#RolandMartinUnfiltered - 8.29 RMU: See 1619-2019 through our eyes; Dem debate drama; Dave Chappelle's 'Sticks & Stones'

Episode Date: August 31, 2019

8.29 RMU: Telling the story of 1619 to 2019 through the eyes of black people; MS voting machines malfunction; Dem debate drama Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Thank you. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Thank you. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Thank you. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Thank you. Martin! Thank you. We'll be right back. Today is Thursday, August 29th, 2019. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, telling the story of 1619 through 2019 through the eyes of black people. We will talk to the woman who was over the effort in Virginia to focus on 400 years of people of African descent in America. In Mississippi, a voting machine won't allow voters to choose who they want to vote for.

Hmm, this is a problem in other states in 2020 also. And a case of CNN of choosing who they want to be the front runner of the 2020 race. Also, ABC has set the 10 candidates who participate in the debate on September 12th at Texas Southern University in Houston will tell you who they are. Plus, a North Carolina man avoids jail time for punching a black teen in the face.

And other white supremacist attack stopped just in time. Also, remember when Angela Davis had the award rescinded in Alabama? Well, guess what? Now they're going to give her the Fred Sheldon's Worth Award. I'll give you those details as well. And Dave Chappelle has got folks all upset and in their feelings with his new Netflix comedy special, Sticks and Stones.

The question we're gonna ask is, have we gotten so sensitive that comedians can't criticize or crack on anybody? Well, I can't wait to see what y'all think. It's time to bring the funk on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Let's go. He's got it. Whatever the biz, he's on it.

Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. And when it breaks, he's right on time. And it's rolling. Best believe he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics. With entertainment just for kicks. He's rolling, yeah. It's on for a roll, roll, yo.

Yeah, yeah. It's rolling, Martin, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Rolling with rolling now. Yeah, yeah. He's funky, rolling now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best. You know he's rolling, Martel. Now.

Martel. All right, folks, a governor is apologizing for blackface. No, not in Virginia. This time, Alabama. Go to my iPad, please. Governor Kay Ivey, the governor of Alabama, is apologizing for a blackface skit that took place when she was in college. A few months ago, a photo surfaced of her and her sorority sisters wearing blackface. This time, though, this is, of course,

it was a radio interview, and she's now apologizing for it when she was a student at Auburn University. If you go to my iPad, this is AL.com. They, of course, they are the newspaper there, and so you see this huge story. A governor's apology, Kay Ivey faces her past, and so she said it's not reflective, of course, of course, where she stands today and her views, but she said it certainly happened. And she said it was a mistake. Hmm, really? This of course is important because when we talk about the history of this country, when we deal with the issues of race, this speaks to exactly who we are. Our panel today, Dr. Greg Carr, Chair of the Department of Afro-American Studies at Howard University, Deshundra Jefferson, Principal with the Rabin

Group, and Joseph Williams, Senior Editor for U.S. News and World Report. Folks, it's interesting when you see, of course, this happening here in terms of her apology. Also, I want to tie it to a second story, which deals with Angela Davis. And that is, of course, remember the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute? They said that they rescinded the Fred Shuttlesworth Award that was going to go to her for her work. But it got all kinds of drama, led to several board members resigning. Well, guess what? Now she is going to be accepting the award.

Again, this is in Alabama. And so this is the quote from the president and CEO of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Looking ahead, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute today where a judge is freeing a black man who is 58 years old, who served 22 years in prison for stealing $50 because they pretty much had a three strikes rule. Okay. And he had two previous crimes. In those crimes, nobody was hurt. Small amount was stolen. But again, for Alabama, oh, no, no. You're going to prison at free labor, at penal system. All of these things are all tied together. And when we allow them to separate that from that from that from that, what happens is all of these things that tie to race become so disconnected that black folks walk around believing they're disconnected.

When I was supposed to say, no, no, no, they're all connected. That's right. They're just simply all outgrowth of the exact same system that birthed all of this. But I also feel with blacks, we don't also, and I'm going to say this, I was raised deep with respectability politics from parents who grew up in Jim Crow, Mississippi. It's like we are almost separating ourselves. You know, if we adopt the language of the white man, if we straighten our hair, if we do this, if we're the good black, this isn't going to impact us.

And there is a belief in our community. We have own this oh sure that someone you know well he deserved it you know he did three strikes he did and that's one thing in our community i feel that we've got to stop we've got to own that not all this is about individual responsibility there are systemic you know there are systemic oppression in our nation that has kept us down but we're starting to buy into this but joe the thing i think that we have too that a lot of a lot of young activists who talked especially with black lives matter often talked about respectability politics and i understood their point but i also believe that what has to happen is we also have to, I believe, step back sometimes and go, okay, I can look at something wearing 2019 shoes, but I really need to also look at some things

wearing 1959 shoes. Absolutely. Because if we don't do that, what a lot of people don't understand is black folks in 49 and 59, even in 69, in southern states, the choice, there were two choices, live or die. Yeah, exactly. I mean, and that is a stark difference that nobody really understands. And I was in Aberdeen, Maryland over the weekend because I'm doing a project on my parents' school, Havity Grace Colored High School, established in 1910, right?

And everybody knows the history of education in America where, you know, separate but equal, really separate but unequal, and that the Brown v. Board, 1954, I believe, that was supposed to make everything equal and it all went away. That's not true. I mean, and the thing that I learned most sharply is that my parents' school started in 1910. One-room schoolhouse, the only public education you could have for miles around, right? And they established this school 1910 on, and it was something that they had to deal with adversity, live or die, get educated or not educated. And the very

existence of this school was to prove that black people cared about education, you know, to dispel a white myth. But the fact that Brown v. Board happened in 55, that school did not desegregate until 1965. So even though you have this landmark ruling, you had this echo that lasted almost another generation before the schools were really equal and integrated. And to me, that's a perfect example of what you're talking about, where we have a historical context. Everybody's talking about Brown v. Board. Everybody knows what it is. Everybody's suggesting that it was the thing, at least in the white community, that it was the thing that helped solve and put us on equal footing.

But it really wasn't. Everybody else has forgotten there were two, the Brown one and Brown two. You know, your own point is the politics of respectability that you talk about. on equal footing. But it really was. Everybody else have forgotten there were two. The brown one and brown two. Yeah, the gray, go ahead. You know, to Roland's point, the politics of respectability that you talk about,

I bet you at the Haverford to Grace Cullet School, just like all segregated black schools, most of them, the parents, the community

that sent those children to those schools, made sure that their clothes were clean, one pair of pants. We didn't lose that because of desegregation. We have to understand that our people came out

of enslavement, to Roland's point. There's a new book out called Repair by Catherine Franke. We got 200 freshmen reading it at Howard this semester. Right after enslavement in places like Davis Bend, Mississippi, where Jeff and Davis's oldest brother had their plantation. Port Royal, the Port Royal Experiment, Sea Islands of South Carolina.

