October 8, 2024 • 51 mins
Get ready for a lively chat in this episode of Black Girls Eating! Hosts Candace and Tanorria sit down with Elise Schrock, a powerhouse Democratic communication strategist known for her killer fashion sense and fierce advocacy. Elise shares her incredible journey, inspired by her family's history of activism and resilience. Her great-grandma's escape from fascist Spain and her family's success in America through organized labor have fueled Elise's passion for political engagement and community empowerment.
Elise talks about why it's crucial for women to dive into politics, highlighting the need for female representation and leadership. As a founding board member of Hoosier Women Forward, she spills the tea on how the program gears up women for political leadership and builds a supportive network to help them crush it. With a whopping 78% success rate in elections, Hoosier Women Forward is shaking things up in Indiana's political scene, proving women are more than ready to lead and make waves.
The convo takes a deep dive into today's political climate, spotlighting the importance of female voices in the Democratic Party and how creativity and art play a role in politics. Elise shares her excitement about the shifting energy in politics and the need to engage diverse voices for a more inclusive and dynamic community.
Listeners, it's time to step up! Elise dishes out practical tips and resources to get you registered to vote and engaged in the political process. From understanding voter registration deadlines to tackling those tough conversations with folks hesitant to vote, this episode is packed with insights to help you make a real impact in your community.
Join Candace, Tanorria, and Elise for an inspiring chat about the power of community, the importance of voting, and the game-changing potential of women in politics. Whether you're a seasoned activist or just dipping your toes into civic engagement, this episode is a must-listen for anyone fired up about making a positive change.
Don't miss this enlightening convo with Elise Schrock—tune in to Black Girls Eating to hear more about her journey, her work with Hoosier Women Forward, and how you can jump into action in your community. Your voice matters; let's use it to shake things up!
Bio:
Elise Shrock is an empowering, engaging, and energizing maven. Elise Shrock is a Democratic communications strategist and specializes in candidate communications development, strategic campaign communications, and press relations. She is the Communications Director for the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis and Christ Church Cathedral, a progressive faith community in the heart of Indianapolis, IN. Since 2008, she has served in various roles around the Indiana General Assembly, both on the inside as Communications Director, Deputy Chief of Staff, and Hispanic Affairs Director and in the lobby as Vice President of Tamm Capital Group, a boutique public affairs firm. Elist joins Black Girls Eating to share incredible insights into the city of Indianapolis and the political scene as well as what it means to truly be civically engaged
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
>> Candace (00:07):
Welcome to black girls eating, uh, a conversation about
justice, black girl magic, and well
seasoned food. We are black girls eating,
and welcome to our podcast.
>> Tanorria (00:18):
This episode of black girls eating was brought to you
by christchurch cathedral.
Hey, girl.
>> Candace (00:25):
Hey. Hey, hey. Hey.
>> Tanorria (00:27):
How you doing today?
>> Candace (00:29):
You know, I'm doing all right. I'm doing all right. We
have made it to the month of September, and
it feels very weird. Um, the fact that I've been 40 now for
two months, that's kind of crazy. Um, but
here we are.
>> Tanorria (00:42):
You've also been almost married for three
years.
>> Candace (00:46):
Listen, that wild, the level
of turn up.
>> Tanorria (00:50):
What are y'all doing to celebrate?
>> Candace (00:52):
We're going out of town, going to a concert.
Gonna be, you know, just look at you.
>> Tanorria (00:58):
Y'all wish y'all could see her right now.
I love it. I love it.
>> Speaker C (01:04):
Thanks.
>> Candace (01:04):
Yours is not right. Yours is not too far behind me, though.
It keeps popping up in my memory, so that lets me know
it's near. It's near.
>> Tanorria (01:11):
Love that.
>> Candace (01:12):
I love it because I still have all the pictures of you in your costume, and it makes
me so happy. I
can't believe I can never delete them. I will never delete
them.
>> Tanorria (01:21):
I just confused. I'm very proud of that.
>> Candace (01:25):
It was the best. It was literally the best secret
ever.
>> Tanorria (01:28):
Especially cause he didn't know.
>> Speaker C (01:30):
Yeah.
>> Tanorria (01:31):
Yeah.
>> Speaker C (01:31):
It was awesome.
>> Tanorria (01:32):
So, well, um, we've
got a great episode
coming for you. You know, when we, um,
came back for this fall season,
we said that we were going to
have some political heavy hitters, to have some
social justice heavy hitters. And
(01:52):
I am. I am so excited about this episode.
Um, first of all, I am excited about
our different shade of melanin. Okay.
>> Candace (02:00):
Yes.
>> Tanorria (02:01):
Because, you know, we are black girls eating, and most
of our guests are from the african
diaspora, but we like to mix it up from time to
time. And this guest is
no exception to the spice and
the flair that all of our guests
bring.
>> Candace (02:19):
She brings the flavor.
>> Tanorria (02:22):
She really does. And I've, like,
secretly admired her for a long time, and now I, like,
can call her my friend. Um,
but what a lot of people don't know, and you're not
gonna find this out today because you can't see her.
But this guest is one of the most fashionable people,
literally, I have ever met. Like, every day, I'm
(02:42):
looking at her instagram, like, what's she wearing today? And why didn't I think
of that outfit? Listen, she's so
good at it.
>> Candace (02:48):
Inspires me in the fact that she is
also a leopard animal. Print loving
sister. Like you don't even
know. She will pop on a red lippy and a leopard.
And I'm like, yep, she makes it so fly.
I love it. I can't wait to tell my
favorite moment of our love affair, because y'all know I have
(03:08):
a love affair with all our guests, so, yeah, I can't wait to share that much, y'all.
But anyway, let us. Let us bring her in here so we can, you
know, just, you know, stop with all the
shenanigans. Tanoria, read the bio. Because the
bio is what?
>> Tanorria (03:20):
Uh, bio wing. Yeah.
Okay.
>> Candace (03:23):
Yeah.
>> Tanorria (03:23):
Friends, we have Elise
Schrock. She is a democratic
communication strategist. That right there just sounds
real fancy.
>> Candace (03:32):
Bio.
>> Tanorria (03:33):
Real fancy. And she
specializes in candidate communications,
development, strategic campaign communications,
and press relations. She is the communications
director for the Episcopal Diocese of Indiana, Indianapolis,
and Christchurch Cathedral, a progressive
faith community in the heart of Indianapolis. Each
year, you'll see her proudly kicking off the summer alongside the
(03:55):
Cathedral of women, Christchurch Cathedral, as they
host the city's much beloved Indie Strawberry
festival. I went this year for the first
time ever.
>> Candace (04:05):
What?
>> Tanorria (04:06):
I know. I have lived in, uh,
the state of Indiana for 40 years, and this is the
first time I've ever gone. It was
delightful.
>> Candace (04:15):
Listen, the minute they get a gluten free shortcake,
I'm there, baby. Cause I had to stop. Cause
I was making my stomach hurt.
>> Speaker C (04:23):
Yeah.
>> Tanorria (04:24):
Yeah. Not, um,
only does she do all the
amazing things I just said, but she is
also a founding board member of
Hoosier Women Forward, Indiana's premier
leadership program for democratic women.
Through study, field experience, and
networking, the participants gain valuable political
(04:45):
leadership training that prepares them to become more
informed, active, and mindful public
servants. Lots of our near dear and friends,
um, are members of Hoosier women
forward, so it's a phenomenal program.
Um, she currently works as a trainer with the
national democratic training committee.
(05:06):
Um, she's a regular communicator.
I mean, the list goes on and on and on,
but my favorite thing about this person
is she is one fierce tia
to so many of the sweet little babies
all across our city. They love her.
Um, and she is just one loyal, devoted
friend. And I know this because of
(05:29):
the friends that she's friends with and how highly they speak
of her. Welcome. Welcome,
Elise.
>> Speaker C (05:36):
Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be
with you all today. This is truly a highlight for
me. I am such a long time
fan, listener.
Um, I just love you both so much, and it's
such an honor to join you.
>> Candace (05:51):
Oh, thanks you.
We love you so much. We're so happy that you're
here and that we get to share you with
all of our listeners and our friends, because really
are. You are a gemdez. So, like I
said, y'all know I have a love affair story with everyone.
>> Tanorria (06:08):
Yes. Do tell.
>> Candace (06:10):
Um, so I can't quite pinpoint it,
but, um, I want to say it
was Twitter. Cause it'll forever be Twitter. It's like
deer Creek. It's gonna forever be Deer creek, right?
>> Tanorria (06:20):
I just learned the same thing about kinsinko.
>> Candace (06:22):
Yes, it's forever gonna be. You know how that
is. And so she and I are. You know, I think I was
probably talking to Melanie on Twitter, and then I, like, found
Elise, and we became Internet besties.
And then, um, because I share a lot about
Maddie shenanigans on social media, she was like, I think
your daughter would love to be a part of this program at the
(06:42):
cathedral. You know, send her down here
and listen. The love affair. Y'all think I
love Elise. Madison would be
livid if she knew I was on a zoo with Elise
right now.
>> Speaker C (06:55):
I wondered if she was gonna, like, pop in. Just
say hello, fashion friend.
>> Candace (07:00):
Listen, Maddie loves, at least to the
point where at least it's like, look, I really want to be Maddie's friend.
However, there's this thing that we have called healthy boundaries that
I can't actually be her friend.
>> Speaker C (07:11):
Like, according to church
safeguarding, which are very important to me as
the community. Tia, you
cannot text me without your mother
being on the text chain. Like, we have lots
of safeguarding to keep all the children
safe. And I I stick to
that. Um, and
(07:34):
I love when our littles feel safe enough
and comfortable enough,
um, that they just feel like they can just be
their liberated, expressive,
whole, silly,
childlike selves. That is
the environment we want for our kids, where they get to be
kids and they get to be the
(07:56):
fullest expression of themselves.
And Maddie,
man, Maddie does that in the
best way, and it is a
pure delight to be in her presence.
>> Candace (08:10):
So just thank you for loving me enough
to be like, hey, I think this would be great for your kid. And
totally, um, I let my kid fly
thousands of miles away across the earth.
The only reason is because I knew Alicia was going to be there.
Had Elise not been there, it would have not gone. I was like, uh, uh, uh.
>> Speaker C (08:28):
Well, because, you know, I will not let anything happen to Maddie.
If I get even a hint of something that's
going sideways for my littles, I step in.
>> Candace (08:37):
Absolutely.
>> Speaker C (08:37):
And I'm Mama bear that situation.
Absolutely.
>> Candace (08:41):
So just. I mean that, you know, we. We don't take that
lightly. So thank you. So, that. That is my love affairs story with
Elise. So, um, that being said, welcome to black
girls eating. I am Candace.
>> Tanorria (08:51):
And I am Tanoria.
I love it. Yeah, you are. Uh, Maddie
is so great, and I just love anyone who loves Maddie
because she is one lovable little
kid.
