Get Woke and Stay Woke AF

For seven years, Danielle Moodie has brought you the unvarnished truth. Now, it is time for rest and transformation.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:11):
Good morning, peeps, and welcome to woke F Daily with
Meet your Girl Danielle Moody for the very last time
from the Brooklyn Bunker. It is New Year's Eve, and
today is the last WOKEF. I have thought about for

(00:32):
a while what this moment would feel like and what
I would say, and I still can't process into words
what this show has meant to me over the last
seven years. Yesterday you listen to my conversation with the producer,

(00:58):
the person that has been the engineer of this show,
Andrew Marcello, and I said to him, you know, outside
of my outside of my ex wife, my relationship with
him and this show may have been my longest seven

(01:18):
years of turning on a microphone and speaking with all
of you from the heart, offering up my truth and
how I see the world has been an extraordinary opportunity.
And I am so grateful for all of the places
that you fabulous, wonderful listeners have followed me at Serious,

(01:45):
at DNR, DCP, you went to iHeart, you became Patreon subscribers.
You have lifted me up in so many ways when
I've had extraordinary, early dark moments. Look, I will be
honest with you that when I got into politics so

(02:07):
many moons and moons ago, I was very bright eyed.
I felt super possible. I got into politics because I'm
a child of immigrants, and this country gave my family
a incredible path forward and made my life and my

(02:28):
career possible by them leaving Jamaica in the nineteen seventies
and coming to the United States. And so you know,
there are some people that like will join the service
to show their gratitude and appreciation to the country. And
I got into politics. I wanted to work on policy

(02:50):
that would help people, because that's what government is supposed
to do. It is supposed to help people. You know,
your tax dollar, your hard earned money, is supposed to
go into making this country better for you, for your
loved ones, and for generations to come. And I say

(03:10):
that I was naive because you know, it didn't occur
to me. I think when I was in college that
people also enter into politics for the exact opposite reason.
They enter in to gain the power to weaponize that
power against those people that they don't like, against those

(03:31):
people that they want to suffer, who they don't feel
are deserving. And I genuinely I still do believe that
there are more of people who believe the way that
I do versus that believe in abusing power. But this
show and the countless hours of conversations with some of

(03:57):
my favorite experts and authors and academics and thought leaders,
I hope it has left you as inspired as it
has me, because the reason why I started WOKF initially
seven years ago, it was a reaction. I was reacting
to the fact that, following two successful terms of the

(04:21):
first black president of these United States, that America would
elect a white nationalist. And I was pissed, and I said, well,
these people must be asleep, so I'm gonna wake them up.
I'm gonna be the alarm bell and say, this is
what happens, Donald Trump, is what happens when you're not

(04:42):
paying attention, when you think that politics is what other
people need to care about. And so that first day
that I sat down and I turned on that microphone,
I was pissed. And all that came out of my
mouth was rage because I needed an outlet. I need
need a place to put it so that it didn't

(05:03):
burn me up from the inside out. You all gave
me that space. You gave me the space to be angry.
And I have to say that as a black queer woman,
you all know that black people are not allowed to
show a range of emotion right before we get labeled

(05:24):
the angry black lady, right the lazy this. We always
have to watch our inflections and our tone and our
body language. You all gave me the space to just
be And if I wanted to drop eighty seven F
bombs in an episode, you all were cheering me on

(05:46):
and said, go ahead, We're here and we're listening. I
believe that through this show and through this work, that
I've actually become more of myself. I've trusted my perspective more,
analysis more, and really believe that I do have something
to offer. You all help me find that, and I'm

(06:08):
forever grateful. And I hope that over the years that
you left each episode learning not only a bit more
about the country and your responsibility as citizens of this country,
as workers in this country, as people in this country,

(06:29):
but that you also learned more about yourself. You know,
there have often been times where people have DMed me
and told me that I've kept them sane, or they've
DM me and have shared the involvement that they have
you know, gotten into volunteering and knocking on doors and

(06:51):
joining their city council and their school boards and just
taking action whatever action they can take, but feeling empowered
to do so. Folks have shared because of listening to
WOKF daily. This show started out for those of you,
as my co host on democracy says Wajah hot Alia,

(07:16):
give you a deep cut. This show started out as
one day a week, Sundays for three hours on Serious XM.
Three hours. WOKF did not start as a daily show,
and it did not start as a podcast. It was
a satellite radio show where I turned on the microphone

(07:37):
and I took calls for three hours, and it was exhilarating.
I missed when I started podcasting, the interaction with the audience,
the interaction with all of you, hearing what you are
thinking in real time, creating the space and the opportunity
to ask questions that I may not have known and

(08:00):
the answer to but let's all figure it out together.
So when I moved the show into a podcast and
into a daily show, it was really because I felt,
like Tony Morrison once said, if there is a book
that you don't see, then you need to write it,
and so I wanted to helm a show that I

(08:22):
thought was missing in our daily discussions around politics, the
unvarnished truth. I'm not here to provide folks with euphemisms.
I'm not here to sugarcode what is happening, because I
believe that we're all adults and can handle the truth.

