December 25, 2025 • 28 mins
Part 2 - A Conversation with Marc Morial—President of the National Urban League
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Still broadcasting from the Civic Cipher Studios. Welcome back to
the QR Code. I am your host, ramses Jock Qward
in the building as well, and we are in the
middle of a fantastic conversation with the one, the Only,
the president of the National Urban League, Mark Moreal, and
we will get back to that in just to quick
take a whole lot more Fetustick round four. But right
(00:20):
now we are going to tell you about seven black
women who have launched campaigns for the US Senate in
twenty twenty six, which is making a surge that could
shatter long standing representation records. So I will share from then,
only five black women have ever served in the Senate. Currently,
(00:41):
only Angela also Brooks, the Democrat from Maryland, and Lisa
Blunt Rochester, the Democrat from Delaware, whole Senate seats, making
this the first time two black women have served simultaneously.
Even one victory in twenty twenty six would set a
new record, according to the Bin, Among the cam Dates
who could make history in the Senate is Representative Jasmine Crockett.
(01:04):
We've talked a lot about hershey as the Democrat from Texas,
also a second term congresswoman and a vocal critic of
the Trump administration, who is challenging Senator John Coryn, the
Republican from Texas. A victory would make Crockett Texas's first
ever black US Senator. In Illinois, both Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton,
the Democrat and Republican Robin Kelly, a Democrat sorry and
(01:26):
Representative Robin Kelly, a Democrat, are running for the open
seat of retiring Senator Dick Durbin. Either would become the
first black woman to represent Illinois in the Senate since
Carol Moseley Braun, who left office in nineteen ninety nine.
State Representative Pamela Stevenson, the Democrat from Kentucky, a retired
Air Force colonel, is seeking to succeed retiring Senator Mitch McConnell,
(01:49):
the Republican. A win would make Stevenson Kentucky's first black
member of Congress. In Mississippi, Priscilla Williams Till, a Democrat,
a social justice activist and the cousin of Emmett Till,
another person we've mentioned on the show before. She is
challenging Senator Cindy Hyde Smith, the Republican. The state hasn't
(02:11):
elected a black Senator since reconstruction in the eighteen seventies,
so that obviously would be special as well. Nikaila Jasmine Thomas,
a Democrat, has launched a bid in Oklahoma against Senator
Mark Wayne Mullen, a Republican. If elected, she would be
Oklahoma's first black Senator. Catherine Fleming Bruce, a Democrat, is
seeking South Carolina Sea, challenging Senator Lindsay Graham, the Republican,
(02:35):
where the victory, Bruce would make history as the first
black woman to represent the state in the Senate. All
seven candidates will have to compete in Democratic primaries, with
general elections set for November twenty six. Civil rights and
women's advocacy groups are already mobilizing around fundraising and voter
registration in hopes of yielding historic twenty twenty six election results.
(02:56):
And so this ebony excellence and BABA for what I
would imagine would be obvious reasons. The iveny excellence part, obviously,
these are all black women. The baba because you know,
if you feel aligned with the values of any of
these women, and you are in the various states of
these women, then you have an opportunity to support if
(03:19):
you find yourself aligned with their vision, you can be
an ally to them. I think it is largely understood
that the majority of these women at least are aligned
with a more progressive agenda, and that is typically true
of people that will donate for the ideas that they espouse.
(03:39):
And so it's all there for you. And obviously the
names have been mentioned, so you can check out more
at the various websites. But now it is time to
get back to our conversation with Mark Maria. I want
to ask your opinion on the impact of tariffs on
the country at large and on black buss businesses specifically.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Because the tariff is a sales tax. Okay they call
it a tax.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
It's a form of a tax because it is a
tax on goods that come into the country. It's taxed
at the point of entry into the country, not a
tax like most sales taxes that are imposed at the
point of an end user of final sale. It's a
(04:27):
bit of what in Europe they used to call a
vat value add attacks in any respects it has had
an impact for black consumers. It will make items that
they purchase more expensive because the importer either has to
eat the cost of the tariff, and it eats into
their profits or passing on to the end user who's
(04:50):
the consumer. So it's gonna affect Blacker, It's can affect
all consumers. Second way it affects black businesses is if
you're a black business that imports things from anywhere in
the world, you could be importing and tax and a
tariffsman imposed on those countries. It's going to be more
expensive for you to bring those things in and resell
(05:14):
them in the United States. Or if you're a business
that relies on component parts pieces. Suppose you sell belts,
but you make the belts here, but you get the
buckles someplace else, right, then it's going to make your
product more expensive.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
And I think the tariffs are not well thought out by.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
The Trump economic team because they put, in one hand,
they put tariffs on foreign automobiles. On the other hand,
they put tariffs on components like aluminum steel that domestic
auto manufacturers have to buy to make cars here in
the United States, therefore impacting the domestic automobile manufacturers that
(05:59):
you thought you would help. It.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Look this tariff regime that the administration is a man.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
I call it shoot ready, a yeah, where I've always
been a believer of a tariff is a tool to
level the playing field in.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
The arena of trade. But when you run out and
you just shot gun.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Tariff all these countries with a thought that you could
leverage them into deals, we see that's not worked. And
what the administration has been quietly doing over the last
sixty days is eliminating or reducing many of these tarffs
because they know they know now that in many respects,
this is a failed economic policy.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Okay, well, how about this. When Donald Trump says tariffs
are bringing in tons of revenue and Americans are going
to get money from it, and you know that that
sort of thing that he does, how do you respond, it's.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Exactional one check, one check is not long term economic growth. Okay,
you're basically trying to bribe the public. They just gave
the farmers twelve billion dollars. Okay, what happens when that
money's gone? Are we going to keep subsidizing the farmers
(07:23):
because of the impact of the tariffs? Was at one
time these are not sustainable policies. This is run shoot
from the hip, yeah right, I mean, this is not
a sustainable policy. We gave the government gave our checks
in a pandemic because we were in an health emergency
(07:48):
and people were required to stay at home to keep
COVID from being more contagious and killing even more people.
