#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Ala Congressional Map Battle, Jim Trotter Talks NFL Lawsuit, Fanbase v Clubhouse

Episode Date: September 14, 2023

9.13.2023 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Ala Congressional Map Battle, Jim Trotter Talks NFL Lawsuit, Fanbase v Clubhouse Alabama Republicans are back at it again, knocking on the Supreme Court's door after ignoring the high court's ruling on redrawing the state's congressional maps.  Joe L. Reed, the Chair of the Alabama Democratic Conference, will be here to update us on the ongoing battle over maps.  Three of the Georgia 19 ask the judges to dismiss or sever their cases.  We'll have the latest on what is asking and discuss why Mark Meadows should give up on getting his charges dropped.  A white man in Maine is facing federal charges after threatening a black woman.  And Jim Trotter will be here in our second hour to discuss his discrimination lawsuit against the NFL. And Fanbase Creator Isaac Hayes, III gets harassed by the Club House heads.  Isaac will be here to explain what happened.  Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV. The #BlackStarNetwork 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. "See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?

Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast.

Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. 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. Today is Wednesday, September 13, 2023. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. I'm live here at the House of Hope in Chicago, where McDonald's is preparing for their Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour,

kicking off on Friday. And so we'll be sharing with you some of our interviews with some of the stars who are on that particular tour. On today's show, Alabama Republicans continue to deny the federal courts or defy the federal courts. They have lost another round and they now are appealing to the Supreme Court to take this case over. I will talk with Joe Reed, the chair of the Alabama Democratic Conference, about what the white Republicans in Alabama are trying to do to screw over black voters. Also, three of the Georgia 19, that's 19 people, 18 people along with Donald Trump, who were indicted for election interference, election fraud.

They have asked the judge to dismiss or sever their cases. We'll tell you the latest what's happened from Georgia. Also, a white man in Maine is facing federal charters for threatening a black woman. And former NFL Network reporter Jim Trotter will be here to talk about his blockbuster lawsuit against the NFL. And why is Clubhouse, why is the audio at Clubhouse mad and upset at fan base founder, Isaac Hayes III. He'll join us to explain that as well. It is time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Martin on the filter

on the Black Star Network, let's go. He's got 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 Roland, Best believe he's knowing Putting it down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling

It's Uncle Gro-Gro-Yo It's rolling Martin Rolling with rolling now It's Roland Martin Yeah Yeah Rolling with Roland now Yeah He's funky, he's fresh, he's real The best you know, he's Roland Martin Now

Martin Keep the music going. All right, folks, we've told you what Republicans continue to do by defying the federal courts. Now, remember, the Supreme Court kicked the court decision back that required Alabama to redraw congressional lines to create a second black district and a third opportunity district. Well, what did the Republicans do? They went and redrew the maps and ignored the federal courts. Well, a three-judge panel smacked them down, denying the Secretary of State Wes Allen's motion to stay a ruling requiring a

special master to draw the three potential congressional maps. He asked Supreme Court to issue an emergency stay of a federal court's plan to have a special master redraw the state congressional districts by September 25th. They are under the gun. Now we're waiting to see what the Supreme Court will do. Joe Reed is the chair of the Alabama Democratic Caucus and Minority Affairs, a vice chair of the Alabama Democratic Party. He joins us now from Montgomery. Joe, what you have here, and I have said this repeatedly, that this is very reminiscent of white Dixiecrats defying the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education, defying the Federal Appeals Court and doing all they can to nullify those decisions where they wanted to keep Jim Crow in place. This is what this sounds like.

Yes. Thank you, first, for having me on this program. And secondly, I appreciate the job that you are doing, bringing this unfiltered program to the people of this country, because that's what they need. Unfiltered, not watered down, very clear and concise, and I thank you for that. are still on the same road it's been on for many, many years. We can go back even to 1948, and that wasn't, well, hell, you can go back to 1965, 1865, and we've been defying the government ever since because the government is seen in Alabama as a group that's favored to blacks to some extent. And of course, what we have now from the Alabama legislation in this reapportionment case is a continuation of that defiance.

Is it defiance from the schoolhouse no stand? Is it defiance in the walkout in Philadelphia in 1948. It's just a continuation. And I've said it many, many times, and I'll say it again today, that the Civil War has never ended. They just stopped shooting. That's all. The war goes on. It's a constant struggle. It's a constant fight. And what this group is doing now, they're trying to get the case back before the Supreme Court on another theory so they can try to win the really undue the voting rights act. Now, that's really what the root of this is.

If they can get the Supreme Court to take this case and hold that you can't stipulate or you can't require anything to be done by race, then that's, they're in hog's heaven. They're just where they want to be. And that's what this case is about. The Alabama Democratic Conference has filed a plan for two majority black districts. We were not a party to the lawsuit, but we've been very much involved in it and pushing and driving and trying to get the numbers up. There are some plans that have 50, less than 50 percent black in both districts. That's ridiculous. That's crazy. And we are

opposing that. And District 2, which would be the new district, our plan calls for a district of some 54 percent Black. And of course, that's give us over 100,000 Blacks more in that district than whites. And then, of course, District 7, which is represented now by Congresswoman Terry Rousseau, that particular district will have 55% Black. I'm confident if the courts accept our plan, then I'm confident that we'll give you two Black congressmen in 2024 for a Christmas present. We'll do that. But the fight's on. And every method that human

ingenuity can conceive is being used. Every trick in the book is being played by some to be sure that we do not get to majority Black districts. There are some folks don't want to say of any. And so we're working at it. We submitted the plans. If the court adopts our plan, and we don't know whether they will or not, we hope they will, then we'll bring it to Congress

in 2024. When we talk about, again, when I look at what these Republicans are doing, this is absolutely, these are individuals, this is Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, this is the legislature not representing black voters in that state. They are not representing black people. They are representing white Republicans. And what's offensive to me is that Governor Kay Ivey is supposed to be the governor for all all Alabamans. Clearly, she is not. And so what you're seeing here is them saying, screw the federal courts.

I mean, literally, the court said redraw these lines. The Supreme Court kicked it back, essentially allowing it to go forward. These people said, we do not care. They didn't even attempt to redraw it. They made it clear we are not going to draw a second black district. And they don't want to quit the opportunity one, because right now it's seven people in the congressional delegation. There are six Republicans, one Democrat, and they know that this may potentially lead to two Democratic seats. And so what's offensive to me are these people who are supposed to represent all people in Alabama. And they're saying black people in Alabama, we do not care about you.

Frankly, the hell with you. That's what they're saying. Well, more than that, the district that they have drawn, even for Congresswoman Sewell's district, the district they presented, that district has fewer Black senators than it won before. Now, they

not only have said, no, we're not going to give you a second one, we're going to cut back on the first one you got, because you don't need anything. And that's the big issue also of what they're trying to do. And this is a continuation of that old Alabama stand. No, we're not going to forget what we're not going to forget. We're not going to forget the Civil War. We're not going to forget the fact that white supremacy. We're not going to forget any of this stuff. And this is what we're up against. This is what we are fighting for now, is to try to get fairness. I believe, I believe that the Supreme Court, I hope they're smart enough to recognize what Alabama is now doing, and that is to try to not only

defy the Supreme Court, but to defeat the Supreme Court. That's what Alabama is trying to do. Alabama is making it its priority. And that's some of the plans that were presented by some black folks, too. I'm not going to get into their name calling today. But some of those black folks had some plans that were just insulting. They were insulting, too. I mean, anybody who would present a plan

that in Alabama with polarized voting that we have that would wind up with minority, all the districts being minority black, none of them 50%, and gave them by some other name, it's just not only objectionable, district being minority black. None of them 50%. And gave them by some other name, it's just not only objectionable, but it's an insult to

black people, it's an insult to the Constitution, it's an insult to the Voting Rights Act. It is something we cannot tolerate and will not tolerate. I believe that this court, and I've seen it happen before, when you try to defy the federal court, I saw Judge Johnson, Franklin Johnson, who's in hope in heaven today,

but Judge Johnson made the Alabama legislature, he made Governor Wallace and all their friends behave, never left the courtroom, never left the courtroom because he made his pen mightier than a sword. These three judges are not going to sit back and let the state of Alabama, in effect, insult them, unless the state of Alabama ignores them and the state of Alabama criticizes them, Alabama is going to lose. The federal judiciary is going to prevail. And I'll be glad I'm here to witness and try to help whatever way I can.

If they adopt our plan, I keep going back to that because there are some plans that are not worthy of being considered. But our plan, I am convinced because of why? Our plan has more blacks than it ought other plans. Very simple. My position has been and still is, the blacker the better. The more blacks we have in a district, the better our chances are winning because we have polarized voting in this state, all over this state.

And I think if the courts really want us to have two blacks, if they adopt our plan, we've given them the opportunity. We have given them the tools. We have given them the tools. We have given them the map. We have given them the voters. We've given them the counties. We've given them everything they need. If they will adopt, they being the three judges, if the court adopts the Alabama Democratic Conference remediate your plan. We will bring you two black congressmen, congresspersons from Alabama, because. And hopefully the courts will make it clear to Alabama. You cannot try to get a second bite at the apple at this. And I hopefully they will stand up for the other federal judges who have been ruling in y'all's favor and let these Republicans know in Alabama, you cannot try to skirt the rules and try to get a second stab at it.

And so hopefully they're going to reject this emergency order. not try to skirt the rules and try to get a second staff added. And so hopefully they're going to reject this emergency order. Well, we would hope so, too. We hope they will. And the three-judge court has already said they were dissatisfied with what Alabama has done. And we've given them the plan. If they adopt our plan, we win. Now, if they don't adopt our plan, adopt some other plan on the hope,

on the wing and the prayer, I'm not certain what's going to happen. But if they adopt our plan, and our plan meets every constitutional, statutory, practical, political test that the Supreme Court and all other groups have enunciated, we are pleased and well pleased with our plan and for the public what the court has done is upon the special master and told the special master to send them three plans

and so the court will have three plans before it when it makes a decision and so if the special master I don't know what the special master is going to do but I would hope that the special master would send out one. I hope I want to. I hope our plan will be one of the three plans that is sent to the court.

And if that happens, we end. All right. We appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you. All right. Jareed, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you. Folks, going to break. We come back. We'll talk about this with my panel. We'll also talk about other news of the day, including some of the defendants in the Georgia 19 defendants. They do not want to be tried together.

