Crockett Senate Poll Questioned. Black Woman Fights Disenfranchisement. Assault on Black History.

An Emerson College poll showing Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett nine points behind James Talarico in the Democratic primary is heavily scrutinized. Steve Phillips highlights issues with the poll's methodology, including a small sample size (400 voters total) and Talarico's lead stemming from Republicans and independents, not self-identified Democrats where Crockett leads. This poll contradicts other surveys showing Crockett with a significant lead, suggesting it's an outlier. The host and guests frame this as part of a broader effort by white progressives to undermine Crockett, often criticizing her on issues like Israel while ignoring similar stances from her white opponent.

Steve Phillips details the poll's flaws, stating, 'Terico's lead within this poll comes from Republicans apparently may have said they're going to vote Democratic poll, but he leads among Republicans and then independents, which is very fraught issue... this is a Democratic primary. And even in the Emerson poll when you drill down to the specific people who self-identify as Democrats, Crockett leads.' He also notes the 'incredibly small sample size' of 400 voters total, making subgroup analysis statistically unreliable. Roland Martin points out the 'massive attacks against Crockett' from 'Democratic progressive circles.'

Tennessee activist Pamela Moses is leading a landmark legal challenge against the state's felony disenfranchisement laws, which prevent over 500,000 Tennesseans, including 20% of African-Americans, from voting. Moses, who was wrongly convicted of voter fraud due to a state error, highlights that these laws not only strip voting rights but also prohibit individuals from holding public office, contributing to Tennessee's 'bloody red' political landscape. Her attorney, John Habin, explains the strategy involves proving a massive disparate impact on Black Tennesseans (3 to 1 or worse compared to white voters) and highlighting the laws' Jim Crow origins, specifically a 2006 'poison pill' amendment that permanently disenfranchised some individuals.

Pamela Moses states, 'When you restrict a person's right to vote in Tennessee, you not just keep them from voting, but you prevent them from holding public office.' Her attorney, John Habin, adds, 'We have an equal protection claim because we have a statistics expert who has been able to really crack open the vault of data here in Tennessee and prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there is a massive disperate impact on black Tennessans when it comes to felony disenfranchisement. Uh 3 to one or worse when compared to white voters.' He also mentions a 'poison pill' amendment in 2006 that created permanent disenfranchisement.

The Trump administration unilaterally removed approved designs featuring prominent African-Americans, Frederick Douglas and Ruby Bridges, from U.S. commemorative coins intended for the nation's 250th anniversary. Ventris Gibson, former director of the U.S. Mint, reveals that these designs, which included Native American representation and aimed for a 'complete picture of American history,' were replaced with 'founding fathers' and potentially Trump's own image, a direct violation of the law prohibiting living presidents on circulating coins. This act is framed as a 'white supremacist administration's' effort to whitewash history and denigrate Black contributions.

Ventris Gibson, former director of the U.S. Mint, explains that the original designs were 'approved by the former secretary Janet Yellen, approved by the Commission on Fine Arts, the Smithsonian Institute, and others.' She states, 'The semi-quincentennial commission act of 2016 said very clearly they wanted a complete picture of American history. That was one requirement. The second requirement was to include women.' She explicitly states, 'We have been cut out. Cut out. We aren't that the treasury is not even following the legislation.' She also notes the violation of law by 'having the mint put his image on a coin, a circulating coin,' as 'the law says no living president shall go on a coin.'

Dr. Leonard Bright, a Black tenured professor at Texas A&M University, recounts the cancellation of his ethics and public policy graduate course due to his refusal to seek an exemption from a new state-mandated ban on teaching 'gender and race ideology.' He describes the policy as a 'trap' designed to censor professors and subject them to potential termination for 'professional incompetence.' The host and Dr. Bright characterize this as part of a broader 'Republican Taliban' agenda in Texas to impose right-wing ideology on universities, suppress diversity of thought, and ultimately 'whitewash and purify our education.'

Dr. Leonard Bright states, 'My colleagues and students knew by the decision to cancel my ethics class before me. This disrespect my dean showed towards me was unwarranted. The message was clear. Be very afraid. No one can save you from being censored at Texas A&M.' He explains the exemption process: 'They're saying, 'Okay, all right, put on paper exactly what you're doing.'... And we're going to improve it. Now down the line when a student comes or someone sets you up and say, 'Wait a minute, Dr. Bright was talking about this on day two, but you said he can only talk about this on day four and he he put that in writing.' And guess what? They've already told us that we can be penalized up to and including termination.'