#RolandMartinUnfiltered - 12.23.19 RMU: Roland in Ghana; Black community food deserts; Liberian immigrants path to citizenship

Episode Date: December 30, 2019

12.23.19 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Roland crowned a chief in Ghana; Churches and farmers unite to combat food deserts in the Black community; Liberian immigrants given a path to citizenship + A measure in the National Defense Authorization Act meant to keep white nationalists out of the U.S. military no longer mentions white nationalists. - #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. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man.

We met them at their homes. We met them at the recording studios. Stories matter and it brings a face to it. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit adoptuskids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. Martin! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Martin! Thank you. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered for Monday, December 23rd, 2019. Roland is continuing his pilgrimage in Ghana this week.

I'm Ray Baker. I'll be your host for today. Black neighborhoods are food deserts in far too many cases. We'll look at a collaboration between churches and farmers that is working to solve that problem. A bill passed by the Senate last week will allow Liberians to apply for legal permanent residency, a privilege denied them in the past.

A measure in the National Defense Authorization Act meant to keep white nationalists out of the United States military no longer mentions white nationalists. Okay. And another, as Roland would say, crazy-ass white woman, this time in Iowa. We'll tell you about it.

It's time to bring the funk on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Let's go. He's got it. Whatever the piss, he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the find. And when it breaks, he's right on time. And it's rolling. Best believe he's knowing.

Putting it down from sports to news to politics. With entertainment just for kicks, he's It's Uncle Roro, y'all It's Rolling Martin Rolling with rolling now He's funky, he's fresh, he's real The best you know, he's fresh, he's real, the best you know He's Roland Martin Martin Our brother Roland is still in Ghana

and we have a connection with him now. So now, let's go out to Roland Martin in Ghana. Hey, Ray Baker, glad to see you, man. We are here. This is now day three or day four. Okay, got left December 19th, day 23rd. Okay, fine. It's day four here in Ghana.

Year of return. I actually have run into a number of fans of the show, folks from the United States, from Canada, from the UK, brothers and sisters from all over the place. And so that's what we've been seeing now. I'm gonna play some video for you guys. Here's a video of yesterday when we took a canoe ride

from Cape Coast Slave Dungeon to Elmina Slave Dungeon. There are people take this ride. And somebody wanted to just show you some of that experience. Yulia! Yulia! Yulia! Yulia! Yulia!

Yulia! Yulia! Yulia! Yulia! Yulia! Yulia! Yulia! Yulia!

Yulia! Yulia! Yulia! Yulia! Yulia! ah All right, folks, it's been a really an unbelievable experience. We put together actually two-hour special, Roland Martin Unfiltered. Just some amazing stuff that we've gotten here. Joining me right now is Sheena Meade. Of course, you've seen Sheena on the show before. Activist out of Florida, her and her husband Desmond Meade, leaders behind Amendment 4. And so, Sheena, you hit me up about doing this, coming with you guys. It was fun. Just so far, your thoughts? This is your first time, right? It's my first time touching the Motherland.

You know, the original thought about coming is like, because we worked so hard, you worked so hard. Like, I was trying to educate and liberate our people and fight, and we thought we needed some radical retreat to connect with God and our ancestors. And the connection is something I could never have imagined. I'm trying not to get emotional and let my eyelashes fall off on this TV screen because I know all you millions of viewers are watching. But even tonight, it's just been a missing piece of history that is missing

from our education system back in the States. Our people just don't know. I feel like when you know you come from, you know where you're going. And I definitely have clear direction more on my purpose, what we need to do as a people, as Black people, how we help our motherland here. And I definitely have clear direction more on my purpose, what we need to do as a people, as black people, how we help our motherland here. And it just feels good to be home. Like, when you go home, you feel good, you feel safe, you feel secure, you feel good. And that's how

I feel right now. I feel like I'm home. And I just can't wait for my children. I just can't wait to come back and talk about it more. I'm so excited that you've been able to even broadcast this experience. At first, to be honest, it was like a little trouble because the cameras and talking about it. But then I thought about the world needs to see

what they are missing. We've been just whitewashed. What's happening here? And I'm loving it. I'm confident. And I'm just thankful for sharing with the world what we're experiencing because people need to come back home and experience this. I mean, I am so surprised at the amount of people

that have actually came home with their children, today leaving the hotel. We saw a couple that was at the Rabbi's restaurant, and they were from Toronto, and he said, it feels good to be able to be here and not be worried about getting shot by the cops, my children. And that hit me. And I'm just, feels good to be able to be here and not be worried about getting shot by the cops, my children. And that hit me.

And I'm just wondering, like, we got changes to make at home. And so I'm just honored to be here looking for more of the experience. My spirit's been opened, and my eyes have been awake. My eyes have opened, and my spirit has been awake. Now, where we are, folks, we're here in Kambasa. We just had a spiritual experience here. One of the faith leaders here.

We have Dahlia who's with Dialbox who was explaining us. Step on, come on, come on. So tell the folks who are watching exactly what we just finished here. First of all, folks, I live streamed it on Periscope, but also my Facebook page. It's a longer video on the Facebook page. Go to the Facebook page.

You can check out the video. But tell folks exactly what we just experienced here. So we experienced a traditional ceremony where the priest and his priestesses come get into the spirit. And then they pretty much call us on to come in and do a dance with him and to connect with him and to take us back to our roots, which is very essential because this is exactly where we come from. So this is a very important event for all of us and for our brothers and sisters that are coming home. And for the God Box tours, it's extremely important that we let our brothers and sisters experience these things so so there are a lot of people who are doing tours people who want to come here uh put together something different that is a very clearly defined spiritual tour as opposed to just coming to seagull exactly that's

very important because without the reconciliation, without the reconnection, there's no point in just coming back to see because there's something happened. Historically, something happened and we need to reconcile. We need to bring the brothers and sisters back together so that we can begin this process of healing. And it's pretty much like you're from where the United States. I was born in Oakland, but my parents are not. But you've been here for how long? 10 years.

Been here. Off and on all my life, but I've been living permanently. Okay. Well, look, it has been certainly great. Today was, I don't think you can describe, going to the river where slaves. But basically, folks, again, when y'all see the video, we posted some of it on social media. So put it on my Instagram page, Facebook page,

and my Twitter account. I can't wait until you actually see this special we're putting together. And so when the enslaved Africans were captured in northern Ghana, they were literally marched and changed 300 miles. 200 miles. And they went to this place where

if they took their last bath for freedom, they would take the bath, it would be branded, and sold in March, another 31 miles to Cape Coast Castle. And the crazy thing is that, in talking to tour guide, many of you know Dr. Naeem Akbar. So in 2005, his group was here. And what we did was we just simply went to the edge of the water and just put our hands in the water and then washed our hands.

