#RolandMartinUnfiltered - 10.18: Black man victimized by DC Metro speaks; GOP advances unfit judicial nod; #BlueprintMen2019

Episode Date: October 24, 2019

10.18.19 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Black man victimized by DC Metro speaks out; Senate Republicans voted yesterday to advance Justin Walker, a Trump's judicial nominee who earned a not qualified rating from the American Bar Association; Jazz Saxophonist Kirk Whalum will join us to talk about his new album. GOP advances 45's unqualified judicial nod; Michael Jordan opens a health care clinic for the under insured; Robert Smith receives the prestigious Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy - #RolandMartinUnfiltered partner: Life Luxe Jazz Life Luxe Jazz is the experience of a lifetime, delivering top-notch music in an upscale destination. The weekend-long event is held at the Omnia Dayclub Los Cabos, which is nestled on the Sea of Cortez in the celebrity playground of Los Cabos, Mexico. For more information visit the website at lifeluxejazz.com. Can't make it to Los Cabos for the Life Luxe Jazz Fest? Get your live stream pass at https://gfntv.com/ #RolandMartinUnfiltered partner: Ebony Foundation | Home by the Holiday Home by the Holiday aims to reunite Black and Latino families separated by bail, while challenging racial injustice and mass incarceration. For more info visit https://www.homebytheholiday.com/ Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Thank you. Hey, folks, Roland Martin here, broadcasting live from Chicago, site of the Blueprint Summit, a conference for black men. It is Friday, October 9th, 18th, 2019. And of course, we'll talk more about the Blueprint Men's Summit later today. But first off, we want to talk about, of course, a number of stories in the news. Remember the case out of Washington, D.C., where the black man was attacked by Metro Police? He's here to talk about what he's gone through and what he plans to do about that police assault. Senate Republicans voted yesterday to advance Justin Walker, a 37-year-old Trump judicial nominee,

who is, folks, he earned a not-qualified rating from the American Bar Association. I'm going to tell you exactly why this is a part of the Republican Party's focus to pack the federal bench with young right-wing ideologues. Also, jazz saxophonist Kirk Whalen will join us to talk about his new album. Plus, Michael Jordan opens a health care clinic for the underinsured. And Robert Smith received the prestigious Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. All of that and more. It's time to bring the funk.

I'm Roland Martin Unfiltered from Chicago. Let's go. Okay. Okay. All right, folks, Roland Martin here from the Blueprint Men's Summit here in Chicago. We, of course, will talk more about the Blueprint Men's Summit and what the focus is and what they're trying to do when it comes to black men. First off, I want to talk about this story out of Texas, where former Dallas Maverick Harrison Barnes and his wife Brittany Barnes will pay for the funeral of Atiana Jefferson,

who was fatally shot by a Fort Worth police officer while in her home. Barnes, who was traded for the Mavericks and the Sacramento Kings last season, has a history of giving back to the North Texas community while he was playing there, including providing Thanksgiving meals for those in need and giving to the girls and boys club. But it's just not Harrison as well, folks. And that is another NBA player. It's also going to be contributing to that. Now, Barnes and his wife, they're going to be giving the lion's share of the money to

pay for her funeral. And one of the quotes that the Barnes said is that they said when the family is going through such a difficult story such as this, they should not have to be worried about paying for the funeral expenses of their loved one. Of course, Jefferson was a 28-year-old black woman shot and killed by the now former Fort Worth police officer while she was playing video games with her nephew. Also, Malik Jefferson of the Philadelphia Eagles. He also is going to be contributing to covering the cost as well. And so we certainly want to salute both of them.

And Barnes and Jefferson said they had not talked with the family of Jefferson because they wanted to give them the necessary space. And that's one of the reasons why they made that decision to assist the family. Also, folks, you know, first of all, so many things are happening all across our society. And we are still mourning, folks, the death of Congressman Elijah Cummings. Tributes continue to pour in. Now, of course, we know he is going, when the funeral is going to take place, the funeral for Congressman Cummings will take place next Friday. Next Friday in Baltimore. And so let me go ahead and read those details for you in terms of where it's taking place.

It's going to be at his longtime church there in Baltimore. The venue seats about 4,000 people. We certainly expect the church is going to be an overflow there as well and so what's going to happen is uh he's going to lie in state in the natural in the national statuary hall in the u.s capital next week according to house speaker nance pelosi of course a formal ceremony for members of congress and the and the cummings family will take place on thursday morning and the public viewing will follow uh then of course that so that's taking place again on Thursday. Then on Friday, on Friday will actually be the funeral. Now, the viewing for Cummings will take place on Friday at 8 a.m. At 8 a.m. at the church in Baltimore. I'm going to pull it up for you in just one second.

And then, of course, the funeral will follow at 10 a.m. And so he worshiped at New Psalmist Baptist Church. That's exactly where the funeral was going to take place. And so, again, 8 a.m. on Friday will be the viewing for Congressman Cummings at the church in Baltimore. And beginning at 10 a.m. will be the funeral for Congressman Cummings. And so Thursday taking place at the U.S. Capitol, a ceremony on Thursday. And then, of course, on Friday will be the funeral for Congressman Cummings. And so, again, any more details that take place. Also, the family has asked folks not to provide flowers.

They do want any contributions to go to the Elijah Cummings Youth Program. And so, again, in lieu of any flowers, the Cummings family is asking that all proceeds go to the Elijah Cummings Youth Program. Also, March Funeral Home in Baltimore, they are handling all the arrangements for Congressman Cummings. And, again, as I said, Bishop Walter Thomas Jr., the pastor of New Solomon since 1975, he's going to deliver the eulogy. And again, that church seats 4,000 folks, and they fully expect there will be an overflow crowd there in Baltimore for the home-going service of longtime Baltimore Congressman Elijah Cummings.

Also, folks, let's talk about some news with Michael Jordan, basketball legend and social media superstar. Well, Hall of Famer Michael Jordan was in tears as he opened the first of two groundbreaking clinics that will offer cutting-edge health care to undeserved communities in Charlotte, North Carolina. Here's Michael Jordan with that announcement. You see my name, but yet you see a lot of people that I need commitment. Especially from my mom, about caring for other people, being a part of a community that matters.

You take Michael Jordan, you take Dr. Holman, you take Carl Amato, the CEO of our organization, and you put those people together with a commitment of making a difference in the community, and what you get is this beautiful facility that you see behind us. Because our goal is to not talk about closing a health equity gap. It's talking about eliminating a health equity gap. I can only do this with gratitude that I can't ever repay what you actually gave to me. But this is a start.

Wow, such a great story there by Michael Jordan. So we certainly appreciate his philanthropy and what he is doing when it comes to health in his home state of North Carolina. Our folks are speaking of philanthropy. Billionaire Robert Smith, of course, the founder, chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners. Of course, he made headlines by paying off all of the debt of a 2019 graduating class at Morehouse College. He has been awarded the prestigious Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy during a ceremony in New York City. The award is given to individuals who have demonstrated significant and lasting impact on a particular field, nation, or international

community. Here's Robert Smith's acceptance speech. First let me thank the Carnegie Corporation and Vartan and his staff and all of you wonderful people that represent the Carnegie legacy. I grew up in Denver, Colorado, son of school teachers. And I saw my parents exhibit a form of philanthropy every day. My mother wrote a check every month for $25 to the united negro college fund for over 50 years. And I saw my father bring his organizational capacity to the

local YMCA so that we could participate in this great fabric that is America as voters. I'm the first generation in my family to have all my rights in America. And when I think about that, I take that responsibility seriously. To bring all of my family members to the streets of North City, to the streets of the first person in the world to have the right to have all of my rights in America.

And when I think about that, I take that responsibility seriously. To bring all of the education and dedication and effort to create in this world, in this economic structure, opportunity that I can then drive into philanthropic fabric to do what I think is the most important thing on this planet, which is to liberate the human spirit. I'm proud to be a part of the Carnegie family, this institution of people who liberate the human spirit.

I have a chance every day to participate in that in a real, intacto way. And there is no greater gift on the planet than to do that. I want to thank my beautiful daughters for being here, my beautiful wife for supporting all that we do. And I want to thank you all for continuing Carnegie's dream in ensuring this planet becomes more just and there's more love for mankind. Thank you. And certainly a huge congratulations to my alpha brother, Robert Smith, on that significant award.

And so we certainly thank all that he has done in taking his net worth is about five billion dollars. And so the millions that he has been giving to various philanthropy efforts all across this country. And so we certainly thank him for what he has done and what he is doing. All right, folks, let's talk about this story that we covered here in June. And that was a young man, Tapia Mousanza, who was attacked and repeatedly tased by Washington, D.C. Metro Police. After a bystander posted the video on social media, charges against Mousanza were dropped and the police launched an internal investigation into the case. Well, he has now found a lawsuit.

He and his attorney, Yaira Forward, joins us now to tell his story. First of all, I hope I pronounced both of your names correct. And so if I did, my apologies. And so how are both of you doing? Great. Thanks for having us. Thank you for having us. Glad to have you here. And so first of all, walk us through what happened. I mean,

we remember this case, but of course, we're going to show the video as well. But were you just simply walking by and seeing the police where they had stopped these several African-American young boys? Take us through what happened on that June day. Sure. Before I do, I just want to take time to pay my respects to the congressmen, the late congressmen's family. I hope God protects them and gives them the grace that they need to get over this. With regards to what happened to me on June 22nd, I was on my way home on U Street Cadoza Station. And I was on the platform. Suddenly, an officer, I see an officer chasing a young man.

At that point, I did not know the young man's age. Chasing him down the platform, he tackled the young man, put him on the ground, restrained him for an extended period of time. When you actually look at, in retrospect, when I look at the body mass of the young boy and the body mass of the officer, I don't even think that was a necessary way to restrain a minor. As the events continued rolling out, the officer continued to have his knee on the young man's back.

I approached the officer and asked the officer, is this how you treat young men? At that time, I did not know the young man's age. Is this how you treat young men? And the officer, at that point, replied, you know, this is an open investigation or something like that. At that point in time, then I asked him, can you please put the young boy on the bench so that you could treat him with a bit of dignity.

At that point on, he complied with my request. He put the young man on the bench. I proceeded to ask the officer to ask the young man his age because I wanted to make sure that, one, that young man was conscious enough and I think wise enough to understand the ramifications of what actually is happening in that moment and how it will affect him going forward in life. At that point in life, at that point in time, the officer did ask the young man and he found out that officer was 14-year-old and according to the United States law, that is a minor.

