Transcripts For MSNBCW The Cross Connection With Tiffany Cross 20201226

Balance, where are the countrys top two executives . Well, trump is in palm beach and maralago and mike pence is reportedly in the slinky ski town of vail, colorado. Joining me now to discuss this and more is congresswoman barbara lee of california. Congresswoman, im so happy to have you with me, and i have to just start out by saying this feels like the ghetto. You have those Like Neighbors in the hood when their house is in foreclosure, and they just trash the place. It feels like donald trump is treating this country like the house in foreclosure and just trashing the place on his way out. I have to ask you for people watching right now who are desperate, who are actually in for a closure who cant afd for to pay their rent, when can they expect to get these 600 or can they expect to get them at all . Good morning, tiffany, and really happy to be with you. This is how donald trump has treated people for the last four years. Now here we are with People Living on the edge as a result of this pandemic, and he is playing with their lives and their livelihoods, and let me tell you a couple of things. One is we passed the h. E. R. O. E. S. Bill eight months ago that had 1,200 cash stantsnd assistanstant assistance in. Donald trump and republicans would not support that, and Speaker Pelosi and many members have been negotiating, myself included for some of the provisions in this bill so that we could help people with their livelihoods and their lives, and so i wanted quite frankly 2,000 a month, 2,000 a month until the end of the pandemic. Now donald trump comes up with 2,000, well, great, we support that. Do you think republicans supported that . No. And so were going to keep working because, you know, people cant afford to live like on the edge. 5 million more People Living in poverty, now 8 million more. A couple of months ago the reports came out that 8 million more people had lived and fallen below the poverty line. Its unacceptable, and just know were doing everything we can do to get the republicans to come around and to do the right thing. So i have to ask you because for a lot of people who are not following the minutia of government, which i completely understand. When youre hungry, you dont care about whats happening in congress. You want to know how the government can support you, but heres something i dont think people are considering. These 600 payments, a lot of them are going to be eaten up by Overdraft Fees at your bank or bills that are back due so this money is really spent before its even cashed. Why was 2,000 a month to struggling families such a nonstarter for the gop . Its a nonstarter for many reasons. One is in a lot of respects their values are such that they really dont care about people. Some didnt even want this 600, and we call these survival payments, and youre right, i mean, this 600, what is going to happen with people after they pay back rent or pay their Check Cashing their check fees . What is going to happen to people in terms of their rent . We have a moratorium in the bill, eight months ago we put a moratorium on evictions. We put rental assistance in the legislation. We put more funding for tracing, contact tracing, testing and vaccines targeted for communities of color. Weve done a heck of a lot, and i know people dont understand why there is such a divide in congress, but i tell you, it has to do with their values. It has to do with them putting corporations, very wealthy donors first, and just leaving people out there because they really dont care. I know that you personally fought for 2. 8 billion for covid testing to specifically focus on communities of color, which is obviously really important in this bill, but the thing that i really want to hone in on is, again, people dont follow this stuff as closely, so for the people who are struggling, the house is controlled by democrats. The senate is controlled by republicans. What power do the democrats in congress at this point have to push past this point of impasse that the president has thrown a complete Monkey Wrench in this entire plan . Well, our power is making sure people understand that the republicans who represent them also are abandoning them, and so Mitch Mcconnell has to come to the table, people in kentucky need to tell him to do the right thing. He has constituents who are living on the edge, and republicans all over the country have constituents who need this survival payment, who need this assistance in the bill, and for the life of me, were going to keep pushing. Donald trump, you know, has told the republicans to be lock step with him on each and every issue. Why hasnt he told them to be lock step with him and support this 2,000 . And so people are going to have to get on the phone, use social media, and tell these republicans that they have to move on their behalf because, youre right. The senate, until we have two candidates in january, this election in georgia is so important to elect our two candidates so at least we will have the senate and a Biden Administration who will work on behalf of the people. Right now you laid it out. The politics are what they are, and that is just a shame and disgrace. And one of your house colleagues, House Minority leader Kevin Mccarthy continues to be a trump ak coe lite in congress and is not prepared to buck this president and has been riding with him really hard for a long time. Before we let you go i do want to ask you about the covid numbers in california. They are off the charts. It makes me so nervous. Why are the numbers so bad in california, do you think . You know, and for so long the numbers were fairly level, and i think its like everywhere else in the country. People are pandemic worn out, and people through thanksgiving did not follow the health protocols. People are longing to be with family and friends, and in many respects those of us who are out here as elected officials are trying to explain the Public Health consequences of not wearing a mask and that we must physical distance. Dont gather with family and friends, and we must conduct hand hygiene in the way that the Health Experts and scientists have indicated. Unfortunately, the holiday and now we have another Holiday Season, i worry about what is happening right now through the christmas and kwanzaa season, and so, you know, tiffany, hopefully people will know that a vaccine is here, and its important that we do the right thing by each other at this point because this virus is deadly. Here in california each and every day now our virus the rates of transmission are increasing and the deaths are increasing, and again, disproportionately impacting black and brown people, so i hope this time people are listening to our governor, listening to the Health Experts and sheltering in place and just sacrificing unfortunately for the sake of the lives of everybody in the state. Thank you so much, congresswoman. One thing i have to say before you go is you keep it 100 of the time from the aumf to advocating for communities of color in congress. Im so happy that you took the time the day after christmas to join me on this show, and i hope that youll be back with us soon because i have a lot more questions i could have asked. So thank you again. Thank you, tiffany, and i want you to know, say it louder. It was a wonderful book and really encouraged me to keep going and keep fighting. Thank you for having me. Thank you so much, congresswoman. I appreciate that so much. I do want to bring in your colleague now, joining me now is congressman raul ruiz also of california. Hes also the incoming chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. You actually wear a few different hats. One, being a former er doctor yourself, so ill pick it up where the congresswoman left off. I want to start with covid in california. The numbers there frighten me. They are frightening. Tell me why you think the numbers are so bad there and whats being done about it . The numbers are bad because were seeing a surge on top of a surge on top of a surge. First we had halloween. Then we had the thanksgiving, and now were having christmas, and then were having new years day celebrations, and so what were seeing is the lag of the effects of people gathering, not following physical distancing, not wearing masks, and spreading the virus within their household and into their community, and that lag is manifest two weeks after the actual event of exposure. Its about five to seven days when people get symptomatic, another seven days until theyre sick enough to go to the hospital, and then another seven days when theyre in the hospital and they worsen and they have to go to the icu. So were not going to see really the tip of this iceberg until were about midway in january or late january. Then were going to start to see it decline, not only because of the natural course of this viruss illness, but also with the effects of the vaccine. Im kind of