Leadership, Legacy, and Black History

In this special Black History Month episode of What’s Going On in the Statehouse, Keiffer Mitchell sits down with Mayor Steven Benjamin and Labriah Holt for a conversation on leadership, service, and the enduring impact of Black Americans on our nation’s story.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Today is a special edition episode of our podcast in honor of Black History Month. I'm Kiefer Mitchell, Vice President here at BGR Group, and we have two very special guests. My colleagues, Labria Holt, Vice President at BGR Group, and Mayor Steve Benjamin, who is on the BGR Group's advisory board, the chair of the advisory board. What I want to do is just introduce uh my two colleagues, have them introduce themselves, and uh we'll start off with you, Labrea. Welcome to what's going on in the statehouse.

SPEAKER_00 0:42

Good morning, Keeper. Thanks for having me and including me in this important discussion. Um, Labrea Holt, and I am in Atlanta in the BGR office, VP of state and local government, and really excited for the conversation today.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

Great. How about you, Mayor Benjamin? Welcome.

SPEAKER_02 1:03

I am retired mayor, Benjamin.

SPEAKER_01 1:05

Uh I'm once a mayor, always a mayor.

SPEAKER_02 1:08

Um I I had the uh privilege of of serving as mayor of Columbia, South Carolina for 12 years. Um, and prior to that was a state cabinet secretary. And then I, of course, I went to the White House, worked for President Biden as one of his senior advisors and ran public engagement at at the White House. I'm based in Columbia, South Carolina, uh my my my hometown, and um uh been excited to be affiliated of the BGRS Privates Advisory Board, you know, as co-chair for the last several years.

SPEAKER_01 1:36

Great. Well, welcome again. And uh I'm just gonna kick it off with this one question as what comes to mind to the both of you when you think of Black History Month? What comes to mind first when you think of Black History Month? And we'll start off you with you, Mayor Benjamin.

SPEAKER_02 1:55

Well, sure. And I I did also leave out the fact that I'm also every once in a while a library's valet. So that was gonna do uh we all are. She's been a dear friend for many years, so whatever I was gonna do. I just I just make it happen. So wrap that off my CB. Um what comes to mind about black history, quite frankly, is that black history is American history. Uh that that that literally um bake into the the the the the beauty of uh of the greatest republic in the history of the of the of the world. All the other are the um time, talents, and treasures, uh the African seed and the American sun, uh from the from the Berkeley's country. And uh and it's important to realize that. Uh uh as much as we focus on certainly the history of our of our country, because I think it's so important because obviously uh a history helps um uh determine uh our our present and our and our future. Uh when I think about black history eyeshadow, I I almost refocus even more so on on what our future could look like as a as a country, if in fact we we um we work hard uh together to to uh elevate the the the great strength and and and diversity of this country that I think is probably most personified in the contributions of African Americans um uh to this uh country. It's rich, it spans every uh industry and and and field you can possibly uh think of. And when you begin to tell the story uh of African Americans, you really start telling the story of every single person who calls themselves an American in one way or another. And you see how we're all inextricably uh intertwined in a very positive way.

SPEAKER_01 3:38

That's great. How about you, Labra?

SPEAKER_00 3:41

I'd have to piggyback, you know, this Black History Month, and I want to say that this year the theme is around innovation. And so when you frame that question, you know, similar to um Mayor Benjamin, I immediately thought about how Black history is the expansion of democracy, opportunity, and innovation. Um and I and I think it's rooted in that Black Americans have consistently been a part of advancing the country's ideals. You know, I am a lawyer by trade. Um, so I'd be remiss to not think about these, you know, really monumental moments in the post-Reconstruction era of civil rights, equal, you know, the the in in the ways that black Americans have kind of helped advance, you know, the country living up to um, you know, what I think is intended, you know, here in America.

SPEAKER_01 4:56

So that that's been fantastic. And uh you you touched on, you know, why it's important to understand African American history in America, but let's jump to where we are now. In your opinion, and we'll start off with you, Labria, in terms of our modern times. What is going on in our modern times, and how does that translate into understanding the contributions of African Americans? And I'm thinking of business, politics, innovation that you had touched on.

