#RolandMartinUnfiltered - DNC 2024: A Bold Vision for America’s Future

Episode Date: August 21, 2024

8.20.2024 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: DNC 2024: A Bold Vision for America’s Future Roland Martin's live from Chicago at the Democratic National Convention Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox  http://www.blackstarnetwork.com The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man.

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Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication.

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Martel Martel Folks, we are live, day two of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Welcome to our coverage on the Black Star Network. We will be here for the next six hours to the conclusion of the program. It went long last night, so we went past midnight. But we're going to be here covering all of it. There have been some folks who already came up. We missed Patti LaBelle's performance, but don't worry.

We're going to grab that and replay it for you a little bit later because we didn't realize they had her going on before 6 p.m. Let's get this thing started. We've had a lot of interviews. We've been talking to people for the past hour. We're going to roll those interviews with you. But join us right now, Congressman from Kansas City, my alpha brother, Emanuel Cleaver. Doc, how are you doing?

I am doing wonderfully. Fabulously. Reverend Dr. Emanuel Cleaver, you had a senator and a preacher up there last night. So your thoughts on Senator Warnock? Well, actually, he forgot that he was in the Senate. I'm trying to help him and remind him he did a sermon. I mean, it was pure sermonic. Nothing else about that can be categorized as a convention speech.

That was a sermon. But as I often want to believe, sometimes when sermons are necessary, they're done, they're delivered. Absolutely. And it's been, it's felt like a church with some other folk up here. You had last night Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett bringing folks to tears. Yes. You had Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaking truth about nothing wrong with being somebody working behind the bar.

And you had, of course, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty and so many others, Congressman Jim Clyburn. I told somebody there were so many black folks speaking last night, I couldn't remember all the black folks who spoke last night. Well, I'm glad you mentioned that because I think we want to call attention to the fact that this party has diversity. And if somebody would look across this arena last night, they would see black, brown, Asians, everybody here. And that's one of the things that keeps me in this party is the diversity. And it's intentional. And so I celebrated that, and I celebrated the emotions that came to that stage last night. Well, and, of course, tonight you've got another list of speakers coming up tonight. You've got, of course, former First Lady Michelle Obama, President Barack Obama, and others as well.

What are you looking forward to? Well, I think that we have two amazing speakers, both President Obama and Mrs. Obama. And I think they are going to light things up in here. And I think there are a few non-preachers who can speak with the rhythm like Barack Obama. And I think tonight he's going to try to pull us even closer and closer together. If somebody asked me four and a half weeks ago, including my own children, whether or not the party could coalesce around a candidate other than Joe Biden, I would have said, well, it's probably not going to work.

It has been done. And Kamala Harris is now the nominee of this party. And when I said that, there are no divisions that I'm aware of. Everybody's behind us. And the Congressional Black Caucus, we thought we were going to have to get involved because once people start talking about, let's open this up. And no, we're not going to open this up. And I keep telling everybody, the CBC held firm.

Only one CBC member broke ranks in the city. And that was Mark Veazey out of Texas. But the CBC held firm. Yeah, I hope the country witnessed that, that we stayed together. There are 61 of us, and we stayed together. Although people were trying to pull us apart, saying, why don't you come in and ask the president? No, no, no, no, we're not going to do that. We're going to be together. And if we say anything to President Biden, it's going to be a statement of unity, and it's going to be delivered by Hakeem Jeffries and Jim Clyburn.

And we stuck to it. And as a result, I think other people said, well, hey, let's see what the CBC is going to do. And I'm not saying that arrogantly. That's just a fact. And we held strong, and it went down the way it should have. All right. Well, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, looking forward to a great second night. We certainly appreciate it. You stop and bye.

Good to be here with you. All right. Thanks a bunch, Pratt. I appreciate it. Thank you very much, sir. All right, then, folks. Congressman Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City. As I said, it is a big night playing in terms of the speaker lineup. We did.

We've got lots of folks you're going to hear from. We're going to grab right now, of course, Mark Morrell, president and CEO of the National Urban League. Y'all know how we're going to start the show with two alpha men. That ain't how it was planned, but that's how it is. You can throw a rock and you can actually hit an alpha leader here. And so let's get right into it here. Mark, glad to see you here.

One of the things that you saw last night, just an amazing line of speakers. You heard folks talking about freedom, but also economics is going to be a critical issue. Vice President unveiled her economic plan on last Friday. And what I focused on a lot was the housing piece. And you had these folks out here saying, when they said first-generation home ownership, you had some black folks talking about, oh, that's for immigrants. And I said, no, there are black people who are first-generation homeowners. Like you have first-generation college students.

There are many, many, many black people who would become and could become first-generation homeowners. Let's be clear. We have a homeownership race. That means you're the first generation in your family. The majority of African-Americans are not homeowners. Right. Only 44%. And let me say this, too.

It is important to understand that that was not the only component of her housing plan. Right. There's a $25,000 down payment assistance component to it. There's a quote-unquote trust fund or pool of money, which would be designed to help build new housing. have to recognize that the recession of 08 and 09, the COVID recession, and the challenges with the banks is a place where we have lost ground when it comes to home ownership. So I think her plan is a first step, if you will, towards something far more comprehensive that we will need. But here's the point. She, or any housing plan, will not see the light of day unless we get a Congress that's going to be supportive. So we're saying to people, Roland, you've got to vote all the way down the ballot in this election. Right.

Not just for president, but for senate, for congress, county commissioners, city council, mayor, those states that elect judges and constables and clerks, we gotta vote all the way down the ballot. And what we focus on, and listen, I get it. I was talking to some folks here in Chicago, and the same in DC and other places, and you have folks out there who are critical of resources that are being provided to migrants in this country. But I also have to remind folks who sent those folks to Chicago, who sent those folks to New Jersey, who sent those folks to Washington, D.C. They turned people into political footballs.

They turned people into political footballs. They turn people into political pawns. And for the purpose of creating a schism among African Americans. Creating a schism among blacks and between blacks and Latinos. It's an orchestrated, sinister, cynical, political stunt, Roland. Now, what we ought to be talking about is all those people who are smuggling people into the country, who are going to Latin America and inducing people with money. We ought to be shutting that down in an effort to try to fix this problem. But then the second thing is there was a comprehensive immigration reform bill. Trump blocked it, just like right now.

He's trying to block the ceasefire. He's trying to block the ceasefire. Shame, shame, shame, Roland, on trying to block a peace effort where people are getting killed for narrow, selfish political purposes. I mean, it's the same thing that Richard Nixon did in 68. He tried to block the Paris peace talks, and he was successful in delaying them.

It's the same thing Ronald Reagan and Bill Casey did in the 1980 election. They blocked the release of the hostages for political purposes. We got to throw a light on this because this is wrong and it's wrong and it's wrong. Absolutely it is. It is again the second night of the convention. And last question for you you coming out of this it's 77 days until election day and what I keep telling folk

it's called get to work you can celebrate, you can gather but it's called getting to work first of all, checking to see if you're registered if you're not registered, getting them registered and then focusing on early voting the National Urban League's Reclaim Your Vote campaign

all 92 urban league affiliates with a focus in five states we're going to try to reach over 2 million people in the next 70 plus days and we're going to reach them through texting through email through door knocking through engagement and we will be educating them, encouraging them to have a voting plan. So we're going to do our part, and I'm confident, Roland, that many are going to do their part. We all have to do our part. I'm going to ask people to go to reclaimyourvote.org,

sign up to be a volunteer, sign up to be a poll worker. Be a part of this effort around civic engagement and voter participation. We can make a difference in 2024. On this network, we cover all the black speakers. Let's go to the podium. I am Kenner Stribling, a proud retired teamster from Local 200 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I hope you don't mind, but I brought some friends.

Pension warriors from the NUCCP. I found out in 2025 my monthly pension benefit was going to be reduced in half. Not long after that, my wife Beverly was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I didn't know how we were going to make it. So I went to a retirees meeting in the basement of a small church. At that moment, I knew we were not going to go down without a fight. Beverly made me promise never to quit until we made this right. So we organized a nationwide grassroots movement. For six years, we fought hard. And finally, we had a breakthrough. After 50 days

in office, the Biden-Harris administration passed the American Rescue Plan, including including the Butch Lewis Act to save our pensions and secure our retirement. They got it done without one single Republican vote in Congress. They saved over one million pensions, including 33,000 from my state, Wisconsin, $52,000 from Pennsylvania, $61,000 from Michigan. As president, I know Kamala Harris will have our backs. She will fight for our retirement, Social Security, and Medicare. As president, I know Kamala Harris will have our backs. She will fight for our retirement, Social Security, and Medicare. Beverly passed away in 2019, but I kept my promise.

Because a promise is a promise is a promise. Thank you. For years, Big Pharma has often inflated the price of life-saving medications. And millions of Americans have suffered as a result. Those costs got passed on to our seniors, but not anymore. It was because of them that we had insulin for $35 compared to $687. What a gift. This $35, it's life-changing for us. The beauty of it is it's fixed.

Everything else goes up, but it stays the same. I have more discretionary income, $20, $30 a month more. His wife and I can go to the pub and have a burger and fries. I can afford my rent. I can afford to feed my children. I can afford my insulin. It's saving me a couple thousand dollars a year, which is several trips to visit grandkids. I am looking forward to the lifestyle where I can travel and be able to enjoy my grandchildren and maybe great-grandchildren.

It meant I could enjoy life. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will be in Maryland this afternoon to unveil a new plan cutting prescription drug costs. Ten popular drugs are affected by this, including cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and blood clot medications. Seniors will save roughly $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs next year. With Kamala Harris, I feel so hopeful. I feel the future of insulin and prescription drugs for everyone i am so excited i can't call it standing we're gonna only go forward we can't go back let's have another hand for our brothers and sisters from teamsters and all of our brothers and sisters from unions across America who are rebuilding it.

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brought to you by aarpP and the Ad Council. Behind us, we just saw Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota come in, Senator Chris Coons, who spoke last night. He's from, of course, from Delaware. You've got Governor Josh Shapiro come through here of Pennsylvania, Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina come through here as well. And so, again, it is, of course, 62020 local time, 7.20 p.m. Eastern. And so you've got a number of these VIPs who are all coming through here as they are headed to their seats. Good seeing you. And so that's what's going on.

And so it is a busy night, too. We've had lots of interviews with folks. We'll be sharing some of those with you. Let me give you a sense of our folks who are going to be speaking tonight. You just saw Kenneth Stribling, the retired Teamster. In this hour, Ken Chenault, a former CEO of American Express, is going to be speaking in the 9 p.m. Eastern hour, 8 p.m. Central. Angela also Brooks, Democratic nominee for the United States Senate in Maryland. She's going to be speaking. Also, you're going to hear from Douglas Emhoff, the second gentleman, Michelle Obama, and also former President Barack Obama. The benediction will be given by Bishop Samuel L. Green, Sr.,

the African-American Methodist Episcopal Church, 7th District. And so that is the schedule for tonight. My panelists right now, Teresa Lundy out of Philadelphia, Joe Richardson out of L.A. Teresa, I don't think we're going to be seeing Biden, excuse me, Obama speaking around midnight Eastern tonight. I mean, if we do, do you know i'm sure people will say but likely not uh a lot of people joe were complaining about they felt last night went too long some say oh my god it was disrespectful uh to president joe biden him not speaking in prime time i'm like guys stop thinking we're living in this world of old school primetime.

Viewing habits have totally changed. Plus, if it was 12 o'clock Eastern, it was 9 o'clock on the West Coast. Oh, yeah. That's right. We weren't any worse off for it. And the fact of the matter is people were waiting on it. A lot of people were watching it. There was a lot of heat going on last night for a first night of a Democratic National Convention.

So I don't think they're any worse off for him speaking a little bit later. Look, I don't think so at all. Again, I think last night you saw the diversity of this party and you saw the type of, as you're going to hear from, excuse me, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to talk about the deep bench of this party, Teresa. Yeah, so one that's very exciting, we have seen, especially at the PA delegation breakfasts, we've seen them come through and just had that real same message about purpose and the vision. And so I think everybody's kind of excited just to even hear some of these speakers that's coming up.

But like we said earlier, it is worth the wait, right? So, you know, we're here to 1 to 2 a.m. It is what it is, you know, but I think when President Joe Biden actually got on stage, that's what we wanted to hear. We wanted to hear from Joe. One of the things that I thought also last night, you had really amazing energy. You often hear that. But I mean, look, you heard it, you felt it, and you see the pep in the step of all these Democrats here. There's no doubt about it. And here's what's great. Orange and white, you're white and orange.

That's Chuck Schumer. That's Chuck Schumer, yeah. That's Senator Schumer walking by. No, he gay. No, no, no, he don't. That's Leslie Saunders returning. We're brothers. Good seeing no. He's a divine nine. That's Leslie Saunders' fraternity. We're brothers. Good seeing you.

So what I was saying. That's how we do it. That's how we do it. Right. And I just saw. Yeah. So, again, our location is different for that case. And so I see y'all looking good, you know.

You see I had to wear the different gold. Hey, Governor. I had to wear the different gold. I had to wear the different gold. You always on time. You always on time. Good to see you. Senator Blumenthal. Appreciate you, man.

How you doing? It's good seeing you. How you doing? You looking forward to tonight? I love it. Good seeing you. I appreciate it. See, I told y'all, first of all, I was so a little different.

Right. Oh, yeah. For sure. No doubt about it. We break all the rules. No doubt about it. That's how we do it. No doubt about it. We break all the rules. No doubt about it. That's how we do it. No doubt about it.

And so, yeah, I will snag people. That's right. You can catch them walking in. As they're going by. Right. That's how we absolutely do it. How you doing, darling? You all good?

Huh? I got a flight to Miami, but I'm coming back. But I'll have a camera there. All right. I appreciate it. Good seeing you. What I'll quickly say about last night. We were talking about last night.

So what I was saying about last night, what I was saying was that we laughed, we cried, we did it all, right? And that's the ups and downs of life, of hope, of despair. We got it all. So it read like a fantastic novel that you couldn't plan any better,

but it was real life, and that's what was great about it. I love how you did that. I think there was a great tribute to, you know, we love Joe, and it really was a testament to his great works and sacrifice that he gave. I think ultimately people, you know, we wanted to hear Joe, right? We appreciate him. We appreciate the legislation. We appreciate the people he actually put in position.

Hold tight one second. I told y'all when the black folks are performing and speaking, we always go live. Let's go back to the convention hall. Who's performing right now? Is this the house DJ performing? So D-Nice is spinning, but who's singing? Got a woman on Jesus, hashtag, girl, shine for me, uh I'm a dangerous man with some money in my pocket, keep up Swimming in pretty girls around me, getting ready to rock it, keep up

Don't be mad, fix your face in my pocket, y'all be trying to keep up Players only, come on, get your, get your, get your, get your Everywhere I go they be like Everywhere I go they be like Everywhere I go they be like Baby Everywhere I go they be like Baby Everywhere I go they be like Baby Don't fight the feeling invite the feeling Just give a biggie give a give a

What's that sound? Come on now What y'all trying to do? You're trying to turn your magic into air Magic turns so bright Take a look at the magic in the air Magic's on so high What y'all trying to do? Take a look at the magic in the air Magic's on so high I'm so so proud All right, folks, welcome back to our coverage.

Of course, night two of the Democrat National Convention. We are here in the United Center. Prime location, you got the Michael Jordan statue just right behind us. And so it is glad to be here. You're seeing all the folks who are streaming through here, other media back here. But everybody's stopping here. They're stopping here. Everybody's going to stop and holler Uncle Roro.

And so that's what's going on here. And so huge, huge night. As I told you, the various speakers who are lined up. But also in the next couple of hours, we're going to be playing for you a number of the interviews that we had with others as well. And so, Anthony, who do we have lined up first? See? Uh- first? See? Uh-huh. See? He ain't about to go to it.

So yesterday we talked with the mayor of Milwaukee. We had several different interviews. We were talking to a lot of folks before. We wanted to go ahead and get those on tape as they were all streaming through here. Because once folks go to the seats, that's where they are. So Anthony gets that together, Teresa, Joe, I go back to issues. Conventions are all about party. Conventions are all about excitement, folks feeling good.

But you then have to then do the work. Seven battleground states are critical. You're in Pennsylvania. That's one of those battleground states are critical. You're in Pennsylvania. That's one of those battleground states. So when you look at Pennsylvania, and when you look at, looking good there, sir? All right. California Governor Gavin Newsom. Governor Gavin.

I told y'all how we roll. Never don't want me, man. This is prime seating. Huh? Prime seating is sitting right here. I told y'all how we roll. It is, man. Listen.

See, normally when you're doing the show, you just focus. No, I'm sitting there listening like, okay, who's that? Who's that? I'm looking past. Who's that? Who's that? Again, you're there in Philadelphia. Critical, critical state, Pennsylvania.

What is it looking like? Tell us what it's looking like, feeling like on the ground. You know, it's feeling good. You know, we are in day two of the Pennsylvania delegation breakfasts, and we had, you know, Vice President Tim Walz come in. We had so many heavy hitters that are literally focused, Pete Buttigieg, the Secretary of Agriculture there, Secretary of Transportation. So our delegation has probably been one of the most energized and exciting one.

Maybe I'm a little biased because it's PA. But, you know, we had our delegates that was there since 7 a.m. ready and turned up to take action back in the Commonwealth. Again, it's not just Philadelphia that, you know, these elected officials need to get to because we're voting down the ticket, not just our president, but we have a down ticket ballot. But we are also so focused on making sure that we're hitting rural counties and making sure that the messaging is clear that you must hit this county, you know, in order to get elected. Right.

But these elected officials are making it clear. And it's just really good to have this type of excitement. And look, in 2000, in 2020, then Vice President Joe Biden won Pennsylvania. Of course, being a kid from Scranton, appealing to those particular voters. Clay, how you doing? Appealing to those particular voters and reaching them. That and that was one of the concerns there in terms of being in terms of being able to reach that next group. Give me one second. Senator Sanders?

Senator Sanders? Senator Sanders, how you doing, sir? Good seeing you. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont just coming in. Reaching those voters, don't Republicans believe they can go after them? Because people don't realize, we hear this, outside of Philly and Pittsburgh and the suburbs. Pennsylvania is Alabama. Right. How does Vice President Kamala Harris do it?

Or is this where Governor Tim Walz is able to go in and speak to those constituencies? You know what? One thing I will say is the vice president, Tim Walz. Well, yeah, speaking of two existences, right? Right. But Walz. Yeah, speaking of two existences, there you go. Tim Walz and Kamala Harris have been making those efforts into those pocket counties more than once. So it's not like, you know, we're stopping in Philly and making sure we're hitting community stores. They're in those farming counties. They are speaking. They are rallying up the base to a point where people are saying, you know, we want more.

We want to hear from them again. But by Tim Walz and his wife stopping past our delegation breakfast, it also energized our superdelegates, energized, you know, their kids and their nephews. And so they're like, okay, well, how do we get involved? And one thing about Pennsylvania, we are ready. We have a vote local program that is ready where people can get information, they can sign up, right? But we're not taking anything lightly. And I think once we had changed that mindset looking back at history, we are now figuring out that this is the best time. We have less than 77 days. And so Pennsylvania is at the forefront.

We have 187 delegates that has all submitted their support, and I think that's a testament to the leadership. Joe, look, people have to understand, and we say this all the time, every vote absolutely counts. And so when you look at a congressional race that's happened there, you've got a Democratic governor in Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro. Many people felt he should have been the VP nominee, but he wasn't chosen for that. But also people have to recognize is that suburbs are going to be crucial.

Republicans have been losing suburban voters. But we can also, you know, the reality of urban voters, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Black folks have to be turning out. But this is where Democrats have to speak to those issues and saying to those black voters, listen, here are policies. This is where we stand. This is the way they stand. And then if they win and they control the Senate, they control the House,

all of a sudden you can guarantee Product 2025 will be enacted. That's right. Listen, and I've got it sitting in my office, about 950 pages. It's incredibly important that we participate and run up the score. We've got to do that like we did in Atlanta. Joe, I've got to interrupt you right now. Of course, a former United States Senator from Illinois, Carol Mosley Braun. How are you doing?

I'm doing great. Doing great. Happy to be here. How does it feel to have your party back in your city? Oh, my, is he here? Back here. In Chicago. Oh, the convention.

I'm glad. I'm delighted. Yeah. Now, have you been as busy? Because anybody from Chicago, everybody from Chicago keeps telling me I ain't had no sleep in the last three days. That's true. Just your feelings about Vice President Kamala Harris sitting on top of this ticket. If we can get people to the polls, she'll win.

And that's the issue. I just think that whatever the efforts that are going on now to say she's got in the bag, it's a walk, that's not right. The only poll that matters is the one that's taken on Election Day when they count the votes. So we just got to get the votes to the polls and she'll win. Absolutely. It was always good to see you. You take care. Be well.

All right, Joe, go back to what you were saying. Like I was saying, I'm going to be doing this a lot tonight. Yeah, we all are. I'm just letting you know. No, we've got to, when we have opportunities where we have big Democratic numbers, we've got to come out 90%, 95%. I mean, that's the reason we're not got elected. That's a reason that a lot of our guys are getting elected because we have got to run that up.

And even when you go to states like California where they are decidedly Democratic states, you still got districts that we could potentially flip. We've got a district right next door to me in Redlands, a congressman that could get elected. His name is Derek Marshall. The increased energy means that more people are voting. You got 3% to 5% more people voting because of Harris. That can go down ticket, and that can help you everywhere. Look, I told all y'all, I told all y'all,

this is going to be the blackest show here at Democratic National Convention. I told y'all. Well, this is the Black Star Network. That's it. That's it. But I won't. You got it. You got it.

I told everybody. So, you know, I said, y'all can't get this on CNN. Right. Yeah. You ain't getting this on MSNBC or Fox News. Because, see, they done paid a lot of money. They inside. They got the big old boost and everything.

Right. But they ain't down here on the ground with people. That's right. We over here with the regular folks. They ain't down here on the ground with people. That's right. That's right. That's here with the regular folks. They ain't down here on the ground with people. That's right. That's right. That's the grassroots.

They not showing all the speeches. Most of the black folks not being shown. We show all of the brothers. That's right. Without coverage. That's right. That's how we do it here. And so we'll be popping back and forth.

There's a low right now because we got a live feed going over here. So we see. Henry, give me a shot give me a shot what's happening on the floor uh there so this is what's happening in uh the room not sure why it's literally been about 10 minutes since uh somebody uh actually uh was the last on stage uh so you had a brother who was singing. Before that, you had Senator Gary Peters. And so we're just, again, checking it all out, waiting to see who comes up next. And so that's what we're doing. But, Anthony, are we ready? All right, folks. Yesterday we caught up with Maryland Congressman Glenn Ivey. Of course, he was a frequent person on our show, of course, before he got on.

And so now we got him on. All right, hold on. Who's coming through? Give me one second. Hold on. I'm trying to see who's coming through. I told you we always peeping various people. And so here we go.

How's it going? I'm all good. Looking forward to tonight. I am so looking forward to tonight. Double Obama evening. It's going to be fantastic. Appreciate it. Thanks a bunch.

All right. Take care. You know who that was? You know who that was? Y'all got to keep up, man. Y'all got to keep up. I'm sorry. Y'all got to keep up.

Y'all got to keep up. Y'all got to keep up. I've done pretty good tonight, but I missed. Y'all got to keep up. All right, so let's do this here. Here is our conversation with my man, Congressman Glenn Ivey. Time. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?

Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way.

In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher.

Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corps vet. MMA fighter. Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes

it real. Listen to new episodes of the it really does it makes it real listen to new episodes of the war on drugs podcast season two on the iheart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast and to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content subscribe to lava for good plus on apple podcast Here's the deal. We got to set ourselves up. See, retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early. Set up goals.

Don't worry about a setback. Just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispretirement.org brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. All right, we got no audio? All right, so we got no audio on that, so we'll get that fixed.

We'll figure out what's going on there. All right, what's this next track? So you can explain to some of y'all. So I can see the folks coming in. How you doing? How's it going? All good? You can see the folks coming in. So it's like it's a train coming in. And so you can always check that out. How you doing? Mayor? Mayor, how you doing? I'm all good.

Happy to see folks in your city? Happy to see you in your city? Yes. Good seeing you. Longtime mayor of Chicago there, Richard Day. I told y'all, when you see the train coming, you know somebody important coming. Yeah, they're all here. Right.

I see somebody coming. What's up? Get over here. My alpha brother, Speaker of the House of Virginia, Don Scott. What's up, man? How's this week been? It's been fantastic. The energy level is up.

It's so great to be able not to just vote against something in Donald Trump's crazy self. But now we're voting for something. We're going to have the first black woman to ever be the nominee for the Democratic Party or United States of America. So it's exciting, exciting time. The energy's up, young people up, everybody's excited. We're going to get out and we're going to win this thing. I saw your Senate partner, Louise Lucas, earlier in the wheelchair,

but she's still kicking butt. Yeah, she's still kicking butt. She hurt her leg kicking Governor Youngkin's butt the whole session, so we're having a good time. That's the reason. That's what happens when you start kicking some behind like that. You have to get your knee picked up. But right now we're ready to come in and do the same thing that Donald Trump,

hold him accountable for the ridiculous things he says as a veteran, for him to say that the Presidential Medal of Freedom, where somebody wrote him a check, is more valuable than the Congressional Medal of Honor, is disparaging all of our veterans and putting all of our veterans in a position. And I'm hoping that every veteran remembers. Hold on now. Hold on. I'm talking to an alpha here. So can we let a Kappa come over here?

