March 9, 2026 • 59 mins
This week on The Black Perspective, Vanessa Tyler honors the life and legacy of civil rights icon Rev. Jesse Jackson, bringing reflections from those who knew him best.
Doug Davis sits down with Black meteorologist and entrepreneur Jason Frazer to discuss his unique journey — from forecasting the weather to building a brand and inspiring the next generation of scientists and innovators.
Mike Moore speaks with Georgia gubernatorial candidate Michael Thurmond, exploring the issues shaping the campaign and what’s at stake for voters across the state.
And Roland S. Martin joins us with his commentary.
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Doug Davis sits down with Black meteorologist and entrepreneur Jason Frazer to discuss his unique journey — from forecasting the weather to building a brand and inspiring the next generation of scientists and innovators.
Mike Moore speaks with Georgia gubernatorial candidate Michael Thurmond, exploring the issues shaping the campaign and what’s at stake for voters across the state.
And Roland S. Martin joins us with his commentary.
Listen Now!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's Sunday, March eighth, Women's History Month and Daylight Saving Time.
And on today's show, Vanessa Tyler continues the bion's tribute
to the life and legacy of the late Jesse Jackson
with reflections from those who knew him well. Doug Davis
talks to black meteorologist and entrepreneur Jason Fraser. The bi
NS Mike Moore talks to Georgia gubernatorial candidate Michael Thurmond
(00:22):
as we contribute our spotlight on the candidate's running for
governor in Georgia, and we get this week's commentary from
Roland S. Martin. These stories are coming your way. On
today's program, Welcome to the Black Perspective. I'm your host,
Mike Island.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Welcome to the Black Perspective, a weekly community affairs program
on the Black Information Network featuring interviews and discussions.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
On issues important to the black community.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Good Sunday, and Welcome to the Black Perspective. This weekend,
the family of Reverend Jesse Jackson said their final goodbyes
to the late civil rights leader. As we continue to
honor his life and legacy, the Black Information Network Senior
news anchor Vanessa Tyler starts Today's program with her special
report on Jesse Jackson from the voices of those who
knew him.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
Well, joyous day.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
It's sad, but it's joyous. She's not suffering anymore. He's
in heaven.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
So I thought, I come on down in.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
So my respects.
Speaker 5 (01:18):
I need to be here to perry spect and homage
to the Reverend.
Speaker 6 (01:21):
Jesse Jackson spent some time in this headquarter, you know,
the union meetings and things like that. So just to
be here is just humbling. It's a sad day, but
it is a celebration of life.
Speaker 7 (01:35):
In this half hour, we will hold our own homegoing
celebration of the life of Reverend Jackson. We started on
the first day of Reverend Jackson lying in repose at
his iconic Rainbow Push Coalition. It is here, it is
beloved Chicago, where the people say they feel like they
lost a member.
Speaker 8 (01:53):
Of their own family.
Speaker 6 (01:54):
I remember Jesse Jackson being like my father yahways was
with us in the away.
Speaker 7 (02:00):
Shoot us as a Congressman. Jonathan Jackson put it, although
his father was born in Greenville, South Carolina, Reverend Jackson
always loved Chicago, and Chicago has always loved him back.
Speaker 9 (02:12):
I want to say, Chicago, You've been good to us.
When we were hungry, you fed us, when we ran
for office, you supported us. When we made mistakes, you
forgave us. And when we were misunderstood, you stood up
for us. We loved Chicago. I want you to know
(02:34):
Chicago is my kind of talent because this city always
gives birth to great things. We've seen Jesse Jackson's ministry,
of Reverend Clay Evans, or Harold Washington or Karen Mosley
Brown a Michelleon and Barack Obama or Mayor Brandon Johnson
and Keith's giving birth to many great things, and the
(02:56):
list goes on and on.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
I rose up.
Speaker 9 (02:58):
Today to say thank you, Chicago. Thank you for loving us,
thank you for defending us, thank you for believing us.
Speaker 7 (03:09):
The lives touched by Reverend Jesse Jackson are too numerous
account There were so many stories about the power of
his warrior spirit. Here to tell her story is Reverend
doctor Virginia Moore, who saw the work of Reverend Jackson
up close. She joins me from Chicago. Doctor Moore, welcome
to the Black Information Network.
Speaker 5 (03:30):
Thank you, But first I would just like to give
my condolences to missus Jacqueline Jackson, the children, and the
entire Jackson family.
Speaker 7 (03:42):
Tell me about your experiences with Reverend Jackson and your
thoughts on his passing.
Speaker 5 (03:47):
Well, I am so grateful that I had an opportunity
to meet Reverend Jackson and witness his work that he
did in the field of education. So when I was
a high school teacher years ago on the West Side
of Chicago, I became involved in the Push for Excellence program.
(04:10):
And when I first heard about this program, I was
excited about it because the program would focus on instilling
with then children from all walks of life, instilling within
them the thirst for knowledge, of the desire to learn,
and to always the strive for excellence. So I asked
(04:32):
the school principal if we could participate in this program,
and so, with the permission of the principal, manually High
School on the West Side of Chicago became a part
of the Push for Excellence program. So when the students
would whenever they would meet with Reverend Jackson, he would
(04:52):
always have them repeat after him and I quote, if
my mind can't conceive it, in my heart can't believe it,
I can achieve it. I am somebody, I am, but
(05:14):
I am somebody.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
You know.
Speaker 5 (05:18):
From time to time during the years, I would be
in and out of the Rainbow Push building. But I
remember one time distinctively, as I was leaving the building
Reverend Jackson. He was sitting on the sofa in the
(05:38):
foyer talking on the phone. So he paused his phone
conversation and said to me, Reverend, please pray for me.
And I told him that I would. So I know
without a doubt that Reverend Jackson believed in the.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Power of prayer.
Speaker 5 (06:04):
I also know without a doubt that Reverend Jackson believed
and knew that prayer has a way of changing things.
So sometimes when I think about Reverend Jackson, I think
about that song that contained the lyrics Oh, I don't
(06:24):
know about you, but I know I know what prayer
can do. And for the world has lost the giant
(06:47):
of the civil rights movement. The world has lost a
man who exhibited for over sixty years, over sixty years,
that he cared about the well being of all people.
And I just when I think about him, I say, Oh,
(07:07):
what a man. A man who exhibited compassion, a man
who made sacrifices to help other people, a man who
truly tried doing his lifetime to make this world a
better place.
Speaker 7 (07:25):
Doctor Virginia Moore, thank you for speaking to us about
an icon and your friend.
Speaker 5 (07:31):
Yes he was. May he rest in peace.
Speaker 7 (07:35):
I'm Vanessa Tyler. If you're just tuning in where you
are celebrating the life and legacy of the late Reverend
Jesse Jackson. Reaction is coming in from around the world
(07:55):
to the passing of Reverend Jackson, but it has really
felt in his hometown down Those in and near Chicago
feel an enormous loss. Joining me is Reverend Walter Blaylark,
pastor of the Living Gospel Church of God in Christ
located right outside of Chicago in Elgin, Illinois. Reverend Blaylark,
(08:16):
Welcome to the Black Information Network.
Speaker 10 (08:19):
Thank you, thank you for your time, honor to be
able to speak on my friend and my mentor, the
Reverend Jesse Lewis Jackson.
Speaker 7 (08:29):
Wow, Hugh said, mentor, you have known Reverend Jackson for decades.
Speaker 10 (08:34):
I first met the reverend when I went over to
Operation Push when he was very young, and I noticed
the charisma that he had. At that time, I was
the Human Rights director for the City of Elgin and
we would go and hear his.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
Speeches.
Speaker 11 (08:54):
Here are some of the things he was doing with
voters right here, some of the things that he's doing
with those people people throughout the world. Also pacificity in Chicago.
Speaker 7 (09:04):
It was a tough time back then. Reverend Blaylark says.
The Chicago Democratic machine under strong Mayor Richard Daly was
powerful and.
Speaker 10 (09:13):
Racist, and I remember Jesse saying, Pharaoh, let my people go.
Speaker 12 (09:19):
And so Jesse Jesse was very focal and moving the
city fathers to do the right thing for African Americans.
Speaker 7 (09:29):
Then the issue of housing. Reverend Blaylark says, they joined
forces to fight what was happening in Elgin, about a
half hour away from the city.
Speaker 12 (09:38):
Discrimination was very, very vast here in the Northwest suburbs,
and Reverend Jesse and I tackled many of this along
with the Hood Fair.
Speaker 7 (09:52):
Haulsey Division, but there were more fights and protests to come.
Speaker 10 (09:56):
About forty five black males came to me in said,
hey man, we've been totally arrested by the police.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
You know, we don't have any drugs in a car.
Speaker 10 (10:05):
We don't have nothing, but they're trying to get us
while driving dirty.
Speaker 7 (10:09):
So he protested in front of the police station and
called on his friend who always got attention.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
He came out.
Speaker 12 (10:15):
Here and the newspaper had the headline, Uh, you know
Blaylock community leader and reverend of Living Gospel Church.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
He had national help. Now, Reverend Jesse Jackson's out here.
Speaker 12 (10:29):
Jesse came out right away, right away, and uh it
helped us.
Speaker 7 (10:35):
Reverend Blaylark says, Reverend Jackson was always ready, always committed.
Like when Jackson supported Blaylark's nephew, Brandon Johnson and his
successful run and reelection for Chicago's mayor.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
We're going to miss them.
Speaker 10 (10:48):
The world is better because of the Reverend Jesse Jackson.
Speaker 12 (10:53):
So Reverend Jesse Jackson believed that God had appointed him
for this time in this season.
Speaker 7 (11:01):
Reverend Jackson was an ordained minister in prayer, was never
too far from his lips. Joining me now is another
reverend whose connection goes back decades. Reverend DeForest Soury's junior leader, author, pastor,
and dear friend to Reverend Jackson. Reverend Saori's thank you
so much for joining me.
Speaker 13 (11:18):
Well, thank you for having me, and thank you for
recognizing the profound and historic impact made by Reverend Jackson.
I went to work with Reverend Jackson two years after
he founded Operation Push in nineteen seventy three. I was
twenty three years old, he was thirty three years old,
(11:39):
and it was the most impactful experience of my life.
I worked with him for three years, and I can
tell you, without fear of contradiction, those three years shaped
the rest of my adult life.
Speaker 7 (11:53):
Tell me what we lost with Reverend Jackson's passing and
what we gained because he lived well.
Speaker 13 (11:58):
He was a tireless and passionate advocate for justice, economic justice,
social justice, political justice. He was one of those old
school civil rights activists. He put the movement ahead of himself.
He came out of, of course, Doctor King and his
(12:20):
tutelage and did everything he could to sustain a focus
on justice and making sure America lived up to the
principles of the founding documents. I worked with him in
the nineteen seventies, and most people today can't even imagine that.
In the nineteen seventies, Reverend Jackson was perceived to be
(12:41):
the heir apparent to the kind of dynamic leadership that
Doctor King provided. And I tell my young people he
was like Jay z and Fhara Khan and all of.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
The entertainments combined.
Speaker 13 (12:57):
He could give a speech in downtown Philadelphia in the
middle of the we can attract ten thousand people.
Speaker 4 (13:02):
He was just that impactful.
Speaker 13 (13:04):
And you know, most people came to know him, Miss Tyler,
as a.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Result of his politics.
Speaker 13 (13:10):
But before there was the Rainbow Coalition, there was in
the nineteen seventies Operation Push, and he had not only
national influence.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
But global influence.
Speaker 13 (13:20):
When you go to Africa today, one of the few
African Americans that stand out all over Africa is Reverend
Jesse Jackson.
Speaker 7 (13:28):
Reverend Jackson was a soldier for justice early on. Here
he talks about his first boycott against his hometown library
and segregated Greenville, South Carolina.
Speaker 14 (13:39):
Some of my classmates, we were arrested, john He was
a public library in Rainville, South Carolina. We cannot buy
ice cream in the front door, Howard Johnson.
Speaker 15 (13:51):
I think that, you know, Jesse Jackson brought the message
of economic opportunity and civil rights, and in that respect,
you know, I think he became one of many who
worked hard to continue the work of the nineteen sixties
and the work of doctor Martin mu King.
