Greetings, greetings. Welcome to another episode of Truth to Power. I am your host, Tara Snignite. And tonight, I want to talk about ignoring the Black vote.
I was recently at another political luncheon. And the white poster says something very interesting. He said that, well, he didn't go to say black. He said people, millennials, in urban areas, urban means, urban means black.
Don't really vote, so we should just ignore them all together. And by New Orleans political candidate, from the candidate, co-signers. And I'm going to tell you guys what I say and what we say about somebody else, that's in politics. And we're going to get into it.
Hello, you guys. I hope you all are doing well. So as I mentioned, I was at this political luncheon. And we were discussing John Bell, Edwards, Victory, and Louisiana, Eddie Raspone, and Louisiana.
And a lot of things were being discussed in the political realm. And a few things called my attention. And I want to discuss those things tonight. Now, one of which was the fact that John Bell Edwards is basically a conservative Democrat.
When you look at his policies, however, New Orleans, the reason why he won was because of the Black vote in New Orleans. New Orleans pretty much carried John Bell Edwards to the governor's house, right? But Black people are getting credit for that, as far as posters are concerned. Now, for those who don't know what a poster is, a poster is somebody who takes all the statistics out of people that vote.
And they, not just the people that vote, how they vote, what areas they're going to vote in, anything that they need to, and they predict the outcome of elections, right? So one particular poster, this guy, I don't remember his name, but this guy, he was a white male. And he said, you know, the thing to realize is that people in urban areas, millennials in urban areas, don't really vote. And that means young Black people, okay?
He said they don't really vote, so we should ignore them completely. Now, I had to interject, and I said, that's a complete lie. Not only is that a complete lie, that's going to cost you as well as other people who listen and think like you, a lot of elections. You know why?
Because not only did New Orleans show up and get John Bell Edwards a victory over suspected white supremacist, and let me tell you something else, John Bell Edwards, he is a suspected white supremacist as well. Because if you look at his policies, he and Rasponi don't really differ as far as policies go. They only differ in personalities, and that's why Black people love to vote for personalities, and still actual policies that's going to do something for them. We're so concerned about being light or somebody on smiling in our face, but we're not concerned about their racist policies that they have, either, blue lives, matters, laws that John Bell would implement it.
Now, but back to what I was saying. Now, when he said that, I said, not only that completely lie, that's why it calls you and everybody listen to you a lot of elections, because not only do young Black people vote, we're voting with intentions now. We're not just voting, just to be voting. We're not just going to vote Democrat, just because it's a tradition.
And that's what they expect out of young Black people. They expect out of young Black people to vote out of tradition. Oh, my parents did this, when they expect us to be loyal to one party, and that's not the case nowadays. And if you really look at the landscape of things, recently, I find that young Black people are becoming more independent.
They're not going for a particular party. And I said that when we talk about Black people, any of the urban areas, all these millennials, these young Black people, you guys aren't giving us anything to vote for. That's why nobody's coming out to support your candidates, because they're just telling us to vote for their personality. And they're not willing to serve our interests.
They're serving their own interests, but they're serving interests of other people who have no, they had nothing to do with them getting into office. Right? But one particular New Orleans candidate, Desiree Charbonne, you guys may remember her because she ran for mayor. She said, I totally agree with you.
And I said, well, that's why you lost, because I had the privilege of speaking with Desiree Charbonne. I don't know if she remembers this, but a whole fool in New Orleans. And she asked me for her vote. And I said, okay, you can have my vote.
If you tell me, what are your policies going to be for Black people? What are your policies for Black people? Not in a majority Black city, you would think that a Black candidate would know how to talk to her base or to speak to her base, but they don't. And that's why she lost.
She said, well, I have a plan for minorities. And I say, well, have a good day, ma'am, because I'm not a minority. I'm a Black American. I'm a Black American living in New Orleans.
And I predicted that she would lose that election, which she did, she ended losing that election, because she didn't have Black policies. She didn't have a Black agenda in a majority Black city. And that's what's missing in New Orleans, in particular. They want you to vote for personalities, but they don't want to vote for a Black agenda.
