Host Sharon Hinton and guest Edwin Sumpter discuss the recent Democratic National Convention and the state of voting rights in America today. They also discuss upcoming Boston elections and share ballot questions and deadlines for voter registration.
WBCA Podcasts
On Another Level
Host Sharon Hinton and guest Edwin Sumpter discuss the recent Democratic National Convention and the state of voting rights in America today. They also discuss upcoming Boston elections and share ballot questions and deadlines for voter registration.
- Duration:
- 54m
- Broadcast on:
- 04 Sep 2024
- Audio Format:
- mp3
I have a problem every year around in the payday because Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for some reason has been treated as America's civil rights mascot. On this day we'll have folks who would have never in their life marked with a greed with bolded with anything he believed in. One of the biggest biggest in the United States Congress, he'll be on the action to send out a Dr. King Jr. I'm going to thank my brother Tio, Aaron Tioli, who has done that amazing intro. He's actually signed some other music, sent some other music over to me, but I don't like as much as this one, and he's done a piece of work with Boy George. And I may preview that, but not on this show. On this show, I don't know if you can see my t-shirt, Black Voders Matter. I'm here with my amazing friend Edwin, little something, something. And we're going to talk about the previous DNC convention that just happened last week in addition to the state of affairs and voting rights. And what is at stake because we're supposed to be voting for a new president, whoever. This year, this year, next year, next year, in Boston, it always seems like there's an election. Next year, there's an election too. But this year, we're talking about this year because next month, September is the primary. And then after that, in November, it's going to decide who's going to be a presidente of Los Estados Unidos. You're here with me. On another level, my name is Sharon Eaton Hinton, I'm your producer and a host. Look at these two clips because we're going to come back and talk about that with my friend Edwin Sumter, community activist and media specialist on another level. I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America. Trust Donald Trump and JD fans to look out for your family. Shoot. I wouldn't let those guys, I wouldn't trust them to move my couch. What's up everybody, Stephen Curry here. I know you all know, I think we're going to stay a good year for men. And men of the free. Commerce has been black a lot longer than Trump's been a Republican. And global pop icon pink. Let me introduce you to some of the many Democrats who understand what service means. And we're proud serving our countries and city halls, state capitals, the US House and the Senate. But in Detroit, they call me Big Gretch. Donald Trump is a weak man pretending to be strong. We are not going back to when Donald Trump tried to cut Social Security and Medicare. We are not going back to when he tried to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. When insurance companies could deny people with preexisting conditions, we are not going to let him eliminate the Department of Education that funds our public schools. We are not going to let him end programs like Head Start that provide preschool and childcare for our children. America, we are not going back. And I want you to know, I promise to be a president for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self. To hold sacred America's fundamental principles, from the rule of law to free and fair elections to the peaceful transfer of power. Three, two, one, and two. The peaceful transfer of power. Remember, January 6th, my name is Sharon Eaton Hinton, I'm the producer and the host of On Another Level, I have to introduce my guests because we're going to chop it up tonight. Edwin, something, something, something. How are you doing, brother? Doing very well, Sharon. I'm very happy to be here. Thank you so much. So, go ahead and see what we were just talking about. It's been a while since you've been here. It has. It's you and I used to be on the radio and you had your own segment and everything. About decades. Boston praise radio. I mean, I know we do go back decades, right? But tonight we're talking about the election. Yeah. Now, you watch the Democratic, you know, this is the first Democratic national, any convention that I've watched for a long period of time and I'm actually a delegate in ward 18. So I attended last year, out in Worcester at the delegate. And so it's kind of fun, you know, you get free breakfasts and you're popping around with different suites and you know, you're meeting the candidates and you're talking to people and, you know, kibbutz and you're networking with different politicians or people that want to be in office. So I've experienced that live and it's kind of exciting and it's kind of tiring because it's an all day thing. However, I don't remember being this excited about watching a convention for a long period of time. But before we talk about that, I want to show another clip about why it's even important to vote at all. So this piece right here, for those of you who too slow, don't know, don't want to know, never learned, this is the reason why black people in particular are having a hard time in this country. And this happened in my lifetime, getting the right to vote civil rights in my, I'm seeing here live talking to you, watch this clip and maybe you'll get a better understanding about why it's so important to talk about even voting. Roll the clip, please. Hundreds of peaceful African American demonstrators marched for voting rights in Selma, Alabama 50 years ago. As the civil rights demonstrators made their way across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they were met on the other side by a group of state police officers who attacked them. The violent images outraged the nation, drawing national attention to the