So yeah, everybody like a check. Okay, fine, you get
a check. What about next year? What about the year after?
Because the only reason you're giving a check is because
(08:10):
your policies are failing. And I thought you were going
to take the COVID money and pay down the deficit.
I mean, not the COVID money, the tariff money paid
down the deficit. Now you say, oh no, I'm going
to give it back to the American people. I mean
these policies, you know, they just smack of, you know,
a little bit of what I call a pickup game
(08:31):
of basketball. Okay, you kind of make it up as
you go along, saying out the football, huddle, huddle, go out,
go to the tree, take a left.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
All right, Oops, you didn't catch the ball. Next time.
I want to go to the garbage can and take
a right. It feels to me, you know.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Yeah, yeah, you're right.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Basketball is saying a lot of football.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Uh, just come on, huddle and draw to play in
the same and you know, sometimes you that's good, but
you can't run a whole season, drawing every play in
the same sure and expect to be a championship team. Yeah,
and so I think the policies have been instinctive, not cohere.
That's why TARIFFA on, TARISA off, negotiations are on, the
(09:14):
negotiations are off, We're gonna have a.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Deal in a week, and none comes. Yeah, that's what
I've heard for most of twenty twenty five. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Well, again, I think your point is well made. When
you talked about the stimulus checks during COVID, there might
have been maybe two of those, and I do remember
Donald Trump fighting to get his name printed on those.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Biden didn't put his name on it, and it hurt
Biden because everyone remembered the Trump check, not the.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Anxiety check exactly.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
And where I was going with that is, you know,
Q and I we talked about this recently too. Now
you mentioned that the president is trying to send seventeen
hundred and seventy six dollars to you know, military personnel,
but that money was also already approved as like a
housing voucher or something like that. Q knows a little
(10:07):
bit more about it than I do. But Trump is
simply rebranding that and then connecting it with tariff revenue,
and that way the American people look at him like, oh,
he's doing this great deed. But I think that the
economics that you laid out speak volumes to the practicality
of it. In the first place, it's a one time payment.
(10:28):
It is not a sustainable life altering adjustment to our
economic philosophy, and so well said, I appreciate you kind
of clarifying that, you know, for our listeners and people
that don't follow those things as closely. I do want
to get your thoughts before we part about DEI, because
(10:50):
this is something this is this is a fight that
has been long fought by you. In fact, you and
I we take notes from you. And you know, there's
a there's a little bit of a positive story out
there saying that there's a study that has found that
DII is not dead according to both Republicans and Democrats
(11:12):
that were surveyed, And you know, I just wanted to
get your thoughts.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Taking a step back and what is diversity equity inclusion?
Speaker 3 (11:20):
That route is the Civil Rights Act of nineteen sixty four,
right exactly, and discrimination and employment based on race, creek, color, religion,
sex slash gender, national arts. Diversity, equity and inclusion like
affirmative action, or a set of steps policies undertaken in
(11:41):
the public and private sector to implement the Civil Rights
Act of nineteen hundred and sixty four, and the terminology
diversity equity inclusion is a term of art. What the
right has sought to do is the same thing the
right tried to do in the seventies, and that is
to suggest that when you commit to equal opportunity, you
(12:04):
are committing to a preference program in favor of those
that are historically been locked out, left out. Let me
say this clearly and on ambiguously. It's a damn lie,
it's a misrepreted station, it's a fabrication, and it's a
smear campaign.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
With diversity.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
When you see diversity equin inclusion, its synonym is equal
opportunity and fairness. And all of this is about is
leveling the playing field so that.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Everyone that has merit has a.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
Chance to apply, to be interviewed and to get the
job and get the promotion, or to get the business opportunity,
or to get the loan. The effort to mischaracterize diversity
equity inclusion has backfired on its attackers. Case in point,
(13:00):
recent public opinion poll that my team can get for
you demonstrates that diversity equity inclusion d and I have
a seventy percent approval rating musty American people wow, and
that the more vigorous the attacks are, the stronger the
support's become.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
So we need I want to make sure you have
that poll, yes, please, because it underscores that loud noise
and smoke should not distract us, that.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
Loud noise and smoke does not reflect the sentiment of
the American people. And now, while there have been many
businesses in have pivotal way, there are also those that
have remained committed. And there are also those that have
tweaked but remained committed a year later. The campaign of
intimidation is a campaign by the government by the administration
(13:56):
intimidate universities, intimidate businesses, intimidate nonprofit institutions. When it comes
to diversity, equity and inclusion, it's about fairness, it's about
equal opportunity. That's the synonym. When people here diversity, equity
(14:16):
and inclusion, they are to understand that what it is
about is the basic principles that this country was founded on.