Black people coming out of enslavement, when given a crack of time and space, began planting corn and potatoes, began trying to put little money together they got from their wages from the union to buy land. In other words, we always knew how to build community. What we didn't get after that, as Roland talks about during Reconstruction,

the federal government betrayed those black people in those two areas and everywhere else by not allowing them to be paid in land for the reparation for enslavement and so we have to this day because we've never had that foundation we found ourselves not just cash poor but land and resource poor and you can never close a gap well this is the point what I'm saying is that as Rowan went through that history he went through that history brother when we've had a moment to ourselves we've always a moment to ourselves,

we've always been respectable. It wasn't about respectability in other people's eyes. We've always built that bulwark. And as you say, in Alabama, K.I.V. has power. There's political power. But we've got enough black people. We saw it when they put Doug Jones, those black women really organized

and put Doug Jones in the Senate. Now you got a guy like Tommy Tuberville saying he's going to run. He was the former football coach at Auburn. To your point, we have to think as a collective. In Alabama, it's not enough for a black kid who runs fast to play for Auburn football and create an argument in the black community whether we should vote for a football coach. If he's a Republican, he's in the party of white supremacy in Alabama. And we have to now leverage the same respectability

we showed ourselves as a collective to wield it against white supremacy. Kay Ivey shouldn't be the governor of Alabama. And in a minute, she's going to be able to win an election. You're doing that against a system that that is built to oppress. That's true. I mean, we're talking about Voting Rights Act. We're talking about Alabama was the leader. Shelby, you know, Shelby River is no accident.

Voting rights is no accident. But I'm going to go back to my pool. I'm a pool, I guest in in about 30 seconds. But I still go back to a basic and fundamental premise that I have is on all these issues. What is required in black America today is an absolute deprogramming and reprogramming. Yes. Amen. Amen. Because to your point about the respectability piece, I totally understand and I don't begrudge anybody black who says play the game so you can live. But when we still are playing the respectability politics and is actually hurting us that's the difference and I think when I talk about this deprogramming and reprogramming it's and one of the things when when when

King gave his speech and he it was one of the speeches where he talked about and he in chaos or community he talked about the speeches where he talked about, and in Chaos or Community, he talked about it as well. He talked about emancipation proclamation and writing your own. And a lot of people, because he talked about black love, and a lot of people don't hear that king because we have placed king in this totally different context. In fact, I'm going to go ahead in a second, and I'm going to play this because for folks who haven't heard it,

I think what it does is it also forces us to hear what he's saying when he's talking about writing your own Emancipation Proclamation. So go to my iPad, please. Come here tonight and plead with you. Believe in yourself and believe that you're somebody. As I said to the group last night, nobody else can do this for us. No document can do this for us. No document can do this for us. No Lincolnian Emancipation Proclamation can do this for us. No Kennesonian or Johnsonian Civil Rights Bill can do this for us. If the Negro is to be free, he must move down into the inner resources of his own soul and sign with a pen and ink of self-ass take your manhood.

Be proud of our heritage. As somebody said earlier tonight, we don't have anything to be ashamed of. Somebody told a lie one day. They couched it in language. They made everything black, ugly, and evil. Look in your dictionary and see the synonyms of the word black. There's always something degrading and low and sinister. Look at the word white. There's always something pure, high and clean. But I want to get the language right tonight. I want to get the language so right that everybody here will cry out,

yes, I'm black, I'm proud of it, I'm black and beautiful. Dr. Kalita Nichols, Fairfax, she heads up the 1619-2019 commemoration of the first African Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. way into you because again it's one thing to have events commemorating what took place but I believe in West by one of things that we're gonna be doing is is that we're gonna have this segment every week where we are unpacking 1619

the 2019 because I think we have to reframe this in a much different way to really get people to understand the depths by which race has impacted this country and how we have been degraded, but also how we have to have a reprogramming of ourselves. And I think doing this is a part of that reprogramming effort because frankly frankly there are a whole bunch of black people who are walking around and I'm sure Greg knows it when students come into his class. I experienced it when I was in the African-American studies class with Dr. Broussard at Texas A&M. There's a whole bunch of black folks who are utterly clueless about our own history in this country. Absolutely, absolutely. So the 16-19-2019 commemoration, which took place in Hampton,

Virginia, was about recognizing, paying homage to those Africans who disembarked the ship White Lion, which landed at Point Comfort, present-day Hampton, and not the Jamestown settlement, which had always carried the credit for African people stepping off the boat there. I think it's really important, however, that we start at the beginning, as I've always told people when we've been working on this commemoration, that African people were seafaring African. We explored. We were involved in the discovery of other cultures. We were the ancient people. You know, Mauians were seafaring Africans. We know that there were Africans who also explored what is called Central America now and South America.

We know there were Africans who settled in present-day San Francisco, Florida. So I think it's incredibly important that we do not stop the African story. 1619, 1619, however, carries a particular connotation for the settler colony, which would become America, because Virginia was a colony in Florida. And so hence we have Africans disembark the ship White Lion at on comfort and then walking into an English trained paradigm so I think that's really significant point to highlight and what do you plan on doing or do you have things planned for the course of the year going beyond just that moment last week? Thank you. So the state has a commemoration commission. The city of Hampton, which our co-chair,

is a commemoration commission. And we do not have moving forward planned activities. It really is going to be up to the public to come together to continue with a cultural reckoning. And so the commemoration which occurred last weekend was a conglomeration of the National Park Service, City of Hampton, a grassroots organization, Project 1619, and the state. I think, though, it's important as we move forward that we engage more critically with discussions with regards to our cultural reckoning and then keeping the focus on our African ancestors.

It's not just about the birth of America, and that's the way, unfortunately, that the state has framed the commemoration. It is about coming to terms with our Africanity and understanding African culture as we move forward in reclaiming who we are as people of Africa. Well, and I also think, I think it's obviously the impact we've had on this country, but I think it would be absolutely ludicrous for folks not to deal with the negative impact, what it has meant, not just to those first 20 out Africans, not just to the millions who came after that, but really how that was a clear and precise systemic degrading, demoralizing and destruction physically

and mentally of people of African descent. And one of the reasons why we're going to do this weekly segment, for instance, I don't think people understood that initially through the research, black people were initially allowed, there were no issues with voting. But that was a decision that was made later. Folks who were African descent, there were folks who were actually reading for those laws. So we're going to be walking folks through that history to get them to understand, I'm like, this is the actual history, not his story.

And that's why I think, again, we can spend the next 400 years unpacking that, but too many of us are walking around, to me, completely unarmed with the right information to combat what's happening present day. Your final thoughts? You are absolutely correct. I think that it's also important to note that with 1619, we find what John Henry Clark has taught us, the birth of a plantation-based, race-based civilization that the world had never known. This is incredibly important.

1619 is the start of an American brand of racism, an American brand of white supremacy, and it has untold discussions that we should funnel around. What really happened to those Africans after they were here? So many of them, we don't know what occurred to them. That should resonate with us. I think we should also be clear that all the focus is around this woman named Angela, who disembarked the second ship treasurer and she was taken to the Jamestown settlement. And we have no idea what happened to her. She was by herself. So we can make parallels between 1619 and today. We do need

fuller discussions. We need fuller training discussions. I think your work, Mr. Martin, is completely important. I do hope you will have this discussion every week because there needs still to be a commemoration of our own. Absolutely. We certainly appreciate all the work that you've done. We're going to do that. So if there are folks you want to send us their names, do so, because again, we're going to do it every week. And what the hell is my show? If I want to do it twice a week? I can do that, too. That's right. And I appreciate the opportunity to serve. Thank you, sir.

