand that your vote
actually matters and you can put people in power that
can actually change things that will impact you as an adult.
And it is a pivotal time for them to understand
(13:34):
those things.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
So again the HeLa man, I.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Don't know what I could add to that. Free good luck,
Let's get you to follow up, Yes, she.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Covered all the bases, but according to a lot of
the news sources that are covering this story, sharpens remarks,
We're supposed to be part of a broader message about
the power of education and the youth vote, especially in
the context of the upcoming presidential election, and we've seen
the onslot of especially black rappers, supporting Donald Trump. Now,
(14:06):
some of the criticisms that non go ahead, No, I
would saying like sexy red mm hm oh mm hm.
And so some of the criticisms in the comments that
I've seen were centered on a few points, the perceived
targeting of rap music. So some people are arguing that
Al Sharpton's focus on rap music unfairly singles out the genre,
which has long been a voice for marginalized communities, and
(14:29):
they believe that other genres should also be scrutinized if
the goal is to address broader cultural issues. Another concern
is free speech. Some people are saying that Reverend Sharpton's
call for the FCC to punish artists and radio stations
connected with violent acts to could infringe on free speech rights,
and the critics there argue that it's kind of challenging
(14:50):
to create a fair standard for those types of actions
and the effectiveness of his approach, you know, like morgan
Zi did he lied, No, absolutely, I don't think he did.
But some believe that Reverend Sharpton's approach will not be
effective like this because it's not addressing all types of
music and media. It just seems like it's beating up
(15:11):
on rap and so that may be how some people
perceive it, and they argue that focusing solely on rap
music could be seen as an incomplete solution to the problem.
So his intention was to highlight the importance of civic engagement,
especially among young people, but the way his message was framed,
it might lead to these future mixed responses. So really,
(15:34):
it just I think depends on how the person receives
the message.
Speaker 5 (15:38):
Right, right.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
One of the things that I want to make sure that.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
I interject into the conversation is that you're absolutely right.
There's been a lot of rappers that have come out
to support or rather to endorse Donald Trump for president,
and all of the rappers that I know of that
(16:02):
come to mind are either people who like objectively, lack
a modicum of political sophistication, or we're looking at like
the B Squad at best, probably the C Squad. You know,
these are rappers that are not like household names. These
aren't you know, like the folios and the you know
(16:25):
them type of people. It's not like jay Z came
out it was like yeah, you know, you know, It's
not like you know, a Drake or a Kendrick came
out and was like, yeah, Donald Trump is him that
not that level artist? These are people like Waka Flocka
had his heyday in twenty ten, you know what I mean.
So and the other side of that coin, of course,
is that you know, the vast majority of hip hop
(16:48):
artists that we would consider to be household names not
only have thrown their endorsement behind Kamala Harris, but a
lot of them are indeed supporting her bid for the presidency.
We saw a little on at the d n C
and common at the DNC. Of course, fad Joe has
been very vocal about it. Applies has been, you know,
a tremendous voice online. Jermaine Duprie, initially being critical of
(17:10):
Kamala Harris, had to do in about face. You know,
Cardi B Meganie Stallion remember her performance. You know, there
was people who had a lot to say about it.
But she was not just endorsing Kamala Harris, she was
supporting her quevo. You know, this list goes on. These
are names there, right right, and these are names that
we associate more with like hip hop. Like if if
(17:31):
you put all of the Amber Roses and Waka Flakas
and fulios and you know, and I know I know
that there's you know, sexy Red and whatever. But again,
sexy Red, I just don't know that she has a
modicum of political sophistication that translates to, oh, anything that
she's doing is intelligent because she's Sexy Red. Like, I
don't think that that's it. Like a person like Common,
(17:51):
a person like MEGANE.
Speaker 4 (17:53):
Stallion. These are people, these are brands that are less.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
We want to we want to we want to push
play on them. The other the others not so.
Speaker 4 (18:01):
Much right right.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
And on top of that, you know, I just know
that sexy read, at least in the circles that I
run in, she feels more like a novelty. You know,
when she when she came out with you know, she
was talking about her genitals.
Speaker 4 (18:16):
She's like, my my.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Privates are pink and my other parts of brown, Yeah,
the other parts of brown, you know what I'm saying.
Like there was this wow factor there. It wasn't like,
oh my gosh, this song is like amazing the artistry.
Oh this I'm transposed to another you know. It wasn't that.
It was just like, did she just say what I rewind?
You know, did she say that, Oh my god, this
is that funny song?
Speaker 4 (18:36):
You know? And that was really it.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
And then a lot of what she's done since then
has been her kind of cashing that same check. You know, boo,
I love you, you and my everything. You know, she's
not like a singer. It's just kind of like, oh
my god, this is hilarious.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
Right.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
So again, people don't look at someone like her, even
know she's a bigger artist. People don't look at someone
like her like she's really standing on anything credible.
Speaker 4 (18:59):
When you look it's.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Someone like, like I mentioned a Fat Joe, someone that
applies actually is a college educated rapper. He doesn't act
like it when you wouldn't know from the way he talks.
Fat Joe historically has been very active politically. So I
wanted to make sure that I said that because I
don't want to lose the narrative that that somehow hip
hop in general is thrown his support behind Donald Trump.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Right.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
The next thing that I wanted to say too, is that,
in terms of Al Sharpton being right, you know, this
is and I'm glad we're having this conversation amongst ourselves,
and it's not a conversation that white people are having
with us, or we're having with white people, because hip
hop is ours. You know, that is a truth, and
(19:44):
you know our position in this country is indeed ours,
and where there is overlap, you know, those are conversations
that we need to have, right, And so I'm okay
with this, but you know, I just want to remind
our listeners that hip hop sort of started out as authentic,
raw streets, street level stories, you know what I mean,
(20:06):
or at least in it's like formative stages. I want
to say years, but it's probably more formative year. It
immediately reflected what was going on on the ground, you know,
what people were dealing with. And again, it was raw,
and it was it was unfiltered. It wasn't intended to
(20:27):
be this shiny, polished, poppy sort of thing, and it
hasn't remained true to that, and it became a victim
of its own success. But you know, the argument that
I make, and I think it's a it's a solid
argument that we should all consider, is that you know,
I watch movies where there's guns all in the movies,
and then I don't go and shoot things up. I
watch movies where I don't know, there's there's like a
(20:52):
lot of I don't pick a thing. Drug activity doesn't mean, yeah,
I've never done a drug in my life, but I
have no problem watching for a dream or watching movies
stoner movies and like getting the laugh out of that.
It's not that I would never do those things, but
you know, I get that it just exists in the
cultural zeitgeist as a form of entertainment, right. And I
(21:15):
do recognize and respect that the younger we are, the
more impressionable we are. And I do recognize and respect
the fact that music has a different influence over a
population than does movies and other forms of media and
other forms of entertainment.
