I would like to thank our members in sponsors and supporters making this and all the other programs possible. We support the club during these uncertain times. Today i am excited to be talking with Tiffany Cross a longtime political analyst and author of a brandnew book said louder. Tiffany has spent years in politics in the media where she has witnessed the ways in which lack voters are minimized and suppressed through both policy and media coverage. It builds on the work and some explains the way in which they had been crucial in the same political system that we are often dismissed from. Although Voter Suppression is not new. If you would like me to ask. Please put it in the chat box. Or the comments on facebook. In and the question will get to me. I want to thank you for joining us today. Thank you for being in this conversation with me. Im especially excited to have it with you. And i just want to congratulate you also on your role in an aunt ms nbc. Very happy to have you there. What its like to have a regular outlet like the saturday shows to address some of the issues of black participation. Im guest hosting. In the official announcement is made. You will see some other people in the host here. Im very excited. A few other times this month. I enjoy contributing my thoughts to msnbc and other outlets. I will say joy created such an amazing platform and a lot of what i write about in the book is the lack of diversity and broadcaster in broadcaster journalism at all levels. What joy went through to get this prime time slot. And have them elevate her and cheer her on. What she gave them. Was 2. 6 million viewers. I just think diversity wins and its like an era of a black black women taking the helm in so many areas even in the executive ranks. They recently promoted a woman rashida jones. Its our time. I feel very excited to be a part of this era and alive at this moment. Its our time and your time. I think about the book coming out in the midst of a pandemic. They are disproportionately affected with the covid19 and they are dying at higher rates. Unemployment is hitting our communities hard and in the wake of historic protests in every state across the country demanding that america deal with the racism. What is the journey that started you writing the book in the first place and what does it mean for it to come out in this moment. For it to come out now is really interesting because i wrote the book before Breanna Taylor before george floyd. It shows how timeless brutality against black people is in this country. As an american tradition at this point. The fact that i detail some of the historic murders dating back the last century. And the last president ial election cycle. The fact that that is timeless really shows how black people have always had to die in spectacular fashion. As we sit at this time a racial recognition as they say in the making im very excited about the focus. Im cheering them on for sure. I will be satisfied until a power shift accompanies the culture shift. I think as long as the narrative is that right people should allow black People Freedom that they should allow black peer players to neil. The narrative is such that the power left fully. Was white decisionmakers. I think we have to disrupt power at every level until the powerbrokers look like america. We literally look at your book. You have this on the cover in the air but it talks about black voters in the right white narratives. Give us some examples from your book. They had limited the power invoices. In the media landscape its predominantly run by older white men. You just talked about the unemployment that is highlighted amid a Global Pandemic. And really when we hear that. They frequently reflect the labor stats. Theyre often very much higher you dont hear a lot of that in the media landscape. In the political coverage moment you have heard terms like nascar dads and soccer moms. These cute little nicknames for voters that exclusively apply to white voters. When you hear the White College educated moms. The same thing can up ply to black voters. When you hear people or see on broadcast news people go to diners. Apparently no black or brown people ever eat. These are the voters of the heartland. Its meant to represent. The political landscape. I decry that that is bs. If you go to birmingham alabama. Those are voters of the heartland also. Certainly those are voters from the heartland. One example that i talk about it was meant to be a feelgood segment. There was a bunch of groomsmen dancing in the parking lot. A cop shows up and they say we are in a wedding tomorrow they say no i would kinda like to see that. He leaves without insolent incident. Look at this great example. It is at the height of 20152016 when black men were target practice at this point. I know it was not their intention to be insensitive about how utterly ridiculous that the suggestion is all you have to do is do your five heartbeats routine. And you you get to go home safely that night. Maybe if they have a black executive producer host on the show. Someone couldve pointed out how offensive it was. I just missed that one. From a very political perspective. A basic humane perspective. It creates a better landscape. I was thinking about that. When we talk about your journey and how your Life Experience has taken not only to newsrooms but also political activism did that start with the beat in dc where the journey up to this book start. I started in journalism for sure. I went to the world headquarters. And they relocated me to dc to help cover capitol hill. I also did reliable sources. In late addition. A weekday host. Twenty years ago. In that space i really felt like the only. I felt sad. Ostracize. And not very welcomed by my peers. I write about what that was like. And feeling like the space was not for me. Maybe i did not belong in broadcast news. I was a producer. I was a field producer. I ended up running the Dc News Bureau for a while. I founded my own news platform. And navigated the land of inter capitalist. I taught my cap glass on