And minors here, before you can do anything regards with legal affairs you need a guardian to be present and there was no present guardian so I said I came in as a standby guardian in that moment because here in the African community you have to stand by the young man regardless of where that young man is born we stand by our own we stand by who we believe that every man has a every woman has a right to raise up a child for the right way and showing them what is right in life so i had i took that responsibility here's what was here's what was crazy we played the video and it seemed as if the initial officers were talking with you yes there were no issues there

were no problem then all of a sudden this other this other officer who was not there comes up and just bum brushes the scene and completely disrupts everything. Yes. So I was in the process of de-escalating the situation because, you know, I'm a peace-loving person. I believe in nonviolence. So I was in the process of engaging the officer so that he could de-escalate the situation. Then that third officer came in without the context or the prior knowledge. He wasn't even the first responder, so he didn't have the, I wouldn't say, I don't know about jurisdiction,

but he just didn't have enough information to act on. At that point in time, I asked the officer, you know, why am I being pushed? He continued to respond, this is an open investigation. He pushed me again. There was someone behind me. There was no way I was actually going to move, even if I had the option to. And I continued to let him know, this is open space. Like, I'm a metro rider. I've put in money into the metro system, so just by rights alone, I'm entitled to be in that position at that point in time. Then that officer continued to push me. He pulled out his taser.

Before I could even respond, he tasers me. When the first taser hit, I was in a state of shock because I knew I did not do anything wrong because I was, at any point in time, I was not threatening. The first officers were the first responders were on the other side of the platform so if I I was a threat or any in any any way they could have let me know in that position in time and I would have respected the orders because I did not have the context to to question what they were doing but I was more worried about the welfare of that young man and which is I I continually asked about the welfare of the young man nothing about the investigation nothing why the officers or judging them of what is right or wrong. I just said, can you please treat the young man humanely?

That's all. And that's just by me exercising one of the oldest forms of humanity, which is compassion, our state. So I'm at a point where I now confuse as what is right or wrong in our community, be it black or white. But this continually seems to be happening to black people. So as an African immigrant, I need to understand, you know, maybe I didn't get the memo that things have changed in here. So I need to understand. That's why I'm asking for justice. It's not a matter of like, oh, I want to, yes, I want to be, because if someone did wrong and someone has to pay, yes, I'm not going to deny that fact someone has to pay

But we need to know as a society that this is black how black people are going to be treated going forward so that we know With this is where we put dollars here. We pay money. I'm an entrepreneur prior to even getting to my cognitive damages I was entrepreneur. I provided intellectual capital to this nation and This is how we treat people. So when, you know, in business, one thing I love, there's rankings. There's rankings of ease of doing business. And as an entrepreneur, the ease of doing business for me was escalated to a point where I cannot do business because I have cognitive injuries now. So I don't know if America is honest enough to rank itself according to black people continually getting abused, whereby

we provide also intellectual capital to this nation. So we need it to be respected. Unfortunately, you're not respecting us. I have proof. I have intellectual property that I've contributed to this society. So this is how we treat the highest level of intellect. Contribution to humanity, you attest me.

So I need some form of understanding what I need to be doing as a human. If I'm doing good, I've worked hard. I've worked hard. Yes. Ms. Ford, you said that,

first of all, the charters were dropped. It got lots of attention. Any apology? Anything from Metro Police? And when did you file the suit and what kind of damages are you seeking? The suit was filed on September 17th, and we are seeking compensatory damages for the pain and suffering, punitive damages. Obviously, we're still tolling damages because Mr. Tipee was the nature of the injuries. The extent of that is actually unknown at this time. When he used the word cognitive, that is referring to memory and concentration,

the ability to perceive and understand information. He's being tested in the process of being tested now, and the injuries are substantial. First of all, have you talked to the young men? Have you communicated with them since this happened? Are you asking me? Have I communicated with the young men who were being arrested? The young men that he interviewed? Yeah.

First of all, either one of you. I have not made contact with the families of those young men. I understand they have reached out to Mr. Monsonza via social media to, you know, thank him for intervening. But no direct contact has been made since the lawsuit has been filed. Sir, have you? I have not. So one thing I was, why I haven't reached out immediately is because what else can I say to that young man? How do I console him? Because you see, I may be mature enough to get over this and say, okay, you know what? I need to move on with my life.

I need to figure out. But that's a young man who's just starting his career. Yeah, the charges will drop there. But that's a young man who's just starting his career. Yeah, the charges will drop. But that trauma, who's going to address that? How do I even console him and tell him, okay, I've taken up the burden, but how is he going to move forward? He's just starting his life. If I wasn't there, he would have had a arrest record.

And here in America, it's not, I'm not, this is an open secret. Like, black people have a hard time here. It's not me talking negatively around anyone. Someone was, you are going to cover a story about someone who just shot in their home. Like, think about that. Someone in their home. So it's like we cannot continue to hide around issues

that are affecting our community. I personally have took a stand and say I'm not going to do business here. That's my stance. Well, first off, let me say this here. We certainly appreciate what you did. We appreciate the sister who recorded that video as well. You're absolutely right.

We can't say it takes a village to raise a child if the village does not step up when those kids are targeted. And in fact, we covered this story. The cops didn't even know if those young men were involved in something that took place a distance away. But they were clearly targeted as simply because they were black. And so we thank both of you very much. Please keep us up to date on what happens with this suit,

with this case, because we certainly want to keep our folks, Roland Martin and Filtered, our folks who watch it, informed. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Going to go to a break. I'll talk about this story with my panel and other issues when we come back. Broadcasting live from Chicago, the Blueprint Men's Summit,

Roland Martin Unfiltered, back in a moment. If you want to check out Roland Martin Unfiltered, youtube.com forward slash Roland S. Martin. Subscribe to our YouTube channel. There's only one daily digital show out here that keeps it black and keep it real. It's Roland Martin Unfiltered. See that name right there? Roland Martin Unfiltered.

Like, share, subscribe to our YouTube channel. That's YouTube.com forward slash Roland S. Martin. And don't forget to turn on your notifications so when we go live, you'll know it. All right, fam, it's almost that time. The holiday season, of course, is for many of us the favorite time of the year. Now, whether you celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving, Ramadan, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year's,

all of these, of course, from October to the end of the year, this is when you think about spending time with the people you love the most. This is also the time to count your blessings and support those less fortunate and look at how you can have an impact on their lives. Well, I have the perfect opportunity for you to be a holiday hero, have a major impact on other families. Here's the deal. Right now, hundreds of thousands of Americans are sitting in jail without being convicted of a crime. Why? Because they lack the financial resources to pay their bail.

Now think about it. If you are arrested for any minor offense, you will be taken directly to jail. If you don't have bail money, whether it's a few hundred or a few thousand dollars, you will stay there until a court date is scheduled. Now that could be days, weeks, or even months. America's bail system is broken and has created a two-tier system of justice, one for the rich and one for the poor. Folks, freedom should be free.

That's why the Ebony Foundation is partnering with the Bail Project and is sponsoring the Home by the Holiday campaign. With your help, our goal is to bail out 1,000 people by New Year's Day. How's that for a holiday gift? A donation from you can change someone's life tomorrow, and here's why it is critical. People of color represent upwards of 90% of the jail population across the country. It ranges from 50% to 90%, depending upon where you are. Of course, when they stayed in jail, 90% of people with with misdemeanors, ended up pleading guilty.

However, when bail was paid, 50% of the cases were dismissed, and less than 2% received the jail sentence. Sometimes justice needs just us to join the fight. Folks, you can be a holiday hero by donating $25, $50, or more to help the Ebony Foundation bring our brothers and sisters home for the holidays. To donate, go to homebytheholiday.com. That's H-O-M-E-B-Y-T-H-E-H-O-L-I-D-A-Y.com. And, of course, the Ebony Foundation is tied to Ebony Magazine, and so we certainly appreciate the work that they're doing to assist those who are most in need. All right, folks, welcome back to Chicago, the Blueprint Men's Summit. This is where I'm broadcasting from. I now want to, first off, bring in our panel right here, Dr. Neon B. Carter, Howard University Department of Political Science, John LeBlanc, a National Security

and Foreign Affairs Legal Analyst, Michael Brown, former Vice Chair, DNC Department of Political Science, John LeBlanc, a national security and foreign affairs legal analyst, Michael Brown, former vice chair at DNC Finance Committee. Folks, to hear that brother, I mean, I remember this story, but to hear him talk about why he stepped in was just amazing. And I think when you hear his concern and compassion for these young black men, that was simply admirable. Absolutely. I mean, I think we hope that anybody would extend that measure of humanity to any person,

young or old. I mean, I certainly am thankful that he was there that day to intervene, because God knows what would have happened to those children had he not, because he was an adult and who could take control of the situation in ways that young people sometimes do not feel empowered to do. And certainly those officers were not there for anybody to sort of interfere with what they were trying to do that day. Michael, Joanna? Well, you know what, Roman, we see a lot of, and as Professor Carter just mentioned, we're seeing a lot of that humanity, and we actually see it more from our people than we do from others.

For example, whether folks thought it was right or wrong, what happened in the Officer Gaynor trial at the end of that trial last week, you know, all the hugs going around from the victim's family, from the judge to the officer. Again, we can debate whether that was right or wrong or not, but it was people of color showing that kind of compassion. And hopefully that's what people see and that's what's highlighted. I think ultimately the gentleman is asking for justice and I pray that justice is served in his case because he didn't do the right thing and we would hope that if any of our children were sounds like hold on johanna one second i think we're having issues with your

microphone uh uh because i'm not really hearing her clearly so if y'all can check johanna's microphone uh and then uh and then we'll uh actually restart so uh please do that uh because again she's sounding real hollow i don't think we fully had her so if it's fixed go johnna go ahead we would hope that all those gentlemen is asking for is justice and i'm hoping that justice will be served and i think every parent or every everybody in this world will hope that if their child were put in similar situation someone would step in and be compassionate and ensure that the rule of law is applied. And even just that, and again, I pray that justice is served for him and many other black men in America.

Well, again, I mean, certainly it's a story that we're going to be following, and I'm just glad to see this brother step up and come to the aid of those young brothers. Now, folks, let me break something down. Y'all have been hearing me talk over and over and over again about Republicans trying to take over the federal judiciary. Let me be as clear, as unambiguous as possible. Any dumbass out there who says, oh, my vote means nothing. All the people are the same. You are nuts. Let me explain to you what Republicans are trying to do and why you cannot sit your ass at home. The Senate Judiciary Committee on yesterday voted along party lines to confirm the nominee of Justin Walker,

a man who earned a not qualified rating from the American Bar Association to become the next federal judge. Again, every Republican on the committee voted to advance Walker. Every Democrat said no. Who is Walker? He is a 37-year-old associate law professor at the University of Louisville who has worked as a speechwriter for Donald Rumsfeld, of course, previous Secretary of Defense. In addition, he clerked for former Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy

and current Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Here's why this is an abomination. He has never tried a case, criminal or civil. He's never even been co-counsel in a case. Here is Foster actually trying to explain his qualifications to the Senate Judiciary Committee. So tell me why you have enough experience to be a district court judge. Well Senator, I've spent my career immersed in the law with a record that I think shows my qualifications in four ways. First, in my primary role as a law professor, I teach students trial practice.