denial of voting rights for millions of African Americans. I had to vote to the courthouse, stand in line and vote. 50 years later, civil rights activist Nems Gay returned to the Birmingham courthouse where he and other blacks questioned white county officials who rejected their constitutional right to vote. What you're really trying to do is intimidate these people by making them stand in the race, keep them from registering the vote. Why do you think you're superior to me? Don't you realize with one blood on nation's flow? Because that's something you don't understand, and see that irritate though, but see don't let them worry about nobody, irritate nobody when you're right, you're right, and when you're wrong, you're wrong. Following legal challenges, blacks were allowed to vote. He says the fight was hard but worth it. A voteless people is a hopeless people. Don't care whether you're black, white, green, or gray. If you can't vote, you're messing up. Retired teacher Gene Smiley was among the first blacks allowed to vote in Montgomery, Alabama. A lot of people around in Montgomery and surrounding areas, so many of them were really afraid to go and try to vote. If you had a job, just trying to register was enough to get you fired, and in addition to that, they would even fast some of your relatives. Days after Bloody Sunday, Hank Sanders marched with Martin Luther King and thousands to Alabama's capital, Montgomery. The power of the vote was seen so powerful to those who had it that they didn't want anybody else to have it, and they were doing everything they could. They were using Arab mechanism at their disposal to stop the vote. The accomplishments that we made didn't occur by themselves. The civil rights lawyer Fred Gray, who represented Kim, won a court ruling to allow the successful march from Selma to Montgomery. It is the effort of American Negroes to secure for themselves the full blessings of American life. Gray says less than five months later, President Lyndon Johnson signed the 1965 Voting Rights Act into law. Voting rights was a key because it opened the door for so many other things. Because if you get people to vote, they can elect individuals to office. These individuals who are elected in office held the power to appoint hundreds of other people to elective officers. I do believe. Back in Birmingham, Nim's gay sings the civil rights anthem that inspired him and so many others in this struggle for equality. The lord is on our side today, deep in my heart. Chris Simkins, VOA News, Birmingham, Alabama. We shall overcome someday. Well, we still have a comment. Welcome back. Edwin, when you look, I'm looking at this pensive look on your face. What are you thinking about as you look at those two clips? I'm thinking how extraordinary it is that we're not too far removed from what we just saw. And the struggle ensues, there is still obstacles to overcome, not to the degree that those brave men and women did back in the 1950s and 60s, just to get the right to vote. But it does make me wonder how we, present day African Americans and all people can see the struggles that people had to go through so we could have the opportunity to vote and we don't. I mean, we owe it to ourselves, but we certainly owe it to those brave men and women who put their lives on the line, literally put their lives on the line. You know, it's in children. In children. You know, it's funny, I love clips like that and stories like that because I always hear something new. I heard the gentleman say that if you were trying to vote and had a job, they try to fire you and your relatives. I mean, imagine that kind of pressure being put on you, but you're still moving forward because you understand the power of the vote isn't just about now, but it's about the future. So, great clip, more and more reasons why we have to do it. And look at where we are today, in fact, look at this past month. So where are the highlights to you of the Democratic National Convention? Well, first of all, you know, there's a little saying here in New England that if you don't like to weather, stick around, a few days it will change, well, look at the way the country's changed in the last month. One month ago, we had Donald Trump, JD Vance, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris. Those were the four. Now we still have Trump advanced, but we have Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket with Tim Walts. We have a whole new final four, if you will. So who would have seen that a month ago because Joe Biden seemed pretty serious he was going to stay in for the whole race. So you get this new injection of energy, you get a chance to see history made the first female vice female president, first female black president, first female Asian president, all wound up into one. So that's reason to get excited. The convention itself, and I'm like you, I've seen bits and pieces over the years, but I can't think of the last time or at all when I've actually watched from day one to day four. And up to 12 o'clock at night, even the nights have ran long. It was very festive. I heard of the joke. It was like they had a barbecue. There was so many friends and guests in music, but there was still a message in there and the message of the future. And Kamala Harris, she had a lot of the past there. The two distinctions I noticed between the DNC and the RNC was this. Kamala Harris had Trump. I'm going to show you had Obama, Michelle Obama, she had Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton. She had other prestigious Democrats, Union, all the Democrats, historical figures down the line. Elizabeth Mormon, Bernie Sanders, all their backing. Governor Healy. Healy. Donald Trump's convention, none of those folks were there. His vice president wasn't there. He had not done many senators there. No bushes were there. No, no, no, so they were not dealing with their past. They were sticking with what Trump's doing now while Kamala Harris, of course, has all of the past and all the decades and all