We hold these troops to be self evident, that all
people are creating people, that no one should be treated
differently under the law, and historically we did and people
(14:37):
had no chance. And when you start creating a chance,
creating an opportunity, somehow that's wrong and that's bad. Those
that promote this are playing mind games, twisting logic, twisting
the truth, and twisting words.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
No one wants. It's not about a preference for anyone, right.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
And I'll give you an example of why discrimination is
stark and real. There's a case out there of an
African American woman, let's call.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
Her uh Cynthia James.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
And Cynthia James is a black woman at a LinkedIn
page with all of her credentials on a LinkedIn page.
Cynthia decided to change her name to Emily James. I
saw this, Yeah, and become a white person with the
same resume she gets thirty times.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Mm hmm, I saw that.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Okay, if that's not an indication of what that's a
real story.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
Yeah. In America, this is so real. People visually see
of they visually see and they respect notwithstanding the exact credentials.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Well, yeah, that that we covered that on the show.
That's actually not the only version of it, but the
LinkedIn one certainly did make a lot of headlines. So
I appreciate you bringing that up to make that point,
because a lot of people were indeed susceptible to the
notion that diversity, equity and inclusion efforts could harm white men,
(16:25):
which is not what it was intended to do, nor
did that actually result in any mindingful harm.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Be honest, if white men had a ninety five percent
of one hundred manager jobs at company A, and five
years later, white men have eighty of the jobs, white
women have ten of them, and black and latinos have
ten of them.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Has that white man been discriminated against?
Speaker 1 (16:57):
And that's your point is well made exactly, So I appreciate.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
And and and and sometimes people think just oh or
less qualified they see a see this is where I
you know, the stereotypes work very, very powerfully in American life.
And for many white men, there's a presumption of competence,
a presumption of qualifications. For many black people, there's a
(17:22):
presumption of incompetence. Sure presumption you've got to prove.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
To me.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
That you can do this job. I'm not even going
to give you the benefit of the doubt or shadow
of that. Now, I'm not gonna say. That's why I'm
not gonna say. I'm not gonna I don't. I don't
call this out in every employer or in every corporation.
I want people to understand that's not what I'm saying.
I'm saying if it happens in one or two employees,
that's one or two too many. We're trying to get.
(17:51):
We're going to get to a meritocracy. Then as true
meritocracy is going to look like America.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Yes, because it's merit in the white community.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
There's merit among blacks, men, women, you know, every community
has got merit talent.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
And I meet you know, I tell people, I meet
so many talented people from all backgrounds. And I meet
people who I don't think are talented. Some white, some
are black, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Some are women.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Well, before we let you go, uh, you know, there's
there's a lot of people that we interact with. They
they call up, they send us messages, all that sort
of stuff, and they understandably have a very bleak outlook
of in terms of you know, what the future holds.
(18:45):
You know, the Supreme Court is one of the things
that keeps people from becoming more optimistic or from looking
towards the future. Obviously, the current administration's heavy handed approach
to you know, education, to you know, the economics, to
you know, uh, civil rights, et cetera. There's a lot
(19:08):
of things that people are dealing with. So before we
let you go, what's one piece of advice you would
give to our listeners to keep them, you know, fortified
and in the fight to you know, make the world
you know better for nothing.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
And I what fortifies me is history. Okay.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
You know, our ancestors, fathers, mothers, grandfather's, grandmothers, you know,
led a freedom movement. They had no votes, they were
locked out of mainstream America, but they led a fight
to create an environment where a civil Rights Act, the
voting rights ACKed, and a fairhousing law and a war
(19:51):
of poverty became a law of the land.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
And imagine the difficulty of those times.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
We cannot give up, we cannot give in, uh, and
we have to be inspired by.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Those that lived before us.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
Sure, and that's the best I mean, it's the only
thing that's tangible and real and understand. Life ain't no
crystal stay. Life, ain't no party. These are difficult times.
These are tough.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Times, but we've got to we've got to work, and
we've got to fight.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
And you know that time was also associated with what
you talked about earlier, and that is where in the
fifties and sixties and seventies people's economics standing no matter.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
What class they were in roles in America.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
Uh. And I also think that when people are active
and involved in the work, involved in politics, involved in
community affairs, involved in professional association.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
You're going to have a lot more affirmation because you're
part of the work to change things. So my appeal
to people is not to be a spectator, not to
be in the grand stand, not to just be an
observer and a watcher. Get yourself involved. Yeah, I like that.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
Well, appreciate you. You're an inspiration. As always, I'm looking forward
to seeing you. I'm hoping on the ground again at
the national Conference National Urban League.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
If you ought me to mark the twenty second of
January at the National Press Club to demand versity round
to twenty second at the National Press Club. The Diniversity
round Table is going to have its second meeting, and
so front and center will be all of the issues
we've discussed today.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
Okay, all right, well then we will be on the
ground in attendance. When when you send over the study,
make sure to include that, and we're there. It's not
a problem at all, mister President Mark Moreal, the President
and CEO of the National Urban League, thank you for
your time.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Thank you, God blessing, Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, and happy quantsam.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Yes, sir, And if I'm honest, that's actually a good
segue into the final story that I want to share
with everyone before we let you go. So I'm going
to share this this from the bin. For enslaved Americans,
the holiday season offered a brief respite enjoy for some,
(22:31):
while deepening fear, separation and control for others. Perhistory dot com,
any white Southern accounts long portrayed the holidays as a
time of generosity and harmony between enslavers and the people
they enslaved. However, historical evidence shows a far more complex reality.