When Dr. Naeem Akbar's group were here, they actually went into the water, and one of their people came up with one of the balls and chains that was attached to one of the enslaved Africans. Okay, let me explain it to y'all again. Hundreds of years after these enslaved Africans went into that water, clearly a slave died in that water. And then once their body essentially withered away, the chains came off of their body.

And so when Dr. Akbar's people were here in 2005, they actually hit one of those balls and chains. And they gave it to the place there and then we actually shot a photo of it and some video of it, and they have it in a box. That, first of all, I can't wait to call Dr. Akbar there and then we actually shot a photo of this and video of it and they have it in a box that

First of all, I can't wait to call Dr. Ogba What that was like to literally Step in that water and you can one of the people it's a ball and chain that one of the enslaved Africans literally was attached to I mean the water we were at the water, it was so peaceful, and the water was flowing, and tears just rolled down all of our eyes. It was just troubling to know that our ancestors were dying there, their last bath.

And in fact, across the water, our guide also said that in this whole area of bamboo, essentially, the bones would make it. They would just dump their bodies over there. He told me that area has never been excavated. He said the area has not been touched. So he said it will never be touched. They will never go over there to excavate to see

if there are any bones there. He said it has not been touched since those slaves from March through there. A lot of history here. I mean, it's not in our books. It's not in our educational books back home. We're not talking about books. What I've learned on this trip,

a lot of things that we do at home are actually traditions that came over. Oh, this was a drum line from HBCU right here. Not even that. It was church. The age, I'm thinking about the things that we used to laugh at our grandmothers. We used to say, Not even that. It was church. You know, the AIDS. I'm thinking about the things that we used to laugh at our grandmother. We used to say, oh, that's what you said.

What are you doing? Now I know the significance of it. And I feel almost like a pride that my grandmother was casted on for. She didn't know. But now we know. And this is what the year is about. It's about knowing where you come from, knowing the traditions, the symbiotic. And so I'm definitely going to make sure that, you know,

I'm bringing that back home. I'll say this, the last point. A friend of mine, she sent me a photo. It said, really, you're covering Donna, and she's at the pilgrimage to the Holy Land. And the thing is, there are any number of people who go on the pilgrimage to the Holy Land. And the thing is, there are all, there are any number of people who go on the pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and they literally retrace the steps from biblical days, where Jesus

walked as well. Well, this is actually living history, where you're, where you're walking, and you're retracing those steps. And as somebody who loves history, it really makes it all come alive because you're now understanding. And it goes way beyond just what we were taught, what we really were not taught in schools. And so I think that's what's also important. So again, I hope you've enjoyed our coverage. We've talked some amazing stuff, had some amazing conversations.

I can't wait to share more than with you. So tomorrow, we'll see you tomorrow? So tomorrow, we're doing a tour. stuff. Had some amazing conversations. I can't wait to share more with you. So, tomorrow. Tomorrow we're doing a tour of Posse. So we're going to the Yassantois Military Museum. We're going to the Saint-August Palace. We're going to the largest West African market

where they're going to be able to shop through all that. And then we might come back here for some more consultation. All right, folks. So, again, we're here at Fasegana. We certainly appreciate everybody who's watching. Be sure to share and like on YouTube, on Facebook,

on Instagram and Twitter as well. Share with folks far and wide. And we're actually running into people who've been looking at our coverage as people who hit me earlier and say, hey, I'm going to be there tomorrow. In fact, when we were at the river, I ran past Amos Brown, out of an NWC board member, a fellow alpha out of the Bay Area. And what was crazy is that he hit me two days ago on his way to Accra, and he was there with his children, his wife, and his family,

and they were singing. I think it was literally a voice singing. They were singing it, and so I didn't even realize it was him. I knew they were going to have a parent support. I see Amos. I'm like, oh, Amos, what's up? And so, again, that'd be a lot of stuff we'd be running into over the next several days, being in Kamasi today and tomorrow, and back to Accra on Wednesday.

So, Ray Baker, we'll toss it back to you. That stuff is so vital, it's so important, and it's so heavy, and we're excited that you're doing it, and we're looking forward to what the longer presentation will be. And I want to encourage, as you said, all of your viewers right now to go to their social... to your social media page so they can see everything that you're documenting in real time as it's happening.

And, man, we just can't wait for you to get back and put together a longer special. We're really grateful for your work, Roland. Appreciate it. Aquaba. We're going to go now to our panel. Joining us on the panel is political analyst Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeaver on Skype. And here in studio, we also have Dr. Cleo Manago, also a political analyst, and Derek Hawley, host of Reaching America On Demand podcast.

Cleo, I was talking to you before the show started, and you were telling all of us about your time and experience because you've also made that trip. You also shared how vulnerable that trip can make a person. Will you let the viewers know about how touching and spiritual that experience was for you? Well, as I told you, brothers, I tend not to be a really emotional, dramatic person,

particularly in public. I tend to be very, you know, relatively stoic and in control. But when I went to the Cape Coast Dungeon, some people call them castles, some people call them dungeons. I think dungeons is the most appropriate description of the place. Well, to be honest, right before, there's a hill that you go up before you get to the dungeons, and I saw the ocean.

It was vast. And I got emotional when I saw the ocean because I knew what happened to that ocean. And a lot of what Roland just mentioned is what happened to the ocean. It was vast. And I got emotional when I saw the ocean because I knew what happened in that ocean. And a lot of what Roland just mentioned is what happened in that ocean. And I was, you know, kept my calm. Then we went to the actual Cape Coast Castle, and I walked onto the grounds,

and I fell on the ground and went into a fetal position, and my body got cold, and I started crying and shivering. Didn't expect that. That ain't me. And a sister named Marimba Ani, who wrote Yorugu, in case some of you want to know who she is, was watching me as if she knew, okay, let me, like... Time to do it. Yeah, and then another sister came and picked me up

and took me away. And I was like, I couldn't believe that I was, that me, I was doing this. And also, Dr. Nya McBarr was there. But one of the highlights of it, and there were many, was seeing King Osetutu. We always hear about Queen Elizabeth and her court and her children and her in-laws. But there are African kings who have bloodlines older than the kings and queens in Britain. And King Osetutu, which I hope Roland gets a chance to meet, is the king of the Ashanti kingdom,

which is in the western region of Ghana, who's a real king with a court. I mean, he got Benzes and what's that other B card that's really big and expensive? Bentley. All that. He's a real king. I mean, the whole queen.

