#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Biden rallies for Ossoff/Warnock; Frontliners get COVID vax; Chicago cops raid innocent woman's home

Episode Date: December 16, 2020

12.15.20 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Biden rallies for Ossoff/Warnock in Georgia; Frontline workers get COVID vaccine; Chicago cops raid innocent woman's house; Just in time for Christmas, our black business features the creator of personalized puzzles.  Support #RolandMartinUnfiltered via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered or via PayPal ☛https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered #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.

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It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Today is Tuesday, December 15th, 2020. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, President-elect Joe Biden comes to Atlanta. The campaign for John Ossoff and Raphael Warnock will show you what took place today. You'll hear from Pastor Warnock as well as Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. Two black doctors, frequent visitors on this show, started the COVID-19 vaccine. They will join us and they're going to share their experience.

Also, folks, a black business. In our Marketplace segment every Tuesday, we'll talk with them. And, of course, man, Morgan State University, Prairie View A&M, get $90 million grants total from the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Folks, that is huge, huge news. Let's go, folks.

And also, one-hour show today. After today's show, we, of course, will have the Spirit of Democracy Awards from the National Coalition on Black City Participation. Jam-packed show. Let's go. It's time to bring the funk. Roland Martin on the filter. With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling with Uncle Roro, yo It's rolling, Martin Rolling with rolling now

He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best You know he's fresh, he's real, the best you know. He's rolling, Martin. Now. Martin. Folks, we're live from Atlanta, Georgia, just back from, of course, the Joe Biden rally that took place here in Atlanta. I'm going to show you some of that a little bit later. But first, we want to start with the COVID-19 vaccine. It began to roll out across the country on Sunday. The trucks began to roll out and a number of people have already gotten the shots. And two doctors, two black doctors, who are frequent commentators on this show. They have started that vaccine today. Joining us right now is Dr. Tyson Bell.

Of course, you might remember him numerous times on this show. He joins us right now. Dr. Bell, of course, with the University of Virginia. He is, again, a frequent visitor here. And so I want to start with him also. Joining us is Dr. Ebony Hilton, who's going to be joining us as well. But let me know, folks, let me know when she's with us. Dr. Bill, how you doing? Doing good. How about yourself, Roland?

Doing great. All right. So take us through. I remember you tweeting out that you were going to go through this, taking the vaccine. You're going to be chronicling exactly what you encountered. And so through this, taking the vaccine. You're going to be chronicling exactly what you encountered. And so walk us through what happened today. Sure. So we went to the infusion center where my facility is vaccinating people. Did the usual thing, cleaned the arm. They drew the vial in a small needle that's very similar to the size of

the flu vaccine and then went into the arm. It's a needle going to the arm. So, you know, I felt that, but it was very like a small pitch. And then after that, did pretty well. Have a little bit of arm soreness that you would expect after getting a vaccine. I believe that Dr. Hilton comes on later. So tell you, she felt nothing at all, but that's no surprise because black women can take pain better than we can. But I'm doing well, Roland. Thanks for asking. Speaking of her, Dr. Ebony Hilton, I saw your video this morning, early this morning. You sang Today Was The Day You Were Getting The Vaccine. Describe your experience. Yeah, it was, you know, I was describing to Dr. Bell, it was a

very sweet moment for me. I was super excited about any type of hope that we had with the end of this pandemic. But at the same time, immediately thereafter, I just started thinking about how many people don't have the potential for this intervention. I mean, we've lost 300,000 Americans alone. And so, yeah, the appearance of the injection itself, you know, just my little mark, no rash, no nothing. It didn't hurt me at all. I've been crying a little bit. No, but I didn't feel any pain before at all.

Now, again, the rollout is beginning to happen all across the country. And both of you were adamant that it was important as doctors, but as black doctors, to take this vaccine and to share the information with African-Americans, because there are a lot of people who are scared. You've got people out there saying all sorts of different things. I was sent, I was sent something earlier, Mr. Louis Farrakhan calling the vaccine toxic waste. And other people are saying, well, the black woman who was really leading this, she was really set up there. And y'all want black folks to know, look, listen to black doctors, listen to black doctors and black experts share with you about this vaccine, because black people

have been dying at a disproportionate rate, having anybody else. so we are greatly impacted by COVID-19. And I think even greater, Roland, if you think about it, what I don't want to happen is this. What we know is that there's two issues that's going on with black turnout to the vaccine. One is a trust issue.

We cannot deny the impact of Tuskegee. We cannot deny the impact of Flint, Michigan. We cannot deny the impact of Flint, Michigan. We cannot deny the fact that we have police brutality in systems that are literally targeting our population. We can't deny that. But we also take it that there's not health care access for black people. And what I don't want to happen is for the powers that be to say that the reason why black people didn't get vaccinated was because they didn't trust the process and they didn't show up. And it wasn't because we don't have hospitals in predominantly black and brown communities. It wasn't because we didn't make efforts to actually

have mobile drive-through clinics for vaccination for those persons in those communities that would want to be vaccinated. At this point, we know that that was the truth for COVID-19 testing, right? That in the beginning, more testing was done in predominantly white communities. We don't want to get behind that eight ball. So I'm not going to give the government, I'm not going to give policymakers that cop-out

of saying black people didn't want it because I don't think that's simply true. Come and speak to our community. Come and educate us. Let our leaders, let them talk to our community. But don't shut us out. We demand that there's equity in rollout and we demand you actually bring those vaccines

to the persons that are dying at higher rates from COVID-19 than the first. Dr. Bell, Emily, Dr. Hilton talked about Tuskegee. The reality is when you look at the maternal health of black women as well, African Americans not trusting how they're impacted, not trusting white doctors. But this is where, if you're African American, there's a reason we are putting black experts on. There's a reason we are putting black experts on.

