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DJ Envy
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DJ Envy
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Mayor Ras Baraka
Hold up.
DJ Envy
Every day I wake up. Wake your ass up.
Mayor Ras Baraka
The Breakfast Club.
AT&T Advertiser
You all finished or y' all done?
DJ Envy
Morning everybody. It's DJ Envy. Just hilarious.
Charlamagne Tha God
Charlamagne the Guy we are the Breakfast Club. Lauren Laros is here and we got
DJ Envy
a special guest in the building.
Charlamagne Tha God
Elections are today, ladies and gentlemen, and we have Mayor Ras Baraka back in the building.
Mayor Ras Baraka
Good morning, good morning how are you?
Charlamagne Tha God
How you feeling?
Mayor Ras Baraka
I'm good, brother. I'm good, I'm good. Good to be here.
Charlamagne Tha God
You never tired of this? This is what, your fourth term?
Mayor Ras Baraka
I'm always tired.
AT&T Advertiser
So let me ask you, as you
Charlamagne Tha God
know, you're three terms in, what could be done different in Newark, New Jersey?
Mayor Ras Baraka
A lot, man. There's a lot of stuff that we still have to finish. I mean, obviously we still need to create the 24 hour nightlife and there's a lot of things that has to happen. We're building a walking bridge like the High Line in Newark to connect the East Ward to the downtown area. That'll trigger a bunch of development downtown. Thousands of units of housing, retail, commercial. So that's exactly what we need, you know, to make happen. There's more affordable housing that we have to build. We have to build. We're trying to build at least 2,000 more units, affordable housing, some transitional housing as well. Then lastly, we, we're going to attack this food desert stuff that, that, that Newark has in various communities. We're building five. And we were doing this a long time before these folks for New York did it. But, you know, y' all got a lot more money than us. So five, you know, we call it mutual aid. Grocery stores where you pay based on your income, but they're run by nonprofits and we're doing some public private ones as well. So, you know, that, you know, continue to reduce violence and crime, continue to raise people's quality of life, invest in black and brown businesses. So we'll continue to do those things.
Lauren LaRosa
How do you like, you know, measure your success throughout the terms? Like, what was success for you? First time, second time, third time? Like, what are you, what are you measuring against your goals?
Mayor Ras Baraka
What the objectives were in the beginning? I mean, most people who run, they won, run because they think they should. They could do better, they want to do this or that. But specific goals, like our specific goals when we first came in was to reduce violence. We had 113, 14 homicides, right? It was to begin to build affordable housing in the city, balance our budget. I mean, the budget was in bad shape. So there was very specific things that we needed to do and turn the economy towards black and brown folks. And we began to do that. So violence in the city hasn't been as low as it is since 1953. So we started, you know, my first year. When we got there, we were down gradually, but not significantly. But then, you know, we began to get the hang of it and it began to Reduce year by year by year.
Charlamagne Tha God
I was going to ask, you know, a lot of people say sometimes that long term leadership is not too great. Right. Because it gets people comfortable.
Mayor Ras Baraka
That's right.
Charlamagne Tha God
But I feel like with you, it's a lot different. And why is that?
Mayor Ras Baraka
Well, I live in Newark. I mean, my family and friends and community people I love the most. And my pride is there. I got to see these people every single day. So at the end of the day, I feel like, like I said earlier, there's a goal, there's an end that we have to reach, you know, and, you know, I feel like in this race that I'm in now, you know, I had the ability to run for governor last year. I mean, I came in second in the field of six. It was incredible. And I felt like I was defending the city for the most part. Now I feel like I'm defending myself. Right. And I think that's for a reason. And so I feel like this, I'm on the backside of my career on the decline side, you know, and it's about legacy at this point. And like, what am I going to leave when I walk away? What's going to. What, what will I be able to say that we've actually accomplished?
Charlamagne Tha God
Now, you talked about the governor's race. Why don't you think you won the governor's race?
Mayor Ras Baraka
Well, I, I don't think we raised enough money. We didn't have enough time. By the time we started to catch on, you know, we broke through. You know, we needed a, you know, I would say another month. We came in second. We had more, less money than anybody in the race. You know, six people running, six very well known statewide candidates were running. And, you know, we, we did very, very, very well. People thought we weren't going to do that well, but we did.
