September 24, 2024 • 42 mins
Wait…Can you hear it? The constant political ads, the texts from campaigns you never signed up for, and relentless social media debates mean that election season is here in full force. Seriously though, this may be one of the most important election cycles of our time, and by our, I mean Gen Z.
Today, we’re diving into the real thoughts, hopes, and frustrations of college students as they navigate today’s political landscape. Joining me for this roundtable discussion are Alexandra Nelson, Gabrielle Cassell, and Jasmine Patrick. A sophomore, junior, and senior respectively, they attend Spelman College and serve as hosts for the school’s collegiate and social justice-orientated podcast, The Blue Record.
In our chat today, we discuss the issues that matter most to us as students and members of Gen Z, our reactions to the recent televised debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and Former President Donald Trump, and why it’s important to maintain a sense of political imagination when thinking about our future as a country.
Where to Find Our Guests
Listen to The Blue Record Podcast
HOMEWORK
- If you’re attending college in another state and are planning to vote, be sure to go online and make sure your absentee ballot is in order.
- Discover how you can contribute to your community in ways other ways including through mutual aid, political organizing, or simply having a conversation with a neighbor.
- Take some time to look into global issues, starting with places like Sudan, Haiti, The Middle East, and Gaza.
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Our Production Team
Executive Producers: Dennison Bradford & Maya Cole Howard
Producer: Ellice Ellis
Associate Producer: Zariah Taylor
TBG University Host & Coordinator: Jayna Ellis
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Get ready because class is almost in session. Welcome to
the TBG University podcast, tailored for the twenty something who's
packing for a new year on campus, thinking through their
gap year, enrolling in a community college, grabbing their souls
for graduation, and everything in between. I'm your host and
TVGU coordinator Jana Ellis.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Hi, I'm Alexandra, I'm Gabrielle. Hey, I'm Jasmine, and we're
on the Therapy for Black Girls University Podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
We're in session today discussing the twenty twenty four election
as college students.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Wait, can you hear it? The constant political ads, the
texts from campaigns you never signed up for, in relentless
social media debates mean that the election is here in
full force. Seriously, though, this may be one of the
most important election cycles of our time, and by are
(01:07):
I mean gen z. Today we're diving into the real thoughts, hopes,
and frustrations of college students as they navigate today's political landscape.
Joining me for this round table discussion are Gabrielle Cassel,
Jasmine Patrick, and Alexandra Nelson, a sophomore, junior, and senior, respectively.
(01:28):
They attend Spelman College and service hosts for the schools,
collegiate and social justice oriented podcasts The Blue Record. In
our chat today, we discuss the issues that matter to
us most as students and as members of gen Z,
our reactions to the recent televised debate between Vice President
Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, and why it's
important to maintain a sense of political imagination when thinking
(01:51):
about our future as a country. Here's our conversation. I'm
so excited to talk with y'alls, just to meet Spellman
girls like I'm just always impressed by y'all. How are
y'all doing today, I'm so excited to talk with you.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I'm doing pretty good. Just really excited to be here
and really grateful that he reached out and extended the
opportunity for us to record with Therapy for Black Girls University.
So thank you very much.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
So to kick us off, I'm interested to know what
are your earliest memories related to politics and how did
those early memories shape your current attitudes towards the political climate.
Speaker 5 (02:36):
I think for me, it definitely came through my dad.
From the time that I was young. I would watch
him watch the news while he was exercising and he
always didn't really shy away from explaining wanting us to
have the consciousness about what's going on in the world
from the time both me and my younger siblings were children.
(02:58):
Having those critical thinkings from a young age has really
allowed me to come into this election period and this
current political climate with a lot more clarity. I grew
up like when Obama was president, so that was like
a really exciting time. I think looking back, I feel
differently about it now, but regardless, it shapes how we
(03:23):
view the world, and I think as my politics has
expanded even beyond just the two party system or electoral politics,
I definitely still appreciate what my dad instilled in me
and my younger sibling when it came to understanding what's
happening in our political system and in the world in general.
Because both of my parents are immigrants, so it wasn't
(03:46):
just about what's going on in America, but what is
going on in the rest of the world.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Yeah, So, piggyback off Greel's statement, I grew up watching
the news with my family. It was a really big thing.
It was on every TV every morning at seven am,
and I remember being at my granny's house and it
would be a bunch of adults in the room and
we've been having breakfast and they would be like, Oh,
(04:12):
the W folks are at it again, and what are
they talking about? And little old me, I mean, I
had no clue what they were talking about.
Speaker 6 (04:20):
And I hate that I didn't understand.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Until much later, And I asked my grain, who was
some W folks that you're talking about? And she didn't
want to explain it to me because she wanted to
protect my innocence as much as possible. And I realized
now when I talk to her about the news and
we talked about our current Keennessey race and how racialized
(04:44):
the media is right now. They're still in this like
binary era whereas white versus black. So, yeah, that's what
I learned growing up about politics.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Yeah, when I think about it, I think Martin Luther
King was on my first introduction to politics, But at
the time I didn't really realize it because I mostly
thought about it from a race perspective. And I was
really young when I'm talking about this. I'm talking about
like five, so thinking about the books that we would
(05:16):
read in school. But then I really remember my mom
took my sisters and I to see Barack Obama in
twenty twelve in Cincinnati at Music Hall, and I don't
remember what he was saying because I was nine, but
my mom was really emotional and I saw her have
hopefulness on her face, and so that was a beautiful moment.
(05:38):
That's when I really started to realize, like, what are
politics and the emotions people can make them feel. But
in my household, Obama was like an uncle, and I
feel that a lot of other Black Americans and other
just black people had that same relationship with him. He
felt really familiar. My parents had the T shirts, swag,
(06:00):
all of that, like they were really wholehearted Obama supporters.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
I also, similar to Alexandria. I vividly remember the merch
of President Obama.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Oh my gosh, it was so cool.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Literally like the T shirts, the buttons. Like now when
I go thrifting, I tried to find one to wear
as like a vintage piece. But I definitely relate to
all of y'all. This next question may be a little spicy,
but I'm wondering, do you plan on voting in this
upcoming election? Why or why not.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
I'm definitely voting. This question is funny because I think
back to when I was in high school and I
was one of those kids I'm admitting it that was
like a vote shamer, and so when Trump was running,
I was like, I vote for Trump is throwing away
a vote for Pillory. But I realize now that if
(06:57):
you weren't voting, then you're just not voting. I still
understand both sides of it, but now I'm definitely more
so on the side of everybody should vote, especially black people.
I mean, this is something that our ancestors and grandparents
and great grandparents did not even have the right to do,
(07:18):
and so I think it's important to exercise our right
that people before us have fought for.
Speaker 5 (07:25):
This is definitely something I've been going back and forth
on for a long time. Ideally, there would be no
issue with just voting, but I think there's the people
who have a reason not to vote, with the fact
that there's people who believe that voting is continuing to
prop up the system that continually fails us and was
(07:50):
structured to fail us. So for me personally, I've been
having issues with applan for my absentee ballot in the
first place. So definitely going to see if that's something
I can get fixed. But ultimately, if it's not, I'm
not going to feel a loss if I'm not able
to vote, because either way, I'm not super excited with
(08:12):
whatever the result is going to be, So for me,
it's like a neutral thing at this point.
Speaker 6 (08:19):
Yeah, I definitely agree.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
It's a weird feeling voting in this election because we
just see these two figures in their polar offices, but
they do have some commonalities and it's like, what are
we even.
Speaker 6 (08:32):
Looking at right now? Like what is this? I would
say for myself, I most definitely am voting.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Our director, I Believe, of the Social Justice Program said
quite valiantly a couple of weeks ago that if you
don't vote and you talk to her about stuff involving politics,
she don't want to talk. And I definitely have that
same energy because I feel that if you have the
right to vote, which a lot of people do not,
(09:00):
they should, why aren't you it's not hurting you. But
I think a lot of people are misinformed because we
had this whole talk about the electoral party and everybody
believes that I either have to be red or blue,
and it's like, why can't you just be yourself. Why
can't you just vote on the issues that you're concerned about.
(09:20):
But people don't understand that. Luckily, I had the privilege
of having a teacher when I was in sixth grade
and it was our history class, and my teacher broke
it down to us because this was during the Obama election,
it was during that time period. He broke it down
to us very precisely exactly what occurs when you go
(09:43):
and put your.