And we saw that, and I was very emotional because you would think that was not the case because we didn't hear about it. But I'll close with the fact that we went to Cape Coast, Asante, excuse me, Kamasi, Amina. But what was interesting about what Roland just showed me, which I was impressed with, is that they took a boat from Cape Coast to Elmina.

We didn't do that. We took a bus. If we would have gotten that water and took that trip from one slave den to another, I think I probably would have fell out in the ocean. So I'm glad. Maybe it's a good idea I didn't do that. But it's a wonderful thing that all black people

and Africans should do. I want to go to Dr. Avis for just a quick second on this. Dr. Avis, particularly with your experience as a political analyst and understanding the ways in which Americans learn and process information, how vital is this, would you say, how vital is this not just to black Americans, as Cleo ultimately said, but to

all Americans because of the impact that black Americans, which ostensibly means Ghanaians, have on American culture? I didn't say all Americans. I said all Africans. Well, it's definitely important that we have a more full understanding of the history of African Americans

in terms of all that led up to that slave experience and really what that meant. We get, quite frankly, a very whitewashed depiction of it through the history books in this country. And I, too, was fortunate enough to be able to spend some time in Ghana and to be able to spend time on Cape Coast and also visit the river that Roland was just mentioning. And I have to agree with my brother there that this is, it is a, it's an educational experience, absolutely.

But it's also an emotional experience and a spiritual experience. And, you know, I am someone who, you know, I kind of describe myself almost like my natural tendency is to be a spotlight, very logical person you know but when you're in that in that face the spiritual reality of that connects with you it's you can feel the pain the emotion the sorrow the hurt that took place in those spaces that were bathed in cruelty and evil.

And you really have to be there to really get the full sense of what I'm talking about. So I just want to echo what Roland mentioned a few minutes ago. This is a pilgrimage, a pilgrimage that every African descendant throughout the diaspora needs to take. Because you need to know from whence you came. And you need to connect with it not only intellectually by reading about it in books. You need to connect with it spiritually by being on the land, by stepping your feet in the water, by taking those steps that your ancestors took so that you can feel what your ancestors felt and be able to connect with them throughout the spiritual connection that we all

share with the universe that's impactful words impactful and i hope that all of the listeners and viewers truly take to heed what is being said particularly i would I would just like to opine that we have two folks who are esteemed PhDs who themselves describe as left-brain rationalists talking about being overcome with the spiritual and emotional experience of being there. I think that's a good place to leave that particular point of our conversation. We're going to take a quick break, and when we come back, we'll have all the rest of the news about what's going on here in the United States for you, right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. We'll we come back, we'll have all the rest of the news about what's going on here in the United States for you, right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. We'll be right back.

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going to RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. Our goal is to get 20,000 of our fans contributing 50 bucks each for the whole year. You can make this possible. RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. As marijuana momentum continues, our friends at MarijuanaStock.org have already reached more than half of their funding goal

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hemp cbd growth operations and lease it to license high-paying tenants that's right they are here cbd landlords now you can get in on the action uh by simply joining their crowdfunding campaign investing as little as 200 bucks up to ten10,000. Again, $200 up to 10 grand. Now, you must do so before the fund is closed. To invest, go to marijuana stock.org. That's marijuana stock.org. Food deserts are areas in which residents are hard-pressed to find affordable, healthy food. Those are most often found in poor urban neighborhoods across the United States, all those pretty words for black. With few supermarkets or farmers markets,

it's easier to find a Slurpee than a smoothie and cheaper to get the Big Mac than to grab dinner at the salad bar. Well, the Black Church Food Security Network is an association of congregations, farmers, food advocates, and community activists working together to create an alternative food system in the Baltimore metropolitan area and beyond. Joining me now to talk about that is Pastor Heber Brown III, the organization's founder,

and I'm grateful to say my pastor. Pastor Brown, thank you so much for joining us here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Thanks for the opportunity. So for folks who are unfamiliar, tell us what the Black Church Food Security Network is. Certainly, yeah. It's an effort to organize the vast resources that Black churches own and connect them with Black farmers and Black communities to create our own community-controlled food system because we recognize that we cannot have really control over our health as a community until we have power over our plate as a community. And so we're excited to be doing this work. You also, in bringing the Black farmers there, we remember those of us who cover politics, remember that some time ago that Black farmers were needing a settlement from the United states government for all the years of racial discrimination

and yet it just got kicked the can got kicked down the road how vital is it to you all to be doing business directly with the black farmers themselves it's critically important i talk to farmers all the time many of them who are right there on the edge of giving up farming because they just cannot support themselves or their families. But what the Black Church Food Security Network now is able to do is not only buy our produce and products from them, but we're able to give them a lifeline because we need the next generations of their families to also grow food, feed our communities, and they need our support to be able to do that. We're glad to be in that position. In a prior segment, we were looking at

Roland in Ghana, and one of the folks he had with him talked about the cultural continuity of some of the activities she saw in Ghana and things that are happening here in the United States. Here locally, though, we know black folks have been farming in the United States and, quite honestly, involuntary in many times for a very long time. So what are you learning about the black experience of farmers from the folks that you are working with? Well, I'm learning that farmers are some of the most courageous, genius, intelligent, and brave people that I've ever met. And really, you know, having a doctorate ministry degree, going through the school, going to classrooms, certainly honor academia.

But we would be remiss if we did not also honor the ways in which our farmers are doing amazing work under tremendous hardship to keep their families supported, to keep their farms afloat, and to support our communities. And you're right, Ray, many of us, myself included, grew up with grandmothers who got string beans in the backyard and pop pops who were growing something on the side yard there. It's a part of our story. And so we're grateful to be in a position to help amplify that because I recognize,

and we recognize in our organization organization that nobody's coming to save us when it comes to providing nutrient-rich food to our community. We have to take the lead and take responsibility to feed our own community. And thankfully, through the Black Church, we have the assets to really gain momentum in that department. Well, Pastor Brown, what do you say to those viewers or listeners who think to themselves, I like what it is you're doing, but I'm not one particularly for church. How do you incorporate those other members of the community into what it is you're doing? Certainly. You don't have to be for church to be for sweet potatoes, collard greens, broccoli, kale, and herbs.

I mean, the reality is this, that food is a great equalizer. The reason why I love doing this work and helping churches to start gardens on their land, helping churches to host many farmers markets inside of their facilities is because food does not have the same doctrinal debates. It doesn't call forward our tendency to try to put stakes down on our theological claims and argue that we're right about the divine. No, food recognizes, we recognize in food rather,

that we all need it. And so we might as well, particularly as black people, work together to feed our own communities. I'm grateful to work with Muslim communities, Christian communities, those who don't claim any religion at all, because the reality is it's something we all need. And here's another reality, Ray.

