June 7, 2024 • 39 mins
News Anchors Morgyn Wood and Bri Wood join Host Ramses Ja to discuss this week's major news 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 Would and Brewood to discuss this
week's major stories. This is the Black Information Network Daily Podcast,
and I'm your host, ramses Jah.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
All right, welcome back to the show.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Two of my favorites, Morgan and Bri Morgan, how have
you been lately?
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Oh man, I'm doing great, you know, got some new
assignments I'm working on. Yeah, just you don't feel in
the fetles enjoying the news.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
So I like that, all right? Bre How about you?
What you've been up to?
Speaker 4 (00:37):
Hey, Hey, I'm doing very well, you know, keeping up
with this news ever changing, never a dull moment.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Indeed, indeed, and I don't think today will be an
exception to that. First up, it seems like Marjorie Taylor
Green doesn't know when to be quiet that she should.
By now, just weeks after getting slammed by fellow Congresswoman
Jasmine Crockett, Green is in true again for some recent
comments she made about George Floyd brie Let's kick things
off with you tell us more about this story and
than Morgan, We're come to you next.
Speaker 5 (01:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
So, recently, Representative Marjorie Taylor Green made these comments about
George Floyd, and they've been widely criticized. To say the least,
she accused Democrats of worshiping George Floyd, referring to him
as a convicted felon. So these remarks were made during
the recent House subcommittee hearing on the Origins of COVID
nineteen in response to comments by Democrat Representative Jamie Raskin,
(01:30):
who in the meeting suggested that some Republicans blindly worshiped
convicted felons. So, in a video that Marjorie Taylor Green
posted on x formerly Twitter, she said, quote, we have
Jamie Raskin, and they're accusing us of worshiping Trump, worshiping
a convicted felon.
Speaker 5 (01:47):
Well, yeah, so is George Floyd.
Speaker 4 (01:49):
And everybody and you all too, the media worshiped George Floyd.
Speaker 5 (01:53):
So she was just going off.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
She decided to go on a little rant with a
reporter who was speaking with her at the time, and
she said, Democrats worship George Floyd, and there were riots
burning down the effing country over George Floyd.
Speaker 5 (02:06):
End quote.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
So she added in text that she's tired of the
Democrat antics and that she only worships God. So the
Congressional black Hawk is caught wend of the statement, and
they did condemn the comments publicly describing them as unhinged
and stating that George Floyd did not deserve to die
and a member of Congress should have the decency to
(02:28):
acknowledge his humanity.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
So that's where we are with that Warria.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Absolutely you would think that the same bleach blonde, bed
built but bodygirl.
Speaker 5 (02:38):
We no, let's stop talking about people at this point.
That's how you ended up with that title and that
tag in the.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
First place, messing around with Jasmine Crockett and talking about
her eyelashes in a congressional session. I think, you know,
there's nothing wrong with the little shade here and there.
But the problem that I have with Marjorie Taylor Green
is that she does it in the sessions. Like, like
you said, brit they were talking about origins of COVID nineteen.
Speaker 5 (03:05):
What does that have to do with George Floyd?
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Like, stick to the topic. So she's no stranger to
making controversial comments. Frankly, I'm not surprised by this. It's
just at some point there, you know, there are rules
in congressional hearings that you're not supposed to be talking
about people's appearances. So maybe we should up the ante
on those rules and you know, stick to the topic
(03:28):
at hand. You know, it just gets a little to
the to the point of the CBC unhinged, right right.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
You know the thing about this that really I think
that was most alarming, and I'm sure this is low
hanging fruit. Everyone can see this clear as day is
that George Floyd was not running for president. We didn't
have to hold George Floyd to a presidential standard. George
(03:55):
Floyd indeed did not represent the interests of this country
on the global stage. George Floyd was an every man,
which is part of the reason why so many of
us were able to connect with him, because it's like, well,
that could just as easily be me. You know, George
Floyd was not an elected official. He was a man
(04:16):
having a go at life. And he died with a
knee on the back of his neck. And I think
the other side of that is Donald Trump never died.
He didn't have a knee on the back of his neck.
He didn't die in the street like an animal because
of a corrupt criminal justice system. And obviously the two
scenarios with Donald Trump that lacks historical context. Donald Trump
(04:39):
is a felon, probably a fellon many times over throughout
his life, but he finally got caught. George Floyd never
had his day in court. Again, he died in the
street for allegedly passing a counterfeit. No, never had a
day in court. Was not determined whether or not there
(04:59):
was even any intentionality behind that. If indeed there was
a counterfeit note we know just as easily could have
made its way to him. And so the fact that
she makes that connection so as to suggest that we
worship at the throne of George Floyd is deeply insulting
(05:21):
and it shows the mental gymnastics.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
I believe that a lot of.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Folks on the far right, and her in particular, are
willing to go through to try to justify indeed their
own worship of Donald.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
Trump right, and she has no justification for it, which
is why she fell back on George Floyd. Of course
she would pull that out of her behind, because what
else does she have to say? She takes no accountability
for her own actions exactly.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Once upon a time, the Republicans in this country were
this was the party of morals, This was the party
of God, This was the you know, on and on
and on, and Donald Trump was convicted for thirty four
felony counts paying hush money to a porn star, and
(06:08):
the narrative over there, I can't believe I'm saying this.
The narrative over there is not only that he did
nothing wrong, but that he never even did this with
the porn star when out of his own mouth, the
same people before the last election in twenty sixteen, when
he was elected, said, out of his own mouth, when
you're a celebrity, they let you do it. You can
(06:30):
walk up to him.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
And grab him by the privates. And they know that
he said that. They know his.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Reputation, they know that he's been he's famously a playboy.
They know that he's been accused by upwards of twenty
different women since going all the way back to the
seventies of sexual aggressive behavior, sexual assault, all the above.
They know this, So again, imagine the mental gymnastics that
they have to go through. The party is supposedly the
(06:59):
party of you know, moral alex standards, the Party of God, right,
imagine everything they have to go through to separate their
reality from their you know, quote unquote morals. And so
rather than acknowledge, you know what, this might be a
cult that I'm in because I still want this guy
(07:20):
to be the president, I've abandoned all of my own morals,
all of my values.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
The values that have compelled me to vote.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Indeed, I worship God and I follow God, and I
want anyone I vote for to feel the same way.
They've abandoned all of that, and they blindly support this
man regardless of what he gooes, so they won't even
acknowledge how likely it is.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
And then.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
To say that we don't worship this man and you
guys worship George Floyd. Again, it shows the amount of
mental gymnastics that this party has gone through. And indeed,
this individual in particular and so very unfortunate. But I'm
glad that there's people like Jasmine Crockett out there to
drag her publicly, and of course we can drag her
a little bit on our show too.
Speaker 5 (08:07):
Nothing wrong with the little Reed?
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Yeah, would you say this the remix?
Speaker 3 (08:11):
I said, no, nothing wrong with the little Red here
and there little red.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Okay, okay, well shoot, I like the remix too. We
can do both of them, so all right, moving on.
In Indianapolis, Indiana, a new hip hop inspired cookie shop
is making news after being criticized for misappropriating black culture
to sell its menu items. Morgan, this time we're going
to start with you give us some details on this story,
and then we we'll get your thoughts next.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
So this place is called Cookie Plug, and plug is
slang for a supplier of sorts, in this case cookies.
So Cookie Plug is a hip hop inspired cafe that
sells baked goods in Indianapolis. They also have other locations
in La Orlando, Houston, and New Jersey to name a few.
They're being accused of cultural appropriation because of the name
(08:53):
of the shop and some of its menu items like fatties,
which is you know, reference for a blunt or which
in which they that's what they call their cookies, or
purple drink, which is on their menu is their version
of lemonade. Purple drink is also known in hip hop
culture as lean or scisser, and that could be seen
as promoting drug culture. Now, there are cookie flavors on
(09:15):
their menu, such as Snooper Doodle as snicker Doodle, Pixie
Junkie that's a sugar cookie, Purple Haze which is purple velvet,
and the mac Daddy white chocolate chip, maceadamia nut, and
the og which is chocolate chip. Now the shop also
features graffiti on its walls. And you know how Chick
fil A will say at the end of a transaction
(09:35):
the phrase my pleasure. Well, at Cookie Plug they say
thank you for supporting your neighborhood dope dealer with dope spelled.
