Hey, what's up, everybody. I'm Roy Wood Jr. Welcome to Beyond the Scenes, the podcast where readdress issues that were originally talked about on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. I sit down with correspondence, producers, writers, anybody I can get my hands on to break down a lot of these issues. Today we asked a question how racist is Boston? I sat down with some people from the Boston Globe, some people from the n double a c P. I even put on a woke Walrus costume to really get to the bottom of the issue. Because I don't know if you've heard or not, but Boston's got a a little bit of a problem with race. Here's a clip. So one study we found showed that the median net worth of white families in Boston was two forty seven thousand, five hundred dollars. Compare that to the median net worth of black families in Boston, which was eight dollars, accounting in thousands, like eight thousand dollars, No, just eight eight dollars eight. That's that's not even a grande sword lot to you. Spotlight wants to know why black enrollment at many of Boston's universities hasn't really gone up in thirty years, or why there's so little diversity in boardrooms and hospitals, or how among eight major cities black people voted Boston the least welcoming to people of color. All right, so today we're going beyond the scenes with Daily Show field producer c J. Hunt, and later we're going to be joined by Boston in w a c P President to Nisia Sullivan. But first, c J, how are you doing brother Boston original? Or were you born and raised in Boston? How long were you there? I was born in Worcester, Uh, and then I was raised for for a while in Boston. I still can't pronounce that word Worcester, Worcestershire, worces Shire. Yeah, that's that's exactly. That's all tastes like trying to pronounce it. So we haven't had many field producers on the show yet because y'all are always out doing stuff in the field, and it's it's an interesting job because, you know, as a field producer, you all are kind of helping to put all the pieces together, the visuals. The writers kind of hand you an idea. You all help to kind of craft what the concept will be as well. And then you're out the door. But the cameras trying to figure this out. I guess first thing, I'll ask you out the gate. Um. I know this piece wasn't my idea because I know as a black person, I would have never pitched Hey, let me go to Boston as a black man and ask everybody if it's racist or not? How did this piece all come about? Also not my idea. As a black man who looks like a Mexican man. Um, I who was grew up in Boston, I know how racist it is. This isn't This isn't a question. A lot of black folks are asking, you know New Marrory clearly how racist is it? It's just it is more an intuitive piece of knowledge. But I think that question came to the piece because, um, this is actually my first piece on the show. It was a spring of two thousand eighteen. Um, you know I just met you. You were the first person I met on the show, and they were like, Okay, how would you like to go out with Roy? Here's a piece we have cooking. The piece originally was about Michael Chay. You know he had been he had said on s and now you know, I'm mixed. Like the Patriots were versus the Falcons for the Super Bowl and Michael Jay was like, Hey, I'm excited to see the blackest city beat the most racist city I've ever been to. So the piece originally was supposed to be about how Bostonians felt about Michael Chay shipping on their city. Oh, he's always taking shots at them, and they're always mad at ja. Yeah, always, and yeah it's it's his Staten Island, I guess. So it was it was about that. And um also they were changing the name of ya Key Way, which was you know, named after a Red Sox uh manager who you know, kept them from integrating. So originally the piece was supposed to be about that, and then very quickly, in pitching to Trevor, he was like, no, y'all gotta you'll gotta change the question. It's one of those pieces that I enjoyed because we go out the door with a single question. We're attempting to ascertain. We're simply trying to find out how racist is it? And so we all, here's a little beyond the scene. You want to go beyond the scenes, motherfucker. We shot all of this in one day, which isn't the norm. But when we started putting the day together, it kind of made sense. And so I remember, you know, we went over we went over to Roxbury Um in Boston, the black side of town, if you don't know, and we spoke with black people over there. Then we went over to the Boston Globe and we spoke with some people, and and we went over to Fenway to start doing Man on the Street and just kind of talking to layman um. You know, they were out and about. The thing that was so visible to me right away by the end of the day was just how oblivious some people were to what's going on. I distinctly remember us asking one person, you know, is there racism? She goes, well, I've never seen it. I don't see that racism myself. Honestly, No, I don't think Boston's a racist city. I don't think if Boston is a racist city at all. So how do you know I don't feel it? As if that's the only way