tv Politics Nation MSNBC April 10, 2021 2:00pm-3:00pm PDT
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were met with strategic outrage from gun advocates and republican lawmakers who claimed to see a takeover. while the rest of us saw one mass shooting after another with no end in sight. the critics also likely don't care about the pledge to stem gun crime in black and brown neighborhoods without sending more americans of color to prison. more on that in a minute, because almost on cue, red states responded to president biden by doubling down on a wild west mentality, even those in the south. shortly i'll talk to the mayor of louisville, kentucky, about what the president's proclamation means for his southern city as its state in evolving on policing, while its
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neighbors devolve on guns and voting rights. there's also, of course, the chauvin trial. with two weeks of testimony concluded and george floyd's family slated to take the stand next week, nearly a year after his death and months after their meeting with joe biden who promised them justice as a presidential candidate. i was in that meeting. at the core of it all is not just inequality, but inequity, that understanding for some groups in this country the need is different and sometimes greater. it's a tough still in post-trump america, but that's precisely what the biden administration is at least publicly trying to do. and so we start tonight at the white house. joining me now is susan rice, director of the white house domestic policy council.
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she's the former national security adviser and former ambassador to the united nations under president obama. ambassador rice, thank you for being with us tonight. as i mentioned, the president's executive order on guns direct some initial actions to what he calls a gun pandemic. when you count community violence, mass shootings, domestic violence, and suicide by firearm -- and we know that americans across the country agreed that we need to take action to reduce gun violence. so why has this become such a political issue? >> thank you for having me. it shouldn't be a political issue. american lives are being lost every day in what is rightly viewed as an epidemic of gun violence, a public health crisis of enormous magnitude.
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over 100 americans are killed every day on average by gun violence. more than 300 more are wounded every day in this country. when you look the things like background checks and making those universal, 90% of americans support that. that's common sense gun safety legislation. 90% of americans, the majority of gun owners support it, and yet it's stuck. it's passed out of the house yet again and it's sitting dormant in the senate where it's not clear whether there's sufficient support. what president biden did this week, reverend al, is to say, you know, we're not waiting for congress. we're not waiting for more death and carnage to do what he can do in his early days through executive action. so he announced that he was going to ban ghost guns. ghost guns are kits that can be put together in 30 minutes without serial numbers, without
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markings, and that can be used for murder with absolutely no accountability. he said that those stabilizing braces, which the alleged shooter in boulder apparently used to make a rifle -- excuse me -- to make a handgun into something that's more like a semiautomatic rifle, those two should be regulated. he's made very clear that we got to deal every day with what is going on in our communities and in our cities where black and brown families are losing people on a daily basis. and so he's committed to investing $5 billion through his american jobs plan in these community violence intervention programs that have proven to reduce gun violence by 60%. so those are among the steps that he announced this week. there are more, and of course he reiterated his call for congress to act on background checks, to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and to put in place the kind of laws
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that would enable us to take guns out of the hands when a court orders it when someone is a danger to themselves or others. >> the white house also announced this week that more than half of americans have signed up for health insurance as a result of the biden administration's special enrollment period for the covid-19 public health emergency. and we know that the largest increase in enrollment is among black black consumers and among americans near the poverty level. tell us about that, ambassador. >> this is a great new story. back in february, president biden opened up a special enrollment period for the affordable care act so that people without insurance could go to healthcare.gov and go from now until august and sign up for health insurance. over 500,000 have already since february taken advantage of that special enrollment period to sign up for health insurance. and then when we got through
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congress the american rescue plan, which is now law, we were able to say to people who are new or already signed up who wanted to see their costs go down, that the premiers have come way down as a result of that legislation so that for the average family, you will be able to save about $50 per person per month if you sign up now. and if you've already signed up, go back to healthcare.gov and get that ability to have your costs go down. so this is a good news story. yes, reverend al, african-americans have disproportionately taken advantage of this opportunity. of those who identified themselves by race who signed up, more than 17% are black americans, which is great. that's compared to 11% in the past round. and so i really want to encourage all americans, those
