#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Vote by mail begins in NC; Aug. jobs report: Black joblessness high; Bloomberg gives $100M to HBCUs

Episode Date: September 5, 2020

9.4.20 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Vote by mail begins in NC, Trump tells his supporters to vote twice; Florida Voter Referendum Aug.2020 jobs report: Black joblessness remains high; Bloomberg gives $100M to HBCUs, Disruption Now Summit kicks off; Portsmouth police chief ousted; California police officer charged with manslaughter + 2020 Census special Support #RolandMartinUnfiltered via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered or via PayPal ☛https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered #RolandMartinUnfiltered Partners: 2020 CensusIn America, everyone counts. And the 2020 Census is how that great promise is kept. Respond today online, by phone or by mail and help inform hundreds of billions in funding for education, health programs, and more. Shape your future. Start here at www.2020census.gov.#RolandMartinUnfiltered Partner: CeekWhether you’re a music enthusiast or an ultra-base lover. CEEK’s newly released headphones hear sound above, below and from multiple directions unlike traditional headphones where users only hear sound from left and right speakers. Be the first to own the world's first 4D, 360 Audio Headphones and mobile VR Headset.Check it out on www.ceek.com and use the promo code RMVIP2020#RolandMartinUnfiltered is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you. Thank you. Today is Friday, September 4th, 2020. Here's what's coming up on the second anniversary of Roland Martin unfiltered. Mail-in voting has started. North Carolina, the first state to send out ballots. Some 500,000 would talk with Congresswoman Alma Adams, as well as Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles about that. The referendum on the ballot in Florida could make it more difficult for minority candidates to win.

Former state attorney Sean Shaw is here to tell us why. The job support is out today. Does it tell the real story for African-Americans? We'll talk to an economist about that. Donald Trump continues to disparage our troops. He says it never happened. I never called John McCain a loser. Actually you did and it's on video.

Michael Bloomberg is giving $100 million to four HBCUs for their medical school. We'll tell you about that. And the Portsmouth, Virginia police chief has been fired over the Confederate Monuments case. We'll give you that update. A California cop has been charged with manslaughter for killing an unarmed black man in a Walmart.

Plus, our hour-long census special, we gotta make sure you're counted so that our community gets the money we deserve, because it's already our money. It's time to bring the funk on Roland fact, the fine. And when it breaks, he's right on time. And it's rolling. Best believe he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics. With entertainment just for kicks.

He's rolling. It's Uncle Roro, y'all. It's Rolling Martin. Yeah. Rolling with rolling now. Yeah, yeah, yeah It's Rollin' Martin Yeah, yeah, yeah Rollin' with Rollin' now Yeah, yeah, yeah He's funky, he's fresh, he's real The best you know, he's Rollin' Martin

Now Martin 59 days, 59 days until November 3rd, folks, when the election takes place. But that's really not the issue. That is because mail-in ballots are already being sent out in North Carolina. They started today sending out more than 500,000 that were requested by various constituents. Go to my iPad, please. I told you 59 days. And so what we want is we want you to folks to get registered, go to vote.org or go to I will vote.com. And so this is critically important folks, because the first thing we need to make sure that you are on the rolls, that you are registered.

That's the first thing. So double check that. If you're not, then you can register as well. Now, again, a lot more people are going to be voting by mail during this election because of coronavirus. Now, North Carolina, again, as I said, they're going to send out more than 500,000, close to 600,000 to voters who are avoiding going to the polls amid the coronavirus pandemic. Now, historically, Republicans have dominated mail-in voting. With this cycle, more than 326,000 ballots were requested by Democratic voters and 192,000 were requested by independents. Republicans only requested 92,000 in North Carolina. Many folks believe because Donald Trump has been so critical of mail-in voting. Now, voters in North Carolina can continue to request mail-in ballots up to October 27.

But black people don't do that. Officials are warning that may be too close to the November 3rd election. Joining us right now is Congresswoman Alma Adams of North Carolina. Congresswoman, always glad to have you on Roller Martin Unfiltered. Good to be here, Roland. Thank you so much for the invitation. All right. So what was interesting about what's going on here, again, Trump has been so critical of mail-in voting. Republicans

are falling right in line. And in fact, Republican officials are basically saying, stop listening to him. We need y'all to request a mail-in ballot because they are fearful Democrats are going to be turning out in a major way. And we are going to be turning out. And I mean, you can look at the numbers now. We're seven times the requests that we've ever had. Actually, it's over six hundred thousand rolling. And in my district alone, we're looking at about fifty five, sixty thousand requests already. My my application is in and I'm expecting to cast my vote next Thursday. But the one thing that we have to warn people, we had Greg Pallas on the show the other day. 22% of ballots each election typically

are thrown out because of errors. So even though people who want to request a million ballot, we got to make sure that we tell our people, double check all of the rules. Make sure you bubble it in properly. Make sure you're signing it properly, because that's part of the problem. If you do the mail in ballot and the Trump people are already planning to do this. Republicans are already planning to contest as many mail in ballots as possible. Well, you're absolutely right. And we do have to remind people to not only sign it, make sure that you have everything filled out, make sure you have your witness, everything that's required, you need to do it. And I would just say, you know, if you need somebody to kind of

look it over and make sure you've done it right because you have to have a witness anyway. Just take your time, get it filled out and bring it. I'm going to take mine. And I think that that's the safest way with all that's going on with the with the Postal Service and with the scares that the president's putting out there. People want to make sure that their ballot is not only cast, but it's counted. And you're right. First of all, make sure that you're still on the road. They've purged over 600,000 people in North Carolina. Actually, it's a little bit under 600,000. So if you think you're registered, just double check and make sure. So you have a chance to register again if your name doesn't show up. And first of all, you make that point. And again, I think what people understand is check your state because the rules in North Carolina, the law in North Carolina is different than Alabama or Texas or somewhere else.

And so we've got to be in a constant state of educating our people to make sure they follow the letter of the law, because they're going to be looking to disqualify as many black ballots as possible. You're exactly right. You are exactly right. We're going, we are engaged in a, in an education process right here. Uh, I'm going to be working with not only our churches and community organizations, but this is the most important election of our lifetime and our lives depend on it. You know, you hear people say that, but truly we have a lot to lose if we don't get if we don't get our votes in. When you look at your state, Obama won North Carolina by 14,100 votes in 2008. Republicans then went on a rampage, putting up so many barriers. It got to the point where it was so bad, a federal court ruled there was a laser-like focus where they were targeting black voters. And with what Reverend

Dr. Barber and Moral Mondays and the NAACP and others, repairs of the breach, they really, really changed some things there in North Carolina when it came to voting. And so this is where our vote could truly make a difference. If African-Americans turn out at the level they did in 2008. Not only can that ensure that Biden and Harris wins North Carolina over Trump and Pence, it also could change congressional seats, state seats. Democrats now control the state Supreme Court as a result of the last couple of elections. That's right. You're absolutely right. I mean, everything depends on our turning out and turning out in huge numbers. We don't want anyone to have any doubts about who won this race. I do believe,

Roland, that we're going to turn out like we turned out when Obama was on the ticket. People are too afraid not to vote right now. I mean, we've seen what has happened over almost these four years with this president, and people are just too afraid this time. So that's why you see so many people getting absentee ballots. That's why so many people are preparing to vote early. We do have a couple of weeks that we can vote early. So we have several opportunities to really get it right. I think people are just determined this time not to stay home, not to to sit down, but to come out and make sure we get these ballots cast. Absolutely. Congresswoman Alma Adams was really appreciated. Oh, you know, before we do that, I got to ask you this here. You know, Donald Trump during the

Republican National Convention, he had all these people up there. You had the brother who was participating in the sit-ins. They all talked. You had also Vernon Jones of Georgia out there talking about all this stuff that Donald Trump has done for HBCUs. Donald Trump is trying to take credit for a whole lot of stuff you did. Well, you're exactly right. The only thing Donald Trump did was to sign the bill. And he was required to do that once the bill passed the House and the Senate. And it was a bipartisan bill. So, yeah, he's trying to take credit. But he knows very well that was that's my bill. So yeah, he's trying to take credit, but he knows very well that's my bill.

And the only thing he did was sign it, and that's what presidents do. So we appreciate his signature, but he didn't have anything to do with the bill. Well, and that's the way we state that. So people also are very well aware of how it got done, because you were the one out there beating the Bushes, trying to get those votes. And then when Senator Lamar Alexander put a block, the bill in the Senate, you as well as you and others. And his name is escaping me, the Republican from North Carolina, his wife, Walter Mark. Is it Walker? Yeah. Mark Walker. I mean, look, y'all were working to get that thing through. Trump was not there fighting for HBCUs to get that bill through. Let's just be clear. That's right. He never has been. So,

you know, he likes photo ops. So he gets our presidents and chancellors up to the White House. He takes a picture and he's trying to use that as a way to get by. But we know, we know exactly what he has done and has not done. And we're going to we're going to show him November 3rd. We're going to turn the mother out right here in North Carolina. All right, then, Congresswoman Alma Adams, we sure appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you, Roland. You take care. All right. All right. Glad to have you here. Let's go to our panel. We have, of course, Rob Richardson, the host of Disruption Now podcast.

Derek Hawley, presidentaching America and political analyst, Amisha Cross, political analyst and Democratic strategist. I'll start with you, Amisha. Again, what we're talking about here, when we talk about this election, North Carolina, the role that it could play, the critical role that it could play in terms of turnout. Democrats have turned the corner in North Carolina, beating back lots of Republican efforts in the last several years. North Carolina is a state right now, if you look at the polling data, the Democratic candidate for the United States Senate is up anywhere from five to seven points against incumbent Tom Tillis. No, you're absolutely correct. North Carolina has made so many strides towards progress over the past few years, specifically in large part gained by the amount of turnout,

the sheer amount of turnout from diverse voters that we've seen increase over the past decade. I don't think that that's going to stop going into the 2020 presidential election. There is an excitement amongst diverse voters in North Carolina. North Carolina is definitely up for grabs in many ways from state on up. And I think that what we're going to see is a lot of these people really, you know, they're seeing that their votes actually matter. They're seeing that the organizations that have invested in them for years at this point are now like they've built this bed of people who not only are registered, but know their power, own their power and are going to get to the polls. And I think that what the congresswoman just said, we're definitely going to see more people show up.

People are getting informed. They know of the threats that Donald Trump and the Trump administration have out for this election cycle. And they're going to vote early. They are going to make sure that they have all of their ducks in a row and they're going to make sure that their voices are heard. So I think that North Carolina is going to be, it's going to be a good year for Democrats, but it's also going to be a good year for diverse voters across the state that historically hasn't necessarily had their voices as a priority. When we talk about these states,

these battleground states, when you talk about the various impact here, I mean, look, Rob, Trump has to defend states that he won, you look at where Biden is as well in terms of he's doing better among white voters, especially older white voters, which is one of the reasons why when you look at polling right now in Florida and North Carolina and some of those Midwestern states, he's up. But a state like North Carolina, that's where the black vote is going to be so critical because for African-Americans, that turnout, again, when you look at the turnout there,

he won it in 2016, but did not win by a lot. But things have also changed because they've been able to beat back Republican efforts. And this is a key here because they beat back because Republicans were operating in North Carolina. And I mean, that legislature was so foul, was so foul what they were doing. Uh, I mean, they were just passing laws, just like what the hell. And in fact, when Republicans talk about voter fraud, they had to have a completely new election in North Carolina because the Republicans were harvesting ballots. So the greatest example of voter fraud in America

is from North Carolina Republicans. Oh, there's no question. You always know what Republicans are doing. Whatever they're doing, they're accusing Democrats of doing. There's voter fraud, there's no question. You always know what Republicans are doing. Whatever they're doing, they're accusing Democrats of doing. There's voter fraud. There's voter fraud. Their goal is to suppress voters and create voter fraud. So that's what they're doing. So, look, North Carolina, it pains me to say this, but it's true.