>> Speaker C (09:05):
Yeah. Ah.
>> Candace (09:06):
So we really wanted to have you on the
show, especially during this time of year, because there's a
lot going on in the world. Right. Um,
so I'm gonna jump our show off. You're listening to the show.
So, you know, typically, kind of how we start. Um,
I want to know, when did you fall in
love with being an advocate
(09:27):
for the. For the political process
and more so on the other side of that, when
did you know that it was important for women
to take a, uh, stake in a claim into
that seat? Like, when did you say, hey, you got
to get the women in here?
>> Speaker C (09:43):
Well, you know, I've really known
no other way because
of my ancestors. The
women in my family who
inspire me, who continue
to inspire me, who protect me to this
day, um, have always been
activists. Um, the reason I am
(10:06):
here and safe and alive in this
country is because my great grandmother,
um, who lived in Spain during the spanish civil
war under Francisco Franco's
fascist dictatorship, was
able to, despite,
um, her husband being
murdered by a fascist regime, was able
(10:28):
to get her children,
um, keep her children and herself alive.
And that still meant being held in a french
internment camp. Um,
they were. I mean, they were, um,
they were anti fascist
fighters. Insane. Um, my great
(10:49):
grandmother, who I was very
blessed to actually know as a
child, who was, um,
a woman. By the time I knew her, she was a woman
of,
um, few words.
Um, she was a more quiet woman
around me, but I now know it was
(11:11):
because her soul, her body
housed so much. Um,
but I am here because she
was able to get my abuela
and my tia and tio
through living in an internment camp.
Um, she was able to get them onto a ship
(11:32):
for refugee children where
she had to stay behind in France, and she never
left. And Maya,
Wella, and her
siblings, as,
um, children
not even ten years old, ended
up in Morocco to avoid the u boats,
(11:54):
literally, Casablanca. Then coming up South
America, up to New York City, where they had to
wait in an orphanage until family
from Ohio was able to come get them. I
mean, by the time my
abuela was a teenager,
the things that she had seen
(12:14):
because of political action
and inaction, um,
were immense. And so
coming when you come from an immigrant family
who has had to flee trauma like that,
um, who has been given
a life like they have today, largely because of
(12:36):
organized labor. Because when you were a
Fernandez and Aramos, when you come
to the US,
uh, it was largely the unions who
afforded hispanic people
opportunities. My grandparents were
able to find jobs that
(12:56):
provided them livable wages
and opportunities to rise in
their ranks. And my grandfather was a steel worker and my
grandmother was a nurse. And um, that
was political. And so,
you know, and I've always been
steeped in that environment that
(13:16):
our existence and our way of living
has never been. Not political.
Um.
>> Candace (13:25):
Mhm.
>> Speaker C (13:25):
So I guess I've not known anything different. And I don't
ever want to be in a position
where I am, um,
taking anything. I mean, my great grandmother had
literal like shrapnel wounds on
her body.
>> Tanorria (13:40):
Wow.
>> Speaker C (13:41):
And so I don't ever want to be living a
life where I'm taking that for granted.
And it's this constant balance where it's like, I deserve
peace and
I don't wanna live a life where I'm taking that
for granted.
>> Candace (13:56):
Mhm.
>> Tanorria (13:57):
Yeah, I think that's uh, this
story is phenomenal. And what I
appreciate so much is you can sit
in the reality that everything is
political. Like, it kind of
boils my blood a little bit when people bring up a
topic and say, oh, but I don't wanna get political. And I'm
like, you have no choice. You
(14:20):
can do that in a way that is
still giving you space to be yourself
and create, you know, a,
uh, difference for your generation
and the next generation. You can do all of that and
still sit in the reality of. Yeah, but it's
still political.
>> Candace (14:38):
Mhm. Mhm.
>> Speaker C (14:41):
And it's all about, it's about community.
I mean, there, you can call it political,
you can call it community, you can call it loving
your neighbor as yourself. You can call it like, you
know, Senator Rafael Warnock. You can call it living
a prayer that you're saying, you know, voting is a
prayer. There are so many things that you
(15:01):
can call it, um, but it,
it takes the participation of everyone
and it takes looking outside yourself
to do it right.
>> Tanorria (15:12):
M oh, that's good.
>> Candace (15:15):
The quotes are going to quote this episode. I can already feel
it.
>> Tanorria (15:19):
It takes living outside yourself to do it
right. That is brilliant.
Wow.
>> Candace (15:28):
That's incredible. That's incredible.
I think it's important for people to understand that too.
Like to know that, like the work that
we're doing and engaging in as it
relates to voting and access
and justice. It requires you
to have some skin in the game. You don't need to just dip your toe in
(15:50):
because once you're in, you can't imagine a
way not being in.
>> Tanorria (15:54):
Yep.
>> Speaker C (15:56):
Yeah. And that's, you know, and that's one of
the wilder parts of having the
experiences that I've had. Having worked,
um, on the official side,
I'll have to excuse my dog.
Um, is also very
opinionated.
>> Tanorria (16:14):
Al is a guest on black girls eating
as well. Okay. Welcome, Al.
>> Speaker C (16:20):
He said thank you.
Um, you know, it's, having worked
on the official side and seeing the
legislature behind the scenes, how that
works. Having worked on campaigns, having
worked, you know, with like political parties, having
worked with the media, you know, there's no putting
(16:41):
that toothpaste back in.
Um, back in. For me, it's like I've kind of
seen it all and
it's, you have to
consistently work to not let
that make you jaded.
>> Candace (16:57):
Mhm.
>> Tanorria (16:58):
Yeah. Yeah.
>> Speaker C (16:59):
Because these are systems that were
created without any of us
speaking today in mind. Right. None of
us were created. This was created without
any of us in mind. Um,
so that's also been what has
been, I think after
(17:19):
about two decades of doing this, what has been my
greatest superpower in doing this,
because I've learned to not let it be the thing that defines me.
And it has made me realize that I'm good at it because
of all the other things I am. And
it just keeps coming back, like, for me, it keeps coming back to
community. And that's the thing that I, when I
(17:40):
talk about, like, voter engagement, when you talk about,
um, electoral politics, it
really, really comes down to community
empowerment. Are you talking to your friends? Are you
having those hard conversations? Are you having discussions
even where you're not 100% in an
alignment? Are you talking about the things that you
(18:01):
are agreeing upon to try and push
those things further where you can?
In Indiana, we have a real difficult
challenge, uh, because we are so gerrymandered,
um, um, which has created very drastic red and
very drastic blue regions. And
(18:21):
that's been by design. Every time we have redistricting,
every ten years, it's gotten worse and worse. And what
that has done is made us more polarized. And when it's more
polarized, this thing
happens where it's just like us and them never, um,
the two shall meet. So this, but
community is where we all meet. And we gotta be, we
(18:41):
gotta be talking, we gotta be engaging, we gotta be
encouraging people, like, everywhere we go. I'm always
like, are you registered to vote? Great. Ah. Have you checked your voter
registration? Make sure there's no funny business. Are
you checking your voter registration every couple of weeks just
to, uh, you know, make sure everything's cool? Do you know the
voter registration deadlines coming up? You know, so,
(19:01):
like, just talking. Community
engagement. It's community.
>> Tanorria (19:06):
Hey, friends, it's Tanoria, my
first ever cookbook. Staples plus five is available
wherever cookbooks are sold. It was voted one of the best
cookbooks in 2020 by Glamourmagazine.com dot.
You can purchase it@tenorioustable.com
books. And make sure to tell me what your favorite recipe
is.
>> Candace (19:23):
Hey, y'all, it's Candace the spice slinger. Here
is your food, bland, unseasoned.
Let's spice it up with seasonings from foodlove talk.
Catch me online@foodloved.com.
dot. Be ye seasoned, y'all.
>> Tanorria (19:38):
You know, we get a lot of people, I know
people personally who are heavily involved in the community
but know nothing about voting, probably have never
voted. Um, and
I'm curious, how do you have a conversation with
someone to convince them
to register to vote and to vote if they've never
(19:58):
done it before? But like Candace
said, having skin in the game. These are people
with small businesses. These are people
with nonprofit organizations. And I'm like, yo,
your vote matters so much. Just a little
extra more because of, um, you know, the.
The things that are important to you, like your business and
(20:18):
the community that you serve with your nonprofit.
How do you navigate those conversations and
get someone inspired and
confident?
>> Speaker C (20:28):
M first, the
first thing for me is making sure they have what they
need, the information they
need to register to vote. So do
you know how to register to vote? Do you know, like, where
to go? Can I help you with the form? Or here's
a form. Um,
for a lot of folks, it seems like it is this
(20:51):
big thing, this government form. You have to maybe
present an id, or maybe you have to go in and do it at
a, you know, at the secretary of state's office at the
state house, and I have to go through security, or maybe I have to go to the
clerk's office. What is a clerk?
So, you know, if this is your only
interaction with a government agency
of this type, um, we can't
(21:13):
assume they know what registering to
vote is. So that's good. Like,
asking and saying, hey, um, if you
haven't registered to vote, like,
how can I help you?
>> Tanorria (21:25):
Yeah.
>> Speaker C (21:26):
Um, and making sure they know. And if they do know,
I mean, I like to ask people,
you know, what's the hang up? Like, what's holding you
back? And then trying to meet people where
they are. Because I found there's just
so much more to be gained
from, like,
(21:48):
trying to, trying to
gain insight into what might be holding someone back.
Rather than like, you should do this. Here are five reasons
why that are kind of like a template response.
>> Tanorria (21:59):
Yeah.
>> Speaker C (22:00):
Um, really trying to connect with
people. I think, you know, hey,
you've got this small business, um,
if you've ever received a small business loan,
did you know that, like, um,
who you elect affects like, um,
how those are distributed or the interest
(22:20):
rates, or, um, you
know, how they are
administered, or whether or not this
certain type of loan is sunsetted over the next
two years. Like, it all, it
all can. You can talk about the things
that they do. I mean, even
as easily as, like, hey, do you like,
(22:43):
you know, having, knowing that
when you call 911, when your house is fire and like, the fire
department's gonna come and,
you know, your mail comes every single day, isn't that great?
>> Candace (22:55):
Um, yeah, because all of that, all of that plays
apart.
>> Speaker C (22:59):
Mhm. Yeah.
>> Tanorria (23:00):
So many things we take for granted.
>> Speaker C (23:02):
Yeah. Um, so, you know, you can
go through all of those things, but I think it's like, if you
really know these folks well,
I think it's really valuable data for folks
like me to know why
they aren't voting or what the
hangup is. Um, and that way
(23:23):
we can take that feedback to
our advocacy spaces, whether it's like
nonpartisan, um, organizations like League of
Women Voters or ACLU, or,
you know, like a larger
organization like vote.org and say, hey, here's some hang ups in
our state. Are you seeing that in other states?
