Our Voices, Our Vote: Virginia Town Hall on Power, Policy & the Fight for Voting Rights

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:20):
Today's Thursday, October sixteen, twenty twenty five, coming up on
Roland Martin Unfilched. We're sweating live on the Blackstart Network
on the campus of Virginia State University here in Petersburg, Virginia,
for the special edition of our show focusing on the
upcoming election, critical elections happening in this state that will
determine who is in control of government. Lots we're going

(00:42):
to break down. We'll also hear from the cheer of
the Congression of Black Caucus Congresolman Evet Clark. In addition
to that, this is the thirty th the verse of
the Million Man March. So it's a lot we're going
to talk about, including yesterday's Supreme Court or arguments that
dealt with the issue that could jeopardize nearly half of
the Congression of Black Caucus and destroy Black political power
all across the South. Lots of his breakdown. It's time

(01:04):
to bring the funk. I'm rolling back unfiltered on the
Black Study Network. Let's go unfiltered.

Speaker 2 (01:09):
He's got whatever the best, He's sold it, whatever it is, he's.

Speaker 3 (01:14):
Got sco fact the fine and Winna believes he's right
on time and is rolling. Best believe he's going putting
it out from his Boston news to politics with entertainment.

Speaker 4 (01:28):
Just bookcase he's stolen.

Speaker 5 (01:31):
Its rolling up.

Speaker 1 (01:36):
It's rolling, monte Yeah, rolling with.

Speaker 6 (01:45):
He's book he's dressed, she's real.

Speaker 7 (01:47):
Good question.

Speaker 8 (01:48):
No, he's rolling, Montee.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
Marte. Folks relive on the campus of Virginia State University
here in peterburgs ver Virginia for our Our Voice, is
Our Vote town hall with Virginia Democrats, Uh, and the
Virginia Legislative at Black Cauk is glad to be here.
Lots that we're going to talk about because the crucial

(02:19):
election that's taking place two years ago, and we travel
all across Virginia, uh, talking to voters. Uh because at
that time, uh, you had Democrats who are trying to
regain control of the House. If they did so, don
Scott woul become the first black Speaker of the House
here in Virginia. That actually happened.

Speaker 7 (02:39):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (02:39):
So now two years later, they're trying to hold onto
that power and there's some crucial issues that are at play.
One of those issues deals with the deals with restoring
the voting rights put passing in the legislature to put
it as a constitutional amendment to change the constitution. That's
a huge, huge issue we're going to get into tonight.
So there's a lot we're gonna what we want to
get to. We'll be talking to candidates who are running
for the House of Delegates. We'll also be talking with

(03:01):
the university president, and of course, and I mentioned earlier
Don Scott, my alpha brother, university president, my alpha brother. Sorry, Wes,
I'm sorry, Wes. Everybody ain't able Wes Bellamy. So we're
gonna get to all of that. Well, the first let's
go to our panel right here. I'm gonna introduce them
right now. West Bellamy his political science chaired here at
Virginia State University. Janelle Sinclair the chair of the Petersburg

(03:23):
Democratic Committee, And Arnold Westbrook is a Petersburg City councilvan.
All right, y'all give it up. You know, one of
the things that we keep emphasizing is that we have
to be maximizing our voting power. And what we have

(03:44):
seen is when we do that. Two thousand and eight,
for the first time in history, West African Americans percentage
wise outvoted white Americans. But since then and that was,
of course, of the election of President Barack Obama. Since then,
we've seen those numbers go down. We're seeing the reasons
revolt of that. What happens when we don't vote our numbers.
You've had to be elections in this state that if

(04:06):
we turned out at seventy seventy five percent of our capacity,
we sweep elections. And so let's talk about that. What
needs to happen for us to really lock it low,
to get people to understand that we cannot leave our
power at home, untapped and unused.

Speaker 9 (04:27):
It's to Black America, specifically ensuring that our stories are
told and our issues are being discussed. We're super excited
to be here at Virginia State University, where today we
had our student voter Registration Day as a part of
Childer of Voting Week, and where today alone we were
able to register four hundred and twelve young people. Super
excited about that very, very exciting election coming up this year.

(04:52):
And we've been emphasizing not only in classes within the campus,
but President Abdullah, who you know, he's an alpha, but
he's all right with me.

Speaker 4 (04:58):
I like you shout out.

Speaker 9 (05:01):
To the noops, but in our seriousness We've been very
steadfast on campus in the surrounding community about the importance
of folks coming out to vote. And while we note
that there's a great deal of conversation taking place on
the national level, we have pivotal elections that are taking
place here in Virginia. Won the gubernatorial election, which everybody
knows about, or we're hoping that everybody knows about, but

(05:23):
it's really these state houses seats, the state House seats
and de Sendate seats that make the difference. We have
a couple of candidates who are here shout out to Kimberly,
Pope Adams and others who will be here like we're
going to be hearing from them, and we're encouraging, encouraging
our young folks specifically. It's one thing to complain about
what's happening at sixteen hundred Pennsylvania Avenue. It's another thing
for us to go out and do something. And we

(05:43):
cannot allow our voices to be taken for granted. We
can't allow for our votes to be active as if
they don't matter, and if we don't put the energy
in time into going out and making sure that we vote,
we can't complain about what nobody else does. It starts
with us. Nobody else is going to come and do
this for us. Nobody gonna save us. There's nobody coming
down out of the sky to come and make sure
that we get everything we need. We have to take

(06:05):
care of ourselves. And that starts with voting.

Speaker 1 (06:08):
Janelle, I guarantee you somebody here is four hundred and
twelve and they say, okay, it's four hundred and twelve. Well,
let's go back to Shery Beasley was. She ran for
Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Had she won,
Democrats would have had a six to one control of
the state's Supreme Court. When they control the court, they

(06:29):
ruled against racial jerimandering, political jeri mandering, They stopped a
lot of the actions of the Republican legislature. She runs,
she loses by four hundred and one votes. You had
more than one hundred thousand black folks along in North
Carolina who did not vote. What happens. It goes from
Democrat potentially six to one down to four to three. Well,

(06:51):
then they lose again. Now it's Republican five to two.
What happens Plica Jered Manning being allowed they about the
jerior manner, more seats, racial, yeah, man, voter id all
those things, and so folks have to understand every vote
does count. And remember even in this state when it
was a race that was tied and it was a
choice out of picking name out of a hat to

(07:12):
determine who control the House because they were tied. So
but folks say, well one vote doesn't matter. We know
that's a lie. Yes, we do know it's a lie.

Speaker 10 (07:21):
As Kimberly Pope Adams, fifty three votes made a difference
in her in her race. It's fifty three people in
this room that could have made a difference two years ago.
Now we have people that are sitting in our in
seats at this moment making pivotal decisions that impact me,

(07:42):
but more so our young people, and that will impact
your children. If we do not get out and vote,
we will not be able to stop them from anything
trickling down from the federal level to the state level.
We have to have a gap stop at some point
to say that no means no, and we're not going

(08:02):
to abide by the horrendous policies.

Speaker 3 (08:06):
That they are doing up at the national level.

Speaker 10 (08:09):
So we have to have someone at our governor level,
lieutenant governor level, especially our attorney general level, but more
so our General Assembly, so that they can implement policies
that will protect us.

Speaker 1 (08:24):
Absolutely. Before I go to Arnold, just folks know, we
always when we go to buy places. We invited Petersburg
Mayor Sam Parham to come on today's show, but he
declined an invitation to come, and so just the folks know.
So folks like may about to the mayor, we did,
He ain't here, So listen, I'm just stating the fact. Counseling.

(08:47):
One of the things that I'm always saying though, that
it's one thing to tell folk you need to vote.
It's one thing to say, hey, I need to get
you to register, but we have to also really begin
connecting the dots, because let's just be honest, a lot
of folks have no clue what the hell y'all do.
They don't. People don't a lot of people don't know
how the difference between a city councilman, a county county exec,

(09:11):
a state rep a state senate, what a school board does.
You get members of Congress who say they get phone
calls that's about stuff that that's really the city or
the really a county job. And so we also have
to have after the election, before the next election, constantly
what I call voter education civics, one on one people

(09:32):
really understand how government works and how government impacts every
facet of a person's life.

Speaker 11 (09:39):
I definitely would agree with that on behalf of me
a parent who was a little bit under the brother,
I am stepping in on his behalf he doesn't totally.

Speaker 6 (09:47):
Well, that's a big thing. Like communication.

Speaker 11 (09:49):
Communication in our communities is very important, and I think
it does start with the youth and this new generation
of voters and not getting voting fatigue. I think that's
what you kind of was alluding to because in Virginia
we vote.

Speaker 1 (10:00):
Every year, but that's everywhere though, no, not every state
votes every year. Probably what I'm saying is, no matter
where you go, there's going to be an election, whether
it's a statewide, federal, city, county, or school board. So
the reality is you're always going to have and also
depends upon what municipality you live in. And so I

(10:21):
get people to say voter fatigue, but they sure not
fatigue when electricity goes up, correct, not fatigue when they're
looking for improvements. For economic development correct when they're talking
about funding HBCUs and so again, other folks ain't tired.

Speaker 6 (10:38):
And that's I agree.

Speaker 11 (10:39):
We have to make sure that our students understand that
this is a marathon and it's not a sprint, as
well as our older people to pour it back into
the elders, to pour it back into the youth and
the middle class, so that everybody's playing their part. And
that's what I meant about communication, because it is a
difference between being on city council as well as being
on school board. I can't handle all the issues, but
I kind of be informed of them, so I can
talk to the constituents let them know that I am

(11:00):
concerned and I think it's about servant leadership, so that
as I teach the students, whether it's my crown hymn
guys called to the Kings or my crown hurt girls,
that I empower the young people to understand what the
crowd heirls.

Speaker 1 (11:13):
You get the crown guy shout out.

Speaker 11 (11:14):
We'll see the crown hurt girls ahead, y'all gonna put
you all, y'all crowns up.

Speaker 1 (11:19):
All right, Oh, so the dude say something, y'all gonna say.

Speaker 6 (11:24):
We're working on that, and we're working on it.

Speaker 12 (11:27):
Call.

Speaker 11 (11:28):
I don't want to do all by calls because I
got no call and response.

Speaker 1 (11:31):
It's go girls, Hey.

Speaker 6 (11:33):
Well we got one for everybody. We got one that
everybody does.

Speaker 4 (11:36):
Can we get a hell state?

Speaker 6 (11:39):
Okay, that's good enough for you, brother, No, because.

Speaker 1 (11:43):
Nothing, it's a lot of It's a lot of calle
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 11 (11:50):
I ain't missed that duping, that Alpha shout out. But
again we hear about all of us working together mega
on the front lines too, on the what those mecga's
are the front line.

Speaker 4 (12:03):
Hurt your feeling.

Speaker 11 (12:05):
We all play our parts and we all know how
to get these things out. So whether it is economic development,
the homeless rate, the poverty, are issues that really affect
people differently. It's all about still just getting out of
making sure that we can have good.

Speaker 6 (12:18):
Sensible conflict resolution discussions.

Speaker 11 (12:20):
Because teach speech of debate here at Virginia State University,
and we're also taking into the schools of Petersburg so
that we can understand and this time we can be
disagreeable without being violent and just straight nasty to people.
But how can we get to the table and talk
because a lot of times when we get to these tables,
we can find that they're similar talking points between us
both so that we can move this needle forward for
a better country that we live in.

Speaker 1 (12:41):
The worst thing for me, though, is when we're talking
about again elections, and for me, the reason it's I
get it in a different way because my parents were
co finals of a city club. So the age of eight,
nine and ten, I'm sitting there because we all free labor,
sitting here the granular issues that impacted a neighborhood, going

(13:04):
to city council meeting, knowing who to call, how to
get vacant lots cut, and how to get abandoned houses
torn down. So I saw it at that level, and
that's the thing I think we need to get out
get many people to understand. And this is why I
think voter education is so critically important, because that's the
role of government. What has happened is folks run around saying, well,

(13:27):
government has some impact on my life, and I'm like,
that's the dumbest crap I've heard of my life. Because
it impacts literally every facet of your life from the
womb to the tomb and so this idea that it
does it it's crazy.

Speaker 9 (13:40):
I mean, we had this discussion in class just yesterday,
and I want to give a special shout out to
our SGA who are all up here in the front row,
MARQUISA President and several others. They've been working diligently to
ensure that again students are registered to vote.

Speaker 6 (13:54):
And we're talking about the issues.

Speaker 9 (13:55):
But one of the things we discussed in in one
of my classes yesterday was specifically.

Speaker 6 (13:59):
When we talk about the school board.

Speaker 9 (14:02):
For example, some people talk about, well, when I was
in high school, I didn't learn black history.

Speaker 6 (14:06):
I'm not learning how I'm learning now.

Speaker 9 (14:08):
And we had a real civic lesson about Okay, well,
if the governor appoints the members of the Board of Education,
and then the board which I served on, I served
on the State Board of Education, and then the state
Board of Education members direct the superintendents who also work
in conjunction with the school boards, and they say, well,
this is the curriculum in which we want to see
point it out or put out for our communities. And

(14:31):
if those curriculums are disadvantageous to black folk and we're
not able to learn what we need to learn the issues.
Isn't necessarily with the teachers. It's again us understanding who
we need to put in the seats on the school board,
but then also the appointment person. So that's why this
gubernatorial election is of the utmost importance. Roland made a
very pivotal point. We've seen across Virginia there have been

(14:54):
some cities in which water has been a very serious issue.
Well in many regards that's a city of municipal issue,
with some funding also coming or not coming from the state,
but also not coming in from the federal level. We've
seen the President currently say that there will be resources
withheld from institutions that include HBCUs across the country for

(15:16):
his bogus policies or lack their roof for that matter.

Speaker 6 (15:19):
If there's never a reason.

Speaker 1 (15:20):
That they're withholding billions from billions blue states in blue cities.

Speaker 9 (15:25):
Yeah, and being very intentional with saying and if the
democratic policy, if they're democratic cities, we're not going to
give them the money. If they're democratic initiatives, we're not
going to give them the money.

Speaker 6 (15:35):
And that's absolutely nonsensical.

Speaker 9 (15:37):
So again, y'all, if there was ever a time for
us to be fired up. If there was ever a
time for us to feel as if our ancestors are
depending on us, if there was ever a time for
us to stop seeing the nonsense that we're not like
our ancestors, because they fought.

