February 12, 2025 • 55 mins
In this engaging conversation, Tamika D. Mallory and Mysonne the General discuss the launch of Tamika's new book, the significance of Black History Month, and the importance of community engagement. They delve into the challenges faced by the civil rights movement today, particularly in light of recent corporate decisions, such as Target's rollback of DEI initiatives.
In this conversation they invite their friend pastor Jamal Bryant, who emphasizes the need for the black church to re-emerge as a community leader and outlines specific demands for Target to honor its commitments to black businesses.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm Tamika d. Mallory and this.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Shit boy my son in general.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
We are your host of TMI.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
Tamika and my Son's information, truth, motivation and.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Inspiration, new energy. But what's going on? My son, Lennon?
Speaker 3 (00:16):
I am blessed, black and Holly favored. How you feel
into it?
Speaker 1 (00:19):
You're doing good. I'm doing good.
Speaker 4 (00:21):
It's been a few days. The book is now released.
It's just twenty four hours since release time.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
Don't we need a thing ring ring around here for
our celebratory moments. So I'm excited, you know, I'm I'm
already I've already been on the road.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
You know.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
I am super grateful to all of my friends who
have opened up doors to their churches, their everything, their
community centers, anything you can think of. People have and
are continuing to work to make sure that I have
the most successful launch of my book as possible.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
I live to tell the story.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
I live to tell the story, and I am I'm
really really grateful. What makes me emotional because you know,
you reach out to people. Some people you reach out to,
they tell you they're gonna call you back, or they're gonna,
you know, put you on and.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
I haven't had much of that.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
In fact, it's always surprising to me, Like every single
time in my life, I am surprised by those who
do right.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
And doing right does not mean doing it.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
So it's like a confusing thing that some people think
when you say, oh, you know, you did right by me,
that that means that you just did whatever I wanted
you to do.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
No, it's just communication.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
If I'm supposed to be your friend or somebody that
you know, you have any kind of cordial relationship with,
and I'm asking you to do something, don't commit and
then not commit, you know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Like, that's just so whack to me. I try not
to do that.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
I'm not saying that I'm not guilty at times of
making mistakes and you're supposed to call somebody back or whatever.
But you know, certain people, they see you, they know
you're constantly texting them reminder. At the reminder, you're asking
them like, hey, you know.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Can we follow up? Can we do this thing?
Speaker 4 (02:25):
If you don't want to do it, just say no,
just say you know what, it's not the right time
for me. I'll never forget another friend of ours. I
have been reaching out to her a friend of ours.
I've been reaching out to her to have me on
her national TV show about something that we were doing
and it was work related, it wasn't for me personally,
(02:46):
and she just.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Hit me back and was like she called me on
the phone.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
She's like, Hey, Sis, I just want to make sure
we have a verbal conversation because I don't want to
decline over text or email and it, you know, not
have the full context for what it is. She's like,
but right now we're covering X y Z thing on
the show, and if I put you on, what you're
doing kind of like gives an excuse to the motherfuckers
(03:12):
that's doing this other thing. You know what I'm saying, Like,
what you're doing, You're trying to come up with this solution,
which I respect, but it contradicts the fact that we're
laying out right now every week, the different things that's
happening from these people, right And she's like, so it
just doesn't it doesn't work like it's pivoting in a
(03:33):
moment when we're hard on a point that's being made.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Well, why is the industry like that?
Speaker 3 (03:39):
And it's it's a thing that I've always had an
issue with, right because it's accepted in the industry and
a lot of people like us who just are authentic
that like, I'm gonna get on the phone and say
I can't do something, well, I'm gonna say I can
do it right.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
And I don't know why it's.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
So hard for people to have that level of just
communication respects. See it's somebody that I've and I'm gonna
do it to a person that I really don't even know, right,
I've done shit for people that random people have come
up to me say hey, I want you to do something.
I'd be like, and I think about okay, cool, and
once I say cool, we gonna figure it out. Or
or some people have come to me and said I
(04:16):
need you to do something, but I can't really do that,
you know what I'm saying. And some people don't like
that you said, but it's honest. I'm just being honest.
I'm not in a position to do it. I don't
have the time to do it, so I don't want
to commit myself to something I can And I don't
know why it's so hard within this industry, just all
of this industry that people don't know how to do that.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Yeah, well, I mean I.
Speaker 4 (04:34):
Think, you know, sometimes you think people respect you, and
then sometimes you find out that they really don't.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
And that's just what it is.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
And I think in this particular situation where I was
saying about the friend who told me this is a
veteran you know, in the media world, somebody who's like,
you know, understands that relationships are everything. You know what
I'm saying, and so it's just different. Also, this particular
individual who let me know, like I can't have you on,
(05:05):
they also have a commitment to our culture. They have
a commitment to the movement and all of that. So
it was like, you know, out of respect for you,
I'm gonna let you know that it just doesn't fit
in what I'm doing. But I can help you here.
I could do this, I want to do that. Let's
see what else we could do.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Boom. I'm okay with you just saying it just don't work.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
Have a nice day, But to say, okay, send me
the information. Oh yeah, definitely, anything I could do. Oh
for sure, Yes, definitely. Oh I want to support you
for sure.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
For sure.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
And then every time you send them this stuff, every
time you try to get a date a time locked in,
they don't even say to you, well, those dates and
times that you give and don't work, just give me
a couple of weeks. I'm gonna get back to you
about what I actually can do, so you don't have
to just keep texting the air.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
You know what I'm saying. It's just wag. So I
just don't you know, it's okay.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
Because I know now as I'm getting older, you learn
things about people and then you just place them in
certain buckets, you put them in certain categories. And so
I guess that's one aspect of this, but I have
but the one the people who are showing up, are
they outweigh anybody, outweigh anybody who hasn't for me? And
(06:17):
so I'm just you know, I don't even know. It's
like I want to be right, like, oh my god,
and this happened. I got people doing major book buys
in different cities, Folks purchasing one hundred books, two hundred books,
three hundred books.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
People just you.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
Know, doing their thing, and I want to be all
like whoo about it, But instead I have a you
know how we get when we work. It's very serious
for me, like I'm like, I need to keep my
eyes on all of this stuff. So that's what I'm doing,
is not getting too excited about anything, just being grateful
(06:53):
to God, staying stable, and remembering that writing the book,
doing the initial marketing, and starting a tour is only
the beginning. The reason why people don't have the type
of success that they want to see is because they
quickly as soon as they get it out the gate,
(07:13):
then it's over when the real work actually starts. When
you're like on the track. It's not the getting up okay, cool,
you get up in the morning. That's big because nobody
wants to.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Get up in the morning to go work out.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
Most people. Some people do, but most people don't want
to get up in the morning. So that's a big part.
It's just waking up and getting yourself there. Then you
got to put your cute outfit on or whatever you're
gonna wear. That's another part of it. You get your stretching.
You did all of that, and then you start running.
Once you start running, you gotta run. And that's where
(07:48):
I'm at now. Now I'm in the running stage, So
I'm excited. I live to tell a story is out
right now. Please if you do not have I know
some folks did not want to pre order because you
want the book to be in your hand as soon
as you order it. Now is the time the book
is released. It was released yesterday, twenty four hours ago.
And I'm asking that you please go and order my
(08:11):
second book. You know, order the first one too, State
of Emergency.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Both of you.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
Can pick up my book right now. So right now,
that's the deal.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Yes man, that's dope.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
So I have a super short thought of the day
today because we have to get our guests on and
actually he doesn't have a lot of time, so we
need to be quick. But I saw a couple of
days ago it might be yeah, like last week that
during Black History Month, the White House has announced that
they are going to be celebrating American history, and they
(08:47):
don't want to do, you know, any particular cultural things,
so no Black history. They want to focus on American history. Now,
you and I know that a large part of their
plan is to restore the white male as being the
dominant force in our society.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
We know it.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
It's in Project twenty twenty five, which they are clearly
laying out.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
They doing their thing. We know what's going on.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
But I thought about it and I said, you know what,
I'm actually not going to be offended by this because
they're right.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
They are right.
Speaker 4 (09:20):
Our history here on this soil is American history. It
is not Black history. It is American history.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
But the problem is they're not going to give our party.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
I know that, but I'm just saying they actually don't
even realize that they might be going in the right direction.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Why would they have.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
To celebrate American history during Black history? Like I don't understand,
Like why would you replace black history with American history?
Speaker 4 (09:47):
Is because we know why. But I'm saying that sometimes
what you mean for bad can actually turn out to
be good. Still gonna teach in their homes in the
they still gonna.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
I call it Black American.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
Look, they still gonna teach about enslavement. They're gonna teach
about Tolsa, Oklahoma. They gonna teach about Rosewood. They're gonna
teach about Martin Luther King. They're gonna teach about Malcolm X.
They gonna teach about Rosa Parks. What what's some of
the other things they.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Teach about Black panthers.
Speaker 4 (10:18):
They don't teach about black pet Frederick Douglas Obama, Obama family.
They don't teach about saying what do they currently teach
white people in general?
Speaker 5 (10:36):
Loud?
Speaker 2 (10:37):
They teach you about like Martin Luther King.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
So they teach you about I went because I went
to a high school, I mean junior high school.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Charles all Drew, you know, and he started blood transfusions.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
He was one of those, and he he did a
lot of things to plasma out of blood, utilized it, frozen,
sent it to the army.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
He saved many lives with it. So he did a
lot of things.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
So they teach you about invention. But they don't want
to teach you about them shackles. They don't want to
teach you about segregation. They don't want to teach you
about Jim Crow. That's what they're trying to do is
to leave out the part that they claim is designed
to make white people, white kids feel guilty. No, feel guilty,
(11:21):
that's what they say. But we understand what the white
Washington history is. They've always wanted to do that, and
so you know, my thought of the day is, I
think they're right. They should teach black history in the
context of American history because almost everything that know, everything
that they've done to us is American history. And to
(11:44):
be clear, even our accomplishments, despite what they've done, that's
American history.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
We built this.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Country, as as our.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
Sister Angela Ras says, we built this country for free.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
So it's a history, it's for free.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
So now we need to jump to our guests so
that we can make sure we don't lose him. And
we want to talk about the target, protests, the target,
the response to target. You know, so many people have
so many things to say, and I think that what's
necessary for us is to continue to inform, to continue
to learn, to continue to draw on history because we've
(12:27):
been here before. And I think that our guest that
is coming up, the Reverend doctor Jamal Bryant, He's got
a lot to say, so let's get into it.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Jamal Harrison, Brian Harrison.
Speaker 4 (12:42):
So our brother friends, you know, joining us our friends.
That's what we do on this show. That's what they say,
y'all all about your friends. Y'all don't have me on
the show. You have is your friends on the show.
But we got friends that do a lot of important things.
And our brother we are in the trenches all the time.
We don't he does not need a long introduction. If
(13:04):
you don't know who passed, Jamal Bryant is at this
point in your life, God help you. I was in
church a few weeks ago, months ago, a couple months ago,
and I was so embarrassed by my behavior. When I
left that church, I couldn't believe I cried and yelled
and cut up the way that I did at New
(13:24):
Birth Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, in Lathonia, Okay.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
In the in the community with the people.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
And let me just say real quick, we are extremely
proud of you and what you've been able to do.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Jamal. You know you have.