the people she's worked with. So two distinct fractions there. She had her family. Her sister. She had her family. Exactly. Now, but in the end, though, and this is where it comes down to, in the end, you are left with two individuals. Kamala Harris, Donald Trump. And keep in mind, as crazy as this political season has gone this last month, we still have that debate coming up. No, after he canceled, after exactly this, in fact, every day, there seems to be, like I understand today, they were arguing over how you can mute someone. But there's going to be at least one debate. And I guess the record for the audience in the debate is either Kennedy Nixon back in 1960 or Hillary Trump when they first went at it. But this debate between these two is going to be off the charts. But you also have a prosecutor in a felon. That's exactly. This is going to be much CTV. But in between all the zingers and all the jokes and so forth and so on, this is also very precarious time in the world, not just in the United States but in the world. So we have to keep an eye on not just what's happening here in the United States, but a lot of big developments going on around the world that at some point, you know, they're going to have to be addressed. You can't have a convention or a debate and go through all the issues. You have to pick the big ones, stick with them, make a position and convince people who are voting that you're going to do the best job at those issues. But there aren't any national affairs going on that have to take place as well. I always look at the conventions like on both sides. It's festive and it's an opportunity to get your message and point across. But serious business, we got 10 weeks to go to choose a president that really is going to be the primary. 10 weeks till November until November. And that's going to be a huge, huge election because I know it's funny. Every year you hear them say, every four years they say, this is the most important election of your lifetime. I've never seen that. I've never seen that. I've never seen that. No, but this is. But this one I can tell you- Not of a lifetime, but this one I can really see. It's unfortunately too, why these elections are supposed to bring the country together. I mean, I don't see either way how this one works out. We're still going to be a divided country, but somehow we're going to have to figure how to move together. But you know, it's interesting about the convention, right? I don't remember the last time I saw that many red, white, and blue. And I don't remember the Democratic National Convention point so country, I mean, they went real country. The Americans have to be an American. And you know. The DNC Americanism thing was at a level I've never seen it before. I mean, I have never seen so much. And I'm sure you hear the chance of USA, but Americanism was on full display at the DNC. And I guess the opportunity to have a female president, a woman of color at the same time, it begs that opportunity to present Americanism, for lack of a better word, in a new color, in a new range. I mean, this is- She's definitely new. This is new. This is new. Hillary Clinton, Geraldine Ferrado, when she ran for vice president back in the '80s, they were different. They were different. Even Sarah Palin. They were all different. But this, this is really different. And I got one other thing to say, and I don't know why, but something is telling me, with all the surprises we've had in the last month with this election, I just have this strange feeling there's still something else out there that's going to happen, rather with a debate or an announcement or something. I mean, we had RFK dropout over the weekend. Of course. I was going to say that was you. Trump, so there was somewhat of a surprise that he went to Trump, but then you have the Kennedy family saying that he's really hurt the legacy of the Kennedy's, but going for Trump. So there's a family infighting going there, but I have a feeling there's still something else out there that's going to impact this election and I just don't mean debate. So maybe that maybe I'm just shell shocked from all this happened over the last month. So that's maybe I know that I watched it and I was surprised how long I watched it. But it seemed like every night, every second, something new was rolling out. I mean, you had Oprah. Exactly. And then you had, you know, so you had you had a little John coming out when they were doing the same votes. Where did the roll call for the for the delegate for the states that was with the DJ, I mean that was the DJ's every night. You know, and little John and all of that and the celebrities who were there and I mean it was concert like, I mean, Stevie Wonder, it was festive and very well produced, a lot of high level energy, big crowds, big applause, and in it all accumulating with Kamala Harris giving her nomination spin. And then you also had the reference for Shirley Tism, Jesse Jackson taking to the stage on the first night. Those of you who didn't see it, definitely take a look because, you know, I've referenced the Central Park Five, but they were major people and you and I talked about this, Stacey Abrams not being there. Oh yeah, I was huge. And that's Georgia. That's huge. Claybourne was there. And Georgia's a swing state. Claybourne was there. Yeah, but she wasn't. Yep. So there were plenty of Southerners that were there. Yeah. And she wasn't. Yeah. Which is key. Kamala Harris and Joe Biden would not be in the White House if it wasn't for Stacey Abrams. Stacey Abrams. Absolutely. I mean, when that year when Stacey helped turn Georgia, it seems like every year all the time Georgia seems to be that pivotal state. I mean, Claybourne helped as well. Stacey, the year she brought Georgia. Warnock was there. Warnock was there. Well, Georgia's top state. But she wasn't. She wasn't there. I don't know what the reason was behind that. And also, when I was watching the news on Sunday, there was a Palestinian American elected official and they were