#RolandMartinUnfiltered - 10.7 Harris/Pence debate; TX limits ballot drop box locations; Racial equity myths deconstructed

Episode Date: October 7, 2020

10.7.20 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Harris/Pence debate preview; TX limits ballot drop box locations; Missouri voting rights groups ask the Supreme Court to order all ballots counted. Dr. Randall Pickett deconstructs racial equity myths; Grand Jury indicts St. Louis couple who pulled guns on protesters + Comedian Arvin Mitchell is in the houseSupport #RolandMartinUnfiltered via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered or via PayPal ☛https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered #RolandMartinUnfiltered Partner: Ceek Whether you’re a music enthusiast or an ultra-base lover. CEEK’s newly released headphones hear sound above, below and from multiple directions unlike traditional headphones where users only hear sound from left and right speakers. Be the first to own the world's first 4D, 360 Audio Headphones and mobile VR Headset. Check it out on www.ceek.com and use the promo code RMVIP2020 #RolandMartinUnfiltered is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Thank you. Today is Wednesday, October 7th, 2020. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, it is VP Debate Night Center. Kamala Harris, VP, Mike Pence, square off in Utah for the first and only vice president to debate. We'll discuss what to watch for. We'll also talk with New York Assemblyman and DNC Vice Chair Michael Blake about that. Also, Biden's plan to reach black male voters. And why are Democrats not being more aggressive in taking ownership of the First Step Act? A lot of stuff we'll talk about with Michael Blake. A lawsuit has been filed against Texas for limiting the number of polling places

to one per district. Kristen Clark with the Lawrence Committee for Civil Rights Under Law will be here to explain. In Missouri, voting rights groups are asking the Supreme Court to order all ballots to be counted. Dr. Randall Pinkett joins us to break down the myths about racial equity. And New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries will be here to talk about courting the black male vote, but also we'll talk about Democrats

and the stimulus deal in Congress. Plus, a grand jury has indicted a St. Louis couple who pulled guns on Black Lives Matter protesters. Plus, the latest anti-Trump ads. And as well, not Wednesday, comedian Arvin Mitchell will join us. Folks, it's a jam-packed show. It's time to bring the funk on Roller Mark Unfiltered. Let's go. He's got it.

Whatever the mess, he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. Unfiltered. Let's rolling. Best you know he's rolling, Martin. Martin. All eyes on Salt Lake City, Utah, where Senator Kamala Harris and Mike Pence will be debating tonight for the first vice presidential debate. So many folks are looking forward. This conversation will be a lot different from the first debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Of course, a lot of things to talk about. Of course, coronavirus is going to be center stage. It's going to be a partition between both candidates. The Harris campaign mandated that massive outbreak of coronavirus at the White House, and they said, no, we're going to make sure that we are protected. So therefore, we want to see that partition. And the Pence campaign had to agree

to that. They also are going to be 12 feet apart as well. All of that, folks, as we look at polls showing Joe Biden increasing his lead over Donald Trump. But I keep telling black people, damn those polls. Those are not votes. Ignore the polls. We must stay focused and vigilant when it comes to voting. Of course, lots of things I want to talk about. Joining me now is Michael Blake, New York State Assemblyman. He's also is DNC vice chair. Michael, glad to have you here on Roller Martin Unfiltered. This is going to be obviously a critical debate here. The nation gets to see Senator Kamala Harris going one-on-one with VP Mike Pence. His tone and attitude is far different than that of Donald Trump. I do not expect Mike Pence to be interrupting, to be as

boorish, to be as arrogant as Trump, but it is going to be important for Senator Kamala Harris tonight to establish the contrast, especially with Pence being head of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, when they've had this massive breakout at the White House? Well, Roland, let's be clear that, you know, Pence may be a little nicer, but it doesn't mean in any way what he's saying is any better. And so this is an opportunity for Senator Harris to make it very clear when she's the next vice president. Here's what we're going to focus on for black folk and communities of color. This is what we're going to do around COVID relief and making sure immediately we have a restart package towards that. This is what we do to protect health care for black communities and brown communities and communities of color. This is what we're doing specifically around

restarting the economy for black and brown folk as well. And so, you know, Pence and what's happening in terms of the super spreading on the other side is absolutely irresponsible. And tonight, the country will see the vice president that Senator Harris is going to be for all of us. We obviously are going to also, you're seeing Donald Trump went back into the Oval Office. People walk around with PPP in the White House. They're still not really enforcing social distancing as well as mask. The public increasingly are upset with Donald Trump. We're seeing that in the polling data. Tonight is again an opportunity to put another nail in the coffin for a second term of Trump Pence. Well, let's be very clear.

While we continue to pray for the recovery of President Trump and the First Lady and all those there, their reckless, irresponsible, chaotic, nonsensical approach is the reason why 200,000-plus Americans, including one of my friends, 46-year-old Zeke Cousins,

have been called on home too early. And so this is a very clear indication. For anyone asking and wondering what's at stake, Black people, Black businesses are dead and are not coming back because, in large part, the irresponsibility of Trump and Pence. And so this is an opportunity for us to be very clear and very direct about what's at stake. And, you know, Roland, as you know, I had the opportunity to work in the Obama-Biden administration within the White House,

running African-American and minority business outreach for the White House, being on both campaigns. There is no way in hell that we would have had a space where you literally would have had a president who was still sick, going against doctor's orders, returning back to the White House and putting more people at risk for his own personal gain. And so this is what's at stake right now. People have to understand.

I understand you may say you want perfect, but it's about being clear about what's at stake. Do you want to survive and thrive? That's why we're saying that Biden and Harris have to win, not just for our sakes, but for the sakes of generations to come as well. One of the things, obviously, when we start talking about the issues there, when we start breaking down, again, how do you get people to the polls? How do you speak to them? Last year, black women were very aggressive in saying that the DNC was not listening to them, was not appealing to them. I remember there was a headline that was even in, it was in The Hill where they said, why are black women ghosting the Democratic Party?

And that was important. And in fact, here was a piece that was in The Atlantic. Go to my iPad, please. This was a piece, a warning to the Democratic Party about black voters. Cory Booker and Kamala Harris had the same grave message for their fellow candidates talking about how critically important black voters are. That was that particular piece there. Then you also had another piece that was done, again, examining this here. This is from the New York Times. This was a story, black Americans have a message for Democrats. Not being Trump is not enough. And then I'm going to pull up the third story here that was speaking to this particular issue that people were looking at.

This was the L.A. Times. Women of color pose a question for Democratic candidates. Why should we vote for you? That obviously is important. Joe Biden, Kamala Harris needs to get back to Obama level, Obama era levels when it comes to black voters. How do they do that in the final 27 days? Well, we first are going to have to be much more direct and clear to everybody that it's not just about Trump being bad, but we're going to tell them why we're good. And as a vice chair of the DNC, as the first black man elected to this senior role since Ron Brown, as a brother who has endured police brutality myself on two occasions, and in living

in the Bronx where I've seen it firsthand, I want to be very clear with everybody. There is an opportunity on what we can do for Black men, for Black women, for Black people through a Biden-Harris administration. Number one, when we talk about elevating the Minority Business Development Agency to an assistant secretary level and having additional capital to get out to Black businesses, that was not happening before. It not only will help us to survive and thrive and build back better, but it will create more opportunities that didn't exist for many of our businesses. When we talk about what has to happen around criminal justice reform, please stop telling me about only your frustration about a crime bill for Senator

Biden at the time or Senator Harris was a prosecutor. Let's talk about what we have done moving forward around a first step back and creating more opportunities through Biden when he was a vice president and say very clearly this is about how do we have criminal justice changes at larger scale that would happen in a Biden-Harris administration? Number three, let's talk about when it comes to education, whether it be increased funding for black males, for black students, for black families, whether it be student loan forgiveness. So for all of you, especially HBCU students who would obviously get more funding from the Biden-Harris administration, but having the chances of having your loans forgiven, those are the tactical pieces. But then let's take it to that final statement, Roland.

When we talk about healthcare, black men, we're dying. We're losing our lives. We're losing opportunities. And so we have to ask ourselves, do you trust a racist, sexist, xenophobic person who has done everything possible to not help our communities? Or do we put our faith and hands in a Biden-Harris administration for more funding for

community development institutions, to make sure we strengthen the Affordable Care Act, to make sure we're addressing when it comes to mental health, to say very concretely that for our people, Black men, Black people, this is what's at stake. And so I'm going all out for the next 27 plus days because it's not just about how do we make it for these 27 days. I am very concerned about how we make it for the next 27 years and beyond. And so next year in 2021, the 100th anniversary of what happened in Greenwood and in Tulsa, when we have the opportunity to transform the game for us as a people. I am appealing to black men very directly. Sitting on the sidelines is helping Donald Trump. We need you in the game.

We need to stand up for you. We are here for you. And I'm asking for you, pleading with you to believe in what a Biden-Harris administration would be for us as a people. But don't you also need to have Joe Biden and Senator Harris making that case as well? Battleground states data is showing 15 to 20 percent of black men voting for Trump. Black women obviously do not like the Republican Party. The reality is, sure, you look at the numbers right now, there's an increase in white voters. People are sitting here looking at all this poll, eight, nine, 10, 12, 14, 16 points. I don't believe those at all. And so if it comes down to the margins, look, 5, 10, 20,000 are going to be important. What are you and others saying

in the campaign where to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, where the people can hear them say what you're talking about. We got to do more. And I think, Roland, the reality is we have been doing the work, whether it be Make It Happen Mondays, when we talk specifically about black businesses, when there was a black business summit that Vice President Biden had in North Carolina, when it was Senator Harris in Michigan, whether it's shop talk, whether it's sister to sister, we're doing the work and we're organizing and mobilizing. But the reality is, if people are not aware of it and they're not feeling it, there's more we need to do. When we're having Soul of a Nation concerts on digital platforms, when we're going and engaging and having PSAs and digital conversations, when we're telling people about IWillVote.com, when we're amplifying voter protection efforts in 27 states, if there are still brothers out

there and sisters out there that are not aware of that, then we got to drill down home. But I want to be very clear. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are about our Black people, period. This is a man who I remember when he was a senator and was the vice presidential nominee, when he went to Macomb County and said very directly, you're going to vote for my friend, Barack Obama, to be the next president. Kamala Harris, when she came out to Iowa and campaigned for us to make sure we had a chance to have a President Obama in the first place.

And what I'm saying is the work is happening, but we got to drill down more. And it's coming directly from Vice President Biden, directly from Senator Harris, on down through the campaign. And so our responsibility now is to amplify even more directly to that brother and sister that's on the block, that's saying the Democrats are not rocking with me. And it's not that we are not. It's not that our policies are not there. It's not that we're not engaging. It's not that we're not mobilizing, whether it be more than a vote

or when we all vote or engaging with our players and other entertainers and other celebrities. But we will be focused immensely, not on the polls, but on the people, and saying very directly, here's what's at stake to everybody. And so this is a plea. This is a saying that, you know, we need the help. We need your support. We need you to rock with us. And as a DNC vice chair, as I see the opportunity, it's not just about a Biden-Harris victory. This is about what could happen in Georgia with Warnock or in South Carolina with Jamie Harrison. This is about creating more opportunities for all of us as a people, elevating a Cedric Richmond, who's our campaign co-chair, and Lisa Blunt Rochester, as well as another campaign co-chair, demonstrating our appreciation of Jim Clyburn as a majority whip.