Speaker 6 (15:51):
A lot harder than many of us will ever think
about doing.

Speaker 9 (15:54):
It's now we have to ensure that your cousin, your mom,
your niece, your nephew, auntie, everybody in your family needs
to be registered to vote and then going to vote,
because that's the first leg of the marathon. And then
after we get that baton, we run in the city
council meetings, were running the school board meetings. We show
up to committee meetings, at the state appropriation meetings. We

(16:16):
show up at the state House. We show up in
the governor's house to ensure that they're doing what they
say they're gonna do. We show up in our congressman's offices.
We need to be engaged. We don't have time to
play around and bes around. This institution wouldn't be here
unless we have people who were fighting for us. This
institution wouldn't get the nice dorms that we're working on.
We wouldn't have this new building that we have with

(16:37):
our people like Eldon Burton and President of Abdulah working
to secure funds for us. So y'all, the least that
we can do is go and fight and show.

Speaker 12 (16:46):
Up l.

Speaker 1 (16:51):
Jenell what West has laid out. What I always say
is we have to make this personal to each and
every single person. That's literally how we have to communicate it.
And it's not party granted, I know you're on the
Democratic Committee. What I tell people this ain't a party thing,
It's an issue thing. And then the question then becomes
who supports your issues of the multiple issues, and so

(17:13):
it's a stark contrast between frankly Democrats and Republicans.

Speaker 10 (17:18):
So I'll give you an example, when some series is
running for governor, they have her on record that she
broke the tie opposing contraceptives, not abortion. Contraceptives, condoms, Plan B,

(17:38):
birth control pills.

Speaker 1 (17:40):
Are u d's.

Speaker 10 (17:41):
Those are all things that you use to prevent pregnancy.

Speaker 1 (17:45):
They are already put on the board.

Speaker 10 (17:47):
They don't want you to have an abortion, So why
would you oppose anything to get to keep you from
getting to the point of abortion. So these are the
things that goes against everything that I believe in as
a woman, How can you tell me I can't have
those kind of things to protect me.

Speaker 3 (18:05):
So why would we want to vote.

Speaker 10 (18:08):
For a party that is so opposed to things on
our behalf? What about there's other policies that they have,
like they don't want.

Speaker 1 (18:17):
To do EPA.

Speaker 10 (18:18):
We need EPA, especially in the brown and black community.

Speaker 1 (18:21):
Well, first of all, look, one of the things that
Trump did, he canceled you had massive flooding, sewage backing
up in the homes, in the homes in the yards
of black families in Lowen's County. They canceled that it
was a settlement under Bike Harris. They cancel their calling
it an illegal DEI settlement. You got black folks who
are dying in cancer Alley in Louisiana. The federal government.

(18:42):
Trump pulled the federal government out of the lawsuit against
those companies folks that they're dying. I just had a
sister on from Mississippi just the other day. They're battling
a chemical battling a chemical company as well. What's happening
there the turbines of Elon Musk in Memphis, that's affecting
the air in Memphis. In Trump's that they're like you

(19:02):
could do whatever you want, and so they don't actually care.
So they don't care about the breathing of the breathing
of black folks, the quality of the air, all those
different things. And they even call environmental racism DEI. So
what you're seeing is a complete just betrayal of folk
and for them. Even though the state of Alabama voted
for him, he don't give a damn about those black

(19:24):
folks in Lowndes County. And again that's our folks, and
that's how we have to be thinking about public polacey.

Speaker 6 (19:30):
Well, just for real quick, like so folks understand EPA.

Speaker 1 (19:34):
Environment Environmental Protection Agents, so.

Speaker 9 (19:35):
Like y'all understand, like that is the air quality where
we live, everything to do with the environment, water, everything,
Lowndes County, Alabama, just like a really quick history lesson
like that is arguably the birthplace of the Black Panther Party.

Speaker 6 (19:49):
Like UEP.

Speaker 9 (19:50):
K New and Bobby Seal, they look to Stokely Carmichael,
who organized in Lowdes County and Alabama to ensure that
black folk were registered to vote nineteen sixty six nineteen
sixty seven did from nominal work there.

Speaker 1 (20:01):
Thats what people who don't know the original Black Panther
Party was a political parade in Alabama, correct, and then.

Speaker 9 (20:08):
And then went out to Oakland, right, they got their
basically what they wanted to do from there. So, like y'all,
all of this is tied to us. But this is
why it's important again for us to understand our history.
Like these things are also just repeating themselves. We've had
individuals who serve in the highest seats in certain states,
say segregation now, segregation forever. And now you see individuals

(20:31):
literally taking away provisions to ensure that our folk have
access to healthy living, not that they want to hand out,
not that they want anything that's going to allow them
to be better than someone else, just.

Speaker 6 (20:41):
Healthy equal living.

Speaker 11 (20:43):
Y'all.

Speaker 9 (20:43):
We have to pay attention, but also we have to
be engaged. We cannot afford to just sit and stand idle.
We can't afford to just tweet about it. We can't
afford to make a TikTok about it. We can't afford
to just talk about this on Instagram. This requires act.
Like all of this everything in which we're talking about
requires all hands on deck, and you vote at the ballot,

(21:07):
but you use your feet in your hands to put
in the work.

Speaker 6 (21:10):
Hey, Arnald, let me jump in real quickly, real quickly
with that.

Speaker 11 (21:13):
It's not only about knowing the past, but also about
knowing the future. So if you talk about the EPA
and the water, one of the biggest things on a
lot of people's agenda is data centers and how data
centers will be affecting the water usage as well as
the quality of living.

Speaker 6 (21:26):
And we see on.

Speaker 1 (21:27):
So we say, for folks who don't know, we talk
about these data centers. Everybody's talking about AI. But those
data centers require a massive amount of water, electricity, and energy.

Speaker 11 (21:39):
But see to think about it as I see if
we're trying to get them here in Petersburg because it
would greatly help our tax base and lowering versus Louding County,
who's one of the richest counties in Virginia that's oversaturated
with them. They never needed them, they pushing back the
rich people didn't want them near them. But they'll put
it in our neighborhoods. And you have to be in
certain locations. But the AI generate is not going to stop.

Speaker 1 (22:01):
Yeah, well no it's not. It's not going to stop.
But on that particular point, though, you've got to have
environmental standards, because there are towns in Louisiana and Texas
where they right now they are freaking out because of
the massive water usage. Correct, so the data centers are
drawing so much water in one place in Texas is

(22:24):
causing rationing all across these towns. So it's one thing
to say is going to impact the property base, But
then what then happens? Don't have enough water? So what's
the balance?

Speaker 11 (22:35):
Well, to me, the balance is is it right for
the people, And this is what the people come out.
I don't want to make a vote for thirty four
thousand people without understanding what does the will of the
people want. And this is why I'm going out door
to door and I talk to people and that this
is just one major issue of the future.

Speaker 6 (22:49):
But it's also Petersburg.

Speaker 11 (22:50):
Virginia has ranked number ten, I mean, excuse me, for
ten years straight the unhealthiest.

Speaker 6 (22:55):
Place in the state of Virginia.

Speaker 11 (22:57):
And to me, that that's a problem of why is
it that we can't get these things moving ahead? It's
because I think more people are depending on that person
to come out to s guy to save us, instead
of we come into those city council meetings we go
and talking to the legislator so that we can change
the homeless rate, the poverty rate, help out with social services,
all these things, as well as education because our education
system is suffering. But again it's only suffering because we

(23:19):
have to be more involved.

Speaker 1 (23:20):
Janelle finn't come in.

Speaker 10 (23:21):
Yes, I will say, with the data centers coming to Petersburg,
it's more important to have the EPA to be solid,
not withdrawn, because if that does come, what's gonna protect
the peace?

Speaker 1 (23:33):
You can forget the federal EPA, right so no, no, no,
What that means is you're gonna have to have a
strong state environmental pressure.

Speaker 9 (23:41):
Right.

Speaker 10 (23:41):
So that is why it's important that we vote the
right people in as our governor Abigail Sparenberger, our lieutenant
governor got Hashmi, I don't want to mess up her
first name. And our Attorney General Jay Jones, and yes
I did say Jay Jones, but let back and General

(24:02):
Assembly Delegate Chile Pope at but not.

Speaker 6 (24:06):
To take away from that.

Speaker 11 (24:07):
Also who you put on council because then we elect
the local e p A and if you put those
people on board.

Speaker 6 (24:12):
So when it so?

Speaker 1 (24:13):
When is the next city council election?

Speaker 6 (24:15):
Tuesday? This is I'm coming to next year. Oh, next year.
Next excuse me, next year? Excuse you?

Speaker 1 (24:20):
Got it? All right, you see that's what I'm saying.
You gotta get see it's election this year, it's next year.
There you go, all right, give the panel folks, thank you.
I'm gonna go to a break.

Speaker 7 (24:30):
We come back.

Speaker 1 (24:31):
We're gonna chat with the congos. Runny bit Clark, who
was chairing the Congression of Black haw Because you're watching
Rolling Mark unfiltered right here the Black Start Network live
from the campus of Virginia State University in Petersburg, Virginia.
Back in a moment.

Speaker 6 (24:54):
H m hm h.

Speaker 13 (24:58):
M hmm.

Speaker 7 (25:25):
Acro tech.

Speaker 14 (25:26):
It's a lot of beauty, a lot of brilliance, a
lot of intellect, a lot of innovation.

Speaker 1 (25:31):
Companies that are most diverse are more profitable.

Speaker 15 (25:35):
We're getting culture, we're getting community.

Speaker 16 (25:37):
We're getting the best of the best.

Speaker 17 (25:38):
Not only are we here to greet each other, but
we're here to network and to elevate each other.

Speaker 18 (25:46):
Everybody from all the major tech companies here, and that
means that now everybody's in the same domain.

Speaker 6 (25:57):
This is the.

Speaker 19 (25:58):
Premiere event every year.

Speaker 13 (25:59):
This is really where we could take off you can
go fast by yourself, where.

Speaker 1 (26:03):
We go farther together.

Speaker 6 (26:04):
This is where you're supposed to.

Speaker 8 (26:05):
Be this week.

Speaker 3 (26:12):
On the other side of change.

Speaker 20 (26:13):
Book bands, anti intellectualism, and Trump's continued war on wisdom.

Speaker 21 (26:18):
This is a coordinated backlash to progress. At the end
of the day, conservatives realized that they couldn't win a
debate on facts. They started using our language against us. Right,
remember when we were all woke and the woke movement
and all that kind of stuff. Now everything is anti woke.
Right when we were talking about including diversity, equity, inclusion,
and higher education, Now it's anti d all this our

(26:39):
efforts to suppress the truth, because truth empowers people.

Speaker 8 (26:43):
You're watching the Other side of Change only on the
Blackstar Network.

Speaker 10 (26:48):
Hello, Hello, Hello, I'm Jerry Johnson from Harlem on Prime
and you're watching the Black Star Network.

Speaker 22 (27:00):
H All right, thoughts, we are alive here Virginia, Thank
University of Peasburg, Florida.

Speaker 1 (27:14):
Glad to be here. Focusing on, of course, the election
in just a couple of weeks. But while this is happening,
of course, the federal government shutdown continues. Uh, and we're
still seeing the impact of healthcare. That's the dominant issue
that we're seeing has causing Democrats say they're not going
to cooperate with Republicans until this is address. Joining us
right now as the chair of the Congression of Black

(27:35):
Congress Congress Congression Black Caucus comes from my event walk
because women, how you diamands? My event walk?

Speaker 4 (27:40):
Because women, how you diamands?

Speaker 1 (27:41):
Event walk?

Speaker 7 (27:42):
It's great to be with you and your audience.

Speaker 1 (27:47):
Have you hear what I can't hear?

Speaker 4 (27:50):
All right?

Speaker 1 (27:50):
Come on?

Speaker 7 (27:51):
Can you hear me now?

Speaker 12 (28:02):
All right?

Speaker 1 (28:02):
She's going in and out folks, all right, she's going
in it, all right? So cons frum keep talking.

Speaker 7 (28:09):
Can you hear me now?

Speaker 23 (28:12):
All right?

Speaker 1 (28:12):
I can hear you now, I can hear you now.
So first off, again we are entering. We're now heading
towards a third week. House Speaker Mike Johnson still will
not call Democrats intercession. And what do you hear from
your constituents? Are they standing behind you? And know the
CBC members holding out with this government shutdown over this

(28:34):
show of healthcare.

Speaker 5 (28:36):
Absolutely, my constituency here in Brooklyn, New York, very clear
on the imperative here. They recognize that this is non negotiable.
And when we say non negotiable. We mean that we
must address this healthcare crisis without our work and support

(29:00):
in getting this as part of the negotiation. There is
no trust in the Republican Congress, in the Republican White
House that they will come to the rescue.

Speaker 7 (29:14):
This is a five alarm fire.

Speaker 5 (29:18):
We recognize that so much is going on in terms
of attacks from the Trump administration and the enabling of
that by Republicans in Congress. However, we know that at
the heart of everything is good health. Without our health,

(29:39):
nothing else really can happen. And the idea of having
twenty million people who currently have health insurance for that
to be out of their reach within the next two
months is too much to bear.

Speaker 7 (30:00):
And so my mind, constituent here in.

Speaker 5 (30:04):
New York City and Broader a bit of this fight,
and they support it wholeheartedly.

Speaker 1 (30:10):
As Robert Reich, a former Labor secretary, sent out this
tweet today, that thought was interesting, he said. Open enrollment
for the ACA planes became yesterday. In Idaho, one couple
got noticed that their monthly premium next year would jump
from fifty one dollars to two two hundred and thirty
two dollars as Subsys expired. Twenty five thousand Idaho ends

(30:33):
are expected to be priced out of coverage. This is
what's at stake in Trump shut down. And one of
the things that I said, I said this to DNC
Chair Ken Martin yesterday. I said to Senator Chuck Schumer,
Democratic Leader how King Jeffries, it's one thing having politicians
talk about what's going on, but you've got to put
a face on it. And if I'm Democrats, I'm chasing

(30:53):
this couple down. I want them in front of a camera.
I want them in front of a mic, because that
resonates a lot more or uh in a much bigger
way than I think an elected official doing it. So, uh,
how are you? How are you also emphasizing that having
affected people being out front talking about the impact of
an increasing health care any health care subjects in jacking

(31:16):
up other health care costs, not other health care.

