Everything's Political with Junius Williams
Season 7, Episode 2: Why Are Voters Losing Faith in Politics?
The Power of the Vote
Guests: Trinity Watson and Marilyn Davis

TRANSCRIPT

Yeah, I feel like I'm leaning into that thought around education and awareness around issues cuz I feel like I've been hearing about Medicaid for all, you know, since Obama, right? So, you know, once again, as a voter, it's like, okay, when we hear these things over and over again throughout time, but nothing fully materializes or we can't feel that materialization, then you know what what does it mean towards the vote, right? And I think those are conversations that people are having on the ground. It's like, okay, well, if this is going on for x amount of years, then you know what's what's what's holding it up. Hello, my name is Junius Williams. I'm your host on the podcast Everything's Political and this is our seventh season.

Can you believe it? And we're going to continue with our discussion. This is episode two. I'm going to continue with our discussion on the topic of the day, which is the power of the vote. This is a really important uh thing to talk about nowadays. It's even popular. A lot of people are talking about it. But is everybody voting? Last time my guest was Al Josie Harding and she is a she and I both are a member of something called are members of something called uh National Council of Elders. And we talked about uh she talked about the historical basis for black people being involved in the whole issue of voting. And we we talked about that in in in part because the young people we interviewed at that time did not feel the call to vote because it was so hard for black people to get the vote.

So then the question becomes not only individual responsibility or even group responsibility but what is the role of the Democratic party or the Republican party for that matter? What is the role for any political party to engage the voter? What does the the party have to do to keep voters interested? And so I've got two witnesses today. Two expert witnesses. Well, they look kind of skeptical. They are each other, but they are they are both of them are friends of mine. One of them I I just met recently at a gathering s uh at a gathering sponsored by the the elders group, the NCE as we call ourselves. And we brought in some youngers. That's what we call y'all Trinity.

We brought in the youngest to talk to the elders about various topics. And so I want to introduce to you Trinity Watson. And Trinity is a cultural organizer in Detroit, Michigan. The other person that I have is a friend of mine from New Jersey. She is not an elder, but she's not a younger. She denies vehemently the elder portion. All right. Well, I'm sorry you mentioned it, but her name is Marilyn Davis and she is a government affairs consultant who is very much aware of uh the of things voting. So, how are both of you doing? Great. And thank you for having me. Yeah, same. Excited to get the conversation going. Glad to have you. So, the question is, what does the Democratic Party have to do to keep voters interested and engaged?

But before I do that, I want to find out from uh Trinity, how do you feel about voting? How do I feel about voting? Um, I would say so I am someone that votes. I will say with time it's become something that I'm less enthusiastic around um but more so something I feel like so I do feel responsible like when it comes to my vote and I understand its um importance. So, a lot of ends as you see. Um, and I would say, yeah, just think throughout time, I think when I was younger and how I was like taught about voting, um, in our party system, it was like, you know, if you want your voice to be heard, if you want to like change the world, then like make sure you vote right.

And I feel like now in kind of my um adulthood, I recognized that the responsibility is not only on the people we elect, it's also on um communities that they represent. So I feel like I've just been more putting my focus more towards the community end, not necessarily towards just kind of like voting or voter access, but more so just towards our own survival. I think within my lifetime I've also witnessed how the folks that we elect though they might say one thing um often they have a different um they have different priorities beyond the people. So I think that's why um yeah I've become less enthusiastic. Now I'm not sure if I quite understand the the nature of your enthusiasm.

All right. So, are you saying you're less enthusiastic because of the quality of the people who are put up to be elected? I think it's a part of it. I think another part of it is also um I feel like as kind of my consciousness has expanded, especially when thinking about um so like here in Detroit, we talk a lot about you know, revolution, evolution, thinking about James and Gracie Bogs. And I think as kind of my thinking has changed around like what does true you know societal change involve that's also um altered my understanding or enthusiasm towards voting being that you know we can't only look towards like leaders that we put in positions to change the world or our surroundings like we have to embody that change and really be rooted in community.

So, I think, yeah, when I was younger, it was like, oh, you know, if I have a say in who becomes the mayor, who becomes the president, they're going to change everything and everything's going to be great. And now I'm like, oh, okay. The reality of that is actually they're operating in these systems, which honestly has not been um crafted or created for folks that look like me or come from my communities. And that's why we always kind of have these different disparities or um you know just social issues that we have to deal with on a local and communal level. So I think all to say I recognize the responsibility that I have to take on for myself versus just putting my vote towards someone who I believe will do it for me.

