#RolandMartinUnfiltered - 3.31 RMU: FL prison COVID-19 outbreak; Racial data in virus testing; Trump backs voter suppression

Episode Date: April 1, 2020

3.31.20 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Coronavirus update; President of the American Medical Association talks discusses pandemic; COVID-19 outbreak in FL prisons; Where is the racial data in virus testing; Trump supports voter suppression to keep Republicans in office; Court rules that the records for a 1946 lynching case remain sealed; #RMU continues our tribute to civil rights icon Rev. Joseph Lowery #RolandMartinUnfiltered is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. 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.

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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. Today is Tuesday, March 31st, 2020. Coming up next on Roland Martin Unfiltered,

latest in the COVID-19 pandemic. The president of the American Medical Association will join us right here on the show. 12 employees of Florida prisons have tested positive for coronavirus. We'll talk about what needs to happen for the prisoners. Lawmakers are calling for racial data in COVID-19 testing. We discussed it on yesterday.

Also, Albany, Georgia's in the top five cities for coronavirus cases. We'll talk to the coroner of Albany, Georgia. Plus, Donald Trump wants to suppress your vote to keep Republicans in office. Yeah, he actually said it himself. And the Federal Appeals Court rules that the records for a 1946 mass lynching case will remain sealed. And plus, we'll continue our tribute to Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowry.

It's time to bring the funk and roll the Martin Unfiltered. Let's go. He's got it. Whatever the mess, he's on it. Whatever the biz, 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 belief he's knowing.

Putting it down from sports to news to politics. With entertainment just for kicks, he's rolling. Yeah, yeah. It's on, go, go, go, y'all. He's rolling. It's Uncle Roro, yo. It's Rolling Martin, yeah. Rolling with rolling now. He's broke, he's fresh, he's real the best, you know. He's Rolling Martin. Now.

Martin. All right, folks, glad to have you back on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Let's go right to the White House, where Dr. Anthony Fauci is addressing the media regarding the coronavirus. All right, not sure if we have the audio. Folks, let's double-check that, please. All right, not quite sure why we are not getting audio there. So, folks, if you could rectify that, please, and let me know. They are, first of all, I'm watching it live, and Dr. Birx, as well as Anthony Fauci,

they're talking about the growth of coronavirus cases taking place in the United States, and they're showing exactly what it looks like let's see if we can go ahead and we're gonna try to go back to go back to the news conference in just a second so let's see if we can go ahead and one of the best ways to pull that up give me one second folks Dr. Burke, she's actually at the podium as we speak, again, talking about the actual, just give me one second, folks. She's talking about the actual, what's happening there. Dr. Fauci is also speaking right now as well. And so I'm just trying to go to the, um, to the white house, um, um, Facebook channel, excuse me, YouTube channel. So we can go ahead and pull this up again. You know, I can't see the small, here we go. I think

we got it right here. Are we seeing death until June? I can't really, this is June. So we would still see problems and deaths in June. It's a projection. It's a projection. So I mean, just getting back to what I said about the stepwise thing, deaths always lag. So you will be seeing deaths at a time when as an epidemic, we're doing really, really well because the deaths will lag. Dr. Fauci, should Americans be prepared for the likelihood that there will be 100,000 Americans who die from this virus? The answer is yes.

We need as sobering a number as that is, we should be prepared for it. Is it going to be that much? I hope not. And I think the more we push on the mitigation, the less likelihood it would be that number. But as being realistic, we need to prepare ourselves that that is a possibility, that that's what we will see. We have a very short period of time for that to happen. Right.

Can the country handle that in such a short period of time, within a couple of months, 50,000 a month? You know, it will be difficult. I mean, no one is denying the fact that we are going through a very, very difficult time right now. I mean, we're seeing what's happening in New York. That is really, really tough. And if you extrapolate that to the nation, that will be really tough. But that's what it is, Jim. And we're going to have to be prepared for that. Yeah, I think because the model, that model that was from IHME, that's based and heavily laden by the data that has come in from New York and

New Jersey and Connecticut. So you know that can skew to a higher peak and more significant mortality. If all of the other states are able and all the other metro areas are able to hold that case number down, then it's a very different picture. But you have to predict on the data you have, which is heavily skewed to New York and New Jersey. The Press": Just one extra thing. Getting back to that, that's really an important slide that Dr. Birx showed.

The cluster of other cities that are not New York and not New Jersey. If we can suppress that from any kind of a spike the numbers could be significantly lower than what we're talking about. Some cities that are not following these guidelines. And that's the reason my plea at the end of my remarks Jim that now is the time to put your foot on the accelerator, because that's the only thing that's going to stop those peaks.

Some of the cities are doing very well, as you see, very well at this early stage. But the number, the doctor said 100,000. I know there's between 100 and 200,000, maybe even slightly more. But we would hope that we could keep it. Can we have the next slide or the slide after that? The Press Mr. President? Ms. Just go up. Yeah, one more slide. The Press Thank you. Ms. Perfect. Yeah. Thank you.

The Press Would you tell the — would you tell cities that aren't doing what, you know, New York, New Jersey, Washington — you know, the cities that have been taking charge in all of this, would you urge some of the cities that haven't been doing this, Mr. President, to get with the program? The President Well, I would. But if you see New York, I believe the blue is New York. New York is having a much harder time than other of the cities. Certain cities are doing.

Actually, you look down here, the incredible job. They were early. They were very, very firm. And they've done an incredible job. This is New Jersey, New York. This is California. I mean, if you remember, California and Washington State were down here, and they had some of the earliest cases. We're seeing places in Florida not doing what New York and New Jersey have been doing, what Washington State has been doing very well with comparison. Mr. President? Mr. President?

Yes. Could maybe direct the questions? As I told y'all, we don't take Donald Trump live because he lies far too much in these news conferences. Do we trust Dr. Brooks, Dr. Fauci? Absolutely. But again, anything that Donald Trump says

in any of these briefings must be vetted, must be fact-checked because he is prone to lie consistently in these news conferences. Folks, as of today, there are 174,697 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States and three U.S. territories. At least 3,400 patients with the virus have died. That's 529 more than yesterday at this time and more than the people who died in 9-11. 6,215 patients have recovered.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo continues his daily news briefing as he talks about how the hospitals in New York are fighting as best as they can not to be impacted by, excuse me, fighting coronavirus and trying to stop as many people as possible from dying. And the main battle is at the apex. We're still going up the mountain. The main battle is on the top of the mountain. That's where the main battle is going to be, the apex of the curve. And then we come down the other side of the mountain. We are planning now for the battle at the top of the mountain. That's what we are

doing. Get a staffing plan ready now for the battle at the top of the mountain. Equipment stockpile now. We're gathering equipment that we don't need today because today is not the day of the battle. The battle is when we hit the apex, depending on who you believe, 14 days to 30 days from today. And also we need a social acceptance of the time expectation. We're all anxious. We're all cansados, todos estamos fatigados. Ha sido una mala noticia durante mucho tiempo. Nuestro estilo de vida ha sido disruptado. Todos quieren saber una cosa, ¿cuándo se termina?

Nadie sabe. Bueno, el presidente lo dijo a la Navidad. Este lo dijo a la Navidad. Nadie sabe. Puedes tener una hipótesis, puedes tener una have a projection, you can have an opinion, but nobody knows. Cuomo also announced that the disease has affected a member of his own family. Everyone, everyone is subject to this virus. It is the great equalizer. I don't care how smart, how rich, how powerful you think you are. I don't care how young, how old. This virus is the great equalizer. positive for coronavirus found out this morning the uh now uh he is going to be fine he's

young in good shape uh strong not as strong as he thinks but he will be fine but there's a lesson in this he's an an essential worker, member of the press. So he's been out there. If you go out there, the chance that you get infected is very high. I spoke to him this morning and he's going to be quarantined in his basement at home. He's just worried about his daughter and his kids that he hopes he didn't get them infected. Alright folks let's go back to the news conference. Dr. Brooks is speaking. So right now we're at about 4,000 deaths here in the United States. You suggesting a

spike of more than 90,000 deaths over the next few weeks. Do you have a demographic breakdown of the areas that are most at risk and where most of those deaths may occur? Ms. Well, right now, and I think if you ask Chris Murray, he would say he's using the information coming out of New York and New Jersey and applying that to potentially other states

having the same outcomes. I just want to say again, this yellow line, the yellow line, and this is all corrected for 100,000 residents. So this is normalized so we can compare apples to apples. This is still Washington state, this yellow. So they've been able to, for a long time of measuring cases, not have a spike. So it's possible, and we're watching very closely to make sure it doesn't have a spike. But that's what the people in Washington state are doing. This is what every community. So it Washington state early about two weeks

before New York or New Jersey, California, a week before New York or New Jersey, really talked to their communities and decided to mitigate before they started seeing this number of cases. And now we know that that makes a big difference early, as Dr. Fauci said, if you wait until you see it, it's too late. The Press And again, do you have a demographic

breakdown, Dr. Birx, of where these deaths may occur? Dr. So there's a demographic breakdown that we've discussed before related to mortality. And it's as we're seeing in New York exactly what we saw in Italy. Very low mortality. Not to say that young people under 30 or young people under 40 aren't getting ill. They are, but most of them are recovering. So the profile looks identical to Italy with increasing mortality with age and pre-existing medical conditions. And so that

is holding in the same way. But what we're hoping is that through the work of communities and again, it comes down to communities. This is not this is communities deciding that this is important to them to not have the experience of New York and New Jersey. And I think, you know, we are worried about groups all around the globe. I mean, I don't know if you heard the report this morning.

There's 8,000 ventilators in the U.K. If you translate that to United States, that would be like the United States having less than 40,000 ventilators. We have five times that amount. So, I mean, these are the things that everybody is having to face. And I think the United States is in an excellent position from our medical care position but we don't want to have to test that system we want this to be a much smaller epidemic with much smaller mortality question real quick before we move on so so the testing numbers I understand a million tests done it It's a big increase.

