Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
In the debut episode of Down Ballot Banter, hosts Monèt Noelle Marshall and Quay Weston kick off the conversation about the world of local politics. Have you ever wondered how local elections impact your daily life? From zoning laws to public schools, these often-overlooked decisions shape our communities in surprising ways. Monèt and Quay share personal stories—state-level impacts on preserving family land to federal-level policy on domestic workers and farmers—demonstrating why political engagement at all levels is so crucial. Join them on this journey to break down local elections, get informed, and even laugh a little while learning how to make your voice heard!
Sketches of Pitt County, a brief history of the county, 1704-1910 (page 71)
Sketches of Pitt County, a brief history of the county, 1704-1910 (page 71)
Are you ready to start the conversation? Eat, chat and act with Down Ballot Brunch.
Down Ballot Banter is hosted by Monèt Marshall and Quay Weston and is a production of Earfluence.
Down Ballot Banter is hosted by Monèt Marshall and Quay Weston and is a production of Earfluence.
Creators & Guests
What is Down Ballot Banter?
Welcome to Down Ballot Banter, the podcast that puts the spotlight on local elections and what local government actually means for you. Hosted by Monèt Marshall and Quay Weston.
Transcript
DBB - Pilot_mixdown
00:00:03 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Hey, y'all. Welcome to down Valley Banter. The podcast puts a spotlight on local elections and what local government actually means for you. I'm Monet Noel Marshall.
00:00:13 - Quay Weston
And I am Quay Weston.
00:00:14 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Yeah, you are.
00:00:16 - Quay Weston
Local elections are extremely important, and we're on a mission to learn together and to break down local politics in a way that makes sense to us and doesn't require us to be experts, because we are not. Hello.
00:00:27 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
So, whether you're a seasoned voter or this is your first opportunity, we've got the insights and information to keep you informed and engaged.
00:00:34 - Quay Weston
Because when it comes to building new worlds, all of our inputs matter.
00:00:39 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Yes. So, if you're ready to learn with us, let's go. Hey, friend.
00:00:50 - Quay Weston
What's up, Monet?
00:00:51 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
How are you?
00:00:52 - Quay Weston
I'm good, how are you?
00:00:53 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Good. I'm really glad to be here with you today.
00:00:55 - Quay Weston
Me too.
00:00:56 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
I know who you are, but you wanna tell the people who you are.
00:01:01 - Quay Weston
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, I'm Quay. Quay Weston from Pantiga, North Carolina.
00:01:07 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Hey, hey.
00:01:07 - Quay Weston
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Glad to be here in Durham, living the dream, you know. Yeah, yeah. What about you? What do you wanna share?
00:01:14 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
I am Monet Noelle Marshall, originally from Long island, the strong island, New York. But please don't try to, like, pull my North Carolina card. I really promise I am at least 7th generation north carolinian on my matrilineal line. So, we've been here a long time, and I am so excited that you said yes to doing this podcast with me. You are someone that I trust. You ask really good questions, you're honest, and I feel like that's really what we need. And you're curious, and I feel like that's really what we need to have really impactful conversations about really difficult topics.
00:01:55 - Quay Weston
Yeah, that's right. Can I ask you the. A little bit?
00:02:00 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Sure.
00:02:04 - Quay Weston
I know. Again, we know each other well. We spent much time together. But for those who don't know, what's your origin story?
00:02:12 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Ooh. You know, I'm a theater kid with a theater mama. I'm really an artist through and through. But I also really believe in the power of culture and what happens when we practice things together and the conversations that we can have, the ways that we can shift our communities in these ways just by showing up and listening. And I feel like the way I know how to do that is through conversation and arts and culture. So also, I started the student government at Pales Lane Elementary School in fourth grade. And because we wanted to have a Valentine's Day dance. And yes, we did indeed have that Valentine's Day dance. I believe in the governance, you know, power to the people. Yeah.
00:03:02 - Quay Weston
Doing the work. Doing the work.
00:03:04 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
What's your origin story? Quay Weston.
00:03:07 - Quay Weston
What is origin story again? Pantiga is what I know. That's home. Grew up on a dirt road. It was paved in 2004.
00:03:16 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Amen.
