June 6, 2025 • 33 mins
News anchors Esther Dillard and Doug Davis join Hosts Ramses Ja and Q Ward on today's podcast to discus this week's major stories.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's been another busy news week and we lecture review
the major stories of the week here on the Black
Information Network. Today, we are joined by Black Information Network
news anchors Esther Dillard and Doug Davis to discuss this
week's major stories. This is the Black Information Network Daily Podcast.
I am ramses.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Jah and I am q Ward Right.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Esther Dillard, Doug Davis, Welcome back to the show. You
two professionals. Let's switch it up. Let's switch it up, Doug,
Let's start.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
With you first. Man, how have you been man since
we last both? Oh?
Speaker 4 (00:33):
Man, I'm great. You know, just made another move. So
I'm out here in sunny California, no longer in Vegas
and so you know, getting used to my new digs
and you know, not living in an oven of my
my life.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
So yeah, all right, Well I'll be out there soon enough. Man,
maybe we'll be able to say hi. And we saved
the best for last this time.
Speaker 5 (00:55):
Esther World, Well, I just came back a little while
ago from having some time with my family, and before that,
I got a chance to celebrate a second Gracie Award
in Los Angeles area, and I enjoyed that. That was
fun to meet with all these wonderful, very accomplished women,
(01:16):
people who make you be better.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
You know, you see all.
Speaker 5 (01:19):
The things that they do, and you say, Okay, let's
take it up to another level. We can do this.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Yeah. I love that. I'm fantastic. Good for you. I
love that. All right, Well, let's get to the news. First.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Up, the black mayor of Newark, New Jersey, is suing
one of President Trump's top lawyers over his arrest outside
in ice facility last month. Sir, let's go ahead and
start with you tell us more about this story and
than Doug and Q. We'll get your thoughts next.
Speaker 5 (01:41):
Well, this all went down around May ninth, and that's
when Mayor Ross Baraka joined three other members of Congress
outside a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility. And
likely you've seen the video where a police are putting
Mayor Baraka in handcuffs outside the gates of where there's
a lot of push, fishing and shoving. And New York
(02:02):
Mayor Baraka filed a lawsuit against the interim US Attorney
for the District of New Jersey, Elena Haba. He's accusing
her of malicious prosecution. Now the suit is seeking compen
compensatory impunitive damages. He's accusing Haba of seeking to politicize
his arrest by announcing a false and defamatory narrative. Now,
(02:27):
the lawsuit says he was invited onto the property by
an agent that runs the facility and was placed under
arrest after he was told to leave and he hadft
the left the gates. He left outside the gates. He
had exited the gates when they decided that they were
going to arrest him, and that's when all the shoving
(02:48):
and all the yelling started. He was held for five
hours before he saw a judge, and then later the
Justice Department dropped those charges. A magistrate judge who addressed
the case stated the quote, the apparent rush in this
case culminated today in the embarrassing retraction of charges, and
(03:08):
it suggests a failure to adequately investigate, to carefully gather facts,
and to thoughtfully consider the implications of your actions before
wielding your immense power. That's end quote. So Baraka, in
an interview not too long ago, said, you know that
this is not about retribution, but really rather about holding
(03:30):
someone accountable for their actions. That's really where we are
right now. With this particular.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
Case, Doug, your thoughts, Yeah, I know covered this story
since it broke on our BI in news, this our podcasts.
It's a story. It digs into the racial fabric of
this country, you know, at a time where decisions are
you know, unfortunately based on political ideologies race, power and control.
You know, let's be honest. The scene we witness on TV,
(03:58):
you know, watching the pushing and having like Esther said,
you know, minus the dogs and billy clubs and waterholeses
and patty wagons. To me, you know, if you know,
we would have took back a trick back to nineteen
sixty two. We would have seen that at maybe a
King rally, you know. So it's important for I believe
the mayor to hold Haba and others accountable. They were
(04:19):
clearly wrong. The message is even clear again, and you know,
this is about power. Like I said, you know, shoot
now I ask questions later, per Se. You know, that's
the story of Black America. Many of you know, those
questions that we have you know about this have yet
to be answered, but they will be. And I think
(04:40):
it's important to note that, you know, he's not suing
for racial discrimination. And I think race was a strong
component behind this arrest. You know, can't he prove it?
Probably not unless there was maybe a racial slury us
or something like that. But you know, it's pretty clear
in my professional opinion that President Trump is aiming at
black leaders who are against his agenda and being very
(05:02):
vocal about it.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure you got some more to add. Q.
Speaker 6 (05:09):
I mean, they're giving us so many examples of unqualified impunity,
this above the law approach that the president and really
everyone in his circle is taking breaking the law, violating
the constitution whenever they feel like it. And sure we
can sue, you know, if you have the resources to
(05:30):
challenge them in court. But then what right, Like, what's
going to happen. They've shown they can just ignore what
courts say. I think there's got some hidden in this
big beautiful bill that will actually put that on paper
that they can ignore what the courts say. So it's
hard to know how to feel about anything with regards
to this current administration. Because everything that we thought we
(05:53):
knew was true about our country, about the laws and
about the Constitution and how our government is supposed to
translate and abide by those rules. It's proving not to
be the case. So I guess we wait and see
how this how this plays out. You know, kudos to
the mayor for standing up and wanting to do something.
You know, as as my brother says all the time,
(06:13):
that's not nothing, but it's it's also not something that
I feel too celebratory about because we've seen these people
do whatever they want and often nothing happens. Rutgis University
just released an interesting study that correlates police spending.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
And black lives. Doug, let's start with you this time.
Speaker 6 (06:33):
Tell us more about this the findings in this study,
and Esther and ramsess we want you guys to weigh
as well.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
Absolutely, man, just study pretty eye opening, not so much
for us. Let's say, you know, people in our community,
you know, we kind of know, but now there's some
research to kind of back up that over policing in
our communities is really not a deterrent to crime period,
you know. So the study finds that when cities spend
more on policing, the number of black people people die,
(07:01):
whether by suicide or by the hands of police, they
go up. So every one hundred dollars increase per person
police spending leads to thirty five years loss to suicide
and seven years lost to police violence. Now, the study
also found that white communities don't see the same impact,
and police budgets go up, there's no increase in violent
(07:22):
deaths among white people. So it found that when cities
put money into things like affordable housing, mental health support,
community programs, black suicide rates go down. So today one
in nearly four people killed by police struggle with mental
health issues. We see it all the time, unfortunately, you
(07:42):
know through police body cam videos of our brothers and
sisters going through mental health crisis and then being shot
to death. And so it's almost like a clear and
call for law enforcement to seriously rethink how cities spend
their money on safety and how they knowpproach these mental
health issues that not just black folks but everyone's facing.