Lauren LaRosa
But you were favored. Like, there was a lot of places that you were favored. So to hear you say that is like, I mean, you still had a lot of strong support.
Mayor Ras Baraka
Oh, yeah, we. And most of our areas, we won. We won Essex county, we won Passaic county, we won Union County. You know, so we, we won a lot of places where we are in the majority. Black and brown folks are in the majority. We basically ran away with those areas. And we did very well in a lot of progressives, suburban white communities as well. I mean, the progressives in New Jersey came out strong for us big time.
Charlamagne Tha God
One thing you've done with Newark is slowly you've been able to change the stereotypes of Newark.
Mayor Ras Baraka
Right.
Charlamagne Tha God
You said Newark Is not broke, it's not failing, it's not criminals. We are beautiful people. Why do people still give Newark that bad stereotypes? Even though, like, when you go downtown in Newark, there's beautiful restaurants, you know, this amazing concert, there's so much to do in Newark. Why do you think it's so hard to change the stereotype of Newark?
Mayor Ras Baraka
Well, those sticks. Stigmas stick. You know, unfortunately, they. Unfortunately, long stigmas. You know, we were the car theft capital of the world. You know, the crime was.
Lauren LaRosa
All.
Mayor Ras Baraka
Was out of control. You know, people were used to that. And a lot of times we wore that as residents of the city. We wore it like. We wore it almost as a life vest. Like, we walked around and talked about how tough and rigging and rough Newark was. We were the brick city. And so to, to change your Persona and the culture, the way people view you, there's a lot of things that have to change. And one of it is the way we view ourselves, the way we talk about our city and the way we present it to other people. We got something out of it. I think now it's time for us to grow up and move away and do something else. Leave that behind.
Charlamagne Tha God
One thing I would say, when I knew you were coming, I just reached out to a bunch of Newark people to see, what are your thoughts? What do you need? What could I ask the mayor? A lot of these, I don't know if you can't help, but you've been able to help people in things that didn't necessarily mean this to them. But people say that food is high, right? They're saying when they go get groceries, groceries are high. They say that this is true. A lot of times they're raising rent and people can't afford it. They're saying the gas prices are high. You know what I mean? And I don't know, you could help the gas prices, but, you know, so what do you tell, you know, your Newark residents and your Newark family members, what they can do and how.
Mayor Ras Baraka
Well, one, we have to learn, like us, our folks in these communities, we have to learn civics. Like, we have to know the relationship between city government, county, state, federal government. Correct? All people know is the mayor, the governor, and the president.
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They're all the same, right? My gas is high.
DJ Envy
I'm. I'm blaming Mayor Ras Baraka.
Mayor Ras Baraka
And so we have to figure that out, right? We. And, and it, it means that we have to vote in every election and participate all the time and push back against a lot of things that are happening. And food Prices are high, which is why we're building these grocery stores, which is why we are creating opportunities. People have access to food, put more money in people's pockets so they could do more with the, with the cash that they have. That's something that we can do. Right, with the help obviously of the nonprofit in the private sector community. You can't do it alone. You have to have a nice unified group of folks that are willing to collaborate around that. So, yeah, I mean, the gas prices and everything else, we got to talk to the president about this war in Iran. I mean, the crazy thing about the gas prices, that affects everything. So it's affecting what it costs for us to pave the roads, like because the, the, the fuel in the trucks that come out to pave the world roads, they're giving you higher cost. So we have to pay more as a city. So it's going to raise everybody costs. I did something simple as that, like trying to get asphalt. The prices are way up.
Charlamagne Tha God
Can you talk about, can you talk about how the things that Donald Trump has affected your city and what he has done to affect your city?
Mayor Ras Baraka
Yeah, I mean, like people said indirectly, well that directly, food, gas, you know, all of those things. But ultimately his attack on social services, the, the attacked on, on SNAP benefits. Right. The attack on housing.
Charlamagne Tha God
Right.