it can be confirmed is you must see it and experience. You must witness a black person getting kicked out of a store, the cops beating his ass to believe that it's real, and I thought that that was kind of disheartening in a way, Um, why why do you think Boston has his reputation? As it's also the best part of the piece to me. You know you you asked that old couple, you know, this old white couple outside of Fenway, do you think Boston is a racist city? And what I love about watching you work is the questions are so basic. You know, you're just asking person after person, you know, like do you think it deserves this rep and they say, you know, I don't think Boston is a racist city. I don't see I don't see it. I've never felt it. And the idea is like, when would you have felt it? Sir and ma'am You know you you like seven year old white people, when would someone have been racist to you? So But but I do think that that's you know, this is two thousand eighteen. That's how people then and some people still now think about racism. It's like, you know, if someone's not shouting the N word at me or I don't see it happen on a train, that's the only type of racism that can exist. So I love that that's the part of the piece. People comment most about it in the comments about damn when this this couple says this thing. And I think, you know, most Bostonian, most white Bostonians, and most white people in America. I think still think if I don't feel it personally, then it doesn't exist. You being from that area, right, clearly you felt it growing up as a black looking Mexican man, as a Mexican looking black, as a Negro. Yeah, as a Filipino Latin ex black man looking man. How did it feel? Because you could feel that and you know that's real, And then to be able to come back home with a camera and a correspondent and security, lots of security not always roll the security run up if you won't shout out, um, shout out security yelling who wants this? Um? I we had a real confrontational security. You're asking questions in the background. You here security, try it, Try it. I okay. I don't want to say it felt like vengeance, but it felt vindicating to come back to Boston and in a place I grew up, you know, asking this question with a camera because you know, I think white Bostonians who I know, some of their reaction was, oh, man, are you really going to do that. Come on, like, give us a break. But black Bostonians I know and who grew up with we're like, yeah, okay, finally, you know, like I don't think. I don't think there are a lot of Black Bostonians who react to the reputation like, oh my god, I don't know why the media's hung up on this. Are we asking this question again? It's more just like yeah, we we already know that. You know, like I grew up real bougie. I grew up in boarding schools because my parents were like get out of the house, um. But you know that the type of racism there was not like walking through Southey at night type of racism. Like the racism there was, Okay, everyone, it's Friday. We have to have another meeting about who wrote the N word in the mirrors in the bathroom? Like that was a very common The the amount of meetings that we've had I had in middle school and high school for who wrote the N words somewhere is so high. And then also the middle school I went to, in the dorms, people would just regularly use the word tar baby, like don't be a tar baby about this thing. So it's kind of like you know, boogie white people racism, Like my father is a Massachusetts governor. We are a lineage of captain's type type like boat shoe racism. Yeah, it's a separate peace racism, a little bit holding Caufield style racism, Nantucket racism. Described me a little bit of that process of as a first time field producer at that time, sitting down with Trevor and just go like what was that like, like throwing your ideas of Trevor and just going, hey, man, this is what I think I want to do. Is it okay? Or was it? Look I'm from there, the writing inward on the mirror, I'd know how to handle this. I don't know. You remember the way we used to pitch in that big room, in the big conference room, WHI Trevor, Like we have since figured out at the Daily Show, like a much more efficient way about like, bro, here's a paragraph. You know, I'm gonna email it to you. Tell us what you like, and then we can talk about it. But there was a time when all of the field producers and the whole field team would go into a conference room, you know, so like we're talking like twenty twenty plus people and sit in a conference room while Trevor is eating lunch and we would just almost as if it was like a game show, like try to stand up and pitch our entire pieces to him. Um. And this was during that time. So I pulled up the original pitch, uh, and I want to read a little bit of it to you. So it came to me, and it was supposed to be, Okay, this is gonna be an antiques road show about all the racist sort of signage and things Boston still had. And that didn't make a whole lot of sense. So this is what I wrote. And imagine like sitting across from Trevor as eats pasta and reading this from a page. Okay, this is called by the