Count Jonathan Capehart, the openly gay Pulitzer Prizewinning columnist for the Washington Post, as one of those in her corner. Until 2012 they were merely casual acquaintances. Then came the Republican National Convention in Tampa. Each night they would meet at a local Hooters for dinner. Over wingsHooters has great wingsthey spoke for hours while tank-topped, short-shorted waitresses moved around them. Though they shared a similar worldview, Capehart, a regular MSNBC contributor, found Reid more liberal. Since then, the two have been intellectual sparring partners and close friends.

The person who wrote those columns is not the person I got to know sitting across from her at a table in Tampa at Hooters, Capehart says of Reids previous LGBTQ remarks. I dont know that person. I dont know that person who wrote those pieces.

Look, he continues, do you know how many people would be out of my life if I did not, one, learn to forgive and, two, give them the room to evolve?

Over the past few months, Reid has witnessed an entire nations belief system on race radically evolve. Following the killing of George Floyd in May and the worldwide protests that followed, America seems ready, finally ready, to take in the very things shes spoken on for years. Before the hoodie became a menacing totem for the alt-right in Florida, Reid fretted over her childrens clothes. She wasnt worried about other kids. She feared something else.

I think its important to have somebody who looks like you, who can empathize with what you feel, Reid says. For the most part, white Americans have traditionally been very trusting of the police. The police are Barney Fife. Theyre your friend. They get your cat out of a tree.

Im a law-abiding citizen, she continues. Ive never been arrested or committed a crime. But when I see those blue lights, I feel sick. I feel my heart racing. Even though I know I havent done anything wrong, Im afraid of the police. Im successful. I work at a great company. I have health benefits. And Im afraid of the police.

Matthewss swift retirement proved a shock to the network. It also offered a reset. It allowed room for something, someone different in different times. In the months that followed, Reid was one of a series of people who held down the 7 p.m. hour as MSNBC sought out a replacement. But there remained no clear choice.

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MSNBCs Joy Reid Makes Cable-Network History With the Debut of The ReidOut - Vogue