It is more of a swing state. It used to be Ohio used to be a swing state. It's starting to look like it's not the case anymore. But North Carolina is for the reasons that Amisha and you have talked about. The demographics keep growing and nearly every nearly nearly every state that is that is becoming more diverse is becoming more democratic. So Republicans approach instead of actually figuring out, well, how do I reach out to voters of color? How do I reach out to young people? Their goal is how do I keep them from voting? How do I create new technicalities so maybe they won't vote? How do I make it harder for college students to vote? Like, that's not how you create a good democracy.

That's not how you create good policy. That's how you create division. And that's really how you go backwards. So, you know, it can't work forever, but they are trying everything they can to hold on to power. And instead of trying to expand their base, to expand their ideas, they're doubling down on some of the most extreme ideas, including just being outright racist. You know, that's just now, you know, it used to be a dog whistle. It's just completely embraced now. We can just go out here and say it. And Republicans are following what I hope is they're following Donald Trump down a path where they won't be able to come back for a while because

they shouldn't be able to come back for a while for all the things he stood for, for all the toxicities put out there, for just the horrible climate he has put this country in. You don't even have to be a Democrat. You don't have to believe in all the philosophies. You just have to believe in, can we have a leader that's normal, that's calm, and can act like a normal person, a normal leader? Not too much to ask.

Derek, the Republicans are making a concerted effort to really appeal to black men. If you look at Florida, we're about to talk to a guest in Florida up next. They are doing better among African-Americans and Latinos in Florida. Joe Biden is behind Hillary Clinton where she was in 2016 in Florida. The Republicans really want to go after black men. They think they can get as high as 20% of black men voting for them. Well, Roland, and I agree with that statement, obviously. And I just think it goes back to a lot of stuff that we have confrontations about on your show.

I think there's a lot more people who believe in what this guy is doing than what we allude to on this show. And the polls down in Florida speak to it. But I don't pay attention to a lot of polls because if we did that, Hillary Clinton would be president right now. And so I think everything is going to come down to November 3rd, Election Day, people getting out to vote. And Black people, if you want change, you have to get off your asses and go vote. And that's the bottom line. In 2016, that was the lowest turnout per the Pew Research Center for African Americans in 20 years. So if that's the case, you're going to have to vote. And I think at the same time, I think there are a lot of black men who see what's going on in this country and see it for

what it is. And they are in agreement with the president and with a lot of things that I talk about Absolutely. All right, let's talk about what's happening in Florida where voters there and November definitely gonna decide whether to drastically change how folks pick their elected leaders in the future a new analysis concludes that black Representation in Tallahassee would plummet if a particular amendment passes. This is Amendment 3, a ballot referendum that would turn Florida's primary elections into a top-two open primary system. Now, joining me right now to discuss this is former state representative and founder of People Over Profits, Sean Shaw.

Sean, glad to have you on Roller Martin Unfiltered. Now, this is used right now in California. Right. Where, hey, whoever gets the top two, that's who is in the primary. Why do you say this is a bad idea for Florida? California is overwhelmingly Democratic. Florida is not. As I'm sure we're going to get into. We're the swingiest of the swing states in terms of partisan registration. We're very even. Roland, if this had been the law of the land in 2018, the top two vote getters were Republicans, we would have decided our race for governor between two Republicans, and no one would have even had the ability to vote for Andrew Gillum for governor in 2018. This is not a good system for Florida. Like you said, this would demolish the black caucus, demolish the Hispanic caucus and prevent anyone progressive from being elected. So we're working hard to beat it.

On that particular point, first of all, what is it looking like? Of course, ballot initiatives are very difficult. We saw what took place with Amendment 4 in 2018. What is it looking like right now? Is it popular? Do folks want to do this or is it is it your side winning? Well, it sounds good. And that's why it's polling. Well, it is polling well here in Florida for a ballot initiative initiative to change our Constitution. It's got to be at 60% or more. Right now, it's polling very close or a little bit under that because it sounds great. It's called all voters vote. And people think, well, I want more people to vote. But when you start talking to people a lot more, they understand how insidious it is. And so the Black Caucus here in Florida

has voted against it. It's coming out soon. We believe that a lot of other groups, NAACP and other groups like that are going to come out against it. And we coming out soon. We believe that a lot of other groups, NAACP and other groups like that, are going to come out against it. And we're going to work hard to knock that number down. I think we're going to be OK and get it under 60 percent, but it's going to be close. And exactly what is the campaign? How are you doing that? How are you educating people? Because, again, what you just described, when you hear it, OK, you know, sounds great, sounds wonderful. It's sort of like when they had the affirmative action initiative in the city of Houston, and they often did these where it sounded, oh, it sounded great, but the late Mayor Bob Lanier

forced them to actually change it to show its real intent in terms of what that would actually mean. Well, you know, it's sponsored. The other side is sponsored by a South Florida billionaire. And I'm not a South Florida billionaire, but we're working. We've been in front of editorial boards. There's no group that is allied with us that I'm aware of that is for it. It is just being put on the ballot by a billionaire down in South Florida. So we were able to reverse the League of Women Voters. They reversed their position here to be against it. As I said, the Black Caucus, the NAACP, the unions, almost everybody is against it. We're getting the word out. I speak multiple times a week on Zoom to groups. So we are working very hard. The Democratic Party has

come out against it. All the local parties are kind of having me on there in their meetings to talk about it. So we're working as hard as we can to do that. And we'll have black newspapers and black editorials and black media is going to be important to get that word out, Roland, because it's interesting, the group that supports this the most is black men. And it's strange until you kind of dig into it. You understand we are the ones who are the most skeptical of how things are going on now. We want the biggest change. But the polling also reveals they're the group that is the quickest to change their mind once you tell them how bad this is. So that's what we're working on. So that's that's interesting.

That's interesting. And what is the strategy there to reach them? Because also because also people trying to reach black men when it comes to the presidential election. Well, we got to meet them where they are. So we're going to any organizations. We're going to all the unions. We're going to all the Black newspapers, all the regular newspapers, mainstream media, Black radio. We're doing all the things we can. Churches, pastors. I speak to pastoral groups all the time, trying to educate them on this. And all the connections that I have in Florida politics, we're trying to use them to make sure we get the word out like we can, because most people just aren't aware of this or they think it sounds good. And I just got to you just got to we got to get our team in front of them and we're working

hard. But it is it is interesting how that polling worked out. All right, then, Sean Shaw. So appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Oh, thanks for having me, Roman. Appreciate it. Rob, this is one of those things, when you talk about this ballot initiative, again, it's one of those things that what happens that people, you have to pay attention to these various things. Also, what often happens is people don't focus what's happening down ballot. So this is one of those things where you can't skip over because if you skip over and the other side is voting for it, it wins. Well, there's no question. And you need to pay attention to the whole ballot.

I can tell you here in Ohio, the Supreme Court is up for, is actually up for grabs. And from my understanding, the polling has it to where the, well, it's not Democrats technically, but people that are Democratic-leaning judges have a good chance of winning. And that means a big difference for how the districts are going to be drawn. So all these things matter. And of course, here with that ballot initiative, I'll say this, this is also the other side of this is we have to understand how people are frustrated with the system. So I do think there needs to be some thought

that maybe we need to put some initiatives forward to figure out how we're going to make sure more people have faith in the process, too, because I think people are getting frustrated. This is not the right way to do it. But it tells you that how this is polling, people are tired of the current environment and they think that it's not productive and it has to produce results. So I do think we shouldn't ignore that either and figure out let's be proactive and not always have to react to what's being pushed at us out let's be proactive and not always have to react to what's what what's being pushed at us let's let's be proactive and actually put something on the ballot that is beneficial to us in a way that's more better that that's actually that that does more for representation versus having to always respond when somebody does something like this um on the

reason i'm making that point uh derrick again a lot of people you know you go from the top of the ballot all the way to the bottom. Folks just skip over a whole lot of stuff. The further you go down, especially these ballot initiatives. But this is one of those things that is huge because this changes the state constitution. Yeah, there needs to be a education outreach campaign just on down balloting and how important it is, because that's what that's what really impacts people on a local level on your daily lives is the down balloting. But for whatever reason, we have not been educated on that process and we tend to just dismiss it, if you will.

But with this process, I was listening to what Sean said. I thought it was interesting because he noted that that process is working fine in California because it's a Democrat-led state. But the idea that it could be different for Florida because it could be, you know, a Republican-controlled situation is not good for the state. So I just kind of find that part interesting. But I do agree with Rob in that a lot of people are disenfranchised with the current process. And it needs to be changed on a whole just in terms of how we vote and how we just the whole election process takes place. But so, Amisha, I mean, on that point, I mean, when California changed that, there are people who say, hey, the top two vote getters should get it.

Like, for instance, you look at what's happening right now in the race against Kelly Loeffler in that. Now, there are a number of people in that particular race. The top two vote getters are going to advance to the runoff. If you look at the polling data right now, you have Kelly Loeffler as well as Doug Collins, Republican, who are running one and two. And so what Democrats are there saying they're trying to get some of these other Democrats, including Joseph Lieberman's son, to drop out. So Raphael Warnock can consolidate support and get in one of those top two positions. But is this a good idea? Because, again, California has it, and I think Washington state has it. Well, I hate the top two pick in general. And you're right.

I know California has it. Washington state, I think I second you on that. At least they've had it in the past. It's frustrating. But on that same token, this election, the election in Georgia for Senate, it's pure math. We know that when Democrats put up or when Republicans put up way too many candidates for anything and they don't end up dropping out along that campaign trail, this is how we got Donald Trump, you end up with a candidate that you don't want. And in many times, a candidate who's not going to be able to withstand what the Republicans are putting up. Because whether it's Doug Collins or whether it is Loeffler, at the end of the day, conservatives are going to come out for their conservative candidate. We cannot necessarily say the same thing when we're seeing voter disenfranchisement and the thwarting of voters across the state of Georgia on a regular basis.

I think that what we need to invest in, what Georgia needs to do, is actually consolidate. I think that's the only way that they are actually going to have a candidate that is going to be able to pull any votes come November. And what we're seeing is that you have candidates who are dead set on being there no matter what. And in all honesty, they're just going to pull votes. It's one of the things that I watched happen in my hometown of Chicago during the last mayor's race. Lori Lightfoot would not have gotten as far as she did and would not have become mayor if we hadn't have had 15 people running at the same time and it going into a runoff and, you know, you seeing how that ended up. And I just think that, you know, to a certain extent, there has to be a point at which we decide, hey, you know, Democrats need to align behind a candidate and put that best

candidate forward and make put that best candidate forward and make sure that that candidate has all of their ducks in a row, has all their talking points, and can really turn out in terms of not only outreach, but getting people ready to get out and vote in November. That we're not necessarily seeing in Georgia, and that's going to be to the detriment of Democrats. All right, folks, going to go to break. We come back. We're going to talk about the August jobs report. Did that really benefit African Americans? And are the numbers deceiving? Also, we will focus on the census, why it matters.