>> Tanorria (23:43):
Yeah.
>> Speaker C (23:44):
How do we band together and fix this?
>> Candace (23:46):
Um, that's good.
That's really good.
>> Tanorria (23:52):
What are the current
critical dates
and steps that people need to know to
be prepared for this election?
>> Speaker C (24:04):
So right now it is all
about,
um, getting
people registered to vote
and, um, having them
check their voter registration. And I thought
I had this pulled up,
(24:25):
so I'm going to pull this up just to
make sure I am not getting this wrong. Yes.
Okay. I'm not wrong on this. Um, so the
critical things right now, getting people registered
to vote, making sure they are checking their
voter registration. And in indiana,
because our voter registration
(24:45):
laws are woefully
behind other states, um, the
voter registration deadline is
October 7, and you can't register to
vote after October 7. It's
locked in. Everybody
in indiana must get their voter
registration in by October 7.
(25:07):
Now you can register to vote online. You can go to
indianavoters dot in dot gov dot.
That brings a whole portal up for
you. Um,
and if you are registered, you can check your voter
registration there as well. You can see who's on your ballot.
One other tool that I love is vote.org.
dot vote.org is
(25:30):
the largest nonprofit,
nonpartisan voter registration
tool in the nation.
>> Tanorria (25:37):
Wow.
>> Speaker C (25:38):
And it was founded by andrea
haley, who is their CEO, who is a black
woman from Indianapolis.
>> Tanorria (25:45):
Oh, wow. That's awesome.
>> Speaker C (25:47):
And she is crushing it in the area
of voter protection all across our nation. She's the
leading. She is a thought leader,
um, in voter rights, voter protection,
voter registration. Um, they
are really crushing it
right now with registering,
(26:08):
um, newly, um,
newly eligible voters. So gen z
voters who are newly 18.
>> Candace (26:16):
Yeah. College students.
>> Tanorria (26:17):
Yeah.
>> Speaker C (26:18):
There are over 8 million
new, uh, newly
eligible voters since 2020.
>> Candace (26:27):
Oh, my gosh. Mhm.
>> Speaker C (26:30):
So trying to get all of those folks
registered is really key.
>> Tanorria (26:35):
Oh, my word. Wow.
>> Speaker C (26:37):
That's a really socially conscious
generation.
>> Candace (26:41):
Absolutely, absolutely.
>> Speaker C (26:43):
And we need them. We need
them to be voting and, um,
we need their energy. So, um,
making sure that if you are a
tia and you have your
kids who are in your community who
are turning 18, make sure you are
(27:04):
doing your due diligence to get them all
registered to vote.
>> Candace (27:09):
Absolutely.
>> Speaker C (27:09):
Um, so, uh,
vote.org is an excellent tool, especially
because I know you have wide listenership. That's not just
indiana. Vote.org has
tools, um, and programs,
voter registration links for
all 50 states.
>> Tanorria (27:28):
Okay.
>> Candace (27:28):
That's awesome. Again, we provide resources
here at black girls eating.
>> Tanorria (27:32):
Yeah. So, yeah, billion.
>> Candace (27:36):
That's a lot.
>> Tanorria (27:37):
Who have become eligible since
28.
>> Speaker C (27:41):
Yeah. 8 million.
>> Tanorria (27:42):
8 million, yeah.
>> Speaker C (27:44):
And half of 47% of them are
young, eligible voters of color.
>> Tanorria (27:51):
Uh huh.
>> Candace (27:52):
Wow, that's. That's gonna
change the game. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
that's gonna change the game.
>> Speaker C (28:00):
And that's why you're seeing a lot of voter suppression
efforts. And that's why, and
that's why I keep saying, keep checking your voter
registration.
Um, when it comes
to. When it comes time to start
voting, I really encourage folks to,
um, resource yourself with,
(28:21):
um. Ah, your local
aclu. ACLU of Indiana is
awesome here. League of women voters in
your state is a great resource. Um,
there are often voter protection hotlines in each
state. Those are great numbers to
have. Um, just in case there's
any type of questions, question you may have or any type of funny
(28:43):
business going on at the polls. Um,
because after 2020, we saw
a brash of, um, voter
suppression laws happening in state
legislatures in Texas and Georgia and in
Indiana. Oh,
yes. So, um,
it is something we want to make sure we are
(29:06):
talking about so that folks know that there are
resources out there, um, when it
comes time to vote, if you feel like something's happening, if
it doesn't feel right, um,
make sure that you kind of are
resourcing yourself by following ACLU
of Indiana or a voter protection hotline,
(29:27):
um, or looking to league of women voters,
um, for help. They're always there to answer
questions. Yeah. Unfortunately, in Indiana, there was
a house bill that passed, house bill
1264.
That. That, um, was.
It was meant to. It was aimed
(29:48):
to,
um. It was aimed
at voter fraud, which is the code word for just
trying to put a bunch of stuff in a bill.
>> Tanorria (29:58):
Yep.
>> Speaker C (29:58):
Um, to make it harder to keep people from voting.
>> Candace (30:00):
Absolutely.
>> Speaker C (30:01):
Yeah.
>> Tanorria (30:02):
Yeah.
>> Candace (30:03):
I'm glad you said that because I was going to ask, you know, what can people do if
they feel like, you know, I've been registered to vote, now all of a sudden they can't find
me? So thank you for linking in the ACLU and
some, um, voter support agencies, because I think people are
going to need that. Um, I want to talk
about you empowering women with, who's your
women forward? Um,
explain your whole, um, idea of
(30:26):
why that is so important and why it's so near and dear
to your heart.
>> Speaker C (30:31):
Yeah.
Um,
it doesn't matter what party you are in,
um, in electoral politics,
in the political system, there's always going to be a good
old boys club, and there's always going to be kind
of, that's how things are done in this
(30:52):
party. Um, but it doesn't mean that's the
best way or the way it should be done.
And, um,
especially after 2016,
it was just like, we
have so many women in our communities
who are really doing the groundwork and,
(31:13):
um, who should be
ascending to great heights in our state,
and we don't have a pipeline
that is meeting the capacity of
women doing this work.
And the Republicans had it, um, with the
Luger series, the Democrats
(31:34):
didn't, um. And
let me tell you, it is hard work to
get, um,
any type of program started from
scratch. But when you're talking about
politics and different factions and groups and
a statewide program, getting
that program launched took a lot of work, and it
(31:56):
is, I think, going to be
one of the most important things I will ever do in my
career, um, because,
um, it has
reached and exceeded our expectations
quicker than we thought. We just
launched our 7th, ah, class.
(32:17):
And while this is a
leadership program, so we are looking
to take women who
are already leaders in their communities,
so already very well
established, very well known, and just giving them,
just sharpening their tools. Right. Giving them a
network of other women, which when you have a network
(32:39):
that makes women just like,
unstoppable, um,
and giving them a little bit of more
access to party, ah, infrastructure.
Teaching them how the system works, teaching
them kind of like, here's the
play of field. Play of field,
or the field of play. And here
(33:02):
are how. Here's how the
legislature works. Here's how it works at the federal issue
or level. We take them to DC for a
whole week here. We give them access to. To
federal leaders, um,
advocacy folks, think tanks. We go to the
White House, like a couple times. We're in the
(33:22):
briefing room, uh, with Karine Jean Pierre, which is
like, insane.
>> Tanorria (33:27):
Yeah.
>> Speaker C (33:30):
And what we found is
when you can empower
women like that, they
are just like, all right, I'm doing it.
And it's. And it's less about, like, the hard skills, which are
very important, but it's more about
the way that they support each other and the way that
(33:50):
they can make each other feel seen and that the
way that they can feel validated by each other's
experiences. And
while we want to see folks in every
single type of leadership space, this is not a,
ah, it's not a candidate recruitment
program, it's just leadership program.
Um, the unexpected
(34:13):
kind of wonderful thing of this is like, they're all like, oh,
well, I'm running many of
them, ah, um,
like, more than we anticipated. And that's
incredible. When they do,
78% of our women win.
>> Candace (34:30):
Wow.
>> Tanorria (34:31):
Wow.
>> Speaker C (34:32):
And that's in red districts, that's
in blue districts, that's in
every single corner of the state. That's
northern part, that's southern part
down on the river. I mean, like, we have mayors. We
have two, um, alumni who are
mayors. Mayor, um, Sharon Tucker
in Fort Wayne, uh, Mayor Deb
(34:54):
Whitfield and Lawrence, both alumni of Hoosier
women forward. So it's like
we're just kind of sitting here going,
wow.
>> Tanorria (35:04):
Yeah.
>> Speaker C (35:06):
This is clearly, um, a void
that was needed because
Hoosier women were just
ready for a program like
this. Um, and there was so much
just potential. It just
needed the mechanism. So
we created the mechanism, and it's been
(35:28):
truly, um, phenomenal to watch.
>> Candace (35:31):
The alumni class is alumni ing.
Okay. Ah, we've got Senator Hunley on there.
I've got one of my cohort mates that's in a class now. Like,
listen, I. Yeah, I love
this.
>> Tanorria (35:44):
Every.
>> Candace (35:44):
Love.
>> Tanorria (35:44):
Every time they post a class, I'm like,
friends, people.
>> Candace (35:49):
Yes. Every time.
>> Speaker C (35:51):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And when, you
know. And when, like, Senator Hunley
or representative Victoria Garcia Wilburn
walks into the state house, she knows she's got, like,
125 women walking in there with
her. And, um, that is really
helpful when you're walking into a building like that.
>> Candace (36:11):
Yeah, that's important.
That's important.
>> Tanorria (36:16):
Speaking of buildings, Candace.
>> Candace (36:18):
Yes.
>> Tanorria (36:19):
I want to talk about the church on the
circle. Everyone knows that building, right?
Everyone knows that building.
Um, our friends at, ah, Christ church
Cathedral are a platinum sponsor, and we are so
grateful for their sponsorship. Um, did
you know that they are a multicultural
congregation right in the heart of Indianapolis?
(36:42):
They, um, are the creators
and organizers of the world
famous. I think it's world famous strawberry
festival. Um,
and they partner with several outreach
organizations, not only in their. Not only with their
financial donations, but they offer volunteer hours.
They build deep relationships with organizations like
(37:05):
Exodus Refugee day, spring center,
voices Incorporated, and the immigrant
welcome center. They are a
heavy hitter in our community.
>> Candace (37:16):
And let me just tell you one of my favorite parts
about the cathedral.
>> Tanorria (37:19):
Of course.
>> Candace (37:20):
Cool program that they have called the choir school. Let, um,
me tell you. World class choral
in music education.
>> Tanorria (37:28):
Literally world class.
>> Candace (37:30):
Literally world class. And it is something
that families from all over. You don't have to be a
member of the cathedral to participate. I think that's the coolest part.