They're trying to get out of that. Mark Meadows loses again in federal courts. And we'll also talk to Jim Trotter, who is suing the NFL Network and the NFL in a blockbuster lawsuit alleging racial discrimination. You're watching Roland Mark Dunn Filtered right here on the Black Star Network. If you're watching on YouTube, hit that like button, y'all. We should easily be over 1,000 or 2,000 likes of this show when the show is over. Also, support us in what we do by downloading the Black Star Network app. Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV.

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Be sure to get a copy of my book, Why Fear? How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds. Available at bookstores nationwide. Download the audio version on Audible. We'll be right back. All change is not growth. Right. But thoughtful change is real good fertilizer.

And that's what has been so beneficial to us. But you also were not afraid of the kid. Well, and I'm a black woman in business. come on, I don't care how I dress up. I don't care who I'm speaking with. I don't care what part of the world I am in. I still am a Black woman in business, being afraid of the pivot. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways.

Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives.

But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and 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. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated

itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad.

Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod.

And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man.

We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves music stars marcus king john osborne from brothers osborne we have this misunderstanding of what this

quote-unquote drug man benny the butcher brent smith from shine down got be real from cypress hill nhl enforcer riley cote marine corvette mma fighter liz caramouch what we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. 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.

And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Being fearful of change is not what got me here. Respectful of change. Respectful of it. Yeah. Fearful? No no uh-uh no hatred on the streets a horrific scene a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence.

You will not be- White people are losing their damn minds. There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to the US Capitol. We've seen shouts. We're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history.

Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University calls white rage as a backlash. This is the rise of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. Here's all the Proud Boys guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources,

they're taking our women. This is white fear. Hi, everybody. I'm Kim Coles. Hey, I'm Donnie Simpson. Yo, it's your man, Deon Cole from Blackish. And you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Folks, joining us on our panel, Rebecca Carruthers. She is vice president for the Fair Elections Center in Washington, D.C. Tarun Walker, founder of Context Media out of Atlanta. Glad to have both of you here. Rebecca, I'll start with you. This really, really, and I know some people watching and listening, they're saying,

I mean, y'all making a big deal out of this here. OK, it's redrawing of congressional lines. But what we are seeing happen in Alabama right now could have a dramatic impact on black political power all across the South. You have this case that could lead to a second black district and that opportunity district that blacks could play a huge role electing that person. Then you have Louisiana, where federal courts rule there needs to be the creation of a second black district. Louisiana folks are trying to fight this the exact same way, using the same plan as Alabama. Then you have a trial going on right now in Georgia, dealing with its congressional districts.

Then you have the state court that ruled against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, where he obliterated two black districts there as well. So we're talking about multiple states where you could see black representation grow, picking up anywhere from two to six, maybe seven seats. You know, Roland, we're in the middle of a power grab. Something that you mentioned to us almost every single day on this platform is that there's white fear in this country. As America becomes increasingly more black and brown, we are literally fighting for who gets to control and who gets to have a say

in this country with how money is allocated and how power flows in this country. The reason why the Alabama case is so important is because we know that the House of Representatives is going to be tight next year. It was tight at the beginning of this cycle with determining who controls the House of Representatives, whether it's the Democratic Party or it's the Republican Party. Quite frankly, if Democrats in New York didn't mess it up, then Democrats will probably have controlled the House of Representatives, this particular Congress. What we do know, if there is an additional seat in Alabama, it's likely to go blue. With the additional seat in Louisiana, it is likely to go blue. With the additional seat in Louisiana, it is likely to go

blue. I think Texas has two seats that are potentially up for grabs. It will go blue. We know in Wisconsin, if there are fair maps in Wisconsin, Wisconsin is going to have a bluer delegation. So we know that is more than enough for Democrats to win back control of the Congress. And that's what this is about. This is the Republicans' last straw, trying to fight this out and duke it out in the court system. And so, Ron, I make this point constantly to people who complain about Democrats, they complain about Biden-Harris. Some say, oh, this is really no big deal if Trump gets back in or the Republicans. But the reality is what you're seeing is this is also the importance of federal judges. Presidents pick federal judges. The Senate confirms or rejects them. And so if you have Biden and Harris

that wins a second term, already more than 100 judges have been appointed. You had more African Americans appointed to the appellate level in all presidents in history combined. if Biden Harris wins a second four-year term, they could potentially pick another 150 to 200 judges. If you take the first 100 in the first four years, you're talking about potentially 300 federal judges. There are only about 960 federal judges in the country. That means they would have appointed one third. Those are likely going to be federal judges that believe in civil rights, that believe in climate change, that believe in voting rights. That could have a very positive impact on issues that Black folks care about. You know, while I was listening to the elder speak in Alabama, it reminded me of

what we're dealing with feels like almost like what happened in the aftermath of Reconstruction. You know, I know most of your audience pretty much knows, you know, after the Civil War, there was an influx and there was a growth of black economic power. There was a growth of black political power. But unfortunately, that growth was backed up by Union bayonets. The minute that the federal government removed troops from the South, you saw the reemergence of the Ku Klux Klan. And the first thing it did was start lynching, burning up black towns, and removing black people and disenfranchising them from political power.

And what this feels like is almost like a re, for lack of a better term, a reconstruction of what we saw in the 1870s, where you have people who are deathly afraid of black political power, and they're using any sort of means to try to destroy that power. What's sad is that people who are elders like that aren't able to rest because they still have to fight these fights. They should have been completed in the 1960s and 1970s. And I think it's also very important for people to understand that a lot of those gains that were made in the 1960s were not done. I think people have this idea that because people marched and they fought and they bled in the 60s and 70s, that they can sit back and relax. But this is an ongoing thing that we have to be vigilant about every single day of our lives. For every gain that Black people

make politically, there's going to be an opposite number of people who want to see that gain destroyed. And we have to be aware of that. And we have to move accordingly. We have to be active accordingly and we have to vote accordingly. This is also about, I think, Rebecca, the importance of, and I say this all the time, connecting the dots. And I've said this and I will continue to say this, that I believe that black folks, black-owned media, I believe black politicians, I believe black political groups, right now should be engaged in a massive voter education initiative where we are holding town halls and having conversations and literally walking people through the effects of what's happening today politically.

Teron talked about this feeling like those days after Reconstruction. And we saw what happened when those races took over and how they began to pass various bills. We have already seen the affirmative action decision by the Supreme Court. We're seeing them suing black venture capital firms. We're seeing the banning of books. We're seeing those things. I dare say that this is no time for anybody black to be sitting on the sidelines because they are coming after any and every program that has

positively benefited black people. And Shelby v. Holder, that decision that nearly gutted the Voting Rights Act, that is a part of this as well. This is a head on attack on black political power, black economic power, black educational power. And black folks should be so focused on this that we are not falling asleep and then being playing games when it comes to voting in local, state and national elections between now and November 2024? Roland, you're right. There are a lot of things that going into the voting booths next year that we have to vote on. So, for example, I was at the White House earlier today meeting with Mayor Benjamin, Director of the Office of Public Engagement, and he was listing on a lot of the things that this administration has pushed for and even things that have passed legislatively,

including inside of the Inflation Reduction Act and some of the positive pieces of legislation that directly in a positive way impacts Black communities. I know we've gone back and forth about the messaging out of the White House and can the messaging be clearer? The answer is yes. But as you pointed out,

there are a lot of Black organizations, there are a lot of black organizations. There are a lot of civil rights organizations who know what's at stake going into 2024. So even next week, as we go into the Congressional Black Caucus annual legislative conference, we're spending time going over those policies and educating folks so they can be prepared to go back into community to talk about these positive things that have happened over this administration. But it's also making sure that our communities understand these are the things that are going well for the country. These are the things that are going well for Black folks as a result of what's being pushed through this administration. And so these are the things that we need to fight for in the ballot box. If you care about issues such as housing,

if you care about making sure there's critical infrastructure in this country, if you care about making sure that there are black judges, like I wasn't even aware about this particular stat that more black judges had been appointed during this administration than the previous administrations combined. And that's something that's important to Black communities, because as we've talked before on this show about the criminal justice system,

as we talked about waiting for Black farmers to get their money from previous lawsuits, as we've talked about different issues that specifically impact Black folks, it does require a strong judiciary. So knowing that we have more Black representation on the courts, including previous civil rights attorneys, is a good thing. And you know what? We can't just wait for the White House to actually figure out what the messaging should be. But for those of us who know and for those of us who are hearing and understanding and are directly impacted with some of the positive pieces of legislation and some of the positive even executive orders that have come out of the White House to run, but this is where I just believe our institutions should be taking this upon ourselves, educating our people. Look, we are seeing these MAGA people who are enraged and who are fired up for Donald

Trump. These folks do not have the best interests of black people at heart. And I see the comments. I mean, look, I did a post of Vice President Kamala Harris, you know, dancing at the hip hop party. And it was a bunch of black folk on that complaining about, oh, they just did. This is how they're trying to get votes as if presidents and vice presidents before never had concerts at the White House and the VP's residence. And they did. But this is one of those things where for me, I'm like, no, no, no. This is about us. So I'm not speaking saying, oh, let's vote for Democrats.

I'm saying, no, vote for black people, which means vote for folks who are going to be advocating for things that black people care for. It's abundantly clear when I listen and watch what Trump is saying, what the Republicans say in that first debate, they ain't got no interest in black folks. You're absolutely right. But I'm glad and with respect to what the sister said and what you said, I agree with both of you. But here's the thing. What the what the Republicans do very well is they're very, very good at playing to their base. They are not afraid to go into the trailer parks. They are not afraid to go into the places where the people feel disgruntled. And whether it's true or not, they know how to talk to those people. That doesn't mean they're going to get anything, but they're very good at rallying up that base to be sure that they vote for Republicans. Where the Democrats fall down,

and me and you have talked about this many a time, is their messaging sometimes only goes into a silo around people who actively work in politics. They don't really get a lot of their messaging out to the people on the street, the brother who's catching the bus trying to go to work every day, the sisters who's trying to push a stroller and deal with her kids and trying to find money to raise her kids and pay for her rent. If they have to find messaging to talk to those people, because those are the people who are frustrated. All this stuff sounds good, but until you reach the people who go into the booth and pull that lever every two to four years, none of this really works. People have to get out of their silos and they have to reach those people and

they reach them on their level. And it also can't be about educating people from a top down sort of point of view. You have to listen to the people who are poor and working class and are on the ground who are dealing with these things in an everyday basis. That has to happen as well. And until the people who are in these comms centers and the people who run these comms campaigns for a lot of these candidates understand that and get out of their heads and get out of New York and get out of the silos, it's going to be rough when 2024 rolls around. And there's no way around that. Well, we'll certainly see. And it's a lot of time. But again, I think when you begin and we've seen the data, when black voters are actually told what has happened, they respond differently. So people make assumptions about, well, what hasn't happened,

not knowing because they don't live and breathe this stuff every single day. Hold tight one second. We come back. We'll talk about the Georgia 19, Donald Trump and his imps. They continue to do what they do. Now they're trying to get their cases severed from one another.

