>> yeah. >> and you know who. >> yes. >> and you know who it wasn't. >> yes, exactly. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm natalie morales. thank you for watching. m natali. thank you for watching welcome to the show, i'm zerlina maxwell. as we near the end of the first week of black history month, i find myself thinking a lot about fulton county georgia district attorney fani willis. not every single day that you get to investigate a former president of the united states, or his alleged efforts to intimidate an election official and overturn an entire state's election results but that's exactly what is the predicament that willis finals herself in today. she is one of three prosecutors trump sicced his mob on at a

rally last weekend and she says she has been facing an escalation in death threats and racist messages ever since. at the center of willis's investigation, the phone call donald trump forced to georgia's secretary of state brad raffensperger on january 2, 2021, during which he outright urged the republican official to find the exact number of votes he needed to defeat president biden in georgia. as we talk about trump's efforts to overturn georgia's election results, it does make me think of all of the other ways he and his allies attempted to use virtually all levers of government power to subvert american democracy. after joe biden was declared the winner, the 2020 presidential election. so let's take a step back and look at the bigger picture. on november 4th, while votes were still very much being counted, trump told his millions of followers that he won. and falsely declared victory. on november 7th, trump and his allies filed the first of 62

lawsuits seeking to challenge election results in states that he lost. all but one of those failed. and here's where things pick up a bit. on november 18th, according to "the new york times," he and trump lawyers began circulating a memo that sketched out a plan to put in place an alternate slate of electors in states trump had lost. on december 14th, at least 14 people from seven different states met, according to the january 6th committee. acting as fake electors and submitting false electoral college certificates to congress in hopes of delaying the certification of results on january 6th. also happening on december 14th, attorney general bill barr resigned after stating he saw no evidence of fraud that would change the results of the election. "the new york times" recently reported that trump floated to barr a plan for the d.o.j. to seize voting machines but more than, more on that plot in just

a moment. continuing on on this time line, on december 18th, according to the "washington post," trump allies circulated a memo that would have him invoke the powers of the national security agency in an attempt to prove foreign actors helped biden win. on that same day, trump ally, including former national security adviser michael flynn and attorney sidney powell proposed to the former president a plan that would authorize the pentagon to seize voting machines to search for election fraud. a plan so insane, that even rudy giuliani himself opposed that plan. the president, "the new york times" reported, instead directed giuliani to ask the acting director of the department of homeland security, if the bureau could legally take control of voting machines in swing states. that official actually said no. january 2nd, marked trump's

infamous call with raffensperger which came after he already had pressured the georgia governor and an election official to help him win and when none of these efforts seemed to be shaping out on donald trump's favor, on jan ry 6th, he urged his followers to march to the capitol and disrupt the certification of electoral votes. the attack can be linked to more than nine deaths and more than 150 injuries among police officers. i lay all of this out for you to underscore for everyone out there how close we were all to seeing the fall of american democracy. and how that risk persists, thanks to a gop unwillingness to condemn donald trump for any of it. just today, the rnc described the insurrection as legitimate political discourse, as they voted to censure the only two republicans that had maintained their opposition to donald trump because of his actions leading up to and on that day.

joining me now to break all of this down, a republican strategist and former republican congressman of florida, the national chairman of the serve america movement, both msnbc political analysts and susan, i will start with you, before we get to trump and the gop, i want to play the breaking sound that we got from vice president pence today, responding to trump's claim that he had the power to overturn the election. >> now, i heard this week, earlier this week, that president trump said i had the right to overturn the election. president trump is wrong. i had no right to overturn the election. the presidency blopgs to the american people and the belongs to the american people and the american people alone and frankly there is no idea more unamerican than the notion that any one person could choose the american president. >> susan, did you ever think you would see the day when vice president pence said trump is wrong? >> well, we have to see what