But we were told there would be 27 million tests available by the end of the month. So, can you outline where in the supply chain, where in the logistics chain are those other 26? Yeah, where are the other 26 million tests right now? Mr. I think this is just for purposes of clarifications. There's a difference between sending a test that can be

administered to a test being done. And because a month ago or more, the President brought together the top commercial labs in America and said, we need you to partner with us to create a brand new system that would rapidly process tests. We're now at 1.1 million tests, and we believe it's a fair estimate that we're testing about 100,000 Americans a day.

That'll continue to grow. It'll continue to accelerate. But I think the misunderstanding early on was there were many tests being distributed, many test kits being sent. But under the old system, as the President has described it, the antiquated system, those were being processed in state labs or at CDC or in private labs on a very slow, methodical system that could only produce maybe 30 to 50 tests a day. But this new partnership that we have with commercial laboratories allows the progress we're making. But the breakthrough with Abbott Laboratories now moves to point of care,

which means you're going to have devices and tests that people will literally be able to take at their doctor's office, at a hospital, at a clinic, at a nursing home, and have the results in 15 minutes. So those 26 million tests we were talking about, were those tests under the old antiquated system? Yes. And now, so are we still even using those 27 million tests, or have we just completely moved on to the point of no test? The President. Secretary Mnuchin The answer is yes. And that's where the news is. Secretary Mnuchin So, even today, which is, I have to say, coming out of laboratories and developed tests and worked on

vaccines and then gone to the field to actually combat epidemics, it is disappointing to me right now that we have about 500,000 capacity of Abbott tests that are not being utilized. So they are out. They're in the states. They're not that are not being utilized. So they are out there in the states. They're not being run and not utilized. So now we have to figure out how do we create awareness?

Because sometimes when you put an early platform out, like our first platform out when the high speed was Roche. So you get that out. People get dependent on that and then don't see that there's availability of other tests. So right now, there's over half a million tests sitting, capacity, that are not being utilized.

So we're trying to figure out how do we inform states about where these all are, how do we work through every laboratory association so they're aware, and how do we raise awareness so people know that there's point of care, there's Thermo Fisher, there's Thermo Fisher, there's Abbott testing, and there's Roche? And if you add those together, that's millions of tests a week.

The Press And they're not being reported. Ms. And they're not. And so those are the all — The Press They use, but they're not being reported. Ms. Or they're not even being used. So that's what's really — so that's what we're working on. The Press Why? What's the reason they're being used?

Ms. Because when people get used to a single platform, they keep sending it back to that lab. So it's getting in a queue to wait to get on a Roche machine, rather being moved to this other lab that may have Abbott capacity. Because they're all in different laboratories. And so I think, well, actually, Admiral Girard

is figuring it out to really create some kind of visual so that every governor and every health commissioner can see all of their capacity in their countries. I mean, in their states, county by county, so that they know where the tests are. So we pushed a lot of tests out, but they're not all being utilized. The Press And it's up to the people.

They don't send them back. I mean, they use them, they don't send them back. And, Doctor, go ahead. Dr. No, I mean, Dr. Birx they don't send them back. And, Doctor, go ahead. The Press Well, I mean, Dr. Birx explained it very, very well. I just want to get back, John, to your question. It's a logical question. When you look at the number, you want to know

what the demography is going to be. This is a number that we need to anticipate, but we don't necessarily have to accept it as being inevitable. And that's getting back to what I'm saying about we can influence this to varying degrees. And if we influence it to the maximum, we don't have to accept that. That's something we need to anticipate. But I want to do, not I, all of us want to do much, much better than that. On that front, what are the models suggest is on the low end if you have full mitigation? Well, it says.

That was full mitigation. That was full mitigation. All right, Trump is talking. We're not going to him. I want to go to my first guest because I'm just not understanding what in the hell we just heard. Joining us right now is the president of the American Medical Association, Dr. Patrice Harris. Dr. Harris, I'm sorry. If I'm frustrated because of what I just heard,

this is what I don't understand. I recall there being a Rose Garden news conference where CVS and Walgreens and Walmart were walked out there and we were going to have drive-through testing and all sorts of stuff. And then hear Dr. Burke say, oh, we've got 500,000

tests that are in the states that nobody's using. And then you hear Mike Pence say, well, that's a misunderstanding. You know, we're doing 100,000 tests a day. But then you hear the governor of Montana say, don't have enough tests. You hear

the governor of Ohio, don't have enough tests. And so, I'm Ohio don't have enough tests. And so I'm sorry. Is there some sort of disconnect between what D.C. is saying and what is actually happening in the rest of America? Well, Roland, thank you for having me on the show. And you use the perfect word, the word I was thinking about, and that was disconnect. So we are absolutely way behind on testing. And we have asked at the AMA for some sort of national tracking system so we can know exactly where these tests are, because you're right, it's hard to say. And early on, we heard millions, and now we are saying there's 500,000. And I think it's

incumbent upon the administration to develop that tracking system, that tool that Dr. Birx, I believe, was just alluding to. That has to happen. Otherwise, there will still be that disconnect. Governors and states will still not have the information that they need and the testing capacity that they need. I don't. OK, I am not. I hate Excel spreadsheets. But to me, I don't understand how hard this is. Again, what I understand is if you say we sent 500,000 out, okay, how many went to Ohio and went to Florida and Illinois and Tennessee and Georgia? So let's say you sent 50,000 to 10 different states. Okay, then who did you send it to in Florida?

Who received it in Florida? Was it signed? And then did they distribute them to counties in their state? I don't understand why this is so hard. And then we were told, I remember, oh, we're gonna have 4 million by the end of the week.

And then you hear the vice president say, well, that was a misunderstanding. And, you know, saying that there's 1.1 million, that's the difference between 1.1 million tests being done and then them being returned and people don't return them. Well, guess what? If you had drive-through testing, you wouldn't have to have people not returning them because they will be tested right then, placed in a bag, information taken, and then sent off. Correct? I agree. You're asking the right question, and that's why we have to demand

a tracking system. You're right about spreadsheets. I believe, Roland, and I'm not that tech savvy, but it appears to me that some very smart tech savvy folks could develop something relatively quickly. We have to know where these tests are, who has what, who needs what, and then we can prioritize the need. And by the way, we have said that regarding the ventilators and PPE. I mean, we really need a federally coordinated tracking system because you're right, these questions should not be that difficult to answer. And it just underscores that we are not matching the demand of governors, of states, of local county health departments, and we really need to do so. And testing is a critical way we are going to know the exact spread of this disease. One of the things that, folks, let me know if y'all have that video. Someone posted a video of what hospital workers

are literally going through to protect themselves from coronavirus. If y'all have that video, can you please play it right now? Okay. All right. Y'all find the video. I asked for it to be downloaded. And so please. And what, what, what, what, what, what's really just, just again, crazy to me. And I'm going to try to find this video. And it was unbelievable to literally see all of the stuff that doctors are doing and what they're having to deal with. And then you listen to Donald Trump stand there and essentially accuse people of stealing masks and them going out of the door

and then questioning, well, why they need ventilators. I read a story last night where in Miami at a Veterans Administration Hospital, they are telling people they are going to have to use one mask a week. You're a doctor. That's not even the CDC protocol. You're to get rid of that mask after you've seen one patient. Roland, this is the most common concern I am hearing from physicians all over the country. And I know everyone, you've seen the nurses wearing trash bags. And as you say, you've seen physicians reusing masks, trying to sterilize them themselves. And Roland, in typical times, and we are not in typical times, but physicians would have been disciplined or fired for reusing masks because it would violate infection control policies.

So again, physicians, we went into this profession accepting some level of risks. You know, this isn't the first infectious outbreak we'll have and this won't be the last. But there is an accountability contract here. You know, we should have the tools that we need. We should have PPE that we need. It is just unconscionable that we do not have the PPE. And again, another reason, the AMA requested of the president to invoke the DPA. Now, this was two weeks ago or several weeks ago. And he finally did do that because we need massive amounts of PPE. And it is being used and it is not being misused, according to the physicians that I'm hearing. They are just trying to do the best they can. And they don't want, candidly, to be infected or to become ill. They don't want to risk their families becoming ill. And it's really not selfish, you know, because if physicians and nurses and we lose other health care professionals on the front line, what are we going to do? Who's going to be there to take care of our patients?

So this is certainly a workforce issue. It's it's it's tragic. And I and I will tell you, physicians tell me that they go to bed at night, sometimes in tears. And we're going to get up the next day and do what we can, but we really need to get PPE in the hands of those who need it. And it's about results, you know. It's okay to talk about it, but the metric for the AMA will be results. And when we don't have the video, I know, or the trash bags or folks reusing them, then we will know that we have the results that we need. When you talk about hearing from these various doctors, we're seeing people who are posting their own shots. We're seeing photos of doctors literally sleeping in their cars

because they are afraid to go home and possibly infect their wives and children. I saw one tweet earlier where this woman, her mom was a retired doctor, and then they call her back into action, said, here are all of the important papers. Here's all of the real information. I might not survive this. I mean, we are hearing from doctors who are saying that they are operating in war zones. And you juxtapose

that with these daily news conferences. And you hear folks say, we got enough ventilators. But then I read one story where one woman was 90 years old and she said, look, don't even bother saving for somebody younger. And then that woman died. That took place actually in another country. But we're seeing people make those type of decisions. You talk about the National Defense Production Act. I read another story from the Texas Tribune, where there was a particular supplier who tried, who has two million masks and said they would sell it to a hospital for six dollars a mask. They normally cost a dollar. And if you have Donald Trump, who's just walking people up there saying, oh, this company is going to produce 50,000 a week and this company, how great is this?

If you invoke that, you can actually have, you can actually use the hammer to say, no, you cannot price gouge. And so even though he signed it, they're actually not really using it. And so as Cuomo said, now you've got hospitals competing with one another, saying, fine, how much are you going to pay up?