Speaker 4 (21:29):
I'll see those entirely, but.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
There is I think having gone to the the National
Urban le Conference, I think that I've seen it displayed
best there and I want to share just a bit.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
Before we move on, because I think this is really important.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
During the day at the conference, and Chris was there
with me, So Chris, if if I tagged him in.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
He would he would agree with me.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
But we're there during the day and we listen to
all these great thinkers, these great activists, these these political titans,
these these titans of industry impart their wisdom and their
vision for the future of Black America onto this enormous crowd, right,
And we did that, and we went into workshops and
(22:15):
breakout rooms and so forth, and then people came to
hear me and Q speak, you know, and you know,
we had our own contribution to make all this sort
of stuff. And then at the end of the day
we went to the club and it was a second
line there and Juvenile was there, and he was you
know Juvenile's music is it was raw and and real
back then, and it is a classic now, you know,
(22:36):
all of those songs are classics. And he was up
there and we was partying to that, and he wasn't
filtering his language or anything like that, nor should he have,
because we can separate the two, right. And then the
next day we did the same thing, and then Manny
Fresh was djaying. He was djaying all the sexy reds
and the glowrillas and all the stuff that we like
in the Chief Keeps, you know who's from Chicago playing
(22:57):
the Chief Keeps and playing the you know, the King
Bond's and you know little Dirks and all that sort
of stuff.
Speaker 4 (23:03):
So there's a space for both. And I don't, I don't.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
I just don't want us to get too far lost
in the conversation of well hip hop is bad for us?
Hip hop has done a lot of good. Hip Hop
has allowed a lot of people to tell stories. Hip
Hop has provided a fascination with black life in America,
and I believe that has turned into an aperture into
the black American experience and for people who can't authentically
(23:27):
have it themselves. I know that that is something that
has connected a lot of people and compelled them when
the time has arisen to support the black people who
indeed do suffer through some of the worst parts of
being black in America. And so it's not all bad,
it's just, you know, we got to take everything in
proper doses. So that's my two cents. I know that
(23:49):
was a bit long, but I think it is important.
Speaker 5 (23:52):
I'll take those two cents.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
I'm buying it.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Black Information Network news anchors Morgan Wood and Brewood are
here with us discussing this week the major stories. All right,
next up, we had to Texas for an update with
an assistant principle was fighting to keep her sight. Brief,
let's go back to you for this story, share the
latest details available to us, and then Morgan, we're going
to get your reaction after.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
Yeah, so this was heartbreaking for me. The latest update
on the assistant principle from Portscana Independent School District in
North Texas. Her name is Kandra Rogers, and it's quite concerning.
On August fifteenth, Rogers, who was black, was attacked by
an eleven year old student at Collins Intermediate School and
that resulted in severe injuries to her right eye. Unfortunately,
(24:38):
she has been blinded in that eye as of right now.
Rogers was responding to a call about a fight between
two students when the incident occurred. One student threw a
wooden hangar at her after she successfully blocked the chairs
that the student had thrown prior to that, causing the injury. So,
despite the severity of her condition. She is done press
and says that she remains hopeful for a miracle to
(25:00):
restore her site. She definitely has along road ahead of
her as far as recovery and likely more surgeries. Also,
I had the opportunity to speak with BIA News anchor
Nicole Deal, who happens to be kon Andra Rogers' cousin.
Nicole does tell me that one of the biggest concerns
on her mind right now is the safety of teachers
in the classroom. It has become an increasingly horrible issue.
(25:24):
She also says that Rogers is doing better, but this
is still a lot for her to contend with, especially
right now emotionally, physically, and financially. So what we do
know for sure is that legal action is being taken.
The student involved in the assault has been taken into
custody and the case has been referred to the Navarro
County District Attorney's Office and the Juvenile Probation Department. Now
(25:47):
the student is expected to face charges equivalent to aggravated
assault in adult court. School leaders are also confirming that
the student is not allowed back on campus, and so
there is a go fund me un raising effort that
is set up for Candre right now. If you'd like
to donate, it is at GoFundMe dot com and the
title is support Candrew Rogers Paths to Recovery. The goal
(26:11):
is sixty thousand dollars and as of right now the
taping of this podcast, we are at nearly seventeen thousand dollars.
Speaker 4 (26:18):
Nice.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Okay, that's some good momentum there, Morgan, let's get your
thoughts here.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (26:23):
So, Rogers released a statement. She's saying that.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
We should never have to fear being in a classroom
with an aggressive student. And she went on to say,
overly aggressive students need services to meet their needs, but
I do not believe the safety of other students and
the educational staff should suffer. She blamed Texas Governor Greg
greg Abbott and the state legislature's refusal for a school
funding despite them having a thirty two billion dollar budget surplus.
(26:50):
She fuels and believes that that money should go towards
things that include the academic struggles and student discipline struggles,
teacher retention challenges, and and other things of that nature.
This is a very this is very sad because as
(27:12):
if you don't have enough to already worry about in
the school. You know, there's school shootings, you have to
do shooting drills and things of this nature. And then
on top of that, I would I would say that
I agree with her and the fact that students need
resources in other areas, whether that be disciplined or even
(27:33):
so much as just having a meal, because it could
be it could have We don't know what caused that
child to snap like that and to snap on her
because they were already involved in other another altercation, but
stuff like just getting kids what they need, like a
meal the first meal of the day, so they're not
sitting there hungry and not sitting there angry because hunger
then turns into anger and that can turn into these
(27:55):
types of situations. So with that being said, it is
very very tragic to hear that this is happening, especially
in Texas, especially in schools where you're already dealing with
other situations and you're already having to do shelter shelter
and shooting drills and things of that nature on top
(28:16):
of having to learn. So what other resources need to
be put into a school outside of the teachers. The
teachers aren't able to teach because that's what you go
to school for, and now they are you know, now
they have to be security guards and officers and all
these other things. I'm not sure why she was the
one to have to respond, but you know, it's really
(28:37):
sad to see what has happened as a result of that.
There does need to be more resources put into the
schools and when sections and for the students.
Speaker 3 (28:49):
And when she was giving an initial interview, she did
mention that another professional came in to assist her and
that student who threw one chair that she said she
actually caught in the air, and she used it to
block the second chair that the student was trying to
throw at the other administrator. So the one child that
he was fighting with initially went out of the classroom
(29:09):
and then it became this student against two administrators. And
so I know, it does call into question, like Morgan said,
the teachers don't really have an opportunity to just teach
because they're too busy trying to parent. And so aside
from mental health issues, right aside from mental health issues
and whatever is going on at home, could it be
(29:31):
an issue with the parents, Could it be an issue
with a lack of anything, whatever you might think the
resources are important, and I don't know that every school
has social workers that are in the school anymore, But
I don't know. There does need to be something that
is offered for all students in general, like some type
(29:52):
of mental health service or counseling, And if parents are
going through a hard time and that hardship is affecting
the performance of student in school, that is something that
all the adults need to be involved in in my opinion.
I mean, look at this, Yeah, she could have been
gravely injured and we're hoping and praying that her eyesight
does return in that one eye.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
So yeah, I'd go with that. I think that, you know,
there's there's there's a little bit more there, especially today.