(08:04):
But we always seem to catch the bullets first.
Speaker 5 (08:07):
Esther Well, I would say that in again, this is
my opinion. I believe the study appears to show that
more policing or making people feel controlled by a badge
and a gun really doesn't help communities thrive. And I
really believe in thriving and not surviving. And I think
that most people listening to this call know this, and
(08:28):
at least it appears from the study that if we're
allocating funds from policing and we move them that from
that policing to social services like housing, education, and community development,
that would be more effective in improving public health outcomes
for black communities. I'll leave it.
Speaker 6 (08:45):
There, Rams, as you've spoken about this topic at length
on every microphone I think that you've ever picked up,
so I know you have something for us on this.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
The fact is is that you know, you know, a
lot of the conversations that we have Q our data
driven conversation. Granted, there's feelings, feelings cover you know, the color, sorry,
the color inside the lines, there's perspective, you know, all
that sort of stuff, But primarily it's data. And the
data suggests that if you increase the spending or you know,
(09:30):
after school programs or head start programs, if you invest
in communities.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
So that there are more.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Accessibility to jobs, public transportation, you know, these things that
improve the health of the community.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
Crime goes down.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Another subset of data suggests that a lot of the
crime that we're seeing it can be core. There's a
correlation to poverty, right so these are poor people crimes.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
These aren't bad people crimes, right, and so.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
If you attack the poor part of it, then there's
no more need for the crime. You know, for a
lot of it right now, To be fair, there's always
going to be instances of people with lapses in judgment,
mental health issues, and of course, generally speaking, bad people.
But where the investment takes place is often more police,
(10:26):
and more police doesn't get to the root of the crime.
If a person is poor and hungry and there's wealth
inequality in their environment, they're going to seek to change
their condition, regardless of how many police officers are there. Right,
It doesn't matter how many police you put in front
of a person that's starving, a person that has to
(10:49):
feed their children, a person that feels like there's no
other way, doesn't matter how many police officers. If they
feel there's no other way, they're going to take the
only way that they know how to do. And so
this idea that spending more on police somehow makes communities
safer is a falsehood that's been sold to let's be honest,
White America, and they feel very comfortable in that, which
(11:09):
is why police budgets end up increasing it's also been
sold to a lot of Black America who has not
looked at again the data, right, and when you think
about it, Listen, if I put money into a head
start program, there's a direct correlation one percent of the
time with crime rates falling, then it's a no brainer.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Let's put in some head start programs.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Let's put in some after school programs that helps everybody,
And we don't need a bunch.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
Of police officers. Right.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
So this idea of you know, more police and more
investment in police leading to more black death is something
that you know, you and I could have talked about
years ago because we knew it years ago. And it's
it's affirming and it's welcome that this university is actually,
(11:59):
you know, taking this data and put it into something
that is consumable by the masses, so that other people
can approach this in a way that is enlightening, in
a way that's shareable, because often when we talk on
the radio and talk in this format, it's less shareable. So,
you know, shout out to this university for doing the
(12:22):
legwork and hopefully helping chip away at this falsehood that
exists that kind of keeps our society locked into this
framework that doesn't do right by everyone, doesn't really do
right by anyone.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
If we're being honest, Hey, what's up?
Speaker 6 (12:36):
This is Ramsey's job, and I am Q Ward and
we're inviting you to subscribe to Civic Cipher.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Are we social justice podcast? Right here in the app?
Speaker 7 (12:44):
We pride ourselves on creating a show that fusters allyship,
empathy and understanding, all the while conducting journalistically credible research,
featuring influential, noteworthy guests, and empowering historically marginalized communities.
Speaker 6 (12:55):
The African proverb breeds, if you want to go far,
go together. So we are asking you to search for
and subscribe to Civic Cipher.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
That's Civic cip h e er right here in the app.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Black Information Network news anchors Esther Dillard and Doug Davis
are here with us discussing this week's major stories. All right,
up next, an update on a story we've been following
at the Black Information Network involving the trial of a
black Oregon firefighter aster. Let's go back to you to
get us started here, give us some details on the story,
and then Doug and Q we're going to get your
thoughts next.
Speaker 5 (13:28):
Well, the latest that I read is that Brian Simpson.
He's the black firefighter in Oregon if you haven't been
following the story, and he's now sitting in jail serving
a six year sentence after being sentenced by an all
white jury, well not sentence, but found guilty by an
all white jury of assaulting a white fellow firefighter who
(13:49):
admitted he started the fight. Simpson claims that he acted
in self defense after the coworker used a racial slur
and initiated physical aggression, hitting him in the face a
couple of times, and despite the co worker's admission of
throwing the first punch and having illicit substances in his system,
Simpson was convicted by an all white jury. Supporters argue
(14:12):
that racial bias influenced the trial's outcome, and they're urging
Governor Tina Kotek to grant clemency. Although Simpson is appealing
the case, advocates say he could have. This could take
a lot of years, and that's why there's a petition
circulating to ask for Governor Kotek to give Simpson clemency.
My deeper reading of the case indicates that after he
(14:37):
beat the guy up, you know, for hitting him and
they were tussling around the on the ground that somehow
got the best of him and began kicking him and
also kicked him in the face. And that's why I
believe many of those in the jury may have been
swayed to convict him for the sentence that he is
(14:58):
now serving today.
Speaker 4 (15:01):
Uh yeah, interesting how the all white jury failed to
see that Simpson was defending himself. Well, like I said,
like Esther said, I think they know that. I just
don't think they were really vibing with how Simpton whipped
his tail so hard, you know, I mean, you can't
predict how someone is going to react when they have
(15:22):
to defend themselves. You know, I think the N word,
of course off limits, you know. Uh, you know, for
people who feel emboldened to use that term in this
Trump two point zero administration. You know, well, hey man,
he got what he uh, he got what he deserved.
I'm just going to say that on opinion. And then
(15:42):
they found out that the white firefighter was high on drugs.
Vent No, lord knows how Simpson was feeling at that time.
You know, he was literally trying to protect himself.