Can we let the Kappa mayor of Atlanta, Mayor Andre. What's up, Doc? What's up, man? How you doing, Rowling? Doing all right, man? How's the convention for you? Man, so far, so good, man. The energy is electric.

Everybody's here supporting Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, man. You know, people are just fired up. I'm so ready to hear Barack Obama tonight. It's going to be on. Like, it's going to be going on, man. See, if y'all saw our coverage on the night Warnock won the runoff, that was a really black show.

We swag surfed. I think they played some King George. It was a little wild. This been a little blacker. This been a little blacker. Not with the music because they got us in the right spot with the VIP line. So I just snatch folk as they come by. You got the right spot right here. There you go, Mayor Bowser right there from D.C.

That's my friend right there. Got both of y'all over here. Again, last night you had President Biden speaking. Mayor Bowser, how you doing? I told y'all this is the blackest show at the convention. How are you? Hi, man. How are you? It's good to see you. It's good to be here in Chicago to elect our president. Go nominate her and get her over the line. That's right.

Well, absolutely. Hold on. Hold on. I want to get you snagged there. And so you're going to keep me in line because, you know, when you've got a mayor named Andre, it can be a little black. Good to see you. Have fun.

All right, bro. All right, Fred. Be well. All right. Get that like a pro. I love it. You ain't got to get up from your seat rolling. You ain't got to get up.

I told y'all how we roll on the Black Star Network. That's right. That's right. I told y'all. All right. We got the audio fixed? Okay.'s right. I told y'all. All right, we got the audio fixed. Okay. All right, let's go ahead and play a conversation with Congressman Glenn Ivey.

All right, folks, joining us right now, Congressman Glenn Ivey of Maryland. What's up, Doc? I'm doing great. How are you? All good. All good. All right, first of all, before we talk about the presidential race, huge Senate race in your state.

Angela also Brooks against former Governor Larry Hogan. Look, he was very popular when he was a two term governor. What's happening on the ground there? What's happening in Maryland? I think things are moving in the right direction for Angela, for sure. She came off the primary very strong. She beat a man who put in $65 million of his own money, beat him by over 10 points.

So that's a strong showing on her part. I think Hogan was a popular governor, you're right. But part of that was before Dobbs. You know, the abortion issue was a non-factor when he ran for governor. It's a big deal now because people recognize that their abortion rights are at risk. The reproductive rights are at risk entirely.

And so they want to make sure they protect that. And finally, it's the Supreme Court. We've got to make sure we hold on to the majority in the Senate so we can block things in the Supreme Court if Trump wins. Hopefully, though, we can get Harris in there and move some people on who can balance out the court that Trump really threw out of balance. And is that how folks are breaking it down? Because the reality is if Hogan wins, he's a Republican and then he's in the Republican caucus and making a point that, look, you make

sure it's a D, you lock down that seat. That's absolutely right. And Hogan knows that. And so he's running ads that are basically pretending to be a Democrat. For example, his tagline in his commercials is people over politics, but that's Hakeem Jeffries and the House Democrats position. So, you know, he's trying to pretend to be a Democrat, but it's kind of a wolf in sheep's clothing scenario. I think the voters will see through that and punish him for it, frankly. Absolutely. And obviously, when you look at Maryland, a very, very blue state, if you will. So that's really the big focus that people are looking at.

I think that's right. You know, it's certainly a state that we have to win in order to hang on to the Senate. There are tougher races, say, for example, in Montana, where it could go either way. But if we're going to hold on to the Senate, Maryland's a must win. All right, man. Always good to see you. Good to see you, too. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it. Thanks a lot.

Appreciate it. So the Republicans met in Milwaukee forala Harris taking place there in Milwaukee. Folks, just walking in is the Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey. Good to see you. Absolutely. God bless you, pal. Teresa Lundy is from Philadelphia, so she's sitting over here. Good to see you.

Always. Just real quick how was last night and how do you think tonight's going to go we're going to have a great night tonight can't wait to see Barack Obama and Michelle God bless you look forward to having you back on the show thanks a bunch

again folks that's Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey critical race for Democrats to also win if they want to hold on to the United States Senate alright let me go back to what I was doing alright so y'all again Vice President Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are going to be holding a rally, I think, that was supposed to have been starting at 630 in Milwaukee. And so I had a chance to catch up yesterday with the mayor of Milwaukee, Cavalier Johnson. All right, Mayor, your city, your state is crucial. But one of the things that I've been talking a lot about, 2022, that 50,000 vote drop off in your city.

That didn't happen. Mandela Barnes, the United States senator. And so what are y'all doing to ensure that does not happen come November? So there's a lot of things happening on the ground right now. There's organizations out there that are encouraging people, particularly people of color, right, to get up, to get out, let their voices be heard, to go to the polls. I mean, there's an organization called Souls to the Polls that's out there engaging with people right now. There's organizations like Black Leaders Organizing Communities or BLOC that's out there organizing people right now on the ground. In addition to that, the Democrats, the DNnc their first time in 20 years having their national their statewide uh headquarters is not in madison that is doing very well and it's sort of like a

set it and go sort of operation it's it's headquartered in milwaukee and that's for a purpose to make these early and often investments in my community to work to get people out to the polls so i had several activists from milwaukee on the show after that Senate race who said that the Barnes campaign really didn't reach out. Now, Mandela's hitting me up. He did like my criticism of it. But the point that I kept making was, look, if there's one place you got to make sure

you get great turnout is in Milwaukee. Yeah, no, you're absolutely right. And look, there's a reason why, right, tomorrow during the DNC, Kamala Harris is going to Milwaukee for a rally. There's a reason why just the other day, J.D. Vance was in Milwaukee again, right? This is because Milwaukee's important,

and the Republicans want to see decreased turnout in Milwaukee because that helps them, and the Democrats need to turn up turnout in Milwaukee because that is what benefits Democrats. The more turnout we get, the better off it is for Democrats and we can win statewide. How are you also really trying to get people? What I keep saying is if we want to understand what's going on, you have to focus on issues and educating people before you can get them to consider registering and then before you can get them to actually vote. And I've been saying that for the longest.

So it's easy to say, hey, vote, vote, vote. But a lot of people, if they if they're concerned about they're like, well, I don't know, why should I vote? And so I think the education process on the issues is crucially important. I think you're absolutely right, Roland. And look, I've been going out and talking to people in my community, but particularly black men, because Trump has been talking about trying to make inroads with black men. First of all, I'm not seeing that when I go out and talk to people, you know, folks may be disenfranchised or may not be looking to vote, but they're

certainly not voting for him. Um, but what I've come to find out from folks who are cleaning up the grounds at our summer fest, uh, folks who are on the block when I go and knock on doors, that they want to know what's going on. They want to know what they're voting for. It's not just a blanket. Hey, I'm just going to vote for you just because somebody told me to vote for you. Like, what am I actually getting out of this? So the more that we can educate them and show the contrast between what the Republicans are offering and what the Democrats are offering, I think that'll encourage people to go out and support the Democrats. Well, we're going to be spending time on the road in September, October. So I wouldn't be surprised if a roller coaster unfiltered rolls through Milwaukee.

Come on through, man. We'd love to have you back up there. I appreciate it. Look forward to it. Thanks a lot. Thank you, sir. Folks, you've got a lot of politicians all across the country, not just senators, not just members of Congress. You've got mayors, state reps, state senators.

You've got school board members, you name it, more than 5,000 Democratic delegates who are here at the convention. And then, of course, some 50,000 folks who are in the... How's it going, gentlemen? 50,000 folks who are in the city. Lots of media as well. And the mayor contingent is obviously very strong. You got, of course, Brandon Johnson, the mayor of Chicago. We're going to be catching up with him later this week. But earlier, Brandon Scott, mayor of Baltimore, stopped by our location for a conversation.

All right, folks, joining us now is the mayor of baltimore brandon scott doc how you doing i'm good i'm good sir how are you all good so hold up so what what happened because the pro had gotten you what happened so my hair grows uneven right so i gotta cut it down like every four months right you know i got married. Last year, my hair is naturally curly. Right. So this is just juices and berries. No relaxing, none of that. And I wash my hair.

And my wife said, do you ever wear it like that? So I did it for her and then kept doing it. I love you, baby. Okay. Happy wife, happy life. Oh, there you go. I got you. All right, then.

I got you. Because that was your signature. Yeah, signature. Signature. But now it's the curly fur. It's a new signature. There you go. There you go i got you all right then i got you because that was that was your signature signature but now it's the curly fur was a new thing there you go there you go don't keep trends keep making them absolutely um you have been of course um you recently had the election uh one re-election uh what is your vision now for your second term as mayor of baltimore it's to continue the work uh we got to continue to work we're talking about a city of Baltimore that under my leadership had its largest single year reduction in homicides last year by 20 percent. Historic investments into our public schools,

historic investments into recreation and parks. We had our lowest unemployment under my leadership and now we want to continue to grow that. Tackle the vacant housing problem in our city. Investing in people that look like you and me, Roland, in our communities, allowing them to be lifted up, allowing us to gain access to the jobs and careers they need, and finishing the job of building a better and equitable Baltimore. Housing is a major issue in this country. Yes. And you've had to deal with a lot of abandoned, run-down homes. What is your vision for being able to increase the housing stock to have affordability and being able to get rid of all of those type of houses? Yeah, we just unveiled this in December, Roland,

where this is an issue that has faced Baltimore since white flight began in the 50s. And under my leadership, we actually went from 20,000 vacant properties that we had had for years to now we're consistently going down under 15,000. But we unveiled our $3 billion plan in December alongside builds in the GBC where we're going to eliminate this problem over the next 15 years. And we're going to do it the same way that they did, built up the inner harbor and harbor east and all the fancy things, giving a tax increment financing and tax breaks. We're going to take that to our neighborhoods using those strategies to take down those vacant houses

and put them back on the market. The same investment that they gave to wealthy developers, we're going to give to our neighborhoods. Well, look, I mean, I just think that that'll be very just huge because, again, what that deals with, that's dealing with blight, getting good opportunities. And it's also, by putting more housing back on the market, it totally changes the game. You talked about the changes. When you came in, you had to deal with the reality of crime in the city. You have had significant drops in that area. Yeah, and we're going to continue because we're doing it the right way, right? And we have to understand that the failed broken policies of zero tolerance and policing while black, right?

It didn't work. But when you have that, we created the first ever comprehensive violence prevention plan in our city, unveiled that. I said we were going to reduce homicides by 15%. People laughed at me. And then we did 20 percent last year and we're at 28 percent this year, down 39 percent in non-fatal shootings by investing in all ways. Right. Understanding that our group violence reduction strategy, where we go to the people who are most likely to pull that trigger, Roland, and say, this is your chance. You get a letter from me. Change your life. I'll give you a job, housing, whatever you need. But if you don't, then you're going to hear from them boys. And that's what we're going to do. Right. Violence intervention workers, that whole ecosystem and

continue to drive down violence in our community by working with the community, not trying to solve the problem for them. All right. Well, Mayor, always good to see you. Yes, sir. Always my brother. Absolutely. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. All right. All right, folks, great conversation there with the Mayor Brandon Scott. All right, let's go to the floor right now. The roll call is taking place. You see Congresswoman Terri Sewell of Alabama, so that's what's happening right now. So let's hear from Terri Sewell. Go ahead.

She will fight for freedom and opportunity and build an economy that works for everyone. So, from Huntsville to Mobile, from the Black Belt to the Wiregrass, from the historic civil rights cities of Birmingham, Montgomery, and my hometown of Selma, from the people who brought us the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act, the proud great state of Alabama proudly cast 56 votes for the first black woman president of the United States of America, Kamala Harris, and the then Vice President Tim Walz. Alaska, how do you cast your vote? Alaska's motto is North to the Future.

And that's exactly where Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are going to take us. A future full of opportunity for everyone. As a teacher, a union member, and a proud black woman. All right, folks. So the delegate, what you're doing here, so they are, of course, pledging their support to Vice President Kamala Harris. So we're actually watching the board. They're going through all of the various states. And traditional, the home state of the candidate is the one that puts the candidate over the top.

So that is going to be California. So we're going to be monitoring that as this happens. Last night you saw six of the top union leaders on the stage speaking last night here. Twenty percent of the folks, of course, at this convention, delegates at the convention, are union workers. And so we're going to hear from later from the head of the AFL-CIO, Secretary of the AFL-CIO. We've been, of course, hearing from Lee Saunders, Clark Cummings, and so many others. American Federation of Teachers, another important constituency for them.

Secretary, Frederick Eagle. How are you doing, Doc? I'm good. How are you, sir? I'm all good. Glad to have you here. Education, a critical issue. When it comes to the election, you've got Project 2025. Republicans want to get rid of the Department of Education. Talk about how you and your members are speaking to voters about that issue.

Yeah, well, listen, thank you very much for having me. We represent 1.8 million people in this country who are in our public schools and health care and in public services. And what's important for us is that we get people to the polls, that we get them educated, and then get them to the polls, and then they get other people to the polls. So our extension and our reach is important. It's important to black communities, because when you talk about deregulation of our public schools and trying to dismantle the infrastructure that we have and not pour into a system, then we know that our children who are in black communities,

who are in challenged communities, Latino students, Asian students, they all hurt when we don't have a system in place that we can pour into to help build those kids up. We need more black teachers. We need infrastructure. We need technology. And we just need to be able to teach a curriculum that we know is comprehensive and that we know is total and that we know is honest. It's great to see the work that you're doing. You're continuing to do. Tell us about how, you know, the unions are already the engine of the Democratic Party. Right. Tell us about the energy that this Harris, I would call it a phenomenon, but she's been here for a long time.

What has this allowed you to do and what does this have? What does this allow you to see even in the last four weeks that maybe you haven't seen in a minute? Oh, it's electric. Listen, so I have to go back to when I became interested really in politics. That was Barack Obama in 2006. I have not seen that kind of energy since then. When we had a man who looked like me, who looked like my son. Now we have somebody who looks like my daughter. They can see themselves in the highest office in the land. And so that's important when you not only can talk about history, but you can become a part of it. And then that history turns into their future. And so when we

can turn this into their future, then we have hope. We have opportunity. And then you feel that with people who care. You feel that with the money behind that. And then you feel that with families and churches and people who really care about our kids. Man, there's nothing that we can't do. So I'm very, very hopeful with Vice President Harris that she'll become our next president of the United States. You know, I love that. Unions are the United States small business or the backbone of the economy, but I believe it's the union workforce.

And so we are seeing a whole bunch of workforce development programs that are happening with the next generation of leaders. So how is the union's force with the young people energized about this race? Yeah, well, listen, poll after poll says that young people really care about our civic and social issues, and they care about climate, they care about education, they care about public services, they also care about the jobs that they're going to have in the next century. And so what we want to do is continue that movement. We want to continue that synergy that we have with young people, because these young people are smart. You know, they have the encyclopedia

Britannica that we had on the wall, they have in their hands. And so it's up to us adults to keep up with what they're doing right now, because not only do they care, they're smart. And they're going to put those two things together. And we believe that they're going to get to the polls. Listen, every great movement we've ever had has been fueled by young people. And so we believe in that. The union movement is moving in the right direction. You see SEIU has their first African-American female leader. You see Lee Saunders out there. You know, and our leader is Randy Weingarten, who's been out there for a long time fighting this fight. You see Becky Pringle from the NEA.

And so you see people of color who are really taking the mantle and moving this thing that we call the labor movement forward. And it's always been tied to civil rights and human rights. And so, you know, I couldn't be prouder. I feel the same sentiment in Philadelphia. So we have our Labor District Council business manager, Ryan Boyer, African-American, first one in that position. We're also fueled to help our first African-American woman mayor. So it's just been great to see the progress that's been happening. So I agree with that.

Oh, it's fantastic. It's fantastic. And the electric that you feel in the floor or on the inside is really going to take hold in community after community, block after block. But we've got to put some elbow grease. We've got to put ax to the wheel. We've got to get people out to vote. We can't just be happy.

And we can't just be hopeful. We've got to actually do some work. We've got to put ax to the wheel. We've got to get people out to vote. We can't just be happy and we can't just be hopeful. We've got to actually do some work. We've got to inform people. We've got to make sure that we've got a plan to get people to the polls, get them actually voting. Make sure we talk about this in the barbershops. I'm from the south. We do beauty parlors down there. Wherever you are, in the grocery stores, you've got to make sure and have those conversations and speak to people. Speak to people where they are. Wherever they are. On the street, if they are working, then all of those things

are important to us. Alright, Fred, we certainly appreciate it, bro. Absolutely. Thanks so very much. Good luck. I appreciate it. Alright, folks, that was Savannah Guthrie of the Today Show who was just coming by there. So, earlier we talked to a couple of union leaders with the AFL-CIO, Fred Redman, Secretary of Treasury,

and also Liz Shuler as well. So Anthony, let me know when we have those ready for those conversations. Great conversations we had with him talking about, again, what their agenda, what their focus is, and how we're moving forward. Let's go to our conversation first with Fred. Let's talk about where labor is. You have right now, arguably the most pro-labor administration in decades.

That's right. Talk about what that has meant for the labor movement. Or what it meant for the labor movement, Roland. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley, But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated.

I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man.

We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote

drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corps vet. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things.

Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Here's the deal.

We got to set ourselves up. up see retirement is the long game we gotta make moves and make them early set up goals don't worry about a setback just save up and stack up to reach them let's put ourselves in the right position pregame to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispretirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. First of all, you know, for us and the Democratic Party, with the relationship that organized labor has had with the Democratic Party over the years, you know, the Democratic Party have historically looked at organized labor as a special interest group. We're not a special interest group.

We represent working family values, you know. But now, you know, and a lot of it really came to pass through this administration. What we did in 2022, you know, we feel as though the issues that pertain to working families are winning issues. And the Democratic Party is starting to recognize that where issues of fair pay, increases in the minimum wage, job security, retirement security, safety and health on the job. These are winning issues for the Democratic Party. So it has changed our relationship. You know, the Democratic Party is starting to view organized labor once again as legitimate partners when it comes to developing party issues and having a say in the direction and the planks of the Democratic Party. We saw for a long time, and I talk about this a lot of times with Lee Saunders and others, a long time, the word union was a slur. That's right.

And how the Republicans targeted Reagan after that. What's interesting now is when you look at the data. Let's go to the hall where Lil Jon is turning it up at the United Center. Let's go, let's go. Time out for one. Hey, everybody get your hands up. Hey, everybody get your hands up. Hey, everybody get your hands up. Damn safe. We're not going back. We're not going back.

We're not going back. We're not going back. T.P. Harris. Coming to wall. T.P. Harris. T.P. Harris. Coming to wall. T.T. Harris. Coming to wall. Hey. George Sanders is the most.

Mr. Secretary, the South's got something to say. I'm Congresswoman Akiva Williams, chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Georgia. Georgia, the home of President Jimmy Carter, the cradle of the civil rights movement, where we fight for our freedom. Extremists in Georgia are trying to silence our voices by kicking Georgians off of the rolls and making it harder to vote. But y'all, when we send Kamala Harris to the White House, she'll fight for our freedom to vote. All right, folks. Lil Jon turned up there. So let's do this here.

Let's finish our interview with Fred Redmond, and we're going to come back, and we're going to talk to the president of another union, of the NEA. So I told y'all, we do this a little bit different than the rest of these other networks. We real black on this show.

And so we do what we want because I own it. So I don't give a damn. Got to say. So that's how we do it. Let's go back to the Fred Rebney interview. The word union was a slur. That's right. And that's how and that how the republicans uh targeted reagan and after that what's interesting

now is you we look at the data unions have the highest approval rating uh from folks in almost 50 40 50 years you have a younger generation that grew up with right to work states right on those lines who are now in the workforce going, wait a minute, collective bargaining makes sense. That's right. So they're bringing that new energy that I think is infusing the labor movement, correct? No, that's exactly correct. You know, polls have showed that 71% of the American people feel that unions really play an enormous part of the economy of this country.

And then the interesting fact is 83% of workers between the ages of 18 and 35 strongly support unions. So the energy that we have seen in our organizing drives and places like Starbucks and other locations where young workers are taking the lead in terms of organizing. Because, look, they want to work a job. They want to work one job where they could support their families and, you know, live a productive lifestyle. They don't want to work three.

So, you know, collective bargaining is the key. I strongly believe that collective bargaining helped build the black middle class in this country. And there's a new awareness of what collective bargaining can do boots on the ground is important one of the things that the labor unions do they put those boots on the ground uh when we look at this election is 77 days right 77 days uh until election day and so what what are you messaging what are you saying uh to folks out there what are you saying to those white conservative union workers who are like well i love the toughness of donald trump but the party votes against the interests of unions right well first of all organized labor we're going to have the biggest ground game that we had in the history of the labor movement.

It's going to be on the ground. As far as our members are concerned, we're going to talk to them. We're going to go back to the old school way of doing things. And when we talk to them, we're going to compare records. We're going to show them the Trump agenda, which is easy to find on the Project 2025. And we're going to show them the agenda of the Harris and Walsh ticket. And we're going to show them the agenda. And then we're going to appeal to our members not to vote against their own self-interest. Now, as far as, you know, some of these members we got that have drunk the Kool-Aid, so to speak, and want to vote for some other

issues and want to, you know, not vote for the ticket that's going to work better for them because they align to this whole MAGA mentality, you know, for those members, we're not going to spend a lot of time, Roland, to be honest with you, trying to convince them. But what we're going to focus on, the majority of our members who understand, Roland, to be honest with you, trying to convince them. But what we're going to focus on, the majority of our members who understand, okay, that the party that is really going to deal with working and family sustaining issues is the Democratic Party. So, you know, we're going all out. I mean, we're going to go all out. We're going to talk to our members. We're putting more

people on the street to do door knocking, to make the phone calls, to have these conversations at the work site, at people's homes. And then what we have done that I'm very proud of, we have given more money to our constituency groups, okay, to work our independent expenditure program. I'm talking about the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, the A. Philip Randolph Institute, the Latin, uh, LACLA, the Latin American Group, Pride at Work, our LGBTQ advisory group. So we're hitting, you know, those communities with, uh, our constituencies group that we are infusing more resources, investing in those organizations, uh, more money than we have in a long time.

All right, then. Well, look, keep it up. We got a hell of a lot of work to do. I'll boot for the crowd. We appreciate you chatting with us and however we can help, let us know. Because, and I tell people, I tell this all the time, we launched this show. I put $350,000 of my own money into this, and I only had one sponsor when I launched this show. Call me.

And that was Lee Saunders and Absmeet. That's what got this show started. And Lee Saunders reminds me all the time. We will talk, brother, because I want you to know we respect the work that you're doing. And the communities that you really, really identify and reach out to, those are the communities that make a difference in this election. So we need to talk. All right, sir. I appreciate it.

All right. All right. Thanks a lot. All right. All right, folks. Welcome back live. That was taped at the end of the interview, of course. Happening right now in the United Center.

They're doing the roll call of the delegates. And so we're waiting for California to come up to put Vice President Kamala Harris over the top to secure the nomination. They've already done it virtual. So she already got it. So this is like when folk get married at the courthouse and then they have another wed in Jamaica. The second one don't count. The second one don't count. So this is what television, Lynn Whitfield, get over here.

Just come. Oh, stop it. Get over here. You ain't going to walk by. Are you trying to keep the AKs and the Deltas happy with pink and red? Well, I'm an ambassador of our people. Well done. Of the Divine Nine.

But, you know, of course, I'm an honorary AKA. Now, listen. For a lot of y'all, y'all have no idea how involved Lynn is in politics. She's always out there speaking, rallies, doing surrogate work. Let me explain something to y'all. Lynn was real black when I was at CNN. I would be on the air live, and Lynn would be texting me, telling me what to say when we came back. And I was like, Lynn, I ain't texting you when you shooting a movie. But, you know, at that time, I was new as being a surrogate.

And then she got mad at something. She's like, who do I talk to about this? I literally told her, email the president of the network, John Klein. Well, that's right, because they were like romanticizing that lady. What's her name? Stop it. We don't want to say her name. Stop it.

But they were romanticizing somebody that didn't need any visibility. She's talking about Sarah Palin. Yeah, Sarah Palin. I'm like, I don't care what kind of sunglasses she wears. They was talking about what her lipstick color is. Please, she is not qualified to be vice president of the United States of America, period, full stop, end of story. But anyway, my brother Roland really helped me to understand things as I became more involved. And I love you for it.

Love you, darling. I love you, too. I appreciate it. Thanks a bunch. You I love you for it. Love you, darling. I love you, too. I appreciate it. Thanks a bunch. You're welcome. I told y'all this is the blackest show. I done told y'all that. You cannot get this much

seasoning on MSNBC, CNN. What's up, Doc? You can't do it. You can't do it. They got unseasoned chicken. We got spicy gumbo. Speaking of spicy, our next guest, Becky Pringle. You know what?

