Host Erik Fleming interviews Denise Berkhalter-Miller, National Director of Communications for Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), about her Mississippi and Jackson State roots, her career in journalism and public relations, and why entrepreneurship education should be a required part of schools to build durable skills for young people.
The episode also includes Erik’s election-day reflections, news highlights, support for Black podcasters, and calls to civic action—connecting education, community leadership, and political engagement.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:06 Welcome. I'm Erik Fleming, host of A Moment with Erik Fleming, the podcast of our time.
00:00:06 --> 00:00:08 I want to personally thank you for listening to the podcast.
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00:01:04 --> 00:01:10 Thanks in advance for supporting the podcast of our time. I hope you enjoy this episode as well.
00:01:15 --> 00:01:20 The following program is hosted by the NBG Podcast Network.
00:02:00 --> 00:02:05 Hello, welcome to another moment with Erik Fleming. I am your host, Erik Fleming.
00:02:06 --> 00:02:17 So today I have one guest and she is going to talk about her career and the
00:02:17 --> 00:02:22 connection that she and I have and about entrepreneurship.
00:02:23 --> 00:02:28 So it's a brief conversation, but I think you will find it fulfilling.
00:02:30 --> 00:02:35 And then I'm going to get to talk about some stuff that's going on.
00:02:35 --> 00:02:37 I think we need to acknowledge.
00:02:39 --> 00:02:44 If you are a black podcaster, it's award season for us.
00:02:45 --> 00:02:52 I know you probably have gotten postcards or emails from a bunch of groups,
00:02:52 --> 00:02:56 but the one I want you to pay attention to is the Black Podcasters Association.
00:02:56 --> 00:03:04 That's basically the only one I try to compete in because it's about us.
00:03:05 --> 00:03:12 And not only do they give out awards, but they also give out positive feedback.
00:03:13 --> 00:03:22 You know, after each award presentation, you can go to their website and look
00:03:22 --> 00:03:26 and see how you scored, if you got nominated or not.
00:03:27 --> 00:03:32 And it's really, really helpful. There's some things that you can adjust,
00:03:32 --> 00:03:35 then they kind of give you those pointers.
00:03:35 --> 00:03:38 If it's something you can't really handle, don't worry about it.
00:03:38 --> 00:03:43 Just take it as constructive criticism and, you know, you never know.
00:03:44 --> 00:03:48 Luck may have it that the next year you may get further consideration.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:54 But I promote it every year. I've been nominated twice by this organization.
00:03:54 --> 00:04:01 I have not won, but just the recognition that these are our folks that know
00:04:01 --> 00:04:02 about the work that we're doing.
00:04:02 --> 00:04:11 So I always try to promote them because they don't have the big sponsorships
00:04:11 --> 00:04:15 like some of these other groups yet, but that's coming as long as we,
00:04:15 --> 00:04:18 the Black Podcasters, keep supporting them.
00:04:18 --> 00:04:23 And speaking about support, please go to www.momenterik.com.
00:04:24 --> 00:04:32 As always, I appreciate y'all listening. I would appreciate even more support,
00:04:32 --> 00:04:35 whether it's a donation or a subscription or whatever the case may be,
00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 or just some positive reviews.
00:04:39 --> 00:04:45 Anything to show that you support an independent podcaster like me would be greatly appreciated.
00:04:46 --> 00:04:49 All right, so let's go ahead and kick this program off.
00:04:49 --> 00:04:54 And as always, we kick it off with a moment of news with Grace G.
00:05:01 --> 00:05:07 Thanks, Erik. Tulsi Gabbard resigned her position as Director of National Intelligence.
00:05:07 --> 00:05:11 Thousands of activists gathered in Selma and Montgomery, Alabama,
00:05:11 --> 00:05:15 for a National Day of Action to protest congressional redistricting efforts
00:05:15 --> 00:05:18 that will dilute the Black vote. The U.S.
00:05:19 --> 00:05:23 Supreme Court rejected a request by Virginia Democrats to reinstate a voting
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 map approved by the state's voters in a recent referendum.
00:05:26 --> 00:05:31 Two teenage gunmen shot and killed a security guard and two other men outside
00:05:31 --> 00:05:35 the Islamic Center of San Diego before turning their weapons on themselves.
00:05:36 --> 00:05:40 Search and rescue operations in Morocco recovered the remains of Specialist
00:05:40 --> 00:05:45 Mariah Simone Collington and First Lieutenant Kendrick Lamont Key Jr.,
00:05:45 --> 00:05:50 both of whom died after falling off a cliff during a multinational military exercise.
00:05:51 --> 00:05:55 President Trump seeks to dismiss multiple lawsuits against the federal government
00:05:55 --> 00:06:01 in exchange for creating a $1.7 billion fund to compensate individuals who claim
00:06:01 --> 00:06:04 they were targeted by the Biden administration.
00:06:04 --> 00:06:10 Ed Gallrain defeated vocal Trump critic Thomas Massey in Kentucky's 4th Congressional
00:06:10 --> 00:06:11 District Republican primary.
00:06:12 --> 00:06:16 In the Georgia gubernatorial race, Burt Jones and Rick Jackson advanced to a
00:06:16 --> 00:06:22 Republican primary runoff, while former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms decisively
00:06:22 --> 00:06:24 secured the Democratic nomination.
00:06:24 --> 00:06:29 Dr. Bill Cassidy, the Republican senator who voted for President Trump's impeachment,
00:06:30 --> 00:06:32 lost his re-election primary in Louisiana.
00:06:33 --> 00:06:38 Colorado Governor Jared Polis granted clemency to former county clerk Tina Peters,
00:06:39 --> 00:06:43 commuting her nine-year prison sentence for voting machine tampering to time served.
00:06:43 --> 00:06:49 A Kansas City district judge temporarily blocked a state law banning gender
00:06:49 --> 00:06:51 transition treatments for minors.
00:06:51 --> 00:06:56 Minnesota prosecutors have charged an ICE agent with assault for the January
00:06:56 --> 00:07:02 shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant in Minneapolis during a federal immigration crackdown.
00:07:02 --> 00:07:07 And former Congressman Barney Frank died at the age of 86.
00:07:07 --> 00:07:11 I am Grace G., and this has been a Moment of News.
00:07:17 --> 00:07:21 All right. Thank you, Grace, for that moment of news.
00:07:21 --> 00:07:26 And now it's time for my guest, Denise Berkhalter-Miller.
00:07:26 --> 00:07:34 Denise Berkhalter-Miller, APR MSM, is National Director of Communications for
00:07:34 --> 00:07:36 Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:41 NFTE brings the power of entrepreneurship education to learners,
00:07:41 --> 00:07:46 educators, and decision makers so all young people can own their futures.
00:07:47 --> 00:07:51 Mississippi native, Denise has three decades of experience in mass communication
00:07:51 --> 00:07:56 fields, including as a longtime digital news editor, newspaper editor,
00:07:57 --> 00:08:02 reporter, freelance writer, graphic designer, and public relations professional.
00:08:02 --> 00:08:06 She is president of the No Fear Finances Board of Directors,
00:08:07 --> 00:08:13 a small business tax support nonprofit in Alabama, and a member of the Public
00:08:13 --> 00:08:18 Relations Society of America, Alabama Ethics Chair,
00:08:18 --> 00:08:24 the National Association of Black Journalists, and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.
00:08:24 --> 00:08:28 She is a summa cum laude graduate of Troy University, Montgomery,
00:08:29 --> 00:08:35 where she earned her Master's of Management degree, and Jackson State University,
00:08:36 --> 00:08:42 the I love, where she obtained a bachelor's in mass communication with a public relations emphasis.
00:08:43 --> 00:08:47 She is one of the first African-American women in Alabama to become nationally
00:08:47 --> 00:08:49 certified in public relations.
00:08:49 --> 00:08:57 The former national president of the Council of School Board Communicators has twice judged the U.S.
00:08:58 --> 00:09:03 Chamber of Commerce's CO100 America's top small business list.
00:09:03 --> 00:09:10 Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct honor and privilege to have as a guest
00:09:10 --> 00:09:14 on this podcast, Denise Berkhalter-Miller.
00:09:25 --> 00:09:31 All right, Denise Berkhalter-Miller. How you doing? Yes. You doing good?
00:09:31 --> 00:09:36 Doing well. Doing great. Happy to be here. Well, I know I'm holding you up from
00:09:36 --> 00:09:37 something very important.
00:09:37 --> 00:09:43 Today is election day for y'all as we're recording this in Alabama and in Georgia.
00:09:44 --> 00:09:47 And we're getting out the vote today. Yeah. It's very important.
00:09:47 --> 00:09:52 It's very important. So I'm glad that you took your time out to talk to me for a minute.
00:09:52 --> 00:09:56 What I want to do is start
00:09:56 --> 00:10:02 off with a couple of icebreakers So the first icebreaker I do is I ask the guest
00:10:02 --> 00:10:09 to respond to a quote So this is your quote No one will tell your story as authentically
00:10:09 --> 00:10:15 as you can Live your life aware that you have the starring role in it,
00:10:16 --> 00:10:19 Absolutely. You are the star of
00:10:19 --> 00:10:24 your story and far too often we let other people tell our stories for us.
00:10:24 --> 00:10:28 No, it's the same thing about your home. No one will take care of you the way you do.
00:10:29 --> 00:10:31 No one will tell your story the way you do.
00:10:31 --> 00:10:35 You do it best and you should own your story. Okay.
00:10:36 --> 00:10:39 All right. Now the next icebreaker is what I call 20 questions.
00:10:40 --> 00:10:45 So I need you to give me a number between one and 20. Three.
00:10:47 --> 00:10:48 I'm nervous.
00:10:49 --> 00:10:55 Don't be nervous. How should we balance rights, freedoms, and responsibilities?
00:10:56 --> 00:11:00 Rights, freedoms, and responsibilities, they all go hand in hand.
00:11:00 --> 00:11:07 But I think it's true that your sort of freedoms end where my rights begin and vice versa.
00:11:07 --> 00:11:12 So I think it's important for us to be respectful of each other's rights,
00:11:12 --> 00:11:18 to be respectful of each other's freedoms and, you know, and to honor what we
00:11:18 --> 00:11:20 what I call the golden rule.
00:11:20 --> 00:11:24 But I think it's the rule that rules everything, which is do unto others as
00:11:24 --> 00:11:26 you will have them to do unto you. It's really simple.
00:11:26 --> 00:11:31 I'm a believer in God and God tells me that I should, above all things,
00:11:31 --> 00:11:35 love one another. And I think if you do those things, then all three of those
00:11:35 --> 00:11:38 things that you mentioned will be held to high esteem.
00:11:39 --> 00:11:43 Yeah. See, that wasn't that bad, wasn't it? No, it was easy. It was easy.
00:11:43 --> 00:11:50 So look, one of the things that I love is that I get to talk to people smarter
00:11:50 --> 00:11:52 than me when I do this podcast.
00:11:52 --> 00:11:57 But it's even more thrilling when I can get one, somebody from Mississippi to
00:11:57 --> 00:12:03 come on, and then somebody that went to Jackson State University to come on. This.I. Love.
00:12:03 --> 00:12:08 Thee.I. Love. So let's start with the Mississippi part. Tell the world about Prentiss, Mississippi.
00:12:09 --> 00:12:13 Prentiss, Mississippi is one of those towns you think you've heard of because
00:12:13 --> 00:12:14 you've driven through it.
00:12:14 --> 00:12:18 Otherwise, most people don't have a reason to be there. But it's a fantastic
00:12:18 --> 00:12:23 little alcove in the South where everybody knows everybody.
00:12:23 --> 00:12:25 Family looks after family.
00:12:26 --> 00:12:31 You know, a lot of the traditions are still alive for not just African-American
00:12:31 --> 00:12:34 traditions, but just those old Southern traditions.
00:12:34 --> 00:12:37 Southern charm really is a real thing down there.
00:12:37 --> 00:12:41 And so there's a lot I love about my little town, but there was a lot about
00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 my little town that I thought could be a lot better.