numbers, how racist is Boston? Here's the log line. Boston plans to change the name of Yaki Way, a street next to the stadium where the Red Sox play. The street is named after the racist team owner Tom Yaki a k a. The Robert E. Lee of baseball. The removal is a rare acknowledgment of Boston's racist past. But how racist is it these days? Roy Wood Jr. Sets out to answer this question, not with anecdotes, but with the numbers as loud and as clear as Tom Yawky's thoughts on misgenation. This is the first, and by the numbers, a special investigative wing of TDS that sets out to answer questions we never thought to count on, how fund does the v A? And how bad is Flint's water? Trevor like it was me reading that whole thing, and imagine that for every field producer. It's like the most gut wrench. I don't even want to hear me read that now. And it's funny because it's not the Trevor is not listening. He's processing all of it. And then he comes out on the other side and goes, here's what you need. Just ask how racist is Boston? And then you sit in like, WHOA brilliant yeah, and you're like, so none of the so none of the other stuff. But I think, you know, he he that is one of his great gifts. He would sit there and listen to all of that paragraph that I just read and go what is the story? And I'd go, well, I, well, I just read it, you know, the Roberty Leave baseball and the thing about Yucky and you know, and he would just go, know what, tell me in one sentence, what is this story about? And I think that that was a big education for being in those rooms of oh damn yeah, like why are we trying to impress you with all these jokes and all of these bits, like you just want to know the thing? And the thing that he boiled it down to for us was okay. So spotlight the ones who exposed the Catholic church sex scandal. They're asking how racist is Boston? How do they measure that? And then that became the piece of yea, how do you measure that? Before we go to break h real quick? Because you talked about having so much stuff and having all these different concepts. I distinctly remember saying that we need a rais like progressive, like desegregation needs to mascot. I did not know you all would put me in a hot ass woke the Walrus costume for three fucking out. I don't even know if then why did you say it? Fucking if you don't want, if you don't want us to make a brilliant things, why did you say it? I didn't think you all would actually put me in the costume. I thought we would just hire somebody locally to walk around on the wall this outfit, and I go, I'm here with like mcgrefth the Crime Dog or Smokey the Bear, but y'all put me in the damn thing. I felt like most people took well to the Walrus. I think it it made it more inviting, it disarmed the moment because you're trying to talk about race at a ballpark. People are gonna happy, happy, have a time, and hey, pardon me, would you like to talk about your views on racism here in the greater Boston metro area? But I'm in a Walrus outfit, so you feel safe? And I feel like that helped get us a lot more interviews. Who've got the best baseball? Who's got the best football? Level one in creating a system where structurally black people don't always get the same opportunities, it's working already before we go to break. What were some of the things that did not make it in the piece that you wish did make it in the piece? I have one one thing, that one thing that I can see in the piece I have written in the piece. Act too. Roy sets out to do his own test by setting up a can I date your daughter booth in South Boston. What like this is what I am a new as a new ploy am telling like Trevor as he eats his pasta as we So then we're gonna have Roy go to South Boston and have a booth. It's like the It's like the beginning of like die Hard with the vengeance. It's like, if we want Roy to stay alive, we have to do half of these bits. So that was one, and then my favorite one was you were walking around with like a Geiger counter, uh that we call it a negrometer that was supposed to measure how racist and area was or how racist. The first thing was ghosters around like with the e K G thing. That what we we have emails of. We have this props genius named Shabbat and he the emails I sent to him are pictures of that ghostbuster machine, being like, we need this buff for racism. All right, let's take a quick break. When we're back, we will be joined by Boston and dou a c P president to Nisha Sullivan, this is beyond the scenes. It's gonna be a good time. Worcester were sure, Okay, how racist is Boston? Was the question? That we posed to a lot of black folks over and Roxbury, posed it to some white folks over there by Finnway Park, and we posed it to this woman who was joining us now. She is the president of the Boston a c P Chapter. Tnisia Sullivan, Welcome to Beyond the Scenes. First and foremost, thank you for having me. I'm excited to meet her with you all today. We're just just a couple of black folks talking racism, you know, that's all. No, no big thing, just a just a regular day of the week for us, pretty much. I'm also happy because we've been trying to get you back, but it's a hard thing to be like, Okay, this person is gonna come back to the Daily Show. But you were so good when we first interviewed you. I'm gonna say you're back. No. I appreciate being back, and especially to up about this and especially you talk about this topic now. I'm excited to be back. So, so before we get to your opinions about the piece that we did three years ago, Oh my god, it's been three years. I'm getting old. Um, I first want to ask you a little bit just about your work. What were some of the things and circumstances in your life that got you to where you are to make that decision to not only because it's one thing to join in a CP, but she was like, hey, let me run it, give me the keys, and let's start figuring this out. So just walk me through your relationship with the city of Boston and why this is a cause that matters to you. You know, beyond forty hours a week, it seems well it's forty plus, you know, So I'll start there. You know, what a lot of people don't know. But seriously, because what a lot of people don't know is that at the local level, at the branch level, we are all volunteer operated, right, so we have like another job, right, So it's this is this is the second full time job, um, which you know, really I think does speak to um the need for something. There has to be something that drives you. I think you're right, like, there has to be something within you that drives you to someone to want to do this work because it is hard, it's emotionally draining, it is deeply personal, and for me it is it's really the influence of my parents. You know, I was born in Boston, I was raised outside of Boston. My parents are from Boston, my grandparents are from Boston. UM. But my dad, UM, you know, he spent his entire career working in the Boston Public schools. UM. He started working in the Boston Public schools in nineteen seventy four. September of nineteen seventy four, UM, when desegregation in Boston was being implemented, forced busting many people remember, are those images that really rocked the nation and certainly rocked our city to the core. And my dad his job was to ride the buses UM with the black kids from Roxbury into South Boston, UM and to make sure that they were cared for and protected UM at a very tumultuous time in our city. And UM he chose for almost forty years to stay in the district. He moved from being UM a bus monitor and I should say my dad he got that job after graduating from Boston College. And so he moved on from being a bus monitor to when he retired from BPS, he was the school leader at the John B. O'Bryant School of Math and Sciences, which is one of the most prestigious schools UM in the Commonwealth. And so education was always spoken highly of in our home, and more importantly, it was education plus um really a commitment, a responsibility um to ensure that we were doing all we could to ensure equal access um for everyone to equality education. That's incredible for me to hear because my dad was, you know, in undergrad in you know, during the busting crisis, and he I grew up with him talking about stories of watching folks throw bricks at black school children through the windows of these buses, and the idea that your dad, his legacy is being on the inside of that bus, not just oh I was black in Boston and saw this happening, but I was the one trying to keep these kids safe. I mean, that's an incredible legacy. Yeah, it's selfless. It's selfless in the sense of at a time where it really wasn't safe for any black folks, he was volunteering to protect some of the most vulnerable black folks. That's which which rolls me into the second question that we traveled to your city to attempt to answer it, which is how racist this Boston, which which which I also love c J, is that we didn't The question was never is Boston racist? Like we already know that we're talking about degrees here. How how racist? So tnisia has Boston earned that reputation in the sense like because you think about the south. Why why is it such a surprise to people about Northeast racism? Because yeah, I mean because we project in the northeast in New England, we project you know, uh, really a liberal and a progressive banner, right, Like we we really pride ourselves on um, on being progressive and having progressive values and being inclusive um. And so when people are confronted with the contradiction of you know, kind of the the values that we espouse and and quite frankly some of the issues that we've let on. I mean you think about like marriage equality, you know, Massachusetts led on that, you know, healthcare um for all right, Um, Massachusetts led on that, right. But when you um kind of look at the contradiction of these progressive and liberal values on some social issues and then you look at really how um what the data says about you know, racial equity in Boston, people are just they scratch their heads and they're like, how could that be? Because you've gotten so many other things, right, how come you're not getting this one right right right, this piece right, And I'll say, I think a lot of it really does go back to, um, the racial strife that that