The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Why Are There No Black Women in the Senate?

Episode Date: January 11, 2022

Dulcé Sloan talks to Stefanie Brown James, co-founder of The Collective PAC, about the lack of Black women in the U.S. Senate and her efforts to change that. Originally aired August 2021. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. Let's face it, this past year has been a dumpster fire. One of the only highlights was seeing Kamala Harris inaugurated as our new vice president. Unfortunately, that left us with one small problem. There are no black women in the United States Senate now that Kamala Harris has ascended to the vice presidency. No black women in the Senate? But this is the year black women were praised for saving America's ass. By the way, you're welcome.

The truth is, in the Senate's 230-year history, we've only ever had two black female senators. Kamala Harris and Carol Mosley Braun. You know it's bad when black women have better representation on the bachelor than they do in the US Senate. I wanted to find out what's going on. So I called Stephanie Brown James, co-funder of the collective pack, a nationwide organization working to elect black candidates to office. So black women seem to be doing great in the House of Representatives. Right, right, right, right. But we're having an issue with the Senate. Huge.

Black women vote more than anybody else in this country. So many of the issues we're voting on, impact our families. The Senate has been talking about maternal mortality. Maternal mortality impacts black women more than anybody else. So to not have a black woman saying how this bill should be created and that it should be passed, that's a problem. It is a problem. Just look at these photos from a recent bipartisan dinner featuring all the current female

senators. They are definitely in either some element, because this looks more like an episode of designing women than it does a Senate dinner. To try to get more black women into the Senate. Like, how are y'all, are y'all out teaching people how to shake hands and kiss babies? Like, what are y'all doing? Well, I can definitely say,

in this current reality, we ain't kissing no babies. That's true. We are making sure that with our partner, three point strategies, we have a black campaign school, and so we are training candidates across the country to know the nuts and bolts of running statewide. At the black campaign school, prospective candidates can learn things like how to raise money, how to engage with voters,

and oh, this actually looks fun. Don't want a set from DJD Nice, and this could be the Essence Festival. We have a whole session about how to wear your hair when you are a black woman running for office. And the answer is, girl, wear it however you want to. You know, you don't have to come out here looking like Kerry Washington in the Senate, to get elected because, ooh, them wigs.

God. What do you think is the reason that there have been so few black women in the Senate? Listen, as a woman, the sexism issue is key. Most of our US senators are male. Number two, racism, it does exist in America. And so, you know, you have the fact that this woman has to go across the state, talk to so many different voters, some of whom have never actually had a conversation with a black person. And so that alone is showing you that there's a lot of hurdles that she has to overcome.

I get it. If you want to connect with voters who are unfamiliar with you, sometimes you've got to do what they do. Or in other words, pander. So I had a few ideas on what black female candidates could do to get elected statewide. You know, you need to do more stuff that white people do, like, you know, John Mayor concerts or like. Not a mayor.

Right, like a John Mayor concert or a fish concert. Let's the dog lick them on the face. Something wild like that. No. You know what, you're right. Let's see, um, leaking footage of them not washing their legs in the shower. I don't even know what that means. Or saying that they don't, you haven't heard this thing that these white folks don't wash your legs. Girl, who's all over black Twitter, and I've taken polls.

They don't. And she's doing campaigned saying, I stopped washing my legs in the shower and I keep mayonnaise in my purse. You know what, they'll say, unless that is your natural thing. What we can tell these black candidates and black women, especially is you don't have to, and you shouldn't do anything to pander for votes. It really is about the issues.

If the issues, the issues, the issues, the issues, the issues, the issues, If you are yourself, you could talk about the ideas you have to, you know, make their lives better. That's what we should be paying attention to when it comes to what these black candidates are talking about. And seeing that, yeah, they actually have really great ideas and theyons. the is. I like mayonnaise too. Manias and John Mayer. Mm-mm. Mm-mm. Like, how you making a chicken salad?

Tuna salad? Macaroni's all of the salads that don't have lettuce in it. Those are my favorite salads. Yeah. If we want a Senate that is truly representative of the electorate, we need more black women in office. Fortunately, we have some options in 2022. Val Demings is running for Senate in Florida, and both Sherry Beasley and Erica Smith

are running in North Carolina. So there's hope. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to listen to John Mayer and eat everything with mayonnaise. The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Ears Edition. Subscribe to the Daily Show on YouTube for exclusive content and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central Podcast.