#RolandMartinUnfiltered - 10.21 RMU: Ohio voter purge; FL voter law blocked; Church forgives medical debt for Chicago families

Episode Date: October 24, 2019

10.21.19 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Ohio voter purge; Florida judge rules that the state cannot use a person's inability to pay fines as a reason to deny the vote; Church forgives medical debt for Chicago families; Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill may lose his law license because of groping charges; Wisconsin Security Guard loses his job for telling a student not to call him the n-word. - #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. Martin! Hey folks, Roland Martin here. Today is Monday, October 21st, 2019. Broadcasting live from Atlanta, site of the YouTube Black Content Creators Summit. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, Ohio has removed 300,000 voters from its voting rolls earlier this year. Now they're planning to remove another 235,000 folks.

You want to see voter suppression? This is it. In Florida, a judge rules that the state cannot use a person's inability to pay fines as a reason to deny the vote. This is all a battle over Amendment 4. Nearly 6,000 Chicagoans get letters this holiday season saying their unpaid medical debt has been forgiven. We'll talk to one of the pastors behind the gifts. In Indiana, the black attorney general, Curtis Hill, may lose his law license and knock him off the ballot because of allegations of groping women at a lobbyist party.

And a Wisconsin security guard loses his job for telling a white student not to call him the N-word. A move so unfair that shares offered to pay his brother's legal expenses. It's time to bring the funk on World of Mark Gunn Filter. Let's go. He's got it. Whatever the piss, he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. And when it breaks, he's right on time.

And it's rolling. Best believe he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics. With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling It's Uncle Roro, y'all It's Roland Martin Rolling with Roland now

He's broke, he's fresh, he's real The best you know, he's fresh, he's real, the best you know He's rolling, Martin Martin Folks, last June, the conservative majority of the Justice of the Supreme Court upheld Ohio's controversial use it or lose it voting law by a five to four margin. The law allows the state to purge voters from the registration rolls if they fail to return a mailed address confirmation form and don't vote for another

four years or two federal election cycles. Earlier this year, Ohio removed 265,000 voters from its rolls. Now the state is moving once again to purge an additional 235,000 voters. Joining us now to discuss this voter disenfranchisement is the author of The Money Democracy Money Can Buy, investigative journalist Greg Palast. Greg, this is when we talk about voter suppression, we talk about voter disenfranchisement. This is all a design of the Republican Party to shrink the potential voting pool to keep them to win elections, to keep Democrats at bay. That's all this is. Let me be very blunt about it. I've been investigating vote suppression for 20 years.

I've been focusing on Ohio, Georgia, Florida, and a couple of other states. And there is zero question, absolutely none, Roland, that this is a method of keeping black, young, and other minority voters out of the polling stations in Ohio. It is the purge of now getting to a half million Ohioans is completely erroneous. It's not just filled with errors like the New York Times reported. New York Times said 40,000 of 235,000 removals are wrong. I got to tell you, I hired the best database and addressed experts in Silicon Valley. We went through the same method that was used in Ohio by the GOP secretaries of state to remove black voters

and other voters in Ohio, that they did the same trick in Georgia last year in 2018. And I sued the GOP secretary of state, a guy named Brian Kemp. He's he purged half a million people, just like in Ohio, while he's running for governor against Stacey Abrams, first black woman ever run for governor in America. And we went through literally name by name, Roland, name by name and determined that three hundred forty thousand one134 voters, over a third of a million voters, were wrongly removed. It's not statistical sampling. We went through name by name. The 40,000 names that were identified

as wrong in Ohio, that was a lot of work done by the League of Women Voters, but they were just taking samples and bits and pieces. We actually got the experts to go through each name with computers, and it was over 70 percent wrong, way over 70 percent wrong in Georgia. We know it's at least that's because of the same method, 70 percent wrong in Ohio. This is a way to remove a third of a million voters before the 2020 election because Trump and his gang cannot win Ohio unless they suppress the vote. It's a long Jim Crow game that they've been playing in Ohio. This is not new. But here's the thing, Greg, and this is the key here. It was a white man who sued Ohio, who took this case all the way to the Supreme Court. I keep telling

white folks in America, especially if you are a young voter, even if you're an elderly voter, they want to keep them as well. And so I was at a panel in the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation last year, and I told all the civil rights people, y'all, y'all better be trying to also talk to these young white folks because they are being disenfranchised. In fact, let me explain how they do it and why it's disenfranchisement. That means, by the way, that's a fancy word for getting shafted out of your vote and being wiped off the voter rolls. Why that affects young people, including, by the way, in Florida, my daughter, who is a student. Here's the rule that was used in Ohio in a case that went to the Supreme Court called the A. Philip Randolph Institute versus John Houston, who's their secretary of state.

