#RolandMartinUnfiltered - 10.28.19 #RMU: Rep. Conyers dies; Trump booed in DC; Kirk Franklin boycotts TBN, Dove Awards

Episode Date: October 29, 2019

10.28.19 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Rep. Conyers dies; Trump gets booed in DC; Kirk Franklin boycotts TBN and the Dove Awards; The National Civil Rights at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis will host its 28th annual Freedom Awards. - #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.

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You say you'd never give in to a meltdown. Never let kids' toys take over the house. And never fill your feed with kid photos. You'd never plan your life around their schedule. Never lick your thumb to clean their face. And you'd never let them leave the house looking like, uh, less than their best. You say you'd never put a pacifier in your mouth to clean it.

Never let them stay up too late. And never let them run wild through the grocery store. We have one aisle six. And aisle three. So when you say you'd never let them get into through the grocery store. We have one aisle six. And aisle three. So when you say you'd never let them get into a car without you there, no, it can happen. One in four hot car deaths happen when a kid gets into an unlocked car and can't get out.

Never happens. Before you leave the car, always stop, look, lock. Brought to you by NHTSA and the Ad Council. Today is Monday, October 28, 2019. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, the longest serving African-American in congressional history. Congressman John Conyers of Detroit, has died and we'll talk about his life and legacy. Donald Trump gets booed while attending the World Series at the Nationalist Park. Maybe they were booing also how they blew it against my Astros.

We'll discuss that later. But, of course, Donald Trump goes to Chicago and trances the Windy City. And, of course, he sides with the Chicago and trashes the Windy City. And, of course, he sides with cops when it comes to consent decrees. I'll unpack it for you. Kirk Franklin is boycotting the Dove Awards as well as the Trini Broadcasting Network. We'll tell you exactly why. And our friend, the actor Lamar Rucker, will be joining us right here.

Plus, an artist who posted cutouts of brown paper dolls that appeared to be hanging by their necks and feet from strings. Well, he's quit. We'll give the details. It's time to bring the funk on Rolling Mark Unfiltered. Let's go. He's got it. Whatever the mess, 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 belief he's knowing Putting it down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling It's Uncle Roro, y'all It's rolling Martin

Rolling with Roland now. He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best. You know he's Roland Martin now. Martin. The longest serving African-American in history in Congress, Congressman John Conyers of Detroit, a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and the person who first introduced the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday has died. A family spokeswoman said that Conyers died in his sleep at a Detroit home of natural causes. Conyers has a rich legacy that should be celebrated.

He came to Washington, D.C. as a congressman in 1965 when there were only six black House members. That same year, he was a co-sponsor of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He traveled to Selma and worked with Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And after King was assassinated, literally days after, it was Conyers who introduced a bill

to make the birthday of Dr. King a federal holiday and then fought for nearly 20 years to see it happen. He reintroduced the bill every session until 1983 when it was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. Here's a tribute to John Conyers. Mr. Speaker, ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to begin by thanking this distinguished committee led by the gentleman from Ohio, Mr. Sawyer, and my dear friend, Mrs. Morella, for helping bring us to this point today. We're in the time of the development of our country. We're in the time of a perhaps more gentle administration where the creation and extension of this holiday commission in remembrance of the memory and works of Martin Luther King Jr. are more important than ever.

I'm grateful to the Post Office and Civil Service Committee for moving this legislation forward as swiftly as they have. I was the person three days after the assassination of Dr. King that introduced the holiday legislation. We spent 15 years, but in a way it was worth the wait because first of all the support in the House and the Senate for the passage of a holiday for Dr. King was an incredible and important historic statement which I still treasure very much and I think its value to the nation will grow in importance as time goes on. During that period of time though many of my colleagues were waiting to see if the enthusiasm around the momentum for a holiday for Dr. King would subside and instead it kept growing.

In a way that had a lot to do with the decision of both bodies and the federal legislature to finally grant what I consider the highest award that this government can pass upon any of its citizens, to dedicate a birthday holiday in their memory. As we all know, only one such other person, the founder of this country, has so high an honor accorded to him and to his memory. And so it is of critical importance that we create a commission that continues to promulgate the history, the memory, and the work of Dr. King, particularly in this era and the time in which we live.

I'm reminded, ladies and gentlemen, that high school seniors were not born at the time that Dr. King was taken from us. Many of them do not really have anything but television memories and history book memories. They do not remember the poignant and vivid issues of struggle and movement that made us decide along with most Americans that this holiday celebration was worthy of this particular American. And so as we go on, as time moves on,

the importance of this commission becomes more important, not less important. Thankfully, there were Americans who came in with startup money to get us moving. I am pleased that we're putting a half million dollars into this project annually. I suggest to you it's a very, very tiny amount, but I think it does make a very strong and persuasive statement that we're going to continue the memory of Dr. King

now that we have made his memory a part of the American history by recognizing him every year. So I'm pleased. I'm almost as happy as I was the day that the Senate added their blessing to the holiday bill itself. I was there and it is one of the the most important things that I consider myself having contributed to in the legislative process in my career and so I'm humbled by all of you who have joined in the overwhelming support and I urge the speedy enactment of this measure. Thank you very much. Conyers was one of 13 black reps to found the Congressional Black Caucus in 1971. President Richard Nixon refused to recognize the group, leading them to boycott the 1971 State of the Union Address. He was later discovered to be on Nixon's infamous enemies list.

Joining me right now to discuss the legacy of John Conyers is Congressman Al Green of Texas. Congressman Al Green, glad to have you on the show. First and foremost, a lot of people don't realize that Rosa Parks was run out of Alabama. It was John Conyers who hired her when she moved to Detroit, who helped her find a place to live as well? Absolutely. And he was more than an employer. He was a person who extended the hand of friendship at a time of need. And as you indicated, she received a job, but he also helped her to relocate to Detroit. He was a great humanitarian, the kind of person who was looking for someone to serve. He wanted to be of help and did an outstanding job in Congress. I remember when I met him, I was with Mickey Leland.

Mickey and I traveled to Florida because there was some unrest there involving the Cuban community. And when we arrived, Mr. Conyers was there, and I've always referred to him as Mr. Conyers, was there. And we met with him. And the three of us stayed in the same hotel room that evening while we were waiting for some other things to develop. He was just a kind and gentle person, but he was a very thoughtful, sage-like person. He had institutional knowledge that was invaluable. He was a chairperson of the Judiciary Committee, as you well know, from 2011 to 2017. And he made a difference in the lives of people who were on that committee. And my hope is that he'll be remembered for his work here in Congress,

as well as for his humanitarian spirit that he had. I would add this before you might ask me another question. We don't want to forget H.R. 40, which was the bill that he introduced in 1989 to deal with the whole question of reparations for slavery. At that time, the 40 acres and the mule, which never came to fruition, but he never gave up on it. He persisted with it. And now Jackson

Lee from Texas, Sheila Jackson Lee, has taken up the cause. Wonderful person, will be missed, icon, sage, just the kind of person you'd want to live next door to. He was forced to resign because of sexual harassment allegations. And I think it is no shock when you look at how folks are using that to define his legacy. It is very interesting. I'm going to read in a moment a statement from President Bill Clinton, as well as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. There's been no statement from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. I have yet to see a statement from President Barack Obama.

What do you make, again, of, in many ways, the silence? I mean, this was a man who served 53 years in Congress, longest-serving African American in history. Do you believe it is fair for folks who want to define Congressman Conyers' tenure based upon why he was forced to resign as opposed to what took place over those 53 years. Let me also add that he was the dean of the House of Representatives. After the demise of Mr. Dingell, Conyers became the dean. And I indicated incorrectly that he served as chair from 2011 to 2017. He served as chair from 2007 to 2011. He was the ranking member on the other occasion. I think that we

should not overlook his history and his service. I think that we should do things such as what we will do tonight that will be an opportunity for us to go to the floor and make our statements about Mr. Conyers. You said we. Who is we? The CBC? The Congressional Black Caucus. I think we should do it. I think it's important for us to do this. I don't mean to in any way give the implication that other people should not, but it's important that we not forget who he was and cherish his memory. I do believe that it is appropriate for a statement to be developed by the House of Representatives, by and through the Speaker of the House. I do think that persons who hold leadership positions should acknowledge the good things that he has done and not allow what appears to be a circumstance to negate all of the other things that he did. I would not support that. And that's why I'm on this program, because I think that he

is a person who lived a decent life and ought to be acknowledged. Congressman Al Green, we truly appreciate it. Thank you so very much. And of course, I got to say this, you're on the phone, you can't see me. I got my Houston Astros gear on. So of course, being from Houston, I'm sure there are people in D.C. not happy to see you today after they lost the last three games to our Astros, but they'll get over it. Well, one more and we're done. But I must say this to you.