we experienced here in the city. Certainly, Um, what the nation saw was you know, through force busting here in Boston. That history, that trauma we've never really dealt with here in the city, like we've never really we've never really had like truth and reconciliation on that issue. And you can still feel, um, the trauma and the division in the city. It's palpable even post George Floyd. Even post George Floyd, you still Boston still has this reputation for me in a racist place. It does. But you know, I have to say, you don't have to defend my city, you know, because you know, Boston, I do believe is one of the greatest cities in our country. And you know, there's so much opportunity here and there's so many good things about Boston. Um, But yet we still struggle with racism like many other cities. But I would, you know, I think admittedly we are uniquely positioned as a city, UM with all of the recent r says that we have here to tackle the issue, and yet we have not you know, I think Roy is kind of is pushing in this territory, but it's you know, what I find funny about the question in Boston is how allergic folks are even to the question of is this a racist place? How racist is it? You know, you talk about New York, You're like, those people in New York are assholes, and people are like, yeah, that's fair. But if you even suggest that you're wondering how racist Boston is, people are like, how dare you? You know, even Kyrie recently is you know, all he said was the subtle racism. He he just said subtle racism, and people are like, oh my god, it's like a water bottle. I mean, it's not my first time being an opponent in Boston. Uh so, you know, I'm just looking forward to compete with my teammates and um, you know, hopefully we can just keep it strictly basketball. You know, there's no belligerence or any racism going on. Subtle racism and people yelling ship from the crowd. He didn't see these people are biggest. He was just like, the subtle racism, and peop are like, how dare you suggest that there's subtle racism? Do you feel like that allergy to talking about Boston's history? Do you feel like folks are less allergic now than they were because you look at this piece. When we look back at this piece, it feels so two thousand and eighteen, it feels so pre It is a conversation with folks who you know, it is so clearly even talking about how detailed the piece has to be about talking about structural racism and educating the audience on what structural racism is. Do you feel like folks have more tools now or do you feel like the allergies the conversation now? I know that there's been some improvement. C J. I don't know if you knew this or not, but Bobby Brown got his own street in Boston, finally on talking to speaking of progress, Finally racism solved. You know, we've got the Massachusetts fifty four monument, and we got that Bobby Brown ECA. Other than Bobby Brown. Way, in what ways has the conversation evolved? Yeah? No, I think I think you know y'all listen, Um, everybody loves New Audition and everybody loves Bobby Brown, so you know, so that is progress. Um, you know, but I love your framing of this c J right, like it's an allergy. I I think of it similarly like this is this this is there's something like really deep and um systemic about it, right and and in so many ways like I feel like we have to or we should be, you know, tackling the issue like we would you know, a disease, right, like the disease that it is, right that said, I I will, you know, I do want to acknowledge that last year, in particular, we did have more people, um in the city who were like, oh, is that what y'all experience? Like, is that is that what you've been talking about? You know? And and and so right, So there were you know, I think, um, you know, not an insignificant representation of the community that that did have some lightbulbs go off, um And for a period of time, we're deeply committed to wanting to talk about racism. But even then real talk like they wanted to talk about racism as a related to policing, right, you know, once we said, look, we're gonna do policing reform here in the city of Boston. Yeah, and we're gonna do policing reform in Massachusetts. But understand that this is just the beginning of the conversation. If we're really if you're really serious about um helping us now to dismantle this racism that you just now come to understand exists, then we need to have a conversation about economic inequality. We need to have a conversation and about inequities and education that are significantly impacting black and brown kids year after year after year. We have to have a conversation about why it is that the COVID nineteen pandemic disproportionately impacted black and brown people in low income people. And it's not because we're more susceptible to the virus. It's because of the conditions that we are that that we've been forced to live in. It's because of the neglect of our health care system as it relates to our as it relates to our physical and mental well being. Right, And people are like, oh, this isn't just about policing, because the moment you go, okay, well we're gonna talk