So your vote is one of responsibility rather than feeling like it's really going to matter. At times I would say yes. I I do feel like that. Okay. I I hate I had to I had to put on my lawyer hat and cross-examine you right to to pull out what I really think you're going to be trying to say or you are trying to say. You're very articulate. But uh I want to make sure that my folks out there are clear. Now Marilyn Davis. Yes sir. Government affairs consultant. What do you do? What does that mean? So I assist either in the companies or organizations nonprofits with their um agenda when it comes to government in particular. Um it could be on the federal level, the state level, the county level, the municipal level.

But I liazison um between the client and the entity um or the agency or the politician or the the the the government um um agency. Yeah. So what do you think about what uh what Trinity just said responsibility? Yes, but possibilities for change. I can absolutely relate. I'm someone who has um been voting since I turned 18 when I was in college, but it was born out of community. Both my parents grew up in the segregated South. So voting in the south and during that time was a big deal. It was a a community thing in that um on election day we gather to see who won that election. So it became um um for me it was more out of community an obligation.

But I can see when you live in certain communities, whether it is um especially a a I'm going call it a blue a blue city or blue municipality um and when you can see uh some of the uh the priority isn't quite on the people. Um you get become become a little disheartened and you're like, "Oh man, I got I'm going to go vote, but is it really going to make a difference?" But I also understand that if you're not at the table, you're on the menu. So it is important that we not get distracted by those who are in position. Um sometimes it's the equality. I mean, you and I live in a state where the quality of elected officials are not quite what it should be or what or what it used to be, right?

Um so so sometimes equality you're like okay I'm going to vote for this person and they're going to win because the the machine or the political uh system is going to make sure that they get elected but at the same time you want to also send a message so that even though you may live in a a blue or democratic um community you may want to know vote for the opposition just to show those who are in power that they don't have it locked in 100%. So, what can the Democratic Party do to change that perception? We got we're going to we're going to make sure we come out and vote and we're going to vote line A all the way, quote unquote.

That's the way they do it here in New Jersey because the Democrats usually control the best line. Yeah. Uh what what can the Democratic Party do to change people's minds? So there's the aspirational what can the Democratic party do? There's like the reality of what the Democratic party does. aspirationally the national and the state party should engage voters to explain to them what's at stake what why these issues matter why Medicare for all is important why the um who's in office matters because of for instance the tariffs that are being imposed on um products coming into the country and therefore the cost of consumer like they should be educating voters on those issues at a at a at a high level at a local level um it's important that those in in office explain to the voters why it's important for them to come out.

Your participation in the process also um helps direct resources so that on a statewide level if they see that okay the city of Newark turns out at 70% means Newark has an educated um voter base then they may be more responsive to providing certain resources to Newark because in four years or eight years they're going to come back to that community and say vote for me and they're going to want those votes. Uh but and so in other communities if you were in like a Matuchin for example which is a more um re suburban suburban community Trinity those individuals they vote at know 70 80% because they understand all of these things from a national to a local level and the importance of participation.

The Democratic party should be educating people on the issues. The Democratic party should also listen to community, come to community to listen to understand what is important because I may think um uh Medicare for all is important and the number one issue, but the individual may think the number one issue is education or jobs um or you know to other things that housing that might be more important to the community. But in reality, we know that um in certain places um and having done worked on campaigns in in Detroit, Trinity that the leaders, the powers that be, they understand that in order to win, they need a x number of voters. The universe of registered voters might be much larger.

The universe of of adults who could vote might be much larger than what is needed to win. You following me here? So they only speak to the group that they know is going to participate and the group that they know will will will come out and vote for them. But we cannot we cannot continue being selfish. We cannot continue being self- serving. We have to expand that universe and also bring more people into the tent. That is where we're failing and we're feeling community and and we're going to see whether or not you know Detroit for Michigan for example has a US Senate race as a targeted race. Are are they going to be able to convince those who are eligible to vote to register and to participate and and come out and vote in November?

