#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Are Primaries Predictive?, Ala.'s Racist Death Penalty Laws, King Family Speaks, Black Travel Box

Episode Date: January 24, 2024

1.23.2024 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Are Primaries Predictive?, Ala.'s Racist Death Penalty Laws, King Family Speaks, Black Travel Box It's officially election season as primaries are underway. Do you know why we have a primary process? The National Political Director of People For the American Way will be here to explain if primaries predict who the next president will be.  Alabama is on track to use an untested execution method. Don Siegelman, former Alabama governor, will be here to explain how the state's death penalty laws are rooted in racism from the Jim Crow era. Former Maryland prosecutor Marilyn Mosby is on trial again.  Bernice King remembers her brother Dexter today.  And in our Marketplace segment, we'll talk to the founder of the Black Travel Box. It has all your hair and skin care needs while you travel.  Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV. The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. It really does.

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's Tuesday, January 23rd, 2024, and I'm Candace Kelly. I'm sitting in for Roland tonight. Here is what's coming up on Roland

Martin Unfiltered streaming live on the Black Star Network. It's officially election season as primaries are underway. Do you know why we have the primary process? The National Political Director of People for the American Way will be here to explain if primaries really matter and will even predict who the next president will be. Meanwhile, Alabama is on track to use an untested execution method. Don Siegelman, former Alabama governor, will be here to explain how the state's death penalty laws are rooted in racism from the Jim Crow era. And former Maryland prosecutor Marilyn Mosby is on trial again. Bernice Kinney remembers her brother Dexter today. And in our Marketplace segment, we'll talk to the founder of the Black Travel Box.

It has all of your hair and skin needs while you travel. It's time to bring in the funk on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Blackstar Network. Let's go. With entertainment just for kicks He's rollin' Yeah, yeah It's Uncle Roro, y'all Yeah, yeah It's Rollin' Martin Yeah, yeah Rollin' with Rollin' now Yeah, yeah

He's funky, he's fresh, he's real The best you know, he's Rollin' Martin Now He's real, the best you know. He's rolling, Martel. Martel. All right, so here's the deal, folks. We know that Trump has been successful in sweeping the Iowa caucuses, dominating the polls, destroying his privacy. Yes, Trump is winning, but does that actually mean he is going to beat Biden? In fact, what exactly do the primaries do? What do they exactly predict? Well, I'm joined by Marcus Batchelor. He is the National Political Director of People for the American Way. He's joining me from D.C. to explain exactly how the primaries work,

what they predict, and do they really matter. Thank you so much for being with us today. Absolutely. Thanks for having me. And yeah, you know, here is something that people, they see this process all the time, but they're not exactly sure what's going on. They know the winner. But really, when we talk about these caucuses, why do we go to these states that are really primarily white? They're not representative of the demographics in the country, but we really do look at them to kick off the election season. Yeah, I mean, it comes from a very old tradition that I think, rightfully so, the Democratic Party has had very tough conversations over the last few years about these early contests, about what they mean to the nation, about what they mean to the future of every presidential contest. And President Biden is, I think, moving in that direction.

The Democratic Party is moving in that direction by starting in earnest their first-in-the-nation contest in South Carolina. But these early contests, no matter where they are in the nation, do give us a window into how presidential campaigns organize, their organizational strength, their ability to get a message across to an electorate. The unfortunate part, as you pointed out, is that these electorates are oftentimes whiter than the broader electorate, especially in the Democratic Party. And so what you see is a misalignment of the message in these early states that sometimes makes it difficult for candidates to pivot when they get closer to the general election. We saw that with Nikki Haley and her comments about race. And we'll continue, I think, to see those conversations

begin to shift about what it really means to have these early contests and who should be voting in these early contests. And what you mentioned is very significant because you really have to preach to the choir that you're singing to and you're preaching to the caucuses at that time. So we're going to hear them, as you said, these candidates pivot depending upon who is in the audience. Now, when we look at these primaries, they are slightly different, right? I mean, it's not a voting process. You actually have to stand and present yourself physically in kind of more of a meeting forum. What exactly happened, for example, in the Iowa caucus and what's going on tonight in New Hampshire?

Yeah, so you're right. The Iowa caucuses is not like a typical primary. You don't, you know, go and fill out a ballot and submit it and go home. It really is in all of these precincts around the state, like a town hall meeting. You come and you talk with your neighbors about the candidate that you think best suits your interests, and then you try to convince all of your neighbors to move in your direction before the final tally comes together. In New Hampshire, it's closer to a traditional process. Vote voters are coming in, have come in throughout the day, selecting their candidates. It's important to note that President Biden, because he is committed to having South Carolina

be the first contest with delegates awarded, be South Carolina, won't be on the ballot in New Hampshire, but has asked Democrats to write his name in. You know, what we'll see is a continuation of that more traditional process where voters show up on the day, cast their ballot, hopefully get to vote early in some of these later states and make their selection more clear. And you mentioned South Carolina and Biden, and that was actually a recent shift in terms of South Carolina being the, an original, the first place that we could kind of get a feel of what a state is thinking. And then of course it was shifted to South Carolina

and Biden said specifically because of the fact that South Carolina has more of a mixed demographic that represents America. Do you think that there could be further shifts down the line in terms of how we regard these caucuses? Or do you think that Iowa will always be the one that people really look to? Because before Obama went to Iowa and had that win, it's safe to say that that was really what helped put him over. So it did do him well. Will we see potentially Iowa shifting the same way that Biden is now looking to South Carolina as a primary? Well, I'll say, I think, you know, a part of it was, I think, some earnest behavior on behalf of President Biden and the Democratic Party to shift to South Carolina. But to be perfectly honest, the political center had been shifting to South Carolina.

President Biden was very clear with voters that Black voters in South Carolina, that the type of diverse electorate that he was able to engage in South Carolina proved that he could win nationally and beat Trump. And so I think with South Carolina, at least in this election and then in elections to come, being the first in the contest, I think you'll see that gravity continue to shift to more diverse communities like South Carolina, like Nevada, that give you a little better snapshot of the diversity of the country, will allow the candidates to address issues in a way that I think appeals to a broader crowd and I think will allow, will force them to organize in these various communities differently in the early

states. You know, the value of the early states is that candidates get to spend a lot of time there. President Obama spent almost a year in Iowa organizing folks before that win. And so if you can do it in black communities and in Latino communities in places like South Carolina and Nevada, I think it'll make the electoral process more reflective of the diversity of the country. And I think it'll make our candidates in November on both sides. Hopefully the Republicans will also adopt it. But for sure, for the Democratic Party, we'll make our candidates better in the general election. So let's say that Trump sweeps tonight in New Hampshire. Is that a clear sign that Haley should, you know, get out of the race? Or does it really mean a lot when you're looking at

a Trump and a Haley? Do you have to look at the political candidates? Or has history shown us that if somebody's sweeping these primaries, it's time to get out like DeSantis and Christie? Yeah, you know, I think what Nikki Haley has been saying up until yesterday, I think, is probably true, that New Hampshire is her big shot. It's really one of the only contests where undeclared voters, independent voters really get to weigh in heavily from exit polling. The polls close in about 50 minutes from exit polling. It looks like about half of the electorate who are going to show up for the Republican primary are actually undeclared independent voters. So we'll see. I think, you know, we'll see how she performs

tonight. But I think it's true that none of the other Republican contests down the line are going to be like that. They will be more staunch Republicans, more conservative, more MAGA. And so if she can't completely, I think, overwhelm the former president tonight, I don't see much chance for her, even in her home state of South Carolina, where both her home state senators and the governor have endorsed Trump. So we'll see. She says she's committed to staying in the race beyond tonight. But I don't know how I don't know how she gains much traction beyond this if she doesn't overperform in New Hampshire. And just because Trump could potentially sweep perhaps tonight, we don't know.

But we know he did that in Iowa. And certainly it really doesn't necessarily mean that he will win. No, that's absolutely right. I mean, you know, he has won the Republican nomination before. He's won it twice, unfortunately, and has lost one of those elections. If you look at even exit polling, they came out of places like Iowa, where he won big, the largest majority that any Republican had won in the Iowa caucus, I think in the history of the caucuses.