00:12:44 --> 00:12:50 And I still think it's a place where growth and development needs to exist.
00:12:50 --> 00:12:55 But yes, tiny town, I think we have, well, when I was there,
00:12:55 --> 00:12:56 I think there were two traffic lights.
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58 I don't even know if there are two traffic lights anymore.
00:13:00 --> 00:13:04 But it was that kind of place, that kind of place. It's sandwiched in between
00:13:04 --> 00:13:06 Hattiesburg and Jackson, Mississippi.
00:13:06 --> 00:13:11 So close enough to Hattiesburg, close enough to Jackson that you still could
00:13:11 --> 00:13:15 live what I would call a semi-urban life if you wanted to. Yeah.
00:13:15 --> 00:13:23 You know, one of the cool things that I did when I ran for U.S.
00:13:23 --> 00:13:25 Senate was being able to travel the state.
00:13:26 --> 00:13:32 I remember going to Prentiss and they were playing Bassfield that day.
00:13:33 --> 00:13:38 And I had to go to the football game so I could get to a crowd and talk to folks.
00:13:38 --> 00:13:40 That's where everybody in the
00:13:40 --> 00:13:44 whole town was. Everybody was there for that Prentiss-Bassfield game.
00:13:44 --> 00:13:48 And so the PA announced and let me say who I was on the intercom.
00:13:48 --> 00:13:52 The people clapped and all that stuff. It was like, it was pretty cool.
00:13:53 --> 00:13:57 Now it's one school system. So it's Prentiss and Bassfield are one
00:13:58 --> 00:14:02 Jefferson Davis County School System now. Yeah, it's now one big.
00:14:02 --> 00:14:06 The robbery has joined forces and now we're one big force. Okay.
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 All right. Yeah. That's interesting.
00:14:09 --> 00:14:12 That was something that we were
00:14:12 --> 00:14:16 looking at when I was up there in the legislature about consolidating.
00:14:16 --> 00:14:21 I think the only one we got, well, we basically got rid of the superintendent
00:14:21 --> 00:14:24 of Issaquena County because there wasn't a school in Issaquena.
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27 So we were like, why are we paying this guy money?
00:14:28 --> 00:14:32 The same thing is the rolling fork. We were like, what was going on with that?
00:14:32 --> 00:14:35 And then we consolidated Bolivar County.
00:14:35 --> 00:14:40 Ah, okay. They had like four or five school districts and they only had 40
00:14:40 --> 00:14:41 people in the whole county.
00:14:42 --> 00:14:48 So we were like, I can make this work. Anyway, why did you choose Jackson State University?
00:14:49 --> 00:14:54 Why mass communications as a major? And what was your college experience?
00:14:55 --> 00:14:58 So I attended Prentiss High School.
00:14:58 --> 00:15:04 I was in a band. Our band was known as the Baby Sonic Boom, and you know Jackson
00:15:04 --> 00:15:05 State is Sonic Boom of the South.
00:15:05 --> 00:15:11 But our band director, Ronald Wesley, had attended Jackson State University,
00:15:11 --> 00:15:15 but so had also my aunt and my uncle.
00:15:15 --> 00:15:19 Both are graduates of JSU, and my mother attended briefly.
00:15:20 --> 00:15:23 But JSU sort of was never a doubt for me.
00:15:23 --> 00:15:27 I knew right away that I wanted to go to Jackson State University.
00:15:27 --> 00:15:29 I had heard great things about it my whole life.
00:15:29 --> 00:15:33 I had been on college tours to Jackson State when I was in high school.
00:15:34 --> 00:15:38 I've been to many universities and colleges because I was part of the beta club
00:15:38 --> 00:15:42 and all these other things, you know, the nerdy things that the nerds do. I did them all.
00:15:43 --> 00:15:48 But Jackson State always stood out to me as a place where I could find home.
00:15:48 --> 00:15:50 You know, it just really felt like home.
00:15:51 --> 00:15:55 And that was true when I made it there. In fact, I remember one of my high school
00:15:55 --> 00:16:02 counselors because I graduated third in my class and there was like 0 difference between our GPAs.
00:16:02 --> 00:16:06 That's a story for another day. But I graduated third in our class,
00:16:07 --> 00:16:12 and I remember my high school counselor telling me, you should go to an Ivy League college.
00:16:12 --> 00:16:15 You know, she wanted me to go to Harvard. She wanted me to go to Yale,
00:16:15 --> 00:16:17 and I only wanted to go to Jackson State.
00:16:17 --> 00:16:22 And when I got there, like I said, it was absolutely the right place for me.
00:16:22 --> 00:16:26 The Honors College dean became almost like a second mom to me,
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 Maria Alvarez Harvey. Dr.
00:16:29 --> 00:16:33 Harvey has since passed, but she was like a mother to me the entire time,
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 always looking out for me.
00:16:35 --> 00:16:38 She's the reason why I became a Thurgood Marshall scholar, made sure that I
00:16:38 --> 00:16:41 did what I needed to do to qualify for that scholarship.
00:16:43 --> 00:16:46 And, you know, and so mass communications, the story there is kind of funny.
00:16:47 --> 00:16:51 I cannot remember her name, but the dean of the college at the time was a former
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 editor of Ebony magazine.
00:16:53 --> 00:16:58 And we had that freshman orientation. We all knew we wanted to be in the mass
00:16:58 --> 00:17:02 comms field, but I didn't know which area. I honestly didn't.
00:17:02 --> 00:17:04 I just knew I wanted to be a storyteller.
00:17:05 --> 00:17:10 And so they divided the room into three. And they said, everyone who wants to
00:17:10 --> 00:17:14 be a broadcast journalist, go to that side of the room.
00:17:14 --> 00:17:18 Everyone who wants to be in print, go to that side of the room.
00:17:19 --> 00:17:22 And everyone who wants to be in public relations, go to the center.
00:17:22 --> 00:17:27 Well, the people on the left, there was a large number of people over there.
00:17:27 --> 00:17:33 When they said broadcast, like over 75% of the room went to that space.
00:17:33 --> 00:17:36 And there were like 10 people left.
00:17:36 --> 00:17:39 And I looked around. I said, hey, this is going to be my competition.
00:17:39 --> 00:17:41 So I'm going to go to the center.
00:17:42 --> 00:17:47 I went to the smallest number because I always wanted to be unique.
00:17:47 --> 00:17:52 But I felt like God was leading me to that space of relations because,
00:17:52 --> 00:17:56 you know, again, I wanted to tell the story of people who can't tell the story for themselves.
00:17:56 --> 00:18:01 I wanted to amplify the stories of people who often are in the shadows.
00:18:01 --> 00:18:04 And so mass communications was the best way to do that.
00:18:04 --> 00:18:08 And public relations has proven to be a wonderful way to do that.
00:18:09 --> 00:18:13 And Ebony Magazine editor, who was our dean, she told me, she said,
00:18:13 --> 00:18:17 start in journalism because you can always make the transition from journalism
00:18:17 --> 00:18:21 to public relations, but it's so hard to make it in the other direction. And that's what I did.
00:18:22 --> 00:18:27 13 year journalism. Yeah. Cause I was trying to think who that was. Cause I know Dr.
00:18:27 --> 00:18:33 Anthony was over at the end when I was, when I was there. Yeah.
00:18:34 --> 00:18:37 And then I forgot who took over after her.
00:18:38 --> 00:18:41 And then I knew Anthony Dean had it for a minute.
00:18:41 --> 00:18:45 And then Bobbie, Bobbie Walker, she wasn't the Dean, but she was,
00:18:45 --> 00:18:47 you know, she was on TV and,
00:18:48 --> 00:18:53 If I loved her because, you know, she was she handled pretty much the radio and TV part of it.
00:18:54 --> 00:18:58 Yes, I remember her. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So that was pretty cool.
00:18:58 --> 00:19:04 So I had a my thing was I didn't have that JSU connection other than Walter
00:19:04 --> 00:19:06 Payton because I grew in Chicago.
00:19:06 --> 00:19:10 You know, Walter Payton was like a god just like Michael Jordan is now.
00:19:11 --> 00:19:14 And and so that was my only real connection to Jackson State.
00:19:14 --> 00:19:17 But I became Dr. Harvey baby, too.
00:19:18 --> 00:19:22 Yeah. And so that's how I got there. And they told me I didn't have to pay for
00:19:22 --> 00:19:24 anything. I didn't have to pay for books. I was like, yeah, sold.
00:19:26 --> 00:19:29 Because Princeton was like, you in, but you've got to pay this first year.
00:19:29 --> 00:19:34 My dad was like, oh, yeah, I'll make that happen. I was like, really? Yeah.
00:19:36 --> 00:19:38 No, man, you're not going in debt just for me to go to college.
00:19:39 --> 00:19:42 When people are, my mom's alma mater was West Virginia State.
00:19:43 --> 00:19:47 And they offered me a scholarship too but then they also sent me a bill saying
00:19:47 --> 00:19:52 I had burned a room up so Was that true sir?
00:19:52 --> 00:19:59 No I hadn't been there it was a guy who spelled his last name F-L-E-M-O-N-S,
00:20:00 --> 00:20:04 but they sent me the bill saying I had burnt a room up and I was like I hadn't
00:20:04 --> 00:20:09 even been to West Virginia The station identity I was like this sounds like
00:20:09 --> 00:20:12 that's going to be a bad rap My mom was not happy about that, being an alum.
00:20:13 --> 00:20:17 But, you know, so I mean, and I felt that, you know, once I got there to Jackson
00:20:17 --> 00:20:23 State, when you talk about being home and it gave me a chance to meet a lot
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 of my Mississippi relatives.
00:20:24 --> 00:20:28 A couple of them was working on the faculty down there and all that.
00:20:28 --> 00:20:30 So it was really, really cool.
00:20:30 --> 00:20:33 And I wouldn't have traded it for anything else in the world.
00:20:34 --> 00:20:40 So you have been a member of the press and a public relations profession.
00:20:40 --> 00:20:45 In the world we live in now, which profession is the most challenging to you?
00:20:45 --> 00:20:50 So I just recently hosted, I'm chair of the Alabama Public Relations Society
00:20:50 --> 00:20:56 of America's chapter and chair of the ethics committee.
00:20:56 --> 00:21:01 And so I hosted an event with local journalists and public relations professionals
00:21:01 --> 00:21:03 to talk about something very similar to that.
00:21:04 --> 00:21:10 And honestly, I think both of those professions now are being called on to fill
00:21:10 --> 00:21:13 an important need for our country at this moment.
00:21:14 --> 00:21:18 You know, ethical, factual, accurate.
00:21:18 --> 00:21:25 Meaningful conversations and discourse and information sharing and reporting
00:21:25 --> 00:21:31 is more, all of that is far more important than it's ever been in the history
00:21:31 --> 00:21:33 of our country, in my opinion, right now.
00:21:34 --> 00:21:39 You know, particularly with the advent of AI, you know, that whole fake news
00:21:39 --> 00:21:46 mantra has gone from somebody's philosophy to an actual reality in our country right now.
00:21:46 --> 00:21:50 And so I just think both roles are crucially important at this moment.
00:21:51 --> 00:21:54 Yeah. Yeah. That's interesting. I didn't, I didn't know if you were going to
00:21:54 --> 00:21:58 have a preference or you were going to say both.
00:21:59 --> 00:22:05 So it's, it's real interesting you being real, real deep in that field and in
00:22:05 --> 00:22:08 high esteem in that field that you would say that both.
00:22:09 --> 00:22:16 Yeah. Yeah. I've been on both sides of the table and I can see how both roles,
00:22:16 --> 00:22:21 you know, are important, like I said, to factual and accurate storytelling.
00:22:22 --> 00:22:28 Yeah. All right. So what is NFTE and how did your professional journey lead you to work with them?
00:22:29 --> 00:22:36 So the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, NFTE, has been around since 1987,
00:22:36 --> 00:22:39 40 years, coming up in next year.