Speaker 7 (14:08):
Mark Moriel, President and CEO of the National Urban League.
Speaker 15 (14:12):
So a mighty oak is smallan a giant of a man,
a generational difference maker, someone that spanned the I think,
the bridge from civil rights to American politics, someone who
forty years ago, I think was far ahead of his
(14:34):
time in outlining a vision for the future of America.
He called it the Rainbow Coalition. It was an America
of a multi racial and multi ethnic democracy. And therefore
his relevance and what he stood for and what he
represented is important today.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
He indeed paid the way, I believe for the.
Speaker 15 (14:58):
Clinton presidency because he registered and energized African American voters
who were important to Clinton's election and reelection.
Speaker 7 (15:08):
Morel remembers Jackson for his multifaceted approach and bringing his
demand for justice to multiple levels.
Speaker 15 (15:15):
Yeah, he was a person that brought the message to
the neighborhoods, to the community centers, to the public housing developments.
He brought it to rural America, he brought it to
urban America. He brought the message to American boardrooms. So
I think what we can take away from his leadership
is that he was fireless. Many may have seen the
(15:37):
Jesse who made great oratorical speeches. Many may have seen
the Jesse who led marches, but many didn't get an
opportunity like I did to see the Jesse behind closed doors,
the Jesse Jackson the diplomat, of the Jesse Jackson the negotiator,
(15:58):
And I think that's an important part of understanding the
complete picture of who this man was.
Speaker 7 (16:03):
The world watched as Reverend Jackson operated on the world stage,
freeing hostages, something at the time even the US government
couldn't do.
Speaker 15 (16:12):
There's no doubt that those who want to lead this
country in the futures do themselves well by studying the
work Reverend Genesi Jackson.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
He was an iconic figure.
Speaker 7 (16:24):
Condolences and remembrances continue from all corners, but especially from
those in the fight for civil rights.
Speaker 16 (16:31):
He was young, he was brash. His focus was on
civil rights, something that we didn't hear around much here
in West Tennessee.
Speaker 7 (16:39):
Harold Carter is the president of the Jackson Tennessee branch
of the NAACP, and Reverend Jackson's impact on the movement
was powerful.
Speaker 16 (16:49):
Jesse Jackson was one of a kind, but he was
able to touch enough of us to give us a
reason to not only get involved, but stay involved. Because
freedom is not free, and he was able to articulate
that well. And because of him, a lot of people
have been engaged and to this day commit themselves to
(17:09):
democracy that do not have. But it's always working toward it.
Speaker 7 (17:14):
Did you ever think that you'd still be faced with
fighting those battles that he fought back then?
Speaker 16 (17:22):
One of the things that was amazing is that as
we get older, we understand that the battle is not
ours alone. Our ancestors fought them from the shores of Africa,
in the middle of the Atlantic, on the shores of
the Western hemisphere, here, all up and down South America,
the Caribbeans, and into this country. We have made some
(17:43):
great strive but we have yet to make the final blow,
meaning that we are recognized as fully human. That we
understand the present diaspora is that which would deny you
the opportunity to have a clean and fair election. One
thing that Jesse always appreaches there's enough wealth in this
(18:04):
world that no one has to go hungry, no one
has to go without health care or roof over their head.
He was a great inspiration to all of us.
Speaker 7 (18:13):
Earl Carter, President of the NAACP. The Jackson, Tennessee Chapter
Thank you for your commitment to black people and your
memories of Reverend Jackson.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Thank you, Matt.
Speaker 17 (18:25):
This is not.
Speaker 9 (18:27):
Hey black campaign. It's a campaign for the eyes.
Speaker 18 (18:36):
Father he.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
And the rejected.
Speaker 7 (18:41):
It was his history making groundbreaking campaigns for president in
nineteen eighty four, in nineteen eighty eight that cleared the
way for those who would come. And they say, stand
on his shoulders.
Speaker 19 (18:53):
I believe Reverend Jackson is alliant in the civil rights
community and for Black Americans who have sought to pursue
civil rights and justice in so many different regards. You know,
there's an old phrase that we always say is that
we stand on the shoulders of giants. And the truth
is he's a giant whose shoulders I've been privileged and
fortunate to stand on, whether they be his work in
(19:16):
the political world, his constant pursuit of civil rights and
justice for people who are marginalized, advancing the issues of
the poor and those who have been downtrodden because of
systems of oppression.
Speaker 7 (19:29):
Tennessee State Representative Justin Pearson is the present and at
thirty one the future. He connected with Reverend Jackson, who
personally called him to acknowledge the fight in the young
lawmaker who, like Jackson, was willing to stand up for
what's right.
Speaker 20 (19:44):
I think what I will take from Reverend Jackson's leadership
is that you cannot only lead people as relates to
policies and issues. You have to reaffirm their humanity. And
for years now I've actually been paying homage to him
when I speak at elementary, middle and high schools, using
the phrase towards the end of all my speeches, I
(20:06):
am somebody, because that sense of somebody, and this is
so important that if our young people in particular don't
understand that none of the rest matters. They did, all
the margin, they did, all the Protestant they did, all
(20:27):
that work in labor for us to be elected representative,
to run for Congress, and to do the things that
we are doing. So there's a way to it as
a sadness, and also I think there's a responsibility and
an obligation that I feel, and I know a lot
of my peers feel, to carry the baton further.
Speaker 7 (20:54):
If you're just tuning in Reverend Jesse Jackson now among
the ancestors, we look back and talk with those who
knew him, loved him, and are putting into perspective the
impact he had on humanity.
Speaker 21 (21:06):
I believe that Jesse's name will go down as one
of the great freedom fighters of the twentieth century, along
with Nelson Mandela and Doctor King, Reverend Abernathy Jiles.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
Lewis, P. G.
Speaker 21 (21:18):
Vivian Ose Williams, and these are people that changed the world,
and his remarkable advocacy on behalf of four people will
also stand the test of time. He grew up in
abject poverty in South Carolina, overcame that and always advocated
for helping people to move from poverty to prosperity.
Speaker 7 (21:39):
Bill Campbell, former mayor of Atlanta, also saw Roverend Jackson
grow into this figure larger than life.
Speaker 21 (21:46):
I had the opportunity to spend time with him, to
watch his incredible transformation from a student to being a
leader to being a worldwide respected freedom fighter. And I
think can legacy would be one that has helped to
transformed America into what we hope it would be rather
(22:07):
than what we thought it was. And the world has
lost a great leader.
Speaker 22 (22:14):
You know, I had the distinct honor of meeting Reverend
Jesse L.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
Jackson when I was a.
Speaker 22 (22:23):
Young staffer working for then Mayor Sydney.
Speaker 7 (22:26):
Bertholomey Representative Troy Carter of Louisiana's among so many with
personal memories.
Speaker 22 (22:32):
It was an incredible titan, iconic giant among men, someone
who preached the gospel would always but also walk the walk,
talk the top, and was a giant at the corporate
table in the corporate boardroom. Was also a regular guy
(22:52):
on a street corner talking to anybody who needed a
word of encouragement or a hand up. A leader that
stood as a international figure when going abroad to have
fight for the release of hostages. His fingerprint, his legacy
(23:14):
is all over our civil rights tapestry, and he will
be sorely missed.
Speaker 9 (23:19):
Times you must leave racial battleground and come economic coming.
Speaker 7 (23:25):
Ground economic equality demands many will remember from Reverend Jesse Jackson.
Speaker 17 (23:30):
Well Jesse Jackson. In my view, he would make this
statement often. He would try to equalize the playing field.
Speaker 7 (23:39):
Attorney Melvin Carter is Reverend Jackson's fraternity brother and friend.
He joins the millions mourning the enormous loss was.
Speaker 17 (23:48):
He was definitely the Omega, one of the greatest Omega
in the history of the Omega Fraternity incorporated. Jesson Jesse
was a true member. He just didn't just speak a talk.
He was a man of action. Jesse would never say
anything that he was not gonna do.
Speaker 7 (24:09):
When thinking about Reverend Jackson's legacy, Attorney Carter says, he
is grateful to have known him.
Speaker 4 (24:14):
Just had a great impact on my life.
Speaker 17 (24:16):
I never saw a man of that kind of character.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
That man.
Speaker 17 (24:20):
He was very outspoken. Like I said, he was not
a man just for words. He made things happen. He
changed the democratic process, off the end food deserts and
using boy cockstumes, and to influence corporate behavior.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
He did a lot of things.
Speaker 7 (24:36):
Attorney Melvin Carter, thank you for your insight, Thank you,
thank you for having me tell me about your memories
of Reverend Jackson.
Speaker 8 (24:44):
A lot of different mems of Reverend Jackson. I remember
very early on, back in the late sixties and in
the sixties and seventies when he was really pushing Rainbow Push,
and then in the eighties when he decided he wanted
to run for president of the United States. I supported
(25:06):
him and actually both of his campaigns. So I've known
Reverend Jackson for a long period of time.
Speaker 7 (25:12):
Dean Douglas is a professor emeritus at Houston's, Texas Southern University,
Fairgood Marshall's School of Law.
Speaker 8 (25:20):
To me, he's just as important as Thirgood Marshall and
changing the rule of law. And I tell my students
this every day, especially given what we're going through now.
Lawyers can't change the law until they first changed public opinion.
And the people who changed public opinion are the social activists.
So it's clear that Reverend Jackson was a very active
(25:46):
social activist. It was people like that who got out
in society and changed public opinion.
Speaker 7 (25:54):
Dean Douglas says, what Reverend Jackson would do is point
out the immorality that would force the change and later
the law.
Speaker 8 (26:02):
That was the amazing thing about him was what he
was able to do in terms of his ability to
convince Copper the executives that they needed to be a
part of the change.
Speaker 23 (26:14):
On your head high, now.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
We can win.
Speaker 9 (26:18):
You must never stop dreaming.
Speaker 7 (26:22):
Reverend Jackson didn't stop dreaming even when the dreamer was assassinated.
Jackson was there in Memphis when doctor Martin Luther King
Junior was gunned down in nineteen sixty eight. The dream
had to live on.
Speaker 14 (26:35):
Shot Hill in cool Blood, oh I can remember some
boy saying, when we're looking to kill a woman, who
must keep going?
Speaker 7 (26:47):
Black people kept going with the first black president. We
remember his tears when Barack Obama became president, and for
all the black leaders and all the professions, Reverend Jackson
was a bridge to our history. Ambassador Andrew Young, now
ninety four, remembers a young Jesse Jackson.
Speaker 24 (27:06):
Yes, it was a really handsome guy, and he was
as physically a fit. I mean when I met Jesse,
he was just out of Illinois and A and T
and he was he'd played quarterback, and he had a
(27:27):
football and I remember holding it up, holding my hand
up like that, thinking he'd just shovel it to me.
And he reached back and he slammed the ball into
my hands. And if I had caught it tight, it
would have hit me. It would have knocked my teeth out.
Speaker 7 (27:47):
Statesman Young, one of the last of the Titans, who,
along with Reverend Jackson, paved the way.
Speaker 24 (27:52):
You know, when people get in a demonstration to get
what we call freedom high, and they knew the police
were down there to beat them up, but they wanted
to go back and they wanted to continue confronting the police. Well,
that wasn't the way we did business. We didn't want
to get anybody hurt. We could avoid it. We avoided it,
(28:15):
but keep them from getting out of hand and getting hurt.
I was standing there sort of manning a barricade, and
he came up and said, you've been here a long time.
He said, I'm Jesse Jackson from Chicago. I came down
with the Chicago Divinity School group. And he said, I
(28:41):
slept all the way down and you look like you exhausted.
He said, you can trust me. I can stay here
and I can keep the crowd back and keep it safe,
and you go get a nap. I simply said thank
you and walked away, and I knew I was leaving
things hand.
Speaker 7 (29:01):
He leads to more in his passing his wife Jacqueline,
his six children, and all humanity who say thank you
for a job well done. Reverend Jesse Jackson was eighty four.
Speaker 6 (29:15):
He made it really easy for us to open up
the role amazingly that he has done the hard work
for us, so it's just us.