By the eighteen thirty several large slaveholding states, including Alabama, Louisiana,
and Arkansas, declared Christmas a state holiday. During the Antebellum period,
(22:55):
many traditions now central to American Christmas celebrations, including gift giving, feasting, music,
and decoration, became common across the nation or enslaved people.
This often meant the longest break of the year, typically
a few days between Christmas and New Year's Some were
allowed to travel and see family members, attend weddings, or
enjoy foods and clothing unavailable the rest of the year. However,
other slaveholders feared rebellion during holiday gatherings and sometimes responded
(23:18):
with heightened surveillance or harsh punishment. The buying, selling, and
hiring out of enslaved workers continued uninterrupted. New Year's Day,
when many enslaved people were sent away from their families
to work for new owners, became known as Heartbreak Day.
Christmas also reinforced power dynamics through gift giving. Enslavers often
distributed shoes, clothes, money, or food as presents, which were
(23:40):
gestures that emphasized dependence and control rather than generosity. Historian
Stephen Nisselbaum noted that some slaveholders believed holiday gifts were
a more effective tool of domination than physical punishment, and
slave people were rarely expected or allowed to reciprocate, underscoring
the imbalance of power. Christmas, however, also created space for resistance.
(24:02):
The temporary loosening of routine gave enslave people opportunities to
assert autonomy, nurture community, and in some cases escape. Frederick
Douglass said the days between Christmas and New Year's felt
like time that enslaved people regarded as their own. Ellen
and William Kraft Us Christmas travel passes to flee Georgia
for freedom in eighteen forty eight. On Christmas Eve in
eighteen fifty four, Harriet Tubman led her brothers and their
(24:25):
families to freedom after learning they were to be sold.
Cultural expression became another form of resistance in places like Wilmington,
North Carolina, and slave people celebrated John Kerning, also known
as John Connoue, dressing in elaborate costumes, dancing, singing, and
demanding gifts as they move from house to house. Rooted
in West African traditions, the celebration allowed enslaved people to
(24:49):
preserve cultural identity and express joy and humanity in a
society that denied both. Formerly enslaved people have remembered Christmas
as a brief pause in lives shape by forced labor
and loss. While some recalled gifts and food with fondness,
others remembered the season as a reminder of everything they lacked,
including control over their labor, their families, and their futures. So, yeah,
(25:12):
that was something that I wanted to share because I
recognize how limited life was for people once upon a time.
You know, Q and I we have these conversations and
we talk about what we're missing, what we want from
(25:33):
this country, and lately we've been talking about what is
being eroded. But you know, I do my best to
frame where we stand currently properly, and that's to frame
it against the backdrop of where we could have stood.
We are not slaves, we're not born slaves, and we
(25:53):
do have freedoms. We do have things that are worth celebrating.
There is a reason to smile, there is a reason
to be happy community, and I just want us to
remember that it's all about context. We have come a
long way, and in the scale of a country, we
are progressing, and I don't want us to lose sight
of that. On scale of a lifetime, we might be losing.
On the scale of a country, we are definitely progressing.
(26:13):
And before we go. I want to leave us with
a song from Sweet Honey in the rock of the
group I mentioned earlier in the show. This song is
called The Women Gather. With that in mind, have a
great holiday and happy New Year, and we'll see you soon.
Speaker 5 (26:30):
He was her only child, her baby boy.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
She was his second daughter, of.
Speaker 5 (26:39):
Father's pride and joy, somebody's mother, brother, best friend, sister,
love maybe and a one student.
Speaker 6 (26:50):
Run and hide and.
Speaker 7 (26:52):
Take and cover, oh in and gather crime. There's a
fill a million oceans.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
It doesn't matter.
Speaker 7 (27:01):
Away you're living. The women gather crime tears that fill
a million ocean.
Speaker 5 (27:08):
People say, not in this neighborhood, it doesn't happen. Our
kids have everything.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
What do we have to fear?
Speaker 5 (27:22):
But what Ablco wants to say, This happens a great
big blogs and violence take our children.
Speaker 6 (27:31):
How much more doesn't come our way?
Speaker 7 (27:34):
The women gather crime tears that fill a million oceans.
It doesn't matter.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Away you're living.
Speaker 7 (27:43):
To the women and gather crying tears that fill a
million oceans.
Speaker 6 (27:48):
Don't you know some ball that's by their targets bombs
can take you right, don't you Some men thy hands,
a babies or a fi shows.
Speaker 7 (28:00):
And their crew with the king. The brother had a
gui the profile and marble, cry.
Speaker 5 (28:08):
And dide and taking comfort did and take the time
to look somebody's model brother, best francessan lover.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
The women and gather crime tears.
Speaker 7 (28:22):
I fell a million oceans. It doesn't matter where you're living.
The women gather criant tis A fill a million oceans.
It doesn't matter where you're living. The women gather crime tears.
I fill a million oceans.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
It doesn't matter where you're living.
Speaker 7 (28:48):
It doesn't matter, It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter where
you're living.