Funny story, yesterday I had to go to a facility
I've been working with, and this is a they don't
(30:35):
like being called a facility, so I'm making trouble. But
this campus what they do is they help individuals with
autism or some other spectrum related condition transition into the
adult world. So you're taking people from their late teens
to their early twenties and helping them build foundationally what
(30:59):
they'll need to survive, how to use you know, how
to keep their idea on them, how to fill out paperwork,
how to you know these things that are we take
for granted, you know, they might it might be a
problematic for them in any event. I was attacked yesterday
(31:21):
by one of those people. And I was fine, of course,
and I would be fine. But you begin to see,
like when there is something like a mental health issue
or ailment or whatever, how things can get away from you, right.
(31:42):
And I saw this individual whose brain had not been
fully developed, struggle to be heard, be understood, and struggle
to communicate and succumb to frustration. And the only other
thing for this person to do was to lash out.
(32:03):
And I was just a convenient target. And again I
was fine. There was nothing to see there. It wasn't
even worth mentioning to the next group of people. So
I don't want to concern anyone. But all that came
on the heels of frustration. And I'm not a mental
health profession I don't know how to deal with that.
But another when you couple things like that, you know,
(32:24):
all these conditions are different, but that's something that is
that happens with some frequency.
Speaker 4 (32:27):
I'd imagine when.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
You couple that with the fact that at least in
terms of black people and marginalized people, our children go
undiagnosed at a much like a crazy, much higher rate
than you know, non black people than white people.
Speaker 4 (32:45):
Let's be clear.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
Absolutely their kids get diagnosed, Our kids get disciplined, and
the same type of human meltdown with the same type
of mental ailment can happen regardless of how much Meloni
and your skin has right. But you know, when you're
talking about a school is not having the resources, not knowing,
not being able to diagnose and give people people or children,
(33:10):
I should say, not being able to give children what
they need to meet their educational needs and to create
an environment where the children who are not encumbered by
those ailments are free to learn without those distractions. The
teachers are the appropriate teachers for the different classroom settings,
and everyone gets the most out of their experiences. Especially
(33:32):
in a place with the budget surplus. It feels like
you know you're right on the money there.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
So and you know, I want to say quickly, since
you brought that up, Nicole did confirm with me that
this student, even though they are a minor, they're not
naming the student. It was a white student, not a
black student.
Speaker 4 (33:49):
Okay, okay, well that's you know, that's good to know.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
But I think that, you know, for black students, a
lot of times, if it's had been black and the
teacher had been white, there's a higher likelihood I would
imagine that we would know the student's name, a higher
likelihood that we would know that the student was black,
and a higher likelihood that the criminal consequences would be
(34:16):
much more severe. And that's just kind of how these
things tend to go. And again, having the right resources
in the schools helps all people, right, white people and
black people, which is why when white people vote against
things that help black people, it's again like them lining
(34:38):
up in front of the pistol, you know, aimed at
the target and shooting the bullet through their head. It's like, no,
helping black people helps white people too, you know. And
so that's people need to vote and vote the Spectrum.
This is the campaign that I'm on with first Place
in Phoenix, Arizona. Vote the Spectrum. And what they say
(35:00):
is that do not forget about people who are a
parent's death away from homelessness, you know, a parent's death
or you know, something crazy happening in our life. They're
just right there next to being incarcerated. You know, they
have a mental condition and they have a caretaker, and
as soon as something changes in their life, you end
(35:21):
up with these thirty forty year old people now not
able to pay rent not and no one there to
care for them. And a lot of people on the
streets are victims of those circumstances. So when you vote,
don't forget that there are people like that who need resources.
And if your candidate accounts for those people in the population,
then that's a good candidate to vote for.
Speaker 4 (35:42):
So I have to say that before we move on.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
But for our final story, it appears that one black
supporter of Donald Trump got a rude awakening this week
while working on the campaign trail for the former president. Morgan,
we're going to go back to you for details on
this story, and then Bri, we're going to come to
you to close this out. I've already given my two
thoughts on this one, so I'm not going to in
the midweek memo. I had a lot to say about
this guy. But but Morgan, like I said, we're gonna
(36:05):
start with you.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
He effed around and found out, No, you've heard of
the movie twelve years a slave. Right, Well, this talks
about a man who apparently was twelve days a slave, was.
Speaker 5 (36:15):
Black man by the name of Carl Baxter.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
He is a staunch Trump supporter as you remember, as
you mentioned, and he is doing a conservative organization, Americans
for Prosperity. Over his work or lack thereof, he did
not appreciate his work environment. So basically what happens was
he agreed him and AFP got together and he agreed.
(36:40):
They agreed to pay him twenty dollars an hour to
do some canvassing and knocking on doors and other things
to basically push their agenda. And in the midst of that,
he found out that he really didn't appreciate the people
that he was working for. So apparently he didn't like
that they weren't giving him credit for the work that
(37:02):
he had done in the hours. And he also said
they basically weren't paying him what.
Speaker 5 (37:07):
He what they agreed to pay him.
Speaker 2 (37:10):
So he got on the phone and he called his
supervisor like anybody.
Speaker 5 (37:14):
Else would do.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
AFP Grassroots Engagement director Rock sand Buckles, who is white,
and according to the lawsuit, UH says this is the
call went like this. He called He called Baxter a slave,
and then demanded that he confirmed he is a slave,
stating as follows, Uh, I know you're doing the work,
(37:35):
and I can see the doors that you're you are
hitting on my iPad on my side, so you see
that he's doing the work.
Speaker 3 (37:41):
So paid the man.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
But he went on to say that at least you're
working as a slave. But at uh, at least you're
working as a slave. But at least you're you are
getting paid. Many slaves today do get paid, many used
to never get paid, and then proceeded to ask him
are you a slave? Needless to say, he was offended
and demanded to speak with you know, higher higher ups,
(38:04):
and he was terminated without notice, effective immediately, basically because
he complained. Imagine that getting a job with an organization
you already don't. People already are looking at you like
why are you here?
Speaker 5 (38:19):
You work for them, You do the.
Speaker 2 (38:20):
Work for them, they don't want to pay you. And
then when you ask them, well, they agree to pay you.
You do the work, and then when you're not getting paid,
you ask them, hey, what's up with my money's and
they fire you for complaining. Now you got to suit
the same organization who you regarded so highly.
Speaker 3 (38:36):
It's quite interesting. To say he's frustrated is an understatement.
He claimed he was disappointed over the incident as well,
and felt betrayed by the Americans for Prosperity organization that
he initially trusted. He described his experience as emotionally distressing,
particularly the alleged racial slur that was used against him
(38:59):
and his term mination. As Morgan just mentioned after he
raised concerns about it. So they say he's seeking financial
compensation not only for the money losses, but also for
the emotional impact the situation had on him. So it's
racial discrimination. He claims he was called a slave by
an AFP director over the phone, also retaliation. He raised
(39:21):
concerns about the discriminatory remark and thinks he was fired
because of that from his position. The wage theft, He
says that AFP withheld his wages and mileage reimbursements for
his twelve day employment as a canvasser. He claims that
his white colleagues did not face similar issues with their
payments and emotional distress. The lawsuit is seeking that compensation
(39:43):
that was caused by the alleged racial slur and termination
and so the legal and financial repercussions of it all.
If he happens to be successful with this lawsuit, it
could result in a very significant financial penalty for AFP
and set a legal resident for similar cases. And it
might encourage other victims of discrimination and wage theft to
(40:06):
seek legal recourse. And the case could impact public perception
of AFP and similar organizations, especially with their ability to
recruit and retain employees, as well as their overall reputations.