Speaker 4 (31:19):
Costs, other health care costs.

Speaker 5 (31:22):
Be aware that you know, the House of Representatives has
not been called back into session by Speaker Johnson, but
Democrats have been going back to Washington each week of
this shutdown, and in each week we've had a public
press conference on the steps of the House of Representatives

(31:43):
with individuals from across this country who are telling their
stories about how the ACA meets the needs of their
families and what this increase in fees and deductibles and
there for purchasing in the marketplace will mean in terms

(32:05):
of their ability to even access that care.

Speaker 7 (32:08):
For so many of those who came to either.

Speaker 5 (32:12):
Testify it some of the steering and policy hearings that
we've been having as well as at our press conferences,
that this would mean that they would eventually have to
drop their coverage because they won't be able to afford
it with the skyrocketing costs of living all the way around,

(32:32):
add to that the quadrupling in many cases of their
deductibles for their for their access to healthcare.

Speaker 7 (32:44):
Folks just can't afford it.

Speaker 5 (32:45):
And they are with us, standing with us, telling their
stories so that we can put a face to what
this actually means. And I think most Americans understand what
it means. They're getting letters in the mail to These
letters are going out across this nation as we speak,
and folks understand what's before us. And again, the encouragement

(33:10):
that we are receiving is enormous in terms of people
understanding why it's critical that we prevail with our colleagues
on the other side of the aisles to fix this crisis.

Speaker 1 (33:27):
Let me switch another issue in that dealing with the
oral arguments yesterday for the Supreme Court. Based upon the
questions they raised, we're potentially going to see this court
rule against Section two and we could see anywhere from
twelve to thirty congressional seats wiped out of African Americans
and Latinos. We're talking about destroying black political power, especially

(33:48):
in the South. And just just your thoughts after yesterday's
oral arguments, it's just disgraceful.

Speaker 5 (33:57):
I had a number of CBC members actually seated in
the court for the entire proceeding and their takeaway is
that the Supreme Court is actually looking for a way
to put an end to Section two of the Voting
Rights Act, essentially rendering the Voting Rights Act a relic

(34:19):
of our history. That would be devastating, devastating across this nation.
It would be just a travesty in terms of the
history of this country, the vibes that were put on
the line to secure voting rights for people of African descent,

(34:41):
and as you rightly stated, the disappearing of a number
of members who were elected by the voting through the
Voting Rights Act to represent constituencies across this nation.

Speaker 7 (34:57):
Many people don't realize it, but the city of your
was governed by the Voting Rights Actors.

Speaker 5 (35:05):
So that people the diversity of who we are, particularly
African Americans who have been prohibited from voting for so long,
would have the opportunity, in the wake of obtaining the
franchise to elect individuals who come from their lived experiences,

(35:25):
who they find affinity with in terms of policy and
vision for UH, inclusion and diversity in our in our nation,
and equity and so UH.

Speaker 7 (35:39):
This would be a severe blow not only to the.

Speaker 5 (35:42):
Voting rights movement, but to civil rights in the United
States of America. And so we hope that those questions
UH will not stand in the way of doing what
is right by the American people. We know that living
in a colorblind society, we know that right racism, bigotry,

(36:05):
and hatred is on the rise in.

Speaker 7 (36:07):
America as we speak.

Speaker 5 (36:09):
And we also know that in the wake of the
lack of support from the Supreme Court for Section five
of the Voting Rights Act, the moment that that provision
was allowed to lapse, all across this nation, primarily in
the South. Without the preclearance, we saw the abuse of

(36:33):
voting rights districts and voters in those districts by the
powers that be that had never really appreciated the Voting
Rights Act take action against communities of color.

Speaker 7 (36:48):
And so you know, we have got to raise our voices.

Speaker 5 (36:52):
We have got to make sure we're educated and informed
about what is going down. This one decision, Louisiana versus
Calais will upend the Voting Rights Act as we know it.

Speaker 1 (37:08):
We know it, all right, con Trent Evit Clark, appreciate
you joining us, Thanks a lot.

Speaker 4 (37:12):
Appreciate you join.

Speaker 7 (37:13):
Thank you for having me rolling, having to be rolling.

Speaker 1 (37:17):
All right, folks, we come back. We'll talk about some
critical house races happening here in Virginia that will determine
who controls the House of Delegates in this state in
the next for the next couple of years. Of course,
you're watching Rolling unfiltered with the Black Study Network. Don't
forget support the work that we do. Join our Briena
Funk Fan Club, our Goals. They have twenty thousand of
our fans contribute on average fifty bus each a year.

(37:39):
As four dollars and nineteen cents the month, thirteen cents
a day. Of course, what that does is it funds
all the efforts that we do. We're going to be
traveling all around the country, going to different states in
twenty twenty sixts covering these critical elections. Whether it's in
North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, of Florida, you name it, We'll
be on the road. So your support is critical. If
you want to contribute via cashat use a stripe cure
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(38:00):
left hand corner. That can also be for credit cards.
Paypals are Martin unfiltered, venmos are unfiltered, Zeo, Rolling at,
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check you money orders, make it payable to Rolling Markin
unfiltered pill box five seven one ninety six, Washington, d
C two zero zero three seven dad zero one ninety six.
Back in a moment, if.

Speaker 12 (38:44):
In this country right now, you have people get up
in the morning and the only thing they can think
about is how many people they can hurt, and they've
got the power.

Speaker 23 (38:54):
That's the time for morning, for better or worse.

Speaker 19 (38:57):
What makes America special. It's not legal system that's supposed
to protect minorities from the tyranny of the majority.

Speaker 24 (39:05):
We are at a point of a moral emergency. We
must raise a voice of outrage. We must raise a
voice of compassion, and we must raise a voice of unity.

Speaker 1 (39:20):
We are not in a crisis of party versus party.

Speaker 12 (39:24):
We are in a crisis of civilization, a humans rights crisis,
and a crisis of democracy itself.

Speaker 4 (39:31):
And guess what.

Speaker 12 (39:32):
You've been chosen to make sure that those that would destroy,
those that would hate, don't have the final say, and
they don't ultimately win.

Speaker 25 (39:43):
It said the quiet part out loud. Black votes are
a threat, so they erased them. After the Supreme Court
gutted the Voting Rights Act in twenty thirteen, Republican legislatures
moved fast new voter id laws, polling place shutdowns, purges
of black voters from the rolls. Trump's Justice Department didn't
stop it. They joined in. In twenty eighteen, his DOJ

(40:07):
backed Ohio's voter purge system, a scheme that disproportionately erased
black voters. Their goal erase black votes and political power. Yeah,
that happened. These are the kinds of stories that we
cover every day on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Subscribe on YouTube
and download the Blackstar Network app. Support fact based independent

(40:28):
journalism that centers African Americans and the issues that matter
to our community.

Speaker 6 (40:43):
Hello, we're the Credit Fixes.

Speaker 26 (40:44):
I'm doctor VERNAA Hodges and I'm doctor Terrence Ferguson, and
you're tuning into.

Speaker 4 (40:48):
Roland Martin on Fields.

Speaker 1 (41:13):
All right, folks, two years ago we traveled around this state.
My next guest was running for the House deal I
guess lost by fifty three votes.

Speaker 27 (41:22):
That what it was.

Speaker 1 (41:23):
And so now she is running again. Put your hands
together for a Kimlely Pope Adams? All right, so what
are you going to do for this time?

Speaker 4 (41:35):
The last time.

Speaker 1 (41:37):
Get fifty four more votes? How are you gonna do that?
I mean so, I mean after last time? You know,
what assessment did you do looking at your campaign? And
what assessment did you do to look at why you lost?
What did you do? Yes?

Speaker 3 (41:53):
Well, first, I want to thank you for having me,
thank you for being here two years ago. And I
will say this. I don't say that I lost. I
say that I fell short because I learned so much.
And in the days after the election in twenty three.
It was actually my son. I have a seventeen year
old son. He was fifteen at the time. He said,
you know what, mommy, He said, championships are won in

(42:13):
the off season. He said, if you want to do
this again, you got to start now.

Speaker 7 (42:18):
Now.

Speaker 3 (42:19):
Admittedly I didn't want to hear that at the time,
but he was right.

Speaker 7 (42:22):
He was right.

Speaker 3 (42:23):
So what I decided to do. I took a little
time off for the holidays, but once we got first
of the year, I kept staying involved. I kept meeting
the voters. I volunteered on congressional campaigns. I moderated town halls,
I showed up to community events. I kept making sure
that my community knew the importance of voting. I've been

(42:44):
doing that for two solid years when I wasn't on
the ballot, and I know that it's going to pay
off this time.

Speaker 1 (42:50):
Did you all show study the data in terms of
looking at those precings, How many people are registered, how
many elder voters there are, how many actually turned out
in in concentrated on those areas in the sow. What
are the three or four areas that you are targeting
for a big turnout.

Speaker 3 (43:07):
Yeah, so my district is four localities. One is the
City of Petersburg, very urban, very dense, very blue. The
other three localities are all rural, red leaning. When you
look at the voter turnout among the four different localities,
the lowest voter turnout was in the City of Petersburg

(43:27):
the my race.

Speaker 1 (43:29):
How low when you say how good, like, what was
the percentage? Thirty two percent? Thirty two percent? That was
the turnout. Yeah, And so I'm always talking about I
keep using seventy as a number. So if fifty percent
turned out, if forty percent turned out, you win.

Speaker 7 (43:46):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (43:46):
We actually did the math afterwards if thirty eight percent
had turned out.

Speaker 1 (43:50):
But it's the point I'm making. I don't want forty
I don't want forty five. What I keep saying is
if we turn at turnout at seventy percent of our capacity,
we sweep elections absolutely.

Speaker 3 (44:03):
Because here's one thing we all know, when black people
show up, we win.

Speaker 1 (44:08):
When we vote, we win. We just got to show up.
It's that simple. We've got to show up. So what
have you been doing insane in the last two years?
This specifically, if this bird to say, look, the only
way this happens if you actually vote yes.

Speaker 3 (44:26):
So what I've been doing is making sure people understand
the contrast between myself and my opponent. Listen, my opponent
is looking out for herself, not looking out for us,
not looking out for our community. So every chance I get,
as I'm knocking doors and meeting voters, I'm telling them firsthand,
what did she vote on?

Speaker 1 (44:43):
How did she vote?

Speaker 3 (44:44):
I'm giving specific, concrete examples to the voters. I'm not
just talking about things in the abstract. I'm giving them
real life examples of times when she could have fought
for us and.

Speaker 1 (44:55):
Chose not to.

Speaker 3 (44:55):
Like what, Oh, there was So the city of Petersburg
has a ca casino coming. We have a casino coming,
And my opponent supported legislation that would have forced the
City of Petersburg to share the revenue among five localities,
five localities that never fought for a casino, never showed

(45:18):
any interests advantage.

Speaker 1 (45:20):
Five other cities. Yes, so the casino would be in Petersburg. Yes,
and so she wanted the money to be shared with them. Yes,
why you'd have to ask her? Okay, go ahead.

Speaker 3 (45:31):
So when we found that out, we we mobilized. I mean,
we we wrote letters, We've reached out to the general Assembly.
We made sure that the people who were supporting that
bill knew how we felt about it.

Speaker 7 (45:44):
And it died.

Speaker 1 (45:45):
It died, it never it did not pass.

Speaker 3 (45:46):
So because of our voices when we when we stood together,
we made sure they understood what was important to us.

Speaker 1 (45:54):
And those are the examples that I make sure to.

Speaker 3 (45:55):
Remind people when we are if we aren't looking, if
we aren't looking, and they'll try it again. And the
only way to ensure that she and others like her
can't try it again is by voting them out. Because
our vote can do two things. It can hire and
it can fire.

Speaker 1 (46:10):
So running against someone is one thing, running for is another.
What are your priorities if elected?

Speaker 3 (46:15):
Yes, So, as I said, I'm a mother, my son's
a senior in high school, public high school, public school.
Education is very important to me. I believe we can
invest more than we currently do. I know the college
isn't for everyone, so I'm very much a supporter of
the trades, vocational technology.

Speaker 1 (46:32):
You know, vote well.

Speaker 3 (46:34):
When I was in school, we called it votech making
sure we have plumbers, welders, electricians, good paying jobs that
don't require college.

Speaker 1 (46:42):
Degree, also jobs that can be outsourced across across the ocean. Absolutely. Absolutely.

Speaker 3 (46:48):
When you teach someone a skill, when you teach someone
to trade, how to work with their hands, that's theirs forever.

Speaker 1 (46:54):
So I want to make sure that we equip our.

Speaker 3 (46:56):
Public school students with the ability to take care of themselves,
not to need mounting student debt to have to have
a livelihood. What else, Oh, well, you know, in Virginia
there are three constitutional amendments that are coming back around.
We voted the general assemblies voted on them once and
they passed. However, in Virginia you have to vote on

(47:18):
them a second time before it even.

Speaker 1 (47:20):
Makes it to the voter. And those three are.

Speaker 3 (47:23):
Marriage equality, reproductive freedom, and automatic restoration of rights. Right now,
Virginia is the only state in the United States where
you do not get your rights restored upon paying your
debt to society. You have to ask the governor specifically

(47:43):
and hope that the governor grants you back your rights.

Speaker 1 (47:47):
But also, folks who don't know, that is a law
that dates back to the early teen hundreds and was
a racist law. You had absolute racist intent. The lawmaker
that advanced it literally said, we're doing this to keep
the niggas from voting this is a.

Speaker 3 (48:03):
Jim Crow era legislation that we have an opportunity to
write as long as we come out and vote.

Speaker 1 (48:10):
And so if it passes, if it passes for the
second time, they think it's put on a put on
the ballot in November.

Speaker 7 (48:16):
Yes.

Speaker 3 (48:16):
Yes, So for those for those Republicans who voted against
it the first time, they weren't even voting against the amendment.
They were voting against our right as voters to even
decide on the matter. So we've got to make sure
that we not only keep our Democrat majority, but expand
it so that we can vote, we can pass these
amendments for the second time, so that everyone in this
room has the opportunity for themselves vote on it next November.