I teach students criminal procedure, evidence, and constitutional law, all with a focus on litigation and really a focus on judicial decision making. And I feel fortunate that I've been instrumental in helping prepare nearly 200 students to be ready to practice on day one, ready to hang out a shingle, which many of our students do, and ready to represent clients effectively in court. Second, in my role as an academic, I've written hundreds of pages of law review articles about criminal procedure, about the judiciary, about constitutional law, and I've been lucky they've been published in some of the leading journals in the country. But third, I've done something unusual for a full-time law professor. I've maintained a private practice,

and I've litigated complex questions of criminal procedures, civil procedure, constitutional law, criminal law, administrative law, labor law. I've litigated at a large national law firm, then as a solo practitioner, and now as a partner at another large national law firm, as well as clerking for two Supreme Court justices. And fourth and finally, I think there is a reason

that hundreds of local attorneys from my legal community have written some 17 letters to this committee saying that I have the skills to analyze complex legal questions, to think quickly on my feet, and maybe most importantly, to listen and learn with humility and an even-handed temperament. Now, folks, understand why he is being pushed forward. First, he's from Kentucky.

Where's Mitch McConnell from, the Senate Majority Leader? Kentucky. He has vowed for this guy as well. But what is the most important thing here when it comes to Justin Walker? He's 37 years old. I keep trying to explain to y'all what Donald Trump has done is he has said to the Federalist Society, a right-wing legal group, he has said to white conservative evangelicals, I'm going to just let y'all pick whoever y'all want. They are by design. Listen to me clearly. They are by design choosing federal judges with limited experience who are pro business, anti consumer anti-consumer, anti-civil rights, anti-environment, and they're picking them between the ages of 35 and 40 so they can be there for the next 40 to 50 years.

These are lifetime appointments. I need y'all to do the math. This man is 37 years old. Let me say it again. He's 37 years old. Let me say it again. He's 37 years old. That means, that means, remember I told you, by the year 2043, this will be a nation that is majority people of color. That is 24 years. If this man serves on the federal bench for 40 years, he'll be 77. What did I just tell you? 24 years will be a nation majority of people of color. That means after America becomes a nation majority

people of color, this man, if he stepped away at 77, means he will be on the bench for another 16 years and beyond. The Republicans want to control the federal judiciary for the next 50 years. That means they'll be ruling on what laws are constitutional and unconstitutional. This man's legal writings, he has argued that the FBI is not independent of the presidency. He has argued against environmental protections. I'm telling y'all and Democrats, I'm going to go to you first, Michael Brown. Democrats have absolutely failed year in and year out every presidential election to underscore how critically important the federal bench is. In fact, I'm going to read for y'all. I posted this stuff on Twitter before I go to Michael.

I'm going to read for you what Michael Steele. Now, mind you, Michael Steele is the former chairman of the Republican National Committee. He knows how these Republicans think. He knows exactly what's on their mind. This is what he tweeted. So how does someone become a federal judge who's never tried a case? Y'all need to listen to Roland S. Martin. Dems are supposed to be so woke, but you're sure damn sleeping on this.

Michael, Republicans make the courts a main voting reason. Democrats don't. And that is a huge mistake. Absolute fact. And by the way, your tweet, I retweeted when I saw that. But, you know, as you've talked about, obviously, and you and I have talked about the same thing over and over again, elections have consequences. But moreover, we have to go back. And many of us did everything we could that had any kind of relationship with Senator Reid when he was majority leader and begged him, do not take away that filibuster, because at some point it will come back and haunt us, and that's what's happening right now. You don't need 60 votes.

Then it almost forced you to have bipartisan support for a particular justice. Now, all you need is 51. But remember, Michael, but remember, Michael, but remember, remember initially the filibuster was taken away because, first of all, the whole nuclear option. Yep, yep. Then initially, what McConnell has done, he's taken a whole different level. Not only does he not care about that, he doesn't care about the blue slip, which means that if a senator puts in a blue slip, that puts a whole denomination. In the history of the Supreme Court, only three federal judges have been confirmed when both states' senators submitted a blue slip.

All three have taken place under Trump. They've ignored the blue slip policy. It's gone. They've run roughshod over the bench, and they're going to continue to do it. Absolutely. You know, the unfortunate reason— Dr. Carter, this is—Dr. Carter, I know the people who are watching, and they keep—they're probably saying, Roland, why are you so bothered by this?

Because I need people to understand, when you file a lawsuit, when you file a federal discrimination suit, when you file an education lawsuit, when you file a federal discrimination suit, when you file an education lawsuit, when you file a voter suppression lawsuit, when you file any kind of federal lawsuit, if they get their way, you're going to have, if Donald Trump wins reelection, he's going to, first of all, he's going to appoint probably by the end of this term, more than 200 judges. If Donald Trump gets four more years, he likely will have the ability to appoint upwards of 500 federal judges. That is an unbelievable number. That's also assuming, Roland, that the Senate stays the way it is.

Obviously, if the Senate flips. Right, right, right. But I mean, I think this is the point that we all that you've been sort of beating this drum for a really long time is that people are playing the long game here. Republicans recognize that their share of the population is shrinking. They're not popular for most of this country, but they understand if they can control this nation's institutions, then they can have a reach that is far more consequential than this election or the next election, this will be Donald Trump's legacy.

He's already had his crack at the supreme court and these other federal courts. And he's likely to get another supreme court justice if he wins another term because Ruth Bader Ginsburg is hanging on but she can't stay forever.

I mean, and I think this is also a moment for us to think about what these Republicans have done. They don't actually care about norms, about consequence, about their own reputation. They let Merrick Garland hang around for 293 days. In fact, the Senate refused to do its job and hold a confirmation process for Merrick Garland. These people have made it clear they don't care about qualifications.

They don't care about the American Bar Association and its ratings of any of their nominees. They want to control this country because they recognize the demographics are against them. But if they can control the institutions, then it really doesn't matter how this country changes racially or otherwise. And that's the game that they're playing. And Democrats need to get on board and start thinking the same way that these Republicans do, because they are playing a long strategy and Democrats are playing checkers. Johanna, I mean, I'm telling you, it is it is baffling to me when people don't understand this. Yeah, we talk about the long game. Fifty years is real. That's half a century you know there are some jobs in life that I do believe that you can learn

while you're working right but there are those that such as becoming a federal judge a lifetime appointment you need experience and teaching law students how to practice law does not qualify you to be a federal judge.

And as you noted, Roland Martin, our institutions have real issues. We have real problems when it comes to our criminal justice system, our environmental laws and such. So to have someone on the bench who just does not have the experience is very problematic. And also, I want the public to be mindful that we will be paying Mr. Walker over $200,000 per year of taxpayers' dollars for him to perform a duty that I don't think he's qualified for. And it's very problematic. And this is why people have to pay attention. Jahan, this thing is so much deeper.

They appointed a woman who had, and again, has nothing to do with her being a woman. She's a white woman. She had graduated. She had graduated, had graduated dr dr carter michael she had graduated just 11 years earlier from law school she was 35 years old you cannot tell me this woman somehow is so brilliant that she has earned a federal appointment at 35 but again like you said these people are thinking about they're thinking about the youth.

Right. They're saying I can have this person in play for 50 plus years. Right. And that's what they're thinking about. They don't care about experience. They don't care about your ability to to wade through the sort of sticky situations. As Johanna rightly points out, I'm I don't think that reading about politicians and talking about politics makes me a politician, right? There's something fundamentally different about what I do as a study of political science and being a politician. The same thing with the law. But they don't care about that. They are ideologically driven.

And they are motivated by this desire to hold on to an America that does not exist, that most Americans don't even want. Look, real simple. If you, Michael, if you want to teach the law, go right ahead. But being a federal judge for life is a hell of a lot different, and I'm sorry. I think you need to at least step foot in the damn courtroom. And, you know, Senator Graham, obviously, they have meetings and they brief. Clearly, the guy knew what questions were coming, clearly. But those are the only questions he could even sound competent on, hence why Senator Graham asked him those.

And he answered them the way he's been briefed to answer them. So as Dr. Carter mentioned, as Ms. LeBlanc mentioned, their strategy is clear. It's in your face. They're not pretending. Though, and you and I have talked about this before, Roland, I still claim, even though Trump has said, look, sorry, 45, you know I don't like to say his name. Even though 45 said, hey, look, federal society, you pick these judges. There's still something to be said that Vice President Pence would pick the same judges.

So why do they still like this guy being president? They would still get the same results. Same kind of stuff. You know what? Here's why. I'm telling you right now. Unless they believe what he says. Another thing we have to look at.

Here's the deal. I'm being straight up. Mike Pence, former member of Congress, former governor. Mike Pence is a politician. Donald Trump actually doesn't care about the job of president. Donald Trump, I call him Trump, I guess. So Donald Chump actually was doing it by design. What you have here is the fact that they probably will run to more resistance from Mike Pence because he will want to pick his own judges.

Now, he's aligned with them. He will want to. And let me be real clear. This is, I fundamentally believe this. I tweeted this earlier. This is what's going on and why Republicans have no problem with Trump. They say all this stuff privately. They think he's nuts.

They think he's crazy. They think he's out to lunch. But guess what he's doing? He's giving all of the factions, the three main factions of the Republican Party, everything they want. Evangelicals. They want the Supreme Court and the federal bench. He said, okay, here you go. The pro-business Republicans, what do they want? Massive tax cuts and in all regulation on anything. Donald Trump's like party favor. Here you go. The third, the strong defense Republicans,

Donald Trump, 700 billion dollars increasing to the Pentagon, massive increase in the budget every single year. OK, y'all get what y'all want. So those three entities are laying back saying, we're perfectly fine, yeah, he's nuts, but guess what? We're getting everything that we want, so we're going to ride this sucker until the wheels fall off. Okay. That's fine.

Okay, fair enough. I think that Mitch McConnell was very excited about this entire process with the Senate in terms of getting this nominee confirmed and such. Because as we know, Mitch McConnell hasn't really cared much about anything in the Senate except for judicial nominations nominations getting them confirmed. It has been his sole priority as the leader in the Senate. And there are countless bills sitting in the Senate that have not been touched because that is not the priority of Mitch McConnell, unfortunately. All right, folks, got to go to a break. First and foremost, let me say this here.

I want to thank all three of you for being with us. I know being on the road makes it a little bit more difficult, but your perspective is critically important. I'm telling you right now, everybody watching right now, you better tell your friends, tell your family that the courts, they matter. If Republicans stay in control of the Senate and keep the White House, it's going to be game over for any civil rights protections we have in this country. I'm telling you that right now. You can bookmark this, earmark this, pick the point and watch it happen if it actually holds up.

Johanna, Dr. Carter, Michael Brown, we appreciate it, man. Thanks a lot. Thank you. Folks, coming up next, I'm going to chat with my man Kirk Whalum. He has a new CD out. Can't wait to check it out. You're watching Roller Martin on the filter, broadcasting live from Chicago's site of the Blueprint Men's Summit.