We'll tell you about that. Plus, we'll talk with Jim Trotter, who is suing the NFL Network, racial discrimination. We will talk to him directly about that lawsuit right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Back in a moment. On his first day in office with the country in crisis, President Biden got to work for us. Cutting black child poverty in half, more money for black entrepreneurs,

millions of new good paying jobs. He's lowered the cost of living and prescription drugs, but there's more to do. He gets it because we all deserve dignity, safety, respect, and a chance to do more than just get by, but to get ahead. I'm Joe Biden. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one.

The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick.

Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to everybody's business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and 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. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple.

Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes sir, we are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives.

This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill.

NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Caramouch. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. 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. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I approve this message. I'm Faraji Muhammad, live from LA, and this is The Culture. The Culture is a two-way conversation, you and me. We talk about the stories, politics, the good and the downright ugly so join our community every day at 3 p.m eastern and let your voice be heard hey we're all in this together so let's talk about it and see what kind of trouble we can get into it's the culture weekdays at three only on the black star network next right here on the Blackstar Network. Next, right here on The Frequency,

the woman they call the gifted eye, hip-hop celebrity photographer Kory Soldier. She's the master storyteller that captured the history of hip-hop through the lens of her camera. Tupac comes out, the next thing you know, you didn't know who they were at first. You just seen all these dudes just come rushing the stage. Then you realize,

Biggie gets a bottle of champagne, he pops it open, sprays it on the crowd, he drinks the bottle. Horry Soldier, the hip hop celebrity photographer, joining me right here on the next episode of The Frequency on the Black Star Network. On the next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, we're going to be talking about common sense.

We think that people have it, know how to use it, but it is something that people often have to learn. The truth is most of us are not born with it and we need to teach common sense, embrace it and give it to those who need it most, our kids. So I always tell teachers to listen out to what conversations the students are having about what they're getting from social media, and then let's get ahead of it and have the appropriate conversations with them. On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, here at Black Star Network.

Hey, what's up, y'all? I'm Devon Franklin. It is always a pleasure to be in the house. You are watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Stay right here. Să ne urmăm. All right, folks. One of the Georgia 19s trying to get his case clear. Kenneth Chesbrough, actually, you're trying to get his case cleared. Now, Kenneth Chesbrough, laws for him, they say that, well, this is actually not right here. Now, go ahead.

He's facing several charges. They said the charges should be dismissed because his actions were justified because he was acting within his capacity as a lawyer for the Trump campaign. In their filing, Chesbrough's lawyers acknowledged their client drafted the legal memos at the center of his alleged conduct, including the one that outlined a strategy to use so-called alternate electors to prevent Joe Biden from receiving 270 electoral college votes. Chess Bureau and former Trump campaign attorney Sidney Powell are scheduled to go on trial October 23rd after they both requested speedy trials in this particular case. Now, Mark Meadows, he continues to be hard-headed.

For the second time, a federal judge has denied a motion from the former Trump chief of staff. Judge Steve Jones, the same judge who shot down Meadows' request to move his case to federal court, denied his request for an emergency stay of the order pending appeal. In his order, Jones said Meadows failed to show a stay should be granted. Meadows argued he would be irreparably harmed by the possibility of a trial next month, but Jones said that no trial date has been set for Meadows, and he admits that it is not guaranteed his trial will be in October. Rudy Giuliani filed a motion to sever his case from the two defendants set to stand trial October 23rd. Meadows, Giuliani, Chesbrough, and 16 others, including Donald Trump, have pleaded not guilty to all charters in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Oh, don't you feel so sorry for them? No, not really. Trump led you down this path and this is where you are now headed. Folks, a white man in Maine is facing federal charges for allegedly making racist death threats against a black neighbor. According to the indictment, 47-year-old Charles Allen Barnes used an interstate communication service to send a voice message with racial slurs, claiming to be outside a neighbor's home and saying he would kill any black person who came out. Court documents say the message Barnes left said in part, waiting for someone to step outside and the first one who does it is going to die. Just like that. I don't care if it's her kid or her boyfriend. I don't care. I don't care. I'm

killing me an N-word. Barnes is charged with one count of violating the federal interstate threats statute. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The city of Beverly Hills, California, facing a $500 million class action lawsuit from attorney Ben Crump. Crump and attorney Benjamin Bradley Gage says the city police is notorious for racial profiling. The lawsuit represents about 1,100 people who say the Beverly Hills Police Department unjustly arrested them between August 30, 2019 and August 30, 2021. During a news conference yesterday, attorneys explained why they filed a lawsuit and victims shared what happened to them at the hands of police.

I was stopped just for being black while driving in Beverly Hills. These officers got behind my vehicle, threw in the lights, pulled me over. I spent three days in jail, humiliating, scary, sad. It wasn't to deter crime. It was to send a message to black people that we don't want your kind around here. In two years, 1,088 black people arrested, only two convictions. There's only one explanation for that. They want to drive black people out of the city. Uh, see the Beverly Hills. They say, no, we are welcome. Welcome to all a white 14 year

old boy in Massachusetts accused of trying to drown a black youth in a racist attack on Cape Cod. He was released in the custody of his father. OK, I'm confused here. John Sheeran is charged with attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon over the July 19 incident for holding a black child underwater in a racially motivated attack. The alleged victim told investigators another kid was laughing at him and calling him George Floyd as Sheeran dunked him into the water many times. The attacker happened after the attack happened after the alleged victim stated repeatedly that he could not swim and need to wear a life jacket. Toe, a lot of people are complaining about the release of this young man

because of this of the serious charges involved here. Yeah, it's fascinating, but not surprising. I know this happened in Cape Cod and Cape Cod, as we all know, is very wealthy, a very powerful enclave. We don't know if this kid who is his family is I'm pretty sure people are going to find out. But, you know, we live in America. And if you have money and if you have influence and if you can make your kid look like one of the little rascals and pretend like he's just having some mindless horseplay, of course, a judge in that city is going to give him some leeway. What's sad about this is, what does that say to kids who might be traumatized by situations like this? I mean, just looking at this kid, you can probably tell he's probably very wealthy,

you know, probably Richard Throckmorton III or whatever, probably has influence in France. His father probably plays golf with the judge or something like that. We don't know that. But we know that people who are in these silos and people who are in these neighborhoods all know each other. So what does that say about what this kid's responsibility is?

What does that say about his accountability as a young man? And what does that say about him? And what does that say about that community if they're willing to allow this to happen? Nobody's everybody's concerned about this young man's future. What about this little boy who's been brutalized? Great points there, Rebecca. And look, we often see these things in cases like this. And again, we know that money talks.

But you sit here going, OK, he's out. He's out of jail already. And I mean, literally, he tried to kill somebody. He tried to kill somebody. He's accused of murder. Shouldn't he still be still still be held? Because when we think about a lot of the proponents of ending the cash bail system, usually those who oppose that are like, oh no, you can't let these dangerous people pending trial back on the streets. So if he's accused of murder,

tell me why is it that it's okay for him to be back on the streets? I want to hear all the opponents of ending the cash bail system explain why is it okay, why don't I hear them protesting about this kid, or I'm sorry, this young man, because if he was black, we would already be calling him a man and he's a terror to society. So this particular young man, he should not be out.

And, you know, I agree with Torrin. Like, my heart really goes out for the black teenager who was brutally terrorized by him. Toron, the defense attorney for Kevin Reddington representing Sharon, you're going to love this here, he said his client is remorseful and said that Sharon did not intend to murder the kid, but simply committed a stupid act that went too far.

Remember what I said? I figured that's what they were going to play with. It was like, they're going to try to frame this like these were some kids who were playing around in the pool and then it got out of hand. If you listen to what, if you look at the transcript of what happened, he called this kid, he made fun of this kid saying he was George Floyd, which is a clear allusion to somebody who was brutally murdered by

an agent of white supremacy. This wasn't kids who were dunking each other in a pool and clowning. This was somebody who was deliberately trying to end this boy's life. You can pretend how you can make it, you can pretend what, you can make it, look, I'm getting heated because of this. You can try to frame this however you want to frame it. I know a

lawyer's going to do what a lawyer's going to do, but the fact of the matter, these were wealthy kids who saw this young black boy as being less than a human being. And they felt like they could do anything to him. They could traumatize this boy. They could threaten his life. They could risk his life. And they knew that somehow or another, there was going to be a system in place that was going to support them. And lo and behold, what we're seeing is a judicial system that's going to take a look out for this young man more than they are for this young black child. Who's taking care of this young black child? Has anybody given him any counseling? Is anybody looking out for him? Or is he going to be painted as some sort of aggressor in this situation?

Folks, hold tight one second. We come back. A hugely popular program in Africa that's played a role in curbing HIV and AIDS, the spread of AIDS there, could very well die after September 30th if hardcore Republicans get their way. President George, former President George W. Bush, this was one of his signature accomplishments as president. He's now stepping up to lobby to keep it going. We'll tell you about that when we come back right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Don't forget to support us in what we do. First of all, YouTube folks, hit that like button. You're watching, hit that like button.

And so you can keep making your comments, but hit the like button. Also, you can join our Bring the Funk fan club. Our goal is to get 20,000 of our fans contributing on average 50 bucks each a year. That's $4.19 a month, 13 cents a day. Some people have given less. Some people have given more. We appreciate every dollar. If you want

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Our Master Educator Roundtable convenes to explain it all as we explore the good, the bad, and the downright ugly of one of Black America's national treasures. That's next on The Black Table, right here on The Black Star Network. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith.

Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I know a lot of cops and 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. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1.

Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast.

Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne.

We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Caramouch. What we're doing now isn't working

and we need to change things. 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. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. on the next get wealthy with me deborah owens america's wealth coach are you working hard and

yet your performance doesn't reflect your paycheck on the next get wealthy you're going to learn some savvy career moves so that all your efforts actually show up in your bank account. Joining us is the founder of a career network, and she's going to share the three R's of accelerating your financial growth. Here's a tip as well. If you are an individual contributor and you desire to be a leader, do the work where you are now. Because if you do the work where you are now, when you do reach the level, you'll be prepared to stay there. Right here on Get Wealthy, only on Black Star Network. When you talk about blackness and what happens in black culture, we're about covering these

things that matter to us, speaking to our issues and concerns. This is a genuine people-powered movement. A lot of stuff that we're not getting, you get it. And you spread the word. We wish to plead our own cause to long have others spoken for us. We cannot tell our own story if we can't pay for it. This is about covering us. Invest in Black-owned media. Your dollars matter.

We don't have to keep asking them to cover our stuff. So please support us in what we do, folks. We want to hit 2,000 people. $50 this month. Rates $100,000. We're behind $100,000. So we want to hit that. Your money makes this possible.

Check some money orders. Go to P.O. Box 57196. Washington, D.C. 20037-0196. The Cash App is Dollar Sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal is RMartin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. What's up, everybody?

It's your girl Latasha from the A. And you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Să ne vedem la următoarea mea rețetă! Folks, one of the signature programs of President George W. Bush's administration was called PEPFAR. It is called the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. It has played a huge role in decreasing HIV and AIDS on the continent of Africa, widely supported by Republicans and Democrats. Now it's in jeopardy. Why? Because staunch anti-abortion Republicans say that, oh, this program is a way to circumvent the process and for the Biden administration to allow abortions with federal funds. Now, those who support the program say that's a flat out lie. It expires on September 30th.

And right now, Republicans are racing to try to cobble together support for this initiative. President George W. Bush, he has stepped out and weighed in on this. And he also, again, wants to come in and actually present to Republicans. Now, Politico has a story out about this. And in fact, George W. Bush published an op ed asking Congress to reauthorize PEP for five more years without delay. This right here shows you how the hard right, Rebecca, has absolutely taken control of the Republican Party. We used to have voting bills that were passed and it was bipartisan. It was no big deal when it comes to extending the Voting Rights Act. Now we see what they're doing. You look at this program right here.

I mean, it is truly about saving lives. And this is a perfect example of what I always say, that these Republicans and these white conservatives, they are not pro-life. They're anti-abortion. This is not about being pro-life because this program has saved the lives of thousands upon thousands of Africans. Yeah, these are people who are stuck in a very extreme ideology. This is not about being pro-life because if people are pro-life, then choose not to have an abortion. You can be pro-life that way, or you can actually do things like you mentioned that actually supports people's quality of life, such as expanding Medicaid in different states to make sure that low-income people have access to quality health care, including getting the federal matching. But at this point, this is also about

power, because specifically if this wasn't a program that was targeted to sub-Saharan Africa, I don't even know they even would have been a thing or even it would be smeared as somehow being pro-abortion by giving to a program that helps fight and reduce HIV AIDS on the continent. You know, Toron, again, this is one of those initiatives that Republicans and Democrats supported. And it's like there are very few no brainers on Capitol Hill where it gets approved. People thought this was going to happen as well. And all of a sudden now this is caught up in abortion

politics. No different than the case of Tommy Tuberville upholding military promotions because he says the Biden administration is paying for abortions when they are not. You know, I wonder if this is really something to do with a power play or if it's a way to play to their base in the upcoming elections. If you're pushing up against the wall in the United States, it's really easy to get some sort of credibility or look like you're actually doing something if you move your ideology offshore. And something like this, which is basically an ultimate good, there's nothing wrong with funding programs to stop HIV AIDS.

But if you look like you're standing powerfully, and if you look like you're pushing against something that a lot of your base feels like is immoral, which is a lot of them feel like abortion is immoral, any win to them is a win. So if you can do it in Africa, if you can do it in Latin America, if you can do it with poor people in the United States, it's all a win in their mind. And that's the danger. Well, it is. And the reality is a lot of people don't understand, Rebecca. A lot of these hardcore conservatives have had their hands involved in African politics.

A lot of these countries, they oppose homosexuality. They oppose expansion of gay rights. And so a lot of things that we are seeing, people don't realize, are literally being funded by these right-wing interests in the United States. Absolutely. And a lot of the white evangelicals in this country are going to sub-Saharan Africa, going to Latin America and proselytizing. And part of their proselytizing is an anti-LGBTQIA plus message,

is an anti-woman message, is an anti-choice message that's being propagated across these particular regions. And people have to understand the connection. And so I know we keep talking about people have to vote. You got to first educate yourself, understand what which party is doing, what each different political candidate, what their plan is, and the types of policies that they push. So this is a good example here. Like, look, we know next Tuesday is National Voter Registration Day. People could go to that website. They could check their voter registration status. They could get registered to vote. I mean, we're not playing. We absolutely need people to get out there and check their registration, get registered, register people around them, actually vote next year, because what we're

fighting for is stopping this ideology that's being pushed that is also anti-Black, and it's not just stopping at the shores within the United States, but it's actually being sent over to sub-Saharan Africa, being sent down to Latin America. And we don't need that, because we're struggling enough seeing these policies in the United States and its negative impacts on black and brown communities. We don't need them taking these set of policies abroad. Indeed, indeed. All right, folks, hold tight one second. We come back.

Jim Trotter worked for five years for the NFL Network. He has filed a 53-page lawsuit against the NFL Network and the NFL, alleging racial discrimination. NFL folks like Commissioner Roger Goodell and owners Terry Pakula and Jerry Jones, who are naming the suit, boy, they are piping mad at Jim. We will talk to Jim next right here on Roland Martin and the Black Star Network. Broadcasting live from the House of Hope in Chicago. Next on The Frequency with me Dee Barnes. Producer, writer and activist Drew Dixon joins us for an honest conversation about black women and trauma.

Right here on The Frequency on the frequency on the black star network all change is not growth right but thoughtful change is real good fertilizer and that's what has been so beneficial to us but you also were not afraid of the kid well and i'm a black woman in business come on i don't care how i dress up I don't know what part of the world I am in I still am a black woman in business being afraid of the pivot being fearful of change is not what got me here respectful of change respectful of it yet yeah. Fearful? No, uh-uh, no. I'm Faraiji Muhammad, live from LA. And this is The Culture.

The Culture is a two-way conversation. You and me, we talk about the stories, politics, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. So join our community every day at 3 p.m. Eastern and let your voice be heard. Hey, we're all in this together. So let's talk about it and see what kind of trouble we can get into. It's The Culture, weekdays at 3, only on the Black Star Network.

On his first day in office with... A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Business Week editor Brad Stone,

sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and 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. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple.

Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibbillion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th.

Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives.

This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown.

We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. 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. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. entrepreneurs, millions of new good paying jobs. He's lowered the cost of living and prescription drugs, but there's more to do. He gets it because we all deserve dignity, safety, respect, and a chance to do more than just get by, but to get ahead. I'm Joe Biden and I approve this message.

Hi, I'm Joe Marie Payton, voice of Sugar Mama on Disney's Louder and Prouder Disney Plus, and I'm with Roland Martin on Unfiltered. Well, you should have known the NFL was going to try to push back as hard as possible against Jim Trotter after he dropped his 53-page lawsuit yesterday accusing the NFL of racial discrimination. Already, Jerry Jones, the owner of the Cowboys, says, what I'm quoted as saying in this lawsuit simply just did not happen. Terry Bakula, the owner of the Buffalo Bills, who said that black players did not like it, they should go back to Africa, also responding, as well as Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, all responding. And folks are not at all happy with Jim Trotter. I'm sure he doesn't care they're not happy. He's speaking his truth. He joins us right

now, right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Jim, welcome back. You sure shaking these folks up? Well, perhaps they need to be shaken up, Roland, you know. It's funny, you know, Jerry Jones didn't deny it. He just said it was misrepresented. And the statement that he put out, I think, misrepresents what happens. He said he was talking to Will McClay, which is untrue. I was speaking to Will McClay about why HBCU players weren't drafted when Jerry Jones walked up. Jerry and Will never had a conversation during the time that I was there. And then, in fact, later in the conversation with Jerry, Will walked away. So I look forward to the day that we get to the point we get to discovery and what each

side is able to turn over what they have and research, you know, the claims that are made. I look forward to that moment. Roger Goodell said, quote, their allegations, our job is to make sure that they're factual. These are not new charges. They're actually a couple of years old. They've been looked into. You've heard the strong denials. There's litigation ongoing now.

It will be addressed because these are important issues and we share the same concerns. We want to make sure our workplaces are first class and it means opportunities for everybody. We know the importance of progress and diversity and we're working very hard at it. Is progress where we want it to be? No, it always slower than you want it to be, but I'm confident we're moving in the right direction. Here's what stood out for me right there, Jim, when he said that we shake. These are important issues and we share the same concerns. Has he articulated that to other NFL employees, including the people of the NFL Network? Have you looked at the flow chart of NFL executives to see if they're really concerned about the issue of diversity, equity and inclusion?

