#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Inflation Reduction Act & the black community,Trump's Warrant, Black Census Month, Gen Z & TikTok

Episode Date: August 19, 2022

8.18.2022 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Inflation Reduction Act & the black community,Trump's Warrant, Black Census Month, Gen Z & TikTok Now that the Inflation Reduction Act is law, how will it address our climate crisis and impact the black community? Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali, a former senior advisor for Environmental Justice of the EPA, will be here to explain it all.   We'll also look at how the other aspects of the Inflation Reduction Act will help black communities. A federal judge says he's willing to unseal redacted portions of Trump's search warrant affidavit. We'll talk about what that means and what details it could reveal about the investigation. Rudy Giuliani went down to Georgia to testify before a special grand jury about the 2020 election. Former Vice President Mike Pence says he'd consider appearing before the Jan. 6th committee if asked. August is National Black Census Month. We'll talk to the folk from Black Futures Lab about their goal of reaching 200,000 Black people with the Black Census Project. We'll tell you how you can participate. And why do Gen Zers prefer to use TikTok as a search engine versus Google? We'll look at how this shift influences a generation of voters who prefers video delivery over reading. 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. right now. Black media, he makes sure that our stories are told. Thank you for being the voice of Black America, Rolla. 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? It's Thursday, August 18th, 2022, and I'm Erica Savage sitting in for Roland. Here's what's coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. Now that the Inflation Reduction Act is law, how will it address our climate crisis and impact the black community? Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali, a former senior advisor for the environmental justice of the EPA, will be here to explain it all. We'll also look at how the other aspects of the Inflation Reduction Act will help black communities. A federal judge says he's willing to unseal redacted portions of Trump's search warrant affidavit.

We'll talk about what that means and what details it could reveal about the investigation. Rudy Giuliani went down to Georgia to testify before a special grand jury today about the 2020 election. Former Vice President Mike Pence says he'd consider appearing before the 1-6 committee if asked. August is National Black Census Month. We'll talk to the folk from Black Futures Lab about their goal of reaching 200,000

Black people with the Black Census Project. We'll tell you how you can participate. And y'all, why do Gen Zers prefer to use TikTok as a search engine versus Google? We'll look at how this shift influences a generation of voters who prefer video delivery over reading. You already know what time it is. It's time to bring the funk on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. Let's get it, y'all. He's got it. Whatever the miss, he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the find. Bye-bye. He's rolling, yeah, yeah It's Uncle Roro, yo

Yeah, yeah It's rolling, Martin, yeah Yeah, yeah Rolling with rolling now Yeah, yeah He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best You know he's rolling, Martin Now All right, good people.

Earlier this week, President Joe Biden signed the landmark Climate Change and Health Care Bill. bill. The $750 billion Inflation Reduction Act will aid in fighting climate change, lowering health care costs, and raising taxes on corporations. But how will this bill affect the Black community? To break it all down for us, it's a friend of the show, Dr. Mustafa Ali, former Senior Advisor for Environmental Justice with the EPA, he joins us to share how it's going to impact us all. Welcome to the Roland Martin Unfiltered Show, Dr. Ali. Thank you for being on. Thank you for having me. Absolutely. Definitely could think of no one better to have in talking about all things climate change. So we just talked about the bill, $750 billion landmark bill with over $360 billion

in climate change remedies and some of the reductions that are included, 40% reduction in emissions, about $45 to $60 billion to make neighborhoods that are cement neighborhoods have more trees so that would help with the extreme heat that we see in some metropolitan areas, and increase affordability of electric cars and winds and solar panels. Though this is an unprecedented bill, we definitely would not have seen this up under four more years of Trump. Talk to us about the historic nature of the Inflation Reduction Act and what are some of the immediate outcomes that people can expect from this landmark act? Yeah. Well, you know, the first place we should start is the fact that our communities continue

to be hit first and worst from the climate crisis. When there are hurricanes or floods or these extreme heat events, it is our communities that bear the burden for that because we have plenty of the medical conditions that's tied to, you know, the exposures to fossil fuels and have caused, you know, a lot of harm inside of our community. But this bill gives us a chance to begin to fight the climate crisis. So we have an opportunity for folks to be able to do energy efficiency in their homes, to be able to get HVACs or heat pumps or air conditioning. We got 30 million people in this country

who don't even have air conditioning in their home, and many of those are black folks. So we got a chance to be able to use these tax credits to be able to get that in place. We also have the opportunity to begin to make sure that we're thinking critically about starting our own businesses. Billions of dollars are going to move, so we should be positioning ourselves to be able to take advantage of that. And we can do it around

wind and solar, but there are also dollars to actually revitalize our communities. You'll see that there are block grants that are there that gives us a chance to make sure that our communities become stronger, that we have the infrastructure that we need that gives us a chance to make sure that our communities become stronger, that we have the infrastructure that we need inside of them and to make us more resilient. For our black farmers, there are dollars in there also around smart agriculture. So hopefully we can finally make sure

that the black farmers who have always been disinvested in now have that opportunity to be able to take advantage of these sets of resources that are there. It doesn't matter if you're in Appalachia and you're someone who worked in the coal mines, there are now dollars to address the black lung disease that many black coal miners and others have had. My grandfather was somebody who had black lung. So there are huge amounts of resources, no matter if you're in the inner city or in the country, to be able to take advantage of. Thank you for breaking that down. And so there's so many components that you mentioned in that when we're talking about climate, we're just not talking

about global warming. We're also talking about environmental. We're also talking about those things, as you mentioned, that definitely impact folks in their home. There are people that, you know, live in California, New York or down south that do not have air conditioning in their home. There are people that, you know, live in California, New York, or down south that do not have air conditioning in their home. They don't have cycling, good cycling air throughout their home. Now, one of the things that I wanted to mention in addition to that is I saw that you tweeted out this Environmental Justice for All Act. It's been led by two House members, H.R. 2021, Representative Grijalvi and Eachen out of Arizona and Virginia. And this legislation was written specifically to talk about something that you alluded to, which is around environmental racism and oppression, specifically in black and people of color communities, that they also have had Senate folks that have championed this in the 116th Congress, most notably former Senator, now

Vice President Kamala Harris was the one who championed that. It is now being championed in this current 117th Congress, Senate rather, by Senator Duckworth. So just want to read a little bit of what that Environmental Justice for All Act does in form of environmental racism and protection. And this is from off of their summary sheet. It says that it's rooted in the moral principle that all people have the right to pure air, clean water, and an environment that enriches life.

It is informed by the belief that federal policy can and should seek to achieve environmental justice, health equity, and climate justice for all underserved communities. So when we're talking about an Inflation Reduction Act that does historic and is a start and does set precedence for some of those pieces that we named, can you share a little bit how the Environmental Justice for All Act really does push that a little bit further as it does center Black communities and people of color? Oh, most definitely. So, you know, inside of our communities, most folks don't know. We've got 200,000 to 300,000 people who are dying prematurely from air pollution every year. We got 24 million folks with asthma, 7 million kids, and many of

them are disproportionately dying. They're going to the emergency rooms, the ones that are losing their lives. And we also got 60 million people across our country who have dealt with unsafe drinking water. And disproportionately, it is Black and brown communities and indigenous communities are the ones who are dealing with this. So the Environmental Justice for All Act really zeroes in on the impacts that are happening inside of our most vulnerable communities. It also puts a spotlight on the hot spots that exist throughout our communities. It helps to strengthen the sets of actions that will go on, you know, the enforcement actions around brownfields and Superfund sites and a number of these other polluting facilities

that often get away with, you know, the impacts that happen inside of our communities. So it gives us, you know, an opportunity to make sure that one, that we're being protected and also is integrating into a finally a piece of legislation that our lives matter. And I would be remiss if I didn't also highlight the fact that in 1992 and 1993, John Lewis tried to introduce the first piece of environmental justice legislation. So now, 30 years later, we finally have a piece of legislation that has been crafted by the front lines that can actually help to make real change happen inside of our communities and make sure that all these agencies and departments and states take with real seriousness what's going on inside of Black, Brown and

indigenous communities. Absolutely. And especially when you consider that these two leaders from Arizona and Virginia actually did tours where they toured. And this is very much so seated in community participation, community comments. So when we start talking more about, you know, the extreme heat, what how folks who are black and people of color are disproportionately impacted. I want to move over before we go to our panel with this story that I saw on climate change. And it was specifically focusing on mega floods out of California that they, scientists,

are looking at a mega flood to be happening in California. And they talked about how climate change is real. And they're predicting month-long floods. There's been such a concentration on the droughts. There's been such concentration on wildfires and fires, and those things are also important. But eyes have been off of the ball of mega floods. There hasn't been one since 1862. But I found this very interesting, specifically talking about who's going to be impacted by displacement, who's going to be impacted by this disaster that will have economic calamity up to $1

trillion in death, unfortunately? We're talking about 100 inches of rain in some areas of California and parts of the city to include L.A., Sacramento, those cities, Fresno, and Stockton. We look at the number of black and people of color that are in those cities. Those numbers are pretty substantial. Can you talk about how we also need to be looking at how this bill that was signed into law, hopefully moving into the Environmental Justice Act, having that adopted will really help to put all eyes on continued vulnerable communities that continue to pay the price of corporations being allowed to do as they please and with harm to those specific communities.