I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Back to our panel just for a few more minutes of this. Again, when you take, again, I go back to you take the blackface and Governor Kay Ivey. When you take laws that have been signed, when you take what's happening in Florida where we use the power of the ballot to get an amendment forepassed, the Republicans still try to come up with another way

to deny folks formerly incarcerated the right to vote. When you look at folks who were Jewish, who were critical of Angela Davis and blocked a black civil rights institute from awarding a black woman, a native of Birmingham, with that award, it's also important for us to understand how we also maximize our power. And when I hear people say, well, Roland, you keep talking about voting. I say, it's not just voting. It's what we do after the vote. It's not just getting the Civil Rights Institute built. It's then what do we do after

it's built. It's not just saying, oh, my god, it's great and wonderful at the Smithsonian. National museum of African American history and culture is the most trafficked museum of all Smithsonian museums.

But the question then becomes what is happening on the other end of capitol hill and are we trafficking at that museum, then leaving that and dealing with people representing us in the halls of Congress? I think it's pushing us to, again, expand our boundaries to understand that there's so much work to be done

and somebody has to do it. And I wish you included Obama in there, because people acted like once we get Obama, everything is going to be rosy and rainbows and kittens everywhere, but there was still work to be done. You know, it's not just about electing one person. You've got to hold him or her accountable. It's about not allowing your vote to be taken for granted.

I am a hardcore Dem, but I'm not going to just give you my vote because you have a D in parentheses on the ballot box. I want to hear you speak to my issues. I want to hear you take my community seriously. I want you to know that you have to work just as hard for my vote as you have to for the so-called white working class that abandoned us for Trump. No, you're right. I mean, Sister Jefferson, you said it earlier. I mean, we have to take some responsibility in this.

I mean, we have to take some of the responsibility in this. I mean, we have to begin to think collectively. You know, the psychologist Wade Nobles once said, you know, power is the ability to define reality and have other people accept your definition as if it were theirs. So, I mean, individuals, not only do we have to convince you for your vote, we have to convince the blocks of our people.

I mean, nothing happens in civil rights Birmingham. Nothing happens with Shuttlesworth and King, if not for the organization of the Montgomery Improve our people. I mean, nothing happens in civil rights Birmingham. Nothing happens with Shuttlesworth and King, if not for the organization of the Montgomery Improvement Society, Montgomery Improvement Association, and the black women like, you know, Joanne Robinson and them down at Alabama State. Nothing happens in Alabama,

if not for the Selma Equal Voting Rights League and the people like the Boyntons, Amelia Boynton, who just passed away at 104 years old. Individuals can make some change, but it is collective people that make change. And if we can get that hard reset you talk about, Roland, you know, what Kalita has said really will come to pass. We will rethink, and then we can move collectively.

Joseph, we discussed it yesterday. We can discuss it again. Montgomery, 60% black. They've never had a black mayor. Wow. Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully. No, no, no, no, no, no. First of all, we had it yesterday, black they've never had a black mayor Wow yesterday but even with that there were like 10 black people running yeah okay so the reality is black folks come back to elected a black mayor without a runoff no question if you

didn't have 10 black folks who were running same thing happened when the sister ran in st. Louis yeah when a whole bunch of me and wouldn't drop out the point I'm making there is it's understanding power and how you use it. And to think that Montgomery, 60% black and you've never had a black mayor, crazy. Well, you look at all the votes around the black belt from West, from Eastern Texas to Southern Virginia, that is the concentration of African Americans. We see lack of representation in Mississippi, lack of representation in Alabama, lack of representation in Louisiana. I mean, there is no accident that this is occurring, but it is about us and it's on us to collectivize and to understand that this is where it's at.

This is where we have our power base and we can make real and substantive changes if we get to that point. Speaking of that, politics is going to have our power base and we can make real and substantive changes if we get to that point. Speaking of that, politics is going to be our next topic when we come back from this break. Democrats, 10 of them are going to be standing on stage in Houston, September 12th, Texas Southern University. I wonder if any of them are going to talk about how TSU even got created. I wonder if any of them will talk about the funding of TSU in Texas. I'm going to get to all of that when we come back. This is Roland Martin unfiltered. See that name right there? Roland Martin unfiltered.

Like, share, subscribe to our YouTube channel. That's youtube.com forward slash Roland S. Martin. And don't forget to turn on your notifications so when we go live, you'll know it. All right, folks, you heard me talking a lot about marijuana stock.org. Why? Because I want to keep you informed of investment opportunities that make sense. We've all watched the growth of the cannabis industry. A recent report by New Frontier Data estimates the global cannabis market at over $340 billion. We know that marijuana legalization is sweeping the country state by state. We also know that marijuana has a good cousin, the hemp plant, with a much higher concentration of CBD. That means hemp gives you all the medical benefits of marijuana without getting you high. Until recently, hemp farming was practically illegal in the U.S. and heavily regulated by the DEA.

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All right, folks, let's talk a little politics. Of course, ABC has announced all the participants of the September 12th debate that will take place at TSU in Houston. Go to my iPad, please. This is the graphic here. You have Senator Amy Klobuchar, Senator Cory Booker, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Senator Bernie Sanders, Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Kamala Harris, Andrew Yang, former Congressman Beto O'Rourke, and former Congressman Leon Castro. Of course, taking place September 12th, 8 to 11. It's going to be airing on ABC, Univision, as well as taking place at TSU, 8 p.m. Eastern, 8 to 11 Eastern. Now, there's not going to be a second night because only 10 qualify.

The DNC, of course, had their rules. You had to be at least 2% in the polls and get 130,000 donors from a certain number of states. All the other candidates are bitching and moaning because they didn't qualify. Look, ain't our problem. Don't nobody like you, John Delaney? Don't nobody know your ass. She's been getting paid for two years. Okay, you're right.

You're the first one in. You're the first one announcing. Okay, it's on you, pimp. We don't know you. We don't want to know you. on you, Pim. We don't know you. We don't want to know you. Tulsi Gabbard, we don't want you. Okay, all these people, Michael Bennett in Colorado, say it all. We don't know you.

Okay, de Blasio, all these people, y'all are polling 0% to 1.5%. Look, it's simple. It's only a certain number of people. This it. This it's only a certain number of people this is it this is right here now the deal is nobody's telling them to stop campaigning right okay y'all just won't be in a debate you know why because we don't know y'all and here's a piece of the people here i'll tell y'all right now if you want to be considered a top Democrat, you better be able to get black votes. Buttigieg is on this list.

He polled around 0 to 1 percent of black people. And the rest of these folks, this is real simple. That is, you better learn how to appeal to who Democratic voters are. It's going to be a TSU, HBCU, public university, born out of segregation. That's right. Human sweat could not go to the University of Texas law school, so therefore they said create one at TSU. That's what led to the creation of Texas Southern University.