Speaker 1 (48:39):
Don't know if your opponent has spoken on this, but
when the Biden Harris administration, they followed it's a letter
to a variety of states that showed that a number
of HBCUs were cheated out of up a thirteen billion
dollars in land grant money. In Virginia state is oh

(49:00):
two hundred and seventy seven point five million dollars. Now,
this has nothing to do with any new funding in
new request for funding. This is literally what this school
was cheated out of for that certain period of time.
If elected, are you going to sponsor legislation for that
to be for that tour in seventy seven point five

(49:21):
million to be funded to Virginia State separate from any
other funding request.

Speaker 9 (49:26):
Oh?

Speaker 1 (49:26):
Absolutely.

Speaker 3 (49:27):
And let me tell you, in Virginia we only have
two land grant universities, Virginia State University and Virginia Tech.
And I will tell you I am an alum of
Virginia Tech.

Speaker 1 (49:37):
And they got their money yep. And in fact, that
money that was supposed to come to Virginia State actually
went to Virginia Tech.

Speaker 3 (49:43):
Yet I've seen firsthand. I've seen firsthand the stark difference
between the funding at Virginia Tech and here, and I
work here, full disclosure, I work here, and I know
that there is no better HBCU in the United States
of America than Virginia State University. So I will do
everything in my power to make sure we're made whole.

Speaker 1 (50:05):
Last question for you. Somebody out there they're like, Okay,
I get all of that. I hear all of that,
but they still are not focused, they still are not
interested in voting. What do you say to that person,
that person who says, I don't really think this stuff
makes any difference to me. It has no impact on
my life. Everything we do is a choice.

Speaker 3 (50:29):
When we wake up every morning, we have to decide
do I want to think about just myself or do
I want to think about my community.

Speaker 1 (50:35):
Your vote is an opportunity to do both.

Speaker 3 (50:38):
You are doing something for yourself and you are also
doing something for everyone else around you. I can't stress
enough how your vote is not just one. When we
collectively decide what we're going to do, then anything is possible.
And I need people to understand that this is not
just about today. This is about next week, next year, decade,

(51:01):
because if we don't elect the right people, the policies
they put in place today are going to impact us
for a generation.

Speaker 1 (51:09):
So we have to think about what do.

Speaker 3 (51:11):
You want today? What do you want tomorrow? What do
you want ten years from now?

Speaker 1 (51:15):
All right, folks, is the eighty second House District. Let's
put your hands together for Kimily Pope Adams. I appreciate it.
Gonna go to a quick break. I'll be right back
right here. Roland mack on Filter on the Black Study
Network Live at Virginia State University.

Speaker 14 (51:30):
Back of the moment, afro Tech. It's a lot of beauty,

(52:02):
a lot of brilliance, a lot.

Speaker 1 (52:03):
Of intellect, a lot of innovation. Companies that are most
diverse are more profitable.

Speaker 15 (52:09):
We're getting culture, we're getting community, We're getting the best
of the best. Not only are we here to greet each.

Speaker 17 (52:14):
Other, but we're here to network and to elevate each other.

Speaker 18 (52:20):
Everybody from all the major tech companies here, and that
means that now everybody's in the same domain.

Speaker 19 (52:31):
This is the premiere event every year.

Speaker 1 (52:34):
This is really where we could take off. You can
go fast by yourself, where you go farther together. This
is where you're supposed to be.

Speaker 12 (52:46):
If in this country right now you have people get
up in the morning and the only thing they can
think about is how many people they can hurt, and
they got the power.

Speaker 23 (52:55):

Speaker 19 (52:58):
What makes America so, it's that legal system that's supposed

Speaker 1 (53:06):
We are at a point of a moral emergency.

Speaker 24 (53:11):
We must raise a voice of outrage, we must raise
a voice of compassion, and.

Speaker 12 (53:18):
We must raise a voice of unity. We are not
in a crisis of party versus party. We are in
a crisis of civilization, a human rights crisis, and a
crisis of democracy itself. And guess what, You've been chosen
to make sure that those that would destroy, those that

(53:40):
would hate, don't have the final say and they don't
ultimately win.

Speaker 4 (53:45):
Far our executive producer, A proud family.

Speaker 1 (53:48):
You're watching Roland Martin unfiltered. All right, folks, welcome back

(54:23):
to we're in the state university. I am glad to
be back here. Nine years ago I gave the commencement
address here at the Virginia at Virginia State and we
had a great, great time there. So let's welcome our
next guest, the president of this university, my al for brother.
Put y'all hands together, y'all know him well, Doctor Nicola Otuna.

(54:49):
This is a so we're talking about our voices, our vote,
and this is the thing that people understand. This is
the state school. This taxpayer money.

Speaker 4 (54:58):
That's right.

Speaker 1 (54:59):
So black folks have been spending money, have been paying taxes,
sales tax, property tax, vehicle tax, all of this. And
we expect our institutions to be as well funded as
university of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and others.

Speaker 28 (55:16):
That's right, that's right, And I think the key is
you talked about it earlier. You talked about what a
difference four one hundred students makes. We're about almost six
thousand students now about fifty eight hundred students. If you
count faculty and staff, then you're almost close to seven thousand.
If the people at Virginia State University vote in local elections,
whether it's Petersburg or Chesterfield County, they can swing every

(55:37):
election right in our local area.

Speaker 1 (55:39):
And regardless of who they vote for, the issue becomes them.

Speaker 28 (55:43):
And if the issue becomes them, then the issue becomes
Virginia State University. So we're not red or blue. We're
orange and blue Virginia State, and we're voting on the issue.

Speaker 6 (55:52):
Of the issue.

Speaker 1 (55:53):
And the thing is, in many of these places, let's
just be honest, they're scared of HBC. Is you take
North Carolina. The Republicans there literally split North Carolina A
and T into two congressional districts, which is insane. I mean,
I don't know how you split a college campus. Because
they did not want just what you described. They did

(56:15):
not want a mass turnout of HBCU students determining who
the member of Congress is and for Priview Waller County.
And they have been fighting prayer View students for the
longest because if Preview students voted their numbers, they could
control the entire County Commissioner's Court.

Speaker 28 (56:35):
Look, our institution was built on that kind of political activism.
You just had Kimberley Pope Adams here. She works at
Virginia State University, but her seat was formerly held by
the founder of Virginia State University, Alfred W. Harris, the
first black congressman in the Commonwealth of Virginia held Jennifer
McClelland see John Mercer Langston. He was the president of

(56:57):
Virginia State University. And so voting at has always been
important at VSU. And that's why I'm so proud of
whether it's Arnold Westbrook or Wes Bellamy, even though even
though they're not members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated.

Speaker 1 (57:11):
Everybody couldn't get in.

Speaker 6 (57:12):
Everybody couldn't get in.

Speaker 28 (57:14):
But what I mean, it's true, and I'm sorry, I'm sorry,
but for us to not just have a dream, but
to have a plan, a strategic plan to make sure
that we register our students and not for a presidential election.
Many times as universities, we get excited and we get
motivated around presidential elections. But to do it for local

(57:34):
elections I think is very important.

Speaker 1 (57:36):
And speaking of that, it was unfortunate that the twice
in Peach criminal convicted fellow then chief would not do
his second debate that was supposed to be I.

Speaker 28 (57:46):
Was on your show talking about the debate that was
supposed to happen here at Virginia State, in this facility,
the first presidential debate hosted by historically black college.

Speaker 1 (57:56):
It didn't happen.

Speaker 28 (57:58):
But again, all of that and all of this is
to continue to motivate young people to vote.

Speaker 1 (58:02):
And so I started off this conversation the same way
because I need people to understand when you talk about,
all right, these are the things that we want for
Virginia State, we want for Norfolk, but also how you
can impact even private HBC using this state. It's state funded, right,
state funding squeaky wheels against the most Greece. And so

(58:24):
when the folk have to understand that, when the election
is over, I keep saying, that's the end of one process.
At the beginning of another. The reality is you just
can't be you and your administration and a few alumni
can't be the only ones showing up in Richmond. You've
got to have people in this city, alumni others, not
just on one day, but consistently pounding the door saying,

(58:49):
y'all had better make sure that when you take care
of University of Virginia and Virginia Tech, you better be
taking care of Virginia State as well as Norfolk and
our folk got to realize that you need that level
of support.

Speaker 28 (59:01):
That's right, and you being here as an adjunct professor
here at Virginia State University tonight and having your guests
who have sat in front here and talked to the
students so they could see who the candidates are, and
so after they win or lose or win, that we
can continue to hold them accountable, to make sure that
financial aid is on the is on a docket, that

(59:24):
that that more capital funds are on the docks, so
these students have the buildings that they need to be educated.
All of those things are critically important. So again that
work is being done down and we.

Speaker 6 (59:33):
Thank you for it.

Speaker 1 (59:33):
So look, we talked, and we talk about and again
I think a lot of people don't just just really
don't realize. Look, it was very easy for me to
be able to log on to your wireless guest account,
but they are eighty percent of HBCUs in America are
Wi Fi deserts. Yeah, I mean we talk about food deserts.

(59:54):
So we're talking about a lot of the a lot
of these, a lot of univers especially private hbc You've
got buildings that some campus I think when I was
talking to the former president of Fisk, they were building
their first new campus since the Eisenhower administration. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
it was nineteen sixty.

Speaker 28 (01:00:12):
I think one of the critical things is that we
continue to support each other. There's really no difference between
a public and a private HBCU. You know, we compete
with Norfolk State and Virginia Union and sometimes Hampton on
saturdays for football or maybe for basketball. But every other
day of the week, we're the same institution and we
have to lobby together, we have to move together because

(01:00:33):
we served the same mission to educate our kids.

Speaker 1 (01:00:36):
But it goes beyond just black students of HBCUs, of
non black student population. And we saw with the lawsuit
in Maryland. How the HBCUs were getting creative with majors
that were attracting non black students. And then what did
the state do. They allowed these pwis to have duplicate programming,

(01:00:56):
and so they said, well, look, if I got a
choice between going to Morgan State and going to University
of Maryland, I'm gonna go to the University of Maryland.
And they had that lawsuit, and sure you had, you
had the settlement, but it should have been a two
billion dollar settlement as opposed to the actual settlement that
was signed. I don't think a lot of folks really
understand how from the day HBCUs were founded, they were

(01:01:21):
underfunded from day one.

Speaker 6 (01:01:25):
That's correct, that's correct.

Speaker 28 (01:01:26):
We are we are the fourth oldest public institution in
the Commonwealth of Virginia, UVA, Virginia Tech, UH and VMR.
But if you look at our campus and our campus facilities,
we got buildings one hundred years older than some of
the other institutions in the commonwealth.

Speaker 4 (01:01:43):
UH.

Speaker 28 (01:01:44):
And so when you when you talk about infrastructure, when
you talk about investment, I think it's clear that our
HBCUs have been underfunded and we have to marshal our
political capital to make sure that we can correct those products.

Speaker 1 (01:01:55):
And again we talk about voting, it matters, and also
how do you come through the is. If Democrats control
the House, you will still have Don Scott speak of
the House African American, the person controlling the money. Democrats
control the Senate, that's Louise Lucas. If span Berger beats
Lieutenant governor, you're talking about democratic governor. And guess what

(01:02:16):
it's called return on investment. Fully expect with that level
of leadership, getting that two hundred seventy seven point five
million dollars should not be a problem. And our responsibilities
is to put pressure on those three to say where
to check.

Speaker 28 (01:02:32):
Well, Look, it's it's important for me to say, mister
Martin that whether they're Democrats or Republican, right that win,
that we have to make sure that HBCUs are on
the table all the time we have had Now having
said that, we've had incredible support. Don Scott, the Speaker
of the House, and the House of Delegence have been wonderful.
Louise Lucas, the President pro tem of the Senate and

(01:02:53):
the Senate have been wonderful supporting Virginia State University, the
governor has supported Virginia State University, and so we believe
and all of those who support Virginia State University and
the education of our young people.

Speaker 1 (01:03:04):
But I want more.

Speaker 6 (01:03:07):
No, I mean because and I don't.

Speaker 1 (01:03:11):
It ain't like being re reedy is well deserved.

Speaker 28 (01:03:14):
A good friend of mine said, we want our unfair share.
We want more and more importantly, not that we want more.
They deserve more, right, right, our students deserve more.

Speaker 1 (01:03:26):
We are seeing massive changes on the federal level, Department
of Education cuts left and right. We're seeing attacks on
universities literally being extorted to sign pledges. We just saw
another university, another IVY leaves go till the Trump illustration. No,
we're not signing, not signing that deal. How have you

(01:03:47):
had to navigate the crazy terrain that we now see
happening coming out of Washington, d C.

Speaker 28 (01:03:53):
Sir as a university president, and I would say this
across the board for all of my colleagues, We've always
had had to advocate, whether it's at the state House
or in dc UH. Sometimes we work with friends people
who love our HBCUs, and sometimes we work with people
that don't.

Speaker 6 (01:04:07):
Love our HBCUs.

Speaker 28 (01:04:08):
What our jobs are to make sure that we can
gather all as much of the resources that we can
so that our kids can go to school.

Speaker 1 (01:04:15):
That's critical when you when you see slashing pail grants,
things along those lines, the same thing. It's one of
those things that people don't understand. That sure, when you
hear Republicans in Congress say, oh, how we need to
uh cut these things out. People not understanding the cost

(01:04:36):
of education has exploded in the last thirty years. You
can't when I hear when I hear these idiots on
Fox News talk about when they were in college, I'm like,
full the credit hour when you were in college, Uh,
isn't even remotely the same extrat is today.

Speaker 4 (01:04:51):
That's right.

Speaker 1 (01:04:51):
So you can act like, oh, just go get a
job at a fast food restaurant. That's gonna pay, that's
gonna pay your credit. That ain't happening. The world has changed.

Speaker 28 (01:05:00):
I like to say there's five partners who help us
educate young people. There's the young people in their families themselves.
There's the university in terms of trying to keep tuition low.
There's the state government. There's the federal government, and that's
private philanthropy. The federal government assists in higher education with
the Peil grant and access to loans.

Speaker 6 (01:05:17):
And if the Peil grant doesn't grow with.