This has been quite a comeback. People will have to acknowledge it's been one of the greatest comebacks ever to see the way the Astros have come out of Houston having lost two games and then to win three games in a row. That's fantastic. Well, Houston folks, we don't give up. Congressman, I agree. I appreciate it.

Thanks a lot. Thank you. All right, now let's go to another congresswoman from Texas, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson. She's going to join us in a second. I want to read the statement, though, from President Clinton and Secretary Clinton. This is their statement. I want to read it in a screen so guys pull it up. John Conyers was a champion for justice and equality who spent more than half a century in

Congress fighting for the people of Detroit and beyond. He made our country stronger in many ways, including co-sponsoring the Voting Rights Act and taking a crucial role in the creation of Medicare and as a ranking member of the Judiciary Committee during another period of extreme division, he rose above the fray time and again to defend the facts, the law, and the Constitution. He had great gifts of intelligence, knowledge, and determination, and made the most of them.

Hillary and I send our thoughts and prayers to his family. Again, we're going to have Congresswoman Edmunds Johnson in just one second. I want to introduce our panel right now. Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeaver, political analyst. Dr. Julianne Malveaux, economist, president emeritus of Bennett College. Robert Petillo, civil rights attorney.

For all of you, Avis, I'll start with you. Again, in normal circumstances, a member of Congress serves this long, 53 years, dies at the age of 90, glowing tributes from members of Congress and former members. That has not been the case with Congressman John Conyers. Absolutely. Completely disrespectful. There is just no excuse for it, period. As you mentioned, Speaker Pelosi definitely should be putting out a statement. Former President Obama should be putting out a statement. I'm glad that the Congressional Black Caucus will actually be, in essence, memorial colleagues in Congress, and that President Obama has chosen to be absent from recognizing his decades of service to this nation.

It's really inexcusable. I have no excuse that I can even think of that would justify this lack of recognition. Robert, I want to go to you, and what I'm doing is I'm going to pull up the CBC statement that they actually sent out earlier. Go ahead. Well, I think it's also important to kind of contrast the reaction to Conyers to Katie Hill, where you've had Democrats coming out and breaking their neck to support her to say that she did nothing wrong in her interactions with her staff and interns and her throuple.

But meanwhile, we can't get the leadership of the Democratic Party to stand up on behalf of John Conyers for activities which are in no way should perform as horrific as what Ms. Hill was accused of. And if you actually look at both of those, first of all, he was accused of sexually harassing folks who worked in his office. She had sex with a bunch of them.

She was accused of actually having a relationship with a campaign staffer, and according to her estranged husband, that affair continued while in Congress, and they've launched an ethics inquiry into her as well, but go ahead. And the fact that there are pictures, proof of what she did,

and just accusations against Conyers, but yet he's been deemed radioactive for some reason by the Democratic leadership, shows just the level of abandonment that happens often in the party. One difference between Democrats and Republicans, Republicans stand by their people

through and through until the end of days. They don't care how many things... I guess that's why y'all are still backing Mr. 45. They don't care what Trump does. Trump can get accused by 50 people and nobody cares. John Conyers gets one accusation, they run him out of Congress after 50 years. I think the main thing that people can do

to honor the memory of John Conyers is pass H.R. 40. Well, I fully agree with that. I mean, I'm a member of NARC, the National African American Reparations Commission, and John Conyers was our boy, our buddy. I mean, he had our back. We got the first hearings, not hearings, first

CBC legislative forums because Congressman Conyers insisted that we were going to have that. He participated, although he was the congressman and the leader. I mean, he'd come to a meeting and sit down with everybody else. He showed up. He was just in COBRA, National Blacks for Reparations, in COBRA. But anyway, he was just there in Detroit, um, a few months ago in July. So, the HR 40, he-he basically, just like the King holiday, where he had that for 15 years,

with HR 40 from 1989 until now. And he could not get the whole CBC to co-sign onto HR 40, but now Sheila Jackson Lee has it, we've got the little publicity, and we're hoping that this will move on. But now Sheila Jackson Lee has it. We've gotten a little publicity, and we're hoping that this will move on. But he really was a stalwart. And I'll say the last time that we met,

that NARC met, we're in New Orleans, and it was just as he was resigning. And the sisters on the commission, myself and Kichi Taifa, Joanne Watson, former Congress Councilwoman from Detroit, we cut a video, which I've been looking for all day, but we cut a video saying, look, we have his back. We do not believe in the double and triple standard. We want to know why people are not looking at some of the things that have happened to black women in terms of rape and

incest and all of that. Um, so, but we, we've put out a statement, we circulated widely to say, we have this man's back and I still stand with his back. Now, whatever he did at the end of his life, one might also, well, I'm not going to go there, but raise questions about whether or not he was quote in his right mind. But, um, cause some of the things just seem to be unbelievable. And you know, people get the attitude of piling on once there's one accusation, everybody else, oh yeah, that happened to me too. Not really. One of the women who accused him was actually using his stationery to try to get some probation for her husband. Just saying. But in any case, Roland, we at NARCA, we at the reparations movement recognize this brother as a leader.

And if somebody went out on a limb, even when he didn't have a lot of back. I mean, I think it's tragic that the whole CBC from 1989 until until now did not sign on for HR 40 which is not cutting checks for people it's just saying can we study this and can we suggest a remedy I want to read the actual statement of the CBC first of all we had a couple of CBC members who were supposed to join us they had to go to the floor to vote and so we're going to be paying tribute to Congressman Conyers between now and his funeral so we certainly be having more CBC members on. Here is a statement the CBC issued. The Congressional Black Caucus mourns the loss of one of its founding members, the longest serving African-American in Congress and the former dean of the House, Congressman John

Conyers, a son of Detroit and a champion of civil rights. Mr. Conyers, a son of Detroit and champion of civil rights. Mr. Conyers lived a life dedicated to serving the community in which he was raised. He leaves a legacy of more than five decades of systematic change that continues to transform our country for the better to this day. Congressman Conyers was a veteran and a soldier in the civil rights movement. After serving in the Michigan National Guard and the United States Army, he turned his efforts to voting rights and participated in the 1963 voter registration effort in Selma, Alabama. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1964 with the endorsement of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and he immediately tapped Rosa Parks to serve by his side. Congressman Conyers quickly became a trailblazer for liberal

issues that eventually became mainstream. Just four days after the assassination of Dr. King, Congressman Conyers introduced a bill to create a federal holiday in his honor and reintroduced the bill every year for 15 years until it was signed into law. Mr. Conyers continued his pursuit of voting rights in Congress as a lead co-sponsor of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Mr. Conyers was an ardent opponent of the death penalty and fought for police brutality oversight. Now a major issue in the Democratic presidential debates, Mr. Conyers was the first to introduce the expanded and improved Medicare for All Act legislation to establish a government sponsored single payer health care option to control costs. Mr. Conyers also championed the

issues of reparations by introducing a bill to establish a commission to study the issue of slavery and race relations in America, which he fought for consideration every year. His fight for justice extended to international issues as well. Mr. Conyers was an early leader in the anti-Vietnam War movement, in addition to the anti-Iraq War movement. He was also a vocal opponent of South Africa's apartheid politics. Congressman Conyers joined Congressman Ron Dellums and other CBC members in confronting President Nixon about imposing sanctions against South Africa. When it became clear he would not act, Congressman Conyers joined Congressman Dellums in introducing legislation to that end and was even arrested

at a protest in front of the South African embassy. Congressman Conyers chaired the Government Oversight and Reform Committee, formerly the Government Operations Committee, and was the first African American to chair the influential Judiciary Committee. For the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressman Conyers was more than a founding member. He was a guiding light. He will continue his vision by serving as the conscience of the Congress in pursuit of justice for all Americans. We extend our deepest condolences to his wife,

sons, family, and friends. So when you read all of that, that is not somebody who was just sort of there. Right. No, it's disgraceful that Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, whose back he had I don't know how many times, it's disgraceful that she hasn't had anything to say. We don't expect 45 to say anything. We really don't. So there's that. But there's so many others. I would expect the Michigan delegation, Roland, to have come out with a statement.