Speaker 25 (29:23):
Taking the next step.
Speaker 26 (29:25):
He showed me that job keep called for life for
one thing right, and.
Speaker 27 (29:31):
He showed me that.
Speaker 11 (29:33):
You don't give up and keep fighting for justice.
Speaker 14 (29:37):
And he did it so elicitly.
Speaker 23 (29:41):
Yes, I just miss it.
Speaker 7 (29:43):
My wady. For more in these stories and international, national,
state and local news impacting the black community, listen to
the Black Information Network on the iHeartRadio app or log
on to binnews dot com and follow me at Vanessa
tyler Ie on Instagram. I'm Vanessa tyler I'm the Black
(30:04):
Information Network, your home for Black news first.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Thank you, Vanessa. Rest in power to the one and
only Reverend Jesse Jackson. Mike Moore recently sat down with
black Georgia gubernatorial candidate Michael Thurman. The former Dacab County
CEO is among several candidates who have qualified to run.
He spoke on several topics affecting Georgia residents.
Speaker 23 (30:26):
We are now speaking with former Dicab County CEO and
Georgia State representative, Labor Department Commissioner Michael Thurman. What a
pleasure it is to speak with you again, and I
can't wait to begin talking about this road, in this
journey that you've embarked upon.
Speaker 3 (30:44):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 28 (30:45):
Mike is honored to be with you, and it's honored
to share with you my vision for Georgia as being
the next governor.
Speaker 23 (30:53):
Governance is nothing new to you, This journey that you you've
decided to embark upon. Now from whence did it come?
Or has this been in the making for some time?
Speaker 28 (31:08):
It's been a calling and I've had time to think
about it, and all my previous experiences in life, both
politically and personally, have prepared me for this moment at
this critical time in the history of Georgia and the
history of our nation. And I'm excited by the opportunity,
but I recognize that this is a challenge as well
(31:29):
as an opportunity for us to move into a position
so that we can begin to address some of the
most critical issues facing families and working people in our state.
Speaker 23 (31:38):
Speaks to those challenges, if you will affordability.
Speaker 28 (31:42):
So many heads of household men and women who are
working hard every day, some holding down two or three
jobs and still not able to purchase the groceries needed
to pay rent, to purchase insurance, to pay for good
education for their children. These are exceptionally difficult times for
working men and women who really just want someone to
(32:03):
need someone to stand up and fight for them, to
stand in the gap and do what's right to have
a government that has a heart and that is focused
on helping people help themselves.
Speaker 23 (32:15):
This is somewhat a simple example that I'm going to
give you, and I'm sure the answer is going to
be much more complex. But sometimes you look at a
situation and you say, Okay, here is the problem, here
is where we stand. Where's the road to absolve all
(32:35):
of this? So if you will follow that road and
tell me some of those challenges and what has to
happen to overcome them.
Speaker 3 (32:43):
Well, first of.
Speaker 28 (32:43):
All, we have to have an elected a governor and
elected officials who actually care not just about the big businesses,
but also about the people. You have to focus attention
on what are the real challenges that average men and
women are facing. Number One, we have to have health care.
We must expand and extend medicaid to more of our citizens.
(33:06):
Nearly eleven percent of George's population is uninsured. This is
a travesty. Consequently, thousands of citizens are getting sick from
preventable diseases and unfortunately, many are dying. This is especially
acute in rural Georgia, where we have hospitals, clothing families
who have to travel an hour and a half just
(33:26):
to get access to primary care. Our schools are understressed
all across this state. We have to invest in a
public education system that creates multiple pathways to success, recognizing
that many kids will want to go to a liberal
arts college or university, but recognize that this economy now
(33:48):
is about skills as much as it is about degrees. Consequently,
we have to celebrate all of our workers, white collar,
blue collar, no collar, not the color of the collar,
but the green and a dollar that makes all the difference.
It's not just about going to more House of Spellmen
or cau or Savannah State, Albany State, Pain or Georgia
(34:10):
University of Georgia or Georgia Tech. Celebrate these young men
and women who decide to go to Atlanta Tech, who
decide to take a military career on apprenticeship. And look,
in this economy, these skills oftentimes generate higher salaries than
liberal arts degrees.
Speaker 23 (34:29):
And you're talking about folks that may go into HVAC
and plumbing and things of those natures that nature.
Speaker 28 (34:37):
Absolutely look, let your toilet goes on the brink. You
called the plumber. You don't ask how much you're trying
to figure out how soon. If you're in a career,
that's about how much as opposed to how soon you're
going to make a lot of money for yourself.
Speaker 23 (34:51):
I want to jump back on something that you mentioned,
those in rural areas and not being insured and just
the access in terms of distance and affordability to have insurance.
There's also a consequence of that, and speak to this
if you will. Medical debt as a result of not
having insurance just places you in financial dire Oh.
Speaker 28 (35:17):
Absolutely. It is an unbelievable burden that so many people,
particularly people of colored people who live in rural parts
of Bible State and in some urban areas, must carry.
And it's a debt that is almost impossible to relieve
yourself up. It's a debt to the individual, but it
also generates debts to the hospitals who are trying to
(35:38):
provide the service. We have to expand Medicare. And by
the way, we talk about economic development, if Georgia had
expanded extended Medicaid, we would have generated another six thousand
jobs statewide, nearly seven thousand jobs in rural Georgia paying
good salaries. So it's about health, but it's also about wealth.
(36:02):
It's both and if we will use our resources as
a government to do what's right for our people. This
is what I said. Look, having access to Medicaid and
affordable healthcare, that's not a black.
Speaker 3 (36:14):
Thing, it's not a white thing. That's a right thing.
Speaker 28 (36:17):
And we need a government and government leaders who all
focused on doing the right thing and not engage in
hyper partisanship that underminds the ability of people to support
and care for themselves.
Speaker 23 (36:29):
I love how you wax poetic. That was so so
very good. Forgive me for throwing that in there. Thank you,
Thank you made me smile. I'm sorry about that. Also
want to talk about your reach because in this capacity
we're talking about statewide. How do you get your messaging
(36:49):
not only to the people who know you and Athens
quite frankly, they know you all over this state. But
to take your messaging and make it a statewide message.
Speaker 28 (37:00):
What has to happen A great insight. As you know,
my natural political habitat is Georgia. I served in the
cav County the school superintendent of the CEO. But I'm
back into my natural habitat statewide, and you have to
respect number one, the people who populate this state from
north to south, east and west urban, rural suburban, and
(37:23):
thank god, I've been lucky. I was elected statewide three
times as a label commissioner, the first African American non
incoment ever to win a statewide office in the history
of Georgia. So I have history in building the coalitions
between urban and rural and suburban in order to achieve
(37:43):
what some people might feel or might think are basically impossible.
We can do this and look creating jobs. I don't
care where you live, that's important to you, creating good jobs.
Were investing hundreds of millions of dollars to bring new
jobs to such as the Hyundai plant and Brian County
on the coast, but unfortunately many of the highest being
(38:06):
jobs will not feel by Georgian's My motto will be
a job for every Georgian and a Georgian for every job,
and we're going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars
in incentives that I think Georgians ought to be.
Speaker 3 (38:18):
First in line.
Speaker 23 (38:19):
Okay, let's talk about the economy now, if we can
do that, because it's somewhat of a parallel. Are there
any things that you're proposing that would better enable the
tax cuts, and I'm not trying to put words in
your mouth. Any kind of gesture that you can make
(38:41):
that may alleviate some of the challenges that we all face.
You go into a grocery store, I can't imagine a
box of cereal seven dollars, But that's the reality. I'm
thinking about a family that has several chills, or young
children or whatever makes it very difficult just to go
(39:02):
to the store.
Speaker 28 (39:04):
I'm so happy that you mentioned young families with children.
The one thing I will do immediately is that I
will increase scholarships for parents to help them pay for childcare.
One of the most challenging expenses that young parents have
is affording childcare for their children. So Georgia has a
(39:24):
program that I started actually when I was a defact director.
We called it a Childcare for the low income residents.
But I will raise that salary. That salary cap so
up to eighty thousand dollars a year one hundred and
sixty thousand dollars for a couple, so that they can
qualify for scholarships to cover the cost of childcare for
(39:49):
their young children.
Speaker 3 (39:50):
Think about it.
Speaker 28 (39:51):
Childcare in many parts of Georgia is twelve hundred and
fifteen hundred two thousand dollars a month.
Speaker 3 (39:57):
The very few jobs.
Speaker 28 (39:58):
That allow you to pay for the child can still
have enough left over to make investments on the other
thing you're doing. So the first thing I'm going to do,
I'm going to increase the income level for the CAPS
program so that more families can qualify for childcare scholarships.
Speaker 23 (40:17):
I'm going to wrap this up, but I want to
lead this for you to be on this singular platform.
Why should you be the next governor of Georgia.
Speaker 28 (40:30):
I am tested, I'm proven, I'm ready. I've led two
of the largest state agencies, the Department of Labor as
well as the Department of Family.
Speaker 3 (40:38):
And Children Services.
Speaker 28 (40:40):
My entire life has prepared me for this critical moment
to be the CEO of a forty plus billion dollar corporation,
which is the State of Georgia. And I'm more importantly,
I'm focused on people. This is not about politics. It's
about people, and I have demonstrated throughout my career not
so much about promises, but about performing. If you've given
(41:01):
me this opportunity, as voters, I'm going to work hard.
I won't quit, and I won't let you down.
Speaker 23 (41:06):
Michael Thurman, thank you ever so much for joining us.
Speaker 3 (41:09):
Thank you so much, Mike.
Speaker 1 (41:10):
Thank you Mike and Mike. And of course we'll bring
you all of the developments in this race and other
key elections across the country. The midterm primaries are May nineteenth,
with a runoff if needed, on June sixteenth, and election
day is November third. It's Women's History Month, and in
the spirit of women's empowerment, the Black Information That Works.
(41:30):
Ester Dillard spoke to feminine activists Gloria Steinem and Nobel
Peace Prize winner Lama Bowie. They co wrote a children's
book that speaks specifically to girls and what they need
to do to navigate the world today.
Speaker 25 (41:46):
In twenty twenty six, globally, there was rising at taritarianism,
there was racistim women's rights were being threatened things, and
these two women decided to show us something different.
Speaker 18 (42:00):
Unfortunately, living in a moment of visible racism, rising authoritarianism,
and fear for many families. In this edition of The
Color Between the Lines, I'm speaking with feminist leader Gloria
Steinem and Nobel Peace Prize winner Lema Bowie about why
they wrote a children's book together called Rise, Girl Rise.
They have advice on what women must teach girls right
(42:21):
now about courage, sisterhood, and survival. Glorious Steinem has been
one of the most recognized feminist organizers in American history
and co founded the Women's Media Center. Lma Bowie is
a Liberian peace activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who
helped lead the women's movement that ended Liberia's Civil War. Together,
(42:42):
they're speaking to girls in this moment. Both of you
have spent decades speaking to adults in moments of crisis,
And I just wonder why was it important for both
of you to write this book together to address girls
and at this moment, because you could have done it
separately and it could have been a different time. So
why now and why together?
Speaker 27 (43:04):
It was very important to do together because girls and
grown ups are attracted first of all to sameness, to
something they identify with, so to double our ability to
reach out, it was important to do together. And also,
(43:28):
I just love Leimah. I mean, I think it's way
more fun and interesting to do things with her than
to do things by myself.
Speaker 25 (43:39):
Leima, well, Lemma is fine, Lima is fine. I think
in these moments. What the both of us represent is
from our different spaces. People look up to us, girls
look up to us, and it was very important for
me that we do this project together. Adults like you
(44:04):
said earlier, have heard from us all.
Speaker 3 (44:06):
Of our lives.
Speaker 25 (44:07):
It was important for us to do something for girls,
for them to see that in a moment and time
ten twenty years from now, thirty years from now, when
someone pick up a copy of this book, it will
be that in twenty twenty six, globally there was rising
and taritarianism, there was racism, women's rights were being threatened,
(44:32):
Girls and women were being told, even boys were being suppressed.
People were being haunted and all of the different things.
And these two women decided to show us something different.