Collectively, the largest landowner in black America are black churches. And so I don't go to people and try to convert them to the faith. I try to get them to see from a sociopolitical standpoint, land, money, buildings, church vans, and people are all under the umbrella of our black churches, no matter the denomination. And it makes sense for us to organize through these spaces for our collective need. The black church, Pastor Brown, has long been a source of activism for black folks, but there's been some criticism of the black church in recent years that it's not doing that. How do you push back to those who say, well, Pastor Brown, your job is to preach and leave the sociopolitical stuff to other folks? Sure. Yeah, I would say that from the very beginning, from the earliest African-American Christian denominations in this country. The African Methodist Episcopal Church and many Baptist churches, pastors and religious leaders in our community did not have the luxury

to ignore the pressing needs of our congregants. From the very beginning, we were birthed out of a context where we had to speak to the social issues, the economic issues, and the political challenges that we faced as a community. And so other communities might have that luxury just to think about Sunday morning and when I die, where I'm going to go. But as a black pastor who is faithful to the tradition or striving to be faithful to the tradition of people like Reverend Vernon Johns, Reverend Albert Clegg, Reverend Minister Nat Turner, and so many others, I have to be committed to serving the holistic needs of the people that I'm blessed to share life with. We're going to bring in Derek Holley to the conversation. Derek, you have something for

the pastor. Yeah, Pastor Brown, first of all, go Ravens. But I wanted to ask you, a lot of times we look at what's going on in the black community as being systemic, and food deserts is one of those things. Have you had any success in terms of getting some of these megachurches on board with what you're doing since they kind of have such a bigger audience that we can feed into and hopefully obviously feed them as well? Yeah, I think, you know, our greatest traction has been with the average size churches. And most churches in the country are about 200 or so members. And so with that size church, they recognize that if we don't collaborate, work together, and create a systemic response to the issue of food apartheid in our communities,

then they're not going to get very far. What I'm pleased to report, though, is the phone is beginning to ring, and on the other line are those churches that some would define as mega churches who are saying, Pastor Brown, I want to join the Black Church Food Security Network. My church has 200 acres, 100 acres, et cetera, and we want to be a part. I'm also grateful to report that the African Methodist Episcopal Church and other denominations are coming to the table for conversation about how they can bring their vast assets and resources and inventory to the table. Again, because he recognized whether you are mega church or whether you are storefront,

the people in your pews are struggling, are impacted in different ways by food apartheid, and we got to work together. Dr. Cleo Manago has a word for you as well. Dr. Manago? Greetings, Pastor. It's good to meet you, and frankly, very refreshing to meet you. I haven't done any formal research on the attitude and behavior of ministers, but from what I've observed,

you seem to be quite exceptional, particularly with your willingness to be black about what you're doing and embrace black people. I say that, I did a training that I conducted in Los Angeles recently where there was a black woman there who was a black Christian who said at the end of the training that she finally felt good about caring about black people in particular because she was trained that I was racist in her faith

to care about black people in particular. She has to care about everybody because that's what Jesus said. So we should care about everybody, but black people need to care about black people. We she has to care about everybody because that's what Jesus said. So we should care about everybody, but black people need to care about black people. We need all the hair we can get. So thank you for that, for being that kind of light. I'm really impressed also with this black farmer church community.

Do something about the desert project that you have. It's like a marriage maiden, for lack of a better word, heaven. You know, to help these farmers actually get their wares out and sell their food and bring nutrition to black folks from black hands and take care of this desert problem that we have in our communities, particularly in Baltimore. So it's very impressive, and I'm glad to meet you. I hope to see you in person.

Likewise. I'm grateful see you in person. Likewise. I'm grateful for the kind words. And I must say, I wish I was as exceptional as I may seem. The reality is, though, I am one of many. There's a large congregation and rather a large organization of unapologetically black and unashamedly Christian pastors around this country. The problem is we don't often get invited to television for obvious reasons. We're not front and center, but everybody from the San Rudy with Proctor Conference, everybody from Dr. Jeremiah Wright, Dr. Freddie Haynes, so many like Reverend Dr. Valerie Bridgman.

I mean, it's a large community. Dr. Earl Fisher in Memphis. So we here, we always been here. We never left. The tradition of pastors who are following in the path of people like Nat Turner and Gabriel Prosser, Henry Highland Garnett, and so many more. We've been here the whole time. that through this program and many others, people are starting to see that the black pastors who ascribe to that Western European perverted form of Christianity, those who have stolen the way of Jesus, Yeshua,

and made it a handmaiden to white supremacy, that that's not the only way to follow Jesus. In fact, that's not the best way. It's not the accurate or authentic way. So I'm grateful to be a part of a community of people who are trying to shed light on that. No wonder he's your pastor. Anyway, I'm glad you mentioned that there are others. And I'm glad you put it in context that the press doesn't give a lot of favor to pro-black people and ministers in this instance.

Like, we know how Reverend Jeremiah Wright was treated by someone who wanted to make sure that black people got in the White House. Anyway, that's another story. But I think it's important, again, that you actually made me clear, again, that there are others like you, because I need to know that. I would also add that a lot of blacks

are not familiar with the term food desert. And so... Even if they're in the desert. Even if they're in the desert. They don't know it's a desert. They don't know. They've never heard that term, food desert. So if there's a way, Pastor,

that I can assist with you in just getting the word out with just about food deserts, maybe we could pen an op-ed, an article, something like that, that could run in a black publication that talks about food deserts and the network, that would be something helpful,

and I'd be willing to do that. Pastor Brown, I do wanna ask this question. Folks are hearing that you're from Baltimore and you have the O's hat on and all of this about Baltimore, but the Black Church Food Security Network expands beyond. Would you let the listeners and viewers know more about the work that you guys have done outside of Baltimore and the reach that it could potentially have should you get more partners?

Absolutely. So, yes, thank you. It started in Baltimore in the midst of the Baltimore uprising, 2015, in the aftermath goes up. There's protests. There's demonstrations everywhere. In some of the communities that were near the epicenter of the protest, their corner stores were shut down. Public transportation was stopped. A curfew was placed on these communities.

And the phone at the church started ringing because people knew that Pastor Brown and Pleasant Hope Baptist Church grows food. And once they started calling us for food, I was able to connect with some farmers I knew started ringing because people knew that Pastor Brown and Pleasant Hope Baptist Church grows food. And once they started calling us for food, I was able to connect with some farmers I knew. The farmers brought food into the city, and then we piled it up on our church bus, and I drove it around Baltimore and got food to our community. After a couple of weeks of doing that, we realized that we had a systemic response to the issue of food insecurity in our community. Since that time, though, I've gotten calls from pastors in Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia. We're spreading out well beyond now.

