May 7, 2025 • 29 mins
News Anchor Amber Payton joins Host Ramses Ja on today's program to discus some of the major news stories from the past weekend.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Here at the Black Information Network, we know how important
it is for you to start your week off energized, engaged,
and enlightened. There are always major stories that break over
the weekend, and we feel you should know about the
ones we are talking about today. He'll stay tuned for
our weekend recap featuring Bin Senior editor and news anchor
Amber Payton. This is the Black Information Network Daily Podcast.
(00:21):
I'm your host, Ramsey's job, all right, Amber Peyton, welcome
back to the show. I know you've been busy over
there on the East Coast, covering, of course, quite a
few few stories. Anything to disclose, anything to share, any
updates we need to know about before we get into
(00:41):
the games.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
I don't think we have enough time to go through
all the allday man in the world.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
I believe that. I believe that. Well, we'll have to
table that for another day. Let's get to the news.
First up, from the Daily Caller ESPN, Stephen A. Smith
ruled out running for president as a Democrat in twenty
twenty eight during a CNN appearance Sunday, citing dissatisfaction with
the party's current direction. Smith said he's keeping all doors
open for a potential political run, despite admitting he hates
(01:08):
the idea of becoming a politician. Theiring appearance on State
of the Union with Jake Tapper and Dana bash Smith
made it clear this week that a twenty twenty eight
presidential bid under the Democratic banner is off the table
unless the party undergoes a major overhaul. Let's go to
a clip so you can hear it in his own words.
If you were to run for president, though, it would
(01:28):
be as a Democrat or no.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
If I had to run, it would be as a Democrat.
But I'm not happy with the Democratic Party. So the
Democratic Party is presently constructed. It pretty much need to
be purged in order for me to assume that I
would want to be associated with them and I would
go on to their support, because I don't like the
way they've gone about doing a lot of things for
a very very long period of time. And I think
(01:51):
that I don't view Donald Trump as winning the election.
I view the Democrats as losing the election, as absolutely
positively blowing it with some of their actions. And that's
why I think that, you know, again, if somebody was
to associate me with that the party has presently constructed,
where leads so extremely left, or at least have spent
the vast majority of time doing that. Oh, that is
(02:12):
not something that.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
I would vibe with at all.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
I would definitely be looking to be a game changer
in that regard.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
All right, Ember, So what are your thoughts on this one?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
I think that it's very interesting that he is no
longer interested in becoming a politician as soon as he's
a little halfway endorsement from Trump, because in the past
he has been all for it. I remember he made
a statement not too long ago. I had to go
(02:44):
and look it up. He said it in a generalized
way that we all need to come together. He said,
if it continues to get worse, we should all consider
running for crying out loud rather than dealing with this nonsense.
So he said that in a generalized way. But he
also has made the comment you know that we are.
He's leaving all doors open for a possible presidential bid.
(03:06):
Now all of a sudden, when Trump's like, hey, and
he didn't really endorse him, but he didn't. Trump didn't
seem against it either. U. Now, Stephen A. Smith is
like he no, no, never mind, I'm not interested in
being a politician listen. At this point, I think that
(03:27):
I agree with one thing that that Steven A. Smith
said in the past, and that is somebody has to
do something, anybody, but his reasoning, you know, with Democrats
not being I believe people used to work broken. It's
how he Yes, there is some there's some misalignment going on.
(03:50):
I mean, that's been pretty obvious in the news. I just, yeah,
we'll see, we'll see. That's all I got.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
You know, My thing is, I've heard this from a
lot of different people saying that, you know, Democrats missed
the messaging. Democrats, you know, weren't listening to voters. Democrats
didn't have anything in place for the electorate. And that's
effectively what you know, Stephen A. Smith is communicating here again.
(04:19):
And I wish that it seemed that clear to me,
but it just doesn't. I don't think that Democrats really
missed the They weren't listening to voters. They didn't like
Kamala Harris had a plan for black people, she had
a plan for you know, everything, you know, and the
plan wasn't I'm gonna raise tariffs and I'm gonna you know,
(04:41):
roll back DEI and the country is going to be better. No,
there wasn't that. That's a that's a non plan. That's
that's like an aggressive like reaction to a plan, you
know what I mean. Like the DEI initiatives were a
plan to try to offset systemic issues and bring about
social justice and economic justice and so right, and what
(05:02):
Donald Trump has done is a reaction to a plan,
they know. But Kamala Harris and the Democrats, they had
at least some semblance of a plan. Right now. Of course,
I'm not going to agree with anything that everybody puts forth,
but at least it felt like it was based in
building rather than destroying or rolling things back or modifying rather,
(05:23):
you know whatever. But I think the thrust of what
people have been saying about Democrats, I can kind of
see that. I famously said repeatedly that Democrats have missed
the market really one key way. But when I say
this example, you'll see how it translates to other areas. Right,
(05:45):
Democrats were perhaps trying to move toward the center, and
when you're in the center, you kind of get attacked
from both sides. Right, So the Democrats weren't far right
enough for people on the right, you know, they're going
to you know, there's triple Trumpers and the MAGA electorate
(06:09):
and diehard Republicans. They're not like, if you have the
name Democrat, that's a bad word in their mind right,
So it doesn't matter how far right you go, you know,
you're not going to get Republicans. There's something to be
said about the independence and speaking to them. Sure, maybe
that that's something that exists. But Stephen A. Smith made
a point here that I think makes this point. He
(06:30):
said that the election wasn't won by Donald Trump. It
was rather lost by Democrats. So it wasn't that Donald
Trump won. He didn't come through with like, you know,
I got the plan and we're going to do it
my way, and everybody's like, yeah, that's the wave. No,
Democrats just just dropped the ball. And my view is
that they did that because they were trying to move
(06:52):
toward the center to appeal to you know, moderates and
you know, independents and people that were independent but conservative.