Right. You know? The whole Michigan delegation. Yes, exactly. And we haven't seen that. I've talked to people in Detroit today. They are not happy with what they see. They are. In fact, folks in Detroit are very angry. African-Americans say that this is an affront to his legacy. It's an affront to African-Americans.

Wendell Anthony, the president of the Detroit branch of the NAACP put out a lengthy statement as well. Some of the stuff that we covered. But I want to go ahead and say this here. This is what he said. John Congress was more than just a congressman. He was the go-to guy. He served as the first African-American chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Anyone who wanted to move issues dealing with labor, human rights, South African apartheid, civil rights, women's rights,

even before the Me Too movement, federal judges on the bench or presidents in a pinch would see John Conyers. He was the only politician ever to be endorsed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He stood in the middle of the street calling for calm during Detroit's most devastating rebellion in 1967. He stood in the gap against President Richard Nixon, even making the famous enemies list. He was not afraid of the strong Thurmans and the Jesse Helms. He made us all proud as he stood with Dr. King in bringing forth the 1965 Voting Rights Act. John Conyers never lost his commitment to justice and equality. He later says, whether it was fighting for Haitian refugees, fair housing, reforming our criminal justice system, or national health care, John Conyers was always out front. He had a tireless

list that often put younger and yet-to-be-seasoned politicians to shame. He was not afraid to stand alone in defense or in advocacy of policy and programs that uplifted the lives of people. His office in Washington was a repository for assemblies of common people, strategy sessions for political allies, a comfort zone for those who needed to refuel their political tanks, and a rhythmic getaway to those jazz connoisseurs who just wanted to chill. Lee loved his family and wanted best for one of his children, perhaps in reviewing his life. From Northwestern High School to the halls of Congress, it lies rooted in the background of his own family. His father, John Conyers Sr., was a labor leader. Conyers said, I was drawn to the struggle because my dad

was a labor organizer for the UAW. His father was an organizer when it was illegal to be in the unions. This obviously inspired Conyers to stand up and fight for the rights of others. It is easy to see how the mother of the civil rights movement, Rosa Parks, found a home in his Detroit office. John Conyers did not leave here trying to make a difference. What I think is so amazing about his history is that he was a front runner. He was a forerunner of many of the specific policy issues that right now are at the center of what Democrats are talking about, and they're all trying to outdo each other on, and maybe even in some respects takes credit for inventing things and coming up with ideas. Let me just say that. But if you think about his history as being the first one to push forward towards Medicare for all, as being the first one to put

legislation that would sort of start this movement towards reparations, as was mentioned, the King holiday, as was mentioned, fighting against police brutality prior to Black Lives Matter. So all of these issues that we are still struggling with today, to think that he did this at a time where he stood alone and he still pushed for it over and over and over again. And that's why I say the fact that he is not being treated with the respect that he should at this moment is particularly disappointing and angering. And I think one thing we have to remember, something that was kind of circulating online during the last set of protests and social

justice movements were these t-shirts from the young millennial saying we are not our ancestors and that got on my nerves because I think a lot of these people don't understand what their ancestors went through yeah that now we act like we can't fight against the Tea Party or we can't fight against people in MAGA hats when John Conyers got into office they were active Klansmen in the Congress active Klansmen in the Senate not hide behind closed-door Klansmen but I am, active Klansmen in the Senate, not hide-behind-closed-door Klansmen, but I am a member of the Ku Klux Klan and also a United States Senator, secondly. And he still was pushing for the issues that we're still fighting for today.

And so to not give him the credit that he deserves, to not put his name up in the rafters, to not allow him to have the same honors of other people who have achieved nowhere near what he's achieved, I think that is part of the issue and part of the reason why it's so important to honor our elders. You know, Roland, H.R. 57 was the legislation that he introduced to make jazz a national treasure. He played an instrument, but he loved some jazz. And, you know, because of him, there was always a jazz forum at the CBC. But that's something, I mean, so many folks get so serious, and they're not looking at the cultural aspects of what we do. And so even though he was a very serious man,

was very focused, he also knew how to basically smell the roses, enjoy the jazz. There was a club in D.C. It's closed now, called HR 57, which was basically named after the legislation. and the the other, almost like sampling. And so, you know, I cherish those memories and cherish the fact that we had the opportunity, many of us, not to know him as a legislator, but really as a buddy, as a friend, as someone you could break some bread with. Well, I'll tell you what, folks, I always enjoyed messing with Congressman John Conyers. He was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi. Sometimes he would have his red jacket on. And trust me, every time we would see each other, it was always an alpha kappa battle. But it was always great to see him. I'll be perusing my archives for some photos, be sharing with them later this week. And so again, it was always great to see him.

I gave a speech, actually gave several speeches in Detroit, and he would always make it a point to show up at those speeches. And so he was indeed someone who cared about the issues, was very, very quick to also praise the next generation and to encourage them as well. And so we, of course, certainly appreciate all that he meant. As I said here on Roller Martin Unfiltered, we're going to pay tribute to Congressman Conyers every single day up until his funeral because he certainly deserved it. Got to go to a break. When we come back, we'll talk this weekend. Criminal justice reform took place at Bendick College. Woo! Things got a little hot. Senator Kamala Harris turned that joint upside down.

We'll explain and talk to one of the co-chairs of this bipartisan criminal justice reform center to find out from her what the hell happened at Bendick College. You're watching 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, family, it's almost time. The holiday season is my favorite time of the year. And whether you celebrate Thanksgiving All right, family, it's almost time. The holiday season is my favorite time of the year. And whether you celebrate Thanksgiving, Ramadan, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or New Year's, this is when

you think about spending time with the people you love 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 and have a major impact on other families. And 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'd 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. That could be days, weeks, or even months. Now, America's bail system is broken and has created a two-tier system of justice, one for the rich and another for the poor. Folks, freedom should be free. And that's why the Ebony Foundation has partnered with the Bail Project and is sponsoring the Home Mother Holiday Campaign. Now, with your help, the goal is to bail out a thousand people by New Year's Day. Now, a donation from you today can change someone's life tomorrow. And this is critical because people of color

represent upwards of 90% of the jail population across the country. Now, when folks stay in jail, 90% of the people with misdemeanors end up pleading guilty because they want to get out of jail. 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 to be a holiday hero. You can donate 25, 50 bucks or more to help the Ebony Foundation bring our brothers and sisters home by the holiday to donate, go to home by the holiday.com. That's home by the holiday.com. Please support them down. All right, y'all, let's talk about Lord have mercy, Donald Trump. I'm going to get to the booze in a second that took place at the World Series. But first off, y'all, on Friday, that was this weekend. That was a form that took place on the campus of Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina. It was the 2020 bipartisan justice centerisan Justice Center. The whole goal

was to talk about criminal justice reform. It was a presidential reform. Ten Democratic candidates were invited. Donald Trump also was invited. But things begin to change because Trump goes there and he doesn't take questions. He gives a speech. Then he gets awarded by the 2020 Justice Center, which ticked off a whole lot of people. They're trying to figure out what in the hell is going on. Senator Kamala Harris, she lit it up by saying

I ain't showing up. And then Steve Benjamin, the mayor of Columbia, said I will organize an event for her on the campus to allow all students and others to attend. And then when she protested, it caused the original sponsor to pull out and Benedict College took over the form. What in the world went on? I said, well, one of the co-chairs is Tashara Jones.

She is the treasurer in St. Louis. She's also the Democratic co-chair for the 2020 Bipartisan Justice Committee. Ms. Sharpe, glad to have you here. First and foremost, I'm trying to understand, okay, so was Donald Trump supposed to come there, speak, and take questions? Because this morning when I talked to the president of Benedict College,

she said that was the original plan, but then the White House declared Friday an official White House event, which changed everything. What happened? So Dr. Rosalyn Artis is definitely correct. The White House changed it to an official White House event, which means that then they took over everything, who could be in the room and everything. So once they changed it, it was out of our hands. All right. So why were they allowed to change it? Why didn't your group say, no, you are a declared candidate.

These are the original rules. This is how we're going to proceed. And either you could accept those rules or not. Well, I'm not trying to throw any of my cohorts under the bus, but I wasn't involved in the discussions to arrange his visit. Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're the co-chair. But we have a Democratic co-chair and we have a Republican co-chair. And so I think of those as caucuses, right?

