#RolandMartinUnfiltered - AP Series: Birth to Death & Racial Disparities, George Floyd Anniversary, Tina Turner Tribute

Episode Date: May 25, 2023

5.24.2023 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: AP Series: Birth to Death & Racial Disparities, George Floyd Anniversary, Tina Turner Tribute A new series of reports from the Associated Press sheds light on the disparities black people face in health, education, and more. We will speak with The Associated Press Detroit National Investigative Writer for Race and Ethnicity about her findings and how this startling information changes lives. Plus, Ron DeSantis files the paperwork to run for president before officially announcing he's running in a Twitter Interview with Elon Musk later tonight.  Also, tomorrow is the third anniversary of George Floyd's tragic death. The authors of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, "His Name is George Floyd" will join us to talk about the man who sparked a movement. Tonight, we'll honor the life and legacy of the queen of rock and roll, Tina Turner, who passed away on Tuesday.  And Spike Lee's father, bassist and composer, Bill Lee, also died. It's Time to Bring the Funk on Roland Martin Unfiltered streaming live on the Black Star Network. Let's go. Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox  http://www.blackstarnetwork.com The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platforms 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. politics with entertainment just for kicks he's rolling he's broke he's fresh he's real the best you, he's fresh, he's real, the best you know, he's rolling, Martin. Martin. So we often talk about the health issues of African-Americans. The Associated Press did this study, folks, and looked at over the course of a year the stats when it comes to African Americans from birth to death. It is a revealing investigation that shows you the fundamental problems we have with the health disparities in this country. Kat Stafford, an investigative reporter for the Associated Press out of Michigan. She joins us right now. Kat, this was really something that was different. We've often seen surveys and studies along those lines. But how did this come about to do this sort of exhaustive report on the health of African-Americans from cradle to death? Well, for me, as someone who grew up in the city of Detroit, I have seen these health inequities

throughout the course of my life, watching it occur within my own family, my friends, folks that I know, but what really wanted me, led me to pursue this was the COVID-19 pandemic and just seeing the disparate toll that it really took on Black folks across the nation, but also a frustration at seeing some of these initial stories and headlines that were really blaming the existence of things like high blood pressure, obesity, different respiratory illnesses as kind of the driver as to why we were dying at the rates we were,

instead of really digging into the why and how we got to the point as a nation where this disparate toll was happening. And so I set out to pursue this project that really showed how, even before African-Americans take their first breath, we are experiencing these disparities at such an alarming rate, and it continues throughout the entire course of our lives. But the most special part about this project is connecting the dots and showing how a legacy of slavery really laid the foundation for these health inequities that we continue to see even today. Well, and that's one of the things I think a lot of people, you know, really don't understand when they talk about the issue of health inequities. We have to deal with what happens before birth. You talk about prenatal care for the mother.

And so all of those things have an impact on the health of that child. Absolutely. And the first story is about maternal and infant health. Black women have the highest maternal is about maternal and infant health. Black women have the highest maternal mortality rate in the entire country, three times that of white women. And when you look at black babies as well, they have the highest preterm birth rates as well as the highest infant mortality rates in the country. And what you endure as an infant, again, will set that stage for what you deal with later on in life.

If you're born prematurely, you are far more likely to have lung issues, respiratory issues, and that could set the stage for you to then experience childhood asthma, which the second story in our series is about. So really you are seeing these inequities exist before our babies are even born. And the first story just is set in Alabama, is told from the perspective of two sisters who both have very traumatic births. And they live in an area that is classified as a maternal care desert. What that means is there aren't facilities. It could be hard to obtain care. And this is a problem that exists across the nation. And I just want to point out,

Roland, that when we are talking about this issue of maternal mortality and infant mortality, these aren't just issues that are impacting poor Americans. These are issues that are impacting Black folks across the board, regardless of socioeconomic standing, regardless of social standing, right? These are issues that we saw even Serena Williams grappling with when she had her own child. So I think that is very important to point out that the common denominator here is race. The common denominator here is the racism and discrimination that Black Americans encounter often when they enter the medical system. You know, one of the things that we were having this discussion about with someone who's Republican is pro-life, I was trying to explain to her that you can't say you're pro-life when you look at the policies that the Republican Party commonly votes against. It has a direct

impact on the health of Americans, especially African-Americans. And we're talking about a lot of these places, they're red states, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, places a lot of African-Americans are. And so I'm always saying, hey, you can't tell me you're pro-life if you're not advocating for policies that actually improve lives and extend lives. In many cases, you're simply anti-abortion. And these red states, we see how critical this is. Yeah, you know, one thing that I heard a lot on the ground during the course of my reporting was from a lot of advocates who have been trying to sound this alarm, frankly, for decades. This is not a new issue, right? This is something that has been happening, but what hasn't happened is the proper attention, the proper funding. Now, we have seen the Biden administration in particular devote a lot of

resources toward this in recent years, but still the folks that have been on the ground rooted in this work for a very long time say it's not enough. It's not enough just to flood some of these communities with money either. They need actual real structural change. The medical professionals need to be trained more. We still have folks who are supposed to be saving the lives of folks as they enter the medical system who believe that black people experience pain at a lesser level than white folks, that our skin is thicker. These are studies that have been done just recently. These aren't things that, or perceptions that have existed, you know, in a longer period ago.

This is something that people believe right now. So folks are saying until we actually deal with that structural racism, we will continue to see these alarming disparities. You know, I'm standing outside here on Black Lives Matter Plaza in the nation's capital. And again, we talk about this notion of Black lives actually mattering. That's really what it boils down to. And so as a part, obviously you're telling the stories, but how are you also laying out the challenges public policy-wise that we are seeing in many of these places where we see African-Americans? That's a great question, Roland, because as you look at all of these states, there are different needs that exist in every state.

You know, I talked about Alabama for the first story and how in Alabama, particularly that rural belt, you know, that black belt where many of the plantations existed, many black folks still live there today, centuries later, right? They face a lot of challenges in that area, and that crosses from Alabama into other southern states. These folks, it's just hard for them to get care. So how do you get them to a place where they can even receive the care? And once they receive the care that they need, will it be equitable care? Will it be non-discriminatory care? So there's a lot of different challenges that I think need to be solved on the ground, but also at a federal level, at a state level.

While we are seeing more money, more resources being directed at these efforts, some advocates are critical because they say, well, we want to see some of these resources going to black-led organizations, organizations that are actually rooted in these communities that understand the very valid mistrust and concerns that they have. So I think folks are really asking not just for a seat at the table. They really want ownership and a true voice at the table to determine what their own communities need. So how many parts of this series and if folks want to check it out, where can they do so? So there are five stories, five families. We went across the entire country to tell the stories through the eyes of people that have been impacted. We have a beautiful project site on APnews.com. You can check us out on Twitter. We have a lot of social media around us at AP on Twitter. So please give this story a read. It's very important. And I hope that this just starts the conversation on discussing how these health inequities have

really impacted generations of Black Americans from birth to death. All right, Kat Stafford, Associated Press. We certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thanks, Roland. All right, folks, we'll be discussing this with my panel when we come back right here on Roller Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Don't forget, if you're watching on YouTube, hit that like button. ALL RIGHT, FOLKS, WE'LL BE DISCUSSING THIS WITH MY PANEL WHEN WE COME BACK. WE HAVE ROLLER MUTTON UNFILTERED ON THE BLACKSTAR NETWORK. DON'T FORGET IF YOU'RE WATCHING ON YOUTUBE, HIT THAT LIKE BUTTON. IF YOU'RE CHECKING US OUT, WE WANT YOU TO DOWNLOAD OUR APP, FOLKS, SO YOU CAN DO SO BY DOWNLOADING THE BLACKSTAR NETWORK APP, APPLE PHONE, ANDROID PHONE, ANDROID TV, AM One, Samsung, Smart TV. Your support is also critical to our success, our ability to do what we do every single day, not only with this show,

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Not just this show, but all of our content right there on one channel. We'll be right back. On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, the necessity of believing in things you can't see. It's called faith. It comes in all shapes and sizes and it's powerful. And it's a big part of being able to live a balanced life. The valley I experienced being a cancer survivor was one where my footing was completely unstable. I had no idea what to do. And in that instance of not knowing what to do,

I had to rely on faith. That's all next on A Balanced Life, only on Blackstar Network. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach. The wealth gap has literally not changed in over 50 years, according to the Federal Reserve. On the next Get Wealthy, I'm excited to chat with Jim Castleberry, CEO of Known Holdings. They have created a platform, an ecosystem,

to bring resources to Blacks and people of color so they can scale their business. Even though we've had several examples of African-Americans and other people of color being able to be successful, we still aren't seeing the mass level of us being lifted up. That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Blackstar Network. Hi, I'm Eric Nolan. What's up, y'all? I'm Will Packer. I'm Chrisette Michelle.