Mayor Ras Baraka
Making it more difficult for us to give people vouchers or deal with, invest in public housing. Which means, you know, it's going to be, the rent is going to continue to increase. Right. Because you, it'll be a seller's market because you have more people that need housing than the housing that exists. Right. So all of those costs are going to increase and people just think the gas. And like I alluded to, the gas go up, but the gas affects the supply chain altogether. That means all prices are going to go up and it's going to go in your, in your hand. You have to pay for it. Right. As well. I mean, cutting those services and giving more money to the, to the super wealthy is going to affect working class people all up and down the state and throughout the country.
Lauren LaRosa
Do you think you talk about people understanding civics and do you think that people not understanding what putting you in a governor, governor's seat would have meant? Was that like a big issue that you guys saw when you were out there campaigning for yourself?
Mayor Ras Baraka
Yeah, I mean, I mean, people were excited, but you know, people were nervous like, you know, because automatically they think you can't win. So they feel like, oh, I want to vote somebody that these people not going to vote for us. They're not going. We not. We can't do this. It's impossible for us to be the governor. It's not going to happen. You know, and I got that more from us than from other folks, Right? And so, you know, ultimately, just fighting that, us beating through that, beating through that, and took us a long time to be through that. Like, people be like, oh, this man, he actually can win. You know, when, when polls were coming out and people talking, oh, he met. He might win. Then people get excited and say, let me get involved, let me participate. But it took us a minute to get people to even realize that.
Lauren LaRosa
And what about the voter apathy, right? Like, people not even wanting to come out because from the Trump election, a lot of people, black and Latino people, they're not voting Democrat. Like, they're.
Mayor Ras Baraka
Yeah, well, a lot of folks are staying home more than anything. I mean, we don't have a whole swath of people, like, converting into Republicans. Most people just stay at home. They just not participate in because they think the elections don't affect them. I bet you some people are changing their mind. And as we speak, they didn't know how dangerous we were, this situation would be or how far Trump would go. I mean, all of the, from federal judges to the Supreme Court to everything that's happening here and now, right, Making it difficult for your kid to go to college, if you get a scholarship, people to invest in you, all the people that are losing their jobs, black and brown folks that are losing their jobs because people are afraid of dei. I mean, all of this is. Is affecting our bottom line, our pocketbooks. Whether you live in the projects or whether you live in the suburbs is affecting people's pockets.
DJ Envy
When you first jumped into politics, did
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Mayor Ras Baraka
on a new crib.
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DJ Envy
Get ready for the next evolution of crime drama from the creator of the culturally defining series Power. Courtney A. Kemp joins forces with co creator and executive producer Tahnee Maroli to bring the story of Nemesis to life. This series pairs relentless action with deep emotion, emotional stakes as a brilliant criminal mastermind and an obsessed LAPD detective collide in a wild game of cat and mouse that challenges what it means to be a good man under impossible circumstances. Nemesis has everything you want in dark, high stakes crime drama, but don't get it twisted. It's not just about crime. It's an eight episode no skip, thrill ride that digs into love, loss, and what it means to ride for our partner when everything's on the line. Watch Nemesis May 14th only on Netflix. Yo, what up, y'?
Mayor Ras Baraka
All?
DJ Envy
It's DJ Envy from the Breakfast Club. Now check this out. The first phone call that ever happened happened over 150 years ago.
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150 years.
DJ Envy
That's before any of this. Before radio, before social media, before all the ways we stay connected. Today, that one call really started everything. And fast forward to now. It's springtime, the weather's breaking, people outside vibes are right again. Thank God. And it got me thinking, who haven't you talked to in a minute? And you know, through all these years and all these conversations, AT&T has been there, connecting people in meaningful ways. This is more than a story of technological innovation. It's really a story about human connection, real people, real moments and real relationships. So we celebrate over 150 years of connection. Let this be your reminder. Don't wait. Make that call. Send that text. Pull up on somebody you care about. Because at the end of the day, those connections, that's what really matters.
Podcast Host
Connecting changes everything. @&t. Hey, y', all, what's up? It's Lauren LaRosa. And I used to think that if something worked for everybody else, it should
Lauren LaRosa
work for me too.
Podcast Host
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Charlamagne Tha God
And if you did foresee it, would you still jumped in politics? Because it seems like this political game is a nasty game.