Yeah, without a doubt. And we should also bring in. so we've got the bipartisan infrastructure bill that had passed. Now we have the Inflation Reduction Act that has passed. And hopefully we will get the Environmental Justice for All Act. So when we look at the dynamics that are going on inside of our communities, and we use California and the examples that you shared around Los Angeles and Sacramento, and there actually are some other locations that are there that are part of that story. That we also know in our communities that folks have one, not built the infrastructure to be able to deal with these extreme rain events

that are happening. And then we also have that we have, you know, paved over and concreted over our communities. So that means that when the rains come, that they begin to wash everything away because they can't sink into the ground. And then, of course, California has also dealt with significant, you know, these extreme wildfires that have happened that also now when the rains come, you get these mudslides and you get things that no longer can capture the rain, but it just

continues to move down. So that's where the extreme flooding comes from. The other part of the dynamic is the way that we got to this is because we wouldn't break our addiction to fossil fuels, which have played a role in the warming up of our oceans and of our atmosphere. And now there's so much moisture in certain locations that get captured there, and it just all dumps at one time. So you get these huge amounts of rain that come down and our infrastructure is not built currently to be able to deal with that. And in our communities there's often non existent infrastructure. If there is infrastructure at all it has often been disinvested in. So it creates these double and triple whammies for what's happening inside of our communities. And we need to pay attention because when we get hit, when our homes are destroyed, or if we're living in an apartment, you know, on the basement level, in many instances, we don't have the insurance to be able to deal with that. And we often are the ones who never can come back home, if you will, because of the sets of policies that are in place. So we have a chance

to change many of those dynamics, but we have to force people to do it. We have to stay engaged in the conversations, and we've got to have pieces of legislation that are specifically focused on the needs that exist in our communities. Absolutely. And not to mention that we saw this play out, unfortunately, in 2005 with Hurricane Katrina. Before I go to Recy, she's our resident California native here on the panel. I just want to list some, just want to share a few other things that are included in the Inflation Reduction Act that it does protect public health, creates economic opportunity. You talked about that, Dr. Ali. You talked about the efficiency upgrades to make homes more affordable.

Caps the amount that seniors will have to pay for prescription drugs. They buy at the pharmacy at $2K a year. Caps the amount that seniors will have to pay for insulin. That has been a big talking point for a 35-4-month supply. Access to a number of additional free vaccines. Lower prescription drug costs for seniors by allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of high-cost drugs, and drug manufacturers must pay Medicare a rebate when they raise prices faster than inflation. Reesey Colbert, Amazon bestselling author, founder of Black Woman

Views, your question. REESEY COLBERT, AMAZON BEST-SELLING AUTHOR, FOUNDER OF BLACK WOMAN VIEWS, Yes, E.J., you know, one of the things I was interested to get your take on is, we know Black Americans are more likely to be in these heat, I don't want to call them deserts, but heat zones, like for instance in Harlem, it's 31 degrees hotter than Central Park West in some cases. But can you talk a little bit too about, about, like, how we're also known in areas as Cancer Alley or how dumping in our neighborhoods has helped contribute to environmental injustice and kind of what this administration has been doing

and what this bill in particular does to kind of rectify some of those inequities? Without a doubt. And, Recy, congratulations on the book. Thank you. You know, it's the heat island effect because in many instances, you know, there have been policies that specifically and intentionally put us in harm's way. And it happened in a number of different ways. It happened through restrictive covenants. It happened through redlining. It happens through zoning now today where we are actually pushed into certain areas and then they disinvest in those

areas. And when you look at places like Cancer Alley that's between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, our folks have been there since, you know, we were able to move out of slavery and built communities there. And then all these petrochemical companies came in. And when those petrochemicals came in, they began to, you know, impact our bodies, to dismantle our communities, and to disinvest in our communities. So we have these dynamics, these sacrifice zones that are across the country. I mean, there's real intentionality in there through policy, but we can unpack that also by making sure that we get the right policies in place. As it relates to the current administration, you know, we're blessed that we have a Vice President Kamala Harris who was focused

on environmental justice, who was focused on water issues. I actually worked with her on a bill that she put together. So we've got that. They've also made significant investments. The president has made environmental justice one of his top priorities. And then he also put the White House Environmental Justice Council in place to make sure that frontline leaders had a voice there. They're building out infrastructure throughout the federal family. And now they've got to do the hard work of making sure that the states actually do the right thing and that there's real accountability as, you know, billions of dollars move. You know, lots of times there are certain states that don't want to do the right thing because they've never cared about civil rights

or a number of other important issues. Ms. Brianna. The Press Hi, how are you, Ms. Staffa? Good to see you. Thank you so much for imparting wisdom to us on how it really affects us in our community. Quick question. Do you know, so I am looking into the EV car space and I have a couple reservations in place

and I received a notification from one of them, I won't say the name because it's not branding, that because this bill is passed that there will be new tax credits and that the benefit that used to have would no longer have. And I was wondering if they're trying to if this bill is to try to include try to incorporate renewable energy and so forth. Why would there be a reduction in tax credit for an EV? Is it just for luxury EV cars? And if you know anything in regards to how that alters the car industry. Yeah. So this does a couple of different things.

One, it actually gives resources for manufacturing of electric vehicles to those car companies so they can continue to build out for the great need that's going to exist. The other part of it is that there is a tax credit for new vehicles of $7,500 on the federal level. And then for the first time ever, there's a $4,000 tax credit for used vehicles. So the reality of the situation is a lot of our folks buy used cars and not as many buy, you know, new vehicles, although some folks do. So they wanted to make sure that whether you're in the new car market or the used car market, that you could make sure that you got that tax credit. And then the other part of the conversation is also around EV charging stations and making sure that in our communities we have that infrastructure there as well to make sure if you buy that vehicle, then you can also charge it. The other part that I'll just raise real quickly

for folks around the electric vehicle set of conversations, you know, is that they front-loaded the sets of incentives that are there because lots of times you have to wait on the back end. And, you know, from a lot of folks, that often will make them not necessarily want to move into that market. So this begins to build some of that infrastructure that's going to be necessary to move people away from fossil fuel vehicles, give folks some more stability also, because it costs a lot less to be able to charge an electric vehicle than it is to fill up your tank.

And it also gives us more energy security so that when the prices of gas, you know, shoot up astronomically, you don't have to deal with that. The last thing that I'll add is that there are also state incentives in many locations that would be built upon that $7,500 or $4,000 tax credit. All right. And Dr. Carr. Thank you, Sister Erica. And yes, congratulations, Recy. I've already started reading the long and short guide to the 2022 midterms.

I encourage everybody else to do the same. We need to we need to zone in on that. And in fact, Dr. Ali, Brother Mustafa, that really is where my question lies. We know like these multinational corporations that have leaned on the Senate and the House and trying to stop states from giving money to folks who are trying to work on environment. We know like those companies, the weather and the environment are no respecters of countries. So with that in mind, in the broader international sense, and our people, me and Maura Motley in Barbados trying to say they're going to flood out the Caribbean, in Mexico taking steps backward, could you put this legislation in an international context? Help us understand what is the existential

threat that we face as a species and what else needs to be done? What can we do to keep our foot on the gas now so that the United States isn't a kind of a wedge or a kind of obstruction to this threat we face? How serious is the threat and what else needs to be done? Well, for our folks, you know, whether in Africa or in the Caribbean or even in South America, the threat is real. It's already happening. I mean, when we look across what's happening in Africa, there's the extreme droughts that are going on. There is also the dynamics that we currently see that are also happening in relationship to flooding that that's going on. There is also the dynamics that we currently see that are also happening in relationship to flooding that's going on in these locations. And of course, our folks don't have green infrastructure or man-made infrastructure in certain locations. The other part of this

Inflation Reduction Act is that it at least begins to give us legitimacy on the world stage. If we hadn't passed this, you know, when brothers and sisters and others come to COP 27 in Egypt, we wouldn't have had much to stand on. So now we can at least, you know, highlight this basic foundational piece that we have to continue those international sets of conversations that have to happen. Now, let's be real also, because, you know,

Dr. Carr, we like to keep it real. You know, when you look at the Inflation Reduction Act, there are also some dollars that are going to folks who continue to poison us. So, you know, that's going to have to be addressed in these future pieces of legislation. We've also got to make sure that we're not just looking domestically. And I understand that, you know, folks want to make sure everything is all right here at home, but we got to understand that everything is interconnected and that we've got to be moving forward on legislation that is also going to uplift Africa, the Caribbean, and a number of other island nations that are black and brown across the world because they don't have the resources

to deal with the challenges that are coming. So it's smart economically for us to begin to do this better. It is smart for us on a humanity level. And it will also make sure that there's a planet that actually we have an opportunity to hopefully be able to make sure that it stays sustainable. But none of that's going to happen unless we make sure that our North Star is justice in all its forms and fashions. Perfect way to end this segment.

Thank you, friend of the show, Dr. Mustafa Ali. Have a good rest of your day, brother. All right. This is Roland Martin Unfiltered. We're going to a break, streaming live on the Black Star Network. We'll be right back, everyone. When we invest in ourselves, our glow,

our vision, our vibe, we all shine. Together, we are black beyond measure. Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. On that soil, you will not regret that. White people are losing their damn lives.

There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to the U.S. Capitol. We're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University calls white rage as a backlash. This is the rise of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be

more of this. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white fear. When we invest in ourselves, we all shine. Together, we are Black Beyond Measure. Next on The Black Table with me, Greg Carr. The enormous impact of race, education, and affirmative action in America and how, believe it or not, white America is starting to feel a little bit of the pain. Dr. Natasha Waraku joins us with a case study of one suburban community

and how it reacted when the minority students started to excel. And most people didn't say this explicitly, but was that, you know, the academics are getting standards are getting higher in part because of the Asian kids. And that is making our kids really stressed out. So we need to reduce the amount of homework teachers are allowed to assign. She shares a perspective that you don't want to miss. That's on the next Black Table, only on the Black Star Network.