Speaker 4 (13:44):
We've been there with you through so many different phases
of your life.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
You know I have. It's been many, It's been many.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
But but what I do, I don't even mean all
of the stuff, because you know, I get the fighting
and cussing people out because I can talk different from you.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
You I ain't. I'm not a clergy woman, so.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
I say shits and ass and mfs and everything when
they mess with you. But what I mean is that
your ministry has expanded extraordinarily in terms of how you
know when you you you've always used whatever resources you
had to do as much as you can do. But
now we're seeing you literally use new birth, you using
(14:25):
do they know you using them at that church to
do go this this incredible work, community work in a
way that I just think it's just so marvelous. And
so I just want to say, because we never really
give one another our flowers as we should, I'm really
really proud of what you're doing there in Georgia, and.
Speaker 6 (14:47):
Thank you for being my second sister entertainment. Yes, yes,
it's taking through.
Speaker 5 (14:52):
Both of you all, but we were gonna have I
know you got a book coming out, but we're gonna
have to write a book probably after about ten people.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
We have the way until people well, you know what
in my book, I say that I talked in a
few places, I say I would tell you who did
this thing to me, or I would tell you who
said this, but I can't because they're still alive.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
So when it soon soon come listen.
Speaker 6 (15:20):
We can't cancel Black History Month twice.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Right, yes we will.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
Everybody don't need to know everything that had happened, right,
So anyway, thank you for joining us today. We wanted
to jump on and really talk about our most recent efforts,
which you know I have been saying over and over
to the many people who I think have some either
disconnect from history, either they don't know, they don't want
(15:50):
to know, or they are purposely distorting history. When we
talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion and how it all
came about, we know that. And you know this from
working in the NAACP and working with alongside so many organizations.
And of course we all, whether we directly associate or
(16:11):
understand or come straight out of the Rainbow Push Coalition,
we all know the work that Reverend Jackson and people
like him were doing when we were kids to ensure
that there was access for black folks within these corporate spaces.
And it was not It wasn't work that just happened overnight.
(16:33):
White people didn't just wake up one day and say, oh,
we like black people and we just gonna open up
our boards and open up the shelves and give more
jobs and spend more money and donate more resources. That
didn't happen overnight. It was a struggle. It was a fight,
and we know from doctor King and others, but we
in our time. I would say that Reverend Jackson is
(16:55):
one of the individuals that I watched literally kicked down
doors of major corporations to provide opportunities for people. And
it was little ladies like my mother and maybe you
know aunts grandmothers who were out there protesting day and night,
that didn't have resources, They didn't have millions of dollars,
(17:18):
they didn't.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Have social media.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
But if they knew that a particular corporation was disrespecting
someone or some part of our community, them people held
the line day and night, They boycotted, they did whatever
they had to do. And it wasn't about one business.
It was about access. It was about ensuring that you
do not have You don't letting people know you don't
(17:40):
have the right to set up a business in our community,
and then we can't get jobs there. We can't be
on the board, we can't have any influence on what
happens within these corporations, within these businesses. And so when
I hear people saying to hell with DEI doesn't need
to be reimagined. Absolutely, should it be, you know, the
twenty first century version of it. Certainly all of that,
(18:02):
you know, have other people benefited, certainly, but we should
never desecrate and dismiss the work that was done in
order to get us to where we were just a
couple of weeks ago. So I just wanted to put
that on the table, and I know you can speak
to that. And so here we are in this moment
where companies are beginning to, in our judgment, power to
(18:28):
Donald Trump and the Maga trump Ism, this new culture
that they are are trying to shape in America. And
we see companies companies that our people have found as
a home. So Target, for one, is a place that
black women go to and stay for four hours.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
We do this.
Speaker 4 (18:50):
Yeah, And so you know when we see Target as
one of those companies that it's said that they are
rolling back their DEI stuff and they're going to be
moved being away from some of what we know them
to be and how we became sort of partners with
Target in the first place. There are people who are
very upset about it, people who have decided that they
(19:10):
will never I see people saying they wouldn't care what
we tell them, They ain't walking back in Target for
the rest of their well, for whatever amount of time.
And so I wonder, you know, for you, what does
this moment mean? Why are you so passionate about it?
There's so many fights going on, but this one is
(19:31):
important to us, and I'm sure that it has a
lot to do with sort of the history of how
we got our beginnings in the civil rights movement.
Speaker 5 (19:41):
The heartbeat, to make a mice of what we have
done has really centered around aggressive policing and not so
much about the next phase of civil rights, which is
civil silver rights. Is that this is a critical moment
I believe for the revival of the movement and.
Speaker 6 (20:04):
A resurgence of the relevance of the Black church.
Speaker 5 (20:07):
A lot of gen zs and alphas can't tell you
the names of the heads of historic civil rights organizations
or of pastors, and so this is really bringing to
bayar those of us who have gotten comfortable and rested
on our laurels until it became iamic uh. And so
I think that we really are going to have to
(20:29):
be vigilant, but we're gonna have to be patient. We've
got along four years and so much has been thrown
out in the first two weeks. They're talking about before
this week ends dismantling the Department of Education and putting
them back to the States. The Secretary of State Rubio
(20:50):
is talking about how it is that other countries will
house our undocumented citizens, residents, and even some Americans. There's
so many fights that are getting ready to come that
the President has mastered the art of confusion, throwing so
many things at one time that we're.
Speaker 6 (21:09):
Going to really have to be focused on what we
focus on definitely.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
You know, in this moment, I've been saying for the
last two weeks that this is just different to me,
Like we've been around and we've been fighting in this movement.
You guys have been doing it way longer than me.
And maybe it's just me, but I feel like the
way that this this attack and the way that these
attacks like you know, the art of confusion, and it's
(21:34):
so many different ones that one time you can't put
the fire out. It's like different holes in the boat
and you're trying to put one little cover one up.
It just feels different to me. So I want to
ask you that I want you to give me your
opinion on how it feels.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Does it feel the same.
Speaker 5 (21:48):
It's just like it fels like I'm watching black and
white footage. Fel like I am some way in a
time capsule, stuck on a bus stop between Salm and Montgomery,
I feel like, really, we're doing the electric slide backwards,
that all of the progress that was made before we
got here we are now having to defend. They're gutting
(22:11):
out the Civil Rights Act, they're trying to ban books,
trying to stop the teaching of our history, stuff that
we thought was long past behind us. To have to
roll up our sleeves this is a terrible rerun. Well,
we already know the story because we watched this movie before,
and so having to fight it again is unnerving. But
(22:35):
it is also focusing because we know what has to have.
We've got to unify, we have to be unintimidated, we've
got to walk with carriage. We've got to know that
we're on the side of right even when the majority
is wrong. And so that's where I feel like we are.
Speaker 4 (22:51):
And you know, and what I hear you saying is
exactly what I believe and what I have attempted to
articulate to folks who are like, well, why are we
boycotting you know this particular company, or you guys are
doing a fast why are we and you can talk
a little bit about that, please, you know, why not
(23:11):
all the companies? Why not do this? Why not go
pick it outside the White House? Why not do this
thing for me? With us not being able to And
when I say us, I'm talking about the country not
being able to vote for in the midterm elections for
the next two years. Then you won't be able to
do anything about Donald Trump for four years. Right now,
(23:36):
it seems that our economic power, as you said, silver rights,
is going to be the most important tool we can
use to show our protests to what we see going
on around us. I'm not saying that we shouldn't do
other things. I'm not saying we shouldn't be on the streets.
I see people in California and other places rising up,
(23:56):
and I'm glad to see that. But I think that
when and we have, you know, our spending power, what
is it more than one point four trillion dollars a year,
I think we can speak pretty loudly with how we
spend our money or not where we spend our money
or where we don't. And also our physical presence. You know,
some people say, well, go into the store and buy
(24:19):
certain things off the shelves, and I understand, you know,
not wanting to see black businesses suffer. We have some
solutions to that, but I don't even know that.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
I know. For me, I couldn't.
Speaker 4 (24:32):
I would not even walk inside of a place where
I know that at one point you told me that
George Floyd could have been your worker, and that your
heart was hurt, and you as a CEO wanted to
be a partner with the community. And now all of
a sudden, we shift all the way to the point
where you don't even want to report on the report
(24:53):
card from the Human Rights Commission to tell us that
you still have are sticking to your original no values.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
There's something wrong with that.
Speaker 4 (25:02):
So do you see this as a larger part of
the movement or do you feel like it's just one
thing that we just need to get rid of one
company and move on.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (25:13):
I don't think that it is an incident as much
as we are seeing a culture not evolving but regressing,
and so you're getting ready to see it because, to
be clear, as you have spoken to so clearly, it
is not just Target, It's also Walmart, It's also Ford
Motor Company, is also McDonald's. It is also so many
(25:36):
other organizations who we feel portrayed by because we've given
our loyalty through our dollars, and so we're having to
reevaluate relationships and see the ones that are one sided
and those that are toxic. And so this is really
puberty for our people because our voice is getting ready.
Speaker 6 (25:54):
To change, and our skin is clear enup.
Speaker 5 (25:57):
We can see the tree from the forest, and so
I think that there's gonna be a real demarcation for
those who are with us and those who are not.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
So I just want you to speak to because we
have these conversations every day with our community. Two things
d I don't help us, So what are we fighting
for it for?
Speaker 2 (26:13):
Right? And then it's what do we boycott?
Speaker 3 (26:15):
Why we got a boycott, why we don't do this,
and why we boycotts don't work? You know, I want
you to speak to those two things because these are
conversations that we have and I want you to speak
to them and break them down.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
And if the terms the only way.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
You can give me some clip, I need a clip,
I need a good.
Speaker 5 (26:37):
So to be clear, I want to go backwards our diversity,
equity and inclusion. The number one recipient is not black people,
it is white women. The group that has benefited the
most has been Latino community. I got to add as
an asterisk that if it is built off of meritocracy,
(26:58):
as the presidency just it should be as Elon Musk
infers that it should be, then the main recipient should
be black women. Black women hold sixty percent of all
master's degrees in this country. So we understand clearly and
fluently that we have not been the full beneficiaries. It
(27:19):
is part of our responsibility, and our singular focus of
target is not saying ignore the other ones, but we
wanted to make sure that this institution, because they're publicly traded,
we can track the impact, we can see where our
growth is, and we can count our dollars because they
are a publicly traded company. And so it does not
say that we're not going to get around the mcdillards.
(27:41):
That I ain't saying we're not coming around the Walmart,
because we shall if they do not come to their
consciousness the thing that is so critical for us that
we can never forget. And I am a son of
the movement, I'm a disciple of the movement. I got
to say it to you, and it's read that you're
here just saying the one doctor King's speeches that broke
(28:03):
Montgomery the one Ralph Abernathy's speeches that broke Montgomery. It
was the economic impact. And once they broke the economic
impact of that city, that's when they came to the tape.
I don't believe under this administration we can bring the
best orders in the world. But we saw to Mik
(28:24):
and Mice at the inauguration. The front roar of the
inauguration was not the cabinet, It was not international diplomats,
it was business people. Because the President was saying, what
I respect is money. And if we've got the twelfth
largest consumer base in the world, if we don't use
(28:45):
it collectively, then we're going to miss it. I'm telling
you that the twelve million dollars is what Roland Martin
suggests that is spent on the data that he has found.
Speaker 6 (28:55):
To Mika and I haven't seen.
Speaker 5 (28:57):
It yet, but that's what Roland Martin has reported on
his show, that we're spending twelve million dollars a day.
Let's say that that's right. Let's says all. Let's say
it's wrong. But you all, I got a g D.
Y'all do twelve million by fifty by three hundred and
sixty five, that's a whole lot of money.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
That's a whole lot of money.