>> Speaker C (37:38):
Right?
>> Candace (37:39):
Because people think a lot of times you have to tie it to your membership. Well, you don't,
because Maddie's. Now. She's going on her third year in the choir school,
baby. Yeah.
So, yeah, I mean, there's so many opportunities for,
um, your kids and families to learn and grow and connect.
We love the cathedral. We're so excited. They are a song of black os
eating y'all.
>> Tanorria (37:57):
Check them out@cccnd.org. for
more information. Find out their service
times and all of the amazing things that they're doing
in our city.
>> Candace (38:07):
Yeah.
>> Tanorria (38:10):
Elise, I would love
to hear from you. I mean, I feel like this is a
very
generic question, but I know it's not going to be a
generic answer, and that's why I'm going to ask it. What
does it mean for you specifically
in, uh, this year's Democratic
Party lineup to have so
(38:33):
much female representation?
I mean, we have history in that
we have a woman,
democratic vice president, woman of
color. But now
she's running for president. The names
that you heard in the headlines
that are holding policyholders
(38:54):
accountable, that are, um,
challenging the old way of
think, challenging that old boys club. Those are
women and primarily women of
color that you were hearing the
headlines talk about. Um, what
does that mean to you, knowing that you've been doing this
work for so long and that you have so much
(39:16):
expertise? Tell us, how are you
feeling about all of that?
>> Speaker C (39:21):
Well, I feel, I feel
like there's an energy shift, and,
and it is, it is so wild because,
tonora, you and I had lunch a
couple months ago.
>> Tanorria (39:34):
Yeah.
>> Speaker C (39:35):
And I was, like, in my fields and not in a good
way. Yeah. I was like, I was about to leave
for Ireland, and I was going there for, like, a month, and I, and
you were like, what are we going to do? And I was like, you
know, I'm just going to leave and I'm
going to store up everything that comes to me there, and I'm going
to rest for what's to come. Um,
(39:55):
because I don't know what else to do, you know,
on the federal level of things. I'm just going to have to,
like, it's going to come. It's going to come to me.
And I leave it, like, the one of the
most bleak moments in our, like,
presidential history. Like, I left, there had been, like,
assassination attempts, and I was just like, all
(40:16):
right, truck out, going to Ireland,
and then I come back
and I get off the plane at O'Hare, and it's
the Olympics.
>> Tanorria (40:29):
Yeah.
>> Speaker C (40:29):
And Kamala's
Paris and Tim walls, and
everybody's, like, America. And everybody
is, like, super hopeful, and
I'm, like, got my, like, rolly case, and I'm looking around,
like, what country did I just land
in? I'm like, all I had to do was
leave.
(40:52):
They sorted themselves out. Uh, well, this is a whole
lesson. Okay, I love,
but, I mean, that's, like a silly little story,
but I feel
really energized. I mean, just
watching the DNC.
>> Tanorria (41:08):
Oh, uh, my gosh, so good.
>> Speaker C (41:10):
It feels good. It feels good to
see, um, so
many different pieces
of the community activating
and engaged. That's what feels good for me. It
feels good to see, like,
people who are creators just say, hey,
what can I do to be a part of this? It
(41:33):
feels, feels good to see people who are
culinary and hospitality people. I've had
musicians reach out to me and say, hey, can
I play at a rally m, you
know, can I contribute my, like, musical talent? So,
like, seeing so many people
come together to contribute whatever
they have, and that's, that's like, that's why
(41:55):
I'm in politics, where it's, you take,
you bring me what you have, and you bring me a
little something of yours, and I'll bring my ideas and I'll bring
a little bit of what they've got over there, and we'll put
it together and we're going to create
the dream of something more.
>> Candace (42:12):
Absolutely. And I think this, this
season, this time, I think
the powers that be are understanding that you
absolutely have to have the creatives and the
people who have platform. You have to have
them there.
>> Tanorria (42:27):
Their strategy.
>> Candace (42:28):
Their strategy is it is top like, this is one of the
first years that I've seen several
creators be invited to the
convention, and, uh, that a lot, uh, of people.
And, of course, you're going to hear the backlash. Well, I didn't follow you to be political.
Well, I'm sorry.
>> Tanorria (42:44):
I'm a human.
>> Candace (42:45):
I'm a human. If you're
political in some form or fashion.
>> Tanorria (42:49):
Yeah.
>> Candace (42:50):
So I think it's so important that we see that
and that, again, like, we all have something to
give it. I liken it to, like, a pot of gumbo. Right?
You've got, uh, you've got your onions, you got your peppers, you got
your celery. You got your chicken, you got your sausage. Um, you
got your okra, you got your flour in your
roux. All together, they're there, you know, separately,
(43:10):
they're amazing. But when they come together,
when they come together, it's flavor
explosion, energy explosion, explosion.
>> Speaker C (43:19):
Yeah.
>> Tanorria (43:19):
Yes. Yeah.
>> Speaker C (43:21):
That's why creativity and art is so powerful
and so necessary in politics, because
it helps us see the
unseen. And that is what
is, I think, where,
that is where I think ineffective
politicians fall short. They want to keep doing the same
(43:41):
thing over and over again, which
really, really dynamic leaders
are trying to do something that hasn't
yet been done because they are dreaming of something better for
our community. They are dreaming of something
different. And even if things are going really
well, let's see how we can do it
(44:02):
even better, because everybody
deserves to thrive. And it's like, fine,
okay, you got your student loans paid for.
Okay, let's see how we can do it better for everybody.
And that's going to make it better for absolutely
everybody. There's no downside to this, you know? So it's
like the creatives and art
(44:22):
and music and all of, all of those
mediums are so important because they are,
like, the tangible thing that can help
make us feel and see
these things that
are generally hard concepts to
grasp if they're just delivered through one medium, through
(44:43):
a speech. We need more. We need
the arts to help come alongside
to create that vision of what America
could be, how we can deliver on, you
know, what this promise could be.
>> Candace (44:58):
That's good.
>> Tanorria (44:59):
And I mean, it's so true, but that putting it in that
way, we need the arts to kind of
translate.
>> Speaker C (45:05):
For us, that's
so, it's so important because these
are hard topics. If I just try
to talk about Medicare or Medicaid
insurance, on the face of it,
those are hard concepts. But,
um, if you have
(45:26):
artistic expression that can
talk about or show
that people deserve,
everybody deserves the ability to
thrive and be healthy and have access to
care wherever they are in the state, you know,
(45:47):
like frame it in a different way or evoke
a feeling or even tell the
story of what happens when you don't have that.
That's powerful.
>> Candace (45:58):
I think it's so important because if you think about
the civil rights era, music was the
backbone of that era.
>> Tanorria (46:05):
Oh, absolutely.
>> Candace (46:06):
Literally knowing that Aretha was going to get
up before Doctor King to speech, she had
to set the stage right. Um, and
music and art do that. And I think, I think
we're starting to see now that not only does
art and music and being creative make us better, but
we need it to survive.
>> Tanorria (46:25):
Yeah. I feel like art and music
disrupts the. Well, that particular
issue doesn't affect me because when you see
someone expressing an issue, a ah.
Cause whatever, it's going to make you feel
something. And so even though it's not even
in your oikas and your sphere of influence, every
day you're going to see this
(46:47):
expression and it's going, you know, good art leaves a
lasting impression.
>> Candace (46:51):
Exactly.
>> Tanorria (46:52):
So you're going to be thinking about that. It's going to make you
curious, it's going to make you ask questions. So
it makes art and creativity
makes people layered individuals, even just
by consuming it.
>> Speaker C (47:05):
M it also gives people permission
to, like, I think people,
there's an understanding that when I look at a piece of art,
I'm going to look at it one way and someone's going to look at it and have
a different experience.
And that's allowed. Yeah.
And I think that in politics that
(47:25):
can feel less
comfortable. Um, so we need to build our
muscles up for that. So I think art helps us,
you know, have healthy, healthy conversations
about how we perceive things.
>> Tanorria (47:38):
Yeah.
>> Speaker C (47:39):
Mhm.
>> Candace (47:40):
That's good.
>> Tanorria (47:41):
So good.
>> Candace (47:42):
That's good stuff. That's good stuff.
We've had such meaningful conversations
this podcast goes so fast some days.
>> Tanorria (47:50):
I know.
>> Candace (47:51):
Yeah. Um, well, I first want to
just thank you for being such a lover
of our, um, great state in our community.
Um, a lot of people don't realize how much work you do
behind the scenes.
>> Tanorria (48:04):
Yeah.
>> Candace (48:04):
And so we want to, you know, one thing we're going to do
here on black girls evening is give you your flowers. So we definitely want to
give you your flowers.
>> Speaker C (48:12):
Thank you.
>> Candace (48:13):
We're just, we're thankful that you can share knowledge with us
and not make us feel like, oh my God, I didn't understand
civics, but no, like, give it to us in a real way.
>> Tanorria (48:22):
Yep.
>> Candace (48:22):
Um, especially with it as it relates to, you know, voter
education and just kind of understanding what
community means and how you can be impactful. It doesn't have to be all
these big things, but something small, you know, such
as voting, can really make a big change. So thank
you for that.
>> Speaker C (48:38):
Yeah. Do what you can where you can.
>> Candace (48:41):
There you go. Each one, reach one, right?
>> Speaker C (48:43):
Mhm.
>> Candace (48:44):
Yeah. So, you know, we have therapy
moments on black girls eating.
>> Tanorria (48:49):
The final question, I know you've heard.
>> Candace (48:51):
It before, but
I can't wait to hear this answer.
>> Tanorria (48:55):
I know, it's gonna be so good.
Uh, Elise, what would you tell
your six year old self today?
>> Speaker C (49:06):
This was so hard to think about
because I'm an old, I'm not only the
oldest daughter, I'm the
oldest cousin.
>> Candace (49:17):
Um hm.
>> Speaker C (49:19):
Mhm. So,
um, I bounced between two,
which was like a, you're going to find your people, but be
like, probably the more important one is
you can ask for help.
>> Candace (49:33):
M.
>> Speaker C (49:35):
Like, you don't have to, you don't have to carry that
load.
>> Tanorria (49:39):
Of course, that's coming from the community person.
>> Candace (49:42):
Exactly.
>> Tanorria (49:42):
100%. Yes.
>> Candace (49:44):
This tracks. This tracks.
I love it.
>> Speaker C (49:47):
Well, it's taken me a lot
of therapy to get there,
honestly, it's taken a lot of therapy for me
to, um, figure that
out. And I have found my people and they
are the ones that remind me
often that I don't have to carry
that load by myself.
>> Candace (50:11):
Uh, I love it. I love it.
>> Tanorria (50:13):
Hey, you can ask for help. And we
need each other's help in this election
season, 100%. So that
is very, very poignant.
>> Speaker C (50:24):
So community, community, community.
That's what it all comes down to right now.