Or are these people gonna say, you know what, you know, it's the same old same and not get engaged. And we'll see that in places like Georgia and North Carolina and Florida, Mississippi, places where folks have been dormant for so long that now you want them to come out because this is the most consequential election. Um, but you know, the voters are struggling with high utility bills, the high cost of groceries, high cost of gas. I mean, everything is coming at them. So, it's going to be interesting. And this is a long answer, but I think that if the Democratic Party had been educating, engaging voters and and those who are eligible to vote along the way, we wouldn't be in this crisis situation that we are in now.

Trinity, so what do you think about that? What what have you heard? And uh what's the crucial race out there who's running for Senate? What's their name? So we have um Abdul and I to be transparent, I don't even know the other person cuz I'm just like I'm going to vote for Abdul. Um, so yeah, I also acknowledge um some of my unknowing cuz yeah, like I said, I feel like voting is a responsibility that I have and just through becoming um yeah, just less hard um disenheartened by the whole kind of political system. I've kind of just like, you know, I feel like, okay, I'm going to vote.

And I think someone said this at um our retreat for the Council of Elders, but you know, I vote to keep like my opposition like out the way so that I can continue to like who who can I vote for that will allow my organizing to occur most um fluidly without interruption is kind of my mindset. And yeah, I think in response to what Marilyn was stating, um I think it I think that's real. I think, you know, when I think of politics, I think about strategy. And unfortunately, sometimes that strategy doesn't involve like really connecting to the people that you claim you want to like who you're representing or who you're fighting for. Um, a lot of it is, you know, opportunity based like, okay, like what certain districts, what certain regions do we need to do the most outreach towards?

Um, which once again could just bring up that question around accessibility and awareness because if you're only targeting certain communities, certain um, voting populations um, but not everyone gets the full picture image of how you're trying to truly support them and really listening. I think that listening point that you brought up was really significant cuz I think especially folks in Detroit like we just don't feel like we are heard or even if the town hall is created for us to air out our grievances. You know, it's more so of like a check mark of like okay well you said we wasn't listening now now we listen but then that doesn't necessarily translate into um you know like law or um just like institutional change.

So I think that is the it's kind of like the contradiction because like the that type of engagement can happen but how does that then um materialized for people to have the confidence in who they voted for and who they chose to represent them? I feel like that's something I constantly um face and therefore yeah it's yeah I just I'll say like my my heart isn't like oh I vote be for my future like you know I vote to make how my live reality is currently um just less challenging while also acknowledging that the challenges will continue due to our current um just yeah legal system. So, and that's like a broader thing that has to be transformed beyond who is elected.

That sounds like a very intelligent voter, but not a motivated voter. So, I'm wondering how many people out there in Detroit or anywhere else, Georgia, North Carolina, all these pivotable pivotal uh places. I wonder how many folks are like that. And who which side of their personality is going to win? I'm going to stay at home. I recognize, but I'm just not motiv I'm just not motivated to vote at this time. What do you think, Marilyn? Oh, absolutely. find people who have um been impacted by the justice system who are you know facing challenges just trying to get a job or find housing or um better themselves. I mean th those individuals face the system head on and so therefore you can see where they are not inclined to um to participate because they see the other side of the system.

Then you have the young people. I have a nephew. I mean, I have probably four or five nephews. And I sent out an email or text to all them said, "Are you registered to vote? When are you voting? What is your plan?" And no, three out of four responded. The fourth one didn't respond, which I said, "Okay, he's not registered to vote, but he's not going to tell me." Right? This is my nephew. Um, but he probably feels like, you know, the world is after him, like he can't he's like like he's, you know, he can't breathe. Um, but he's one of those who, you know, is is hard to reach, right? those hardto-reach and and and and uh those those hard-to-reach voters are going to be difficult to penetrate.

I mean, I've I've gone um canvasing in places like Brooklyn where you have the very astute um voter community, yet they some of them are even the ones who participate in the process. For instance, if your kid goes to charter school and you're talking to the parents of the kids and they're benefiting from the system, but yet they don't still they still don't feel obligated to participate in the process. So there's a swath of people across the country whether in Florida again any pick a state they they exist and um certainly know is our obligation to try to reach them um but it's going to be hard especially when again everything is coming at you like across the board all the way down to the cost of Netflix is going up um so people are people's checks are shrinking and they don't see what you know electing these individuals is how it's going to benefit them.

