#RolandMartinUnfiltered - 8.8.19 RMU: Prez hopefuls speak at #NABJ19; Car backfires in NYC panics crowds; Stabbing spree in CA

Episode Date: August 13, 2019

8.8.19 RMU: 2020 prez hopefuls speak at #NABJ19; A car backfires in New York City and everyone scatters in a panic; Are we as a society suffering from mass PTSD because of the number of domestic terror attacks? A California man kills four, and wounds two in a stabbing rampage; What is the root cause of the rise of hate and extremism in this country?Cyntoia Brown is finally free; Ohio Republicans are calling on Rep. Candace Keller to resign after her shocking comments about the Dayton shooting. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Thank you. Hey, folks. Today's Thursday, August 8th, 2019. Roland Martin broadcasting live from Miami, site of the National Association of Black Journalists Convention. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, the four presidential candidates were here at NABJ pitching to the black journalists here. We will, of course, talk about how it went with Mark Thompson. Of course, with making a plane, getting his assessment also with our panel back in studio. Also, continuing criticism of Donald Trump when it comes to the issue of white supremacy. We will talk about that as well.

In addition to more drama when it comes to in Times Square, folks scatter after a motorcycle backfires. Folks thought it was shotguns. We have a nation that is actually on edge. It's a packed show. It's time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Martin on the field trip. Let's go. ... ...

...... Puttin' it down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's rollin' With some go-go-royal It's Rollin' Martin Rollin' with Rollin' now He's funky, he's fresh, he's real The best you know, he's fresh, he's real, the best you know, he's Roland Martin. Martin.

Hey, folks, Roland Martin here at the National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Aventura, Florida, essentially Miami. A record-breaking crowd, 4,047 registered attendees, the largest convention in the history of the National Association of Black Journalists. We'll talk about that a little bit later. But right now, we'll talk about the fact that just as concluded, the presidential forum for presidential candidates showed up here to speak to NABJ. Senator Cory Booker, Senator Bernie Sanders, South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, as well as format. She's his governor, Bill Whale. They understood the importance of this audience. The folks who are journalists or columnists. It was live stream right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered, also on the NABJ platforms. And so let's talk about it right now with Mark Thompson, host of Make It Plain.

Mark, step on right in here. First and foremost, before we talk about who actually showed up, was it surprising to you NABJ made the offer to all candidates for this forum, including Donald Trump, and only these four showed up? Well, I will admit it's probably a tough weekend. A lot of people are in Iowa for the state fair. And some people will probably blame the weather, a lot of flight cancellations. But four thousand people still made it here somehow in spite of it. So you would have thought more had come. But honestly, Roland, and I just interviewed Brandon Gassaway, the national press secretary for the DNC, for my show in the morning. And Brandon said something as he was talking.

You know how you interview someone. You may not necessarily ask them a question, but it gives you an idea. If it's important enough for DNC leadership to be at the NABJ. Maybe it's also important enough that the DNC make a decision to allow and organize a debate, not just with white media corporations, but with black media. So why can't there be a presidential, a full-fledged presidential debate on your platform? Because this is a constituency. And as Cory Booker and other candidates said, it's our constituency, black electorate, black supporters of black media who are being targeted by the right wing for voter suppression and being targeted by Russia. So this is the audience that most needs to be spoken to. So no problem you do CNN, MSNBC, and they have ABC, they have black journalists, and some of them are here.

But there ought to be something specifically for black-owned press institutions, print and broadcast. Well, the problem you have, though, is that when it comes to those black institutions, they aren't stepping up. I often talk about it. You have eight networks that target black folks. Not a single one of them, 1,344 hours each of programming each week, and a single one of them has a news show. The reality is they want to focus on entertainment. We had the course town hall with CNN in 2016. I didn't want to do it with CNN. Let me be clear. I didn't want to do it. I said, we don't need to do it with CNN.

We can do it ourselves. And so I think that should happen. And there should be, yes, a specific forum, debate, whatever you have, you have black folks asking questions. You've had two two rounds of debates so far, not a single black woman as a moderator. There are questions that we we have that are far different than mainstream media, and that is the reality. I think here it was very interesting listening to Pete Buttigieg say to this audience, and we, of course, live stream it so folks, you can go to our YouTube channel, actually watch it. He said it's on white folks to deal with systemic racism in America. He did. Listen, Mayor Pete, I'll be very honest with you.

He's hitting all the right words, tone, and language when it comes to white supremacy because white folks do have to get involved in resisting white supremacy and making that noise. And I think he's made quite an impression. Obviously, that's not translated yet in the polls, black or white for that matter. And he's very much a long shot. But, you know, I think the situation in his community has awakened him. And some of the heat he's got from that black community about firing that chief, this current police shooting. So he's saying all the right things.

