#RolandMartinUnfiltered - 12.2 #RMU: Chicago's top cop fired; Gabrielle Union Vs. AGT; Delivering Packages While Black

Episode Date: December 5, 2019

12.2.19 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Chicago's top cop fired; Gabrielle Union Vs. AGT; National Day of Giving: Meet a young man who has made giving back to his community a way of life; Celebrating the life and legacy of Father George Clements and we remember remember Irving Burgie, he man who wrote the classic Harry Belafonte song, Day-O + Delivering Packages While Black incident in Raleigh, North Carolina #RolandMartinUnfiltered partner: 420 Real Estate, LLC To invest in 420 Real Estate’s legal Hemp-CBD Crowdfunding Campaign go to http://marijuanastock.org - Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I'm out. Thank you. Today is Monday, December 2nd, 2019, coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Remember Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson? Remember when he went off on Justin Smollett, saying he lied? Well, he got fired today by the mayor of Chicago. She said he lied to her face. We'll tell you all of those details.

Also, Gabrielle Union, in a fight with NBC and America's Got Talent, she claims she was told numerous times to change her hair because it was too black. She also said that there were issues on set when it came to a Rachel Insensitive joke told by Jay Leno, as well as other problems on that show. Well, they booted her after one year. She says, time to have a conversation. We'll give you all the details of what's happening with Gabrielle Union. Also, tomorrow is National Day of Giving.

Meet a young man who has made giving back to his community a way of life. And also, the renowned Chicago priest, Father George Clement, has passed away. And his legacy, One Church, One Child, that encouraged black adoption. We will talk about that as well. And we also remember Irving Berge, the man who wrote the classic, Perbill-a-fonte song, Dale. He also passed away. And of course, another crazy-ass white person, man, it's time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Martin on the filter. 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 on for a royal It's rolling, Martin Rolling with rolling now Yeah, yeah. It's Roland Martin. Yeah, yeah. Rolling with Roland now. Yeah, yeah. He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best. You know he's Roland Martin now.

Martin. Fired! That was the word today from Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot when it applies to Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson. He was supposed to retire at the end of the year. This whole thing was set up. She said, oh, hell no. She came out today hot in a news conference in the Windy City. Check this out.

Good morning, everyone. Today, I'm announcing that I terminated Eddie Johnson's employment as superintendent of the Chicago Police Department for cause effective immediately. Upon reviewing the materials as to Eddie Johnson of the inspector general's ongoing investigation regarding the events of October 16th and early morning hours of October 17th and thereafter, it has become clear that Mr. Johnson engaged in a series of actions that are intolerable for any leader in a position of trust, particularly the head of the Chicago Police Department. This is obviously not a decision that I entered into lightly.

However, the circumstances demanded these actions. There are three reasons for this decision. First, the finding of the Inspector General's report regarding Mr. Johnson, which I recently reviewed, makes clear that Eddie Johnson engaged in conduct that is not only unbecoming, but demonstrated a series of ethical lapses and flawed decision-making that is inconsistent with having the privilege of leading the Chicago Police Department. Second, Johnson intentionally misled the public in a press conference he called on October 17, 2019. He was not caught off guard, and he had plenty of time to choose his words. And the choice he made was a communicated narrative replete with false statements,

all seemingly intended to hide the true nature of his conduct from the evening before. Finally, just like with the public, Eddie Johnson intentionally lied to me several times even when I challenged him about the narrative that he shared with me. He maintained that he was telling the truth. I now know definitively that he was not. Had I known these facts at the time, I would have relieved him of his duties as superintendent then and there. I certainly would not have participated in a celebratory press conference to announce his retirement. Mr. Johnson failed the hardworking members of the Chicago Police Department. He intentionally misled the people of Chicago, and he intentionally misled me.

None of that is acceptable. This moment needs to be a turning point for the Chicago Police Department, the way things are done in this city. As for the department, yesterday, today, and tomorrow has to be about culture change. That must start at the top. That hard but important work is impossible without strong leadership focused on integrity, honesty, legitimacy, and accountability. Time and again, line police officers are held accountable for their actions, but their supervisors get a pass, even when the supervisors were aware of or directed the conduct at issue. Perhaps in years past, someone in Mr. Johnson's circumstances would have been allowed to simply

retire. Doing so today, in these circumstances, would have been allowed to simply retire. Doing so today in these circumstances would have been inconsistent with who I am and with the kind of principled leadership I want to bring to the city. None of us are perfect and we all make mistakes, but in public life we must be honest and accountable for our actions and must strive to do better every day. When there are ethical lapses, lapses in judgment, particularly in a position of trust like the superintendent of police, then it is incumbent upon me and all of us to ensure accountability. That's why I decided to take this clear and decisive

action today. The old Chicago way must give way to the new reality. Ethical leadership, integrity, accountability, legitimacy, and yes, honesty must be the hallmarks of city government. There must be no mistake about the message I am sending today. The 13,400 sworn and the civilian members of the Chicago Police Department who work hard every day deserve a leader they can believe in. And to achieve the reform and accountability in the department that we know is urgently needed, we require a leader whose actions reflect the virtues of integrity, honor, and legitimacy, the touchstones of what it takes to have the privilege of being a Chicago police

officer. I am confident that the interim superintendent Beck is such a leader and that both he and the eventual permanent superintendent will serve with honor. All right, folks, for more details, we're joined by Brandon Polk, reporter and anchor for WCIU-TV in Chicago. Brandon, glad to have you here. First of all, here's what's strange. So you have the inspector general's report, but the mayor would not release the details of what was in that report. She said she wanted to spare the superintendent's wife and children.

That even raises additional questions. Yeah, it definitely does, Roland. A lot of people's eyes and ears really perking up to that one. People wondering, what does the video that Lori lightfoot saw actually have to say about this we're actually our organization putting in a FOIA request uh for that video because we do want to see uh what did the mayor see apparently it wasn't the story that uh superintendent eddie johnson told he told the mayor that he uh had his high blood pressure and he felt himself about to

pass out. He had a few drinks before and there was some sort of reaction to that. And so we decided to take a nap, so to speak, right at the stop sign. Apparently, that is not the case at all. And of course, a lot of people had their doubts already about that, especially with no breathalyzer test taken at the scene. But now we have more questions than answers right now. And we're looking forward to seeing what that IG report has to say and also what the video actually shows. But it's going to be interesting. People are talking here in Chicago, a lot of speculation about this being a situation that could damage Eddie Johnson's family. Who was he with? That's the question. Yeah, so again, this was the quote.

While at some point the Inspector General's report may become public and those details may be revealed, I don't think it's appropriate or fair to Mr. Johnson's wife or children to do so at this time. I hope we can all take care to treat them with dignity and respect. As you said, he was found, slumped behind his car, but he also has a driver.