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Yo, what's up? This your boy, Ice Cube. What's up? I'm Lance Gross, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. And welcome back to Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. Want to introduce the Thursday VIP panel. First we have up

Amazon best-selling author of the Long and Short of It Guide to the 2022 Midterms, the Radical Republican and founder of Black Women Views, Recy Colbert, our very own luminary and HU professor, Dr. Greg Carr, and political strategist, Breonna Cartwright. Thank you so much for joining today. So glad to have you all. So let's get into it. August, guess what? It's Black Census Month and the Black Futures Lab is hosting a series of events across the U.S. to encourage people

to fill out the Black Census, the largest survey of Black people conducted in the U.S. in 157 years. Alicia Garza, the principal of Black Futures Lab and Black to the Future Action Fund joins us from Atlanta, Georgia. She's here to let us know how we can get counted. Welcome. So glad to have you, friend of the show, Alicia Garza. Thank you so much for having me. It's great to be on with you tonight. Absolutely. So glad that you're here. And so, you know, you've declared that this is National Black Census Month and you have events all around the country aimed at engaging and informing the community on this historic effort, Alicia. And I want to share a few upcoming events that you all are going to be having. August 20th, which is on Saturday, the Black Census Peace Pop-Up with Live Free in Illinois. Then you have on that same day, August 20th, the Black Census Project Black Party. That's with

New Georgia Project. August 27th, you have the Black Census Project Community Pop-Up. That's August 27th with Faith in Action Alabama. And then on August 28th, the Riot Party, and that's with the Transgender District. And you all can go to blackfutureslab.org to get more details on those events. We'd love for you to talk to us a little bit about the importance of meeting your goal, which is a historic goal, 200,000 black folks to be interviewed during this census. Talk to us a little bit about what are you hoping your findings to produce and support? Well, one of the things that we really want to make sure of is that we are talking to as many Black folks as possible from all different backgrounds, political ideologies, et cetera, so that we can have a better sense of what it is that our communities want to see for our futures.

This becomes incredibly important when we're doing things like creating public policy, when we're doing things like trying to get people motivated and engaged in the civic process. We really do have to understand what it is that's motivating our communities, what it is that's keeping our communities up at night, and what it is that our communities want to see from our government. So, what I'm hoping for from this census is that we reach 200,000 Black people across the country to really learn more about what our priorities are and what our preferred solutions are. And for us, we know that we will be using those priorities in our

legislative advocacy in 2023. We do know that midterms are coming, and those are important in terms of changing the balance of power in cities and states across the country. But we have to keep the momentum going after elections as well. And this census project is a tool to be able to do that, while it is also a tool to keep people engaged in the civic process at various points in time. I'm also really hoping that this project can be a model for our local and state governments and even for our federal government about how our communities need to be engaged. One of the things I'm so proud of is that this census is by Black people, for Black

people, and about Black people. And we know that our communities get engaged when we have relationships with the people who are asking us questions, when the people who are asking us questions look like us. It's one of the major challenges that the U.S. Census faces. And so we're hoping that our government and also some of the instruments that it uses to engage our communities can really learn from this process. We really see the black census as what as the best of what democracy has to offer. And we hope that this process gets replicated across the country as well.

So good to hear that. And that's good to know that this is really a remedy, right? This is something that will be produced, collected, and said that here are the needs, here are specific ways that can help to support and help better shape our communities. And as you said, across gender identities, all lines according to black communities. So upon successful collection of all of this data, how in fact, and after it was quantified, how do you plan on reporting that out to those communities?

Well, what we do with the black census is we don't just gather information and keep it to ourselves. We make that information available to the people who are collecting the information. And those are our partners across the country. We have more than 40 Black-led grassroots organizations and institutions that are collecting this data across the nation, and they get access to the data that they're collecting. We want to make sure that this survey is also helping them to improve their on-the-ground efforts,

whether it be legislative or other issue-based campaigns that they're moving. But the other thing that we do is we do a roadshow. We go back to the communities that we talk to and we present the information. We allow for there to be elected officials and other stakeholders in the room as well, because we really want to make sure that this doesn't collect dust somewhere.

And then, finally, what we do is we turn this into a legislative agenda that we advocate for in cities and states with communities that we're rooted in. And that's important for us, because we always want to make sure that our communities are a part of what it means to make the rules and change the rules in our communities. We train Black leaders in communities how to right, win, and implement new rules in cities and states through our Black to the Future Public Policy Institute. And we'll be using this information to help craft new policies and new laws that can improve

the lives of Black communities across the nation. Excellent. And so this really sounds like an empowerment tool, Alicia. So what do you say to those individuals who say, well, hey, listen, the pandemic is still ongoing. They're monkeypox out. Polio has resurged. I'm not sure that I'll be able to get out to one of the community events. And then I'm going to bring in the panel for the questions that they have to ask you. What do you say to those individuals who they weren't as confident in completing the census, perhaps had some concerns around privacy? What do you say to those individuals who are black, who you have an empowerment tool for

them to be able to raise to their legislators to say, these are our needs. What do you say to them to get them engaged and actually to participate in your historic census? Well, first I say go to BlackCensus.org and take the survey. It takes about 10 minutes. We don't ask you or require you to give your contact information or anything else unless you want to. You can take the survey without giving your contact information. But if you want to give us your contact information, we will make sure that you get engaged and involved in community efforts to change the way that power operates in your neighborhood and in your community. The other thing that I would say is that what's really important here is that our voices are heard.

And the more of us that participate, the more that we can make change in cities and states across the country. We have the tools and the vehicle to do so, and now we just need you to roll up your sleeves and join us. And we also have this survey translated into five languages that our communities speak beyond English, because we don't want anybody to get left out or left behind. So we have the survey translated into Portuguese and into Haitian Creole. We have the survey translated into Spanish, Amharic, and it will soon be translated into Yoruba as well. So if you have neighbors and

friends that often get left out of these processes, make sure that they're tied in and involved. And then the last thing I would say is, if you can't make it out to one of our community events because you're concerned, rightfully so, about Rona and all of her cousins, you can still participate in the Black Census Project. You can host your own house party,

either in person or virtually, and we give you the tools to do that. There's a toolkit on our website. You can just go to blackfutureslab.org to learn how to gather your people safely to take the survey together and join us in our month-long project of what we're calling a family reunion for the first national Black Census Month.

Excellent. Dr. Carr, your question for Alicia. what we're calling a family reunion for the first national Black Census Month. Excellent. Dr. Carr, your question for Alicia. Thank you, Erica, and thank you, Alicia. And my broad question was going to be some of your thoughts about how we turn Black public opinion into Black political power, but you've already kind of talked about that.

And specifically, I'm fascinated by the the Institute. And so could you say more about the Black to the Future Public Policy Institute? And if someone's watching this and so they might want to get involved, I guess applications are closed for this cycle. Right. But you all start in October, if I understand, and go through May. Could you talk a little bit about how building a constituency, building a network is vital so that we can turn opinion into organized work, and what role in particular that formation plays for folks who might want to get involved? And thank you.

Absolutely. Absolutely. And thank you for the question. You know, our Black to the Future Public Policy Institute is really designed to make Black communities powerful in the political process to make Black communities powerful in the political process so we can be powerful in the rest of our lives. And so to that end, what we do is we bring grassroots leaders together to learn the process of writing, winning, and implementing policy in cities and states.

And we don't just train you on how to do it. We actually are walking you through the process actively during a legislative cycle. And that way, you get hands-on experience of what it means to draft a bill. You get hands-on experience in what it means to get co-sponsors for your bill, what it means to move those bills through committees, what it means to negotiate and the art of compromise, and what it takes to get that bill to the governor's desk and get it signed. We had an awesome bill that was signed in 2020 in partnership with a group that was

a part of our first cohort called the Young Women's Freedom Center. They drafted a bill that was intended to make sure that sentencing guidelines could be changed for young women who had been convicted of crimes that they had committed under duress during a violent or abusive intimate partner or domestic partner relationship. That bill actually did get signed by the governor of California, and now that is law in our state. And so these are the ways in which we can change the things that are happening that we no longer want to abide by or that are impacting our communities in negative ways.

We don't just have to throw rocks at the castle or throw your shoe at the television. You actually can have power where decisions are being made, but it requires that we have those tools. Our application process is closed for this cycle, but it requires that we have those tools. Our application process is closed for this cycle, but get involved with the Black to the Future Action Fund and the Black Futures Lab so that you can stay informed about the next time our cycle opens up. Thank you. Excellent. Brianna? Great. Thank you so much for sharing the tangible actions that you've done for our community.

Specifically, you said the applications are closed, but I would like for you to speak a little bit more about maybe when they'd be open again. And if you've partnered yet with any D9 organizations and some collaborations that you may have? And if there is an organization that wants you to come into a large community event to talk about some of the things we could do in our community or fill out the survey together or something in a large event, how do we go about contacting you and getting involved? Absolutely. Well, we run the Black to the Future Public Policy Institute once a year. It's an eight-month rigorous program where you have access to all of the best and brightest black folks, right, who are helping to change rules in cities and states across the

country. We have incredible guest trainers, people like Bryan Stevenson, people like Joy Reid. We've had people like Rashad Robinson, who's the president of Color of Change, come and give you their very best knowledge on how to go from an idea, right, to the rules that govern your life. We will open up applications again, probably if the cycle ends in May, we'll probably open up those applications again sometime in the late summer, so July or August of 2023. And you can also stay informed about when we're going to be opening that application process again by subscribing to the Black Futures Lab and the Black to the Future Action Fund, so you don't miss it. In relationship to our partnerships, absolutely.

We are so, so proud to partner with some of the Divine Nine, but not everybody. And we would love to bring on more partners. We absolutely want to engage everybody in this process of the Black Census. And we know that our communities are really hungry, right, for this project. And so if you wanna get involved, And we know that our communities are really hungry, right, for this project. And so if you wanna get involved,

you can send an email to me at holla at blackfutureslab.org. You can also do the same holla at black2, the number two, thefuture.org, and let us know that you wanna partner. We are also making sure that we're investing in black led grassroots organizations to help get this survey out far and wide. And so if you want to become one of our partners that's actually committing to securing at least a thousand surveys, we will make sure not only that you have all the tools that you need to do so, but we will also resource you to do so. So again, if you want to get involved, email HALA at blackfutureslab.org, and we'll get

right back to you. AMNA NAWAZ All right. And, Recy. RECY CHINNAMAN Alicia, thank you for the work you're doing. I was very much in the weeds of the 2018 Black Census project because I did essentially like what VP Harris was suggesting for her platform at the time. I didn't get a chance to participate in the 2018 census, but I did fill out the 2022 census. And I was just a little curious about kind of like the methodology for selecting the questions, because a lot of the top issues that at least the outcome, I didn't see how the questionnaires were asked last time.