But saying to the brothers in Michigan and in Wisconsin and in Arizona and in Florida and in Ohio, whether it's the South Side or the South Bronx. We are ready to rock with you. Stand with us and give us a chance so we can demonstrate what it would be in the Biden-Harris administration. The last question I want to ask you. Yesterday, we had, of course, Terrence Woodbury with Hit Strategies, as well as Alicia Garza with Black Features Lab. They released their survey. And one of the things that they showed is that voters under 50, whether they were LGBTQ or not, there were some issues there. This is what The Root wrote. While 69 percent of black people over the age of 50 felt their vote was an extremely powerful tool to create change in their communities, Less than half of younger black folks felt this way. More than a third, 37 percent of young black Americans felt their vote was not a powerful mechanism for effecting change. So exactly, again, what is this campaign? Biden is doing very well, again,

with older white voters. He has peeled some of that support back from Donald Trump, even in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. But when you look at those younger black voters, what they're saying is, I'm not feeling a Democratic Party like my grandparents and my parents. What's the argument you're making to them as to why they should look at Biden-Harris and not just look at them, but actually cast that vote?

Because marching in the streets is not enough, Roland. You know, I come to you as someone who is a New York Assembly member and, again, as a DNC vice chair, and I look at this from all perspectives. I look at when we saw the brutal, brutal effort of what happened against Jacob Blake and the dynamic that happened there.

What happened here? We changed policies so you could no longer have police misconduct be shielded. You look at what's going on in Virginia when they have a racial commission that they're now moving forward on and preparing and advocating for the signage of a bill that would decertify officers with police misconduct. When we saw what happened before in Ferguson, which led to local elections and transformation that happened on the ground. And so what I'm saying to everybody, number one, when we talk about what's mobilizing us as a people, we are pissed off of Black people being killed and martyred and left in the streets. We are tired of saying over and over, say her name and say his name. And we think about the work of Until Freedom, of Tamika Mallory,

and my son, and Angelo, and everyone else that's there, when we think about Justice League, when we think about Kentucky Alliance, at the end of the day, it is not just about us being out in the streets. We need policies to change. So to my brothers and my sisters, especially younger ones, who are saying to themselves, it doesn't matter. I want to be very clear with you. Are you angry with Daniel Cameron for not moving forward? If the answer is yes, then vote. If you're angry about what happens over and over

in Wisconsin and the injustice on the ground, if you are, then vote. If you want to see transformation that can happen on the federal level so we can have police misconduct understood on the national dynamic so you can decertify officers that are not doing the right thing, then vote.

It is not enough to just protest. You have to vote for the policies to change. And so at the end of the day, that is our direct plea to the young people. If you believe in these things and you want to see transformation in a very real way, that is only going to happen by making sure you fill out the census before the end of this month and making sure that you vote.

And if you're willing to stand in line for the concerts and stand in line for the sneakers, I need you to stand in line to make sure your vote is counted so that we can actually make some real changes and build back better in 2021. My suggestion to the Biden campaign is what you just said in the last 60 to 90 seconds. Take that, put that sucker into a video and put that on black radio, black TV, and on black digital platforms, because that's the message that needs to be heard. And they need to be hearing it as well

from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Mike Blake, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Always, Brad. Thank you. All right. I want to bring my panel, A. Scott Bolden, former chair of National Bar Association Political Action Committee. Robert Petillo, executive director of Rainbow Push Coalition, Peach Tree Street Project. Rena Shaw, the Lincoln Project Women's Coalition. Robert, I want to start with you. You heard exactly what Michael Blake said right there. That energy, that direct language is what needs to be on repeat by the campaign of Biden-Harris to reach black voters, but especially black men. Well, you're absolutely correct. And not just that. We need to hear that directly from the

candidate himself. We need to hear that from the lips of Joe Biden. And we need to hear that on black media platforms. Again, we are 27 days from the election. And I, you know, me and you both know a lot of black talk radio hosts around the country. Nobody has had them on their shows. They have not. They've not gone down and taken questions. I think since that Breakfast Club interview, they have really just shied away from having those direct conversations with the community. It's one thing to have it through surrogates and through proxy, bear it somewhere on a website, but we need to hear the candidates coming in, making these direct appeals, these direct pitches, because guess what? For the first time in probably

30 years, the Republicans are doing exactly that. They are putting money into Black Voices for Trump. They're opening up regional field offices. We're seeing Black Republican candidates having strong ground games around the country. We look at Kim Klasick in Baltimore, Angela Stanton in Atlanta, or others around the country. So you cannot allow yourself to get out-competed with your base. It's one thing to not get those Southern blue-collar Reagan, Democrat, Rust Belt voters that they all want to go back to, but you've got to be racking up votes and support in your community, and that's not going to happen unless you're getting in there, putting in the groundwork, and making sure people are motivated, not through surrogates, not through other people, not just through

bulk commercials, but by being there and talking to the community. And Scott, look, I made it clear to the Biden campaign that I want to see Joe Biden on this show, at least a minimum 20-minute interview. Same thing with Senator Harris. We have not had Biden since February. We had Senator Kamala Harris several times between April and July, but not since, of course, she got the nomination. That is important. It is important to go to those platforms. I know that they've been on D.O. Hughley's show. I think they did Ricky Smiley's show, Steve Harvey. But those things have to happen. Look, this is real simple. I don't, let me just be as clear as possible, Scott, I do not trust these white voters. I don't trust. I'm not I'm not believing

any of these numbers to my how I see this whole deal. You have to be folk like running like you down 10 points and we going after everybody that we can and we going to do what's necessary to reach them. Because you because, you know, those numbers are false. Those numbers for Trump are always underreporting because people are afraid to say they're going to vote for Trump, whether they're black and white. And so we've got to run scared. Let me say something about Michael. Michael has a very dynamic presentation. I wish Biden here were as dynamic as he was and as focused as he was. But if you were to piece through Michael's representations as to why young people should vote and black people should vote. Right. He needs to be talking. And he did at some he did at some point not talking about what we're going to do, but what the Democrats have done. Because young people are not really listening because those are promises. And young

people don't see an effective or efficient response to voting or marching. They're just out there because they're angry. And so the Dems have got to come up with something bigger, better and brighter. But it sounds like a lot, a lot of promises. And Trump's not enough. They're not going to vote for Trump either. And my theory is they won't vote at all because this is just more promises. When they listen to P. Diddy and others, these are just more promises. I want some guarantees. And that's going to be a challenge for the Democrats in 2020.

Arena, here's a perfect example. Donald Trump has been out here and he's running ads featuring former NFL players touting the first step at. Here's the deal. The first step at was passed by a democratically controlled house. We're going to be joined later by Congressman Hakeem Jeffries. And I'm sitting here going, why are Democrats ceding him the complete ground when it comes to that? Why are Democrats when he's running around out here, I mean, the reality is that bill was really a prison reform bill. And then when it went to the

Senate, led by Senator Cory Booker, Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Dick Durbin, Republican Chuck Grassley, Senator from Iowa, they said, no, this bill has to be strengthened. And so I'm saying, Democrats, your party made the First Step Act real. Take credit for it. Trump is running around talking about all this stuff I did for HBCUs. He didn't do that. That was Congressman Alma Adams' bill when it came to that permanent HBCU funding for one program. I'm like, Democrats, own that shit!

You know, what you talk about, Roland, is so frustrating because to me it's indicative of a larger trend, and I've seen this from the inside. Republicans, particularly Republicans like Senator Rand Paul, they love to pick up the mantle of criminal justice reform. They love to tout that as the one area in which they get it right and Democrats follow. And that it's an area also, well, this is a positive thing, for bipartisanship, because we know that's pretty much extinct in this era.

So again, I've also been frustrated by what it seems like Democrats' inability to message well on this, on what they're getting right. It seems like Republicans went out because they're louder on this. They're saying, look at what we did, look at what we did. And it's almost like creating distractions. So on something so massive, whether you're talking about First Step Act or talking about HBCUs, it's like the Democrats have not been able to really grab the narrative and claim the narrative, even though it was theirs to build, launch and build, rather. So I'll say this about Kamala Harris. I mean, look, she's a HBCU grad.

I think this is indicative of also something that she's just going to have to really put on display tonight, and that is her ability, her ability to hit back when she's hit. She's so good at delivering the punch. I love how she delivers the punch. But when she's tasked with hitting back, it's like I see her freeze up. And we saw this in the debates before with her Democrat opponents in the primary. So I just really, again, it's a frustration on messaging and truly the the inability to hit back at Republicans. Look, look, look, look. Here's the deal. Here's the deal for me. Here's the deal for me. OK, let's take about our congressman, Alma Adams.

This is rolling. If I'm if I'm the Biden Harris campaign, if I'm working on their digital team, if I'm working in their ad team, I have Congressman Alma Adams do a video and say, hi, I'm Congressman Alma Adams from the great state of North Carolina. Have y'all heard Donald Trump running around talking about how he made funding permanent for HBCUs, then I played a little clip. Then I would say, that was my bill. I'm a graduate of North Carolina A&T. I'm the one who made the bill possible. Donald Trump didn't lift a finger. He didn't even know what that particular bill was. So Donald, stop taking credit for the work of black women, because all you're doing is doing exactly what folks have always done, and that is take the credit of black women. I'm here for Biden-Harris. Damn it, run that. I mean, I'm just saying you have to go for the jugular, Robert, and undercut them where they think they are strong. Yeah, and a lot, you know, as a Falcons fan, I know it happens when you get an early lead and then you stop paying attention.

And I think that some of these poll numbers have convinced the Biden-Harris campaign that they can start taking it easy and Cadillac-ing their way to the end. You know, you got one poll saying you're up 14, another saying you're up 16. Every swing state poll says that they're leading. I think for that reason, they've taken their foot off the gas pedal. It's very important to see this thing through to the end. Do not think that you are winning. We see what happens when you're up 28 to 3. Sometimes you don't end up coming out with the W. So it's important for them to keep going, push harder, and don't shy away from the hard conversations because at some point you're going to have to actually talk about these issues,

whether it's before or after the election. And there are a lot of checks getting written right now. They're going to have to cash those and be ready to satisfy all the parts of the coalition. I'll give you this one here, Scott. I'm just going to give you one more, okay? This is just me. This is just me. This is just me. I will have a copy of Donald Trump's platinum plan.

Hell, just put it on a blank sheet of paper like Trump does. So imagine them putting this video out. Hi, I'm Senator Kamala Harris. I'm sitting here looking at Donald Trump's platinum plan for black people. Have y'all seen it? Donald Trump said that he is going to push for the anti-lynching

bill to be made law. Donald, do you mean the bill that I co-sponsored with Senator Cory Booker and Senator Tim Scott? You mean the bill that you didn't lift the finger for when Senator Rand Paul blocked it? Blocking it. Exactly. Scott, stop talking. I'm doing a commercial here. This is where you say, I don't recall, Donald Trump, where you sent a tweet out

or made any statement in support of the lynching bill when it was law. Also, I see here that you say you want to make Juneteenth a national holiday. Well, I don't recall, Donald Trump, when Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin blocked that from actually happening in July. Did you send a tweet out about that? No. Did you talk about it at a news conference? No. Did you even discuss it when you called in the Fox and Friends? No. Did you talk about it at a news conference? No. Did you even discuss it when you called in the Fox and Friends? No. Donald, your platinum plan ain't worth the paper that it's written on. You are not serious about the interests of black people.

That's that. Drop that video now. Own that shit. I got a friendly amendment for you too those 25 000 lies he's told over four years makes that that that platinum plan completely uh devoid of any credibility but completely uh false promises and you got 25 000 reasons why to believe it's false. But more importantly, he promised an urban agenda when he went to Detroit in 2016. And we haven't seen an urban agenda or that platinum plan. He doesn't need a plan to act, right? He could do that anyway over the last four years.

He hadn't made it a priority. So what makes a black people think, black Republicans, that he's going to make it a priority for them if he wins between 20 and 24? It's complete nonsense and ridiculous. OK, you're right. It's not the paper. It's on. Rena, Rena, Rena, last one, last one, last one. This is what you do.