00:22:40 --> 00:22:45 And the organization is a global nonprofit that helps young people learn how
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 to start their own businesses.
00:22:46 --> 00:22:50 And we do that through teaching the entrepreneurial mindset.
00:22:50 --> 00:22:53 These are skills, durable skills. Some people call them soft skills.
00:22:53 --> 00:22:59 We call them durable and important skills that every young person needs to succeed in life.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:04 Mass communications has brought me to this space because I've always been a
00:23:04 --> 00:23:08 mission-driven employee, even when I was in journalism, mission-driven.
00:23:09 --> 00:23:15 And so the mission matters to me. And as the National Director of Communications for NFTE,
00:23:15 --> 00:23:21 I'm given the blessing and the pleasure of serving these young people and helping
00:23:21 --> 00:23:27 them activate within them and ignite within them something that they already have,
00:23:27 --> 00:23:30 which is sort of that, you know, that hustle energy that we had at Jackson State
00:23:30 --> 00:23:32 University, that thing that got us,
00:23:33 --> 00:23:36 that honestly, most people in the HBCU world have.
00:23:36 --> 00:23:43 You know, we know that we have to have that drive and that vision, those goals.
00:23:43 --> 00:23:48 We have to grind. We have to use our grit to get ahead in life.
00:23:48 --> 00:23:54 And we don't just settle for good enough. We want excellence.
00:23:54 --> 00:23:57 You know, excellence was a word I heard all the time at Beyond Love,
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 at Jackson State University.
00:23:59 --> 00:24:05 And it sort of resonates with me. And working in the nonprofit space gives you
00:24:05 --> 00:24:07 an opportunity to sort of exercise
00:24:07 --> 00:24:11 the excellence that they taught us at Jackson State. Yeah, yeah. Dr.
00:24:12 --> 00:24:18 Hefner was, let's see, my freshman year, Dr. Peoples was still the president. Yeah.
00:24:19 --> 00:24:26 And then I had Dr. Hefner's first three years and he had that commitment to
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 excellence and we were like,
00:24:27 --> 00:24:31 Doc, you know, that's like the writer symbol. I don't know if we can just take that.
00:24:32 --> 00:24:38 He was like, but we're just as committed as they are, Mr. Fleming. Yes, sir. Okay.
00:24:38 --> 00:24:41 All right. I just thought I'd bring that up to you.
00:24:41 --> 00:24:46 Why is teaching entrepreneurship important? You talked about,
00:24:46 --> 00:24:50 you know, the tapping into the hustle aspect and all that.
00:24:51 --> 00:24:53 But just why is teaching it important?
00:24:54 --> 00:24:58 So I believe teaching entrepreneurship shouldn't be an elective.
00:24:58 --> 00:25:02 I believe entrepreneurship education should be a requirement for all kids.
00:25:02 --> 00:25:04 Let's think about when we were in school.
00:25:06 --> 00:25:10 I don't remember having a class that taught me how to balance a checkbook.
00:25:10 --> 00:25:15 I don't remember having a class that taught me how to make my money work for me.
00:25:15 --> 00:25:20 I don't remember having a class that taught me how to communicate and collaborate
00:25:20 --> 00:25:22 with other people, how to be flexible.
00:25:23 --> 00:25:27 You know, it was all about don't make mistakes rather than taking calculated
00:25:27 --> 00:25:32 risks and learning lessons from those mistakes and sort of adapting to,
00:25:32 --> 00:25:36 you know, the environment of what's new and what's on the horizon.
00:25:36 --> 00:25:40 You know, all those things that are really important to, you know,
00:25:40 --> 00:25:44 we don't know what jobs are going to exist tomorrow. We really don't.
00:25:44 --> 00:25:47 Some of these jobs that exist today just didn't in the past.
00:25:47 --> 00:25:52 Some of the jobs that kids are going to school for now are in question whether
00:25:52 --> 00:25:54 or not those jobs will exist by the time they graduate high school.
00:25:55 --> 00:26:01 I'm sorry, graduate college. And so you have to have the skills that allow you to be future-proof.
00:26:01 --> 00:26:07 And entrepreneurship education and teaching that gives a whole generation,
00:26:07 --> 00:26:11 generation after generation, the skills that they need to apply to whatever
00:26:11 --> 00:26:14 pathway they choose to go on in life.
00:26:14 --> 00:26:18 And so, you know, and I think educators are seeing that.
00:26:19 --> 00:26:22 Really, most of the people who bring us into their school systems,
00:26:22 --> 00:26:24 they are the educators. They hear it from another teacher.
00:26:25 --> 00:26:29 They learn from another former student or they were former students of ours,
00:26:29 --> 00:26:34 and they see the value in it. And that's why they teach NFTE. Yeah.
00:26:34 --> 00:26:38 So it's funny you should say that, because when I was in the legislature,
00:26:38 --> 00:26:43 I introduced a bill to make teaching entrepreneurship and financial literacy
00:26:43 --> 00:26:45 required high school curriculum in Mississippi.
00:26:46 --> 00:26:51 That ended up being legislation to allow outside organizations to teach financial
00:26:51 --> 00:26:54 literacy in high schools at no expense to the school district.
00:26:54 --> 00:27:00 Wow. And that was like the Mississippi Association for Realtors got behind that.
00:27:01 --> 00:27:08 So is NFTE currently looking to require high school nationwide to teach entrepreneurship?
00:27:08 --> 00:27:14 So there is a coalition, NFTE is part of a coalition of like-minded entrepreneurship
00:27:14 --> 00:27:21 education organizations who truly support the idea of bringing what we see as
00:27:21 --> 00:27:27 a successful mindset and battery of skills to all kids, no matter where they are.
00:27:27 --> 00:27:35 So the answer to that is, are we educating decision makers, people like you who are in the space?
00:27:35 --> 00:27:40 Are we gathering those like minds around the concept of teaching entrepreneurship
00:27:40 --> 00:27:46 education in every school, regardless of what your zip code is? Absolutely.
00:27:46 --> 00:27:49 Absolutely. We are supporting that move. In fact, that's our,
00:27:49 --> 00:27:51 you know, that's our purpose.
00:27:51 --> 00:27:56 Our purpose is to start this global movement for equitable access to entrepreneurship
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 education, no matter where you are.
00:27:57 --> 00:28:03 Well, that's good to hear because, you know, when I was in legislation,
00:28:03 --> 00:28:06 was doing that kind of, you know, pushing that legislation,
00:28:07 --> 00:28:11 NFTE did step in and, you know, write letters and stuff saying,
00:28:11 --> 00:28:14 hey, blah, blah, this, that, and the other.
00:28:14 --> 00:28:20 And, you know, I just, I think people caught wind of what I was trying to do.
00:28:21 --> 00:28:26 The majority of the kids, you know, at least in the Mississippi public schools were black.
00:28:27 --> 00:28:33 I just felt that, you know, in Illinois, we had to take, they didn't call it
00:28:33 --> 00:28:36 financial literacy, they called it consumer education.
00:28:37 --> 00:28:40 And so we had to take a class to graduate.
00:28:40 --> 00:28:46 It was like public law and then first semester and then the second semester
00:28:46 --> 00:28:48 of senior year, we had to take consumer ed.
00:28:48 --> 00:28:55 So consumer ed was being able to write a checkbook, balance a checkbook,
00:28:55 --> 00:28:58 write a check, train schedules, all that stuff.
00:28:58 --> 00:29:03 We literally had to take a test and they gave us like a train schedule that
00:29:03 --> 00:29:05 nobody else would ever get like.
00:29:05 --> 00:29:11 And we had to figure out what bus we needed to catch and what time and all that
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 stuff in order to graduate.
00:29:13 --> 00:29:16 They called it the functional literacy exam back in the day. Yeah.
00:29:17 --> 00:29:24 But but I just believe that it made sense to teach young black folks how to
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 start their own business.
00:29:25 --> 00:29:30 And even if they don't start their own business, they would be better employees
00:29:30 --> 00:29:33 because they would understand the dynamics of business.
00:29:34 --> 00:29:36 Right. Correct. We call those entrepreneurs.
00:29:37 --> 00:29:41 Yeah. Entrepreneurs. You're using that entrepreneurial mindset within the job
00:29:41 --> 00:29:45 to create a better outcome, not just for yourself professionally,
00:29:45 --> 00:29:47 but for your employer. you.
00:29:47 --> 00:29:52 The example I used to use was like, say, for example, you're working the drive-thru
00:29:52 --> 00:29:57 at McDonald's and your friend comes up and says, hey, man, let me throw in some fries.
00:29:57 --> 00:30:01 And it's like, well, I would, brother, but it's like, you know,
00:30:01 --> 00:30:04 that's going to affect our inventory and our profit and loss and all that.
00:30:04 --> 00:30:08 That might mean I don't get as much of a paycheck or raise and.
00:30:08 --> 00:30:11 It ain't worth all that. You know what I'm saying? That's right.
00:30:12 --> 00:30:17 That's right. And so they said, that'd be kind of deep for high school to get to say that.
00:30:17 --> 00:30:21 I said, hey, that's what teaching entrepreneurship would do for them.
00:30:21 --> 00:30:24 So I really commend y'all's work.
00:30:24 --> 00:30:29 And I'm glad to hear that y'all are still pushing to try to get that into the everyday curriculum.
00:30:31 --> 00:30:36 So let's go ahead and close this out. When Denise Berkhalter-Miller's authentic
00:30:36 --> 00:30:40 story is told, what will be the summary of it?
00:30:41 --> 00:30:45 You remember that, well, there's a poem that is often read at,
00:30:45 --> 00:30:51 this is getting a little dark here, I'm sorry, but a poem that's often read
00:30:51 --> 00:30:54 at funerals, it's called The Dash. Yeah.
00:30:55 --> 00:31:03 And yes, I love that poem because that dash between our birth year and the year we move on,
00:31:03 --> 00:31:13 that dash between represents all the things that we were, we are in this moment when we're living.
00:31:13 --> 00:31:23 And I want that dash to represent someone who loved people, who elevated and
00:31:23 --> 00:31:28 uplifted people, who spoke with truth and honesty,
00:31:28 --> 00:31:36 who fought to the very end, and who wants the world to not only be a better
00:31:36 --> 00:31:38 place, but left the world a better place.
00:31:39 --> 00:31:43 However I do that, however I do that, if it's through others, so be it.
00:31:43 --> 00:31:48 If it's in a small way, so be it. But that's the dash I live every day.
00:31:48 --> 00:31:55 Yeah, yeah, that's cool. Finish this sentence, I have hope because.
00:31:56 --> 00:32:02 I have hope because I am the lucky mom of two, and I listen to the dialogue
00:32:02 --> 00:32:06 of my children, particularly my son right now who is in college.
00:32:06 --> 00:32:10 And I listened to him talk about a world.
00:32:11 --> 00:32:17 He's passionate about a world where you talk about rights and freedoms,
00:32:18 --> 00:32:20 a world where rights and freedoms are respected.
00:32:21 --> 00:32:27 I look at him and his friends and I see the diversity of that friendship.
00:32:27 --> 00:32:31 I see them working together toward their dreams.
00:32:31 --> 00:32:37 I see unity. I see unity through my children.
00:32:37 --> 00:32:41 And I want more of that. I want more of that, not just for our kids,
00:32:41 --> 00:32:43 but I want it for our whole country. I want it for our world.
00:32:44 --> 00:32:48 So, Denise, if people want to learn more about NFTE or want to,
00:32:48 --> 00:32:52 you know, reach out to you, how can they do that?
00:32:53 --> 00:33:00 So you can find us online, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship at nfte.com.
00:33:00 --> 00:33:08 You can also contact me directly at marketing at nfte.com.
00:33:09 --> 00:33:13 And you can follow me on LinkedIn. Best way to catch up with me.
00:33:13 --> 00:33:17 I'll see you there How do you think Jackson State is going to do in football this year?
