The Black Perspective: November 30, 2025

This week on The Black Perspective, we're bringing you some of our most powerful conversations from the year.
 
Andrea Coleman revisits her interview with Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.
 
BIN’s Esther Dillard returns with the 2025 Gracie Award–winning special Daughters Beyond Incarceration, standing strong on issues of family, justice, and resilience.
 
We replay Misty Jordan’s candid conversation with newly elected Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield — discussing her political journey, challenges, and vision for the city’s future.
 
And Doug Davis sits down with up-and-coming filmmaker RaMell Ross as he reflects on his journey in film and the work that led up to this year’s Grammy season spotlight.
 
Listen now!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's Sunday, November thirtieth, and on today's show, we take
a pause for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, but bring you
some of our best interviews this year so far, including
BI anchor Andrea Coleman speaking with Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayana Presley.
Our own Ester Dillart replays her twenty twenty five Gracie
Award winning powerful feature Daughters Beyond Incarceration. In New Orleans,

(00:24):
we replay Misty Jordan's conversation with New Detroit Mayor elect
Mary Sheffield, and Doug Davis spent some time with up
and coming director Ramel Ross before this year's Grammy Award ceremony.
These stories and more are coming your way on today's program.
Welcome to the Black Perspective. I'm your host, Mike Isla.

Speaker 2 (00:44):
Welcome to the Black Perspective, a weekly community affairs program
on the Black Information Network featuring interviews and discussions on
issues important to the Black community.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
Good Sunday, and Welcome to the Black Perspective. Hope you
enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday. You may recall the shock Black
America experienced when learning this summer that more than three
hundred thousand black women had lost their jobs since February.
Congresswoman Ayana Presley was quick to act. She sent a
letter to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell demanding he act

(01:15):
to safeguard the employment opportunities of all Americans. She has
also introduced the legislation to protect some of the gains
won in the civil rights movement. These are issues, she says,
that everyone, no matter their race, should be concerned about.

Speaker 3 (01:28):
It seems you have been extremely busy these past few
weeks on Capitol Hill. Most recently, you've been raising awareness
and seeking remedy to the large number of black women
who have been become unemployed since February this year, the
latest number showing over three hundred thousand Black women alone
now being unemployed due to some of the federal activities

(01:49):
that have taken place since President Trump has returned to office.
Why should Americans, and when I say Americans, i'm talking
about all Americans be concerned about this issue, Congresswoman Presley.

Speaker 4 (02:01):
Well, all Americans should care because black women throughout history
have been the canaries in the coal mine. This alarming
spike and black women's unemployment rate to six point seven
percent compared to overall unemployment a four point three percent.
This is the highest in four years. It is a

(02:22):
damning commentary. It's a glaring red flag for our economy.
And again it's just further evidence of Donald Trump's irresponsible
and chaotic economic policies. And you know, I do believe
it is also discriminate, precise and targeted harm. Black women

(02:42):
have long been overrepresented in the federal workforce, representing some
twelve percent, particularly in places alike housing and urban development.
The Department of Education, Health and Human Services usaid these
were amongst the first to experience these mass layoffs. When

(03:05):
you compound that with the what has happened in the
private sector, with the active defunding and dismantling of diversity,
equity and inclusion initiatives that both impacts the the representative
diversity in the private sector, but also that industry in

(03:26):
and of itself. Many of those jobs in the DEI
space were held by black women. So this is a
double hurt, if you will, and it's harming black women,
black families, and it's harming our economy. It's incredibly disruptive,
and we're going to lose the wealth, knowledge, innovation, and

(03:49):
skills that black women contribute every day, both in the
public and private sector, and so in my position on
the Financial Services Committee, I'm demanding that the Federal Reserve
take immediate action and uphold what is its statutory dual mandate.
You know that they need to do their job, and
that is to promote maximum employment for all, and that

(04:11):
means including addressing the increasingly high unemployment rates of black women.
If this sort of harm was being caused to any
other group, I believe that these steps would already be underway.
So I'm calling on the Federal Reserve to analyze the data,
to make a plan, and to take action.

Speaker 3 (04:30):
Now with that, you have personally sent a letter to
Chairman Jerome Powell asking him in particular to lead this effort.
He has also been kind of in the forefront of
President Trump's ayre as he's looking to lower interest rates,
but most recently as well in the firing of Lisa Cook,
who is the first black woman to ever serve as

(04:52):
a governor on that board. What would you like to
see him do in particular regarding this issue, and again
the issue of the of the black woman being unemployed,
but more so what seems to be this direct attack
against black women in the black community.

Speaker 4 (05:11):
At every single level. So when we talk about black
women being the last hired and the first fired, that
is not only true in the private sector and in
the public sector. With these mass firings in the agencies
that black women have long represented a high concentration of UH,

(05:37):
it includes people like Governor Lisa Cook. And so my
letter demands that the Federal Reserve again uphold its dual
mandate of maximum employment, but also that it affirms its
independence and that includes the unlawful firing of Governor Lisa Cook.
So I'm looking for them to be full throated and

(05:59):
their and their defense and their commitment to her.

Speaker 5 (06:02):
Yeah, very good.

Speaker 3 (06:03):
Let's talk about the general climate right now in America
and some of the other activities that you have undertaken.
You recently introduced a bill that would restore much of
the DEI related programs and funding that President Trump has dismantled.
What exactly would that bill call for? Does the bill
call for? And what do you want to see done specifically?