scheduled to speak and they weren't included in any of those. Claybourne's eyebrows. The DNC did not allow a pro-Palestinian speaker in the... Well, a Palestinian American elected official. Yeah. So that was every son eyebrows. But again, this goes back to the international things that are going on. I mean, it's really Hamas situation. That really is turning into... It's already been a powder keg. But every day that's developing. So there's a lot to pay attention to outside of what's happening here. So we're going to keep talking about this. There's another clip, the next clip. And these clips tonight are pieces of overview of the DNC. Later on, we'll have something, you know, given equal time, Republican National Convention later on. But also information about really why it's so important to vote. Can we roll the next clip, please? Martin meant everything to me, really. He was freedom. C.T. Vivian remembers working with Martin Luther King Jr. in a campaign to guarantee voting rights for blacks. Here we are a democracy, and we're refusing to vote for at least 10 to 20 million people. We fought in every war that this country has had. And we have died in every one that has had. And yet, we didn't get the right to vote until 1965. Civil rights leader Vivian and others were on a mission to get blacks registered to vote in Selma, Alabama. The city like many in the South was racially divided 51 years ago. Selma's white leaders were determined to prevent African-Americans from voting by enforcing discriminatory regulations. We were murdered for the right to vote. We were beaten at night by policemen. We were shot by them in the daytime, right? Because they wanted to keep us under constraint. Vivian took on Sheriff Jim Clark, and admitted races who enforced local laws that denied blacks' voting rights. I told him. I said, "You can turn your back on me, but you cannot turn your back upon the idea justice." So he decided to do what he always does to beat people. Despite the dangers, Vivian led dozens of blacks to the courthouse in Selma in a campaign known as non-violent direct action to expose racism. We knew that we were going to get the right to vote. We wouldn't be citizens of this country that we had the right to vote. The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man, for breaking down injustice. When President Lyndon Johnson signed the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Vivian knew they had won the voting rights struggle. From that time on, there was no doubt in our mind that we were going to have the right to vote. I'm most proud about it, because it gave dignity to us that we did not have. Being a part of history is humbling. Very few white people really know, and you'll be surprised how few black people really know too, right? If you know that somebody died for your freedom in the very beginning, you've got to give that a second thought, and it gives you a better understanding of the struggle itself. We're willing to be beaten for democracy. But C.T. Vivian says he wants to be remembered for doing everything he could to achieve freedom and equality for all African Americans. Chris Simkins, VOA News, Atlanta. So we want to thank Voices of America, that provided that clip, just give you some basic welcome back. Give you some basic information about the election in Massachusetts, the upcoming election for the state primary. It's September 3rd, 2024, statewide. The offices on the ballot are U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, Governors Council, state representative, Register of Deeds, Clerk of Courts and County Commissioner, and certain counties only. The voter registration deadline is already over August 24th, so face two days after you missed it, and vote by mail application deadline was August 26th, 2024. Then in November 5th state election, which is statewide, the offices on the ballot, electors of President and Vice President, President and Vice President, U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, Governors Council, state Senator, state representative, Register of Deeds, Clerk of Courts, County Commissioner, and certain counties only, and additional local offices in certain cities and towns. The voter registration deadline for that is October 26th, October 26th. You can still register to vote for the November election up to October 26th, and the vote by mail application deadline October 29th, polling hours are 7 and so 8, if you want more information, you can contact the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts website. So still more can be done. There are not enough people, you know, I don't think people understand the gravity of having a minority of people voting on who gets to vote on the laws and actually administer these laws and so like other people. If you have a minority of people deciding for the majority of people, that may not be with the majority. Absolutely. Absolutely. It's funny you should say that because we actually see that even happened at the presidential level. Remember, for example, Hillary Clinton defeated Donald Trump by over 3 million votes four years ago, but he won the Electoral College. Something similar could happen again this year. Kamala Harris could indeed end up winning the popular vote, but she has to win get to that 280, get to that Electoral College, and your point is dead on. If you don't vote, let's say I'll take the city of Boston, for example, even though we don't have any major seats up for grabs this coming November, within the city, I mean, like Boston City Council and so forth, but even if we did, that point would be this. If 20 percent of the people are voting, that means that that 20 percent is making, like you said, a decision, a determination for what's a hundred percent of the people that are out there. So, really, the winners or the winning vote or the winning side represents 20 percent of the people. 