EARLIER THIS HOUR WE TALKED
ABOUT SOME OF THE ISSUES
SURROUNDING THE PANDEMIC AND THE
IMMENSE CHALLENGES FACING
AMERICANS AND THAT TOPIC PLAYS
INTO THIS NEXT SEGMENT AS WELL.
THE NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE IS OUT
WITH ITS 2021 STATE OF BLACK
AMERICA REPORT.
THE DATA SHOWS HIGHER RATES OF
UNEMPLOYMENT, LOWER HOUSEHOLD
INCOMES, AND THE CRUSHING BURDEN
OF HOUSING COSTS LEFT BLACK
AMERICANS UNIQUELY VULNERABLE TO
COVID-19S ECONOMIC FALLOUT.
JOINING US NOW, PRESIDENT AND
CEO OF THE NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE
MARK MORALE.
ALSO WITH US HOST OF MSNBC
"POLITICS NATION" AND PRESIDENT
OF THE NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK
REVEREND AL SHARPTON AND
PROFESSOR OF THE LYNDON B
JOHNSON SCHOOL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS,
VICTORIA DE-FRANCISCO SOTO.
I WANT TO START WITH THE LEAD
LINES OUT OF THIS REPORT, MARK.
ESPECIALLY PERTAINING TO COVID.
THE HOUSING CRISIS REALLY
SCREAMS OUT TO ME, BUT LETS
START WITH ACTUAL COVID NUMBERS.
AND THEN HOW BLACK AMERICANS ARE
FARING IN THIS REPORT.
>> THANK YOU, GOOD MORNING,
MIKA.
AND GOOD TO BE WITH YOU.
WE FOCUS IN THIS REPORT NOT ONLY
ON WHAT THE STATUS OF BLACK
AMERICA IS, BUT ON WHAT WE NEED
TO BUILD, A MORE DIVERSE,
EQUITABLE AND INCLUSIVE AMERICA.
SO THIS REPORT TALKS ABOUT THE
DIRECTION WE NEED TO TAKE.
BUT LETS CONTEXTUALIZE IT THIS
WAY.
IF YOU COMBINE THE GREAT
RECESSION AND -- ECONOMIC
DIFFICULTIES, BLACK AMERICA HAS
TAKEN A TREMENDOUS HIT IN THE
FIRST 20 YEARS OF THE 21ST
CENTURY WHEN IT COMES TO WEALTH,
INCOME AND ESPECIALLY NOW COMING
OUT OF COVID, THE DISPARITIES
THAT WERE EXPOSED WHEN IT COMES
TO THE HEALTH OF BLACK
AMERICANS.
WE COME OUT OF THIS 2020 WITH
TREMENDOUS CHALLENGES.
WE KNOW THE CHALLENGES OF
VOTING, THE CHALLENGES OF
POLICING, BUT THE ECONOMIC
CHALLENGES ARE JUST AS STARK.
THE CHALLENGES WITH RESPECT TO
HEALTH ARE JUST AS STARK.
IN THIS REPORT WE TRY TO FOCUS
ON WHAT WE CAN DO, WHAT
POLICIES, ACTIONS, WHAT
SOLUTIONS ARE AVAILABLE.
>> MR. MAYOR, ITS WILLIE GEIST,
GREAT TO HAVE YOU ON THIS
MORNING.
>> GOOD MORNING.
>> TWO-TERM MAYOR OF THE CITY OF
NEW ORLEANS.
IM CURIOUS OF YOUR VIEW AND HOW
IT FITS INTO THIS REPORT ON THE
TENSION WERE SEEING RIGHT NOW
ON THE NEED AND DESIRE FOR
POLICE REFORM BUT ALSO RISING
CRIME IN OUR MAJOR CITIES JUST
OVER THE LAST YEAR.
HOW DO YOU SEE THAT PLAYING OUT
AND WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS
YOURE LOOKING AT?
>> THERE HAS TO BE BALANCE
BETWEEN POLICE REFORM AND
JUSTICE ON ONE HAND AND PUBLIC
SAFETY.
IT WOULD BE A TRAGIC MISTAKE IF
FACING THE GUN VIOLENCE FIGHT
WEVE SEEN THAT WE WENT BACK TO
WHAT TOOK PLACE IN THE 1980s AND
90s.
OVER POLICING, MASS
INCARCERATION, STOP AND FRISK.
NO.
WE NEED TO DEAL WITH THE
UNDERLYING CAUSES OF GUN
VIOLENCE, EASY ACCESS TO GUNS.
WE NEED TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY
NOW THAT CITIES HAVE MONEY FROM
THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN AND PUT
YOUNG PEOPLE TO WORK IN
COMMUNITIES.
LETS RAISE UP THE LARGEST YOUTH
JOB AND YOUNG ADULT JOB
INITIATIVE IN AMERICAN HISTORY.
THAT IS SOMETHING WE CAN DO.