00:33:18 --> 00:33:23 Look, Jackson State has always been a winner And I feel like we're going to
00:33:23 --> 00:33:28 be a winner this year too Yeah, well, you know And that's part of the tradition,
00:33:29 --> 00:33:35 You know, because not only on the football field But I think Jackson State should
00:33:35 --> 00:33:39 take a lot of pride In the fact that they produce winners in every field,
00:33:40 --> 00:33:44 Every field And you are a classic example of that.
00:33:44 --> 00:33:49 And so it was really an honor to to take some time out of your day,
00:33:49 --> 00:33:54 election day, for you to come on and talk to the audience.
00:33:55 --> 00:34:02 And I have a standard rule that once you've been on, you have an open invitation to come back.
00:34:02 --> 00:34:05 So if there's something pressing that you want to talk about,
00:34:05 --> 00:34:11 whether it's with NFTE or anything else, just just reach out and we'll we'll we'll make it happen.
00:34:11 --> 00:34:13 We'll get you on. So Denise.
00:34:14 --> 00:34:20 Yes, ma'am. I'm really, really happy that you came on and I'm honored that you
00:34:20 --> 00:34:24 that you came on the podcast. It has been an absolute pleasure. Absolute pleasure.
00:34:24 --> 00:34:30 And right back at you, man, I am so proud of the work that Jackson State University
00:34:30 --> 00:34:36 is doing to produce not just good citizens, but good people. We are good people, man.
00:34:36 --> 00:34:41 Let us shine and revel in that. And I appreciate everything you're doing for our community.
00:35:07 --> 00:35:14 All right, we are back. And so I want to thank Denise Berkhalter-Miller,
00:35:15 --> 00:35:22 for taking the time out on Election Day to come on a podcast.
00:35:22 --> 00:35:27 We recorded that she was literally in the parking lot of the polling place.
00:35:27 --> 00:35:32 So I really, really appreciate that. And it's always great to talk to somebody
00:35:32 --> 00:35:37 from Mississippi, especially one that went to Jackson State University, the I love.
00:35:37 --> 00:35:44 You know, I can't tell y'all enough. You have to experience it yourself.
00:35:44 --> 00:35:52 You have children of age to go to college or even if they want to get a master's
00:35:52 --> 00:35:55 or a Ph.D., please consider Jackson State University.
00:35:55 --> 00:36:00 It is one of the top historically black colleges in the nation.
00:36:00 --> 00:36:05 And I would make the argument that I would put any of our alumni up against
00:36:05 --> 00:36:08 any alumni of any institution in the United States.
00:36:09 --> 00:36:12 People underestimate Mississippi a lot. I do not.
00:36:13 --> 00:36:17 My friends, I definitely do not. And my enemies, I definitely don't underestimate.
00:36:17 --> 00:36:19 They come from Mississippi.
00:36:21 --> 00:36:26 Because if there's anything I know about Mississippi, is that Mississippi folks
00:36:26 --> 00:36:27 know how to fight. They know how to survive.
00:36:28 --> 00:36:34 And if you have some intelligence behind you, it's, you know, you're a weapon.
00:36:37 --> 00:36:43 You're a weapon. And again, that could be a good or a bad thing.
00:36:44 --> 00:36:48 But everybody I know from Mississippi is a fighter.
00:36:49 --> 00:36:56 And those who I fight alongside with, I couldn't think of any other better people to stand with.
00:36:57 --> 00:37:02 Like I said, I grew up in Chicago. I will always love Chicago. I am here in Georgia.
00:37:03 --> 00:37:10 I'm learning to love Georgia. That's been a harder sell, but not necessarily the Georgian's fault.
00:37:13 --> 00:37:20 You know, but I mean, this might be the place where I end up retiring and living the rest of my life.
00:37:21 --> 00:37:26 So I think the love will come, but nothing will compare to my experience at
00:37:26 --> 00:37:28 Jackson State and Mississippi.
00:37:29 --> 00:37:35 So, yeah, it's always good to connect with folks, and especially on this platform.
00:37:36 --> 00:37:43 So, I do want to send out prayers and condolences to the families of Specialist
00:37:43 --> 00:37:46 Collington and 1st Lieutenant Key.
00:37:47 --> 00:37:54 Those were the, if you remember from the news, those were the two soldiers that
00:37:54 --> 00:37:59 literally fell off a cliff during a training exercise in Morocco.
00:37:59 --> 00:38:04 We have this, I don't know if it's annual, but it's a pretty frequent exercise
00:38:04 --> 00:38:10 where we coordinate with some African allies,
00:38:11 --> 00:38:16 primarily the Moroccans, and have a training exercise with them.
00:38:16 --> 00:38:23 And the details of why they were on the cliff or how they fell or whatever has
00:38:23 --> 00:38:30 not been released, but we do know that they recovered their remains,
00:38:30 --> 00:38:35 which was very fortunate considering they fell in the water.
00:38:36 --> 00:38:40 And so their families will have closure on that. But, you know,
00:38:41 --> 00:38:47 none of the major news outlets cover that, I guess, because there wasn't a war attached to it.
00:38:48 --> 00:38:53 But thank goodness I was able to keep up with that.
00:38:53 --> 00:38:59 And again, to the Collington and Key family, on behalf of A Moment with Erik Fleming
00:38:59 --> 00:39:02 podcast, I send my condolences to them.
00:39:02 --> 00:39:10 And I'm, based on what I was able to read, they're very special people and you
00:39:10 --> 00:39:15 have to be a special person, especially during this time, to volunteer to serve your country.
00:39:16 --> 00:39:18 I remember when that decision, I had to make it.
00:39:20 --> 00:39:28 And, you know, made my decision to get out and I wish that they had been able
00:39:28 --> 00:39:31 to get out on their own terms I don't know.
00:39:32 --> 00:39:36 So, yeah, there's that. And also just to acknowledge,
00:39:36 --> 00:39:41 even though this is not a sports podcast, I do want to acknowledge the fact
00:39:41 --> 00:39:49 that a young man who was a legend in the NASCAR world suddenly died.
00:39:49 --> 00:39:53 Kyle Busch, he was 41 years old, so he's 20 years younger than me.
00:39:53 --> 00:39:59 He was the most accomplished driver in NASCAR history. Some of you who don't
00:39:59 --> 00:40:04 follow the sport would have no idea about that. You know, there might be some
00:40:04 --> 00:40:06 names that you associate with the sport.
00:40:06 --> 00:40:10 Jimmy Johnson, Kyle, you know, Richard Petty, people like that,
00:40:11 --> 00:40:13 that have transcended the sport.
00:40:13 --> 00:40:21 But Kyle Busch won at every level of NASCAR. I first found out about him through
00:40:21 --> 00:40:23 the truck racing circuit.
00:40:23 --> 00:40:26 He was the most dominant truck racer of all time.
00:40:27 --> 00:40:31 And there are a couple of black drivers, especially a black female,
00:40:31 --> 00:40:33 that's currently in the truck circuit now.
00:40:34 --> 00:40:37 And so all of those folks that are racing in the truck circuit,
00:40:37 --> 00:40:39 Kyle Busch was their North Star.
00:40:39 --> 00:40:48 And then he moved up to the traditional Cup Series, the NASCAR races that we
00:40:48 --> 00:40:53 know, the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, Talladega, all those races.
00:40:54 --> 00:41:01 And he won, I believe they said 63 of those races in his career.
00:41:02 --> 00:41:11 And his dad was a driver's brother, you know, Kurt Busch, I believe his name
00:41:11 --> 00:41:14 was, or is, you know, so he came from a racing family.
00:41:15 --> 00:41:19 His son is 11 and he's already doing amateur racing.
00:41:20 --> 00:41:24 So racing was in their blood. And, you know, when I first saw it come across,
00:41:24 --> 00:41:25 I was like, oh, wow, well, did he,
00:41:26 --> 00:41:32 dying it because he died like qualifying for a race or something was he in a car wreck,
00:41:33 --> 00:41:35 and they say he just got sick he said he'd
00:41:35 --> 00:41:38 been dealing with someone with his sinuses and then the next thing you know
00:41:38 --> 00:41:44 he's no longer with us so i bring that up you know and condolences to his family
00:41:44 --> 00:41:51 and to the nascar family but i bring that up to remind us that this is something
00:41:51 --> 00:41:53 that we're all going to have to deal with.
00:41:53 --> 00:41:59 And so we need to take steps, whether it's personally or politically,
00:41:59 --> 00:42:03 to make sure that we can live as long a life as possible.
00:42:04 --> 00:42:09 This is the reason why we fight for universal health care for everybody.
00:42:09 --> 00:42:14 Because even, you know, he had the best doctors and all that.
00:42:14 --> 00:42:16 You know, it is what it is.
00:42:17 --> 00:42:22 But everybody should have access to the health care to give you a chance to
00:42:22 --> 00:42:26 fight it and to deal with all this other stuff. Ebola has come back.
00:42:27 --> 00:42:33 Measles has come back. So we really need a real healthcare system and whatever's
00:42:33 --> 00:42:39 going on in Washington right now that by 2028 that needs to be over with, right?
00:42:41 --> 00:42:44 2029, I guess, when the new administration will come in.
00:42:44 --> 00:42:48 But yeah, I just thought I'd mention that because that's something that really
00:42:48 --> 00:42:51 transcends everything.
00:42:52 --> 00:42:54 But I do have some good news.
00:42:55 --> 00:43:01 So it's no surprise that since this is a political podcast, we have people come
00:43:01 --> 00:43:06 on that's either run for office and served office or seeking a political office.
00:43:07 --> 00:43:14 And so this year, I've reached out to as many candidates as I could, and I try to do that.
00:43:15 --> 00:43:20 And it's really hard, you know, because you've got a schedule that you're trying
00:43:20 --> 00:43:23 to hit all these places and meet all these people.
00:43:23 --> 00:43:30 So I really appreciate those that blot out the time to come on and take advantage
00:43:30 --> 00:43:37 of an opportunity to discuss their platforms and why they want to be in this position.
00:43:38 --> 00:43:44 So, so far I've had three congressional candidates come on and out of the three
00:43:44 --> 00:43:50 last Tuesday, the first one lost earlier in the year.
00:43:51 --> 00:43:57 But he was running against an incumbent, George Tornado. He was running against Andre Carson.
00:43:58 --> 00:44:01 But George has been a real solid Democrat in Indiana.
00:44:02 --> 00:44:08 And, you know, we made a connection. And so I was intrigued to find out why he was going to run.
00:44:08 --> 00:44:11 And plus Indianapolis, that was my mom's birthplace.
00:44:11 --> 00:44:19 So I was intrigued by him. But Kaylee Patterson, who has been building for years
00:44:19 --> 00:44:24 a grassroots Democratic organization in Idaho,
00:44:24 --> 00:44:29 and she won the Democratic nomination officially last Tuesday.
00:44:29 --> 00:44:36 So we're hoping she's running against an entrenched incumbent in Idaho.
00:44:36 --> 00:44:41 But if there's any year where that could flip, it's this one.
00:44:41 --> 00:44:49 And she has done the work to build a network that could possibly do that.
00:44:49 --> 00:44:56 I think they had a special election and that seat flipped in a state legislative race.
00:44:57 --> 00:45:02 So the potential, the attitude, the potential is there, and we'll get into some
00:45:02 --> 00:45:04 of the other reasons why I think it's going to happen.
00:45:04 --> 00:45:11 And then the other candidate that just recently interviewed was Jasmine Clark, Dr. Jasmine Clark.
00:45:11 --> 00:45:17 Dr. Clark has been a state representative basically about the same time that
00:45:17 --> 00:45:22 I came to Atlanta, and she has been one of the legislators that.
00:45:23 --> 00:45:30 Not only caught my attention, but reminded me of my passion for serving.
00:45:32 --> 00:45:37 And based on what we were seeing in some past stuff in Georgia,
00:45:37 --> 00:45:42 past elections, I was thinking, okay, well, she would be in a runoff.
00:45:42 --> 00:45:45 I don't know, not Dr. Jasmine Clark.
00:45:45 --> 00:45:49 No, Dr. Jasmine Clark put those folks to sleep.
