#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Black Voter Bulletin, Texas & Voter Suppression, Relaxers & Uterine Cancer, Black Girl Sunscreen

Episode Date: November 1, 2022

11.1.2022 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Black Voter Bulletin, Texas & Voter Suppression, Relaxers & Uterine Cancer, Black Girl Sunscreen one week away from the midterm elections. Black to the Future Action Fund teamed up with HIT Strategies to find out the political and economic outlook of 1,200 Black voters in Georgia, California, and North Carolina.  I'll talk to Alicia Garza, the principal of Black Futures Lab and Black to the Future Action Fund, about the results.  Texas Republicans are pulling out all of the stops to keep people of color from voting.  We'll find out what Texas Organizing Project is doing to ensure everyone can cast their ballot.  A black woman files lawsuit against L'Oréal, claiming her uterine cancer is linked to chemical hair straightening products.  Her attorneys will join us to provide details about the case.  The Supreme Court blocks the release of Trump's tax returns and rules that Lindsey Graham must testify before a Georgia grand jury investigating the 2020 presidential election. In our Marketplace segment, sunscreen for black folks, made by a black woman.  I'll talk to the creator of Black Girl Sunscreen. And Halloween is no longer for kids.  I'll give my take on how the holiday has evolved.   Support RolandMartinUnfiltered and #BlackStarNetwork via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered PayPal ☛ https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered Venmo ☛https://venmo.com/rmunfiltered Zelle ☛ [e-mail] Annual or monthly recurring #BringTheFunk Fan Club membership via paypal ☛ https://rolandsmartin.com/rmu-paypal/ Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox 👉🏾 http://www.blackstarnetwork.com #RolandMartinUnfiltered and the #BlackStarNetwork are news reporting platforms 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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. I'm out. Black Star Network is here. Oh, no punching! A real revolutionary right now. Black crowd. Support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. Thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roland. I love y'all.

All momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scape. It's time to be smart.

Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? សូវបានប់ពីបានប់ពីបានប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ពីប្រាប់ Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă.

Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să fac urmăm. Today is Tuesday, November 1st, 2022, coming up on Rolling Markets Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Start Network. What do black voters think? What matters to them in this election?

But also, what is the right messaging that speaks to them and will get them to turn out? A survey was done by the folks with Black to the Future Action Fund. They teamed up with the hit strategists. It reels some great information. We'll talk with Alicia Garza about that particular survey. It's information you absolutely want to know with us sitting a week away from election day.

Also, Texas Republicans are pulling out all of the stops to keep folks from voting. We'll detail exactly what's going on and talk with the Texas Organizing Project and what they're doing to try to stem the shameful voting practices that they are engaged in. A black woman has filed a lawsuit against L'Oreal contending that the hair care company

caused her uterine cancer as a result of chemicals in their products. Her attorneys, including Ben Crump, will join us on today's show. Plus, Supreme Court has blocked the release of Donald Trump's tax returns, but they also told Sir Lindsey Graham, man, set your punk ass up and go testify down in Georgia

in that 2020 election fraud case. Yeah, Lindsey, you keep talking to Sean Hannity, now it's time you go talk to Fannie Willis. In our Marketplace segment, folks, sunscreen for black folks. Yep, we burn, and a black woman has created her own product. It's time to bring the funk on Roland Martin Unfiltered with the Black Star Network, let's go. He's got it.

Whatever the piss, he's on it. Whatever it is, 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 rolling Roro, yo It's Rollin' Martin, yeah Rollin' with Rollin' now He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best You know he's Rollin' Martin Now Martin Martin! All right, folks, the Black to the Future Action Fund released a survey today, folks,

that gave some revealing information in terms of how black voters are thinking, what they want to hear, what they also want to understand, especially also young voters as well. It's some information that I think is critically important. Alicia Garza, she is with them, the principal of Black Futures Lab and Black to the Future Action Fund. She joins us right now.

Alicia, glad to have you back with us. You're partnering with Terrence Whitmer of Hit Strategies with this survey with 1,200 voters. And it was some really interesting information. There was a call earlier today that was fascinating. We're going to have Terrence on the show tomorrow going through this. But what really jumps out is one of the things that really jumps out is when the messaging is that black voters are the difference makers and black voters have power, that actually resonates with voters and will cause black folks to actually turn out in larger numbers than just simply say, hey, go vote.

That's absolutely right. And Roland, first and foremost, thank you for having us once again on the show. And I'm looking forward to watching Terrence's segment tomorrow. So that's absolutely right, Uncle Ro. When we are talking to Black voters about our power, how we are already powerful, and that what we need to do is actually wield our power, what we find is that it helps motivate people to participate. In the Black Voter Bulletin that we released today from a poll that we did in October, we also did a previous poll with the Black Voter Bulletin in August. What we found is

that there is an overwhelming majority of Black voters that we polled in California, North Carolina, and Georgia who do feel that their vote is powerful. And they said that they were almost certain to vote. So what we found in this poll is that our Black voters plan to flex our power at the ballot box. We should not be listening to any stories that Black voters are staying home, in fact, of the people that we talked to. An overwhelming majority, I'm talking in the 70 percent range, said that they are planning to vote and that they are clear that what they are voting about is not parties, political parties. What they are going to the ballot box to vote for

is their priorities. Number one thing that we found, Uncle Roe, which will not surprise you, is that the key issues that are driving Black voters to the polls in this midterm election are inflation and the cost of living, jobs and the economy. I know there's been a ton of conversation about crime and violence, particularly coming from the Republican side. Crime and violence is certainly a key concern that is driving black voters to the polls, gun violence in particular. But I can say that the cost of living and inflation, jobs and the economy, is twice as salient for black voters when it comes to voting than is crime and violence. So that's something also to be paying attention to. A lot, you have some of these loud mouths out here on social media who are saying, oh, nothing has been done for black people.

But the folks who you surveyed, they said that's not true. They actually have seen progress, but they also still want to see things done. That's absolutely right, Uncle Ro. And here's what we did. We worked with Hit Strategies to look at the Black to the Future Action Fund's Black Agenda that we designed

in 2020 from the results of the Black Census Project, which everybody should take at blackcensus.org. We worked with Hit Strategies to better understand what has been the Biden administration's progress on the issues that we outlined in the Black Agenda. And what we found, and I hope Terrence will talk more about this tonight, is that about 80 percent of the things that we talked about in the Black Agenda have been accomplished or are underway by the Biden-Harris administration. When we start talking about what people have done and haven't done, right, we have to keep in mind that in some respects that this can be a voter motivator or a voter

suppressor. What is important for our communities to also know is that if we want to continue to see progress on a Black agenda, on the issues that are important to us, we have to make sure that we are changing the balance of power at the federal level, but also at the state level. That is what's at stake in these midterm elections. And black voters, by and large, are pretty clear about that. See, the reason I think that is interesting, because again, we hear so much noise that black folks haven't gotten this, haven't gotten that.

And these folks clearly understand what actually has happened, what has been achieved. That's right. And here's the thing, Uncle Roe. We shouldn't either overstate or understate the progress that the Biden-Harris administration has made. And I want to be very clear. What our polls show is not that people are flocking to the polls because they're Democrats, right? That's not the story of Black voters. The story of Black voters, at least according to our polls, is that people are going to the ballot box with their core issues in mind. And people also understand what's at stake.

They understand that there are candidates that are on the ballot that are not invested and not interested in moving our agenda forward. They also understand that there are candidates that are running for office right now that want to move our agenda forward. They understand that their votes are powerful in deciding what the balance of power is, either in their state or in the United States Congress. That is what is driving Black voters to the polls, and that is how we understand the power of our votes. As what also stood out for you in this survey? The other thing that stood out for me, Uncle Roe, is that there are a lot more people than I would like that don't actually know the importance of the role of the secretary of state on their everyday lives.

Now, you'll remember, Uncle Ro, in 2018, here in the great state of Georgia, Stacey Abrams ran against Brian Kemp for the role of governor of this state. And one of the very controversial issues in that election cycle was that Brian Kemp at that time was the secretary of state in Georgia. That means that he oversaw the voting rules and got to help determine, right, whose votes mattered and who could vote and under what conditions, while he was also running to be an elected official, which is clearly a conflict of interest. That's like the fox overseeing the hen house, right? Here we are again in 2022. There is a rematch between Brian Kemp and Stacey Abrams, but there is also up for grabs the seat of secretary of state.

And what we found, particularly in places like California and Georgia, is that people did not totally understand the role that secretaries of state played in making sure that their votes could be powerful. I do hope Terrence talks about this tomorrow in terms of what is the best way for us to talk about voter suppression. But what is clear is that the secretary of state position is being contested across the country, in particular by factions of the extreme right who do understand the role that secretaries of state can play. We know here in Georgia, Brad Raffensperger, you know, made himself famous by resisting the efforts of former President Donald Trump to cheat on the elections and essentially try to find votes that

didn't exist. Well, that's his job as the secretary of state. He should not get a cookie or a medal for that. But we do want to make sure that there is somebody in that seat that knows that it is important to expand people's access to the ballot, that makes it easier for people to vote. And we know that there is one candidate that has talked openly about what they will do to ensure that all of our voices matter. And so the fact that 40 percent of the people that we polled did not know the significance of the role of secretary of state is quite concerning. And so we want to just make sure that people know, you know, just as quick shorthand that, by and large, what most secretaries of state do in each state is that they oversee the rules

on voting, except in places like North Carolina where they do a couple of other things. They also make the rules about who can do, make and oversee the rules about who can do business in a particular state as well. And so it's important for us to know that that has impacts on Black lives. One thing that really surprised me in looking at this survey is that these folks don't want to hear the phrase voter suppression. That's right. Voter suppression is a big, mealy-mouthed term that people don't tend to resonate with, especially younger voters. Younger

voters tend to see voter suppression as something that happened a long time ago and is not necessarily happening right now. But when you talk to people about the efforts to take your votes away or the efforts to make it harder for you to vote, people understand that in a deep way. And they understand it both from experience and they understand it intellectually. So we do have to pay attention to the language that we use with voters, right? We need to make sure and remember that a lot of the jargon that we might toss around as members of the media or even as organizations, right, are not the language that people use who do not do eat, sleep, and breathe politics every single day. And this point in particular is very salient, especially for Black communities.

All right, then. Where can people actually go to get more information on this particular survey? Yeah, you can go to Black, the number two, thefuture.org, and you'll see in our research and polling section, the Black Voter Bulletin. Also, please don't forget to take the Black Census. You can do that at blackcensus.org. The Black Census helps us make a Black agenda that we can have elected officials take action on. Again, blackcensus.org. And to read the results of the poll, black, the number two, thefuture.org. All right, then. Alicia Garza, we really appreciate it.