00:03:17 - Quay Weston
Just to let that record reflect it is paved now. Yeah. I grew up with my great grandmother. I chose to live with her. My mom was present, worked a lot, had me young. So, yeah, we have a different relationship. But I think in that my upbringing was really, like, I was very independent, did a lot of creative things, which I do now. So some writing, some designing, some music, some poetry, some whatever you can think of. Whatever I can think of, to be clear. Yeah. And I have moved through different organizations and groups. I was in the NAACP in college and Black student unions and all that stuff. So I've always been engaged and just curious about how we actually impact our lives, not just talk about it or show up and listen to people talk or tell us what to do, how we actively engage in that change.
00:04:18 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
And I see that in the work that you've done and the ways that you show up in these, like, big old organizations and also small old organizations. You wanna tell the people why we're doing this?
00:04:31 - Quay Weston
Yeah. Yeah. So I said yes to this down ballot banter, and it was largely because we both were curious about, like, how do we have people relevant conversations, human conversations, about all these political moments, not just the one we're in, right, with this current election, but even beyond that, how can we show up to these conversations, honestly, with curiosity to say the things we don't know or don't understand and ask about them and learn about them, and then hopefully share that with others as we're finding that along the way? Yeah, yeah. What about you? What's your. Why here?
00:05:16 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
I think I wanted to be more humble about the things I didn't know, and I think I was tired of just, like, feeling isolated in my unknowing and then, like, actually, what does it mean to step forward and say, like, I feel like a pretty well educated person. I have access to a lot of information. I know some of the city council members by name, could, you know, see him in the street, but, like, I still don't actually understand how this works. And I'm like, if I don't, I know that there's so many other people like me who don't. And how can we step forward inside of, like, I don't know, but let's go learn together, like you're saying. And, you know, I feel like I am really interested in having these conversations because I want to learn. Like, we can't change it if we don't understand how it's working now. That's right. And there are things that I want to change, you know, and so that was a big reason. And I just really feel like so many, sometimes, the way that the systems are set up, they want us to feel like we're never going to get it, so we can never do anything about it. And it's like, actually there is a direct correlation between so many things that happen in our everyday life and decisions that people are making, supposedly on our behalf, but don't know nothing about us.
00:06:32 - Quay Weston
That's right.
00:06:32 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
So I really want to make sure that, like us, that, like, folks like us, you know, like, feel empowered. Yeah.
00:06:43 - Quay Weston
Thank you for saying that because I have felt disempowered before.
00:06:48 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Right. And when you feel disempowered, then it's like, well, you just, we can throw up our hands. And I actually feel like we're in a moment. We've always been in a moment, but I feel like we're in a moment. We actually, people need to put their hands deep in it and get their hands dirty and make mistakes and be like, ooh, that is a struggle. I'm grieving this thing, or I, so that we can do something. And I feel like, particularly as someone who lives in the US, who's a us citizen who has the right to vote, it feels like I have a lot of responsibility to be responsible. I have to have a lot of responsibility to be mindful and informed and make what you said a human decision. Yeah.
00:07:29 - Quay Weston
One thing on that piece you mentioned around being humble and what you don't know is, like, for me, I feel, or have felt, you know, we live in a society in which mistakes aren't really welcomed or grace isn't really extended when you mess up or say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing. And I think that's been my relationship to political spaces or, like, the political ecosystem, what have you. That, yeah. I don't feel able to come with questions, like, I need to be coming with answers and solutions and, like, this is what we need to be doing. And sometimes I think that means that we speak for myself. I can make a decision that isn't informed by the right things. So I'm even in groups making decisions based on, like, big gaps, and there's many things that could be done. It feels in more impactful ways. And more efficient ways if we were to know a little bit more. And not to say that you have to know everything.
00:08:36 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Right.
00:08:37 - Quay Weston
Right. That's also not what we're doing here, but there is, like, some basic things that'll be extremely helpful for whatever movement or actions that we're taking. So thank you for saying that.
00:08:48 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Yeah. And I think the focus on local and state politics, especially because it is such a small margin of people who are actually making decisions about who's elected or, like, you know, or who's showing up in these meetings week to week. And because it's small, that means actually it doesn't take as much to impact it. And I think the reminder that actually, it doesn't actually take that much when we talk about a local or state and that we could do it.