But he dismissed the driver to drive himself home. That, I mean, that makes no sense because if you were having an issue with your health or a reaction to medicine or things along those lines, you have a driver. Yeah. You know what also doesn't make sense, Roland? or a reaction to medicine or things along those lines, you have a driver. Yeah, you know what also doesn't make sense, Roland? This situation happened around 1235 a.m. Eddie Johnson said he was very tired that night,

said he had a dinner engagement he was at. What dinner engagement goes past midnight? That's a question that raises a lot of flags right there. So the whole situation as it lined up, this didn't look right from the beginning. The mayor saying that Eddie Johnson only lied to her, but also lied to the people of Chicago when he held a press conference trying to clear up details on this himself. And so, yeah, it's murky territory.

You mentioned Jussie Smollett earlier. It's interesting that CPD came so hard after Jussie Smollett talking about him lying to the people of Chicago. And now you have Chicago's own mayor saying that the superintendent of police of the city is now lying to the city. This is not the Chicago police. This was Eddie Johnson. This was Johnson who went on Good Morning America, who held a news conference, who stood right next to Rahm Emanuel, who ripped Smollett for lying

and calling him all sorts of names. And it was Johnson doing that. Here you have a pissed off mayor. I mean, she was pissed. See, for her to come out there and say, she could have easily chilled three weeks from now, five, because the deal is, what, I think he was fully vested like in April. Then he got moved up to the end of the year.

And then she's like, nah, we ain't waiting three more weeks. His ass gone right now. Clearly, clearly, she's also pissed that she stood at a news conference celebrating him. And then when she finds out something else, she's like, no, no, no, no, no. I got to tag his ass right now. You know, Lori Lightfoot, like anyone, does not like to get played. And honestly, I think anybody who has a work situation could relate to this. If you lie to your boss, especially in such something that deals with

alcohol, they stand by you, they take your word for it, and then it comes around that that may not be the case at all, then yeah, you're not going to keep that job. That's just the way it goes. And so, you know, we still have not heard from Eddie Johnson, heard his side of the story. Certainly, he will say something at some point. He can't disappear in a city like Chicago. So we're going to hear his side of things for sure. But, yeah, this is it's quite a turn of events going from what we saw with Jussie Smollett and him, like you said, on on all these networks front and center talking about lies being told about the city of Chicago. People lying about the city of Chicago and lying to people in Chicago. And here we have the situation which, you know, the mayor talking about integrity in the police department. She's trying to send a message here that nothing is going to fly. You mentioned his retirement benefits as well. Some sources saying that he may be able to keep his

retirement benefits, even though this did happen just a few weeks before, the benefits would have kicked in. We're still waiting to see what happens with that. But just a wild turn of events rolling. And again, folks, y'all might remember, again, first of all, go to my iPad. This was Eddie Johnson, OK? Trash to Jussie Smollett. This announcement today recognizes that Empire actor Jussie Smollett took advantage of the pain and anger of racism to promote his career. I'm left hanging my head and asking why? Why would anyone, especially an African-American man, use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations.

How could someone look at the hatred and suffering associated with that symbol and see an opportunity to manipulate that symbol to further his own public profile? How can an individual who's been embraced by the city of Chicago turn around and slap everyone in this city in the face by making these false claims? Well, Brandon, that's essentially what the mayor said he did. Yeah. When you're when you're playing that, I'm listening to him talk about how could someone make false claims? You know, you're right. It echoes almost eerily to the same situation Eddie Johnson's facing right now. And while the Jussie Smollett situation is a different situation entirely, and, you know, that still is playing out with, you know, whether

Jussie was telling the truth or not. What Eddie Johnson did here, we're going to see with this IG report and with this video evidence. There's video from dash cameras and things like that. It's not going to be good news for him. So you say dash cam because there were officers who arrived on the scene and woke him up. That's right. So they have body camera footage, dash cam footage,

and then for her to say she asked him directly and he lied to her several times? Yeah. Exactly, man. It's bad. It's bad. I mean, come on. There's video.

And the audacity of it, too, and the thing that really made people roll their eyes when they heard about this and why Lori Lightfoot's taking this stance is actually probably good for her politically and fits in line with what she does. When you hear you didn't get a breathalyzer test, you think, wow, same old CPD. Protecting the people at the top of the chain, no accountability, and same old, same old. Mayor Lori Leifert here is saying, now the buck stops here, and, you know, this is not something I'm going to tolerate at all. So it's a strong statement from the mayor and something that is going to send a message for sure she's not one to be toyed with. All right. Brandon and Pope, I appreciate the band.

Thanks a lot. Thank you. Joining me right now, Mustafa Santiago Ali, former senior advisor, Environmental Justice EPA. Also, Dr. Julian Malveaux, economist, president emeritus of Bennett College. Dr. Cleo Monago, political analyst and behavioral specialist as well.

So, Cleo, that was a pissed off mayor. Yeah. Apparently something went down and we don't know what it was, but they got videotaped. But I'm looking at that statement. You're looking at what? The statement she made about the wife and the kids.

Who made the statement about the wife and the kids? No, no, no, the mayor. Oh, that it might affect them. See, I ain't saying what I think it is, but when that kind of statement is made, that ain't alcohol. Go ahead. Yeah, well, I don't know what it is, but I think it's peculiar,

though there's a central theme called lying that has't been associated with just a smallest incident, but as he said, it's two different incidences. And lying might be part of, it's in the water or something, I guess, in Chicago. But Julian, the thing is here,

again, those are two separate situations. Yes. But the reality is this, this man found slumped over. Next day, has his big old news conference. Lays out. It was health.

I welcome an internal investigation. Then all of a sudden, he's gonna retire. He's fed it. Folks there. She's there. Then all of a sudden,

she found out what the real deal was. She's like, yeah, uh-uh. Your ass got to go. Today. Brother man got busted. Not just today, the former police chief of L.A., Beck, she said, he on the plane

right now. Damn. She said, he on the plane right now will be here later today. He's going to serve as the interim superintendent when they find a person. They ain't even waiting. She put the book. Yo, I need your ass to fly to Chicago right now.

Bruh. Now. Cleo, she said he on the plane right now. Damn, she ain't playing. Well, no, she ain't playing. And she, when she campaigned, talked about new standards for the Chicago Police Department. So she's imposing those.

This is tragic, but the brother set himself up. I don't know what happened, but he set himself up. Well, did he? Yeah, he did! But did he get caught on purpose? No, no. Don't nobody get caught on purpose. I'm sure he didn't get caught on purpose, but...

You ain't found a slump behind no steering wheel. Your car, have you dismissed your driver? If you have a driver, use your driver. Or take an Uber. Goodness. No, don't take an Uber. No, you got a driver. I just, but again, what I'm still stuck on,

and I'm sorry, you sat there and you talked a whole bunch of ish, Mustafa. I mean, he was going, he went on every network, Dog and Jesse. I bet Jesse right now is singing at home. Well, he's certainly cracking up. Mustafa. Words matter.