happens in the next 24 hours, and if somehow he walks it back, which would not be surprising. what we see there with mike pence is important, though, because he at least is recognizing the truth, and i should highlight though, he knew there was no other alternative for it, but for him to certify the election. after he spoke to everybody else to make sure he could, that was his only option, so it was not, you know, profile in courage by any measure. >> and i feel like that's a really good point. he's like, i had no choice but to certify, but it's not like he didn't check to see if there were other options for him. and david, when you consider all of the length that donald trump went to stay in office, we laid it out in a time line, and time lines are it, where it helps put everything in context and you're not looking at each individual action in isolation but it looks like donald trump is basically, you know, throwing spaghetti at

the wall, trying every single mechanism he could and using every level of federal government power to stay in office and including intimidating state officials, and inciting the insurrection, so what does this say about the republican party that they remain aligned with a former president who was willing to subvert american democracy in this way? >> well, it's a shameful chapter in the republican party's history but a chapter that i think will continue for some time. and the important thing about your time line, zerlina, is this was not some haphazard effort by the president and his allies and supporters this. actually was a very methodical attempt, with very specific elements, to try to prevent the certification of joe biden as president of the united states. and i would add one more date to your time line, which is today's date, when donald trump remains the front-runner for the republican nomination, for president, in 2024, and that is the danger, and i'm not sure i've ever been more worried about the future of the country than i am now. the rhetoric in the last week,

the actions by the rnc suggest that the republican party and donald trump are willing to do this all over again, and they just might succeed next time. >> susan, to that point, do you think the american public, and the average voter understands the danger that dave is talking about and the threat posed? >> at some level. but to be honest, i think a lot of people are ready to move on. the american public is tired, they're tired of covid, they're tired of donald trump, we see, that yes, donald trump would be the lead choice in a presidential primary, people are willing to move on beyond donald trump, they are tired of hearing his shtick, yes the party faithful will be there for him but i think the work, and how the work is being done by the select committee is really worth noting, because they are laying out a very good case, even with just the dribbles and drables that we're getting, and i think their final report will be able

to provide important insight to the american public. >> one of the things that is really disturbing to me is that the way in which he utilized all of the levers of federal government power, you know, calling the nsa, calling dhs, you know, senators are having meetings to figure out how to subvert democracy. is that unamerican? i mean mike pence used that word today, i thought that that was a significant word choice. is it unamerican to do all of that after the american people had decided they do not want donald trump to be the president any longer? >> to the extent that america stands today as a constitutional republic and vision to protect the democratic will of the majority of the country, yes, donald trump's actions were unamerican, between election day and leading to the events of january 6th. and that is the greatest danger. you know, madison and the founders, they thought that by creating separation of powers,

broadly enough, they would prevent the rise of a corrupt person that ultimately could use those powers for his own benefit. and to undermine democracy. but that constitution is only as elastic as the american people are willing to keep it in place. and the danger going into '24, susan's right. americans, the american people stopped donald trump, the most important political coalition is the ones that, the coalition that threw donald trump out of office in 2020, but if enough americans say we want to see him back, the future of the country is in dire straits. >> whew. well, all of that is a lot to take to heart as we head into the weekend. susan and david, thank you for starting us off tonight. and please stay safe. coming up, have from voting rolls to freezing temperatures, it's tough out here if you live in the state of texas. i'll talk to a democratic state representative about issues currently facing people in the lone star state when we come back. he lone star state when we come back

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we talk a lot on this program about the widespread threats to voting rights happening all around america right now, and right now in the state of texas, voters are experiencing firsthand what it really means to have limited access to the ballot box. earlier this week, we covered the story of 95-year-old world war ii veteran clarence thompson, who along with hundreds of texans was rejected with a mail-in box for not

adding newly inquired information on an application and many had been flagged as potential noncitizens who could be kicked off of voting rolls. other voting rights groups and the aclu took action, saying the secretary of state refused to disclose the criteria for identifying the voters, tensions surrounding voting rights in texas heat up. the state is bracing for sub freezing temperatures. one year after the state suffered unprecedented winter storms resulting in hundreds of deaths in one of the largest power outages in american history. here to discuss all things texas is democratic state representative jasmine crocket. she is also running for united states congress, and jasmine, let's start with voting rights before we get into the weather. how are the new voting laws affecting your constituents and your upcoming election? >> absolutely. first of all, it's great to see you. the biggest thing i've seen with

