#RolandMartinUnfiltered - 9.1 McDonald's sued by Black ex-franchisees; Trump visits Kenosha; #45 says cops can ‘choke’ & shoot

Episode Date: September 2, 2020

9.1.20 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: McDonald's sued by Black ex-franchisees over racial discrimination; Trump visits Kenosha to talk law and order; Trump says cops can ‘choke’ and shoot; Comedian Earthquake is stepping outside his comedy zone to launch a voter initiative; White ‘vigilante’ couple shoots at Black men who were returning a U-Haul; We pay tribute to NCAA coach John ThompsonSupport #RolandMartinUnfiltered via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered or via PayPal ☛https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered #RolandMartinUnfiltered Partners: 2020 CensusIn America, everyone counts. And the 2020 Census is how that great promise is kept. Respond today online, by phone or by mail and help inform hundreds of billions in funding for education, health programs, and more. Shape your future. Start here at www.2020census.gov.#RolandMartinUnfiltered Partner: CeekWhether you’re a music enthusiast or an ultra-base lover. CEEK’s newly released headphones hear sound above, below and from multiple directions unlike traditional headphones where users only hear sound from left and right speakers. Be the first to own the world's first 4D, 360 Audio Headphones and mobile VR Headset.Check it out on www.ceek.com and use the promo code RMVIP2020#RolandMartinUnfiltered is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersilling.org brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English.

I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them.

It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Folks, today's Tuesday, September 1st, 2020. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, 50-plus black former McDonald's franchisees have filed a billion-dollar suit against the company.

We will talk with one of them with the details of this explosive lawsuit. Donald Trump goes to Kenosha, Wisconsin, even though nobody wanted him there. He tools the rubble, meet with law enforcement, but he avoids black people. Jacob Blake's family and friends refused to be a part of Donald Trump's photo op, so they held a block party instead. Wisconsin's Republican legislative leaders, check this out, y'all, convened a special session on policing policies and they ended it 30 seconds later.

Also, comedian Earthquake is here to talk about his voter initiative. Plus, we'll talk to you about a vigilante couple who shot at two black men who were trying to return a truck to U-Haul. Plus, we remember coach John Thompson and more tributes for Chadwick Boseman. It's time to bring the funk on Roller Mark Unfiltered. Let's go.

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

He's rolling. It's Uncle Roro, y'all. It's rolling, Martin. Yeah. Rolling with rolling now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's Rollin' Martin. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Rollin' with Rollin' now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's funky, he's fresh, he's real.

The best you know, he's Rollin' Martin. Now. Martin. 52 black former McDonald's franchisees are suing the fast food giant seeking more than $1 billion. They say they were forced to close or sell more than 200 McDonald's locations because of systematic and covert racial discrimination. It is an explosive lawsuit. They say that McDonald's forced them to make changes to improve their stores, things not required of white franchisees. Joining us right now is a former franchisee, Van Jakes. Van, welcome to Roland Martin Unfiltered. Hey, Roland. How are you, sir? I'm doing great. So explain to us exactly what this lawsuit is about. Now, I've actually spoken to the McDonald's black franchisees a couple of times last year, previously as well. I've met many of you.

And folks always talked about for years how McDonald's was a huge proponent of black businesses and black franchisees really touted the company. Yet this lawsuit says they was systematically denied opportunities. Absolutely. You know, when we first got started, we always knew we were behind. We had to run faster to catch up. The only problem we didn't understand, we wasn't running the same race. Instead of running 400 meters, it's 800 meters. And the white operators get to run 400, we get to run 800. What I mean by that is I didn't know until I left the system some of the things that was going on

because I was concerned running my race, trying to be the best I could be. And it was a lot of us feeling the same way when we got together and realized what was going on. So when did you first become a McDonald's franchisee? You know, I played in the NFL for a little bit. I had a cup of coffee and a donut for about six, seven years. And then I became a McDonald's operator in 1992 down in Florida. Came to Atlanta in 1994, and I was in here for about 23 years as an operator. And so when did you stop being a franchisee or an operator and why? What caused that?

What caused that? 2016, so much required reinvestment, the strain on my body, mentally, physically from playing football, trying to do second generation. And McDonald's really almost forcing you out because if you don't do it, there's their way to the highway. And then when you realize they didn't do the same thing to our white counterparts, what I mean by that is one store in particular, I reinvested that store three times, rebuilt it three times. And I've seen some stores when I got out of the system, they never reinvested it once.

So that means you can never get out of debt. So it's like a rat race. You can never get caught up, especially not extending the race from 400 to 800 meters, where the white operator, once again, is running 400 meters. Now, explain to folks there, because, again, you hear me saying owner. The official term is operator. And so when you say you had to make these changes, if McDonald's corporate told you

you must make these changes, you have no option. You have to do it. No option. Exactly. So, for example, it got something called the National Restaurant Standards. That's what everybody should go by. So whether you buy a store, sell a store, things you have to do. So when I bought stores, I had to do things to bring them up to par.

Same thing with the white operators, supposedly. But they had a different system where they were allowed to not do those things, which means you didn't have to take that and put it on top of that. So those are the things that really bothered us as black operators, that we were held to a different standard. And we were punished by that by not getting stores and not being allowed to grow. Then they say, well, you don't have enough money to grow. Well, how can I have enough money to grow? I keep reinvesting in my stores to the point where I can't afford a new store for the opportunity in a better part of the neighborhood. Where the white operators, if you don't make them invest, they pay off the debt.

They don't have the money to buy another store in a better neighborhood. So they continue to stretch the distance from 400 to 800 meters. So let's talk about that. And so the suit, it covers franchisees all across the country, correct? Correct. You know, we really didn't want to do this. We tried to go to mediation because, you know, McDonald's has allowed us to do a lot of good things in our families, in our communities. And we want to do the same thing and not to bring this to some of our friends that are still owners right now, African American owners. So we didn't really want to do that, but they gave us no other choice. So

we're trying to take care of our kids, our kids' kids, just like they're trying to do, the white operators. I even had a white operator call me today, a former operator, and tell me, now you guys are doing, this is a great lawsuit. I will be a witness because I wouldn't reinvest like that. I just told him I wouldn't do it. He had no ramifications. I said, Keith, I couldn't do that. And he said, I know. So I told the attorney, he said, yeah, we'll use him as a witness if we need to. So, and reading this, I mean, it

really lays out a significant amount of issues. And I've heard from other franchisees who said they want to be able to grow. And then they didn't have those opportunities. Also, they complained when McDonald's allowed white franchisees to open stores near theirs, taking market share, taking those dollars away as well.

Those are also things that we heard. Oh, absolutely. That was my last straw for me. I had a store about a mile and a half from my best store, and they didn't know they was going to give it to me. Yet, you know, other right operators, there's no question they're going to get it, no matter what your financial situation looks like, because that can always improve if you guys want to really work with it, if the bar is really equal.

But that never was the case, and we realized that the more we got out, the more we started talking to each other because we were kind of isolated. Even my managers knew it. I would say, hey, we've got to control what we can control it's not controllables i don't know what's going on down the street but now i got out of the system i seen what was going on down the street and it really was disgusting to be honest with you according to uh the the law firm is ferraro james ferraro is the lawyer and according to uh this uh this is what he says the notion that mcdonald's is a friend of the black entrepreneur is complete fiction.

McDonald's has been hemorrhaging black franchisees for decades due to blatant and implicit racial discrimination. The company will now be held accountable. According to him, McDonald's had a higher 377 black franchisees in 1998. That's been cut by more than half, saying there are now only 186 black franchisees. But while that's the case, according to what he says, he says, meanwhile, over the same period from 1998 to 2019, McDonald's has increased its stores from 15,086 to 36,000. So they more than double the number of stores, yet the black franchisees has dropped.

Right. You know, that was a way to say the train has left the station. And a lot of us seen it coming, but we worked hard, kept running the race, trying to fight to get caught up, to get our, you know, get our fair, to get parity. But it never could happen the way they had the system set up. McDonald's, obviously, they responded. They deny these claims. They say that they remain consistent. You see, I tried to go to mediation, but it was unsuccessful.

Very unsuccessful. Just a slap in the face. You know, we treat us like we're a second class citizens versus being proud African Americans that helped grow the brand the way we did. We're not asking for handouts. We're just asking for them to do the right thing so we can continue to do good works in our communities where we live throughout the country.

And then taking care of our families. According to McDonald's, they said they have actually been consolidating franchisees. They've said that black franchisees has gone up, making up 13.4 percent of all McDonald's franchisees to 12.5 percent of all the U.S. franchises. Chris Kiemzinski, the McDonald's CEO, said, quote, My priority is always to seek the truth. When allegations such as these occur, I want them investigated thoroughly and objectively. That's been our approach to the situation.

Based upon our review, we disagree with the claims in this lawsuit, and we intend to strongly defend against it. Your final thoughts? Well, you know, that would be good if we could get the facts, and it would make it better. They've already made some improvements with the current operators. In the history of McDonald's, they never cut some of their rents permanently until we thought about this lawsuit. So we've made changes already. And I hope they continue to make changes.

And I hope they get to the facts and they'll realize there was some blatant discrimination going on in the system. All right. Van, we certainly appreciate you for joining us. Thanks a lot. Thank you, my brother. Appreciate you. All right. Let's go to my panel right now, folks. Malik Abdul, Republican strategist, Kelly Bethea, communications strategist, and Mustafa

Santiago Ali, Ph.D., former senior advisor for environmental justice, EPA. Mustafa, I'll start with you. This moment that we're in, this reckoning that we are in, we are seeing African-Americans demand equity, demand inclusion, and make it perfectly clear that it's time to deal with economic justice. That's what this lawsuit actually deals with. And on the franchisee side, black franchisees have said, hey, they've been the driving force behind McDonald's. When things were tough, it was African-American consumers who really, really never neglected and left the company. These franchisees are saying, hey, we've been out there touting McDonald's.