I'll be back in a moment. Keep it real as Roland Martin Unfiltered support the Roland Martin Unfiltered Daily Digital Show by going to RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. Our goal is to get 20,000 of our fans contributing 50 bucks each for the whole year. You can make this possible. RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. ¶¶ All right, folks, Life, Luck, Jazz Experience taking place in Cabo, November 7th through the 11th. Of course, if you want to attend, go to lifeluxjazz.com, L-I-F-E-L-U-X-E-J-A-Z-Z.com.

But if you cannot be in Cabo for those four days, 14 different amazing artists, then, of course, you could live stream it. Get your live stream pass at GFNTV.com. That's GFNTV.com. As I said, amazing artists, Gerald Albright, Alice Bunyan, Kirk Whalum, Donna McClurkin, Shalia, Roy Ayers. Man, it's going to be an unbelievable three-day extravaganza. So I look forward to you participating. And again, get your live streaming pass to cover those three days, all 14 concerts.

You'll be able to watch right here on your phone, on your iPad computer. It does not matter. Go to GFNTV.com. That's GFNTV.com to get your live stream pass. All right, folks. Roland Martin here broadcasting live for the Blueprint Men's Summit here in Chicago. Right now, of course, you just saw him talk about Life Luxe Jazz. Don't forget to go to gfntv.com to get that live streaming pass.

And one of the folks who's going to be there is my favorite artist, jazz saxophonist from Memphis, Kirk Whalum. And he actually has a new album out. Kirk, what's up, my brother? Man, you are up as always, man. I've just been tracking with you, man, speaking truth, you know, as always. Well, man, it's always glad to have you here. First and foremost, folks, people out there that don't even understand something. I got every Kirk Whalum album.

Matter of fact, okay, I don't have one. Kirk was supposed to send it to me. I ain't got it yet. But anyway, I got all of Kirk Whalum's albums. I'm talking about going back to his first one, Floppy Disc, and then, of course, all the way through. And so, Kirk, which album is this? How many albums have you now put out?

Man, that's a good question, Roland uh some of them as you know i did some records for instance with bwb with with uh some with bob james you know it's a lot of the stuff that i've done is collaborations uh but solo records 26 i believe uh including the new one you mentioned so let's so let's just so let's talk about uh first of all before we get to get to the new one you managed to. Wow. So let's talk about, first of all, before we get to the new one, take folks through just that process in terms of you putting an album together because there are certain themes, certain focuses. I remember when you did In This this life it was this bluegrass gospel jazz all core different things and then you had other other albums like colors and then you

different ones and so um as you're putting together your next album project i mean what are you thinking how are you you processing it? How does it come together? Sure. It's a journey, man. It's an evolution. You know, really, it's kind of like going with the river. You know, I remember someone once told me about the Mississippi River. You know, you don't get to tell it where to go. It tells you. And really, that's how the spirit is when it comes to the creative arts. You just sort of go with what what what what inspires you and what animates you and for me, you know it all along the way man, it's like I'm you know moving left and right as it's been really something but it

all and you know about the when I was living in Houston., man, with my band at a place called Cody's. And all along the way, I've had really great mentors like Bob Dean to help me kind of know, you know, help maybe not to make too many mistakes, the judgment, you know. Because it's a process, making records, especially, you know, because it's a process making records, especially, you know, where we all started, you know, Terrence Blanchard, Donald Harris, and all of us, you know, we started around the same time. We all got signed Columbia Records in around, you know, 1983. And so, man, in that time, you had to really know the process, the recording process, production, and all of that. Now it's a little different because of technology, right? But I'm grateful that I got in at that time. When it comes to, first of all, folks who may not realize, you talk about those collaborations.

I mean, you played with some amazing people. I've heard your music so long, I actually know your sounds. I can listen to a song and I'm like, that's Kurt. And so, for folks who don't know, tell them some of the biggest hits that you played on with some of the biggest stars. Sure. Well, I

played on a lot of Luther Vandross records. He once told me, he said, I don't like saxophone, but I like you because you play like a singer. And so basically, he would have me play on just about every record he did. Songs like Anyone Who Had a Heart and that type of thing. But then, with Whitney Houston, I was just touring with her.

Ricky Miner and Paul Jackson Jr., we know, we were just on the road. And one of the stops was to, you know, finish up this movie. She had finished the movie except for this one scene, and that was where she sang that song to Kevin Costner. And so there we were. She insisted on doing live to the film, and that her band, Us, had to be live as she sang. And so I Will Always Love You, you now i can say because of her existing

that saxophone solo i played on that song is sex solo that's been heard by more people than any other sexual solo you can imagine when i found that little factoid out i kind of got freaked out nick and i'm thinking cannonball every you know john coltrane you Grover, I mean, me? It was a pretty scary thought. The saxophone is obviously a much different instrument. So how many different saxes do you play? First of all, how many different saxes are there? So you've got soprano sax.

Right. You've got tenor sax, alto sax, baritone sax. Am I missing anything? Well, you're not, except that at the extremities, there are some saxophones that they've stopped making now. There's a tiny one called a sopranino, and it's just, to me, it's like a waste of time. It's just too tiny, and it's a little annoying. And then there's a huge one that's bigger than a baritone.

It's a bass saxophone. Once again, it's impractical. I mean, you need to roll the thing along, you know, on its own cart. But, you know, soprano, alto, and tenor, this is a tenor. Those are the main three. And it's like a choir. Like, people, you know, think of the voices in the choir, soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone. There you go. All right, so let's talk about the new album.

What's the focus? What does it feel like? What does it sound like? What is it? Yeah, I could talk a long time about that, so you have to cut me off. It's called Humanité, and my French speakers there in your in your city and all over the world know that you might say in french means humanity and it was my pleasure to do 14 collaborations with emerging artists from eight countries some established artists as well like the number one artist in south africa sahara the number one artist in indonesia and southeast asia uh afghan uh you know I go on and on Marcus Miller take on my city, but you know this work that is really my 60th birthday present

to myself and I was last year. You know to to go around the world and places that I've been another case of the dollars many of them have my they call me off her you know you and K I are a I'm Kirk. I's my nickname on this record because I'm collaborating with these young people in their space. And we made a project that really will remind people. Last time I saw you, I was here in Memphis for the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin King. And he always talked about the beloved community. And that's what Human many say is all about all of the various colors that I

first of the of the world. At the end of the day we're all like we all have the same needs in the sense of needing to be a hard beating to you to get set that up and this early and got it set to create and got it and got it set us as we are and then, the relationship that we have with him is about us being more and more like him. Right. But man, this record is about collaborating with all these great artists. Man, I had more fun. I ate more food in Kenya and Japan and South Africa and you know, deal and France, it was crazy. So I see. So titles,

move on up. Everybody ought to be free. Don't get me wrong. Wake up everybody. Wildflower, get your wings up. Now I know. SJL, Cogaroccio, blow for you. Quetu, peace. We shall overcome you from the east to the west.

So that certainly definitely speaks to the world traveling you did with those titles. Oh, absolutely, man. You know, Cotagotio, for example, is a slum in Nairobi. I know you've been to Nairobi, but Cotagotio is literally next to the city dump. So these children in this music program, I recorded these kids, man. My producer, James McMillan from England, we went and recorded these kids, man. And they had never been in the studio. They didn't even know how they worked. And those kids have to, their music program is outdoors in this slum. They burn the trash in

the dump. And the smell wafts over to where these kids are making music and that to me is just it just breaks my heart that that's the environment was that make music but you know what is the most beautiful music man that just touches your heart and those kids were so happy to be part of this and that story is told over and over again on humanity by these collaboration with the far-flung corners of world where you know you hear, you feel the culture, the pulse of the culture in the music. Something like Kwetu, you know, and same thing in Nairobi with the artist Aaron Rimbui, a great jazz pianist from Kenya.

I mean, you know, then we go to Indonesia. Oh, I was about to say, what, Nigeria. We recorded with a Nigerian artist who lives in Paris. As night you're in our soon live in Paris. You know I still in Paris, the French so she and I recorded a pair of famous Asha the sea, you know is really from labels and then you know just the inspiration that you and I got that they left us. I can't get into this process that you know, it's all called we shall overcome you. It was for the parkland for the kids, man, talking to the NRA, like, you know what?

We are going to overcome you, and we're not going to be like you, you know? These are the things I was able to weave into this humanitarian project. Well, the CD is called Humane. Folks, we certainly want you to get it. Kirk, you got all those saxophones surrounding you. Let's hear something. Shoot, man, I don't know. Does a saxophone even make a sound? My brother. All right, for everybody listening, just so y'all know, y'all heard, Kirk didn't tell your neighbor that song.

That song is called Glow. It's off his CD, and you know that, his second CD. Let me tell you something right now. I'm being straight up. If you can't get none in playing that song, go to a monastery. I'm telling you right now, that is an absolute love-making song. Huh? Hey, man, listen. This is Biscuit, and I think even Biscuit likes that song, man.

That is a love-making song. I'm telling y'all. I did ask this question. I played a song in the dog next door. You better watch out. This is coming. Okay, I got to get this in. I did ask this here.

One thing you do, Kirk, you, first of all, your ministry is hugely important. Your faith is important. You infuse all of your music with that. We know about the gospel according to jazz. Just why is that so important? Because on so many of your albums, I mean We know about the gospel according to jazz. Just why is that so important? Because on so many of your albums, I mean, there's a gospel song on every single one of those albums. Well, really, you know, my life revolves around the hesed of God. In other words, that word in Hebrew means the loving kindness and tender mercies of god extended to me that's that's the

only way i got to do what i'm doing and share what i'm doing with the world god's unconditional love for me manifesting jesus to christ man and so with me it's not about me going and pushing that on anybody it's about me i can't help myself i'm so grateful and i'm so inspired to share that message that, you know, I accept you not just because I'm like, I'm a good person. No, I accept you because God accepted you and he accepted me and I know how I am. So for him to accept me, man, all I can do is accept you. And that is the message of humanity. And by the way, it's a documentary that we made as well. Filmmaker went all over the world with us to make that documentary. And this record is really something.

Well, your daddy was a pastor. Your brother, Reverend Kenneth Whalum, pastor. I do his men's service every year in April there in Memphis. And when are we going to have this massive Waylam project? You got Peanut, your nephew plays with Bruno Mars, your other nephew played with Maxwell, your brother sings, your other brother sings. When are we going to have this massive Waylam family project? So we actually did that for my mother's for our

mother's 80th birthday all right so Helen I love you baby we did this we did the whole project just all hell and it's got her picture on the cover and that that even have songs listed but we got all got together man except for he does he's 90 now and you know we can't do it but man we're going to do that actually we do something here in Memphis role and I want to get you to come. It's called Cafe Kirk. The word Kirk, of course, means church. So I feel like this Cafe Kirk is like a space

in the middle between a public space and a sacred space. And so in that space, man, I'm inviting, for instance, Bob James is coming on November 3. I've had Keiko. Man, I've had some of your favorite artists, man. I had Tula E. You know, it's been crazy. But that's something that we're going to – I've had Cameron and Cortland on that one. But I'm going to have all these Whalems together at one point, man, at Cafe Kirk.