my seniors is so many of them were used to someone sending them their vote by mail application, and because of the new laws that will criminalize elected officials for sending out those ballot by mail applications, not that there's any fraud with the application itself, a lot of seniors were kind of sitting around waiting on those applications and the applications never arrived. >> that is so frustrating to hear, because one of the things that we hear from proponents of these laws is that this is to prevent fraud, or some sort of nefarious voting in elections but when you have legitimate voters who are following the directions and yet still they're not able to participate, i mean what does that say to you about the goal of the people who implemented these rules and made them confusing in the first place? i mean and what's your message to the texans who are dealing with this difficulty? >> it's the definition of suppression. that's what you just stated. you defined what voter

suppression looks like. it is what is the reason that we fled the state of texas in the first place because we saw the writing on the walls, regardless of the rhetoric that was coming from the other side of the aisle, about this being about voter integrity, we knew that there wasn't an issue as it relates to the integrity of our system, and we also knew that we also want a fair system, as you stated, i'm an elected official who is also running for office right now, i want it to be a fair process. i don't want anybody to keep me out of potentially earning the position, right? so it was never about that. it was about the fact that they just didn't want some people to participate, and sadly enough, they are working through the claim right now. >> the reason that voting matters so much and really is the ultimate issue is because it is the mechanism through which you are able to say i need somebody else in charge, for when there is an emergency, on a day-to-day basis, it also is important when there is an emergency, it is like the upcoming freezing temperatures

that texas is expected to experience, and anything improved, in the state of texas, in terms of leadership and policies, since last year, when texas faced extreme weather conditions? >> no, absolutely not. we put a band-aid on it. politicians decided to be politicians. what they wanted to do is say we did fix the grid. when everybody knows we didn't fix the grid. and not to get into too much detail but this was about power generation itself. we were not generating enough power to meet the demands at this time. we're obviously not on the national grid, because texas always wants to do it alone, and so our backup is actually mexico. the problem was, it was literally the perfect storm where all of texas froze over in addition to mexico, and so mexico was saying hey, texas, that's great that we normally have your back, but right now, we need our own power. right now, we just got kind of lucky that the entire state hasn't frozen. the majority of the issues that we're experiencing right now

aren't related to generation but instead they're relate told the things that come with a winter storm, they're related to the limbs that are falling on the lines and things like that, so it is more so transmission issues than generation issues but we had it all last winter. and if we don't fix the grid and we end up with another problem, we'll be in the same situation. >> i mean it feels like this would be an issue any year, right? extreme weather, particularly because of climate change, it is happening in places that aren't prepared for equipped for it. but covid is also a factor. and we can't ignore covid, because you're layering on another crisis. are there any steps being taken this year that weren't taken last year, because there was a lot of hesitance. we spoke to people in the state of texas at the time who were hesitant to go to warming stations because they didn't want to be around crowds in the middle of covid. have there been any updates to those policies and the resources so that people can use them

without putting themselves at risk for covid? >> absolutely not. there's not any change. i will say that the locals on the ground, when we started talking about our city elected officials and our county elected officials, specifically here in dallas county, they have done a great job, but from a state standpoint, no, we didn't do anything, and most people don't realize that even though we're a state of 30 million people, and we are constantly in flux and constantly growing, we only meet once every two years. so the texas legislature will not go back into session until 2023, unless the governor calls a special session. and we saw the things that our governor likes to call special sessions for, voter suppression, things like attacking straejd children, so he is not tall called us in for this weather situation and not that he is going to call in for a future

winter storm and losing to the tunes of billions in the first quarter, and they did donate a million to him, so i don't think he is incentivized to maybe fix the grid at this point in time. >> well good luck down there in the state of texas. i hope you all are able to stay safe. representative jasmine crocket, thank you for being here today and please stay safe. coming up, titles have been pulled from texas library shelves in an attempt to ban books. i will speak to an author in attempts to ban his books after this break. attempts to ban his books after attempts to ban his books after this break sorry, one sec. doug blows several different whistles. doug blows several different whistles. [a vulture squawks.] there he is.

