Loading summary
Transcript373 lines
- [00:05]
A
Yeah. Woke up in the morning and to God be the glory Thankful for another day to tell my story Put my opinions in the universe and let them orbit I'm from the dirty soul with a dirty mouth My knee orbit miss things Things on me like a Norbit had to refuse them Cause my bitch no rest Fusion, she gorgeous As I doubt my sons up and kiss my daughter forehead Tell them we gonna get this money to my pocket Sn morbid. Remember living in apartments now we playing mortgage. The district that you represent, or the region, so to speak, that you represent, is what?
- [00:41]
B
Augusta, Statesboro, Dublin.
- [00:43]
A
Oh, okay.
- [00:44]
B
So that's side of Georgia. Like part of Effingham county, which is part of Savannah, is halfway in my district. So I split districts in Wils and Effingham. It's a huge district. It's 22 counties.
- [00:58]
A
Yeah, yeah. Because I was going to say Augusta all the way down to dang near Savannah.
- [01:02]
B
That's.
- [01:03]
A
That's a lot of ground.
- [01:03]
B
It's a lot of stretch. Yeah.
- [01:05]
A
But also Augusta. A lot of people always talk about, like, how black Atlanta is, but like Augusta, Savannah.
- [01:15]
B
Yeah.
- [01:15]
A
Making these super black places and everywhere in between. Yeah. You go to some of them places, it's like, ain't nothing but black folks.
- [01:23]
B
Even the rural counties.
- [01:24]
A
Exactly.
- [01:24]
B
Yeah.
- [01:25]
A
Yeah. Because my. My granny is from Thomaston, Georgia, and it's places in Thomas, and you go, you ain't gonna see no white folks over there. You know what I mean? And it's like that in a lot of rural spaces in Georgia. I think people confuse Atlanta with Georgia.
- [01:39]
B
Yeah, absolutely. They don't understand, like, the. The New south idea. Right. Like, that's Atlanta. It's not all of it.
- [01:47]
A
Right.
- [01:47]
B
Like, I was. I don't know what interview I was on recently, but I was explaining to someone how rural the district actually is. Like, I was just at an event maybe two months ago, and, you know, it's nothing to pass by. Confederate flags and cotton fields. And. And in the interview, she was so shocked. I was like, what do you think Georgia is?
- [02:05]
A
Yeah, this is like.
- [02:05]
B
Like, what do you.
- [02:06]
A
This is super regular.
- [02:08]
B
Yeah, like. Yeah, that's. That's the standard, you know, and it's actually a.
- [02:11]
A
Still an industry. Cotton is an industry.
- [02:13]
B
Correct.
- [02:14]
A
You go to. When I was driving trucks, you know, I would go all up and down Alabama, all up and down Georgia, haul cotton to Savannah, to the port to be shipped out overseas to be processed.
- [02:24]
B
Absolutely.
- [02:25]
A
Yeah. It's. It's like a booming industry, actually. Yeah. It's just not people Manually picking it anymore.
- [02:33]
B
It's a little different these days, you.
- [02:35]
A
Know what I'm saying? We didn't do away with it.
- [02:37]
B
Yeah. Kind of like, kind of like slavery. Right.
- [02:40]
A
You didn't necessarily do away with it.
- [02:43]
B
Just kind of reworded it a little bit. Yeah.
- [02:44]
A
A little 13th amendment. No big deal.
- [02:46]
B
Yeah. Yeah.
- [02:49]
A
So how are you, though? How's things been? This is big. You're, you're how old?
- [02:54]
B
31.
- [02:55]
A
31.
- [02:56]
B
Yeah. I'll be 32 in March, so.
- [02:57]
A
Yeah. You're extremely young to be running for Congress, typically.
- [03:01]
B
Yeah. As it stands right now, I'm the youngest black woman in Georgia history to run for Congress, so. Thank you.
- [03:08]
A
Shout out. Man. Somebody gotta do it first, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. What is, what is the reception been not only in, in your district, but just I know that a lot of these congressional meetings, you'll be meeting with people from all other districts as well, too. What has been the reception when people meet you?
- [03:28]
B
Things have been good. Things have been really good in the district. I have a couple of events coming up, community based events, so I'm really excited about that to get more feedback and input at the same time. But the online reception has been insane. I, I, I do kind of have a little cheat code, though, because I was already a content creator as under the controversial bond first. So I had a platform of like 100k. Not a huge one, but a platform nonetheless. Right?
- [03:51]
A
Absolutely.
- [03:52]
B
And so people recognize, like, oh, she's a girl that talk black history on TikTok. And so the whole Tory Branham Ice Hyundai plant situation. So when that happened, I was like, isn't somebody going to run against her? And then everybody in my comments were like, you do it. And so I made another video and I said, would y' all support me? And I got like 80,000 likes on that video. So, you know, next thing I know, I turned my backup page into my congressional page, posted one video. It went insanely viral. Almost a million views in a couple days. Days. And I gained 27,000 followers from that video. And in about a week and a half, two weeks, almost $12,000 in donations.
- [04:35]
A
Wow.
- [04:36]
B
Yeah. Which is crazy for a grassroots candidate.
- [04:38]
A
Right. But the thing is, is that we're going from people that are constituents and feel like we know it needs to be done and know that we're underrepresented to, like, you. You put your money where your mouth was, like, quite literally, like, you know what? I'll run. And here's the thing, it's not like These people that run are experts. No, they just are bold enough to do it. Right.
- [05:10]
B
Yeah.
- [05:10]
A
And they. And they believe in theyself enough or. And they network enough that they can get. They. They can raise the funds and they can keep things pretty much at the status quo.
- [05:20]
B
Yeah, absolutely.
- [05:21]
A
Status quo hasn't been serving us at all.
- [05:23]
B
What I tell people is, you know, 30 seconds of insane courage will change your life. And that's exactly what happened. I had 30 seconds of insane courage, and next thing I know, I'm filing with the FEC and it's Witson for Congress. Here we go.
- [05:35]
A
Yeah. Yeah, man. Congratulations.
- [05:37]
B
Thank you.
- [05:37]
A
So when. So there. There's been, like, an initial round of votes, correct.
- [05:43]
B
The primary May 16th, and then the general is November 3rd.
- [05:46]
A
Okay. All right. So we got to make sure. I didn't even live in your district. Move to Augusta so you can vote. We're going to move to Augusta. We're going to have a mass exodus to Augustus. Augusta in April. Okay. We're going to move to a lot of rural spots. Going to get Bri Woodson elected. There you go. And then we're going to come back to Atlanta. We're going to move to all the traffic west. No. Is that east? We're going to move traffic east.
- [06:09]
B
They going to be mad at you.
- [06:11]
A
It's okay. We going to leave.
- [06:14]
B
We'll run it back.
- [06:16]
A
We. We here for one reason. So I've. I've had some politicians, some state congress people from other states reach out to me to come on the show, but that. It. I wouldn't say it feels disingenuous. This is like that really. I can't really affect change in spaces where I'm not familiar with. For one.
- [06:42]
B
Yeah.
- [06:42]
A
And for two, I don't know those people.
- [06:45]
B
Yeah.
- [06:46]
A
I know people in Augusta. I know people in rural Georgia, and I know the struggles that they face, especially when it comes to, like, access to medical services. I've heard you speak about that during your campaign. I follow your TikTok, of course, but what are some of those things that you see as present day that you feel like this is something that I can do something about if I'm elected?
- [07:12]
B
Yeah, exactly what you said. I think access to medical care is. Is one of the top things, especially when we're talking about rural areas. Hospitals all over rural Georgia are closing down. Just near where I live, a hospital just recently closed down. So new moms to deliver their babies to get OB services are driving 60 miles one way just to get to a hospital. And then you look into telehealth services and lack thereof. But then that also brings up the issue that in a lot of rural places, they don't have wireless Internet still, they're completely cut off. And you know, that may be to, due to inaffordability, a lack of knowledge, whatever it is, they're underrepresented and they're underfunded and underserved in those areas. And I'm a mental health professional. So access to mental health care, physical health care, is something that's very, very important to me. And one thing that I do plan on fighting for is to put our parity laws back in place. A lot of people don't understand. We've had parity law since 80s 90s, late 80s, early 90s. And what they do is they force our insurance companies to treat physical health and mental health along the same lines. Right. And the Biden administration, they did a ton to reinforce those, to protect us more. But as of May 15th of last year, the Trump administration put a pause on those. And so what I've seen in my scope in the mental health field is insurance companies not covering things anymore. 7 day reviews. I work in a substance use treatment center. Changes in mental health or substance use in seven days. Absolutely nothing.