They thought that that was fertile ground for them, and
what they ended up doing was losing the people who
are legitimately on the left right. Because that Democratic Party
that ran for the last election was indistinguishable from a
(07:17):
center right party, you know, to a lot of those folks, right,
Stephen A. Smith attacking dims. That's the only real issues
that I have there. You know. The Democratic Party, sure
they're in a tough spot, but for I think different reasons.
It's not because of the Yes, yeah, it was because
they they they're not standing on the business of the party,
(07:38):
you know what I mean. They're trying to mirror what
the other party is looking like instead of offering a
real alternative. So maybe that's what he was trying to say,
Steven Smith was trying to say, and I just heard
something differently, but that was my take. Next up, this
is from Rochester, Minnesota. This is Fox nine in Rochester.
(07:59):
A woman in Rochester, Minnesota, was recorded in a viral
video saying racial slur is when a man accused her
of calling a child the inward at a playground. The
video has since gone viral after being posted on TikTok,
and the woman has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars
after claiming she and her family are in danger and
need to relocate after being threatened to the extreme by
people online. The video shows a woman holding a child
(08:21):
being confronted by the man recording her. The man, speaking
out of the camera's view, asked the woman if she
called another child at the playground the inward. The woman
begins walking away before turning round and calling the man
the inward and making an obscene gesture. Quote. He took
my son's stuff, the woman said, when the man pressed her,
So that gives you the right to call the child
(08:43):
five years old the inward, the man said. And then
the woman comes back says, well, if that's what he's
going to act like, all right. The TikTok clip was
posted by Tizzy and t on Thursday, with the commentary
and more than ten and a half million views as
a Friday. The woman in the video has launched an
(09:03):
online crowdfunding page that has raised more than three hundred
and ninety thousand dollars, with the goal of reaching a million.
The crowdfunding post claims that the video caused the woman
and her family great turmoil after her personal information, including
her address, phone number, and social Security number, were leaked online.
The woman says in the post that she fears her
family will have to move and is asking for donations
(09:24):
to help protect herself and her children and I'm just
gonna have this because this was also in the article.
The NAACP Rochester branch launched its own crowdfunding effort to
raise money for the five year old boy involved in
the incident. Organizers say the money will be used for
legal redress and social justice efforts and support of the
child and family, legal advocacy and accountability efforts, and brought
(09:45):
our social justice and anti racism work in Rochester to
change the culture and ensure that this never happens again.
That fundraiser has raised more than one hundred thousand dollars
with a goal of two hundred and fifty thousand. So
looks like racism has a new dawn in this country.
Because once upon a time you could say you know,
(10:05):
racist stuff and lose your job and you know, lose
your friend circle and people didn't want to be associated
with you. But looks like nowadays you can say it
on video and get four hundred thousand dollars. So thanks
Donald Trump.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
What is let me tell you? I on TikTok Tizzy
and t he catches these stories, his whole pages dedicated
to calling these people out. Yeah, because what when did
people get so comfortable using that word? That word that's
(10:39):
so offensive, everybody's comfortable with it, and four hundred thousand
dollars worth of support behind her racism. Was a child
and she tried to justify it that. I saw the video.
The child that she was holding looked no more than
two hm hmm. You're saying, oh, well, he took my
(11:02):
child's things, their kids, their kids. Yeah, you were looking
for an excuse like that, But four hundred thousand dollars
worth of support, yeah, supporting her racism. I was shocked.
(11:23):
This was not antisynt. This was not his intent when
he posted this video. And I can say that just
based off of his page just in general.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
His whole page is dedicated to.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Calling these people out, and it just it kind of
backfired this time. YE like to post it and then
people say, oh, no, we're going to support her crazy.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
I'm just I don't.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
I don't even I don't know what to say, Ramses,
I don't. Four hundred thousand dollars worth of support racism
is so it's.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
So well, you know, I think people were saying that
this is a response to the fundraising that took place
for the I forget the name of him, but he
was a student on a college campus. Do you remember
this story he was doing on a college campus. He
was defending himself and he killed a white student and
(12:18):
he was arrested for that. I got to look the
story up again. We covered it. I just his name
escapes me right now, but he killed a white student,
I think, so, yeah, there you go. Yeah that was it.
So this is kind of a response to That's what
I think. And when you look at the donors for
this campaign, they're they're using like troll names like Nate
(12:41):
Higgers and like what yeah, they're used to donate money.
It's crazy, man. So it's not just this lady being racist.
It's like all the racist trolls in the world, like
giving money to Kyre coming together and they're supporting each other.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Man, it's a wild time. But you know the wildest
thing is that, you know, I I think that to
add on to what you were saying and to help
make your point, you know, we can look at them
and be like, Okay, these are just babies. These are children.
They don't know. They don't have a proper concept of possession, ownership,
theft that you know, these aren't aren't concepts that have
(13:17):
jailed yet right, But we can say they're just kids
because they are. But we have to also bear in
mind that black children are the only children that don't
get to just be just kids. Well I shouldn't say
the only children, because I mean the same could be
said about you know, our brown brothers and sisters too,
and and so forth. But white children absolutely get to
(13:40):
be children because like, try to imagine the equivalent if
a white child like came into my house. My house
is a fun place to be, right, there's like cool
stuff everywhere or whatever it's and it's like all at
the kid levels. You could grab it and whatever. If
a white child five years old or younger grab something
at my house and then proceeded to leave with it,
(14:04):
if I went up to that child, could you conceive
of me calling that child a racial slur, you know
whatever the white racial slur equivalent to the N word
would be, or would it just be the fact that
he's a child. So you see how black kids that
Now you see what I mean, like black kids. Oh yeah,
you can go right to that. See he's acting like one,
That's what the lady said. So yeah, you know, but
(14:28):
but this is you know, Q and I talk about
this all the time. This is that Trump effect where
these people feel like they are way up right now.
