
America’s Formation Crisis is bigger than one headline, one party, or one political fight. It is the slow unraveling of the institutions that once formed strong families, responsible citizens, honest leaders, and free communities.
Host Peter Vazquez welcomes Terris Todd, Director of Coalitions and Outreach for Project 21, for a hard-hitting conversation about what happens when family weakens, schools forget their purpose, and politics rushes in to manage the ruins. The discussion moves through racial redistricting, the Supreme Court’s Louisiana decision, Project 21’s call for colorblind equal protection, and the danger of treating black voters as political inventory instead of free citizens.
The conversation then turns to failing schools, Baltimore’s social promotion scandal, parental responsibility, teacher unions, and the deeper question of whether education is forming citizens or simply moving children through a broken system. From there, Vazquez and Todd confront energy reliability, electric vehicle mandates, fragile power grids, Seattle’s anti-business politics, capitalism, taxation, and the cost of policies that punish working families while pretending to defend them.
At the heart of it all is memory: the Constitution, slavery, American contradiction, black history, and the need to teach the truth without teaching children to hate the country they are called to improve. This is a conversation about responsibility, faith, liberty, formation, and the courage to tell the truth while truth has fallen in the street.
America’s Formation Crisis is bigger than one headline, one party, or one political fight. It is the slow unraveling of the institutions that once formed strong families, responsible citizens, honest leaders, and free communities.
Host Peter Vazquez welcomes Terris Todd, Director of Coalitions and Outreach for Project 21, for a hard-hitting conversation about what happens when family weakens, schools forget their purpose, and politics rushes in to manage the ruins. The discussion moves through racial redistricting, the Supreme Court’s Louisiana decision, Project 21’s call for colorblind equal protection, and the danger of treating black voters as political inventory instead of free citizens.
The conversation then turns to failing schools, Baltimore’s social promotion scandal, parental responsibility, teacher unions, and the deeper question of whether education is forming citizens or simply moving children through a broken system. From there, Vazquez and Todd confront energy reliability, electric vehicle mandates, fragile power grids, Seattle’s anti-business politics, capitalism, taxation, and the cost of policies that punish working families while pretending to defend them.
At the heart of it all is memory: the Constitution, slavery, American contradiction, black history, and the need to teach the truth without teaching children to hate the country they are called to improve. This is a conversation about responsibility, faith, liberty, formation, and the courage to tell the truth while truth has fallen in the street.America does not collapse in one thunderclap. It frays quietly, almost politely, while people are busy surviving.
First the family weakens. Then the school forgets what a child is. Then politics rushes into the empty space with promises, programs, labels, maps, and slogans. Before long, dependency is called compassion, confusion is called progress, and control is called justice.
Peter Vazquez sits down with Terris Todd, Director of Coalitions and Outreach for Project 21, for a conversation that moves past headlines and into the deeper wound: formation.
Who is shaping our children? Who is teaching citizenship? Who is defining justice? Who benefits when black Americans are treated as a voting bloc instead of free citizens? Who profits when broken schools promote children they failed to educate? Who answers when parents, pastors, teachers, and leaders surrender their responsibility to systems that keep producing collapse?
Terris brings the weight of lived experience: teacher, school administrator, college instructor, pastor, political leader, former White House education official, and a black conservative voice committed to truth over performance. He does not speak from a balcony. He speaks from the classroom, the church, the public square, and the hard places where America’s future is either formed or forfeited.
The discussion cuts into the Supreme Court’s 6-3 redistricting decision, racial gerrymandering, and the dangerous assumption that black voters must be politically warehoused for their own good. Todd and Vazquez challenge the idea that civil rights require permanent racial sorting, asking whether equal protection still means equal treatment or whether power has learned to wear civil-rights language like a disguise.
Then the conversation turns to education, where the numbers are not just statistics. They are children. A Baltimore student passed only three classes in four years, failed twenty-two, was late 272 times, and still moved forward through the system. Behind that scandal is a larger question: who failed him first? The school, the parent, the culture, the bureaucracy, or all of the above?