There's a reason we are putting black infectious disease specialists, putting on black doctors, putting on black ER doctors, because we want to be able to let black folks know that, look, this is where we stand. Our own experts. Now, damn it, if you can't believe black experts, well, then who are you going to believe? Roland, what I would add to that is that this is personal for us. You know, we represent the communities that we come from and my family and that history, but this is personal. So when you see numbers like there's a disproportionate number of African-Americans who were contracted COVID-19, these are our family members. When you see that African Americans are beginning to hospitalize with COVID-19, more so than their white counterparts, that's people in our family. And people have died of COVID-19. That's in our

family. So, you know, this is such a visceral feeling. And what we're dealing with is real. Now, Dr. Hilton and I, our bodies are our temples, just like you and everyone else. And with the evidence that we've seen so far, understanding the distrust within the community, some of that earns, you know, let's definitely point that out. But we're confident in the safety and efficacy of this vaccine enough to put it in our own bodies and serve as that example. And this is the step that we can take to protect the health of ourselves and our family members and ultimately protect our community. What are y'all planning? How are you planning to do this? Are you looking to chronicle this on social media every single day so people understand what you're going through, what your body is experiencing? I've seen, I saw one, the sister who was involved in the trials, she talked about, you know, the sore pain

she had in an arm for several days. She talked about, you know, other effects of being cold, you know, on the second day. And so she really wanted people to understand what she was experiencing. Dr. Walter Kimbrough, the president of Dillard University, he was involved in the same trials. He believed that he got the placebo because really he didn't experience anything. No one knew, was all blind. So how are you looking, Dr. Hilton, to really convey to folks your experiences? Yeah, I think in as many platforms as possible. So, yes, I plan on daily posting videos of what am I experiencing. So people can, one, look at me themselves and say, does she look different?

So, you know, you can find me on Twitter on EbonyJHilton underscore MD. I'm on Facebook under the same title. LinkedIn. On my YouTube page is Good Stop Consulting YouTube page. I'll upload those videos that you can track daily. And then another thing we've done is partnered with, there's an app called ShareCare. And ShareCare is basically an app that's WebMD meets Eastern and Western medicine and videos that highlight issues that are pertinent to the day. And those documents, they're going to roll out those videos and bring them into a compilation.

Same for you, Dr. Bell. Same. I will be sharing on social media. If I feel anything, I'll definitely share it and I'll give daily updates as the days go on. So I think the most important thing that we can do in this process is really demystify it and be open and transparent about what we're experiencing, what we're going through. Because one way that we can bridge thisrust is by actually opening our lives up.

And we're making ourselves available. In addition to sharing what we're going through, we're making ourselves available to questions from the community and every questions on the table. I think, you know, whether it's concern about the vaccine itself, what's in the vaccine, how does it actually work, what the approval process was, why do we have it? You know, so at such a quick time point compared to other vaccines. These are all things we need to get into. So look us up, hit us up, ask questions, put your comments in.

We will engage you. All right, then. Dr. Tyson Bell, Critical Care and Infectious Disease Specialist of the University of Virginia and Dr. Ebony Hilton, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Virginia. Both of you, thanks a lot. Thank you. Thank you, Roland. All right, I want to bring in my panel here.

Rena Shaw, the Lincoln Project Women's Coalition, Mustafa Santiago Ali, former senior advisor for environmental justice at the EPA, and Jason Nichols, Department of African American Studies at the University of Maryland. Mustafa, I want to start with you. The fact that, okay, I'm sorry, Mustafa is not there. So, Reena, I'll start with you. This is going to be important because we are living in an age of distrust. You've got the anti-vaxxers.

You've got the anti-mask people. You've got African Americans, historically, who have not trusted the federal government, who have not trusted medicine and science. And this is really where people who trust other people are going to be vital because this is life and death that we're dealing with here when we talk about the COVID-19 vaccine. Roland, it's so important to talk about facts. And I believe that sharing in this era of transparency is the best thing our physicians can do, is to show how this vaccine that they've just taken impacts them. Do they look different?

Something is seemingly comical, something out of a sci-fi movie like that. People are embracing conspiracy theories like that. So until we have medical professionals doing just what these two physicians spoke about, which is sharing as much possible, we won't have people talking to their friends and family about just how normal vaccines should be in our society. Number one, our life expectancy has gone up so much. At some point, prior to some of the greatest vaccines like polio, for example, I remember my dad, my late dad was a polio survivor, actually.