And I really do hope that these folks with ABC, and I really hope the candidates utilize local issues. Now granted, I'm from Houston, My high school, Jackie's High School, is right across the street from TSU. What people also don't realize is that there is a public housing complex called the CUNY Homes, which is right across the street. Not down the street. Literally right across the street.

You've got a gentrifying neighborhood. You've got University of Houston not far. You've got, again, the high school. You've got all gentrifying neighborhood. You've got University of Houston not far. You've got, again, the high school. You've got all these different issues. I really hope they bring that to bear in this debate and then not become this conversation as if what's happening there, what's happening at TSU is a microcosm. I wonder if you're going to have somebody challenge Governor Greg Abbott in Texas to give more resources to TSU.

See to me, those are the kind of things that should come out in one of these debates where you utilize what's happening locally as a part of this conversation. It's about making the theoretical actual, right? I mean, what you're proposing is a brilliant campaign solution. Let's hope somebody's listening, right? Because what better way to bring this to bear, right? I mean, you're in the AHBCU, you're in a city that's got a lot of struggles, you're in a community that has a lot of struggles. Put your money where your mouth is, right? Put your feet where your ideas are. Go there, talk to people. It's not very difficult. I mean, they did it in Florida when they went down to the detention center. They did it in Detroit, at least I'd heard a couple of them did it when they went

to have community meetings and talked to people out there. But bringing those local issues would have a significant impact, especially in a place like Texas. But we don't know. I mean, we don't know if this is going to happen. We can kind of assume and maybe cross our fingers, but that kind of is a microcosm of the whole ballgame. And Third Ward, where TSU is,

is a perfect example of really black America historically. You literally have this row of homes on McGregor that are half a million to a million dollar homes. And then you have a public housing complex that's about six blocks away. And so again, to me, when you talk about the issues that are important that people should talk about in this debate,

literally that community has all of that where you have this public university, TSU, that has to fight desperately for funding. You've got the University of Houston that's literally two blocks away where Tillman Fertitta, who owns the Houston Rockets and who is, of course, on Landry's, is putting millions of dollars,

gleaming new stadium facilities and all of that. I mean, when I say, like, of course, on Landry's, is putting millions of dollars, gleaming new stadium facilities and all of that. I mean, when I say, like, two blocks, like, literally, you could be on TSU campus and you can go, there's University of Houston. It's all of that in a three- or four-block area. I'm supposed to say, no, what I'm nervous about is that this is just window dressing. We're going to go to this historically black school, but we ain't going to talk about the real issues. We're going to talk about everything else. I think climate change is important. We should talk about it, but I think we should be talking about a historically black university education, making sure these schools are well-funded and what's going on in the black community. My fear is because people have spoken

to NAACP. They think the black issues are over. They think, yeah, I've checked this box, and let's move on to the next. No, sure. I mean, it's interesting that you say that. I mean, we're in Texas. This is debated in Texas. There are two candidates with prominent Texas ties, Beto O'Rourke and the former HUD Secretary Castro. If you're trying to make a statement to get into that top four, because it looks like it's pretty well established that Joe Biden is the front runner, in part because of, I hate to say it, but I'll say it here just to be candid, black ignorance.

We have to have educated black voters to look at these folks. You can't just vote on somebody because he was with Obama and this kind of thing. But then you've got, of course, Elizabeth Warren, who seems like she may be displacing Bernie Sanders if she starts pulling from Sanders, although they do have some, you know, different voter base. She could maybe catch because the progressive candidates and you can add in Kamala Harris, that is a higher percentage than Joe Biden. And Joe Biden is, has reached his ceiling. If anything, he's coming back to earth. But the breakout for this debate would be based, if they were listening

to you, Roland, it could be based on exactly what you've laid out. Cory Booker may be the best one to approach this from a kind of urban challenge, gentrification point, even though you can be critical of his record in Newark as mayor of Newark. But it seems to me Castro would be the one to take up exactly this conversation. I feel like that. No, I don't know. No, I honestly do. You think?

You think? Well, I mean, if he's smart, I mean, that's what I mean. I don't know. No, but he has broached other subjects in other debates. I think he gets it. I like to think that he gets it. I think that he has really struggled. And I'm gonna go back to this whole debate,

you know, like the criteria. If you pull a 2%, why are you running for president? Okay? Well, first of all, we just saw Kirsten Gillibrand send her yesterday dropout because she couldn't get above 2%. She spent, she had a $10 million war chance. My God.

Blew through it all. Got 800 grand left. And all you had to show for it was about a point and a half. I've been running since like a year and a half ago. She's been running almost since. Right. But it's like, boo, you, I mean, at some point, maybe six months ago, this really ain't it. Let me save some of those millions.

But you know what? People still, I don't know if it's ego. I don't know if they think they really know. It's all ego. You new voice to add out there. But I feel like people should have been making these relationships and ties to the black community a long time ago. And if you want to play catch up now, you know, good luck to you. I agree with what you said. A lot of people like Biden simply because of the halo effect from Obama.

That's not enough. The reason I push back on that some is the is it. I have been I have been I've been to end up a CP I've been early got these places where Biden has spoken first of all it's only one I think he's only one. But when you stay up and say I'm a lifetime in the end of a CP. Well you can actually stand up before you speak and literally name 30, 40, 50, 60, almost 100 people, it's relationships. The thing

that I think a lot of these candidates don't understand, and again, and I'm including the black folks, is that for black folks,'s relationships it's not just policies I think one of the issues that people have with Senator Bernie Sanders it's not that what you're saying is where have you been mm-hmm see have you been talking to us all of these years we know you're a senator from Vermont look I personally look I think I look at how Cory Booker is doing. Here's what I think Senator Cory Booker didn't do. If I was Senator Cory Booker and I came to the U.S. Senate, I would have sat here and locked down black America.

I would have been doing every black syndicated radio show at least twice a year. Interesting, interesting. I would be, I would have done, I would have understood the infrastructure in black America as somebody with the, who has the news segment on the Tom Joyner morning show. I can tell you right now, him and Harris did not do that. And I think that's the craziest thing in the world. They've taken us for granted because they are black themselves automatically. We're going to be drawn to them automatically. You know, I'm going to vote for putting the work in. And I think what Biden, the difference with Biden is he's done that over the years. So when Biden comes, it ain't like he brand new. Let me ask you,

see, I think that's what the difference there is. And you throw in Obama. Oh, hell, he's been around for 40 years. He. Well, that's. He comes from Delaware. That's what I was going to say. Which got a lot of black folks. That's what I was going to say. He gets the. Biden, despite his flaws. But you got to work it. That's my point. He's a politician. He has worked it.

He is a politician. He knows it's not just. You're right. It's not just about having good policies and saying the right things. He's built those relationships. But you know what? How much does it cost to become a lifetime member of the WCP? How much does it really cost?