>> Candace (50:29):
Yeah, that's good stuff.
That's good stuff. Well, guys,
yes. Thank you being here.
>> Tanorria (50:38):
This was so special.
>> Candace (50:39):
Yes. Like, it's like people don't understand. Like Tanori
and I, like, we have like a running bucket
list.
>> Tanorria (50:45):
We do.
>> Candace (50:46):
And like, we are like, what about this person?
What about this person? And I was like, we gotta get her. Like,
we gotta get her. And so the stars aligned and it
worked out. So I'm super excited. I'm
super excited, you guys. We will definitely make sure
to list all of the great information that Elise
shared with us about voting, how to check your voter registration,
(51:07):
about who's your women forward, but also about our amazing
sponsor, the cathedral. So we'll definitely link all
of that in the show notes, and we will check you
out at another time.
>> Tanorria (51:18):
Bye, y'all.
>> Candace (51:18):
Bye. Black Girls eating the podcast
is sound engineered and produced by David
McKissick. It's recorded
at Nexus Impact Center Creative
suite. Follow black girls eating the
podcast on Instagram at blackgirlseating.
Follow sonoria at Sonoria's table.
Follow Candace at ah, foodlovetalk. Thank you
(51:41):
for listening.
Welcome to black girls eating, uh, a conversation about
justice, black girl magic, and well
seasoned food. We are black girls eating,
and welcome to our podcast.
>> Tanorria (00:18):
This episode of black girls eating was brought to you
by christchurch cathedral.
Hey, girl.
>> Candace (00:25):
Hey. Hey, hey. Hey.
>> Tanorria (00:27):
How you doing today?
>> Candace (00:29):
You know, I'm doing all right. I'm doing all right. We
have made it to the month of September, and
it feels very weird. Um, the fact that I've been 40 now for
two months, that's kind of crazy. Um, but
here we are.
>> Tanorria (00:42):
You've also been almost married for three
years.
>> Candace (00:46):
Listen, that wild, the level
of turn up.
>> Tanorria (00:50):
What are y'all doing to celebrate?
>> Candace (00:52):
We're going out of town, going to a concert.
Gonna be, you know, just look at you.
>> Tanorria (00:58):
Y'all wish y'all could see her right now.
I love it. I love it.
>> Speaker C (01:04):
Thanks.
>> Candace (01:04):
Yours is not right. Yours is not too far behind me, though.
It keeps popping up in my memory, so that lets me know
it's near. It's near.
>> Tanorria (01:11):
Love that.
>> Candace (01:12):
I love it because I still have all the pictures of you in your costume, and it makes
me so happy. I
can't believe I can never delete them. I will never delete
them.
>> Tanorria (01:21):
I just confused. I'm very proud of that.
>> Candace (01:25):
It was the best. It was literally the best secret
ever.
>> Tanorria (01:28):
Especially cause he didn't know.
>> Speaker C (01:30):
Yeah.
>> Tanorria (01:31):
Yeah.
>> Speaker C (01:31):
It was awesome.
>> Tanorria (01:32):
So, well, um, we've
got a great episode
coming for you. You know, when we, um,
came back for this fall season,
we said that we were going to
have some political heavy hitters, to have some
social justice heavy hitters. And
(01:52):
I am. I am so excited about this episode.
Um, first of all, I am excited about
our different shade of melanin. Okay.
>> Candace (02:00):
Yes.
>> Tanorria (02:01):
Because, you know, we are black girls eating, and most
of our guests are from the african
diaspora, but we like to mix it up from time to
time. And this guest is
no exception to the spice and
the flair that all of our guests
bring.
>> Candace (02:19):
She brings the flavor.
>> Tanorria (02:22):
She really does. And I've, like,
secretly admired her for a long time, and now I, like,
can call her my friend. Um,
but what a lot of people don't know, and you're not
gonna find this out today because you can't see her.
But this guest is one of the most fashionable people,
literally, I have ever met. Like, every day, I'm
(02:42):
looking at her instagram, like, what's she wearing today? And why didn't I think
of that outfit? Listen, she's so
good at it.
>> Candace (02:48):
Inspires me in the fact that she is
also a leopard animal. Print loving
sister. Like you don't even
know. She will pop on a red lippy and a leopard.
And I'm like, yep, she makes it so fly.
I love it. I can't wait to tell my
favorite moment of our love affair, because y'all know I have
(03:08):
a love affair with all our guests, so, yeah, I can't wait to share that much, y'all.
But anyway, let us. Let us bring her in here so we can, you
know, just, you know, stop with all the
shenanigans. Tanoria, read the bio. Because the
bio is what?
>> Tanorria (03:20):
Uh, bio wing. Yeah.
Okay.
>> Candace (03:23):
Yeah.
>> Tanorria (03:23):
Friends, we have Elise
Schrock. She is a democratic
communication strategist. That right there just sounds
real fancy.
>> Candace (03:32):
Bio.
>> Tanorria (03:33):
Real fancy. And she
specializes in candidate communications,
development, strategic campaign communications,
and press relations. She is the communications
director for the Episcopal Diocese of Indiana, Indianapolis,
and Christchurch Cathedral, a progressive
faith community in the heart of Indianapolis. Each
year, you'll see her proudly kicking off the summer alongside the
(03:55):
Cathedral of women, Christchurch Cathedral, as they
host the city's much beloved Indie Strawberry
festival. I went this year for the first
time ever.
>> Candace (04:05):
What?
>> Tanorria (04:06):
I know. I have lived in, uh,
the state of Indiana for 40 years, and this is the
first time I've ever gone. It was
delightful.
>> Candace (04:15):
Listen, the minute they get a gluten free shortcake,
I'm there, baby. Cause I had to stop. Cause
I was making my stomach hurt.
>> Speaker C (04:23):
Yeah.
>> Tanorria (04:24):
Yeah. Not, um,
only does she do all the
amazing things I just said, but she is
also a founding board member of
Hoosier Women Forward, Indiana's premier
leadership program for democratic women.
Through study, field experience, and
networking, the participants gain valuable political
(04:45):
leadership training that prepares them to become more
informed, active, and mindful public
servants. Lots of our near dear and friends,
um, are members of Hoosier women
forward, so it's a phenomenal program.
Um, she currently works as a trainer with the
national democratic training committee.
(05:06):
Um, she's a regular communicator.
I mean, the list goes on and on and on,
but my favorite thing about this person
is she is one fierce tia
to so many of the sweet little babies
all across our city. They love her.
Um, and she is just one loyal, devoted
friend. And I know this because of
(05:29):
the friends that she's friends with and how highly they speak
of her. Welcome. Welcome,
Elise.
>> Speaker C (05:36):
Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be
with you all today. This is truly a highlight for
me. I am such a long time
fan, listener.
Um, I just love you both so much, and it's
such an honor to join you.
>> Candace (05:51):
Oh, thanks you.
We love you so much. We're so happy that you're
here and that we get to share you with
all of our listeners and our friends, because really
are. You are a gemdez. So, like I
said, y'all know I have a love affair story with everyone.
>> Tanorria (06:08):
Yes. Do tell.
>> Candace (06:10):
Um, so I can't quite pinpoint it,
but, um, I want to say it
was Twitter. Cause it'll forever be Twitter. It's like
deer Creek. It's gonna forever be Deer creek, right?
>> Tanorria (06:20):
I just learned the same thing about kinsinko.
>> Candace (06:22):
Yes, it's forever gonna be. You know how that
is. And so she and I are. You know, I think I was
probably talking to Melanie on Twitter, and then I, like, found
Elise, and we became Internet besties.
And then, um, because I share a lot about
Maddie shenanigans on social media, she was like, I think
your daughter would love to be a part of this program at the
(06:42):
cathedral. You know, send her down here
and listen. The love affair. Y'all think I
love Elise. Madison would be
livid if she knew I was on a zoo with Elise
right now.
>> Speaker C (06:55):
I wondered if she was gonna, like, pop in. Just
say hello, fashion friend.
>> Candace (07:00):
Listen, Maddie loves, at least to the
point where at least it's like, look, I really want to be Maddie's friend.
However, there's this thing that we have called healthy boundaries that
I can't actually be her friend.
>> Speaker C (07:11):
Like, according to church
safeguarding, which are very important to me as
the community. Tia, you
cannot text me without your mother
being on the text chain. Like, we have lots
of safeguarding to keep all the children
safe. And I I stick to
that. Um, and
(07:34):
I love when our littles feel safe enough
and comfortable enough,
um, that they just feel like they can just be
their liberated, expressive,
whole, silly,
childlike selves. That is
the environment we want for our kids, where they get to be
kids and they get to be the
(07:56):
fullest expression of themselves.
And Maddie,
man, Maddie does that in the
best way, and it is a
pure delight to be in her presence.
>> Candace (08:10):
So just thank you for loving me enough
to be like, hey, I think this would be great for your kid. And
totally, um, I let my kid fly
thousands of miles away across the earth.
The only reason is because I knew Alicia was going to be there.
Had Elise not been there, it would have not gone. I was like, uh, uh, uh.
>> Speaker C (08:28):
Well, because, you know, I will not let anything happen to Maddie.
If I get even a hint of something that's
going sideways for my littles, I step in.
>> Candace (08:37):
Absolutely.
>> Speaker C (08:37):
And I'm Mama bear that situation.
Absolutely.
>> Candace (08:41):
So just. I mean that, you know, we. We don't take that
lightly. So thank you. So, that. That is my love affairs story with
Elise. So, um, that being said, welcome to black
girls eating. I am Candace.
>> Tanorria (08:51):
And I am Tanoria.
I love it. Yeah, you are. Uh, Maddie
is so great, and I just love anyone who loves Maddie
because she is one lovable little
kid.
>> Speaker C (09:05):
Yeah. Ah.
>> Candace (09:06):
So we really wanted to have you on the
show, especially during this time of year, because there's a
lot going on in the world. Right. Um,
so I'm gonna jump our show off. You're listening to the show.
So, you know, typically, kind of how we start. Um,
I want to know, when did you fall in
love with being an advocate
(09:27):
for the. For the political process
and more so on the other side of that, when
did you know that it was important for women
to take a, uh, stake in a claim into
that seat? Like, when did you say, hey, you got
to get the women in here?
>> Speaker C (09:43):
Well, you know, I've really known
no other way because
of my ancestors. The
women in my family who
inspire me, who continue
to inspire me, who protect me to this
day, um, have always been
activists. Um, the reason I am
(10:06):
here and safe and alive in this
country is because my great grandmother,
um, who lived in Spain during the spanish civil
war under Francisco Franco's
fascist dictatorship, was
able to, despite,
um, her husband being
murdered by a fascist regime, was able
(10:28):
to get her children,
um, keep her children and herself alive.