So it's just bad for business.
Speaker 4 (40:21):
Sure, sure, sure. Well.
Speaker 1 (40:24):
One of the things that came to me along with
this story, and I think it bears repeating, and it
came from Chris, our show's producer. He says, imagine what
they say about this guy behind his back? And I
think that's something that a lot of the Maga black
Maga Republicans should consider. You know, are they using you?
(40:47):
Are they using your face as cover for their white
supremacist ideas? Is that's probably a more likely truth than
they actually have accepted you. And you have access to
the American dream to the degree that they do. But
I promised I was not going to pontificate, and so
we'll leave it right there. I'd like to thank you
both very much for your time and your insight. Once again,
(41:07):
today's guest are Black Information Network news anchors Morgan Wood
and Bree.
Speaker 3 (41:11):
Would thank you, Thanks Ramses.
Speaker 1 (41:15):
This has been a production of the Black Information Network.
Today's show is produced by Chris Thompson. Have some thoughts
you'd like to share, use the red microphone talkback feature
on the iHeartRadio app. While you're there, be sure to
hit subscribe and download all of our episodes. I'm your host,
Ramsey's Jaw on all social media, and I'll be hosting
another episode of Civic Cipher this weekend on a station
near you. For stations, show times, and podcast info, jack
(41:38):
Civiccipher dot com and join us Monday as we share
our news with our voice from our perspective right here
on the Black Information Network Daily podcast
It's been another busy news week and we like to
review the major stories of the week here on the
Black Information Network. Today, we are joined by Black Information
Network news anchors Morgan Wood and Bree Wood to discuss
this week's major stories. This is the Black Information Network
Daily Podcast and I'm your host, ramses Jah. All Right,
Morgan and Bree the Dynamic duo, Welcome back to the show. Morgan,
(00:22):
how have you been since we last spoke.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Oh, I've been great, Still on a quite the high
from DNC and we've got a lot of content that
we've were able to generate. So make sure you guys,
you know, continue to listen to the Black Information Network
and check out The Black Perspective on Sundays at nine
am and nine pm. Of course this podcast here. Just
super excited to be back.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
All right, Well, we got a lot to get to Brie.
I need to know what you've been up to as well.
Speaker 3 (00:50):
Yeah, okay, so you know, we've got a lot of
political stuff happening. I didn't get to attend the DNC.
It looked like it was a concert, it was so
well produced. But you know, political season is here and
so everything that we are focused on right now mainly
has to do with the Vice president and her opponents
and her VP pick. So you know that's keeping the
(01:11):
news cycle and us very busy. But I've been well,
thank you.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
Well.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
This is one of those moments that reminds us of
I suppose why we do what we do. This is
the exciting time, and I can hear the excitement and
both of your voices, and I would love for that
excitement to translate to our listeners. So let's not keep
them waiting any longer. First up, full of fear from
the excitement of the DNC and with the live debate
on the horizon, supporters of Donald Trump are trying everything
(01:36):
in their party to stop the momentum of Kamala Harris,
including making claims that she is ineligible to run for president. Rie,
let's start things off with you, tell us more about
the story, and then Morgan will come to you to
get your thoughts next.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Yeah. So, according to news sources, the National Federation of
Republican Assemblies has cited the eighteen fifty seven dread Scott
versus Sandford Supreme Court decision to our gut that Vice
President Kamala Harris is actually ineligible to run for President.
I thought that was very gutsy in the decision. Now,
the Supreme Court ruled that slaves weren't US citizens and
(02:11):
weren't protected by the federal government. Now, the claims about
Vice President Kamala Harris's eligibility to run for president have
been circulating for some time, but of course they're unfounded.
The NFRA also claims that the ruling, which was overturned
by the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments to the Constitution, which
abolished slavery and declared all people born in the US
(02:32):
to be citizens of the US, it still supports their
interpretation of constitutional requirements for presidential candidates. So they are
arguing that her parents were not born American citizens at
the time of her birth, so therefore they're not making
her a natural so therefore that makes her not a
natural born citizen. The fact that her parents were not
(02:52):
yet American citizens when she was actually born. So according
to the Constitution, fires that a presidential candidate be a
natural born citizen, first at least thirty five years old,
and a resident of the United States for at least
fourteen years. Now, the Vice President meets all of that criteria,
and she was born in Oakland, California, So that makes
(03:14):
her a natural born US citizen and fully eligible to
run for president, regardless of the fact that her parents
were not citizens. That was overturned. So in a statement
the NFRA president, his name is Alex Johnson, he said,
in part, quote, we firmly believe that FAE Democrat Miss
Harris should never hold office for any of the many
(03:34):
reasons people choose to highlight, including her party's tactics on
dividing people by race and class end quote. So personally,
I just see this as another scheme to try to
undermine her credibility. Now you don't have to like her
or even agree with her politics, but citing an overturned
racist ruling, in my opinion, is just absurd.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Yeah, and then calling the other folks racist when what
you're clearly doing is textbook racism is also boggles the mind. So, uh, Morgan,
let's get you to weigh in here.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
So that statement goes on to say these policy these
policies have historically resulted in widespread suffering, economic collapse, and
the erosion of individual freedoms. The Democratic Party praise on
the ignorance of voters.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
How dare they Okay, how dare they come with this?
Speaker 2 (04:26):
It's always something you know, it's giving I'm losing, and
I'm just reaching for whatever it is I can to
distract and deflect from what is going on within your
own party, which is the same things that they were
coming out and saying about the Democratic Party and Biden
being too old and all of these things.
Speaker 5 (04:46):
Well, now you got the old guy.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
The Republicans got the old guy and the so called
unfit guy based on the fact that he has thirty
four counts felony counts and you know, among other things,
pending lawsuits and and some more. So, Yeah, this seems
like they're just trying to grasp at anything, and it's
it's it's it's getting old. Just to the point that, uh,
(05:12):
former President Barack Obama said, this is a sequel, and
the sequel is never better than the original. I mean,
we've seen this done, not to this extent with Obama,
but you know, they did the same thing with him.
They questioned his you know, where he came from, his citizenship,
and and of course you know that of his parents.
Speaker 5 (05:32):
So I'm not surprised. But at the same time.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
This is very very uh what was the word you use,
bree gutsy of them to pull up the dread sky.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
That's reaching, that's beyond. That's a stretcher, armstrong reach.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
You know.
Speaker 4 (05:51):
It's one that's different.
Speaker 5 (05:54):
Yeah, definitely different. It's one thing to you know, make
fun of the name.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
It's one thing to question, you know, where someone is
coming from. But to reach into a ruling like that
and then think that that is something that you can
actually stand.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
On, Yeah, with your whole chest. They just sit outside
with that one.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
It is desperation. It is desperation because they see the
momentum behind her campaign and they are feeling the energy
from her side of the aisle, which has not been
felt in a very long time. She completely flipped the
script in a month.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Yeah, and I think that you know, breed to attack
onto that and indeed to tack onto what Morgan was saying.