And for me, that is the essence of what we've done.
Two separate individuals I'm from Liberia way out their glorious
from this side, and us coming together and saying this
(44:55):
is what we want to leave not just for children,
but for humans. So people say it's a children's book.
I said, no, it's a human book. It's a sister's book.
Yeah yeah, but.
Speaker 18 (45:05):
I have to ask lam because of your activism and
your life's work shows that you try to highlight how
just ordinary women can really change things and see themselves differently,
see themselves as leaders. How did you bring an idea
of that courage into this book for young girls?
Speaker 27 (45:25):
Oh?
Speaker 25 (45:26):
I was telling someone earlier on that this entire book
is like a summary of our life work, of our
life story. Because no one was born great, no one
was born an icon, no one was born. What happens,
(45:48):
especially in my world, is your ability to take that
ordinary thing you'll give your talent and nature it and
turn it into extraordinary for the world, you know. And
I think that's the message that I want to put
out there, because we live in a world where our
young girls are primarily obsessed with what is trending. And
(46:11):
I tell people that legacy is never built on trends.
If you go on social media to day on the
left hand corner or right hand corner, you see all
of the things that are trending. The next hour something
else will overtake it, and the next hour something else
will overtake it. So the essence of this book is
to say to them, be you be your ordinary self,
(46:34):
turn your ordinary self into extraordinary, turn your ordinary gift
into extraordinary.
Speaker 4 (46:40):
Gift.
Speaker 25 (46:40):
Yeah, I think that's the message for me.
Speaker 27 (46:44):
And in my case, I had a mother who, before
I was born, had been a journalist and loved being
a journalist, and she had given it up because of
the needs and demands of my father, who was a
very nice guy, but was running a faraway resort and
(47:07):
she could not keep up for journalism. And I saw
the cost that was to her.
Speaker 26 (47:15):
I saw how much she would teach me how to
hold a reporter's notebook in my left hand, so I
could you take notes with In seeing what she had lost,
I understood of what it was important not to give up.
Speaker 18 (47:36):
I'm going to pause a conversation right here. It's because
in the next part, Gloria Steinem and Lima Bowie speak
directly about visible racism, families being separated, and why they
say togetherhood will never fail. You can hear the next
part of that conversation by heading over to the Color
Between the Lines podcast on iHeartRadio, YouTube or wherever you
(47:56):
get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (47:57):
I'm Aster Dillard, thanks esther, Gloria and Laima. Coming up,
Doug speaks with a black broadcaster who flipped his career
as a meteorologist into a black business with a huge commitment.
Speaker 24 (48:10):
Doug.
Speaker 2 (48:10):
Hey, thanks Mike, and welcome back to another segment of
your black business.
Speaker 3 (48:13):
You know, operly mobile.
Speaker 2 (48:14):
Black professionals these days are building legacies at weather any
storm literally. Today, I'm joined by veteran TV weather meteorologist
Jason Frasier, founder of Drizzle Weather, the stem education program
making weather fun for kids through hands on experiences from
Fox Weather meteorologists to black entrepreneur teaching in the next
generation about climbing to impact. Jason is joining us now
(48:35):
to unpack how he launched this venture and what it
means for black excellence and edutainment. Welcome to the bi
n Brother Jason. So, Jason, before we get started, take
us back. You're a Columbia grad who went from JP
Morgan banking to TV reporting, then you pivoted to meteorology
while covering hurricanes. So what sparked this leap, you know,
(48:56):
to founding Drizzle Weather.
Speaker 27 (48:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (48:58):
So, I really believe in the value of invention and reinvention.
I think the Good Lord gives you multiple talents, and
I think the majority of people and life only focus
on one of the talents. And at a very young age,
I remember there was a blizzard that slammed the northeast.
(49:20):
It was the ninety sixth board and I remember thinking,
I have never seen this thing that could shut down
one of America's largest city. I just remember thinking, man,
this weather thing, this is really interesting, the fact that
a snowstorm could do something like this. And so, as
I moved throughout high school and then I got to college,
(49:41):
I was more interested in communications and political science and
political theory. I interned for President Clinton and I took
a left turn and it went into banking because they
were offering free cookies. I am serious, my friend, So
I will never forget the recruiting event. I was hungry
(50:02):
at the time and they were offering cookies, and I
remember thinking, what is this. They're golvering cookies, Like, let's go. Look,
I was a college senior, kill a man. They had said,
they had said, within two years will make you a manager.
It's like, okay, So I did it. I liked what
I heard. Did the program for two years. I hated it.
I only liked my paychecks every two weeks.
Speaker 2 (50:24):
And that's an important part right there, because you know,
shout out to all of the younger kids that are
listening right now, It's not always about the money. But
if you do find that purpose, you can work hard
and get that money again.
Speaker 3 (50:39):
Amen. And as the market was tanking, I said, this
was two thousand and eight. People were being put out
of their homes. The economy was crazy. And this was
right around the time that President Obama was starting to
make us round. People really needed hope. And I was
inspired to pursue my dreams. And I said, you know,
(51:00):
I've always wanted to be on television. I've always wanted
to be a news reporter, somebody covering the weather. Like,
let's just do this.
Speaker 2 (51:07):
So let's fast forward. You find a couple of jobs
in the industry. You're reporting at different cities all across
the country. How did weather come into play? And by
the way, much like you, I actually did weather myself
part time for Fox, but that was years ago.
Speaker 3 (51:22):
My wife always tells me all the time that, you know,
when we were at beaches, like I always used to
look up at the clouds and I would stare at
the clouds or you know, some of my favorite stories
to cover as a news reporter were weather stories. And
I remember praying and meditating and I was like, God,
I need to figure out what the next step is
because I'm just I'm not feeling it. I'm not feeling it.
And we were in Puerto Rico, and I will never
(51:43):
forget I woke up in the middle of the night
and I heard, deep down in my spirit you need
to pursue weather. And I was like, what are you
talking about? Weather like? No like you news like people
know me. It was the news reporter.
Speaker 4 (51:56):
Right.
Speaker 3 (51:57):
I left Boston, I went back to school. I found
a job, thankfully in Savannah, Georgia, and within two weeks
we had a hurricane. I'm no longer reporting, I'm now
saving lives. I'm now in charge of people's lives. Around
that time, a Fox News decided that they were going
(52:18):
to launch a rival to the Weather channel called Fox Weather.
And there was a friend of mine that I had
helped find some candidates for a job. We were talking
one day and he said, hey, you know Fox News
is launching this new network. You should apply. And I
was like, I don't even know who do you even
talk to you? What are you talking about? He's like, oh,
you need to email this person.
Speaker 20 (52:38):
Right.
Speaker 3 (52:39):
And So, because a lot of times, what I have
found in life is it's not wanting to know it's
who you know, and we have to pay attention to
our networks right fast forward. You know. We did that
for three years. I got to the end of my
contract and I started having that feeling again of saying, Nope,
I think it's time to do something different. And I'm
a big believer in doing school. I'm a big believer
(53:01):
in going into the community and doing talks. And one
of the things I had heard from a number of
teachers around the country was there aren't enough weather education
resources out there that are engaging, and so I launched
Rizzle Weather about two years ago. I call this a
STEM education entertainment company. We basically help kids see that
(53:22):
science can be delicious, fun and entertaining. And so our
signature product is something called edible Weather, which is where
we teach. We teach kids about weather and climate using
food based experiments. So for teaching kids, for example, about
how to read the weather radar, I'm pretty sure you've
seen the weather radar and you've seen all of these
different colors that have popped up, the reds, the greens.
(53:45):
Sometimes you even see yellow, sometimes you even see white
or purple. I'll explain what that is using guacamole, salsa, cheese,
sour cream.
Speaker 2 (53:55):
And how did you come up with that? I mean,
how did that creative energy come through as a way,
because you know, there must have been somewhat of an
aha moment that you knew that this would be a
great thing for kids. What was that moment for you?
Speaker 3 (54:10):
So, Doug, there were two things that unite people. It
doesn't matter where you're from, It doesn't matter who you are.
Food motivating, That's right. Food brings people together and music
brings people together. And you know, as I thought about,
you know, what are the different things I love doing.
I love traveling, I love eating, I love cooking, I
love weather, I love music. Is there a way for
(54:34):
me to combine all of that within weather education? And
you know, I started asking around with some other meteorologists about,
you know, are there any food based experiments that you
guys do? And people are like no, And you know,
I did some background research, even had some conversations with
chat GBT and I came up with this whole brand
(54:56):
called Edible Weather and we now have a book on
Amazon as well as Barnes and Noble. It's got twenty
five of these weather experiments. It has made me way
more money than I thought it would ever make.
Speaker 2 (55:09):
Well, let me ask you this, how did it start?
I mean, I've been a part of a few outreach
programs that started from a grassroots perspective, and we had
to do a number of let's say one offs, right
to get some schools under our belt to give us
at leverage to go to that next district level as
a black founder, how was that process of going from
(55:31):
national weathercaster now to a area that you really hadn't
really touched yet.
Speaker 3 (55:38):
It was humbling because I thought that my success in
broadcasting would lend it self to education, right, and I
quickly learned that a lot of educators were like, who
are you? We don't know you? And that was it
was humbling because you would think that if you had
success in one area, people would at least give you
(55:59):
the time of day, right, and some people did you know.
To go back to what I said earlier, which is
about it comes down to your network. And I had
a childhood friend that I explained the vision of the
company to and he had said, Paul, a very good
friend of mine is a teacher and runs an after
school program. I think that you should try this there
(56:21):
and I explained to him the idea and what we
were thinking about doing, and this guy was like, I
love the idea, Let's do it. And so then I
had to think about, well, how do I price this
out and how much are people going to pay? And
it was some trial and error, but you know, with
this gentleman, he was very gracious. We did one segment,
(56:44):
We did one thing, and the kids loved it and
they ended up signing me to a summer program. We
ended up doing it for about seven weeks there and
then it's just slowly started growing. And you know, I
think many times and I went to make sure that
I say this especially to anybody that's thinking about launching
a company, into all of our founders. You know, I
(57:06):
think people believe that launching your own business and success
within your own business is like climbing a mountain. There's
this continual upward motion that happened. And the reality of
this is it's more like a rollercoaster or.
Speaker 14 (57:22):
Like it is.
Speaker 3 (57:23):
Man, yea ribbon. You're gonna have your ups, you're gonna
have your downs, You're gonna have your twist, you have
your turns. You're gonna have some nights where you're gonna
be talking to God. Hey, did you forget about it?
Speaker 15 (57:39):
All right?
Speaker 3 (57:39):
Can you just send me? Send me a telegram let
me know.
Speaker 2 (57:46):
Jason and I am having a blast with this interview today.
Speaker 3 (57:50):
Man, you are hilarious. Brother.
Speaker 2 (57:52):
Look, we're running out of time. How can people reach
you and learn more about drizzle Weather.
Speaker 3 (57:57):
Yeah, drizzleweather dot com. Be can also follow up us
on Instagram as well as YouTube and TikTok. You can
also always drop us a line at crewe at drizzleweather
dot com. Crewe see rw at drizzleweather dot com.
Speaker 2 (58:13):
Black weather meteorologist Jason Frasier, the mind behind drizzle Weather
Stama education company that makes learning about weather and climate
fun and interactive for kids. This is Doug Davis listening
to the Black Perspective and Your Black Business and the
Black Information Network.
Speaker 1 (58:29):
Thanks Doug and Jason, and that's our show for this week.
For more on these stories, listen to the Black Information
Network on the free iHeartRadio app or log onto bimnews
dot com for all of the latest news impacting the
black community.
Speaker 3 (58:44):
We would love to.
Speaker 1 (58:44):
Hear from you about the Black Perspective. Simply log onto
the Black Information Networks Talkback Live feature on the iHeartRadio
app and share your feedback. Also, be sure to follow
us on social media at Black Information Network and on
X and Blue Sky at black Info neet. Make the
Black Information Network first on your car radio and iHeartRadio
app presets. We once again honor and send our condolences
(59:07):
to the family of the late referend Jesse Jackson. Rest
in power, and before we go, we want to take
a moment to recognize Women's History Month, celebrating every March
to honor the achievements, strength, and contributions of women throughout
history and in our communities today. From leaders and innovators
to mothers, daughters, and everyday trailblazers, women have played a
(59:28):
powerful role in shaping our world. I'm Mike Island. Have
a great Sunday. We'll see you next week with a
new episode of The Black Perspective with stories from Alexandria Ikimoni,
Andrea Coleman, Misty Jordan, Tammy Estwick, and others right here
on the Black Information Network
It's Sunday, March eighth, Women's History Month and Daylight Saving Time.