(08:43):
And still I look around now seven years later, and
to be honest, I actually think that there's been a
devolving in our media and it is one of the
reasons why I am choosing to end wika at Daily
as a podcast and have started The Daniel Moody Show

(09:04):
on YouTube Monday through Thursday, five pm Eastern and being live,
is because I want to engage with people again, because
I feel like we need each other now more than
ever before. People need if it is just an hour
day to feel like you are surrounded by like minded

(09:26):
people who believe in the promise of America, who believe
in progress, who believe that all people, all people should
have an opportunity to create a dream of their choosing.
That's the place for you, and that's the place I

(09:48):
wanted to create. And so by having that show be
live and open chat, I get to engage on a
daily basis and see in real time time what people
are thinking and feeling, how these stories are landing. And
so I decided that it was time to end a

(10:12):
show that I have loved because it was time to
try something new, because I believe truly and this is
the same critique that I have of the Democratic Party,
the establishment Democrats. You cannot continue doing the same thing
over and over again and expecting a different result. That
is the definition of insanity. So I said, I can't

(10:33):
continue to do the same show, have the same conversations
over and over again over the last seven years, and
continue going into infinity if I want a different result,
if what I want is to really build community, to
really have people invest in independent media. And so that's

(10:57):
what the next chapter looks like for me. It looks
like being a content creator across varied platforms, but really
utilizing video, utilizing lives to connect with all of you
in real time. I'm going to be over there producing

(11:20):
and creating different shows for the new year. Democracy Ish,
which is has been once a week now at twelve
pm Eastern on Fridays, is now going to be twice
a week with WAJ and I We're going to start
and end the week with all of you on my
YouTube channel, The Danielle Moody Show, four days a week.

(11:41):
I'm also going to be introducing an interview series that
I'm going to do so that I bring back some
voices that you may have heard and others that you're
unfamiliar with to this new space. I'm also working going
to be working on a project with our friend, our
in house doctor, doctor Jonathan Metzel, so that him and

(12:04):
I can continue the conversations that we've been having, but
on a different platform and with a different infusion of energy.
I'm really proud of WOKF. Sadly, I'm not as proud
of the country. And when I said at the top
that I'd thought about this moment so many times, of

(12:25):
the end. Right, I'm a scorpio, so I can be dark,
but I've thought about the end so many times, and
I genuinely thought, I should say I genuinely hoped that
I would be ending the show and a new, joyful
chapter of America would be beginning under you know, Madam President.

(12:47):
The fact is, folks, is that a new chapter of
America is beginning. It's just not what we had hoped
for or what we had worked for. But that doesn't
mean that the work is done. And I know that
many of you, like myself, have been vacillating in varied

(13:08):
states of hopelessness, varied states of darkness, and I want
to tell you that you are not alone. I'm not
going to lie to you because I've never lied to
you before. We are going to experience a lot of darkness.
And like I say, in darkness, if you can't find
the light, know that you are the light. That how

(13:32):
you can serve and also project your energy in the
moments and the days and the weeks and the years
ahead are going to matter. Don't only think about resting
when you are on the verge of burnout or a breakdown. Understand,

(13:54):
as I hope that you've learned from this show, that
resistance takes on so many different forms. For some, it
is going out and it is dancing, and it is
dancing to the beat of your own drum. It is painting,
It is gardening, It is cuddling with your fur babies.

(14:17):
It is reminding yourself that joy is a part of
the resistance and important part in the face of people
who want you to be miserable who are actually their
only delight that they find is in quote unquote owning
the lips. That's a sad way to be that your

(14:41):
only comfort over in Magaville is other people's discomfort. Mm Mmm,
that's not a party I want to go to. So
if your resistance doesn't take the shape of marching or
protesting in the streets, then find out what your resistance
does look like. Maybe it is is putting out your

(15:02):
art to make sure that you are capturing the feelings
and the emotions of this time. But each of us,
each and every single one of us, has a responsibility
to find a way, our way to engage in this
moment to be of service to others. If we can

(15:27):
each use our own platforms to lift up voices that matter,
information that is necessary and factual, then we must do that.
But I will say this too, we need each other
in real life more than ever. We need to go

(15:47):
back to the basics of what it means to be
in community with one another because it is really hard
to hate somebody that you actually know and have experience
with and memories with. I'm not talking about toxic folks
in your life. I'm talking about your neighbors down the street,
or your neighbors below you or above you in your building.

(16:09):
We need to get back to what it is like
to create senses and experiences of belonging because at a
time when we are going to be pitted against one another,
we need to, as the Vice President said on the
campaign trail, instead of pointing fingers, link arms. And I

(16:31):
believe that wholeheartedly. I've said this before that all of
us are not going to make it to the other side.
All of us are not going to be able to
enjoy the fruits of our labor or the shade of
the tree that we plant. But we do so anyway
knowing that others will. So Know that you don't have

(16:57):
to follow every single terror every single day to show
how woke you are. Being woke is not just about
being miserable and finding every rageful thing to scream about.
It is about finding ways to connect at a time
when people are working over time to have us so

(17:19):
disconnected from one another. Take your breaks so that you
do not have a breakdown. Rest is also part of
the resistance. But know that while woke af may not
be in your inbox every day, know that I am

(17:40):
here and there are ways to continue to listen, to engage,
to follow, because I refuse to be quiet in this moment.
I'm just trying to find new and innovative ways to
use my voice, and that's the journey we should all

(18:01):
be on. So I hope to your friends that you
will join me over on YouTube, that you will find
me and the Danielle Moody Show and subscribe and join
that growing community and take this woke ap energy over there.
For those of you that are on Patreon, I'm so

(18:23):
excited about the opportunities that we have moving forward into
the new year because I will have more bandwidth as
well to be able to give to all of you
as well. So thank you, Thank you so much for
believing in me and believing in this show, but more importantly,

(18:45):
believing in yourselves and the possibility of a truly multiracial democracy.
Sometimes we need to go through darkness, dear friends, in
order to really appreciate the light, but never lose sight
of the light that is inside of all of you.
Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity of

(19:06):
a lifetime to speak with all of you daily. That
is it for me today on WOKF Daily as always
power to the people and to all the people power.
Get woke and stay woke as fuck, take care of

(19:27):
each other, and Happy New Year to you.