We have partners as far south as Georgia and Tennessee, as far north as Ohio, as I stated. The calls keep on coming. The emails keep on coming. And listen, I'm not trying to fly into any city or any other pastor's congregation and be your superman. But I am trying to help us think about how we can reimagine what we already own. That not only will bring vitality to you or bring a renewed sense of spirit to your congregation, but also will bless your community as well by providing something that we all need. And so check us out on blackchurchfoodsecurity.net

to connect with us. I would love to be an extension of your staff, Pastor, and a partner in your community to meet a need that I know is resident in your congregation. Pastor Brown, before we get out of here, I do want to bring in Dr. Avis DeWeaver to offer her thoughts or questions that she may have to you

regarding the Black Church Food Security Network. Dr. DeWeaver, go right ahead. Yes, I just want to say this is amazing. And it's funny because this show is like echoing my life in so many ways. I kind of, I'm a descendant of farmers. My grandfather was a farmer. And though my father had a different business,

we also raised all sorts of fruits and vegetables on our land. I remember picking corn and string beans and watermelon and all of that we grew essentially in our backyard, in addition to raising tobacco and selling tobacco as a side business as a child. So, you know, this resonates with me on so many levels, but it also resonates with me when I think about the fact that you are addressing the very important issue of food deserts in our communities, where oftentimes we pay so much more for food that's so much less healthy than foods that's available in other communities. And I think about the implications of what you're doing in terms of improving the health of black people, as well as the economic strength

of our community by supporting black farmers. So could you talk a little bit about what you see as the long-term effect of this win-win situation that you have created through this network? Doc, you just made my heart do a backflip in my chest because the big vision and picture is this. Once we prove to ourselves that we have what we need already in our hand to take care of a basic need, then that spirit gets contagious. And the questions start to rise up and say, well, if we can feed ourselves, what else can we do and it puts us in a power position to negotiate

with other communities not from the kiddie table but I die because now we have created economy for our community now we have improved our health now our children don't have to beg for jobs for other people but we can employ them ourselves because the food system as you know doc is so expansive that we don't need everybody in overalls farming out in the field. We do need journalists in the agricultural and our agricultural projects. We need scientists. We do need food safety inspectors. We need those in marketing. And so it's really a great universe that I pray that we seriously look at. Let me just say one last word. I'd be remiss if I did not uplift

the work of a wonderful organization called Black Urban Growers and Karen Washington, who's one of the founders of Black Urban Growers. She pushed us recently, me in particular with the term food desert, because she said that term gets lobbed into our community from the outside

and it's a deficiency model that doesn't allow us to look at because she said that term gets lobbed into our community from the outside, and it's a deficiency model that doesn't allow us to look at what we have in our hands. So she chooses the term food apartheid to really recognize that it's not just distance to the grocery store that's the issue, but it's also the history and legacy of redlining that is still alive and well in our communities. It's economics. It's gender, go on down the line. And so that term really stretches us to see, wait a minute, this is an intentional construct to oppress us, so that means we need to create a systemic response to free ourselves from it.

And I'm grateful to be a part of that picture. Before we let you get out of here, Pastor Brown, one of the things that you just touched on, which I think is vital, that folks might not even know how this works, is how the actual food that is grown gets to the worshipers and the people of the community that you seek to serve. So if I'm understanding correctly,

that you all realize that you have your members already at church, so what better place to provide produce for them than at the church? Tell the viewers how that comes. Yeah, breaking it down. Thank you so much. After church, everybody know we hungry after church.

You're going to go eat somewhere. And the reality is we take our dollars and we go put it in stores and places that are not committed and are not advancing the interests of our community. And so how this plays out, for example, at my church. Right after the benediction, I have the farmers and the vendors lined up in my multipurpose room. And every black church got a multipurpose room. Right after the benediction, the congregation comes out, they go into the multipurpose room,

they buy directly from farmers, they shake the farmer's hand, they can ask questions about how it was grown. They also support other food-related businesses. But it all happens right there on Sunday so that people have that opportunity to support right there, right after worship. And our seniors love it because they get the chance to get their produce right there at the church and go home without making extra stops. And so finally, let me say real quick, also to make

this happen, it means I drive south and I go and I visit black farmers at their farms. I pick up produce from them. And I say that because I think it's important for any pastor watching me that if you're looking for like a microwave solution to our systemic oppression regarding food apartheid, then you're going to be holding your breath a long time. We got to be willing to reimagine how we show up as pastors and what it means to be in ministry. It has to go far beyond the pulpit on Sunday. And I invite you to join me in reimagining and praying about what the image of a pastor needs to look like for the sake of our people today and in the future. Pastor, this is a digital platform. So if folks want to find and follow what it is that your organization is doing digitally,

please let them know where they can do that beyond the website. Absolutely, so you can find us on Twitter and Instagram, Black Church FSN, as in Food Security Network, Black Church FSN, and you can find me also on Twitter and Instagram, Heber Brown, H-E-B-E-R, last name Brown, spelled like the color.

I'd love to connect with you, and I appreciate this opportunity. Pastor Brown, thank you so much for joining us here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Thank you. I wonder if the pastor realizes or understands something called candomblé. Are you familiar with that?

Go, explain for the viewers. Candomblé is church in Brazil. Mm-hmm. And a candomblé is a spiritual experience You familiar with that? Go, explain for the viewers. Condomble is church in Brazil. And a condomble is a spiritual experience where they bring food. Matter of fact, the first time I had a positive, lingeringly positive church experience was in Brazil at a condomble, where as opposed to a pass-not offering

to get people to give to the church, the church gave the community food. And it sounds very much like condombles, and that's also something that originated in Africa as well. I was just going to say that, Brother Monago. What it sounds like, Africa showing up all over the world. We're going to take, on that note, we're going to take a quick break

and come right back with more of Roland Martin Unfiltered. Hey, fam, want to check out Roland Martin Unfiltered, the blackest show on all of digital, cable, and broadcast. Check out our audio podcast. There's only one daily digital show out here that keeps it black and keep it real. It's Rollerbark Unfiltered. Press play. Some news you need to know. For more than 20 years, thousands of Liberian immigrants living legally in the United States

have only been able to plan their lives in increments of 12 to 18 months under short-term humanitarian programs that exist at the president's discretion, leaving anything to this president's discretion. That is until last week, a provision buried in a defense policy bill passed by the Senate and will allow Liberians to apply for legal permanent residency.