Thanks a lot. Love being here. Thank you, Uncle Ro. All right, take care. All right, folks. This is an ad that was put out a couple of years ago. I actually think it was in 2018 that sort of used reverse psychology

to appear to young voters. I want to go ahead and play this, and then we're going to bring in my panel. Check this out, y'all. Dear young people... Don't vote. Don't vote. Everything's fine the way it is.

Trump, that was us. He's our guy. Tax cuts for the rich? Hell, yeah. I'm rich as fuck. Climate change? That's a you problem. I'll be dead soon.

Sure, school shootings are sad. But I haven't been in a school for 50 years. I can't keep track of which lives matter. Sure you don't like it. So, you'll like some meme on Instagram. If the weather is nice, maybe you could go to one of those little marches. You might even share this video on Facebook. But you won't vote.

You young people never do. But I do. I do. I do. Midterms, primaries. Every single election. We'll be there, but you won't. Because we're a generation of doers.

Not whiners. We're doing great. I want to go ahead and pull that out because, again, I would really hope young voters understand this. When you look at right now, all of these different folks are talking about this potential red wave, but there's one thing that is standing in their way, young voters. Many of these polls that have been done are undersampling young voters, and the reality is this here. If young voters are turning out 28, 30, 35, 40 percent, even higher, guess what? They can actually stop this red wave. I would hope that young voters aren't sitting at home watching what is taking place in this country

and saying, you know what, I'm not interested. I'm just going to go ahead and keep watching TV, or I'm going to be on social, I'm going to go play games, or I'm just going to go walk in the park. The reality is this here, and Ball don't lie, if young voters say they care about climate change, there's one party that does not care about climate change, Republicans. It's abundantly clear. Many of those young voters, if you say it that you were protesting in the aftermath of George Floyd's death and you want to see police reform happen in this country, well, Republicans do not want the George Floyd

Justice Act. They have stood in the way. And so if they are in power, you're not going to see police reform. Oh, by the way, young voters, you say you care about the canceling of student debt. Guess which party was loudly against the actions of President Joe Biden? Republicans. That's what's going on there. And those same Republicans, those same Republicans all across the country right now, they're the ones who right now are suing the administration to keep them from canceling student loan debt. And so if you look at the issues that young voters say they care about, then are they going to vote for Democratic candidates and stop a potential red wave? Because I can guarantee you this.

If the Republicans take control of the U.S. House and take control of the U.S. Senate, the things that I keep hearing young voters say they care about, hmm, ain't going to happen. Not going to happen. So the question is this. If you're between the ages of 18 and 35, and that's really how we classify young voters,

really, even if you say 18 to 40, if you really, really care about the direction of the country, are you going to get in the game? Or are you going to sit on the sidelines? Because here's the deal. In one week, we go to the polls. Today's the last day to vote early in Louisiana, in Pennsylvania. Last time to vote early in Texas.

This week, folks, it's put up or shut up time. To black folks, you're sitting out there and you're watching and you're saying, oh, oh, we've got nothing for our vote. That's a lie. The survey that was done by Black to the Future Action Fund, they talked about what has happened with the Department of Justice, what has happened in civil rights talked about what has happened with the Department of Justice, what has happened in civil rights cases, what has happened in the fight against

hate crimes, what has happened in prosecuting corrections officers and police officers who have done wrong. Those things have happened. Have we gotten all we wanted? No. But show me how you get all you want in two years. I can guarantee you this, black voters,

whether you're young or not, what you say you want, no way in hell it's going to happen. The Republicans are in control. And to all the loudmouth YouTube political scientists who do your little videos, who roll them out and sell them out for the Democrats, YouTube political scientists who do your little videos rolling Martin Selden out for the Democrats,

all y'all who listen to them, y'all say y'all want tangibles? Please, by all means, show me how you're going to get those if Kevin McCarthy is the Speaker of the House and Mitch McConnell

is the Senate Majority Leader, I'll wait. Let's bring in our panel. Mustafa Santayegh Ali, former Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice, EPA. Randy Bryant, Diversity and Inclusion Strategist, Speaker, Trainer, and Writer. Michael Brown, former Chair, DNC Finance Committee.

So, Michael, one of the things that's happening right now, and all of these, again, all of these folks, all of these folks are looking at all the different polls, is that we're now being flooded with a significant number of Republican polls. So it's now driving this media narrative. Oh, my goodness. The red wave, the red wave.

But then people aren't actually looking at the actual polls. Very few firms used to actually do polls because they were, frankly, costly. Now, people now know, oh, we drop a new poll, we get media attention. Polls are now being used to fuel fundraising and to get people angry. Oh, my God, we're down! And so we're actually seeing that. And so what I keep telling people, don't even waste your time going to Cook Political Report

to 538, tracking the daily stuff. No. Look at actual votes being cast. to 538, tracking the daily stuff. No. Look at actual votes being cast. Who is voting early? That's what you should be paying attention to, Michael. Absolutely. You're exactly right. Are we supposed to call you Uncle Ro now?

That's what... No, actually, remember, you and Omega... I certainly hope not. Remember, you and Omega, so y'all should be saying alpha daddy. I don't know why. You open the door every week, and it just makes it harder for you and your little organization. First of all, it's not a little organization. Actually, y'all are little.

You're smaller than us. You know, the thing about the polls that make it... There's several kinds of polls. You have polls that you may be online typing up, and a poll will pop up. Do you like Joe Biden? Or you may see another poll is, do you like puppies? Then there are other polls called push polls,

where the questions are pushing you in a certain way to answer. So there are a zillion, obviously, as you just mentioned, polls out there. Some you can look at. I don't need you to look at, frankly, any of them. The only thing that should matter to you is you go into the polls yourself, you're taking a family member or a friend with you, and when you're on the phone with people over the next week, I voted today, we voted early in D.C. too, please take people with you. And when you're on the phone, when you're online, tell people don't forget to vote. After all that, and this is more of a question and comment, Roland, is why does it seem that African-American women are certainly much more active voting-wise than African-American men? And moreover, not just staying at home, African-American men, and say, oh, my vote doesn't matter, it doesn't count, it's not going to mean anything, nothing's going to change.

That's why that was a great commercial, by the way. But, um, some Black men are actually also starting to lean right. And I'm trying to figure that part out, especially since the right, relative to criminal justice, has no

love for people of color, Black or brown. Well, actually, first of all, a couple of things for people of color, black or brown. Well, actually, first of all, a couple of things. First of all... Yeah, please. First of all, black men are voting. Uh, and there's always been a gap between black men and black women who do vote.

But the reality is black men vote with the second highest intensity behind black women. So they're first, black men are second. So that's one. So you've always had that, okay? Two, you have to also factor in that, yeah, you do have a lot of black men who are deemed more conservative than black women.

I mean, so that's not even a shock. I mean, you actually have that as well. But the third thing is this here. If you actually look at the early voting results, I was talking to Mondale Robinson about this here, it's only about a one- or two-point gap between black men and black women. Black men are turning out. You look at the results in Georgia, black men are turning out in significant numbers.

But what the Black Future Action Fund survey showed, though, and this is what really jumps out here, Mustafa. They showed that what happened is Republicans are deliberately and purposely making outreach efforts even just by contacting them. Their survey shows that the surge voters in 2020, no one reached out to them after the election. So what Republicans are doing, and you look at what Brian Kemp in Georgia, if you never,

ever talk to anybody, they absolutely not going to ignore you. But folks are saying, wow, someone's making an effort. They're not getting information. And so what you have to do is you have to keep talking. This survey, Mustafa, they said they felt Democrats did

not consistently engage them nor court them. And so a lesson here is you can't just come this ain't no booty call. Come holler around election. You have to, you got to keep calling me,

dating me, taking me out, having information coming to me, and that's where they fail. Look, I was, look, I said last, I said on MSNBC with Ari Melber, I was critical of President Barack Obama. Yes, him coming out speaking at rallies, awesome. He did a great job. But how about using your Obama for America and putting

those troops to action? People aren't getting the regular consistent information between election day 2020 and 2022, and this is what ends up happening. Yeah, any relationship, you got to continue to, one, it has to start, and then you've got to continually, you know, do what you can to strengthen that and to stay, you know, connected. And Black men, to a degree, have been taken for granted by the lack of investment, by the lack of continual sets of conversations and engagements and hearing them about what the sets of concerns are that they might have. But let's also be very clear about what the Republicans are doing. They're not trying to give 50 percent of black men's vote. Yeah, that'd be great, but they're not willing to make that investment and it probably would never happen anyway. They're very clear. They know that if they can shave off a few percentage points,

then they can win in a number of different locations. So Black men, we have to make sure that we are understanding what this game is. Now, yes, Democrats have to do better, and their relationship with us has to be authentic, and it has to be continual. But let's also be very clear about the game that Republicans are playing, because by no means have they moved forward on any policy over the last couple of years that is beneficial to our communities. They did not support the bipartisan infrastructure bill. So if you talk about you want jobs, they did not show up for that. They didn't show up, you know, for the IRA and the dollars that are associated in that that could help our community.

So whether we're talking about the rebuilding of our communities or we're talking about jobs inside of our communities, they have not shown up for it. So we should be very clear with the game that is going on. Randy, the thing here, it comes down to how are you connecting with people? How are you letting them know what you have done and what you have accomplished? And look, it's seven days.

It should be all hands on deck. And I keep saying, I keep saying repeatedly, hey, you got these folks out here. It's millions of dollars that are being spent out here, and they're throwing it all on television. And one of the other things that the Black to the Future Action Fund survey showed was that the money is not going to places where black people are. That is, it's here. And literally, their survey showed that they aren't seeing these ads on traditional television.

And I made the point last night, and I got no problem saying it, okay, with the lack of dollars being spent on this program. I know what our numbers look like. 65% of my YouTube subscribers are black men. Now, Instagram is 6535blackwomen. So, if you try to reach black men, you might want to go put your money where black men are watching.

Kind of basic, Randy. It's very basic. It's absolutely basic. It makes a lot of sense, but it seems as if somebody is not thinking with common sense, and they more so are doing more of the same, more of the same, which we see a lot of. Even when we're not successful, we keep repeating our same program. I did want to touch bases on when we talked about why some Black men are becoming more conservative. And there's a whole discussion there about our system, the American system, was created and designed for white males. A Black woman is the furthest distance from that. We are the ones who cannot relate or were not thought about or considered in this country. And I believe that a lot of Black men have bought into the promise of a better life in the way that the conservative Republicans present it to them,

although we see that it never comes through, and that when they say that this is a capitalistic society, patriarchal society, built on white supremacy. That's what they mean. But I believe that sometimes men, our men do get distracted by the lure of the American dream and the promise that is placed in front of them.

