#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Biden to win Electoral College; Civil rights groups meet w/ Biden; COVID devastated Black job market

Episode Date: December 10, 2020

12.9.20 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Joe Biden to win Electoral College; Seventeen states told SCOTUS they support an effort by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to sue to reverse President-elect Joe Biden's projected win in the Electoral College Civil rights groups meet w/ the President-elect; Georgia Republicans are trying to restrict mail voting and roll back the election lawsCOVID devastated the job market for African Americans; FBI investigators are looking into the fatal shooting of a Ohio Black man who was holding a sandwich; Minneapolis man who has spent nearly two decades behind bars may have a chance for release + Crazy a$$ woman gives her take on coronavirusSupport #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.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Never lick your thumb to clean their face. And you'd never let them leave the house looking like less than their best. You say you'd never put a pacifier in your mouth to clean it. Never let them stay up too late. And never let them run wild through the grocery store. So when have one aisle six. And aisle three. So when you say you'd never let them get into a car without you there, no, it can happen. One in four hot car

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It makes it real. It really does. 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 Wednesday, December 9th, 2020. Coming up on Roland Martin on the filter. All 50 states, y'all, and the District of Columbia, my lord, have certified the election for Donald Trump.

But his supporters can't take it. Y'all realize they're issuing death threats against other Republicans? Yeah, wait till I explain to y'all this nonsense. Joe Biden is the president-elect. They can't handle it. Speaking of can't handle it, 17 states have asked the Supreme Court to factor in their support of an effort by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton,

a complete idiot, to sue to reverse President-elect Joe Biden's projected win in the Electoral College. We'll tell you how stupid this is. Civil rights group leaders met with President-elect Joe Biden yesterday. We'll talk with NWC President Derrick Johnson about what he also proposed for a leader when it comes to race and inclusion in Georgia. Republicans are trying to restrict mail voting and roll back the election laws that they passed.

We'll talk with Georgia Representative Hakeem Williams, who, of course, is headed to Congress and the CEO of the New Georgia Project. Also from Georgia, my interview with John Ossoff. who of course is headed to Congress and the CEO of the New Georgia Project. Also from Georgia, my interview with John Ossoff. Today, Joe Biden formally introduced General Lloyd Austin, retired General Lloyd Austin, as his nominee to lead the Pentagon. We'll show you his speech. Also, we'll give you an update on the COVID-19 vaccine

and talk with an African American who wants to help HBCUs and their testing. Plus, COVID-19 has devastated the job market for African-Americans. We'll tell you about a virtual career fair that wants to hire 1,000 people. Plus, civil rights and FBI investigators are looking into the fatal shooting of an Ohio black man

whose family says that he was holding not a gun, but a sandwich. In Minneapolis, a man has spent nearly two decades behind bars. He may have a chance for release due to a panel of legal experts reviewing his case. And today's crazy-ass white woman gives her take on coronavirus. Y'all, it is time to bring the funk

on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Let's go. He's got it. Whatever the biz, he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. And when it breaks, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. And when it breaks, he's right on time.

And it's rolling, best belief he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics. With entertainment just for kicks, he's rolling. It's Uncle Roro, y'all. It's Rollingin' Martin, yeah Rollin' with Rollin' now He's funky, he's fresh, he's real The best you know, he's Rollin' Martin Now Yesterday, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the president-elect and the VP-elect,

both met with civil rights leaders to discuss a variety of issues, including his cabinet appointments and his agenda when he becomes president. During the meeting, the groups touched on racial equity, social justice, and increased diversity in the Biden-Harris cabinet. Now, of course, we talked about this on yesterday, about this very thing. Now, in an interview prior to meeting with them, Biden said, quote, their job is to push me and my job is to keep my commitment and make the decision. Joining me now is NAACP President Derek Johnson. Derek, glad to have you on Roller Martin Unfiltered. First off, we look at news coming out that he is going to name Congresswoman Marcia Fudge as Secretary of HUD.

Today, of course, unveiling retired 4th Sergeant General Lloyd Austin as his Secretary of Defense. And picking Tom Vilsack to head the USDA. And then, of course, we're still waiting for the other cabinet positions. So far, how would you assess the picks being made for not only administration jobs, but also cabinet-level jobs by the Biden-Harris White House? To early detail, we have another 10 or so cabinet positions to be selected. There are over 4,000 appointments to be made. Only about 1,300 require Senate confirmation, so we are early in the process. As an organization, we want to make sure we set a cadence in terms of our conversation. For us, it's more about the policy priorities.

So no matter who is selected, there is a clear accountability dealing with racial equity, something that he said that he will be accountable for. And when you talk about him being accountable for racial equity, talk about this position that was mentioned yesterday when it comes for racial equity. You talk about this position that was mentioned yesterday when it comes to racial equity. Absolutely. You know, if if you say one of the four pillars of this administration would do a racial equity, then we want a follow through on that commitment. We think it's a good thing. It's a forward looking approach. And the only way to make sure that happens is create a portfolio that somewhat manage that portfolio to ensure racial equity goes across all departments.

Very similar to what he did with climate, which is another pillar. He created a post for a climate envoy that's a direct advisor to him to address issues of climate. We want the same thing for racial equity. But is that – but when you talk about a particular position, or is that really about, again, an individual who has the authority to execute what needs to be happening? I think about Bob Brown. Bob Brown, of course, served in the Nixon administration. He was an MLK to excuse me. He was a lieutenant to Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.

before going to the Nixon administration. Go to my iPad, please. This is a cover of his book. That is you can't go wrong doing right. How a child of poverty rose to the White House and helped change the world. I interviewed Bob. Bob, of course, lives in High Point, North Carolina. I interviewed Bob. And one of the things that we talked about, he said you have to have he said you've got to have the full backing of the president to be able to get these things done. When he served in that capacity, he's with departments, when he when he when he got the four star for Chappie James, when we came to the MBDA, they it was made perfectly clear. Nixon says what Bob wants, Bob gets. That's how it has to get done. Biden has to give that type of authority

to someone to make these things happen. And that's why this position must report directly to the president. It has to be accountable to the president, and it must be a person who's carrying out the vision of the president that's clearly defined and that all departments and cabinet posts should adhere to. Racial equity is not about one cabinet versus another. It is everything that's done within this administration writ large. And in order for that to be effective, someone must hold that portfolio. Someone must be accountable for some outcomes that are measurable. And the outcomes that are measurable are directed through the West Wing, from the president's office. And this person is holding that portfolio.

Is it a direct report to the president? So we look at Congressman Cedric Richmond, who's going to be over the Office of Public Engagement. He was a part of this conversation yesterday. Would that not be his portfolio? Would that not be something to do? Or is this something separate? No, this is separate. I think Cedric Richmond is an advisor to the president. He brings much more in terms of skills, knowledge, and relationships. If his position becomes that, then that's the discretion of the president. We are saying that there needs to be a specific person who is responsible for racial equity.

That's the request. And what was the response? It was an ongoing conversation. There were no response or demand. This is the first of several conversations that we will be having around a myriad of topics. This is the request from the NAACP. There were conversations about all facets of the administration

and how do we establish an ongoing dialogue to make sure we are providing opportunity to give input as he also share progress of the administration. Earlier today, he unveiled his pick for the Pentagon. That is retired four-star General Lloyd Austin. Folks, if y'all could roll some of that video, no need to play the audio yet. And of course, and already people on Capitol Hill who are saying that a waiver should not be granted to allow Lloyd Austin to serve as the first African-American to serve as Secretary of Defense. Of course, a waiver was given when James Mattis was named by Donald Trump to be the Secretary of Defense.

You have to be out of the military at least seven years. Austin retired four years ago. Has the NAACP taken a position on that? Do you support Austin becoming the Secretary of Defense? And are you calling on Democrats and Republicans to grant that waiver to allow Lloyd Austin to serve? If he's qualified to serve in office, if we have set a precedence of providing waivers, absolutely. There is no reason why he shouldn't be treated any different than General Mattis when he was situated in the same posture. We need individuals who can instill confidence in our armed forces. We have just witnessed the sitting president allowing a foreign nation to take a bounty out against men and women who are serving

in the military with no repercussions. But we have to instill more confidence for individuals who are making the ultimate sacrifice to protect this nation. I believe for General Austin, it would be a fine addition to the cap. But there are Democrats who, first of all, about 17 of them who voted against giving the waiver to Mattis already. Folks like Senator Elizabeth Warren have said they would not grant a waiver to Austin. Some people are even saying that with this being the case, Democrats could very well torpedo Lloyd Austin serving as Secretary of Defense. What would that say to African-Americans, especially to black folks in the military, that potentially the first black Secretary of Defense would not be able to take that job because Democrats say they would not grant such a waiver,

saying they believe that only a civilian should be in charge of the Department of Defense? I think it's too early to do that. We have not even started the new Congress. We have a special election that is taking place January 5th. There probably will be many more conversations about this topic. And as people consider and weigh options, opinions and positions will evolve. I want to ask you also, we had John Boyd on the show last week with the Black Farmers Organization, National Black Farmers Association. They were vehemently against Tom Vilsack becoming agriculture secretary for a second time. He served eight years under President Barack Obama. Joe Biden has indicated he's going to head, named him as head of the USDA.

Congressman Jim Clyburn and others, they were pushing Marcia Fudge for that particular job. She clears getting HUD. What about their concerns and are there any plans for you and others to meet with Vilsack to talk about his role as head of the USDA when it came to, you know, when it came to issues like racial justice, a former officer in the Office of Civil Rights on the USDA released a letter saying he should not get that particular job. And John Boyd released a letter saying that if he is going to be the nominee, he must make a firm commitment to end racism in the USDA. Well, we were out early opposing the nomination of Vilsack. We were out early, perhaps one of the first out in support of Marsha Fudge to assume the position of Department of Ag. Department of Ag budgets about two thirds of food nutrition. She has served as chair of the subcommittee for child nutrition for multiple years.

She understands the agencies for far too long. We have trended this agency to be an agency for large farmers and not small farmers, not addressing food and nutrition. Department of Ag is almost a mini-government within the government. They have far more services than just agriculture concerns. They do home loans. They provide support for rural electric cooperatives. The gamut of the Department of Ag is huge. And we continue to raise the questions around this appointment.

But at the end of the day, it is the discretion of the president. And as a result of that, if this is going to be the person, we must sit down and have a conversation, talk about how do we move forward, how do we address injuries of the past, whether it's Shirley Sherrod, Black Farmers, or how electric cooperatives have excluded African Americans from fully participating in the ownership of those electric companies? There's much more room for this discussion as we look forward, and it's an opportunity to make sure that his appointment come with a diverse supporting cast of deputy secretaries, among other things. One of the things that we haven't talked to in a while here, we have had, we've come out of this

summer, of course, the aftermath of the death of the murder of George Floyd. There has been a significant amount of energy from various groups, foundations, corporations, when it comes to offering support to various groups. How has the NAACP fared in terms of donations from various folks and what are your plans spending those resources? But not only that, holding those very companies accountable when it comes to the dollars. So for instance, you know, like

Adidas, a good, perfect example, when they initially talked about they wanted to give $10 million and the black and white employees say they ain't good enough. The next day they had to commit to $100 million and then commit to hiring a certain number of black and Hispanic and workers. Other people are challenging these companies when it comes to pay, when it comes to duties. The advertising industry is being targeted as well. And so I'm curious to know, how has the NAACP been navigating these waters in terms of dollars raised, but also challenging these various companies, saying it's one thing to put out, we support Black Lives Matter, but how are you actually supporting Black employees? Well, the NAACP, what has been interesting, we began to see a strong uptick in support as a result of COVID and our immediate response to COVID started with a Peloton Hall meeting. That support did not start with corporations. It started with individual donations.