Economically, we, our community, can greatly benefit if we are filling that census out. That's next, Roller Martin Unfiltered. You want to support Roller Martin Unfiltered? Be sure to join our Bring the Funk fan club. Every dollar that you give to us supports our daily digital show. There's only one daily digital show out here that keeps it black and keep it real. As Roland Martin Unfiltered, support the Roland Martin Unfiltered daily digital show by going to RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. Our goal is to get

20,000 of our fans contributing 50 bucks each for the whole year. You can make this possible. RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. As our community comes together to support the fight against racial injustice, I wanna take a second to talk about one thing we can do to ensure our voices are heard. Not tomorrow, but now. Have your voices heard in terms of what kind of future

we want by taking the 2020 census today at 2020 census.gov now folks let me help you out the census is a count of everyone living in the country it happens once every 10 years it is mandated by the u.s constitution the thing that's important is that the census informs funding billions of dollars how they are spent in our communities every single year i I grew up in Clinton Park in Houston, Texas and we wanted new parks and roads and a senior citizen center. Well the census helps inform all of that and where funding goes. It also determines how many seats your state will get in the U.S. House of Representatives. Young black men and young

children of color are historically undercounted, which means a potential loss of funding or services that helps our community. Folks, we have the power to change that. We have the power to help determine where hundreds of billions in federal funding go each year for the next 10 years.

Funding that can impact our community, our neighborhoods, and our families and friends. Folks, responses are 100% confidential and can't be shared with your landlord, law enforcement, or any government agency. So please take the 2020 census today. Shape your future. Start at 2020census.gov. The monthly jobs report came out today, folks, and it shows that the unemployment rate for black workers remains the highest among large racial groups at 13 percent. Now, that also decreased from the previous month. Joining me to break down the report is Benga Ajilore, a senior economist, Center for the American Progress. All right, let's get right into it now. The Trump administration touting this report saying that it was better than expected,

but I was sitting here reading your Twitter feed and also Ali Velshi and others, and it was saying, hold your horses, 25% of these jobs you're touting were census jobs that will go away next month. Right. And so the other thing you have to focus on is even though it went down, we always have to compare it to other groups. And so you look at, you know, this being Beyonce's birthday, I'd be remiss not to talk about Black women. And so focusing on Black women, their unemployment rate was 12%. For Hispanic women, it was 10.5%.. For Hispanic women, it was 10.5 percent. And for white women, it was 7.3 percent.

But going back to Black women's unemployment rate, their unemployment rate at 12 percent is close to what it was for white men at the peak of this pandemic in April 2020, which was 12.4 percent. So it's one of the things where we're touting a good unemployment rate, a good jobs number, when there's these different disparities among groups. And that's just not fair. Also, when you look at this particular report in terms of the numbers, you said you had something about wages and how we need to study that to understand the impact as well. Yeah, because when you talk about getting jobs, we have to look at are they quality jobs. And so we have these disparities in terms of the low wage labor market.

And so Hispanic people, African-Americans tend to be in low wage jobs. And so a lot of the jobs that were gained were in the leisure and hospitality. But these aren't jobs that pay well. And they're also at the front lines of this pandemic. So these people are being at risk of catching the coronavirus. I was reading one story where one economist said that we really are about to have a problem after once we get in September and October, because Congress has not made any move when it comes to the twelve hundred bucks restoring the unemployment benefits that if consumer spending drops, you're going to see the unemployment number go up because businesses are not going to be able to survive eviction. We already seeing eviction rates are increasing as well. All of that's going

to have a direct impact on the economy. If people aren't spending, they're getting evicting. That means that businesses are shutting down and not being able to employ people. It also means that people are not coming into stores shopping, which also means they can't make money, which means they can't employ people. And that's the frustrating thing about the what's happening with Congress. We had that the House passed the Heroes Act in May 15th. That was so long ago, but there hasn't been anything done since. And what what was so frustrating is that providing relief is what's keeping this economy somewhat afloat. And so for some people are doing well, but a lot of people aren't doing well. And that's why we need to provide relief, not just to households, but as you mentioned,

small businesses. Small businesses have been struggling for six months, and it's a lot to ask them to try to keep up with that. And then you go to state and local governments that they need money because they are losing jobs, they're shedding jobs. And those are people, that's money that could be spent and nothing's happening. That's what the federal government needs to step in and provide significant, substantial relief. And for folks who don't know, those local jobs impact black people at a higher rate because we are disproportionately likely to work for public sector. So cities, counties, school districts in the state. So when they are cutting jobs, then we are also impacted. Definitely. And government has always been the kind of best place for Black middle class and help do that because of, you know, anti-segregation laws and things like that. And so you think about the post office, you think about all these government jobs in education, healthcare sector,

that this has always been a way for African-Americans to move up and experience upward mobility. And now we see all these cuts in jobs and we don't see any relief to help out these state and local governments because they've been harmed. They have lower income tax revenue from the loss of jobs and loss of businesses, lower sales tax revenue because people aren't spending, and higher costs from trying to tackle the COVID virus. And they have to have a balanced budget, so they can't just borrow money or add to that. That's why the federal government can step in and provide relief for them. Bingo. I certainly appreciate the band. Thank you so very much. Thank you very much. I want to go to panel here. Derek, I'll start with you again. Team Trump, they for them is like number went down, number went down. It's all great.

But as always, you have to go behind the numbers. Yeah, those census jobs are important because they provided 25 percent of those jobs. If those jobs were not there, this is not a good jobs report. Agreed. And I can speak to the census because in 2010, I had a census contract and we were tasked with recruiting enumerators Archie's ethnic populations in 32 states In the Obama administration, I can point to articles that boasted Unemployment was down due to the hiring of over 750 thousand temporary census workers. That was our work so this report like the Obama administration's report, is inflated by census numbers.

I would also add, if you do not fill out your census form, they will come knocking on your door as they did mine a couple of weeks ago. Well, the issue that we're talking about here is just really how the economy is positioned. We saw the stock market go down. And let's be real clear, Rob, the stock market is not an indicator of the American economy because more than half of Americans aren't even in the stock market. And so that's like a whole different fantasy land all unto itself. But again, Trump desperately wants to run on the economy. You're talking about, you got this report, sure. You come back with that report that's going to drop the first week of October,

that's going to show you those numbers from the month of September. If that report isn't good, the final month of that campaign is going to be all about the economy. Oh, well, that's true, but I can never really tell with this current president occupant of the White House. He doesn't even deserve to be called president because he's just so unusual. So I actually think it's all going to be about him and if he figures out a way to do something that moves

voters in some way, which he probably will. So I just think we're going to have to just focus, like you have to be lightning focused on making sure we come out because I don't think any of his voters are changing their mind. I don't think anybody, like I don't think if Jesus was running, Mohammed was running, Gandhi, you pick somebody, whoever. Nobody can convert people that are Trump voters. And they are loyal and they are coming. And they are also a danger to this democracy

because he's a danger to this democracy. So the only way to beat him is by showing up. And really, I don't really care what the employment numbers are. I know that if he is president, it's going to be worse for us in the long term, not only for black people. It's going to be worse for white people. It will be worse for everyone. He is a horrible leader. So he needs that. We need to change. We need to get him out of that office no matter what. I don't care what the numbers are. Like, I know what damage he needs that. We need to change. We need to get him out of that office no matter what. I don't care what the numbers are like. I know what damage he can do. I've seen what he did in Charlottesville. Like, I don't have to relive this. Just like Maya Angelou said, when somebody shows you who they are, believe in the first time he showed us 10,000 times.

We know who he is. But I mean, the numbers, but the numbers are important because it's not just a question of flipping his voters. It does speak to enthusiasm. It speaks to turnout. We do know that, look, his people are going to turn out. I can remember telling Hillary Clinton to her face 60 days out in 2016. Major, major enthusiasm on his side, not on your side. Y'all better ramp that thing up. And it's the same thing that is going to be happening in 2020 as well. The reason the economy plays that role, because there are independent voters, there are swing voters, there are people out there who are Democrats. And it's like, do I want to vote? Maybe not. And so all of those things, if it comes down to a close election, several thousand votes will make a difference.

And to your point, Roland, I don't think it's an if. I think it is when it will come down to a close election, because we have to be fully recognizing and acknowledging that not only are Donald Trump's voters or the Trump voters, people who are excited and invigorated and will come out no matter how many lies he tells, we also have to be extremely real about the fact that there wasn't a lot of excitement around the Joe Biden ticket until he announced Kamala Harris as his running mate. And even with that, there are certain people within, you know, diverse

demographics that Democrats need to turn out who are still on the fence. That's not saying that they're going to jump ship and go and vote Republican. I still think that they're going to have a hard time getting that 20 percent. But it does mean that should they stay home, which is a great threat, that at the end of the day, this race could still be won by Donald Trump. What Democrats need to work on and need to fully acknowledge is that there has to be an excitement around the ticket. And without that excitement around the ticket, it's going to be a long road to hoe.

But in addition to that, there has to be a what is in it for me, for these voters. Because it can't just be, and we've seen this time and time again. Voters knew exactly who Donald Trump was in 2016. He's been the same person his entire public life. They knew who he was then, and it is what it is. That hasn't changed. They know who he is in 2020. And at least now they actually have a background when it comes to how he will dictate, how he will rule policy-wise.

They know who he is because they've seen him in office. That does not change things for a lot of people. What they want to hear from Democrats is what is it that you're going, what have you done for me lately? What is it you're going to bring to the table? What are the policies that you have lined up that are going to change the lives for black people? For black men, black men specifically want to know what are those policies going to be to help me. And it isn't a, you know, we designed a policy and it lifts all boats because there have been several democratic policies designed over decades that have not lifted the African-American male. So I would argue that in order for Democrats to win within these margins, there has to be attention paid specifically to these segmented groups and to ignore black men. And what black

men are asking for right now would be to the peril of the party and to the peril of the Biden heresy. One of the issues that the Trump people have totally have been pushing back for 24 hours is this story in the Atlantic that deals with negative things that he had to say, calls, calls, calling veterans losers. Man, his folks have been pushing back hard. Donald Trump even tweeted, I never called John McCain a loser. Yeah, actually you did. The folks at the Lincoln Project and VoteVets immediately dropped these ads today. ¶¶ ¶¶ Thank you. In Malmedy, during the Second World War, the Nazis executed prisoners of war by machine gun, leaving them lying in the snow. In the Pacific, our captured flyboys were beheaded by Japanese

soldiers, some of whom even practiced cannibalism on their still-warm bodies. In Korea, along the frozen Yalu, their fate was to die of starvation and frostbite. In Vietnam, they were roughly bound arms behind their backs until their shoulders dislocated again and again and again. They've been dragged from the burning remnants of downed helicopters and Humvees in Iraq, and they fought to their last bullet on Afghanistan mountains before being murdered by radical jihadists. And yet... He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured, okay?

No, Donald, you're wrong. They are heroes because they were captured. Thought we forgot? My stepson was not a loser. My son is not a loser. My son, Matthew, is not a loser. My son is not a loser. My son, Matthew, is not a loser. My stepson was not a sucker. Lance Corporal Alexander Scott Arredondo died in Najaf, Iraq in 2004. My son, Sergeant James Anthony Ayoub II, gave his life in Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2010. Mi hijo, Jesús Alberto Suárez del Solar,

y murió en la guerra de Irak. Honorably serving his country. That is something Donald Trump will never know. That's something that Donald Trump will never understand. My message to Donald Trump is this. You have no right being the commander-in-chief. Usted no conoce lo que es el sacrificio. Darren, the White House has been furious with The Atlantic for this report, calling it a lie.

