We Rise and We Fall

Welcome to today's conversation... USA, Israel and Argentina stills wants Blacks as Slaves! Defaulted Student Loans....Feds coming for ya check!  Breonna Taylor gets no justice! Brotha goes the moon!  Tyler and Tiger out of pocket!  Worthy Women Entrepreneurial Instruction -- 5 Steps to Move You and Your Business Forward.  Marian Anderson Honored. 

Website: www.MSLATIA.com IG: @LaTia_LVP  | YT @MSLATIA | FB @MSLATIA

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Latia in the Lead Podcast, a podcast where we lead meaningful conversations that intersect the block and the boardroom. From pop culture to politics through ethical entrepreneurship. We are laying the groundwork for unity in our community. We're glad you're here. Enjoy the conversation. Good evening. Welcome to Latia in the Lead Podcast. My name is Latia and I'm your host. Thank you so much for joining me for another episode, guys. I am so excited at how we are growing. This is episode 16, and we are moving right along. I am blessed to be with you. Thank you so much for joining me again. You don't have to be here, but you are, and I appreciate you. Y'all, it is a lot going on all over the world. I think today's show is gonna be a long one because we have so much to talk about. So without further ado, let's get into it. We're talking current events. So the United Nations passed a resolution led by Ghana. In this resolution, they recognize the transatlantic slave trade and the chattel slavery of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity. For the first time ever, there is consensus that chattel slavery, chattel slavery, which is the ownership of a person, was the gravest crime against humanity. But hold on, because not all nations voted in favor. There were three nations in the world that did not vote in favor of something that we should all have a consensus on, and that was the atrocity of the transatlantic slave trade. The vote was 123 to 3. 123 nations agreed that the transatlantic slave trade and chattel slavery of Africans was an abomination. Except three nations. Can you guess what three nations? The United States of America, Israel, and Argentina. To this day, they cannot and will not recognize the transatlantic slave trade as an abomination. That is very consistent with this administration. Because this administration, when you hear them talk about the golden age, those are the times that they're talking about. If they had it their way, we would be back in those times. And I think that it is deplorable that in 2026, this country is unwilling, the level of indecency is unwilling to just acknowledge, acknowledge how horrific the transatlantic slave trade was. And rightfully so. Because once they acknowledge that it even happened, because it's hard to get someone to even acknowledge that it even happened, and in fact, they're trying to erase it from the history books by rewriting history and wording the history books to say that Africans came to work in America. No, they did not come to work in America. They were stolen from their land and forced to come work for free in this country. So one would ask why. Well, once they admit that the transatlantic slave trade happened, they would have to also come to terms with how this country became so wealthy. This country became wealthy from the 400 years of free labor from all different kinds of people. Yes, Africans was brought over on the ships, but there were many other slaves. If not for the labor of those people, this country is not this country. And so admitting that the transatlantic slave trade was an abomination also then opens up a conversation about reparations. How do we start to repair that? That vote is very important because it means that the global body recognizes that what was done to Africans was not just historical hardship. It was a systemic, industrialized, race-based crime that has reshaped the world through violence, economics, and laws. This is historic to get on record because opening up this conversation now allows us to talk about how do we repair this? What does reparations look like in 2026? This is the first on the world stage. I am encouraged by the fact that the conversation is being had at that level. At the same time, it is baffling to me how the United States of America is in 2026 on record for not agreeing that the transatlantic slave trade and the chattel slavery of Africans was wrong. This should tell you how this country still to this day feels about black people. And so, as a black American, it's important that you move through this country with that knowledge. I appreciate Ghana for leading the way to open up the door for even having such conversation. And I'm following the United Nations to see where this goes. I would be remiss if we didn't have a war report. As of today, today makes the 40th day that the United States of America, with its sidekick, Israel, is at war with Iran. As of last night at 8 o'clock, Donald Trump had given an ultimatum to Iran that either they make a deal or he was going to blow the country off the map. Apparently, overnight a deal was made. However, what is baffling is that it looks to me that Iran now is in a better position than they were before. Now we have to keep in mind that Donald Trump is notorious for putting out a doomsday date and that date coming and going with nothing having happened. Okay. Last night at some point, I guess a deal was struck, so there would be a temporary two-week ceasefire based on these 10 points that Iran produced. Mind you, these are the same 10 points that they were at the negotiation table with before the war. So what actually was gained? Well, under this two-week ceasefire, Iran is instructed to allow ships to pass through the Strait of Hamous. However, Iran doesn't own the Strait of Hamous. And this actually puts them in position as if they did. Because