Hold up. I got some barbecue Pringles down here. Becky Pringle, she's president of the NEA, National Education Association. She joins us right now. How you doing? I'm spicy. It's easy. I'm doing great rolling. We are rolling past this roll call and with every single state. It becomes more real, doesn't it? You being real busy around here too. Oh, yes. Running and

gunning day and night. Day and night because we got work to do and we're going to do it. We're going to win. Did I tell you that already? Yeah. OK. All right. Absolutely. Oh, yeah. One of the things that what we keep trying to explain to folks is that I remember Reverend Warnock said is people are telling him in 2020. Pastor, we praying for you. He's like, I appreciate all your prayers, but y'all got to vote. That's right. He said, praying ain't voting. It's not.

It's good, though. He said, the voting part is the work part. He said, you can pray, but you got to do some work. Absolutely. And our three million members of the National Education Association are already doing that work. But I tell you what, Roland, there is so much excitement and inspiration and hope in this hall. But you know what I'm saying to my members and everybody else?

The one word that I need everyone to leave this convention with is power. We have the power to act, to influence, to make a difference. And that's what the three million members of the NEA are going to do. We're going to win. Joe. My wife is a member of the NEA. Oh, where?

She's a speech therapist in the schools in California. We're in Southern California. So I would love to hear what you would think. Let's see. We get around the corner. We're going to win this election, I believe, just like you do. What are some of the things you'd like to see done legislatively this opportunity might present for us if things really go well? So wherever I go, this is what I'm saying to my members,

but wherever I go, and I'm going to say it right now to Roland, we're going to do everything we possibly can to ensure that come this January, it will be Madam President. Yes, yes. And it's not. Hold that thought. Wendell Pierce is on the microphone right now. Oh, there he is. From Louisiana.

Let's quickly go to the floor. And born out of that democracy from the Big Easy, the northernmost Caribbean city, the last bohemian was jazz. And nothing can be more emblematic of jazz and democracy than what we swing with in the Big Easy. And it's because of that that I am here to cast my personal vote for the next president of the United States,

Kamala Harris. And now the leader of our party, Mr. Randall Gaines. That is actor Wendell Pierce speaking on behalf of the Louisiana delegation right there. Becky, go ahead and finish your thought. Oh, my goodness. So, Roland, as I was saying, as I was answering the question, here's the thing. We can't just elect a president and vice president. Sure. We have to win all the things. We have to win all the things.

So when you talk to me about policy, I have to make sure, my members have to make sure that President Harris has a House and a Senate who is pro-public education, who cares about our kids and our communities, who cares about the people who have dedicated their lives to educating America's children so that they can lead and they have others to pass policy that finally funds education across this country in a way that it is equitable and it is sustained, that finally respects educators, our teachers, our support staff, in a way that reflects the important work they do in this society. And we have to make sure that we have policies in place that reflect the diversity of this country. And in our public schools, which right now, which now, a couple of years ago, predominantly students of color, we have to make sure that they are racially and socially just and equitable so that every single one, everyone, can succeed. So when we talk about policies that a President Harris, a Harris administration will pass, it is about those things.

Hold tight one second. Governor Wes Moore is now speaking. Roll call for the state of Maryland. Maryland, how do you cast your vote? We are Maryland! and we represent Marylanders past and present who have contributed to America's greatness we are the birthplace of Harriet Tubman we are the birthplace of Thurgood Marshall we are the birthplace of Frederick Douglass. We are the place where soldiers defended our freedoms in Baltimore and also in Antietam

and the home of thousands of veterans who call Maryland home. And this community of patriots is proud to cast our votes for the next president of the United States, Kamala Harris.

All right, folks, that was Governor Westmore, my alpha brother, representing the state of Maryland, only the third black elected governor in American history. Theresa, your question. Yes. I am so excited that my mom was also part of public education for, and my dad actually, for over 30 years and they retired. So what are some of your members doing to activate the vote outside of work hours? So we know how to organize, how to mobilize, and how to proselytize. And that's what we are already doing. We conducted training here, right here at this convention center, because we knew that we needed our members to leave here ready to go

so that they can knock doors, they can have house parties, they can make sure that they know how to lift up their voice. So we gave them communications training. You know, teachers are still the most trusted voice in any community. So we need them to be able to tell their stories in powerful ways about real students and real schools and educators in a way that connects with voters. And as I always say to everyone, you know, here's the thing. I need everyone who likes you or loves you or intends to keep living with you, not only to vote, but to volunteer all the

way up to Election Day, that's how we're going to win. All right, then. Becky, I appreciate it. Thanks for hanging on the Blackest Show at this convention. You ain't going to do no other show that got this much flavor. I'm just letting you know. I'm just letting you know. We appreciate it. Always. I'm just letting you know. I'm just letting you know. We appreciate it.

Always. Alright, thanks a bunch. Y'all, coming up next, Jamie Harrison, chair of the Democratic National Committee. We're going to chat with him next. Let's do this here. Let's see who's... Minnesota's up. Alright, who are they going to have?

Actually, are they going to skip them? Nope. They're going to... Let Actually, are they going to skip them? Nope. Let's see who they got. Normally, they'll do Minnesota then California. We're monitoring that. Becky, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Folks, we're going to get Jamie Harrison.

I got you. We're going to get Jamie Harrison who runs the DNC. It's been a busy week for him at this convention. So we're waiting to pull him up. So are they getting him? Where are they?

All right, Damian Hewitt, come on, real quick. Damian Hewitt leads the Lawrence Committee for Civil Rights under law. Damian, the reality is here. Voter suppression is real. Republicans are doing all they can to short-circuit the ballot. Talk about what y'all

are doing to protect the sanctity of folks right to vote. Man, just like we've been doing for 20 years, strong rolling, we're doing election protection. We're protecting our voice, our opportunity, our power, not just to vote. And so everybody can call the hotline 866-OUR-VOTE.

You can go online, 866-OUR-VOTE.org, and learn more information. In the 2020 election cycle, we mobilized 14,000 attorneys all around the country. Hold tight one second. Go back to the convention floor. Folks, 1968, the first time we had an integrated delegation. This is the head of the Mississippi delegation. Vinnie G. Thompson. With great joy, Mississippi delivers 40 votes for our future president, Ms. Kamala Harris. The reason I wanted to show that, folks, again, 1964, Atlantic City,

the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, Bob Moses, Fannie Lou Hamer, they were there protesting. They wanted to integrate it. Mississippi stopped them. There was a compromise. They were not happy. But Dr. King said, we got the promise they're going to be integrating in 68. Here we're back in Chicago. And what does it say? It's also tied to voting, Damon. What does it say that the head of the Mississippi Democratic Party is a black man? And you saw how many black folks were in that delegation. That says what happens when black folks use their power. Well, look, Roland, it only makes sense as one of the blackest states in the country. And there's been so much progress.

I just saw Marilyn Mumba earlier from Jackson. He's out here in the House, strong leadership, following the footsteps of his father. Derrick Johnson, his adopted home is Mississippi. We've come a long way, but we are not saved. Just a couple months ago, we won a redistricting trial in Mississippi in federal court because the state legislature redrew district lines in a way that diluted black voting strength. So now the state has to redraw all its lines in advance of the state elections for next year, not this fall, but for next year, for those elections.

So it means a lot. What it means is we now have people in positions of authority, of influence and power to address the thing that never quite goes away, and that's racism. That's racial discrimination. And so it gives us a fighting chance. And you have a Supreme Court with Chief Justice John Roberts who felt in the Shelby v. Holder decision that all was well, we're good, how black people are voting. But we got those numbers because of the protection of the Voting Rights Act. Exactly. They're like, well, everything is good. We can stop.

We know what backsliding looks like, even when we have protections of the law. Taking the law away does not make things better. It makes things worse. That's what Ruth Breda Ginsburg said. She's like, getting rid of the Voter Rights Act is like throwing your umbrella out in the rainstorm just because you ain't getting wet. Makes absolutely no sense. Makes no common sense. Joe? Let us know, as a civil rights attorney based in California, we're always interested to know the depth of the opportunities that are available for people to get involved from election protection standpoint? And how are you guys raising your game in response to what we see and what we foresee in terms of voter suppression, et cetera? Love the question.

So the ways to get involved are twofold. If you're a lawyer, and we have a lot of black lawyers, a lot of allied lawyers out there, you can volunteer for the election protection hotline and coalition. We have 14,000 lawyers out there. You can volunteer for the election protection hotline and coalition. We have 14,000 lawyers in 2020. We'll do big numbers again this year to answer all the calls from voters and do all the troubleshooting and respond with litigation if and when needed on election day or even after. There's always also another way. You don't have to be a lawyer to be down with election protection. And our field program and the communities, people can volunteer and go to your own precincts, to your own polling sites, in your neighborhood, in your

city, in your state. We have a new component this year called Ojo Ache. Ojo Ache, and it's about seeing and all things that Ache means for our community, right? It is black women answering the call. That's the subtitle. We want black women who are already leading the way to protect and defend our democracy to know how they can plug in. And Ohio State is both lifting up what such is already doing and giving them new ways to plug in. It is actually a campaign and coalition with the Global Black Economic Forum, Alfonso David. That's a sister entity to Essence Communications. Right. We're stopping by game also because we hire people in various states.

I got a sister in Texas, got somebody in virginia i now have two people in ohio we have people all throughout the country who are living there day to day stationed there and if you don't live there i said you got to stay there for some time right um at least move for a while if you don't move there permanently to not just be among the community to really be part of the community and understand exactly what people are facing it's going to speed up response times, even when we have lawyers answering the calls on the hotline. Excellent. Teresa?

Yeah, you know what? I love that because in 2020, that was the main point of view for Donald Trump to say, you know, election suppression, you know, from each county. And I think the one thing we were missing was the talking points from that department saying, no, that's not what happened. So I think where are we at on communication to make sure, you know, when they do start in the midst of it, because we already know mail-in ballots is going to be a situation not only just to vote at the polls because we don't get it the same night, but there's going to be mail-in ballots. There's going to be other situations that arise.

So where are you guys at on communicating and making sure that you're letting the people know, no, it is not voter suppression, and we are fighting for you. Sister, you're exactly right. Not all of us do GOTV, get out to vote, but the lawyers' committee, we do GOTM, get out the message. And that's an affirmative message before Election Day, before election season even, and early voting,

about here are your rights, here's your responsibility. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them.

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It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves.

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Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. Here's things that you can do. And sadly, it's going to vary by state to state, right? We know they're trying new bad things in Georgia.

We have litigation already still moving in a number of districts. That's our A.G. A-Round 4 from Nevada. What's up, my man? Yeah, here's a little capper. You know. What do you know? Don't, don't, don't, don't, don't, don't, don't.

I'm crazy. First of all, when two cappers show up, they call it an invasion. We got two Albas here and we already better than y'all. Come on, man. And then we got one tired Omega walking in here.

The Mario. Now all three of y'all get y'all asses all out of here. That's the whole line right there. That's the whole line right there. That's the whole line. Look. That's the whole line right there. That's the whole line. Look, what are we talking about?

I just want the hotline number. We were talking about the messaging. Yeah, yeah. So getting out the message. So we know that people's rights and opportunities are going to vary state by state. So our people are working with coalitions. It's not just us in election protection. It's over 300 organizations all

around the country. I want to shout out to Helen Butler and the Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda in Georgia, because Georgia is some kind of crazy. They refuse to let go of their power. I ain't letting no black man walk on by. You ain't going to speak. We talking about voter protection and all that good stuff, and you got a book about

that stuff. What's the name of it? Sell some copies. Our Unfinished March. It's a good book. Impression. I wrote it two years ago, but it talks about things we need to be worried about with our system. I'm pretty confident that we're going to have more votes than them, but the question is what gets counted, what gets certified, and what do they actually do with regard to the election or the election results.

So we've got a lot of work to do. Absolutely. You're right. You good, my man? I'm fine. I'm fine. All right. Your wife may come.

Now, you've got to understand, this is the blackest show here. We just snatch folk when they walk by and just grab. That's how we do it. And he would try to do that when I was attorney general. I used to have a detail. That's what he. And what he won't say, a detail, be like, oh, that's Roland. That's my brother here.

All right. All right. Tell the wife, I'm still looking for that gumbo. Do you all have some gumbo fight going on? Absolutely. All right. Well, I'm married for 34 years, so I like her gumbo. Great answer.

Great answer. Great answer. Eric Holden. Good to see you. See, I told y'all how we do it. So we got to get out the message. So it's not just one standard. It depends on where you live and where you are. So there's the fights we're fighting for the long term, but there's the fights we got to fight

right now. And that means being on with information, being prepared to vote from day one. Everybody watching this show right now, I want you to go check your registration status. Check your voter registration status, because I know some folks may not have cast a ballot since 2020, or

2016, or 2008. Right? For some people, right? So don't assume because you're registered, you're still registered. They've been changing the rules. They've been changing the polling locations. If you live in Georgia, if you live in Texas, if you live in Mississippi, all these jurisdictions, they were covered by the Protection of the Voter Rights Act.

Those protections in large part have been washed away. So protect yourself and check your registration status. Go to 866-I-VOTE.org or call 866-I-VOTE. All right. Brett, I appreciate it, bro. I appreciate you, manORG or call 866-I-VOTE. Alright. Brett, I appreciate it, bro. I appreciate you, man. Get the word out. Thank you. I appreciate it. Damian Hewitt, Lawrence Committee for Civil Rights under law. Alright, folks. The roll call continues

for putting Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz over the top. And so that's what's happening right now. Hey, what you doing? You're not next. No, you're not. Watch this here. Desiree, come on. Carol, don't run the show. My next guest at 730 is 733. No, no, but she ain't the host. She ain't the owner. Get on out the chair.

Desiree? Desiree. Come on, let's go. Come on. Come on. It's a train station. We got it moving. All right, y'all. So if y'all been looking on the stage, everybody on the stage, they've been wearing black makeup. Hold tight one second. Go to the convention hall. Let's see

my man Spike Lee there with the New York delegation. New York, how do you cast your vote? New York! New York! New York! New York! New York! New York! New York, how do you cast your vote? Harry, my name. New York delegation. I had a superman, Spike Lee. All right, y'all. So y'all heard us talk about what happens when you have black folks in charge. Vice President Comerhead is the top of the ticket. You got Mignon Moore, convention CEO. You got Leah Daughtry here, the rules committee. You got Jamie Harrison here, the DNC.

And so this is a huge multimillion-dollar event. And so you got contracts left and right. So when you see all the folk coming on stage and they're wearing makeup, they are using makeup from a black owned company called Black Opal. Desiree Rodgers is the co-founder, co-CEO of Black Opal. She joins us right now. What's happening? Honey, we are doing the makeup. All of it. All of it, all of it. White, black, you name it. Yesterday we had James Taylor in the seat next to James Clyburn.

It was a beautiful moment. James and James. Again, what I try to explain to people, that when you have these events, this is millions being spent. And so we should be a part of that economic piece, not just here for our political piece. Absolutely. I think we and I know I just found out today we are the first black owned women owned firm to do this work. So we are so pleased to be able to do that. And many times, you know, people put us in a corner and say, well, you can't do everybody. We have done everyone. So all the men, all the women, all the tones, we have done them all with Black Opal and Fashion

Fair Cosmetics. We've got 80 years combined in the business. So we do know what we're doing. Wow. Talk about, first of all, there is a difference when you have black folks doing makeup. That's one of the biggest criticisms of black women, television anchors, actresses, entertainers, is that when it comes to their hair and makeup, they got folk who ain't got no idea what they're doing. And so being culturally competent in makeup is critically important. who got no idea what they're doing. And so being culturally competent in makeup is critically important. Well, you know what? We have a diverse group back there, but I'm telling you, those men and women, they're looking fantastic. Have you seen those lipsticks? We're encouraging people to wear a little color, not be dull. It is a celebration. Let's have it.

We got bronzer on the guys. I mean, look at the makeup. It is unbelievable. I have to say so myself. And so we've had a really fun time just encouraging people to celebrate because it is a celebration. And so I think they look fantastic. We even had

Mitch Landrieu was back there a couple of times cutting up. He said, what you gonna do for my hair? I said, well, I don't know. We're going to powder you. They can't do nothing for Mitch Landrieu's hair because he ain't got nothing. We got something called Warm Sunrise. We gave him a little Warm Sunrise. There are no black opal wigs back there.

Questions, Teresa? You know what? One, congratulations. I was very excited when I saw the release of that and actually encouraged my team that we're working with. I said, we're going to get some over-the-counter Black Opal, and we're going to support and celebrate. So congratulations to that.

A question for you is, you know, it's very hard to get in this space. You know, they could have called Mary Kay, but they didn't. They called Black Opal. What do you think the reason why? Listen, we have 80 years in the business, So I think one of the things is just longevity and really being a company that knows what they're doing. And we pursued it. I wanted it. I mean, I thought that we should have it. This is, we did not know that we would have the nomination of Kamala, but we did know that we are a black cosmetics company here in Chicago. And if anyone should get it, we should get it.

And so we got it. We got it. We've got 10 artists back there. We're probably going to do about 400 faces. Wow. Wow. So very much in the tradition of great companies, black companies that have come up in Chicago. You guys have been around for 80 years.

You conquered something. You said you wanted it. You wanted it. You got it. Tell us what you want next and what are the next frontiers for your company? Listen, the one thing that I want is I want these black-owned companies in the beauty space to survive. We know that even the black population, only 2.5 percent of the purchases are coming from black Americans. And the other thing we know is, you know, it's really hard to be in this space. There's not there's smaller companies coming up all the time. But we want to build some scale. We think that there's no reason why we shouldn't be

the first billion dollar beauty company. And all we need is support. And we know we have the products. So we just need people to try them. You'll love them. You'll never look better. And you will thank me. You will definitely thank me, as so far 100-plus people have thanked us. Part of the issue we talk about a lot on our show as well is how we as African-Americans, we drive so many businesses, but we're not actually owning it. How bad is it in the makeup field in terms of ownership, in terms of usage, who we support? We're so small.

We're just like a needle in a haystack. Black-owned beauty businesses, they are very, very small, just a very small percentage. But here's the thing. We, as our own people, we buy so much makeup. We buy so many things in the beauty space. So we can make our own businesses succeed. Of course, we want to be open and diverse for everyone. But there's no reason why we can't do this.

It's just a matter of, as I say to some people when I check out their makeup, I'm like, it's time for you to come off the plantation. Ooh. I love it, it's time for you to come off the plantation. Ooh. I love it. That's real hot. Duh. And move on over. Duh.

And move on over to black-owned businesses. I can tell. You can't fool me. I know our colors. Of course. We got those perfect matches. If you don't have a perfect match, you're at the wrong counter. So Fashion Fair is sold

at Sephora and Macy's. Yep. And Black Opal is sold at Walmart, CVS, Rite Aid, and also Ulta. Not all of them, but a lot of them. So we need the support. That's what we need. And check our work out over the next couple of days. Alright. Desiree,

good to see you. Congratulations. Thank you. Alright. Enjoy the rest of the days. All right. Desiree, good to see you. Congratulations. Thank you. All right. All right. Enjoy the rest of the conference. Appreciate it. Thanks a bunch. All right. Bye-bye now. All right, folks, the roll call continues there in the hall there here at the United Center. And so we're still checking back, waiting for them to bring up the California delegation. They are going to put Vice President Kamala Harris over the top. So we're waiting for that moment to show you that. Let's get ready to show earlier today. We were talking about those union interviews. We had a conference. We heard from Congressman Ro Khanna, who's been on our show numerous times. We also talked to Liz Shuler, who leads the AFL-CIO,

here with those interviews. All right, folks, y'all seen Congressman Roe Conn on our show many times. Glad to see you live in color. I'm glad to meet you in person. I usually see you on a Zoom screen. Indeed, indeed.

Let's talk about your fellow Californian, how she has run a flawless campaign thus far. She's electrified the country. She's electrified the party. I have not seen the party this unified since 2008 when we had President Obama and she has really inspired people and here's the thing when you inspire people when you excite people they give you the benefit of the doubt if they don't agree a hundred percent on the policy because no one agrees 100 right but she has gotten the momentum but now we've got to operationalize the momentum also i think there's a huge difference when you talk about tone uh and governor tim walsh

compared to the doom and gloom and dark and sadistic and oh oh, my God, the world is going to hell. Whenever you hear Donald Trump and J.D. Vance talk. Well, it's a substantive difference, right? J.D. Vance and Donald Trump think that the future of America is something to be feared, something to be opposed. They don't like the fact that there has been immigration. They don't like the fact that women have gained rights. They don't like the fact that we have voting rights and more representation. So they're saying,

don't, let's go back. Let's go back to the America we had. And they are angry. Kamala Harris is saying, I represent the future of America. Everyone, if you're a little girl, you can see yourself in me. If you're a minority, you can see yourself in me. I represent the beauty, along with Tim Walz, of representing everyone in America. And people are saying, yeah, I think I can see ourselves in them more than I can in Donald Trump and J.D. Vance. And again, I think that when you have that type of enthusiasm, that difference in tone that then causes somebody to say, I can believe in that.

I can buy into that. I can help that. Absolutely. Because campaigns, and I think this is the brilliance of what Vice President Harris has understood, that campaigns are about hope, aspiration, personality,

connecting with people's hearts and dreams first, and then doing the policy. And too often, Democrats, I've been guilty of this dreams first, and then doing the policy. And too often, Democrats, I've been guilty of this, we love to lead with the policy because we want to fix things, we want to do things, and we don't do the emotive stuff as well. The vice president is connecting culturally, she's connecting emotionally, and now she's going to roll out the policies to say, okay, here's how we're going to solve the problem. I also I love the fact that today, you know, she's going to be in Milwaukee with Governor Tim Walz holding a rally. I mean, let's 80 miles away, but taking advantage of the energy here and also doing it there, getting a twofer.

And she's running hard. She's running as the underdog, because when you're an African American, Indian American woman running for president, you're the underdog till election day. That's just the reality of this country. And instead of saying, OK, I'm up in the polls and I'm up in Wisconsin, she's saying, no, I'm going to run like the underdog. We're going to run through the tape. We're going to do the hard work. And you know what? In this country, people respect that. They don't like the sense of entitlement. They don't like the sense that you don't earn every vote. And I think that that's why we're going to win. All right, then. Well, Congressman, always good to see you.

I appreciate you. I know you got a lot of fans because whenever I go around, people say they text me, call me. They say, we saw you on Rolling Show. So I appreciate you having me on. I love it. I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you.

All right. All right, folks. Right now, we're going to bring in a rope. Appreciate it, Congressman. We're going to bring in the head of the AFL-CIO. We're going to just just step on in here. How are you doing? How's it going? Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Appreciate it. You're going to place you right there. Doing the musical chairs going on here. I did that. Absolutely. Let's get right into it. You had the labor leaders on stage last night, all speaking as one, individually speaking, but going all up together.

I had Fred on earlier, but just talk about just the total difference in support of unions by this administration compared to not just Republicans, but even Democrats in the past 30 plus years? Working people are at the center of this convention, and we are 20% of the delegates here on the floor. And so we came in, we came in early as a labor movement to support Kamala Harris for president because we knew that with labor's backing it was going to shift everything it's going to move the rest of the of the convention because we are central to that infrastructure you know very well that we have the ground troops in every community and getting the word out is going to be so important because of the margins in this election

especially in those very close battleground states, right, where, again, union members are 20 percent of the electorate in those states. So we know that we can be the truth squad, the people who get the message out and do the kind of retail side of breaking through the social media noise. I think one of the reasons why I believe you're seeing the high percentage of Americans that support unions, which is what we haven't seen in nearly 50 years, is because over the last three, four decades, it has been a constant just widening of the gap. When you have CEOs who are now making 100, 200 times what a worker, and you have companies

that want to squeeze as much productivity out, but don't want to offer raises, cost of living raises. People who are fighting a living wage. I talked to Reverend Dr. William Barber a lot about that, the fight for a living wage, a $15 minimum wage. I think people are saying, wait a minute, that's not what we want our future to be. Exactly. People are fed up. And you remember in the pandemic where people were saying, wait a minute, that's not what we want our future to be. Exactly. People are fed up. And you remember in the pandemic where people were saying, oh, essential workers, right? People were seeing work in a way they hadn't in a long time. Our health care workers, our transportation workers, our grocery workers keeping food on the shelves, risking their lives.

And finally, they were seen. And then coming off the pandemic, things just went back to normal. Well, they were seen because folk had no choice. Exactly. But normally, they're just oblivious to them and just ignoring them as if they're just peons. And then we went back to, quote, normal, and it was people took it for granted again. There you go. So people are fed up. They're fired up. They're like, hey, wait a second. Do I really have to take this or can I do something about it? And so I think that's why unions are so favorable right now is they're finally putting, you know, connecting those dots that they can make a change through a union. When the Janus decision happened, one of the things that Lee Sonners and I talked about,

he said that unions also had to get their act together, that they had gotten complacent, that they had to actually go back to the basics. That's right. You think that also was the case? Absolutely, because we have a lot of those stereotypes that still persist, that we were exclusive, not inclusive. People like me, women, women of color, were always on the sidelines and especially in certain types of jobs where, you know, in the growing industries, women and people of color didn't see themselves necessarily in those jobs because, you know, the labor movement really wasn't reflective of those communities.