And they really... But here's the deal, though, okay? That's gonna happen. It still is the job of somebody who's trying to win. You gotta court them. You gotta talk to them. And what I keep saying is, don't come to me with another bullshit barbershop program. Right.

Because guess what? Black men ain't just congregating in no damn barbershops. Very true. And I think that we need to stop being so elite. Like, again, doing the same thing, the barbershops, churches, and the college campuses. There are way more places than that, and they need to do the work

and figure out where those places are and how they reach our young people. With all the money that's being spent, it's something that we should absolutely be able to do. See, see... But see, here's the thing I keep saying, Michael, and folk gonna have to understand it. The Democratic Party money is run by white media strategists.

They want to put the money on television because that's how they get paid. They don't want to spend the money on on-the-ground activities. They don't want to touch those voters. They don't want to put it in independent media, black-owned media. That's just the bottom line, okay?

And so, we keep having this conversation over and over and over again, but they're the ones in each one of these campaigns, Chuck Schumer's PAC, okay? The DSCC, the DCCC, Democratic Governors Association, all these

liberal PACs, they all run the same way. They want to throw all the money on television as opposed to put that money with organizations or entities that touch people in non-traditional ways.

Yeah. No, you're exactly... But, you know, that's where also, you know, we always talk about elections have consequences, but also leadership matters, too. And, you know, there's talk about, you know, elections have consequences, but also leadership matters, too. And, you know, there's a guy named Ron Brown that was chair of the Democratic Party, you know, a couple decades ago when Bill Clinton was running for president. And he said, I'm not trying to, to your point about the media advisors, not trying to take any money out of your pocket. However, you're going

to share this pie. Hence why BET back then, as we all remember, got a lot of those political dollars, as did a lot of the Black radio stations around the country, as did making sure that the Mignon Moors, the Yolanda Caraways, the Alexis Hermans of the world, had actual dollars to go into Black communities. As Randy just mentioned, not just church, not just the traditional barbershop ideas, but to really get in folks' faces and engage. And you have to have money to do that. There are a lot of people that just volunteer and do it because of the kindness of their heart. But it certainly helps if you have a budget, and you have a van, and you have people,

and you can have food and drink and registration cards and all the things you need to have a comprehensive outreach effort. Now, nothing against the current chair of the Democratic Party, Jamie Harrison. Nice guy. But if you're going to let, as you mentioned, Roland, let the media professionals run where the money goes,

it's not going to also be shared. But first of all, though, the political structure when your dad was running the DNC is totally gone. In fact, what I mean by that is, the amount of money that actually go into the DNC is totally gone. In fact, what I mean by that is, the amount of money that actually go into the DNC is actually small. It's far more money that's going directly

to campaigns. I mean, I saw a story earlier. It says that between Stacey Abrams' campaign and Beto O'Rourke's campaign, $150 million may be spent. That's outside. I think Jamie, when he came on this show,

he said they put $73 million on the ground. So they're being dwarfed by the other money. So the issue for me is not just the DNC. It's even in the campaigns and those other entities, how they're spending money. And then you talk about reproductive rights organizations, climate folks, and Mustafa, you know, I sent you this here.

You know, look, we had a climate group literally hit us up, only after I called them out, and said, hey, we want to spend $10,000. We want y'all to hit a million impressions. And I was like,

I get more for speech. And this is literally how, and we basically told them to go to hell. We did. I mean, we were, I think our response was, no, why don't you

make it $150,000? And we were like, we ain't discussing $10,000. But that's literally how, but then, of course, it's like, well, hey, how can we get folks to turn out? And this is again, you've got to follow the money. You've got to follow the money. If people go look at this

Black to the Future Action Fund survey, they will see the complaints that are made in there are direct result of who's controlling the money, Mustafa, and that's controlling what messaging happens to certain areas over what period of time. You know, when I was working for John Conyers, when he was chairman of the Judiciary Committee one evening, I remember sitting with him and he said, Mustafa, people want to know if something's a priority, follow the money. He said, if people truly care about something and they truly want to

see it to be successful, then they will make the investments that are necessary to hit the goal that they say that they want to do. And Democrats just have to make a decision. You know, if you truly want to support and make sure that the Black voter turnout continues to grow, then you have to make those investments. And, of course, you have to make those investments with Black men and all these other organizations as well who are just doing a shameful job. You know me. I just give real talk because I'm not worried about nobody. They are shameful when it comes to investing in our communities and showing that they truly care about us fully being a part of the process.

And that is tied to dollars and it's tied to other types of actions as well. So if they want to win and get your game right, get your game tight and make sure you're making the investments where they're needed the most. Indeed. Indeed. All right, folks. New Gallup poll shows crime is a significant issue for most Americans, coming only second to the economy. Four out of ten voters said that it is essential to how they will vote. Fifty-six percent of American survey believe there is more crime in their area than a year ago. This is the highest Gallup has ever measured in the five decades of polling on this very question. All right, folks, got gotta go to a break.

We come back. We continue talking about the election. Also talking about other issues of the day. If you're watching on YouTube, on Facebook, any of those programs, do me a favor. Hit the like button, y'all. Don't be sitting here riding and watching for free. Hit the like button.

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Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. And get your copy of my book, White Fear, How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds, available at all bookstores, brick and mortar, also online. Also order through your favorite black bookstore or download it on Audible. I'll be right back. When we invest in ourselves,

our glow, our vision, our glow, our vision, our vibe, we all shine. Together, we are Black beyond measure. We've got to stand up. Republicans are banning abortion rights,

tearing down democracy, blocking progress. But when Democrats stand together, we win. Because we voted, Democrats stood up for Black lives, voting to ban police chokeholds, stood up for Black women, putting one on the Supreme Court Democrats stood up for black lives, voting to ban police chokeholds, stood up for black women, putting one on the Supreme Court, stood up for our families, lowering cost of healthcare and prescriptions and capping insulin, and stood up for millions by slashing student debt. This November, let's stand up together and keep making progress. This is our time, our moment to move forward

beyond the gun violence, the hospital closures, the unaffordable housing. Brian Kemp's Georgia for the wealthiest few. Stacey Abrams is looking out for every Georgian. She'll invest our $6 billion surplus in the fundamentals, education, health care, housing, and a good living, putting more money in your pocket to build one Georgia

where everyone has the freedom to thrive. When we invest in ourselves, we all shine. Together, we are Black Beyond Measure. Hi, I'm Eric Nolan. What's up, y'all? I'm Will Packer. I'm Chrisette Michelle. Hi, I'm Chaley Rose,

and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks, Texas is one of the areas where Republicans are doing all they can to steal the elections, shutting down polling locations, creating long lines, suing folks for voting, changing voting rules, and they are really targeting Harris County. Pastors are pleading with their congregations

to get out and vote. Here is my Alpha brother, Michael. You know how Alphas roll. Reverend Dr. Freddie Haynes, Friendship West Baptist Church, speaking on this important issue to his congregation in Dallas. I paid to go here, but I got to.

I got a call yesterday from a few politicians, and they shared with me that the voting numbers on our side of town are not what they should be. And that's scary. That's scary because there's a generation of people so obsessed with power that A, they will do everything in their power to make sure some people don't vote. We live in a state where the governor, Abbott, used your taxpayer dollars, my taxpayer dollars, to put forth two voter suppression sessions.

Don't miss that. A university study revealed Texas, before last year, was the most difficult state in the country to vote. Texas added the S on purpose. Texas is the most difficult state to vote and governor, but added more barriers to voting because Raphael Warnock is right. Some people don't want some people to vote and you know who those some people are. Now why are we

going to cooperate with people who already don't want us to vote? You don't cooperate with people who have your worst interest at heart. Listen and I know I'm not talking to you because you voted.

But now we got to think more than just ourselves. Every person you know, you need to make sure they vote. Call them, ask them if they need a ride. But the bottom line is, y'all, we even have folk who look like us, but they're Trump in black clothing. Pastor Haynes, you said that, I sure did. And you should not be surprised. This is me, okay? So the Trump spirit is trying to take over.

They don't want certain people to vote. And here it is. Don't fall for the okey-doke where you got this thing, well, black men are doing this, and as opposed to black women over here. Stop it. Stop it. Stop that stop that i mean we got enough sense to know what i did not say in the sermon today is the fact that do you know under

abbott and and again i'm just keeping it real we have these loose gun laws and with loose gun laws we've had an uptick in domestic violence with guns. Because the governor passed that law. So you don't act like your vote doesn't count. Your vote counts. Here it is. If you don't vote, it counts twice against you. Because that means whoever is on the other side

they get their vote and your vote because you didn't vote i'm pleading with you please vote uh my young folk don't don't wait until election day let's get it over because you don't know what's going to happen Election Day. Election Day, we can have a tornado hit. Let's get the vote done now. Now, folks, heavily Democratic areas like Harris County or Republicans push for voting monitors, and Democrats say those efforts could actually scare off voters. Co-executive director of TOPS, the Texas Organizing Project,

Breonna Brown, joins us from Dallas on what they are doing. Breonna, this is significant in that because of how they changed these rules, they have people who are very close to voters, and they're looking at everything.

They are putting pressure on poll workers. There are poll workers who have been working campaigns for years who are quitting en masse because, frankly, they are being terrorized by these folks on the right. And this was exactly what they

wanted. They want to get their own people in these positions, and the intimidation tactics are actually happening, not just in Texas, but all across the country. You know, that's right. And it's interesting, you know, I have to give some props. I grew up getting politicized in those pews at Friendship West.

So, you know, shout out Pastor Haynes. He's going to actually join our Twitter space tomorrow to do a lot of the, to come on and do what he did in the pulpit, you know, on Sunday. You know, Texas, as he said, is ground zero when it comes to the radical right wing and how they experiment with our lives. And that has included at the ballot box. Texas is the hardest place to vote. And it is by design. And partly what the right wing understands is what numbers are. And numbers are just numbers.

You know, demographics are not destiny unless there are folks on the ground, like organizers, like, you know, at the Texas Organizing Project that are making meaning of those things, right? As quiet as it's kept, you know, Texas is home to the largest Black population in the country. I'm a fourth-generation Texan raising two little fifth-generation Texans. We have the most registered Black voters of anywhere else in this country. We took over

Georgia, you know, without. Shout out, Georgia. And, you know, people understand what those numbers could mean. And what they're doing is throwing up roadblocks to make sure that the power we have is shrunken. And, you know, Texas is also a state where in the urban hub, so in Dallas, in Houston, in San Antonio, we're passing progressive policies that are changing our lives.