You know, some people have even called him, when I was in Chicago, Reverend Jackson, his convention, they would call him the gay Obama. And that may be true. But, yeah, I mean, when he said that, that's not something you hear from the average white candidate even every day. So he obviously is surrounded by people, a couple of African, a lot of African Americans are high up in these campaigns. A couple I know working in his campaign include Nina Smith. So he's getting all the right information and being prepared. What I also find interesting is that the El Paso shooting, the language of Trump, has forced mainstream media to deal with this issue of white nationalism

and white supremacy. And, you know, I'm not criticizing Eddie Glaude, but all people talk about, oh, my God, this video that he did. I'm like, yo, we've been saying that for a decade. Y'all ain't been listening. And Eddie nailed it. But it's like if they had been listening for the last decade, they wouldn't have been late to the party. No.

And if they had been listening or even reading, we know that there's a lot of black print media here through columnists and journalists. That's what the black press does and has always done. So we are clear. We know that there's a lot of black print media here through columnists and journalists. That's what the black press does and has always done. So we are clear. I think people are shocked when it's on a major network or MSNB or something like that. But all of us in black media have been saying that. Gotcha. I know he's crossing the camera right now. Stand over here.

Stand over here. Yes, we are live. Craig Melvin, of course, he was one of the three moderators. Normally, when folks doing TV, they're not shouting, but it don't matter because it's my damn show and I own it. No, come back, Mark. So, Craig, of course, is one of the folks who was asking questions. This is classic Roland Martin.

This is beautiful. in miami is in abj beautiful my goodness so you're one of the three moderators i just sort of turn this way quick you know television turn this way uh just your impression of the four candidates who spoke at nabj finish just a few moments ago you know i i think that uh everyone in the room probably learned something they did not know about at least one of the candidates. I think anytime in a setting like that, it's difficult to get candidates off their talking points. It's difficult to get them to share something other than their stump speech. But I think we got some of that in there. But it's, you know, I'm a fan of any opportunity to have someone who's running

for the highest office in the land, any opportunity to be able to sit down and ask them questions, allow them to answer those questions without interrupting them or cutting them off. So, you know, I thought that was good. What did you think? Oh, well, here's the deal. I've made it clear. I'm not really paying any attention until October 1st. I need 10 people to drop out because there's too many down people. That's first.

I was impressed in terms of with Booker and Buttigieg. I'll go ahead and throw in a well how and I'm not dissing Sanders, but how with the El Paso shooting, with the attack by Trump on the squad, how these candidates are going full bore and forcing a discussion on white nationalism, which black journalists being, I was just telling Mark, we've been dealing with this, talking about this for 10 years. And now our white colleagues all of a sudden are like, oh, my God, it's real. And we're like, yeah. But the question is, are we talking about it three months from now? Are we talking about it? You know, are we talking about three weeks from now? Is this one of those conversations that we frequently have in this country where we talk about it fairly intensely for a few days and then all of a sudden three weeks from now it's like, hey, do you remember?

That's that's the that's the dilemma. Here's the deal. I think it will be talking about it because guess what? Trump is going to continue. The reality is he's going to continue with his tweets, continue with his attacks. And what is happening is and we're already seeing it in the data. It is causing white suburban voters major angst. You take Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross announcing he's having this fundraiser for Donald Trump in the Hamptons.

He owns SoulCycle. He owns Equinox. He owns Adolphus. One of his own players blasted him. He comes out with a statement essentially saying, we disagree on a whole lot of stuff, but basically I'm supporting him because it's tax policy. So essentially what you're saying is, I don't like the racism, but I love the taxes. And so he's forcing other people to say,

you got to pick and choose. And I think that's where it's going to continue, and I don't think it's going to go away. Thank y'all. Craig Melvin. Good job up there. Not a problem, man. Not a problem. And, uh, I'll, I'll, I'll drop a seersucker in the mail for you so you can wear it. So you can wear on today's show. Uh, Mark, I appreciate it, man. Uh, thanks a bunch. Tell everybody how to get to listen to your show. Makeitplain.com. You can go there and subscribe to the Live Daily Show,

and there's also a podcast available wherever you get your podcasts from. All right, man, I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you. All right, I want to go to my pal in the studio. Let me go introduce everybody. Glad to have them there. Thank you for also waiting.

CJ Jordan, she's CEO of Jordan Management Group. Mustafa Santiago Ali, a former senior advisor for environmental justice at the EPA, Teresa Lundy, principal and founder of TML Communications. Mustafa, okay, Teresa's not with us, sorry. She was scheduled to be with us, but of course we went a little late because of the forum. Mustafa, I'll start with you. Again, to that particular point, I do believe this issue of white nationalism is not going away. The fact that Donald Trump continues to appeal to that audience, I think what it is going to do, it is going to force white voters, white suburban voters, white educated voters, white women have to make a choice. Are you going to pick a racist candidate over your taxes or are you going

to say my pocketbook is more important than his racism? Your thoughts? Yeah, it's speaking to the soul and the spirit of what this country is supposed to be and who it is. It's putting a mirror up to the country and saying you have to make a decision. Are you going to support white nationalism? Are you going to support white supremacy with your vote? Or are you going to stand and be a part of a new 21st century country that says that these old ways, these antiquated ways of looking at others, of the way that the country has been structured, can no longer be in place? So folks are going to have to make a decision about who they are, who this country is, and the direction that they want it to go. CJ, it is a challenge for the Republican Party because you have folks like Congressman Will Hurd, who announced he's not running for re-election, who blasted Donald Trump

for his racist comments. It has led to others to do the same. Of course, many Republicans in Washington, D.C. are standing with Trump, but it clearly is problematic for Republicans because the last thing you really, really want is to have an open dialogue about racism in America tied to the presidential candidate for the Republicans, Donald Trump. Well, first of all, again, thank you for having me. But again, when we're talking about white nationalism, we're not also talking about Antifa. In fact, the gentleman was a Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren supporter in Dayton. We're not talking about-