And that still meant being held in a french
internment camp. Um,
they were. I mean, they were, um,
they were anti fascist
fighters. Insane. Um, my great
(10:49):
grandmother, who I was very
blessed to actually know as a
child, who was, um,
a woman. By the time I knew her, she was a woman
of,
um, few words.
Um, she was a more quiet woman
around me, but I now know it was
(11:11):
because her soul, her body
housed so much. Um,
but I am here because she
was able to get my abuela
and my tia and tio
through living in an internment camp.
Um, she was able to get them onto a ship
(11:32):
for refugee children where
she had to stay behind in France, and she never
left. And Maya,
Wella, and her
siblings, as,
um, children
not even ten years old, ended
up in Morocco to avoid the u boats,
(11:54):
literally, Casablanca. Then coming up South
America, up to New York City, where they had to
wait in an orphanage until family
from Ohio was able to come get them. I
mean, by the time my
abuela was a teenager,
the things that she had seen
(12:14):
because of political action
and inaction, um,
were immense. And so
coming when you come from an immigrant family
who has had to flee trauma like that,
um, who has been given
a life like they have today, largely because of
(12:36):
organized labor. Because when you were a
Fernandez and Aramos, when you come
to the US,
uh, it was largely the unions who
afforded hispanic people
opportunities. My grandparents were
able to find jobs that
(12:56):
provided them livable wages
and opportunities to rise in
their ranks. And my grandfather was a steel worker and my
grandmother was a nurse. And um, that
was political. And so,
you know, and I've always been
steeped in that environment that
(13:16):
our existence and our way of living
has never been. Not political.
Um.
>> Candace (13:25):
Mhm.
>> Speaker C (13:25):
So I guess I've not known anything different. And I don't
ever want to be in a position
where I am, um,
taking anything. I mean, my great grandmother had
literal like shrapnel wounds on
her body.
>> Tanorria (13:40):
Wow.
>> Speaker C (13:41):
And so I don't ever want to be living a
life where I'm taking that for granted.
And it's this constant balance where it's like, I deserve
peace and
I don't wanna live a life where I'm taking that
for granted.
>> Candace (13:56):
Mhm.
>> Tanorria (13:57):
Yeah, I think that's uh, this
story is phenomenal. And what I
appreciate so much is you can sit
in the reality that everything is
political. Like, it kind of
boils my blood a little bit when people bring up a
topic and say, oh, but I don't wanna get political. And I'm
like, you have no choice. You
(14:20):
can do that in a way that is
still giving you space to be yourself
and create, you know, a,
uh, difference for your generation
and the next generation. You can do all of that and
still sit in the reality of. Yeah, but it's
still political.
>> Candace (14:38):
Mhm. Mhm.
>> Speaker C (14:41):
And it's all about, it's about community.
I mean, there, you can call it political,
you can call it community, you can call it loving
your neighbor as yourself. You can call it like, you
know, Senator Rafael Warnock. You can call it living
a prayer that you're saying, you know, voting is a
prayer. There are so many things that you
(15:01):
can call it, um, but it,
it takes the participation of everyone
and it takes looking outside yourself
to do it right.
>> Tanorria (15:12):
M oh, that's good.
>> Candace (15:15):
The quotes are going to quote this episode. I can already feel
it.
>> Tanorria (15:19):
It takes living outside yourself to do it
right. That is brilliant.
Wow.
>> Candace (15:28):
That's incredible. That's incredible.
I think it's important for people to understand that too.
Like to know that, like the work that
we're doing and engaging in as it
relates to voting and access
and justice. It requires you
to have some skin in the game. You don't need to just dip your toe in
(15:50):
because once you're in, you can't imagine a
way not being in.
>> Tanorria (15:54):
Yep.
>> Speaker C (15:56):
Yeah. And that's, you know, and that's one of
the wilder parts of having the
experiences that I've had. Having worked,
um, on the official side,
I'll have to excuse my dog.
Um, is also very
opinionated.
>> Tanorria (16:14):
Al is a guest on black girls eating
as well. Okay. Welcome, Al.
>> Speaker C (16:20):
He said thank you.
Um, you know, it's, having worked
on the official side and seeing the
legislature behind the scenes, how that
works. Having worked on campaigns, having
worked, you know, with like political parties, having
worked with the media, you know, there's no putting
(16:41):
that toothpaste back in.
Um, back in. For me, it's like I've kind of
seen it all and
it's, you have to
consistently work to not let
that make you jaded.
>> Candace (16:57):
Mhm.
>> Tanorria (16:58):
Yeah. Yeah.
>> Speaker C (16:59):
Because these are systems that were
created without any of us
speaking today in mind. Right. None of
us were created. This was created without
any of us in mind. Um,
so that's also been what has
been, I think after
(17:19):
about two decades of doing this, what has been my
greatest superpower in doing this,
because I've learned to not let it be the thing that defines me.
And it has made me realize that I'm good at it because
of all the other things I am. And
it just keeps coming back, like, for me, it keeps coming back to
community. And that's the thing that I, when I
(17:40):
talk about, like, voter engagement, when you talk about,
um, electoral politics, it
really, really comes down to community
empowerment. Are you talking to your friends? Are you
having those hard conversations? Are you having discussions
even where you're not 100% in an
alignment? Are you talking about the things that you
(18:01):
are agreeing upon to try and push
those things further where you can?
In Indiana, we have a real difficult
challenge, uh, because we are so gerrymandered,
um, um, which has created very drastic red and
very drastic blue regions. And
(18:21):
that's been by design. Every time we have redistricting,
every ten years, it's gotten worse and worse. And what
that has done is made us more polarized. And when it's more
polarized, this thing
happens where it's just like us and them never, um,
the two shall meet. So this, but
community is where we all meet. And we gotta be, we
(18:41):
gotta be talking, we gotta be engaging, we gotta be
encouraging people, like, everywhere we go. I'm always
like, are you registered to vote? Great. Ah. Have you checked your voter
registration? Make sure there's no funny business. Are
you checking your voter registration every couple of weeks just
to, uh, you know, make sure everything's cool? Do you know the
voter registration deadlines coming up? You know, so,
(19:01):
like, just talking. Community
engagement. It's community.
>> Tanorria (19:06):
Hey, friends, it's Tanoria, my
first ever cookbook. Staples plus five is available
wherever cookbooks are sold. It was voted one of the best
cookbooks in 2020 by Glamourmagazine.com dot.
You can purchase it@tenorioustable.com
books. And make sure to tell me what your favorite recipe
is.
>> Candace (19:23):
Hey, y'all, it's Candace the spice slinger. Here
is your food, bland, unseasoned.
Let's spice it up with seasonings from foodlove talk.
Catch me online@foodloved.com.
dot. Be ye seasoned, y'all.
>> Tanorria (19:38):
You know, we get a lot of people, I know
people personally who are heavily involved in the community
but know nothing about voting, probably have never
voted. Um, and
I'm curious, how do you have a conversation with
someone to convince them
to register to vote and to vote if they've never
(19:58):
done it before? But like Candace
said, having skin in the game. These are people
with small businesses. These are people
with nonprofit organizations. And I'm like, yo,
your vote matters so much. Just a little
extra more because of, um, you know, the.
The things that are important to you, like your business and
(20:18):
the community that you serve with your nonprofit.
How do you navigate those conversations and
get someone inspired and
confident?
>> Speaker C (20:28):
M first, the
first thing for me is making sure they have what they
need, the information they
need to register to vote. So do
you know how to register to vote? Do you know, like, where
to go? Can I help you with the form? Or here's
a form. Um,
for a lot of folks, it seems like it is this
(20:51):
big thing, this government form. You have to maybe
present an id, or maybe you have to go in and do it at
a, you know, at the secretary of state's office at the
state house, and I have to go through security, or maybe I have to go to the
clerk's office. What is a clerk?
So, you know, if this is your only
interaction with a government agency
of this type, um, we can't
(21:13):
assume they know what registering to
vote is. So that's good. Like,
asking and saying, hey, um, if you
haven't registered to vote, like,
how can I help you?
>> Tanorria (21:25):
Yeah.
>> Speaker C (21:26):
Um, and making sure they know. And if they do know,
I mean, I like to ask people,
you know, what's the hang up? Like, what's holding you
back? And then trying to meet people where
they are. Because I found there's just
so much more to be gained
from, like,
(21:48):
trying to, trying to
gain insight into what might be holding someone back.
Rather than like, you should do this. Here are five reasons
why that are kind of like a template response.
>> Tanorria (21:59):
Yeah.
>> Speaker C (22:00):
Um, really trying to connect with
people. I think, you know, hey,
you've got this small business, um,
if you've ever received a small business loan,
did you know that, like, um,
who you elect affects like, um,
how those are distributed or the interest
(22:20):
rates, or, um, you
know, how they are
administered, or whether or not this
certain type of loan is sunsetted over the next
two years. Like, it all, it
all can. You can talk about the things
that they do. I mean, even
as easily as, like, hey, do you like,
(22:43):
you know, having, knowing that
when you call 911, when your house is fire and like, the fire
department's gonna come and,
you know, your mail comes every single day, isn't that great?
>> Candace (22:55):
Um, yeah, because all of that, all of that plays
apart.
>> Speaker C (22:59):
Mhm. Yeah.
>> Tanorria (23:00):
So many things we take for granted.
>> Speaker C (23:02):
Yeah. Um, so, you know, you can
go through all of those things, but I think it's like, if you
really know these folks well,
I think it's really valuable data for folks
like me to know why
they aren't voting or what the
hangup is. Um, and that way
(23:23):
we can take that feedback to
our advocacy spaces, whether it's like
nonpartisan, um, organizations like League of
Women Voters or ACLU, or,
you know, like a larger
organization like vote.org and say, hey, here's some hang ups in
our state. Are you seeing that in other states?
>> Tanorria (23:43):
Yeah.
>> Speaker C (23:44):
How do we band together and fix this?
>> Candace (23:46):
Um, that's good.
That's really good.
>> Tanorria (23:52):
What are the current
critical dates
and steps that people need to know to
be prepared for this election?
>> Speaker C (24:04):
So right now it is all
about,
um, getting
people registered to vote
and, um, having them
check their voter registration. And I thought
I had this pulled up,
(24:25):
so I'm going to pull this up just to
make sure I am not getting this wrong. Yes.
Okay. I'm not wrong on this. Um, so the
critical things right now, getting people registered
to vote, making sure they are checking their
voter registration. And in indiana,
because our voter registration
(24:45):
laws are woefully
behind other states, um, the
voter registration deadline is
October 7, and you can't register to
vote after October 7. It's
locked in. Everybody
in indiana must get their voter
registration in by October 7.
(25:07):
Now you can register to vote online. You can go to
indianavoters dot in dot gov dot.
That brings a whole portal up for
you. Um,
and if you are registered, you can check your voter
registration there as well. You can see who's on your ballot.
One other tool that I love is vote.org.
dot vote.org is
(25:30):
the largest nonprofit,
nonpartisan voter registration
tool in the nation.