Donald Trump said that even though he said he had disagreements with Senator John McCain, he approved all of these different things for him to have a plane flown military funeral. Yet the former chief of staff of the Department of Homeland Security said that when they lower, when they ordered flags to be lowered, have have have masked and have staff. Trump got pissed off and they call and said that he didn't like it. He had to be browbeaten to lower the flag at the White House after Senator John McCain died. Also, I'm reading the story here. A Fox News correspondent has talked to two people who were on the trip with Trump who confirmed key details of the Atlantic story, a Fox News correspondent. This is one of those stories that, you know, again, for a segment of the people, a lot of people may say, oh, it's no big deal, but for military families, this is a huge story.

For some, Roland, because while I do know and I think it's, I don't think it's any news that the president had a little beef with John McCain. I think that that's that's old news. But I got a problem with this story. One, that it took place in Ambassador John Bolton's book, who talked about the reason why that trip was canceled at the cemetery. This was an excerpt from his book. The Marine One's crew was saying the visibility would make it imprudent for the chopper to land in the cemetery, end quote. Bolton later wrote, it was a straightforward decision to cancel the visit, but it was very hard for a Marine like Kelly

to recommend having originally suggested this trip. So the weather was bad, and that's the reason why it was canceled, not because he called or said whatever he said about the trip.

But Rod, this was interesting. The other world leaders happened to make it there. Yeah, I mean, look, this is not hard. We know who Donald Trump is. He said this stuff before.

Is anybody surprised that he's narcissistic, that he doesn't care about anything else but himself? I do think it, I don't know how much of an effect it'll have, just because I just don't, I don't know what Donald Trump could do to show you anything more. Like, we know who he is, and I think to some people's mind, they've just tuned this out, and they could just take the shortcut in their mind. Well, it's fake news. They did something to, we know that's not true, but there are people and there is a good amount that believe

that. That's why we have to beat them at the polls. And again, it can't just, and Democrats, we need the Democratic leadership to also present a vision because it's not just about them. We got to make sure we get past this guy. But yeah, I mean, we know who he is. This story is not surprising. It's consistent with the character of Donald Trump, which he has no character. He doesn't care about anything other than himself. He would throw his own mother in front of a bus if it could make him look better. And even his own sister said that, and not just the one, not just Mary Trump, but the other sister, because she was recorded saying it. She said he has no principles, no convictions, no morals. That's clear. I mean, just watch him. He'll change at any moment.

I mean, I think Derek knows that and I know his position. But look, if you have to depend on Donald Trump to do anything for you, you wouldn't want to do that. You know that he would switch on you at any moment. Just look at everybody who's been associated with Donald Trump. Most of them end up in jail or on the outs. Just look at it. Record speaks for itself. Derek? Man, I'm not getting into that.

No, no. Translation. Hold on. Hold on. Translation. He ain't lying. Translation. He ain't lying. No, that's not the translation. That's just that everything that you said, that everything that you said, Rob, is your opinion. And again, as Rob pointed out to me a couple of weeks ago, this is an opinion show. And there are millions of Americans who don't agree with you and your opinion.

And there are millions of Americans who actually agree with what I think. So, Derek, does Donald Trump have any principles? I would say he has some. Does Donald Trump have any morals? I would say he has morals. He has any values?

I think he has values. I think we're going to enroll you in the concussion protocol program because you lost your mind. That's fine. Put me in there, baby. Yeah, yeah, because you damn sure need to be in it.

All right, y'all, Michael Bloomberg announcing his... That's your opinion, bro. No, that ain't my opinion. That's fact. Announcing his philanthropic organization is giving $100 million to four historically black medical schools. The four black institutions receiving the donations

are Charles R. Drew, University of Science and Medicine. Of course, then we have Howard University, College of Medicine, Meharry Medical College, and Morehouse School of Medicine. This is the biggest donation by a single donor that universities have ever received. Michael Bloomberg is a billionaire and the former mayor of New York City. Bloomberg's philanthropic effort is meant to address the systemic economic inequality that black Americans face. Also, folks, we want to talk about this story. This is weird out of Portsmouth, Virginia.

OK, a Portsmouth police chief, Angela Green, a sister, was recently removed from her position and placed on paid administrative leave. This comes weeks after she announced felony charges against state Senator Luis Lucas and other prominent black community leaders in relation to their participation in a Confederate monument protest. It is not immediately clear on whether Green's removal is permanent. Rob, the thing down there, I've never seen the nonsense you see was down there where you have a cop who was critical of these African-Americans. This cop leaves the charges filed against them. And these four attacking a statue. I mean, this whole story has just been strange. And we've had an African-American we've had on the show.

They said this is what happens when you have a city that is becoming more majority black and the black folks there are getting power but the police chief is black. It's the strangest thing. I don't know what to tell you. I got nothing for it. I mean, I don't really comment and say, I don't know what the hell is going on there, but they need to get it together because it doesn't look

good. So, like, I don't I'm not going to say it has anything to do with black people getting power. It's those people there that need to figure out how to work together better and not, and not embarrass themselves. Cause this, this is just looks silly. I don't, I don't really have anything else to say. I mean, I don't know. Uh, yeah, it's just, it's just real crazy. What's been happening there. There, go ahead. I'm from Chesapeake. I'm from Chesapeake next door neighboring city to Portsmouth. And my sister is actually a school teacher in Portsmouth right now. Portsmouth, man, it's been oppressed for years. We call it P-town. And it's just sad for black people in that city. But I was reading an article further into it,

obviously, because that's where I'm from. And apparently the charges, what happened was, when this protest happened back in June, back in June, when they pulled one of the statues over, it seriously injured, almost killed a brother, 46-year-old dude. And so that caused a state investigation into what happened. And according to this article I read just now, it looks like those charges are not coming from the police chief, but from the state, from the state police. Right. But the problem is they went to a magistrate to actually get the charges. And then what's crazy is they claim that the district attorney could be a

potential witness when she wasn't even there. And so they're trying to get her removed. And so now a special judge from outside of Portsmouth is going to be the one to hear the case because of this belief that the magistrate there. Virginia also has this weird rule where anybody, any citizen could literally file charges against a public official. It's the strangest thing that's happening right there. That's the Commonwealth. There you go, folks.

One of the original slave states. There you go. A California police officer who fatally shot a black man inside of a Walmart has been charged with voluntary manslaughter. Steven Taylor was 33 years old. Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley said that Taylor did not pose an immediate threat to the officer or anyone in the store when he was shot to death. The police were called to respond to an alleged shoplifter holding a baseball bat inside of

Walmart. Taylor had been stopped by store security when he tried to leave without paying for the bat and a tent. The deadly encounter lasted 40 seconds. First of all, the fact, Derek, that a cop is being actually charged is actually shocking and stunning. And that in itself is news. Yeah, it is. That he is being charged.

But I look at that video, man, and you know, a couple weeks ago we were talking about your show, on the show, about defunding police versus police reform. And we talked about how, you know, in certain cases, perhaps a mental health officer could go out and could diffuse the situation. But in this particular case where there was the need for a mental health officer, I don't think that it would have played a role in diffusing the situation because this police officer, for whatever reason, the dude had the bat out. And you could clearly see that this brother had some issues.

I mean, you could just see it. And he was not a threat to anyone in the story. He had him back in the corner. And for him to pull the trigger like that, and you heard people, like you said, in the video saying, no, put it down, put it down. It was a senseless shooting, and he should be charged for it. Rob? He absolutely should be. It's

similar to a case we had here in Cincinnati. Lorenzo Tate, I believe, was the brother's name who had some mental issues. He had a brick in his hand surrounded by police and some police officers shot him and killed him. We have to, like police officers, there has to be a reform of the culture. Defund the police is not the right thing,

but reform the culture is. Because the problem is we have, the bad officers are not being penalized. And in fact, they're even being encouraged and protected by the majority or the institution. So, yeah, it's news that the officer got charged, but it's unfortunately not news that another that another black man that was not a threat was killed. Like there are ways to do to to to to to actually deescalate situations without killing people. Like your first situation, your first response shouldn't be to kill as an officer. It should be to figure out how to deescalate and remove people peacefully. But we have officers that are fearful of the people that they are serving and

they shouldn't be police officers. It's really that simple. Absolutely. And so, folks, again, an interesting news story there. All right, folks, Rob, tell us about this Disruption Summit you're hosting. Yeah. So we have, we're bringing really black and brown entrepreneurs all across the country together. People can go to dnsummit2020.com. But no, we're going to have people like Don Dixon on, who was the first black woman to raise $2.3 million in crowd investing. And Roland, why that's important is because venture capital funding is not funding black people. 1% of venture capital funds goes towards black people. For black women, it's 0.006%, so, you know, Don Dixon had to find other ways. So she raised two two point three million dollars, kind of like you have had to democratize your platform.

You know, after you left CNN, people told you this wouldn't work. Now we can find new ways to fundraise and we don't have to be we don't have to we don't have to go to bank institutions. So you don't learn from people that have done that. You don't learn from other folks like Travis Holloway, who started Solo Funds, another brother. And they've given out about $20 million in loans. And why this is important, Roland, is because they are disrupting payday loans, which are really predatory towards our community. If you need a loan, you need to get that money, that percentage rate is like 2%, 3%, 4%, or 500%. At this place, you have a peer-to-peer lending. So you have lenders and borrowers, they come together and they never have any terms that are over 10%. And it's allowing

more investors. So there are more African-American investors that are making money and borrowers are getting money that needed without having to give up two, three, four, or 500%. So we're going to have like 10 or 11 speakers that people will be able to connect. We'll have Google there and some other sponsors that will, and people will actually people will actually get jobs and get hired. So we want people to come out and learn about it. All right. I appreciate it. Rob and Derek, thank you so very much. All right, folks. Today is the second anniversary of Roland Martin Unfiltered. And of course, we're going to continue the show talking about the United States census.

And but before we do that, I want to play this video here. Kenan White, of course, handled digital for us, put this video together to celebrate the second anniversary of Roland Martin under filtered. And I want you all to check it out. You got longevity, though, brother, you rolling. Roland Martin's doing this every day. I just want to thank you, Roland Martin, for always giving voice to the issues that are front and center for black America. You're doing your thing, baby. Appreciate it. I understand. I understand. Get it. Get it. Get down with it.

This is Godfrey and Roland Martin. Oh, no punches! Your show's incredible. Everything else is fake news, but Roland Martin, I respect you. I really do. I respect you. I think you're real. You're the best. I'm real revolutionary right now. Roland was amazing on that. I want to first of all salute you, Roland, because you have been a soldier in this war before the fight, before the rest of these so-called woke people have wakened.

Thank you so much, and I'm so pleased you invited me to be on today. I appreciate you so very much. I want to thank you for, you know, being such a conscientious witness for so much of the things that happen in our community. Deep gratitude for you having me on here and just for being a friend. I can't commend you enough about this platform that you've created for us to be able to share who we are, what we're doing in the world, and the impact that we're having. Whoa, you've grown this thing. You're about to hit, you're going to hit 600,000 subscribers on YouTube.