00:09:15 - Quay Weston
Yeah, that's good.
00:09:18 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Is there something in your life that you have experienced or experiencing currently that you're like, oh, I see the direct connection between why this happened the way it's happened, and political decisions that maybe are not serving. Yeah.
00:09:34 - Quay Weston
Yeah. So one thing that's very present in my life, related to my family working to preserve land in Pantiga, is the way that it works here in North Carolina, which is different from other states, because every state has their own kind of laws around this. But when a person dies, if they die without a will designating who will take over their things, then in North Carolina, the way it works is that property, that money, whatever, is just dispersed amongst your heirs. So what that has meant for my family is my grandparents third great grandparents, Noah and Annie, bought this land back in the fifties, and because they didn't have a will, now that land is owned by 37 people, which is actually a low number in comparison to what it could be, in comparison to what it is on average, which I heard is typically, like 200 in some. So what that means for us is, as I've been doing this, like, archival work and oral history work, with my family, realizing the land ownership question isn't really just about what we want to do with it, but there's, like, these legal things around it. There's getting surveys properly. Again, there's trying to clear the title to it, which is to just say we need to establish who actually owns it of those 37 people. And in North Carolina, I learned recently that there is a law called the uniform partition of Heirs Property act that could be passed that would protect people who own heirs property. And when we establish, like, who the heirs are, we could actually apply for loans and get grant funding from the USDA. Or wherever without having to do the formal entity that owns the land. So there's, like, a piece for many Black landowners, where typically what happens is someone outside, usually white, historically tells one person, hey, I want to buy it off from y'all. And that person can say, sure, you can have my interest to the land. And that person typically goes to the courthouse and says, hey, they don't know what they want to do with the land. I just want to buy all of it. And typically, the family isn't aware of it. Don't get notices about the auction happening at the courthouse. Like, don't get, like, first right to buy it back. And that legislation could protect us from that if that were the case. Thankfully, it hasn't been, but we are, like, vulnerable to it if someone decided they wanted to do that. So that's, like, one very present thing that we're working through. And also, like, I've reached out to these republican representatives who are like, I mean, it's in a committee, and it probably will just stay there. So, like, I ain't moving towards nothing. Cause it's not that important. Yeah, that's one very present thing. What about you? Yeah. What have you experienced that you realize was connected to that political decisions?
00:13:05 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
I'm thinking a lot about the Social Security act, and even though that was, like, federal legislation, the fact that when they wrote it, it purposely excluded domestics and sharecroppers. And at the time, my grandmother was a domestic, and my grandfather was a sharecropper, or, as I like to say, a farmer exploited under sharecropping. I like. You know, so my grandmother, Zelma Carmen, she just passed in April. And, you know, my aunts and my uncles, my mama and them, like, they did such a beautiful job of caring for her. They reached into their own pockets. They paid for her health aid. Like, they did all the things that they were supposed to do to take care of their mama. And other folks stepped in, too. Right? You know, she. Over the last year and a half, two years, she was never alone. She always had somebody there with her, deeply loved. And if that legislation wasn't written to exclude Black folks in that way, then the resources that my aunts, my uncles, my mama put into taking care of her. Again, this thing around which way the money is moving generationally. And I know that they did it willingly, and I. They didn't get what they were owed, you know, for working from this nation. And so I. That's a big thing that I think about. And, yeah, the other thing that I think a lot about, which doesn't impact me directly, but I want to go on a mini rant, so just come with me on this journey. That is one of the reasons why I also wanted to start this podcast and also have do the down ballot brunch project is the three fifths compromise. So when I learned about the three fifths compromise in school, I was like, the way I was taught is like, isn't it so sad that they thought you were three fifths of a person? And I'm like, that is sad. I'm a whole person. I'm five fifths, you know? But then I learned, I was like, oh, no. The southern states wanted each of these people to be counted as a whole person, but that they would not be able to vote on their behalf. So, like, these white folks would have then been buoyed by the bodies that they were enslaved and have more power. And the people in north are like, that's not fair. Them folks can't even vote. And they're like, all right, well, give us three fifths for every five person. Give us three. And they're like, okay, fine. And when I think about that, I'm like, okay. So when I vote now, in 2024, I'm also voting on behalf of every person who's been disenfranchised because of their been incarcerated. Voting on behalf of Puerto Rico. I'm voting on behalf of Guam, and I'm voting on behalf of all the US Virgin Islands. I'm voting on behalf of children. I'm voting on behalf of undocumented folks. Like, there are so many. And then, you know, there's that article. People, like everyone in the world should be able to vote in the us election. Cause it impacts them so much. But, like, my vote is not just my one vote. Like, it is weighted. And I feel like that is really. That really. It matters to me in ways that I didn't think about before, the responsibility of that. That my vote is not just a one for one vote.