Houston said under the National Voter Registration Act, you cannot lose your vote for not voting. Now, you read the papers, you read the New York Times, you read the Washington Post, you say, oh, you're losing your vote because you didn't vote. That's against the law, Roland. It's right in the National Voter Registration Act that you cannot lose your vote for not voting because in America, you have the right to vote. You also have the right to not vote. So what's going on here?

Because John Husted, the Ohio Secretary of State, like Brian Kemp, the guy who stole the election in Georgia, they have the same, they're using the same trick. They're saying, we're not removing people because they didn't vote. Not voting is simply evidence that they've moved. And how do we know? Well, we don't just use not voting. As you mentioned before, you get a postcard. Now, so you don't vote a couple of elections. You get a postcard. Maybe you miss another election and they take you off the voter rolls.

Does that mean you've moved because you haven't voted or you didn't respond to their postcard? Not at all. That's why we got the guys who work for Amazon and eBay and American Express. By the way, you notice that it's approved. And they said 300 in Georgia, 340,134 people had never, ever moved. And they were and yet they were removed purged from the voter rolls. Ohio is using the same faulty method deliberately. Why are you ready for this? When you use postcards, it's actually a racist Jim Crow trick.

Because when you send out postcards to people and expect a response and say your vote's only saved if you return the postcard, what that requires is that you get the postcard. Now, if you're a student like my daughter who moves dorms every year, you won't get the postcard. You lose your vote. If you are a renter who rents low income people, people of color or people in urban areas. If you we had a woman in Georgia who literally moved her apartment within a single building. So the postcard was not forwarded to her to return. So if you're a renter and you're moving about, and by the way, even if you move within your county, you don't have to re-register to vote,

but you won't get that card and they'll take you off the voter rolls. So according to the census, a white older person owning a house in a suburb is 600% more likely to return a card than a young urban voter who's a renter. And in other words, it's very simple. You use the postcard trick, white people respond, poor people, young people, people who move, renters, voters of color are not going to respond. They know it. And that's why they're using that postcard trick.

And even not voting in a midterm, as you well know, because of gerrymandering, you've got this issue where you have a lot of districts where if you're black and you're either put into a white district where your vote is drowned and so you don't bother to vote in a midterm, or you're in a stacked district where, like in John Lewis's district in Atlanta, he doesn't have an opponent. So why would you bother to vote, right? So, again, it's the bias is baked in. The Jim Crow tactic is brilliant. Man, I've been warning you about this stuff for years, and it is rearing its ugly head. Greg Palast, we appreciate it, man.

Thanks a lot. You're the best, Roland.land thank you thank you very much joining me right now dr abish jones deweaver political analyst dr julian malvo economist president emerita bennett college julian boykin uh founder chairman young republicans of maryland also uh sure michael you in the house i am rolling in the house as well uh i want to first start with I want to start first. Let's go to Julian. Start with you. Well, this is very simple. And that is Supreme Court has allowed Ohio to do what they're doing, which is, I think, pathetic. And then today, of course, the Supreme Court also invalidated a judicial decision and determined that Michigan's districts there are political gerrymandering. Of course, they had their previous ruling where they said they can't make a determination, which is weak as hell.

They can't decide what political gerrymandering, which is nonsense. But this is clear voter disenfranchisement. Republicans are doing this across the country. Democrats are not. Why? Why are Republicans insisting on disenfranchising voters or purging them from the voting rolls because they didn't vote?

Really? I don't think it's right to take away a person's right to vote, especially if they're entitled to it. The voter suppression is real. It's been going on for a long time. The underlying message behind it, when you suppress the voter rights, you cut out the numbers.

When you do that, you have an underlying message behind it where the ultimate goal is to win. I think if you have a strong message... But Julian, does it offend you that your party is doing it? It does, because I think

if you have a strong platform, you should let the people decide for themselves. You know, I think if you have to cheat in order to win, you know, there's an underlining message behind it. Me, if I'm gonna run, I'm just gonna run and let the people decide for themselves and not have to, you know, result to voter suppression.

Sure, Michael. This is what I have consistently said. This is why black people will not really consider Republicans. If you mess with the right to vote, black folks are not playing that game. So when it comes to this issue, when it comes to gerrymandering, when it comes to voter suppression, when it comes to all the little gimmicks in the games being played, and Republicans in D.C. and across the country, they got no problem with it because it's about winning. Well, no, you're right. And I think for African-Americans, the idea of voting and suppression with voting, particularly as it pertains to us, has been a very systemic issue.