There is no shortage of blame, but there is also no substitute for responsibility.
From there, the conversation widens into energy, economics, and public trust. New York’s grid heads toward summer with thin surplus capacity while political leaders chase climate theater. California-style energy mandates collide with the reality that working families cannot always afford electric cars, rising bills, or fragile infrastructure. A society that cannot keep the lights on has no business lecturing families about sacrifice from air-conditioned offices.
Seattle becomes another warning sign. A mayor waves “bye” to wealth creators under a 9.9 percent tax, as if jobs, capital, and businesses are chained to ideology. But opportunity moves. Employers move. Families move. And when prosperity leaves, it is not the elites who suffer first. It is the worker, the renter, the small business owner, and the young person trying to climb.
Vazquez and Todd also return to America’s memory: the Constitution, slavery, contradiction, sacrifice, and the hard task of teaching history honestly without teaching children to hate the nation they are called to improve. America is not perfect. It never was. But if America does not work, what replaces it? Resentment is not a system. Grievance is not a future. Destruction is not restoration.
The conversation lands where it began: truth.
Project 21 exists to elevate black conservative voices that refuse to bow to the tired script of racial dependency, progressive gatekeeping, and political fear. Todd’s message is direct: people are asking for honesty. Not flattery. Not manipulation. Not narratives dressed up as compassion. Truth in love, whether fashionable or not.
Peter closes with Isaiah 59:14: “Judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.”
That is the heartbeat of this conversation.
- When truth falls in the street, somebody has to pick it up.
- When children are failed, somebody has to speak.
- When voters are carved into racial inventory, somebody has to object.
- When government replaces family, faith, and responsibility, somebody has to stand.
Be a leader. Be a voice for liberty. Be awake while there is still time.
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Terris Todd, Project 21, and America’s Formation Crisis
Sponsor Message:
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Show Introduction:
Look to the left. Look to the right. Where are you in a world that seems to change daily? What will you do next? Welcome to The Next Steps Show with Peter Vazquez, a starting point for discussion and a little direction.
Peter Vazquez:
Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. Soy yo, Peter Vazquez.
You know something? It is a beautiful day, even when it is cloudy, even when it rains. God is good, is He not, Bob?
Bob:
God is good.
Peter Vazquez:
God is too good.
The thing is, ladies and gentlemen, even when you have one of those days that feels gloomy, and I am not just talking about the rain, I am talking about one of those heavy days, all you have to do is say, “God, I cast all my burdens on Your lap,” and that is it.
It is done.
Is that not amazing? I do not understand how people cannot simply say, “You know what? I agree with that.” It is dumbfounding.
But He is not Santa Claus. You cast your troubles on His lap, and He will make evident to you what His plans are in His time. That does not mean you press a button and get your wish. Yet that is exactly what some people expect, and that is the part that really trips me out.
All the stories in the Bible, all the stories I heard growing up about God, country, and family, they all taught personal responsibility and path creation. But when we live in a society where the government says, “Do not worry about any of that. Just rely on us,” we end up with power, pills, maps, and taxes.
Ladies and gentlemen, first the family weakens. Then the school forgets its purpose. Then, as a result, our students forget they have purpose too.
Then politics comes in and says, “Mira, you can just rely on us.” It fills that vacuum.
Then the culture starts calling dependency compassion, like we see now. Confusion becomes progress, especially when little boys are told they are little girls if they feel that way. Times have changed. Control becomes justice.
Pero mira, those are just the headlines.
You hear it here on The Next Steps Show and the Voice of Liberty every day at noon, where I tell you about the Vanbōōlzalness Crisis. These people get so wound up and tied up with other things that sometimes they do not see the deeper story.
The deeper story is always about formation.
Why do you think the government is going into your schools, amigos? Why do you think that is?
We have to ask these questions in 2026. Who shapes the child? Who defines justice? Who teaches citizenship? They do say the victor writes history, right?
And are Americans being raised to live as free people, or are they being managed as political inventory?