Stick with us. Now you're stabbing us in the back. That's really what this lawsuit lays out. It just goes to show us that systemic racism exists even in places like fast food. You know, it exists in the financing. It exists in the banking loans that are necessary for folks to be able to get traction. It exists in the priority setting. And also it exists in how folks are setting up criteria inside of their systems to choose, really, losers and winners. So when we don't unpack this, when we don't put a spotlight on this,

and it's unfortunate that there has to be a lawsuit, but if folks are not willing to do the right things, then sometimes you have to go the legal route to get folks to pay attention and to know that you're serious. They have literally made billions and billions of dollars off of the black community. They have no problem throwing black faces up

on the commercials, but they need to also be making sure that they're honoring those black owners, partners who are doing the hard work and trying to make sure that inside of our communities that resources are coming back because they're hiring from those communities. So folks just need to do the right thing. And when you don't, it's going to cost you. Obviously, Kelly, these are allegations. They have not been proven. McDonald's, they say that they simply are incorrect. But what we are seeing, we're seeing now where African-Americans are far more focused on going public, filing these kind of lawsuits than in the past. This reckoning that we are in, that we've been in really murder of george floyd is really a driving force in a lot of these things we're

seeing but not only that this has been a huge issue in and not only the fast food industry but in a lot of companies that do these franchising things and that they should have known like in the lawsuit they say that constructive knowledge should have been implied that they should have known like in the lawsuit they say that constructive knowledge should have been implied that they should have known about the the conditions of the building before they were sold they should have known about the areas that these buildings were in such that they should have been either fixed or or at a lower price for the franchisee um but it's not just constructive knowledge, it's imputed knowledge

because you have McDonald's in the industry. And as a authoritative figure in the industry, they should know these things. But one of the main points of contention that I have or a point of concern is the fact that this is in a federal court and Trump just packed the entire court system, federally anyway, with conservative judges. So this is why this election, you know, not trying to get off topic, but it all ties in together.

The fact that this election is incredibly important because Trump already packed these judges. The tenure for a judge on the federal bench is life or retirement. So whoever is going to be presiding over this case, provided that they are a Trump supporter, we don't know how this is going to play out in the franchisees' favor, even though they are clearly in the right by way of these allegations. And this is something that we talked about on your show and not just in dealing with, as you noted, operators. As as someone many of us grew up in communities where the mcdonald's franchises it was a big thing to have know the owners of these

franchises that were in our neighborhood i know in my own neighborhood growing up i think probably almost all of the operators were black it's so that was something that was significant in the community. And it was really good, actually interesting listening to the gentleman when he was talking about how it is really, no, actually, I think you may have said that, about how the black community itself, we are the ones over the years who have been also responsible for the success that McDonald's has had as just a company. So it's good to actually see not just in this instance, but other instances where black people are obviously asking for equity and they're not waiting for permission to do so. So I applaud the effort. We'll see what comes out of it. I disagree with Kelly. I don't think that having a conservative versus a liberal on the court is a determinant of the outcome of the lawsuit at all. I think that for the most part, they will go by whatever the law says. And I don't think that politics in this particular instance will play into it at all.

All right, folks. You're saying that McDonald's itself is not political. This entire thing is political. No, that's not what I'm saying. I was responding to your suggestion that somehow that conservative judges will not rule in their operators' favor. I'm cautiously optimistic that these conservative judges will actually go by the law. But if they're appointed by Trump, they are by way implied a Trump supporter. So you should be cautious about how they're going to rule because conservative judges line up conservatively like liberal judges line up liberally. I'm not saying that they can't do their job. What I'm saying is we need to keep our eyes wide open when it comes to this case. All right just don't think it's a right or left issue. Alright folks, let's talk about this next story. That is

Donald Trump was in Kenosha, Wisconsin today taking a survey of damage that was caused there by various riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Now he went on the tour of this property damaged by violence, blasting anti-American riots and promising to help

devastated businesses rebuild. He announced the $1 million but here's what he did though. He announced the $1 million. But here's what he did, though. He announced a million bucks going to Kenosha law enforcement and $4 million going to support local businesses affected by the violence and $42 million to support public safety statewide, including support for law enforcement and prosecutors. Hmm. Really?

No mention at all of the cops in Kenosha who shot Jacob Blake in the back seven times. Now, of course, his visit comes over the objections of local Democrats with Governor Tony Evers, who has deployed the National Guard to help stop violence, saying Trump's presence, quote, will only hinder our healing. Now, listen to what Trump had to say. Bill Barr is here someplace. Bill, thank you very much. And Amanda just got a very strong promotion in a sense. Chad's here. So we're going to have some meetings. We're going to meet with some of the owners and then we're going to have a roundtable. I think you're going to be there, but we're going to work with you. We're going to help you. OK, we'll help you rebuild.

It's a great area. It's a great thing like this should never happen they have to call early okay thank you i'll see you over there thank you very much y'all see any black people in that now granted kenosha is 75 percent white but according to kendall west who was on our show last week, he said most of the damage took place in the black part of Kenosha in Uptown. Maybe that's the issue. Did black people even own those buildings or were they owned by white landowners? Well, the Jacob Blase family, they held a peaceful gathering to keep the focus on getting justice for Jacob. It was held in the neighborhood where he was shot seven times. Faith leaders and elected officials attended the event and speeches were given. The event

also included a community cleanup, a healing circle, and a voter registration booth. Local businesses provided food and services. Guys, roll the video. I don't know what I do, but I don't wanna. Here we go, here we go, yeah. We gotta let them know, you ain't a kid, you ain't a kid. You can't stay with me through another flop, flop. Every time I hear a brother call a girl a butcher. I'm trying to make a sister feel low. You know all about it. Yeah, Donald Trump wasn't going to that part of Kenosha. Joining me now is Kendall West and Raymond Roberts, both of them in Kenosha,

the African-American club there. Glad to have you both here. Kendall, I want to start with you. Did y'all hear from the White House? Did the White House reach out to say, first of all, we saw one report where the White House announced that they reached out to Jacob Blake's family's pastor. They came out and said, we don't have a pastor. So who y'all talking to? And so the incident, the reason we're even talking about Kenosha, even if you want to complain about cars being set aside,

businesses destroyed, that was all precipitated by the violence against Jacob Blake. Donald Trump didn't want to address that at all. This is really nothing but a big old show to boost up law enforcement, which is really him saying to white people, I'm with y'all.

Well, we had a peaceful protest, a peaceful gathering at the Black Party for Jacob Blake, which had all of the things that you had discussed earlier, voter registration, there was food, there was dance, there was bounce houses, there was paintings. We want to focus on the unity of our community and was hoping that that would uh that would shine through ramon this is uh again you know all you know he comes there does a round table with law enforcement not community people doesn't do anything with community folks to talk about police misconduct no it's all a big law

enforcement prop absolutely we we talk about this a lot there's this is one city, it's all a big law enforcement prop. Absolutely. We talk about this a lot. There's this is one city, but it's definitely two communities. So that's what you saw today. You saw the outright demonstration of two communities where even though the damage happened mostly in our community, that's not where the president went. That's not the people he spoke to. Even the business owners that were surrounding him, the business owners in our community, even the ones that don't look like us, they're with us. You know, one of the buildings. So who are those people with him? Who are those people? That's a good question. That's a real good question. So you're saying the people who own the businesses in the black part of Kenosha that was devastated, they weren't there.

No, no, no, absolutely not. Those people were there in the events that we've been having. In fact, again, the Danish Brotherhood. So they they're building their building was completely demolished. Instead of joining Donald Trump, they had a benefit not for themselves, for the community. They held a fundraiser for the community. So even the business owners that lost buildings, that's the kind of behavior we've been seeing. So we've been focusing on relationship and community and connection. connection this is and so would you say that this uh this walk around really was about because look

and and in all of his talk really was all about appealing to uh white voters saying i'm tough on crime and i'll be the one to keep everybody straight this was a very specific type of white voter because again at our events you didn't see just black people. You saw black and white. Now, what you saw at Trump's event, that did have a very clear cut look. So it's not all whites. It's just a particular group that believes in what he believes in, which is the opposite of what we're about. But to your point, when you look at that audience, we don't recognize them. They're not from the area. They keep saying the same narratives and these narratives are easily proven to be false. Kendall, go ahead.

Yeah, I can definitely echo exactly what he said. From my vision, those people, the human beings that are out there with us in our community, We don't necessarily have a color, a shape, or anything like that. We just know that our group is stronger together. So that's essentially it. This is some video here, some Black Lives Matter protesters turning up, folks, walking through the Trump supporters

there in Kenosha today. All lives matter. All lives matter. All lives matter. All lives matter. All lives matter. Well, I get a kick out of the folks sitting there talking about all lives matter, which also means Jacob Blake's life matters. Absolutely. Well, no, it doesn't. Not to them. That's why they spit it right back at you. To us, absolutely, because I also believe that all lives can't matter unless Jacob Blake's life matters. Thank God he's still here with us. All lives can't matter unless black lives matter, unless the community, all those who are inside of the Kenosha community, unless their lives matter to everyone that was at that stage rally, then, you know, I guess we'll have to have to see where that goes. But for the most part, I agree with all lives matter as long as it includes all of us. Well, we clearly know that that was not the case. And so, gentlemen, I certainly appreciate you and what you're doing.