I didn't necessarily see all of those in this one. So I'm just a little curious, like the methodology behind selecting the questions. And I was also curious if, you know, this seems to be like an opt-in type of survey. And I was just wondering if there's any plan to do polling, you know, like how they do political polling and polling for candidates. I was just wondering if that is at all part of the equation. Absolutely. And thank you for the question, Recy. And thank you for all the work that you did

to make sure that the results of the Black Census were in VP Harris's platform. We were so excited to get that shout- out at Essence Festival where she said that this was a roadmap to making Black America great, right? So thank you for doing that. So in terms of the methodology for the Black Census, one of the things that we wanted to make sure of this year is that we got straight to the point because, you know, unfortunately, long surveys do not tend to get completed. We wanted to make sure that this was a tool that,

you know, was pocket ready and that people could take and that would inspire them, right, to get involved, to be able to do more and to be able to contribute more. And so we really tried to narrow in on what we thought were the most pressing things that we needed to know about where Black communities stood on issues that are impacting our lives and what we want to see done about it. We also added questions this year that were focused on impacts of COVID-19

on our communities and on our families. And we also added questions this year about the impact of white nationalism and white nationalist violence, which has increasingly become a part of our political fabric. The reason that we do the opt-in, as you know, Risi, is because rightfully so, our communities are distrustful of surveys. And if we require that people give us their information in order to participate, they're less likely to do it. But what we find is that when people complete the survey,

they're inspired, they're excited, and they want to do more. And so that's when we offer an opportunity for you to opt in, give us your contact information. We never sell your info to anybody else. We just use it, right, to make sure that you know when and where you can vote. We use that information to keep you updated on the work that the Black Futures Lab is doing. And we also use that information to give you opportunities to

get involved and to get active. So we're trying to use that method as a way to build trust, because again, we know that trust has been broken with a lot of these processes in our communities. On the polling question, absolutely. We just completed the largest recurring poll of Black adults in the country with our temp check poll, and we talked a little bit, right, about some of those results. The other thing that we've started to do this month is we are doing state-specific polls where we are polling Black folks in some of our priority states, including North Carolina, Georgia, Wisconsin, Louisiana,

and California, to better understand what are the top priorities and the top concerns that people have in that state and what they want to see done about it. This will help us actually do more targeted and effective advocacy with our communities, because often when we talk about the results of the black census, right, folks want to know, well, what did people in my state say? Or what did people in my district say? So, this allows us to really narrow in there. And then lastly, I will say that it is really important for us to be doing this kind of polling and this kind of research because so often our communities aren't involved in traditional polls that we hear about, right? So, you'll hear something that says 67 percent of Americans say that they don't plan to vote in the midterm elections, but then you have to ask yourself, well, how many of those folks were

Black folks and which Black folks did you talk to? So what we want to be able to provide with our communities is not only the ability to be heard, right, by actually being contiguous in our engagement with our folks. But also, we want to provide a pathway for change. And the more that we can make sure that our communities are at the table when policies are being designed, the more that we can ensure that public policy is actually public. So we are really trying to change the game there with some of our polling and research efforts. And we're excited to keep sharing what we're learning here on this network and with you all, because, of course, you all are the cornerstone of what it means for our communities to stay engaged, stay involved and stay informed. So thank you for having me today.

Absolutely. Alicia Garza giving us a personal invitation to the family reunion. Make sure you go and fill out that Black Census. It is National Black Census Month. Alicia Garza, principal of the Black Futures Lab. Thank you so much, friend of the show, for joining us today. Thank you so much for having me. Absolutely. All right. We're going to a break. Roland Martin Unfiltered will be right back. Continue to stream us on the Black Star Network. When we invest in ourselves, we're investing in what's next for all of us. Growing. Creating. Making moves that move us. Growing. Creating. Making moves. That move us all forward.

Together, we are Black Beyond Measure. On the next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, summer is flying by and back to school is just around the corner. And fall is here. That's right. A new season is upon us. On our next show, we talk about jumping into action and putting procrastination in the rearview mirror. That's on a next A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie here on Black Star Network.

When we invest in ourselves, our glow, our vision. Our vibe. We all shine. Together, we are Black Beyond Measure. We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not. From politics to music and entertainment, it's a huge part of our lives. And we're going to talk about it every day right here on The Culture with me, Faraji Muhammad, only on the Black Star Network. Hi, I'm Vivian Green.

Hey, everybody, this your man Fred Hammond, and you're watching Roland Martin, my man, Unfiltered. Every day we feature a Black and missing person. Today we're featuring a young sister from England. Nursing student Awami Davies has been missing since July 7, 2022. She was last seen on CCTV footage wearing a distinctive red Adidas top, light gray joggers, slider-type shoes, and carrying a white handbag. Awami left her family home in Grays Essex on July 4th. Five people have been arrested for suspicion of murder or kidnapping. However, they have been released on bail. Anyone with

information about Awami Davies should call the Grays Essex Incident Room at 020-8721-4622. Our next black and missing is Savion Nixon. Savion has been missing from St. Petersburg, Florida, for over a month. This 14-year-old was last seen on July 13, 2022. Savion is 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighs about 160 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone pleased with any information about Savion Nixon should call the St. Petersburg Florida Police Department at 727-893-7780. Former Trump staffer Rudy Giuliani arrived at a federal courthouse in Atlanta Wednesday morning. He's appearing in front of the special purpose grand jury investigating the 2020 presidential election.

But Giuliani says he won't comment on the investigation until it is complete. Georgia prosecutors told Trump's former lawyer that he's a target in their probe of the election subversion plots. Among the issues, investigators are looking into hearings in front of Georgia lawmakers where Giuliani and others pushed now disproven election fraud claims. Former Vice President Mike Pence says he would consider test testifying before the one six committee, but only if X while speaking at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics and Political Library at St. Anselm College, Pence answered questions about appearing before the one six committee. If there was an invitation to participate, I would consider it, but.

You've heard me mention the Constitution a few times this morning. On the Constitution, we have three co-equal branches of government. And any invitation to be directed to me, I would have to reflect on the unique role that I was serving in as vice president. It would be unprecedented in history for a vice president to be summoned. It wouldn't be the first time a president or vice president has testified before a congressional committee. At least six presidents and one vice president, Shula Colfax, vice president to the United States, vice president to President Ulysses S. Grant, testified before congressional committees, according to the U.S. Senate's website. Let's go to the panel.

I'm so interested in Giuliani, excuse me, I mean, Giuliani and Pence, you know, Giuliani having to appear in my home state, and singing Mike Pence as Dr. Greg Carr likes to call him, saying that he would appear before the 1-6 committee if asked. I've got to start with you first, Recy. You have written this extraordinary book on radical Republicans. Neither of these two are named, but they are definitely a part of the party that keeps radical Republicans on their payroll. What say you regarding what we're seeing in the

news with the explosive Trump dump from all of his cronies? Well, thank you, Erica. You're doing a fabulous job hosting, of course. You know, the thing that I'm so tired of hearing from these Republicans is the word unprecedented. What's unprecedented is having a corrupt criminal mob boss wannabe, Trump, who tried to steal the election and he had his cronies or lackeys like Giuliani out there pushing for slates of fake electors, because that's what they are, when they go against the will of the popular vote of those states, and doing everything in their power to rig the election after the fact. So that's what's unprecedented here.

Being held to account is also kind of unprecedented if you think about it, because normally white men get away with this kind of shit all the time, okay? They go after the Black folks for their 401, for their taxes, And you have Trump skipping along who barely pays taxes and clearly lied on all of his tax forms. But, you know, one thing I will say, because I did write the book, Long and Short of a Guide to the 2022 Midterm Sobriety Republicans, a common thread in what these folks are saying, we have a lot of election truthers,

and we have people who are running who have no intentions of adhering to the election results in 2024 if it doesn't go the way they want to go. Doug Mastriano, who's the Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate, has said as much in terms of who he would select to be the secretary of state. And so I know that there's a lot of interest specifically in these cases with Giuliani. And shout out to Fulton County, Danny Willis down there. She's getting a lot of slack for going after YSL, Young Thug, and all of them. But she keeps the same energy for the white man because she sure sent Rudy Giuliani that target letter.

She's on Trump's ass when it comes to what he's done. And so, that's what we need. If you're gonna go after the black folks, go ahead and go after the white folks. It's doing just as bad, if not worse. Absolutely, Resee. And you know, Greg, you know, we see... Resee talked about that same energy.

You know, for Rudy Giuliani, when we looked at the 1-6 committee hearings, and I know that we all watched and paid attention to that, you know, I always think about Shea Moss and her mother and think about that footage that was rolled prior to their testimony. So they were not cowards, of course. They got up in front of that committee, in front of all of that sea of photographers and folks behind them recording every word that they said. And they testified to the terror that they faced, hearing their names, seeing, hearing their names,

you know, across all different publications, seeing that they were getting death threats on social media. And so Rudy Giuliani slumped down in his chair, was one of the main people that was behind a lot, you know, ginning up that crowd, so to speak, to their Klan cowardice. Talk to us a little bit about what this means as our legal mind here on the panel, what him being hauled into court.