They got all the levers of government that got their
guy in office, and he is on his let's roll
back all of this black stuff. We're gonna get rid
of all of this women's stuff. We're gonna get rid
of all of that. The only thing that that that
doesn't need to be touched or updated or whatever is
(14:52):
anything that has straight, Christian, healthy white men. That's fine.
All the rest of this stuff is woke DEI nonsense.
But hold on, fam like that's how it goes. People
need to vote. I mean I just talked about it.
People stayed home. But like there is a such thing
(15:15):
as it's worse, you know, there's a lesser of two evils.
And for people that was like yo, either way, they die.
So I'm not voting either way. This now affects everything,
not just Palestine. It can always be worse, as illustrated
by this current administration. For a lot of people. It's
a stress fest for a lot of people. I live
in a border state. People who's ancestral, like their family
(15:40):
lived on this land before it was the United States
of America, back when it was Mexico. There's people that
live on this land before Mexico existed, Native people. Right,
All of these people where this is their rightful home,
now live in a more fearful country because the rest
of us didn't want to vote because we thought that
(16:04):
both of the two evils were the same. So some
we all need to keep them mind. Hey, what's up.
Speaker 5 (16:11):
This is Ramsy's jaw and I am q Ward and
we're inviting you to subscribe to Civic Cipher, our weekly
social justice podcast right here in the app.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
We pride ourselves on creating a show that fusters allyship,
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Speaker 5 (16:30):
The African proverb breeds, if you want to go far,
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Speaker 1 (16:37):
That cibic cip h e er right here in the app.
Black Information Network Senior editor and news anchor Amber Payton
is here with us discussing the weekends major stories. All Right,
This from NBC actor Terrence Howard revealed that he refused
to portray Marvin Gaye in a potential film because of
(17:00):
the Motown singer's rumored homosexuality, saying he'd cut his lips
off if he ever kissed a man. The former Empire
star made the comment during a nearly two hour appearance
on Bill Maher's Club Random podcast. Howard went on to
say that the filmmakers would have wanted to explore Gay's
rumored homosexuality and that he could not kiss a man. Quote.
(17:20):
I would cut my lips off, Howard said, if I
kissed a man, I would cut my lips off. Howard
attributed it to him not being able to fake it
and that he could not act a role he did
not understand. Maret told Howard he would not want to
kiss a man either, but I would not do that,
in reference to Howard's self mutilation common Okay, so this
(17:44):
one was intense. So your thoughts.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
To me, Marvin Gaye wasn't He wasn't openly, there wasn't
something else he's so, then why are we putting it
in a movie anyway?
Speaker 1 (17:59):
I guess this is something that the filmmakers. I mean,
there's there's rumors and and and from what I understand,
Terrence Howard went and talked to Quincy Jones before he
passed and kind of verified the rumors with him. For
what that was worth, that while Marvin Gaye was married
(18:24):
to I think he was married twice to two women
that he had enjoyed or preferred or longed for. I
don't know the details of this man's life the company
of men, but this is this is just a rumor,
(18:46):
you know. I I got to make sure that that
that stated. But the filmmakers here said that they wanted
to explore that rumor and that they wanted for uh,
Terrence Howard to I guess kiss a man in the film,
and so you know here we are.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
So I everybody has their boundaries, They have their limits.
All money is not good money to everybody. But if
Marvin Gaye didn't put that in the pub, out in
the public when he was alive, why why why would
we do it now? Why why would that's a good
point a rumor or his privacy? I just like let
(19:30):
that man. People used to say that, and I still
don't know if this is true. People said that about Luther.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
I didn't know that about it. They listen.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
But if he wanted us to know that he wanted
to live by that. He would have told us. Everybody
would have told us.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Okay, I go with that. I go with that. Yeah,
I think there's something to be said about that. You know,
there's some things that people were like this.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
And we're going to honor them then respect their wishes.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
Sure, you know, there's a there's things that have happened
in my life where they don't define who I am.
They're not worthy of going into a film about me,
you know what I mean. But at the time, I
either didn't know any better or whatever. Like I shared
a story on this show before where I stole They
(20:19):
used to have these five cent Ninja Turtle coloring books.
They'll tell you how long ago this was Ninja Turtle
coloring books back in the eighties. Had to have been
like nineteen eighty five. I was born in eighty two,
and I remember that I got these coloring books and
I just took them. I took them out the store.
(20:39):
You know what I was like, Well, I mean, I
don't have five cents, but I'm sure I'll have five
cents at some point in the future, So you know,
I'll I'll report on the ground or something and I'll
bring it back. But these coloring books, these are dope.
They got the Ninja turtles and I just took them
out of the store. Nobody stopped me. I don't eve
think anybody knew. And it was intent. I remember doing
it because I was like, I guess I was conflicted
(21:01):
about it, like should I do this? Is this okay?
But I know that I know now that what the
difference is, But at that time I was questioning. I
was like, no, if I asked, they might tell me no,
and then I can't give them the money later, and so,
you know whatever. But I remember that that memory, and
if that went in a movie about my life, it
would make me seem like a thief, you know what
I mean, And I don't think that I am. And
(21:24):
you know, Toys Rus doesn't exist anymore. And I couldn't
tell you whether or not they got their their five
cents or whatever. But I'm sure they did, you know
what I mean, because you could find five So that
was my thinking. You could find five cents on the
ground and just bring it back. I just don't have
it right now, and I'm not yet. We had to
walk to Toys r Us. I grew up poor, so
this is a Compton, California. So anyway, so I think
(21:49):
your point is well made. But I think that what
I don't want to lose sight of, though, is Terrence
Howard's reaction to portraying a homeless man or homeless a
gay man. Okay, so here's what I here's my thoughts. Yeah,
(22:10):
if you have boundaries, you know, you're in charge of
your physical body, you know, and whether or not you
have a job or whatever. At the end of the day,
you have to live inside of your own skin. And
if you subject your physical body to something that is
inconsistent with your nature, that's a decision you have to
make for yourself. Everyone should be entitled to that. And
(22:32):
for him to say, you know what, I, for the
sake of the art, I cannot subject my body to
something that I'm just not that. I'm not rams this
is not going to go and play a white person
on television. I just don't. My hair won't let me.