Thank you so very much for your work there. Thank you so much. All right, then, folks, to understand the Republican mindset there, Wisconsin Democrats are urging action on legislation to tweak policing practices. But the special session that was called y'all gonna let us hear the republican-led legislature call us they brought the session in gaveled it done after 30 seconds 30 seconds really Really? Really?

They recess until Thursday. There's no indication the Republican legislature is planning to take up the package of nine bills Governor Tony Evers and Democrats are seeking anytime soon. So let's talk about this. Seriously, Kelly, like Trump, really? Here's the deal. We know about what happened in Kenosha because what happened to Jacob Blake and then Trump with his white supremacist language, which he has been doing for the past several weeks, he's appealing to,

let's be clear, white voters in Wisconsin, especially white women with his comments about the suburbs. We're going to play later. Some of the crap he said in his interview with Laura Ingram, which shows you again, he is all about appealing to white fear in order to get reelected. This was nothing more but a photo op for him to slap law enforcement on the back when law enforcement was the one that put seven bullets in Jacob Blake's back. Well, the reason why he's appealing to white supremacists is because that's how he got

elected in the first place. I mean, the number 53 percent isn't going away anytime soon just because it's 2020. If anything, we need to be focused on that number and making sure that it's not such a problem as it was in 2016 or or a hidden problem, rather, because we all thought that, you know, people would have common sense and not vote this man into office. But you're right about him appealing to this base. It's not surprising to me at all. The fact that he's in Kenosha and didn't say anything about Jacob Blake, that would hold any weight anyway, is just peak Trump. I'm not expecting him to suddenly turn over a new leaf only less than 60 days before the election. No, this is what's working for him. This is how he would be reelected again if democrats don't get their act together and vote him out

mellick you go he goes there not actually concerned about the community or black folks there who are impacted it's another law enforcement show i think that the focus on law enforcement is important i'm not sure if donald trump will be welcomed in the community is that the biggest thing? You say it's important, but is it the most important thing? Because that's what he made this out to be. The grants I mentioned, oh, all about law enforcement. I mean, if you look at what we're talking about, this whole deal is law enforcement, law enforcement, law enforcement, not how do we get law enforcement to stop shooting folks unnecessarily? Well, I do believe that there was about a million dollars for Kenosha's law enforcement there. I think that that's something that actually could be used for the body cams that they decided not to put until the next budget.

So I think that that's it would be great if they could actually use the million dollars for that. But there was an additional $4 million that the administration, that Donald Trump announced today, that will be used for the businesses. And apparently in that area, about 70 percent of the businesses in the affected area have less than 15 employees. So that $4 million will likely go very, very far. And based on what the gentleman were saying, most of those people in that community, as far as the business owners in that community, were, I don't know if he said black or minority, but he definitely, they weren't white. So I think that that's something

that's definitely a benefit to the community. Again, I'm not sure if the community would have welcomed him. I think we heard today that there were people who chose to have a different event than participate or maybe be around whatever Trump was doing. But that's a choice that he's making. But again, I'm just not sure if the community actually would have been receptive to him coming there to wherever the block party was or anything like that. But the funding is important. And that's something that's definitely

benefiting black people, apparently, in that community. But isn't that part of the problem that shows his absolute lack of credibility, Mustafa? I mean, look, when George H.W. Bush was president, he actually sat down and met with community leaders after the Rodney King riots. That's what presidents do. This is somebody who frankly has no credibility with black community leaders because of what comes out of his mouth and because of his policies. Well, it's because he doesn't sit down with black community leaders across the country. He will invite selected folks to the White House, whom he knows how they will react and what they will share. You know, working at high levels in the government, I know that whether Democrats or Republicans, if they're serious about connecting with folks, they can do

focus roundtables in the community, you know, where they made sure that they were talking to different folks in a controlled environment, which probably would be very important for the current leader of our country. The second part, you know, Malik, I love you, brother, but I think that we also need to really focus on the fact that we have seen through COVID-19 that many black businesses have not been able to benefit from the dollars that have flown through the federal system. So I'm sure people have a pause when they hear about these resources that are supposed to come to the city if they will actually be able to compete for them. Will they have whatever the criteria that's been set up in place? Will they be able to meet that? And then the third part is, you know,

we all know that the president does not care about these communities. This was an opportunity to try and position himself to win the state of Wisconsin. He only won last time by, I think it's less than 1%. So he knows that he's got a whole lot of work to do, and he's willing to do that work on the backs of the black folks who are fighting for justice.

Kelly. No, I agree with Mustafa here. It's really sad to see just how low this president will go in terms of pandering and basically bribing the American people for a vote because it's not like this money is going to come into Wisconsin tomorrow. This money will be here and not distributed anyway until after the election, just by way of how things work in the federal government. It's not exactly the quickest thing. So it's really kind of like holding a carrot in front of a horse and just trying to entice people to vote for him just for the sake of voting for

him because that's all he wants to do. It's not about government. It's not about leadership. For him, it really is about winning. And it's sad because we need a president. We need a leader, specifically because of COVID and for anything else, because we need to get healthy first before we can even think about, you know, helping the black community get better because we're dying because of COVID as well. So we have this president who is really just pandering and and at the same time ignoring us. It's really just disgusting to see. But no, I don't have any faith that this president has our best interests at heart. And and we definitely need to vote him out come November.

So this is so not only that, it's just the constant lying that we're dealing with here. Malik, you've got Donald Trump sitting here saying that, oh my God, Portland is just on fire. The entire city's on fire. It's been ablaze for the last 50 years. That's a lie. I mean, have we seen fires in Portland? Yeah. But he's like, and there are people in Portland going, what the hell are you talking about?

Even the mayor is sitting here saying you're absolutely nuts. But let's deal with this, guys. Roll the video of Donald Trump in his interview with Laura Ingraham on Fox News, where he compared police officers who shoot civilians to golfers who miss clutch putts. You know, a joker, they choke. Shooting the guy in the back many times. I mean, couldn't you have done something different? Couldn't you have wrestled?

You know, I mean, in the meantime, he might have been going for a weapon. And, you know, there's a whole big thing there. But they choke. Just like in a golf tournament, they miss a three-foot. You're not comparing it to golf because of course that's what the media i'm saying people choke people people choke and okay i've played golf for 32 years i can guarantee you

mellick there's no comparison to me missing a three foot putt and somebody being paralyzed or dying from being shot by a cop who choked. There absolutely is no comparison between the two. And I'm sure that the president regrets making. Well, it's starting to make that sort of comparison. No, he doesn't. But if you actually. Well, that's your opinion, Roland. Okay, hold on. Has he issued a statement saying, you know what, I regret the language I used?

Well, it's actually obvious if you listen to the context of what he said, Roland, and what he was focusing on actually talking about is the fact that officers do choke. Do I believe that? Do the people on the panel believe that? Absolutely, I believe that. I'm sure that officers officers do choke. Do I believe that? Do the people on the panel believe that? Absolutely, I believe it. I'm sure that officers many times choke. In this case, it wasn't just a choke. It was seven bullets that came after that choke.

And that's something that the president should have focused on. And he actually heard the president himself say that, sure, it seems like they could have done something else. They could have tap wrestled him to the ground or something. And I've said that many times before, after the initial scuffle with police, they shouldn't have allowed him to walk around to the other side of the car. You would think that they would be able to subdue him before he even walked around to the other side of the car.

Unfortunately, that's not something that happened. But I do believe that in this case, the president was definitely talking about what is the fact that people unfortunately do choke. In this instance, it didn't cause- But this was not a choke. This was seven shots to the back. These police officers can choke. Like a person's neck. Okay, well, maybe you probably have your right one.

And we have evidence of that. But these police officers did not choke. This was deliberate. Okay, well, you probably actually didn't hear. Specifically in the case of Glenn. Well, Kelly, you're going to have to allow me to talk and maybe listen to what I'm saying as opposed to interjecting yourself into the conversation. Because I clearly said is that seven shots came after that choke or whatever you want to call it. So I acknowledged it. So maybe you should stop trying to just disagree. But you're saying after a joke that didn't happen.

And just bother to listen to what I'm saying. So I actually acknowledged the fact that not only should he not have been allowed and should have been wrestled to the ground before he walked around to the other side of the car, I also said that he shouldn't have been shot seven times. Now, that's not enough for you, apparently. And I get it because you have a partisan spin to pooch, but that's literally what I said. So listen to what I said and not what you think. You said seven shots after

they choked. I'm saying they didn't choke at all, that the seven shots was deliberate. There was no pause or hesitation because pause and hesitation indicates choke. That's not what happened. If you look at the video instead of your partisan line and actually look at the video, what happened and that they held this man steady to shoot him seven times in the back.

Excuse me. Excuse me one second. Excuse me. Excuse me one second. Excuse me one second. Excuse me. Excuse me one second. Excuse me. Excuse me. Mustafa, here's what, again, is a joke here. Donald Trump, despite Malik trying to save him, Donald Trump didn't regret what he said. Donald Trump has issued no statements. You know what?

I shouldn't have compared that to missing a three-foot putt. I mean, Laura Ingraham had to jump in and save his ass. Save him. Because even she was confident. And she tried to hold the media's like no we're gonna call it what it is dude you're comparing shooting the man seven times in the back with a golfer missing a three-foot putt really yeah i mean it's so much more than a faux pas. It is a continuous set of behaviors and language that the president has shared since he first came into office. And it's quite clear, truly someone who is presidential in this moment and these other moments that we find ourselves in in our country where we're dealing with these racial injustices, this systemic racism. A president who was prepared, a president who was serious, would sit down with America and say, I know there's a problem. Here's my plan to help this set of communities that continue to be impacted by the actions

that are going on. Well, check this out first. Check this out. Also, again, the targeting of white racist, listen to what he had to say about housing, but listen to the language and listen to who he says, Joe Biden will sin to come and hurt you in your white suburban enclaves. That scary Negro Cory Booker. Listen to this.