We included it in the lawsuit. You're not going to see many black faces there. So, look, Roland, can I say this, and in some ways I'm being a little glib here, but let me get serious for a moment. This lawsuit is a discrimination claim wrapped around a retaliation claim. And the retaliation claim here is what really people should be focusing on. So during my final two years in particular at the NFL Network, the NFL said it wanted employees to hold it accountable as it related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. And so I took that seriously. And so within our newsroom, where we cover a player population that according to lead data is 60 to 70% Black. We do not have, or we did not have,

one Black manager, one Black copy editor, or one full-time Black news assistant. So my questions to them is, how can we credibly cover this player population when these players do not have one person who shares their cultural experiences or their life experiences at the table when decisions are being made about how to cover them and who will cover them and what the story angles will be. And I know people have heard me ask Roger

Goodell about this the last two years or the last two Super Bowls. But what they don't know is that internally, I had been bringing these things up for those two years to everyone involved, including at that time the head of the NFL media group, who every summer we would have what we call a talent summit where they would bring in people from the media group to discuss where the NFL is and where it is going for the coming season. And during those one and a half days in Los Angeles, we would have breakout groups. And in one of the breakout groups, they would have front facing talent meet with the head of the NFL media group at that time, Mark Quinzel. And it just so happened that in June of 2022, Hans Schroeder from the league office, one of the executive vice presidents, was also there. And so I said to Mark Quinzel, we're allowed to ask you anything we want, right? And you're going to answer honestly. He said, yes. I said, okay. I just heard you a minute ago in the

large room, patting the league on the back and the media group on the back about improvements in diversity, equity, and inclusion. And up on the stage with you were three white men, no one else. I said, I didn't see anyone who looked like me. I said, we have not had a Black manager in the newsroom since I got here, and this is my fifth year. I said, nor do we have a full-time Black news assistant. And he stopped me and he said, wait a minute. Yes, we do. And I said, no, we don't have a full-time black news assistant. And he stopped me and he said, wait a minute, yes, we do. And I said, no, we don't have a full-time black news assistant. And he said to me, I walk through the newsroom every day.

I see them, yes, we do. And at that point, Hans Schroeder tried to interject and I said to him, no, Hans, excuse me, I need an answer from Mark on this. And I said to him, Mark, if you give me one name of one full-time Black news assistant, I will drop this and never ask about it again. And his response to me was, he paused and he said, I can't think of it right now, but I'll get back to you. And that said all I needed to know. You're telling me the head of the news organization says he walks through the newsroom,

sees these people, know we have them employed, and yet he can't name one and never did name one. I'm still waiting for him to get back to me. So I take this very seriously in that. And so when I asked the commissioner two Super Bowls ago, he said that they had fallen short, that they were going to investigate, they were going to review all of their practices, policies and procedures, and try to improve. And a year later, when I asked him the exact same question, when there was no change, he basically gave the same answer again, that they would investigate it,

they would look at all of their practices, policies, and procedures, and look to improve. So how serious are you about this, if that for two years I have been asking you about this and there has been no change? That's why when I say there's a retaliation claim, it's asking those questions. And then my agent meets with the vice president of talent in November and says to her, hey, Jim's contract is up in March. We just want to get a head start on this. What are you thinking? She says, we see no reason that we won't bring him back. Everybody loves Jim. She said, now it may come with a pay trim because we're reducing budget, but there is no reason to think that he won't be brought back. That is in mid-November. Fast forward to February, when I asked Roger Goodell that question again. And then the next day, my supervisor asked one

of my colleagues, why does Jim keep bringing this up? We have a diverse newsroom. And then three weeks later, I meet with Sandy Nunes again, the VP of talent, and she asked me, am I in alignment with the newsroom? And I said to her, no, I can't be in alignment with a newsroom that doesn't have black representation. And that is when she said, that's what I thought. And she said, sometimes, you know, you have to compromise. And I told her I've compromised an awful lot here. And I ran down the example, several of them. And I told her the one thing I'm not going to compromise on is my integrity. And then I said, I want to be clear here.

Are you now saying to me that my contract is not going to be renewed? And she said, I don't know. It's being discussed. Three weeks later, they called my agent and told him it wasn't being renewed. What trips me out is your reporter. So for you to continue to press them on the reality of the newsroom, they act like you can't do research. And so to say, oh, no, Jim, you're wrong. No, I see it. And then when you're like, okay, fine, give me a name.

Just one. Give me a name. Just one. Full-time person. And they haven't. They simply can't. And I love what your attorneys actually said in this, where they said that, oh, guess what? Jim is not like the players.

Something goes down. Ain't no arbitration forced to mediation. No, we want to take this to a jury. No, and that's, you know, the one thing that's positive here, they can't push us off to arbitration like they've done with Brian Flores in many of the aspects of his case. So, you know, the disappointing thing here is, Roland, I really tried to work internally for positive change. And yet I raised these concerns, particularly, say, to the commissioner.

Do you think that anyone from the league office ever got back to me over that year and a half? Not one person ever reached out to me and said, let's have a conversation about this and see what we can do. And the frustrating part here is not only were they making, you know, unwilling to address this issue within the newsroom, when it came to our reporting, we simply weren't allowed or I wasn't allowed. I'm a columnist. I'm supposed to give my informed opinion on things. And when I tried to, if it was negative or if it was going to be critical of owners of the league office, I had to go out of my way to both sides of the issue to be able to run the story. And so that became very difficult because I said to them at one point, I feel like I'm losing my voice. Like, I can't say what I want to say because you all are

going to make me go get another aspect of this or get the other side of this. And it doesn't matter that in one instance, I was quoting a half dozen former black coaches about something that took place. And then they're saying to me, well, we need a comment from Paul Tagliabue on this. And I would say, why do we need a comment from Paul Tagliabue? These men are giving their experiences about what happened. This is their story. Well, no, Paul might remember it differently. And that's when I told them, why are we continuing to both sides these issues?

Lastly, I'll say this in terms of coverage. And I can give you stories where the league put its thumb on coverage of things that were taking place. But when I interviewed for the job, I was concerned about this. And so I said to Mark Quinzel, how do you all handle it when there is a controversial story regarding the owners or the league. And Mark Quinzel said to me, we will always report the news. We might not opine on it, but we will report it. And I said, cool. That's all I needed to hear. I just want to know that we will report the news. In my naivete, what I found out is what that meant is if outside news sources knew about something controversial and they were reporting on it as it relates to the league office or the owners, we would report it. But if we knew about it and no one on the outside knew, then we weren't going to report it. And that goes back to the alleged comment to Terry Pagula, which a colleague of mine made during a Zoom call with 40 plus other members of the

newsroom on that call. And then my comments or my interaction with Jerry Jones, where I have the text messages where I was told to stand down. So they can say what they want and they can say that they're an independent arm and all of that stuff. They are not. When it comes to players, when it comes to coaches, when it comes to teams, general managers, yes, they're all fair game. When it comes to owners or the league office, that's a completely different matter. You talked about Terry Pagula making that comment. He issued this statement here.

The statement attributed to me and Mr. Trotter's complaint is absolutely false. I am horrified that anyone would connect me to an allegation of this kind. Racism has no place in our society. And I am personally disgusted that my name is associated with this complaint. Roland, let's be clear here. A lot of people don't read. They read headlines and don't read stories or they don't read lawsuits. And I've seen where people have attributed this comment, this quote to me as if Terry Pagula said it to me.

Again, this quote came from an NFL Network reporter on a Zoom call with 40 of us. And when this reporter told the group about this comment, this alleged comment, business went on as usual. We got to the end of the Zoom call and no one said anything about it. And I raised my hand and I said, hold on, before we go, are we not going to address what we just heard here? And I was told by our managers, this is the first we're hearing of it. We want to talk to the reporter and we will go from there. I said, cool. I checked back in a day or two later. I was told that New York was made aware of it and New York was investigating it. Every week or so, every other week, I would ask, where are we at on this? Where are we at on

this? And over a course of more than months, I was finally told, I have an answer for you and you're not going to like it. And I said, well, what's the answer? And I was told the answer is, they said it's an HR matter and that's it. And I said, oh, so you're telling me it's going to be swept under the rug. And I was told, I'm just telling you what I was told. And that was it for the Pagoula investigation. And remember, this is the same owner who, when he sat down with members of the player coalition to talk about a partnership between the players coalition and the NFL, and he was talking about the public relations aspect and said to the players, we need a black face to be the front of this.

So is it really a stretch to believe that Pagoula might have said something like this? It is not in my mind. Jim, hold tight one second. We're going to break. We come back. My panel has got some questions for you as well. We'll continue this conversation. Folks, we're talking with Jim Trotter.

He is with The Athletic, formerly of the NFL Network. He has filed a 53-page lawsuit against the NFL alleging racial discrimination and retaliation. We will continue our exclusive conversation with him next right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. into deadly violence. On that soil, you will not be free. White people are losing their damn lives. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Business

Week. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing.

So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and 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. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them.

From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way.

Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King,

John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corps vet.

MMA fighter. Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on

Drugs podcast season 2 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. not tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress,

whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at every university calls white rage as a backlash. This is the wrath of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. There's all the Proud Boys guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white fear. Bye bye, Coppa. On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, we're going to be talking about common sense.

We think that people have it, know how to use it, but it is something that people often have to learn. The truth is most of us are not born with it and we need to teach common sense, embrace it, and give it to those who need it most, our kids. So I always tell teachers to listen out to what conversations the students are having about what they're getting from social media and then let's get ahead of it and have the appropriate conversations with them. On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, here at Black Star Network. I am Tommy Davidson. I play Oscar on Proud Family, Louder and Prouder.

Right now, I'm rolling with Roland Martin. Unfiltered, uncut, unplugged, and undamn believable. You hear me? Welcome back to Roland Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. We're talking with Jim Trotter, who is with The Athletic, a longtime journalist, spent five years with the NFL Network. Yesterday, he filed a 53-page lawsuit against the NFL alleging retaliation and discrimination. Let's go to my panelist, Torun, your question for Jim Trotter. Hello, Jim. My question is this. We've seen the way the NFL moves when we have these

racial disputes in that league, you know, with Colin Kaepernick, with Eric Reid and others, and now yourself. My question is, do you think there's a possibility for your case to move forward if you use the angle of what the league says out of its mouth and then the way it actually moves when it comes to these issues of racism especially anti-black racism well it's interesting you say that and thanks for the question um roland will know this in my in my question to commissioner goodell at the last super bowl i said to him you know james baldwin says i can't believe what you said because I see what you do. And so there is no question we will be pointing out how the NFL says one thing and does something different. Look, the reality here is that the NFL has a long and troubled history as it relates to race and the league.

We can go back to the 1930s and 40s where blacks were literally banned from the league for a dozen years. We can move on to the 50s, 60s, and 70s where we weren't allowed to play certain positions because they said they were thinking men's positions, and they felt that we couldn't handle those positions. You can go on from there to where we didn't have a black coach until much later. We didn't have the first black general manager until the 2000s. Then we can move forward to recent years where we can talk about the use of race norming and trying to settle cases in the concussion settlement. And then we go on now to the fact that there are only three black head coaches who identify as black, three head coaches who

identify as black in a league of 32 teams. So the league has had a troubled history with race for almost as long as it has been in existence. And so when I bring these things up, it is to express this culture within the NFL that seems to have a problem, not only with black people, but in particular, black men. You know, one of the things we tried to get from the league, or I tried to get from the league, even when I was there, were the promotion and retention rate for blacks within the league. And my understanding from sources that I had talked to in there is that those numbers are extremely low for blacks. And not surprisingly, I couldn't get that data from the league. Hopefully we will be able to get that once we get to discovery.