And that's at Cross Town Concourse every first Sunday. You let me know when that happens. I'm there. You know I'm always there. I got your back. I'm there. You know I'm always there. I got your back. I'm always checking you out. And, you know, that would absolutely be awesome. Folks, I'm telling you all, get the new CD, Humane.

And while you're there, go ahead and get FloppyDisc. And you know that. Go ahead and get Colors. Go ahead and get For You. Go ahead and get all of them. Because y'all know I'm always tweeting the music as well. Kirk Whalum, always good to see you my brother. Man, people can

just type my name in any social media, just type Kirk Whalum and they got me. All right then, you take care. I'll see you soon. Peace out brother. All right, take care. All right folks, always having a good time.

In fact, I'll tell you this funny story. When we went to MLK 50 commemoration, Kirk was playing, and he was playing Do You Feel Me? And actually, that was the theme song that I played on my radio show at WVON in Chicago. And so Kirk called me on stage to sing it. And the problem is they were singing in a higher key. But we still had a little fun with it. I'm going to show you that video one day. All right, folks, got to go to a break.

We come back. I'm going to chat with Chef Jeff Henderson right here at the Blueprint Men's Summit in Chicago. We're going to talk about criminal justice reform, culinary arts. Could that be the future for a lot of brothers in terms of choosing the career path? That's next. Roland Martin Unfiltered, live in the Windy City. Back in a moment. keep it real. It's Roland Martin Unfiltered. See that name right there? Roland Martin Unfiltered. Like, share, subscribe

to our YouTube channel. That's youtube.com forward slash Roland S. Martin. And don't forget to turn on your notifications so when we go live, you'll know it. Ask me numbers. Don't just hand over our voice on the job and our seats at the table. Five justices don't get to decide our future, and no one can steal our freedom unless we let them.

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All right, folks, welcome back to the Blueprint Men's Summit here in Chicago. Lewis Carr, longtime advertising executive, puts on this men's conference. Their theme is from the block to the boardroom. Joining me right now is one of the speakers, Chef Jeff Henderson. Glad to have you here. Roll about on the filter. What's up, man? Thanks for having me, Roland.

All right, then. So first and foremost, you do lots of events, lots of conferences, all this other good stuff. Yes. What makes this meaningless summit different from others that you do? Yeah. I think what makes a difference is the fact that it's a fellowship of black men who are successful that share in success strategies. And everyone here is almost like a brand evangelist who leave this conference to go back in their prospective communities to help create blueprints, to help brothers stay out of the system, people find jobs, create those opportunities, and get those second chances.

You talk about staying out of the system. I mean, you often talk about your history, the time you spent in prison, what you were going through. Take folks through who don't know your story, how you were able to go to make that turn and then correct the past. Yeah. Well, you know, I've been out of prison now 23 years. I went to prison back in 1987 during the crack cocaine era. I was selling drugs since I was like 17 years old. I got indicted by the feds, went to prison.

I was in federal prison when it was called Club Fed. I was in prison when Ivan Boesky, co-defendant of Michael Milken, you know, federal judges, Wall Street guys. And when I was in there, I took business and marketing classes. Wall Street guys ran these business classes. They had a Toastmasters, a Mastermind. one of the multi-millionaire wall street guys told me

when he heard me speak at toastmasters he said jeff when you was on the street selling drugs you understood marketing branding bottom line profit and loss he says all you got to do is change the product so i never heard those words this connected the dots so i built relationships with these guys. Got fired on my job. They put me in the kitchen on pot and pan detail. Never knew I had a bug, a talent for cooking. Eventually became the head inmate cook.

Then I got out of prison in 1997. And a chef in Beverly Hills gave me a job washing dishes. And the rest is history. I worked my way all the way up to becoming the first African-American executive chef running restaurants at Caesars and Bellagio in Las Vegas. So I want to start with first what you just said in terms of what that guy told you about the knowledge and expertise you had. I remember it was probably in the 80s. I think it was in the 80s.

My dad watched five hours of news a day. We always watched ABC. So I remember it was a story on ABC World News Tonight. And they had arrested a major drug dealer in Washington, D.C. And I remember the story vividly because they detail the brilliance of this brother, how he structured his drug enterprise. And I remember the reporter saying and the prosecutor saying

that this guy essentially was running a Fortune 500 company. And just what you described, they talked about, and I'll never forget that story. So how do we get young brothers and sisters to understand that you have it, but one is illegal and the other can earn you billions with hedge funds or whatever? And it's killing our people.

My thing is, as I tell guys who come from that life, is that we got to show them where the money is. We got to show them how to hustle legit, get them access. Many of us who come from poverty in the neighborhood, we learn how to negotiate early, those survival traits. We know how to make something out of nothing. And through my era, I'm 55, Roland. In my era, in 1982, I remember vividly crack cocaine that showed up in the neighborhood. This boom showed up. Somebody came up with an idea that made cocaine affordable to every American with that cheaper version. I was

a newspaper boy. I was a candy seller. I had a lawnmower in junior high school. So you were doing entrepreneurial things. Yes. But all of a sudden, this comes along a lot more money a lot faster. Yes. But not realizing the impact that crack had on mass incarceration. One out of four black males between 17 and 29 in prison. We didn't understand that.

It wasn't until we got to prison. And I think for me, I've always had an entrepreneurial drive and an entrepreneurial spirit. I just needed somebody to pull my coattail to say, take these skill sets and do something else. So food became my new hustle. Like rap became Jay-z's new crack food became my new crack you know so it's like how do we take the natural skill sets in these guys and gals and say let's channel that somewhere else legitimately and you could be a baller you could be successful you could live the american dream doing it the right way now i want to go to the next one. He gave you a job washing dishes. Yes. I remember,

it's my brother had a catering business. That was, one of my sisters was married to. Was in a gang, selling drugs. My brother offered him a job as a dishwasher. He was offended. He was pissed off. He was more concerned about his cornrows sure about his cornrows and i'm sitting here going and i've heard other people talk about

that i ain't washing dishes but first of all washing dishes that's the entry the entree yes to the kitchen yes it doesn't mean you're going to always be washing dishes. If you've got a dishwashing mindset, that's where you're going to stay. Sometimes we've got to take the lesser job to get the better job later. So that was the entree for me. I went from washing dishes to prep cook to cook, eventually sous chef,

and that's how I was able to wind up becoming executive chef. Sometimes we've got to take those less jobs, especially having a criminal record, no experience, prison GED. Sometimes that's Sometimes we got to take those less jobs, especially having a criminal record, no experience, prison GED. Sometimes that's where we have to start. And it's funny you mention it because the man who gave me my first job

out of prison 23 years ago, he's here. Wow. Yes. Chef. It's Robert Gatsby right here who hired me 23 years ago. How are you doing? Very well, thank you. You hired him.

What did you see? What did I see? I saw someone that was desperately wanting to change his life. So I said, well, just give him a chance. And when you say give him a chance, we were just talking about he started off washing dishes. Yes. Was that a test? Well, first of all, you have to start from the bottom and work your way up. He was just talking about he started off washing dishes. Yes. Was that a test?

Well, first of all, you have to start from the bottom and work your way up. First of all, the early stages is you have the first part is your discipline. The first discipline is can you wash dishes? Are you a patient? Do you have attention to detail? Are you clean and are you organized? And the most important person in that kitchen is the dishwasher, not the cooks. Without this equipment, your knives, forks, spoons, the china, the tabletop presentation,

if you don't have them, you don't have anything. But you got a lot of people, though, who get offended with starting other dishes. But this is what you have to understand. At the end of the night, you turn to the chef, to the dishwasher, and say, do we have a good evening? He'll say yes or no. If there's so much food coming back that's in the garbage, that means you're not doing a good job. But if he says yes, and he doesn't have to lie because he's garbage says it all. If the garbage is barely empty

because there's only garnishes, there's no real food other than bones, he's done a good job. And he knows better than anyone else. So the customer doesn't have to say, yes, we had a great time. If the food comes back, they couldn't have had a great time because if you enjoy the food that much, there will be nothing left on your plate. So you see him now. Are you proud? Absolutely I'm proud. I appreciate it.

Thanks so much. Pleasure. Chef, you take your store across the country. You talk to various people. How many young cats who get it, who hear you and go, that makes sense? Quite a few. You know, my story is highly respected. My come up, my success in prisons all across this country. Every month I'm in federal, state, juvenile prisons.

So when I go into these prisons, I talk about the decriminalization of the mindset. And how that begins is figuring out what your gift is, what your self-worth is. So a lot of cats who was making big money on the streets, I say, you got two choices. You got this world, the criminal world, it's going to give you instant hood wealth. Then you got this other world over here where you got to play the long game. But guess what? The consequences and the payoff is not prison or not death. When you walk on concrete every day, when you're sitting on a stainless steel toilet, strip searches, be dehumanized, humiliated throughout your prison, I say, who wants to live like this? You know, you got a choice to make.

And once I figured out how to take the transferable skills that I use to become a millionaire at 19, what are those skills I could take the criminal element out? Selling, marketing, relationship building, put on a, this is my costume, clean shaven, got my grill fixed, took makeup, covered my earring hole up, manicured hands. I learned from this man. I watched how he walked, how he talked, his language. I watched him build relationships and communicate with people who didn't look like us.

So I always had gift to gab. I always was able to move through different gang neighborhoods, Crips, Bloods, Mexicans, white guys. So if I can do it on the streets, I can do it in the corporate world. And so I just took those skill sets that were transferable and utilized them. I do not want to diminish the skill set of culinary arts. But I think you understand my point here.

First of all, my grandmother catering business. My dad was a chef in the family. My brother's an executive chef. So been around food my whole here. First of all, my grandmother catering business. My dad was a chef in the family. My brother's an executive chef. Been around food my whole life. The reason I'm saying that is because there's a brother or sister out there who says I'm not fit for Ivy

League. I'm not fit for the Howard. I'm not fit for a four-year college. But I explain to them what you can cook. We can always eat. And there are different types of chefs. Yes. They run the gamut for all over.

And it is an opportunity for somebody to actually have a career, take care of their family, and build their family. I think for a lot of times, a lot of us get caught up in thinking, I'm not smart enough for a doctor or a lawyer. But you cook for doctors and lawyers. Yes. Who pay you well. Yes. Yes. And so how do we get that through to people to also understand that?

Well, I think that if you have the gift of cooking, and like you said, there's different elements of culinary arts. got high end low end hospital cooking institutional cooking you got catering it's food it's food everywhere and it's one of the somebody got a cook exactly they come from China yeah and no art and no artificial intelligence is gonna cook the food because it can't taste if you If you want some ribs, it's not going to be shipped from Thailand. Somebody got to be on that grill. Exactly. So the food industry is one of the few industries that door is wide open for returning citizens. And the reason why is you usually come in through the back door.