You get you go get one of those doctors or you get, you know, somebody with a pre-existing condition and you have a camera following around D.C. You know what they do? They go to a different place. They say, hi, I'm looking for Don Trump's health plan. Have you seen it? Because he keeps saying that he was going to present it because he said it during the campaign he was going to present it. Then I would go to another location. Have y'all seen Donald Trump's health plan? I would be lifting up trash cans. Y'all, I'm looking for the health plan. And then I'm splicing in when he was on Chris Wallace

and he was saying, I'm going to announce it in two weeks, which took place in July. And then in September when he said on Chris Wallace and was saying, I'm announcing in two weeks, which took place in July. And then in September, when he said we're going to have it in another three weeks. And then with Kayleigh McEnany say, well, if you want to know what it is, come work at the White House. My deal is I'm sick. My deal is you ridicule them and you literally drop those videos. You make those go viral. Don't just leave it up to the Lincoln Project who you with, Reina. Damn it. Do that. What you do is you look, that's Donald Trump hates being mocked, mocked the hell out of Donald Trump. You know, I rock with the Lincoln

Project. Why? Because they are the only vehicle, I believe, in so many months. Now, there's, of course, Republican voters against Trump. They're doing great ads as well. And those are really sort of state specific and they're really going grassroots. But the Lincoln Project, there was really an entryway for this because the reality was that nobody was able to put out compelling digital ads. And now this is really what campaigns have been about. I've been an operative for a long time. And what I've seen is that the reliance on digital is so heavy these days. And I've never seen that drop the mic content, that stuff that goes viral.

I just have not seen it from the Biden campaign. And so why are people drawn to the Lincoln Project, this nascent effort? Not because of all these former Republican operatives that came together to put together a really unconventional coalition and essentially a super PAC to draw out these ads, but it's because there was a failure on the part of Democrats. So I hear you 100 percent. But the reality is this. There are big egos on the left. The left has been fractured for a long time, and it continues to sort of pervade what's going wrong. I believe there's also a bit of disorganization within the Biden campaign because of the big egos, because it took so long for him to make it out of that primary process. I mean, I think he entered the race,

as everybody knows, expecting that everybody would just clear the way for him. And it didn't happen like that. So I think, um, they were also broke that they wanted at this point. Well, here's the deal. They were also broke as hell. Look, they look, here's the whole deal. Here's the deal. They raised $364 million in August. They raised more than that in September. You've raised $700 million in the last two months. I'm saying put that money out there. You got to be able to go aggressive, go hard. And I'm talking about hard, hard, hard, hard. That's what I'm saying. Blanket black websites. Blanket all these platforms.

Blanket Facebook. Go after them. Mock them. Every time he says something, mock them. Sit here. Hell, sit there and get a mask made. I will make America great again with Joe Biden. I don't care. What you do is you simply

get aggressive with it. Talking about getting aggressive, the law is created for civil rights under the law. We do the exact same thing. 27 days, y'all, before Election Day. And so we know what's happening in 26 days. I'm sorry, what's happening in Texas. And whereas Governor Greg Abbott just totally screwed the voters there.

Okay, folks, I'm gonna roll a video that I sent y'all from Texas of the people. This is the lines in Harris County. Y'all, Harris County alone, this was from yesterday, is bigger than two or three states in the United States. Because Greg Abbott limited one drop box in each county, these are the lines you're seeing right here. OK, now, same thing happened in Ohio. Republicans did the exact same thing that get the Ohio ready.

This is the video right here from Ohio. Same problem. Look at all those people. They want to frustrate people. They want you to quit. That's their end game. Joining us right now is the leader of the largest committee for civil rights under law, Kristen Clark. Kristen, y'all are so y'all have joined. First of all, other other groups that have sued the governor as vote by mail and they are dropping their ballots off at drop boxes. And, you know, it's remarkable in Travis County and in Harris County and all across the state, we're seeing people who are making the best choice for them, given the fact that there is a pandemic. They're going out and voting in record numbers and voting by mail. In Harris County, by October 1st, 71,000 people had requested absentee ballots. And back in 2016, only 27,000 people had voted by mail. So it's almost as if these numbers have scared the governor into making this 11th hour change. Oh, no, no, no, no. Christian, let's be real clear. The reason it scared him, because here's the deal. It has nothing to do with Biden Harris. What it has to do with is Democrats have been owning Republicans in the suburbs in Texas in the last two elections. The Democrats

are now nine seats away from taking control of the Texas House. If they win those nine seats, they now control the Texas House for the first time in more than 20 years. That is what he's afraid of. And he's also afraid of Black and brown people getting out and voting, right? That is what we allege in the lawsuit that we filed yesterday, that this is discriminatory and it is a clear attempt to suppress the votes of Black and brown people in particular. We know that the pandemic has had a devastating impact across Texas. We know that black folks are 2.6 times more likely to be diagnosed with COVID. And so this is about this is also about silencing voters of color. But, you know, look, Roland, we filed over two dozen lawsuits since the pandemic and we're

fighting in Ohio. You just talked about the crisis there and we're in court as well in Ohio. We're fighting in places like Mississippi, where they are mandating that you get your ballot witnessed. We're fighting in states that are vowing to reject ballots if people make small errors or omissions. So between now and Election Day, that's what we're going to do. We're going to take this battle to the courts and do all that we can to make sure that our votes count in 2020. When we talk about what's happening, Bev, you can speak to this here. This case out of Missouri yesterday, voting rights groups asked the state's highest court to streamline Missouri's mail-in voting process because the various steps required to vote by mail during the pandemic are unconstitutional. They also said the court should allow county clerks to count all mail-in ballots on election day, no matter if voters follow a requirement that they get the ballot envelope notarized. The ACLU asked the judges to overturn a Cole County decision dismissing claims that requiring some voters to get mail-in

ballots notarized is a step that could expose people to coronavirus. An attorney for the state said it would be unfair to change the rules after voting has begun. This is the thing that we're seeing, the same thing in South Carolina. The Supreme Court said, no, you've got to have witnesses. So what you have is you've got Republicans in these states who are saying, no, keep all these things in place and you're going, you know, we're in the middle of a damn pandemic. Right. I wonder how that judge would react to what Abbott did. I mean, he changed the rules in the middle of the game. People across Texas have been going out and returning their ballots to these locations that literally have been shuttered on October 1st because of Abbott's 11th hour decision to change the rules of the game. So we're going to

keep fighting. And what we need people to do is to be vigilant. If there is something happening in your community, we need you to sound an alarm and report it to our election protection program, our nonpartisan voter protection program. It is anchored by the 866-OUR-VOTE hotline, and we are going seven days a week pushing back against all of these restrictions and barriers that are being put out there to silence us and to prevent us from having voice in this election. We're going to do everything in our power to make sure that everyone has voice in our democracy during one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime. All right. Kirsten Clark with the Laws Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Again, give it voter protection number for folks so they can hear that. 866-OUR-VOTE, 866-OUR-VOTE.

And if you'll allow me, Roland, I just want to share one other piece of breaking news. Sure. About an hour and a half ago, we got a decision from the Ninth Circuit in our battle against the Trump administration concerning the 2020 census. The count goes on. There are still several states, particularly in the South, where we have not achieved a full and fair count of the population. And the Trump administration in true form and fashion had tried to curtail the count. So we have been successful. The count will not be cut short and will continue as of this stage through October 31st. So if there are people out there who have not yet participated in the 2020

census, and I know you have been pushing this to your audience. I just want to underscore that the count goes on. It's a very important victory that we secured just moments ago out of the Ninth Circuit. Well, that is certainly huge. And so I'm quite sure they're going to be appealing that to the Supreme Court like they have every single thing, hoping this conservative Supreme Court is going to rule in their favor. Where can people, again, give to donate to support the Lawyers Committee, the great work that y'all are doing? Thank you. You can support our work at the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law by visiting our website, lawyerscommittee.org, and hit that donate button. We are fighting tooth and nail against the Trump

administration to safeguard voting rights and so much more. So we appreciate the support. All right. Kristen Clark, we still appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you for having me. We are going to see a lot more of this arena again. Every single effort focused. Republicans are targeting all of these places and they're going state by state, Texas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida. It's on and on and on. They do not want all of the ballots to be counted. Because they know if they are, the big problem is, is that they will be swept out. They won't retain these majorities that they have in state legislatures.

They won't have the majority in the Senate. They're scared. I mean, this is about fear. And this is how Republicans operate. They instill fear. You know, they call out the left for being alarmist all the time. But what they have done in the minds of the base, the Trump base especially, we see a fear has been instilled of black and brown people. I see it even in the narrative against Kamala Harris, for example. Let's not make any mistake.

Tonight, sexism will be alive and well in the aftermath. I mean, people have questioned how she got to where she is, almost invalidating her, not just as a person, a daughter of immigrants, a Black Baptist who is married to a Jewish dad now, but somebody that really doesn't deserve to be where she is. And this is exactly why they do what they do. These governors, you know, I can't even tell you, these dirty efforts, it should come as no surprise. This has been done in the dark for so long. Only now are we seeing the transparency that really we thought we had in this country. It's taken the work of great nonprofits, and it's going to continue to be outside of the political structure that people are going to have

to go digging to see just how people's rights have been infringed on at the state level. And local elections matter. People say it all the time. We don't know it until we feel it. And this is the year that we know that getting in the streets, that even hasn't helped. We will continue to be devalued, disenfranchised by Republican state lawmakers for as long as we keep them in power. There are so many more bad than they are good. And I know this because of my career, Republican politics, I've seen it at all levels.

I've been told, no, there's so many good ones that don't believe what you're saying. They really believe that this is an America for all of us. But you got to look at how these people come up. It's so important that we read up on the candidates. This is the first year that I've seen such a push. And again, from nonprofit organizations all across the country that are from the center, they're nonpartisan, that say this is the first year that I've really heard a push that says, read up, read up, do your homework on who's on the ballot. Because if you go deeper into their backgrounds, you can suss out what doesn't smell right. And we're seeing that right now with the Supreme Court nominee from the Republican side, Amy Coney Barrett. And she's a real life handmaid. When we're finding out these details, it's shocking. And we know how they will govern when we read these details about their path. Lots of efforts out there, Scott, when it comes to getting people to be focused on all of these crazy arcane rules. A bunch of celebrities got

together to talk about these nude ballots, this nude voting. I know it sounds strange. No, people, it's not you getting that. You mean naked. It's naked. Right. I got this, Scott. Can you please just let me host the show? Are you done? Thank you very much. When can I get in the studio with you? When? First of all, I got this. I'm hosting the show, so sit

there and be quiet. So here's the deal. So, a bunch of these celebrities, what they did is they got butt naked nude to talk about naked balance. Watch this. No, I'm naked. I'm completely butt ass naked. I'm naked. I'm like naked. There isn't a man behind me. These are my hands. Why you want me to be naked? I know what you're thinking. You're thinking Ruffalo, put your clothes on. To be honest, I wish I could cover my hands with my boobs, but here we are. I'm here to talk to you

about voting. Did you know that ballots could be naked? And if you don't do exactly what I tell you, your ballot could get thrown out. This is my ballot. Just bought it. First of all, when your ballot comes, you're supposed to read the instructions read and follow the instructions that come with your ballot if they say to use a black pen use a black pen i know that's like literally the least sexy thing a completely naked person could say but but i have crumb like can of pepsi this problem number two In some states like Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania.

There are two envelopes you have to stuff your ballot in. Otherwise, it's called a naked ballot. Naked ballots. And you don't want to have one of those. Number three, mail your ballot in as soon as you can. Don't sit on them. Get those things out ASAP. Like now.

Do it! Get it in as soon as you can. I gotta get my ballot to the motherfucking post office. Let's go! Please vote. Take your clothes off and vote. Vote, vote, vote.

Everyone's voice matters in this election. Please vote. America needs you. Hey. Can they run that? Is that legal? Yes. At the FCC?