BUT YOU HAVE TO HAVE TRUST
BETWEEN POLICE AND COMMUNITIES,
IF YOU ARE GOING TO PREVENT GUN
VIOLENCE AND YOUVE GOT TO GET
OFF THE SEAT AND CHANGE THE LAW
SO THAT EASY ACCESS TO GUNS IS
NOT THE REALITY ACROSS AMERICA.
SO WEVE GOT TO BALANCE ALL OF
THESE THINGS, WILLIE.
THE OLD SOLUTIONS WILL NOT WORK.
SO THIS IS A TIME FOR US TO
SPEAK UP AND NOT ALLOW
POLARIZATION THAT OCCURRED IN
1980s AND 1990s TO DOMINATE THE
DISCUSSION.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO DO BOTH.
YOU HEAR THE NEW -- THE
DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE FOR MAYOR OF
NEW YORK, ERIC ADAMS, SPEAKING
ABOUT SOMETHING I LEARNED WHEN I
WAS MAYOR.
YOU HAVE TO BALANCE.
YOU PUT INVESTMENTS IN SUMMER
JOBS, IN SUMMER CAMPS, BUT THEN
WE ALSO REFORM POLICING TO A
COMMUNITY POLICING MODEL.
ITS GOT TO BE BALANCED.
YOUVE GOT TO DO BOTH.
AND YOU HAVE TO RECOGNIZE
WITHOUT DOING BOTH YOURE GOING
TO REPEAT THE MISTAKES OF THE
PAST.
>> REV, MARK BRINGS UP THE NAME
ERIC ADAMS, LIKELY NEXT MAYOR OF
NEW YORK CITY.
FASCINATING IN THIS ERA OF
MARCHES AND ACTIVISM ABOUT
POLICE VIOLENCE AND THE NEED FOR
CHANGE AND POLICE REFORM, THAT
NEW YORK CITY JUST ELECTED A
FORMER NEW YORK CITY POLICE
OFFICER TO PERHAPS BE THE NEXT
MAYOR?
>> HES A FORMER NEW YORK CITY
POLICEMAN BUT HES ALSO ONE OF
THE FOUNDING MEMBERS OF NATIONAL
ACTION NETWORK 30 YEARS AGO WHEN
I STARTED IT.
SO HE HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN BOTH
ACTIVISM AND POLICE REFORM, THE
BALANCE WERE TALKING ABOUT.
BECAUSE I THINK PEOPLE FORGET
THAT THE VICTIMS OF CRIME IN THE
BLACK COMMUNITY ARE BLACKS.
SO WE WANT TO SEE CRIME DOWN AS
MUCH AS WE WANT POLICE CRIME.
I THINK WHAT MANY AMERICANS ISDO
NOT REALIZE IS THAT IT IS THE
HEIGHT OF BEING FRIGHTENED WHEN
YOU ARE IN AN AREA THAT HAS HIGH
CRIME AND YOURE AFRAID TO CALL
THE POLICE BECAUSE YOU DONT
KNOW HOW THEYRE GOING TO BEHAVE
WHEN YOU GET THERE.
WHICH IS WHY YOU NEED THIS
BALANCE.
MARK, LET ME ADDRESS THIS TO
YOU, THIS QUESTION, BECAUSE YOU
AND I HAVE WORKED TOGETHER THE
LAST DECADE AND A HALF THAT YOU
HEADED THE URBAN LEAGUE.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE
LOOKED AT IS THE INEQUALITY,
WHETHER IT BE HEALTH CARE,
WHETHER IT BE EDUCATION, THINGS
THAT YOU COME OUT WITH YOUR
ANNUAL REPORT TODAY AND AS WE
MET WITH PRESIDENT BIDEN LAST
WEEK AROUND VOTING, I THINK THAT
PART OF THE CHALLENGE THAT I
WANT YOU TO ADDRESS IS HOW TO
GET GOVERNMENT TO UNDERSTAND,
SINCE THERE IS THIS INEQUALITY,
THERE MUST BE A DISPROPORTIONATE
INVESTMENT IN REPAIRING THE
DAMAGE.
YOU CANT GIVE US EQUAL
RESOURCES AND EQUAL ATENSIONTENT
WHEN WERE IN AN UNEQUAL
SITUATION.
>> REV, YOU JUST DEFINED WHAT
EQUITIES IS.
EQUITY MEANS TO DO WHAT IS
NECESSARY TO BRING US TO EQUAL.
AND GOVERNMENT PLAYED A ROLE IN
THESE DISPARITIES.
WHERE HOSPITALS WERE LOCATED,
NOT IN BLACK COMMUNITIES, RED
LINING WHEN IT CAME TO HOUSING,
DISCRIMINATION IN BANK LOANS,
LACK OF ACCESS TO COLLEGES AND
UNIVERSITIES.
GOVERNMENT POLICIES WERE
CONTRIBUTING FACTOR TO THE
INEQUITY OR THE INEQUALITY YOU
FACE.
SO GOVERNMENT HAS A ROLE AND A
RESPONSIBILITY TO DO MORE.
TO DO THE EXTRA TO UNDO THESE
STRUCTURAL, IF YOU WILL,
INEQUITIES THAT WE SEE.