Democratic Senators Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Tina Smith of Minnesota led efforts to include it into the bill. Going back to our panel, political analyst Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeaver on Skype, and here in studio with us, Dr. Cleo Manago and also a political analyst and brother Derek Howley, host of Reaching America On Demand podcast. Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeaver, I'm going to start with you on this. Do you think there are, does this specifically let us know how so many of our senators probably don't read the

bills they're passing? Good question. I think it does tell us that because I highly suspect that if they had, they would have tried to pull it out. But thank God it slipped through because this is a long overdue advancement to make sure that the Liberian Americans who are here can apply to be able to stay here permanently. A lot of them came here actually fleeing a huge civil war in that nation that literally was a human rights atrocity on steroids. So they had to come here to save their lives. And so it's wonderful to see now that finally we have some advancement in Congress that looks like it's going to be able to create a

situation for them where they can be safe for the long term derek how do you imagine that this changes the way that liberian americans either think about the united states as their new home perhaps or even just think about themselves their lives and their families moving forward well i know a couple of people who are who have been waiting on this particular piece of uh legislation to come down and so it's been very very important to them having to not know what's going to happen or take place from year to year. So it's been a big deal for them. And so I would say that I do think the senators do read this bill. OK, they saw it because this is the same bill.

OK, that we're going to talk about a little bit later about another thing that was in there. Yeah, they may not read all of it. Because it's the same bill that took out that piece. So I would say that it's a great piece of legislation. And believe it or not, it came under the Trump administration. And this bill, something like this, has been pending for decades now. And so the Trump administration pushed this thing through.

Now, maybe they didn't read it. Everybody didn't read it all, OK? But it did go through. I think it's going to help a lot of people. Broken clock. Broken clock, man. Broken clock. Cleo, your thoughts on this?

Yeah, I agree with you. I tend to think they probably did read it and did it like this. You know, and went on to the next thing because it was Africans. But this was an interesting full circle because, you know, the United States created Liberia. Yes, that's right.

And those wars that Dr. Avis referenced are not necessarily independent. There's external irritants that are keeping the war there. It's a similar vibe to what's happening in Haiti in terms of keeping stuff going on because they don't want black people in the West, outside United States, to be independent and powerful. But it's an interesting phenomenon that they finally get to become American citizens. But again, a lot of people don't know that Liberia is really a United States creation. There you go. And that they were formerly

enslaved and went over there under white folks' tyranny to be controlled over there. I mean, Liberia's named after a white general. But interesting. We'll see how this occurs. Maybe this will result in some of the warfare ending over there in some of the warfare Ending over there in terms of a connection being made with the people here getting more resources

And if you pull up and look at their flag identical to the United States The one star and it should be considering The capital being Monroeville and my movie excuse me named after James Monroe Derek brother Derek pointed us to a great segue where he talks about the idea of that same piece of legislation resulting in something else. So a measure in that piece of legislation that's generally used in National Defense Authorization Act is meant to keep white nationalists

out of the United States military. Meant to keep. However, it no longer mentions white nationalists. Apparently, Congress altered the text after it passed the House. The change could water down a House-passed amendment meant to address the threat of white nationalists in the military.

Now, the House language was specifically drafted to encourage screening for white nationalist beliefs in military listies. But after the Republican-controlled Senate passed its own version of the massive military spending bill and the two chambers' bills were reconciled, the final act requires the Department of Defense to study ways to screen military elistees

for extremists and gang-related activities. Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeaver, when you hear gang-related activities, who are they, who are folks talking about? This is a continuation of the ridiculous oxymoron of black identity extremists. OK, it's absolutely fiction and ridiculous, especially when you put that up against the reality of year over year over year increases in hate crimes in America. And you look at the statistics in terms of who are most likely to commit those hate crimes.

And you find that over three quarters of people who commit hate crimes, not even hate crimes, domestic terrorism in the broad sense in America, are people who subscribe to white supremacist ideology. So the problem that we have in this nation that is a very real and growing problem is this problem of white nationalism. And it's not a secret that a number of white nationalists intentionally enroll in the military in order to get training on weapons and war-like tactics.

I also quite frankly believe clearly we have white supremacists not only in and around the White House, but in and around the Congress. who I believe very purposefully took the specific language out of that bill to make it easier for their compatriots to be able to subvert military training in the way that they have, but now to be able to do it even more broadly and more overtly and unfortunately be able to use it against American citizens in the way that they have been for many years now in terms of the increasing levels of violence that we're seeing in this nation, specifically related to white nationalist hate. Cleo, you talked about how the folks took that bill and just pushed it straight ahead.

Was it perhaps even some there going, you know what, I'll do this good thing for Liberia and that'll give us some cover for this? So you should be reading folks' minds. All on camera and stuff. Because that's exactly what I was thinking. I was thinking, okay, see, before I even go there,

I want to just say this. We complain about these white supremacist tactics, but it takes tactics to win. And black folks need to have some tactics. And what I mean by that in terms of an example of a tactic is what you just said. What's his name? the guy who's president?

Trump. He wants to win. He wants black votes. He's been doing all kinds of stuff with black folks recently and, you know, doing photo ops, and now he's doing his librarian thing so we can clap for him and be glad that he's there and want to support him.

But then he only down low until you open your mouth or Roland Martin somebody and mention he took the white controls of white evil and insanity out of the legislation so there would be nobody monitoring that. So they're being strategic. And we call them evil, but you know, white people want to keep power.

And we want to have power as a people. And I don't think we want to have an unprincipled ways that murder and slaughter folks, but we need to be strateg as a people. And I don't think we want to have, in unprincipled ways, that murder and slaughter folks. But we need to be strategizing and being awake to each other to organize toward having power. And frankly, that's what they're doing. And because it looks like, in terms of numbers and on a quantitative basis that they might be losing,

they're stepping it up. And I think we should be stepping it up, too. Do you guys think there's a difference between a white nationalist and a white supremacist? Or do you think they're one and the same? Yes. Well, in terms of outcome and agenda, I think they're the same.