Speaker 4 (06:25):
Well, first, you know, Donald Trump has been obsessive about,
you know, three letter efforts that center race, whether you're
talking about Black lives matter, whether you're talking about critical
race theory, or whether you're talking about DEI diversity, equity

(06:45):
and inclusion, which there should be nothing controversial about that.
Diversity quite literally means everyone, veterans, disabled, black folks, LGBTQ, women, veterans,
people in rural communities. Equity. You're just talking about an
inclusive uh, you know, economy and workforce and and equitable
opportunity for everyone to contribute and uh and again an

(07:10):
inclusion in this you know, so called uh, the pursuit
of an American dream and this uh alleged meritocracy. So Trump,
the Trump administrations rollback on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
This is an affront to all of us now. It
is especially to black folks because it really is anti

(07:33):
blackness on steroids. And if we just call it what
it is, it's it's an attempt to resegregate society and
a whole sale attack on civil rights. Trump has rescinded
executive orders dating all the way back to Lynda B.
Johnson the sixties, the earliest chapters of the civil rights
move which were still very much in and in fact,

(07:54):
it didn't receive very much attention. You know, committee work
can be unglamorous. But when I introduced an amendment to
ban segregation. The Republicans in the committee all voted against it.
So you know, this is a five alarm fire here

(08:14):
at diversity, equity, and inclusion. It's essential. Again, diversity means
all people, equity meaning fair access to opportunity, inclusion, having
a pathway to the American dream. And so that's exactly
you know why I think it's important that my legislation,
the Equity and Government Act, it's necessary. It will aid

(08:34):
our efforts by helping to ensure the federal government works
for all people. And it restores that which Trump rolled back.
On President Biden's first day in office, he signed a
historic executive order to advance equity across federal agencies and
the communities they serve, and that progress was long overdue.
And so then on Trump's first day in office, he
revoked this order and he dismantled these equity centered plans

(08:58):
to that were meant to better our government and service
to those who call this country home. And these federal
programs and dedicated employees who administer them, they are necessary
to ensure the government does work for everyone. So our bill,
the Equity and Government Act, would would center equity and
justice in every agency decision, and it would codify Biden's

(09:20):
executive order that Trump revoked and dismantled his first day
in office.

Speaker 3 (09:27):
Very good. We have seen a lot of disruption in
the black community these past several months, and it continues.
I mean, we're seeing now not only the cutting of
the DEE and I programs and funding in so many ways,
but we've also seen now what seems to be an
attack on some of our democratic cities led by black

(09:48):
leaders as they're going in now with National Guard troops
and so forth. And then of course they're continuing redistricting
efforts that we're seeing in some of the states, as
President Trump tries to increase the number of Republican seats
in various states and so forth. What is the endgame
here and what can you say to help Black Americans

(10:12):
who are feeling a bit anxious and uncertain about where
we are and what this means, the impact it's going
to have on us in the future now and in
the future.

Speaker 4 (10:25):
Well, you know, I understand that the people, especially black folks.
We know when the rest of the country gets a cold,
black folks get pneumonia. That's as figurative as it is literal,
and we'll desperately feel the hurt first and more than most.

Speaker 6 (10:45):
Though.

Speaker 4 (10:46):
This harm is coming for everyone, and if people are
feeling underwhelmed or feeling that this dark view that Donald
Trump has for this country is an inevitability, there's nothing
that we can do to stop it. Know that that
is exactly their strategic goal. That is the goal of authoritarianism.
It's for you to feel that this anti freedom agenda,

(11:10):
this anti science, anti black, anti immigrant, anti woman, anti
arts and culture, anti accurate history, that these things are inevitabilities,
but they are not. It's important that we resist and
reject and obstruct at every single turn. If you're feeling overwhelmed, again,

(11:32):
that is part of the strategy, their flood the zone strategy.
You know, this is not just about how to get
through the next four years. I do believe that what's
happening in this moment will shape the next one hundred years,
and certainly black families will be digging out for generations.
Which is why I'm also actively thinking about what the

(11:53):
work of a third reconstruction will look like. Because when
you have someone running the country, that's running it very
similarly to as many failed and bankrupt businesses. You move fast,
and you break things, and you do. Instead of taking
a scalpel to the federal government to think about ways

(12:13):
in which it can function more efficiently for the people,
you take a machete to it. When we get to
the other side of this, we'll have to do the
work of rebuilding, of reconstruction. And so that's really what
I'm thinking about, and that's exactly why I've introduced legislation
like the Equity and Government Act, because it will help
us to get on the path to restoring and codifying

(12:37):
some of those gains that have been rolled back and
degraded under the Trump administration. I would also just say
that although this is unprecedented in our lifetime, this is
not unprecedented in the history of the world, and so
we do have a blueprint for our survival to refer to.

(12:57):
And history is shown us that appeasement does not work.
The only thing that beats a dictator, fascism, authoritarianism is resistance.
And so that certainly is what I what I intend
to do while actively planning for the work of reconstruction
when we get to the other side.

Speaker 3 (13:15):
Yeah, what what does the black voter? How important is
our engagement right now in the political system. And I
say that in particularly thinking about Texas as we watch
uh the districts of Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett as well as
Congressman l Green actually be redrawn and they being drawn

(13:35):
out of their current districts, which means they're going to
have to find a new strategy for maintaining their seat
or finding another in the Senate. What is your thought
when it comes to strategizing and for I guess for
the black voter or the black community addressing situations like
this which actually diminish our power and you know, the

(13:56):
halls of Congress.

Speaker 4 (14:00):
Well, what I would say is one this is although
Black voters and Black power and black voices stand to
be the most disenfranchised and diluted here, this should be
an issue of concern for every every person of conscience
who calls this country home. This is a degrading of

(14:23):
our democracy. It's a direct attack and disenfranchisement of Black communities.
And everyone should care about that because although we'll feel
the harm first and the most, this harm is coming
for everyone. Know that we Black America become the case,
the case study, if you will, the Petrie Dish where

(14:46):
these things are piloted, but they don't stop there. So
you know, it's important that we're meeting Republicans unprecedented actions
with an unprecedented resistance. They force Republicans to scram will
you know, we need to face their constituents, inspire their
legislators across the country, you know, how to fight back
in the face of injustice. That break of quorum by

(15:08):
those Texas legislators, that was an important show of resistance.
It's a it's a demonstration of what we all need
to be doing, which is using every tool to obstruct
these blatantly racist actions. But again, this is the work
of everyone in this moment if you care about the
integrity of our of our of the vote of free
and fair elections of our democracy, so we have to

(15:36):
we can't operate with scared power. You know, these these nefarious,
targeted racist actions.

Speaker 7 (15:46):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (15:47):
Again, the black community Black America will feel it the most,
but this harm is coming for everyone. So any person
of conscience should be paying attention and should be leaning
in and doing whatever they can in the Finally, I
would just say you have to vote in every single election, municipal, state,

(16:08):
in federal when they are looking to undermine the integrity
of our elections, to deny people they're vote, to disenfranchise them.
Don't allow that to have a chilling effect where you
believe that your one vote, your one voice, is no
longer impactful. It is. You're right, it is powerful, It

(16:31):
is needed, especially in this moment.