What are you talking about? Yeah. There were boobs. There were breasts in that promotion. Are you a real lawyer? I asked a question. Of course I'm a real lawyer. Are you a real lawyer?

Don't start. Robert, you're a lawyer. Can you please explain? It just looked a little obscene. Robert, can you please explain to Scott that if you're not actually showing breasts and you're showing covered up breasts, yeah, you can actually run it. But I knew it was there. I knew it was there. Look, our moral standards as a nation have fallen pretty

significantly. Robert, I knew it was there. I don't think anybody had any interest in seeing the majority of those people naked. Could have done without most of that. But it's a good message. I think it's very important for us to get that information. This week, the Rainbow Push Coalition is holding our 21st Annual Creating Opportunities Conference.

Our first session tomorrow is on exactly that, on securing the vote with Barbara Arnwine, NSEI UF, C.K. Hoffler. It's important for us to have these conversations because what you never see is Republicans doing get-out-the-vote drives. You never see voter registration drives from Republicans. Their goal is to have as few people vote as possible. In the last 30 years, Republicans have won the popular vote in a presidential election one time in 2004. They have no intention of getting the majority of the vote, and they will try to put every roadblock in place to stop that. So it's important for people to get this information.

However you want to get that information out, if you want to do an ad like that, fine. If you want to be part of the conference tomorrow, Rainbow Push, register at rainbowpushatlanta.org. But it's important to get information out. If I could do without seeing Josh Gad naked, probably ever again. Recy Colbert of Black Women's Views, she actually also put out a video. She, no, she's not naked. Uh, talking about again, uh, the different rules in various States when it comes to absentee balloting. Well, a lot of people realize they saw the focus on this Wisconsin, excuse me, Pennsylvania. They're talking about naked ballots. Every state has their own particular idiosyncrasy when it comes to absentee balloting. Some require notarized, some require witnesses. It all depends on your state.

This is what Rishi put out today. Hey, y'all, we are less than 30 days away from the election. But guess what? The election is now more than five point six million people have already cast their votes. Absentee ballots are being mailed out. Early voting is starting in even more states. But guess what we want to make sure those votes count okay i'm seeing alarming numbers for instance in one county north carolina black voters have an 11 rejection rate we cannot let that stand i understand that ballots come with instructions but obviously that ain't enough. So what I've done is I've put in 12 hours of research and more on finding absentee ballot instructional videos for every state. Unfortunately, not every state has them for the 2020 general election.

There might be some that are for the primaries are years older, but I didn't include those in this list. So this thread, this list is going to be for every state that I was able to find it for, which is 36 states, how to fill out your absentee ballot. Now, I do want to make some disclaimers. Number one, even within the state, there are varying ballot designs depending on the county. So these videos that you watch, they're going to most likely be for one specific county. Now, rules that you watch, they're going to most likely be for one specific county. Now, rules like signature requirements, if you require a notary and things of that nature, will be universal across the state. So that's important information to keep in mind. You can always look up your specific information. First of all, read your ballot, read the

instructions, okay? But you can also contact your county board elections or whoever your elections official is. That information is normally enclosed with your ballot. You can also usually download sample ballots. So I want you to just have this as a guide to share with those and so that you get an idea of how to fill out the ballots in your specific states. There's more information out there. Hopefully this will be helpful to you. But the most important thing is number one, follow the instructions in your ballot. Even if it's different from what you see in these videos, make sure you follow your ballot's instructions and make sure that you follow all of the instructions and that you get it in on time and early. Let's win, y'all. This is the kind of stuff that Democrats have to be doing, Scott,

because we're now living in a virtual world. You got to walk people through those things. And, you know, look, that naked video, this video and others, these are important since we're going to see an explosion of people voting by mail. I like them. I think it's important. But as I've said to you and others before, I don't think they are the most important because they're not dispositive of people of color, black and white, actually being dragged to the polls or actually counting that they've sent in these mail-in ballots. That if the investment of dollars by all of these groups and individuals, I would hope

that they would invest some in either dragging people to the polls or monitoring how many people have mailed these ballots in correctly. Scott, Scott, Scott, Scott, Scott, Scott, Scott, Scott, hold up. The whole point of the videos is to educate people who choose not to be dragged to the polls. I got it. And so no, no, no, no way. I'm not done.

So I'm not done. Well, actually, here's the deal. If there are people, if there are people who say, I don't trust going out, I'm elderly, or I don't want to stay in those long lines. If they say, I want to do mail-in balloting, you have to, this is critically important to walk them through. Here's the deal. Some will vote on November 3rd. Some will vote early.

Some will vote mail-in. They all are important. There's no such thing as this is more important than this one. They all are. I didn't say that. You didn't let me finish. I think what's dispositive is their vote counting. And I want them to invest in how you mail in ballot. But I also want them to invest money and time and resources in dragging people to the polls the old fashioned way, because while it may be dangerous and we have to do it safely in the end, in the end, that's the best way to ensure that our vote is counted, at least in my opinion. I got it's dispositive. And so it's all important. You're right. But dragging them to the polls. And I don't see a whole lot of ads about dragging people to the polls on Election Day in all 50 states.

Well, it's because they're not going on Election Day. If you look at the process, there are two processes. First of all, this is what's happening right now. First, guys, get the graphic ready. Voter registration deadlines. Before I can drag them to the polls and vote early. Wait a minute. Before I can get you to vote, you've got to be registered.

Show the graphic, please. Here are the deadlines. Okay? Today, of course, is October 7th registered. Show the graphic, please. Here are the deadlines. Okay. Today, of course, is October 7th. Today in Missouri is the deadline. And let me tell you, so you have October 9th, Idaho, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma. Then of course, October 10th is Delaware. Folks, this is why, this is why this is important. And this is why y'all got to watch, y'all got to watch, uh, y'all got to watch, um, Roland Martin unfiltered because we are walking you through these things. This was an email, uh, that I got. This was an email that I received today from one of our viewers, uh, who is in, um, he is in,

uh, Missouri. This is what he wrote. Uncle Roro, I just want to let you know how thankful I am for you enlightening the community about staying vigilant during this election season and checking our voter status. Because of you, just one month ago, I checked my voter status online and my status showed that I was a registered voter. Due to all the shenanigans by these devils trying to suppress our votes around the country, I decided on yesterday to check my status again. To my surprise, the message indicated that I was not a registered voter. Today in Missouri is the last day to register, so I got my ass up this morning and drove to the St. Louis Board of Election Office because the bastards were not answering their phone

and I raised hell about my election status. After a few choice words with one of the workers there and after the bullshit excuse she gave me as to why my voter status had been changed, I was able to correct it. I shudder to think what a betrayal it would be to my black family in this country if my vote did not count because I did not know my status. There is no way in hell I would miss voting in this election to get this known crazy ass hateful racist out of the White House. I'm in tears today. I cannot thank you enough for your diligence in challenging your audience on your show to check our voter status. Voter suppression

is real. Please keep warning the people. People's failure to vote in this election is a slap in the face of every black person around the world. Thank you, Uncle Roro. Because of you, my vote will count. This is why we got to walk people through these things because we can't assume that people are just going to know and it's not going to happen on cnn msnbc fox news abc nbc cbs we have to use these platforms to constantly reach and teach people about these things robert word for me before we go to break this is why it's so important that we not just focus on federal elections, not just the presidency, but state and local elections also. Realize that many of these rules with regards to voting are made on the state and local level by your county board of elections, by your secretary of state's office. It should not be this hard

in an advanced democracy for people to vote. You should not need an advanced degree just to know all the deadlines in order to be able to vote. We have not need an advanced degree just to know all the deadlines in order to be able to vote. We have to make sure we make those changes on state and local level. Got to go to a break. We come back. We'll talk to Dr. Randall Pinkett about racial equity in this country. I'm sure he also has a few things to say about Donald Trump as well. Also on today's show, remember the next couple in St. Louis who pulled the guns on Black Lives Matter protesters? Got their ass indicted. We'll break all that down next. Roland Martin, Unfiltered, back in a moment.

Too often, we will look at others and make a judgment on what they should, shouldn't do. I think we all have to operate based on our convictions, right? And that conviction, especially when it comes to being politically active, is going to take a different shape in each individual relative to who they are, their platform, their background, so on and so forth. But I agree with you that we all, especially in this moment that we're living in, should feel compelled, no matter what our sphere of influence is, is to do something to help make this thing different. Reverend Justice Jackson, you have one vote. Use it, don't abuse it.

Use that vote and keep hope alive. All right, folks. The nation, of course, has been embroiled in racial conflicts since the murder of George Floyd on Memorial Day. For the first time in a long time, corporate America is recognizing that there is a problem and wondering what they can do to help. Joining me now to talk about some of those solutions and submits,

Dr. Randall Pinkett, president and CEO of BCT Partners. Well, we have Mike Blake earlier. Now we've got another alpha man, Dr. Pinkett. That's, of course, heartburn for Scott Bolden. Dr. Randall, first of all, before we talk about this whole, what's happening with corporate America, you had to deal with the bigot- chief Donald Trump when it came to celebrity apprentice. Surely you have some thoughts about what we have witnessed, not just this year, but since he walked into the White House.

First of all, good to see you, Fred. And thanks for having me on the program. I got lots of thoughts, Roland. And you may recall that four years ago, I organized a press conference with other apprentice candidates, including Kwame Jackson, Marshawn Evans, others who had been on the show. And everything we said at that press conference is exactly what we've seen play out over the past four years. Four years ago, we talked about Donald's petulance. We talked about the lack of having people in his inner circle who could challenge him. We talked about the revolving door of the Trump organization, of people coming in and going out. We've seen that in the White House. We talked about how he wasn't fit on the world stage as a leader.

And we talked about his blind spots and having a temperament that would not admit when he's wrong, that does not like being challenged, and is oblivious to his own shortcomings when it comes to being a leader. And our argument then is my argument now that he wasn't fit for leadership four years ago. He's not fit for leadership four years ago. Only four years ago, people were voting on whether on Donald's potential. Now we're voting on Donald's performance. And I'm hoping America got the wake up call this time. The thing that we're seeing again is that we are operating in this racial reckoning. And really what is happening is that you are seeing white folks, especially young white folks,

aligning with African Americans demanding the issue of race be addressed. That is what is causing these corporations to really sit up and pay attention. Without a doubt. Without a doubt. George Floyd and arguably Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, I mean, there was a buildup to George Floyd. So we can't look at that incident in isolation. But without a doubt, 2020 has been a year unlike any that we have witnessed on the matter of racial reckoning. And corporations were quick to come out of the gate to release their statement

and to commit dollars to different causes. But now is where the rubber is meeting the road. And my firm, BCT Partners, I mean, we are at the forefront of doing work around diversity, equity, and inclusion. So I've been in dialogue with global CEOs. I've been in dialogue with corporate executives. And I'm seeing two dynamics. One is Black people holding their leaders' feet to the fire, saying you're not going to just release a statement and act like this is going

to fade and go away. And they're holding them accountable to put some real teeth behind those statements. On the other hand, I'm seeing companies who might have been quick to make a statement slow to implement any real action, any real change. And that is what's most concerning to me. I feel like there are companies that are trying to wait this thing out and hope that it kind of blows over. And my message to Black folk at these corporations is do not take your foot off of the pedal. The window of opportunity, while tragic, also opened the door for some real reform, some real change at the systemic level. And we've got to seize this moment so that a year from now,

we're not having the same conversations. When you talk about that, one of the things that I have been saying also is that, and I've actually had corporate people tell me this, black people are thinking too small. There are people who are going to these corporations with these small asks, and I'm sitting there going, no, no, no. This is the moment where you ask for a lot of stuff. This is where you're going for that big number. And I think part of the problem, Randall, is that for African-Americans, very few of us have been at the seat of power. And so there's this there's this unwillingness to actually make a bold demand, to actually demand value in return for things that we do.