I used to write speeches for senior officials. I think we should pay attention to some of the other words that's inside of there. Because the mayor said a couple of times a series of events. And I don't know if people are paying attention right i heard so that means that there's more going on in this space than probably we're aware of and that may mean that you know some of those behaviors have been repeating themselves over and over again so it'll be interesting one to see the tape that comes out

and two to see what the ig has said as well well you think you might have a man on the side i don't know i don't know what he got. I said that because I don't make heterosexual assumptions. Who knows? All I know is all I know is this is what this was the official statement she released. Upon a

thorough review of the materials of the Inspector General's ongoing investigation. It has become clear that Mr. Johnson engaged in a series of ethical lapses that are intolerable. communicated a narrative replete with false statements regarding material aspects of the incident that happened in the early morning hours of October 17th. Had I known all the facts

at the time, I would have relieved him of his duties as superintendent then and there. Sister is totally... I told you, she pissed. She definitely ticked off. But she handled it very pissed. She definitely ticked off. But she handled it very well. She did.

She handled it well. The real issue is this guy has been in the public eye for any number of things. He's a superintendent of police. But we have not heard from Mr. Johnson yet. So maybe he'll shine some light on here. Maybe

two people with MAGA hats. You know. Let me stop. Mr. Johnson ain't saying nothing. We need to hear from him, though. I don't think he is going to say anything. Mr. Johnson ain't going to be saying nothing. You don't think so?

No. No. No. I think his best bet is Lalo. Just Lalo. All right. We've got three weeks, so. Hopefully we'll find out exactly what happens.

All right, folks, got to go to break. When we come back, we'll talk about another pissed off black woman, Gabrielle Union, lighting up America's Got Talent at NBC. I'll explain when we come back. Roland Martin Unfiltered. You want to check out Roland Martin Unfiltered? YouTube.com forward slash Roland S. Martin. And subscribe to our YouTube channel.

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and get in the game now. All right, folks, November 22nd, Gabrielle Union was announced that she was leaving as one of the judges on the hit NBC show, America's Got Talent. A few days later, the folks who produced the show, on the hit NBC show America's Got Talent. A few days later, the folks who produced the show, Fremantle, released a statement that's saying that they believe in diversity and inclusion,

but also they always switch out judges to sort of refresh, if you will. Here's the problem. This show has been around like 15 years. Simon Cowell has never been switched out. Howie Mandel has been on the show a decade. The only people who keep getting switched out are the women.

Now, they announced that Gabrielle Union and Julianna Hough, they were actually going to be removed. Now, the show reportedly was paying Gabrielle Union 12 million bucks a year. She had a three-year contract, but it was a series of one-year contracts. And so this all came about after she said, first of all, not in court, first of all, based upon sources. She has not publicly commented on the record. getting excessive notes that her and Huff excessive notes from execs about their appearances about their hair that her changing hairstyles were too black if you will uh also uh there was

a particular black uh act that was on the show that she felt was really uh worthy of it but then she was told by producers that well America would get behind, get behind another group a lot easier that they were white than this black act. And also she complained about smoking by Simon Cowell. It's supposed to be illegal smoking buildings, but nobody wanted to tell Simon to stop smoking because it was his company. And she was like, damn, that smoke's coming down the hall. So these are all these allegations. She says also that Jay Leno told what she felt was a racially insensitive joke. They showed this picture of Simon and his four dogs, I think. And he said, wow, it looks like a photo outside of a Korean restaurant. She said that ticked off some of the staffers who are Asian on the show.

And she said folks should go to HR to complain. According to various sources, and who's talked to Variety, the Hollywood Reporter, but also Huffington Post, they said that she encouraged folks to go to HR, but that Kyle was upset with her saying, don't go to HR, come to me with your issues. Yeah, yeah. All this has been going on. And what has happened is, is that other people have come to her aid.

So for instance, first of all, Huff is like, yo, I'm good. Nothing happened to me. Because she also has a couple of other shows she's working on for NBC. She's also going to be returning for another season of America's Got Talent and the Champions, which is going to premiere in January. And so all of these things that have been going on, and again, lots and lots of drama here. And so the statements that were also released, I thought, were quite interesting because Fremantle released another statement.

Fremantle is a company that produces America's Got Talent. Y'all remember this is the same show Nick Cannon left because he said NBC didn't like him telling a particular joke on his comedy special. So Freemantle released a statement on yesterday, November 26th, saying they take diversity seriously

and they were getting with Gabrielle and her reps to better understand the issues that she raised. So let me deconstruct this, if you will. So you release a statement to say you were trying to get a better handle of what Gabrielle was stating. So that says to me two things. One, either she never said anything or two, somebody lying. Because see, if she had taken these complaints to somebody on the show or the NBC human human uh HR department human resources there should be documentation there should be notes there should be a meeting there

should be evidence of these complaints and if there's evidence of the complaints, then there has to be evidence that shows something was either done or would likely happen because it involves the show of a huge talent in Simon Cowell. Remember American Idol? They didn't want to go down that path. I reached out to somebody at NBC today, and I was told that they are hiring outside counsel. They're going to be meeting with Gabrielle and her lawyers to also better understand these issues. See, here's what I really think is going on here. I think what's really going on is that Gabrielle Union is not a compliant Negro. Let me say that again.

She's not a compliant Negro. Now, I don't use that phrase all the time. But I'm using it within the context of this because what happens a lot of times in these mainstream media, largely white environments, black people are expected to be quiet and just shut up and take whatever is given. See, the reason this is so significant is because she was a popular judge. We're living in a world where social media and your metrics are judged by that. First of all, Simon doesn't tweet or post. Howie barely does. Gabrielle's numbers, her social media numbers,

more than all the other judges combined. Her social media metrics, crazy. Her husband, Dwayne Wade said, he believes that first of all, he says she was fired. He says that her presence was a large reason why a whole new audience

began to watch the show because of the flavor she brought to the show. So as you begin to unpack these things, when you hear this whole issue about hair, remember this is the same state that passed a bill signed into law by the governor that forbids hair discrimination which would apply to this show and nbc and america's got talent why because the show was

shot in los angeles but the reason i say this is this whole notion of not being a compliant Negro is because Gabrielle was supposed to just shut up and shh, move along. Just move along. Look, you got 12 million. Just move along.

She's like, oh, no, no, hell no. Because what's right is right and what's wrong is wrong. And what's fair is fair. And so by her making it clear what happened, it now is forcing a different conversation. Now NBC has to get involved because it can't just be left in the hands of Fremantle, which produces America's Got Talent, because they're the network that airs it. They have rules and procedures. They have HR policies. And if she's a so-called whistleblower, what protections does she have? Now, some of y'all also might say, well, bro, why in the hell does this matter?

This ain't affecting black people at large, but actually it is. Because see what Gabrielle Union is dealing with is what black people are dealing with every single day in these companies, whether they're engineering firms or law firms of position in corporate America or the media companies, they hear you are black inside of companies and you're having to be the compliant Negro, act a certain way, wear your hair a certain way because there's somebody white who's like, ah, we don't really like those cornrows. We don't really like, you know, the natural look. We really don't like that. No, no, no, no.

That's why this matters. But see, here's the other thing that we have to also understand. 12 million a year. In three years, that means she can make $36 million from this show. See, when we are limited

economically, then we are also limited in being able to help our community economically. See, I remember when I, when my term was up at CNN and I was asked by Mark Lamont Hill on Huffington Post Live, he said, hey, why do you think you never got a show? I said, well, I really think it's because you have white execs who really weren't comfortable with a black man giving his opinion on a news show.