Speaker 6 (29:16):
That's a whole lot of money.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
That's a whole lot of money for three months, for
five months. And by the way, even if it was
only one million dollars, you don't deserve it if you
don't want to respect me and maintain the values that
you told me you had, so regardless of it, and yes, absolutely,
our impact is important that we need to be able
to measure it, but we also ought to be taking
(29:39):
on a posture of respect me, respect me, right, Yeah,
And so that's why I wouldn't go back to Target,
just because I know the game that's being played, and
I think to your point, one at a time, right,
we don't need to give you. Know. Yes, people are
saying I won't order anything from Amazon. I ain't going
back to McDonald's. I don't go to Starbucks. I got
(30:01):
a list. I'm off Starbucks, Nike, Gucci, we're still trying
to get you with us.
Speaker 6 (30:08):
On Gucci support da da.
Speaker 4 (30:12):
Okay, Well that's fine, that's fine. That's why we kind
of all right, all right, all right, it's cool. So
we I don't do we Gucci. I don't wear blinds
Yaga like I drop brands all the time, so it's
not really hard for me. And I do also support
black brands. You wear a lot of stuff. Why don't
(30:34):
you talk about some of the black brands that you
support that help you with your wardrobe and your jewelry.
Speaker 5 (30:40):
Listen, all of the jewelry is from Ghanna. This is
from the Year of the Return.
Speaker 6 (30:45):
Go back to Ghana. But I always support mini vendors.
Speaker 5 (30:50):
Whether it's a glass Bow, whether it's Starstruck that makes sweatsuits,
I gotta get one from ice, all of them in
every different way. And that's why I partnered in this
past with the US Black Chamber of Commerce. It is
a digital directory of thirty thousand black vendors. Whether it's cologne,
(31:12):
whether it's black soak, whether it's incense, whether it's paper towel,
thirty thousand. Those of you looking for black vendors in
any area, you got to go to buy black dot com.
Go to buy black dot com. That's where I go.
That's where I get my children stuff from. That's where
I get that backpacks. You got to do it, and
so as much as I can, I try to support
(31:32):
black vendors in every area of my life.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
Last thing before you go.
Speaker 4 (31:37):
I just wanted you to talk about some of the
goals of our fat you're doing a fast, which I
think you should also talk about that, because you're being
very specific when you talk about the reemergence of the
Black church as being at the forefront of the movement,
and so therefore is a certain type of language that
you're using and a way that you're getting people organized
(31:59):
to talk about and then also talk about the goals
of what it is that we're attempting to accomplish.
Speaker 6 (32:04):
Thank you.
Speaker 5 (32:05):
First of all, this is the largest demographic mice in
the history of black people in America. This is the
largest demographic of Black people.
Speaker 6 (32:15):
Who don't go to church, the largest.
Speaker 5 (32:18):
Demographic of our history of being in this country who
don't subscribe to organized religion. And it is the largest
demographic who identified themselves as atheists. They have lost respecting
honor for the church and for pastors, and so I
want to go a different path on.
Speaker 6 (32:38):
A spiritual journey.
Speaker 5 (32:39):
So it is not just basting from target, but forty
days of prayer for Christians to go back in a
prayer posture, to pray about what's taking place in the
nation and how it is that we spiritually confront it.
So that's why I chose that Linton season is from
ash Wednesday to Good Friday leading up to Easter Sunday.
(33:01):
Is I wanted this to be a spiritual journey for people.
What we are asking for is because the Saying's true
power concedes nothing without a demand.
Speaker 6 (33:12):
My son to Miking, myself were.
Speaker 5 (33:15):
In Minneapolis when George Floyd. After George Floyd was killed,
and Target made a commitment, a two billion dollar commitment
to undergird black businesses drum roll and to do it
by December twenty twenty five. So for you to break
(33:37):
that commitment in January before the deadline of that fruit,
I'm asking you to honor the commitment you made to
George Floyd's family and to the African American community. We're
also asking that you would that not you, but that
Target would help partner with ten HBCUs to help them
(33:59):
learn in their business department how to scale their businesses
and how to do retail. Eight out of ten black
businesses a run out of people's houses and they only
have one employee.
Speaker 6 (34:11):
How do I scale how to go to retail?
Speaker 5 (34:13):
Because where we have been scrammed, Black is where do
we redirect people? And with a trillion dollars, we're a
spending power and we don't have a black department store
that direct people in means that we've got to do
a different kind of job. Our third is we're asking
for Target to do a quarter of a billion dollars
(34:34):
in black banks, because these black businesses can scale if
they don't have a black black bank backing them and
pushing them to get to the next level. So we're
asking them to honor what their original commitment is and
what it is that they were doing prior to the
emergence of Donald John Trump, and to hold fast to
(34:54):
the commitment that they made to black people.
Speaker 4 (34:57):
And you know, I saw that you and Senator Nina Turner.
Let's give her some love as well, the Honorable Senator.
Speaker 1 (35:09):
Nina Turner.
Speaker 4 (35:09):
She was talking about ensuring that Target restores their original
DEI language and that they would state emphatically that they
are continuing with their di program. And I think that's
important because as someone else said to me, and you know,
(35:31):
you can tell me what you think about this, well,
maybe they have to change the name so that they
are not targeted pun intended. But why is it that
JP Morgan Chase and others can is it J pul
Morgan Chase, It's Costco And there's others on the list
that are maintaining their divert Ben and Jerry's. We love
(35:51):
Ben and Jerry's that are maintaining their diversity, equity and
inclusion language and they're saying we stand and buy it.
So how why is it that we should be we
should give I mean target a pass. Do you feel that, oh, well,
maybe they should just change the language just so that
the administration won't look at them as being a bad apple.
Speaker 5 (36:13):
No, I think they need to go ten toes down
and reinforce the language so that we see an impact
and the difference for the black community as well as
I don't want the jobs just to be entry level,
but in those management positions, I think we got to
turn the heat up a little bit because they got
away with just getting by.
Speaker 6 (36:33):
As you just said, they're.
Speaker 5 (36:35):
Not reporting to the HRC, and I think that that
needs to be added as well.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
Yeah, me too, same here.
Speaker 4 (36:42):
So I thank you for making it very clear because
there's some people, and you know, some of our own
people can be very confused when it didn't come from
their mouths first. But I think that this is a
space for all of us. Know one of us knows
how to do or can eat first of all. Let
me put this put it this way. The algorithm does
(37:04):
not even allow us to get the information to all
of our people. So for all those who are believers,
if you're a pastor and you're trying to figure out,
don't wait for somebody. Do like Michelle Obama said, what
did she say, consider yourself invited.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
You are invited into it right now. We need you
sign up.
Speaker 4 (37:26):
They can go to targetfast dot org.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
Target.
Speaker 6 (37:31):
Let me insert this to MAKA.
Speaker 5 (37:33):
As a people, we've got to understand you don't need
singular leadership, that's right?
Speaker 6 (37:39):
Or do you need singular vision? That's right?
Speaker 5 (37:42):
And so different people are doing different approaches and different
tactics around the Target Fast. It's towards the end goal.
I stand by the honorable Nat Turner. I'm walking alongside
uh and grateful to do it in a different kind
of past capacity. My focus is to drive and to
undergo heard the Black church community as much as we can.
(38:04):
But this is not in conflict or in competition. It
is in complement with what my dear sisters already started.
Speaker 4 (38:11):
Yeah, we give her credit for a starting because we
know to start is not always easy. It's you know,
all the doubts in your head, what they're gonna say,
who's gonna be with me?
Speaker 6 (38:20):
You know?
Speaker 1 (38:20):
Will we fail?
Speaker 4 (38:22):
But and so when she called me and asked me
uh to join her, I said yes first, and then
we figure it all out as we go because I
know that she. I know that Nina Turn is somebody
who loves black people. She's brilliant, She's a brilliant organizer.
And I think what you've said here is so true.
It's not gonna be the best orator. It's gonna be
the best organizers.
Speaker 1 (38:42):
That's what. That's what's gonna matter in this.
Speaker 6 (38:46):
On the shirt.
Speaker 1 (38:47):
Yes, that's right, So it is what it is.
Speaker 4 (38:50):
I appreciate you, my brother, for always being steadfast. When
we talked about Ben and Jerry, I laughed because my
last argument that I had in the comments was about
you being in the ice cream shop.
Speaker 1 (39:04):
Was the ice cream shot, you know.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
And I had to fight next thing.
Speaker 3 (39:11):
You know, you gotta you gotta a side, You got
somebody right by your side. You got a life, man,
You got a life, mate all over, shout out the
pastor Brian, our brother. See he breaks it down on
(39:32):
the way, Only he can't because you'll be trying to say,
I'll be trying to get it. But and then I
was like that because I watched Jamal. I wanted to
ask him, but you know, he had like going on.
But I was watching his interview with Cam Newton and
Kim new was talking about yeah, he was talking, Yeah,
he was talking about black on black violence, and he
(39:52):
broke it down to the simplest compound to where he
said because Kim was like, well, you know a white
man had to tell me that. You know, we focus
on what happens with the police killing my people, but
you know most of the killing comes within our community,
So why we don't focus on that? And Jamal broke
him down so politely and calmly and with facts and
(40:14):
and eloquently that came. Was just sitting there, Okay, I
just I'm just saying, listen, I'm just saying, that's what
I wanted to hear, and that's what he did.
Speaker 2 (40:25):
Just now.
Speaker 4 (40:25):
So shout out to past, help the brother.
Speaker 2 (40:30):
Help the brother. Do you think he needs more help?
Speaker 1 (40:34):
I'm not going to give him a opinion that man
ain't done nothing to me.
Speaker 2 (40:37):
So some of his opinions.
Speaker 4 (40:40):
Just just you know, he's just an interesting individual. But
you know what, it seems that, you know, people like
him so good.
Speaker 3 (40:50):
Like his honesty, right, even if it's not. I don't
agree with a lot of things he says, but I
enjoyed the honesty and his willingness to actually listen. Right,
So when you when you have a conversation with somebody
who's actually listened, even if their opinion is so off,
and it actually listened to yours and they don't just
he just because that's what I think, he's very intelligent, right,
(41:11):
because he just doesn't listen just to respond and just
ignore you, like you'll say something like I was watching
him with the lady doctor Brant, and they were having
a conversation, and every time she said something, you could
tell that it sparked something that he was thinking it
was okay. And even though they probably he didn't probably
change she didn't change his mind completely, but she made
(41:33):
him rethink things. It made him, you know, restructure and
say that. So well, maybe I didn't think about it
that way, you know, so I enjoy that part about it.
But it's definitely some things I could see when I'm
listening to him, I'll be like, yeah, Tomiga to me,
wouldn't be okay with this right here, So I get
what you saying right now, but shout out to him
(41:53):
and brings me to my I don't get it right
because we talked about things that you don't. So look,
I I love Kanye like like I loved the Kanye
that it used to be.
Speaker 2 (42:10):
Right, there was there was this college drop.
Speaker 3 (42:12):
There was this young, vibrant young man who was just
the most creative artist, who was passionate, who was honest,
who was raw, who was he didn't pretend to be
this tough guy, you know, he didn't pretend to be
a part of anything.
Speaker 2 (42:29):
He was his own individual self right, and we loved that.
Speaker 3 (42:33):
I love to hear him say things that the average
person wouldn't say, right.
Speaker 2 (42:38):
I loved it.