And so I think that has shifted. If you look at this floor, if you look at the delegations from labor, if you look at the leadership of labor last night diverse female it is a completely different labor movement um when you talk about again uh the look the feel and how that changes i think back to 08 uh when obama ran and you had white union leaders who put race on the table. And they said, no, we have to tell these white men and white women, these folks have been backing us. They've been supporting us. CBC, we're going to stand with this black man. And it was very interesting how they didn't try to dance around it. They said, no, we have to confront it. Absolutely. My predecessor, Rich Trumka, gave a very famous speech, you may remember, to a steelworkers

audience that went viral for that reason, because the credibility of that messenger speaking in a way that people's ears can open. And in fact, unions are the most trusted source. If a union member hears from their union, it cuts through all the rest of the noise. Even the friends and family aren't as trusted as their union. I don't know what that says about their family, but unions are seen as kind of cutting through the BS. We approach people on an issues basis, the things they care about, good jobs, good fair wages, equal pay, good healthcare, retirement, affordable housing. People can't afford to live where they work anymore. So unions can actually help those people listen in,

pay attention to those issues and connect them to the candidates. So we obviously we look at we know battleground states, but everything is not just about the presidential race. And so what does y'all's map look like in terms of how many states that you're really focused on? Because it's not just presidential, it's critical U.S. Senate races, it's congressional races too. Thank you. Because state races. There's so much focus on the presidential, I couldn't agree more that those down ballot races are just as important, if not more. And we're seeing a surge in candidates who are reflective of our communities, which is so exciting.

And then knowing that we have a community network of labor movement activists all in every city and town, every state and every workplace. And no one else reaches people at the workplace, if you think about it. People don't even answer their doors anymore because of those ring doorbells. They're looking on their couch going, who is that? No, I'm not talking to them no i'm not talking to them i'm not talking to them yeah i know exactly so we go into the workplace and talk to people with a shop steward or with a union activist and i think it's a special reach that we have um but those down ballot races are the most compelling because it's close to their

community and they see it and they connect it well yeah, I told Fred this, that so this show will be six years old, September 4th. Amazing. And when we launched the show, when TV One canceled my show, a lot of people were really upset. And Lee Sonners was like, listen, we got to support. Everybody was talking about hitting them up. And so I told him what I was doing. The first two years of this show, AFSP was the only sponsor.

Is that right? That's how we were able, that's how we survived the first two years of this show, because of their support. So we understand the importance of unions. And he said, look, your voice is important, who you speak to, but you also speak to predatory support.

Thank you for your partnership. Thank you for being a voice for working people. And I can't wait to see where we go from here. All right. I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you. All right.

Folks, welcome back. We, of course, hear what's going on. Good. We were here back on. This is a roll call continues. This is the Texas delegation. So you see Congressman Al Green standing behind right there. How's it going, bro?

And so you see what's going on there. How you doing? And so we're still waiting. Forget California. California will be the delegation that puts Vice President Kamala Harris over the top. So a lot of things going on here. Actually, yes, they're running late. It is seven fifty three central time, eight fifty three Eastern. We were supposed to have been starting the speakers by now.

And so we still are going to be hearing from, in this hour, or likely the next hour, Anna Navarro introducing Senator Chuck Schumer, Majority Leader also Senator Bernie Sanders, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, Ken Chenault, former CEO of American Express, Michelle Grisham, the governor of New Mexico. And so then we're going to have in the next hour Angela Altshuler-Brooks, running for United States Senate in Maryland, the mayor of Mesa, Arizona, Republican John Giles, Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth, and then Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman, and then Michelle Obama, and then President Barack Obama.

While we are here as we speak, Vice President Kamala Harris, Governor Tim Walz, they're holding a mass rally 80 miles away in Milwaukee. And so we're trying to get access to that live stream so we can have a secondary stream going to be able to show y'all what's happening there. And so a lot, a lot, lot going on here in Chicago with Democratic National Convention on the second night. And so, as I told y'all, we're in this prime position. All the folks who've been coming through here, I've been grabbing folks, talking to them on the fly, doing it the only way we can do it.

One of my guys just came to me and they said, Florida Congressman Republican Byron Donalds is here. I don't give a damn. None of us. I don't care. So, like, whatever. He ain't going to come over here and get grilled. I can tell you. Get that smoke.

I can tell you. That ain't going to happen. I'm just letting you know. It's not going to come over here and get grilled. I can tell you. Get that smoke. I can tell you. That ain't going to happen. I'm just letting you know. It's not going to happen. Joining us right now, to my right, we got Kwame Jackson. You know, I told y'all we allow cappers to be here. So let's do this here. Let's go to the floor.

I think this is Virgin Islands. This is Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett. Yeah, she's... States are home, a place of resistance and freedom, home of Alexander Hamilton, the first slave rebellion in the Western Hemisphere, the Firebird Queens. We are proud to celebrate a nominee of Caribbean heritage.

From America's Caribbean, the place where the sun rises first in America, from the place of great liberty and the vacation home of President Joe Biden, the Virgin Islanders are strong, resilient, and committed to vote for the next president of the United States. All 13 votes to Kamala Harris! This is our friend from the Virgin Islands. It's a territory, but I call it the blackest state, if you will. A lot of us should be thinking about it that way. Let's do this here. Let's go back to the floor

because I've got to show an alpha man, Congressman Bobby Scott from Virginia. This is it. It's going to be all night. Mr. Secretary, the Commonwealth of Virginia is proudly represented by Senator Mark Warner and Senator Tim Kaine, majorities in the House of Representatives, with six hardworking Congress members and majorities in the General Assembly. We also are proud to be represented by 25,000 hardworking, mostly union workers who build freedom, who build freedom by building aircraft carriers and submarines.

Senator Warner. Virginia, for this year, we're going to return Tim Kaine to the United States Senate. Our Commonwealth of Virginia is proud to cast all 119 votes for the next president, Kamala Harris. Washington, how do you cast your vote? From the amber waves of grain and burning origins of eastern Washington to the iconic waters of the Salish Sea, Washington stands proud as a part of the Blue Walls. Yeah, absolutely. Washington Sands proud as a part of the Blue Bulls. Aye. Aye. Aye.

Yeah, absolutely. All right, y'all. We got Kappas over here running their mouths trying to take pictures. We live. We live. We having a whole Kappa fest. We live. They asking for selfies.

They asking for selfies. That's it. That's it. We don't know if we on camera. We not on camera. You know their expectations low when they say, put a couple of cappers on. All of them. All of them.

All of them. That's right. That's right. We up and sitting. Y'all better go sit y'all ass down. He ain't ready. Y'all better go sit y'all ass down. He ain't ready for the original 1911.

Real men walk up right. We don't need no canes. Oh, Lord. Don't take a seat. Oh, Lord. All right. Where my shea butter at, my mirror? Don't start.

Where my shea butter? I don't got time for it. Don't start. I'm going to cut your teeth. I'm going to cut your teeth. I told y'all this is the blackest show here. It is. It is. It is the blackest show here. I told y'all that. All right. I told y'all this is the blackest show here. It is. It is. It is the blackest show here.

It is. I told y'all that. I told y'all. You got the whole D9s in here. I told y'all in one night y'all going to see more black people on the show. This is it. And all other networks combined for the week. That's right.

This is it. Right. That's why we got to support the Black Girl Network. That's it. Despite how crazy you are. Hey, I'm not crazy. I just want to say Roland Martin did his thing on Win With Black Men. When he led by that call, you did your thing, brother.

You inspired us all. There's too many damn alphas on there, but it was still a leadership thing. It is not my fault we could throw a rock and hit an alpha leader. But you wouldn't chime anybody else in but alpha. I was on the call. You didn't chime anybody else in. It was a rigged election. It was a rigged zoo. It was a rigged zoo.

Let me say it again. When they are trying to decide black leadership, it's a whole lot of us. And it's a little group of y'all. Combined. That's when you get the person with Combined. It's all good. That's what happens when you get the person with the mic.

That's it. I'm just saying. It just happened to be Alpha. I'm going to say MLK and Abernathy. That's all I'm going to say. That's all I'm going to say. We was working together. Except he forgot that also Andrew Young, Alpha. Fair enough.

Don't let me. Man, Jackson, Alpha. And Jesse Jackson. Who made him stop? Don't hold Dean Allen sitting up there on the balcony. That was me yesterday getting his props. Don't hold. Jesse Jackson. That's fine.

Who made it possible for Barack Obama to run. Who made it possible for the VP. That speech in 84, brother. Jesse Jackson's speech in 84. If there's no Jesse Jackson, there's no Kamala Harris. Up with Hope. Our next president. Up with Hope.

Come on. Actually, if there's no Shirley Chisholm. You're right. We can go back to Fannie Lou Hamer then. Yeah. You're right. We can go back to Fannie Lou Hamer if we're going to keep going back. No.

We'll keep it in the Divine Nine. No. If you want to go back to Fannie Lou Hamer, then you got to go back to Charlotte Abbas, who was the first black woman of Vice President Buchanan. Don't let me have to educate you, boy. Don't let me. Please do. This is group learning.

Hey, please do. This is group learning. Don't let me. See how he changes the rules. No, I ain't talking about Divine Nine. No, no, boy. Don't let me. This is group learning. Don't let me. See how he changes the rules. I'm just thinking back to Frederick Douglass. Let's go to our roots roots. You know, sitting in Abraham Lincoln's lobby. Y'all can do that. Y'all can do that.

We're going to Denmark, BC. Y'all want to go there? Don't start. I'm going to Denmark, BC. Denmark, BC? Yeah. Y'all want to go there? Don't start. I'm going to hurt your feelings. David Walker. David Walker's a pig. Harriet Tubman. I can't wait until she gets on the $20 bill.

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Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispretirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. Just here working. Just here working. Absolutely. Ruslan's here too. She's speaking tomorrow. I'll make sure that you're here. I appreciate it. Awesome. Good to see you. See, for all y'all who didn't know, that was Lorene Powell Jobs, the widow of Steve Jobs.

Oh. Yeah. I told y'all. I told y'all I know everybody. I'm just letting y'all know. I'm just letting y'all know. Just make sure she give us a seat on the yacht. Give us a seat on the yacht.

That's all I'm saying. Yeah, she gave a kiss to a chick because I got a cell phone. There you go. See? See the motion? Rush your shoulder. I don't know. Hold up. Hold up. I didn't know who she was? Rush your shoulder off. I don't know. Hold up.

Hold up. I didn't know who she was. Y'all forgot. I didn't. Y'all forgot you're talking to her. All right, look. You a boss? You a boss?

You a boss? But you got to give me a seat on that yacht. That's all I know. You a boss for that. I might do a plus two. You are? He's like, I'm going to see what I can do. Yeah, I'm going to see if I can squeeze y'all in.

When we pull up to Monaco, I'm going to see what we can do. See if I can squeeze y'all in. I'm like, can you? That was a good look, though, man. I would not have recognized her. Me either. Why you think last you didn't talk? Oh, you got the prime spot, brother.

Kel, Kel. I don't know how you did this. When we get Senator Warnock runoff. What's up, sir? Oh, you got the prime spot, brother. I don't know how you did this. Come on over here. Senator Warnock, what's up, sir? Yeah. We were set up like this. We were the only people there alive. Right at the entry line.

Oh, yeah, you got to pay condolences and everything as you come in. Long time, long time Georgia State representative. What's up, man? I'm happy to be here. How you doing? You're doing great work in Georgia State representative. What's up, man? Hi, man. I'm happy to be here. It's wonderful to see you all. How you doing? Y'all telling about it?

You're doing great work in Georgia, brother. Oh, my gosh. We counting on y'all to flip it. Nobody can break your back unless you bend it. Oh! Give me some of that. Georgia is leading the way. I'm a North Carolina boy, but we listening to y'all in Georgia.

Don't you know the truth? Georgia. Yeah. Good to see you, my brother. Omega Man. You sleep on Georgia. I't you know the truth? Georgia. Yeah. Good to see you, my brother. Omega Man. You sleep on Georgia. I appreciate it. Yes, sir, will do.

Ain't nothing to deny in fast. Will do. Ain't nothing to deny in fast. I saw you. Will do. Looking good, team. How you doing? Hey, what's going on, Doc?

Kwame, tell folks what you're involved in politically this election year. Yeah, so right now I am the chief marketing officer of the Together PAC, and we are a Gen Z voter empowerment platform. We are voter empowerment focused on Gen Z through the causes they care about. So they're not focused on being Democrats or being Republicans. They're focused on anti-gun violence. They're focused on pro-environment. They're focused on reproductive rights.

So we're giving them a technology platform to fund themselves, to organize themselves, kind of like a LinkedIn meets politics meets causes. So we're building that out right now. We have 20 candidates we endorse in this election cycle across the U.S., as well as new candidates coming up. We're trying to build the next Maxwell Frost, the next David Hogue, you know, all those great people in Gen Z and empowering them right now to take that TikTok energy, that Instagram energy, that meme energy and go to the polls with it. So that's what we're about. Beautiful. Yes. Together. Purple dot org. One of the things that I keep saying and it is not it is not to denigrate. It's not to dismiss. It's not to say they're irrelevant. But what I keep saying to millennials and Gen Z, when I hear folks say, we're tired of these old folks running, I keep saying, yeah, but they run and you don't.

Yep. Then I say, but they vote and you don't. Yep. That's right. The fact of the matter is, and this is not a black thing, a white thing. It's across the board. The highest number of votes, 65 plus. Yep.

The second highest is 55, 64. Yep. The third highest, just keep going down. The lowest voters in turnout is 18, 29. Very true. But this election, when you combine millennials and Gen Z, you're going to get close to 45% of the eligible voter base. No, no, no. But here's my point. Yeah, but you're talking about turnout.

You said eligible voter base. No, no, but here's my point. Yeah, but you're talking about turnout. You said eligible voter base. You're talking about turnout. My problem is they're not maximizing their numbers the same way I criticize black folks, a third of Louisiana, and then you had a putrid turnout in the last election. So having demographic numbers means nothing unless you don't use it.

Show up and show out. And that's what we're about. We're about empowering those people to see that the causes they care about are on the ballot. Gun violence is on the ballot. Reproductive rights is on the ballot. And so through those causes, we're saying you can be a cause champion and show up the ballot for the things that you care about. All right. All right, folks. Let's go to California. Let's go to California. From the great state of Nancy Pelosi. I come from a state like our nation of dreamers, of doers, of entrepreneurs, of innovators

that prides itself on being on the leading and cutting edge of new ideas. California is the most diverse state in the world's most diverse democracy. And we pride ourselves, we pride ourselves on our ability to live together and advance together and prosper together across every conceivable and imaginable difference. But the thing we pride ourselves most on is that we believe the future happens in California first. And Democrats, I've had the privilege for over 20 years to see that future taking shape with a star in Alameda courtroom by the name of Kamala Harris. I saw that star. I saw that star fighting for criminal justice, racial justice, economic

justice, social justice. I saw that star get even brighter as Attorney General of California, as a United States Senator, and as Vice President of the United States of America. Kamala Harris has always done the right thing, a champion for voting rights, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, the rights for women and girls. So Democrats and independents, it's time for us to do the right thing. And that is to elect Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States of America. California, we proudly cast our 482 votes for the next president, Kamala Harris. Thank you to everyone who participated in our celebratory roll call. Delegates, please know how critical you are to this process, both now and earlier this month when we conducted our virtual roll call. I am thrilled to reaffirm Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. Pursuant to the convention rules of procedure, Vice President Kamala Harris has been invited

to make an acceptance speech, which she will give on Thursday, August 22nd. But now, a special surprise. It's my pleasure to introduce our party's official nominee for President of the United States, live from my home state of Wisconsin, Vice President Kamala Harris. I'm a way, I'm a way through the waters Till the tide don't move I'm a riot, I'm a riot through your borders Call me bulletproof Love, forgive me, I've been running Running blind and true

I'm a way, I'm a way through the shadows Till the deep I'm blue Good evening, Milwaukee. And hello to everyone joining us from exciting Chicago. The delegates at the Democratic National Convention, well, they just completed their roll call. And they have nominated Coach Walz and me to be the next vice president and president of the United States of America. And I thank everyone there and here for believing in what we can do together. We are so honored to be your nominees. This is a people-powered campaign, and together we will chart a new way forward. A future for freedom,

opportunity of optimism and faith. So to everyone in Chicago and across America, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And you're going to hear from our wonderful second gentleman shortly. I'll see you in two days, Chicago. All right, folks, that was, of course, Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz live from Milwaukee.

Omega, pipe down. We live. All right, y'all. They were there in Milwaukee. That rally is happening while this is happening. And so we're trying to get access to that live stream as well. An amazing turnout there in Milwaukee for the vice president. Right now, Aaron Navarro, longtime Republican, is introducing city majority leader Chuck Schumer.

We were talking to Kwame Jackson about the work that they're doing with Together PAC. Of course, we have Tanya Washington. We got Demario Solomon-Simmons. Tanya, question for Kwame. So how excited are the youth about this particular election? And have you seen a shift in excitement given the change at the top of the ticket? 110%. I mean, before, you know, my co-founder, he likes to say when Biden was at the top of the ticket? 110%. I mean, before, you know, my co-founder, he likes to say when

Biden was at the top of the ticket, it was almost as if we were sitting shiver, right? Like we were just a little depressed, all dressed in black, doing kumbaya at home. But now with the top of the ticket shifting, I think you see two connection points specifically for Gen Z. One is there's a huge age dynamic and gap, right? Obviously coming down with Harris and Walls. And then you see the multicultural connection through Kamala's background and everything she's done. And then also that coach connection with Tim Walls. Everybody can see their high school football coach. They can see their history teacher. And so there's a connection that even David Hogue picked up on very early on, where he went out and said, I think Tim

Walls is going to be vice president. And he's a voice for Gen Z. And so they saw that early connection, just like their connection with Bernie, I think, through Tim Walz. So I think there's been a new activation, a new invigoration. And like I said, we're trying to turn that online energy into action at the polls. Wonderful work. Mario. Man, I'm just so excited to hear you talk about this. And you so described how we were feeling before the change to the top of the ticket. It was sad times, brother.

It was like when I was little and my grandmother would say, I'm going to get you when I get off work. And all day long, you're waiting for it. Your food doesn't taste like anything. You're not having any fun because you're waiting on that butt whooping. Yeah, yeah. But so that energy. So I'm really interested to understand how do we channel all of that energy the energy filling here to actual votes because roland said earlier

energy is great the percentage of electric is great yeah but we need the votes yep i think the way you do it once again is you find the cause points that are the touch points for gen z and you amplify them to make sure they know that those are on the ballot. So you say you're concerned with gun violence. Gun violence is on the ballot. And this is why you need to show up in your district, in your state, vote on the local, state, and national level to push that issue forward.

So don't look at it through a nebulous concept like democracy at risk. You go through the causes they care about, what they're passionate about, and you give them a reason to show up at the polls. And I think that's the way to do it. And you also let them own that online digital space, you know, continue to change messaging, continue to send out the memes, continue to build that energy in the online space so that other people may be activated to go to the polls. And then lastly, you tell them like we did on the win with black men call. When you show up at the polls, you show up with two, three other friends at the same time. You know, folks come in groups in waves. You bring your disaffected auntie who watches Fox news all day. You bring her to the polls with you. So make voting cool, make voting an event,

make voting. And that's one of the things we want to do is because you remember the rock, the vote movement of the early nights, right? They brought in celebrity culture. They brought in influencers. They made voting sexy and fun. We are trying to be Rock the Vote 2.0 to make that engagement again. Hold tight one second. Let's go back to the convention hall. Here's this video of Vice President Kamala Harris. Let's get this fiesta going.

The ayes are 50. the nays are 50. The Senate being equally divided, the Vice President votes in the affirmative, and the nomination is confirmed. And the concurrent resolution as amended is adopted. The vice president votes in the affirmative, and the motion to proceed is agreed to. On this vote, the yeas are 50, the nays are 50. The Senate being equally divided, the Vice President votes in the affirmative, and the bill, as amended, is passed. It is my honor to present the Golden Gap, Vice President Harris' 32, 32 high-ranking votes.

Please welcome Senate Majority Leader and New York Senator Chuck Schumer. Everybody, wasn't that a great roll call? Now just let me hear you if you're ready for President Kamala Harris. Friends, we're here to talk about one thing, tomorrow, and building a better tomorrow for all Americans. This November, we can choose a brighter, a fairer, a freer future, or we can relive the dark night of Trump's American carnage. Only one candidate will move America forward, Kamala Harris. Vice President Harris has been the best partner Senate Democrats could ever have asked for. Under her and President Biden's leadership, Senate Democrats lowered prescription drug prices and created millions, millions of good-paying American jobs. I worked with Kamala Harris when she was Senator Harris. I saw a leader who was fearless, who stood up for middle class families like the one she was raised in, who focused on things that really mattered. Helping parents. All right, folks folks welcome back we're of course

Senator Chuck Schumer he's speaking right now and so we'll carry some of that later we had some great conversations earlier a lot of folks here and so I want to share one of those with a great conversation but Antonio Villaraigosa former Los Angeles mayor he's running for governor of California he has known what do you tell me how long he's known the vice president I mean way back when before and that he knew her when she was an Alameda County prosecutor before she went to San Francisco and so with a great chat earlier and so here is that conversation So with a great chat earlier. And so here is that conversation.

Always good to see my friend, the former mayor of L.A. He's now running for governor, Antonio Villaraigosa. What's up, man? Man, I'm just living the dream. You know, woke up this morning, as they say, you know, thanking God. Absolutely. That's the first thing you wake up like everything work. OK, God god we all good all right give you the praise all right let's go to work let's go to work absolutely and when we're in the gym at six o'clock this morning and you know um gonna be working all the way through the evening absolutely let's talk about uh this convention obviously this race has completely changed with the decision by President Joe Biden to not seek re-election. People keep asking me, I'm going to ask you, how this last month has

gone. This has been an absolutely flawless first month. When I first saw you a few minutes ago, I was talking to Jesse, the Reverend Jesse Jackson. My first convention was 1984. I wasn't a delegate, but went to the convention advocating for immigration reform way back then. And I'll tell you something, from that day all the way to this day, and as you know, I chaired the convention in 2012 for President Obama. I have never seen an election quite like this. Just a month ago, we thought we were going to nominate President Biden. Right. And a lot's happened in that month.

And I'll tell you, let me just say that last night, I got emotional listening to President Biden because this was going to be his convention. Yeah. And he honestly believes that he could beat Donald Trump and that he was the right person to lead our party. Right. But I think he was convinced over time that most that a lot of people in our party didn't agree. Right. And he put his country before his own interests, before his even his own beliefs. Right. And I tell you something, I watch that and you got to respect the man. He's going

to go down not just as the most consequential president since Lyndon Baines Johnson, but a man who was willing to sacrifice his own career for the country. And yet at the same time, my God, the energy behind Kamala. You know, even President Obama didn't have this kind of energy this quickly. I mean, it built up over time after Iowa and then South Carolina. But this one is like, it's like on supercharged turbocharged. Right. And you can feel the energy, the excitement. Some said the giddiness.

But be clear, our country is evenly divided. Right. And this is going to be a very close election. See, so one of the things that David Axelrod, and he's really pissing me off with this, he keeps going on CNN talking about, oh, this euphoria is going to wear off. If the election was tomorrow, Trump wins. And I'm like, but it's not tomorrow. It's in 77 days.

And so it's a buildup. So the reality, so this, so I think, for me, I think it's offensive to keep saying, well, the euphoria is going to wear off. The reality is anybody looking at this should be saying, wait a minute, one month, 500 million raised. Florida, a state where Republicans have been, Democrats have been awful for the last three, four election cycles. 22,000 volunteers sign up. You look at that win with black women call that Sunday.

And then we did. We came back with we were black men on Monday. Then you had Latinas on Tuesday, South Asian women on Wednesday, white women on Thursday, white dudes, gay men on Friday, Caribbean folks, Irish Americans for Kamala Harris, white dudes for Kamala Harris. I'm like, what the hell are you talking about? Axelrod? This is a totally different state of mind. I've never seen anything like it. I've never seen anything like it. As I said, I'm a big Obama fan. I was Bill Clinton fan, Hillary Clinton fan, but I've never seen anything. It's like we got this genie in a box here and we're just rubbing on it. Now, it is true. We're going to have to keep it going. Absolutely. But, you know, with the kind of resources we have, with the volunteers coming in, we're going to have a ground game against a candidate who doesn't believe in ground game, doesn't believe in uh as he says uh vote by mail uh believes well i don't know what he believes in besides himself uh now that's a guy that would

never put uh a nation before himself and i don't say it because he's a republican i say it because he's donald trump a convicted felon yeah Yeah. Somebody who ripped people off with a nonprofit. You know, I mean, like when you look at this man, the way he treats women. Right. This isn't somebody that you could feel proud of. You know, Joe Biden was somebody you can be proud of. Yeah. Kamala Harris is that somebody, you know, I don't know if you know this, but I've known Kamala before she was elected.