You know, what I'm saying does not relax. So, uh,
you know, it's not something I could do. I couldn't
(22:54):
be authentic to it, so I wouldn't try. I can't
play a woman, you know. My voice is too deep.
I had all his hair on my face. You know,
it's just not really it's not that kind of party.
So I understand saying, hey, look, that's not something I
can do. But when you say something as extreme as
I would cut my lips off, that almost makes it
feel like you think that homosexuality is like dirty, or
(23:19):
or like repulsive or something like that. Like I could
not even stand the sight of my lips on my
face knowing that, you know what I mean, Like, it
just seems so extreme, and that type of language, that
type of rhetoric and attitude is very hurtful and dangerous.
I believe to our homosexual brothers and sisters, gay men
(23:41):
in particular, who historically have kind of been like shunned
for something that, in my belief and based on any
natural metric, By natural, I mean occurring in nature is
normal and healthy. It happens, okay, And there's scientific proofs
(24:01):
and so forth of this happening and why it happens.
There's theories and so forth and so on. And the
only thing that really is based on belief is when
you talk about like religion and faith, And the thing is,
we've often been able to prove science and we have
not yet been able to prove conclusively faith right and
(24:23):
so in terms of logic and reason, and I'm not Look,
my father was a minister. We talk about this all
the time. I grew up in a faith tradition Church
of God in Christ, to be specific. But if we
are going to kind of regard each other as brothers
and sisters dispassionately, then I think that having a scientific
method of doing so helps us to remove the mindset
(24:46):
of this is dirty or this whatever. You can disagree
with it and be a faith a person of faith,
you can disagree with and be a person of science.
You could say it's just not for me. But to
kind of suggest directly or indirectly that it's dirty and
that it's gross, and that it would kind of ruin
or taint your body in some way, I think that's
just a bit extreme, and I think that that creates
(25:07):
more harm than it really needs to. You can just say, yeah,
I just that wasn't that was a bridge too far
from me. I just really couldn't see myself in the role.
But God blessed whoever does bring it to life or
you know, I tried to tell them that that part
of the story is not necessary. Marvin Gay has a wonderful,
amazing human story and he's given the world so much,
(25:28):
and something that we didn't know about that was based
off of a rumor doesn't really need to appear in
a film where we're condensing his entire life in you know,
an hour and a half, you know what I mean.
He's worth more than that, and so I think that
your point is well made there as well. So eh,
that's just my thoughts, all right. For the final story,
this from the Black Information Network, Buckle up. This is
(25:50):
a weird one. A South African mother has been convicted
of kidnapping and traffick in charges after allegedly selling her
six year old daughter's eyes and skin to a local healer.
On Friday, May second, Kelly Smith was convicted of trafficking
her daughter, Joshlyn, aged six, following her disappearance in February
of twenty twenty four. Per People, Smith's boyfriend jac Queen Apolos,
(26:10):
I believe that's how it said, and the couple's friend,
Steven O Van Wrinn were also found guilty of kidnapping
and trafficking in charges connection trafficking charges in connection to
Jocelyn's disappearance. During Smith's trial, a neighbor testified that the
mother informed her of plans to sell Joshlyn to a
traditional healer who quote wanted her for her eyes and skin. Quote.
(26:31):
The mother also allegedly said she did something silly and
sold her child to a sangoma. A neighbor also testified
that Smith offered money to those who knew about the
plan to keep them silent. So, uh, I mean, you
know what I'm going to say, but uh, I think
you're probably going to say something similar. So ladies, first, I'm.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
You know, Ramses, I don't quite know what you're going
to say. My I looked at the screen. I had
to look at my face because I am. I think
my face said everything that my mouth just can't.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
That's why I'm like, oh, you're saying what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
And where Jesus, where is the daughter? I like that
was my question as I'm listening to you read, I'm like, well,
is she is she okay?
Speaker 5 (27:23):
Is she.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
Alive?
Speaker 2 (27:27):
Is she because to sell her for her skin and
eyes or that was your intention? I'm just so disturbed
on so who are you trying to heal? Like there's
so many randas I don't have it. Well, what are
you what were you going to say?
Speaker 1 (27:48):
I was gonna I was gonna say, uh, more or
less the same thing. This is a crazy story. And
you know, I'm glad it's it's it's it's it's ended
in them being convicted. The only thing, the only thing
that I had, uh in terms of like the whereabouts
(28:10):
of the daughter is that she disappeared in as yet
to be found. So that part I picked up. Yeah, yeah,
I don't know where she is. Uh, you know, none
of that. But this is just an odd story. It's
kind of gross. And these stories make my stomach turn.
You know, I'm a father, and I just I can't
get jiggy with this.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
So and I'm not a mother, and and one day
would like to be right. And so when I hear
these stories about these people who have these kids, and
this is what you're doing with these babies, apparent we're
not protecting them. We're we're trying to sell them for
their eyes and skin. Like it's disturbing and disgusting.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
Yeah, well that's that's the part I thought you were
going to say that I wanted to say, it's disturbing.
Stuck the landing, so we'll leave it right there. Don't
forget These and more stories can be founded be I
in news dot com. As always, i'd like to thank
you very much for your time and your insight. Once again,
today's guest is bi N Senior Editor and news Anchor
Amber Peyton. This has been a production of The Black
(29:09):
Information Network. Today's show is produced by Chris Thompson. Have
some thoughts you'd like to share, use the red microphone
talkback feature on the iHeartRadio app. While you're there, be
sure to hit subscribe and download all of our episodes.