Hi, I'm Chaley Rose, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Thank you. Să ne urmăm în următoarea mea rețetă. All right, folks, let's introduce our Wednesday panel. Joining us, Rebecca Carruthers. She is vice president for Fair Election Center. She's based out of D.C. A. Scott Bolden, attorney here in D.C. as well. Dr. Cleo Monago, social architect, also chief advisor, Black Means Exchange, coming to us out of D.C. as well. Glad to have all three of you. This issue of health, Rebecca, this is one of those things where if we're talking about elections, it needs to be, you know, clearly a top issue on the black agenda when it comes to, again, the resources needed as well. Because when we talk about so many different issues that how we were impacted, we cannot just ignore the fundamental problem when it comes to health and economics is tied to that as well. You know, when I worked in Capitol Hill, I worked for Congressman John Dingell, and he was the member of Congress who had the pin on the Affordable Care Act. So I was very fortunate to be a part of when the Affordable Care Act was

moving through Congress. And I will say what was very important is that we identify the racial health disparities in this country. And specifically, there is anti-Blackness in Western medicine, like simply put. So when we look at environmental factors, when we look at economic factors, when we look at trauma, just like the last guest was talking about the trauma and the impact of us being descendants of slaves and how that still shows up in our body as trauma. I believe trauma could show up in DNA

up to seven generations later. But when you add on top of that racial health disparities that are based upon race and anti-blackness in medicine, it is no wonder that African-Americans in this country are dying prematurely. My mom, as an example, she died at 58 years old. She died prematurely and was partly in part to not having proper access to competent and culturally sensitive and aware health care? You know, I think that, you know, when we start challenging folks, Cleo, you know, it really has to be, I think, very specific. And I made the point when I was talking to Kat, how we must also challenge these folks on the right who love to

come to black folks and say, oh, this is what the abortions that are happening, but I'm always going, okay, what you going to do when it comes to actually life issues? They don't want to expand that conversation about being pro-life is.

Well, I agree with you that people on the right typically don't care about our lives. Pardon me. However, one of the things that the last guest said that I think is important is that regardless of economic situation, across the economic strata, we're dealing with health disparities. I think that while we need to confront people who make legislation and who do the kind of work that the sister

referenced in terms of what Biden has funded, we need to look at a paradigm shift. Anti-Blackness is now and has been most of my life a cultural norm. You know, people default into Black, anti-Black impulses, but my concern is not people external to Blacks who are doing these things, but what we have internalized. And that's why I preface my comments with the fact that being Black in and of itself, across the economic spectrum, can be a problem in this country because of unresolved trauma. I'll end this by saying that one of the things that we deal with as black people is something called psychoneural immunology. Psychoneural immunology talks about how the psyche, the state of mind, can in fact impact the immune system, therefore impact the neural system of the body and the psychology

of the body. We are going into many generations of not resolving internalized oppression. A lot of people who are doctors, doctors and people in the medical field are becoming more and more black. In other words, more black people are becoming doctors. But they, too, inherit a racist paradigm, and sometimes they bring into that work internalized oppression and anti-blackness that they have not resolved, which does not help them to be an asset to black people once they get into the medical profession. We have to look at a paradigm shift, and we have to look at internalized oppression among black people that's part of this issue, which is why it can go across the economic spectrum.

Well, you know, Scott, oftentimes when we're talking about this particular issue of health disparities, a lot of people will say, oh, it's economics. But as Kat said, what Serena Williams experienced, here's a woman of means married to a billionaire, the founder of Reddit, and had the same problem of trying to get doctors to understand the health issues that she was having. It is still a question of also trust in this system. And we could go on and on and on. And so this is where we, again, as voters, have to be making a series of demands from elected officials to deal with this because in many ways we are still dependent upon a government system to confront the issue of health.

You look at the Affordable Care Act. Of course, there were those who were opposed to that, but that played a huge role in decreasing the number of African Americans who were uninsured. But there's still more work to do. Yeah, but, you know, Roland, at the core base of this is racism and white privilege. I have my own story. I have sinus issues. And before I went to see a sinus doctor who was African American,

I had several other doctors look at my sinuses, look at, you know, all kinds of different exams, different doctors over the last five years. All of them knew that I had high blood pressure. They noted it, but they did nothing to treat it. When I went to the black doctor to fix my sinuses, he noted that I had high blood pressure, a family history of high blood pressure. And not only did he note it, he pushed me, called me for two weeks to make sure that I had gotten it checked, that I was on a weight program, and that I had blood pressure medicine

when my weight had elevated. And without that, I would not have lost the weight that I lost, and I would not have been on the blood pressure medicine because that black doctor made a point of it because he knew that as a black man that hypertension was the silent killer so at its core i'm not making making the the other doctors uh bad people but they didn't press me on blood pressure the way the black doctor did and so

now if you manifest that across the African American population, and they're going to see doctors who don't treat hypertension like it's a big deal, this particular black doctor treated it like a big deal, and I'm healthier because of it. And so it may be a complex issue, but these doctors at our core, we gotta go to the doctors, first of all,

a lot of black men don't, but two, we have to go to the doctors. First of all, a lot of black men don't, but two, we have to go to black doctors who understand our history with regard to health disparities and want to make a difference with it. But when we talk about that, that also means, again, supporting those institutions that are churning out those black doctors. And the reality is that, Rebecca, those are black medical schools. And we're now seeing Morgan State. They announced they're going to be launching a medical school in the next decade.

Also, I think Xavier is going to be launching one as well. So we're now seeing the expansion. We used to actually have more black medical schools, but that also changed when the American Medical Association called for certification process. And that also was rooted in Jim Crow racism. Yeah, one of my sisters actually teaches at Meharry Medical School in the physician assistant program, and a lot of times she talks about cultural competency, and even for those Black students, for them to understand the parts of anti-blackness that's in modern medicine, that's in Western medicine, everything from like the kidney differential that that was used up until like the last. institutions in the Boston area actually take a stand to say, hey, we're no longer going to be using these race-based differentials because they don't make sense. Or even there's still

parts of medicine that still subscribes to that Black folks have a higher pain tolerance, or even thinking that Black folks have thicker skin, literally, meaning like on the derma level. And so that impacts how people see us. So like, even as other panelists have pointed out, is that it's not just from white folks or Asians or Hispanic doctors, but also Black doctors and other Black medical personnel. And so it's great that Xavier is going to come online with the medical school and that Morgan State is also seeking to come online in the next 10 years. There's also other professions like physician assistants, nurse practitioners, registered nurses. There's other folks who also play a part

in our health care system. And we need more black folks in those particular professions as well, because one thing that we have seen from the AP article and other articles that are talking about health care in this country and racial health disparities is that the mere presence of a black doctor in a county actually improves health outcomes and life expectancy for the black population in that county by virtue of there just being black doctors present. And I think that that's very important to note here. Well, absolutely. And so, you know, this look, this is going to be one of those things.

And so we certainly appreciate the, you know, the series that Associated Press did here. And so we will continue to, of course, on this show. That's one thing we'll definitely keep continue to focus on, which is one of the reasons why we are here. And so we will continue to, of course, on this show, that's one thing we'll definitely continue to focus on, which is one of the reasons why we're here. And that's also why Black-owned media matters, folks, to have this conversation. Because look, there's no guarantee these other networks are going to be focusing on what matter to us, which is why we also have to support Black-owned media as well. And it says also white must continue to put the pressure on these various institutions, these media outlets, when it also comes to advertising with black-owned media. And so coming up next, I'm going to actually talk about that

with Where's Our Money segment. Folks at Ad Age dropped a story dealing with this very issue in terms of the spending of a lot of people. 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. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. hatred on the streets a horrific scene a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence white people are losing their damn minds there's an angry pro-trump mob storm to the u.s capital 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 wrath of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. 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 jobs they're taking our resources they're taking our women this is white fear blackstar network is We'll be right back. and something like CNN. You can't be black on media and be scared. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig?

What's up y'all, I'm Will Packer. Hello, I'm Bishop T.D. James. What up, Lana Well, and you are watching Rolling Martin Unfiltered. Unbottled. We've been frozen out. Facing an extinction level event. We don't fight this fight right now. You're not going to have Black-owned media. All right, folks, welcome back to the show.

The folks at Ad Age just dropped the story last couple of days that dealt with the issue of investment in Black-owned media. And so this is their headline, how McDonald's, P&G, Coca-Cola, General Motors, and other big brands are spending on Black-owned media. And so this is their headline, how McDonald's, P&G, Coca-Cola, General Motors, and other big brands are spending on black-owned media. It was a survey. You see it says, ad age survey shows results are mixed and interviews reveal better lines over shift to programmatic. And so it laid out in here in terms of what is happening with the spending levels. And the reality is there are some people who are doing better than others, but at the end of the day, most of these people are not doing what they should be doing.

This is a continuing battle that we are seeing. And what's interesting is a lot of these companies, they claim that, oh, they're hitting all of their goals. But then you sort of go, really? Well, who's actually getting paid? It also shows you, prior to those of us who were the Black-owned media collective driving this issue, it shows you how little they were spending in Black-owned media. In fact, some of these places announced they were going to be increasing to 1% and 2%. I want y'all to hear what I just said.

Literally, they were going to be increasing to 1% and 2%. Some of them were basically about 0.2%, 0.5%. Now, here's what I need the folks watching to understand and why I need people to understand why we need you to enlist in this. And I'm going to use the NAACP's travel advisory to Florida as a perfect example on this whole deal. It's very easy to say, oh, let's have an advisory. But then what are we then going to do as African-Americans? What are we then going to do? How are we then going to be using our power to change the dynamic?

How are we going to now, frankly, do what Dr. King said in his speech April 3rd, 1968, to penalize these companies or force them to respect our dollars. And so the real question I have for a lot of us is, do we actually have the discipline and do we actually have the unselfish vision to do it. So let me just go through, go right around with here, okay? And so it says, overall, Ad Age received responses from seven black-owned media companies with data from spending by their biggest brands and agency customers. Now, when you go down in this particular story, you will see that, of course, a lot of this came after the death of George Floyd. Of course, the third anniversary is tomorrow.

But what you're now seeing, though, is a lot of these companies also pulling back on diversity initiatives. And also, what you're also seeing them is expanding this from when we focused on black-owned to now diversity. And so they're putting everybody in this mix so check this out right here y'all this right here i think it is critical uh and that is it says um standard media index smi which compiles actual spending data from holding companies and leading independent media agencies found spending with black owned media companies nearly tripled since 2020 to 888 million.

