Episode 107
Empowering Black Women: The Rise of Kamala Harris
Monica Wisdom dives deep into the theme of empowerment for Black women in the context of the upcoming presidential race, highlighting the importance of owning their power and representation in leadership.
She reflects on the significant role Black women played in the 2020 election, emphasizing how their collective voice has opened doors and created opportunities, such as having Kamala Harris as a presidential candidate. The conversation touches on the challenges still faced, including threats to affirmative action and the need for better representation in various sectors.
Monica urges listeners to critically evaluate their choices in the political landscape and consider the impact these decisions will have on future generations.
She concludes by encouraging everyone to take an active role in shaping their communities and supporting candidates who genuinely represent their interests and values.
Takeaways:
- Black women are increasingly gaining power and visibility in politics, as exemplified by Kamala Harris's candidacy.
- The conversations around Kamala Harris's identity reflect broader societal perceptions of race and representation.
- Black women play a crucial role in shaping political agendas and advocating for their communities.
- Empowerment comes from recognizing our strength and challenging the narratives that tell us otherwise.
- Investing in HBCUs and supporting Black-led initiatives is vital for community growth.
- The importance of doing thorough research before making political decisions cannot be overstated.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Amazon
- Louis Vuitton
- Saks Fifth Avenue
- Neiman Marcus
- Bloomberg
Transcript
Hello, black women amplified family.
Monica Wisdom:It is your girl, Monica wisdom.
Monica Wisdom:And today we are just going to have a simple little chat, a little sidebar conversation about what's going on in black girl magic life.
Monica Wisdom:I hope that you've had an opportunity to hear our latest interviews in season four of the podcast.
Monica Wisdom:Nicki Mae, who wrote the book Walhalla, is here to talk about her second book, and Nicole Glover is here joining us to talk about her third book.
Monica Wisdom:And it was released.
Monica Wisdom:Both episodes were released Thursday and the Thursday before both very different writers.
Monica Wisdom:Nikki Mae joined us from England and shared her nigerian and anglo heritage, and her characters in the book match who she is.
Monica Wisdom:So she puts herself in her books.
Monica Wisdom:And then Nicole is a fantasy writer who writes a series called murder and magic.
Monica Wisdom:So she puts together history with kind of I kind of say her books are like, let's say Lovecraft country and Harry Potter are friends and these are her books.
Monica Wisdom:So I was able to read her book.
Monica Wisdom: of a black woman pilot in the: Monica Wisdom:So she has a great series.
Monica Wisdom:Her concepts are great, and we go deep into both of them.
Monica Wisdom:So if you're interested in becoming an author, writing your story and the whole writing process, you know, I get all in their business.
Monica Wisdom:So we talk about their writing process, how they got signed, you know, what got them to be a signed author with a major publishing house.
Monica Wisdom:Because as you know, the publishing houses are like, there's, you know, a diminishing of black authors and behind the scenes people, you know, behind the scenes people getting less and less black people behind the scenes.
Monica Wisdom:And, you know, it's all because of this.
Monica Wisdom:Well, let's talk about it, right?
Monica Wisdom:So welcome to the sidebar conversation and just make sure you get a chance to listen to those episodes plus previous episodes.
Monica Wisdom:If you're new to the podcast, welcome.
Monica Wisdom:And if you've been around a long time, thank you.
Monica Wisdom:Please share this.
Monica Wisdom:Here's a simple thing.
Monica Wisdom:I want you to be my podcast warriors.
Monica Wisdom:Just take the link from one of your favorite episodes and text it to a couple of your friends and say, hey, I really enjoyed this.
Monica Wisdom:You might want to check it out or something that they need.
Monica Wisdom:There's conversations about empowerment and confidence and things like that.
Monica Wisdom:So you know, when you're talking to your girls or the guys in your life and they're going through a rough time, there are some episodes here that can really help them through those times if they want to be an entrepreneur.
Monica Wisdom:We have entrepreneurs on here who are you know, very good at what they do, what they do.
Monica Wisdom:And I have really gotten all up into they business about how they started their businesses.
Monica Wisdom:So there's something for everybody.
Monica Wisdom:It's a diverse background of careers, a diverse background of thought.
Monica Wisdom:If you're into spiritual things, there's people here.
Monica Wisdom:There's Athena, who is a shamanous.
Monica Wisdom:And there's just different people, different ideas, different thoughts.
Monica Wisdom:And so just simply take one of your favorite episodes and text it to a friend, a couple of friends, five friends, and let them know.
Monica Wisdom:There's a podcast that is positive, and we have beautiful conversations with and about black women.
Monica Wisdom:Let me take a little sip of my water.
Monica Wisdom:I've gotten to the stage in my life where I really love water.
Monica Wisdom:You remember being a kid, and water was like torture, except when you were running around outside drinking from the water hose.
Monica Wisdom:Let's talk about that ice cold water right out of the freezer.