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who do not have health insurance, those who want to see their premiums go down to go to healthcare.gov and take advantage of this opportunity. it's potentially a lifesaver, particularly in the middle of a pandemic. >> director rice, your primary role, does it have to do with equity? what can be done once and for all to narrow the inequity gap when it comes to the covid-19 pandemic? >> there's so many things that we have to do, reverend al. i'm working with my colleagues across the government and across the white house so that we embed racial justice and equity in everything we do, whether it's health care disparities, economic inequality, educational disparities. it's got to be front and center across the board. but when it comes to healthy disparities, very importantly, particularly in this moment as we're seeing the expansion of the vaccine and we're able to now to vaccinate on average
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about 3 million americans a day, we're working very hard to make sure that we're reaching those communities that are hardest to reach, particularly black communities and other communities of color and rural communities. and so we're using community health centers, which are very much in the neighborhoods that need this support. we're using neighborhood pharmacies. we're using mass vaccination sites. we're using all the tools at our disposal to try to get the vaccine accessible, nearby to people who need it most, and then to get the word out and convince people that this is a safe, effective set of vaccines. i've been vaccinated myself. i can tell you it feels liberating, and i really encourage everybody to get the vaccine as soon as you possibly can. that's how we get ourselves back on track to be able to get our kids back in school, to go back to our jobs and build back our businesses that have been lost.
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it's essential to being able to be back together with our families. it's crucial. so we're doing all we can to make that vaccine accessible to those who need it most, those who may not have had access to quality health care. that's in the immediate term. but over the long term, reverend al, as you know, these disparities didn't begin with covid and they're not going to end with covid. we have got to make quality health care available to everybody, particularly in underserved communities like parts of the black community, which is why the affordable care act, which we were just discussing, and the opportunity to get your coverage at a reduced price is so important. >> it did not just begin here, but i can say as one who's been vaccinated, but also one that had the opportunity to work with you over the years, they have the right person on the job to try to make this equity more a reality. ambassador rice, thank you for being with us. >> thank you. to talk more about the
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various actions taken by the new administration, joining me now is the president of the u.s. conference of mayors, greg fischer, mayor of louisville, kentucky. mr. mayor, let me start with you in your capacity as the leader of the u.s. conference of mayors. you put out a press release applauding the president's actions on guns this week. at the same time, your neighboring stat tennessee, signed a new law, governor bill lee is defending the law as enhancing second amendment rights while strengthening penalties for certain types of gun crime. but law enforcement groups in the state have largely opposed, concerned about public safety. i wonder if you could articulate
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the divide between america's mayors and other leaders on gun reform. >> good to be with you, reverend al. here's the sad reality. america's death by guns are 25 times more than any other high-income country. for 15 to 24-year-olds, 49 times. in any other area, reverend al, if we were 49th or 25th, you think america would be sitting on our hands and say it's okay? but somehow this is okay with guns in our country. it is a sad situation for us. and the cause of much pain in cities. america pays attention to these mass shootings that take place, but every day in the cities of america there's young men, usually young black men or boys that are brought down by gun violence. there's been a significant increase since the pandemic started. over 70% of america's big cities. it is a public health crisis, so to see a state go the exact opposite way of which we should be going to keep people safe and protect their lives is
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dispiriting and unfortunately it's not uncommon. it's a real battle in america right now. >> now, your kentucky governor this week signed a partial ban on no-knock warrants a year after breonna taylor was killed during a no-knock raid in your city. give us a quick update on police reform in your city of louisville since her death. >> well, sometimes it takes a tragedy for movement to take place like that, but we passed breonna's law which banned no-knock warrants six months ago, so it's good to see the state articulate that across the state as well. what we're moving for and making a lot of progress on is the coproduction of public safety. in other words, the public and the police work together to create safe conditions. nobody disagrees with the function of policing. it's how it's done. now, to get to that co-production, you got to enhance police legitimacy.