I need y'all to hear what I just said. It said nearly tripled. Spending on black owned media made up 62% of the spending on diverse owned media in 2022 even though black owned companies only made up 47 percent of diverse owned outlets but i want y'all to listen i want you to listen nearly tripled to 880 million now watch this overall spending on diverse owned media rose rose at an 80% annual rate from 2020 to 2022. I'm going to let that settle in. Rose at an 80% annual rate from 2020 to 2022 from $400 million to $1.4 billion. Y'all, $322 million. First of all, let me just go down a little further.

Despite that growth, spending on all diverse-owned media made up only 1.85% of total spending measured by SMI. Black-owned media comprised 1.16%. But those shares were each more than double what they were in 2020, which means in 2020, barely 0.5% of all marketing dollars went to black-owned media.

So, oh, great, it doubled, but it doubled to 1.16. How much money is spent every single year? Is spent every single year, it's spent every single year. Marketing this year, it's going to be about $322 billion. Listen to what I just said. $322 billion is going to be spent by these agencies and by these companies. And I can guarantee you that we as black people, we are drinking more than 1.1%,

1.16% of their products. We're eating more than 1.16%. We're buying more than 1.16%. And see what I need all of y'all watching. I really need you to start asking some critical questions and then make a determination on if you really want to demand equity in this situation. Perfect example, here's an iPad that we use for our script. I have the new iPad, have the older one,

I have the smaller one, okay have the older one. I have the smaller one. I travel with three iPads. There's two iPhones. So just sit here. Just right here on this stand, I have six Apple devices. Ask yourself, what is Apple's black-owned media spend, its annual spend? It's an important question. Let me go this here.

It's an 82-inch Samsung TV. It's a 65-inch right there. There's an 82-inch right there. It's a 65-inch right there. There's an 82-inch right there. There's an 82-inch right there. There's an 82, an 82, and an 82. And in the control room, there are five 65-inches. So that's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine Samsung LED TVs. How much does Samsung spend on black-owned media?

I'm going to go back to the headline here. So when you see, this is the graphic right here. So they looked at McDonald's, Target, P&G, General Motors, Verizon, Walmart, Coca-Cola. Now, I'm going to go ahead and say it. We did a deal with McDonald's that was in 2021. I think that was about 150,000. We have not done anything since. Now, we're waiting.

We're supposed to be doing something with them, but we're still waiting. Target, since we launched this show four and a half years ago, I think last year we did something like $100,000 with Target. Nothing since. Last year we did something like $100,000 with Target. Nothing since. Verizon, I think we had maybe $75,000. There was an ad campaign that I think was the end of 2021. Nothing in 2022.

No, no, no, stay on the graphic. Nothing in 2022 and nothing so far in 2023. General Motors, we did about, well, it was a $500,000 deal last year, but because of some, we didn't get the full $500,000, which was part of my problem because how they want to drive this thing to programmatic, which actually puts many black-owned media at a disadvantage, have not heard from them on what's going to be happening in 2023.

Procter & Gamble, we've not done anything with them. They've been promising they're going to do something with us. I'm still waiting. We have been trying to talk to Walmart for the last four and a half years. We've talked to Publicis, which is their agency, and we've gotten nowhere. We've literally not had anything with Walmart whatsoever. Coca-Cola, out of all of these companies here,

we've actually done more with Coca-Cola than anybody else, around $1.2 million in the last three years. We have not done anything. We're waiting, finding out what's going to happen in 2023. And when I look at folks like the U.S. Army, look, a lot of spending out there. You see the commercials going on, nothing with us. So why am I walking you through these numbers? Why am I walking you through these things? It's because, see, you need to understand this business is fueled by advertising. Now, no one can say, no one can say, hey, it's not legitimate. And I just want y'all to understand something. When I look at a lot of these networks, I was looking at, I saw a Chevy ad on Fox News. Novo Nordisk is running constant commercials featuring Anthony Anderson

and diabetes on Fox News. And I've hit Novo Nordisk. And, you know, we did something with them at the end of last year, dealing with obesity. And I'm like, okay, I'm seeing these ads on Fox News. What about us? When I'm seeing these Nutrisystem ads running on Fox News, okay, are we not good enough for that? When I see these pharmaceuticals.

So you've got to be asking yourself, okay, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Eli Lilly, all of these different companies, why are they advertising millions of dollars on white mainstream media and not African-Americans? And we know damn well who's using a lot of these drugs as well. Now, I know somebody you might be saying, oh, I love these people when they go on. Man, you just sit here. Are you talking about trying to get some money for you? Well, guess what? If you don't get the advertising money, you can't hire staff. If you can't pay staff and hire staff, we can't have a daily show. No daily show means we don't have the same level of news.

So then all of a sudden, we're not getting the same information as everybody else. And so then guess what then happens? Then you are forced to rely on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, ABC, NBC, and CBS. And we already know damn well they ain't covering our stuff the way we should be covering it and so what has to be happening you as a consumer you've got to be far more shall I say you're gonna be far more focused and intentional when it comes to what's happening and so if I and others join and we begin to say, you know what? We've knocked on these doors and a lot of these companies are not returning phone calls. They're not simply meeting with us.

Well, then if we then say to black folks, let's stop buying the products. Are we then going to follow suit? See, it's real simple. If you never, I mean, again, I want y'all to go back to what MLK said on April 3rd, 1968, when he named companies, when he named companies. And so this article here only mentions, you know, several brands. Folks, there are a ton of companies out there,

a ton of companies out there, a ton of companies out there that literally are not spending money. In fact, Mark Morial with the National Urban League actually sent out, there was a press release that the National Urban League sent out where Morial was calling on these companies to, I think it was like announce their commitment or something along those lines, or stay focused on their commitment when it came to doing business with us.

And so you're like, okay, I agree. I support that. But the question then is, what are we as black people going to do when it comes to them not supporting? What are we going to do when it comes to making those levels of demands? Are we going to actually stand with our organizations?

Here it is. National Urban League President CEO Mark Morial calls on businesses to update the American public on racial justice commitments after George Floyd's death. Tomorrow is the third anniversary. Corporate America committed anywhere from 30 to 100 billion dollars on racial justice, social justice, black economic social justice. As our segment

says, where's the money? And this, Scott, Rebecca, Cleo, has to be state of mind because if you do not change the money game, just people talking about health, if you do not change the money game, we are not having a real conversation. If we're not talking about changing the money game. and we know there are a whole lot of companies that are out there that spend crazy amount of money on outside legal services and they swear they can't find any black law firms. And the reason these black law firms can't grow, can't build

because they can't get the business. And then all of a sudden, the same thing. John Ryder's talking about this here. He's like, forget supply diversity. Call it business diversity. Where's the money? When it comes to PR companies, AV companies, catering companies, transportation companies, we can go down the line.

We are literally frozen out of the billions upon billions upon billions of dollars being spent every year. And frankly, a lot of us are just walking around acting like it's no big-ass deal, and then we wonder why we are broke. 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. and I can get the cow for free. Black people are going to buy Nikes anyway. They're going to buy Coca-Cola anyway. And you, Roland Martin, can protest all you want. Marc Morial can protest and say, show us the dollars, and, you know, for ESG reasons, we'll give that to you.

But your people are going to spend anyway. Our people, our communities spend almost, the last report I read was close to a trillion dollars in consumerism. We are just consumers and we're addicted to consumers. And so all those companies you list, you can put the graph back up, they know black people are going to buy anyway. And until they have a consciousness because it's the right thing to do because black people spend a lot of money with them, then I don't think that's going to change. There's got to be another hook for black people spend a lot of money with them, then I don't think that's going to change. There's got to be another hook for black people other than you and Mark Morial and others. When I was managing partner of the D.C. office of Reed Smith, I didn't have a supply side.

I just told my folks we're using black vendors for food, for rent, for parties, whatever the case might be. Go find me a black caterer. Go find me a black party giver, whatever. We're just going to be doing it with black people and brown people and black women primarily. And that was my directive. It wasn't hard. Sometimes they said they couldn't find it. I said, keep looking. You'll be okay. And I'll be honest with you. We gave more business to black people during my 10 years as managing partner than we've ever done before me or after me. And I don't know about the other offices, but it was just a commitment. That's all. And nobody questioned it as me being the managing partner. And so you got to have that consciousness about it and commitment to the commitment that I'm going to do business with black people and brown people, primarily black

people. And until you have that, and there's nothing compelling white America, white corporate America to do that, unless you get more black people in the C-suites, then it's just not going to happen because they know, just like the Democratic Party knows, that black people are going to vote for them no matter what. They can treat them like shit. And white corporate America feels the same way. Well, but here's the deal, though.

Sorry. But that was also, Cleo, I think this is also part of what happens when you have not had a real robust black on media, you know, again, you know, signaling the alarm as well. newscasts on BET. You've got TV One. There's no nightly newscasts. You don't have, we can go Diddy. He's got Revolt. They got a weekly news show. And so when you look at, you go, let's see, Up, you ain't got nothing there. I mean, I can go down the line. Same thing. I can go Black Radio. I can look at how, look, Scott, you do the work with NNPA, but the reality is none of them are daily newspapers. They're not churning out the kind of content on a regular basis. And

so this is what we are being confronted with. And the thing, Cleo, is that we have to have people who are asking these critical questions. And so that way we're not just giving away our resources. And the thing here is this here. Scott makes a point about Nike. He has an important deal. I was at the NAACP LDF and the Jordan brand. They were honoring them. And folks, let me be very clear. Let me be very clear. I'm not dissing anybody, but they announced this $140 million social justice initiative over 10 years. Okay? That's great. That's $14 million a year. If you said, hey, let me take a look at the top 30 urban cities, the top 30 urban cities, and say we're going to do initiatives in those cities,

and then you say take that $14 million, that comes out to $466,000 per city. Now, the Jordan brand alone generated $4.8 billion. We ain't talking Nike, just the Jordan brand. And so if you look at the amount of money black folks spend on Nike, just the Jordan brand. And so if you look at the amount of money black folks spend on Nike, black folks need to be asking the question, Nike, what are you spending on black people? What is your spend on black-owned media? What is your spend with black vendors? Because we're giving Nike a whole lot of money. Adidas, same thing.

