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"They'd rather stop you from being on the team than for them to lose." Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives have recently become a flashpoint for conservatives but do you understand why? Michael Harriot explains that these policies are just another way for white Americans to push minorities out of the room. So instead of working with minorities and tapping into their skills and knowledge, they'd rather not have them on the team at all. Michael claims fear of being out performed is behind the racist tactics. 

"They hate law and order because we are fighting for law and order." The concept of law and order is a rallying cry for conservatives but Michael Harriot goes back in history to identify moments when Black people were the ones following the law yet they were the group to be punished. 

"I don't have any evidence that good cops exist." Michael Harriot takes a bold stance with his theory that there is no such thing as a good cop and he uses occupational research and data to back it up. 

"The first step to solving crimes, enforcing laws, and keeping people safe is to abolish the police." What if we've got it all wrong and our policing systems are actually doing more harm than good? Michael Harriot explains why Americans, especially Black Americans, would be safer if we abolished the police and started over with more intentional and targeted programs.

"We don't know how many people are killed by the police each year." Michael Harriot argues that it's about time the government starts tracking police violence and more importantly killings. There are no national, state-level, or local databases that house those numbers and there are no laws or policies that require police departments to report the information, which Michael believes gives them free rein to continue deadly over-policing. 

"Racism takes not just a mental toll, not just a societal toll, not just an economic toll on the citizens of America but we have to bear a physical burden, it's an actual weight that we have to carry." The idea that racism is a disease is no longer just a metaphorical concept but instead now proven by medical science. Michael Harriot explains the research that began in the 1970's that led to this conclusion.

"A lot of our parents were involved in the civil rights movement and we don't even know it." There are many untold stories of the Civil Rights Movement and Michael Harriot is here to tell you about twins Bessie and Ike Williams who were part of a group that gave us our right to agree to disagree.

"If you were at the front of the bus, the back of the bus, all of the seats belonged to white people." Before Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycotts a woman in South Carolina took the issue of segregated city buses all the way to the United States Supreme Court. In this episode of theGrio Daily, Michael Harriot tells the story of Sarah Mae Flemming. TheGrio Daily is an original podcast by theGrio Black Podcast Network. #BlackCultureAmplified

"There is no such thing as soul food, it's all Black food, we are the ones who feed your soul." As our Black History Month conversations continue, Michael Harriot examines Black people's contributions to cuisine. TheGrio Daily is an original podcast by theGrio Black Podcast Network. #BlackCultureAmplified

"Black taxpayers were funding the educational opportunities for whites, that was theft." Reparations are often discussed only in terms of slavery and Micahel Harriot explains that Black people being compensated for their contributions to America goes far beyond slavery.

"In a state that had been decimated economically by the Civil War, they found a cash cow, the mass incarceration system." The United States incarcerates more people than any other nation in the world and Black and Latino people are disproportionately affected by mass incarceration. Michael Harriot explains why that reality is intentional and began with "Black codes" following the Civil War.

"Why not teach them from children's books with characters that look like them?" Michael Harriot teaches us about a former school superintendent whose legal battle with the state of South Carolina led to an anti-CRT campaign and an overhaul of school district personnel across the state.

After a DNA test reveals he is a descendant of both Robert E. Lee and a former slave, Benjamin Jealous embarks on a Wild Ride to uncover the truth about the oldest open wound in America and the possibility of bridging the divide between black and white

Benjamin Jealous is ouir guest on this episode of Everyday Conversations on Race for Everyday People. He is a former president of the NAACP, a civil rights activist, and an author. He is the author of the book, "Never Forget: Our People Were Always Free," which explores racism, the history of the United States, and the power of storytelling.

In this episode, you will learn the following:

1. How is racism still affecting our country today?

2. What can we do to bridge the divide between different groups of people?

3. How did the concept of race originate and how has it been used to divide us?

Chapter Summaries:

[00:25]

 The book is about the oldest open wound in this country, the wound of racism. Author wrote it as a series of speeches, or monologues to his computer. The book is a very conversational book, a book a lot of people find surprisingly funny.

[09:38]

 Richard Yates Bland was the last white Bland to own my family. Robert Lee was the leader of the black Republicans in Virginia. What gives a slave man hubris to lead entire political parties?

[18:23]

 The title comes from something that we believe was first said by our female Kunta Kente of our family if you will. Never forget, our people were always free. That's what all the women in Atlanta I've ever known of were rebellious. And that's what put the steel in their spine.

[28:17]

 Dr. King was trying to bring poor white folks and poor black folks together to build a better America. The ultimate purpose of racism is to divide these two groups so they can't assert their right to get out of poverty. The media should show the real face of poverty, which is black and white and brown and Asian.

Guest Bio

Ben Jealous, is the youngest-ever person to have been elected as the national NAACP President; was just named the Sierra Club's Executive Director (the first person of color selected for the post), and is also a University of Pennsylvania, Professor of Practice. Timed for Black History Month, his new book just hit #1 in the African-American biographies category on Amazon. While researching the book, Jealous learned he is a cousin to slave owner Thomas Jefferson, confederate Robert E. Lee; AND a distant cousin of Dick Cheney! The book is dedicated to his grandmother who taught him to ’never forget our people were always free,’ which he considers his personal mantra of inspiration—hoping that we all: White/Black, Democrat/Republican—can finally join together to snuff out race; which Jealous says was not what our country was built on in the first place.

Host Bio

Simma Lieberman, The Inclusionist helps leaders create inclusive cultures. She is a consultant, speaker and facilitator and the host of the podcast, “Everyday Conversations on Race for Everyday People.”

Contact Simma@SimmaLieberman.com

Go to www.simmalieberman.com and www.raceconvo.com for more information

Simma is a member of and inspired by the global organization IAC (Inclusion Allies Coalition)

"When you make the education system equal, it might be predominantly or disproportionately Black." Before historically Black colleges were recognized, The University of South Carolina was an institution with a 90% Black student body. Today, the university is predominantly white and Michael Harriot explains how it got that way.