Speaker 6 (09:45):
Vote in the ballot.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
And more importantly, he pulled me aside whenever I had
questions to make sure I knew, as a black woman
how important it is for me to vote, not just
my local elections, but for everything. Like Gabrielle, I am
dealing with stuff with act and tee voting. But I
think that's a conversation of why it's so hard for
(10:06):
people to because it speak on it.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
So I'm curious what were your initial reactions to President
Joe Biden dropping out of the race in Kamala being
the Democrat nominee.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
So I was actually I interned in Switzerland this summer,
and so I was out of the country for the
whole summer. Like following politics from this outside perspective, so
I was at a dinner actually when I was on
my phone, and like I want to say, it was
like five Swiss people and three Americans, and I was like,
(10:41):
oh my gosh, Joe Biden dropped out of the race,
and we were like, oh my gosh. I was relieved
because I was just really feeling frustrated. I was like,
there is no way he's not fit to speak in
front of these people. He's not fit to govern our country.
He's not anywhere close to the relative average age of
(11:04):
our country. And I was selected as a twenty twenty
four White House Initiative HBCU scholar for this upcoming year,
and to be honest, I was having a lot of
conflicting feelings holding that title. I'm still not one hundred
percent aligned with Kamala's politics by any means, or the
structure of our two party system or the White House.
But I was like, almost feel comfortable representing the White House.
(11:29):
If Joe Biden's still running for president, I'm not posting
anything about voting for him. I was not confident in
his abilities, and so I was really relieved when Kamala
announced that she was running. I was really curious who
her VP pick was going to be, but I'm just
glad that Joe Biden is not in the race anymore.
Speaker 5 (11:50):
I was on an outing with my family when I
found out I got in the notification on my watch.
I was surprised to an extent, but I was also
expected at the same time. I think it was the
best strategic choice they could have made, because, to be honest,
with how Joe Biden was performing, he most likely was
going to lose. I definitely think this is a choice
(12:12):
they should have made earlier, but I guess it's better
late than never. They want to win, and Joe Biden
was not performing at a level despite even how unpopular
he was politically, it was clear that he was deteriorating.
It would have been very unwise to keep him in
the running.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
I would say for myself, I'm not totally against Joe
Biden running. Obviously, he's not anybody that we want in
a position as noble as the President of the United States,
but we also don't want Trump, and I think there's
like a lot of conversation surrounding like his mental capacity
(12:53):
and how it's deteriorating. But I think, if anything, I'm
most curious about what led the powerful, rich white man
to put his sword down and let this black woman
take over, Like, why her? Is it because that he
knows that she'll carry out his legacy? Is it because
(13:13):
he knows that he's still going to have a hand
in the pot, or that she just has that proximity
to whiteness that they're looking for for this role. Because
let's be honest, I don't really think that they're putting
her in this position because she is a black, brown woman.
I don't know if y'all have seen it on social media,
(13:35):
but they're calling Tim Walks the una reverse card because
he represents the civilian people too. It's maximum capacity. But
I'm like, Okay, what does that say about Kamala is
Kamala Harris? Is she supposed to represent us as well?
And if so, in what ways are we supposed to
identify with her as a black woman or as a
(13:57):
brown woman?
Speaker 6 (13:58):
And what does brown even mean for her?
Speaker 3 (14:01):
And it's just really interesting. I think this is a
conversation of identity, of power, and of course politics.
Speaker 5 (14:09):
I don't really expect Kamala to be I think, like
you said, like carrying on his legacy, which that legacy
to me at least is not necessarily a good thing.
So I don't really expect Kamala to challenge anything that
Biden did. I feel like there might be a few
new things that she makes sure that she does or
(14:30):
brings to the table, but overall, I'm not expecting a
huge divergence from what Biden's presidency look like, except it'll
bring her a character and her identity into the room.
But I think you're raising some important questions about representation
politics and what that actually looks like, because, at least
for me, Kamala does not, although I guess we share
(14:53):
the identity of black womanhood, which looks different for me
as a fully black person versus her. But besides that,
she grew up in a middle class home. I'm not
saying she didn't have struggles throughout her life, but I
don't feel that her life is necessarily relatable, especially like
working class or low income people in this country, especially
(15:14):
Black people in this country. So I just thought that
was an interesting line of question you had.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
For sure, I know for me, I was also with
a group of people, and the initial reaction to like
Joe Biden dropping out, I remember, like my friends being
very emotional. One of those screamed and was like, oh
my goodness, did you see like you posted on Instagram
And I'm like, I'm not even on Instagram like that,
And there were like some tears because there was questions about,
(15:41):
oh my god, what does this mean for like everything?
I felt like doomsday and we were just like we
can't imagine President Trump like being back in office, like
we can that, Like I like, we can't do it again.
Then I felt like we were going back to the
middle school and like learning what happens now? What do
you do? And who's going to be the nominee? So
I wasn't shocked that it was Kamala, but I do
(16:03):
like resonate with a lot of y'all sentiments after like
sitting with that news and like seeing, now what does
this mean? So thank y'all for sharing that perspective.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
Hi, I'm SORRYA Taylor and I'm the TBG podcast production intern.
We'll return to Jana right after the break.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
So did you tune into the vate between VP Harris
and former President Trump? And is there cause for concern
as entertainment and politics becoming intertwined?
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Yes to all of the above. I did. I had
a few friends over, and then my roommate had friends
over and so we just turned it into a watch
party Why night, and so like that's the part of
entertainment and politics mixing. I feel like I see so
many people on social media that are talking about playing
drinking games with the election, like take a shot every
(16:59):
time I'm Kamala giggles or takes shot every time Trump
rolls his eyes or does something like this. And I
was disappointed by a few things. First, her stance on Israel,
which did not surprise me in the slightest bit. I
think to be a viable candidate in this country and
you're trying to get the majority of the vote, you
can't be radically pro Palestine. Even though she called for
(17:23):
a ceasefire, it doesn't surprise me that she said she
wholeheartedly supports Israel and the US's long standing agreement. I'm
also was disappointed that there was no discussion about gun
violence in the debate, especially since that shooting that it
was scary. It just happened about forty five minutes north
of Atlanta, and it's just frustrating because there should be
(17:47):
no maximum for how many mass casualties and mass shootings
that we should need to have. But I just cannot
understand why we're not talking about this, like something has
to change. We can't keep having school shootings. We can't
keep posting on social media pray for this school, pray
for this, pray for this. If nothing's happening, there needs
(18:11):
to be policy enacted on this. We need to have
better background checks for guns. It just felt frustrating watching
the debate. It felt like things that I consider important
issues were not touched upon, and I knew they weren't
going to be touched upon, but I wanted to watch
it just so I could continue to stay politically informed
and just see what's going on in the country, because
(18:33):
regardless if I'm not the biggest fan of the candidates,
this is the context that I live in right now,
and so I just think it's important to stay politically informed,
whether that's within the binary two party system or community
organizing or what's going on locally around you.
Speaker 5 (18:48):
I did watch the debate with a friend and to
the point about it being entertainment the whole time, and
I was like, why am I laughing at something that's
supposed to be as serious like political. But similarly to Alexandra,
I was overall disappointed in how the debate went. If
I was to say one thing that was positive, Kama
(19:08):
was definitely much more competent, much more eloquent, much more
rhetorically sound than Biden ever was. But besides that, similarly
to Alexandra, it definitely brought any remaining hope I had
in electoral politics to a zero. Obviously, Kamala's position on
Palestine was abysmal, but I didn't really expect anything different.
(19:31):
But it was also Trump the xenophobic rhetoric he was
spouting throughout the whole debate, spreading that awful anti black
xenophobic rumor about Haitians eating cats and dogs, and I
was incredibly disappointed that by the fact that Kamala did
not combat that in any way. The only thing she
mentioned about immigration was how she was prosecuting transnational crime
(19:53):
syndicates and was controlling the situation at the border, which
I feel continues to affirm the serous rhetoric that everyone
coming into the United States, immigrants and refugees, that they're
dangerous people, that they're only here to harm the American people.
And I would think that as a child of immigrants,
she would have had something more substantial to say to
(20:15):
combat the xenophobia that he was spouting, and she didn't
do that. And I know she's capable of doing that,
because when it came to talking about reproductive rights and
reproductive freedom, I think that was the only part of
her part of the debate that was solid to me
because of the way that she humanized women who are
(20:35):
trying to get abortions and strongly stood firm on that.