And I said, then we also want to make Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper money see I know what it's like to be an opinionated person inside and I had people who came to me black people said you really should like not breathe these things up I think you're too militant. And this is what I said. I said, y'all, I could wait what this is about. This is Gabrielle Union saying, I raised some fundamental issues on this show. Clearly, some people were not happy with me raising these issues. So they expected this little black girl from Omaha to just move along, take your one year check and go on with your other shows and your movies and just be happy. And she says, no, hell no. So now they got to deal with her and her lawyers.

And now SAG-AFTRA, Screen Actors Guild, are launching their own investigation because she's a SAG-AFTRA member. And so what now was an internal thing has now become an external thing. Now you got white women.

Now you know when white women start saying stuff oh lord people pay attention deborah messi will and gray star called out nbc saying oh y'all this is the thing they were protecting matt lauer but now y'all dissing gabrielle standing with you ellen pompeo on gray's anatomy saying i'm standing with you, Gabrielle. Ariana Grande. But also was that they didn't realize all the black folks who was standing for Gabrielle Union. So now NBC has a much greater issue on their hand. And so I'm thankful that Gabrielle, someone who I know very well,'s a wonderful sister not as a great actress but just as a wonderful kind-hearted sister who has taken a

stand saying no this stuff has to be addressed because this because very few of us are in position to use our voice and not be canceled and not be white balled and not be denied opportunities. See, that's the other piece. Gabrielle has the advantage of being a successful actress, having her own clothing line, being married to retired star Dwayne Wade, that she ain't sitting here going, oh Lord, where my next check coming from? That's why we got to have more people who have courage.

See, I told y'all, I can't stand parking lot militants. I can't stand the people who when they in the parking lot talking about what's going down and this wrong and this wrong and this wrong, yet when you you go inside they don't say nothing you're the only person speaking up you're the only person challenging people in the office you're the only person

questioning what's going on that's why this matters so absolutely i stand with gabrielle union i was texting her earlier telling her her, sister, we with you. Because what she is addressing is what black women are dealing with. Black women who are TV anchors, black women who are actresses, the crap that Viola Davis has had to deal with. All of these things, all of these things they're dealing with because now we're in a position where black folks have platforms where we have now more of us in these places who can now amplify these stories more of us who can put this on Front Street and don't have to apologize so when execs like at NBC start getting emails from folks like me they realize oh they paying attention when black people on Twitter are talking about these things see this thing goes and I'm trying

to help y'all goes way way deeper than just what's happening with Gabrielle Union we have the segment called crazy ass white people and I have black people hit me up man why why you call it that because there's some crazy ass white people because there are white people in america right now who are stopping black folks from leaving their buildings where they live we're gonna show y'all a video later black man delivering packages for ups and a white woman challenging whether or not he actually works at UPS. Black people are having to deal with stuff that other folk aren't having to deal with. And so don't just assume that this is just one of those stories you can ignore and it's really no big deal. No, it goes much deeper than that.

And that's why it's important. And that's why we want to talk about it. And that's why I had this commentary this morning, Tom, during the morning show. And that's why we're discussing it now, because it matters. And Julian, again, if we dismiss this as just an entertainment story,

we lose sight that this is literally happening to black women and black men in companies all across America. What they want, want us to just shut up, take it and go home or leave the company and don't say nothing. And conform to conform there. They have a look that they want. They have a just a metric. So they want us to conform. To conform. They have a look that they want. They have a, you know, just a metric. So they want us to conform. I really appreciate Gabrielle Union because she's really raising a lot of issues in terms of the intersection between race and gender. I really appreciate the fact, how does someone tell you your hair is too black? What is too black? I mean, that's an absurd statement. You're too black. Has anybody ever told somebody they were too white?

No. So, you know, the too black. You're right, Roland. This is economic discrimination. Sister was going to make three times what she made in the one year. A three-year deal. That's $36 million. She had a contract, but they let her go

for some specious reasons talking about, well, we mix it up all the time. No, you don't mix it up all the time. First of all, you don't switch them off in one year. Come on. And the other thing is a smoking issue. I mean, in California, you cannot smoke in a workplace. Yeah, we in D.C.

And look, I'm allergic to smoke. I worked at a radio station in Dallas. A longtime BJ, Cousin Lenny. Man, he smoked like a smokestack. Knocked me off the air for a whole week. I went to the gym and I was like, say, player, either he going to stop smoking or I ain't walking into that control room. It's a health issue. It absolutely is.

But according to sources, that Simon can't, nobody tells Simon what to do. He all powerful, Simon Cowell, so just girl, be quiet, just let him smoke. She has a mega lawsuit on her hands if she wants to do that because the hair issue, the smoking issue,

his behavior, the racist jokes, she has a lawsuit on her hands. I'm going to play this video, Cleo, before I go to you. And so Viola Davis, they had this discussion at the Paley Center. And they were talking about, and she was talking about, you know,

how many pilots she worked on and failed shows and how she wanted to play this character on how to get Away with Murder. But it also is a peak, and she's talked about this before, in terms of what the reality is like for a black woman in Hollywood. I want you all to listen to this.

We're going to come back to Cleo on this one here. I decided never to do TV ever again after I did it I've done nine failed TV pilots and the last one I did I worked an average of 21 hour days so I said and I had to drive 53 miles one way to work El Segundo Studios so I was like fuck no and at first you know this number one call sheet so it was not written for an African American specifically so I think they went out to Diane Lane Jennifer Connelly and they wanted to screen test me not not not you not Pete not this extraordinary man right here who I love more than anything on the earth but um they want

to screen test the network wanted to screen test me, but my manager resisted. And I was a little resistant because I said, sexualized, sociopathic. I mean, I used to wear aprons and holding babies. But I remember I finally signed on after I spoke to, I don't know if you were on the phone, in Betsy Beers and Shonda Rhimes. I was just saying. Yeah, because I said, I want to be a real woman. If I could be a real woman, if I don't have to walk around in heels,

because I know y'all talk about me walking in my heels. And that's a little fucked up of y'all. But then and after that, it was, I said, yes, and it totally changed my life. You also said one other thing. Oh, shit. It was a very short call, which I love. It's like, oh, she's direct. She's efficient.

You said you wanted to take off your wig. Yep, because I said, if I take off my wig, then you have to deal with that shit that you see underneath it. Then you have to write that, not write the, you know, the tight ass and, you know, the sex scenes or whatever. You have to write a real woman. And Pete said, oh, yeah, we can do that. And so I had no idea why that would mean. This is the reality that black women got to deal with in Hollywood, but also beyond Hollywood.