And so my hope, Roland, now that we know that this problem exists, I think you have organizations like the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. You have Black Voters Matter, which is a relatively new organization by Latasha Brown that are focusing on some of these issues in places like Flint, Michigan, where a lot of people aren't focusing on how African-Americans are being disenfranchised there as relates to voting. So I'm curious to figure out how we can transform this through the legal system, meaning we challenge this in the courts, but also how on the activist side, we continue to make sure that African-Americans are aware of what's going on, number one. And number two, we need to make sure that we're taking every single

step we possibly can so that we can build the strongest case possible for those folks on the legal side that challenge these things through the judiciary case possible for those folks on the legal side that challenge these things through the judiciary. But Julianne, here's the problem. The Supreme Court has ruled. They are the law of the land. They have given the green light to states like Ohio to purge their voting rolls uninhibited. The Supreme Court clearly is wrong, but they are the law of the land. They're our highest court. So I think Shermichael is right that we need to look at keep bringing these cases. But the other thing, you talk about the activists, Shermichael. I don't think if we want to get the vote out, we're going to have to go ground crew and go door to door and talk to people.

Are you registered? But that is an additional burden to African-American voters. And the fact is that they're not treated the same way. Our voting system is Byzantine. If we compare it to other parts of the world, I mean, some people have same day registration. That would be a help, but they don't want that. Some folks, you vote by mail. In some countries, you have the election day off so that you don't have to leave work early, go to work late, whatever, to vote.

So clearly, what Republicans want is to suppress the vote because they know what the demographics look like and what the possibilities are. And clearly, y'all, black Republicans, y'all need to stand up to your party. I mean, you all are African-American. You have the same legacy of voter suppression as black Democrats do.

And really, you need to stand up to your party. You know, the reason why the Republican Party is so white is because black folks are turned off by tactics that basically disenfranchise them and push us back to the Jim Crow era. So that's why both of y'all are intelligent young men, but y'all need to step up. Avis, this is a huge issue because these states get to decide how they want to remove folks from the voting rolls. The Supreme Court has said they can.

And as Greg laid out very clearly, they play these gimmicks with how the postcards even look, where you think it's junk mail. You know, every trick in the book, they're definitely going to try. And this is, as has been alluded to, this is an outcome of the gutting of the Voting Rights Act, which has yet to be corrected. We've talked about this a lot on

this show, Roland. What we're seeing right now is a political party that understands the shifting demographics of this nation and has made the calculated decision that they don't want to play fair, that they don't want to take their ideas to the marketplace and actually judge on the quality of their ideas and run on those ideas. No. What they want to do is subvert the fairness of our democracy, specifically by making it much more difficult for people of color and young people and the very elderly in these circumstances

to vote for them, the elderly poor, to vote for them as well. It is a calculated strategy in order to solidify white minority rule for decades to come, even as the overall demographics of this nation continue to shift. It is insidious. And until we not only change the voting rights, but also, even though it is an extra burden, make sure that we have organizations that are willing to go out there to do the hard work to maximize voter registration, to make sure that to help people be able to double check, to see if their voter registration status is actually up to date for the election. We will once again find ourselves in a situation the day after saying that

election was so so unfortunately it's an extra burden but we're gonna have to take on that extra burden if we're gonna fight under these circumstances last question for Julian and sure Michael I have said this for years to Julian's Julian's point I believe that black conservatives must speak as a unifying voice and calling out the party when it comes to voter suppression. I think about when Colin Powell, when McCrory was the governor of North Carolina and Powell went there and McCrory was sitting in that audience and Powell called that governor out for his voter suppression tactics. And again, I've been saying this for several years. Why won't black Republicans, as a unifying voice, stand up and say to the party in D.C.,

the state parties and local, stop voter suppression, voter disenfranchisement? Who do you want first, Roland? Take your pick. One of you. I mean, look, Roland, I think a lot of people are concerned with self-preservation, right? How can I prolong my status in the party? How can I seek financial gains and whatever other benefits they may find intriguing for themselves?

And as a result of that, I think that really does sort of hinder a lot of people from moving forward, speaking out on some of these things that they subconsciously or at least consciously should know are morally and ethically objectionable. With that said, however, I do think you have a few voices. I happen to be one of the more better known voices who are saying, hey guys, wait a minute here. We need to change the way we're doing things. You talked about how the demographics are changing, at least Dr. Avis did. The reality is when those demographic changes become more transparent in the next 10 years, Roland, most urban centers are going to be overly populated by black and brown people. What that means is electorally speaking, as it relates to national politics, most states will be able to decide who's going to be the victor of said state.

And more than likely, those states are going to lead blue, which means Republicans are going to see a decreasing number of states to rely on for electoral advantages. So while they're playing around with these, I guess, strategies, if you will, where they have seen some judicial success, in the long term, Roland, those successes will not overstand what the reality is, and that is the demographic changes. So I agree with the premise of your question that more black conservatives should speak out. I'm just not, I guess, hopeful or realistic that those odds are going to change anytime soon

with more black Republicans speaking out. Julian, will black Republicans get some guts and speak as a collective, not individuals? Sharmakula is right. Individuals have done it. I believe there's more power when y'all speak as a collective. Your thoughts? Definitely more power in numbers. I think we need a lot more black conservatives. You know, you don't see too many of us, but at the same time, like Schmuckler was saying.