We see that here in New York State as clear as sunshine on a sunny day.
My guest served as a teacher, a school administrator, a college instructor, Vice Chair of the Michigan Republican Party, an ordained pastor, an author, a podcast host, and former Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans in the United States Department of Education.
That is a department this wise president is working to dismantle. Listen, if you follow me, you will see I have been saying forever that the Department of Education has to go. Education is a local issue.
Ladies and gentlemen, join me in welcoming once again the Honorable Terris Todd, Director of Coalitions and Outreach for Project 21, a National Center program.
Terris, thank you again for taking the time to be with me today.
Terris Todd:
Peter, it is always a blessing to join you. Thank you guys for having me.
Peter Vazquez:
I have Bob here, the actual Voice of Liberty, the king of the castle.
Bob, I have had to reschedule Terris more times than any guest I have had on this show. I have been trying to get him on regularly, and when they say Satan truly gets in the way of good things happening, I think this is a perfect example.
Bob:
That could very well be. He is like rust. He never sleeps. You have to be on the lookout for that guy. If you are not getting a positive result that honors God, you have your answer about where that came from.
Peter Vazquez:
Terris, I want to get right into the questions, if I may. I love the work you guys do at the National Center. The leadership there and the different programs are phenomenal.
Tell me, how does Project 21 challenge the idea that black leadership must always flow through progressive politics?
In places like New York, these politicians are like wizards and warlocks. Sometimes witches with a “B.” They have our pastors and our black community singing their praises like they are goddesses. Is that not something?
Terris Todd:
That is something, and it is very unfortunate.
You would think that the church, or the people of God, would be driving the message and the narrative, with God at the center of everything. Unfortunately, culture, to some degree, as well as partisan politics, has taken hold of them.
But keep in mind, there is something to gain from it. Anytime you see that happening, the gain is usually funding, promises, and backdoor deals. That is important, because that is what is actually happening.
When you think about the data that has come out regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion, look at what is happening now. Their hair is on fire because the Supreme Court said you cannot draw congressional lines based on race.
Why are they upset about that? I thought they wanted to be more inclusive. I thought they wanted to be more diverse.
Now they are saying it is unconstitutional. But quite frankly, it is racial to draw lines to help protect a certain ethnic group of people.
The narrative they are putting out now is that black Americans are somehow going to lose their right to vote, which is a bunch of nonsense.
We know that in the past several elections, black turnout has increased and still continues to increase. I think it is also interesting because that increase is not only moving one way. It is also moving in another direction, proven by the number of black Americans who have supported the current president.
Here is a quick tip: anytime the political left is not getting its way, that is when you hear, “It is unconstitutional.” That is what unconstitutional means to them.
They also like to throw out warnings. You have to ask the question: Is there ever a peacetime with these people? Is there ever a time of peace?
The answer is absolutely not. Why? Because peace does not pay them. Peace does not give them the front-row seat at the dinner tables, events, and galas.
It is unfortunate, but my prayer is that people’s eyes are opening. People have awakened. They are on to this stuff. You can see it in Chicago and other places all over. People have awakened, and they know they have been hoodwinked, as Malcolm X warned us.
Thanks be to God that things are turning around.
Peter Vazquez:
Terris, you are a pastor. You are an educator. You have been involved in politics. You ran for office. You are part of a population, like me, that has been called something less than something by words like “minority.”
When you bring that up, even in college, even with other Hispanics and blacks, they make us feel like, “What do you mean, minorities? They are only measuring populations.”
I say, “Okay, but those numbers do not really match in places like where I am from.”
When you look at America right now, they want to convince you it is a political issue. They bring up redistricting, Epstein, the war, Trump derangement syndrome, and this idea that if you are black or brown, you must need help.
Tell me, do you see a political crisis first, or do you see a formation crisis, what I call a Vanbōōlzalness Crisis?
Terris Todd:
You are absolutely right, 100 percent.
Politics plays a part in it, but I think you are more correct on the front end. It is about people being lied to. People are uninformed, ill-informed, not informed at all, and uneducated on these issues, so they will go for anything.