Speaker 5 (09:44):
Like dough with a P.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
So locals are expressing concerns for Cookie Plug, saying they
need to stop using racist tropes to sell their products.
People are also taking issue with the owner, Eric Martinez,
not being black, but he does admit that he has
incorporated his love for hip hop into the marketing of
this business. I think the piece that is majorly missing
from this whole story is that Elo Cool Jay is
(10:08):
actually an investor in this business and I'm in this
franchise and yeah, I mean he is a hip hop pioneer.
So I'm not sure you know where to go in
terms of direction after that. But yeah, people aren't too
happy with the fact that this cookie Plug is using
these type of references on their menu and.
Speaker 5 (10:30):
Inside the shop.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Yeah all right, well why don't we get your thoughts
next free.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
Well, this was very interesting to me to piggyback off
Morgan the franchise owner Eric Martinez. They're saying he is
basically a white Hispanic and yes, he does have a
love of hip hop culture, and this is a franchise
and there are other locations. But what's interesting to me
is that online some of the black people who were
(11:00):
not shaming the business, we're saying, well, if he was black,
nobody would be saying anything. We would be like, Oh,
that's dope, that's that's cool, like because it's using the slang,
but because this is not a black owned business and
they're using hip hop lingo, and they're basically saying that
it is coming off just a tad bit racist. And
(11:20):
so they also faced a backlash for a special they
had a Police Week fifty percent off promotion. They did
it for officers, which was seen as hypocritical given the
language and the imagery of crime. And they say it's
because it's caused the disproportionate amount of black people to
be arrested, especially for drug paraphernalia and marijuana possession. So
(11:43):
they're basically saying it's an oxymoron. You're celebrating the police
at a spot called the Cookie Plug. But they basically
say they're the franchise is pimping black culture. So and
Indianapolis residents who are opposed to it really are just
waycotting it and would prefer that they got their community.
(12:04):
They have expressed concerns and they have called for the
company to do better, perhaps getting rid of some of
the drug references. But it has sparked a bigger conversation,
especially about cultural appropriation and the responsibility that some of
these businesses have when they are engaging with cultures that
they are not a part of.
Speaker 5 (12:22):
Sure, So, you know, it's just very interesting.
Speaker 4 (12:25):
I wonder how I would do in other urban areas
if the owners were black as opposed to Hispanic or white.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Sure, Sure, And I think that's that's that's a fair question.
I think one of the things though, that really is
troubling about this is that this is presented to that
community under the label of hip hop, right, and hip
(12:52):
hop is a very broad culture that encompasses a lot
of things, and that this Cookie place, as you both
mentioned it is primarily associating itself with the drug references.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
In other words, like we used to call it coke wrap,
you know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Like when Clips came out and when you know, they
would they would rap about selling you know, paraphernalia on
the streets and making money, right, And that's one type
of hip hop.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
You know, They're not all hip hop is like that.
You know, there's gangster rap.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
There's you know, uh battle rap, there's you know, uh
nightclub stuff. There's you know, Elo Kouji. We were talking
about him, I Need Love.
Speaker 4 (13:36):
There's what about the sugar Hill gang, the you know
some of the originators, you know, cookie being named after.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Them, right, you see what I mean?
Speaker 3 (13:44):
And that makes so much sense Forrey sugar Hill, sugar Hill,
they have a.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Per it goes right there. Yeah, absolutely well spotted.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
But that that makes my point is that if this
was indeed a hip hop cookie shop, I feel like
there would be more elements of hip hop incorporated into
the shop, into the names of the cookies, into the language.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
You know, your neighborhood dope dealer.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
Feels like, you know that they're only taking the drug
part of hip hop, and that is not, and they're
calling it hip hop, and that's not what hip hop is.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
I've never sold drugs in my life. I've never done
a drug.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
I have I've probably been in a room with some
drugs before. But if I am, I'm very nervous about that.
I'm just one of those people. And I can guarantee
you I am a bona fide child of hip hop.
I'm the younger brother of racket Iris, Science of the
dilated People's that's my big brother, my father's son.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Like I grew up with it.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
DJ's all around, DJ B boys, you know, graffiti artist,
all of that. Never touched a drug, don't know nothing
about drugs, will not do. I'm forty one years old now, right, yes,
drug us. So for someone to refer to hip hop
and only one set of terms, and to be fair,
one of the one of the least uh, how would
(15:07):
I say this the least flattering facet, one of the
least flattering facets of hip hop? You know, the people
are drug dealers out of necessity. Nobody's a kid and
like when I grew up, I want to tell drugs right,
So again, I think that this kind of speaks to
the fact that there is a disconnect, a cultural disconnect. Indeed,
when people who have not grown up with it. It'd
(15:30):
be different if somebody grew up like Yo, I used
to serve, I used to bleed the block, and I
flip that into you know, something that I'm really passionate about.
So boom, here we go, you know, and I grew
up with this these terms and this music, and I
live this experience.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
And then that person says, here's what I would like
to do.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
I'd like to invite the police down because I'm you
know what I mean, I used to run from the police.
Now that's a little different. Okay, that's what you feel,
is right. I disagree, but that's what you feel is right.
And you have the livedance to support that sort of approach.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Right.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
If they want to be snowfall, they should just say
that there you go. There You ain't Franklin saying.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
There you go. Look at that.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Okay, all right, so yeah, but we'll see what happens, man,
Cookie plug is I'll admit, you know, Ello cool J
being an investor, you know that helps. But Llo cool
J is all the way in La working on movies
and all that sort of stuff.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
So so far, removed from that life that you know,
he's a hip hop head. Okay, he is an originator,
but he is this is suburban ol. This is Todd Smith.
We're talking about the investor, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
And Llo cool j never had a song about selling
dope ever at all. Right, So even if it incorporated
more elements of Ello Cooolja or eighties hip hop or
something like that, there was like a cardboard box and
you could just you know, get your b boys stance
on to take a photo or something like that. You know,
cookie cardboard box. That's what me to say. It would
make a little bit more sense. But based on what
(17:04):
I'm seeing right now, they got some ground to cover.
Speaker 6 (17:08):
Join us for the National Urban League Conference in New
Orleans July twenty fourth through the twenty seventh at High
Regency New Orleans. Don't miss out. Register today at annulconference dot.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Orgon Black Information Network news anchors Morgan Wood and Brewood
are here with us discussing this week's major stories. All right,
we continue with more news out of Indiana, and this
time our story involves racial slurs and gunfire at a
Kroger supermarket location. Brie, let's go back to you tell
(17:41):
us more about this story and then Morgan, we're going
to get you to weigh in afterwards.
Speaker 4 (17:45):
Well, this is another tragedy. A white man named Richard
Kevin Claff Junior is currently in custody after he recorded
a disturbing video of himself in a Kroger grocery store
in Fort Wayne, Indiana. So, in this video, he has
seen vading his handgun in the store's bathroom before walking
through the store searching for potential victims. So, during this
(18:07):
live stream that he had on Facebook, he can be
heard saying, quote, I'm going out with a bang, before
he spots a black female customer and two employees that
happened to be near the store's bakery. So he then
opens fire, shouting racial slurs and then starts running away
from the scene. But despite firing six shots, thankfully, no
one was hit. So Claff was later found hiding in
(18:29):
a dumpster behind a nearby bank and his gun, cell
phone and while it were discovered in another dumpster that
they have behind a store next to the grocery store,
a Dollar General. So, in a recorded interview with detectives,
Claff admitted that he had always wanted to kill someone
and planned to shoot about eleven people because that's the
number of bullets he had in the gun. He's now
(18:50):
facing three counts of attempted murder and one count of
criminal recklessness, and a Kroger spokesperson stated that the store
is currently cooperating with the police investigation and they're also
offering counseling services to their employees, who, of course, I'm
sure were traumatized by the whole incident. But again, thankfully,
no one was fatally injured. So this unfortunate incident, when
(19:12):
I was reading about it, it reminded me of the
incident at the Tops grocery store in Buffalo, New York
that happened in May of twenty twenty two. That mass shooting,
unfortunately did take lives. It happened at that supermarket, resulting
in the death of ten people and injuries to three others.
