ANNOUNCER: Make the choice to begin anywhere in your life, and the journey has started.

And along the way, be inspired.

Listen to the stories by joining the President of Howard University, Dr. Wayne AI, Frederick on The Journey.

At his inauguration this month, President Biden and Vice President Harris and all leading a country grappling with multiple crises from the COVID pandemic and the resulting economic downturn.

And that's a mentioned not the least of which the aftermath of a violent insurrection of our nation's capital.

While we all pause to celebrate each you Alumni Kamala Harris becoming the first black person and the first woman ever to become vice president.

We cannot afford to forget the urgency of this moment for very long, with so much to do.

And so much at stake.

This new administration has already gotten straight to work .

Today I'll be speaking with a political science expert on the priorities that Biden house administration has shared thus far and what we can expect them to tackle first to address the many challenges of our country is facing today.

Hello, my name is Dr. Wayne Frederick and my guest today on the Journey is Dr. Ravi Perry, chairman of the department of political science here at Howard university.

So welcome.

Glad to be with you President Frederick.

Thank you.

FREDERICK: So rather than jumping right into business let's talk a little bit about Dr. Perry first.

So tell us, tell us a little bit about where you grew up and what even got you so interested in an academic career in political science.

Oh, I really appreciate that opportunity.

So I was raised in Toledo, Ohio considered myself a Midwestern boy the youngest child of two academic parents both my parents that were blessed to have PhDs.

My mom went to Fisk university.

My dad was the first black person to graduate with a PhD in sociology from Wayne state.

And my dad was the ethnic studies professor at and black studies professor at two universities in the Midwest for 50 plus years.

And he just retired a couple of years ago and my mom was a high school English teacher and she went on and taught Africana studies at the University of Toledo for many years.

And I co-wrote a book with her.

I actually, my last book that I wrote was a book called The Little Rock Crisis which borrowed from her dissertation and my urban politics research that tried to examine what it is that African-Americans have figure out is important for them to get them to participate in their local and national politics.

And of course, we find out that it's civil rights activity and issues as it relates to the marginalized community that gets them empowered and excited.

And so I was always interested in politics because of the family background I grew up in.

And when I went to college at the university of Michigan I majored in political science and ended up getting two more political science degrees at Brown for graduate school.

And I found myself throughout my career thereafter of wanting to have same experience that my mother and sister had at HBCU.

And I applied to Howard a couple of times was not identified as a finalist then.

And luckily this opportunity came along.

I was really excited to join this community a couple of years ago.

My aunt and my uncle have both graduated from Howard in the sixties, majored in music.

And so it's, it's a really great honor to be able to lead this department.

The same department that my mentor at university of Michigan, Dr. Hanes Walton was the first graduate to get a PhD in Government here at Howard.

And he is the preeminent scholar of black politics which is my area of expertise.

And I will say, which is the department's area of expertise.

We're the only department in the world that has a concentration in black politics as part of our PhD program that sets us apart from every other PhD program in political science on the planet.

So good.

Obviously you would have had to be a rebel to avoid getting into political sciences is what it sounds like.

So that's, so I am extremely pleased to have you as chair of the department.

So we're gonna jump right in on the issues.

Now, first and foremost the historical significance of what we've witnessed with the inauguration of Vice-President Kamala Harris especially as it pertains to black politics.

And I'd love to, for you to also comment on black women in politics in terms of that significance as well.

Wow so of course we're so proud in the college of arts and sciences to have Senator now Vice President Harris of course, ascend to the highest land that any woman has ever ascended to politically in this country's entire history.

That's so significant for women it's particularly significant for African-American women and women of African descent and black women here in the United States because it really shows finally that they have been received and heard by the party because the party leaders have identified black women to lead the party itself.

And that's important because it's been black women that have been really the Vanguard of local and national politics in this country.

We saw just a, of course, over the last several weeks how Georgia flipped two Senate seats for the first time are in democratic hands.

The first time ever in modern American history since the partisan realignment in the 1960s first ever black Democrat elected from the South, that was all because of the work of black women, namely Stacey Abrams the former house minority leader in Georgia.

And of course, a former gubernatorial candidate who many argue was robbed of the election.

And so, you know it's been African-American women that have been at the forefront of certainly democratic party politics the same group of women that may Joe Biden the actual nominee because they came out on under the support of Jim Cliburn in South Carolina at the primary last spring.

And so to have Kamala Harris represent not only Howard university and not only HBCU and not only AKA and African-American women, but to represent all women and to represent the red, white, and blue around the world as the first ever female vice-president is something that we all should be very proud of.

So let's get in a little bit on the details of the actual election results, because when you look at the areas where Democrats had to win and ultimately did win Michigan the Pennsylvania's Wisconsin, and then you look in the salt where they had some surprises, I would say in terms of at least Arizona and in Nevada tore us up at that day that they cleared the bar on what role really did black voters play.

