Symone Sanders speaks onstage at Girlboss Rally NYC 2018 at Knockdown Center on November 18, 2018, in Maspeth, New York. | Source: JP Yim / Getty
UPDATED: 10:45 a.m. ET, Jan. 11, 2021
Originally published: Aug. 13, 2019
Cable news is a rough and tumble game of shade, wit and knowing your politics. That said, if anyone is going to share the screen with some of the most intelligent people on television, you better know what you are talking about. There are some folks who have laid down the law on television and there were reports of an all-Black panelist show on CNN just a couple of years ago.
And while those plans to have a show featuring then-CNN stalwarts April Ryan, Andrew Gillum, Angela Rye and Bakari Sellers never exactly came to fruition, MSNBC has been more than picking up the slack in that department.
That was especially true on Monday when it was announced that Symone Sanders would be joining MSNBC as a host during weekends on an unspecified show following her surprise resignation as Vice President Kamala Harris’ chief spokesperson.
“Sanders will bring her expertise, spirited rhetoric and sharp political insight to MSNBC’s multi-platform channels,” MSNBC said in a statement emailed to NewsOne. “Her program will explore issues at the intersection of politics, culture and race and break down how decisions made in Washington impact electorates, industries, and communities across the country. She will also interview law and policy makers, top government officials, scholars, and thought leaders.”
Sanders is a seasoned veteran of appearing on cable news shows to successfully articulate — and at times, debate — any given political point, like when she had to set the record straight about then-President Donald Trump’s claim that he would have confronted the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter who killed 17 people in Parkland, Florida, in 2018.
It’s a safe bet to expect more of that same energy when Sanders begins her stint at MSNBC.
To be sure, Black folks have been slaying on cable news for years now. Whether it is fact-checking on Trump, reminding people of the legacy of Barack Obama or shutting down pure ignorance, they remain the voices for many of us. It has been a pleasure to see them lay down the law with grace and class.
Most importantly, it is crucial that there are people who are doing the work to deliver the truth, especially in a time when the truth is easily dismissed by dangerous factions influenced by Trump’s lies. These Black cable news pundits are documenting history, holding people accountable and making sure the record is corrected in 2022, even in the face of blatant lies.
Keep reading to find some of their greatest and most epic cable TV moments below.