00:45:49 --> 00:45:53 She got 56% of the vote and there were there
00:45:53 --> 00:45:57 were at least there were three other candidates that
00:45:57 --> 00:46:03 were legitimate you had a lady who was on she was a dentist but she was on Married
00:46:03 --> 00:46:07 with Medicine or Married for Medicine or whatever the show is she was a reality
00:46:07 --> 00:46:14 TV star she ended up finishing second there was a young guy who was I think
00:46:14 --> 00:46:16 the president of the board in Gwinnett County,
00:46:17 --> 00:46:21 A lot of the influencers got behind him.
00:46:21 --> 00:46:24 He couldn't beat the reality star, right?
00:46:25 --> 00:46:32 And then you had a sitting state senator who's been there a long time.
00:46:32 --> 00:46:39 And he, you know, successful businessman and probably one of the wealthiest
00:46:39 --> 00:46:40 legislators that was in there.
00:46:40 --> 00:46:45 And it's definitely one of the wealthiest black legislators in the state. He finished fourth.
00:46:46 --> 00:46:48 So Dr. Clark beat all of those folks.
00:46:50 --> 00:46:55 And so, you know, all you got to do is just get out there and work, man.
00:46:55 --> 00:46:58 All you got to do is just get out there and let people know.
00:46:58 --> 00:47:02 And the old Bible saying, you know, let the work I've done speak for me,
00:47:03 --> 00:47:05 right? Not Bible, it's spiritual.
00:47:06 --> 00:47:10 Lyric. Let the gospel song, term I want to use.
00:47:10 --> 00:47:18 Let the work I've done speak for me. And I think the people in District 13 let Dr.
00:47:18 --> 00:47:23 Clark know that they appreciated what she's done as a legislator and rewarded
00:47:23 --> 00:47:26 her because there's a Republican running in November, but.
00:47:28 --> 00:47:33 She's basically going to be the Congresswoman. If you call her Congresswoman-elect,
00:47:33 --> 00:47:37 that would not be out of order because she's going to win that.
00:47:38 --> 00:47:42 Now, two years from now, we don't know what that district is going to look like
00:47:42 --> 00:47:52 because it is in the South. But as of right now, she's on her way to be the first Ph.D.
00:47:53 --> 00:47:59 Scientist to serve, first female to serve in the United States Congress.
00:47:59 --> 00:48:09 So congratulations to her. Now, the bonus was, it was a young lady that came on named Amanda Janu.
00:48:09 --> 00:48:17 And Amanda is a expert, if you will, or the main spokesperson for a theory called
00:48:17 --> 00:48:22 well-being economics, which some will consider like radical or whatever.
00:48:23 --> 00:48:28 But you know it's an economic scale that's based on.
00:48:29 --> 00:48:33 Instead of how the stock market is doing it's like how well are the people doing
00:48:33 --> 00:48:39 right bottom line and so Amanda lives in Vermont and.
00:48:40 --> 00:48:45 She's running for governor. And that's going to be an interesting race because
00:48:45 --> 00:48:49 the lady she's running against, some of the establishment has gotten behind
00:48:49 --> 00:48:54 her and including like Howard Dean and all that.
00:48:55 --> 00:49:02 But, you know, and she just got some legislation passed that she's been crusading.
00:49:03 --> 00:49:10 So that's going to be tough. But Amanda, if you remember, is like I said, she's an economist.
00:49:10 --> 00:49:15 Basically. She's, you know, worked with other countries. She's worked with the UN.
00:49:15 --> 00:49:21 She's been a vocal community leader. And both of these ladies are young.
00:49:21 --> 00:49:23 They're both under 40, for instance.
00:49:24 --> 00:49:26 So it's going to be a really, really interesting race up there.
00:49:26 --> 00:49:30 And I, of course, since, you know, Amanda's been on the show,
00:49:31 --> 00:49:35 you know, I want to wish her well in that.
00:49:35 --> 00:49:38 But that was just kind of out of the blue is just like, you know,
00:49:38 --> 00:49:42 bam, I just got a hit. And it was like, it was a commercial for her running for governor.
00:49:42 --> 00:49:45 I was like, that's so cool, you know?
00:49:46 --> 00:49:50 So hopefully she hears this and understand that we're pulling for,
00:49:50 --> 00:49:53 I don't have any beef with the other lady.
00:49:54 --> 00:49:59 Matter of fact, we might be connected, you know, on LinkedIn or whatever, but.
00:50:00 --> 00:50:06 Yeah, I think that's cool. And another thing that's related to the election
00:50:06 --> 00:50:10 piece, Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta,
00:50:11 --> 00:50:16 she served during the pandemic George Floyd years.
00:50:16 --> 00:50:24 She only served one term, and she left, and she was an advisor to President Biden.
00:50:24 --> 00:50:30 She was a commentator on CNN. She's been teaching classes at Clark Atlanta.
00:50:30 --> 00:50:34 And I guess she came out of retirement and decided she wanted to be governor.
00:50:35 --> 00:50:41 And with seven other people running, now let me break down who she'd be.
00:50:42 --> 00:50:48 She'd be the last black person to serve in a statewide office in Georgia.
00:50:49 --> 00:50:54 She'd be a former lieutenant governor of the state of Georgia.
00:50:56 --> 00:51:02 And she beat an incumbent state senator and an incumbent state legislator,
00:51:02 --> 00:51:05 state representative, amongst the other folks that were running.
00:51:06 --> 00:51:11 But you would figure out of that group of four, that would have forced a runoff.
00:51:14 --> 00:51:23 Sister Bottoms beat all of them with basically, she was running in the 60s most
00:51:23 --> 00:51:26 of the night. I think she finally settled in at 57, 58 percent.
00:51:27 --> 00:51:29 But statewide, she won that thing.
00:51:30 --> 00:51:38 So, and more Democrats voted in the Democratic primary than Republicans voted
00:51:38 --> 00:51:40 in the Republican primary.
00:51:41 --> 00:51:49 So, like you heard in the news segment, she's got, there's two Republicans running on the runoff.
00:51:50 --> 00:51:52 So, they still haven't figured out who's going to run against her.
00:51:53 --> 00:51:58 But she is a Democratic nominee, and that was, when I say impressive,
00:51:58 --> 00:52:05 she was running in the high 60s, and none of the Fulton County votes were counted.
00:52:06 --> 00:52:11 They basically called the election before they even counted the votes in Atlanta.
00:52:12 --> 00:52:14 That's how impressive her win was.
00:52:15 --> 00:52:21 And hopefully that's a sign. You know, there's already black folks and white
00:52:21 --> 00:52:25 folks throwing shade at her because she's a black woman, right?
00:52:26 --> 00:52:33 The white folks, y'all are who y'all are, right?
00:52:34 --> 00:52:36 But for the black folks, I got to stop that.
00:52:36 --> 00:52:42 Now, you may be who you are too, but, you know, like Dr.
00:52:42 --> 00:52:47 Givens talked about people in purity tests and all that. But it's like if we
00:52:47 --> 00:52:50 try to run a purity test on every black person that ran for office,
00:52:50 --> 00:52:54 nobody black would make it out the gate, you know?
00:52:55 --> 00:53:02 The young lady who succeeded me, who beat me, she and I were opposite ends of the death penalty.
00:53:04 --> 00:53:09 But does that mean I'm not going to vote for her, considering that on the other
00:53:09 --> 00:53:11 nine out of ten issues, we agree?
00:53:12 --> 00:53:15 On that one issue about the death penalty, it's like, well, no,
00:53:15 --> 00:53:18 that's a known starter for me. That's not how that works.
00:53:19 --> 00:53:23 You know? It's just, you go with the best person.
00:53:24 --> 00:53:30 So anyway, you know, if you're looking, if you're into politics looking for
00:53:30 --> 00:53:31 perfection, you're in the wrong place.
00:53:32 --> 00:53:37 If you're into politics to look for people to actually give a damn about you, come on in.
00:53:38 --> 00:53:43 But you've got to get your mindset right if you're looking for purity in politics.
00:53:43 --> 00:53:50 That's just not how that goes. Anyway, so, you know, definitely going to be
00:53:50 --> 00:53:52 doing what we can to help Ms.
00:53:52 --> 00:53:55 Bottoms become the first black governor first.
00:53:55 --> 00:53:59 I don't think she's the first female, but she'll definitely be the first black
00:53:59 --> 00:54:02 governor to stay. And it's long overdue, right?
00:54:03 --> 00:54:05 So anyway, wanted to deal with that.
00:54:07 --> 00:54:11 So I guess real quick, I'm going to mention this whole thing,
00:54:11 --> 00:54:15 and I'm just going to do it in what I think is happening.
00:54:15 --> 00:54:28 So this whole argument about this slush fund, right, $1 billion, get it, 1776?
00:54:29 --> 00:54:37 Is set up to give reparations to people that went to jail for January 6th.
00:54:38 --> 00:54:42 Those are the primary people. And then anybody else that Trump has pardoned
00:54:42 --> 00:54:47 that were arrested by the Justice Department during Biden's administration.
00:54:47 --> 00:54:53 So somebody kind of joked about it, but technically, based on the qualifications, that would happen.
00:54:54 --> 00:54:57 Hunter Biden would qualify for this money. but that
00:54:57 --> 00:55:04 of Hunter's application will be looked at seriously but this is basically what
00:55:04 --> 00:55:11 it was for it's to give people like Terrio and Rhodes and all those other January
00:55:11 --> 00:55:15 6th Calais any one of those January 6th folks,
00:55:16 --> 00:55:20 that were beating up Capitol Police officers, that was tearing down barricades.
00:55:20 --> 00:55:25 Because I just want you to understand, they say, you know, J.D.
00:55:25 --> 00:55:29 Vance is back with that stupid shit about they were just protesting,
00:55:30 --> 00:55:35 still got a guy floating around here in Georgia saying they were just tourists,
00:55:36 --> 00:55:38 right? Clyde, I think his name is.
00:55:38 --> 00:55:44 But the reality is, tourists don't take down police barricades.
00:55:44 --> 00:55:48 If you've ever been to the Capitol building since 9-11, you pretty much have
00:55:48 --> 00:55:51 to go through a gauntlet of security just to get in.
00:55:51 --> 00:55:56 And it's even tighter now after January 6th than it was after 9-11.
00:55:58 --> 00:56:03 But it's not the open, when I was a young kid and my auntie took me to D.C.
00:56:04 --> 00:56:07 And all that stuff, it's not the wide open space that it was.
00:56:08 --> 00:56:12 It's not even the wide open space it was when I was active in the Young Democrats.
00:56:12 --> 00:56:14 You could have at least one meeting in D.C.
00:56:15 --> 00:56:18 You just walk around, you know, standing there.
00:56:19 --> 00:56:23 Presidential motorcade rolls through, you know, you stop traffic and going about your business.
00:56:24 --> 00:56:28 But you could just, like, get off the train and just walk up to the Capitol building, you know.
00:56:29 --> 00:56:34 You didn't have to go through security. You know, I think they might have had a magnetometer by then.
00:56:35 --> 00:56:37 But, I mean, you were in the building at that point.
00:56:38 --> 00:56:42 Now you can't even get through the building before you have to go through a checkbook.
00:56:42 --> 00:56:46 You know, they got gates and all this. They didn't have all that back in the day.
00:56:48 --> 00:56:51 So when the January 6th folks show up,
00:56:52 --> 00:56:56 They got barricades, police barricades that are up all the time.
00:56:56 --> 00:57:02 So if you were protesting, normally you'd stay on your side of the barricade,
00:57:02 --> 00:57:07 do your chants, give your speeches and all that stuff, use the capital as the
00:57:07 --> 00:57:09 backdrop and keep it pushing.
00:57:09 --> 00:57:14 If you're a tourist, you're going through the checkpoint and then you get inside
00:57:14 --> 00:57:17 the building, see what's going on.
00:57:18 --> 00:57:23 Neither one of those scenarios includes physically grabbing the barricades or
00:57:23 --> 00:57:25 physically pushing the barricades down.