I'm your host Ramsey's Jaw on all social media and
join us tomorrow as we share our news with our
voice from our perspective right here on the Black Information
(29:29):
Network Daily Podcast
Here at the Black Information Network, we know how important
it is for you to start your week off energized, engaged,
and enlightened. There are always major stories that break over
the weekend, and we feel you should know about the
ones we are talking about today. He'll stay tuned for
our weekend recap featuring Bin Senior editor and news anchor
Amber Payton. This is the Black Information Network Daily Podcast.
(00:21):
I'm your host, Ramsey's job, all right, Amber Peyton, welcome
back to the show. I know you've been busy over
there on the East Coast, covering, of course, quite a
few few stories. Anything to disclose, anything to share, any
updates we need to know about before we get into
(00:41):
the games.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
I don't think we have enough time to go through
all the allday man in the world.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
I believe that. I believe that. Well, we'll have to
table that for another day. Let's get to the news.
First up, from the Daily Caller ESPN, Stephen A. Smith
ruled out running for president as a Democrat in twenty
twenty eight during a CNN appearance Sunday, citing dissatisfaction with
the party's current direction. Smith said he's keeping all doors
open for a potential political run, despite admitting he hates
(01:08):
the idea of becoming a politician. Theiring appearance on State
of the Union with Jake Tapper and Dana bash Smith
made it clear this week that a twenty twenty eight
presidential bid under the Democratic banner is off the table
unless the party undergoes a major overhaul. Let's go to
a clip so you can hear it in his own words.
If you were to run for president, though, it would
(01:28):
be as a Democrat or no.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
If I had to run, it would be as a Democrat.
But I'm not happy with the Democratic Party. So the
Democratic Party is presently constructed. It pretty much need to
be purged in order for me to assume that I
would want to be associated with them and I would
go on to their support, because I don't like the
way they've gone about doing a lot of things for
a very very long period of time. And I think
(01:51):
that I don't view Donald Trump as winning the election.
I view the Democrats as losing the election, as absolutely
positively blowing it with some of their actions. And that's
why I think that, you know, again, if somebody was
to associate me with that the party has presently constructed,
where leads so extremely left, or at least have spent
the vast majority of time doing that. Oh, that is
(02:12):
not something that.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
I would vibe with at all.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
I would definitely be looking to be a game changer
in that regard.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
All right, Ember, So what are your thoughts on this one?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
I think that it's very interesting that he is no
longer interested in becoming a politician as soon as he's
a little halfway endorsement from Trump, because in the past
he has been all for it. I remember he made
a statement not too long ago. I had to go
(02:44):
and look it up. He said it in a generalized
way that we all need to come together. He said,
if it continues to get worse, we should all consider
running for crying out loud rather than dealing with this nonsense.
So he said that in a generalized way. But he
also has made the comment you know that we are.
He's leaving all doors open for a possible presidential bid.
(03:06):
Now all of a sudden, when Trump's like, hey, and
he didn't really endorse him, but he didn't. Trump didn't
seem against it either. U. Now, Stephen A. Smith is
like he no, no, never mind, I'm not interested in
being a politician listen. At this point, I think that
(03:27):
I agree with one thing that that Steven A. Smith
said in the past, and that is somebody has to
do something, anybody, but his reasoning, you know, with Democrats
not being I believe people used to work broken. It's
how he Yes, there is some there's some misalignment going on.
(03:50):
I mean, that's been pretty obvious in the news. I just, yeah,
we'll see, we'll see. That's all I got.
Speaker 1 (03:58):
You know, My thing is, I've heard this from a
lot of different people saying that, you know, Democrats missed
the messaging. Democrats, you know, weren't listening to voters. Democrats
didn't have anything in place for the electorate. And that's
effectively what you know, Stephen A. Smith is communicating here again.
(04:19):
And I wish that it seemed that clear to me,
but it just doesn't. I don't think that Democrats really
missed the They weren't listening to voters. They didn't like
Kamala Harris had a plan for black people, she had
a plan for you know, everything, you know, and the
plan wasn't I'm gonna raise tariffs and I'm gonna you know,
(04:41):
roll back DEI and the country is going to be better. No,
there wasn't that. That's a that's a non plan. That's
that's like an aggressive like reaction to a plan, you
know what I mean. Like the DEI initiatives were a
plan to try to offset systemic issues and bring about
social justice and economic justice and so right, and what
(05:02):
Donald Trump has done is a reaction to a plan,
they know. But Kamala Harris and the Democrats, they had
at least some semblance of a plan. Right now. Of course,
I'm not going to agree with anything that everybody puts forth,
but at least it felt like it was based in
building rather than destroying or rolling things back or modifying rather,
(05:23):
you know whatever. But I think the thrust of what
people have been saying about Democrats, I can kind of
see that. I famously said repeatedly that Democrats have missed
the market really one key way. But when I say
this example, you'll see how it translates to other areas. Right,
(05:45):
Democrats were perhaps trying to move toward the center, and
when you're in the center, you kind of get attacked
from both sides. Right, So the Democrats weren't far right
enough for people on the right, you know, they're going
to you know, there's triple Trumpers and the MAGA electorate
(06:09):
and diehard Republicans. They're not like, if you have the
name Democrat, that's a bad word in their mind right,
So it doesn't matter how far right you go, you know,
you're not going to get Republicans. There's something to be
said about the independence and speaking to them. Sure, maybe
that that's something that exists. But Stephen A. Smith made
a point here that I think makes this point. He
(06:30):
said that the election wasn't won by Donald Trump. It
was rather lost by Democrats. So it wasn't that Donald
Trump won. He didn't come through with like, you know,
I got the plan and we're going to do it
my way, and everybody's like, yeah, that's the wave. No,
Democrats just just dropped the ball. And my view is
that they did that because they were trying to move
(06:52):
toward the center to appeal to you know, moderates and
you know, independents and people that were independent but conservative.