Yeah, that's not. It don't cost much. That's what I'm saying. No, this ain't hard. Greg, go ahead. I was going to ask you because Rashonda makes a very, very important point. I mean, Biden at his age, Biden with the demographic that keeps sending him back to the Senate, and Biden as a Democrat over the last two generations, you know, how much of his familiarity is that kind of black middle-class leadership familiarity and

as far as Booker is concerned and as far as Kamala Harris is concerned sadly they're taking their playbook in part from Barack Obama right which is the very same thing which worked in 08 and won't never work again. That's exactly right. And look if y'all take that playbook y'all should have been listening to me for the last five years. I say consistently, the next person who's black who runs for president will not be able to run a campaign the way Obama did in 2008. And the last thing I say this here before, Joseph, I go to your point, I go to the next story. To all these young people who are saying I ain't down with Biden. I don't know what these old people are.

I'm going to tell y'all a story that then Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. told me. There were a group of young black folks in Chicago who came to Jesse Jackson Jr. And they said, man, if you don't do this, we gonna throw you out of office. This is what Jr. said. He said, I don't give a shit what y'all think. He said, you see that building right there?

He said, that's an assisted living facility. He said, all them old black people, especially them old black women, they all vote. That's who put my ass in office. This is what he told them. He said, the day y'all turn out like they do is the day I'm going to listen to what you got to say. That's the lesson. And people sit, and y'all, I'm telling you, you can say whatever you want.

You can sit here and trip, and you can say that ain't right. But what Joe Biden is understanding right now is all black folks vote. That's so true. Melody Campbell, y'all, Melody Campbell, we did the, they were doing, 2018, we did the, they were, 2018, we did the live stream. When they were doing the phone calls, the folks in Alabama. Oh, yeah.

One sister called, and the woman, she was nice. She said, baby, look, you ain't got to call me. You're going to go ahead and call somebody else. She said, I ain't voting early. I've already called my daughter. She's picking me up at this time on election day. So save your breath and call somebody else. The reason Joe Biden is leading is because older black folks, his numbers are sky high because they are going to vote.

And if you are 18 to 40 and you sitting here saying, I want to see who impresses me, I'm telling you right now, the reason they are not necessarily talking to you, because your numbers are not corresponding with turnout. Primaries are different than generals. That is true. Primaries, you targeting who is going to turn out, Joseph. And that's what I don't think people don't understand. And it's nothing against young folks. But old folks, look, my parents are 72. Yep. Every election day. No, no. They work elections. Oh. They are the

precinct. They work them. They ain't just... My parents moved from Houston to Dallas. All the politicians in Dallas are my parents. Why? Because they work. They work. 72. All I'm in Dallas are my parents. Why? Because they work. They work. 72. All I'm saying. My mom is 91

and she will be voting. She does not miss the vote. No, that's all I'm saying. Ask Doug Jones. He'll tell you. Doug Jones will tell you that this is who he targeted because they vote. And it worked. And that's where it's at. And it wasn't just black women.

Because 92% or 93% of black men voted for Doug Jones. That's right. Black women were trying at a higher rate than everybody else did. Black men as well. And speaking of that, folks, real soon, I'm working on this right now. We're going to be holding a series of town halls around the country with these candidates. Black men only. Oh, see, y'all didn't realize that.

See, I decided to go ahead and announce this right now. I have bounced this off of at least six candidates. Only one has responded saying that they would do it. I ain't going to tell you who it is until we actually do it. But I personally, listen, Roland's personally bounced it off of six. Only one has said, no, here's the date I want to do it. Why am I doing that? Because in all the black girl magic and all the other stuff, black men are asking questions that people are not necessarily answering.

And so we're going to be putting this thing on. I'm putting the coalition together. We're going to have the town halls asking the questions. It ain't going to be just middle class black men, fraternities. Anybody's going to have the town halls asking the questions. And it ain't going to be just middle-class black men, fraternities, anybody's going to be invited. But the whole point is what is happening out there with black men, because trust me, the White House, that's who they are targeting. The White House is specifically targeting black men in 22. And I'll give you more of those details as they become available. Folks, the video has gone viral of a Mississippi voter

trying to vote for the candidate of his choice, but the machine keeps changing. Look at what happened. Let's see here. Nope. How would that happen? I don't know. It's in the machine. It is not letting me vote for who I want to vote for. The voter in the video is trying to click the box next to retired state Supreme Court Justice Bill Waller Jr.'s name on the touchscreen of an electronic voting machine only to have an X appear next to Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves' name. This voter was one of more than a dozen people in Mississippi who reported machine glitches when they tried to vote. We'll be watching out for this, folks, because we've heard this same thing in Georgia and other places, especially in the places where they don't have paper ballots.

And so, of course, the civil rights organizations like Lawrence Community for Civil Rights Under the Law, they're also watching out for this as well. Folks, Braxton Ryback and Johnny Young were recently arrested by Las Vegas police after threatening to shoot up the XS nightclub in Wynn, Las Vegas. Police were told that Ryback and Young were shouting white privilege, white power, we are white supremacists and locking their fists like they were going to hit people.

Police were also told that the men told security they were going to come back and shoot the place up. Young did allegedly return to the hotel casino with pepper spray based on numerous witness statements and the fact that Young specifically stated he would return with a gun. Both of them are being charged with making terroristic threats. Yeah, they would throw your ass in prison, in jail for that. And so people better realize these white supremacists are real. Trump is emboldening these people to say what the hell they want to say. I'm just saying this thing is happening. Yes, sir, brother. I mean, it's the anniversary of the Red Summer. They're going to come up with the right one one of these days. Keep telling them.

I keep telling people this thing is going to happen. Like, y'all keep playing games with this thing, but y'all going to roll up on somebody who's also packing with a gun, who legally carry it, and there's going to be some bloodshed. They're going to be like, what happened? You still hollering white power. That's wrong. Somebody's going to have to make you show it. This crew here ain't going to kneel down and pray.

Nah, these young kids, nothing if you buck, brother. I'm just letting y'all know. All right, got to go to a break make you show it. This crew here ain't going to kneel down and pray. No, these young kids, what do they say? Nothing if you buck, brother. Nothing if you buck. I'm just letting y'all know. All right, got to go to a break. We come back for a Rollin' Martin Unfiltered. If you want to support Rollin' Martin Unfiltered, be sure to join our Bring the Funk fan club.

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contributing 50 bucks each for the whole year. You can make this possible. RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. November 7th through 11th, I want y'all to roll with me to Cabo, folks. We're gonna have a great time. Life lux jazz experience. Top-notch music, unbelievable food,

libations. Y'all know I don't drink, but y'all can go ahead and drink. And of course, golf, spa, wellness, all that good stuff at Omnia Day Club Los Cabos, nestled on the Sea of Cortez and the Celebrity Playground of Los Cabos, Mexico. We're going to have a great time. I'm one of their ambassadors. Of course, it's going to be an amazing

all these jazz artists are going to be performing, folks, over the four days, which is crazy. Mark Curry, he's going to be actually the host of all of this thing. Then, of course, you have my frat, Gerald Albright, Alex Boone Young, Raul Madon, Incognito, Kirk Whalum, Average White Band, Donna McClurkin, Shalaya, Roy Ayers, Tom Brown, Funkin' for Jamaica, Ronnie Laws, and Ernest Quarles. It is an unbelievable schedule, folks, of concerts every single night. You don't want to miss this. Package is starting at $1,300 and going all the way up to over $2,000, depending upon, of course, the hotel you're staying at. And so we're going to be broadcasting Roller Martin Unfiltered that Thursday and Friday from the location there.

