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LifestyleTranscript
00:00how we are joined, so excited we are joined by actor, comedian, producer, philanthropist,
00:06and because it's dinner time, grilling enthusiast, Anthony Anderson.
00:15Hey, how's everybody doing this evening?
00:17We're good. Don't grill us though, don't.
00:20No, I'm not. The only people I'm going to grill are my family members and my friends
00:25to get out and vote tomorrow. That's what I'm going to grill everybody about.
00:30I will be taking my son to the polls for the first time. This will be the second time he's
00:37voting, but this will be the first time that we will be voting together and it's important for us.
00:44Back in 2016, I believe, it was my daughter's first time voting while we went and voted
00:52in the polling places together, so it's definitely a family affair for us.
00:58Now, Anthony, you've been involved in getting out the word on voting for quite some time.
01:03We know you've been doing a lot of work, in this election specifically,
01:06to try to spread the word and energize voters about this election. What
01:10pushed you to get involved in this stage of, or in this way, in terms of voting and elections?
01:16You know, just hearing people saying that they're going to sit home and not vote
01:20this election, and I feel that's doing a disservice to democracy. I feel that's doing
01:25a disservice to the people who sacrificed their lives for us to have this privilege
01:30to vote, so that's why I'm out here. I'm not here to tell anybody which way to vote. I want you to
01:35get out there and make sure that your voice is heard by placing a vote up and down the ballot,
01:41and that's what's most important for me.
01:45You know, we've been talking a lot about why voting is important, the conversation of
01:52which way Black men will lean has been this ongoing conversation, but for you, when you look
01:58at what is at stake, and even the conversations you even had with your children, how would you
02:05answer that for you? What is at stake in this season?
02:10The future of democracy. The future in how you're going to be living your life under what rules
02:18and what leadership. You know, that's the conversations I've been having with my son and
02:23with the youth of today who are saying, ah, you know, voting isn't important to me. And I was
02:28like, no, no, it's very important. It's very important that you go out and you register to
02:33vote, you register early, and you make a plan to vote, and so that's what I've been telling
02:37everybody for the last few months, and you know, it's come down to, you know, the eve of this big
02:44election, and so that's what it's about. It's about being heard, and it's about making a
02:48difference. And you can't sit home and be apathetic about the world in which you live if
02:54you're not participating in the change of it. And so that is what I'm telling people, that's what
03:00I'm here for, and that's what I've told my children the entire time that they've been eligible to vote
03:07in these elections. Do you have any anxiety about this election? I mean, I've spoken to so many
03:12people that are so anxious about this anxiety, and so all of us are sort of managing our anxiety
03:19in some way. What would you say to folks out there who are so anxious about this election,
03:23and how do you manage your anxiety if you have any, and what would you say to them in terms of
03:27how they should be managing their anxiety this election season? You know, I don't have any
03:32anxiety about voting myself. The anxiety I have is about people getting off the couch, getting out
03:38of their homes, and going out to make a difference, and not sitting back. It was like,
03:44well, it doesn't matter to me. Well, no, it does matter. It matters to you, it matters to your
03:48children, it matters to the future. I mean, you look at what's happening in politics right now,
03:54and how people in certain parties are trying to reverse what we've accomplished
04:00in all these years. So that's the anxiety that I have. It's like, no, let's go out, and let's go
04:06make a difference, let's go vote. Let's go, if you need a ride, I got a ride. If you need
04:12something, we're going to find whatever it is that you need. I just can't say it loud enough
04:22to those of us, especially within our community, that no, this really means something to us, and
04:27we need to go out there and make a change, and make a difference, and vote, and be on the right
04:32side of history. Mr. Anderson said, if you need a ride, I got a ride. So you can be running Uber
04:38service this election, but that's good, that's good. Look, look, I got a splinter van. You just
04:44tell me where you need to go, I'll come pick you up and take you to your polling place,
04:47if that's what you need me to do. Is it fully stocked? We'll be getting it, you know what I'm
04:50saying? But no, I've been watching you a lot on a lot of platforms that you've been talking about.
05:00So first of all, thank you for using the platform that you have to speak up, and to speak very
05:05loudly, and very intentionally. Before you leave us though, what is one last message that you have?
05:14Because while people are going to go out and vote tomorrow, there's even work to do the next day.
05:19We cannot just sit on our laurels and just wait for things to happen. What is your message to
05:24Americans? Well, my message is don't only sit around and vote every four years. When that
05:32happens, you have to vote up and down the ticket, but you also have to vote at your local elections.
05:38You always say, or I always hear people say, well, it doesn't do anything for me or my community.
05:42That's because you're not voting and you're not in your community. You're not voting for your
05:46mayors. You're not voting for your aldermens. You're not voting for your councilmen and
05:50councilwomen. That's what you need to do. You need to vote for your superintendent,
05:55your school superintendent. You need to vote for things that are going to affect you in your
06:00community. And so that's what I want to tell people. Don't sit down and wait every four years
06:05and just vote at the top of the ticket. Vote every election in your community and vote every four
06:10years up and down the ballot. That's what I emphasize and I tell people all the time.
06:14I love it. Thank you so much, Mr. Anderson.
06:18Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Anthony.
06:19No problem. Thank you for having me.
06:21Thank you for carving out time in your busy schedule to join us tonight. Thank you so much.
06:26It's my responsibility. It's what I'm supposed to do.
06:29I know that's right.