We had to put the dating talk aside for a night because, frankly, the times are serious. Election Day (November 4th) is right around the corner, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. We were honored to have Dakarai Larriett, candidate for Alabama’s open U.S. Senate seat, join us in The Backroom to talk about fighting hopelessness, confronting political gridlock, and what it truly means to step up when your community needs you.

This is a must-read if you’re tired of the noise and ready to talk about the issues that actually impact Black gay lives.

“I’ve Had It With The Girls That Aren’t Voting”

We kicked off the episode with the political frustration we all feel, and I had to be honest: I’m absolutely fed up with the folks who are sitting out Election Day. As Dakari pointed out, a major issue in this country is a lack of basic civics knowledge.

* The Trump Distortion: The former president takes up so much space, distracting from the core issues that affect us all.

* The Long Game: Republicans are playing it, defunding schools and stacking courts, leading to catastrophic repercussions we don’t fully understand until it’s too late.

* The Buyer’s Remorse: Things are happening that were either actively or tacitly approved by those who voted for the former President or, worse, chose not to vote at all.

If you didn’t vote, you need to hear this. As Jai says, “We’ve got to help people understand the repercussions of their decisions”.

Driving While Black and Gay: The Catalyst for Change

Dakari Lariat’s commitment to public service comes from two decades of advocacy, but his Senate run received a fire-fueled motivator from a horrifying personal experience: his own false arrest in Michigan.

* The Incident: While driving, Lariat was stopped, subjected to sobriety tests in the cold, and ultimately gaslit throughout the night.

* The Homophobia: Troopers allegedly used homophobic slurs, stating his car and him “smelled fruity”.

* The Fallout: Despite testing negative for alcohol, he was jailed and accused of drug trafficking by way of ingestion, forcing him to use the restroom in front of booking officers.

* The Legislation: This experience inspired Lariat to draft the Motorist Bill of Rights to protect all citizens from the arbitrary discretion of law enforcement, especially while traveling.

Lariat believes the U.S. Senate is the best place to overturn things like expanded qualified immunity (which protects law enforcement from their behavior).

“We Belong in Every Room”: An Openly Queer Candidate in the Deep South

Running as a Black, gay Democrat in Alabama might seem like a political death wish, but Lariat is leaning into his identity and disrupting the political playbook.

* The Strategy: His team initially wanted to keep his identity “muted”16. Now, they’ve decided to lead with it, sending a “coming out text message” campaign that included his magazine covers. The result? They raised the most money they had ever raised in a single day.

* The Red State Myth: Lariat doesn’t believe Alabama is inherently “red”—he believes it is gerrymandered and suppressed18. His dream is for people to come out and vote based on their interests, not their party tradition.

* The Mission: Lariat affirms that when you fight for the marginalized, everybody wins. He is committed to fighting issues like the attempt to revoke a gay establishment’s licenses over a drag show, using both empathy and financial arguments (”You’re going to hurt your own economy”) to rally support.

Dakari Lariat is running on competence and a 20-year history of public service, proving that political leadership is just a room full of normal folks—and we absolutely belong at the table.

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Action Steps & Next Time

We need more voices like Dakari Lariat. He’s working to make sure our community is represented in rooms where we’ve never had a seat (we’ve never had an openly gay man in the U.S. Senate, period).

* Learn More: Find more about Dakari Lariat’s platform and the Motorist Bill of Rights at his website, DakariLariat.com.

* Educate Yourself: Use resources like Ballotpedia and Vote.gov to know exactly who and what is on your ballot, from the top of the ticket to local ordinances.

* Get Out The Vote: November 4th is the big day, but early voting is happening now.

Don’t forget to wear your “I Voted” sticker.

Would you like the full list of Election Day essentials discussed on the show?

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