Reflections and Intentions for 2025: Insights from Dr. Nsenga Burton
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In this episode of 'Need to Know,' Dr. Nsenga Burton discusses the importance of being thoughtful and intentional as we welcome the New Year 2025. She emphasizes the need for reflection and accountability, touching on political, personal, and professional aspects. Dr. Burton also addresses the disappointment and buyer's remorse surrounding the new presidency, the mental and social impacts on Black women, and the broader implications of political ignorance and misinformation. As she advocates for self-preservation and critical thinking, Dr. Burton encourages viewers to choose joy, happiness, and wisely selected circles of influence for a better 2025 and beyond.
▶︎ In This Episode
00:00: Introduction and New Year's Reflections
01:02: Buyer's Remorse and Political Concerns
02:10: The Role of Black Women in Civil Rights
04:21: The Importance of Critical Thinking and Expertise
06:18: Personal Reflection and Choosing Joy
08:53: Conclusion and New Year Wishes
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Transcript
A Black Executive Perspective now presents Need to Know
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:with the award winning hyphenated Dr.
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:Nsenga Burton.
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:Dr.
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:Burton.
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:What do we need to know?
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:Dr. Nsenga Burton: Good
afternoon, and thank you for
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:joining Need to Know with Dr.
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:Nsenga Burton.
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:I am Dr.
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:Nsenga Burton.
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:I am she.
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:Uh, today it is actually New Year's Eve.
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:I'm not sure when you'll see this
episode, but it's New Year's Eve.
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:And so one of the things I want
to talk about today is being
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:thoughtful and intentional as
we move into the new year,:
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:Um.
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:Part of being thoughtful and
intentional is also reflecting.
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:And when we reflect, we need to
reflect over the past year and many
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:more probably in most cases and take
accountability for what we may or may
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:not have done that is going to impact
the:
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:It can be professional.
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:It can be political.
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:Or what have you, because I'm
talking on this particular show.
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:1 of the things I do want to
talk about is I'm seeing a
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:lot of buyers remorse already.
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:And our next president hasn't
even been our next president
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:has not even been inaugurated.
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:Uh, yet he hasn't been installed,
so there's been no inauguration.
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:I got to get my words together.
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:But, uh, he hasn't been installed
yet as the 47th president, and
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:there's already buyer's remorse
based on what has been done.
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:You know, whether it's cabinet
appointments, whether it's things that
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:he's been saying on his social media
platform, um, whether it is the mass
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:deportation that is going to be coming.
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:And for some reason, some people
thought that they were talking
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:about other immigrants of color.
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:So, um, I just want to say that
:
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:rough year for a lot of people.
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:Um, and that is unfortunate.
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:Uh, those of us who will be on the
right side of history and remain
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:on the right side of history, um,
we'll have a tough time as well.
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:But at least we know that we did
all that we could in order to
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:prevent this from happening, i.
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:e.
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:some of the negative and horrible
things that will be happening to our
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:fellow citizens and non citizens.
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:Um, you probably have been hearing from
a lot of people, um, in addition that,
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:you know, black women who have often
been leaders and champions of civil
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:rights in many regards and certainly,
uh, in the last 25 years, um, are taking
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:a step back because our rights and our
needs are not being met and we don't
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:feel like the time, attention, uh, and
energy focus strategy that we have put
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:into really Making intense social impact
on our communities, and that includes
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:the world community are reciprocated.
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:Um, you know, when we fight for civil
rights, we want to rights for everyone,
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:not just our own group when we want
people to do better and have better pay.
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:It's not just for us.
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:We want it for everyone.
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:We want people to have voting rights.
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:It's not just for us.
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:It's for everyone.
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:And so when you see that being
parsed out, and then even people.
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:I'm trying to shame you about certain
issues, um, and voting against you and,
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:uh, you know, a candidate who looks like
you, um, because of really misinformation
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:and disinformation and an inability to
strategically think, um, You know, it's
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:disheartening and it's disappointing,
but we will be taking a step back.
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:So what's great about that is
that we will be getting our
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:weekends and our evenings back.
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:We'll be able to pour more into our actual
into our families and our communities.
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:And when you look out for yourself,
as those of you understand, you can
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:make sure that your community is
together instead of worrying about
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:and making sure that everyone has
everything they need, particularly
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:when your needs are not being met.