Actually, actually, no, no, CJ, CJ, CJ. Wait a minute, allow me to finish. That has not been confirmed. No, no, CJ. Oh, yes, yes, it has been confirmed based on his social media platforms. And again, we're not talking about the 51 black folks between Baltimore and Chicago that got shot the same weekend. CJ, CJ, I'm going, CJ, I'm going to let you finish. No, CJ, I'm going to let you finish.

But let me state the facts. Authorities in Dayton have not established what you just said. That is not true. That has not been established by law enforcement. No, it hasn't. The media always use unnamed sources. Based on the unnamed sources, that's what they have. And CNN has had it on there. No, CJ, on this show, CJ, first of all, this ain't CNN. We do not do scuttlebutt. We do not do that. I ain't doing scuttlebutt.

I'm dealing with what they put out there. Now, no, no, no. Now, here's the deal. You can cite them, but I'm telling our audience that has not been confirmed by law enforcement authorities. Now, finish your point. And, again, as sources have said, they were Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren supporters. Okay, hold on, hold on.

Okay, fine. You want to go there? What sources? Now, hold on. What sources? What sources? You just said sources. You just said sources.

What sources? Unnamed sources. Okay, who are unnamed sources? Who's they? Unnamed sources from law enforcement. Who's they? Unnamed sources from law enforcement. Right, but you're citing unnamed sources and you're saying things.

Don't you all cite unnamed sources all the time in the media when you want to attack Trump? No, and no, no, hold up. No, no, no, no. What we don't do is I don't do the media. I am the media, so I cite what I know. And so you're repeating somebody else's stuff. And what I'm saying on this show, when you do, I'm going to call you out. Finish your point. I did finish my point. Next. Mustafa, here's the reality. The reality is Donald Trump won by 77,000 votes in 2016. He is underwater in Michigan, Pennsylvania,

and Wisconsin. You have suburban voters, suburban white voters who did not vote for the Republican Party in the 2018 midterms. An open conversation about racism, about white nationalism, about white supremacy. Having the manifesto of a shooter in El Paso use the same language that Donald Trump has used that is not smart politics. Now, Trump may be appealing to his hardcore base, but it's going to put people on the spot to say, you got to pick. You got to pick a racist or you got to pick your pocketbook. Without a doubt. I mean, Trump, it's very clear. I mean, the facts are there that he has created an atmosphere of hate. And he thought that that was a formula to be able to motivate folks to support his agenda, to be able to move forward and galvanize folks.

And it's actually a losing proposition. Got it. And, you know, folks know what time it really is. I want to go to anti-racist educator Tim Wise. Tim, are you there? Is Tim Wise there? Can you hear me? Tim, can you hear me?

Yeah, I can hear you. Can you hear me? All right, Tim, I got you. I got you. So I certainly want to get your thoughts on this, Tim, because to have not only the candidates dealing with this here, now you have the press dealing with it. Now you've got Tucker Carlson on Fox News literally saying white nationalism,

white supremacy is no big deal. And so this thing is put out in the open. And if Republicans want to have this conversation, we can have this conversation. I don't think it's going to go away, Tim. Right. It's a conversation we should have been having for a long time. I mean, here's the thing. If you've got white women who are refusing to go to SoulCycle tonight, you're done. You know what I mean? Like at some point, there is a tipping point that I think we are beginning to reach as a country where good folks are beginning to recognize that the right is disproportionately about white nationalism, that MAGA, that Make America Great Again, is about taking us back to an era of overt white supremacy. And I think there are a lot of white folks, decent folks, who are not down for that. And so I'm happy that we're having this

conversation. I'm sad that it takes tragedy to have it. But I think it's good that we're having the conversation about race and about white nationalism and about what kind of country we want to be. Are we going to move forward or are we going to move backward? That's the question. And Tim, in fact, was very interesting. I go back to when Newt Gingrich was speaker of the House. White voters in the 1998 midterm voted against the Republican Party. They held on to power, but the polling, the exit polling showed they did not like Newt Gingrich's attack on people of color.

George W. Bush, then governor of Texas, he runs as a compassionate conservative. Those suburban white voters said, we like George W. Bush, we like his approach. Newt Gingrich was forced out as Speaker of the House because of that. And so we have the data to show that when white suburban voters, when it gets to a point where they're so uncomfortable with open racism and constant attacks on people of color, that then reflects on them. And so I'm not saying it's guaranteed that they're not going to vote for Donald Trump. What I am saying, but this thing is continually being in the ether, it is going to be a problem because it's going to be a sand, line in the sand, like with Stephen Ross. The Miami Dolphins owner is not going to just get off scot-free.