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to do that, you have to reform some police practices as well based on racial equity, based on implicit bias knowledge. so we made a lot of progress in that area. the journey is never going to be over, but what you want is when police show up in a community, the community says, my guardians are here. unfortunately that is not the case in too many cities in america right now, so lots of work to do. but we're well under way, pleased with the progress. but again, it'll never be over. >> before i run out of time, i need to ask what, if anything, does it president's infrastructure plan mean for residents in your city, mayor fischer? >> reverend al, you got to think about where we are last november. we had a president that basically compiled mayors to the outhouse and spat on us every day. now we have a president that believes in social justice, equity, the economy, and lifting people up. so he's like a mayor, okay?
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we're so excited to have president biden in place because he's investing in all the right places. the american jobs plan could reorder our society in terms of greatly reducing poverty, greatly increasing safety in our community. you just heard the american jobs plan to reduce community violence. and, of course, rebuild our infrastructure. our infrastructure now is 60 or 70 years old while countries like china race ahead of us. so if you're against the american jobs plan, in my mind, you are for china. so we got to drop the politics. 70% of americans, republicans, democrats, independents, support the american jobs plan. it's just in the u.s. senate we seem to have this problem here. i tell you what, americans want some adult behavior in the u.s. senate. i hope that they can get behind the vast majority of americans and get this country working again. >> okay. mayor fischer, before i let you go, i want to introduce you live on "politicsnation" to the newest member of your merrill
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family. there she is, mayor. she's tashara jones, mayor-elect of st. louis, missouri. briefly, what tip would you give her as she starts a new job? >> we know each other and i'm very proud of her. we're fellow new deal leaders. so her getting elected to st. louis is huge for us. mayor-elect, congratulations. it's not a better time to become a mayor right now because we got a president in the white house that thinks and acts like a mayor, believes in equity, believes in economic development, has put his money where his mouth is. so i'd say my only advice, mayor, would be go big, go bold. make it happen. you got a great city in st. louis. >> all right. >> thank you. >> i'll take it from there. thank you, mayor fischer. and i welcome to "politicsnation" for the first time, the newly elected first black woman mayor of st. louis, missouri, tashara jones.
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congratulations, mayor-elect. you said that voters in st. louis have voted for you because a black woman has lived experiences that no others do. explain that. >> well, thank you, again, for having me, reverend al. it's great to see my good friend, mayor greg fischer. we've been friends were years. and the reason why st. louisens elected me is because, you know, a mayor with lived experiences with national relationships and a background in health care is what this moment demands. we're in the middle of a global pandemic. i have a masters in health administration, i'm also a single mom and i lead from a different place. my son is the most adorable 13-year-old boy in the world, and the reason why -- and he is the reason why i'm here. i want to make sure that i create a st. louis for him and other children like him have the opportunity to thrive.
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>> now, during your campaign, you said that the city of st. louis had lost 21,000 african-americans since the last census. what in your view is at the heart of that exodus. i ask because, as you discussed with my colleague, ali velshi, this weekend, police killings of black residents, according to a report by st. louis based reform group arch city defenders, with this in mind, do you think black people just don't feel welcome in st. louis? >> i think that's part of it. i think that they are moving -- why does anybody else move? because of opportunity. they're looking for better jobs, better education for their children. our school district, while it is accredited, is experiencing some challenges right now. 88.5% of children in public schools qualify for free or reduced lunch. we have high levels of poverty. and so, you know, why does
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anybody leave? for greener pastures. we want people to move back to st. louis city. >> some viewers would be surprised to hear this, but i worked right there in ferguson, as you know, and in st. louis on certain issues and certain cases. but st. louis has two police unions, a black police union and a white police union. now you're calling for a truth and reconciliation commission in your city to tackle inequalities, along with your own crime plan. explain that. >> yes. so we also have a black firefighters union and a white firefighters union. so our first responders, obviously, have a problem trusting each other where they feel like they have to have a separate organization in order to get their needs met. this has been the case for generations. and so if they can't trust each
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other, then how can they expect the public to trust them? and then also, we need to make sure that we are deploying the right professional to the right call in order to decrease the number of police-involved shootings. research done in the north patrol district indicates that up to 50% of calls could be answered by someone other than police. how do we staff our police and public safety departments with different types of professionals like mental health counselors and substance abuse counselors? how do we lead with prevention instead of old arrest and incarcerate model we currently use? >> how has the response been from all sides of the police and the firefighters? >> well, the black police officers and the white police officers supported my campaign. the feedback i've gotten from them is that i am right on point. and i've gotten that from some white police officers that i consider my friends. our police officers are exhausted and they need help.