I'm still getting used to the linguistic richness of being unfiltered, Roland. Well, that's why the show called Unfiltered. Because in the words of Tyler Perry, I own this shit. Go ahead. Well, there's a few things I want to mention. I'll be short. One is that I hope that Miss Union is inspiring other black people to come out of the white accommodationist closet and be black and real. Because not only does this hurt people's career, it hurt people psychologically. Even if they look successful to us, a lot of people

under their skin are hurting because they didn't get to be black and be who they fully are because they're trying to keep a big paycheck. So I hope that she is inspiring other people to come on out and be real and use her as a role model. The other issue that I want to look at, though, is that a lot of people think that television is simply ran by ratings. And it's not always ran by ratings. This is an example of that. She brought a flavor to the show, as you mentioned. She brought an expanded audience, which means expanded money, supposedly, and expanded sponsors, but that she would not be an accommodator. They got rid of her anyway, which means, in theory, they're making a financial risk. But white power sometimes

out, or trumps, for lack of a better word, money. And some of us don't realize that. I think that's what happened with Arsenio Hall, that he stepped up on his own and did what he wanted to do. And white folks said, no, we can't have this. We have to cut this right now so other black people won't step up and think they can do what they want to do. And yes, this is an issue that has affected women for years

who could not have their own hair. I know several women who've quit the business of being on camera because they got tired of the humiliation. So again, I hope that she is a role model for everybody else. The accommodationist part, Mustafa, is really important because the reality is this. White folks get to be white. They get to do white shit.

They get to say white shit. Now, I know somebody saying, what is do white shit and say white shit? The reality is we have always had to temper. We've always had, okay, we've got to change our attire,

change what we say, change how we say it all those things because we have to make somebody else comfortable damn the fact that the audience sees it as one way see i i've been there see all these black folks see i i get a kick out of black folks today who turn on msnbc and when they see joanne reed and they see uh they turn over they see turn over cnn and see angela rye and see all these people i remember when there were only two of us. And I remember the conversations when I got pulled aside. We need you to smile more because your coming across is too angry. I said, look, if I smile anymore, it's going to be a damn minstrel show. I mean, that was a real conversation I had to have with somebody at CNN. When I was literally almost chastised me for thinking while black.

Because we were in a meeting, and what happens is, like if we're sitting here talking about some ideas, a lot of times when I'm visualizing, I'll be sitting here, I might be looking off and have a look at my face, and they call me, that was really unsettling because you were angry. I was like, oh, hell no. I said, wait a minute i was i said i was thinking while black i said now we ain't having this damn conversation that's literally what i said and so folk don't know what other folks went through to make it easier for the folk today to do them And that's why this thing matters. Yeah. I mean, I mean, everybody's hit

some of the major points. Here's the other part. As we talk about on this show all the time, you got to own your own stuff. So then you don't have to deal with some of this foolishness, but that's just one side of the coin. Let's flip the other side of the coin over and let's realize the power that we actually have. And it was mentioned earlier about the sponsors. So folks should be reaching out to the sponsors who helped to support this show and let them know what their feelings are about this, because that's where a lot of power is also. Yes, Simon Cowell has an incredible amount of power. Let's not let's not get it twisted. We've seen how that plays out in Hollywood in relationship

to women. But you also have power. So if you let those sponsors know this is not something that you are comfortable with and you will no longer purchase their products, it'll change something. Well, and I think that, and obviously, first of all, that is a very, that's a strategy that's involved with that. I think what's going to happen is we'll see these meetings take place. There will be stories discussing this, what comes out of this, because it's now public. They're going to actually have to publicly make statements about what happened, how will things be fixed. But I just want people to understand that the reason we talk about a lot of these stories and bring attention to them, and even this is the case of an actress, folks have to understand that, and this is the, and people don't,

if you've never been in a situation, you don't understand it. I mean, I remember there were times when other people who had lower profiles at CNN couldn't say nothing. But I could. And see, I could have easily been like some folk, like that ain't say nothing. But I could. And see, I could have easily been like some folk, like, that ain't my problem.

But no. Because see, there's responsibility that comes when you have power, when you have influence, when you have stature, when you have, when you're able to bring it to the table. And that's why I think it's wasted

opportunity if you are African-American and you're working at an ESPN or Fox Sports or CBS or an ABC or an NBC or Fox or any of these media companies, or if you're working at a law firm or you're working at a major corporation and you actually have the ability to shift a dialogue or move a conversation or call some folks out because you've amassed this level of credibility and power and you don't do a damn thing with it that to me is what's also shameful because it's not just about you. It is about who's walking through that door next. But let me add this.

Hold on, Mustafa. Then I'm going to come back to Cleo and Juliana. So you did some incredible reporting and a story that you did with Byron Allen not too long ago. And all those dynamics, it's about power and how it plays out. So we're seeing this happen in a number of different situations. We're also seeing people step in a number of different situations. We're also seeing people step up and live out their values. And that's what Gabrielle is doing. Cleo. I think it's important to reiterate that people are stepping up and again, to affirm

Gabrielle Union for what she's doing. But one thing I think is important to reiterate is that one of the things that gives white people the balls or the ovaries, whatever, to tell black people that they're too black is accommodating black people. Yes. There is a culture after so many centuries of normalized apologizing for being black in the presence of white people. I have been to so many meetings where the people

who are the most crazy toward me and the most reactionary to me are black people who are looking around waiting to take care and save white folks do you want do you understand that needs to be put up there as an issue that is primary for black people to unlearn and dismantle one of the black folks came to me when i was at cnn and one of the highest ranking blacks when i was at cnn had a conversation with another black person and said that there are good blacks and bad blacks. Yep.

And this brother was black. And his brother told this person that Don Lemon was a good black. Mm-hmm. How he dressed and how he talked. He is. And then he said, Roland Martin's a bad black

because he's too loud and he's too aggressive in how he dresses. And this same individual. Yeah. And the whole time he was there, Black would never meet with me one-on-one. I could send an email to the worldwide CEO, Jim Walton. Jim Walton. Matter of fact,

I ain't got him to say a problem. Jim Walton. I could send an email to him and say, Jim, I'm coming to Atlanta. Can we meet? Roll him. Hit him, secretary. I could get a one-on-one meeting with the worldwide CEO. But the highest ranking black man would not meet with me one-on-one.

I would say, well, I'm coming to New York. His office was across the office from another EVP. I could meet with that EVP. He across the hall. I said, when you come to D.C., would never meet with me one-on-one. Well, see, the problem with this, Roland,

is that many of these folks in these positions have leveraged their blackness to get to this position. The whole, you know, affirmative action, et cetera, et cetera. You know, companies are looking for diverse candidates. But many of these, everybody brown ain't down. So you look at these diverse candidates who say nothing. John Rogers, aerial capital management, gave a speech in Chicago at Rainbow Push one time,

and he's talked about black board of directors members. And he said, you know, you're not on the board to make money and to basically enrich yourself. It's all about you. You know, you're on the board to change policy. But many of the folks get in there, and they get real quiet. They just can't do it.

And this is just internalizing racism. And these are powerful black people. They're making seven figures. They have access to all kinds of things, and they just won't say anything. And we need to begin to call those people out and say, what's up? Because if we don't call them out, they will continue to pimp black people, to pimp black people for access, but not to give back to black people in terms of processing. But we also need to look at our own behavioral and traumatizing treatment of people.