20 percent is voted, not the 100 percent that could. So I say that to say the result of that is, yes, a policy may pass, a bill may pass, an official may be elected, but is it the right person, right bill, right policy for 100 percent of the people, who knows, only 20 percent voted? Right, and so some of the questions, because a lot of times people think about the big names and I've seen it because I've worked with plenty of polls, you've worked in the polls. I've just gone to vote, though my vote was so-and-so. And there's questions that are in the ballot too. On the November ballot will also appear, question one, the state auditor's authority to audit the legislature. You audit your books, I mean, at companies and everything, why wouldn't you audit the state legislature that actually votes on the budget, right? Question number two, elimination of MCAS as a high school graduation requirement. So just when you think it doesn't really affect you, if you're a parent, and your kids are still in school, elimination of the MCAS as high school graduation requirement is on the ballot. Question number three, unionization, unionization for transportation network drivers. Uber, Lyft, big deal, yeah. You're spending your money there. Question number four, limited legalization and regulation of certain natural psychedelic substances. I should say that again. Limited legalization and regulation of certain natural psychedelic substances. You know when people started having earphones and you could talk on your phone, until I got used to it as like, is this person like nuts, talking to himself, right? But there may generally be some people that are on some substances, talking to themselves, but if there's limited legalization, regulation, psychedelic substances, y'all from the '60s and '70s. And then question number five, minimum wage for tipped workers. If anybody has ever worked as a waitress or a busboy or something that they purposefully or a hostess or something like that, they purposefully pay you underneath the minimum wage and expect you to make that up. And by the way, tipping is based in slavery and racist practices. And tips have only there if they happen to be there. So for those of you that are really skimpy, I'm not going to pay it in this food is already costing so much money. The waitress, that's not a problem, that's not her fault. The busboy, that's not her fault, excuse me. And you have to look at the fact that in Massachusetts, which is the second most highest city to live in the country, you cannot live on just minimum wage and have a decent level of living in Massachusetts. So here's an opportunity to help your fellow men. You have to get certain amount of votes to even put it on the ballot. I mean, you've got to propose a legislation, get it through all the houses and the committees and everything, but you have to initially have people that do all the networking organizing to get it even close to the ballot. Absolutely. And then you get it on the ballot, so you've got to pay attention. I've seen so many people, they just go through it and go, oh, I'm just voting for this person. I don't know that person. I don't know that person. I don't know that person. And be honest with you, it's like August, almost September. And it's been low-key in terms of the media covering people and giving you a wide range of different perspectives on any particular candidate. Never mind the ones that are opposite. I mean, most people don't even know the other people that are on the ballot, if those people can't afford to get media coverage, which is why I want to talk really quickly about media coverage, because there was huge media coverage for the DNC, my phone has been covered with every two seconds a pop-up from Tim Walts or from Kamala Harris or from Barack Obama now asking just $5 because it's so expensive. Well, we're at a point now, I understand that last week Kamala Harris and Tim Walts brought in $500 million in donations, part of their bump that everybody gets when they do a convention. Huge money, huge money to spend in all kind of new and innovative ways. A hundred million of that came out of that Zoom call that was sent out when she first announced that I had all black women on it, and a hundred plus, right? And then a white woman got on there and that was $200 million plus. You can get inundated with so much advertisements, if you will, for lack of a better word, from both sides, Democrats and Republicans, that you may lose track of the fact that there are very important races and decisions to be made right in your own backyard. That's right. The role and the responsibility of the American voter, I'm sure it's the same around the world to some degree, but here in America, because we have so many elections around so many different bills, policies, elected officials, national politics, sometimes you can get a little over inundated where things get lost in the shuffle. Those questions you just mentioned, those are all very important, auditing, very important. The mass, the MCAS, those things are very important, and those can have a direct impact on your life. That's right. So more, not more so than the president of the United States, but just as much because that's something you have to really deal with every day in your life living right here in Boston. So my point is that on top of everything else you have to do as a registered voter, you have a responsibility to also look into some of these other issues and make not just any choice, but make the right choice. And yes, the right choice that impacts you, but also by taking the time to research what you're voting for, you're helping your fellow man, woman and child as well, you're helping your community. That gentleman said in the clip we just watched, I think it was LBJ, he said, "The vote is the most powerful instrument created by a man in the history of the world," something to that effect. You know, when you break it down with what one single vote can do and how it can be extrapolated in so many different ways and how it can impact so many different lives, just look at again what those men and women and children doubt and Selma went through just to get