No, but Julian, you're not going to get more black conservatives if Republicans keep suppressing the vote. That's my point. Yeah, we have to speak as a collective unit. And with that, you know, we have to once we speak as a collective unit, we have to stay together. You know, to Michael's point, it's a good possibility that a lot of these states that are red could turn blue to the point where now, you know, if we do speak up, is it too late? No, it's not. No, it's not too late. It's not too late. In fact, here's my next story. In Florida, after Republicans and Democrats went to the polls to vote on Amendment 4,

the Republican legislature and the Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, essentially put in place a poll tax to keep the formerly incarcerated of 1.4 million people from getting the right to vote. Well, now a judge issued a preliminary injunction against that state law that requires the payment of court fines and fees before people with felony records

can regain the right to vote. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle issued a limited ruling Friday blocking part of SB 7066, a Florida law that requires people with felony convictions to pay all fines and fees related to their sentences before they can register to have their voting rights restored. In his ruling, Hinkle said, quote, Florida cannot deny restoration of

a felon's right to vote solely because the felon does not have the financial resources necessary to pay restitution. Justices have a constitutional right to vote so long as the state's only reason for denying the vote is failure to pay an amount the plaintiff is genuinely unable to pay. The state is allowed to deny the vote to a person who has a proven ability to pay the legal debt and simply chooses not to. Avis, you first. You know, it is amazing to see the shenanigans that happened. You know, I remember when the fight was put forth to make sure that this change occurred. And it was a tremendous effort that took over a million people

to be able to sign petitions, to be able to take, and then for people to actually show up and vote, be able to change the direction. So, you know, it's horrible to see that the state government itself, under the Republican leadership, did everything that they could to sort of turn this around. But I'm glad to see that at the end of the day, there are still safeguards in place that will hopefully help people be able to overcome the challenges that attempted to be put in their

way in order to once again disenfranchise those individuals who have already served their time and are wanting to make their way back into society to become productive citizens once again. Julianne. You know, a lot of grassroots people work very hard, LaTosha Brown, many others, to get this ballot measure passed. Some of the people who voted for the ballot measure were Republicans.

I mean, you have Republican felons, too. No, I know a lot. No, no, no. This passed by 67%. Desmond Meade and his wife, Sheena Meade, were leading this effort. Desmond, of course, was formerly incarcerated. It took them 10 years to get this on the ballot. Republicans voted

for this. It passed by two-thirds majority, but the legislature said, the hell on the ballot. Republicans voted for this. It passed by two-thirds majority, but the legislature said, the hell with the voters. We're going to still put in a new wrinkle. And so, Roland, when you look at the legislature, basically, they're morally bankrupt, but that doesn't matter. And the problem that I have with this

is that this judge was a good judge, ruled, I think, correctly, but you see the courts being stacked. If this comes up five years from now, seven years from now, this same issue, who's going to be the judge? 45 has been packing the courts. So first of all, right on to the people

who got that amendment passed. Secondly, the legislatures in Florida need to be checked. And thirdly, we need to look at judicial appointments because all these things, all this gerrymandering, this is the last gasp of white supremacy. Sure, Michael. Bottom

line is what happened here in Florida was ridiculous. Voters, and this happens across the country, where voters have made decisions at the ballot box, and Republican legislatures have gone back to try to undo and overturn what the voters decided. Well, look, Roland, I mean, I think this is a huge missed opportunity by Republican legislators there and also the Republican State Party of Florida. I mean, if I was advising them, here you have an amazing opportunity to target and outreach to African Americans around this

issue. If you look at some recent polling from the Pew Research Study, an overwhelming majority of African Americans say that they consider themselves to be either conservative, moderate, and thirdly, liberal. So that tells me that at least culturally, there are some things that I think if conservatives were smart, they could champion some ideas based upon those dispositions to African-Americans. But instead, what you do is take a position where you immediately turn off every single person. And there's a famous quote that Jack Kemp said, the former Republican congressman, it does not matter how great your ideas are if people don't feel they care about you first. And that's one of the biggest hurdles that the Republican Party continues to

have. Julian, your thoughts? I don't think it's right. You know, I mean, people serve their time. They have a right to vote, but holding the fines over their head, you know, trying to keep them from voting, that's, it makes the party look bad. And then, you know, it kind of discourages people from giving the party a fair chance. And it makes no sense whatsoever. We'll certainly keep watching this story to see exactly where it goes next,