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putting different types of professionals in the department and civilianizing some functions freeze them up to do police-involved work. >> all right. again, congratulations on your election and thank you for being with us, mayor-elect, at a shar ra jones. coming up, mitch mcconnell suddenly wants big business to stay out of politics. but he hasn't always felt that way. but first, my colleague richard lui with today's top news stories. richard? >> hey, rev. some stories this hour, there are now over 31.2 million cases of covid-19 in the united states and more than 565,000 people have died. the white house says a quarter of all americans, though, are fully vaccinated. nearly 4 million vaccine doses were given friday. britain's prince philip will be laid to rest saturday. his grandson, prince harry, is
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expected to attend. he passed away yesterday at the age of 99. his son and heir to the throne prince charles talked about his passing today and thanked the outpouring of support he, the queen, and the rest of the royal family are receiving. the hip hop world is remembering rapper dmx. he died friday at the age of 50. he was hospitalized last week after a heart attack and spent several days off life support. according to tmz, public and private memorials are planned for this week. more "politicsnation" with reverend al sharpton right after the break.
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pursuit of power. still, this week has provided a breathtaking example of hubris from kentucky's senior senator, starting with this response to corporate backlash following the voter restriction laws in georgia and across the country. >> my warning, if you will, to correspondent america is to stay out of politics. it's not what you're designed for. you know, republicans drink coca-cola too, and we fly, and we like baseball. if i were running a major corporation, i'd stay out of politics. i'm not talking about political contributions. >> so mcconnell wants corporations to stay out of politics, but he'll still take their money. it's an inconsistent position from a man who has spent his entire career advancing the dubious legal position that
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money is equivalent to speech under the first amendment. nearly 20 years ago he was the lead plaintiff in that case -- in a case designed to slash protections. then in 2009, he submitted a brief to the supreme court in another campaign finance case saying, quote, political contributions are central elements of core political speech and association. and finally, when the supreme court gutted all limits on corporate money in politics with its 2010 decision in the infamous citizens united case, mcconnell celebrated that, that the court was, quote, restoring the first amendment rights of these groups. these groups, of course, meaning corporations. so after a career advancing the republican idea that corporations are people under law and should've the right to express political views through
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monetary donations, mcconnell is now walking a tough line in admonishing them to stay out of it. it would be easier for us if he just admitted that everyone cared about corporations' freedom of speech and he just wanted them to line his re-election coffers and keep quiet. instead, he came up with a flimsy excuse. >> i didn't say that very artfully yesterday. they're certainly entitled to be in politics, they are. my principle complaint is they didn't read the darn bill. >> actually, mr. minority leader, i think your principle problem is they did read the darn bill, and so did the rest of us. your corporate lackeys can finally see the depth of your racist scheming and they're not on board with your attempt to restrict democracy to old white
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men only. your threat to those companies to, quote, stay out of it has premised on the fact that republicans drink soda and fly and watch baseball. but so do black folks and elders, disabled people and millions of others who will be disenfranchised by the georgia law and copycat bills across the country. so now you have two choices. sign onto the democratic initiatives, or stay the course and let those very same corporations steamroll you right out of our relevant issues. either way, i gotcha. people everywhere living with type 2 diabetes
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testimony yesterday with several medical experts taking the stand. including this exchange between the prosecution and dr. andrew baker, who performed the autopsy of mr. floyd following his death. >> my opinion remains unchanged. it's what i put on the certificate last june. that was my top line then it would stay my top line now. >> and so if we look at the other contributing conditions, those other contributing conditions are not conditions that you consider direct causes, is that true? >> they are not direct causes of mr. floyd's death, that's true. they're contributing causes. >> and in terms of manner of death, you found then and do you stand by today that the manner of death for mr. floyd was, as you would call it, homicide? >> yes, i would stay classify it as a homicide today. >> joining me now is carmen