And on today's show, Vanessa Tyler continues the bion's tribute
to the life and legacy of the late Jesse Jackson
with reflections from those who knew him well. Doug Davis
talks to black meteorologist and entrepreneur Jason Fraser. The bi
NS Mike Moore talks to Georgia gubernatorial candidate Michael Thurmond
(00:22):
as we contribute our spotlight on the candidate's running for
governor in Georgia, and we get this week's commentary from
Roland S. Martin. These stories are coming your way. On
today's program, Welcome to the Black Perspective. I'm your host,
Mike Island.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Welcome to the Black Perspective, a weekly community affairs program
on the Black Information Network featuring interviews and discussions.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
On issues important to the black community.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Good Sunday, and Welcome to the Black Perspective. This weekend,
the family of Reverend Jesse Jackson said their final goodbyes
to the late civil rights leader. As we continue to
honor his life and legacy, the Black Information Network Senior
news anchor Vanessa Tyler starts Today's program with her special
report on Jesse Jackson from the voices of those who
knew him.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
Well, joyous day.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
It's sad, but it's joyous. She's not suffering anymore. He's
in heaven.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
So I thought, I come on down in.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
So my respects.
Speaker 5 (01:18):
I need to be here to perry spect and homage
to the Reverend.
Speaker 6 (01:21):
Jesse Jackson spent some time in this headquarter, you know,
the union meetings and things like that. So just to
be here is just humbling. It's a sad day, but
it is a celebration of life.
Speaker 7 (01:35):
In this half hour, we will hold our own homegoing
celebration of the life of Reverend Jackson. We started on
the first day of Reverend Jackson lying in repose at
his iconic Rainbow Push Coalition. It is here, it is
beloved Chicago, where the people say they feel like they
lost a member.
Speaker 8 (01:53):
Of their own family.
Speaker 6 (01:54):
I remember Jesse Jackson being like my father yahways was
with us in the away.
Speaker 7 (02:00):
Shoot us as a Congressman. Jonathan Jackson put it, although
his father was born in Greenville, South Carolina, Reverend Jackson
always loved Chicago, and Chicago has always loved him back.
Speaker 9 (02:12):
I want to say, Chicago, You've been good to us.
When we were hungry, you fed us, when we ran
for office, you supported us. When we made mistakes, you
forgave us. And when we were misunderstood, you stood up
for us. We loved Chicago. I want you to know
(02:34):
Chicago is my kind of talent because this city always
gives birth to great things. We've seen Jesse Jackson's ministry,
of Reverend Clay Evans, or Harold Washington or Karen Mosley
Brown a Michelleon and Barack Obama or Mayor Brandon Johnson
and Keith's giving birth to many great things, and the
(02:56):
list goes on and on.
Speaker 4 (02:57):
I rose up.
Speaker 9 (02:58):
Today to say thank you, Chicago. Thank you for loving us,
thank you for defending us, thank you for believing us.
Speaker 7 (03:09):
The lives touched by Reverend Jesse Jackson are too numerous
account There were so many stories about the power of
his warrior spirit. Here to tell her story is Reverend
doctor Virginia Moore, who saw the work of Reverend Jackson
up close. She joins me from Chicago. Doctor Moore, welcome
to the Black Information Network.
Speaker 5 (03:30):
Thank you, But first I would just like to give
my condolences to missus Jacqueline Jackson, the children, and the
entire Jackson family.
Speaker 7 (03:42):
Tell me about your experiences with Reverend Jackson and your
thoughts on his passing.
Speaker 5 (03:47):
Well, I am so grateful that I had an opportunity
to meet Reverend Jackson and witness his work that he
did in the field of education. So when I was
a high school teacher years ago on the West Side
of Chicago, I became involved in the Push for Excellence program.
(04:10):
And when I first heard about this program, I was
excited about it because the program would focus on instilling
with then children from all walks of life, instilling within
them the thirst for knowledge, of the desire to learn,
and to always the strive for excellence. So I asked
(04:32):
the school principal if we could participate in this program,
and so, with the permission of the principal, manually High
School on the West Side of Chicago became a part
of the Push for Excellence program. So when the students
would whenever they would meet with Reverend Jackson, he would
(04:52):
always have them repeat after him and I quote, if
my mind can't conceive it, in my heart can't believe it,
I can achieve it. I am somebody, I am, but
(05:14):
I am somebody.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
You know.
Speaker 5 (05:18):
From time to time during the years, I would be
in and out of the Rainbow Push building. But I
remember one time distinctively, as I was leaving the building
Reverend Jackson. He was sitting on the sofa in the
(05:38):
foyer talking on the phone. So he paused his phone
conversation and said to me, Reverend, please pray for me.
And I told him that I would. So I know
without a doubt that Reverend Jackson believed in the.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Power of prayer.
Speaker 5 (06:04):
I also know without a doubt that Reverend Jackson believed
and knew that prayer has a way of changing things.
So sometimes when I think about Reverend Jackson, I think
about that song that contained the lyrics Oh, I don't
(06:24):
know about you, but I know I know what prayer
can do. And for the world has lost the giant
(06:47):
of the civil rights movement. The world has lost a
man who exhibited for over sixty years, over sixty years,
that he cared about the well being of all people.
And I just when I think about him, I say, Oh,
(07:07):
what a man. A man who exhibited compassion, a man
who made sacrifices to help other people, a man who
truly tried doing his lifetime to make this world a
better place.
Speaker 7 (07:25):
Doctor Virginia Moore, thank you for speaking to us about
an icon and your friend.
Speaker 5 (07:31):
Yes he was. May he rest in peace.
Speaker 7 (07:35):
I'm Vanessa Tyler. If you're just tuning in where you
are celebrating the life and legacy of the late Reverend
Jesse Jackson. Reaction is coming in from around the world
(07:55):
to the passing of Reverend Jackson, but it has really
felt in his hometown down Those in and near Chicago
feel an enormous loss. Joining me is Reverend Walter Blaylark,
pastor of the Living Gospel Church of God in Christ
located right outside of Chicago in Elgin, Illinois. Reverend Blaylark,
(08:16):
Welcome to the Black Information Network.
Speaker 10 (08:19):
Thank you, thank you for your time, honor to be
able to speak on my friend and my mentor, the
Reverend Jesse Lewis Jackson.
Speaker 7 (08:29):
Wow, Hugh said, mentor, you have known Reverend Jackson for decades.
Speaker 10 (08:34):
I first met the reverend when I went over to
Operation Push when he was very young, and I noticed
the charisma that he had. At that time, I was
the Human Rights director for the City of Elgin and
we would go and hear his.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
Speeches.
Speaker 11 (08:54):
Here are some of the things he was doing with
voters right here, some of the things that he's doing
with those people people throughout the world. Also pacificity in Chicago.
Speaker 7 (09:04):
It was a tough time back then. Reverend Blaylark says.
The Chicago Democratic machine under strong Mayor Richard Daly was
powerful and.
Speaker 10 (09:13):
Racist, and I remember Jesse saying, Pharaoh, let my people go.
Speaker 12 (09:19):
And so Jesse Jesse was very focal and moving the
city fathers to do the right thing for African Americans.
Speaker 7 (09:29):
Then the issue of housing. Reverend Blaylark says, they joined
forces to fight what was happening in Elgin, about a
half hour away from the city.
Speaker 12 (09:38):
Discrimination was very, very vast here in the Northwest suburbs,
and Reverend Jesse and I tackled many of this along
with the Hood Fair.
Speaker 7 (09:52):
Haulsey Division, but there were more fights and protests to come.
Speaker 10 (09:56):
About forty five black males came to me in said,
hey man, we've been totally arrested by the police.
Speaker 3 (10:03):
You know, we don't have any drugs in a car.
Speaker 10 (10:05):
We don't have nothing, but they're trying to get us
while driving dirty.
Speaker 7 (10:09):
So he protested in front of the police station and
called on his friend who always got attention.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
He came out.
Speaker 12 (10:15):
Here and the newspaper had the headline, Uh, you know
Blaylock community leader and reverend of Living Gospel Church.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
He had national help. Now, Reverend Jesse Jackson's out here.
Speaker 12 (10:29):
Jesse came out right away, right away, and uh it
helped us.
Speaker 7 (10:35):
Reverend Blaylark says, Reverend Jackson was always ready, always committed.
Like when Jackson supported Blaylark's nephew, Brandon Johnson and his
successful run and reelection for Chicago's mayor.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
We're going to miss them.
Speaker 10 (10:48):
The world is better because of the Reverend Jesse Jackson.
Speaker 12 (10:53):
So Reverend Jesse Jackson believed that God had appointed him
for this time in this season.
Speaker 7 (11:01):
Reverend Jackson was an ordained minister in prayer, was never
too far from his lips. Joining me now is another
reverend whose connection goes back decades. Reverend DeForest Soury's junior leader, author, pastor,
and dear friend to Reverend Jackson. Reverend Saori's thank you
so much for joining me.
Speaker 13 (11:18):
Well, thank you for having me, and thank you for
recognizing the profound and historic impact made by Reverend Jackson.
I went to work with Reverend Jackson two years after
he founded Operation Push in nineteen seventy three. I was
twenty three years old, he was thirty three years old,
(11:39):
and it was the most impactful experience of my life.
I worked with him for three years, and I can
tell you, without fear of contradiction, those three years shaped
the rest of my adult life.
Speaker 7 (11:53):
Tell me what we lost with Reverend Jackson's passing and
what we gained because he lived well.
Speaker 13 (11:58):
He was a tireless and passionate advocate for justice, economic justice,
social justice, political justice. He was one of those old
school civil rights activists. He put the movement ahead of himself.
He came out of, of course, Doctor King and his
(12:20):
tutelage and did everything he could to sustain a focus
on justice and making sure America lived up to the
principles of the founding documents. I worked with him in
the nineteen seventies, and most people today can't even imagine that.
In the nineteen seventies, Reverend Jackson was perceived to be
(12:41):
the heir apparent to the kind of dynamic leadership that
Doctor King provided. And I tell my young people he
was like Jay z and Fhara Khan and all of.
Speaker 4 (12:55):
The entertainments combined.
Speaker 13 (12:57):
He could give a speech in downtown Philadelphia in the
middle of the we can attract ten thousand people.
Speaker 4 (13:02):
He was just that impactful.
Speaker 13 (13:04):
And you know, most people came to know him, Miss Tyler,
as a.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Result of his politics.
Speaker 13 (13:10):
But before there was the Rainbow Coalition, there was in
the nineteen seventies Operation Push, and he had not only
national influence.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
But global influence.
Speaker 13 (13:20):
When you go to Africa today, one of the few
African Americans that stand out all over Africa is Reverend
Jesse Jackson.
Speaker 7 (13:28):
Reverend Jackson was a soldier for justice early on. Here
he talks about his first boycott against his hometown library
and segregated Greenville, South Carolina.
Speaker 14 (13:39):
Some of my classmates, we were arrested, john He was
a public library in Rainville, South Carolina. We cannot buy
ice cream in the front door, Howard Johnson.
Speaker 15 (13:51):
I think that, you know, Jesse Jackson brought the message
of economic opportunity and civil rights, and in that respect,
you know, I think he became one of many who
worked hard to continue the work of the nineteen sixties
and the work of doctor Martin mu King.
Speaker 7 (14:08):
Mark Moriel, President and CEO of the National Urban League.
Speaker 15 (14:12):
So a mighty oak is smallan a giant of a man,
a generational difference maker, someone that spanned the I think,
the bridge from civil rights to American politics, someone who
forty years ago, I think was far ahead of his
(14:34):
time in outlining a vision for the future of America.