but we're hopeful folks will actually get their right to vote. All right, folks, got to go to a break. When we come back, we'll talk about churches in Chicago banding together to pay off the debt of 6,000 people. It's a great story. We'll discuss next, Roland Martin Unfiltered. You wanna 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, and 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 misdemeanors ended up pleading guilty. However, when bail was paid, 50% of the cases were dismissed and less than 2% received a 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. 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. Nearly 6,000 folks in Chicago will get letters this holiday season saying their unpaid medical debt is forgiven. That's one hell of a gift, folks. This is the work of a number of

churches there in Chicago. Joining us right now is Reverend Otis Moss. You're a pastor at Trinity, United Church of Christ in Chicago. Pastor Moss, glad to have you on the show. So how did this whole, how did this thing begin? Where did it come from? Well, it began with a conversation with myself and Reverend Tracy Blackman, who is the National Justice and Witness Minister for the United Church of Christ. There was an article in the New York Times of a foundation entitled RIP Medical Debt. And two seasoned saints, elders, had gathered together and said that they wanted to forgive the debt of people in New York. And as a result of getting their friends together, they were able to raise $12,000,

and they were able to purchase $2 million worth of debt and forgive the debt for people in the New York area. So we decided to get into some holy mischief together and that we would conspire and pull together churches so that we could forgive debt specifically in Cook County, more specifically in the poorest zip codes in Chicago. This would not be about those who were members of the church. It was the call of the church that we are to be the church, to reset the moral compass, not only in our city, but nationally. That we believe that this is more than a moment, but a movement, especially with a broken healthcare

system where greed has taken over. So think about this, Roland. We raised $38,000 and we purchased $5.3 million of debt in the poorest zip codes in Chicago. Individuals will get a letter that will say, have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving. All your debts are forgiven. And just list the names of the churches. We're very clear that many of you will never come to one of our churches. Darken the door. That's not what this is about. This is about living out compassion, restoration and empowering our community in a culture that is so greed centered that is profiting off the misery of our people.

Of course, you made this announcement yesterday in the pulpit, and here it is. Able to raise funds to purchase $5.3 million worth of debt in the city of Chicago and Cook County. They will receive a very special card before Thanksgiving. Completely anonymous. They don't know that this is coming. The card will simply say, have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We want you to know that all your debts have been forgiven. Reverend Moss, since you made this announcement,

have church members or others reached out to you and said, hey, let's go higher. Let's do more of this. Because it's not just your church or churches. Individuals can actually do this. Absolutely. Individuals can do this and have been. People have reached out to us. What we're planning to do is that our denomination, United Church of Christ, all of our churches are going to be part of a Giving Tuesday under the leadership of Reverend Tracy Blackmon, where every church in the denomination is going to be focused on relieving medical debt. We are going to be talking with the AME Church, the AME Zion Church, the Progressive National Baptist Convention, the National Baptist Convention, Lot Carey, the PAW, the Pentecostal Assemblies of the

World, Church of God and Christ in Full Gospel, to say, let's be the church. No more plain offerings, no helicopter offerings. This is going to be about releasing people of debt, beginning a movement, and pushing forward the agenda that we can no longer have predatory capitalism as the centerpiece in America. This is also, I think, one of the things that people need to understand, that we talk about the church helping those in need, helping the poor in need. Medical debt is the number one reason why people in this nation file for bankruptcy. In 2004, when I filed for bankruptcy, it was because I owed nearly $100,000 in medical costs after my appendix ruptured, covered the Democratic Convention in 2000, and not having insurance.

And the reality is you have folks in D.C. who have gone out of their way to make it difficult for people to file for bankruptcy when it comes to credit card debt or medical bills. But again, if you're a Donald Trump and you take billions from banks and you use casinos to go to bankrupt, then of course they call you a financial genius. A financial genius is an interesting term to utilize for the person who is occupying public housing in Washington, D.C. at this moment. But what is so very clear is that let me share with this with the audience.

So we purchased the debt, $38,000, $5.3 million. So the hospitals had already written off the debt, and then they were selling it to debt collectors who are looking at this as a predatory opportunity in order to ensure that a certain group of people will become wealthy. Now, the ironic and the God move, which is interesting, the person who runs the foundation, RIP Medical Debt, used to be a debt collector, and his conscience was bothering him that he was making money off of the poorest people. So when you wipe out medical debt for someone who's trying to decide, should I keep the lights on? Should I buy food for my children? Do I pay the utilities? The medical debt is always going to be the last thing on the list. Then it destroys your credit. And when it destroys your credit, then it makes it difficult for you to be able to purchase a home. So we keep people in a cycle of poverty. And I

believe that this type of movement, you can have people on both sides of the aisle who can say that I want my moral compass correct. I believe in compassion and restoration, and I want to see the empowerment of communities, especially those who are the poorest of the poor. Well, it's certainly a great thing you and others are doing there. We certainly appreciate it and hope that folks will join this effort. And what's the website again? The website is ripmedicaldebt.com. That's Rest in Peace Medical Debt.