Speaker 3 (42:39):
He was talking about he was surrounded by all of
the gangsters and state property being in them, and he
said that he told him, y'all not gonna disrespect me.
Speaker 2 (42:49):
I know I can't beat you, but I'm just not
gonna let you.
Speaker 3 (42:52):
Like it was just it was a young a boy,
but that was a man, but he wasn't the toughest guy,
but he just had heart, right, And I love that
this new Kanye and what he's morphed into is is
kind of It's just depressing to me, you know it
really it really is right because it's not like and
and the thing that I don't get, right, it's not
(43:13):
even just that he's morphed into this.
Speaker 2 (43:16):
It is the fact that the culture embraces it so much.
Speaker 3 (43:22):
Right, They don't matter how disrespectful it is, how unrealistic
it is, how demoralizing it is to him and everybody
around people seem to gravitate to it. I was watching
him tweet on x and talking about Kamala Harris and
talking about how he wanted to f her but then
(43:43):
she lost, so he doesn't f losers, right, And I'm
saying to myself, what would make a man get on
on the platform and talk about the form of vice
president of black woman like that?
Speaker 2 (43:55):
What would make you think that was okay? Right?
Speaker 3 (43:58):
Like and believe that he might be dealing with mental health.
But if he's dealing with mental health, then we got
to treat it like that, right.
Speaker 2 (44:05):
We can't. We can't keep enabling.
Speaker 4 (44:08):
A lot of people that agree with that, they agree
with that behavior. I mean, I just think that what
you're trying to reach for has been shown to you
over and over again that even some of the men
that you have once respected, people who you you know,
have broke bread with, done music with, spent time with,
(44:34):
you know, just respected in general. I think that the
most recent election proved to you that they hate women.
Speaker 1 (44:41):
I mean, it's just.
Speaker 2 (44:42):
It's not even so much I believe I think it is.
I think.
Speaker 1 (44:49):
They have been because.
Speaker 3 (44:50):
There's a demographic of men that hate women, and there's
no other explanation for based on what they've shown and
what they continue to do. You know, I just watched
him bring his wife, you know, to the to the
the red carpet, and just had the lady naked.
Speaker 4 (45:07):
On the well, I'm not gonna say had the lady
oh he was, Well, I refuse and the one have
been the number of people whoever to and by the way,
I agree with you that a man should be a
head of his house. That's what say. And so a
man does set the tone.
Speaker 3 (45:22):
But the thing is that you want to tell you
what I know it was stage because he bragged about it.
He went on the next day, and he bragged about
the fact that her the views of people talking about
her was more than the views of the Grammys, and
it was some type of accolade for him, like he
was excited to do it.
Speaker 4 (45:39):
I understand what you're saying, but I'm just saying I
want to be real, real careful with language, because I
have watched in the comments section a number of people
say she's being forced. I don't believe victim and he's
making her and I don't believe, and well, let me
(46:03):
say like this, it could be. It could be that
she's that they both have severe mental health problems, because
that's what I think is going on. And you know,
perhaps there's an influence over her that he holds and
she's doing things that maybe outside of who she truly is.
Speaker 1 (46:26):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (46:26):
I never saw this girl before this, and I know
other people have because she's not just a new person.
Speaker 1 (46:32):
She's I think she might have been a model or
something like that.
Speaker 4 (46:35):
I don't know, but there has to be some personal
responsibility as.
Speaker 2 (46:41):
As a woman.
Speaker 4 (46:44):
Yeah, and as a it's not even really just in
a response to you, but I'm just saying as a
woman or as a individual, you have to be able
to take some responsibility for your own actions. Everything can't
just be attributed to the black man forced made you know,
(47:07):
and and and did whatever to you know. To get
a person to act outside of themselves, we have to
also look at people and say, the attention, the likes,
the views, whatever weird ways that they go about getting it,
they appreciate some of it, and if not, I guess
we'll find out. But what I don't like is that
(47:30):
in x amount of time, when she wants to try
to return to a private life or return to, you know,
a life as a victim, that all of a sudden
we don't assign any responsibility.
Speaker 1 (47:44):
Is he wrong?
Speaker 4 (47:44):
You already know we got plenty to say about that. Absolutely,
this is his environment. He's bringing his wife there. He
should be a protector of his wife and all of that. Yes,
I think, you know, being sexy we saw as somebody
sent us. I think LaToya sent it to us to
show Sierra and Rihanna and different ones who have worn
(48:11):
very sheer pieces in the past. But we all know
that what Bianca had on the other day didn't come
on that was that was a whole difference.
Speaker 2 (48:20):
It was a stocking sleeve.
Speaker 3 (48:23):
And I don't believe there was any undergardments and just
did I didn't understand it.
Speaker 4 (48:28):
But I just still want I just still want her
to have some responsibility.
Speaker 3 (48:36):
She's a grown woman, like I mean, there was no
there was no handcuffs and there was no order to
I didn't even hear the man saying a word.
Speaker 1 (48:44):
No, they spoke.
Speaker 4 (48:45):
They I zoomed on in because I wanted to see
what the energy was. He was saying something to her,
she was saying something. He sets up and she was like, yeah,
you know whatever, and she did her thing.
Speaker 1 (48:56):
We don't know.
Speaker 4 (48:57):
He could have said to her, you know what I
told you, you better do it. I can't say that
he didn't do that.
Speaker 2 (49:02):
Well, I don't think he said it.
Speaker 1 (49:03):
I'm just saying he could have.
Speaker 4 (49:05):
I'm saying, I'm saying that I'm not about to be
here saying what he's doing or not doing to her.
I'm saying that she has a personal responsibility as well
to not go on a red carpet knowing that young people,
you know, elderly people are watching the Grammars. It is
(49:26):
a family occasion. The Grammys is not for twenty one
and older. You could be fourteen, fifteen, thirteen, twelve, whatever age.
In fact, I don't know if she wants us to
say her name, so I won't. But one of our
friend's children was literally peeking off the side of the
off the red carpet and saw this happen. So I'm
(49:50):
not I refuse to take any responsibility from her. But
you wasn't saying that we should.
Speaker 2 (49:54):
I'm not.
Speaker 3 (49:55):
I'm just saying I'm just My whole point was, I
just don't understand how we don't watch this man spiraling right,
just mentally spiraling, just you know, out of control, and
we embracing it and we actually egging it on. And
it's just like for me, it's just like I'm not entertained.
I'm just not entertained by crassness.
Speaker 2 (50:19):
You know what I'm saying. It's not even classy to me.
Speaker 3 (50:21):
It's like, you know what I'm saying, like just saying
anything out your mouth just to get people to pay
attention doing anything like that's not that's not that's not
no free like what they say the free thinker is,
it's classless. You know, like if you just if you
have to say and do the bottom the most bottom
feed and ship to get somebody's attention. It's just like
and it's not And I don't want to and I
(50:43):
don't want to seem like I have any hate or
anything towards the mand Just like, but what what are
you actually trying to accomplish? You know, you've equated money,
if you've equated money with some level of honor and dignity,
Like everything now is I got more money and I'm
a billionaire, and I'm this and that, like there you
to be a Kanye that had a moral compass, right,
(51:04):
But but.
Speaker 4 (51:05):
People listening to you say this, they're they will say
to you that he became enlightened. I mean after his
first bout, his first try and not try, he was
very successful, that he learned.
Speaker 1 (51:23):
About who really holds the purse.
Speaker 4 (51:27):
Strings, the pocketbook strings, and how far you as a
black entertainer, black design or black whatever can go without
the interference of all the different elements that we know of, right,
we know it all exists. There are people who is
a small amount of people who literally hold all the
(51:50):
wealth and they hold the control over whether what artists
make it, which ones don't, Who gets the market and
dollars who don't You know when they decide that you've
gone too far, said too much, did a thing, they
tossed you out. And people know that, and people are
looking for a way to make to bring their.
Speaker 1 (52:08):
Voice uh and and their uh.
Speaker 4 (52:11):
They want to they want to challenge systems and challenge
things that they see in front of them that's wrong.
And so whether he's saying it properly or not, they
just admire a person that's bold enough to just say
whatever the fuck, even if he's saying poopity.
Speaker 1 (52:28):
Scoop, Hello scoop.
Speaker 4 (52:31):
Even if that's what he's saying, Okay, that becomes bold.
Speaker 3 (52:35):
I mean, I guess, but that's what I'm saying. And
I just that's why I said, I don't get it.
It's not for me, it's not, but it's obviously people
are getting it because you know, right after that he
had his concert and some little some little dark room whatever,
and it looked like it was packed. People enjoyed it.
You know, it was a lot of people there. So
I'm just for me. I'm just like my mother said
(52:56):
one time, like we always say, my mother said, as
you say, mind, I don't understand, and then she said
they could build a whole new world off the ship.
You don't understand, and I really believe that this is
the world that she was talking about because I don't
understand none of this. It doesn't make sense to me.
You know, there's no there's no level of the quorum.
There's there's nothing like and it's like we really in
(53:17):
revelations when there's no the quorum. There is no measuring stick,
there's no boundaries, there's nothing. It's just a free for all.
It's just I don't even get it. So, you know,
shout out to everybody that do get it, though you
know I don't get it.
Speaker 2 (53:33):
I don't get it. All you get it.
Speaker 4 (53:36):
I'm oh, you know, I'm well passed. I don't understand anything.
Somebody said that in the commons section. They said, I
just don't get nothing no more. I just don't know
what at this point.
Speaker 2 (53:48):
I got it.
Speaker 1 (53:49):
It's just it wasn't just that, it.
Speaker 2 (53:53):
Was so many things.
Speaker 3 (53:54):
I'm just like, listen, this world ain't from as you
get older, and that's what happens with age, right, Like
you watched I watched my mother and my grandmother feel
like this world wasn't for them, Like they just was
like this, I don't fit in this because none of
this it don't make no sense to me, you know,
so I guess we moving towards that.
Speaker 1 (54:13):
You know, Wow, it's still gonna be for me.
Speaker 2 (54:15):
It's gonna be You're gonna find you, not me. I'm
gonna find my space. I'm gonna get me a space.
Speaker 1 (54:21):
I'm gonna get the young, the young, these people crazy.
Speaker 2 (54:26):
Man.
Speaker 3 (54:27):
I like constant like that. I like that kind of energy,
positive energy like that. Those the young kids I want
to see. I want to see people like that that
seem humble, that seem happy, that want to bring joy,
that still have you know, he still seems like he
has ethics. You know, he still has principles. Yeah, you
know what I'm saying everything about that's what I want
to see. So I have faith in that, and I
(54:49):
got my young kings this on their way up, So
I have faith that they're gonna change the dynamics.
Speaker 2 (54:53):
And I'm gonna look and say, that's what I was
talking about.
Speaker 1 (54:55):
You know what I'm saying that they will.
Speaker 3 (54:58):
Sure that brings us at the end of another episode
of tm I make sure you follow us on YouTube
at TMI Show PC or on Instagram at TMI Underscore
show let us know what you want to hear, who
you want us to interview, Let us know you love us,
you hate us.
Speaker 1 (55:13):
Whatever it is, we want the input.
Speaker 3 (55:16):
You tell me about it because they hate on my
Listen my Instagram paged crazy.
Speaker 2 (55:20):
Ain't nothing behaving it, but I love it.
Speaker 3 (55:21):
Keep on coming, show us, show us the hate and
show us the love at the same time, and continue
to make us the number one podcast in the world. TMI,
I'm not gonna always be right, tamik it d Mallories,
I canna always be wrong, but we will both.