But are the suburbs in danger? Because they say that's fear-mongering on the part of the public. I know the suburbs. Look, Westchester was ground zero, okay, for what they were trying to do. They were trying to destroy the suburban, beautiful place. The American dream, really. They want low income housing. And with that comes a lot of other problems, including crime. May not be nice to say, but I'll say it. You're not saying all poor people are criminals, though.

No, I'm not saying that at all. But it does, there is a level of violence that you don't see. So you have this beautiful community in the suburbs, including women, right? Women, they want security. I ended where they build low income housing project right in the middle of your neighborhood. I ended it. If Biden gets in, he already said it's going to go at a much higher rate than ever before. And you know who's going to be in charge of it? Cory Booker.

That's going to be nice. OK, so I think that women are going to want me. Well, for a lot of other reasons the stock markets will crash as sure as you're sitting there your 401ks will go down to a small oh my god malik if those poor people low income people come in stock market's gonna crash white women are going to be running for the cover of what's going on. In that one minute video, we heard every single racist trope that has been used by white people when it comes to low income housing. I covered housing when I was in Austin covering county

government. I covered the housing when I was in Fort Worth. I remember when the Fort Worth City Council was looking at getting rid of these high rise public housing complexes and they were looking at having dispersed housing. And that is they were going to place folks in various census tracts. And I remember sitting there covering that meeting. And these white folks are in the city council meeting and they are yelling and screaming everything Donald Trump just said. Crime is going to go down. Property values are going to plummet if you allow these folks in. And it was all BS.

Would you defend what you just heard there, Malik, or would you agree with what Trump said? Well, it's interesting that you're bringing that up because over the past few weeks since Donald Trump has actually initially made that statement, there's been a lot of discussion that I've had with many black people, not conservatives, not just liberals, but black people in general, and the notion that many of them have moved to the suburbs to get away from the crime and the device associated with it. Wait, wait, right there, right there.

Wait, right there. You just said that black people have moved to get away from the crime. So what you're saying is, let's just be real clear, what you're saying is you believe that, oh, if there's low-income housing, crime is coming. Well, as someone who lives in a low-income community,

that answer is yes. Now, let me help you out. No, no, no, no. See? No, no, no, no. Let me help you. No, no, no. Let me help you out. And this is what you... No, no, no, no. No, no, let me help you. No, no, no, no, let me help you out. And this is what you, no, no, no, no, no, no, let me help you out. No, let me help you out. So you need to learn something. I would, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, you're about to learn something. See, here's the problem right here. What you are doing, what you are doing is you are,

what you are doing is you are suggesting that you, what you are doing is the same thing Donald Trump is doing and people who know nothing about housing do. You are suggesting that anybody who lives in low-income housing is going to bring in crime. Let me help you out. In Austin, Texas, the reason I know this is because I went there and covered it with all of those racist and Fort Worth. We're talking about oh, we're going to have all this crime. Here's what and what you don't understand

is that housing departments, what they do is they have taken people through training, through classes and what they do is when they have dispersed housing, what they do is they actually, the housing department acquires homes in these areas. They then take people through training, go through screening, and they place families

that are ready and eligible to be able to support a home into those homes. Now, what the language that you're using, what is the language that Trump is using is that, oh, if you are low income housing, boom, it's going to be crime. That's a flat out lie. Now, there's a process here. I covered the exact same issue when Alfonso Jackson, who was the head of the Dallas Housing Authority. Who is Alfonso Jackson? Alfonso Jackson later became the secretary of HUD under President George W. Bush. Alfonso did the exact same thing in Dallas. And the white folks just lost their mind because what they did is automatically project that, oh, if you live in low income housing, you are automatically poor, gang infested, drug infested. You're going to bring

all this stuff without even realizing that there are programs specifically set up the way it's supposed to, to move people away from public housing into dispersed housing with Section 8 vouchers. It all exists there. So you're buying into the notion that if you're in low-income housing, you're automatically a criminal? Well, Roland, I actually am someone who has lived in low-income housing, and I also live in a low-income community. You can push this narrative because it makes sense to you. No, no, no, no.

But as I started the conversation— I'm giving you facts because I covered the issue. But may I finish, please? As I started the conversation, this is not a conversation that I was having with white people. This is a conversation that I was having with black people who said that they moved away from D.C. particular and other inner city communities to get away from the element that is so often associated with low-income areas. That's just a fact. We're experiencing that right now in Washington, D.C. several years ago when the mayor tried

to put shelters in areas outside of 7 and 8, which are the most underrepresented, under-resourced ward in the city. Well, there were plenty of people, not just white people, but plenty of people in these other parts of D.C., these other five or six wars who said that they did not want it in their community. And why is that? Hold on. Why is that? No, no, no. Why is that? Why is that? Because they associate because of the. Well, there are a couple of things. There are associations with crime. There are associations with depressed housing values. There are associations with the schools. Hold up. But right there, Mustafa, he's proving my point.

What happens is these are folks who have believed the white narrative. Oh, my God, here comes all of those poor people. And we're about to get run out of our homes. And what happened that that whole mindset, what they really are saying, here come those black people. Here come those. Here come those Latinos. And what don't you heard? Don't the women, the women, the women, because here's why. Because he's losing suburban white women and mustafa he is trying to appeal to suburban white women to vote for him and the reality is this here mustafa that there are there are you're right there are black people who believe the same nonsense as white people about low-income people

because they assume that everybody who is low-income is sorry, despicable, won't take care of their homes, using drugs, and they're going to bring crime. And I've seen it with my own eyes, and it's bullshit. Go ahead, Mustafa. It's just another example of pimping people's pain. We know that there have been disinvestments in a number of our communities. And when we make the real investments, then we help people to be able to move from surviving to thriving. You know, it's interesting when we start sharing those types of messages because it's really dangerous. And I like to use myself and my friends as example. When my parents got divorced, we lived in low income housing.

I turned out OK. I'm still evolving and growing. My best friend lived in low-income housing. He's now one of the top trademark attorneys in the country. Another one of my good friends grew up in low-income housing. He's now a doctor. And I can go down the list of folks who may have came from a certain positioning, but who have been able to excel. So we need to stop creating these broad strokes just so that we can utilize and win votes. We need to actually look at people, figure out where the investments need to go, make those investments so people can actually survive, thrive and shine. And here's the deal, Kelly. Kelly, here's the deal. I literally visited myself with dispersed

housing in the city of Austin. They gave me the list they gave me a sheet of paper that had because it's public document they had the addresses of the homes that were austin public housing homes that had low income. See, this is the thing that's pissing me off with this crap that Trump is doing. And then if you black, you buy into it. It says low income housing. It does not say low education.

No education doesn't say illiterate housing, doesn't say gang member housing, doesn't say drug induced housing. It says low income housing. There are people in this country who are white, who are black, who are Latino, who are hardworking people. They simply have low income. I've and I saw it and I went to the homes and I stood there and I saw the Austin housing department home and I saw a home owned by a private seller right next door. Yards cut being taken care of. The only difference is that that person and that low income housing had a voucher that allowed them to be able to pay for their mortgage and allow for them to raise their family. And I'll be damned if I'm going to sit here and let black people, black people use the same language as white oppressors and categorize us in that way. Because we then are furthering white supremacy by thinking the same way they are, Kelly, by saying, oh, if you say low income, I immediately jump to you're full of drugs and you're going to bring crime and you're going to bring people who won't even go to school and you're going to cause property to go down.

I'll tell you who caused property values to go down. The same white folks who crashed the damn housing market in 2007 that led to black people losing 53 percent of their wealth. And there were black people who were homeowners, Kelly, who then became homeless because of that. And then we're going to sit here and let this white supremacist use that language and somehow fall for the okey-doke. Well, that was a lot. I definitely agree with you on that.

But that aside, like, obviously we have to unlearn this language that is holding us back and keeping us down. Right. But also we need to repurpose that language for the white counterpart of what Donald Trump is talking about that no one even discusses, which is trailer parks. And we don't have a problem with trailer parks being next to the suburbs which bring crime if you're if we want to talk stereotypes bring crime bring drugs bring down uh the tax value and the property value of of homes in the surrounding area children are truant not going to school because their parents are drug addicts and the like if we really want to talk about stereotypes, if anything, Trump takes that narrative, that same narrative regarding white

people in trailer parks, and is trying to promise them that they will one day get into the suburbs. I wonder why that is. But when you have a black person who is, you know, working hard, just like you said, just has low income, has the education, has the know-all, has everything necessary but the income to be in that same neighborhood. And like you said, all they need is a voucher and a chance. We don't want that because of the color of our skin. So if you really want to talk about a stereotype that's hurting, how about we talk about trail of rights? How about we talk about the fact that we have entire communities like that right next to suburbs and no one's talking about how they are bringing down property. I will not. I will not traffic in stereotypes. And that's the problem. What Donald Trump is doing and what Laura Ingraham allowed him to do

was to speak in stereotypes, and that's the damn problem in this country. Got to go to break. We come back. We're going to talk with Comedian Earthquake about his voter initiative. Also, he will salute the life and legacy of the late Georgetown basketball coach,

John Thompson, and also more tributes for the late Chadwick Boseman. All that's next on Roland Martin Unfiltered. You want to check out Roland Martin Unfiltered? YouTube.com forward slash Roland S. Martin. Subscribe to our YouTube channel. There's only one daily digital show out here that keeps it black and keep it real. It's Roland Martin Unfiltered.