Well, you're going to pay six, so forget you. Oh, you'll pay seven, forget you. This is not the way you operate in an international pandemic. You know, Roland, physicians are writing wills. They are, and as you mentioned, living away from families. But just think about that, actually. They are updating their wills and rewriting the wills. And I think that just speaks to and underscores the need for federal coordination of this effort again. And so we again continue to call on the administration to use all the levers, as you mentioned, you've mentioned several, in the federal government to make sure that we have the supplies that we need. And it's coordinated. So hospitals are not competing with one another.

States are not competing with one another. I believe that. And then we have this tracking system. So we know you're right. Perhaps right now we all know that New York is the hotspot. Certainly, New Orleans has a great increase in cases. Last week, I live in Atlanta. Last week, our ICU beds were at near capacity. We know the peak is going to hit different regions of this country at different times. And there could be federal coordination. Absolutely, we need to increase the baseline of ventilators, but there could be coordination. But certainly, it would be great if the federal government, and we are requesting that the federal government step in and make sure all of these needs are coordinated

so that priority areas get what they need. This is going to affect us all. You're the president of the nation's largest medical group. Has this task force, has this White House called in the AMA and say, what's your advice? What's your counsel? What are your members saying? They have, Roland. I will say three weeks ago, I, along with the leaders of other national medical organizations, had a conference call with the task force and the president. And we raised this issue, and it was my suggestion coming from the AMA. Of course, there was really a lot of consensus among all the groups.

And we raised the issue of the need for PPE. We raised the issue of the need for testing at that time, and this was about three weeks ago. And so these are issues that we raised. Now, and I will say this, the CMS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, have been very responsive around the issue of telehealth. And that has certainly really helped a lot in making sure that patients still have access to care. As you know, many physicians' offices are closed. Elective surgeries postponed. Maybe the offices are, you know, one to two days.

Hours are different. But we have been able to meet some needs, not all, with the use of telehealth. So certainly there was some responsivity to that. But really, PPE continues to be an issue. The testing, as you know, continues to be an issue. And from our standpoint, the AMA and the nation's physicians, again, it's about results. We can talk about it, but we need more than the talk. We need to make sure that we have results. And again, the metric for us will be when we no longer hear the stories or see the videos that you mentioned of nurses and doctors not having the equipment that they need or for that matter, be fired for using their own equipment. We really needed all hands on deck approach for this. And look, we are physicians are going out on the

front lines. Nurses are on the front lines and we need accountability back for us to say, yes, you are going out on the front lines and we want to make it as safe as we can for you, for for patients sake, for your sake, for our health care system sake. Last question for you. I know that call was three weeks ago if there was but here's what we're also hearing and this actually i got a couple of questions i'm gonna ask this one first it is baffling to me to listen to reports of hospitals threatening to fire personnel if they talk to the media about problems inside of the hospital. I would think this is the last of all moments. This is not the moment where you want to be firing personnel in the middle of a national emergency.

You know, Roland, yet most institutions have a media policy, and that is in the service of coordinating what is said. But these doctors are speaking out and saying what everyone already knows, right, that we don't have PPE. They don't have PPE. So, again, the AMA— And also, for the person at home, you said in the morning, what is PPE? PPE is personal protective equipment. Got it.

And that's the mask, the face guards, the gowns, and those are the N95 masks, the gowns, all of that equipment, which, again, reduces the risk of a physician becoming infected or infecting another patient. So, again, appreciate media policies, but, you know, these physicians are going out and really saying what everyone already knows, and so we do not believe that, absolutely do not believe physicians or any other worker should be fired.

Last question. If you had, you talked about me on that call three weeks ago, if there was one thing that should be done right now by this task force, by this White House, with the federal apparatus, as opposed to just leaving up to the states, what would you say that one thing is? Well, I would say the federal coordination and a tracking system and the data, and really that's an umbrella. And then it takes care of all the other things we need, tracking the PPE, making sure, again, as we started this conversation, we need to know we're great, glad that Abbott has that new test out, 500,000. Where is it? And let's make sure we get that out to folks so we can act on the data.

If I can say one last thing. Yeah, go ahead We data and the science and the evidence is what needs to inform our interventions and the next steps. And without the data we won't know where precisely to target our interventions. And I just want to say one more thing about about health disparities and health inequities. One other piece of data is we have we believe that and again we need to not only know gender we also need to know race and ethnicity regarding those who are impacted those who are hospitalized those who have died. We know something like this just magnifies already existing health inequities. And so again, we need the data to inform our next steps. All right. Dr. Patrice Harris, president of the American Medical Association,

we certainly appreciate you joining us. Thanks a lot. Thank you for having me. All right then. Folks, I have the video here that was just stunning. Rex Chapman posted this video, and this is, they fast-forwarded it, but watch what one worker goes through to protect himself from coronavirus. Watch this here. unbelievable mask netting goggles then a second hair net if you will

gloves protective suit, goes all the way up to the neck. It's a hood. Now, it's a third one. Then he tapes the side of it. First of all, another pair of gloves. Booties over the shoes. Now he tapes the side of the, and then puts a mask on top of the mask.

And now he's ready. That's what one hospital worker does to protect himself from the coronavirus. And Donald Trump says, hey, just reuse the mask. Just reuse it. I don't see what the big deal is. Just reuse it. This is the utter silliness. And this is

why I don't take these news conferences live. Not only that, I don't take them because, y'all, he lies. He lies. This is what he said three days ago. By this disease,

this, whatever they want to call it, you can call it a germ, you can call it a flu, you can call it a virus. You know, you can call it many different names. I'm not sure anybody even knows what it is. But the children do very pandemic by this disease. He says you can call the flu. Today's news conference, he says, is not the the flu. Then he says, no one knows what to call this. Yes, they do. It's called a virus. It is baffling to look at the level of dishonesty that we hear every single day. And this thing is real. It's real in how it's impacting people. Vice President Joe Biden continues to draw attention

to Trump's massive failures. You said repeatedly that you think that some of the equipment that governors are requesting, they don't actually need. When I hear face masks go from 10,000 to 300,000 and they constantly need more. Is there an action he has not taken that you would be taking right now if you were president? One, I would make sure that he uses the Defense Production Act for masks and gowns, all the things that our first responders and our doctors and nurses need. Somebody should probably look into that,

because I just don't see from a practical standpoint how that's possible to go from that to that. Why are we waiting? We know they're needed. And so I would be moving rapidly. Something's going on, and you ought to look into it as reporters. Look at what's happening here. You have nurses showing up wearing garbage bags as over their bodies as protection. Where are the masks going? Are they going out the back door? We need to get them the help they need right away.

There's something going on with it. I don't think it's hoarding. I think it's maybe worse than hoarding. And yes, Donald Trump still doesn't get it. Doesn't get it. It's going to disappear. One day, it's like a miracle. It will disappear. The frustrating thing about all of this is it really just feels like it's too little too late. Like we knew, we knew it was coming.

The risk to the American people remains very low. We had to get a refrigerated truck to store the bodies of patients who are dying. When you have 15 people and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that's a pretty good job we've done. Yeah, that's the cough. People are getting better. Almost everybody that we see is getting better. The hospitals look like a war zone. People come in, they get intubated,

they die, the cycle repeats. So I would love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter. This is for real. Please stay inside. Please pray for the people, y'all. Everybody is getting better. Really? Look at these heartbreaking tweets from people who've lost members of their families.

From the fab, my aunt died yesterday. Her daughter died today. My cousins lost their mother and grandmother to COVID-19 in less than 24 hours. From Kirsten Allen, my uncle was tested positive for COVID-19 last week. By Sunday, he was hospitalized and on a ventilator. This morning, my cousin let me know he didn't make it through the night. As the president fiddles, people are dying. Also, go to my iPad, please. This video

here, a state representative, Isaac Robinson of Michigan, a member of Phi Beta Sigma. Yes, he is white. He's a Sigma. He actually, 44 years old, contracted coronavirus. He also died. Statement from the Senate Democrats. We're absolutely heartbroken to hear of Isaac's untimely death. Isaac was a fighter for his district and proudly carried on the family tradition of advocating for the working people of Michigan. This is just terrible news and we will hold the Robinson family close in our prayers tonight. I was looking at a story before I came on the show. Adam Schechter of ESPN posted this particular tweet. There is a sports agent who represents several NFL players, Buddy Baker. He posted this yesterday,

excuse me, two hours ago. He lost his mother and father to coronavirus. Go to my iPad, please. He contracted COVID-19 and unfortunately passed away this past Sunday due to complications. My parents were amazing people.

We were married 51 plus years. They passed away six minutes apart. Just a few weeks ago, they were in perfect health. We live in a world of it can't happen to me, it can't happen to us, it can't happen to my family it can't happen to us, it can't happen to my family. What happened to us? I'd like to take this time to make people start thinking about making a change. While the CDC and all the regulatory bodies make suggestions on what we should do, I'm not sure everyone really understands the importance of it. Hopefully this can be the catalyst for a change. Practice social distancing,

wash your hands as regularly as you can, and importantly, stay at home. This is an opportunity for something which was very bad and tragic to my family to prevent someone else's. Sometimes people can, especially young people, can feel like they're immune from something, we're invincible, and that's simply not the case. It's not the easy choice, but it's the right choice. It's the safe choice. So during this time, realize it's boring to stay at home and you're not going to be able to live life as we've grown accustomed to. But it's necessary to help fight and stop the spreading of this horrible virus. As part of my job, an essential quality is the ability to lead, some might say inspire others. Well, we usually look for a positive thing to be an inspiration.

We hope that what's happened to us and our family inspires others to start leading and unifying with each other to make the right choice and the challenging choice. Again, it's going to take a while. All right, folks, let's bring in my panel. Malik Abdul, Republican strategy, Kelly Bethea, communications strategist, Teresa Lundy. She is principal founder of TML Communications.