Monica Wisdom:My new favorite thing today, I want to talk about black women in power.
Monica Wisdom:Black women in power.
Monica Wisdom:We have.
Monica Wisdom:We're having lots of conversation about a presidential race, and black women are having lots of conversations because there is a black, west indian, south asian woman who is our presidential candidate.
Monica Wisdom:If you're a Democrat, if you're not a Democrat, she's not your presidential candidate.
Monica Wisdom:She is a presidential candidate.
Monica Wisdom:But we have Kamala Harris, who's running for president of the United States.
Monica Wisdom: esident of the United States,: Monica Wisdom:And then she became her.
Monica Wisdom:She became his vice presidential candidate.
Monica Wisdom:And this whole podcast is not about politics.
Monica Wisdom:So we're going to get into it.
Monica Wisdom: ning right now was started in: Monica Wisdom: f black women got together in: Monica Wisdom:We'll get into that in a second.
Monica Wisdom:But I just want everybody to know that there is, the seats of the table are opening up, even though there are people coming after us getting rid of affirmative action, which.
Monica Wisdom:And so companies are getting rid of their die programs.
Monica Wisdom:People are getting rid of their whole departments that deal with it.
Monica Wisdom:And so there's no.
Monica Wisdom:So there's no.
Monica Wisdom:If a company's for it, they are, like, going full force.
Monica Wisdom:If a company is not for it, they're nothing.
Monica Wisdom:So it's clear on who is who.
Monica Wisdom:Now, here's the thing.
Monica Wisdom:What they're saying to us is you can't depend on us anymore to do the right thing.
Monica Wisdom:So we have to make different choices.
Monica Wisdom:Now, as black women, we know that we're the least protected.
Monica Wisdom:Malcolm X talked about it, and it has not changed.
Monica Wisdom:The most disrespected in the community.
Monica Wisdom:But here's the duality of that.
Monica Wisdom:We are.
Monica Wisdom:I just did a podcast interview with shaping freedom, a podcast, and it's gonna come out.
Monica Wisdom:I don't know when it's gonna come out, but we both interviewed each other on each other's podcasts.
Monica Wisdom:But I'm excited about that.
Monica Wisdom:That's something else I'm gonna talk about later.
Monica Wisdom:Not today, but soon.
Monica Wisdom:But I talked about how it's important for us to know our power.
Monica Wisdom:And here's the thing.
Monica Wisdom:Here's the thing about oppression.
Monica Wisdom:When people oppress you, it's not because they think you're weak.
Monica Wisdom:It's because they know you're strong.
Monica Wisdom:But they use so many different psychological tactics to make you believe that you're not enough, that you begin to believe that you're not enough.
Monica Wisdom:So our internal conversations become echoes of what society is telling us, what school is telling us, what the media is telling us about ourselves.
Monica Wisdom:So we internalize that conversation so much that it becomes how we think about ourselves.
Monica Wisdom:But the reality is, and let's just get real raw about this, if we weren't the standard of beauty, there would be no bbls.
Monica Wisdom:If we were not the standard of glamour and fashion, you wouldn't see what we wear on runways across the world.
Monica Wisdom:If we weren't the innovators of some of those most incredible music in the world, you wouldn't find people emulating everything that we do.
Monica Wisdom:But the duality of that is what they tell us, what they say and what they do.
Monica Wisdom:And my mama always said, pay attention to what people do, not what they say.
Monica Wisdom:What they say is, you're not good enough, you're not smart enough, you're not enough.
Monica Wisdom:All of these negative things.
Monica Wisdom:But what they do is they go get butt shots, lip shots, change the shape of their faces, color, you know, darken their skin to look like us.
Monica Wisdom:So if we are so not enough and weak, why is it that people literally are making millions, millions of dollars off of the culture that we are not, that we created the culture that we are?
Monica Wisdom:So I say.
Monica Wisdom:I say that to say when I'm watching this political conversation happening, the whispers, the people who are against Kamala, the conversations that they're having now.
Monica Wisdom:It is, you know, first it was, she's not black.
Monica Wisdom:Okay, well, what do we need a DNA check?
Monica Wisdom:Are Jamaicans not black?
Monica Wisdom:Do South Indians not have african roots?
Monica Wisdom:That complexion didn't come from nowhere.
Monica Wisdom:Have you seen a person from Bangladesh?
Monica Wisdom:Have you seen a person from South Asia?
Monica Wisdom:I mean, I look at Nikki Haley and I look at her parents.
Monica Wisdom:Their complexion is darker than me, so, like, it comes from somewhere.
Monica Wisdom:And so then we want to say, well, her.
Monica Wisdom:Then they said, well, her grand.
Monica Wisdom:One of her.
Monica Wisdom:She's descendant of a slave owner.
Monica Wisdom:Well, if you are a child, a great grandchild.
Monica Wisdom:A great great grandchild.
Monica Wisdom:A great great great grandchild of transatlantic slavery.
Monica Wisdom:One of them people on the wall is our great great great grandfather.
Monica Wisdom:Right?
Monica Wisdom:Our great great great grandmother.
Monica Wisdom:Those are our cousins.
Monica Wisdom:That's why a lot of times I'm like, hey, cousin.
Monica Wisdom:Because somewhere down the line, somebody enslaved their child.
Monica Wisdom:So that's just like, what are you talking about?
Monica Wisdom:And then we talk.
Monica Wisdom:Now we're talking.
Monica Wisdom:Now they're calling her.
Monica Wisdom:She's not smart.
Monica Wisdom:No.
Monica Wisdom:Then it was, she slept her way to the top.
Monica Wisdom:How do you sleep your way to the top?
Monica Wisdom:And you were elected.
Monica Wisdom:Like, people had to go and vote for you to get your position.
Monica Wisdom:How does that happen?
Monica Wisdom:And now, now she's dumb.
Monica Wisdom:She's not smart.
Monica Wisdom:She says dumb things.
Monica Wisdom:Where.
Monica Wisdom:Where?
Monica Wisdom:She was educated by HBCU, Howard University, which is a stellar college university.
Monica Wisdom:And she went to a state school and got her law degree.
Monica Wisdom:And she was elected, I think, five times she's won elections.
Monica Wisdom:That is not somebody that is dumb.
Monica Wisdom:And not only that, her level of experience for the position.
Monica Wisdom:People always say, we need a business person for United States of America.
Monica Wisdom:United States of America is a land of laws.
Monica Wisdom:This whole country is built on laws.
Monica Wisdom:Why wouldn't you want an attorney?
Monica Wisdom:Joe Biden is an attorney practice law.
Monica Wisdom:Hillary Clinton, an attorney practice law.
Monica Wisdom:So it's important to not only know the laws and know how to practice law, but how to interpret them so that people understand what's really happening.
Monica Wisdom:So that's all I'm going to say about that.
Monica Wisdom:But I do want to talk about owning our power in this moment.
Monica Wisdom:It's so important.
Monica Wisdom:Let me get some water.
Monica Wisdom:Hold on.
Monica Wisdom:Owning our power in this moment is so important.
Monica Wisdom:It is so important.
Monica Wisdom:And I'm not saying it won't happen again in our lifetime, but why this is so important.
Monica Wisdom:Let me break it down.
Monica Wisdom: In: Monica Wisdom:He did it.
Monica Wisdom:He promised to put a black woman on the Supreme Court for the first time.
Monica Wisdom:He did it.
Monica Wisdom:There is a divine nine office at the White House.
Monica Wisdom:There is a group of women called the colored girls who advise Joe Biden on black issues.
Monica Wisdom:He has put billions of dollars into HBCUs.
Monica Wisdom:It's not enough money because HBCUs have been so neglected, but he did it.
Monica Wisdom:And Kamala Harris has been with him making those decisions, because at the end of the day, HBcus are some of the finest learning institutions in the country.
Monica Wisdom:They have lots of problems because they are not funded like other universities are.
Monica Wisdom:I live in a city that has an Ivy league of the midwest.
Monica Wisdom:They have, I want to say, a 40 or $50 billion endowment fund because the alumni give out of their pocket and they give money to the university.
Monica Wisdom:When people die, they leave money to the university.
Monica Wisdom:That is not happening at the HBCus.
Monica Wisdom:So there's a deficit.
Monica Wisdom:When you see some of these colleges also, many people have for years, have not even sent their kids to hbCus.
Monica Wisdom:They don't have the top tier sports.
Monica Wisdom:That brings in a lot of money for the universities.
Monica Wisdom:But lately they've been getting lots of attention.
Monica Wisdom:Lots and lots of attention.
Monica Wisdom:One of the people who put a lot of fire on that was Beyonce when she did Coachella, when she presented the world the HBCU experience that made people say, oh, that's.
Monica Wisdom:I didn't know that was happening there.
Monica Wisdom:You know?
Monica Wisdom:So people are doing more now than just going to homecoming.
Monica Wisdom:There are people that have.
Monica Wisdom:That are sending money there.
Monica Wisdom:I know that Bloomberg, who was the former mayor of New York, just sent a hundred million dollars.
Monica Wisdom:Amazon man's wife, I can't think of her name.
Monica Wisdom:I can't think of her name, but she just sent millions of dollars to HBCU.
Monica Wisdom:So it's happening more and more and more.
Monica Wisdom:Robert Smith and different people are saying, we're paying for this year's education.
Monica Wisdom:So it's happening.
Monica Wisdom:These openings are happening.
Monica Wisdom:But what happens is, because we get our information off of social media, we get our information from the media.
Monica Wisdom:The messaging is different than the reality.
Monica Wisdom:So we have to go to places that are really giving information about what's happening in the black community.
Monica Wisdom:And we also have to remember there are a lot of places that are not mainstream, that feed off of our pain.
Monica Wisdom:This is one of the reasons I got off TikTok.
Monica Wisdom:There were too many white people profiting off of black pain.
Monica Wisdom:Their whole platform will be like, let me tell you about black history.
Monica Wisdom:And they're making millions, millions, hundreds of thousands, thousands of dollars, millions of views based off of our information and our life.
Monica Wisdom:But they're not donating any money to our causes.
Monica Wisdom:They're not giving money to HBcus.
Monica Wisdom:They're not paying for lunches at schools.
Monica Wisdom:They're just profiting off of our pain.
Monica Wisdom:And that's one of the reasons why I got off TikTok.
Monica Wisdom:I just, morally, I just can't be there.
Monica Wisdom:But back to the conversation that win with black women had.
Monica Wisdom:That's an organization.
Monica Wisdom:Everybody should join it.
Monica Wisdom:Everybody should get involved some type of way.
Monica Wisdom:Every Sunday they have a call, and this is outside of the campaign, but every Sunday they have a call, and you learn about what's happening on the ground with black women specifically.
Monica Wisdom:And it's run by a really powerful group of women who are on the ground in different facets of life, from media to politics to medicine, all across the board.
Monica Wisdom:And it's just a really great way to plug into the black woman community.
Monica Wisdom:And I'm glad that I found them.
Monica Wisdom:So what has happened is, because of the work that win, what black women have done.
Monica Wisdom:So let's talk about Kamala Harris.
Monica Wisdom:Her power as a black woman.
Monica Wisdom:Her power as a black woman.
Monica Wisdom:She's only been running for president, president this time for less than three months.
Monica Wisdom:She has three months to win this, right?
Monica Wisdom:Most people, they've been planning this for years.
Monica Wisdom:Typically, when you win your election, you start running for the next election, and you spend at least two years doing what she has done in less than three months.
Monica Wisdom:That's huge.
Monica Wisdom:That is huge.
Monica Wisdom:And at the time that I'm recording this episode, her campaign has raised $1 billion.
Monica Wisdom:Typically, that's the amount of money raised over years.
Monica Wisdom:And it just, for whatever reason, that's how much it costs to run a campaign these days.
Monica Wisdom:It's ridiculous.
Monica Wisdom:You know, when you go to places like Britain, you get six weeks to run for office, and the country gives you money.
Monica Wisdom:Everybody has the same amount of money.
Monica Wisdom:You got to do the best you can do.
Monica Wisdom:And I think that's probably why they have more parties.
Monica Wisdom:Like, we have two major parties, and then we have the independent party, then we have those other people that I don't mention their name because I'm not going to get in that conversation.
Monica Wisdom:But let me tell you something.
Monica Wisdom:Don't vote third party.
Monica Wisdom:It is really just a waste of your vote.
Monica Wisdom:It just really is.
Monica Wisdom:And as black women, I just posted this on, well, Trevor Noah talked about it, but here's the thing.
Monica Wisdom:Just a quick, quick, quick, quick little sidebar.
Monica Wisdom:When you vote third party, you pull votes away from the Democratic Party to ensure the adversaries.
Monica Wisdom:And I'm only saying this for this election.
Monica Wisdom: tand, and it's beyond project: Monica Wisdom:If you have not read that, go read it.
Monica Wisdom:I'm telling you, this is worse.
Monica Wisdom: install is worse than project: Monica Wisdom:2025 is just part one of what their plan is.
Monica Wisdom:It's horrible, but I'm not going to talk about it.
Monica Wisdom:Read it for yourself.
Monica Wisdom:Do your, you know, I'm always an advocate of do your own research.
Monica Wisdom:It's very important that you do your own research because you have to learn it for yourself.
Monica Wisdom:Stop depending on people to tell you what's going on.
Monica Wisdom:If I say go read this, that's your choice.
Monica Wisdom:Read it or don't read it.
Monica Wisdom:But don't go to TikTok and get the information.
Monica Wisdom:Go to the website.
Monica Wisdom:Go to any politician who's on the democratic side and find the website and read it for yourself.
Monica Wisdom:Taking away women's rights, taking away voting rights, taking away the rights of people that you love, it's bigger than that.
Monica Wisdom:It's way bigger than that.
Monica Wisdom:But anyway, let me get back to my point.
Monica Wisdom:She has raised a billion dollars.
Monica Wisdom:She has built a coalition of all people, from the most liberal of the liberals, moderates to republicans, because everybody knows that this is the most consequential election that we've ever had.
Monica Wisdom:And if you don't believe me, watch origin.
Monica Wisdom:Watch Origin and watch that conversation around Germany specifically.
Monica Wisdom:It's going to give you an idea of what's happening right now.
Monica Wisdom:So she has raised a billion dollars.
Monica Wisdom:She has built a coalition, and she is running for president of the United States with the support of millions and millions of people.
Monica Wisdom:And I don't know how the race is close.
Monica Wisdom: bout black women, this is not: Monica Wisdom:This is about not just having a seat at the table, but building a new table that includes us, because the table that we have now, we are just pulling up a seat to, we are in the room, but first time ever that we have had a voice because our vice president understands our experience.
Monica Wisdom:She lives our experience.
Monica Wisdom:She understands our experience.
Monica Wisdom:She was raised by a single mother, she was raised by academics.
Monica Wisdom:She was raised.
Monica Wisdom:She was raised in a way that was very, very similar to a lot of us.
Monica Wisdom:And education took her to another level.
Monica Wisdom:And so we have to understand that this is not about who I like or who I don't like.
Monica Wisdom:This is about the life that you choose to live.
Monica Wisdom:Who is going to give you the ability to live the life that you choose to live.
Monica Wisdom:This can't make this about popularity.
Monica Wisdom:We can't make this about, well, I think he's stronger and I think he does better on economy.
Monica Wisdom:I think this and I think that it's not even about what you think about the person.
Monica Wisdom:It's really nothing.
Monica Wisdom:It's about what you think about yourself.
Monica Wisdom:It's about when you wake up on the 7 January, you know what?
Monica Wisdom:Are you going to look in the mirror and say to yourself, are you going to have a regret because you made an emotional decision or are you going to be happy because you made a well researched decision?
Monica Wisdom:Whatever your decision is.
Monica Wisdom:But I would say do your research.
Monica Wisdom:November is right around the corner.
Monica Wisdom:We are in October.
Monica Wisdom:It is right around the corner.
Monica Wisdom:And when I say I'm not trying to make this a political conversation, but it is political, forget it.
Monica Wisdom:It's a political conversation.
Monica Wisdom:But the politics I'm talking about is exercising our power from a smart, intelligent and well researched way, not from emotion.
Monica Wisdom:I don't have a problem with emotion.
Monica Wisdom:But in this instance, I'm not interested in anybody's comedy act.
Monica Wisdom:I'm not interested in anybody's.
Monica Wisdom:Well, during this time I got this.
Monica Wisdom:You're not going to get that this time.
Monica Wisdom:This is a whole different situation.
Monica Wisdom:Like that era is gone.
Monica Wisdom:That pre pandemic era is gone.
Monica Wisdom:There's no going back to that.
Monica Wisdom:So the position we have to think from is where do we see our future being and who's going to allow me to build the future that I want from me, my family, my friends, my peers, my community, my state, my region, my country, my world.
Monica Wisdom:Where do I fall in that and how can I journey out in life as far as I want to go?
Monica Wisdom:That's a powerful position to think from.
Monica Wisdom:Because when we think from the place of who do I like and who I don't like, that's not a.
Monica Wisdom:Excuse me.
Monica Wisdom:That's not a position of power.
Monica Wisdom:That's a position of Persona.
Monica Wisdom:Whose Persona do I like?
Monica Wisdom:Because we don't really know these people.
Monica Wisdom:All we can do is find out more about them.
Monica Wisdom:We do our own research.
Monica Wisdom:You know what orange is going to give you, because we've been there before.
Monica Wisdom:But just imagine that.
Monica Wisdom: ve the selective memory about: Monica Wisdom: onths, and this is before, in: Monica Wisdom:He was in it for four months.
Monica Wisdom:And the only, and I believe with all of my heart, the way that they treat us in the medical community, the only reason that he is still alive is because he has a white wife and she has a white family who showed up every single day to make sure that he was taken care of.
Monica Wisdom:He had to learn, he was on life support for months.
Monica Wisdom:He had to learn how to walk again.
Monica Wisdom:He had to learn how to speak again.
Monica Wisdom:He had to learn how to hold his head up again, and he did it.
Monica Wisdom:But it took months for him, and he's still not himself, but it took months because he got the care he needed.
Monica Wisdom:And I, I promise you, if he had a black wife, he would not have had that level of care.
Monica Wisdom:That's just my opinion, and that's from my experience of dealing with, when my brother was sick and dealing with the hospitals.
Monica Wisdom:You could tell who cared and you could tell who didn't.
Monica Wisdom:The line was clear.
Monica Wisdom:But I had, every day, I had to fight for him to be okay.
Monica Wisdom:And not only did I have to fight, but I had to call people that would call up there and fight who didn't look like me, my friends who stood by me when a lot of people didn't, and they fought to make sure that he got where he needed to go.
Monica Wisdom:So thankful for that.
Monica Wisdom:But the understanding is that we need somebody who's going to change that experience for black people.
Monica Wisdom:When you talk about maternal mortality, Kamala Harris has brought it to the White House.
Monica Wisdom:She was talking about it in California.
Monica Wisdom:There's no reason that black women should be dying in childbirth at the rates that it's happening.
Monica Wisdom:There's no reason that babies should not have safe spaces to be born into.
Monica Wisdom:There's no reason that a man should lose his wife and then have to go home with a baby in his arms, raising a child and planning a funeral.
Monica Wisdom:This is the first time that somebody in the White House is even talking about it.
Monica Wisdom:So that's what I mean about our power, the things that bring us agony.
Monica Wisdom:We have somebody who's ready to bring a solution, that understands the experience and has taken the time to learn about it.
Monica Wisdom:This is not a talking point for her.
Monica Wisdom:This is something she talked about in California when she was in office there.
Monica Wisdom:This is not everything that Kamala Harris talks about.
Monica Wisdom:If you go back and watch videos from a long time ago, she's having the same exact conversations.
Monica Wisdom:So this has been her journey, and she has taken it with every platform she has gone to now.
Monica Wisdom:She has taken it to White House as vice president and becoming president, especially if we have a democratic Congress and a democratic, if we have a democratic congress, senators and representatives, and they can get things through.
Monica Wisdom:Oh, my God.
Monica Wisdom:And I'm not gonna.
Monica Wisdom:And I'm not saying that it's gonna be Shangri La or it's gonna be like Pollyanna.
Monica Wisdom:I'm not Pollyanna about this, but when I make my observations about how things change, the biggest change we need is somebody who is inclusive for everybody.
Monica Wisdom:Because if everybody comes to the table and makes everybody's issues their issues, then that's when change happens.
Monica Wisdom:We can't do it by ourselves.
Monica Wisdom:We have to have somebody who's saying to somebody else, hey, put this on your plate, too.
Monica Wisdom:Maternal health, put this on your plate, too, because they're the people with the problem, and then they're the people who write the checks for the solution, and they don't always look like us.
Monica Wisdom:So I say all that to say, remember, this election is not just about who you like.
Monica Wisdom:This election is not just about who makes you feel good or who makes you laugh, you know?
Monica Wisdom:And then let's talk about this.
Monica Wisdom:We got to check our own biases.
Monica Wisdom:Some of us, as black women, we don't like black women leaders.
Monica Wisdom:We prefer men.
Monica Wisdom:We think men are stronger.
Monica Wisdom:We think men are going to take care of us, are going to protect us.
Monica Wisdom:Not this man, not this person, not that one.
Monica Wisdom:He doesn't protect his own family.
Monica Wisdom:If you don't protect your own, what makes you think they're going to protect you?
Monica Wisdom:There's so much about this I just don't understand.
Monica Wisdom:But I just want us to really fully understand that as black women, we have an opportunity that we have been pushing for, for years.
Monica Wisdom:We have an opportunity to not just have a seat at the table, not just have our place in the room, but to have an opportunity to make a difference.
Monica Wisdom:And it's not because of her.
Monica Wisdom:It's because the coalition of black women that are telling Joe Biden what we need.
Monica Wisdom:That has always been the thing that has been missing from our community as black folks, we are so used to having leaders that we're waiting for somebody to lead us.
Monica Wisdom:And it's not a conscious thing.
Monica Wisdom:It is not a conscious thing.
Monica Wisdom:But we look to other people to tell us how to think, how to act, what to say, what to wear, instead of going back into the place of innovation, which is where we come from.
Monica Wisdom:You know, I was writing something today for black women amplified, and I was like, we have become consumers.
Monica Wisdom:We have been taking it all in, but we don't put much out.
Monica Wisdom:You know, when I think about the.
Monica Wisdom:When I say we're consumers, we spend 1.4 or $1.5 trillion a year as a collective community of black people.
Monica Wisdom:1.4.
Monica Wisdom:Not millions, not hundred, millions, trillion.
Monica Wisdom:That's how much we spend on everything.
Monica Wisdom:Makeup, cars, luxury items.
Monica Wisdom:Why do you think all of these companies, like Louis Vuitton, are getting black creative directors?
Monica Wisdom:Because we're the only ones buying their stuff.
Monica Wisdom:These kids don't care about Gucci and Louis Vuitton and luxury items.
Monica Wisdom:You know who does?
Monica Wisdom:Black folks.
Monica Wisdom:These kids are not spending $803,000 on a handbag.
Monica Wisdom:They don't even carry handbags.
Monica Wisdom:You know what they're into?
Monica Wisdom:Thrifting.
Monica Wisdom:Now, when you send your stuff to the Salvation army, they will go and wash it and wear it.
Monica Wisdom:Even coach.
Monica Wisdom:Coach has a whole new company, and I forgot what it's called, but it's about recycling their old bags and selling them.
Monica Wisdom:Right?
Monica Wisdom:Because the kids are into.
Monica Wisdom:I forgot what it's called, but they're into ecology.
Monica Wisdom:They want to save and preserve the planet.
Monica Wisdom:So they want to use reusable items, not luxury items.
Monica Wisdom:If you think about it.
Monica Wisdom:Think about this.
Monica Wisdom:Let me break this down.
Monica Wisdom:Saks Fifth Avenue just bought Nema Marcus.
Monica Wisdom:Nema Marcus was one of the biggest luxury stores ever.
Monica Wisdom:Luxury department store.
Monica Wisdom:They're not making any money.
Monica Wisdom:Why?
Monica Wisdom:Because the kids don't care about luxury items.
Monica Wisdom:They're not spending $3,000 on a watch.
Monica Wisdom:What they're doing is they're going to the thrift store, or they're going to one of these online resale places.
Monica Wisdom:They're going to the eBay, and they're getting what they want.
Monica Wisdom:So everything is shifting.
Monica Wisdom:But what's not shifting is how black people spend money.
Monica Wisdom:I say this all the time, and I was in the hair industry for 35 years.
Monica Wisdom:I say this all the time.
Monica Wisdom:If black women for 30 days did not wear a weave and went to the beauty salon every week for 30 days, the dynamics of the economy would shift.
Monica Wisdom:If black women went and took their weaves out, their wigs, all of that that comes through China and India.
Monica Wisdom:It would change the economy.
Monica Wisdom:Of those countries, 45 days, they will be asking us what we need.
Monica Wisdom:Because although other groups of people wear hair extensions, wear wigs, wear weaves, they do.
Monica Wisdom:We are a big consumer of it.
Monica Wisdom:And I know because I was in the industry for a long time, we're a huge consumer of it.
Monica Wisdom:And we spend a lot of money to the point where they're allowing black women to get their own factories.
Monica Wisdom:They're partnering with black women for factories because they know that we are their base.
Monica Wisdom:Now, do they treat us like that?
Monica Wisdom:Now let's talk about that.
Monica Wisdom:1 second.
Monica Wisdom:1 second.
Monica Wisdom:Just let's dip into that.
Monica Wisdom:Do we go to the asian stores and get treated like other groups of people get treated at the Louis Vuitton store?
Monica Wisdom:If you had a group of people who were putting millions of dollars, hundreds of million dollars into your economy and into your business and into you helping you raise the money that's helping you raise your family, don't you think we would have been treated better?
Monica Wisdom:Don't you think there would not be cameras everywhere that you could see, that people would.
Monica Wisdom:Wouldn't be following you around the store, that people would get to know you, that people would donate money to your causes and to your community and not just take everything from it.
Monica Wisdom:Okay, I'm gonna get back out of it.
Monica Wisdom:I'm gonna get out of that.
Monica Wisdom:There was just one, one little.
Monica Wisdom:I just had to say that.
Monica Wisdom:But let me bring this all together because I want to finish this cold water.
Monica Wisdom:I want to get something to eat, and I want to upload this for you all.
Monica Wisdom:It's not going to be a fancy edit.
Monica Wisdom:It's just me and you having this conversation.
Monica Wisdom:But I just want to say this before we get to election day, I want you to sit down and get a journal.
Monica Wisdom:You can buy one off of our website, www.blackwomenamplified.com.
Monica Wisdom:gotta do a little plug.
Monica Wisdom:A little plug.
Monica Wisdom:Get a journal and write down your dreams for the next 30 days for yourself.
Monica Wisdom:For the next 60 days, for the next 90 days.
Monica Wisdom:And then I want you to ask yourself, who's going to create an environment where that can happen?
Monica Wisdom:If you want to have a child, our reproductive rights have been stripped from us.
Monica Wisdom:If you have a problem pregnancy, there's no help.
Monica Wisdom:If you need health care, they're trying to take it away.
Monica Wisdom:They're going to do everything they can to get rid of the affordable Care act.
Monica Wisdom:If you think inflation is high now, wait.
Monica Wisdom:If that person gets in, gets in office.
Monica Wisdom:If you want to open up a business, Kamala Harris is offering opportunities to make that happen.
Monica Wisdom:If you want an education, the playing field is no longer level because of the ending of affirmative action.
Monica Wisdom:If you want your kids to go to a great college, the playing field is no longer level because of the ending of affirmative action.
Monica Wisdom: If you thought Project: Monica Wisdom:So if you thought you were going to open up a not for profit and use grants to fund your business and your dreams, that will no longer happen.
Monica Wisdom:So that means organizations like girls and boys Club and, you know, all of these 501s that help the community will no longer be getting funding.
Monica Wisdom:If you have a daughter that has a dream, if you have a son that has a dream, think about them.
Monica Wisdom:A niece, a nephew, a godchild, think about the dreams that they have and their generation has, and then really assess who is going to present, who's going to create an environment for those dreams to come true.
Monica Wisdom:So put yourself in the equation.
Monica Wisdom:It's not about them.
Monica Wisdom:Put yourself in the equation and think about it.
Monica Wisdom:Just think about it.
Monica Wisdom:Like, really be thoughtful and think about it.
Monica Wisdom:And then do your research.
Monica Wisdom:Go on their websites.
Monica Wisdom:Go on the secretary of state websites and see what they offer.
Monica Wisdom:Go to the SBA website.
Monica Wisdom:Go to all these different places and make a proper assessment of the life that you want for your future.
Monica Wisdom:The future that you want for your life, I should say, what does your future look like?
Monica Wisdom:And we're not talking about just groceries are hot.
Monica Wisdom:Yes, they are high.
Monica Wisdom:They've been high before.
Monica Wisdom:Prices are starting to go down.
Monica Wisdom:Inflation is going down.
Monica Wisdom:All the things are happening now.
Monica Wisdom:She's going after price gouging.
Monica Wisdom:They even talked about these crazy fees, that bank charge for overdraft fees.
Monica Wisdom:They shouldn't be 36 and $40.
Monica Wisdom: They weren't just before: Monica Wisdom:They weren't $19.
Monica Wisdom:They've doubled because of that person that was in office at that time.
Monica Wisdom:So I sell this to you to say, owning your power is not just about who you vote for.
Monica Wisdom:It's about why you are voting, why you are engaging in the process as an american citizen and not just for yourself.
Monica Wisdom:Because God doesn't give us power just for ourselves.
Monica Wisdom:God gives us power to help other people.
Monica Wisdom:Be like Jesus helped.
Monica Wisdom:Jesus thought about other people.
Monica Wisdom:If you want to go religious on it, Jesus thought about other people.
Monica Wisdom:How can I help these people?
Monica Wisdom:How can I help people live a better life?
Monica Wisdom:We do it every day in our communities, in our churches.
Monica Wisdom:But we have to think outside of who.
Monica Wisdom:Do we like our biases?
Monica Wisdom:Look at the kids around you.
Monica Wisdom:If you're Gen X.
Monica Wisdom:They're way different than we are.
Monica Wisdom:Their whole life is different.
Monica Wisdom:I was talking to a friend the other day, and his child is now 13.
Monica Wisdom:I said to him, I said, wow, your baby has never known a life without technology.
Monica Wisdom:You want a president that is going to protect your children from technology.
Monica Wisdom:You want someone in office who is going to protect your kids from technology.
Monica Wisdom:You want someone in office who is not going to say that your child has to go across the city to get a good education.
Monica Wisdom:You want somebody who's going to protect the education that is in their neighborhood.
Monica Wisdom:Just saying.
Monica Wisdom:That's all I have to say for today.
Monica Wisdom:I'll be back later.
Monica Wisdom:But listen, make sure that you check out www.blackwomenamplified.com.
Monica Wisdom:like I said, we've gone into a full, a full empowerment company.
Monica Wisdom:And I'm adding things to the website every day.
Monica Wisdom:So bookmark it, check out the shop, buy a couple of journals, check out the website.
Monica Wisdom:You can get the self love journal and download it today and start your self discovery journey.
Monica Wisdom:It can help you through these processes.
Monica Wisdom:And I'm adding things every day.
Monica Wisdom:I just added, oh, I have a class coming up called unmute.
Monica Wisdom:And it's about reshaping the inner dialogue that we have as women, specifically black women.
Monica Wisdom:Oftentimes we have these inner dialogues that say we're not enough, we have imposter syndrome, we have self worth issues that stop us from doing the things that we really are passionate about.
Monica Wisdom:So it's about reworking the inner dialogue so that we can move on and really step in our boldness and in our power.
Monica Wisdom:So thank you so much for listening.
Monica Wisdom:Don't forget to text if you love this conversation, you think it'll benefit somebody, please text it to a couple of friends.
Monica Wisdom:Just go over to wherever you listen to your podcast and there'll be a share button.
Monica Wisdom:Copy the link and just text it to a friend.
Monica Wisdom:Anyway, I will be back soon.
Monica Wisdom:I'm going to put this episode up tonight.
Monica Wisdom:But please listen to the interview with Nikki.
Monica Wisdom:I'm sorry, Nikki May.
Monica Wisdom:Nicole Glover.
Monica Wisdom:And if you want to go back to season three, check out the conversation with Rachelle Carey.
Monica Wisdom:We talked about her journey as a mom, and that was a great conversation.
Monica Wisdom:It's really a great conversation to talk about, especially in this election season, because we talk about her IVF journey and from IVF to adoption and how you know all the things about that.
Monica Wisdom:So anyway, have an amazing evening.
Monica Wisdom:I'm sending love and light to you all and I will talk to you soon.
Monica Wisdom:Thank you, as always, for listening to the black women amplified podcast.
Monica Wisdom:And remember, own this moment, own your power, and make a very well researched decision based on the life that you want to live now and the life that you want to create in the future.
Monica Wisdom:Think about your legacy and who's going to help you get there.
Monica Wisdom:Have an amazing evening.
Monica Wisdom:Take care.
Monica Wisdom:Bye.