See that name right there? Roland Martin Unfiltered. Like, share, subscribe to our YouTube channel. That's YouTube.com forward slash Roland S. Martin. And don't forget to turn on the field. 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. As our community comes together to support the fight against racial injustice, I want to take a second to talk about one thing we can do to ensure our voices are heard. Not tomorrow, but now. Have your voices heard in terms of what kind of future we want by taking the 2020 census today at 2020census.gov? Now folks, let me help you out.

The census is a count of everyone living in the country. It happens once every 10 years. It is mandated by the U.S. Constitution. The thing that's important is that the census informs funding, billions of dollars, how they are spent in our communities every single year. I grew up in Clinton Park in Houston, Texas, and we wanted new parks and roads and a senior citizen center. Well, the census helps inform all of that and where funding goes. It also determines how many seats your state will get in the U.S. House of Representatives. Young black men and young children of color are historically undercounted, which means a potential loss of funding or services that helps our community. Folks, we have the power to change that. We have the power to help determine where hundreds of billions in federal funding go each

year for the next 10 years. Funding that can impact our community, our neighborhoods, and our families and friends. Folks, responses are 100% confidential and can't be shared with your landlord, law enforcement, or any government agency. So please take the 2020 census today. Shape your future. Start at 2020census.gov. Folks, 62 days left before the election, November 3rd. But don't forget, you've got early voting. You've also got early voting.

You've got people, of course, filing for deadlines. Go to my iPad, please. Go to vote.org. Of course, you can register right now. You can check your registration. Y'all, everybody listening to me must check your registration. Guys, what's up with the screen blacking out? Come on now.

Check the registration, please. We got to do that because you got to ensure that you are registered to vote. All right. So joining me right now is my man, Comedian Earthquake. He is stepping outside his comedy zone to launch an initiative and encourage a million voters to take three non-voters to the polls with them.

He joins us right now. So, Earthquake, you want, so your deal is take somebody with you. Yeah, you know, it's called One Plus Three, you know. Everybody, you know, you're an activist. First of all, thank you for having me on the show, my brother. I don't know why you, before we get into my initiative, but don't worry about scaring white women.

White women love black men. They've been loving them for years. You ain't got to worry. They just trying to be with black men. You understand that? That's all they want. And you ain't got to worry about the suburbs. White people ain't got to worry. They just trying to be with black men. You understand that? That's all they want. And you ain't got to worry about the suburbs. White people ain't worried about that.

They are coming to the inner city. It's called, you know, gentrification. So he's out of touch. Have you ever been down to 14th and U? You can't get no working woman down no more. Down there no more. When I was growing, they selling fruit. White women are jogging on 14th and you at 3 o'clock

in the morning. Listen to me. Brooklyn ain't Brooklyn like it used to be so you don't have to worry about that. That boohoo, the boogie, black man that's only for rural areas. In the inner city, they love us. Now back to my thing. One plus

three what it is is is, you know, for you, and I want to first of all salute you, Roland, because you have been a soldier in this war before the fight, before the rest of these so-called woke people have wakened. You have always been there. And I think they have to take a

little activist from you. Everybody got to do their share. I think for the change to happen, you just can't vote. You got to do their share. I think for the change to happen, you just can't vote. You got to make the change. You must do more. You know, everybody have to have a piece in this puzzle. And I think everybody got to do more. And more is not you just voting. It's not enough. We need you to vote with my initiative. You need to bring three people with you. That's one plus three. Bring three people.

And the caveat and the description of the three people is three people that would have not voted if you had not intervened. It does us no good for you to bring three people that already was going to vote. We don't need that. We need you to go get Pookie. We need you to go get the chick that's twerking. We need to go get these people that's disenfranchised with the system and convince them that their vote counts. And if we do that, if everybody bring three people with them in the poll, just like they used to do or anything else, going to the strip club or like ladies used to do when scandal was happening, scandal parties, galvanize like that.

Put that together. Put it on your social media. Showing these are the three people that you brought into the system. I think we can make a change that way. And that's my contribution. Well, and one of the basic things is here is that because of COVID, we now are operating in a space where you don't have all your previous events. And so we got to be using text messaging and social media to connect with people because we're not seeing people the way we used to. And that's really what this is about. And what you've done is you've broken this thing down to real basic. You ain't saying go get 30. Just you be you be responsible for three.

If that person does it, that's three million more people who vote than who voted before. Exactly. Exactly. Especially, you know, the swing states. I'm looking for Ohio. I'm looking for Pennsylvania. I'm looking for Michigan. I'm looking for Colorado. I'm looking for Arizona. I'm looking for Florida. I'm looking for Texas where me and you are at. And I'm looking for Alabama. If we can get Doug Jones to be the senator, we can also flip that state too. I think we just have to make sure that we galvanize everybody and just not tell them to vote. You need you. Everybody knows at least three people that's disenfranchised with the system. And I need you to personally see them, make it there, make sure they rest.

And then once they rest, make sure they prove that you have proof you've seen it. And then schedule what time we go on to the poll. Do I pick you up? Do you pick me up? The same way when you go to the strip club. What time you come about a house, pick me up before we go down to Madison City? I need you to connect that together and everybody to do their share. And that's the only way we can make that change. So what you're saying is

pick that person up, take them to vote, and then, like old boy with the clippers, then go to Magic City to get your hot wings. Whatever vice it is that you need to entice that person. I have a young brother that, you know, he's into illegal pharmaceuticals. So I bring him a blunt.

I say there'll be a blunt in the morning when I come pick you up. You can smoke all the way to the pole. So I got Faison. I got this young comedian named Paul. And I need one more person. And then I'm going to post the three people that I got. And we're going to galvanize together and make sure that we go down and vote together. All right, Earthquake.

We appreciate it, man. Keep it up. You know I'm going to keep it up. And don't, hey, man, another thing. When you going to get this dance contest on, you've been ducking me, and you can keep on doing what you're doing because I know you're fighting a good fight. But when you're ready, man, I'm ready to do you, man. I'm ready to do you.

All right, Earthquake, you know I am not running from you when it comes to dancing. I mean, you know damn well right there. First of all, you lying like Donald Trump right now. Man, don't put me in that category. I'll tell the truth. But I'm telling you right there, you've been ducking me like a bill. You understand what I'm saying? But I'm going to let you go, man, because I know you got a lot of things going on in your life.

So I'm going to give you a pass. But whenever you're ready, I'm saying send us a dance off to each of them. Whoever wins donates to each of us favorite charity. Well, you might as well send the money in advance because you ain't going to win. Come on, man. I saw them two left foot you got when I saw you on the Tom and John. You're terrible. Everybody know you lying.

I mean, everybody know you lying. Stevie Wonder right now is cussing you out because he's saying you lying. Well, Stevie need to get a better outfit. Man, okay, see right there? See? On Tom Joyner's show, you could not talk about Aretha Franklin. Tom didn't allow that. You can't be messing with Stevie.

That's a legend. Listen, I talk about Stevie. I talk about Aretha. I talk about you. And I talk about unemployed Tom Jones. All of y'all can come get something. See, right there. Ain't no respect for black

legends. We done. Earthquake, I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you very much. Follow me on the real Earthquake. Alright, thanks a lot. Gunfire broke out while Charles McMillan Jr. and his son and childhood friend Kendrick Clemens were dropping off a U-Haul truck in Tallahassee, Florida. The next thing they saw was an older couple coming toward them, both pointing guns in their direction. The couple ordered them to not move, but McMillan sped off in his truck. The two shooters, Wallace Fountain 77 and his wife, Beverly Fountain 72,

owned the strip mall where the incident took place and were reportedly staking it out inside another U-Haul truck. According to the Tallahassee Democrat, the couple said they were having problems with people stealing gas, but McMillan and Clemens say they were profiled by vigilantes and never given a chance to explain why they were there. The fountains were arrested and charged with three counts of aggravated assault without intent to kill. These white folks losing their mind, Mellick. They were arrested. They should have been arrested.

Whether or not this was something that's racially motivated, for me, is pretty much irrelevant to the fact that they were actually arrested because law enforcement saw that they did something wrong. So this was one of the instances where it were worked as it should have. Whatever charges that need to be filed against him, they need to be filed. But I'm glad that they were actually arrested.

And I think you said charged, too. It's crazy deranged white folks. We should have made that crazy as white people segment. Go ahead, Kelly. No, I agree. Like, for me, it was the part in the article that i read about this where the charges were uh aggravated assault without the intent to kill and last i checked you don't wield a gun and pointed at anybody without an intent to kill you don't shoot to stop

shoot to kill so they just need to revise those charges and then we'll be straight. Mustafa? I mean, this is not an episode of the Beverly Hillbillies or Green Acres. You know, you just can't be popping off at folks. You know, they're lucky. They're very, very fortunate that, you know, they fired at certain folks because certain folks would have taken that as a seriousness that you're trying to take their lives. Absolutely. All right, folks, got to go to a break. We come back.

We're going to talk about the legacy of John Thompson, who passed away at the age of 78. The first African-American to win a major, major championship in the top divisions of the NCAA. That is next on Roller Martin Unfiltered. You want to support Roller Martin Unfiltered. You want to support Roland Martin Unfiltered? Be sure to join our Bring the Funk fan club. Every dollar that you give to us supports our daily digital show. There's only one daily digital show out here that keeps it black and keep it real. As Roland Martin Unfiltered, support the Roland Martin Unfiltered daily digital show

by going to RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. Our goal is to get 20,000 of our fans contributing 50 bucks each for the whole year you can make this possible All right, sick.com is Black-owned company. Mary Spio, she is the founder of it. Folks, they have these great virtual reality headsets. All you got to do is just drop your cell phone right into this here. You can watch the virtual reality content on Seek.com or other 360-degree video. Also, they have these great headphones here, these 4D 360-degree headphones, which are great for gaming. You can have your headset.