The black voters really deliver the victory to Biden Harris in those areas was the tune old, that strong.

And then when you go back to Georgia in a one-off election which is set up to disenfranchise the black vote there was delivery there, but but are we overstating the case or is there empirical data that supports that case?

There is empirical data that supports that many of my friends and colleagues from the African-American public opinion research firm and some, some other organizations have had documented the actual African-American influence in Georgia.

As you mentioned, Wolf, in terms of the shift in black vote for ASA, for example from the November election all the way through the runoff that we just had.

But also, as you mentioned as it relates to the African-American turnout in the last November election in general we did see a key shift in African-American turnout for the Biden Harris ticket.

Vis-a-vis those three kind of main States in 2016 that really did show some of disparate and and really disparagingly low frankly kind of black turnout in places like Detroit, Milwaukee and Philadelphia from 2016 because African-Americans were unfortunately victims like the rest of the world of misinformation that was peddled both by of course a former president Trump, but also by news industries that pedal that same information.

And of course by the Senate intelligence report that found out that it was African Americans that were primarily targeted by Russia and other foreign agencies to in fact be misinformed which led to their lower turnout in the States in 2016 we're proud actually at Howard right now to be a part of a grant funded by the Knight foundation a quarter million dollar grant, that's actually working on black misinformation here in Washington DC.

And that project should be completed later this year but what's really exciting about this current election as you just referenced President Frederick is that the black turnout in 2020 was considered efficiently different in those key Midwestern States of Wisconsin in particular in Michigan, in my home state of Ohio, even even though that it did not flip.

And also of course in Pennsylvania, that most of the same States that had significant lower numbers than what we expected because of misinformation turned around on 2020.

And we know it was African-American turnout particularly among millennials and particularly among African American women.

I can say as two black men sitting here that African-American men actually did vote more for Donald Trump this time than they did last time and we've got some work to do in our community.

So let's examine that.

And I know it's difficult to separate the two.

I don't want you to tour the BBL to the bath water but for the purposes of this let's be probably this a little more academic around that issue in particular, let's let's extra kid that Donald Trump from the circumstance do you think that black men voted in larger numbers for the Republican ticket is how I refer to it because of certain Republican principles, or was it a vote against some of the things that they hear from Democrats that they feel disenfranchised them, including the history of what has happened with criminal justice issues on them including as more black men and trying to get involved in entrepreneurship, et cetera how they may view financial issues like taxes and those types of things?

So certainly through opportunity zones in terms of supporting social entrepreneurship and also in terms of criminal justice, the Trump administration did do some significant actions that really did benefit many African-Americans including particularly African-American men.

And so certainly there is a reason to support just Donald Trump, but as you mentioned the African-American men who may just be more conservative in general and may also be disillusioned with the pace of change or lack thereof, the Macy vis-a-vis their participation or form of participation in the democratic party do find themselves, perhaps more aligned with the Republican party.

Obviously we can talk about some of the stars that we know of Colin Powell, Michael Steele, Clarence Thomas.

So absolutely the Republican party has always had a large attraction to by African-Americans the challenge for I think both parties is to really make sure that they are creating policies and programs and producing candidates that actually do speak to African-American interests as a whole.

I think the challenge that we saw in the last election where we saw that increase in African-American male support for Donald Trump, vis-a-vis the 2016.

I think that was partly a function of just really a lack of political education and because most African-Americans and most African-American men live in States that are controlled by by Republican state legislatures who have over the past 15 plus years have supported a state education policies that have sought in urban schools in particular to cut out civic education and to cut out education, certainly on cultural relevance, African-American studies, et cetera.

And so that has created generations of folks who do not know the power that the constitution gives every citizen in this country to maximize.

And so I think many African-American men are just unfortunately, victims of that cycle as well.

But the real challenge here is that these parties have to be able to speak to all African-Americans African-Americans are diverse constituency group, ideologically, politically geographically, in terms of linguistics as well.

And both parties have to do a better job of speaking to the diversity that is within the black community.

So election behind us time to govern the Biden administration.

Our President Biden specifically sat down at his desk in the oval office and signed 17 executive orders on a wide range of issues.

So let's spend some time kind of dissecting that, especially as it pertains to speaking to African-American issues.

Yes So first climate change rejoining the Paris Climate Accord.

What are your views in terms of how that impacts African Americans and do African-Americans really, is that a topical concern?

And if it's not are we not doing a good job of communicating that to them given all the other priorities that may exist.

One thing that is clear is that African-Americans have been in the United States in particular once some of the primary victims of environmental racism because many African-American communities are in close proximity to companies that pollute and have been documented to pollute all kinds of lawsuits and studies over the course of several decades that have led to as you well know, as a surgeon yourself, there's a lot of disproportionate health outcomes for African-Americans.

