"Melissa Harris-Perry THE. GOAT."
- May 18
- 8 min read
Transcript and shownotes from the 3rd episode of the new podcast, "Clitoral Conflables," from The Agentic Feminine
April 22, 2026
Meredith (00:02)
I think it is very important to cite your sources. So I want to highlight one of the most important sources in my life, in my education of Black history in the United States, including intentional, purposeful, ongoing structural racism and exploitation and disempowerment.
Having grown up in the South for the most part, most of my influence was conservative Christian and white. So I love learning things that correct my record of knowledge, which has needed a lot of correcting.
We read Howard Zinn in high school and I remember thinking, holy shit, we have been lied to this entire time! That was my senior year of high school in AP History Shout out Mr. Villamagna.
I was a geopolitical analyst when we invaded Iraq. And when I started that job, I was a Republican. And having to analyze that war close up really unveiled for me Republican hypocrisy, deceit, and duplicity with crystal clarity. Once I saw that, that was it. Everything changed, everything. And I was disgusted with myself for ever having been a Republican and having voted for them. And I haven't ever since.
And so while I was learning the difference between Republican and Democrat ideology and the stark difference in domestic and world events when a member of the other party attains the presidency, my education and understanding of the Black experience was forever changed after I had babies and Melissa Harris-Perry took over the anchor spot on MSNBC Saturday and Sunday mornings.
She hosted a two hour bloc each weekend morning from 2012 to 2016 you know, with a few breaks here and there. And now when I went to look up the exact dates of her show, I was actually kind of shocked that it wasn't like a decade long period because it feels like it was like that long and influential in my existence. But, you know, when you're in that phase of having babies and little kids, your brain has no concept of time.
So it was very common in those days that my ex-husband and I would spend our weekend mornings in our individual comfy spots while I multi-tasked with entertaining the littles while watching the show if they weren't having like their mid-morning nap.
Now at the time of her show, the iPhone had been out for about half a decade and white America was seeing for the first time with video, the egregious and rampant murders of Black people by white police officers. The regularity of those videos was a watershed moment for this country, at least for white people and their witnessing of these acts.
Obama had been president for three years, And there was an openness, I think at that time, for the broader education of white progressives through media of the reality of the Black lived experience in this country. So Harris-Perry's show was a perfect way to meet that moment. And that's when I first got to know Joy-Ann Reed, Jelani Cobb, Dorian Warren, Anthea Butler and others, like many others.
And as a professor, Harris-Perry was very skilled at laying out and describing the level of intentional, institutionalized anti-black racism in this country, especially for people who were first coming to this understanding of the rotten underbelly of the United States of America that the white men in power had successfully hidden for centuries.
White people in the South and other parts of this country are really raised to see the state of Black people very much as a result of their own choices. And I was no exception. The lessons, testimony, and explanations that Harris-Perry and the guests on her show provided were inexpressively valuable to opening my eyes to the truth behind all the insidious and effective propaganda and Christian white supremacist mythology that is used to indoctrinate white kids and keep poor white people under control.
She and her guests were experts at giving broader context to the current events of the moment, providing the fuller picture of the causes and effects of racism and the underlying oppressive structures of power. Her shows were so illuminating and informative. I consider her to be a national treasure, I really do.
And once again, for me, a Rubicon had been crossed. An irreversible threshold had been reached. I was able, ready, and willing to then turn around to my white family, my white neighbors, my white associates on social media and in person and on the phone to explain and elucidate what I had learned and to bring understanding to the reality of the oppressive anti-black sociopolitical system we have in this country that relentlessly targets Black people and especially women.
At the time, my enlightenment felt like it was part of a broader narrative the country was experiencing. Obama was president and it did seem like we were moving in the right direction. There was no indication, at least that I had, that such a dramatic and destructive backlash was coming.
That was also a time when Black Twitter was very prolific and I was learning so much so quickly from the wisdom culture and testimony shared by Black people that were a huge part of that era for me especially because I had precious little time to read being I was overwhelmed having and raising my three babies while trying to survive in a very troubled marriage but very interested in these topics – especially because it's insanely egregious that a lot of these topics are filed under, like, African American studies or Black studies (which are under intense attack all over the country right now) when a government major should be learning the underpinnings of the American political system. And it's a huge detriment to anyone getting any kind of academic education. (aggravated)We should sue our universities that this isn't part of obtaining a degree, a REQUISITE part.
Okay, back on topic.
Okay, now, looking back and seeing how many people I know who voted for Trump three times unapologetically and would do it again, I do question how much of an effect I was able to have. There's only so much stupid you can fix, know, and how much hate you can heal, and I'm not an expert in either. I do know some Republicans that switched parties and before the desperately crooked Texas Republicans gerrymandered in the aftermath of the 2020 election, we were able to flip our Texas house and federal congressional district blue. Hell yeah.