Mayor Ras Baraka
Yeah, it's got worse. My father warned me about it, by the way. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He never, he never wanted me to be involved. He was like, what are you doing? Like, especially when I, when I ran for mayor, I was a councilman and a school principal and he was like, you just became the councilman. Like, give it a little time. And then Corey went to the United States Senate and I just jumped in, you know, and, and he was looking at it from a point of view of his time, like of, you know, us fighting against the machine and cointelpro and you know, all of the things that were happening. He grew up, King was assassinated, both Kennedys were killed. You know, he, look, he's, his mindset was a little different than everybody else's and knowing where I was and what I was thinking and the direction I was going in. He was very nervous about that, but didn't anticipate how ugly politics is today because there was no Internet at this level.
Charlamagne Tha God
That's right.
Lauren LaRosa
But even with dealing with ice, right, Like I saw you tweet out about that multi car accident that happened when ICE was chasing the van. And it just seems like, because I know y' all have rules, police have rules about when and how they can chase people. But ice, they're able to maneuver a bit differently. But that's causing issues for you on the other end in your own city.
Mayor Ras Baraka
Yeah, every state and city has that. Especially if you. A city that is telling folks you can't participate with ice, the police. The reality is there's something called deconfliction that means we have to know you're in your. You're in our city. One agency goes into a city, we have to know you're there. Even if you don't. You don't have to ask our permission. We have to know what you're doing, what's going on, because anything can happen. We go to the police, go to scenes. There's a car being chased. They don't know who's chasing the car. They. They're leaving abandoned cars on the block. When they take people out, you know, they find an abandoned car, you might find a gun, you might find whatever. They don't know if it's a robbery, like it was a crime in action or what's going on. They just show up to a scene because people are calling the police, say, oh, we want. Don't want the police to participate. But when residents call the police, they have to come. So if a car is chasing another car and it might be ice, the police going to show up, the city police going, hey, what's going on? And then people getting loud. Now they gotta create order. And it creates the kind of conflict that takes place between both agencies. Soon, you know, it's gonna be. And prayerfully, it doesn't get to a point where both agencies are at each other's throat in the middle of the street.
Lauren LaRosa
I was gonna ask you as mayor, right. And running for this next term, like. Cause when that happened, your team had literally said, y' all reached out to ICE for certain comments and explanations, and they didn't even return the response. So what communication flow have you created or planned to try and create so that we don't see that?
Mayor Ras Baraka
Well, the only real interaction we have is, you know, luckily, the Newark Police Department is the largest one in the state. So most of the federal agencies need our help and support with most of the things that go on, whether it's, you know, AFT or DEA or any of these people, Homeland Security, they need our support. Right. And so we have people in different places and we communicate with them to at least get some kind of feedback about what's going on. A. And we've had a working relationship with these, you know, agencies for years, whether it was Republican or Democratic administration. So because of those relationships, we still to have some modicum of, you know, civility that happens between the agencies.
Charlamagne Tha God
Well, how do you move on from there and how do you proceed? Right, because obviously ICE feels like they're gonna do what they want to do. You're arrested by checking out an ICE facility. It did absolutely positively nothing. We've seen it on tv. So how do you move on as mayor to say, hey, do we work with them? Do we have to work with them? What happens from here?
Mayor Ras Baraka
Well, we can't work with ICE to violate people's constitutional rights because we'll never come back from that. Once you begin that, it's a slippery slope and the city agencies just can't. We just can't participate. And pulling people over. We just got out of consent decree pulling people over because they look different, because they got a different accent. We can't do that. We can't participate in that. So we'll never be able to do that. So that has to change. The problem is we work with these agencies and in other kind of ways in criminal investigations. So if they're investigating the cartel or something that's going on that involves Homeland, atf, NDA, our folks have to get involved and will get involved in that. And we just have to make a distinction between one or the other. And most of the ICE agents that are coming on now there's not trained. They're not even involved in those activities because they're not trained to be involved. Most of them, they go through like a 45 day training. Our police officers go to six months of training. They have 45 days of training. They barely know what they're doing out there. Right. And so they would never be involved in a high level kind of criminal takedown because they just don't know what to do.
Charlamagne Tha God
Well, how do you, how do you protect your Newark residents?
