“We have to do a better job of meeting people where they are.”

Bakari Sellers’ critically important perspective on the nature of politics, relationships, access and influence deserves reflection and amplification. These excerpts are taken from an interview with Sellers which appeared in Jewish Insider: “What was Bakari Sellers thinking in Ohio 11?’

“If she would have won, and I had an opportunity to speak to Congresswoman Nina Turner, then I would be one of the voices in the room that says we need to talk about the fact that Israel has a right to defend itself. Whether or not that voice would have won over, I don’t know. But we would have had a voice in the room. We wouldn’t have been locked out of the room. And I think that’s important in this. We have to do a better job of meeting people where they are. We have to be voices in all rooms.”

“While I was supporting Nina Turner, I also hosted an event for Richie Torres. Politics is more complicated than that, and whatever banter Cornel West or anybody else wants to lay on me, I’ll continue to be pro-Israel, and I’ll continue to be nuanced in my political positions, and people I love, when we disagree, I’ll try to be in the room to help them understand my point of view.”