A whole lot of money. In fact, Cleo was interesting. When we were at NBA All-Star game, I had on my Roland Martin unfiltered jacket. And somebody said, man, you going to wear that jacket all weekend? I said, why in the hell would I not wear my jacket all weekend? Do you want me to come here in a Nike jacket when Nike ain't paying me? Nike not advertising on my network?

So, hell, I'm going to walk around with my own damn brand. So if anybody see me walking around Salt Lake City, they're going to see Roland Martin unfiltered. And they don't know. They're going to like, hmm, I wonder what that is. They might Google it. But literally, I was conscious of what the hell I was wearing. And then again, we then go, man, I don't understand why we broke.

We're broke because we literally have massive outflow of resources from our community and our homes and our pockets. And not enough of us are asking, what's the inflow to our community from the same companies? There's a lot for me to attempt to address. But I'll start off like this. There was a time in the United States of America where black people came together more, where black people invested in black commerce, black industry, black empowerment more. And, of course, this happened even more before so-called desegregation. So we have a history of doing exactly what you're

suggesting that we do now. We know how to do it. However, we have been contaminated by whiteness. We've been contaminated by the anti-blackness within whiteness. So that's an issue in terms of our behavior. For example, Princeton and Yale and Harvard, one of the reasons they stay in business and don't have to ask the president for money is because their alumni helps to keep this source in place that affirmed and helped them to be what they are. Black colleges have a hard time getting alumni to donate because we have an anti-Black unconscious, because not because of a genetic disposition, but because of how we're conditioned. And another issue, before I go any further with that, and I hope this is not too controversial, you are often challenging white behavior, white fear, white importance, white privilege. And I believe that this is my analysis,

that during the first couple of years or so of your existence here, they made a gamble and gave you some money. No, no, no. Actually, no, no, no. Actually, in the first three years, nobody gave us money. In the first three years, nobody. Pardon me. I'm just letting you know. I don't know the timeline. I do. Okay. I'm sorry. I don't know the timeline. I'm sure you do. But my point is not the timeline. My point is that once upon a time, these people gave you some money is what I'm trying to, is my point. And it's my belief that they were auditioning you to see, okay, is he going to get quieter because of this money?

Is he going to say less critical things about white people if we give him this money, like other black people do who we buy out and pimp out all the time? Is he going to back off of the white critique if we give him some money? No, that's not going to happen. If we don't. If he don't give us no money, I mean, excuse me, if he does not stop critiquing whiteness and destabilizing the norm of white supremacy mythology, then we ain't giving him no money. very important that you continue to talk to black people about having a critical analysis, having self-respect, and stop mindlessly buying stuff to deal with the trauma or to try to interrupt the trauma of being black. See, ironically, a lot of the shopping that we do, whether it's Nikes and stuff like that, is to distract us from black pain because unresolved trauma generationally becomes normalized Black pain and we learn

to look at Blackness as depressing. So we want to go get some goodies, some Kentucky Fried Chicken, some whatever, to distract the pain that is not being properly addressed. Earlier in the show, the sister talked about

the generational mis-care that black people get from the medical system. I'll close with this because I know you're trying to get me to be quiet. No, no, no. Actually, no, no.

I got to get to Rebecca because I'm actually over time with the segment. So that's why I'm trying to get you to close. So I got to get to Rebecca. I'm going to close by saying this. I'm going to close

with saying that it's important that you continue to ask us to be critical about our choices. It's important that you ask us to be thoughtful and to be black affirming about what we do and not be random because it's going to take us to help you be sustained more than it's going to take Coca-Cola because they're not necessarily going to invest in somebody who's going to critique them. No, actually, I'll be perfectly honest. Out of all the companies, Coca-Cola's actually invested more than any other company.

Well, figure of speech. No, no, no. No, no, no, no. I just operate factually. I'm not going to be made from Coke. No, I just operate factually more than anybody else and actually more than all the other companies combined. Rebecca, here's something that we have actually experienced. And see, Scott talked about the need to get more black folks in C-suites.

I would augment that by saying get more black people in C-suites who actually have black consciousness. Because I can tell you right now, Rebecca, some of the biggest folks who have actually blocked us in black-owned media from accessing dollars have been black people in these corporations. Have been black people in ad agencies. I'm talking about, and so Rebecca, we're sitting here and I'm sitting here going, I'm like, what the hell are you sitting there for?

Like, we've had to call some folk out by saying, what the hell are you doing? You blocking the doorway. And so that's also what we're dealing with. You got black folks who are sitting on corporate boards of a lot of these companies. They ain't saying a damn thing, Rebecca, but they getting paid with their stock options

and they're fat and happy in their family, but not black folks collectively, even though it was black people collectively who fought to get these black folks on these corporate boards. Rebecca, go ahead. Well, Roland, I think one of the main things that I really want to point out to the audience, the issue here is that we never had desegregation.

We had segregation and then we went into integration. Dr. King never called for integration. He called for economic justice, i.e. economic desegregation, to desegregate resources so these resources can actually flow to Black entities and Black communities. If we actually had economic desegregation among advertising dollars, instead of the Black budget being rooted in marketing, i.e., you know, whenever there is a sorority event or fraternity event or other Black event, then there's marketing dollars and targeted towards Black folks. That money is spent by corporations, but it's not the true economic desegregation, which is more of the advertising

budget, where you're talking about the hundreds of billions of dollars that are spent. There needs to be economic desegregation in those advertising dollars where they're actually flowing to black-owned, black-held entities and not just black-targeted audiences by white-held and white-controlled entities. Folks, I'm going to close with this here. And I just want you to understand, and I purposely highlighted it right here. This literally is what King said in his mountaintop speech. And black people, can y'all please stop only playing the mountaintop part at the bottom of the speech? Because that ain't the most important two minutes of the speech.

That's really the hoop of a sermon. You should be focusing on the scripture. This is what King said. We don't have to argue with anybody. We don't have to curse and go around acting bad with our words. We don't need any bricks and bottles. We don't need any Molotov cocktails. We just need to go around to these stores and to these massive industries in our country

and say, God sent us by here to say to you that you're not treating his children right. And we've come by here to ask you to make the first item on your agenda fair treatment where God's children are concerned. Now, if you are not prepared to do that, we do have an agenda that we must follow, and our agenda calls for withdrawing economic support from you. Tomorrow, tomorrow, there are going to be a lot of corporations posting images and posting words on their social media, on Instagram and Twitter and Fanbase and LinkedIn and Snapchat, all these platforms commemorating the third anniversary of George Floyd's death. And if y'all see any one of these companies post anything about the death of George Floyd,

you should respond to every single one of them and say, where is the money, the commitment that you made? Where are the black contracts? How are you supporting black-owned businesses? And don't just talk about your foundation money, because, y'all, that's philanthropy. Let me be very clear. They can give one of our organizations,

and I'm going to say it, the NAACP just did a deal with Wells Fargo, and Wells Fargo gave the NAACP $50 million. But how many billions did black people lose in the home foreclosure crisis due to Wells Fargo?

How many black-owned businesses is Wells Fargo actually supporting? See, y'all, getting a philanthropic check is small change. In the words of Robin Harris, that's spare change. We just got to be demanding to folk, no, where's real investment? And so we're going to keep doing this segment and being very honest and open with you about the folk who support us and those who do not. I'll be back in a moment. It's a pivotal, pivotal time.

I remember Kevin Hart telling me that. He's like, man, what you doing, man? You got to stay on stage. And I was like, yeah you doing, man? You got to stay on stage. And I was like, yeah, well, I know. 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 call 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. Y'all don't think I'm there. I'm good. And he was absolutely right.

What show was the other time? This was one-on-one. Got it. During that time. So you're was one-on-one. Got it. During that time. So you're doing one-on-one, going great. Yeah. You're making money. You're like.

I'm like, I don't need to leave. I don't need to leave from Wednesday, Thursday to Sunday. I just didn't want to do that. I was just like, I'm going to stay here. Oh, I didn't want to finish work Friday, fly out, go do a gig Saturday, Sunday. I was like, I don't have to do that. And I lost a little bit of that hunger that I had in New York.

I would hit all the clubs and run around. You know, sometimes me and Chappelle or me and this one or that one. We'd go to the Comedy Cellar at 1 in the morning. I mean, that was our life. We loved it. You know, you do two shows in Manhattan, go to Brooklyn, leave Brooklyn, go to Queens, go to Jersey.

And I kind of just, I got complacent. I was like, I got this money, I'm good. I don't need to go, I don't need to go chase that because that money wasn't at the same level that I was making, but what I was missing was that training. Yes. Was that, was that. And it wasn't the money. It was the money.

You know, it was that, that's what I needed. I'm Faraiji Muhammad, live from L.A. 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 Blackstar Network. I'm Bill Duke.

This is De'Alla Riddle. What's up, y'all? I'm Will Packer. I'm Chrisette Michelle. Hi, I'm Chaley Rose, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. I'm not sure. The Thank you. We'll be right back. Tomorrow will mark the third anniversary of the death of George Floyd. And, of course, some things change in the aftermath of his death.

We have seen commemorations. We've seen murals. We've seen all sorts of things take place all across the country. We've seen murals, we've seen all sorts of things take place all across the country. We've seen some changes locally, some changes with the law. We have not seen the George Floyd Justice Act, of course, being passed by Congress. We have not seen a number of other things happen. We've seen people make all sorts of announcements and make pledges and things along those lines. But what really have we seen that's substantive that has changed?

There are authors of a book called His Name is George Floyd. It details that fatal encounter and tells the untold story. Joining us now is the 2023 Pulitzer Prize winning authors of His Name is George Floyd. Tolu Olonyepe. Is he on? I'm sorry. And Robert Samuels. Good to see you.

Tolu, you there? Good seeing you as well. Okay, all right, good. I see both of you now. All right, so Robert Samuels here. Good to see you. Tolu, you there? Good seeing you as well. Okay. All right, good. Okay. I see both of you now. All right. So glad to have you here.

So first and foremost, as you were working on this book, numerous stories are being written. Obviously, you were dealing with the real time of this thing being untold. But were both of you surprised with how, out of all the black deaths we've seen, frankly, over the past, I would say, 10, 15, 20 years, how this caused a far different reaction than anything we've seen in recent history? Yeah, I will say I was surprised. I'll be very honest. You know, in journalism, sometimes you get surprised.

And I was surprised at first. I had, just like Robert, I had been involved in some of the previous hashtags covering the protests and the uprisings after Trayvon Martin, after Michael Brown, after Tamir Rice, after so many other names that we hear about. And we did see, you know, people take to the streets and we did see people decide that they wanted to demand change. But this time after George Floyd was killed, it was different. We saw a broader swath of the public come out. We saw a number of white people who had sat at home in past protests decided now they wanted to speak out and be

involved in the movement. And so we realized that it was something different and something different was happening in the culture and that it was going to be a different kind of story that we needed to tell. We needed to tell not only the story of the moment and the story of the person, but the story of the country that we all live in and we all claim to. And we thought it was important to shine a light on the underbelly of the American promise, the things that people don't always see when they talk about the American dream. And so we told the story of George Floyd's life, taking it back to Houston's Third Ward, showing the proud American family that he came from, and also showing the injustices that he faced long before he ran into the police officer who took his life. You know, Robert, I think that a lot of people, if we want

to be honest, I think what the difference maker here was the number of white folks who were out there protesting. That's what caught folks off guard. This also, the aftermath of his death, it was the first time in American history where polling data showed a majority of Americans actually agreeing and supporting a black social justice movement. It was really phenomenal to think about. And now when we look, it seems a little bit strange. But when people saw that video, I think a few things happened, particularly in the white community. For a number of people who are people of color and black people in this country, it felt like an unfortunate run-of-the-mill incident, because we understand how police brutality operates. For people who don't live in those sorts of communities, the visceral footage of seeing Derek Chauvin, an agent of the state, mercilessly, almost nonchalantly snuffing the life out of a black man, it told the tale that many people didn't believe.

And in a time of COVID when everyone was staying home, that's what prompted them to move. And I think it's really stunning to think about how quickly we forgot some of the lessons that we learned in 2020, as long as the lessons that we learned about the life of George Floyd and systemic racism, which is a part of the reason why we talk so much about it in the book. When you talk about, when you look at where we are now, again, tomorrow, the third anniversary, and you're already seeing so many people, yeah, we're good, we've done enough. It really reminds me of the Reconstruction period that really only lasted 12, 13 years. DuBois put it around 20. But it was, you know, three, four, five years in,

it was sort of like, yeah, okay, we've done enough of these freed slaves. Can we move on now? I mean, this country is always in a hurry to move on from a racial reckoning. Yes, and in addition to moving on, there's also the backlash, just like we saw the backlash to Reconstruction and we saw racial terror rear its head at the end of the 19th century and at the turn of the 20th century happened. That happened in George Floyd's family, where his family was able to build up some wealth during Reconstruction and had it all stripped away during the backlash by racial terrorists who wanted to strip the wealth from a black wealthy man in North Carolina at the time.

And now we're seeing a version of that with a backlash to the Black Lives Matter movement, people saying that critical race theory is the biggest problem in the country and that we should be fighting these discussions and banning books. And that backlash is what we're living through. And not only people saying we should move on, people saying that just the mere discussion of racial injustice is a threat and is something that should be stamped out and should be blocked and should be met with the sheer power of government.

And so we're living through that as we speak. And I think that's one of the reasons it's so important that people educate themselves. So important that people learn the history. So important that people learn about the person behind this movement, learn about George Floyd himself and how he faced different trials and tribulations and the injustices that we talk about in the book, because it's important to know that he was someone who tried to breathe even before he ran into the police officer and struggled

to do so in America. And one of the reasons we wrote the book was to try to shine a light on those injustices, in addition to the injustice of police brutality and police misconduct that we saw when George Floyd was murdered. Well, I'll tell you, Tolu, I think I fundamentally believe that it was his death. And when a lot of folks in white America saw the reaction, that led them to go, oh, no, hell no. Let's have this racial backlash because they saw young white folks and others begin to understand and say, this thing is real. It must be stopped. Exactly. Exactly. And we document that in the book as well. I'll let Robert take over, but we cover that in the book. We cover how it made people uncomfortable and how a lot of people

decided to capitalize on that for political reasons. Well, and I think it's also important to remember that we go through a bunch of data in the book. And yes, you saw the biggest support for our social justice movement, a black rights movement. In July of that year, of course, George Floyd was murdered in May 2022. By September of 2020, those numbers had begun to recede. And sometimes I think we think about critical race theory and all of the backlash that's been happening. But we're not just seeing a backlash. You know, on Capitol Hill, just in the past two weeks, you saw Republicans and Democrats come together to pass a disapproval resolution for the District of Columbia to enact criminal justice reform that was almost a carbon copy of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

So when we're thinking about how we reflect on those days—you know, we saw in the earlier segment you asking questions about companies who our reporting showed almost $50 billion pledged to social justice and civil rights after George Floyd was murdered. But there are also big, serious questions to be asked of both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill about whether they still believe or support some of the things that we once took for granted, including banning chokeholds and banning no-knock warrants. Let me see. Let me get a quick question from each one of my panelists. Cleo, I'll start with you. What's your question for our guests?

Greetings, brothers. Good to meet you. My question is, I have a comment, and I want to see what you think about it. I believe that white people were particularly responsive to the murder of George Floyd because it happened during the COVID-19 epidemic. I think the COVID-19 epidemic created uncertainty in this society and fear that it had never experienced before, and instability in terms of what's going to happen next that it never experienced before. Donald Trump, I believe, was destroyed by COVID-19 and might have been president if it wasn't for COVID-19 because it was a close call.

Because we saw Philando Castile's body on Facebook covered with blood, with the little girl in the back screaming. We've seen horrible murders before. We've seen what happened with Walter Scott and Eric Garner, who was murdered in our face. However, none of those occurred during the COVID-19 shakeup of society. What's the question? I got to get to the question, Cleo.

I was getting ready to get to it right when you said that. I was going to ask them, what do you think the COVID-19 shakeup had to do with white people focusing on this issue temporarily, the issue of injustice toward black people? Well, I think for a lot of people, they couldn't look away. And when the video of Philando Castile and Walter Scott were shown, there are other things going on. It was easy to distract yourself from the cruelty of the reality of racism. But the isolation that people were living in at the time meant that they could not look away. It was all anyone could see. And it prompted that discussion.

I think there's a lesson here, right? The lesson being that when people, including white people, can focus on the true injustices of racism, the cruelty of how it plays out every day, they move, they can march, their minds can be changed. But the reality becomes when it's blocked by smoke and mirrors and distractions and other ways of viewing things that can detract from the life and the lived experiences of black people in this country, then it becomes a much harder battle. Scott, your question. Well, my question, good afternoon, is where do we go from here? I mean, one of the most amazing things I saw after George Floyd was the continuing of killing of Black men at the hands of the police state. We still don't have the George Floyd Act. And so what are our next steps as a community?

If you ask representatives of the Floyd family, they would say that we have to continue to push for legislative change, because you can't really change the culture without changing the law and requiring there to be different kinds of responsibilities for police officers, which requiring consequences when they overstep the boundaries. And so it doesn't look like there's going to be any change at the federal level, but the activists are still pushing. They're pushing on the local level. They're pushing in states like Minnesota and local communities and trying to win city municipal

raises in places like Jacksonville to be able to make change. And so I do think that this will be a grassroots approach, where realizing that it's very difficult to get things done in Washington, D.C., grassroots activists are going to continue to push at the local level and try to make some of these changes, including in places like Washington, D.C., in the face of congressional intransigence, to try to make something happen. So I do think that's where the next step is going to be. Until we have a difference of opinion in Washington. They're going to have to be changed at the local level in order to lead to major change nationally.

Rebecca. Robert Antelouse, thank you so much for writing this book. My question is, in response to the murder of George Floyd, have we missed the moment? We can miss the moment, right? And we miss the moment when we don't remember the lessons we learned from 2020, and not just the lessons of 2020, but the fact that George Floyd was a dynamic man who had long believed in the American dream,

but what our reporting showed was that every step when you looked at his family history, his educational experience, his housing experience, his experience with the health care system, when he asked and needed help, his experience with the criminal justice system, at every step there were things, there were gaps in the social safety net that awaited him, that were just there for him to fall through. And so when we think about missing the moment, you know, the moment is still here because we get the chance to live, and George Floyd did not get the chance to live. That's a part of what we hope the book accomplishes. But the ultimate tale, I think, is that now that we know and now that so many

people's eyes were opened to how racism operates in America, whether or not we can continue to encourage people, whether they be a lawmaker or a police officer or a teacher or someone just trying to go about their lives, to be focused on looking at people as human with nuance and context and all the things that we believed were promised to us by virtue of being born in the United States. Folks, the book, his name is George Floyd, One Man's Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice. We certainly thank Robert and Talou for joining us.

Gentlemen, great job, and congratulations on the Pulitzer Prize. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thanks a bunch. All right, folks, got to go to break. We'll be right back. Roland Martin, Unfiltered, on the 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. There's 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, raise $100,000. We're behind $100,000, so we want to hit that. Y'all money makes this possible. Checks and money orders go to P.O. Box 57196, Washington, D.C. 20037-0196. The cash app is Dollar Sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal is R. Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. We talk about blackness and what next on the black table with me, Greg,

democracy in the United States is under siege on this list of bad actors. It's easy to point out the Donald Trump's, the Marjorie Taylor greens, or even the United States Supreme court as the primary villains. But as David Pepper, author, scholar, and former politician himself says, there's another factor that trumps them all and resides much closer to many of our homes. His book is Laboratories of Autocracy, a wake-up call from behind the lines. So these state houses get hijacked by the far right, then they gerrymander, they suppress the opposition, and that allows them to legislate

in a way that doesn't reflect the people of that state. David Pepper joins us on the next Black Table. 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 One. 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. unfiltered. And. All right, folks, need your help finding a critical missing person out of Florida. 79-year-old Frederick Bacon was last seen in Manatee County at around 11 p.m. on Wednesday, May 17th. He was last seen wearing a purple sweatshirt, dark blue slacks, black leather dress shoes, and carrying a black toiletry bag. He's 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighs 125 pounds, with gray hair and brown eyes. The missing veteran, a Morehouse graduate, and one of the first black men to earn a Ph.D. in physics from Berkeley, has dementia. According to family and friends, Frederick did not have money, a phone,

or other trackable devices on him when he disappeared. Anyone with information about Frederick Bacon is urged to call the Manatee County, Florida Sheriff's Office at 941-747-3011 at 941-747-3011. 941-747-3011. Folks, we told you about this story earlier regarding a black man who was shot and killed in Mississippi. Well, a Mississippi grand jury has indicted three former Jackson police officers for the murder of this brother. Avery Willis, Kenya McCarty and james land are facing charges related to keith muriel's death on new year's eve.

Here's what jackson mayor had to say about the indictments at a news conference today. wrongful death lawsuit against the now formal officers. The lawsuit claims the officers used excessive deadly force and failed to render medical aid to Muriel. This, of course, is really a shameful story, folks. And one of the numerous stories that we've had to talk about beforehand.

And so here's a sound from uh the mayor my condolences and regret to the family of mr keith muriel i believe that we have to acknowledge that acknowledge his humanity and the individual that he was and the tragic loss that will be shared amongst his family much different than the rest of us. And so I want to start there. Secondly, I want to speak to the fact that we believe that the video that displays the actions of these officers is required to not only have been released to the family, in which it has been released at this point, but it has to be released to community. And that has been this administration's position and the Jackson Police Department's position from the very beginning. At the time of the events and the subsequent investigation, the investigation was conducted by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.

And so we chose not to release the video at that time because we did not want to compromise the ongoing investigation. But consistent with the position that we believe that this needed to be released, we not only stated publicly, but we also wrote correspondence to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation acknowledging that we believe that this needed to be released. Now that we have been informed that the investigation has concluded and that charges have been brought, we intend to release this video, one we already have to the family, but we intend to release it to the media. I want to be clear on what we believe we have viewed in this video, and it is voluminous.

It is from the perspective of various officers' body cams and also other camera footage in the area. We believe that we have seen actions which are excessive, disheartening, and tragic. And we believe that that is not representative of the vision of public safety that not only this administration wants to put forward, but that we believe the men and women within the Jackson Police Department want to put forward. We want to build a vision of public safety, which is based in community love and also based on trust within our community. And these actions do not appear to be consistent with that vision. And so we wanted to make it clear while we were releasing this video and that we are on the side of justice and want to see justice take place. All right. So these officers were indicted for murder, folks. This here right here, you see this is a screenshot. This is a website where they have all the videos of the videos have been released.

And this got, again, an absolute heinous, heinous story. And, again, folks probably are shocked that a Mississippi grand jury actually indicted three cops for murder. Yeah, it's got to be bad, without a doubt. I get these cases confused with so many killings of black men by the police. But in Mississippi, getting an indictment and having to fire these officers is the appropriate and right thing to do. The question is, when they pick the jury, will they pick a jury that has the consciousness to vote to convict? And will the state's case be tight enough and right enough in order to obtain that conviction. One of many cases, and I think that, you know, whether it's the George Floyd case or any other cases coming out of Minnesota, there's a blueprint for prosecuting these police officers now.

I hope the Mississippi prosecutors go by it. Here's what's so crazy here, Rebecca. The now-retired police chief, first of all, said that this man had been tased more than 80 times and was forcefully kneed in the back. James Davis, who was the police chief, initially said that he had a medical emergency and died on the scene. It was the mayor who forcefully came out against that,

and that police chief retired a few days before all of this came out. And so it goes to show you what happens when you have these police chiefs who also protect these officers. And in the case here, a black police chief. Go ahead. You know, I guess there really was a medical emergency. It was a medical emergency of police killing someone. That would constitute a medical emergency when you have a killing by the state. You know, this goes back to the whole idea about anti-Blackness. You can be Black in this country, and you could still be a perpetrator, and you could push systemic white oppression, even in your black skin. And so it's one of the things like being an anti-racist isn't just for white people, but it's for black people too, because we've internalized so much crap and so much anti-blackness that sometimes when we get in positions of power, we then become the gatekeeper or we then become the aggressor or the perpetrator

against other black folks. So once again, this is sad. I also wonder, you know, this is Mississippi, you know, this is Jackson. Is it going to be the current court system that this case is going to go through or is this going to be the newly white segregated court system that the state ledge has passed into law. You know, this police chief said that his retiring, Cleo, was five years overdue. He retired on Friday. Guess when he get indicted? Around the same time. Then a video gets released. Looks like he didn't want to be around to catch that heat. Well, I think that Chokeway, the mayor, Junior, is a mayor of Jackson, kind of crystallized the point you always raise, Roland, about the importance of voting. To have somebody like that in charge is helpful, just like it was a good idea to have Marilyn Mosby in charge when she was in charge in Baltimore. These are advocates for Black people. But yes, as the sister just mentioned, you know,

internalized oppression among Black people is, in my opinion, getting worse and worse because we still focus on the redundancy of racism, the redundancy of post-mutality, which we should challenge, but we focus on that and neglect the trauma and the intergenerational harm and injury that's been done to Black behavior and self-concept. Dealing with Black behavior and self-concept is even relevant to the issues that you raised earlier about supporting this news channel, this Black-focused place here for us to get the news. We've got to work on that, Roland. We've got to focus on looking at internalized oppression and how it manifests, because from my perspective,

it's at least as bad as a problem of white supremacy. And we keep on ignoring it in terms of critical focus on it toward coming up with solutions, because people keep getting, becoming the first Black this, the first Black Supreme Court, the first Black president, the first black this, that, and the other. But often it doesn't trickle down into a black protected paradigm shift that stops the conveyor belt of black destruction and injury in this society. So we got to go to that other level. And this guy quit because I think he came out of his trance for a few moments and realized,

oh, damn, I'm in trouble. And I'm black, too. This is humiliating. I'm getting out of Dodge. Well, we have to work on creating black children that become black adults who have a natural impulse to care about black people who get in these positions. Right now, people get in these positions sometimes, including these corporate people that you mentioned earlier, it's because they're white enough for the job. Folks, hold tight one second. We come back. Remember, two musicians, one of them, Bill Lee, the father

of Spike Lee. He passed away today at the age of 94. And the great Tina Turner, she passed away in Switzerland at the age of 83. We will memorialize both of them next. Roland Martin, Unfiltered, on the Blackstar Network. Next, right here on The Frequency, the woman they call the gifted eye,

hip-hop celebrity photographer Koi 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 in the next episode of The Frequency on the Blackstar Network. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach. The wealth gap has literally not changed in over 50 years, according to the Federal Reserve. On the next Get Wealthy, I'm excited to chat with Jim Castleberry, CEO of Known Holdings. They have created a platform, an ecosystem to bring resources to Blacks and people of color being able to be successful,

we still aren't seeing the mass level of us being lifted up. That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Blackstar Network. Thank you. 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. All right, folks. The news came down this afternoon that legendary Tina Turner passed away. This was a statement that was released on her Facebook page.

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Turner with her music and her boundless passion for life. She enchanted millions of fans around the world and inspired the stars of tomorrow. Today we say goodbye to a dear friend who leaves us all her greatest work, her music. All our heartfelt compassion goes out to her family. Tina, we will miss you dearly.

This came from courtesy of Peter Lindberg. Of course, Tina Turner was born in Mississippi. Of course, Annie Mae Bullock. And, of course, in a segregated hospital in 1939. She grew up there before moving to St. Louis as a teenager. That's where she met R&B musician Ike Turner and they formed the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, one of the most formidable live acts in American history.