After George Floyd, we received more support from individual dollars, given small-dollar support. We were actually surprised, but yet, as we continue to be more vocal over the summer, as we continue to be vocal through the election cycle, as we had a very strategic plan to turn out the vote for November, we touched over 18 million people, among other things. It's really good, strong stats. We found that our individual donor contribution outpaced some of

the corporate donations. Now, we received a tremendous amount of support from corporate donations as well, but our mission is the same. Our mission will continue to be focused on ensuring that we've improved the quality of life for African Americans in the areas that we list and fighting against discrimination. We are in the midst of at least three lawsuits right now against corporations. Over the summer, we took on Facebook and we refused to take Facebook money against discriminations. We are in the midst of at least three lawsuits right now against corporations. Over the summer, we took on Facebook and we refused to take Facebook money when many other groups stood on the sideline and would not join in on the Stop Hate for Profit campaign. As that campaign began to pick up momentum, then others wanted to jump in. Our mission would be

the same. And under my leadership, you have seen a tremendous growth, not only in the membership of the NAACP, the presence of the NAACP. We are beginning to hire a different caliber of staff to come in and help reestablish the prominence of the NAACP in ways in which we have not seen us show up at least the last 10 years. And speaking of that, you know, one of the things that people are also looking at is when we talk about not just impact because of lawsuits, but also what's happening on the ground. So, for instance, we got critical races in Georgia. We've seen the folks there, Republicans are trying to change the laws there when it comes to voting because they lost Joe Biden, beat Donald Trump there in Georgia, specifically in this runoff race. How much resources are the NAACP putting on the ground to get people out to vote?

And how is that being driven there? Because, again, it's going to be all about turnout. And we're seeing Cobb County slashing in half early voting locations. DeKalb County is actually increasing theirs. But there are a lot of black people who are very concerned that Republicans are going to try to stifle the black vote. What is the NAACP specifically doing

to protect black voters there in Georgia? There's a couple of things. So in terms of the turnout, we are coordinating with Stacey Abrams, NSEI, and many others around a massive get-out-the-vote program. Nine counties in the state of Georgia represent 45 percent of the total votes. There are 159 counties there.

The southeast corridor of Georgia is where we need to run up the turnout of rural voters. We have a very strategic approach of an aggressive black radio buy, an aggressive digital buy to make sure that we communicate with voters effectively. We have an aggressive direct mail program of infrequent voters, the same target population that we utilized during the November elections. We have a no-touch canvassing going on on the ground. We convene our local units. We have more local units in the state of Georgia than anywhere else in the country. And we have a bigger footprint than any other group in the state of Georgia. And so because we have people in rural communities that no one else exists, we have convened many of them. We're providing resources directly to them.

Much of this is being coordinated with, do I say, President James Woodall. But we also hired a staff person in Georgia who lives in Georgia, who's a part of the state conference to help coordinate the operation. So it is a very robust program, along with much of our election tools, such as the van and other things. So it'll be a robust operation. And that's on one side. On the other side, we have brought on several attorneys to monitor the elections. We've partnered with both the Lawyers Committee and LDF on certain lawsuits after the past elections. I think we filed, we either intervened, filed, or did amicus in probably 24 of the Trump cases from Michigan to Pennsylvania to Georgia to Nevada.

And so our program is growing. It will continue to grow. But this Georgia election is really important. And we've actually had people sign up from outside of Georgia to do phone banking inside of Georgia. So it is a coordinated effort led from the ground up, but supported by the national office. All right. Derek Johnson, NAACP CEO. We still appreciate it. Thanks a lot.

Thank you. All right. I want to bring in my panel, A. Scott Bolden, former chair, National Bar Association Political Action Committee, Monique Presley, of course, a legal analyst and crisis manager. Scott, I want to start with you. And that is, you heard me talk about, with Derek there, he talked about this equity position that's similar to, of course, John Kerry. And I made the point about Bob Brown, the role that he served. At the end of the day, you can put whatever title you want on it, whatever. It could be an existing aide. It could be a position you create. But at the end of the day, they have to be able to have the same autonomy and authority that Bob Brown did in the Nixon administration to get the

minority business development agency going, to get Black's name as four-star generals, to deal with the issue of busing. Again, if people read, if they watch my interview with Bob Brown, go to our YouTube channel, read his book, you really understand that the reason he was able, he had authority. Nixon gave him authority to attend any meeting in the White House. They made it clear to every federal agency, if Bob Brown calls, give him what he wants. That's how Bob was so effective serving under Nixon. And that's pure power. That's real power with the endorsement of a sitting president,

whether he was Republican or Democrat. Now, here's the rub, though. There weren't that many African-Americans in the Nixon administration, but that also contributed to Bob Brown's effectiveness, coupled with the power of the presidency behind him. But we've got to be careful of with Biden. Biden thinks we may or his people may think because he's got a diverse cabinet and he's got an African-American vice president that that single sole envoy position may not necessarily be may not be necessary because because they're living racial equity every day. They have black people who are close, who at the 7 a.m. meeting and the 8 a.m. meeting, like you said a few weeks ago, and that may not be necessary.

I think it's necessary because if you really, really make racial equity a pillar of your administration and your platform, then step up and name someone and give them that power. That's what the NAACP is really saying. And if he doesn't do it, that tells you a lot about what he thinks about such an aggressive move, but an important position to match up with the rhetoric that Biden and the Harris team have projected and stated and professed during this campaign. I think it's a great idea, but it has to be a powerful position. Other people in the administration who may have that responsibility,

they got other responsibilities. What Derek is really saying is racial equity should be the sole responsibility of that individual who is an envoy on racial equity. Monique, is that even doable? Is it doable to talk about that one person is their job of racial equity? Or does it make sense to say, no, we're going to have somebody in every agency?

Yes, I think that makes sense. Well, it's an either and. I don't want to say that it's one or the other. I have three primary concerns. One, while I believe that personnel, that individual appointments are important, that people must be in positions of influence and of power, and that representation of us in those areas is important, and you know I'm fighting for it, where we're trying to keep the seed in California and we were fighting for Congresswoman Fudge to get the position she's in. So I certainly believe in that for black folk, for black women and black men. However, I don't want us to make the mistake

of thinking that the only way we can get policy initiatives to happen for black people is for a black person to be in place to do it. Biden is not black. Our vice president elect is not black. And his his plan for black America wasn't written only by black people or inspired only by influencers from the black community. So what is important to me is that every single plank of that plan be enacted, that our COVID relief, because we're hit harder by it, because we're frontline workers, environmental issues, because we suffer more because of it, business relief, because 90% of black businesses didn't get it. Black churches who have been more affected by the COVID shutdown than others and are now, as you and I talked about, Roland, being influenced by the banks quietly selling off their loans. Listen, I need the business to be done. And I'm not trying to put that on want us to forget, is a black woman in the job, is the first one in the meeting and the last one in the meeting and is representing us.

If we need someone else, fine. But I think we need a whole lot of someone else's. And the point is for the agenda that is in place that I believe is a right agenda to be met. Well, and let's just go ahead and put this out here. The fact of the matter is this here, because Joe Biden is white, black folks are going to be a hell of a lot more damn aggressive than they were when Barack Obama was president. And they need to be, they need to leave the inauguration because any president, black, white, yellow, or brown, you're going to have to, they may agree with you conceptually, but you've got to make them do it. We didn't make Barack Obama do near as much as we should have made him do.

And with this Biden-Harris team, we've learned and we are affirmatively at the table now demanding accountability. We're going to keep and have to stay at that table, but we're going to have to make Biden do everything we want that Monique just went through. Jobs, health care, election of black folks to replace people who are going in the administration or the vice president. We are going to have to make this administration do what we want them to do. There is no time to sit back or sleep or smile on our laurels, if you will, because every day we got to continue to press because there are other groups, special interests or otherwise, who are pressing to make this administration do what they want them to do. We are in competition, right? And so we can't sleep.

We got to leave the inauguration and've got to press every day on this administration to get what we want and to make them do what we want to make America better and to do better with African-Americans so that we can improve the quality of life of our communities of color. And look, some folks, for some people, they're like, oh, my goodness, why are you saying that? But whether they want to own up to it or not, it was a lot of black folks who were like, ah, don't say nothing. The brother got too much on his plate. We really shouldn't ask for stuff because if we ask for too much stuff, you know what? What white folks going to do when you get a second term? And I kept saying, hell, a second term ain't guaranteed. You get what you can get this again. I expect to see, and again, I want to see even other folks. I get, that's fine. The meeting they had

with the NAACP, with Mark Morrell and the Urban League, and Sharpton National Action Network, and Sherilyn Ifill of the NAACP LDF, and Kristen Clark of Lawyers Committee, and Melanie Campbell. But you know what? I want to see Tameka Mallon and Untell Freedom join with Color of Change, join with Black Future Labs, and other and Melanie Campbell. But you know what? I want to see Tameka Mallory until freedom.

Join with Color of Change. Join with Black Future Labs. The others say, you know, a meeting as well because bottom line for me, I don't want there to be the one Negro meeting. I want black educators.

I want black health experts. I want the black health community right now jamming up Biden Harris saying, oh, hey, y'all going to be spending millions and millions of dollars on this vaccine and get out to media. Make sure black media is getting their portion. I want to make sure that whoever's going to be education secretary was black educators are getting their voice in as well. And so to me, black interest groups in various sectors,

I want to see the black business community meeting with Janet Yellen and Adi Yelmo, the brother who's the number two, saying, you know, we want to ensure that black folks

are also getting a piece of the pension funds. To me, the targeting, the laser-like targeting, the micro-targeting should be based upon subject matter as opposed to sort of me, the targeting, the laser like targeting, the micro targeting should be based upon subject matter as opposed to sort of this, you know, one group speaks for all. Absolutely.

And Scott, Scott, hold on, Monique, go ahead. Exactly. As you said, we don't want there to be the one Negro meeting, but that's further to my point. I don't want the one Negro person with the weight of the world on their shoulders just because they are the one that's always in the meetings. In the Obama administration, Valerie Jarrett was there, Eric Holder was there, Loretta Lynch was there. We had these people in top positions who were in all the meetings that concern topics that are important to us in the meetings. And still, as you just reiterated, Roland, there were things, and Scott reiterated, there were things that people in the black community feel they should have pushed on more. So if we're going to be smarter this time,

let's not make it about individuals and personalities only. Because if we put that one Biden Negro whisperer in the room and then don't get our results. Well, that's all our eggs in one basket. What we need is to ensure that the people who are not black, who are in these positions, have the same sensibilities. Our outreach and our demand have to be about policies, not just color. All right, folks. Before the meeting, not after the meeting. After the meeting is a complaint. Before the meeting is accountability.