Just a short while ago, Malik, this is just one of the reasons why, again, why I don't waste time taking, listening to Donald Trump from this news conference. Literally just a few moments ago, eight minutes ago, Mike Pence stood at the microphone and said, every state should comply with the 30-day clampdown. John Trump walks up right behind him

and says, states like Florida and Rhonda Sanders should do what they want to do. Dude, what the hell? What's the whole point of the leader of your task force saying everything should comply if Donald Trump goes, ah, y'all can do whatever the hell y'all want to? Even while Florida is seeing a dramatic increase in their cases,

DeSantis, he goes, well, unless the task force tells me to, I'm not going to do it can't say i really have an answer to that i didn't see the clip that you're talking about with um mike pence and donald trump talking it just happened nine minutes ago yeah well unfortunately i didn't see that part i was watching your other videos but the you know whatever information i think that the governor and many people would argue realistically that he waited a little bit late to actually implement things down there in Florida, specifically as closing the beaches. But I think that the 30-day timeline,

from my perspective, it pretty much speaks for itself. And it's a guideline for states, obviously. You know, I don't think that the federal government at this point is mandating that. But as far as the general guideline, in addition to the things I think probably, what, two weeks ago when they gave us the 14-day quarantine guidelines, I think this is just another extension of that. And it makes sense for states to follow, but not just the states. And you have places like Virginia. Forget what the federal government guidelines are. They have many other states sense for states to follow, but not just the states. And you have places like Virginia, forget what the federal government guidelines are. They have many other states that are

moving towards extending that well beyond April 30th. So I think we should make a distinction that these definitely are guidelines for states to follow, but many states like Virginia and some other states, Maryland and other states, they're not going to abide exclusively by that guideline. Teresa, here's what's stunning. Here's just what was stunning. To listen to Donald Trump stand there and three days ago say, well, this is like the flu. And then today, not the flu.

And then if somebody said, but three days ago, he probably would say, oh, you're a liar. You've been snarky for reading bad comments. I mean, the reason why people are saying don't take his comments live, Teresa, because he lies. He literally makes shit up. And then you got to come back and correct it over and over and over again. He has not taken this seriously and it has been awful. We've lost Teresa. Let me go to Kelly. Hello, Kelly, go ahead.

No, I'm Regarding your question, it's beyond awful for me. And I'm taking it as seriously as I can and as personally as it is to me. I am considered an essential employee, so there may be a time where I have to go into the office. But until that point, I'm not going in. I'm working from home as best I can. I have people in my life who have died, attenuated people in my life, friends of friends. Just got a post on Facebook two days ago, or yesterday rather, that a friend's fiance, he was 32 years old. In perfect health, he had diabetes.

And as a result of complications from that disease, he died of COVID-19 at 32 years old. And while people will say, oh, well, he had complications or, you know, in other cases, this other person had complications, you should not have to, you shouldn't be dying because of a cough. You shouldn't be dying because somebody shook your hand. That's crazy. That's not how this is supposed to work. And the fact that our president just is blissfully and willfully ignorant of the fact that this is an emergency. We are in dire times right now. We have not seen this in our lifetime before. And he is just taking it like it's a grain of salt.

It's just insulting. And I'm frankly ashamed that he's our president. This is a shameful moment in history when it comes to the American presidency, that we don't have a president who cares about his people, disrespecting reporters who are asking him the tough questions, not having any accountability partners when it comes to these ventilators and equipment that these doctors need. It's ridiculous ridiculous and it is

really just shameful teresa uh teresa back say it again she's out there is teresa there i'm here all right there we go all right teresa again i i teresa as i'm as i'm looking at these stories as i'm seeing what's happening, I'm listening to Trump whine and complain about the mask and things along those lines. Yet, I'm looking at this story out of Miami. A veteran affairs, I mean, they're telling them you can only use one mask per week. I've never heard anything like it.

I mean, I have to go back to your original point where we had to really realize that we are dealing with a president that is a business guy. So his first reaction was about the job markets. His first reaction was about the business community. Oh, it's not a big deal. Okay. Give me some talking points just so we can probably contain, you know, the virus and not make it as widespread or a pandemic because we all have our interests. Donald Trump was elected on being a business guy, and so his mindset is about business-first opportunities. And so when we see him go from February's press conference from 15 people to now we have 26,000 upwards to 500,000 of testing that hasn't

been used yet, the American people really have to start reading for themselves, right? Because, look, we love Dr. Fonzie. We love the other CDC directors. We love President slash Governor Cuomo. But we have to be realistic that some of the supplies are limited. Doctors are utilizing trash bags, Ziploc bags. I've had two friends, literally in the past two weeks, just told me that their uncle died and someone, their brother just passed away because of COVID. And so here in Philadelphia, we're doing what we can

and our numbers aren't as, thank God, high as New York. just passed away because of COVID. And so here in Philadelphia, we're doing what we can, and our numbers aren't as, thank God, high as New Jersey and New York, but we have, first of all, increasing results in the counties that's literally 10 or 20 minutes away from us. So it does behoove every city and every county to know that this virus is here and start taking precautions early. And that's what I believe every mayor's responsibility is. But at the end of the day, when we are looking at these live press conferences, we have to take a more intelligent and educated look into what's actually being said. Because if I just heard in this live press conference, Roland, forgive me if I'm mistaken,

but I was told we had about four different testing. You froze there, so we'll get Teresa back. I'm going to read this story here. This is from the Miami Herald, Malik. Miami VA hospital employees are being told to wear, reuse one surgical mask per week. Healthcare workers at the Miami VA hospital are being told to reuse one surgical mask for a week at a time starting Monday. Guidance issued after a federal report on VA hospital preparedness for the novel coronavirus pandemic found the facility had shortages of personal protective equipment. Administration

officials at the Miami VA told employees to check out a surgical mask and return it at the end of each week in order to receive a new one according to people familiar with operations the hospital a spokesperson for the facility confirmed the guidance on sunday but said it applied only to employees who are not dealing directly with patients suspected of having covet 19 the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Shane Suzuki, the Miami-Bee spokesperson, said the guidance was issued out of an abundance of caution. Now, look, Donald Trump constantly pimps the military, talks about how he loves the military,

and all the money we've spent, this extra $700 billion in the bill that Senator John McCain put forth. The more the billions and billions. He flew down to Norfolk, Virginia just to see the hospital ship away and hold a news conference. How in the hell do you

actually give a damn about the military if these are the sort of things happening at a VA hospital? Well, I don't think that the fact that they don't have enough protective gear, I'm pretty sure it has very little to do with Donald Trump, as opposed to just unfortunate. It's an unfortunate thing about our government. If we look at what the experts have said, what Fauci have said, what even medical experts have

said, what former government officials have said, is that this is something that is definitely unprecedented. And we're seeing that there are definitely gaps in the system, not just on the federal end, but our public health care system. Governor Cuomo just said today that there are things that they're learning in real time as far as the New York state health system that they just simply did not know. But, Malik, to listen to Mitch McConnell today,

to listen to Mitch McConnell try to blame Democrats by saying they were focused on impeachment, would you like for me to show you how Donald Trump was not caring and focused on this in January and February, how he was holding rallies, how he was tweeting about other things, how literally for nearly the entire month of February, he made no mention of any of this in the month of February in any of his tweets. Had the United States actually used the month of February and the first week in March to actually mobilize,

we would not be in the situation, Malik. And so that is a failure on leadership. Well, I simply don't, I don't know what you're using to draw that conclusion. I'm using facts. I'm using actual, okay, hold up. You know what? Hold up, hold up. Since you're asking, what am I using?

Okay, guys, I want y'all to cue the video we just showed since clearly you're asking the 1 minute and 15 second video, okay? Cue that video, and then, Malik, you respond to this video since you're

asking me. You don't know what I'm using to speak up. Press play. It's going to disappear one day. It's like a miracle. It will disappear. The frustrating thing about all of this is it really just feels like it's too little too late. Like we knew.

We knew it was coming. The risk to the American people remains very low. We had to get a refrigerated truck to store the bodies of patients who are dying. When you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that's a pretty good job we've done. Yeah, that's the cough. People are getting better. Almost everybody that we see is getting better. The hospitals look like a war zone.

People come in, they get intubated, they die, the cycle repeats. So I would love to have the country opened up and just raring to go by Easter. This is for real. Please stay inside. Please pray for the people, y'all. We know for a fact, Malik, military intelligence was saying in early January what's going on here. The CDC issued guidance in January. Why in the hell were we not mobilizing, utilizing the National Defense Production Act? Why wasn't the government mobilizing then? Why were they not mobilizing to ensure that VA hospitals

that treat military veterans would have enough masks? Explain that, since you're wondering where I got it from. Well, I think you're talking about something that's a little different. What you're saying is that it was because of Donald Trump's inaction is the reason that the VA hospitals don't have the protective gear. If you do not act and give the order, they're not going to have enough. If you allow me for one minute to actually just get at least a good 15 seconds out, I will be able to better explain it.

Okay, so why don't you go ahead and try and explain it? So, I think there's a couple of things. What you were saying is that if Donald Trump, the hypocrisy of Donald Trump caring about the military and our VA hospitals not being equipped with the protective gear that they need, that hospitals don't have the protective gear that they need. And whatever Donald Trump is saying are totally two different things. I think what we're hearing, not just from VA hospital,

you know, at the end of the day, the VA hospital is still a hospital. And what we're hearing from hospitals all around the country is that this is something that is just unprecedented, that they're not fully, that they have not been fully equipped for. If you listen to governors saying that the things, you know, we talk about Cuomo, the 20,000 or so, I think, ventilators that he has in his stockpile, well, sure, that's for something just, I guess you could say, just a natural occurrence. So let me ask you this question then. Okay, Malik. Okay, Malik.

Since you and I want to use that as your basis, if you say, well, we were unprepared for it, but the whole point of having the information early is to get prepared for it. Go to my iPad, please. This is what Senator Chuck Schumer today, Kelly, tweeted out after Mitch McConnell had the audacity to say that Democrats were focused on impeachment. They were distracted. They were distracting the government from the coronavirus threat. The impeachment vote did not take place until February 5th. This is what Senator Chuck Schumer said. This was his tweet.

Senator Mitch McConnell, you may have been distracted by impeachment from acting to fight coronavirus, but not everyone was. I call for President Trump to declare a public health emergency to fight coronavirus on January 26. We now know, Kelly, we now know the month of February. Donald Trump didn't care, didn't matter, wasn't focused. In fact, he gave an interview on CNBC

where he said, in January, where he said, is one person from China, we pretty much got it. You had Larry Cutlow, who went before the cameras, who said, oh, we pretty much got this thing airtight, locked down.