I witnessed this myself. Someone was told a lie about a man I used to serve with in the Michigan state legislature. They claimed he called little black kids the N-word and neglected them, basically. That was a lie.
I sat back and watched people comment, and I thought, “You guys bought into that hook, line, and sinker.” I have not seen any evidence that ever happened, and I worked with the man.
Peter Vazquez:
What gets me is that children are not born racist. They are not born angry. They are born hungry, curious, and because we have been entrusted by the Lord to raise these kids, we have to pray and pray hard.
What they become is on us.
Terris, I have to pay some bills. I will be right back.
Ladies and gentlemen, on the telephone I have the Honorable Terris Todd, Director of Coalitions and Outreach for Project 21. Go to NationalCenter.org and Project21.org. Check them out.
We will be right back here on the Voice of Liberty with Peter Vazquez and The Next Steps Show.
Station Break
Peter Vazquez:
I have to repeat this daily because you have to hear it. That is what the left does. They tell you every single day, and the Vanbōōlzalness gets your mind mushy.
But I can tell you, YouthForChristRochester.org is not only having mentors share experiences with young people, which is important. That father figure, mommy figure, grandma and grandpa figure is so important.
Go to that website. Volunteer. Write them a check.
If the Epstein story is about the powerful protected from justice, then the redistricting story is about the powerful protecting their seats. We know this.
On the telephone, I have the honor of having Terris Todd, Director of Coalitions and Outreach for Project 21.
Sir, thank you again for staying with us.
Terris Todd:
Absolutely. I love it.
Peter Vazquez:
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 against Louisiana’s majority-black congressional district. We talked a little about this in the last segment.
In New York State, Kathy Hochul had her “be my apostles” moment during COVID, and former Governor Cuomo, Andy Cuomo’s brother, the guy from CNN, basically said that if you believe in God, country, and family, and you use language like pro-life or conservative, you do not have a place in New York.
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a guy being touted as a strong black man for mentorship purposes, tasked Representative Joe Morelle from New York’s 25th District with helping lead New York’s response.
Jeffries said, “Across the nation, we will sue, we will redraw, and we will win.”
Sue, redraw, win. That does not persuade. That does not serve. It does not earn trust or protect anyone’s ability to vote.
Terris Todd:
You are absolutely right. For them, it is about power.
I had this talk with my bishop and a couple of other bishops. They assume we are monolithic. They assume we all think the same, live the same, and vote the same.
If they are truly for diversity, equity, and inclusion, why would this be a big issue at all?
Take Detroit, Michigan. Detroit is about 80 percent black, but they selected and voted for a white man to be their mayor for years. Detroit currently has no black person from Detroit representing them in Congress.
Read through those lines.
That happened under total Democratic power. The left had total control of that city. They tried to say it was a bipartisan commission, but most independents lean left as well.
You had the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and secretary of state all left-leaning. When they drew lines for people in Detroit, people came unglued. They said, “Wait a minute, you just drew lines that counted out any black representation in the city of Detroit.”
Detroit has proven it is really about who is most qualified, not skin color. If that were not the case, why are they not supporting other candidates who look like them instead of Shri Thanedar, who is from India and represents them in Congress?
When you pay attention to this, you have to scratch your head. They are fussing and complaining because someone said you cannot draw lines based on race.
That pendulum swings both ways.
America today looks totally different from America a hundred years ago. We are interacting with each other, marrying each other, loving each other, and living next to each other. Years ago, that was not the case.
Thanks be to God that the ideals of America are alive and well.
Peter Vazquez:
Terris Todd, ladies and gentlemen, a Project 21 ambassador.
AP reported that this ruling weakened a key Voting Rights Act tool that was used for decades to challenge racial discrimination.
Let us remind everyone: you are black, conservative, Republican, believe in God, country, and family, and you were not given a silver spoon growing up, correct?
Terris Todd:
That is correct. One hundred percent.