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best, retired seattle police chief and msnbc law enforcement analyst, and yodit daual did i, prosecutor and defense attorney and host of "making the case" on black news channel. let me go to you, yodit, first. let me start with your reaction to the exchange we just saw. as a former prosecutor and a defense attorney, what do you think the prosecution wanted the jury to take away from that line of questioning, and do you think it was effective? >> absolutely. what the prosecution was trying to do on redirect there is make sure that the jurors understood what the cause of death was in this case because the defense is saying that drugs, fentanyl, this heart issue that george floyd might have had was the actual cause of death. because if cause of death falls apart, then the prosecution's case falls apart.
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so they have to make sure the jurors know, whatever the heart condition may be, those are the contributing factors. when the prosecution needs to prove is that chauvin was a substantial factor of george floyd's death, and that is what the prosecution wanted to make clear, and i think he did so. >> and the law says that it goes by what was the significant cause of death. it doesn't have to be the only cause of death, according to the law in minnesota. >> correct. that would be correct. >> now, some of the more impactful testimony earlier came from minneapolis chief of police. listen to this. >> once there was no longer any resistance, and clearly when mr. floyd was no longer responsive and even motionless, to continue to apply that level of force to a person proned out, handcuffed
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behind their back, that -- that in no way shape or form is anything that is by policy. it is not part of our training and it is certainly not part of our ethics or our values. >> carmen, you know, i've been involved in fight for police reform for decades. as you know, i was involved -- i did is eulogy for george floyd's funeral. i've gone back and forth including this week to be with the family and some of those raising the issue justice. but testimony like that coming from inside the department itself is very unusual. it's something i have not seen in cases against police. as a former police chief yourself, do you think that testimony carries more weight? and outside of the trial, could this be the beginning of a police culture change?
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>> yeah, well, my answer is yes to both. it absolutely carries a lot of weight when the leader of the organization, a man with a great deal of experience in policing comes out and says very clearly, we all heard him, a man proned out, handcuffed behind his back, lying face down on the ground, and for the former officer chauvin at the time to have his knee on his back, with that level of force, with that length of time, absolutely unreasonable, unethical, and really outside of their policy. so i think that makes it very clear. it's very rare to have a chief testify in this fashion. and so i think that really does hold a lot of weight. and in regards to turning the corner on reform, as you know, since the death of -- the killing of george floyd, there have been a number of upheavals. the whole world is watching to
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see what happens. so it's critically important for all of law enforcement. what comes out of this case can change the trajectory of policing in this country. so it's critically important. >> yodit, it seems like the prosecution is closing down on its case until final arguments. what do you expect to see from the last witnesses and possibly closing arguments next week? >> i definitely think that the prosecution is bringing another medical expert on monday. they should be closing their case. at that point the defense will be starting their case in chief. i think the prosecution has pretty much proven all of the elements for all three of the charges. i mean, you have not only the medical experts telling the jurors what the cause of death for george floyd was, and that was asphyxiation due to chauvin's knee, but to also have colleagues from the mpd, officers. if you didn't believe paid experts, you can believe chauvin's own colleagues from his own department saying what he did was a complete departure
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from policies and training. then you had a bystanders who came in and talked about what it was like to watch george floyd die and what it did to him moving forward. but you have the 9 minutes, 29-second video. that is the most powerful tool in the prosecution's arteriosclerosis. they play that video over and over and over again for the jurors. this wasn't a situation where the officer had to make a split-second decision, where he felt threatened. according to the defense, he was more afraid of the crowd that was around him, not even george floyd, but george floyd was the one that died. if anything they put up in the days that trial has been on, if the jurors don't believe one witness, they can believe their own eyes, they can believe their own ears and rely on that, if anything. but i believe that the prosecution has proven their case, which is rare, because,