So that killer, who was in that last name, Jendron,
he was eighteen years old, and he targeted supermarket specifically
(19:36):
because it was in a black area code a space
where there were a high concentration of black people at
all times.
Speaker 5 (19:42):
So it is being seen as a hate crime.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
And earlier this year, the US Department of Justice did
announce that they are seeking a death sentence for him
in that case. So it was just unfortunate to read
about somebody doing that again in a highly black populated area,
at the grocery store, of all places, where you know
there's always going to be a lot of people because
(20:04):
people need food, people need things, and you go there
looking to kill to fulfill your own sadistic fantasies. So
I'm glad that he was unsuccessful in harming anyone, and
I hope they throw the book at him.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Yeah, absolutely, Morgan, let's get your thoughts here.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
Yeah, to just piggyback off what Brees said. Clafft Junior
was charged with three counts of attempt at murder and
one count of criminal recklessness as he faces and that
carries a potential one hundred and twenty six years sentence.
Now they I do believe that this is They haven't
thrown any hate crime charges at him as of yet.
(20:42):
But in the video you can see him overlooking white people,
elderly people, and you know, and to your point, Brie
got to he's got to the bakery area of the
store and there were three black people in that region,
and that's where he started to fire off his shots
and ran off with the expletives be in be you know,
(21:04):
and using those type of that type of language. So
although it's not formally said to be a hate crime,
I mean to watch someone literally say I'm not going
to shoot this white old man and then go into
the direction of black people and feel like, you know,
it's just absolutely crazy. And we are clearly becoming desensitized.
(21:27):
The next generation at twenty years old, it's clearly becoming
desensitized to some of these things. And yeah, he did
say he always wanted to kill someone, but supposedly that
he was supposed to go to the military and that
he just couldn't wait. So to your point, sadistic might
just be understatement, but yeah, something's wrong with that for sure.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
Sure. Yeah, And.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
The really sad thing about this is that this is
another potential would be mass shooting incident. And you know,
thankfully no one was hurt. No one was shot. You know,
I don't want to say hurt, but Novid was shot.
But I really think that we have to have a
(22:16):
very very strong rethink about you know, guns. And I'm
not saying anything that I haven't said before on the show.
Several times I'm not saying anything that anybody would disagree with.
But the fact of the matter is that I remember
reading something earlier, and this was about a person in
(22:39):
San Jacinto, California. He was walking down the street firing
shots into traffic just as cars went by. He just
was shooting at cars, and someone even died out there.
Speaker 5 (22:52):
Yes, you saw that had children. I saw that story.
Speaker 4 (22:57):
And the man was literally just walking down the thigh
of the highway firing his gun randomly, and he did
kill a man.
Speaker 5 (23:05):
It's very unfortunate.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
Yeah, Julio Rodarte, Rodarte, I believe, is how I say
his name. And he's arrested on suspicion of murder and
ten counts of attempted murder. So what I'm seeing here
in both scenarios that you know we're discussing now in
the same episode, is an intersection of deteriorated mental health,
(23:35):
perhaps people dealing with a great deal of hopelessness, and hatred.
Sometimes the hatred is focused. You know, there's a lot
of people on the far right, a lot of people
in powerful places that have done a great job of
convincing a lot of white people that their enemies, the
source of their problems.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
All that ails them.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
The reason that they're poor, the reason the American dream
didn't make its way to them, reason they never became astronauts,
rock stars, whatever, is because of black people. It's because
of Mexican people coming over the border. They are thoroughly
convinced of this truth, because of again those deeply conservative
white supremacist almost you know, white nationalists, indeed in fact
(24:24):
messaging right. And then there are people whose anger is
less focused, but they're dealing with the same reality. They
have not their life has not panned out the way
that they had hoped. They do not get attention from
you know, romantic attention, they do not have job prospect.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
Whatever their story is.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
And rather than directing it inward, which a lot of
people do. Suicide rates have been up for some time,
they directed outward, you know. But I believe in both instances,
these people were expecting that they would not live beyond
the day, you know, at least. In the other story
with the gentleman in San Giacinto, he went to the
liquor store to buy a shot of alcohol before he
(25:06):
was going to go do what he was going to do.
And I don't know that this was his plan, but
he couldn't even buy the shot because he didn't have
enough money. So it just gives a glimpse into kind
of the state of the mental health of a lot
of the people in this country. And yet and still
anybody can go buy a gun. And so when I
(25:27):
say we really need a genuine rethink about this, I
really think that we do. I mean, nobody wants to
live in a society where this is possible. I have
to drive somewhere later today and there are people like this. Granted,
I you know, doesn't happen everywhere every day. The fact
that it could happen.
Speaker 5 (25:48):
Is it's terrifying.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
It's terrifying very much. So all right for our final
story today.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
The son of former President Donald Trump, ran into a
social media fire storm this week after he used some
choice words during a TV interview to describe the support
his father is allegedly receiving from the black community. Morgan,
give us your thoughts on this story, and then Breed,
we're gonna come you to close this out. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
So on Sunday, Eric Trump was on Fox News basically
telling or saying that black people can relate to his father,
former President Trump, because of his criminal case, and he
knows what it's like to be mistreated by the justice system.
Will speaking to Maria bere oh excuse me, Beautramo, he said,
for the first time they realized that the system's coming down,
(26:37):
that he's the victim.
Speaker 5 (26:38):
He's the victim.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
That oftentimes some of their communities were you see them swinging.
You know, everybody else is mad about the spades comment,
But I say you see them swinging.
Speaker 5 (26:49):
I'm like, okay, you see them swinging.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
Look at the African American vote, right, that's swinging over
to Donald Trump in spades, which is a word. Now,
I will say that I will be want to admit
I did not know this was an old school derogatory
term for black people, but the dictionary does have an
alternate definition outside of the you know card as an
insulting and contentious term for a black person.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
This is a case.
Speaker 3 (27:15):
This is a case of you know, you just have
to be careful with your words and the metaphors you
use when talking about certain groups of people, and if
you really care for those groups of people and you
identify with them, you would educate yourself and hold yourself
to a higher standard of accountability for these so called
slip ups.
Speaker 5 (27:32):
I mean, it can happen to the best of us.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
But still so for example, I just admitted I didn't
know that, But going forward, you think I'm going to
use that type of that, you know, that type of
terminology amongst my people, right not So I just think
that's you know, what's.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
Going on with that.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
But there again, Eric Trump's no stranger to you know,
so called slip ups and things of that nature. So again,
if you are looking to buy for the black vote,
you know, really you got to do your research. You
got to educate yourself on black culture and things that
you just.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
Should not say. Agree, let's here from you.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
Well, I mean Morgan basically said at all these comments
that he made, though it does have a lot of
the black community giving him a raised eyebrow, I'll say,
maybe even a side eye, you know, claiming that his
father's criminal conviction is making him more popular among black voters.
It's so problematic and a lot of people are meeting
(28:33):
it with skepticism and criticism. And it's interesting that he
would suggest black voters are starting to see Donald Trump
as a victim of the system, because would that happen
if it were reversed? With Donald Trump, who everyone always
brings up how he was a proponent of putting the
(28:54):
the Central Park five behind bars that were completely innocent.
But now in the world that we live in today,
where you're saying is this is why people relate to
you because black people are treated so unfairly well. If
you know we're treated so unfairly well, then why wouldn't
you change the way you do business or the way
you think or the policies that you vote for. So
(29:16):
I just think that's that's an interesting caveat to that.
But most recently I found this interesting rapper fifty cent
real named Curtis Jackson. He made several comments related to politics,
and recently he stated that he was not sure who
he would be voting for in the upcoming election. But
he did suggest that black men in particular were identifying
(29:38):
more with Donald Trump because they got rico charges too,
And that's exactly what he said on camera.
Speaker 5 (29:44):
So he made this.