That's why we don't have enough masks and ventilators because they did not give the order in February to make it happen. Not only is this the president's fault for his ineptitude, but it's also the Republican members of Congress because you're blaming the Democrats for not paying attention to the coronavirus.

Well, neither were the Republicans. We were trying to impeach a president, but the Republicans were trying to stop that impeachment process. So if you really want to point fingers, just in fairness, you can point fingers at each other and call it a day. But Chuck Schumer is right. He did call for a public health emergency back in January when, you know, things were, at the very least, able to be mitigated at that point in time. So, again, like we've been saying since he got elected, he's a liar, Donald Trump is a liar. McConnell is a liar. His entire line of cronies are liars. And for them to even say something like that, it's infuriating to me because while you're trying to point fingers at the Democrats, you had members of Congress selling off stock, anticipating this pandemic

to happen. So who's really at fault here? It doesn't make any sense to me. Actually, it does. It's the Republicans' fault. In fact, I... If you really want to go there. We have... Do we have her back?

Okay. Teresa, I got to read this here. The Centers for Disease Control issued a warning on January 8th. Donald Trump was acquitted on February 5th. Donald Trump held campaign rallies January 9th, January 14th, January 28th, January 30th, February 10th, February 19th, February 20th, February 21st, February 28th. Don't Trump play golf on January 18th, January 19th, February 1st, February 15th, March 7th, March 8th. When did he first admit coronavirus might be a problem March 13th. That's why we didn't ramp up production of masks,

Teresa, or we didn't ramp up production of ventilators, Teresa, because he was busy with campaign rallies and playing golf and not being the leader. You got to remember, he was celebrating. So after February 5th, there was a five-day break where he then did a rally and then another five days when he didn't play golf. And then he went back to a rally. We talk about what leadership actually looks like. And I think we've really all come to the same conclusion that leadership honestly is looking really good in Governor Cuomo right now. And that's because he's keeping us up to date on the pandemic that happened, that could have been prevented if the information was given

in January, as it was supposed to give. I'm agreeing with Kelly as it relates to the two Republican senators. Could have been more, but the more we know, but the two Republican senators who sold off their stock. And we just need to be honest. They heard the report. They were sitting at the table and there was no reprimand on those individuals who sold their stock, knowing that there was actually a crisis that was going to happen. Because honestly, what they showed in their actions was that they didn't trust the president's word. They said, you know, we did our own research.

The stock analysis did what he did, and they placed their bets. So it's really unfortunate that, again, us, the American people, are actually, you know, because we don't know the information, but we are affected the most. So now it's really the opportunity of President Trump to try to stroke some sort of leadership ability that he may have and try to fix this. I think he's trying to do that with this whole stimulus package.

But, again, it's pretty much what the rich do. They throw money at a problem, and they said, okay, fix it. But we can't fix it when our loved ones are dying. We can't fix it when we have the tools or the resources necessary in order for those to live. And we can't fix an economy if it's already looking like it's going to be broken before it's time. So before I go to my next guest, Malik, just please explain. I mean, look, you voted for Donald Trump. You're still going to vote for him again.

You laud his leadership. So please explain how this man is literally standing at the microphone. Oh, y'all need to check out what's happening with these masks. Are they going out the back door? Here are people putting their lives on the line, and he's literally accusing them of stealing some damn mask. Is that leadership? I didn't hear Donald Trump say that.

If you say he said it, then he said it. What are you talking about? He said it at the news conference 48 hours ago. Okay, and I didn't see Donald Trump say that. Okay, you know what? Okay, hold on, hold on, hold on. Here's the deal. Here's the deal.

No, no, one second, one second. Go ahead and make your comment. Go ahead and make your comment. I'm going to find a video playing for you. Well, thank you, but you devote, instead of us talking about the things that the federal government is doing right, you've devoted this entire segment

to covering someone that you say that you don't want to even share your audience. Guess what? Guess what? Guess what? I can do what the hell I want to do on my show. Guess what? I can do what I want on my show. You're replaying Joe Biden's talking points because I guess.

No, I'm not. Answer the question. Answer the question. Answer the question. What the federal government. Answer the question. You don't want to do it because you would rather. Answer the question. Nice try. Answer the question. Why is it your boy is out here talking about how medical people are stealing masks? Why? I don't know. Bring somebody on the show to actually speak for that. No, no, no, that's your boy. No, no, that's your, that's, that's your guy. That's your guy. I disagree with things that the president has done many times. I've been on your show talking about

things where I disagree with. No, I'm asking you specifically about this here. If you don't agree with any, every criticism, every knock, every nasty thing you and every other person has to say about Donald Trump or the Republican Party, then you don't hear anything else that I say. So it doesn't matter how many times I'm critical of the president. That's not enough for you.

No, I'm not asking you about how many times. Listen, let me be real clear. Let me be real clear. I'm not asking you about how many times. Listen, let me be real clear. Let me be real clear. I'm not asking you about how many times you've been critical. I'm asking you specifically about this man who stood in front of the microphones 48 hours ago and literally implied that people are stealing masks. But you know what, though? Hold on one second. Hold up. You said to me, though? Hold on one second. Hold up.

You said to me you haven't heard it. Okay, hold up. No, no, no. That's fine. Henry, go to my iPad so he can hear it. 10 to 20,000 masks. Okay, it's a New York hospital. It's packed all the time.

How do you go from 10 to 20 to 300,000, 10 to 20,000 masks to 300,000, even though this is different? Something's going on. And you ought to look into it as reporters. Where are the masks going? Are they going out the back door? Were you suggesting there has been inappropriate use of masks or improper conduct with supplies? No, I want the people in New York to check, Governor Cuomo, Mayor de Blasio, that when a hospital that's getting 10,000 masks goes to 300,000 masks during the same period, people should check that because there's something going on. I don't think it's hoarding, I think it's maybe worse than

hoarding, but check it out, check it out. I don't know. I don't know. I think that's for other people to figure out. Thank you, Mr. President. Yesterday, why did you publicly threaten quarantine on New York, New Jersey, parts of Connecticut? I didn't do that at all. Read the statement. Read the statement. Read what I said. I said, we're going to look into possibly quarantine. I didn't say we're going to quarantine. I'm going to say we're going to quarantine. Read what I said. I said we're going to look into possibly quarantine. I didn't say we're going to

quarantine. You said repeatedly that you think that some of the equipment that governors are requesting, they don't actually need. You said New York might not need 30,000.

I didn't say that. You said it on Sean Hannity's Fox News. You said that you might. Why don't you people act? Let me ask you. Why don't you act in a little more positive? It's always trying to get you. My question to you is... Get you, get you.

And you know what? That's why nobody trusts the media anymore. My question to you is, how is that going to impact? Excuse me, you didn't hear me. That's why you used to work for The Times, and now you work for somebody else. Look, let me tell you something. Be nice.

Mr. President, my question is... Don't be threatening. Be nice. There you go, Malik. You heard it. I mean, yeah, sure. Another Democratic talking point. I suppose you don't have... Wait, wait, wait. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. That's Malik, Malik. You heard it. I mean, yeah, sure. Another Democratic talking point. I'm supposed you don't have. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Malik, Malik, Malik. No, he's talking. Malik, no, no, no. He literally he literally implied. He literally implied that health care workers are stealing masks. And you call that a talking point? Well, well, I mean mean you're literally posting things these campaign ads against donald trump which i no no no i just posted no no one second i just posted hold up mellick i didn't post a campaign ad that was actually his words from his news conference oh i thought you said that was a biting campaign no no you said that no no the problem is you said that was a Biden campaign ad. No, no, you said that. No, no, the problem is you said that.

But my point is, to the point about hoarding, which I'm assuming that's what Donald Trump was referencing, unlike what you told your audience here, that's one of the things that in the press conference last week, I think that was actually Attorney General Barr, did come out and talk about what the Justice Department was doing around not just hoarding, but the price gouging that he said. No, no, no, no, no, no. Nice,

nice try to flip the subject. See, see, see, Kelly, see, Kelly, here's what's amazing. First of all, no, you don't know what he was talking about because you weren't listening. He specifically, he specifically said New York hospitals. Kelly, he

specifically said to the media, y'all need to check it out. Are they going out the back door? Come on, Malik. Kelly, go ahead, Kelly. Kelly, go ahead. That feels separate from what the federal government is doing. Kelly, go ahead. Kelly, go ahead.

Donald Trump is doing everything in his power to sway people away from what is actually going on. And it is infuriating. The fact that he is like every everything that comes out of his mouth is a new level of low. And just when you think he can't get any lower, he just says something even lower. You know what? Like this for four years. And it is exhausting. So for me to try and comprehend the fact

that he is accusing doctors, nurses, and other health professionals of stealing baths and other forms of PEE, or PPE, rather, in the middle of a pandemic, you want to know why the numbers are increasing for the need of this equipment? It's because more people are dying. More people are being infected. This is a contagion. It is going to increase. People are going to increasingly get this virus. Why? Because three months ago, this president didn't feel like doing his job and actually

getting things mitigated when it was actually out of time for it to be mitigated. Now we're behind the ball. Now we are backtracked and playing catch up to a disease that has no foreseeable end point. Our president is an idiot. Hold tight one second. I got to go to a break. We come back. We're going to talk with a coroner in Albany, Georgia,

about how dire the situation is there. They are under a major attack due to coronavirus. That's next on Roller Mark Unfiltered. Roller Mark Unfiltered. YouTube.com forward slash Roller Mark Unfiltered. And subscribe to our YouTube channel. There's only one daily digital show out here that keeps it black and keep it real. It's Roller Mark Unfiltered. See that name right there? Roland Martin Unfiltered. Like, share,

subscribe to our YouTube channel. That's youtube.com forward slash Roland S. Martin. And don't forget to turn on your notifications so when we go live, you'll know it. You want to support Roland Martin Unfiltered? Be sure to join our Bring the Funk fan club. Every dollar that you give to us supports our daily digital show. There's only one daily digital show out here that keeps it black and keep it real. As Roland Martin Unfiltered support the Roland Martin Unfiltered Daily Digital Show by going to RolandMartinUnfiltered.com.