Speaker 5 (15:54):
You know.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
The whole matter to me is living proof that racial
bias and the criminal justice is alive, and well racism
is not dead. Republicans and MAGA listeners, if you're here,
we black people face harsher sentences period than white people
for defending ourselves. You know, don't listen to me. Look
at the data. Let the numbers tell the story. So overall,
(16:14):
I really hope that this story continues to gain some traction.
And I'm sure there are countless other brothers and sisters
who are you know, or have gone through similar situations
and are probably locked up in jail right now, but
their case hasn't seen the light of day. So let's
continue to shed some light on this. You know, like
Esther say, the petitions campaigns are happening right now in
(16:36):
real time to demand that Oregon's governor Grant Simpson clemency.
So let's not just cross our fingers and say our prayers,
but let's continue to do what we do as journalists
to put this story out so, you know, so the
community can respond and you know, hopefully bring about change
for this brother.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Yeah, this this one was kind of a a sad one,
you know, but one of the things that I think
that people need to just bear in mind while.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
We're here is I heard of a story where.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
Someone was kicking someone else while they were down and
they were charged for attempted murder. So kicking the person
that's on the ground is a very different thing from
like normal fights in the.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Eyes of the law, I guess.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
So it's just something to keep in mind that, you know,
if this can be bent and used in a way
that paints you in an unflattering light, it's likely to
be bent and used against you in a way that
paints you in an unflattering lights.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
It's something to barren mind. I didn't mean to jump
in front of you q your thoughts.
Speaker 6 (17:47):
So I just want to be clear. The high racist
firefighter insulted and assaulted the black firefighter. He came out
on the losing end of the fight that he started.
So because of that, the black firefighter who was working
(18:09):
while black is now found guilty. Am I understanding that properly?
Speaker 3 (18:17):
That's it, That's the gist of it.
Speaker 6 (18:20):
I just wanted to say all that stuff out loud
in that order so people could hear it. My esteem
colleagues have said enough, They've said all that need to
be said. I just I wanted to say that plainly,
just in case people got lost in legal language or
our emotion or somehow tried to twist those facts and
put them in a different order. The high racist white
(18:41):
guy insulted and assaulted the black guy, and the black
guy is found guilty of a crime because of it.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Got it?
Speaker 6 (18:50):
Okay, that's the America that we live in. Still, we
close out this week's program with the story involving US
Senator Bernie Sanders and his thoughts on Vice President Kamala
Harris and the twenty twenty four election. Doug, please tell
us more about this story and esther and Ram just
will let you guys close us out.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
Absolutely. I'm going to admit that I was a bit
shocked when I learned about these comments that he made.
But let's face it, Kamala Harris, she ran a well polished, clean, strategic,
well funded campaign. She did it all. She hit the
trails hard. She spoke about issues that she thought, you know,
would take the country to newer heights and to keep
(19:30):
Donald Trump hands off of the country. And she warned us,
you know, she warned us, and pretty much you know,
everything that she warned us about is coming to light.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
But neither here nor there.
Speaker 4 (19:42):
Independent Bernie Sanders, during an interview with the BBC, blamed
the Harris campaign and her consultants for losing the election
rather than what you know, some were saying that it
was a fault of President Joe Biden because he didn't
let people know earlier enough about his mental challenges. So,
you know, she basically said said or he basically said
(20:02):
that Harris failed to connect with everyday, hard working Americans
but instead focused on you know, suburban voters, big shot donors,
the like.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
You know.
Speaker 4 (20:11):
He said, if she spoke more on raising the minimum wage,
spoke more on healthcare reform and affordable housing, she would
have beat Trump. The funny thing is, I believe she
did talk about raising wages. She talked about eliminating federal
taxes on tips. Her platform called for lower health care costs,
even though she failed to produce a package, you know,
and I do recall her extensively speaking on down payment
(20:33):
systems for first time home buyers and other you know,
affordable housing opportunities. So I'm kind of confused about where
he's coming from. But yeah, that's that's what he said.
Speaker 5 (20:46):
Esther, I think I think a lot of what we
experience in our lives is about perception and where we
are in proximity whatever whatever is unfolding. And if you're,
let's say a medical professional, you have a different perspective
of what's happening in Washington, DC than versus a person
who's like a grocery cashier. So I think that your
(21:11):
and I also think that your background influences your perception.
And Bernie Sanders, although he has been a very big
champion for the working class, he still is a Jewish
man living a different experience than a black woman, and
how he moves in political circles is a lot different
than what a black woman does. And I really feel
(21:32):
like what she experienced in her campaign, yes, she may
not have reached the people that Bernie Sanders thinks that
she should have reached as far as the working class.
And I'm kind of questioned what he considers working class.
I mean, is he talking about black and brown working
(21:55):
class as well as white working class or is he
only specifically talking about we're a white working class? What
is he talking about? So I'm was kind of confused
and listening because I listened to the podcast and went
to the spot where he was talking about this and
Another thing I will bring up is that I talked
to one political analyst, a black political analyst, and he
(22:16):
told me that polling after the election shows that many
black and brown citizens just didn't vote, and those people
were not motivated to vote. They were young people, and
he felt like Harris, the Harris campaign did not really
reach out to the young black and brown constituents as
(22:39):
well as they should have on social media and other
ways outside the traditional ways that many voters in the
past have been reached through churches and through television ads
and campaigns that way. So there's a lot of layers
to this, and I guess my last layer would be
(23:00):
there were a lot of black men and Hispanic men
who did not vote for Harris because they didn't feel
like they connected. And the you know, the polling and
such showed and opinions that people were giving out on
social media and such was many just didn't feel like
a woman should run the show. And that happened with
(23:24):
you know Clinton when she was running. They didn't feel
a woman was the right thing to run the country.
And now make her a black woman, that is another
two things against you know her. So there's again I
feel that there were a lot of layers to this.
I feel that Bernie Sanators has a certain perspective, and
(23:45):
I respect his perspective. However, I disagree with him saying
that she didn't try, you know, addressing working class people
and wages. She did, but perhaps it just did not
the message and you know, get through to the right
people to be motivated enough to get all those people
(24:06):
who didn't vote to the polls.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
Yeah, there are some obvious truths about why Vice President
Harris didn't win this election, and I think they're just uncomfortable,
uncomfortable for people to say out loud.