Speaker 28 (01:05:20):
Inflation, and it hasn't, then those who said they used
to be able to work their way through college and
get a pel grant, you can't do that now. And
if the federal government removes certain access from our students
to get loans, then they also won't be able to
go to school to get the capital that they need
to go to school. And so it's important that everyone
looks at these very important issues, especially our students, and

(01:05:42):
votes towards those issues.

Speaker 1 (01:05:45):
Granted, this is a four year institution, but one of
the things that we are seeing and you heard Kimbery
Pope Adams talk about it, and I actually was discussing
it's a on a TV one show I got fifteen
years ago. When we talk about trades. The reality is,
and this is hard for some people to do. Everybody

(01:06:05):
is not meant to go to four year institutions.

Speaker 29 (01:06:07):
Oh for sure.

Speaker 1 (01:06:08):
Sixty five percent of the jobs in this country actually
are trained by community colleges. But seeing you a community
college graduate ain't as sexy.

Speaker 7 (01:06:17):
But it's not.

Speaker 1 (01:06:18):
And a matter of fact, I remember I was interviewing. Actually,
I was a part of a conversation with then Vice
president Joe Biden, and he made that particular point. He's like, yeah,
you don't see hear parents like, oh why baby fishing
from community college? Right, because it's an ego, it's an
esteem thing. But the reality is supposed to come in
with massive amounts of debt, not be able to get jobs.

(01:06:39):
And so we had flipped the other way when we
completely got rid of ocasions. And again, I don't care
how much money you making. Listen, I ain't dealing with
no stopped up toilet.

Speaker 4 (01:06:50):
Look.

Speaker 1 (01:06:50):
Look, and when when the power don't work, I ain't
trying to go to get electrocuted. I have no problem
with the trades.

Speaker 28 (01:06:59):
I firmly agree that every young person and young at
hard person, that's what I call old people.

Speaker 6 (01:07:04):
Everybody doesn't need to go to college.

Speaker 28 (01:07:06):
Some people should go to get an associate's degree. That
someone who don't need to go to college at all.
I don't have a problem with the argument. The only
thing I have a problem with is some of those
who make the argument they're making it just for my kids.

Speaker 6 (01:07:19):
See, and I don't like that.

Speaker 1 (01:07:20):
Well, actually, and that actually was one of the reasons
actually when they went away, because in the seventies, coming
out of segregation, Yeah, you had trades in all these schools.
Black students were being pushed the trades. That's pushed away
from four years. That's right, parents rebel And if people
want to understand history, that literally was a thirty year

(01:07:40):
fight at Hampton. Look when General Armstrong found it hampted.
He wanted black He wanted the children of the children
that came out of slavery to be trained in agriculture.
The black parents are like, oh, hell no, we want sciences,
law whatever. So that was a thirty year battle at Hampton.
So we saw that after Jim Road with trades and

(01:08:01):
so they got wiped out of schools. But then the
problem is they got totally taken out, that's right. So
that's so there was no balance.

Speaker 28 (01:08:07):
No, No, the trades need to exist, and many of
our kids need to be in the trades. But I
am not gonna take that message from someone who doesn't respect, to.

Speaker 1 (01:08:16):
Understand or appreciate my kids.

Speaker 28 (01:08:18):
Who are gonna give them that message when they're gonna
send their own kids to college, don't tell me that
college isn't for them, But it's for yours right, tell
me that.

Speaker 1 (01:08:25):
Right, absolutely absolutely. Last question for you, and and that
is we are operating in this athletic nil world. Sure
you've got you've got a bill. Uh that NCAA others
are pushing and then they are they want HBCUs to

(01:08:47):
get behind the bill to Score Act. Uh. And in
looking at that, I have some fundamental.

Speaker 4 (01:08:56):
Issues with it.

Speaker 1 (01:08:56):
Then I just saw I just saw something just early today,
folks coming out opposing it.

Speaker 17 (01:09:02):
Uh.

Speaker 25 (01:09:03):
And so.

Speaker 1 (01:09:04):
Have you weighed in? Has really state weighed in on this?

Speaker 16 (01:09:08):
Uh?

Speaker 1 (01:09:09):
In terms of uh, this nil bill trying to get
Congress to limit how students get paid.

Speaker 28 (01:09:15):
Well, first before I address that, and since this is
the last question, I better say my wife's name, doctor
alecab Abdua.

Speaker 1 (01:09:20):
The first lady is probably wise Virginia State University. You
know she doesn't play any sports, and well she at
and she's not doing that. No, she's not here, she's
at home, but she's she's watching though you better give
us she's watching.

Speaker 4 (01:09:30):
So I did that.

Speaker 6 (01:09:32):
I have weaight in.

Speaker 4 (01:09:33):
Look.

Speaker 28 (01:09:33):
I don't know all the details of the Score Act,
but I do know this. I believe that young particularly
football and basketball players, particularly those who sports are there
predominantly African American, that they deserve to get as much
money as they can from what they're doing. Now, if
they do that, we're Division two and we're a smaller school.

(01:09:54):
Can we compete with some of the Power five conferences?

Speaker 12 (01:09:57):
That know?

Speaker 1 (01:09:58):
But that's okay. Heck, I can't compete with them coaches
and sell for faculty.

Speaker 6 (01:10:02):
I have to compete based on who our institution is.

Speaker 28 (01:10:04):
But I don't want anything to slow down our young
black men and women from receiving the monies from their actions.

Speaker 6 (01:10:11):
I don't want any of that. So I don't know
how that rhymes with the score at oh, but I've
made my point.

Speaker 1 (01:10:17):
I agree with one hundred percent what I do want.
I do want changes. I don't want these agents getting
twenty percent of ripping these folks off. I do believe
there has to be some parameters there. But one of
the points that I've made the folk is that would
I would literally argue that ni L is creating more

(01:10:39):
annual wealth for black families than any other area. If
you just look at all of a sudden, you've got
highest kids coming out, and it used to be the NFL,
we was so used to. Oh, that kid want to
get drafted so he can blob mama house, Mama get
in the house as a freshman. So it's changing the

(01:11:01):
game economically. I just want to make sure our brothers
are getting financial literacy. Uh, they're saving investing and not
burning that money on cars, cars, cars and jewelry. And
understand how that's life changing money in case you never
even make it to the NFL. But yeah, all the
folks who want to stop it, I'm like, y'all ain't
trying to cut no coaching.

Speaker 6 (01:11:21):
Salary exactly exactly. So I agree with you.

Speaker 28 (01:11:24):
Financial literacy is important, but let's do nothing to even
even if they mess it up, they still deserve to
have it. I don't want to mess it up. Yeah,
even if they do, I want to get all the money.

Speaker 1 (01:11:34):
They can, absolutely do. I appreciate it. Brother, Thanks a lot, No.

Speaker 30 (01:11:37):
Man, thanks for coming bro, folks, we come back. More
candidates running for Virginia House. You're watching Rolling Buck nonfiltered
right here in the Black Studdy Network live at Virginia
State University.

Speaker 1 (01:11:48):
Back in the moment.

Speaker 20 (01:12:14):
The anti intellectualism and Trump's continued war on wisdom.

Speaker 21 (01:12:18):
This is a coordinated backlash to progress. At the end
of the day, conservatives realized that they couldn't win a
debate on facts. They started using our language against us. Right,
remember when we were all woke and the woke movement
and all.

Speaker 4 (01:12:31):
That kind of stuff. Now everything is anti woke.

Speaker 21 (01:12:34):
Right when we were talking about including diversity, equity, inclusion,
and higher education, Now it's anti d All this our
efforts to suppress the truth, because truth empowers people.

Speaker 8 (01:12:43):
You're watching the other side of change only on the
Blackstart Network.

Speaker 31 (01:12:48):
This week on a balanced lide for Doctor Jackie. We're
continuing our series of Putting in the Works a chef's Journey.
Are you an aspiring chef someone who already has a
business trying to figure out what your next steps will be,
who to talk to and how to get there Well.
On this week's show, our great guests and wonderful chef
will talk to you about what means to discover your purpose, your.

Speaker 7 (01:13:10):
Why of being in the kitchen and knowing how to
put a business together.

Speaker 16 (01:13:13):
The menu controls everything, It determines The menu determines everything,
but the business plan is where you have to go.

Speaker 1 (01:13:21):
Back to when you get into the business. At the
end of the day. You know, social media and TV,
all of that stuff is cool, but you still have
to run a business, so you still have to be
in relationship with people.

Speaker 7 (01:13:31):
That's all.

Speaker 31 (01:13:32):
Next on a Balance Life with Doctor Jackie here on
Black Star Network.

Speaker 32 (01:13:39):
Hatred on the Streets a horrific scene white nationalist rally
that descended into deadly violence.

Speaker 1 (01:13:48):
White people are losing their their minds.

Speaker 33 (01:13:51):
As a main woray pro truck Mark storms the US
Capital Show.

Speaker 1 (01:13:56):
We're about to see the lives where I call white
minority resistance and white folks in this country who simply
cannot tolerate black folks voting.

Speaker 33 (01:14:05):
I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of
violent denial.

Speaker 6 (01:14:10):
This is part of American history.

Speaker 33 (01:14:12):
Every time that people of color have made progress, whether
real or symbolic, there has been but Carold Anderson at
every university calls white rage as a backlash.

Speaker 1 (01:14:22):
This is the right of the proud Boys and the
Boogaaloo boys America. There's going to be more of this,
the proud Boy God.

Speaker 34 (01:14:29):
This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and
its attitudes because of the fear.

Speaker 1 (01:14:36):
Of white people, the few that they're taking our jobs.
They're taking our resources, they're taking our women.

Speaker 4 (01:14:41):
This is white field.

Speaker 6 (01:14:58):
In this country right now.

Speaker 12 (01:15:00):
You have people get up in the morning and the
only thing they can think about is how many people
they can hurt.

Speaker 23 (01:15:06):
And they've got the power. That's the time for morning,
For better or worse.

Speaker 19 (01:15:10):
What makes America special, it's that legal system that's supposed

Speaker 24 (01:15:18):
We are at a point of a moral emergency. We
must raise a voice of outrage. We must raise a
voice of compassion, and we must raise a voice of unity.

Speaker 1 (01:15:33):
We are not in a crisis of party versus party.

Speaker 12 (01:15:37):
and a crisis of democracy itself.

Speaker 6 (01:15:44):
And guess what.

Speaker 12 (01:15:45):
You've been chosen to make sure that those that would destroy,
those that would hate, don't have the final say, and

Speaker 25 (01:15:57):
Said the quiet part out loud. Black votes are a threat,
so they erased them. After the Supreme Court gutted the
Voting Rights Act in twenty thirteen, Republican legislatures moved fast
new voter id laws, polling place shutdowns, purges of black
voters from the rolls, Trump's Justice Department didn't stop it.

(01:16:18):
They joined in. In twenty eighteen, his DOJ backed Ohio's
voter purge system, a scheme that disproportionately erased Black voters.
Their goal erased black votes and political power. Yeah, that happened.
These are the kinds of stories that we cover every
day on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Subscribe on YouTube and download

(01:16:39):
the black Star Network app. Support fact based independent journalism
that centers African Americans and the issues that matter to
our community.

Speaker 28 (01:16:57):
I am Laville crawfd anywhere votes out today because I
wanted to breathe, and.

Speaker 6 (01:17:02):
You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered.

Speaker 1 (01:17:09):
Mm hm m hm hm.

Speaker 23 (01:17:25):
Hm m hm m hm.

Speaker 7 (01:17:29):
M hm m hm m hm.

Speaker 1 (01:17:34):
M hm m hm m.

Speaker 6 (01:17:39):
M hm m hm m hm.

Speaker 15 (01:17:43):
M h.

Speaker 30 (01:17:46):
All right, folks, welcome back to but you say we
got three more even got out of the house and introduce.

Speaker 1 (01:17:53):
Right now Gardner. She is running for District seventy six.
Put James together for Deborah. Also joining us right here
is Lindsey Dougherty. Lindsey running in District seventy five. Also,

(01:18:18):
Mike Jones represents Virginia seventy seven district, running as well,
so all three are running, so first and foremost, I'll
throw this out first. As you're traveling around your districts,
what's the dominant issue you are hearing from folks that
they care about that's most important in their minds.

Speaker 16 (01:18:39):
Thank you, Roland, and thank you so much for having me.
I am currently in the House of Delegates, so I
still am knocking doors, just like I'm pretty in a
pretty safe district.

Speaker 7 (01:18:50):
And what I'm hearing from my constituents is they're really worried.

Speaker 16 (01:18:54):
They're really afraid about what's happening in Washington, mostly regarding
the economy and health care, and so we are trying
to address some of those issues.

Speaker 1 (01:19:04):
In the House of Delegates.

Speaker 16 (01:19:05):
I'm actually on Health and Human Services as one of
my committees. I'm also on finance as a freshman. I'm
really proud of that, and so I'm.

Speaker 4 (01:19:13):
Able to hopefully lease some of their fears.

Speaker 2 (01:19:17):
But in our honesty, we're not like the federal government.

Speaker 1 (01:19:20):
We cannot make money.

Speaker 35 (01:19:25):
Yes, So one of the biggest things that I'm hearing
about just general affordability. A lot of it is around
accessibility and affordability of health care. It's something that me
and my family have faced over the years and comes
up on doors, whether they're Democrats, Republicans, or independents. And
so I think that you know all the things that
you mentioned before about it not matter and not mattering

(01:19:47):
what side of the isle folks typically vote on. These
are issues that impact our day to day life, regardless
of what party we previously supported, and so we have
to make that decision this year in Virginia on who
we feel like is best going to lead us provide
a firewall of protection against what's happening at the federal level,
but also building up our communities here in Virginia for

(01:20:08):
the next two years.

Speaker 36 (01:20:10):
First of all, getting to Michael Jones, thanks for having
us out. People are tired of the nonsense in DC.
On November first, there's roughly fifty seven thousand chess Field
residents and thirty six thousand Richmond residents who will not
receive their SNAP benefits because of the shutdown.

Speaker 4 (01:20:27):
That's not getting enough airtime. We're not talking about that enough.

Speaker 36 (01:20:31):
But our families and vulnerable communities are going to be
impacted in a major way. The cost of living is
not going down, it's rising, and many of the people
that we represent all three of us, and who Lindsey
hopes a resident to represent.

Speaker 4 (01:20:46):
They're not receiving the assistance from the government, federal and
state that they're going to need. And so we were
talking about affordability.