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:Cared for, thought of, or supported,
you know, for example, voting rights,
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:for example, DEI, um, all those things.
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:So, uh, I think you'll,
people will feel it.
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:Um, but you know, it is what it is.
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:And, and.
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:We have to do these things for self
preservation and, you know, this
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:is going to go a long, long time.
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:People keep saying, oh,
it's only gonna be 4 years.
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:It's only gonna be 4 years.
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:It's going to be a lot
longer than 4 years.
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:The ramifications, because if you
actually listen to critical thinkers,
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:if we actually listen to our educated
class, who we have somehow demonized,
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:you know, people who know things like
even meteorologist, one of my friends
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:is a meteorologist, and he was saying,
you know, that people keep sending
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:him stuff from people who are just,
you know, Sitting in their house,
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:looking at the sky and telling him
that this is what's going to happen.
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:He's a trained scientist, a meteorologist.
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:He has spent his entire life doing
this work and yet and still, you
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:know, he has to convince people that
he knows what he's talking about.
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:It is fascinating the
world that we live in.
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:Um, in such as the case for
politics, you know, there's such a
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:thing called political scientists.
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:They study and do this stuff all the time.
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:Historians.
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:People who do these things all the
time, scholars, people who dedicate,
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:you know, 12 to 15 years of study
before they actually then begin teaching
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:and learning and researching and
continuing, um, all of these things.
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:And for some reason, these folks have been
demonized while other folks like sexual
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:batterers and people who had a terrible
1st term as president have been lionized.
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:So a lot of that is rooted in
what we know is racism, sexism,
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:misogyny, all the things.
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:Um, and, you know, we are realizing
that there's very little, um, that
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:with all of the major work that we have
been doing, it has made very little
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:impact, um, on the ability of people to
think for themselves, um, to actually
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:see everyone as human and, uh, being
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:and deserving their full humanity.
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:And so, you know, it'll be what it is,
but I do want people to really take
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:the time to reflect, reflect and think
about, um, which you can do better.
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:Um, what you did wrong.
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:Um, that might have had some
negative results for you.
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:Um,
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:think about, um, you know, your circle,
like, really, like, people who are in it.
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:Um, and, and that's professional.
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:It's your personal, it's your
spiritual, whatever circle you want
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:to work on for those people who are
in it, you know, try to find people
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:who want to be like you and not
necessarily be, try to find people who.
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:Value all of you and not only parts of
you, like the parts that can help them get
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:to where they want, where they don't think
they have to reciprocate that for you try
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:to find people who are thankful and have
some level of humility when someone helps
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:someone else or really does something
for someone else other than themselves.
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:Um, I think we're just entering a
time where, you know, a lot of people
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:have just decided it's going to be
chaos and awful and unruly and people
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:are crazy and people just talking
and saying whatever they want to say.
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:And that's probably true, but I've decided
and I hope many of you decide to join
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:me that that's not going to be my 2025.
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:That's not going to be my 2026.
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:I'm not going to engage.
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:I'm going to spend my time reflecting
and making the changes I need to make
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:in my personal, professional, spiritual.
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:life, uh, in order to thrive, uh, well,
you know, the house is burning down.
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:I'm going to be playing the
piano as the Titanic sinks.
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:So I join you and choosing joy,
choosing happiness and choosing
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:wisely in terms of who you spend
your time with and the organizations
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:you work for and with and the people
you engage with whom you engage.
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:I know with is a dangling preposition,
sorry to all the scholars out there.
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:I know they don't care
about us, but I know.
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:It's probably just every time I said
with like that, at the end of the
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:sentence, it just was like this to you.
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:I know, I know.
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:Um, but it really just to be
more thoughtful and intentional
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:and critically engaged so that
you don't make bad decisions.
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:That have ridiculous
ramifications for millions of
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:people, uh, in 2025 and beyond.
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:All right.
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:So with that being said, I would
love to say happy new year.
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:There's no S on it.
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:Just want to put that out there too.
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:I know there's no value in knowing
that there's no S in it because
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:there's no value for education.
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:Um, it's happy new year.
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:I wish you a wonderful new
year, and I hope that you get
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:all that your heart wants.
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:And I certainly hope you get
what you deserve in:
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:BEP Narrator: A Black
Executive Perspective.