But with everything else with Palestine, with immigration, when it
came to fracking and to defunding the police, she rolled
back her previous statements on both of those things to
a much more moderate centrist or even a bit conservative
of a take on those because Trump was trying to
(20:58):
clung her a radical marxisthich we she absolutely is not,
but any somewhat progressive stance that she had she rolled back.
And discussing this in class has been frustrating because I
feel that there's a cloak over people's eyes that they're
so excited by the fact that a black woman is
running for president they're not able to see her many
(21:21):
flaws and understand that criticizing those flaws is not an
indictment of her as a black woman as an indictment
of her as a politician and as someone who is
asking us for our vote so that she can be
the president, one of the most powerful people in the world.
I think especially her closing statement where she doubled down
on something that she said about America having the most
(21:44):
lethal military force in the world. To be fair, this
is not particular to her, but the fact that was
not something that alarmed people that she is deliberate about
continuing America's imperial legacy throughout the world is very concerning
to me, and I think every time I've discussed that,
people have tried to water it down and dilute it
(22:04):
and say, oh, well, it's because America has a lot
of existential threats and enemies. But it's like, does that
make it okay for us to go out and conquer
and murder people all over the world just because someone
might do something? So overall, I felt really no positive
feelings at the end of the debate.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Yeah, honestly, you guys are so brilliant. I'm in total
alignment with everything you both just said. Personally, I watched
the debate at the AAC Debate watch party held by
the Lowry Institute and no shade to the Lowry Institute.
But they were trying to make it a party, and
I mean verbato, it was like, this is a party
(22:45):
turned up.
Speaker 6 (22:45):
We had a dj ou.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
It's like yeah, and I'm just like, it's funny.
Speaker 6 (22:52):
Are we series right now?
Speaker 3 (22:54):
I understand that we're trying to target a specific demographic,
that it's the tour is for not voting. That's fine,
it's important for us to be at the post now
more than ever. But this strategy is so enlightening on
both our generation and their generation and how we perceive
each other and what we're interested in. Professor kumar At
(23:18):
Filman famously is always talking about VP Harris and one
thing that she's always talking about in relation to voting,
She's just like, guys, do not be voting off the vibes.
Let's stop that because we can be voting off of her.
At the coffee shop, I'm out, oh my god's chocolate
caramel cake, as if she's never seen a freaking cake before,
(23:40):
and thinking, oh my gosh.
Speaker 6 (23:42):
This is so cute.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
See this is so demure wet.
Speaker 6 (23:46):
The tiktoks very.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
Nice, that's very nice for you, But I'm thinking about
the people and guys are right now who are literally
starving to death. They're waking up tomorrow wondering how in
the world did I even get past this, And my
stomach has been on empty four a week. I'm thinking
about the people who are Haitian in this country right now.
(24:10):
And it don't even matter if you're Haitian right now,
because we all know that was an anti black statement.
It don't matter if you got to act it or not.
It was just anti black. And how the people not
only in Springfield, Ohio, are about to be stereotype or
face discrimination right now. And then we want to sit
here and talk about the American heart and how it
(24:32):
is open to all the nations of the world and
we just want to help the poor and feed the
black kids in Africa and hold hands with the kids
in the Middle East. I could go off forever with
this depicton. I could break it down. I would attend
a year long course on it. But it was so
reflective of so many issues that is wrong with this government.
Speaker 5 (24:55):
You're absolutely right, and I think when I was having
this discussion in class, especially about the last comments she
made about the most lethal army in the world, people
are like oh, it's to protect us and stuff like that.
And I think it just speaks to the way in
America that we are socialized to be ignorant to what's
going on in the rest of the world and to
the humanity of people in the rest of the world,
(25:17):
specifically in the Global South, because I think we can
recognize Europeans as human beings, but people who are in Africa,
in South America, in the Middle East, we are taught
to dehumanize them, that they're savages, they're terrorists, their drug dealers.
So it doesn't matter what America does there, those are
not real people. And so I guess if people need
(25:39):
to know how this could affect them, For especially us
as black people in this country, there's nothing to stop
them from turning that lethal force on us, and they've
done so in the past. We know, we see how
that happened to civil rights movement activists, to the Black
Panther Party, to different organizations and the Black Power Movement,
the move Organization of Philadelphia, how they were literally bombed.
(26:02):
So there's nothing stopping them. You know, if we have
to think about how this is going to happen to us,
even in Atlanta specifically with cop City and how that's
going to affect the lives of poor black Atlantis, and
this is happening all over the country. Actually, it's to
our benefit to be in coalition with people of the
global South. For me, as a Pan African, is to
(26:23):
be in coalition with people across the African diaspora because
we're fighting the same systems. So I really wish people
would be able to understand that and decenter America and
Europe in their analysis of the world and of how
America functions, and realize that the state the empire that
America is is going to be an enemy to us
(26:45):
all regardless of whether it's now or later. Because like
you were mentioning what's happening in Gaza, it feels so
far away because so people you are able to push
that out on their mind, and what's happening in Congo Sudan.
I'm Haiti. Because we're not there. People are like, well,
it's not happening to me, but there's nothing stopping it
from happening to you.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
You could not have said it better, Gabrielle. It's so
frustrating to just see people blindly turning an eye to
atrocities in humanity crisis happening in the global South. It's
really frustrating. Like Gabrielle said, people seem to have a
veil over their head or some sense of blindness where
we're just like blindly supporting Kamala and I get it
(27:28):
from a black womanhood chance. However, there is so much
more that goes into that. How are you just going
to blindly support Kamala Harris but like not be worried
about what's going on in the Congo or Sudan. But
I also think we grew up during Obama and so
there was definitely a glorification of him because he was
(27:50):
the first black president. And I think a lot of
people also did not necessarily learn that it's okay to
criticize politicians. And that's something I didn't learn until I
got to Spellman. I didn't realize that, oh, I don't
just have to vote in this two party system. There's
more to politics than Democrat and Republican. There's a history
(28:13):
to this. There were radical groups that existed that fought
for black liberation. There is so much more to politics
than just voting red or blue.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
So since her introduction into the public's consciousness, Kamala has
been memified for being a top cop for her various antics, dancing,
laughing a lot, etc. And so how does this portrayal
of Kamala online impact your thoughts on her as a candidate?
Speaker 5 (28:45):
To be fair to her, that's not something that's just
particularly happened to her people mema by politicians, because again,
like we were discussing earlier, politics has become a source
of entertainment. I feel two kind of ways about it, because,
for one, does obviously take away for a little bit
from being able to take her seriously as a politician.
(29:07):
But at the same time, she's also a human being,
and human beings do strange things. People laugh, people dance,
when you can't discount how Massadre Noir works into this
and how people portray people. So for me, at first
I felt some kind of way about it, But her
politics itself is enough for me to make a judgment
of her. Those other things have not counted that much
(29:30):
into that for my current opinions on her, I would say.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
I think for me at first it was the TikTok sound,
but it's like, this is still an election and let's
still get serious. Like to Jasmine's point, like it could
be very demeir, it could be very cutesy and laughy
and like the coconut tree. But also, this is going
to be the leader of the free world. This is
really important to tone it down a little bit with
(29:54):
me refining her it's not that funny. But moving on,
under the current administry, we've seen the enactment of several
executive orders seeking to expand women's reproductive rights. Still, since
the fall of Rob Wade, fourteen states have made abortion illegal.
What do you think about this and what hope do
you have for the future of women's reproductive rights after
(30:18):
this election.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
I think this is the handmade's tale reality TV. Everybody
keeps saying it, and I know it's funny, No, I
honestly feel that's what they're gearing towards. In Project twenty
twenty five looks exactly like and if you haven't watched it,
please go watch it.
Speaker 6 (30:37):
It's quite informative.
Speaker 3 (30:38):
I have very complex feelings about this because as somebody
who is pro choice, who has not only the medical
education of why abortions are necessary, but also looking at
it from like a social stance, it's somebody who could be.
Speaker 6 (30:57):
Impacted by it. One day.
Speaker 3 (30:58):
I don't think this country likes women at all, and
I don't think they want to like women. I think
that the internalized misogyny is so ingrained to us and
is systematic, and I think I'm want to use this
question to really speak to the Christian and conservative audience,
because that's where I come from.