So my responsibility was to make sure that we could get as many Democratic candidates there. OK, but if this is a bipartisan effort, I get I don't understand how y'all work, but this is a bipartisan effort. I would think that both sides are sitting at the table going over the planes, going over who gets there. So, for instance, I was told I was told that that Governor Whale, Joe Walsh and Mark Sanford were invited. Well, they've been sitting on social media. No one contacted them and they were trying to get invited. Do you can you answer that? I cannot, because, again, all I was responsible for was the Democratic side. As a Democratic co-chair, I was in conversation with the campaigns that I could get in touch with to to see if they wanted to come to send them letters of invitation to confirm the details, to confirm, you know, to pass them off, to make sure, you know, what what part of the schedule, which day they were on, because we split them up between Saturday and Sunday. And that was my responsibility. So who handled the Republican stuff? So as far as I know, our other Republican members handled the Republican side. So that's our founder, Ashley Bell. He's a Republican. And and I know that he was in close contact with the administration to try to see if the president was going to come. But here's the problem. Why was Ashley Bell even involved? Because Ashley Bell works for the administration.

Well, you're going to have to ask those questions to Ashley Bell. And I can't speak for, you know, the wins or the whys or the whats, but what I can say is that we made history this weekend. You know, we had a major presidential forum thrown by a black organization on a black college, one of the number one HBCUs, right? Benedict College. And got and many of the students there got a chance to interact with and interview the Democratic presidential candidates about the number one issue that's important to black people, which is criminal justice reform. But what did happen, though, of course, after Trump spoke, first of all, this award that he received, was it your group that gave him the award? Were you aware he was getting this award? Was that decided by both sides or Or, like, how did that happen? So, I unfortunately was not aware that

there was even a plan for an award. And I didn't arrive on campus until Saturday night. Alright, so, okay, I'm just confused. I'm just being straight up. I'm familiar with the group in that. I remember

some stuff in 2016. They were trying to get me to attend a particular event. But I'm I'm familiar with the group in that. I remember some stuff that went 2016. They were trying to get me to attend a particular event. But I'm really confused here. OK, so this is just sort of how how my brain works. group, then I'm thinking that the Democratic people, black people, are sitting in a room with the Republican black people, and both are communicating over all of the details, so we're on one page. So what you're saying is that you didn't know what the Republican stuff was happening. They know what's happening on Democratic side. You don't know that an award was given. So is that how business is done on everything in this group?

No, Roland. And you're right. You know, I believe that this was, you know, a huge fallout of communication within our group. And I will take responsibility for that as well, because again, I didn't know I was, you know, I'll be totally honest with you. I was at homecoming at Hampton and I started getting text messages on Saturday saying, hey, you know, did you know Trump got an award? And I didn't know. So, you know, a lot of our membership was blindsided. But, you know, we're also learning a lesson from this. You know, we can either take this as a learning experience and move forward in a more organized fashion or not. And I think we're going to do just that.

We're going to make sure that we are all on the same page, that everything is communicated, and that everybody is on, again, that everybody's on the same page with all of the details going forward. So for instance, so one report said that only nine Benedict students were able to attend. And when I talked to Dr. Artis this morning, she said there were another 30 some odd students. She says she counted them. The room only held 267. So who are the people who were invited on Friday? So, and even that it was a white house event. Did they determine who got invited or did your group did? No. So again, when the white house declared it an official visit, they made all of the invitations. So it was South Carolina politicians and their guests and White House staff and press corps. So when they take over, you know,

we lose control of the event. But just like Dr. Arda said, there were more than 10 students in the auditorium. You know, it seats 267 and there were over 30 in attendance. So from your perspective, first, was it wrong for him to be given an award? Two,

was it wrong for this to become an official White House event? Three, was it wrong for him not to take questions? So just from my perspective, Tashara Jones not speaking as the Democratic co-chair of 2020, so just me and you, no, I would not have given him award. I think he should have taken questions from the students.

And what was your third question? The third question is, should they have been able to take over your event? I don't agree with that. But, you know, the White House does a lot of things that I don't agree with. So, Senator... Go ahead.

This was an opportunity for students to have one-on-one interaction with the president, and that didn't happen. Senator Conley Harris was supposed to be there on Saturday. She said that she was going to pull out of the event and protest, was going to have her own event. Then we were told that 2020 pulled out as the presenting sponsor and Bandit College took over the event. You said you got there on Saturday. Is that what happened? No, I wouldn't say that is exactly what happened because I spoke Saturday or Sunday morning and also closed out the event by giving students the instructions for the HBCU straw poll that we

are conducting with all HBCUs in South Carolina. But I will say that, you know, our staff was still there interviewing the candidates. Every candidate that was interviewed on Saturday and Sunday was interviewed by a 2020 member or introduced by a 2020 member. And also our staff was behind the scenes helping with production for the event. So basically it was still a 2020 event? In conjunction with Benedict College.

You know, I want to make sure that Benedict College gets its due. You know, their staff and faculty and students really showed up and made this event a success. But it's also, to be perfectly honest, it made Benedict look bad. Because people on social media were trashing the university, were critical of the university.

And frankly, they've had to go into damage control. Initial reports said that students were locked down in dormitories, forbidden to leave. In talking to President Arnett, she said that it's common when you have motorcades, the presence of motorcade coming. She said the same thing happened when President Obama came to campus.

And so all this drama around it actually hurt Benedict. Yeah. And I would also say it hurt our organization as well. When the White House changed it to an official visit, protocols changed and guest lists changed and a whole host of things just were just thrown up in the air. And we had to adapt. But I would say that Saturday and Sunday, I spoke to some students, myself spoke to some other people who attended. The students really enjoyed themselves. And again, were able to interact with candidates. I was backstage with several of them as they were interviewing Elizabeth Warren and really giving her some hard questions. So I don't think that

that would have, you know, we have to have these conversations about criminal justice reform and why not on an HBCU campus because it affects our kids more than anybody else. All right, then I would love to connect with the Republican co-chair to have them on this show to explain what took place. I think they have some answering to do, and they need to do so and talk directly to black people because this was positioned as a black organization, a group of black Democrats and Republicans, talking about criminal justice reform, and frankly, that got overshadowed as a result of what took place here. It did. It did. And that's unfortunate. But I also think that, you know, we want people to remember that, again, we made history by having this important discussion with with 11 with 10 candidates and a sitting president on the campus of an HBCU.

And one of those 10 candidates may well be our next sitting president. So they hopefully will remember this visit, the time that they spent with the students of one of the number one, one of the top universities in the HBCU network. All right. Tashara Jones, we certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much. Thank you. Good to see you. Thank you. I want to go to our panel here. Bottom line is the Democratic side, people in this group here, they got screwed. They did. And I just don't understand

how you have a bipartisan organization that don't do stuff in a bipartisan way. It's like two different organizations under one umbrella, dealing with parallel tracks. Benedict College got played. What you had on Friday was a Trump rally on an HBCU campus.

They flew in Republicans from across the country. This Ashley person... Ashley Bell, again, who used to be a Democrat, flipped to Republican. Ashley worked for the administration. So, he's the founder of the group when he was a Democrat.

But he worked for the administration. Why in the hell is he involved in the planning of this event when he worked for one of the declared candidates? So, you know, basically, again, it's regrettable that the college got played because it's always good to see people on an HBCU campus. But this was a Trump rally on an HBCU campus and he did not. And that's what he wanted. He wanted the photo op. And Walter Kimbrough, the president of Dillard, he tweeted, he said, I won't call this a Trump visit to an HBCU

unless he took questions from HBCU students. And he wouldn't take questions. Students were sequestered. They were told to either go home for the weekend or stay in their dormitories. True, whenever there's a motorcade, there is some security. But young people,

their First Amendment rights were shut down. Many of them want to protest. They were not able to do that. They were told that if they did anything, they would be subject to disciplinary action. Now, back in my day in the 70s, all you had to do is tell me I was going to get disciplinary action. And I'm like, OK, it's on. But young people these days are a lot more cautious. And obviously, your parents are not sending you to school to get kicked out. But this this was horrible, Roland. I was so disappointed and just repulsed by the way that man used black people. Avis, so now we know the reports that that the sponsor pulled out was a lie. Mm hmm. Yeah. Here's the thing. What happened here was that the Trump employee,

who is the co-founder of this organization, colluded with the people in the White House to provide this photo opportunity for him at an HBCU where he could give them this award. And I I'm told two people were for the White House We're involved Ashley Bell and Jerron Smith the same Jerron Smith who went on Don Lemon show on CNN Friday night Defending what took place I'm told By Republicans and Democrats that they were heavily involved in the planning of this entire event Well were the candidates well folks on the other campaigns were they heavily involved in the planning of this entire event. Well, were the candidates, were folks on the other campaigns,

were they heavily involved? They flipped this whole thing. They did. On Friday, it was supposed to be a speech and a Q&A. They turn it to a White House event knowing full well they take everything over. Absolutely. This was not, she found out about it at the last minute. But let me tell you, this was not a last-minute decision.