>> Tanorria (25:37):
Wow.
>> Speaker C (25:38):
And it was founded by andrea
haley, who is their CEO, who is a black
woman from Indianapolis.
>> Tanorria (25:45):
Oh, wow. That's awesome.
>> Speaker C (25:47):
And she is crushing it in the area
of voter protection all across our nation. She's the
leading. She is a thought leader,
um, in voter rights, voter protection,
voter registration. Um, they
are really crushing it
right now with registering,
(26:08):
um, newly, um,
newly eligible voters. So gen z
voters who are newly 18.
>> Candace (26:16):
Yeah. College students.
>> Tanorria (26:17):
Yeah.
>> Speaker C (26:18):
There are over 8 million
new, uh, newly
eligible voters since 2020.
>> Candace (26:27):
Oh, my gosh. Mhm.
>> Speaker C (26:30):
So trying to get all of those folks
registered is really key.
>> Tanorria (26:35):
Oh, my word. Wow.
>> Speaker C (26:37):
That's a really socially conscious
generation.
>> Candace (26:41):
Absolutely, absolutely.
>> Speaker C (26:43):
And we need them. We need
them to be voting and, um,
we need their energy. So, um,
making sure that if you are a
tia and you have your
kids who are in your community who
are turning 18, make sure you are
(27:04):
doing your due diligence to get them all
registered to vote.
>> Candace (27:09):
Absolutely.
>> Speaker C (27:09):
Um, so, uh,
vote.org is an excellent tool, especially
because I know you have wide listenership. That's not just
indiana. Vote.org has
tools, um, and programs,
voter registration links for
all 50 states.
>> Tanorria (27:28):
Okay.
>> Candace (27:28):
That's awesome. Again, we provide resources
here at black girls eating.
>> Tanorria (27:32):
Yeah. So, yeah, billion.
>> Candace (27:36):
That's a lot.
>> Tanorria (27:37):
Who have become eligible since
28.
>> Speaker C (27:41):
Yeah. 8 million.
>> Tanorria (27:42):
8 million, yeah.
>> Speaker C (27:44):
And half of 47% of them are
young, eligible voters of color.
>> Tanorria (27:51):
Uh huh.
>> Candace (27:52):
Wow, that's. That's gonna
change the game. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
that's gonna change the game.
>> Speaker C (28:00):
And that's why you're seeing a lot of voter suppression
efforts. And that's why, and
that's why I keep saying, keep checking your voter
registration.
Um, when it comes
to. When it comes time to start
voting, I really encourage folks to,
um, resource yourself with,
(28:21):
um. Ah, your local
aclu. ACLU of Indiana is
awesome here. League of women voters in
your state is a great resource. Um,
there are often voter protection hotlines in each
state. Those are great numbers to
have. Um, just in case there's
any type of questions, question you may have or any type of funny
(28:43):
business going on at the polls. Um,
because after 2020, we saw
a brash of, um, voter
suppression laws happening in state
legislatures in Texas and Georgia and in
Indiana. Oh,
yes. So, um,
it is something we want to make sure we are
(29:06):
talking about so that folks know that there are
resources out there, um, when it
comes time to vote, if you feel like something's happening, if
it doesn't feel right, um,
make sure that you kind of are
resourcing yourself by following ACLU
of Indiana or a voter protection hotline,
(29:27):
um, or looking to league of women voters,
um, for help. They're always there to answer
questions. Yeah. Unfortunately, in Indiana, there was
a house bill that passed, house bill
1264.
That. That, um, was.
It was meant to. It was aimed
(29:48):
to,
um. It was aimed
at voter fraud, which is the code word for just
trying to put a bunch of stuff in a bill.
>> Tanorria (29:58):
Yep.
>> Speaker C (29:58):
Um, to make it harder to keep people from voting.
>> Candace (30:00):
Absolutely.
>> Speaker C (30:01):
Yeah.
>> Tanorria (30:02):
Yeah.
>> Candace (30:03):
I'm glad you said that because I was going to ask, you know, what can people do if
they feel like, you know, I've been registered to vote, now all of a sudden they can't find
me? So thank you for linking in the ACLU and
some, um, voter support agencies, because I think people are
going to need that. Um, I want to talk
about you empowering women with, who's your
women forward? Um,
explain your whole, um, idea of
(30:26):
why that is so important and why it's so near and dear
to your heart.
>> Speaker C (30:31):
Yeah.
Um,
it doesn't matter what party you are in,
um, in electoral politics,
in the political system, there's always going to be a good
old boys club, and there's always going to be kind
of, that's how things are done in this
(30:52):
party. Um, but it doesn't mean that's the
best way or the way it should be done.
And, um,
especially after 2016,
it was just like, we
have so many women in our communities
who are really doing the groundwork and,
(31:13):
um, who should be
ascending to great heights in our state,
and we don't have a pipeline
that is meeting the capacity of
women doing this work.
And the Republicans had it, um, with the
Luger series, the Democrats
(31:34):
didn't, um. And
let me tell you, it is hard work to
get, um,
any type of program started from
scratch. But when you're talking about
politics and different factions and groups and
a statewide program, getting
that program launched took a lot of work, and it
(31:56):
is, I think, going to be
one of the most important things I will ever do in my
career, um, because,
um, it has
reached and exceeded our expectations
quicker than we thought. We just
launched our 7th, ah, class.
(32:17):
And while this is a
leadership program, so we are looking
to take women who
are already leaders in their communities,
so already very well
established, very well known, and just giving them,
just sharpening their tools. Right. Giving them a
network of other women, which when you have a network
(32:39):
that makes women just like,
unstoppable, um,
and giving them a little bit of more
access to party, ah, infrastructure.
Teaching them how the system works, teaching
them kind of like, here's the
play of field. Play of field,
or the field of play. And here
(33:02):
are how. Here's how the
legislature works. Here's how it works at the federal issue
or level. We take them to DC for a
whole week here. We give them access to. To
federal leaders, um,
advocacy folks, think tanks. We go to the
White House, like a couple times. We're in the
(33:22):
briefing room, uh, with Karine Jean Pierre, which is
like, insane.
>> Tanorria (33:27):
Yeah.
>> Speaker C (33:30):
And what we found is
when you can empower
women like that, they
are just like, all right, I'm doing it.
And it's. And it's less about, like, the hard skills, which are
very important, but it's more about
the way that they support each other and the way that
(33:50):
they can make each other feel seen and that the
way that they can feel validated by each other's
experiences. And
while we want to see folks in every
single type of leadership space, this is not a,
ah, it's not a candidate recruitment
program, it's just leadership program.
Um, the unexpected
(34:13):
kind of wonderful thing of this is like, they're all like, oh,
well, I'm running many of
them, ah, um,
like, more than we anticipated. And that's
incredible. When they do,
78% of our women win.
>> Candace (34:30):
Wow.
>> Tanorria (34:31):
Wow.
>> Speaker C (34:32):
And that's in red districts, that's
in blue districts, that's in
every single corner of the state. That's
northern part, that's southern part
down on the river. I mean, like, we have mayors. We
have two, um, alumni who are
mayors. Mayor, um, Sharon Tucker
in Fort Wayne, uh, Mayor Deb
(34:54):
Whitfield and Lawrence, both alumni of Hoosier
women forward. So it's like
we're just kind of sitting here going,
wow.
>> Tanorria (35:04):
Yeah.
>> Speaker C (35:06):
This is clearly, um, a void
that was needed because
Hoosier women were just
ready for a program like
this. Um, and there was so much
just potential. It just
needed the mechanism. So
we created the mechanism, and it's been
(35:28):
truly, um, phenomenal to watch.
>> Candace (35:31):
The alumni class is alumni ing.
Okay. Ah, we've got Senator Hunley on there.
I've got one of my cohort mates that's in a class now. Like,
listen, I. Yeah, I love
this.
>> Tanorria (35:44):
Every.
>> Candace (35:44):
Love.
>> Tanorria (35:44):
Every time they post a class, I'm like,
friends, people.
>> Candace (35:49):
Yes. Every time.
>> Speaker C (35:51):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And when, you
know. And when, like, Senator Hunley
or representative Victoria Garcia Wilburn
walks into the state house, she knows she's got, like,
125 women walking in there with
her. And, um, that is really
helpful when you're walking into a building like that.
>> Candace (36:11):
Yeah, that's important.
That's important.
>> Tanorria (36:16):
Speaking of buildings, Candace.
>> Candace (36:18):
Yes.
>> Tanorria (36:19):
I want to talk about the church on the
circle. Everyone knows that building, right?
Everyone knows that building.
Um, our friends at, ah, Christ church
Cathedral are a platinum sponsor, and we are so
grateful for their sponsorship. Um, did
you know that they are a multicultural
congregation right in the heart of Indianapolis?
(36:42):
They, um, are the creators
and organizers of the world
famous. I think it's world famous strawberry
festival. Um,
and they partner with several outreach
organizations, not only in their. Not only with their
financial donations, but they offer volunteer hours.
They build deep relationships with organizations like
(37:05):
Exodus Refugee day, spring center,
voices Incorporated, and the immigrant
welcome center. They are a
heavy hitter in our community.
>> Candace (37:16):
And let me just tell you one of my favorite parts
about the cathedral.
>> Tanorria (37:19):
Of course.
>> Candace (37:20):
Cool program that they have called the choir school. Let, um,
me tell you. World class choral
in music education.
>> Tanorria (37:28):
Literally world class.
>> Candace (37:30):
Literally world class. And it is something
that families from all over. You don't have to be a
member of the cathedral to participate. I think that's the coolest part.
>> Speaker C (37:38):
Right?
>> Candace (37:39):
Because people think a lot of times you have to tie it to your membership. Well, you don't,
because Maddie's. Now. She's going on her third year in the choir school,
baby. Yeah.
So, yeah, I mean, there's so many opportunities for,
um, your kids and families to learn and grow and connect.
We love the cathedral. We're so excited. They are a song of black os
eating y'all.
>> Tanorria (37:57):
Check them out@cccnd.org. for
more information. Find out their service
times and all of the amazing things that they're doing
in our city.
>> Candace (38:07):
Yeah.
>> Tanorria (38:10):
Elise, I would love
to hear from you. I mean, I feel like this is a
very
generic question, but I know it's not going to be a
generic answer, and that's why I'm going to ask it. What
does it mean for you specifically
in, uh, this year's Democratic
Party lineup to have so
(38:33):
much female representation?
I mean, we have history in that
we have a woman,
democratic vice president, woman of
color. But now
she's running for president. The names
that you heard in the headlines
that are holding policyholders
(38:54):
accountable, that are, um,
challenging the old way of
think, challenging that old boys club. Those are
women and primarily women of
color that you were hearing the
headlines talk about. Um, what
does that mean to you, knowing that you've been doing this
work for so long and that you have so much
(39:16):
expertise? Tell us, how are you
feeling about all of that?