They thought that that was fertile ground for them, and
what they ended up doing was losing the people who
are legitimately on the left right. Because that Democratic Party
that ran for the last election was indistinguishable from a
(07:17):
center right party, you know, to a lot of those folks, right,
Stephen A. Smith attacking dims. That's the only real issues
that I have there. You know. The Democratic Party, sure
they're in a tough spot, but for I think different reasons.
It's not because of the Yes, yeah, it was because
they they they're not standing on the business of the party,
(07:38):
you know what I mean. They're trying to mirror what
the other party is looking like instead of offering a
real alternative. So maybe that's what he was trying to say,
Steven Smith was trying to say, and I just heard
something differently, but that was my take. Next up, this
is from Rochester, Minnesota. This is Fox nine in Rochester.
(07:59):
A woman in Rochester, Minnesota, was recorded in a viral
video saying racial slur is when a man accused her
of calling a child the inward at a playground. The
video has since gone viral after being posted on TikTok,
and the woman has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars
after claiming she and her family are in danger and
need to relocate after being threatened to the extreme by
people online. The video shows a woman holding a child
(08:21):
being confronted by the man recording her. The man, speaking
out of the camera's view, asked the woman if she
called another child at the playground the inward. The woman
begins walking away before turning round and calling the man
the inward and making an obscene gesture. Quote. He took
my son's stuff, the woman said, when the man pressed her,
So that gives you the right to call the child
(08:43):
five years old the inward, the man said. And then
the woman comes back says, well, if that's what he's
going to act like, all right. The TikTok clip was
posted by Tizzy and t on Thursday, with the commentary
and more than ten and a half million views as
a Friday. The woman in the video has launched an
(09:03):
online crowdfunding page that has raised more than three hundred
and ninety thousand dollars, with the goal of reaching a million.
The crowdfunding post claims that the video caused the woman
and her family great turmoil after her personal information, including
her address, phone number, and social Security number, were leaked online.
The woman says in the post that she fears her
family will have to move and is asking for donations
(09:24):
to help protect herself and her children and I'm just
gonna have this because this was also in the article.
The NAACP Rochester branch launched its own crowdfunding effort to
raise money for the five year old boy involved in
the incident. Organizers say the money will be used for
legal redress and social justice efforts and support of the
child and family, legal advocacy and accountability efforts, and brought
(09:45):
our social justice and anti racism work in Rochester to
change the culture and ensure that this never happens again.
That fundraiser has raised more than one hundred thousand dollars
with a goal of two hundred and fifty thousand. So
looks like racism has a new dawn in this country.
Because once upon a time you could say you know,
(10:05):
racist stuff and lose your job and you know, lose
your friend circle and people didn't want to be associated
with you. But looks like nowadays you can say it
on video and get four hundred thousand dollars. So thanks
Donald Trump.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
What is let me tell you? I on TikTok Tizzy
and t he catches these stories, his whole pages dedicated
to calling these people out. Yeah, because what when did
people get so comfortable using that word? That word that's
(10:39):
so offensive, everybody's comfortable with it, and four hundred thousand
dollars worth of support behind her racism. Was a child
and she tried to justify it that. I saw the video.
The child that she was holding looked no more than
two hm hmm. You're saying, oh, well, he took my
(11:02):
child's things, their kids, their kids. Yeah, you were looking
for an excuse like that, But four hundred thousand dollars
worth of support, yeah, supporting her racism. I was shocked.
(11:23):
This was not antisynt. This was not his intent when
he posted this video. And I can say that just
based off of his page just in general.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
His whole page is dedicated to.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Calling these people out, and it just it kind of
backfired this time. YE like to post it and then
people say, oh, no, we're going to support her crazy.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
I'm just I don't.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
I don't even I don't know what to say, Ramses,
I don't. Four hundred thousand dollars worth of support racism
is so it's.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
So well, you know, I think people were saying that
this is a response to the fundraising that took place
for the I forget the name of him, but he
was a student on a college campus. Do you remember
this story he was doing on a college campus. He
was defending himself and he killed a white student and
(12:18):
he was arrested for that. I got to look the
story up again. We covered it. I just his name
escapes me right now, but he killed a white student,
I think, so, yeah, there you go. Yeah that was it.
So this is kind of a response to That's what
I think. And when you look at the donors for
this campaign, they're they're using like troll names like Nate
(12:41):
Higgers and like what yeah, they're used to donate money.
It's crazy, man. So it's not just this lady being racist.
It's like all the racist trolls in the world, like
giving money to Kyre coming together and they're supporting each other.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Man, it's a wild time. But you know the wildest
thing is that, you know, I I think that to
add on to what you were saying and to help
make your point, you know, we can look at them
and be like, Okay, these are just babies. These are children.
They don't know. They don't have a proper concept of possession, ownership,
theft that you know, these aren't aren't concepts that have
(13:17):
jailed yet right, But we can say they're just kids
because they are. But we have to also bear in
mind that black children are the only children that don't
get to just be just kids. Well I shouldn't say
the only children, because I mean the same could be
said about you know, our brown brothers and sisters too,
and and so forth. But white children absolutely get to
(13:40):
be children because like, try to imagine the equivalent if
a white child like came into my house. My house
is a fun place to be, right, there's like cool
stuff everywhere or whatever it's and it's like all at
the kid levels. You could grab it and whatever. If
a white child five years old or younger grab something
at my house and then proceeded to leave with it,
(14:04):
if I went up to that child, could you conceive
of me calling that child a racial slur, you know
whatever the white racial slur equivalent to the N word
would be, or would it just be the fact that
he's a child. So you see how black kids that
Now you see what I mean, like black kids. Oh yeah,
you can go right to that. See he's acting like one,
That's what the lady said. So yeah, you know, but
(14:28):
but this is you know, Q and I talk about
this all the time. This is that Trump effect where
these people feel like they are way up right now.