Speaker 4 (29:44):
Statement to a CBS News correspondent after a meeting on
Capitol Hill with his attorney, civil rights attorney then Crump,
and he was up there discussing representation for black entrepreneurs
in the liquor industry. And also, you know, closing the
wealth gap between black and white, especially when it comes
to entrepreneurship and business opportunities. And so I just thought
(30:06):
that was very interesting because fifty cent has been criticized
in the past or seemingly supporting Donald Trump. I won't
say that he's outright supporting Donald Trump, but he's made
commentary that makes it seem as though black men vote
for Donald Trump because it's all about the money and
that they can relate and they rather have somebody in
(30:26):
office that they feel is putting money back into their
pockets as opposed to taking it away. So, you know,
back in March, he did admit that he thought Trump
was going to win in November. Yeah, so black men
seem to be what a lot of people think will
be the deciding factor if Donald Trump wins this election.
Speaker 1 (30:44):
You know what, there's one Yeah, I've seen the numbers there.
There's been definitely been a shift, Okay, but it's not
a huge shift. It's not like half of all black
men are going to vote for Donald Trump. That it's
not even remotely close to anything even resembling that. It's
just more people than there were last time. And I
(31:04):
suspect that it has a lot to do, as Charlemagne
famously says, with messaging. The Democrats need to do a
better job with their messaging. Here's what we've done, here's
what we've done to help out, here's what we're working on.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
You know, people feel it in their pockets.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
Every time people go to the grocery store and they
got to pay seven dollars for a bag of chips
that cost four dollars two years ago. They feel that,
you know, and then they associate that with the presidency. Well,
under Donald Trump, chips weren't that expensive, and under Joe Biden,
chips are this expensive.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
But Joe Biden is bad.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
And if the Democrats don't say, hey, look we're the
ones that got your student loans forgiven. We're still working
on shrinkflation. We have to, we're creating laws. We need
our Republican representatives to work with us. But this is
we recognize and respect what it is you're dealing with.
It is not our fault, but it is our responsibility.
We are working on that, and here's what our plan is.
(32:02):
You know, that type of messaging, owning what's going on
in people's day to day lives. Then you start to
kind of real back in some of those voters that
are reminiscing, if you will, of the Trump years when
we're all having to deal with COVID, and remember that
(32:23):
Donald Trump is the reason that we had to deal
with COVID. Donald Trump defunded the CDC's division that was
responsible for responding to the pandemic. I know this because
I worked with the CDC. I remember when that article
came out. I think it was like in twenty seventeen,
and then all of a sudden, we get hit with
(32:43):
a pandemic in twenty twenty.
Speaker 2 (32:45):
We got no response team, nobody to.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
Help us prepare for it, and it hits us like
a truck, and then the whole country shuts down for.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
Like two years.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
Maybe Donald Trump's doing And as far as his son
is concerned. You know, the thing that really stood out
to me is, you know, his biggest defense was that
Freudian slip quote unquote when he said, you know, he
was confident that they would win because they're white.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
He meant to say they're right.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
I thought I thought he really said right, but so
he really said white.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
And yeah, listen to it again. He's like, we're going
to we're confident we're going to win. We're white, and
he meant to say we're right. You know, Oh that's
what he says. But again Freudian slip.
Speaker 2 (33:28):
That's the bigger.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
Offense because he's saying the quiet part out loud. But
I'll take it a step further.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
Recently, one of the folks that worked on The Apprentice
with Donald Trump came out saying his twenty year NDA
expired and he can now say the truth.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
About Donald Trump.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
And he joins a long list of other people who
have overheard Donald Trump saying racist things, including the N word. Right,
look it up. Just broke the past few days. Okay,
dang should have Donald Trump. You see what I'm saying.
But watch this, I'll take it a step further. Donald
Trump was raised by a man who was arrested at
(34:09):
a KKK rally.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Look it up.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
Okay, so Donald Trump's father was arrested at a KKK rally. Right,
That means he probably went to a lot of them.
He just happened to get arrested at one. And that's
the evidence that we have. Right, So the ideas in
that man's head as he raised Donald Trump are reflected
in a lot of the stories that surround Donald Trump. Now, obviously,
(34:34):
when you play politics, you gotta shake hands against babies,
often of people that you wouldn't associate with in your
normal life, but you need that vote. Donald Trump, I maintain,
does not respect us. He barely respects our vote, barely,
but he does not respect our people and does not
respect our anything. Anything that he can do to get
(34:56):
more attention, more money, or more votes, he will do it.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
Donald Trump respects Donald Trump. Right.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
So Eric Trump, his son has, based on my estimation,
grown up around at least.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
Some of that.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
Okay, So when he says that, you know, black people
are moving away from from Joe Biden in favor of
Donald Trump in spades, it means one of two things.
One either he didn't know, which is fair, but again
the bigger offense is that Freudian slip. Or two, he's
(35:32):
heard the term spade associated with black people, and that
was just kind of a connection that his brain has made,
because again, spade is some old school racism, like getting
arrested at a KKK rally racism, right, And I.
Speaker 5 (35:45):
Had never heard of that either, Like that was a
that was derogatory.
Speaker 1 (35:51):
Oh yeah, yeah, And I happen to know that because
I took an African American literature class when I was
in college, taught to me by doctor Camilla Westenberg, who
was frequent contributor on this show.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
And so I knew a lot of those terms.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
But just before we conclude today, I want to add
some things just so people can switch it around in
their heads, because I learned some other things recently in
researching this topic for today. Of course, spade, you know,
our skin is black the ace of spades as black
spades are black in the card you know, a card deck,
(36:27):
So it was meant to refer to us. It's no
different from you know, blackie or any of those other
offensive terms, right, So stay away from that. Also outside
of the outside of the game of cards, stay away
from that word.
Speaker 3 (36:42):
What about the phrase call a spade a spade? We
use that all the time in our culture.
Speaker 1 (36:45):
That's why I was like, what and and we also
use the N word, And that was also taught to
us by the oppressor, right, and so it's not impossible
for us to mimic and parrot things that are meant
to be offensive to us. Right now, watch this, I'll
take it a step further for someone to be sold
down the river. Yeah, I know you can make that
(37:08):
connection on your own, but that also has its origins
in Jim Crow racism, even before Jim Crow slavery racism
in this country, to be sold down the river, that
is a racist term.
Speaker 2 (37:21):
The peanut gallery, It's meant to.
Speaker 1 (37:27):
Invoke the vision of like just kind of background chatter,
but indeed the peanut gallery is the section in the theater.
I'm kind of just painting the picture based on my
recollection of it, so I'm saying the definition best as
I remember it. But the peanut gallery is kind of
(37:47):
like the cheap seats that were typically associated with poorer people.
And remember there was segregation, so people that could go
into theaters, they often had to sit in the back,
higher decks, that sort of thing, separate interests and so forth,
and they were fed peanuts, which was the cheap food. Right,
So the peanut gallery is also a racist term. And
(38:08):
then I'm going to add a couple more that I
didn't know, and these aren't necessarily racist to black people,
but I feel like we should, as black people, should
keep the same energy that we want. And so I
will share this with you. When you say no, can do.
That is a term, that is and once you hear it,
(38:30):
you cannot hear it. It is a racist term insofar
as Chinese immigrants are concerned. It mimics the speech patterns
of Chinese Americans attempting to learn English. So when you
say no, can do, not that I'm saying it, you
hear it. There's another one long time no sea Oh man,
(38:53):
doesn't that sound doesn't that? Isn't that crazy?
Speaker 5 (38:58):
Wait a minute, I've said those things. And wait a minute,
what about haul of oates? That's my jamhik.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
You do, you live and you learn right. So with
that in mind, we'll leave that one right there. As always,
I'd like to thank you both for your time, your insight,
and your brilliance. Once again, today's guest are Black Information
Network news anchors Morgan Would and Bree Would.
Speaker 5 (39:17):
Thank you, Jack, Thanks, thanks Ramseys.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
We learned a lot today. This has been a production
of the Black Information Network. Today's show is produced by
Chris Thompson.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
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 RAMSI'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, showtimes, and podcast info,
check Civiccipher dot com and join us Monday as we
(39:49):
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 Would and Brewood to discuss this
week's major stories. This is the Black Information Network Daily Podcast,
and I'm your host, ramses Jah.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
All right, welcome back to the show.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Two of my favorites, Morgan and Bri Morgan, how have
you been lately?