Before we go further, Dr. Avis, explain. You said, yes, there is a difference. Would you elaborate on that, please? Absolutely. So the whole, um, ideology behind white nationalism is the goal of having a white state. It's the idea that only white people should reign, which should have power within a governmental system. And so the idea specifically to maintain the reins of power in a government, specifically in white hands, which is different than white supremacy, which is about a sort of generalized notion around the supposed superiority of the white race. White nationalism has a

specific goal that relates to power in governmental institutions. And that's exactly this ideology that unfortunately has been turned loose in our White House and in our administration, and you can see it by their behavior. It's not just this idea that they are mistakenly believing that white people are somehow superior. I don't really care what people think in their own delusional minds. specifically to be able to take the realms of government and use it and contort it specifically for the advancement of white people and the exclusion of everyone else and wield it as a weapon against everyone else

specifically in order to lift up white power structures within the governmental system. Well, I'm a black nationalist then. Black power. I still say when it comes to outcome and mindset and agenda, the governmental system. Well, I'm a black nationalist then. Black power. I still say when it comes to outcome and mindset and agenda, they're the same. And people who are now considered white nationalists

who did the work to become part of the Senate, part of Congress, to become policymakers, they started off without that kind of capacity with a white supremacist perspective. I agree with white supremacist perspective. I agree with the supremacist part. And they just used that white supremacist delusion psychosis as a driving force to have the ambition to get into these places.

Sure. But they both want us out the way. Agreed. And supremacy starts, you know... The myth of supremacy. They ain't supremacists. They ain't supremacists. They're not even remotely supreme.

You know, the Civil War. Look at, you know, Reconstruction. Most of the folks who, in the Civil War, they didn't own slaves, but they got them people to fight off the myth that they were better than us. Hence the white supremacy movement that started back then and that continues to exist to this day. The supremacy predates the belief or the myth,

as Dr. Cleo offered. Delusion or grandeur. Absolutely. That dates prior to, and there have been some important work and research that Dr. Cleo offered. Delusion or grandeur. Absolutely. I don't believe in it. That dates prior to, and there have been some important work and research that's been done about it. Cedric Robinson's written brilliantly about it, C.L.R. James,

and currently Howard University's Dr. Joshua Myers gives a talk largely about, right now because of 1619, the year of the return, he gives a talk that gives work predating the 1619 and the way that Europeans had been working to enslave Africans, bring them to what they would later call the new land in that space. Something for our viewers to consider on this last note

about this, we remember recently, very recently, at the Army-Navy game where those enlisted students flashed white power signs. And we can relatively comfortably say they're white power signs because we can relatively comfortably say they're white power signs because we are well aware enough to know what signifying means so when you do a thing that is indirect or has a different message so when someone comes to call you on it you have what they call plausible deniability that one's from my students at Towson University

and our African-American rhetoric course now it's time for one of Roland's favorite segments. No travel rules are allowed. I'm white. I got you, Pearl. I'm illegally selling water without a permit. On my property. Whoa! Hey!

You don't live here. I'm uncomfortable. So this is about Nicole Marie Poole Franklin. Got enough names there. Nicole told police she intentionally ran over a 14-year-old girl on a sidewalk because she thought the teenager was, quote, a Mexican, close quote, according to the Clive, Iowa Police Department. Now, they originally thought it was a hit and run.

14-year-old Natalia Miranda was walking to an activity at a junior high school when the vehicle jumped onto the sidewalk and ran her over. Franklin is being charged with attempted murder and being held with a $1 million bond. Dr. Cleo, I know Roland likes to joke and call this crazy ass white people. Right? He does that there. But I think you said something in our last conversation that was very specific and particular to what's happening here.

Folks with this ideology of supremacy, of singular nationalism, and any myriad of ones that center whiteness, not even their ethnic ancestry, but just this general center whiteness, not even their ethnic ancestry, but just this general vague whiteness, resorting to violence to communicate their disdain

or displeasure with another human being. What are your thoughts about that? Well, to be quick, we're familiar with domestic violence, right? We're familiar with how a violator attempts to get their quarry or their victim to hate themselves and feel worse about themselves so they can control them. I say that because I don't believe this white woman or most white people actually feel superior.

I think they feel threatened. I think sometimes they feel jealous. I think sometimes they feel envious or even less beautiful, if you will. And they can't take it. So some of them are crazy enough to do what this person does. Like, I got to ruin their day. I got to do something because I feel completely challenged as a human being by their existence.

And I think it's very important to take that perspective as opposed to buying into the alleged superiority. Because I've had the opportunity, well, I've had the opportunity, well, I've had the experience of enduring white people and whiteness when I went to college and different places or when the Xfinity man comes to fix them. Because I was somebody who used to get into my house

and they'd do that. And I'm real clear that they don't feel superior to me. And I doubt they're gonna feel superior to you or you. They feel lucky sometimes to even be in our presence, but they have to... They have this white supremacist illusion to count on when they're feeling particularly bad about themselves, because they go through this illusion

of, at least I'm white, in a white supremacist system that will affirm my ridiculousness. And I think this woman ran over this child because she had a mad moment of needing to put somebody's lights out because she felt in fear to them. Dr. DeWeaver, where does this woman rank on the ideology of white nationalism and or V supremacy? Or at this point, does it not matter when you're just inflicting harm? Well, in the big picture, it doesn't matter because she's the murderous person.

You know, if you're going to jump a curb specifically to run over someone, you're trying to kill them. Well, in the big picture, it doesn't matter because she's the murderous person. You know, if you're going to jump a curb specifically to run over someone, you're trying to kill them. So she's an attempted murderer. And I hope she gets put under the jail. But generally speaking, I believe that I would be very interested to know if she has any connections to white nationalist organizations or white supremacist organizations. And the reason why I say that specifically is that she went out of her way to say she did that because she thought that girl was Mexican. You have a president who was forever, constantly really being very racist in his language, particularly targeting Mexicans and Latinos. And there is a lot of focus on that demographic within white nationalist communities because they know that with the changing demographics

in this nation, and we've talked about it a lot on the show, this nation is going to flip over to be a majority people of color nation within the next 20, less than 25 years from now, within a generation. The biggest ethnic group that is leading to that flip is the Latino community. And to me, that's why there is such a strong focus on that community in Trump's rhetoric. And I also believe if you look at what he's doing, Cleo was right in terms

of how he's having these overtures to the black population, particularly now that he's near reelection with the Liberia thing, with signing the bill around HBCUs, other things how he's having these overtures to the black population, particularly now that he's near re-election with the Liberia thing, with signing the bill around HBCUs, other things that he's doing right now. The reality is, if you look at the birth rate of African Americans in recent years, it's actually gone down. So as a specific demographic, we are not a threat to their proportion in the population. What's really going to be a threat to them no longer being the majority of people in this nation is the rising not only birth rate, but also on top of that,

the immigration rate of Latinos to this nation. So they feel most threatened by that specific community. So I would not at all be surprised if this woman has connections to white supremacists or white nationalist organizations, because it is that particular group that those communities, particularly, as I mentioned, white nationalists who are interested in maintaining superiority in the nation, it's particularly that group that they tend to target because they see that group as its primary threat as it relates to maintaining their position as a majority group in this nation. I was just going to say, go ahead. I was just going to add there, yeah,

definitely a threat. But I don't think it's just white people that feel this way. Because we can go right down to Fort Washington. Right down to Fort Washington, Maryland right now. I just had a conversation with a young lady who screamed out a black woman who's told this Latino, go back to your country. And so it's a lot of

black people that feel the same way and have the same remorse against illegal immigrants in this country. Or supporting Trump as a result. Possibly even supporting Trump as a result. But it's not just... I wouldn't just label it as just a white problem with the situation with immigrants.