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He was 78 years old. He coached at Georgetown University for 27 years, leading the Hoyas to their lone title in 1984. He later spoke about being singled out as the first African-American head coach to win the national championship. ORCHESTRA PLAYS Coach Thompson? Uh-huh. Coach Thompson, Coach Thompson was saving my life. For giving me the opportunity. I was recruited by every school in the country for football and basketball.

And an incident happened in high school, and all that was taken away. No other teams, no other schools Or recruit me anymore. My mom went to Georgetown and Begged him to give me a chance and He did And that's uh, and that's crazy to think that you're the best football player in the world, which I did. And to be sitting up here as a Hall of Famer in basketball, you tell me God ain't good. Well, he actually was one of the top quarterbacks in the country. Joining me right now is Mark Thompson, the host of Make It Plain Daily Show,

and Brian Mitchell, of course, former NFL star, who's also a staple here in Washington, D.C. radio. Mark, you guys actually, I'm sorry, not Mark, Brian, y'all were on the same radio station, right? Yeah, we were on the same station, and I actually did a show with him about two years. Talk about that experience. The thing is, anybody who met John Thompson, he was, one, a huge man, not just when it came to his career, but he was physically a huge man, and he could intimidate the hell of a lot of folks,

but he really was a big bear. Yeah, he was. And I think a lot of people don't understand. You had to get past his size. You know, he's 6'10", and he was a big man. And people were intimidated by that. But once you sit down and you start talking to him, you find out he's a well-educated man.

He understood things that were going on. He wanted the same things we're fighting for today. He wanted everybody to have an equal and fair opportunity. The thing about it, he was always teaching. It wasn't that he was trying. It's just who he was. When he left a person, when he left from around you,

you were always better. One of the things that is important also, Mark, when you think about him, he was, when you talk about intentional, it's intentional. You see folks, players go on strike. John Thompson took his own stance when it came to the changing to the education rules. He was fighting for the black athlete.

And he was somebody. And of course, he scared the hell out of white media because if we're real honest white media was filled with a sports media was filled with a whole largely a whole bunch of white folks who did not know how to handle a black man who was in charge and he was truly large and in charge at georgetown right and unapologetic about it um he took his team off the court once when there was a game in Philadelphia and there were all these racial epithets on signs attacking Patrick Ewing. And he took the team off the court until the signs were taken down demanding that the school administrators there remove those signs. He walked off the court using a civil rights movement tactic in 1989, walked off the court in opposition to Proposition 42.

Intentional is an appropriate adjective, Roland. Dikembe Mutombo is going to be on my show tomorrow morning. And one of the things we talked about was how intentional it was to recruit a player from the African continent. This is before, everybody knows about NBA Without Borders now, this is before NBA Without Borders, to put kente cloth on our Georgetown uniforms was also intentional. Coach Thompson is someone who raised all of us as men. He was a father to all of us. And we hear Allen talk about saving his life. We know Allen's story. But there are others of us who have very personal stories where our

lives were also in danger. And if it hadn't been for John Thompson, we wouldn't be alive either. And one of those people is me. Talk about that. You say that he was indeed a father figure. so he as as brian said he was always a teacher that's just what he naturally did and he didn't just teach basketball he talked about everything in life everything in society he shared his opinion and then he elicited ours and once you were a part of his family, once you were one of his adopted sons, so to speak, and let me just say, I want to give honor to John III and Ronnie and Tiffany, his beautiful children, whom I loved, and thank them for sharing their father with all of us. Because their father, Coach Thompson, he really started the Million Man March what he started when he went to Georgetown was to really do something about the way we as black men were

treated and we as black men were portrayed and if you remember back in the 80s especially it was a source of pride to wear Georgetown gear, wear a Georgetown jacket. You saw rappers and hip-hop artists all on videos doing that. And it wasn't just symbolic. Once you were part of his program, he treated you like a son, like one of his own. And he took care of us. He counseled us. Well, after we're gone into adulthood, I think many of us who were part of that program would agree that long after we left Georgetown, our wisest counsel still came from John Thompson.

Let me be real. Let me be real clear, Brian. I was from Houston. I wasn't wearing no damn Georgetown gear. I don't care about no Mutombo, Morning, and Ewan. And so, yeah, I'm still pissed off. They call them cheap fouls on the Kimmelage one. We would have beat Georgetown for that title in 1984.

But whatever. And we ain't going to talk about the NC State BS. But anyway, the thing, Brian, also, he also changed sports media because the white editors couldn't keep sending them white boys to cover him. He made them hire black journalists. Yeah, he definitely did that. And I think the thing about it is, you know, people try to understand cultures. John would say something and the white media would take it totally different

than what the black media did because they understood where he was coming from. You know, I think when you look at him, as Mark was just stating, he was a father figure. He was constantly a teacher. You know, I have sat there and heard story after story after story. And we remember Rafe Edmonds was the kingpin here in D.C. And he had some stuff going on with Alonzo Mourning. John said word that he wanted to talk to him. Rafe came to talk some stuff going on with alonzo morning john said word that he wanted to talk to him rachel came to talk to john he let alonzo alone you know and i'm just saying this man he did not just tell a parent i'm going to take care of your child he went out there and he did it you know and he was very like you all you both said he's very intentional he did

nothing just to be doing it everything Everything he did, he meant something by it. When I was doing radio with him and I was going through a contract negotiation, he basically said, we'll work this thing out. He basically helped me throughout the whole process. He was on both sides working the thing up and he knew more

than the people that I was signing the contract with. Like I said, he was educated, he was intentional, and he always meant well. And I've been in D.C. now for over 30 years. Mark is absolutely right. The people that played for him, yeah, he took care of them. But there are thousands of people that he took care of outside of Georgetown.

Hell, I thought Georgetown was HBCU growing up in Louisiana, you know, and they had all the people from New Orleans on that basketball team. But once I got here and saw what Georgetown was, many people around the country did not know anything about Georgetown, the academic university, without John Thompson bringing a winning type of mindset to that school. Mark, and that meeting with that drug dealer, I mean, that's major when he said, no, no, no, you come meet with me. And told the drug dealer, stay away from Alonzo Mornin. And the drug dealer, yes, John. And that reminds you of growing up in black neighborhoods where the football coach or the basketball coach made it clear to the hoods in the neighborhood, leave my people alone. And it was an off an off limit thing. Nobody messed with brothers who played ball.

That's right. No, you're absolutely right. And that same Alonzo morning on the board of governors at Georgetown today. That's right. That's right. No, you're right. Big John had the courage to do that. He had the ability to do it and he had the stature and even Rafe Ledman had to respect him. You know, if you think about it, Roland, before Georgetown beat the University of Houston appropriately out that comment you made a moment ago, you better move on. You better move on. You better move on. The last one was Brian, and I know Brian agrees with me. It was in 82 that the nation really got introduced to John Thompson. Georgetown ran through the NCAA tournament, got to the Final Four, and faced Dean Smith's Tar Heels. the presence of a six foot ten black man with Patrick Ewing and an all black team

really overshadowed Michael Jordan and James Worthy playing for others because Michael Jordan was still just a freshman and when Brian's right we all our TVs on that night we're like what is this what is Georgetown is this an HBCU? Is this an all black school? And think about it at that moment. This is before Jesse Jackson ran for president. This was a tremendous source of pride. We found a lot of our pride in our sports heroes. Muhammad Ali had just retired the previous December. And so to see John Thompson, we didn't even dream of being president, but to have a black man in the final four coaching, it was beyond our wildest dreams. And it was at that moment that John Thompson offered us a strong sense of black manhood, a strong sense of pride. And I think that's why people are so grateful for him.

You even got white coaches now who admit that John Thompson changed the game. He changed the style of play. He changed the NBA by the players. He went to the NBA who played for him. We see the numbers now. The rise in black coaches and black coaching opportunities in Division I basketball immediately after John Thompson went to those finals in 1982 and ultimately won in 84.

You see the difference. So, again, we talk about Jesse Jackson. We look at the number of elected officials that rode his coattails to political office. We look at John Thompson. We can look at the numbers of black coaches in the Division one and professional ranks that rode his coattails to get there. when his point guard made that errant pass to Michael Jordan that cost Georgetown that title in 82, the country also saw the compassion that he had for that player when he grabbed him and hugged him, when he just hugged him. He could have been yelling and cussing. And that's the piece. And I met John Thompson several times.

He would often come to the National Association of Black Journalists National Convention. I remember we were in New York. Him and John Cheney were there. And they were two black men, John Cheney at Temple and George and John Thompson at Georgetown in the Big East, who basically were taking on the entire NCAA on behalf of black athletes and black parents. And they made it clear they were not going to back down. And they never did. And I think what you saw with him putting his arm around that point guard was a John that I think so many people never, ever saw. You know, my buddy Carl Francis put a post up today and he had him hugging Alonzo,

hugging Allen, you know, sitting there with a smile on his face. And I don't think a lot of people saw that smile, but that's who I want people to understand that he was. Yes, he was a man who was strong will. He believed in what he believed in and he wasn't going to take anybody's BS, you know, but the thing about him, he was going to always be there to let you know why he did something and what you need to learn from something. And I think, listen, I sat there with him for those two years on a radio show in awe because I had known I sat there and watch him as a young man. Then now I'm sitting on a radio show with him and I tell people over and over again, he taught me more about business than my college did. I promise you that. He will certainly be remembered for being a fantastic coach, was indeed a fantastic human being. And he coached that 27 years.