about racism, let's break it down, you know, let's let's let's talk about Boston's role in the slave trade and put that in the textbook. No, yeah, you talk about putting it in the history book. It's like it's almost like fixing racism is when you take your car in and you only want to get a tire. That's all. You want to fix the police tire and come back a man. We ran the diagnostic man. You got some homeowners in equity. You've got bill reform. You got a little bill reform acting up underneath the catalytic converter. We got some you've got some structural racism and unemployment. They didn't know the tire, just the tire place. So after the break, I want to talk a little bit more about some of those tires and diagnostics that have been going on in your city that you all have been starting to check and have been starting to change, because in defense of your city, we're gonna talk about some of the good stuff that's going on over there. We're gonna talk about some of the good things that's been making moves over there. So it's my pleasure to be joined by the President the most esteemed not H'm President of the Boston w CP Tunisia Sullivan. More with her when we go beyond the scenes one more time, and you two c J You right, Madam Sullivan. We were talking in the previous break about some of the strike. It's that Boston has made, you know, since since the racial awakening that we had as a country in I'm so kind of people used the dialogue that we had and we've had a dialogue and so since the time, we're gonna give credit where credit is due with the City of Boston and some of the things that they've done to try and turn the page. Bobby Brown got a street. The Celtics hid a black head coach this year. So you got a brother back at the Helm with the Celtics. C J. Is that everything? I think? That's am I missing any of them? Oh? You guys had you'll have a black mayor now, oh yes, yes, okay, there is not just a black mayor. We got a sister. We got we got a sister. We got a sister. Okay. Um. So with the election of of Joe Biden, he actually um, he nominated our a former mayor, Marty Walls, should be Secretary of Labor and under our charter here in Boston, the City Council President becomes acting mayor UM if the mayor vacates his her office UM and our city council president is a black woman and UM, so she is now our acting mayor and one yes, Kim Janey. That's exciting too because in the spotlight piece that we had, you know, as part of this field piece, one of the spotlight things that they were saying is Boston has never had a black mayor, unlike all of these other places. So that must feel great, not yet, not yet, UM, but you know, but it's good, right, It's it's great to UM to have her in the seat. We actually have a mayoral election this year, and the six leading candidates at this time are all people of color, UM. Four of them are women. UM. And so it is highly probable that Boston will elect um a it will we will elect a person of color, and that we may also elect a woman to be mayored. We've never had an elected woman mayor either, so so you've had a black mayor sneak in and now you get one of the legitimate way as well to fly cemented, you know. But but but it's reflective of you know, again, on the progress side. Since we were last together, UM, we have the most diverse city council that we've ever had in the history of the city. Of Boston, and so some of the issues that the City Council UM has tackled UM over the past couple of years have really spoken to the ideological evolution of our city, specifically on issues of racial justice and racial equity. UM. This year, two of our Counselor's Councilmhia and Council bak UM have introduced UM the Conversation on Reparations UH to to talk about the role of Boston in the slave trade. We know that, you know, people often talk about the enslavement of black folks primarily in the South, although we know here in Boston UM that black folks were enslaved as well. But we also understand that Boston UM played a significant role in helping to finance UH slavery in this country, right and so UM so really pushing the conversation on issues of racial justice and racial equity here in Boston UM has been a positive outgrowth of a more diverse city council. How much in reparation we'll be talking here last this for Boston current Boston residents of how long, like when I went to college, like when I was at family, you had to be living in state for a year to be eligible for in state tuition, so to be eligible for the Boston Reparation Initiative, as I'm going to call it, Well, we're gonna we'll see, we'll see, we're gonna we're gonna dive into the conversation. We're gonna dive into the history um, you know, and understand the impact of of of slavery in Boston today, and then we'll see what reparations might what the repair might look like. But you know, so so often when we talk about reparations, people go right to, well, what's the dollar number, what's that number? Before we get to the number. I'm just saying, before we get to the number, we really like, we've got to unpack this thing so that we can understand where the roots are of of of this very um significant problem staying um on our society, so that we can then see how it's manifesting itself today, you know, and then we can talk about what it will take to repair, because that's what reparations is. It's repair. It's helping to repair. It's kind of like when you fight with, you know, someone you're in a relationship with, and they're like, Okay, what do I what do I have to do. What do I have to do to get your to stop talking about You're like, no, we still need to talk talk about what you did in order to talk about what is owed. If you're gonna have a meaningful conversation about reparations, you gotta be willing to get to the root. And those are difficult conversations. And when you talk about a place like Boston, you know it's gonna require us to do a lot of self reflection. Um that can be might be painful, but if we want to move forward, um, beyond celebrating having a black mayor, Um, we have to be willing to lean into those conversations. So off of the black mayor thing, you know, this is what I've noticed, and I call it the empire striking back for lack of a better phrase, for all the good stuff that happened politically on the behalf of candidates has benefitting black folks. It's been a lot of laws that they're trying to start passing and sneaking under the table to make sure that these good times don't keep rolling at midterms. Talk to me a little a bit about what's happening in Boston now on the heels of Kim Jamie being I guess appointed mayor. Where now if you're a city council you can't even be mayor. Don't even think about it. Yeah, so you know we do see backlash and this is you know, I think, um, you know, it's it's like the civil is there such a thing as civil racism? I don't know, we're gonna make that up right, it's you know, it's like it's a polite racism racist but you know we're civil about it. We're civil about that's Boston racism. It's just like you have this divers city council doing all of these great things that you claim or helping all of the people, and now you're telling me none of these people can ever aspire to do something more for the city. Well, you know that what what's what's interesting? And so a few weeks ago, the city Council decided that since since the the city Council president is elected by the members of the city Council and the acting mayor is only acting mayor because she is uh, you know, the president of the council, they voted for the first time in our history, right, they voted. Now, all of a sudden to give themselves the right to remove her from her city council presidency, which were thereby remove her as acting mayor. You know, I find it, you know, it's so interesting that after you know how many hundreds of years, right now, um, now they need to make it clear to everybody that they have the power to take her out of the office. And you know, even if it were a legitimate position to have, you know, those types of actions, you know, as a black woman, right, those types of actions in a moment like this absolutely give me pause. And I think they should give all of us pause, because that's the stuff that those are the micro aggressions. I mean, that's a nice way to put it, right right, right right. I was like, you know, like like that's the step, like why would you do that, you know, except to send a message. You send a message if it's a law. It is not a microaggression, that's a law. I mean, did they even try to hide it where they like, this was on the to do list for a hundred years, it's not a man And then no, they did not. And in fact, you know, what they have been saying over the past few weeks is that they're just not pleased with you know, how she's interacted with them. They feel like she should be having more conversation with them. She should, you know, they should know more about what she's doing. And you know, all of these good things, and now I have to say, you know, these are issues and concerns that they've had with mayors in the past. Right, but um, but to take this step, I just you know that one. I just said, you know what this is. It's shameful, especially given um, the demographic makeup of the council at this time. There is so much joy in my heart for being able to talk to you today because the depths to which we've been able to go and explore this subject. This is why we go beyond the scene. And I joke about the title, but like, this is why we go beyond because sitting with you for the actual Fiel Peace, which I hope you watch. I hope you like that. I hope that did you? Please? It was great? It was great. Okay, alright, what if we got to this point and Tunisia is like, you know, I've never seen it. Let me tell you something. There are a lot of fans out there for the Daily Show. I mean, I consistently get hit up. People are like, oh my goodness, I saw you on the Daily Show. I'm like, oh yeah, Because people keep reposting the piece every time Boston trip up, He's keep I have a question for you, Roy of You know that is still one of my favorite pieces, not just because you know a white man outside Fenway is going it's not racist, because I don't feel it. Talk to me about what it What is happening in your head when you move