That should be our mantra for going forward with this administration. All right, folks, let's talk about what's happening in the courts. Today, all 50 states in the District of Columbia certified their presidential results. President-elect Joe Biden is projected to win 326 electoral college votes, while Donald Trump will get 232. This announcement comes after 17 red states told the Supreme Court today

they support Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's bid to file a lawsuit that could reverse Donald Trump's election defeat. Missouri, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Utah, and West Virginia all support Paxton's request for the Supreme Court to sue Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin over their election results. Paxton wants to block their certification of Biden's wins. The electoral college is going to

meet in five days, Monique. These people are stuck on stupid. And so here's the deal. This is what I keep trying to explain to folk, Monique. And I hope Joe Biden is really, really paying attention. All of this bullshit that the Republicans are going to return back to how they were when Trump is out? No, they are clearly, I keep telling folk, stop saying Trump's base and the Republican party. They're the same. These people are not going to play ball. They refuse to even call Joe Biden president elect. In fact, the Republicans, Mitch McConnell and others would not even vote on a simple resolution to tell the American people that they're planning the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. They don't care about rules. They don't care about norms.

And so all the people are saying, well, no, this is all to appease the ego of Trump. No, this is who they be. This is about power. And they're showing you that. Well, but it also, though, I don't want to say what's not going to happen in the future. I don't know. I am hopeful. I have to maintain a certain reservoir of hope because there are things that we need to have happen

that can't happen without some reasonableness, some goodwill in the part of the other party. But they're like a wild ass right now, you know, or even better, a stallion, a wild horse. And it's going to take a while for them to realize you're not going to be able to just roam free and do whatever your hateful tendencies want you to do anymore. There's a saddle on you. There's a bridle on you. There's a saddle on you. There's a bridle on you. There's a stall for you.

We will keep you in the stall if you don't conduct yourself properly. There's going to be some bucking in this process before that party figures out that it will have to play ball and before the Trumpists, who are the underbelly of that party, go back into hiding in shame and embarrassment

where they actually belong. Scott, these folks are stuck on stupid. Yeah, you know, the Supreme Court, in a variation of this Texas case, they just rejected with no opinion what Pennsylvania tried to do. And it's essentially a repackaged case. My biggest question is 50 states and the District of Columbia have certified the election already. They've had several recounts. They've had hand counts and what have you.

And so it's too late, much like the Supreme Court said, or rather the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said, that these issues of challenging mail-in ballots just as a general proposition, you should have done that a year ago, and now you're doing it now, and you want to disenfranchise millions of people. That's not going to happen. But secondly, where does the Texas state, the state of Texas and the attorney general find standing, right, to protest the election results and the certifications in other states, unless they're arguing some type of ongoing process and conspiracy amongst the Democratic voters and the Democratic leaders, even though the Republican leaders in several of those states

have also certified the results, like in Georgia, if you will, and like in Utah and like in Florida. I mean, you can't parse this out and say, well, this was OK, mail-in voting in these states because Trump won. It's not in the blue states that Biden won because there's no way he could win. Trump had to win. So it's OK. It's not rigged if Trump wins, but it's rigged if Biden wins. It makes no sense. And the Supreme Court or even a state court ought to be rejecting that

and have rejected many of these lawsuits already. They've been 30 or 40. And so we'll just have to see. But it is a long, long, long, long shot of what they're doing right now. But we have to understand, again, the game that they're playing, and it is a dangerous one. So let's talk about what's happening in Georgia. Georgia Republicans have outlined a plan to restrict mail voting for the 2020 Senate runoff in the attempt

to combat voter fraud. Although to date, there's been no evidence of voter fraud that took place in the 2020 presidential election. The plan is to eliminate no excuse absentee voting to add a voter ID requirement to mail ballots for voters with an eligible excuse and eliminate drop boxes. Experts warn Trump's false claims of voter fraud by the groundwork laid the groundwork for these new rules, which could suppress eligible voters. Now, keep in mind, you also have in Cobb County where they're saying, oh, we just don't have enough people to work the polls because they're just tired. They're tired because of the recount. Stop it, y'all. They're paid positions. Joining us right now to talk about this is Nakima Williams, of course,

who is an elected official in Georgia who will be, of course, sworn in in January to take the place of Congressman John Lewis in Congress. And so we're looking forward to that. We also have with us Nse Ufot, correct? CEO of the New Georgia Project. All right. Glad to have both of you here. So let me set this up. And I need people watching to understand, and trust me, you're not going to hear this on MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, and mainstream media. 2008, Barack Obama wins North Carolina by 14,100 votes. Republicans get control in 2010 and change all the laws. They said North Carolina had one of the lowest

voting participation prior to 2008. And then they went up to one of the highest because folks like Reverend Barber, the NAACP and others put in procedures to actually make voting more accessible. Republicans said, oh, hell no, we ain't doing that. Then, of course, we've seen over the last decade the clawing back, the fighting, the knockdown voter ID and racial gerrymandering and fighting the elimination of early voting sites. Republican Speaker of the House, Nakima, said in the spring, if we allow mail-in balloting, Republicans will never win another election. This is absolute positive voter suppression by the Republican Party, and folk in Georgia better

be careful because what they did in North Carolina led to a decade of hell for black folks and others. Well, Rowling, you just laid it all out. I don't know what you want me to say at this point. It is, I mean, it's, I'm glad to be on here with my homie, Nse Ufa. You didn't tell me she was going to be on with me. She could have covered all of this between the two of you. But y'all, it is, yeah, we keep talking about, or you keep hearing about from Republicans about this voter fraud, but there is no empirical evidence at all of any voter fraud

in the state of Georgia. But what we have seen cycle after cycle are Republicans trying to suppress the vote. That's what we do have factual evidence to support. And here we go again. We are, I mean, I was reading today, so now they want drop boxes to only be open during business hours. It's a drop box. You want it to only be open during business hours. How much sense does that make? We have one half of the state,

because we are a battleground state, let's be clear, it's gonna be very tight. It is, we're a 50-50 state, but we have half of the state, because we are a battleground state, let's be clear, it's going to be very tight. We're a 50-50 state. But we have half of the state who wants to expand access to the ballot, who believe that the more people involved in our democracy, the better. And we have another part of the state, like you said, a Republican speaker of the House, who said that the more people that vote by mail, the worse they were off as Republicans. And they unfortunately have the majority in the state House and the state Senate.

And so it's going to be interesting come January in the general assembly. And say, the thing that is so crazy about this, they literally want to get rid of changes that they approved! It's insane. about this. They literally want to get rid of changes

that they approved. It's insane. It's insane. I mean, again, that's why they are only contesting the results of elections that Trump lost in. Right? So, like, no one cares about the... You don't suspect voter fraud

in Texas. You don't suspect voter fraud in Florida. Only in states where Trump is lost. Okay. One, we see you. Two, it is the nature of battleground state politics that the elections are determined by, one, who shows up, and two, we have eyes on every step of the process, like between the parties and the candidates and the fair fights and the New Georgia Projects and the Working Families Party, that from registration to when the votes are counted, we have injected transparency into the process.

And so they can't steal elections the way that they've done in the past. And that is where the frustration is coming from. It is the nature of drop boxes that drop boxes for all kinds of businesses purposes. They are there for convenience outside of work hours. Why would you need a drop box if it was only available to voters during times where the county board of election is open? Like we are definitely descending into silly season. I understand that desperate people do desperate things.

I understand that the writing appears to be on the wall. I understand that they feel like they have to fight for every vote, but suppressing the vote is only going to piss people off and folks are turning up. The energy is high. The enthusiasm is high. The resolve is high. Black folks and young people and first time voters are saying not today, not on my watch. Nakima, I actually saw an item the other day that said that 70,000 folks who did not vote in the November 3rd election have requested absentee ballots, and most of them are 18 to 29 and mostly people of color. Yeah, I was reading that earlier. Greg Bluesting, a journalist with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution,

and, I mean, the AJC is, I mean, I'm sure he looked into the factualness of this before it was posted. But I mean, we have groups on the ground, Roland, that have been doing deep organizing cycle after cycle. People will have you to believe that this just started in 2020 or in 2018 when Stacey Abrams won. But this has been cycle after cycle. We've been building to get to this point. We've increased our work to scale. We see organizations continuing to go back into communities, trusted community messengers, encouraging people to use their voice.

And then today there is some chatter on Twitter, some people from the Lincoln Project telling me that I was wrong to say that people didn't show up to vote just against Donald Trump. But this election wasn't just about Donald Trump. Then what happens when Donald Trump's not on the ballot? People are still showing up in force, even without Donald Trump on the ballot, because it was not about him. This election is about people in Georgia reclaiming their power that for far too long, Republicans in the state have tried to suppress. And to that particular point, what I'm really trying to get our folks, and I think we have to continue to connect the dots because all these people who are saying, oh, my God, the great work of Stacey and the New Voter Project and Fair Fight, look, it don't get changed unless folk exercise the power. Fact.

And that's it. That's the only way it get changes. And so people, so you can, it was sort of like, I see these surveys, people like, well, I don't believe in politics, so I'm going to keep protesting for change. Well, what the hell are you protesting? The people who are going to change the

policy are the politicians. The root word of policy and politicians is poly. They go together. You don't understand what I'm saying? Listen, what is

happening, what we are witnessing right now is that Donald Trump won 71 percent of the white vote in Georgia and still lost. And so what that means is that in order to win a statewide victory in Georgia, you need a multiracial, multiethnic, multilingual, multigenerational progressive majority. Like that is what exists in Georgia. and you need to turn them out. And so the politics of yesteryear, right, where there were gentlemen's agreements, the idea that, you know, you waited your turn, that we didn't rock the boat, that, you know, we that it was backroom deals, smoke-filled rooms, like all of that is being challenged, right? You have, again, a robust and resolute

multiracial, multiethnic base that is hiring new elected officials and firing folks. And they're young. Imagine that 40% of the people who voted by mail and voted early were under the age of 39 in the state of Georgia. So when we think about like the people who were born in 2002 and 2003 and are eligible to vote for the first time and the first time they voted, they flipped the state. The first time they voted, they got rid of a fascist would-be dictator. And what does that mean for the future of Georgia elections? When you understand the power of the

vote, it's better than any focus group, GOTV, you must register to vote rap that Nakima or I could have come up with, with our years of campaigning. In real time, they are able to see the power of their vote, that they are able to save their own lives and the lives of their loved ones by electing champions, people who are going to go to Washington, D.C., like Nakima, to do the people's work. Nakima, let's just talk about, first of all, we have the runoff coming up. And look, people have been asking me, hey, do you think

we're not going to debate? I say, y'all, it don't matter. I said, look, this thing is locked in. It's baked in. This is going to be about turnout. Are y'all seeing there, are y'all seeing there in Georgia, for the both of you, and Lakeema, I'll start with you, the resources being

put on the ground in the field. I see all of these stories saying $250 million is being spent on the airways. And look, let's just be real clear, the media buyers, they make their money by placing media ads. Is the money being put on the ground to turn people out? Are folks identifying those cities, large black population that didn't turn out so well? Are they targeting those folks? Is that stuff, what is happening on the ground to get folk to turn out? Because early voting starts next Monday in Georgia, December 14th. and of course the runoff is January 5th. What are y'all both seeing on the ground from the campaigns and from other groups in Georgia? So out in Santa, I'm seeing this from two different angles right now. So it's good to have us both on, but as chairwoman of the

state democratic party, we are investing in our county parties and they have ground games. They are out canvassing something that we were less eager to do during the November election because of COVID. But now we have some better practices in place so that we can have people out on the doors canvassing safely so we have people all over the state. People will ask me, are we focused on just Metro Atlanta or where are we focused?