But that is an issue when you talk to employees there. It's not just me. When you talk to the Black Engagement Network there, you know, the employees talk about this feeling that there is no ladder to promotion within the company. And again, when you go back and you look at that flow chart of the top executives in the NFL, as one of those 11 top executives said to me, only two people of color, and that's Troy Vincent, the head of football operations, and that's Dasha Smith, who for lack of a better title,

oversees human resources and their chief diversity officer, if you will. So for me, that reflects what's going on in the NFL. You know, they can tell us that they can put things like end racism in the end zone and they can play the Blacks national anthem before games and they can bring in Jay-Z to help help with halftime shows but what we're talking about here is something more substantive and that's the fact that we need to see action and see people in positions of authority within the league where we don't see it right now rebecca thank you

jim first i want to say thank you thank you. Jim, first I want to say thank you. Thank you for filing this lawsuit because it's very important and it's also very courageous. I mean, it's wild that the league just ended race norming, which is a clear demonstration of the undervaluing and the devaluing of Black lives, especially with Black men. You need full community support, full stop. So what do you need from the community, both materially and strategically, and how can we support you in this endeavor? Wow, that's a great question. And to be honest with you, I hadn't given a lot of thought. My whole thought process has been, you know, and I'm being as honest as I can be here. For me, it was, I can't keep complaining about these things if I'm unwilling to take a stand and fight for what's right.

And I'm 60 years old and I don't have a lot of years left in this business. And I understand that my kids are grown and out of the house. I've done fairly well financially, been able to put away some money. And so if I am in this position where I can take a stand and I can fight this fight, and I don't, I have no reason to complain. And my focus is now on, I tell you I mean this from the heart, is trying to make this better for those who are coming behind me so that hopefully that door is open a little bit wider and hopefully we have newsrooms that are a little more reflective of the communities that they cover. And so to get to your question, I'm not quite sure. The community has been great to this point in terms of public support.

But I also think, as I've talked to people before, the thing that speaks to the NFL is dollars and cents. And so at some point, as long as we keep running to that television like Pavlov's dogs on Sunday when that whistle blows, it's not going to matter. There is a sense of arrogance within the NFL that it can do whatever it wants because the numbers in terms of the popularity are so high. When you look at the top 100 live TV shows last year, I think 82 of them were NFL-related. The year before, I think it was 70-something. And so what history has shown them is no matter how much we screw this up, the people are still there to watch it. The numbers are still there.

And so somehow, in my opinion, it has to be either through litigation or financial consequences that the NFL responds. That history has shown us that those are the only two ways that substantive change takes place in the NFL. But here's the deal, Jim, it's not just the NFL. That's anything. We can go through, I mean, look, they hate negative attention. They hate when you shine a light. You know, Ida B. Wells talked about that, or the truth is shining light upon them. So they hate when they are on the receiving end but then the other thing is this is america you got to hit folks uh in their pocketbook uh and when can i say this to you nfl there are a lot of people yeah go ahead no i i don't think they care about negative attention i really don't because if they did there are too

many too many things that they have done that fly in the face of that logic. I think they believe that they have a product that is so strong and that we are so addicted to it that, again, they can do whatever they wish. And when the heat gets a little hot. Well, here's what I mean. Here's what I mean. What they do is when they get the negative attention, then they use their money to pay for it over. Absolutely. So, oh, we're going to support the players and we're going to give this here. Or, to your point, input in racism.

Oh, the national anthem. Oh, we're going to have the Grambling Band perform at the Las Vegas Raiders game. And then, oh, yeah, the partnership with Jay-Z. And so now people are talking about, oh, Rihanna halftime and 50 Cent and Dr. Dre and Snoop and all that sort of stuff along those lines. And so they use that power. But the thing here, and what I was about to say, when Colin Kaepernick sued them, a lot of people were hopeful

that that was going to go forward to to to reveal what they find discovery. Well, they eventually settle for some eight million dollars. And and so the thing here is and again, people don't look at your lawsuit on that first page. You and your attorneys are saying we want this to be a jury trial. What that says to me is, we're not going to settle. We want everything out in the open and on the record for the world to see what they did. Correct?

Absolutely. I've always said I want it out in the open and on the record. And the good thing for us, Roland, is that I don't have an arbitration clause in my contract, or I did not. And so therefore, they can't push us to arbitration and let Roger Goodell be just jury and executioner there. So at this point, as has been explained to me by my attorneys, yes, this should all be done out in the public and in the open and for everyone to know exactly what transpired, who said what, when, all these sorts of things. So we'll see where it goes from here. Look, I've never been through this process before. This is a first for me.

You know this as a journalist. We were taught to report the news, to not be the news. So this is a little uncomfortable being on this side of it. But I just felt that it was too important not to go forward with this. Again, because if they can do this, and when I say this, I'm not in any way trying to make myself bigger than I am. But if they can do this to me, meaning someone who is established and someone who has worked hard over the last three decades to build a reputation of credibility and integrity in this league and to try and do things the right way, and if they can try and silence me in this way, then what are they going to do to others whose resume might not be to the point that mine is at this point, which is not to say that the individual can't get there,

but just what's to say that they can't do it to them? And they send a message to these folks that, look, if you get out of line or you challenge us, the same can happen to you. So I've had people say to me, are you concerned about your career? All of these type things. And I'm going to tell you this,

and again, I'm being as honest as I can be. When I lay my head down on a pillow at night, regardless of what happens here, I know that I did this for the right reasons, and I'm willing to accept the end result, whatever it may be. You know, Jim, one of the things that I've talked about is that I've always, and I coined a phrase that drives me crazy, parking lot militants. And that's other black folks, other people of color who who will, you know, you might be in the parking lot. You might be at home and they'll they'll be on the phone and then text message. Then when you go back into the building, you sort of say something, then you look around like, where did all y'all go? And the reality is it takes courage to put it all on the line.

And there are a lot of people who look like us who are going to stay silent, who are happily going to collect those checks. And they'll be like privately. Yeah, Jim. Yeah. Go right ahead. And you're like, but where were you? Why aren't you saying anything? What what, you know, hey, can I get some backup in this? And the reality is in history shows it's a lonely existence when you decide to go down this path. Yeah. No, you're right.

And you and I have had this discussion before. And I brought this up to a couple of other close friends. And what one said to me is, look, we have Malcolms and we have Martins. And sometimes they, you know, you're one or the other. See, here's why that phrase pisses me off. Because one, anybody who said that is full of crap. Because the reality is

Malcolm and Martin were more alike than they were different. They had different styles. Right. But now, but, but Martin was radical. Martin was radical. Malcolm was radical as well. Martin was challenging. That's why I keep saying I'm tired of MLK day and they want to flip it to a day of service. No, it should be a day of protest. No, the difference is there were people who were silent, who were. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one

of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Business Week editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and 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. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad.

It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way.

In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher.

Brent Smith from Shinedown. Got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. 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. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Silent when

Martin and others were putting it on the line and they were sitting here oh yeah, no, no, I don't want to get involved, but then wanted to come behind and reap the benefits of their labor. Man, Rolla, you're trying to get me in trouble here. I'm trying to be

good. I'm going to say this to you. The show is called Unfiltered. I feel you, but you know I got a lawsuit going on here. I'm going to say this to you. I understand. I understand. I'm going to say this to you. I understand. I understand. I'm going to say this to you. Let me just put it this way.

It has not gone unnoticed to me who I have heard from since I filed this lawsuit and who I have not heard from. And I will just leave it at that. But you know what? At the same time, I cannot let that stop me from what i'm trying to accomplish here and you know this when we were at um nabj back in august and you know my wife was there with me and whatnot it was one of the few times she had been at an event like this and whatnot and you know after it was over and people want to come up and talk to you and those sorts of things. And I was busy with a few folks and there were some young journalists who wanted

to talk, but felt a little intimidated. And so they were waiting and then they were going to leave feeling like I wouldn't have time for them. And my wife told them, no, stay, stay. And so when it was all over, she said to me, you know, you really made an impact on these young people. At the end of the day, that's what this is all about, right? Trying to make this better for them, you know, and trying to show them that there's a way. And so when my wife told me that, I'm not going to lie to you. I mean, that just inspired me to go forward or maybe even more resolute in what I was doing to say that this is that important. You know, and I don't want to make it more than what it is and all that sort of stuff. But from a personal standpoint, what little bit I can do in my corner of the world, it is important for me to fight this fight. Oh, it is. And I think people need to understand that whether you're

fighting it by filing a lawsuit, whether you're fighting it by asking those questions publicly, whether you're fighting it by literally challenging folks inside of those newsrooms, it matters. Look, I remember, I made it clear. I knew in my six years at CNN that I was not going to personally benefit for the advocacy that I was involved in. And I remember when they promoted a couple of people and then the black anchors and I'll say it, Suzanne Malveaux and Frederica Whitfield and TJ Holmes and Don Lemon, they were all upset and they wanted to meet with the bosses. And they had a conversation with a black exec in New York.

And she said to them, they ain't meeting with y'all unless Roland sold that in the room. And they were like, well, you know, Roland's too radical. And she said, do you understand that brother's taking a whole bunch of arrows. And she said, y'all are going to benefit from the stuff that he's doing. And what ended up happening was I demanded a meeting with the top leadership. They agreed to it, Jim. But then they went, no, no, no. So we want to meet separately with you from them because they're full time and you're not.

I started laughing by saying, okay, I got an office in New York. I got a CNN phone. I got business cards, got all of that. Are y'all serious? And then I said, I wasn't going to meet with them. But then when I did, I said, I want the worldwide CEO there. I want the CNN, the number two there, the head of sales, the head of HLN. And somebody was like, you just making demands. I said, no, I wanted them to understand that if we were going to meet, we were going to meet. And I challenged them point blank.