People are going to say, you've got to pick. Either you're going to support and financially support the racist, or you're going to say I'm not. Right. Well, this is the key. And this is why Democrats have got to step up and challenge this and make this election about the existential threat that Trumpism poses to the values that they claim they believe in. Because here's the thing. You know, I've been white for a really long time, man, half a century. And in that half century, one of the things I've learned about my people is that we desperately don't want to be thought of as racist.

So let's play with that. Let's use that. The reality is Democrats ought to be saying Trumpism is fundamentally an existential threat to the notion of pluralistic multicultural democracy. And so if you don't want to be tarred by that, if you don't want to be connected to that, you have to step up in this moment. Whether you are progressive, moderate, or a reasonable conservative, it is time to stand for what you say you believe in. And I think if the Democrats don't shy away from that, then they have a winning message. My concern is that they're going to be so

afraid of white backlash that they are not willing to wade into those waters. And I'm telling you, unless they do that, they are not going to be able to prevail. CJ, you've got, of course, Ohio Republican Party leader Jane Timken calling Ohio Rep Candace Keller to resign because of her comments after the shooting in Dayton. She, of course, went on Facebook, blamed the shooting on homosexual marriage, drag queen advocates and recreational marijuana. You've got Republicans who are saying, look, OK, we can't keep taking these hits. We can't keep having folks making racist comments, making anti-gay comments and representing the party. Your thoughts on the call for her to resign? Oh, she absolutely should resign.

The president has made, from a global perspective, decriminalization of homosexuals, and I think she should. She is not in line with what he's proposed and what he has defended against the LBGTQ community. I'm sorry, what has Trump defended? What he has defended is putting out a national piece about decriminalization of LGBTQ. And you have a lot of countries who accept our tax dollars on humanitarian crisis that still believe

in criminalization of homosexuality. And that has been something- Well, hold on, I'm sorry Mustafa. What? Mustafa, am I living in an alternate world from CJ? Donald Trump won't even send, one second, Donald Trump won't even send out a statement doing Pride Month. It doesn't make a difference whether he sent out a statement, Roland. What he actually did do was put a policy in place. And if you have an issue with it, why don't you call the ambassador from Germany who's heading up that piece of policy? Mustafa and Tim Mustafa first, then Tim, your reaction.

You know, with all due respect to the other panelists, Donald Trump has not done anything to help to better protect, to give greater access to any of those that he considers less than. And that happens to be the LGBTQ community. That happens to be the African-American community, the Latino community, the Native American community, even Asian and Pacific Islanders. So I'm not sure where that's coming from. What actually seems like is happening at the White House is an old replay of Birth of a Nation, where they actually were able to dehumanize folks so that they could then utilize that to garner support for their antiquated policies and actions.

So we need to be real clear about what's happening and whom this individual is based upon his actions and the things that he's been doing. So if he wants to have policy that is actually protective of communities, then he should actually move forward on that and have those folks in the Senate actually pass that. But until that happens, you know, we're having this conversation, this theoretical conversation of whom we would want the president to be. He has not shown us that just like that old adage says that when someone shows you who they are, believe them. His actions have shown us exactly who he is. Now, I believe that he could have, you know, a moment like he's walking down the road to Jericho and maybe, you know, the Lord will come down and actually change who he is. But so far, that has not happened. Oh, and you tell me what he's doing on Opioid Crisis is not doing the First Step Act is not what he's done. He's doing nothing on opioids. Yes, he has. Okay. Okay. Okay.

Oh, my God. Tim Wise. Tim Wise. Tim Wise. This man can't even sit tim he's he's doing nothing on opioids and and lgbt folks are not happy with donald trump tim wise go ahead that's the last guy who wants this is a guy who wants trans folk out of the military because they're too expensive to do gender reassignment or confirmation surgery this is somebody who has no problem condemning other countries for their homophobia and heterosexism. But I dare Donald Trump and I dare any Trump supporter to actually pressure him to support legislation to protect LGBTQ folks from discrimination in the workforce. He won't do it because he is pandering to evangelical white Christians who believe that

they deserve carve-outs so that they don't actually have to protect equal rights. They believe they have the right to discriminate against LGBTQ folk, and Donald Trump defends them on that. If you were going to defend the right to discriminate against LGBTQ folk in the name of God, then you are not a friend to the LGBTQ community, and that is a joke. It is a pathetic joke, and it's not even worth our conversation. Let me think one more thing, though. I want to go back to what CJ said before I was on the air. She was talking about Antifa and the Dayton shooting. left politically, six out of the nine people that he killed were black. The idea that he did this in the name of the left or anti-racism, there is no political motivation for this shooting. Unlike the El Paso shooter who parroted the rhetoric of Donald Trump, it is disgusting to act as if these two shootings are remotely the same. They are morally the same, but they are not politically the same, and only a paid-for

shill would act as if they were. It is absolutely reprehensible. And let me tell you, I'm not a paid-for shill. And two, I am a black Christian conservative. And let me tell you one thing, when you're talking about extra rights for LBGT community and adding it into the 1964 Civil Rights Act where my community, no. It's not extra. It's the same. No, it's not. No, it's not. It's the right not to be discriminated against.