Speaker 2 (55:35):
Always you know what I mean. Always be authentic peace.
That's how we own it.
I'm Tamika d. Mallory and this.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Shit boy my son in general.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
We are your host of TMI.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
Tamika and my Son's information, truth, motivation and.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Inspiration, new energy. But what's going on? My son, Lennon?
Speaker 3 (00:16):
I am blessed, black and Holly favored. How you feel
into it?
Speaker 1 (00:19):
You're doing good. I'm doing good.
Speaker 4 (00:21):
It's been a few days. The book is now released.
It's just twenty four hours since release time.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 4 (00:31):
Don't we need a thing ring ring around here for
our celebratory moments. So I'm excited, you know, I'm I'm
already I've already been on the road.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
You know.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
I am super grateful to all of my friends who
have opened up doors to their churches, their everything, their
community centers, anything you can think of. People have and
are continuing to work to make sure that I have
the most successful launch of my book as possible.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
I live to tell the story.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
I live to tell the story, and I am I'm
really really grateful. What makes me emotional because you know,
you reach out to people. Some people you reach out to,
they tell you they're gonna call you back, or they're gonna,
you know, put you on and.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
I haven't had much of that.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
In fact, it's always surprising to me, Like every single
time in my life, I am surprised by those who
do right.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
And doing right does not mean doing it.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
So it's like a confusing thing that some people think
when you say, oh, you know, you did right by me,
that that means that you just did whatever I wanted
you to do.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
No, it's just communication.
Speaker 4 (01:52):
If I'm supposed to be your friend or somebody that
you know, you have any kind of cordial relationship with,
and I'm asking you to do something, don't commit and
then not commit, you know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Like, that's just so whack to me. I try not
to do that.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
I'm not saying that I'm not guilty at times of
making mistakes and you're supposed to call somebody back or whatever.
But you know, certain people, they see you, they know
you're constantly texting them reminder. At the reminder, you're asking
them like, hey, you know.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Can we follow up? Can we do this thing?
Speaker 4 (02:25):
If you don't want to do it, just say no,
just say you know what, it's not the right time
for me. I'll never forget another friend of ours. I
have been reaching out to her a friend of ours.
I've been reaching out to her to have me on
her national TV show about something that we were doing
and it was work related, it wasn't for me personally,
(02:46):
and she just.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Hit me back and was like she called me on
the phone.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
She's like, Hey, Sis, I just want to make sure
we have a verbal conversation because I don't want to
decline over text or email and it, you know, not
have the full context for what it is. She's like,
but right now we're covering X y Z thing on
the show, and if I put you on, what you're
doing kind of like gives an excuse to the motherfuckers
(03:12):
that's doing this other thing. You know what I'm saying, Like,
what you're doing, You're trying to come up with this solution,
which I respect, but it contradicts the fact that we're
laying out right now every week, the different things that's
happening from these people, right And she's like, so it
just doesn't it doesn't work like it's pivoting in a
(03:33):
moment when we're hard on a point that's being made.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Well, why is the industry like that?
Speaker 3 (03:39):
And it's it's a thing that I've always had an
issue with, right because it's accepted in the industry and
a lot of people like us who just are authentic
that like, I'm gonna get on the phone and say
I can't do something, well, I'm gonna say I can
do it right.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
And I don't know why it's.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
So hard for people to have that level of just
communication respects. See it's somebody that I've and I'm gonna
do it to a person that I really don't even know, right,
I've done shit for people that random people have come
up to me say hey, I want you to do something.
I'd be like, and I think about okay, cool, and
once I say cool, we gonna figure it out. Or
or some people have come to me and said I
(04:16):
need you to do something, but I can't really do that,
you know what I'm saying. And some people don't like
that you said, but it's honest. I'm just being honest.
I'm not in a position to do it. I don't
have the time to do it, so I don't want
to commit myself to something I can And I don't
know why it's so hard within this industry, just all
of this industry that people don't know how to do that.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Yeah, well, I mean I.
Speaker 4 (04:34):
Think, you know, sometimes you think people respect you, and
then sometimes you find out that they really don't.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
And that's just what it is.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
And I think in this particular situation where I was
saying about the friend who told me this is a
veteran you know, in the media world, somebody who's like,
you know, understands that relationships are everything. You know what
I'm saying, and so it's just different. Also, this particular
individual who let me know, like I can't have you on,
(05:05):
they also have a commitment to our culture. They have
a commitment to the movement and all of that. So
it was like, you know, out of respect for you,
I'm gonna let you know that it just doesn't fit
in what I'm doing. But I can help you here.
I could do this, I want to do that. Let's
see what else we could do.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Boom. I'm okay with you just saying it just don't work.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
Have a nice day, But to say, okay, send me
the information. Oh yeah, definitely, anything I could do. Oh
for sure, Yes, definitely. Oh I want to support you
for sure.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
For sure.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
And then every time you send them this stuff, every
time you try to get a date a time locked in,
they don't even say to you, well, those dates and
times that you give and don't work, just give me
a couple of weeks. I'm gonna get back to you
about what I actually can do, so you don't have
to just keep texting the air.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
You know what I'm saying. It's just wag. So I
just don't you know, it's okay.
Speaker 4 (05:56):
Because I know now as I'm getting older, you learn
things about people and then you just place them in
certain buckets, you put them in certain categories. And so
I guess that's one aspect of this, but I have
but the one the people who are showing up, are
they outweigh anybody, outweigh anybody who hasn't for me? And
(06:17):
so I'm just you know, I don't even know. It's
like I want to be right, like, oh my god,
and this happened. I got people doing major book buys
in different cities, Folks purchasing one hundred books, two hundred books,
three hundred books.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
People just you.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
Know, doing their thing, and I want to be all
like whoo about it, But instead I have a you
know how we get when we work. It's very serious
for me, like I'm like, I need to keep my
eyes on all of this stuff. So that's what I'm doing,
is not getting too excited about anything, just being grateful
(06:53):
to God, staying stable, and remembering that writing the book,
doing the initial marketing, and starting a tour is only
the beginning. The reason why people don't have the type
of success that they want to see is because they
quickly as soon as they get it out the gate,
(07:13):
then it's over when the real work actually starts. When
you're like on the track. It's not the getting up okay, cool,
you get up in the morning. That's big because nobody
wants to.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Get up in the morning to go work out.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
Most people. Some people do, but most people don't want
to get up in the morning. So that's a big part.
It's just waking up and getting yourself there. Then you
got to put your cute outfit on or whatever you're
gonna wear. That's another part of it. You get your stretching.
You did all of that, and then you start running.
Once you start running, you gotta run. And that's where
(07:48):
I'm at now. Now I'm in the running stage, So
I'm excited. I live to tell a story is out
right now. Please if you do not have I know
some folks did not want to pre order because you
want the book to be in your hand as soon
as you order it. Now is the time the book
is released. It was released yesterday, twenty four hours ago.
And I'm asking that you please go and order my
(08:11):
second book. You know, order the first one too, State
of Emergency.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Both of you.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
Can pick up my book right now. So right now,
that's the deal.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Yes man, that's dope.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
So I have a super short thought of the day
today because we have to get our guests on and
actually he doesn't have a lot of time, so we
need to be quick. But I saw a couple of
days ago it might be yeah, like last week that
during Black History Month, the White House has announced that
they are going to be celebrating American history, and they
(08:47):
don't want to do, you know, any particular cultural things,
so no Black history. They want to focus on American history. Now,
you and I know that a large part of their
plan is to restore the white male as being the
dominant force in our society.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
We know it.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
It's in Project twenty twenty five, which they are clearly
laying out.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
They doing their thing. We know what's going on.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
But I thought about it and I said, you know what,
I'm actually not going to be offended by this because
they're right.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
They are right.
Speaker 4 (09:20):
Our history here on this soil is American history. It
is not Black history. It is American history.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
But the problem is they're not going to give our party.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
I know that, but I'm just saying they actually don't
even realize that they might be going in the right direction.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Why would they have.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
To celebrate American history during Black history? Like I don't understand,
Like why would you replace black history with American history?
Speaker 4 (09:47):
Is because we know why. But I'm saying that sometimes
what you mean for bad can actually turn out to
be good. Still gonna teach in their homes in the
they still gonna.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
I call it Black American.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
Look, they still gonna teach about enslavement. They're gonna teach
about Tolsa, Oklahoma. They gonna teach about Rosewood. They're gonna
teach about Martin Luther King. They're gonna teach about Malcolm X.
They gonna teach about Rosa Parks. What what's some of
the other things they.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Teach about Black panthers.
Speaker 4 (10:18):
They don't teach about black pet Frederick Douglas Obama, Obama family.
They don't teach about saying what do they currently teach
white people in general?
Speaker 5 (10:36):
Loud?
Speaker 2 (10:37):
They teach you about like Martin Luther King.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
So they teach you about I went because I went
to a high school, I mean junior high school.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Charles all Drew, you know, and he started blood transfusions.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
He was one of those, and he he did a
lot of things to plasma out of blood, utilized it, frozen,
sent it to the army.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
He saved many lives with it. So he did a
lot of things.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
So they teach you about invention. But they don't want
to teach you about them shackles. They don't want to
teach you about segregation. They don't want to teach you
about Jim Crow. That's what they're trying to do is
to leave out the part that they claim is designed
to make white people, white kids feel guilty. No, feel guilty,
(11:21):
that's what they say. But we understand what the white
Washington history is. They've always wanted to do that, and
so you know, my thought of the day is, I
think they're right. They should teach black history in the
context of American history because almost everything that know, everything
that they've done to us is American history. And to
(11:44):
be clear, even our accomplishments, despite what they've done, that's
American history.
Speaker 1 (11:50):
We built this.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Country, as as our.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
Sister Angela Ras says, we built this country for free.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
So it's a history, it's for free.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
So now we need to jump to our guests so
that we can make sure we don't lose him. And
we want to talk about the target, protests, the target,
the response to target. You know, so many people have
so many things to say, and I think that what's
necessary for us is to continue to inform, to continue
to learn, to continue to draw on history because we've
(12:27):
been here before. And I think that our guest that
is coming up, the Reverend doctor Jamal Bryant, He's got
a lot to say, so let's get into it.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Jamal Harrison, Brian Harrison.
Speaker 4 (12:42):
So our brother friends, you know, joining us our friends.
That's what we do on this show. That's what they say,
y'all all about your friends. Y'all don't have me on
the show. You have is your friends on the show.
But we got friends that do a lot of important things.
And our brother we are in the trenches all the time.
We don't he does not need a long introduction. If
(13:04):
you don't know who passed, Jamal Bryant is at this
point in your life, God help you. I was in
church a few weeks ago, months ago, a couple months ago,
and I was so embarrassed by my behavior. When I
left that church, I couldn't believe I cried and yelled
and cut up the way that I did at New
(13:24):
Birth Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, in Lathonia, Okay.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
In the in the community with the people.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
And let me just say real quick, we are extremely
proud of you and what you've been able to do.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Jamal. You know you have.
Speaker 4 (13:44):
We've been there with you through so many different phases
of your life.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
You know I have. It's been many, It's been many.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
But but what I do, I don't even mean all
of the stuff, because you know, I get the fighting
and cussing people out because I can talk different from you.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
You I ain't. I'm not a clergy woman, so.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
I say shits and ass and mfs and everything when
they mess with you. But what I mean is that
your ministry has expanded extraordinarily in terms of how you
know when you you you've always used whatever resources you
had to do as much as you can do. But
now we're seeing you literally use new birth, you using
(14:25):
do they know you using them at that church to
do go this this incredible work, community work in a
way that I just think it's just so marvelous. And
so I just want to say, because we never really
give one another our flowers as we should, I'm really
really proud of what you're doing there in Georgia, and.