00:16:11 - Quay Weston
Yeah, can I add something?
00:16:12 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Please do.
00:16:13 - Quay Weston
That. I just found recently. Okay. Doing some research about Pitt County.
00:16:18 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Uh huh.
00:16:18 - Quay Weston
Greenville, North Carolina.
00:16:19 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
You know, to my people, we got.
00:16:20 - Quay Weston
Some roots down there. My mom lives there now. There was a rule. I can't think of what year it was, but it's online. And I was reading about the establishment of Greenville and the poll tax that we are very familiar with for Black people. There was a time in the life of Greenville where Black people's poll taxes were used to cover the cost of people who ran away from plantations and were killed and their owners were paid out of that tax.
00:17:06 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
So let me make this straight. I go as a free person. I try to go vote.
00:17:12 - Quay Weston
Yes.
00:17:12 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
They're like, give us dollar 20.
00:17:14 - Quay Weston
Yes.
00:17:15 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
And I'm like, okay. I do. Okay, fine. The $20 I give, you gonna give it to a white man.
00:17:24 - Quay Weston
Yes.
00:17:24 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Who owned a Black person.
00:17:27 - Quay Weston
Yes.
00:17:27 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
And the Black person was seeking their freedom, were killed in that pursuit.
00:17:31 - Quay Weston
Yes.
00:17:32 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
And now, because you've done lost your property.
00:17:34 - Quay Weston
Yes.
00:17:34 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Here's the $20.
00:17:36 - Quay Weston
Yes.
00:17:37 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Wow.
00:17:37 - Quay Weston
There was a woman named Rose. Look it up. Who was killed for poison in their.
00:17:48 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
I I mean, you know, sometimes you.
00:17:50 - Quay Weston
Gotta get free by any means necessary, but, yes. I didn't know how poll taxes were used, what their uses could be. But in Pitt county, that was a way that poll taxes were used to, like, quell rebellion.
00:18:05 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
That's so wild. That's so wild. And also, you know, my mama was the Black homecoming queen in, like, 1980 something Greenville. So this makes a lot of sense, honestly, for a lot of things. Quay, what do you want to be learning together on this journey?
00:18:30 - Quay Weston
Yeah, I want to be learning what are the fundamentals of the electoral process? How do we hold people accountable in the case that they move out of alignment with the people they represent? I want to be learning, like, who are the decision makers that we don't think much about, that have so much power on how day to day things work?
00:19:01 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Like the city manager.
00:19:01 - Quay Weston
Like the city manager of Durham.
00:19:03 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Right.
00:19:04 - Quay Weston
I had an idea, but I didn't know that there were all these different council structures. Right? Like, New York versus North Carolina, where the mayor can, like, is the executor, and the council just does legislation and the mayor can say, veto that. I'm like, I wasn't familiar with that.
00:19:23 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Right. But North Carolina, the mayor, just a figurehead.
00:19:25 - Quay Weston
You just ordered another vote. Just a face. So, yeah, I'm curious about those things, and I'm also curious about, like, how we can get clearer about how we. When and how we choose to partner with or not partner with institutions to, like, get the things that we need tangibly. Yeah, I'm curious about learning some of that, too.
00:19:48 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Yeah, yeah. When you know the levers, you know which one you can pull.
00:19:50 - Quay Weston
That's right.
00:19:51 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And actually, what that loose screw is that you can be like, well, I just unscrew, you know. Yeah, that's. That's important.