that vote, just so they can vote, just to weaken vote. That is a powerful, full letter word, V-O-T-E vote, you've got to vote, you've got to go out and vote and you've got to make the right decisions which means an educated decision as well. That's right. And so if you look at, and you can go, there's too much information out here that give you an excuse on the ballot, question number one, authorize the state auditor to audit the state legislature and remove some existing regulations regarding the auditing process. Question number two, repeal the requirement that students must achieve a certain competency level on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System MCAS exam to graduate high school. Question number three, provide for unionizing and collective bargaining for transportation network drivers. Question number four, regulate access to psychedelic substances and question number five, gradually increase the wage of tipped employees until it meets the state minimum wage in 2029 and still permit tipping in addition to the minimum wage. That's how it appears on the ballot. And every one of those questions or every one of those initiatives impact you or someone you know or someone in your family. Every one of them, it's all connected. They're all relative and they all should be given their due diligence in understanding how they impact your daily lives. There's no excuse. Let's look at another clip from the DNC. Tonight, the nominees for president begin the final sprint to the election, the timeline shrinking with early voting starting next month in at least six states, including the crucial battleground of Pennsylvania. The Harris campaign announcing plans to take a bus tour through the battleground state of Georgia next week, targeting black, working class, rural and suburban voters. Both campaigns already looking beyond the election to January, setting up presidential transition teams as required by law. NBC News has learned the federal government is set to offer them office space and resources to start transition planning on Tuesday. Thank you, President Trump. Meanwhile, President Trump rallying in Arizona. Appearing with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., just hours after he suspended his independent run for president. Here's a lot of votes that he could have gotten. I think he's going to have a huge influence. We're leading now, but I think he's going to have a huge influence on this campaign. Kennedy's exit from the race, a potential game changer this election with thousands of his supporters now looking for a place to go. What's the potential impact on the Harris campaign? Yeah, we're just looking at a sliver of the electorate. Four to five percent who were backing RFK Jr. in the polls, but just a slight difference could make all the difference. In a race with only ten weeks to go, every day and every vote matters. Aaron Gilchrist joins us. Aaron, the vice president, is still calling herself the underdog. What else is the campaign doing to change that? Well, Jose, beyond the Georgia tour, Harris and her running mate, Governor Walz, are expected to do their first joint interview next week. They're also planning some major fundraisers and more swing state barnstorming around Labor Day. Jose. Thank you NBC News and thank you for allowing us to, I mean, a lot of these get the courage. A lot of these, what a lot of people don't know is that because the major news meeting has been consolidating, they have one feed and then they have different takes from their different commentators. We don't have the variety and the diversity that we need if this is going to be a democratic society. It's a constitutional right, freedom of the press. How do you have a democracy if you don't have freedom of the press, freedom of the speech? Now, we saw, there's a clip, and I don't know if I included it, but it didn't include it because it's too long, but it talks about the history of voting period. In the very beginning, it was only white men with property, they could vote. That's right. So, the Constitution said we the people, but it wasn't we the people. Absolutely. You know, people, it's funny, occasionally people need to be reminded that it wasn't until the 1920s that white women were allowed to vote and white women did not want to include black women. White women. So, I know we tend to go to 1964, '65, around the Civil Rights Bill, which we should, but this whole system was so set up by, geared forward, and taken advantage of by white men into the 1920s. So, eventually, white women got the chance to the right to vote. It did take another 50 years before black folks got the chance to be included there and everybody. And the Civil Rights Bill, too, the voting is white, it was to ensure everybody could vote. That's the African Americans led that charge because of what happened on the march of Washington and down in Selmer, but the right to vote in East Ireland states was secured for everybody. But African Americans certainly were the ones who were being told, "You couldn't vote, you can't vote, you don't deserve to vote." In that clip, we just saw the gentleman 400 years. Exactly. And the gentleman in that clip also mentioned the previous clip, "Despite fighting in every single war, putting our lives on the line, our men and women over seas, coming to defend the United States of America and its institution, yet coming back home, hurt, maimed, crippled, blind, whatever, or coming back in one piece, but still not being able to sit where you want to have a meal. Instead of being-- Get on the bus. Still being killed in school. Go in the school. Because you're wearing the uniform that you-- Exactly. Exactly. A horrid story, one that is really shameful that any people would have to go through what the African-American experience was in this country. And again, we're talking post-slavery. So that we're here today. It's extraordinary in terms of the fact that we've had an African-American president for eight years. You see a black woman about to have-- about