Speaker 6 (14:47):
Thank you for being my second sister entertainment. Yes, yes,
it's taking through.
Speaker 5 (14:52):
Both of you all, but we were gonna have I
know you got a book coming out, but we're gonna
have to write a book probably after about ten people.
Speaker 4 (15:00):
We have the way until people well, you know what
in my book, I say that I talked in a
few places, I say I would tell you who did
this thing to me, or I would tell you who
said this, but I can't because they're still alive.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
So when it soon soon come listen.
Speaker 6 (15:20):
We can't cancel Black History Month twice.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Right, yes we will.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
Everybody don't need to know everything that had happened, right,
So anyway, thank you for joining us today. We wanted
to jump on and really talk about our most recent efforts,
which you know I have been saying over and over
to the many people who I think have some either
disconnect from history, either they don't know, they don't want
(15:50):
to know, or they are purposely distorting history. When we
talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion and how it all
came about, we know that. And you know this from
working in the NAACP and working with alongside so many organizations.
And of course we all, whether we directly associate or
(16:11):
understand or come straight out of the Rainbow Push Coalition,
we all know the work that Reverend Jackson and people
like him were doing when we were kids to ensure
that there was access for black folks within these corporate spaces.
And it was not It wasn't work that just happened overnight.
(16:33):
White people didn't just wake up one day and say, oh,
we like black people and we just gonna open up
our boards and open up the shelves and give more
jobs and spend more money and donate more resources. That
didn't happen overnight. It was a struggle. It was a fight,
and we know from doctor King and others, but we
in our time. I would say that Reverend Jackson is
(16:55):
one of the individuals that I watched literally kicked down
doors of major corporations to provide opportunities for people. And
it was little ladies like my mother and maybe you
know aunts grandmothers who were out there protesting day and night,
that didn't have resources, They didn't have millions of dollars,
(17:18):
they didn't.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Have social media.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
But if they knew that a particular corporation was disrespecting
someone or some part of our community, them people held
the line day and night, They boycotted, they did whatever
they had to do. And it wasn't about one business.
It was about access. It was about ensuring that you
do not have You don't letting people know you don't
(17:40):
have the right to set up a business in our community,
and then we can't get jobs there. We can't be
on the board, we can't have any influence on what
happens within these corporations, within these businesses. And so when
I hear people saying to hell with DEI doesn't need
to be reimagined. Absolutely, should it be, you know, the
twenty first century version of it. Certainly all of that,
(18:02):
you know, have other people benefited, certainly, but we should
never desecrate and dismiss the work that was done in
order to get us to where we were just a
couple of weeks ago. So I just wanted to put
that on the table, and I know you can speak
to that. And so here we are in this moment
where companies are beginning to, in our judgment, power to
(18:28):
Donald Trump and the Maga trump Ism, this new culture
that they are are trying to shape in America. And
we see companies companies that our people have found as
a home. So Target, for one, is a place that
black women go to and stay for four hours.
Speaker 3 (18:49):
We do this.
Speaker 4 (18:50):
Yeah, And so you know when we see Target as
one of those companies that it's said that they are
rolling back their DEI stuff and they're going to be
moved being away from some of what we know them
to be and how we became sort of partners with
Target in the first place. There are people who are
very upset about it, people who have decided that they
(19:10):
will never I see people saying they wouldn't care what
we tell them, They ain't walking back in Target for
the rest of their well, for whatever amount of time.
And so I wonder, you know, for you, what does
this moment mean? Why are you so passionate about it?
There's so many fights going on, but this one is
(19:31):
important to us, and I'm sure that it has a
lot to do with sort of the history of how
we got our beginnings in the civil rights movement.
Speaker 5 (19:41):
The heartbeat, to make a mice of what we have
done has really centered around aggressive policing and not so
much about the next phase of civil rights, which is
civil silver rights. Is that this is a critical moment
I believe for the revival of the movement and.
Speaker 6 (20:04):
A resurgence of the relevance of the Black church.
Speaker 5 (20:07):
A lot of gen zs and alphas can't tell you
the names of the heads of historic civil rights organizations
or of pastors, and so this is really bringing to
bayar those of us who have gotten comfortable and rested
on our laurels until it became iamic uh. And so
I think that we really are going to have to
(20:29):
be vigilant, but we're gonna have to be patient. We've
got along four years and so much has been thrown
out in the first two weeks. They're talking about before
this week ends dismantling the Department of Education and putting
them back to the States. The Secretary of State Rubio
(20:50):
is talking about how it is that other countries will
house our undocumented citizens, residents, and even some Americans. There's
so many fights that are getting ready to come that
the President has mastered the art of confusion, throwing so
many things at one time that we're.
Speaker 6 (21:09):
Going to really have to be focused on what we
focus on definitely.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
You know, in this moment, I've been saying for the
last two weeks that this is just different to me,
Like we've been around and we've been fighting in this movement.
You guys have been doing it way longer than me.
And maybe it's just me, but I feel like the
way that this this attack and the way that these
attacks like you know, the art of confusion, and it's
(21:34):
so many different ones that one time you can't put
the fire out. It's like different holes in the boat
and you're trying to put one little cover one up.
It just feels different to me. So I want to
ask you that I want you to give me your
opinion on how it feels.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Does it feel the same.
Speaker 5 (21:48):
It's just like it fels like I'm watching black and
white footage. Fel like I am some way in a
time capsule, stuck on a bus stop between Salm and Montgomery,
I feel like, really, we're doing the electric slide backwards,
that all of the progress that was made before we
got here we are now having to defend. They're gutting
(22:11):
out the Civil Rights Act, they're trying to ban books,
trying to stop the teaching of our history, stuff that
we thought was long past behind us. To have to
roll up our sleeves this is a terrible rerun. Well,
we already know the story because we watched this movie before,
and so having to fight it again is unnerving. But
(22:35):
it is also focusing because we know what has to have.
We've got to unify, we have to be unintimidated, we've
got to walk with carriage. We've got to know that
we're on the side of right even when the majority
is wrong. And so that's where I feel like we are.
Speaker 4 (22:51):
And you know, and what I hear you saying is
exactly what I believe and what I have attempted to
articulate to folks who are like, well, why are we
boycotting you know this particular company, or you guys are
doing a fast why are we and you can talk
a little bit about that, please, you know, why not
(23:11):
all the companies? Why not do this? Why not go
pick it outside the White House? Why not do this
thing for me? With us not being able to And
when I say us, I'm talking about the country not
being able to vote for in the midterm elections for
the next two years. Then you won't be able to
do anything about Donald Trump for four years. Right now,
(23:36):
it seems that our economic power, as you said, silver rights,
is going to be the most important tool we can
use to show our protests to what we see going
on around us. I'm not saying that we shouldn't do
other things. I'm not saying we shouldn't be on the streets.
I see people in California and other places rising up,
(23:56):
and I'm glad to see that. But I think that
when and we have, you know, our spending power, what
is it more than one point four trillion dollars a year,
I think we can speak pretty loudly with how we
spend our money or not where we spend our money
or where we don't. And also our physical presence. You know,
some people say, well, go into the store and buy
(24:19):
certain things off the shelves, and I understand, you know,
not wanting to see black businesses suffer. We have some
solutions to that, but I don't even know that.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
I know. For me, I couldn't.
Speaker 4 (24:32):
I would not even walk inside of a place where
I know that at one point you told me that
George Floyd could have been your worker, and that your
heart was hurt, and you as a CEO wanted to
be a partner with the community. And now all of
a sudden, we shift all the way to the point
where you don't even want to report on the report
(24:53):
card from the Human Rights Commission to tell us that
you still have are sticking to your original no values.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
There's something wrong with that.
Speaker 4 (25:02):
So do you see this as a larger part of
the movement or do you feel like it's just one
thing that we just need to get rid of one
company and move on.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (25:13):
I don't think that it is an incident as much
as we are seeing a culture not evolving but regressing,
and so you're getting ready to see it because, to
be clear, as you have spoken to so clearly, it
is not just Target, It's also Walmart, It's also Ford
Motor Company, is also McDonald's. It is also so many
(25:36):
other organizations who we feel portrayed by because we've given
our loyalty through our dollars, and so we're having to
reevaluate relationships and see the ones that are one sided
and those that are toxic. And so this is really
puberty for our people because our voice is getting ready.
Speaker 6 (25:54):
To change, and our skin is clear enup.
Speaker 5 (25:57):
We can see the tree from the forest, and so
I think that there's gonna be a real demarcation for
those who are with us and those who are not.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
So I just want you to speak to because we
have these conversations every day with our community. Two things
d I don't help us, So what are we fighting
for it for?
Speaker 2 (26:13):
Right? And then it's what do we boycott?
Speaker 3 (26:15):
Why we got a boycott, why we don't do this,
and why we boycotts don't work? You know, I want
you to speak to those two things because these are
conversations that we have and I want you to speak
to them and break them down.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
And if the terms the only way.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
You can give me some clip, I need a clip,
I need a good.
Speaker 5 (26:37):
So to be clear, I want to go backwards our diversity,
equity and inclusion. The number one recipient is not black people,
it is white women. The group that has benefited the
most has been Latino community. I got to add as
an asterisk that if it is built off of meritocracy,
(26:58):
as the presidency just it should be as Elon Musk
infers that it should be, then the main recipient should
be black women. Black women hold sixty percent of all
master's degrees in this country. So we understand clearly and
fluently that we have not been the full beneficiaries. It
(27:19):
is part of our responsibility, and our singular focus of
target is not saying ignore the other ones, but we
wanted to make sure that this institution, because they're publicly traded,
we can track the impact, we can see where our
growth is, and we can count our dollars because they
are a publicly traded company. And so it does not
say that we're not going to get around the mcdillards.
(27:41):
That I ain't saying we're not coming around the Walmart,
because we shall if they do not come to their
consciousness the thing that is so critical for us that
we can never forget. And I am a son of
the movement, I'm a disciple of the movement. I got
to say it to you, and it's read that you're
here just saying the one doctor King's speeches that broke
(28:03):
Montgomery the one Ralph Abernathy's speeches that broke Montgomery. It
was the economic impact. And once they broke the economic
impact of that city, that's when they came to the tape.
I don't believe under this administration we can bring the
best orders in the world. But we saw to Mik
(28:24):
and Mice at the inauguration. The front roar of the
inauguration was not the cabinet, It was not international diplomats,
it was business people. Because the President was saying, what
I respect is money. And if we've got the twelfth
largest consumer base in the world, if we don't use
(28:45):
it collectively, then we're going to miss it. I'm telling
you that the twelve million dollars is what Roland Martin
suggests that is spent on the data that he has found.
Speaker 6 (28:55):
To Mika and I haven't seen.
Speaker 5 (28:57):
It yet, but that's what Roland Martin has reported on
his show, that we're spending twelve million dollars a day.
Let's say that that's right. Let's says all. Let's say
it's wrong. But you all, I got a g D.
Y'all do twelve million by fifty by three hundred and
sixty five, that's a whole lot of money.
Speaker 1 (29:14):
That's a whole lot of money.