Y'all not doing 20 million views a month. Shit. The audience, I kept saying, ain't nobody doing black news. The audience is there. But if you super serve the audience, they will respond. All momentum we have now,

we have to keep this going. This is the most important news show on television of any racial background. Thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roland. Roland Martin and Filter continues to teach and build us every day. You wanna pay attention to what I'm about to break down, that it requires a proper deconstruction. The fear mongering that has gone on around this virus

has been used to shield a lot of the kind of actions that you've been talking about. Our entire political and personal existence is at stake this year. Something has to be done here. In their honor, in their defense, on their behalf, we're coming to handle this the correct way.

The only one who's going'll save us is us. And the people are going to have to look out for one another and take care of one another in this time of need. You know, Roland been putting in work, you know, ever since he been popping on TV telling us what it is. The Republican Party today has a problem with black people and getting them to vote for them, but even appealing to them. I agree. You know, Roland, this is one of those moments where the people deserve getting them to vote for them, but even appealing to them. I agree. You know, Roland, this is one of those moments where the people deserve their government to work. What I'm saying to folk and what you're saying is have an agenda, push on that agenda, turn

out and then let folk know you are making a commitment both at the polls and beyond the polls. We are the ones that you need on the inside and along your side as you're trying to go and be the president. I mean, you can't win without us. Well, Roland, first of all, thank you for having me on here. It's been a desire to be in your company

and commune and talk with you for a long time. We got to do this and God bless. Listen, I'm a big fan, brother. I love you so much. We need you. Keep up the fight, bro. Even get to do this and God bless. Listen, I'm a big fan, brother. I love you so much. We need you. Keep up the fight, bro. I didn't even get to see Roland Martin, man. All right, man, we'll have fun.

I, Roland, love you, boy. I'll see you, baby. You've taught me a lot. I am super grateful. There's so many other ways to represent Black culture, Black community in the media, and do it in a powerful way. And you're a living example of that. We got you.

God bless. You know, Roland, you're mine forevermore. Love and respect. I love that A5A, too, though, brother, in the name of Donny Hathaway and Duke Ellington and Marlon King Jr. and John Hope Franklin and a whole host of others, including Roland Sebastian Martin himself.

And we're going to keep pushing. And making sure that you're on the forefront of the change that we have to see. Appreciate it. Thank you, Roland. You're a good friend. We'll make it happen. Vice President Biden, thanks a lot. Great to be with you, Roland. Thank you so much. And I appreciate you, Roland, parsing your words, because I see folks online saying the federal government is failing us.

No, Donald Trump is failing you. This man is a danger. He represents a clear and present danger to this nation. You can't be black on media and be scared. This might be watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. You dig? All right, folks, that's why we want you to support Roland Martin Unfiltered, joining our Bring the Funk fan club.

More than 11,000 people have joined our fan club, and you can do so as well. Cash app is dollar sign RM Unfiltered, paypal.me forward slash rmartinunfiltered, venmo.com forward slash rmunfiltered. You can mail a money order to New Vision Media, NU Vision Media, Inc., 1625 K Street, Northwest, Suite 400, Washington, D.C., 2006. We appreciate all of you who have joined thus far. It has been a great two years. The dollars you give make it possible for us to do the kind of content that's necessary to reach our core audience.

And so we want you to join our Brain Defunct fan club as well. All right, folks, let's talk about the 2020 census. It is critically important for African-Americans to feel that out because it has a direct impact on the dollars that flow to our community. Data collection started in April. And of course, it goes through the end of September. Joining me right now is Congresswoman Yvette Clark, a CBC Census Task Force member from New York. Congresswoman, glad to have you back on the show. Good to be back with you and happy anniversary, Roland. I didn't realize it's two years already.

Yep, two years today. Well, it's been absolutely great. And, you know, it's really interesting. A lot of people doubted and they said, oh, no, I don't know. Why are you doing this? This thing is not going to succeed. And of course, I had to laugh at that because my man Keenan sent me this here. In the first 15 months of this show, we did 67 million views on YouTube, 65 million on Facebook, 6 million on Periscope. That's the first 15 months. The last eight months, we've done 81 million on YouTube, 82 million on Facebook, a million on Periscope.

And so we have done far more in the last eight months than the first 15 months. And so I keep telling black folks want to see news and information. They want a place that speaks to them. That's what we've grown. And that's why we are focusing on the census, because we're speaking to our audience to make sure that we we get counted. What have you what are you seeing? What are you hearing in terms of what's happening in our communities on this very issue? Yeah, I really believe that our folks don't realize the power of the census and the power in the census. And it's up to us to really get that word out. I think the pandemic has really thrown our communities for a loop.

And of course, with all of the propaganda and the aggressive tactics being utilized by Donald Trump to suppress the response rate in our communities, we have got to do everything we can to work overtime to get our people to fill out the 2020 census. There's so much power involved. And the idea is to render us powerless, render us resourceless, render us represented-less, right? Because at the end of the day, if we don't fill out the census, we're essentially saying we're not here. And when we say we're not here, then there's no need for you to have representation in the United States House of Representatives, which is how the seats

of the House of Representatives are drawn based on the response rates to the 2020 census. There's no need to put a classroom seat in that classroom for your child because you said you weren't here. And therefore, there's no need to have a classroom seat. There's no need to have a bed in that hospital during a pandemic because what? You said you weren't here. There is power. And what our folks need to realize is that there is a whole concerted effort out there to diminish our power, whether it's the power of the vote or the power of representation. And you don't have to be a U.S. citizen in order to fill out the 2020 census. You just have to be present in the United States of America on April, back in April, in order for our communities to get the resources we need that will last us for over this

entire decade. So if we don't have the census now, by 2030, we will have lost a lot of ground in our community. Let's stay on that whole deal of money, money, money. I mean, look, at the end of the day, the census is really about money that is flowing back to communities for various needs. And so we kept we've been pushing that so our folks can understand when you want to see things change in your community, when you want to see improvements, when you want to see resources coming back, the federal government, the first thing they do is look at the census tract to determine median average income, to determine educational income, health outcomes. All of those things are determined based upon our census tracts in America. Absolutely. And there's a formula that provides funding as of right that gets distributed within the United States of America. So when certain communities don't fill out the census,

yet other communities do, those resources get shifted to the areas where the census was filled out, where the census numbers indicate that people are resident and as of right, get those resources. So I'm really encouraging our people that we, you know, we talk about Black Lives Matter, then we got to help ourselves. And we got to demonstrate that our lives matter. And we do that by filling out the 2020 census. Our communities have happened to be targeted as the hard to count communities.

And this has been historically. So when you think about the challenges that we have faced in 2020, in 2010, we didn't do our job in filling out the census. So what? Hospitals are closed, right? Rural hospitals are closed. Our public health infrastructure was deconstructed. Why? Because we said we weren't here. And guess what? We were hit with a once-in-a-century pandemic and totally unprepared to take care of our people as a result of that. Let's not make that mistake again. Let's use our power. Let's get those resources into those classrooms, into those

hospitals, and paving that road and building out the infrastructure we're going to need for broadband to be expanded, whether it's in our urban communities or our rural communities. If we do that, when we do that, now we're demanding the respect that we deserve as residents of the United States of America. We can't cry about being disrespected when we don't use the tools at our disposal that demand that respect. And filling out the 2020 census, you can go to 2020census.gov, answer 10 questions, and you will be empowering our communities.

You will be empowering the movement that we have right now for dignity and human respect. I heard the brother in the last segment talk about the debate around defund the police. Well, you know what? If we get the resources we need, then we can look at all of the other strategies that need to be put in place,

not only to hold police accountable, but to make sure we have those mental health professionals in our community, make sure that we have those first responders that are social workers in our community. Make sure that we have those first responders that are social workers in our community to help us navigate what has been the neglect, the discrimination, and the bias that has left us in conditions where the police have been asked to be the end-all to be-all for all of the challenges we face in our communities. It's horrible when you have someone respond to distress in our community and they harbor ill will and end up harming, killing, maiming someone in our community.

If we get the resources, we can make the difference. Last question for you. As a member of Congress, when you are going back talking with your constituents and you're trying to share with them, do you pull that census, those census tracts out and say, OK, you're saying this here, but this was a return rate in this particular area right here had had this area turn fill that fill that form out this is really how this this this track this district could have been altered and changed as a result of that particular formula because again because the average person just doesn't doesn't know people don't understand how all these pieces these things are sort of put together. Absolutely, Roland. What I use, because I'm living in Brooklyn and we're seeing the same thing in D.C., gentrification. And what I tell people is, don't cry to me about the fact that you can't afford these apartments in the community

because 10 years ago you said you weren't here. And the people who did respond made more money than you do. And so they are using that data to develop within black communities. But because we under respond to the census, our data, our income, what we what how we live is not within the calculations of developers. I mean, that's one element of it. But we have to demonstrate our presence. And we do that by filling out the 2020 census. All right. Congresswoman Yvette Clark, we certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you, Roland, and much continued success, my brother. Many more years for you. I appreciate it. Thank you very much. and much continued success, my brother. Many more years for you, my brother. I appreciate it. Many more years.

Thank you very much. I certainly appreciate it. Folks, got to go to a break. We come back more on our focus on the 2020 census right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Each of us is so precious to God that he takes the time to count us. Every 10 years the census counts everyone in the United States. Being counted in the census will shape your future and the future of every community across our nation for

years to come. Participation in the census is a right and a civic responsibility for both citizens and non-citizens. I'm going to participate in the 2020 Census because we must be counted. We have fought for the right to be counted and we must still fight for the right to be counted. Listen, I have a strong conviction that every one of us deserves to be counted, that we have equal opportunities at roads, at hospitals, at financial reimbursement in the areas that will enhance our schools, develop our children and move forward our agenda. None of that can happen if you don't register for this year's 2020 census.

I want you to avoid the setup to not be counted. And in order to do that, you must just take a few minutes to be disciplined and fill out the census. It can be life-changing. It's bigger than you. It's about your children. It's about your neighbors. It's about your neighbors.

It's about us as a people. Do it and watch how things begin to change. The census is more than just a count. As a person created in the image of God, you matter. Your participation in the census will determine how nearly $800 billion in federal funds are used to help us, our family and neighbors during times of need. The census helps us hold our government accountable. Census information is used to make sure we are equally represented in Congress and in state and local elections.

By completing the census, you are raising your hand and adding your voice to America's voice. Don't let fear or false information prevent you from completing the census. The census is private and confidential and cannot be shared with any other person or government agency. Faith leaders will partner with legal experts to ensure against any misuse of your data. There are three ways to respond to the 2020 census online, by phone, or by mail. Completing your survey takes 10 minutes. If you don't respond, census takers will visit your home to ensure everyone is counted. For more information, visit www.2020census.gov.

We know the power we have. Let's use that power by being faithful agents to bring into being a society that ensures a more prosperous, secure, and stable America. That makes room for all. So April the 1st, respond and be counted. Joining us right now is Kendall Johnson, Executive Director of 2020 Census Integrated Communications at the United States Census Bureau. Kendall, how are you doing? I am fine. Thank you. How are you doing? Great. We of course, we talked last week. Where do we stand now?