Still broadcasting from the Civic Cipher Studios. Welcome back to
the QR Code. I am your host, ramses Jock Qward
in the building as well, and we are in the
middle of a fantastic conversation with the one, the Only,
the president of the National Urban League, Mark Moreal, and
we will get back to that in just to quick
take a whole lot more Fetustick round four. But right
(00:20):
now we are going to tell you about seven black
women who have launched campaigns for the US Senate in
twenty twenty six, which is making a surge that could
shatter long standing representation records. So I will share from then,
only five black women have ever served in the Senate. Currently,
(00:41):
only Angela also Brooks, the Democrat from Maryland, and Lisa
Blunt Rochester, the Democrat from Delaware, whole Senate seats, making
this the first time two black women have served simultaneously.
Even one victory in twenty twenty six would set a
new record, according to the Bin, Among the cam Dates
who could make history in the Senate is Representative Jasmine Crockett.
(01:04):
We've talked a lot about hershey as the Democrat from Texas,
also a second term congresswoman and a vocal critic of
the Trump administration, who is challenging Senator John Coryn, the
Republican from Texas. A victory would make Crockett Texas's first
ever black US Senator. In Illinois, both Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton,
the Democrat and Republican Robin Kelly, a Democrat sorry and
(01:26):
Representative Robin Kelly, a Democrat, are running for the open
seat of retiring Senator Dick Durbin. Either would become the
first black woman to represent Illinois in the Senate since
Carol Moseley Braun, who left office in nineteen ninety nine.
State Representative Pamela Stevenson, the Democrat from Kentucky, a retired
Air Force colonel, is seeking to succeed retiring Senator Mitch McConnell,
(01:49):
the Republican. A win would make Stevenson Kentucky's first black
member of Congress. In Mississippi, Priscilla Williams Till, a Democrat,
a social justice activist and the cousin of Emmett Till,
another person we've mentioned on the show before. She is
challenging Senator Cindy Hyde Smith, the Republican. The state hasn't
(02:11):
elected a black Senator since reconstruction in the eighteen seventies,
so that obviously would be special as well. Nikaila Jasmine Thomas,
a Democrat, has launched a bid in Oklahoma against Senator
Mark Wayne Mullen, a Republican. If elected, she would be
Oklahoma's first black Senator. Catherine Fleming Bruce, a Democrat, is
seeking South Carolina Sea, challenging Senator Lindsay Graham, the Republican,
(02:35):
where the victory, Bruce would make history as the first
black woman to represent the state in the Senate. All
seven candidates will have to compete in Democratic primaries, with
general elections set for November twenty six. Civil rights and
women's advocacy groups are already mobilizing around fundraising and voter
registration in hopes of yielding historic twenty twenty six election results.
(02:56):
And so this ebony excellence and BABA for what I
would imagine would be obvious reasons. The iveny excellence part, obviously,
these are all black women. The baba because you know,
if you feel aligned with the values of any of
these women, and you are in the various states of
these women, then you have an opportunity to support if
(03:19):
you find yourself aligned with their vision, you can be
an ally to them. I think it is largely understood
that the majority of these women at least are aligned
with a more progressive agenda, and that is typically true
of people that will donate for the ideas that they espouse.
(03:39):
And so it's all there for you. And obviously the
names have been mentioned, so you can check out more
at the various websites. But now it is time to
get back to our conversation with Mark Maria. I want
to ask your opinion on the impact of tariffs on
the country at large and on black buss businesses specifically.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Because the tariff is a sales tax. Okay they call
it a tax.
Speaker 3 (04:05):
It's a form of a tax because it is a
tax on goods that come into the country. It's taxed
at the point of entry into the country, not a
tax like most sales taxes that are imposed at the
point of an end user of final sale. It's a
(04:27):
bit of what in Europe they used to call a
vat value add attacks in any respects it has had
an impact for black consumers. It will make items that
they purchase more expensive because the importer either has to
eat the cost of the tariff, and it eats into
their profits or passing on to the end user who's
(04:50):
the consumer. So it's gonna affect Blacker, It's can affect
all consumers. Second way it affects black businesses is if
you're a black business that imports things from anywhere in
the world, you could be importing and tax and a
tariffsman imposed on those countries. It's going to be more
expensive for you to bring those things in and resell
(05:14):
them in the United States. Or if you're a business
that relies on component parts pieces. Suppose you sell belts,
but you make the belts here, but you get the
buckles someplace else, right, then it's going to make your
product more expensive.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
And I think the tariffs are not well thought out by.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
The Trump economic team because they put, in one hand,
they put tariffs on foreign automobiles. On the other hand,
they put tariffs on components like aluminum steel that domestic
auto manufacturers have to buy to make cars here in
the United States, therefore impacting the domestic automobile manufacturers that
(05:59):
you thought you would help. It.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Look this tariff regime that the administration is a man.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
I call it shoot ready, a yeah, where I've always
been a believer of a tariff is a tool to
level the playing field in.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
The arena of trade. But when you run out and
you just shot gun.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
Tariff all these countries with a thought that you could
leverage them into deals, we see that's not worked. And
what the administration has been quietly doing over the last
sixty days is eliminating or reducing many of these tarffs
because they know they know now that in many respects,
this is a failed economic policy.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Okay, well, how about this. When Donald Trump says tariffs
are bringing in tons of revenue and Americans are going
to get money from it, and you know that that
sort of thing that he does, how do you respond, it's.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Exactional one check, one check is not long term economic growth. Okay,
you're basically trying to bribe the public. They just gave
the farmers twelve billion dollars. Okay, what happens when that
money's gone? Are we going to keep subsidizing the farmers
(07:23):
because of the impact of the tariffs? Was at one
time these are not sustainable policies. This is run shoot
from the hip, yeah right, I mean, this is not
a sustainable policy. We gave the government gave our checks
in a pandemic because we were in an health emergency
(07:48):
and people were required to stay at home to keep
COVID from being more contagious and killing even more people.