Speaker 6 (24:21):
And every time I hear someone blame it on strategy,
they then say the part of the strategy that they
think was missing, and it's always things that she spent
an extensive amount of time explaining and mapping out. So
if you think it was the strategy, come up with
an actual thing that she missed instead of just having
pre planned talking points. It's actually kind of frustrating, and
(24:42):
I think people want to ignore the fact that she's
a woman and that she's a black woman played a
much larger role in her not becoming the president than
people want to admit. Ramsis you've given me, our listeners
and the country some really good insight on this topic.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
Bring us home, man, listen, I would love to bring
us home, but I'm probably gonna take us way over
into the woods over there somewhere, So buckle up. You know,
there's something to be said about her being a black woman.
I don't disagree with you, Esther, and I don't disagree
(25:20):
with you que. There's definitely something to be said about that.
That is like America's worst nightmare in one package. Okay,
America's worst nightmare is too far. I'll say the right
and the far right, that's their worst nightmare in one package. Okay,
So I will see that entirely. That gave them what
they needed to. You know, they don't want Barack Obama
(25:44):
two point zero that, you know what I mean that
whatever it was that caused them to become the most
creative and the most vile, corrupt, underhanded, sneaky version of them,
So that gave them what it was they needed. They
threw the playbook out the window, super threw it out
(26:06):
the window, and we're like, look, we're just whatever we
got to do.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
But in terms of.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
Most of the country that doesn't feel that way. You know,
I have to say that what I know happened is
that when Hillary Clinton ran, she got the popular vote.
I've said that before, you know, as you mentioned Q, so,
there is a majority of the voter base in this
(26:35):
country that can conceive of electing a woman. Right, she
did not win the electoral college, but she did win
the popular vote. We have to bear that in mind. Also,
Barack Obama, a black person, won the presidency twice in
our lifetime. So the black qualifier or disqualifier, we've seen
someone overcome that, and the woman qualifier or disqualifier we've
(26:58):
seen someone maybe not over coming. We've certainly seen someone
end up with the data that suggests that it is
possible for a woman to win. Now, if you get
past that, then you you're already in those weeds of strategy.
So what could she have done differently to win the
electoral college? What voters in this one particular section of
(27:22):
the country that you know swung this way twenty percentage
points and last election they swung you know, Now you're
in the weeds.
Speaker 3 (27:28):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
I think to everyone's point here, her campaign was as
good as it could have been given where she was
and what she stood on but you know, to the
point that you were making esther when you were talking
to the political strategist about.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
How she.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
You know, a lot of younger voters just chose to
stay home. The issue that I've probably beat to death
on this show that I know young voters really cared
about was I don't want to say it again, but
it was Israel. That can't be the only issue, of course,
(28:15):
but that was the major issue in my view, from
my perspective, Israel's response to the attacks on October seventh
from Hamas just decimating the Gaza strip. Everyone saw that happen,
and everyone wanted action, and Joe Biden wasn't giving them action,
(28:38):
and so people were like, look, I'm not going to.
Speaker 3 (28:39):
Vote for this.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
Some of our people that we looked up to, Sean
King famously, I will never vote for this man. He
put that on his social media feed when he had one,
and there's a lot of people that saw that, and
those people shared. Those people who are normally politically engaged
in politically active and go out into their communities and
galvanize other voters to get out there and change the world.
(29:03):
Those people were like, well, I'm not voting for Joe Biden.
And then when Kamala Harris steps up to the play,
people wanted something different and she played the middle. To
her credit, she played the middle flawlessly. But she was
in a tight spot. And we all know that Donald
Trump was going to make it worse. But everyone for
(29:24):
some reason. It's infuriating to me, but everyone for some reason.
I tried to try, We tried to talk to these people,
but they were like, look, man, I'm not going to
choose the knife over the gun shot, you know what
I mean, Like, I'm not even going to play this game. Okay,
so you're gonna get shot. That's really what we're going
to end up with. And then we ended up with
a gun in office and everybody's getting shot now.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
So I don't know if that's.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
I think that the election was decided by the people
that stayed home. They had an excuse to stay home,
they had an excuse not to get involved. Honestly, a
lot of activists and activist types got comfortable in getting
progress and feeling like what they were doing was making progress.
(30:14):
And it started in Michigan with the with the community,
the Middle Eastern community that was there saying hey, look,
we're not gonna, you know, turn up at the primaries
because no one's speaking to our issues, and that just
kind of we saw that ripple out throughout the country,
and then everyone started thinking that that's a viable strategy.
(30:34):
And so when we look at Kamala Harris being a
black woman, when we look at Kamala Harris not having
the right strategy, when we look at Kamala Harris not
speaking to the voters, what we're ignoring is that what
happened in Israel really did affect a lot of people's
sentiments when it came to turning up at the election.
And for Bernie Sanders, a person who has seen what
(30:57):
an enthusiastic campaign looks like on off front. Un for
Bernie Sanders, who famously was not attacked by counter protesters
at his rallies to the degree that we saw Kamala Harris,
we were at her rallies, We saw those counter protesters
or protesters I guess that would be called at her rallies,
who would normally be voting for her, but we're pressing
(31:18):
her as though they had a better alternative. We saw
that that's not something that Bernie has born witness to it.
So if he wanted to say, hey, she had a
winnable campaign. Had she taken a more decisive stance here
or here, I'd be all for it. But one thing
I can't do is push back too hard against Bernie Sanders,
because a Bernie's my guy. I'll admit that I think
(31:39):
Bernie is just a fantastic politician and he really does
care about people. Would be hindsight's always twenty twenty, So
who's to say, right us picking on Kamala Harris feels
a little unfair at this point. I'm proud of her.
I'm always going to be proud of her. You know,
every day I see Donald Trump's face in the headlines,
(32:01):
it makes me miss her more. And you know, everybody's
gonna have to have moments like Bernie, like me, like
all of us on this call, where we try to
make sense of what happened so that we don't repeat
it again. So rather than dwelling on the finger pointing
I've done my fair share, I admitted that, you know,
let's kind of take what we can from it, you know,
(32:22):
and figure out what the most viable strategy moving forward is,
because honestly, that's all we can do. So thanks for
letting me take you into the woods, and thank you
both very much for your time and your insight. As always,
once again, Today's guests or Black Information Network News anchors
Esther Dillard and Doug Davis. This has been a production
(32:43):
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 Job on all
social media.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
And I Thank You Award on all social media as well.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
And we'll be hosting another episode of Civic Cipher this
weekend on a station near you. For stations, show times,
and podcast info, check 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 lecture review
the major stories of the week here on the Black
Information Network. Today, we are joined by Black Information Network
news anchors Esther Dillard and Doug Davis to discuss this
week's major stories. This is the Black Information Network Daily Podcast.