What are we looking like? Where are the areas that really need to be focused on? So, first of all, I want to thank you for the opportunity to be on the show and to talk about the census. And I want to congratulate you on two years. Great accomplishment. We are currently, as a nation, we are at a little over 85 percent. But we recognize that even though that is a national figure, that there are areas of the country where we've got residents that are considered hard to count or resistant to participating in the census. And because of that, we are just, you know, in spite of that, actually, we are going out of our way to make sure that we are in those communities and that we are doing everything we can to make sure people in those communities count. And what we're also seeing, I mean, so first of all, what people have to understand, so the federal government hires these census workers to go out and knock door to door. Then what's happening on the digital side as well. But the role that states play, I was just, go to my iPad, folks, I was seeing this story here, Vote Latino had put this story out, showing, and again, putting into effect what people understand, where they said, this was a quote from this story in

the Texas Tribune, if enough Texans are missed in the count, it would jeopardize the three additional seats in Congress the state was expected to gain after this census. And so now Texas is launching a $15 million ad campaign to get folks to fill out. And so, again, so depending upon where you live, your state could pick up members of Congress. And then if there's a population drop, your state could lose seats as well. But the census determines all of these type of things. That speaks directly to representation in Congress. You are absolutely correct. You know, my colleague was on your show last week and I'll reiterate what he said. The census is about power and it's about money. It's about our representation. It determines how over 435 seats in the House of Representatives are allocated

based on the census data. But it also determines how money, any program that relies on federal funds, those funds are allocated based upon census data. And, you know, we talk about how, you know, sometimes we say over 670 billion, others say 1.5 trillion. The average person can't even fathom

what those numbers mean. You know, some of us are just happy to see a dollar, a hundred dollars, a thousand dollars. So, you know, when we're talking about that and we're talking to communities that just don't ever understand or will never see that kind of money, we have to change the narrative and we have to talk about the services that this affects. You know, we talk about how, oh, my response won't matter. Yes, your response does matter. Every single response matters. And we can't be apathetic. We can't be lazy. We can't sit back on our heels and say it's not a big deal.

It is a big deal. It's a foundation for things that will matter for the next 10 years. You talked about that, but that particular count, obviously, we know that there are hard to reach folks. And so the count ends exactly when? It ends, well, we're hoping to be out of the field. Our goal is to be out of the field at the end of September, September 30th. But we will continue to do what we can to ensure that we've counted every person once. And I do want to say that while our enumerators are out in the field, you know, they're knocking on doors. Most people don't want you knocking on the doors. I know if I don't know you, I don't let you in my house.

I'm not even going to open the door. I don't even look out the window. But if you don't respond, then they are, enumerators will then go to your neighbor's houses and they'll ask your neighbors about you. They just want to get the information on the household. But if you think about it, most of us don't really know our neighbors anymore.

We don't communicate with them. We don't socialize with them. So if you're relying on your neighbor to tell the Census Bureau about your household, you already know the likelihood of accuracy is significantly diminished. So this is the opportunity for you to tell us who you are. A self-response is always the best response. And yes, it's annoying when people knock on your door and they ask you questions. They always catch you when you're getting out of the shower, when you're getting ready to sit down to eat. We're trying to catch you when you're home, and it's difficult,

but it only takes about 10 minutes. You know, if you have three or four people in your house, it doesn't take long at all. But you can also, and if they don't knock on your door, or if you don't want to talk to them, just answer the door. The enumerator will give you a form that has a code on it. And you can go online to 2020census.gov, enter that code and complete your form. It's just that simple. And it's critical that we count everybody. You know, Congresswoman Clark just made so many great points. And I want to tell you, it's difficult following her on a program. You know, she pretty much stole all my thunder.

But in the end, it's important that we count, because if we don't tell the Census Bureau that we're here, they don't see us. Government doesn't see us. When they allocate those funds, our numbers are not included in those allocations. And, you know, it's not just about what we might gain in the future. It's about keeping what we already have. Absolutely. Kendall, we certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much for joining us. Thank you. It's been my pleasure. And again, congratulations on two years.

Thank you so very much. All right, folks. Joining us right now is Dr. William Spriggs. He's an economist with AFL-CIO and also Howard University. Dr. Spriggs, always glad to have you here. You the money guy. You study all this money stuff. Break this thing down for us. Somebody watching us right now going, oh, man, y'all keep talking about this thing, but I don't see it. I don't really think that this is going to matter whether I fill it out or not. You say what? First off, congratulations.

Since I remember your struggle to make sure we were going to make sure we still had a news program. And we're all grateful that there's still a news program because otherwise we couldn't get this word out. This is the only show that's going to be dedicated to telling black people to do this. There are a couple of programs that we've talked about that are targeted based on what the census knows about a community. So there are small businesses that are located in what are called hub zones, and that's designed to encourage people to start businesses in underserved communities, and they get certain preferences for federal procurement. But if you're not counted and they misrepresent your neighborhood, then your neighborhood doesn't get that designation.

We talked about opportunity zones. There's new market initiatives. There are a number of ways in which we try and target the recovery of areas, but if you're not counted, then we don't have an accurate picture. So it's necessary that people get counted. You pulled out the map on the opportunity zones the last time I was on, and you said, how does this area be an opportunity zone? It's based on census data. And so that map didn't look like us. I mean, you know, first blush when you looked at the numbers, but if we don't participate, we don't get counted. What's really important for people to understand, though, especially in this time of COVID and people being evicted and finding a hard time to find a home,

is if your niece got evicted and she's sleeping on your couch and her baby is upstairs in your spare bedroom, she counts. Now, I know you want to say, well, she doesn't live here. She doesn't live anywhere else. She got evicted. So you have to count her. The reason we get undercounted is because of our low income and the fact that we often get evicted and we're often going from place to place. We don't always have a permanent address. We get missed. If someone is staying with you, you must count them. That's how we get undercounted. And remember what you were told in a couple of these spots. It's confidential information. It cannot be shared between any federal agency, especially any law force agency. So if you know somebody who's trying to hide, they still count.

Don't say they, I don't, no one is asking, if you fill out the form, no one is asking you. You just put down a name and count bill i covered i covered uh city hall and county government um and i i can't even tell you how many times doing that when something will come up and i will hear census, census, census, census, census, census in politics, in health, in economics, anything that's dealing with the federal government and the allocation of dollars, money being requested. That's the data they look at. There's no other data you can you can have, you know, independent studies done by this university, that university. But for the most part, this is considered the most established, trusted data on anything happening in that particular census tract. Absolutely. It's the only one that's reliable. The others are based on samples. They use telephones. Everybody doesn't have a telephone, they use the internet,

everybody doesn't have the internet. You can't rely on the corrections that they try to do to mimic the census. The census is the census. It is the accurate count as long as we fill out the form and count everybody in our household. And again, it is so important. Don't say that this person doesn't live here when you know they're sleeping there. Put them down. That's how we get undercounted. And most importantly, in the coming election, everybody argues about the Electoral College. The Electoral College assigns the number of votes per state based on how many members of the House of Representatives they have. It's two votes, one for each senator and one for each member in the House. When you worry, why does Wyoming get all these votes? Why

does Oklahoma? If you don't get counted, they get more members of the House of Representatives than they should. That multiplies their voice on who gets to be president. You're giving up your leverage when you don't count. All right. Bill Spriggs,

economist, Howard University. Man, I certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much and thank you all for being here for us. I'm Roland Martin on the filter. Anytime we've got to talk about economics and numbers and job reports, it's always great to be able to call on you and break this thing down. And thanks so much for being here. Without

this show, again, no one would be hearing why we need to be counted. And we need to be counted. Alright, Bill, thanks so much. I appreciate it. Alright, folks, gotta go to a break. When we come back, we'll talk about what the Black Church, the NAACP, and efforts targeting Black men are being undertaken when it comes to the U.S. Census. We'll be back on Roland Martin Unfiltered in just a moment. We can face this pandemic head on.

We can do what it takes to protect our families and our communities. Together, we can get our economy moving again. But not without the tools and resources we need to get the job done. To win this fight, it is going to take a public service army. Don't let Congress fire the frontline workers who can save us. Text FUMD to 237263 to tell Congress to fund the frontlines. They're not your 2020 census and include everyone who lived with you as of April 1st. Kids, uncles, anyone. They don't even have to be family. Now remember,

this count helps inform where billions in federal funding goes each year. So shape your future. Start here at 2020census.gov. All right, folks, Dr. Barbara Skinner joins us right now. Of course, she is very much involved in what's happening with the church community all across this country, specifically African-Americans. Dr. Skinner, always glad to have you here. And so the video... Rulon, first of all, congrats. Without your voice for us, they wouldn't even know we existed. On national television, unless we get shot, there's no black community. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. I appreciate it. Certainly appreciate that. We showed a video a little bit earlier, a number of pastoral leaders focused on telling folks the importance of this. What is the black church doing to make sure that we are counted? Roland, we are in so many pandemics, the police, COVID, elections, systemic racism. It's just to get people to focus on the census, we started almost a year ago. And they looked at us like we were crazy. It takes a while. But now the Black churches, they got the video, they're showing through the virtual church there.

We're doing town halls with NAACP, Urban League, National Coalition of Black Civic Participation, Divine Nine, 100 Black Men. So we're doing this together. We're doing webinars. Black churches, for example, that are in the rural area. We were able to get a grant from Verizon to get iPads out to the rural areas in Ohio and Alabama and North Carolina because they didn't even have Internet. So we're able to get that where Black people, let's say, went to pick up the school lunch for their kids during COVID. That's when some of our people took those iPads out there and got those women to fill out the census for them and their family. A lot of Black people didn't even know why it was important. So the reason the church was so important is because they're trusted voices. That's why we did the video. That's why we got T.D. Jakes and so many others involved. Black church is still doing that before service,

after service, while they're doing the announcements. We're still doing that Before service, after service While they're doing the announcements We're still sticking that in We're doing social media Getting younger churches involved as well I think people do not realize What you just said earlier Census is about money and power And if you aren't counted, you do not count

That's why the trusted voices Are so critical Right now the enumerators are not being let in. Right now, we are so far behind where we were. We thought we were behind before with 10% Black undercount. It could double because of COVID, because of people in so many crises right now. So we have three weeks to go. I would say anybody right now who's listening, if they could just go online to the 2020census.gov, it takes seven, eight minutes.

Less time than to watch two commercials, but it would make all the difference in the world. We're told by the disaster aid people, the people at FEMA, when your city is in disaster, they send the amount of money based on the census. You said it so wonderfully. If you don't know why you're not getting school lunch, health programs, housing, whatever, it's because you weren't counted. So getting Black people to realize this is in our hand, this is nobody else. That's why we did the toolkit. That's why we're still sending out social media. And I think Black churches all over are

going way beyond. The Black church is doing what the Black church has always done, Roland. They're stepping in the gap. Even though they've gone virtual, they still are doing the job to get that word out. And we're trying to escalate over the next three weeks to say, yes, we got a problem with the election. Yes, we got to get people out to vote. But right now we've got three weeks. We got nine weeks before the election. We got three weeks to get counted. So thank you for getting this message out to us. Right now, we have churches all over now just sharing information and we're doing more of doing a town hall next week. We're doing a one week after that and doing a webinar after that to try to get this word out. Of course, there are people who listen to this audio podcast, which is available on the iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia app. And folks, that number is 844-330-2020, 844-330-2020. So if

you don't want to wait for somebody to come by your house, you don't want to fill out online, pick the phone up. You can do it right now. 844-330-2020. And so there are multiple ways, Barbara, that people can be connected to be sure that they are counted. And I would also we talk about churches. I would also be encouraging people. They should be checking with their family members, texting them on the social media saying, hey, have you been have you have you feel it out? It's simple. Yeah, I sent it to my family members and some of them hadn't gotten counted. But, you know, we also sent in the toolkit. People don't realize how much their state lost. So we did this toolkit

and it showed like Alabama lost, what, $40 million and Georgia $70 million. That's a school. That's a teacher. That's a daycare center. So once they saw the relationship between what their city lost and their one count, everybody counts. Babies are not being counted. That's the biggest. Black men, 18 to 35, and children under six are the hardest. People will count the family and miss the babies. They've got to count. Anybody breathing in the house has got to be counted. That's what we're telling people. If you're in the house, you don't have another address, you have to be counted. We have time to catch up, but we have very little time. Thank you so much, Gann, for getting this word out. It's about money. It's

about power. And some of the seats in Congress could be lost, including from our congressional black caucus, if we don't step it up. I will tell you, the black church is stepping it up. And I'm so proud to be part of that campaign. All right, then. Dr. Barbara Skinner, of course, the co-convener of the National African American Clergy Network and CEO of the Skinner Leadership Institute. We really appreciate it. Thanks a bunch. Thank you, Roland. All right, folks, got to go to break. We come back. We'll talk with the NAACP as well as Ed Reed, who is working with, to count men, black men. That is next on Roland Martin Unfiltered.

