Muslim In America: The MPAC Interview

The Joy Reid Show

Image Lab Media Group

Politics, News

4.8 • 719 Ratings

🗓️ 11 February 2026

⏱️ 81 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this special bonus, The Basement interview, Muslim Public Affairs Council president Salam Al-Marayati breaks down the trials and challenges, as well as the joys and opportunities Muslim communities face in the U.S in the current era. Learn more about the Muslim Political Affairs Council at http://mpac.org https://www.mpac.org/ Read more about this episode at joyannreid.com SUBSCRIBE to never miss a moment!: https://www.youtube.com/@TheJoyReidShow?sub_confirmation=1#JoyReidShow #JoyAnnReid #TheJoyReidShow #JoyReid #JoyReidYouTube Chapters: 0:00 Introduction & Context Setting 4:48 The State of Muslims in America 7:20 The Zohran Mamdani Effect 12:03 Assimilation Debates & Internal Divisions 15:32 Framing Violence & Media Double Standards 18:50 Case Study: The DC Shooting & Policy Failure 21:52 Media Narratives & National Security 27:38 U.S. Foreign Policy & Lasting Trauma 44:18 Palestine, Gaza & Shifting Politics 52:10 The Mission of MPAC 1:01:40 Culture, Media & Narrative Control 1:10:15 MPAC's Current Initiatives 1:19:10 Personal Reflections & Closing ABOUT JOY REID: Joy-Ann Lomena Reid (AKA Joy Reid) is a best-selling American author, political journalist and TV host. She was a national correspondent for MSNBC and is best known for hosting the Emmy-nominated, NAACP Award-winning political commentary and analysis show, The ReidOut, from 2020 to 2025. Her previous anchoring credits include The Reid Report (2014–2015) and AM Joy (2016–2020). STAY CONNECTED WITH THE SHOW: Website: https://www.joyannreid.com Substack: https://substack.com/@joyannreid Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Joy-Reid-Show/61576759980854/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joyreidshow/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thejoyreidshow Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/joyannreid.bsky.social FOLLOW JOY ON SOCIAL: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joyreidofficial/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joyannreid/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joyreidofficial Want to hear more of our theme song? Check out the Foodchain page on BandCamp: https://thefoodchain.bandcamp.com/track/the-foodchain-basically-ft-jd-era ============================= Copyright Notice: This video and my YouTube channel contains content that is property of The Joy Reid Show, a production of Image Lab Media Group. You are authorized to share the video link and channel, and embed this video in your website or others as long as a link back to this YouTube Channel is provided. © 2025 The Joy Reid Show https://www.youtube.com/@TheJoyReidShow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to this special episode of the Joy Reid show.
0:16.3	Please take a moment before we go any further to hit like and subscribe.
0:20.3	And please also share this episode.
0:21.9	Share it with a friend. Share it with somebody that might not be a friend. This is the way that we grow
0:27.0	this important independent media so that we can continue bringing you all the information
0:32.7	straight, no chaser. The MFA in Boston just laid off not only their Native American art
0:38.8	curator, but also their Islamic art curator, who is the only Muslim Islamic art curator in
0:44.4	North America and Western Europe. I wonder what message they're trying to send in this safe
0:51.2	DEI-free Trump era. So this week, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, laid off 33
0:57.6	employees or about 6.3% of its staff. And while the MFA denies that the cuts targeted specifically
1:04.4	workers of color, as you just heard, among those positions eliminated were the institutions
1:09.9	only black, only Muslim, and
1:12.0	only indigenous curators. Other eliminated roles include the head of learning and community
1:17.5	development, the senior manager of equity programs, and the senior director of inclusion,
1:22.9	diversity, equity, and accessibility. And unlike the previous round of layoffs in 2020, these cuts were made
1:29.7	without executive pay cuts or offering any early retirement packages. In an open letter to
1:35.9	institution leadership, 130 faculty and librarians at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design
1:42.5	called on the museum to rehire the three curators,
1:45.7	and nearly 2,000 people have signed a change.org petition calling for their reinstatement.
1:51.6	This is just one story in a litany of stories that tell the tale of Trump's America,
1:56.3	where diversity, equity, and inclusion have been turned into veritable crimes,
2:05.8	and corporations and even venerable institutions are caving,
	...

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