I am ramses.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Jah and I am q Ward Right.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Esther Dillard, Doug Davis, Welcome back to the show. You
two professionals. Let's switch it up. Let's switch it up, Doug,
Let's start.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
With you first. Man, how have you been man since
we last both? Oh?
Speaker 4 (00:33):
Man, I'm great. You know, just made another move. So
I'm out here in sunny California, no longer in Vegas
and so you know, getting used to my new digs
and you know, not living in an oven of my
my life.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
So yeah, all right, Well I'll be out there soon enough. Man,
maybe we'll be able to say hi. And we saved
the best for last this time.
Speaker 5 (00:55):
Esther World, Well, I just came back a little while
ago from having some time with my family, and before that,
I got a chance to celebrate a second Gracie Award
in Los Angeles area, and I enjoyed that. That was
fun to meet with all these wonderful, very accomplished women,
(01:16):
people who make you be better.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
You know, you see all.
Speaker 5 (01:19):
The things that they do, and you say, Okay, let's
take it up to another level. We can do this.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Yeah. I love that. I'm fantastic. Good for you. I
love that. All right, Well, let's get to the news. First.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Up, the black mayor of Newark, New Jersey, is suing
one of President Trump's top lawyers over his arrest outside
in ice facility last month. Sir, let's go ahead and
start with you tell us more about this story and
than Doug and Q. We'll get your thoughts next.
Speaker 5 (01:41):
Well, this all went down around May ninth, and that's
when Mayor Ross Baraka joined three other members of Congress
outside a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility. And
likely you've seen the video where a police are putting
Mayor Baraka in handcuffs outside the gates of where there's
a lot of push, fishing and shoving. And New York
(02:02):
Mayor Baraka filed a lawsuit against the interim US Attorney
for the District of New Jersey, Elena Haba. He's accusing
her of malicious prosecution. Now the suit is seeking compen
compensatory impunitive damages. He's accusing Haba of seeking to politicize
his arrest by announcing a false and defamatory narrative. Now,
(02:27):
the lawsuit says he was invited onto the property by
an agent that runs the facility and was placed under
arrest after he was told to leave and he hadft
the left the gates. He left outside the gates. He
had exited the gates when they decided that they were
going to arrest him, and that's when all the shoving
(02:48):
and all the yelling started. He was held for five
hours before he saw a judge, and then later the
Justice Department dropped those charges. A magistrate judge who addressed
the case stated the quote, the apparent rush in this
case culminated today in the embarrassing retraction of charges, and
(03:08):
it suggests a failure to adequately investigate, to carefully gather facts,
and to thoughtfully consider the implications of your actions before
wielding your immense power. That's end quote. So Baraka, in
an interview not too long ago, said, you know that
this is not about retribution, but really rather about holding
(03:30):
someone accountable for their actions. That's really where we are
right now. With this particular.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
Case, Doug, your thoughts, Yeah, I know covered this story
since it broke on our BI in news, this our podcasts.
It's a story. It digs into the racial fabric of
this country, you know, at a time where decisions are
you know, unfortunately based on political ideologies race, power and control.
You know, let's be honest. The scene we witness on TV,
(03:58):
you know, watching the pushing and having like Esther said,
you know, minus the dogs and billy clubs and waterholeses
and patty wagons. To me, you know, if you know,
we would have took back a trick back to nineteen
sixty two. We would have seen that at maybe a
King rally, you know. So it's important for I believe
the mayor to hold Haba and others accountable. They were
(04:19):
clearly wrong. The message is even clear again, and you know,
this is about power. Like I said, you know, shoot
now I ask questions later, per Se. You know, that's
the story of Black America. Many of you know, those
questions that we have you know about this have yet
to be answered, but they will be. And I think
(04:40):
it's important to note that, you know, he's not suing
for racial discrimination. And I think race was a strong
component behind this arrest. You know, can't he prove it?
Probably not unless there was maybe a racial slury us
or something like that. But you know, it's pretty clear
in my professional opinion that President Trump is aiming at
black leaders who are against his agenda and being very
(05:02):
vocal about it.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure you got some more to add. Q.
Speaker 6 (05:09):
I mean, they're giving us so many examples of unqualified impunity,
this above the law approach that the president and really
everyone in his circle is taking breaking the law, violating
the constitution whenever they feel like it. And sure we
can sue, you know, if you have the resources to
(05:30):
challenge them in court. But then what right, Like, what's
going to happen. They've shown they can just ignore what
courts say. I think there's got some hidden in this
big beautiful bill that will actually put that on paper
that they can ignore what the courts say. So it's
hard to know how to feel about anything with regards
to this current administration. Because everything that we thought we
(05:53):
knew was true about our country, about the laws and
about the Constitution and how our government is supposed to
translate and abide by those rules. It's proving not to
be the case. So I guess we wait and see
how this how this plays out. You know, kudos to
the mayor for standing up and wanting to do something.
You know, as as my brother says all the time,
(06:13):
that's not nothing, but it's it's also not something that
I feel too celebratory about because we've seen these people
do whatever they want and often nothing happens. Rutgis University
just released an interesting study that correlates police spending.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
And black lives. Doug, let's start with you this time.
Speaker 6 (06:33):
Tell us more about this the findings in this study,
and Esther and ramsess we want you guys to weigh
as well.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
Absolutely, man, just study pretty eye opening, not so much
for us. Let's say, you know, people in our community,
you know, we kind of know, but now there's some
research to kind of back up that over policing in
our communities is really not a deterrent to crime period,
you know. So the study finds that when cities spend
more on policing, the number of black people people die,
(07:01):
whether by suicide or by the hands of police, they
go up. So every one hundred dollars increase per person
police spending leads to thirty five years loss to suicide
and seven years lost to police violence. Now, the study
also found that white communities don't see the same impact,
and police budgets go up, there's no increase in violent
(07:22):
deaths among white people. So it found that when cities
put money into things like affordable housing, mental health support,
community programs, black suicide rates go down. So today one
in nearly four people killed by police struggle with mental
health issues. We see it all the time, unfortunately, you
(07:42):
know through police body cam videos of our brothers and
sisters going through mental health crisis and then being shot
to death. And so it's almost like a clear and
call for law enforcement to seriously rethink how cities spend
their money on safety and how they knowpproach these mental
health issues that not just black folks but everyone's facing.