The biggest gripe that not just Republicans but a lot
of Americans had with the presumed ticket for Democrats was
that Joe Biden was so old. In fact, he's the
(06:46):
oldest person to ever like seek you know, the presidency,
you know, and since he withdrew and never technically formally
sought re election. Guess who now is the old this
person in the history of this country to seek the presidency?
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Would that be Donald Trump?
Speaker 4 (07:06):
Trump exactly.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
And so when you say flip the scriptory, that's literally
what happens. So every all of it all, they had
to eat all of those words. And this just feels
like the result of desperation, you know, and in addition
to all the other desperate things that they've tried to get.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
This isn't going to go anywhere, of course, but.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
You know, they're making fun of her, laugh and they're
trying to say that she's you know, they're using old
footage from different parts of her career to try to
define her character or something like that, these like little
clips here in that. Because she's technically a proficient candidate, right,
(07:43):
I would not call her perfect. I wouldn't call anybody perfect,
but she's technically a proficient candidate. And when you put
her in the ring with Donald Trump and you compare
apples to apples, even if you compare apples to oranges,
because that's really what people are going to have to do,
Oranges obviously will be more Donald Trump's thing, you end
up with her looking like the superior candidate, and you know,
(08:05):
everyone has to, you know, accept at some point that
we're going to vote the lesser of two evils. And
so people that even people who have drunk the kool
aid and feel like Kamala Harris isn't exactly who she is,
which is a proficient enough candidate to represent the interests
of this country. You know, you have to come to
terms of fact with the fact that she is a
far better option in terms of representing the interests of
(08:28):
this country than he is. And this desperate attempt and
these indeed desperate attempts to try to paint her as
a less viable option only show their desperation, not that
she is a less viable option. I'll share a bit
from the article here. It says the nfr's claims would
(08:49):
have made George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and other founding fathers
ineligible to be president since their parents were born in
British colonies. Right, So just the you can see the
mental gymnastics that they have to do in order to
try to make Kamala Harris seem like she's not a
viable candidate, so much so that they would they would
(09:12):
shoot themselves through the head if it meant that they
could hit their you know, their target, And that's that's
what it looks like to me. So they're like lining
up in front of the pistol, in the middle of
the pistol and the target and shooting themselves in the head,
and we're all watching it on full display, and it
just shows the desperation. So I don't expect anything to
(09:33):
come of this, but of course if it does, we
will be all over it and report that to you
as well. In the meantime, let's talk about civil rights
icon Al Sharpton, who made a visit to Howard University
this week and raised a few eyebrows with his comments
about the importance of our younger generation's need to better
balance their love for rap music with their civic duty
to vote Morgan. This time, we're going to start with you,
(09:54):
give us some details on the story in the bree
We're going to follow with you next.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Okay, I'll disclaim by saying that maybe the delivery wasn't
the best, but did he lie?
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Reverend Al Sharpton was at the Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel
at Howard University in Washington, DC, talking to students. When
he made the controversial comments, he basically told the students
to stop obsessing over rap music and to keep that
energy when it comes to their civic rights, excuse me,
civil rights and voting. So during his statements, he recalled
(10:24):
he talked about getting a phone call from from James Brown,
the godfather of soul, a few weeks before he died
in two thousand and six, and Brown the artist, basically
expressed to him that he was upset about the music
that he was currently hearing on the radio. He said,
he turned on the radio and every song, every rap
(10:46):
he heard was degrading. He said, when you were growing up,
you heard me say sing it or you heard me
sing say it loud.
Speaker 5 (10:53):
I'm black and I'm proud.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
You heard everything respect You heard Marvin Gay singing about
the war in Vietnam.
Speaker 5 (10:59):
What's going on? In What's going on?
Speaker 2 (11:01):
And he said, now all he hears is the N word,
hose and the B word. Mind you, he was in
the chapel saying this, and he said that to the students.
He spoke to them real deal Holyfield. So in those remarks,
he said, you know better than to degrade others, but
you are permitted to degrading yourself. That's why you can
con That's why they can convince you that you can't
(11:24):
make a black woman president. That's why you run around
not talking about can a black win. We already elected
a black and re elected him. So basically, what I
took away from this is that he was trying to
encourage students to use that keep that same energy when
you sing in your sexy reds and olatto's and your
(11:47):
Gloilla's nothing against them because I actually like some of
those songs that they but keep that same energy when
it comes to again, your civic rights or civil rights
and voting. He was saying that, you know, if you
did a song and uh, you used racial slurs about
an Irish person, it's gonna be called hate speech. You
(12:09):
do the song and you say something crazy about lgbt
q I a group, it's gonna be hate speech. But
you do the same thing and you're talking calling people
out of their names, it's gonna be hate speech all
these different groups. You say the same thing about a
Jewish person, it's going to be considered hate speech. But
the moment that you say the N word, it's free speech.
(12:33):
And he questioned, why is that? Why is that? So
he said, if you go on, if you allow people
to call you the IN word, and you able to
use the N word, then guess what you're gonna act
like one. So he's basically telling the students not to
take their vote for granted. I think he's just trying
to encourage them and meet them where they are. Again,
maybe the delivery wasn't the best, but again, did he
(12:54):
lie And that's essentially what I took away from that.
He did say, there's going to be a time in
your life or a crisis in your life that you're
not going to be able to google the answer, And.
Speaker 5 (13:07):
Yeah, it goes. It goes into just basically.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
Understanding that your vote matters, because I think a lot
of times, you know, we were told, you know, people
died for us to vote and all of these things.
But it's like, you got to understand that your vote
actually matters and you can put people in power that
can actually change things that will impact you as an adult.
And it is a pivotal time for them to understand
(13:34):
those things.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
So again the HeLa man, I.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Don't know what I could add to that. Free good luck,
Let's get you to follow up, Yes, she.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Covered all the bases, but according to a lot of
the news sources that are covering this story, sharpens remarks,
We're supposed to be part of a broader message about
the power of education and the youth vote, especially in
the context of the upcoming presidential election, and we've seen
the onslot of especially black rappers, supporting Donald Trump. Now,
(14:06):
some of the criticisms that non go ahead, No, I
would saying like sexy red mm hm oh mm hm.
And so some of the criticisms in the comments that
I've seen were centered on a few points, the perceived
targeting of rap music. So some people are arguing that
Al Sharpton's focus on rap music unfairly singles out the genre,
which has long been a voice for marginalized communities, and
(14:29):
they believe that other genres should also be scrutinized if
the goal is to address broader cultural issues. Another concern
is free speech. Some people are saying that Reverend Sharpton's
call for the FCC to punish artists and radio stations
connected with violent acts to could infringe on free speech rights,
and the critics there argue that it's kind of challenging
(14:50):
to create a fair standard for those types of actions
and the effectiveness of his approach, you know, like morgan
Zi did he lied, No, absolutely, I don't think he did.
But some believe that Reverend Sharpton's approach will not be
effective like this because it's not addressing all types of
music and media. It just seems like it's beating up
(15:11):
on rap and so that may be how some people
perceive it, and they argue that focusing solely on rap
music could be seen as an incomplete solution to the problem.