Mayor Ras Baraka
Right?
Charlamagne Tha God
Because if you've ever been to Newark, there's so many different nationalities, right?
Mayor Ras Baraka
Yeah.
Charlamagne Tha God
How do you protect those people? And I'm sure some of them might be immigrants or their parents are immigrants. So how do you protect those residents?
Mayor Ras Baraka
Well, we have to stay in constant communication with them, which is what we do, especially through our community based organizations to make sure that we let them know if it's safe or it's unsafe or, you know, they can still have access to materials, the resources, the city to the city agencies, and go through our non profits to make sure we are giving them what they need, even through with lawyers and through support that we do that as well. So they know that there's some recourse or a place for them to go to comfort for Comfort other than these people who chasing them around the city.
Charlamagne Tha God
I also read an article that said a lot of people are coming in the next couple of months for FIFA, right. And they said a lot of people are staying at Airbnbs in Newark. So with the, you know, the city's gonna be packed.
Mayor Ras Baraka
Yeah, the city's gonna be booming. Those airbnb prices, crazy. Airbnb prices gonna be through the roof, though.
Charlamagne Tha God
So what do you do for those people trying to get to, you know, MetLife or whatever they call MetLife now to make sure they can see the game? Cause I'm seeing prices are crazy. I see a bus from New York to the thing that's like $200. So what do you do to make sure that people will have a great time and a safe time?
Mayor Ras Baraka
Well, we. We have already galvanized all of the, you know, resources in the city, all of the institutions. Njpac, Proof Center, Museum, Library, Newark alliance, so the restaurants, everybody's prepared. We're gonna have one concerted effort to kind of really give people the atmosphere that they need in a safe kind of way. And ha. And. And so they're able to have fun, watch the games, you know, enjoy the culture of the city at the same time. And there's, there's the, the federal and state kind of legislators are trying to push for legislation now, you know, to make sure that ICE is not empowered to chase people around while these FIFA games are going on. Right? That's, That's a. A serious concern because you have. You'll have hundreds of thousands of people coming to the United States and people who already here and they go, how? They're not gonna be able to tell the difference.
Charlamagne Tha God
No, no. Now, I want to ask too, you know, first of all, congratulations. They said Newark had his lowest murder rate since 1953. Is amazing because we've all seen the, the ups and downs and trials and that Newark has had. But what is your biggest accomplishment that you would say, personally, from the last decade of you being mayor?
Mayor Ras Baraka
Personally, I think just really changing those last service lines in the city, I mean, that affected me personally. My family, my community, we all live there, you know, changing them in less than three years, 23,000 last service lines. And just to put it in perspective, like in 2014, when I became the mayor, that's when Flint figured out that they had the lead service line crisis and they still trying to change theirs.
Charlamagne Tha God
Right?
Mayor Ras Baraka
They told us it would take us 10 years. That means I would be still doing this, right? I would probably be gone and still Doing it, it would take us 10 years, and we did it in less than three, you know, by God's grace and galvanized, galvanizing all of the resources in the city, and we made it happen. You know, besides all the, you know, affordable housing and, you know, reduction in crime and, you know, getting people in from the projects into homes, all that is, is great. But the lead service line thing to me was a serious battle, and we overcame it, and I feel great that we were able to do that.
Charlamagne Tha God
Now. It was also reported that you. You sued the federal government for defamation and prosecution following your arrest. Are you still suing him?
Mayor Ras Baraka
Are we still in the process of that? Yeah, yeah, it takes some time, but we still. We just had a hearing a couple of days ago.
Lauren LaRosa
How does that work with you being like a. A person of, like, politics? Right, but then you're suing the government. Like, I know you have, by, by law, you have the right to do that, but does it mess up internally the relationships that you have when you're trying to figure out these ecosystems of communication? All the things we talked about, like,
Podcast Host
is that a thing?
Mayor Ras Baraka
No, not. Not the institutions itself. I mean, people, we suing each other all the time, but not the institutions itself. Individuals. Yes. And the way, unfortunately, the way government is run today, it is run very, like, in a vindictive kind of way. And ultimately, people come after people. Right. And that's what this Trump administration has. Has represented. Like, they'll come and get you right away. Everybody. There's nobody off limits. I mean, they indicted the former FBI director. I mean, these people.