He was born in the year 1944. But if we look back then, before we had these tremendous vaccines, life expectancy was around 47. We are now looking at life expectancy of 77. Vaccines have done a great credit to modern society. The fact that we live in the year 2020 and people are pushing conspiracy theories, we, each of us, has a responsibility as American citizens to push back with facts. And so with that said, I really want folks to know a couple of things here. This vaccine that was approved by the CDC panel on Saturday, I've taken some notes,

so forgive me audience for looking down a bit, but it's important. The Pfizer vaccine, it's important to know three things about it. And one, it's approved for people over the age of 16. Secondly, people who are immunosuppressed, trouble with their immune systems due to HIV, for example. We don't know how the vaccine is going to impact them. So medical experts are cautioning about those folks taking the vaccine.

But again, anybody watching, please consult your physician about whether you should take the vaccine or not, given your health condition. Thirdly, anybody who's prone to anaphylaxis, which is essentially allergic reaction, medical professionals are keeping EpiPens on hand for those people. And again, if you were somebody with these prone to allergic reactions, certain allergies, do talk to your medical professional. These are three things we know.

We also know that this vaccine is administered in two doses. So that's another thing. People say you really need to be vigilant yourself about that second dose because states have not been given the money they need by the federal government as yet to be able to do the tracing that is needed in order to keep up with the people who get that first dose. So I just want to really express to our audience how important it is for each one of us to do our part and read as much as possible and keep in touch with our medical professionals. Because particularly for people who are brown and black, this is life or death for us. We are impacted far differently than white populations. Science has shown us that

this year. We have credible evidence pointing to that. Jason, trust, trust, trust. That's what it boils down to. And again, this is where black medical experts and black scientists are going to be critical because if people don't quite understand reality, we've crossed 300,000 dead. And it's not just the folks who have died, which is shameful and despicable in itself, but it's also the people who are still trying to survive from who actually who have survived, but are still having health consequences as a result of COVID-19. Absolutely. You know, I'm the son of a physician. I always trust science. I will say that, you know, that, you know, in terms of the early myths that we had, there was a myth that black people were immune.

I remember hearing that and having to challenge that from lots of different people saying that all black people, we don't get it. And then we start seeing more and more people get sick, more and more people die, people not paying attention to science. I would agree with your last guest about the importance of vaccinations and what they've done to make our population safer. Not only African-Americans, but just about the entire population has become safer. We're living longer because of vaccines. But it's really important what Dr. Hinton and Dr. Bell are doing in terms of making sure that they're transparent, making sure that people don't believe

that there's some sort of boogeyman medical establishment out to kill people. And I'm from the Baltimore area, and there's always these urban legends about Hopkins Hospital and what they've done. And the stories, you know, have been really harmful because some of it is based on some level of truth with Henrietta Lacks and other people

who have been done wrong by the medical establishment. So it's important that Black people who are involved in the medical establishment do what they can to dispel that, do what they can to bring trust back to the community and make sure that people are trusting science and health. And I think it was most important what Dr. Hinton said, and that is that oftentimes they're going to blame this on black people and say, well, they didn't want it, they didn't trust us. And not on the fact that 46% of hospitals in lots of black communities have shut down. The fact that many black people don't have a primary care doctor, and that's due to insurance imbalances and disproportions that are out there, that black people are twice as likely to be uninsured.

So I think that there are a lot of issues that people need to pay attention to in order to keep black people healthy and living longer and continuing the trends and the strides that we've made, particularly since the Affordable Care Act. Mustafa, believe science, which means if you're going to say believe science, you've Mustafa, believe science, which means if you're going to say believe science, you got to believe scientists,

which means it comes down to trust. It does. You know, trust but verify. And good scientists will make sure that they're putting the information in front of you so that you can make informed decisions for yourself. But a part of that trust paradigm is also making sure that we're getting the resources

to our organizations, the National Medical Association and other associations of public health doctors, you know, who can be in our communities, helping people to navigate the information, helping churches and fraternities and sororities and others to be able to have trust in the system and also trust in the information and being able to share it in a way that makes sense to our folks. So it is trust and verify, but it is also make sure the resources are there to get the messaging out. All right, folks, we are here in Atlanta where today President-elect Joe Biden was in town to hold a rally supporting Pastor Raphael Warnock and John Ossoff,

who were both running for the United States Senate. They got embroiled in a bitter runoff against Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue. The event took place, a social distance rally, a drive-in rally, and here are some of the excerpts of today's rally. As tough as this moment is in this country, as dark as these days and winters seem, I'm still more optimistic about the future of this country than I've been my whole career. I know what we can do.

I know what this country is capable of. I know the future we can build together. And I hope when you'll send John and Raphael to Washington to help me get that done. Folks, it really is time to leave the anger

and bitter politics of division behind us. It's time for us to come together as a country and start delivering what we have to get done for the people of America. This is the United States of America. And Bet is ready to act. So send John and Rafael to Washington. And that's what will happen.

You know, Iran have a commitment to be president for all Americans. So send John and Rafael to Washington. That's what will happen. You know, I ran on the commitment to be president for all Americans. John and Rafael are running on the commitment to be senators for all Georgians. I'm asking you what you're already doing to support them, because if you do, the doors of promise and progress are going to open in Washington. We're going to start to get done what we have to do. More than anything, we'll make the lives of every Georgian, the lives of every American better.