What you'll see is that a large chunk of that, even Republican electorate that voted for him, says that if, for instance, he is convicted of a felony between now and the election, they will not vote for him. So there are a lot of X factors with Trump in terms of retaining support down the line. So it's one thing to kind of get the most staunch, most fervent Republicans in the primary contest. But if you can't translate that into support for independents and moderate voters in November, I don't think you win the contest. And so I think there's a lot to be seen. But for sure, I don't think these win the contest. And so I think there's a lot to be seen.

But for sure, I don't think these early contests give any indication about what the race in November is going to look like. Right now, before I bring in my panel, what do you make of the fact that Trump really is, he is just really bringing it to his party that he is a winner in this, and that a lot of people do support him. Or is this just an Iowa thing? You know, I think we'll see with New Hampshire results. Like I said, I think New Hampshire is going to be kind of the most moderate audience you get in terms of Republican primary goers for for the rest of the contest or at least for the next several contests. And so if we see, I think, a large rejection or at least a sizable chunk of the electorate of the Republican electorate shift from Trump, it might show some signs. But, you know, that doesn't seem to be the case. Even in New Hampshire, where Nikki Haley is polling, at least in some polls close to Trump, you'll see that Republican voters, not independent voters, but Republican voters, over 70 percent of those voters are Trump voters. So I think he's—personally, I think he's very

safe and secure in terms of securing the most fervent support in the primary. I just think it's going to be our job and it's going to be President Biden's job in the months to come to show the distinction, to show the stakes come November to both the Democratic base, but also to independent voters. All right, well, I'm going to bring my panel in on the other side of this bridge. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding,

but the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action, and that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick.

Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team

that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I always had to be so good no one could ignore me. Carve my path with data and drive.

But some people only see who I am on paper. The paper ceiling, the limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersceiling.org, brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. Stay with us. We're going to be talking more about the primaries. What do they really mean? And do they really predict anything? You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered,

and we'll be back after a break. A new year for a new you. Curl Prep Natural Hair Solutions at CurlPrep.com is an amazing organic line for curls, locks, braids, twists, and even those wigs and extensions. Women, men, and children are loving this line. Look at this video and you be the judge. People line up to see this product in action at hair shows, and when they take a seat and try it, they don't believe

it's their hair. Buy the products at CurlPrep.com. It works on all hair types. Use code ROLAND, that's R-O-L-A-N-D, lowercase letters, to get a 15% discount. Parents, remove the ouch.

You will love this system because you can comb the product through your child's hair with your fingers. Seasoned Saints are loving the product. It's all at CurlPrep.com. Use code ROLAND, lowercase letters, to get a 15% discount. You won't believe it's your hair. I know this is what I need.

Give me that bass, give me that beat. Hit on your tongue, I can feel an explosion. I'll take another. You won't believe it's your hair. Next, on The Black Table with me, Dr. Greg Carr, author Dr. Maribel Morey, on her astounding and enlightening new book, White Philanthropy, a history we're betting you've never heard before. Don't miss an eye-opening episode of The Black Table, only on Black Star Network. What's up, y'all? This is Wendell Haskins, a.k.a. Winn Hogan at the Original Chief Golf Classic. And you know I watch Roland Martin unfiltered. A lot of people are talking about

primaries. What do they actually mean in the long term and do they really predict anything? I'm going to bring in my panel right now. I'm joined by Dr. Mustafa Sandiago Ali. He's the former senior advisor for environmental justice with the EPA. He's coming to us from Washington, D.C. Also, Randy Bryant, a DEI disruptor, also out of Washington, D.C., and Derek L. Jackson of the

Sixth Legislative District in Atlanta, Georgia, a Georgia state representative. Good to see all of you and talk about this issue that I know certainly has a lot of people perplexed. I want to open up the floor right now because Marcus is still with us for a little bit. And I want to start with you, Dr. Santiago Ali. What question do you have for Marcus? Yeah, well, Marcus, thank you for all the work that you're doing. Thank you for the information that you shared with us. You know, I'm one who believes that in relationship to the primaries, that they're a snapshot, if you will, that give folks an opportunity to get to know candidates not only in their respective states, but also across the country because the additional sort of media attention that's placed on them.

But often folks don't ask the tough questions that folks around the country would be curious about. What's your take on that? Yeah, you know, I think it speaks to, again, the audience you're speaking to. So, you know, in places like New Hampshire, Nikki Haley is able to get away with ludicrous statements like there's racism in America, but America has never been a racist country without much scrutiny from the folks right in that space. And and it, you know, and won't have any consequence for it, for for those statements like that electorally when when the votes are counted tonight in a state where there are larger black and brown populations, you know, where where there are more progressive populations, she just wouldn't be able to get away with that. And so the shift to contests like South Carolina, I think, is setting up again the Democratic Party long term for having contests that are richer and more

reflective of the diversity of the country. But the Republican Party is going out of its way to, I think, stay in this silo and really narrow the conversation when it comes to their early contests. They refused to shift to South Carolina, the first contest. You know, I think Michigan is having two separate primary dates for some odd reason, just because of the calendar faux pas, you know, the calendar feud between them and the Democrats. So we've got a lot of work to do on the Republican side, but I feel good about where the Democrats are shifting the conversation, and hopefully we'll see that in future contests. Randy, a question for Marcus. Yes. Hi, Marcus.

I just want you can maybe provide me with some hope. I'll be very selfish with this question. I know there have been eight times where presidential hopefuls won the Iowa caucus, but did not end up being the party's presidential candidate. What would need to happen, do you think, between now and then that could derail this moving train that Trump seems to be on? I mean, what are some real concrete things that could happen? Yeah, apart from, I think, a real upset by Nikki Haley tonight in New Hampshire or a miracle in her home state in South Carolina. It's really about making it's really about one continuing to make the stakes clear in the general election in terms of Trump being the eventual nominee. I think there are a lot of voters who have said, again, that if he is convicted of a felony, if, you know, if he's convicted of any of the crimes that he's been charged with, 90 something, at this point, that they'd be less likely to vote for him even as the nominee. So if some of these convictions come down early, not very likely, then maybe that shifts the electorate. But I think Trump is proving right now, both in Iowa and probably in New Hampshire tonight,

that he's pretty Teflon when it comes to the Republican electorate. So our job is going to be to really convince fair-minded folks, fair-minded Republicans, noncommitted independent voters and our deep base in the Democratic Party that we've got to turn out to keep him out of the White House. Derek. So, Marcus, you know, as an elected official, I've always been amazed that 27 percent of registered voters participate in primaries and only 61 percent participate in general elections. What can we do to close that gap to get folks more engaged in the primaries, which really decides the candidates that they will see in the general election? Yeah, for sure. I think it's about both at the state and local

level. It's about opening up our party to young people, to people who want to be engaged and really making sure that primaries aren't a foregone conclusion, that primaries are competitive, that they really reveal the best of the ideas when it comes to our party and that people have something to vote for when they come to a primary contest. When it comes to the general election, you know, I think trend-wise, we are seeing an increase in political participation generally among the electorate, across demographics. And I think the stakes of every election recently have made that participation shoot up and made really the stakes of not participating very clear.

But we have to be real. I think the Democratic Party has to be real. And as elected officials, we have to be real that there are people who are facing real despair and are losing faith in government, who see our institutions failing, who see that Congress has been less effective than this cycle than it's been in a generation, who see that it's failing to meet the moment in a lot of ways. And so we have a lot of work to do to restore faith in people's government, but we have to tell people that we don't have an opportunity to get any of these things right if we lose our democracy to a demagogue and a fascist like Donald Trump. Before I let you go, Marcus, one question, and that is in this big puzzle, Super Tuesday,

how would you explain to people how Super Tuesday fits into all of this and how that shifts or doesn't shift some of the dynamics in the election process? Yeah, so Super Tuesday is just an avalanche of contests. There are several states that vote on the same day. And because of the volume of contests and because of the delegates at stake that day, Super Tuesday is about the time in the calendar where if the nominee hasn't been chosen yet, you get a pretty good idea. Obviously, on the Democratic side, we are chugging full steam ahead to re-nominate President Biden and Vice President Harris. On the Republican side, I think that this contest, South Carolina, probably a couple

contests before Super Tuesday will show us that Donald Trump is the nominee. But I think by that point, it will be very clear again, unless something that we can't predict right now happens between now and then, including maybe a Haley upset in about 30 minutes in New Hampshire. That's right. We're in the countdown right now. Marcus, I want to thank you so much for being with us today. Breaking all of this down, Marcus Faschel, the National Political Director of People for the American Way. Good to see you. Good seeing you all. Thanks so much. Absolutely. You know, I want to go to you, Derek, because you are an elected official. I'm wondering, does this make sense to you,

just the process that we use? I hear from a lot of people and they ask me questions about whether or not this is antiquated and why Iowa has for all these years kind of been the threshold that people have to meet before it was changed recently. What say you about these caucuses and these primaries? You know, one of the things, Candace, and I appreciate the question, being part of this machinery, it doesn't make sense. I would think that we need to standardize the process across all these United States. So that way, regardless if you're in New York, New Hampshire, or Maine, you have exactly the same process. Unfortunately, we sort of take a laissez-faire approach and allow for each state to decide how they caucus, how their voting process, and that creates some confusion, because if you notice, a lot of our society continues to move from city to city, state to state.