You go home through the back door. You don't even see the customer. You have no access to credit cards. It's tough, grind work. So this is why this industry is big, and it was wide open for me. But for me now, as a chef, who have reached the Bellagio, Caesars, Ritz-Carlton, now it's like, how can I create other opportunities for returning citizens? So I recently launched Alternative Labor Solutions.

So I'm working with companies now to help them identify, recruit, develop for long-term retention, returning citizens coming out of the system. Because now companies have no choice but to look at the 700,000 people who get released from prison every single year. They could no longer exclusively depend on immigrant and non-felon labor anymore. They have no choice but to say shit how do we deal with them I need I don't know how to talk to them we're a little nervous that's where I come in and I come in and say look here's the best practices what what what formerly said inform

incarcerated citizens will you hire which ones you won't and then I put together a best practice list for them to go ahead and hire these people and get them into systems. All right. How can folks follow you? Chef Jeff Live on Instagram and Twitter. And my website is ChefJeffLive.com. All right. Chef, we appreciate it, man.

My man. You're cooking tomorrow, right? Yes, sir. All right. Then what are we eating? Maple braised beef short ribs. All right. I'm ready.

All right. My man. Thank you, brother. Thank you, sir. I got to get you to the kitchen with my brother. Yes. And where are you based? Vegas.

Okay. And when you come out there, I got you. I want a cup. Bring it to my house. I'm going to lay you out. I'm going to get your number and we'll do it. I'll pass it to you, folks. All right.

I appreciate it. All right, folks. Got to go to a break. We come back. More from Blueprint Men's Summit. Back in a moment from Chicago. All right. I appreciate it.

Thanks so much. Remember, I can give you this here. Yeah, my pound's tomorrow. Uh, I'm after lunch. Every dollar that you give to us supports our daily digital show. There's only one daily digital show out here that keeps it black and keep it real. It's Roland Martin. Where's his brother?

Come here. He just walked by. You know what I'm talking about? We are going to RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. Our goal is to get 20,000 of our fans contributing 50 bucks each for the whole year. You can make this possible. RolandMartinUnfiltered.com.

Yeah! Play Maxine next. All right, y'all. So you came back to me here. So Maxine Waters, we were at the Spirit Democracy Awards. And, of course, we live streamed that. And so she had some nice things to say about Roland Martin Unfiltered. I want to go ahead and play that for you. You have stood the test of time.

You have no fear. You have courage. You're brilliant. And you have shown up everywhere that you needed to be. I appreciate your voice. You are a talking drum. Give him a big round of applause. Well, we certainly appreciate those kind words from Congresswoman Maxine Waters. Thank you so very much. Again, folks, we are here at Lewis Carr's Blueprint Man Summit here in Chicago

at the W Hotel. And so a lot of different folks have been coming through here. Earlier today, former New York Knicks star Alan Houston presented about his mentor program. Will Packer, my alpha brother, of course, Uber Hollywood producer, television producer as well. He held a panel here talking about the images of black men. Judge Greg Mathis, he also is one of the speakers. I'm looking down the hallway for some of the other folks who are here. So like I said, Judge Mathis, tomorrow Hill Harper is going

to be joining us. So we're looking forward to Hill as well. I'm going to be doing a session talking about voting. And so we got some other guests who are about to come on down. And so we're looking for them to make their way down here. What what you're seeing right now go back to the other shot there henry uh what you're seeing there is uh the uh the car lounge and so what you have going on in that room there uh you have uh brothers who are getting haircuts in there you got a dj in there they got food that's sort of the hangout area uh here we go back to that shot of the lounge uh people see and what you got here is you got the lounge area going on here. Again, you got folks there who can actually mix. You've got, of course, where the sessions are taking place.

Some 400 folks have registered, 400 brothers. And there's all brothers here. You see they got the basketball hoop in there. There's also a golf putty green in the lounge as well. Some 400 brothers are here for this summit. And then what you also have going on, 100 young boys are going to be here tomorrow. The boy's going to be here tomorrow. And so, first of all, Lewis Carcourse, who is putting this on, we're waiting for him to make his way down here.

His session, I believe, is almost ending. And so there are so many different people who are here. And I'll tell you what was great. I mean, y'all saw me talk at the Alpha Convention when I was in Las Vegas. More than 1,000 black men who were there. When you hear people say, in terms of where all the brothers are, trust me, you got brothers who are doing some great things. And so there are brothers who are doing great things all across this country.

And it was important for us to show you this so you can actually see for yourself. I mean, that's what was critically important. I think all too often, I think all too often, what happens is we hear these stories about black men not doing this, black men not doing that, but the reality is you have some brothers who are doing some amazing things, sessions on health, sessions on wellness, sessions on motivation. And so it really has been a salad.

We came today, even though my session is tomorrow. We got some interviews that we'll be doing. Also, there's a young brother. I'm going to be interviewing him tomorrow. He is a coder. He is a coder. This brother here is about 14, 15 years old. And so we'll be sitting down chatting with him as well.

And also tomorrow, Orlando Pace, Joe Dumars, former, first of all, Hall of Famer, former exec with the Detroit Pistons. He's going to be here. Orlando Pace, Joe Dumars, former, first of all, Hall of Famer, former exec with the Detroit Pistons. He's going to be here. Orlando Pace, like I said, also Richard Dent, another Hall of Famer. They're going to be talking about sports and activism. And so just an amazing line of folks covering two days here in Chicago. And so in just a moment, we'll be chatting with more of the folks here. So I'm waiting for them to make their way down here to have a conversation with us. Also, one of the

things that we want to reiterate to all of you earlier in the show, we talked about Congressman Elijah Cummings. He's going to be lying in state in the National Central River Hall next week, next Thursday, all day on Thursday. Then on Friday, there'll be a public viewing for him, 8 a.m. at New Salmas at his church in Baltimore. The funeral will take place at 10 p.m. So those of you who missed that earlier, the funeral arrangements for Congressman Cummings, they have been released. And so we certainly will be covering that story next week as well.

And so as we wait for our next guest, Henry, let me know in terms of who's coming down and when they're coming down. I want to be able to chat with them. It was great talking with Chef Jeff Henderson, talking about, of course, what he is doing on the culinary arts side. Again, Henry's going to take another shot in the room there, of course, what he's doing on the culinary arts side. Again, here he's going to take another shot in the room there, of course, where the brothers are in the lounge there.

What you'll also see, you'll see some of the folks who are bringing food on by as they are, like all kinds of things that happen. So this is the welcome reception sort of time that's taking place as we speak. Also, Dougie Fresh is here, and he is on his way. And so certainly looking forward to chatting with him. He'll be providing entertainment for the brothers here. And so, Dougie, can't wait till he get on down here. As y'all know, I am, and trust me, y'all might think I'm lying.

Dougie Fresh is going to confirm it for you. I am, and trust me, y'all might think I'm lying. I will, Dougie Fresh is going to confirm it for you. I am Dougie Fresh's official hype man. Okay, if y'all think I'm joking, y'all about to learn something when he comes down here for our conversation, because trust me, I have gotten the party started on many occasions, gotten them hyped for my man Dougie. Now look, I ain't getting on the microphone and doing the beatbox, but I'm telling you right now, I will get the party started. And so here we go. And so right now joining us, of course, is the founder of the Blueprint Men's Summit,

Lewis Carr. He's making his way over here. And so we'll chat with Lewis in just a second. And so step on in. Y'all see we got the velvet rope here. It's so like a club. Everybody can't get in here. And so that's why we got the velvet rope.

And so, you know, it's real funny. I'm telling y'all, this is just a true story. We do this all the time. Black people do not care if you are in a live broadcast. Black folks will be, we'll be sitting here. I'll be interviewing somebody and they will walk up, want a selfie. They'll be yelling, Roland, tapping you on the shoulder.

And I got to remind them, y'all, I'm actually working. And so it always happens. And so it's crazy. I got to tell you, like, one brother, we were sitting here live. He walked up, Roland, how you doing? I was kind of like, bro, we on the air right now. So then he had to step back. But it's all good.

It's always good to show some love, get the love from our family here. All right, you're on us right now. It's Louis Carr, man behind this conference. What's up, Doc? Thank you. How's it going? Got to grab the microphone, Louis. So you all can tell Louis on the sales side of media.

So he ain't using this side. Got to grab the mic. Look, Roland, there's so much going on behind me, and I'm doing so much right now. That don't even affect me. I know. I hear doing so much right now. That don't even, see, it don't even affect me. I know. Like, I hear it. They right there.

When we were planning this setup, I said, does Roland know how many people are going to be passing him? Unfazed. Unfazed. Unfazed. You're a true professional. We've done it with thousands. They don't know a thing.

That's right. They could be standing right there calling my name. They don't even exist. I just appreciate you being here. Looking forward to tomorrow. Thank you so much. Your presence, your energy has made already an impact on the Blueprint Men's Summit. I appreciate it. Appreciate it. First of all, how many years is this? This is year three.

Year three. Why did you start it? I started it when I did my book tour. After every stop rolling, there were men waiting in the halls, waiting outside for me, who wanted to ask me questions that they didn't want to ask in an open room. So whether it was, you know, how you've been married for three decades, you know, how did you do that? Or how do you travel 250 nights a year? So I wanted to provide a safe environment where men could come and really be vulnerable from time to time and ask questions that they might not want to ask in the public. Also, I think, and I've talked about this a whole lot as well. Women,

but especially black women, they meet. Yes. They go to conferences, and they have real conferences. And they have missions. They're on a mission. It's not games. It's not all about having fun. Because I'll be honest with you. One of my, and I got no issues with the lounge, but one of my issues when I see lots of men's events,

it's more games than it is business. And I say to brothers, if you go home the same way you left home, there's going to be some pissed off folk who sent you there. Well, I want to congratulate these brothers today. They were in sessions at 9 o'clock, and we just got out at 6.20. And I cut out a lot of breaks

that I scheduled for them because I wanted them to be A students. And they really showed up and I'm very, very proud of their commitment to the information and to the things they were getting from the stage today. So I'm very proud of them.

And the reason I think that's important because again, we have to experience, first of all, we have to have a place where we can go to and get fed and learn and yes, ask those questions. That's also

a place that's for us, by us. Yes. So very very excited about that. I mean we had a lot of brothers today that came to the stage. Will Packer, as you know, was here. And he did a tremendous job on really creating an opportunity for brothers to find their own blueprint. Joe Holder from GQ Magazine was here talking about nutrition and fitness.

Charles Jenkins, Pastor Charles Jenkins and Pastor Reginald Sharp just got off the stage. Really, really, really inspiring brothers with the secret to survival. When you have traveled, you talked about on Beyond the Book Tour and in hearing from these brothers, when you travel, is it tough to look at some of these brothers who you know are hurting who you know might be going through divorces or relationship issues i'll be going through stuff on the job and they say i have no outlet or i haven't connected with somebody who will understand what i'm going through so has this also created the networking opportunity where the relationships have continued after the summit's over?