So yeah, everybody like a check. Okay, fine, you get
a check. What about next year? What about the year after?
Because the only reason you're giving a check is because
(08:10):
your policies are failing. And I thought you were going
to take the COVID money and pay down the deficit.
I mean, not the COVID money, the tariff money paid
down the deficit. Now you say, oh no, I'm going
to give it back to the American people. I mean
these policies, you know, they just smack of, you know,
a little bit of what I call a pickup game
(08:31):
of basketball. Okay, you kind of make it up as
you go along, saying out the football, huddle, huddle, go out,
go to the tree, take a left.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
All right, Oops, you didn't catch the ball. Next time.
I want to go to the garbage can and take
a right. It feels to me, you know.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Yeah, yeah, you're right.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Basketball is saying a lot of football.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Uh, just come on, huddle and draw to play in
the same and you know, sometimes you that's good, but
you can't run a whole season, drawing every play in
the same sure and expect to be a championship team. Yeah,
and so I think the policies have been instinctive, not cohere.
That's why TARIFFA on, TARISA off, negotiations are on, the
(09:14):
negotiations are off, We're gonna have a.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Deal in a week, and none comes. Yeah, that's what
I've heard for most of twenty twenty five. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Well, again, I think your point is well made. When
you talked about the stimulus checks during COVID, there might
have been maybe two of those, and I do remember
Donald Trump fighting to get his name printed on those.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Biden didn't put his name on it, and it hurt
Biden because everyone remembered the Trump check, not the.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Anxiety check exactly.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
And where I was going with that is, you know,
Q and I we talked about this recently too. Now
you mentioned that the president is trying to send seventeen
hundred and seventy six dollars to you know, military personnel,
but that money was also already approved as like a
housing voucher or something like that. Q knows a little
(10:07):
bit more about it than I do. But Trump is
simply rebranding that and then connecting it with tariff revenue,
and that way the American people look at him like, oh,
he's doing this great deed. But I think that the
economics that you laid out speak volumes to the practicality
of it. In the first place, it's a one time payment.
(10:28):
It is not a sustainable life altering adjustment to our
economic philosophy, and so well said, I appreciate you kind
of clarifying that, you know, for our listeners and people
that don't follow those things as closely. I do want
to get your thoughts before we part about DEI, because
(10:50):
this is something this is this is a fight that
has been long fought by you. In fact, you and
I we take notes from you. And you know, there's
a there's a little bit of a positive story out
there saying that there's a study that has found that
DII is not dead according to both Republicans and Democrats
(11:12):
that were surveyed, And you know, I just wanted to
get your thoughts.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Taking a step back and what is diversity equity inclusion?
Speaker 3 (11:20):
That route is the Civil Rights Act of nineteen sixty four,
right exactly, and discrimination and employment based on race, creek, color, religion,
sex slash gender, national arts. Diversity, equity and inclusion like
affirmative action, or a set of steps policies undertaken in
(11:41):
the public and private sector to implement the Civil Rights
Act of nineteen hundred and sixty four, and the terminology
diversity equity inclusion is a term of art. What the
right has sought to do is the same thing the
right tried to do in the seventies, and that is
to suggest that when you commit to equal opportunity, you
(12:04):
are committing to a preference program in favor of those
that are historically been locked out, left out. Let me
say this clearly and on ambiguously. It's a damn lie,
it's a misrepreted station, it's a fabrication, and it's a
smear campaign.
Speaker 2 (12:21):
With diversity.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
When you see diversity equin inclusion, its synonym is equal
opportunity and fairness. And all of this is about is
leveling the playing field so that.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Everyone that has merit has a.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
Chance to apply, to be interviewed and to get the
job and get the promotion, or to get the business opportunity,
or to get the loan. The effort to mischaracterize diversity
equity inclusion has backfired on its attackers. Case in point,
(13:00):
recent public opinion poll that my team can get for
you demonstrates that diversity equity inclusion d and I have
a seventy percent approval rating musty American people wow, and
that the more vigorous the attacks are, the stronger the
support's become.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
So we need I want to make sure you have
that poll, yes, please, because it underscores that loud noise
and smoke should not distract us, that.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
Loud noise and smoke does not reflect the sentiment of
the American people. And now, while there have been many
businesses in have pivotal way, there are also those that
have remained committed. And there are also those that have
tweaked but remained committed a year later. The campaign of
intimidation is a campaign by the government by the administration
(13:56):
intimidate universities, intimidate businesses, intimidate nonprofit institutions. When it comes
to diversity, equity and inclusion, it's about fairness, it's about
equal opportunity. That's the synonym. When people here diversity, equity
(14:16):
and inclusion, they are to understand that what it is
about is the basic principles that this country was founded on.
