Transcript: Mayor Adams Appears Live on Caribbean POWER JAM's "The Reset Talk Show"

April 28, 2023

JR Giddings: ...Mr. Mayor, and how are you?

Mayor Adams: Great. It's really good to see you brother, JR, and your audience and the panelists. You assemble an amazing group of panelists that just bring a level of expertise. I just see Reset Show is going to continue to expand and grow. I'm really excited about the future of what you're doing.

Giddings: Thank you, Mayor Adams. Thank you. And don't forget your voice makes a difference with this platform. Your voice helped to get us to the point that we are at right now. So we want to thank you and commend you as well. Mayor Adams, the Supreme Court put the legal battle over the abortion pill, mifepristone on pause Friday, granted Americans full access to the medication while a challenge to the FDA approval of this drug continues. What is your reaction to this?

Mayor Adams: Well, we always have to connect the dots of our inactions and how it produces a negative action of those who sat on the sidelines and allowed Donald Trump to be elected as the president, allowed him to stack the Supreme Court with right wing judges that went after the women's right to choose, going after so many other rights, as well as federal court judges that are making decisions that are impacting the quality of our lives in hard fought gains. And this is one of the byproducts of the Donald Trump administration.

These judges rule and took away the use of one of the abortion pills that were used for women who want to terminate pregnancies. Although, here in the city, we're continuing to give access to one of the pills. We're going to continue to be a place where women have a right to come. But these are his judges and they're abandoned one of the medication for the simplest, quickest, and most common way for women to access abortion nationwide. And it's important that right now there is a stay on this decision, but there's going to be a long-term fight to make sure that this is not held permanently.

Giddings: Thank you for that, Mayor Adams, I'm going to fast here this morning because I know you have a couple stops. Okay? Let's start at mental health and teens. The CDC has reported data about teens and mental health. 42 percent of teens experienced persistent sadness or hopelessness. And one in three teen girls consider suicide. Data shows that schools make a difference in young people's lives when courses are provided to teach them coping skills. Are there any measures in place for New York City schools?

Mayor Adams: And when you think about it JR, there's a tribe named Maasai, Africa tribe, the Maasai tribe they call it. And when they greet each other, they say, "How are the children?" And so we have to ask ourselves in a very honest way, “How are the children?" We're watching increase in suicide ideations, we're seeing depression among children. 42 percent of teens experience persistent sadness or hopelessness and more. And one in three teen girls seriously considered suicide. We're watching the over proliferation of using everything from fentanyl to cannabis as they start their school day. We're watching our children involved in just horrific violence, particularly gun violence. And you're seeing just how social media has hijacked our children and really changing how they are viewing themselves. And so what we must do is to really start being honest about what not only the post-pandemic has created, but what was happening pre-pandemic.

And so I'm pioneering a telehealth program for city high school aged teens that will provide ongoing support and serve as an entry point to higher levels of care. We have to meet them where they are, technology's what our young people are using. Dr. Vasan is going to be rolling out a real plan to focus on our young people. The launch of our suicide prevention pilot is aimed at a youth in crisis and an increase of data resources and data tracking so we can see how we can best give our young people the support that they need.

Giddings: Thank you. Thank you, Mayor Adams. Thank you for shining a light on that. Pastor Straker, you're a quick question for the mayor.

Pastor Louis Straker, Jr: Good morning Mr. Mayor. It's so good to have you with us. I see that you are on the move. You're always here, there, and everywhere. I was in Florida for spring break and somebody was asking me, "Yo, your mayor, is he getting any work done? I see them all over the place." I said, "Listen, that's our mayor. You can't lead the people unless you are amongst the people. And the shepherd has to smell like the sheep." And so we thank you for your service and we know that you've been in the schools. And so in keeping in line with that and my question is really about, you talked about prayer and you talked about faith a little while ago, how important that is. Can you just enlighten us on why you believe prayer is important to be in our schools? And what would that look like with people of coming with so many backgrounds and religions and ethnicities? What would that look like in our schools?

Mayor Adams: Well, this is a country of faith and a city of faith. On our dollar bill we have "In God we trust." After I took the oath of office, I said, "So help me God.” Every president but three placed their hands on a religious [inaudible]. You could not become a citizen of this country without saying at the end, "And so help me God." And so for those who are given the [inaudible] who are people of faith, to not be willing to come out and state that they are people of faith. And I think our schools, our other work atmospheres, you should be allowed to show your faith without intruding on others. And so to have a place — we have rooms of meditation right now in schools. And so while you're there meditating, why shouldn't you have the right to pray at the same time?