waiting with bated breath and very nervous about what the numbers look like two weeks from now. While i have you, we have a lot to talk to you about, but i do want to get into this bill that the president has threatened to veto and has not yet signed. There are a lot of people whose lives and livelihoods are hanging in the balance, and theyre frightened right now. I tend to think that this president has a flare for the drama, you know, he likes to draw these things out because hes treated governing as though its a reality tv show, but for those people who are in the thick of it, who are worried about their lives, their kids lives, their mortgage, they rent, what do you think is going to happen with this president . Because this is not a game. Today people run out of money. Monday the government is set to shut down. For people who are sitting here waiting on a very thin layer of ice before they sink deeper into poverty and devastation really, what do you predict is going to happen and what can the democrats in congress do it about it . You know, somebody needs to just really get ahold of this president and tell him that were done with the theatrics, that he needs to put up, shut up, or shut up and get out of the way. Let people receive their stimulus checks. Lets extend the unemployment insurance, and if he is serious about the 2,000 per person increase in the stimulus check, then put up. Lets make it happen. I dont see him on television putting pressure on Mitch Mcconnell, Kevin Mccarthy. I dont see him out there really rallying his base on making sure republicans are out to increase the stimulus check. Instead hes checked out in maralago playing golf. So either put up or shut up and get out of the way because people are struggling right now. Theyre anxious. Theyre concerned. They had to look at their childrens face and tell them they couldnt have the christmas they normally they normally could, and that was heartbreaking for millions of parents out of the there. Yeah, the great irvin philosopher that is ludicrous out of atlanta, that is move, get out of the way. I think everybody in the gop and chorus needs to be saying this to the president right now. Congressman, i have so many more questions for you. So if you could, please, stick around. I want to ask you about this California Senate seat and you as incoming Congressional Hispanic Caucus chair, i want to ask you about your directives for the Biden Administration, if you will. Dont go anywhere. Before we go to break, i do want to give you more on the developing story out of nashville where yesterday an rv exploded downtown injuring three people. As of right now, no one has claimed responsibility for what the authorities a calling an intentional act as police and the fbi continue to investigate. Well be keeping our eye on this throughout the show, and well definitely bring you any updates as they become available. So keep it right here. Weve got a lot more to get to on the Cross Connection right here on msnbc. Coming up, well explain how trump is pulling off these pardons with a different lens through it, so keep it right here. H it, so keep it right here to all the businesses that helped us make it through 2020. Thank you for going the extra mile. And for the extra pump of caramel. Thank you for the good food. And the good karma. Thank you for all the deliveries. Especially this one. Youve reminded us that no matter what, we can always find a way to bounce forward. So thank you, to our customers and to businesses everywhere, from all of us at comcast business. The power to pardon is a beautiful thing. You got to get it right. Youve got to get the right people. I want to do people that are unfairly treated. Okay. So this week donald trump pardoned a rag tag assortment of corrupt politicians, trump allies, lobbyists and convicted war criminals. There was former congressman Duncan Hunter who pleaded guilty for stealing Campaign Contributions to go on these lavish shopping sprees. There was also the infamous duo of Paul Manafort and roger stone both longtime gop tools of whom were convicted by juries of multiple crimes. And let us not forget the four blackwater guards who were involved in a massacre in iraq killing innocent people including women and children. Meanwhile, the rest of us live by a completely different criminal Justice System in entirely, and this is the thing that punctuates so many of our institutional ill legitimacy. At the exact same time trump is pardoning his closest corrupt allies, hes planning to execute tleem mo three more people on his way out of office. Joining me now to break this all down is paul butler, musnbc legl analyst, and larry coopers, former acting attorney at the department of justice. Larry coopers, i want to start with you. We were on air at the time the news broke of trumps additional pardons, and we didnt get to get into all of our conversation because there was so much breaking news because the pardons kept coming through, dripping really as we got so many names of who he had pardoned, but i want to give you the chance to say a lot of people think, well, the president can just pardon who he wants, but thats technically true, but there is a process to these president ial pardons. Did that process happen here . No, it did not. I think paul made the point very well that whats so egregious about these pardons coming through is that there are thousands of individuals in federal prison who have applied for clemency who are deserving because they are suffering squoe overly severe sentences because they rehabilitated and they got in line putting in their application hoping for fair treatment. They were entirely ignored and jumping the line where all these cronies and friends of friends of the administration, and they are the ones who received clemency, and its, as you said, tiffany, its obscene. Were going to run out of adjectives trying to capture just the depravity of how trump has been exercising the pardon power. Yeah, so paul, this is where i want to talk to you about this. Like i said in the open, this punctuates the ill legitimacy of the seasonystem. When you have one system that says you can go to iraq and literally blow a kids brains out and get a pardon, but that same system sends people to prison for ungodly amounts of time for weed. The problem isnt the crime. The problem is the system. So how are we to take that this president can randomly pardon these people and explain to people to participate in this system by voting, civic engagement, when they look at this landscape and say this system does not work for me. How do we go out there and convince people to trust a system that is so routinely designed to deny us . People should not trust the system under this administration. Trump claims to be the law and order president , but his tough on crime policies only apply to black and brown people and his political opponents. For his supporters and family members, trump acts like he wants to defund the fbi and to abolish prison even for convicted child killers like the blackwater mercenaries. There are 14,000 applications for pardon pending, people who are going through established procedures and many of whom are far more deserving of mercy than Jared Kushners daddy. But tiffany, we know what its like when were told to follow the rules. It turns out the same rules dont apply for the rich and powerful. The way you get a pardon in this situation is not to express remorse for your crime and turn your life around, you get a pardon from trump if youre a war criminal or trump supporter or if you lied under oath to protect trump from the mueller investigation. So larry, i want to turn back to you because this is why so many of us never bought into this performtive act of criminal justice. A lot of people like to chart out the first step act. He didnt craft the bill. He did not actually do substantive address the criminal Justice System. His doj has completely reimagined who the doj is there to serve. Sop as we go through these pardons, the list isnt done. What do you anticipate the next few weeks to look like under this administration as he continues to wield this power in an incredibly unbalanced way . I dont see any change. Were going to have a spate of pardons and commutations that are going to be along the same lines, people who excite trumps base. People who are somehow connected. Look at the assemblies you just put on the screen, looks awfully white male, looks awfully privileged. As paul was talking about, thousands of people in the federal prisons deserving of consideration are being ignored, and let me say this, tiffany, because this is one aspect of the executions going on now thats been ignored. Each one of the individuals who have been executed by this administration put in an application for clemency. They put in an application to have their death sentence commuted to a life sentence and were ignored. Take the case of brandon bernard. He was a prime candidate for clemency. He suffered the