That is something that black organizations need to understand. Don't go into meetings with these corporations thinking small. When you hear these people talking about, oh, we're going to make $5 million. Like for instance, you know, YouTube announced this $100 million black content creator fund. I said, no, I'm sorry. It should be a billion dollar black content creator fund. The reality is this here, and this is how I actually broke it down. And I was talking to and I said this to the somebody on YouTube. I said, guys, if you do the math, you take that one billion dollars. I said, let's just say let's just say you took five hundred million of that.

OK, let's say you chose to give one hundred thousand dollar grants to black businesses. I said, let's just say that's just all of a sudden. That means that's in terms of black businesses. I said, let's just say that. I said, so all of a sudden, that means that's in terms of black content creators, that's 5,000 black content creators who you could help fund with $500 million. I said, so let's just take the other $500 million. And then you say, well, we're going to do grants anywhere from one million, let's say to three million. Let's just say one million is a base. So now all of a sudden we're talking about now 500. I said, do you realize in one fell swoop that Google, Google, which owns YouTube, would have funded more black media entities than at any other point in American history. So I'm sorry. And your $100 million, you're using it for stuff internally for a docu-series or whatever. I said, no, that ain't

helping black content creators. I don't need YouTube spending a million or $2 million on a documentary that is going to be seen maybe with two or three million views when I could take the same two million dollars and literally do 700 hours of content for a year versus you doing a two-hour show. That's speaking differently with how you spend dollars. I'm with you, and I'm going to lift up two things that you said. First, on the front end, part of the maturity, I believe, of the black community is moving beyond making a request to making demands and make a really important point. I think as we've come to realize our power and not underestimate our power, we're beginning to see how we can leverage it. And this is one of those moments where we have to pivot from being passive to being active, to making requests and making demands. And you'll recall right before Kamala Harris was named Joe Biden's running mate for vice president, I, along with others, signed on to a letter from black men demanding that Biden make a black woman his running mate for vice president. And that was

not only symbolic, but also metaphoric of more of what we need coming from our community. But you also know that I released this video, interestingly, on YouTube, The Seven Myths of Racial Equity. And one of the myths that I dispel is this idea that committing dollars alone is going to transform black communities. And part of my argument is no. I need to see that money going directly to black businesses. I need to see that money being put directly in the hands of black people

because a plan that only commits to causes but isn't committing dollars to businesses and jobs and creating more opportunity is an incomplete plan. So I do think we have to shoot for the stars and not the mountaintop. They say if you shoot for the mountaintop, you don't make it. You fall to the bottom of the mountain. But if you shoot for the stars and you don't make it, you fall to the top of the mountain. We need more shooting for the stars in this moment and moments beyond this moment.

Questions from Pam and Robert. I want to start with you. Reverend Jackson has always understood that difference between asking and then making demands. Your question for Randall Pinkett. Mr. Pinkett, I think one of the questions is for black entrepreneurs right now, people who are trying to survive during COVID through governmental shutdowns. What are resources that they should be reaching out to in order to help maximize how they can take advantage of any business opportunities that do exist right now? No, it's a good question. And, you know, I've been in business now for 20 years,

celebrating our 20th anniversary at BCT. And I'm having these conversations with entrepreneurs a lot. I mean, there are local resources that entrepreneurs can access. There's certainly a small business administration, small business development centers. There's a service core of retired executives, also known as SCORE. And then at the federal level, naturally, there's the SBA, but also the Minority Business Development Agency, which has appointed a new administrator, David Byrd, to run that agency. But beyond that, I think it's also important for entrepreneurs to do their homework. Because right now, in this COVID-19 health, racist, economic pandemic, industries are losing and industries are winning. Losing airlines,

losing hotels. Who's winning? Masks. Who's winning? Delivery. Who's winning? Technology. And so you have to look at where are opportunities being lost and where are opportunities being gained. Microsoft started in a recession. Netflix started in a recession. The list goes on. So pivot your thinking and look at what's happening in the industries before our eyes and look at where opportunities are being lost, where they're being shifted to, and pivot your organization, pivot your company, pivot your strategy toward where there's growth. Scott, question. Yeah, Doc. Scott Bolden here. I've read your six myths.

The myth you talked about earlier was myth number six. You published this on CNN, and I'll be honest with you, I think it ought to be required reading for every corporate executive team in the country. I've just been that impressed. I manage 100 lawyers out of 1,800. I've been at the firm 30 years, and we have a racial equity action plan that everyone is involved in. But the clarity of your writing and demystifying these myths is just so very powerful. And I hope everyone, Roland sent this to me in prep for today, I hope your distribution continues. I'd like to connect you with my CEO, global CEO, because we are not perfect and we are still looking for the right approach

and the right answers, but this piece was just so very powerful. So thank you for doing it. Well, thank you for that feedback. The Lord placed this topic on my spirit and I actually went into the studio to record that video early in the pandemic when I had some concerns. I haven't even seen the video.

I'm going to pull that as well. And remind you, I gave you all those compliments that I'm a good Kappa man. Well, I gave a shout to one of your frat brothers. You know, Kwame Jackson is your frat brother and a dear friend and a role model for me. I do. He's one of the apprentices who paved the way for me to win season four. Reina Shaw, your question. Reina. Reina, are you there? Hey there. Sorry about that. There we go. Technical glitch. No, I love this topic. This

is really great, you know, because we got to talk more about business. I mean, I'm a political operative, but I'm also a businesswoman. And for me, you know, I had a really compelling conversation with a young woman from Baltimore just recently, a woman named Nicole, who started this organization called Be More Baddies. And she's based out of Baltimore. And she said to me, she started this as a nonprofit and she was frustrated because she has a day job. She's like, you know, I'm doing this and I'm trying to figure out the funding world for nonprofits. And I said, tell me what your nonprofit's about. She's like, I am trying to get black women to advance by doing something different, by getting them exposure. You know, that whole sense of if you don't know where you're going until you know where you've been, right?

Well, if you've not been somewhere, how do you even know how to act when you, you know, you want to get to that corporate table, right? And so I see all these initiatives looking to get more women in the C-suites. That's important. One frustration of mine, of course, is that a young woman like this, you know, she has to do this in her free time. She's looking, again, she's on the nonprofit side, but I'm thinking of all my for-profit entrepreneurs, my friends who are black women with incredible businesses, and black and brown women. Because I know Black Girl Ventures, started by Shelly Bell. I want you to talk a little bit about access to capital, if you will. It's just so important, I think, for black women and men.

Can you talk a little bit more about that? Again, like I said, Black Girl Ventures is the only thing I know of for black women to even learn how to pitch and then go pitch and stuff like that. You make you make a really great point. And I have to say, again, having been in business for 20 years and my company is now one of the largest black owned businesses in the country. We're number 92 on the Black Enterprise 100 of the largest Black-owned businesses. And even despite our growth, despite our 20-year run, despite us being one of the largest Black-owned businesses in the country, we just applied for financing and we were denied. And not only were we denied, but the bank that we applied to told us that they couldn't even match the existing financing package of our current bank, meaning they said to us, we don't know how it is that your current bank gave you what they gave you. We can't even give

you that. I said, you've got to be kidding me. And I've been in this game for 20 years. So when people talk about lack of access to capital for black and brown entrepreneurs, I have seen this challenge since day one and now day 20 years later. And my only response to that is there are, to their credit, there are black-owned banks that are now merging and consolidating not only by necessity, but also by strategy. And we're now building a broader economic base to not go to the traditional financial institutions, but to go to banks that are owned and operated by black and brown people to get the financing that we need. And they're capitalizing on 2020 when every when somebody told me black is the new black. I don't know what that means. But right now they're seizing the moment to get access to assets that would have been more difficult before 2020. And that, to me, may be a watershed moment for our community in getting access to real capital to really grow our companies.

Well, that is certainly the hope that we see. And then we certainly will see what happens on that front. This is the moment I keep saying this is really the third reconstruction, the moment that we're in, Randall, and the opportunity for people to understand that the first one lasted 12 to 14 years. The second one lasted 16 years. I really say this has to be sustained effort for at least 20 years for us to begin to truly achieve economic equity as we talk about race equity. Absolutely. I agree, Roland. And not only is this a moment, but my hope is that it's a movement. Right. That a year from now, we're not having the same conversation. You know, every generation has its moment. This is ours. Let's be clear. Like, we're in it right now.

The confluence of COVID, a recession, the racism pandemic, an election, the list goes on. Like, 2020 is it. So if we're not mobilizing, organizing, and seizing this window to turn the moment into a movement, then shame on us that when we look back generations from now and they ask the question, what did you do in 2020? Each and every one of us better darn well have an answer for what we did. Dr. Randall Pinkett, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you, brother. All right, folks. All right, y'all. The orange one decided to come out. He went to the Oval Office today. And if y'all want to see stupid inaction, watch this. To be given the same treatment as your president. Because I feel great.

I feel like perfect. So I think this was a blessing from God that I caught it. This was a blessing in disguise. I caught it. I heard about this drug. I said, let me take it. It was my suggestion. I said, let me take it. It was my suggestion. I said, let me take it. And it was incredible the way it worked. Incredible. And I think if I didn't catch

it would be looking at that like a number of other drugs. But it really did a fantastic job. I want to get for you what I body to be given the same treatment as your president, because I feel great. Let's see here. You thank God you got coronavirus. Right. I ain't never in my. Go ahead and run these ads.

This November 3rd, everything is at stake. We are surrounded by chaos. We are being governed by selfish entrants who peddle misinformation. And if we do not stop it... Jesus, honey, too much. Too much? Yeah, it's all this fear and scary. Isn't that how it is?

Well, yeah, but that's part of the problem, right? Everything is discussed at this sort of extreme, and all everybody can do is scream at each other because they don't have the perfect solution, and the stakes are so high, you know? Then you're addicted to the screaming. So what do we do? I don't know.

I think we just talk about it calmly. This November 3rd is a very important election. How's that? Better so far. A very important election. Trump has been... Bad? He really has. A very important election. Trump has been bad. He really has.

Trump has been bad. So we need to get him out. Absolutely. But it's not just about Trump. It's about much more. We need to focus on the Senate as well. Absolutely. I'm getting there.

Yeah, okay. And not just the Senate, honey, but it's state legislatures and local issues in Canada. That's what I'm going to get. You know, I understand Biden might not be everybody's ideal candidate, but you know what? He is human and decent and kind. And guess what? People voted for him. That's democracy. And it isn't just about one person. It is about getting past covid responsibly and fixing the economy for the working class and the middle class and the Supreme Court and immigration, racial justice, and climate change. My God, you know, the friggin' world is at stake here.

Literally, literally the actual earth that we are standing on. If we do not act now... Honey? Oh! Honey? Yes? You are doing exactly what I was doing. Oh, my God, you're right, I am, aren't I?

God, it's so hard not to. Point is, this is really a vital election. It all comes down to a few states and races. Yes, which is why we need to get out the vote and why everybody needs to help everybody get out the vote in any way they can. Because come November, whatever the outcome, this is just the beginning. We are going to have to fight for these issues for a very long time. And we can't do anything unless we vote.

Absolutely. Because if we don't... It's going to be just more fucking chaos. That was actor Mandy Patinkin, of course. Too funny. Seeing him of course. Too funny. You've seen him. That was pretty funny. But again, I think what you're seeing, Scott,

you are seeing folks understand the digital world that we're living in, understand that not everything runs on television. And so when you begin to have those type of ads running on Facebook, running on Instagram, running on Twitter, they are reaching millions of people. Yeah, television is almost moot at this point, given where we get our news from. If you read those statistics, that ad captured how most people other than the GOP feel about the country. And you know what? What was powerful about it is you have these very casual older people where they're talking and they're saying, let's just calm down and chat.