now Iran is charging like a toll for ships to pass through the Strait of Hamoose when prior to this war ships have been passing through the Strait of Hamoose freely. So now Iran owns the Strait of Hamoose. This is crazy. And Donald Trump seriously is just looking for an off-ram. He's looking for an off-ram. He is looking for an off-ram. He has become a president of war. However, the only problem is Iran is like, we're here now. We're here now. We didn't want this, but you wanted this, and so we're here now. So it's not going to be as easy as the United States of America thought it was going to be. They thought they was going to get in, they was going to drop a couple of bombs, Iran was going to fall, and they was going to come crawling and say, we want, we wave the white flag. But that is not what's happening. Iran is like, yeah, we bouted. We're here now and let's go. So we'll see what happens within the two weeks. But of course, Israel popped in and said, you know, Israel jumped in and said, hey, that ceasefire don't include us. We're going to still do this little bit of firing over here. It is disastrous. However, we will see how this plays out. I don't see it playing out well, although I am happy that this does give a pause so our troops don't have to go actually into Iran boots on the ground. So that is a good thing. We will see what happens. So in more abomination administration happenings, Christy Noam. Remember her? The former Secretary of Defense? The one who spent the last 15 months spearheading immigration and deploying ICE agents all over America to terrorize Americans. The one who also spent $220 million of taxpayer money to fund what was equivalent of a photo shoot for herself as an advertising campaign, her. Well, the same person who has been all over our television screen touting Christian values and calling for the persecution of anyone who wasn't a Christian and anyone who wasn't a white Christian. Well, she now has a choice to make because her husband, Brian Gnome, has been outed as a cross-dressing, big boo, Barbie, fetish having man. And his picture is all over the internet with big breasts. So what's so ironic, the hypocrisy of these people. Number one, she knew. You can't tell me she didn't know. You know your husband is a cross dresser. You know that. Something as a woman is cluing you to the fact that your husband is a cross dresser. So she she knew that. Let's just say that. It is the hypocrisy that really makes them deplorable. Republicans are notorious for being the biggest freaks and the biggest closeted gays that there are, yet at the same time advocating for, yet at the same time demonizing people in the LGBTQAI plus community, calling for stripping them of their rights, demoralizing them, making them equivalent to non-citizens. It's these same people. It's these same people who are in fact themselves part of that community. Behind closed doors, many of these people are in that community. Yet they will stand up in the Senate, stand up in Congress, pass laws specifically against the rights of this very group. According to their rhetoric, people in the LGBTQ plus AI community should be without food, should be without clothing, should be without shelter, should be without all the basic needs of human beings. So what do you think Christy Gnome is saying now? I wonder if she thinks that her husband needs to now be casted out and flogged for being who he is. Oddly enough, the Republican Party has been dead silent. Dead silent. Nothing. Let's stay in this administration for a minute because the Attorney General Pam Bondi was just fired. This is the thing that white women don't understand. You are always going to be the fall girl. If I can do a PSA for white women, I would say this. Because when something goes wrong, they can easily kick you out, replace you with a man, and then claim the man saved the day. Pam Bondi, who never told Trump no, was fired. And why was she fired? Well, okay. She wasn't on her job. He is stuck on that. She wasn't doing her job and she mishandled the Epstein files. That was the rationale for letting her go. In mishandling the Epstein files, his name does appear in 5,300 of them with over 38,000 references to Donald Trump, only leased to Jeffrey Epstein himself. So I guess she didn't do a good job with the redactions. I don't know. These people are last but not least, with the foolishness of this administration. So after TSA has not been paid in over six weeks, they got a paycheck last week. This week, Donald Trump is proposing that he lay off 9,400 TSA workers. Make that make sense. So you lay off 9,400 TSA workers. Who is going to work in the airport? Are we are we closing the airport? I am confused because these people are confusing. They don't know head from tails. Like he literally just, I am convinced that Donald Trump just gets up in the morning and the first thought that comes to his mind, he says, There's no critical thinking skills, there's no cause and effect, there's none of that. None of that. He just thinks and talks. Because proposing to lay off 9,400 TSA workers, who who was gonna who was gonna run an airport? Who? Who? If I was reading this, if if this were a script of a movie, I would be laughing. But it's not, it's our real life. Keep your head on the swivel. So the court finds YouTube and Meta negligent. Kayleigh Barnes sued the social media platforms claiming that they are addictive. And guess what? For the first time, a jury agreed and said that they are addictive and they're specifically intended to keep kids hooked. Well, she brought a lawsuit against them and she won. She was awarded six million dollars, which I think was a drop in the bucket. She should have been suing for hundreds of millions of dollars. Why she was only awarded six million dollars, I don't know. But it should have been a class action lawsuit, and the suit