disparity of being he was 18 years old at the time of the crime and two of his codefendants who were more culpable actually were released from prison while hes being executed. I can tell you even being outside the pardon attorneys office, i can bet on it that he got a positive recommendation for clemency from the pardon attorneys office. That went nowhere and he was executed. So later in the show, were going to be speaking with someone whos recently released from angola prison, and i want people to understand what its like to live inside a prison while, again, people who literally blew a childs brains out were just pardoned by this president. I want to stick with you for a second, larry, and then ill come back to you, paul. Ive never heard of a president prepardoning someone. Hes rumored to potentially be prepardoning his children. One, what crime could they have possibly committed that he would prepardon them. I know they made over 130 million during the president s second term in office. That leaves open a lot of questions, i think, but two, has this ever happened in American History . Yes, it has, tiffany. Its whats called a preemptive pardon. Its not very common, but the greatest example is richard nixon, and what happens is you have to write a warrant for the pardon, the actual language of the pardon that will somehow capture the possible crimes that the person committed and protect that person from prosecution for those crimes. So for example, for his children, he could say for anything theyve done in this many years, say the 2016 to 2020, you are pardoned meaning that you cannot be prosecuted. He can do that, and its abusive. I think there might be crimes there. For example, we know that kushner made false statements in getting his security clearance. So and theres all kinds of conflicts, ethical conflicts that might roll over into actual criminal activity. So paul, youll close this out here. I think a lot of the challenge is people think, well, trump is out of office and 2021 is going to be this different year, but truly, the doj, will have to be rebuilt. How we reimagine Public Safety and criminal justice will have to start to be built. What do you think needs to happen immediately through the lens of criminal justice . And i do just want to add your story in your book has a great story about your own entanglement with Law Enforcement, which i think was a fascinating story that youve shared. What do you think needs to happen at the doj to address some of these inequities in criminal justice, particularly around federal executions . Two things, first, understand the role of race, which i found out the hard way. Trumps administration scheduled five people for execution between election day and inauguration day, four of those five people are black men, but now tiffany, congress has a new way to expeloose the trump administrations corruption. All of the people who got pardoned can no longer claim the 5th amendment, so Paul Manafort, roger stone, Michael Flynn could all be hauled into congress and compelled to testify about all they know about trumps possible crimes, and if they lie, thats a separate crime for which the pardon doesnt apply. And then very quickly, president elect biden and his crime bill from the 1990s are responsible for a lot of people getting locked up for a long time. Lets hope that he uses his pardon power to show mercy and compassion to people who really deserve it. Well, we know that he has called for a moratorium on federal executions, so well see how that goes. Were out of time, gentlemen, thank you, paul butler and to the black santa just over your shoulder, i dont want you to think i didnt notice that, paul. Thanks for having him join us as well, and thank you to larry coopersment don coopers. Dont go anywhere, up next we take your questions. Thats right here on make it make sense. Make sense. 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If youve been financially impacted by covid19, janssen may be able to help. And my water broke. At only 23 weeks. Andrew we had to stay in the hospital for 10 weeks, 1000s of miles from family. Our driver kristin came along in our most desperate hour. Suzanne bringing us homecooked meals and gifts. Andrew day after day. We wanted to show you something. Kristin oh my god Andrew Kristin is the most uncommonly kind person that weve met. Suzanne thank you so much. Okay, welcome back. So you guys know every week i like to open the floor to your questions on things about politics or a policy for a new segment make it make sense. You all shared a lot of thoughtful questions again this week, so please, please, please keep them coming. Send them our way. You never know, your question just might be next. This weeks question comes from kyle stevens in houston. Can you explain to us why it is so important for the democrats to win those two senate seats in georgia . And also, can you please explain why Mitch Mcconnell as leader of the senate is allowed to block everything that comes across his desk from the house. All right. Thank you, kyle, for that great question, and let me try to get to it. The election for these two Georgia Senate seats you just mentioned is only ten days away, so your question felt especially timely and relevant to answer this week. The reason were even talking about these Senate Elections in december is that in georgia if a candidate doesnt get a majority of the votes on election day, they head to a runoff, which is exactly what happened this year. So on january 5th, voters in georgia will head to the polls again to decide who will represent them in the senate. So youve got democrat jon ossoff whos challenging republican incumbent david perdue while the reverend Raphael Warnock is taking on senator Kelly Loeffler who was appointed to replace a retiring senator last year. This is really an unprecedented situation with unprecedented amounts of money flowing in the state, and why . Its because of the outcome of these races will impact much more than georgia. These races will determine which Party Controls the u. S. Senate, and as it stands now, republicans still hold the majority in the Upper Chamber with 50 seats to the democrats 48, but if ossoff and warnock both win, the senate will be tied 5050, and the senate has a constitutionally mandated tie breaker, the u. S. Vice president , which as of january 20th will be kamala harris. This would give control of the senate to the democrats, and as you noted in your question, kyle, the leader of the Majority Party in the senate has a lot of power, which we covered in last weeks make it make sense. You can check it out. Its on my instagram. The power to determine which legislation even gets a vote on the senate floor, which means they have the power to determine how much of president elect joe bidens agenda will even come to fruition. Currently, that person is Mitch Mcconnell, who takes great pride in being an obstacle to democratic ambitions. Just ask president obama and merrick garland, but if ossoff and warnock win the Senate Majority leader will be a democrat. A 50 50 senate wont be a rubber stamp for joe bidens agenda, but with a democrat in charge it will be much more likely his legislative priorities will see the light of day. That my friend is why these georgia races matter so much. Thank you kyle for your question, and i hope i was able to give a little bit more perspective. Listen, guys, theres a lot going on in the world right now. If youve got a question you need answered, bust out that ring light and camera and get at me. Share the screen with your girl. I want to answer these questions for you. Share them by using t the crosstalk, which you can tweet out right now or post on instagram or shoot us us an email at crosstalk nbcuni. Com, and i promise you together we will make it make sense. Black women are the base of the democratic party. Soon there will be zero black women in the United States senate. We will tackle that issue next. So dont go anywhere. Stay right here. Ht here. Honey honey . New nyquil severe honey is maximum strength cold and flu medicine with soothing honeylicious taste. Nyquil honey. The nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever best sleep with a cold medicine. We made usaa insurance for veterans like martin. When a hailstorm hit, he needed his insurance to get it done right, right away. Usaa. What youre made of, were made for. Usaa can you imagine what mom would be thinking now if i ask you if you want to be the next u. S. Senator of the United States, the great state of california . You serious . This is the official this is the ask, brother. Im honored, man, and im humbled. California secretary of state alex padilla was appointed this week to take Vice President elect Kamala Harriss seat in the u. S. Senate making him the first latino senator in californias 170year history in a state where latinos make up 40 of the population. Back with me is congressman raul ruiz from california. Thank you so much for sticking around. We have so much to get to. I want to hop right into it and talk about this senate seat. There was a lot of people with all eyes are on california, right . Everybody wanted to hear what gavin newsom was going to do. I have to say there were a lot of black women who were disappointed that theres no more black women in the senate, yet i also understand that there was so much of the latino population who felt thrilled to have representation in the senate. If you could, where do you fall on this given that there are a lot of people who were disappointed, but there are also a lot of people who are excited to hear this news . Tiffany, i cant imagine the tough deliberations that Governor Newsom had to go through, and thats why i just so applaud his effort and his decision. He really reached out, listened to everybody, really considered all the aspects. And look, were in this dilemma for a very good reason. We have the first black woman, the first woman who is the Vice President of the United States. That is remarkable and something that we all celebrate. That is a good problem to have that because the first black woman is now as Vice President , Governor Newsom had to choose a senator to replace her. And you know, i do believe that he really respected the contributions of the latino community. 