And what I say to people is, look, I get it. I get the whole deal of it's a job. And for many of us, we've never had jobs that paid this amount of money. It provides a level of security for our family. But it's what you said about those young people. And that is somebody has to fight the fight today. So so so someone tomorrow doesn't have to. Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, you made me think of something when you were talking about that meeting. So at the NFL, they have the Black Engagement Network, right, which is a group of Black employees throughout the company and whatnot. And there was an opening at one point for one of the leadership positions, I think one or two leadership positions. And so I remember

asking a person who had been a part of the group for a long time before I got there and whatnot. And I said, I think I want to run for one of those positions because in that position, you talk directly with the leadership at the NFL in New York. And this still sticks with me. I will never forget this person said to me, no, you'll be better off as a consultant rather than a leadership position. And when I asked why, basically cutting to the chase, it was that I was too direct and I was considered too antagonistic, I guess you could say, to be dealing with the New York office. And, you know, that really hurt a little bit, Roland, because I'm like, I'm out here fighting for us.

And, you know, and you don't tell me that we got to be, you know, go in and be, you know, can't we all just get along and whatnot? So I'll tell you a story, true story. So they said we're going to have a town hall meeting, virtual town hall meeting with the commissioner. And I remember that, you know, black employees were complaining about the lack of promotions and retention because we were losing a lot of black employees and they weren't being promoted. So I said to a couple of people in the group, I said, look,

if we really want to make a statement to Roger Goodell and the NFL, I said, when they have that town hall meeting, I said no black person show up. I said that would get the attention and let them know that we are serious about this. Didn't happen. I didn't show up. But others did. So I'm like, you can't, there is no progress without sacrifice.

And that's the thing that people have to remember here. Like people aren't just going to do things for you out of the goodness of their hearts. Like you, you have to hold them accountable. The reason I'm sitting here laughing because I literally was text messaging some folks with the Texas A&M Black Former Student Network. We have an annual Aggie Impact Gala. And they sent me an email because as the honoree in the first year, they offer you free tickets. And I said, is it going to be held on the campus?

And they said, yes. I said, there's no way in hell I'm going to attend. Then I was told that a vote was taken and a decision was made that let's not rock the boat in this moment. And I said, well, if there's any moment to rock the boat, it is this after what they did to a black graduate named Kathleen McElroy. And so I was on a text and I was explaining to the people last night and I said, they were like, well, what could we really do? I said, do you understand what would happen if you publicly say that one, if you do go to College Station, you say we're not going to have it on campus. We're going to specifically go to a black owned location or you say we're going to hold it in Houston or Dallas. I said, but you have to use whatever power or leverage that you have in order to get their attention.

I just think that what happens is, again, I go back to the parking lot militant. It's a lot of people who whine and complain and who say we need to see stuff change. But when it's time to fight, very few show up for the fight. Everybody who claims they marched for Dr. King is a flat out liar. Most of these people are lying. They didn't. But history also records that when things did happen that benefited black people, it was because at least one person had the courage to stand up. If you are a professional player today, you should be going to bed thanking God every night for Curt Flood. Even though he lost his case, Curt Flood is the reason

you have free agency. But somebody has to be willing to stand up and do what's right. And so, Jim, we're glad that you did. You know where I stand. Absolutely support you. I have told NABJ that they were dead wrong in not giving the NFL Network and the NFL the thumbs down award. I said, don't just award Jim Journalist of the Year, but that you don't call out his employer. I've made that clear to the previous president, Dorothy Tucker, and I've said to the new president, Ken Lemon, that NABJ should be far more aggressive when it comes to this. And I don't care how much money the NFL Network spends at our annual convention. Our job is to advocate for black journalists, even when it makes folk uncomfortable.

I would just ask, Roland, people not forget here, the NFL network covers a player population that is 60 to 70 percent Black, and there is not one Black manager, one Black copy editor, or one full-time Black news assistant in that newsroom. And in fact, if you took out all of the reporters, there was only one full-time Black employee in that newsroom. That's damning. And that's something that's worth fighting against. Absolutely. Jim Trotter, I appreciate it, my brother. Thanks so much. Good luck. I appreciate you, Roland. Roland. All right, I appreciate you, Roland. All right, sir. Folks, we're going to go into a break. When we come back, we'll talk with Isaac Hazer III, the founder of Fanbase.

The people at Clubhouse, the audio app, ooh, they're not happy with this brother. Wait until we play for you this audio. And a perfect example of what happens when a brother is just building something and other folk just don't like it when he speaks truth to power. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. Back in a moment. President Biden has delivered for black America. More funding for black entrepreneurs. Millions of new good paying jobs.

He's lowering the cost of medications and the cost of living joe biden is delivering for us and that's the fact all change is not growth right but thoughtful change is real good fertilizer and that's what has been so beneficial to us but you also were not afraid of the pivot. Well, and I'm a black woman in business. Come on, I don't care how I dress up. I don't care who I'm speaking with. I don't care what part of the world I am in. I still am a black woman in business.

Being afraid of the pivot, being fearful of change is not what got me here. Respectful of change, Respectful of pivot. Yeah. Fearful? No, uh-uh, no. When you talk about blackness and what happens in black culture.

We're about covering these things that matter to us, speaking to our issues and concerns. This is a genuine people powered movement. A lot of stuff that we're not getting, you get it and you spread the word. We wish to plead our own cause to long have others spoken for us. We cannot tell our own story if we have others spoken for us. We cannot tell our own story if we can't pay for it. This is about covering us. Invest in Black-owned

media. Your dollars matter. We don't have to keep asking them to cover our stuff. So please, support us in what we do, folks. We want to hit 2,000 people, $50 this month, raise $100,000. We're behind $100,000, so we want to hit that. Y'all money makes this possible.

Check some money orders, go to P.O. Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. The Cash app is DollarSignRMUnfiltered. PayPal is R. Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is R. M. Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com.

Hey, it's John Murray, the executive producer of the new Sherry Shepard talk show. This is your boy, Irv Quaife. And you're tuned in to Rolling Martin Unfiltered. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith.

Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and 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. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution.

But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is

Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st.

And episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th ad free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts I'm Clayton English I'm Greg Lott and this is season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast yes sir, we are back in a big way in a very big way

real people, real perspectives this is kind of star studded a little bit man we got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King,

John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug ban. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote.

Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. 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. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. so i get a kick out of people who have an app or a social media platform then they whine and complain when users use the app to promote them or what they have going on when the same people do the exact same thing you take Elon Musk he buys a Twitter and so he's been trying to penalize people who post news links and promote other platforms on Twitter when that's what Twitter does on other platforms. Well, Isaac Hayes, the third, is the founder of Fanbase, the social media app. We've told you about that. They have, in fact, their round of funding is about to close. So if you want to get in on that, you can do so. We'll tell you about that later.

So there was a conversation on Clubhouse, the audio app. And Isaac had a couple of things to say. But a couple of people who work for the Clubhouse, they were not happy with the brother. Listen to this show. Yesterday, the head of community at Clubhouse, Joe Armenia, harassed Isaac Hayes III, the founder and CEO of Fanbase, for inviting real estate mogul Grant Cardone to Fanbase after Grant voiced his opinion of the new changes made to Clubhouse. Here is audio of the exchange between Isaac, Grant, Joe, and another user, Cassidy, who also harassed Isaac. And hey,

another update. Ronan, the creator of Clubhouse, blocked me, or some of his people did, because I guess he don't like me saying that this bullshit they did on Clubhouse is dumb. You know the movie Dumb and Dumber? They need to come out with a version for Clubhouse. Dumb, dumber, dumber, dumber, and a dumbest, because that's what they've done is make it dumb grant what's up isaac is the third pull up on fanbase you need to pull up on fanbase man i'm gonna drop a little link to a video and show you what what what needs to be going on with you over at fanbase so you're more than welcome to pull up on the platform. But I got something I want you to check out and look. First, his name is Rohan.

Secondly, Isaac. Again, that form a really unprofessional push over sight. Joe, I know we've never met, but I was hearing there was 4,000 people on this app. I'm one of the reasons that a lot of people came to this platform. And I looked out for a lot of people to come to make Clubhouse a very popular platform during the pandemic. So I reserve the right to promote and market wherever I choose. This is what social media is about. This is your idea of marketing, Isaac.

Coming from a chief marketing officer, this is pretty funny. I'm assuming you were joking because, come on. Your approach is lacking a little bit of tact and it seems a little bit desperate, but you do you. And good luck. What makes this troubling is that the founder of Clubhouse, Paul Davidson,

uses Twitter to promote Clubhouse. Twitter has spaces which is audio chat like Clubhouse. So why is it okay for Clubhouse to promote their app on a competitor? But Isaac can't promote Fanbase on Clubhouse. Could it be because tens of thousands of users have left Clubhouse for Fanbase in the last four days? Whatever the reason, what is unprofessional is the way that Clubhouse has treated its Black users for the past three years. And because of that, I'm leaving Clubhouse and going to Fanbase today. That shit is whack.

All right, folks. Isaac Hayes III Jones is right now. Ooh, Isaac, you got these Clubhouse folks hot and bothered. Man, I do. I don't know why. I don't know why. Well, again, so it's always interesting. Look, when apps make changes, some people don't like them.

A lot of people are not liking what Clubhouse has done. And to your point, I mean, guess what? Facebook, they've got Twitter accounts. They've got Instagram accounts. All of these different people, you know, cross share, and that's what they are. So for them to take aim at you for saying come over to Fanbase, that's childish and petty on their part. It also exposes their hand because I'd like people to understand the differences between our platforms financially. Clubhouse has raised over $300 million and is valued at $4 billion. Fanbase, which is excellent, is valued at $85 million and we raised about $9.5 million. So why would a company that's worth $4 billion and has raised $300 million care about me? Like, I'm the new guy.

I'm coming up in the startup game. And I'm providing a service for every user on the planet to be able to not be shadow banned, say what they want, be themselves. And then on top of that, provide monetization. So for a company employee who's the head of community, who Joe is the head of community, for him to kind of say those words. And he has since removed that comment from the app. But other people caught it, and that's how this exists. It kind of shows their hand like they're bothered because there's been mass, a mass exodus of people leaving Clubhouse for fan base. Our numbers have gone through the roof.