It is at the state level that they are out of bounds and out of step with what's happening in our urban centers where the most Black folks and the most Latinos call home. So it's not coincidental that, you know, in the last state legislature in 2021, on top of the voter suppression laws that already existed and the voter suppression efforts like voter purges and already super restrictive, um, super restrictions on, uh, how people can participate and vote by mail, they put things on top of that, right? Making Texas the hardest place to vote. Um, and, you know, it's not... I will say, you know,

in 2016, what we said to the rest of the country was, welcome to Texas, you know, when Trump got elected. We know what it's like to live in a right-wing regime. And that also means, like, we got the toolbox. You know, I was listening just before I came on, and, you know, my heart was, my organizer heart was beaten fast because, you know, we are in these streets trying to raise all the coin we can to talk to Black voters, to court Black voters, to make sure that we need investment, of why. No, you cannot wait until, you know, a couple of days before Election Day to infuse us with money and expect and expect miracles to happen. As it relates to, again, what is happening there, you know, there there is serious concern because not only the state, they're going to be sending in these monitors. They are they are absolutely harassing Harris County, saying they're going to be sending in these monitors. They are absolutely harassing Harris County, saying they're going to be sending

in election monitors. And that's why the folks in Harris County asked for the DOJ to send in federal monitors to watch them. These folks, and there's no doubt, they're going to be going to black precincts. So I'm just curious, are there any black groups

who are mobilizing to send black folks to the white precincts. So I'm just curious, are there any black groups who are mobilizing to send black folks to the white precincts? Well, I don't know about that, but you know, in the last election, you know, in 2018, the last midterm, the Texas Organizing Project was influential in electing a young 27-year-old Latina immigrant, the head, Lina Hidalgo, the head of Harris County. She's the county executive there, which flipped the county commissioner's courts. That meant that, you know, a budget of $5 million for elections swelled to $30 million. And innovations like drive-through voting and 24-hour voting to make sure that people on the third shift and students can vote and, you know, and parties at the polls, things that were unprecedented could happen. And in 2021, the state legislature was very actionary to what happened in

Harris County, what happened in first, like the election of, of a progressive commissioner's court for the first, one of the first times in Harris County history. And then the consequences of that, what that meant. So, you know, Harris County is ground zero. That's where the most Black folks live in Texas. There are almost 600,000 registered Black voters. You know, we're pulling out all the stops to make sure that, you know, Black folks can and will vote.

We're encouraging, in 2020, the Texas Organizing Project did a black voter study. One of the things that we found out was that we like to vote early. So the work that we're doing now, you know, early vote has started, early vote started on the 22nd. We have been doing everything we can to make sure that folks vote early, right? And vote in areas, you know, it's not lost on us too. Like vote, go, go to your neighborhood and vote, right? Where you know, you know, the election workers, where you know, like, you know, you know your people. But we're doing, we're doing everything we can.

We're partnered with Black Voters Matter. We're going to be taking out radio ads soon to get those, you know, folks that listen to the radio. We're taking out ads in Black newspapers across the state, in Harris County also. We're going to throw down, we're doing some cultural spaces, getting people excited about going to the polls in spite of. So we're prepared for election day for sure. I mean, there's a beautiful network of folks, progressive organizations across Texas that, you know, are ready. Like we are actually getting ready. We might be plaintiffs in a lawsuit around some of the harassment that has happened to black voters at the polls now.

So we are I think that we are, you know, we're well-equipped, and again, this is familiar to us, right, because we have been living in these conditions for quite some time in Texas. All right, then. Brianna, we certainly appreciate it. Thanks so much. Keep up the good fight.

Thank you. All right. Randy, I want to start with you. I mean, this is, again, I hope these folks, you know, who are watching, you know, are really paying attention to what, you know, we are trying to say. And I keep telling people all the time, I keep dealing with these folks who always got something to say, who always are running their miles. As a matter of fact, I. May I show you this tweet?

Some fool sent me, and he's complaining about, oh, he's a perfect example. Let me see if I can find it right here. So let's see here. Let me show you. Because, again, there's always a new fool who got something to say, and they're real good, um, uh, for saying it.

And-and they love to complain, they love to say, oh, you support him, oh, this person, that person, his perfect example, uh, let's see, you can see this tweet right here. So, this fool right here, uh, there's somebody housing his.

This is who BLM, Roland Martin, this fool right here, there's somebody housing his. This is who BLM, Roland Martin, the Black Caucus, and the rest of the Negro flunkies tried to reprimand us for not voting for this guy. Okay? Black people is folk like this fool right here who needs to, I guess he

forgot who this guy was running against. The same fool who ain't no love for Black people. But also, this guy was running against. The same fool who ain't got no love for black people. But also, this guy ain't on the ballot in November. It's what's happening in the House and Senate.

So this fool here complaining about President Joe Biden when you literally have Republican governors, legislatures, attorney generals, secretaries of state, who literally are trying to steal elections and throw up all sorts of roadblocks,

but we're supposed to go, well, I mean, I don't know why you're criticizing them. Give me a break. We must be wary of people who don't have solutions. They only have to point out other people's problems, how it should be, what they mad about. This ain't happening. This ain't happened. And yet they present zero solutions. I'd love to hear if we're not going to vote for the people that are up and have been. Who do we vote for? What is the plan? Are we just going to go take over? Like, what is the plan if we don't

play the game we're in right now? Even if we don't like the game, this is the game right now. These are the rules, and let's get the best person for the job. And the voting does matter because people would not be working so hard against us if it didn't. You know, it was the Justice Department that said what's happening in Texas is like Jim Crow 2.0. They're doing everything in their power to ensure that our voters can't vote. It's a huge, the biggest state, it's a huge state. And I'm hearing that the polling places, some people have to drive quite a distance just to be able to find a polling station, only to be met with someone who may

be hostile towards you because they're hired, they have these people now to monitor what's going on. Also, I thought, I know that in Houston, they had the 24-hour polling places, the drive-through, but I thought that the voter suppression laws have tried to get rid of that. No, no, no, not tried. They did. They did. They got rid of that. That's what I thought. They got rid of that. So, you know, anybody who does... works a job

in, you know, in off hours, that... When will they vote? So they've done everything to ensure. I don't know about other people, but I know I am affected when people try to stop me. If I know that a whole group of people is working diligently to stop me from having my voice, that's going to fire me up.

That's going to make me, you know, to ensure that I'm voted and motivated. And I hope that we get all of our people out there get that. Uh, absolutely. Um, Mustafa, it really is, you know, for people who keep thinking this is a game, they're going to be in for a rude awakening come November 9th

if the GOP controls the House and the Senate. That means the January 6th committee, bye-bye. That means getting Trump's tax committee? Bye-bye. That means getting Trump's tax returns? Bye-bye. That means passing any progressive legislation? Bye-bye. Oh, and for all the folk who love

reparations, I'm still waiting for y'all to show me one Republican who's down with y'all on that. Yeah. I mean, it's deep. Sometimes I'm baffled how people don't really understand what's actually going on. You know, it's so incredibly important, of course, to make sure that you're voting on the local level

and the county level, but also on that state level and the federal level. You know, these are individuals. If you want to push President Biden to do more, then you have to give him the support that's necessary for him to be able to pass more progressive legislation. You also got to wake up, folks. You know, all these dollars that have been appropriated through some of these transformational acts that are now out there, the Republicans are going to try and make sure that they are limiting

how those resources actually make it out and where they go to. Will it make it to your community or not? Your vote is completely tied to that. They're also trying to strip away your rights to choose on so many different levels. You know, you saw President Biden, you know, trying to make some steps to make sure that those folks who have been incarcerated, you know, for weed, but didn't have any violence associated with it or wasn't a trafficker, all these progressive types of actions, you know, are going to fade away on the state level and the federal level if you don't get engaged, as we talked about before.

Student loans, something that just makes sense. Take that debt off of young people so they can buy a home or so they have more disposable income that can better strengthen and drive the economy. They're not interested in that. They don't want you to build generational wealth. They don't want you to build generational education. All these different types of things are literally at your fingertips.

And you can make the decision if you want to cast your vote to make sure that those things not only are in place but grow, or if you want to give power to the side that is trying to strip away almost every one of your rights. My grandmother says you have power unless you give it away. When you don't vote,

you're throwing your power away. Michael? I obviously co-signed with both Mustafa and Randy with what they just said. Not much really to add. I just, what I've been telling folks is, even though he's not technically, and you know, Roland, I call him 45, even though he's not technically on the ballot, I tell folks he is on the ballot, because if things flip, it's his policy, it's his vision, it's his asshole-ish, his racism, all of his other isms that he is will be – everyone will say, see, it worked. We needed to make sure his base was happy. We got elected. And that obviously means catapulting him, outside of some indictments or some convictions down the line,

catapult him to at least running in 2024. Now, whether he can beat DeSantis and Pence and Hogan or whoever else is considering running on the Republican side, is not really the point. The point is, Trump is on the ballot. Maybe not technically, you're not going to see his name, but his vision is. And if I were you,

I'd get out and vote just because of that. Indeed, indeed. All right, folks. So, as we speak, right now, President Joe Biden is actually in Florida holding a rally along with a couple of folks we know well, Keegan-Michael Key, as well as Jennifer Lewis speaking right now is the former head of the DNC, Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

And so, guys, please pull up. Thank you. Let's go. Thank you. So here's the deal. That's happening live right now. So what we're going to do is we're going to take a break. We're going to come back. We're going to show you some of that was taking place there in Florida. And then we'll be right back on Roller Mark Unfiltered. Hey, folks, don't forget, please. Don't forget.

We want you, if you're watching on YouTube or Facebook or Twitch or Instagram, any of the programs, we want you to hit the button. We want you to hit the like button, the share button. Let folks know we are live. Look, ain't nobody doing what we're doing. Byron Allen, he just launched two shows on his network, The Rio, with Mark Lamont Hill, Ebony Williams. I'll be glad to see them.

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Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com We come back. We'll talk with the attorneys of a black woman who is suing L'Oreal, saying they were chemical products for hair, gave her uterine cancer. We'll discuss that next. Back in a moment. When we invest in ourselves, we all shine. Together, we are black beyond measure. We've got to stand up. Republicans are banning abortion rights,

tearing down democracy, blocking progress. But when Democrats stand together, we win. Because we voted, Democrats stood up for Black lives, voting to ban police chokeholds, stood up for Black women, putting one on the Supreme Court, stood up for our families, lowering cost of health care and prescriptions and capping insulin,

and stood up for millions by slashing student debt. This November, let's stand up together and keep making progress. It's about us. Let's go. Everybody all together. We are in sunny South Dallas. The election is coming up.