Speaker 1 (01:20:54):
When I look at Mam Donnie running in New York,
I mean he is running a campaign speaking directly to
people's concerns. You see it in the ad that he's
doing the social media as well, and healthcare is absolutely dominant.
But we also are seeing is the issue of housing,
affordable housing. We've seen prices of homes explode all across

(01:21:17):
the country over the last several years. And so what
specifically do you hope to do, lads, Le'll start with you,
if elected, to confront the issue of housing costs.

Speaker 4 (01:21:27):
In your district.

Speaker 35 (01:21:29):
Yes, so I'm actually running against an opponent that voted
against tax breaks for first time home buyers. It seems
like a no brainer to me and that's something that
I personally would support when elected. She also voted to
raise rents without notice to people, and since she is
a landlord, that benefits her directly, and I think that

(01:21:51):
that doesn't serve our community, it doesn't represent.

Speaker 1 (01:21:53):
What we need.

Speaker 35 (01:21:55):
At a House Delegates, level, at a state Senate level,
and it is something that I will so directly impact
when we've looked the seat.

Speaker 36 (01:22:03):
One of the things that we did, the City of
Richmond actually has a taxing center program for affordable housing projects,
and that's going to be a model that we're going
to use at the state level that any builder that
wants to come into a locality and do an affordable
housing project, instead of a tax abatement program that basically
gentrified the city of Richmond, those dollars are now shifted

(01:22:25):
to putting affordable housing stock out there, and so that's key.
That's something that we can do as well. We have
to ensure that the planning process, the planning and review
process that a lot of our localities drag their feet
on is just it's raising the cost of those projects.
When localities reduce the number of units in the name
of infrastructure, right, you take a project that has a

(01:22:49):
thousand units removed two hundred, you just increase the cost
of that project by twenty percent and the developer's not.

Speaker 4 (01:22:55):
Going to take that on.

Speaker 36 (01:22:56):
So we need to reduce the duplicative processes within a locality.
We need to encourage them to get this process through
within nine to ten months, not eighteen to eighteen plus
two years.

Speaker 16 (01:23:09):
And for me this year, during the general suddenly affording
how affordable housing was one of my issues. I actually
put in three pieces of legislation, two of which actually
went to the Housing Commission for study so we could
bring them back.

Speaker 1 (01:23:24):
They did not die.

Speaker 16 (01:23:25):
And one in particular, which is really kind of critical,
is that we have localities and we have the state
who has surplus property, and that property could be used
for affordable housing.

Speaker 7 (01:23:40):
But most of the time we did the research and found.

Speaker 16 (01:23:43):
Out that the localities did not know how much surplus
property they had. The state did not know how much
surplus property they had.

Speaker 2 (01:23:51):
So my legislation would have required them to do inventory
and to make these properties available at a fair market
value to organizations who specifically targeted developing affordable housing.

Speaker 1 (01:24:06):
And so it got sent to study.

Speaker 16 (01:24:08):
It did not die, but we've got to stop talking
about the problem and start doing something.

Speaker 1 (01:24:13):
The other piece was to.

Speaker 2 (01:24:15):
Actually form a task force that would.

Speaker 16 (01:24:19):
Have bring all these pieces together, including the one that
Delegate Jones talked about about how long it takes to
get housing through the process, and so that one is
actually they're working on pulling together and it would have
to report within a year and not just be something
that you do and put.

Speaker 6 (01:24:36):
On the shelf.

Speaker 1 (01:24:37):
I asked this question earlier. I talked about it with
the President as well. So I'm going to ask each
one of you to say yes or no if you
were returned to the delegate. If you are elected and
you return as well, will you specifically support the state
giving the two hundred seventy seven point five million dollars
as owe to this school that was taken the money

(01:24:59):
that came with the federal government, the land grant money.

Speaker 4 (01:25:01):
Do you support that? Hell?

Speaker 8 (01:25:02):
Yes, absolutely.

Speaker 35 (01:25:05):
I work in a higher education university too, and we
need to get these dollars into the.

Speaker 8 (01:25:11):
Communities that need them.

Speaker 16 (01:25:13):
And I would too, And my understanding is that they
remove their designation as a land grant and they should
restore that as well as give the money back.

Speaker 1 (01:25:23):
All right, then, Mike, I'll start with you. One of
the issues that specifically it is important to our community
black owned businesses being able to tap into state contracts.
What does that look like for black owned business in
this state? The reality is, if you look at most
of our businesses, the ones that have been able to

(01:25:44):
build and grow the region. Atlanta is what it is
is because of the airport, because of contracts there, because
contracts with the city. We've not seen that replicated in
some other different places. So talk about what you will
do to advance that issue. You get to get right.

Speaker 36 (01:26:00):
We know we can't do set asides and namely say
all right, you have to spend xyz.

Speaker 4 (01:26:05):
But some of the things that we can do is
begin to look at and focus.

Speaker 36 (01:26:09):
On let Michael a little bit higher, hold and hold
our developers accountable. You know that the procurement processes, whether
it's a locality, whether it's a state level, to ensure
that they are being equitable in the dollars that they
do in Atlanta. All right, if someone couldn't scale up
to do the entire airport, okay, do the runway, how
do we begin to do something?

Speaker 1 (01:26:28):
Actually actually or what actually? What MAINA. Jackson actually did
was he broke so I covered city government, county government.
And the reality is in order for you to bid
on a prime contract, you had to have been a
prime before. Well, if you never can become a prime
you can ever be in a prime contract. So what
he did was he actually broke the contracts up, so

(01:26:49):
versus there being one hundred million dollar contract he broke
it into four twenty five million dollar contracts or ten
ten milli dollar contracts, which gave us by an opportunity
to become a prime contractor. And once you become a
prime one time, you now can be done other prime contracts.
That's the way of doing it. That's not or when
I cover city city Hall in Fort Worth, one of

(01:27:11):
the things they did was give preferential treatment to zip
codes or to businesses in the city that are actually
headquartered in the city. The last thing that Jackson did
also was require banks where city put their money in
those banks to provide lots of credit to the businesses
getting city contracts. He said, we're going to be paying them,

(01:27:34):
but they can't survive on six months. And that's not
a race based policy. That can be for any business
that has a state contract or a city contract. There
are ways to actually help build capacity to get around
those restrictions.

Speaker 36 (01:27:48):
And some of the things that we did after my
first session, we held Banking while Black simposing and we
looked at how African American businesses were not able to
scale up or get the type of lending that you know,
white organizations that could do.

Speaker 1 (01:28:00):
And so we put it why to get a PPP
lot on the first place exactly.

Speaker 36 (01:28:04):
And so what we did this past session and put
in a budget amendment that gave a grant about those
closer quarter a million dollars to the Metropolitan Business League
so they can help small businesses, black businesses, minority owned
businesses begin the process of scaling up. And so that's
something that I want to see just just more robusts,
more dollars put there, because if we, if we help

(01:28:26):
local organizations like NBL Floyd Miller, can get those dollars
to the companies and the men and women that are
actually out here doing that work and help them be successful.

Speaker 7 (01:28:37):
Do you mean yes?

Speaker 16 (01:28:38):
What I want to say is I'm actually a small
business owner. I'm registered in Chesterfield County.

Speaker 7 (01:28:43):
And not only those kind.

Speaker 1 (01:28:45):
Of about what the business is, huh, what's the business?

Speaker 16 (01:28:48):
I'm a consulting business. I do executive and executive coaching.
But it's been on a hole since I've been running.

Speaker 1 (01:28:57):
So that I'll always be selling.

Speaker 16 (01:28:59):
But go ahead, go ahead, yes, But along those same lines,
we also have to make sure that they're not intentionally
cutting them out. A group came to me to bring
up possible legislation this session about how they have been.

Speaker 1 (01:29:17):
Kept out of this by.

Speaker 16 (01:29:18):
Having to check certain boxes that if you've ever had
a fell in then you can't bid on this, or
if you ever anybody in your company who has these
certain things and you check those boxes, you can't even
bid for some of those contracts. So we have to
stop some of the roadbox that are put in before
small businesses espectively black owned businesses, to make sure that

(01:29:40):
they if they can bid on these things, that they're
going to be qualified as a small business owner.

Speaker 2 (01:29:47):
We also have to help processes where.

Speaker 16 (01:29:50):
I have a macro business, but I have to jump
through the same hoops that some of these larger businesses have,
and that deters people from wanting to go in to
a small business. And as we know, small businesses are
the backbone of our community. They're the ones who provide
the services to us every single day.

Speaker 35 (01:30:11):
Yes, so I think that especially with the tariffs that
are happening at the federal level, we need to really
sow into the small businesses across our communities. And you know,
that's women owned businesses, that's black owned businesses, that's minority
owned businesses, because those are going to be the businesses
that keep our community safe, keep us fed, keep us healthy.

(01:30:32):
And so I think that if we're able to connect
them to swim at the state level, help them navigate
these procurement processes at the state level that are convoluted
and have typically been built to kind of exclude people,
then we will.

Speaker 4 (01:30:50):
Be successful in doing that.

Speaker 35 (01:30:51):
And so it's working with the small businesses in our
communities to help them through that process, to connect them
to resources and help them thrive and then help our
community thrive to But but the key.

Speaker 1 (01:31:02):
I'm going to be very specific not small business black
owned businesses, because of what we have seen. We've seen
many of them get frozen out, left out, and the
problem is they remain small, they have one to employees.
So the reality is we have to we have to
build scale. So that has that has to be an
intentional effort by the state to say we're going to

(01:31:24):
do that to provide access to folks that have often
been left out the relative If you're able to grow
black owned businesses, you can change in many of these communities.
But it has to be the ability to be able
to access city contracts, county contracts, state contracts. Because we're
seeing how they're being cut out on a federal level.

Speaker 16 (01:31:44):
Own capital, they have to be able to access that capital.

Speaker 1 (01:31:48):
Well, capital also contracts. I mean, so, so part of
the deal. What happens we talked about whatever this issue
comes up. We spend lots of time talking about access
to capital. But the reality is, if I have access
to contracts, I'll get cap And.

Speaker 36 (01:32:01):
I think that I think the one thing that we
have that Deborah and I both have when when folks
come in, you know, and their lobbying us for votes,
my one powers vote that if it's coming before me
on labor and commerce, which I serve on, if it's
coming for city, counties and towns, all right, Hey, why
why aren't there anyone Why isn't there anyone in this room.

Speaker 4 (01:32:18):
That looks like me?

Speaker 36 (01:32:19):
Right as our legislature in Virginia as it blackens and browns. Right,
why don't we see black and brown lobbyists?

Speaker 12 (01:32:26):
Why?

Speaker 4 (01:32:27):
You know, you can ask and I've done that. I
don't care whether there's.

Speaker 1 (01:32:30):
Those jobs, those are those employees, those folks have families,
it's a whole downflow, and you.

Speaker 4 (01:32:35):
Could ask them, Hey, you want my vote. Are you
hiring any any minority businesses? Those are questions that I
ask in my office.

Speaker 1 (01:32:42):
Are you then?

Speaker 4 (01:32:43):
If you're not, what do we need to do? Even
with the unions? If all the union reps.

Speaker 1 (01:32:47):
You know why I've been saying to yogis for a
long time, don't come big if a black votes, and
then you're not hiring black vote, especially the trades and even.

Speaker 16 (01:32:57):
Putting them in the apprentice programs. You look at those programs,
you don't see many brown people.

Speaker 1 (01:33:01):
Yeah, but I only I ain't talking about printage. I'm
the people before that who are not printics, who actually
already have the skills set. I've been on that for
like twenty years. The trades folks get mad at me
all they want to, but I don't give it down.
I don't give it down because those those are high
paying jobs that we offer the frozen out of. And
that's and that's a problem when again, they want black
votes to get passed. But where are those jobs?

Speaker 36 (01:33:22):
And so when I go through their shops, I'm like,
hold on, why why don't see any African Americans in there?

Speaker 4 (01:33:27):
Why don't see anyone that looks like us in there?

Speaker 36 (01:33:28):
And I think that that's that's up to us as
legislators to really sound that alarm, sound that trumpet and
put that expectation out there that we want representation. We
want to see individuals that look like us and that
are being supported by us.

Speaker 4 (01:33:43):
And so that's key for me.

Speaker 1 (01:33:44):
Your individual districts. Give me a sense of the black
makeup of your district.

Speaker 16 (01:33:49):
My district is Chesterfield County. I only have one jurisdiction.
It's predominantly white. I am the first black person, Black
Democrat to ever represent just chess Field statewide.

Speaker 35 (01:34:03):
My district covers on the eastern part of chester Field,
all of Hopewell City, and then the northern part of
Prince George. And the black vote makes up about thirty
five percent.

Speaker 1 (01:34:12):
Of my district.

Speaker 36 (01:34:15):
I represent parts of Richmond and parts of Chesterfield County
forty seven percent of African American, and I'm the first
African American to represent this area in the states in
the state.

Speaker 1 (01:34:25):
So last question for each one of you actually earlier,
give me your next priority if you are able to
serve in the House Delegates.

Speaker 16 (01:34:37):
I already told you about affordable housing. My next one
is early childhood education and that includes like childcare, affordable, accessible,
quality childcare as.

Speaker 7 (01:34:48):
Well as.

Speaker 16 (01:34:51):
Zero to five because I used to be the chief
deputy for the Department of Corrections, and what I realize
is if we don't catch them on the front end,
we're going to pay form in corrections on.

Speaker 7 (01:35:01):
The back end.

Speaker 4 (01:35:02):
Absolutely, it's gonna be more costly, more costly.

Speaker 35 (01:35:05):
Yeah, So I think that one of the main things
that I'm really going to want to tackle when I
am elected is modernizing the state funding formula for schools.
This looks at zero to five funding, this looks at
major maintenance that our schools need, especially in our rural areas,
and it hasn't been updated in decades and so it's

(01:35:26):
not going to be something that can happen in the
first year, but it's something that we can finally start
to write as we move through the next few years
and will benefit entire communities and families.

Speaker 4 (01:35:37):
For me, it's economic mobility.

Speaker 36 (01:35:38):
It's not just making fifteen dollars or eighteen dollars or
nineteen dollars an hour.

Speaker 4 (01:35:42):
How can they move up from there?