All right, so a lot of y'all are always asking me about some of the pocket squares that I wear. Now, I don't know. Robert don't have one on. Now, I don't particularly like the white pocket squares. I don't like even the silk ones. And so I was reading GQ magazine a number of years ago, and I saw this guy who had this pocket square here, and it looks like a flower. This is called a shibori pocket square. This is how the Japanese manipulate the fabric to create this sort of flower effect. So I'm going to take it out and then place it in my hand so you see what it looks like. And I said, man, this is pretty cool. And so I tracked down.

It took me a year to find a company that did it. And so they make these about 47 different colors. And so I love them because, again, as men, we they basically have about 47 different colors. And so I love them because, again, as men, we don't have many accessories to wear, so we don't have many options. And so this is really a pretty cool pocket screen. And what I love about this here is you saw when it's in the pocket, you know, it gives you that flower effect like that. But if I wanted to also, unlike other, because if I flip it and turn it over it actually gives me a different type of texture so therefore it gives me a

different look so there you go so you actually want to get one of these shibori pocket squares we have them in 47 different colors all you got to do is go to rolling this martin.com forward slash pocket squares so it's rolling this martin.com forward slash pocket squares. So it's rollinglessmartin.com forward slash pocket squares. All you got to do is go to my website, and you can actually get this. Now, for those of you who are members of our Bring the Funk fan club, there's a discount for you to get our pocket squares. That's why you also got to be a part of our Bring the Funk fan club.

And so that's what we want you to do. And so it's pretty cool. So if you want to jazz your look up, you can do that. In addition, y'all see me with some of the feather pocket squares. My sister was a designer. She actually makes these. They're all custom made. So when you also go to the website, you can also order one of the customized feather pocket squares right there at RolandSMartin.com forward slash pocket squares. So please do so. And of course, that goes to support the show. And again, if you're a Bring the Funk fan club member, you get a discount. This is why you should join the fan club. NAACP has more than 2000 branches all across the country,

and they are activating all of their branches when it comes to the United States census. Jamal Watkins is vice president for civic engagement for the NAACP. Jamal, there are obviously numerous civil rights groups who are engaged in this. How are you directing your branches to ensure that we are counted? Well, I would say first and foremost, Brother Roland, it's good to see you. I like your shirt. As a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, he has 21 years in it. In terms of the NAACP, we are 99% volunteer-driven, volunteer-led. And in this moment of COVID-19, I heard Dr. William Skinner lift up the importance of the census. Our members have been doubling down on literally driving the message on social media,

through old school phone trees, through old school lit drops, any way that they can get the message out about completing the census and filling it out, they have been doing. The irony in this moment, and we've had these conversations over the last couple of years, is that when you think about the notion of not wanting everyone to get counted, especially if you're a politician, an elected leader, that doesn't make sense because it's about money and resources coming into your community. But we realize that age old racism, discrimination and all types of foolishness have kept the other side trying to keep us and our communities from being fully

counted. So our members on the ground have been using every tool and tactic possible that's socially distanced and CDC compliant to make sure that they're getting the word out. And so that's being done how? I mean, obviously, COVID impacts this thing in a very different way. So people are afraid to go door to door, even open their doors. So how are y'all getting over that hurdle? So we actually did a sort of right sizing around our digital program and decided that we had to beef up our digital ads, our social media presence, running ads, and our partners such as CBS and TLC and others actually gifted us free PSA spaces to promote the census.

So because of that, we are able to actually magnify the message, which then allows for our volunteers to take, you know, videos that we produce and share them with their network, to take information from our website, share it with their network, to take information from our website, share it with their network, and really promote the narrative and notion that the census matters, that you have to be counted, that all folks, whether, you know, living, breathing, you know,

young, old, documented, undocumented, have to be counted because it's necessary in terms of the funding and the representation that comes along with it. So we really had to put a lot of investment into the digital space and the radio and ads to make sure that our members were able to then amplify that message through their own platforms. Last question for you, and that is, you know, as we're moving down here, I mean, obviously NAACP is nonpartisan, but I don't think a lot of people really understand how your districts are drawn impacts this. How many members of Congress you actually have as well. And so this goes direct to representation in the halls of Congress. So that you have that.. So beyond the money,

it's the representation part as well. Yes. And when you think about the notion of representation, we know that every member in the House of Congress and every U.S. senator matters. And when we think about Black folks,

we live in the South, we live in the West, the North, the Midwest. We want to make sure we're fully counted. So when it comes to redrawing the lines and accurately accounting for who needs to be represented and where they live, that actually is a political fight. And I'm glad you lifted up that we're nonpartisan,

but the reality is we're not blind. And so we know that there are forces out there who don't want us counted and who don't want us fully represented. And so we're grateful to have leaders in states like Texas and Georgia, Florida and Michigan, who are literally fighting to make sure that everyone is counted so that when the lines are drawn, we can actually counter the pack and crack strategy and make sure that we have full representation. In many ways, that's going to be how we shape our future over the next 10 to 20 years. It's being fully counted. It's actually getting the funding into the communities that's

needed and then making sure that the lines, when drawn, are inclusive and fair and really represent the communities, our communities. All right then, Jamal Watkins, we surely appreciate it. Thank you so very much for joining us. All right. Thank you, sir. All right, folks. When we come back, we'll talk with how an organization is targeting black men. And specifically, we talk a lot, a lot of times on this show, how efforts are there to reach black women. But this is about black men and the census. You don't want to miss that. That's next on Roller Mark Under Filtered.

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Each of us is so precious to God that he takes the time to count us. Every 10 years, the census counts everyone in the United States. Being counted in the Census will shape your future and the future of every community across our nation for years to come. Participation in the Census is a right and a civic responsibility for both citizen and non-citizen. I'm going to participate in the 2020 census because we must be counted. We have fought for the right to be counted and we must still fight for the right to be counted. Listen, I have a strong conviction that every one of us deserves to be counted.

That we have equal opportunities at roads, at hospitals, at financial reimbursement in the areas that will enhance our schools, develop our children, and move forward our agenda. None of that can happen if you don't register for this year's 2020 census. I want you to avoid the setup to not be counted. And in order to do that, you must just take a few minutes to be disciplined and fill out the census. It can be life-changing. It's bigger than you. It's about your children. It's about your neighbors. It's about us as a people. Do it and watch how things begin to change. The census is more than just a count. As a person created in the image of God, you matter.

Your participation in the census will determine how nearly $800 billion in federal funds are used to help us, our family and neighbors, during times of need. The Census helps us hold our government accountable. Census information is used to make sure we are equally represented in Congress and in state and local elections. By completing the Census, you are raising your hand and adding your voice to

America's voice. Don't let fear or false information prevent you from completing the census. The census is private and confidential and cannot be shared with any other person or government agency. Faith leaders will partner with legal experts to ensure against any misuse of your data. There are three ways to respond to the 2020 census online, by phone, or by mail. Completing your survey takes 10 minutes. If you don't respond, census takers will visit your home to ensure everyone is counted. For more information, visit www.2020census.gov. We know the power we have.

Let's use that power by being faithful agents to bring into being a society that ensures a more prosperous, secure, and stable America. That makes room for all. So on April the 1st, respond and stable America. That makes room for all. So April the 1st, respond and be counting. Black men, one of the hardest groups to count. Ed Reed is the program director for Fair Count. Their efforts are targeted at black men.

Glad to have you. Why? Why are black men so hard? Well, first of all, thank you so much, Roland, for having me on. Congratulations to you as well. We're so happy to be on. So, you know, in Georgia, we started this initiative last May, May of 2019. It was through Fair Count, which was founded by leader Stacey Abrams. But she had the vision to see, you know, that in Georgia alone, there were 67,000 black men that could go undercounted in 2020.

So we wanted to figure out why, but also figure out how we reach black men in this year. And so we set up this complete count committee, launched it statewide and subsequently launched it nationally, partnering with Sigma Phi Phi fraternity. I think you know a little bit about them. And so we partnered with those brothers to ensure that we were able to expand this initiative nationally. And so we really started reaching men in more informal settings, very intimate conversations, finding out what their suspicions were about the process, right, and starting to unfold some of the myths that exist, you know, the landlord-tenant issues and myths,

the privacy concerns that some of the people on this great panel have already talked about. And so through those conversations, first pre-COVID, in-person, and then after COVID virtually, we started to open up some Black men to feel like completing the census will have a direct impact on those monies, on the political power in their community.

And so I think we're reaching a man. It's tough to do virtually now in person. We were going to the barbershops. We were going to the men's ministries. We were going to the lounges. We were just trying to reach black men where they are because the fact of the matter is we're not going to go somewhere to be lectured to on a Saturday morning and do those things. We got to go to where the men are and talk to them where they are about what the importance of the census is. Is there also this

fear that people have that this is somehow the government tracking them so folks don't want to fill anything out? Absolutely. We've heard that, you know, I don't want the government knowing where I am. Well, hear a lot about if I got warrants out for me, you know, can I complete the census? Should I? I don't want to complete it. So those are real life, you know, issues that are out there and challenges. we have to overcome. Unless we're living in those situations, it's really difficult to tell people that are living in a situation, you know, to complete their census. And so I think what we have to do is we have to make it relational. We have to show the direct impacts. It's one thing to say 1.5 trillion, but it's another to say, you know, your kids are going to school in a trailer behind another school because their

schools are not funded to have the additional classroom sizes. What if, you know, your kids are going to school in a trailer behind another school because their schools are not funded to have the additional classroom sizes. What if, you know, everyone in that community was counted? In Georgia alone, for every person that's not counted, it's estimated that's $3,600 per person. Over the span of 10 years, that's $36,000. We think about what you can do with $36,000, and you think about 67,000 black men going undercounted and doing that math. It's over $200 million worth of resources on an annual basis that we're losing in our communities. And, you know, people like to talk about, well, you know, is it because black men are locked up? That's not it at all. You know, and the Census Bureau obviously has a way to count black, that are incarcerated through a group quarters enumeration.

And so we just really have to reach these men where they are. And we've seen great success with that. In fact, right this week, we launched a virtual bus tour in partnership with E Pluribus Unum across the southeast. We're going to be doing virtual events in Louisiana, South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, talking about the importance of the census. Tonight, we have a blues concert that we're doing virtually in the Mississippi Delta region. We had a faith event last night. We're doing a Black Men Count teletown hall. You see my shirt here, Black Men Count. We can make sure you get one of those rolling. But we really are trying to reach men where they are and text banking.