- [08:43]
A
Right?
- [08:43]
B
Like absolutely nothing. But if, you know, if they can figure out an out to get out of paying for someone's treatment, they absolutely will. And those are things that affect the marginalized communities the most. The poorest of us, the most undereducated of us. Those affect us the most. And those are. Those are the people that deserve representation. All of us deserve representation.
- [09:06]
A
Absolutely.
- [09:07]
B
But especially those of us who, like I said, are marginalized, who might not have the wherewithal, someone should be looking out for them. And as it stands right now, that's not happening.
- [09:16]
A
Is is it is. Does when it comes to that part of it, does it feel a little bit more personal for you? Because for one, it is a very courageous thing to want to run, especially with no prior, like, political experience. But I've always been of the thought that our government should be comprised of a council of people from an array of different careers. So we need mental health professionals in government because we have without, we have mental health crisis and we have people that don't care because nine times out of 10, the only thing they look at policy or is, is this gonna make us money?
- [09:57]
B
Correct. Yeah.
- [09:57]
A
You know, can we, can we cut this and then expand our budget for this thing that we want to spend money on? And oftentimes people are not Only just left behind, but, like, overlooked completely. Right. And not even thought about. And there is also an aspect of government, especially as black people, where we only hear from our candidates or our elected officials when it's time for us to get a vote. And then after we cast our vote, they just go off into obscurity. Were you having some of those frustrations as a constituent where it's like, you know what, you know, a typical black woman thing. I'll just do it myself.
- [10:41]
B
Very much that. I'll just do it myself.
- [10:43]
A
Yeah.
- [10:44]
B
But I think to take your question from the micro to the macro, I just feel underrepresented as an American citizen right now. Sure. And I think it's lost to a lot of people that Congress holds the power in the purse. Congress holds a lot more power than people realize. And the more people that we get into Congress, more progressive people, the better chance that we have of making. Making actual tangible change. Right. And you know, the current incumbent doesn't show his face very often. I don't know the last time he had a town hall, you know, and you mentioned background. And that's something that. Yes, it is deeply personal to me. I'm not a politician. Before I was even creating content, I was in active addiction on and off for about a decade. I was trafficked and I made it out. And I'm not categorically supposed to be doing this right on paper. I should be dead four, five times over. It's really important to me because I represent the marginalized. I am the marginalized, quite literally. I meet so many different intersectionalities of marginalized. And there's not enough representation of that in Congress right now. The percentage of congresspeople who Congress between Congress and Senate that come from wealthy families is so high. It is so ridiculously high. They don't understand the actual struggles.
- [12:13]
A
Like, they don't know anything.
- [12:14]
B
Do you know how much milk costs? Do you know how much eggs cost? Do you.
- [12:17]
A
Do you know what it's like to not to choose between a bill and food?
- [12:20]
B
Correct.
- [12:21]
A
You know, like, you know, fuck it, maybe you don't know the cost of groceries. That's whatever. But do you. Do you understand what it's like to sacrifice doctor's appointments, dentist appointments, time with your kids because you have to work two jobs to make sure ends meet? Or like there's the haves and the have nots. And if our representation is always of people who have been having. They don't understand nor care about the lives of the have nots.
- [12:50]
B
Right.
- [12:50]
A
And the only Thing they really care is do I have your vote?
- [12:54]
B
Right? So check this out. So Rick Allen is the Republican incumbent for District 12 right? Now, when he was in his 20s, mid 20s, he started a construction company called R.W. allen. When he became a politician, he stopped working in that field. They are contractors, but. And if I'm not mistaken, they do have locations outside of Georgia. It's a pretty big company. Now, all he did was transfer ownership to his wife and his son runs it. Just recently, they signed a $21 million deal with the Augusta airport to build a hangar. So you're telling me a man with a congressional salary of $174,000 a year plus a family business of that magnitude understands what it feels like to be marginalized?
- [13:36]
A
No, I don't want to hear about being marginalized from white people at all. We don't have to put that in. I don't want to affect you. I don't want to affect you. You know what I'm saying? My bad.
- [13:48]
B
But you're not wrong though.
- [13:49]
A
Yeah, but also too. You know, Brie Woodson hates white people.
- [13:53]
B
Oh, they already think that's one of the things that I talk about so, so loudly, excuse my language, is white supremacy. You know that? People ask me, why do you live in North Georgia? Because I consider myself studying something. I'm in the middle of writing a book called you can't decolonize what you don't recognize how to spot supremacy in media, politics, education and society. So no, you're, you're, you ain't wrong. Yeah.
- [14:17]
A
You know what I'm saying? Bri Woodson, man. You know what I'm saying? Like I, this is my thing. I'm very selective when it comes to politicians because oftentimes most people want to come here because of the platform and they want to platform themselves. Every politician that I've had come on here are not your typical politicians. Steve O is, he come from the music industry. You know, he come from managing artists. And as he got older and became more of a man and more involved in his community, he saw the gaps and he was like, well, you know, running for a councilman is a, is, is not a non bipartisan. So I could just be here directly to help the people that live in my neighborhood. Sam Foster, I believe Sam foster is what, 27?
- [15:05]
B
He's awesome.
- [15:06]
A
Sam Foster is amazing. But he understands like he, he, he, he rides the bus, he bikes if he can. He also is like an extremely smart young man.
- [15:16]
B
Yes, he is.
- [15:17]
A
He's an engineer for one. So he understands how to break things down and put them apart, but he also has an analytical mind. And so we go, he goes from problem to solution. He doesn't look at the solution and say, well, is this going to make me money? You know what I mean? And he. And he's not a generational politician where votes are being handed down to him through the good old boy club. And so. And this is the thing that was striking me about you is that when I discovered you was like, wow, okay, this. I feel a lot of relatability to you in this underrepresented space, but who is this person? Like, is she a real person? And your story about being tracked, your story about struggles with addiction, like, the struggles with addiction I can, you know, definitely identify with. And not only personally, but just like in my family. And knowing people from rural areas that they don't even have access to the same language as me. You know what I mean? Like. Like the ways that I understand the world because I'm from a metro city and things move a lot faster for me. I don't have the patience that they have, but they don't have the access to, like, information and business that I have. Like.
- [16:31]
B
Correct.
- [16:31]
A
Like, everything is so accessible here. Where you talk about, in some areas, there's people not having, like, wireless Internet. Bro. Drop somebody from Atlanta that's born and raised in Atlanta and drop them in one of those areas for 60 days, they'll lose their mind.
- [16:46]
B
Correct.
- [16:47]
A
I don't have a cell. I can't talk. Like, what am I supposed to do? That'll be the most people don't know how to be bored here.
- [16:53]
B
Yeah. Be a culture shock.
- [16:55]
A
It's a work under constant stimulation where we have people who kind of live the dream life of somebody who wants to get away from the city, but don't understand the obstacles that these people face and just everyday life and convenience. You know what I mean? And you shouldn't have to drive. What if you, like, if your water breaks? What if you don't have 60 minutes?
- [17:17]
B
Correct.
- [17:18]
A
You know exactly. What if. What if your vehicle goes out? You know what I mean? And these are also things that, like, most people don't think about is like, just having access to things where I can leave from here and point to you. Five hospitals within 30 minutes and you talking about it's going to take a person an hour just to get to the obgyn. That shouldn't be possible. That shouldn't even be a thing.
- [17:41]
B
Exactly.
- [17:41]
A
But these companies can lobby and raise millions of dollars or Appoint their company to do the construction for an airport hangar. It's like, bruh, you ain't worried about these people at all. You worried about yourself and people positioning themselves in power that is meant to serve the people. Put to serve themselves is why this country is the way it is, correct?