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Oh man, I'm doing great, you know, got some new
assignments I'm working on. Yeah, just you don't feel in
the fetles enjoying the news.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
So I like that, all right? Bre How about you?
What you've been up to?
Speaker 4 (00:37):
Hey, Hey, I'm doing very well, you know, keeping up
with this news ever changing, never a dull moment.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Indeed, indeed, and I don't think today will be an
exception to that. First up, it seems like Marjorie Taylor
Green doesn't know when to be quiet that she should.
By now, just weeks after getting slammed by fellow Congresswoman
Jasmine Crockett, Green is in true again for some recent
comments she made about George Floyd brie Let's kick things
off with you tell us more about this story and
than Morgan, We're come to you next.
Speaker 5 (01:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
So, recently, Representative Marjorie Taylor Green made these comments about
George Floyd, and they've been widely criticized. To say the least,
she accused Democrats of worshiping George Floyd, referring to him
as a convicted felon. So these remarks were made during
the recent House subcommittee hearing on the Origins of COVID
nineteen in response to comments by Democrat Representative Jamie Raskin,
(01:30):
who in the meeting suggested that some Republicans blindly worshiped
convicted felons. So, in a video that Marjorie Taylor Green
posted on x formerly Twitter, she said, quote, we have
Jamie Raskin, and they're accusing us of worshiping Trump, worshiping
a convicted felon.
Speaker 5 (01:47):
Well, yeah, so is George Floyd.
Speaker 4 (01:49):
And everybody and you all too, the media worshiped George Floyd.
Speaker 5 (01:53):
So she was just going off.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
She decided to go on a little rant with a
reporter who was speaking with her at the time, and
she said, Democrats worship George Floyd, and there were riots
burning down the effing country over George Floyd.
Speaker 5 (02:06):
End quote.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
So she added in text that she's tired of the
Democrat antics and that she only worships God. So the
Congressional black Hawk is caught wend of the statement, and
they did condemn the comments publicly describing them as unhinged
and stating that George Floyd did not deserve to die
and a member of Congress should have the decency to
(02:28):
acknowledge his humanity.
Speaker 5 (02:30):
So that's where we are with that Warria.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Absolutely you would think that the same bleach blonde, bed
built but bodygirl.
Speaker 5 (02:38):
We no, let's stop talking about people at this point.
That's how you ended up with that title and that
tag in the.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
First place, messing around with Jasmine Crockett and talking about
her eyelashes in a congressional session. I think, you know,
there's nothing wrong with the little shade here and there.
But the problem that I have with Marjorie Taylor Green
is that she does it in the sessions. Like, like
you said, brit they were talking about origins of COVID nineteen.
Speaker 5 (03:05):
What does that have to do with George Floyd?
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Like, stick to the topic. So she's no stranger to
making controversial comments. Frankly, I'm not surprised by this. It's
just at some point there, you know, there are rules
in congressional hearings that you're not supposed to be talking
about people's appearances. So maybe we should up the ante
on those rules and you know, stick to the topic
(03:28):
at hand. You know, it just gets a little to
the to the point of the CBC unhinged, right right.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
You know the thing about this that really I think
that was most alarming, and I'm sure this is low
hanging fruit. Everyone can see this clear as day is
that George Floyd was not running for president. We didn't
have to hold George Floyd to a presidential standard. George
(03:55):
Floyd indeed did not represent the interests of this country
on the global stage. George Floyd was an every man,
which is part of the reason why so many of
us were able to connect with him, because it's like, well,
that could just as easily be me. You know, George
Floyd was not an elected official. He was a man
(04:16):
having a go at life. And he died with a
knee on the back of his neck. And I think
the other side of that is Donald Trump never died.
He didn't have a knee on the back of his neck.
He didn't die in the street like an animal because
of a corrupt criminal justice system. And obviously the two
scenarios with Donald Trump that lacks historical context. Donald Trump
(04:39):
is a felon, probably a fellon many times over throughout
his life, but he finally got caught. George Floyd never
had his day in court. Again, he died in the
street for allegedly passing a counterfeit. No, never had a
day in court. Was not determined whether or not there
(04:59):
was even any intentionality behind that. If indeed there was
a counterfeit note we know just as easily could have
made its way to him. And so the fact that
she makes that connection so as to suggest that we
worship at the throne of George Floyd is deeply insulting
(05:21):
and it shows the mental gymnastics.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
I believe that a lot of.
Speaker 1 (05:26):
Folks on the far right, and her in particular, are
willing to go through to try to justify indeed their
own worship of Donald.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
Trump right, and she has no justification for it, which
is why she fell back on George Floyd. Of course
she would pull that out of her behind, because what
else does she have to say? She takes no accountability
for her own actions exactly.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Once upon a time, the Republicans in this country were
this was the party of morals, This was the party
of God, This was the you know, on and on
and on, and Donald Trump was convicted for thirty four
felony counts paying hush money to a porn star, and
(06:08):
the narrative over there, I can't believe I'm saying this.
The narrative over there is not only that he did
nothing wrong, but that he never even did this with
the porn star when out of his own mouth, the
same people before the last election in twenty sixteen, when
he was elected, said, out of his own mouth, when
you're a celebrity, they let you do it. You can
(06:30):
walk up to him.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
And grab him by the privates. And they know that
he said that. They know his.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Reputation, they know that he's been he's famously a playboy.
They know that he's been accused by upwards of twenty
different women since going all the way back to the
seventies of sexual aggressive behavior, sexual assault, all the above.
They know this, So again, imagine the mental gymnastics that
they have to go through. The party is supposedly the
(06:59):
party of you know, moral alex standards, the Party of God, right,
imagine everything they have to go through to separate their
reality from their you know, quote unquote morals. And so
rather than acknowledge, you know what, this might be a
cult that I'm in because I still want this guy
(07:20):
to be the president, I've abandoned all of my own morals,
all of my values.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
The values that have compelled me to vote.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
Indeed, I worship God and I follow God, and I
want anyone I vote for to feel the same way.
They've abandoned all of that, and they blindly support this
man regardless of what he gooes, so they won't even
acknowledge how likely it is.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
And then.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
To say that we don't worship this man and you
guys worship George Floyd. Again, it shows the amount of
mental gymnastics that this party has gone through. And indeed,
this individual in particular and so very unfortunate. But I'm
glad that there's people like Jasmine Crockett out there to
drag her publicly, and of course we can drag her
a little bit on our show too.
Speaker 5 (08:07):
Nothing wrong with the little Reed?
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Yeah, would you say this the remix?
Speaker 3 (08:11):
I said, no, nothing wrong with the little Red here
and there little red.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
Okay, okay, well shoot, I like the remix too. We
can do both of them, so all right, moving on.
In Indianapolis, Indiana, a new hip hop inspired cookie shop
is making news after being criticized for misappropriating black culture
to sell its menu items. Morgan, this time we're going
to start with you give us some details on this story,
and then we we'll get your thoughts next.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
So this place is called Cookie Plug, and plug is
slang for a supplier of sorts, in this case cookies.
So Cookie Plug is a hip hop inspired cafe that
sells baked goods in Indianapolis. They also have other locations
in La Orlando, Houston, and New Jersey to name a few.
They're being accused of cultural appropriation because of the name
(08:53):
of the shop and some of its menu items like fatties,
which is you know, reference for a blunt or which
in which they that's what they call their cookies, or
purple drink, which is on their menu is their version
of lemonade. Purple drink is also known in hip hop
culture as lean or scisser, and that could be seen
as promoting drug culture. Now, there are cookie flavors on
(09:15):
their menu, such as Snooper Doodle as snicker Doodle, Pixie
Junkie that's a sugar cookie, Purple Haze which is purple velvet,
and the mac Daddy white chocolate chip, maceadamia nut, and
the og which is chocolate chip. Now the shop also
features graffiti on its walls. And you know how Chick
fil A will say at the end of a transaction
(09:35):
the phrase my pleasure. Well, at Cookie Plug they say
thank you for supporting your neighborhood dope dealer with dope spelled.