Unfortunately, they don't see it. But those who do, we we should continue to kind of educate those individuals and try to explain to them how the process works and why it is important for them to participate and choose who their um leaders will be. Okay. Uh to kind of corroborate what you're saying and since both of you are experts in your own way about uh what the phenomena is, here's something that I clipped out of uh the paper not too long ago. This was in September. Uh I I don't try to do it doing that kind of clicking stuff and you put the put it into the web and all of that because I don't know if I'm going to be able to find it.

But if I take some scissors and clip it out of the New York Times or whatever, here it is. And sure enough, now that I need it, I got it. I don't have to call my son. I don't have to call anybody. I got it. Uhhuh. So, it says in here, "Decline in voter trust is adding volatility to the midterms." That's the headline. And one of the paragraphs, in the United States, trust in government topped 70% in the 1950s during the postw World War II economic boom. According to Research Center, it declined drastically in the following decades during the turmoil of the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and Watergate. Then it skips down Pew Pew's most recent measurement in September 25 found that just 17% of the Americans trusted the federal government.

For the first time in the Trump era, our politics are suddenly strangely unpredictable. What do you think about that? First, trust in government and now they say it's unpredictable. Well, I can see how the trust in government has has diminished. I mean we again um for those of again my parents generation who um relied upon government to create opportunities and it did do that um to my generation where we're now starting to see or we've seen how government officials have used the their powers not for the benefit of the people but for the benefit of themselves. For instance here in New Jersey know we would live through a bridgegate with Chris Christie. So to see um a politician use a bridge to exert punishment on his enemies like like people see that and they they become less um less um uh open to what government can do.

We've seen in the with the with the the Trump administration how they've placed individuals who were um not qualified as recent as the press secretary. But let's go back to you know the donor who's the the secretary of uh department of education. Let's look at um how he's playing games with the um with tariffs just you know just willy willy-nilly, right? But we've seen it in places again going back to um places like Detroit how some of the leaders have used um their position to to enrich themselves and that's across the board, right?

So when these things happen and the media blastes in your face all day long about this this particular person who did X Y and Z then ver trust in the system declines and here we are and then when you when you when you come in contact with the system and you see how it does not um how how you know again what they say doesn't match reality whether it's through u when Bill Clinton had um the drug on war and and and uh the war on drugs and how that impacted black communities or when you look at how um trying to think of some other examples of of how government has been used or been weaponized against black people. And so therefore, people then become more and more um uh apathetic and and more distrustful of the system.

What do you think, Trinity? Trust. Yeah, I definitely um agree with some of the points that Marilyn raised and when you were kind of reading the newspaper clipping something Yeah, I just kind of went back to my freshman year. So, I went to Michigan State and I went my freshman year was in 2016. So, that was a major election where Trump was um you know his first term as president. And I remember that time cuz yeah, like I think like Bernie Sanders had came to on campus and that was the originally who I wanted to be nominated.

Um, so yeah, I can just remember like the excitement and then all the things that he was sharing and then, you know, fast forward to Hillary Clinton getting the nomination, but then still it it just felt very clear, at least to the people that I was around, that like, oh my, this is going to be probably the easiest elections we've ever seen for um the presidency. Like, it's very clear who has the, you know, the expertise, the experience, the background to um hold such a position. And I will never forget when the results came out and Trump was elected. Like even the campus was like it was just like the tone in the space just shifted. It was a very eerie silence on campus.

And I bring that up to say I think within me that was like the beginning of my shift to really rethink like oh who actually gets to determine who is in power? because all around me like you know I saw everyone like even if people weren't big Hillary fans like it was just from a credential standpoint it was just like there's no way that this person could ever become the president of the US and now here we are within his second term and all the chaos that has come from that. So, I think um I bring that up too because I think the point around trust. It made me think about even just kind of the funding that goes into positioning um candidates to, you know, promote their message.

Marilyn had brought up kind of like media and narrative, which I feel like plays a huge role in how we understand who we can and can't vote for. So when you kind of like peel the the veil back and see how you know these like super PACs and these corporations and these like tech billionaires are involved in politics today. Um it also kind of um you know the voter internalizes that as oh like does my vote only count if I can afford if I can afford it or if I have like the backing to really promote the person that I see as the leader that I want. So yeah, I just things that are coming up is how uh our government has become more and more um like the private field has become more and more invested into our political system.