Speaker 3 (16:35):
Yeah uh, And voices like yours and so many others
who again just remind us of our resilience and continue
to encourage us to press forward are so very important.
I also love and I know we're winding up on time,
but I'd like for you also just to talk a
little bit about your call for increased allyship. What does

(16:58):
that look like and who particular are you talking to
when you say come join with us and make certain
that you shore up our strength.

Speaker 4 (17:06):
We've talked about the attacks on our immigrant communities, our
LGBTQ communities, on the bodily autonomy and healthcare rights of women.
But I think it's important that we are naming anti blackness.
I think it has become such a conflated part of
the Black experience, or even the American experience, that people

(17:27):
don't even note it as something remarkable. But this is
anti black racism. On steroids, whether you're talking about the
disparate impact that the change in UH in the progress
we've made in student loan debt. And I was a
leader in that fight that that that will have a
disparate impact because Black women are the most educated and
carry the most day, the most debt. The gerrymandering of

(17:50):
our districts attempts to to dilute and disenfranchise our political power.
You know the Supreme Court who's been enlisted as a
co conspirator in this authoritarianism. And I'll say even in
this anti blackness, their decisions on affirmative action and higher ad,
the decisions on the falling of Row, the Dobbs decision

(18:13):
which has increased the Black maternal morbidity crisis, the dismantling
and defunding of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and that impact
on Black women and the workforce. And it's just and
I could keep going. So people need to call it
out for what it is. The harm is blunt, So
this is not the time to be nuanced, and I'm
just looking for people to actually name the discriminate, precise,

(18:37):
targeted harm that Black America is experiencing at every single level.
As they seek to degrade and roll back progress and
gains that have been made, and to disenfranchise our voices
and to dilute our political power. None of this is happenstance.

(19:02):
It is very intentional, and so I'm just looking for,
you know, allies from every corner, people of conscience to
call a thing a thing and this is anti black racism.

Speaker 5 (19:18):
Very good.

Speaker 3 (19:19):
How do we support you and other black leaders right
now in Congress who are fighting for the well being
and for the sustainability of the Black community.

Speaker 4 (19:31):
Well, I'd say the the number one thing is to
be informed. Given the attacks on you know, free the
free press, given the rampant miss and disinformation, you know,
in a march towards authoritarianism, the first thing you want

(19:51):
is a centence three that is ignorant and uninformed. And
so educate yourself actively on on what we are doing
on your behalf, share that, share that information, and again
vote as if lives depend on it, because they do.
We have a historic representation the Congressional Black Caucus right now,

(20:16):
and we still don't have parity when it comes to
our representation in the US House of Representatives of the Senate.
But we've made great strides, but all of that is
under threat and actively so it's a five alarm fire.
We could stand to lose as many as thirty Congressional
Black Caucus seats if things continue to trend in this

(20:39):
direction and they continue to use places like Texas you know,
as a you know, a training ground if you will.

Speaker 3 (20:48):
Yeah, And that's with the midterms elections coming up next year,
which are extremely important. So as we move into that,
I guess that era and that election, is there certain
message that you'll like Black Americans to consider or to understand. Again,
what you have been saying throughout our interview is a
very critical time and one that has incredible impact on

(21:11):
Black America and our progress.

Speaker 4 (21:15):
Absolutely, this is not just about how to weather through
the next four years. This will shape the next one
hundred years. What we have seen in these you know,
over a little over one hundred days, will have implications
for generations on black power, on black wealth, on black health,

(21:38):
and most certainly on black joy. And so you know,
please do not be complicit in your silence, do not acquiesce,
do not you know, offer a level of appeasement in
indifference and in action. What they want is a citizen

(22:00):
that is ignorant and uninformed, that is indifferent to the
suffering of its neighbors, and that is inactive. And we
have to be you know, the antidote to all of that.
We have to be engaged. We have to be informed,
and we have to be empathetic, and we have to
support one another. You know, get to know your neighbors,
organize your block, share information. Mutual aid is going to

(22:23):
be so important. The closest reference point that we have,
our analog to this moment is the pandemic. It was
just wholesale harm. And even though we knew antidotally our
communities would feel that the most black folks and other
marginalized people that harm was indiscriminate. This is wholesale harm
that is discriminate. It is precise, it is targeted, and

(22:45):
the cruelty is the point.

Speaker 3 (22:48):
Well, I'm going to end on one one more request
of you, and this one is a black sister to
black sister, if you will a message to tow Black
women who are hurting are in a place right now
of disorientation, trying to adjust to the shifts in life
as they may have experienced them through job cuts, lack

(23:09):
of funding or so forth. Your message to them right
now that could encourage them and I guess just strengthen
them and whatever they may be feeling.

Speaker 4 (23:22):
Well, First, I just want to acknowledge that the fear
is real and credible, given the ways in which our
lives have been disrupted and destabilized. But if they're coming
for our civil rights and our civil liberties, we cannot
give them our joy too, and supportant that we are
intentional in informing and preserving our joy and being unapologetic

(23:45):
about that and this moment that in and of itself
is a divine and radical act. And then I would
say the most political thing that any of us can
do is to just be kind to one another. People
are hurting, people are burdened and carrying a lot, and

(24:06):
as the saying goes, if everyone does a little, nobody
has to do a lot. So we can just you know,
be thoughtful and every day do a little bit something
in the space of kindness and grace. I know we
often champion the resilience of black women, but I will
say I think resilience is highly overrated and we tend
to romanticize it. It's borne out of a great hardship.

(24:30):
But one thing that does comfort me. I'm not a
defeatist in any way. I'm an eternal optimist because Coreta
Scott King reminded us that freedom is never really won.
You know, you earn it and win it in every generation.
And so although that is evidence, those profound words of hers,

(24:51):
that the gains that we've made do not exist in perpetuity,
and we certainly are living that in real time with
rollbacks and policies in the federal g government, with rulings
by the Supreme Court, it doesn't I don't feel defeated
by that. What I do is stand up and in
the fact that I have a responsibility in this moment

(25:11):
to fight to win that freedom for this generation. Someone
else wrote the bootprint for my survival, and in this moment,
I have to write the bootprint for someone else's survival
and be a better ancestor than descendant. And I'll just
I want my sisters to know that I see you,

(25:33):
that I'm carrying you in my heart, in every vote,
in every bill, in every you know, resistance action, I'm
carrying you in my mind and my heart and on
my back. And I do it proudly and gladly. I
was blessed with broad shoulders for a reason. And I

(25:54):
got you, and I'll never stop fighting for you, and
we will get to the other side. And when we
get there, let me say this, we're in the midst
of a great undoing. But black women, my great grandmother
was a master quilter, and we know something about piecing
things back together and even more beautifully than they were
to begin with. And I'm confident we'll get there.