00:19:59 - Quay Weston
Mm hmm. What about you? Well, you want to be learning to.
00:20:02 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
I think I want to know more about, like, the gaps that everyday folks have. Folks like, me, like, where are our knowledge gaps and what do we want to be learning? And also, I think I want to find some loopholes. Like, I want to find where some of the weak spots are that, like, oh, actually, if you apply pressure there, then some things could happen that we didn't even know. That's a dream. And I think I also really want, in a long term, longer term way, I want to learn more about alternative ways of governance because I think so often, and I feel this in a lot of ways, not just politically, but like, we're in a crisis of imagination.
00:20:45 - Quay Weston
Yes.
00:20:46 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
That, like, well, this is always the way we've done it. This is always the way we go and do it. And it's like, actually, this country is very young. This is like, we're actually, you know, this land is very old. The nations, the indigenous nations that have been here for thousands upon thousands of years, and our relationship to the land are, like, old. And we need to be listening to them because they know how to be with this land and the US and North Carolina as a structure on top of the land is a baby, a powerful baby with nukes, which is very frightening.
00:21:19 - Quay Weston
Well, you put it that way. It's a baby.
00:21:22 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
It's true. Right. So because of that, a lot of these things that we think are like, well, that's gonna be forever. It's actually not that long. So I think I wanna continue to be in a posture of imagination, and I wanna be in that with other people who are also dreaming. And I want to learn about what other places in the world are doing and have done, because I know that there are other ways and better ways to do this. I trust that. Yeah.
00:21:54 - Quay Weston
Are there people you look to for this sort of guidance in this moment that are kind of like anchoring your place in this podcast?
00:22:04 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Yeah, I'm thinking a lot about older Black women. I brought my photo of Ann Atwater Durham legend, may she rest in peace. And I'm thinking about my grandmothers, honestly, who would not call themselves political leaders by any stretch of imagination, but were at the center of families, centers of institutions, and center of communities. And, like, when you are in that, you actually have to learn how to be in governance with humans that are flawed and imperfect and complex. And I actually feel like I want to remember that we can actually make human scale politics. We can have human scale governance. So I think I'm thinking a lot about folks who never had an official title but held so much power.
00:23:00 - Quay Weston
Yep.
00:23:00 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Yeah.
00:23:01 - Quay Weston
Yep. That is. That's the one of the people that was in my head is Miss Annie. Annie is both one of the choir members at Antioch Church of Christ. Disciples of Christ. Come on in, Pantiga. But she was also, like, the head after service food lady.
00:23:22 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Come on. That's power.
00:23:25 - Quay Weston
She'd be in there singing and then go downstairs and then jump out and you see her in there. She got a little apron on with a little hat, and I was like, she read in the church.
00:23:34 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Now, here's a pro tip. Whoever is the lead in, like, serving the food, they do have the most power.
00:23:39 - Quay Weston
Yes. And feed everybody.
00:23:42 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Come on. Cause also the mathematics to be like, I have this pot and this pan of chicken, and I done looked at how many people in this church house, and I know that that person gonna want seconds. And I also know that that family over here, they're going through a hard time, so I'm gonna put some extra food on their plate so they can take it home for dinner or have, like, you know, like, there is so many social. There is a social technology that, like, is just unmatched. And no one has to give you a title to do that.
00:24:09 - Quay Weston
Yep. Don't need it.
00:24:11 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
You're like, oh, I just know. I know how to be with humans.
00:24:14 - Quay Weston
Yep. And this is what we do, and this is what I do. And it felt like she was very clear about her contribution here. All of them. Her, I think of my great grandma a lot, who wasn't very vocal about politics, but was very, like, aware of what was going on, particularly locally in Pentagon. Like, she knew everything.
00:24:34 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Yes.
00:24:35 - Quay Weston
Because people call her and they trusted her. They called her sister, but they, like, trust her. They came to the house, the insurance man, the funeral home. People, like, everybody visited her. So I think she heard everything from everybody. And her prayers at night was, like, 45 minutes, and her prayer cloud, I would think she was down there asleep. Like, she'd be in there, like, praying. I'm like, whoa. She got a lot of people to pray for.
