Judy: George as U.S. Senator
Raphael Warnock gained national
attention in January 2021 when
he won his high-profile senate
race.
Before that, he was best known
as the senior pastor at
Atlanta's historic ebenezer
Baptist church.
Senator Warnock is up for
reelection this year and with a
few months to go before voters
cast their ballot, he's out with
a new memo or that describes his
journey to the pulpit and then
to the halls of congress.
It is titled "A way out of no
way" and I spoke with him
moments ago.
Senator Warnock, thank you for
joining us.
This is part of your telling
your story, the 11th of 12
children in your family, grew up
in public housing project in
Savannah, Georgia.
First in your family to go to
college.
I want to ask what you meant in
the title when it says "A way
out of no way and" the new
American story.
Sen. Warnock:.
Thank you so much.
It's great to be here with you.
So the title of the memoir, away
out of no way comes straight
from the black church.
And let me hasten to say that
when we say the black church,
we've never meant anything
racially exclusive by that.
I'm talking about the
antislavery church, the church
that slaves built, and out of
which martin Luther king Jr and
so many others emerged, calling
America to its best self.
And you're not in a black church
for long before you hear someone
in the pulpit or maybe even in
the pew say, our god makes a way
out of no way.
It is a phrase and an expression
born of suffering, quite
frankly, and of oppression, but
of keeping the faith over
against long odds.
Hoping against hope.
Putting one foot in front of the
other and never giving in to
despair.
To know that that as we push our
way, we may not know exactly how
things will move from day to
day, but ultimately we're going
to be all right.
Judy: So many stories in the
book about your growing up and
about your time as you made your
way through life.
You became a minister after
theological school.
You've clearly had your trials
and tribulations.
What was it, 25 years ago, your
older brother, Keith, who was a
police officer, arrested,
sentenced to life in prison for
being involved in a drug ring.
What did you learn from that
experience?
Sen. Warnock: Indeed, it was one
of the darkest and most
difficult moments in my family's
life, one that we continued to
rustle through.
He was released after 22 years
of a life sentence.
Ironically, because of covid and
the pandemic and the
overcrowding of our prisons in a
country where we are 6% of the
world's population, we
Americans, but we warehoused 25%
of the world's prisoners.
And so it gave me a lens into
the things that need to be
corrected in our criminal
justice system. The so-called
war on drugs that literally
hollowed out entire communities,
particularly black and brown
communities.
We're seeing it play that play
out now in rural communities
the opioid epidemic.
It gave me a kind of compassion
and tender heart as a pastor, as
I dealt with others who were
going through the same thing.
It informs my work as a
legislator.
Judy: And you do bring your
background as a pastor to the
United States senate.
You've served now for a year and
a half at a time of historic
gridlock in Washington, in the
senate.
Do you you know, having seen it
up close, do you have a formula
for how to break through that
gridlock?
Sen. Warnock: These are
difficult days, but I think you
you get up every morning, you do
your work, and you try to build
coalitions, and sometimes
unlikely alliances with with
people who may not agree with
you on everything, all for the
sake of building what Dr. King
called a beloved community.
That's that's our calling in a
moment like this.
Judy: Well, one of the unlikely
coming together, if you will, is
just we've seen it just in the
last day or so over gun
legislation, gun control.
It looks as if there could be an
agreement in the senate.
It's clearly not what you and
many other Democrats wanted but
, is it something you could
support?
Sen. Warnock:, what I want is to
see us break the gridlock.
I mean, columbine happened about
three decades ago.
Think about that.
We we have adults in America who
for them and their children,
they don't remember a world as I
do when you didn't have to teach
kindergartners what to do in the
case of an active shooter.
This has been our experience now
for a generation and a half.
Here's what the senate cannot
afford to do to wash our hands
of the issue and say we can't do
anything.
So I've gotten a good look at
this bill.
I've been working and with my
colleagues and encouraging those
who've been at the center of
this work.
This is a good moment.
We're going to save lives when
we pass this legislation and I
think lay the foundation for
figuring out figuring out what
else we can do for the American
people together.
Judy: Another issue before the
country right now, senator, is
the high cost of gasoline.
As you know, president Biden
today announced a three month
suspension of the federal gas
tax.
You had been asking for a
suspension through the end of
the year.
Is this something you can
support?
Sen. Warnock: Well, in fact, I
introduced the gas tax relief
act back in February.
So I've been pushing for this
for the better part of the year.
I'm now happy to see the
president is fully on board with
this.
And I can tell you that for
consumers and Georgia, hard
working families trying to work
it out, this can't come soon
enough.
I hope we can get this done
sooner than later.
Judy: Your race for reelection,
senator, you're up against a
Georgia football legend and
Herschel walker as the
Republican nominee.
It's been reported just in the
past few days that he has
fathered three more children
than he had previously
acknowledged.
He's getting a lot of attention
over that.
His campaign, in turn, has
turned around and accused you of
being involved in a nasty
custody fight with your former
wife.
This has gotten down and dirty
quickly, hasn't it?
Sen. Warnock: Well, I think it's
going to be a long campaign.
And the people of Georgia have a
stark choice to make about who
they think is ready to represent
them in the United States
senate.
I'm the most junior member of
the U.S. Senate out of 100,
number 100.
And yet I punch way above my
weight.
We passed a bipartisan
infrastructure bill.
I've worked with Republicans to
get things that I think are good
for the people of Georgia.
I've worked with my colleague in
Alabama to help Georgia farmers
get their goods to market.
I'm pushing now for this gas tax
relief, something I've been
arguing for since February.
And I'm trying to cap the cost
of medicine and I'm going to
keep my eye on the ball, if you
will, and on the people of
Georgia.
Judy: Senator Raphael Warnock,
candidate for reelection to the
senate and the author of the new
book "A way out of no way."
Senator, thank you very much.
Sen. Warnock: Great to be with
you.
Thanks.