And Recy has talked about D.A. Fannie Willis, who we know that Republicans are launching this counterattack to have her election have a recount in her election, but she's still going about, honey, doing business every day, making sure that they show up for court as they are being charged to do. Talk to us a little bit about what it means for Rudy Giuliani to be hauled into court. Lindsey Graham, I think he has an August 23rd appearance. And then Smiley Mike Pence, as you have dubbed him, saying that he would, if he were asked, appear before the 1-6 committee. Well, thank you, Erica.

And I agree and share Reesey. And I think all of our opinion, you've been killing it, as you always do, though. So it's good to have you sitting there in the chair. You know, I mean, we know it's about power. And we know that, you know, I will rarely, if ever, cape for a prosecutor. I don't care about their color. And certainly Atlanta, there's a checkered history on black-on-black crime down there when it comes to the law. But I agree with you, Recy.

If you're going to pull out the full measure of the law against anyone, you must do it to everyone. And, of course, white men, as Risi just said, as you just said, Risi, white men are used to wielding power. And Smiling Mike, as we call him, he said he would consider it, because he's got his finger in the air trying to see which way the political winds blow. The white nationalist party is out of control. They hosted a legal lynching earlier this week, political lynching of Cheney, which is unprecedented given the fact that she comes from a family that's been branded war criminals.

But it wasn't enough that she agreed with Trump's policy almost 100 percent. She violated the rule. She didn't just go against Trump. She went against white supremacy. Mike Pence is trying to run for president. And we know that Andrew DeSantis, who suffered a temporary setback in Florida when a federal judge in the Northern District of Florida restricted or blocked his Stop WOKE Act today, is probably the frontrunner for the presidency. I don't know that Trump will make it to 2024 as the nominee. Andrew DeSantis may be the one that we need to worry about. But what Fannie Willis is doing, and you're right, the lynch mob is out for her, too. Day before yesterday, 11 of the 16 pro-Trump alternate electors that she's after trying to get her knocked off of the case because she hosted a fundraiser for the Democratic candidate

for the tenant governor down there in Georgia. We know Brian Kemp is trying not to appear before the grand jury. He says it's not fair because he's going into a reelection campaign. And little Len Graham has appealed his subpoena because he's scared because he knows that once she overturns those rocks, there's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. But at the end of the day, politically, these white boys are trying to stay in power. Their voters are now out of control. Pence is trying to figure out if he can keep those white nationalist voters while appealing

to the veneer of political decorum. That's why he said he would consider the subpoena. He's testing the waters. And then, finally, we have to remember that all of this is taking place in a climate where they have overturned Roe vs. Wade. And so some of these folk who would normally either stay out of the fight or perhaps consider voting for these white nationalists have their ears propped up, which is why this is the time for the Democratic Party to really press the pedal to the metal and talk

about this legislation that has been passed. Talk about the victories, not because they're perfect, but because these white nationals are in disarray. And Fannie Willis has helped a lot in that regard. Absolutely, Greg. And so, Breonna, I mean, you know, Greg kind of leaned into it. We're about 80 days away from midterm 2022. What would you say, he talked a little bit around what Democrats need to be leaning into. As a strategist, what would you say specifically to get those folks who they've had primary elections in their home state, some of them may not have participated,

what would the messaging be that you curate based on successful legislation, based on Trump's cronies having to face the music, to hopefully get those people who have been disengaged from voting registered and ready to vote? Yes, absolutely. Thank you for that question. I think the very most important thing to realize at this point, as primaries have happened, more than half of the states that have had the Republican primaries

have won, have put in place their nominee to be where they thought the 2020 election was a lie. So the Democrats are going on against people who think that Biden didn't win, right? Which is crazy. We are talking about Georgia, where we had fake electors and we're having evidence in regards to trying to influence an election, yet we still have a set of people, and we saw in Wyoming, where Cheney lost against an election denier. And so as we see more and more that it's really, the election is about truth versus lies. And where do we want to fall within our nation in it being going down to the one party, right? And if we're going to let dictators control our nation. And so I think that's very interesting to see,

especially in the battleground states where you see that vast difference. I did hear Dr. Carr saying we should be afraid of Ron DeSantis. And that's very much true. The ballots are currently out in Florida. Early voting is occurring. Today, he announced in Broward County that he locked up 20 people who voted twice or were felons or were illegal and so forth, and that there's more to be

locked up, that there's more to find. And he said he hopes there's not that much more because it shouldn't happen. But, you know, under his watch, we're not going to let any slide. And now that we have more of the state, you know, they can help, they can assist South Florida. And what we see chronically in the elections in Florida, it weighs heavenly on Broward County because it always turns blue. If you can put out the most votes in Broward County, you can win. Dade County, which had some arrests accordingly to him as well, turns purple. And so it goes any which way. So to realize that they're painting the story that the elections are wrong and people are overvoting and we're locking them up and we're suspending the supervisor of election of Broward

County until further notice when we're in the middle of elections is problematic. When we know Ron DeSantis is looking at his eye for presidency. And so against Trump and the issues, and we can go into Mar-a-Lago and the issues overall, right? We're talking about Georgia and his issues there. We're talking about him finally being a white man, being held accountable for evading his taxes in New York. But we have also this issue in Florida and the FBI going to get the documents and what that really means. And so I think it's very important to really lean into the truth. Keep showing the truth. Keep telling your friends, watch January 6th. You know, there was a point where we're exhausted of, okay, you know, 2020 is over, right?

Trump beat Clinton. Stop badgering it, right? Oh, you know, we elected Biden. Trump is over. It shows in these midterm elections that the party, that Trump is not over, right? The party has transformed into this radicalist party and it's very dangerous for our nation. And so we really need to show, you know, not just necessarily the traditional Republicans and Democrats, but what's at stake for our nation. Absolutely. All right. We're about to head to a break. Roland Martin and her filter will be right here, right back on the Black Star Network. I challenge myself as an artist knowing that I'm going to challenge the audience.

So oftentimes you come into this business off of one project where everybody's like, ooh, ooh, you stand out. Okay, for me it was Barbershop, Ricky, da-da-da-da-da-da. Ricky was nothing like me growing up. Right? Nothing like me growing up. But if that's people's first experience with you, right, as an audience member, they tend to think that's the real you. Right? So, you know, for me, after that,

I got a whole bunch of offers to play roles just like Ricky, right? This Tupac-esque type of thug, right? And I just said no over and over again. And then you keep trying to do other things. And then I went through a series of romantic movies and romantic leads. And, you know, I always try to bring some sort of gravitas to those roles. And then it was like, okay, well, but before I get into all of that, let me hit y'all with, you know, for color girls and, you know, step outside of the realm of, you know, what you

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On the next Get Wealthy, with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, you see the headlines. All frightening, right? Interest rates are going up. The recession is on the way. The stock market is up and down. But you know what they say. Scared money? don't make money. That's why I'm excited on our next Get Wealthy to have a conversation with someone who has written a new book, Fearless Finances,

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A U.S. magistrate says portions of Trump's search warrant affidavit can be released. Judge Bruce Reinhart is giving the Justice Department one week to redact the warrant to reveal it to the public. Trump supporters claim the raid on the Mar-a-Lago estate is a political witch hunt. The Department of Justice believes releasing certain information could put the investigation at risk. Several news organizations filed for the information to be released to the public. Here to break it down for us is the extraordinary Dr. Nola Haynes, national security and foreign policy expert and political scientist, friend of the show. Oh, my goodness, girl. It's like we have you on every two days.

So I want to welcome back to the show again. Just want to, before we get into conversing around what the national security and foreign policy implications of this, could you please just review for our audience around clearance classifications? I know I've heard and seen reporting where some people have kind of diminished the power that they carry. So could you walk us through that before we go into what the recent breaking news is on the Trump dump? Well, I'm so happy to be here with you this evening. And yes, you are killing it, sis. So keep doing what you're doing. And I'm so happy to be back on to clear up a mistake that I made on Monday. I would definitely hate to be the start of misinformation.

So on Monday, I made a mistake. I said that there were three classifications, which is absolutely true. But where I messed up, I thought I was saying classified, but I kept saying unclassified. And I didn't realize that until I watched the episode. So to be clear, there are three levels of security clearance. So there's classified, there's secret, and then there's top secret. And SCI stands for secret compartmented information. So top secret is the top, but SCI is really, really, really secretive, right? THAT IS REALLY, REALLY SECRET. THAT IS USUALLY ABOUT DEFENSE INFORMATION OR INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION THAT IS VERY, VERY SENSITIVE.

AND THAT INFORMATION IS USUALLY GIVEN IN A VERY SECURE LOCATION LIKE A SKIF. AND LIKE I SAID ON MONDAY, FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, THERE IS A SKIF INSIDE OF MAR-A-LAGO. BUT JUST BECAUSE THERE IS A SKIF INSIDE OF MAR-A-LAGO, THE

ISSUE IS TAKING THE DOCUMENTS IN THE FIRST PLACE. But just because there's a skiff inside of Mar-a-Lago, the issue is taking the documents in the first place. And to answer what you also said, Erica, in terms of the level of seriousness, one of the things that's happening with the rhetoric that's coming from the right is they tend to try to normalize and delegitimize at the same time. THE RIGHT IS THEY TEND TO TRY TO NORMALIZE AND DELEGITIMIZE AT THE SAME TIME. AND, YOU KNOW, LIKE WE SPOKE ABOUT ON MONDAY, THERE IS NOTHING UNSERIOUS ABOUT SECURITY CLEARANCE, RIGHT? FOR YOU TO OBTAIN IT, YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH A VERY, VERY ARDUROUS PROCESS. YOU KNOW, PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE, YOUR PRIVATE LIFE, THEY'RE CONTACTED. YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF PAPERWORK YOU HAVE TO SIGN. in your life, your private life. They're contacted. There's a lot of paperwork you

have to sign. There's orientations on how to handle secret information and what happens to you when you do not abide to those rules. They are very clear about the U.S. codes that are being violated if information is not being handled the way it's supposed to be handled. So it's very serious, and it's also very disappointing that a lot of these, especially the politicians, it's very disappointing, especially for those who have security clearance not to speak up and then to also attempt to delegitimize the process. That's very disheartening. Right, and thank you for sharing that.