00:24:57 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
There's a lot of things to pray about.
00:24:58 - Quay Weston
Yeah. So I'm like, even in my place, like, how do I find my lane? Right. And, like, how do I show up well for people? And so that people trust me. But also, we can be in the work of trying to shift things without having to be running for something specifically. Right. But, like, what are those, like, circular kind of levels of impact or influence to have?
00:25:24 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Yeah. And the boat in. How can we push some of these.
00:25:27 - Quay Weston
Not push that, too?
00:25:29 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
How can we lovingly invite, support and.
00:25:31 - Quay Weston
Empower a loving nudge.
00:25:33 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Yeah. To be like, hey, like, how, what would you need to also step forward because you have all the skills, all the talents, all the relationships. Cause sometimes the folks that step forward, I'm like, why?
00:25:43 - Quay Weston
Why you? Somebody told you. Maybe nobody told you, maybe you just thought it was a good idea. If you just thought it was a good idea, you're just like, I'm gonna do it. Yeah. I want something else.
00:25:56 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Yeah. Yeah. Quay, what are you dreaming for North Carolina?
00:26:03 - Quay Weston
I'm dreaming for new lamb relationships. More indigenous native folks, indian folks here reclaiming their things.
00:26:19 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Yeah.
00:26:20 - Quay Weston
Unless, like, being actively a part of moving those things back to the hands in which they belong. I think about or dream of a North Carolina that's like, accessible trains. I want to be able to ride the train to Asheville.
00:26:37 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Me too.
00:26:38 - Quay Weston
I just want to go on the train to Asheville. And I think that shouldn't be ridiculous to ask for. Yeah. I'm thinking about a North Carolina that takes care of our elders, that, like, artists can have healthcare and have benefits or, like, no. They could possibly retire one day off of their career and, like, seeing artists as workers actually, which we are. And then a safe, communal well, communities that can create a safe environment for children and make sure people ain't got to pay more than their mortgage for childcare.
00:27:19 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Yeah. Cause you know a little something about that.
00:27:20 - Quay Weston
I know a little something about that for sure.
00:27:23 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Yeah. That's wild.
00:27:24 - Quay Weston
That's what I got right now.
00:27:25 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Mm hmm.
00:27:26 - Quay Weston
What about you?
00:27:28 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
I just wanna ditto everything you said. I'm also dreaming of a North Carolina that is a cradle to grave cultural sight. That, like, there are opportunities for us to participate in creative endeavors from the time that we join the world to the time we leave it. I am also really dreaming about really intentional relationships that hold the fullness of history between Black folks and indigenous native folks, and not to the exclusion of our latino neighbors, our middle eastern and muslim neighbors, our asian neighbors. Like, I as a locust of some of that work to specifically think about, like, how are we going to be in relationship with each other? Because we hear, now what do we do? I am dreaming of a North Carolina where teachers are some of the most paid people in the state.
00:28:27 - Quay Weston
Yeah.
00:28:28 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Because my mama is a high school theater teacher, and I know she really loves her job. And I also hate that. Like, last year, she was at the five and below trying to buy a little rug to put in her safety closet and a bucket with some coffee grounds in case they're in there and someone has to use the bathroom. Like, that's dystopic actually. And I hate it. And I'm dreaming of a North Carolina where folks have dignity, where, like, everyone is afforded dignity, like, dignity to have a home, dignity to do work that matters, and to be, like, compensated equitably for that work. And that is not just we're fighting and struggling for things that, like, feel so basic, it's angering. But, like, our conversation about, like, ooh, what if, like, this is how we could have a thriving North Carolina, you know? So those are some of the things that I'm dreaming. Yeah, we gonna have lots of conversations. Many, many conversations. And I feel, like, so excited to be honest with you, but before we roll out, we have some very important questions.
00:29:43 - Quay Weston
Okay.
00:29:45 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Cheerwine or Pepsi Cola?
00:29:48 - Quay Weston
Pepsi. Do I get to ask you?
00:29:51 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Yeah, Pepsi.
00:29:53 - Quay Weston
Color you go.
00:29:54 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
I'm a Coca Cola over Pepsi Cola girl. Cause if I have to choose, I'm gonna say chinjuana over Pepsi Cola.