And then she obviously goes off and then they both kind of go off. And then, you know, you have the music and the pictures. Just very powerful. You know, great ads keep your attention and you get the message. That was a really odd ad, but it did both. And hopefully it'll do both for those. It'll do the same for those people reading it who are very frustrated, whatever group you're in,

and will go vote and vote for someone that's humanly decent, Biden and Harris. We've got a couple of other ads. One is about Project Lincoln that uses the song from Evita that Donald Trump supposedly likes that particular production. And we also have General Michael Hayden, former head of the CIA, longtime Republican, saying why Donald Trump ain't it. Roll it. Don't cry for me, White House staffers. The truth is I will infect you. All through my tweeting, my mad existence. I broke my promise, won't keep my distance.

I always say too much. Never mind the thousands of lies I have told to you. As for wearing masks and acting sane, that is nothing that I will ever do. So don't cry for me, Secret Service. Though COVID might just well kill you. While on my joyride, I spread the virus. I broke my promise. Won't keep my distance. The Lincoln Project is responsible for the content of this advertising.

I'm Mike Hayden. I was the former director of the CIA and the NSA. If there was another term for President Trump, I don't know what happened to America. Truth is really important, but especially in intelligence. President Trump doesn't care about facts. President Trump doesn't care about facts. President Trump doesn't care about the truth. He doesn't listen to his experts. The FBI says white nationalism is a real problem and the FBI wants to do something about it, but the president doesn't want to talk about that. He doesn't keep the country safe. It's unbelievable. I was 40

years in the military, okay? Alliances are wonderful. Alliances are win-win. And now, I don't know what's happening to our alliances. I mean it. If Trump gives another term, I think many alliances will be gone and America will be alone. And that's a real, real problem. I absolutely disagree with some of Biden's policies, but that's not important. What's important is the United States. And I'm supporting Joe Biden. Biden is a good man. Donald Trump is not. I just left Walter Reed Medical Center and it's really something very special. And I learned so

much about coronavirus. And one thing that's for certain don't let it dominate you don't be afraid of it you're gonna beat it we have the best medical equipment we have the best medicines don't let it dominate don't let it take over your lives don't let that happen we have the greatest country in the world I know there's a risk there's a danger but that's okay Don't let it dominate your lives. Thank you very much. Raina, you with Lincoln Project. The cough at the end of the first COVID was certainly pretty interesting. But that second one I think is powerful because here you have a guy just standing there talking about saying all that nonsense when 210,000 Americans, one in every 1,000 African Americans have died. Yeah, this is a virus we know disproportionately affects black and brown people and make no

mistake of it, right? I mean, this is an astronomical figure of fellow Americans we've lost. I mean, it is it's hard to understand and wrap our minds around it right now because we can't see it. And that's something I've been talking about to my friends in the recent days and weeks is that on 9-11, we had this imagery, people falling out of the sky, Just awful. But this, we haven't, it sounds funny to say, but we haven't seen enough imagery of body bags, of, you know, hearses taking people's bodies away. But I know the people who've lost somebody and who've been, families like mine, impacted by an uncle in the hospital for four months, fighting for his life. Thank God back home, my mother recovering, still scared about what she may face in terms of clots. This is a wretched virus. And Donald Trump is, you know, let's be honest, he's insulting all these fellow Americans who have suffered from it, been hospitalized, and those who have perished.

So he doesn't care who he insults. This is the lowest of the low. And this week in Washington was so wild. I mean, just when we thought it couldn't get any wilder, it did. And because this president's behavior, it's abnormal. We should not treat it as anything that we should aspire to, to say to our political rivals that, you know, you're funny for wearing a mask. You know, look at him with a big mask over there, Donald Trump said to Joe Biden in the last debate. So I encourage folks, please go look at these ads on LincolnProject.us. We released seven of them today. I just really, and again, I'm complimentary of Republican voters against Trump's efforts. Those are friends of mine over there. They're doing incredible work

in these testimonials. General Hayden, I know him personally. I last saw him in February. This is a guy who easily could have said, of course, before the lockdowns and stuff like that. I was fortunate to see him. And he's recovering from this massive stroke. This is a guy who could easily say, I'm tired. I'm just going to stay home. But he's been, anybody who's watching, again, go to his Twitter feed. He is getting feisty. He is, you know, again, it's a take no prisoners mentality. I think he's just really fighting back. He could easily just be silent. But people are shook. And rightfully so.

Donald Trump's tweeting has been so unhinged lately. The White House is in total collapse. Who would even go to a debate with him next week? So this is what we're up against, Roland rolling a madman and an egomaniac. We knew that. A failed businessman, we knew that. A con man even. But this is a madman. He's on steroids. He's going to go to that debate next week on steroids. He'll be the first president ever to lose a debate on steroids. Yet he wants Joe Biden drug tested. This is a thing. This is nonsensical. We need it out. We need to get, he is a cancer on our country.

This is the thing that we're seeing, Robert, when you look at polling data, coronavirus is a huge, huge, uh, story, how it's being impacted. Uh, and the reality is, is here voters are saying they're seeing this idiot and they're seeing him. Oh, this is, this is wonderful. The glad I got it. Oh, I'm beating this whole thing. People are still dying. We are seeing an increase in coronavirus cases in 32 states in this country. I have yet to meet a single person who has said,

thank you, God, for letting me get coronavirus. Thank you for letting me get on a ventilator and almost dying. Well, to that point, we recently completed a four-part series on African Americans and coronavirus. The first session was with Dr. Collins, the director of the NIH. Second session was with Dr. Redfield, director of the CDC. Third session was with General Perna and Dr. Slaoui from Operation Warp Speed. And Monday, we had an hour-long conversation with Dr. Fauci. None of them in four separate sessions said anything that the president said.

None of them said that we do not need to let it dominate our lives. None of them said not to worry about it. What they did was impress upon us the deadly nature of this disease, its disproportionate impact on the African-American community, what needs to happen in order for us to develop a virus and more so the amelioratory efforts that need to be taken in the interim, which can be more effective than even the vaccine could be once it's developed. President Trump did not get the virus from God. He got it because he refuses to socially distance.

He still held rallies with thousands of people there. He refused to wear a mask. They joke about it. They've joked about it from day one, and they still think that it is a joke. And let's understand the timeline on Trump's diagnosis. The super spreader event was his debate preparation session. Every single person in that session, except for two people, are confirmed to be infected with coronavirus. Everyone except for Rudy Giuliani, who many people think has the virus, and Miller, one of the other aides. Every other person in there had that virus. They then took the people from that debate prep session and went to the introductory event for the Supreme Court justice and spread it to three or four United States senators. And then they took that show on the

road and took it to the debate stage with them. And it was only when President Trump needed to be put on oxygen and had to be helicoptered, medevaced from the White House to Walter Reed, that they finally admitted that the president was sick, someone who gets tested multiple times a day. So they're still lying to us. Just as President Trump said to Bob Woodward, he's a cheerleader on this. He wants to present a rosy picture. We cannot believe, because he's told us not to believe, the things that he says about this virus. And it's crucially important that we get the accurate information from people like Fauci, people like Redfield, Slaoui, Dr. Collins. Tomorrow at the Rainbow Push conference, we will be playing all four of those seminars for people who are present.

It is the biggest clearinghouse of information where the leaders of this nation's response to coronavirus are speaking directly to our community. And if you want to see Trump supporters who are just stuck on stupid on this very topic, we might as well look at this idiotic video put out by Hershel Walker. Listen to this fool. Hey, I've been listening to Vice President Biden and his campaign talk about the over 200,000 death that has come from COVID. And, you know, one death is too many. But last night, you know, I'm always studying. I'm always looking. I saw a word called COVID, which is a pre-existing condition, meaning that people that may have had a heart, a lung, cancer, even obesity, that could have played a part in the death,

that we need to try to work with this pandemic, not just run away from it. You know, they talk about shutting this country down, and they don't give you the facts and shutting this country down with people losing their jobs and people losing their companies where now they don't have money to pay the rent. So now depression sets in, you know, domestic violence, you know, child abuse, which many kids talk about that at school. That's how you learn about it. Human trafficking. So many other things that plays a big part. Depression, as I said, plays a big part. They don't talk about that.

You know, they're pandering to get a vote. And I want them to tell the American people the truth. One death is too many. But we got to learn to live with this pandemic. It's not going away anytime soon right now. So we got to learn to live with it, not run away from it. I'm sorry. I don't think he properly pronounced that word. Let me.

He mispronounced a couple words. I'm sorry. Allow me to hear that, just that first part again. Hey, I've been listening to Vice President Biden and his campaign talk about the over 200,000 deaths that has come from COVID. And, you know, one death is too many. But last night, you know, I'm always studying. I'm always looking. I saw a word called COVID, which is.

What is that? Did I... I just want to be sure. I just want to... Just one second. Let me just scroll that back a little bit. Let me take that one more time. But last night, you know, I'm always studying. I'm always looking.

I saw a word called coorbidity, which is... Comorbidity. I think you meant comorbidity, Herschel. Oh. It's comorbidity. It's C-O-M-O... I'm wasting my time. Y'all, it's comorbidity-m-o I'm wasting my time y'all it's comorbidity

comorbidity you know what I just need just one more time allow me to go ahead and pull that audio up I saw a word called

comorbidity which is a pre-existing condition, meaning that people that may have had a heart. Okay. Herschel, just give me, just for a second, just a word of advice, Herschel. If you're going to do a video and the attempt is for the video to go viral, it might help if you actually pronounce the word properly. That's what you might do. In fact, you might want to look at the comments under your tweet because it just makes no sense. Now, for all of the stupid people who are saying thank you, Herschel, they're idiots.

The problem is that, yes, we do have people who have pre-existing conditions, comorbidity. We understand that. But the reality, Herschel, is that I don't think somebody with a pre-existing condition wants to die prematurely. And that's what we're seeing with coronavirus. Because here's the fact, if they did not have coronavirus, they would not be dying. Now, now, Herschel, you can attempt to try to explain away your boy Donald Trump. And you can be a good a good little soldier. And I know you play with his New Jersey generals. But the reality is Donald Trump has failed people in Georgia where you are a living legend. He's failed people in this country.

And in fact, when you say comorbidity, Donald Trump, who's 74 and obese, he also falls in that category. I'm just saying. Just saying. Folks, joining us right now is Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Glad to have him on the show. Congressman, it has been, frankly, embarrassing to see, and I have not called this man president. I see it on ABC in February of 2017, I will never call somebody president who grossly disrespects the office of president of the United States. And the day he chooses to respect the office Office, putting people's lives at risk.

Nearly two dozen people have tested positive who were at that reception for Amy Coney Barrett. And this arrogant, narcissistic individual refuses to put a mask on. And then he did a video saying, I thank God for me getting coronavirus. This is a simple, massive failure of leadership. Without question, Roland, it's great to be on and really appreciate your powerful voice and always being a voice for the voiceless and a defender of disenfranchised and speaking truth to power. This is a man who has been an unmitigated disaster and leadership or the absence thereof has consequences.