They got all the levers of government that got their
guy in office, and he is on his let's roll
back all of this black stuff. We're gonna get rid
of all of this women's stuff. We're gonna get rid
of all of that. The only thing that that that
doesn't need to be touched or updated or whatever is
(14:52):
anything that has straight, Christian, healthy white men. That's fine.
All the rest of this stuff is woke DEI nonsense.
But hold on, fam like that's how it goes. People
need to vote. I mean I just talked about it.
People stayed home. But like there is a such thing
(15:15):
as it's worse, you know, there's a lesser of two evils.
And for people that was like yo, either way, they die.
So I'm not voting either way. This now affects everything,
not just Palestine. It can always be worse, as illustrated
by this current administration. For a lot of people. It's
a stress fest for a lot of people. I live
in a border state. People who's ancestral, like their family
(15:40):
lived on this land before it was the United States
of America, back when it was Mexico. There's people that
live on this land before Mexico existed, Native people. Right,
All of these people where this is their rightful home,
now live in a more fearful country because the rest
of us didn't want to vote because we thought that
(16:04):
both of the two evils were the same. So some
we all need to keep them mind. Hey, what's up.
Speaker 5 (16:11):
This is Ramsy's jaw and I am q Ward and
we're inviting you to subscribe to Civic Cipher, our weekly
social justice podcast right here in the app.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
We pride ourselves on creating a show that fusters allyship,
empathy and understanding, all the while conducting journalistically credible research
featuring influential, noteworthy yests and empowering historically marginalized communities.
Speaker 5 (16:30):
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 1 (16:37):
That cibic cip h e er right here in the app.
Black Information Network Senior editor and news anchor Amber Payton
is here with us discussing the weekends major stories. All Right,
This from NBC actor Terrence Howard revealed that he refused
to portray Marvin Gaye in a potential film because of
(17:00):
the Motown singer's rumored homosexuality, saying he'd cut his lips
off if he ever kissed a man. The former Empire
star made the comment during a nearly two hour appearance
on Bill Maher's Club Random podcast. Howard went on to
say that the filmmakers would have wanted to explore Gay's
rumored homosexuality and that he could not kiss a man. Quote.
(17:20):
I would cut my lips off, Howard said, if I
kissed a man, I would cut my lips off. Howard
attributed it to him not being able to fake it
and that he could not act a role he did
not understand. Maret told Howard he would not want to
kiss a man either, but I would not do that,
in reference to Howard's self mutilation common Okay, so this
(17:44):
one was intense. So your thoughts.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
To me, Marvin Gaye wasn't He wasn't openly, there wasn't
something else he's so, then why are we putting it
in a movie anyway?
Speaker 1 (17:59):
I guess this is something that the filmmakers. I mean,
there's there's rumors and and and from what I understand,
Terrence Howard went and talked to Quincy Jones before he
passed and kind of verified the rumors with him. For
what that was worth, that while Marvin Gaye was married
(18:24):
to I think he was married twice to two women
that he had enjoyed or preferred or longed for. I
don't know the details of this man's life the company
of men, but this is this is just a rumor,
(18:46):
you know. I I got to make sure that that
that stated. But the filmmakers here said that they wanted
to explore that rumor and that they wanted for uh,
Terrence Howard to I guess kiss a man in the film,
and so you know here we are.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
So I everybody has their boundaries, They have their limits.
All money is not good money to everybody. But if
Marvin Gaye didn't put that in the pub, out in
the public when he was alive, why why why would
we do it now? Why why would that's a good
point a rumor or his privacy? I just like let
(19:30):
that man. People used to say that, and I still
don't know if this is true. People said that about Luther.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
I didn't know that about it. They listen.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
But if he wanted us to know that he wanted
to live by that. He would have told us. Everybody
would have told us.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Okay, I go with that. I go with that. Yeah,
I think there's something to be said about that. You know,
there's some things that people were like this.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
And we're going to honor them then respect their wishes.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
Sure, you know, there's a there's things that have happened
in my life where they don't define who I am.
They're not worthy of going into a film about me,
you know what I mean. But at the time, I
either didn't know any better or whatever. Like I shared
a story on this show before where I stole They
(20:19):
used to have these five cent Ninja Turtle coloring books.
They'll tell you how long ago this was Ninja Turtle
coloring books back in the eighties. Had to have been
like nineteen eighty five. I was born in eighty two,
and I remember that I got these coloring books and
I just took them. I took them out the store.
(20:39):
You know what I was like, Well, I mean, I
don't have five cents, but I'm sure I'll have five
cents at some point in the future, So you know,
I'll I'll report on the ground or something and I'll
bring it back. But these coloring books, these are dope.
They got the Ninja turtles and I just took them
out of the store. Nobody stopped me. I don't eve
think anybody knew. And it was intent. I remember doing
it because I was like, I guess I was conflicted
(21:01):
about it, like should I do this? Is this okay?
But I know that I know now that what the
difference is, But at that time I was questioning. I
was like, no, if I asked, they might tell me no,
and then I can't give them the money later, and so,
you know whatever. But I remember that that memory, and
if that went in a movie about my life, it
would make me seem like a thief, you know what
I mean, And I don't think that I am. And
(21:24):
you know, Toys Rus doesn't exist anymore. And I couldn't
tell you whether or not they got their their five
cents or whatever. But I'm sure they did, you know
what I mean, because you could find five So that
was my thinking. You could find five cents on the
ground and just bring it back. I just don't have
it right now, and I'm not yet. We had to
walk to Toys r Us. I grew up poor, so
this is a Compton, California. So anyway, so I think
(21:49):
your point is well made. But I think that what
I don't want to lose sight of, though, is Terrence
Howard's reaction to portraying a homeless man or homeless a
gay man. Okay, so here's what I here's my thoughts. Yeah,
(22:10):
if you have boundaries, you know, you're in charge of
your physical body, you know, and whether or not you
have a job or whatever. At the end of the day,
you have to live inside of your own skin. And
if you subject your physical body to something that is
inconsistent with your nature, that's a decision you have to
make for yourself. Everyone should be entitled to that. And
(22:32):
for him to say, you know what, I, for the
sake of the art, I cannot subject my body to
something that I'm just not that. I'm not rams this
is not going to go and play a white person
on television. I just don't. My hair won't let me.