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an attempt to ban books in american libraries is nothing new. but in the last year or so, the renewed push to limit what kids and teens can read at school is taking off really like never before. just look at what is happening in the state of texas for instance. a recent nbc news investigation of nearly 100 school districts in the houston, dallas, san antonio, and austin areas, has revealed that there have been 75 formal requests by parents or community members, to ban books from libraries during the first four months of this school year. in comparison, only one library book challenge was filed at those districts during the same time period a year earlier. a lot of these have been inspired by the wave of anti-critical race theory laws

being passed in states all across the country. bans primarily target books with what is seen as racial or lbgtq themes, like all boys aren't blue by george m. johnson, and how to be an antiracist by dr. ibramx. kennedy and an auto biography of former first lady michelle obama that one texas parent promoted quote reverse racism. the school district denied that request thankfully. joining me now is one of the authors, professor, "four hundred souls," it was just released in paper back, and doctor, your book low to be anti-racist, it shot up to number one during the summer of 2020 during the country's racial reckoning, when people are seeking out to learn and engage in anti--racism and anti-racism work. but there has been a backlash against critical race theory and antiracism since then.

what is your reaction when your books are on these lists? >> i mean it's devastating. and i think it's devastating to most authors, i mean you know, there's a lot of time and sweat and energy and thought and research and reflection and editing, you know, it takes to put together, you know, a book, and we put together books so people can read and reflect and see themselves and understand their world, and transform their world, but i think it's incredibly devastating for children, because children can see themselves, and books can unlock their reading, and i just feel that some kids aren't being unlocked to reading right now. >> one of the things i think about when i see parents show up up at a school board meeting or submit a request to ban certain book, i'm like what are they actually afraid of, because books contain ideas, right? and the ideas certainly can be

dangerous, if they're the wrong kinds of ideas but what do you think in your books people are afraid of? >> well, i think people have been misled into believing that the problem isn't racism, isn't racial inequality, isn't racial injustice, the problem are those people who are speaking out against racial inequity, and injustice, and racism, that they are the problem, that indeed, they're anti-white, and i think people believe this white nationalist sort of talking point that those of us who are striving to create equity and justice for all, whether it's been race or class or gender or sexuality, that somehow we're the problem and of course books reveal the true problem, it reveals it to young and old people, and for whatever reason, people want to stop that

revelation. >> and one of the cases, at least one of your books, it was parents of color who actually organized and mobilized against efforts to ban it, so talk about that experience, and what you're hearing from parents who are reading, of all back grounds, who are reading and engaging with the content in your books, on the other side of this, you know, really brouhaha over anti-critical race theory even though they don't know what it is, you know, what are some of the positive things you're hearing from people who are engaging with these ideas, and working to oppose these efforts to ban books like yours in schools? >> i think you're speaking probably about stamps which i wrote with jason reynolds and i never forget the first time jason and i sat with some black high school students, who had read "stamped," and they in many ways, it sort of allowed them to

realize that they were not the problem. and they had been told that they were the problem, but it also allowed them to understand what the problem truly was, and they just kept telling us how much their eyes had been opened, how much they saw the world clearly, how much they appreciated themselves and their communities, and they were sort of all joy, and i think that is what parents are seeing in themselves, sort of joy and sort of learning, and understanding and that's why i think parents are fighting for these books. >> so i recently interviewed a texas mom on why she is pushing for book bans in her school district. she mainly had objections with sexual content in some of them, so i wanted to play you some of that, because i actually listened to what these parents are saying, and i just want to get your reaction to it on the other side. >> look at the books, and there's a pattern of students in these books who are lbgtq, right, people who deal with tough issues around race and