But we are focused statewide, Roland, because that is, we are a battleground state and every vote counts, every vote matters. So we have county parties across the entire state that we have invested in, and we have people out on the doors seven days a week. We're texting, we're calling, we're knocking. Yeah.

Listen, I will say this. We definitely do not have our fair share of that $250 million. So, those of you who have the capacity to give, I ask that you go to newgeorgiaproject.org slash donate. On the march to the November general, we knocked on 400,000 doors. We talked to over a million and a half Georgians of color, having high-quality conversations on the doors, on phones, and on text messages. I mean, people probably know New Georgia Project. We're probably best known for our large-scale voter registration effort. So we've helped expand the electorate by adding 500,000 Georgians of color and young people to Georgia's voter

rolls. That's not a fluke. And again, that investment, that labor, that work is going to pay off for future elections, and we're very excited about that. And so we are planning to do that on the march to January 5. We plan to knock on another million doors. We plan to make five million phone calls. We plan to make the same number of text messages, to have high-quality conversations with Georgia voters about things that matter. We see elections as opportunities

to test our power and to flex the power that we are building in between elections. And that work continues. And so if you are giving money to the campaigns, if you're giving money to the party, I ask that if you have an additional capacity to give, that you match that contribution with a grassroots organization that's really out here building power in our communities that is designed to last beyond one election cycle. So we'll do this here. So I actually, I was in Georgia Thursday through Tuesday, came back. I'm back in D.C. I'll be back on the ground on Monday. Having decided I'm going to be there for three or four days. I'm going to stay for a week. We'll figure all that out. And so if y'all could let me, so one of the

things that we want to know, again, exactly what's going on. So if there are rallies, if there are town halls, not just in Atlanta, anywhere in the state, we've got the ability to drive all around. And also what we're working on is also broadcasting this show from different places. And so all you got to do is just hit me direct. I don't do gatekeepers because we want to be able to talk about what's happening on the ground. And so we'll do, so you're absolutely right. You're a hundred percent right in say for the people who don't quite understand politics, they give money to the campaigns. But look, a lot of times the campaigns really aren't in control of those dollars.

It's a very few people. And so if you look at the bottom of our screen here, if you don't have the signal up, what we did for today's show, we are highlighting the work of Black Voters Matter and the National Coalition of Black Civic Participation. We're sort of rotating that banner. And again, since I own the show and got to ask nobody. So what we'll do is tomorrow, we'll actually have for the banner that will stay on for the whole show, we'll have the New Georgia Voter Project. We'll have that as the banner and the website. So if people want to support, they can actually do that, which is why I keep arguing you got to have black media, because again, mainstream media ain't going to do that because, again, they don't call

those shots. So that's why we're doing that. So love the work that y'all are doing. Thank you so very much. And we're going to keep pushing the information out. And the last thing here, and I keep telling the people this here, the reason these two races are important, because if Ossoff and Warnock wins, it's a 50-50 tie, then you can actually pass the John Lewis voter bill that can actually solve a lot of these issues. And so for the people out there who are like, man, I don't know. I'm going to vote for the brother, but I ain't really feeling Ossoff. You need both. If Warnock wins, Ossoff loses.

It's 51-49. You ain't winning. You got to win both. That's how the George Floyd Justice Act gets passed as well. And so we got to connect the dots with our folks. So we'll certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you, Roland.

Happy birthday to you. All right. Thank you very much. All right, folks, got to go to commercial break. We come back. We're going to talk about polling data. What are young voters in Georgia saying they want to see? That is next on Roland Martin Unfiltered.

You know, it's a lot of people did a lot of things to vote. It wasn't just something that was handed over. You know how many of your ancestors, so when people talk to me about how black they are, I'm like, but you don't do nothing to honor the ancestors

for the things that they put in front of you. It's blood on those votes. You had, these people died and did all type of things in order for you and future generations to be able to vote and you take it for granted as it don't mean nothing. I think that most people just not informed enough

on what to vote about and who to vote for. It's like you look on a ballot, you'll see Proposition 1 through 10. You don't know what any of the propositions are. Nobody educated you on Prop 1. How is it going to directly affect your community? How is it going to directly affect elderly? How is it going to directly affect elderly? How is it going to directly affect the future?

How do you not know and you vote for something blind? Or you don't vote for something blind? Or you see a name, you have no clue who this person is. And you just, all right, it's all Democrat. I'm going to vote for everybody on the Democratic. Like, sometimes we be voting for people who ain't got no backbone. I still think in my mind, who are the people that we voted for, that we put in office, that chose to accept

that they couldn't nominate a Supreme Court justice? They accepted that. The Republicans told them they couldn't do it because it's a lame duck president. What you mean? Right. What do you mean? Someone sent the message that I didn't smile the whole time I was speaking.

They're like, that's so unusual. Not to see you smile, you look worried. I'm just being serious, guys. My name is Linda Thomas-Greenfield. I have been nominated to be the next U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. The United States is a beacon of hope for many people around the world. That light dimmed over the past four years. The light didn't go out completely, but we were not there when people needed us.

You cannot bring about global change alone. You need your allies, you need your partners, you need your friends. During my 35-year career, I am most proud of the fact that I have developed relationships with people. You develop relationships by having people over to your home and teaching them how to make a famous American Louisiana dish, gumbo, and that's how I came up with gumbo diplomacy. As an African American growing up in the segregated South, my presence will represent something to a large number of people across the United States. I'm getting messages from people in Louisiana who are so extraordinarily proud

that a girl from the segregated South actually achieved a position of this importance in the cabinet. Multilateralism is back. Diplomacy is back. Democracy is back. America is back. Democracy is back. America is back. You are leading the way for the rest of this state.

And we believe that this state is on the verge of shock in the entire country. Keep your eyes on the prize and hold on, hold on. What y'all know about that damn office? And ultimately, we know we can't let nobody turn us around. In spite of all that you have endured this year alone, this is still a good life city?

Yeah! If it turns out that the Senate is hinging on one seat and there's only one race left, turn it up! Turn it up! Turn it up! That's right. This will literally be the epicenter of the entire country, right? So we ready. Music has an ability to be able to help us feel connected. And that's because music has a way of speaking for the spirit.

And it is the spirit we're going to change this country with. It is going to be standing in a space of our power and in the fullness of our spirit of love and the spirit of humanity. That is what's going to transform America. All right. And we certainly thank Black Voters Matter for being a partner with us here at Roland Martin Unfiltered. They're doing an admirable job. And so certainly a shout out to LaTosha Brown and Cliff Albright.

Folks, a recent exit poll shows that Black voters were responsible for the Biden-Harris margin of victory in cities like Philadelphia, Detroit, Atlanta, and Milwaukee. It also shows why we voted and why we didn't. There's clearly a generational divide that Democrats need to bridge to win in Georgia and take back the Senate. Joining me with more key facts on this is Terrence Woodbury. He is the founding partner of Hit Strategies, the polling company responsible for this report. And, of course, also my panel is A. Scott Bolden, Monique Presley.

And joining us is Robert Petillo with the Rainbow Push Peach Tree Street Project there in Georgia. All right, Terrence, let's get right to it. Exactly what is your data showing? We previously had talked about this here, where young voters do not identify as Democrats to the same extent as older voters. How is that? So does that mean, though, that they are listening more and being appealed more by the Republican Party? Or are they simply saying, I'm not self-identifying, which means you're going to have to work a lot harder to get me to vote for you? What's up, Roland? Thanks for having me. And I'm glad to be here with your fantastic,

with a lot of friends on this panel and even some really good friends on your previous panel. We're doing quite a bit of work with NSEI and with Nekima in Georgia and have been conducting polls and focus groups on behalf of both of their organizations, both before the runoff and since election day. And what we're seeing is quite clear. One is that Black voters are extremely, extremely engaged in this election. Ninety-one percent of Black voters say that they care a great deal about who wins this election. That number is consistent even across infrequent Black voters and first-time Black voters. And Roland, just in case I didn't actually believe some of this data, I had to go sit in focus groups with first-time and infrequent Black voters and ask them, first wondering if they even knew that there was a runoff. They are engaged. They know that

there's a runoff on a scale of zero to 10. They are absolutely voting. I mean, it is remarkable just how engaged they are. That said, there is a serious gender and generational divide amongst Black voters that we really have to lean into and start correcting it, first in Georgia, in order for both Warnock and Ossoff to win. But as a party, Democrats are going to have to start correcting that divide to be successful in future elections. And what is that divide? So how do they correct it? Absolutely, Roland. So, you know, we spend quite a bit of time talking about the gender divide over this election. A lot of folks looking at black men, anticipating what black men would do in this election. We didn't spend quite as much time

looking at the generational divide. But what we see is that, you know, amongst Black men and amongst younger Black voters, they are about 10 percent less likely, sorry, 9 percent less likely to identify as Democrats. That also made them 9 percent less likely to support Democrats, less likely to support Biden, but also less likely to support Democrats down ballot. Now, let me tell you why that's so important, Roland. You know, David Perdue got 17% of black men's votes in Georgia. Donald Trump got 19% of black men's votes in Georgia. Donald Trump got 19% of black men's votes in Georgia. And so we saw a bump of support for Perdue because when we look back at what David Perdue got amongst black men six years ago when he was on the ballot, he got 7% of black men's votes. From 7% to 17% of Black men's votes.

That is the difference, Roland, of 83,000 votes. I am getting sick and tired of Democrats, of progressives, of politicals in this party telling me that we spend too much time on these marginal differences, on three or four percent differences amongst Black men. Seven percent six years ago. Seventeen percent now. That marginal difference, Roland, was almost enough to push David Perdue back into the Senate. Eighty-three thousand votes. This is not marginal. This is the margin of difference in states that are being decided and lays at their margins. Very interesting point there. And I want to play this here. Andrew Gillum posted this. This was a podcast. Terrence, I want to get your thoughts on this. And I'm going to go in the order of Robert Scott, then Monique on this one.