So his intention was to highlight the importance of civic engagement,
especially among young people, but the way his message was framed,
it might lead to these future mixed responses. So really,
(15:34):
it just I think depends on how the person receives
the message.
Speaker 5 (15:38):
Right, right.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
One of the things that I want to make sure that.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
I interject into the conversation is that you're absolutely right.
There's been a lot of rappers that have come out
to support or rather to endorse Donald Trump for president,
and all of the rappers that I know of that
(16:02):
come to mind are either people who like objectively, lack
a modicum of political sophistication, or we're looking at like
the B Squad at best, probably the C Squad. You know,
these are rappers that are not like household names. These
aren't you know, like the folios and the you know
(16:25):
them type of people. It's not like jay Z came
out it was like yeah, you know, you know, It's
not like you know, a Drake or a Kendrick came
out and was like, yeah, Donald Trump is him that
not that level artist? These are people like Waka Flocka
had his heyday in twenty ten, you know what I mean.
So and the other side of that coin, of course,
is that you know, the vast majority of hip hop
(16:48):
artists that we would consider to be household names not
only have thrown their endorsement behind Kamala Harris, but a
lot of them are indeed supporting her bid for the presidency.
We saw a little on at the d n C
and common at the DNC. Of course, fad Joe has
been very vocal about it. Applies has been, you know,
a tremendous voice online. Jermaine Duprie, initially being critical of
(17:10):
Kamala Harris, had to do in about face. You know,
Cardi B Meganie Stallion remember her performance. You know, there
was people who had a lot to say about it.
But she was not just endorsing Kamala Harris, she was
supporting her quevo. You know, this list goes on. These
are names there, right right, and these are names that
we associate more with like hip hop. Like if if
(17:31):
you put all of the Amber Roses and Waka Flakas
and fulios and you know, and I know I know
that there's you know, sexy Red and whatever. But again,
sexy Red, I just don't know that she has a
modicum of political sophistication that translates to, oh, anything that
she's doing is intelligent because she's Sexy Red. Like, I
don't think that that's it. Like a person like Common,
(17:51):
a person like MEGANE.
Speaker 4 (17:53):
Stallion. These are people, these are brands that are less.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
We want to we want to we want to push
play on them. The other the others not so.
Speaker 4 (18:01):
Much right right.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
And on top of that, you know, I just know
that sexy read, at least in the circles that I
run in, she feels more like a novelty. You know,
when she when she came out with you know, she
was talking about her genitals.
Speaker 4 (18:16):
She's like, my my.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Privates are pink and my other parts of brown, Yeah,
the other parts of brown, you know what I'm saying.
Like there was this wow factor there. It wasn't like,
oh my gosh, this song is like amazing the artistry.
Oh this I'm transposed to another you know. It wasn't that.
It was just like, did she just say what I rewind?
You know, did she say that, Oh my god, this
is that funny song?
Speaker 4 (18:36):
You know? And that was really it.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
And then a lot of what she's done since then
has been her kind of cashing that same check. You know, boo,
I love you, you and my everything. You know, she's
not like a singer. It's just kind of like, oh
my god, this is hilarious.
Speaker 4 (18:51):
Right.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
So again, people don't look at someone like her, even
know she's a bigger artist. People don't look at someone
like her like she's really standing on anything credible.
Speaker 4 (18:59):
When you look it's.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
Someone like, like I mentioned a Fat Joe, someone that
applies actually is a college educated rapper. He doesn't act
like it when you wouldn't know from the way he talks.
Fat Joe historically has been very active politically. So I
wanted to make sure that I said that because I
don't want to lose the narrative that that somehow hip
hop in general is thrown his support behind Donald Trump.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
Right.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
The next thing that I wanted to say too, is that,
in terms of Al Sharpton being right, you know, this
is and I'm glad we're having this conversation amongst ourselves,
and it's not a conversation that white people are having
with us, or we're having with white people, because hip
hop is ours. You know, that is a truth, and
(19:44):
you know our position in this country is indeed ours,
and where there is overlap, you know, those are conversations
that we need to have, right, And so I'm okay
with this, but you know, I just want to remind
our listeners that hip hop sort of started out as authentic,
raw streets, street level stories, you know what I mean,
(20:06):
or at least in it's like formative stages. I want
to say years, but it's probably more formative year. It
immediately reflected what was going on on the ground, you know,
what people were dealing with. And again, it was raw,
and it was it was unfiltered. It wasn't intended to
(20:27):
be this shiny, polished, poppy sort of thing, and it
hasn't remained true to that, and it became a victim
of its own success. But you know, the argument that
I make, and I think it's a it's a solid
argument that we should all consider, is that you know,
I watch movies where there's guns all in the movies,
and then I don't go and shoot things up. I
watch movies where I don't know, there's there's like a
(20:52):
lot of I don't pick a thing. Drug activity doesn't mean, yeah,
I've never done a drug in my life, but I
have no problem watching for a dream or watching movies
stoner movies and like getting the laugh out of that.
It's not that I would never do those things, but
you know, I get that it just exists in the
cultural zeitgeist as a form of entertainment, right. And I
(21:15):
do recognize and respect that the younger we are, the
more impressionable we are. And I do recognize and respect
the fact that music has a different influence over a
population than does movies and other forms of media and
other forms of entertainment.
Speaker 4 (21:29):
I'll see those entirely, but.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
There is I think having gone to the the National
Urban le Conference, I think that I've seen it displayed
best there and I want to share just a bit.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
Before we move on, because I think this is really important.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
During the day at the conference, and Chris was there
with me, So Chris, if if I tagged him in.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
He would he would agree with me.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
But we're there during the day and we listen to
all these great thinkers, these great activists, these these political titans,
these these titans of industry impart their wisdom and their
vision for the future of Black America onto this enormous crowd, right,
And we did that, and we went into workshops and
(22:15):
breakout rooms and so forth, and then people came to
hear me and Q speak, you know, and you know,
we had our own contribution to make all this sort
of stuff. And then at the end of the day
we went to the club and it was a second
line there and Juvenile was there, and he was you
know Juvenile's music is it was raw and and real
back then, and it is a classic now, you know,
(22:36):
all of those songs are classics. And he was up
there and we was partying to that, and he wasn't
filtering his language or anything like that, nor should he have,
because we can separate the two, right. And then the
next day we did the same thing, and then Manny
Fresh was djaying. He was djaying all the sexy reds
and the glowrillas and all the stuff that we like
in the Chief Keeps, you know who's from Chicago playing
(22:57):
the Chief Keeps and playing the you know, the King
Bond's and you know little Dirks and all that sort
of stuff.
Speaker 4 (23:03):
So there's a space for both. And I don't, I don't.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
I just don't want us to get too far lost
in the conversation of well hip hop is bad for us?
Hip hop has done a lot of good. Hip Hop
has allowed a lot of people to tell stories. Hip
Hop has provided a fascination with black life in America,
and I believe that has turned into an aperture into
the black American experience and for people who can't authentically
(23:27):
have it themselves. I know that that is something that
has connected a lot of people and compelled them when
the time has arisen to support the black people who
indeed do suffer through some of the worst parts of
being black in America. And so it's not all bad,
it's just, you know, we got to take everything in
proper doses. So that's my two cents. I know that
(23:49):
was a bit long, but I think it is important.