And when you have been voting as long as we have on this panel, I'm born and raised in New York. I now reside in Georgia. I'm a legislator in Georgia. And the laws on how the process is in Georgia is stark difference in New York, and it should not be. And the young generation today is asking that same question. Why do we have to vote on Tuesday? Why can't we make a national holiday on a Saturday? Or why not make it more accessible for us to vote? And so when you have these kind of questions, Candace, your electorate saying you guys are playing games, you don't want us to vote, you make it harder for black and brown and bronze people to vote. And so it's a little bit disheartening, not because the system is not working. don't want us to vote. You make it harder for black and brown and bronze people to vote.

And so it's a little bit disheartening, not because the system is not working. It just is confusing. And so just like anything else, we should be able to standardize the problem. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek.

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

I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

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

I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted

teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change

a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. So that way all 300 million citizens can vote regardless if they're in California or in Iowa or North Dakota.

It does seem like it would make sense that there would be something standardized. But, you know, Randy, there was a study that I was reading that said if you really wanted to go somewhere that represents, you know, the various demographics in this country, you're going to go to Illinois. And then you're going to go to New Jersey in terms of going to that state first to indicate who is going to be the winner, voted by someone who represents the majority of this country. But that is not what is happening. When you think about these caucuses, do you really give them any weight, or are you more of a wait-and-see process? I certainly must pay attention to

them because they can be predictive in some ways, but I believe that we have to be honest that more and more, this process is not designed to be inclusive. It is not representative of America as it stands today. And to be very candid, I think that it's done purposefully. I believe that creating a level of confusion, making it where it is different from state to state of who can participate, if you have to just to participate in the process. And we know that if everyone felt as if they were welcomed into the process, then we would have different results. So, yeah, I mean, I do pay attention because I can't help but to, but I do believe that it is becoming more and more foreign. I don't believe it's anymore serving us. It's serving us less than it even did in the past. So, Dr. Ali, as you pay attention to what's going on in New Hampshire tonight, as the numbers come in and all of that unfolds, what are your thoughts about if Nikki Haley does take control of New

Hampshire tonight, comes out the winner? Again, does that have any bearing for you, or are you more of, I'm just going to wait and see how this ends up, because you just never know with these caucuses, because sometimes they don't mean a thing? Yeah, I think it's more the latter. You know, again, you know, the caucuses give people an opportunity to participate in their respective states, but the reality is I don't think that these early caucuses actually give a true snapshot of what's going to actually happen. We know that Nikki Haley's strategy, and this is just my assumption, of course, I'm not

affiliated with their campaign or anything, is to stay in the race as long as possible. If I was advising her, because she's waiting for one of these court cases on Donald Trump to actually play out. And then she will be the only candidate who's still officially in the race, because DeSantis dropped out and a number of the other people have already dropped out, of course. So if you're thinking about strategy, even if she can't win in South Carolina, if she can continue to hold on, then she still has a chance of being the Republican nominee. You know, everybody knows I am not a Nikki Haley fan, in any sense, but we should actually critically think about what's playing out in front of us. And, you know, if you are the last person standing, then you have a good chance of being the nominee.

Now, that does not mean that Donald Trump will not fight back and, you know, try and find a way to maneuver his way around whatever the sets of rules that Republicans may have in place. So, Representative Jackson, tell me, you are making you the advisor for Nikki Haley. What are you telling her tonight? I don't think she was my advice. Let's say you're in her side. I mean, are you telling her, listen, we can do this? Or even if you are working for her in her camp, are your eyes opened up at this point that it's not going to happen? You know, I would tell her three things. First off, paint the picture of your opponent,

right? Tell everyone every time you get the opportunity that your opponent has 91 felonies. No one in the history of the United States ever had 91 felonies. Four indictments within four months. Two impeachments within four years. if you own a business and you had two potential employees, one have having 91 felonies, would you hire that person? And 10 out of 10 would say, no. The third point,

Candace, I would tell Nikki Haley is this, uh, as doc alluded to it, continue to tell your donors to stay in the fight, because we also know there's another dimension to this. It's one thing to go from state to state and caucus and try to get woo voters to vote for you, but it's something else to have the dollars to sustain your campaign. And that's what this is all about, too.

We cannot forget that other dimension in all political campaigns. Do you have enough dollars to be able to do what Doc said, to be able to stay in this race long enough to where one of these court cases will find your opponent guilty and you're the last person standing. You've got to be able to convince your donors to be able to stay in this race for the long run. All right, Representative Jackson, giving us a lot to think about as we go to the break. All right, stay with us. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered, and we will see you on the other side. We just have one of the oldest cultures that's desperately needed for mutual salvation.

That's the consciousness. We have the keys and our roots to save mankind. We get to see the condition of other countries, other oceans, other cultures. And if we believe in God, a lot of us do. He's telling us if you don't get rid of that stuff that makes somebody superior or inferior and work together for the mutual salvation, everybody's gone. Thank you. high growth fields. No experience is necessary. Learn at your own pace. Complete the online certificate program on your own terms. Stand out to employers. Get on a path to in-demand jobs and connect with top employers who are currently hiring. Take one professional career certificate

program or all six. Earn a Google career certificate to prepare for a job in a high growth field like data analytics, project management, UX design, cybersecurity, and more. All professional career certificate programs must be completed by December 31st, 2024. Scan the QR code to complete the application. There are 1,000 scholarships available. Grow with Google and J. Hood and Associates. Be job ready and qualify for in-demand jobs. Hey, what's up, y'all? I'm Devon Frank. I'm Dr. Robin B., pharmacist and fitness coach, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. This Thursday, the state of Alabama will use an untested method for execution, nitrogen execution.

A gas mask will replace breathable air with nitrogen, depriving the inmate of oxygen. This will be the nation's first execution attempt with this method. Alabama's death penalty laws and how they are applied are rooted in racism. And currently there are 165 people on Alabama's death row, 115 of those who were sentenced to death by non-unanimous juries. In 2020, the Supreme Court determined that non-unanimous jury verdicts that originated during the Jim Crow era in 1870 were unconstitutional. After 2020, all states except Alabama abandoned this racist practice. However, 115 people, 54 of whom are Black, were sentenced to death by this old Jim Crow

law. Joining me now from Birmingham is former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman to talk about this new way of killing people. Thank you so much for being with us today. Oh, thank you. I would update what you just said by just saying that Alabama death penalty laws are both illegal, unconstitutional, and are based on race. The one example you pointed to is, you know, we're living in 2024, and we're executing people by laws that were created during the Jim Crow era in Alabama.

No other state does this. But we have, as you mentioned, 115 people on death row due to non-unanimous juries. You know, before the Civil War, white folks were perfectly happy having unanimous juries as and could serve on juries, white folks suddenly decided, well, you know, we can't have unanimous juries because one black juror could prevent us from executing a black person. So the Supreme Court—this is Donald Trump's Supreme Court in 2020—said that non-unanimous juries for death sentences are unconstitutional. Every other state except Alabama abandoned the practice of allowing juries to make recommendations of death if they were not unanimous. But Alabama still goes by non-unanimous juries.

The second thing Alabama has is we have 31 people on Alabama's death row based on judicial overrides. The Supreme Court in 2016 said that judicial overrides were unconstitutional. Even Alabama outlawed judicial overrides in 2017. Yet we still have 31 people on death row. Sixty-one percent are black. Sixty-one percent of those 31 people on Alabama's death row sentenced by judicial overrides are African American, are black citizens. The Equal Justice Amendment did a study, the Equal Justice Initiative did a study showing

that in one election year, 7 percent of judicial overrides accounted for 7 percent. In the next year, when Alabama judges ran for election and needed votes, needed to look tough on crime, judicial overrides rose to 30%. And we are still executing people by this method, which is obviously racially biased and racially applied. This man that is up for execution on Thursday is not black, is white. But his jury recommended life without parole on a vote of 11 to 1. And the judge overruled the 11 jurors and sentenced him to death. And as you said, this happened in terms of the numbers of judicial overrides that happened.