I missed that as well, but thank you so much as a professional for coming and just reiterating what those particular clearances meant. People with TSSCI, those are even more serious security clearances. And so thank you for sharing that with the audience. And so going into the news that we've received of late, which is the affidavit being released. And so you talked about this a little bit on Monday, and I know you've talked about this throughout not only this program, but other shows that you have been on as well, Dr. Nola, that within that affidavit, you have the potential for unmasking, that there are people that work very diligently. They work very privately. This is not information that they can even go home and talk with their families about,

about their business of the day, what they've been doing. Could you talk to us about the inherent, immediate risk of having this affidavit released? Media companies, unsurprisingly, and this is just my opinion, have definitely missed the robust and throaty covering of Trump. And so it was no surprise that they were asking for the release of that information. And again, this is my own opinion. But could you talk to us first about the national security implications that this could have, having that affidavit? You have people who work for the CIA, of course.

They work not at home, abroad. The FBI does the homework, specifically. What does that mean, first, for us here in this country? And then what are the foreign implications of having this affidavit released in this era of immediate information via social media? Well, thank you for asking that question. So I want to start with saying that I read what Judge Reinhart said very, I hope I said his last name right.

Is it Reinhart or Reinhold? Reinhart. I think it's Reinhart. Yeah, okay. I read what he said very closely. And, you know, it's I think what he's trying to do is to strike balance in that there is a huge public interest. Right. And then there's also it seems like heavy lobbying that's going on. So in one sense, that kind of makes me sad that the legal system is being lobbied, essentially. But I do understand the public's need and desire for transparency. I absolutely understand that. However, what is at stake is giving the public and the Trump team the entire affidavit without

it being redacted. And from what I understand, probably by the time it reaches the public or reaches the Trump atmosphere, there's going to be so much that's redacted. And from what I understand, probably by the time it reaches the public or reaches the Trump atmosphere, there's going to be so much that's redacted that you're not going to learn that much anyway, because there are people's names, witnesses, FBI agents. And, you know, like the lead lawyer for the DOJ said, you know, it also reveals the roadmap to the investigation. And I want to be very clear, the former president has not been charged, but this is an active investigation. So they are guarding that information very closely. And the language that they were using around obstruction, you know, we need to pay attention to that to keep our eye on that. But in terms of national security, in terms of how that affects us at home, is there is such a loud, loud, loud voice coming from the right.

And it's a bullying voice. And it has a very large platform. And I think that the party that was once, you know, all about law and order, they have completely retreated from that, especially when it's regarding Trump or themselves. And so the fact that this judge, in my opinion, was almost bullied into this decision to try to keep the peace, I'm sure he didn't want some sort of massive blowback on his hands. So he tried to strike balance there. But that's not how it should be. You know, a judge shouldn't be influenced that way. The DOJ shouldn't be influenced that way.

That's not how this work works. A lot of this work is done in silence. If it weren't for the former president, we probably would have never known about the search warrant. And I want to be very clear about that. I personally do not call it a raid. There definitely is a difference between a raid and a search warrant. And I think, you know, they didn't go in there making a lot of noise. They didn't have any battering rams or anything like that. So, you know, it was a legally obtained search warrant because there was probable cause inside of Mar-a-Lago, probable cause to search Mar-a-Lago. So, you know, I think all of these different things, you know, by the right calling it a raid, making it seem like, you know, they just went in there and disturbed everything. That's not true. They were very respectful. Merrick Garland put a

lot of thought before, you know, he signed off on this search warrant. So this is not a situation where the FBI and the DOJ just decided to pick on the former president. This is serious, and it definitely impacts our national security because documents were taken. And right now, this kind of delegitimizing, you know, thing that's going on with the process of security clearances is also becoming an issue within itself. And the way that it's impacting our foreign policy, on Russian television, they are calling Trump an agent. And they're also saying that, you know, this was a raid and it was like an illegal search of Mar-a-Lago and all of these different things. And so, you know, the way that it's unfolding, because what people have to realize,

Russian television does not just reach Russians, right? Russian television, wherever you are a friend of Russia, whichever state is a friend of Russia, you are probably able to get their programming too. Or at the very least, you've seen it on YouTube or you've seen something on the internet. So this message is spreading far and beyond. And that is how it is impacting on foreign policy, because the misinformation and disinformation is at an all-time high here. Absolutely. And to be very clear, they were very active in the voter suppression that we saw coming into the 2016 election. I have time for two questions from my panel.

Recy Colbert, your question for the esteemed Dr. Nola. Hey, Dr. Nola. Looking good, girl. Hey. for the esteemed Dr. Nola. Hey, Dr. Nola, looking good, girl. You know, what I would like for you to touch on a little bit is just a little bit of the arrogance that it takes, you know, when anybody gets a security clearance, they scare the bejeebus out of you in terms of sharing things and accessing things

because a clearance does not necessarily mean that you have access carte blanche to all classified documents. It's a need-to-know aspect of accessing classified materials. So, can you just talk a little bit about the arrogance or, in some cases, you might call it desperation, or what they're trying to really get at for completely disregarding these very serious safeguards that are in place to protect classified materials? Well, I think this is part and parcel of the playbook that we've seen before.

You take something serious and you delegitimize it and then you normalize it, right? So it's part of this process that we've seen before, and I think it's very dangerous. And, you know, one thing that we need to realize, you know, in alongside my national security and political science training, you know, I also have a master's of divinity. And at my time at the divinity school, I studied cults. It wasn't the only thing that I looked at, but I spent a great deal of time because I'm just kind of fascinated with the kind of psychology behind cults. And this is what we're seeing. So you have a singular ideology that they all agree upon. It doesn't matter what happens. It doesn't matter what the truth is. It's you agreeing to this particular ideology and then you having this

figure, which is Donald Trump, and whatever he says is gospel. So that's what we really need to realize that we're dealing with. We are dealing with a cult that had a certain level of political legitimacy. That is very dangerous at the top of the top of the top, right? So this situation with the nationalists coupled with the Christian evangelicalism, And it's that part, you know, that makes people more susceptible to believing any and everything, because they're all focused and agreed upon this one ideology that unfortunately is grounded in white supremacy. Absolutely. Dr. Carr. Oh, thank you. Thank you, Erica. And thank you, Sister Nola. You know, I think Rick Scott

appointed Judge Reinhart to that magistrate seat, and his wife, Rick Scott, appointed her to a state circuit court judge. I'm wondering, even as you walk through how he is apparently trying to balance some interests without providing the Trump roadmap. How unusual, how much of an outlier is this even consideration of unsealing the affidavit that backed the warrant, particularly given the fact that he has seen everything? Otherwise, he wouldn't have issued the first warrant. And, of course, this isn't his first bust with Donald Trump. But I'm wondering if you maybe could help us understand how unusual is even considering unsealing an affidavit like this from federal prosecutors at this stage of an ongoing investigation?

LATOSHA BROWN, Former Attorney for the U.S. Attorney General's Office of the U.S. Attorney Department. LATOSHA BROWN, Former Attorney for the U.S. Attorney General's Office of the U.S. Attorney Department. LATOSHA BROWN, Former Attorney for the U.S. Attorney Department. Very, very, very unusual. I'm a Southern girl, so I... Whoo!

My Southern people right now, honey, y'all not representing. But that was... And so, you know, when I first read that, I thought about, you know, the environment. I thought about it being in Florida. I thought about who the judge was. And, you know, I imagined that there was some sort of pressure. I don't know this.

I'm not trying to traffic in disinformation. But what I'm saying is for a judge to make an unusual move like this in the current climate that we're in, you know, to try to ameliorate the public, the Trump camp, that tells me, you know, that there's some level of pressure that the judge feels, right? And that is not supposed to go into your judicial decision-making. So it's very unusual. And I really, really hope, you know, on the 25th, when the DOJ comes back with the redacted document, that it will be sufficient for the judge, even if it does not reveal a whole lot. But the judge can say, listen, they redacted it, and here's the document. You know, this is what you can see.

I hope that happens. I hope the judge does not, you know, dismiss what the DOJ presents and sends them back to the drawing board, because that would be incredibly dangerous. And I think right now, you know, the judicial system, it needs to redeem itself. It needs to redeem itself from the Supreme Court on down because there are too many, uh, political voices and too many public voices, um,

influencing judicial decision-making when that should not be the case. Absolutely. A friend of the show, Dr. Nola Haynes, giving us face and hair, our national security and foreign policy expert. Thank you so much for joining the show and breaking it down for us. Thank you. All right.

And so guess what, y'all? Liz lost. Representative Liz Cheney's supporters believe her reelection hopes were doomed on January 13, 2021. That's the day Cheney and nine other House Republicans voted to impeach former President Donald Trump. That belief turned into reality when Liz lost to Harriet Hedman, her reelection bid for Wyoming's only House seat. During her concession speech, Cheney said the work is not over. No, no house seat, no office in this land is more important than the principles that we are all sworn to protect. And I well understood the potential political consequences of abiding by my duty. Our republic relies upon

the goodwill of all candidates for office to accept honorably the outcome of elections. And tonight, Harriet Hageman has received the most votes in this primary. She won. I called her to concede the race. This primary election is over. But now the real work begins. Cheney was one of nine Republicans to vote to impeach then-President Donald Trump. She is also on the committee investigating the 2021 insurrection. And she also voted with Trump over 90% of the time. You are watching Roland Martin Unfiltered

on the Black Star Network. We'll be right back after this break. Our glow. Our vision. Our vibe. We all shine. Together, we are Black beyond measure. Hatred on the streets. A horrific scene. A white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. You will not be Black.