Peter Vazquez:
I had one of your colleagues from Project 21 on recently, and we were talking about Baltimore schools. Our station engineer just handed me an article that says, “Baltimore-area student passed only three classes in four years, ranked near top.”
This is what we are dealing with.
This is why I love bringing you guys on with a national perspective. We tend to live in our own backyard, and we forget that the rest of the world is dealing with what we are dealing with.
You were an educator. What is education doing to young blacks and Hispanics, really to all Americans these days? Because it is not just the black and Hispanic attack anymore.
Terris Todd:
I am glad you mentioned that. With respect to Baltimore, they should be ashamed of themselves.
Think about who is running that city. They are people who look like me, and they are people who lean left.
They are still crying out that somehow redrawing lines will take away their right to vote. With respect to the schools, Baltimore City schools spend more than many other large school districts throughout the nation, yet they are getting these kinds of results.
Black Americans today need to ask the question: if it is truly about race, then how well are you doing with that?
If you want to preserve race-based leadership, how well are you actually doing with those individuals in leadership?
They always like to say, “Not all skin folk are kinfolk.” Well, why were they not standing with Giovanni? Where were they when Giovanni and his wife were holding the school district accountable for failing not just black students, but all students in that city?
Peter Vazquez:
Let me read something from this article, Terris.
It says that in the last four years, Francis’ son passed three classes, failed 22, and was late 272 days. The teen’s transcript shows failure in Spanish, algebra, and English, but also shows promotions to Spanish II, Algebra II, and English II.
Bob:
Can I jump in here for a minute?
Peter Vazquez:
Of course.
Bob:
Where is the mom in all this? The dad is probably long gone, but where is the mom? She was the responsible person. Where is the sense of responsibility for this young man?
Terris Todd:
There you go.
Bob:
Come on now. We all have to take our share of the blame here. The school district would never get away with this if the parents and the kids were paying attention and taking responsibility themselves.
Peter Vazquez:
But we live in a society that says if you are black or brown, situations like this are not your fault. It is society’s fault.
Bob:
Peter, white kids are getting failed by these schools as well. It is not just the schools. The schools cannot get this bad if the parents let it happen.
Peter Vazquez:
Terris, I work in a county here in New York State that is almost entirely white. I work in housing, and I see the same problems with people. Same problems, different population, different political atmosphere.
That area does not hear a lot of what we talk about in the city. The government says things a little differently there than in places like Rochester, Baltimore, or Chicago.
It is not just a race thing. Race may be part of it, but government is once again failing us.
Terris Todd:
This is what I love about what the administration is doing. Their hair went on fire when we started talking about turning things back to the states.
The federal government only has a small percentage of involvement in education. The rest comes from state and local government. The current administration said, “What do we have to do with that? The education best for the child is closest to them, in their families.”
You are absolutely right. We all have to take our part in that, especially the young man. He knew he was failing. Shame on the school, because they continued to advance him forward. That is social promotion.
Everyone has to take their licks on that, because the entire group failed.
Then you have teachers unions too. That is exactly who they advocate for. They are not advocating for students. They advocate for teachers. They could not care less about the kids, which is shameful.
Peter Vazquez:
I will say this, Bob. My parents, probably like this mother, relied on the system and the school to inform them about what was going on.
I dropped out of school in the ninth grade. I had a guy come out of the office and say, “Hey, sign here and do not tell your parents, since you do not want to be here.” I was stoned.
Bob:
There is plenty of failure to go around. But it begins at the individual level. The kid has to know he has to go to school, and the mom has to know that child is underachieving.
Peter Vazquez:
I made the difference. I made the change because I realized it.
Terris Todd, Director of Coalitions and Outreach for Project 21, will be right back here with Peter Vazquez and The Next Steps Show on WYSL.
Station Break
Peter Vazquez:
Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen.
Bob, have I told you recently how much I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to have The Next Steps Show on WYSL?
Bob:
No. Go ahead. Tell me how great I am. Anytime you are up for that.
Peter Vazquez:
You are a great guy.
Bob:
Do not stop.