they feel targeted. >> sure. i think that's more a question to be directed to the author of the book. and to ask them, why this character was over sexualized, is that really important to tell their story. >> i think one of the things that is so fascinating about the opposition to books that, like yours, about anti-racism, about critical race theory, even just books that are representative, is this idea that, you know, we have to ban it, we have to ban it, and if we ban it, the people who are being targeted, they shouldn't feel attacked or discriminated against, in any way, i mean what's your reaction to that argument? it feels nonsensical to me. >> it really does. and i can remember, when i was coming of age, that there was a lot of argument over sex education, because some parents imagined that if you teach a child how to protect themselves, if you teach a child to learn

about sex, that somehow it is going to make them have sex, just as, you know, parents somehow believe if you teach kids about race, that somehow they're going to be racist, just how if you teach kids about their sexuality, that somehow they're going to be gay and it's nonsensical and it's quite the opposite, in the sense you teach kids about sexuality, about race, they will be able to better understand themselves and their world. >> it's so true. and i want to remind parents out there that the internet exists and the kids are using it on their cell phones. thank you for being here today. please stay safe. coming up, how do you teach black history when you're not allowed to teach black history? we'll talk about exactly that when we're back. ry we'll talk about exactly that when we're back.

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here's a question. how do you teach black history month when you're not allowed to teach about black history? that's a road block that a lot of educators are running into these days. in fact, an analysis from the education week found that since the beginning of 2021, 36 states are introduced bills or taken other steps that would restrict teaching critical race theory or limit how teachers can discuss racism. one of those states my former home state of virginia, former capital of the confederacy, so that's going to be really hard for them and it's a problem that hasn't gone unnoticed by one of my favorite state senators of the state of virginia who you met earlier this week on this show, and these efforts to limit what could be taught, are creating confusing situations in the classroom, axios writes about, how some worry these restrictions set up scenarios where teachers could mention jackie robinson but not discuss why black players could not be allowed in major league baseball

before him. or introduce malcolm x but not what he had to say in a speech but puts educators in an uncomfortable situation of making a choice of a white washed version of our nation's messy history or losing their jobs. joining me now to discuss is the director of public policy, and one of the things i think about, how teachers navigate a world in which there is this anti-critical race theory laws but american history happened and existed and it didn't change, so how do you navigate this world where banning the accurate teaching of our own history? >> you know, i have a friend dr. robert harvey, who writes about abolitionist teaching and learning and he used the term hush harvards, which dates back to slavery and it's the situation in modern times where teachers would have to figure out ways to talk amongst

themselves, figure out ways to be able to teach and instruct children outside of what the school boards want, outside of what the principals and the supervisors are looking at, because in those quiet places, in these after-school programs, in spaces outside of what's happening in the classroom, from 8:30 to 2:30, these teachers are finding ways, and they have always done this, to educate our kids, i mean in 1935, w.e.b. dubois talked about whether or not the negro needs separate schools for this exact reason that young african american kids were not being tout their history -- taught their history. >> one of the things i've always been grateful for, not true in my household, my mom made sure we knew our history our family history and ha connection to the civil rights movement and other parts, other important parts of american history, and it feels like kids today are, unless they have parents like mine, they

might not get that. what are the benefits in your teaching all kids black history? even white kids though? >> well, you know, my mother was a public schoolteacher for 30 years, so i got it at home as well. and you know, it's interesting, i have a high schoolteacher mr. frances, i will never forget, when i wanted to do a paper on malcolm x, here are the books you need to read and opened the door for me, a white teacher because he saw how passionate i was about doing this work and opened every door that he could for me and those are the kind of teachers that we have in our communities, but they're just not given the tools, whether it's the financial resources, or the leadership within the school buildings, to really engage and excite students in that way. so there's so many layers to, this it's not just about the banning, it's also in the financing, of what's happening day to day in schools, because that's a separate but certainly related issue, because you can