OK. Oh, yeah. I was in the legislature when I first met her. I was a freshman. Nineteen ninety four. She was an Alameda County prosecutor. Then she moved to San Francisco, became a, you know, a prosecutor there and ran for district attorney in a race that nobody thought she could win right then she ran for the uh you uh attorney general and let me tell you about that one that was a tight everybody that was it i remember that night i was mayor of la we did tight race tight and we did three press conferences in the last 10 days, and she won. And guess what? Latinos got behind Kamala Harris.

So I'm going to tell you, I've known her a long time, saw her as she rode to the U.S. Senate, vice president, ran for president. You've seen a lot of growth. I think she's found her sea legs. She's found her voice. She's comfortable in her skin. And that makes her even more powerful because she's always been a very talented person. And that's why political said I didn't even know it. But they said that I endorsed her a minute before President Biden.

Soon as I saw he quit, I said, say something about him being the most consequential president in our lifetime, and then shoot in support of her candidacy. And everybody felt the same because right after that, it just...

It was an avalanche. Avalanche. So I just think that, again, when you have folks who are that energized and that excited, I don't believe you throw you cold water on it. I think what you do is you encourage that. But you also explain to people you now have to channel it. You now have to coming out of this. This convention ends.

You go into Labor Day after Labor Day. Everybody keeps talking about Election Day. I'm like, no, you got to be first of all, looking at what are the registration deadlines. Now you got to register, register, register, register. Then after the registration deadlines pass, then you focus on early voting to get as many folks bank as many of those early votes as possible. So you're not biting your nails on election night. That, to me, is how folks should be thinking. But channel that energy and excitement into actual work.

Absolutely. Now, if we were a year out and they were talking like that, I'd understand. Right. Way too early. That's 77 days. Right. That's it. Man, this is a very short period of time. And I believe that you will continue to feel that excitement all the way through because there's too much at stake. the freedom of a young girl to grow up, South Asian and black heritage,

to grow up to be the president of the United States, the freedom to stand up for a woman's right to choose and for her right to make decisions about, medical decisions about her own body, the freedom of us saying, look, yes, we can protect our border and do the things that you need to do to make sure it's secure. But massively deporting 11 million people.

I'm just going to say you look it up. When's the last time that happened? It was in the 1940s. Guess what country that was. You know, when you hear this man speak, the anger, the finger pointing, the name calling, the way he talks about women. And, you know, we need a uniter again. What I loved about President Obama, he was a uniter. And that's what we need. And you're going to see Kamala Harris is going to be a uniter.

When is the gubernatorial race in California? Well, the primaries in June of twenty twenty six. And I'll tell you something. You starting early. Well, last time, if you remember, I was two and a half years. I started right after the November election when Hillary lost. I was two and a half years after started right after the november election when hillary lost i was two and a half years after uh the other guy and this time i'm one and a half years around one candidate and six months after the rest okay in fact that candidate just passed by oh that dude no no oh but i'm like that dude so i'll tell you this i ain't getting uh in too late i'm gonna get in

uh i raised more money in six days than the rest of them raised in six months but i know that the way you win elections is one person at a time that's it i'm gonna knock on every door and proverbially now. I got you. Literally. And I'm going to speak to everyone. And I know what my coalition has always been. It's been the Bradley Coalition of bringing blacks, Latinos, Asians, the marginalized and left out, and progressives who want to join in that effort to make sure that the opportunity of America

is an opportunity for all of us, not just some of us. All right. Always good to see you. I appreciate it, my brother. Thanks a bunch. All right. Bye-bye. In the convention hall, Senator Bernie Sanders is addressing the crowd. We are waiting for Ken Chenault to come to the microphone. Ken Chenault, of course, is the longtime CEO of American Express, retired several years ago. He's going to be speaking after Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.

And so we look forward to carrying Ken Chenault's speech for you. Of course, we have a secondary stream that has straight convention coverage about what we're doing here. So right now what we want to do is go to a conversation I had earlier with Tom Perez. Tom Perez, former Labor Secretary, long time worker in the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. And so he now works for the White House. But this is not about the White House. You see right there, there's Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who just walked past us.

I interviewed her a little bit earlier. And so here's my conversation with Tom Perez. Chair, it's a hell of a lot more sleepless nights, I would say. Absolutely. Well, especially when you're in the middle of a pandemic and you had to completely redo things. But you know what, Roland? One thing we've learned is how to adapt to change. And you know what?

There's been a different kind of change here in our situation over the last month. And, you know, Mignon Moore and Jamie Harrison and others, they've done a great job of adapting to to uh the president's announcement and the vice president's ascension and this last month i've never seen energy like we've seen now and so much momentum uh going into this convention a great night last night we're gonna have three more great nights um let's talk about that momentum um one of the things that well first of all folks who understand um you work for the administration but you're here uh chilling as tom perez i am here my personal capacity my title yeah i'm tom perez former labor secretary there you go tom perez former dnc chair and former civil rights division head there you go there you go i want to talk about those two

former things before i get to the momentum question. And I'll say this. If there's one thing that I think this administration has not done well. There have been so many successes with this DOJ and they're not talking about it. Didn't get the George Floyd Justice Act, but I really think that they emphasize the amazing work that Christian Clark is doing, the folks that they put in prison, the redlining targets or whatever, just great work. I think that articulating that, especially to African Americans, speaks volumes about, so you don't have the George Floyd Justice Act, but amazing work that's been done. Well, you know, and I spent the majority of my federal career at the Department of Justice. It's a place near and dear to my heart. You know, one thing that both President Obama and President

Biden and Vice President Harris have underscored is that separation, you know, the independence of the Justice Department. Donald Trump tried to make it, you know, his own fiefdom. And so in terms of the work of, you know, talking about the cases that they have brought, you know, we're very mindful of making sure that, you know, we're not creating a misimpression that we're telling the Justice Department what to do. But your point is well taken. I mean, the Civil Rights Division, Eric Holder, said, you know, that's the ground jewel of the Justice Department. The Civil Rights Division, and no disrespect to anybody, I would say has been the most active since robert kennedy i mean every time i literally report on every single

every cop that goes to prison every warden every jailer and so i've done all these stories and i'm like my god i i just believe that uh them talking about that more speaks to a community that needs to know that things are actually happening well civil rights remains the unfinished business of America. And, you know, that was a real priority for President Biden and Vice President Harris. And, you know, my predecessor, you know, the Bush administration, they did one case. Right. In Cincinnati. You know, then the Trump folks come in and all they were trying to do was undo. One. The.

Consent decrees. Yeah. In Baltimore. Yeah. Only one patterns of practice investigation. No. Twelve under this administration. No, I mean, it's it's it's night and day.

You know, elections matter and they matter. You know, there are ways in which elections matter that don't immediately come to mind. One example of that is getting the right people in the right enforcement agencies. Absolutely. NLRB. This president and vice president have strengthened the National labor relations board so much union you know workers should know that if they get fired because they were on strike that's illegal and and donald trump literally a week or two ago said oh you know you ought to fire them well first of all you know

they do a lot of work when jeff bezos elon musk was trying to take them down as much as they can because they don't like how aggressive they've been doing. You serve as labor secretary. And when you look at not just job creation, when you look at the state of the economy, I keep trying to remind my audience, y'all, we had a 100-year pandemic. So can we stop acting like, oh, things were bad for a few months and why haven't they stepped back? It's illogical to think that that was going to somehow just, everything going back to 2019 in a matter of months, that's just, it can't happen that way. Well, and to make matters worse, the former president just dropped the ball on COVID. I mean, you know, when you start and tell people to go take Clorox or whatever he was saying, you know, they just set the process back.

And so many needlessly lost lives during that COVID pandemic. And so, you know, the degree of difficulty for President Biden and Vice President Harris coming in is impossible to overstate. And the progress, the historic progress that has been made in reducing the black-white wealth gap, in lowering the unemployment rate, in making sure that equity is a North Star principle. So when we are investing in infrastructure, we are making sure that we're not just plowing through black communities, as was done in the 60s, whether it was in Milwaukee, whether it was in Syracuse, New York, whether it was in Buffalo where I grew up.

We're reconnecting communities and reconnecting opportunity. That's a critically important element. And we've been able to make so much progress. You know, people, I think a lot of people thought that Flint was an aberrational situation with the water. Communities across this country have been drinking. Flint, Jackson, Mississippi, other states as well. And because of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, we're replacing every lead pipe in America. That's a big deal.

You know, we're investing in Internet for all. That's a big deal. You know, those stories about kids going to, you know, the McDonald's parking lot to access, you know, their Wi-Fi so they could go to school. We already have, you know, racial ethnic disparities in educational access, and this just exacerbated it. So much, we've gone so far, but we've got so much more to do. This convention is about the future, and the vision that she's been able to articulate,

a vision of real optimism, opportunity and willingness to take on tough fights. You know, as attorney general, she took on tough fights. You know, she's taken on, you know, corporations who are trying to profiteer off the backs of ordinary citizens. And we're going to continue that work. So that's why I'm so excited here, Roland, to be with you. And, you know, the most

important thing folks need to know is get out there. This is not a spectator sport. You know, people fought and died for the right to vote. And we've got to get out there now because, you know, the course of human events, not only here in the United States, but around the world, is really for decades to come, is going to pivot off of our election. Well, as Senator Warnock said when he was running in 2020, a lot of folk would come up to him and say, Reverend, why don't we pray for you? He said, I appreciate your prayers. He said, but I need your vote.

And so that's the reason you have to actually get out and make it happen. I am so with you. And that is exactly what we need to do we got a lot of momentum but you know we got something like 76 days 77 days till the weekend but no but that's today but here's why i keep trying to tell them 77 days to election day but early voting so i tell my audience the first thing is you must be focused on registering. Check your registration. Go to Iwillvote.com because Republicans have been removing folks. Then the next piece is then vote and maximize voting early, not wait until the election.

And make a plan. Every important thing we do in our life, we make a plan. Voting is an important thing. Make a plan. Find out now. You can get online. You can go to Iwill, you know, you can go to Iowa Voter. You can go to your local election authority. Figure out.

You know, you can go and ask them to get a mail-in ballot. I get mine sent to me automatically. Do things to make it easier. Yep, absolutely. The days of you've got to vote everybody on one Tuesday. No. They're over. And that's a good thing. Yep. Make it easier for got to vote everybody on one Tuesday, they're over. And that's a good thing.

Make it easier for people to vote. Make sure every eligible voter's ballot is counted. That's what we're about, and that's why I feel optimistic. All right. Tom Perez, I appreciate it. Always a pleasure, my friend. Thanks a lot. Take care.

All right. All right, folks, we're back live. Right now on the stage is Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, who is speaking. Coming up next is going to be a former American Express CEO, Ken Chenault. Earlier I had a conversation. Right behind me is, of course, Ayanna Pressley, who right back here. I don't know what she's doing. What you doing back here?

Tell Ayanna to come through. Snap, snap Snap, snap Come through, come through Since y'all using my light I got a cell phone, we good Since y'all using my light Yeah, come through Yeah, we live

We waiting on you Yeah, we live Yeah, come through. Yeah, come through. Yeah, we live. We waiting on you. We waiting on you. Yeah, we live. Yeah, we live. Come and join the family. That's why I got the best seat. I snatched everybody coming by. Oh, my goodness.

This is like the red carpet. Yeah. You know we cannot say no to this, brother. We appreciate you so much. Thank you for telling our stories. Thank you for keeping folks informed. There's so much disinformation and misinformation out there. That's why what you're doing is so important. Appreciate it.

Appreciate it. How have you been feeling about this week? This is night two. And, of course, Ken Chenault coming up next, the next hour. Angela also, Brooks. And then, of course, second gentleman, Doug Imhoff, then Michelle Obama, then President Obama. Yeah, I mean, it's heady. A lot of people don't know Chicago is a city that raised me.

This is actually where I'm from. So to be here is a very full circle moment. But to return as a congresswoman representing the Massachusetts 7th, including the city of Boston, I'm not going to say it's surreal because I feel like that in some ways denies us that this is real, that this is attainable. And we are on the precipice of making history. Always good to see you. Good to see you too.

Take care. Folks, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley from Massachusetts. Mondale, get over here. Mondale Robinson, of course, mayor there in North Carolina working to get black men out. Tell them about the Black Male Project. Black Male Voter Project.

I got the microphone. I don't need you to hold that damn thing. I knew when you said it was a red carpet, I was going to take that seriously. Put your hands in your, assume the position. Put your hands behind your back. Now go. Black Male Voter Project is the first and only organization in this country with the sole purpose of increasing the more than 60% of black men in this country that are already registered that are not super

voters. A super voter is someone who votes in every election. There are 9.6 million black men in this country that are registered to vote and more than 60% of them guys, almost 5 million, have not voted in the last four or five federal elections or at least one of them. So our job is to bring them out. That's also not a critique of black men. It's a critique of the processes that we use that fail epically at reaching these brothers about what they're suffering through. You know, one of the things that I mean, all this dialogue, we saw it happen when Stacey Abrams was in Georgia and people were making these assumptions that black men were not supporting her. When elections are over, you pull the data. That was an absolute lie. And so I think part of the deal

is also mainstream media pushing narratives. I mean, I saw a scene in the show the other day talking of six black men at a basketball court and five of them, four of them for Trump, one wasn't going to vote, one for Harris. And I was like,

y'all put that bullshit on the air? Six dudes on the basketball court. Misinformation. And didn't open with a question. First, are you registered? Who? Are you American? I mean, that assumption.

Don Lemon is doing the same thing. I love that brother. He's doing the same thing. I saw that video. Get the mic out of brother's face that you ain't really talk to. Let's be serious about here. And actually, when he pushed back on one of the brothers and said, Trump didn't get your check, the brother said F Trump immediately. So this is not real political data. You're absolutely right.

The world keeps telling us how conservative black men are becoming with no data to support it. 2018 is the election you're talking about when they said black men didn't support Stacey Abrams. What we saw was 12% of black men voted against Stacey Abrams. But right beneath Georgia is Florida. And Andrew Gillum was on the ballot, and 13% of black women voted against Andrew Gillum. No, 18%.

18%. Well, I mean, 13%. We should say that were registered Democrats. So what they didn't say was that black women turned their back on black men. What is it that... And in that Gillum election, it's because a lot of them were voting for the Opportunity Scholarships because they care about the education of their kids. Absolutely. So what we don't know is, here's what we don't know is, when you

invest wholly in black people, black men and black women, what does it look like? Because we've not seen a program where black people, black media, get what we deserve. When we see oversized money going to Iowa and not Mississippi, we get BS programs that are funded last minute. So all our people see us, trusted messengers, as transactional as the party,

and that is problematic for the programs we're trying to run and how brothers turn out, and that's the real conversation. Kwame, question for Mondale. The work you're doing in North Carolina, how important is it going to be for North Carolina? That's my home state. I went to University of North Carolina. How important is it going to be to turn out our state and flip it? Because you know, we lost to Donald Trump by less than 75,000 votes in the last election. Talk to me about the work you're specifically doing in North Carolina to flip that

state and bring it home for us. Yeah, so North Carolina, where I'm mayor, is one of the states I do work in. We do work in 17 states. What's unique about North Carolina is the lack of investment in real eastern North Carolina. And what I mean by that is we always stop short and call Raleigh and Durham eastern North Carolina. Well, Charlotte is western, right? But they don't talk about the black counties where more than 52% of the population. Jacksonville, Maynesville. Halifax County, Bertie. All these are black counties, black majority

counties that never see programs fully funded. And as long as we leave the counties where majority of the slave plantations were underfunded, we're going to continue to lose elections that we don't have to lose. Now, of course, there are more black people in Charlotte. Of course, there's more black people in Raleigh. But when you oversaturate those mailboxes, those people's doors with letters, you can't get but so many of them. They're going to turn out. When you keep leaving the farmlands unfertile, you're going to keep getting bad crop,

i.e. Republicans winning the states. And Mark Robinson. We've got to watch out for that. But here's the deal. One of the reasons why Biden-Harris won Georgia in 2020 is also because you had Warnock and also up on the ballot. They were driving. They were going to those those other places. I know for a fact I did it for Warnock. I was going to those various states going there. And so that's also the difference. You have to send folks there, communicate with them, have those rallies there.

And so whether it was Jonesboro, Statesboro, things along those lines, that's what we all saw. Real quick before Ken Chenault goes, you've got 20 seconds. Yo, I just want to tell people that stop talking about black men if you don't have intimate relationships with them. If your close proximity to black men is something you saw on TV, you don't know enough to speak on us. Appreciate it.

Let's go live to the United Center. Ken Chenault is speaking. Stay clean, brother. Stay clean. Ken Chenault. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time. Have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season One, Taser

Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott.

And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne.

We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things.

Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves.

We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers. But we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. Arapahoe, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's Dadication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council.

My fellow Americans, for 17 years, I ran American Express, one of the greatest companies in this country. America has thousands of great companies, more than any other nation in the world. And that's not by accident. The United States is the best place in the world to do business because of the values on which our country was built. Democracy, the rule of law, free and fair elections, the peaceful transfer of power. As a business leader, I have seen firsthand why democracy is so important. Democracy provides the foundation upon which American business and our economy depend. Character and values matter. In business, nothing is more important than trust. In America, we have to trust our president

will protect democracy. We have to be certain they'll follow the law and serve the nation, not themselves. Business requires stability and certainty that our democracy will endure. Our economy and democracy are tightly linked. Both only grow stronger when Americans, despite our differences, are willing to work together. At this moment, when our politics pits one group against another, that's what's remarkable about Kamala Harris. She is for all Americans. She understands it's possible work in partnership with the business community.

She knows that a market-based economy needs a strong and effective government. Kamala Harris understands that we need to help entrepreneurs turn good ideas into thriving companies. That we can create good-paying jobs by helping manufacturers expand. Kamala Harris believes in growing the economic pie for the benefit of current and future generations. Unlike her opponent, she knows the way not to build an advanced economy is a broad tariff that would only raise prices, hurt consumers and businesses, and cost jobs. She knows the way not to do it is to give people like me a tax cut when that money should be invested to grow the middle class.

If you want to lead, you have to be willing to serve. Kamala Harris's vision for the economy serves us all. She has demonstrated throughout her career that she wants to serve all people and wants all Americans to have the opportunity to work to achieve their own share of the American Dream. Our economy goes up and down, but the reason America is the strongest nation in the world is because of her commitment to something bigger than ourselves. Our commitment to each other, to democracy. That's what this election is about. It's more than a choice between two parties or sets of policies. It's

a choice about who we're going to be as a country. In his words and actions, Kamala Harris's opponent has shown us that he does not believe in our democratic values, and he will seek only to serve himself and his desire for vindication and vengeance. Kamala Harris will face the facts. She will navigate this country, the greatest country in the world, through the inevitable challenges, while also leading with the hope and values that America was founded on. Kamala Harris understands that the role of a leader is to instill hope, to repudiate the merchants of fear, and focus on ensuring that the best days are ahead of us. She believes in America, its principles, the hopes and dreams of our people, and the promise of our future. That is why I believe Kamala

Harris should be the next president of the United States of America. God bless America. Repeal Obamacare. Donald Trump over the weekend again threatened to repeal Obamacare. This would lead to Americans having their health insurance taken away. There are about 19 million people with coverage through Medicaid expansion. Another 16 million enrolled through the ACA's health insurance marketplaces. And we'd probably be talking about many millions of people becoming uninsured. Biggest worries, losing the safety net of pre-existing conditions coverage.

What happens if you lose this insurance? I'll sign with that. What makes you think this isn't just a hollow threat? This is one of the few campaign promises that he actually tried very hard to keep. So we better believe him when he says he's coming after this. Even if you have insurance from your employer, you will be affected because your premiums would be going up. We're looking at a lot of people who could lose their health insurance. Please welcome New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. Good evening.

All right, folks, we are back. Right now, the governor of New Mexico is speaking. Joining us right now is the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He slept in about now. He ain't slept in about, uh... Now, he ain't slept in six weeks. Man, I aged, like, five years in the last three months. Normally, when somebody runs for president, they age and they hair change. He was good on that.

I just ain't growing back. Talk about, first of all, before the O'Rourke Convention, that was smooth as hell having the celebratory roll call and then going live to the rally in Milwaukee that's jam-packed. Seamless. That was amazing. Seamless. In a battleground state.

And that's what we're trying to do here. This, y'all, has been like the biggest, most successful family reunion that I've ever seen. No doubt. The cookout's nice. The cookout is nice. The cookout is nice. I just ain't seen no smoke in the back. The cookout is nice.

I know. But, you know, we got the potato salad with no raisins, right? A nice balance of egg and, you know, everything else. And with some seasoning. There'll be a seasoning in there, right? As long as Tim Wallz ain't cooking. He just can't season. He can't do the tacos.

No, listen. I am so overjoyed right now because the Democratic Party is a party of hope. And we win elections. And Roland, you know this. We win elections when our campaigns are built on that hope and joy. And I have not seen a campaign like this in a long, long time.

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz complement each other so well. You just watch them and their interaction, and it's natural. It's not forced at all. You see that they like each other. Tim Walz looks at her and like, that is my boss. I'm right. But it's the same way Joe Biden looked at Barack Obama. I want people to step back and think about Joe Biden and his places. This

is a man who was the able lieutenant for a black man as president of the United States for eight years and never stabbed him in the back. Always had his back. Right. And then when he got the opportunity to pick his running mate, who did he pick? A black woman. Right. And then who did he pass the baton to, Roland he could have said oh let's do an open primary let's do it now he's i got a an intelligent able lieutenant right here and i'm gonna give her the baton take us inside that because i was and i was doing a radio interview earlier, and I said, we cannot fully understand to be the most powerful person in the world, president of the United States, and you say, I'll speak on Monday, and then I'm going to go to California. I'm going to give you the runway.

But also, that was one. But last night, the crowd was chanting, thank you, Joe, thank you, Joe. And he could have been like anybody else, let me bask in the glory. Hey, I had to step out. But he says, and Kamala. Yes. I mean, he did it several times. Yes.

It sort of reminds me, you know, I'm a Laker fan. It sort of reminds me. I'm sorry. Oh, no, don't be sorry, brother. Y'all ain't won nothing in a while. Let's not talk about them Rockets. Come on. Come on. We beat y'all. Come on.

Not in a long time. Anyway, let me get this here. You remember Kareem got hurt. Yep. Magic's a rookie. Yep. Magic came in the game and became the Magic Johnson that we all love. That's right. Winning championships.

Right. Joe Biden's Kareem. Magic Johnson is our MVP, Kamala Harris. Come with it. Because she has shown people, man, I have gone all over the country. I've gone over the world. I was over it early in my chairmanship. I was over in London.

Had a fundraiser with some donors there. And one of the donors said, let's talk about the elephant in the room, the vice president. And I sat there and I listened to him. I said, sir, let me tell you this. I said, you live overseas. The relationship that the United States now has with France, the reason why we rebuilt that relationship is because of our MVP, Kamala Harris. And so, you talking about all these other

vice presidents, Dick Cheney shot a man. Yes, he did. He shot a man. But what has Kamala Harris done? Broken those ties after ties after ties that have passed transformational things that have transformed our communities. She is our MVP, and Tim Walz is our coach, and this is a team of hope and joy, and all of us are the role players.

And we've got a role to play. They're going to play their role, but she has stepped up like I have never seen somebody in politics before. And, Roland, I want your folks to think about this. Let's fast forward. Let's go in a fast forward machine. January 20th, 2025, a cold day in Washington, D.C. Because we know it's always cold in D.C. Always.

We are at the U.S. Capitol, on the steps of the Capitol, a building built by slaves. And on that stage is Justice Contoundee Brown Jackson. That's right. A Delta. That's right. Holding in her hand the Frederick Douglass Bible. And Kamala Harris, a black woman, steps out on that stage, aka HBCU grad, puts her hand on that Bible, lift it up and say, I swear to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Man, that is that that is the future. But only if we do our part, we show up. That is the future. But we got to do our part. Yes, absolutely. And one of the things that with this convention and when I tell people earlier the Mississippi delegation,

they were doing the roll call. I toss back, I say in Chicago in 1968 what was happening then, and it shows you the impact of African Americans on this party and how black people have played a crucial role here. Folks, let's go back to the floor. They're playing this Kamala Harris video. I want to show it for you i remember when kamala was first running for district attorney and people were like oh i don't know if she's tough enough and i just had to laugh because i oh, I don't know if she's tough enough. And I just had to laugh because I'm like, you don't know my sister. Kamala had been a hard and tough prosecutor in Alameda County,

prosecuting men who were pimping young girls and rapists. Kamala wanted to make sure that murderers and child abusers face meaningful accountability and consequences for those actions. One of the cases that she had early in her career was where a man had scalped his girlfriend. And she ended up getting a conviction, getting justice for that woman. She came to San Francisco to protect victims. And she was elected to be district attorney of San Francisco. Kamala knew that we needed to be smart on crime.