It's super important that folks know who they are voting for, but more importantly, what they are voting for. Y'all, we got the free shirts and free lunch right over here. Freedom is our birthright. No matter what we're up against, we're sending a message in Dallas, in Texas, and in the country. We won't black down. That's what this bus tour is all about.

The housing cost is one of the most capitalized areas that we have found. People who are marginalized, that are brown and black, we are suffering the most, and I think that we have the biggest vote and the biggest impact in this election. I'm voting for affordable housing, for sure. We should not be paying the cost of a utility failure

because our elected officials are too proud to say, we need help. I know that we can bring out our people to vote. It's a part of our birthright. It's a part of our heritage. And surely, it's a part of our prison and part of our future. That's right. That's what's up. And we won't black down.

Forward that message to Five Prince, because in that message, it's got links to how to get registered, how to check your registration status. Like I said, 2.30, we'll start rendezvousing right here on this street. I am voting to let our voice be heard in the rural communities that, hey, we are people, too.

There are things that we need. Free shirts, free food, and lots of power! We are in Longview, Texas, where Black Voters Matter, 365. Whatever type of oppression a white supremacist throws our way, we will not black down. We are in relentless pursuit of liberation of our people. Freedom is liberation for Black bodies and Black communities to make economic change through political power.

Freedom is choice. We won't Black down. We won't Black down. We won't Black down. We won't Black down. We won't black down. We won't black down. We won't black down. We won't black down. We won't black down.

We won't black down. We won't black down. We won't black down. When we invest in ourselves, our glow, our vision, our vibe, we all shine. Together, we are black beyond measure. Hi, my name is Latoya Luckett. Yo, it's your man Deon Cole from Black-ish,

and you're watching... Roland Martin, unfiltered. Stay woke. A study found that women who reported frequent use of hair-straightening, relaxing products were more than twice as likely to go on to develop uterine cancer compared to those who did not use the products. Uterine cancer is relatively rare and accounts for about 7% of all new cancer cases among women.

It's the most common cancer of the female reproductive system, and so far this year, there are an estimated 65,950 new cases. Studies show uterine cancer incidence rates among black women have risen in the United States. A black woman is actually suing L'Oreal, saying that it is their hair care products that caused her cancer. Joining us now is Deandra DeBrosse Zimmerman.

Of course, they're suing L'Oreal and other companies Joining us now is Deandra Fu-DeBros Zimmerman. Of course, suing L'Oreal and other companies on behalf of several women whose products used may have led to their diagnosis. Glad to have you on the show. How you doing? Thank you. I'm doing well. Thanks for having me, Roland. So, when we... It's very interesting. I remember being in Los Angeles for the Image Awards,

and there was an event Dick Gregory was being honored and Dick Gregory was going off about hair straightening products causing black women to get sick and I was it was interesting because we were sitting there and there were folks who were rolling their eyes they were like yeah here he go again with all his conspiracy theories. But we start thinking about the Johnson & Johnson powder lawsuit. They lost. We start thinking about other lawsuits. So when I saw this study and I went,

that was Dick go again. Right again. And now, of course, now having this lawsuit. And the thing about this that's also crazy, that this is also tied to racism. Because black women were forced to straighten

their hair in order to work in various places. Absolutely. So lots of thoughts. I think to your point about talk in order to work in various places. Absolutely. So, so lots of thoughts. Um, I think to your point about Talk Powder, when we talk about products, and I'm primarily a product lawyer

and an environmental lawyer with T'Challa Leavitt, we're talking about targeted marketing towards Black and brown folks. And as you said, Roland, coming out of slavery and discrimination and-and things that are imposed upon us to feel as if we need to comply, we need to assim forward, we're talking about really tens of thousands of women who've been impacted by hair relaxer, not just with uterine cancer, but a body of scientific work, which we allege also cause endocrine disruption, which is a condition that could lead to a number of

disease states. And I'm sure you and many other people know folks who have fibroids, who have had infertility issues, have had other issues. So it's not just limited, as we allege in the complaint and a number of other complaints to uterine cancer, but really a number of health conditions. And to tie it back to what you said about discrimination, you know, we're now in the place over the last couple of decades that we have the science to establish it. And the lack of science decades ago was also about not having scientific research in communities of color, about communities of color, by scientists of color.

So it's all cyclical. And to your point, you know, this is one of many products targeted at our communities that have significant impacts on the lives and health of Black women. And, you know, and this is when we start seeing these studies. We're talking about generations of black women that have been impacted. And now you're talking about, you know, grandmothers and mothers and daughters and nieces. And it became this psychological thing.

And you've got people, even now, yes, you have an increase of folks who are going natural, but you still have this generational thing, oh, no, no, no, I got to have that certain look. And these companies are making billions off of this. Well, I think collectively, yeah, we exceed billions. And I think the question, a lot of the dialogue in our community is it's a style, right? And, you know, I want to have different styles,

especially in this context with my hair, and a lot of it, the responsibilities on the manufacturers. You know, when you think about it, it's a lifestyle issue, and you're risking folks' life without notifying them, right? So I think in defense of a lot of Black women, you know, there wasn't this knowledge, you know, that, yeah, you know, maybe there are safer alternatives, like blow drying or whatever you want to do to alter the natural appearance of your hair. But the onus, I want to put the onus where it belongs.

Yeah. hair. But the onus, I want to put the onus where it belongs. As we allege, and it's on the companies that we're using and continue to use ingredients we know to be extraordinarily toxic. If you look at the allegations of the complaint, again, we're talking about hair relaxers with lye, with formaldehyde. I mean, and you think about consistently putting that on one scalp, you know, for some folks every three weeks, every month, every other month, for decades. You know, what does that mean to put those types of chemicals on your scalp with dermal exposure and absorption over decades and decades? And like you, and you just said, Roland, for generations. And I think we detail that very well.

So our hope is always, right, in the work you do and the work that we do, that the companies will step up and be responsible, give some modicum of justice to these women, not just the women we represent, many more women we represent, T'Challa Leavitt with Ben Crump's firm, other ally firms, and that they will change some of the formulations in these hair relaxer products. Absolutely. Any questions from the panel? Randy, I'll start with you. You know, I was thinking when you said the pressure on women to look a certain way.

The Crown Act has only been passed in 18 states. And the Crown Act, you know, where people cannot be discriminated against based on wearing their natural hair. And was blocked by Republicans on the federal level. Absolutely blocked by Republicans on the federal level. Yes, I was about to say that. And so, you know, there's this pressure that we do have to straighten our hair because we're told that our hair is not professional in the workplace. And, you know, this is a means to make money

if we want to be seen as professional and feed our families and move up in the workplace. It doesn't... It's amazing to think that it is down to hair sometimes. We can be discriminated against based on the way our hair grows out of our heads today in the majority of our states. Yeah, and I want to recognize Professor Wendy Green, who is the architect of the Crown Act and is a professor. And his life would have it, because I think all things happen for a reason, has been a friend of mine 15 years.

And our work took us in very different directions. And obviously, we are reunited in this. But to your point, she does a majestic job, both as a professor and academic and as the architect of that act of documenting, to your point, how we got here, that it was illegal at one point for Black women to show their hair, and then the iterations of that even today. And she talks about the cases that recognize discrimination on the basis of an Afro, but then the courts don't recognize that you could discriminate on the basis of locks. You know, very bizarre distinctions, but that are very much rooted in, you know, our history and the white supremacy of this nation. And so I think, you know, everything I've seen on the show and this lawsuit is about, you know, a reckoning that's overdue.

And most fundamentally, independent of race and related to race, holding companies accountable. You can't put profits over people and you have to let people know what the risk is in, you know, in the products that you're selling, especially when it's something cosmetic, right? We're not talking about the balance between a life-saving drug and the side effects of a life-saving drug. We're talking about the balance between a life-saving drug and the side effects of a life-saving drug. We're talking about breaking the bond in someone's curl texture so their hair could be straight as compared to what we allege, which is higher incidence of uterine rate and higher incidence and exposure of endocrine disruption and other conditions. It's not justifiable

under any argument in our mind. And don't you think that it also just ties back to the disparity with Black women in healthcare? You know, how we do not get the same attention, we don't get to participate in the same studies, there's not attention given to illnesses or products that may affect us negatively? Well, absolutely. I think when you look at some of the endocrine disruption conditions and just care of Black women in general in the healthcare context,

which is well documented, there's a lot of discrimination, even in terms of how Black and brown women are seen as malingering, right? And a lot of people don't realize that pain and the pain you experience is often a gateway to a diagnosis. So you come in and you say, listen, I'm having a lot of uterine pain or stomach pain. And because, and it's well documented that there's the sense that black women are malingering or making up additional pain or seeking pain medicine, there's often a dismissal of the initial symptoms that might lead to a diagnosis, right? And we all know the best way to get care is to be diagnosed early. The best way to get care is for people to listen to your concerns and then practice evidence-based medicine

and work backwards and say, you know, what have you been exposed to? You know, what are some cultural norms that can explain what you're going through and other women who are similarly situated are going through? So it's all related. You know, it's all tied to one another. The failure to diagnose, the failure to really identify significant deceased states in black and brown communities so that we can figure out what's causing it and we can take action and save people's lives. All right. DeAndra, we certainly appreciate it. Thanks a bunch. Keep us abreast where this lawsuit goes.

Thank you for having me. All right. Appreciate it, folks. Right now, let's go live to Florida. President Joe Biden is speaking at a Democratic rally there for candidates who are running for office. A single Republican voted for it in the House of Senate. Take prescription drugs. Folks, we pay the highest price for prescription drugs than anywhere in the world. The prescription you have from a drug manufacturer in the United States, you get at the local drugstore. You get in a plane and fly to Paris,

you can get the same exact drug for less every other major capital in the world. How can that be? Why is that the case? The very same prescription by the very same company. For years — for years, many of us have tried very hard to bring prescription drugs under control. But for years, Big Pharma has stood in the way.

They beat us every time. I remember starting this battle when I was a 35-year-old United States senator. Over the past year, drug companies raised the price — to make a reference to what my introducer said, raised the price on 1,200 drugs, more than the rate of inflation. Let me get something clear here. Hold for a second.

Let me get something clear. It's not they did anything more to the drug, more research and development on that particular drug to make it better. They did nothing. Nothing. Same exact drug with no change. I understand if they have a breakthrough in that drug and make it more effective and charge more.