- [18:05]
B
Yeah. People often ask me like, why am I doing this? And it's not for me. I don't know how to really explain to people that this was not something that I want to do. It feels like it's necessary. And in that necessity comes responsibility. This is heavy. We're living in times where a woman was just shot in the face in broad daylight and our government is justifying it and ice is barreling down doors or talking about coming after dissenters. I am a dissenter, right? And I am still willing and going to keep talking and keep putting my face out there and keep using my voice. But this is not something that is comfortable. This is not something that is fun. This is a sacrifice, right? Like, I have, I have a husband at home that is a blue collar worker that's like been thrown into this completely different world. You know, I've got a sibling, I've got a parent, I've got nephews, right? So, you know, I, I am highly protective of, of them. But when it comes to myself in this, you know, I was talking to my good friend Jasmine. She is amazing black woman. She is the CEO of Fight Against Fascism organization. She is from Fight Against Fascism organization. And she. We had this conversation yesterday about fear and being black women and being in a political space and activist space. It was, I remember just telling her, you know what? Yes, I have fear. It's natural to have fear. Right? Of course. This is, this is crazy, right? This is categorically crazy. But, you know, both of us were such fighters, we just, we put it down. I ball it up and I put it down for now. Like, I don't, I don't have time for it right now. I'm sure at some point I'll process the madness that I'm doing right now. But. But as it stands, this feels like the fight of our generation and the fight of our lives. And, you know, it's heavy. Yeah, it's heavy.
- [20:05]
A
Well, and the thing is, is that this is a very common theme that I notice amongst people who are almost like literally and figuratively, figuratively chosen to do these things. We were just talking to a well known, not only artist, but entrepreneur, radio, I mean, media personality, Big Bang Black. And his thing was like, man, I ain't want to make music, but I just, like, I had these artists and they got locked up and it was like, well, I want to keep my company afloat, so I'm gonna just make a song. And his shit became a hit and then like, it was, it. He, it was a lot of things throughout his life where he just didn't see himself doing. But it's like, well, shit, I'm here now. Like, let me, let me put my best foot forward. And I think that the part of it that our generation really understands is that ain't nobody gonna just like step up to do this. Because the people that we're up against don't fear anything because this is the system. They're a part of the system. So what do they have to fear?
- [21:13]
B
One question. Who gonna kidnap our president?
- [21:18]
A
You know what I'm saying?
- [21:19]
B
Nobody. It's up to us.
- [21:20]
A
It's like if we, if we not gonna. And, and that's the thing though. It's like people understand what comes along with going against the grain. The smear campaigns, the, you know, just the, just the, the uproar of racist in general. Just dealing with racist as a front line for the power structure. All of their minions who actually struggle if, if not worse, just as much as the average person that you represent. Yes, they're part of those struggles too, but fooled into thinking this is a system that's working for them while it's actively taken away from them.
- [22:03]
B
Well, it's like the famous Lyndon B. Johnson quote, you know, if you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, you can pick his pockets. Hell, give him somebody to look down on. He'll empty his pockets for you.
- [22:14]
A
Exactly, exactly. One of my favorite quotes. An all time relevant quote. A philosopher. You know what I'm saying? Linda B. Johnson ate that.
- [22:30]
B
He did.
- [22:31]
A
No, you can't. I'm telling you, that man was a prophet. When he came up with that, I was like, man. Because it's, it's extremely relevant.
- [22:39]
B
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
- [22:40]
A
And it goes down to the idea that racism in and of itself is not only a mental illness, but it's like psychological warfare.
- [22:49]
B
You just hit on something. That's one of my, like, side quests in life, you know, as I continue my education, because I'm forever a student. That's just how I am. I'm finished at my master's. I think racism should be in the dsm. I think it's an umbrella under narcissism, and we need to treat it as such. You Know, I think if we can pathologize slaves wanting freedom, why can't we pathologize?
- [23:14]
A
Yeah, like we. You. There's a term. Drape. No. Mania. Like you.
- [23:17]
B
Yep.
- [23:17]
A
Are you out of your. Like, he doesn't want to be enslaved. Something must be wrong.
- [23:22]
B
Oh, he's crazy.
- [23:23]
A
Yeah. He's out of his mind. But you know what? Men used to do this to women. Right. So this is my hysterics. Hysterics. Right. The only time that there's. There. Me and Big Cat go down this rabbit hole every now and then about the dust bowl and, like, the phenomenons of mental health that it caused. But we talk. When I was talking about the. What's the lay name? Renee. Good. I said, as much as it's a tragedy for y', all, it's a Tuesday for us.
- [24:00]
B
Their nervous systems have to catch up to ours for sure.
- [24:03]
A
And. And I was like, sam, this is sad. And this is actually something that. Is something that is justified for you to be angry, unrelent, like, relentlessly angry about this, because we don't even see them shoot black people in the face like that. Yeah, that was crazy. That was like an execution.
- [24:25]
B
That was crazy.
- [24:26]
A
Yeah. And. And I said, as much as it is a tragedy, it is a consequence of inaction. When white people don't react to state violence because it doesn't affect them, it's only a matter of time before it makes it to you. Because the. The goal of this. This system and any system that is barreling towards fascism is division.
- [24:55]
B
Correct.
- [24:56]
A
And when we aren't seeing ourselves represented, but we also live in fear to go represent ourselves, then we get more of the same. And what you've done is extremely courageous. And on paper, you've overcome enough already.
- [25:10]
B
Oh, this. I tell people all the time, this doesn't scare me. I literally survived the Dominican cartel. Like, if the federal government wants me to do your job and come get me.
- [25:18]
A
You feel me? Yeah. You're the type of people that. You're the type person that needs to represent the people for sure.
- [25:24]
B
Well, I. I hope I get the opportunity to.
- [25:26]
A
You will. You will. We gonna. We're gonna pump this up. Okay. We're gonna pump up the jam, guys. I might hold on to this mug just so it can come out right around elation time so people can go do their big one. How have you. How have you feel? Like, is there any time to stop and accept. Assess your mental state, or is it just like, oh, gotta go.
- [25:49]
B
I actually take a lot of time for Myself, for someone who's doing a million things at once, like writing a book, I'm still a content creat. Such a weird position to be in. Like, half of me is, like, politician. The other half of me, everybody knows me online, is blondie or the controversial blonde. Like, you know, it's, It's. It's weird. Like, this weekend, I'm going to Chicago for a progressive event with, like, Jolly Good Ginger and Monty Mater and all them. And speaking on a panel, but partly as a congressional candidate, partly as a content creator. But I do take a lot of time for myself. A lot of it. Like, I love to sleep, and I prioritize my rest. And I. I tell people this all the time. Rest is radical resistance in a system that capitalizes off of our exhaustion, right? Just like joy is radical resistance. So I take my rest whenever I can. I. I make art, I journal, I read. So, you know, as a mental health professional, I try to keep up with my mental health, you know, take my meds and do my thing, and you.
- [26:46]
A
Know what I'm saying? Hey, I got. Everything is in alignment. Let me tell you. I've been telling people that 2026 is the year of the hobby, right? Get away from trying to monetize everything that you do in life and get to a place where you do something that just brings you joy.
- [27:08]
B
Yeah.
- [27:08]
A
Because actively expressing creativity for no gain other than it makes me happy is radical as. Oh, yeah, because they will. They have convinced people that you need all of these streams of income. Like, oh, you got, you know, like, Gary Vee with that crackhead ass hustle mentality. Like, what, you got forks in your house? Sell your forks. Why do you have forks in your house? You can eat with your hands. Do you want it or not? Like, bro, what the is wrong with this? I know coca when I hear one. So you know what I'm saying? The thing is, you know what I'm saying? Game recognized. Game.
- [27:45]
B
Is that your dlc? Huh?
- [27:48]
A
What? What happened?
- [27:48]
B
Was that your dlc?
- [27:51]
A
Yeah, mine too. Oh, great. We're brothers, You know what I'm saying?
- [28:00]
B
I mean, I'm a substance use therapist for a reason.