Speaker 6 (31:16):
The Bible does not talk about abortion. It does not.
Speaker 3 (31:19):
If anything, if you want to look at history, there
are numerous pieces of documentation not to talk about women
having abortions and why and how they went about it.
More particularly for the black audience. You don't know, but
some of your great great great grandmothers practice abortions during
enslavement because they didn't want to have the master's baby.
Speaker 6 (31:42):
For the nineteenth time.
Speaker 3 (31:43):
There's a lot of fear mongering around the subject, and
I think it largely comes from an audience who again
is misguided on what this looks like.
Speaker 6 (31:52):
If we're talking about.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
Christianity, for one, we're talking about the Ten Commandments, and
we're talking about what is love and what Jesus and
bodies what love is. And Jesus does not ask for
us to suffer. Go look at Matthew five.
Speaker 6 (32:06):
He does not want us to stay around to suffer.
If anything, he wants us.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
To enjoy prosperity and wellness and health. And I think
sometimes people try and use their ethic morality as a
shield and it's like, I'm going to stand behind this shield.
I'm gonna die on this hill if all hell breaks loose,
I'm still holding it. And it's like, how many people
have to die behind you because you want to hold
(32:33):
on to your ethic morality. What you're saying is you're
setting inside your humanity for your morality, and there's a
difference between that, and it goes into a larger conversation
of what does reproductive rights look like? And it's not
just about abortions. It's about, Hey, I just had sex
and this person is telling me that they got HIV
(32:55):
and now you don't have any services because these lawmakers
don't think that you deserve it a human need. And
it's so complex and it's so full of different issues,
and until we really take a deep dive into what
that is going to look like realistically, it's an issue.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
I really like what you said about putting your humanity
aside for like your own morality, and I feel like
you're dealing with people's lives, and like people, we have
to make choices. As women, I need to make a
decision for myself and my body and my future. So
I really like that.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
Hi.
Speaker 4 (33:29):
I'm Soria Taylor and I'm the TBG podcast production intern.
We'll return to Jana right after the break.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
So lastly, and this is most relevant to college students
and it's the issue of student loan forgiveness. We love
this conversation. So President Joe Biden has enacted the forgiveness
of seven point four billion and student loan debt, in
addition to previous initiatives of the same nature. But this
(34:07):
only covers the debt of two hundred and seventy seven
thousand bars in a country where forty three million Americans
have outstanding federal student loan debt. How does student loan
debt impact your livelihood as a college student and what
do you think should be the actions of our next
president in amending this issue?
Speaker 5 (34:28):
As a student who comes from a go working class background,
I'm a first generation American. My parents are college educated,
but they both struggled with a large amount of student
a loone debt, and I'm already in a large amount
of student loan debt myself, most of it actually being private.
That's the thing that a lot of young people, especially
young black people who come from working class backgrounds, have
(34:48):
to deal with. So even federal plans to reduce federal
loan debt are not helpful. If you have forty thousand
dollars in debt from Sally May, who's not held accountable
by the government, you're pretty much hold that debt until
you pay it off or until you die. So I
think overall it just speaks to how education is what
we're told we need to do. And education was always
something that was instilled in me that I always knew
(35:11):
I was going to go to college and get even
graduate education, but how it's made so inaccessible, and so
it puts you in a conundrum. If you don't have
parents who can pay your way through college, or you
don't have access to scholarships that will cover most of
your cost of attendance, then you know you're stuck, especially
out of school that's as expensive as Felman is as
(35:33):
a private liberal arts institution. So I just definitely think
there needs to be more radical change, not even just
about student loan debt forgiveness, because that's not even going
to be helpful to everyone, but about making college more
affordable or even you know, I don't think it's radical
to stay that at least public schools should be free. Period.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
What do you plan on doing outside of voting to
participate in the civic economy.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
I personally am really interested in community organizing, and so
I think it's really important to have conversations that explore
political imagination and just explore outside of the binaries of voting.
I think it's important to have these conversations with your friends,
with your family, and also just making sure that you're
(36:22):
educating people. Yes, this is the presidential election, but local
elections are what's going to more so impact you than
the president, because let's be honest, the president's more of
a figurehead for the US. And so just staying up
to dating, educated, researching what issues are important to you,
(36:43):
and then also creating movements if it's something that you're
passionate about, you don't have to join something that's already existing,
Like you can do your own research. You can go
out of your way to really be having calls and
to be discussing what are some things that I want
to put on the political agenda, whether it's national level
(37:04):
or like a local level.
Speaker 5 (37:06):
Yeah, similarly to Alexandra, you know how I feel about
it is that electoral politics will not save us at all,
So it's really just something to fill the gap right now.
But I just at this point am divesting from the
whole world around the two party system because it's not sustainable.
This is something that they've known from the beginning of
(37:27):
when the two party system began in the first place,
that it was not going to be sustainable because it
was always going to be a struggle for power between
these two parties and everyone else was going to get
lost in the gap. So for me, community organizing, political education,
building care, infrastructure, mutual aid, doing survival work. Looking at
the example of the Black Panther Party with the survival
(37:49):
programs that they had and where they were literally while
they were spreading their political agenda, were actually taking care
of the low income black people in their communities that
were struggling to survive today. But overall, to me, eventually
this whole system needs to complete dismantling and a complete transformation,
and we have to have that radical imagination to be
(38:10):
able to imagine a world outside of the system. That
we have because even third party candidates, even though that
would be a good reform to have more options, that
still won't save us at the end of the day.
So I think we really have to take things into
our own hands and not expect black faces and high
places won't save us. So if Kamala does win, which
I will say, obviously, I prefer for her to win
(38:31):
over Trump, but I'm not expecting anything transformational to happen
from her presidency, and so I hope if that does
happen that people won't just go quite and say, oh,
we're good now because we have a black woman in office,
because we're not, and things we're going to continue getting
progressively worse until we decide to make our collective power
it mean something.
Speaker 6 (38:51):
Thank you for asking that question.
Speaker 3 (38:53):
Well, I will say, as a woman, is my perspective
on my civic responsibility in engaging with my keymunity is
simply talking to them. I know, in the Blue Record podcast,
it gives us a platform as students to talk about
issues that are dear and close to our hearts. But
I'm also an English major and I'm also anthem minor,
(39:14):
and a lot of our lecture styles require talking if
we don't talk, and it bothers me insanely. And I
love to see other people's perspectives and I like to
immerse myself within their lens of society, and that's something
I hope to do as a researcher in the future.
(39:37):
I think it all starts with talking, because I think
it is a disservice to not be vocal about what
you think, and especially in this generation, we have to
get rid of that habit of keeping things inside our minds.
Speaker 6 (39:51):
So, yeah, that's what I'm doing for sure.
Speaker 1 (39:54):
I don't know if y'all have seen that TikTok trend
about like this and yap, but we need politics, and yeah,
we need more yapping about politics in our community.
Speaker 2 (40:04):
Politics, critical thinking.
Speaker 1 (40:06):
Critical thinking, yapping, and action maybe more as more.
Speaker 2 (40:12):
Yeah, there's a lot of intersections. I think that needs
to be there.
Speaker 1 (40:16):
Yes for sure. Okay, so where can we find you?
What are your social media handles?
Speaker 2 (40:22):
You all can find me at my Instagram. It's at
Alexandra nd R a aaa after Alexandra, so it's like
Alexandra dra if that makes sense.
Speaker 5 (40:38):
You can find me on Instagram at my full name,
Gabrielle Cassel. Yeah, I post all kinds of weird and
quirky things on there.
Speaker 3 (40:47):
Y'all can find me on Instagram. My Instagram is Jazz
x Patrick, Jasmin and s and E and then also
Mi Grassoo's organization, She Speaks Safety. You can also find
me a LinkedIn at jasin Patrick.
Speaker 1 (41:01):
So, I want to thank y'all so much for indulging
me in your opinions. Spellman has some amazing minds on
their campus and I was in awe of y'all, so
to thank you so much for just showing me more
about the political sphere. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (41:17):
Thank you.
Speaker 6 (41:18):
This is an amazing opportunity.
Speaker 2 (41:20):
Yeah, thank you for this invitation.