00:57:25 --> 00:57:34 Once those barricades were pushed down or thrown away by this mob of people, then it became a riot.
00:57:35 --> 00:57:42 When you push past a line of police officers who are telling you to stop,
00:57:42 --> 00:57:46 do not advance, it's not tourism anymore.
00:57:47 --> 00:57:50 It's not just a protest anymore. It's a riot.
00:57:52 --> 00:57:56 And, more correctly, an insurrection because of the mission of what they were trying to do.
00:57:56 --> 00:58:02 They literally were trying to get in and do harm to elected officials,
00:58:02 --> 00:58:05 primarily the vice president of the United States.
00:58:05 --> 00:58:10 They wanted to disrupt the certification of an election that Donald Trump got his ass beat.
00:58:11 --> 00:58:15 And maybe we should just start saying that instead of saying, oh, he lost it.
00:58:16 --> 00:58:22 I guess if I was in Congress now and I was interviewing, instead of asking a
00:58:22 --> 00:58:24 question, did Donald Trump lose?
00:58:25 --> 00:58:28 It's like, did Donald Trump get his ass whooped in the 2020 election?
00:58:29 --> 00:58:34 That's really how you have to come at these folks because they're going to come
00:58:34 --> 00:58:37 at you with any and everything, you know.
00:58:37 --> 00:58:45 You got Secretary of Transportation who is getting money to go on a road trip
00:58:45 --> 00:58:47 from the people he's supposed to regulate.
00:58:48 --> 00:58:51 And when he's asked about it, he wants to run and say, well,
00:58:51 --> 00:58:54 did you do something with your campaign contribution?
00:58:55 --> 00:58:59 First of all, you don't get to ask questions. Second, you know,
00:58:59 --> 00:59:03 I'm not the one in the inquiry. You are.
00:59:03 --> 00:59:08 You did something that got our attention. So you need to address that.
00:59:09 --> 00:59:16 So like I said, it may be a stretch, but I think we need to have somewhat of
00:59:16 --> 00:59:22 a hybrid between a Nuremberg trial and a reconciliation commission,
00:59:22 --> 00:59:24 similar to what they had in South Africa,
00:59:24 --> 00:59:26 right, to deal with these people.
00:59:27 --> 00:59:31 Because they've got to pay for the damage that they are doing as we speak,
00:59:32 --> 00:59:34 right? They got to pay for that.
00:59:34 --> 00:59:40 So anyway, here's my theory about the slush fund line, and it ties in with this
00:59:40 --> 00:59:43 other fascination that the president has with this ballroom.
00:59:45 --> 00:59:49 So the Republicans are going to get the, you know, with the gerrymandering and
00:59:49 --> 00:59:51 all that stuff with the districts, all this is tied in.
00:59:51 --> 00:59:56 So they're trying to stave off the damage that's getting ready to happen.
00:59:56 --> 01:00:00 The American people, the majority of the American people, the overwhelming majority
01:00:00 --> 01:00:06 of American people in all 50 states have made a decision that this foolishness
01:00:06 --> 01:00:08 has to stop for whatever reason.
01:00:08 --> 01:00:11 You said you were going to lower the price of gas. That ain't happening.
01:00:12 --> 01:00:14 You said you were going to lower the price of groceries.
01:00:15 --> 01:00:18 That hasn't happened. You said we weren't going to go to war.
01:00:18 --> 01:00:24 That definitely did happen. We are like bombing anybody in our way.
01:00:25 --> 01:00:30 Plus, you said you were going to reduce inflation, but you've put these tariffs
01:00:30 --> 01:00:34 on every nation, even a nation that has nothing but penguins.
01:00:35 --> 01:00:41 You put a tariff on every country in the world. But that jacks up the price
01:00:41 --> 01:00:43 of everything, not just food.
01:00:43 --> 01:00:48 That's clothing, that's electronics, everything, cars, whatever.
01:00:48 --> 01:00:53 And then you said you were only going after the criminals for immigration.
01:00:53 --> 01:00:59 And then the next thing we know, nobody is picking fruit in Florida and California.
01:01:00 --> 01:01:02 Nobody is building houses across the nation.
01:01:03 --> 01:01:09 And people, it's slow for people to have rebuilds from fires in California to
01:01:09 --> 01:01:16 hurricanes everywhere or tornadoes because a lot of that work was being done by immigrant labor.
01:01:17 --> 01:01:20 That says you want to run them out of town and terrorize them,
01:01:20 --> 01:01:23 not to mention to shoot Americans who protest that.
01:01:23 --> 01:01:27 And the American people are sick of that. So the Republicans are going to get
01:01:27 --> 01:01:30 their butts whooped on November the 3rd.
01:01:30 --> 01:01:34 They're going to lose the House. they're going to lose the Senate, right?
01:01:35 --> 01:01:40 And, you know, and it's not going to get any better because Donald Trump doesn't handle losing well.
01:01:41 --> 01:01:44 So he's creating a militia.
01:01:45 --> 01:01:49 My ex-wife said it before January 6th even happened.
01:01:51 --> 01:01:54 Probably the most insightful political thing she's ever said.
01:01:54 --> 01:01:56 She's probably a lot better now that she's actually elected.
01:01:56 --> 01:02:03 But she said that there was going to be a trial run.
01:02:03 --> 01:02:08 She said that Donald Trump is not going to leave that office, even after Biden won.
01:02:08 --> 01:02:10 I said, but he's going to leave. They're going to make him leave.
01:02:11 --> 01:02:13 She said, but he's going to fight it.
01:02:13 --> 01:02:15 And then January 6th happened, right?
01:02:17 --> 01:02:21 So my other friends who have had military and law enforcement training said,
01:02:21 --> 01:02:23 well, Fleming, this was the trial run.
01:02:24 --> 01:02:29 Right. January 6th was just the trial run. The C, and we've had some guests
01:02:29 --> 01:02:33 that basically acknowledge that, too. This just was a trial run.
01:02:34 --> 01:02:41 Then after that, you know, the big, so what we're doing now is we're trying to fund the militia.
01:02:41 --> 01:02:45 We're setting aside 1.7, nearly
01:02:45 --> 01:02:53 $1.8 billion for this militia to go after American citizens, basically,
01:02:53 --> 01:02:56 or anybody that defies Donald Trump.
01:02:56 --> 01:03:02 And we know that the loyalty of the seal there because two members of Congress
01:03:02 --> 01:03:06 who dared to take a stand on Donald Trump, well, three,
01:03:07 --> 01:03:12 two loss of primary elections and one's about to lose because Donald Trump endorsed
01:03:12 --> 01:03:20 his runoff opponent, who the guy that Trump endorsed makes Trump look somewhat saintly.
01:03:23 --> 01:03:29 You know, if not saintly, it's like, Donald's not as bad as that guy, right?
01:03:31 --> 01:03:32 Old Ken Paxson.
01:03:34 --> 01:03:38 So, you know, so the loyalty is still there.
01:03:38 --> 01:03:45 So, you know, if you're talking about 30%, 330 million people,
01:03:45 --> 01:03:47 that's basically 100 million folks.
01:03:48 --> 01:03:53 So he's trying to fund the militia, but then he keeps harping about this ballroom.
01:03:53 --> 01:03:56 And every time he talks about the ballroom, he's always like,
01:03:56 --> 01:03:58 you know, we're going to have a bunker down there.
01:03:58 --> 01:04:04 We're going to have like places where drones can launch and defend the White House.
01:04:04 --> 01:04:08 And, you know, it's like that whole top floor is going to be nothing but military
01:04:08 --> 01:04:10 people, blah, blah, this, the other.
01:04:11 --> 01:04:14 Now, the east wing of the White House was for the first lady.
01:04:15 --> 01:04:19 And they had the bunker, you know, instead of having it directly below the West
01:04:19 --> 01:04:24 Wing, they basically had it on the opposite side of the building for the president's protection.
01:04:24 --> 01:04:28 Because if you're going to bomb a part of the White House, you're going to go
01:04:28 --> 01:04:29 where the president's office is.
01:04:30 --> 01:04:34 So instead of building a bunker there, they put it on the East Wing side.
01:04:34 --> 01:04:39 Well, now Donald Trump wants to re-fortify that bunker, build this big giant
01:04:39 --> 01:04:46 ballroom, and then have basically a military garrison on top of the bunker.
01:04:46 --> 01:04:50 I mean, on top of the ballroom, which would be on top of the bunker, right?
01:04:52 --> 01:04:58 So don't be surprised if all this stuff goes through. Now, there's been some bucking.
01:04:58 --> 01:05:01 I think people are realizing this is a bridge too far. Plus,
01:05:02 --> 01:05:05 he's pissed off enough Republicans where now vengeance is theirs,
01:05:06 --> 01:05:08 right? They ain't waiting on the Lord.
01:05:08 --> 01:05:12 They're going after him now, right? Because they ain't got nothing to lose.
01:05:12 --> 01:05:13 They know they're not coming back.
01:05:14 --> 01:05:17 And then you got to bust him. A bunch of them have already retired or,
01:05:17 --> 01:05:20 you know, not running for re-election.
01:05:22 --> 01:05:27 So there's a group of Republicans out there that's kind of bucking some of the stuff he's trying to do.
01:05:27 --> 01:05:33 Nonetheless, the game plan is, is that by January 20th,
01:05:33 --> 01:05:40 2029, Donald Trump wants to have whatever he needs to defy the will of the people
01:05:40 --> 01:05:43 and the Constitution and stay in an office.
01:05:45 --> 01:05:53 I don't know if there's any way after November of 2028 that you can keep him,
01:05:53 --> 01:05:56 if they actually build it, right?
01:05:57 --> 01:06:03 But if in the worst case scenario, if the money is allotted and the ballroom
01:06:03 --> 01:06:08 is built, then some way, somehow, we got to keep him out of that bunker.
01:06:08 --> 01:06:12 Because he's, on January the 19th.
01:06:13 --> 01:06:19 2029, he's going, if that bunker is built, he's going in there and he's not
01:06:19 --> 01:06:25 coming out and he's going to have this well-funded militia protecting him. That's where we're at.
01:06:26 --> 01:06:31 And he's got all these other folks. Somebody done jumped on my thing because
01:06:31 --> 01:06:34 I put that Malcolm X birthday wish on my profile.
01:06:35 --> 01:06:39 Now I'm starting to get noticed by the trolls.
01:06:39 --> 01:06:46 Somebody said something about all the places I've lived at been crime-written or whatever.
01:06:46 --> 01:06:50 That's how it starts. And then it gets into more stuff.
01:06:50 --> 01:06:54 It's one thing for me to debate people I know that are MAGA folks,
01:06:54 --> 01:07:01 but now when the trolls start coming, so anyway, it's a bunch of them folks out there.
01:07:01 --> 01:07:07 So between the internet trolling and those folks coming out of their mama's
01:07:07 --> 01:07:11 basements and, you know, the militias being funded and all that stuff,
01:07:11 --> 01:07:13 he's going to have an army of people.
01:07:14 --> 01:07:18 And if you've ever seen that movie Civil War, that's what it will look like.
01:07:19 --> 01:07:24 And then the military will have to take a side, which more likely would be the
01:07:24 --> 01:07:28 Constitution, because that's what, when you go into the military,
01:07:28 --> 01:07:29 that's what you're defending.
01:07:30 --> 01:07:34 You're technically not even defending the United States. You're defending the Constitution.
01:07:35 --> 01:07:38 Of the United States. That's what you say in the oath.
01:07:40 --> 01:07:46 So, it'll be a mess. And that's a nice word for it.
01:07:47 --> 01:07:52 That's the hellscape that's in this addled brain that the president has.
01:07:53 --> 01:07:56 That's where we're at. And you got people like Stephen Miller,
01:07:56 --> 01:07:59 who's already got his lockdown base.
01:07:59 --> 01:08:02 Chrissy Noem got kicked out of hers. Steve Miller's got his.