40 of the population, thats the Largest Ethnic Group of the most populous state of the nation, and they never had a hispanic represent them in the senate. So it was a remarkable decision, chc chairelect, im going to welcome a senator alex padilla into our membership, and were thrilled to have him. So i completely hear you on all those points. I think some people were frustrated because when you looked at the exit polls after the election, a lot of latino men went for trump and people, you know, sometimes look at these senate seats as a reward. And so people looked at it through that lens that latino men for trump. How do you think the Senate Elects i guess we should call him, alex padilla, how connected with black women and black womens issues . You know, Alex Padillas have a long history of public service. Hes a champion for working families. As a senator, hes going to advocate for all californians including women, black women, and all other groups as well in order to set up a california for success through this pandemic. I do believe that the latinos comprise a large portion in some of the key states for president elect biden to win in arizona, nevada, and other midwest states where latinos made up a significant part of the population. So there was a lot of contribution that latinos made in key areas that helped propel biden harris to victory. Right. So i do think there is those contributions. And by the way, president elect biden also recently nominated or appointed a secretary of education soon to be hopefully, miguel cardona, which now makes it three latinos. We definitely need a latina, a woman in the candidate as well within the administration amongst the hispanic appointees. So let me ask you, this may be a somewhat uncomfortable question, but i do want to ask you about your colleague in the senate, senator dianne feinstein. You recall the piece in the new yorker where she her staff came out and talked about their concerns about her cognitive decline. Do you think that she will continue to serve out her term at 87 years old . If she doesnt, whos talking to her, and you know, making sure that shes present. It doesnt always seem like sheeshe is, and should she step down, how long do you think governor gavin newsom should wield his power . Prepandemic when i was around senator feinstein, she was sharp and very articulate and she recalled facts and information, and she knew her stuff. I mean, she was always on her game every time i was with her, and i also note that she is very passionate about her long career and her willingness to continue to be a bulldog for californians in the senate but even her own staff, congressman is saying that shes cognitively, she is declining, we saw some of that during the judiciary hearings. Yeah, if now her staff is concerned, then they should have a serious conversation with her and her family. She has four more years in the senate, but i that is as a physician, i would need to make that evaluation with my patient directly, and i think thats something that her doctors and her staff will have to address, and if she decides to step down, then, man, thats going to be another tough decision for Governor Newsom to elect somebody to fill that position as well, and thats a high sense of responsibility. I think a very high sense of authority that a governor would have to choose the two appointees or the next senators of california and arguably these can be lifetime terms depending on who he chooses. And so, you know, at one sense its an opportunity for a governor to elect. On another sense it kind of takes away the opportunity for people to decide. Of course anybody can run against anybody as an incumbent, but you know, i think that those are going to be really tough decisions. Definitely. Congressman youre the incoming chair of the hispanic congressional caucus, youre an er doctor, and representing the largest state in our country. So you will be back an this show a lot i hope. I love the conversations we have. You have a permanent invitation here. Thank you so much for joining us the day after christmas, and i look forward to having you back on the show again very soon. Dont go anywhere at home, coming up, we take a deep dive into the black lives Matter Movement, what impact it had in 2020, and whats left . Where do we go from here . You dont want to miss this conversation. Ive got three of the realists coming up. Stay right here. Here. Coming up, the black lives Matter Movement what have we accomplish and where do we go from here. Up next. Ere. Up next. New nyquil severe honey is maximum strength cold and flu medicine with soothing honeylicious taste. Nyquil honey. The nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever best sleep with a cold medicine. Our bargain detergent couldnt keep up. With us. Turns out its mostly water. So, we switched back to tide. One wash, stains are gone. Daughter slurping dont pay for water. Pay for clean. Its got to be tide. Welcome back to the Cross Connection. Im tiffany cross. This year after multiple deaths of black people were captured on video it spurred huge protests and called for a nationwide reset on Law Enforcement. Across the Country Police departments facing new state laws, ballot proposals and procedures in an effort to rein in abusive officers, but lets just be clear here. There was no uptick in the abuse curtailing of black people at the hands of Law Enforcement. This level of violent brutality at the hands of Police Officers did not get worse. It simply got requitted. Undoing this in Law Enforcement is a heavy lift. Just because the issue may disappear from the headlines doesnt mean the problem has been solved. On this show we consider the news cycle whats in the cycle and what should be in the cycle. After all, what, if we treated systemic racism like it was breaking news . Didnt get sidetracked with a hashtag and kept the focus on reimagine Public Safety. Let me put it in basic terms. Public safety does not look the same for everyone. Police are often viewed as individuals that protect you. Right . But far too many of us have a different testimony entirely. So imagine how it must feel when declaring that your own life matters is turned into a controversial statement. As we close out the year, i want to have an honest conversation about the black lives Matter Movement, what was accomplished and where we go from here. Joining me to discuss this is erin haynes, msnbc contribute around editor at large for the 19th. Brittany Packnett Cunningham fellow Harvard Institute of politics, my old job and msnbc contributor. Ladies, thank you so much for joining me today. Britt, i want to start with you. I think im a little past trying to convince people that theyre syst theres systemic racism in Law Enforcement. Lets acknowledge the truth. I couldnt try to convince someone of that more than trying to convince people that lemons are yellow. Based on your seat as an activist what was accomplished this year and what do you want to see nap happen in 2021. A lot accomplished. Not just in the question you ask, youre right in a powerful introduction you laid out. That systemic racism is centuries dosh centuriesold. The proof here a long time certainly more than the last six other seven year, but weve seen this year a lot of people engaged who have never been engage brd because of the fruits of that generations labor. Stood stood up and said, no more in baltimore, in ferguson, and people ready to join the fight in many ways globally and nationally this summer. With saw 13 cities actually take up the cause of moving money from Police Departments that continue to harm people to the xmu Community Services that actually help people. Things