You can also use the hashtag BeTheChurch. Encourage your pastor. Encourage a member of your denomination. Tell them to join the movement, that we're going to change and transform the way that we think about health care in this society. Because as a person who is a part of the Christian tradition, we follow a person who is a healer, who does not care if you have a pre-existing condition, who will ensure that you are empowered, that you are lifted. And even

if you don't say thank you, he will not take back the healing nor send a debt collector after you. All right. Pastor Otis Moss III, I appreciate the man. Thanks a lot. Thank you, brother. You all take care. All right. Sure. Michael, are we going to see Paula White or Franklin Graham do something like this? I mean, look, Roland, I would be surprised, but I think the whole idea of our health care is an issue that's going to only become more, I guess, large scale, if you will, as it relates to politics. I think in the next 10 or 15 years, when you think about issues, what are going to be the two or three most critical issues for both political parties? I think when you think about

wealth and income inequality, I think health care is probably going to be number one. And so I think for the Republican Party, they're going to have to some kind of way figure out how do we tackle this problem from a conservative disposition. A lot of Republican voters who live in those rural areas, who live in Appalachia, for example, some of those folks don't have a doctor that's close to them. Sometimes the nearest doctor is over 100 miles away. At some point, some of those folks are going have a doctor that's close to them. Sometimes the nearest doctor is over 100 miles away. At some point, some of those folks are going to realize, you know what? I know I vote consistently for the Republican Party, but now my grandmother's impacted by this. My mom, my dad's impacted by this.

So at some point, I think the Republican Party is going to hit a reality check where some of their most ardent supporters are going to say, we demand you guys to do something on this. And so it would be wise for them to do something now versus later because I think the political ramifications of waiting until later may be something that is detrimental to the party. This, Julian, is what is great. All the people out there who are haters of churches, what y'all going to say now? What you going to say now?

Because there's a whole lot of people who hate on churches, but this is the church as a collective moving to help citizens in this country. And it's really revolutionary, Roland, because the reverberations should be large. We talked about, you talked about poor credit

scores because you didn't pay your medical debt. Well, sometimes your credit score is a factor in whether or not you can get a job. So, if you want to pay your debt and you go to get a job, but you have the poor credit score, you're in trouble. This is, I really, you know, Otis Moss is, you know, basically fearless leader and Tracy Blackman as well. But the greater issue is the health care system and how broken it is and how people have to make a choice. Sometimes people are hurt. They won't even go to a doctor. You have elders who are having their insulin or taking half of a pill because they can't afford it. And, you know, the Democratic Party, I would say neither party has grappled with this properly.

I love Elizabeth Warren. I'm not endorsing her, but I enjoy her energy. She's been everybody's going to have free health care. Well, how are we going to pay for it? You have some people who want to preserve the insurance company's role. And the insurance company's role, as Brother Moss said, has been predatory toward people. I don't know if we need to preserve that. Medicare for all makes a lot of sense, but everybody doesn't agree with it.

So the Democrats are on the hook, too. Republicans don't want Medicare for all. They want to privatize. And they're just wrong. They're always wrong. But, you know, Democrats are on the hook on this one, too. But here's the piece, Amos. I mean, what you're dealing with here, you're dealing with individuals who understand how debt weighs people down.

I call it invisible shackles. And so I think what these churches are doing, and I certainly hope, is prayers like wildfire all across the country. Absolutely. I have to commend them. I grew up in my youth as a member of the United Church of Christ, and that particular denomination has a huge history of work in social justice arenas. So in terms of this particular initiative, I couldn't be prouder of it. I hope that other denomin you. I mean, this is a situation where a lot of us, including myself, have been very critical of a lot of these prosperity gospel sort of institutions that have been built up across the country that seem to be very overtly concerned in buying Maybach and jet planes for their pastors based on the meager earnings of their parishioners. It's good to see, for once, a group of churches come together

and collectively work to help the community, whether or not they put a dime in their collection plate. That is what I'm talking, what I think of when I think of the real sort of spirit of what church should be about. All right, real quick, final comment, Julian. It's exciting to see churches come together and give back to the community,

whether you're a member or not, whether you're tied or not. It's been oftentimes we see churches that receive a lot of money and they may not give back to the community. I have to agree with Dr. Malveaux. We have to, Democrats and Republicans, we have to find something where this health care can be tackled.