And if hell, no one else was going to do it, that she was going to do it. I'm going to keep my promise to you to keep you safe. I better talk with you about what I'm doing in terms of crime prevention. Investing in people coming out of prisons is the smart thing to do for law enforcement. Forget that it's just the right thing to do. That was a young Kamala Harris. She's only gotten more fierce. I've never seen her back down from a fight. And when she fights, she wins. When Kamala became Attorney General she wanted to protect people but also to fundamentally pursue justice. Being smart on crime starts with being tough on violent crime. From a statewide perspective I think we were concerned about the rise of gang violence. In San Joaquin County we we saw this tremendous change in our community,

and it hit us like a wave. We saw an increase in human trafficking, narcotics, and guns. Let it be clear to anyone who would menace this state with violence, to those who prey on the weak and the vulnerable, justice will be swift and certain in the state of California. She was always hunting the kingpins, but we didn't have partnerships with DOJ or FBI or DEA or any of those law enforcement agencies.

Now we all work collaboratively to help all the counties in California. Because of her, we destabilized organized crime, disrupt these flows of guns, human beings, and narcotics. We are here this afternoon to announce the shutting down of one of the biggest and most organized threats to the safety of the Central Valley. I really think of her as fearless, as a fighter. Kamala just perseveres,

and mommy would say it's too hard is never an excuse. Making excuses is a failure to not only take responsibility, but to take action. If you have the will, the desire, the passion, the commitment, there is no challenge that is insurmountable. Please welcome the Democratic nominee for Senate in Maryland, Angela Alsobrooks. Good evening, America. And hello, Maryland.

People like me. Thank you. People like me. Stories like mine don't usually make it to the United States Senate, but they should. I'm the proud granddaughter of a housekeeper, Sarah Daisy, who raised her three children in a one-bedroom apartment. It was her dream to work in government to help people. That meant taking a typing test. But she didn't know how to type, and she couldn't afford a typewriter. So she put a white piece of paper on the refrigerator and drew a keyboard on it. And every night, she stood in front of that refrigerator

and taught herself to type. She took the test, passed it, and got the job she dreamed of. I am her legacy. And tonight, I am a candidate for United and then have the grit to make it a reality. One of those women is a friend, a mentor, and a role model. That woman is Kamala Harris. Let me tell you about the Kamala I've known for 14 years. I first heard about her in 2009 when I was running for state's attorney in Prince George's County, Maryland. I read a story in Essence magazine about a district attorney in San Francisco using new ideas to keep her

community safe. Few had a better record prosecuting violent crime. She put rapists, child molesters and murderers behind bars. But what she knew was that violent crime accounts for about 30 percent of all crimes. For the 70 percent that are nonviolent, she created a first-of-its-kind program called Back on Track. After serving time and pleading guilty, these low-level offenders would get the job training, GED help, and apprenticeships they needed to find a job. The result? The recidivism rate plummeted. Now, after reading about this super-bad district attorney, I talked nonstop about her on the campaign trail. Two days after I won the election, my phone rings.

It's Kamala Harris calling to congratulate me and ask how she could help. She helped me bring Back on Track to Maryland. And wouldn't you know it, crime went down and economic growth went up. Back on track is now a national model. Now, Donald Trump says if Kamala Harris is elected, tough guys will treat her like a play toy. Do you know who else fought that?

The drug cartels she busted. The big oil companies she made pay for polluting. The big banks that she made pay $20 billion to homeowners they ripped off. Getting justice for others isn't a power trip for her. It's a sacred calling. And hear me, Kamala Harris knows she'll keep one out of the Oval Office. Ever since Donald Trump rode down that ridiculous escalator, we as a nation have felt trapped. Every national decision has been made in reaction to this one man and his extremist MAGA movement. We are still frozen by the fear that Donald Trump might once again come to power. And it's not just our politics that have been trapped. It's our imagination. And then

Kamala came along. Kamala has reminded us that we don't need to fear anything, not the future, and certainly not that man. This is our moment to leave Donald Trump where he belongs, in America's past. We stand with Kamala Harris because we as a country are not going back. For the ancestors who sat at lunch counters and made sure that we all had the right to vote, we are not going back. For the mamas and grandmamas who marched to make sure that women could control our own bodies. We are not going back. For the parents who work from can't see in the morning until can't see at night, not so that they will have a better future, but so that their children will have a better life. We are not going back. When facing an obstacle, my father has often said to me, your faith is stronger than your fears. Tonight, our faith is stronger than our fears. Faith in the promise of America.

Faith in the American idea, in the American values that we share. Faith that we, the people, can choose a new leader as our days and challenges have sometimes felt, it's always darkest before the dawn. We know that we can endure for a night because joy cometh in the morning. Morning is coming. Morning is coming. Morning is coming. And that joy will be led by Kamala Harris. Thank you so much. Please welcome Mesa, Arizona, Mayor John Giles. Good evening. I have a confession to make. I'm a lifelong Republican. So. Folks, we are back.

We have two more speakers before second gentleman, Doug Imhoff, steps up to the microphone. And then, of course, Michelle Obama, the former president, Barack Obama, as well. We just saw Angela also, Brooks, there running for United States Senate in Maryland, targeted as a crucial race. Democrats must maintain that seat. They thought that was going to be a breeze after the primary. Then, of course, former Governor Larry Hogan jumped into the race. Hugely popular, a two-term governor.

And so Democrats are going to have to spend money in a place where they didn't think so. They have to defend far more seats than Republicans. And they have a very tough road to hold. They know they're going to lose the West Virginia seat. And so the problem is between Sherrod Brown in Ohio and then John Tester's race in Montana, if they lose one of those seats, they lose control. They lose control of the United States Senate. That is a problem. But I am hopeful that having Vice President Harris at the top of the ticket is going to carry a lot of Democrats across the finish line, especially black women. I mean, I really I was on that that first call that started it all.

Y'all did it right. Y'all did it. Right? Y'all did it. And Senator also Brooks, who are going to do the work for the people. That is what is going to get folks, young folks like the ones you're working with to come out and vote because they're talking about the things that they care about. Black women, Ben trendsetters, Ben trendsetters. Harriet Tubman. Yes. Sojourner Truth. Fannie Lou.

You know, Fannie Lou Hamer. Say their names. Legacy goes on. Yes. You know, Ida B. Wells. Look, we have been doing this. And so we thank y'all for doing the work. We've been doing this before the spotlight was on us.

And we want y'all to know we have your back. And the manufactured rift between black men and black women is a myth. It ain't true. It's not true. People bringing their petty business into grown folk business. You know what I'm saying? Your little petty business. What you got going on with your girlfriend?

Black men don't know how to deal with black women. Black men were raised by black women. You're right. Aunties, cousins, sisters. And we love y'all. We all do. We need each other. We need each other. Part of the issue here, Demario, is that when you live

in a social media world that greatly amplifies... Senator Edwards, how you doing? All good. Good seeing you. When you see how social media amplifies certain things and people somehow think that that is the thing when it's not. That's part of the problem.

Absolutely. People are just living in it. And we all want to be online and deal with the digital space. And my brother Kwame, that's the Gen Z voter. You've got to be there. In the real world, things are not as it seems online. Not always. And it's important that we make sure that that's clear.

And this whole false narrative of this rift between black men and black women or that black men are not doing what they need to do is voting. I mean, black women, we know, vote 95 percent for the Democrats. Black men vote 90 percent. Yeah. So, I mean, so don't be talking. It's not going to be on us. It's still better than the national average for other Democrats. Now, listen, we all want to get out there and make sure we vote at the highest possible.

But here is, I think, part of the problem. So I go back to the 2017 special election in Alabama. Doug Jones. Senator. When Doug Jones won, the stories were black women elected Doug Jones. And Doug Jones got 96% of the black female vote. But he got 96% of the black female vote, but he got 92% of the black male vote. So part of the problem,

and this is a problem is when the story is told and the narrative, it acts as if black men weren't there. That's what I'm saying. Exactly. So there has to, there has to be an acknowledgement and also listening and speaking to those issues. Right. And are there are there brothers who are sexist? Yes. Are there brothers misogynistic? Yes. It's like white men, Latino men as well.

We have American American men. But but I but I do believe what Democrats have to understand, that you have to micro-target black people. Yeah. Meaning, there's no longer you can have one message. Right. You have to tailor a message to black women, black men, young black women. Gen Z. Young black men. Millennials.

Black entrepreneurs, as opposed to black folks who are corporate. Corporate, yeah. And so that's been part of their problem, not actually tailoring that message. And that's been an issue. But I think part of the reason that we closed the gap and why it was so important, when black women led with the win with black women call, immediately brothers stepped forward the next day to say we're going to do win with black men. How you doing?

How's it going, my brother? I see you barely got your voice. Deshawn, bring me my spray, please. I have an herbal spray. It's in my bag. You need that because I keep it with me at all times. But how you feeling, how things be going in your city? I'm feeling pretty great.

All y'all know this is Mayor of Chicago. Mayor of Chicago. Brandon Johnson, Mayor of Chicago. It's going in your city? I'm feeling pretty great. All of y'all know this is the mayor of Chicago. Mayor of Chicago. It's going up, Brandon Johnson, mayor of Chicago. It's going great. We're making history again in Chicago. You know, this is a place, as you know, Roland, where Reverend Jesse Jackson said, you've got to keep hope alive. And from keep hope alive to yes, we can, and to another Jackson axiom, when we fight, we win.

And so the city of Chicago has been at the forefront of political history, from Fannie Lou Hamer being seated right here in Chicago, again, to Ida B. Wells, much like in the spirit in which you come out of, has elevated the consciousness of our creed of what it means to be a more perfect union. So it's great, safe, vibrant, and it's Chicago. It's the greatest place in the world. You also, again, this is night two. The Obamas are speaking. They're going to be coming up after Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth. And you had significant energy last night,

and it's just building, building towards Bill Clinton tomorrow and then the VP on Thursday. Look, you could not have laid out a more perfect script. You know, I have to give special thanks to President Joe Biden. He will go down as the most one of the most consequential presidents of all time. He really was at the forefront of protecting and saving this democracy. As you all know, we have an extreme Republican Party that has tried to roll back the hands of time and they have not accepted the results of the civil war. And they're painful to watch, Roland. I don't know what's more painful to watch the republican party or break dancing at the summer olympics oh but either way oh my god it's just break us but with that all being said the opamas clintons and now you're literally seeing the torch being passed because you have a black woman as president and then we're gonna to have a black speaker of the House.

And that history comes right out of the city of Chicago. You got to get inside. So I'm going to do this. I'm going to go over here. I'm a geek. You don't you need three shots of this for you. I'll be right back. Y'all keep doing it. We carry the show. Go ahead. I'm so excited about what the mayor said about history being made. That's right. And about President Biden passing the torch, because the best mark of a leader is a succession plan. Yeah. Right?

It's not staying in a position. That's right. When you could facilitate the next chapter of leadership. And that's the mark of not just a leader, of a statesman. Yes. That is John McCain level. Absolutely. That is John McCain level. Absolutely. That is George Washington level.

That is statesman work. To me, it's the greatest because he passed it. When you didn't have to. He didn't have to, but he passed it to a black woman. That's right. Who else would believe? Think about his two bookends. Can you believe that?

His bookend is Barack Obama. Yes. And then the other bookend. A powerful white man decided. Vice President Harris. Voluntarily. Now, I know people pushed him, but he didn't powerful white man decided. Vice President Harris. Voluntarily. Now, I know people pushed him, but he didn't have to do it. He didn't?

He decided, and he did it so cool. He said, hey, I'm out this deal. And then 20 minutes later, but I'm with her. Shut down everybody else. Because he probably heard about the win with black woman call coming up. They were going to be on him. But here's what people didn't realize that was going on. First of all, black people.

I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time. Have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened

when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. B one two and three on may 21st and episodes four five and six on june 4th ad free at lava for good plus on apple podcasts i'm clayton english i'm greg glad and this is season two of the war on drugs by sir we are back in a big way in a very big way real people real perspectives this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way.

In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher.

Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really them. It makes it real. It really does.

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves.

We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers. But we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-up way, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else. But never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov.

Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. Saw how they were trying to skip over. Oh, they were doing that. They were doing that. So you had. Backroom maneuvers. They were activated. You had Leah Daughtry. He had the rules committee.

You had. For instance, remember Senator Joe Manchin said he was going to run. They said, I'm sorry. You're not even a Democrat. You're not a Democrat. Oh, yeah. And they said, if you want to run, you're going to have to come back to be a Democrat. Yeah.

He had a problem with that. And so it didn't happen. But also, they saw how all of these people, these podcasters and Alex Arad and all the other people, they kept talking about, we need a candid, fresh, young, vibrant, and it kept skipping over her. That triggered every black person who said,

oh, we know what it feels like to be skipped over. Oh, that was the bad signal. That was the bad signal. That was the bad signal. It was the bad signal. That's right. That was the bad signal. It was like the brother throwing a pen down the back. Every time they would post them, like, okay, who are you talking about? Who's the candidate?

And so we were driving that in the media. And so what happened is on that Sunday when he made his decision, a lot of people don't know. It talked about the phone calls that she and her team were making over 10 hours but biden was making calls so one of the reasons why it was the avalanche it was her calls and his calls coming from both sides most haven't most haven't talked about the calls that he made and that's true that's a great point and that's true that is that truly checking you your privilege every that's why every potential candidate had endorsed her by the next day.

Fall in line. And by Monday afternoon, even Nancy Pelosi, who won an open convention, had to endorse by the next day. They had to get right. It was Barack Obama who was on the outside looking in by waiting more than a week to endorse because he endorsed an open convention. But let me also give credit, which is also why Bill Clinton is speaking tomorrow night. The Clintons, one of the first, first of all, Vice President Kamala Harris called Bill Clinton first. I did not know that. Then after she called Bill Clinton, she called Secretary Clinton.

They immediately endorsed her. Yes. No delay. Then after she called Bill Clinton, she called Secretary Clinton. They immediately endorsed her. Yes. No delay. No delay. So do understand why Obama's speaking tonight. Okay. And not tomorrow.

Okay. And do understand why Bill Clinton is speaking tomorrow. Okay. And not tonight. Okay. You're giving us the inside. I'm just saying. But I want to underscore the point of when we talk to our white allies, the work that we do, our social justice work,

we're telling them be a true ally, be a true partner, use your privilege. And we use that as an example. This is the greatest example of it. At the highest level. At the highest level. Let's do this right here. We're going to the United Center, folks. Right now, second gentleman, Doug Imhoff,

the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, is taking the stage. Awesome. Music Music Music Music Music

Music Music Music Music Thank you. Thank you, Cole. I guess he didn't want me to give this speech. Thank you. Thank you so much. Hello.

Thank you. Hello to my big, beautiful, blended family up there. I love you so much. Aren't you proud of Cole? Wow. And a special shout out to my mother. I see you. My mother is the only person in the whole world who thinks Kamala is the lucky one for marrying me. And to Kamala, who, well, we just saw where she is. She's out on the trail, listening to and talking with voters. Honey, I can't wait for you to come back to Chicago because we're having a great time here.

I love you so much. I'm so proud of how you're stepping up for all of us. But that's who she is. Wherever she's needed, however she's needed, Kamala rises to the occasion. And she did it for me and our family. And now that the country needs her, she's showing you what we already know. She's ready to lead. She brings both joy and toughness to this task. And she will be a great president we will all be proud of. Now I'm the son of two Brooklynites, Mike and Barb. They've been together almost 70 years. My dad worked in the shoe business in Manhattan and he moved our family out to New Jersey. Where's New Jersey?

I see you out there when I was a little kid. And in a lot of ways, I had a typical Jersey suburban childhood. I biked around the neighborhood. I took the bus to Hebrew school. And I rode to Little League practice in the way back of my coach's wood-paneled station wagon. And if we did well, we got to have a Slurpee after. In my neighborhood, everyone left their garage door open. Wherever you ended up at dinnertime, that's the family that fed you.

Everyone took care of everyone else. And the guys I grew up with are still my best friends. The group chat is active every day, and it's probably blowing up right now, guys. When my dad had to get a new job, we across the country to la money was tight hey california money was tight so i worked at mcdonald's in high school for some extra cash not only was i employee of the month, but I still have the framed picture, which you just saw, and there was a ring, golden arches and all. And then I waited tables, parked cars. I was working full-time so I could afford to go to college part-time.

And thanks to partial scholarships, student loans, and a little help from my dad, I got myself through law school. And I got my first job as a lawyer, which is also where I met the guys in my fantasy football league. And a lot has changed in our lives since the early 90s, but my team name is still Nirvana. Yes, after the ban. I worked hard, and I love being a lawyer. And by the way, I still get to be part of the profession by teaching students at Georgetown Law School. I got married, became a dad to Cole and Ella. Unfortunately, I went through a divorce.

But I eventually started worrying about how I would make it all work. And that's when something unexpected happened. In 2013, I walked into a contentious client meeting. We worked through the issue, and by the end of the meeting, the now happy client offered to set me up on a blind date, which is how I ended up with Kamala Harris's phone number. Now, for generations, people have debated when to call the person you're being set up with. And never in history has anyone suggested 8.30 a.m. And yet, that's when I dialed. I got Kamala's voicemail, and I just started rambling.

Hey, it's Doug. I'm on my way to an early meeting. Again, it's Doug. I remember I was trying to grab the words out of the air and just put them back in my mouth. And for what seemed like far too many minutes, I hung up. By the way, Kamala saved that voicemail. And she makes me listen to it on every anniversary. But that message wasn't the only unusual thing about that day. Now, Kamala, who normally would have been working hard at her office,

just happened to be waiting at her apartment for a contractor to do some work on her kitchen. I was eating at my desk, which was not a regular occurrence for a busy lawyer like me who appreciated a good business lunch. But that's when she called me back. And we talked for an hour. And we laughed. Well, you know that laugh. I love that laugh. And maybe that counted as our first date. Or maybe it was that Saturday night when I picked her up and told her, buckle up, I'm a really bad driver. Because you can't hide anything from Kamala Harris, so you might as well own it. And as I got to know her better and just fell in love fast, I learned what drives Kamala. And it's what you've seen over these past four years and especially these past four weeks. She finds joy in pursuing justice. She stands up to bullies just like my parents taught me to. And she likes to see people do well, but hates when they're treated unfairly.

She believes this work requires a basic curiosity in just how people are doing. Her empathy is her strength. Over the past decade, Kamala has connected me more deeply to my faith, even though it's not the same as hers. She comes to synagogue with me for high holiday services, and I go to church with her for Easter. I get to enjoy her mom's chili relleno recipe every Christmas, and she makes a mean brisket for Passover.

It brings me right back to my grandmother's apartment in Brooklyn, you know, the one with the plastic-covered couches. But Kamala has fought against anti-Semitism and all forms of hate her whole career. She is the one who encouraged me, a second gentleman, to take up that fight which is so personal to me. Those of you who belong to blended families know that they can be a little complicated. But as soon as our kids started calling her Mom-ala, I knew we'd be okay. Ella calls us a three-headed parenting machine.

Kamala and Kirsten, thank you both. Thank you both for always putting your family and the kids first. Now Cole and Ella's friends knew that when they'd come over for Sunday dinner with Mamala it was going to be real talk. In between taking cooking instructions they'd have to answer questions about what problem they wanted to solve in the world. They learned that you've always got to be prepared because Kamala is going to prosecute the case.

And in the same breath that Colin Greenlee told us that they were engaged, they asked Kamala to officiate their wedding. And in the same way that she always steps up when it matters, Kamala puts so much time into those remarks, and she bound them in a book that matched her dark red dress, and then turned that into a gift for the happy couple. A few days ago, during this incredible time we're going through, there was a brief window when Kamala was back at home. And I saw her sitting on her favorite chair, and in the middle of a wild month, I just hoped that she was having a quiet moment to herself.

But then I realized she was on the phone. And of course, my mind went to all the potential crises that the Vice President could be dealing with. Was it domestic? Was it foreign? Was it campaign? I could see she was focused. And all I knew was that it must be something important.

And it turns out it was. Ella had called her. That's Kamala. That's Kamala. That's Kamala. Those kids are her priorities, and that scene was a perfect map of her heart. She's always been there for our children, and I know she'll always be there for yours, too. Kamala is a joyful warrior. know she'll always be there for yours too.

Kamala is a joyful warrior. It's doing for her country what she has always done for the people that she loves. Her passion will benefit all of us when she's our president. And here's the thing about joyful warriors. They're still warriors. And Kamala is as tough as it comes. Just ask the criminals, the global gangsters, and the witnesses before the Senate Judiciary Committee. She never runs from a fight.

And she knows the best way to deal with a coward is to take him head on. Because we all know cowards are weak. And Kamala Harris can smell weakness. She doesn't tolerate any BS. You've all seen that look. And you know that look I'm talking about. That look is not just a meme. It reflects her true belief in honest and direct leadership. And it's also why she will not be distracted by nonsense. Kamala knows that in order to win, we cannot lose focus. America, in this election, you have to decide who to trust with your family's future. I trusted Kamala with our family's future.

It was the best decision I ever made. This Thursday will be our 10th wedding anniversary. Which I know, I know it means I'm about to hear that embarrassing voicemail again. However, that's not all I'll be hearing. That same night, I'll be hearing my wife, Kamala Harris, accept your nomination for President of the United States. And with your help, she will lead with joy and toughness, with that laugh and that look, with compassion and conviction. She'll lead from the belief that wherever we come look, with compassion and conviction, she'll lead from the belief that wherever we come from, whatever we look like, we're strongest when we fight for what we believe in, not just against what we fear.

Kamala Harris was exactly the right person for me at an important moment in my life. And at this moment in our nation's history, she is exactly the right president. Thank you so much. One dance left, this world is gonna fall through. Don't give up, you got a reason to live. Can't forget, we only get what we give. Please welcome former First Lady Michelle Obama. Thank you, guys. Okay. We've got a big night ahead. Thank you all so much. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Hello Chicago! Yeah. All right. Something wonderfully magical is in the air, isn't it?

Yeah. You know, we're feeling it here in this arena, but it's spreading all across this country we love. A familiar feeling that's been buried too deep for far too long. You know what I'm talking about. It's the contagious power of hope. The anticipation, the energy, the exhilaration of once again being on the cusp of a brighter day, the chance to vanquish the demons of fear, division, and hate that have consumed us and continue pursuing the unfinished promise of this great nation, the dream that our parents and grandparents fought and died and sacrificed for. America, hope is making a comeback. But to be honest, I am realizing that until recently, I have mourned the dimming of that hope. And maybe you've experienced the same feelings, that deep pit in my stomach, a palpable sense of dread about the future.

And for me, that mourning has also been mixed with my own personal grief. The last time I was here in my hometown was to memorialize my mother, the woman who showed me the meaning of hard work and humility and decency, the woman who set my moral compass high and showed me the power of my own voice. Folks, I still feel her loss so profoundly. I wasn't even sure if I'd be steady enough to stand before you tonight, but my heart compelled me to be here because of the sense of duty that I feel to honor her memory and to remind us all not to squander the sacrifices our elders made to give us a better future. You see, my mom, in her steady, quiet way, lived out that striving sense of hope every single day of her life.

She believed that all children, all people have value, that anyone can succeed if given the opportunity. She and my father didn't aspire to be wealthy. In fact, they were suspicious of folks who took more than they needed. They understood that it wasn't enough for their kids to thrive if everyone else around us was drowning. So my mother volunteered at the local school. She always looked out for the other kids on the block. She was glad to do the thankless, unglamorous work that for generations has strengthened the fabric of this nation the belief that if you do unto others if you love thy neighbor if you work and scrape and sacrifice

it will pay off if not for you then maybe for your children or your grandchildren. You see, those values have been passed on through family farms and factory towns, through tree-lined streets and crowded tenements, through prayer groups and National Guard units and social studies classrooms. Those were the values my mother poured into me until her very last breath. Kamala Harris and I built our lives on those same foundational values. Even though our mothers grew up an ocean apart, they shared the same belief in the promise of this country. That's why her mother moved here from India at 19. It's why she taught Kamala about justice, about the obligation to lift others up, about our responsibility to give more than we take. She'd often tell her daughter, don't sit around and

complain about things, do something. So with that voice in her head, Kamala went out and she worked hard in school, graduating from an HBCU, earning her law degree at a state school. And then she went on to work for the people, fighting to hold lawbreakers accountable, strengthening the rule of law, fighting to get folks better wages, cheaper prescription drugs, a good education, decent health care, child care, elder care. From a middle-class household, Kamala worked her way up to become vice president of the United States of America. My girl, Kamala Harris, is more than ready for this moment. She is one of the most qualified people ever

to seek the office of the presidency. And she is one of the most dignified. A tribute to her mother, to my mother, and to your mother too. The embodiment of the stories we tell ourselves about this country. Her story is your story. It's my story. It's the story of the vast majority of Americans trying to build a better life. Look, Kamala knows, like we do, that regardless of where you come from, what you look like, who you love, how you worship, or what's in your bank account, we all deserve the opportunity to build a decent life a monopoly on what it means to be an American.