like housing, addressing poverty and joblessness. That actually protects people, keeping people safer and builds communities from the ground up instead of overpolicing from the top down. Yes, more people involved, more data, yes, more action at the local, state and hopefully soon federal level, but there is a great deal of work to do. Like you said. Just because its moved from the headlines doesnt mean that organizers and activists, families and Community Leaders have moved on. We have not and we know that it took us a long time to get in this situation. So were committed to doing the longterm work it takes to get at it. Erin, turning to you, one of the things i witnessed this year is the impact that the black lives Matter Movement had on the campaign trail. Right . Talking about the representation of the state of government, a lot of that, the First Encounter that people who look like us have with the state are Police Officers. So its really challenging for black women who are on the ground doing these tv efforts, when trying to get people to believe in the system. You cant be mad to say im supposed to believe in a system that keeps me in prison, beats my brother, keeps my father held down. Youre telling me believe in the system and thats grog to change my life. Yet we saw that hurdle overcome this year in a lot of ways, still a lot more to go. What did the black lives matter have on the campaign trails in the efforts . A tremendous effect. Let me just say i so appreciate being here on, you know, sharing the screen with brittany, because it was you know, in 2014, that i first met activists like brittany, like alecia and kayla and at that time in 2014 black lives matter was really more of a hypothesis in this country. Right . Brittany and others were just the latest generations of young black leaders in the country challenging america not just to acknowledge our shared citizenship, really our shared humanity. At the time there was a black president and a black attorney general who was open to the call, open to finding solutions. Thats been absent the past four years. As brittany said, this year and over the past four years can lacking in this administration has not stopped the countrys evolution of understanding. What began as that question now in 2014 is overwhelmingly accepted. Right . A plurality of americans. Thats absolutely the work of activists like brittany, but also of, you know, journalists like myself, for instance when covering race in america, as reporter for the associated press. Helped tell the truth about your countrys part and also our countrys present. So brittany, i echo erins sentiments here and turn it back to you, because i think the one thing that became illuminating this year, the role of Police Unions and how a lot of these changes must be enacted at the state level. What a lot of people dont realize, i kind of feel like time is flat. Right . 100 years ago, 1919, red summer. Violence was oh bad. You had these violent white aggressive who would just come ratatattat in black cities across the country and it was so bad city hs to set up these councils. It was like, yeah, its okay to beat a black person or shoot a black person, but youve got to be wearing the badge while you do it. People that dont understand the history of white sprem sand Law Enforcement, learn a little of American History and they might. Through that lens, brittany, you as an activist on the ground doing the work, ive been with you on the ground when youve been doing this work, how do we educate people and inform people that this is actually a problem. It might not impact you, but this is actually a problem. Yes. You know, its interesting about the way privilege actually functions. Privilege convinces you a problem isnt a problem simply because you havent suffered from it. So inconvenience can feel like oppression. What weve seen from antimasters, right . What we also need to do, those who believe fundamentally that black live doss matter and should be treated humanely is educate ourselves about what always happens whenever we talk about powership and power struggles in this country. People who are bothered by the basic, fundamental idea that black lives matter are bothered actually by their fear of what happens when black lives really begin to matter in policy. Because if blacks lives actually begin to matter, folks will start to worry about what happens to them, because theyre power has been dependent on black lives not mattering. So its just as possibility as we educate other people for us to be real with ourselves about the work were actually doing. Were not just talking about putting officers in jail. Not just talking about recycling a carceral system. Were talking about a fundamental shift in power. Often the white male, and het o heteronormati heteronormative. Police unions are certainly not just a part of that but yul hold that kind of power mismanagement. Right . Kind of uphold these ideas that some people are above the law and other people are subject to an Unequal Administration of the law. So were talking about a powership. The clearer we get on financial mark market fact thats our work, faster we can get there and the less spending time on people who need to be convinced. A waste of time. Right. Bringing in host of the podcast into america and one of my oldest friends. Happy to you have on the show today. And you are somebody who covered this story since its genesis, since its inception. We were on the ground in florida around the time Trayvon Martin was killed. So i want to ask you as someone whos covered this story for nearly a decade now, what were some of the things that you noticed this year and why do you think this year was so different . Tiffany, thank you very much for having me. Congratulations again. A few weeks late, i know, but congratulations. Interesting to see the mat maturation. This. Seeing it get full bodies in the killing of Michael Brown and then george floyd. The controversy racial democrat grati democrat demogration started to swell. Thinking about the who actual allies are. A story i heard from a ferguson activist, a nurse, a minister, finally elected to congress. Goes to washington, has a Breonna Taylor face mask on and some think her maim is Breonna Taylor. Wow. What does that say . When a colleague in congress would see a black woman in the halls of congress and this her name is Breonna Taylor . You wouldnt actually trip over the name of Breonna Taylor . What did that say about the Border Movement and allies perhaps in congress . Think about the progress made over the obama years. We had the push for consent degrees. Ap tool to hold Police Departments accountable. And Jeff Sessions literally last move out the door, blow up the entire process. While there needs to be change on the state level, and certainly support from congress, President Joe Biden could by executive order reinforce with a memo the consent to due process. But to see the process grow, but also to think about this. What happens when you finally have their support and millions and millions of dollars flowing in . Concern around black lives matt matter, chapter organizations, no real leadership has seen power concentratesed. A pact set up, a global effort set up. Grass roots organizations set up. Signing a letter saying, whats up with the transparency . Not unlike sclc and other movements in the past. Growing pains. Again, seeing pictures from over the summer after the killing of george floyd, folks from all walks of life coming up, showing support for systemic change. Again, as the dust settles will re retreat back into our corners . The real test. How does the movement in this maturation process, the will, money and support making lasting change. I punctuate all the points made. I think this was such a timely conversation. And theres never enough time, but im so happy that you guys gos to hear from the pulitzer price winning youll see a lot more on the show. A great did podcast into america. His daughter freestyles on his p podcast. Amazing to me. Thanking my own longtime friends for joining me on the show this morning. Thank you, ladies, so much. Day after christmas a hard time to get up, put on makeup and lashes. You did it for me. I appreciate it. Coming up, the blacksonian gets a new friend. Stay with us. End. Stay with us. Downy unstopables bundle auto and home, and save up to 25 with allstate. Bundling just feels good this time of year. Saving is easy when youre in good hands. Call a local agent, or 1800allstate for a quote today. Call a local agent, orto all the businesses make it through 2020. Thank you for going the extra mile. And for the extra pump of caramel. Thank you for the good food. And the good karma. Thank you for all the deliveries. Especially this one. Youve reminded us that no matter what, we can always find a way to bounce forward. So thank you, to our customers and to businesses everywhere, from all of us at comcast business. Oas americans we rightfully pass on the tales of the giants who built this country. Too often we ignored or forgot the stories of millions upon millions of others. They built this nation. With steady drive, helped to create cities, elect industries, build the arsenals of democracy. I remember how proud i felt the day the National Museum of africanAmerican History and culture or as we affectionately call it the blacksonian got its home right near d. C. Before the pandemic the museum saw around 2 million visitors a year proving just how important places like that are. Sowell trump finally signs the 2. 