He had a conversation with Bakari Sellers. And this is what Bakari had to say about that, speaking directly to what you're talking about, which is that generational divide, but even among the generational divide, the gender divide. Listen to this. Well, first of all, black men are treated as invisible by the Democratic Party, period. And that's been an indictment of our party for a long period of time until election season where we scramble and try to figure out how we can get Charlemagne and Andrew and Bakari to do town halls with black men and barbershops to get them to come out and vote. Right. We do that every we'll be they'll be calling us again in August of 2022, trying to figure out how we're going to beat Marco Rubio in Florida by getting black men to the polls. And we see these like articles that come out about the white women who ran the campaign. That's great. We see the articles about black women being the backbone of the Democratic Party. That's great. All of these things are true. But what you don't see are the articles about the Sterling K. Browns or the Don Cheadles or the John Legends or the Jeffrey Wrights who used their platform to push.

You don't see the articles about the Kamau Marshalls or the Vince Evans who worked on the campaign, who helped push this campaign forward, right? You don't see the articles about the Roland Martins or whomever else who utilized their media perch just to make sure that there was a clear frame and vision around what the Biden candidacy would be. I pick up on that. I'm going to Robert Scott the money. You know, I think that's exactly right. part of Donald Trump's appeal to black men and Republicans more broadly is it is the, it is the, it is, it is a leaning into the cynicism that, that's many black men feel towards Democrats. And this is a quote that I heard from a black man in Florida, just, just in focus groups over this election who said, you know, my hood didn't get any better

under Obama and ain't got no worse under Trump. So tell me what any of these presidents got to do with me. For those closest to the pain, our policies are not reaching them. And the ways in which our policies impact their lives are not being communicated to them. So that allows for Donald Trump to exploit that cynicism, exploit that pain, and create this false equivalency that they're all neglecting you. So at least give me a shot. What do you got to lose? And then the last thing I'll say here is, you know, one thing that Democrats have to lean into is representation in this party. Not only Raphael Warnock, but over the course of this election cycle, the four brothers that we had running for U.S. Senate in the South, that's a story that black men in Milwaukee needed to hear. That's a story that

black men in Philadelphia needed to hear. They need to know that there are people like Hakeem Jeffries and Antonio Delgado, young Black brothers taking leadership in this party to push an agenda that fights for people like them. And it's happening in the party, but we got to start spending money, communicating it, targeting these voters and doing so not 30 days before election day, but to start doing it right now and showing them how they're represented. You're there in Georgia. You heard this conversation, but also the previous one when I talked about what's happening on the ground. Your thoughts about, again, this generational shift where older voters far more likely to identify as Democrats

compared to younger African-Americans. Robert, you there? Can you hear me? Yeah, yeah. I hear you. Sorry to know that was direct to my way. Yeah, you're first. Part of the issue is that party identification is just simply not as significant now as it was in generations past. What does it mean to be a Republican? What does it mean to be a Democrat? Younger voters are more interested in direct policy positions, bold, exciting, energetic policy positions. It's not enough to simply roll out the brand anymore. Brand names

are now fungible. You have to roll out the policy positions that they believe in. And Democrats, in large part, have been kind of lukewarm to embrace much of what Bernie Sanders was campaigning on, much of what Elizabeth Warren was campaigning on, much of what Reverend Jackson campaigned on in 84 and 88. And as long as we still have this myth in the party, this fantasy in the party, that you're going to get those Reagan Democrats back. You're going to get those old truck drivers and the Rust Belt, and they're going to come back to the party. So don't say anything or do anything too scary that might scare them off. You're going to continue to have low turnout among African-American men and among millennials and Gen Zers,

because simply put, they are only worried about what's going to happen to them, what's going to affect their bottom lines, what's going to deal with student loans, what's going to deal with housing, what's going to do with jobs in the economy. And just having a brand name is not going to be enough. So until the party is willing to confront the realities of the demographic shift in America, those people wearing MAGA hats are not coming back to the Democratic Party. Give up on them and really campaign and push a bold progressive agenda that addresses the needs of the people who actually turn out for you. That's how you get more young people, and that's how you get more black men interested in voting for the party. Scott? Yeah, you know, Roland, I struggle with this because I hear the data,

and I do think, as Bakari says, that black men have been invisible to the Democratic Party. They've been invisible to the Democratic Party, have been invisible to the Republican Party, too, that black female or black women and you voted or did not vote, then you gotta be dumb as a doorknob to vote for Donald Trump, if you will. So it's more than messaging, it's getting them interested in the policy and exposing black men clearly as a result of this data, exposing them to and informing them and educating them so that this whole choice or this despondence in regard to their plight in life is not solely controlled by Democrats or Republicans

or even an election, but that to have a chance at a better life, to improve their quality of life, that voting and politics matter. I also think that if the DNC isn't highlighting Black men who are elected officials, young and older ones, then we certainly need to be doing this because as a result of the data, that tells us and dictates that we need to be doing more and not every two years or every four years. How do we get black men to vote for Democrats? Because those numbers, I bet you, and maybe it's a question for your guests, those numbers, if we don't do anything about it,

are only going to increase and expand. And we don't have a third party or African-American political party for those disenfranchised black male voters to go to. And maybe their vote for Donald Trump is a protest vote for their lack of recognition or their lack of economic prosperity or their lack of ability to matriculate in any successful manner in this country. Terrence, answer what Scott said, then I'll go to Monique. Yeah, I mean, you know, he's absolutely right. You know, this is an inflection point for Democrats because the one place I will push back is that Black men are also invisible to Republicans

because that's exactly where Donald Trump just changed the playbook on us. I think once we get this final FEC report, we're going to see that Donald Trump spent upwards of $100 million pursuing these voters. And when people ask me, why are Black men considering voting for Donald Trump, or why did Black men consider voting for Donald Trump or why did black men consider voting for Donald Trump? I told him the same answer because he spoke to them. He spent money talking to them every single day in the palms of their hands. He targeted them with people that look like them talking about things that matter to them. Um, and, and, and look, look, I think think I think half of the stuff he put in the palms of their hands were lies and hyperbole. But but but but but but it was only effective because it was it was being listened to in a vacuum.

But if that's who's speaking to you and ain't nobody else speaking to you, then you're more likely than less likely to vote for that person or to believe what you're hearing. Gotcha. Even Donald Trump. Monique, the point about in terms of young voters, I mean, look, the reality is here. As each year progresses, the next generation is the one who you're going to have to be appealing to. And so the Democratic Party, they are going to have to get a better handle on how to appeal to young voters. Look, you could try to have as much messaging as you can to older voters. And we also know, though, who turns out the most. But at the end of the day, you have to convert people to voters, which means you've got to figure out what's going to push their buttons. Sure. But as I've said before on your show, rolling in elsewhere,

we talk about the Democratic Party and what the Democratic Party should do is some amorphous, intangible, by way of an organization that is not made up of real people, such as me. I'm a member of the Democratic Party. I understand that there's the DNC and that there's money allocation and there's campaign money and there are all of these other ways that money can be spent important to communities. But let me just have a public conversation

and share what I've already shared with you ad nauseum privately. I agree with Bakari about what he said, but I don't think he finished the thought. Because if you don't have resolution, if you don't have solutions that each person can do, and if you don't have resolution, if you don't have solutions that each person

can do, and if you don't call out who needs to do those things, okay, if you feel like you're being ignored by the Democratic Party, well, hello, black men. I'm the only black woman on this show right now. So you and you and you and you. The responsibility

for advocating on behalf of black men to the Democratic Party so that the Democratic Party then devotes the right amount of time, energy, resources into growing and re-educating or educating for the first time black men about why it's important and what the differences are between the parties and how this matters to them. I mean, when McCurry said, sure, there are all these articles being written about black women being the base of the Democratic Party. Well, that didn't happen by accident. That's black woman advocacy, years worth of united effort to improve our standing and get what we are due. And so if you look at from the civil rights movement forward,

where black women were not just the base of the Democratic Party, but the base of the civil rights movement, we are the workers. So if we turn and start working for ourselves, then black men have to decide. And I don't want no hate mail because I love y'all. I'm raising black men. You know, my dad is a black man. Come on. What I'm saying is we can't just be the work mules because now we have to work for ourselves and advocate for ourselves. So black men now who are in leadership can't just be visionaries. They can't just be the head of something that women are running. They have to build an infrastructure such that they advocate for themselves,

because that's the only way. If articles need to be written about what John Legend did, okay, Scott, write that article. If articles need to be written so that y'all don't get lost during the what we call off-election years, which there's no such thing, then where is your essence? You know, is it Black Enterprise? Where are the gaps going to be filled? Who has the contacts other than Roland Martin, the only Black man doing media for Black people every single day of the week? And who's going to advocate so that these things get done? Because time out for talking about it. The House is on fire. What are we going to do? Well, just to kind of answer that, I think part of the issue

is that often, very often the agenda items for AfricanAmerican men do not match up very cleanly with the agenda items for the Democratic Party. And so when it comes to that political science question, first day of political science class, politics is the question of who gets what when. Other groups are often put ahead of that. And we're told to sit back, wait for the next election, be quiet. All you have to do is look at the Loeffler versus Warnock debate from this week, where as an African-American man, you can't raise your voice at a blonde-haired, blue-eyed white woman. You cannot yell. You cannot call her a liar. You have to have this almost Jedi-like demeanor whenever you're dealing with political issues. So until we're able to kind of unleash and speak honestly, frankly, in mixed

crowds where we're not weighing our political interests against, well, we have to make sure we get the suburban soccer moms. We have to make sure that we don't scare off the college-educated liberals from the suburbs. Then we can start actually having policy positions. But as long as we're muted and neutered in these conversations, it's very difficult to put forward the positions that you're discussing. But Terrence, what Monique is saying is, no, no, see, I got to disagree with you on that one, Robert. I think what Monique is saying is, no, no, see, I got disagree with you on that one, Robert. I think what Monique is saying, if you are not organized to make those demands, ain't nobody going to do it. And Terrence, I'll be honest with you. That that was what we talked a lot during this election.

And I'm going to say specifically specifically for black men and then specifically for young black voters. We're really combining black men and black women in that one. And that is if you don't self-organize to then make demands on folk, then you're not going to be able to get it. I've been saying the same thing, Terrence, to black media. You can't keep saying we don't get our fair share if you're unwilling to come together as a collective to then go in as a collective by saying nah, y'all ain't going to give us 10 cents on the dollar. Y'all going to give us that whole dollar.

Now we might end up with 50, 60, or 70, but we got that. So the deal is black men out there, and I put this out there, Tans, and Scott, you were on this show, and it ain't happened for a lot of different people. Black women have been meeting every single Sunday night. I know a bunch of Monique, she on that call and a whole bunch of them every damn Sunday night. For how long y'all been meeting, Monique?

Three months? Four months? Four. Four months? Four months. Terrence, I don't know. I do not know. And I would know of a group of black men who are not in a one particular group. I'm talking about black men from different backgrounds all around somebody to do something that you are not making a demand. And it can't be singular. It has to be a collective action, Terrence. No, that's that's right, Roland. Look, but the truth is, man, I am I am critical of these gender gaps and these generational gaps. But I'm also very, very supportive of the work that I know brothers have been doing.