White people are losing their damn lives. There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to the U.S. Capitol. We're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson

at Emory University calls white rage as a backlash. This is the wrath of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. There's all the Proud Boys guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white fear. When we invest in ourselves, we all shine.

Together, we are Black Beyond Measure. Hey, I'm Arnaz Jake. Black TV does matter, dang it. Hey, what's up, y'all? It's your boy, Jacob Lattimore, and you're now watching Roland Martin right now. Stay woke. All right, and you're tuned back into the Roland Martin Daily Digital Show.

I am Erica Savage, guest hosting for Roland Martin. So I want to talk to our panel. We just want to briefly go back on Honey, Lee is Lost, y'all. As I talked about before, we went to a break. She voted with the son of a Klansman over 90% of the time while she was in office and of interest, according to the scorecard, you know, the Heritage Foundation, they keep a scorecard. She had a score great block party for. With H.R. one, that is the For the People Act. That's going to help to expand voting rights, reform campaign finance laws.

We know the Heritage Foundation is definitely against that and get away from partisan gerrymandering. She also voted against H.R. 4. That's the John Lewis Voting Act that would help to fortify 1965 VRA. We've talked about that breathlessly over the time period of this show. Of interest, one of the things that the Heritage Action for America, their scorecard is interesting. They gave these little nicknames. They named it the Pelosi Power Grab, and then underneath that talked about John Lewis. Then H.R. 5376, that is the Inflation Reduction Act that has been signed into law. She voted against that. And, oh, by the way, just to let everybody know about this loser,

back in February 2021, a year into the still ongoing pandemic, she voted against the American Rescue Act. We know that that was signed into law quickly by the Batting Harris administration, not even two months as they were into office. So, Liz, excuse me, Breonna, I'll start with you. So in terms of thinking about, just very quickly, because we have a guest, in terms of thinking about Liz losing her campaign, there have been some people I've been seeing across social who thought that because she participated in the 1-6 committee hearings that she is

some type of hero, that they've lost a friend in Congress. What are your thoughts around Liz's loss, who she lost to, and if she were radical enough to stay in power? Right. Thank you. Two years ago, she won by 75 percent of the votes. So she had a clear path to victory, but she decided that she wanted to tell more truth than lie, and so that's when the Republican Party, which has to lean into their base, which at this part, where you can see their base, thinks that 2020 was a lie,

and when she goes against that, she lost. And so we see that the big lie that Trump won the 2020 election is spreading. And unfortunately, the same people who won these Republican primaries, just like Liz was opponent, they would have given Trump the election. They would have overtone the votes for Biden. And so now that we see this, we see and we're hearing that Trump might run again, we're just waiting for the announcement. We see that more than half of the Republicans actually believe that Trump won 2020. And so that disparity shows how the Republicans want to play going into this midterms. Right.

Absolutely. I mean, you know, Dr. Carr, we have discussed this on and on and on and on. People who definitely hook themselves on to white nationalism, Christian evangelicals. She has a pretty good scorecard, according to the Heritage Foundation. But given her last name, her hands are not and will not ever be clean. What are your thoughts around her loss and how some people, Democrats seemingly, seem to be a little bit saddened by Liz's loss? Well, I think Democrats who are saddened by her loss don't see what's going on. As always, we should put our community interests first, Black community interests first. Democrats who are saddened by her loss don't see what's going on.

As always, we should put our community interests first, Black community interests first. So I really encourage Liz Cheney to run for president. I think the ensuing chaos, I'm old enough to remember Ross Perot. I think the ensuing chaos and Ralph Nader and the Green Party. So I hope she runs for president. She is a white nationalist. The only difference between her and Harriet Hagerman is that they drafted Harriet Hagerman

out of the same ghoul school of cosplay politics that they found chinless Tom Cotton and Ted Cruz and all the rest of these people who share a common type of comic book character in nature in terms of how they even look. But make no mistake, Liz Cheney is a white nationalist. She's fighting for the soul of her party, meaning the elite Republicans are terrified now because the fuel that they have used to stay in power is now beyond, it has overflowed the gas tank. That would be the

poor white nationalists who have now slipped from their control. And of course, if she runs for president, she's going to be in primaries with chinless Tom Cotton, who was taught lying about being an army ranger, DeSantis, as we've just heard, a nasty piece of work in Florida, and of course, Greg Abbott. And so all of them are the same. People are saying that the Republican Party has been captured by Trump. No, no. Trump is the symptom. These are white nationalist people in the Republican Party who are terrified of their voter base, but who need that base to win. And so the Democratic Party, and certainly I give my hats off to people like Benny Thompson, step back and let these people eat each other.

Put her out there and use her as a battering ram. But please, y'all, let's not get into this DR cosplay. These white nationalists are terrified of their own voters, and Liz Cheney is just more evidence of that. Absolutely, Dr. Carr, I agree with you. And, you know, when we're talking about voting records, you know, you, Recy, have been very clear on these radical Republicans and their voting records and how they are not only against Democrats, they're against anybody who does not want to cling to power.

You know, you mentioned Kristen Noem in your book. She's one of the long, short people that you cover. And thinking about Liz Cheney and her voting record against Women's Health Act, all things that really do help to protect women. Kristen Noem is that same person. And, you know, you all have got to get and read that book. My mouth was agape most of the time. Eyes bucked. I had to remind myself to close my mouth as I continued to read about these radical folks and some things that I did not know that they were complicit in. But when we talk about Liz Cheney, you know, as much of a statesman or statesperson or however she was supposed to broadly appeal to people, honey, she is not that girl. Talk to us about what this campaign, this losing campaign means for really giving rise to

people being able to see what people who have, I guess, been looking like a lamb, but they're really a lion, that undressing? First of all, let me say fuck Liz Cheney. Okay, she ain't, she ain't never been, she ain't never going to be. She's just like her daddy. This is the same person that sold her sister down the river and came out against gay marriage when she ran for the Senate in 2014 and they dragged her ass so bad she ended up withdrawing from the Senate race and she went on

ahead and became the congressional person. She did come out in 2021, I guess, after she had all her come-to-Jesus moments. She went on ahead and threw gay marriage up in there as a come-to-Jesus moment, but she is just as radical, if not more radical, than the rest of them. Just because she doesn't like

Trump does not make her a martyr. This whole shit she's talking about, the goodwill of elected officials, apparently that doesn't apply to the citizenship of Black people because she voted against the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, as you pointed out, Erica. It doesn't apply to women because, as you pointed out, she's not in support of reproductive freedom. It doesn't apply to black people's ability to go to the grocery store and not get shot up by white supremacists because she did not sign on to the resolution condemning the Great Replacement Theory or the Buffalo shooting. So she ain't shit. She's no loss. She ain't no different than anybody else. The only thing she's doing is she's positioning herself to not have to sound like she,

she not have to kiss the ring of Trump, but all her positions, all her votes are right in line with the rest of the Republican Party. So she might run and she might do nothing but cause chaos for the Republicans. And I'm 100% here for that.

But I don't ever encourage no Republican to do anything, but go sit the hell down somewhere and shut the hell up. So she can go on here. She in Wyoming. She good. I don't know what they got. Deer antler. I don't know what they got in Wyoming. They got grass. Girl, go

plant some trees or something. I don't know what you're going to do with your dad and that Halliburton money. But you can go to the Congress office. Okay? And all you Democrats, it's mainly white people. Oh, this shit. Be VP. No, the hell. She should not go ahead and lose and try it if you want to. But Biden got more sense than that.

That's why he picked VP in the first place. And y'all need to quit having the bar in hell for white Republicans, especially white women. The rehabilitation that these people get to have just for not liking Trump is pathetic. It's actually embarrassing how much people start sucking up to these people and they're just as crazy and just as bad as the rest of them. So, bye Ashy. Bye Ashy.

Don't let the door hit you with a good Lord's split you little shaming. It's a long and short event. That's it. Listen, say it again Dr. Carr. That is the long and short event guide to the 2022 bid terms. Get that book.

Please get the book. Please get the book. Everybody, get the book. It's available. It dropped today now. And so we are going to shift that energy because we definitely need people to be participating in democracy as a parent of a Gen Z-er. Listen, y'all, I have a Gen Z-er. I always wonder where and how my child is consuming media. All right?

These kids are getting a lot of their media from TikTok, which is not a verifiable news source. But guess what? Here on Roland Martin Unfiltered, we have someone here to share about the work that they have done to ensure that our folks, to see where our people are consuming information, specifically Gen Zers. This is Adrienne Shears, social media and digital strategist and owner of Vivi May Labs.

Welcome, welcome to Roland Martin. I'm so glad that you have been all across media. Thank you for joining us. Okay, Adrienne, check to see if you're on mute because you have so much to say. Everybody has got to hear what Adrienne has to say. Okay, let me check. All right, sis, we can hear you now. Welcome to Roland Martin Unfiltered, Adrienne. So glad to have you on. Thank you. I'm glad to be here. This is the highlight of my day and it's been a great day. So, you know, this is great. Oh my gosh. Listen, you all have got to go to her Twitter. That is how I came across this and came across Adrienne on last week. So I got to tell you, Adrienne, I was literally awestruck when I saw this focus group that you had of Gen Zers

and specifically they sharing that their preference was to use TikTok as a search engine versus Google. And I can just remember when my son was in school that he would say, well, yeah, you know, they just take their phones, pick them up, and they would take a picture of the information as opposed to writing that information down. And I thought to myself, well, why wouldn't you write it down? He was like, well, why wouldn't you take a picture? It's just quicker to get the information. So we fast forward here into the advent of TikTok. And before we get to some of the questions, and I'm going to have the panel ask you a question as well, Adrian, I'm sure myself, the panel, the loyal,

and very astute Roland Martin Unfiltered audience would love to know a couple of things to set this foundation. What was your sample size? And what period of time was your study conducted? And what was the curiosity that made you engage this group and said, I've got to learn more? Yeah, So I had a mini focus group of five women, majority black, across the United States. We just spent about 45 minutes, 50 minutes. They were gracious enough to answer my questions and how this came about. So as a social media strategist, it's my job to really understand how audiences use social media. So I had heard rumblings of people using TikTok to search for things like clothes or planning a trip.