say we're going to ban these books but if you're actually also keeping resources from these teachers and not giving them leadership, you're essentially doing similar harm. >> i asked dr. kennedy about what he thinks people are afraid of, in his books, and why they would want to ban it, and i'm curious, if you, what you think about, in terms of what people are afraid of, in our history, and in our past, i'm afraid of it being repeated, but what do you think people are afraid of? what is the harm in teaching accurate american history? >> schools are not just where teachers and students come to dialogue, they are centers of social, cultural, political and moral reproduction. they are used for nation building. and that's been true in the entire history of public education in our country. so what they're afraid of is diverting from what many want to be a homogeneous narrative about the history of this country,

devoid of the contributions of folks of color, it could also be connected to the fact that they are drawing congressional districts that don't have majority/minority representation, or any minority representation coming out of it. that is all connected. it is not happening in a silo. so this is this sort of erasure of real contributions of folks of color, and the harm done to them, throughout our history, it's a real telling of history that folks are afraid of. >> what is the solution to this? is there anything that people who want this, you know, history taught, not just in schools, but to everybody, what can they do so that the anti-critical race theory folks just don't suck up all of the oxygen from what i think is a necessary conversation in america. >> you know, one thing is organizing, because there are over 14,000 school districts in this country, so you've got to

fight this battle in a lot of different places over a long period of time. so you've got to organize and we have to do this in every venue available to us, across the country, and another solution, more black teachers. how about that, i think i had maybe three black teachers in my entire schooling, and outside of classes, where i knew there was a black teacher or professor. and so you know, that's real. and students come up to me and say i'm the first black principal they ever had and when you still have that occurring, it does speak to the real need to encourage more and pay more for greater representation among teachers in schools. i think if you do those two things, we're well on our way to trying to reverse this trend. >> professor, thank you very much for being here today. and please stay safe. before we go to break, today

on the fourth day of black history month, it is only right that we honor my hero true american history rosa parks on what would have been her 109th birthday, not the first to give up her seat on the bus, did start a movement and the supreme court ruling that segregation on buses was unconstitutional. if there wasn't a strong woman like rosa parks our country may not be where it is today. so happy birthday to rosa parks. thank you for everything that you did. we'll be right back. u for every you did. we'll be right back. ♪sure woul♪ ♪wouldn't you like to get away? ♪ ♪ ♪ sometimes yant to go ♪ ♪where everybody knows your name ♪ ♪

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how much money do you think someone should make as a social media influencer? despite what you think of the career, it is actually a multibillion dollar industry. in fact, according to forbes, tiktok's highest earning stars alone hauled in a collective $55 million in 2021 alone. that's a 200% number from the year before. but yeah, there's a slight problem. none of those creators are black. despite black creators often setting the standard for creating new viral dance, producing viral songs, and creating viral trends that rarely reap the benefit of doing so. like money, cash money. an example of this julia harmond who created the wildly popular renegade dance performed by many of the creators on the forbes

list. and she didn't even make the list herself. and at least one black creator has a theory as to why. black creators despite trail blazing on platforms like tiktok, rarely get the same opportunities brand deals or pay, as their white counterparts. joining me now is the tiktok you just heard from. >> disheartening. what we're making in comparison to what black tiktok is making is really vastly different. >> joining me now is the tiktoker who you just hear from keona, i wanted to make sure i got your last name right. >> correct. >> great. perfection. thank you so much for being here. so i want to expand on the point that you just made there, you have more than 280,000 followers, and more than 7 million on your tiktok and you have to teach me how to use it because i don't actually know.