We hold these troops to be self evident, that all
people are creating people, that no one should be treated
differently under the law, and historically we did and people
(14:37):
had no chance. And when you start creating a chance,
creating an opportunity, somehow that's wrong and that's bad. Those
that promote this are playing mind games, twisting logic, twisting
the truth, and twisting words.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
No one wants. It's not about a preference for anyone, right.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
And I'll give you an example of why discrimination is
stark and real. There's a case out there of an
African American woman, let's call.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
Her uh Cynthia James.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
And Cynthia James is a black woman at a LinkedIn
page with all of her credentials on a LinkedIn page.
Cynthia decided to change her name to Emily James. I
saw this, Yeah, and become a white person with the
same resume she gets thirty times.
Speaker 1 (15:40):
Mm hmm, I saw that.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Okay, if that's not an indication of what that's a
real story.
Speaker 3 (15:48):
Yeah. In America, this is so real. People visually see
of they visually see and they respect notwithstanding the exact credentials.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Well, yeah, that that we covered that on the show.
That's actually not the only version of it, but the
LinkedIn one certainly did make a lot of headlines. So
I appreciate you bringing that up to make that point,
because a lot of people were indeed susceptible to the
notion that diversity, equity and inclusion efforts could harm white men,
(16:25):
which is not what it was intended to do, nor
did that actually result in any mindingful harm.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Be honest, if white men had a ninety five percent
of one hundred manager jobs at company A, and five
years later, white men have eighty of the jobs, white
women have ten of them, and black and latinos have
ten of them.
Speaker 2 (16:54):
Has that white man been discriminated against?
Speaker 1 (16:57):
And that's your point is well made exactly, So I appreciate.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
And and and and sometimes people think just oh or
less qualified they see a see this is where I
you know, the stereotypes work very, very powerfully in American life.
And for many white men, there's a presumption of competence,
a presumption of qualifications. For many black people, there's a
(17:22):
presumption of incompetence. Sure presumption you've got to prove.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
To me.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
That you can do this job. I'm not even going
to give you the benefit of the doubt or shadow
of that. Now, I'm not gonna say. That's why I'm
not gonna say. I'm not gonna I don't. I don't
call this out in every employer or in every corporation.
I want people to understand that's not what I'm saying.
I'm saying if it happens in one or two employees,
that's one or two too many. We're trying to get.
(17:51):
We're going to get to a meritocracy. Then as true
meritocracy is going to look like America.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Yes, because it's merit in the white community.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
There's merit among blacks, men, women, you know, every community
has got merit talent.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (18:07):
And I meet you know, I tell people, I meet
so many talented people from all backgrounds. And I meet
people who I don't think are talented. Some white, some
are black, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (18:19):
Some are women.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Well, before we let you go, uh, you know, there's
there's a lot of people that we interact with. They
they call up, they send us messages, all that sort
of stuff, and they understandably have a very bleak outlook
of in terms of you know, what the future holds.
(18:45):
You know, the Supreme Court is one of the things
that keeps people from becoming more optimistic or from looking
towards the future. Obviously, the current administration's heavy handed approach
to you know, education, to you know, the economics, to
you know, uh, civil rights, et cetera. There's a lot
(19:08):
of things that people are dealing with. So before we
let you go, what's one piece of advice you would
give to our listeners to keep them, you know, fortified
and in the fight to you know, make the world
you know better for nothing.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
And I what fortifies me is history. Okay.
Speaker 4 (19:30):
You know, our ancestors, fathers, mothers, grandfather's, grandmothers, you know,
led a freedom movement. They had no votes, they were
locked out of mainstream America, but they led a fight
to create an environment where a civil Rights Act, the
voting rights ACKed, and a fairhousing law and a war
(19:51):
of poverty became a law of the land.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
And imagine the difficulty of those times.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
We cannot give up, we cannot give in, uh, and
we have to be inspired by.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Those that lived before us.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
Sure, and that's the best I mean, it's the only
thing that's tangible and real and understand. Life ain't no
crystal stay. Life, ain't no party. These are difficult times.
These are tough.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
Times, but we've got to we've got to work, and
we've got to fight.
Speaker 3 (20:35):
And you know that time was also associated with what
you talked about earlier, and that is where in the
fifties and sixties and seventies people's economics standing no matter.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
What class they were in roles in America.
Speaker 3 (20:54):
Uh. And I also think that when people are active
and involved in the work, involved in politics, involved in
community affairs, involved in professional association.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
You're going to have a lot more affirmation because you're
part of the work to change things. So my appeal
to people is not to be a spectator, not to
be in the grand stand, not to just be an
observer and a watcher. Get yourself involved. Yeah, I like that.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
Well, appreciate you. You're an inspiration. As always, I'm looking forward
to seeing you. I'm hoping on the ground again at
the national Conference National Urban League.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
If you ought me to mark the twenty second of
January at the National Press Club to demand versity round
to twenty second at the National Press Club. The Diniversity
round Table is going to have its second meeting, and
so front and center will be all of the issues
we've discussed today.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
Okay, all right, well then we will be on the
ground in attendance. When when you send over the study,
make sure to include that, and we're there. It's not
a problem at all, mister President Mark Moreal, the President
and CEO of the National Urban League, thank you for
your time.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
Thank you, God blessing, Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, and happy quantsam.