No one. Kamala has shown her allegiance to this nation not by spewing anger and bitterness, but by living a life of service and always pushing the doors of opportunity open to others. She understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward. We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth. If we bankrupt a business, if we bankrupt a business or choke in a crisis, we don't get a second, third, or fourth chance. If things don't go our way, we don't have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get further ahead. No. We don't get to change the rules so we always win. If we see a mountain in front of us, we don't expect there to be an escalator waiting to

take us to the top. No. We put our heads down. We get to work. In America, we do something. And throughout her entire life, that's what we've seen from Kamala Harris. The steel of her spine, the steadiness of her upbringing, the honesty of her example, and yes, the joy of her laughter and her light. It couldn't be more obvious.

Of the two major candidates in this race, only Kamala Harris truly understands the unseen labor and unwavering commitment that has always made America great. Now, unfortunately, we know what comes next. We know folks are going to do everything they can to distort her truth. My husband and I sadly know a little something about this. For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. See, his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard-working, highly educated, successful people who happen to be black. Wait. I want to know.

I want to know. Who's going to tell them — who's going to tell them that the job is not a job? I want to know. I want to know. Who's going to tell him that the job he's currently seeking might just be one of those black jobs? Look, it's his same old con. His same old con. Doubling down on ugly, misogynistic, racist lives as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that will actually make people's lives better. Look, because cutting our health care, taking away our freedom to control our bodies, the freedom to become a mother through IVF like I did,

those things are not going to improve the health outcomes of our wives, mothers, and daughters. Shutting down the Department of Education, banning our books, none of that will prepare our kids for the future. Demonizing our children for being who they are and loving who they love, look, that doesn't make anybody's life better. Instead, it only makes us small. And let me tell you this, going small is never the answer. Going small is the opposite of what we teach our kids. Going small is petty, it's unhealthy, and quite frankly, it's unpresidential. So, why would any of us

accept this from anyone seeking our highest office? Why would we normalize that type of backward leadership? Doing so only demeans and cheapens our politics. It only serves to further discourage good, big-hearted people from wanting to get involved at all. America, our parents taught us better than that, and we deserve so much better than that. That's why we must do everything in our power to elect two of those good, big-hearted people. There is no other choice than Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. No other choice than Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. No other choice.

But as we embrace this renewed sense of hope, let us not forget the despair we have felt. Let us not forget what we are up against. Yes, Kamala and Tim are doing great now. We're loving it. They're packing arenas across the country. Folks are energized. We are feeling good. But remember, there are still so many people who are desperate for a different outcome, who are ready to question and criticize every move Kamala makes, who are eager to spread those lies, who don't want to vote for a woman, who will continue to prioritize building their wealth over ensuring that everyone has enough. So no matter how good we feel tonight or tomorrow or the next day,

this is going to be an uphill battle. So folks, we cannot be our own worst enemies. No. See, because the minute something goes wrong, the minute a lie takes hold, folks, we cannot start wringing our hands. We cannot get a Goldilocksieties about whether this country will elect someone like Kamala instead of doing everything we can to get someone like Kamala elected. Kamala and Tim, they have lived amazing lives. And I am confident that they will lead with compassion, inclusion, and grace.

But they are still only human. They are not perfect. And like all all of us they will make mistakes but luckily y'all this is not just on them. No, this is up to us, all of us, to be the solution that we seek. It's up to all of us to be the anecdote to the darkness and division. Look, I don't care how you identify politically, whether you're Democrat, Republican, Independent, or none of the above. This is our time to stand up for what we know in our hearts is right. To stand up, not just for our basic freedoms, but for decency and humanity, for basic respect, dignity, and empathy, for the values at the very foundation of this democracy. It's up to us to remember what Kamala's mother told her.

Don't just sit around and complain. Do something. So if they lie about her and they will, we've got to do something. If we see a bad poll and we will, we got to put down that phone and do something. If we start feeling tired, if we start feeling that dread creeping back in, we got to pick ourselves up, throw water on our face and what? We only have two and a half months, y'all, to get this done. Only 11 weeks to make sure every single person we know is registered and has a voting plan. So we cannot afford for anyone, anyone, anyone in America to sit on their hands and wait to be called. Don't complain if no one from the campaign has specifically reached out to you to ask

you for your support. There is simply no time for that kind of foolishness. You know what youall to do something. Because......... ... ... ... ...

This election is going to be close. In some states, just a handful, listen to me, a handful of votes in every precinct could decide the winner. So we need to vote in numbers that erase any doubt. We need to overwhelm any effort to suppress us. Our fate is in our hands.

In 77 days, we have the power to turn our country away from the fear, division, and smallness of the past. We have the power to marry our hope with our action. We have the power to pay forward the love, sweat, and sacrifice of our mothers and fathers and all those who came before us. We did it before y'all and we sure can do it again. Let us work like our lives depend on it and let us keep moving our country forward and go higher. Yes, always higher than we've ever gone before as we elect the next President and Vice President

of the United States, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. Thank you all. God bless. Now, before I go, I have one more job tonight. Yeah. One more job. You all, thank you for all the love, but it is now my honor to introduce somebody who knows a whole lot about hope. Someone who has spent his life strengthening our democracy. And let me tell you, as someone who lives with him, he wakes up every day, every day, and thinks about what's best for this country.

Please welcome America's 44th president and the love of my life, Barack Obama. Hello Chicago! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Thank you, thank you. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

All right, all right, all right. That's enough. Thank you, thank you. Chicago, it's good to be home. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. thank you. Chicago, it's good to be home. It is good to be home, and I don't know about you, but I'm feeling ready to go. I am feeling ready to go. Even if I am the only person stupid enough to speak after Michelle Obama. I am feeling hopeful because this convention has always been pretty good to kids with funny names who believe in a country where anything is possible. Because we have a chance to elect someone who has

spent her entire life trying to give people the same chances America gave her. Someone who sees you and hears you and will get up every single day and fight for you. The next President of the United States of America, Kamala Harris. It's been 16 years since I had the honor of accepting this party's nomination for president. And I know that's hard to believe because I have not aged a bit. But it's true. And looking back, I can say without question that my first big decision as your nominee turned out to be one of my best.

And that was asking Joe Biden to serve by my side as Vice President. Other than some common Irish blood, Joe and I come from different backgrounds, but we became brothers. And as we worked together for eight sometimes pretty tough years, what I came to admire most about Joe wasn't just his smarts, his experience. It was his empathy and his decency and his hard-earned resilience, his unshakable belief that everyone in this country deserves a fair shot. And over the last four years, those are the values America has needed most. At a time when millions of our fellow citizens were sick and dying, we needed a leader with the character to put politics aside and do what was right. At a time when our economy was reeling, we needed a leader with the determination to

drive what would become the world's strongest recovery. Fifteen million jobs, higher wages, lower health care costs. At a time when the other party had turned into a cult of personality, we needed a leader who was steady and brought people together, and was selfless enough to do the rarest thing there is in politics, putting his own ambition aside for the sake of the country. History will remember Joe Biden as an outstanding president who defended democracy at a moment of great danger. And I am proud to call him my president, but I am even prouder to call him my friend. Thank you, Trump! Thank you, Trump! Thank you, Trump! Thank you, Trump! Thank you, Trump!

Thank you, Trump! Thank you, Trump! Thank you, Trump! Thank you, Trump! The torch has been passed. Now it is up to all of us to fight for the America we believe in. And make no mistake, it will be a fight. For all the incredible energy we've been able to generate over the last few weeks, for all the rallies and the memes, this will still be a tight race in a closely divided country, a country where too many Americans are still struggling, where a lot of Americans don't believe government can help.

And as we gather here tonight, the people who will decide this election are asking a very simple question. Who will fight for me? Who's thinking about my future, about my children's future, about our future together. One thing is for certain, Donald Trump is not losing sleep over that question. Here's a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago. It has been a constant stream of gripes and grievances that's actually been getting worse

now that he's afraid of losing the commonwealth. There's the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy It just goes on and on and on. The other day I heard someone compare Trump to the neighbor who keeps running his leaf blower outside your window every minute of every day. Now, from a neighbor, that's exhausting. From a president, it's just dangerous. The truth is, Donald Trump sees power as nothing more than it means to his ends. He wants the middle class to pay the price for another huge tax cut that would mostly help him and his rich friends. He killed a bipartisan immigration deal written in part by one of the most conservative Republicans in Congress that would have helped secure our southern border because he thought trying to actually solve the problem would hurt his campaign.

He doesn't. Do not vote. Vote. He doesn't seem to care if more women lose their reproductive freedom, since it won't affect his life. And most of all, Donald Trump wants us to think that this country is hopelessly divided between us and them. Between the real Americans, who of course support him, and the outsiders who don't. And he wants you to think that you'll be richer and safer if you will just give him the power to put those other people back in their place.

It is one of the oldest tricks in politics from a guy whose act has, let's face it, gotten pretty stale. We do not need four more years of bluster and bumbling and chaos. We have seen that movie before, and we all know that the sequel is usually worse. America's ready for a new chapter. America's ready for a new chapter. America is ready for a better story. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris. And Kamala Harris is ready for the job. This is a person who has spent her life fighting on behalf of people who need a voice and a

champion. As you heard from Michelle, Kamala was not born into privilege. She had to work for what she's got. And she actually cares about what other people are going through. She's not the neighbor running the leaf blower. She's the neighbor rushing over to help when you need a hand. As a prosecutor, Kamala stood up for children who had been victims of sexual abuse. As an attorney general of the most populous state in the country, she fought big banks

and for-profit colleges, securing billions of dollars for the people they had scammed. After the home mortgage crisis, she pushed me and my administration hard to make sure homeowners got a fair settlement. Didn't matter that I was a Democrat. Didn't matter that she had knocked on doors for my campaign in Iowa. She was going to fight to get as much relief as possible for the families who deserved it. As vice president, she helped take on the drug companies to cap the cost of insulin, lower the cost of health care, give families with kids a tax cut. And she is running for President with real plans to lower costs even more and protect

Medicare and Medicaid, and sign a law to guarantee every woman's right to make her own health care decisions. In other words, Kamala Harris won't be focused on her problems. She'll be focused on yours. As president, she won't just cater to her own supporters and punish those who refuse to kiss the ring or bend the knee. She'll work on behalf of every American. That's who Kamala is.

And in the White House, she will have an outstanding partner in Governor Tim Walz. Let me tell you something. Let me tell you something. I love this guy. Tim is the kind of person who should be in politics. Born in a small town, served his country, taught kids, coached football, took care of his neighbors. He knows who he is, and he knows what's important. You can tell those flannel shirts he wears don't come from some political consultant. They come from his closet, and they have been through some stuff. They have been through some stuff. That's right. Together, Kamala and Tim have kept faith with America's central story, a story that says

we are all created equal, all of us endowed with certain inalienable rights, that everyone deserves a chance, that even when we don't agree with each other, we can find a way to live with each other. That's Kamala's vision. That's Tim's vision. That's the Democratic Party's vision. And our job over the next 11 weeks is to convince as many people as possible

to vote for that vision. Now, it won't be easy. The other side knows it's easier to play on people's fears and cynicism. Always has been. They will tell you that government is inherently corrupt, that sacrifice and generosity are for suckers. And since the game is rigged, it's okay to take what you want and just look after your own. That's the easy path. We have a different task. Our

job is to convince people that democracy can actually deliver. And in doing that that we can't just point to what we've already accomplished we can't just rely on the ideas of the past we need to chart a new way forward to meet the challenges of today and kamala understands this she knows for example that if we want to make it easier for more young people to buy a home we need to build more units and clear away some of the outdated laws and regulations that made it harder to build homes for working people in this country. That is a priority, and she's put out a bold new plan to do just that. On health care, we should all be proud of the enormous progress that we've made through the Affordable Care Act, providing millions of people access to affordable coverage, protecting

millions more from unscrupulous insurance practices. And I've noticed, by the way, that since it's become popular they don't call it Obamacare no more. But Kamala knows we can't stop there, which is why she'll keep working to limit out-of-pocket costs. Kamala knows that if we want to help people get ahead, we need to put a college degree within reach of more Americans. But she also knows college shouldn't be the only ticket to the middle class. We need to follow the lead of governors like Tim Walz,

who said, if you've got the skills and the drive, you shouldn't need a degree to work for state government. And in this new economy, we need a president who actually cares about the millions of people all across this country who wake up every single day to do the essential, often thankless work to care for our sick, to clean our streets, to deliver our packages. We need a president who will stand up for their right to bargain for better wages and working conditions. And Kamala will be that president. Yes she can. A Harris-Waltz administration can help us move past some of the tired old debates that keep stifling progress. Because at their core,

Kamala and Tim understand that when everybody gets a fair shot, we are all better off. They understand that when every child gets a good education, the whole economy gets stronger. When women are paid the same as men for doing the same job, all families benefit. They understand that we can secure our borders without tearing kids away from their parents. Just like we can keep our streets safe while also building trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve and eliminating bias. That will make it better for everybody. Donald Trump and his well-heeled donors, they don't see the world that way. For them, one group's gains is necessarily another group's loss.

For them, freedom means that the powerful can do pretty much what they please, whether it's fire workers trying to organize a union or put poison in our rivers or avoid paying taxes like everybody else has to do. Well, we have a broader idea of freedom. We believe in the freedom to provide for your family if you're willing to work hard, the freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water and send your kids to school without worrying if they'll come home. We believe that true freedom gives each of us the right to make decisions about our own life.

How we worship, what our family looks like, how many kids we have, who we marry. And we believe that freedom requires us to recognize that other people have the freedom to make choices that are different than ours. That's the America Kamala Harris and Tim Walz believe in. An America where we the people includes everyone. Because that's the only way this American experiment works. And despite what our politics might suggest, I think most Americans understand that. Democracy isn't just a bunch of abstract principles and dusty laws in some book somewhere. It's the values we live by.

It's the way we treat each other, including those who don't look like us, or pray like us, or see the world exactly like we do. That sense of mutual respect has to be part of our message. Our politics have become so polarized these days that all of us across the political spectrum seem so quick to assume the worst in others, unless they agree with us on every single issue. We start thinking that the only way to win is to scold and shame and out yell the other side. And after a while, regular folks just tune out, or they don't bother to vote.

Now, that approach may work for the politicians who just want attention and thrive on division. But it won't work for us to make progress on the things we care about, the things that really affect people's lives. We need to remember that we've all got our blind spots and contradictions and prejudices, and that if we want to win over those who aren't yet ready to support our candidates, we need to listen to their concerns and maybe learn something in the process.

After all, if a parent or grandparent occasionally says something that makes us cringe, we don't automatically assume they're bad people. We recognize that the world is moving fast, that they need time and maybe a little encouragement to catch up. Our fellow citizens deserve the same grace we hope they'll extend to us. That's how we can build a true democratic majority, one that can get things done. And by the way, that does not just matter to the people in this country. The rest of the world is watching to see if we can actually pull this off. No nation, no society has ever tried to build a democracy as big and as diverse as ours before. One that includes people that over decades have come from every corner of the globe,

one where our allegiances and our community are defined not by race or blood, but by a common creed. And that's why when we uphold our values, the world's a little brighter. When we don't, the world's a little dimmer. And dictators and autocrats feel emboldened. And over time, we become less safe. We shouldn't be the world's policemen, and we can't eradicate every cruelty and injustice in the world. But America can be and must be a force for good. Discouraging conflict, fighting disease, promoting human rights, protecting the planet from climate change,

defending freedom, brokering peace. That's what Kamala Harris believes, and so do most Americans. I know these ideas can feel pretty naive right now. We live in a time of such confusion and rancor with a culture that puts a premium on things that don't last. Money, fame, status, likes. We chase the approval of strangers on our phones. We build all manner of walls and fences around ourselves, and then we wonder why we feel so alone. We don't trust each other as much because we don't take the time to know each other.

And in that space between us, politicians and algorithms teach us to caricature each other and troll each other and fear each other. But here's the good news, Chicago. All across America, in big cities and small towns, away from all the noise, the ties that bind us together are still there. We still coach Little League and look out for our elderly neighbors. We still feed the hungry in churches and mosques and synagogues and temples. We share the same pride when our Olympic athletes compete for the gold. Because the vast majority of us do not want to live in a country that's bitter and divided. We want something better.

We want to be better. And the joy and the excitement that we're seeing around this campaign tells us we're not alone. I've spent a lot of time thinking about this these past few months because, as Michelle mentioned, this summer we lost her mom, Ms. Marion Robinson. And I don't know that anybody has ever loved their mother-in-law any more than I love mine. Mostly it's because she was funny and wise and the least pretentious person I knew. That and she always defended me with Michelle when I messed up.

I'd hide behind her. But I also think one of the reasons Mary and I became so close was she reminded me of my grandmother, the woman who helped raise me as a child. And on the surface, the two of them did not have a lot in common. One was a black woman from right here, south side of Chicago, right down the way. Went to Englewood High School.

The other was a little old white lady born in a tiny town called Peru, Kansas. Now, I know there aren't that many people from Peru. And yet they shared a basic outlook on life. There were strong, smart, resourceful women, full of common sense, who, regardless of the barriers they encountered, and women growing up in the 40s and 50s and 60s, they encountered barriers. They still went about their business

without fuss or complaint and provided an unshakable foundation of love for their children and their grandchildren. In that sense, they both represented an entire generation of working people who, through war and depression, discrimination and limited opportunity, helped build this country. A lot of them toiled every day at jobs that were often too small for them and didn't pay a lot. They willingly went without just to keep a roof over the families' heads, just to give their children something better. But they knew what was true. They knew what mattered. Things like honesty and integrity, kindness and hard work.

They weren't impressed with braggarts or bullies. They didn't think putting other people down lifted you up or made you strong. They didn't spend a lot of time obsessing about what they didn't have. Instead, they appreciated what they did. They found pleasure in simple things — a card game with friends, a good meal, and laughter around the kitchen table. Helping others. And most of all, seeing their children do things and go places that they would have never imagined for themselves. Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican or somewhere in between, we have all had people

like that in our lives. People like Kamala's parents, who crossed oceans because they believed in the promise of America. People like Tim's parents, who taught him about the importance of service. Good hard-working people who weren't famous or powerful, but who managed in countless ways to lead this country just a little bit better than they found it. As much as any policy or program, I believe that's what we yearn for. A return to an America where we work together and look out for each other, a restoration of what Lincoln called, on the eve of Civil War, our bonds of affection, an America that taps what he called the better angels of our nature. That is what this election is about.

And I believe that's why if we each do our part over the next 77 days, if we knock on doors, if we make phone calls, if we talk to our friends, if we listen to our neighbors, if we work like we've never worked before, if we hold firm to our convictions, we will elect Kamala Harris as the next President of the United States and Tim Walz as the next Vice President of the United States. We will elect leaders up and down the ballot who will fight for the hopeful, forward-looking America we all believe in. And together, we too will build a country that is more secure and more just, more equal, and more free. So let's get to work. God bless you. So that's former President Barack Obama speaking to the delegates here at the United Center in Chicago,

his adopted hometown, of course, where you see him there greeting Mignon Moore. Right there, Mitch Landrieu, of course, former mayor of New Orleans. Both he and Michelle Obama, as we like to say on Roller Martin Unfiltered, hashtag brain defunct, that actually happened. Joining us right now, Chuck Willamumba. He is the mayor of Jackson, Mississippi. Your thoughts on tonight? Brother, the feeling is electric.

It has a familiar feeling. I think that we're primed to take this, but it's a lot of work to be done, you know, ahead. One of the things that Michelle Obama said, she would cause a room to erupt, that maybe the black job Donald Trump was talking about is the one, that White House job. That was the one. Yeah, well, you know, we're learning that these black jobs are more diverse than Donald Trump may think that they are. Absolutely. Yeah.

Absolutely. Don, Don, real quick, real quick. Excuse me. Speaker of the House of Virginia, alpha man. That's all good. You got two capas on you. Alpha man. You got two capas on you.

No, no. Yeah, he need a backup. No, first of all, you know, first of all, I'm going to text Dan them alphas. And I'm going to text Dan them alphas. We don't need backup. We don't need backup, bro. All good. He can handle all of y'all by himself.

Your thoughts on tonight's speeches? It was fantastic. Obama closed it out. He brought us back to why we always believed him in the first place as a president. He knows how to articulate what America's true values are. When he talked about it once again, you know, calling us back to our better angels and bringing up those ties that bind us and saying that we don't want a country that's always divided and full of rancor.

He brought all of that home. He did a fantastic job. We had some great speakers tonight. It's fantastic. And he also understood that he's not naive. You know, you know that people try to say he he also understood that he's not naive. Yeah. You know, you know that people try to say he's naive, but he's not naive.

He knows that it takes hard work. We got to go do the doors. We got to talk to our neighbors. We know this is a close election. She is the underdog. What black woman have we seen that's not the underdog, but we always have known how to perform and do a great job. All right, Brad, I appreciate it, brother.

Appreciate you, bro. Thank you, sir. I know you got it from here, bro. Yeah, we got it. Light work, light work. Bring home Virginia, brother. We need you.. Thank you, sir. I know you got it from here, bro. Yeah, we got it. Light work. Light work. Bring home Virginia, brother. We need you.

Bring home Virginia. That's it. Bring home Virginia. We need you. First of all, one of the things that was awesome about this here, Vice President Harris sold out two arenas. They had 15,000 plus in Milwaukee, plus they had this arena here. We know from experience that black women are used to, you know, making the best out of everything, out of their circumstance.

And so while she is the underdog, we believe in her. We believe in what she's bringing. And supporting an administration like this means the world to a city like Jackson, Mississippi, which is often not at the table. and consequently we're on the menu. And so having this level of support means the restoration of dignity for communities. It means that we can build dignity economies. And so I'm excited about Obama. He is the reason that I got into politics.

Okay. He is the reason. He's pulling everybody into this. Nikki Freed, the head of the Florida Democratic Party. Just share your thoughts tonight. Oh, my God. Inspiring the entire night. Both the Obamas were so on point, inspiring, and exactly what the nation needed tonight.

And tell folks, y'all had some big wins tonight in Florida. We certainly did. We had our primaries. We have our new U.S. Senate candidate, Debbie Brickus-El-Powell. So we're going to take on Rick Scott and make him a one term U.S. senator. And we flipped school boards all over the state of Florida. Ron DeSantis had a horrific evening. That's called music to my ears.

Nikki, we appreciate it. Thanks. I appreciate having me on. I appreciate it. Great. Thank you. Joe, your thoughts about tonight? Fantastic. I mean, Doug Emmerhoff was great. You know, the sister that's running for Senate in Maryland was great. But Michelle Obama was it. She was it.

She was the one. She was the MVP all day long. And she just reminds you of who she is. And even though she's always still the one that goes high, the way that she did it tonight, you know, she can be classy and still pop. You know what I mean? And that's what she did. I love that saying that, you know, when they go low, I'm going to go medium

because I'm still working on it. That's the real Michelle we call her tonight. She was very matter-of-fact. She did her thing, and the energy was great. We did not actually show. Hold on a second. We did not show the speech of Ann Navarro. But one of the things she talked about, she said, basically she challenged how dare they call Vice President Obama has a communist.

She said, I grew up in a communist country. She said, I know what communism looks like. And she said, this ain't it. And this is a Republican who was on that stage talking. Yeah. Yeah. Talk to me about the strategies to activate deep southern black voters and make sure we bring home states like Georgia. Obviously, you have all that knowledge in Mississippi. How does it translate out to the broader south? Well, I think that the real point is that, you know, while we hadn't been a part of the equation or the conversation for many years, we have to be able to point to administrations that really focus on us. When I look at Jackson, Mississippi, and I think about what, you know, Vice President

Kamala Harris and President Biden have been able to achieve for a city like Jackson, in a state like Mississippi, which is often considered off of the grid, off of the board, the checkerboard, if you will, when it comes to national elections, they demonstrated their sincerity by giving, you know, historic funding to a city of Jackson, $800 million, in order to ensure that we have the sanctity of drinking water, that we have the resiliency in our water infrastructure. And so being able to point to those examples, that speaks to anyone, you know, whether you're Republican, whether you're Northern or Southern, knowing that you value my family are the type of discussions that we have to

have and we have to penetrate. We have to organize early and now understand that Mississippi is no longer off the board. Tennessee is no longer off the board. We have to continue to push in that direction. Eljoy Williams, of course, out of Brooklyn. Your thoughts about tonight? Absolutely great. Did Michelle Obama not read the entire library? She understood the entire library.

She was like, oh, y'all banning books? Okay, let me open the library for everybody so that everybody can get the message that we do not need to wait to do anything, that everybody needs to pull their own weight. And I just think everything was just hitting the messaging that we need right now, continuing the enthusiasm, right, because that speculation of whether or not the enthusiasm was going to continue. Even with a convention boost, this is much more than that. I think people are very hopeful and want to do something,

and, you know, this proved positive tonight. All right. Appreciate it. All right. Thanks a bunch. Absolutely. It is, first of all, there were, it was fewer speakers tonight because they had the roll call, which really was called a celebratory roll call because they'd already done the virtual roll call in order to meet the ballot deadlines that took place. Of course, like I say, this is over. So what you have here, of course, all the folks who are streaming out, as I said, where we're located, this is the VIP lot. So literally they're all coming past us, heading back to their cars. And so y'all might have seen us last night. And this looks a little bit different in terms of how. So they really have pushed security.