you have lots of followers but you're not seeing the same offers from brands and other companies that other tiktokers do, with similar, similar numbers. why do you think that is? >> i definitely think that there's a huge pay disparity between black and disparity betk and white creators as we mentioned in the forbes list it was apparent and almost a slap in the face. these companies and brands are giving these people the opportunity to pitch themselves and that they know their worth and they also let them know what their budget is. oftentimes when i'm communicating with brands and companies, they do not let me know their budget constraints or anything of the nature. what they do is tell me that they want to send me free products and for that free product, they expect me to go over the moon for them. i think that's the issue and what i've seen lately. >> almost you should be grateful a company is reaching out to you, to give you free stuff, as

opposed to how they reach out to white content creators with, i don't know, a business proposal or a pitch for financial, you know, that's going to be financially rewarded, right? >> correct. i feel like i've seen a lot of lack lutserred lacklustered emails. it's more so like hey, let's do each other a favor and it's a favor that is not beneficial for both parties whatsoever but i've seen so many white creators speak on their good fortune and people with way less following and way less engagement then making tiktok as their main form of income and that has not been the case for me or a lot of others like me. >> so one of the things that happens is, if you speak up about this on these platforms, something happens and you get what's called shadow banned, not

showing up at the top of people's feeds because of the algorithm and you can never really explain how shadow banning is working but aren't seeing the same engagement. do you think there's shadow banning going on when black creators and others are speaking up about these types of disparities? >> most certainly, tiktok is not the first social media platform to shadow ban its creators that often make the platform what it is but a lot of the times you'll see shadow banning and things of that nature when it comes to speaking up against these injustices, and i would say i saw most recently when the video you all played, it was not even two days after that, after that video had been up, it got over almost 300,000 views and about 70,000 likes. i had to take it down because i started to get 7,000 views and 80 likes and those are numbers i haven't seen in years of being on tiktok.

i've been on tiktok for a little over a year now. i haven't seen numbers that low until i spoke up about the pay disparity. >> that is so crazy. i mean, tiktok launched a support black campaign back in december that supported creators but other creators boycotted the app because they didn't feel supported by tiktok. how does tiktok fix this? what could be done on their part that amplify the black creators and also ensuring that, you know, if you speak out, you're not being shadow banned or retaliated against? >> i think tiktok needs to hold itself accountable and the ceos need to understand that black creators, we want to use your ads, we do, that's being honest. it is a place where we have been able to been cross-cultural and learn about people all the way in nigeria, to france. it's a place where i feel like

we have been able to be our authentic selves. a lot of black creators have decided to boycott the app and create an app by black people for black people. having the funding to do that is almost nearly impossible. i think in order to rectify this situation, i know that they have some programs like black tiktok, which i am a part of and i was invited to be a part of. i think it's see yos and the people in charge really need to hold itself accountable and start giving black tiktok the same opportunities that they do give our white counterparts. >> keona coa, thank you so much for being here. 'a really interesting conversation and something i think a lot about, because this happened when black twitter became sort of a brand named thing and a lot of folks, you know, they were getting jobs off of twitter but it wasn't always the black people. thank you so much again and please, stay safe. coming up, the 2022 winter olympics are officially under way. i'll break down all of the highlights from the opening

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2022 winter olympics are officially under way in beijing, and this morning, the city hosted its opening ceremony at the same venue china hosted the 2008 olympics. some athletes weren't able to attend the opening ceremony because they tested positive for covid-19.

while the shirtless oiled up olympic athlete my favorite isn't competing in the olympic games in winter, an athlete representing american samoa decided to carry the torch or in this case flag. he was oiled up though, too. a number of countries including the u.s. have announced a diplomatic boycott of the events due to china's treatment of the uighurs, china's president xi and russian president vladimir putin were in attendance in what might have been the most surprising moment of the ceremony, one of the two athletes who delivered the torch to the olympic cauldron was of uighur heritage. i'm zerlina. find me monday through friday at 6:00 p.m. eastern on peacock on "the choice" from msnbc. follow us on facebook, twitter, tiktok and youtube. more news is coming up right here on msnbc. ♪♪

♪♪ first up on msnbc, the divide within the republican party erupting into open view with opposing moves both in support of and in rebuke of the former president. >> i heard this week that president trump said i had the right to overturn the election. president trump is wrong. >> former vice president mike pence is taking his most explicit shot at its former boss yet. new reporting on why he's speaking out now.