Our goal is to get 20,000 of our fans contributing 50 bucks each for the whole year. You can make this possible. RolandMartinUniltered.com. Folks, again, we continue to cover all the different things that are happening when it comes to this coronavirus. And so many, so many of our people

are being impacted as a result of this. I told you about what was happening in just a moment when we talked with a coroner in Albany, Georgia. We're just trying to get our Skype set up. I told you what was happening in terms of how people are being impacted. One of the things that I saw the story earlier,

if you can go to my iPad in just a second, jazz legend Wallace Roney, who played with Miles Davis, he of course passed away due to coronavirus. Wallace Roney, who played with Miles Davis. He of course passed away due to coronavirus, impacted by that as well. Fade, jazz trumpeter, Wallace Roney, go to my iPad please. He studied with Miles Davis, other legendary players,

died from complications of COVID-19. A statement, I am saddened to confirm, sorry folks there, a lot of these pop-ups here. I'm saddened to confirm. Sorry, folks there. A lot of these pop-ups here. I'm saddened to confirm that the iconic trumpeter and jazz legend Wallace Roney passed away due to complications of COVID-19. Jesus, this website.

This morning just before noon, the family is looking to have a memorial service to honor Wallace and his musical contributions. Once this pandemic has passed, please respect the privacy at this time. Roni was 59 years old. Folks, we are seeing this happen all across the country. We talk about what is happening in places like New Orleans, in Louisiana.

If you go to my iPad, Henry, this is the front page of NOLA.com. Louisiana, coronavirus cases increased by 30%. Deaths up 29%. See numbers for Orleans and Jefferson. If y'all can let me know when a coroner is there, I would certainly appreciate it. I told you what is happening in Albany, Georgia, becoming one of the top cities for coronavirus outbreak. The numbers are climbing fast as results trickle in. We're seeing their system there being overwhelmed as well. It is just stunning to see what is happening.

And one of the problems that you have here, of course, is that what you have is you have, again, just the failure of the federal government to act in a timely manner. In Georgia, they've had 3,817 cases, 108 deaths. In Fulton County, 547 cases and 17 deaths. That's where Atlanta is. Albany, where some 75,000 residents, 71% of them African-American. That county is Doherty County.

455 cases, 18 deaths. DeKalb County, 325 cases, 3 deaths. Cobb County, 272 cases, 11 deaths. Gwinnett County, 233 cases, 2 deaths. Let's go to Albany, Georgia. Coroner Michael Fowler, who joins us right now. Sir, glad to have you on Roland Martin Unfiltered. It is stunning to

see what is happening across the country. Give us a sense of what is happening in Albany, Georgia. It is. We definitely have lost quite a few of our friends and family, one that we know in the community, and it is devastating here to see this virus take so many hours. When you talk about that, I was reading a story the other day, I believe it was in the And it is devastating here to see this virus take so many out. When you talk about that, I was reading a story the other day, I believe it was in the Land Journal Constitution. They talked about there was a funeral that took place there. Someone wasn't from there, came there, attended the funeral, and then a number of people had been infected as a result. Again, when you think about how this, you know, we kept trying to explain to people,

even two weeks ago, don't get together in gatherings. And unfortunately, people did not heed that advice. Yeah, that's true. So many still trying to get together now and meet. But like I said, we need to pride the social distancing because the issue came, like you said earlier, someone came to a funeral, and then one funeral went to another funeral, and then the issue came like you said earlier someone came to a funeral and then one film went to another film and then the virus spread like wildfire so it devastated our city here. Henry go to my iPad this is the story in the New York Times days after a funeral in a Georgia town coronavirus hit like a bomb and it swept through the community there.

Coroner Fowler, the thing that, again, folks, you put the graphic back up there. The fact that you're the coroner for a city, 75,000 residents. You're not the size of Atlanta. Yet you look at the fact that Dougherty County is not even close to the size of Fulton County, but you've had more deaths and little less than 100 fewer cases. That says that rural areas in America are going to be greatly impacted. They're not getting the attention that they deserve. That is so true. And the figure that they have on the count now is 30.

We have 30 deaths in this unheard of, in a small city like you said, it's Albany. And it's a state of the art. And every day we're getting called. One funeral home had so many cases at the funeral home that it was talking about getting a refrigerator truck. That's how devastating it is here. What precautions are you having to take i read some stories where uh some funeral homes are moving

towards cremation not wanting their workers to touch bodies uh what precautions have you taken well i've been encouraging i'm a mortician too so i've been encouraging the pinhole and then bombs also get through universal precautions. If you do that, you'll be safe and cleaned up and sanitized once you get finished. The goggles, the mask, the respirator, the booties, then once you finish, the embalmers just destroy all the clothes and take them off and destroy them. But a lot of the funeral homes are still embalming.

And also some are cremating, but they can be involved. It's amazing that your advice is to destroy that gear, that PPE, after they've done that. And then you've got Donald Trump talking about why can't we spray something on masks and reuse them? Well, like I said, I don't want to take that chance. And the same thing when we had TB, other kind of virus. We always believe in destroying the whole thing. We have been involved in the film and director's here. We're saying the same thing.

We don't want to carry anything home to our kids or to our grandkids. Why take a chance? We don't want to be the first one to carry it home. So it's cheaper just to destroy the item and get something new, put something else on it. Your city is 71 percent African-Americans. What are you saying to also preachers? Are people still trying to gather for church? Are they still trying to gather in groups?

I mean, and so and what are others saying to get folks to understand that you can't chance this thing? We played the case earlier. There's one guy, three weeks ago, he said his parents were in perfect health. They died today. Well, many of the cases that we've seen here, I mean, they have underlying medical conditions, but a lot of them are young people that have died, too. So the social gathering, I think they are doing a whole lot better now. They understand it is real now

because you see some of the friends or the co-workers that you know just have died. So their eyes are coming open now. So a lot of the churches now comply to what the orders are now. And you said you've had 30 in the city or 30 in the county?

30. I'm going to kind of corner for the whole county, 30 in the county. Wow. That is, again, unbelievable there. It is just amazing to see what is happening. You mentioned that you're seeing young folks. Of those 30, how many of those folks have been young, let's say under the age of 40 years old? Well, our average is 42 to 89, and the average is 60, but we do have some 40s, and we have had a 30-some-year-old gentleman pass

too. So that's our average from 42 to 89. Wow. Well, it is certainly sad. Certainly our prayers go to the families there in Albany, Georgia. Many people may not remember. That's where, of course, Dr. King and others went there for the Albany movement during the 1950s and 60s and the Civil Rights Movement. We certainly appreciate you, Coroner Michael Fowler, joining with us and giving us an understanding of what's happening there. Actually, last question.

I was reading one story that we talked about how the hospitals in Albany have been overwhelmed. Are you getting assistance from the state? Are you getting assistance from the federal government? Well, they have been coming in now more frequently now. They are coming in to assist a little bit better now in the hospital, I mean, it's just so overwhelming. I know the people are tired. They have done a great job, but I know they're tired because of the hours that we all were working. And now, getting calls all times of the night. But the hospital quarters are full of people and they're shipping them out to other hospitals now.

And quite a few of them are black. They're Afro-American. 90% of the ones that have died is now Afro-American. And so it's a serious virus here in our community that we got to do what we got to do to help counteract this thing. Wow. Well, we certainly appreciate you joining us, sir. Thanks a lot. Thank you.

I want to go back to my panel. Be fluent right now. I think Malik has left. Is Teresa and Kelly still there? I'm here. Kelly, I mean, to hear 90% of the folks there who passed away, to hear, actually, both of you, you or Teresa can take this. I mean, look, this is about to hit rural America. This is about to hit these red states.

And these people are playing games across this country. Kelly, go ahead. I just, this, you're right, it's not a joke. It is absolutely not a joke. And for these red states to still support a president who is taking this pandemic so lightly. It's extremely hypocritical. And it's, I would venture to say borderline traitorous to their constituents for them to do what they're doing and supporting this president and supporting his just misplaced leniency on this issue. They need to act a lot sooner than later.

We're already behind the ball on this. The curve is on the rise. It is not about to fall anytime soon, especially in these rural areas. This curve is not done. And for these red states to still support this president, you know, do what you want, but look at your constituents. Care about your constituents. They are the reason that you are in office, and they are going to be looking to you for guidance. They're going to be looking to you to advocate on their behalf for this equipment that needs to come in to save their lives and quite possibly your own life. Referring to the legislators of these respective states.

So just think. I feel like there's not a whole lot of thinking going on right now, especially on the red side of things. Just think outside of party lines and save your constituents' lives. That's all there is to it. Teresa, I think also, I think finally,

when this report came out showing that upwards of 200,000 people could die. And then when Donald Trump's advisors showed him those polling numbers, all of a sudden his tone changed. It would have been great to have this tone from this White House 60 days ago.

It would have been if effective leadership was in position to do so. But because we are dealt the hand that we are dealt, this is what we have to go through. But I will say, you know, living in Pennsylvania, where we have a Republican-led Senate and House, I will say some of the Republican counterparts in the rural areas are taking this issue very seriously. And so they are working with our Democratic governor, Governor Tom Wolf, in order to make sure that the right bills are being passed, that they're getting the funding and the disaster relief from the federal government. So I do believe that these Republicans in

the states are a little bit more conscientious of the decisions that they're making because we got to be honest, some of the results, the testing results are coming from their area and the people, the constituents that's in their district is asking very clearly what reason... Looks like we have lost Teresa again. Malik, I want to ask you this here. Rodney Howard Brown, an evangelist pastor,

megachurch leader in Tampa, was arrested because he defied the county's orders not to have mass gatherings. Now you have this right-wing evangelist, Jonathan Shuttlesworth, who's a friend of his. He's now threatening. This is what he said. And again, this is in the midst of Florida, exploding in Florida. We're seeing what's happening across the country.