3 trillion bill including covid relief and Government Spending Congress Passed this week, an American Latino Museum will finally be coming to washington, finally giving shine to centuries of contributions from the 60 million latinos who call this country home. Joining me now is eduardo rodriguez, president and ceo of the friends of the Latino Museum. Im so happy to have you on the show and so glad to you have with me. Youve been in the fight for such a long, long time. Tell me, one. Things i was frustrated by, trying to stop this saying, wait. Latinos arent discriminated against. Why do they knee a museum . Please, if you will, correct the record and inform our ignorant friend the plight of latinos in this country. I started saying, felice nauv da nauvidad. Thank you. A pleasure to be here. My plea is a blip in the history of the creation of this museum, and that is a bipartisan statement. Majority of republicans in the house stepped up to support this along with democrats and in the senate, a strong, you know, group of amazing republicans and democrats, that stepped up also to speak up and speak out against what was said. Here we are building the om omnibus. Waiting for a signature. See how it plays out in the next few days. What was said was something that not only was ignorant in the fact that he ignored 500 years of American History, and i say american because the whole drive of the smithsonian is tell the story of our nation and 500 years of that history was missing. The smithsonian admitted it in their own 1994 willf fuful negl. Carved out the american latino story in military service, in science, in the arts. For mike lee to come to the floor and say, ah, maybe not that important it will cause more racial divide, its completely ignorant, because the more we know about each other, the more we come together, and thats the piece that was so ignorant from this statement, that were trying to actually unify. I agree. Right. Exactly. I think the frustration is, there are so many men like him in senate who have no intellectual curiosity about the rising majority if this country. The latino population is a fastgrowing population. Its like, how can you enact laws and weigh in on things and be so completely ignorant . The other thing i do want to say is, look, once this bill gets passed its not like the government is saying, oh, yes. Have fun and build. You have a lot of money to raise. My gosh. Tell me about that process . How youre trying to build this museum . A lot of pressure, my friend. It take as village, they say, and thank god we have a village coming together for this effort. Everyone from my current and outgoing chairman danny vargas, celebrity whose stepped up, ava longoria early on, a Community Working on this over 16 years now as an organization of the friends of the american latino media but going on since 1994. Along the way, part of that willful neglect report, and so many other organizations following this along the way. The rules committee, when the bill came up in the senate said to us they had never received so many letters of support from corporations, nonprofits, Community Leaders from all eve are the count over the country. Takes an entire village. 300 million to raise and more importantly were have to fight really hard to make sure we get the best Available Space on the national mall. We cannot settle for less. We cannot be off the mall. The american story is told on the national mall, and we know how precious that whole space is to government, to the american people, the park service. Everyone who cares about our national mall. But we have to be there. So im not resting on my laurels, not assuming were going to get everything. I know the moneys going to be there. We have friends that have already stepped up, reached the out to us, let me know. Soon at the bill is signed wellofwell give public support and have to fight hard as hell, that empty green space, amazing to be sidebyside with the most successful museum in our recent history, and that is the africanamerican museum of history and culture. Yeah. In solidarity, my brother. Wishes you luck. One of interest toing thing ice find about the Latino Museum, you have a huge umbrella. Different in the africanamerican museum, a commonality in the country. The latinos, afro latinos, cubans, pouerto ricans, peruvians, which you are. Challenging just, you know, representing all of these different communities. Look, god forbid, if the president does not sign this bill, where does that leave the Latino Museum . Well, first of all, thank you for plugs the peruvian people. Appreciate that. Over the years ive had my hand slapped more than once or twice to remind me of the incredible diversity in our community. And what this museum might mean. We have cubanamericans who perhaps believe that it would be too focused on the mexicanamerican community and their Community Concerned about the role of hispanics and the peruvian community, reminding me of their amazing history. Ive said yes to all of it. Ultimately, smithsonian doing a great job through the work of the center and their job is to, like you said, a very diverse story from all sectors of latin america, europe, essential south america and the caribbean what have to be brought together. Not to mention 500 years of history were already here. Right. All across the southwest. He. I applaud the work they have to do and more importantly remind everybody the museum is for everyone, and were going to push this it through in the beginning of the next congress, and the next administration is committed to i know. No doubt. Thank you as i often say the term, the rising majority. Stole that term from you. Gave it to me. Appreciate you. Well have you back. Thank you, head of the Latino Museum. Thank you, my friend. Next up, a look at the catastrophic covid rate inside our prison system. Somebody recently released whos going to talk to us about it. Dont go anywhere. Medicine with soothing honeylicious taste. Nyquil honey. The nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever best sleep with a cold medicine. Gubut force factors test x180 are tough. Can help us man up, america, by boosting total testosterone. Build muscle, fuel desire, and improve performance. Get test x180 from force factor, the 1 fastestgrowing mens health brand at walmart. Today more than 18 million americans have tested positive for the coronavirus and of that number at least 275,000 people in prisons infected and more than 1,700 died according to data analyzed by the Marshall Project and the associated press. That means a staggering one in five people tested positive for the coronavirus. Thats a rate four times higher than the general population. Joining me now are alana odomes, executive brechter of the aclu of louisiana and rabbib dennis, former inmate incarcerated. I find your story incredibly fascinating and your testimony what it was like, completely gripping to hear about your experience. If you can, tell me what its like inside angola, where you were recently released tr, tofr be there during a local pandemic. Its frightening for one and its its dangerous, because you have, you have faculty coming in and out, and theyre not mass testing anyone. So, you know, its kind of like, its a fearful its a fearful thing to have to go through. I can imagine. You talk about, eventually they did incarcerated people masks but there was concern as wearing the masks. Tell me why. The mask was made out of a tshirt and they made them themselves, be and when we first received the masks, the mask was tied around the back of your neck and tied around the back of your heads and then incarcerated in angola, one of the most dangerous prisons in the country, its fearful to have something tied around your neck, because an incident can happen and someone can totally take control of you with that around your neck. Yes. The mask can be used as a weapon. Alana, let me ask you. Reading about whats happening in these prisons is ridiculous. Its subhuman, really. Based on your work, will people in prison, will incarcerated persons receive the vaccine . Whats being done to keep folks in prison safe from this virus . Tiffany, thank you so much for having me. I start by congratulating you on this incredible show. And also to brother rabbine, wonderful to see you this morning and sharing your story. The covid19 pandemic underscored the reality that mass incarceration is indeed a Public Health crisis. We know louisiana has a dangerous problem with mass incarceration and our state has the highest prison and preincarceration in america. More than 30,000 louisianans languishing behind bars and prisons and jails. We know we have to look at the science and what the cdc recommends which is that those who are most vulnerable to this infection, most mededly vulnerable and those highrisk should are prioritized for receiving this vaccine, and although the cdc guidelines dont expressly state this, that means that those who are incarcerated in jails or prisons should be prioritized for receiving the vaccine. People incarcerated of 5. 