(08:04):
But we always seem to catch the bullets first.
Speaker 5 (08:07):
Esther Well, I would say that in again, this is
my opinion. I believe the study appears to show that
more policing or making people feel controlled by a badge
and a gun really doesn't help communities thrive. And I
really believe in thriving and not surviving. And I think
that most people listening to this call know this, and
(08:28):
at least it appears from the study that if we're
allocating funds from policing and we move them that from
that policing to social services like housing, education, and community development,
that would be more effective in improving public health outcomes
for black communities. I'll leave it.
Speaker 6 (08:45):
There, Rams, as you've spoken about this topic at length
on every microphone I think that you've ever picked up,
so I know you have something for us on this.
Speaker 3 (08:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
The fact is is that you know, you know, a
lot of the conversations that we have Q our data
driven conversation. Granted, there's feelings, feelings cover you know, the color, sorry,
the color inside the lines, there's perspective, you know, all
that sort of stuff, But primarily it's data. And the
data suggests that if you increase the spending or you know,
(09:30):
after school programs or head start programs, if you invest
in communities.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
So that there are more.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Accessibility to jobs, public transportation, you know, these things that
improve the health of the community.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
Crime goes down.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Another subset of data suggests that a lot of the
crime that we're seeing it can be core. There's a
correlation to poverty, right so these are poor people crimes.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
These aren't bad people crimes, right, and so.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
If you attack the poor part of it, then there's
no more need for the crime. You know, for a
lot of it right now, To be fair, there's always
going to be instances of people with lapses in judgment,
mental health issues, and of course, generally speaking, bad people.
But where the investment takes place is often more police,
(10:26):
and more police doesn't get to the root of the crime.
If a person is poor and hungry and there's wealth
inequality in their environment, they're going to seek to change
their condition, regardless of how many police officers are there. Right,
It doesn't matter how many police you put in front
of a person that's starving, a person that has to
(10:49):
feed their children, a person that feels like there's no
other way, doesn't matter how many police officers. If they
feel there's no other way, they're going to take the
only way that they know how to do. And so
this idea that spending more on police somehow makes communities
safer is a falsehood that's been sold to let's be honest,
White America, and they feel very comfortable in that, which
(11:09):
is why police budgets end up increasing it's also been
sold to a lot of Black America who has not
looked at again the data, right, and when you think
about it, Listen, if I put money into a head
start program, there's a direct correlation one percent of the
time with crime rates falling, then it's a no brainer.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Let's put in some head start programs.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Let's put in some after school programs that helps everybody,
And we don't need a bunch.
Speaker 3 (11:35):
Of police officers. Right.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
So this idea of you know, more police and more
investment in police leading to more black death is something
that you know, you and I could have talked about
years ago because we knew it years ago. And it's
it's affirming and it's welcome that this university is actually,
(11:59):
you know, taking this data and put it into something
that is consumable by the masses, so that other people
can approach this in a way that is enlightening, in
a way that's shareable, because often when we talk on
the radio and talk in this format, it's less shareable. So,
you know, shout out to this university for doing the
(12:22):
legwork and hopefully helping chip away at this falsehood that
exists that kind of keeps our society locked into this
framework that doesn't do right by everyone, doesn't really do
right by anyone.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
If we're being honest, Hey, what's up?
Speaker 6 (12:36):
This is Ramsey's job, and I am Q Ward and
we're inviting you to subscribe to Civic Cipher.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
Are we social justice podcast? Right here in the app?
Speaker 7 (12:44):
We pride ourselves on creating a show that fusters allyship,
empathy and understanding, all the while conducting journalistically credible research,
featuring influential, noteworthy guests, and empowering historically marginalized communities.
Speaker 6 (12:55):
The African proverb breeds, if you want to go far,
go together. So we are asking you to search for
and subscribe to Civic Cipher.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
That's Civic cip h e er right here in the app.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Black Information Network news anchors Esther Dillard and Doug Davis
are here with us discussing this week's major stories. All right,
up next, an update on a story we've been following
at the Black Information Network involving the trial of a
black Oregon firefighter aster. Let's go back to you to
get us started here, give us some details on the story,
and then Doug and Q we're going to get your
thoughts next.
Speaker 5 (13:28):
Well, the latest that I read is that Brian Simpson.
He's the black firefighter in Oregon if you haven't been
following the story, and he's now sitting in jail serving
a six year sentence after being sentenced by an all
white jury, well not sentence, but found guilty by an
all white jury of assaulting a white fellow firefighter who
(13:49):
admitted he started the fight. Simpson claims that he acted
in self defense after the coworker used a racial slur
and initiated physical aggression, hitting him in the face a
couple of times, and despite the co worker's admission of
throwing the first punch and having illicit substances in his system,
Simpson was convicted by an all white jury. Supporters argue
(14:12):
that racial bias influenced the trial's outcome, and they're urging
Governor Tina Kotek to grant clemency. Although Simpson is appealing
the case, advocates say he could have. This could take
a lot of years, and that's why there's a petition
circulating to ask for Governor Kotek to give Simpson clemency.
My deeper reading of the case indicates that after he
(14:37):
beat the guy up, you know, for hitting him and
they were tussling around the on the ground that somehow
got the best of him and began kicking him and
also kicked him in the face. And that's why I
believe many of those in the jury may have been
swayed to convict him for the sentence that he is
(14:58):
now serving today.
Speaker 4 (15:01):
Uh yeah, interesting how the all white jury failed to
see that Simpson was defending himself. Well, like I said,
like Esther said, I think they know that. I just
don't think they were really vibing with how Simpton whipped
his tail so hard, you know, I mean, you can't
predict how someone is going to react when they have
(15:22):
to defend themselves. You know, I think the N word,
of course off limits, you know. Uh, you know, for
people who feel emboldened to use that term in this
Trump two point zero administration. You know, well, hey man,
he got what he uh, he got what he deserved.
I'm just going to say that on opinion. And then
(15:42):
they found out that the white firefighter was high on drugs.
Vent No, lord knows how Simpson was feeling at that time.
You know, he was literally trying to protect himself.