That's not hyperbole. That's a fact. It all begins with your vote. Starting today, as I said, you can vote early. Go to IWillVote.com slash GA to find your polling location. Tell your friends, your family, just like you did in November, turn out the vote so it's not even close. Don't give them an excuse.

Don't let them take away your power. Vote for both John and Raphael. And remember the final words left to us by Congressman, my dear friend and American hero, John Lewis. Remember what John said? He said, the vote is the most powerful nonviolent change you have in a democratic society. And you must use it because it's not guaranteed you can't lose it. So use it.

You have the power to win this election again. Let your voices be heard so the voice of Georgia can be heard. There's nothing beyond our capacity. There's no limit to America's future. The only thing that can tear America apart is America itself. So let's choose hope over fear, unity over division, science over fiction, and yes, truth over lies. It's time to stand up, take back our democracy. Send me these two men and we will control the Senate and we will change the lives of people in Georgia. God bless you and may God protect our troops.

Go out and vote. Vote. Love Kirkwood and love Georgia. Well, we got to do it again, guys. A few weeks ago, we had a conversation about what was at stake in these elections. We talked about the fact that we were in the midst of a global pandemic. Well, we've gotten a little closer to salvation with a vaccine, but the vaccine isn't going to solve every problem. And we have an economy that's in peril. But a new president can't solve that alone and we are in the space where racial reckoning is not going to disappear just when the years change we've got to stay committed and

we've got to have a plan what it means to be a small business owner. You see, he owns a business that has one singular objective, to root out corruption. And we picked the perfect target, David Perdue. Raphael Warnock has led his church and led his community with grace and with values. And we have a perfect target for him someone who seems to forget her values when opportunity is on the line and that's kelly loeffler but with john ossoff and rafael bornock when they get to the u.s senate we get the better deal that we need

we get the change that we need we get the progress that we. Let's put it into context. You see, while 161,000 Georgians face eviction this year if we don't get relief, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler are writing strongly worded letters to a baseball team. While 160,000 people worry if they will be able to sleep inside at night, they're worried about the name of a baseball team. While we know that one in four small businesses in Georgia that were around last year have disappeared in 2020, Kelly Wessler and David Perdue are suing to overturn an election in the state of Georgia. And while we know that 4.1 million Georgians have filed for job loss claims, 4.1 million job loss claims, including 30,000 just last Thursday, the response from Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue is to make money off their stock trades.

We deserve better, Georgia. We deserve John Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. And speaking of Pastor Raphael Warnock, when the rally was over, I had a chance to catch up with him. Yesterday, an amazing first day of early voting. Unbelievable turnout here in Georgia. And I have to tell you, as I've been moving all across the state, there's a lot of energy from Savannah to Augusta to Columbus,

smaller towns in between. I think the people of Georgia understand how much is at stake and they're rising up in this moment. Of course, as you talk about that intensity. And according to Fair Fight, 41% of the people voting yesterday were African-American. That's a major number. This is the result of work we've been doing in this state for about 10 years. You know, Stacey Abrams came short about less than 55,000 votes out of 4 million cast. Now we have 300,000 people getting purged. Well, since then, that was 2018. 55,000 votes out of 4 million cast. Now we have 300,000 people getting purged. Well, since then, that was 2018,

we've registered 800,000 new voters in this state. 49% of them are people of color. 45% are under 30. And so you're witnessing the new South rising. Georgia is the tip of the spear. Last question. Some 23,000 young people who are 17 and a half, they could be 18 by election day Again

Folks are trying to find them To get them to come out and vote I mean that number there Could very well determine the election Oh absolutely, young people are rising up And we saw very impressive Voter turnout among young people during the November 3rd election. But we can't let off of the gas.

We've got to keep pushing hard all the way to January 5th. Vote by mail. Vote early in person until December 31st. Spend Election Day. We should no longer be talking about Election Day. It's election season. And that season is now. You should spend election day getting the remaining folks in your circle who haven't voted out to the polls, but our votes need to be in the bank by December 31st.

Pastor Warnock, I appreciate it. Frank, keep it up. All right, take care. Also, I had a chance to talk with Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottles. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottles, first of all, how you doing? I'm doing great. Wasn't this a great rally? It was. It was. First of all, thank goodness there was no rain.

Otherwise, we'd be playing in the mud over here. But one of the things that jumps out, yesterday, amazing turnout on the first day of early voting. Fair Fight says 41 percent of the turnout African-American. Well, I'm so excited to hear that. And just to have President-elect Biden here really speaks to how important it is. And we need all of the influence and excitement that we can get because it's always a challenge to get people to show up for runoffs in our state. So I'm glad that all eyes are on Georgia. And we did it in November. We'll do it again.

You talked about it in your speech. You have to deal with that in terms of running in a runoff and an 8.0 win. And it's all about ground games. It's all about, you know, it's really just driving folks. You can run all the ads you want to, but you really got to touch the folks to get them to know the actual runoff date. Hit strategy to poll with black with higher heights. And 35% of black women who were surveyed didn't even know the date was January 5th.