Absolutely. One of the things, the primary summit mission is to provide knowledge, solutions, and relationships, not with just people on the stage but people in the audience because there are so many people in the audience, because there's so many people in the audience that can give insight and give instructions to so many different things. So this is not just about the people on the stage, but it's also not just about the men who are here. We want them to take this information back to their families and their communities with a

spirit of vision and growth so that we all can get better. Want to talk a little business. You have how long you've been in sales for how long? I have been in sales for about 38 years. I've been at BET for 33 years. So I was I was in the car today. And don't ask me why it popped into my head. And I was in the car and I went to the Madison Avenue project. I was reading some story. And I pull up on Google, whatever. And the reason I bring that up is because I have been trying to sound the alarm that we, those of us in black media, are facing a perilous future.

What used to be multicultural is now mainstream. You see black ad agencies withering on the vine because the larger agencies are basically taking all of the dollars. And unfortunately, in so many of those agencies, there's still a very few folks who look like us. And so what happened to the Madison Avenue Project? Art, do you believe that we are getting our fair share? And what needs to happen?

Because where we're going, 2043, we'll be a nation majority, people of color. And my fear is that we will be frozen out of the dollars. We will have demographic numbers, but be frozen out and not be able to control our own narrative, our destiny. Well, one of the things that I've consistently done, and I think it's given me this long tension of business, is reinvent. So reinvent our strategies, reinvent our products, reinvent ourselves in the way we approach the overall business. So reinvention is one of the key things. I think the other thing is we continue to have to be courageous.

I mean, we can't just take not getting our dollars. Sometimes we got to push to get our dollars. And I think I sort of made a reputation of that in the business, that I'm not going to just let other people come in and sort of pimp our culture, where we were creators of that culture. So I think that a lot of our media companies have to become more courageous and more intentional about their success. I just had a sales conference, and the theme of the sales conference was intentional success. And tomorrow we're going to have one of our key speakers at our sales conference, Rick Rigsby,

come and talk about intentional success and the role of black men in our communities today. But back to the media, I think we have to understand social media more. Clearly, you get it. We dominate social media. We dominate linear. We dominate digital. Let's not act like we don't. Right. Let's let people know and let's be forceful and intentional about it. One of the things that is a concern of mine is the dearth of news and information. And when it comes to comedies, when it comes to award shows, when it comes to reality television, My fear is that, just like with food deserts, I believe we have news deserts. And I think that we're laughing ourselves to death.

And folks go all the time, man, I didn't know that. I didn't know that. Man, I had no idea. And I've been challenging black media on that front because if we are not framing it from our perspective through our prism then who will and i just thought i'm afraid that we're going to be asking somebody else please pity please can you tell our story and to me that's dangerous as a black community well to that point that's why it was so important for me to have you here we're going to talk about the upcoming 2020 election tomorrow.

And as I told you on the phone, I want you to educate these men on the top concerns that we should know about as we go into the election, as we evaluate candidates, if we talk about issues, as we educate our families and our communities. We've got a year, a year, to really be knowledgeable about what's at stake. Not even a year.

The primaries start in February. Yeah. We got less than six months. So you're going to let us know all of that tomorrow? I'm so excited about it. Well, I'm looking forward to it as well. Glad to be here. It's great for the energy in here.

I was just saying, being an alpha, I know you belong to that little junior organization. That little youth group. What's that group? I don't belong to any of them. Oh, you're not a Kappa? No. Oh, somebody told me you were Kappa. That's good then. Somebody told me you were Kappa. Well, praise the Lord. See, I'm good

then. And that GQ speaker you had today, he a little Kappa. Yeah, he hollered that. Good. See, good. See, good. good then. And that GQ speaker you had today, he'll look happy. Yeah, he hollered at me. Good. See, good. Because I thought I was going to have to cut you tomorrow. No, no, no. I'm good.

I'm good. I got love for everybody. Well, I got love for them, too. Well, I like them. I like them. Well, I'm glad to be here and looking forward to it. But again, I think the energy is great. And again, I think it's important for people, especially other brothers, when you're in this midst, just like when I go to the Alpha Convention, it's just a whole different feeling when you're surrounded by black men, it's black love, it's no drama, and it's all about purpose.

I appreciate it, and I can't wait till tomorrow. Light them up, baby. Always. Light them up. You know that's going to happen. I appreciate it, Louis. Thanks a bunch. them up, baby. Always. Light them up. You know that's going to happen. I appreciate it, Lewis. Thanks a bunch. Thank you, Roland.

Got to go to a break, y'all. We come back more from Blueprint Men's Summit. And so where's Dougie Fresh? He's supposed to be down here. I want to be able to holler at him before we get off the air. You're watching Roland Martin on the filter back in a moment. Fan Club, every dollar that you give to us supports our daily digital show. Thank you. For the whole year, you can make this possible. RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. All right, folks, we are back. Blueprint Van Summit here in Chicago.

Great conversation we had there with Lewis Carr. And like I say, the sessions are out. Cats are all around here. They got drink. They got hors d'oeuvres. They got food. You got networking going on. All those things are happening.

Like I said, lots of energy, lots of conversation, lots of excitement. The lounge is next door. You got brothers in there getting haircuts. Of course, as a matter of fact, let me tell you, the vendors, you can't see them. As a matter of fact, we're going to get this device to allow us to have a

roaming camera. I want to make y'all see some stuff. So, all the way down this hall, on the other side over there, they've got vendors doing manicures. They got brothers. I think they got some brothers over there getting some facials over there. They got brothers over there

who got hair care products. Bevel is one of their sponsors. They're talking about grooming as well. And so this is a true men's summit. And so they walk around with food. What's that? Chicken, my friend, with a little bit of salsa and platin. It's what?

Chicken, chicken. Chicken, a little salsa? Salsa and a little bit spicy. All right, then. Okay, I'm good. Ialsa and a little bit spicy. All right, then. Okay, I'm good. I'm going to try one when I get done off the air. All right, then. So, again, all that happened, and, of course, sessions, as Louis said,

started at 9 o'clock this morning, and so we'll be up again tomorrow at 9 o'clock as well. And so it's going to be quite the busy day here from Chicago. And so looking forward to it. Busy, busy day in the Winter City. Thank God it's not cold or freezing. I'm trying to see. So Anthony went down to see if he can grab Dougie Fresh to make his way down here. If not, we'll end up doing an interview with Dougie Fresh tomorrow.

And so it has been, like I said, a good time here. Great sessions, great panels. But I do want to speak on something that I did tell, I told Lewis there as well, and that is this here. And this is specifically for black men. We have to be willing to meet and connect with other black men in spaces like this. We have to be willing to have the type of conversations

that are affirming, that are empowering, and we can learn from and be educated. I see it all the time, all the things these sisters are doing across the country, where they are meeting and where they are planning and networking. And too many brothers not doing that. So that's critically important. So that's vital for all of us.

So that's why we are here. All right, y'all, join us right now. It's somebody who is not unfamiliar at all with the microphone. He is Doug E. French. What's up, my man? What's up? My man here, boy, y'all don't know how he gets down. Let me just put that out there off the top.

I was just saying this. I was somewhere, and I said, they said, oh, Doug is going to be here. I said, all right. I said, I'm Doug's hype man. They were like, man, sit down. I said, I'm telling y'all. You got to let them know. And they think I be messing around.

Like, oh, man. I said, I'm telling y'all. You gotta let them know. And they think I be messing around like, oh, man. I said, I'm telling y'all. Look, I sent out an email. I sent out memos. I mean, I'm on the shows. I'm like, look, if Brolin come up in here, you know where he coming and you know what we going to do, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. We done had so many shows like that before.

So take this out. We were at the Hamilton. You were had so many shows like that before. So take this out. We were at the Hamilton. You were at the Hamilton in D.C. It was CBC. Coca-Cola sponsored this party. And so Henry, Henry who does my production manager,

I see him the next day. He's like, dude, man, why you ain't tell me you on stage with Dougie? People were texting me talking about, man, your boy Roland's out here dancing and hyping the crowd up with Dougie. He's like, what were you doing? And then what was it?

It was Steve Harvey's Neighborhood Awards. Right, right, right, right. Dude, we got there. We got to Atlanta like at 5. He's like, how we laying in Atlanta at 5? And at 7 o'clock, I'm standing on stage shooting yo behind, dancing next to Dougie. I love it. I love it.

See, and this is what I like so much about it is because you go so hard when you do what you do that I like when people see that, yo, not only do I go hard here, I go hard over there. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Oh, I tell them. I don't understand. Like, I'm bothered by people who don't dance. It drives me crazy. It's crazy, bro.

They stand around. I'm like, my legs work. My knees work. My heels work. I'm going to use them. Look, look, look. And I ain't afraid to sweat. Look, look, look, look.

And we put it in. We put it in. I know. Look, I'm going to use them. And I ain't afraid to sweat. Look, look, look, look. And we put it in. We put it in. I know, look, I'm telling you, every time you come up, man, I'm so happy. I've been enjoying your company. And, you know, we've been friends a long time, so I keep it 100 with you. Bro, you

definitely bring a contribution to the game when you come up there. I'll be like, okay. Now I'm really – it's kind of like they're like a thermometer. Like, okay, so it's getting hot. Oh, yeah. Rolling us up. Well, this was at the NAACP.

So let me tell you what happened at the NAACP in Detroit. The DJ was – he was – Right, right, right, right. Right. So I said, what time is Dougie coming out? They said, Dougie coming out by 11, 11.15. They were trying to hold me. So I went on stage. I was like, I need you to play this.

Right. It was about an hour before Dougie came out. They told me. Dude, I was like, I mean, I'm sitting there, I'm like, this room ain't, you know. Ain't that crazy? It ain't, you know. Ain't that crazy? It ain't. And so I went up there. And so by the time you came out, the room was lit. Yeah, I think you said something to me.

I got this right for you. I said, they primed. They primed. I was like, you can do your thing now. Yo, it's so crazy, man. And it's so crazy that nobody, like, it's to the point that, like, at first, nobody would believe that we was rolling like this.

And then all of a sudden, now when I come in the spot, they're like, yo, your man rolling this in here, man. He's right over there, man. And I got mad at the Image Awards. Okay, let me tell you what happened. True story. This shit, Image Awards. So they had this outdoor party. Problem was I had to leave.

I had a speech. The one in L. I had to leave. Right. I had a speech. The one in L.A.? In L.A. Man, I said, go to the party. Y'all, I was only at the party for 30 minutes because I had to go catch a flight because I don't pass up money. You can't. So, man, I was like, Doug, you on stage?

And he see me like, bro, you know where you're supposed to be? And I was like, man, I got to go get in the car, go to the airport. I said, if I get on that stage, I'm going to miss this flight. Right, right to be I was like and I gotta go get the car go to the airport I said if I go next day, I'ma miss this Look look I'm trying to tell you man. We got this we got this automatic connection thing and like look I didn't even know you was coming. You was gonna be out here and lucky and I got a show tomorrow in LA I got to do taste the soul Didn't you know we would have turned this around. But of course.