No, they can have a separate bill, which they did have introduced. But no, there should not be anything that moves and add anything into the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Have your own legislation. Okay, CJ, one second, one second. Hold on, hold on one second. CJ, let me educate you. I don't need you to educate me.

CJ, actually I do. That's the bill that the Democratic House passed, amending the 1964 Civil Rights Act supported by the NAACP. CJ, CJ, will you listen? I'm listening. Amending the 1964 Civil Rights Act supported by the NAACP. CJ, CJ, will you listen? I'm listening. You cannot add to a bill that's already been passed. They voted legislation to amend it.

No, here's what actually happened, CJ. CJ, listen. Here's what happens. You have a 64 Civil Rights Act. Let me help you to understand something. I don't need help, Roland. When you look at, for instance, no, actually you do. For instance, the American with Disabilities Act was a separate law. It was actually based upon a provision of the 64 Civil Rights Act.

Title IX was a separate law. That's not what Nancy Pelosi passed out of the 64th Civil Rights Act. Title IX was a separate law. I understand that. That's not what Nancy Pelosi passed out of the House. No, when you say adding to the bill, you're not adding to the bill. What you're dealing with here is the reality of separate legislation. It was not separate legislation that was passed by Nancy Pelosi. The fact of the matter is this, CJ. That's why I was dead on arrival in the Senate. The fact of the matter is this, Mustafa. First of all, everything is dead on arrival in the Senate.

Your point, Mitch McConnell, won't even deal with election reform. He won't even deal with Russia. He won't even deal with national security. He won't even advance any of those things. All he cares about are conservative federal judges. That is a fact. What we are dealing with right now, and I want to bring in Teresa Lundy, who joins us as well. What we're dealing with right now, Teresa, is a moment that people have to make a decision.

No longer are we going to allow white folks on media to play this game. Teresa, you've got Tucker Carlson on Fox News saying, oh, there are white supremacists in America could only fill up a football stadium. Really? Not based upon the FBI data we're talking about. To see this dismissal of white supremacy means individuals who are caping for them, and we cannot allow folks like Tucker Carlson, any of these people to play games because they are inciting a generation of white folks who are angry about the changing demographics in America. That is a reality, Teresa. And that is a reality that is hurting many Americans. And so when I even when I heard the statement about what Tucker Carlson said, I was not only disturbed, but I information that was given from the black organizations. There was no loud reference point from local

leaders or some of those who are elected who are African-Americans. So for that portion, I felt like there was a disservice that was done and everybody just kind of got on Twitter and said what they had to under a comment. But there has to be more actions that needs to be taken as it relates to Trump and what and how he's empowering his base. I believe this time around, he is actually running a full blown campaign. Last campaign, when he first ran, even, you know, when the results came in, him and his entire team looked shocked. He ran on messaging and he ran on emotion. And so those two pieces, you know, actually tapped into and this white nationalism and this term of, you know, what does white nationalism really mean?

It has woke up the entire economy about what what we actually need to do to to to pretty much move the country forward. And what does forward actually look like in the eyes of all Americans? So I think, you know, as we we talk about what that plan looks like, NABJ did okay today. I don't think they did great, but I think they did okay as it relates to figuring out the souls of the candidates, but not about the policy. And that's what we need to talk about as we talk about what forward looks like

in order to change lives, families, and communities. Tim Wise, last comment to you before I go to a break. The reality is, and I'm going to keep saying it, what we cannot do is allow folks like Tucker Carlson, who has millions watching him, Fox News is allowing, literally, a host on a cable network to openly say white supremacy is no big deal. I keep telling people, we have been seeing this thing build up and build up,

and it's becoming reality. And I keep telling black folks that I've been warning folks since 2009, this is white fear. White fear of 2043, of changing demographics, and trying to hold onto power as much as possible. Final thought, Tim Wise. Look, this is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress,

whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University calls white rage as a backlash. The question, even though that white rage may be inevitable, the question is how do we respond in this moment? Do we go backward or forward? That's the question. Tim Wiles, I appreciate it, man.

Thank you so very much for joining us. Thank you so much. All right, folks, going to break right now. I'll be back. Roland Martin Unfiltered live here from Miami. National Association of Black Journalists Convention. Back in a moment. You made it back.

Yay. Yes. It's on the phone with Amtrak. There's only one daily digital show out here that keeps it black and keep it real. It's Roland Martin Unfiltered. See that name right there? Roland Martin Unfiltered.

Like, share, 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. All right, folks, you heard me talk a lot about MarijuanaStock.org. Why? Because I want to keep you informed of investment opportunities that make sense.