Speaker 5 (23:52):
I'll take those two cents.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
I'm buying it.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Black Information Network news anchors Morgan Wood and Brewood are
here with us discussing this week the major stories. All right,
next up, we had to Texas for an update with
an assistant principle was fighting to keep her sight. Brief,
let's go back to you for this story, share the
latest details available to us, and then Morgan, we're going
to get your reaction after.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
Yeah, so this was heartbreaking for me. The latest update
on the assistant principle from Portscana Independent School District in
North Texas. Her name is Kandra Rogers, and it's quite concerning.
On August fifteenth, Rogers, who was black, was attacked by
an eleven year old student at Collins Intermediate School and
that resulted in severe injuries to her right eye. Unfortunately,
(24:38):
she has been blinded in that eye as of right now.
Rogers was responding to a call about a fight between
two students when the incident occurred. One student threw a
wooden hangar at her after she successfully blocked the chairs
that the student had thrown prior to that, causing the injury. So,
despite the severity of her condition. She is done press
and says that she remains hopeful for a miracle to
(25:00):
restore her site. She definitely has along road ahead of
her as far as recovery and likely more surgeries. Also,
I had the opportunity to speak with BIA News anchor
Nicole Deal, who happens to be kon Andra Rogers' cousin.
Nicole does tell me that one of the biggest concerns
on her mind right now is the safety of teachers
in the classroom. It has become an increasingly horrible issue.
(25:24):
She also says that Rogers is doing better, but this
is still a lot for her to contend with, especially
right now emotionally, physically, and financially. So what we do
know for sure is that legal action is being taken.
The student involved in the assault has been taken into
custody and the case has been referred to the Navarro
County District Attorney's Office and the Juvenile Probation Department. Now
(25:47):
the student is expected to face charges equivalent to aggravated
assault in adult court. School leaders are also confirming that
the student is not allowed back on campus, and so
there is a go fund me un raising effort that
is set up for Candre right now. If you'd like
to donate, it is at GoFundMe dot com and the
title is support Candrew Rogers Paths to Recovery. The goal
(26:11):
is sixty thousand dollars and as of right now the
taping of this podcast, we are at nearly seventeen thousand dollars.
Speaker 4 (26:18):
Nice.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
Okay, that's some good momentum there, Morgan, let's get your
thoughts here.
Speaker 3 (26:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (26:23):
So, Rogers released a statement. She's saying that.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
We should never have to fear being in a classroom
with an aggressive student. And she went on to say,
overly aggressive students need services to meet their needs, but
I do not believe the safety of other students and
the educational staff should suffer. She blamed Texas Governor Greg
greg Abbott and the state legislature's refusal for a school
funding despite them having a thirty two billion dollar budget surplus.
(26:50):
She fuels and believes that that money should go towards
things that include the academic struggles and student discipline struggles,
teacher retention challenges, and and other things of that nature.
This is a very this is very sad because as
(27:12):
if you don't have enough to already worry about in
the school. You know, there's school shootings, you have to
do shooting drills and things of this nature. And then
on top of that, I would I would say that
I agree with her and the fact that students need
resources in other areas, whether that be disciplined or even
(27:33):
so much as just having a meal, because it could
be it could have We don't know what caused that
child to snap like that and to snap on her
because they were already involved in other another altercation, but
stuff like just getting kids what they need, like a
meal the first meal of the day, so they're not
sitting there hungry and not sitting there angry because hunger
then turns into anger and that can turn into these
(27:55):
types of situations. So with that being said, it is
very very tragic to hear that this is happening, especially
in Texas, especially in schools where you're already dealing with
other situations and you're already having to do shelter shelter
and shooting drills and things of that nature on top
(28:16):
of having to learn. So what other resources need to
be put into a school outside of the teachers. The
teachers aren't able to teach because that's what you go
to school for, and now they are you know, now
they have to be security guards and officers and all
these other things. I'm not sure why she was the
one to have to respond, but you know, it's really
(28:37):
sad to see what has happened as a result of that.
There does need to be more resources put into the
schools and when sections and for the students.
Speaker 3 (28:49):
And when she was giving an initial interview, she did
mention that another professional came in to assist her and
that student who threw one chair that she said she
actually caught in the air, and she used it to
block the second chair that the student was trying to
throw at the other administrator. So the one child that
he was fighting with initially went out of the classroom
(29:09):
and then it became this student against two administrators. And
so I know, it does call into question, like Morgan said,
the teachers don't really have an opportunity to just teach
because they're too busy trying to parent. And so aside
from mental health issues, right aside from mental health issues
and whatever is going on at home, could it be
(29:31):
an issue with the parents, Could it be an issue
with a lack of anything, whatever you might think the
resources are important, and I don't know that every school
has social workers that are in the school anymore, But
I don't know. There does need to be something that
is offered for all students in general, like some type
(29:52):
of mental health service or counseling, And if parents are
going through a hard time and that hardship is affecting
the performance of student in school, that is something that
all the adults need to be involved in in my opinion.
I mean, look at this, Yeah, she could have been
gravely injured and we're hoping and praying that her eyesight
does return in that one eye.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
So yeah, I'd go with that. I think that, you know,
there's there's there's a little bit more there, especially today.
Funny story, yesterday I had to go to a facility
I've been working with, and this is a they don't
(30:35):
like being called a facility, so I'm making trouble. But
this campus what they do is they help individuals with
autism or some other spectrum related condition transition into the
adult world. So you're taking people from their late teens
to their early twenties and helping them build foundationally what
(30:59):
they'll need to survive, how to use you know, how
to keep their idea on them, how to fill out paperwork,
how to you know these things that are we take
for granted, you know, they might it might be a
problematic for them in any event. I was attacked yesterday
(31:21):
by one of those people. And I was fine, of course,
and I would be fine. But you begin to see,
like when there is something like a mental health issue
or ailment or whatever, how things can get away from you, right.
(31:42):
And I saw this individual whose brain had not been
fully developed, struggle to be heard, be understood, and struggle
to communicate and succumb to frustration. And the only other
thing for this person to do was to lash out.
(32:03):
And I was just a convenient target. And again I
was fine. There was nothing to see there. It wasn't
even worth mentioning to the next group of people. So
I don't want to concern anyone. But all that came
on the heels of frustration. And I'm not a mental
health profession I don't know how to deal with that.
But another when you couple things like that, you know,
(32:24):
all these conditions are different, but that's something that is
that happens with some frequency.
Speaker 4 (32:27):
I'd imagine when.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
You couple that with the fact that at least in
terms of black people and marginalized people, our children go
undiagnosed at a much like a crazy, much higher rate
than you know, non black people than white people.
Speaker 4 (32:45):
Let's be clear.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
Absolutely their kids get diagnosed, Our kids get disciplined, and
the same type of human meltdown with the same type
of mental ailment can happen regardless of how much Meloni
and your skin has right. But you know, when you're
talking about a school is not having the resources, not knowing,
not being able to diagnose and give people people or children,
(33:10):
I should say, not being able to give children what
they need to meet their educational needs and to create
an environment where the children who are not encumbered by
those ailments are free to learn without those distractions. The
teachers are the appropriate teachers for the different classroom settings,
and everyone gets the most out of their experiences. Especially
(33:32):
in a place with the budget surplus. It feels like
you know you're right on the money there.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
So and you know, I want to say quickly, since
you brought that up, Nicole did confirm with me that
this student, even though they are a minor, they're not
naming the student. It was a white student, not a
black student.