What? She just starts shaking her head. I have never felt watching Michelle Obama take every single critique that has ever been lodged against her, her blackness, her patriotism, and turn that into a call to action. Yeah. Slipping on its head. Brilliant.

Mm-hmm. Brilliant, flawless. And I am just, I don't even, I got to find some words. We appreciate you had those. Yes. All right. Appreciate it. Appreciate it.

Alexis McGill-Johnson, Planned Parenthood. So as we said, folks, folks are streaming out. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple.

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Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people,

real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers

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What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback. Just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispretirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. The United Center. So we're going to just keep grabbing folks here. As I said, they're a celebratory roll call. Lil Jon went by a little bit earlier. Folks were excited, Joe.

Couldn't quite grab them. For Lil Jon to come out, especially when they were going to Georgia. Yeah, listen, they got a little something for everybody, man. Have Lil Jon. You know, you should have. Mayor of Atlanta. Newt. Okay. Newt, come through.

And he came in earlier, so we've gotten him going and coming. Yeah. So, no, it was fantastic. Let me go grab him. I'll go grab him. It was fantastic. But what you should have done for me, Roland, is reminded me when he came by and so I could call him out. You know what I mean?

You know, we could do that thing. Yeah, we can gang up on him. We can gang up on him. We can gang up on him. Look, the nuke is deep now. What know what I mean? You know, we can do that thing. We can gang up on him. We can gang up on him. Look, the nuke is deep now. What you gonna do? What you gonna do, Roland? Do y'all know how many alphas are here?

Y'all do not want an alpha roll call. What you gonna do, Roland? What you gonna do, Roland? Your thoughts on the night? Talk to us about Atlanta. Man, the night has been spectacular. But, man, there's nobody greater than Michelle. You right about that.

All day long. MVP. She gave a sermon, a rally, and a roadmap. That's right. All over the same time. Oh, my bad. That's right. No, keep going.

Keep going. A sermon, a rally, and a roadmap. I like that. She said, do something. That's right. She said, you got to go out there, and you can't just be all, you know, what she was talking about, like, what's that example she gave where she was like, you can't be perfect?

You know, oh, man. She brought the funk. She was keeping the secret. She did. She had all the receipts. Yeah, yeah. I need my security. Security.

We do. You get that security on. This is the most careful you ever got. She had all the receipts. I need my security. Security? I do. You get that security on. This is the most campus you ever had. This is all the folks he kept off the call. Alpha, grace and mercy. All right, welcome to Noopchella. Welcome to Noopchella.

Capuchella. It's all good. It's all good. Listen, man, the men of Cap Alsi are grateful that Roland Martin has allowed us to take over his show. Share the mic. The Kappa takeover on Roland Martin Live. Because we have an achievement problem, brother. That's right. We got elected by the voters, all these Kappa men.

That's it. But, look, Roland, this has been a phenomenal night. But they all know who the mayor of Black America? The mayor of Black America. Talk to us, mayor, though. Talk to us about Georgia in particular and flipping that state and bringing it home again and some of the strategies you're going to do to drive that through Atlanta. Talk to us.

Absolutely. Georgia was red for two decades. Right. And then 2020 occurred, and we went blue for Joe Biden during the pandemic. And then we went in 2021 and got Ossoff and Warnock elected as our senators. And then 2022, we had to reelect Warnock because he was fulfilling the end of someone else's seat. And so what we got now is in 2024, an opportunity to do it all over again. We're fired up with kamala harris the energy

is so high the divine nine is out there all the churches the souls to the polls okay and what we have to do is you know there's some guys on the margin right the couch was gonna win this election people gonna sit it out the couch was gonna win this thing i like some people gonna sit it out i don't think that's the case anymore. Folks are like, hey, I'm hearing a message from Kamala Harris. I understand how she's going to help my family, how she's going to look after my, you know, take care of my future. And the lies are being dispelled. Those lies about locking up black men and all that stuff, that stuff is getting dispelled.

It takes some time to dispel a lie. That lie got told, a little drop of lie, it's taking a year to overcome. But it's being overcome right now. And we're seeing that, you know, the hate that's coming out of the MAGA crowd, that's when you know it's getting real to them. Because, you know, when you read, you know, you've ever been in a political campaign and you got the poll, but then you got the crosstabs. When you get the crosstabs, that's when you start seeing men of this age with this income.

This is what they are thinking. This is what they think are highs and this is what they think are lows. You start reading that and you start realizing that Kamala Harris, of course, has a black woman. Of course, she has all of the Democrats. But the folks that were independent or undecided, they are seeing a Donald Trump that is senile and crumbling. You see his tweets. You see his. They're like, we can't trust him. He's dangerous.

And she's amping up, getting stronger and stronger and coming out. And I think folks are going to show up in Georgia to make sure that Georgia stays blue. I just ran into Josh Shapiro, and he and I hugged it out. We were so happy to see each other. He was like, I got Pennsylvania. My team and the whole Pennsylvania crew, we're all going to, Allegheny County, all those folks. I believe that Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and, of course, now with Minnesota on it, we got all that. And that's going to carry us over.

Georgia is a beacon for North Carolina. Georgia is a beacon for Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. So we appreciate your leadership. Yeah, absolutely. Hey, man, we need to sit. We need to sit, man. Look, when y'all did y'all roll call, it looked like it was Wakanda. It was black.

Mississippi was blacker than a mug. I was like, where it on? I love Mississippi, man, the Delta. It was black. Mississippi was blacker than the mug. I was like, I love Mississippi, man. The Delta. Yeah, yeah. I know what y'all are. The blackest state, but you're dealing with some challenges that with your leadership, we're overcoming that, and I think that when Kamala

Harris is our president, the Mississippi Delta, everybody's going to see what good leadership looks like, and we're going to continue to win some hearts over. All right, brothers. I'm about to get a call back. You get way too comfortable. Holding court. I was like, rope him in.

Rope him in. Let him back clean up. Appreciate it. Let him back clean up. Appreciate it. Landon there, Andre Dickens there, y'all. And so, like I say, folks, how's it going? Again, getting out of here.

And they ain't going to sleep, y'all, because there are numerous parties and all kinds of other stuff. Right, right, right, right. Last night I stopped. I didn't go to. I went by. I had to go say hi to Dougie Fresh, say hi to Lil Jon. Right. Just to say hi.

I wasn't trying to party. I did. I did. Had to chop it up a little bit. Had to do a little lotty-dotty. Had to chop it up. Right. Folks were hitting me tonight little lotty-dotty. Had to chop it up. Folks were hitting me tonight. I'm like, no, I can't do nothing tonight.

Right here, I got your former Virginia governor. Come through. How you doing? How you doing? What a night, huh? Spectacular. Former head of the DNC, former governor of Virginia. Just share your thoughts about tonight.

What a convention we've had. I mean, two nights in a row, spectacular. This is who America is. I've run a couple of these, I'm telling you. I've never seen a party more happy, more unified, ready to go forward. It's exciting. It also was pretty amazing to see two sold-out arenas 80 miles apart. Can you believe it?

And think about this. Trump's convention, did his vice president come and speak? No. Did the former President Bush come and speak? Nope. Hell, his wife wouldn't even have. His wife wouldn't have. She showed up.

She did show up when the check cleared. We got every former president coming and doing this, and he cannot get anyone to come to his convention, which is a disgrace. Yeah, absolutely. Now, we're rocking, guys. We're going to do that. But it's going to be a close election. Yeah, that's right.

I've been doing this 45 years. We can't take anything for granted. We won 2000. We didn't get the prize. We got more votes in 2016. We didn't get the prize. We're getting the prize this time. All right. Appreciate it. Thanks for stopping by.

I appreciate it. Game on. Let's go. Thanks a lot. That was Terry McCullough, former chair of the Democratic National Committee and also former governor of Virginia. Again, we've got folks coming through. We're going to grab a few more. This has been, Kwame, the thing that I keep saying, again, I said it earlier,

I'm sick and tired of watching David Axelrod on CNN talking about, oh, the euphoria, oh, it can wear off. No, you're supposed to ride that. That's right. When you're tired, when you don't feel like doing it, that's what actually causes you to get up and keep going. Yeah. And this is the energy people need on the local level to go back and proselytize in their communities, right, to tell the story, to continue the narrative, and build that agenda to get us to the polls. Yeah, so, I mean, you know, you saw, of course, when Michelle Obama, Joe Maid,

made this comment about, you know, that black job. Look, Donald Trump made that comment. That has resonated among a lot of folks. Take what the guy says and run with it. You know, the whole irony with this whole thing is he's never been a particularly focused candidate. He's never been a particularly good candidate. He's never been a particularly disciplined candidate. So put him up against the wall, and all of those things will amplify, and here's what you have.

Now, you can't take anything for granted. You've got to do your work, right? You've got to do it every day. But there's all kinds of opportunity here, and that's always been the case. Yeah, just be in the machine. Mayor LaVar Stoney, Richmond, Virginia, just share your thoughts about tonight. It was an amazing night. It shows that Democrats are ready to go.

I've been saying this from day one, that Democrats have shown a businesslike approach to this. They are very focused. I think the reason we're very focused is because the threat of Donald Trump hangs over us and I love the fact that, you know what, look at this campaign. You have President Obama, President Clinton, Secretary

Clinton all showing up for the Democratic Convention. Michelle showed up for the Democratic Convention and Mike Pence, who was the Vice President for Donald Trump, didn't even show up for the Republican Convention. He didn't show up. He made it clear he was not even endorsing. Exactly right. And so you talk about unity.

Unity can be found in the Democratic Party. That's right. All right, then. Mayor, we appreciate it. Thanks a bunch. Awesome. Thank you. Mayor Lumumba, we were talking earlier.

We were talking about terms of how do you mobilize. Then we look at the South. Climate was talking about North Carolina. We were talking about Georgia as well. The reality is, and we were talking earlier in terms of how do you mobilize. Then we look at the South. Quyma was talking about North Carolina. He was talking about Georgia as well. The reality is, and we were talking earlier with Mondale Robinson, that you see what has to be done, that you have to go into rural places

in the South and talk to those black voters who oftentimes are ignored. Absolutely. And when you look at a place like Mississippi, the opportunity is a lot closer than people really give credit for being. You're talking about a state that's 40 percent black to begin with. When you look at the western portion, all of those counties are all majority black. And then when you look at college towns, there's opportunity there.

So it requires our organizing. What we're finding out tonight is that rumors of our demise have been greatly exaggerated. And so we have to build on this moment. But once again, we don't want anyone walking away with the notion that this isn't going to be a close. We want another leader to come on. Oh, yeah, this is my guy. We love you. We love you, brother. We love we're going to need you to preach. We're going to need you to preach right now. What's up, Doc? Joining us. We're going to need you to preach. We're going to need you to preach right now. What's up, Doc? Joining us. We're going to need you on a sermon right now. It's my first time meeting him.

Oh, my first time meeting him, too. Look, we love you, brother. We love you. Memphis got 60% black people, so we gave him some. Good to see you, man. Good to see you. Good to see you, too. We were just talking about how you have to mobilize rural black folks in the South.

And all too often, when Democrats, if they go to Georgia, they'll go to Atlanta. If they go to Tennessee, they'll go to Memphis. If they go to North Carolina, they'll go to Charlotte or Raleigh. But you can't ignore those folks in rural places that want to see and hear from you, but also have a different perspective than some other voters. That's exactly right. If we shift about 3% of rural voters to either participating or shifting their political perspectives, we will actually change the demographics of our Senate for the next generation.

The rural communities being ignored is not only wrong and challenging, but it is not going to help us to continue to have a strong democratic politics. Of course, Congresswoman. It's a party. It's a party now. Congresswoman, next U.S. Senator. That's right. That's right. Thoughts about tonight? Oh, it was, it just blew my mind.

I mean, first of all, to be able to call the roll and be the first person to say Delaware unanimously gave our votes to Kamala Harris and Tim Walz was phenomenal. But also just to hear the difference between a party for the people and a party for just some rich some. I am just elated. I'm proud. I'm ready to go to the Senate to be Kamala's partner so that we can get it done for the people. And so I am just, I'm on a high. I'm on a high rolling. This is a great night. And the whole week, it's only Tuesday. And look what the beauty of our party from young people to us more seasoned. I'm counting us. Yes, but it is just an honor and a privilege to represent Delaware in Congress, and now I'm ready for the Senate to help Kamala and Tim make this just really live up to the promises of our ancestors.

I'm just so proud. Just so proud. We appreciate it. I got to go. We appreciate it. I got to go. I got to go. We appreciate it. Yeah, because you're high. You're on a high.

Go ahead and finish your comment. Yeah, no, we have to make sure that we're going to rural communities, knocking the doors there, meeting people, learning what the issues are and being proximate to the problems. In Tennessee, we've lost 17 hospitals in our rural places, right? These are issues that are impacting black folk, for black farmers who haven't got the subsidies that they were due, the money that they were supposed to have, the economic opportunity that they've been denied. These are issues that we have to make sure that we're talking about,

and that sometimes we get too skewed into just urban and not realizing black folk everywhere. And so we as a party need to be everywhere, too. Hey, how you doing? The party keeps getting bigger. We've got Congressman Gregory Meeks, alpha man, because he had about four or five capitals earlier. And they were feeling themselves. But I let them know he ain't going to last long. But I know you can handle them all.

That's all I want to deal with you. You the man. I tried to tell him. You the man. You know how to deal with it. You know, you shut them down. We always don't message. We know, you shut them down. We always on message. We talked to you last night, but just your thoughts about what you heard tonight. Let me just tell you. Michelle Obama.

That's it, bro. Oh, my God. That's it. I don't know what else. Drop the mic. That's all I mean. That's it. The message that she delivered today, the manner that she delivered, I don't care whether you come from East Coast, West Coast, whether you go North or South or middle of America,

it resonates with everyone because what she talked about was what is the essence, what this election is about and what makes a difference. You know, she broke it down to its common denominator so the most educated person could understand it and the person that may not have any education at all could understand what's at stake in this election. You think there was some cussing going on in Mar-a-Lago? I think there was cussing. I think they were throwing bottles.

They were breaking things. They were going crazy. They don't know what's going on. I think it was custom. I think they were throwing bottles. They were breaking things. They were going crazy. They don't know what's going on. They're losing his mind. In fact, they're probably trying to call. They may have to call the police or somebody because he's having a mental breakdown right now.

I saw a video earlier where Hulk Hogan was talking about, did y'all want me to body slam Kamala Harris? I think Trump got body slammed multiple times tonight. Right. And continues. You know, number one, he don't know how to handle a black woman. Because that's the, he already got his butt kicked by my attorney general, Letitia James, you know, and making him pay a whole lot of money for what he did in assaulting a woman.

But now he's going to deal with this one? Oh, man, I can't wait. You know, Muhammad Ali used to say, since we can't get along, let's get it on. I can't wait till September 10th. If we can't get along, let's get it on. And I'm ready to get it on, baby. I appreciate it, brother.

I appreciate it. Thanks, sir. Thanks, sir. Thanks, sir. Great seeing you, brother. I do want to go back to Justin here. We were talking about the issues. We were talking about in terms of how you touch people.

The shooting in Tennessee, and we talked about it before, how that woke up white women. The Dobbs decision woke up white women. And this is where I think Republicans are making a mistake. I think you're going to see, and Grant, we got to see it happen, but I think you're going to see where white women are not going to be 53% of voting for Trump. They realize that's not going to fly. Absolutely not. I mean, the energy of tonight is impeccable,

and it has shown that a multiracial, intergenerational movement is growing. And I think for white women in our country, what they are realizing is that Trump's party doesn't care about women, which includes y'all. And so black folk, we got to do what we got to do. But white women are going to be the deciders, particularly in suburban parts of this country, about whether or not we continue to take away a woman's right to choose. We continue to have children go to schools worried about whether or not they're going to be killed because the NRA and all the lobbyists are buying off politicians. White women's consciousness, I think, is growing because that Supreme Court, Trump ain't in office.

Right. And y'all lost a constitutional right with Trump not in office. And now you got this project 2025. You see all these plans where they're saying we're going to do everything that we possibly can. Exactly. We're going to do everything we possibly can to make it harder for you to be a mother, harder for you to take care of your children, harder for you to actually be able to create a sustainable life for yourselves. And I believe they are waking up. And when it came to the shooting in Nashville, black people have been dealing with gun violence for a very long time in our community, in my district, 86, when I'm honored to serve. We experience gun violence almost every single day.

But it sometimes has taken for people to feel the proximity of the pain for them to get a recognition that this is time for something for them to do that they may not have otherwise done. This moment is showing up that they have to do something. I want to ask the distinguished gentleman from Tennessee about Gen Z voter activation, since you are Gen Z. And I also want to ask you about the talented bench that we now see within the Democratic Party that is leaning into the millennials and the Gen Z. So talk to me about the talent pipeline and talk to me about Gen Z voter activation. Absolutely. You have to speak to the issues in order for people to show up. Yeah. And you have to have people who are running for office who actually help to fire folks up because they're not going to get there and just play around. They're not going to get there and just go along to get along. It's right. What young

people that I'm experiencing, young elected officials are doing is not a really new thing. These are the type of black folk we looked up to. Yeah. Ones who were like, I'm not scared of y'all. There was a time where black folks would march saying, there's a new Negro in this country. Christmas addicts, a black man was the first person to die for America's freedom. We are reclaiming something that has been too often diluted because folks have gotten political power, and they've gotten it under a white infrastructure. And so when they were in power, they imposed a white infrastructure and they

didn't do anything to elevate the issues of black people. And I think right now is a reclamation of the roots of civil rights. It's a reclamation of people like Fannie Lou Hamer said, if I fall, I'm going to fall five feet, four inches forward. Like it's that spirit. Yeah. It's my guy from Mississippi, right? Like it's that spirit that we have to reclaim in our politics. And what I believe is happening now, what I believe is happening with Vice President Harris and Tim Walz, is a new energy for young people to be like, oh, this is what government can do. This is what we can do when we have power. Tim Walz, kids, eat free.

Lunch in his state. In Tennessee, I tried to bring up a bill. They said it was too expensive. You said when Democrats... But gave a massive tax break to businesses. A $2 billion tax break to businesses. We could have ended poverty in Tennessee. Could have housed everybody in Tennessee.

Could have fed every child in Tennessee. Ended the fact that one out of eight children go to bed hungry. We could have did that. But instead, our values were aligned with billionaires. Our values are being aligned with white supremacists. Our values are being aligned with domestic terrorists. And we need a mass realignment. And this opportunity with Vice President Harris and Governor Walz is a part of that realignment. And so you're getting younger people who are like, wait, this is what politics can do?

Yeah, fired up and ready to go. I'm ready to be a part of that. Right? I'm not wanting to be a part of some old stale thing that is like, well, you try and compromise yourself into futility. That's not helpful. What we have to do is stand on our ground. Now, I'll find common ground with anybody, including the devil, if we got some, you know? I like heat. I don't know. I say that, I go with you anywhere, but I don't know about you. It's just like we can find, we can look for the ways that we find common ground, but we can't keep compromising ourselves into poverty. Can't keep compromising ourselves

into inequality. Can't keep compromising ourselves into inequitable opportunities. And for young folks, we want to do something about the climate and the environment. We want to do something about gun violence. We want to be able to have families, but it's hard when you've got $100,000 worth of debt. We want to be able to have houses, but it's hard when these international conglomerates are buying up all the properties in order that they can rent them out as airbnbs or

rent them out so they can control our markets right it's hard to to live in a society that seems to be designed against you but what i think is happening is a redesign that's what i'm talking about that's what i think is happening and so young people are really excited about it and somebody's talking to our issues. Yeah. Right? Yeah. Y'all may not have grown up in school where you had to do active shooter drills or had your teacher say, hey, we got to close the blinds. The police are here. Right?

Like that fear, that trauma is a part of our reality. And so having a vice president candidate, you know, vice president Harris came to Tennessee the day after we were expelled to say like one that was anti-democratic, but two, this reality of the gun violence epidemic is something we have to do. So they launched the first ever white House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. We need somebody that's proximate to us, that's talking to us, and that's saying, look, this is our country. This ain't just the older generation.

This ain't just folks who already got kids. This is all of our country, including young people. And it seems like we're facilitating an awakening, particularly in the South, right, where you've got high black numbers. How do those that have become awakened or woke woke or however we want to describe it, how do they then pay it forward and get other people involved and say, hey, I just figured this out, let's all do that together? Look, I just, I got to go.

I just want to say publicly, I'm incredibly proud of you, brother, right? You keep pushing. I want to also say that just yesterday I was considered the young, you know, the young brother. When you blink, it's gone, okay? You wake up a baby boomer. Well, first of all, all these dudes over here, so we about to bring a bad sister, Maxine Waters.

We about to bring her in here. We appreciate it, Mayor Little Boomer. Thanks a bunch. And so I know she got something to say about tonight. Auntie Maxine is always going to have something to say. I turned 30 years ago during her first term in Congress, 1992. Yeah, yeah. And she was a real one then, and she's a real one now.

She was my state representative when I was four, and I'm 52. Yeah. Yeah. She was a real one then and she's a real one now. She was my state representative when I was four and I'm 52. Yeah. She's been doing it. Congresswoman, we got all these dudes over here. I need a woman over here. We got all these dudes over here talking. We had six. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. We had six dudes earlier. So I'm like, let's mix this thing up. Again, I thought that when you look at overall tonight, the voices we heard,

second gentleman was great talking about. Yes, he was. His wife, Kamala Harris. Personalizing it. Making it authentic. That's right. And humanizing it. Right.

Absolutely. And again, but also, I thought it was awesome by them going to Milwaukee and you were making a point about freedom, Kwame, and because they really lean into that, not solely by reproductive rights, but freedom in numerous ways and reclaiming freedom from the Republican Party, reclaiming it as a plank and tying it all the way back to Harriet Tubman-type freedom. And that's the way that we rebrand the party and get people to see it in a different lens. So that's brilliant on their part. Congresswoman, I got all these dudes over here. We have the distinguished.

Tonight was phenomenal. Not only did we hear from Barack Obama, Michelle killed it. Yes, she did. Oh, you did too. You did too. You did too. You killed it. Oh, you did too. You did too. You killed it. I just walked in when you were speaking. But it was an absolutely extraordinarily inspiring evening.

And I have such great hopes for our future. I think we have an opportunity to not only exercise influence, but to ensure that we start to get the kind of public policy to correct the problems and the inconsistencies in the systems that we have been forced to deal with for so long. And so I'm hopeful. I'm looking toward the future. I think Kamala and Waltz are going to be a good team.

And I think that not only are they going to talk about and proceed to implement the kind of public policy that has been missing for far too long, much of it Biden had started. I've got to give him credit for it. And they're going to carry on. When they talk about increasing teacher pay, it should have been done 50 years ago. I mean, can you believe we're asking them to educate our children and we don't pay them a decent salary? When they talk about creating more affordable housing, when they talk about rent, you know, we talk about home ownership a lot, but not everybody wants to or can own, but they've got to rent.

And everybody's been saying for years, the rent is too damn high. And so I think we're going to talk about what we can do and what can be done now to put a cap on rents so that people won't end up basically taking more than 30% of their income, the homeless on the street. Again, I believe that we're moving in the right direction. And I'm looking forward to it. All right. Thank you. I appreciate it.

Thank you so much. We want to thank you for holding that torch. Thank you. Thank you. I told y'all this is the blackest show this convention. That is it. I told y'all that. We appreciate it.

Holding the torch up. We're going to let the congresswoman close us out on that one. So let me thank Representative Pearson. I appreciate it, my brother. Thank you so very much. Kwame Jackson, I let a cap hang. I appreciate it. You know, I'm going to speak on that.

Joe Richardson out of L.A. Joe, I appreciate it. Thanks a bunch. I want to thank everybody who actually participated tonight. I tell you all, this is just day two. So let me explain tomorrow. So I have to fly to Miami in six hours to do an event for General Motors.

I'm flying back. And so Mark Thompson will begin our coverage tomorrow night. So as soon as I get in from the airport and go through security, I'll be helming our coverage. And so big speaker tomorrow night is President Bill Clinton. Look forward to that. And so more surprises in store. And so I keep telling y'all, this is the blackest coverage out here.

I guarantee y'all, you saw more black people interviewed today on Black Star Network than all other networks combined for the week. And so this is why we are here, to provide the black perspective, to be able to have these voices. And so I want you all to also support us in what we do, because your resources have allowed us to be able to travel here and cover this with our team of people. And you can see our whole setup and all the gear and all this sort of good stuff.

And so senior check and money order, PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. Cash App, Dollar Sign, RM Unfiltered, PayPal, or Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle, Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. Don't forget, download the Black Star Network app. Apple Phone, Android Phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. Folks, that is it.

I will see y'all tomorrow right here from the United Center in Chicago. The 2024 Democratic National Convention, day three. Y'all be great. Y'all be well. I'll see you tomorrow. Holla! I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time,

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