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It includes Sherri Shepherd playing his mom as well at Essence Magazine. Had an opportunity to sit down with both of them, first off. Here's my conversation with Sherri Shepherd. It was pretty interesting because, Sherri, you're going to hear in the interview, Sherri wasn't too happy about, of course, playing his mama when she said, look, I'm still young enough to pull all this hodge. But we had a great conversation there at Essence Magazine. Now, tomorrow's show we're going to have, I'm even with Brian Banks. And so if guys let me know when we're ready to roll the Sherri

Shepard interview there in the control room back in Washington, D.C. We're ready? All right. Here's Sherri Shepard. I ain't seen you in ages. It's been so long since I've seen you. I miss you so much. I mean, we were like, I'll hear you or...

Two ships passing in the night. Right. I got to come to another house party. Oh, yes, yes. Because I'll take an Uber or a Greyhound to Roland's house. Well, you know, I believe they're having a good time. That's right. And I don't believe you're going to have a reason to throw a party.

You sure don't. And you, Roland throws the best parties. Well, look, that's how we do it. What's your two? What's going on? I'm just here with Aldis Hodge and Brian Banks promoting the Brian Banks movie. And, you know, anytime I can come to Essence Fest is a good time. For folks who don't know, how black is this?

How black is the movie? Is this. Oh, this is such chocolate yummy. I'm telling you, my diabetes has come back from all of the dark chocolate men that have been here. Ladies, if you're not here, you better be here next year at Essence Fest. Fellas, if you're not here we here Yes, Al Jazeera from underground he plays Brian banks in the Brian banks movie and I play his mom Which I'm not quite I but in his video he played Taraji Henson's lover me and Taraji the same age

But I'm playing his mama, so I'm trying to figure out my life choices, and what what's going on But it's a check And I and I'm making a difference this movie. But I ain't your mama now. It's on my t-shirt. I ain't your mama now. This, of course, is a stunning story when you think about it. Right. Who was the grand-daughters of thinking about the NFL.

Thinking about the riches and the stars. Four in front of thousands. White woman says, he raped me. And just completely alters his life. Right. what was the girl in his high school rolling and she accused brian banks of rape and they did no investigation nothing and at 16 years old believe the white woman brother going to jail we got to go back she wasn't white okay what was okay she's black oh she's black yes she's acting white she was acting white i She was acting white. I don't want all the white women of America going,

Rowan is always blaming us. It's y'all fault. You know, when white women start uniting. But she was a student at the high school, and she accused him of rape. And they did no investigation. They talked him into pleading no contest. And that's what they really, most of the young men in there, they get them to plead no contest and he didn't, they wouldn't allow him to talk to his mother, consult with her, anything. And they sentenced

him at 17 to six years in an adult prison. So his life was ripped away from him. And then when he got out, he still was in prison because he had an ankle bracelet he had the label of a pedophile on him and she contacted him the girl that accused him of rape on Facebook and she admitted on camera that she lied but that was not admissible in court and he got the Innocence Project to represent him and they got him exonerated praise the Lord what happens we hear these stories and as brian said like people don't understand how this impacts the whole family yes it does it impacted his brother and his mother leomi i played his mother leomi she did all the things

that a mother does she made sure her boys were in sports she made sure they were always occupied to keep them off the streets they were raised in in Long Beach. And it's even still, with all of that, life went awry for Brian. But it affected his sister went to Spelman and had to leave because of the stress of her big brother being in prison. His brother, Brian's brother, was a basketball prodigy. The stress of what he was dealing with, he did not continue. So incarceration and the justice system affects everybody. Well, we certainly are looking forward to the movie. It is, I really hope this movie does for a lot of people what when they see us. Yes. It is well opening people's eyes to the reality of what it's like to be black and be a black male in this legal system.

And this is why I'm hoping that people, when they see this movie, number one, it shows that we have to really go out and do our work, and we have to change the judicial system. We have to know who's running for DA, because the DA, the district attorney, God forbid your child is in front of this district attorney. Are they pandering to the police officer's organization? Because your child's life is in the DA's hands. So we have to know who we're voting in.

That's how important this is. And also, you know, we just have to advocate for our children. It starts when they're little. Little things such as when they're in school and you got a teacher who says they're a problem child. We got to get in there and nip that in the bud. Absolutely. The prison, the pipeline.

Pipeline to prison. Sherri Shepherd. Thank you, Roland. I appreciate it, baby. I love you. Love you as well. Always good seeing you. Joining us right now is Aldis Hodge.

First of all, he's in the Brian Banks movie, but also new show on Showtime, City on the Hill. I've been checking that out. Last time we talked, it was underground. Underground. And people just loved. But, of course, when it got canceled. But, Bob Lonnies, you got to move on to other things.

Yeah, people still hoping for it to come back. And you're like, look, I can't wait. Yeah. No, I love the love that they give us. You know, the loyalty, the fan loyalty, it's amazing. But unfortunately, we moved on to other things. Before I get to Brian Banks, let's talk about Sitting on the Hill. I've been watching the last three weeks, really loving it.

