“Inside the System”: A Black Federal Worker on Trump, DEI Backlash, Voting & “White Pomposity”

Send us Fan MailWhat happens when a career federal public servant spends decades working across administrations—and then lives through the Trump era from the inside?In this episode of Behind the Story, Jelani sits down with Deric A. Gilliard, author of The Longest Four Years of My Life, for a candid, wide-ranging conversation on leadership, courage, and the price of telling the truth inside big institutions.We unpack:Why “Stand Your Ground” is not courage—and how fear + power shape policing and justiceDeric’s concept of “white pomposity,” and what it reveals about hierarchy, entitlement, and social orderThe opioid crisis vs. the crack era: who gets empathy, who gets punished, and how narratives get weaponizedImmigration + UACs (unaccompanied children): what the public misses—and what moral injury looks like up closeVoting rights and voter suppression—and why Deric believes civic action starts with the basics: vote, call, write, organizeThis conversation lands in the middle of today’s biggest debates—DEI backlash , mail-in voting fights , and new pushes around voter eligibility restrictions —but stays grounded in lived experience, history, and practical leadership.🎧 Listen now and share your biggest takeaway.Support the show