Charlamagne Tha God
Yeah, it's. Now, let me ask you this, too. You know, with young black voters especially, what do you think young black voters are demanding from leadership right now that the previous generation didn't?
Mayor Ras Baraka
Well, they want more inclusion. Like, they want to be involved in all of this stuff. Before, we was trying to get young people to be interested. Now they want to be in it. Like, they want to be involved. They. In all aspects of it, whether it's marketing and media, because of all of this stuff. They want to be heard and listened to. I think all young people want to be heard and listened to, but I think the. The is becoming more and more. Is getting louder and louder now more than anything. And they want to be able to participate in a city. They want to engage in the economic night, the economic life in a town as well. If they see development of housing going up, they want to be a part of it. They think they're smart and they feel like they should Be a part of all of the stuff that's happening in the city.
Charlamagne Tha God
And what's one thing that you feel like your administration might have fell short on that you didn't get a chance to knock out yet?
Mayor Ras Baraka
Well, there's a few things actually, man. I mean, one is, is, is this food, desert stuff, which is what we working on down. I mean, our, we. I think we still moving a little slow on affordable housing because the market is moving faster than we are able to put them up. And some of it has to do with the way the tax credits are constructed by the state government that are given to us like one project at a time, which, which means that you're doing very little at a time. It take you years and years and years to amount the massive number of housing that you want to build. But, you know, we're working with them and trying to figure out how to do more and more in a shorter period of time because it's an emergency at this point. I mean, that's, that's clear. And I think, you know, in terms of our investment in the actual workforce that we have to do, us have to do a better job and invest in the workforce, expanding their resources, more people. Newark is growing and we still trying to operate the city from the same numbers that it was. We, we have 300 something thousand people. We still trying to operate like we have 275, 250,000 people. We have not expanded the police, the fire, UCC, DPW, all that have has to advance and all the equipment has to advance.
Lauren LaRosa
We need more, which is crazy because Newark is like everybody's coming to.
Mayor Ras Baraka
Yeah, we, we, and we have to act like that. And I don't know if we have invested in our own selves in a way that we need to the infrastructure to be able to support all the things that are happening now.
Charlamagne Tha God
The next governor race, you said this one. You guys were a little late. You didn't raise as much money. Are you thinking about the next governor race yet? Not yet. Give yourself enough time to do it.
Mayor Ras Baraka
No, not yet.
Lauren LaRosa
I felt the tired in your voice.
Mayor Ras Baraka
Word is bald. I'm in the middle of this thing and you know, I, I think that I owe the residents of Newark my attention, my full time and full commitment, mentally, emotionally. And like I said, this is about legacy for me. So when I walk out of here, I'm going to be able to point to a few things that we were able to do in the city that'll last through generation. And I'm more excited about that than anything else? You know, I think God sent me back. It was like, now you got to defend what you've built. You went out here and talked all this junk. Now go back to the city and defend the stuff that you said you built.
Charlamagne Tha God
Well, that's right. Well, elections are today. Make sure you get out there and vote. And one thing I will say about Mayor Ras Baraka, I've been in a lot of different cities. I've spoke to a lot of different mayors. Mayor Ras Baraka is probably one of the very few mayors that is actually outside with the people. I mean, Ras Baraka will pull up at an event, he will pull up at the gym, he will walk down your block, he will ask you what's wrong? What could I do better? And I think we need more of that. And I love the fact that you do that. And sometimes I'm there and I don't even say hello. Cause I just want to see.
DJ Envy
And the fact that he will walk
Charlamagne Tha God
into an event, major HBCU event, speak to people, shake hands, kiss babies, he'll walk down the block, he'll go to the gym. And I think a lot of mayors can learn from that. Just see the people, touch the people, talk to the people and speak to the people. And I appreciate you, brother.
Mayor Ras Baraka
Thank you, man.
Charlamagne Tha God
Get out there and vote Rasparaka.
DJ Envy
He's running today. Mayor of Newark.
Charlamagne Tha God
And it's the Breakfast Club.
Mayor Ras Baraka
Good morning, my man. Hold up.