And is something different for you? It is very much a different avenue for me. I love the fact that, you know, this is sort of a two-parter. It's my character's story, DeCoursey Ward, and it's also Kevin Bacon's character, Jackie Roy, and we're just two different, very, very different sides of Boston in the early 90s. You know, dealing with the judicial system, dealing with racism, dealing with all the ugly bits and all the cool bits that made up that era.

So for me, I'm loving the exploration of where we can go with it because it's really a fantastic show. And Kevin Bacon is a beast, man. And absolutely, the black dynamic, just the whole different culture. Then you talk about the police culture and then the black-white dynamic and the police as well. And then even though you're a law enforcement, still being hated because you've got the federal and the local. So it's a whole lot of stuff mixed. Well, that's what I love most about it is we get to have those real raw,

backdoor conversations that you know are going on, but you don't ever really get to hear in the news. You don't ever really get to see. These are the conversations that make up the judicial choices that predict or dictate your life you know when you are subject or victim to the system you know my character he's an assistant district attorney he's trying to do the right job but he realizes how crooked these people are behind closed doors so he has to sort of play a dirty game but by his own rules and being a black man in the boston in the early 90s he is pent up against racism because of the fact that that's just the culture.

It was the culture. It is the culture. So he has to figure out how to navigate that and not be subject to fighting at their level. When you talk about being in that system and how it works, how they arrested a black man for a hoax, you think about this Brian Banks movie. Absolutely. Here he is, black man, thinking about an NFL career.

White woman says he raped her. No evidence, no nothing. And now he's in the system and he's yelling and screaming, I didn't do this. And luckily he gets exonerated. So yeah, he fought for his exoneration. While he was in prison, he educated himself on the law.

When he got out, he was on parole. So he did a year was in prison, he educated himself on the law. When he got out, he was on parole. So he did a year in juvie. He did five years in prison and then five years on parole as a registered sex offender. He had basically still in prison, just on the outside. But he managed to collect enough evidence. He engaged the activity of the CIP, the California Innocence Project. He brought them on to help fight this case, and he managed to exonerate himself because he never stopped fighting for himself. You know, this is a brother who really is a shining example of what it means to fight for your own value.

Well, look, I think, first of all, it's a stunning story, and I really hope people with this, just like when they see us, will realize that when a brother says, I didn't do it, they didn't do it. Do the work. Like, the problem is the DA didn't do the work. They didn't go investigate the crime scene. They literally had DNA results saying that there was no sex, no intercourse. You know, they had all of this evidence pointing towards his innocence,

and they did not use it. Always good to see you, my brother. All right, folks, the Bryant Bank story opens in theaters nationwide on Friday. I'm going to go back to the Stephen Ross story. Of course, owner of the Miami Dolphins. He also owns the Big Time Developer in New York. He owns the Hudson Yards Complex, the Equinox SoulCycle Fitness Center. Teresa, I want to start with you.

Folks are going hard. Kenny Stills, a wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins, said, how are you going to have a nonprofit that's about racial healing and any discrimination, but then you throw in a fundraiser for Donald Trump. And folks literally were blowing their phone lines up, canceling their subscriptions and boycotting the facility. So what do you make of, again, of people using their economic clout to say, I can't be spending money with somebody who is financially supporting Donald Trump? I mean, if we really want to be honest, like this situation to me is very interesting because we all are spending money at Walmart, Home Depot, where they support Trump, you know. So and it's a public. Everybody's spending money with these entities. and we don't know... Wait, wait, wait. Go ahead. You said Walmart and Home Depot

are spending Trump. No. Where's the backup? So I'm just saying, in general, people are spending money at these retail outlets. Home Depot, for example, I believe we were told one of the founders probably a couple weeks ago, maybe a month,

that they had supported Trump. Remember that story? Okay, and there are people and there are individuals who said, I'm not going to Home Depot, I'm going to Lowe's. Correct, but at the end of the day, in the next month, they're going back to Home Depot to get the supplies that they need. So, again, everybody, you know. Not necessarily, because Lowe's is a competitor.

Correct. But again, if a scandal comes out of that, where else are they going to go? So at the end of the day, nobody's going to really stay on the same course. Do I agree with his decision? No, but that's a personal decision that is made public. So I agree with how people feel. But if you never recognized that somebody was a racist before they made a donation, then you must haven't recognized that before. So regardless, if you want to take your money out, take your money out.

If you want to stop supporting, stop supporting. It's the same thing with Chick-fil-A, and that entire piece, how they close on Sundays. People are still going there on Monday. So, I mean, at the end of the day, as much as we protest... Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on,

hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on,

hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, That's not due to a protest. So here's the cross-correlation to that. I said that example because that's when the LGBTQ community said that's unfair, right? So then we're going to snatch our business. No, no, no. That was part of the conversation. That's not true. That was part of the conversation.