And I, I just, you know, black Greek letter organizations are not going to let you say that, that, that black men ain't doing that. No, no,

no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,

no, no, no, you missed what I said. You missed what I said. Follow me here. Follow me here. Listen real clearly.

I'm not on every car. I don't know. No, no, no, no, no, no,

no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,

no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,

no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Follow me here. Follow me here. So the group that Monique is a part of, this ain't, no. I'm very familiar with one with black women. Right. And what I'm saying is that ain't, you can be in a sorority or not.

You can be in the boule or not. You can be in the links or not. You can be independent. You can be whatever. What I'm saying is part of the problem here is that black male groups are operating in silos. They're not operating as a collective to make those demands. So if that's what I'm saying. I just think that's debatable. I think that's debatable. Show me the proof. Listen, listen. No one doubts the impact that black churches had on these elections.

Well, 90% of the pastors of those black churches are men. No, no, no, no, no. But those were black churches operating as a collective. Right, right. But we just cannot dismiss the contribution that black men are having on democratic politics. I'm not dismissing.

But what I am saying is if you are going to argue that there has to be a laser like focus, targeted effort on this constituency, there has to be a group that's making the argument. If you're in the black church, you're making the black church argument. If you are in, if you're black women, you're making the black women argument. So there has to be a group that's making the specifics and no, specifically black men messaging to black men, targeting to black men, dollars to black men. It can't be where, oh, I got five priorities and hell, these are the other four. And I might get you the brothers later. So what Monique is saying is, brothers, organize your ass. Stop talking.

I mean, I do know. I do know multiple, multiple black grassroots organizations led by black men. Many of Mondale's been on your show. A couple of others have been here to talk to you about the work they're doing. But but beyond just or and we do have to to better organize. But there's two points I want to make. One is that we cannot blame the consumer for not for not buying the product. Right. This is like Democrats are selling Pepsi here. You know, you can't blame your consumer for not going out and better organizing Pepsi into their community. That's not the consumer's job. It is Pepsi's job to get into the community to understand how to position

their product in a community of consumers if they want that consumer to buy their product. But here's the deal. When Coca-Cola came out with new Coke, what did consumers say? This shit nasty. And they said, we're going back to old Coke. And all I'm saying, though, is Frederick Douglass has already told us

what we got to do. Power concedes nothing without a demand. Never have, never will. You must agitate, agitate, agitate. I'm only arguing that if you do not do it as a collective, if alphas come to the table, and then capas come to the table, and then omega, if you come into the table individually,

I can pick you off. But when you come in as a collective, and I got to deal with all y'all, whole different conversation. And that's all I'm saying. Terrence Woodbury, I appreciate it, man. Thank you so very much for joining us. Any new data, be sure to let us know. We'll have you back on.

Absolutely, Ron. Talk to you soon. All right, then, folks. So this whole idea we talk about, again, collective, how do we begin to move the needle? It also applies to what's happening with COVID-19. We're seeing what the numbers look like. We're seeing how black people are being greatly impacted by COVID-19. We're seeing now this whole discussion around the vaccine and what's being put out there.

And are black people going to be talking to taking the vaccine? We can go on and on and on with that. Right now, 15.2 million cases of COVID-19 in the United States. 286,000 people have died as a result of it. We're now seeing new orders coming down in states, North Carolina and California and others, trying to stem the flow of what's going on. Now you have Dr. Anthony Fauci urging confidence in coronavirus vaccines during a conversation with leaders of a coalition of black doctors, faith leaders and academics. Black Americans are nearly three times more likely to die from the virus than their

white counterparts, but because of a long history of mistrust, studies suggest that black Americans are less likely to get vaccinated than other ethnic groups. Joining us right now is Tiffany Tate. She's executive director of the Maryland Partnership for Prevention. But also what Tiffany is doing is she's working on something that could be a great benefit to HBCUs. So, Tiffany, let's talk about that again. You just heard me talking about the collective and how that matters. Speak to that when it comes to what you want to do with HBCUs and black folks when it comes to COVID. Well, thank you first. First, let me just say thank you for having me on the show. This issue is extremely personal for me today. I lost a cousin to COVID just this morning. It's already here. Condolences.

Thank you. I've been committed to public health and committed to this fight against COVID since the beginning. And now to have it hit so close to home, I'm really taking all of what I'm saying to heart. What I'd like to do, even before this happened, I wanted to make available our technology to HBCUs because in order to play a significant role in this response, we need institutions in our community to be advocates of the vaccine, to be advocates of promoting health in general. And in order to do that, you need the tools and resources to do that. So we have created technology that's been in use for over four years and now is being used by more than 20 states and municipalities in this country to be able to alert people that the vaccine is available, to allow them to select an appointment

wherever they'd like to go, wherever it's convenient, to consent to the vaccine by providing their demographic information, information about health screening questions so that we know whether or not they're eligible for the vaccine, and then consenting to it and going and getting vaccinated and then having that information electronically transferred to systems that are administered by government agencies so that we can collect data on vaccinations and making sure that everybody is protected. This technology does not come cheap, but we want to make it available to the HBCUs because many don't have resources

to buy this type of technology to be able to get in the game. And far too often, historical providers in our community have been excluded from participating in these types of important efforts because they don't have the resources. So by making this available for free to HBCUs, that should be a first step or another step in allowing them to have a really critical role in this pandemic response. We're talking about the technology. So just walk through exactly what is it that you're providing to the HBCUs. They'll type in their address and they'll search for a location where vaccines are being made available. So I go in, I type in my address, I say that I want to go somewhere within 10 mile radius of my home,

and the system generates all the locations in that area where someone can seek a COVID vaccination. Once I select that vaccination, it takes me to a consent form. And in order to get a vaccination, you have to consent for the services. So typically that entails going to a location, filling out papers, having clipboards and pens and all of these things, and not knowing and not being able to alert people in advance that you're coming. And that often results in long lines, very long lines. And when in this age of where we need to social distance, we can't afford to have hundreds of people waiting. And in inclement weather, we can't afford to have people standing in really long lines outdoors. And so what this technology allows people to do is that they can

register in advance, select an appointment. Whoever's providing that service knows that they're coming. And so they don't have to stand in a long line. They don't have to risk their health by being too close, too closely spaced to someone and they just show up. They get vaccinated. That information basically with two clicks gets sent to a state database so that we can register them and they'll have always have record of their vaccination and that's what we'd like to make available to the HBCUs. If they want to have clinics where they're vaccinating their students or vaccinating their faculty, they can use this software to be able to register them. It allows you to plan. You know how many people are going to be needed to administer the vaccine. You know how much space

you need to administer the vaccine. You know how much vaccine to order because people have alerted us in advance that they're coming. Far too often in public health, we just put out a call and say, come one, come all, and we don't know if we're going to have enough vaccine or enough staff or enough space. So this allows us to plan and it plays a key role in being able to respond. One of the key things about getting this vaccine is that you have to report that you've given it to somebody. And if you don't have a system that's connected to a state immunization registry or the federal government's registry,

then you can't participate as a provider because it is required that you have to account for the vaccine that you're administering. And for HBCUs and any other institution that's financially strapped, for them to be able to go and find hundreds of thousands of dollars for a system that they may or may not use for extended periods of time it's just not a feasible undertaking for them so we'd like to remove that barrier we

also are going to be providing technical assistance to these institutions so we can help them to understand just how they can use the software and couple that with other lessons that we learned in our decades of having mobile clinics and clinics based in the community. We'd like to be able to support them and help them and guide them in holding these mass vaccination clinics. And it's our vision that not only will they stop at their students and faculty, but they'll reach outside the walls into the community and invite community members to come and be vaccinated. But first, to learn about the vaccine, because there's a lot of distrust, as people have been talking about, in these communities that are underserved and communities of color. And so before we can say, hey, come and take a vaccine, we have to explain to them, address some of their concerns. And

there are a lot of concerns and fears that people have. They're valid because of our history in this country and our experiences and with some of the medical establishment. So we need to first educate people and then make the vaccine available to them. And on that particular point, we talk about education. This is where and again, I've long said this here. You cannot have these folks who are in charge of messaging, frankly, talking to white folks. You've got to have black experts talking to black media platforms, walking people through. One of the reasons why we look when COVID hit, we had black experts on this show, black doctors, black ER physicians, black scientists from HBCUs who were talking about this, where Black folks said, I can trust that person and what I'm hearing. That also has to happen.

I agree. I agree with you wholeheartedly. And, you know, not only have we not reached out to Black people, but we haven't reached out to people at all. There's been very little communications and promotion and campaigns about what to expect. So we're hearing from the news media. So people like you are bringing on experts and they're saying, well, you know, you might feel a little sick after you get the vaccine. Well, that's important information that needs to be communicated in every media channel. So it should be on the radio, billboards, bus ads, television. We need people to know what to expect because if people already are a little skeptical and leery of the vaccine, and then their neighbor goes and gets the

vaccination, gets a vaccination, and then they're sick for three days. And that just can perpetuate a lot of misconceptions and misperceptions about the vaccine that we really can avoid through an educational campaign. So we have to have a very compassionate and thoughtful strategic approach to engage the Black community in this effort. It really disturbs me, you know, especially because I lost someone close to me this morning, that there are so many people who are hesitant about this vaccine. And I think that we've known this for a while. We know that in general, sometimes the African American community is hesitant about vaccines.

And so we have to start now educating them. African Americans are disproportionately affected by this vaccine, excuse me, by this disease. We're also disproportionately affected by the quarantine and having to be essential workers still going to work and being exposed, continuously exposed to the virus. And so when you think about this population that's out there, I'm fortunate enough to be able to work from home. I'm not taking public transportation anywhere. But if you think about some of these communities where they have to rely on public

transportation, where they're working these essential jobs, where they're exposed on a daily basis, and they're not protected and they're not planning to be protected. So not only have they been affected, but now they're continuing to put themselves at harm when other people will have taken advantage of the vaccine and African-American communities are still left unprotected because we haven't done an effective job at proactively educating them, letting folks, our people know now what to expect, why it's important that we have already been socially and medically and economically disadvantaged disproportionately. We cannot continue this. This has to stop. All right then. Well, look, we certainly appreciate the work that you do. If there are HBCUs and those out there who want to actually reach out to you for the technology you're talking about, how do they do so? dot com. So multistake P4P dot com. They can go to our website. They can complete a contact form

and we'd be happy to reach back out to them. And also they can give us a call at 410-902-4677. All right, Tiffany and Tate, we really appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you. All right, folks. Earlier in the show, we talked about Joe Biden formally introducing retired General Lloyd Austin, four-star general, as his nominee to lead the Pentagon at an in-person event. If confirmed, Austin would make history becoming the first black secretary of defense. This is what Austin had to say at today's announcement. Mr. President-elect and Madam Vice President-elect Harris,

thank you for your trust and your confidence and for the opportunity to serve as a 28th Secretary of Defense. And if confirmed by the United States Senate, it will be my sincere honor and privilege to return to the department and to lead our great service members and civilians in accomplishing the mission of ensuring our nation's security. You know, back in 1877, a young man from the small town of Thomasville, Georgia, Henry Ossian Flipper, became the first African American to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point. And after his commissioning, he was assigned to one of the Army's all-black regiments. And he became the first non-white officer to lead the Buffalo soldiers of the 10th Cavalry. And so fast forward to today, nearly 150 years later, another native son of Thomasville, Georgia stands before you as the Secretary of Defense desiccant. Now many people have

paved the way for me and countless others over the years to include Henry O. Flipper and I am supremely grateful to all of them for their courage, for their determination, and for the example that they set throughout. And they include the Tuskegee Airmen and the Montford Point Marines and many others. Throughout my career, I've also been incredibly fortunate to benefit from the support and the mentorship of exceptional leaders like General Colin Powell and Admiral Mike Mullen and General Johnny Wilson and my old platoon sergeant who you heard the president-elect just talk about. You know, I was a brand new second lieutenant, and Sergeant First Class Fox Ballard took me in and taught me the way of the world.