You know, free health care sounds good, but at the end of the day, we've got to figure out, you know, is it feasible? You know, can we do it? Got to go to a break. We come back. We're going to talk about the attorney general in Indiana, a brother who's a Republican,

could possibly lose his law license and get kicked off the ballot after he's been accused of groping several women. And we also deal with this brother who was fired because he told a student, don't call me the N-word. I'm trying to figure out why was he fired. That's next, Roland Martin Unfiltered. You want to support Roland Martin Unfiltered? Be sure to join our Bring the Funk fan club. Every dollar that you give to us supports our daily digital show. There's only one daily digital show out here

that keeps it black and keep it real. As Roland Martin Unfiltered, support the Roland Martin Unfiltered daily digital show by going to RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. Our goal is to get 20,000 of our fans contributing 50 bucks each for the whole year. You can make this possible. RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. 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. The Accelerator has been a great eye-opening experience. It's a chance to step back from yourself, step back from your organization, look at your goals and your missions in a different light, and to reflect on what you're really doing. I never had a business background. I started a nonprofit because I was passionate about food justice, food insecurity. Honestly, I was frustrated because I was trying to

find someone or that group of someone's who was responsible for this problem and and who should be doing something about it but then I realized that I'm someone who wasn't doing something about this. This accelerator has been tremendous for us to come together with multiple entrepreneur on the same issue and I no longer feel alone. The Business Accelerator through the American Heart Association has taught me all the skills necessary to develop a sustainable organization. Thank you so much American Heart Association.

This opportunity has been wonderful. This money is going to go towards developing the SugaX watch and also developing a solution that better fits the lifestyles of diabetics. All right, folks. Again, that was, of course, the American Heart Association Business Accelerator Program. I emceed that on Thursday. We look forward to actually streaming the full program. So certainly congratulations to those young brothers who came in first and second place with some phenomenal ideas when it comes to healthcare.

In Indiana, the Attorney General Curtis Hill is fighting disciplinary charges that could cost him his law license over claims he groped women in a downtown Indianapolis bar in 2018. The hearings began today in the attorney discipline case stemming from the accusations of four women who say that Hill inappropriately touched them at a March 2018 party celebrating the end of a general assembly session. Hill has repeatedly denied any inappropriate behavior.

Hill is a Republican and has served as Indiana's attorney general since 2017. He is the state's highest legal officer after winning the seat in 2016 with 63% of the vote. And if he does lose his law license, he will be kicked off the ballot because he's running for reelection, be kicked off the ballot for 2020. All right, our last story here, it's crazy. Marlon Hill, a security guard at Madison West High School in Madison, Wisconsin, was fired because of his use of the N-word. He says he used the N-word while asking a student to stop using the word against him. Here's Hill explaining what the heck happened. I made a conscious decision to address the word because it is an epidemic.

Our kids use it just every day. You have no tolerance for a word, but yet you allow a student to call me that word over 15 times without correcting that behavior. My father was called this word. My grandmother, my grandfather, and keep going on down the family line, we were all called this word, and not one of them, not one of them could say, don't call me that.

I can, and I shouldn't be punished because I have the right to tell somebody not to call me that. I can't. And I shouldn't be punished because I have the right to tell somebody not to call me this word. Hiller's getting a lot of support. And in fact, Cher says if he chooses to sue, she'll pay his legal fees. I want to start first with Dr. Avis Jones-Weaver. Avis, I tell you, look, this is something that I have spoken out for quite some time. I've said to folks, if you use the N-word to me on my timeline, I will block you on social media. I don't let people call me that in person. I don't allow people to refer to black folks as the N-word in my presence if that's what you want to do.

And for this brother to get fired because he told us he used the word and telling the student don't use it, that to me is absolutely idiotic. It is idiotic. It is infuriating to say that, well, it's a zero tolerance policy. This just really shows just the idiocy of any sort of policy that does not take into context actually what's happening at that moment. It's amazing to think that it was okay for him to be peppered with that slur over a dozen times. And finally, when he says, do not call me that, he's the one that has to pay with his job,

with his livelihood, with his ability to take care of himself and his family. It's absolutely outrageous. And I hope that he takes Sarah up on her offer and soothes the daylight better. I don't get it, Shermichael. I don't get how this man, in standing up for himself,

affirming himself, he gets fired? Yeah, I mean, Roland, I mean, this is a prime example of people being stuck on stupid here. And if I was an attorney, I would certainly advise him to figure out whatever legal means he has to sue. I don't think this was legitimate grounds to fire someone. He wasn't using it as a racial slur.

He was merely saying, I am a person who demands respect. You will not use that word towards me. I think he actually should be applauded for that. And as you saw in his own statement, he understands the history behind that word. And he made very clear, look, we have ancestors who were not able to defend themselves in spite of being dehumanized. I have the opportunity and the luxury to do so, and I'm going to take advantage of that. And so I think this was just a stupid decision. Julian, I make clear to people,

I don't want to hear your BS when it comes to the N-word. I don't want to hear this nonsense, oh, we're reclaiming the word. I remember when Vanity Fair had a big cover story of Kendrick Lamar. He talked about when a white girl came on stage and was singing one of his lyrics and she used it. He stopped the concert to admonish her

and he was like, can we please just have it to ourselves? And I was like, hell no! Get that shit back! I'm like, why the hell would I want a damn word that's used by oppressors against us? Get that bullshit back. Y'all can have it. I don't know what to say.

