Live from Music Row Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed the original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael to the studio.
At the end of the second hour, Carmichael discussed a recent Wall Street Journal article written by Ian Rowe who has brought charter schools to New York City in an effort to offer a better education for black children. Later in the segment, the duo took a call from regular Caller Bernadette who expressed her dismay for Black Lives Matter and the continued victimhood mentality in the black community.
Leahy: Crom Carmichael, the original all-star panelist. Crom, apparently racism, racism, racism, is what all this election is about. You made a very interesting comment that there is institutional racism against black people and Hispanics. Fomented by the teachers’ unions and the public school boards in America.
Carmichael: And blue cities in general. They tax productive people at a high rate. The crime rates in blue cities are now going up. Has been trending that direction now for the last few years after a 30-year decline. And what’s happening is it is white upper-income people who are fleeing the cities.
Leahy: And so the people that are left that are experiencing the higher crime are..
Carmichael: Are the ones who can’t leave.
Leahy: Minorities?
Carmichael: Yes. And so you have the politicians as indirect institutional racism because what they are essentially doing is driving out all of the money that would be there to either help pay taxes if taxes were at a reasonable rate. And then help on the business side of things to give black people more opportunities to either start businesses or to become employed and rise in the ranks. Ian Rowe, do you know Ian?
Leahy: I don’t know him but I know the people who he’s working with at the 1776 Project which is the push back at The New York Times 1619 Project. He currently runs a chain of public charter schools in New York City for elementary and he’s about to do that for high schools.
Carmichael: And he battles the Democrat establishment in New York City every day.
Leahy: Every day.
Carmichael: He battles Bill De Blasio. He battles the school board.
Leahy: Virtue signaling Bill De Blasio who’s efforts on racist justice involve removing the Teddy Roosevelt statue from the Museum of Natural History. Not meaningful in a substantive way.
Carmichael: When it comes to meaningful things, Bill De Blasio is a racist. It’s pure and simple. He’s doing everything he can to use the power of the government to force black children to go to inferior schools. And Ian Rowe is a black man, highly educated who is doing everything he can to help black children. But he wrote a fascinating article about personal agency.
Leahy: Where did he write it?
Carmichael: He wrote it in the Wall Street Journal.
Leahy: Wall Street Journal.
Carmichael: Yes. Essentially what he said is that if black people, if any people say that white people hold all of the power. That there is systemic racism and if white people don’t give up their power that black people cannot possibly do well.
Leahy: OK.
Carmichael: That is racist. It also is false. Because there are many black people who have been quite successful in the United States. And they have done so not because white people necessarily overtly said, I’m going to bestow on you the opportunity to succeed. They did it themselves. And that’s Ian Rowe’s point.
Leahy: A very very compelling article by Ian Rowe. Bernadette wants to join us now and weigh in on this issue. Welcome, Bernadette.
Caller Bernadette: Good morning Michael Patrick. Good morning Mr. Crom. How are you?
Carmichael: I’m good how are you?
Leahy: Always delighted to hear from you Bernadette. Of course we know you’re going to be very calm and reserved.
Bernadette: Ya’ll know!
Leahy: Lacking in passion in what you say.
Bernadette: Ya’ll know how I do. Shoot. You all know. What I’m calling for is look, I’m tired of hearing this word racism and this topic because this is all I’ve heard all my life racism and I’m sick of it. Number two, to all ya’ll white people, please please everyone of ya’ll stop telling me how much ya’ll believe in Black Lives Matter. Because this is one black person that don’t care. (Leahy laughs) And I appreciate it. I really really do.
But on the other hand, I don’t like it because I hate it for you all because you fell like you have to walk on eggshells and pacify and let us know that you have at least one black. And that’s just unnecessary for me. I hate this for ya’ll. I really really hate it. Number three, this is not an indirect hing from the Democrats.
This is direct. They know exactly what they’re doing when they set up this system of racism towards black people. So all that you said Mr. Crom was correct but it was direct not indirect. Number four, there’s too many successful millionaires and billionaires in this country and business owners for America to be oppressed.
What’s the point in setting up all this good education whether it’s charter schools or not if the black race isn’t going to be here to benefit from it. Why? because we’re what? Killing more of our babies in black on black crime. It’s still not being addressed therefore we will not be here for the education because we are killing up each other.
Leahy: Bernadette, Crom wants to weigh in on your extensive and on point comments.
Carmichael: Bernadette thanks very much for your call. Let me ask you some questions. How old are you?
Bernadette: I’m 52.
Carmichael: 52. Do you think things have gotten better for black people since you were 20?
Bernadette: It all depends by what you mean by better.
Carmichael: Do you think the opportunities are greater?
Bernadette: I don’t see the opportunities any different now than what they were when I was 20 no. The opportunities for me have always been there. It’s been us that have been keeping us down. The victim mentality that the Democrats have given us. Before I was born mentality. That was the mentally that was keeping us down.
Leahy: Bernadette thanks for that great call. Crom, as always, Bernadette brings it.
Carmichael: That’s a good call. And I want to talk more about what she was saying and compare it to what Ian Rowe is writing about. They both feel that victimhood is a terrible problem. That’s the bigger problem.
Listen to the full second hour here:
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
Photo “Millions More March 2006” by Elvert Barnes CC2.0.