So I owe him and many others a great deal. And as Sir Isaac Newton famously said, if I have seen a little further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. I've been very fortunate to have the love and support of my family as well. My mother and father, who was a postal worker who, along with a number of my uncles and other relatives, spent time in the military, and that inspired my own desire to serve. I've also enjoyed the strong support of my brother and four older sisters, four older sisters. And most importantly, most importantly, my bride, Charlene,

who I've been truly lucky to have by my side all these years. And I am so grateful for her enduring love and for her support. You know, I spent much of my military career tackling tough issues and formidable adversaries in challenging parts of the world. And President-elect Biden, as you've mentioned, we've worked closely together on some tough issues. And we've gotten to know each other under some intense and high-pressure situations. And sir, you can expect that as Secretary of Defense that I will give you the same direct and unvarnished counsel that I did back then.

I understand the important role of the Department of Defense and the role that it plays in maintaining stability and deterring aggression and defending and supporting critical alliances around the world, including in the Asia Pacific, in Europe, and around the world. And I fervently believe that, as you've said before, sir, that America is strongest when it works with its allies. And over the years, I've worked hand-in-hand with our diplomatic colleagues and partners around the globe and witnessed firsthand what we're able to accomplish together. And so if confirmed, I look forward to resuming this important work.

My career has taught me something else equally fundamental to who we are as a nation. When I concluded my military service four years ago, I hung up my uniform for the last time and went from being General Lloyd Austin to Lloyd Austin. It is an important distinction and one that I make with utmost seriousness and sincerity. And so I come to this role, this new role, as a civilian leader, with military experience to be sure, but also with a deep appreciation and reverence for the prevailing wisdom of civilian control of our military. I recognize that being a member of the President's Cabinet requires a different perspective and unique

responsibilities from a career in uniform. And I intend to keep this at the forefront of my mind. And I look forward to surrounding myself with experienced, capable civilian appointees and career civil servants who will enable healthy civil military relations grounded in meaningful civilian oversight. As Secretary of Defense, my like your son, sir. Beau and also our future first lady, Dr. Biden, and her tireless work for military

families. As the president-elect, I believe that the most important thing for the military is to make sure that we have a relationship with the military and the military is a part of our relationship with the military. first lady Dr. Biden in her tireless work for military families. As the president-elect said, Beau was one of the military lawyers on my staff in Iraq. And we stayed in touch and saw each other a few times after he returned home. And as you too can attest, Madam Vice President-Elect, Beau was a very special person and a true

patriot and a good friend to all who knew him. Over the past four decades, I've witnessed our service members and civilians selflessness and patriotism and the extraordinary lengths that they will go to in support of the mission and in support of one another and I could not be more proud of them and their families and if confirmed it will be the honor of my lifetime to lead them again with honor and integrity. Thank you again, Mr. President-elect and Madam Vice President-elect for this opportunity and for your trust and confidence in me. May God bless and keep safe all those currently serving in harm's way,

and may God continue to bless the United States of America. Thank you. Robert Petillo, got to ask you first. There are some Democrats who are saying that Lloyd Austin should not be granted this waiver by the Senate to serve as Secretary of Defense. It requires that former military folks wait seven years after their retirement. He's only been retired four years. A waiver was granted when James General Mattis was chosen by Donald Trump. Should Democrats grant that waiver or should they refuse to do so? What would that say if they actually torpedo the first black Secretary of Defense?

Well, I think it's less so about, and this sounds funny coming from me, but I think it's less so about race and more so about policy. If you're a pan-Africanist, you want to make sure that it's more important not just to have the first African-American secretary of defense, but to have the first African-American secretary of defense who was actually interested in reducing war and militarism across the black and brown world. You know, if you were somewhere in Angola or in Haiti or in many of the other spots where the U.S. military is at across the world, you don't care if that drone strike is authorized by a black person or a white person or an alien. You care about the drone strike.

So we need to find out what the military policy and agenda is going to be, if we're going to return to continuing the policies of militarism and globalism that America has been on for the past half century. And also we're going to have to have some congressional hearings to find out, well, he was on the border of Raytheon, which is a defense contract. The U.S. government just passed a $780 billion defense authorization bill with a veto-proof majority at the same time that we can't pass a $900 billion stimulus package for the American people. So it's less important the race of the person who's the Secretary of Defense and more important if they're going to turn away from militarism, turn away from globalism, turn away from a eternal war that America has been in, and have a policy of peace and actual reconciliation across the globe. Monique?

So I think what would be helpful is if we actually took a couple of minutes to give credit to this black man, four-star general, only the sixth black man, African-American to become a four-star general out of 200. Oh, actually, he was the sixth at the time. In 2010. Yeah, we've had some since. Go ahead. Since then. And to understand that he has administrative leadership, he has managerial qualities, he's

led in war, he's led in the end of wars and the bringing of troops home. He is familiar and has worked alongside the president-elect, which, as we can see, is a definite pattern with president-elect Biden. He picks people he knows and has worked well with and can vouch himself for the quality of their work, for their integrity, for their experience, for their expertise, et cetera. So this is a well qualified first black man to be appointed and hopefully to become this. And second, I want to point out, you know, this law was enacted in 1947, not 1847 or 1747. It's relatively fresh. It's not constitution-based. It was enacted by the legislature because of feelings they had about who should and should not serve in that position. So I, many times, lean on constitutional intent, legislative intent, when it makes sense. But in this instance, I believe that the president of the United States

should be the person who has to say about his cabinet for every single position. And if there are reasons why at this point, president-elect Biden is choosing this person, then I think what it meant when I voted for him is that I trust his judgment. So I'm backing this call. And I dare anybody on the Republican side to be a hypocrite and not support it. And, you know, shame on you, Dems. Just shame on you. Get your act together.

Scott. Yeah, you know, this is an impressive candidate. He's been four years out of the military. And his statement about the separation between military life and civilian life and protecting the lives of civilians and military people will be part of his duties and responsibilities. So if you're going to give a waiver to Mattis because you want him to fight against Donald Trump's worst instincts, it's not really that impressive of a reason to grant a waiver to Mattis, which Democrats and Republicans did. With this candidate or nominee, it's interesting that Democrats are arguing, well, we did it once. We shouldn't do it again. Well, if it's good for Mattis, for whatever reason, it's certainly good for this four-star general.

And it really makes no sense for the Democrats to fight this or to make Biden use a lot of political capital to not only get the waiver done. Here's a reason to give him the waiver, because he's been out four years, and he's been in the war theater. But more importantly, we need to rebuild our relationships worldwide based on the damage done by the Trump administration. Mattis wasn't a backstop against Trump's worst instincts. He was a pacifier, if you will. He could only do so much with Donald Trump. And so if you're going to get into that rabbit hole argument, it's as good for this nominee as it was for Mattis.

And this guy was far more impressive, but just as impressive as General Mattis. And so I think Democrats need to, they can fire, but they're misfiring on this. And we need this gentleman now more than ever. And I think we're going to get him. And if the Dems and the Republicans want to fight it out about it, they're both very hypocritical. And that's something we don't need. We need to get away from that hypocrisy under Biden-Harris. But I think one of the issues you run into is that America has had a cohesive

foreign policy since 9-11. That foreign policy has been war. It has been perpetual and continuous war for 20 straight years in this country. So as long as our foreign policy is going to continue being that, I think that we have to have congressional hearings to as our foreign policy is going to continue being that, I think that we have to have congressional hearings to find out what we're going to do to get off of this war posture. You have people who went into the military right out of high school and are still fighting these same wars that they were fighting in high school in their thirties and forties. So we can't simply say that we're so, we so much want to have a black secretary of defense, and I support that goal, and I like the idea,

and if he has the proper footing to do so, absolutely. But I do think it is proper to inquire into exactly what we are going to do to extricate ourselves from a global war that has lasted 20 years and how we are going to draw that down and concentrate on peace, and those are proper questions to ask. I don't think it's a question to simmer down and don't ask questions. We have to have the conversation. I didn't say we, that wasn't a proper question. In fact, that forced him to why we need him, because he was over with the withdrawal of Iraq and the reduction of troops

in many of these theaters of war. And so that makes sense. Now, we can make the inquiry, if you will. I'm talking about the vote, right? The vote of Republicans and Democrats against him because you don't want to do it twice. Well, the waiver piece, as Monique said, is a legislative piece. It's not a constitutional piece. And if he's got the demeanor and the expertise

and he's been in the civilian life for four years, you heard how impressive he was in his remarks, then sure, ask those questions, but in the end, confirm him. And don't refuse to confirm him simply because he's been out of the military only four years versus seven years. Makes no sense. Let's be clear. Foreign policy is written by the president. One second, one second. Monique,. Let's be clear. Foreign policy is driven by the

President of the United States. One second. Go ahead. Foreign policy is driven by the President of the United States. The Cabinet follows the directives and the policy of the President of the United States. This general, now nominee, is not a

token black person where we are just getting all excited about having a black person to the fact that we're overlooking qualifications. He is exceedingly qualified in every single area. He's one of the most qualified candidates for nominees for defense secretary that we've had in 20 plus years. So this is a non-starter for me. And the fact that he is a black person makes it more important, but he could have the same credentials with any color of skin and still be the right person for the job. He just happens to be black. He's extremely qualified and he just happens to be black. He's extremely qualified, and he just happens to be black. God bless him.

Look, I think many people want to hear what the peace agenda will be, not just the war agenda. So that's the questions that are going to be asked. You're going to have questions about Raytheon. You're going to have questions about Iraq and Afghanistan. And I think that as long as we're on a footing, because remember, Joe Biden got Iraq wrong. He got many of these votes on foreign policies and military interventions wrong. We have to ensure that we're getting a defense secretary that's not going to charge us off into another war on foreign lands and has an agenda that will bring back a peace agenda. That's the only point I think we have to ensure. And if that is the case, then by all means, confirm him. But we still

have to have the hearings and ask the questions. All right, Robert, Monique and Scott, we sure appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Folks got to go to break. We come back. We'll talk about a virtual job fair. The goal is to hire a thousand African-Americans. You don't want to miss this next on Roland Martin Unfiltered. There are so many things that have happened that if we don't see them for what they are, this is just going to continue to, you know, get out of control. If I don't actually say, hey, I'm going to commit to registering 10 people to vote. And that's the thing I think is that we get so hung up on the big picture. You know, the big picture matters, but it only matters when we all do small things.