to possibly become president of the United States. We have US senators around the country. We've come so far. We've got so far to come, but we can't take our foot off the gas. Because there's still repeal measures. That's right. That are-- I'm going to take-- That's right. Let's take a short break. And we'll play another clip and we'll be right back. Keep your pens and your pencils because we're giving you information here. On another level, I'm your host, Sharon Eaton Hinton. I'll be right back with Edwin Sumter, community activist, and media specialist. Stay tuned. Keep running 'cause the winner I'm twin on them today. The path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected, but I'm no stranger to unlikely journeys. On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America. But Kamala, she cares deep down and she will take on the giant corporations that are squeezing American families, groceries, gas, housing, healthcare, taxes, abortion, trust Donald Trump and JD fans to look out for your family, I wouldn't trust them to move my couch. We've all lived through a lot of history over the past few years. But what we do know is this. Through it all, your life won't stop. Right now, before the crisis, is when we get to choose. Why wouldn't we choose the leader who's tough, tested, and a total badass? Everybody over here say Kamala. Everybody over here say La. Together. Where others push darkness, Kamala sees promise. Where others feel detachment, Kamala fosters connection. Where others want to drag us back to the past. My sister says, "Hold up now. We are not going back." I promise to be a president for all Americans, you can always trust me to put country above party and self. And we know what a second Trump term would look like. It's all laid out in Project 2025, written by his closest advisors. And it's some total is to pull our country back to the past. But America, we are not going back. Let's fight for it. Let's get out there. Let's vote for it. And together, let us write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told. Thank you. God bless you and may God bless the United States of America. Thank you all. You know, I'm looking at that, right? It happened. So, I have a couple more clips, but there's a clip in all fairness. In six minutes, we don't have time to play the next one, the Republican national, about the Republican agenda, if Kamala Harris wins. So I want to play a little bit of that. Just play like three or four minutes of that one. And then we're going to come back and close this out because I think we need another show too. We need to follow up on it. Can we play that clip that's just about the Republican agenda if Kamala Harris wins? Panic. With each passing day, poll after poll shows Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of Trump nationally, 49% to his 46% Harris managing to lead Trump in swing states like Michigan and Wisconsin while narrowing his lead in Georgia. And we know what Trump leans on when faced with back polling. Our primary focus is not to get out the vote. It's to make sure they don't cheat because we have all the votes you need. They are going to cheat like hell to win the election. The Republicans, however, are listening and building a pathway to challenge a potential Harris victory. In Georgia, the GOP controlled state election board approved a new rule that could throw the state's vote count into chaos this fall, providing an additional avenue for election officials to delay certification of results should they choose to. As ProPublica reports, the rule was secretly pushed by the board, which consists of pro-Trump election deniers. And before the board approved it last week, nationally prominent conservative activists reportedly spoke in support of the rule, including a representative from, you guessed it, the Heritage Foundation. Now this threat to democracy is not exclusive to Georgia over in Wisconsin, a Texas-based group called "True the Vote" is teaming up with sympathetic sheriffs to monitor polling locations and drop boxes. The group is known for peddling false claims of voter fraud in 2020. The group's co-founder says the program is, quote, "mainly focused in Wisconsin, but we do have a scalable program." Trump is also getting help from a key ally, Matt Schlapp, head of the American Conservative Union Group and organizer of the annual CPAC conference. Last week Schlapp sent a letter to officials in at least three states, Arizona, Georgia, and Wisconsin, laying out plans to monitor ballot drop boxes. In the letter obtained by the Washington Post, Schlapp warns Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger and Attorney General Chris Carr that, quote, "failure to do so risks that the results of the November elections will be questioned by those who did not support the winning candidate." In case it is not obvious, Republicans are partying. In case it's not obvious, it's too close to Carr. What do you think? Well, I watch that clip and I think to myself, "Man, is that going to be a long election night when we get down to the night of the election?" But it may not even be decided that night would be... That's what I mean. It's going to be a long election night that ease they could bleed into a day or days. Because it appears that, and I'm not putting all this on Donald Trump because I know both sides are going to be concerned about how this count happens. And either side that loses, one of them has to lose, isn't going to be happy either way. I do have more confidence that the Democrats will be a little bit more accepting of the results than I do Donald Trump. But it appears to me that Donald Trump is already setting in place, like for example, he said, "It's not that we're here to get out the vote. We have enough votes. It's to make sure they don't cheat." That's already saying. In other words, if we don't win, something's up, and then ensues the chaos. And so, think about January 6, where he tried to get people in... Stop the count. Yeah, stop the count. So Mike Pence, he