AND I THINK YOU DEFINE IT WELL
THAT THEYVE GOT TO DO MORE.
NOW, PRESIDENT BIDENS BUDGET
PLAN AND HIS INFRASTRUCTURE
PLAN, I BELIEVE HOLD PROMISE AS
AN INVESTMENT, THE BEGINNING OF
A REVERSE OF WHAT WEVE SEEN ALL
TOO OFTEN FOR THE MOST PART WITH
THE EXCEPTION OF THE AMERICAN
RECOVERY PLAN OVER THE LAST 20
YEARS WHICH IS A SYSTEMATIC
CONTINUATION OF THE POLICIES OF
DISINVESTMENT IN
AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITIES,
LATINO COMMUNITIES, URBAN
COMMUNITIES BIG AND SMALL.
THATS WHY WE HAVE THIS WIDE
GAP.
AMERICANS WHO ONCE CONSIDERED
THEMSELVES EVEN MIDDLE CLASS
HAVING A HARD TIME PAYING THEIR
MORTGAGE, PAYING THEIR RENT, AND
BASICALLY KEEPING THEIR HEAD
ABOVE WATER.
SO THIS IS AN EMERGENCY
SITUATION FOR THE NATION.
>> SO IM LOOKING AT THAT GRAPH
THAT WAS JUST UP ABOUT LACK OF
ACCESS, COMPUTER ACCESS,
VICTORIA, FROM THE GREAT
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AS A
PROFESSOR, I KNOW THIS IS
PROFOUNDLY OF INTEREST TO YOU.
I KNOW YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR
MARK ABOUT JUST ACCESS OVERALL
TO EDUCATION AS IT PERTAINS TO
BLACK COMMUNITIES.
>> I DO, THANKS, MIKA.
AND, MARK, I REALLY APPRECIATED
HOW YOU HIGHLIGHTED THE FACT
THAT WHAT WE ARE SEEING IN OUR
COMMUNITIES OF COLOR IS LAYERED
ON TOP OF THE GREAT RECESSION,
WHICH SET OUR COMMUNITIES BACK
SO FAR AND TOOK US SO LONG TO
RECOVER.
AND IN LOOKING AT THE LATEST
JOBS NUMBERS, RIGHT, WE SAW THE
U.S. AS A WHOLE IS 5.69%.
BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT BLACK FOLK
WERE LOOKING AT 9%
UNEMPLOYMENT.
SO CAN YOU TALK TO ME ABOUT WHAT
THE PLAN IS TO REGAIN
EMPLOYMENT, NOT JUST IN THE
SHORT TERM, TRYING TO GET BACK
SOME OF THOSE JOBS WHICH WE KNOW
ARE LOW QUALITY JOBS, BUT HOW DO
WE SET OUR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR
ON TRACK FOR MEDIUM TO LONG-TERM
GAINS SO WERE NOT JUST
SURVIVING BUT WERE THRIVING.
WHAT ARE THE TOOLS WE NEED AND
WE NEED TO PRESS OUR GOVERNMENT
OFFICIALS TO MOVE FORWARD?
>> SO THANK YOU FOR THE
QUESTION.
THERES A PART OF THIS WHERE I
EMBRACE WHAT IS FAIRLY
CONVENTIONAL THINKING.
THAT IS THAT WE NEED TO INVEST
MORE IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING,
TARGETED, TARGETED AT
COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, FOR BETTER
PAYING JOBS.
JOBS IN TECHNOLOGY, JOBS IN
CONSTRUCTION, JOBS IN CAREERS
THAT HAVE INCREASING, IF YOU
WILL, LEVELS OF INCOME AND
LEVELS OF WAGES.
BUT IN ADDITION TO THAT,
CORPORATE AMERICA AND EMPLOYERS
HAVE TO LOOK THEMSELVES IN THE
MIRROR AND SAY, WE HAVE ENGAGED
IN SYSTEMIC DISCRIMINATION FOR
THE MOST PART.
YOU LOOK AT THE MID LEVEL AND
HIGHER UP JOBS IN MANY, MANY
INDUSTRIES.
THEYRE NOT DIVERSE AT ALL.
SO WE HAVE WORK TO DO.
SO I WANT TO SEE A REAL
COMMITMENT FROM THOSE WHO HIRE
TO DO A MORE AGGRESSIVE AND
ASSERTIVE JOB IN RECRUITING AND
HIRING AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND
OTHER PEOPLE OF COLOR.
SO THATS NUMBER TWO.
I THINK NUMBER THREE IS, THE
PRESIDENTS LEADERSHIP AND THE
LEADERSHIP OF THE GOVERNMENT IN
HIGHLIGHTING RACIAL INJUSTICE
AND IN HOLDING UP RACIAL JUSTICE
AS ONE PRESIDENT BIDENS
OPERATING PILLARS.
I THINK THE MORAL POWER BUT ALSO
THE ENFORCEMENT POWER OF THE
EEOC OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
JUSTICE HAVE TO BE IN PLAY TO
PURGE THIS NATION OF THIS
LONG-STANDING RACISM.