You know, what I'm saying does not relax. So, uh,
you know, it's not something I could do. I couldn't
(22:54):
be authentic to it, so I wouldn't try. I can't
play a woman, you know. My voice is too deep.
I had all his hair on my face. You know,
it's just not really it's not that kind of party.
So I understand saying, hey, look, that's not something I
can do. But when you say something as extreme as
I would cut my lips off, that almost makes it
feel like you think that homosexuality is like dirty, or
(23:19):
or like repulsive or something like that. Like I could
not even stand the sight of my lips on my
face knowing that, you know what I mean, Like, it
just seems so extreme, and that type of language, that
type of rhetoric and attitude is very hurtful and dangerous.
I believe to our homosexual brothers and sisters, gay men
(23:41):
in particular, who historically have kind of been like shunned
for something that, in my belief and based on any
natural metric, By natural, I mean occurring in nature is
normal and healthy. It happens, okay, And there's scientific proofs
(24:01):
and so forth of this happening and why it happens.
There's theories and so forth and so on. And the
only thing that really is based on belief is when
you talk about like religion and faith, And the thing is,
we've often been able to prove science and we have
not yet been able to prove conclusively faith right and
(24:23):
so in terms of logic and reason, and I'm not Look,
my father was a minister. We talk about this all
the time. I grew up in a faith tradition Church
of God in Christ, to be specific. But if we
are going to kind of regard each other as brothers
and sisters dispassionately, then I think that having a scientific
method of doing so helps us to remove the mindset
(24:46):
of this is dirty or this whatever. You can disagree
with it and be a faith a person of faith,
you can disagree with and be a person of science.
You could say it's just not for me. But to
kind of suggest directly or indirectly that it's dirty and
that it's gross, and that it would kind of ruin
or taint your body in some way, I think that's
just a bit extreme, and I think that that creates
(25:07):
more harm than it really needs to. You can just say, yeah,
I just that wasn't that was a bridge too far
from me. I just really couldn't see myself in the role.
But God blessed whoever does bring it to life or
you know, I tried to tell them that that part
of the story is not necessary. Marvin Gay has a wonderful,
amazing human story and he's given the world so much,
(25:28):
and something that we didn't know about that was based
off of a rumor doesn't really need to appear in
a film where we're condensing his entire life in you know,
an hour and a half, you know what I mean.
He's worth more than that, and so I think that
your point is well made there as well. So eh,
that's just my thoughts, all right. For the final story,
this from the Black Information Network, Buckle up. This is
(25:50):
a weird one. A South African mother has been convicted
of kidnapping and traffick in charges after allegedly selling her
six year old daughter's eyes and skin to a local healer.
On Friday, May second, Kelly Smith was convicted of trafficking
her daughter, Joshlyn, aged six, following her disappearance in February
of twenty twenty four. Per People, Smith's boyfriend jac Queen Apolos,
(26:10):
I believe that's how it said, and the couple's friend,
Steven O Van Wrinn were also found guilty of kidnapping
and trafficking in charges connection trafficking charges in connection to
Jocelyn's disappearance. During Smith's trial, a neighbor testified that the
mother informed her of plans to sell Joshlyn to a
traditional healer who quote wanted her for her eyes and skin. Quote.
(26:31):
The mother also allegedly said she did something silly and
sold her child to a sangoma. A neighbor also testified
that Smith offered money to those who knew about the
plan to keep them silent. So, uh, I mean, you
know what I'm going to say, but uh, I think
you're probably going to say something similar. So ladies, first, I'm.
Speaker 2 (26:54):
You know, Ramses, I don't quite know what you're going
to say. My I looked at the screen. I had
to look at my face because I am. I think
my face said everything that my mouth just can't.
Speaker 1 (27:06):
That's why I'm like, oh, you're saying what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (27:11):
And where Jesus, where is the daughter? I like that
was my question as I'm listening to you read, I'm like, well,
is she is she okay?
Speaker 5 (27:23):
Is she.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
Alive?
Speaker 2 (27:27):
Is she because to sell her for her skin and
eyes or that was your intention? I'm just so disturbed
on so who are you trying to heal? Like there's
so many randas I don't have it. Well, what are
you what were you going to say?
Speaker 1 (27:48):
I was gonna I was gonna say, uh, more or
less the same thing. This is a crazy story. And
you know, I'm glad it's it's it's it's it's ended
in them being convicted. The only thing, the only thing
that I had, uh in terms of like the whereabouts
(28:10):
of the daughter is that she disappeared in as yet
to be found. So that part I picked up. Yeah, yeah,
I don't know where she is. Uh, you know, none
of that. But this is just an odd story. It's
kind of gross. And these stories make my stomach turn.
You know, I'm a father, and I just I can't
get jiggy with this.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
So and I'm not a mother, and and one day
would like to be right. And so when I hear
these stories about these people who have these kids, and
this is what you're doing with these babies, apparent we're
not protecting them. We're we're trying to sell them for
their eyes and skin. Like it's disturbing and disgusting.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
Yeah, well that's that's the part I thought you were
going to say that I wanted to say, it's disturbing.
Stuck the landing, so we'll leave it right there. Don't
forget These and more stories can be founded be I
in news dot com. As always, i'd like to thank
you very much for your time and your insight. Once again,
today's guest is bi N Senior Editor and news Anchor
Amber Peyton. This has been a production of The Black
(29:09):
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