He called it the Rainbow Coalition. It was an America
of a multi racial and multi ethnic democracy. And therefore
his relevance and what he stood for and what he
represented is important today.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
He indeed paid the way, I believe for the.
Speaker 15 (14:58):
Clinton presidency because he registered and energized African American voters
who were important to Clinton's election and reelection.
Speaker 7 (15:08):
Morel remembers Jackson for his multifaceted approach and bringing his
demand for justice to multiple levels.
Speaker 15 (15:15):
Yeah, he was a person that brought the message to
the neighborhoods, to the community centers, to the public housing developments.
He brought it to rural America, he brought it to
urban America. He brought the message to American boardrooms. So
I think what we can take away from his leadership
is that he was fireless. Many may have seen the
(15:37):
Jesse who made great oratorical speeches. Many may have seen
the Jesse who led marches, but many didn't get an
opportunity like I did to see the Jesse behind closed doors,
the Jesse Jackson the diplomat, of the Jesse Jackson the negotiator,
(15:58):
And I think that's an important part of understanding the
complete picture of who this man was.
Speaker 7 (16:03):
The world watched as Reverend Jackson operated on the world stage,
freeing hostages, something at the time even the US government
couldn't do.
Speaker 15 (16:12):
There's no doubt that those who want to lead this
country in the futures do themselves well by studying the
work Reverend Genesi Jackson.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
He was an iconic figure.
Speaker 7 (16:24):
Condolences and remembrances continue from all corners, but especially from
those in the fight for civil rights.
Speaker 16 (16:31):
He was young, he was brash. His focus was on
civil rights, something that we didn't hear around much here
in West Tennessee.
Speaker 7 (16:39):
Harold Carter is the president of the Jackson Tennessee branch
of the NAACP, and Reverend Jackson's impact on the movement
was powerful.
Speaker 16 (16:49):
Jesse Jackson was one of a kind, but he was
able to touch enough of us to give us a
reason to not only get involved, but stay involved. Because
freedom is not free, and he was able to articulate
that well. And because of him, a lot of people
have been engaged and to this day commit themselves to
(17:09):
democracy that do not have. But it's always working toward it.
Speaker 7 (17:14):
Did you ever think that you'd still be faced with
fighting those battles that he fought back then?
Speaker 16 (17:22):
One of the things that was amazing is that as
we get older, we understand that the battle is not
ours alone. Our ancestors fought them from the shores of Africa,
in the middle of the Atlantic, on the shores of
the Western hemisphere, here, all up and down South America,
the Caribbeans, and into this country. We have made some
(17:43):
great strive but we have yet to make the final blow,
meaning that we are recognized as fully human. That we
understand the present diaspora is that which would deny you
the opportunity to have a clean and fair election. One
thing that Jesse always appreaches there's enough wealth in this
(18:04):
world that no one has to go hungry, no one
has to go without health care or roof over their head.
He was a great inspiration to all of us.
Speaker 7 (18:13):
Earl Carter, President of the NAACP. The Jackson, Tennessee Chapter
Thank you for your commitment to black people and your
memories of Reverend Jackson.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Thank you, Matt.
Speaker 17 (18:25):
This is not.
Speaker 9 (18:27):
Hey black campaign. It's a campaign for the eyes.
Speaker 18 (18:36):
Father he.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
And the rejected.
Speaker 7 (18:41):
It was his history making groundbreaking campaigns for president in
nineteen eighty four, in nineteen eighty eight that cleared the
way for those who would come. And they say, stand
on his shoulders.
Speaker 19 (18:53):
I believe Reverend Jackson is alliant in the civil rights
community and for Black Americans who have sought to pursue
civil rights and justice in so many different regards. You know,
there's an old phrase that we always say is that
we stand on the shoulders of giants. And the truth
is he's a giant whose shoulders I've been privileged and
fortunate to stand on, whether they be his work in
(19:16):
the political world, his constant pursuit of civil rights and
justice for people who are marginalized, advancing the issues of
the poor and those who have been downtrodden because of
systems of oppression.
Speaker 7 (19:29):
Tennessee State Representative Justin Pearson is the present and at
thirty one the future. He connected with Reverend Jackson, who
personally called him to acknowledge the fight in the young
lawmaker who, like Jackson, was willing to stand up for
what's right.
Speaker 20 (19:44):
I think what I will take from Reverend Jackson's leadership
is that you cannot only lead people as relates to
policies and issues. You have to reaffirm their humanity. And
for years now I've actually been paying homage to him
when I speak at elementary, middle and high schools, using
the phrase towards the end of all my speeches, I
(20:06):
am somebody, because that sense of somebody, and this is
so important that if our young people in particular don't
understand that none of the rest matters. They did, all
the margin, they did, all the Protestant they did, all
(20:27):
that work in labor for us to be elected representative,
to run for Congress, and to do the things that
we are doing. So there's a way to it as
a sadness, and also I think there's a responsibility and
an obligation that I feel, and I know a lot
of my peers feel, to carry the baton further.
Speaker 7 (20:54):
If you're just tuning in Reverend Jesse Jackson now among
the ancestors, we look back and talk with those who
knew him, loved him, and are putting into perspective the
impact he had on humanity.
Speaker 21 (21:06):
I believe that Jesse's name will go down as one
of the great freedom fighters of the twentieth century, along
with Nelson Mandela and Doctor King, Reverend Abernathy Jiles.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
Lewis, P. G.
Speaker 21 (21:18):
Vivian Ose Williams, and these are people that changed the world,
and his remarkable advocacy on behalf of four people will
also stand the test of time. He grew up in
abject poverty in South Carolina, overcame that and always advocated
for helping people to move from poverty to prosperity.
Speaker 7 (21:39):
Bill Campbell, former mayor of Atlanta, also saw Roverend Jackson
grow into this figure larger than life.
Speaker 21 (21:46):
I had the opportunity to spend time with him, to
watch his incredible transformation from a student to being a
leader to being a worldwide respected freedom fighter. And I
think can legacy would be one that has helped to
transformed America into what we hope it would be rather
(22:07):
than what we thought it was. And the world has
lost a great leader.
Speaker 22 (22:14):
You know, I had the distinct honor of meeting Reverend
Jesse L.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
Jackson when I was a.
Speaker 22 (22:23):
Young staffer working for then Mayor Sydney.
Speaker 7 (22:26):
Bertholomey Representative Troy Carter of Louisiana's among so many with
personal memories.
Speaker 22 (22:32):
It was an incredible titan, iconic giant among men, someone
who preached the gospel would always but also walk the walk,
talk the top, and was a giant at the corporate
table in the corporate boardroom. Was also a regular guy
(22:52):
on a street corner talking to anybody who needed a
word of encouragement or a hand up. A leader that
stood as a international figure when going abroad to have
fight for the release of hostages. His fingerprint, his legacy
(23:14):
is all over our civil rights tapestry, and he will
be sorely missed.
Speaker 9 (23:19):
Times you must leave racial battleground and come economic coming.
Speaker 7 (23:25):
Ground economic equality demands many will remember from Reverend Jesse Jackson.
Speaker 17 (23:30):
Well Jesse Jackson. In my view, he would make this
statement often. He would try to equalize the playing field.
Speaker 7 (23:39):
Attorney Melvin Carter is Reverend Jackson's fraternity brother and friend.
He joins the millions mourning the enormous loss was.
Speaker 17 (23:48):
He was definitely the Omega, one of the greatest Omega
in the history of the Omega Fraternity incorporated. Jesson Jesse
was a true member. He just didn't just speak a talk.
He was a man of action. Jesse would never say
anything that he was not gonna do.
Speaker 7 (24:09):
When thinking about Reverend Jackson's legacy, Attorney Carter says, he
is grateful to have known him.
Speaker 4 (24:14):
Just had a great impact on my life.
Speaker 17 (24:16):
I never saw a man of that kind of character.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
That man.
Speaker 17 (24:20):
He was very outspoken. Like I said, he was not
a man just for words. He made things happen. He
changed the democratic process, off the end food deserts and
using boy cockstumes, and to influence corporate behavior.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
He did a lot of things.
Speaker 7 (24:36):
Attorney Melvin Carter, thank you for your insight, Thank you,
thank you for having me tell me about your memories
of Reverend Jackson.
Speaker 8 (24:44):
A lot of different mems of Reverend Jackson. I remember
very early on, back in the late sixties and in
the sixties and seventies when he was really pushing Rainbow Push,
and then in the eighties when he decided he wanted
to run for president of the United States. I supported
(25:06):
him and actually both of his campaigns. So I've known
Reverend Jackson for a long period of time.
Speaker 7 (25:12):
Dean Douglas is a professor emeritus at Houston's, Texas Southern University,
Fairgood Marshall's School of Law.
Speaker 8 (25:20):
To me, he's just as important as Thirgood Marshall and
changing the rule of law. And I tell my students
this every day, especially given what we're going through now.
Lawyers can't change the law until they first changed public opinion.
And the people who changed public opinion are the social activists.
So it's clear that Reverend Jackson was a very active
(25:46):
social activist. It was people like that who got out
in society and changed public opinion.
Speaker 7 (25:54):
Dean Douglas says, what Reverend Jackson would do is point
out the immorality that would force the change and later
the law.
Speaker 8 (26:02):
That was the amazing thing about him was what he
was able to do in terms of his ability to
convince Copper the executives that they needed to be a
part of the change.
Speaker 23 (26:14):
On your head high, now.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
We can win.
Speaker 9 (26:18):
You must never stop dreaming.
Speaker 7 (26:22):
Reverend Jackson didn't stop dreaming even when the dreamer was assassinated.
Jackson was there in Memphis when doctor Martin Luther King
Junior was gunned down in nineteen sixty eight. The dream
had to live on.
Speaker 14 (26:35):
Shot Hill in cool Blood, oh I can remember some
boy saying, when we're looking to kill a woman, who
must keep going?
Speaker 7 (26:47):
Black people kept going with the first black president. We
remember his tears when Barack Obama became president, and for
all the black leaders and all the professions, Reverend Jackson
was a bridge to our history. Ambassador Andrew Young, now
ninety four, remembers a young Jesse Jackson.
Speaker 24 (27:06):
Yes, it was a really handsome guy, and he was
as physically a fit. I mean when I met Jesse,
he was just out of Illinois and A and T
and he was he'd played quarterback, and he had a
(27:27):
football and I remember holding it up, holding my hand
up like that, thinking he'd just shovel it to me.
And he reached back and he slammed the ball into
my hands. And if I had caught it tight, it
would have hit me. It would have knocked my teeth out.
Speaker 7 (27:47):
Statesman Young, one of the last of the Titans, who,
along with Reverend Jackson, paved the way.
Speaker 24 (27:52):
You know, when people get in a demonstration to get
what we call freedom high, and they knew the police
were down there to beat them up, but they wanted
to go back and they wanted to continue confronting the police. Well,
that wasn't the way we did business. We didn't want
to get anybody hurt. We could avoid it. We avoided it,
(28:15):
but keep them from getting out of hand and getting hurt.
I was standing there sort of manning a barricade, and
he came up and said, you've been here a long time.
He said, I'm Jesse Jackson from Chicago. I came down
with the Chicago Divinity School group. And he said, I
(28:41):
slept all the way down and you look like you exhausted.
He said, you can trust me. I can stay here
and I can keep the crowd back and keep it safe,
and you go get a nap. I simply said thank
you and walked away, and I knew I was leaving
things hand.
Speaker 7 (29:01):
He leads to more in his passing his wife Jacqueline,
his six children, and all humanity who say thank you
for a job well done. Reverend Jesse Jackson was eighty four.
Speaker 6 (29:15):
He made it really easy for us to open up
the role amazingly that he has done the hard work
for us, so it's just us.
Speaker 25 (29:23):
Taking the next step.
Speaker 26 (29:25):
He showed me that job keep called for life for
one thing right, and.
Speaker 27 (29:31):
He showed me that.
Speaker 11 (29:33):
You don't give up and keep fighting for justice.
Speaker 14 (29:37):
And he did it so elicitly.
Speaker 23 (29:41):
Yes, I just miss it.