But they don't want to present a Black agenda to you. And this is not only like I'm looking for my document to make an impact, but I'm looking for us to pull our resources together as Black people to make an impact. The only problem with that is, is that when we talk about making an impact, and we're talking about Black people coming together, the only problem with that is we always have some base areas, we always have some people who are there as well, push back and kind of like sabotage the whole thing. But like I told people before, we don't need all Black people on board in New Orleans, we just need enough of them.
And with enough of us, we can make a significant difference. Now think about this. Think about the economics in New Orleans. We're 60% of population.
And the culture is all of us. Like the culture is 100% Black in New Orleans. But we benefit from none of the culture. But other people do.
Like I told people, like I asked people all the time, who is the only billionaire in New Orleans? And nobody could tell me. It's Gail Benson. Gail Benson benefits from Black people's culture.
What do you mean by that? Well, how does she get her money on how do you tell them how do you tell them how do you tell them it's going to be unfortunate from the New Orleans sense? New Orleans sense, heavily Black players, majority Black players, New Orleans Pelican, majority Black players, majority Black League. Who is going to these games?
Black people. Black people are feeling these things. We're supporting this team. We're supporting the city.
We're buying the jerseys. Okay? You're benefiting the benefit from Black bodies. But nobody's putting anything into Black communities.
And when I say putting anything into Black communities, I'm not talking about Turkey giveaway or something like that. What I'm talking about is something that's deficient. That's going to be economically progressive in these Black communities, particularly just New Orleans period, because New Orleans is the Black city. But if you've been paying attention to what's been going on for the last few years, this plan of gentrification and displacement is becoming even more detrimental to Black people.
Now, we have our share of crime, which I will rarely admit, but all crime is based on economics. All kinds of based on economics and proximity. So we could put and pull the economic landscape in New Orleans. Then we could also reduce crime.
And when I say reduce crime, I don't mean make more arrests, because then we'll be making more arrests towards people that look like us. We just had to stop. But another guy in the political realm out of the times he was there, he rarely agree with me. He said, no, I agree with the young man that not only do Black people vote, but like people are the reason why John Bell Edwards is in the White House.
And he reigned another sentiment, but he agreed with another sentiment that I made, which was that John Bell Edwards is the most conservative Democrat that you could possibly have in the White House. That's not a White House where the governor's house and the governor's mansion. He's the most conservative Democrat that you could possibly have in there, which is true. He's very conservative as far as his policies go.
He's pro-life, he's pro-guns, blue is pro-cap. And people just don't understand. They feel like, okay, responding. Let me tell you how people vote, Black people.
And we need to start voting like this, especially with so much emotion. But our people vote like this. He's connected to Trump. He's a Republican.
I'm going for the Democrat. They have a smile on his face. But the Democrat is just this racist, if not more racist, you know, Republican. And I'm not trying to steal people to go Democrat, because I'm not what they need.
I am independent myself. I think we as Black people need to start voting independent and become independent until we can establish our own party. Once we establish our own party, then we don't have to settle for these candidates that are giving to us. We could pull one from the ground up and build our own candidate to work into our interests.
Now, that's power that I'm talking about, but so many of us are afraid of it. So many of us are afraid of it. That's power that I'm talking about. A lot of people probably don't like what I'm saying right now, because let's change the game right there.
But if you're not willing to change the game, then you're part of the problem. You've got to be a part of the solution. Ain't nobody offer you solutions. I'm offering you solutions right here in New Orleans.
We don't have to settle for these really big politicians. We could pull one out from my own resources. They brought him in. For example, Ray Nagin, his first term, he got to know what white people money is not a secret.
It's not a secret at all. But on his second term, when he made their type of city reference, which is going to be my movie, by the way, when he made their type of city reference, he and the women, well, now only Black people come back, but they felt like he had a Black agenda. He and the women went out with less resources than he did the first time. But you need a Black agenda in a majority Black city.
But these Black politicians are so afraid and so timid. But ignoring the Black vote will get them with what they've always got them. Nothing. Because in the words of Michael makes, the Black vote will determine who's in the White House and who's in the outhouse.