He still ran the program. He picked his son, followed him. And then Patrick Ewing follow his son and so it's rare that you see that kind of power wielded by an African American head coach and so certainly lost a big John Thompson gentlemen I appreciate it thanks a lot

thank you bringing my panel here I'll start with Mustafa your thoughts reflections on John Thompson the passing of the great John Thompson. The best way to describe him is the better making of men. I mean, for him to continually reach back, to reach down and pull people up and to embrace them and to put them on a path often when they had been unseen and unheard and undervalued.

So I will always remember Coach Thompson for the humanitarian that he was, because it was about more than basketball. It was about life. Truly did have a cultural shift there, Kelly, with the number of rappers who were wearing Georgetown gear in commercials. The number, I mean, individuals who didn't even know, who could not even place Georgetown on a map who were wearing their gear. I mean, you know, black people have always been tastemakers and trendsetters. I mean, before the Fab Five with Michigan, before them and their long shorts, it was Georgetown that redefined culture in terms of this country.

And all of that is because of this man. As someone who grew up in D.C., I'm a D.C. native, I can tell you everybody was rooting for Georgetown. And as a kid growing up here, like they said, I really did think that Georgetown was the HBCU for a while because I saw so many people who looked like me in that uniform, in those logos and the like so um he really was a giant um especially to the city um to me it's akin to the loss of chuck brown like

just such a chunk of the culture is now with the ancestors he'll he'll definitely be missed in the area and certainly the country. Millett? Yeah, so you're talking about people not knowing where Georgetown was on a map. This is someone who grew up in Mississippi, and I can assure you. Now, the 80s, I think that was during the Patrick Ewing days when he was drafted first round. That's probably a little early for me when I started watching basketball, but definitely by the 90s with Alonzo Mourning in the second round, and I think it was Allen Iverson, maybe he was a first round pick in 95 or something. All of my family, my friends, I come from a community where we want all black people

to win. So if it were a black coach, we were going to support them. If it were a black business owner or anything, we were going to support them. But if you think about how forward-thinking John was and everything that he did, the care that he had, you're talking about movies being made, you know how we see all these movies made, sometimes

about white people going into a community and saving the black child. There actually needs to be one made on John Thompson because he was a change maker. And I think his legacy will live on. We've had a lot of, 2020 has been crazy all around, but I think that the next story that needs to be told

is definitely John Thompson. Well, he is an autobiography. It comes out in January. And so we certainly appreciate the work, his life and legacy. Bellet Kelly, as well as Mustafa, I appreciate y'all being on my panel today. Thank you so very much. Folks, gotta go to commercial break when we come back.

More folks showing their appreciation for the life and legacy of Chadwick Boseman, who died at the age of 43 on last Friday. Coming up next, Anjanue Ellis, who starred with him in the movie Get On Up, shares her thoughts and reflections.

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Kids, uncles, anyone. They don't even have to be family. Now remember, this count helps inform where billions in federal funding goes each year. So shape your future. Start here at 2020census.gov. Yesterday, folks, we had an amazing tribute to Chadwick Boseman, a three-hour tribute. We had so much stuff, we couldn't even fit it all in. I want you to do Ellis, who starred with Chadwick in the movie Get On Up, where he portrayed James Brown, share her thoughts about working with him and what he meant to the culture.

You were in the movie Get On Up with Chadwick Boseman. Just talk about what he was like, his presence during that film. And this was only, what, the second movie where he was a leading character. Yeah. Um, um, Chadwick was, for me, was just, you know, just this guy who was, you know, just really professional, just professional dude. You know, he showed up in everything that I saw him, I witnessed him do on set. And when I say showed up, I don't just mean he showed up with his body i mean he brought himself fully and entirely you know into his work you know and um you know i was very low on the totem pole and on that movie and he could have not said a word to me but i just always remember him being you know just, just lovely and kind and a gracious guy.

He really embodied the spirit of James Brown. He was far taller than James Brown, didn't look like James Brown. But when you watch that film in terms of the kind of large personality, larger than life James Brown represented, I mean, that's really what he did in spending time with the family, putting on James Brown's clothes. I mean, he really, really got into that character. Yeah, that's what I mean. He just was, he took nothing for granted.

You know what I mean? He didn't, he didn't come and, and, and rely on his own personal charisma or anything like that. You know, he, he worked his tail off and I watched him, you know, I watched him, I watched him do that. Take after take after take after take, um, him and, and, you know, unfortunately Nelsan Ellis, uh, watched them both do that. Um, him and, and, you know, unfortunately, Nelson Ellis. Yep. Uh, watched them both do that. Um, yeah. And that's, that's what he did. He brought the work, brought the, the, the, the ethic every day, every day. Uh, you, you mentioned, uh, you, you mentioned Nelson Ellis.

Uh, the fact that, um, you know you know, these really talented young actors. And I think one of the things that I've said to people, folks have said, you know, why has Chad Wisdeth hit folks so differently? And really, as I thought about it, he really is, in terms of for this generation, I'm 51 years old, for this generation, he's really the first major star to pass away. My point to that, folks who are 60, 70, 80, when you think about civil rights leaders, when you think about Aretha Franklin, you think about folks along those lines. But for this generation, I think his passing hit the same way it did Kobe Bryant. Yeah, you know, it's just that's what sucks so bad.

You know, it's just like, you know, it's like it's such a sucker punch. And I think that is psychological trauma at this point. I don't know how else to say it. And I'm not, you know, I'm not, you know, probably not sounding eloquent or elegant right now but that's what it feels like it feels like a sucker punch you know we began this year losing black mamba you know and then months later we're gonna lose black panther we're gonna eulogize black panther that's all i can say Friday night, you know, was Black Panther. I just could not stop saying that. And it is, you know, that was such a moment.

That was such a moment for Black folks. The Black Panther on screen, you know, we all know, we all know folks dressing up to go to the movie in African clothes. And, you know, and even now the reverberations of, like, what Wakanda meant to folks, no matter what you felt, whatever you feel about superhero movies or Marvel or whatever, it was a moment, a cultural moment for us that went beyond a moment. And to have that snatched away like that, I, I, it's almost, it, it is almost, I can't accept it. I can't, I'm better than I was on Friday night about it, but it really is something that I cannot wrap my arms. I cannot wrap my mind. I cannot wrap my mind around.

And I think, you know, yeah, I worked with him and, you know, I was I was around him a few days. He was not my friend. And but I I my impression of him was that, like I said, he was just a gracious, warm and, you know, welcoming guy in a situation that he did not have to be with me. But what I feel more so is what I feel from afar. I feel the same way my friends feel, which is that, you know, we lost one of us, one of the best of us. And we just keep losing all year long. We just keep losing so much. And it just feels like a sucker punch to lose this young black man in this way. I just can't wrap my mind around it. But, but I will say this here. Uh, when I read that letter from Ryan Coogler, um, where he paid

tribute to Chadwick Boseman. And when I read that and, and he, he talked about how much Chadwick put into the character in terms of the language, in terms of the spirituality. When we look at the fact that, you know, really when it came to being a leading man, his body of work really only covered eight years from when he got 42 at the age of, the movie 42, the age of 35, and then, of course, passing at the age of 43. But the reality is the quality of his work, despite the shortness of the years, will stand the test of time. It absolutely will.

And you know what else is going to stand the test of time? The fact that he did what he did, suffering did suffering i'm sure the way that he was suffering i mean they i had a moment on saturday night i was a wreck friday but you know and a wreck like not because i worked with him not because i worked with him if i didn't work a day with this young with this i'm calling him a young man he's a young man to me but he's a man If I didn't work a day with this young, with this, I'm calling him a young man. He's a young man to me, but he's a man. If I didn't work a day with him, I would feel the same way I feel right now.

Because I had actually forgotten that I had done something with him. And I was like, oh yeah, I did something with him. I would feel the same way I feel right now. You know, the same way my friends are feeling. And I had a moment of like questioning some work that I was doing on the over the weekend. And I was like, listen, everything that I'm going to do, I'm going to remind myself of what Chadwick Boseman did. This man played Black Panther with colon cancer. If that don't get us off our tails and, and, and, and, and, and wanting to like, you know,

stop complaining and do the work and do the job and be creative. I don't know. I don't know what, I don't know what is, I don't, I don't know what could do it. And I even said to myself, everything that I do, I'm going to think about him. I'm going to think about Chadwick Boseman. I'm going to think about him. I can't sit on my tail and complain because I got a pain in my ankle. I can't do that anymore. Knowing that and the way

that he handled it with such grace. Lord, have mercy. Well, Anjanel, we appreciate you sharing with us for this amazing tribute to Chadwick. He's a great guy. Somebody I got a chance to meet a number of times

sitting down interviewing him. And we certainly wanted to honor him in a great way. And we appreciate you joining us. Thank you so much, Roland. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Chadwick. Thank you.