How therefore people on the grounds or people that are often the most um dispensed or exposed of due to all of the laws that are being um made or like the retractions and like our our civil protections are happening. um just how that internalizes like oh even if I do you know vote like what is my vote to a billionaire that could you know I feel like we're in a realm where we're even thinking about are people like buying votes or you know when we're tallying up counts like is that being done fairly or so it's just all these different dimensions that I feel like have come forth through this kind of era of Trumpism um and just going back to that memory of like 2016 like it it was definitely it felt like a cultural shift not regarding a culture of our country because I think what Trump represents is honestly kind of like the worst aspect of our country when thinking about racism, xenophobia, like all the isms.

Um but a shift in in knowledge in how we understand what is real and what is not real. I feel like that has vapidly altered which then kind of trickles down to like the local or state or like the Senate elections. Like a lot of times when I'm seeing the media propaganda about different um you know folks that are running is like is this real or not? Are the facts that are being shared and like are these even facts? Like we have to ask ourselves these questions now. So it's like as a voter I'm not even just it's like okay you have to do your research. You have to know the different folks, but now you got to double check the research.

Now you got like you have it's like all these different obstacles that come up just to try to elect someone that is in alignment with who I am. Um not only through my values, but just like as a as a human being at this point like there's certain people that run that have a unhumane lens on how society should look. So yeah, I think to summarize it, it just really is overwhelming, which I think is another reason why people kind of just take a step back and just kind of have this apathetic front that, you know, even if I make this decision, there's people's powers and forces over me that will center their interest over the interest of my vote. whose reality do we believe that there are certain people within the uh Democratic party that have been labeled populist and uh Bernie Sanders would be one of those you mentioned him then there's others AOC and then the other people uh that uh have come forward and said I'm going to run for office here's a headline that says as populist Democrats ride anger against politicians, including their own party.

Takes a certain skill to put all that in one sentence, doesn't it? I always admire those folks. Populist Democrats brought anger against politicians, including their own party. Now, that's certainly happening within the Democratic party. I don't see any kind of uh break from uh reality quote unquote in the Republican party, but I certainly see it in the Democratic party. How's that going to play out in places like uh Detroit, places like uh North Carolina, Georgia? What do you think? It's not going to play at all in North Carolina and Georgia. Um those are different different cultural states and it's gonna be a litmus test to see if it works even in a in a in a place like Michigan. I mean this is uh Michigan is a very diverse state.

Um people think Michigan and think Detroit, but when you go to whether it's Grand Rapids or or Flint or um the UP is a whole different place, right? So the the it's going to be interesting to see if in the blue parts of Michigan you can pull out the vote that could relate to that populist message. I think I I I do want to say though I think we get into it's a slippery slope when we get caught up in labels liberal, progressives, moderates, conservative in the Democratic party. like we need to get back to the basics of what are our core beliefs as a Democratic party and how do we um work as a collective to meet those needs for those who need the Democratic party or believe in the Democratic party because once we get caught up in the labels then we start dividing the pie and dividing the people and then we have internal chaos.

So, I pro the only label I subscribe to is I'm a black woman. That's it. I don't get into the whole are you this, that, and the other. What is your what are you proposing? Am I in alignment with your proposal? Do I think it's baked in reality? Can it be can can this this environment that we're in? Can we uh are we able to um uh move forward on that particular policy agenda? If yes, then let's go with if not then that let's slow down. Let's try to see where we can build that in and because this is a numbers game. At the end of the day, you got to have 50 plus one in order to win. And so, what is the message that can that can that can um motivate 51% of the voting populist to to vote?

That's all I care about. And so, if Medicare for all can get it done, great. One, let's go with it. But if Medicare for all, if people are not buying into Medicare for all, let's take a step back and look at that which we can do to meet the people where they are today. So, what do you think about that? I mean, uh, Medicare for all, the the polls say everybody likes that, uh, Trinity, but the politicians don't seem to like to want to fight for that. Yeah. And I know that's one of like Abdul's like main kind of campaign um pitches, which Yeah. I think, you know, echoing Marilyn, like if that's something that can mobilize people to get um a person elected, then you know that that goes back to strategy, right?

And I think um yeah, I feel like I'm leaning into that thought around education and awareness around issues cuz I feel like I've been hearing about Medicaid for all, you know, since Obama, right? So, you know, once again, as a voter, it's like, okay, when we hear these things over and over again throughout time, but nothing fully materializes or we can't feel that materialization, then, you know, what what does it mean towards the vote, right? And I think those are conversations that people are having on the ground. It's like, okay, well, if this is going on for x amount of years, then, you know, what's what's what's holding it up? Like, is it internal party strife? Is it um strife across the aisle?

