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Episode 10 Transcript: Governing in a Crisis with Rep. Ayanna Pressley

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Episode 10 Transcript: Governing in a Crisis with Rep. Ayanna Pressley Episode 10 Transcript: Governing in a Crisis with Rep. Ayanna Pressley Speaker 1: Welcome to Sunstorm where we get real about what's happening in the world and what we are doing about it, because we are the light in the storm. Ai-jen Poo: Hi everyone. I'm Ai-jen Poo. Alicia Garza: And I'm Alicia Garza. And today on Sunstorm we have the brave, unstoppable, the incredible, the amazing Congresswoman Ayanna Presley. And we are so excited. Ayanna Pressley: You're excited? I'm excited. Alicia Garza: My only regret is that we're not doing this in person. So we're going to do this a little bit differently today because we're not all gathered in a studio because the Rona, as black folks have named it has changed the whole entire world. But if this is not an example of how we can all be together in a crisis, I don't know what is. Alicia Garza: So it feels good to be here alone in my house, but it also feels good to be together with all of you. So let's get started and let's just get real. So we created Sunstorm to celebrate all of the ways that women can sign a light through the chaos of the world today. And we have to admit that we are feeling the chaos. Like, what is this zombie apocalypse that we're in right now and how have you been holding up Congresswoman? Ayanna Pressley: As extreme as it is and as you know, frightening and worrisome. The uncertainty is, it really feels very consistent with the kind of year our country has had. If I think about my experience as a freshman member of Congress being onboarded in an unprecedented and historic way for an unenviable reason. Ayanna Pressley: And that is that we were the first class to be on boarding in the midst of a federal government shutdown. And then a year to the day of our being sworn in Washington who were voting on articles of impeachment and then shortly thereafter feared that we might be on the precipice of war and now we're in the midst of a pandemic. Ayanna Pressley: So it is not hyperbole or dramatics to say that we're at a profound crossroads and inflection point, and not just as a country, but as a society in this pandemic is really highlighting and exacerbating every socio political ratio faultline that Page 1 of 14 Episode 10 Transcript: Governing in a Crisis with Rep. Ayanna Pressley exists. So it's certainly challenging, but there've been so many times is she was in my heart has broken. But in the next breath it is swelling given the communal response and ultimately the resiliency, of all of us. Alicia Garza: Yeah. I think the whole inspiration for the show was exactly that. The idea that we are living through unprecedented chaos and storms and yet somehow people, especially women keep shining and both are true at the same time. Both are so defining of our reality, both incredible resilience and power that we have as everyday people and as women who show up for each other and support each other and the incredible threats and dangers that we're up against. Alicia Garza: And I think all of us are watching you and other members of Congress, the women in Congress and the women of color in particular who are just continuing to shine, continuing to lead unapologetically. And if through literally unprecedented endemics and threats to our democracy, and it would just be great for our listeners to have a picture or window in for you as somebody who's trying to figure out a woman trying to govern in this crisis, what does that look like? Ayanna Pressley: Yeah, you're bringing up a lot for me just even in that question. As I think about women and just the duality that we all live in, certainly not exclusively, but including, and especially women of color. Not that long ago, I was on the house floor delivering a poor statement in advance of the ERA, the equal rights amendment votes. And I quoted Audre Lorde and it was, the quote basically was about, "I will do what I can every day to remove the shackles of other women, even if their shackles are different from my own." I'm paraphrasing and there was this, just like the trauma push back, shockingly online. Ayanna Pressley: I'm being facetious that I would use a word like shocked. Why did I use that quote? And here I am, a Black woman in Congress and how dare I in any way insinuate that women are shackled when it's that quite literally women are shackled, pregnant women in prison, women at the border, so it is as literal as it is a metaphorical. Ayanna Pressley: And the reality is that both are true. So I can say, "Yes, I was the first woman of color, a black woman specifically to serve on the Boston City Council." And now the first person of color ever elected to represent the Commonwealth of Page 2 of 14 Episode 10 Transcript: Governing in a Crisis with Rep. Ayanna Pressley Massachusetts in the house in the 230-year history of that delegation. And I'm still not free, I'm still not fully free. So both are true and I think our language is struggling to catch up with what I'm alluding to here and the movement. Ayanna Pressley: And so that's why things can do quickly go left because there are these paradigm shifts occurring and we're trying to catch up with how we speak to that in a way that is responsible and honest and advances things. So, I find that I'm just on that tight rope every single day. And something that representative Omar and I talk a lot about is like this tendency to sort of like, and again people find even this framing offensive when we talk about this not being the oppression Olympics. Ayanna Pressley: Because I've always said there's no hierarchy of hurt in our freedom that our destinies are tied. And when representative Ocasio-Cortez speaks very eloquently about sort of scarcity mindset and how that drives us to function. You really see that amplified in the midst of a pandemic, but you see it on every issue. So I'm leaning in hard to make sure I'm elevating the unique challenges and fears of every constituency, every subgroup from the macro to the micro world. Ayanna Pressley: And so just recently, I was elevating the need for us to offer stricter guidance to the Bureau of Prisons about to keep incarcerated men and women healthy and just the vitriol, all the that invited, these are just challenging times. So we've got work to do for the language to keep pace with the movements that are evolving in by default at the times we find ourselves having to be more intentional, more inclusive and more intersectional. And that's a good thing. But we're just playing catch up. Ayanna Pressley: I don't know if any of this makes sense, but we're trying to find our way and so in our efforts to find our way, there end up being third rail moments. Alicia Garza: Oh, you make a lot of sense. In fact, you're making all the sense right now and you know on this show, we think a lot about the importance of friendship and I'm just reflecting on this because we just heard you refer to a representative Ilhan Omar who leave love, love, love and also representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who we also love, love, love. And of course not missing from the squad is representative Rashida Tlaib who we also love, love, love. So we think a lot- Page 3 of 14 Episode 10 Transcript: Governing in a Crisis with Rep. Ayanna Pressley Ayanna Pressley: Yeah, you guys should see our text thread. I can't tell you what goes go down in there. Alicia Garza: I would love to be a fly on the wall in that text thread. Ayanna Pressley: Oh, it's super exciting. It's all about lipstick colors, kids and puppies. Ai-jen Poo: That's what we’re texting about and also saving the world. And we had our friend Aminatou Sow on our podcast not too long ago to really talk about how revolutionary female friendships can be. And we know that we rely on our squads pretty heavily. And of course you are a part of one of the most legendary squads in politics. So tell us about it and also we know that squads don't always agree. So how do y'all navigate that piece? Ayanna Pressley: Yeah, yeah. Okay. So here's the thing. I don't know if many people understand or really get this, but we didn't know each other before. I'll tell the whole truth here. So Alex and I, we knew each other tangentially. We both endorsed each other because we were on this very unique walk in that we were challenging incumbents. Both who had been there for 20 years. We were both seen as underdogs. Both underestimated. Both women of color. Ayanna Pressley: And so we didn't have glue people that we can really build with about the unique joys and pains of that walk.
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