Speaker 5 (09:44):
Like dough with a P.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
So locals are expressing concerns for Cookie Plug, saying they
need to stop using racist tropes to sell their products.
People are also taking issue with the owner, Eric Martinez,
not being black, but he does admit that he has
incorporated his love for hip hop into the marketing of
this business. I think the piece that is majorly missing
from this whole story is that Elo Cool Jay is
(10:08):
actually an investor in this business and I'm in this
franchise and yeah, I mean he is a hip hop pioneer.
So I'm not sure you know where to go in
terms of direction after that. But yeah, people aren't too
happy with the fact that this cookie Plug is using
these type of references on their menu and.
Speaker 5 (10:30):
Inside the shop.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
Yeah all right, well why don't we get your thoughts
next free.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
Well, this was very interesting to me to piggyback off
Morgan the franchise owner Eric Martinez. They're saying he is
basically a white Hispanic and yes, he does have a
love of hip hop culture, and this is a franchise
and there are other locations. But what's interesting to me
is that online some of the black people who were
(11:00):
not shaming the business, we're saying, well, if he was black,
nobody would be saying anything. We would be like, Oh,
that's dope, that's that's cool, like because it's using the slang,
but because this is not a black owned business and
they're using hip hop lingo, and they're basically saying that
it is coming off just a tad bit racist. And
(11:20):
so they also faced a backlash for a special they
had a Police Week fifty percent off promotion. They did
it for officers, which was seen as hypocritical given the
language and the imagery of crime. And they say it's
because it's caused the disproportionate amount of black people to
be arrested, especially for drug paraphernalia and marijuana possession. So
(11:43):
they're basically saying it's an oxymoron. You're celebrating the police
at a spot called the Cookie Plug. But they basically
say they're the franchise is pimping black culture. So and
Indianapolis residents who are opposed to it really are just
waycotting it and would prefer that they got their community.
(12:04):
They have expressed concerns and they have called for the
company to do better, perhaps getting rid of some of
the drug references. But it has sparked a bigger conversation,
especially about cultural appropriation and the responsibility that some of
these businesses have when they are engaging with cultures that
they are not a part of.
Speaker 5 (12:22):
Sure, So, you know, it's just very interesting.
Speaker 4 (12:25):
I wonder how I would do in other urban areas
if the owners were black as opposed to Hispanic or white.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Sure, Sure, And I think that's that's that's a fair question.
I think one of the things though, that really is
troubling about this is that this is presented to that
community under the label of hip hop, right, and hip
(12:52):
hop is a very broad culture that encompasses a lot
of things, and that this Cookie place, as you both
mentioned it is primarily associating itself with the drug references.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
In other words, like we used to call it coke wrap,
you know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Like when Clips came out and when you know, they
would they would rap about selling you know, paraphernalia on
the streets and making money, right, And that's one type
of hip hop.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
You know, They're not all hip hop is like that.
You know, there's gangster rap.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
There's you know, uh battle rap, there's you know, uh
nightclub stuff. There's you know, Elo Kouji. We were talking
about him, I Need Love.
Speaker 4 (13:36):
There's what about the sugar Hill gang, the you know
some of the originators, you know, cookie being named after.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Them, right, you see what I mean?
Speaker 3 (13:44):
And that makes so much sense Forrey sugar Hill, sugar Hill,
they have a.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
Per it goes right there. Yeah, absolutely well spotted.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
But that that makes my point is that if this
was indeed a hip hop cookie shop, I feel like
there would be more elements of hip hop incorporated into
the shop, into the names of the cookies, into the language.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
You know, your neighborhood dope dealer.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
Feels like, you know that they're only taking the drug
part of hip hop, and that is not, and they're
calling it hip hop, and that's not what hip hop is.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
I've never sold drugs in my life. I've never done
a drug.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
I have I've probably been in a room with some
drugs before. But if I am, I'm very nervous about that.
I'm just one of those people. And I can guarantee
you I am a bona fide child of hip hop.
I'm the younger brother of racket Iris, Science of the
dilated People's that's my big brother, my father's son.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Like I grew up with it.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
DJ's all around, DJ B boys, you know, graffiti artist,
all of that. Never touched a drug, don't know nothing
about drugs, will not do. I'm forty one years old now, right, yes,
drug us. So for someone to refer to hip hop
and only one set of terms, and to be fair,
one of the one of the least uh, how would
(15:07):
I say this the least flattering facet, one of the
least flattering facets of hip hop? You know, the people
are drug dealers out of necessity. Nobody's a kid and
like when I grew up, I want to tell drugs right,
So again, I think that this kind of speaks to
the fact that there is a disconnect, a cultural disconnect. Indeed,
when people who have not grown up with it. It'd
(15:30):
be different if somebody grew up like Yo, I used
to serve, I used to bleed the block, and I
flip that into you know, something that I'm really passionate about.
So boom, here we go, you know, and I grew
up with this these terms and this music, and I
live this experience.
Speaker 2 (15:46):
And then that person says, here's what I would like
to do.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
I'd like to invite the police down because I'm you
know what I mean, I used to run from the police.
Now that's a little different. Okay, that's what you feel,
is right. I disagree, but that's what you feel is right.
And you have the livedance to support that sort of approach.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Right.
Speaker 4 (16:04):
If they want to be snowfall, they should just say
that there you go. There You ain't Franklin saying.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
There you go. Look at that.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Okay, all right, so yeah, but we'll see what happens, man,
Cookie plug is I'll admit, you know, Ello cool J
being an investor, you know that helps. But Llo cool
J is all the way in La working on movies
and all that sort of stuff.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
So so far, removed from that life that you know,
he's a hip hop head. Okay, he is an originator,
but he is this is suburban ol. This is Todd Smith.
We're talking about the investor, Thank you.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
And Llo cool j never had a song about selling
dope ever at all. Right, So even if it incorporated
more elements of Ello Cooolja or eighties hip hop or
something like that, there was like a cardboard box and
you could just you know, get your b boys stance
on to take a photo or something like that. You know,
cookie cardboard box. That's what me to say. It would
make a little bit more sense. But based on what
(17:04):
I'm seeing right now, they got some ground to cover.
Speaker 6 (17:08):
Join us for the National Urban League Conference in New
Orleans July twenty fourth through the twenty seventh at High
Regency New Orleans. Don't miss out. Register today at annulconference dot.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
Orgon Black Information Network news anchors Morgan Wood and Brewood
are here with us discussing this week's major stories. All right,
we continue with more news out of Indiana, and this
time our story involves racial slurs and gunfire at a
Kroger supermarket location. Brie, let's go back to you tell
(17:41):
us more about this story and then Morgan, we're going
to get you to weigh in afterwards.
Speaker 4 (17:45):
Well, this is another tragedy. A white man named Richard
Kevin Claff Junior is currently in custody after he recorded
a disturbing video of himself in a Kroger grocery store
in Fort Wayne, Indiana. So, in this video, he has
seen vading his handgun in the store's bathroom before walking
through the store searching for potential victims. So, during this
(18:07):
live stream that he had on Facebook, he can be
heard saying, quote, I'm going out with a bang, before
he spots a black female customer and two employees that
happened to be near the store's bakery. So he then
opens fire, shouting racial slurs and then starts running away
from the scene. But despite firing six shots, thankfully, no
one was hit. So Claff was later found hiding in
(18:29):
a dumpster behind a nearby bank and his gun, cell
phone and while it were discovered in another dumpster that
they have behind a store next to the grocery store,
a Dollar General. So, in a recorded interview with detectives,
Claff admitted that he had always wanted to kill someone
and planned to shoot about eleven people because that's the
number of bullets he had in the gun. He's now
(18:50):
facing three counts of attempted murder and one count of
criminal recklessness, and a Kroger spokesperson stated that the store
is currently cooperating with the police investigation and they're also
offering counseling services to their employees, who, of course, I'm
sure were traumatized by the whole incident. But again, thankfully,
no one was fatally injured. So this unfortunate incident, when
(19:12):
I was reading about it, it reminded me of the
incident at the Tops grocery store in Buffalo, New York
that happened in May of twenty twenty two. That mass shooting,
unfortunately did take lives. It happened at that supermarket, resulting
in the death of ten people and injuries to three others.