It can be many things. And I think that's why I have um yeah just returned back to community because I think even like regardless if Medicare happens or doesn't happen, I know there's folks on the ground doing mutual aid. I know there's folks within medical systems that are trying to make it more accessible. So I feel like that's why my shift has come more towards like who are the people in my community that I know that are doing kind of this revolutionary or just really trying to think about the alternative systems we can build on the ground while we while we also try to do that um within these kind of like political realms like both have to coexist in my opinion and I think I'm acknowledging you know when I was younger it was very much so taught to me that you know this political system is where change happens.

Put your energy towards the political system and then especially when we were talking earlier about depending on which era you're thinking about like you know the civil rights era like that was like voting was truly power like it was something that was that was revolutionary at the time within a world that was explicitly antilack um and all these other things. So, I think it's important for us to also assess kind of the time periods that we're in as they relate to certain issues. Um, because as the time changes, so does the the issue and so does how people are impacted by it, which sometimes I feel like there isn't enough conversation around as well. Um, for for a variety of reasons.

So yeah, I think to your question, it just makes me think about how are people embodying their own responsibility towards their communities and towards their people while also um having some type of engagement in the political realm because I also am someone that um believes coming from the Kahi River collective statements that the personal is political. So even if we don't identify ourselves as political individuals like let's say you know I wasn't a voter if I wasn't engaged we still live political lives because it is through that system that constructs the live realities that we come across right so if I can understand that the personal is political then I can understand that intrinsically there will be some type of connection that my livelihood has to whoever is in power and dictating you know what I have access to the different communities I can connect with the resources I have like that will follow me throughout my life.

So from there is the question or the choice of you know do I map out that political realm just through my you know personal happenings on the ground or do I also expand that to the folks that claim they want to represent and support me like that populist view. Um do I do I align myself with that as well? um I think is at least for me like the questions I'm constantly thinking about like where is most of my time especially when thinking about my survival like where is my time needed the most and where else can I put my time to just make sure that other work can continue um so so yeah I think I'm thinking about time I'm thinking about um also kind of like this I feel like even beyond the political system I'm thinking a a lot about my education honestly right now just like throughout time how I've been conditioned to understand like party systems and things cuz I think also we are taught to think very in a black and white manner so there's only Democrats there's only Republicans I feel like there's not always enough space to think about what exists in between or beyond those two parties and of course often you know when it comes to large elections it does kind of come down to that red or blue stance and um you know just like what would it mean if people understood the system holistically to then inform the practices that they can do even beyond like an election um time.

I just I just feel like we are taught to think in a certain way, especially when it comes to our politics, especially when it comes to power, but then through that it limits our own understanding or imagination of what can be possible beyond what those two kind of um opposing stances can be. And I feel like there needs to be more room to address the the possibilities that we have that can exist. Wow. Wow. Wow. That's a good point to uh end on. Uh thinking beyond the two-party system. Maybe that is what we need to do. But we certainly can't do it now within a short period of time. We've got a major set of elections all around the country.

I want to thank my two experts on giving their points of view. Uh they they've both been very educational and inspirational. We're going to have uh we usually come on periodically at uh about once a month, but we're going to uh do something a little different because of that election. I'm going to give you all a chance to hear what my take is on the uh result of the elections coming up. So, we're going to have have an added starter by the end of this month. Get ready. Get ready. Get ready. It's coming because we want to use our experts, the three experts that I've had on thus far in our seventh season. I want to hear what they have to say as it uh I want to use what they have to say as it plays out in the forthcoming elections.

And so, y'all are going to have to just listen to me. Sorry to sour you if you wanted somebody else on that. But I'm going to be your election expert coming up pretty soon. And from there on we're going to zoom into the future. So thank you both. Marilyn Trinity, appreciate you being here and uh let's move forward and everybody go out and vote for somebody. Thank you. Byebye. Take care. Peace. Everything's political podcast is sponsored by the Center for Education and Juvenile Justice. It is supported by the Terrell Foundation, PSNG Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and by listeners like you. It is produced and new by Stephanie Gier, K. Williams, and by me, Junius Williams. with theme music by Anthony Ant Jackson.

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