I sent you guys something like, you know, the app has gone viral. Like, our downloads are crazy of the app. People are making pages all over the planet, like India, Mogadishu, Stockholm, Sweden, the UK, Pakistan, Bangkok, Thailand, like a lot of it. And then United States of america just everywhere so the app has really seen a growth we're really this right here has pushed us i think that we'll get over half a million users we'll get to half a million users probably in the next about four or five days which is incredible that's a great benchmark for platform to have

half a million users on fanbase and so it's all because of the users, the people, and sometimes the mistakes that other platforms make by not listening to the users. See, the thing that I love about this, again, you're right, they're showing their hand. And what it also goes to show you is the fact that, listen, let me real quick, black folks basically built Clubhouse during COVID. It was African-Americans being tastemakers and people going over there. And again, we are very successful at building other platforms and making other people rich, which is why I keep saying to black people, we should be supporting our own like fan base because, again, the modus operandi,

the mentality of those who own and control is different. These other apps, they want to make all the money. They want to screw over content providers and they want them to get basically do all of this free work and then they get the riches as opposed to no create an equitable situation where the content creators are able to make money along with the company like fan base yeah i mean i'm making an equitable situation for every user i consider every user on social media a content creator. We're all creating content. If you comment on someone's posts, you're creating content. If you post the content yourself, you're creating

content. If you're in an audio room and you're on the stage talking, you're creating content. All that creates engagement for users to come on these platforms and do that. So at Fanbase, I wanted to make sure that, one, we don't suppress anybody's content because, again, we're advertising everybody.

All these apps are in competition with the users because they're not going to let you reach a million people but then charge Coca-Cola to reach a million people. They're going to charge you just like they charge Coca-Cola, which is why everybody's shadow banned, everybody's suppressed. So I wanted to make that extremely clear about part of our platform. And then secondly, the only reason, and I'm not going to say the only reason, but the primary reason that we have audio on Fanbase is because the first million users

that took Clubhouse from 4,000 users to a million users in five months, and they went out and raised $100 million at a billion-dollar valuation, were denied the opportunity to invest in Clubhouse. So I had already raised about $3 million in that first round, and we didn't have audio. But I said, well, then I'll just build audio. So we built an amazing audio segment to our platform that is monetized from the moment that you join you can have subscribers um you can build audio camps um you can uh uh you know build community and monetize receive love which is revenue for speaking and and this new user adoption has actually um made us change our roadmap and really think about other things we need to

add to audio in real time because there's so many users coming over from all parts of the world that just want to have open conversation with people around the planet and share their points of opinion and be entertained and gain knowledge and all that kind of stuff. Questions? Panel here. Rebecca and Toron. Toron, I'll start with you. Hey, Isaac, what's good, man? Haven't seen you in a while, brother.

First of all, I'm good, man. Congratulations on the growth of our fan base, man. My question is this. Well, I'm going to start with a statement. Look, man, you and me have talked about this before, and we know that black social media is currency. You know, there's black Twitter. We know what Clubhouse has done. Basically, all these social media platforms rely on black people making content to basically push their bottom line. So let me ask you this. Do you think that people were upset with you promoting Fanbase on Clubhouse because they know that

there's starting to be an awakening of the power of social media among Black social media users, and they're starting to look for ways that they can take ownership of some of these things that other people have been able to cherry pick from? Not only that, Fanbase is probably the only infrastructure that is African-American run. So I was big on building infrastructure. Facebook's not owned. Clubhouse, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat are not owned by anybody African-American. But black culture and black content overwhelmingly creates the engagement that then allows these companies to run ads and make billions of dollars. So I think the fact that there's a fear that someone like

myself that has gone into the sector of infrastructure and building the platform, so I'm not just the culture, I'm the technology, and it's in one place. I think they're afraid that there's no place for them to exploit black culture to the benefit of their bottom line, which is what disruption is about. If you're not pissing people off in tech in one way, shape or form, then you're doing something wrong. You're supposed to come to the party and ruin it for everybody that got there before you. That's what you have to do. So I feel proud to do that. I'm happy to disrupt the financial systems that go on in these companies, the equitable opportunities for creators and users around the planet to be able to be seen, be heard, not suppressed, make money, and be themselves. So, I mean, this is exactly what the goal and the purpose of Fanbase is to do.

I just got a little help from Clubhouse getting in their feelings and, you know, saying what they said. I mean, you know, I'm already on Fanbase, brother, so I respect what you do. I got to cop one of those Fanbase shirts. This one's not out yet. Everybody wants this one. It's not out yet. It will be, though. It's coming.

It's coming. All right. All right. I want one. Rebecca. Thank you. Rebecca. Hey, so congratulations on the uptick and your record growth that just happened over this weekend.

I saw you push that out, so congratulations first. Also, you just kind of had like a Suge Knight moment. Like I was thinking about the Suge Knight speech of, hey, if you're sick and tired, it was almost like you went over there and said, hey, if you're sick and tired of your social media content providers suppressing your content, come on over to Fanbase.

If you want to share revenue, come over a fan base. I mean, I think it's great. Can you talk more of what it's like being black in tech and what disruption really looks like? I'm very new to the space, so I'm kind of flying and building a plane at the same time, which I think is pretty good because it allows me to not follow any road maps that were you know laid out before me which a lot of times wind up in dead ends for financing and funding for tech companies so i'd have no i've not followed the path of trying to raise venture capital for my company i was able to raise um nine and a half million dollars on a platform

called start engine um and anybody right now that is watching this or watches this later can go to startengine.com slash fanbase and invest the minimum of $245 to actually have equity in all part of the platforms that they use. So our round closes at 5 million. We're at $3.7 million now. This huge uptick, fanbase was valued at $85 million this time last year.

By the end of this month, a whole year will have gone by, and that is before this huge uptick in users. So Fanbase will not be valued the same anymore after this. And so it's been a challenge. I've gotten it from all sides. I've gotten it from the white tech community. I've gotten it from the black tech community. I've gotten it from people that just don't, you know, that I'm

not even, you know, supposed to be in this space because I'm a music producer that decided to build something and had a vision. So it's been challenging, but I got some really tough skin. I'm a very driven and determined and persistent individual. I know my focus. I'm not going to get into my feelings. I am calm. I am measured. i am determined um so the things that come uh at me and and fan base we face those challenges with no fear with experience with uh gut and you know we're ready to continue to do that in every way shape or form to disrupt so i'm i'm excited about that but it's been also a joy um because i really see, I had a conversation today, I spoke at Clark Atlanta University, and we have done the very first ever partnership with an HBCU

and a social media company. So I got to speak to young people today about social media and three things that really woke them up, right? One, they can make money, right? I went live and I made like $20, $50 in like three or four minutes. Secondly, they could start the platform by migrating their content from Instagram over to fan base. It still stays on Instagram, but you just pack your stuff up and move it over. You can do the same on TikTok. And third, when they actually heard that they can invest, and these are young people, 19, 20, 21 years old, that say, sir, I just invested in your platform. I want to invest. And that's phenomenal because they're the ones that make these platforms popular. Who better than to give equity to than the young individuals, the talent individuals,

the creative people around the planet, around the world of all races that make these platforms multibillion dollar platforms, except for the, you know, 100 or so rich angel investors and seed investors that do this over and over and over again. This is truly power and generational wealth to the people. So I'm I'm I'm happy about the experience that I've had being a black tech founder. All right. Again, before we go, Isaac, tell people if they want to become an investor in the fan base, where do they go and how much you got left

to raise? I got about 1.3, 1.25 million left to raise. When I do your program, though, it's phenomenal because the word gets out. I've been telling everybody about this. I'm actually about to have another audio room after this interview about investing.

But go to startengine.com slash fanbase to invest. The minimum to invest is $245. You should own part of these platforms that they use. We spend $245 on tennis shoes, drinks at the club, steak dinners, all kinds of stuff. But just to take $245 or even $500 or $600, because really 2,500 people investing $600 right now closes the round today. If 2,500 people see this video and they take $600 and invest in Fanbase, the round's closed. It's over. We're done. And I mean, that's what I want to do. I want

to close this round extremely fast. And so I appreciate the opportunity for you to come and talk about this because, you know, I'm not going to be bullied. I'm not worried. I'm it's actually a feather in my cap that, again, a four billion dollar company cares about what I'm doing. It shows that they're scared and they're worried. And again, that's what disruption is all about. So I really appreciate the time to talk about this. All right. Isaac Hazen III, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you, man. All right, then. Toron, Rebecca, I appreciate y'all being on the panel today. Thank you so very much for joining us. Folks, we are here at the House of Hope. We're partnering with McDonald's.

They have their Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour kicking off Friday here in Chicago at the House of Hope. The concert begins at 7 p.m. local time. Folks, the tickets are free. What you do is you simply go to blackandpositivelygolden.com, blackandpositivelygolden.com blackandpositivelygolden.com They will be in Chicago Friday, in Detroit on Saturday. And so we would love to see you here.

We're going to be broadcasting here all this week. We're doing interviews with all the different entertainers participating. We've had some great interviews thus far. I cannot wait to show you some of those. So please, we'd love to see y'all come on out. And you know what? I might even decide to do, we'll see. I might do my show in the parking lot. I don't know. We'll see.

We'll figure it out. But love to see y'all here in Chicago. So step on out. So thank you so very much, folks. We will see y'all tomorrow right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Do not forget, please support us in what we do. I've seen some of y'all contributing during the show. Thank you so very much. Saban Hatchet, Charles Slocum, they've all given during the show. Let me see here. Narice Cox, Debbie Stevens, William McKinnon, they've also given as well. And I appreciate all of the support that people have given via Cash App

and all of the platforms. If you want to join our Bring the Funk fan club, again, we're about $400,000 behind. We want to close that gap because, again, we want to be able to reach our goals. See your check-out money orders at P.O. Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. Cash App, Dollar Sign, RM Unfiltered,

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Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung, Smart TV. And of course, be sure to get my book, Why Fear? How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds, available at bookstores nationwide.

You can also get it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble. You can download the audio version on Audible. Folks, that's it. I'll see you all tomorrow. Have a great one. Holla! Folks, Black Star Network is here. Hold no punches!

I'm real revolutionary right now. I support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. Thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roller. Stay Black. I love y'all. All momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN.

You can't be Black-owned media and be scared. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? A lot of times, big economic forces show up in our lives in small ways. Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. Small but important ways. From tech billionaires to the bond market to, yeah, banana pudding.

If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 the recording studios. Stories matter and it brings a face to it. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an iHeart podcast.