Nope. Okay? You don't move this was not a last minute decision. Nope. Okay. You don't move the president and last minute decision. There's an advanced teams that are involved. This was planned from the beginning and she got played. And I don't understand how she can trust them moving forward to doing anything with them moving forward. I don't even understand how they have an organization. I mean, it's supposed to be a bipartisan organization.

Republicans over here, Democrats over here. You're not talking. But, Avis, the other thing is, I mean, President Roz Artis has talked about, has been very defensive, and either she got played or she colluded. No, no. I don't think she was in on it. I don't think she colluded. Here's what I think happened. And, again, in talking to her today, I think what happened here was

here was an organization that says we want to hold this event on your campus. OK, great. Just like ABC had the debate on the campus of TSU. They come to you and it's going to be bipartisan. We're inviting Republicans and Democrats as the organization. You put the event on. Benedict says no problem. We'll avail ourselves to it. We're in a state where it's going to be it's going to be crucial to black voters in South Carolina. And all of a sudden, internal politics where they don't know what the hell is going on here. Well, Republicans are like, yo, guess what? We can flip this thing and we'll get the we'll get we'll get the photo op of Trump coming to HBCU.

And we'll call this thing a White House event and guess what? No quiz game on Yeah, then of course then all of a sudden Senator Kamala Harris blows this thing up says I ain't coming and then according to artists The rules were changed. She said that Initially the Democratic candidates agreed to have remarks and then a Q&A after what Trump did on Friday She said to me this morning time during a morning show, she said that they gave the candidates options. Do you want to solely give a speech and no questions? Or do you want six of the original rules, question and Q&A? They all chose comments and then also Q&A.

But the problem, which I think Harris is right, Trump should have had to answer questions. Absolutely. He should have had to answer questions because he touts the First Step Act. But by asking questions, they would have been able to ask him about why is it that you are against police consent decrees? Why are you using federal prisons? Why are you sitting here on one hand talking about I'm touting first criminal justice reform over here contributing to mass incarceration never getting to ask any questions because now it's a white house event that was the game Benedict got played and this is why the message to any HBCU moving forward

is you you should be involved in every step of the way, all the planning, and you know what all the rules are. And you say, unless these things happen, no candidate will be able to step foot on this campus to avoid the photo op and getting played. Absolutely. I was going to say super quickly, this was advertised as a candidate form. A presidential form. Exactly. He was not supposed to. It was not characterized that he would come near Trump to give a speech. He was supposed to be a

foreign participant just like the rest of them. But guess what? Again, the other Republicans didn't get invited, which says Ashley Bell, Jaron Smith, how, and to all the Republicans in this 2020, did y'all collude to keep

the other Republicans out? And of course they did. But the other thing, Avis, you said earlier, you don't move a president around, it's not last minute. So I do believe, I mean, Benedict College has a security force. They have people who do logistics. This was not a surprise.

Now remember, he was still coming. So first surprise. Now, remember, he was still coming. So, first of all, logistics side, he was still coming. What changed is that so you had the same advance team, same security, whether he was in a form or giving a speech. The difference by making it in the White House form is that they began to invite the other outside people. That's the difference. And so, still, if I'm Benedict, I'm sitting here going, now, if I'm Benedict, like,

when all of a sudden this is a White House event, now, at that point, at that point, if I'm Benedict, I go, oh, no. No, no, no. You ain't changing the rules. This will either be a form or there will not be a speech.

The only problem with that, Roland, speaking from my former perch as an HBCU president, is that how does it look to say the president of the United States cannot come? There you go. She's got Democrats and Republicans on her staff. So she's caught between a rock and a hard place. But again, moving forward to any HBCU, especially dealing with this liar. Yes. Yeah. You better say to anybody, weU, especially dealing with this liar. Yes. Yep.

You better say to anybody, we're going to be involved in this thing or not. Now, I got to go to break when we come back. I got to talk to Lamar Rucker about a couple of things because I was going to move later in the show. But I am going to deal with Donald Trump and some comments that he made today to the police chiefs in Chicago. Some foul and pathetic comments. We'll also talk about Kirk Franklin, who is calling for a boycott of TBN and the Dove Awards for editing out his social justice comments. Wait until you hear

what the Dove Awards and TBN did to Kirk Franklin for the second time in three years. That's next on Roller Mark Unfiltered. You want to support Roller Mark Unfiltered. You want to support Roland Martin Unfiltered? Be sure to join our Bring the Funk fan club. Every dollar that you

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You can make this possible. RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. Hey, folks. Second annual Life Love Jazz Experience in Cabo, November 7th through the 11th. I will be there broadcasting Roller Barton Unfiltered there on that Thursday and Friday. If you want to participate, if you want to come out, it's going to be a grand time.

14 amazing acts. Go to lifeluxjazz.com. But if you cannot make it, you can still check out the live stream. You can have a guest pass, folks, $10.99, to watch all of the concerts over the course of three days. I'm talking about some amazing artists. Now, of course, my frat brother, Gerald Albright. Of course, we had Kirk Whalum on the show last week.

He's going to be there as well. Some of the other people who are going to be in the house, actor, comedian, Mark Curry. Oh, my goodness. Donnie McClurkin, Alex Bunyan, Raul Madon, Incognito, Pieces of a Dream, Average White Band, Shalaya, Roy Ayers, Tom Brown, Ronnie Laws, Ernest Quarles. Man, it's going to be jam-packed.

If you want to get the live stream, go to GFNTV.com. That's GFNTV.com. GFNTV.com. You can watch all three days live stream all the concerts right here on your phone, on your iPad, on your computer, just for the cost of $10.99.

So we certainly want you to do that, and we look forward to the Life Lux Jazz experience there in Cabo. Alright folks, in a couple of days, the National Civil Rights Museum, Lorraine Motel, will host its 28th annual Freedom Awards. And Lamont Rucker, of course, one of the stars on Greenleaf, will serve as the ceremony host. Lamont joins us right now via FaceTime.

Lamont, first and foremost, this is a huge event. John Legend is one of the people who are going to be honored this year. Lamont, you heard me? I can hear you, man. How you doing? Doing great. John Legend is one of the people who have been honored this year. Law, are you here, B? I can hear you, man. How you doing? Doing great. John Ledger is one of the people who's been honored this year. Yes, it is. Yes, he is. Yeah, excited. Gonna be excited to be in the house with him again, man.

Of course, last year, I did the red carpet of the event last year. Can't make it this year because I got to be in New York for an event, but this is great because what the museum does is certainly honor folks who are focused on civil rights and human rights. Absolutely. So it's always an honor to be not just back in Memphis, but in particular, to do anything that advocates for the National Civil Rights Museum. So this is my second opportunity over the last several years to

represent for them and to come on board as the master of ceremonies. And so we've got a great group of honorees and in addition to John Legend. So, you know, looking forward to a great event. And like I said, honored as always to be to be here in Memphis and to to be the master ceremonies. Well, a lot of people don't realize people people think of this museum as being a Memphis museum. But it's an it's the actual National Civil Rights Museum. That's right. And it brings people in that just from across the country, from all over the world. You know, when I stopped by again this afternoon, we were with several people from a number of different countries. So it stays busy all year round.

And there's people who understand not only the importance of Dr. King's legacy, but again, just the global value of the fight for equality, justice, and human rights, you know, everywhere. So it's real cool that Memphis, Tennessee, although maybe not always for the most joyous reasons, but this is a legendary city with an incredible legacy. And although Dr. King spent his, you know, final moments here, it's actually been a source of inspiration for people all over the globe.