It happened for political reasons, too, as well as race reasons. When we talk about nitrogen, a nitrogen execution, can you explain what exactly that means? Because this man who is going to be executed on Thursday, he has already been in the chair. They couldn't find a vein. Things went ridiculously wrong. And now here he is again. And officials of the state are saying this is safe. We're going to see it through. What do you say to that? Well, I think this is—it's not only illegal in Alabama. It's not only unconstitutional, but it's also clearly immoral.

You know, how can you put to death someone whose jury recommended life on a vote of 11 to 1? If you cannot see the moral implication in that, then, you know, something's wrong. You haven't read your Bible or listened to—haven't gone to church very much. But I know Governor Ivey is a regular member of the First Baptist Church in Montgomery, and they preach and study the Bible, and they understand Proverbs 24, 11 says, Rescue those unjustly sentenced to death. This man has clearly been sentenced unjustly. And you ask about nitrogen hypoxia,

it is simply suffocation. It's like someone described it as drowning in your own vomit. So, you know, this is... I would ask everyone within the earshot of my voice to call the governor's office and ask or demand that this execution be postponed and give the legislature a chance to address these issues. The governor's number is easy to remember. It's 334-242-7100. And, you know, this execution should not go forward for many reasons. And Alabama legislature needs an opportunity to fix our racially biased death penalty laws.

And you mentioned something. You mentioned that it is like someone who's drowning in their vomit. A mask is actually put on a person, and then this nitrogen execution begins. But so many things could go wrong. Number one, somebody could actually vomit in that mask and actually suffocate that way. If somebody is saying a prayer, you know, towards the end of their life, it might move the mask in a way where it's not exactly on and it's not, you know, completing the process that it's supposed to because the mask is kind of changing a little bit. And it is so strong that even if you are in the room, right, maybe if a clergyman who's often in a room with

the person who's being executed, they have to sign off because this nitrogen is so strong that it could affect the person or parties in the room. It is serious business when you have this nitrogen. And as you said, it sets a precedent. There's a reason that no other country, I started to say civilized country, but that's an oxymoron. No other country in the world has ever tried nitrogen hypoxia as a method of death. But Alabama, this is not the first time we've experimented with humans. We conducted the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, where we duped African-American men into believing that they were being treated for their disease, but actually they just wanted to see the long-term impact of the disease. Then there was Dr. Sims, who's noted for being a great gynecologist, but he experimented on black slaves, black slave women, to develop his methods of surgery without anesthesia, even after anesthesia became known and could be used. So, you know, we have had other leaders ignore the moral prerogative,

ignore the moral imperative. George Wallace raised the Confederate flag over the state capitol, and five months later, the Ku Klux Klan bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church. He ordered state troopers on horseback with tear gas and billy clubs and police dogs to beat down John Lewis and other foot soldiers who wanted to march simply for the right to vote. So, you know, this is—these leaders are faced with moral choices. And Governor Ivey is now facing a moral choice. And I hope and pray that she makes the right choice. And when we talk about the Supreme Court's decision and the states that aren't doing this, how do you think Alabama is getting away with it?

Why is it on the top of their list to keep this practice going? You know, frankly, I think that they are—the Republican leadership—I know some. I've talked to many behind the scenes. I've encouraged them to do the right thing. Many of them understand the moral imperative, but are afraid to, as one leader in the statehouse put it, you know, why should I stick my hand into a buzzsaw? They understand that this is wrong, but they're reluctant to step forward and do what is morally right. morally right. All right. Well, thank you so much for that information. Really, this is an experiment that we will all be watching, and thank you for contextualizing all this information. Birmingham, from Birmingham, Alabama, former Alabama governor Don Siegelman, good to see you. Thank you so much. And call the governor's office and tell her to stop this execution.

All right. Thanks. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up. So now I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday,

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

all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a 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. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my

parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit adoptuskids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. We'll be back after this break, more with Bowlin Martin, I'm filtered, and my panel, of course, some other great guests when we come back. On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. jackie we're going to be talking about common sense we think that people have it know how to use it but it is something that people often have to learn the truth is most of us are not born with it and we need to teach common sense embrace it

and give it to those who need it most our kids so i always tell teachers to listen out to what conversations the students are having about what they're getting from social media, and then let's get ahead of it and have the appropriate conversations with them. On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, here at Black Star Network. When you talk about blackness

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

This is about covering us. Invest in black-owned media. Your dollars matter. We don't have to keep asking them to cover our stuff. So please support us in what we do, folks. We want to hit 2,000 people, $50 this month, 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 RMartin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Me, Sherri Sheppitt with Sammie Roman.

I'm Dr. Robin B, pharmacist and fitness coach, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. I want to talk to the panel about the death penalty and the precedent that this could potentially set if it is not stopped. I want to start with you, Dr. Ali. You know, it doesn't seem very surprising that Alabama would continue to forge forward with something that is so particularly dangerous and unprecedented. Yeah, well, we all know the history of Alabama in relationship to civil rights and human rights. I see this as both. I mean, this is literally torture. And we know this because both the United Nations has shared that this is not a form of execution that folks should be following on. Anyone who has a public health background, let me stop.

Not just someone who has a public health background. You know, I would ask folks tonight before you go to sleep, I would ask you to remember the words of Eric Garner or George Floyd when they said, I can't breathe, and the visceral reaction that all of us had to literally watching someone die. Now, we know that was a different situation, but asphyxiation, suffocation, you know, it is the same. You are literally trying to hold on to your last breath. And they are asking us to believe that we should be OK with this. Now, one, we shouldn't be OK, you know, with them taking people's lives, especially

understanding the legal system and the disparities that exist and how our communities are always the one who come up on the short end of the stick. But on the humanity side of the equation, how can we be okay with having someone being tortured in their last moments? So, you know, we should really get engaged for those who truly care about humanity, for those who care about the disparities that are going to exist. And there will be a number of black men and women who will lose their lives as we continue to move forward utilizing these methods. So it's actually we're not it's not like we don't have power in this moment.

We have the power to actually raise our voices, to pick up these phones, to send an email and to engage with elected officials. You know, Randy, I think what's so interesting about this case in particular is that this man, as I said before, they couldn't find his vein before in order to give him a lethal injection. And so as a result of that, he had to go through therapy because he was going through PTSD because of the result of trying, having been in the death penalty chair and having not, having had it not go through. And it's interesting that we practice the humanitarian part of it and give him therapy

and nursing through all of this, only to set him up for something like Thursday, which is the nitrogen, which is the nitrogen mask. There's nothing humanitarian about this. And no one needs to pretend as if it is. It's insulting that they would try to convince us that there's anything humanitarian about what has happened to this human, right? At the end of the day, this is a human. But, you know, as the great doctor just said, you know, there's always there's a there's a long history of Alabama ensuring that we know that black lives do not matter. And this would be a very different situation if we were dealing with primarily non-black people. But black lives have not mattered. And I say that, you know, regretfully, as a person whose family is from Alabama and I'm a graduate of

Tuskegee university. Um, but this is, this is the legacy, um, of Alabama. Uh, when, you know, what is striking to me anytime the veterinary association, okay. Says this is cruel. We will not use this on mammals because it's cruel, right? We won't use it on dogs and cats, but we will use it on primarily Black males. That shows us what this country says. It shows us why we are still screaming Black Lives Matter, right? It's a perfect illustration that we are still being treated as we're three-fifths of a human being. Because our torture, you know, us torturing us is not giving the same attention as it would for a dog or a cat. Because let me tell you something.

If they said that they were doing this to some dogs, I promise you, i promise you i promise you there would be outrage from all people not just black people all people they would march in the streets if i said they were out there doing this to dogs but let it be black people who are being killed for the most part. It's like, oh, well, we really have to pay attention to it. And so I do encourage everyone who is watching now to, we can do something. People are affected. Politicians do listen to public pressure. So let's put some pressure on. And Representative Jackson, when we talk about the

pressure, who really are the exact powers that be that you put pressure on where you think it really makes a difference? Who is going to be listening to the message of the please stop this and they can really make a change? That's an excellent question. I always tell folks there are three executives in our government. The president, the governor and mayors. Those are the three executive branch. So when you think about applying the pressure that Randy is referencing, the president, the governor, and mayors. But you also have to ask the question while we apply this pressure, Candace, is how did we get here? How did we get here?