I would... I'm curious to push back a little bit in only this way, right? We saw some of this happening to some of our Arab sisters and brothers right after 9-11, that there were even black Americans who were critical or hostile to white Americans. But we don't see the violence among black people exacted upon others for their othering in similar ways that we see violence exacted upon.

Well, you could point to what happened up in New Jersey just a couple weeks ago. Derek, that's a great point. You could point to what happened up in New Jersey just a couple weeks ago. Derek, that's a great point. And for those who may not be aware, Brother Holly is referencing the folks from the black Hebrew Israelites who went on a violence, had violence and went on a shooting spree against some Jewish Americans in New Jersey. I think that conversation demands some unpacking about religion, around ethnicity, and around culture. We can unequivocally say the violence was abhorrent and wrong, period, singular.

Absolutely. The black Hebrew Israelites are particularly unique, even within black spaces, in the way they engage other people, in the way they engage other black people. Yeah. Right? If we think back to the time that we saw those MAGA students

yelling at the native man in washington dc um who was a former armed forces retiree that all was precipitated by black hebrew israelites who were engaging that native man in the first place and engaging those students into some context there so i do think that that that has some further investigation that would make this a little bit less apples to apples and more apples to oranges, so to speak. But your point remains valid. And to Cleo's point about the question of those folks now supporting Trump, black support for Trump has been inexplicable on every level, at every turn, in every bit of curiosity. I'm telling you, you know, I'm from Compton, California in Watts, which is now predominantly Latino.

And there's some black people who live there who are very resentful of that change and who are mad about Latinos crossing the border because California is right by the border. And they're supporting Trump. Do they know Los Angeles is not an English word? Well, frankly, now see, now look, wait, wait, wait, wait. See, we don't got time to get into that

because Los Angeles is a colonial word too. Yes, fair, fair. From Spain. Fair, yes, yes. You're right. That's true. It's all colonial.

But what's more relevant in terms of history and culture is that the people who we call Mexicans, et cetera, are from this land, which is your point.

Yes. But the point I'm trying to make to you, look, Compton is, you know, what's that movie that came out? Straight Outta Compton. It wasn't Straight Outta Comptina or Los Compton.

It was Straight Outta Compton, where I'm from. And I'm used to Compton High School, black folks. I mean, and so all this information that you just gave, which is absolutely true, is unnecessarily in the cause of black people who have had communities there for ages who feel like this is their community. And there's been people from the Latino community

attacking black people. Oh, you can find it on the news, LA Times, who've been attacking black people and threaten black people to make them afraid so they can leave those communities. And so there's an unsaid conversation, which I think you kind of address a little bit that's happening among black people

who are feeling the same way about Lexi, but they're not running them over. We might run each other over first, because of internalized oppression, because we have white supremacy internalized. Look, Cleo's about to take us out of here on this deep note that makes all of us feel bad. We had a very cathartic and spiritual experience.

We saw Roland in Ghana. We talked about farming. Avis told us about picking green beans, And I'm going to close up on Avis being the most well-lit Skype person I have ever seen in my life. It's lit up, baby. It's lit up. Hey, hey. Look how I mean it.

Seriously, man. Her lighting is better there than on some TV sets, man. That is fantastic. Avis don't play. She don't play at all. Avis has been so long since I've seen you. So it's so good to see you and reconnect with you here, particularly right here around the holiday season.

Thank you for joining us. Thank you for making a way to join us by Skype. We appreciate it. Tell folks where they can find and follow you. They already know if they're watching the program, but remind them if they're new. Absolutely. So you can follow me on Twitter at Sister Scholar,

and you can find out more about my book and me at blackwomenlead.com. Absolutely. And Brother Derek Holley, we're so grateful to have you here we hope we know that you got some family stuff to take care of right here for the holiday season so we're going to get you out and make sure you enjoy brother cleo it's always a pleasure we appreciate you your time your experience and your wisdom on some of the things that get overlooked some things that don't get discussed on those platforms and we're grateful for you here so let us know so can i leave my ear for like Dr. Avery's did?

Go ahead, Cleo. My name is Cleo Monago. I like long walks on the beach. And you can find me on Facebook at Cleo Monago. You can find me on Twitter as Cleo Monago. You can find me on Instagram as Cleo Monago. And on Google as Cleo Monago. And I run the Massey Center for Black Wellness and Culture in

Baltimore and you can find us at AMASSI on Masi and that's enough absolutely brother Holly you have a podcast too that one uh Derek Holly on Reaching America On Demand podcast and follow me at DJ Holly on Twitter and Reaching America slash forward slash Facebook absolutely that concludes today's edition of Roland Martin Unfiltered. I hope that you enjoyed the show. I did, even if you didn't. The show will be airing taped interviews for the next three days, so all the staff around here, they can finally get a chance to go home, reconnect with their families and loved ones, spend some time, and enjoy the holiday season. And so I know that for some, the holidays can be a difficult time. For many people,

you may be missing someone, you may be grieving someone, you may be losing someone. I want you to know that everybody here at Roland Martin Unfiltered, myself, Roland, all the panelists, our thoughts and prayers are with you. As we convene to have a moment with our families this year, we're thinking about you as you have yours in the absence of your loved one. If you wanna find me on Twitter,

you can find me at at underscore Ray Baker underscore. Look forward to conversing with you and being in community and conversation. I want to take this opportunity to thank Roland Martin for giving me the opportunity to fill in for him and the wonderful staff here at Roland Martin Unfiltered always having us prepared and ready to go. Make sure you guys get a high-quality project. So enjoy the holiday season, whichever iteration that you enjoy it in. Enjoy the holiday season.

Enjoy the family, the time that you spend. And go ahead and do as our sister Zora Neale Hurston would say. She goes, happiness, we the family, the time that you spend, and go ahead and do as our sister Zora Neale Hurston would say. She goes, happiness, black folks, we want happiness to know that we are glad it came by to visit us because it don't come around here too often. In the words of the Yerba proverb, if we stand tall, it is because we stand

on the backs of those who came before us. From everybody here, I'm Ray Baker. You have a good night. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of star-studded a little bit, man.

We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season 2 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it.

I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. This is an iHeart Podcast.