So it's incredible to turn something that might be sour into something that resonates everywhere. All right, then. Well, Lamar, we look forward to it. And last year, we, of course, we streamed. The ceremony took place, but over the weekend, we actually streamed the whole ceremony, and we look forward to doing it again

on Roland Martin Unfiltered. So good luck with it. Tell everybody at the museum I said hello and hopefully I'll see them in 2020. You got it. Alright. Always good to talk to you brother. Alright brother. Thank you so very much. Thanks a lot. My man. Alright folks. I gotta go to a quick break. When we come back we'll talk about crazy Trump in Chicago.

Trash in the city. He said it was worse than Afghanistan. So how easy was it for your ass to fly in and out? This is 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. Oh, yeah. Over the weekend, the Houston Astros played the Washington Nationals, beat them in three straight games, took a 3-2 to lead, but last night, of course, was game five. Yeah, you know I had to say that.

You just had to say that. I did. It's not mandatory, Roland. I know. That's why I wore the Astros at World Series. Be a gracious winner. That's why I wore the Astros replica ring. Zoom in on that, please.

Yeah, I know. Henry's a Nationals fan, but he's a bandwagon one because he didn't see any gear now. See, Henry only wears Nationals stuff when they're winning and losing. So this here is the... Floating, rolling. Yeah, this here is the...

As the furthest it goes in, this is the Houston Astros replica of their 2017 World Series ring. Looks great, doesn't it? And so Astros sent that to me. And so I just wanted y'all to see that. But anyway, at the World Series, when they showed images on the big screen of the military, people cheered.

Then this happened. Well, seems that Mika and Joe over at MSNBC were none too happy with that, saying that was just not right, how they're being treated, the respect for the office of the president, including Democratic Senator Chris Coons said the same thing. And I keep saying, I'm sorry. The day he decides to respect the office is when I will respect the office again. I said that in 2017 on ABC This Week, saying I will not call him president

because he doesn't act like a president and he acts like a petulant narcissistic child. A schoolyard bully. Right. And what you saw were people expressing their viewpoint, and I was glad that they did. And so I don't give a damn. He should be beat because he is shameful, pathetic. He's a grifter.

He has turned the Oval Office into a cash register for his family. I mean, literally. Ivanka got all those patents in China. He's opening hotels all over the world. His kids travel with Secret Service protection to advance their business interests. Now, if they were right when they were doing their business work, not their political work, the government would be reimbursed. They're not going to do that. Having Pence fly across

Scotland, all the way across Scotland, 200-some miles, so he can stay at his resort. Grifter is the best word to put con artist. There are just so many other words to use. Avis? Well, you know, I was happy to hear that, because as was mentioned, I mean, he deserves it. He has well earned that rebuke. But what I find interesting is that I'm sure he was shocked. I mean, I thought it was really funny to see the shift on his face when the crowd went from cheering for the military to booing him, and then the shock, I'm sure, that he must have felt

when he heard the chant coming back right at him that he started in the last election. But this time, Taylor... Yeah, lock her up, now let's lock him up. Now let's lock him up. And what I think is very interesting here is, just like he did in Benedict, he is used to creating his own audiences.

He's used to sort of surrounding himself in the White House by yes men and yes women. He's used to going to all these campaign rallies where basically you have a whole cult members that are there only. And so he's not used to being out with the public to really see how he's really perceived. And so I think that action really was a reality check

that he needed. And in honor of the Nats, I'm wearing their color today because I'm like, hey, they did the right thing and I'm proud of them for doing it. Yeah, okay, all right. Well, you know. It's short because they ain't winning. Okay, Roland. Roland. Well, you know. It's short because they ain't winning.

Okay, Roland. Roland is like a sore winner. No, no, no, no. I thought about sore losers, but Roland is a sore winner. Let me be real clear. Huggy Lowdown and Chris Paul were talking ignorant, mad trash on the Tom Jordan morning show when they went up 2-0. And I said,

you might want to think twice. And this morning, Huggy couldn't say nothing. Even hung up his phone on his own segment. Because I was killing him. It could have dropped. All I'm saying is, if you're going to talk. Now, his call didn't drop. You don't know that.

He was subdued. He was in a state of depression. Oh, come on. And I trolled the hell out of him on Instagram. Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. I'm going to play it at the end of the show. I ain't going to play it right now.

But, oh, I hit him with something. But the Nats fans was represented last week. Yeah, they did. That's right. With the signs, the veterans for impeachment. That's who I was loving was the veterans for impeachment. Yeah. I thought they were booing and losing 8-1.

But you're right. They were booing Trump. All right, y'all. Speaking of the orange one, this fool spoke to the International Association of Police Chiefs today in Chicago. And all he did was trash the Windy City. But there is one person that's not here today.

We're in Chicago. I said, where is he? I want to talk to him. In fact, more than anyone else, this person should be here because maybe he could learn something. And that's the superintendent of Chicago Police, Eddie Johnson. A few days ago, Johnson said, quote, the values of the people of Chicago are more important than anything President Trump would have to say. I don't think so, because that's very insulting statement.

After all I've done for the police. And I've done more than any other president has ever done for the police. Over 100 years, we can prove it, but probably from the beginning. Here's a man that could not bother to show up for a meeting of police chiefs, most respected people in the country, in his hometown, and with the President of the United States. And you

know why? It's because he's not doing his job. Last year, 565 people were murdered in Chicago. Since Eddie Johnson has been police chief, more than 1,500 people have been murdered in Chicago, and 13,067 people have been shot. During the first weekend of August 2019, seven people were murdered and 52 were wounded in 32 shootings in Chicago. And recently they had 78 shootings over a weekend spree and three people killed. And Chicago has the toughest gun laws in the United States.

That doesn't seem to be working too well, does it? And a lot of you people know exactly what I mean. But under Johnson's leadership, they certainly don't protect people. Then you have the case of this wise guy, Jesse Smollett, who beat up himself. And he said MAGA country did it. MAGA country. Okay? He said MAGA.

That's a hate crime. That's a hate crime. And it's a scam. It's a real big scam, just like the impeachment of your president is a scam. And then you look what's going on. Smollett is still trying to get away with it. He would have been better off if he paid his $100,000 bill.

Chicago is unfortunately the worst sanctuary city in America. Chicago protects criminals at a level few could even imagine. Last year in Cook County alone, ICE asked local law enforcement people to please, pretty please, we beg you, we'll do anything necessary to stop crime. We want to stop crime. Please detainer was denied and Eddie Johnson wants to talk about values now people like Johnson put criminals and illegal aliens before the citizens of Chicago and those are his values, and frankly, those values to me are a disgrace. I will never put the needs of illegal criminals before I put the needs of law-abiding citizens.

It's very simple to me. The President and the President of the United States have been fighting for the right to protect our people. And so, when Eddie Johnson and many other people from lots of other regions and areas support sanctuary cities, it's really, in my opinion, a betrayal of their oath to the shield and a violation of his duty to serve and to protect the courageous police officers

of Chicago. And I know some of them, and they're the most incredible people. They could solve this problem quickly. It's embarrassing to us as a nation. All over the world, they're talking about Chicago. Afghanistan is a safe place by comparison. It's true. Police officers of Chicago are entitled to a police superintendent who has their backs and knows what he's doing. You're entitled to a police superintendent who sides with you. With the people of Chicago.

The people want this. And with the families of Chicago. Not the criminals and the gang members that are here illegally, and not the stupid politicians that have no idea what the hell they're doing. Now, Donald Trump also spoke about consent decrees. Here's what he said. The administration has also curtailed the harmful and intrusive use of federal consent decrees, which wrongly

give meddlesome officials in Washington, D.C., immense authority to tie down local police departments and make it very difficult to do their work. No longer will federal bureaucrats micromanage your local police. And we will work with, upon request, local police to help them, not to hinder them. And we're waiting for a call from Chicago, because there's no place that we would rather help than Chicago. Now, those of you who are watching may say, man, why don't you play all of that? I didn't play those comments so you could hear what Trump had to say. Julianne, I played it so they can hear the applause.

Yes. Yep. At the police chiefs. Mm-hmm. Other than guys like Art Acevedo, who was a police chief of Houston, and a few others, these police chiefs are largely white men

who are walking in lockstep with Donald Trump. And when he talked about consent decrees, that was the first thing Jeff Sessions did when he came in, tried to get out of the consent decree in Baltimore. Mm-hmm. Then this SOB has the nerve to talk about the police chief in Chicago, but guess what they tried to do?

Get out of the consent decree of those same cops in Chicago. He wants thuggish cops. He wants cops that brutalize people. He wants cops who have no accountability, and these police chiefs are like, that's our guy guy because we want to do whatever we want with impunity. And, you know, he said this during the campaign. I remember there was somebody, he said that he wished the police had basically jacked them worse. I forgot the exact quote, but he said, I wish they were jacked.

He said, I wish they jacked them worse. He has been baiting the whole time. You know, at the criminal justice reform thing in Benedict, one of the things that we must know, this man has never apologized for his attack on Central Park 5. He has never apologized for that, even though they've been exonerated, walked away with millions of dollars, correctly so.

Never apologized. So he has decided law and disorder is basically the name of the game, that these police chiefs have no accountability, which means their police forces have no accountability. Which means that when a man goes and shoots somebody playing video games through their window, you know, it takes a minute for them. Now, they did the right thing by firing him, but it took a minute. There are just so many cases. And when we were to talk about San Bernardino, a man puts his hands up and they shoot him anyway. So we, you know, these police chiefs

have been running roughshod over citizens. And for him to stand there and attack the black man who is the police chief in Chicago is absurd. It also lets you know who he is, what he is, and what he's all about. And, Roland, you were very kind to call him an SOB. I mean, we could go a little lower. I just, I mean, look, first of all,

the problem I had with why did I say that? That's what he called NFL players. See, this is where me and Mika and Joe don't agree. See, and also Michelle Obama. See, Mika in her Instagram post

tried to invoke Michelle Obama by saying, you know, as Michelle Obama said, when they go low, we go high. No. They go low, they hit you below the belt, I'm going to hit your ass and your ankles. Because I'm sorry, the way you deal with a bully is you punch a bully back. Absolutely.

This man wants no accountability. He has no issues with how police are acting. He never speaks against them, and he wants these rogue cops roaming the streets, doing whatever they want, and we tell that story, oh, we can quickly solve what's happening in Chicago. Oh, Chicago has tough gun laws.

But he won't deal with the fact that Indiana, the line is, like, right across the street, and most of the guns are coming from Indiana, Mike Pence's state where he used to be governor. Well, he's very selective in terms of his ability to be in favor of law enforcement. Because if you look at what he does and what he did here, he's very much in favor of law enforcement that is about using brutal force against black people. But when you look at our intelligence agencies who are seeking to enforce the law against him and his lawlessness, he has absolutely nothing good to say about law enforcement. So I find it very interesting that he only appears to be praised and praising those clan-like

elements of law enforcement that really focused their efforts on brutalizing black people. But when we talk about our intelligence agencies, when we talk about those people who have spent their careers protecting this country from illegal actions, and they found him caught up in a web of activity that they found in terms of legal, and it's not just them. Right. We had that Senate bipartisan commission come out and say that there was proof that they also agreed that Russia was involved with the presidential election. So he has nothing good to say about law enforcement when it comes to his illegal activity. But when it comes to people who

are sitting there spending their careers abusing black folks, he has everything good to say. And here's what's laughable about Afghanistan. First of all, if he flew to Afghanistan, he couldn't say it in advance. It would be radio silence, kept quiet, out of fear of the terrorists knowing. But everybody knew he was flying into Chicago. So to sit here and actually say,

oh, Chicago is... Afghanistan is not as flying into Chicago. Absolutely. So to sit here and actually say, oh, Chicago is, Afghanistan is not as bad as Chicago. Mr. Bonespurs does not have the guts to go to Afghanistan. Let's just be very, very honest. Or any place else where there's danger. Right. I mean, if you look at basically his record before he became president, he was a wuss and a punk, basically, and he's still a wuss and a punk.

Like when he skipped out on that rally in Chicago when the bros showed up. But, you know, the thing about this, Roland, he has adhered to his assertion that he could shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue and get away with it. Now what we know is that he can meddle with the Ukraine and ask for quid pro quo and get away with it,

that he can meddle, basically closing aspects of federal agencies and get away with it, that he can defy Congress and get away with it, that they can subpoena people and he tells them don't show up. So he basically, and let's be clear about what this is about. Republicans have given him a pass. They know what the law is. I believe. They've given him a pass.

No, no, they're not giving him a pass. They know what the law is. They've given him a pass. No, no, they're not giving him a pass. They've said, no, we're going to give you the pass. Well, I believe they are getting... I believe they're all getting help from foreign actors, not just Donald Trump. I believe that the Russians and perhaps other foreign countries are... And we saw, we saw proof. the Ukrainians that were just that were just arrested.

You had several Republican congressmen and the governor of Florida come out and say that we need to give money back that they just gave us. So they are buying off the entire GOP. What we're seeing right now is someone who is incapable of playing fair. He only knows how to win if he can tilt the situation. And that's exactly what he's trying to do now with the election. And that's exactly why he is, at every given chance, berating law enforcement that is investigating him because he knows that he doesn't have control over that situation. And he knows that he is involved with illegal activity. All right, y'all. All right. I'm gonna go to a quick break.

When I come back, I know I'm going long today, but, man, we just had way too much stuff. This is about to blow y'all away. Gospel star Kirk Franklin is boycotting the Trinity Broadcasting Network, the largest Christian broadcast network in the world, as well as the Dove Awards. I'm going to explain next and why we're going to join them.

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You can make this possible. RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. All right. Now, many of us know Kirk Franklin as one of the top gospel artists in history. Folks, not somebody who's very controversial in terms of a brother who focuses on his music, but my man from Fort Worth, Texas is not happy. Y'all, he posted this today on his Instagram account. Folks were blown away by what he had to say. And if you want to understand

how white Christians feel about social justice that impacts black people, listen to what they did to Kirk Franklin. Today,

I feel like quitting. I am heartbroken that I even have to share this with you. In 2016, I was blessed to win an award for Best Gospel Artist at the Dove Awards. Many of you may not know the Dove Awards in comparison are the Christian Grammys, like the Stella Awards are the Gospel Grammys. For so long, the terms Christian and Gospel for many are code words for white and black, which history may teach us was a setup for this unfortunate place we find ourselves in today. During that award speech, I felt the responsibility as a Christian and a man of color to address the

civil unrest at that time that was plaguing our country with the killings of Philando Castile and Walter Scott, just to name a few, by white police officers. And at the same time, the horrific killings of five Dallas police officers by an African American. I called upon the audience to join me in remembering that as Christians, when we say nothing, we're saying something. After a standing ovation, we prayed and stood in unity for all the families affected by those tragedies. We all felt that moment that there was a shift in the climate of our separate worlds. Unfortunately, when that speech aired on the Christian network TBN, that part of my speech was edited out.

I made my disappointment and frustration known to the Double Awards Committee and to the Trinity Broadcasting Network. I never heard from TBN, and the Double Award Committee promised to rectify the mistakes so that it wouldn't happen again. In 2019, history repeated itself. I was humbled to win the same award, and during my speech, I brought attention to the murder of a Tatiana Jefferson in her home by a white police officer.

I asked everyone in the audience and those viewing to join me in prayer for not only a Tatiana's family, including her 8-year-old nephew who witnessed the killing, but also for the family of the police officer. Last week, during the airing of the awards on the same network again, that part of my speech was edited out. So now, after a meeting with the Double Awards Committee and representatives of TBN,

I've made the decision after prayer, consultation with my team, and my pastor, Dr. Tony Evans, to not attend any events affiliated with or for the Double Awards, Gospel Music Association, or TBN until tangible plans are put in place to protect and champion diversity, especially where people of color have contributed their gifts, talents, and finances to help build the viability of these institutions. I'm aware that the word boycott often has a negative connotation and finality to it, but my goal will forever be reconciliation as well as accountability. It is important for those in charge to be informed. Not only did they edit my speech, they edited the African American experience. I'm not asking those in the gospel community to follow my decision. No, this is my personal choice to take a stand and hold

responsible those in positions of power to acknowledge the issues in our separate communities that have existed from colonialism to Jim Crow. To many of the issues facing us today, I pray there will be a significant change from this hurtful experience. I look with anticipation for that day of healing, and I'm committed to contributing to that process. In the end, we will not remember the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. I know Kirk Franklin is saying it's just him, but I dare say any black preacher, any black evangelist, and any black artist who goes on the TV, who goes on TBN should tell them I will never come on again until you apologize to Kirk Franklin, until you fix this in remedy what took place. He should not be standing alone. This is pathetic.