Speaker 36 (01:35:43):
And so I work on and I'm reporting to the
Workforce Committee within Labor and Commerce, and that's key for me.
How can we just not get a good job, but
how can we continue to grow on those jobs and.

Speaker 4 (01:35:54):
Ensure next piece is ensuring that.

Speaker 36 (01:35:57):
Yeah, again they tell black kids that, hey, collegesn't for everybody,
but they're not telling that to kids at collegiate and
places like that. I want to ensure that Virginia students
can get into Virginia colleges and not spend the farm
to do it. My son is in his first year
College of Law and fam you and thirty three thousand
out of state tuition he got in state tuition because

(01:36:20):
he trained for the pros and all that stuff down
in Miami. Thirteen thousand dollars a year for law school
for law school? How can we do that here in Virginia.
How can we ensure that every Virginia that wants to
go to school in Virginia. It is a bad economic
decision to leave this state. And so that's something I
want to look at. How do we control the costs?

(01:36:40):
How do we ensure that our young students can do
that and ensure that our young boys and young girls
are going to schools. All of my kids have have
HBCU degrees, including their dad, and that's important to me,
and that means something to me. And so how do
we get more of our kids here where they're going
to be cared for, where they're more than just a number,
but they care and get the compassion that they need.

Speaker 4 (01:37:02):
All right, folks, put it.

Speaker 1 (01:37:04):
I'm an HBCU rat as well. North Carolina Central University.

Speaker 4 (01:37:08):
He supped to throw it in early and say you late.

Speaker 1 (01:37:11):
Put our hands together for deb Regarder, Lindsay Dowdy, Mike Jones.

Speaker 4 (01:37:16):
We'll come back.

Speaker 1 (01:37:18):
We're gonna hear from some of the studients what's on
their mind, what issue they want to see addressed by
like the officials in Richmond. That's next right here, rolling
on Unfiltered on the Black Sudden Network Live in Virginia
State University.

Speaker 27 (01:37:57):
Next on the Black Table with me Craig call Robb.
The America we live in today, isn't that what the
founders intended or what they outlined in the Declaration of
Independence and even the Constitution. Professor and author Hermit Roosevelt
will join us to talk about his book The Nation
That Never Was. How history was misinterpreted the intent and
realities of America's beginnings and missed a much better story

(01:38:20):
In the process.

Speaker 11 (01:38:21):
So if you have to pick some group to marginalize,
I think it should be the people who are against equality.

Speaker 23 (01:38:26):
That's next on the black table right here on the
Black Star.

Speaker 25 (01:38:30):
Network, he said, the quiet part out loud. Black votes
are a threat, so they erased them. After the Supreme
Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in twenty thirteen, Republican
legislatures moved fast new voter id laws, polling place shutdowns,

(01:38:50):
purges of black voters from the roles. Trump's Justice Department
didn't stop it. They joined in in twenty eighteen as
DOJ backed Ohio's voter purchase, a scheme that disproportionately erased
Black voters. Their goal erase black votes and political power.

Speaker 4 (01:39:07):
Yeah, that happened.

Speaker 25 (01:39:09):
These are the kinds of stories that we cover every
day on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Subscribe on YouTube and download
the Black Star Network app. Support fact based, independent journalism
that centers African Americans and the issues that matter to
our community.

Speaker 20 (01:39:34):
This week, on the other side of change, book bands,
anti intellectualism, and Trump's continued war on wisdom, this is.

Speaker 21 (01:39:40):
A coordinated backlash to progress. At the end of the day,
conservatives realized that they couldn't win a debate on facts.
They started using our language against us. Right, remember when
we were all woke in the woke movement and all
that kind of stuff.

Speaker 4 (01:39:54):
Now everything is anti woke.

Speaker 21 (01:39:56):
Right when we were talking about.

Speaker 1 (01:39:57):
Including diversity, equity, inclusion, and higher education.

Speaker 21 (01:40:00):
It's antidi all this our efforts to suppress the truth,
because truth empowers people.

Speaker 8 (01:40:05):
You're watching the other side of change only on the
Blaster network.

Speaker 12 (01:40:10):
If in this country right now, you have people get
up in the morning and the only thing they can
think about is how many people they can hurt, and
they've got the power.

Speaker 23 (01:40:20):

Speaker 19 (01:40:23):
What makes America special, it's that legal system that's supposed

Speaker 1 (01:40:31):
We are at a point of a moral emergency.

Speaker 24 (01:40:36):
We must raise a voice of outrag, We must raise
a voice of compassion.

Speaker 1 (01:40:42):
And we must raise a voice of unity. We are
not in a crisis of party versus party.

Speaker 12 (01:40:50):
and a crisis of democracy itself. And guess what, You've
been chosen to make sure that those that would destroy,
those that would hate don't have the final say, and

Speaker 32 (01:41:10):
Hatred on the streets. A horrific scene a white nationalists
rally that descended into deadly violence.

Speaker 1 (01:41:19):
White people are moving their their minds.

Speaker 4 (01:41:22):
As a angry proach.

Speaker 33 (01:41:23):
Trump Mark Storm to the US Capital the show, We're
about to.

Speaker 1 (01:41:27):
See the lives what I call white minority resistance. You
have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot
tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is
the inevitable result of violent denial.

Speaker 6 (01:41:41):
This is part of American history.

Speaker 33 (01:41:43):
Every time that people of color have made progress, whether
real or symbolic, there has been but Carol Anderson at
every university calls white rage as a backlash.

Speaker 1 (01:41:53):
Is the rise of the proud boys and the Boogaaloo
boys America. There's going to be more of this.

Speaker 34 (01:42:00):
Country just getting increasingly racist and its behaviors and its
attitudes because of the fear of.

Speaker 1 (01:42:07):
White people the few that they're taking our jobs, they're
taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white Field.

Speaker 37 (01:42:29):
On the next Get Wealthy with Me Deborah Owens, America's
wealth coach. We talk about the principles of mindset strategy
and execution.

Speaker 7 (01:42:39):
This week we're adding a fourth faith.

Speaker 37 (01:42:42):
You're going to hear from a mother and daughter duel
who are helping thousands of black women build wealth all.

Speaker 1 (01:42:51):
Through their faith.

Speaker 14 (01:42:53):
You are more than you can ever imagine, not just
obtaining things to show that, but seeing yourself.

Speaker 7 (01:43:01):
Making your faith work for you.

Speaker 37 (01:43:03):
That's right here on Get Wealthy only on Blackstar Network.

Speaker 6 (01:43:15):
Eh, what's up, everybody? It's God be the funniest dude
on the planet, and.

Speaker 3 (01:43:19):
You're watching Roland Martin unfiltered.

Speaker 1 (01:43:34):
All right, folks, welcome back to Virginia State University. We've been,
of course broadcasting here focusing on our vote, our voices,
and so now let's hear from some students. Blackstud Network
correspondent Brittay Noble will take it away.

Speaker 29 (01:43:48):
Well, hello everyone, and with me right now, I have
members of the student Government Association. They call themselves the
Hearts of the school right here. You guys had some
big events today register voters. Jayden, I want you to
tell me a little bit more about what happened today.

Speaker 6 (01:44:05):
First and foremost, it is glad to be here today. Today. Basically,
we had students.

Speaker 26 (01:44:09):
Come out in a fun way just to learn how
to register to vote, especially if they don't live in
this area at all.

Speaker 6 (01:44:17):
So they all came out just.

Speaker 26 (01:44:18):
To learn how to register, how to put in their
ballots and whatnot, how to put in their balance and whatnot.

Speaker 6 (01:44:27):
There was food, fun music.

Speaker 26 (01:44:29):
Everybody had a good time, but it was also trying
to learn the students, help them learn how to vote.

Speaker 6 (01:44:34):
How to put in that ballot, how important it is.
So that's what'll beat Thisito, And you.

Speaker 1 (01:44:39):
Had hundreds of students that signed up to vote today.

Speaker 29 (01:44:42):
Correct and tell me what are some of the things
that are on the minds of students here at the university.
What are people talking about today?

Speaker 38 (01:44:51):
Well, I know from the students' minds they want better housing,
they want parking decals that are not very expensive, and
they want to be able to feel like their voices
are being heard while on campus and not saying Okay,
we're going to do it and nothing happens.

Speaker 29 (01:45:07):
Isaiah, I know that you work with students here firsthand.
Tell me why is it important for students to get involved?

Speaker 13 (01:45:16):
Okay, So when it comes to to why the reason
why students should be getting involved, it's because we are
the base.

Speaker 6 (01:45:21):
At the end of the day, we have people that
came before us. We have people that fought.

Speaker 13 (01:45:24):
We see the progress that they had, but if we
don't keep it going, there won't be any more progress.

Speaker 6 (01:45:31):
Progress doesn't mean that we're able to keep it.

Speaker 13 (01:45:33):
As we see within this new administration that we have,
there have been a lot of things that have been
stripped away from us. So in order to keep that
from continue to happening and more things going away, we
have to be the people that vote and keep those
things intact.

Speaker 4 (01:45:46):
You right now, we have people watching all over the country.

Speaker 29 (01:45:50):
What is it that you want to tell them, especially
young people, inspiring them to get involved.

Speaker 1 (01:45:55):
Uh, go out and.

Speaker 26 (01:45:55):
Vote, and especially with those elected officials, hold them accountable
because they always have their promises and stuff, but sometimes
they don't go along with the promises. So continue to
hold them accountable. So your peers to vote. Always watch
the news. I know it seems a little bit boring,
but watch the news, see what's going on around in
your area, and you can make a difference.

Speaker 4 (01:46:14):
Eventually. Hey man, hey, my show is not boring, you say,
watch the news.

Speaker 1 (01:46:20):
Or other people?

Speaker 4 (01:46:21):
Okay, yeah much.

Speaker 1 (01:46:22):
You better specify who you're talking about, tom body could
be a little boring.

Speaker 4 (01:46:26):
You know, I don't hear with no questions and tell.

Speaker 1 (01:46:29):
Me what's next.

Speaker 3 (01:46:30):
When Roland Martin leaves here, What are you guys gonna do?

Speaker 8 (01:46:33):
How do you keep the momentum going after this?

Speaker 6 (01:46:36):
You've got to continue to mobilize.

Speaker 13 (01:46:37):
I feel like somebody like Roland Martin coming to our
university it shows just how important we are, because some
people can feel like we get lost in the sauce,
especially considering that where I don't want to say we're
a lower.

Speaker 6 (01:46:47):
HBCU, because obviously we're the best HPCU in the land.

Speaker 13 (01:46:50):
But when it comes to the Howards, the ncats, things
like that, people always feel like those students are the
people that hold the power. But when Roland Martin decides
I'm gonna come to Virginia State University in Petersburg, Virginia,
that's when we realize that we hold power.

Speaker 6 (01:47:02):
And so I hope that we take that momentum and
get you to fight for our people. That's because I.

Speaker 1 (01:47:05):
Own it, I can do what I want, all right,
So appreciate We got the next grip of questions as
to y'all, come on, get up, Hey, I'm a car on, y'all,
come on, come on, get on up, Bullswater, get on
up and tell us your name.

Speaker 4 (01:47:23):
Tell me heart is in Cambridge. I'm the senator for
the Honors College. Uh. This election is just really crucial
and important in Virginia.

Speaker 39 (01:47:31):
It's a stepping some to what is going on in
the federal government, and it's really the blockade all the
issues that we talk about.

Speaker 4 (01:47:37):
From calls to schooling to the cost to just live.

Speaker 39 (01:47:41):
It is very important that we vote in this election
and that we really understand the issues and policies that
are taking place not only in Richmond, but in Washington
as well.

Speaker 6 (01:47:50):
Your name, I'm Chance Beverley.

Speaker 40 (01:47:51):
I'm a sophware political science here Virginia State and also
Sara Best mister taps for the Association of Political Science.
And I think my my biggest issue, especially with the
administration right now, is I feel like we're losing truth
in this nation. We're constantly being pumped with misinformation and disinformation,

(01:48:11):
and I think we're losing our sort of objective reality
and I think we need to get back to.

Speaker 4 (01:48:18):
Just, you know, defining truth in this nation.

Speaker 13 (01:48:22):
Tell me your name Antoine Sullivan a double major political
science Mascureunications.

Speaker 6 (01:48:26):
I am a sophomore as well.

Speaker 13 (01:48:28):
I think what's on my heart is to what Zen said,
ensuring that we are getting the funding that we need,
not just for now, but also after because a lot
of times we talk about funding for schools while we're here,
but you know, when we leave here, we need jobs.
We need good jobs, we want good paying jobs. We
want to set up our lives for our families as well,
and so I think ensuring that we don't just focus

(01:48:51):
on the money now, but also after as well.

Speaker 1 (01:48:53):
Do you have anything to say to encourage the people
at home right now?

Speaker 39 (01:48:57):
Your voice, your voice is your vote, and take that
with pride, because every single day, as we see this week,
they're trying to strip it away, and we must truly
focus on it. Whether the news is born or not,
or as as entertaining as mister Martin, we must focus
on it.

Speaker 4 (01:49:14):
It's my man, my man. So let's continue to practice
the right to vote.

Speaker 1 (01:49:20):
Three y'all, students, Yeah, I need to females, get up.
Come on, that's right, y'all telling me y'all, we ain't
doing that, y'all. Come on out, Step on out, y'all,
step on out, Come on.

Speaker 41 (01:49:33):
Ladies, tell me your name come I in north Fleet,
junior political science major with a minor history, And then
what were you.

Speaker 29 (01:49:44):
What did you take away from the panels today?

Speaker 41 (01:49:48):
Honestly, from all the different panels, I I already knew it,
but it really just showed how important it is to vote,
especially as a student and as the prit myself, because
you see how pivotal it is to see what happens
when you don't vote.

Speaker 29 (01:50:06):
Aren't you guys all a part of another organization as well?

Speaker 1 (01:50:09):
Tell me a little bit about that organization.

Speaker 7 (01:50:12):
Yes, we are.

Speaker 17 (01:50:13):
We are part of TAPS, which is the Political Science
Association here Reginia State University. We are able to contect
students exactly where they are and meet them where they
are to understand the points of voting, not just for now,
but for future generations as well.

Speaker 29 (01:50:29):
Are you having a hard time getting people involved here
on campus.