SPEAKER_00 5:34

Yeah, I think, you know, I'm in Atlanta, so I've got to give a shout out to Mr. Lonnie Johnson. He is the inventor of the super soaker. I got four-year-old things, right? They're not there yet, but to think that I see often a man who invented this household staple that people love to use and enjoy, it's exciting to know and to have that access and reach. Um, I also think about today how all of us work in state houses and we are, you know, offering services for our clients across the country and capitals that once were not intended for us to be there or to participate. And so it's not lost upon me that we've made a lot of progress and that we all stand on the shoulders of people before us who help America get to where it is today. Um, but you know, if I could, and even thinking right now, I was recently in a discussion with how do you talk about Black history to younger people and really focus on today and where we're going in the future or contributions. And I keep going back to, you know, the traffic signal. You know, that's Garrett Morgan, an African-American man who had the patent and invented that, or, you know, thinking about Lewis Latimer and what he did as it related to what we use still today, the modern light bulb. I think every day we are going and walking in ways where African Americans have played a role and, you know, it set a foundation that we're still benefiting from today. And it makes me excited about what's possible now. Um, you know, we're in an era where we've introduced AI and we work with a lot of people who are following AI and workforce and impact. And I'm actually curious to see how people innovate um with the new technology that we have based off of what we've seen them be cap to be capable of in the past, with a whole lot less.

SPEAKER_01 7:47

That's really a great summation, uh, La Bria. Mayor Benjamin, you served as the mayor of Columbia, South Carolina uh as an African-American mayor in a southern city. Uh, and we all know the history of South Carolina and some of the issues as it relates to civil rights. But politically, you know, what was your experience as an African American uh political leader uh in Columbia, but the state of South Carolina, but also in the southern uh region of the United States. Uh what was that like? And, you know, what did you think of when you first came into office uh being an African American mayor in in a southern city that happens to be the capital of South Carolina?

SPEAKER_02 8:42

Yeah. Um it was a wonderful experience. I'm not sure if you know. Um I was born and raised in Queens, New York. My family um uh uh moved from Ornsborg, South Carolina, just 45 minutes southeast to New York, uh uh the middle of the last century, and like a lot of black northerners did, sent the kids back down south to college. Uh, and I matriculated the University of South Carolina and Columbia quickly became uh the home of this new 17-year-old. I found myself in an environment where we were young student um uh activists uh protesting everything from uh apartheid uh in South Africa to uh the Confederate battle flag um um still flying above the the state capitol um long after the Civil War was over on my head. Um but I found myself in an environment of leaders literally who came from every background, who were bipartisan political leaders who were black and white in the place that still had not gotten uh incredibly uh diverse. Uh I found myself very welcome. And as a result, over time, I um I continued to push. I continued to do what my grandmother would say. God gave you two years and one mile for a reason. You listen twice as much as you talk. I was able to build uh more and more relationships and eventually um got to serve the city that I love, um, that I was most motivated to run for mayor because of um I was thinking about our desired future state. I wanted our daughters to grow up and the role I had to play in shaping that city. My worldview was wholly shaped, completely shaped by the experiences I knew of those that came before me. And you know, we and we celebrate every single day the names that you uh that you see in lights uh from Dr. King on down. We can we can run uh through them. But there's so many men and women who labored in anonymity, who sacrificed so much to give their blood, sweat, and tears. I mean, you could give their lives so that I would have an opportunity to fully participate in the American experiment. And my job had to be as mayor of our capital city, a a wonderful city at the center uh of incredible dynamism, two historically by colleges, universities, Benedict and Allen, uh, uh the University of South Carolina, Fort Jackson, the Army's largest training base in the world, uh, uh in our city, uh uh uh and of course our state capital. I had to work to pull the city together and begin to live up to its full potential. That meant we had to uh leverage all the talents of all the citizens uh there by first realizing where we came from and the incredible role uh that um uh African Americans played in building the city. There was an initiative we started called Our Story Matters, in which we were building working to build the connectivity with the with the historic African-American experience for everyone uh in the city because it showed uh a story of resilience, of accomplishment. Uh Libria uh you know highlighted some amazing uh African-American adventures. If you want more white doctors in your city, I mean you you got you probably have to tell people and you think about this healthcare discussion we have going on, uh, more about Dr. Charles Drew, you know, uh and maybe his connectivity to the city you live in, or Dr. Daniel Hill Williams and his advances on open heart surgery. And you can literally touch every single aspect of uh of our city, but also of American life. And in you have to focus intentionally on elevating those stories in a way that doesn't separate people but brings people together. Uh, because it they realize that if in fact uh we focus on being the very best of us, we elevate our entire experience. And so my goal as mayor of the city for 12 years was really to be the chief um uh convener, chief cheerleader, the chief aspirant, um, but really focusing every single day on helping people realize how much stronger we were when we worked together. And um and it was uh it was it was a joyous experience.