And so that's the other thing as well. No, it's so important because we have to educate people. We have so many new voters in this state. And so, so many people believe that they got it done when they went in November and they don't even understand the concept of a runoff and that's why it's important for us as elected officials and community organizers to educate people and tell them why it's important and when we tell people why it's important they they will show back up to vote.

President-elect Joe Biden gave you a special shout-out. You were one of the early supporters of Biden. And I remember at the debate in Atlanta, there were some other mayors, I won't say their names, who were jumping ship and going to other candidates. And you were not shy about calling them out. And I still do it. Every opportunity that I get, shall I start the roll call right now? We're not going to say anything, Steve Benjamin, Columbia,

South Carolina. You said it, not me. Steven's going to kill us both. But you know, Steve is our friend. And obviously, that was a tough decision. We won't get into the details of that, but he wasn't the only one. So I'm just glad we're all one family again. Of course, and then, of course, having Osop and Warnock.

It's very interesting. I interviewed both of them, and it's very rare to see candidates essentially run together as opposed to running separate races. It is. I've never seen it, at least in my voting life in Georgia. I don't know when, if ever, we've had two Senate runoffs. So this is just such an extraordinary time for so many reasons in this state. But to have the opportunity to change the landscape of the United States Senate is an opportunity. If it's ever happened in this state, I don't remember it. And on top of all of that, just two immensely qualified men who will represent us so well. Last point here.

Just looking through the camera there, there's somebody out there who is registered, but they're like, I'm not quite sure. I don't know if this politics stuff, it doesn't work. It's not really going to solve any problems. My neighborhood hasn't changed. My community hasn't changed. What would you tell that person who is on the fence about voting in these runoff races?

Every election is another opportunity to get it right. That's what our democracy is all about. We are not a perfect country, but every few years, we have an opportunity to work towards creating something better for our communities. And the power is within each of us. Our vote is our voice. And we spoke loud and clear.

We made a change in the state. We made a difference across this nation. And the opportunity to have two senators to support the agenda of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is an opportunity that probably will come once in a lifetime. And we have to exercise our right to vote, as Congressman Lewis reminded us, because if we don't, we could lose it. All right. Some tell me I'm going to have to be buying my Delta wife this mask she got on.

So I'm quite sure. Look, it's enough Delta. I've been an Alpha 31 years, and I ain't got as much Delta gear she got at the house. Well, because you're not a Delta. Y'all got bags. Y'all got too much stuff. Maybe the love I'm running is deep. I can't speak to that.

But what I do know is she needs one of these. She probably got five of them. Well, you know, got to have one for the season. Mary, I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Always good seeing you. Thank you, Roland. Welcome to Atlanta.

Maybe you'll stay. Oh, look at you. See, look at you. I got to go back a lot. Always good seeing you. Thank you, Roland. Welcome to Atlanta. Maybe you'll stay. Oh, look at you. See, look at you. I got to go back home. My nieces miss me. All right, folks. One young lady has a special opportunity. She's a Spelman sophomore. Her name is Imani Bennett. She got an opportunity to actually introduce President-elect Joe Biden. And her and her dad dropped by where we were set up. He wanted a photo. I said, well, we'll do something better. I'll interview her.

So, Allison, what was it like to introduce President-elect Joe Biden? It was just a great experience. Like, I can't imagine it, you know. I'm just very grateful and very blessed to have this opportunity. How'd you get picked? I was asked, and, you know, I sent my bio, and I just got a call. I got a phone call. That's pretty much it.

Well, it's not a bad opportunity to introduce the president-elect of the United States. No, it's not a bad opportunity. Like, I'm just so young, blessed, and elated just to be here. All right, then. Well, certainly good to be here. Congratulations. Thank you. I want to go back to our panel now.

Jason, we talked about the voting in Atlanta on yesterday. Massive numbers. 41% of all the folks who voted yesterday, African-American who voted in person. It is going to take a massive black voter turnout in order for Warnock and Ossoff to win against Perdue and Loeffler. Yeah, I agree. I honestly don't think it's necessarily who shows up in terms of Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. I think it's going to take black people having the knowledge, as Mayor Bottom stated, about all of the facts of this election and what's at stake, and major turnout for Warnock and for Ossoff, and to know what they're up against. I mean, this is, we're talking about David Perdue, who ran an ad that lengthened Ossoff's nose, which was incredibly anti-Semitic. We're talking about Kelly Loeffler, who's been anti-Black Lives Matter. So there are real serious issues at stake, in addition to Joe Biden's agenda

that will help Georgians and people across the nation. So there are real issues at stake, and it's going to take, again, African Americans to save the country. And it's going to take major turnout for our community. Mustafa, when we talk about, you know, really rich people on the ground, that's what it's going to take. I talked to Congressman Cedric Richmond, of course, who was leaving Congress and going to work for Joe Biden. He said, you know, it's going to be just like getting in folks' faces, but also letting people know about January 5th, January 5th of the actual date. But as Joe Biden also said in his speech, hey, you don't have to wait for January 5th. You can vote now through January 1st. Yeah, we're encouraging everyone to vote as early as possible