tried to get his own vice president to deny ratifying... Mike Pence is not a player anymore. The vice president signs off on the election result, and that's part of the reason why they had the insurrection, if you will, the demonstrations that go there, and they were very upset with Pence because he wouldn't stop the count. Thus Pence wasn't even at the D at the RNC, first-time American history that a president running for office a second time didn't have the support of his vice president. But how could he? Because they want to hang Mike Pence. That's what I'm talking about. Kill Pence. Kill Pence. You can already look down here unless Harris opens up an incredibly wide lead, which seems unlikely with ten weeks to go, unless if that doesn't happen, then yes, it's going to be a long night. Donald Trump is certainly not going to just go away quietly, if indeed he does lose. And I think majority of Americans know that. Look how close it is. Why do you think it's so close? Well, I did hear James Carvel who worked with Bill Clinton. He'd been a good point, and that is that it's close, and you have to be careful if you're a Democrat hoping that Kamala wins. Donald Trump polls very under, he under polls. In other words, polling is done when someone asks you who you must like you to vote for, and people will say we'll give an answer or not. The people who are voting for Donald Trump sometimes don't admit they're voting for Donald Trump. They just say I'm going to vote the night of the election, which is exactly what happened with Hillary Clinton. Every lose outlet in the world said Hillary Clinton had a clear path to victory. There was nothing Donald Trump could do about it. Surprise. That's because Trump's support is going to necessarily say that they're going to vote for him. They'll wait until election night, they'll vote for him in grabs, in swarms. That what the Democrats have to be careful for going this time, that they don't underestimate Donald Trump's voters voting in big numbers the night of the election. What do you think about the peaks that they're seeing that Donald Trump is appealing to more black males? Well, I know that Donald Trump probably had more black support when he defeated Hillary Clinton than most Republicans get, but those numbers are still relatively small, even if it's three, four percent. It's not like he's getting huge numbers. Now, they're definitely, well, that's going to be interesting. They mentioned in the piece, now RFK is out, he goes to Trump. The question is, will all of his voters follow him to Donald Trump? Because remember, RFK was an independent, so independence can split either way. I can't see all of RFK support following RFK to Donald Trump. I see that more of a split, Kamala Bay benefit, somewhat from that. But at four or five percent, I'm not quite sure if that's enough to, well, I mean, it's enough to perhaps turn things if it's really that razor thin close that night, but there may seem to be a thing. And then, do you think that the switch from Biden to Kamala Harris was positive and negative? Excuse me. I think it was positive because Joe Biden had a couple of things going against him. Obviously, that first debate was a disaster. And they had him speaking in the first night, it was almost 12 o'clock. That first, 81-year-old? That first debate was a disaster, no matter how you, if you, even Democrats who were hanging in there for Biden have to admit that debate was a very bad situation. And how should that have weighed against his record? Well, I mean, Donald Trump, Biden has, has the record. But the reality is you throw in that debate performance and then the attempt on the life of Donald Trump boosted it. That was also huge. I mean, you had some people saying it's over. Now, I'm not saying that's the only reason why you bring a Kamala Harris. But the Democrats had to do something. And what about the piece, and then we've got only like a minute or so, that she has not, she's been shying away from press conferences being interviewed by the President. Very happy to hear that she and Walt are about to do a joint interview because that's been a problem. She's not exactly sat down with the press. So last few moments that you want to give to our voters. You got to vote. If for anything, vote for yourself, vote for your family, vote for your community. But vote to be part of what's about to happen in this country. Every election is very important. Every election is historical. But this one, this one is really a bellwinger here. You want to be part of this, not just on a national level, but on a local level. Those questions that are on the ballots here in Massachusetts, in and around Boston, take part in that. If anything is going to be interesting, I don't want to use the word entertaining or fun because my friends, I'll tell you this. Praying for anything is serious, serious, serious business. Thank you so much, Edwin Sumter, for being here with us this evening. This is a little bit different, but it's very important. Thank you for being here on another level. I'm your host Sharon Eaton Hinton and the producer and my guest, Edwin Sumter. We're going to have to have you back, Mr. Media Specialist and community activist. Take care of each other and yourself and go out and register, learn about the issues, and then vote. God bless. Man Scott, on this day, you'll have folks who would have never been in their life. March with, agreed with, voted with, anything, believed in. One of the biggest biggest in the United States Congress, if you ought to actually send out a message. Now historical progressions, generations marching in succession through 400 years, hate blood sweat and tears, and counting, the resistance is mounting. We have the writers and not the generation of fighters, when it gets hard we charge. We have the writers and not the generation of fighters. But we didn't get it twisted, black women insisted, show the world how they resisted. Alabama got rocked, the world was shocked that they did it. (mumbles) [BLANK_AUDIO]