derek johnson, congresswoman joyce beaty of ohio.one speech, you've got another one coming up. appreciate you making time for us on msnbc. >>> we have breaking news to share on hurricane ida. thousands across the gulf coast are making last-minute preparations as this storm is taking direct aim at louisiana. it is expected to strengthen to a category 4 hurricane. officials along the gulf coast are begging people to evacuate. some are issuing mandatory orders to leave. in new orleans, the mayor issued a mandatory evacuation of the areas outside the levy system but the mayor says there isn't enough time to evacuate the entire city. at this hour is president is receiving a fema briefing on the federal efforts ahead of the storm. we're going to bring that to you when it gets under way. let's go to nbc news meteorologist bill karins joining me once again. give me a sense of what you are watching and most concerned about, bill. >> most concerned with how intense the storm is going to get in the next 24 hours before landfall and if it's goin

. >>> joining us now is democratic congresswoman joyce beaty of ohio, chair of the congressional blackwashington, d.c. later today. good morning. thanks for taking time out for us. earlier this summer you and nine others were arrested during a voting rights demonstration at the capitol. what message were you trying to send to your constituents that day? what message is trying to be sent today? >> first of all, thank you for having me this morning. that message was quite simple. we wanted to make sure that the nation knew that we were going to stand up and fight for justice. we knew that we had a battle ahead of us. when you think about what was up on us, john r. lewis voting rights act, we wanted to make sure that it was not just those of us who are elected officials, but that we were able to galvanize masses of folks that would lead us to where we are today. we know when we look back on our history, it's worked before. when communities come together, when we fight, we make change. so it was in the spirit of not only john lewis but martin luther king jr., fannie lou hamer. they did so