Speaker 1 (26:15):
Thank you Ayana and Andrea for this week's Best of
the Black Perspective. We're spotlighting a story that earned the
Black Information Network at second National Honor. Our own Esther
Dilder received a twenty twenty five Gracie Award for this
powerful feature on daughters Beyond incarceration in New Orleans. She
produced the piece at the end of twenty twenty four

(26:36):
and it was recognized and nationally the following year. We're
proud to share it with you once again.

Speaker 8 (26:41):
For Dominique Johnson, celebrations like birthdays and holidays have always
been a bit bittersweet.

Speaker 9 (26:47):
My father is on his forty second year of a
life sentence. He's been in prison my entire life. So
I grew up in prison. I've spent many birthdays, holidays, celebrations,
you name it. I've spent them behind bars, and so
much so did I have people that I have like

(27:09):
prison uncles, And so the world in which I know
it was always centered around incarcerating black men.

Speaker 8 (27:18):
Dominique was in a college program that challenged her to
build a nonprofit organization, and while mentoring two young girls,
she had an epiphany.

Speaker 9 (27:26):
Because their dad and my dad was housing the same institution.
We lived less than ten minutes apart, and there was
no way that I could navigate life knowing that I
know how to overcome the obstacles that I face and
not share with other people.

Speaker 7 (27:43):
And so the organization that we were with.

Speaker 9 (27:47):
They took that opportunity to raise millions of dollars off
of our story and gave us fifty dollar gift cards.

Speaker 8 (27:54):
She and her father decided they would start their own
organization and make an impact and write before the pandemic.
She made a unique connection to Troy Hankton.

Speaker 10 (28:03):
I was sentenced to fourteen years in prison. I did
ten years in five months.

Speaker 8 (28:07):
For those who live in the New Orleans, Louisiana region,
this last name Hankton came with a family history connected
to crime, something anyone who turns on the news like
WVUE can hear.

Speaker 4 (28:19):
The cousin of drug kingpin Telly Hanton was found dead
in his prison dorm early this morning.

Speaker 8 (28:26):
It was back in twenty sixteen, the DA's Office of
the Eastern District of Louisiana announced thirty two year old
Troy Hankton pled guilty to conspiracy to possess firearms. He
was sentenced to serve one hundred and sixty eight months
behind bars. His case file says he was one of
many involved in the Handon Group, a criminal racketeering enterprise

(28:46):
involved in murder, bribery, money laundering, and drug trafficking. And
although Hankton officially pled guilty to purchasing a handgun and
shooting a man sitting in his car at a red
brewster about four years before, his indictment, story says things
on the outside were not as cut and dry as
they seemed when everything happened after college.

Speaker 10 (29:06):
I want some money. I want eighty six thousand dollars
in a casino and Harris's casino, so you know, perception change.
I went from just a regular guide to a lot
of people looked at me as like I was a
drug dealer or something like that. So because of everything
changed instantly, and most people don't see that change that fast.
So you know, the perception change. And my last name

(29:28):
in New Orleans, it has a reputation of negativity, crime
and violence. So at that moment, I started embracing that
I became something that I wasn't. I embraced that. I
got into an incident where I got into a shooting.
I was legal to carry a gun. It was my
own gun. I got into a situation and I didn't
stay on the scene. So my family got into all

(29:50):
types of incidents where they started getting into They're going
to jail for violence and things of that nature. And
in twenty eleven it was four years and seven months
that I was indicted.

Speaker 8 (30:01):
Troy says being separated from his daughters, Traniah and jerry
On was heartbreaking, and so connecting with dominiqu Johnson and
her nonprofit daughters beyond incarceration was a godsend.

Speaker 10 (30:12):
Me being a father that I am. You know, I
was always in my kids life. I was always there.
Now knowing that I'm gonna be going for such a
long period of time, it's like the worst feeling It's
one of the worst things, like in the world, one
of the worst feelings, knowing that you can't be there
when you kids need you the most.

Speaker 11 (30:28):
Well, it was very different because like they used to
have like father daughter dances are like as far as
they even test school, and like you know, you used
to see all the other kids with their dance and
you just wish your dad was there.

Speaker 7 (30:43):
It really was difficult.

Speaker 12 (30:44):
But at the same time, it wasn't that difficult, but
because I still had another parent that I could look
up to, But I just wish I could have had
my dad, like for the daughter dances and stuff.

Speaker 8 (30:55):
What about How did the program help you?

Speaker 12 (31:01):
The program helped because like they built bys with us
and they listened to everything that we hadn't been through
and they actually like they hurt us out.

Speaker 11 (31:12):
The program helped because it's like you had other girls
and mentors to cope with, and so like you can
talk about your problems with them, and you all y'all
already was related to each other without getting judged.

Speaker 8 (31:24):
Dominique Johnson says the program is designed to give the
girls who participate tools she wishes she had when coping
with life with a dad who she couldn't see daily
outside the prison walls.

Speaker 9 (31:35):
We worked to teach children that you are not your
parents' mistakes. You're your own person, you have your own identity,
you have your own name, you are an individual, and
so changing the narrative was a really big step that
we needed to take with the Hangton family, and showing

(31:57):
people this side of Troy and his children is the
way to change that narrative. My ultimate goal is to
create youth leaders, but also to make education more equitable
for children that have parents in prison, and that means
making sure those incarcerated parents have an opportunity to parent
from prison.

Speaker 10 (32:18):
So in prison, I had to learn how to be
more friends with my kids. I had to learn to
be a mediated between them and their mother. I had
to learn to listen to both sides because my baby mother,
when I talked to her, my children's mother would always
tell me problems that was going on. So I, you know,

(32:38):
it's easier just to take her side and just to
get on the kids. But then I'm behind a prison
wall on the phone. They don't have to talk to me,
they can hang up, they don't have to answer. So
I had to like be more open minded. So I
had to learn to talk to them. So when I
would hear the problem from the mother, I would talk
to them before I give an opinion a solution to anything.