All right, bye-bye. Take care. Folks, comedian Buddy Lewis sent us this video sharing his thoughts about Chadwick Boseman. The Black Mamba, now T'Challa. You know, this year, 2020, this year ain't been shit. I want to send my sincere condolences to Chadwick Boseman's family, his new wife, and anybody that knew the man that was a friend or worked with him. I only had been able to interact with him on a few occasions at some Hollywood events. We run into each other and we would give the standard

H-U, you know, that's how we were connected, our being alumni at Howard University. The man was one of the coolest, most humble and genuine brothers I've met in the business that was equal to his celebrity and his talent I mean the man got to play everybody living he got to play all the legends James Brown Jackie Robinson he was amazing and I mean hell if you died and you were famous and Chadwick Boseman

didn't play you, you wasn't that famous I'm sure there's some white folks running around here going I want Chadwick Boseman to be me when I die because he's going to make a legend out of my career I mean the brother played a superhero I mean our superhero me when I die because he's going to make a legend out of my career. I mean, the brother played a superhero. I mean, our superhero, Black Panther.

He was the man. And I just want to say he will be missed. And all I can say, H-U, you know. Wakanda forever, my brother. R.I.P. Chadwick Boseman. Well, the news dropped on Friday that Chadwick had died. The first person who I called

was Reggie Hutland. He directed Chadwick in the movie Marshall. I had an opportunity to do three Q&As to help promote the film, all three with Reggie, two of those with Chatwick. And of course, one of those was his first visit back to Howard University in 2017,

which was an unbelievable and electric night. Reggie Hutland joins us right now. Reggie, glad to have you on the show. I hate to have you on the show under these circumstances, but we do this because I think our folks don't get the same type of love as others do to celebrate them, to vet them, to really showcase them. And you work with him on this film. Ryan Coogler wrote he had no idea that he was suffering from colon cancer. Others said they had no idea that he was doing these things while going through a major health crisis. Yeah, it was really impressive. I've yet to talk to anyone who knew, which speaks to his strength mentally and physically that he was able to do the amount of work he did while suffering.

It also speaks to how tight his team was. His wonderful wife, Simone, the folks he had surrounding him, they took care of him and they were ever to be loyal to him and keep his business private. And that's all incredibly admirable. So I salute those folks who were closest to him, who looked out for him and took care of him. You, there were so many different conversations. I remember that night after we left the theater, after we left Crampton Auditorium and we went to dinner. And it was an amazing conversation because that because at that dinner we were talking and we were talking about, of course, what I was doing with with the show. And he was talking about how he didn't get into didn't want to go into acting. He came to Howard to be a director and to be a writer. And we were talking about how you have to have the right people around you. And it was just, I tell people, it was just an amazing conversation.

He was this really smart, deep, intellectual brother. I met a lot of actors. I don't say that about, but this was a different brother, Reggie. He was a true intellectual. And you don't run into a lot of people who were as smart as him, as thoughtful as him, as empathetic as him. At the same time, a real brother. He was South Carolina. He was Brooklyn. He was Africa. He was every type of black flavor for what what a black university can create. It took a guy who already had the goods and shaped him into something extraordinary, something perfect. As I sit here and reflect on our last chat conversation, he said something that I just thought was so important. And he said, I'm not T'Challa. I'm not Black Panther. I'm an actor that changes. I live a complete mental, spiritual, and physical journey so I can give life to many souls.

That's complete self-awareness. When he was James Brown, he was completely James Brown. When he was Thurgood Marshall, he was completely Thurgood Marshall. When he was T'Challa, he was T'Challa. He was not the star in the sense that he is the same persona from movie to movie. He took off his skin and transformed himself into this other person every time he worked, which is why that body of work is so amazing. Especially play any one of those characters. It incredible he did it four times i joked on it i joked on that panel uh the q a we did it howard that uh it's a lot of light-skinned actors in

hollywood mad as hell at you because they were sure that was one character they were going to get. Chad was cracked up laughing at that. But you told a story that night that I thought was so important. Because you said that it was important. You knew he was Black Panther. And you said Thurgood was a real-life superhero. And so to have the superhero play a real life superhero was important yeah uh it was important because black pan i knew what black panther would be i knew the kind of global success it would be and um that would make a movie about Thurgood Marshall

something that a young person be curious about. Well, Chad was in it, maybe I'll watch it, right? And then they'll watch it and go, Oh, now I know about a real life hero. But also, it's a measure of the man, meaning the actor uh that he had the gravity the intelligence the physicality uh the moral compass to successfully play all those roles the um when you when you think back to the conversations um when you, when you think back to the conversations, um, when you now,

now knowing what he was dealing with, cause I did this Friday night reading over those text messages and, and, and now seeing behind them, have you been doing that? And now going, yo, that's what he was talking about. That yo, that's what he was talking about.

That's what he was speaking to. Well, yeah. I mean, on one hand you have a few little clues that didn't quite make sense but now do. But at the same time, our last conversation was a beautiful one.

And it was all about the future. When was that? When was it? And his optimism was all about the future. When was that? When was it? And his optimism and enthusiasm about the future. When was that? So that was in May. Got it. Go ahead. And, you know, so I look back and go, he was not a guy who was, he was focused on life,

which makes sense. He's a warrior. He's not going to give in to anything. He's a guy who's a fighter to the end. So that's not surprising that that was the tone, because how else would he be? Last question for you. The video that people were talking about when he lost, when they were, they were concerned about his weight.

Um, it, it bothered him. Um, because he said that folks on the wrong thing, he said, even if I wasn't doing a role, I could be on some kind of crazy spiritual quest where I'm fasting for a

month. That's nobody else's business. He said, the fact that people were missing the point that $4.2 million was being donated to hospitals and frontline workers that service us, that's what had me going, my people, my people, my people.

And I told him, I said, I'm going to amplify that. And he said, all right, brother, thank you for pushing that. Really, all that matters right now is saving lives. When I see the photos of him visiting St. Jude's, all the children's wards and hospitals, and him bringing joy to those children, knowing that he was carrying the pain and suffering that he is,

that breaks me down every time. He was just a, he was a prince playing a prince. He was a prince of a man. And I'm heartbroken that I won't get to talk to him again, won't get to hang out again, won't get to work again.

But I'm so grateful that I was able to know him and be with him and do work with him because, you know, he elevates any room he's in. Well, you're absolutely right. That is certainly the case. Folks, if you have not watched Marshall, you need to do it. He thought he was going to have a whole bunch of great courtroom lines.

Then he said, I didn't realize Reggie had me basically silent all the time but i think if anybody who has read about thurgood marshall and watches his performance they will understand reggie what he what he brought to that role yeah look thurgood marshall was the smartest man in the room of any room he was in. And he wasn't a minister. He had swagger. He was a cocky dude from Baltimore. He knew he was fly. He knew he was smart. And he projected that. And that kind of gangsterish attitude,

academic gangster attitude, that's what made me excited to make a movie about him Chadwick and I saw eye to eye on that spirit and Josh Gad I give enormous credit to the way they played off each other was a beautiful thing it was funny it was uh uh exciting and you know Josh and I we we have been planning what's the next movie the three of us can do? So, you know, Josh called me first and he was heartbroken because we love the brothers so much. Reggie Hutland, man, I appreciate it. Thank you for being with us and sharing your thoughts and perspectives about Chadwick Boseman.

Thank you, Roland. Thank you for being there all along our journey, man. You are an extraordinary journalist and you chronicle black America. We appreciate it. I appreciate it, man. Thank you so very much. Thank you.

Folks, right now, Reggie spoke about Josh Gad, who co-starred with Chadwick. This is the video that he posted on his Instagram page. So you should be able to see my, do you, I see it folks. You should control it and you should be able to see it. Let's see here. It's showing that it's connected. So you should be able to see it. Do you see it now? You should be, it's showing me that it's connected. So let's get this fixed up. Cause I want to play for y'all what Josh had to say. And then we're going to close the show with one of the,

one of those two Q and A's I did with Chadwick at, at Howard university. Y'all do y'all see it now? Okay. It's the Josh Gad video. Y'all have it there. Play it there. Go ahead.

Okay, so do we have the Josh Gad video? Let's roll it. Guys, the video is set up. Roll it. Roll it. Okay, we have an issue with this video here. Do we have the audio? Do you have my control?

Do you have my control? Do you have my iPad? Alright. I want y'all to hear. I mean, he was really, Josh Gatt was really broken up by that. Alright, so let's do this here. Go ahead and play the Q&A. I'll have Josh Gatt tomorrow because here's the deal. I interviewed

Chadwick Boseman for 42. I interviewed him for Get On Up. I interviewed him for we had the two Q&A's for Marshall. So we're going to do we're going to do several things. You're going to see this over the next two days. So we're going to play right now the interview that I excuse me, the Q&A, one of the two Q&As. We did a screening at the NAACP convention for the NAACP for for the movie Marshall. And this is a Q&A took place in Baltimore, Maryland, with myself, Chadwick Boseman and Reggie Hutland. Do we have that video, folks?

All right. So, again, don't have that one. So what I will do is we will sit we'll set that up for you because we really want you to see that great, great conversation that we had with them regarding that. So, folks, let's just do this here. If you want to support RollerMart Unfiltered, we want you to join our Bring the Fuck Fan Club. Go to Cash App, dollar sign RM Unfiltered. You can also go to PayPal and Venmo to support what we do.

Our goal, of course, is to bring you this kind of content. Like I said, if you missed last night's show, a three hour tribute to Chadwick Boseman, you can check it out on our YouTube channel. That's why we do what we do. And so we want you all to support it in all the way we can. New Vision Media, you can mail a money order in at NU Vision Media, Inc., 1625 K Street, Northwest, Suite 400, Washington, D.C., 2006. And so, again, so tomorrow what I will do is I will have the Marshall Q&A we did. There were two. One was in Baltimore.

One was in Howard. We'll have the one from Baltimore tomorrow on Roland Martin Unfiltered. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Holler! Holler! Here's the deal. We got to set ourselves up. See, retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early.

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And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter and it brings a face to them.

It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast.