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This years inauguration will be unlike any other in history. The Presidential Inaugural Committee and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser have asked people to stay home and watch the festivities virtually, anddue to the pandemic and the potential of violence from pro-Trump extremiststhat doesnt sound like a bad idea. So, whats there to do? Heres a schedule of events around town, both official and unofficial, to celebrate one of the strangest inaugurations in history.

Kick off: The first official event from the Presidential Inaugural Committee is the show America United: An Inauguration Welcome Event Celebrating Americas Changemakers. Catch performances from Black Pumas and Resistance Revival Chorus. Other big names in attendance include Whoopi Goldberg, actor/comedian Cristela Alonzo, actor/musician Darren Criss, Nik Dodani (from Netflixs Atypical), Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, and New York Congresswoman Grace Meng.Details: Saturday 1/16 at 7 PM; Free, stream the show online here.

Sing along: There will be a special We the People Concert, which is a fundraiser for the inaugural committee. Hosted by Keegan-Michael Key and Debra Messing, the virtual show will feature Carole King, James Taylor, will.i.am, AJR, Michael Bivins, Fall Out Boy, and Ben Harper. Other guests include Kal Penn,Connie Britton, Sophia Bush and Jamie Camil.Details: Sunday 1/17 at 8 PM; $5-$50, buy tickets here.

Pup champagne: While Joe Biden might be the star of every other show, its Major Biden who will be getting all the attention at this virtual Indoguration party from the Delaware Humane Association and Pumpkin Pet Insurance. Major, the first doggo to go from shelter to the White House, was adopted by the Bidens in 2018 from the Wilmington-based shelter. So, theyre celebrating the German shepherd with a fundraising event thats billed as the worlds largest virtual party for dogs. Todaycontributor Jill Martin will host the party, which will also include a fun competition: Submit your own pup to be the Secretary of Rescue Dogs, obviously a high-profile Cabinet position. Featured guest Sir Darius Brown, a teenage animal advocate who crafts doggie bow ties, will choose a winner (and top contenders will receive a bow tie as a prize). Details: Sunday, January 17 at 3 PM; $10 minimum donation (proceeds go to the Delaware Humane Association), buy tickets here.

For the youth: Have you explained this chaotic time of presidential transition to kids? If youre struggling, Adventure Theatre is here to help. The youth-focused organization is virtually hosting a talk called Teachable Moment on the Peaceful Transition of Power. Montgomery County Councilmember Evan Glass and Adventure Theatre artistic director Chil Kong will discuss the history of presidential transitions on Facebook. Details: Sunday, January 17 at 2 PM; Free, watch it here.

Give back: The Presidential Inaugural Committee has organized a National Day of Service to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. You can volunteer to help virtually, or sign up for a more hands-on (yet still Covid-safe) opportunity. There are dozens of partners, including the Rock Creek Conservancy and the O Street Museum Foundation. Details: All day Monday at various locations; find out more here.

Another star-studded show: To conclude the holiday, the committee is hosting an MLK celebration with Bernice King, Martin Luther King III, Al Sharpton, and Rosario Dawson. See musical artists Yo-Yo Ma, Chesca, Aloe Blacc, Andra Day, Diane Warren, and Bebe Winans. Other attendees include Congresswoman Sharice Davids and actors Sean Patrick Thomas and Lynn Whitfield.Details: Monday 1/18 at 8 PM; Free, stream the show online here.

Madam Vice President: Explore the life of Kamala Harris on the eve of her ascension to the Vice Presidency with reporter Dan Morain, author of the newly released Kamalas Way: An American Life. In a virtual event with Politics and Prose, hell chat with Washington Post columnist Karen Tumulty about Harriss career from California prosecutor to headline-making Senator to presidential candidateand, now, historic Veep. Details: Tuesday January, 19 at 8 PM; Free ($28-$36 for a ticket with the book included), register here.

For West Wing nerds: Hang with President Bartlet in Mr. President: An Evening with Martin Sheen, an online event from Smithsonian Associates. Sheen will talk to U.S. News & World Report White House correspondent Ken Walsh about his fictional presidency, the enduring influence of the West Wing in pop culture, and how the show affected the nations view of politicians IRL. Tuesday, January 19 at 6:30 PM; $20-$25, buy tickets here.

In memoriam: To honor the more than 380,000 lives lost to Covid-19, the Presidential Inaugural Committee is hosting a ceremony that will light up the Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial. Other cities across the country are invited to ring church bells and light up their buildings to mark a national moment of unity and remembrance. Tuesday, January 19 at 5:30 PM.

Details: Youll be able to watch the full days events on cable news or you canstream it on YouTube here. (Everything will also be available on the Presidential Inaugural Committees social channels, including Facebook, Twitter, and Twitch.)

Its official: The swearing-in ceremony will be at noon; Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will take their oaths on the west side of the Capitol building. Lady Gaga will sing the National Anthem and Jennifer Lopez will be the musical performer. Also on the agenda: a reading from poet Amanda Gorman. Former Georgetown University president Father Leo ODonovan will give the invocation, while the benediction will come from Reverend Dr. Silvester Beaman of Delaware. Andrea Hall, president of the International Association of Firefighters Local 3920, will lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

After the oaths: Joe Biden, Jill Biden, Kamala Harris, and Doug Emhoff will participate in the traditional pass in review on the east side of the Capitol to review the readiness of military troops and mark the peaceful transfer of power to a new Commander-in-Chief, according to the Presidential Inaugural Committee.

The escort: Joe Biden will get a Presidential Escort on 15th Street as he heads to the White House. Hell be accompanied by the US Army Band, the Commander-in-Chiefs Guard and Fife and Drum Corp, and more.

Parade: The inaugural parade is going virtual this year. While the lineup is still TBD, the event is expected to include a diverse array of performances from locations across the country.

Across the river: Biden, Dr. Biden, Harris, and Emhoff will go to Arlington National Cemetery to participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Joining them will be Barack and Michelle Obama, George and Laura Bush, and Bill and Hillary Clinton.

The actual party: Tom Hanks will host Celebrating America, an evening TV program that will feature Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as well as performances from Jon Bon Jovi, Demi Lovato, Ant Clemons, and Justin Timberlake. Other performers announced Friday include Bruce Springsteen, John Legend, and Foo Fighters. The 90-minute show will recognize American heroes who are helping their fellow Americans through this crisis, including frontline workers, healthcare workers, teachers, citizens giving back, and those who are breaking barriers, according to the Presidential Inaugural Committee. Eva Longoria and Kerry Washington will be part of the program as well.

If you want more of Major: Both Biden doggos get the spotlight in the new illustrated childrens book, Champ and Major: First Dogs. Author Joy McCullough will talk about the new White House pup stars at a virtual Politics and Prose event. Details: Thursday, January 21 at 11 AM; free ($25 with book included), register here.

This post has been updated.

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Rosa joined Washingtonian in 2016 after graduating from Mount Holyoke College. She covers arts and culture for the magazine. Shes written about anti-racism efforts at Woolly Mammoth Theatre, dinosaurs in the revamped fossil hall at the Smithsonians Natural History Museum, and the horrors of taking a digital detox. When she can, she performs with her familys Puerto Rican folkloric music ensemble based in Jersey City. She lives in Adams Morgan.

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15 Things to Do in DC to Celebrate Inauguration 2021 - Washingtonian

Salit is president of Independent Voting, which works to promote the political clout of unaffiliated voters, and the author of "Independents Rising: Outsider Movements, Third Parties, and the Struggle for a Post-Partisan America" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012).

My father, a Navy veteran of World War II, just celebrated his 94th birthday. He is one of the estimated 300,000 living veterans of that war and he is healthy, mobile and active, with a wicked sense of humor. His memories are sharp, his voice raspy, and he offers colorful reflections on almost a century of American life.

Last weekend, I asked what the country was like when he was in college during and after the war. If you were in uniform and hitchhiking on leave, he said, drivers stopped and said they would take you wherever you wanted to go. In a bar, you couldn't pay for a beer or a meal. The country was united and he was so proud.

Then he paused. When he watched the events at the Capitol, he said, suddenly grim, he wished he was still in uniform. He wanted to be there to defend our democracy, to repel and punish those who would attack it. His voice was choking.

My heart ached. His pain and anger were palpable, even over Zoom. Yes, it was about the sordid events at the Capitol. But it was also about how much the fabric of the country had unspooled in his lifetime.

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Like many, I watched members of Congress forced to evacuate after a failure by law enforcement to create a sufficiently secure perimeter around them or put a visible and well-equipped anti-riot force in place, as had been done before a thoroughly peaceful anti-racism protest the Rev. Al Sharpton led on Capitol Hill last summer. This double-standard must be investigated.

Eventually, last week's violence was ended. Debate resumed. Objections were heard, the separate houses debated. After courts had dismissed more than 60 lawsuits claiming fraud, after states conducted recounts that produced no different outcomes, Congress affirmed that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris had the necessary electoral votes to be sworn in next week.

For my money, the democratic process held. The perpetrators who committed violent acts and brought lethal paraphernalia are being hunted down, arrested and charged. I disagree with those who breathlessly proclaim our democracy is fragile. In the face of ceaseless legal, political and procedural challenges culminating in this violent disruption, democracy looked pretty sturdy.

But what does seem fragile? The institutions that mediate and control the American people's relationship to our democratic republic. Here I refer to the two dominant political parties, the massively over-endowed and overreaching mechanisms of the exercise of political power.

Full disclosure: I'm an independent. I dislike the political parties and what they breed. They are dedicated to the proposition that their self-preservation, separately and together, is equivalent to the national interest. There are moments of upheaval where those can appear to be the same thing, but that is momentary.

This is part of the terrible pain of the moment. The vacuum in political leadership in America is wrenching. After a brutal election season in which $15 billion was spent by both sides getting Americans to hate and fear each other 41 percent of the electorate chose to identify with neither party. Declaring oneself a political independent is their statement of non-compliance with a wretched culture.

The House decided that an unprecedented second impeachment was the best way to sanction Trump, and 10 Republicans joined the Democrats to charge him with "incitement of insurrection" Wednesday. I sorely wish that partisan Democrats hadn't used the impeachment gambit once before, and with an almost totally party-line outcome.

It would have been better to tie the president's hands for his final days in office by having Vice President Pence and the Cabinet (what's left of it) invoke the 25th Amendment followed by Pence, Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer and Kevin McCarthy standing together to promise a peaceful transition of power.

But I don't get to decide. I'm only one citizen, one who's sick and tired of being force fed a toxic brew every time something happens.

Trump, in his infinite narcissism, did more than incite a riot. He handed the Democratic Party a golden goose: the chance to ring the bell for democracy, to transcend the gamesmanship they helped to create.

In an Ipsos poll taken last weekend, 58 percent of independents said Trump should be removed from office before his term ends surely the most nonpartisan view on that question. But the same poll found only half the country believes Democrats can be counted on to protect our democracy. Many independents are asking whether Democrats will champion the necessary political reforms to reverse the incentives driving partisanship. I have not seen evidence they will.

Meanwhile, Republicans are deservedly in chaos. Those high-minded government officials turning in their resignations have me laughing. Someone once said, when government officials talk about principles, hold on to your wallet. I just locked mine in a drawer. The GOP is assessing a vote to convict Trump in the Senate followed by a vote to bar him from any future office. A healthier option would be opening all the 2024 presidential primaries to all voters. Independents voted against Trump by 13 points in November, delivering the Democrats the White House and, later, the Senate. Trump could not survive an open primary in four years. The American people would be the deciders.

Perhaps the worst thing is that it's so hard to know what anything means. The 18th century philosopher Bishop Butler opined that everything is what it is and not another thing. Wishful thinking? Did the Democratic leadership pursue impeachment because they have the votes to stay Trump's hand? Or do they want to force the GOP to cast damaging votes? Are the resignations an "every man for himself" act of desperation? Or an act of conscience? Was the scene at the Capitol an actual insurrection or a crazed display of deformed defiance, with criminal acts that should be prosecuted?

Are all these events, and so many others, only one thing?

America is in crisis. Where do we go from here? The widening gulf between the positive traditions of our democracy, however flawed, and the current culture of partisan politics will have to be engaged. We can't continue as we are. This we know because we feel it in our gut.

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More excessive partisanship will make wound from Capitol siege even worse - The Fulcrum

NewsRia Chaitram17 Hrs AgoUWI vice-chancellor professor Sir Hilary Beckles. -

The University of the West Indies (UWI) vice-chancellor professor Sir Hilary Beckles and director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr Anthony Fauci will be awarded the Dr Martin Luther King Jr award.

In a media release UWI said Rev Al Sharpton, president and founder of the US National Action Network (NAN) will confer the awards at the annual breakfast event on Monday.

This year marks the 30th anniversary for the awards which honours people with a view to refocusing and sustaining the dream of King Jr.

NAN said, Sir Hilary is recognised for his global advocacy, academic scholarship and intellectual leadership in support of social justice, institutional equity, and economic development for marginalised and oppressed ethnicities and nations.

Beckles, who is also the president of Universities Caribbean, chairman of the Caribbean Examinations Council, chairman of the Caricom Reparations Commission and advisor on sustainable development to former United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon, will receive the Peace and Freedom award.

Fauci, an American physician, will receive the Lifetime Community Service award.

Previous recipients included former US president Bill Clinton, founder of Motown Music Berry Gordy, and former US attorney general Eric Holder.

Event speakers have included US president-elect Joe Biden and former US attorney general Loretta Lynch.

The Dr Martin Luther King Jr Day ceremony and awards will be held in Washington, DC from 12 pm and will be streamed live on UWItvs website http://www.uwitv.org, cable channels on Flow EVO and its Facebook page.

Go here to read the rest:
Sir Hilary Beckles to receive Martin Luther King award - TT Newsday

Earlier today, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo was a guest onMSNBC's Politics Nation with Reverend Al Sharpton.

AUDIOis availablehere.

Arushtranscriptof the Governor's interview is available below:

Reverend Sharpton:Joining me now, the Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo. Thank you for joining us, Governor.

Governor Cuomo:Good to be with you, Reverend. Happy New Year.

Reverend Sharpton:Happy New Year to you. Governor Cuomo, something thatkind ofoutraged me, I want to go through first. I want to play a little more ofthat audiofrom the top, President Trump leaning on Georgia officials to basically give him a win there. Listen to this:

President Trump:We won the election andit'snot fair to take it away from us like this.Andit's going to be very costly in many ways and I think you have to say that you're not going to re-examine it and you can re-examine it but re-examine it with people that want to find answers, not people that don't want to find answers.

Reverend Sharpton:Now,I'veknown you a long time. How would you, as Governor, react if you heard that the President was trying to lean on your state officials like that?

Governor Cuomo:Well, you know Reverend as shocking and disappointing as it is, the movie is going to end the way the movie started. This is a President who never respected the position, who never respected the law. That happened for 4 years andthat'swhy he's no longer going to be the President. I thinkthey'redesperate, they're clearly desperate. The election is over. I thinkit'spointless.

That conversation is right on the line of ethics or legality. It sounds like find the votes.itsounds like he's suggesting the Secretary of State commit election fraud. An aggressive prosecutor could say there was a conspiracy to commit election fraud. Youcan'tfind votes. Thatdoesn'thappen. People cast votes and you count them, youdon'tfind them.

Reverend Sharpton:You and I worked a lot down through the years of trying to get people to register to vote, get people to come out to vote. How disheartening is this to hear people that have already been cynical about voting that we finally got some enthusiasm and hear this kind of chicanery from - despite whatever personal views I have of Donald Trump - is coming out of the mouth of the President of the United States?

Governor Cuomo:This is 2021, Rev, andI'mtrying to find the positive.We'veseen enough darkness. The good news is,it was rejected. Itwas rejected. These tactics by the President are not new. This telephone conversation is not new. He has violated the law, in my opinion, all through his presidency.

The good news is, the people of this country realized it, rejected it, came out, voted in record numbers and he lost. Idon'tsee his behavior here as anything different than he has done for 4 years.I'lltell you the truth.He'smore desperate about it.They'relooking at the clock and they're counting the days, but it's not new, Rev. It's what they've done from day one.

Reverend Sharpton:I join you in giving credit to the people, as well as to the Republican officials that resisted this - Republican officials in Georgia. Governor, I understand, and why I actually asked you to come on, you have some big news regarding the vaccine and your own efforts to calm fears particularly in the Black and Latino and theLatinxcommunities around its distribution in New York. A lot of us have been concerned about fair distribution and you have some big news in that area.

Governor Cuomo:Reverend, we should be concerned about fair distribution. The COVID virus ravaged us, but the COVID virus also showed us the underlying injustices that we have in society: The social, racial, economic injustices.

Blacks died at twice the rate as whites during COVID. The Hispanic community died at one-and-a-half times the rate. Higher infection rate in the Black and Hispanic and poor communities and less COVID testing, because these are health care deserts and there were underlying health care disparities.

We'renow going to do the vaccine.Let'slearn in 2021, and let's understand that we need to have special efforts to reach out to these communities.AndI don't think there's been enough focus on this, frankly. If we just do the vaccine the waythey'retalking about doing the vaccine, frankly, richer people, white people, they'll find the vaccine.It'sgoing to be the poor communities that are left behind.

Sowhat I said is, here's my statement.I'mnot going to take the vaccine until the same people are eligible and it is available in the Black and Hispanic and poor communities in this state.That'swhere the focus has to be. It was a terrible injustice during COVID. It has to be corrected during the vaccination process, andwe'lldo it in this State and it should be done nationwide.

Reverend Sharpton:So you are not going to do the vaccine untilyou'resure that those communities have access to the vaccine, and you'll do it at the time that they can do it as well?

Governor Cuomo:That is exactly right. You know, I understand the elected officials,they'retaking it first.I'mtheoretically an essential worker, I could take it first. And I think there's something to that statement, that you want to show peopleit'ssafe, and I agree with that. My mother, Matilda, who you know, is going to turn 90 years old.Don'ttell anyone I said that.Butshe's going to take it as soon as she's available.ButI want to make a different statement. I want to say thatI'mgoing to take it when it's available to my group, my age group, in the Black, Hispanic and poor communities in this state. Because therehasn'tbeen enough focus on coming up with special efforts to get it into those communities. The COVID testing never got into those communities. Health care treatment has never gotten into those communities.Let'slearn in 2021. It has to be a conscious effort andthat'swhere our focus should be.

Reverend Sharpton:I thinkthat'sa big statement. That's big news coming from the governor of New York, and I think that when you do get to that measure and decide to do it and do it publicly, that makes a national statement that a lot of people, I think, should acknowledge, that you're right, there has been neglect in COVID testing and in vaccines. I think by you setting the bar there, I think has some serious implications for those of us that have been raising this issue.

Governor Cuomo:Yeah, and Rev, you know, at one point you put your money where your mouth is, right?Don'tget me wrong, I believe in the vaccine, I want to take the vaccine.I'mover 40 years old. I knowit'shard to tell. I move around a lot, I seea lot ofpeople, and I would like the comfort of having the vaccine.Butmore, I want to make the point, everyone feels that way. Not just governors andCongresspeopleand big shots.Andit has to beavailable to everyone fairly.

I'lltake it when it is available to the poor communities in the South Bronx and the east side of Buffalo, et cetera.Butit has to be a conscious effort, rev, because it's not going to happen unless we make it happen. Itdidn'thappen during COVID. How do you explain twice the rate of death in the Black community? How do you explain that?Let'slearn and let's move on and that's what 2021 is all about.

Reverend Sharpton:All right, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Certainly,that is a big statement you madetonight. Thank you for joining us, andI'veknown you probably 40 years. I can say you are over 40 years old.

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Audio & Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo is a Guest on MSNBC's Politics Nation with Reverend Al Sharpton - ny.gov

in the Black and Hispanic and poor communities in this state. Thats where the focus has to be. It was a terrible injustice during COVID. It has to be corrected during the vaccination process, and well do it in this State and it should be done nationwide.

On January 3rd, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo was a guest on MSNBCs Politics Nation with Reverend Al Sharpton.

AUDIOis availablehere.

Arushtranscriptof the Governors interview is available below:

Reverend Sharpton:Joining me now, the Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo. Thank you for joining us, Governor.

Governor Cuomo:Good to be with you, Reverend. Happy New Year.

Reverend Sharpton:Happy New Year to you. Governor Cuomo, something that kind of outraged me, I want to go through first. I want to play a little more of that audio from the top, President Trump leaning on Georgia officials to basically give him a win there. Listen to this:

President Trump:We won the election and its not fair to take it away from us like this. And its going to be very costly in many ways and I think you have to say that youre not going to re-examine it and you can re-examine it but re-examine it with people that want to find answers, not people that dont want to find answers.

Reverend Sharpton:Now, Ive known you a long time. How would you, as Governor, react if you heard that the President was trying to lean on your state officials like that?

Governor Andrew Cuomo

Governor Cuomo:Well, you know Reverend as shocking and disappointing as it is, the movie is going to end the way the movie started. This is a President who never respected the position, who never respected the law. That happened for 4 years and thats why hes no longer going to be the President. I think theyre desperate, theyre clearly desperate. The election is over. I think its pointless.

That conversation is right on the line of ethics or legality. It sounds like find the votes. it sounds like hes suggesting the Secretary of State commit election fraud. An aggressive prosecutor could say there was a conspiracy to commit election fraud. You cant find votes. That doesnt happen. People cast votes and you count them, you dont find them.

Reverend Sharpton:You and I worked a lot down through the years of trying to get people to register to vote, get people to come out to vote. How disheartening is this to hear people that have already been cynical about voting that we finally got some enthusiasm and hear this kind of chicanery from despite whatever personal views I have of Donald Trump is coming out of the mouth of the President of the United States?

Governor Cuomo:This is 2021, Rev, and Im trying to find the positive. Weve seen enough darkness. The good news is, it was rejected. It was rejected. These tactics by the President are not new. This telephone conversation is not new. He has violated the law, in my opinion, all through his presidency.

The good news is, the people of this country realized it, rejected it, came out, voted in record numbers and he lost. I dont see his behavior here as anything different than he has done for 4 years. Ill tell you the truth. Hes more desperate about it. Theyre looking at the clock and theyre counting the days, but its not new, Rev. Its what theyve done from day one.

Reverend Sharpton:I join you in giving credit to the people, as well as to the Republican officials that resisted this Republican officials in Georgia. Governor, I understand, and why I actually asked you to come on, you have some big news regarding the vaccine and your own efforts to calm fears particularly in the Black and Latino and the Latinx communities around its distribution in New York. A lot of us have been concerned about fair distribution and you have some big news in that area.

Governor Cuomo:Reverend, we should be concerned about fair distribution. The COVID virus ravaged us, but the COVID virus also showed us the underlying injustices that we have in society: The social, racial, economic injustices.

Blacks died at twice the rate as whites during COVID. The Hispanic community died at one-and-a-half times the rate. Higher infection rate in the Black and Hispanic and poor communities and less COVID testing, because these are health care deserts and there were underlying health care disparities.

Were now going to do the vaccine. Lets learn in 2021, and lets understand that we need to have special efforts to reach out to these communities. And I dont think theres been enough focus on this, frankly. If we just do the vaccine the way theyre talking about doing the vaccine, frankly, richer people, white people, theyll find the vaccine. Its going to be the poor communities that are left behind.

So what I said is, heres my statement. Im not going to take the vaccine until the same people are eligible and it is available in the Black and Hispanic and poor communities in this state. Thats where the focus has to be. It was a terrible injustice during COVID. It has to be corrected during the vaccination process, and well do it in this State and it should be done nationwide.

Reverend Sharpton:So you are not going to do the vaccine until youre sure that those communities have access to the vaccine, and youll do it at the time that they can do it as well?

Governor Cuomo:That is exactly right. You know, I understand the elected officials, theyre taking it first. Im theoretically an essential worker, I could take it first. And I think theres something to that statement, that you want to show people its safe, and I agree with that. My mother, Matilda, who you know, is going to turn 90 years old. Dont tell anyone I said that. But shes going to take it as soon as shes available. But I want to make a different statement. I want to say that Im going to take it when its available to my group, my age group, in the Black, Hispanic and poor communities in this state. Because there hasnt been enough focus on coming up with special efforts to get it into those communities. The COVID testing never got into those communities. Health care treatment has never gotten into those communities. Lets learn in 2021. It has to be a conscious effort and thats where our focus should be.

Reverend Sharpton:I think thats a big statement. Thats big news coming from the governor of New York, and I think that when you do get to that measure and decide to do it and do it publicly, that makes a national statement that a lot of people, I think, should acknowledge, that youre right, there has been neglect in COVID testing and in vaccines. I think by you setting the bar there, I think has some serious implications for those of us that have been raising this issue.

Governor Cuomo:Yeah, and Rev, you know, at one point you put your money where your mouth is, right? Dont get me wrong, I believe in the vaccine, I want to take the vaccine. Im over 40 years old. I know its hard to tell. I move around a lot, I see a lot of people, and I would like the comfort of having the vaccine. But more, I want to make the point, everyone feels that way. Not just governors and Congresspeople and big shots. And it has to be available to everyone fairly.

Ill take it when it is available to the poor communities in the South Bronx and the east side of Buffalo, et cetera. But it has to be a conscious effort, rev, because its not going to happen unless we make it happen. It didnt happen during COVID. How do you explain twice the rate of death in the Black community? How do you explain that? Lets learn and lets move on and thats what 2021 is all about.

Reverend Sharpton:All right, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Certainly, that is a big statement you made tonight. Thank you for joining us, and Ive known you probably 40 years. I can say you are over 40 years old.

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Governor Cuomo is a Guest on MSNBC'S Politics Nation with Reverend Al Sharpton - URBAN CNY