Throughout the 60s and 70s, the duo released albums that included hit songs like River Deep, Mountain High, A Fool in Love and Proud Mary. As a solo artist, Tina Turner enjoyed a career resurgence in the 1980s with hit songs like What's Love Got to Do With It, which won her record of the year and best pop vocal performance She also has had an illustrious movie career with films like Last Action Hero, The Mayor, and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. She also, of course, wrote for the film. Her book, first of all, was the basis of the movie, What's Love Got to Do With It?

that earned the Angela Baskin Oscar nomination as well. She also wrote for the movie, The Last Action Hero, and the movie, The Last Action Hero. She also wrote for the movie, The Last Action Hero, and the movie, What's Love Got to Do With It, that earned the Angela Baskin Oscar nomination as well. Joining us right now from Houston is award-winning drummer Cora Coleman. Cora, you have performed with the likes of Beyonce, Prince, and so many others,

and just a number of people just marveled at Tina Turner, not only her gritty singing style, but her in just unbelievable energy on the stage. Absolutely unmatched live performer. Absolutely, Roland. Thank you for having me on the show, and thank you for allowing me a few moments just to share my heart. It's definitely, you know, mourning and honoring her legacy and the power that she has been as an essence and an icon for our community and just for the world.

It's interesting because it's this month, 10 years ago, when she was at the Mrs. Carter, I was playing with Beyonce on the Mrs. Carter tour, and she came to the show. So it's like this month makes 10 years. And it's this real apropos and sort of full circle to be celebrating her life and her legacy and the impact that she's had on all of our hearts. And not just musically and, you know, coming from church and to rock and to, you know, her spiritual expression, but just as a businesswoman, as a creative, her presence has been bar none, you know. She, of course, endured a lot and had to deal with the reality of domestic violence. But leaving that and really having a second act was also tremendous.

And again, when she came out with that solo album, again, selling 5 million copies, I mean, she took the world by storm and embarking on a 177 city tour and really became an international icon. She froze there. So let's get her ceiling together. This is what President Barack Obama had to say.

Tina Turner was raw. She was powerful. She was unstoppable. And she was unapologetically herself, speaking and singing her truth through joy and pain, triumph and tragedy. Today we join fans around the world in honoring the queen of rock and roll and a star whose light will never fade. All right, do we have Cora back?

Yes. All right, Cora, go right ahead. Mm-hmm. All right, so we have you. Okay. So before we were there, I was talking about what she endured, dropping that album, selling 5 million copies, going to this 177-city world tour,

and really that's when she became a world icon with that, if you can say, Tina Turner 2.0. Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. I think if I could encapsulate Tina Turner in one word, it would be resilience. You know, as a woman in the industry, it is, you know, more than challenging to be able to have your footing and then to have what people would say would be the end of your career, only to repurpose yourself and redefine yourself and then impact the world on the level that she did is just, you know, it's unheard of. So resilience is that

she is, that is her essence. That is her, that is a, that is what we know her to be and to recover from, you know, the abuse that she did and to repackage herself and to find that spiritual center, you know, on the level that she did, it's incredible. It's incredible. Interesting. You talk about, you know, what she had to say in terms of being a woman in the industry. This is her talking to Canadian television where she was talking about respect in the music industry. I would say endurance. Enduring all

that I had to endure until I got here, meaning the double shows a night and then the working, the road that I had to take by not having a record, meaning there's nothing wrong with working in Las Vegas if you enjoy it, but if you want to be someplace else, that means that you enjoy it less. So it was like working in a fair amount of hotels, doing mostly all the conventions that was wonderful and

fun and gratifying. But then when it no longer became fun and I wanted to get back into this, then the impatient part started. Who believed in you along the way? Me. All me. It's, my family's very small and I don't really discuss my desires with my family in that sense. That's, that's all very private, you know. A few very close friends that I would talk about, yeah, they knew I wanted to be an actress, but that's like, sure, and I want to be a singer. I mean, everybody has all these things that they want to be.

It's like, sure, maybe you'll get there. But it wasn't that person there that's going, do it, you'll get it, don't worry, you know. But then when I changed management and I sat down and talked to Roger Davies, he believed in me, or else he would not have taken the time. He finally came to see the show and saw that the potential was there and that there needed to be some changes.

And I believed that he could do it. It was incredible to make the realization now as we're going to talk about. There was an exchange there knowing that this young boy could do it. And he knew you could do it. And he knew I could do it. And we both want the same thing. You have been awesome. That right there, she said, belief in herself, Cora.

At the end of the day, that's what it boils down to. Absolutely. Absolutely. You have to be your biggest cheerleader. You have to be there. It's you when the audience is gone. It's you when you're in the practice room, in the studio, when you're writing, when you're at your lowest point. It's you and your spirit self and the ancestors and your dreams that are in between making it and not.

And so I understand what she means when she says, I had to cheer me on. Because there are oftentimes in the industry and in family and the dynamics of friendships, and they're not always there for you, you know, or they don't see what it is that it takes to be you. So Tina Turner was a prime example for us to not give up on ourselves, to see ourselves on the other side of what could appear to be the worst part of life. And she has shined and she will continue to shine and continue to be that example for us. And I take a final comment. I take it. It was something special to actually be in her presence as she came to pay homage to a Beyonce. Oh, yeah. There are certain moments in my career that as I'm working with icons and I experience icons,

it reminds me that I am where I'm supposed to be and it resonates deeply. I remember doing the Rio with Prince in Las Vegas and I remember Michael Jackson coming to the show and seeing him backstage and those moments of really the ancestors passing the legacy, passing the torch for her to be there, for Tina Turner to be there and tip her crown to the queen and to be able to share that moment is, is, it's timeless. All right, Cora Coleman,

we surely appreciate you joining us. Share your thoughts and reflection of the passing of Tina Turner. Thank you, Rolla. All right, folks, gotta go to break. We come back, we'll hear from our panel. We'll also talk to singer Brenda Russell about Tina Turner and also share some other interviews that she did as well.

Folks, you're watching Roller Barton Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. hatred on the streets a horrific scene a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence that descended into deadly violence. Go to that soil! You will not replace us! White people are losing their damn lives. There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to the US Capitol. We've seen shivers. 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 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 boys and the Boogaloo Boys America there's going to be more of this 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 I'm Faraji Muhammad, live from L.A. 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 Culture. Weekdays at 3, only on the Blackstar Network. © transcript Emily Beynon So many entertainers have been reacting to the passing of Tina Turner. One of them, Lionel Richie, he posted this on Instagram. What a life, what a show, what a talent. Your resilience was a lesson for us all. I will miss you, my dear friend.

Thanks for us all. I will miss you, my dear friend. Thanks for the memories. There were four photos that he posted on social media of him actually on stage with Tina Turner. That's one of them right there. And of course, like I said, they took the stage together as well. Angela Bassett, of course, who won, who, excuse me, was nominated for the Oscar for portraying Tina Turner, she also spoke about it. She says, how do we say farewell to a woman who owned her pain and trauma and used it as a means to help change the world? Through her courage in telling her story, her commitment to stay the course in her life, no matter the sacrifice, and her determination to carve out a space and rock and roll for herself and for others who look like her, Tina Turner

showed others who lived in fear what a beautiful future filled with love, compassion, and freedom should look like. Her final words to me, for me, were, you never mimicked me. Instead, you reached deep into your soul, found your inner Tina, and showed her to the world. I shall hold these words close to my heart for the rest of my days. I'm honored to have known Tina Turner. I'm humbled to have helped show her to the world. So on today, while we mourn the loss of this iconic voice and presence, she gave us more than we could have ever asked.

She gave us her whole self. And Tina Turner is a gift that will always be simply the best. Angels sing thee to thy rest, Queen. You know, Rebecca, when we think about Tina Turner, that was a documentary that was done on her. And she remarked about, again, how often folks brought up the violence that she had to endure from Ike Turner. And it was hard watching it because she said, no matter how many times I try to leave that, I get pulled back into it. And that is going to be with me for the rest of my life. And it really was frustrating for her when doing interviews, folks would bring that up,

and it was like they would always come back to that as if that's where her story ended. But suffice to say, that wasn't, frankly, the only history, if you will, that we know about Tina Turner. I mean, she did come out of that and came on the other side with roses. Tina Turner's story didn't begin with Ike, and it didn't end with Ike. Tina Turner was her. She was an original baddie before we even knew what baddie was. She was a legend and icon. She had the style and grace like Josephine Baker.

She had the charisma, the sex appeal like Eartha Kitt. And she had the soulfulness like Nina Simone. Tina Turner was the complete package as a performer, as a musician, as a singer, and to even see this generation that was so impacted in entertainment, like Beyonce, by Tina Turner. She was in a class by herself, and her name can be written without Ike. Her career doesn't even have to be qualified by that experience and that time with Ike. She's a woman who could stand on her own. You know, Scott, what's interesting about, again,

they were, when she came on the scene with Ike Turner, they were doing covers, they were on the R&B charts. But while they were doing, she was really doing rock. And to be a black woman doing rock and roll was also totally different.

And she was inducted, of course, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. So she wasn't a soul singer. She was a rock and roll singer. Yeah, absolutely. And she was fearless about it. That was her music space.

And I'm looking at the pictures with her and I, how painful and difficult it had to be for her to do promotional items and for her to do album covers with him, knowing that she was a fighter in domestic abuse and what she did to overcome it. But, you know, the one thing I think about when I think about Tina Turner isn't Ike Turner. I think about the fact that she just stopped touring in 2007. She was in her mid-60s. And not only was she beautiful, bright, and talented,

but she didn't look like she was in her 60s and 50s. I mean, she was wearing short dresses. Obviously, her legs were famous. But she was a sex symbol. Despite it all, and having overcome all that she did, she was a sex symbol, man, in her 50s and 60s. Look at the video that you're showing right now. That is a beautiful woman, a total woman, one of confidence, one of entertainment prowess. And I think we fell in love not just because she was a sex symbol, but she was a survivor and succeeded. I think my colleague is right when she says when you write the story of Tina Turner, Ike Turner is not in that story. Right. He's way back and succeeded. I think my colleague is right when she says, when you write the story of Tina Turner, Ike Turner's not in that story, right? He's way back and gone in a bad memory, and we leave that there. And so I'll keep fond memories of Tina Turner, but she was just really, really awesome. Whether you were a young man or an older man, you knew this was a beautiful woman who was super talented.