We determine that. And we got to stop acting like our voting power doesn't matter, but we got to put it in the right place. And we got to make a surge in the right place with a candidate that has a Black agenda in a majority Black city. That they say anything about minority or minority crap, cut them off right there.
No, I'm talking about Black people in a majority Black city. What's your agenda? What's your agenda for us? What you got for us?
If it's not anything economically progressive, then don't vote for them. But it's up to us in a majority Black city, with majority Black legislators, we got to put their policy in play. But too many of us are afraid, too many of us are in the crowds, which is interesting of me because the murder rate being so high and crown rate being so high, you won't think we had so many of the crowds in the world, right? But we do, we got a lot of cows.
It's about time that we change that. It's about time that we change that. Yes, yes, we have to stop it. We have to stop it.
And you know what? We got to become more politically savvy, too. And not just on political, politically savvy, but economically savvy. We got to start studying things and becoming students of politics, students of money.
We got to become more students of just own, excuse me, real estate and a lot of other things, because when it really comes down to it and we start seeking help from those who are not intending to help us, who have no intentions on helping us, then we're going to lose every time. And I'm just tired of it. You know, just being at the political luncheon, it just showed a lot of things. Like the last one I went to, it revealed a lot of things to me as well.
We were in a political season, like in the beginning of it, you know, just raising money for the politicians, like they were getting people trying to get people to raise money for them and everything like that. And even the competition that ended up losing, I met them. And all these people, what they didn't, that they had in common was they knew how to talk to them base. And I think as when we got black politicians, black politicians don't really know how to talk to the base.
They use the same language that white politicians use with us. And that's what they end up losing, because they end up losing because they don't have a plan for black people. They don't promise us anything. And when that happens, that's going to bring your numbers down.
You don't know how to talk to your base. People that's going to support you, you know. And that's ridiculous, especially in the juncture in America where we're moving towards. And I even said this at the political night, you're a name of the candidates, the Democratic candidates, did everybody like that?
I said, listen, listen to me right now. I said, who I said, who Elba runs against down Trump is going to lose on the Democratic Party, because they're not giving a basic thing. They want to be able to say, talk around a black agenda. They don't want to actually commit to a black agenda.
They know they want to talk about reparations. But nobody wants to say, everybody wants to say, everyone's again, deserve reparations. Every know that. But they don't want to say when and where.
They don't want to give us a day in time. They really don't want to commit today. Or even just anything that's going to be economically progressive for black people. They don't want to commit today.
John Bell Elba sees the same way. He promised New Orleans five more years of essence. And I saw the place because he knew he needed New Orleans to win. And for that poster to say that, young black millennials, all young urban millennials don't vote.
John Bell Elba went to barbershops, right? He went to church, which are preachers. And I know I've put about that with the church, which are preachers. They started campaigning.
Made them promise to them anything. Even our mayor of New Orleans, he didn't promise anything about five more years of essence. Please tell me what they're going to do for the people of New Orleans, five more years of partying and drinking. And they were going to give us essence anyway.
Because they tried to move it too. I think it was a huge thing of San Antonio or something. Some part of Texas one time and it didn't go well economically for them. So they were going to do that anyway.
And in fact, this is politicians promises us nothing. But we still accept them. We still vote for them and support them. That has to stop.
We have to start becoming more politically savvy. And a lot of people don't want to hear that because to be quite honest. And this is me talking to my bass right now to be quite honest. You know, I'm talking to you like this.
A lot of black people are cowards and I can't stress that enough. A lot of people are cowards. A lot of people don't want to stand for anything. They don't want to write the boat.
They don't want to make changes. That's a problem. That's a big problem. Especially when we're talking about our political future or just our future in general.
Because if we're not careful, what we're going to do is we're going to vote ourselves right out of New Orleans, right out of a 60% majority. That's exactly what we're going to do. It is not up to us to care about any other race of people. It is not up to us to care about their political aspirations.
It is not up to us to give a damn about other people other than ourselves. We have to become more self-preserving as black people. And when I say self-preserving somebody as a whole, not as individuals, think about it. Asian people in office, they do things for Asian people.