diversity and broadcast journalism. People will ask does she have the news job. Can she hold her own on the anchor desk. If i were a white woman. Her white man. People would be tripping over themselves. To give me that platform. I worked so hard and earned it. There just has to be a more diverse way of decisionmakers. Through the frustration of navigating that 20 year career avenues in politics i worked on campaigns. At the federal state and local level. I got frustrated with the journalism journalism and take a break every couple years. It would call me back and i would go back to news. But it was in that space i was preparing to tell the story. I knew it was a story that needed to be told. In 2016 thats when i started doing research. And i took it. It took 18 months of solid writing. And it was torture. I wrote every single word in this book. I wrote every single sentence. And i wrote in every way it could be written. And so it flowed. I did that because i was weaned on geniuses like Kelly Morrison who did the same thing. You write a sentence in every form until it sounds right. And as mental torture. But after 18 months i was finally done. And im really proud of this body of work. It is a beautifully written book. I am surprised but a political powerhouse journalists such as yourself. Is inspired by a toni morrison. That surprises me. But maybe not. I love writing. I love the art of the written language. She is very much a storyteller. And even though they are based in fiction she drew on realLife Experience. She drew on systems of White Supremacy. There could be some sort of reckoning. I was heartbroken when she passed away. What the world would be if she were alive today to see this thing. Another brilliant writer. I love writing. I love having written. I hate writing. I do love the art in it. And i love reading. If you want to be a great writer. If to be a great leader. And she was deftly someone who i read. Some of her words were challenging. We have to read over and over to understand. And she very calmly looked at her and said thats called reading. She just would tell it like it is. There was something about the blatant bold straight truth telling that was so inspiring. Saw a video of her in an interview with a white journalist who was saying what you think about the racism in the country and she said thats a good question. I think white people should ask what they are gonna do about it. Has nothing to do with me. Its powerful exchange. She did give an inch. Have the protest in the wake of the killing of george floyd and all of the other black people who had lost their lives which built up to this moment. Have those protests changed the national narrative. Have they changed the way black people express were are received. The world of journalism shapes the narrative about black people. I think so. But not enough. I think we are in this moment where it is a cool thing. It is can a hit newsrooms. A lot of people are reporting on systems of White Supremacy. You will have a lot of reporters to get the interview with mike pence or Peter Navarro or even donald trump. And they will ask is there systemic racism in the united states. The question is also racist. We went asked somebody are lemons yellow. We know it exists. How is it enjoying it. They are posing an asinine question. I think for journalists who are part of this. Who have been link added in privilege. We know the answer. We will never had real conversations. Thats why we have to continue to fight for power. In showing up in the space where we are comfortable and making people uncomfortable i had tried to do that in my capacity. Im pleased to be joined by other people who are more bold and audacious. A lot of newsrooms are still one by older white men. We have to keep reminding some of these people. That cloud is not immortal. While you keep trying to cater to a shrinking majority. To help give a megaphone to me and other folks. It wont be the norm anymore. Not so long ago that was the norm. This is not a blackandwhite issue. And the la times a group of people that work for the company and various reporters and other roles. Signed a letter demanding that the la times higher more people from the Community Given how many people in california are in the community and so i think what youre talking about is inspiring other communities and we are seeing a reflection of this in other communities. Can i talk to about 2020 . Just as we are talking. We are just over 100 days. I will just say we dont even have to argue. Things were not that great for black people before trump took office. We put it all in there. The highest educated group in the country. And the highest turnout group of voters. They were all great around economic responsibilities. I guess my question 100 days out is how are you assessing a political voice and power of black people in this moment and i will just say for the people who are watching their no question. And we are the most loyal with your introduction the statement about joe biden that really catapults him. Assess the political power and voice of black voters in this moment Latosha Brown who you know. I have a been a friend of her fan club. And we talked about the role that black voters have played not just now but throughout democracy. We werent trying to punctuate how we resurrect campaigns. And thats hard to see the road in the book. In this country. We see a lot of stories about people standing in these long lines this is something we had been impacted by for years. People are just now starting to Pay Attention to our reality. The livelihood on the line every single that kind of resentment has rippled through time. In created generational trauma in our lives. In this moment while we are reimagining america we are reimagining the government that is not only of the people by the people but we are for the people includes us. It baffles me that so many people still maintain loyalty for this. He is protecting something that was taken away. Still show up in numbers. We are demanding Something Better for a country that we have