And we got here because, see, a lot of my friends on the other side of the aisle, my Republican friends, they always say, why do you, Derek, always got to bring up slavery? Because that's what you all were doing during slavery. You would take a Negro, put them to a tree, and lash them. Or you would lynch them. And that was their form of capital punishment.

And it was designed to deter that behavior of running away or trying to escape or fighting back. But even if you look at fast forward from Re I pointing to 1973? Because since 1973, 196 citizens were exonerated who were on death row. 60% of that 196 were African-American men. They were exonerated. Just last week, a black man who spent 44 years of his life was also on death row, but just set free. Just set free because the DNA and where they said the crime was committed, he was not even physically in the same geographic location. And he spent 44 years. And he just went back and sued that state to give him more money because they wronged him. The entire system had wronged him. And so when you think about, to Dr. Ali's point and to Randy's point, Candace, you have to ask the question, how did we get here and what we need to do to resolve it? Because just simply saying I can't breathe 14 times is not enough for them.

But the resolution, as you pointed out, is that you go to executive because that is where your voices are heard. In fact, you have voted these people into those positions. They're supposed to do the work that you want. That's exactly right. See, because the last time I checked, there are more citizens in the United States than there are, or there is, a president. There are 50 governors.

There are more citizens than 50 governors. And Lord knows we got 19,000 cities. There's more than mayors. And so when we mobilize and know what we want to ask for, Candace, and we want to ask and say no more capital punishment. See, because those who are pro-life, they'll say, yes, we're pro-life. We don't want no more abortion. Done with Roe v. Wade. But then yet they're for capital punishment. You can't square this both ways, evangelicals. You can't say you're pro-life over here, but you're all about death penalty over here.

Right, right. A real oxymoron there. All right. Well, this is certainly something that we're going to be following, especially on Thursday, to see exactly what happens. All right. We are going to go to a break, but more of our panel and other guests. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered, and we'll be right back. On the next good one.

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

will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?

Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a 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 one, two, and three on May 21st, and episodes four, five, and six on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family.

They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. With me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach,

nurses are the backbone of the healthcare industry, and yet only 7% of them are Black. What's the reason for that low number? Well, a lack of opportunities and growth in their profession. Joining us on the next Get Wealthy is Needy Barton-Nillick. She's going to be sharing exactly what nurses need to do and what approach they need to take to take ownership of their success. So the Black Nurse Collaborative really spawned from a place and a desire to create opportunities to uplift each other, those of us in the profession, to also look and reach back and create pipelines and opportunities for other nurses like us. That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Black Star Headline. Next on The Frequency, we're talking about racism. My guest, Danika Moore, comes on to discuss her fight against racism that she and her daughter face.

The thing about racism, you can't outrun it. You can't control it. You can't predict when it's going to happen to you or your seed. She's also going to give us solutions on how to handle the situation. That's here on The Frequency on the Black Star Network. Hi, I'm Jo Marie Payton, voice of Sugar Mama on Disney's Louder and Prouder Disney Plus, and I'm with Roland Martin on Unfiltered. The King family held a conference as they grieved the passing of Dexter Scott King, the youngest son of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King.

The King Center announced Monday that the 62-year-old died after a battle with prostate cancer at his home in California. Through the years, shared fond memories of their older brother. Imagine, this is perhaps the hardest thing for me to do. I love you about my brother. Growing up, I remember spending time in the evening when I was probably about 9, 10, maybe 11, and both he and Martin wanted me to plait their hair, braid their hair. Back then, they braided their hair because they thought it would help continue to make it grow. And so I remember spending that kind of time with them.

I played a lot. I was a tomboy growing up and played ball, basketball with my brothers until I had sense. I actually played football with them in the front yard. We had a really good time growing up. But Dexter always had this knacking and interest in business. He always was very creative and innovative. And I remember Isaac, our cousin Isaac, Angela's brother, and Dexter had their first business, K&F Photography. He was so ambitious. And my mama used to get calls behind

the scene saying, we bought all these pictures from Dexter. We're still waiting on them. But he was working on him because i used to go downstairs we had a dark room soon ross in the house and i would go inside of that dark room with him and eventually i gained a love for photography myself as an amateur I'm not a pro but just as an amateur and then he started a DJ business used to DJ parties and I'm trying to follow Dexter again when I was a teenager probably around 18 I started DJing parties myself and a lot of people don't know Dexter actually worked for the Department of Corrections with the Atlanta Police Department that was a rough patch because as you know coming

from the nonviolent family he had to carry a gun and y'all were saying what does that have to do with non violenceviolence? Well, our family was like non-violence on steroids. And so we grew up primarily without guns in our home. I remember Mother used to always take

our play guns away from us if she found them. Sometimes we were successful. But he served for a stint with the Department of Corrections as an officer there. Spent some time with, what was the name of the funeral home that handled Daddy's remains? Handler Bales. Handler Bales. Handler Bales. Funeral home. So all of this was in preparation. And there are movies and stuff in there.

Yeah, they know about the movies. They've been talking about that. He played my father in a movie, in the Rosa Parks story. And when it came time to decide who would succeed my mother at the King Center, we went around the room. We were on a family retreat. And I think I was in law and divinity school at the time at Emory University. Yolanda was, you know, in her acting career. Martin, I believe, at the time was on the Fulton County Commission. And so we kind of all looked at Dexter and said, it falls on you. But we knew because of his business sense that he would be the best person. And so he took the helm, we know, one time and then resigned. But then in 95, he took the helm of leadership at the King Center in the role that I now am in as the CEO. And Dexter was before his time. Even I didn't understand that. And he had a vision to build

something that would bring my father to life through technology. Fast forward today, we understand that. People didn't understand it then. And so he came under vicious attack through the media, self-proclaimed scholars and others who didn't understand because they were focused on, in their mind, they felt his intent was for profit. But Dexter had a prophetic intent. He saw into the future. And had that not been disrupted, we would have had something in this nation that could have been very potent and powerful for where we are today. And so that attack may have slowed things down,

but I'm standing here today to say that I'm going to make sure that the vision that Dexter Scott King had will come to pass. We're going to bring all that to be through the King Center and the work of the King Center because our world needs it like never before. Some really lovely memories talking about braiding her brother's hair,

having him starting a photography business and a DJ, like any other child that you might know of. But he was the, in fact, the son of icons. I think Dr. Ali was interesting about this, besides just hearing about the fact that he led a childhood that seemed to mirror a lot of what we went through, is that he really had to go through the process of preserving his parents' intellectual property and looking at the business side of things and understanding that business actually just means business. He had to do what he had to do. It wasn't just for the money. That's what you do when you have an estate like that. Yeah, you know, we were blessed to have Dexter King with us as long as we did.

Of course, we wish that we had him longer. I've been blessed to actually do some things with the King Center and to actually watch them understand how incredibly important it is to protect our images, our words, and our legacy, which we often don't do enough in our communities, that they were able to begin that journey to make sure both that their mother and father were protected in that way, and making sure that there was real intentionality in honoring all that they have done in the past,

but also moving that toward the future. You know, I think one of the other unfortunate gifts that Dexter is leaving us is the same lesson that thankfully Lloyd Austin is still with us about how significant prostate cancer is in the black community. You know, we die at twice the rate of white men from prostate cancer. So we are all going to remember him. We're going to continue to hold him up and to love him. But let's also utilize this moment to make sure that black brothers are actually going out and getting tested, making sure that health care is in place. Sometimes folks feel, well, you know, I don't have health care. I'm uninsured or underinsured. So I'm just going to continue to put it off. So let's honor the life of Dexter King by making sure that we are protecting the

lives that are still here. Randy, what struck you about this video of these sweet moments that his sister talked about with him growing up? Very sweet moments. What struck me was that, you know, I believe that we as a country have become so dependent on Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy that we forget that he has a family, right? And these are people. And so right after the holiday where you're seeing all of these disingenuous people pick and choose the quotes that they want to from Dr. King and kind of do these, to me, very disingenuous celebrations, it really, to me, brought it back that these are people. These are people who are still striving to make things better for our country so that

we are living up to who we said that we are and who we want to be. And so I think it was a reminder because I believe that they are used almost as pawns. I believe that people have forgotten their humanity. And so that's what struck me is like he brought, she, she brought Dr. King Jr. to life, brought him to life. Representative Jackson, I'm sure that being in Atlanta, it must have hit you and others around you in a very different way, being where so much of it began. What do you think? A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding.