Speaker 1 (22:10):
Yes, sir, And if I'm honest, that's actually a good
segue into the final story that I want to share
with everyone before we let you go. So I'm going
to share this this from the bin. For enslaved Americans,
the holiday season offered a brief respite enjoy for some,
(22:31):
while deepening fear, separation and control for others. Perhistory dot com,
any white Southern accounts long portrayed the holidays as a
time of generosity and harmony between enslavers and the people
they enslaved. However, historical evidence shows a far more complex reality.
By the eighteen thirty several large slaveholding states, including Alabama, Louisiana,
and Arkansas, declared Christmas a state holiday. During the Antebellum period,
(22:55):
many traditions now central to American Christmas celebrations, including gift giving, feasting, music,
and decoration, became common across the nation or enslaved people.
This often meant the longest break of the year, typically
a few days between Christmas and New Year's Some were
allowed to travel and see family members, attend weddings, or
enjoy foods and clothing unavailable the rest of the year. However,
other slaveholders feared rebellion during holiday gatherings and sometimes responded
(23:18):
with heightened surveillance or harsh punishment. The buying, selling, and
hiring out of enslaved workers continued uninterrupted. New Year's Day,
when many enslaved people were sent away from their families
to work for new owners, became known as Heartbreak Day.
Christmas also reinforced power dynamics through gift giving. Enslavers often
distributed shoes, clothes, money, or food as presents, which were
(23:40):
gestures that emphasized dependence and control rather than generosity. Historian
Stephen Nisselbaum noted that some slaveholders believed holiday gifts were
a more effective tool of domination than physical punishment, and
slave people were rarely expected or allowed to reciprocate, underscoring
the imbalance of power. Christmas, however, also created space for resistance.
(24:02):
The temporary loosening of routine gave enslave people opportunities to
assert autonomy, nurture community, and in some cases escape. Frederick
Douglass said the days between Christmas and New Year's felt
like time that enslaved people regarded as their own. Ellen
and William Kraft Us Christmas travel passes to flee Georgia
for freedom in eighteen forty eight. On Christmas Eve in
eighteen fifty four, Harriet Tubman led her brothers and their
(24:25):
families to freedom after learning they were to be sold.
Cultural expression became another form of resistance in places like Wilmington,
North Carolina, and slave people celebrated John Kerning, also known
as John Connoue, dressing in elaborate costumes, dancing, singing, and
demanding gifts as they move from house to house. Rooted
in West African traditions, the celebration allowed enslaved people to
(24:49):
preserve cultural identity and express joy and humanity in a
society that denied both. Formerly enslaved people have remembered Christmas
as a brief pause in lives shape by forced labor
and loss. While some recalled gifts and food with fondness,
others remembered the season as a reminder of everything they lacked,
including control over their labor, their families, and their futures. So, yeah,
(25:12):
that was something that I wanted to share because I
recognize how limited life was for people once upon a time.
You know, Q and I we have these conversations and
we talk about what we're missing, what we want from
(25:33):
this country, and lately we've been talking about what is
being eroded. But you know, I do my best to
frame where we stand currently properly, and that's to frame
it against the backdrop of where we could have stood.
We are not slaves, we're not born slaves, and we
(25:53):
do have freedoms. We do have things that are worth celebrating.
There is a reason to smile, there is a reason
to be happy community, and I just want us to
remember that it's all about context. We have come a
long way, and in the scale of a country, we
are progressing, and I don't want us to lose sight
of that. On scale of a lifetime, we might be losing.
On the scale of a country, we are definitely progressing.
(26:13):
And before we go. I want to leave us with
a song from Sweet Honey in the rock of the
group I mentioned earlier in the show. This song is
called The Women Gather. With that in mind, have a
great holiday and happy New Year, and we'll see you soon.
Speaker 5 (26:30):
He was her only child, her baby boy.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
She was his second daughter, of.
Speaker 5 (26:39):
Father's pride and joy, somebody's mother, brother, best friend, sister,
love maybe and a one student.
Speaker 6 (26:50):
Run and hide and.
Speaker 7 (26:52):
Take and cover, oh in and gather crime. There's a
fill a million oceans.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
It doesn't matter.
Speaker 7 (27:01):
Away you're living. The women gather crime tears that fill
a million ocean.
Speaker 5 (27:08):
People say, not in this neighborhood, it doesn't happen. Our
kids have everything.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
What do we have to fear?
Speaker 5 (27:22):
But what Ablco wants to say, This happens a great
big blogs and violence take our children.
Speaker 6 (27:31):
How much more doesn't come our way?
Speaker 7 (27:34):
The women gather crime tears that fill a million oceans.
It doesn't matter.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Away you're living.
Speaker 7 (27:43):
To the women and gather crying tears that fill a
million oceans.
Speaker 6 (27:48):
Don't you know some ball that's by their targets bombs
can take you right, don't you Some men thy hands,
a babies or a fi shows.
Speaker 7 (28:00):
And their crew with the king. The brother had a
gui the profile and marble, cry.
Speaker 5 (28:08):
And dide and taking comfort did and take the time
to look somebody's model brother, best francessan lover.
Speaker 2 (28:19):
The women and gather crime tears.
Speaker 7 (28:22):
I fell a million oceans. It doesn't matter where you're living.
The women gather criant tis A fill a million oceans.
It doesn't matter where you're living. The women gather crime tears.
I fill a million oceans.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
It doesn't matter where you're living.
Speaker 7 (28:48):
It doesn't matter, It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter where
you're living.
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