- [28:02]
A
So, yeah, you got to explain, you know what I'm saying? For me, it's like. And I'm so, like, I'm cool about being open. Like, I don't have. There's literally nothing in life that you should be ashamed of. When people. Like, when you see the people, the things that people aren't ashamed of, it's like, well, shit, yeah, man. That's the least of my damn worries.
- [28:22]
B
Oh, yeah.
- [28:23]
A
People are shameless about racism in my.
- [28:26]
B
In my eyes, you know, I took advantage of an opportunity that so many, so few people get the opportunity to do. Like I had a family that supported me through. They're getting better. And I was able to take a chunk of time out of my life to get better. And it's also a brave thing to do because a lot of people just walk around this earth sick, whether it be to a physical ailment, a mental ailment, or an addiction, and they don't take any accountability. Right. So, you know, I don't, I don't find any shame in it. I have a lot of pride for it. So.
- [28:52]
A
Yeah, for sure. And, you know, great stories, you know what I'm saying? Great stories.
- [28:57]
B
Yeah.
- [28:58]
A
You, yeah, you gotta overcome some things in this life, you know, life. This is, this is. That'll certify you.
- [29:03]
B
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
- [29:05]
A
You know what I'm saying? I think for me, when I was a kid, the, the most boring channel on TV that you could watch is C Span. I don't care what these is talking about. And it all feels very boring and very like, and it feels almost purposely boring. And, but this is also how you turn people off from politics. So now, when politics has always been C Span, in order for people to get involved in it in a way that's beneficial to the power structure is you have to make it entertaining. And this is why I tell people all the time, this is why Trump hired the McMahons. They are the, they are gods of entertainment.
- [29:43]
B
Populism.
- [29:45]
A
Yeah, it's populism. It's the bread and circus of it all. It's the, we're gonna show you like, we're gonna capture a dictator, quote, unquote dictator. I don't know what that man was to those people. I, I, I'd be sitting here lying like, I know about Venezuelan politics. Like, I haven't paid attention to Venezuela ever. You know, I mean, why would we, you know what I'm saying? You dig what I'm saying? I'm in the, on earth allegedly. No, that's what they tell us to say. We're great, we're number one. Everybody sucks. Everybody lives in squalor. So that the reason that being is like, I've never paid attention to South American politics, let alone Venezuela. So I don't know, I, I don't know how the people of Venezuela have been living. I do know that our government will destabilize a country and Place a leader there so they can control their resources.
- [30:39]
B
It's a trend.
- [30:40]
A
It's a trend. You know, there's some historical fact behind it. So that being said, I know that this nigga Trump posted a picture of this man in a Nike tech, blindfolded, with his hands bound. That is crazy. Just the visual, right?
- [30:57]
B
Yeah.
- [30:58]
A
You see what I'm saying?
- [30:59]
B
Yeah.
- [30:59]
A
And like, in a. In a way of bragging about.
- [31:02]
B
I saw a clip of Bush and he seemed center the other day, and I was like, what timeline is this, yo?
- [31:10]
A
What timeline is where Bush seems, like, logical?
- [31:13]
B
He made perfect sense.
- [31:14]
A
Do you remember when we were kids and like, Bush was like the worst thing ever. He was the worst president ever. He was a dummy.
- [31:20]
B
Yeah.
- [31:20]
A
And that was like.
- [31:22]
B
He sounds so. Smart comparison.
- [31:24]
A
There's definitely rebranding going on. He's an old man. He paints.
- [31:28]
B
Yeah. I love his paintings. He's actually really talented.
- [31:30]
A
I'm telling you, the rebrand works.
- [31:32]
B
He's like, besties with Michelle Obama.
- [31:34]
A
The rebrand works.
- [31:35]
B
Yeah. You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying?
- [31:37]
A
He started a 20 year war, but hey, you know what I'm saying?
- [31:40]
B
He paints.
- [31:45]
A
Come on, guys. Everybody loves Bob Ross. You know what I'm saying? It's just Bob Ross. You know what I'm saying, bro. But how difficult is it for you to tow the line? Right. Because there's the politically correct thing to do, which may get you further in your career as a politician, but is also the reason why politics doesn't work is because we can't really trust a politician because y' all are going to be politically correct, Y' all are going to be safe, and y' all are almost. At this point, I view the left as cannon fodder for the right, you know, like. Like HR for the right. Like, you know what I'm saying?
- [32:24]
B
That makes sense. Yeah.
- [32:25]
A
Yeah. It's like hr. It's like we. We are here to seemingly protect the employee, but we're really here to protect the company.
- [32:32]
B
Yeah. So I think language, the importance of language here is. Should be highlighted and how we deliver a message. The Democratic Party, the messaging is off. I know there's a lot of infighting and arguing about the message or whatever. And I have all the respect in the world for VP Harris. Iconic. But one thing that I do know from the field that I work in is that sometimes intellectualism can come off as elitism to people who don't meet the same intellectual standards as you. Right, Right. So I have. I love doing it, it's my favorite part of my job. I teach psycho educational groups and so I teach about neuroscience of the brain addiction as a disease model. I could have a former gang leader and a CEO in the same room. I gotta adjust my language to talk to everybody at one time from all walks of life. Right. And so you know, when you talk about toeing the line or being politically correct, I, I firmly believe you can say anything as long as you say it the right way.
- [33:34]
A
For sure. I believe that too. Yeah. I, I think that there's a lot of people that say the wrong thing is the wrong way. All the time.
- [33:43]
B
All the time.
- [33:44]
A
And the audacity. Yeah, it just really pushes them through. There's a thing about progressives in this country where we want to take the high road. We want to be seen as a more passive, a more understanding, empathetic people where the, your opponent will take the high road and blow it the up. Correct, while you're on it.
- [34:11]
B
You know, I, I, I've been known to say online, I'd like to debate online, bad habit, but I do it. Talking to MAGA has not been very fruitful. But you know, when they go low, I find crude oil. Like we're not doing that type shit though. We're not doing that.
- [34:28]
A
Yeah. And, and there's a thing of, there's a language barrier for one, but there's also a self censorship that comes along with trying to make sure everybody's saying the right words the right way. And to point about language sometimes being conflated with elitism is that there's a lot of academic speak that happens especially in debate style content where you know, it's like, it's like a words per minute, but you want to use as many words, as many big words as possible. When, if it's almost like this Einstein thing of like if you couldn't teach it to a child, then you don't truly understand.
- [35:10]
B
This is, this is like why so many people ended up not coming out to vote. I mean like we, we put so much leg into politics to the point that the average American has no idea what's going on.
- [35:20]
A
This is why CSAN sucked.
- [35:22]
B
Yeah.
- [35:23]
A
And the thing is about the right, or I will say Trump specifically when people say, oh, he tells it like it is, or you know, he talks like one of us. It's not the, that he understands you is that he intellectualizing his talking points. He's saying it as simple as he possibly can. He'll use foul language, he'll use insults and for Some people, that is a language that they understand. It's not academic speak. So when you want to appeal or oppose him, but you come with the language that kind of shuts a lot of people out. If we're in a literacy crisis, there's only like the wealth of words that most people are using is really low.
- [36:07]
B
Quite literally a crisis.
- [36:09]
A
Quite literally a crisis. And. And when you get to a point where you're taking lingo that come directly from Ebonics and donating it to an entire generation, not only is it appropriation, but it's a lack of understanding of how black people speak, that Ebonics is like a second language.
- [36:28]
B
Oh, yeah. I consider myself bilingual, you know what I'm saying?
- [36:30]
A
We can speak the Queen's English too.
- [36:32]
B
You know what I'm saying?
- [36:33]
A
But I think the thing is, is that that's a world that we are forced to live in, but have adapted to because we see the benefit of it. Right. Like, I know the benefit of being able to do both where there's some people, especially in more rural places, especially in places that, that access proper education or just resources of higher education, where the, the like, wealth of knowledge is not there. Yeah. You know, so a lot of times, like when we talk about literacy crisis is this is across the board, across gender and across race.
- [37:10]
B
Yes.