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again, so i have to mention this, all three of these charges don't require the prosecution to prove intent. intent is one of the hardest elements to prove. i think they met their burden, but they're crossing their ts and dotting their is, and they're done. >> the prosecution made a strong case. what do you expect the defense's approach to be next week after so many of the earlier witnesses have contradicted their opening argument? >> well, i'll start by saying obviously i'm not the legal expert, but the defense has a real hill to climb to prove anything. as just stated a picture is worth a thousand words, and the video and all the testimony that has proceeded it really speak for themselves. i mean, people are going to recognize that the witnesses, the officers, the medical experts, everyone is pointing to the fact this is a homicide and
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that, in fact, it was caused by the officer. so the defense might try to focus a bit more on the pre-existing conditions, but i think all those arguments have already been wiped away. so it's going to be a very difficult case to prove with all the people that have gone before clearly stating that this is a problem for them. >> carmen and yodit, thank you both for being with us. coming up, leaders in the faith community are weighing in on the laws that restrict voters of color. that's right after this break. r . where ore-ida golden crinkles are your crispy currency to pay for bites of this... ...with this. when kids won't eat dinner, potato pay them to. ore-ida. win at mealtime. [ humming ] alexa? play "ooh la la." [ "ooh la la" by cherie playing ] the moxie showerhead speaker.
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corporations weighing their options in georgia dodged a bullet this week, if only temporarily. black faith leaders in georgia postponed a planned boycott of companies still doing business with the state amid criticisms of its voter suppression law. of course, that doesn't mean the pressure is off. ministers are slated to meet with them next week to see if a boycott can be averted. but a protest rally outside of today's masters golf tournament in augusta, georgia, shows that even with the pause, these ministers mean business. joining me now is bishop reginald jackson, presiding of the sixth episcopal district of
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the ame church. bishop jackson, i've known you for years. we've been in many battles together in the movement when you pastored in in only, so i know when they said bishop reggie jackson was at the forefront, they were in for real business. i want to make it clear for our audience that when we talk about boycott, it's not just a word to be thrown around. at the core we're talking about people's livelihoods, which may negatively impact them, even though they had nothing to do with voter suppression laws and are likely to be on the receiving end of that suppression. what do you say to those that caution corporate boycott could harm black georgians tat need their jobs and may be disenfranchised and they're the ones you're fighting for? >> it is terrific being with you again. those who claim that a boycott would hurt middle class,
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low-income people, especially blacks, the fact of the matter is, if we do nothing, they're going to be hurt even more. in fact, if we do nothing, it really means that we've become complicit with the georgia republicans and the legislature and what they've done. we believe if we take action, if we pressure these corporations, speak out and take a stand, long term it's going to benefit the very people they are afraid of being hurt. >> now, tell us about the georgia faith-based leader summit this coming tuesday. will that determine a mass boycott call or not? >> yes, it will. in fact, we'll be meeting tuesday afternoon with our corporate leaders across georgia and some across the nation. we've listed four things that we want them to do. one, speak out against sb 202 here in georgia, two, to lobby and speak out and try to
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persuade other 45 states across the nation 361 builds to try to suppress the vote, three, to lobby and seek to pass s4, federal legislation for john lewis voting rights act, and th rights act and the opposition to these bills because we believe they are unconstitutional. if they do that, there will be no need for the boycott. if they don't do that, we're prepared to do what we have to do. >> now, in your view why has georgia's faith community taken such a lead in this particular fight, not just the suppression, but the relationship between the state and big business? >> the fact of the matter is big business in georgia for a long time has been very supportive of the republican party, and in fact, it's interesting because as long as big business does not speak out publicly against what the legislature wants to do is