Speaker 6 (41:21):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (41:25):
I want to thank the hosts of the Blue Record
podcast for this episode. Class is over for now, but
here's some homework to take with you. If you're attending
college in another state and are interested in voting, be
sure to go online and make sure your absentee ballot
is in order discover how you can contribute to your
community and other ways in voting, whether it be through
(41:46):
mutual aid, political organizing, or simply having a conversation with
a neighbor. Take some time to look into global issues,
starting with places like Sudan, Haiti, the Middle East, and Gaza.
To learn more about the work we're doing or to
do more research on this topic, be sure to visit
Therapy for Blackgirls dot com slash TBGU. This episode was
(42:09):
produced by Elise Ellis Inzara Taylor. Editing is by Dennison L.
Speaker 4 (42:13):
Bradhard
Get ready because class is almost in session. Welcome to
the TBG University podcast, tailored for the twenty something who's
packing for a new year on campus, thinking through their
gap year, enrolling in a community college, grabbing their souls
for graduation, and everything in between. I'm your host and
TVGU coordinator Jana Ellis.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Hi, I'm Alexandra, I'm Gabrielle. Hey, I'm Jasmine, and we're
on the Therapy for Black Girls University Podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
We're in session today discussing the twenty twenty four election
as college students.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Wait, can you hear it? The constant political ads, the
texts from campaigns you never signed up for, in relentless
social media debates mean that the election is here in
full force. Seriously, though, this may be one of the
most important election cycles of our time, and by are
(01:07):
I mean gen z. Today we're diving into the real thoughts, hopes,
and frustrations of college students as they navigate today's political landscape.
Joining me for this round table discussion are Gabrielle Cassel,
Jasmine Patrick, and Alexandra Nelson, a sophomore, junior, and senior, respectively.
(01:28):
They attend Spelman College and service hosts for the schools,
collegiate and social justice oriented podcasts The Blue Record. In
our chat today, we discuss the issues that matter to
us most as students and as members of gen Z,
our reactions to the recent televised debate between Vice President
Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, and why it's
important to maintain a sense of political imagination when thinking
(01:51):
about our future as a country. Here's our conversation. I'm
so excited to talk with y'alls, just to meet Spellman
girls like I'm just always impressed by y'all. How are
y'all doing today, I'm so excited to talk with you.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I'm doing pretty good. Just really excited to be here
and really grateful that he reached out and extended the
opportunity for us to record with Therapy for Black Girls University.
So thank you very much.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
So to kick us off, I'm interested to know what
are your earliest memories related to politics and how did
those early memories shape your current attitudes towards the political climate.
Speaker 5 (02:36):
I think for me, it definitely came through my dad.
From the time that I was young. I would watch
him watch the news while he was exercising and he
always didn't really shy away from explaining wanting us to
have the consciousness about what's going on in the world
from the time both me and my younger siblings were children.
(02:58):
Having those critical thinkings from a young age has really
allowed me to come into this election period and this
current political climate with a lot more clarity. I grew
up like when Obama was president, so that was like
a really exciting time. I think looking back, I feel
differently about it now, but regardless, it shapes how we
(03:23):
view the world, and I think as my politics has
expanded even beyond just the two party system or electoral politics,
I definitely still appreciate what my dad instilled in me
and my younger sibling when it came to understanding what's
happening in our political system and in the world in general.
Because both of my parents are immigrants, so it wasn't
(03:46):
just about what's going on in America, but what is
going on in the rest of the world.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
Yeah, So, piggyback off Greel's statement, I grew up watching
the news with my family. It was a really big thing.
It was on every TV every morning at seven am,
and I remember being at my granny's house and it
would be a bunch of adults in the room and
we've been having breakfast and they would be like, Oh,
(04:12):
the W folks are at it again, and what are
they talking about? And little old me, I mean, I
had no clue what they were talking about.
Speaker 6 (04:20):
And I hate that I didn't understand.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
Until much later, And I asked my grain, who was
some W folks that you're talking about? And she didn't
want to explain it to me because she wanted to
protect my innocence as much as possible. And I realized
now when I talk to her about the news and
we talked about our current Keennessey race and how racialized
(04:44):
the media is right now. They're still in this like
binary era whereas white versus black. So, yeah, that's what
I learned growing up about politics.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Yeah, when I think about it, I think Martin Luther
King was on my first introduction to politics, But at
the time I didn't really realize it because I mostly
thought about it from a race perspective. And I was
really young when I'm talking about this. I'm talking about
like five, so thinking about the books that we would
(05:16):
read in school. But then I really remember my mom
took my sisters and I to see Barack Obama in
twenty twelve in Cincinnati at Music Hall, and I don't
remember what he was saying because I was nine, but
my mom was really emotional and I saw her have
hopefulness on her face, and so that was a beautiful moment.
(05:38):
That's when I really started to realize, like, what are
politics and the emotions people can make them feel. But
in my household, Obama was like an uncle, and I
feel that a lot of other Black Americans and other
just black people had that same relationship with him. He
felt really familiar. My parents had the T shirts, swag,
(06:00):
all of that, like they were really wholehearted Obama supporters.
Speaker 1 (06:05):
I also, similar to Alexandria. I vividly remember the merch
of President Obama.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Oh my gosh, it was so cool.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Literally like the T shirts, the buttons. Like now when
I go thrifting, I tried to find one to wear
as like a vintage piece. But I definitely relate to
all of y'all. This next question may be a little spicy,
but I'm wondering, do you plan on voting in this
upcoming election? Why or why not.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
I'm definitely voting. This question is funny because I think
back to when I was in high school and I
was one of those kids I'm admitting it that was
like a vote shamer, and so when Trump was running,
I was like, I vote for Trump is throwing away
a vote for Pillory. But I realize now that if
(06:57):
you weren't voting, then you're just not voting. I still
understand both sides of it, but now I'm definitely more
so on the side of everybody should vote, especially black people.
I mean, this is something that our ancestors and grandparents
and great grandparents did not even have the right to do,
(07:18):
and so I think it's important to exercise our right
that people before us have fought for.
Speaker 5 (07:25):
This is definitely something I've been going back and forth
on for a long time. Ideally, there would be no
issue with just voting, but I think there's the people
who have a reason not to vote, with the fact
that there's people who believe that voting is continuing to
prop up the system that continually fails us and was
(07:50):
structured to fail us. So for me personally, I've been
having issues with applan for my absentee ballot in the
first place. So definitely going to see if that's something
I can get fixed. But ultimately, if it's not, I'm
not going to feel a loss if I'm not able
to vote, because either way, I'm not super excited with
(08:12):
whatever the result is going to be, So for me,
it's like a neutral thing at this point.
Speaker 6 (08:19):
Yeah, I definitely agree.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
It's a weird feeling voting in this election because we
just see these two figures in their polar offices, but
they do have some commonalities and it's like, what are
we even.
Speaker 6 (08:32):
Looking at right now? Like what is this? I would
say for myself, I most definitely am voting.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Our director, I Believe, of the Social Justice Program said
quite valiantly a couple of weeks ago that if you
don't vote and you talk to her about stuff involving politics,
she don't want to talk. And I definitely have that
same energy because I feel that if you have the
right to vote, which a lot of people do not,
(09:00):
they should, why aren't you it's not hurting you. But
I think a lot of people are misinformed because we
had this whole talk about the electoral party and everybody
believes that I either have to be red or blue,
and it's like, why can't you just be yourself. Why
can't you just vote on the issues that you're concerned about.
(09:20):
But people don't understand that. Luckily, I had the privilege
of having a teacher when I was in sixth grade
and it was our history class, and my teacher broke
it down to us because this was during the Obama election,
it was during that time period. He broke it down
to us very precisely exactly what occurs when you go
(09:43):
and put your.
Speaker 6 (09:45):
Vote in the ballot.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
And more importantly, he pulled me aside whenever I had
questions to make sure I knew, as a black woman
how important it is for me to vote, not just
my local elections, but for everything. Like Gabrielle, I am
dealing with stuff with act and tee voting. But I
think that's a conversation of why it's so hard for
(10:06):
people to because it speak on it.
Speaker 1 (10:09):
So I'm curious what were your initial reactions to President
Joe Biden dropping out of the race in Kamala being
the Democrat nominee.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
So I was actually I interned in Switzerland this summer,
and so I was out of the country for the
whole summer. Like following politics from this outside perspective, so
I was at a dinner actually when I was on
my phone, and like I want to say, it was
like five Swiss people and three Americans, and I was like,
(10:41):
oh my gosh, Joe Biden dropped out of the race,
and we were like, oh my gosh. I was relieved
because I was just really feeling frustrated. I was like,
there is no way he's not fit to speak in
front of these people. He's not fit to govern our country.