So I was like, okay, I'm not really understanding how this works. But then I had a conversation with a former intern of mine around fashion. And she had said, oh, I hadn't seen that on TikTok yet. I'm going to have to look that up. So I was very confused of how does TikTok have anything to do with what we're talking about? And that's when she explained to me that she looks for clothes, styling options, how she plans. She goes to New York a lot, where to go to eat. So I realized something was there. And so she had gathered up, you know, her friends,

her network to do the focus group. And then a few days later, TechCrunch and other news outlets were sharing that a substantial number of Gen Zers were actually using TikTok to search for information. However, the information's like a specific type of information that they were actually using TikTok to search for information. However, the information's like a specific type of information that they were focused on as more where places where to eat. The focus group expounded a little more on they like it for, as I said, fashion, beauty, hair, different things, entertainment. So it's pretty multifaceted. Absolutely. And I just want to kind of set specifically when we're talking about the Gen Z years. So we're talking about people that were

born between 1997 and 2012. So we're talking about 10 to 25 year olds. And what I saw some of your participants saying, and I thought this was really interesting with regard to them using TikTok as a search engine, is that when they put in the information for lifestyle, as you talked about brunch, places to eat, but it's, you know, lifestyle, makeup, things of that nature, that for them specifically being Black people of color, it's very much so tailored to who they are as a person. So it is not the search engine giving them a list of all of these possibilities. It is the AI component in that being very much so targeted to that end user. Talk to us about some of the emotions that they may have expressed, your focus group members may

have expressed from being able to go into a search engine for these specific area of needs and being able to get something on a one and done that was very much so tailored to them? They're pretty happy and excited about it. There's big money for these social networks and really knowing their audience, right? If you are enjoying yourself, you're going to spend more time. They can make a lot of money on advertising to you. So TikTok has really done this well. And as I mentioned, the group was predominantly African-American. And so what they enjoyed was for rooftops, brunches, they're seeing places where they're going to feel welcome. They're getting the aesthetic and the vibe of the place for makeup, for example.

They can see, is that shade going to work on them? So they really appreciated that it would be efficient, but also relevant to what they need or what they're looking for. Absolutely, Adrienne. And then what was also really interesting is that now for health-related information that they they talked about that they still use Google for health related information. Going back to you sharing more around that tailoring piece and this is really big for brands. This generation also is very much so more connected to the creator culture and not as much the influencing culture. So the influencer culture, they get the big bags to, you know, run a, to say, hey, this product is a really good

product. You should buy it. Where the creator culture is something that they feel to be more authentic and very much so something that they feel like they have a really good connection with. Can you talk to us about what that means for brands, specifically as we move into this area of more awareness about global warming, climate change, authenticity, and what it means to actually be true to oneself? Yes, absolutely. So you took the word that I was about to say, authenticity is key.

The focus group was really about, they're not upset if a creator makes money off the content. They are liking that because they trust the creator. They feel the creator, they jive with them, they understand them. And as long as the content is good and believable that they actually use that product, they're okay with it. Their problem with the influencer, like you said,

they're just getting the bag. So they don't know if you use it or not. So how can they make a buying decision that way? And so what that means for brands is you need to do your due diligence. You can't just work with whoever the most popular person is. You need to see, is their content resonating? What does Gen Z think about this? And you really need to know your audience, what your audience wants and find the relevant content creator. And the most

important thing is let the content creator be the content creator. And what I mean by that is, for example, if the content creator is funny, they can joke around and have fun with the product. Don't have them just stand and be straight and serious because that's not who they are. So you have to give them license. They know their audience very well. So there has to be a level of trust there as well. Absolutely. And speaking of trust, because, of course, we definitely cover politics breathlessly here. We're about 80 days from the midterms. You are a social media strategist. You know, we well know that during the campaigning days of Barack Obama, social media was something that really thwarted him to the presidency.

And so we've seen how Instagram has shifted from static posts to having people move to reels for more engagement. I know you did an interview on ABC News today. I just want to talk a little bit about messaging for this campaign season. So we have folks that are in Gen Z, like my son, who are of voting age, that 17-plus voting age. And then I'm gonna kick it over to my panel for questions. What would you say to political arms looking to message to this specific demographic

that really says that, listen, I really don't wanna do a bunch of reading. I prefer short video content as far as delivery and getting messaging across. Yeah. So similar to what I would say to brands, you really need to understand your audience, or in this case, the Gen Z audience, what do they really care about? Climate change, racism, all those things. But you also have to, once again, be authentic. So your policy that you're recommending has to match. So it's kind of twofold. You need to fit on a platform. So for example, out of Florida, Ken Russell, a Democrat running for Congress, he had a viral video that was hilarious. It captured Gen Z.

However, you also have to, for any candidate, really say why you are the right candidate for them. And you also need to be transparent. So, for example, TikTok is really cutting down on political advertisement. So political advertisement hasn't been allowed on the platform since 2019. And I believe yesterday they said they're cutting down on partnering with creators. I guess there was some backdoor dealings of getting around those roles. And so they're really going to be looking out for the midterms. So you need to play by the rules, focus on the midterms and be yourself.

Don't pander. The focus group said that over and over. They can tell when you're being fake. They can tell when you're, I guess, talking down to them. So be yourself. Don't be afraid to make fun of yourself. If you don't feel comfortable on TikTok, that's a great way to lead. And then segue it into like your values and what you're about.

Expert advice from an expert. So now I'm going to go to my panel with your question. Brianna, your question for Adrienne. Yes, thank you so much. I'm very fascinated in a lot of what you said. I do not have TikTok, but I love the shout out because when you started talking, I did think about Ken Russell's video, which went viral. He's running for Congress in Miami. And so it's interesting because they actually put the debate on to TikTok.

And I was like, well, where do I find the debate? And so it's it you hear that. My question is, just to, for everybody, because I feel like the generations get smushed together, what is the age group that we talk about Gen Z? So like the millennial versus Gen Z, because as Erica said, her son, who's coming of age to vote is a Gen Z. So I just for everybody to know what is the difference of the age group. So the oldest will be around 25 and the youngest will be in their teens. Yeah 10 to 25. Dr. Carr. Thank you, thank you, Erica. I'm listening with fascination as a teacher I've surrendered to the possibility of reading, unfortunately, in a lot of ways, but just because the literacy is going to be changed so quickly. And I'm aware of BookTok.

I know that's like a book-obsessed corner of TikTok. So I'll leave the literacy question to the side. I do want to ask you a little bit about what you think about cybersecurity and geopolitics. I know the UK parliament, for example, has shut down their TikTok account because they swear that ByteDance, that owns the company in China, access all their data. And I guess BuzzFeed reported a few months ago that there has been some confirmation through recorded conversations that U.S. users are being accessed in China. What do you say and what's your opinion on the role of TikTok perhaps in geopolitics in particular, perhaps as it relates to national security or some plans that may involve something beyond just entertainment and videos?

Yeah, I would say it's a very valid concern. I have that concern for a number of the platforms, even the U.S.-based platforms, because there is so much data and these companies know so much about us. And there is big money and big advantage to knowing a lot about Americans, spreading misinformation, taking their information. So I'm not sure if it's any worse than what we have going on in the U.S., but it would be naive to think that it should not be a concern or things that we need as a U.S. society to verify and check out and make sure people are, information is safe. Thank you. AMNA NAWAZ RACIALSANI- Yes, thank you.

You know, I noticed in your write-up about it, you said that this group wasn't concerned about misinformation and disinformation. And I'm just curious about some of the discussion around that, because I find that particularly Black people sometimes feel that we're a little bit more immune to the effects of it, even though there are people saying that are usually spouting it and underestimating it. So what is your take in terms of where were they coming from on that? Do they feel like they're not seeing it or they feel like they know how to differentiate between disinformation and misinformation? I'm just curious about that part. Yeah.

So it really depends on what they're looking for. So if they're just looking to be entertained, they're quite frank. They don't care if it's true or not. Okay. Restaurants or something like that, if they just want to go to take a picture, they don't care if the food is good. They just want to have a good time. Now, if they're actually going to have an event, buy something, now they do their due diligence. But then also, to your first point, they are well aware that misinformation is on the platform. So they're

taking everything with a grain of salt. A few that actually spoke about being burned, they had saw like health professionals that they thought they could trust on the platform. And then when they dug a little deeper and I guess whatever the content was, was debunked, they felt some kind of way about it and were like, okay, I can't trust this. So their solution to that was for anything, and remind you, this group was college educated, so that could have a factor there. They decided they're not going to take anything on TikTok

as like a fact and that they will then turn to a Google or a news source to see, is that information actually true? Wow, so much good information. You all make sure you follow Adrienne Shears, social media and digital strategist and owner of Vivi May Labs. Thank you so much for joining us on Roland Martin Unfiltered tonight. Thank you for having me. This was great. Absolutely. Appreciate you, sis. All right. So that is going to do it for this Thursday night. I first want to say thank you to all of you, the Roland Martin Unfiltered audience. You've been so kind over this week, allowing me to guest host.

Thank you to my big brother, Roland, to this fabulous production team who I got to hug on. I haven't seen in two and a half years. You are awesome and incredible. and to the all-star VIP panel, best-selling Amazon author, Recy Colbert, the long and short of it, Guide to the 2022 Midterms, the Radical Republicans, available today, and founder of Black Women Views Media, our walking library, host of The Black Table,

plus, plus, plus, Dr. Greg Carr, and political strategist, Breonna Cartwright. Thank you all for joining. Have a fantastic rest of your day and make sure you join us right back here tomorrow at 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. In the words of Roland, holla. When you talk about blackness

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