Speaker 7 (32:59):
I want to hear a.

Speaker 8 (32:59):
Side Troy says help from the daughters beyond incarceration helped
him get out of prison early, and so these days
he spends holidays, birthdays and special times with his family
at home.

Speaker 10 (33:12):
When the pandemic hit, nine people died instantly, like so
it was like the most people when the pandemic first started,
So they reached out. I think Fox News reached out
to talk to Dim and dumped asked did they have
any faults in that prison, and they had They didn't
my kids, So during the interview, I was basically in
special housing unit. Through that, Fox News reached out to

(33:35):
some legislators and things like that, so they did research
on my case. And when that happened, it started the
kars Act. So with the Karasak it was free phone calls,
so then I was able to call and talk to him.
But through that and through the Karazac and new legislation,
I was cut. They cut nineteen months off my sentence.

Speaker 8 (33:53):
And the day he came home, he says he'll never forget.

Speaker 10 (33:56):
You know, it was just a moment and like a
moment of joy, a moment like I tell people, it's like,
you know, getting out of prison is like on it's
like taking the last shot of a basketball game.

Speaker 5 (34:06):
And you just waiting on it to go in.

Speaker 7 (34:08):
You know your time is right there, you just wait.

Speaker 10 (34:09):
So it's so much excitement build up into it. To
whereas as if like that moment is just unmatched, Like
for me, it's like and to see them in the
joy and the tears and to see that, it was
like it was a moment that made me realize that
on how much you mean to your kids and how
much they.

Speaker 8 (34:26):
Actually really love you and daughters. Beyond Incarceration is hoping
to expand so they can help more children in the
region find hope during the holidays and beyond.

Speaker 9 (34:35):
So esther My program is specifically set up for girls
who go and visit their parents over the weekend. And
let's think about this. Sunday comes. Sunday is visitation day.
You get up early, you get excited, and you go
see your love when incarcerated, but then you have to
leave and it's like you're leaving half of your heart

(35:00):
in a place that you don't have access to all right,
as so, now I want you to go to school,
and I want you to sit still for eight hours,
and I want you to listen to me give you
directions and instructions. But I don't know what you went
through Sunday. I don't know that you cried in a shower,

(35:22):
you cried in the bathtub, or you missed your loved
one's phone call before getting before coming to school. I
don't know that. But you need to sit still for
eight hours. My after school program works to heal, to restore,
and to support those girls holistically. They're not coming here

(35:44):
to get school work done. They're coming here to learn
about mass incarceration. They're coming here to identify their traumas
their triggers, and they're coming here to learn how to
heal from those DBI started out with rushly about ten
to fifteen girls, and as of today, we have hoarded
over one hundred families locally statewide. We worked to support

(36:05):
the ninety four thousand children that are impacted by parental incarceration,
and we work to support them through legislation.

Speaker 8 (36:11):
It's legislation that helps incarcerated parents. Attend graduations and other
milestones in their children's lives in Louisiana. It's a step
toward healing that Dominique Johnson knows is important.

Speaker 9 (36:23):
I got my pather changed on my dad's lap in
the visitation room.

Speaker 7 (36:27):
My dad fed me.

Speaker 9 (36:29):
Lunch on his lap in the prison room. My dad
taught me how to color inside the lines in the
prison visitation room. My dad learned how to comb my
hair inside of the prison visitation room. And mind you,
I had a jery carle. My dad and I had

(36:50):
the sex talk inside of a prison visitation room. My
dad learned when I got my cycle inside of a
prison visitation room. So most miles their children experience with
their parents outside and their homes. We experience inside of
prison bars. Every time I broke a track meet record
or and I became a state champion, we celebrated inside

(37:13):
of the prison visitation room. There was no outside celebration
at any point. We were inside, locked up, and no
job should have to endure that.

Speaker 8 (37:25):
If you'd like to help with continuing efforts to help
children who have incarcerated parents, go to dB I and
Ola dot Org. I'm Esther Dillard for the Black Information Network.

Speaker 1 (37:38):
Thanks Esser. For the first time in more than three
hundred years, Detroit elected a black woman as mayor. Mayor
Elected Mary Sheffield sat down with our own Misty Jordan
for a candid conversation about her political history and her
future plans as the mayor.

Speaker 13 (37:54):
Joining the Black Information Network, I have Detroit Mayor elect,
Miss Mary Sheffield.

Speaker 14 (37:59):
Good morning, Good morning. It is so.

Speaker 5 (38:03):
Great to see you.

Speaker 13 (38:03):
Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations.

Speaker 5 (38:07):
I am beyond happy for you.

Speaker 14 (38:09):
Thank you so much.

Speaker 15 (38:10):
I'm excited about all that is ahead and leading our
great city to the best place that it can be.

Speaker 14 (38:17):
So Detroit has a lot of potential.

Speaker 15 (38:18):
We've been a lot of great work in Detroit, and
now it's time for us to go hire.

Speaker 13 (38:23):
You've had a long list of first in the city
of Detroit. Let's go back a little bit and talk
about some of your history. You became the youngest member
of City Council in twenty fourteen, and then you were
elected the president of City Council, the youngest person to
hold that position. And now you are the first mayor
elect of Detroit, the first woman mayor elect of Detroit.

(38:46):
Did young Mary growing up on the West side of
Detroit see this in her future.

Speaker 11 (38:51):
No.

Speaker 14 (38:51):
I mean I always loved leadership.

Speaker 15 (38:53):
I always loved serving and community and people and injustice
organizing because of the family that I came from. But
I never envisioned serving in public office until I was
in my early twenties. And then once I got elected,
I really loved the ability to change people's life and
to really bring a people focused type of leadership and

(39:15):
public office. I think it was needed, and so I've
been honored to be able to serve for twelve years
on the city Council and now being able to be
elevated as mayor to really ensure that government is working
for everyday people. Detroit has changed a lot, and we're
at a point where Detroit can either grow and exclude
people and displace or it can grow and be a

(39:36):
place where we're inclusive of everyone. And that is the
Detroit that I want to build, a Detroit that works
for everyone, really focusing on building up our neighborhoods, creating
good jobs, reducing crime, and ensuring that housing is affordable
for every family here in our city.

