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A Stand For Justice: Kwami Abdul-Bey's Campaign for Arkansas House 69
11 Plays5 months ago
Stand Up Arkansas: Kwami Abdul-Bey for House District 69
In this episode, Steve and Kelly from Stand Up Arkansas discuss the candidacy of Kwami Abdul-Bey, who is running for House District 69, covering North Pulaski and parts of Faulkner County. They highlight the issues with gerrymandering in the district, the negative campaign tactics used by his opponent David Ray, and the grassroots efforts Kwami has undertaken, including knocking on 6,000 doors. They emphasize Kwami's extensive experience in policy, his commitment to justice and equity, and his deep understanding of the rural communities he aims to represent. The episode concludes with a strong endorsement for Kwami Abdul-Bey and a call to action for viewers to support his campaign.
00:00 Introduction to Stand Up Arkansas
00:11 Overview of House District 69
00:57 Gerrymandering Issues in Arkansas
02:00 The Ugly Race: Attacks on Kwami
02:52 Kwami's Campaign and Values
04:10 Kwami's Connection with the Community
05:25 Endorsement and Call to Action
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Transcript
Introduction to Stand Up Arkansas
00:00:02
Speaker
Hey y'all, I'm Steve. And I'm Kelly. And we're with Stand Up Arkansas.
Introducing Kwame Abdul Bay
00:00:05
Speaker
We're doing our voters guide and we're going to talk about one of my friends. Kwame, I have a shirt just like that. Kwame Abdul Bay, he's running for House District 69, North Pulaski, a little bit of Faulkner County.
District 69 Geography
00:00:17
Speaker
It's like a big rectangle that goes across the north part of Pulaski County, 89 I think is on the top. And if you think 67 on one side and I-40 on the other and then draw another line across, that rectangle is his district.
Impact of Gerrymandering
00:00:32
Speaker
Except for Florida, which is like this little peninsula that comes down the left border. And it has a point
00:00:40
Speaker
and his opponent opponent lives. David Ray lives in the point of gerrymandering at his finest. But it's a lot of of... I'm laughing. It's really not funny at all. That's really not funny at all. But it's comical that... That's
Legal Battles Over Districting
00:00:56
Speaker
how it is. Well, we have some lawsuits about gerrymandering in Arkansas and that is one of the districts that's a focus. You know, Cassandra Green is running in House District 71. Her district lines up against us and how it's supposed to be.
00:01:10
Speaker
is
Fair Representation Concerns
00:01:11
Speaker
when they cut the map out. They don't cut on the road because they, both sides of the street need to have the same representation. You know, if you're going across the street to get a cup of sugar from your neighbor, your neighbor shouldn't be voting for a different state representative than you do.
Gerrymandering Criticism
00:01:28
Speaker
And all the way through Maumelle, North Little Rock, up through there, they cut the district out so David Gray would have a ah seat that was more suited to his, because if he'd run in Maumelle, he'd have lost.
00:01:40
Speaker
right and And then there wouldn't have been another place for Brandon Acres. So, Maumelle itself should be its own district. They've got it kind of split up and all this kind of stuff. Either way, he's got just a little tiny piece of Maumelle. That's right. um But I think that's going to go for me also. is yeah And it has been an ugly, ugly, ugly race.
Negative Campaigns Against Kwame
00:02:00
Speaker
I have worked with Kwame from the beginning on this race and David Ray has just attacked, attacked, attacked. It's dirty. They've called him an extremist. They literally photoshopped a distorted picture of Kwame in front of a picture of ground zero and then started using words like
00:02:21
Speaker
I don't know if they used the word terrorist on that one, but extremism. It certainly implied it. It absolutely implied that he was a terrorist. So much so that a guy threatened to kill him, they're not fighting fair in this case. Well, and after
Threats and Dismissals
00:02:36
Speaker
somebody threatened to kill him, Kwame just said, I call him my opponent to condemn this or like call for an end of this. And David Ray responded by, it's probably a hoax. He probably didn't do it.
00:02:49
Speaker
It probably didn't happen, they're probably making it up.
Kwame's Campaign Efforts
00:02:52
Speaker
Kwame is running to beat him. Kwame has gotten out there and like 6,000 doors he's touched in this election and he has he's been working in policy for a decade and he he was the campaign manager for the For Our Kids campaign for the public education. He has run direct democracy initiatives for years. He's a leader of the people and he's an independent.
00:03:20
Speaker
right He, I mean, he's running as a Democrat. Well, but he also does. I mean, I think that he supports many of the same values that Democrats do. Yes,
Kwame's Political Identity
00:03:29
Speaker
he does. But I mean, he's independent is what my point is. And yes, he does lean toward the the Democrat side. Definitely not the Republican side. But my point is, is they try to label him as like a radical leftist liberal, and he's literally not. He's literally a ah balls and strikes guy down the middle. Now,
00:03:51
Speaker
Does he believe in justice? Does he fight for justice? Absolutely.
Beliefs in Justice and Equality
00:03:56
Speaker
That's one of the reasons I stand right by his side. Does he believe in equal rights and equity and that all people should be fair? Absolutely. and If you think that's extreme, well then call that extreme.
00:04:09
Speaker
you know You know Kwame. I do know Kwame and hit his heart is so good and he's not afraid to stand up and fight, especially for marginalized population.
Rural District Challenges
00:04:20
Speaker
And and when I say marginalized, yeah the district that he represents is primarily rural.
00:04:28
Speaker
there is not a lot of there is resources there. There's not one full incorporated town in his whole district. yeah It's got part of Mayflower, part of Maumelle, part of Jacksonville, part of Sherwood. So it's very rural. So there are very unique issues and he lives in that community and understands those issues. And I believe that he is the right guy for this job. I know he's going to represent the people well and he's not going to be afraid to stand up and fight for what is right.
Voter Outreach in Neglected Areas
00:04:59
Speaker
Do you know what the most common thing that he's heard when he's knocked on doors is we've never had someone knock on our door.
00:05:10
Speaker
never because he's out there like Gibson and North Kellogg Valley and Satello Macon and people just don't go out there because no one cares like they really don't care David Ray doesn't care so obviously our endorsement is going to be for Kwame Abdul Bay House District 69 look him up I would try to tell you his website but it's like very long google it this long just google Kwame KW A-M-I.
Call to Action for Kwame
00:05:40
Speaker
And if you just look him up, get to know him, listen to him, you'll know that he is right down the middle and you'll like him. So yeah we're close. So just a couple more days to get the word out. So please share this. Please tell your friends to vote for Kwame. Please share with anybody that you know in that community and let's get Kwame elected.