But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Business Week editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams,

and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission.

This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th.

Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I always had to be so good, no could ignore me carve my path with data and drive but some people only see who I am on paper the paper ceiling the limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree it's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at TaylorPaperSealing.org. Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. Hearing from people.

You know, Candace, today, our chairman, Representative Carl Gillyard of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, we paid a tribute to Dexter today at the Capitol. And we did that for several reasons, but let me just give you three. took the opportunity to tell the world as we paid tribute to Dexter King that the King family is our equivalent to the Kennedy family. So just like how a lot of folks hold the Kennedy family and revere the Kennedy family, we here, right here in Atlanta, Georgia, revered the King family in that same way. The second thing that we did during this tribute, Candace, is this, is to continue to speak life to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

and Coretta Scott King. The reason being is because there's only one grandchild for the King family, just one. And so this branch of the King family is slowly but surely is withering away. And so we reminded our colleagues at the Capitol how important it is for us to continue to do the work of the King family and remind them that we got to continue to bring life to this legacy. Because when you think about the King family and Dexter gaining his wings at 62.

We just celebrated Dr. King's birthday last week. He would have been 95 years. And so it's not only important to us here in Atlanta, but we wanted to remind the world that the King family to us is like the Kennedy family to others. I want to stick with you for a moment with you being down in Atlanta. What also struck me about what she said was the nonviolence that her family continues to practice, you know, clay guns, that it was a huge, huge deal in her home. What can you share with the public, especially I'm sure you've worked with the King family

in some way or with the center, what is their take on what's going on in the world and what's their position? You know, I appreciate the question because just last week, yours truly asked the question, if Dr. King, which is a member of my beloved fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, he would have said, we still got work to do. It was our fraternity that basically brought up the lawsuit against Georgia for redistricting, trying to disenfranchise

black-brown voices and their power to vote, their access to vote. And so, you know, so Bernice and Martin III, we see them often while we're in the legislative session. They remind us about nonviolence. They remind us the stance that we should take. I'm also the chair of our gun safety committee. And I just spoke just today, the number of lives that have been taken from us because of guns. And we're not advocating that you should not own a gun.

But what we are saying that you don't need an AR-15 or AK-47 to protect you and your family. In fact, folks who are avid hunters, Candace, don't even hunt with AR-15s and AK-47s because there won't be any meat left on that deal. Right. And so we're reminded because we're only a block or two away from the King Center of what we should do through legislation, through legislation to carry and keep the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King alive. Dr. Ali, I want to go with you. Their message of nonviolence kind of juxtaposes with what's going on in the world today. Can the two coexist?

I mean, it seems like their message is something that we don't hear about at all, removing toy not only in a violent society here in the United States, but also that violence has found fertile ground in other locations across the planet. You know, in the United States, we have, what, almost 400 million guns that we know about, more guns than people. And you can't go on the internet without seeing violence all the time.

So we've got to be able to counteract that. And that comes through the messages of folks like Dr. King and Coretta Scott King, and the King children are still here, and those who have been raised in the nonviolent movement. We've got to help people to understand that violence doesn't solve anything. It may temporarily give you a reprieve, but it never changes systems. If you look at all the historical aspects that took place, both in the civil rights movement and a number of the other movements that were founded on nonviolence, they were the ones that actually made change.

But when folks resorted to violence, in many instances, there may have been that temporary reprieve, but then that same set of injustices and systemic sets of actions continue to grow and grow. So I think that it's critically necessary for us to have that message and those lessons. I was blessed that John Lewis helped mentor me a bit, along with a number of other civil rights leaders. And I heard what they went through. And I was always amazed at how they were able to hold their composure, how they were able to hold on to love, and how they actually helped to build this nation in a better way. And Randy, I want to end with you, because a message that Dr. Ali talked about before is the fact that this really should once again remind black men about prostate cancer and to

get checked. At a time when people are living over 100, Dexter King was 62 years old. And I know that a lot of this in terms of making sure that the men in your life get their prostate checked, a lot of it falls on the women to remind them to say, go to the doctor, get it checked. It has to be done. If you catch it soon enough, something can be done, Randy. Absolutely. You know, I believe that Dexter King would be just, would feel fulfilled if his passing could continue to save Black lives, that he served even in death in protecting and helping us to live longer and better lives. So I do hope, again, that everyone out there is listening and it serves as a reminder to

get checked out and to remind all the men in our lives to ensure that they are regularly being checked because our rates of dying from the disease are very disproportionate. All right, Dexter King, quite a legacy. And as his sister said, really someone ahead of his time and his legacy continues. You are watching Roland Martin and Filter on the Black Star Network.

We'll be right back after this. Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. On that soil, you will not regret that. White people are losing their damn lives. There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to the U.S. Capitol. 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 every university calls white rage as a backlash. This is the wrath of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. Here's all the Proud Boys, guys.

This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, 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 Black Star Network. Hey, yo, what's up? the Black Star Network. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin.

And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

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

Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before.

I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. This is Mr. Dalvin right here. What's up? This is KC. He's in here representing the J-O-D-E-C-I, that's Jodeci.

Right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Tyler Bryant has been missing from her Orlando Florida home since December 19, 2023. The 18-year-old is 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighs 120 pounds, and has black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about Tyler Bryant is urged to call the Orlando, Florida, Police Department at 407-246-2470. All right. In Baltimore, Baltimore's former top prosecutor Marilyn Mosby is on trial again. Mosby, she's back in federal court facing fraud charges related to mortgage documents for two vacation properties in Florida. Federal prosecutors claim Mosby provided false statements to two separate mortgage lending companies as she moved to secure funds to purchase homes in Kissimmee and Longboat. Mosby maintained that she did nothing wrong. In November, she was convicted of two counts of perjury after she was charged with lying about her finances

to withdraw $90,000 from her seated retirement accounts to buy the two Florida homes. Meanwhile, in Texas, a Texas school district superintendent is defending the continued suspension of a Black student for his hairstyle. Superintendent Greg Poole took out a full-page ad in the Houston Chronicle saying, being an American requires conformity with the positive benefit of unity, referencing strict codes at military academies. Daryl George has been suspended repeatedly by the Barbers Hill Independent School District for his lock hairstyle. The teen's family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit saying that the punishment violates

the Crown Act, which became law in Texas in September. The law is intended to prohibit race-based hair discrimination. Now, in Poole's letter, he explains that the district's policy doesn't prohibit wearing locks or braids, but it limits hairstyles for males, banning anything that would allow their hair to extend below the top of a T-shirt collar, below the eyebrows, or to the earlobes when let down. Now, the Georgia family, the George family has filed a lawsuit against Governor Greg Abbott and State Attorney General Ken Paxton in Texas Southern District Court,

arguing that they failed to enforce the law outlawing hairstyle discrimination. And finally, the family of a Georgia deacon, the family of Georgia deacon John Holman says his civil rights were violated when he died in August. Holman's family has filed a lawsuit against the city of Atlanta, the Atlanta police chief Darren Shearbaum and former APD officer Karen Kimbrough. Johnny Holman died after Kimbrough tased the 62-year-old following a verbal dispute over a traffic citation on August 10th of 2023. In the 63-page complaint filed this week, the attorneys for the Holman family claim Kimbrough used excessive force and that Atlanta Police Chief Darren Chererbaum and the city of Atlanta have

widespread patterns and practices of excessive force. All right. I want to go to my panel now, and I really want to talk about Marilyn. I want to talk about this former top prosecutor in Baltimore. I want to start with you, Representative Jackson. What do you make of Mosby and her trial? Some people have called it just a witch hunt. She is saying, look, I was really an inexperienced realtor.

That's what the opening statement said in her defense. But other people are saying, no, you are smart enough to know better. You took this money. You've already been convicted of perjury. And now we have to deal with these homes that you got illegally. You know, Candace, I'll be the first to admit never to rush to judgment. in Georgia with a that's prosecuting Trump. And, you know, when you get these allegations like this immediately, you know, the narrative, especially if if they are African-American, the narrative is immediately, oh, you're guilty.