01:08:02 --> 01:08:07 Steve Bannon's pushing that. And that's the only thing that will get some of
01:08:07 --> 01:08:14 those folks in this part of the bro podcasting world back on in the fold. Blood shit.
01:08:15 --> 01:08:22 That's why we're going to have a UFC match on the White House lawn on the 4th of July. Right.
01:08:22 --> 01:08:25 So anyway, that's my theory on that.
01:08:26 --> 01:08:33 Now, I pray that I'm in tinfoil hat mode and I'm way off the mark.
01:08:34 --> 01:08:39 But just watching how he's trying to set pieces up, how he's trying to kick people.
01:08:40 --> 01:08:44 Every day he's trying to figure out a way to get the weak out.
01:08:45 --> 01:08:50 As Homelander said in The Boys, and the Bible says, separate the wheat from the chaff.
01:08:50 --> 01:08:56 He's trying to get rid of all the people that are either opposed to him or are
01:08:56 --> 01:09:00 causing embarrassment to him or a weak link to him.
01:09:02 --> 01:09:06 And he's trying to fortify it so he'll never leave.
01:09:08 --> 01:09:12 Why he can say things like, I like to poorly educate it.
01:09:13 --> 01:09:18 That's why he can say things like, you'll never have to vote again once I get in.
01:09:19 --> 01:09:23 Or I'm not thinking about the struggles that the American people are going through
01:09:23 --> 01:09:26 right now because I got to focus on Iran.
01:09:27 --> 01:09:31 He can say that because in his mind, he believes he's never leaving.
01:09:31 --> 01:09:34 He can redecorate the White House however he wants to because he believes he's
01:09:34 --> 01:09:37 going to be there forever. That's the way his brain is working.
01:09:39 --> 01:09:44 So, those true believers are doing what they can to make that work.
01:09:44 --> 01:09:47 It's just a theory, just a thought.
01:09:48 --> 01:09:51 Excuse me. But I'm just watching the pattern.
01:09:52 --> 01:09:56 So, I hope I pray I'm wrong, but that's kind of where we're going.
01:09:56 --> 01:10:02 I pray that even if you envision that, if you're in a position where you can stop it, then stop it.
01:10:03 --> 01:10:12 Right? All right. So, and then the last few minutes, I want to talk about the SEC boycott.
01:10:13 --> 01:10:23 So, since a lot of these southern states, all the southern states have teams
01:10:23 --> 01:10:28 in this athletic conference called the SEC, the Southeastern Conference.
01:10:28 --> 01:10:32 So Southeastern Conference is the most successful, most profitable,
01:10:33 --> 01:10:36 most competitive conference in college sports.
01:10:37 --> 01:10:42 You've got the University of Texas, University of Florida, LSU,
01:10:43 --> 01:10:49 University of Georgia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma.
01:10:49 --> 01:10:54 You know, all these powerhouses in whatever respect of sport,
01:10:54 --> 01:11:01 you know, football, basketball, baseball, whatever, the SEC is always competitive. Gymnastics.
01:11:03 --> 01:11:10 Sports. Bowling, just pick a sport. Maybe not lacrosse, but just about every other sport.
01:11:10 --> 01:11:17 The SEC is, if they're not the dominant conference, they're one of the most competitive, right?
01:11:19 --> 01:11:23 Kentucky, Tennessee, right? All these Southern states.
01:11:24 --> 01:11:28 I don't think there's an SEC team from North Carolina. I know South Carolina has one.
01:11:29 --> 01:11:36 Anyway, so the NAACP and certain individuals, former athletes,
01:11:36 --> 01:11:44 all that, are asking the young men and women who either play sports for these
01:11:44 --> 01:11:51 schools in the SEC or are thinking about going to an SEC school to play sports,
01:11:51 --> 01:11:56 they're asking them to not do that.
01:11:57 --> 01:12:02 They're either asking them to go to maybe a Big Ten school or,
01:12:02 --> 01:12:09 you know, somewhere where these southern states don't have representation like Texas.
01:12:09 --> 01:12:14 I think there's like three or four conferences that would be eliminated in that
01:12:14 --> 01:12:18 category. But they're primarily focusing on the SEC because the SEC is the most
01:12:18 --> 01:12:21 profitable and most competitive.
01:12:21 --> 01:12:24 But they're really trying to convince these kids not to do that.
01:12:25 --> 01:12:29 And with the NIL money and all that stuff, people are like, yeah,
01:12:29 --> 01:12:31 right. That's not going to happen. Them kids going to go.
01:12:33 --> 01:12:36 They're trying to convince those kids, take your talent to a HBCU.
01:12:36 --> 01:12:40 If you want to go to a school in the South, go to Jackson State.
01:12:40 --> 01:12:42 Go to Alcorn. Go to Valley.
01:12:43 --> 01:12:46 Go to Talladega. Go to Savannah State.
01:12:47 --> 01:12:56 Go somewhere, Alabama A&M. Go somewhere else instead of going to one of the SEC schools, right?
01:12:56 --> 01:13:08 So, we'll see how that works because strategically, the NAACP needs to meet with the NCAA.
01:13:09 --> 01:13:14 And the reason why I say that is because the period of signing has passed.
01:13:15 --> 01:13:21 The period of transfer portals have passed, right?
01:13:23 --> 01:13:29 So if those kids that are already in make that decision, the kids that sign,
01:13:29 --> 01:13:31 they can say, yeah, I was going to go there.
01:13:31 --> 01:13:36 But kids, you know, without a political agenda, change their mind and decide
01:13:36 --> 01:13:37 to play for some other school.
01:13:38 --> 01:13:43 Right. At the last minute. I had a cousin just knew he was going to play at Alabama.
01:13:44 --> 01:13:46 Next thing I know, he's lining up for Clemson.
01:13:46 --> 01:13:49 Then he transferred and ended up in Missouri. Right.
01:13:51 --> 01:13:56 Kids do that, and especially now without the restrictions that it used to be,
01:13:57 --> 01:13:58 right? It used to be so tight.
01:13:59 --> 01:14:06 Like if you graduated from a school that you were playing sports for and you decided,
01:14:06 --> 01:14:09 well, I want to go to this other school and play sports and get my master's,
01:14:10 --> 01:14:16 the NCAA was saying, if that school has a master's program in the degree that
01:14:16 --> 01:14:19 you majored in for your undergrad, at.
01:14:19 --> 01:14:22 You can go there and transfer and play that season.
01:14:23 --> 01:14:26 If not, you're going to have to sit out a year, right?
01:14:27 --> 01:14:30 And most of the time you're trying to get your master's, it's your last year of eligibility.
01:14:32 --> 01:14:37 So even with the red shirt, so all that's out the window now.
01:14:37 --> 01:14:41 If you want to transfer, you transfer. There's some kid, I think he just got
01:14:41 --> 01:14:45 drafted. He played at four different colleges in four years.
01:14:45 --> 01:14:49 And he has six years of ability because COVID, right?
01:14:50 --> 01:14:57 So, you know, all that is fluid now. Those kids could transfer.
01:14:57 --> 01:14:59 They won't be penalized for that.
01:15:00 --> 01:15:06 If they did it during the allotted time period. Now, if they do it now, it could be.
01:15:08 --> 01:15:19 So, you know, if the NAACP really wanted to make it happen, then they need to
01:15:19 --> 01:15:21 talk to the NCAA and say, look,
01:15:21 --> 01:15:24 there's some kids that really want to do this.
01:15:24 --> 01:15:27 Let's give them the opportunity to do it without penalizing.
01:15:28 --> 01:15:30 They want to make this political stand.
01:15:30 --> 01:15:34 And the NCAA is not necessarily known for their progressive thought.
01:15:35 --> 01:15:39 It took them all these years to finally allow NIL to happen.
01:15:40 --> 01:15:43 Cases, lawsuits, all that stuff.
01:15:44 --> 01:15:47 But we are where we are. That's what I would be doing.
01:15:47 --> 01:15:55 I would be focusing in on putting pressure on the NCAA to allow these kids to make that move.
01:15:55 --> 01:16:01 And we know that it's an effective strategy because one kid did it in Mississippi, one.
01:16:02 --> 01:16:06 And just a thought that that one kid did it, that other kids would do it,
01:16:06 --> 01:16:07 Mississippi changed his flag.
01:16:08 --> 01:16:12 The star player from Mississippi State said, yeah, I'm not playing anymore.
01:16:13 --> 01:16:18 I can't continue to play if y'all not even going to consider changing the flag.
01:16:18 --> 01:16:22 When he found out that they weren't even considering it, because in his mind,
01:16:22 --> 01:16:26 he thought that they were always debating it when he was growing up.
01:16:26 --> 01:16:29 So he was like, well, maybe they'll change it.
01:16:29 --> 01:16:34 But when I guess it came to reality in his mind that it's like,
01:16:35 --> 01:16:37 these folks, they just going to do what they want to do.
01:16:38 --> 01:16:45 And he became in an age of awareness where it was like, I need to take a stand.
01:16:46 --> 01:16:52 And so he did. And so other kids were like, well, bro, I'm not even gonna go
01:16:52 --> 01:16:53 to the Mississippi school, right?
01:16:54 --> 01:16:58 Next thing we know, there's a big old magnolia on the state flag now,
01:16:58 --> 01:17:00 not that rebel bullshit, right?
01:17:01 --> 01:17:06 That was one of the mitigating factors, but it was the one that I believe tipped
01:17:06 --> 01:17:09 the scale because about to cut off some of that money.
01:17:10 --> 01:17:14 Fans stopped showing up at the games. You know, and the schools,
01:17:15 --> 01:17:20 to their credit, had been doing some things on their own, much to the ire of
01:17:20 --> 01:17:24 the future maggots, right, that were saying,
01:17:25 --> 01:17:28 you need to fly the state flag on the campus and all that stuff.
01:17:28 --> 01:17:32 You know, schools were gradually changing their tune.
01:17:32 --> 01:17:36 It took 15, 16 years, but they did it.
01:17:36 --> 01:17:39 Right? So...
01:17:41 --> 01:17:44 That one kid, I forget the young man's name, he was running back,
01:17:45 --> 01:17:51 because he did that, just the thought of a domino effect got those people to move.
01:17:52 --> 01:17:57 The president of the NAACP is from where? Mississippi.
01:17:58 --> 01:18:04 So he saw it firsthand. He saw this young kid did it.
01:18:04 --> 01:18:10 And I'm sure the Mississippi chapter of the NAACP offered some support.
01:18:11 --> 01:18:17 Matter of fact, I know they rallied around him along with other groups.
01:18:17 --> 01:18:26 So knowing that, that's why But president of the NAACP, Derrick Johnson, could confidently say,
01:18:26 --> 01:18:34 if y'all leave or if y'all decide not to play or if you don't even sign or show up,
01:18:35 --> 01:18:38 they'll change their tune about this redistricting stuff.
01:18:39 --> 01:18:44 Did I also mention that Derrick Johnson, like, he's a trained,
01:18:45 --> 01:18:50 certified redistrictor, cartographer, I guess, for a more technical term,
01:18:50 --> 01:18:52 as far as political cartographer.
01:18:54 --> 01:18:57 He was my constituent, and he'll be drawing my district, right,
01:18:58 --> 01:18:59 during the redistricting process.
01:18:59 --> 01:19:03 And I basically got what I asked for, kind of, sort of.
01:19:04 --> 01:19:07 But my map was pretty close to what we drew up.
01:19:08 --> 01:19:12 Because my vision was I was trying to keep other black folks from having to
01:19:12 --> 01:19:16 move into Clinton, and since I was the furthest west of all the black legislators
01:19:16 --> 01:19:18 in Jackson, it made sense.
01:19:19 --> 01:19:23 And how the final thing ended up, because there was other ulterior motives,
01:19:23 --> 01:19:30 but if there's anybody that is an expert on, which is why I was really trying
01:19:30 --> 01:19:31 to get Derek to come on the show,
01:19:31 --> 01:19:36 if there's anybody who's been an expert on all of this stuff that's really happening
01:19:36 --> 01:19:42 right now, all the redistricting and the history of fighting this stuff and all that.