One of the things that in reading that quote there from Angela Bassett, Cleo, she talked about her overcoming that pain. And that was a hard, hard road for her to travel. and a lot of people, especially a lot of women, got a tremendous amount of courage out of seeing Tina Turner overcome that painful history? Some of you guys may or may not know that once upon a time I was a bass player and I was in the business for a while. Matter of fact, I heard that you get ready to talk to Brenda Russell, who I used to know a while back. I'm sure she'll remember me. However, I just want to mention that when I first heard

What's Love got to do with it, it was when I discovered how talented Tina was. I knew she was a singer. I knew she had a very wild image, and I knew she had a very raspy voice, but I didn't realize her musicality until things slowed down

and she beautifully sung that song What's Love Got To Do With It. That's the song that introduced me to the talent that was Tina. She did become iconic and we will miss her, but it's interesting that people have said that she

started before Ike and she will go on after Ike. But she is the one who said that every time she gets in conversation with people, they bring up Ike. Because people see Ike and her as people who have been, in terms of music, inseparable. And I'll close with this potentially controversial comment. We don't really know the true story of Ike and Tina Turner. We know the Hollywood story of Ike and Tina Turner. For example, the rape scene that occurred in What's Love Got To Do With It? was fictitious and never happened.

So that's a lot more I can say, but all I'll say is that we'll miss this great talent. And yes, she did make a statement that people will never forget musically. It was in 1991 in terms of, well, first of all, 2021 when Tina Turner was inducted as a solo artist in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I got to go to a break. We come back, we're going to actually hear the speech that she gave at her induction. You're watching Roller Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. © BF-WATCH TV 2021 I'm Faraji Muhammad, live from L.A.

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. 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 six on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Only on the 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. There's 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. Waits $100,000. We're behind $100,000.

So we want to hit that. Your money makes this possible. Checks and money orders go to P.O. Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. The Cash app is Dollar Sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal is R. Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Thank you. We'll be right back. Overwinter Network put this tweet out here. She lived a full life without regret

and leaves behind a beautiful legacy. Thank you for everything, Tina Turner. You are simply the best. And here is some of the conversation between those two. You're a role model for me, but you are a role model for the world. Because I remember when I was interviewing in 2008, you and Cher in Las Vegas.

Yes. And we started talking about aging. I remember when I was interviewing in 2008, you and Cher in Las Vegas. Yes. And we started talking about aging. And you were so profoundly eloquent. How do you feel, though, about getting older? I have to say that I welcome it with open arms, because my senior life is so much better than when I was young. I am the wisdom, the way I think, my attitude towards things.

It really, there is a change when you're still healthy and you still look good. Yeah. So your whole outlook changes on everything. And you're really happy. You don't mind being 68. The number doesn't mean a thing. It just doesn't. It doesn't mean a thing. It just doesn't. It doesn't mean a thing.

You have no regretting of it? Not of death. Not of any of that. No. All of that is, I've done it. You say loudly and proudly that you're 73? Yes. But I am at a stage where...

Oprah, you can get emotional when you start to talk about that, to be able to get to this stage and say, even when it's time to leave and go to another planet, excited about that because I'm curious. I want to know what is it about?

Nobody can tell you because nobody has come back to. So I'm not excited about to die, but I don't regret it when it's time for me. I've done what I came here to do. Now it's pleasure. I've got great friends. I have a great man in my life. Now I have a great husband. And I'm happy. Yeah.

You're obviously a role model for me. Folks, that was, again, a tweet posted by the Oprah Winfrey Network. Joining us right now is singer-songwriter Brenda Russell. Brenda, glad to have you here on Roller Martin Unfiltered. Just your thoughts and reflections about the passing of the legendary Tina Turner. Well, I was a huge fan of Tina's. And I remember I had the first time I met her, I used to live in Toronto, Ontario. And she came and played in Toronto and I went to see her.

And she was looking for a singer for her group. I was about 17, right? And when I went into the dressing room she she took my arm like gransel and heddle gransel and uh what are they called hansel and gretel and and you know how they she squeezed her under that see how plump they were you know that's how she was doing to me on my arm like she was actually feeling for muscles because she works out quite well with the singers and dancers so she was feeling my arm and I thought is she going to eat me what's happening here but that was my first encounter with Tina and then my next encounter she was recording one of my songs that I

co-wrote with the Mark Carley and Kaiming. And that was tremendous because we were insane fans. And the song was called Dancing in My Dreams. And she recorded it on her Wildest Dreams album. Talked about her being fit. And again, that look, those legs, those arms, those shoulders, absolutely legendary. All that dancing she did on stage, she didn't need to work out. That was a workout within itself. That's what I'm talking about.

You had to be ready for Tina, honey, because she was not playing. When she would come out, remember when she was, I forgot what they call it, the little thing that they flew her out over the audience's heads? She's like, you know, 30 feet above our heads with high heels and this little basket thing, whirling around and singing in her 70s. I'm like, this woman was inspiring to a lot of women because she showed us how to fight for yourself, how to push for yourself to get what you needed and wanted. And I love that about her. Also, her singing style.

I mean, again, she was I mean, she I mean, that that that gritty voice that, you know, born in Tennessee, you know, been on the road. I mean, she was a live performer. And so her voice wasn't one like a lot of studio artists. I mean, that voice was home on the road. And when you hear Tina Turner, you know it's her. You're not mistaking her for anybody else. I know. So in love with her.

So proud of her recording her song. Well, she certainly definitely qualifies as a legend or an icon. One of my panelists here says you might know him, Cleo Monago. He said he played, what did you say, Cleo? You played bass? What did you say? I played bass, but Brenda meant when we did a fundraiser for the Amasi Center in Los Angeles. Oh, that was a long time ago. Yeah.

Yes. That was a few minutes ago. And last time I saw you, we were both in first class flying to New York. You were getting ready to work on Color Purple and do some writing with the team. Yeah. How you been, sister? Fantastic. My life is a beautiful thing.

Thank God. Well, it is. It's good to see you. It's been a while. Thank you. Well, Brenda, we certainly are glad that you could join us and share your thoughts about Tina Turner. She certainly will be remembered for folks for years to come. For years, decades.

And she will be showing everybody how to sing. Forever. Indeed, indeed. Brenda, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you so much, Roland. Love you. Thank you very much.

2005, folks. Tina Turner was honored by the Kennedy Center Honors. Here's Oprah Winfrey presenting her at Kennedy Center. Millions of fans all over the world. I am one of them. But I'm not just a fan. If there was an award for biggest known groupie of Tina Turner's, I would win that title.

About seven years ago, Tina made her very first appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show, And she came in for a rehearsal. And during that rehearsal, I got hooked. I turned to the producer of my show and I said, I want whatever that is. I want some of that energy. I want some of that exuberance, I want some of that passion, I want some of that fire. So I was so caught up in all things Tina that I had a wig made. So that I could shake my hair like Tina. And it was Stedman who finally came to me one day and said, you've taken this too far. He said, nobody else will tell you this, but

they are all thinking this. You are not Tina Turner. The truth is, no one will ever be like Tina Turner because there's only one. I remember being in Houston at a concert there, and Tina was on stage rocking it out, singing, We Don't Need Another Hero, and we were all on our feet. We were screaming, jumping up and down. We were so ecstatic with pleasure. And a young woman turned to me and she had tears streaming from her face and she says, I can do it now. I know I can do

it. I can go home and I can do what it takes to make my life better. And that is the lesson really that Tina Turner has taught us all through her music and her life, that we can do what we need to do to make our lives better. And I say to you, Tina Turner, we don't need another hero. We need more heroines like you. I love you, I respect you, and you make me so proud to spell my name W-O-M-A-N. 2021, Tina Turner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an individual in 1991. It was Ike and Tina Turner.

And here was her acceptance speech. She sent a video. Hi, everybody. It was really special when I heard that the Hall of Fame was giving me a trophy. If they're still giving me awards at 81, I must

have done something right. Yeah, this is mine. Only I don't care if you know. I'm very happy to have this and to have achieved this Rock and roll hall of fame. It's great. Thank you. That right there shows you exactly that, again, all these years later, still adored by so many different people.

Final thoughts, Cleo and Rebecca. Cleo, you first. My final thoughts are relevant to a previous comment about how white supremacy impacts our lives. And I just want to close by saying white supremacy still exists as a problem because it pivots. When COVID came, they talked about what happened to George Floyd because it was time to pivot and act like they really cared. Then they pivoted, went back to their same states of mind after COVID was over. So we need to be pivoting as black people and start working toward developing our critical thinking capacity, boycotting where we're not being respected, and make sure that who's not supporting you,

for example, do not get our dollars because we have to be proactive and pivot like the people that oppress us pivot so we can also gain power. Rebecca? My final thoughts on Tina Turner is that she showed resilience. She was the epitome of style, grace, and class. And she also showed dignity in aging and the ability to be a woman of a certain age and still be a sex symbol. I think that's very important. And I think it's very empowering for women to know that as we age, we can still be sexy, we can still be fine, we can still be classy, we can still be all of those things. And that's something that I like to see.

All right, folks, thanks so much. I appreciate it. Scott had to go as well, so I appreciate it. Cleo, Rebecca, and Scott, thanks a lot. Going to a break when we come back. We also remember the father of Spike Lee, bass man Bill Lee, who passed away the day of the age of 94. We'll give you his memoriam next. © BF-WATCH TV 2021 next on the black table with me greg co this is an iheart podcast