And so I want you to come hang out with us. And also, my birthday is like a few days later, so we can actually make it a birthday party and jazz experience. So for more details, go to lifeluxjazz.com, L-I-F-E-L-U-X-E, jazz.com. It's going to be a great time. Had by all. Trust me, packages are running out. We want you to get there.

And so we're going to have a fabulous, fabulous time. And you know what? I might even crack out me a Kente Linen short set. I'm just saying. I might crack out the Kente Linen short set. We'll see. We'll see what we do. All right, y'all. North Carolina man who was arrested in January for brutally punching an 11-year-old black girl has been convicted of two misdemeanors. Remember this video from earlier this year Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, Bill! Oh, my God! This is here, Emily! All right. First of all, y'all know there's a bunch of young black girls around there.

No question. And nobody... If it was some bros... Come on, bro. Wouldn't need the cops. Let him go. Bill received a 60-day suspended sentence, has been placed on unsupervised probation for the next 12 months. He'll be required to complete anger management counseling and participate in a racial justice workshop

within the next 90 days. He will also be responsible for paying a court fee of less than $200. That's assault. He should be in prison. And Aaron Gartner died for selling loose cigarettes on the streets. I mean, you know, this is unfiltered.

I would say let him go. Go on out in the street. Let's find out how long he's unsupervised. Because you don't do nothing like that and walk the streets and not look behind you every second for the rest of your natural life. Because if that was my sister, I'm going to tell you right now, y'all might as well put the cups on me, because I'm going to erase the whole bottom of his chinless face.

No, the thing is, I don't think he feels any remorse. He doesn't. He's got a purpose. No, he's going to have don't think he feels any remorse. He don't. He doesn't. No, he's going to have to have remorse imposed on him. Let him go walk the street. Because that right there, you don't handle that in the court of law. Not in this country.

An 11-year-old girl. No. Did you see that? Can you imagine? No. No. I want to know how the judge arrived at the decision. No, that's all right.

The judge don't impose that law. I'm telling you, brother. Let him walk. All right. Street justice. No question. About time for it. But is that right there? No, brother. No, you don't do that. But I just want to know, how do you arrive at the result that you get this man spending temporary time in prison, go to a racial justice class because he sees him as a human being and he sees those two black girls as not being human. Because if it had been a black man had done that he'd been under The gym and she's a child. I mean, that's exactly you can't call security Let her I mean what she's gonna get in your face and talk smack. Well, you have to like walk around like that

What is walk away? I mean this We enough for that we're in a society where we're not protecting our children That video was a bunch of black girls Like you said bro, if there was an adult out, listen, no, let him walk the streets. Look, at some point, we gotta draw the line. We have to draw the line. We're gonna be shot down like dogs with impunity.

It's like torture porn now. They just show video after video. At some point, this guy, you know what? Go ahead, no time served, no, no. Go ahead, go with God, and see if he gets five steps out the courthouse. Yeah, it's again, no jail time. That's a real issue. All right, folks, our final topic here. We might not have enough time to talk about it, but I'm going to squeeze it in as best that we can. So Netflix has a new special from Dave Chappelle called Sticks and Stones. There's

got all kind of folks talking left and right. In fact, if y'all could find the trailer for me, I certainly appreciate that. What's unbelievable about this is that, I mean, he skewers everybody. He's talking about LGBT, opioid crisis. He's talking about Michael Jackson's accusers, R. Kelly. I mean, but what's unbelievable, he comes out and even talks about Anthony Bourdain's suicide.

Brother. It is as if nothing is off limits for Dave Chappelle Now you got people who are saying he's misogynistic people who are saying he's homophobic people who saying he's crazy He's out of his mind that he's dead wrong for this communist special now all people here I've seen the Greg has seen it the Chandra and Joseph have not But I do want to talk about this here because and then what's interesting is that he lays out in there the cancel culture. Yeah, he does. Where he says, y'all are the problem.

Y'all get on my damn nerves, which is why I don't do a lot of comedy because y'all don't want to cancel somebody. It is as if he takes on, I don't want to say political correctness, but he takes on this whole notion that comedians have to watch what they say and they can't offend anybody. Right. No, man, listen. As a classroom teacher, nearing my 30th year in the classroom, when he opens up with a dark screen and you hear him, I was dreaming when I wrote this. From the moment he opens up with Prince almost as if this is the disclaimer for everything that I got to come out and he goes to

Anthony Bourdain he said this man with this job hung himself in a luxury hotel and then goes immediately into a story about a guy he knew from the hood who went all the way to the Ivy League and ends up at Foot Locker and then says but you know I never in no moment did this brother ever think about killing himself. It is a masterclass. And first of all, he takes race out of it. I mean, rolling that line where he has, and I'm going to give it away when you see it, where they go in and tell him he can't say the F word in his skit. And then he says, okay. And he says, wait a minute. What about the N word? They said, well, you're not an elf. He said I'm not an n either Genius and this lbgtq understand now I can understand why people in the lbgtqie community might be offended

And they said but here's the thing he talks about the lbg2 Gt ai community He talks about that community in reference to itself. He doesn't say anything in an external critique of them. He takes every one of those letters and puts it in conversation with the other letter. It's a tour de force. The reason I was playing golf a few months ago, and I mentioned George Lopez, and I know George very well, played in his golf tournament, and the guy I was playing with, he's like,

man, he pissed me off when he had his comedy set, and he told that black joke, what you know, Latinos don't bring nobody black home, and then he said, and then he got mad at a woman who was an artist and threw her out. And I said, so have you heard any black comedians talk about don't bring no white girl home? Or don't bring no white boy home? I said bring a white boy home i said dude he said why aren't you mad i said because it's a comedian see the thing is for me

i have seen all kinds of comedians i have seen them in person i've seen them on television i've seen black white hispanic i've seen gay straight i've seen i mean it runs the gamut. For me, that's what comedy does. Comedy pisses people off. Comedy steps on toes. Comedy, as Dr. Freddie Haynes would say, bow down your alley, sit in your pew. Comedians say things. They dog everybody. They trash everybody.

So we have the trailer. So we're going to play the trailer. I want to come back and get your thoughts on where are we with comedy today with people who are so, I believe, touchy. So here's a Netflix trailer for the Dave Chappelle special. This is Dave. He tells jokes for a living. Hopefully he makes people laugh.

But these days it's a high-stakes game. Hmm. How did we get here, I wonder? I don't mean that metaphorically. I'm really asking, how did Dave get here? I mean, what the fuck is this? God, what do I know? I'm just Morgan Freeman.

Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you say anything, you risk everything. But if that's the way it's gotta be, okay, fine. Fuck it. He's back, folks. That's the setup. Joan DeChandra, to the special. All right, I'm a little too cheap for Netflix,

but I'm going to have to get just like a one-month free trial. Okay, why don't you go by somebody's house who got Netflix, and y'all can have dinner. Or just ask someone for their password. Listen, I mean, comedy is satire. I mean, obviously they're going to go for our sacred cows. That's what gets people, that's what gets a rise. That's what gets their name out there. I get it.

