Latest / Mathis Family Talks / The Values You Pass On | Congressman Jonathan Jackson | Ep. 17

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The Values You Pass On | Congressman Jonathan Jackson | Ep. 17 · Mathis Family Talks

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: And you were right there with me, Judge. I'm like, Judge,
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: I can't do this. Like, I've never run before.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: I mean, I've got the head of this and the
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: head of that.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: And people come out against me. What about, what about?
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: And you said, fear has never stopped me.
• 0:14
  Speaker 3: That's right, Doc.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: You got to go forward.
• 0:15
  Speaker 3: You can't be scared. You can't be scared.
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: Judge told me, I've never let fear stop me. And
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: I was like, oh, no, man.
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  Speaker 3: And so that was the little nudge.
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: That pushed me over the edge. I said, you know,
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: and my father says, if you don't try, you're guaranteed
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: to lose.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: If you try, you may lose.
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: And he says, don't live with regret for the shot
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  Speaker 2: you didn't take, the chance you had, okay?
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: As Judge would say, we don't die, we multiply.
• 0:48
  Speaker 3: I'm Judge Greg Mathis. And I am Linda Mathis.
• 0:53
  Speaker 4: Welcome to Mathis Family Talks.
• 1:03
  Speaker 5: All right, welcome back to Mathis Family Talks. Today we
• 1:07
  Speaker 5: are joined by a great family friend, Congressman Jonathan Jackson.
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  Speaker 5: He represents the 1st District of Illinois and has spent
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  Speaker 5: his career at the intersection of business, education, community advocacy, activism,
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  Speaker 5: and now public service. Welcome to Mathis Family Talks, Congressman.
• 1:26
  Speaker 5: Good to see you.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: Love you, young man. Great to see you. Great to
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: see you.
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: Thank you. Love you back.
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: Your parents' tremendous legacy. And thank you for their service.
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  Speaker 2: Thank them for implanting it in you.
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  Speaker 3: I'm glad you said that.
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: Kitchen table.
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: Yes. Today we're going to talk a lot about legacy. Yes.
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  Speaker 5: You know, and I think you, I'll just dive right
• 1:46
  Speaker 5: into it, I guess. This will probably open up some
• 1:48
  Speaker 5: interesting conversation. So, Congressman, you have spent, you know, you
• 1:53
  Speaker 5: spent prior to Congress years working as a national spokesman
• 1:56
  Speaker 5: for Rainbow Push. You've worked on issues including economic justice, education,
• 2:01
  Speaker 5: wrongful convictions back in Illinois. And Dad, I know your
• 2:06
  Speaker 5: work with Rainbow Push goes back You know, decades.
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  Speaker 4: Well, and those decades included his teenage years.
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  Speaker 3: The congressman. He was in his late teens.
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  Speaker 4: Yep.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, get him on. Okay, I see what we're doing now, Greg.
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  Speaker 3: Hey, he's making you a lot younger than him. I
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  Speaker 3: was about to say, if I'm hearing correctly, he just
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: called himself old.
• 2:30
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: You're a young man.
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  Speaker 6: So we're going to talk to the young congressman now.
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  Speaker 5: But I would like to hear maybe from both of you,
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  Speaker 5: and I don't want to know who, I don't know
• 2:40
  Speaker 5: who wants to start first, but I just know how
• 2:42
  Speaker 5: impactful Rainbow Push, the legacy that your father created there,
• 2:47
  Speaker 5: you know, you're national chairman of Rainbow Push, what that organization,
• 2:51
  Speaker 5: the work you all have accomplished there means, particularly in
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  Speaker 5: this moment. where I feel like black America is really
• 2:58
  Speaker 5: under attack in so many ways and we need to
• 3:01
  Speaker 5: really stand together and push back on some important fights.
• 3:04
  Speaker 4: Yeah, as you know, met the Congressman and his dad
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  Speaker 4: in early 80s. In fact, met his dad while I
• 3:13
  Speaker 4: was behind bars and he was doing I am somebody speeches.
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  Speaker 4: And the impact that had on me is that it's just.
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  Speaker 3: What I do.
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  Speaker 4: I do, as you know, I do prison visits. I've
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  Speaker 4: worked with returning citizens. I've gone to schools, and so
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  Speaker 4: that was motivated and deposited into me by Reverend. So
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  Speaker 4: that was the first impact, was to be able to
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  Speaker 4: change the lives of others like Reverend had with me.
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  Speaker 4: And the organization itself is the most progressive political organization,
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  Speaker 4: I would think, in American history, in the sense that
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  Speaker 4: we brought all communities together, They talk so much about
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  Speaker 4: melting pot. Well, we were the real melting pot of America.
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  Speaker 4: Hence the rainbow, right? There you go, rainbow coalition. So
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  Speaker 4: that's the impact it's had on me personally and on
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  Speaker 4: the nation itself.
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  Speaker 3: Okay.
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  Speaker 1: Well, young Mathis, I met your mother and father.
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  Speaker 2: I was in my teens, and your father, I think
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  Speaker 2: he was, what do they call you, Scoop or Snoop?
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  Speaker 1: You know, you know, you.
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  Speaker 2: Like dancing and then you were G and then you
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  Speaker 2: became Greg and I call you Judge Mathis. OK, so
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: if you just want to go over some timelines about
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: every 10 years and now he's grandpa.
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  Speaker 3: That's right.
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  Speaker 2: And so I've seen the full, if you will, growth
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  Speaker 2: of the judge and I have enormous respect for him.
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  Speaker 1: And I was in Detroit.
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  Speaker 2: I was campaigning because my dad was running for president
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  Speaker 2: and come knocking on my door with a clipboard was
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  Speaker 2: this young man and said, hey, I'm your escort today.
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  Speaker 2: I'm going to take you around Detroit. Here's our agenda.
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  Speaker 2: Here's the itinerary. I'm like, OK, well, good to meet you.
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  Speaker 2: We get to talking and started getting familiar with him.
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  Speaker 2: I said, so what do you want to do with
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  Speaker 2: your life? We were at that stage and age. And
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  Speaker 2: he says, I like civil rights. I'm going to be
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  Speaker 2: a civil rights fighter. And I'm like, really, why? That's
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  Speaker 2: a thankless job. People don't appreciate you. I see what
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  Speaker 2: my father had to go through this many years. And
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  Speaker 2: so your father was the first person of my age
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  Speaker 2: group that I heard say he was.
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  Speaker 1: Committed to civil rights.
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  Speaker 2: And so over the years, I can only think even
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  Speaker 2: more and more highly of him on what a courageous
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: stance and most importantly, He's been consistent. So first of all,
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: we get to the other parts of the conversation. Linda, Greg,
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  Speaker 2: thank you for having been a friend to my mother,
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  Speaker 2: my father, my grandmother, my whole family. And thank you
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  Speaker 2: for being committed to the people and the well-being of all.
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: You've done it. You've modeled your children. And young Greg,
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  Speaker 2: I feel sorry for you sometimes. You got drug up
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  Speaker 2: in this.
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  Speaker 3: It's a great thing to get drug up into. It
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  Speaker 3: really is. And, you know, even with you saying that.
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  Speaker 1: Buses.
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  Speaker 2: Other children were out playing. They didn't give you a choice,
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  Speaker 2: and my parents didn't give me a choice either.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, you had the same problem.
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  Speaker 1: Somebody got to get drug up in this, huh?
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  Speaker 3: Yep.
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  Speaker 5: And that's what I was going to say, because even
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  Speaker 5: prior to you being in Congress, I worked, as you
• 6:26
  Speaker 5: may know, for your brother, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. And
• 6:31
  Speaker 5: I think you mentioned your father's presidential run.
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  Speaker 4: And let me also say real quick before he finishes,
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  Speaker 4: he was walking the streets, he and his brother and
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  Speaker 4: the family of South.
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  Speaker 4: Of South Chicago when Reverend, I'm sorry, when Jesse Jackson Jr.
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  Speaker 3: Ran for office. He was a boy of.
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  Speaker 4: Seven or ten years old walking the streets of Chicago campaigning.
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  Speaker 3: And I think it's just important.
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  Speaker 1: And that's why I need him here in D.C.
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  Speaker 3: We're working on it. We're working on it.
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  Speaker 1: Because you got it in your blood.
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  Speaker 3: You earned it the one way.
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  Speaker 1: Drag him up in it.
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  Speaker 5: And I think it's important to capture what that legacy means.
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  Speaker 5: I really do, because you mentioned your dad's presidential run,
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  Speaker 5: which my dad was his campaign manager in Michigan.
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  Speaker 3: Your brother, Jesse Jr.
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  Speaker 5: was the co-chair of President Barack Obama's national campaign. And
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  Speaker 5: I make that connection because President Obama himself has credited
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  Speaker 5: your father's presidential campaign with paving the way for him
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  Speaker 5: to become our country's first black president. And, I mean,
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  Speaker 5: I know how I felt walking the halls of Congress,
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  Speaker 5: just knowing the legacy I carried and what that meant
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  Speaker 5: to me and the responsibility I carried along with that.
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  Speaker 5: And I wonder, with you being a congressman now and
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  Speaker 5: just the legacy you've created for yourself but also inherited,
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  Speaker 5: how you feel now walking the halls of Congress in
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  Speaker 5: such a distinguished, impactful position and with the opportunity that
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  Speaker 5: you have to make change.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I feel honored. It's a real privilege to.
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  Speaker 2: Be in this body, to have the voting card, to
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  Speaker 2: be able to vote on behalf of 700,000 people, 750,000
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  Speaker 2: people in the first district, but also to be a
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  Speaker 2: voice for people all across this nation.
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  Speaker 1: And I can feel the weight of history.
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  Speaker 2: And before I got to walk these hallways, I got
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  Speaker 2: to thank your mother and father again. They walked the
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  Speaker 2: streets of Chicago with me in the first district, knocking
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  Speaker 2: on doors. And for that, I'll never forget And that
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  Speaker 2: is what gets you here. That's what you have to remember.
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  Speaker 2: And so once again, Brother Greg and Sister Linda, thank you.
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  Speaker 2: I couldn't have been here without your help as well.
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  Speaker 4: Well, you know I was only rolling with you on
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  Speaker 4: those main streets of Southside going in and out of
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  Speaker 4: the bars when you told me that.
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  Speaker 3: I said, OK, I'll be with you, brother. Well, they
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  Speaker 3: got a lot of those in D.C. too, right?
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  Speaker 2: And so, you know, I think about it. And the
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  Speaker 2: legacy is not dynasty. It's not about money. It's about upholding,
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  Speaker 2: uplifting and carrying a name, a tradition, a body of work.
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  Speaker 2: And I thought about my father when I was coming
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  Speaker 2: into the Capitol this morning and I was telling my son,
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  Speaker 2: you know, I said, Grandpa, he did it right.
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  Speaker 1: You know, when you say Jesse Jackson, it was about service.
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  Speaker 2: It was about voting. It was about justice. I said
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  Speaker 2: he dedicated his entire life to that proposition. What an
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  Speaker 2: honorable legacy to think back yesterday, last week, last year,
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  Speaker 2: over the decades, you woke up every day engaging in
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  Speaker 2: the fight to make life better for someone. Maybe that's
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  Speaker 2: the true meaning of life. And so appreciate that. Appreciate you, man.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you.
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  Speaker 5: One question that you made me think of also was
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  Speaker 5: just how do we continue to carry on the fight
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  Speaker 5: when at times, for me at least, and I think
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  Speaker 5: a lot of Black America, it feels like we're continuing
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  Speaker 5: to fight some of the same fights and I guess
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  Speaker 5: the question is you today I'm sure and mom as
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  Speaker 5: a parent you can weigh in just how do we
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  Speaker 5: continue to carry on some of these fights when it
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  Speaker 5: feels like we're fighting the same struggles over and over again.
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  Speaker 2: Let me take a piece of that Greg and then
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  Speaker 2: Linda love to hear from you Greg Junior I'm so
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  Speaker 2: proud of you I'm sort of proud of your father,
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: but I'm so, so proud of you. I love and
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  Speaker 2: adore your father in another way. But what you're doing today,
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: you're taking this initiative. You want to get this message out.
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  Speaker 2: And I'm grateful for that. But you were born for this.
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  Speaker 2: You were fashioned for this. You were shaped for this,
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  Speaker 2: almost destined to do this. And your parents, from their
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: tutelage and the crucible they kept you in, they prepared you.
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  Speaker 1: You've done the personal things for it.
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  Speaker 2: Personal self-growth, and now it's your turn to get on
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  Speaker 2: the field to pick this mantle up, take this baton,
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  Speaker 2: and get ready to run an additional part of your race. Judge,
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  Speaker 2: this is, and you shared with me before, this is
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: the 160th anniversary of the 1866 Civil Rights Act.
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  Speaker 1: Okay?
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  Speaker 2: We've been at this for 160 years as a people
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  Speaker 2: in this 250th anniversary of the United States of America.
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  Speaker 2: So when someone says they're tired, I say, tired from what?
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  Speaker 2: It's your turn to fight. And so I'm honored, grateful,
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  Speaker 2: I'm alive, got the energy, presence of mind. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: I was made for this. And so I get up,
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  Speaker 2: I'm not going to have my parents and my grandparents
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: say they did more for justice than I did. So
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  Speaker 2: I think it's time to refuel, to reboot, and be
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: excited about the challenges before us. And guess what? Every
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: time we fight, we win. We're on the right side
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: of history. And so thank God we got the energy
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: and the strength and the opportunity If we didn't have
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  Speaker 2: these bad times, how could we show what we were
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  Speaker 2: made of?
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  Speaker 1: So bring it on. I'm fighting back.
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: I tell the president I was on the stage with him,
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: the national prayer breakfast.
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: I get on the well of the United States Congress.
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: I say it.
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: I start diversity, equity, inclusion here. I'm not backing down
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: from anything. OK, as Judge would say, we don't die.
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: We multiply. Yep, yep.
• 12:09
  Speaker 5: I thank you for that because, I mean, look, I've
• 12:11
  Speaker 5: been in Congress before and there's a lot of people
• 12:14
  Speaker 5: that are afraid to say the things I've already seen
• 12:17
  Speaker 5: you say in some of the stances and votes you've taken.
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  Speaker 3: So thank you for continuing the fight.
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: They're afraid of what?
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  Speaker 5: Well, you know, they're afraid of losing that dollar, the
• 12:24
  Speaker 5: donors and all that. But I just love the way
• 12:27
  Speaker 5: that you have taken such a fearless approach to always
• 12:30
  Speaker 5: be doing what's right, regardless of how it may impact.
• 12:33
  Speaker 5: you know, you from a campaign perspective or whatever, you're
• 12:36
  Speaker 5: doing what's right, no matter what.
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: I just don't want to call from your father and
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: mother saying, what is wrong with you?
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: You know he will. Both of them. I'll go through her.
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: But how do you deal with this man in particular?
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: Well, I have access to go through Linda, and then
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: everything works out all right. Hey, Ms. Linda.
• 12:58
  Speaker 6: Hey, how are you doing, Congressman Jonathan?
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: I appreciate your years of service and work, and you've
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: held it all together. You remind me so much of
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: my mother, Mrs. Jacqueline Jackson, and being the wind beneath
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: the judge's wings. I appreciate you and love to see
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: the fruit.
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: That you have.
• 13:15
  Speaker 6: Well, you know your mother is a spark, and so
• 13:18
  Speaker 6: if I remind you of your mother, I take that
• 13:20
  Speaker 6: as a compliment.
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: There you go.
• 13:22
  Speaker 3: Yes, we know that Mrs.
• 13:24
  Speaker 6: Jackson does not play. And I hope I have that
• 13:28
  Speaker 6: same type of spirit. You know, we just worry all
• 13:32
  Speaker 6: the time about raising our children and making sure they follow.
• 13:36
  Speaker 6: And you talked about legacy and just a legacy of, again,
• 13:40
  Speaker 6: making a better life for our people and the people
• 13:43
  Speaker 6: around us.
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: And, you know, and also helping Judge with the security
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: of a family and the freedom to help other people.
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: And so I appreciate that Judge is not Singly focused
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: on just his own, but it's all. You've got to
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: help your family, but you also have to help all.
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: Some people never make that transition to wanting to help
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: somebody else, another, not just your own. So thank you
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: for freeing them up to come to Chicago to campaign.
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: My father, my brother, myself, and.
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: So many others. And I'm going to be with you.
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: in about two weeks down in South Carolina, Judge. That's right.
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: People are really excited about it. We're going to go and.
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: Bring some more stuff. My ticket is booked.
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: Okay. And my gas tank is full.
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: I'm driving.
• 14:32
  Speaker 4: Tell us about your evolution in social justice and in
• 14:38
  Speaker 4: electoral politics. We know that your father did a lot,
• 14:43
  Speaker 4: or he did more than anyone since Dr. King in
• 14:47
  Speaker 4: leading our civil rights initiatives. But aside from assisting your father,
• 14:53
  Speaker 4: which is one of the great things you could ever experience,
• 14:57
  Speaker 4: why don't you tell us about how you evolved into
• 15:00
  Speaker 4: your own professions that included service as well? Each part
• 15:04
  Speaker 4: of your professions have included service in some way or
• 15:08
  Speaker 4: the other, whether it's housing people or what have you.
• 15:11
  Speaker 4: Why don't you tell the audience how you evolved into
• 15:14
  Speaker 4: these positions?
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: Well, Judge, I started off in speech therapy. So I
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: never envisioned being able to speak. And I had to
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: go get out of recess line and gym to go
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: do the pronunciation, the to, sure, rut, thug, cut. And
• 15:34
  Speaker 2: so I was slow to speak. And so I had
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: to have a, I was in speech consultation. So it
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: wasn't on my top things to do. I always wanted
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: to be in business and always respected my father for
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: the work that he had done. I thought it was
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: so enriching and gratifying to get to help people and
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: see the smile on their face, to see the lives change.
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: Like that was felt rewarding. And I've always appreciated the ministry.
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: And but I always went into business, you know, start
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: knocking doors, stuffing envelopes. That was back in the day
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: before there were text messages.
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: But tell us about your experience as a professor.
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: So my friend, Dr.
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: Wayne Watson, he asked me to come teach a class
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: at a community college. I said, I don't have time
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: for this. He says, please, it'll change your life. You'll
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: make a difference. Children will be happy. So then he
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: went to my sister. He went to my mother, went
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: to my father. So I got the whole family to
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: give me pressure. So I said, all right, I'll go
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: over there and take a class and teach. And it
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: was just so rewarding to see the young people's minds
• 16:36
  Speaker 2: change in 12 weeks, 16 weeks. Then went over from
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: the community college to the Chicago State University and got
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: introduced into another fascinating world of students. I want to
• 16:48
  Speaker 2: get back, actually, to teaching at a school. How else
• 16:51
  Speaker 2: can you learn unless you sit in front of these
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: students because they teach you so much? And I got
• 16:58
  Speaker 2: a chance to stay current. is what the real issue is.
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: You see the shifting needs of our children. And then
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: I practiced business all the way and taught. And I
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: was able, you know, during the financial crisis, and I
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: can explain the economics.
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: I went to school for business.
• 17:15
  Speaker 2: I went to, and then when I decided to run,
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: the current, the former congressman had been in office for
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: 30 years and kind of abruptly announced he wasn't seeking re-elections.
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: And you were right there with me, Judge. I'm like, Judge,
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: I can't do this. Like, I've never run before. I mean,
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: I've got the head of this and the head of that,
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: and people come out against me.
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: What about, what about? And you said, fear has never
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: stopped me.
• 17:42
  Speaker 3: That's right, Doc.
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: You've got to go forward. You can't be scared.
• 17:46
  Speaker 3: You can't punk out.
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: So the judge told me, I've never let fear stop me.
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: And I was like, oh, no, man.
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: And so that was the little nudge that pushed me
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: over the edge. I said, you know, and my father says,
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: if you don't try, you're guaranteed to lose. If you try,
• 18:07
  Speaker 2: you may lose. And he says, don't live with regret
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: for the shot you didn't take, the chance you had.
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: So if you feel good about it.
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: And then lastly, a personal point was, as your parents
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: declined in age and I.
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: Could see some of the conditions my father was going through.
• 18:23
  Speaker 2: I said, wow, this could be so much fun to
• 18:26
  Speaker 2: campaign with my father another time.
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: And so we had a good time doing it.
• 18:31
  Speaker 2: So I was sincere in saying, well, I got drug up.
• 18:35
  Speaker 2: I didn't choose this thing. I think your parents take
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: you to church. And I would tell everybody, don't give
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: your child too many options. Our children have too many options.
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: Make sure you're instilling your values in your children. So
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: take them to church. They can nod off in church,
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: then let them wake up. In between sermons, they'll learn something.
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: Even if you don't want to go to school, go
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: to school. In between nodding, you're going to learn something.
• 18:58
  Speaker 2: You've got to keep them moving, and then you'll find
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: your wings.
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: And catch flight.
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: And I'm just a testament, really, to what God can do,
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: that he can use someone like me that wasn't the
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: most articulate, that was in speech therapy, So I'm for
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: the underdog and for the late bloomers.
• 19:15
  Speaker 4: And let me say, he's one of the great speakers
• 19:20
  Speaker 4: in our time now.
• 19:21
  Speaker 3: Absolutely.
• 19:22
  Speaker 4: He doesn't even operate off notes. I've never seen him
• 19:26
  Speaker 4: operate off notes, and he's a firebrand. I have been
• 19:30
  Speaker 4: surprised more and more to see his growth and his
• 19:35
  Speaker 4: delivery to our grassroots community in particular. You know, it's
• 19:41
  Speaker 4: hard for guys like him with an MBA from.
• 19:44
  Speaker 3: Kellogg, one of the top business institutions. As you heard,
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: a college professor. all these uppity up. And you would think,
• 19:53
  Speaker 3: you know, that he can't relate to our people. But
• 19:56
  Speaker 3: he can a little bit. Not a little bit.
• 20:00
  Speaker 6: That speech therapy is so inspiring for our young people
• 20:05
  Speaker 6: who have challenges and think that that's the end of
• 20:07
  Speaker 6: the road.
• 20:09
  Speaker 3: You know, you can develop.
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: And you evolve.
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: You know, all flowers don't bloom at the same time.
• 20:16
  Speaker 2: So what you've done, Linda, is remarkable, is you poured
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: into your children. And children are like a garden. You
• 20:22
  Speaker 2: see which way they're going to grow, and you help
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: them get there. So no two lives are the same.
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: So that's how I got there, Judge.
• 20:29
  Speaker 4: Yeah, if you guys don't mind, I want to compliment
• 20:31
  Speaker 4: you both in working in the areas that we're speaking of.
• 20:34
  Speaker 4: And they're two most critical areas for families in America
• 20:38
  Speaker 4: in terms of expenses. And that is Linda founded and
• 20:44
  Speaker 4: operated five preschools in Detroit over the course of 15
• 20:49
  Speaker 4: years and educated thousands of young people. Most of them
• 20:53
  Speaker 4: went to high quality schools. It was what she called
• 20:58
  Speaker 4: Children's Advanced Learning Center and indeed gave them that advantage
• 21:04
  Speaker 4: And then you working in affordable housing throughout the course
• 21:09
  Speaker 4: of your career as well, one of the critical issues
• 21:13
  Speaker 4: of affordability that we're hearing. So I just wanted to
• 21:16
  Speaker 4: speak to that. And could you speak perhaps to those
• 21:18
  Speaker 4: two areas in Congress? Because that's a struggle right now
• 21:23
  Speaker 4: for us to get universal child care, universal and affordable housing,
• 21:29
  Speaker 4: additional affordable housing.
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah, first on the child care.
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: This nation has abandoned its commitment really to a generation
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: and specifically to its youth. And you can see it
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: more to its people. They're taxing labor more than they're
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: taxing capital. That if you have capital gains, you pay
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: a lower interest, you pay a lower tax rate than
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: you do on your labor.
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: You look at the social safety net that are.
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: Being taken out on SNAP, the Supplemental Nutritional and Assistance Program.
• 22:04
  Speaker 2: After the one big bill, they changed the law on qualifications.
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: They're paperworking people to death.
• 22:10
  Speaker 3: And child care.
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: And child care, which is the other part. And then
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: if you leave your child at home alone, then you're
• 22:18
  Speaker 2: called unfit. You have another set of issues. On the housing,
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: if you want to see the culmination of all of
• 22:24
  Speaker 2: our problems, you can see a really expressive housing market
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: that you're not just what you eat.
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: More importantly, you are where you live.
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: Your access to housing, your access to transportation is the
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: critical link between welfare and work. Can you get access
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: to affordable housing? And now, not just affordable housing, our
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: challenge is going forward to be able to afford the
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: house you're in. Because of these tariffs, you know, in
• 22:52
  Speaker 2: Michigan and other places, we get our lumber from Canada.
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: In Louisiana, they get their oil and gas out of
• 22:59
  Speaker 2: the Gulf of Mexico. We get our oil and gas
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: in the Chicago and the northern part.
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: Out of Canada.
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: We are raising the price of steel, raising the price
• 23:07
  Speaker 2: of lumber, raising the price of fuel. So the actual
• 23:10
  Speaker 2: cost of housing is going up. It's almost 250 going
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: towards $ 300 per square foot.
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: So you're looking.
• 23:18
  Speaker 2: At $ 600, 000 for a 2,000 square foot unit for new construction.
• 23:22
  Speaker 2: So yes, the affordability is a huge issue. And then
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: you look at what's happening with student loan debt. You
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: didn't make the decision when it wasn't put before you.
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: Will you have too much debt if you decide to
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: go to school? You've got another choice to make. Did
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: you want to go to school? And if so, have
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: your mind ready to go to school. Now school is
• 23:42
  Speaker 2: getting out of people's grasp.
• 23:44
  Speaker 3: Wow.
• 23:45
  Speaker 4: Linda, we're talking about child care. What did you observe
• 23:51
  Speaker 4: in terms of affordability during the 90s and early 2000
• 23:57
  Speaker 4: because you had some, I believe, were receiving subsidies from
• 24:02
  Speaker 4: the state.
• 24:02
  Speaker 3: But how was it with you? Were these folks struggling?
• 24:05
  Speaker 6: Yeah, parents were most definitely subsidized, but it was a struggle.
• 24:09
  Speaker 6: You know, I was a person collecting, you know, from parents.
• 24:13
  Speaker 6: And so I knew that even some who are subsidized
• 24:15
  Speaker 6: partially by the government They still had a hard time
• 24:18
  Speaker 6: paying their small portion because of there's other things involved,
• 24:22
  Speaker 6: you know, besides child care when you're trying to live
• 24:24
  Speaker 6: day to day. And as you mentioned, trying to just
• 24:27
  Speaker 6: get to work and paying for those things. So, yes,
• 24:30
  Speaker 6: it was a struggle then. It's a struggle now. And
• 24:32
  Speaker 6: it's unfortunate a lot of programs have been cut to
• 24:35
  Speaker 6: help parents.
• 24:36
  Speaker 5: And I think that's the big problem because I don't
• 24:39
  Speaker 5: know the exact numbers of how much child care costs
• 24:41
  Speaker 5: have gone up, but I can tell you that I
• 24:43
  Speaker 5: have friends, upper middle class friends, who have literally quit
• 24:46
  Speaker 5: their jobs if they're a two-parent household because it's cheaper
• 24:51
  Speaker 5: for that one parent to not work entirely, take care
• 24:54
  Speaker 5: of their child, than to be in the workforce because
• 24:57
  Speaker 5: child care has gotten so expensive.
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: And that's going to.
• 25:02
  Speaker 2: Be a growing problem. But the federal government has offered
• 25:06
  Speaker 2: solutions in the past. They have retreated from making this
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: a priority.
• 25:12
  Speaker 5: How do you work under a system when it's so
• 25:14
  Speaker 5: obvious that the person at the top has no interest
• 25:18
  Speaker 5: in helping the poor?
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: Well, I remain hopeful. I'm here in Washington, D.C. right now.
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: I've seen quite a few of my other Democratic colleagues
• 25:26
  Speaker 2: are in Washington. Leader Jeffries, I just saw him, Judge Wellsworth.
• 25:31
  Speaker 2: for the Cleo Fields from Louisiana.
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: About an hour ago.
• 25:34
  Speaker 3: My man.
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: So Democrats are showing up. He loves you, man.
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: Democrats are showing up, and they're working. So we're coming up,
• 25:41
  Speaker 2: showing up. And I think that knowing the arc of history,
• 25:46
  Speaker 2: it's a fight.
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: And I'm grateful.
• 25:49
  Speaker 2: I got educated. I've had the exposure experience with my father.
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: And now it's my opportunity to show up. And I
• 25:55
  Speaker 2: got the judge and Linda.
• 25:56
  Speaker 3: That's right. Now, the midterms are approaching.
• 25:59
  Speaker 4: Can we reverse any of those bills or laws that
• 26:04
  Speaker 4: you spoke of, particularly the Big Beautiful Bill, or is
• 26:08
  Speaker 4: that enshrined into the federal code or federal policy that
• 26:16
  Speaker 4: we cannot change once there's a new Congress?
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: It's the law, and yes, we can change it. Okay.
• 26:24
  Speaker 2: Send forth articles, and then it has to go through
• 26:27
  Speaker 2: the Congress and, of course, through the Senate. If it
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: got to the president's desk, I'm sure he would veto it,
• 26:32
  Speaker 2: and then you can try to go back for another
• 26:35
  Speaker 2: measure to overwhelm his veto and make it into law.
• 26:41
  Speaker 4: But you'd have to overwhelm at the United States Senate
• 26:44
  Speaker 4: as well? Okay, thank you for letting our public know
• 26:49
  Speaker 4: that because I think that would be very important. for
• 26:52
  Speaker 4: them to know that if they get out to vote,
• 26:55
  Speaker 4: they can make change. And that change you're referring to
• 26:59
  Speaker 4: is perhaps the biggest one, reversing the cuts.
• 27:04
  Speaker 5: And on the note of the midterms, I mean, I
• 27:06
  Speaker 5: think we've seen in previous elections that people have been frustrated.
• 27:09
  Speaker 5: But even with that frustration, oftentimes people do not show
• 27:13
  Speaker 5: up to vote. What would be your message to people
• 27:15
  Speaker 5: who are not happy with what they're seeing going on?
• 27:18
  Speaker 3: They may hate this president.
• 27:19
  Speaker 5: But still just may not, for whatever reason, get out
• 27:22
  Speaker 5: to vote this year in these midterms.
• 27:24
  Speaker 3: What would your message to them be?
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, I'm not the person to curse the darkness.
• 27:29
  Speaker 2: You know, let your light shine, you know, all around
• 27:32
  Speaker 2: the world, all around your, like, home. I have to
• 27:35
  Speaker 2: wake up every day knowing it's a blessing to be
• 27:38
  Speaker 2: alive and what can I do to make things better.
• 27:41
  Speaker 2: If you want to make a difference, get up. I mean,
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: what's the alternative, you know, to soothe, to sour, to
• 27:47
  Speaker 2: say I can't? You know, I've never been hopeless. And
• 27:51
  Speaker 2: the Jackson household, as you can imagine, growing up with
• 27:54
  Speaker 2: Reverend Jesse Jackson, we had more than cereal and eggs
• 27:59
  Speaker 2: and bacon in the morning.
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: We had a bowl of hope.
• 28:01
  Speaker 3: Keep hope alive.
• 28:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so you got to wake up with, like, hope
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: every day. And we do have the power. It's more
• 28:07
  Speaker 2: of us than them, okay? Whenever we're given a chance, we, like, succeed.
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: And so I don't want people to have a sense of, cynicism,
• 28:17
  Speaker 2: feeling down on ourselves. Yes, it's complex. Yes, it's a challenge.
• 28:22
  Speaker 2: But guess what? Our foreparents started with so much less.
• 28:26
  Speaker 2: I mean, you all are in a beautiful studio. As
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: you're talking to me right now, I am on Capitol Hill.
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: This is Office 1631 in Longworth.
• 28:35
  Speaker 2: Just behind me on the screen, above that screen is
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: a placard that has three sheets of paper in there.
• 28:41
  Speaker 2: That tells us the history of all the persons that
• 28:44
  Speaker 2: had officed in... this particular unit, 1632. And one of
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: the persons in there that used to have this as
• 28:51
  Speaker 2: an office was Speaker Nancy Pelosi. I mean, so when
• 28:55
  Speaker 2: I think of where the Union Station is and my
• 29:01
  Speaker 2: grandfather came back from World War II and had to
• 29:03
  Speaker 2: get off the first class car and get in the
• 29:07
  Speaker 2: second class, the Negro, the colored, the segregated car to
• 29:10
  Speaker 2: go back down to South Carolina, I feel hopeful when
• 29:14
  Speaker 2: I think of John Willis Menard, the first Black from
• 29:17
  Speaker 2: Louisiana to get elected to the Congress.
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: Not seated, elected.
• 29:22
  Speaker 2: The first person, the first Black congressman came from Louisiana,
• 29:25
  Speaker 2: and they never let him get a seat on that floor.
• 29:28
  Speaker 2: And after Reconstruction, George White came out of North Carolina
• 29:32
  Speaker 2: and gave his farewell speech. So I'm excited about being alive.
• 29:37
  Speaker 2: I can make a difference. I'm going to carry the history.
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: and I'm going to bring it to them every day.
• 29:42
  Speaker 2: We started Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Judge, because Trump can't
• 29:46
  Speaker 2: take DEI.
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: Out of my mouth.
• 29:49
  Speaker 3: That's right. Amen.
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: And I'm going to need you. I'm going to need
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: your father. I'm going to need Linda and all her friends.
• 29:54
  Speaker 2: We've got to come back to Washington and and then
• 29:57
  Speaker 2: hold people's feet to the fire. For the people that
• 30:00
  Speaker 2: need child assistance, for people that need temporary assistance, people
• 30:05
  Speaker 2: that need the SNAP program, we're going to have to
• 30:07
  Speaker 2: have a Poor People's March back in Washington, D.C. While
• 30:11
  Speaker 2: they're talking about the ball and the Arctic Trump and
• 30:14
  Speaker 2: the Kennedy Center, what about food on the table?
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: What about clothes on people's beds? What about housing over
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: people's heads?
• 30:21
  Speaker 2: We're going to have to have something to counter the
• 30:24
  Speaker 2: order of magnitude of the cuts that they've made.
• 30:28
  Speaker 5: And for people that want to get involved, that are
• 30:30
  Speaker 5: motivated this midterm election, what can they do beyond voting?
• 30:34
  Speaker 3: What would you recommend?
• 30:36
  Speaker 2: Well, also, we still have a registration gap. You know,
• 30:40
  Speaker 2: ask your friend, are you registered?
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: You're going to vote.
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: That's enough for you. Now you're going to have to
• 30:45
  Speaker 2: reach out and help someone else. Have you registered to vote?
• 30:48
  Speaker 2: We also have to take this to our churches. Ask
• 30:51
  Speaker 2: the minister, can you please make an announcement for us?
• 30:54
  Speaker 2: I come from the philosophy of my father. We glorify
• 30:58
  Speaker 2: God and then we edify man. So there are two
• 31:01
  Speaker 2: parts that uplift God, but you got to build up
• 31:04
  Speaker 2: the man, the human being, the woman and every other person.
• 31:08
  Speaker 2: The other part you're going to have to end up
• 31:09
  Speaker 2: doing is we've got to realize praying to me never
• 31:13
  Speaker 2: was getting down on our knees. When we went to
• 31:15
  Speaker 2: a picket line, that was a prayer. That was a protest.
• 31:18
  Speaker 2: We went to the, to the voting line. That was
• 31:20
  Speaker 2: a prayer.
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: Okay. So prayer, you can take it to the polls.
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: Think about how radical this is.
• 31:25
  Speaker 2: And you know, young Greg, is that on that day,
• 31:30
  Speaker 2: when you go to the voting booth, you got the
• 31:33
  Speaker 2: same power as the richest man in the nation. The housekeeper,
• 31:38
  Speaker 2: the plumber, the janitor. That's a radical idea. The wealthiest
• 31:43
  Speaker 2: people don't think that should be so. They say, I
• 31:46
  Speaker 2: own buildings. I own banks. I got a portfolio. I
• 31:49
  Speaker 2: hire tens of thousands of people. My vote should be
• 31:52
  Speaker 2: worth more. No, that's not the law. So we've got
• 31:56
  Speaker 2: to let people know they've got the power. And we're
• 31:59
  Speaker 2: going to have to come out a judge and overwhelm
• 32:01
  Speaker 2: the polls. And, gee, just like what you and Linda
• 32:04
  Speaker 2: have done, Greg, you're a function of your parents, okay?
• 32:09
  Speaker 2: They pulled you up to be a responsible citizen, to
• 32:12
  Speaker 2: come out and vote. This has to be a family value.
• 32:16
  Speaker 2: And that's why it's got to go back to the church.
• 32:17
  Speaker 2: It's got to go back to the mother and father.
• 32:20
  Speaker 2: You know, this isn't a child's work. You got to
• 32:22
  Speaker 2: talk to the parents and grandparents. If you're still alive,
• 32:25
  Speaker 2: it's your obligation to get your child to the pole.
• 32:27
  Speaker 3: Go ahead.
• 32:29
  Speaker 5: I was going to say on the note of just
• 32:31
  Speaker 5: family values. I know we talked about a lot of
• 32:33
  Speaker 5: heavy stuff and I was going to just transition to asking.
• 32:37
  Speaker 3: Cause I know how we do our family.
• 32:39
  Speaker 5: You know, we do a lot of heavy work and
• 32:40
  Speaker 5: I have a feeling your answer might be the same,
• 32:42
  Speaker 5: but behind closed doors, we have fun together. I mean,
• 32:44
  Speaker 5: my dad is a, he could be a standup comedian
• 32:47
  Speaker 5: if he wasn't a judge.
• 32:49
  Speaker 3: I know your.
• 32:50
  Speaker 5: Father was also extremely funny, great sense of humor. So
• 32:53
  Speaker 5: I'm interested to know how you keep yourself and your
• 32:56
  Speaker 5: family grounded when so much of what you do day-to-day
• 33:00
  Speaker 5: is so intense and what that may look like.
• 33:04
  Speaker 2: He's called Judge. I got my own built-in comedian friend, Judge.
• 33:11
  Speaker 2: I can ask him a legal question. And let me see.
• 33:14
  Speaker 2: When I first saw the Judge come on television, I'm like,
• 33:20
  Speaker 2: he's not acting. I'm like, he's getting paid to be himself.
• 33:29
  Speaker 3: No, so, you know what?
• 33:32
  Speaker 2: I always like to say, you know, that gospel song,
• 33:35
  Speaker 2: sometimes you have to encourage yourself.
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: You gotta wake up encouraged every day.
• 33:40
  Speaker 2: When I look at how far we've come from to
• 33:42
  Speaker 2: where we are, I'm encouraged. I mean, when I know
• 33:45
  Speaker 2: there are more African American members of the United States
• 33:48
  Speaker 2: Congress now than there ever been in history. More African
• 33:52
  Speaker 2: American females in the United States Senate than ever before
• 33:55
  Speaker 2: in history.
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: I mean, when I look at the U.S.
• 33:57
  Speaker 2: Open, and I see Coco Groff, and I see Taylor,
• 34:02
  Speaker 2: and I see all these young women that are now
• 34:05
  Speaker 2: assuming their rightful place, a generation after the Williams sisters.
• 34:09
  Speaker 2: I mean, when I see the Bears win, Kevin Hearn
• 34:12
  Speaker 2: is the president of that organization, and how they've retooled
• 34:16
  Speaker 2: in two great young black men as quarterbacks in Hertz
• 34:20
  Speaker 2: and in Williams. I mean, I'm just encouraged. When Judge
• 34:24
  Speaker 2: and I were growing up, there was still a question.
• 34:27
  Speaker 2: They would say, does the Negro's mind, does his medulla
• 34:31
  Speaker 2: oblongata have the capacity and his cranial cavity to think
• 34:37
  Speaker 2: strategically with the pressure.
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: Of being an NFL quarterback? That was an issue.
• 34:43
  Speaker 2: I mean, one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history,
• 34:46
  Speaker 2: Doug Williams, was a third stringer. But given that chance,
• 34:50
  Speaker 2: when he got off that bench, I mean, he broke
• 34:53
  Speaker 2: Super Bowl records like you'd never seen before.
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: So I'm encouraged. There's so much talent in our community.
• 34:59
  Speaker 4: And I think that what you're speaking of is keeping
• 35:05
  Speaker 4: hope alive, which was the mantra of Rainbow Push. And
• 35:11
  Speaker 4: I think our... Hope is in our history. And so
• 35:15
  Speaker 4: our gains have come through our fight. And as the
• 35:19
  Speaker 4: Reverend taught us both to remember that every fight we
• 35:24
  Speaker 4: have gotten into, we've won. And now this fourth fight
• 35:28
  Speaker 4: for economic justice and economic empowerment continues.
• 35:31
  Speaker 3: Is going to take us even further.
• 35:34
  Speaker 5: If that's not enough to get people out to vote
• 35:35
  Speaker 5: in these midterms, I don't know what is.
• 35:37
  Speaker 3: Keep hoping live, folks.
• 35:39
  Speaker 5: But I love that you talked about the economic and
• 35:41
  Speaker 5: political power because, Congressman, you've been extremely successful in business.
• 35:46
  Speaker 5: You've always had the activism in you, and now you're
• 35:50
  Speaker 5: here in Congress. I'm curious to hear from you if
• 35:53
  Speaker 5: you see differences between us, differences between political and economic
• 35:58
  Speaker 5: power when it comes to Black America and how those
• 36:01
  Speaker 5: approaches move us forward?
• 36:03
  Speaker 2: You know, I went to study business and I thought
• 36:06
  Speaker 2: that was the pathway.
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: It's a pathway.
• 36:10
  Speaker 2: But as I got older and understood it a lot better,
• 36:14
  Speaker 2: it's the laws that you have to change first. Because
• 36:18
  Speaker 2: without the protection of the law, you can get robbed
• 36:21
  Speaker 2: by the law. And so it's the framework. And I
• 36:25
  Speaker 2: would tell you that voting is... should be our right
• 36:29
  Speaker 2: and business should be our privilege. Some people have it
• 36:33
  Speaker 2: misunderstood and they think business is our right and voting
• 36:37
  Speaker 2: is a privilege.
• 36:38
  Speaker 3: No, no, no, no.
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: The priority has to be voting. It has to be
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: access to the ballot. That's all.
• 36:45
  Speaker 2: You can also have protection of your assets. That's how
• 36:48
  Speaker 2: the codes are changed for people in order to preserve
• 36:52
  Speaker 2: their wealth or get excluded and locked out of wealth.
• 36:55
  Speaker 2: So it's symbiotic. It's the same coin. It's two sides.
• 37:01
  Speaker 2: But we have to lean in hard on our voting rights.
• 37:04
  Speaker 4: Well, we know you are. Have to get on the flight, Congressman.
• 37:08
  Speaker 4: We are so glad that you're able to... Are you
• 37:11
  Speaker 4: kicking me off, Judge?
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: Are you kicking me off?
• 37:14
  Speaker 3: Say you have some more to talk about. That's right. Well,
• 37:16
  Speaker 3: let's keep it moving, then. Come on, what, you got
• 37:19
  Speaker 3: tired of me, man?
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: Never.
• 37:24
  Speaker 5: I mean, one thing I did want to talk about
• 37:26
  Speaker 5: just a little bit is just getting into, and stop
• 37:29
  Speaker 5: me if we're getting too personal, but this is Mathis
• 37:31
  Speaker 5: Family Talks.
• 37:33
  Speaker 6: Just.
• 37:34
  Speaker 5: wondering you know again and and and this day and
• 37:38
  Speaker 5: age with so much going on with so much history
• 37:41
  Speaker 5: as you talked about seeing our history determines what will
• 37:43
  Speaker 5: be you come from a tremendous family a tremendous history
• 37:47
  Speaker 5: of family legacy how do you um manage that raising
• 37:51
  Speaker 5: the family what do you instill in your children in
• 37:54
  Speaker 5: preparation for them to carry parts of that legacy forward.
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: You know, I tell you, I just want to set
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: an example.
• 38:02
  Speaker 2: I'm not trying to feed my children to go in
• 38:04
  Speaker 2: one direction or the other. And I'll see how they bloom,
• 38:08
  Speaker 2: see what the good Lord has instilled for them, what's
• 38:11
  Speaker 2: in their heart. I think our first obligation, like your
• 38:14
  Speaker 2: mother and father, is for us to be the best
• 38:16
  Speaker 2: parents that we can be. You know, you set that
• 38:19
  Speaker 2: framework and then your children come in there. So I
• 38:23
  Speaker 2: don't put, I have high expectations for my children. I've
• 38:27
  Speaker 2: given them the best of what I've had, what I've
• 38:29
  Speaker 2: known at that time. Like any other parent, I probably
• 38:32
  Speaker 2: could have done some things different and better. So you're always, like,
• 38:35
  Speaker 2: protective and always reflective. And so I want the best
• 38:39
  Speaker 2: for my children. And when they tell me they have
• 38:41
  Speaker 2: the idea and what you want to do, you want
• 38:44
  Speaker 2: to encourage them.
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: And that's what my father did for me.
• 38:47
  Speaker 4: Now, are you going to ask them? Are you going
• 38:49
  Speaker 4: to require or ask or suggest? I know they're already
• 38:52
  Speaker 4: in college. What am I thinking of?
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: No, I.
• 38:56
  Speaker 3: Hadn't Noah graduated, I believe.
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: All of them are out now, G. I'm sorry.
• 39:03
  Speaker 3: And you didn't make the.
• 39:04
  Speaker 4: What I was trying to get to is North Carolina
• 39:07
  Speaker 4: A & T, where your father was there, Reverend Jackson.
• 39:11
  Speaker 4: He was a star quarterback, and he was president... of
• 39:15
  Speaker 4: the student council foretelling his leadership, both as a quarterback
• 39:20
  Speaker 4: who was the leader and the most valuable player of 18.
• 39:23
  Speaker 5: Wasn't he present in the Omega's there too or something
• 39:25
  Speaker 5: like that? I know he was in Omega. I don't
• 39:27
  Speaker 5: know if he was present.
• 39:28
  Speaker 3: And then Jonathan attended.
• 39:30
  Speaker 4: And he was a flop on the football team.
• 39:34
  Speaker 3: Here we go. Here we go.
• 39:36
  Speaker 5: That's good, Dutchie.
• 39:41
  Speaker 4: What did it mean to you to go to that
• 39:44
  Speaker 4: North Carolina A & T though?
• 39:45
  Speaker 2: And you know, Judge, the Reverend and I got recruited
• 39:48
  Speaker 2: by the Chicago White Sox.
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: And uh they offered the white guy six times.
• 39:52
  Speaker 2: More money and he walked away on it oh but
• 39:55
  Speaker 2: he got recruited as a pitcher for the chicago white.
• 39:58
  Speaker 3: Socks wow yeah.
• 40:00
  Speaker 2: Everyone's coming up no i tell you the um yeah
• 40:04
  Speaker 2: so i went to north county proud of the school
• 40:06
  Speaker 2: love the work that they do um i try to
• 40:08
  Speaker 2: get my children to go there but you know they
• 40:11
  Speaker 2: had other plans and i support endorse that um And,
• 40:15
  Speaker 2: you know, children, they grow. And so there's the French garden.
• 40:19
  Speaker 2: It's very manicured. There's the Italian garden. It's kind of
• 40:21
  Speaker 2: wild and natural. I like the Italian garden. Let the
• 40:25
  Speaker 2: children blossom, bloom, see which way they go, love them,
• 40:28
  Speaker 2: support them. And that's who my father was. I would
• 40:31
  Speaker 2: tell you, Greg, is that, and you remind me of that,
• 40:35
  Speaker 2: on my worst day, I saw the best in my father.
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: I never felt afraid to come home.
• 40:42
  Speaker 2: And so I think that's your number one obligation as
• 40:45
  Speaker 2: a parent, like, love your family, love your children, you know,
• 40:49
  Speaker 2: support them, care for them, and know protective. I mean,
• 40:53
  Speaker 2: I can't understand people that disown their children. Something like
• 40:56
  Speaker 2: that is so cruel and evil. But my father had
• 41:00
  Speaker 2: high expectations for me. And to this day, I want
• 41:02
  Speaker 2: to continue to live up to them. And so he's
• 41:05
  Speaker 2: with me everywhere I go.
• 41:07
  Speaker 4: And his last words to me, among others, were, I
• 41:11
  Speaker 4: thought he'd say, Because he wanted me to play a
• 41:15
  Speaker 4: more significant role in Rainbow Push. I thought he'd say
• 41:21
  Speaker 4: something like, help Rainbow Push and focus all your time
• 41:27
  Speaker 4: there or help me. His last words to me were,
• 41:31
  Speaker 4: help Johnny. Stick with, no, he didn't say help. He said,
• 41:36
  Speaker 4: stick with Johnny. He said, stick with Johnny. So he
• 41:40
  Speaker 4: knew you were the one And just like I was
• 41:46
  Speaker 4: his aide in building his political career, I am now
• 41:52
  Speaker 4: happy to be your aide, based on the instructions of
• 41:56
  Speaker 4: Reverend Jackson. And I hope he wasn't on medicine that
• 42:01
  Speaker 4: day when he told me that.
• 42:03
  Speaker 1: There you go. You almost said something positive.
• 42:06
  Speaker 3: I ruined it at the end.
• 42:12
  Speaker 1: And listen here.
• 42:12
  Speaker 2: And then my grandmother, Gertrude, she says to me, I'm
• 42:18
  Speaker 2: trying to talk to her one day.
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: And she says, you can't talk now. Be quiet. Be quiet.
• 42:24
  Speaker 2: And she's watching the Judge Mathis show. I said, Grandma,
• 42:28
  Speaker 2: I got the judge on the phone. You know that's recorded.
• 42:30
  Speaker 2: I can't talk to him right now.
• 42:32
  Speaker 1: I got to.
• 42:32
  Speaker 2: I'm watching the Judge Mathis. So I'm like, good grief.
• 42:35
  Speaker 2: So Judge hung on. We talked to her at station break.
• 42:39
  Speaker 2: And she got to laughing.
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: And then she tells me, Johnny.
• 42:43
  Speaker 2: Johnny, you don't know black folks like me and the.
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: Judge know black folks. The judge, he comes from where
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: I come from.
• 42:52
  Speaker 2: You didn't come from where we came from.
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: I'm like, Lord have mercy.
• 42:55
  Speaker 3: That's my girl.
• 42:55
  Speaker 2: My grandmother was the judge's biggest fan. My mother is
• 42:58
  Speaker 2: your fan, second only to my grandmother, Gertrude.
• 43:02
  Speaker 4: Now, I don't know if you know, but Greg used
• 43:04
  Speaker 4: to help care for your grandmother.
• 43:07
  Speaker 3: You come by the house, Grandma Gertrude. Isn't that right?
• 43:10
  Speaker 3: That's right. That's right.
• 43:11
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 43:12
  Speaker 4: So they had a good relationship. And so she had
• 43:15
  Speaker 4: the father and the son.
• 43:17
  Speaker 1: I'm preaching. So you understand what I'm up against.
• 43:22
  Speaker 3: Look, and you understand what I'm up against.
• 43:26
  Speaker 1: I pray for you, my son. I'm with you.
• 43:30
  Speaker 4: And that's such a unique situation that Reverend's son, I
• 43:36
  Speaker 4: would be helping as Reverend helped me. And that's such
• 43:42
  Speaker 4: a great, that's just such a fulfilling narrative that the
• 43:47
  Speaker 4: man who helped me, I was able to help his son,
• 43:51
  Speaker 4: and now he can help my son.
• 43:54
  Speaker 2: Well, you know, people thought it was an improbability that
• 43:56
  Speaker 2: Jackson would run for Congress again. Some people I called friends,
• 44:00
  Speaker 2: they stayed away. And then I didn't call you, you
• 44:04
  Speaker 2: called me.
• 44:04
  Speaker 3: That's right.
• 44:05
  Speaker 2: And then Judge showed up, and Judge says, hey, man,
• 44:08
  Speaker 2: you know, we know how to do this. I'm like, okay,
• 44:10
  Speaker 2: this is the judge, TV, got to get a car,
• 44:13
  Speaker 2: we got to do this. Judge is like, no, no, no.
• 44:16
  Speaker 2: Give me a stack of these flyers and we're going
• 44:21
  Speaker 2: to hit the streets and we.
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: Got to go in and out the bar. I'm like, judge, judge. No,
• 44:26
  Speaker 1: he's like, no, man, I don't know about all that
• 44:27
  Speaker 1: other stuff.
• 44:28
  Speaker 2: He said, we're going to step a step, we're going
• 44:30
  Speaker 2: to hit the streets. Don't call me for that other stuff.
• 44:34
  Speaker 2: And true enough, and Diane was so honored and I'm
• 44:37
  Speaker 2: so grateful for you, judge.
• 44:38
  Speaker 3: Thank you.
• 44:38
  Speaker 4: It's been one of the great joys of my life
• 44:41
  Speaker 4: to be closely attached to the Jackson family. And I
• 44:46
  Speaker 4: appreciate that relationship. And your mother. Your mother I have
• 44:50
  Speaker 4: so much love for. And she and I add her
• 44:56
  Speaker 4: to the Gertrude and I scenario because she's a firecracker
• 45:02
  Speaker 4: and so was Grandma Gertrude.
• 45:05
  Speaker 1: Hey, you know what, Judge?
• 45:06
  Speaker 2: Now that I'm thinking about it, I guess I was
• 45:09
  Speaker 2: about 18 when I met you.
• 45:11
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I'd say late teen, yeah.
• 45:14
  Speaker 1: So that's 42 years ago, wow.
• 45:16
  Speaker 3: Wow, that's special. Yeah, that's special.
• 45:20
  Speaker 4: And after 20 years, I found out he was special.
• 45:25
  Speaker 3: That's about the same time you and mom got married,
• 45:27
  Speaker 3: I think. Yep, it was. No, yeah, it was about
• 45:31
  Speaker 3: the time, a year before.
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and so, yeah, I can't believe all these many.
• 45:36
  Speaker 2: Years, Judge.
• 45:39
  Speaker 4: And we're still in the trenches with the people fighting
• 45:42
  Speaker 4: for the people and.
• 45:43
  Speaker 1: You never left you never left through all.
• 45:47
  Speaker 2: The great success and fame and other good things you
• 45:52
  Speaker 2: always made time just like the spirit of Jackie Robinson
• 45:57
  Speaker 2: Jackie Robinson in the off season went and did voter
• 46:00
  Speaker 2: registration over all these many years you never stopped Judge
• 46:06
  Speaker 2: I applaud you and thank you.
• 46:07
  Speaker 3: It's who I am. Thank you. Thank you for your service.
• 46:13
  Speaker 3: Thank you for giving us the time. Yeah, thank you
• 46:15
  Speaker 3: for coming on the show today. Linda, are you getting
• 46:18
  Speaker 3: rid of me now?
• 46:19
  Speaker 4: Right?
• 46:21
  Speaker 3: I can hear your dad.
• 46:23
  Speaker 6: And the things he talked about, I can hear it
• 46:25
  Speaker 6: through you. So I like that.
• 46:27
  Speaker 1: Linda, you are amazing. And thank you for being a
• 46:29
  Speaker 1: friend of my mother and family.
• 46:31
  Speaker 3: Oh, yeah.
• 46:32
  Speaker 1: You've been there every step of the way. 40-something years
• 46:37
  Speaker 1: that I know of.
• 46:38
  Speaker 3: Right, right. Thanks a lot. Well, my man, I'll see
• 46:44
  Speaker 3: you soon.
• 46:45
  Speaker 1: Yes, sir.
• 46:46
  Speaker 4: Knock him out in the election. He is running for re-election, y'all.
• 46:54
  Speaker 4: Then once you win again and we take Congress back again,
• 47:01
  Speaker 4: give him hell, congressman. Thank you for coming on. We
• 47:04
  Speaker 4: love you, man.
• 47:05
  Speaker 6: Love you.
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: Love you more.
• 47:06
  Speaker 2: I'm going to see you in South Carolina. I'm going
• 47:07
  Speaker 2: to see you in the Hill. I'm going to see
• 47:09
  Speaker 2: you back out on the campaign trail.
• 47:11
  Speaker 3: That's right, man.
• 47:12
  Speaker 2: We're going to do, I didn't tell you, Judge, we're
• 47:14
  Speaker 2: going to do Arkansas, Mississippi, and South Carolina together. I
• 47:18
  Speaker 2: meant to tell you that.
• 47:20
  Speaker 4: I knew that was light work you were giving me.
• 47:24
  Speaker 3: I said something to this.
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: I've already put your name out there. I forgot to
• 47:28
  Speaker 1: tell you.
• 47:28
  Speaker 4: He ain't never asked for one thing, him or Reverend.
• 47:31
  Speaker 4: They ask for three things at a time. So when
• 47:33
  Speaker 4: he only asked for South Carolina, I said something to this.
• 47:37
  Speaker 4: He ain't never asked for one thing at a time.
• 47:41
  Speaker 2: Do I have a commitment? I thank you so much.
• 47:44
  Speaker 2: I appreciate that. I need to get it recorded. Thank
• 47:47
  Speaker 2: you so much.
• 47:48
  Speaker 5: And with that, Ma, you might have to send this home,
• 47:51
  Speaker 5: because these two will keep talking forever.
• 47:53
  Speaker 2: Right, right.
• 47:53
  Speaker 3: I was going to say, safe flight to the condo, man.
• 47:56
  Speaker 3: You said what? Safe flight.
• 47:58
  Speaker 2: I don't want to talk about the time he let
• 48:00
  Speaker 2: me borrow his Bentley, then had to come back and
• 48:02
  Speaker 2: pick it up.
• 48:03
  Speaker 1: I don't want to talk about that.
• 48:04
  Speaker 3: He wouldn't give it back.
• 48:06
  Speaker 4: He wouldn't give it back.
• 48:08
  Speaker 3: I almost had to send the police.
• 48:09
  Speaker 1: I said, let me just keep on riding this.
• 48:11
  Speaker 3: I just couldn't afford. And sent me some champagne.
• 48:14
  Speaker 4: Wouldn't give me my car back, just sent me a
• 48:16
  Speaker 4: bottle of champagne.
• 48:20
  Speaker 3: That's what friends do. All right, thank you. All right, bye-bye.
• 48:27
  Speaker 1: Love you so much. Love you back.
• 48:29
  Speaker 3: Love you.