Speaker 6 (29:16):
That's a whole lot of money.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
That's a whole lot of money for three months, for
five months. And by the way, even if it was
only one million dollars, you don't deserve it if you
don't want to respect me and maintain the values that
you told me you had, so regardless of it, and yes, absolutely,
our impact is important that we need to be able
to measure it, but we also ought to be taking
(29:39):
on a posture of respect me, respect me, right, Yeah,
And so that's why I wouldn't go back to Target,
just because I know the game that's being played, and
I think to your point, one at a time, right,
we don't need to give you. Know. Yes, people are
saying I won't order anything from Amazon. I ain't going
back to McDonald's. I don't go to Starbucks. I got
(30:01):
a list. I'm off Starbucks, Nike, Gucci, we're still trying
to get you with us.
Speaker 6 (30:08):
On Gucci support da da.
Speaker 4 (30:12):
Okay, Well that's fine, that's fine. That's why we kind
of all right, all right, all right, it's cool. So
we I don't do we Gucci. I don't wear blinds
Yaga like I drop brands all the time, so it's
not really hard for me. And I do also support
black brands. You wear a lot of stuff. Why don't
(30:34):
you talk about some of the black brands that you
support that help you with your wardrobe and your jewelry.
Speaker 5 (30:40):
Listen, all of the jewelry is from Ghanna. This is
from the Year of the Return.
Speaker 6 (30:45):
Go back to Ghana. But I always support mini vendors.
Speaker 5 (30:50):
Whether it's a glass Bow, whether it's Starstruck that makes sweatsuits,
I gotta get one from ice, all of them in
every different way. And that's why I partnered in this
past with the US Black Chamber of Commerce. It is
a digital directory of thirty thousand black vendors. Whether it's cologne,
(31:12):
whether it's black soak, whether it's incense, whether it's paper towel,
thirty thousand. Those of you looking for black vendors in
any area, you got to go to buy black dot com.
Go to buy black dot com. That's where I go.
That's where I get my children stuff from. That's where
I get that backpacks. You got to do it, and
so as much as I can, I try to support
(31:32):
black vendors in every area of my life.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
Last thing before you go.
Speaker 4 (31:37):
I just wanted you to talk about some of the
goals of our fat you're doing a fast, which I
think you should also talk about that, because you're being
very specific when you talk about the reemergence of the
Black church as being at the forefront of the movement,
and so therefore is a certain type of language that
you're using and a way that you're getting people organized
(31:59):
to talk about and then also talk about the goals
of what it is that we're attempting to accomplish.
Speaker 6 (32:04):
Thank you.
Speaker 5 (32:05):
First of all, this is the largest demographic mice in
the history of black people in America. This is the
largest demographic of Black people.
Speaker 6 (32:15):
Who don't go to church, the largest.
Speaker 5 (32:18):
Demographic of our history of being in this country who
don't subscribe to organized religion. And it is the largest
demographic who identified themselves as atheists. They have lost respecting
honor for the church and for pastors, and so I
want to go a different path on.
Speaker 6 (32:38):
A spiritual journey.
Speaker 5 (32:39):
So it is not just basting from target, but forty
days of prayer for Christians to go back in a
prayer posture, to pray about what's taking place in the
nation and how it is that we spiritually confront it.
So that's why I chose that Linton season is from
ash Wednesday to Good Friday leading up to Easter Sunday.
(33:01):
Is I wanted this to be a spiritual journey for people.
What we are asking for is because the Saying's true
power concedes nothing without a demand.
Speaker 6 (33:12):
My son to Miking, myself were.
Speaker 5 (33:15):
In Minneapolis when George Floyd. After George Floyd was killed,
and Target made a commitment, a two billion dollar commitment
to undergird black businesses drum roll and to do it
by December twenty twenty five. So for you to break
(33:37):
that commitment in January before the deadline of that fruit,
I'm asking you to honor the commitment you made to
George Floyd's family and to the African American community. We're
also asking that you would that not you, but that
Target would help partner with ten HBCUs to help them
(33:59):
learn in their business department how to scale their businesses
and how to do retail. Eight out of ten black
businesses a run out of people's houses and they only
have one employee.
Speaker 6 (34:11):
How do I scale how to go to retail?
Speaker 5 (34:13):
Because where we have been scrammed, Black is where do
we redirect people? And with a trillion dollars, we're a
spending power and we don't have a black department store
that direct people in means that we've got to do
a different kind of job. Our third is we're asking
for Target to do a quarter of a billion dollars
(34:34):
in black banks, because these black businesses can scale if
they don't have a black black bank backing them and
pushing them to get to the next level. So we're
asking them to honor what their original commitment is and
what it is that they were doing prior to the
emergence of Donald John Trump, and to hold fast to
(34:54):
the commitment that they made to black people.
Speaker 4 (34:57):
And you know, I saw that you and Senator Nina Turner.
Let's give her some love as well, the Honorable Senator.
Speaker 1 (35:09):
Nina Turner.
Speaker 4 (35:09):
She was talking about ensuring that Target restores their original
DEI language and that they would state emphatically that they
are continuing with their di program. And I think that's
important because as someone else said to me, and you know,
(35:31):
you can tell me what you think about this, well,
maybe they have to change the name so that they
are not targeted pun intended. But why is it that
JP Morgan Chase and others can is it J pul
Morgan Chase, It's Costco And there's others on the list
that are maintaining their divert Ben and Jerry's. We love
(35:51):
Ben and Jerry's that are maintaining their diversity, equity and
inclusion language and they're saying we stand and buy it.
So how why is it that we should be we
should give I mean target a pass. Do you feel that, oh, well,
maybe they should just change the language just so that
the administration won't look at them as being a bad apple.
Speaker 5 (36:13):
No, I think they need to go ten toes down
and reinforce the language so that we see an impact
and the difference for the black community as well as
I don't want the jobs just to be entry level,
but in those management positions, I think we got to
turn the heat up a little bit because they got
away with just getting by.
Speaker 6 (36:33):
As you just said, they're.
Speaker 5 (36:35):
Not reporting to the HRC, and I think that that
needs to be added as well.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
Yeah, me too, same here.
Speaker 4 (36:42):
So I thank you for making it very clear because
there's some people, and you know, some of our own
people can be very confused when it didn't come from
their mouths first. But I think that this is a
space for all of us. Know one of us knows
how to do or can eat first of all. Let
me put this put it this way. The algorithm does
(37:04):
not even allow us to get the information to all
of our people. So for all those who are believers,
if you're a pastor and you're trying to figure out,
don't wait for somebody. Do like Michelle Obama said, what
did she say, consider yourself invited.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
You are invited into it right now. We need you
sign up.
Speaker 4 (37:26):
They can go to targetfast dot org.
Speaker 1 (37:30):
Target.
Speaker 6 (37:31):
Let me insert this to MAKA.
Speaker 5 (37:33):
As a people, we've got to understand you don't need
singular leadership, that's right?
Speaker 6 (37:39):
Or do you need singular vision? That's right?
Speaker 5 (37:42):
And so different people are doing different approaches and different
tactics around the Target Fast. It's towards the end goal.
I stand by the honorable Nat Turner. I'm walking alongside
uh and grateful to do it in a different kind
of past capacity. My focus is to drive and to
undergo heard the Black church community as much as we can.
(38:04):
But this is not in conflict or in competition. It
is in complement with what my dear sisters already started.
Speaker 4 (38:11):
Yeah, we give her credit for a starting because we
know to start is not always easy. It's you know,
all the doubts in your head, what they're gonna say,
who's gonna be with me?
Speaker 6 (38:20):
You know?
Speaker 1 (38:20):
Will we fail?
Speaker 4 (38:22):
But and so when she called me and asked me
uh to join her, I said yes first, and then
we figure it all out as we go because I
know that she. I know that Nina Turn is somebody
who loves black people. She's brilliant, She's a brilliant organizer.
And I think what you've said here is so true.
It's not gonna be the best orator. It's gonna be
the best organizers.
Speaker 1 (38:42):
That's what. That's what's gonna matter in this.
Speaker 6 (38:46):
On the shirt.
Speaker 1 (38:47):
Yes, that's right, So it is what it is.
Speaker 4 (38:50):
I appreciate you, my brother, for always being steadfast. When
we talked about Ben and Jerry, I laughed because my
last argument that I had in the comments was about
you being in the ice cream shop.
Speaker 1 (39:04):
Was the ice cream shot, you know.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
And I had to fight next thing.
Speaker 3 (39:11):
You know, you gotta you gotta a side, You got
somebody right by your side. You got a life, man,
You got a life, mate all over, shout out the
pastor Brian, our brother. See he breaks it down on
(39:32):
the way, Only he can't because you'll be trying to say,
I'll be trying to get it. But and then I
was like that because I watched Jamal. I wanted to
ask him, but you know, he had like going on.
But I was watching his interview with Cam Newton and
Kim new was talking about yeah, he was talking, Yeah,
he was talking about black on black violence, and he
(39:52):
broke it down to the simplest compound to where he
said because Kim was like, well, you know a white
man had to tell me that. You know, we focus
on what happens with the police killing my people, but
you know most of the killing comes within our community,
So why we don't focus on that? And Jamal broke
him down so politely and calmly and with facts and
(40:14):
and eloquently that came. Was just sitting there, Okay, I
just I'm just saying, listen, I'm just saying, that's what
I wanted to hear, and that's what he did.
Speaker 2 (40:25):
Just now.
Speaker 4 (40:25):
So shout out to past, help the brother.
Speaker 2 (40:30):
Help the brother. Do you think he needs more help?
Speaker 1 (40:34):
I'm not going to give him a opinion that man
ain't done nothing to me.
Speaker 2 (40:37):
So some of his opinions.
Speaker 4 (40:40):
Just just you know, he's just an interesting individual. But
you know what, it seems that, you know, people like
him so good.
Speaker 3 (40:50):
Like his honesty, right, even if it's not. I don't
agree with a lot of things he says, but I
enjoyed the honesty and his willingness to actually listen. Right,
So when you when you have a conversation with somebody
who's actually listened, even if their opinion is so off,
and it actually listened to yours and they don't just
he just because that's what I think, he's very intelligent, right,
(41:11):
because he just doesn't listen just to respond and just
ignore you, like you'll say something like I was watching
him with the lady doctor Brant, and they were having
a conversation, and every time she said something, you could
tell that it sparked something that he was thinking it
was okay. And even though they probably he didn't probably
change she didn't change his mind completely, but she made
(41:33):
him rethink things. It made him, you know, restructure and
say that. So well, maybe I didn't think about it
that way, you know, so I enjoy that part about it.
But it's definitely some things I could see when I'm
listening to him, I'll be like, yeah, Tomiga to me,
wouldn't be okay with this right here, So I get
what you saying right now, but shout out to him
(41:53):
and brings me to my I don't get it right
because we talked about things that you don't. So look,
I I love Kanye like like I loved the Kanye
that it used to be.
Speaker 2 (42:10):
Right, there was there was this college drop.
Speaker 3 (42:12):
There was this young, vibrant young man who was just
the most creative artist, who was passionate, who was honest,
who was raw, who was he didn't pretend to be
this tough guy, you know, he didn't pretend to be
a part of anything.
Speaker 2 (42:29):
He was his own individual self right, and we loved that.
Speaker 3 (42:33):
I love to hear him say things that the average
person wouldn't say, right.
Speaker 2 (42:38):
I loved it.
Speaker 3 (42:39):
He was talking about he was surrounded by all of
the gangsters and state property being in them, and he
said that he told him, y'all not gonna disrespect me.
Speaker 2 (42:49):
I know I can't beat you, but I'm just not
gonna let you.