But of course. But of course. Let's talk about, man, let's talk about the fact that you've been doing this how long? Man, it's, I'd have to say genuinely since 81, because Harlem World was an actual place in Harlem where all of the artists got to perform. So my first show that I've ever done was at Harlem World. They spelt my name on the flyer wrong. So, you know, it's kind of like asking,

when did you first do this? But you're finding a gauge on when was you first do this? But you, you find in a gauge on when was the first time that it really hit you. Right. So I say 81 because it was Harlem world. And that was big time for me. I'm like, I'm like 13, you know, 14 years old. To me, I think what's awesome is that, and again, my vantage point is different because I've been on the stage. Right. The audience still loves old school and the get it in. Right.

And for you, it's about the party. That's it. It's about them. I can't stand DJs and artists who want them to come see them. No. To me, it's a two-way street. It's what you give it that's hitting the crowd. With a crowd, it reverberates back, and then it goes back and it comes back and as that thing just gets higher and higher right but that's the only way that it does get higher and

higher any other way it doesn't because it's all about taking you're not giving anything and an artist should be a giver he should be a giver and a healer so if you ain't healing and you ain't giving and all you're doing is taking, look at me. Look at what I do. Look at what I got. I mean, look, I understand everybody needs a pat on the back, but you know, my whole thing, I come from a generation of hip-hop that I learned

a technique that's damn near like if you were a Shaolin monk and you learned from Shaolin. You know what I mean? I learned hip-hop like that. So my concept is celebrating life all the time. That's why when you come in or when we've done things, it has always been about the celebration, the enjoyment.

It's never been about the look at me or look at this or look at that. It's just party. Right. And that party, that celebration, that I'm happy to be right here right now, that moment, that memory, you know, tied to the soundtrack of your life is something that carries impact beyond people's wildest imagination. But, Roland, I be going through the airport, man. I can't even get to my gate sometimes because people say,

I seen you over here, and I seen you do this, and I seen this. The pilots sometimes come out, man, I was at this thing, Capital Jazz, man. It was unbelievable. I be like, you know, because you don't even really realize how many people take that spirit of love, man. I have my people, my social media followers, they're like, dude, seeing you get it gives me life. Like when I was doing the alpha step, the A step in my kitchen. Right, right, right.

I just posted 30 seconds of video, got like 5 million views views and folks don't realize i was look i was just dancing i was just getting in you were just doing your normal i was doing what i normally do right i mean i'll sit here and i'll hit a step just anywhere i mean i don't like i don't even need music to hit it i understand but that's the thing i i tell people all the time, and somebody asked me, they said, I said, man, why are you always dancing? I said, let me tell you something. I said, we would have killed to hear Muhammad Ali talk his last 25 years. That's right.

I said, but because he did all those interviews, we got newsreels, we got video. I said, but they told him to shut up then. I said, what if he had shut up? I said, so my philosophy is as long as my stuff works, I'm going to use them. And if 30 years from now and something happens, I can't dance, I'll be like, yo, put that YouTube video. I'm going to show y'all how I do it. Because I just, to me, look, you live one time, and I do have a rule. If I go home from the party and my suit is dry, I'm pissed. Damn.

That's a hell of a rule. But I got to peel my suit off. That's a hell of a rule. We had a hell of a time. I got to peel that suit off. That's how I gave it. Right, right. So if I'm like half sweat, I'm like, is I?

Right. But if I'm drenched. Look, and the other thing is use it or lose it. Use it or lose it. See, that's why even sometimes like with your skill, like the way you kick it with people, talk to people. You know, I told you on some of the things, the interviews I've seen you do have been crazy. Like the way you know i told you on some of the things the interviews i've seen you do have been crazy like the way you go in because you are using that skill on a regular basis like the skill is

not it's not dry it's not something that you know it's not in motion like it's it's to me it's healthy so dancing and performing that's why i do, man. I do these shows, man. I do them. I make money from them. A lot of things I do for charity purposes just because I like to see people celebrate life. And as a return to me, I'm able to survive, take care of family, do the things that I do. But I never did it for the money. That was never the goal.

The goal was because I felt that was my purpose. At a time when hip-hop wasn't even popular, nobody thought it was going to be what it is now. Right. Nobody knew that this thing... I remember my mother was telling me, you really want to do this? I said, Mom, I think this is what I'm supposed to do

because I created something in it. I'm the first, you know, and I enjoy it. She said, if it makes you happy, then you go ahead on and do it. And it's a beautiful thing for us to be happy, do what we do. We make people happy and we're able to survive and get a good living, you know. And you know it's good that you're doing. You know it's nothing bad or toxic, you know what I mean? You know that when people leave, they feel better than when they came.

There you go. That's the key, brother. Are there other folks who are doing what you're doing? Are they, I mean, do you have another crop? It's sort of like, here's what I think. Tim, if I'm wrong. It's like, Kareem, what do you want to do with your ball is the greatest score in NBA history.

The greatest. How is it cats are not lined up to learn the sky hook? A young cat saying, Dougieie teach me how to do what you do right right right are they doing that you know some of them secretly ask me and i share it with them because i make sure that they know that whatever it is that you need, I want you to have it because, honestly speaking to me, Roland, I want somebody to be able to carry the baton. But at the same time, there has to be some integrity. You know, it has to be humility because the way that a lot of artists are doing it now, you know, in some ways I understand it, but there's things that have been done before you that if you incorporate these things in what you're doing now, it'll

give you more longevity. And I was telling them in there, longevity comes from humility. It comes from discipline. It comes from focus. I mean, this thing is not a simple task. No. I mean, you know, this is like, I got kids that come to my show that's 14, 16, 18. I'm doing a tour right now to HBCUs,

and kids know who I am there, and it's a whole new generation. So, and it ain't based on my record. It's based on my reputation and my spirit. So I just think that as much as they want to learn, I'm willing to teach them. But if they don't, you know, you're going to hear about it because we ain't going to stop.

See, the thing that, the reason I say that, because, look, and I say, Lord, we've been together I don't know how many times. You ain't walking in with 30 people. Not at all. You got you, your voice, DJ. And I'm just simply saying, if I'm a next generation cat, I'll be saying like, hell, I can learn what Dougie doing.

Right. I can do Dougie's stuff for 30 years. When Dougie at the house in retirement, I can see that. Finish it up. Finish it up. Finish it up. I'm just trying. I mean, it's crazy. But you know what happened, too?

It's like there's that humility thing. It's like you. It's like, say, you could show somebody a young cat trying to get in the game doing what you do. It has to be a certain level of humility, man. To learn the craft. Yeah, man. Why? Because I'm going to tell you this.

What you do or what I do, people think it's easy because we make it look that way. My wife tells me, she says, you got to stop saying it's easy. You got to stop saying it's easy. Because you make it look like that. But the person, if they're trying to do what you do,

it ain't going to be easy for them. But the kids, I tell them, you got to put the work in. And to me, that's the biggest thing that I tell people all the time. Don't think I ain't put the work in. I see so many cats that want to jump on television. Right. And I go, okay, you can think you can do the comment. Van Jones talked about it.

Van Jones said, people didn't realize in 2012, CNN made a conscious decision to take me off the air. And we know why. And I went to Van. I said, Van, let me tell you the real deal. The white boys have decided they're going to take me off the air. I said, and they're going to throw you on the air with no training. He was getting killed. I said, I'm going to teach you how to do this.

I said, one, they ain't going to have two black men fighting each other. I know what they're doing. I said, you're the only one. I said, so you got to represent black folks, and I can't have you fail. Exactly. So after every debate night, I would coach him, yo, do this, camera angles, learn this. And I remember he said, man, you sit at home, you think this stuff is easy. I said, no, this is work. And that's You think this stuff is easy. I said, no.

This is work. And that's the thing I think people miss. A lot of work. And the other part is the love that you show even when a time when somebody was coming at you with something completely different. And that's what this whole conference right here is about. This whole summit is about. It's like I always say iron iron sharpen iron and men sharpen men. You know, and here at this conference, black men can be honest with each other. They can show love towards each other.

There don't have to be no jealousy and no envy. We can be competitive, but not in a way where we lose our moral or ethical fiber, man, to where we have to have some kind of respect for one another. And you wanted to see your brother win. That's right. And that's something that... What, no hate? Oh, man, I can't.

Look, I was there six years. I just sit there like, I'm mad as hell at using him. I knew what the game was. The reality is they made it. There was a meeting, and it was a brother, Mark Whitaker. He's, we need another role. I ain't got a problem calling him out. We need another Roland Martin.

So wrong. And the person said, we already got Roland Martin. No, we need another Roland Martin. They made Roland Martin. Now, we need another Roland Martin. They made a decision. They said he is not going to become a star after the 2012 election like he did in 08. They had already made a decision they were not going to renew my contract. But they knew had they put me on those debate nights in 2012, I was going to blow up. Right. And they would have had to give me a new contract.

Right. So there was a conscious decision made. And I knew it the whole time. And I even went to him. And I said, you know I know what y'all doing. Said I knew the whole time. I had no problem fronting him on that whole deal. But my deal was y'all ain't going to have me fighting Van.

Right. Y'all ain't going to have me fighting another brother. Because it was like the hidden hand. It was like a divide and conquer kind of vibe that they was trying to create and that's that's why i don't get rap beefs i don't get nikki minaj and cardi b going yo it's space for both of y'all don't feed that crap because a lot of people don't understand that all of this is based on control and manipulation. And there's a law, too, that people don't really understand. Usually when there's two people that are real cool and they're not cool no more, there's a third person involved and you just don't know who it is. There you go.

And you got to find that third person because that person is that little hidden hand that's manipulating and being the puppeteer to try to control people and you were smart enough to not let them control or destroy your relationship with man and that's what this whole thing is about man and that's why the way i learned hip-hop i still show love i used to Biggie. I used to look out for Tupac. I used to train Puffy. Jay-Z brought his album to my house, Reasonable Doubt. When he first did it, I listened to the album, told him what songs. Biz used to come to my house. Eric B and Rakim, I kept them together. Every generation, there's always something that happens and we run into problems. But I've always been on the side of, you know, let's try to figure out a positive solution.

Right. Because I could see what was going on. You know what I mean? And it's a beautiful thing to be able to be here. Yep. I'm going to say 2020 because I know we're going into 2020. And it's a beautiful thing to be here now and to know where I came from and how I'm still able to be involved. I appreciate it so much, man.

I appreciate being in here with all of the different people that make such great contributions, man. Yes, sir. You know what I mean? We're still rolling. You know it? Like rolling. Well, we're about to go to the lounge right now.

Y'all, it's been a fantastic day here. I'm glad all of you had a chance to watch today's edition of Roller Barton Unfiltered. Don't forget to support what we do. This is black-owned, independent. We need your donation, your dollars. If 20,000 of our followers give $50 each for the whole year, $4.19 a day, that's a month, $0.13 a day. This whole thing is funded.

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Y'all know how we do it. Holla! Love. All right, man. Thank you. this is an iHeart podcast