5 times more likely to contract the virus and rabbibe talked about the perils in our prisons. Sanitation in jails is frequently very poor. We know plumbing regular fails and ventilation inadequate. These conditions existed before covid. This heightens the concerns weve already had. So you were arrested in 2015 after an offduty Police Officer saw you rolling a j, a joint in your car, just outside of new orleans. I bring this us because we just did a segment on people who literally, pardoned by this president. The point, you deserve better than confined in angola, subjected to a virus that can literally kill you. Tell me what it was like being inside . Because after the virus were you not privy to see your family and your friends. Tell me what it was like inside for you for your own Mental Health to be confined in solitary confinement 23 hours a day with no reprieve to have any connection to the outside world . What was that like for you . For me, myself, my family was a big support for me. For me not to be able to see them, im raising young men, and to be able to contact, keep in contact with them andth whats going on in the world because its dangerous out there. You know, its hard being away from your family, cant visit your family. One of the only tools you have in jail to keep your sanity. To be able to communicate with your family. Be able to hug your family, and you only get that twice a month. Right now, the guys are not getting no visits because of the coronavirus. Right. Well, first of all, i thank you for allowing us to show pictures of your family. Thats so important that people realize these are human beings, living human beings, were treating with indifference inside these prisons. Thank you for sharing your story and joining us today. Alana odomes, love to have you back. This is a policy discussion that needs to be at the forefront of some of these conversations were having. Thank you both for joining me today and i hope had you a wonderful holiday. I appreciate you taking the time. More Cross Connection after the break. Wanna lose weight and be healthier . Its time for aerotrainer. A more effective total body fitness solution. announcer aerotrainers ergodynamic design and four patented air chambers create maximum muscle activation for better results in less time. It allows for over 20 exercises. Do the aerotrainer super crunch, push ups, aero squat. It inflates in 30 seconds. Aerotrainer is tested to support over 500 pounds. Lose weight, look great, and be healthy. Go to aerotrainer. Com. Thats aero trainer. Com. Even as vaccines provide hope that the pandemic will soon be over there are still new setbacks on our return to normalcy. Starting monday anyone flying into the United States from the uk must prove they recently tested negative for covid19. Ta decision after scientists identified a new variant of the virus in the uk that seems to be more contagious. Staying them to his Holiday Season recommended, almost 1. 2 Million People flew on the day before christmas eve. Thats the most in a single day since march. Im joined now by dr. Mercedes karnahan, from Northwestern University and paige cunningham, Health Reporter for the washington post. Doctor, i want to start with you. These people flying around christmas, its almost disbelief that covid is for everybody else but not me. I wont be impacted. Even if i am, not a big deal. Like a cold, ill get over it. What can we possibly say to people to prove to them they are not invincible when this virus. Its really hard to get through to individuals who often think it wont be me. And thats because as we know a large proportion of people infected with sars kochcov 2 w be just fine. What we dont know is how long symptoms are going to last. So weve often focused on the worst outcome, that being death and hospitalization. However, those individuals who end up with longhaul covid, those symptoms are debilitating with quality of life and working limited. Even getting into the United States thashs is not foolproof. Mistake to think relying on testing puts us in the clear. What we really need at this point when people return home are, is that individuals adhere to isolation and quarantine. Policies recommended by their state and locality to stop this spread. And turning to you on this one, paige. One thing left out of the conversation is vulnerable communities when it comes to the vaccine. In your reporting, how much of a conversation is about how do you get vulnerable communities vaccinated . That goes from, we just had somebody who was recently released from angola, the prison population, but also lowincome and historically disenfranchised communities who may not have mean, money or able to get vaccination . Were at the first point of vaccination. Longterm care residents and Health Care Workers are getting the vaccine. Much easier than the other populations to get the vaccine to, because theyre in facilities, institutions. Much harder getting into the lower tiered folks to get these vaccines out. The government has partnerships with cvs, walgreens, a number of other companies and so the idea is that working with these pharmacies theyre actually going to be able to identify who the essential workers are to make sure the people that qualify for this next year, people getting vaccinated are able to get vaccinated. Its certainly sticky, and the government has never tried to do, you know, a vaccination of this scale before. Even the discussions about, you know who should be in the next tier after the longterm care workers should it be essential workers, the people over age 65 . Even there hasnt always been agreement on. Stick with you paige a second here. Without a centralized federal eresponsible a lot of decisions left up to the states. Thats concerning to me, because youve got governors like florida ron desantis and also, oh, i didnt know asymptomatic people could spread covid, governor, brian kemp. So if your reporting, do you have an idea on who at the state level is making these decisions . Well, you know, its been the responsibility of the state Public Health departments to figure out which providers are interested in providing the vaccine. So what ive heard is theyve been talking to, you know, these farm sipharmacies and hospitals supposedly when the vaccine is shipped into the state theyve already decided where the different doses and how many of the doses, where theyre going. So certainly were going to see a diversity of approaches among the states in terms of whos prioritized. One could argue the states have different types of population makeups. Different demographics. So it is reasonable to think there would be some distinctiff whose should get the vaccine first. Again, the process will be messy. Already seen hiccups in getting the vaccine shipped out. But i will say one positive note is that we have seen almost 10 million doses shipped out at this point, less than two weeks after that first Pfizer Vaccine was given emergency use authorization. Weve seen some of those vaccines shipped out. I point out that even though more than 1 million americans received the vaccine, the governments operation warp speed skell accelerator not su theyll make good on the goal vaccinated 20 million by end of the month. Well see what happens. Doctor, back to you. Have youhood vaccine . If so, how do you feel. I have not had the vaccine because i am in an administrative role as an epidemiologist. I review data and make recommendations and patterns. I would emphasize from my perspective is that individuals should take their turn when its time to be vaccinated. Theres a lot of Vaccine Hesitancy and disappointingly, that hesitancy is coming from some of the most vulnerable communities. Certainly the reasons for the hesitancy can be understood. Grounded quite often in historical mistrust of the medical system, particularly in minority communities and impoverished communities. However, you know, this is an opportunity for us to ask questions, and i think that a lot of the messaging and in particular the public vaccinations by our leaders should provide some measure of reassurance that individuals believe this to be safe, but you know, even that is not going to do the trick. What we need are for Health Care Providers not only to tell individuals that the vaccine is safe, but to ask questions. To invite discussion around why one