I get that. But none of that. None. The average price for those drugs was raised over 30 percent. In 2022, the price of one blood pressure medicine — one that millions of Medicare recipients are relying on every day — increased 500 percent. Five times. The exact same drug. No change whatsoever.

Another drug treating autoimmune conditions increased by $1,000. $1,000 for an autoimmune disease. Again, no change in the quality of it, just change in the price. And they talk about inflation. You know, we're dealing with it for a whole second. Inflation is a worldwide problem right now because of a war in Iraq and the impact on oil

and what Russia is doing. I mean, excuse me, the war in Ukraine. And think of Iraq because that's where my son died. The — because he died. But the point is that there — you know, that's why it's up. We have the lowest inflation rate of almost any major country in the world. We've done a lot to try to take it under control.

I've released millions of barrels of oil from our Strategic Patrol Reserve, keeping the price down. It's down about $1.25 and going down. It needs to go more. But they talk about inflation all the time. What in God's name? And they ask why I call this the Inflation Reduction Act. If you have to take a prescription

that costs you an arm and a leg, and I reduce that, and you don't have to pay as much, it reduces your cost of living. It reduces inflation in your paycheck. And by the way... well, I'm serious. My dad used to say everybody deserves a little bit of breathing room. Granted, when the price of a gas or a gallon of

gasoline went up, we talked about it at our kitchen table. We weren't poor. We were an average middle-class family. We lived in a three-bedroom, split-level house in a development in a suburban area. We were in a situation where, you know, we had four kids and a grandpop living with us.

And — but it was — we weren't poor. But we didn't have any money. We didn't have anything left over. And so it was, you know, do you have anything left to have a little bit of breathing room? Look what's happening to drug prices on average Americans. It's actually outrageous.

But this year, we finally beat pharma. We finally beat pharma. No, I've been trying this a long, long time, Debbie. I've been trying to do it. Finally. Big pharma lost and Americans won. Thanks again to the Democrats in the Congress. And, you know, I have a bad reputation of Biden's not partisan enough. Well, in this one, I'm partisan because a lot of these guys came up to me and women said, you know, basically said not up to me.

They can't come up to me in the White House as much when I see them to be a president. I'm going to be a president. I'm going to be a president. I'm going to be a president. I'm going to be a president. I'm going to be a president. I'm going to be a president. I'm going to be a president. I'm going to be a president.

I'm going to be a president. I'm going to be a president. I'm going to be a president. I'm going to give you a check for the difference back to Medicare to cover the distance. The difference. Lowering. Instead of the money going to the pockets of big companies buying back their own stock, which is the way in which this is why they keep buying their own stock back, that's how the executives get paid. Eighty-nine percent of their salary, I think that's the number, is paid on stock.

Well, guess what? If you have 100 shares of stock and you buy back 50, the 50 left are worth more than 100 each one. Same total amount. And also, they're, in fact, putting it into the pockets of their shareholders. There's nothing wrong with that, per se, unless there's some time you're ripping people off to get there. This time it goes into your pockets for lower drug prices. unless there's some time you're ripping people off to get there. It'll go into you. This time it goes into your pockets for lower drug prices.

And look, the practical thing, at least in my household where I was raised, is that means you have more money for the car payments, more money for groceries, which are high because of Putin cutting off grain supplies. You have more money to put toward holiday shopping for your grandkids. It's about basic standard of living for ordinary Americans. What the drug companies are doing now is really inflating your cost of living, and we're doing something about it.

We're going to give Medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug costs, period. Period. We fought for years to make this happen. This year we got it done. Medicare is going to finally have the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices like the VA can do, the Veterans Administration. We can — they can do that now, and private insurance companies. VA can say, look, you want to sell all our veterans that particular drug?

We're not going to pay that much for it. We're not going to pay $10. We're only going to pay $7.50. If you don't want it, we're not going to buy it. You don't want to sell it to us. Well, it's a gigantic customer. Well, the biggest customer in the world for the drug companies is Medicare. And so, whether it's VA negotiated prices

that are 54 percent lower on average than Medicare prescription drugs, the same if you're a senior veteran on a Medicare drug, on a drug, that another person, because you're VA, another person is on that same drug who's a retired banker or a retired autoworker. Guess what? The person in the VA, and they deserve it,

is paying 54% less for the same exact medicine, prescription. Doesn't make any sense. But now, Medicare is going to have the power to negotiate lower drug prices. So, for example, when these guys come along and say,

we're going to charge you. I'm making this up. We're going to charge you 10 cents per an aspirin. And they say, no, we're only going to pay five. Well, we're not going to sell it. No problem. They're going to lose 50 billion aspirin or whatever the hell they sell. The point is, they're going to have to respond.

Seniors are going to see their out-of-pocket costs for prescriptions. This is really important. It was really important to my mom and my dad. Thank God, you know, we had four kids who were able to make up the difference for mom and dad. But, but guess what? Now, the total amount of drug prices, prescription drug price you have to pay in any one year, if you're a senior on Medicare or Social Security,

will not be more than 2,000 a year. That's it. You can't need to purchase. You can purchase $15,000 worth of drugs. You only pay $2,000. $2,000 for of drugs. You only pay $2,000. $2,000 for prescription drugs. Period. Whether it's expensive cancer drugs or any other

drug they need for the pharmacy. My son, who died of stage four glioblastoma, the cost of those drugs was enormous. Enormous. We're talking about drugs that can cost $9,000, $10,000, $14,000 a year. But thanks to this law, seniors are going to be limited to having to pay $2,000 a year for all the drugs they need.

All the drugs they need. Now, starting in January, we're also capping the cost of insulin. How many of you know somebody with diabetes who needs insulin? Well, guess what? And we — when we — when Debbie and I passed this law, it included everybody, not just seniors. And so what happened was, we said, okay, you know how much it costs to make that insulin

drug for diabetes? Cost. We said, okay, you know how much it costs to make that insulin drug for diabetes? It costs. It was invented by a man who did not patent it because he wanted it available for everyone. I spoke to him, okay? And guess what? It costs $10 to make. $10 to make.

And if you count packaging and everything, you could maybe get it up to $15. Well, guess what? They're not going to have to pay more than $35 a month. They'll still make a significant profit instead of an average of $400 a month. Look, that's something. Well, that's important. And guess what? It affected, I was at an event like this in Virginia about four months ago, talking about this, what are we doing?

And a woman stood up and she said, I have two children. They both have diabetes, and I can't afford the insulin, so we have to share it. We have to cut it back. We split it in half. Imagine a parent looking for a child, knowing they don't have the money or the insurance to be able to pay for it. Talk about being deprived of your dignity.

Look at your child. You could have permanent damage or die without access. Maybe so, anyway. And by the way, we're making hearing aids more affordable. Available over the counter. So people don't have to pay expensive visits to specialists. Folks who need them, these hearing aids are available now.

The FDA estimates it's going to save patients $3,000 per sedative area. Plus, for seniors, a Medicare Part D recommended vaccines like shingles vaccines are now available for free. Two million people have been paying $200 for those shots up to now. On average, folks, on average, they're paying $200. We're out of here in Florida, focused on the election. We're going to go to a break. We'll be back on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Be sure to download the Black Star Network app, available on all platforms, Apple Phone, Android Phone,

Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. You can also, of course, support us by joining our Bring the Funk fan club, where every dollar you give goes to support this show. And so please do so. Of course, check your money order. Go to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C.

20037-0196. Cash App, Dollar Sign, RM Unfiltered. Paypal is RMartin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zill is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. And don't forget to get a copy of my book, White Fear, How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Mind,

available at all bookstores as well as online, Amazon, Barnes & Noble. You can also order through your favorite black bookstore. Download the copy on Audible. We'll be right back. When we invest in ourselves, we all shine. Together, we are Black beyond measure. We've got to stand up. Republicans are banning abortion rights, tearing down

democracy, blocking progress. But when Democrats stand together, we win. Because we voted, Democrats stood up for Black lives, voting to ban police we voted, Democrats stood up for Black lives, voting to ban police chokeholds, stood up for Black women, putting one on the Supreme Court, stood up for our families, lowering cost of health care and prescriptions

and capping insulin, and stood up for millions by slashing student debt. This November, let's stand up together and keep making progress. When we invest in ourselves, we're investing in what's next for all of us. Growing, creating, making moves that move us all forward. Together we are Black beyond measure. Hey everybody, this is your man Fred Hammond.

I'm Deion Coley, you're watching... Roland Martin, Unfiltered. Stay woke. Danielle Noble disappeared from her Madison, Wisconsin home on October 22nd. The 11-year-old is 5 feet tall, weighs 130 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. If you have any more information about Danielle Noble, you should call the Madison, Wisconsin Police Department at 608-255-2345. 608-255-2345. All right, folks.

South Carolina senior Lindsey Graham loves to run his damn mouth, but when he got subpoenaed by Fulton County D.A., Fannie Willis, oh, oh, oh, no, I'm, I, I, no, I'm, I, I, I, no. So he went to court, sued, and then all, all,

all went to the Supreme Court. Today they said, take your punk ass down to Atlanta and go do the doggone interview. So that's what Graham now has to do. Supreme Court rejected his bid. Now he has to testify in the grand jury proceedings that Fannie Willis has dealing with the issue of the corrupt nature of Donald Trump

trying to steal the 2020 election in Georgia. Must say, Michael, you know, this little scrub, Lindsey Graham, loves to run his damn mouth on Fox News, Sean Hannity. Why he so damn scared to go testify? You ain't got nothing to hide what you're scared of.

Right, that's what 45 used to say, that anybody that, you know, pleads the fifth, because I think that's what the district attorney is setting him up for. Clearly, they want to get as much information as possible from him. But I think they're also going to set him up to see how many times he says the Fifth or uses that odd privilege that members of Congress have. Either way, he's going to try to get out of answering, you know,

obviously the poignant questions that really matter. But see, I love how he thinks that because he's a member of Congress, he could just pick the phone up and say, hey, can y'all find them votes? No, no, play that how they work. Well, that's, you know, 45 was his boy, so he was doing everything he could

to help overturn the election, at least in the state of Georgia. And so it'll be interesting to see. Obviously, it's going to be a closed session. The public won't see it. But clearly, we'll hear what happened. We'll know how many times he pled the fifth or used that strange little loophole

in the Constitution for members of Congress. So it'll be interesting to see what happens. The rally here, Mustafa. Liz Graham, he a little punk. He love running his mouth. He love talking this, that, on the other. He love he love just talking. But the bottom line

is why won't you talk about what you did? This is the man who said all kinds of stuff about Trump when they were running, but he's been kissing Donald Trump's ass. His head literally is so far up Trump's butt, if Trump turns right, Lindsey turns right.