Speaker 13 (39:51):
Talk to me a little bit about election day. I
saw on Instagram you were going to vote. You had
your family with you, and then when you took the podium,
your father, grandmother with you.

Speaker 5 (40:01):
What was going through your head?

Speaker 15 (40:04):
You know, it was just the work that myself, my
team that we put in to reach, you know, to
achieve the moment.

Speaker 14 (40:12):
Also all of the women who have.

Speaker 15 (40:15):
Paved the way for me to be here today. In
this moment, I thought about, you know, people who've made
sacrifices for us to be here. And then the young
the young girls, right, the youth that were looking up
to me to aspire to be what they wanted to
be in life. And so it was a lot flowing
through my mind in that moment. And then also what
am I getting into?

Speaker 16 (40:32):
Right?

Speaker 5 (40:33):
I mean I won now, so now.

Speaker 15 (40:34):
The work really begins, because winning was seventy seven percent
of the vote, really was a mandate, you know. It
was a clear indication that you Trait wants me to lead.
And so now it's about, yeah, we made history. Yes
I'm the first, but now it's like I have to
execute and deliver for the residents of our city. So
I felt a huge weight of responsibility in that moment

(40:57):
as well, but definitely just very grateful and honored to
be elected as the mayor of Detroit.

Speaker 13 (41:03):
So let's talk a little bit about now that we're
moving forward, let's talk about Rise Higher Detroit, your transition initiative.
Talk to me a little bit about what this is about,
what is the idea and where are you going moving forward?

Speaker 14 (41:14):
Yeah, so Rise.

Speaker 15 (41:15):
Higher is the boldest, most inclusive, and rigorous transformation that
we've had in Detroit as relates to our transition period,
we are really focusing in on making sure that this
process is people centered, that we're you know, assembling the
best and the brightest for me to take office day
one and have one hundred day actionable items that my

(41:36):
administration can implement.

Speaker 14 (41:38):
So we're really focused on two.

Speaker 15 (41:39):
Things and as one is you know, attracting and recruiting
the best talent for my cabinet that really aligns with
my vision and my priorities that I've laid out the
Wilfice campaign. And then secondly, we just want to make
sure that we have actionable items day one so that
when I step into office, I have things that we
can you know, announce and accomplish immediately. And so we've

(42:00):
broken up the transition into various committees. We have eighteen
committees on Housing and infrastructure, small businesses, public safety, and
then those committees are comprised of experts in those fields
that will look at my vision, they will look at
best practices nationally, and they'll bring their own expertise and
then make recommendations to me and my administration on what

(42:22):
we should accomplish within that first one hundred days. So
we're all about action. The rise Hired Detroit is really
about action. We know that me coming in as the
first woman mayor, there's a lot of expectations that people
are going to have for me, and I really just
want to be able to deliver. So the Rise Hired
Detroy transition is about assembling the best and the writers

(42:42):
to ensure that this administration is prepared day one.

Speaker 13 (42:45):
If you're just joining us, I'm speaking with Detroit Mayor
elect Mary Sheffield. How did you sending up on the podium,
Your father's here, your grandmother's here.

Speaker 5 (42:52):
How did you not get emotional? Mary? Because I was
watching and I was emotional.

Speaker 15 (42:56):
I got emotional, but I also got emotional a lot
before I can on stage, so I got some of
that out the way a little bit, but it was
very It was a very emotional moment and it's still emotional,
to be honest with you, it still has not all
the way I havn't processed right like that I'm the mayor.

Speaker 14 (43:12):
I think that takes time.

Speaker 15 (43:13):
And I was talking to the current mayor yesterday and
he said it took him about a year for it
to really like sit with him, like, you know, I'm
running things around here, so I think it's a process.
And then after I won, I was, you know, right
back to work assembling my team. Eight days after the election,
we announced the rise Haiti trade transition efforts.

Speaker 14 (43:32):
So we've been working really really hard.

Speaker 15 (43:35):
But you know, for me, I'm just all about execution
and delivering and inspiring and because so many people believed
in me, now I feel like I have to really
ensure that we are doing what's best for our city.

Speaker 5 (43:49):
So I'll let me tell you that you may or.

Speaker 13 (43:50):
May I remember, but we were in Los Angeles and
we were at a friend's house, memutual friend, and I remember,
you know, we were all kind of in transitional space
next for us, and we were all just kind of
I don't know, maybe this maybe this, but I remember
you specifically were like service, You were kind of tossing
around a couple of ideas, maybe this, maybe this, but

(44:11):
you were like, but this is what I feel like.
And that was I don't even know how long that
wasn't married.

Speaker 5 (44:18):
Over twelve what ever?

Speaker 14 (44:19):
Eleven?

Speaker 13 (44:21):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, and it was before you were city council.
And so now just to watch this, this was already
you know, in the stars.

Speaker 5 (44:30):
Yep.

Speaker 15 (44:30):
I do feel that my path was has been ordered
in a lot of ways. It has been a part
of me fulfilling what I believe God has ordained for
my life. But I always say I always believe that
in light of that calling, I always put the work
in as well, right, and so you know, purpose and
hard work. No one can now be that, you know,
so excited to be here, excited about you know what

(44:53):
we have in store for Detroit, because Detroit, I think
oftentimes does not get the credit it deserves as being
a world class city among others. And that is my
job is to raise the perception in the reputation of
our city and to grow it.

Speaker 13 (45:08):
Most importantly, Detroitters are really authentic people. I worked in
radio there for a little while, and so what I
hear most and what I see most is that people
love your accent.

Speaker 5 (45:17):
From Detroit.

Speaker 13 (45:18):
They're like, yeah, she's one of us. Seventy seven percent
of the vote certainly speaks for itself. I feel happy
that the city feels like they are really embracing you
because you can see that and you can feel that,
and I think that Detroit is not a place you
can trick people and great.

Speaker 14 (45:32):
I mean, we love authenticity.

Speaker 15 (45:34):
And I will say one of the things that I
think has resonated with so many people is that people
don't see me as a politician.

Speaker 14 (45:40):
They just see me as Mary. I amill and that has.