01:19:42 --> 01:19:45 Derek is one of the point people.
01:19:46 --> 01:19:51 You need to be paying attention to. And then a Blasey P, right?
01:19:52 --> 01:19:58 I'm not going to say that it's not going to work. I'm not going to say that it's too much of an ask.
01:19:59 --> 01:20:03 All I'm trying to do is lay out, this is how you could pull this off if you
01:20:03 --> 01:20:04 really want this to happen.
01:20:05 --> 01:20:10 If you are a parent listening right now and your child has committed to one
01:20:10 --> 01:20:14 of those schools, I would ask you seriously to consider not doing that.
01:20:15 --> 01:20:16 People need to be taught a lesson.
01:20:17 --> 01:20:22 And the quickest way to get white folks' attention is to cut their money off.
01:20:22 --> 01:20:27 When you show them that they do not have a path to money, they pay attention.
01:20:29 --> 01:20:32 So I don't think it's a crazy idea.
01:20:32 --> 01:20:37 Like any protest, it's going to be hard because people have their own mindset
01:20:37 --> 01:20:41 and their own reasoning why they want to do what they want to do and they don't
01:20:41 --> 01:20:42 want to make stuff political,
01:20:42 --> 01:20:47 although everything that you do is political in this nation, in this planet.
01:20:48 --> 01:20:51 But we're just dealing with the United States right now. Everything that you
01:20:51 --> 01:20:57 do, again, just imagine you're driving at an intersection and there's no stop signs anywhere.
01:20:58 --> 01:21:03 Politics will be pretty important at that point. You turn on a faucet and all
01:21:03 --> 01:21:07 of a sudden no water comes out, but you go to the white neighborhood and water is overflowing.
01:21:08 --> 01:21:11 You'll want politics then, right?
01:21:12 --> 01:21:15 You want your trash picked up. You'll need politics for that.
01:21:16 --> 01:21:19 If you want to make sure that you don't get poisoning at the restaurant,
01:21:19 --> 01:21:21 you'll probably need politics for that.
01:21:22 --> 01:21:27 It out your mind that you don't need politics or you want to stay out of politics
01:21:27 --> 01:21:30 because the fact that you're even having a conversation is political.
01:21:31 --> 01:21:36 Because the job that you swear that you've got to keep, there's some politics involved in that job.
01:21:37 --> 01:21:42 You've got to get a business license, right? There's a reason why you're off
01:21:42 --> 01:21:46 on the weekends or you're only supposed to work eight hours a day.
01:21:47 --> 01:21:50 It's law. It's politics. Nonetheless, us.
01:21:51 --> 01:21:58 I'm down with shutting it down. If there's anything else we can do that's strictly
01:21:58 --> 01:22:04 Southern that we can shut down, let's look at and decide what we want to do.
01:22:04 --> 01:22:07 You may want to boycott Publix.
01:22:08 --> 01:22:12 I like Publix as a store. It's higher than Kroger or Walmart,
01:22:12 --> 01:22:16 but I like them. I got friends that work at Publix.
01:22:17 --> 01:22:23 But, you know, I have friends that worked at Target, and I haven't shopped there now in years, I guess.
01:22:24 --> 01:22:28 You know, we'll see. You know, we just have to figure out something.
01:22:29 --> 01:22:32 Anyway, so let me just go ahead and close out with that. I didn't,
01:22:32 --> 01:22:34 I wanted to cover some of those things.
01:22:34 --> 01:22:38 There was one thing I still didn't cover, which was the DNC autopsy.
01:22:39 --> 01:22:40 It is what it is, man.
01:22:41 --> 01:22:46 The autopsy basically said that parties, the state parties were not being funded.
01:22:46 --> 01:22:48 They were being underfunded.
01:22:48 --> 01:22:50 I think that's being remedied.
01:22:52 --> 01:22:58 Party has vacillated between stagnation and retrogression since Barack Obama
01:22:58 --> 01:23:00 won in 08. Can't really argue with that.
01:23:01 --> 01:23:07 Blame Joe Biden for failing to set Vice President Harris up for success and
01:23:07 --> 01:23:10 leaving her in a weakened position when he dropped out of the race.
01:23:11 --> 01:23:14 Can't really argue with that. I think she pretty much says that in her book.
01:23:14 --> 01:23:20 But the most damning thing is a persistent inability or unwillingness to listen to all voters.
01:23:22 --> 01:23:26 Sternly worded letters are passe. It's over with.
01:23:26 --> 01:23:30 You didn't like Jasmine Crockett, but the people like Jasmine Crockett.
01:23:30 --> 01:23:33 That means you're not paying attention, right?
01:23:34 --> 01:23:39 AOC is toned down the way that she's done it, but she's still a hellraiser, right?
01:23:40 --> 01:23:45 The reason why all these hellraisers are in your party is because this is the
01:23:45 --> 01:23:47 party that has defended the people that have been oppressed.
01:23:49 --> 01:23:53 We got our own little billionaire group class too that we got to deal with.
01:23:53 --> 01:24:00 But the Democratic Party is diverse because the Democratic Party embraces America.
01:24:01 --> 01:24:06 They don't have this white Christian nationalist supremacist mindset of America.
01:24:07 --> 01:24:10 So you look at the Republican side, Kevin McCarthy even said,
01:24:10 --> 01:24:14 you look at the Republican side, it's white men primarily.
01:24:14 --> 01:24:18 But you look at the Democratic side, it's diverse. So because of diversity,
01:24:19 --> 01:24:23 you're going to have firebrands from the black community.
01:24:24 --> 01:24:26 You're going to have firebrands from the Latino community. You're going to have
01:24:26 --> 01:24:27 firebrands from the Asian community.
01:24:27 --> 01:24:33 You're going to have firebrands from the LBGTQ community, right?
01:24:34 --> 01:24:35 You're going to have firebrands from everywhere.
01:24:37 --> 01:24:43 So you need to figure out how to embrace that. Nancy Pelosi did. Howard Dean did.
01:24:44 --> 01:24:48 If you're in leadership, Mr. Martin, you step up your game.
01:24:48 --> 01:24:52 If it's time to tell some of those folks, appreciate your service,
01:24:52 --> 01:24:57 we need to run somebody else in your state for Congress, have that conversation.
01:24:58 --> 01:25:02 If we need to call somebody a racist for trying to draw black districts,
01:25:02 --> 01:25:05 then call them out. I'm just saying.
01:25:06 --> 01:25:10 I can call it a rough draft or an unapproved manuscript or whatever.
01:25:11 --> 01:25:17 Those 197-something pages basically broke down what you need to be paying attention to.
01:25:19 --> 01:25:23 Because I'd be damned if y'all blow this opportunity that's happening this year.
01:25:24 --> 01:25:28 I've had guests that are basically saying they don't believe that y'all are
01:25:28 --> 01:25:29 going to step up to the plate.
01:25:29 --> 01:25:33 So they're looking for a third party to great to talk to the voters.
01:25:34 --> 01:25:39 And the reason why they have that latitude or that frustration is because that
01:25:39 --> 01:25:45 autopsy said that you have a persistent inability or unwillingness to listen
01:25:45 --> 01:25:47 to all voters. Persistent.
01:25:50 --> 01:25:55 You got to change that. That's what we're talking about when we say real American leadership.
01:25:55 --> 01:26:02 We're talking about paying attention and addressing the needs of all Americans. Period.
01:26:03 --> 01:26:08 Bernie Sanders says that we should have universal health care. We should pursue that.
01:26:09 --> 01:26:14 Sheila Jackson Lee, before she died, said we need reparations. We need to pursue that.
01:26:15 --> 01:26:20 If the white folks think that they should get reparations for tearing the Capitol up.
01:26:22 --> 01:26:26 Feces on the walls of the capital. They should get paid for that.
01:26:26 --> 01:26:32 Then what about my ancestors who built the nation? What should we get?
01:26:33 --> 01:26:35 Lack of representation? I don't think so.
01:26:36 --> 01:26:44 Less than living wages? No, sir. Denial of health care? Uh-uh. We deserve better.
01:26:45 --> 01:26:51 Latino community, Asian American, everybody just needs to be left alone and
01:26:51 --> 01:26:55 allowed to be great and allowed to do the things that they want to do to contribute
01:26:55 --> 01:26:58 to society and give them a chance to contribute.
01:26:59 --> 01:27:06 Not to build a prison system, not to build a military industrial complex, build a nation.
01:27:07 --> 01:27:12 That's all these people want to do. They want to live in a nation they can afford
01:27:12 --> 01:27:18 financially, spiritually, mentally, or psychologically even.
01:27:18 --> 01:27:22 Right? That's it. They want to have peace of mind.
01:27:22 --> 01:27:27 They'll deal with tragedies like death and illness.
01:27:28 --> 01:27:31 But if they get the peace of mind to know that they can fight that illness,
01:27:31 --> 01:27:36 with all the resources America has to bear, that's still peace of mind,
01:27:36 --> 01:27:37 even if they're struggling.
01:27:38 --> 01:27:42 And peace is not supposed to be just on Sunday morning when you go to church.
01:27:42 --> 01:27:44 Peace is supposed to follow you wherever you go.
01:27:45 --> 01:27:51 That's what Jesus said. He would say, peace be with you. Right?
01:27:52 --> 01:27:58 Nonetheless, I've talked way longer than I planned to, but I just had to throw that in.
01:27:58 --> 01:28:02 It's like, guys, this is our time. This is our moment.
01:28:03 --> 01:28:10 We're taught there's a reason why it was stressed to us in the Christian faith
01:28:10 --> 01:28:14 that for 20 years before Jesus started preaching, we're,
01:28:15 --> 01:28:25 17, 20, that Jesus was trained as a carpenter because it was to remind us that
01:28:25 --> 01:28:28 in order to be an example,
01:28:28 --> 01:28:31 in order to evangelize, you have to build something.
01:28:32 --> 01:28:35 You have to build something from what was broken.
01:28:36 --> 01:28:41 And Donald Trump and his administration and his sycophants are destroying as
01:28:41 --> 01:28:44 many institutions, if not the government itself.
01:28:45 --> 01:28:54 So when we get in, this is our opportunity to build something better in line
01:28:54 --> 01:29:00 with the vision that was put into that piece of parchment called the U.S.
01:29:00 --> 01:29:08 Constitution to fulfill the dream of a slaveholder who said that all men were created equal.
01:29:09 --> 01:29:15 Again, if you don't understand divine intervention, I don't know how else to explain it.
01:29:15 --> 01:29:19 A man who owned slaves said that all men are created equal. And put it down on paper.
01:29:20 --> 01:29:24 That's God working through somebody, not Donald Trump.
01:29:26 --> 01:29:31 Right? What he's doing, he's just being a gangster. That's point blank, period.
01:29:32 --> 01:29:36 The guy who wrote The Godfather couldn't envision a president like that.
01:29:36 --> 01:29:38 He created Don Corleone.
01:29:39 --> 01:29:44 Mario Puzo, ain't no way he could have thought of a president being gangster like this.
01:29:44 --> 01:29:51 But this, again, is an opportunity to rebuild and create America.
01:29:52 --> 01:29:57 It was, I'm trying to think real quick before I get out of here. The.
01:29:59 --> 01:30:06 Hughes, you know, who, I believe he said something, yeah, he said,
01:30:06 --> 01:30:10 oh, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me.
01:30:11 --> 01:30:16 And yet I swear it is, America will be.
01:30:17 --> 01:30:21 This is the moment, this is the time that Langston Hughes was talking about.
01:30:22 --> 01:30:25 We can make it the America it should be.
01:30:25 --> 01:30:31 But we got to do our part. We got to pay attention. We got to vote. We got to be vocal.
01:30:32 --> 01:30:36 Got to kick some butt. And I'm down with it. I'm down with it.
01:30:37 --> 01:30:41 All right. That's all I got. Thank you all for listening. Until next time.