And we've seen that more than 200,000 Americans have died, more than 100,000 small businesses have closed, more than 7 million Americans have been infected by the coronavirus, disproportionately black and brown. And of course, tens of millions of Americans have been unemployed throughout this process. And the president acts like this is not a serious thing. He's continuing to play games and basically failing to acknowledge the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic because he doesn't think it fits his re-election narrative. And this is somebody who has told more than 20,000 verifiable lies and half-truths during the course of his presidency. But I think, the most significant one, the most significant lie he's ever told

is that he cares about everyday Americans. He does not. He cares about himself. He is a malignant narcissist. And that is a dangerous thing in any case, but certainly when you are the so-called president of the United States. One of the things that's very interesting is that there are Americans out there

who are seriously hurting as a result of the economy, how coronavirus has impacted us. Donald Trump tweets that, oh, he's not going to do any deal until after, quote, we win. Then all of a sudden he gets a lot of pushback from Republicans. And then he says, oh, if you send me a clean bill, I'll sign it. He hasn't even he's refused to meet personally with top Democratic leaders on a bill. You and Speaker Pelosi, y'all is dealing with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnookin. That's absolutely correct. Effectively, he's refused to have any conversations with members of the Democratic leadership,

including Speaker Pelosi, since she made the decision to launch an impeachment inquiry, which, by the way, was the right thing to do under the circumstances because the president is a living, breathing abuse of power. And it happened in the context of the Trump-Ukraine scandal. It continues to happen. Now it's in the hands of the American people. But it's been incredibly reckless. And you're right. He owned the failure to arrive at an agreement, just like he owned the shutdown in December of 2018. He's his own worst enemy because sometimes he actually does speak the truth. And he's done that in this particular instance. He doesn't want a deal because he doesn't care about everyday Americans. That's why he directed Secretary Mnuchin and Ms. McConnell to shut it down. Some people have said this is a President Rowland who only cares about himself. I think that that's probably a little bit unfair. He cares about himself, I think that that's probably a little bit unfair. He cares about himself, his golf game, and the stock market in that order.

And that's it. We've got a big debate tonight between Vice President Mike Pence as well as Senator Kamala Harris. One of the things that I am perplexed by, you were the person who led the effort to shepherd the First Step Act through the House before it went to the Senate. There were Democrats who demanded a lot of changes be made before the bill became final. For the life of me, I don't understand why Democrats are allowing this man to act as if he takes all the credit for the First Step Act. If Democrats don't pass this bill in the House, there is no law. And I'm just not even understanding why Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are not making that point and saying, no, no, you're not going to stand here and take credit

for a 17 percent reduction in folks in federal prisons. If Democrats did not push this White House, you were there. They didn't want new criminal justice reform. They only wanted to do prison reform. Well, without question. And, you know, the foundation for criminal justice reform was laid by President Barack Obama, Eric Holder, and then the new Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

And so we basically picked up in the House where they had left off, starting with prison reform, making sure that currently incarcerated individuals and or formerly incarcerated individuals could successfully transition into society, sent the bill over to the Senate where Kamala Harris and Cory Booker and others picked up where we had left off and added in some sentencing reform, which in combination has resulted in the reduction of the prison population. And yes, the president did sign it into law, but that was because we assembled a great coalition that included, you know, the NAACP and the Koch brothers, the ACLU

and the Heritage Foundation, the Urban League, and all points in between, Democrats and Republicans coming together to do the right thing, to start the process of breaking the back of the mass incarceration that exists in this country and is a stain on our democracy. And, you know, Roland, I appreciate your advocacy in support of the First Step Act. Somehow, all of this effort is left out of the narrative because the president signed the bill into law. And I'm confident that Senator Harris today will set the record straight because she was there involved in the effort to get this done. And that's the thing. And again, I think, look, as you know, you get 15, 20 percent of black men considering voting for Donald Trump, according to various polling data. This is where Joe Biden,

Senator Harris needs to get far more aggressive. There are things that Democrats have done that have been signed into law. I also believe that they need to be putting Senator Alma Adams out there saying, don't you dare take credit for my HBCU bill. You didn't do that. You didn't lift a finger. They should be saying Senator Kamala Harris should be saying, how dare you release a platinum plan saying you want to make the anti lynching law permanent when you said nothing with Senator Rand Paul Blockett? How dare you say you want to sit here and make Juneteenth a national holiday when you said nothing and did nothing with Senator Ron Johnson stood by and blocked it? I just think that I think they've got to be more aggressive and take it to Donald Trump and not let him run around saying that he's been the greatest black president for black people since Abraham Lincoln.

Well, certainly that's the case. And this is a president right now who is refusing to deal with the public health crisis disproportionately and adversely impacting black folks in terms of the pain and suffering and death. And he's refusing to do something about the economic crisis disproportionately impacting black and brown communities and Indian country throughout America. So he's talking out of both sides of his mouth in that regard. And the most important issue that we are trying to deal with legislatively this year in the context of racial justice is transforming and reforming our police departments. We passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in the House. That was Democrats. He's

blocking it. Mitch McConnell is blocking it. The Senate Republicans are blocking it. And so if he really did care about our issues, why is he not addressing the most significant one that is on the agenda right now? Last point for here, I think that, look, where we are, black voters are obviously critical. To me, this should be all hands on deck. This is where Speaker Nancy Pelosi should be going to as much, doing as much black media as possible, making the case, leadership. This is where Senator Chuck Schumer should be doing as much black media as possible, making the case, uh, leadership. This is where Senator Chuck Schumer should be doing as much black media as possible saying that if Democrats take control of four seats, they will control the United States Senate,

control judges, and then be able to pass those bills. This is where Biden and Harris should be doing the same thing, uh, not just with mainstream, but going to all these different platforms. This is the, to me, 26 days out. Early voting is happening right now. They have to be speaking also to issues that are specific to black men, speaking to black women when it comes to starting businesses, when it comes to Affordable Care Act. This, to me, is game on. And the Biden-Harris campaign and Democrats cannot rest on their laurels with these polling numbers because ain't no poll has gotten anybody elected.

The numbers show Hillary Clinton was up. She's not sitting in the White House. They should be operating like they're losing. That's absolutely correct. There's only two ways to run, Run scared or run unopposed. And if you run unopposed, you got to be running scared. All hands on deck, as you've indicated. And data doesn't vote. People do. And you've got to reach the people. And so I certainly will continue to encourage, you know, all of our national leaders and the ticket and our legislative leaders to make sure that they're taking advantage of the opportunity to speak directly to the people,

to our community on platforms such as this, which are so phenomenal and authentic and have credibility. Congressman Hocking, Jeffersonville, New York. We certainly appreciate it, sir. Thank you so very much. Thank you, Roland. All right. Thank you very much. All right. Quickly, go back to our panel. Starting with you, Scott, what do you expect to see tonight between Harris-Pence? Well, I think that was

a great cap of man you just had on. I wish you had called him out, but I guess you only call out Alphas. Be that as it may. Only Alphas get shout-outs. But continue. I guess it's your show. Now, I guess. Hold on, hold on. Let me help you out. You see that right there?

Here we go. Henry, take it. You see that right there? There's no guessing. It is. Go ahead. I can't see. I got my eyes closed. Yeah, go ahead. Go ahead. Pence is going to pound away at the Biden-Aras campaign as being held on by the far left. That dog won't hunt.

Kamala Harris is going to have to make the debate about COVID, business, its impact on people and 207,000 lives lost, and how Trump has denied it, lied about it, gotten it. You know, actually, the White House is a super carrier now, with 20, 24 people having gotten it. She's got to, every answer has got to get back to COVID, if you will. And then she's got to, how she does it, and how she maintains from voice inflection, to moderating her anger, to indignation. Hold on, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. Moderating her anger to indignation.

Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. Moderating her anger? What the hell is that? What I'm saying is both of them are going to be great debaters, but neither one of them are very spirited in their debate. And because the Republicans are going to come with a great deal of lies, I think Harris has got to be very direct, but she certainly does not want to get into any over-the-top spirited debate with Pence, given how he debates, if you will. Because what she wants to do is not turn off voters.

She certainly just doesn't want to change this 10 to 14 point lead. So I think it'll be important how she is perceived by voters and her debate style has to be modulated to some extent. Right. But what we're not going to do is play the angry black woman stuff. Rena. Well, I'm trying to avoid her opponents playing that against me. Right, but my whole deal is, to me, it's even a mute point. I don't need to even raise it

because we saw angry with the first debate between Trump and Biden. Reena, and nobody can match that. Reena, go. Oh, I agree with you there. Reena, you're on mute. Reena, you're on mute. Rina, you're on mute. Sorry, guys. I'm always talking to you all silent. Go ahead. Okay. So tonight's super important because we know the ages of Trump and Biden, Trump is 74, Biden's 77,

is, you know, this is an issue. So these VPs could very easily become our next president just by virtue of being VP, right? Being there. Kamala is 55 and Pence is 61. And yeah, I don't want to tread down that road of, you know, perceived anger and all of that because it's a mess, all of it. I do think a lot of things have been already baked in and it's hard to change an impression. We have a very lazy electorate. Let me just say. I do think a lot of things have been already baked in and it's hard to change an impression. We have a very lazy electorate. Let me just say that. We have a lot of voter apathy out there. And so what I'm listening for tonight is how she's going to motivate people to the polls. Because in 2016, and get ready for this, folks, buckle up for this stat. This is crazy. I learned

this at Iamavoter.com, really, really great website for anybody interested. I learned this at I am a voter dot com. Really, really great website for anybody interested. I learned that in 2016, only 61 percent of eligible voters voted in that presidential election. That is crazy. People need to be motivated this time. And so she's going to bring a burst of energy, no doubt. I think in the aftermath, we're going to hear a lot of sexist stuff. We're going to hear a lot of racist stuff. But she very easily could become our first female president just by virtue of everything that's going on. I mean, I don't want to wish ill on anyone. Obviously, I'm a Joe Biden supporter. But this is a really, really interesting race. And so it's a it's a comparison tonight. I think of who really loves the Constitution. She's going to have to speak to that because that's what the Republicans love to say. And

Trump loves to say that, oh, we love the flag. We love the Constitution. Well, who's a tireless fighter for the values enshrined in that Constitution? I mean, Trump couldn't even tell you what's in the Bill of Rights. Pence, you know, talk radio host guy, been in Congress, been a governor. I just he he doesn't do anything for me. Kamala's really going to have to do everything for everyone tonight. And that's a tough and tall order. So I wish her well. Robert, the hard thing for Senator Harris is going to be debating in a fat-free environment because there won't be live fact-checking. We can expect Vice President Pence to repeat many of the untrue talking points of the Trump administration. Pence lies just as much as Trump. He does it with

a Midwestern drawl, so it doesn't sound as lying as when President Trump says it. What Senator Harris has to avoid is being thrown into that far-left liberal box that Republicans try to throw every single Democrat into, try to make them part of the fringe, part of something unpalatable to those Midwestern tween voters that are really going to be deciding the election throughout the Rust Belt. So as long as Senator Harris can contain the lies, point them out, bring the facts, bring the information, then it should be a very spirited discussion. Most importantly, nobody cares about the vice presidential debate.

It has never made any difference in any election. But it is important information because these people could be taking over in the next four years to be president of the United States. Well, I think that's what changes it all. So, all right, folks. Look, we're going to have post-debate coverage. I'm partnering with, of course, go to my op-ed, please, with Win With Black Women, a post-debate watch party. I'm going to be moderating one of the conversations at 11 p.m. So y'all want to be tuning in.

They're streaming across multiple platforms. But we know most of y'all are going to be watching Rolling Martin Unfiltered. Scott, Rena, and Robert, I certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much. Going to a break. We come back. Wild out Wednesday.

Time to have a little fun. Back on Rolling Martin Unfiltered in a moment. Hey, everybody. It's your man Fred Hammond. Hi, my name is Bresha Webb, and you're watching Rolling Martin Unfiltered in a moment. Hey, everybody, it's your man Fred Hammond. Hi, my name is Bresha Webb, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. And, well, I like a nice filter usually, but we can be unfiltered. All right, y'all.

Arvin Mitchell, a stand-up comedian who has traveled all over the world to perform. He is co-host of BET's Comic Club View, has been featured on Kevin Hart's One Mic Stand. Tony rocks the funny spot to entertain our troops abroad. He was nominated as one of NBC's stand up for diversity top comics. He joins us right now. Arvin, surely you've got enough material with the idiot in the White House with whatever orange man does every day. Man, I actually don't write about him.