So that killer, who was in that last name, Jendron,
he was eighteen years old, and he targeted supermarket specifically
(19:36):
because it was in a black area code a space
where there were a high concentration of black people at
all times.
Speaker 5 (19:42):
So it is being seen as a hate crime.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
And earlier this year, the US Department of Justice did
announce that they are seeking a death sentence for him
in that case. So it was just unfortunate to read
about somebody doing that again in a highly black populated area,
at the grocery store, of all places, where you know
there's always going to be a lot of people because
(20:04):
people need food, people need things, and you go there
looking to kill to fulfill your own sadistic fantasies. So
I'm glad that he was unsuccessful in harming anyone, and
I hope they throw the book at him.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Yeah, absolutely, Morgan, let's get your thoughts here.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
Yeah, to just piggyback off what Brees said. Clafft Junior
was charged with three counts of attempt at murder and
one count of criminal recklessness as he faces and that
carries a potential one hundred and twenty six years sentence.
Now they I do believe that this is They haven't
thrown any hate crime charges at him as of yet.
(20:42):
But in the video you can see him overlooking white people,
elderly people, and you know, and to your point, Brie
got to he's got to the bakery area of the
store and there were three black people in that region,
and that's where he started to fire off his shots
and ran off with the expletives be in be you know,
(21:04):
and using those type of that type of language. So
although it's not formally said to be a hate crime,
I mean to watch someone literally say I'm not going
to shoot this white old man and then go into
the direction of black people and feel like, you know,
it's just absolutely crazy. And we are clearly becoming desensitized.
(21:27):
The next generation at twenty years old, it's clearly becoming
desensitized to some of these things. And yeah, he did
say he always wanted to kill someone, but supposedly that
he was supposed to go to the military and that
he just couldn't wait. So to your point, sadistic might
just be understatement, but yeah, something's wrong with that for sure.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
Sure. Yeah, And.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
The really sad thing about this is that this is
another potential would be mass shooting incident. And you know,
thankfully no one was hurt. No one was shot. You know,
I don't want to say hurt, but Novid was shot.
But I really think that we have to have a
(22:16):
very very strong rethink about you know, guns. And I'm
not saying anything that I haven't said before on the show.
Several times I'm not saying anything that anybody would disagree with.
But the fact of the matter is that I remember
reading something earlier, and this was about a person in
(22:39):
San Jacinto, California. He was walking down the street firing
shots into traffic just as cars went by. He just
was shooting at cars, and someone even died out there.
Speaker 5 (22:52):
Yes, you saw that had children. I saw that story.
Speaker 4 (22:57):
And the man was literally just walking down the thigh
of the highway firing his gun randomly, and he did
kill a man.
Speaker 5 (23:05):
It's very unfortunate.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
Yeah, Julio Rodarte, Rodarte, I believe, is how I say
his name. And he's arrested on suspicion of murder and
ten counts of attempted murder. So what I'm seeing here
in both scenarios that you know we're discussing now in
the same episode, is an intersection of deteriorated mental health,
(23:35):
perhaps people dealing with a great deal of hopelessness, and hatred.
Sometimes the hatred is focused. You know, there's a lot
of people on the far right, a lot of people
in powerful places that have done a great job of
convincing a lot of white people that their enemies, the
source of their problems.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
All that ails them.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
The reason that they're poor, the reason the American dream
didn't make its way to them, reason they never became astronauts,
rock stars, whatever, is because of black people. It's because
of Mexican people coming over the border. They are thoroughly
convinced of this truth, because of again those deeply conservative
white supremacist almost you know, white nationalists, indeed in fact
(24:24):
messaging right. And then there are people whose anger is
less focused, but they're dealing with the same reality. They
have not their life has not panned out the way
that they had hoped. They do not get attention from
you know, romantic attention, they do not have job prospect.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
Whatever their story is.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
And rather than directing it inward, which a lot of
people do. Suicide rates have been up for some time,
they directed outward, you know. But I believe in both instances,
these people were expecting that they would not live beyond
the day, you know, at least. In the other story
with the gentleman in San Giacinto, he went to the
liquor store to buy a shot of alcohol before he
(25:06):
was going to go do what he was going to do.
And I don't know that this was his plan, but
he couldn't even buy the shot because he didn't have
enough money. So it just gives a glimpse into kind
of the state of the mental health of a lot
of the people in this country. And yet and still
anybody can go buy a gun. And so when I
(25:27):
say we really need a genuine rethink about this, I
really think that we do. I mean, nobody wants to
live in a society where this is possible. I have
to drive somewhere later today and there are people like this. Granted,
I you know, doesn't happen everywhere every day. The fact
that it could happen.
Speaker 5 (25:48):
Is it's terrifying.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
It's terrifying very much. So all right for our final
story today.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
The son of former President Donald Trump, ran into a
social media fire storm this week after he used some
choice words during a TV interview to describe the support
his father is allegedly receiving from the black community. Morgan,
give us your thoughts on this story, and then Breed,
we're gonna come you to close this out. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
So on Sunday, Eric Trump was on Fox News basically
telling or saying that black people can relate to his father,
former President Trump, because of his criminal case, and he
knows what it's like to be mistreated by the justice system.
Will speaking to Maria bere oh excuse me, Beautramo, he said,
for the first time they realized that the system's coming down,
(26:37):
that he's the victim.
Speaker 5 (26:38):
He's the victim.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
That oftentimes some of their communities were you see them swinging.
You know, everybody else is mad about the spades comment,
But I say you see them swinging.
Speaker 5 (26:49):
I'm like, okay, you see them swinging.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
Look at the African American vote, right, that's swinging over
to Donald Trump in spades, which is a word. Now,
I will say that I will be want to admit
I did not know this was an old school derogatory
term for black people, but the dictionary does have an
alternate definition outside of the you know card as an
insulting and contentious term for a black person.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
This is a case.
Speaker 3 (27:15):
This is a case of you know, you just have
to be careful with your words and the metaphors you
use when talking about certain groups of people, and if
you really care for those groups of people and you
identify with them, you would educate yourself and hold yourself
to a higher standard of accountability for these so called
slip ups.
Speaker 5 (27:32):
I mean, it can happen to the best of us.
Speaker 3 (27:33):
But still so for example, I just admitted I didn't
know that, But going forward, you think I'm going to
use that type of that, you know, that type of
terminology amongst my people, right not So I just think
that's you know, what's.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
Going on with that.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
But there again, Eric Trump's no stranger to you know,
so called slip ups and things of that nature. So again,
if you are looking to buy for the black vote,
you know, really you got to do your research. You
got to educate yourself on black culture and things that
you just.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
Should not say. Agree, let's here from you.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
Well, I mean Morgan basically said at all these comments
that he made, though it does have a lot of
the black community giving him a raised eyebrow, I'll say,
maybe even a side eye, you know, claiming that his
father's criminal conviction is making him more popular among black voters.
It's so problematic and a lot of people are meeting
(28:33):
it with skepticism and criticism. And it's interesting that he
would suggest black voters are starting to see Donald Trump
as a victim of the system, because would that happen
if it were reversed? With Donald Trump, who everyone always
brings up how he was a proponent of putting the
(28:54):
the Central Park five behind bars that were completely innocent.
But now in the world that we live in today,
where you're saying is this is why people relate to
you because black people are treated so unfairly well. If
you know we're treated so unfairly well, then why wouldn't
you change the way you do business or the way
you think or the policies that you vote for. So
(29:16):
I just think that's that's an interesting caveat to that.
But most recently I found this interesting rapper fifty cent
real named Curtis Jackson. He made several comments related to politics,
and recently he stated that he was not sure who
he would be voting for in the upcoming election. But
he did suggest that black men in particular were identifying
(29:38):
more with Donald Trump because they got rico charges too,
And that's exactly what he said on camera.
Speaker 5 (29:44):
So he made this.