He's not anywhere close to the relative average age of
(11:04):
our country. And I was selected as a twenty twenty
four White House Initiative HBCU scholar for this upcoming year,
and to be honest, I was having a lot of
conflicting feelings holding that title. I'm still not one hundred
percent aligned with Kamala's politics by any means, or the
structure of our two party system or the White House.
But I was like, almost feel comfortable representing the White House.
(11:29):
If Joe Biden's still running for president, I'm not posting
anything about voting for him. I was not confident in
his abilities, and so I was really relieved when Kamala
announced that she was running. I was really curious who
her VP pick was going to be, but I'm just
glad that Joe Biden is not in the race anymore.
Speaker 5 (11:50):
I was on an outing with my family when I
found out I got in the notification on my watch.
I was surprised to an extent, but I was also
expected at the same time. I think it was the
best strategic choice they could have made, because, to be honest,
with how Joe Biden was performing, he most likely was
going to lose. I definitely think this is a choice
(12:12):
they should have made earlier, but I guess it's better
late than never. They want to win, and Joe Biden
was not performing at a level despite even how unpopular
he was politically, it was clear that he was deteriorating.
It would have been very unwise to keep him in
the running.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
I would say for myself, I'm not totally against Joe
Biden running. Obviously, he's not anybody that we want in
a position as noble as the President of the United States,
but we also don't want Trump, and I think there's
like a lot of conversation surrounding like his mental capacity
(12:53):
and how it's deteriorating. But I think, if anything, I'm
most curious about what led the powerful, rich white man
to put his sword down and let this black woman
take over, Like, why her? Is it because that he
knows that she'll carry out his legacy? Is it because
(13:13):
he knows that he's still going to have a hand
in the pot, or that she just has that proximity
to whiteness that they're looking for for this role. Because
let's be honest, I don't really think that they're putting
her in this position because she is a black, brown woman.
I don't know if y'all have seen it on social media,
(13:35):
but they're calling Tim Walks the una reverse card because
he represents the civilian people too. It's maximum capacity. But
I'm like, Okay, what does that say about Kamala is
Kamala Harris? Is she supposed to represent us as well?
And if so, in what ways are we supposed to
identify with her as a black woman or as a
(13:57):
brown woman?
Speaker 6 (13:58):
And what does brown even mean for her?
Speaker 3 (14:01):
And it's just really interesting. I think this is a
conversation of identity, of power, and of course politics.
Speaker 5 (14:09):
I don't really expect Kamala to be I think, like
you said, like carrying on his legacy, which that legacy
to me at least is not necessarily a good thing.
So I don't really expect Kamala to challenge anything that
Biden did. I feel like there might be a few
new things that she makes sure that she does or
(14:30):
brings to the table, but overall, I'm not expecting a
huge divergence from what Biden's presidency look like, except it'll
bring her a character and her identity into the room.
But I think you're raising some important questions about representation
politics and what that actually looks like, because, at least
for me, Kamala does not, although I guess we share
(14:53):
the identity of black womanhood, which looks different for me
as a fully black person versus her. But besides that,
she grew up in a middle class home. I'm not
saying she didn't have struggles throughout her life, but I
don't feel that her life is necessarily relatable, especially like
working class or low income people in this country, especially
(15:14):
Black people in this country. So I just thought that
was an interesting line of question you had.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
For sure, I know for me, I was also with
a group of people, and the initial reaction to like
Joe Biden dropping out, I remember, like my friends being
very emotional. One of those screamed and was like, oh
my goodness, did you see like you posted on Instagram
And I'm like, I'm not even on Instagram like that,
And there were like some tears because there was questions about,
(15:41):
oh my god, what does this mean for like everything?
I felt like doomsday and we were just like we
can't imagine President Trump like being back in office, like
we can that, Like I like, we can't do it again.
Then I felt like we were going back to the
middle school and like learning what happens now? What do
you do? And who's going to be the nominee? So
I wasn't shocked that it was Kamala, but I do
(16:03):
like resonate with a lot of y'all sentiments after like
sitting with that news and like seeing, now what does
this mean? So thank y'all for sharing that perspective.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
Hi, I'm SORRYA Taylor and I'm the TBG podcast production intern.
We'll return to Jana right after the break.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
So did you tune into the vate between VP Harris
and former President Trump? And is there cause for concern
as entertainment and politics becoming intertwined?
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Yes to all of the above. I did. I had
a few friends over, and then my roommate had friends
over and so we just turned it into a watch
party Why night, and so like that's the part of
entertainment and politics mixing. I feel like I see so
many people on social media that are talking about playing
drinking games with the election, like take a shot every
(16:59):
time I'm Kamala giggles or takes shot every time Trump
rolls his eyes or does something like this. And I
was disappointed by a few things. First, her stance on Israel,
which did not surprise me in the slightest bit. I
think to be a viable candidate in this country and
you're trying to get the majority of the vote, you
can't be radically pro Palestine. Even though she called for
(17:23):
a ceasefire, it doesn't surprise me that she said she
wholeheartedly supports Israel and the US's long standing agreement. I'm
also was disappointed that there was no discussion about gun
violence in the debate, especially since that shooting that it
was scary. It just happened about forty five minutes north
of Atlanta, and it's just frustrating because there should be
(17:47):
no maximum for how many mass casualties and mass shootings
that we should need to have. But I just cannot
understand why we're not talking about this, like something has
to change. We can't keep having school shootings. We can't
keep posting on social media pray for this school, pray
for this, pray for this. If nothing's happening, there needs
(18:11):
to be policy enacted on this. We need to have
better background checks for guns. It just felt frustrating watching
the debate. It felt like things that I consider important
issues were not touched upon, and I knew they weren't
going to be touched upon, but I wanted to watch
it just so I could continue to stay politically informed
and just see what's going on in the country, because
(18:33):
regardless if I'm not the biggest fan of the candidates,
this is the context that I live in right now,
and so I just think it's important to stay politically informed,
whether that's within the binary two party system or community
organizing or what's going on locally around you.
Speaker 5 (18:48):
I did watch the debate with a friend and to
the point about it being entertainment the whole time, and
I was like, why am I laughing at something that's
supposed to be as serious like political. But similarly to Alexandra,
I was overall disappointed in how the debate went. If
I was to say one thing that was positive, Kama
(19:08):
was definitely much more competent, much more eloquent, much more
rhetorically sound than Biden ever was. But besides that, similarly
to Alexandra, it definitely brought any remaining hope I had
in electoral politics to a zero. Obviously, Kamala's position on
Palestine was abysmal, but I didn't really expect anything different.
(19:31):
But it was also Trump the xenophobic rhetoric he was
spouting throughout the whole debate, spreading that awful anti black
xenophobic rumor about Haitians eating cats and dogs, and I
was incredibly disappointed that by the fact that Kamala did
not combat that in any way. The only thing she
mentioned about immigration was how she was prosecuting transnational crime
(19:53):
syndicates and was controlling the situation at the border, which
I feel continues to affirm the serous rhetoric that everyone
coming into the United States, immigrants and refugees, that they're
dangerous people, that they're only here to harm the American people.
And I would think that as a child of immigrants,
she would have had something more substantial to say to
(20:15):
combat the xenophobia that he was spouting, and she didn't
do that. And I know she's capable of doing that,
because when it came to talking about reproductive rights and
reproductive freedom, I think that was the only part of
her part of the debate that was solid to me
because of the way that she humanized women who are
(20:35):
trying to get abortions and strongly stood firm on that.
But with everything else with Palestine, with immigration, when it
came to fracking and to defunding the police, she rolled
back her previous statements on both of those things to
a much more moderate centrist or even a bit conservative
of a take on those because Trump was trying to
(20:58):
clung her a radical marxisthich we she absolutely is not,
but any somewhat progressive stance that she had she rolled back.
And discussing this in class has been frustrating because I
feel that there's a cloak over people's eyes that they're
so excited by the fact that a black woman is
running for president they're not able to see her many
(21:21):
flaws and understand that criticizing those flaws is not an
indictment of her as a black woman as an indictment
of her as a politician and as someone who is
asking us for our vote so that she can be
the president, one of the most powerful people in the world.