Speaker 3 (42:52):
Like it was just it was a young a boy,
but that was a man, but he wasn't the toughest guy,
but he just had heart, right, And I love that
this new Kanye and what he's morphed into is is
kind of It's just depressing to me, you know it
really it really is right because it's not like and
and the thing that I don't get, right, it's not
(43:13):
even just that he's morphed into this.
Speaker 2 (43:16):
It is the fact that the culture embraces it so much.
Speaker 3 (43:22):
Right, They don't matter how disrespectful it is, how unrealistic
it is, how demoralizing it is to him and everybody
around people seem to gravitate to it. I was watching
him tweet on x and talking about Kamala Harris and
talking about how he wanted to f her but then
(43:43):
she lost, so he doesn't f losers, right, And I'm
saying to myself, what would make a man get on
on the platform and talk about the form of vice
president of black woman like that?
Speaker 2 (43:55):
What would make you think that was okay? Right?
Speaker 3 (43:58):
Like and believe that he might be dealing with mental health.
But if he's dealing with mental health, then we got
to treat it like that, right.
Speaker 2 (44:05):
We can't. We can't keep enabling.
Speaker 4 (44:08):
A lot of people that agree with that, they agree
with that behavior. I mean, I just think that what
you're trying to reach for has been shown to you
over and over again that even some of the men
that you have once respected, people who you you know,
have broke bread with, done music with, spent time with,
(44:34):
you know, just respected in general. I think that the
most recent election proved to you that they hate women.
Speaker 1 (44:41):
I mean, it's just.
Speaker 2 (44:42):
It's not even so much I believe I think it is.
I think.
Speaker 1 (44:49):
They have been because.
Speaker 3 (44:50):
There's a demographic of men that hate women, and there's
no other explanation for based on what they've shown and
what they continue to do. You know, I just watched
him bring his wife, you know, to the to the
the red carpet, and just had the lady naked.
Speaker 4 (45:07):
On the well, I'm not gonna say had the lady
oh he was, Well, I refuse and the one have
been the number of people whoever to and by the way,
I agree with you that a man should be a
head of his house. That's what say. And so a
man does set the tone.
Speaker 3 (45:22):
But the thing is that you want to tell you
what I know it was stage because he bragged about it.
He went on the next day, and he bragged about
the fact that her the views of people talking about
her was more than the views of the Grammys, and
it was some type of accolade for him, like he
was excited to do it.
Speaker 4 (45:39):
I understand what you're saying, but I'm just saying I
want to be real, real careful with language, because I
have watched in the comments section a number of people
say she's being forced. I don't believe victim and he's
making her and I don't believe, and well, let me
(46:03):
say like this, it could be. It could be that
she's that they both have severe mental health problems, because
that's what I think is going on. And you know,
perhaps there's an influence over her that he holds and
she's doing things that maybe outside of who she truly is.
Speaker 1 (46:26):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (46:26):
I never saw this girl before this, and I know
other people have because she's not just a new person.
Speaker 1 (46:32):
She's I think she might have been a model or
something like that.
Speaker 4 (46:35):
I don't know, but there has to be some personal
responsibility as.
Speaker 2 (46:41):
As a woman.
Speaker 4 (46:44):
Yeah, and as a it's not even really just in
a response to you, but I'm just saying as a
woman or as a individual, you have to be able
to take some responsibility for your own actions. Everything can't
just be attributed to the black man forced made you know,
(47:07):
and and and did whatever to you know. To get
a person to act outside of themselves, we have to
also look at people and say, the attention, the likes,
the views, whatever weird ways that they go about getting it,
they appreciate some of it, and if not, I guess
we'll find out. But what I don't like is that
(47:30):
in x amount of time, when she wants to try
to return to a private life or return to, you know,
a life as a victim, that all of a sudden
we don't assign any responsibility.
Speaker 1 (47:44):
Is he wrong?
Speaker 4 (47:44):
You already know we got plenty to say about that. Absolutely,
this is his environment. He's bringing his wife there. He
should be a protector of his wife and all of that. Yes,
I think, you know, being sexy we saw as somebody
sent us. I think LaToya sent it to us to
show Sierra and Rihanna and different ones who have worn
(48:11):
very sheer pieces in the past. But we all know
that what Bianca had on the other day didn't come
on that was that was a whole difference.
Speaker 2 (48:20):
It was a stocking sleeve.
Speaker 3 (48:23):
And I don't believe there was any undergardments and just
did I didn't understand it.
Speaker 4 (48:28):
But I just still want I just still want her
to have some responsibility.
Speaker 3 (48:36):
She's a grown woman, like I mean, there was no
there was no handcuffs and there was no order to
I didn't even hear the man saying a word.
Speaker 1 (48:44):
No, they spoke.
Speaker 4 (48:45):
They I zoomed on in because I wanted to see
what the energy was. He was saying something to her,
she was saying something. He sets up and she was like, yeah,
you know whatever, and she did her thing.
Speaker 1 (48:56):
We don't know.
Speaker 4 (48:57):
He could have said to her, you know what I
told you, you better do it. I can't say that
he didn't do that.
Speaker 2 (49:02):
Well, I don't think he said it.
Speaker 1 (49:03):
I'm just saying he could have.
Speaker 4 (49:05):
I'm saying, I'm saying that I'm not about to be
here saying what he's doing or not doing to her.
I'm saying that she has a personal responsibility as well
to not go on a red carpet knowing that young people,
you know, elderly people are watching the Grammars. It is
(49:26):
a family occasion. The Grammys is not for twenty one
and older. You could be fourteen, fifteen, thirteen, twelve, whatever age.
In fact, I don't know if she wants us to
say her name, so I won't. But one of our
friend's children was literally peeking off the side of the
off the red carpet and saw this happen. So I'm
(49:50):
not I refuse to take any responsibility from her. But
you wasn't saying that we should.
Speaker 2 (49:54):
I'm not.
Speaker 3 (49:55):
I'm just saying I'm just My whole point was, I
just don't understand how we don't watch this man spiraling right,
just mentally spiraling, just you know, out of control, and
we embracing it and we actually egging it on. And
it's just like for me, it's just like I'm not entertained.
I'm just not entertained by crassness.
Speaker 2 (50:19):
You know what I'm saying. It's not even classy to me.
Speaker 3 (50:21):
It's like, you know what I'm saying, like just saying
anything out your mouth just to get people to pay
attention doing anything like that's not that's not that's not
no free like what they say the free thinker is,
it's classless. You know, like if you just if you
have to say and do the bottom the most bottom
feed and ship to get somebody's attention. It's just like
and it's not And I don't want to and I
(50:43):
don't want to seem like I have any hate or
anything towards the mand Just like, but what what are
you actually trying to accomplish? You know, you've equated money,
if you've equated money with some level of honor and dignity,
Like everything now is I got more money and I'm
a billionaire, and I'm this and that, like there you
to be a Kanye that had a moral compass, right,
(51:04):
But but.
Speaker 4 (51:05):
People listening to you say this, they're they will say
to you that he became enlightened. I mean after his
first bout, his first try and not try, he was
very successful, that he learned.
Speaker 1 (51:23):
About who really holds the purse.
Speaker 4 (51:27):
Strings, the pocketbook strings, and how far you as a
black entertainer, black design or black whatever can go without
the interference of all the different elements that we know of, right,
we know it all exists. There are people who is
a small amount of people who literally hold all the
(51:50):
wealth and they hold the control over whether what artists
make it, which ones don't, Who gets the market and
dollars who don't You know when they decide that you've
gone too far, said too much, did a thing, they
tossed you out. And people know that, and people are
looking for a way to make to bring their.
Speaker 1 (52:08):
Voice uh and and their uh.
Speaker 4 (52:11):
They want to they want to challenge systems and challenge
things that they see in front of them that's wrong.
And so whether he's saying it properly or not, they
just admire a person that's bold enough to just say
whatever the fuck, even if he's saying poopity.
Speaker 1 (52:28):
Scoop, Hello scoop.
Speaker 4 (52:31):
Even if that's what he's saying, Okay, that becomes bold.
Speaker 3 (52:35):
I mean, I guess, but that's what I'm saying. And
I just that's why I said, I don't get it.
It's not for me, it's not, but it's obviously people
are getting it because you know, right after that he
had his concert and some little some little dark room whatever,
and it looked like it was packed. People enjoyed it.
You know, it was a lot of people there. So
I'm just for me. I'm just like my mother said
(52:56):
one time, like we always say, my mother said, as
you say, mind, I don't understand, and then she said
they could build a whole new world off the ship.
You don't understand, and I really believe that this is
the world that she was talking about because I don't
understand none of this. It doesn't make sense to me.
You know, there's no there's no level of the quorum.
There's there's nothing like and it's like we really in
(53:17):
revelations when there's no the quorum. There is no measuring stick,
there's no boundaries, there's nothing. It's just a free for all.
It's just I don't even get it. So, you know,
shout out to everybody that do get it, though you
know I don't get it.
Speaker 2 (53:33):
I don't get it. All you get it.
Speaker 4 (53:36):
I'm oh, you know, I'm well passed. I don't understand anything.
Somebody said that in the commons section. They said, I
just don't get nothing no more. I just don't know
what at this point.
Speaker 2 (53:48):
I got it.
Speaker 1 (53:49):
It's just it wasn't just that, it.
Speaker 2 (53:53):
Was so many things.
Speaker 3 (53:54):
I'm just like, listen, this world ain't from as you
get older, and that's what happens with age, right, Like
you watched I watched my mother and my grandmother feel
like this world wasn't for them, Like they just was
like this, I don't fit in this because none of
this it don't make no sense to me, you know,
so I guess we moving towards that.
Speaker 1 (54:13):
You know, Wow, it's still gonna be for me.
Speaker 2 (54:15):
It's gonna be You're gonna find you, not me. I'm
gonna find my space. I'm gonna get me a space.
Speaker 1 (54:21):
I'm gonna get the young, the young, these people crazy.
Speaker 2 (54:26):
Man.
Speaker 3 (54:27):
I like constant like that. I like that kind of energy,
positive energy like that. Those the young kids I want
to see. I want to see people like that that
seem humble, that seem happy, that want to bring joy,
that still have you know, he still seems like he
has ethics. You know, he still has principles. Yeah, you
know what I'm saying everything about that's what I want
to see. So I have faith in that, and I
(54:49):
got my young kings this on their way up, So
I have faith that they're gonna change the dynamics.
Speaker 2 (54:53):
And I'm gonna look and say, that's what I was
talking about.
Speaker 1 (54:55):
You know what I'm saying that they will.
Speaker 3 (54:58):
Sure that brings us at the end of another episode
of tm I make sure you follow us on YouTube
at TMI Show PC or on Instagram at TMI Underscore
show let us know what you want to hear, who
you want us to interview, Let us know you love us,
you hate us.
Speaker 1 (55:13):
Whatever it is, we want the input.
Speaker 3 (55:16):
You tell me about it because they hate on my
Listen my Instagram paged crazy.
Speaker 2 (55:20):
Ain't nothing behaving it, but I love it.
Speaker 3 (55:21):
Keep on coming, show us, show us the hate and
show us the love at the same time, and continue
to make us the number one podcast in the world. TMI,
I'm not gonna always be right, tamik it d Mallories,
I canna always be wrong, but we will both.
Speaker 2 (55:35):
Always you know what I mean. Always be authentic peace.
That's how we own it.
Hosts And Creators
Mysonne
Tamika Mallory
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