That's how it happens. It's not, hey, let's just post on Twitter and post on Instagram because yes, social media is huge. We know it it but we have to actually get out there and walk the walk we got power we're about to get ready to launch our we got power. We're about to get ready to launch our We Got Power Tour. Cliff and I are going on the blackest bus in America. We're hitting the streets again. We're going to be going through at least 12 states, maybe more. I'm just really excited.

Now, it's a little bit different this time because COVID-19, we've gotta wear a mask, we've gotta be socially distant, but we are very committed that we've got to get in the streets and inspire and encourage our people in ways that are socially distant. Ready to hit the road, ready to see our folks, ready to be socially distant, ready to mask up.

On our way to Pennsylvania, we'll be there for two days, and then we're headed to Ohio to Cleveland. We're going to be just spreading a lot of love and building a lot of power. The very last day, we're going to be out here on the ground in these streets because our people need us. Can't stop, won't stop. Register to vote.

You can even request your online vote by mail ballot by clicking the link or by scanning our QR code with your camera. Vote early. Vote today because we got power. All right, folks, let me show you this here. On Sunday, Cliff and Latasha just sent me this. On Sunday, there's going to be an event taking place in Columbus, Georgia. In Columbus, Georgia. It is the We Got Power, Let's Do It Again Early Vote Tailgate taking place at the Columbus Civic Center. Sunday, December 13th, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

You see right there, it will feature Waka Flocka, Tammy Rivera, also Vina E. and Sybil Wilkes. They're going to have free food, performances, music, voter education, and more. They literally just sent it to me. And so I might be racing back there trying to get us to a live stream that on Sunday. And so if you're in Columbus, Georgia, go ahead and make plans to be at this particular event on Sunday being sponsored by Black Voters Matter. All right, folks, Black unemployment is at an all-time high, and a lot of people are desperate for new career opportunities that are specifically looking for black professionals. There's an upcoming nationwide virtual career event that connects job seekers, uh, with these jobs. So join me right now

is Lakeisha pool and Michael, uh, deal for Monte co-creators of the black virtual career fair. All right, folks. so tell us about this. You know, how many jobs, how many companies? What are they looking for? So, yeah, we have... Go ahead, Leticia. Yeah, so we have 25 companies and thousands of opportunities available

at this current job fair, which is going to be tomorrow from 9 to 1 p.m. PST. Okay. Michael, go ahead. Sure. Well, I think the key to it also is that oftentimes you hear about a job fair, you think about people who are unemployed. Well, they're looking actually for people who are active candidates as well as people who are passive candidates or people who already have jobs, but they're looking to get better jobs. I think the thing that is different here is that people think that because we're in a pandemic, nobody's hiring. But we found 25 companies, as we have found all year long, who are looking to hire

and in particular are looking to hire qualified black talent. So that's what we're bringing together. Well, first of all, I never use for me. This is just something I always do. First of all, if you're going to get hired, you're going to hire somebody qualified anyway. So, you know, you just you look at the black talent and what kind of jobs, though, that's the first thing jumps out. So if I'm sitting interested, what kind of jobs, what kind of companies? So we are participating companies range from Hallmark. We have nine platinum companies, Accenture Federal Services. I can rattle them off, but it'd be easier to go to the website. But in terms of the job opportunities, we have a focus on tech positions and general positions.

And by general, I mean general corporate positions. So we have a variety of opportunities in sales, financial services, human resources, et cetera. So there's a lot of opportunities. Also, we have a lot of graphic and art design as well. So, Michael, how is this career fair going to be held? So, I mean, what's going to be the platform? Is it a one-on-one? Are you going to different rooms to chat with people?

Explain to folks how it's going to work out. That's actually exactly how it works. It's a virtual career fair so we on our platform we were able to go from booth to booth uh... when you enter a booth online virtually back to you into a chat room on the other end will be recruiters and hiring managers from these twenty five companies each book is unique

each book booth has a uh... job or she'll see what what jobs are available and you can video audio or text chat with recruiters and hiring managers on the spot. We actually fill out a profile. We actually upload your resume. They can see that profile and resume while you're live in the booth. And you can actually do a group chat with the rest of the people in the booth, or you can go to a one-on-one and have an interview on the spot. So we recommend that people are ready, because we have known in the past people to leave

our fair, and within a week, two, three, four down the line, they actually have a job. So this works. And we've done it before a number of times. So, Lakeisha, how do how do we access this? First of all, are folks required to register or is it just anybody pop in? So, yeah, there is a registration process. They just go to virtual dot black VCF dot com. And that will take you to our free registration. So hold on one second, one second. Okay, so the lower third we have says blackvcf.com, but you said it's www.virtualblackvcf.com? Yes, that's the platform where people can actually participate into the current December Fair.

So on that page, you can register and you fill out a profile, you create a profile on upload, upload your resume. Okay. So again, so, so I'm going to just go and pull it up because I just want to make sure that we're sending folks to the right place for the career fair. So it's virtual, it's virtualblack vcf.com. It's virtual dot black. Virtual dot. Okay, gotcha. Virtual dot black vcf.com.

Correct. Okay. But if you go to black vcf.com, it has the details on it. Absolutely. You can't go wrong either way. So to register, where do I go? Virtual. If you want to register right away, go to virtual.blackvcf.com. If you want more information on the fair, the job opportunities, the companies that are participating, then go to blackvcf.com. You get all the background information.

All right then. Well, cool. So this is a great deal. How many of these events have you had this year? This year we've had, this will be our third event this year. We had one in January. We have one in October. And in fact, the demand was so much for October that we put the December one on the schedule. It wasn't even on the schedule until we did the October event. And we are meeting demand with the December event. The event after that will be in February, February 18th, when we're doing a health care fair. And we're really excited about that, as a matter of fact. All right, then. So, again, folks, go to my iPad.

I'm showing it. So go to everybody who's watching and listening. Go to virtual.blackv, as in Victor, C as in Cat, F as in Frank.com. Virtual.BlackVCF.com. You've got, again, more than, so what, 1,000 jobs that are going to be available for tomorrow? Yes, 1,000 jobs, 25 employers. All right, then. 25 employers, 1,000 jobs.

Folks, please make it possible. Lakeisha, Michael, we surely thank you for joining us, providing the information. And again, tomorrow it is 12 Eastern, 12 Eastern to 3 to 4 p.m., right? Correct. Yes, so 12 Eastern. Sorry, I'm looking at PST on the website. So it's 12 p.m. Eastern to 4 p.m. Eastern. Or, folks, that's going to be 11 a.m. Central to 3 p.m. Central and 9 a.m. Pacific to 1 p.m. Pacific tomorrow. And they have to register by a certain time? No, preferably this evening so they can prepare.

But they can register any time now and throughout the event tomorrow. Okay. All right, then. Folks, we appreciate it so they can prepare. But they can register anytime now and throughout the event tomorrow. Okay. All right, then. Folks, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you so much, Roland. All right, folks. We have so much God news for you to cover. I didn't get too crazy as why people will get to that tomorrow with our regular Thursday panel. Folks, just for everyone, everyone here, we want you to support what we do. First of all, we created these different segments. First of all, we should have had our tech stinger with that, but that was my fault there.

That's really a technical piece they're doing here. So here's the piece. We created this for a reason, and the reason we created this is for all the topics that you heard us cover on this show today. OK, I got no problem with these other shows out here. You can watch MSNBC. You can watch CNN. You can watch Fox News. What are they going to are they going to share with you a black virtual career fair? Answers no. They're going to really break down the subject that we actually had today. No. That's why we need your support for what we do. Again, when I say I'm going to Georgia, I am. We're going to be in Georgia. We're going to be on the ground. We're going to be live streaming these events. Early voting starts on Monday. We're

going to be there on Monday. I'm going to try to get to Georgia early to be able to cover this event on Sunday with Black Voters Matter. Folks, this is why we have to have our own platforms. And the reality is we have created this show, created the technology for us to be able to present the kind of news to you. So that means we need your support as well. Thousands of you watching on YouTube right now, also on Facebook and on Periscope, you can support us. You can join right there on YouTube. You can also join on Facebook or you can simply join our Bring the Funk fan club. Our goal is to get 50, 50, 50, 20,000 of our followers to contribute at least 50 bucks each for the whole year. That's $4.19 a month, 13 cents a day. You can do so by then.

You can give. If you can't give that fine, you can give less. You can give more. That's great as well. I want to just first of all, you can give cash out. Dollar sign RM unfiltered. PayPal.me forward slash R Martin unfiltered. If give cash out, dollar sign RM Unfiltered, PayPal.me forward slash rmartinunfiltered. Venmo.com is forward slash rmunfiltered.

Keenan, we need to add Zelle to this, which is the Roland at rolandsmartin.com email. And then, of course, you can send the money over to New Vision Media, Inc., 1625 K Street, Northwest, Suite 400, Washington, D.C., 2006. Certainly want to thank our folks who contribute to our show. Wishing you a season that glistens with all things happy and bright. Happy belated birthday. Thank you for all that you do. Marvin Bryan.

So I certainly appreciate it, Marvin. Thank you so very much. Benny Briggs. Certainly, Benny, thank you so very much for your generous endorsement. And Benny said, happy birthday to you and your mom. Keep up the good work. Benny, I appreciate that. She appreciates that.

This is George. George, I can't make it out. George Turculo, Turchian. So, George, if you're watching, let me know exactly what it is. I see the T-U-C-H. I can't make out the last three letters, but I certainly appreciate it.

George is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. So George, I appreciate that. What we got here? Hot Springs. What was it? Hot Springs, Arkansas. Is that Hot Springs, Arkansas? I think we got that.

Let's see. Let's see here. My aunt, I love what you're doing. Presenting black people as they are intelligent, thoughtful, and more than just a soundbite. Keep up the good fight. Yours, Mrs. Ella Seymour and Mr. Kelly Braxton. And then, P.S.,

when did you give up your fishing show? Ha, ha, ha. And now there's a famous fisherman named Roland Martin. White guy. I ain't him. famous fisherman named Roland Martin. White guy. I ain't him. I can't stand fishing. So that's funny as well. So let me see if I can read one more, y'all.

One of our followers who sent in their Reena Funk fan club contribution. Let's see here. Thanks for helping me realize that when the Bible says it's better for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man.

Thank you for your show. And because this person says, this is Michael Capers. He said, I was one watching for free. Michael, 200 bucks. I certainly appreciate that, Michael. Thank you so very much. Again, y'all, we have phenomenal fans. They have been hugely supportive of this show,

contributing to what we do. We thank all of them. Every Friday, of course, we run the listing of all the people who join our fan club. If you've given and your name is not there, simply send me an email. Go to rollernessmartin.com, go to rollermartin.filtro.com,

send me an email and we'll get that taken care of. All right, folks, that's it for me. I shall see y'all tomorrow. Have a good one. Holla! You say you'd never give in to a meltdown. Never let kids' toys take over the house. And never fill your feed with kid photos.

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Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports.

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