I actually voted for Donald Trump and I'm just joking I can't even lie like that but he's an easy target right now I can tell you that well easy target because again the lies just come tumbling down his mouth he's orange as all hell

and again he just makes up stuff there's nobody that's lied as much as he has in the White House. You know what? As I've been doing comedy across the nation, around the world and stuff, I've done a lot of cruise ships. And the things that foreigners say about Americans for being so dumb for voting him into office. It's actually it's funny and it's humiliating at the same time because I'm like, we literally have a clown in the White House.

And it's it blows my mind that this is still going on. Like with the pandemic and everything like this dude has put everybody on the planet's life at stake and he's still running the country. Well, get, well, first of all, what gets me is people say, uh, your president, and black people, this is how black people look. I don't, I don't, I don't,

who the hell are you talking to? Your president. They like, no, that ain't our president. That's, that's the blackest thing we do right now and uh look before we go any further mr martin i i met you in atlanta airport and you just always so real like you in the backyard at a barbecue i came up to you and you looked at me like who the hell are you? Like, you're not famous, okay? I just wanted to meet you. We were at the food court, and, you know, you turned around. I tried to introduce myself, and your eyebrows went up. Like, Negro, do I know you?

And I was like, I didn't have anything prepared to say to you. I just always wanted to meet you. So you had Tiffany Haddish on. I know her. You had Ali on. And I'm going, when am I going to get to meet you. So you had Tiffany Haddish on. I know her. You had Ali on. And I'm going, when am I going to get to meet the brother? And now it took a virus for me to be able to talk to you. But here's the deal, though.

See, you said the most important thing. You rolled with me at the food court. That means I've been doing stuff all damn day. I was hungry. And was I actually eating or was I waiting on my food? Oh, no. I knew not to bother. I don't bother nobody when they're chewing. When they're chewing, that's fighting time.

Like, you know, at least let the man finish swallowing. I learned that from my dad. He hit hard. So you wasn't chewing. You were standing in line or you were looking for which place to go to in the food court. But first of all, if it was the Atlanta food court, it's only one choice, Popeye's.

Really? Well, I mean, because first— Papados? No, not in Atlanta. No. Okay. Look, I know, first of all, Houston Intercontinental Airport, Houston Hobby got a Papados in the airport.

Okay. I know that for a fact. Ain't no Pap those in the, in the airport. Okay. I know that for a fact. Ain't no pop of those in the Atlanta airport. Okay. If there was a pop of those in the Atlanta airport, Negroes will be going to the airport flying nowhere. Just going there to eat. Now that's when you know you love food. When you go to the airport to get something to eat, it's Hey, it's only two places that you can put in the airport that's guaranteed to have black people, a Pappardelle's or a Cheesecake Factory.

Oh, and a Popeye's. Yeah, right. Yeah, but no, we got the Popeye's. I'm talking about, no, black folks would probably get dressed up to come to the airport to eat at Papados. It's funny that you say that, but there was a time when there was kind of a thing before 9-11 when we used to just be able to go play video games or see somebody off at the airport and just hang out. But, you know, all that came to a screeching halt. I'm telling you right now, I'm serious. When we get beyond this coronavirus thing,

people are going to lose their damn minds. I'm telling you right now, folk going to be partying like it's Studio 54 back in the day. Think about it. Think about it. Before coronavirus, somebody invites you to a house party. Man, I'm tired. I'm sleepy.

Nah, oh, hell yeah, we going. to a house party. Man, I'm tired. I'm sleepy. Nah, oh hell yeah, we going. I'm telling you. To everybody who own companies, your employees are going to have a difficult time staying focused at work because they're going to be trying to get in all of the

extracurricular activity as possible once we can start doing stuff. I'm telling you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm telling you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's kind of like that now for the, I don't even want to say woke, but the people who still sleep, they going out.

Like, it's not a virus out there. You know, people are going out and they kicking it. Like, it's no tomorrow. I'm not understanding that. I'm not understanding that. I'm not understanding that. Well, you got to understand that with this president in office, it's a lot of people that think the way that he does. They thought it was a hoax.

And I heard you say that it's real, it's serious, and, you know, he actually has it and stuff like that. But he lies so much, man. It's like watching a cartoon. It's like watching an evildoer from Inspector Gadget. Hey, let me tell you something right now. I know some black people. First of all, the black people, I'm just being straight up.

The black people who are doing that, they the ones who don't own shit. They don't own no house. They leasing they car. They don't own nothing. People who own stuff, they at the crib. Man, you

just struck a nerve. Whoever listening, I'm serious because that's how I survived to live to the age that I got to today. You have to be around people who got something to lose. That's the only reason anybody who's listening has survived either you had a friend who had something to lose a family member who had something

to lose or you had a praying grandmother okay because your ass need you knew you needed to stay away from somebody who didn't have nothing to lose you got only people who drive straight crazy and reckless or people who don't have car insurance. They ain't got nothing to lose. Business owners ain't got nothing to lose. Anybody who has nothing to lose, those are the people who say the phrase, ride or die, more

than anybody. When the dudes at a club and they fighting at the drop of a hat, do you know what that means? They ain't got no money because ain't nobody going to sue them. When you got money, you are not getting into altercations

because you ain't trying to pay no settlements. And you probably won't even be seen at the club. I got too much to lose. Yeah. No, no. I heard. Ain't going to happen. Ain't going to happen.

Go ahead. You said, I heard. Go ahead. I heard Steve Harvey say, you know, everybody, you can't take everybody who come with you can't go with you. You know, y'all probably came up together, but this is as far as we going. Because I know if I bring you to this concert or this comedy show I'm about to do, that seat 5,000, you're going to act a fool or find a reason to, and now you're going to mess up my opportunity. There you go. Man, he was tripping.

And that such and such was looking at me. He was looking at me. That's why I don't roll places with entourages. I ain't trying to look for you when we done. Then you got entourages. They trying to sit here and invite they people in. You getting in? Let me tell you something right now. I had to break it down to one of my people in you getting in let me tell you something

right now i had to break it down to one of my people when i said let me explain something to you you the man with the man you ain't the man you the man with the man there are no privileges for the man with the man when you the man you have privileges when you the man with the man you just to be you just happy where you are. You don't get to invite extra people. You don't get to act a fool because the deal is it ain't going to come down on you. Your name not going to be in the paper because it's going to say Roland and some other dude. They ain't going to have your name.

Your name. They ain't going to have your name. Your nickname. They ain't going to have your name. So I keep saying, when you the man with the man, understand your lane. Stay in your lane. If you roll on me, your job is to drive the car. When it's time to go, you go get the car from valet.

So that way when I walk out, we ready. But let's just be real clear. When you the man with the man, I ain't waiting on you to finish your drink. Look, I remember when I was in high school, I had my first car, and I was told to be home by a curfew. I don't even remember what time. It could have been midnight. It could have been 11. It could have been 10, for all I care.

All I know is that I had to leave this club because I was clocking my time to get back home so I'd meet my curfew and I wouldn't be grounded so I'd keep driving I had to leave this club because I was clocking my time to get back home so I'd meet my curfew and I wouldn't be grounded so I'd keep driving this car to school. And my partner kept telling me, one more dance, one more dance. And I'm like, all right, dog, all right. And I left him at the club. Hey, hey, look, you told him.

You told him. Look, I had to deal with somebody, man. The man with the man. We were at a party. I got, first of all, I don't like entourages. I got five people in. I hate that, okay? And it was like, I'm like, look, I can't stand that.

Fine. Why he going to invite two other people? And so the security. They didn't get in. No, no, no, no, no. Security came up to me and security was like, hey, your man invited two people. And I was like, what are you talking about? He said, well, these two women are not properly dressed. I was like, what are you talking about? The women who we came with, I know what they had on.

And he was like, I said, well, man, do what you got to do. I know what he was talking about. So then about 10 minutes later, the man with the man said, man, will you tell this man what's going on? I'm like, what are you talking about? And he said, sir, these are the two women. I'm looking at him like, who the hell invited them? He's like, I did. I'm again like, your ass don't get to invite folk.

See, so now we got a problem. Security coming up to me because the man with the man decided to invite some people when he didn't have actual man rights to do so i had to tell him keep your ass in your lane you are not the man when you with your boys you might front like you the man with me you ain't the man dog we left the party the two women then were like he talked i said hey man we got to go we go to the next party i walk up the woman said dude beg him please please let us in she's like

sir we got capacity full we ain't letting you in i woke up mr martin how you doing how many with you i got five so dog i wait for my people to get in. They come in, they come in. Next thing I know, I see his ass, last one, extend his hand like he doing an altar call at church. Guess what? The two women from the last party, I look at him like,

your ass invited the two from the other party after I just cussed... Wow. Wait a minute. from the other party after I just cussed you? Wow. Wait a minute. What would you say to him if he was watching right now?

Wait a minute. Wait a minute. He didn't have enough common sense to ask you. No. First of all, I told him you should have gave them some other party we were not going to. You don't tell them exactly where we going. You just supposed to throw them off. Yeah, he messed up his whole night. Right.

Right. But I was supposed to come for him. For what? You the man with the man. You ain't the man. Yeah, he was trying to clean up a mess. He was trying to clean up a mess. He was trying to clean.

It sounded like he was trying to. Was he a bruh? Yes. A bruh. Wow. Wow. He knew better. A bruh.

Wow. Wow. Oh, look, I got to ask you this. What made you pledge Alpha? Oh, easy. There was only one real fraternity. The rest of them were youth groups. I wish my partner was over here right now. I love it. Alphas ran the yard. We had a meeting at the president's house, and it was a meeting of all of the black organization heads, president, vice president. And the president of the university said, Texas A&M, he's like, why do a lot of y'all have the same pen? I said, because we all in the same frat.

We literally had about 15 brothers who were at this meeting. We ran most of the organizations on campus. That's it. The rest of them youth groups. Wow. That's it. The rest of them, youth groups. Wow. I keep telling you, the difference between Alpha and Omega, Kappa, Sigma and Iota is like first class

and coach. Coach ain't bad, but it ain't first class. I know you done got some heat for saying that to some of the other fraternities. They know I ain't lying. They know I ain't lying. They know I ain't lying. Omegas took one of our colors.

We were black and old gold. They took one of our colors. Kappa, alpha, psi. Without alpha, they known as kappa, psi. Sigma and iota, there ain't nobody that can talk about them. So there you go. Tell everybody you cashed out. You're cold, man.

My cash app, Arvin Comedian. No, it's Arvin Mitchell. It's Arvin Mitchell. I don't know. Well, they're going to be sending you the money. You're the one telling the jokes. It's all good. It's all good, man.

I appreciate it. Glad to have you on the show. Look forward to having you back. It's an honor to meet you. Thank you. God bless. I appreciate it. All right, y'all. We got to go. Debate starts in about 41 minutes. Support Roland Martin Unfiltered. Join our Bring the Funk fan club. Cash out. Dollar sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal.me forward slash rmartinunfiltered.

Venmo.com forward slash rmunfiltered. Also, send the money or newvisionmedia.nu Vision Media Inc. slash RM unfiltered. Also, CineMoney or New Vision Media, NU, Vision Media Inc., 1625 K Street Northwest, Suite 400, Washington, D.C., 2006. We want y'all to help us do what we do to make this show possible. Don't forget, tonight, after the debate, join me right here on Roller Martin Unfiltered. We're joining with Win With Black Women with our post-debate analysis. Y'all know it's going to be lit. Y'all know it's going to be lit. Y'all know it's going to be fire.

My girl Latasha Brown with Black Voters Matter, the co-founder, is going to be there. Also, Jataka Eady, founder and CEO of Full Circle Strategies, will be joining me as well. I will see y'all tomorrow. Y'all know Senator Kamala Harris is about to smoke his ass. I got to go. Holler!

Shut up! and vote. This is an iHeart Podcast.