Speaker 5 (15:54):
You know.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
The whole matter to me is living proof that racial
bias and the criminal justice is alive, and well racism
is not dead. Republicans and MAGA listeners, if you're here,
we black people face harsher sentences period than white people
for defending ourselves. You know, don't listen to me. Look
at the data. Let the numbers tell the story. So overall,
(16:14):
I really hope that this story continues to gain some traction.
And I'm sure there are countless other brothers and sisters
who are you know, or have gone through similar situations
and are probably locked up in jail right now, but
their case hasn't seen the light of day. So let's
continue to shed some light on this. You know, like
Esther say, the petitions campaigns are happening right now in
(16:36):
real time to demand that Oregon's governor Grant Simpson clemency.
So let's not just cross our fingers and say our prayers,
but let's continue to do what we do as journalists
to put this story out so, you know, so the
community can respond and you know, hopefully bring about change
for this brother.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Yeah, this this one was kind of a a sad one,
you know, but one of the things that I think
that people need to just bear in mind while.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
We're here is I heard of a story where.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
Someone was kicking someone else while they were down and
they were charged for attempted murder. So kicking the person
that's on the ground is a very different thing from
like normal fights in the.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Eyes of the law, I guess.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
So it's just something to keep in mind that, you know,
if this can be bent and used in a way
that paints you in an unflattering light, it's likely to
be bent and used against you in a way that
paints you in an unflattering lights.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
It's something to barren mind. I didn't mean to jump
in front of you q your thoughts.
Speaker 6 (17:47):
So I just want to be clear. The high racist
firefighter insulted and assaulted the black firefighter. He came out
on the losing end of the fight that he started.
So because of that, the black firefighter who was working
(18:09):
while black is now found guilty. Am I understanding that properly?
Speaker 3 (18:17):
That's it, That's the gist of it.
Speaker 6 (18:20):
I just wanted to say all that stuff out loud
in that order so people could hear it. My esteem
colleagues have said enough, They've said all that need to
be said. I just I wanted to say that plainly,
just in case people got lost in legal language or
our emotion or somehow tried to twist those facts and
put them in a different order. The high racist white
(18:41):
guy insulted and assaulted the black guy, and the black
guy is found guilty of a crime because of it.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
Got it?
Speaker 6 (18:50):
Okay, that's the America that we live in. Still, we
close out this week's program with the story involving US
Senator Bernie Sanders and his thoughts on Vice President Kamala
Harris and the twenty twenty four election. Doug, please tell
us more about this story and esther and Ram just
will let you guys close us out.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
Absolutely. I'm going to admit that I was a bit
shocked when I learned about these comments that he made.
But let's face it, Kamala Harris, she ran a well polished, clean, strategic,
well funded campaign. She did it all. She hit the
trails hard. She spoke about issues that she thought, you know,
would take the country to newer heights and to keep
(19:30):
Donald Trump hands off of the country. And she warned us,
you know, she warned us, and pretty much you know,
everything that she warned us about is coming to light.
Speaker 3 (19:41):
But neither here nor there.
Speaker 4 (19:42):
Independent Bernie Sanders, during an interview with the BBC, blamed
the Harris campaign and her consultants for losing the election
rather than what you know, some were saying that it
was a fault of President Joe Biden because he didn't
let people know earlier enough about his mental challenges. So,
you know, she basically said said or he basically said
(20:02):
that Harris failed to connect with everyday, hard working Americans
but instead focused on you know, suburban voters, big shot donors,
the like.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
You know.
Speaker 4 (20:11):
He said, if she spoke more on raising the minimum wage,
spoke more on healthcare reform and affordable housing, she would
have beat Trump. The funny thing is, I believe she
did talk about raising wages. She talked about eliminating federal
taxes on tips. Her platform called for lower health care costs,
even though she failed to produce a package, you know,
and I do recall her extensively speaking on down payment
(20:33):
systems for first time home buyers and other you know,
affordable housing opportunities. So I'm kind of confused about where
he's coming from. But yeah, that's that's what he said.
Speaker 5 (20:46):
Esther, I think I think a lot of what we
experience in our lives is about perception and where we
are in proximity whatever whatever is unfolding. And if you're,
let's say a medical professional, you have a different perspective
of what's happening in Washington, DC than versus a person
who's like a grocery cashier. So I think that your
(21:11):
and I also think that your background influences your perception.
And Bernie Sanders, although he has been a very big
champion for the working class, he still is a Jewish
man living a different experience than a black woman, and
how he moves in political circles is a lot different
than what a black woman does. And I really feel
(21:32):
like what she experienced in her campaign, yes, she may
not have reached the people that Bernie Sanders thinks that
she should have reached as far as the working class.
And I'm kind of questioned what he considers working class.
I mean, is he talking about black and brown working
(21:55):
class as well as white working class or is he
only specifically talking about we're a white working class? What
is he talking about? So I'm was kind of confused
and listening because I listened to the podcast and went
to the spot where he was talking about this and
Another thing I will bring up is that I talked
to one political analyst, a black political analyst, and he
(22:16):
told me that polling after the election shows that many
black and brown citizens just didn't vote, and those people
were not motivated to vote. They were young people, and
he felt like Harris, the Harris campaign did not really
reach out to the young black and brown constituents as
(22:39):
well as they should have on social media and other
ways outside the traditional ways that many voters in the
past have been reached through churches and through television ads
and campaigns that way. So there's a lot of layers
to this, and I guess my last layer would be
(23:00):
there were a lot of black men and Hispanic men
who did not vote for Harris because they didn't feel
like they connected. And the you know, the polling and
such showed and opinions that people were giving out on
social media and such was many just didn't feel like
a woman should run the show. And that happened with
(23:24):
you know Clinton when she was running. They didn't feel
a woman was the right thing to run the country.
And now make her a black woman, that is another
two things against you know her. So there's again I
feel that there were a lot of layers to this.
I feel that Bernie Sanators has a certain perspective, and
(23:45):
I respect his perspective. However, I disagree with him saying
that she didn't try, you know, addressing working class people
and wages. She did, but perhaps it just did not
the message and you know, get through to the right
people to be motivated enough to get all those people
(24:06):
who didn't vote to the polls.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
Yeah, there are some obvious truths about why Vice President
Harris didn't win this election, and I think they're just uncomfortable,
uncomfortable for people to say out loud.