And so the the environment is critical for African-Americans.

And so the rejoining the climate accord has certainly a targeted benefit for African-Americans because the focus the United States was originally leading in that accord before President Trump withdrew from it.

It was really focusing on our responsibility as a country to not only ensure that we have appropriate emission standards and appropriate air standards and appropriate clean water standards, et cetera, for our own community but also as the beacon to the rest of the world.

And African-Americans have often only been able to rely frankly, even though we live in local and community and neighborhoods on the federal government to in fact protect their environmental interests.

And so it's really important that we saw just yesterday that the Paris accord was rejoined because absolutely you're right, that the environmental racism issues that black communities face in black urban and rural communities throughout the country in the North and in the South are issues that will be reprioritized again by joining the accord.

And not just that, but also what about with the reappointment of an environmental climate task force leaders at the federal level, perhaps not the cabinet level, but certainly at the federal level that of course, President Trump did not fill those positions Now moving on from climate, the Muslim travel ban, he rescinded that in the middle of this pandemic.

We've seen international student populations dwindle across the country.

And obviously, especially at an institution like Howard where we at any given year, we have students from about 46 States and maybe 61 to 71 countries.

And, that obviously is part of the education and part of the attraction.

What do you think rescinding the Muslim travel ban will do for relations in general fund relations and also do around the issue of having people come back and forth that may or may not impact the economy As you know The universities were three thrown for alerts during this COVID crisis, as a result of this ban, as we always are interested, in course in protecting the rights of our students that come from all over the world to study that really put a lot of their lives in jeopardy and their ability to stay here in the United States which means that their education was in jeopardy which also meant that by sending them back home we may be putting their lives in jeopardy given what some of their circumstances may be on top of the fact, right, that we lose the brilliance that comes along with their willingness to educate here, of course at Howard and at one of the top institutions of higher education on the planet.

And so that's really significant that that the president president Biden now chose to make it clear that the Muslim ban was absolutely no longer a policy of the United States and that he did that on day one.

And I think that coupled with the cancellation and stopping of the construction of the border wall sends two clear signals to Brown people around the world, that this is a country again, that you can look to toward to actually fulfill your dreams as well.

We can still be that City on a Hill and we still want to welcome you.

And, because we're a country that absolutely believes that we are better because of the diversity that surrounds us and and the diversity that we've always welcomed.

And that has to include religious diversity in terms of the Muslim community.

And it has to include just people who look Brown who we know that thousands of them who have been at the border of, for much of the Trump administration and the thousands of children, that also was part of the 17 executive orders that was listed yesterday and signed by President Biden where he insisted that we find them now that have all the executive orders may be one of the most challenging to actually see, come to fruition because we have been looking for those some of those parents to be re reunited even in the latter weeks of the Trump administration.

And it's just really, really difficult because they shouldn't have been separated any way.

Rent extension on giving people a break on rent and and putting a moratorium on evictions that has been extended.

I believe to February 28th holiday, how do you think particularly with the African-American community, what impact that would have, especially following stimulus checks that were sent out and also an intent for another relief package that may put another $1,400 in to the initial 600.

I know I'm me it's.

I mean, these numbers are no staggering.

Cause I remember when Republican principles were very conservative around that and debt issuance.

And as that lose after I believe Clinton may be the last President that it had the country in a surplus and ever since then we've been operating in a deficit.

I know it seems like, you know, all the gloves off you know what I mean?

Let's just spend it, especially given where interest rates.

So what do you think about that relief for renters the relief and the moratorium on evictions and then putting that in, to, I would say focus with the rest of the financial package that he's looking to bring Housing insecurity is one of the biggest challenges the African-American community space, and it's all over the country in both rural areas and in urban areas.

It's because a lot of reasons, one of the main reasons that structural racism that of course has prevented a lot of African-American communities from having upward mobility necessary to achieve their greatest potential.

And that's a, non-partisan just reality of the of the limits that African-Americans have faced vis-a-vis others as a minority constituency throughout most of the country.

And, the extension of the relief of the of rent is so important because what we know about African-Americans is that it's been mostly African-Americans that have actually suffered during this COVID period and been threatened with eviction had been evicted, have increased levels of homelessness have put children's lives in jeopardy.

There are more African-Americans that I have been researching in local education circles across the country that are having to, you know because of lack of broadband in their homes.

If they do have, again, access to their homes having to go to a taco bell, I Starbucks or something and sit there all day to try to get some type of broadband just to do their homework.

And so all of these, so housing instability creates all of these snowball effects that again, get, go all the way down to children, not being able to do their homework.

And so, while it may just seem as though folks have a little bit more time to perhaps figure out a job opportunity to pay rent it really is a much bigger message.