Peter Vazquez:
I bring that up, Bob, because you are white, and we know that all white people need to know how great they are in order for us to be successful.
Terris, what do you think? Should I continue down that path? Because that seems to be what the progressive left says we have to do as black and brown people.
Terris Todd:
Bob, can you come down the hall and slap Peter for me? I cannot quite reach him across the console.
You are doing good work, sir.
Peter Vazquez:
I searched high and low. I considered doing Hispanic-focused radio stations, but I decided no, it is truth and liberty.
I know someone who runs a prominent Hispanic-focused nonprofit that makes quite a bit of money on poverty. She started a show on one of the Spanish stations, and she will not admit it, but it is to counter mine.
She says things like, “If you want authentic Spanish, you want to listen to me.”
But what I think people want is authentic truth.
I have not met a Puerto Rican yet who does not understand or speak English. They may pretend they do not.
Terris, is race-based redistricting a civil rights safeguard, or has it become a partisan instrument wrapped in civil rights language?
Terris Todd:
I think it is the latter. It has become very partisan for the most part. It has become a stronghold.
Trying to preserve homogeneous groups like that is absolute craziness, because what return on investment are they getting?
Look at Baltimore. Baltimore gets hit a lot, but it is really par for the course for many larger urban areas.
They found in that study that they could not find one student, black, white, or whatever, proficient in math or reading in at least 23 schools in Baltimore. Not one proficient student.
That is sad.
And who is running it?
When people like to pull the race card or play politics, I say, “Okay, politics aside, race aside, let us talk about poor leadership.”
Go back to Detroit. It is about 80 percent black, and they chose a white man as mayor. Guess what? Detroit is on an upward swing.
I am not saying that because the white guy is so great, because he stands on the shoulders of some black leadership before him. But he gets the credit because he is the one seeing everything through.
There are great things happening in Detroit. All we are saying is, how about being a person of God and then an American? How about choosing the right leadership to take you forward, regardless of what that person looks like?
Not some social experiment or nonsense that benefits none of us. That kind of thinking takes us further down a dark path.
It has turned into more of a partisan political thing and a way to hold onto power. It is a bad day for them because the Supreme Court did the right thing by saying you cannot draw lines based on race.
Again, I thought they were the ones who wanted diversity, equity, and inclusion. Unfortunately, they are saying they do not want to be inclusive because they only want lines that help preserve their ethnic group, assuming we are all monolithic and think the same and vote the same.
Peter Vazquez:
Let me share some Project 21 reaction from fellow conservatives who happen to be black, but who state in everything they do that they are Americans.
The only reason Project 21, including myself, identifies as Hispanic or black is because we are proud of our background, but we are Americans.
Ambassador Linda Lee Tarver said the Constitution demands that race-based classifications remain the exception, and called labeling areas “black districts” deeply problematic because black Americans can live, work, and vote wherever they choose.
Project 21 Chairman Horace Cooper hailed the 6-3 decision as an affirmation that the Constitution is 100 percent colorblind, and that Justice Thomas’s opinion could end racial gerrymandering.
Project 21 Ambassador Curtis T. Hill Jr. argued that relegating blacks into a voting bloc is contrary to equal protection. We fought against segregation and against being put in one little camp to keep us happy.
AK Kamara, also a Project 21 ambassador, applauded Justice Thomas for declaring that treating voters as racial blocs is repugnant.
And you yourself said Americans who choose to live as one nation rejoice, noting that Detroit, with approximately 80 percent black Americans, has a white mayor and no black congressional representation, yet is prospering somehow.
Is that not something?
Terris Todd:
That is something. To take it a step further, drawing lines like this is really a form of redlining.
I remember when the whole issue of redlining came out with cities, school districts, neighborhoods, and so on. This is a form of redlining.
Why they are not coming unglued over that is beyond me.
Look at Virginia, the Commonwealth of Virginia. The left tried to pull a stunt with the current governor in place. They were trying to redraw district lines.
Then the truth came out, which the folks on the right exposed. Since they are so engulfed with race, they needed to understand that if this happened and they supported it, they would lose two predominantly black districts that they claimed they wanted to preserve.
But there was no checking on that. They supported it because they are on the left and did not question it.
That is happening all over.
The best American to be in that position is the best way to go, regardless of appearance or background.
Peter Vazquez:
Terris Todd, Director of Coalitions and Outreach for Project 21.
I believe when you look through your societal glasses, you see energy reliability as a family issue. I believe energy reliability is a school issue. It is also a small business and senior citizen issue.
Politics, especially in liberal states like New York and Colorado, can be theatrical. But we are heading into summer in a state that says no more gasoline and gas, and that is pushing this environmental electric agenda, with the smallest-ever surplus power capacity this state has seen.
The president of NYISO, Rich Dewey, warned, “We are anticipating the smallest surplus that we have ever had.”
What does that mean for us as Americans, this whole nonsense of dependency on just electricity and no coal?
Terris Todd:
I think it is absolutely crazy.
Look at California, on the left coast. Governor Gavin Newsom was pushing the issue of stopping gas-powered vehicles by around 2030 or 2035 and going strictly to electric vehicles.
What they fail to acknowledge is who can afford that? Most black and brown communities, and hardworking Americans generally, cannot afford a $50,000 or $60,000 car.
That is number one.
Number two, he was asking people to stop using air conditioning over the summer because it was pulling too much on the grid.
Peter Vazquez:
Ladies and gentlemen, that is Terris Todd, Director of Coalitions and Outreach at Project 21. This is Peter Vazquez and the Voice of Liberty. Do not go anywhere. I will be right back with another great segment of The Next Steps Show.
Station Break
Peter Vazquez:
Terris, what do you think about that bump-in music?
Terris Todd:
I love it. You guys play good music out here.
Peter Vazquez:
We do, and we try to keep it relevant. I try to keep the show as relevant as I can.
You mentioned the West Coast. I saw this passing word on a screen that said “bye,” as in see you later, alligator.
Seattle right now, just like New York City, is a warning shot for all of America. Seattle is the West Coast, and New York City is the East Coast.
GeekWire reported that Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson dismissed concerns that Washington State’s 9.9 percent tax on personal income over $1 million would cause wealthy residents to leave.
At a meeting, someone asked her, and she literally waved and said, “Bye.”
That one word reveals the entire worldview of these radicals. It assumes capital is captive. It assumes job creators are replaceable. But replaceable by whom? Government does not create.
If they lose their tax base, how are these programs that keep people dependent going to be sustained?
Terris Todd:
Unfortunately, middle- and low-income individuals are going to be footing the bill.
It is par for the course. It is the same with politicians promising government-run grocery stores and other programs. That is going to push out the smaller guy, the one whose family has owned a grocery store for generations and provided necessary resources for local communities.
They are going to be challenged with that.
Hopefully, at some point, people will realize that casting their ballots matters, and it matters more when they know who they are casting a ballot for. Look into candidates’ backgrounds and gain a better understanding of their views on American ideals.
Capitalism and hard work pay off. If you look at wealthy individuals, about 80 to 89 percent did not come from wealth. They built it because we have the right ecosystem and the right structure in place, called capitalism, that allows them to do that.
When those people start leaving their communities or states, somebody has to foot the bill. That goes right to the middle- and low-income class individuals.
Peter Vazquez:
The Constitution was signed in September of 1787 after delegates gathered in Philadelphia originally to revise the Articles of Confederation.
You know the history, even though you are black, right? According to our leaders in New York State, people like you and me do not know this history, or it is not relevant.
Terris Todd:
It is very relevant. We should be carrying it around in our pockets every day.
Peter Vazquez:
The Bill of Rights came later after Congress sent 12 amendments to the states in 1789, and 10 were ratified.
America’s memory includes both glory and contradiction. History.com’s slavery overview notes that slavery fueled colonial economies, especially in the 17th and 18th centuries, and that the Declaration promised liberty but did not end slavery.