Speaker 4 (33:49):
Okay, okay, well that's you know, that's good to know.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
But I think that, you know, for black students, a
lot of times, if it's had been black and the
teacher had been white, there's a higher likelihood I would
imagine that we would know the student's name, a higher
likelihood that we would know that the student was black,
and a higher likelihood that the criminal consequences would be
(34:16):
much more severe. And that's just kind of how these
things tend to go. And again, having the right resources
in the schools helps all people, right, white people and
black people, which is why when white people vote against
things that help black people, it's again like them lining
(34:38):
up in front of the pistol, you know, aimed at
the target and shooting the bullet through their head. It's like, no,
helping black people helps white people too, you know. And
so that's people need to vote and vote the Spectrum.
This is the campaign that I'm on with first Place
in Phoenix, Arizona. Vote the Spectrum. And what they say
(35:00):
is that do not forget about people who are a
parent's death away from homelessness, you know, a parent's death
or you know, something crazy happening in our life. They're
just right there next to being incarcerated. You know, they
have a mental condition and they have a caretaker, and
as soon as something changes in their life, you end
(35:21):
up with these thirty forty year old people now not
able to pay rent not and no one there to
care for them. And a lot of people on the
streets are victims of those circumstances. So when you vote,
don't forget that there are people like that who need resources.
And if your candidate accounts for those people in the population,
then that's a good candidate to vote for.
Speaker 4 (35:42):
So I have to say that before we move on.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
But for our final story, it appears that one black
supporter of Donald Trump got a rude awakening this week
while working on the campaign trail for the former president. Morgan,
we're going to go back to you for details on
this story, and then Bri, we're going to come to
you to close this out. I've already given my two
thoughts on this one, so I'm not going to in
the midweek memo. I had a lot to say about
this guy. But but Morgan, like I said, we're gonna
(36:05):
start with you.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
He effed around and found out, No, you've heard of
the movie twelve years a slave. Right, Well, this talks
about a man who apparently was twelve days a slave, was.
Speaker 5 (36:15):
Black man by the name of Carl Baxter.
Speaker 2 (36:17):
He is a staunch Trump supporter as you remember, as
you mentioned, and he is doing a conservative organization, Americans
for Prosperity. Over his work or lack thereof, he did
not appreciate his work environment. So basically what happens was
he agreed him and AFP got together and he agreed.
(36:40):
They agreed to pay him twenty dollars an hour to
do some canvassing and knocking on doors and other things
to basically push their agenda. And in the midst of that,
he found out that he really didn't appreciate the people
that he was working for. So apparently he didn't like
that they weren't giving him credit for the work that
(37:02):
he had done in the hours. And he also said
they basically weren't paying him what.
Speaker 5 (37:07):
He what they agreed to pay him.
Speaker 2 (37:10):
So he got on the phone and he called his
supervisor like anybody.
Speaker 5 (37:14):
Else would do.
Speaker 2 (37:14):
AFP Grassroots Engagement director Rock sand Buckles, who is white,
and according to the lawsuit, UH says this is the
call went like this. He called He called Baxter a slave,
and then demanded that he confirmed he is a slave,
stating as follows, Uh, I know you're doing the work,
(37:35):
and I can see the doors that you're you are
hitting on my iPad on my side, so you see
that he's doing the work.
Speaker 3 (37:41):
So paid the man.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
But he went on to say that at least you're
working as a slave. But at uh, at least you're
working as a slave. But at least you're you are
getting paid. Many slaves today do get paid, many used
to never get paid, and then proceeded to ask him
are you a slave? Needless to say, he was offended
and demanded to speak with you know, higher higher ups,
(38:04):
and he was terminated without notice, effective immediately, basically because
he complained. Imagine that getting a job with an organization
you already don't. People already are looking at you like
why are you here?
Speaker 5 (38:19):
You work for them, You do the.
Speaker 2 (38:20):
Work for them, they don't want to pay you. And
then when you ask them, well, they agree to pay you.
You do the work, and then when you're not getting paid,
you ask them, hey, what's up with my money's and
they fire you for complaining. Now you got to suit
the same organization who you regarded so highly.
Speaker 3 (38:36):
It's quite interesting. To say he's frustrated is an understatement.
He claimed he was disappointed over the incident as well,
and felt betrayed by the Americans for Prosperity organization that
he initially trusted. He described his experience as emotionally distressing,
particularly the alleged racial slur that was used against him
(38:59):
and his term mination. As Morgan just mentioned after he
raised concerns about it. So they say he's seeking financial
compensation not only for the money losses, but also for
the emotional impact the situation had on him. So it's
racial discrimination. He claims he was called a slave by
an AFP director over the phone, also retaliation. He raised
(39:21):
concerns about the discriminatory remark and thinks he was fired
because of that from his position. The wage theft, He
says that AFP withheld his wages and mileage reimbursements for
his twelve day employment as a canvasser. He claims that
his white colleagues did not face similar issues with their
payments and emotional distress. The lawsuit is seeking that compensation
(39:43):
that was caused by the alleged racial slur and termination
and so the legal and financial repercussions of it all.
If he happens to be successful with this lawsuit, it
could result in a very significant financial penalty for AFP
and set a legal resident for similar cases. And it
might encourage other victims of discrimination and wage theft to
(40:06):
seek legal recourse. And the case could impact public perception
of AFP and similar organizations, especially with their ability to
recruit and retain employees, as well as their overall reputations.
So it's just bad for business.
Speaker 4 (40:21):
Sure, sure, sure. Well.
Speaker 1 (40:24):
One of the things that came to me along with
this story, and I think it bears repeating, and it
came from Chris, our show's producer. He says, imagine what
they say about this guy behind his back? And I
think that's something that a lot of the Maga black
Maga Republicans should consider. You know, are they using you?
(40:47):
Are they using your face as cover for their white
supremacist ideas? Is that's probably a more likely truth than
they actually have accepted you. And you have access to
the American dream to the degree that they do. But
I promised I was not going to pontificate, and so
we'll leave it right there. I'd like to thank you
both very much for your time and your insight. Once again,
(41:07):
today's guest are Black Information Network news anchors Morgan Wood
and Bree.
Speaker 3 (41:11):
Would thank you, Thanks Ramses.
Speaker 1 (41:15):
This has been a production of the Black Information Network.
Today's show is produced by Chris Thompson. Have some thoughts
you'd like to share, use the red microphone talkback feature
on the iHeartRadio app. While you're there, be sure to
hit subscribe and download all of our episodes. I'm your host,
Ramsey's Jaw on all social media, and I'll be hosting
another episode of Civic Cipher this weekend on a station
near you. For stations, show times, and podcast info, jack
(41:38):
Civiccipher dot com and join us Monday as we share
our news with our voice from our perspective right here
on the Black Information Network Daily podcast
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