DJ Envy
Every day I wake up. Wake your ass up.
Mayor Ras Baraka
The Breakfast Club.
DJ Envy
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Episode: INTERVIEW: Mayor Ras Baraka Talks NJ Mayoral Race, Trump, ICE; Lawsuit After Arrest + More
Date: May 12, 2026
This episode of The Breakfast Club welcomes back Newark Mayor Ras Baraka for a candid, in-depth discussion as election day unfolds. Hosts DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, Charlamagne Tha God, and Lauren LaRosa dive into Baraka's achievements and challenges across his tenure, dissect the lingering stereotypes of Newark, unpack policy impacts by figures like Donald Trump, and navigate topics from food deserts to immigration enforcement to youth political engagement. Memorable moments include Baraka’s unapologetic honesty about legacy, his ongoing lawsuit against the federal government, and the balancing act of governing a fast-growing city.
Timestamp: [02:56]–[04:03]
Ongoing Initiatives:
Measuring Success:
Timestamp: [05:00]–[06:37]
Reasons for Not Winning:
On Legacy:
Timestamp: [07:03]–[08:08]
Timestamp: [08:08]–[09:55]
Timestamp: [09:55]–[10:57]
Timestamp: [10:57]–[11:56]
Timestamp: [17:55]–[23:44]
Recent issues with ICE creating chaos in Newark:
Protecting immigrant communities:
Timestamp: [24:01]–[24:57]
Timestamp: [24:57]–[25:30]
Timestamp: [26:05]–[28:30]
Youth engagement:
Areas for Growth:
Timestamp: [28:30]–[29:20]
Asked about another run for governor:
Charlamagne praises Baraka’s hands-on leadership style:
On Measured Progress:
”Violence in the city hasn't been as low as it is since 1953.”
— Mayor Ras Baraka [04:14]
On Newark’s Public Image:
”We wore [the stigma] almost as a life vest...it's time for us to grow up and move away and do something else.”
— Mayor Ras Baraka [07:35]
On Politics Getting Nastier:
”My father warned me about it, by the way...He was very nervous about that, but didn’t anticipate how ugly politics is today because there was no Internet at this level.”
— Mayor Ras Baraka [17:03]
On ICE and Community Protection:
”We can’t work with ICE to violate people’s constitutional rights because we’ll never come back from that.”
— Mayor Ras Baraka [20:31]
Personal Pride in City Achievements:
”Changing those last service lines in the city...in less than three years, 23,000 last service lines...They told us it would take us 10 years, and we did it in less than three.”
— Mayor Ras Baraka [24:01]
On Legacy:
“This is about legacy for me. So when I walk out of here, I'm going to be able to point to a few things that we were able to do in the city that'll last through generations.”
— Mayor Ras Baraka [28:43]
On Youth Engagement:
"They want more inclusion. Now they want to be in it...they want to engage in the economic life in a town as well."
— Mayor Ras Baraka [26:15]
Charlamagne on Baraka's Leadership Style:
“Mayor Ras Baraka is probably one of the very few mayors that is actually outside with the people...And I think we need more of that.”
— Charlamagne Tha God [29:20]
Newark Initiatives and Progress:
[02:56]–[04:03]
Reflections on Legacy and Governor Race:
[05:06]–[06:37]
Breaking Newark Stereotypes:
[07:03]–[08:08]
Cost of Living & Civic Education:
[08:08]–[09:55]
Trump Era Policies & Social Services:
[09:55]–[10:57]
Voter Apathy & Participation:
[10:57]–[11:56]
ICE Issues & Immigrant Protections:
[17:55]–[23:44]
Lead Service Lines & Major Accomplishments:
[24:01]–[24:57]
Suing the Federal Government:
[24:57]–[25:30]
Young Voters & Areas for Growth:
[26:05]–[28:30]
Closing Thoughts on Leadership & Legacy:
[28:30]–[29:20]
Engaged, candid, and community-focused, with spirited exchanges and real talk about politics, leadership, and legacy. Ras Baraka’s sincerity, pride, and willingness to address both wins and shortfalls are palpable throughout the conversation.
Summary by: Podcast Summarizer
All quotes and timestamps reflect the original episode for accuracy and context.