**And I just want to remind everyone that if we actually had free and fair elections in the United States, very few of these fucking Republicans would be in power in the first place. And we wouldn't have just had the devastating gutting of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by this corrupt, indecent and illegitimate John Roberts Supreme Court, because we wouldn't have needed a Voting Rights Act IN THE FIRST PLACE because Black electoral power would have kept the US from devolving into a breathtakingly pernicious white supremacist, Christo-nationalist fascist kleptocracy we're experiencing TODAY!
Anyway, when MSNBC fired Melissa Harris-Perry or created a situation in which she could not operate, that was the first nail in the coffin for me eventually boycotting the channel, which started years and years ago following a CNN boycott because I think frankly, the 24 hour cable news stations have long been a part of the problem. And I'm not even talking about Fox News, which has been a wildly successful foreign-interest funded attack on the US and Black people specifically in an attempt to get the US to eat itself from the inside out so it could be torn apart and the leftovers sold to the highest bidder. Hannity shouting, "The US is the greatest country God gave the world!" all the while profiting from its demise. And that was even before Trump could get his greasy mitts on the place.
Okay, quick fun story. One time, when my ex-husband was flying through the New Orleans airport, he spotted THEEEEE Melissa Harris-Perry and immediately texted me in a moment of fangirling while not wanting to intrude or bother her by saying hi. We both kind of squealed in excitement. So that was kind of fun. MHP FOREVER, you know?
Now, I do love how threads and YouTube have become fantastic outlets for Black commentary, sharing thought, wisdom, analysis, booklists, business lists, et cetera.
Just recently, Jasmine Crockett hosted on her YouTube site a panel of Black women legal experts to thoroughly examine and explain the devastation and the decision by the right-wing extremists and authoritarian justices to gut Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. And I'll bet you that was the most comprehensive and thorough hour and a half of analysis available on the subject. She needs to host those more, because it was fricking awesome.
Okay, this is a side note, okay? I support Representative Crockett and whatever she decides to do, but she was saying she missed the campaign trail. And I have long been saying that Texas needs its own Stacey Abrams yesterday. And while Stacey Abrams is a unique powerhouse unto herself, her strategy and playbook could make a world of difference in Texas politics. And when Representative Crockett's term is over, she would be the perfect person to choose to implement that. I mean, if she wanted to. I wish her well in all her future endeavors and whatever she decides.
Meredith (09:13)
We interrupt this regularly scheduled programming to announce that Representative Jasmine Crockett has launched a leadership political action committee called FirePac using fire as in FUEL•INDIVIDUAL•RIGHTS•EVERYWHERE to support the next generation of political leadership to put power back in the hands of people. I'm so excited about the future of this work. Go Jasmine. Now back to the show.
Meredith (09:38)
I want to add that those of us who consume Black media all have an obligation to support the Black community, most especially economically, but also in holding white people accountable for the way they vote and the harm they perpetrate and allowed to be perpetrated in their name. So let's get busy.
Shownotes:
Meredith cites one of her most influential sources — Melissa Harris-Perry — who anchored an MSNBC show for two hours Saturday and Sunday mornings 2012-16. MHP’s show played an important role in shaping Meredith’s education and understanding of institutionalized racism and oppression that undergirds the very operating system of the United States. Also, shout out to Rep. Jasmine Crockett and her new political action committee: FIREpac!
🔗 Links:
Timestamps:
00:02 — Introduction: Citing sources & the importance of crediting your education
00:30 — Growing up in the conservative Christian South & the first cracks in the record
02:00 — Melissa Harris-Perry's MSNBC show (2012–2016) as a transformative education in Black history
03:10 — The iPhone era, viral police violence videos & progressive white America's incomplete awakening
04:20 — MHP's skill at explaining institutionalized anti-Black racism to new audiences
05:00 — Black Twitter & learning rapidly during the Obama era
05:30 — Why structural racism should be required curriculum, not siloed in African American Studies
06:00 — Reflecting on impact: flipping Texas districts blue & the limits of changing minds 06:45 — The gutting of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act & the Roberts Court
07:20 — Why Meredith boycotted MSNBC & CNN — and the problem with 24-hour cable news
07:50 — Fox News as a foreign-interest-funded attack on America
08:20 — Fun aside: The MHP airport fangirl moment
08:40 — Black commentary on Threads & YouTube; Jasmine Crockett's legal panel on voting rights
09:05 — Texas needs a Stacey Abrams; Rep. Crockett as a future possibility
09:13 — 📣 Mid-episode announcement: Rep. Crockett launches FirePAK
09:38 — Closing: The obligation of white consumers of Black media to show up economically & politically