You should know better. Right. But again, not to pivot. I'm looking at a 77, 78 year old man where the judge continue to tell him, stop attacking an 80 year old woman. And you're going to be thrown out of court. But yet he gets a pass, right? I mean, we're making all concessions for him, but yet when we have a prosecutor that they say should know better, you should know the law, but yet we don't apply the same pressure to an individual that occupied the Oval Office,

the highest office in the land. And so I try to look at things apples to apples, Candace, to answer your question. I will finish my remarks the way I started. I won't rush to judgment. She doesn't have 91 felonies, four indictments, and two impeachments. Right? We cannot have a false equivalency here and say, you know, what's good for the goose is not good for the gander. So I would just say, let this play out.

I will pray that her case reveals that she is innocent until proven guilty. She is, we should give a due process like everyone else. But when you have these kind of high-profile cases, the narrative is just different when you're dealing with African Americans. So go through the process, the due process, you said, as it will be carried out in court after this trial might even wrap up by the end of the week. Randy, when you look at this trial, we're not only talking about her, we're talking about her husband. Divorce papers are all involved here. She is saying that she thought her husband was going to take care of the taxes that amounted in tens of thousands. A lot is being put on the husband. These prosecutors are saying, listen,

don't worry about the husband. Just worry about the woman that you see in front of you. What do you think about the potential of her maybe even taking the stand? I think she will take the stand. I believe she has to speak up for herself because there's so much attention being paid to her. And people will expect her to be able to defend herself. What I feel, and of course, you know, we all experience life through our own personal experiences. It just seems like here you have a case where a black woman is expected to know and be all things. So because she's very versed in certain areas, of course, she also is supposed to be, you know, an accountant, a realtor, a broker, and not to make any mistakes. And seeing, you know, they keep calling her a liar over and over

again and not given the benefit of the doubt that she may not have known. You know, people can say ignorance of the law is not an excuse, but it does play things very differently than if someone were, you know, purposefully negligent or created a criminal act. And also, it does, you know, to see those foiled against what's happening with the man who is running for president right now, it's just absolutely disgusting right now. It's hard for me to even take it seriously, you know, it's just, to be honest with you. And Dr. Ali, do you think that if this had been, you know, Marilyn Mosby, the teacher in Baltimore, living a quiet life, that this is someone that anybody would have even been paying attention to. Would you say that it's her position that really has

put her on the chopping block? Oh, it's most definitely her position. You know, it is, as Randy said, there is an element of her being a Black woman, being a leader. Of course, you know, we all understand also when you take those leadership positions that there is going to be a spotlight on you, not only when you're holding office, but even afterwards. So you just have to understand that. But I'm also a big proponent for equal justice under the law. So we got to make sure that that's going on. Folks have talked about Donald Trump a little bit, but if you take a look at this case and you also take a look at some of the charges that are against him, there are some very

similar aspects, except he's inflated things to tens of millions of dollars, where that's not the case here in Maryland. And since I know a number of folks in Maryland and in Baltimore, there was some of a group of folks who also were out to get her. So I'm not saying that she did or did not do anything wrong, but when you enter into the world of politics, you'll have to understand that the slightest impropriety will be amplified. So we'll see how it all plays out. Representative Jackson, I want to close with you on this topic. If she is convicted, would you foresee her going behind bars based upon some of the cases that we've seen before? It seems to me like we've seen a lot of people, especially in politics, do a whole lot more and get that slap on the wrist?

You know, when I think about the justice system and what the justice system has been for us the last 400 years, it has never been equal. And so a lot of my colleagues, including myself, we always talk about not just reform the justice system, but to reconstruct it. So that way, when these situations occur, regardless of the you know, if you have melon in your skin or not, what that punishment should look like here in Georgia right now, Candace, we've taken some laws that were misdemeanor for decades and we're turning them into felonies. We just had a law two weeks ago where the minimum mandatory sentence was two years. Now it's going to be 10. So before you even enter the courtroom, your minimum mandatory sentence is 10 years. And 98 percent of these cases end in a plea deal. And of those 98 percent, 80 percent are African-American. And so we don't know if she should end up behind bars or not. I'm just saying the system itself, in the words of the person that has 91 felonies, he said the system is rigged.

Yes, it's rigged for him because the average individual with 91 felonies and being a retired naval officer, if you have one piece of classified material, one piece, he had 400 pieces of classified material in mar-a-lago candace we put people in 11 words like yesterday that's what we did as a commander and so for so so that's why it's hard for me to rationalize to randy's point to look at one case over here and say, this person should end up behind bars, but this person would have a greater gravity on these United States. And he's still walking around, no ankle bracelet, and just seems like nothing's going to happen. That's powerful. There are a lot of moving parts in the justice system that, as you said, depends upon where you are, depends upon who's in that jury, depends upon how your attorney is advocating for you and who you can afford. It all adds up to you just never know what will happen. I want to move on now to Daryl George, Texas and the locks. Dr. Ali, I'm going to start with you. We have this young man who's been

repeatedly suspended for his locks. Now with this ad, they're saying, well, it's not just the locks, it's the length of the hair. Even though if you think about it, Dr. Ali, if he has his hair up, it's not reaching his shoulders. So what is the difference? This is one that perplexes me every time I see it in the headlines. I'm sure that it hits home for you. Yeah, it doesn't confuse me at all. I totally understand the dynamics that are playing out there. You know, it is racism. That's all that it is. You know, it's interesting. How do they know how long this young man's hair is? Because he does. Every time I've seen him, whether on video, TV, or in pictures, he's had his hair,

you know, braided up. So how do you know how long his hair is? But that's not even the problem. The thing really is I encourage folks to actually go out and do some research about the history of America and black hair. And if you understand that when they kidnapped us from Africa and began to bring us over here, they understood that there was a cultural tie to our hair. It even talked about where you came from and the status that you had in the places that you lived. So they would shave our heads, both men and women, so that folks who came from different tribes or different nations would not know each other, and so that assimilation process could

begin. Fast forward to 2023 and 2024, once again, they are trying to strip away this young man's culture. They're trying to strip away his identity. And they're also, as we talk about on this show, very regularly trying to make sure he understands who holds the power. You should have self-autonomy. And this is another way of taking away that self-autonomy. This also shows us that even when there are laws on the books, if there is no enforcement to make sure that individuals are protected, what good is that law? And we understand that if it was not talking about a young black man or a young black girl, that there would be more of an outcry against these types of actions. Who goes out and spends significant amounts of money to actually put

a full page ad out there, you know, trying to defend themselves. And as you said, his hair is in compliance. It's not reaching his shoulders, if that's the way that you want to go. Randy, who is his hair bothering? It's bothering the people who, as Dr. Ali said, really don't like the culture of the hair and are now at the end of the day following the Crown Act. Well, it really has nothing to do with hair. I mean, really, this is about power and control and the continuation of white males wanting to police black bodies. This is American. This is what America is.

We have they have police black bodies since the beginning and they want to continue to do so. They want the power to be able to do so. And what just really irks me is this when he said that America is about conforming, conforming to whom, Right? Because what that says is that he believes that America is more his than ours. That is, it is on us to have to conform to the way he thinks that things should be. Not that, like, so he has more rights to this country. And what is interesting is that that is what we have always been pushed to do. We've always been pushed as black Americans to say, change your hair, change your skin color, change the way you talk, you walk,

everything about you culturally, we wanna strip you. And guess what? We're still not going to accept you. We're still not gonna give you equal rights or civil rights, but we wanna just completely control who you are. I mean, I am, to say I'm outraged is an understatement because I really get upset when it's our babies, right? I mean, this is a young man who's trying to grow up in this world, and I cannot imagine the mental and emotional stress that he is under. I applaud the family saying we're not backing down because this is about far more than hair.