Latinos are in office. They do these Latino people. Black people when they're in office, where we are with white president over, they're doing stuff with white people regardless. But when black people are in office, they champion every agenda except for a black one.
And I can't stress that enough. But we got to start putting pressure on these politicians. It's up to us to put pressure on these politicians. And it's also up to us to put pressure on ourselves.
Because we can't attend every second line, right? We can't attend every party or every close function and not be able to take care of ourselves financially. But once we start putting policies in place ourselves, sometimes our legislatures, then we'll be able to make change. Something else is very interesting that I'm happy that I put a little bit of a point that I want to bring up.
Wesley Bishop, he's on the investigation of the FBI. He used to work at Swag River to remember him. And he's a senator in New Orleans. But he's been on the investigation for a while, for doing some illegal things with, he's on a legal investigation, for doing some legal things with real estate.
And I tried to get out in front of this beforehand because I saw this comment. I wasn't really going to bring this up, but that political action kind of tricking me to bring this up. But I tried to get out in front of this because I saw this coming before the investigation and I tried to get out and get Tom to him and get his side of the story from my documentary before they started investigating him because I kind of saw this coming. Now, for the fairs, listening, I ain't got no affiliation with Wesley Bishop, I ain't got to do with it.
But I kind of saw this stuff coming. And I tried to contact him and I'm like, I can show you all my email, but I tried to contact him and he didn't respond. But they brought up his own pen and dignance with their own fairs. And I found that to be very interesting.
And then I even brought up the fact that he worked at Suno. And I really found that interesting that they brought up the fact that he worked at Suno, that he was like, I think he was on assistant dean or assistant chancellor or assistant chancellor or something like that. Like one level beyond under the chancellor or something like that. It was a major position here at Suno.
But I found it very interesting because as you guys know for the longest, they've been trying to merge Suno and you and know together because you and know that doesn't have sufficient numbers to really be a university. And that's why as Suno goes, Suno, they have enough numbers as far as professors and students. No, they have numbers as far as students, but the professors, they don't have enough money to basically play the salary like $5,000 a year or something like that. So it's been very hard to really balance everything and Suno.
But I think as far as you and know, you and know, just doesn't have a number of students to really function as a university, sufficiently, like the cost of like dorms and the best of all games and things like that don't add up with the amount of students that they got or something like that. So they've been trying to merge Suno and you and know together to count calm their problem. But I found it very interesting that they bought a Wesley Bishop, especially since, you know, they had some, it was white people that were bringing it up. So I found it very interesting.
I try to get out. But like I said, I tried to get out front of it so he said he started to search my documentary. So we went to see in the Bay or just even tell the story in general on camera, but he didn't want to do it. So now he's been investigated and that's just what it is, man.
That's just what it is. But I want to, I must get out of here, but I wanted to say that before I leave, I want to say that black people, we have to become more politically savvy. We may we must not vote enough a emotion and who likes us and who doesn't like us because the Deanna's not like us. We got to start being so lazy and start demanding things, not just demanding things, but also working towards things and looking at policies.
A lot of people don't even know what I John Bell was policies. They're so similar to responding is ridiculous. Both of our conservatives, one thing is one says he's a Democrat and another says he's a Republican. And I posed this question to one person that I'm not just because she asked me about responding and bill always.
And I said, what's the difference between Luther for that thing? She thought about it. She said, there's no difference. Same double.
I said, exactly. Same double, different name. And that's what responding that was basically was. And we got to start thinking in those terms.
We got to come to aggressive post terms. This whole vocal for the lesson to evil shit that's immature and it's played. Our parents thought it's that and a lot of shit that our parents thought is need to go to the wayside to be honest, which we need to get rid of a lot of shit that they taught us because to be honest, let's you both of them are cowards as well. That's why they raised cowards.
Now, we got to come together, we got to appear a battle of fight still in New Orleans, but I'm confident that we're going to make it and this one's from this film. But you know, I just spoke truth to power. I want you guys to have a good night.