This is what this dude, Jonathan Shuttlesworth, said. I'm going to announce it, but we're going to hold an outdoor Easter blowout service, not online. A national gathering. You can come from all over, like Woodstock. And we're going to gather and lift up Jesus Christ. I'm not ashamed that Dr. Rodney got arrested.

I'm ashamed that when they wanted to arrest preachers for having church in an entire state, there was only one to come for. I'm going to announce it, but we're going to hold him. A Woodstock type? Is he literally trying to kill people? Yes. Oh, gee whiz. You know, I wish I could say

that this is something that I really think is isolated, but I haven't. I mean, but it's not. I've been looking online and I think you even posted something yesterday about a black pastor

who decided to continue to have church. This is something apparently, and, you know, I'm not a regular church goer, so, but, you know, most people that I know, their churches are deciding to livestream.

But there are, it seems to be, a number of other churches who are having this fight with governments as far as whether or not they should stay open. I'm happy that the pastor in Tampa was arrested. The idea that this guy is talking about a Woodstock-like Easter church service, it sounds like COVID-19 waiting to happen. And I don't think that, and they should shut it down, just as we're seeing in other places where authorities are having to come in and shut these type of things down? No. Under normal circumstances, no way at all that we would be arresting pastors for having church services. But look at where we are now. So I think that, you know, the thing that we continue to hear from this administration,

from all of the medical experts, is that the best thing that we can do right now is to try to prevent, you know, go through these self-quarantine, you know, these staying at home, human contact, try to limit your human contact. And they're saying that this is the number one thing that we can do ourselves outside of medicine and everything, those other things are. But that's the number one thing that we can do ourselves. And even in places like Washington, D.C., we're simply not doing enough of that. People aren't taking this stuff seriously. I've limited my interactions. I don't go on the train. I try not to go on the bus. I limit my going to the supermarket

once a week. We can actually do this if people start participating in this system and not think that it's not just about me. It's not just about you or Kelly or even Teresa for that matter. It's for someone else who may have a compromised immune system. Those are the people that we need to look out for. And the fact that people continue to not take this seriously, it's just I'm not surprised, but it's unfortunate. Is Teresa back? I'm back. Well, Teresa, I have no problem with this one group getting together. This is according to the SPLC,

their hate watch Twitter account. Despite calls for social distancing to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, Neo-Confederate hate group League of the South is moving ahead with its annual conference in June. You know what? Go right ahead and meet and kill each other. No.

No, I'm sorry. If you're going to be such a dumbass and actually move ahead for your conference meeting, knock yourself out. But here's the thing. So they meet in June, you know, probably in a public place.

My question is, who is serving them the permit? Especially where we're supposed to have restrictions about social gatherings. No, no, no. It's a conference. So I don't know the venue. I don't know the hotel. I don't know whatever. But again, see, the reason I'm using this story

as well, because part of the problem is is mostly people on the right Who are acting a fool? McKay Coppins he wrote this story. He was interviewing some people at a At a country club in Atlanta and he was tweeting about he interviewed this one person, and he said how, like, all of these conservatives at the club

were, like, shaking hands, riding in the cart together, mocking, saying, oh, all you liberals, this is no big deal. All right, if y'all want to act like this is no big deal, just go right ahead and kill yourselves. No, that's not the message we need to give. But, you know, a good friend of mine is the head chef at a country club. Right. So inside of PA, one of the very top elite ones. And after the governor and after the mayor put their restrictions on the country clubs, you know what they were still doing for the next two weeks?

They were still golfing. And then they asked the cooking staff, listen, we can't be, you know, so out front with the cooking. So we're going to do almost like meal prep for some of our guests that are still members. Like they had this whole plan and my friend has asked me, he's like, hey, what do I do? I said, just take pictures and stand by, right? I said, because I want to see how long this actually lasts. You know, I said, protect yourself. But they literally had the backroom staff. They said they were social distancing in the kitchen, which means they had three people in a large kitchen making meal prep for their members. So you can obviously tell that they were not paying attention to guidelines, nor did they care about the safety and security of the ones who actually work for them to keep their lights on.

Kelly, this is crazy. So this is actually the story that McKay Coppins wrote for The Atlantic. The social distancing culture war has begun. And this is his lead. He says, for Jeff Frost, the first sign of the coronavirus culture war came last weekend on the golf course. His country club, located in an affluent suburb of Atlanta, had recently introduced a slew of new policies to encourage social distancing. The communal water jugs were gone, the restaurant was closed, and golfers had been asked to limit themselves to one person per cart. Frost, a 43-year-old Democrat, told me the club's mix of younger liberals and older conservatives

had always gotten along just fine, but the guidelines were proving divisive. At the driving range, while Frost and his like-minded friends slathered on hand sanitizer and kept six feet apart, the white-haired Republicans seemed to delight in breaking the new rules. They made a show of shaking hands and complained loudly about the stupid hoax being propagated by virus alarmists. When their tea times were up, they piled defiantly into golf carts, shoulder to shoulder, and sped off toward the first hole. Frost felt conflicted. He wanted to encourage the men, some of whom he had known for years, to be more careful. I care about their well-being, he told me, but it's a tough call just personally because

it's become a political thing. I'm sorry. If you want to be stupid enough to not social distance and you just want to go ahead and kill yourself, that's what you're doing. At some point, you can't

sway stupid. You can't sway stupid. You can't sway stupid, but you can at least present to them the case on why not to be stupid anymore. But the club did, and they don't care. Whether they follow it is up to them. But at the same time, I understand the sentiment of saying, you know what, let them do them and we'll be over here. But the thing about COVID-19 is it is not a discriminator of person and it does not

belong to any one political party. So if you have Republicans acting stupid, Democrats can still be affected. So that's my issue. You want these church, megachurch pastors or whatever having a COVID-19 lollapalooza in a field somewhere. Any other situation would be like, fine, have at it, go be dumb.

But again, COVID-19 is not a discriminator of person. They will come back to their respective homes. Maybe one of them lives next to a Democrat. Even worse, maybe one of them just lives next to somebody who is immunocompromised. That person can die regardless of party, regardless of political stance. So that's my concern. You are not it's not about you aligning with Trump so much as it is you aligning with stupid. This is dumb. Don't have the congregation

in such a predicament where they feel like they're choosing between Christ and politics. That doesn't make any sense to me. Mel, why are conservatives so hard-headed on this? Because

when you look at a lot of these stories, in terms of these defiant pastors and all the different people, I mean, this story here is like, this should not be a left-right thing. This should be stuck on stupid and smart. Now that we're in 100% agreement, and I don't think that this is a left or right thing, because I have seen many cases. Even look at what had to happen here in the District of Columbia. The mayor had to send the National Guard to areas around the Tidal Basin to close it off because people decided that they wanted to do, as they always done, go and see cherry blossoms. And the

mayor had to shut that down because the people weren't practicing social distancing rules. We saw the instance where the police were called to close a party. It was, you know, a bunch of people having a party for a white, for a one-year-old. I mean, these type of things, I honestly, and I get that people cover it in a left versus right way. But the fact is, is that people on both sides of the aisle have been bat-ass crazy as far as just being able to contain themselves. My thing is just stay in the house. Stay in the house. I mean, I understand people have cabin fever, but stay in the house. I was walking up the street yesterday, and you would think that it was a

block party that people were having out there. Go, go, going, everything. And I'm like, come on. You have to be concerned about people other than yourself and your need to want to get out of the house and socialize with people. I understand that, but this is a health crisis that we, a public health crisis that we have never seen since probably 1918. So we need to take precautions. And people just aren't. They are taken seriously on both sides of the aisle. People are not taken this seriously. White, black, Hispanic, Asian, it doesn't matter. People aren't taken this as seriously as they should

despite what governors are saying, despite what mayors are saying, despite what the public health officials are saying. They're just not. And it's unfortunate. Well, we certainly are. That's why y'all via Skype, you're not in the studio. Kelly, Malik, Teresa, we certainly appreciate it. Thanks a bunch, folks. When we come back, we'll continue our tribute to Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowry, who passed away on Friday at the age of 98. And we'll hear from a couple of folks who work closely with him next on Roland Martin Unfiltered.

Support Roland Martin Unfiltered. Be sure to join our Bring the Funk fan club. Every dollar that you give to us supports our daily digital show. There's only one daily digital show out here that keeps it black and keep it real. As Roland Martin Unfiltered, support the Roland Martin Unfiltered daily digital show by going to RolandMartinUnfiltered.com.

Our goal is to get 20,000 of our fans contributing 50 bucks each for the whole year you can make this possible rolandmartinunfiltered.com all right so a lot of y'all always asking me about terms some of the pocket squares that i wear now i don't know robin don't have one on now i don't particularly like the white pocket squares i don't like even the silk ones. And so I was reading GQ magazine a number of years ago, and I saw this guy who had this pocket square here, and it looks like a flower. This is called a shibori pocket square. This is how the Japanese manipulate the fabric to create this sort of flower effect. So I'm going to take it out and then place it in my hand so you see what it looks like.

And I said, man, this is pretty cool. And so I tracked down, it took me a year to find a company that did it. And so they basically have about 47 different colors. And so I love them because, again, as men, we don't have many accessories to wear, so we don't have many options. And so this is really a pretty cool pocket square. And what I love about this here is you saw when it's in the pocket, you know, it gives you that flower effect like that. But if I wanted to also, unlike other, because if I flip it and turn it over, it actually gives me a different type of texture. And so, therefore, it gives me a different look. So there you go. So if you actually want to get one of these shibori pocket squares, we have them in 47 different look. So there you go. So if you actually want to get one of these Shibori pocket

squares, we have them in 47 different colors. All you got to do is go to rollingthismartin.com forward slash pocket squares. So it's rollingthismartin.com forward slash pocket squares. All you got to do is go to my website and you can actually get this. Now, for those of you who are members of our Bring the Funk fan club, there's a discount for you to get our pocket squares. That's why you also got to be a part of our Bring the Funk fan club. And so that's what we want you to do. And so it's pretty cool. So if you want to jazz your look up, you can do that.