If Trump turns left, Lindsey turns left. If Trump stopped walking, Lindsey stopped walking. Yeah, Lindsey a little shook right now. There's no doubt about that. What they used to say, if you ain't got nothing to hide, then you should show up and testify. So South Carolina, watch your boy. See what he actually does. Because, you know, everybody knows the connection that he has. Everybody knows that he's afraid of Trump. So of course, he's not going to say but so much. But, you know, he has a responsibility. Let's see if he lives up to that responsibility. He took an oath to protect our country.

We know that the former president was actually detrimental to our country, so let's see if he actually lives up to the oath that he took. There you go. Randy? I'm not going to put any bets that he's going to live up to the oath. I will take all of you out to dinner if he lives up to his oath and

actually testifies and tells the truth and owns up to what he's done. But that promise is on camera. I promise I'll take you all out to dinner. I don't see that happening. He's going to continue with his ditching and dodging. And there you go. All right, folks.

A white Tennessee state professor has resigned after this video went viral. I said, what is your name? Get out of your family's course, whatever your name is.

Out! Out! Out! Out! Well, guess what? It's amazing what happens when video gets dropped. That's right. This professor, Robert Evans-Picard, was a history professor at Tennessee State

when he abruptly resigned following this outrageous classroom display. He has a history of unprofessional behavior as bad reviews date back to 2017 on the Rate My Professor website where people rated him as awful. Texas, Tennessee State made this statement. This incident runs afoul of the standard of behavior we expect from those charged with teaching and serving as role models for our students. The university has taken swift action, including personnel action, to address this incident." But I'm trying to understand how in the hell, if he was a problem for five years,

why did it take a video going viral, Randy? At an HBCU? I want to say this, and I have some personal thoughts about this. Just because someone white is working in a Black institution, an HBCU, does not mean that they're down. Does not mean that they're looking out

for the best interests of our children. And we need to pay attention to when they say, this professor is not grading us properly or treating us well. That's a shame that, since 2017, he has not gotten good reviews. What we saw there in that video is pure rage and disgust at who he was talking to. And that didn't come overnight.

That didn't just come there. So it scares me of how he has affected students, his entire tenure at that school. And we need to pay attention. We absolutely need to pay attention. Oh, absolutely. Mustafa? He look like he about to have a stroke, so, you know, he need to relax. Maybe he need one of them little special gummy bears.

You know, I've taught it... Aah! Not the animal! But, you know, I done taught at a... Ah! Not the animal! But, you know, I've taught at a few institutions, and I have never seen a professor get up in folks' face like that. So it was time for him to go. Evidently, he didn't really want to continue to have that job. And I hope he gets some help,

because he needs to get a little tiny bit of counseling and some therapy and get it together before he decides what the next phase in his life is. But bye-bye. You know, even though this kind of conduct continues throughout society, the whole breaking out your phone and getting it on video at least changes things. Like when you do your crazy white folk segment or this or police officers treating folks badly. People break out their phones.

I know you like this person, Roland, because they turned the phone the proper way. No, they didn't. No, they didn't. Oh, no, they didn't. They shot it vertical. No, they didn't. But it has changed the game a little bit

that you can get this stuff on video so it's not just somebody's word against somebody's word. And hopefully over time that folks will get their conduct in order. Absolutely. Absolutely. So that's just absolutely crazy. Folks, some sad

news out of Houston where Atlanta rapper with the hip trio Migos, the group Takeoff, first of all, Takeoff was with Migos, was shot and killed in a Houston bowling alley around 2.30 this morning. Apparently there was a private party there. The party ended around 1 o'clock. There was a dice game going on, and all of a sudden shots broke out. No word in terms of really the details there. But the 28-year-old takeoff, whose real name is Kirshnick Kari Ball,

again, fatally shot while attending this private party. He was there with his uncle Quavo, who was there as well. Of course, they are a record-setting group. Rolls to fame at the 2016 Grammy-nominated hit Bad and Bougie, which topped the Billboard Hot 100. He just released his solo album, The Last Rocker, in 2018. And just last week, he released an album with his uncle. Many, many folks begin to comment and talk about the loss of his life. It's certainly, certainly sad news.

All right, folks, when we come back we'll talk about a marketplace segment. The sisters created a black sunscreen company and I got something to say. When the hell did Halloween become all about adults? What the hell is going on with Halloween? The big

grown ass people have just pushed the kids aside. I got something to say about that. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. When we invest in ourselves, our glow, our vision, our vibe, we all shine.

Together, we are Black beyond measure. We've got to stand up. Republicans are banning abortion rights, tearing down democracy, blocking progress. But when Democrats stand together, we win. Because we voted, Democrats stood up for Black lives, voting to ban police chokeholds, stood up for Black women, putting one on the Supreme Court,

stood up for our families, lowering cost of health care and prescriptions and capping insulin, and stood up for millions by slashing student debt. This November, let's stand up together and keep making progress. -♪ When we invest in ourselves, we all shine.

Together, we are Black beyond measure. I'm Shantae Moore. Hi, I'm B.B. Winans. Hey, I'm Dolly Simpson. What's up? I'm Lance Gross, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks. Every Tuesday,

we've got our, of course, Marketplace segment. We focus on black-owned businesses. And this week, the products that are in front of me, a sister created a black sunscreen company. Now, that's no, that is not an oxymoron. Black people do burn. Sit your ass out there without sunscreen and then holler at me after two or three days. Light-skinned Randy shaking her head, but

ain't just light-skinned people. Michael can get his ass burned, too. Same thing, Mustafa, myself. Don't act a fool, y'all. Y'all know how we do. Some of y'all think we got the protection. No, that ain't always the case. Shante Lundy created Black Girl Sunscreen, a 30 SPF lotion

for women of color made with melanated skin in mind. It dries completely clear and protects melanin without the white cast. She joins us right now from Alabama. Shante, so what happened? Why you create your own line? You just, you got tired

of putting on sunscreen and looking like you're a white girl? I've never ever heard anyone ever talk about the business the way you are talking about it. Okay, Shante, this is a black show. I-I understand it, and I appreciate it. So... You know, it's...

You always gotta be transparent and direct, but it's still, um, it's refreshing. And, um, no, I wouldn't say that I was tired of looking like a white girl. I would say that we created Black Girl Sunscreen to honor our complexion. And what that means is, um, women of color should

feel good and look good while wearing any cosmetic product, especially sunscreen. And, um, we've been ignored in this conversation for years. How? Like, how specifically? Because it's a bunch of sunscreens out there on the market. But how has it not tailored to us?

Well, it's never been tailored to us because, you know, larger companies, they didn't have, let's say, people of color in the boardroom speaking about, you know, melanoma getting burned. They didn't have dermatologists that were learning about, you know, darker skin complexions. So it was never, we were just never thought of when sunscreen was made. And to be honest, I think the whiteness is a universal issue because no one is the color of of toothpaste. I think that, you know, larger companies tell us to take it or leave it. And we either accept it or we don't. All right.

So so what. So, you know, I'm sitting look at your products in front of me. So what makes them so different and unique and separate from what is actually on the marketplace right now? So, first of all, the name, right? And some people will argue, well, okay, so what? Your name is Black Girl Sunscreen. Well, I'm speaking directly to you as a consumer, as a woman of color, and I'm saying that this is my issue. I am tired of having dry skin. I am tired of not looking like myself. And I'm going to do something about it. I'm going to make a formula. So this formula came out of my mind, partnered with a chemist

and a manufacturer to say like, okay, we want something that's hydrating and moisturizing. That's number one. That's how we're different. You're going to use Black Girls Sunscreen or BGS Kids, that's in the yellow packaging there, and you're going to feel like you have on lotion. The number one thing that Black people do when they get out of the shower is put on lotion. You can't go outside with ashy elbows, ashy knees, ashy feet, ankles, right? No. Okay. So we're going to address that issue. Number one. Number two, the ingredients. How do we emphasize our complexion? How do we give that glow that women are looking for? Okay. Black girl sunscreen has incorporated ingredients that highlights our complexion, that make us feel and look dewy.

So those are just a couple of examples of how we're different. And then what do we stand for? Right. We are a business that plays in a very white space, if you will, created by my by myself. We stand for social justices. We stand for many things that resonate with our community. So it's called Black Girl Sunscreen. Not for brothers?

No, it's for all. So being a woman of color, being a black woman, it was easy for me to do something for females. Not as easy, and this is it being introduced by their sister, their daughter, their wife, their girlfriend, their mother, whomever, to put them on. Because the male skincare market is still not as developed as we would like it to be.

Now, because of the response... So what you're saying is women spend more money on skincare products than men. So just go ahead and say it. Call it what it is. You're targeting the people who are spending the money on skincare. Well, I'm speaking to the people that I feel like I identify with. Right.

But what I'm saying is you want to sell as much product as possible. But the reality is when it comes to skin care, the female women are spending far exceeds men, and so your whole deal is let me go after that black market, black female market. Absolutely. So when it comes

to who's leading the purchases, it is definitely females. Now what I will say, Rowan, is that black girls sunscreen, we can't ignore the response of men, right? Men being like, hey, well, are you sure I can wear this just like you asked? And our response is, of course, you have skin by all means.

So it's definitely an opportunity for black girls' sunscreen to speak to men of color as well. Something we're working on. All right. Questions from our panel. Randy, you first. My light skinned itself is first. All right. Questions from our panel. Randy, you first. My light skin itself is first. Thank you. It says brown.

You say it's black girl sunscreen, so I'm going to ask the black girl on the panel. You get to go first. Thank you very much. What I'd like to say, Shante, is I'm so happy to meet you. I had a 50th birthday in Playa del Carmen, and I bought 40 tubes of your Black girl's sunscreen.

You know what? Yes, I found the receipt. I don't know, and we put it in some of my things because I wanted to have as many Black products as I could, and everyone loved the sunscreen. So all of us ladies, from the light-skinned, all the beautiful hues of us Black people, we love the sunscreen.

Thank you so much for supporting. I think the number 40 was bought because I just turned 40. And I say that to say that SPF is a testament to preserving our youth. That's something that we also weren't taught. I say that to say that SPF is a testament to preserving our youth. That's something that we also weren't taught. Randy, honestly, without your support, Black Girls Sunscreen wouldn't be here today. So thank you so, so much. And thank you for being open-minded to just sunscreen and SPF because we just became sponsors of FAMU's track and field and software team. So we were at

FAMU's homecoming this past weekend. And you wouldn't believe how many, I would say, Gen Xers slash boomers are just like, hey, black people, we don't need sunscreen. I'm not wearing it. So the fact that you are fabulous at 50 and fabulous and talking about sunscreen and FBF is appreciated. Thank you. All right. Uh, let's see here. Uh, who probably uses sunscreen? Uh, I probably go. I probably needs it the most that Omega. Go ahead, Michael. First of all, congratulations on your company. By the way, my twin sons went to FAMU, so congratulations on that relationship. It's a great, great university.