Speaker 6 (24:21):
And every time I hear someone blame it on strategy,
they then say the part of the strategy that they
think was missing, and it's always things that she spent
an extensive amount of time explaining and mapping out. So
if you think it was the strategy, come up with
an actual thing that she missed instead of just having
pre planned talking points. It's actually kind of frustrating, and
(24:42):
I think people want to ignore the fact that she's
a woman and that she's a black woman played a
much larger role in her not becoming the president than
people want to admit. Ramsis you've given me, our listeners
and the country some really good insight on this topic.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
Bring us home, man, listen, I would love to bring
us home, but I'm probably gonna take us way over
into the woods over there somewhere, So buckle up. You know,
there's something to be said about her being a black woman.
I don't disagree with you, Esther, and I don't disagree
(25:20):
with you que. There's definitely something to be said about that.
That is like America's worst nightmare in one package. Okay,
America's worst nightmare is too far. I'll say the right
and the far right, that's their worst nightmare in one package. Okay,
So I will see that entirely. That gave them what
they needed to. You know, they don't want Barack Obama
(25:44):
two point zero that, you know what I mean that
whatever it was that caused them to become the most
creative and the most vile, corrupt, underhanded, sneaky version of them,
So that gave them what it was they needed. They
threw the playbook out the window, super threw it out
(26:06):
the window, and we're like, look, we're just whatever we
got to do.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
But in terms of.
Speaker 1 (26:14):
Most of the country that doesn't feel that way. You know,
I have to say that what I know happened is
that when Hillary Clinton ran, she got the popular vote.
I've said that before, you know, as you mentioned Q, so,
there is a majority of the voter base in this
(26:35):
country that can conceive of electing a woman. Right, she
did not win the electoral college, but she did win
the popular vote. We have to bear that in mind. Also,
Barack Obama, a black person, won the presidency twice in
our lifetime. So the black qualifier or disqualifier, we've seen
someone overcome that, and the woman qualifier or disqualifier we've
(26:58):
seen someone maybe not over coming. We've certainly seen someone
end up with the data that suggests that it is
possible for a woman to win. Now, if you get
past that, then you you're already in those weeds of strategy.
So what could she have done differently to win the
electoral college? What voters in this one particular section of
(27:22):
the country that you know swung this way twenty percentage
points and last election they swung you know, Now you're
in the weeds.
Speaker 3 (27:28):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (27:30):
I think to everyone's point here, her campaign was as
good as it could have been given where she was
and what she stood on but you know, to the
point that you were making esther when you were talking
to the political strategist about.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
How she.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
You know, a lot of younger voters just chose to
stay home. The issue that I've probably beat to death
on this show that I know young voters really cared
about was I don't want to say it again, but
it was Israel. That can't be the only issue, of course,
(28:15):
but that was the major issue in my view, from
my perspective, Israel's response to the attacks on October seventh
from Hamas just decimating the Gaza strip. Everyone saw that happen,
and everyone wanted action, and Joe Biden wasn't giving them action,
(28:38):
and so people were like, look, I'm not going to.
Speaker 3 (28:39):
Vote for this.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
Some of our people that we looked up to, Sean
King famously, I will never vote for this man. He
put that on his social media feed when he had one,
and there's a lot of people that saw that, and
those people shared. Those people who are normally politically engaged
in politically active and go out into their communities and
galvanize other voters to get out there and change the world.
(29:03):
Those people were like, well, I'm not voting for Joe Biden.
And then when Kamala Harris steps up to the play,
people wanted something different and she played the middle. To
her credit, she played the middle flawlessly. But she was
in a tight spot. And we all know that Donald
Trump was going to make it worse. But everyone for
(29:24):
some reason. It's infuriating to me, but everyone for some reason.
I tried to try, We tried to talk to these people,
but they were like, look, man, I'm not going to
choose the knife over the gun shot, you know what
I mean, Like, I'm not even going to play this game. Okay,
so you're gonna get shot. That's really what we're going
to end up with. And then we ended up with
a gun in office and everybody's getting shot now.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
So I don't know if that's.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
I think that the election was decided by the people
that stayed home. They had an excuse to stay home,
they had an excuse not to get involved. Honestly, a
lot of activists and activist types got comfortable in getting
progress and feeling like what they were doing was making progress.
(30:14):
And it started in Michigan with the with the community,
the Middle Eastern community that was there saying hey, look,
we're not gonna, you know, turn up at the primaries
because no one's speaking to our issues, and that just
kind of we saw that ripple out throughout the country,
and then everyone started thinking that that's a viable strategy.
(30:34):
And so when we look at Kamala Harris being a
black woman, when we look at Kamala Harris not having
the right strategy, when we look at Kamala Harris not
speaking to the voters, what we're ignoring is that what
happened in Israel really did affect a lot of people's
sentiments when it came to turning up at the election.
And for Bernie Sanders, a person who has seen what
(30:57):
an enthusiastic campaign looks like on off front. Un for
Bernie Sanders, who famously was not attacked by counter protesters
at his rallies to the degree that we saw Kamala Harris,
we were at her rallies, We saw those counter protesters
or protesters I guess that would be called at her rallies,
who would normally be voting for her, but we're pressing
(31:18):
her as though they had a better alternative. We saw
that that's not something that Bernie has born witness to it.
So if he wanted to say, hey, she had a
winnable campaign. Had she taken a more decisive stance here
or here, I'd be all for it. But one thing
I can't do is push back too hard against Bernie Sanders,
because a Bernie's my guy. I'll admit that I think
(31:39):
Bernie is just a fantastic politician and he really does
care about people. Would be hindsight's always twenty twenty, So
who's to say, right us picking on Kamala Harris feels
a little unfair at this point. I'm proud of her.
I'm always going to be proud of her. You know,
every day I see Donald Trump's face in the headlines,
(32:01):
it makes me miss her more. And you know, everybody's
gonna have to have moments like Bernie, like me, like
all of us on this call, where we try to
make sense of what happened so that we don't repeat
it again. So rather than dwelling on the finger pointing
I've done my fair share, I admitted that, you know,
let's kind of take what we can from it, you know,
(32:22):
and figure out what the most viable strategy moving forward is,
because honestly, that's all we can do. So thanks for
letting me take you into the woods, and thank you
both very much for your time and your insight. As always,
once again, Today's guests or Black Information Network News anchors
Esther Dillard and Doug Davis. This has been a production
(32:43):
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 Job on all
social media.
Speaker 2 (32:59):
And I Thank You Award on all social media as well.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
And we'll be hosting another episode of Civic Cipher this
weekend on a station near you. For stations, show times,
and podcast info, check 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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