- [37:10]
A
If you've never been to like, like rural spots in the south in general, like, you don't understand what rural white people are like, oh, yeah, yeah. You know what I'm saying? These ain't the brightest, you know what I'm saying, in the bunch at all. I've worked with them and I was like. And I would speak and they'd be like, hold on, what that mean? It's like, oh, okay, you know, yeah, let me. We gotta.
- [37:34]
B
And it's not that they can't understand, it's just they just haven't had the opportunity.
- [37:37]
A
They haven't had access to the language. They don't value education. You know what I mean? They, they value the work that they do, but that also comes a lot by word of mouth language. Right, right. So they're, they're learning through what they hear. So if they only hear 200 words a day, that's what they got. They got 200 words. And so I don't think that the lack of education has anything to do with race. I think it has mostly things to do with class.
- [38:08]
B
Oh, yeah.
- [38:08]
A
And I think it has mostly to do with control. I think by, by not giving people access, you keep them perpetually nine to fivers, where you. You keep them in factories. Because a lot of rural towns are run by one or two factories. And the goal in a lot of those towns is either honestly to work at the prison or work in the factory.
- [38:30]
B
Correct.
- [38:31]
A
And by shutting people out of education and also controlling their access to education and language, you keep them just smart enough to run the machine, but not smart enough to teach others how to run a machine or to read the manual to figure out how to make their own machine.
- [38:47]
B
It's. Education breeds tolerance. Right. And, you know, so much of what we see now is. Is hate based fear. Fear based hate, however you want to say it. We see so much of that, and so much of it comes from miseducation under education, misguidedness, whatever it may be, but a lack of exposure regardless. Right. And all that is like, when you. When you get exposed to something, you get used to it, you get accustomed to it. You might understand all aspects of it, but you learn to, oh, this is not bad. This is just different than what I experience and who I am and what I am. Right. And so education breeds tolerance. And when you have a mass of people that are uneducated and therefore intolerant, therefore you can put a target on trans people.
- [39:37]
A
Right.
- [39:37]
B
Therefore you can put a target on the Latino community because you have a massive intolerant people behind you.
- [39:46]
A
Yes. And speaking to trans people, being like less than 1% of the population is also a really great tactic of control, because now you're putting fear in the imagination of people.
- [40:02]
B
Correct.
- [40:02]
A
Because for the most part, they haven't encountered a trans person. So now you like creating a figment of transgender that doesn't pro. Doesn't exist at all. But you also are instilling transphobia in people before they've even had a chance to encounter a trans person. So I think the same thing can be said about a multitude of things. Like, one thing that. That's very common amongst poor people is that, you know, people with money are evil or they did something foul to get the money. So whenever somebody comes up the world, even if they. Even if they got it honest, they had to have done something to get it. Because, you know, we don't come from a virtuous background, but then take it a step higher and we will worship billionaires. They, like, they had to get it honest because it's almost like this thing of, like, whoever earned the most did it the most honestly, when there is no ethical billionaires. So I think that, for me, I'm curious as to, like, on your campaign, what are some of the like campaign promises that you've put out there for the people in your district? And like what you can appeal, how do you appeal to them to get their vote?
- [41:13]
B
Yeah, absolutely. Right now I'm really focused on what people would like to see for me in the first hundred days. So starting what is that day, the 23rd and the 24th, that weekend I have two events within the community and I'm going to start pretty much a laundry list of issues and I'm going to take the most collective issues from those. Like, you know, if I have five people saying the same thing over and over, obviously that's something we need to focus on. But like I said, health care is one thing. We've got to do something about that. Just point blank period. Affordability and access are the top three things. People are being out priced for rent. Left and right businesses, big businesses are buying houses up to the point is jacking up people's rental prices, jacking up taxes, taxes and people can't afford to even live in their neighborhoods. So that's happening all over as well. So those are some of the things that are most important to me. But right now the main focus is I want to kind of get like almost like a petition style together from what the constituents want to see in the first hundred days.
- [42:21]
A
I, I, I want to ask this question because I've been thinking about this a lot lately.
- [42:25]
B
What's up?
- [42:26]
A
As I've been moving around Atlanta, the, the time and the space to build the infrastructure around a better, more efficient and more vast public transportation. I feel like that window has passed because at this point you would have to restructure everything and inconvenience literally half a million people where their convenience is incumbent on this economy. Unless we was to do a style of work from home for a year like we did during the pandemic, knowing it's true, we're going to work from home for a year because there's a lot of infrastructure being built. We need to lessen the amount of cars on the, on the, on the road. Xyz if you could work from home, please work from home. These are things that can happen. But I think that the, the way that we've conflated public transportation with poverty keeps people who can actually put forth the money and fund these things or people who have lobbying dollars to, to sway governments away from these things conflate like oh, the person from, the person from Bankhead is going to come out here to Sandy Springs and it's like why?
- [43:50]
B
Yeah, you, you absolutely hit the nail on the head. It's funny you bring this up. I was like, I was in high school, senior in high school. I actually wrote a paper about this. I grew up in Alpharetta and so I was doing research. The. I don't remember what the assignment was, but some research was required on public systems. And so I started researching marta. Like, why doesn't MARTA come out here? And this, you know, I, I'm 31 years old. It's been a minute since I was a senior in high school. So. So since then the, the rich, the wealthy have categorically always barred the petitions, the letters, the hearings to have MARTA expanded out.
- [44:23]
A
Exactly. Well, and the reason why I bring this up is because I feel like structurally, because they won't do the things to make time and space for those things and because the rich don't necessarily want it to happen because car lobbying is a very big thing. What do you think there, do you think that there's potential for public transportation in rural areas that's not being utilized?
- [44:51]
B
I think that that's complicated. A lot of people in rural areas don't want that massive amount of change because that's why they live in rural areas. Right. To be away from the fray. But then there are some people who would benefit from it, Right?
- [45:05]
A
Exactly.
- [45:05]
B
And you know, that's a. Typically a younger population, right. Looking to get, you know, gain more opportunity, whether to go see, go to the city, whatever the reason may be. So that's, that's, that's a hard one to answer. Just because I think there's a kind of a split and nuanced perspective depending on who you ask.
- [45:20]
A
Yeah, because the reason that made me think about that is because it would bring a certain amount of change that people may not be used to, especially being able to be accessed, which a lot of people don't. A lot of people don't value high end cars in the country. A good old truck and they good to go. You know what I mean? And I think it's a very work based. I think it's a more of an. I'll be dependent upon myself the more rural you get. But it just, it's just something I've been thinking about a lot because I saw a map of public transportation and we are talking about less than 1% of the land mass in America has access to public transportation. It's just a few hotspots in certain cities and you look at a country and they. But then you look at the quality of life Life or the perceived quality of life. And other countries that have massive and dependable public transportation.
- [46:18]
B
Walkable cities.
- [46:19]
A
Walkable cities. And then, you know, of course we know about, you know, car, car, automobile industry, lobbying, trying to make sure everybody owns a car. But I think as we progress in this country and our mindset about things, progress and our understanding of class starts to progress, that we're going to constantly be moving towards something that's better for the public. And I understand how it could be difficult in a more rural area, but like, even say somewhere like in Augusta, I could see how it could be beneficial because Augusta is expanding, ever expanding.
- [46:59]
B
You know what I mean? There's colleges around the area. Like, there's. There's a lot going on and Augusta is actually quite a hub. And you know, there's been talks of like some kind of train between Augusta and Atlanta. You know, they have an airport. You can actually fly into Augusta in like 45 minutes, you know, but, you know, that's difficult to go through that whole process. I don't think that it's necessarily a bad idea. You know, I just think that there should be careful consideration so we don't disrupt people who've been in communities for a very long time, people who genuinely don't want that level of change. I think there's always some kind of level ground that you can come with with people absolute that comes from just genuinely sitting down and talking and listening and coming to some sort of compromise.
- [47:42]
A
See, and that, that's not even just a great answer. That's just a considerate answer because it's still being considerate of not only the population that could benefit from it, but the people that won't benefit and don't want it and not even for any like, inflammatory reason. But like, this is not the lifestyle I'm accustomed to a minute also, this ain't why I lived out. I don't want to be accessed by the public. You know, exactly. How does, how does it, how do you deal with, outside of like public opinion? How do you deal with how to prioritize things? Because there's going to be single issue voters and then there's going to be voters who b. Vote based, like appearance based and things like that. Things that look like them, represent them. But, but how do you toe the line of like, even though you deal with a fair amount of racism, I'm sure you're gonna deal with a level of sexism in general classism as well, but how do you kind of manage those things and tone the line and still representing all people.
