New York Times Bestselling Author Bakari Sellers has written his second book The Moment - Thoughts on the Race Reckoning That Wasn’t and How We All Can Move Forward Now. Sellers, an attorney, commentator, and former House of Representative Member of the South Carolina House a goal he plotted before graduating from Morehouse College.
I asked Sellers about his second book The Moment which speaks about a Racial Reckoning that never happened. I wondered what a Racial Reckoning would look like if it happened. He spoke about being somewhat naive after the murders of George Floyd, Brenona Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. He shared that there was hope in our community.
When asked if we were living through the backlash (whitelash) from electing Barack Obama or if this was a new backlash from the George Floyd murder in other words are we living a double whammy backlash? Sellers explained that the election of Trump was the backlash of electing a Black President twice and that if might be a “double whammy” that we are now experiencing.
Sellers mentioned that economically rural white communities in West Virginia have a lot in common with urban Black communities in Mississippi. Economic concerns are a commonality along with access to quality education and healthcare. I asked if economic concerns could bring these two demographics together to make real change. Sellers speaks about the work of Reverend William Barber that addresses this challenge.
When asked about voting Sellers explains that we need better candidates to keep citizens from opting to sit on the couch instead of going to the polls. He expressed disdain about pundits who only say “Subject, Verb, Trump.” He says that candidates need to share their vision for the future and meet citizens in various demographics where they are.
In both of his books, Sellers uses biographical references from his life. In this second book, he has more of a political discussion. He speaks about the warning lights flashing about the two biggest voting blocks for the Democratic Party Black Men and Black Women.
Sellers will be in Atlanta on Sunday, June 23rd at the 44th and 3rd Bookseller at 3PM and he is encouraging everyone to come out for a great discussion. He also speaks about the upcoming Presidential Candidates debate on June 27th.
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