I think especially her closing statement where she doubled down
on something that she said about America having the most
(21:44):
lethal military force in the world. To be fair, this
is not particular to her, but the fact that was
not something that alarmed people that she is deliberate about
continuing America's imperial legacy throughout the world is very concerning
to me, and I think every time I've discussed that,
people have tried to water it down and dilute it
(22:04):
and say, oh, well, it's because America has a lot
of existential threats and enemies. But it's like, does that
make it okay for us to go out and conquer
and murder people all over the world just because someone
might do something? So overall, I felt really no positive
feelings at the end of the debate.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Yeah, honestly, you guys are so brilliant. I'm in total
alignment with everything you both just said. Personally, I watched
the debate at the AAC Debate watch party held by
the Lowry Institute and no shade to the Lowry Institute.
But they were trying to make it a party, and
I mean verbato, it was like, this is a party
(22:45):
turned up.
Speaker 6 (22:45):
We had a dj ou.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
It's like yeah, and I'm just like, it's funny.
Speaker 6 (22:52):
Are we series right now?
Speaker 3 (22:54):
I understand that we're trying to target a specific demographic,
that it's the tour is for not voting. That's fine,
it's important for us to be at the post now
more than ever. But this strategy is so enlightening on
both our generation and their generation and how we perceive
each other and what we're interested in. Professor kumar At
(23:18):
Filman famously is always talking about VP Harris and one
thing that she's always talking about in relation to voting,
She's just like, guys, do not be voting off the vibes.
Let's stop that because we can be voting off of her.
At the coffee shop, I'm out, oh my god's chocolate
caramel cake, as if she's never seen a freaking cake before,
(23:40):
and thinking, oh my gosh.
Speaker 6 (23:42):
This is so cute.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
See this is so demure wet.
Speaker 6 (23:46):
The tiktoks very.
Speaker 3 (23:48):
Nice, that's very nice for you, But I'm thinking about
the people and guys are right now who are literally
starving to death. They're waking up tomorrow wondering how in
the world did I even get past this, And my
stomach has been on empty four a week. I'm thinking
about the people who are Haitian in this country right now.
(24:10):
And it don't even matter if you're Haitian right now,
because we all know that was an anti black statement.
It don't matter if you got to act it or not.
It was just anti black. And how the people not
only in Springfield, Ohio, are about to be stereotype or
face discrimination right now. And then we want to sit
here and talk about the American heart and how it
(24:32):
is open to all the nations of the world and
we just want to help the poor and feed the
black kids in Africa and hold hands with the kids
in the Middle East. I could go off forever with
this depicton. I could break it down. I would attend
a year long course on it. But it was so
reflective of so many issues that is wrong with this government.
Speaker 5 (24:55):
You're absolutely right, and I think when I was having
this discussion in class, especially about the last comments she
made about the most lethal army in the world, people
are like oh, it's to protect us and stuff like that.
And I think it just speaks to the way in
America that we are socialized to be ignorant to what's
going on in the rest of the world and to
the humanity of people in the rest of the world,
(25:17):
specifically in the Global South, because I think we can
recognize Europeans as human beings, but people who are in Africa,
in South America, in the Middle East, we are taught
to dehumanize them, that they're savages, they're terrorists, their drug dealers.
So it doesn't matter what America does there, those are
not real people. And so I guess if people need
(25:39):
to know how this could affect them, For especially us
as black people in this country, there's nothing to stop
them from turning that lethal force on us, and they've
done so in the past. We know, we see how
that happened to civil rights movement activists, to the Black
Panther Party, to different organizations and the Black Power Movement,
the move Organization of Philadelphia, how they were literally bombed.
(26:02):
So there's nothing stopping them. You know, if we have
to think about how this is going to happen to us,
even in Atlanta specifically with cop City and how that's
going to affect the lives of poor black Atlantis, and
this is happening all over the country. Actually, it's to
our benefit to be in coalition with people of the
global South. For me, as a Pan African, is to
(26:23):
be in coalition with people across the African diaspora because
we're fighting the same systems. So I really wish people
would be able to understand that and decenter America and
Europe in their analysis of the world and of how
America functions, and realize that the state the empire that
America is is going to be an enemy to us
(26:45):
all regardless of whether it's now or later. Because like
you were mentioning what's happening in Gaza, it feels so
far away because so people you are able to push
that out on their mind, and what's happening in Congo Sudan.
I'm Haiti. Because we're not there. People are like, well,
it's not happening to me, but there's nothing stopping it
from happening to you.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
You could not have said it better, Gabrielle. It's so
frustrating to just see people blindly turning an eye to
atrocities in humanity crisis happening in the global South. It's
really frustrating. Like Gabrielle said, people seem to have a
veil over their head or some sense of blindness where
we're just like blindly supporting Kamala and I get it
(27:28):
from a black womanhood chance. However, there is so much
more that goes into that. How are you just going
to blindly support Kamala Harris but like not be worried
about what's going on in the Congo or Sudan. But
I also think we grew up during Obama and so
there was definitely a glorification of him because he was
(27:50):
the first black president. And I think a lot of
people also did not necessarily learn that it's okay to
criticize politicians. And that's something I didn't learn until I
got to Spellman. I didn't realize that, oh, I don't
just have to vote in this two party system. There's
more to politics than Democrat and Republican. There's a history
(28:13):
to this. There were radical groups that existed that fought
for black liberation. There is so much more to politics
than just voting red or blue.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
So since her introduction into the public's consciousness, Kamala has
been memified for being a top cop for her various antics, dancing,
laughing a lot, etc. And so how does this portrayal
of Kamala online impact your thoughts on her as a candidate?
Speaker 5 (28:45):
To be fair to her, that's not something that's just
particularly happened to her people mema by politicians, because again,
like we were discussing earlier, politics has become a source
of entertainment. I feel two kind of ways about it, because,
for one, does obviously take away for a little bit
from being able to take her seriously as a politician.
(29:07):
But at the same time, she's also a human being,
and human beings do strange things. People laugh, people dance,
when you can't discount how Massadre Noir works into this
and how people portray people. So for me, at first
I felt some kind of way about it, But her
politics itself is enough for me to make a judgment
of her. Those other things have not counted that much
(29:30):
into that for my current opinions on her, I would say.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
I think for me at first it was the TikTok sound,
but it's like, this is still an election and let's
still get serious. Like to Jasmine's point, like it could
be very demeir, it could be very cutesy and laughy
and like the coconut tree. But also, this is going
to be the leader of the free world. This is
really important to tone it down a little bit with
(29:54):
me refining her it's not that funny. But moving on,
under the current administry, we've seen the enactment of several
executive orders seeking to expand women's reproductive rights. Still, since
the fall of Rob Wade, fourteen states have made abortion illegal.
What do you think about this and what hope do
you have for the future of women's reproductive rights after
(30:18):
this election.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
I think this is the handmade's tale reality TV. Everybody
keeps saying it, and I know it's funny, No, I
honestly feel that's what they're gearing towards. In Project twenty
twenty five looks exactly like and if you haven't watched it,
please go watch it.
Speaker 6 (30:37):
It's quite informative.
Speaker 3 (30:38):
I have very complex feelings about this because as somebody
who is pro choice, who has not only the medical
education of why abortions are necessary, but also looking at
it from like a social stance, it's somebody who could be.
Speaker 6 (30:57):
Impacted by it. One day.
Speaker 3 (30:58):
I don't think this country likes women at all, and
I don't think they want to like women. I think
that the internalized misogyny is so ingrained to us and
is systematic, and I think I'm want to use this
question to really speak to the Christian and conservative audience,
because that's where I come from.
Speaker 6 (31:16):
The Bible does not talk about abortion. It does not.
Speaker 3 (31:19):
If anything, if you want to look at history, there
are numerous pieces of documentation not to talk about women
having abortions and why and how they went about it.
More particularly for the black audience. You don't know, but
some of your great great great grandmothers practice abortions during
enslavement because they didn't want to have the master's baby.
Speaker 6 (31:42):
For the nineteenth time.
Speaker 3 (31:43):
There's a lot of fear mongering around the subject, and
I think it largely comes from an audience who again
is misguided on what this looks like.