to make sure that that's already locked in. And it's just amazing to see all the incredible folks who have invested so much in Georgia, you know, invested their time, their hopes, and it's actually translating into real positive sets of actions and change. And I'd just like to share also, you know, there is a big difference that we see going on right now in Georgia. You know, you've got the folks that are on the Democratic side who are focused on we. And then you've got the folks on the other side of the aisle that are focused on sort of the I, if you will. And when you hear them talk, when you hear President-elect Biden speak, he talks about folks coming together. He talks about, you know, uplifting and how we as a group, as a folks

coming together can really make change happen. And then when you see when President Trump went down there, it was all about him. And you see that also from Loeffler and you see that from Perdue when you hear them speak. It's always about them and not the collective, if you will. So real change is happening. You know, big kudos to all the folks in Georgia to continue to sort of just grind it out and make sure that everybody gets a chance to vote and that the right outcome happens. Rena, third party groups are playing a critical role as well. You're with the Lincoln Project. The viral ads are being run. The Midas Touch, they're running ads, but they're also funding canvassers, paying folks more than 15 bucks an hour to go door to door knocking on doors. Of course, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's group, they did an exact same thing. I mean, this is people understand that.

Look, the last 10 years, as Pastor Warnock said, the work that he and Stacey Abrams and others did to register people in this state, registering people is one thing, but you've got to get them to turn out. That's how you win. That's right. And runoffs are critical. That's where it's critical, because runoff elections, as we've talked about on this show, very difficult to get people to turn out. And you see Republicans largely historically benefiting from runoff elections. So all eyes on Georgia, admittedly, because that almost means that the fight would be finished at that point. It feels like, sure, we have a president-elect Biden, but the control of the U.S. Senate, it is so pivotal to what we will see happen in our lives in the next four years. So anybody watching today that is sort of feeling like, man, you know,

what's it matter? No, the fight is not finished. And I really believe that it was the best thing that President-elect Biden did by showing up in Georgia in person today. There was a lot on the line politically when we talk about political capital. And he was going to risk a lot if he did not go down there physically and deliver that message of unifying and really a return to normalcy. That's what we heard. And that's really important to talk about, because when we talk about Georgia voters and we talk about the types of voters that helped Biden win and then, you know, I made my career on the right. I know exactly what that college educated female in the suburbs is thinking. Because I am one of

those females up here in Northern Virginia. But really, in Georgia, you look at it, Biden won about 12,000 votes, right? But what we've seen happening here with really how the Dems are treating this, and look, there are failures across the spectrum always, every time there's a critical election like this. But I think what the Dems really want to do to win this runoff, what they really need to do is focus on those North Atlanta suburbs. And then they need to push turnout in the city. Suburban voters, especially those women I told you about, are willing to vote against their normal party affiliation because they're so tired of Trumpism. They are smart and they

are hardworking adults and they're tired of the bull. So these are the people that could be right to flip. But three words here, Roland, three words here, split ticket voters. And that's what Democrats ought to fear. Georgia is a red state that's been slowly moving towards blue these last few elections. We know that. I predicted Biden would win Georgia in part because of the blue trend, but also as a referendum on Trump. And so what I saw, there were so many conservative voters who wrote in candidates or voted them for the first time in their lives. I was one of those here in Virginia.

But then those same voters, they voted Republicans down ballot. I know a lot of these people. and i just think it's a big but that's marina marina but that's why but that's marina marina this is different here's the piece i hear what you're saying but in november 3rd there were a hundred thousand people who voted for joe biden in the metro at metro Atlanta area who didn't vote for John Ossoff. And so Trump is not on the ballot. Yeah, he's on, but he's not on. And so I just simply think that the way the way the way to victory is not trying to frankly flip some white women in the suburbs who Republican is to actually get your core supporters out. Those people who first those people that they see Abrams and the

New Georgia Project and others, people who they went out, you got to get them out. They form the core of it. The second thing is this here. Republicans always do well in rural areas, especially in rural Georgia. This is where Democrats are going to have to really focus on rural African-Americans in Albany, again, in Athens, in Columbus, in Savannah, in all the different places, because you can't let Loeffler and Purdue run up large margins in rural areas, then you really are depending on massive turnout in metro Atlanta in the suburbs. It really has to be a balance there. And I hear you, Roland. You make excellent points. But number one, you know, when you were talking to Mayor Bottoms, what statistic did you share? The one from higher heights that shared that some 35%

of black women didn't even know the date. That's what we're up against. And I don't mean to diminish the work of Stacey Abrams. I mean, look, this has been the foundation was set a while ago. We saw the accomplishments on Election Day because of efforts like hers. I do not mean to diminish those. But I want to be real with folks that we can't expect this robust turnout to really be everything this time. We just we will we may be disappointed if that's where we put all our eggs in the basket. So that's, to your point there, the rural part. And look, you may not like this, but I really think Warnock tweeting that he was a pro-choice pastor, I just don't think that was the best move for him. What I really feel, what I've seen, is that Perdue and Loeffler are

capitalizing on the left surge to the far left. Ossoff and Warnock, I believe they've done a lot of things right. But one thing I really think they've failed at is holding the center like Joe Biden did. And that's where I think that they might be. They might be paying for that. They have not held the center well. Biden has held the center. And that's why I just feel like the suburbs are key. State Senator Jen Jordan, she put it best. She represents a suburban Atlanta district. She said what voters really wanted was sanity. They just wanted normal and for there to be some leadership in government. And that's why people voted for Biden.