- [48:49]
B
So just recently here I was in D.C. and I did a press conference, and one of the things I said was that you don't have to like me, you just have to let me fight for you. And I mean that. Like, you know, I think that's a superpower I have because I am a counselor in residency. Like, I've had to counsel maga, and, you know, at the end of the day, whether or not I disagree with that person, that person has expressed needs, opinions, those are constituents. One of the things that I cannot stand about this administration is how they talk down to American citizens. Because as a leader, as a politician, you're supposed to represent the people, not just the people you like, but the people in general. Right? And so. So, you know, again, you don't have to like me. You just have to let me fight for you. We don't have to be BFFs, right? I. It's really hard to offend me. I don't take a lot of things personally. So, you know, it's. It's genuinely one of those things. I actually do want to fight for everybody because it's one of those things. A lot of people don't even know they're suffering.
- [49:53]
A
Right?
- [49:54]
B
They genuinely don't see it. And I think that's probably one of the saddest things in the world. World.
- [49:59]
A
Wow. Yeah, I agree, too. Especially when people have become glued to certain rhetoric that just makes them feel good, but doesn't change their reality. And reality oftentimes is just perspective. A person who makes $40,000 a year still has stills well within their rights to be happy as they want to be. But it. The country makes it harder and harder to not only access wealth, but access a place of stability where you can actually find happiness. You know what I mean? And the pursuit of happiness is now kind of like the pursuit of money, pursuit of capital in a space where, you know, businesses come and go. Like, I'm. I'm living out my dream, quote, unquote. But I can't stop hop, right? You know what I mean? Like, even if I enjoy what I'm doing and even if, you know, I'm in control of my income and all of these things that are great perks, I can't stop, you know, I can't retire off of achieving it. I have to work it. You know what I mean? So I think that, of course, everybody wants to, like. It's kind of like within us to, like, want to labor for something. The goal is a labor of love for Most people, but in some cases there's a labor of necessity as well, where I could make some of these brand deals that I got coming up about me and just make myself look good. But we've purposely taken the route of making it about serving people like, okay, you want me? You want to represent me? Well, then you have to represent somebody. You have to represent a family. You have to represent some children that would have been overlooked. And I think for me, it's more fulfilling to see people that. That look like me, grew up like me when I didn't get opportunities. The idea of my life that I had when I was younger is like, damn, I never win anything. You know, I never win a sweepstakes. I never won with a lottery ticket. I never entered to win and won. I always. I like, I never went to a competition and just won. It's always like, damn, I'm always like, almost winner or a complete loser. And the hope is that, like, maybe publishing Clearhouse will come one day and, like, give us a check and like, renovate our house or something, or, you know, just enter to win, like some type of. I just want to win something. You know what I mean? And I think for me, it's like, it just gives people, like, if I have the opportunity, it gives other people opportunity to win something in their life, you know?
- [52:39]
B
Absolutely.
- [52:39]
A
And I think I believe in you. I believe in your ability to win. I believe in your ability to overcome obstacles that would have held people back. Because the. Is getting real for people that they never thought it would get real for them. It's getting real. When you see someone like a Renee Good, it starts getting real for people who may have taken a. A, a more progressive stance for how it looks to them in public, but now it's like, no, this needs to be a reality, because it is a reality. And I think the people who are the last to get it and refuse to believe that they're on the chopping block next to the people they hate, that's their fate. But for the people that understand it, for black people specifically, having an understanding that's ingrained in us from generation to generation, it's. It's brave as hell. And it's courageous and it's. It's admirable as well, too, to make a. To be on a plate that's so like, self sacrificing and it's like selfless as hell. You know, like I said before, you've overcome enough, you know, you could really, like, you really could just like, hang your hat on that. You know what I mean? But yet who better than you to represent the people and understand the struggles of them?
- [54:04]
B
Yeah. This literally has nothing to do with me at all.
- [54:08]
A
Yeah. In the age of the celebrity politician, that's an amazing thing to hear.
- [54:14]
B
Yeah. Like, I'm. I'm not. If I wanted, I guess, celebrity status, I just keep making content. Right. I'm well on my way. Right. But that's not. It wasn't enough. It just did not feel like enough anymore. Like, yeah, I was doing political commentary. Yeah. I was doing history videos and, you know, educating people and connecting people and, you know, going on debate panels with thousands of people in a live room. It's not. Not enough. And, no, I just needed it to be enough. Yeah. So I made it enough.
- [54:44]
A
There you go. You spoke about your husband earlier. What type of work is your husband doing?
- [54:49]
B
He's a welder. Blue collar, Crooked.
- [54:52]
A
A trade man. Keep trying to tell y', all, bro. You trying to figure it out on a forklift 14 hours a day. Trying to get some overtime. Jets good. Take you six months. Go get that welding. You go. You go be a Marine welder. They're making bank, but welders make money. You know what I'm saying? You can be a provider, brother. I was a truck driver for five years, so I like, you know, a lot of this same thing. Like, I ain't want to be no content creator or no podcaster.
- [55:24]
B
It was literally an accident. It. I was. I was telling. I was telling real sergeant over here, Jesus Christ. It's what, the 13th, right? So it's a week and two days before it went viral a year ago. Right. And it was a total accident. I had probably like 300 followers, 400 followers, something like that. And it was 2, 3 in the morning. I could not sleep, and I was scrolling, you know, doing scroll on Tik Tok, as one does, and I came across this video. This little blonde hair, white girl, she was talking about, oh, my God, I voted for Trump. And now I'm scared. I didn't do any research. And I just sat up in bed, I recorded myself. And I said, you know, marginalized people were saying this the entire time. People of color were saying this the entire time. And in the video, the girl, she goes, you know, you guys can roast me if you want to. So I make my video, I said, you know, people color been saying this the entire time. You only care when it affects you. So here's your roasting. Fuck you. And I posted it, and I went to bed and I Woke up and it had over a million views and I was like, like, hey, but that.
- [56:26]
A
Is Tick Tock though. I was like, I'll tell you something. Yeah. The thing about Tick Tock is like.
- [56:31]
B
Oh, it'll get you.
- [56:32]
A
You will go viral and you won't mean to. And you, you better be putting out the kind of content you want to make because there's nothing worse than people that go viral for something and then they just do it every day. And it's like, it was funny the first time.
- [56:46]
B
Yeah.
- [56:47]
A
What else?
- [56:48]
B
So that just kind of sparked a whole thing. And that's where the blonde came from. I'm. I'm a black woman. We're creative with our hair. Always. Um, and I just happened, I just happened to be on a blonde cycle. When I made that video. My username was like Keys and Care with Bri or something like that. Because I was a property manager and in school for counseling, you know, doing all the things. All the things. And so I noticed I was getting attempted. They were attempting to bully me about my hair in the comments. They're like, oh, why are you black and blonde? And I was like, oh, this is the last thing Mag is going to do is bully me out of my damn hair. So I changed my username to the controversial blond and it's an entire brand and I've been blonde for a solid year.
- [57:24]
A
Year. Hilarious.
- [57:26]
B
Yeah.
- [57:26]
A
Shout out to you. Lean in.
- [57:28]
B
Lean in. Lean all the way in.
- [57:31]
A
All the way in. You know what I mean? Yeah. That's amazing though. I, I'm always interested to see my fellow tiktokers go on into just like take that momentum and turn it into a secondary career or, you know, get on the plight of something that they actually care about. A lot of people have been able to grow followings where, you know, it started off as them just caring about, you know, the homeless population to now like they full blown started 501c3s and like are feeding the homeless actively in the community or and making attempts to house the homeless. Like there's so many amazing people that have changed their lives because they were willing to use their voice on TikTok.