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no problem, but if they speak out publicly against it, then the legislature has begun to turn against them and the business community needs to understand that if one of them speaks out it makes it easier for republicans to retaliate, but if they collectively speak out republicans cannot do that. it's in their best interest to speak out and to speak out together. when delta spoke up by itself, they went after delta. when coca-cola spoke up by itself they went after coca-cola. if the corporate community comes together they won't be able to do it. >> when i -- when i hear the argument about people that will suffer in the communities that you are fighting for, isn't it a matter of history if we go back to the sanks against south africa? we heard that same argument from
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the montgomery boycott. is it sacrifice sometimes the prerequisite toward progress? >> well, you're not going to make much progress if you're not going to make a sacrifice. sacrifice is the struggle for progress and i view that argument as simply a distraction to try to get us not to do what's in our best interest to do. it makes no sense for us to keep giving our dollars and buying products and companies that do not stand with us especially on an issue which is as important as voting rights which is the greatest right we have in this democracy. in fact, we are putting our democracy at risk and this legislation is all based on a lie. so why give credibility to a lie? >> and with that lie being that the election was stolen from
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president trump and the state of georgia really voted for trump and he won the election and that is where this whole thing started and if you start with the wrong premise you come to the wrong conclusion, the philosopher said. >> that is correct. what is even more interesting, to hear this argument coming from the current governor of georgia. governor kemp is the architect of voter suppression, and for all this furor about the 2020 election, i remind the governor that in 2018, the then secretary of state who was also the republican candidate for governor dropped over half a million people have the voting poll, the republican legislators saying they need an investigation and the people have lost confidence and integrity in the election. none of that. when it comes to 2020 and they
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lost, all of a sudden there's something wrong with the election and the outcome. >> the bishop reginald jackson, thank you for being with us tonight. up next, my final thoughts. stay with us. ext, my final thous stay with us i'll be right back. with moderate to severe crohn's disease, i was there, just not always where i needed to be. is she alright? i hope so. so i talked to my doctor about humira. i learned humira is for people who still have symptoms of crohn's disease after trying other medications. the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief in as little as 4 weeks. and many achieved remission that can last. humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection.
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this week, national action network, the group i head will have its national convention starting wednesday. it will be a virtual convention for the most part, only 150 top organizers can come in person socially distanced because of covid-19, but you can tune in by going to nationalactionnetwork.net starting wednesday morning through saturday. 13 members of president biden cabinet from secretary yellen will be addressing, secretary of labor, education, hud and others
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and there will be panels that will be responding to our speakers virtually. we have everyone from businessman robert smith to those scholars like professor ibrahim kendi and professor west. entertainers that will talk about what the rage and legacy expressed by the late dmx who we mourned this weekend and give condolences to his family, all of it four days to bring about action, not to talk about things from a just -- actions to deal with gun reform. action to deal with police reform. we are gathering to have an action agenda, and you can go to www.national action network.net and watch it and put your
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comments and questions into the chat room and let us come with an action agenda and make this a better nation for all of us. that does it for me. thanks for watching. i'll see you back here tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. eastern for another live hour of politics nation. my colleague, alicia menendez picks up our news coverage now. >> thank you so much, reverend sharpton. hello everyone. i'm alicia menendez. if it's 2021, we are talking 2022. yes, the new president and the new congress have barely settled in from the last section and we're already talking about the next, but for good reason because both parties are already showing us how they plan to fight for your vote next november. as for democrats, it's about the economy and the party's success and controlling the pandemic. 150 million vaccinations have been administered since biden took office. that number grows daily as more and more americans become eligible for the
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