No, it wasn't. Teresa, no, it wasn't. The LGBT community said they did not want to support Chick-fil-A because Dan Cathy, who's the son of the founder, the Chick-fil-A Foundation, they said they've supported anti-LGB legislation. That's nothing to do with them being closed on Sunday. That's part of it. So there was a whole other piece that I saw. So I did see that piece and I saw that one. As it relates back to this dolphin case, I'm personally, if the person wants to support, you know, Donald Trump, because again,

for them, it's either Donald Trump has been a friend in the past or, you know, it just seems like politics wise, Donald Trump might actually win. So again, they played their politics a little differently. And so now they're getting the pushback for it. Here's the deal, Mustafa. I have no issue with it. If an individual says that I am not going to spend money with a company where the owner of that company is throwing a fundraiser for Donald Trump, people absolutely have that right. Now, what's interesting is that SoulCycle and Equinox released statements trying to say that, oh, that Stephen Ross was a passive investor. The reality, he's not.

And Kenny Stills is on point by saying, how can you have a nonprofit to end racial discrimination when you're supporting a guy who is a racist? Your dollars have power. They always have. How you utilize them says a lot about who you are, especially if you've done the research on where you are actually investing or spending your dollars. Your dollars can make social change. We've seen it happen over the years.

Montgomery boycotts, you know, got people's attention. Divestment in South Africa got people's attention. So how you utilize your dollars can make huge change happen. We have divestment from fossil fuel industries. Trillions of dollars now have been divested and are pushing those types of companies to do the right thing. So we can use those same examples in this situation. And folks should actually be paying attention to where they are sharing their hard-earned dollars and what that message sends when they use them in certain places. And, C.J., I don't understand, C.J., why Republicans all of a sudden are upset.

I remember when white evangelicals bought kind of Disney. Well, again, it goes both ways. So there are going to be plenty of people that don't want to buy Ben and Jerry's because they support a socialist by the name of Bernie Sanders. There are going to be people who don't want to do certain things based on those who support killing babies. So I think we should be very careful when you start to be selective and have outrage just because they might disagree. And when you talk about Chick-fil-A, they didn't disagree with legislation. Their only piece was they believe in marriage between a man and a woman. And that was it.

No, actually, they did disagree with legislation. No, Roland. And yet, I'm stating their position. Their position. No, actually, they did. No, Roland. As a conservative who eats their food, who supports their company, their only position was they believe and supported things that they underwrote

on the position of a man and a woman when there were state ballot initiatives and that was it they dis CJ that's called disagreeing with legislation and so same thing what are you talking about and that's the only thing that they did you said legislation that's the only piece and I've talked with Chick-fil-a people so I kind of know what I'm talking about when I say and I know legislation. And I know those people as well, Roland, just like you talked to them again. First of all, CJ, how do you know who I talk to? The only piece was man and a woman. No, no.

How do you know who I talk to? What are you talking about? The bottom line is this here. People have a decision. People can do whatever they want with their dollars. They can support who they want. I got no issue with people saying to hell with Equinox, to hell with SoulCycle, the hell with any other company that he owns. Because I'm with Kenny Stills.

How in the hell you love a nonprofit as opposed to about any racial discrimination, and then you're raising money for a guy who actually is fomenting racial discrimination? That, to me, is nonsense. Let's boycott Ben and Jerry uh short i don't care what the hell you do if you don't want if you want to book out ben and jerry's knock yours knock yourself out i'm gonna get me some damn cookies and cream from ben and jerry's because i don't really care okay all right you cannot be caring about that and you care about that thank you actually actually i could care what the hell i want to care about you don't get to tell me what i care about i've never told you what to care about you gotta care about both but socialism

i can make anti-violence make any decision i want girl go on with that not go on that nonsense because you want to see socialism i'll show you republicans who support giving farm subsidies to for iowa farmers and dairy farmers in w. Guess what? Damn it, that's called socialism too, but y'all don't call it that. Antisemitics. I thought so. All right, folks, don't forget, don't forget. Okay, here you go, antisemitic with the squad. Child, please.

I'm not a child. CJ. Boy, please. CJ, go get some cookies and cream from Ben and Jerry's. Hey, folks, I want you to support Roller Martin Unfiltered by going to RollerMartinUnfiltered.com. Join our Bring the Funk fan club. We'll be broadcasting tomorrow right

here from NABJ as well. We've been live streaming all day. If you missed my conversation earlier with Tom Jones, Sybil Wilkes, Kevin Perry, go to our YouTube channel. You can check it out. If you also missed the presidential forum with four of the candidates, also go to our YouTube channel. And that was a great discussion on the future

of news as well from NABJ. So we got all the coverage on my YouTube channel. Also, I want to thank all of you. We surpassed 340,000 subscribers. Our goal by September 4th, our one-year anniversary of Roland Martin Unfiltered, is to surpass 350,000 subscribers on YouTube. Subscribe, click the icon that says Live Notifications, and that's what we want you to do. All right, folks, I subscribers on YouTube. Subscribe, click the icon that says live notifications, and that's what we want you to do.

All right, folks, I got to go. I'll see you guys tomorrow. From Miami, the site of the National Association of Black Journalists, National Convention, I'm Roland Martin. Holler! Holler!