- [58:17]
B
Right. It's literally mind blowing. This time last year I had, like I said, under a thousand followers. And then this weekend I'm going to go sit on a panel with jolly good Ginger in Chicago. Me, like, you know, in a year's time. It's crazy.
- [58:29]
A
I mean it, you know, it's changed my life completely. I think that that is why there's a Big push to dismantle it, correct?
- [58:40]
B
Oh, absolutely. We're talking to each other way too.
- [58:41]
A
Much that it, it's the talking to each other and it's the creating an economy. We've created an economy that we don't need them. Yeah, they don't like.
- [58:51]
B
They don't like it.
- [58:51]
A
No, no, no, no, no.
- [58:52]
B
We have to, we have to be subservient to them. We have to be reliant on them.
- [58:55]
A
Yeah, you got to go to Meta and every day and make $0 off of it.
- [59:00]
B
I don't even meta. Me and Meta got major beef, man. I don't, I don't like Meta at all.
- [59:08]
A
I'm not a, you know, America in general.
- [59:14]
B
My social media manager is always fussing at me. She's like, did you post on Instagram, Bri? No, no, Charleston, I didn't. I did not post on Instagram because I don't like it. But I'm trying. We're getting there.
- [59:28]
A
Well, I think that you built a grassroots following. I think that following will continue to grow. I think that showcasing that you're a real person, you know what I mean? Like, there's this idea that the politician has to be perfect.
- [59:44]
B
We got to get out of that mindset.
- [59:46]
A
We have to.
- [59:46]
B
Because on the left, we got to.
- [59:48]
A
Get out of that mindset as people representing you.
- [59:50]
B
That. And it also, so it just also creates this whole idea of the perfect politician and this morality competition. And we have to stop doing that because the right don't have an issue, clearly.
- [60:03]
A
The right doesn't have any issues.
- [60:05]
B
Clearly.
- [60:06]
A
Oh, you want to kill 1.5 million Americans by the end of the year? Fucking run.
- [60:11]
B
How about it, man?
- [60:12]
A
We're going to give you $1.5 million for the campaign, no problem. I think, you know, there's a, there's an idea of being moral within moral people, non violent, with violent people that I just cannot get with. And I don't see it as effective measure at all.
- [60:32]
B
How do you fight fire? Yeah, it's, you know, it's not an advocating for, for violence or anything of that nature. But, you know, we do have sayings like, don't bring a knife to a gunfight for a reason. Yeah, right. That's why I say person with the.
- [60:45]
A
Gun'S gonna make all the rules correct.
- [60:47]
B
You know, that's why I say, when y' all go low, I find crude oil.
- [60:51]
A
Yeah, for sure. Drill, baby, drill.
- [60:53]
B
Exactly. You know, find Satan if we will.
- [60:57]
A
You know what I'm saying?
- [60:58]
B
Like this, this whole being above the Fray thing is, is part of how we got into this mess.
- [61:04]
A
Absolutely. Yeah. Because.
- [61:06]
B
Because, you know, the president would have stood up there and called me piggy. I would have cussed him out.
- [61:10]
A
Oh, my mama. We could have figured it out.
- [61:13]
B
We would have talked it out.
- [61:14]
A
We could have figured it out right on camera. Listen, you know what I'm saying? Because who you talking to?
- [61:18]
B
It wouldn't. It would not have worked. Right. And that's, you know, I. I love seeing our representatives stand up.
- [61:24]
A
Yeah. I think that that's the appeal of someone like a Jasmine Crockett, though.
- [61:28]
B
Yeah.
- [61:28]
A
Is that. And you know, I've said this several times, right. People are playing ball. You know, people understand the arena they get in and they are focused on the end goal. The end goal for Jasmine Cocket is to be state representative for Texas. She don't got time to like, jump through the loops and hoops of single issue voters who are feigning their support of Palestine so they can be covertly racist. We're not stupid. It or not, I want you to know we're not done at all. Y' all was saying ice. Then I shot one of y' all in the face and y' all was like, hold on, y' all can't do that.
- [62:10]
B
No, they can, though.
- [62:11]
A
No, no, they can. And now they're going door to door. It's gonna be a lot of Anna Frank's 2026. So I think these white people, like, especially white leftists specifically, be thinking this is a game. And it's also a way of, oh, if I get all the language, I could just be racist underneath an issue. And specifically, all of the issues are never American issues. No, it's always foreign politics. Because I think global, but I act local. Y' all are racist.
- [62:43]
B
I mean, they act like they. I don't know why we kind of act like there were. There hasn't been genocide on American soil.
- [62:50]
A
You. You feel me like locking. Why isn't that. Well, let's. Let's even a step further than that. Let's stop acting like there's not an active slave trade in America. America. What do you think a for profit prison system is?
- [63:03]
B
Lock in.
- [63:04]
A
We gotta lock the in.
- [63:05]
B
Right.
- [63:05]
A
Like I get it.
- [63:06]
B
And.
- [63:07]
A
And you know, oppression anywhere. Oppression anywhere is oppression everywhere. I get it. My right. I live here.
- [63:16]
B
I have a Palestinian flag with a black power fist in the middle of it. I hear you.
- [63:20]
A
I feel you. We for you.
- [63:23]
B
But I just watched ICE shoot a woman in the face.
- [63:25]
A
You dig me?
- [63:26]
B
Lock in.
- [63:27]
A
We gotta lock the in hello. We also can't be on some like, you know, black people. We gotta like, right idea, wrong execution. You can't tell black people like ice, immigration is not your problem. When there are Caribbean immigrants, when there are South American immigrants who they are not trying to differentiate from, they will throw a in jail too.
- [63:53]
B
So with the. The first time I went to D.C. was September last year for the Congressional Black Caucus. And I was in NOMA area and just mind, mind my business having, having a day, listen to music, walk into Harris Teeter to go get food and wine. Right. And I hear screaming and I'm like, what in the hell? So I take my earbuds out, I look up. The National Guard is quite literally chasing an immigrant. His mouth is bleeding, like, right in front of me. As close as you were, as close as you are me. And to see that in real time in front of you is completely different. It is completely different. You know, I, I uploaded on TikTok. It got some virality and people in the comments, well, why won't you just. Why didn't you say anything or do any thing like, do you see that man is the same color as me? You see how that works?
- [64:39]
A
Yeah. That you're dealing with racist. They're not going to differentiate. Like, so here's the thing. I understand not wanting to put your body online because that has not been the greatest turnout for us. And also it is always a way for them to spin a narrative.
- [65:01]
B
Correct.
- [65:01]
A
And turn us into violent protesters and things like that. Like that. But to not advocate for people is. That's not the move. That's not even our thing.
- [65:11]
B
No.
- [65:11]
A
We can't quote the Panthers and then not advocate for other oppressed people.
- [65:15]
B
Exactly.
- [65:15]
A
That's the antithesis of the Panthers. Like, exactly.
- [65:17]
B
But, you know, it's always people online and comments. What are you doing? You go to their page, it's like, have you been doing any activism?
- [65:23]
A
No, there's never, there's anybody that asks you what you're doing is not doing anything.
- [65:29]
B
A thing.
- [65:29]
A
They're not doing anything. I think there, you know, they are doing. No, they are doing something. Just being a contrarian in the comments.
- [65:35]
B
Correct.
- [65:36]
A
That's it. That's it. Because the idea of progress and the labor that it takes scares them. So they're, they're. A movement requires movement. Yes, it requires labor. And for people who have seen labor as lower class, a lot of them are waiting for the movement to get moved and then I can come in and supervise. That's what I do.
- [65:58]
B
They can Jump on the bandwagon.
- [65:59]
A
I can jump in. I can tell you what needs to be done and what shouldn't be done. I can make things very comfortable for myself. But I appreciate your labor. Yeah, I got it from here. No, that's not how.
- [66:11]
B
That's part of the reason why we're so slow going with rebelling against what's currently going on is because the people who typically don't do it. Black women.
- [66:20]
A
Right.
- [66:21]
B
The people who typically do it aren't doing it. We're chilling right now.
- [66:25]
A
Now, I think the thing is, is that black women are always in a space of advocacy for everybody. And it's not apathetic to advocate for yourself.
- [66:35]
B
Oh, absolutely.
- [66:36]
A
It's also, like, not wise to continue to do the same thing knowing what the result is going to be. So I think that there's a. A point of wanting to villainize black people, especially black women right now. And it's time to time when black people are not throwing their bodies on the line and throwing their voices out to the public, when we know that there's real repercussions for opposing government systems, especially like, systems of oppression like ICE that are actively operating like Nazis. So you want people to put themselves in danger. You wanted people to put themselves on black list for a fight that you could actively do, too. But it's like, well, if I do it, what about this? What about that? It's like, but, okay, the same consequences stand for black people when they do.
- [67:27]
B
It 10 times worse.
- [67:29]
A
Also, too. The accusation is a conviction. And here's the thing. I. I can understand both things. I understand the apathy. I understand the inaction, and I understand the. The point where, hey, now that it matters most. Most, guess what? Oh, well, like, tough titty, bro. Because it didn't matter to y' all before. And it mattered most then as well. It just mattered most to us. So black people have to take care of their mental health. Black people cannot be superheroes for a country that will villainize us the second we take our cape off. So. But we also cannot be ignorant to. This isn't our fight. Whether we want it to be our fight or not, we're in it always. We're always in.
- [68:18]
B
We're in it.
- [68:18]
A
We're never next. We're always now. While understanding that there is something beautiful about advocating for the self first, where it's like, you know what? You got my support, but you. You got it. You. Hey, if you want to know what to do, go look at our blueprint.
- [68:35]
B
Yeah, it's there.
- [68:36]
A
We've been doing this since. Since. Since we've been here. Go find a year. I'm pretty sure we were revolting in some way or another, whether we are enslaved or not.
- [68:48]
B
Absolutely.
- [68:49]
A
So I think that it's also, like. It's beautiful to me, after literally generations upon generations of struggling and suffering and only wanting to make life better, not only for ourselves, but for other oppressed people. People to now get to a space where we're choosing ourselves while not actively harming others.
- [69:16]
B
Correct.
- [69:17]
A
You know what I mean? And I think that y' all are used to us being cannon fodder for the fight. So it's like, well, how do I fight without the father? Figure it out. You still have a cannon.
- [69:31]
B
Yeah, it's there.
- [69:32]
A
Use the cannon.
- [69:33]
B
It's there.
- [69:33]
A
You know what I mean? So, you know. Know. And all while you're resting, you're working, and you're actually actively fighting to change things from a structural space.
- [69:45]
B
Yeah. And, like, this is. This is. Yes, this is dangerous, but it's also the safest way I can protest, you.
- [69:51]
A
Know, You're a public figure. You know what I mean?
- [69:53]
B
Yeah.
- [69:53]
A
You know what I mean? I'm. I. I completely respect it. You know what I mean? I. I admire it, to be honest. I am not. Not sure how far I could. You know, I know that a lot of people are like, yeah, man, you. Like. A lot of people ask me, like, run for certain offices and things like that. And I always tell people, like, jokingly, like, what's stopping me from being corrupt? Like, jokingly, but also, like, I ain't. I. I can't fake that. I can't do the fake. I can't do the politician thing. Like, it's just for me. And it. Because. Because I've never seen nobody do it and be a person. And here you are.
- [70:29]
B
Oh, this is genuinely how I am.
- [70:31]
A
You know, that's what I'm saying, though. Like, you actually are an inspiration to other people that want to have the courage to go but don't feel like they can show up as themselves. And you and Sam Foster and Stephen Dingle show people that they can show up as themselves and represent their people.
- [70:46]
B
My favorite thing to tell my clients, especially those struggling with confidence issues, you're allowed to take up space. Don't apologize. Exist.
- [70:52]
A
Exist.
- [70:53]
B
Exactly. Exist.
- [70:54]
A
Yeah. And the most annoying person you ever met.
- [70:58]
B
Be existing.
- [70:59]
A
Never have fear of taking up space.
- [71:01]
B
Just be out here existing and good.
- [71:04]
A
On them, you know, Good on.
- [71:05]
B
For real. Good on them.
- [71:06]
A
Good on you.
- [71:07]
B
Y.
- [71:08]
A
Is there anything that you would like to plug. Is there anything that you would like to say to the people who may be represented by you and those who just maybe aspire to do the same things you do?
- [71:21]
B
Yeah, I'm accessible. That's my biggest thing. I constantly check my DMs, I check my messages, I read my comments. It's important to me to be a human and remain human in this. And I think with human connection, accessibility is the way that that's achieved. So if there's one thing I could say to people, if you have a question, if you have a concern, don't ever feel like you can't reach out to me. I'm always around. Quite literally always around. And remember, visit Bri Woodson for Congress.com.
- [71:53]
A
Bri Woodson for Congress.com and also B R I. No E B R I. Yeah.
- [71:59]
B
W O O d s o n.com.
- [72:01]
A
For congress.com for congress.com. we'll put it at the bottom. We got all the things.
- [72:06]
B
A little banner.
- [72:06]
A
Yeah, we got the things. The little fancy thing also too. Like, she is very accessible. I showed her a dm, she was like, I was like, would you like to be on the show, like five minutes later? She. I would love to.
- [72:15]
B
Yeah. I'm super accessible.
- [72:16]
A
Yeah. All right. Well, thank you for coming.
- [72:19]
B
Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it.
- [72:21]
A
I probably talk to you for another hour, to be honest.
- [72:23]
B
Oh, I'm, I'm a chatterbox. I'm, I'mma therapist, of course. Like, I talk for a living.
- [72:28]
A
Well, I mean, if you want to come back closer to campaign time, I, I, I think I want this to come out as soon as possible and raise awareness and maybe closer to the campaign, maybe closer to voter time, we can do another one.
- [72:40]
B
I'm here for you. That sounds awesome.
- [72:42]
A
So thank you for coming.
- [72:43]
B
Thank you for having me.
- [72:44]
A
Okay, well, this has been episode 100 and something. We don't know when it comes out, but it'll be out. I'm host Deontay Cop. Wow. Big Cat has left the building. This is Bri. This is Congresswoman. We're gonna put it on you. Congresswoman Bri Woodson claiming it. And this has been the GR Next podcast. Until next time we are out. I just want to rap. Yeah.
- [73:26]
B
They say without the proper labor, faith.
- [73:28]
A
Don'T stand a chance. I put my faith in faith and stand on fertile land I planted seeds.
- [73:34]
B
Adeline deed turning the trees before rest.
- [73:37]
A
In peace Teas get printed to me Big Cat.
- [73:41]
B
Yo, yo.
- [73:42]
A
I feel like I'm coming out with a cold. Oh know. But I already booked me a doctor's appointment for tomorrow. How'd you do that? Z.com ow raise your hand if you've been putting off a doctor's appointment, a dental cleaning or an annual checkup. Honestly, anything medical? Yeah, my hands up too. When something feels off, I'm usually doom scrolling symptoms, lowkey spiraling or just telling myself myself it's probably fine. But this year I'm doing things differently. I'm actually booking appointments with doctors I feel good about and ZocDoc has made that so much easier. ZocDoc is a free app and website that helps you find and book high quality in network doctors so you can find someone you love. We're talking about booking in network appointments with more than 150,000 providers across all 50 states. Whether you're looking for dermatology, dentistry, dentistry, primary care, eye care, or one of the 200 plus specialties offered on Zocdoc, you can easily search by specialty or symptom to build a care team that's right for you. Want to see your doctor in person? Great. Prefer a video visit? You can do that too. You can also view thousands of verified patient reviews so you get a real sense of who your doctor is. Maybe they hate small talk just like you, or root for the same sport. Either way you feel confident booking someone you'll love and when you're ready you can see real time availability and book instantly. No phone tag, no waiting around. Appointments made through Zocdoc happen fast, typically within 24 to 72 hours, and sometimes you can even score same day appointments. I use Zocdoc and it's honestly the easiest way I found to book doctors without distress. Stop putting off those doctor's appointments and go to Zocdoc.com grits to find and instantly book a doctor you love today. That's zocdoc.com grits zocdoc.com grits thanks Zocdoc for sponsoring this message.