Rodericka Applewhaite, White House Director of Black Media, with Solomon Jones | WURD on Democracy

WURD Radio host Solomon Jones interviews Rodericka Applewhaite, Director of Black Media at the White House. This interview was part of WURD on Democracy: Live from the White House held on February 26, 2024, sponsored by Tucker Law Group and Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University.

WURD Radio, the only independent Black talk radio station in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, held an exclusive live broadcast from the White House on Feb. 26, featuring key members of the Biden-Harris administration. This special event marked the kickoff of WURD on Democracy, an initiative dedicated to comprehensive and in-depth coverage of the 2024 elections.

WURD Radio hosts Solomon Jones, Tonya Pendleton and Brother Shomari were on location at the White House complex to engage in direct dialogue with cabinet secretaries and high-ranking administration officials, discussing pressing issues. They interrogated the administration’s record of supporting Black Americans and posed questions culled from the WURD Radio audience.

Interviews from the day included:

- Vice President Kamala Harris
- Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Department of Transportation
- Secretary Tom Vilsack, Department of Agriculture
- Karine Jean-Pierre, White House Press Secretary
- Tom Perez, Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
- Harry Coker, National Cyber Director
- Kirabo Jackson, Member of the Council of Economic Advisers
- Rodericka Applewhaite, White House Director of Black Media
- Loyce Pace, Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs, Department of Health and Human Services
- Stephen Benjamin, Director of the Office of Public Engagement
- Isabel Casillas Guzman, Administrator of the Small Business Administration
- Anabella Aspiras, Assistant Director for Engagement, Cancer Moonshot, Office of Science and Technology Policy
- Dietra Trent, Executive Director of the White House Initiative on HBCUs
- Alexis Holmes, Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Education Equity for Black Americans
- Brenda Mallory, Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality
- Wally Adeyemo, Deputy Secretary, Department of the Treasury
- Chiquita White Brooks LaSure, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services
- Daniel Hornung, Deputy Director, National Economic Council
- David Turk, Deputy Secretary for the Department of Energy
- Shannon Estenoz, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, Department of the Interior
- Acting Secretary Julie Su, Department of Labor
- Sean Savett [SUH-vet], Deputy Spokesperson, National Security Council