We've Got Answers

Honest Conversation on Race in America

By: Charlamagne Tha God

Narrated by: Charlamagne Tha God, James Altucher, special guests

Length: 12 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's Summary

About This Audible Original 

Radio Hall of Fame inductee and best-selling author Charlamagne Tha God - one of the most distinctive voices in modern culture - is poised to move the painfully stubborn needle on race relations in America. 

Introducing We’ve Got Answers, Charlamagne’s self-described "safe space for unsafe questions," where America’s most basic, sincere, and yes, at times, ignorant questions about Black America get unequivocally answered. With riveting, unfiltered conversation between today’s most prominent Black thought leaders in their field and author, James Altucher, We’ve Got Answers is essential listening for all. Its lasting power is derived from not only confronting hard truths, but providing a path forward. Are you ready to listen? 

We've Got Answers, features today’s leading Black experts and thought leaders in their field, including Nina Turner, Tezlyn Figaro, Bishop William Barber II, Eboni K. Williams, Corey Minor Smith, Dr. Claud Anderson, Tamika D. Mallory, Jamila T. Davis, Nuri Muhammad, Dr. Alfiee Breland-Noble, Eric Adams, Erika Alexander, and David Banner. 

©2020 Charlamagne Tha God (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC.

Insightful in parts... but mostly divisive

I'm a white male, who lives in a primarily white area in the Western United states. I've lived in other countries for years, have lots of black friends in Panama, Tanzania and a few other locations and a few here in the united states, limited simply by the demographics of where I live. I'm an independent voter, don't watch the news, but prefer to be governed by small local government with minimal federal influence. I lived for about 5 years below the income poverty line after college and know the desperate feelings of wondering how to stretch $100 to pay for groceries, utilities, etc. for a small family with 2 kids, I never used medicaid, food stamps or any other government assitance other than perhaps an undeserved tax return, because I felt it was important for me as an individual to "figure it out". Since then, I've worked myself out of that hole into a comfortable living from a career that had nothing to do with anything I'd studied in college. I've never had a black friend that complained about racism or white privilege and so the argument for Black lives matter was intriguing to me and I decided I'd listen to this book to try and gain a greater appreciation and empathy for the perspectives that are behind the movement.

A little over half of this book is simply angry people venting without much consideration of an opposite perspective. The interviewer felt like a bit of a push over and mostly lobbed softballs for the duration of the book. If I'd felt persecuted and perceived wrongly over a lifetime, I'd probably feel angry too, but the way issues and resolutions were addressed, seemed abrasive and irrational in many instances. Many arguments were not constructive and it was challenging to try and not mentally take offense at extremely broad statements attributed to whites without regard for history, perspective or individuality. To simply classify white people as ignorant of all black plight and having all this perceived advantage simply because they are white, was hypocritical at times, given the notion that many didn't want to be judged by the simple fact that they were black. Many of the comments made in this book, especially when they are loud and aggressive are quite racist against whites in general, but I'd encourage white readers to not just write off everything as vitriol, Especially where calmer heads prevail. I did laugh at the argument of simply yelling: "Black people can't be racist" and then taking offense when the interviewer challenged the assertion. All races can be racist and the sad story is that racism from either direction only tends to breed more racism. After listening, I felt that the primary issues today had a little to do with actual racial issues, but a lot to do with the current culture of black communities and the differences with the white communities surrounding them.

I really appreciated that several of the interviewees were calm and rational about their perspectives on issues and were striving for solutions. In particular, I really appreciated the approaches of Eric Adams and Bishop William Barber. Eric Adams had some great suggestions on getting police more involved in the communities and helping them to understand the communities, along with educating the public on how to interact with Police so the unnecessary violent interactions can be mitigated.

I also appreciated the explanation on how slavery can be attributed, at least to an extent, as having had a negative impact on a black person's ability to get started in a capitalist economy and how some of the culture in today's black communities still have some behavioral roots in slavery. I found this perspective more objective and enlightening to me. I disagree with the notion that anybody's major problems can be attributed to 7-10 generations ago. That's screams scapegoat to me. My ancestors were poor as dirt, discriminated against for religious reasons, which I don't feel has had any bearing on my current life situation and ability or opportunities.

What bothered me was a lot of the discussion on compensation for atrocities committed against their ancestors. Many of my personal ancestors came to the U.S. after slavery was abolished and the fact that less than 4% of white families in the U.S. even owned slaves and that many of them opposed slavery is not giving credit to individuals, but making class observations from only a racial perspective... which again is racist, is it not? Not to mention, look at what has happened to Native American reservations. The 2 most racist things the country ever allowed were 1. to allow slavery to exist and 2. to just buy off the Native American tribes by paying them money and putting them on reservations. Their culture has been in large part destroyed, because we killed their incentive for individual performance by providing monthly stipends to the tribes. Ambition + opportunity is the recipe for success. Handouts don't work- don't believe me?- look at the stats on most lottery winners.

The national government's role in this needs to be smaller. You can't solve a nation's problems when the local communities have different problems that need to be solved. The only role of the national government should be to make sure that the current playing field rules are fair and that they are objective. Beyond that- community leaders are so much more effective at coming up with solutions that work for local people.