SPEAKER_01 12:46

Mayor, you talk about Dr. Drew, and I think uh his accomplishments, for those that don't know, Dr. Drew uh you know, created or basically invented the the process of separating plasma from our our blood. But what a lot of folks don't really know is the irony uh of his accomplishment. He was tragically killed in a car accident. Uh he goes to a hospital, but the hospital uh did not take African Americans, uh, or that they they had that issue uh because they were still living in segregation and he uh unfortunately passed or passed away. But that you know, you touch on that uh piece. And so what I want to ask to both of you are what is the most misunderstood what is most misunderstood about African American history in your opinion? And I'll touch on it that a lot of folks believe that African American got to where we are politically business, educational because of so-called quotas. But that's not really the case. I just want to understand what you all think are the most misunderstood conceptions of black history.

SPEAKER_00 14:16

Um good question. I'm trying to be really really thoughtful here in what are the misconceptions? And I think you're touching on it in that you know, black Americans' contributions to this country are like fundamental. They're like a part of the fabric, whether it's through economic impact or inventions. You know, I think the data point around black people today in America is that we're around 14%. You know, there have been reports that have come out, you know, time and time again, showing the billion-dollar economic impact and stimulation that black Americans have on the country.

SPEAKER_01 15:06

And I'm gonna interrupt you real quick. Yeah. Can you touch on Mayor Maynard Jackson and his conversation, especially to Atlanta as it relates to economic development? Because I think that is very important. And you're right there.

SPEAKER_00 15:21

Yeah, I'm right. You know, I I live the experience. You know, I I sometimes feel like I have a lived experience that a lot of people never get to see because I'm in Atlanta, a place that does stand on, you know, Maynard Jackson, who, you know, really worked not only across the aisle politically, but across every group and part of the city to create something that still sustains today. You know, this economic revenue engine that we have in the Southeast is in Atlanta. It's the Atlanta airport. It it, I want to say has more employees than any operation across the Southeast region. And, you know, with that came a lot of community building, a lot of trust. Um, there's a lot of Black leadership here in the city of Atlanta that stands on those relationships and the opportunities that were created as a result of Maynard Jackson's leadership. So, you know, when we when we talk about this, you know, over, and and I'm wrong, I think it's a $1.8 trillion, you know, spending power that comes from the Black community. We know we're 14% um black women are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs, you know, if you think about today. And I think what's misunderstood is that just like every other group in America, you know, black Americans have been here and like with the country since and along for the journey and the story, and has been finding a way to advance the story of what it means to be American. And quite often, I think the conversation gets stuck in where the story started and in the oppression that all of these other contributions are overlooked. And that's how you end up with the narrative of advancements by quota. When, you know, if you go walk the halls of some of the HBCUs and look at the degrees out of our academic institutions that, you know, black people worked really hard to have access to, um, and to share that access. Um, I think it would really help demystify that narrative and uh change the perspective on the lived experience. Or you can just come visit Atlanta, you know?

SPEAKER_01 18:00

It's a great city.

SPEAKER_00 18:02

Just come visit us. We could you'll see it.

SPEAKER_01 18:09

So she'll cook for us, or she'll tell us where the best restaurants are. Uh Mayor Panjamin, did you want to touch on that?