I understand it. But I do want to talk about cancel culture. You can say anything you want, but people can have a backlash. That's how this works. That's true. That's true. But see, but he addresses that i mean he addresses it he did by by saying okay okay i'm gonna go back in your life and look at everything you've done i'm gonna reach back and i'm gonna cancel you today and the thing the thing to me i

mean i think about the look at eddie murphy's so there's a story saying Eddie Murphy's negotiated with Netflix to do a massive comedy special. You go back and look at Delirious and Raw, okay? If you go back and look at, if y'all have not seen Eddie Murphy, Delirious and Raw, if you go back and look at today, Joseph, in today's context, from then, I mean. He was the biggest star in the world for saying some... That you could not get away with today.

Oh, no question. Richard Pryor, right? The master at breaking taboos. I mean, he started off in the footsteps of Bill Cosby and then took a dark turn, which made him a star. I mean, he used to be, like, telling dad jokes. And then he became this dude who said what was on his mind, including race, including culture, including sexuality. And it just made him a comedy genius. But I just, I guess again, for me, what I don't understand is I don't go to

a comedy show like it's a lecture. I don't go to a comedy show like it's a speech. It's not. It is a comedy show. Comedians take those things, to your point, that are sacred, and they say, okay, you can't talk about that. Comedians are like, watch me. That's the deal.

And here's the deal. I've hosted comedy shows. I've been in front of many comedians. You said comedians on every week. Right. It's no different, it's no different than when, it's no different than when I've emceed events. And part of the thing about being an emcee is you gotta know how to keep the ball moving.

You gotta keep people awake. And I'm ripping on folks. Straight up. I remember I did the Executive Leadership Council dinner one time. Respectability politics. Right. I think, right. Hold on. That was real respectable.

There were like 3,000 of them in there. Y'all, they had a script that was about this thick. My goodness. And they they wants go to rehearsal I'm like I Ain't going on rehearsal for the MC a banquet y'all this thing this ain't that hard And so we came to the script. I like Sean Gables was the the co-emcee. I like we read from that script So what we gonna do? I'll just follow me. I said, that's a guy. So we're in the we're in the green room. We walk in and Colin Powell. He's in there. So I walk in. He's

like, well, there's an ugly man. I said, your ass might be a four-star general, but I'll cut your ass. Oh, he crack up laughing. Now, you know, now I was in the green room. Now, you know, when I went on that damn stage, I retold that damn joke. How about that? And then, you know, Magic Johnson got in the ward. I was like, listen here, Magic ain't trying to get the tape washed. We're looking on that business plan tonight.

We'll be trying to give him your stuff. And then Emmitt Smith was there. And everybody know I hate the Cowboys with a passion. I hate the Cowboys, but I hate the Klan. Okay? I hate the Cowboys. That's a deep hatred, brother. I hate the Cowboys that much.

Does it get any deeper? So Emmitt was there. I was like, yeah, Emmitt Smith, yeah, Super Bowl champion. I was like, Emmitt, do me a favor. Lean the hell back so I can look at your white pack. I can't stand the Cowboys. Oh, we ripping on everybody. And then, so for example, so Sean Gable tried like yeah, it's been yes to both champion. I was like it to the family and held back to look at your white pack that case. Oh I really everybody and then so for example, so Sean gave a try to crack on me she's like she's like look you

need to work out now lean back to her but not like you work out to everything was on the day. Everything but the one I thought I really thought about I thought about it. I cracked on a comic a batch. I had 2 cell phones and John like why you have Kwame Kilpatrick. I had two cell phones. And Chyna was like, why do you have two cell phones? I said, Kwame should have had two cell phones. The room just, now he was crazy. The front third of the room cracked up laughing.

I was like, oh, shit. I was like, uh-oh. But then the second third cracked up because the first third told the second thing, like, what did he say? It was a rolling joke. That joke literally rolled from, it was 3 joke literally roll from the 3000 from the front of the back of the room when you're there Yo, you crack anything that's available Anything that's available you crack on Bishop Charles Blake at the MLK 50 deal. They told me rolling we start go stall Okay, Bishop Blake came in. I was like Bishop. how many cats with you? Jesus only had 12 disciples. Your entourage is 30.

Yes, sir. Chris Tucker was like, damn. That's barbershop humor. But the point is, when you're in that space, that's a part of it. I just don't get people who go to comedy shows and go, oh, my God, I can't believe you went there. That's what comedians do. But these aren't people who are going comedy shows and go, oh my god, I can't believe you went there. That's what comedians do. But these aren't people who are going to the show. They're watching it after the fact or critiquing it as all cares.

No. They're sitting in the show. No, there are people who are sitting in shows. You're talking about the Netflix show. You're talking about the Netflix show. No, I'm not talking about this Netflix. I'm talking about people who actually go to comedy shows and go, I can't.

This is not funny. This is not funny. You came. You came. You paid your money to come here. You came to a comedy show. That's right. That's what comedians do.

That's right. You don't know what a comedian's going to come out of their mouth. But what does... I just don't, I think people are sensitive as hell. I think people today don't know how to laugh. And I fundamentally believe no one is off limits. No one. Black people, not off limits. no one black people not off limits white people latinos

asians dave america nobody is off limits no that's the beauty of the comedy stage no well i think just a point what you just observed people watching this the consumer base is huge and to joe's point i mean prior could not you can go on YouTube and see the Richard Pryor roasts the roast on sexuality between him and Paul Mooney Oh my god, man, you can't no no, but but there was no social media then Things have changed in that regard. But even the clip that we all saw the trailer Dave Chappelle, I don't know what's going through his mind But in terms of inheriting the mantle of a prior, or before that of a Lenny Bruce, or coming forward,

unlike Murphy and them, Dave Chappelle seems to have struck upon a rhythm where he says, okay, I am truly going to be this watershed comedian in this age. Because think about it with just the trailer we saw. Morgan Freeman, with the cancel culture that came for him, to have Morgan Freeman doing that voiceover and then the voice of God then say fuck it this is all this ain't this ain't no accidental thing Dave Chappelle he's going for cancel culture I think that's really what he's going at and I because what we're seeing now Deshaundra we're seeing comedians saying they're

refusing to play on college campuses right because college Because college students are like, oh, my God, you joked about the jokes about that. I just think, to me, what makes comedy so different is I can escape all this other bullshit, okay, and go to a show and just laugh. And they will rip, to me, they will rip on people you like and people you don't like. They will rip on, if you saw the late Patrice O'Neal, I mean, eviscerate, I mean, all kinds of stuff. I just think that when we start treating comedians as if they are lecturers and politicians, we lose.

It really, I would say social commentary is hard for people. Listen, because they're not just being funny. They're giving you social commentary. That's true. And a lot of people ain't ready and they ain't receptive to hear it. Point blank. But see, I'm not going to call it social commentary. Because I think that's the problem.

I think what has happened is, and this is, see now, the reason why I think Bill Maher is different, because see, Bill Maher wants to play both sides from the middle. Yeah, he does. Bill Maher wants to be taken seriously as a show host, then go, no, I'm a comedian. No, Bill, you got to pick. You got to pick.