Let's talk about black people now. Because sometimes when we get mad at somebody who's dealing with an internalized white supremacy relapse issue, we get mad at them and attack them and never look at the larger system that creates this kind of mentality. It's not natural to second guess your worth and give somebody else privilege. That's a mental side effect of intergenerational oppression unresolved. And unfortunately, in so many cases, when we get mad at black people for acting like that,

we jump on them and we can be very mean and we just re-traumatize them instead of looking at them from a perspective of cause and effect and deflecting that self-hate. I've seen it too much. Go ahead. We just need to utilize our power. We need to stop just allowing systems

to be the systems that have always been the systems. And I actually believe that we can make change happen. We saw it a little bit in Hollywood when folks began to speak out about, you know, the Academy Awards and some of the other things. It was just a small step. A little bit. But people began to engage in that process. I think this is the exact same thing where we've got to make sure that we're hitting on all levels. You've got to hit on the legal aspect.

You've got to hold people accountable on the legal side. But we also got to utilize our dollars more effectively. Yep. So we'll see what happens. We're going to stay on top of this. And then we'll give you more updates as they become available. But yeah, we stand with Gabrielle Union.

All right, y'all. What? Yeah. Go for the wide shot. Because Cleo, Cleo, Cleo want to know y'all. Yeah, Cleo wants y'all. Gabrielle Union. shot because Cleo wants to know y'all. Gabriel Union. I'm down with the sister. Why you looking at me with that tone of voice?

You done? Yeah, I'm done now. Alright y'all, tomorrow's Giving Tuesday. It was an idea created in 2012. It was a day that encourages people to do good over the past 70 years. It has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.

Well, our next guest is no stranger to giving back to his community. He founded My Block, My Hood, My City, an organization that provides young people with new experiences by showing the possibilities that exist beyond their own communities. Joining me right now is Jamal Cole. Jamal, how you doing? I'm doing well. Thanks for asking.

How you doing today, Roland? Doing great. So tell us what's happening there in Chicago, giving Tuesday. Yeah, well, a lot of kids in Chicago have still never been downtown. They've never been to the lake. They see Lake Michigan, they say, what ocean is that? Kids in North Lawndale, there's 15 currency exchanges in their neighborhoods and no banks. So they don't know what kind of jobs exist at a bank. So at My Block, My Hood, My City, what we do is we take teenagers from these divested communities and we take them on

educational field trips where we expose them to different cultures, different professions, different cuisines. And we also have them give back by volunteering at block clubs. One of the things we're doing right now is hanging holiday lights down Dr. Martin Luther King's Drive. We can talk about that because I lived in Chicago six years, and you're right. It's amazing the number of black kids. They are literally fish out

of water if they come to downtown Chicago. Yeah, man. It is. It's a fish out of water experience when you take them to a different community. They've never been on an elevator. They've never waved for a taxi. Their whole worldview is shaped by the infrastructure of their neighborhood. And that can be tragic, man. I started my program from volunteering at Cook County Jail in 2013,

and nobody in the jail had ever been downtown. Although you could see the Sears Tower from the jail, nobody had been there. And so I knew immediately that was tragic, and I wanted to start a program where I expose kids to things outside of their block and neighborhood and get them to take ownership of the city. And so what else? First of all, how can somebody else get involved to assist you in what you're doing? If any businesses would like to host our students, that would be great. They can do that at formyblock.org. That's our website, formyblock.org. I feel like our students deserve to be exposed to more opportunities

than just playing basketball and rapping because that's what everybody wants to do. And that's cool, but I want to expose them to, I heard the guy that cuts the field at Soldier Field gets paid $300,000 a year. How do you get that job? How do you get work for the marketing department of the Bulls? There's so many different jobs that I want to expose kids to. So if any business wants to host our students, they can do so by getting in contact with us at FORMyBlock.org. All right, then.

We surely appreciate it. Good luck with that. And thanks for joining us. Thank you. Yep. All right, folks. Got to go to a break. We come back.

Crazy-ass white people. Next on Roller Martin Unfiltered. You want to check out Roller Martin Unfiltered. You want to check out Roland Martin Unfiltered? YouTube.com forward slash Roland S. Martin. Subscribe to our YouTube channel. There's only one daily digital show out here that keeps it black and keep it real. It's Roland Martin Unfiltered. See that name right there?

Roland Martin Unfiltered. Like, share, 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. No charcoal grills are allowed.

I'm white. I got you, Carl. I'm illegally selling water without a permit on my property. Whoa! Hey! Give me your ID.

You don't live here. I'm uncomfortable. All right, folks. Whoa! Hey! I remember. Give me your eyes. You don't live here. I'm uncomfortable. All right, folks. Over the holiday season, Thanksgiving weekend, black man trying just to do his job, delivering packages in Raleigh, North Carolina. And he had to roll up on a crazy ass white woman. Are you guys movers?

Don't worry about what we are. It doesn't. See, that's what I'm saying. Don't worry about that. You just came out your house, correct? Yes, because I heard a lot of noise. Okay, but listen though, I was here 10 minutes ago. If you would have came out 10 minutes ago, you would have seen us doing our job.

That's fine, stay here. I'll get my video and I'll start videoing you as well. No, I'm about to go back to work. I'm just saying, this is stuff things happen in America today. Because of people like you. No, I was asking for identification. Identify, now you're asking for identification. But who are you?

Are you the police? I'm not. So why do I have to identify myself to you? Because you're in my neighborhood. So now this is, okay. Okay, and I'm asking if you have- So this is your block. This is who you neighborhood so now this is okay okay and i'm asking if you do you have so this is your block this is who you are but this is your block but does it say anything on your shirt or do you have anything that says what company you guys are from yes i do that's

all i want to know but why do i have to present that to you that's my question i don't mind showing you but why do i have to show it to you put yourself in my situation okay you hear a loud truck and you're like what is going on a loud truck in your neighborhood it could be a mover it could be ups it could be uh i can be delivering appliances anything something on the side of this no not always yes we have something on the side of this okay every time okay so so it's just um you see a blank truck you're're gonna stop everybody. So if I were to carry down this neighborhood with a car, you'd stop me too. Listen, I'm from South Florida. Okay. I've seen all kinds of crazy stuff.

Okay, but this is how stuff get out of hand in America. Cuz the people like you- You might be nasty. You're not being nasty. No, I'm not being nasty. You're right, but why do you stop me though? That's the whole question. Cuz there's two black guys in your neighborhood, correct? No, you're the one neighborhood, correct? No.

Is that the answer? You're the one who did that. No. You're the one who brought that up. If I was white, be honest, you wouldn't have stopped me. No, I wouldn't have stopped you. We're not robbers, we're not none of that you're thinking. I was here doing a job. If you would have came out and got your mail 10 minutes ago,

you would have seen me doing my job. But there was no reason for you to stop me while I'm going about my day. Are you recording me? There's no reason for you to stop me. No, you about my day are you recording me there's no reason for you to stop me no you want to call you want to call the police on me for no reason now you call the police on me they're going to automatically believe what you say and go on your side your truck doesn't have anything on it what does that matter i'm out here i'm doing a job i've been driving this truck for 10 plus years i'm doing a job man okay so that's no reason for you

to stop me dude why don't you have anything on your truck? Because I don't have to have anything on my truck. The job that I got doesn't require for me to have anything on my truck. So it doesn't matter. I'm doing a job, man. That's fine. Come on, dude. All right. First of all, y'all, we got so many crazy white people videos that the white woman and the UPS driver, hell, that's another video. I'm going to have that one tomorrow. But first of all, this is what I find to be interesting. Cleo, I'm going to go to you first. When you see these videos on social media, all the comments, all white folks are praising

the black people for being respectable and not going off. Now, we got one where a sister went off. She's like, I'm going to beat this woman's ass. She don't move. And I had no problem with her saying that. Because this is so that's the issue right there, that we have to always be the ones who are respectable and, you know, not really getting upset. But to me, that's a conversation that went two minutes and 55 seconds too long.