In addition, y'all see me with some of the feather pocket squares. My sister was a designer. She actually makes these. They're all custom made. So when you also go to the website, you can also order one of the customized feather pocket squares right there at RolandSMartin.com forward slash pocket squares. So please do so. And of course, it goes to support the show. And again, if you're a Bring the Funk fan club member, you get a discount. This is why you should join the fan club. Folks, last night we held our tribute to Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowery.

Of course, he passed away on Friday at the age of 98, deemed of the civil rights movement a significant figure in the 20th century. One of the folks who worked with him is Janice Mathis. She's Executive Director of the National Council of Negro Women. She joins us right now. Janice, are you there?

Okay, all right. Do we have Reverend Otis Moss out of Cleveland? Reverend Otis, Dr. Otis Moss Jr. Okay, all right. Well, y'all let me know when we have either one of them so we can begin our tribute. Again, for those of you who missed it, again, last night, if you go to our YouTube channel,

you can actually see the salute on YouTube, Facebook, or even Periscope. You actually see the salute that we had to him, Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. He joined us along with Ambassador Andrew Young was with us as well, Melanie Campbell. All of them shared their thoughts and reflections on Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowry. As we said, because of the coronavirus pandemic, there are no funerals. The family is going to have a private service. And then later this year,

that's gonna be a public memorial to celebrate his life and legacy, which is one of the reasons why we wanted to have last night's show. And so that's why we did what we did. And so we're trying to pull up Janice Bathurst and Reverend Dr. Otis Moss Jr. to share their thoughts and reflections

about Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowry. Do we have him yet? Okay, all right. And so we're waiting to pull them up. And if we can't get them, we'll simply try to get them on the show tomorrow. Folks, don't forget to support what we do. You can go to RolandMartinUnfiltered.com and support our Bring the Funk fan club.

We appreciate all that you have done. A bunch of you, of course, have been signing up as we'll be on the show, and also those of you who are watching on YouTube right now could also join the fan club. Let's go right now to Janice Mathis, executive director, National Council of Negro Women. Janice, you spent a lot of years in Atlanta, so you certainly crossed paths with Reverend Lowry on many occasions. On many occasions.

I listened last night. That was a great tribute to Dr. Lowry that you did last night, Roland. I appreciate it. And Melanie reminded me of something that I don't know how I could have forgotten it because I worked harder on it than anything I've ever worked on in my life. And that was that March in 2005, we authorized the Voting Rights Act. We called it Keep the Vote Alive. And there were, I guess, I don't know, 15,000 people and you and Stephen Wanda and Nancy Pelosi all marched. And Dr. Lowry was one of the leaders and one of the speakers. At that time, our offices were next door to each other in the old Atlanta Life Building,

which is now owned by Georgia State University, like everything else in that part of downtown Atlanta. But back then, we met every week. And I remember traveling to Minnesota to get the NAACP to endorse the march. And that was an occasion where all the civil rights family from all over the country came together. And Dr. Lowry was an integral part of that. He kept teasing me, though, telling me, I'm not coming. I'm going to be out of town. I'm not coming. I'm going to be out of town. But I knew he was teasing because I knew he couldn't miss. Well, in fact, in fact, as you're talking, go to my iPad, please.

This is a photo I shot of him and his wife, Evelyn Lowry, on the back of a golf cart at that particular march in 2005. Oh, wow. You're absolutely right. And so there are a number of people there. That's when Bruce Gordon was president of the NAACP. Yeah. Dick Gregory was there.

We've since lost him. Reverend Dr. Willie Barrow was also there. Actually, I was going through a number of photos that actually came across. James Orange was there. I remember James Orange led a whole cavalcade of union members and activists. And what made it so special is that,

oh, I guess about a month before the march, George Bush decided he would, after all, endorse the reauthorization of Voting Rights Act. I said, can't nobody tell me that marching doesn't work because I've seen it work. And we all went to Washington to see the signing of the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act. He teased me a lot. He liked to tease women. But I tell you, the other thing he did, he made room for women in leadership.

And I think that was for a couple of reasons. One was he had three daughters. And no man wants to see his own daughters discriminated against. But the more powerful force, I think, was that Evelyn was his wife. Evelyn, whose lovely picture you're showing, was a real civil rights hero in her own right. She was the first person to tell me that I needed to be in favor of LGBT rights and would have rallies every year and would invite me to speak.

I was relatively young, and she said, yes, you must, this is part of the women's movement. You must be part of this. And you just didn't tell the Lowry's no. Jesse Jackson said something about him one time. You know, I worked for Reverend Jackson a long time. And he said, you know, Joe, that's what he called him. Joe was the smartest person, is the smartest person in the civil rights movement.

And that stuck with me. Certainly, again, someone who was respected and revered by so many people. Reverend Jackson did say last night he didn't believe that Reverend Lowry got the credit he deserved because he was not always out front such a public figure, but was certainly one of those instrumental voices behind the scenes. But I tell you what he did do. Every week on Tuesday at noon, we met at the old SCLC women headquarters at the Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda. Helen Butler, who would gather at noon on Tuesday to talk about our issues. And we would collaborate and help each other and cooperate with each other.

And he was the moving force behind that. And he would always end it by telling us, and you are chaplains of the common good. And it made you feel like you could literally walk on water to go out of that room, knowing that the common good rests on your shoulders. One time when I hadn't been there long, he looked at me and I was the only woman in the room that day, a bunch of fellas. And he said, Janice, will you pray? And I go to church, you know, but I'm not no public prayer kind of person. And I knew it was a test. You know, when a preacher tells you to pray, you do not close your eyes and start praying. And I knew it was a test. You know, when a preacher tells you to pray,

you do not close your eyes and start praying. And I did. And I realized it was sort of an initiation into the club of civil rights leaders. And I was always sort of grateful to him for that. Well, Janice Mathis, we're certainly glad that you could join us, share your thoughts and reflections on Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowry.

We appreciate it. Thanks a lot. He's a great man. Thank you, Roland. And look, they're not going to have a funeral in Atlanta, but they had one last night. Well, I'm quite sure and that's why we did what we did and that's why, again, and the reason

we have our stuff that we own, because we ain't got to ask nobody to do it. There you go. Thank you so much. Jazz, I appreciate it. Thanks a bunch. Joining us right now, folks, is I call him to ask nobody to do it. There you go. Thank you so much. Janz, I appreciate it. Thanks a bunch. Joining us right now, folks, is, I call him, if y'all think Morgan Freeman is the epitome of the voice of God, he got some competition. Joining us right now is Reverend Dr. Otis Moss Jr.,

pastor emeritus of Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio. Reverend Moss, how you doing? Hello. Reverend Moss, how you doing? Hello, Brother Roland. How you doing? It's great. Always good to talk with you. Just share your thoughts, if you will, about your longtime friend, Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowry. Thank you very much.

If you will permit me, Brother Roland, I just received word about an article that quoted me, which I had not given a quote, saying that I performed the wedding ceremony of Dr. Lowry, which is totally inaccurate. Wow. It's carried in the religious news service. And it's a long quote and I haven't even talked with them. Oh, well, don't worry about it. I got more followers than they do. So I'm about to send

the tweet out right now saying you saying that is absolutely false. Thank you so much. Let's come with Dr. Lowry. I had a sacred moment with his daughters on the evening of his passing. I have had great respect and admiration for Dr. Lowry through the years. I met him, I believe it was in the year of 1962, annual meeting, annual convention of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. There are some backstories that time

would not permit us to go into detail here, but he was active and had been active. I did not know him before then, but I knew of his work in Mobile, Alabama, and his association with Dr. King and Dr. Abnethy and other leaders, Dr. Shuttlesworth, Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, and other stalwarts in the civil rights movement. Dr. Lowry was courageous, creative, a great sense of humor. He became president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference at a very difficult moment and had the responsibility of bringing new forces into the organization and continuing the work, the historic work,

of Dr. King and Dr. Abernathy. Another thing, fast forward. Dr. Lowry myself and others were early supporters of President Obama dr. Lowry traveled all over the nation helping in the campaign Joshua DuBois can be a great source of this because he was the national coordinator in this endeavor. Dr. Lowry never, never moved back from a tremendous challenge. I don't know how many times he went to jail and always stood ready to challenge injustice, discrimination, and racism wherever it was found. He did this in Mobile, Alabama. He did it in Birmingham, Alabama.

He did it in Atlanta, Georgia, and throughout the nation, and I could say around the world. And we are blessed, Roland, to have had his presence almost 100 years. Those of your age, and although I'm much older than you, of my generation, we've never lived in the world without the presence of Joseph Eccles Lowry. And we don't know what it will be like without his physical presence. It will be a radical adjustment. creativity and his willingness to face death and march on. Reverend Dr. Otis Moss Jr., we appreciate it, sir. Thanks a lot. Thank you.

All right, folks, that is it for us. Roland Martin, Undefiltered. Again, please support what we do by joining our Bring the Funk fan club. Every dollar you give goes to make this show possible. Your dollars are even more important right now. Advertising is down all across the country. Media outlets left and right. Many of them are laying people

off, furloughing workers. We have not had to do that. I don't want to do that, but we certainly need you to support what we do. Look, being able to celebrate Dr. Lowry, having Reverend Dr. Otis Moss Jr., having Janice Mathis. Look, the President of the American Medical Association, y'all, that sister is not being interviewed on other networks. Every single night on this show, we are providing to you some of the top black experts and minds

across the country that are not being called upon by mainstream media on cable or broadcast that's why we matter and i'll go ahead and say it a whole bunch of black websites and black owned black cable networks on black owned and black targeted that are not giving you the kind of perspective that we do every single night. So please support us in what you can. If you're on YouTube, you can give there. If you're watching on Facebook or Periscope, please go to RolandMartinUnfiltered.com, Cash App Square, or PayPal.

They're all there. I'll see y'all tomorrow. All right? Holla! 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.

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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 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 two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves.

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