>> Speaker C (39:21):
Well, I feel, I feel
like there's an energy shift, and,
and it is, it is so wild because,
tonora, you and I had lunch a
couple months ago.
>> Tanorria (39:34):
Yeah.
>> Speaker C (39:35):
And I was, like, in my fields and not in a good
way. Yeah. I was like, I was about to leave
for Ireland, and I was going there for, like, a month, and I, and
you were like, what are we going to do? And I was like, you
know, I'm just going to leave and I'm
going to store up everything that comes to me there, and I'm going
to rest for what's to come. Um,
(39:55):
because I don't know what else to do, you know,
on the federal level of things. I'm just going to have to,
like, it's going to come. It's going to come to me.
And I leave it, like, the one of the
most bleak moments in our, like,
presidential history. Like, I left, there had been, like,
assassination attempts, and I was just like, all
(40:16):
right, truck out, going to Ireland,
and then I come back
and I get off the plane at O'Hare, and it's
the Olympics.
>> Tanorria (40:29):
Yeah.
>> Speaker C (40:29):
And Kamala's
Paris and Tim walls, and
everybody's, like, America. And everybody
is, like, super hopeful, and
I'm, like, got my, like, rolly case, and I'm looking around,
like, what country did I just land
in? I'm like, all I had to do was
leave.
(40:52):
They sorted themselves out. Uh, well, this is a whole
lesson. Okay, I love,
but, I mean, that's, like a silly little story,
but I feel
really energized. I mean, just
watching the DNC.
>> Tanorria (41:08):
Oh, uh, my gosh, so good.
>> Speaker C (41:10):
It feels good. It feels good to
see, um, so
many different pieces
of the community activating
and engaged. That's what feels good for me. It
feels good to see, like,
people who are creators just say, hey,
what can I do to be a part of this? It
(41:33):
feels, feels good to see people who are
culinary and hospitality people. I've had
musicians reach out to me and say, hey, can
I play at a rally m, you
know, can I contribute my, like, musical talent? So,
like, seeing so many people
come together to contribute whatever
they have, and that's, that's like, that's why
(41:55):
I'm in politics, where it's, you take,
you bring me what you have, and you bring me a
little something of yours, and I'll bring my ideas and I'll bring
a little bit of what they've got over there, and we'll put
it together and we're going to create
the dream of something more.
>> Candace (42:12):
Absolutely. And I think this, this
season, this time, I think
the powers that be are understanding that you
absolutely have to have the creatives and the
people who have platform. You have to have
them there.
>> Tanorria (42:27):
Their strategy.
>> Candace (42:28):
Their strategy is it is top like, this is one of the
first years that I've seen several
creators be invited to the
convention, and, uh, that a lot, uh, of people.
And, of course, you're going to hear the backlash. Well, I didn't follow you to be political.
Well, I'm sorry.
>> Tanorria (42:44):
I'm a human.
>> Candace (42:45):
I'm a human. If you're
political in some form or fashion.
>> Tanorria (42:49):
Yeah.
>> Candace (42:50):
So I think it's so important that we see that
and that, again, like, we all have something to
give it. I liken it to, like, a pot of gumbo. Right?
You've got, uh, you've got your onions, you got your peppers, you got
your celery. You got your chicken, you got your sausage. Um, you
got your okra, you got your flour in your
roux. All together, they're there, you know, separately,
(43:10):
they're amazing. But when they come together,
when they come together, it's flavor
explosion, energy explosion, explosion.
>> Speaker C (43:19):
Yeah.
>> Tanorria (43:19):
Yes. Yeah.
>> Speaker C (43:21):
That's why creativity and art is so powerful
and so necessary in politics, because
it helps us see the
unseen. And that is what
is, I think, where,
that is where I think ineffective
politicians fall short. They want to keep doing the same
(43:41):
thing over and over again, which
really, really dynamic leaders
are trying to do something that hasn't
yet been done because they are dreaming of something better for
our community. They are dreaming of something
different. And even if things are going really
well, let's see how we can do it
(44:02):
even better, because everybody
deserves to thrive. And it's like, fine,
okay, you got your student loans paid for.
Okay, let's see how we can do it better for everybody.
And that's going to make it better for absolutely
everybody. There's no downside to this, you know? So it's
like the creatives and art
(44:22):
and music and all of, all of those
mediums are so important because they are,
like, the tangible thing that can help
make us feel and see
these things that
are generally hard concepts to
grasp if they're just delivered through one medium, through
(44:43):
a speech. We need more. We need
the arts to help come alongside
to create that vision of what America
could be, how we can deliver on, you
know, what this promise could be.
>> Candace (44:58):
That's good.
>> Tanorria (44:59):
And I mean, it's so true, but that putting it in that
way, we need the arts to kind of
translate.
>> Speaker C (45:05):
For us, that's
so, it's so important because these
are hard topics. If I just try
to talk about Medicare or Medicaid
insurance, on the face of it,
those are hard concepts. But,
um, if you have
(45:26):
artistic expression that can
talk about or show
that people deserve,
everybody deserves the ability to
thrive and be healthy and have access to
care wherever they are in the state, you know,
(45:47):
like frame it in a different way or evoke
a feeling or even tell the
story of what happens when you don't have that.
That's powerful.
>> Candace (45:58):
I think it's so important because if you think about
the civil rights era, music was the
backbone of that era.
>> Tanorria (46:05):
Oh, absolutely.
>> Candace (46:06):
Literally knowing that Aretha was going to get
up before Doctor King to speech, she had
to set the stage right. Um, and
music and art do that. And I think, I think
we're starting to see now that not only does
art and music and being creative make us better, but
we need it to survive.
>> Tanorria (46:25):
Yeah. I feel like art and music
disrupts the. Well, that particular
issue doesn't affect me because when you see
someone expressing an issue, a ah.
Cause whatever, it's going to make you feel
something. And so even though it's not even
in your oikas and your sphere of influence, every
day you're going to see this
(46:47):
expression and it's going, you know, good art leaves a
lasting impression.
>> Candace (46:51):
Exactly.
>> Tanorria (46:52):
So you're going to be thinking about that. It's going to make you
curious, it's going to make you ask questions. So
it makes art and creativity
makes people layered individuals, even just
by consuming it.
>> Speaker C (47:05):
M it also gives people permission
to, like, I think people,
there's an understanding that when I look at a piece of art,
I'm going to look at it one way and someone's going to look at it and have
a different experience.
And that's allowed. Yeah.
And I think that in politics that
(47:25):
can feel less
comfortable. Um, so we need to build our
muscles up for that. So I think art helps us,
you know, have healthy, healthy conversations
about how we perceive things.
>> Tanorria (47:38):
Yeah.
>> Speaker C (47:39):
Mhm.
>> Candace (47:40):
That's good.
>> Tanorria (47:41):
So good.
>> Candace (47:42):
That's good stuff. That's good stuff.
We've had such meaningful conversations
this podcast goes so fast some days.
>> Tanorria (47:50):
I know.
>> Candace (47:51):
Yeah. Um, well, I first want to
just thank you for being such a lover
of our, um, great state in our community.
Um, a lot of people don't realize how much work you do
behind the scenes.
>> Tanorria (48:04):
Yeah.
>> Candace (48:04):
And so we want to, you know, one thing we're going to do
here on black girls evening is give you your flowers. So we definitely want to
give you your flowers.
>> Speaker C (48:12):
Thank you.
>> Candace (48:13):
We're just, we're thankful that you can share knowledge with us
and not make us feel like, oh my God, I didn't understand
civics, but no, like, give it to us in a real way.
>> Tanorria (48:22):
Yep.
>> Candace (48:22):
Um, especially with it as it relates to, you know, voter
education and just kind of understanding what
community means and how you can be impactful. It doesn't have to be all
these big things, but something small, you know, such
as voting, can really make a big change. So thank
you for that.
>> Speaker C (48:38):
Yeah. Do what you can where you can.
>> Candace (48:41):
There you go. Each one, reach one, right?
>> Speaker C (48:43):
Mhm.
>> Candace (48:44):
Yeah. So, you know, we have therapy
moments on black girls eating.
>> Tanorria (48:49):
The final question, I know you've heard.
>> Candace (48:51):
It before, but
I can't wait to hear this answer.
>> Tanorria (48:55):
I know, it's gonna be so good.
Uh, Elise, what would you tell
your six year old self today?
>> Speaker C (49:06):
This was so hard to think about
because I'm an old, I'm not only the
oldest daughter, I'm the
oldest cousin.
>> Candace (49:17):
Um hm.
>> Speaker C (49:19):
Mhm. So,
um, I bounced between two,
which was like a, you're going to find your people, but be
like, probably the more important one is
you can ask for help.
>> Candace (49:33):
M.
>> Speaker C (49:35):
Like, you don't have to, you don't have to carry that
load.
>> Tanorria (49:39):
Of course, that's coming from the community person.
>> Candace (49:42):
Exactly.
>> Tanorria (49:42):
100%. Yes.
>> Candace (49:44):
This tracks. This tracks.
I love it.
>> Speaker C (49:47):
Well, it's taken me a lot
of therapy to get there,
honestly, it's taken a lot of therapy for me
to, um, figure that
out. And I have found my people and they
are the ones that remind me
often that I don't have to carry
that load by myself.
>> Candace (50:11):
Uh, I love it. I love it.
>> Tanorria (50:13):
Hey, you can ask for help. And we
need each other's help in this election
season, 100%. So that
is very, very poignant.
>> Speaker C (50:24):
So community, community, community.
That's what it all comes down to right now.
>> Candace (50:29):
Yeah, that's good stuff.
That's good stuff. Well, guys,
yes. Thank you being here.
>> Tanorria (50:38):
This was so special.
>> Candace (50:39):
Yes. Like, it's like people don't understand. Like Tanori
and I, like, we have like a running bucket
list.
>> Tanorria (50:45):
We do.
>> Candace (50:46):
And like, we are like, what about this person?
What about this person? And I was like, we gotta get her. Like,
we gotta get her. And so the stars aligned and it
worked out. So I'm super excited. I'm
super excited, you guys. We will definitely make sure
to list all of the great information that Elise
shared with us about voting, how to check your voter registration,
(51:07):
about who's your women forward, but also about our amazing
sponsor, the cathedral. So we'll definitely link all
of that in the show notes, and we will check you
out at another time.
>> Tanorria (51:18):
Bye, y'all.
>> Candace (51:18):
Bye. Black Girls eating the podcast
is sound engineered and produced by David
McKissick. It's recorded
at Nexus Impact Center Creative
suite. Follow black girls eating the
podcast on Instagram at blackgirlseating.
Follow sonoria at Sonoria's table.
Follow Candace at ah, foodlovetalk. Thank you
(51:41):
for listening.
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