We live in a society now where you have the younger generation where they will use the N-word freely in a normal conversation. And the sad part is it's not African-Americans. It's Caucasian. It's Hispanic. There's other nationalities that are using the word that's not African-Americans. And that's a word that was used to derogatize our race as a whole. You know, when I read the article, I read where the student was black and, you know, Ms. Anderson was just trying to break up the incident between the student and I think the assistant principal.

And the student was yelling, you know, explicit language, vulgar language, and using the N-word itself. And, you know, the security guards were saying, hey, do not call me the N-word. And I don't understand how standing up for yourself and just talking to a student and, you know, saying, hey, do not call me this N-word and I don't understand how standing up for yourself and just talking to a student and saying, hey, do not call me this N-word is grounds for immediate termination. And Mr. Anderson is a union employee, so I know the union will do the right thing and step in and make sure that it has to be something that you got to show me where it says if you use broken language, you are automatically terminated. But he was using it in a way to defend himself.

And I'm like, if a man can't defend himself, you know, against an adolescent to teach, you know, to teach an example of, hey, you don't say that to people, you know, then what line of defense does he have? And then Ms. Anderson also talked about the effect that it has on his wife and his three kids where his health insurance is about to run out due to the fact that he doesn't have a job.

So it's great that Sherry's stepping in for the legal fees, but what about his everyday expenses that he needs to be able to provide for his family? So not having health insurance, that's going to weigh heavily. So now we, you know, yes, we're talking about the fact he lost his job, but he is concerned about his health insurance.

I'm just, Julian, I'm really sick and tired of black people with the BS when it comes to the N-word. I mean, because, and look, when somebody's sitting here saying, well, Roland, had you said it before? Yes, as a kid growing up.

But when my ass became grown and had some sense, I stopped. And then people say, man, I had two prominent black journalists tell me, man, I don't know how you did that.

I just can't stop. I was like, what the hell are you talking about? If your ass can stop eating meat, if you can stop drinking alcohol, if you can stop smoking, trust me, you can stop using the N-word.

You know, Roland, there has been controversy using the N-word. You know, Roland, there has been controversy about the N-word, and I think you have the bottom line. Let's just throw it out. Let the other people keep it. Randall Kennedy, about 15 years ago, I think, wrote a book basically talking about the N-word and exploring who could use it and who couldn't. And I thought that was utter waste of pages because at the end of the day, what we have to say is no. Have all of us used it before? Probably. And so the movement is

to stop using it. When Rosalind Rock was the chair of the board of the NAACP, she actually had a funeral for the N-word in one of their conferences in Detroit. And it was a great idea to say, we can't do this anymore. Regarding the security guard, he was on this job for 11 years. That's significant. It's not clear how he'll be able to get another job, as Julian has said. His health care, there are many other benefits that have been taken from him. Cher, I love the fact that she stepped up, but a whole lot of other people need to step up, too. And basically, a judge can file an injunction against that woman who fired.

Now, the child is also a matter of concern. A child is pushing the assistant principal. A student is pushing the assistant, putting his hands on the assistant principal. The security guard gets fired. What happened to that child? You know, I think he's probably back at school. So the issue of consequences is also important. And context.

Well, bottom line is, I hope his brother gets his job back, and the idiot who fired him, I hope they get fired. Stupid. And black people, seriously, stop using the damn N-word, okay? Stop. All right, if somebody white, if your boss called you the N-word, you have a fit and be all upset.

Well, hell, have the same attitude if somebody black called you the N-word as well. How hard is it to say, what's up, my brother? Hey, my sister. How hard is that? Really, how hard is it? All right, folks, I certainly appreciate Avis, Julian, Julius, and Michael. Thank you so very much, folks. I got to go. I'm here in Atlanta for the YouTube Black Content Creator Summit. It started today. They got their Fan Fest happening at Morehouse College in the chapel there. Go to YouTube,

and you can actually watch the live stream of that Fan Fest. The red carpet is actually happening right now. I'll miss that and I'll be there for the Fan Fest. So looking forward to being there.

And so, going to learn some great stuff here and we hope to, again, bring you some more exciting things right here

on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Be sure to support what we do by going to RolandMartinUnfiltered.com, joining our Bring the Funk Fan Club. Every dollar you give goes to support this show to make this show possible.

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I'll see y'all later. And also, all you national fans, especially Huggy Lowdown and Chris Paul, y'all about to get your asses whooped. Just letting you know right now, I know y'all all excited in Washington, D.C., for the Astros going to handle that business. And Huggy Lowdown, by the way, guess what?

We got mosquitoes in Houston. We don't care about gnats. That's a little pesky. Holla! this is an iHeart podcast