Are we a perfect nation? Absolutely not.
Terris Todd:
The left loves to hang on to that when it comes to black Americans specifically.
As a proud black American, I notice they always go back to slavery. They never go back prior to that. They never focus on the black Americans, Hispanic Americans, and all these people who made this nation what it is today.
My question to black Americans specifically is this: if America does not work, then what?
You have to ask yourself that question.
If you truly love your ancestors, why would you destroy what you say they built? That makes no sense.
Bob:
Another thing the left loves to do is judge the things that happened 250 years ago by the standards of today. Then they offer that up as evidence that this is a flawed country that needs to be torn down and rebuilt in their image.
It is a complete falsehood.
Terris Todd:
Totally. One hundred percent.
The idea that if we tear it down and rebuild it, black Americans are somehow going to be in charge is a bunch of nonsense.
We are third in population. We used to be second, and not long from now we will be fourth.
There is power in numbers, my friends. If you are caught up in race, think twice. You are not going to end up in the lead role.
I love what God is doing in this country. I love the direction that the administration and all of us who love this country are supporting.
We have to keep our hands to the plow and not look back, because we are on the right side of these issues.
Peter Vazquez:
Education is memory. It is a moral inheritance. It is teaching students what America is, what America has failed to be, and what America is still called to become.
Terris, how do we teach America honestly without teaching children to hate it?
Terris Todd:
If we continue down that path of teaching children to hate the country they are part of, we are actually teaching them to hate themselves and everything about them.
If America does not work, then what?
I would love for them to point to another place to go, other than the United States of America, where they can get the pride, love, and utopian society they are looking for.
America is certainly not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but we are not all bad either. We are on the right side of things.
That is why so many people are coming in from all over the world. That is why the previous administration was letting people in unannounced, unvetted, and so on.
The current administration says, “No, you are not going to come here breaking our laws. You are not going to come here and victimize people. We are going to get you out of here, and we are going to make sure we are safe and secure, and that America can be everything it was designed to be.”
If you are teaching children to hate the thing they are part of, you are teaching them to hate themselves.
Children are not born hateful.
Peter Vazquez:
President Donald Trump, is he doing right by black America? As a black American, I believe you can answer that.
Terris Todd:
Absolutely. One hundred percent.
I worked for him. I love what was happening at the White House. We had prayer meetings. We had Bible study. I loved all of that.
Soon, on May 17, they are looking at rededicating the nation back to God. I love that.
Peter Vazquez:
Right before our 250th American birthday.
One last question, if you can answer this shortly because I am down to the last minute and a half or so.
Terris, what are black voters, working-class voters, and really American voters asking for right now from Project 21’s perspective?
Terris Todd:
They are asking us to be truthful and honest with them. That is what we are going to give them.
We are always going to give the truth. We are going to give the truth in love, whether people like it or not.
That is exactly why Project 21 was developed: to elevate black conservative voices on the issue of truth and share that truth with the entire world.
NationalCenter.org is where people can find us.
Peter Vazquez:
And it is also Project21.org, correct?
Terris Todd:
Project21.org.
Peter Vazquez:
Terris Todd, Director of Coalitions and Outreach for Project 21, thank you for your time. May God continue to bless you and the work that you and your organization continue to do.
Terris Todd:
Thank you. God bless you.
Peter Vazquez:
Likewise.
Ladies and gentlemen, Isaiah 59:14 says:
“Judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.”
Mira, be a leader. Be a leader. Be a leader.
God bless these United States of America, and do not let a second go by where you are not a voice for liberty.

Director of Coalitions and Outreach for Project 21
Terris E. Todd is Director of Coalitions and Outreach for Project 21. He previously served as Advisor for Coalitions Engagement at The Heritage Foundation and as Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans. A former Vice Chair of the Michigan GOP, he has worked as a teacher, administrator, and college instructor. Terris is an ordained pastor, author, podcast host, and board member for several national organizations. He lives in Virginia with his wife and their three daughters.


