SPEAKER_02 18:15

Well, I just say uh um briefly, LeBria did such a great job. The um uh the uh I would just encourage everyone just just read some really good books. Uh, you know, really actually learn um uh the history of uh of of the country and learn again I think the amazing contributions that um so many have have made. Um but it seems like so often we try to reduce African-American history to to one speech in August of 1963, and and even if we pivot to um uh Dr. King's letter from Birmingham Jail, which I would encourage everyone to read because it's not a story uh only of the the civil rights movement at that moment in time. It's actually a a a story about human rights over the course of time. And it's very powerful, and I think it it would appeal to any um uh thoughtful, uh sentent human being that again um centers around the fact that we are all one if we um um decide uh to do so. I didn't want to lose the fact, Mana Jackson obviously is a is an icon that that um so many mayors uh and certainly African-American mayors look to as um uh one of our key role models, but I didn't want to um this the chance to have an excess with Perry Mitchell uh keeper. And and if you think about the um uh the leadership as head of the small business committee that that that Congressman Mitchell um uh help open up doors for everyone at scale um um across the country, it's I think it's powerful again, just just to realize what you can do. Libria started talking about the post-reconstruction movement, what you can do when you actually allow everyone to have a seat at the table. I mean you allow people to contribute and it it dramatically grows the pie for everyone. And I'd be remiss just to not really focus on on all the amazing uh contributions, education and yes, music and culture. Tell people you get you want you want a rhythm, you gotta take our blues too. Um in sports and medicine. But um the American dream has always been about economic empowerment, uh about how do I um provide for myself and my family and and hope and pray that my family can do better than I did, my children can do better than I did. And the leadership of of my Congressman Mitchell and Mayor Jackson and others um provided a great blueprint uh that I think um still we can learn from to this day.

SPEAKER_01 20:45

Hey, I appreciate that, Mayor Benjamin. And yes, Perrin Mitchell was my uh uncle. Uh he was Maryland's first black congressman. Uh he was one of the 13 original members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and you refer to uh the amendment he put on uh to the Federal Public Works Bill when he was a member of Congress to make sure that uh minority businesses uh had a seat at the table for those big public federal public works contracts. So thank you for that, uh mayor. And um in the last little bit of time we have, uh I'm just gonna throw this one last question out there as it relates to on on a personal level uh for the both of you. Uh what part of our history, African American history, has really had a profound impact uh on the current role that you play, not just here at BGR, but uh where you are where you are today uh professionally. We're gonna mayor. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:53

I I spoke briefly earlier about the amazing contributions of people whose names we don't see in in likes. Who didn't uh think it robbery to to leave her um job, um I'm doing with bad kids at a high school and go to an ACP meeting to fight for voting rights for all uh people. Or the Shushan who wouldn't serve this country and and and and Korea um uh uh earned medals and came back and couldn't even be called sir or participate in the GI Bill. I am I am motivated every single day uh uh about how seemingly ordinary people have done extraordinary things when giving the opportunity to do so. And I take that from the African American experience and in black history, and more importantly, I try to apply that to the future going forward. We work together, everyone can rise together.

SPEAKER_01 22:44

Beautiful. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 22:47

That's so beautiful. I think for me, what is personal is that you know, my dad earned a purple heart in Vietnam. And so I've grown up in a family of service. And, you know, during that time he was serving the country in some of its most turbulent years, where the country was wrestling with civil rights at home, but he was defending yet the constitution abroad. And I think it imparts on me that, you know, now I work in a place where I feel a great sense of responsibility, you know, to just show up and participate, to participate for clients, you know, and advocating on behalf of, you know, their policy interests and things that we know will help move the country forward. And similarly, to be a part of organizations that encourage civic participation from individuals that may be nameless. Um, and to to Steve's point, that may not ever be under lights, but that every single person matters and that our country is better based off of our stewardship of that leadership. And everyone has a role for that, including me.

SPEAKER_01 24:05

That's fantastic. You touched on it where we are uh at BGR, and well, for me, uh, it is working for uh working at uh at a firm, BGR Group, uh, that was founded by former governor of Mississippi. Uh and I think of my grandfather, who was the director of the NAACP Washington Bureau, uh, and the battles he had in Mississippi working, you know, trying to get civil rights legislation passed with Mississippi delegation uh in Congress and the senators, uh, you know, his relationship with Medgar Evers uh in terms of uh the Voting Rights Act of uh 65 and trying to get African Americans registered. And now, you know, I'm working here at BGR Group uh and I have a great relationship with the former governor of Mississippi. Uh and I'm often oftentimes thinking of uh what my grandfather would think uh in terms of that progress we've made thus far. So I want to thank the both of you uh for this uh wonderful opportunity to talk about our history and your experiences uh with African American history. But as you s both have said so eloquently, that it's American history uh that we're celebrating uh and it should be celebrated every month uh out of the year. So thank you very much for your time. Uh again, Mayor Benjamin and uh Labria, uh thank you so much uh for being part of it. That concludes our episode of what's going on at the state house with this special episode celebrating Black History Month. Thank you.