should have been much bigger. But anyway, but anyway, a jury found that these social media apps are addictive. And you can tell by just any waiting area you're in with people, every single person is looking at their phone. You'll be hard pressed to have a conversation if you're in like a waiting situation. These social media sites are designed to keep kids scrolling, which causes anxiety, depression, and it damages their mental health because these kids are looking at what they see on social media and comparing themselves to a lot of what is not even real. And so I think that it's time for the social media platforms to be accountable and more people should sue them. Because this administration is not going to regulate this in any way. So we have to look out for our own and look out for our children by limiting and putting safeguards around how they interact with social media. Last but not least, if you have student loans, listen up. This is a very important message. So in the United States, there is $1.7 trillion outstanding in student loans, over 400 million student loan borrowers. Now, up until this point, student loans have been governed by the Department of Education. But this administration is saying no. This administration has taken student loans out of the Department of Education and put it in the Department of Treasury. The reason why this is major is because the reason why this is major is because under the department why this is major is because under the Department of Education, they were always willing to work with you with your student loans. Guess what? Transferring the student loans to the Department of Treasury is a different beast because the Department of Treasury is the collection agency for the federal government. And their job is to enforce. And they are going after everybody that's in default first, and they are going to be garnishing your checks. So if you have an outstanding student loan that is in default, and you get any kind of check, a paycheck, any kind of paper money you get, I would be calling the Department of Education before all of this is finalized and getting on some type of payment plan, or they're going to garnish your check. They are trying to recoup this student loan money. So make sure that if you have an outstanding student loan, you do your due diligence, stay on top of this, and I would try to call and see what kind of payment arrangement or what kind of arrangements could be made. Because you would much rather go to them than because you would much rather go to them than think you're getting a whole paycheck and you get $27. So follow up on your student loans if you have them outstanding. That's it. That's all y'all. We're moving to my favorite part of the show. We're talking culture. We have a congratulations in order, y'all, because we went back to the moon. And a brother by the name of Victor Glover piloted the aircraft. Victor Glover is an American naval officer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut since 2013. He piloted the ship, the Artemis 2, that has now surpassed the record of the Apollo 13 in having gone the furthest from the Earth. I love this for us. This is what makes us so dope because we do things at the highest level across all industries. And no matter how much they try, you cannot stop us. So in the United States, 24 astronauts have gone to the moon, 12 of them have actually walked on the moon, and 15 to 18 of them have been black. So we want to say congratulations to Victor Glover. We haven't been to the moon in over 50 years, so this is exciting. I know there are people out there who don't think we ever went to the moon. I'm not a conspiracy theorist. I believe that we have gone to the moon, and I believe that we have gone to the moon again. In fact, they went with high-depth cameras because the photos are beautiful. Now, do I want to go to the moon? No, I don't want to go to the moon. The Elon Musk types, they want to go to the moon because they want to find a way to colonize it. I don't want to go to the moon. I'm good here. Y'all can go up there. But congratulations to Victor Glover. And I think they're scheduled to come back today. So prayerfully, they land back on Earth safely. And congratulations, brother. But we're going to the moon. Moving right along, right off the heels of that amazing story where a brother actually piloted the aircraft that took us to the moon. We are brought back down to Earth to remind us of what this country is really about. So a judge in Kentucky dropped all the charges against the officers who killed Breonna Taylor, unfortunately. So not only was no one charged in this young woman's murder, not even of the least charge of a misdemeanor for falsifying information on a warrant that even gained them access into her apartment. Despite having lied to falsify information on the warrant to even get the warrant, they forcibly raid her home, violate her civil rights, and murder her. Mind you, one of the officers was only charged with shooting in a neighbor's home, not even shooting in Brianna's home. So on both ends of the spectrum, yes, we are going to the moon, but we are also still under the oppression of. This racist judicial system. And that is unfortunate. I feel really badly for Brianna's family because her life was taken for absolutely nothing. And no one, no one had to pay for it. And that unfortunately is all too common in the United States. Moving right along, Tiger Woods, famous pro golfer, self-identified coblin Asian. Remember when he said that on Oprah? He didn't want to say he was black, so he made up something else. Anyway, he got another DUI. Listen, there is a certain level of privilege that people have with money that is just unjustified. This man has had multiple DUIs. He has wrecked multiple times. Anybody else, you wouldn't have had any license at this point. He's had like four, if I'm not mistaken. 