That's a form of going inward, of right at Borough Hall — I mean a City Hall. I have a room of meditation and I allow Christians, Muslims to go in to do Jumma, to go in to do prayers. So it's about what we need right now, pastor, I don't care what anybody say, it's time to pray. We've moved so far away from our spiritual of birth that we are not allowing the role that we need as we deal with some of the crises that we are facing. And I'm a man of God, I would never apologize for that and I'm so happy that I'm able to show my faith and use my office as mayor to tell people, "Be proud of your faith." And if you know where I have come from and how broken I was, and realize what God has taken me, from being a child that was dyslexic to a young man that was arrested, rejected, and now I'm elected to be the mayor of the City of New York. That's the only God brother. That's not Eric. That's God.

Pastor Straker: Thank you so much Mr. Mayor. We'll keep you lifted in prayer.

Giddings: Let's continue as we talk about teens. Mayor Adams, I'll be remiss if I didn't mention, we have two young ladies here, two twin sisters who are the valedictorians and the salutatorians of their high school. We're talking about Gloria and Victoria. Now, these two girls are ranked number one in the state academically and number two in the state academically. Now they're twins. Not only that, these girls are from the track and field world and they're champions. Okay? They're number one in the 400 and number two in the 800. Now, there are so many accolades that I can't remember. They're here, they're getting scholarships to Yale and from ABC to the Reset Talk Show. I just have to give it up to them. Not to mention they just came from the CARIFTA Games where one them won bronze. Say good morning to Mayor Adams.

Victoria: Good morning.

Gloria: Good morning. Thank you so much for that very embellished introduction. We are so happy and we're honored to be on the show. And to Eric Adams, we look up to you. You definitely have an inspiring story that has inspired us to achieve and we definitely would love to just use you as a role model.

Victoria: Yeah, I think that your story strongly mirrors ours and I think that you are a really great role model for us.

Mayor Adams: Well, but first of all, you're a role model for me.

Victoria: Oh my God.

[Laughter.]

Mayor Adams: And I am going to... JR, is going to give you my number of —

Victoria: Oh, great.

Gloria: Okay. Good.

Mayor Adams: I want you to first come join me at Gracie Mansion, bring your parents. We can have a dinner together. And we want to honor you at City Hall. And I want to lift you up.

Gloria: Oh my God.

Victoria: Thank you.

Mayor Adams: See who you're. So we, JR please share my personal contact so I can have my team come together.

Gloria: Oh my God.

Mayor Adams: We have these two superstars in our city. Really lift you up on what you're doing. I am so proud.

Victoria: Thank you. Oh my God, thank you.

Mayor Adams: My team has been showing. And I said, "God, please allow me one day to meet them." And see how God is good. Now I get a chance to meet you.

Victoria: Yes.

Gloria: Yes.

Mayor Adams: I'm excited. I'm a groupie.

[Laughter.]

Victoria: [Inaudible.] Thank you. Definitely. That'll be great.

Giddings: Well, Victoria and Gloria will be at the Reset Awards next week. We're going to lift them. Okay. We’re definitely going to lift them up. So you have Mayor Adams, you're going to go to the New York White House, the City Hall.

Gloria: Oh my God.

Victoria: Thank you.

Giddings: And you're going to be at the Reset Awards. And the mayor might surprise you at the Reset Awards next week.

Gloria: Oh my God.

Giddings: But be before the Mayor jumps off, Nicole, quickly you want to say something to the mayor?

Nicole: Good morning, Mayor Adams, great to see you again.

Mayor Adams: Good morning.

Nicole: No question today. Just wanted to say to you, thank you for all that you're doing for New Yorkers and for leading the path nationally so many challenging issues that we face here. And I just want to congratulate you and thank you for your endurance, for your wisdom, for your fortitude, for your innovation as you continue to tackle the challenges here in New York City. Housing, mental health, safety, public safety. It's an enormous, enormous amount of issues that we're facing. But I just truly admire that you are wheeling and dealing. And for those people who don't understand, a lot of business gets conducted outside of boardrooms and meeting rooms. They get conducted over dinner, Starbucks run-ins, saying hello on the street. And so I just think you're doing an amazing job and I just wanted you to know that.