I just feel like the failure of Ossoff and Warnock to really hold that center is what could be detrimental for them. But Jason, here's the deal. Warnock saying he's pro-choice. Hell, OK, show me how many Democrats are pro-life. That's that's that's not anything new. At the end of the day, that also appeals to their voters. Yeah, no, I was hearing everything Reno was saying until that point. Like that's not far left. If you were going to talk about how they're trying to paint Yeah, no, I was hearing everything Rena was saying until that point. Like, that's not far left. If you were going to talk about how they're trying to paint Warnock and Ossoff as socialists and as people who are like Bernie Sanders,

you know, if you want to say that they're trying to give people free stuff and they're trying to paint them that way and they're trying to bring up some things from a Warnock's past that are untrue. I can hear all that. But if you're trying to say that, I think actually that appeals to women in the suburbs, even ones who are somewhat conservative. I know a lot of conservative women who live in the northern Virginia suburbs, just like you do, who are like, you know, I have conservative leanings, but I also think my body, my choice. I really don't think that that necessarily hurts Warnock at all. I think Warnock basically, as Roland has said, they've got to go out. They've got to, even in the midst of a pandemic, they've got to be door knocking. They've got to get people out to vote. They've got to turn their base out. Then from their base, you know, which is African-American here is to turn your base out, and then you start to reach out to others. And I'm not so certain that there are any suburban white or non-Black

women who are on the fence this late in the game. We are, you know, three weeks away from the election. I don't think that there's someone who's like, I don't know if I'm going to go with Warnock or Loeffler. I think that, you know, the way Warnock and, excuse me, Perdue and Loeffler have staked where they stand on the election and all of that, I think that people know where they stand one way or the other. Mustafa, final comment. And as simply as this, this is going to be about turnout. The reason I'm saying you have to turn out your core people because you know for a fact they're going to vote. You just got to get them to the polls.

If you're still trying to convince some people to vote for you, I don't know. Like Jason said, you got three damn weeks. I don't know if you got much time trying to convince some folks. You got to get the people who you know are going to go your way to show up. Yeah. Souls to the polls. I mean, it couldn't be any more clear than that. I've spent a lot of time in Georgia, both in rural Georgia and in urban centers. And also in Warnock, they have an excellent message for folks who are in rural areas. When they talk about jobs, they're talking about health care.

Those are things that folks in rural areas care about. So it is all about just getting folks out, getting them to vote early or getting them to the polls. All right, folks. Jason Green and Mustafa. 20 seconds. 20 seconds. go i'll keep it short look but my pro-choice pastor comment i must say was about the rules and i get it i mean this is tough you're not going to convince anybody to change their mind fully here i i just think that there's some degree of success because of how fatigued people are in Georgia, the ads, all the mudslinging. But I know in the past I had said maybe on this show what I was feeling was that maybe Warnock was not going to benefit. But now my prediction, I've sat down and really thought

about it. It's Purdue Warnock, I think, because Purdue is pretty much believed in Georgia and he's the incumbent. So he sort of has that advantage. But what I what I've been hearing, especially as I sat and thought about it in recent weeks, is people are not happy about Loeffler because of the insider trading, her cozying up to Trump, the white nationalism stuff, the conspiracy theory stuff. And she's also appointed. She's not elected. So I think if it was Loeffler versus Obama, he could easily win.

But she got lucky with a pretty unknown candidate. Well, bottom line is this here. They are running together, and so they're pairing them to vote for Ossoff, Warnock. And so we'll see how it turns out. Folks, I certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much. Coming up next, our Marketplace business segment.

You looking for a black puzzle company for Christmas gifts? We got one for you. That's next on Roller Martin Unfiltered. Black self-reliance. It's central to our legacy. From inventions we use every single day to Silicon Valley or the Silicon Savannah,

black innovation has always made this world a better place. Greenwood's namesake, founded in 1906, built directly from the intelligence and discipline of Black dreamers. Looking to create a safe, productive, self-sufficient society, looking for real freedom. So they built it. Imagine a Black neighborhood with its own transportation systems, its own grocery stores, cafes, hotels, barbershops, banks, doctors' offices, newspapers, and schools. A black economy so rich that the dollar circulated 36 times within the community before leaving

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to astonish and inspire the world. So what are we going to do? Grow with it or keep giving it away? There's no question that black and brown people have laid the foundations of this nation. We have never participated fully in the green. We think if we can get some of that money to you, you will know what to do with it. Today's Greenwood is a coalition of everyday people. Citizens, entrepreneurs, entertainers, politicians coming together with a singular mission, strengthening

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is ready to share with you. All right, folks, time for our Marketplace segment. That's every Tuesday. We feature a black-owned business, bringing you kind of attention that folks may not even realize exists. My next guest is Matthew Goins with Puzzle Huddle. He and his wife were looking for some puzzles and they said, you know what? Black kids need to actually see themselves. So therefore, they created this. And so we certainly welcome Matthew Goins, creator of Puzzle Huddle.