2009, 2017, 2021, 2026. And he had the audacity to say when he was being questioned, oh, I'm on the phone with the president. He's a Trumper. And so now instead of him having his license revoked, like you and I would have our license revoked, and we would end up in jail, he got permission to go overseas to a treatment facility. I tell you, y'all, money does run this country. If you have money, you can get away with anything. And everybody else better not get a parking ticket. And that is the imbalance of capitalism that makes this whole system disgusting. And not that I advocate for people going to jail, but if you knowingly get behind the wheel impaired, whether those are prescription drugs or drinking or a bit of both, if you are impaired and you get behind the wheel endangering my life as a driver, I think there should be some consequences. And the fact that he never has had consequences that are lasting is why he keeps getting behind the wheel. Because he can call a president. And the mitigated goal to act as if this is not a problem to me is astounding. Sir, you have an issue. Yeah, you go to a five-star resort and call it rehab, but in six months you'll be behind the wheel again. Why don't you just get a driver? Why? He passed the breathalyzer but refused to take the urine test. Whatever. He flipped over. He cut off a bus. He flipped over. And for all of our sake, I hope he gets some help. For real. Moving right along to Mr. Perry. Now, this came out after I had just recorded the last pod, so I didn't get a chance to comment on this. Although this is a little bit old at this point. I do want to say something. So Tyler Perry, love him. He's a brother, you know. He does a lot of good for people. He went to the Atlanta airport with cash, apparently, trying to give it out to TSA workers. Um, he could not give it out to TSA workers. So I think that he ended up giving out some gift cards or something, which by the way, they were being required to return. That is that is the crazy part. Like we have the richest people in this world getting away, getting over, insider trading, robbing all us all of millions and millions of dollars. And these poor little TSA workers can't get a little thousand-dollar gift card and be okay. They were ordered to give the gift cards back. Anyway, my question when I first came across this story was this is Tyler Perry. He has all the access in the world. Why didn't he just arrange to have all the TSA workers cash app an assistant or send some back send some back channel notice for all the TSA workers to put their Cash App in some kind of on some kind of website and he gave everybody the money through that vehicle? I mean, not being acknowledged as the person that was actually giving them the money was an option. Which brings me to my question. Why do we need to know that you're doing it? Like he always does good, he does, he does these kind of things all the time, but why do we have to know? God knows. Why do we have to know? Why is big old six-foot Tyler Perry walking into the airport with wads of cash? Why? Why? Why is that necessary? You could have accomplished this discreetly, accomplished the goal, which would have been to be philanthropic, right? And you could have done it without all of us having to know about it. We didn't need to know. We assume that you're giving. We assume that you are helping those in need with the amount of money and access you have. We assume that. We don't have to see you all the time. And this was one of those times in which we didn't need to see you, they just needed the money. But it is what it is. That's it. That's all y'all. We are moving right along, and it's time for ethical entrepreneurship and anti-capitalism. So in today's segment of ethical entrepreneurship, I'm going to give you five steps to move your business and yourself forward. For many of us, deciding to become an entrepreneur is not something we actually plan to do. It's more like we are forced into it just by being fed up with the workforce. And because of that, we are often ill-prepared as to the complexities of becoming an entrepreneur. And a lot of those challenges start before you even name your business, before you even have a clear idea of what your business is. A lot of times, those challenges start with you, the person. So today I'm going to give you five steps that's going to move you, the person, forward in your business. Both personally and professionally, we spend a lot of times putting temporary band-aids on larger issues. Step number one requires us to dive deep, get to the root, and see where the essence of your problem lies. And in doing this, we have to get honest with ourselves. We have to shred ourselves personally and professionally. Because a lot of what is happening in your personal life, you may find is spilling into your professional life. Because problems that we don't handle at the root tend to resurface, and they resurface at the most inopportune times. So it would behoove you, before you dive deeply into entrepreneurship, that you dive deeply into yourself, the person, and see what things keep coming up for you, and see how you can mend those things so that they aren't carried into your entrepreneurial life. Step number two, assess your environment. Is there instability in your environment? It's hard to keep your mind as focused as you need to be as an entrepreneur if there's just chaos all around you. So you need to assess your environment. Good, bad, and different. What's going on around you? Is it stable? Is it a healthy environment? Is it conducive to you thinking clearly? Or is it always up at arms? Is your environment supportive of you, the person? Is it supportive of your entrepreneurial endeavors? What does it look like? What needs to be changed? What can you change? What part of the environment is not under