Speaker 4 (29:44):
Statement to a CBS News correspondent after a meeting on
Capitol Hill with his attorney, civil rights attorney then Crump,
and he was up there discussing representation for black entrepreneurs
in the liquor industry. And also, you know, closing the
wealth gap between black and white, especially when it comes
to entrepreneurship and business opportunities. And so I just thought
(30:06):
that was very interesting because fifty cent has been criticized
in the past or seemingly supporting Donald Trump. I won't
say that he's outright supporting Donald Trump, but he's made
commentary that makes it seem as though black men vote
for Donald Trump because it's all about the money and
that they can relate and they rather have somebody in
(30:26):
office that they feel is putting money back into their
pockets as opposed to taking it away. So, you know,
back in March, he did admit that he thought Trump
was going to win in November. Yeah, so black men
seem to be what a lot of people think will
be the deciding factor if Donald Trump wins this election.
Speaker 1 (30:44):
You know what, there's one Yeah, I've seen the numbers there.
There's been definitely been a shift, Okay, but it's not
a huge shift. It's not like half of all black
men are going to vote for Donald Trump. That it's
not even remotely close to anything even resembling that. It's
just more people than there were last time. And I
(31:04):
suspect that it has a lot to do, as Charlemagne
famously says, with messaging. The Democrats need to do a
better job with their messaging. Here's what we've done, here's
what we've done to help out, here's what we're working on.
Speaker 2 (31:19):
You know, people feel it in their pockets.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
Every time people go to the grocery store and they
got to pay seven dollars for a bag of chips
that cost four dollars two years ago. They feel that,
you know, and then they associate that with the presidency. Well,
under Donald Trump, chips weren't that expensive, and under Joe Biden,
chips are this expensive.
Speaker 2 (31:38):
But Joe Biden is bad.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
And if the Democrats don't say, hey, look we're the
ones that got your student loans forgiven. We're still working
on shrinkflation. We have to, we're creating laws. We need
our Republican representatives to work with us. But this is
we recognize and respect what it is you're dealing with.
It is not our fault, but it is our responsibility.
We are working on that, and here's what our plan is.
(32:02):
You know, that type of messaging, owning what's going on
in people's day to day lives. Then you start to
kind of real back in some of those voters that
are reminiscing, if you will, of the Trump years when
we're all having to deal with COVID, and remember that
(32:23):
Donald Trump is the reason that we had to deal
with COVID. Donald Trump defunded the CDC's division that was
responsible for responding to the pandemic. I know this because
I worked with the CDC. I remember when that article
came out. I think it was like in twenty seventeen,
and then all of a sudden, we get hit with
(32:43):
a pandemic in twenty twenty.
Speaker 2 (32:45):
We got no response team, nobody to.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
Help us prepare for it, and it hits us like
a truck, and then the whole country shuts down for.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
Like two years.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
Maybe Donald Trump's doing And as far as his son
is concerned. You know, the thing that really stood out
to me is, you know, his biggest defense was that
Freudian slip quote unquote when he said, you know, he
was confident that they would win because they're white.
Speaker 2 (33:11):
He meant to say they're right.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
I thought I thought he really said right, but so
he really said white.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
And yeah, listen to it again. He's like, we're going
to we're confident we're going to win. We're white, and
he meant to say we're right. You know, Oh that's
what he says. But again Freudian slip.
Speaker 2 (33:28):
That's the bigger.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
Offense because he's saying the quiet part out loud. But
I'll take it a step further.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
Recently, one of the folks that worked on The Apprentice
with Donald Trump came out saying his twenty year NDA
expired and he can now say the truth.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
About Donald Trump.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
And he joins a long list of other people who
have overheard Donald Trump saying racist things, including the N word. Right,
look it up. Just broke the past few days. Okay,
dang should have Donald Trump. You see what I'm saying.
But watch this, I'll take it a step further. Donald
Trump was raised by a man who was arrested at
(34:09):
a KKK rally.
Speaker 2 (34:12):
Look it up.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
Okay, so Donald Trump's father was arrested at a KKK rally. Right,
That means he probably went to a lot of them.
He just happened to get arrested at one. And that's
the evidence that we have. Right, So the ideas in
that man's head as he raised Donald Trump are reflected
in a lot of the stories that surround Donald Trump. Now, obviously,
(34:34):
when you play politics, you gotta shake hands against babies,
often of people that you wouldn't associate with in your
normal life, but you need that vote. Donald Trump, I maintain,
does not respect us. He barely respects our vote, barely,
but he does not respect our people and does not
respect our anything. Anything that he can do to get
(34:56):
more attention, more money, or more votes, he will do it.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
Donald Trump respects Donald Trump. Right.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
So Eric Trump, his son has, based on my estimation,
grown up around at least.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
Some of that.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
Okay, So when he says that, you know, black people
are moving away from from Joe Biden in favor of
Donald Trump in spades, it means one of two things.
One either he didn't know, which is fair, but again
the bigger offense is that Freudian slip. Or two, he's
(35:32):
heard the term spade associated with black people, and that
was just kind of a connection that his brain has made,
because again, spade is some old school racism, like getting
arrested at a KKK rally racism, right, And I.
Speaker 5 (35:45):
Had never heard of that either, Like that was a
that was derogatory.
Speaker 1 (35:51):
Oh yeah, yeah, And I happen to know that because
I took an African American literature class when I was
in college, taught to me by doctor Camilla Westenberg, who
was frequent contributor on this show.
Speaker 2 (36:02):
And so I knew a lot of those terms.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
But just before we conclude today, I want to add
some things just so people can switch it around in
their heads, because I learned some other things recently in
researching this topic for today. Of course, spade, you know,
our skin is black the ace of spades as black
spades are black in the card you know, a card deck,
(36:27):
So it was meant to refer to us. It's no
different from you know, blackie or any of those other
offensive terms, right, So stay away from that. Also outside
of the outside of the game of cards, stay away
from that word.
Speaker 3 (36:42):
What about the phrase call a spade a spade? We
use that all the time in our culture.
Speaker 1 (36:45):
That's why I was like, what and and we also
use the N word, And that was also taught to
us by the oppressor, right, and so it's not impossible
for us to mimic and parrot things that are meant
to be offensive to us. Right now, watch this, I'll
take it a step further for someone to be sold
down the river. Yeah, I know you can make that
(37:08):
connection on your own, but that also has its origins
in Jim Crow racism, even before Jim Crow slavery racism
in this country, to be sold down the river, that
is a racist term.
Speaker 2 (37:21):
The peanut gallery, It's meant to.
Speaker 1 (37:27):
Invoke the vision of like just kind of background chatter,
but indeed the peanut gallery is the section in the theater.
I'm kind of just painting the picture based on my
recollection of it, so I'm saying the definition best as
I remember it. But the peanut gallery is kind of
(37:47):
like the cheap seats that were typically associated with poorer people.
And remember there was segregation, so people that could go
into theaters, they often had to sit in the back,
higher decks, that sort of thing, separate interests and so forth,
and they were fed peanuts, which was the cheap food. Right,
So the peanut gallery is also a racist term. And
(38:08):
then I'm going to add a couple more that I
didn't know, and these aren't necessarily racist to black people,
but I feel like we should, as black people, should
keep the same energy that we want. And so I
will share this with you. When you say no, can do.
That is a term, that is and once you hear it,
(38:30):
you cannot hear it. It is a racist term insofar
as Chinese immigrants are concerned. It mimics the speech patterns
of Chinese Americans attempting to learn English. So when you
say no, can do, not that I'm saying it, you
hear it. There's another one long time no sea Oh man,
(38:53):
doesn't that sound doesn't that? Isn't that crazy?
Speaker 5 (38:58):
Wait a minute, I've said those things. And wait a minute,
what about haul of oates? That's my jamhik.
Speaker 1 (39:03):
You do, you live and you learn right. So with
that in mind, we'll leave that one right there. As always,
I'd like to thank you both for your time, your insight,
and your brilliance. Once again, today's guest are Black Information
Network news anchors Morgan Would and Bree Would.
Speaker 5 (39:17):
Thank you, Jack, Thanks, thanks Ramseys.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
We learned a lot today. This has been a production
of the Black Information Network. Today's show is produced by
Chris Thompson.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
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 RAMSI'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, showtimes, and podcast info,
check Civiccipher dot com and join us Monday as we
(39:49):
share our news with our voice from our perspective right
here on the Black Information Network Daily podcast
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