The main issue I have with this book is that it focuses so heavily on differences rather than commonalities and solutions. Want employers to quit screening based on black names? The culture has to quit using the race card every time a black person is fired. If a white employer hired a black person in the first place, they almost certainly not racist. But when they fire them for poor performance, we can't immediately call it a racist act. Every time the race card gets played- this culture creates a little more of a stigma, causing concern for the white employer about hiring another black person because they don't want to deal with a racial lawsuit and the resulting reputation fallout if the person doesn't work out. You want to know why it's harder to get a resume with a black name reviewed?- by using the race card, we've simply made it easier to fire the white guy. So even if they're not racist, it's a simple matter of risk/reward assessment analysis. Most white men don't have a problem hiring black people, they fear having to potentially fire black culture.
On the flip side- recognize that there are some cultural differences in hiring- in the NBA, 75% of the players are black and the average black player makes over double what the average white player does? If it were the opposite- ask yourself- would we be playing the race card? Sounds crazy right, but my point is, the race card shouldn't be a thing. Merits win out, Sports is a testament to that. I'm happy for Lebron James, he's done great and he's a fantastic player. I mourned Kobe's death and have used his story to try and inspire my own children's ambitions.

By always making everything about race in our discussions, we keep building walls that makes it difficult for others to climb over and work in fellowship on actual problems. If we really want "Black" lives to matter, we have to quit making it about "Black" and "White" and make it about being good neighbors and allowing space for us all to be friends. Together we can look for ways increase opportunity and pathways to success in communities, but we also have to stop leaning on the scapegoat of race as the cause of each failure or success. The solution is to get up and try again, not to point a finger. I'm not speaking of blacks alone, I'm talking about politicians, whites, blacks, the Homosexual and heterosexual communities, all Americans. We have to quit pointing fingers, and start asking "What can I change?". Looking at Michael Jackson's proverbial "Man in the mirror" as our first and only option.

White folks we better listen to this.

I'm 67 years old and always thought I was not a racist or privileged. In my head, the jury is out on the former but settled on the latter. Back in the '60s and 70's I thought I was a forward-thinking liberal and above any racist views and actually had fights with my 'elders' about their bigotted and prejudiced opinions and actions. I was all anti-war and anti-racist. I worked in various industries which brought me into close relationships with all sorts of people of color and never experienced, first hand, any personal issues or problems in our business or personal dealings. BUT, after listening to Charlamagne and James I realize how "asleep" I was. These two guys and the folks they asked the questions of has made me realize how bad and screwed up our systems are. I urge every white man and woman to listen to this and make their children and family members listen to this. I'm retired and have no kids, but plan to mention this Gem to everyone I know. ( I also wish I could go back in time and drop this on my 20-year-old self!) God bless Charlamagne, James, and all those contributors.

Feeling more hopeless

I chose this audiobook in order to get some direction on what I can do to help alleviate (or make sure I wasn’t causing) the problems mentioned. I did not want to continue listening after two chapters but I did finish. Only one perspective is discussed and in my opinion no answers were given to the issues discussed. It was a complain session. I did learn many things so it was useful to me.
I am an average Joe. I have no power or influence beyond my family. After listening I feel I’m damned if I try to do anything, blamed that I haven’t done enough and persecuted for learning the same erroneous history but not knowing better.

Banging my Head Against the Wall

Most of the answers laid out in this book make the problem worse. Don't trust doctors because they're racist, isn't an answer to increases mortality in black communities. Personal responsibility and hard work are never once mentioned, the only answer is to blame white people and hope the Government fixes your problem, but it won't, because even by your guy's admission the government is racist. Also the Klan would love your black ethno state concept, you guys should mail them a letter.

Didn’t live up to the billing.

Was expecting a discussion that challenged ideas and arrived at sometimes inconvenient or uneasy answers and instead it turned out to be a stand in for political interests. Was better off listening to segments from Charlamagne’s Breakfast Club. Really disappointed.

Excellent Project. Learned so much

First off let me say that I loved listening to this project. I could not stop listening to it once it started. So much information and inspiration to act. I’m going to get involved in local politics and ask legislators questions I have never had the balls to before because I live in a RED state and have never felt like having a voice would make any difference. Listening to this has changed the way I feel on that. Only critique on the entire project is that there we’re some inaccuracies in Dr. Claude’s interview. He is exceptionally more intelligent and educated than myself so I am going to chalk it up to a mishear on my part but he said, black people are the only people that were actual slaves, in correlation to an edict made by the Vatican in the 1480’s. Egypt had slaves, china’s Great Wall was built by slaves, the Norse people made slaves of each other and the rest of Europe. Those were all civilizations well before the 15th century. Slavery seems to have been an abominable stigma of humanity since we put value on any commodity obtained through labor. Also, it doesn’t seem to make sense to say politics as we know it was invented after capitalism in the 15th century when we have countless examples of it in Roman and Greek writings. Politicians have been abusing their power for gains since centralized government was invented.

Essential Listening.

Truly a beautiful, wonderful, powerful, and truly necessary resource. An absolute good. A way forward.

personal opinion does not equal fact

some good info and input shared.
key speakers offset value by express opinion as fact

Raw, Beautiful, And Genuine Conversations

“Real change happens in the heart.” The questions presented are thought-provoking and made me dive into the minds, hearts, and lives of the ”other.” A great listen.

Powerful!

Boy we've been through and cont to go to through soo much as a race. As someone who considers myself "woke" I almost passed over this series thinking I've heard it all before...so many different points that I've never considered. Lots of times I had a lump in my throat but if nothing else David B and Dr. Alfiee brought home the fact that we really could be worse of mentally but we are resilient. I hope I live to see the day that we have the right box to stand on in order to see over the fence! Thanks Charlemagne and James!

excellent more information like this please

should be on all school curriculum all over the world and adult classes but most of all politricsters need educating

Very good listen

well done Uncle charl for putting all this together. Many Jewell's were dropped but what stuck the most was reparations in form of land!!