Speaker 7 (29:43):
My wady. For more in these stories and international, national,
state and local news impacting the black community, listen to
the Black Information Network on the iHeartRadio app or log
on to binnews dot com and follow me at Vanessa
tyler Ie on Instagram. I'm Vanessa tyler I'm the Black
(30:04):
Information Network, your home for Black news first.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Thank you, Vanessa. Rest in power to the one and
only Reverend Jesse Jackson. Mike Moore recently sat down with
black Georgia gubernatorial candidate Michael Thurman. The former Dacab County
CEO is among several candidates who have qualified to run.
He spoke on several topics affecting Georgia residents.
Speaker 23 (30:26):
We are now speaking with former Dicab County CEO and
Georgia State representative, Labor Department Commissioner Michael Thurman. What a
pleasure it is to speak with you again, and I
can't wait to begin talking about this road, in this
journey that you've embarked upon.
Speaker 3 (30:44):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 28 (30:45):
Mike is honored to be with you, and it's honored
to share with you my vision for Georgia as being
the next governor.
Speaker 23 (30:53):
Governance is nothing new to you, This journey that you you've
decided to embark upon. Now from whence did it come?
Or has this been in the making for some time?
Speaker 28 (31:08):
It's been a calling and I've had time to think
about it, and all my previous experiences in life, both
politically and personally, have prepared me for this moment at
this critical time in the history of Georgia and the
history of our nation. And I'm excited by the opportunity,
but I recognize that this is a challenge as well
(31:29):
as an opportunity for us to move into a position
so that we can begin to address some of the
most critical issues facing families and working people in our state.
Speaker 23 (31:38):
Speaks to those challenges, if you will affordability.
Speaker 28 (31:42):
So many heads of household men and women who are
working hard every day, some holding down two or three
jobs and still not able to purchase the groceries needed
to pay rent, to purchase insurance, to pay for good
education for their children. These are exceptionally difficult times for
working men and women who really just want someone to
(32:03):
need someone to stand up and fight for them, to
stand in the gap and do what's right to have
a government that has a heart and that is focused
on helping people help themselves.
Speaker 23 (32:15):
This is somewhat a simple example that I'm going to
give you, and I'm sure the answer is going to
be much more complex. But sometimes you look at a
situation and you say, Okay, here is the problem, here
is where we stand. Where's the road to absolve all
(32:35):
of this? So if you will follow that road and
tell me some of those challenges and what has to
happen to overcome them.
Speaker 3 (32:43):
Well, first of.
Speaker 28 (32:43):
All, we have to have an elected a governor and
elected officials who actually care not just about the big businesses,
but also about the people. You have to focus attention
on what are the real challenges that average men and
women are facing. Number One, we have to have health care.
We must expand and extend medicaid to more of our citizens.
(33:06):
Nearly eleven percent of George's population is uninsured. This is
a travesty. Consequently, thousands of citizens are getting sick from
preventable diseases and unfortunately, many are dying. This is especially
acute in rural Georgia, where we have hospitals, clothing families
who have to travel an hour and a half just
(33:26):
to get access to primary care. Our schools are understressed
all across this state. We have to invest in a
public education system that creates multiple pathways to success, recognizing
that many kids will want to go to a liberal
arts college or university, but recognize that this economy now
(33:48):
is about skills as much as it is about degrees. Consequently,
we have to celebrate all of our workers, white collar,
blue collar, no collar, not the color of the collar,
but the green and a dollar that makes all the difference.
It's not just about going to more House of Spellmen
or cau or Savannah State, Albany State, Pain or Georgia
(34:10):
University of Georgia or Georgia Tech. Celebrate these young men
and women who decide to go to Atlanta Tech, who
decide to take a military career on apprenticeship. And look,
in this economy, these skills oftentimes generate higher salaries than
liberal arts degrees.
Speaker 23 (34:29):
And you're talking about folks that may go into HVAC
and plumbing and things of those natures that nature.
Speaker 28 (34:37):
Absolutely look, let your toilet goes on the brink. You
called the plumber. You don't ask how much you're trying
to figure out how soon. If you're in a career,
that's about how much as opposed to how soon you're
going to make a lot of money for yourself.
Speaker 23 (34:51):
I want to jump back on something that you mentioned,
those in rural areas and not being insured and just
the access in terms of distance and affordability to have insurance.
There's also a consequence of that, and speak to this
if you will. Medical debt as a result of not
having insurance just places you in financial dire Oh.
Speaker 28 (35:17):
Absolutely. It is an unbelievable burden that so many people,
particularly people of colored people who live in rural parts
of Bible State and in some urban areas, must carry.
And it's a debt that is almost impossible to relieve
yourself up. It's a debt to the individual, but it
also generates debts to the hospitals who are trying to
(35:38):
provide the service. We have to expand Medicare. And by
the way, we talk about economic development, if Georgia had
expanded extended Medicaid, we would have generated another six thousand
jobs statewide, nearly seven thousand jobs in rural Georgia paying
good salaries. So it's about health, but it's also about wealth.
(36:02):
It's both and if we will use our resources as
a government to do what's right for our people. This
is what I said. Look, having access to Medicaid and
affordable healthcare, that's not a black.
Speaker 3 (36:14):
Thing, it's not a white thing. That's a right thing.
Speaker 28 (36:17):
And we need a government and government leaders who all
focused on doing the right thing and not engage in
hyper partisanship that underminds the ability of people to support
and care for themselves.
Speaker 23 (36:29):
I love how you wax poetic. That was so so
very good. Forgive me for throwing that in there. Thank you,
Thank you made me smile. I'm sorry about that. Also
want to talk about your reach because in this capacity
we're talking about statewide. How do you get your messaging
(36:49):
not only to the people who know you and Athens
quite frankly, they know you all over this state. But
to take your messaging and make it a statewide message.
Speaker 28 (37:00):
What has to happen A great insight. As you know,
my natural political habitat is Georgia. I served in the
cav County the school superintendent of the CEO. But I'm
back into my natural habitat statewide, and you have to
respect number one, the people who populate this state from
north to south, east and west urban, rural suburban, and
(37:23):
thank god, I've been lucky. I was elected statewide three
times as a label commissioner, the first African American non
incoment ever to win a statewide office in the history
of Georgia. So I have history in building the coalitions
between urban and rural and suburban in order to achieve
(37:43):
what some people might feel or might think are basically impossible.
We can do this and look creating jobs. I don't
care where you live, that's important to you, creating good jobs.
Were investing hundreds of millions of dollars to bring new
jobs to such as the Hyundai plant and Brian County
on the coast, but unfortunately many of the highest being
(38:06):
jobs will not feel by Georgian's My motto will be
a job for every Georgian and a Georgian for every job,
and we're going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars
in incentives that I think Georgians ought to be.
Speaker 3 (38:18):
First in line.
Speaker 23 (38:19):
Okay, let's talk about the economy now, if we can
do that, because it's somewhat of a parallel. Are there
any things that you're proposing that would better enable the
tax cuts, and I'm not trying to put words in
your mouth. Any kind of gesture that you can make
(38:41):
that may alleviate some of the challenges that we all face.
You go into a grocery store, I can't imagine a
box of cereal seven dollars, But that's the reality. I'm
thinking about a family that has several chills, or young
children or whatever makes it very difficult just to go
(39:02):
to the store.
Speaker 28 (39:04):
I'm so happy that you mentioned young families with children.
The one thing I will do immediately is that I
will increase scholarships for parents to help them pay for childcare.
One of the most challenging expenses that young parents have
is affording childcare for their children. So Georgia has a
(39:24):
program that I started actually when I was a defact director.
We called it a Childcare for the low income residents.
But I will raise that salary. That salary cap so
up to eighty thousand dollars a year one hundred and
sixty thousand dollars for a couple, so that they can
qualify for scholarships to cover the cost of childcare for
(39:49):
their young children.
Speaker 3 (39:50):
Think about it.
Speaker 28 (39:51):
Childcare in many parts of Georgia is twelve hundred and
fifteen hundred two thousand dollars a month.
Speaker 3 (39:57):
The very few jobs.
Speaker 28 (39:58):
That allow you to pay for the child can still
have enough left over to make investments on the other
thing you're doing. So the first thing I'm going to do,
I'm going to increase the income level for the CAPS
program so that more families can qualify for childcare scholarships.
Speaker 23 (40:17):
I'm going to wrap this up, but I want to
lead this for you to be on this singular platform.
Why should you be the next governor of Georgia.
Speaker 28 (40:30):
I am tested, I'm proven, I'm ready. I've led two
of the largest state agencies, the Department of Labor as
well as the Department of Family.
Speaker 3 (40:38):
And Children Services.
Speaker 28 (40:40):
My entire life has prepared me for this critical moment
to be the CEO of a forty plus billion dollar corporation,
which is the State of Georgia. And I'm more importantly,
I'm focused on people. This is not about politics. It's
about people, and I have demonstrated throughout my career not
so much about promises, but about performing. If you've given
(41:01):
me this opportunity, as voters, I'm going to work hard.
I won't quit, and I won't let you down.
Speaker 23 (41:06):
Michael Thurman, thank you ever so much for joining us.
Speaker 3 (41:09):
Thank you so much, Mike.
Speaker 1 (41:10):
Thank you Mike and Mike. And of course we'll bring
you all of the developments in this race and other
key elections across the country. The midterm primaries are May nineteenth,
with a runoff if needed, on June sixteenth, and election
day is November third. It's Women's History Month, and in
the spirit of women's empowerment, the Black Information That Works.
(41:30):
Ester Dillard spoke to feminine activists Gloria Steinem and Nobel
Peace Prize winner Lama Bowie. They co wrote a children's
book that speaks specifically to girls and what they need
to do to navigate the world today.
Speaker 25 (41:46):
In twenty twenty six, globally, there was rising at taritarianism,
there was racistim women's rights were being threatened things, and
these two women decided to show us something different.
Speaker 18 (42:00):
Unfortunately, living in a moment of visible racism, rising authoritarianism,
and fear for many families. In this edition of The
Color Between the Lines, I'm speaking with feminist leader Gloria
Steinem and Nobel Peace Prize winner Lema Bowie about why
they wrote a children's book together called Rise, Girl Rise.
They have advice on what women must teach girls right
(42:21):
now about courage, sisterhood, and survival. Glorious Steinem has been
one of the most recognized feminist organizers in American history
and co founded the Women's Media Center. Lma Bowie is
a Liberian peace activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who
helped lead the women's movement that ended Liberia's Civil War. Together,
(42:42):
they're speaking to girls in this moment. Both of you
have spent decades speaking to adults in moments of crisis,
And I just wonder why was it important for both
of you to write this book together to address girls
and at this moment, because you could have done it
separately and it could have been a different time. So
why now and why together?
Speaker 27 (43:04):
It was very important to do together because girls and
grown ups are attracted first of all to sameness, to
something they identify with, so to double our ability to
reach out, it was important to do together. And also,
(43:28):
I just love Leimah. I mean, I think it's way
more fun and interesting to do things with her than
to do things by myself.
Speaker 25 (43:39):
Leima, well, Lemma is fine, Lima is fine. I think
in these moments. What the both of us represent is
from our different spaces. People look up to us, girls
look up to us, and it was very important for
me that we do this project together. Adults like you
(44:04):
said earlier, have heard from us all.
Speaker 3 (44:06):
Of our lives.
Speaker 25 (44:07):
It was important for us to do something for girls,
for them to see that in a moment and time
ten twenty years from now, thirty years from now, when
someone pick up a copy of this book, it will
be that in twenty twenty six, globally there was rising
and taritarianism, there was racism, women's rights were being threatened,
(44:32):
Girls and women were being told, even boys were being suppressed.
People were being haunted and all of the different things.
And these two women decided to show us something different.
And for me, that is the essence of what we've done.
Two separate individuals I'm from Liberia way out their glorious
from this side, and us coming together and saying this
(44:55):
is what we want to leave not just for children,
but for humans. So people say it's a children's book.
I said, no, it's a human book. It's a sister's book.
Yeah yeah, but.
Speaker 18 (45:05):
I have to ask lam because of your activism and
your life's work shows that you try to highlight how
just ordinary women can really change things and see themselves differently,
see themselves as leaders. How did you bring an idea
of that courage into this book for young girls?