The fact that a Christian man who is from Fort Worth, Texas, spoke about the shooting death of Artiella Jefferson. Today is the day of rage. People all across the country are highlighting her case. And they have the audacity to cut it out. You know why? Because at the Dove Awards and TBN, they are white, conservative evangelicals who are more in line with Donald Trump

and these MAGA people who don't want to criticize these white police officers, who don't want to speak against police brutality, who love talking about their being pro-life, but say nothing about the life of Artiana Jefferson, nothing about the life of Rekia Boyd, nothing about the life of Ayanna Jones, and numerous other African Americans who are killed.

They say nothing. And then have the audacity to edit the man's comments out? You know, Oral, all I have to say is that was a powerful statement he made. It reminded me of Dr. King's letter from the Birmingham jail where he really talked about the silence. To white clergy. Who stood by and watched Dr. King be jailed,

watched him be beaten and the others be beaten and were silent. They talk about Christianity, but do unto others as you would have have done unto you. So they want to get their behinds beat by policemen or shot, had their kids shot through a window by policemen. You know that what you do for the least of these you do for me. I mean, these people are not Christian. They they they basically wrap themselves around a Bible, wrap a Bible around themselves and sin everything they do as a sin, because basically they are attacking life. As you said, life, you can't say you're pro-life and watch people be shot. Right. Yeah. I mean, let's just

be very real about who we're talking about here. These white evangelicals have historically and to this day, preference race over what they claim they believe in terms of their religion. If you look even at what they're saying today, even beyond this issue, there's been lots of research that shows that they think that they preference, for example, their support for Trump over any of their Christian values.

I mean, when you think about what he has done and what he continues to do in his life, to sit there and praise him and raise him up like this shows you who they are. And, you know, it makes me believe that, for example, switch people. I believe that if Kanye West had been there spouting his ridiculousness, what he had to say would not have been edited at all. No, not at all. But because you have an artist who has a black consciousness, who is willing and brave enough to talk about a black experience, that is not something that they want to allow in that lily white space. And so when you look about the history of evangelicalism

and how they specifically pushed out black people, this to me is quite in line with who they are. And just like the brilliant Dr. Maya Angelou said, when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. But you know, people in the black Christian community who've been on this network, who've been to these, they need to follow. Who are currently on the network. They need to follow Kirk Franklin because basically what they have become for these people is a profit center. Absolutely.

They are a profit center. And they're being played if they believe that these people care about them. They are being exploited, but perhaps they don't care because they need the visibility. Why don't all these churches get together and start their own DER network? As opposed to basically sitting at Mass' feet,

asking Mass for crumbs and that's literally what they're doing i i admire what kurt franklin said but i but i would be much more buoyed by his statement if we saw a thousand ministers say i'm there too if we saw the christian community i'm gonna watch that mess right and and they need to publicly. But see, here's the other piece. Not just black preachers. Go to my iPad. I'm looking here. These are feature programs on TBN. I dare say that Beth Moore should say,

until you apologize to Kirk Franklin and change, pull my program. Joyce Myers, same thing. Pull my program. I'm looking on here. Bishop T.D. Jakes, pull my program. I see somebody down here called CeCe Winans, let them fall in love. CeCe, pull your program.

Charles Stanley, pull your program. We know Franklin Graham ain't going to pull a damn thing because he don't care about black folks. But I'm saying, Dr. Tony Evans of Dallas, pull your program from them. Ed Young out of Houston, we know you ain't going to do nothing because you had that foul crap you had to say about, of course, Roy Moore supporting him in Alabama. We know you're not going to say nothing about this church in Houston. Oh, yeah.

You didn't think I know that, huh? Yeah. Let's see who else is on here. Greg Lowry, pull your program. We know Mike Huckabee going to do a damn thing because he agrees with that crap. But I'm reading some of these folks here who have shows on TBN. John Gray, pull your program from there. Joel Osteen, pull your program from there as well.

Kenneth Copeland, all you care about is money. So we know you ain't pulling jack, so you want to keep getting that money. But as I go down here, all these folks, if you are white and you supposedly care about social justice, you should tell TBN and the Dover Wars that they are dead wrong. And so I'm going to tell you right now, we're going to stand with Kirk, we're going to keep this pressure on,

and what we're going to do is we're going to call each one of these folks and ask them, are they going to stand with TBN and the double boards, or are they going to stand with Kirk Franklin? And that's going to determine whether or not you actually care about the black experience, that you care about social justice. And so this is not, let me be real clear, y'all, because we also covered that crap with the Word Network when Kevin O'Dell was joking around with George Blumer. And Kevin O'Dell, I got his number, I text him, and he didn't respond to me,

but the fact of the matter is this here. Same thing. We call you out, Kevin O'Dell, at the Word Network, and the black preachers on the Word Network who are still silent should be saying something to him by saying saying until you apologize to george bloomer for your actions as well y'all we don't need these people to spread the gospel we don't need to be on tbn and the word network we sure as hell gonna hold them

accountable dev awards y'all too as well and so kirk franklin i've already called kirk i sent him a text saying we stand with you and other artists should come out and support Kirk Franklin because to edit out that man's comments is beyond shameful. He was speaking about a Christian woman shot and killed by a cop in Fort Worth.

You had the nerve to say that that wasn't good? Y'all are saying one of your programs talk about Christians being persecuted in other countries. Oh, if a Muslim was persecuting somebody, oh yeah, y'all be all over it. But you don't give a damn about black folks being persecuted and killed in the United States. Kirk is right, They're wrong.

We're going to hold them accountable. All right, folks. We certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much. I know we went long, but that's what we do. Tomorrow, I'll be broadcasting from Indianapolis where Stewart Speakers, they have their annual event, State of Black America Conversation. I look forward to moderating that conversation. And so,

Indianapolis, I will see you tomorrow. And then, of course, when that program is over, we'll get out of there real quick. So I can go watch my Astros beat the Nationals in game six, taking place at Houston's Minute Maid Park. Please. And so, look, y'all had a nice run, but it's about to come to an end, Ava.

Rollers, you don't know that. It's about to come to an end. You don't know that. You better pray, okay? Lock him up. You better pray. And, yeah. And because of what happened the last three games, trust me,

you'll never see Henry wearing a Nationals hat. He a bandwagoner. See, he jump on when they winning, boy, but he's scurred like a cockroach when the lights come on when they lose. All right, y'all. You're wrong. I ain't wrong. In fact, I was going to show this.

Hold on one second. I was going to show this here. Let me go ahead and do I have it on this phone right here? I got to go ahead and show y'all this here. Because, see, last night, I'm going to show y'all the shortened version because, you know, Huggy Lowdown was talking a whole lot of trash. And when I say a whole lot of trash, I mean a whole lot of trash on Tom Joyner last week. And so I had to

do something special for Huggy. You know what? I'm just going to play it from this phone right here. Let me go ahead and play it. And so last night I was watching a game and I said, you know what? I ought to go ahead and do something special for my man Huggy.

And so, y'all, I put this together for my boy. Play it, please. ¶¶ ¶¶ Big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas. The prairie sky is wide and high, deep in the heart of Texas. OK, so then I'll do a short version. This was later in the video, y'all.

Go to it. Deep in the heart of Texas. Oh my god! Let's roll this ball and play you all. Y'all go to it That's why perhaps they all worship deep in the heart of Texas. Here it comes. Huggy, Chris, Mignon Clyburn, Doug Sloan, Tom Joyner, all you national fans, don't mess with Texas. Okay, last one. So to this morning, I worked out, you know what?

I know how they feel about go-go music in D.C. So hug it low down. This also for you. Y'all got the audio? Y'all got the audio? Bustin' loose. I love those. You ain't right, Rola. You ain't right.

Hey, hey, all I'm saying is, if you're going to, I told, I warned them last week. Don't go there. I'm going to get you back. And I got them back. Game six tomorrow night in Houston. Y'all better win now. I got to go. It don't matter.

Because guess what? They can't troll that good. No, I'll tell you what. They can't troll that good. You talked a whole lot of dookie what? They can't troll that good. No, I'll tell you what. They can't troll that good. You talked a whole lot of dookie today. They can't troll that good. You have talked a whole lot of dookie. They can't troll that good.

You better pray that they win, because otherwise, we going to get you. I got the socks. I got the socks. We good. It's all good. I got to go. Holla! I know a lot of cops.

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