Season 2 Episode 3: Politics in the 21st Century with Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta

Diversity Matters with Oscar Holmes IV Season 2 Episode 3 Episode Title: Politics in the 21st Century Guest: Honorable Representative Malcolm Kenyatta    Diversity Matters with Oscar Holmes IV is a podcast that explores all things diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) related. In each episode, Oscar and his guests have lively discussions around DEI topics, explore the latest research on the topic, and discuss the implications so that listeners will be more knowledgeable about the topics and be able to apply the insights to their lives.   Show Summary: Pain can either make you or break you. It helps you become the better or worse version of yourself. But in most cases, pain is a driving force for a person to be who he wants to be, embody his aspirations in life, and become an instrument of change.   Malcolm Kenyatta, a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives representing the great District 181,  sincerely believes that people who experience pain and failures because of the system are the ones who should be in politics to drive the change that everybody deserves.   His childhood experiences serve as his motivation to get involved in politics, serve truthfully and create a better government for the present and future generation. Listen until the end to get to know him more and understand why he's deserving of your support.     3 Exceptional Highlights:     Here's the problem with our primary system. Most of the districts are solidly blue or solidly red. That means that most elected officials only have to be responsive to the most extreme voices in their particular party.   I think when you spend the whole time focused on just climbing a ladder, the altitude does something to your brain. I think in the Senate, we need people who are closest to the pain. We need to value lived experience, we need to have people who are experiencing the failures of our government, to be the ones who are going to drive the change. Show Highlights:    Who is Malcolm Kenyatta beyond a professional bio?   3:14 Malcolm   I grew up in an incredibly working poor family and I was really upset about it. My parents got divorced when I was pretty young. And my mom took kids and I watched her work all the time, she was a home health care aide for most of her career.   Have you always been interested in politics at a young age?   6:58 Malcolm   I was eleven and I was living on this block, Woodstock Street. And I came home and I was complaining about stuff that I saw on the block. And without skipping a beat, my mom said, "If you care so much, go do something about it." So I ran for junior black captain.   What advice would you give to people wanting to be a good person in politics?   23:30 Malcolm   Well just tell the truth. It's really that simple. If you tell the truth all the time, then you never have to come up with some lie or recalibrate what you believe based on the moment. What would you say to the voters who may think your senate run is a bit premature at this stage?   26:20 Malcolm   I don't have much to say other than I think that what we need right now is not folks who are committed to spending their lives in politics climbing the ladder. But what we need are good people who understand the issues on the ground, in the highest positions in our country.   What is your assessment of our politics, on a state and national level?   40:22 Malcolm   We are at a fundamental crossroads. What we do next, I believe, is for all the marbles. We did what we needed to do in terms of electing a new president winning both chambers by slim majorities. But there's a real movement that is underway on the non positive side, led by lies and disinformation and misinformation that wants to tear the country apart.   Call to Action: Subscribe to Diversity Matters and get exclusive access to all episodes of Beyond the Mill, which is my live diversity dialogues talk show that I host on campus at Rutgers University-Camden.    Episode Sponsor Links:      Producer Links:   Host Social Media Links:   Subscribe to Diversity Matters  Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher