A Black Executive Perspective. Now presents need to know with the award-winning hyphenated Dr. Nsenga Burton, Dr. Burton. What do we need to know?

Good afternoon and welcome to Need To Know with Dr. Nsenga Burton. I am she. I hope that you're having a wonderful day today. Today I wanna talk to you a little bit about distractions. Um, yesterday there was a wonderful, wonderful, MET gala, uh, display of black cultural, uh, importance. Uh, the theme for the MET Gala was Dandy Dandyism. And, um, you know, we have, um. Talked about black culture a lot in our, our communities. We've talked about a lot in American history and, um, in black popular culture and a lot of the, uh, fashions that you actually see come out of that culture, right? Even if they're not, um, attributed to that culture, um, they have come out of that culture. And if you look at, if you follow fashion, you know that Dapper Dan is like the model for. Black Dandyism in the United States and, um, played a significant role in lots of different cultural movements, including the hip hop cultural movement. So I say all of that to say last night was a great display of beauty excellence, black excellence, as we like to call it. All the wonderful things. And while we had an appreciation for it, many of us did. I also sat there and I was very, um. Disappointed because while we're looking at all of this black excellence, we're looking at all of this black culture, this very, very public celebration and display of black culture. Our institutions are being undermined. We are being erased from History books. Our books are being banned. You know, if you look at the details of the Reconciliation Act, um, you know, they're hitting people, they're getting rid of Pell Grants, which is how a lot of black people go to school, can't afford to go to school. We still can't afford it. That's why we carry the most student loan debt that any other group in the country. But that is one of the ways in which we are able to afford to go to school at that moment that we are going to school. Um, there, uh. Removing funding that has been available for first generation folk. A lot of us are first generation, a lot of us are second, third, fourth generation, but a lot of us are first generation college students. Um, so there's a lot of things in there and in that reconciliation, uh, bill that is going to negatively impact us. And we've already had the other things, right. I'm thinking that they have Coleman Domingo as the face of this, um, met gala while they have. Defunded, the CDC, they have defunded, um, research on HIV. Um, they have pulled back on sending, uh, different types of medications, um, not only overseas, but also distributing it throughout our communities here, um, which has helped to bring down the number of HIV related deaths, um, over the last, you know, two decades. Um, and so when you are looking at this. Beautiful. It's like really beautiful display of fashion and culture and history, and you are measuring it against what is really happening to black people in this country. And we are being attacked and it feels like we are the only ones who are. Aware of it or care about it. Um, because very few people, some are doing certain things right. You know, they'll say something on Twitter or X or they'll say something publicly or they'll be like, oh, go see this movie. You know, or something like that. But in terms of activism, um, there's been very little of it. Uh, and there's been very little support and there's been very little pushback, you know, very much. Uh, a reflection of how things typically work with us. You know, uh, the saying they love our rhythm, but they don't want our blues, right? Um, and so it feels weird. And I had this conversation on Facebook with some of my friends, um, and, you know, many of us were on the same page, but some people had different perspectives, which we used to appreciate in the United States, but now we all gotta think the same. Um, but we. One of the things is we appreciated the beauty, right? We appreciated the art, we appreciated the history, we appreciated the fashion, all of that. But we also were very much aware and, and looking at it, juxtaposed against what's really happening in terms of, um, you know, the gutting of the Civil Rights Act, the gutting of the Voting Rights Act, those things, I mean, even birthright citizenship, which we talked about in the last segment, um, which is something that African Americans got out of the 14th Amendment. Um, you know, post-slavery, right? As a a after we were no longer enslaved people, although we were still enslaved in many ways by policies and laws and what have you. But when we were not physically enslaved people, um, we had to have birthright citizenship because there were people who still didn't want us to be citizens of the country that we had built with our free labor. Um. And so my, what I need you to know, uh, is that there are going to be lots of distractions that are going to undermine what is actually happening to black people. Um, I'm also a woman. I'm looking at what's happening to women. Um, and I just like, I don't even believe this. I'm an educator. I'm looking at what's happening in the first generation students, many of whom, um, are, um. Uh, diverse populations or what have you. Diverse socioeconomic populations, economic populations, poor white people need those, uh, pe, Pell Grants as well. Um, and so I'm looking at all of this and, and through a lot of lenses and I want people to remember that you cannot get distracted. You have got to put your foot on the gas and keep it on the gas so you can celebrate and appreciate the Met Gala and all the wonderful people you know. Um, I. But also know that while they're celebrating Coleman Domingo, they are disenfranchising L-G-B-T-Q populations and black people, and he represents both, uh, and so we can celebrate him, but we have to make sure that our black L-G-B-T-Q people are protected, that they get the protections that they need, they get, um, the support that they need for what's happening and the issues that are impacting their communities. Are addressed as well. So we can't parse out who we care about either. So that's another reminder for what we need to know. All black people matter, um, and we need to be working on behalf of all black people. But in this instance, we cannot get distracted because we do great things. That's who we are. We make everything better. Like you cannot outdo black people. I say that some people get mad at me. I don't care. I'm like, you can't outdo us on the internet, fashion, anything cultural, historical. Advocacy activism. Like we can't be outdone, so, um, you can't outdo us. So, um, and that's okay. We love, we love that about ourselves and some people love that about us too. Um, but please do know that because you can't outdo us on that red carpet or that mec met gala carpet. We are being outdone. In ways that really matter, and that is in policy, that is in protection, um, by way of laws. Um, and that is in the, uh, support we need. Um, I. In our institutions, especially our HBCUs. So that's what I need you to know. Keep your eye on the prize, keep your foot on the gas. You can appreciate the MET Gala. Look at all the pictures. Go try to copy them. Do whatever you need to do. Um, but please make sure that you contact your Congress person and talk about some of the things like the disenfranchisement of our people that is happening. Um, and, and that is happening not only on the federal level, but also on the state level in many states. Um, make sure you do that too. That's also a celebration of us. All right, so tune in next week, um, to need to know with Dr. Nsenga Burton, while I'll come back and talk to you about something else and make sure that you check out A Black Executive Perspective podcast, the award-winning, um, with. Tony, um, and Chris, I'm having a brain fart, but Tony and Chris, um, and I'll see you later. Bye.

A Black Executive Perspective.