long served. And we still had push back. We will be facing an unholy trinity the cycle. Gop led Voter Suppression. But watch black voters shape democracy. Just as we have always done. Despite the political narrative that we didnt show up. As you know black voters did overwhelmingly show up. Who overwhelmed and over indexed the voting booth. Let me just ask you right there. One thing that i have heard as part of a narrative that still shapes the way that people talk about and understand donald trump they are surprised that the majority of white women our republican. The majority of white voters have been conservative and increasingly so as well as you mention. As shrinking part of the base. How does that serve a particular narrative. As you are talking about the loyalty we have to understand in the context of a race. Given that its overwhelmingly white. I wrote another apt ad. Specifically focused on the role that they had played. White men represent they overwhelmingly are over indexed in political opportunities. White women had been the biggest enablers. I think we have to head conversations about after 2016 ladies a conversation conversation needs to happen. She was referencing the 53 and said great, wendy when you want to have the conversation we do our work. We are held accountable for all of our communities. Were saying yes ladies talk to each other. Im a white woman. And i support black lives matter. It does take an effort however, i would encourage people to talk to your girlfriends, dont just unfriend that supporter. Confront her with the truth. Dont just ignore the racist uncle at thanksgiving if were held responsible for our community its time for everybody to be held responsible for their community. You are taking something away for me. Nuts can be a problem. And every time i think i think that we are winning. Its enough to make me burst into laughter and then tears. I havent seen the overwhelming gains. I see a lot of us that climb amount. Our issues a line. Align. Its the fact that people dont want a government to serve people who dont like them. There are fine with corporate welfare. Not a government that serves us and doesnt kill us. Its a problem. I have not figured out the reason. I try to focus my efforts and energy unappealing to people who can be informed and inspired. It has been at challenge to try to bridge that divide. Thats not my ministry. That someone elses. But, i appreciate the comments and let me ask you about this. A couple of days ago they announced that he was a speaker. And you tweeted about this recently. His role in ohio has been to enable Voter Suppression one specific thing that i know he was involved in because i was paying attention to it. When it happened to navigate the poles. It helped pastors and churches organized in the pews to get people to actually vote. Black people to vote. And he was involved in ending that program. How do you assess why he is speaking at the dnc. Is it saying something about who is important and who the Democratic Party is going for. And who the Democratic Party is going for. I appreciate this. I appreciate how it was framed. Not only is he invited to the dnc he gets it take up space on the Network Every night. He gets them to decry the trump president in the white house. And understand it. I think so much of what we know about politics is filtered through media landscape. Sometimes there is a Democratic Party to make their appeal to people who can appeal to the trump voters. I consistently during the democratic primary said hey, talk to me about how you could appeal to trump voters. Too many people are so enthralled are you an insecure teenage girl. The last time the Democratic Party was in 1954. The last time the american electorate was 1976. An 89 White Electric where they are now is out of step with the rising majority. Im baffled that he was invited. I would be can curious how Many Democrats would be invited to the rnc. People are nervous about black voters. I would say evangelicals get to make their demands. Single issue voters get to make their demands. Why can we not make demands of our government. Make demands of the party that we disproportionately uphold. They are valuing someone like john kasich who has been the anticipated of a lot of what we been fighting for. Dont come at me anymore when im advocating the epicenter of political power. And it has gone over a lot of you all. Its fine because black women are used to it. But we will continue to try to disrupt that system. And until there is a true reckoning not just culturally but in terms of power and then the clinical party. I dont see this boating while for democrats. I could not agree more. Let me ask about one thing you said. Im in a put us in the same category happen in 2016. We saw Hillary Clinton a lot of her campaign and her messaging even centering around suffragettes. Not for us. Asian american women. They have access to the ballot box after 1965. But to center a Campaign Messaging narrative about that coupled with an underinvestment in some swing states. And towards michigan wisconsin. I guess the question is is this white people that are excited about the lincoln project. The never trump republicans can find a home that will come in in droves and will help to win the battleground states. Is that the belief that people are operating off of. To prioritize states. When i say its fine. My dog is here making noise. We can hear your dog you are all good. Anyway. I think when i say its fine. As its okay. We vote in our self interest in me also for the greater good. We organize community as you will know. All women of color were centered in the conversation breaking is across the network. Weve a long way to go there. Thats it i mean when i say its fine. Its unacceptable. This is when white women got the right to vote. We will hear it. They mistakenly celebrate this as an opportunity for all women which we know is not true. As i see the party overlooked black women. Its kind of in the same way and some of the media landscape is making efforts. You have a race team. It st