00:30:01 - Quay Weston
I won't go into that here.
00:30:02 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Okay.
00:30:06 - Quay Weston
Next. Bojangles or cookout?
00:30:09 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Cookout has more options, period. I wanna have the flexibility.
00:30:15 - Quay Weston
I want us to be on the same page here. I know you do, but it keeps not happening. I am a bojangles person. It's just the supremes for me.
00:30:24 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
I hear that and I respect your love is, but. Okay, but are you a honey mustard or a barbecue?
00:30:28 - Quay Weston
Honey mustard.
00:30:29 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Yes.
00:30:30 - Quay Weston
Yes.
00:30:30 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Well, I love a barbecue. I like both. I want to have again, y'all. This is.
00:30:35 - Quay Weston
I get both when you go. Is that what you're saying?
00:30:37 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Yeah, I get both.
00:30:38 - Quay Weston
Okay.
00:30:38 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
I get both.
00:30:39 - Quay Weston
Okay.
00:30:42 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Sweet or unsweet?
00:30:43 - Quay Weston
Sweet. Now, New York, is that your excuse?
00:30:49 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
No, that's not my excuse. Mine is. I. Sometimes the sweet is too sweet. And we just gotta be honest about it. Sometimes you gotta cut it.
00:30:57 - Quay Weston
I think that's what I mean. Sweet as in, like, too sweet. It feels like the natural go to.
00:31:02 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
I want half and half. I want a half. I want a half. Unsweet.
00:31:07 - Quay Weston
We are getting older. We can't just be out here.
00:31:09 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Look, now, if I have a sweet tea after 04:00 p.m. i'm not going to sleep. What we about? I'm gonna be looking at the ceiling.
00:31:14 - Quay Weston
That's right. I.
00:31:15 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Come on now. Okay, okay. Carolina or Duke?
00:31:19 - Quay Weston
I'm actually a Carolina fan.
00:31:22 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Oh, my God.
00:31:23 - Quay Weston
Yeah. No. What's your answer?
00:31:26 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Neither.
00:31:27 - Quay Weston
Okay.
00:31:28 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Okay. I am a proud graduate of North Carolina agricultural Technical State University. Aggie pride.
00:31:34 - Quay Weston
Aggie pride.
00:31:35 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
And, you know, I know that in the NCAA we are not. We're not moving and shaking. You know what? I'm saying correct. So if I had to choose a team that, like, might actually make it to march madness, I'm gonna go central. Cause HBCU love, you know, central. Yeah, it's like the cousin that you like. I can mess with you.
00:31:54 - Quay Weston
You can't.
00:31:54 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Nobody else say nothing about you.
00:31:55 - Quay Weston
Okay?
00:31:56 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
You know what I'm saying? Respect.
00:31:59 - Quay Weston
Wow. But accuprich, I went to UNCG. That was down the street, but I wish I would have gone there. My dad talked me out of it. We'll talk about that later.
00:32:08 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't talk your kids how to go on HBCUs. That's a whole other conversation. North Carolina has eleven of them. This is a plug for HBcus at this point. Quai, thank you so much for being here and also being my friend and being down when I ask you to do wild things sometimes.
00:32:22 - Quay Weston
That's right. Here we are, doing the things.
00:32:25 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Yes. I love you too, friend. Thanks for tuning in to down ballet banter. We hope y'all enjoyed the diving into the tentacular world of local politics with us.
00:32:41 - Quay Weston
Yeah. And don't forget, this podcast is an extension of Monet's beautiful dream, the down ballot brunch, where there are three simple steps. It's to eat, have a conversation, and to act.
00:32:53 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
That's right, have a conversation using this podcast episode, the down ballot brunch chat guide, or your own prompts, write a note to an elected official on a down ballot brunch postcard card. Share quotes from your convo on social media, with consent, of course, or text three friends about their voting plans and find out what matters to them.
00:33:13 - Quay Weston
And if you're watching on YouTube, be sure to, like share subscribe if you're listening on other platforms, be sure to rate and review share it with your people.
00:33:22 - Monèt Noelle Marshall
Until next time, stay informed, stay engaged, and keep up with the down ballot banter.