Speaker 27 (45:25):
Oh?
Speaker 25 (45:26):
I was telling someone earlier on that this entire book
is like a summary of our life work, of our
life story. Because no one was born great, no one
was born an icon, no one was born. What happens,
(45:48):
especially in my world, is your ability to take that
ordinary thing you'll give your talent and nature it and
turn it into extraordinary for the world, you know. And
I think that's the message that I want to put
out there, because we live in a world where our
young girls are primarily obsessed with what is trending. And
(46:11):
I tell people that legacy is never built on trends.
If you go on social media to day on the
left hand corner or right hand corner, you see all
of the things that are trending. The next hour something
else will overtake it, and the next hour something else
will overtake it. So the essence of this book is
to say to them, be you be your ordinary self,
(46:34):
turn your ordinary self into extraordinary, turn your ordinary gift
into extraordinary.
Speaker 4 (46:40):
Gift.
Speaker 25 (46:40):
Yeah, I think that's the message for me.
Speaker 27 (46:44):
And in my case, I had a mother who, before
I was born, had been a journalist and loved being
a journalist, and she had given it up because of
the needs and demands of my father, who was a
very nice guy, but was running a faraway resort and
(47:07):
she could not keep up for journalism. And I saw
the cost that was to her.
Speaker 26 (47:15):
I saw how much she would teach me how to
hold a reporter's notebook in my left hand, so I
could you take notes with In seeing what she had lost,
I understood of what it was important not to give up.
Speaker 18 (47:36):
I'm going to pause a conversation right here. It's because
in the next part, Gloria Steinem and Lima Bowie speak
directly about visible racism, families being separated, and why they
say togetherhood will never fail. You can hear the next
part of that conversation by heading over to the Color
Between the Lines podcast on iHeartRadio, YouTube or wherever you
(47:56):
get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (47:57):
I'm Aster Dillard, thanks esther, Gloria and Laima. Coming up,
Doug speaks with a black broadcaster who flipped his career
as a meteorologist into a black business with a huge commitment.
Speaker 24 (48:10):
Doug.
Speaker 2 (48:10):
Hey, thanks Mike, and welcome back to another segment of
your black business.
Speaker 3 (48:13):
You know, operly mobile.
Speaker 2 (48:14):
Black professionals these days are building legacies at weather any
storm literally. Today, I'm joined by veteran TV weather meteorologist
Jason Frasier, founder of Drizzle Weather, the stem education program
making weather fun for kids through hands on experiences from
Fox Weather meteorologists to black entrepreneur teaching in the next
generation about climbing to impact. Jason is joining us now
(48:35):
to unpack how he launched this venture and what it
means for black excellence and edutainment. Welcome to the bi
n Brother Jason. So, Jason, before we get started, take
us back. You're a Columbia grad who went from JP
Morgan banking to TV reporting, then you pivoted to meteorology
while covering hurricanes. So what sparked this leap, you know,
(48:56):
to founding Drizzle Weather.
Speaker 27 (48:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (48:58):
So, I really believe in the value of invention and reinvention.
I think the Good Lord gives you multiple talents, and
I think the majority of people and life only focus
on one of the talents. And at a very young age,
I remember there was a blizzard that slammed the northeast.
(49:20):
It was the ninety sixth board and I remember thinking,
I have never seen this thing that could shut down
one of America's largest city. I just remember thinking, man,
this weather thing, this is really interesting, the fact that
a snowstorm could do something like this. And so, as
I moved throughout high school and then I got to college,
(49:41):
I was more interested in communications and political science and
political theory. I interned for President Clinton and I took
a left turn and it went into banking because they
were offering free cookies. I am serious, my friend, So
I will never forget the recruiting event. I was hungry
(50:02):
at the time and they were offering cookies, and I
remember thinking, what is this. They're golvering cookies, Like, let's go. Look,
I was a college senior, kill a man. They had said,
they had said, within two years will make you a manager.
It's like, okay, So I did it. I liked what
I heard. Did the program for two years. I hated it.
I only liked my paychecks every two weeks.
Speaker 2 (50:24):
And that's an important part right there, because you know,
shout out to all of the younger kids that are
listening right now, It's not always about the money. But
if you do find that purpose, you can work hard
and get that money again.
Speaker 3 (50:39):
Amen. And as the market was tanking, I said, this
was two thousand and eight. People were being put out
of their homes. The economy was crazy. And this was
right around the time that President Obama was starting to
make us round. People really needed hope. And I was
inspired to pursue my dreams. And I said, you know,
(51:00):
I've always wanted to be on television. I've always wanted
to be a news reporter, somebody covering the weather. Like,
let's just do this.
Speaker 2 (51:07):
So let's fast forward. You find a couple of jobs
in the industry. You're reporting at different cities all across
the country. How did weather come into play? And by
the way, much like you, I actually did weather myself
part time for Fox, but that was years ago.
Speaker 3 (51:22):
My wife always tells me all the time that, you know,
when we were at beaches, like I always used to
look up at the clouds and I would stare at
the clouds or you know, some of my favorite stories
to cover as a news reporter were weather stories. And
I remember praying and meditating and I was like, God,
I need to figure out what the next step is
because I'm just I'm not feeling it. I'm not feeling it.
And we were in Puerto Rico, and I will never
(51:43):
forget I woke up in the middle of the night
and I heard, deep down in my spirit you need
to pursue weather. And I was like, what are you
talking about? Weather like? No like you news like people
know me. It was the news reporter.
Speaker 4 (51:56):
Right.
Speaker 3 (51:57):
I left Boston, I went back to school. I found
a job, thankfully in Savannah, Georgia, and within two weeks
we had a hurricane. I'm no longer reporting, I'm now
saving lives. I'm now in charge of people's lives. Around
that time, a Fox News decided that they were going
(52:18):
to launch a rival to the Weather channel called Fox Weather.
And there was a friend of mine that I had
helped find some candidates for a job. We were talking
one day and he said, hey, you know Fox News
is launching this new network. You should apply. And I
was like, I don't even know who do you even
talk to you? What are you talking about? He's like, oh,
you need to email this person.
Speaker 20 (52:38):
Right.
Speaker 3 (52:39):
And So, because a lot of times, what I have
found in life is it's not wanting to know it's
who you know, and we have to pay attention to
our networks right fast forward. You know. We did that
for three years. I got to the end of my
contract and I started having that feeling again of saying, Nope,
I think it's time to do something different. And I'm
a big believer in doing school. I'm a big believer
(53:01):
in going into the community and doing talks. And one
of the things I had heard from a number of
teachers around the country was there aren't enough weather education
resources out there that are engaging, and so I launched
Rizzle Weather about two years ago. I call this a
STEM education entertainment company. We basically help kids see that
(53:22):
science can be delicious, fun and entertaining. And so our
signature product is something called edible Weather, which is where
we teach. We teach kids about weather and climate using
food based experiments. So for teaching kids, for example, about
how to read the weather radar, I'm pretty sure you've
seen the weather radar and you've seen all of these
different colors that have popped up, the reds, the greens.
(53:45):
Sometimes you even see yellow, sometimes you even see white
or purple. I'll explain what that is using guacamole, salsa, cheese,
sour cream.
Speaker 2 (53:55):
And how did you come up with that? I mean,
how did that creative energy come through as a way,
because you know, there must have been somewhat of an
aha moment that you knew that this would be a
great thing for kids. What was that moment for you?
Speaker 3 (54:10):
So, Doug, there were two things that unite people. It
doesn't matter where you're from, It doesn't matter who you are.
Food motivating, That's right. Food brings people together and music
brings people together. And you know, as I thought about,
you know, what are the different things I love doing.
I love traveling, I love eating, I love cooking, I
love weather, I love music. Is there a way for
(54:34):
me to combine all of that within weather education? And
you know, I started asking around with some other meteorologists about,
you know, are there any food based experiments that you
guys do? And people are like no, And you know,
I did some background research, even had some conversations with
chat GBT and I came up with this whole brand
(54:56):
called Edible Weather and we now have a book on
Amazon as well as Barnes and Noble. It's got twenty
five of these weather experiments. It has made me way
more money than I thought it would ever make.
Speaker 2 (55:09):
Well, let me ask you this, how did it start?
I mean, I've been a part of a few outreach
programs that started from a grassroots perspective, and we had
to do a number of let's say one offs, right
to get some schools under our belt to give us
at leverage to go to that next district level as
a black founder, how was that process of going from
(55:31):
national weathercaster now to a area that you really hadn't
really touched yet.
Speaker 3 (55:38):
It was humbling because I thought that my success in
broadcasting would lend it self to education, right, and I
quickly learned that a lot of educators were like, who
are you? We don't know you? And that was it
was humbling because you would think that if you had
success in one area, people would at least give you
(55:59):
the time of day, right, and some people did you know.
To go back to what I said earlier, which is
about it comes down to your network. And I had
a childhood friend that I explained the vision of the
company to and he had said, Paul, a very good
friend of mine is a teacher and runs an after
school program. I think that you should try this there
(56:21):
and I explained to him the idea and what we
were thinking about doing, and this guy was like, I
love the idea, Let's do it. And so then I
had to think about, well, how do I price this
out and how much are people going to pay? And
it was some trial and error, but you know, with
this gentleman, he was very gracious. We did one segment,
(56:44):
We did one thing, and the kids loved it and
they ended up signing me to a summer program. We
ended up doing it for about seven weeks there and
then it's just slowly started growing. And you know, I
think many times and I went to make sure that
I say this especially to anybody that's thinking about launching
a company, into all of our founders. You know, I
(57:06):
think people believe that launching your own business and success
within your own business is like climbing a mountain. There's
this continual upward motion that happened. And the reality of
this is it's more like a rollercoaster or.
Speaker 14 (57:22):
Like it is.
Speaker 3 (57:23):
Man, yea ribbon. You're gonna have your ups, you're gonna
have your downs, You're gonna have your twist, you have
your turns. You're gonna have some nights where you're gonna
be talking to God. Hey, did you forget about it?
Speaker 15 (57:39):
All right?
Speaker 3 (57:39):
Can you just send me? Send me a telegram let
me know.
Speaker 2 (57:46):
Jason and I am having a blast with this interview today.
Speaker 3 (57:50):
Man, you are hilarious. Brother.
Speaker 2 (57:52):
Look, we're running out of time. How can people reach
you and learn more about drizzle Weather.
Speaker 3 (57:57):
Yeah, drizzleweather dot com. Be can also follow up us
on Instagram as well as YouTube and TikTok. You can
also always drop us a line at crewe at drizzleweather
dot com. Crewe see rw at drizzleweather dot com.
Speaker 2 (58:13):
Black weather meteorologist Jason Frasier, the mind behind drizzle Weather
Stama education company that makes learning about weather and climate
fun and interactive for kids. This is Doug Davis listening
to the Black Perspective and Your Black Business and the
Black Information Network.
Speaker 1 (58:29):
Thanks Doug and Jason, and that's our show for this week.
For more on these stories, listen to the Black Information
Network on the free iHeartRadio app or log onto bimnews
dot com for all of the latest news impacting the
black community.
Speaker 3 (58:44):
We would love to.
Speaker 1 (58:44):
Hear from you about the Black Perspective. Simply log onto
the Black Information Networks Talkback Live feature on the iHeartRadio
app and share your feedback. Also, be sure to follow
us on social media at Black Information Network and on
X and Blue Sky at black Info neet. Make the
Black Information Network first on your car radio and iHeartRadio
app presets. We once again honor and send our condolences
(59:07):
to the family of the late referend Jesse Jackson. Rest
in power, and before we go, we want to take
a moment to recognize Women's History Month, celebrating every March
to honor the achievements, strength, and contributions of women throughout
history and in our communities today. From leaders and innovators
to mothers, daughters, and everyday trailblazers, women have played a
(59:28):
powerful role in shaping our world. I'm Mike Island. Have
a great Sunday. We'll see you next week with a
new episode of The Black Perspective with stories from Alexandria Ikimoni,
Andrea Coleman, Misty Jordan, Tammy Estwick, and others right here
on the Black Information Network
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