Man, get your ass out the way. I got stuff to do. And if he got hit in the head with the door, he got hit in the head with the door. Well, I agree. But you also know that if he got hit in the head with the door, you're talking about the white dude, there would have been a problem because he's wrong.

Because he's white. But that's also why. He a problem because he's wrong. Because he's white. But that's also why. He's brother's black and he's white. But he was like, are y'all recording? Hell yeah, we're recording. And I keep telling y'all, please record this way. I keep telling y'all, record horizontal so that way it fills the whole screen versus, you know, vertical. You got the black bars on the side. It just makes it easier

for us to see all of it. If y'all please record that way. So, if you run up against a crazy-ass white person, hold your phone like this. Okay, go ahead. I'm sorry. We should continue to record white folks take advantage of this technology they didn't have when I was young that we have

now. And I've been through those same scenarios very recently with white people questioning me. But I'm still going to say that at least once a month you might have one of the crazy-ass black people story. Hold up. I ain't saying that. Hold up. First of all.

The internalized white support. No, no, no, no. Here's the deal. I don't see videos of black people, Julian, just stopping white folks. Well, not that. And keeping them from doing their job. We do the same thing. No, we don't do what white people do.

The white woman two weeks ago with her brother was throwing his own trash out. And she's like, show me where you live. I don't recognize you. But let me be clear, Roel. I can be real quick so you can go back and go to her. I know that black people are accosted by white people.

What I'm talking about is not that white people get treated like that. I'm talking about how we act like white people and do the same thing to white people. What I'm talking about is not that white people get treated like that. I'm talking about how we act like white people and do the same thing to black people. Well, I don't see them videos. Well, okay. Why don't you share some links? I sure will.

Julian, go ahead. I mean, the racism in our country is pernicious, and we just saw that. Brother Man did, as you said. He took that conversation way too long. He should have just stepped and walked away. But I'm glad he recorded it. He wanted walked away. But I'm glad he recorded it. He wanted footage.

Yeah, I'm glad he recorded it because basically we need these recordings for any number of reasons. First of all, to share with our young people. They need to see this stuff so that they understand, so that they're armored, that they're basically knowledgeable. Because, Roland, sometimes you see these comments on Twitter wherever, and you get the white people who say, oh, they were so respectable, but you also get white people who give you alternate scenarios. Well, I would have done the same thing. Really?

And get your behind beat. What's wrong with asking someone for ID? You're walking down the street. You have the same right to the street as anybody else. Right. Right. Like, white folks are not driving around delivering packages

and with delivery truck and folks are stopping left, right. Who are you? Where you from? What you doing here? Why is there no sign on the side of your truck, Mustafa? First of all, I can say right in the television industry,

television local stations have had a gear stolen out of their trucks. It used to be when local TV stations would always brand their cars. They've had so much gear stolen, they now have unmarked vehicles because they got tired of having their cameras stolen. Hell, a lot of companies are doing that, Mustafa. Well, I mean, no one's going to carry freedom papers anymore. It's really that simple. And that's really when you get to the core of what folks are saying is you have to prove to me that you're supposed to be in this space. Sustained. It is just not happening. And when you say that, look, the reason, the way the whole

anti-apartheid movement, how it started, But the divestment, the divestment campaign against South Africa started when Ken Williams worked at Polaroid and walked into the Polaroid building. And he saw this thing called a passbook. And it hit him after he investigated that Polaroid was selling and making money off of those passbooks that were being sold in South Africa. And it was the books, essentially, that was like a passport, where black people had to

on demand, by somebody white, show their papers. And essentially, what we're seeing, y'all, we got videos for the rest of the week. I do. I got one for every day this week. In every single one of those videos, essentially, a black

person is being asked to show their papers for delivering packages. One black woman is being stopped by a white woman from leaving a building she work at to show her papers. And a black man with his two kids is being denied by a white woman in New York from visiting a friend in the apartment. Because she's like, I don't even know who you are.

And that's exactly what's happening, that black people are having to prove that we exist. And these white folks like well what's wrong with you you you should be willing to show it but like the dude i guess i think it was in pennsylvania remember the black woman at the pool oh no no no no where your key fob oh yeah well no go ahead and put your key fob and if it goes green then i'm gonna let you in he got fired the black the two black girls in maryland two black women in maryland who were going looking at a luxury apartment and they said, y'all can go ahead and just, you know, enjoy the pool lounge by the pool. Then a white man followed them half mile down the street and they were supposed to be looking behind the apartment. It is, it is essentially, yeah,

y'all got to prove you here. And that you deserve. That's the other thing, that you deserve to prove you here, who you are, but that you deserve to be here. I have been to, recently, restaurants. I went to go buy a car and could afford everything in the room. And new white folks walked in, and they went to them and assumed I was just hanging out and loitering when I went there to buy a car. But I'm saying this at the risk of getting on people's nerves. Everybody who was hovering around not getting to me were salespeople who were black and white. It's black people who internalize this. And I'm going to keep focused on that because black people need to unlearn internalized

white accommodationists, which results into anti-black behavior from the hands of black people. Because white people are redundantly white and racist and doing what they do. Of course, there's exceptions to it, but systemically, they relapse into white supremacy all the time. And I think they're going to continue to do that. I think one of the things that might slow it down a little bit is filming it like we're doing. But what we need to do as black people is unlearn the need for white gays to give us approval to even care about each other. You mentioned this dude,

the brother at CNN who was right across from you who wouldn't speak to you because he was psychologically worried about white people might see me with him, white people might judge me, they might not like me no more, and they might take me off the token slave list and make me a normal black person. I can't be seen with him. The white boy,

whatever his name was who was the head of the whole thing, don't have got those concerns. So he's not self-conscious like that. But a lot of black people, even online and all over the place, are worried about white people. But that same black person was in the room when the same black person was in the room, because one of my folks was in the room,

when he said, we need to go house another Roland Martin. And somebody said, we already got Roland Martin. No, no, no. we need to go house another Roland Martin. And somebody said, we already got Roland Martin. No, no, no. We need to go house another Roland Martin. So that same black person, limited opportunities I got. And then in 2012, when I got a call the night before

the Democratic National Convention, we're not going to need you this week. I'm sorry. Y'all flew me here. I'm staying in the hotel room y'all paying for. And the convention ain't even started. You're not going to need me this week. I'm sorry. Y'all flew me here. I'm staying in the hotel room y'all paying for. And the convention ain't even started. And you brought this out, you're not going to need me. And then it was like, we're not going to use you on debate nights or election nights. He made that call.