Matthew, how are you doing? I'm doing very well, brother. Thanks for having me on. All right. First of all, what kind of puzzles are we talking about? And really, what kind of puzzles are we talking about? And really, what caused it? Was it one thing or was it several things? Were y'all looking all over for black puzzles?

Well, I walked into this company idea through the process of having children. My wife and I have three beautiful brown children and we were buying all the kinds of things you buy for kids. So it was Play-Doh and Legos and blocks and coloring books and markers and, and, and puzzles. So once I had enough puzzles for three kids, that's a couple dozen puzzles. I looked at that inventory and none of the puzzles have black characters, like none.

So I started, I really just started cutting puzzles out of cardboard in my living room. I didn't start like with a business idea. I just wanted to fix the problem for my kids. I was cutting, cutting puzzles out of cardboard and my living room. I didn't start with a business idea. I just wanted to fix the problem for my kids. I was cutting puzzles out of cardboard and they were just so flimsy and fragile and they didn't hold together well.

One day we had to find a manufacturer that could make a commercial puzzle because our friends had young kids and we thought that they would want black baby puzzles as well. That's how we kind of stumbled back towards having a puzzle company. And how long have you had the puzzle company? We launched in January 2018, so almost three years now.

This has been the biggest year because a couple of unexpected things really kind of helped accelerate our business growth. One was the pandemic and the school closures. The Black Lives matter movement helped to kind of focus attention on black businesses so that was helpful for us as well and then just recently we were included in oprah's favorite thing so that that puts a galactic layer of uh awareness and helps your business you just accelerate way beyond what you're trying to find well i'm sure being included in Oprah's Favorite Things,

Carl, has helped a lot of sales growth. Yeah, it helps because I'm a full-time entrepreneur now. I left my corporate job a year and a half ago. So entrepreneurship can be challenging financially. But being able to be included in Oprah's Favorite Things helps us to get over the hump and helps us. We got three kids, so I'm still diapers and food and clothes. And I'm growing like I still owe.

So I needed this business to go to help us get to a great position financially. Well, it is certainly a fantastic idea. How many total puzzles do you have? We sell about 70 different puzzles. They range in terms of size and complexity and images. So at the low end for a two or three year old, I had a 15 piece puzzle and I worked my way up to what might be a nine or 10 year old or a 200 piece puzzle. That full range from three or four years old up to a nine or 10-year-old and lots of different images. I got doctors, scientists, pilots,

chemists, veterinarians, even got religious, I got Bible stories, I got a black Jesus puzzle, I got a black Noah's Ark. So we wanna appeal to lots of different themes and values that might reflect, you know, different important things for families. All right, then. Matthew Goins, Puzzle Huddle.

What's the website? It's www.puzzlehuddle.com. If you think like football huddle, puzzlehuddle.com. And on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, all the different social media handles. All right, then. Well, we certainly look hoping for a big sales for you guys as you grow the business in a significant way. Matthew, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. All right. Thank you. All right. Thank you very much. This is a short edition of Roller Mark Unfiltered, because coming up next, we're going to have the National Coalition of Black Civic Participation, the Spirit of Democracy Awards. We'll be streaming that. They're honoring some folks who have done amazing work when it comes to democracy, when it comes to voting rights and civil rights. And so, you know, I'm a previous honoree of the organization. And so it's really important that we support the work that they do.

The work that Melanie Campbell and others do has been vital. I've been working with their folks down here, the Georgia Stand Up group, when it comes to voting. In fact, we're going to be broadcasting the show from their offices tomorrow. And so we certainly will thank what they have done. And so really looking forward to this broadcast. That's coming up next right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Folks, if you support what we do, we want you to please, we want you to support what we do. Join our Bring the Funk fan club. Every dollar you give goes to support this show, allows us to be able to broadcast on the road from places like Atlanta, Georgia. You can do so by,

of course, going to Cash App, dollar sign RM Unfiltered. We also have, of course, paypal.me forward slash rmartinunfiltered. Then, of course, we have, you can go to venmo.com forward slash rmunfiltered. Then we can contribute via Zelle, Roland at rolandsmartin.com. And, of course, you can send a money order to Money Orders Institute, New Vision Media, MU Vision Media, Inc. 1625 K Street Northwest, Suite 400, Washington, D.C., 2006. So please support what we do. Folks, tomorrow we're going to talk about that story out of Chicago where cops busted into the wrong place and videotaped this black woman completely naked. Why did the city of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has to give some answers. Why did they try to stop a local television station from airing footage of the

body camera footage? We'll also tell you about the case from Lamarck, Texas, where Ben Crump is calling for the body camera footage of an African-American man shot and killed by cops to be released to the public as well. So all that tomorrow right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Folks, thank you so very much. We appreciate those of you who watched today's live stream of Joe Biden rally here in Atlanta. If you missed it, simply go to our YouTube channel and then you can watch the restream of that. Thank you so very much. I'll see you tomorrow. DeVita. DeVita. Benjamin Gates. A lot of times, big economic forces show up in our lives in small ways.

Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. Small but important ways. From tech billionaires to the bond market to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith.

So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to,

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