Mayor Adams: Thank you. And I wanted to comment on your statements when I came on talking about my hero and mentor, Harry Belafonte. And you touched on something that's so important. When I was a police officer, I thought about Harry Belafonte, the first time I met him. And it's amazing that I took away what you took away. I stated that, "Eric, you cannot allow your fear of losing your job as a police officer to allow you to be silent." That's when we started 100 blacks in law enforcement who care. I heard Harry Belafonte speak and I did some reading on his life. That brother put everything on the line and he put everything on the line to fight on behalf of people in general, but black folks in particular. And his career elevated. And so, although I put everything on the line, my career continued to elevate.

I went from being a sergeant, to a lieutenant, to a captain, to a state senator, to first Black borough president. So placing everything on the line, because you're doing what is right, you are not going to lose anything. God is going to protect you, the people are going to be there for you. And you'll continue to elevate and not lose. And so you were right when you stated that this was a man, and those men and women back then were willing to say, "We will put everything on the line because it's the right thing to do." And that's what Harry Belafonte reminded me of. And I was encouraged by him and reading his books really placed me on the pathway to do the things that I was doing.

Giddings: That's why you're our leader. You're so well-rounded. You're so well rounded and I get into fights for you all the time. Because I go out and I say, "Well, he's my mayor." And this is the reason why I'm able to introduce the Dr. Lindsays of the world to you and you host her at City Hall. Now you're going to do the same thing for the millennials, I believe in the next generation. So Mayor Adams, you continue to uplift the Reset Talk Show. We are in our second year, excited for the awards next week. But I have to, Nurse Patricia's here, she wants to say something. So nurse Patricia, you have one minute.

Nurse Patricia: Mayor Adams, it's always a pleasure to see you. I don't have a question, but I just want to applaud you just for the wonderful work you're doing. One thing I really love about you and admire since I've come to know you through the Reset platform is how accessible you are, how transparent you are, how relatable you are. You've talked about going amongst the homeless, you've talked about... You share with us about your history and you don't hold anything back. And I think that is a very necessary aspect of leadership and I think you set the bar really high for other politicians. You're definitely set apart, and I truly admire you for just how genuine you are and transparent and may God continue to give you the fortitude to continue in this task that you have been given. And thank you for being here.

Mayor Adams: And I received that. Thank you. [Inaudible] and look at infection, my big face would be sitting up there saying that I've dropped the ball so many times and I made so many mistakes. But I know and I've learned that where you are is not who you are. And I'm hoping people can see that you don't have to be perfect to lead, you have to be dedicated. And if I show the authentic side of who I am, people I'm hoping would say, "Okay, I can be dyslexic. I could have made some mistakes in life and got arrested. I could live on the verge of homelessness. I don't have to be always in the level of perfection." If you are committed and dedicated, God would do the rest. That's all he's asking. Be authentic and true to the mission and he'll take care of the rest. He has done that for me since I was a child and I believe he's going to do that for me throughout my rest of time in public life.

Giddings: Well, Mayor Adams, I'll tell you this, we have close to a million listeners and I know 80 percent of them that are in the New York area is always going to vote for you. So we know that you're going to be our mayor for the next eight years. Dr. Giddings, quickly says something to the mayor and then the mayor has to jump off.

Dr. Giddings: Good morning Mr. Mayor. It's nice to have you here.

Mayor Adams: Good morning

Dr. Giddings: Again. I admire you completely. I live in Texas now, but I was a Brooklyn girl, so I keep in contact with everything that's going on. And yeah, I really admire all the initiatives you do, including the ones that were previously mentioned, but also the one that you provide for nurses and providers. The nutritional education because I think that's paramount in our medical field. And so I just want to just raise you up. Thank you for doing all that you do and continue doing those amazing initiatives with the immigrants, et cetera. Thank you.

Mayor Adams: Thank you. You look like a diva right now. Where you going?

Giddings: Well...

Dr Giddings: Thank you. I'm channeling the Reset Award show next Saturday.

Mayor Adams: All right. Thank you. I'm here, unfortunately at the funeral of Willis Wayne Moore. I'm getting ready to walk in to speak with his family. That was the brother that died in the parking lot collapse last week. We lost two children this morning at a fire. I was on in their neighborhood, communicating with the residents. And so I want to thank you, JR, look forward to our continuous check-in and keep you updated as we move forward. And thank all the listeners and your amazing panelists.

Giddings: Thank you, Mayor Adams. Audience, we get ready for the reset next week, the Reset Awards. And this is why you have to come out and support your trusted messengers led by our mayor, Mayor Adams.

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