Speaker 6 (31:52):
If we're talking about.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
Christianity, for one, we're talking about the Ten Commandments, and
we're talking about what is love and what Jesus and
bodies what love is. And Jesus does not ask for
us to suffer. Go look at Matthew five.
Speaker 6 (32:06):
He does not want us to stay around to suffer.
If anything, he wants us.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
To enjoy prosperity and wellness and health. And I think
sometimes people try and use their ethic morality as a
shield and it's like, I'm going to stand behind this shield.
I'm gonna die on this hill if all hell breaks loose,
I'm still holding it. And it's like, how many people
have to die behind you because you want to hold
(32:33):
on to your ethic morality. What you're saying is you're
setting inside your humanity for your morality, and there's a
difference between that, and it goes into a larger conversation
of what does reproductive rights look like? And it's not
just about abortions. It's about, Hey, I just had sex
and this person is telling me that they got HIV
(32:55):
and now you don't have any services because these lawmakers
don't think that you deserve it a human need. And
it's so complex and it's so full of different issues,
and until we really take a deep dive into what
that is going to look like realistically, it's an issue.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
I really like what you said about putting your humanity
aside for like your own morality, and I feel like
you're dealing with people's lives, and like people, we have
to make choices. As women, I need to make a
decision for myself and my body and my future. So
I really like that.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
Hi.
Speaker 4 (33:29):
I'm Soria Taylor and I'm the TBG podcast production intern.
We'll return to Jana right after the break.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
So lastly, and this is most relevant to college students
and it's the issue of student loan forgiveness. We love
this conversation. So President Joe Biden has enacted the forgiveness
of seven point four billion and student loan debt, in
addition to previous initiatives of the same nature. But this
(34:07):
only covers the debt of two hundred and seventy seven
thousand bars in a country where forty three million Americans
have outstanding federal student loan debt. How does student loan
debt impact your livelihood as a college student and what
do you think should be the actions of our next
president in amending this issue?
Speaker 5 (34:28):
As a student who comes from a go working class background,
I'm a first generation American. My parents are college educated,
but they both struggled with a large amount of student
a loone debt, and I'm already in a large amount
of student loan debt myself, most of it actually being private.
That's the thing that a lot of young people, especially
young black people who come from working class backgrounds, have
(34:48):
to deal with. So even federal plans to reduce federal
loan debt are not helpful. If you have forty thousand
dollars in debt from Sally May, who's not held accountable
by the government, you're pretty much hold that debt until
you pay it off or until you die. So I
think overall it just speaks to how education is what
we're told we need to do. And education was always
something that was instilled in me that I always knew
(35:11):
I was going to go to college and get even
graduate education, but how it's made so inaccessible, and so
it puts you in a conundrum. If you don't have
parents who can pay your way through college, or you
don't have access to scholarships that will cover most of
your cost of attendance, then you know you're stuck, especially
out of school that's as expensive as Felman is as
(35:33):
a private liberal arts institution. So I just definitely think
there needs to be more radical change, not even just
about student loan debt forgiveness, because that's not even going
to be helpful to everyone, but about making college more
affordable or even you know, I don't think it's radical
to stay that at least public schools should be free. Period.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
What do you plan on doing outside of voting to
participate in the civic economy.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
I personally am really interested in community organizing, and so
I think it's really important to have conversations that explore
political imagination and just explore outside of the binaries of voting.
I think it's important to have these conversations with your friends,
with your family, and also just making sure that you're
(36:22):
educating people. Yes, this is the presidential election, but local
elections are what's going to more so impact you than
the president, because let's be honest, the president's more of
a figurehead for the US. And so just staying up
to dating, educated, researching what issues are important to you,
(36:43):
and then also creating movements if it's something that you're
passionate about, you don't have to join something that's already existing,
Like you can do your own research. You can go
out of your way to really be having calls and
to be discussing what are some things that I want
to put on the political agenda, whether it's national level
(37:04):
or like a local level.
Speaker 5 (37:06):
Yeah, similarly to Alexandra, you know how I feel about
it is that electoral politics will not save us at all,
So it's really just something to fill the gap right now.
But I just at this point am divesting from the
whole world around the two party system because it's not sustainable.
This is something that they've known from the beginning of
(37:27):
when the two party system began in the first place,
that it was not going to be sustainable because it
was always going to be a struggle for power between
these two parties and everyone else was going to get
lost in the gap. So for me, community organizing, political education,
building care, infrastructure, mutual aid, doing survival work. Looking at
the example of the Black Panther Party with the survival
(37:49):
programs that they had and where they were literally while
they were spreading their political agenda, were actually taking care
of the low income black people in their communities that
were struggling to survive today. But overall, to me, eventually
this whole system needs to complete dismantling and a complete transformation,
and we have to have that radical imagination to be
(38:10):
able to imagine a world outside of the system. That
we have because even third party candidates, even though that
would be a good reform to have more options, that
still won't save us at the end of the day.
So I think we really have to take things into
our own hands and not expect black faces and high
places won't save us. So if Kamala does win, which
I will say, obviously, I prefer for her to win
(38:31):
over Trump, but I'm not expecting anything transformational to happen
from her presidency, and so I hope if that does
happen that people won't just go quite and say, oh,
we're good now because we have a black woman in office,
because we're not, and things we're going to continue getting
progressively worse until we decide to make our collective power
it mean something.
Speaker 6 (38:51):
Thank you for asking that question.
Speaker 3 (38:53):
Well, I will say, as a woman, is my perspective
on my civic responsibility in engaging with my keymunity is
simply talking to them. I know, in the Blue Record podcast,
it gives us a platform as students to talk about
issues that are dear and close to our hearts. But
I'm also an English major and I'm also anthem minor,
(39:14):
and a lot of our lecture styles require talking if
we don't talk, and it bothers me insanely. And I
love to see other people's perspectives and I like to
immerse myself within their lens of society, and that's something
I hope to do as a researcher in the future.
(39:37):
I think it all starts with talking, because I think
it is a disservice to not be vocal about what
you think, and especially in this generation, we have to
get rid of that habit of keeping things inside our minds.
Speaker 6 (39:51):
So, yeah, that's what I'm doing for sure.
Speaker 1 (39:54):
I don't know if y'all have seen that TikTok trend
about like this and yap, but we need politics, and yeah,
we need more yapping about politics in our community.
Speaker 2 (40:04):
Politics, critical thinking.
Speaker 1 (40:06):
Critical thinking, yapping, and action maybe more as more.
Speaker 2 (40:12):
Yeah, there's a lot of intersections. I think that needs
to be there.
Speaker 1 (40:16):
Yes for sure. Okay, so where can we find you?
What are your social media handles?
Speaker 2 (40:22):
You all can find me at my Instagram. It's at
Alexandra nd R a aaa after Alexandra, so it's like
Alexandra dra if that makes sense.
Speaker 5 (40:38):
You can find me on Instagram at my full name,
Gabrielle Cassel. Yeah, I post all kinds of weird and
quirky things on there.
Speaker 3 (40:47):
Y'all can find me on Instagram. My Instagram is Jazz
x Patrick, Jasmin and s and E and then also
Mi Grassoo's organization, She Speaks Safety. You can also find
me a LinkedIn at jasin Patrick.
Speaker 1 (41:01):
So, I want to thank y'all so much for indulging
me in your opinions. Spellman has some amazing minds on
their campus and I was in awe of y'all, so
to thank you so much for just showing me more
about the political sphere. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (41:17):
Thank you.
Speaker 6 (41:18):
This is an amazing opportunity.
Speaker 2 (41:20):
Yeah, thank you for this invitation.
Speaker 6 (41:21):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (41:25):
I want to thank the hosts of the Blue Record
podcast for this episode. Class is over for now, but
here's some homework to take with you. If you're attending
college in another state and are interested in voting, be
sure to go online and make sure your absentee ballot
is in order discover how you can contribute to your
community and other ways in voting, whether it be through
(41:46):
mutual aid, political organizing, or simply having a conversation with
a neighbor. Take some time to look into global issues,
starting with places like Sudan, Haiti, the Middle East, and Gaza.
To learn more about the work we're doing or to
do more research on this topic, be sure to visit
Therapy for Blackgirls dot com slash TBGU. This episode was
(42:09):
produced by Elise Ellis Inzara Taylor. Editing is by Dennison L.
Speaker 4 (42:13):
Bradhard
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