We're texting black men to tell them about the critical importance of it. And we're seeing some of our partners, the 100 Black Men. I mentioned the Boulay, the Divine Nine organizations are all coming together to recognize the importance in 2020. Look, it is is a critical issue, I think is important again, that I always say this. We have to connect the dots and we've got to break things down and make it plain for people, people who don't people who are not living and breathing public policy, who don't understand how all these things work. And so when that communication is happening, I think that absolutely helps people to get over their fear of these things. That's absolutely right. And we see that on a daily basis. Once we're able to dispel those myths and they're able to see, oh, well, that's where the funding comes from. You know, the only way that we're going to be able to recover from COVID-19 and we will recover. But, you know,

if you look at the overlay of the maps that are typically hard to count, and then the overlay of the maps where the response rates are really low, really the same areas. So they're being devastated by a pandemic over here, but also devastated by a loss of funding and resources over there. And so in order to recover from COVID-19, we'll need the resources in these communities to ensure that we're able to fully recover. All right then, certainly appreciate it. Ed Reed, thanks a lot. Thank you so much, Rome.

Have a good one. All right, thank you very much, sir. Again, folks, as I said, go to 2020census.gov, 2020census.gov to fill the form out. You can also place that phone call. That number of course is 844-330-2020, 844-330-2020, where you can call. I want to say this here. I got to thank our viewers. Those of you who watch us on YouTube,

on Facebook, on Periscope, you are the reason why we have been so successful with this show launching two years ago today. That's so important because, again, there were a lot of people, a lot of people who said, oh, there's no way in the world this show could be successful. There's no way you can make it financially successful. In fact, it was very interesting. You know, when when News 1 now was canceled on TV One, one of the reasons the executives there gave for the show being canceled, they said because it couldn't attract the ratings and it couldn't make the money. Well, we knew that wasn't the case. We knew if you sold it right, if you presented it right, and then if you also took advantage of the digital operation, then we knew this could make a huge difference. And so we were able to do that. This show was, you know, again,

launched on a wing and a prayer. We had one sponsor. We had one sponsor, AFSCME, American Federation of State County Municipal Employees. And I got to thank my frat brother, Lee Saunders, because they stepped up and they were our initial sponsor. Without them providing the resources for us to get started, then we would not have been able to do this show. That money lasted four months. And we were like, man, what are we, you know, like, okay, what's going to happen? Where's it going to come from? Thankfully, a lot of you booked me for speeches. A lot of that speech money paid for our staff, paid for our office space and everything along those lines for us to get through that first year. The reason that is important is because, again, people said, black people in the news? No, because y'all know this. I do have entertainment figures on this show,

but this is not an entertainment show. We don't do gossip on this show. You're not going to find reality show, reality series guests on this show for a reason because I frankly, I hate reality shows. You're not going to see that. We focus largely on news and information. Our goal is to be able to empower our people when it comes to news information. Kathy Hughes, of course, the founder of Radio One, now Urban One, coined the phrase information is power. I understood that when I did Washington Watch for four years at TV One, when I did News One now for four years at TV One, I knew a digital show could work. There were others who were saying, just do a podcast, just do a podcast. And the reason I said no is because I lost the first black news source audio

podcast in 2005, the first black news source video podcast in 2006. And of course I got it. Everybody else was doing podcasts, but I knew that we needed something different than an audio podcast. Most podcasts also are not daily. They're weekly podcasts. I felt we needed a daily show because I had a weekly show. I knew what that felt like, but all this news happening and then you're trying to cram all this stuff in one hour, but it's also as late. Do a show on Friday, stuff happening on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and now you're trying to figure it all out. And so we launched this show and it was by prayer. It was by faith. I walked away from a six figure deal that they put on the table for me at TV one because I knew this was going to work.

I remember I remember and they presented the offer to me in March. I didn't accept it. My agent, Mark Watts, my frat brother, he was like, look, he said, man, easy money. I said, no, because here's why. I need y'all to understand this. The reason I turned TV One down because one, they'd already canceled the daily show. They had not made any budget allocation for a weekly show. There was no other plan for us to do stuff. They came up with some stuff to say, hey, we can do this here. But none of that stuff came to fruition. We're supposed to do American black film, throw some of the stuff along those lines.

And so I knew that was going to happen. So August 31st was my last day. Had to be the same day the Aretha Franklin funeral anniversary was on Monday. And I told my I told my agent, Mark Watts, and this is what I said. I said, Mark, at the time I was 49, I said, Mark, I'm 49. I'll be 50 in November. If I don't do this now, I won't ever do it. And I said, Mark, I don't know of anybody else who is a black journalist, who is of my stature, who could actually launch this and make it successful, who actually wanted to do it. I said, I have to do this now. And that's exactly what we did. Now, over the course of the last two years, we've had every major Democratic presidential candidate.

We have not had people say, oh, no, no, no, you're not a real show, so therefore I'm not going to do you. No. We've taken our cameras, the Jeffrey no, no, no, you're not a real show, so therefore I'm not going to do you. No, we've taken our cameras to the Jeffrey Osborne classic, the George Lopez classic. We've taken our cameras to events all across the country. We've not only done this show, we've also live streamed events. When the AME had their protest in Lafayette Park, not far, three blocks away from here, when they had their protest there, protesting Donald Trump, guess what? We live streamed that entire event. When there was a rally on the mall for Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, we were the only ones to live stream that entire event. Melanie Campbell, the National Coalition

of Black Civic Participation, they've been a huge support of us. We've done many of their events as well. We appreciate that. Lawyers Committee for civil rights under law. We have done the civil rights, the leadership conference on civil human rights. We live streamed their whole day long conference. We've live streamed speeches and other events. And that's the other thing as well. We have not just done a show. We have provided this platform for our people and our voices. And Tamika Mallory, Until Freedom, they've had their events. We've live streamed those events. The New York Justice League, we've done things for them as well.

We've done things for a number of people. Why is that important? Because, let me be real clear, the dumbing down of black America has to stop. The dumbing down of black America has to stop. We've got to stop allowing people to force feed us old sitcoms, award shows, comedies, and things along those lines. The fact of the matter is this here, white America can turn on the Fox news white America can turn on Fox News. They can turn on, there are multiple conservative networks. There's OANN, Newsmax, Sinclair's about to launch one. I mean, it's all kinds of, I mean, Fox, I mean, it can

go on and on and on. But do y'all understand that there are 10 networks that target African Americans. There are 10 networks in America that are broadcast and cable networks that target African Americans. There's BET, there's BET Her, there's TV One, there's Cleo TV. There's OWN, there's Bounce, there's Aspire, there's uh afro uh i'm leaving out one uh i know you're the black news channel obviously they just launched as well uh and then you have revolt okay remove black news channel out of the mix obviously they're 24 hour cable news network uh but you know a lot of people still haven't even they can't even get the network. So let's say those nine. Let's just say those nine. Those nine networks, if you do the math, they're 24 hours in a day. 24 times seven. 168. 168 times nine is 1,502 collective hours of content on black targeted and black owned networks, one hour is dedicated every week to news.

And that only started two months ago when Diddy launched his show. The weekly show was twice a week. Now they made it once a week. Black news. Let me say that again. One thousand five hundred and twelve hours of content are shown on nine black networks every single week. That's 24 hours times seven times nine. And there is just one hour dedicated to black news. If you're wondering why people don't know about the census, if you're wondering why they aren't aware of local activists on the ground, if you don't know why they aren't aware of what's happening with HBCUs,

it is because the information is not being provided to our people. And you know what? Many of you are paying cable bills and money is going to those networks and there's no information other than entertainment that's coming your way. That's why we created this show. Which is why we also, and I've had people say, well, I don't understand, you know, why do you ask for donations? Because we're not going to be able to survive. Simple as that. I'm going to survive.

Cameras, lights, hearing, give me a wide shot. I'll say that cameras, lights, set, staff, travel, all those things. None of those things can happen if you don't have resources. And so you have to build it. I knew the first year we were not going to be able to get the kind of advertising that we needed. I knew that. I expected that. But we said we still got to build it.

And the fact of the matter is we have. And there were haters. Oh, there were haters. There were haters. And haters were and haters like oh no one's watching you and no one oh really i'm gonna repeat these numbers again because this is for all my haters especially all y'all folks who run y'all mouth who call yourselves new media because y'all said oh your old media let me give you some old media numbers. When we launched this show in September of 2018, we did 9.3 million views our first month.

We did 14.1 million views our second month. 15 months of this show on YouTube alone, 67 million, 150,246 video, 2020 alone, 81,268,232 views on YouTube, 82,815,893 video views on Facebook, 1,071,634 views on YouTube. We launched this show. We had 156,200 YouTube subscribers. Today, right now, I can check the number live. We have 618,606. That's the live number right now, which means we've gained four hundred and sixty two thousand subscribers. That's because our audience says there is some place for us to go to get the information that we deserve. And so we're going to continue. We're going to continue building. We're going to continue doing this show. We're going to be here five days a week. We stream our stuff seven days a week. We're going to continue providing you content, continue cover things live, continue building a news platform that's going to go from one show to a network. That's the vision. And so when you hear me say, we want you to join our Bring the Funk fan club, your dollars make that

possible. If you're on YouTube right now, you can give directly on YouTube. You don't have to go to the website, but you can go to Cash App. You can Cash App us right now. We simply ask a minimum of 50 bucks from each one of our fans, which is $4.19 a month, 13 cents a day. But if you want to give more, that's fine. I've got some people who actually give us money every single month. People have given us as little as a dollar. People have given us as high as $15,000. But people are giving on average 50 bucks. That's what they're doing. And so you can do that, folks. Go to RolandMartinUnfiltered.com or you can do Cash App, dollar sign RM Unfiltered, PayPal.me forward slash RMMartinUnfiltered. Venmo.com is forward slash RM Unfiltered. You can send a money order to new vision media, 1625 K street Northwest suite, 400 Washington, DC, 2006.

Let me also say this here into the people on YouTube, 60% of the people who watch our show on YouTube, don't even subscribe to our channel. That those of you who on Facebook and I understand people that look, people have economic issues right now. Totally understand that. But if you can support us, we want you to on Facebook. And I understand people that look, people have economic issues right now, totally understand that. But if you can support us, we want you to do so. This operates the same way as a newspaper subscription, a magazine subscription, a subscription to a music service. What we are committed to do is to speak to the issues that cover our community every single day. I'm an alpha, my life member. I want to see my alpha brothers give.

I saw one brother who gave today $19 and six cents that told me he's an alpha. Uh, but what this is about, what this is about is us creating a place where we can have the conversation that we know and deserve. And we don't have to ask anybody to do it. James Brown said, don't hand me nothing. Just open the door and get it myself. I'll get it myself. Well, for us, that's our piece. We want to be able to do the news that we want to give and our voice from

our perspective and not ask anybody for their opinion so we thank all of you who supported us over the last two years and we certainly appreciate you supporting us in the future we always end our show this way showing you the people who have given to our fan club again if you want your name on that list i do personal shout outs 50 bucks more. You get a personal shout out on the show. So if you give cash at PayPal, Venmo or mail a check in, I will give a personal shout out right here on Roller Martin Unfiltered. I hope you all enjoy this Labor Day weekend. We're not here on Monday. We will be streaming some other content on Monday. Enjoy the weekend. I'll see you guys on Tuesday. HALF!

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