That's being sent that saying, Hey, we see you.

We understand your struggle.

We're kind of sorry, this has taken so long because to be fair, this country has as is allegedly again the richest country in the world, right?

That's what everyone says.

And yet, among other democracies we have given the least amount to our citizens for COVID relief.

We've given a measly $600 to only a select group of people.

And, mostly African-Americans people like my brother who worked in the hospitality industry were laid off for months because they're the ones that tend to work in those industries, servers, hotel, employees et cetera.

They tend to be more people of color.

And they have been the ones that have been suffering the most and I've had rent challenges.

And if they haven't been in States, frankly, that have had for the most part, a liberal, not necessarily a democratic, but a liberal orientation to economic justice then they have been likely on the street or, threatened as a result.

And so these two shifts that President Biden signed yesterday is a really important signal but to be clear, $2,000 a month is really what the standard seems to be that many people on both sides of the aisle here in the country, agree with, should be happening both retroactively for the months that have people have already experienced and going forward until we see the end of this as you just referenced, you know, the debt challenges used to be something that was a partisan squabbled, but there does seem to be the case that both parties seem to be interested in providing this relief, regardless of the challenges that it may bring to the debt Clearly controlling the pandemic is a huge issue.

And you look at the cabinet picks, there's been a lot of conversation about the diversity and, or lack of it.

What are your thoughts about a diverse cabinet?

If you have people with liberal principles as a Democratic President why does race or ethnicity matter and gender or their sexual orientation, why do those things matter?

Well, so what we know, I happened to be a scholar and political representation, and what we know about representation, there's two main kinds.

There's a substantive representation there's symbolic representation, which is often also referred to as kind of descriptive representation.

There's because there is this idea that when you see the first woman, the first Irish the first disabled person, the first person the first trans person, the first whatever in a position of power that you, as a person who may share that identity can have some reasonable expectation that those people will in fact, do a little bit more for you because they share your experience.

And while we do have some data that has some suggestion that if by just being a Democrat, for example, that you might people of color might get that same level of attention.

We actually know for a fact that that's not the case it's that it really matters that African-American Democrats for example, are more likely to present bills at the house on the house floor that tend to African-American interest.

It's more likely the case that women are going to propose bills that are going to impact the livelihood of women.

It's more likely that people that have children right are going to do the same kinds of things in education, right?

So these are just the realities, the way politics works.

And so it's just funny that in this country, we like to kind of pretend as though when it comes to descriptive characteristics that we can in some cases, see, in other cases, not that we somehow want to put those notions aside, but it's to be fair it's something that we all do all the time when it's ever whether you're the first woman the first Irish person we all expect and get excited by seeing someone the first, I mean, what's exciting this in this, I think for a lot of people in the with this new administration is that you have the for the first time you have a president from a state school and a vice-president from Howard university, from HBCU where these are the kinds of schools that most black people go to.

And so for the first time that representation alone is so important because yes there's a reasonable expectation that many of us have certainly in the HBCU community, right?

That perhaps there will be a little bit more attention paid to our issues, then they were, the prior four years and that's what representation is meant to provide for us.

And so on that note, political science here as a major is increasing in terms of the students who are applying.

They clearly see an opportunity here, and this has been happening, I would say, pre Harris.

So I actually wanted to congratulate you and your colleagues, but as we clues, make the case for Why Howard University Political Science at this point in time.

Well, first of all, Political Science is the study of power.

And so if you have any interest in learning how to win and how to come back from a loss, then that is what politics teaches you.

And if you're interested in any way, shape or form and doing something that to improve the lives of other people, it's most likely gonna require you working in politics to achieve that.

And so what's great about our Political Science Department is that we've been here since 1928 founded by of course, the preeminent scholar, first a black to get a PhD in the United States former President of American political science association the diplomat, obviously Ralph Bunche.

And we have a diverse set of faculty that teach in all the core areas in politics.

And so you can come here have the complete Howard experience, whether it's online or it is an in person where we teach to the individual student where we want to ensure that we know who you are.

And we want to invest in who you are to make sure that you can gain the political knowledge necessary to go out and be a bison that then changes the world.

That's our expectation.

And we've been proud to have been doing that for decades.

And so whether it's Vice President Harris or or so many other former leaders that have gone through our department to go on to lead the rest of the world, we can't wait to welcome you so you can go and do the exact same thing.

FREDERICK: Excellent.

Thanks for being here.

My guest today was Dr. Ravi Perry, Chairman of the Department of Political Science with Howard UBC.

I'm Dr. Wayne Frederick.

Please join me next time on the Journey.

(upbeat music) ANNOUNCER: This program was produced by WHUT and made possible by contributions from viewers like you for more information on this program or any other program, please visit our website @whut.org.

Thank you.