from talking to folks who are saying racist things to you, and you are being incredibly polite but managing to find the humor of catching them showing themselves in that moment, Talk to me about what is happening for you when then you shift that lens and then approach talking to um black folks. For me, the thing I learned on the very first Field piece I shot with Jordan Clapper when we spoke with a cop who didn't believe that there was any real police harassment problems in this country. We spoke with Ex Scott and I remember getting angry, like I was legit angry our police racist. It's good enough for me. I'm satisfied we're good here. I'm my unbelief. Are you serious? The producers student, we stopped and took ten He pretended that we needed to camera battery. Whatever. He put me out into the holly sudden. I'm just giving me this time to calm down. I know it's heavy, whatever, whatever. And what I learned in that moment is that if you get angry, it's not funny anymore. We're on Comedy Central. I am a comedian. My job is to find the joke. The viewer can handle all of the other emotions that will come with this. They don't need me to be the conduit for that. Also, if I'm getting angry now you're not talking as much, You're gonna close in or it's gonna become a confrontation. Jordan Clapper is by far the master. Like to this day, I understand now why they parent me with him to go out and do that piece, because if you're to sit me there alone, it has just been a fist fight and lawsuit and I'm fired. But when talking to people who don't understand the issue, if you just let them talk, they're going The funny is in how incredulously oblivious they are that I form a sentence like that Thank you, Alabama Public Schools. There's there's something though, in talking with black people that there's no joke. How outrageous the truth is, is enough for most of us. I mean, when we sat and talked with the brother in the diner, I don't even think we used it. He was like, yeah, man, I'm moving to Atlanta this week. I can't take it here no more. I gotta be around black folks. And this is a black person who was Boston through and through and was just like, Nah, I'm checking out. There's opportunities down there. She said, I'm gonna start my business in Atlanta. So that was, you know, to me, c J. To answer the question, it's just more about just having honest conversations about something that's so ridiculous, and you talk to black people to get the truth, and then you go across the Fenway to talk to people who have no clue what you're talking about, and it's just wow, Like it's just one of those moments. You know, But I think that's what I This isn't even a question, but just a comment of that's what I love about watching you work, you know, like field producers, we just get to watch the correspondence running full speed. And what I what I love about watching you work is you fight for these human centers and human moments to the piece. It's not just like wow, they said some wild ship. It's like, now, let's go over to the Silver Slipper restaurant in Roxbury and and actually here a moment of a man saying, you know, even if it can't make the final piece of like I am this day figuring out how to move to Atlanta because I cannot take it here. And I think you fight for this human center for all of those pieces. Well, I try my best and speaking and fighting for humans. Madam Sullivan, We thank you immensely for all the work that you're doing in Boston. I wished that we you know, we need we need another podcast that go beyond, beyond the scenes. We need to go. They will beyond and break down even everything else that we didn't even get to talk about today. Thank you so much for your work. Where can people support the Boston a c P chapter. Well, we're online in a a CP Boston dot com. You can also find us on social media. All right, Well, thank you so much. And c J you did something big this year. Brother, You made a whole last documentary about Confederate monuments and people who don't want them to be taken down. Just to be just to be clear, it's not an ASK documentary. It is a whole ask documentary about Okay, So if you are coming for an ask documentary, that's another project I'm working on. This is about Confederate monuments and the question Boston was asking how how racist Boston? It is asking that of you know, the white South and of the whole country. You can find it right now on PBS for free. It's called The Neutral Ground. Um and my executive producer, you know, he's he's okay, he's fine. You have heard rumors about that guy's ro it's roy ye a jerk. Well, look, that's all the time we have for behind the scenes today. Hope that you had a good time going beyond the scenes with us. We appreciate you so much for listening on the behalf of everybody at the Daily Show. Thank you and listen to The Daily Show beyond the Scenes on Apple podcast, the I Heart Radio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Worst shirt. Yeah, it's just like the ocean. You're worster shure. That's it I want to go even further beyond the scenes. Check out the video version of Beyond the Scenes on the Daily Shows YouTube page.