Speaker 15 (01:50:33):
Honestly, it's a little hard, especially with my generation, because
they believe that elections are rigged. So it's just convincing
the students here that your vote matters. It's not just
your vote, it's your voice, how you express yourself to
other people. With just talking up about politics, you don't
have to be Republican, a Democrat.

Speaker 1 (01:50:51):
It's just about morals.

Speaker 3 (01:50:52):
Honestly, at the end of.

Speaker 29 (01:50:53):
The day, there were hundreds of people that signed up
to vote today, students, But for those people that did
say up, so many other people did not.

Speaker 1 (01:51:02):
Yeah, what do you think is going through their minds?

Speaker 6 (01:51:05):
Honestly?

Speaker 41 (01:51:06):
Like Chance saying, it's a lot of misinformation out here
about not only voting, but voter registration. I heard the
craziest thing from a student. He said that if he
registered the vote that he would be put on the
draft list. And I was just like, well, that's not
really how that works. But with the current climate, everybody's
willing to believe whatever that discourages them from making a change,

(01:51:28):
it seems like. So that's like our biggest challenge right
now with trying to get people out there to vote,
especially as college students ourselves.

Speaker 29 (01:51:35):
So, I know you're on campus and you spend a
lot of time here, but what else are people talking
about at home and in your communities.

Speaker 17 (01:51:46):
They're definitely talking about the lack of funding care on
Virginias A University's campus and how we need more funding
to better support them. It's not just that, it's also
financial aid.

Speaker 15 (01:51:57):
Do you have students who aren't getting their proper pelgram
to even attend college. You have students who who are
getting to Medicaid stripped away as we speak, and it's
just it discourages a lot of students, especially like me
because I really heavily on financial aid. So seeing what
Donald Trump is doing in his administration trying to strip
that away, it's a little bit discouraging, but it to
me personally, it pushes me to try harder to encourage

(01:52:21):
other students like.

Speaker 1 (01:52:21):
Means well, are you explaining to them that the folks
who are in office are the ones who are deciding
what gets cut and what gets funded.

Speaker 6 (01:52:33):
That's a good question.

Speaker 1 (01:52:35):
No, I'm asking. I'm asking you when you're having these
conversations with other students. Earlier, I said, we have to
connect the dots, and so those with knowledge have to
do that. And so I think part of this thing
is you have to connect the dots for those folks
who don't understand it, to say, hey, if you're concerned
about funding for Virginia State. The House of Delegates votes

(01:52:56):
on funding for Virginia State. So you have to have
the person who want the people in Congress, they're the
ones who are cutting pilgrims. So that's what I'm saying.
So when you are talking to these students, how are
you helping them to understand the intricacies of policy? How
you doing that? What are those conversations like, give you

(01:53:17):
an example. Okay, see, y'all gonna have to see y'all
gonna have to bring me back here so I could
teach a class on because I'm serious the issues that
what you're struggling with right now is are individuals who

(01:53:38):
don't know. You have to be the one that connects
the dots for them.

Speaker 4 (01:53:46):
You have to literally walk a person.

Speaker 1 (01:53:47):
Through and say, and this is why I tell everybody,
and this is just for you or any of you
students or anyone else out of here. You have to
ask a person what's the one thing you care about
the party the one they care about. So they say,
I care about education, Okay, what college, high school, elementary?
What do you care about? And then when they say that,

(01:54:11):
then that's when you're able to now say, let me
connect you the dots. So if you say you care
about pail grants, that's not coming from the depth from
the legislature, that's federal government. If you care about financial
aid that's coming from. You have to walk them through
so they can understand, because the reality is they don't know,
and so that's just what you have to do. So
if you are the one who's informed, you have to

(01:54:33):
then inform them because you can't expect them to actually know.

Speaker 4 (01:54:39):
Go ahead.

Speaker 15 (01:54:39):
I think a lot of the huge issue with this campus,
not this campus, but what students in general, is that
it's hard to get students involved and to care more
about politics because when you speak to people like our
generation and you say, oh, how do you care about
this issue, and it's like, oh, politics don't concern me,
So it's just about how.

Speaker 6 (01:54:57):
Do you kind stop right there?

Speaker 1 (01:54:58):
So when they say politics doesn't concern me, what's your response, Well.

Speaker 15 (01:55:03):
It concerns our everyday life. It's the water you drink,
or the rent you pay, or the cities you walk through.
It's everyday life. So if you say politics doesn't concern you,
it really does.

Speaker 25 (01:55:14):
Right.

Speaker 1 (01:55:14):
So when the person says politics doesn't concern me, that's
when you come back. You say, okay, give me the
two things you care about. And then when they say, oh, man,
I'm about to get dropped from my parents' health care
you go, really, you do know politicians voted on that,
you see, That's what I'm saying. So when a person

(01:55:35):
says that, they really don't actually fully understand the role
that politics plays in every aspect of their life. So
what you have to do is we actually have to
take politics out of the conversation, make it an issue
oriented thing to get them to then go issue first,
then politics not politics first.

Speaker 7 (01:55:56):
Cool?

Speaker 1 (01:55:56):
Yes, all right in little students want to show that
concerns while we're live. But back there, all right, y'all
step up, y'all, come on, step up, take it away. Bird,
got the first family up here. I'm doing very well.
Tell me your name and what do you want to say?

Speaker 18 (01:56:13):
My name is Bryson ruff or At, senior computer science
major from Chessbeat, Virginia. Just happy to be here today,
and my biggest concern is how do we get people
around our age ranges to show the importance of what
we're doing and how it is it matters to the world.

Speaker 1 (01:56:30):
What else?

Speaker 7 (01:56:31):
What were you thinking?

Speaker 1 (01:56:32):
I was thinking, how can we keep students engage on
campus about voting after election?

Speaker 29 (01:56:36):
Well, you guys had an event today, do you guys
plan to have another event? Tell me your name, that's me.

Speaker 18 (01:56:42):
I'm my ernest member with a third junior mass communication major,
and we do plan on having more events like this
The Nambers of the Better Beta Game a chapter of
our FA Faturn Corporated take vote of very serious.

Speaker 29 (01:56:51):
It is all right when you're having conversations with folks
on campus.

Speaker 1 (01:56:56):
What are they saying?

Speaker 42 (01:56:58):
I am Dante Clark, I'm a senior computer engineering major.
And when we're having conversations with people like on campus,
they're saying a lot how they're just unaware, kind of
like how he was saying about they don't really know
the true meaning of what they're voting for. So that's
where we come in with our road of registration programs
and we try and break it down to the smallest

(01:57:20):
point so they can understand the little thing.

Speaker 1 (01:57:22):
So when you do that, how do you do it?
Give you an example.

Speaker 18 (01:57:27):
It goes back to basically, people on our campus they
think the presidential elections would matters the most, and we
have to explain to them how local elections really are
the most important.

Speaker 1 (01:57:36):
Right, So, yes, steady elections coming up. You got somebody
who's concerned. How are you explaining to them that, hey,
this is why you need to vote in this race.
How I do it personally.

Speaker 18 (01:57:49):
You've seen what's been happening over the last few years
and what's happening in our government.

Speaker 1 (01:57:53):
You don't want that to continue.

Speaker 4 (01:57:54):
You need to get involved.

Speaker 18 (01:57:55):
You need to show up and represent so we can
better ourselves in better our world.

Speaker 4 (01:58:02):
Here's how you do it. You see that old building.

Speaker 1 (01:58:09):
Whoever is determines how much state funding we get. You
want new dormitories, Students gonna say, yeah, you want better
technology on campus?

Speaker 4 (01:58:19):
Yes? Do you want better food services on campus? Yes?

Speaker 1 (01:58:22):
You take all the things that say that they want
and say you doing that that every single thing that
you say that you want is determined by state funding.
State funding is determined by who's in power. So if
you want these things for Virginia State, if you want
a better four years here, then you should be voting
because that's who's going to fund the very things that

(01:58:46):
you say you need to improve. The late Joe Madison,
God rest his soul.

Speaker 4 (01:58:50):
Always.

Speaker 1 (01:58:50):
You say you gotta put it where a ghost can
get it. So if you talk to people up here,
they have no idea. So you have to take that
very simple thing and say that's why geve it, what's
the one thing you care about? And then say you
do know that that person is one who votes on that.
Oh damn, I ain't know that that person. So House

(01:59:10):
of Delegates, the Senate. So if you want these things
for your campus, this is why you have to vote.
And then you have to say, do you know that
the sister who ran two years ago? She lost by
fifty three votes? And then you can say so if
fifty five students.

Speaker 4 (01:59:27):
It, it happens again.

Speaker 1 (01:59:28):
If fifty five more students like yourself or you and
fifty four others vote.

Speaker 4 (01:59:32):
She would have won. That's how you make it.

Speaker 18 (01:59:35):
Plain go ahead, Basically, because I'm from Virginia, born and
raise New Jersey and California heights all the same. How
do you appeal to those people that are not from
our state but still care about her?

Speaker 1 (01:59:48):
First question is you have to ask them are you registered?

Speaker 4 (01:59:51):
They say, yes, where are you registered?

Speaker 1 (01:59:54):
Because their student here, they can register here when they
can vote in both places, they can act to be
registered here.

Speaker 4 (02:00:02):
So that's the first thing.

Speaker 1 (02:00:03):
And then when that then happens, you still take the
exact same issues and still apply to them. So I
for students, says hey, I'm concerned about loss of financial
eating pail grant. You say, you know, that's members of Congress.
So if you didn't vote in the last election, then
you can't complain about who got stuff cut because you
didn't vote. So there's a miniterm elections next year twenty

(02:00:25):
twenty six. So if you care about peil grants being cut,
you should be voting for folks who want to expand
pail grants. That's members of Congress. That's how you have
to make the connection with somebody. You have to tie
the issue to the political office. Go all right, may

(02:00:46):
you ask your questions? You got it, folks, That is
it for us, give it up for our all of
our students. So Tuesday we're going to be and Fredericksburg
broadcasting as well, and then we're in Virginia Beach on

(02:01:06):
November third, the day before the election. And for the
folks who watch this show, if you're need to watching
the show, y'all know, we try to make this thing
as simple and plain as possible, sock and folks can
understand what these issues are because here's the reality.

Speaker 4 (02:01:20):
The folk who vote are the ones who.

Speaker 1 (02:01:23):
Are benefiting and part of the problem here is when
you check out of a political process, you're letting somebody
else control your future, somebody else control your destiny. That's
what's going on right now. It's a whole lot of
MAGA farmers who are crying their eyes out because USAID

(02:01:43):
got cut at thirty five billion dollar program because of tears.
And I'm like, but that's what you voted for, and
then they say, well, I didn't vote for that. Yes
you did, because it all came together. So they're out
here crying. You got other people who are sitting here
complaining about different things that are being cut. And what
I need our folks to understand. And I'm gonna say
this until I am red, blue, yellow in the face, folks,

(02:02:09):
we have to be maximizing our capacity.

Speaker 4 (02:02:13):
Let me say it again.

Speaker 1 (02:02:15):
We are leaving our power unused. If these lights were
not plugged in, guess what it would be dark in here.
You gotta plug it into a power source to get light.
Our power source is our actual vote. And so if

(02:02:37):
we use it, if we maximize it, if we organize
and mobilize us. So what does that mean. That means
that every single person who's in this room should say,
when I leave here, I'm gonna go back to Kimberly
losing my fifty three votes. If every person who was
in this room tonight said my mission leaving here is

(02:02:57):
I am going to talk to five people. That means
that you've had more than one hundred people here. That
means that the people in this room can literally go
talk to five hundred people. That's all I asked y'all
do is talk to five people. So between now and
November fourth, go talk to five people. That means that

(02:03:19):
you literally could determine who ends and loses if just
each person said I'm talk to five people. And so
that's how we have to be thinking. We keep talking broad,
we keep talking macro. I keep saying we have to
be talking micro. We have to be talking on a
lower level. We're close to having two million subscribers on

(02:03:42):
our YouTube channel, but we started in August to twenty seventeen.
We had seventy two thousand, with one hundred and fifty
seven thousand when we launched in September fourth, twenty eighteen.
Over seventy years, we've gone from one hundred fifty seven
thousand to one point eighty seven million. Why Because I
didn't focus on oh, I'm trying to hit three, but no,

(02:04:04):
it's how can we go one person added every single day.
It's a micro game, and so we have to be
the ones. So if we're watching the news that we're
learning and we know what's going on, we got to
share the information. We've got to talk to people, shared
with them because people literally do not know. And so
if we as African Americans, if we all of a
sudden are hitting sixty five, seventies, seventy five, eighty percent,

(02:04:28):
I can guarantee you we are sweeping statewide elections, We're
sweeping county elections, We're sweeping House and Senate races. But
the guaranteed way for us never to have our issues
addressed is if we do not use the power of
the vote. And so the election is November fourth. In

(02:04:52):
this state where you are, they're going to be local
elections as well. You've got different elections. You've got to
do mayor election in Detroit happening of that same day.
You've got other You've got of course, the amendment Prop
fifty in California. And so depending upon where you live,
you right now should be asking yourself what electures are
happening where I live, and you should be saying, let

(02:05:15):
me get caught up on the issues and the people
who are running so I can maximize my vote. Let
me thank the folks in Virginia State. Let me thank
the Virginia Democrats. Let me think of the Virginia Literative
Black Caucus. We think everybody who made this possible. And
so glad to be back on campus, cat I look
forward to coming back and again. We'll be live at
Fredericksburg on Tuesday. We'll be live in Virginia Beach on

(02:05:36):
November three. That's it. Don't forget support of the work
that we do, folks. We're the only black daily news
show in the country. No one else is doing we doing.
And not only that, we're not sitting there on stream
yard or on substack. We're literally live in person here broadcasting.
And look, I'm very frank. I tell folks all the time,
A we're sing one of these cameras, they're just one

(02:05:58):
of these microphones. All all the stuff that we roll with,
all that stuff costs money a crew as well, and
so this is what we have to be able to
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what happens in this NBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, Fox News.
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(02:06:21):
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(02:06:41):
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Speaker 12 (02:08:15):
That's it.

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I'll see y'all tomorrow right here, rolling more unfiltered on
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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Our Voices, Our Vote: Virginia Town Hall on Power, Policy & the Fight for Voting Rights