Do you have different SPFs on your products? We do. So Black Girl Sunscreen started with one SKU in 2016, and we currently have six. And to expand on that, we also started off just as a D to C, meaning selling on our website. Black Girls Sunscreen is now sold in 10,000 stores across the United States. So our SPF levels include the 30, which is our OG SPF 30. We have an SPF 45, which is Make It Matte. For the kids, we have a 50. And then we have a hybrid formula, which is synthetic and mineral. And that's also coming in as a 50, as well as sprays. So the SPF level varies across the board. Mustafa.

Are they all lotions or is there a clear one? There is a clear one for your face. It's called Make It Matte. And that comes out in, like, a gel consistency. And then just the regular sunscreens come out in, like, a white lotion. Great. Thank you very much. Congratulations.

Keep up the good work. Thank you. I thought the lotion would be brown. That's just me. Mustafa, go ahead. So, Roland, hold on, hold on. Let me jump in. Who said that? I did. Okay. So that means it would be tinted, right? And that's actually a really big task for Black Girls Sunscreen, because when you come out with tinted versions, us being a Black-owned company, we would need to come out with at least 50 shades because that means we would understand

the undertones and the different complexions of women. We can't just have light, medium, and dark, and that's why it's not brown. But it's only one... Got different shades of white? No. I'm just checking. No, no, no, no.

But we want to make sure that we do things with excellence. I got you. Mustafa, go. Go ahead, frat. Yeah, Shante, thank you for this because I think most Black folks don't know that even though

we get skin cancer at lower levels, we die more often when we do get it. So thank you for helping to protect our people. I'm curious, what's the vision moving forward for the company? Where do you hope to be here over the next couple of years? The vision is to make Black Girls Sunscreen accessible across the world and to have as many advocates and conversations around sun safety as possible. We get fast and strong no's.

I mean, Sam Yu was one of those examples where it's like, oh, okay, back to kind of like a grassroots approach. And it's how do we shift that conversation? How do we shift the mindset of, hey, melanin, yes, it's a superpower, but how do we protect it? So our mission, again, it's a superpower, but how do we protect it? So our mission, again, is to continue on this journey. It has been a journey that no one has ever tackled before. Never. I'm the first to do it. And I'm going to take off the humble hat for just one second.

We are pioneers in this space. No one has ever talked to black people and my vocabulary has kind of not leveled up but transitioned over time to incorporate people of color because not all black people, not all people identify as black but they have melanated skin. So it's important that we teach the benefits of SPS. All right then. All right, then.

All right. Again, if folks want more details, where do they go? BlackGirlSunscreen.com All right. Chante, we certainly appreciate it. Thanks so much, and good luck. Thank you. All right, then. All right, folks. Final item here. I got to ask this.

I got to deal with this here. Thanks. I am perplexed. I really am. The last several years, is it just me, but have y'all seen a lot of this? Have y'all seen a lot of this? Normally when Halloween comes

around, you got folk who are doing decorations and they're getting ready for the kids and all that sort of stuff like that. You now go to Instagram, social media and come on show the fuck, come on. And you now go to Instagram, social media and

damn, it's like adults have basically said to all the kids, move the hell out the way it's not our holiday. I mean, every celebrity, they got their photo, but you got folk doing Halloween parties. You got,

I mean, every single year. Now, I'm sweating. Halloween literally is no longer about kids. That's just gone out the window. Damn trick-or-treating. It's now adults. I don't know whether Gen X folk didn't get to enjoy Halloween enough as children or millennials,

but it has gotten to the point to me where Halloween has now turned into freaknik. It's like, okay, let's turn this thing now to the annual holiday where we can just put our freakiest outfits on and just show up and show out. And again, I seriously, I'm not quite understanding when this switch happened.

When kids just sort of got the boot, like, yeah, Moogler ass is out of the way. I mean, folks ain't buying no candy. And then it's like, it's Moogler ass is out of the way. I mean, folks ain't buying no candy. And then it's like, it's not a whole weekend of parties. It's like Friday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Michael, Mustafa, Randy, am I the only one wondering how the hell did grown people take over Halloween?

I'm not really sure. My kids stopped doing all that stuff a while ago, but I tell you, that Lionel Richie one was very good. If we were going to rate on that Lionel Richie one, what's funny? Go ahead, Mustafa. You know, folks want to have a reason to be able to justify showing what they want to show.

So this is just one of those opportunities and holidays because you can't get freaky on Christmas or Thanksgiving. So folks just doing what they do. I saw somebody actually knock a kid out the way to get some candy. Randy, I have seen more grown ass people throwing Halloween parties in the last five, six years and again, I don't know

if, again, social media is driving it, but I swear, Halloween now comes around, I don't even think about the kids. Matter of fact, it used to be... Check this out. This is how even crazy it is. How many... Have y'all been on social media?

Have your timelines been flooded with kids' costumes? Hell no. Grown people in lace and leather. That's what Halloween has turned into. You're right. I believe that we... I think it is social media. I think that we like to get dressed up and for people to see us in our costumes.

And a three-year-old is not gonna be pressed about that. But I think adults, if you give them an opportunity to show up and show out, we're gonna do it and take that picture. Yeah, I agree with you though. There has been a shift that adults have. In some way, we are taking over Halloween. And again, look, look, I get wanting to have a party,

but damn, can y'all let the kids have Halloween? Is there any way the kids can be front and center? Because I'm seeing all these grown people kind of like, damn, Natty, y'all move. This's our day now. That's what Halloween has turned into. Roland, did you see the little girl that was dressed up like she had just gotten a BBL surgery?

Oh, yeah, I saw that. That was funny. It was funny, but it also... But I ain't nowhere in hell. Like, I don't think the little girl would have chosen that. It seems like she would have chosen something different. So even when we're picking the costumes, it's coming from an adult perspective.

It was hilarious. But I doubt the daughter said, hey, I want to be a woman who just got a BBL getting off the plane for Halloween. Look, again, all I'm simply saying is, can kids have something? Just let them have something. But, you know, at the rate we're going, it's going to be a whole bunch of freaky Mr. Claus and Miss Claus suits with Christmas at the rate these adults are going.

Because they just, again, to me, it's crazy. Just all of the parties, and it's folks like literally now, it's like a whole costume party, and it's like, look, only adults. It's just, to me, it's out of control. It's out of control. And again, maybe this is a whole generation of people whose families kept them from going out. I don't know. Look at all y'all in the control room.

Y'all know damn well I ain't lying. Y'all, yeah, because y'all probably scared to show y'all photos. Uh-huh, that's probably because y'all know I would light y'all ass up on the show if y'all did. Uh-huh, if you did. But I'm telling you. So, folks, let the kids have their day. At least put your kids' photos out there.

Because we ain't trying to see a bunch of y'all with your little damn Halloween photos. I'm just saying, okay? Let the kids have Halloween. But they just kick the little kids to the curb. But that's what happens when you've got a bunch of grown-up people who sit around and get to play video games. All right. That is it. That is it. That is it for us.

Mustafa, my alpha brother, I appreciate it. Randy, thanks a bunch. Lil Mega, Michael Brown, thanks a bunch. Glad to have you on the show. Okay, go ahead and throw your AK sign, Randy. I see you. I see you. See, Michael, you totally outnumbered with that little group you in.

But, you know, it's all good. It's all good. And, Mike, what the hell? You cold or something in that damn vest? What the hell? Damn, Michael. Your ass got a vest on, a Mr. Rogers sweater, and a shirt. What the hell?

You need some iron pills or something? I came in from, I came in, I didn't want to be late for your show. I'm walking the dog and I didn't get a chance to take the vest off. Michael, it was 72 degrees today in D.C. Damn, you dressed like your ass in Seattle. I'm always a little chilly, bro. Damn. Boy, you're lucky we ain't got another camera

to zoom that shit out. He got a sweater on, a vest on, and a long-ass sleeve shirt. And I guarantee you he got a t-shirt underneath that damn shirt. No t-shirt. No t-shirt. You got three damn layers of clothes, and it was 72 degrees today in Washington, DC.

In fact, if I check the temperature in D.C. right now, let me see what it is. It was a very nice day out. My dog likes to walk in Rock... Mike, it's 64 degrees right now! My dog likes to walk in Rock Creek Park. It's a little chillier there. The hell is wrong with...

Yo, do y'all understand what's going on here? Mike, I'm looking at the app right now, Michael. You live in D.C. What app? Y'all, look at this, y'all. This is the damn weather right now in D.C. It's 66 degrees, y'all. Look at that.

Clear night. Clear night. Wind's blowing six miles an hour. What's the feel like? What's the feel like? What's the feel like? 66. His ass in a parka. I thought this was an anti-bullying show.

What? I bet you got some Timberlands and them thick-ass socks on, too. You didn't want your feet to get cold. Oh, boy. I'm just checking. I'm just checking. I'll be ready for you next time, bro. I know we're going to get you for Christmas.

Going to get your ass a supply of some iron pills. All right. I'll be ready for you next time. Right. Next time, take that damn vest off when you bring your ass on the show. Got my ass sweating.

All right. Good luck to your football, to your baseball team. We're going to handle that business. We gave them that gift in game one. So, you know,

we should be going to 3-0 tonight. Game got rained out last night. It's a World Series game three. Astros. Oh, just because y'all see.

Give me the wide shot, Henry. So, Michael, you see how my set look?'all see give me the wide shot Henry. So Michael you see I'm a set look. See. No. Otherwise shot man. See how to set look Michael. Very nice. Got all got all the Astros stuff.

So y'all know game three games that games are starting. It started five minutes ago. Y'all know what we're gonna do. So y'all feel these fans personally. Mark Lamont Hill. That's called smacking that

ass. I see out of my eyes. I see out of my eyes. I see out of my eyes. I see out of my eyes. I see out of my eyes. I see out of my eyes. I see out of my eyes. I see out of my eyes. Game is starting. It started five minutes ago. Y'all know what we're going to do. So, y'all feel these fans, especially Mark Lamont Hill. That's called smacking that ass. I'll see y'all tomorrow. Howl!

Dusty Baker. Dusty Baker. This is an iHeart Podcast.