Speaker 15 (45:43):
Taken me a long way in my you know, public
service is that I've always tried to be humble. I've
always tried to be accessible, stay true to who I am,
lead the way that I lead, and I think that
has really served me a lot, because again, people stop
me all the time like, we don't even see you
as a politician. We just see you as Mary, someone
who cares, who has compassion, who loves community. She's always

(46:03):
in the community, she's helping people, and I think we
need more of that in public office right to inspire
people to get involved as well.

Speaker 13 (46:11):
Detroit Mayor Elect Mary Sheffield, you officially take office January first,
and the holiday season is just about here. So what
does the end of twenty twenty five look like for
you just before you take office officially?

Speaker 15 (46:24):
Yeah, so we are the transition period will go all
the way up into January one, so my holidays will
primarily be focused on transition work. We have to ensure
that we have my cabinet in order and my administration
selected within the next two or three weeks. So that's
going to take up a lot of my time. But
outside of that, I'm getting married, so I'll be newly

(46:45):
married going into the top of the year, so that's
going to be like the highlight of my of my holidays.

Speaker 5 (46:50):
Congratulation yep, yep, that's awesome.

Speaker 13 (46:54):
That's awesome. I remember we talked about that when we
run alecxis this wedding?

Speaker 14 (46:58):
Yep, we did that. We got to catch up on
you too, girl.

Speaker 13 (47:02):
Yes, congratulations Mary, you are deserving And here's the three
words that I love.

Speaker 5 (47:08):
Most ready, equipped and prepared.

Speaker 14 (47:11):
Come on, come on yet that you are you are.

Speaker 13 (47:17):
Congratulations, Thank you, missy, and hopefully I'll see you soon.

Speaker 14 (47:20):
You got to come visit Detroit.

Speaker 1 (47:22):
Thank you, missy. If you'd like to learn more, about
Detroit Mayor Electi Mary Sheffield's Rise Higher Detroit transition initiative.
You can log onto Rise Higherdetroit dot com. Doug Davis
spent some time with up and coming director Ramel Ross
hours before this year's Grammy Awards ceremony. This was Ross's
first directorial film, titled Nickel Boys, which was the only

(47:44):
black movie nominated for Best Picture of the Year. Nickel
Boys is a film that tells the story of two
black teenagers navigating the brutal realities of a reform school
in nineteen sixties Florida.

Speaker 2 (47:56):
Hey, thanks Mike, This is Doug Davis. And tonight is
the nineties seventh Academy Awards, an event that honors those
who took part in making some of the best pictures
of the year. And there's a black film that's up
for a Picture of the Year that captures an era
of our history that has never been expressed in this
type of manner. Nickel Boyce is based on the Pulitzer
Prize winning novel by Colston Whitehead and directed and written

(48:17):
and adapted by Georgetown alum African American Ramel Ross. And
he's with us to talk about the movie and the
reasons why critics are going bananas as they say, Welcome
to the bi n Brother Ramel. What led you to
take on this project? What was so special about this
book that made you say I gotta do this.

Speaker 7 (48:35):
Yeah.

Speaker 16 (48:36):
I was fortunate enough to be asked to adapt the
book by a company called Plan B. And I think
it was almost one of those meant to be moments,
because you know, I've been making photos in Alabama, Hell County,
Alabama to be specific, for like fifteen years. I've been
filming there for fifteen years, and the opportunity was incredible

(49:03):
because I could sort of elevate my art practice in
my way in which I've been using the camera to
Coulson Whitehead's narrative.

Speaker 7 (49:12):
It it could.

Speaker 16 (49:14):
It could take the because the story is just so
powerfully written and rendered. It could accept the sort of
poetic way in which I like to make images.

Speaker 7 (49:24):
And it's kind of a match made in heaven.

Speaker 2 (49:26):
I mean, you know, for someone like myself who's a
little bit older, right, and I'm loving the way your
generation presents stories. It's much different than ours. Explain the
type of cinematic directing that you did with this particular
movie in.

Speaker 7 (49:41):
The style, Yeah, the way that the film is shot.

Speaker 16 (49:45):
The audience is experiencing the world of the character as
they are experiencing it. But it's not the kind of
point of view from you know, the GoPro or the
action cam. It's the kind of point of view in which,
you know, we're using long lenses and we're using shallow focus,
and we're using the camera as an extension of consciousness.

(50:06):
And with that, you're kind of you kind of give
way as an audience to genuinely and at least conceptually
like seeing and filling the world and the meaning making
process that happens inside another's head. And so there are
these epic, banal moments just adding something to the way

(50:28):
in which we are stuck in our own heads and
we've never seen the world through others' eyes. It's giving
us a closer glimpse to perhaps what it's like to
be in another person's visual field and their visual mini making.

Speaker 5 (50:42):
Field, right right.

Speaker 2 (50:43):
How did you cultivate that type of ability to be
able to I mean I literally felt that you were
taking a chapter out of history. I felt like I
was there.

Speaker 16 (50:55):
You know, it comes from taking photography and film very
very very seriously in the in the Alabama South and
trying to figure out, you know, quite literally, like how
we've come to be seen, like how people of color,
black folks specifically are are made, like the production of blackness.

(51:17):
Like the camera is a tool of racism, it's it's
it also is a tool of you know, revelation, but
it can be connected to disseminating the false notion of race.
And I always wondered how how did cinema participate in that,
How did news broadcasts participate in that? How did photo
history organize and disseminate false notions of race?

Speaker 7 (51:44):
And with that, it just it's it's a process.

Speaker 16 (51:47):
That forces you to to do a deep dive and
and and look for strategies to deal with kind of
what the camera embeds in it, which is everything that's
come before.

Speaker 7 (51:59):
You know this.

Speaker 16 (51:59):
Guy Bergen says quite beautifully that the photograph is a
psychological event. It happens in the mind of the person
who's viewing the photograph. So then how do you make
an image that has that touch of when a mother
makes a photo of their kid, or when you're taking
a photo of your parent, that intimacy that's been absent

(52:20):
from photo history. Typically when images of people of color
have been made primarily by white folks.

Speaker 2 (52:28):
Yeah, yeah, you know, what you just mentioned just reminds
me of the first time I saw the movie The
Original Birth of a Nation, and the power behind that
movie and how it really, in my opinion, catapulted the
negative racial stereotypes of African Americans that still permeate today.