is concerned about the vaccine, in order to help allay some of those concerns, because we will not reach herd immunity if we have large proportions of our population, particularly those who are in a position to be super spreaders refusing to vaccinate. So let me stick with you on that, because this mutation out of the uk, weve seen evidence of it in the uk and south africa. I fee peopknow people are stillg about it. How concerned should we be . Like the flu axevaccine . A new one every year, or is it able to address what weve seen . Vaccines mutate so that strain isnt surprising. My understanding of the current vaccine, as an rna, the mrna vaccine it is specifically targeting the route in which the virus enters the cells of the body to be able to infolk the body. My understanding is that it is meant to be more robust to these minor mutations, however, we cannot be sure that it wont require repeated vaccinations every year or every other year as the virus continues to mutate. All right. Well, were definitely going to keep following this story on this show. I think a lot of people have a lot of questions and concerns about the vaccine. So, doctor mercedes karnahan, your input helpful and paige i love your reporting at the post. Thank you both for join ug. Joining us. After the break ill get to what youve been waiting for. After the break, tell you who that is, next. That is, next. Thats the mirror. Sorry. And the world will never be the same. A girl . Friend dah, dah, dah. Go to watchcroods. Com. All right. You can ask it on the basketball court, ask it on the spades table and certainly ask it in the rap game. We asked, who got nixed, 28yearold rapper. Idk, released debut album is he real. 70 million streams. Whats next . Havid. Rapper,. Idk, day after christmas. Happy to you have. This Nonprofit Group hosted travis scott, bad bunny. Is cellini to name a few. I love being an executive in the rap game. So many just see the plus. See the rappers flossing but you got the rappers and then you got the person who pays the rappers and that person has a lot more floss than the folks you see onscreen. Tell me how this whole idea came about . I mean, its a twofold question. The first part of it came from, you know, my background in being incarcerated. You know a good amount of my, like, late teens, and a good amount of my late teens and pretty much learning that i could go from being in jail three four different times in prison to actually having my own label, having success in the music industry, and i felt like there was, like, you know, thousands or even millions of people who are exactly like me, but have no idea that this could you know, happen for them. So it started with that. And then another part of it was, i was at the university of maryland where i used to write a lot of music and decided to go there and, you know, about, sometime last year, you know, hoping that i would be able to just go there and in the cafeteria and write like i normally would. Obviously it was different because people no who i was and a few of the students there were kind of like, i am doing Computer Science and all of these other different majors but i really want to do music with the idea of music its unrealistic. My we, why do you feel that way . What makes you think that . Honestly, its the environment around us doesnt show that a career in the arts is a real thing, or its stain abustainab. My idea for the course, coming together with no label and making something that people could see. Making something for people to see that a career in the arts is actually sustainable and this is a way you do it. So a lot of people watching, people always ask, especially young people, how do i get put on in the rap game . I found fascinating about your story, you really built your career on social media. A lot of people started following you and following your music. Folks who want to get put on in a rap game, what advice do you have for the people who want to be in front of the camera . Well, first important thing is, you know, i think fame is a thing that were still adapting to, adjusting to. You know, were not were not necessarily as human beings built for fame. So theres a lot of things that come with it that cause a lot of problems within the artist community, whether it be drugs, depression, anxiety, that come from the pressures of fame. So the first thing is you just have to be mentally ready for the idea of fame. You know . I think everybody whos trying to get into this industry should prepare themselves to be criticized connell stant ed cop get their insecurities poked at on a daily basis. All of these Different Things that most people arent used to having to deal with. Once you accept that, i think that Everything Else starts to become easier. So let me ask you, because a lot of people want to be a rapper. But i think the interesting thing about your course can, i mentioned, youre teaching folks also how to be executives. When you werent with a major label you were building a business. I really try to make this point to young peeople. Dont always go for the shine, my friend. Go for the bank. How do you manage both of these roles . You know, i think when it comes to art, it always comes from a place that is true and pure. You know . Its something that i love to do. So making art never became a thing of trying to make money. However, once the artist at a certain place, you can find of step back from that role of an artist and try to think how do you monetize all this to continue to do this and continue to do it at bigger level . You know, i kind of wear both hats but, like, i put it on and take it off, depending where im at in the creative process. End of the derricay, creative p comes first. Most important. People need to real understand that. Shouldnt do it if youre doing this for money. It has to come from a real place. Once you can do that, and you make something thats real, and you believe in that product, thats when you start to figure out how to make money off of it and when the business starts to kick in. I love that advice. I really do. If you do it for the money it will always be flawed. But if youre true to your craft, i think the audience is receptive to that. I love that piece of advice. Were running out of time. I want to ask before we go,. Idk doesnt stand for what you think. What does your name stand for and how you got that stage moniker . Stands for ignorant need to deliver in knowledge and it kind of came from a place, i wanted the perception to mean something that felt like it was on the nose. Like, idk, i dont know. But i wanted you to ask question asks and when the question was asked i wanted to have an answer that made sense. For me, ive always be finding ways to deliver knowledge in a way that is, you know, its almost like in your applesauce. Not everybody is ready to receive the medicine, pills in your applesauce, straightforward. Sometimes you got to put some applesauce on it. Ignorance, applesauce. Knowledge is the actual medication i. Love that. Love that thank you so much for giving my little show street cred joining me today. I really appreciate you. And ill be looking out for you at harvard. Spent time there myself. Congratulations on that and i hope the students take advantage of it. Thank you so much. Rapper. Idk, no label academy launch fls 2021 with a tenday course at harvard. Visit the schools website for more info. That does it for us. Show went by like that. Thank you for joining me. Join me for crosstalk overtime. Back next with with another jampacked show and alex witt picks it up next. Next. Irresistibly smooth chocolate. To put the world on pause. Lindor. Made to melt you. By the lindt master chocolatier. Nicoreyou get advice like smoking is hard. Try hypnosis. Or. Quit cold turkey. Kidding me . instead, start small. With nicorette. Which can lead to something big. Start stopping with nicorette for bathroom odors that linger try febreze small spaces. Just press firmly and it continuously eliminates odors in the air and on soft surfaces. For 45 days. Good day everyone from msnbc world headquarters. Ch actually in los angeles as well. Got to get myself straight. High noon in the east. 9 00 a. M. Where i am here. Welcome everyone to weekends with alex witt. A heightens mystery in nashville and escalating crisis in a president yet to sign that covid relief bill leaving millions in peril, relief measures expire in just hours. More on that in a miss. First to the breaking news from nashville, tennessee. The downtown area remains sealed off more than 30 hours after a Christmas Morning explosion that rocked music city. Releasing this photo of the rv parked right outside an at t building reduced to rubble by the explosion. Look at that. So far officials have very little beyond this. Initial evidence does show that the Early Morning explosion was a deliberate bomb being set off in our community. So were also getting a look at new video captures the moment the bomb went off. [ explosion ]