your control? And if it's not under your control, how can you manage that part? So assessing your environment to determine is it a healthy space for you to be the best version of yourself and thus the best version of an entrepreneur? Is it conducive to where you're trying to go and who you want to be? Is the question for you to ask yourself. Step number three, take self-inventory. And self-inventory is not like the deep dive in that when you're taking self-inventory, you are identifying within your immediate circle your supporters, your triggers, and your enablers. Because it's going to be important when we get to this next step. It's important to take inventory and know who's in your life. Because sometimes God will put you on a journey that doesn't include everyone. So before you get to the point where you're in the process of achieving your thing, you want to make sure that you have the right people in and around you. And those people, whether they are a distraction or they are a supporter, they become very important in this next step. Step number four, target out your transitional team. Who are you connected to? What resources do you have? What resources do they have? Do they have money? Do they have skill? Do they have intellect? Do they have insight? Connections? You're going to need to put together in your mind and on paper a transitional team. This is a team of people that can help you in this transition from employee to employer. There's a shift in mindset that has to happen. Employees and employers don't think the same because their interests aren't the same. So you're going to need to understand who you have that you can use as a resource because you're going to need them in this process. Step number five, choose change. Change only happens when you get out of your own way, personally and professionally. A lot of times we are our greatest barriers, whether it's fear, lack of resources, lack of imagination, lack of self-worth, lack of confidence. We are our greatest barrier. But you can choose change. And in choosing change, you bet on yourself. Despite your deficiencies, you choose to add value to what you have available to you. Personally and professionally. Choose change. And through change, you can get to the next level. That's it. That's all. A lot of the things that I'm going to talk about in the entrepreneurial section is going to be dual focus. Focus on you, the person, and you the entrepreneur. That's one of the things that we do in the Worthy Women's Entrepreneurial Seminar Series. We focus on the woman and her business. Because you can't separate the two. And as a woman, we have a lot of roles. And it's very important that as you enter into entrepreneurship, you understand and have a grasp on how to navigate those roles. Because you don't get to drop any because you're picking up a new one. You have to learn the art of navigating them all. That's it. That's all. Moving right along, we're talking black facts. In today's segment of Black Facts, we're honoring Marian Anderson, opera singer Contralta. Marian Anderson was born on February 27, 1900, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the peak of her career, she was considered by many to be the greatest opera contralto of her generation and one of the golden voices of the century. Nonetheless, the color of her skin, not the content of her character, negatively impacted her career. In 1937, Anderson was denied a room at a hotel before performing at Princeton University. Albert Einstein hosted her on that occasion and several other times until he died in 1955. In 1939, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt resigned her membership in protest when the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to allow Anderson to sing at Constitution Hall. First Lady Roosevelt then offered Anderson the Lincoln Memorial on April 9, 1939, where the talented member of Alpha Kappa, Alpha Soravity Incorporated, and the Lynx Incorporated performed marvelously before an enthusiastic outdoor crowd of 75,000 on Easter Sunday. That same year, she was presented the prestigious NAACP Spring Art Medal for her musical achievements. In 1955, Anderson became the first black soloist ever to sing at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York with her performance in Verdi's A Masked Ball. When reflecting on her extraordinary career, Miss Anderson recalled this memorable moment. I sang at the Metropolitan Opera. My mother was in the audience, and she came backstage afterward. When I hugged her, she said, Darling, we must thank the Lord. She was a firm believer in the good things that came from above. In 1993, the angelic Marian Anderson strolled on stage as the eternal curtains opened in front of more than 75,000 enthusiastic angels for her debut at Supreme Hall. Marian Anderson, opera singer, the great. Our black facts are brought to you by the Black Heritage App. While this is not an ad, we support the Black Heritage app because the Black Heritage app provides black facts for every day of the year. I encourage you to download the app. The app is free because we need to know our history. In a time where our history is being erased, the Black Heritage app is doing the work. So support the Black Heritage app. Download it today. That's it, y'all. That is the end of the show. Last but not least, T's takeaway. While we are a resilient people, we have suffered the worst atrocity in humankind. That trauma has been passed down to us generation after generation. And we are living the effects of that trauma. Still, we rise. So don't let anyone define who you are. We come from kings and queens. Be sure to straighten your crown. I love y'all. Thank you so much for being in community with me. Thank you for downloading the pod, sharing the pod, sending me messages, listening to the pod. I appreciate y'all. Until next time. Good night.