(52:52):
I didn't know that watermelon was a major cash crop
for us when we were finally released technically from the bondage.
I didn't know that. But if you didn't know that history,
you would think that, you know, we're just some watermelon
eating folks. But they really flipped it.

Speaker 7 (53:11):
They really flipped it.

Speaker 2 (53:12):
They flipped economic progress into a negative racial stereotype. And
so you're taking, you know, your cinematic viewpoint of how
stories are depicted, and you're really flipping it man, in
a whole. It's it's almost kind of hard for me
to describe, to be quite with you, it's kind of

(53:33):
hard for me to put it in words. I know,
when the publiciser said, so what do you think, I'm like,
I don't even know if I.

Speaker 7 (53:38):
Have a word. You know, Yeah, well, I love I
love that you're expressing it that way.

Speaker 16 (53:42):
Doug, Like, I really love it because that's part of
the mission of the film, which is to like give
the viewer an actual experience, right, like when you're when
you're out swimming in the ocean and you get a
swell underwater of a different water temperature, or a fish
comes and brushes against your leg and you you get

(54:03):
a jolt. Like, these types of experiences are beyond words.
You can describe it to someone, but the only way
someone will know that something is hot is to fill heat, right,
Like that is the.

Speaker 7 (54:15):
Way that the world works.

Speaker 16 (54:17):
And I think if you can give someone something that's
that's that can they can barely express because it's so experiential.
If you can do that in the context of someone's life,
in the context of the Dozer school boys' life, then
I think you're doing history in a way that it's
relatively fresh. It's it's experiential, it's it's something that becomes
of the body, right.

Speaker 7 (54:38):
I love that.

Speaker 2 (54:39):
Love that. Final words share some sentiments about the movie,
encouraging our listeners to go check it out.

Speaker 16 (54:45):
Yeah, you guys, you guys got to watch it. It's I
think it's beautiful. Ur Director photography Joe Molfrey did incredible work.
We have some of the most talented artists you know
working on the project, and I think if you go
with an in mind and open hearted and open eyes,
I think your encounter something that genuinely add to the

(55:08):
aesthetic quality of your life.

Speaker 2 (55:10):
Amazing. How can we find more movies that you've directed?
And where can we find you on social media? And
for folks who may want to get in contact with you,
how can we find you?

Speaker 16 (55:19):
Well, my Instagram handle is is just ramel Ross at
ramel It's just at ramel Ross. But I've made this
other film Hell County this morning this evening that you
can stream on Amazon and have a short film on
film a Vision the website, and aside from that, my
website is Ramelross dot com and I have a bunch
of my photos and other art projects on there, so yeah,

(55:41):
check them out if you're interested.

Speaker 2 (55:42):
And you've won a lot of awards too, can you
share You don't seem like the type of person that
just brags about himself. Seemed very humble man, very centered,
but please share some of the great accolades that you've
accomplished so far.

Speaker 16 (55:56):
I think, I mean, we the film have been nominated
for a bunch of best of awards.

Speaker 7 (56:00):
I think. I think The.

Speaker 16 (56:04):
New Yorker, the New York Times, and The Atlantic and
Indie Wire said that we were the number one film
of the year, which is unbelievable considering how many films
are out there. But I think I was really fortunate
to be named Best Director by the New York Film
Critics Association and Best Director by London Film Critics Association.

(56:27):
But I must say, like the collaborative process is why
these projects are as powerful and as movie as they are.
And you know, I'm the director in the face of it,
but I mean, hundreds of people go into this.

Speaker 7 (56:40):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (56:41):
Nicol Boys has shown nationwide in limited theaters, so check
your local listings. If not, I'm sure it'll be available
for streaming hopefully soon, you know, so you'll be able
to feel what I failed. And again wish you the
best of luck tonight. Brother, I'm praying for you. I'm
praying for this nation. This is Doug Davis listening to

(57:01):
The Black Perspective on the Black Information Network.

Speaker 1 (57:03):
Thank you, Doug and Ramel. This happens to be the
fifth anniversary of the Black Perspective. We began the program
Thanksgiving weekend in twenty twenty, bringing you issues of substantive
importance to the black community. For more on these stories,
listen to the Black Information Network on the free iHeartRadio
app or log onto binnews dot com for all of
the latest news impacting the Black community. We would love

(57:26):
to hear from you about the Black Perspective. Simply log
on to Bion's Talkback Live feature on the free iHeartRadio
app to 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 or iHeartRadio
app preset. I'm Mike Island. Thanks again for listening. We'll

(57:49):
be back next week with a brand new episode of
The Black Perspective right here on the Black Information Network.

Speaker 17 (57:55):
The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed in this commentary are
those of the author and do not necessarily represent those
of VIN and its founding partners and employees. Now it's
time to bring the funk with Roland S.

Speaker 7 (58:09):
Martin.

Speaker 6 (58:10):
If you want to see how black on media is
systematically left out of the political advertising discussion, all you
have to see is this piece done by the Washington Post.
The story was written by Dylan Wells and Sarah Ellison.
The headline how Democrats are building their own digital media army.
So when you read this article, it's mentioning all of

(58:33):
these white hosts of digital shows and podcasts. Now, I
didn't even know about this story until Democratic strategist Jamal
Simmons posted something on his substack, and in his piece
he raised the question, how is it that they could
totally ignore all of the African Americans that have built

(58:54):
digital shows that reach a significant constituency of the Democratic Party.
And you might say, oh, you just want some attention
now to explain you out how this works. Most of
the political media strategists are white. That's on the Democratic
side and the Republican side, point blank. That's just the fact.
So these are the people who read the Washington Post,

(59:17):
they read the New York Times, So when they see
the article like this here, they're noting who they should
spend political advertising money with. So when you don't mention
any black people, guess what, We're never going to tap
into those political advertising dollars. And this is how the

(59:37):
economic apartheid is practiced in the general market. Three hundred
and fifty billion dollars is spent annually in advertising. Black
on media gets point five to one percent. The same
applies for the federal government one percent political advertising.

Speaker 7 (59:58):
Same thing.

Speaker 6 (59:59):
So when white mainstream media leaves us out of these stories,
we also are left out of the money. I'm Roland
Martin with the Black Information Network.