Of course. So that's why. So trust me. When I see his ass. Let's say this. Let's say this. I ain't said his name. But I'm telling y'all right now.

What's his initials, bro? I'm telling you right now. When I see his ass, furniture might be moving. Don't hurt him. I ain't going to hurt him, but he might get cussed out. I'll just leave it at this. While we unlearning some things, we also need to better understand the law. False imprisonment is not somebody just absolutely putting their hands on you and stopping you.

So we need to start utilizing the law that exists to hold these people accountable. Wait, dog, I'm telling you, we got videos of these craziest white folks literally blocking, the one we showed two weeks ago. This woman was blocking this man from driving his car to his house

and threatening to call the cops. No, I'm telling you right now, happened to me. I'm calling cops and I'm saying, arrest this fool for, yes, for false imprisonment. Exactly. And that's what happened. And some of these, that video was an 11-minute video.

And people need to understand, these are black people going, catching hell, getting our blood pressure up all of a sudden, all of that because some fool. And that's exactly what's happening. So, unfortunate. So, yeah, we got a few more. There's so many of them, y'all. It's a daily segment

on Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, y'all. Father George Clements, a long-time civil rights advocate from Chicago's South Side, was also known as the first Catholic priest to adopt a child. Died last week at a hospital in Northwest Indiana. He was 87 years old. In 1945, Clements became the Archdiocese's

first African American graduate of Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary. He was ordained as a priest in 1957 and went on to become the first black pastor at Holy Angels in 1969 in Chicago. He is most well known for launching the One Church, One Child program in 1980, which encouraged Catholic churches to find adoptive parents for orphaned black children.

He decided to practice what he preached by adopting four sons. Father Clement's legacy continues to live on through the movement he started. Joining me right now is Ari Saylor, executive director of the Florida branch of One Church, One Child. Ari, how how you doing? I'm fine. How are you rolling? Doing great. This is, I mean, this is, first of all, the church, this thing went beyond Catholic churches because I was a member of Friendship West Baptist Church in Dallas. Freddie Haynes is pastor where they had One Church, One Child program.

I mean, Father Clemens really raised the profile of the number of black kids out here who were being ignored by adoption agencies. And I remember it was after the Million Man March, Minister Farrakhan lauded the increase of black adoptions after this was highlighted then. I remember that. Yes, absolutely, he did.

And certainly, all of the programs started with the Catholic Church. Father also worked with all of the African-American churches. And when we talk about, again, his impact, what has this program meant to so many black children, but also black parents? Well, it meant an opportunity for children who were disproportionately and overrepresented, children who were African-American children who were languishing in foster care because the Department of Children and Families there in Illinois was not having success in engaging the black community by engaging father because he was a local revolutionary and worker, leader,

tremendous leader, Greg Kohler, who was the then Secretary of the Department of Children and Families in Gordon-Johnson, saw that the church is being the answer, so they approached Father because he was already a very, very activist in the community. And not only that, but he was working with the Baptist churches and other churches in the community. So they saw that as in engaging him to get involved and take the lead with engaging other churches. And so this is really how that started. Father Clements took on the, decided to take on the task. Initially, he tells the story that initially he was not going to do any of that because he thought the department was not serious

in coming to the church. But he realized that the question came was, if you're not willing to help your children, then who will? And so Father realized they were serious about working with the church, and from there took on the leadership role of working, starting with his own church, holy angels there, talking to them about adopting. When they were not moving quickly enough, Father decided that, look, if you want to adopt, I will. And start that process of adopting with one child. And, of course, as you indicated, he eventually adopted four boys who are all adults today. But he worked very successfully in starting an alliance there. In Illinois, it was very successful because when you talk about 700 children,

this was just in 1979, when they had 700 children waiting, 70% of these children were African Americans waiting to be adopted. When you have the actual population being 26%, we have some serious overrepresentation. But with the church, it's coming to the forefront. And getting involved, actively involved, and encouraging their congregations to get involved. And people began to come to the forefront and adopt children. And as a result, Chicago had marked success

moving many of those children off these out-to-roads and giving them permanent families and homes. And Father Clinton actually coined the phrase, one church, one child, with the idea of finding at least one family in each church to adopt at least one child, and being able to really resolve the issue. And not only that, but the churches as a whole becoming a part of that adoption in that they would put their arms around those families who were adopting and also lend support to them as well. All right, then.

Well, we certainly appreciate you sharing your thoughts, reflection on the death of Father George Clemens. Thanks a lot. Thank you so much. All right, then, folks. We also remember Irving Berge. He was a singer and songwriter who wrote the lyrics for the classic Harry Belafonte song, Dale, the Banana Boat Song.

He died just a few days ago. He was 95 years old, born in Brooklyn, and served in all-black U.S. Army Battalion in World War II. He used the GI Bill to attend Juilliard School, where he majored in voice. Later, he took the stage name Lord Burgess and performed at venues like the famous Village Vanguard in Manhattan. He wrote about 35 songs for Belafonte, including eight of the 11 songs on Belafonte's 1956 album Calypso, which was the first album in

the United States to sell more than one million copies. Our thoughts and prayers certainly go to Irving Burgess' family and all of those who loved him. All right, folks. Well, we certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much. We know it was videos, Cleo, so you can go ahead and...

Not a problem. Yeah. But I wouldn't want to call them crazy-ass black folks. That's mean. I would call them black people struggling with white supremacy. No, that's too long.

That's no acronym. See, crazy-ass black people is C-A-W-P. What's yours again? Black people struggling with B-S Black people B-P-S W-W-S You're right, that is too long That's too damn long, Cleo

That's on top of my head Work on that then I need you to work on that then. All right. All right, folks. Please support Roland Martin on the Filter by going to RolandMartinOnTheFilter.com. Join our Bring the Funk fan club where, of course, you can join via PayPal Square or Cash App. We appreciate every single dollar.

It goes to support this show, what we do, bringing you stories of interest that you're not going to see anywhere else. I guarantee you those net worths won't be talking about Gabrielle Union. Trust me. Because then if they do, they got to look in their own houses. I'm just saying. All right, y'all.

Support us in what we do so we can make this thing happen. Also, shout out to my mama. She, of course, had her 72nd birthday on Saturday, November 30th. We were all, of course, in Houston hanging out with her. All the family were all together having some fun there, and it was great. Of course, my dad is 72, turned 72 in April. They've been married 52 years, and so we certainly enjoyed it.

And so we're going to close the show out. Here's a photo of all of her chillings. And we're at my sister's house, and so I shot that with a new drone. So I had to get a little aerial shot. That's how we do it. So we certainly appreciate that. And so shout out to my mama, 72 years young. All right, folks, I got to go.

I'll see you guys tomorrow right here at Roland Martin Unfiltered where we keep it black, keep it real. And guess what? We don't take no stuff. Why? Because I own this. Damn, you slow as hell, Cleo. I got to go.

Holla! Thank you. This is an iHeart Podcast.