Because if you're the show host, rules are different. If you're the comedian, rules are different. And that's the piece. Rules are different based on where you are. People say, well, Roland, how can you criticize that when Michael Richard, when he went up? I said, no, here was a difference. Michael Richard left the stage.

Michael Richard attacked a person who was there directly. Michael Richard was not operating within the confines of his talent. I've seen comedians within the confines of his talent. I've seen comedians Within the confines of their talent Eviscerate a heckler. That's true. That's different Richard what the whole Instrument basically He called somebody he called you anywhere. He attacked that guy and went off on him. Right verse was anger

I mean he was anger. He was looking to hurt that dude. There you go. And he was looking to make a point. But the one thing I'll say really quickly, and then I'll shut up, is that a couple days ago on YouTube, a friend of mine sent me a Dave Chappelle routine. And it was so funny. It speaks to this point because he said he was at home, 9-11 happened, and then CNN cut to Ja Rule, right?

And Chappelle says, wait, what? And so he went on this whole riff. It's like, OK, something important happened. Let me call Ja Rule and see what he thinks. Right. Why are we going to listen to this dude about anything? He's like a medium. I mean, even Chappelle, to a degree,

you could say he's a comic. You know, whatever he says, why are you taking it seriously? Because this is what he's doing. I don't know. Tells just for a living. This guy, his social commentary. But you can choose to take it that way. But I don't know how he's, it seems like he's feeling out this territory.

Oh, no, he's not. In Bill Maher's case, Bill Maher is not funny and he ain't no good host, quite frankly. But in Chappelle's case, yeah, I'm a comedian. Dude, you're more than a comedian to your point. And I think you're aware of that. Well, no, he is. But here's what I think, to Joseph's point, what he's saying. What he's saying is, I'm going to comment on these things through comedy from the stage. Dave is not consistently talking about Trump or Democratic candidates.

No, that's true. He didn't even say Trump. He's true. He didn't even say Trump He's not good so the so the difference is when the difference is when you're a comedian and you step outside Of your job as a comedian and now all of a sudden you want to become a political commentator It's good and now you want to become and take all go to right so for instance Dio Hughley is in a different space. Because the reality is, even though DL Hughley is a comedian, even though he is host of his own radio show,

because DL does these shows and is talking about social issues, commentary, he's not in a different space. So when DL says something even as a comedian, bruh, you can't you can't do this Interesting. So you can't see that the hat in the back and forth is the problem Davis saying I'm a comedian I'm a use the stage and the mic to speak to these issues through a comedic prison But to me the rules are different. What would you do with our dear elder, now ancestor, Dick Gregory?

See, I think different. Because see, Dick made the conscious decision. Dick was a comedian. Straight comedian. Then Dick made the conscious decision to become an activist. The moment Dick became an activist, it changed the equation because he was... So even though Dick still did comedy... But it was also informed.

That's the difference. It was informed. No, I get informed. What I'm saying is, it's rules. It's rules. How do I perceive you? I perceive you... I perceive Dave Chappelle differently than I do D.L.

Oh, no question. Differently than Bill Maher. Because I think when you walk into this space, it's no different than when, why has the black pulpit been what it is, so powerful? Because when you're speaking within the confines of the pulpit, the problem is when you try to become a politician and a preacher. See, now you're operating in two different contexts. And now I'm receiving you in a different way. Who is that? Bill Gray, Adam Clayton Powell. I'm trying to think of people who Calvin Butts never made the complete commitment to politics.

Right. So the point is, when you step outside of your lane, you now, the rules are now different. Because, see, now, how am I receiving you? Are you talking? So, for instance, Reverend Barbara can speak to me through a preacher, through a preacher prism. Sure. Once you choose to become a politician, now, okay, how you talking to me? Are you preacher or are you politician? But going back to the college students, you know, some comedians don't want to.

College students don't see those two sets of rules. They don't see the different. It's all one thing to them. And that's the problem. And the problem is they are going to comedy shows, treating them as if they're going to lectures. And they're comedy shows. And that's why I'm with the comedians who said, don't book me for no dog on college

campuses because I want to be able to do my craft. And when Chris rocks talks about how you work through a joke, that's the other thing, which is why they hate being videotaped because a dude who's trying to work through a joke, they trying to refine or a're trying to refine it. Oh, no question. Or a woman trying to refine it. They may hit 12, 15 shows before that joke is just right. Now we're determining the value of your joke based upon that one time. And so that's why a lot of comedians right now are frustrated. So really what I think Dave is doing with this,

Dave is saying, you know what? I've watched all this sort of crap. Y'all come on. That's clear. What Dave is saying, y'all come on. First of all, Netflix done paid him damn near $100 million. Yeah, he good. So he good.

He good. But what he's saying is, Dave is saying, y'all come on. Come hit me with all of this. It ain't no shock. It drops in August he gets the Mark Twain prize at the Kennedy Center the highest award for comedy that's right it ain't no surprise and I think what he's now saying is come at me let me see how y'all truck on me so for the rest of y'all who behind me now y'all

could just do y'all thing cuz guess guess what? I took the arrows. I took all the arrows. Very interesting. That's what I think he's doing. That's what I think he's doing, because you're right. Y'all got to watch it. Yeah, you do. Y'all got to watch. Like or don't like.

Don't watch it from judgment. That's right. Watch it. You can judge it if you want to, but I want you to watch it as a tactician. Yeah. How he opens up with the Prince lyric, and then he has that line, judgment day line. Yes. Opens up talking about a suicide.

Yes. And it goes from there. How he constructs, I'm telling you, this was done on purpose, and I think he's speaking to this whole point of how we have taken the comedic stage and we have neutered it and said, no, you can't criticize anybody because everything is too sacred. He's saying nothing is sacred.

And beyond that, celebrity. Everybody. Cancel. Everybody. You be canceled. I'd be canceled. Any of us. There you go.

All of us. That's right. All right, folks. Thank all of y'all for joining us. I appreciate it. Thank you so very much. Folks, don't forget to support Roller Martin Unfiltered by going to RollerMartinUnfiltered.com and joining our Bring the Funk fan club.

Every dollar you give goes to support this show. Tomorrow on the show, folks, we have a fantastic conversation that will take place. Dondre Whitfield and Devon Franklin were at the Global United Fellowship in the Bahamas, and they had this unbelievable discussion about manhood. We're going to stream that for you tomorrow. Trust me, you do not want to miss this conversation. It was a powerful discussion between two brothers talking about the

importance of manhood. We're going to have that for you tomorrow. Then on Monday, of course we're off on Monday, we're also going to have a show for you. Aisha Saseh, my interview with her, talking about her book on the sisters, Boko Haram, kidnapping those Nigerian girls and how it is still a major issue.

You don't want to miss that as well. So, folks, be sure to have a great Labor Day weekend. I got some golf lined up, hanging out with the family as well. And don't forget, labor is what made Labor Day real. Labor unions. Tuesday's show, we'll talk to one of our partners, Aspen Lee Saunders, how labor unions of America with polling data are at its highest polling numbers in 50 years.

That's all next week. We got some great stuff lined up for you. All right, folks, y'all have a great one. I got to go. Howl! Thank you. You want to check out We'll be right back. 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.

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