Yeah, what it must be like to be a junior in high school and have to deal with this when you should be worried about the junior prom or your classes or whatever you're doing on the weekend and you have to worry about a lawsuit just because of the way that you are twisting your hair that grows out of your head. And Representative Jackson, what we're talking about is a law that is on the books. So at least I say they have that. And hopefully this will play out in the way that the Crown Act was set to have it play out to protect people from being discriminated against at work and at school. You know, one of the things I have on me today, because I took it with me to the Capitol,

not sure if you can see this, but this is the Constitution. And one of the things I mentioned to my Republican colleagues, that they believe in the Constitution, We believe in the Constitution. And the Constitution says I should have equal rights and protection under the law. It didn't say anything. If I'm black, white, orange or green. That's what it says. We can read now. And so they've been attacking everything candace since blacks been involved they didn't want us to learn how to read or write we started learning how to read and write some of us got two or three four degrees i'm working on my fourth degree right now this is about power and control to randy's point this has everything to is about power and control, to Randy's point. This has everything

to do about power and control. And the reason why I got the Constitution in my hand, Candace, because I asked my colleagues, you attacked CRT and you didn't know anything about CRT. You didn't even know how to spell critical race theory. You don't even know what critical race theory is. Now they're starting to attack DEI. You don't even know what critical race theory is. Now they're starting to attack DEI. They don't even know what DEI is. They ousted a sister at Harvard University.

She went through a rigorous process. And now you're going to say she's not qualified because of plagiarism. Plagiarism. And so I asked my colleagues, what is plagiarism today if these higher learning institutions even accept chat GPT?

Isn't that a form of plagiarism? So if you accept chat GPT and you're attacking DEI and CRT and all these other things because blacks are involved. Listen, I used to have an Afro until I went to the Navy and they cut all my hair off. They told me that was the rules. That was the rules. And so this is about power and control, Candace. Let us not fool ourselves. Let us not be distracted. And because of where we are and what President Obama and Michelle Obama was able to do,

and they gave us an image that we too can become the president of these United States. And now you have a group of folks in every aspect, in every corner of our society who are exerting power and control to ensure we do not attain that Oval Office again. That's right. And, you know, even the ad, even though it made reference to the military and their guidelines. Even the military adjusted their standards when it comes to hair. They would not have you have to shave off your afro. Not in 2024. Things certainly have changed, but people seem to not want to keep up. All right. Stay with us. We're going to be back after a break. You are watching Roland Martin and filtered on the Blackstar Network.

Grow your business or career with. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith.

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

Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad.

Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change

a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit adoptuskids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. Grow with Google's wide range of online courses, digital training, and tools. Gain in-demand job skills with flexible online training programs designed to put you on the fast track to jobs in high-growth fields. No experience is necessary. Learn at your own pace. Complete the online certificate program on your own terms. Stand out to employers.

Get on a path to in-demand jobs and connect with top employers who are currently hiring. Take one professional career certificate program or all six. Earn a Google Career Certificate to prepare for a job in a high-growth field like data analytics, project management, UX design, cybersecurity, and more. All professional career certificate programs must be completed by December 31st, 2024. Scan the QR code to complete the application. There are 1,000 scholarships available. Grow with Google and J-Hood and associates. Be job ready and qualify for in-demand jobs. Hey, what's up?

Geek Tony in a place to be. Got kicked out your mama's university, creator and executive producer of Fat Tuesdays, an air hip hop comedy. But right now I'm rolling with Roland Martin, unfiltered, uncut, unplugged, and undamned believable. You hear me? All right.

So how many of us forget our hair or skin products when we are traveling? I'm sure there are a lot of us. Well, we know those hotel products really are not made for us. And with that in mind, the creator of the Black Travel Box turned her annoyance into an opportunity by creating travel-sized hair and skin products for people of color. Joining me from Denver, Colorado is Aureon Brown, the founder and CEO of the Black Travel Box. Aureon, good to see you. Hi, thanks so much for having me. Absolutely. Listen, you have a thriving business that is even on Beyonce's site. Let me start there as a recommendation. But it was a trip to Japan, from what I remember,

that really got you on this journey. Tell me how all of this began. Take me to Japan. Yes. So I was on a trip and I'm a really avid traveler. So I had my whole routine down on a lock for these curls, knew exactly what I was going to do on this 10-day trip. And when I got there, decided to take a little side trip to Okinawa, which if y'all don't know, it's hot, it's steamy, it's humid, and it absolutely ruined any chance of my hair being what it needed to be for that trip. And so I'm thinking, you know, I can just go find something at the store. I'm sure I can go to a commissary or somewhere and grab something. And finding that there really was nothing out there made for me. And even at a very high-end hotel that we were staying at, could not find products that wouldn't ruin my curl pattern.

I just was frustrated. And I said, you know, this should exist. You're a person with hair and skin, and you should be able to take care of it. Right, right. And I think at the time you had a wash and go that became a wash and no, right? Wash and no, yes. This is really where the seeds were planted. What did you do to really make this happen on a business level? How did you make your idea become a reality? What did you do to test products? How did you find out how to manufacture it? Walk me through. Oh, that's, I mean, that's a whole book right there, but my background is in CPG brand management. So in the food and beverage industry, so I knew enough to be dangerous. And so when I started the business, I like to say I Benjamin buttoned my way through things

because the first thing I did was incorporate it before I even had the formulation or the brand. And so I sat down and said, what do I want to see in the world and use that as my jumping off point. And as I began to develop that out, then I began to just, you know, tap my friends, tap my family, ask people, what do you keep in your bag? What are your frustrations? And in doing that, just really creating something, beginning to start to create that first MVP product. Yeah. And in terms of, did I lose you? No, go ahead. I was just saying in terms of that MVP product, you can hear me okay? I got you. Yeah.

Okay. Yeah, that product, when you actually finally got your website together, before you knew it, you had a sale and you really had to jump to it. It kind of was a surprise to you because you hadn't necessarily marketed it yet, but somebody was out there looking just like you were. Yeah. I mean, it was really one of those, uh, God moments, I would say, because I was just starting and just figuring things out and beginning to put together a website just to see what works and see what's broken. And I was my own developer. And then someone purchased and I was like, now I got to figure out how to mail them stuff. Like, how do I do this? So it was, yeah, it caught me by surprise.

Yeah, yeah. But definitely a good surprise. What's the advice that you would give potential business owners who do see a hole that needs to be filled and to really get from idea to something actually tangible? Are there groups that you're a part of? Was there encouragement or accountability partner that you had along the way? Oh, most definitely. And I think, you know, when I first started, my partner at the time, personally, was a really great support and just an encouragement because, you know, pre-George Floyd. Some of the conversations were really, really difficult and they really took some self-reflection and trying to kind of, you know, pull myself back together and

say, look, no, you know what we need. You know what the problem is. Go out and start to fix it. And the people who will come along will come along. And so it's really important to have at least one or two people who get the vision, who really believe in it. And then at the end of the day, you have to run on your own steam and focus on what you can do yourself as well. So. Yeah. And network, network, network. Can you describe this black travel box? What what is in it? What are the variations of it? Yes. So Black Travel Box is a brand, right? So we make hair and skincare products that are in travel-friendly packaging and then formulations that make packing them and using them simple and

easy and, of course, obviously work for a wide variety of hair textures and skin tones. And you're seeing some of the images on screen now of our products. We have our Signature Starter Kit, which is a little bit of a sampling of everything that we have, and it's actually perfect for your carry-on needs. You have Hair Balm in there, so really basic scalp health, which is something that we tend to maybe ignore a little bit when we go on vacation. We'll put a protective style in, which isn't that protective. Maybe not wash our hair as much. And so making sure that we have something to keep our scalp healthy. It's a part of our skin. That's a big piece. We have our shampoo and our conditioner, which again works for our hair textures. So that's something that is really, really important, especially if you're an adventurer

like me. If you want to go swim, which we do do that. We want to go cook and we want to go be in places that smell all kinds of wonderful and fun things. If you're in Calcutta and there's, you know, curry everywhere, you won't be able to go wash your hair when you get back to the hotel. So we have those items in there. We have Body Balm, which is our best-selling product. And, baby, there's no water in it, so it just leaves your skin buttery smooth and moisturized. And then, of course, lip balm because we can't have anybody crusty. And it's just a basic, basic kit that gives you the essentials that you need to get going.

And then you can come back to our site and check out all the other products that we have to really make the entire experience that much easier. Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. Listen, I want to open it up to the panel now. Listen, we just had a conversation about hair and our needs not being met inside of the school system. So this is the perfect segue. Dr. Ali, I want to start with you.

What questions do you have for Oream? Yeah, well, congratulations. This is an amazing set of products you have. I'm curious, you've been able to have a lot of success. What does your marketing strategy look like? It's evolved over time. When I started, it was really about identifying the customer and the customer segment. Because as a good marketer, you know, you might be the customer, but most of the time you're not, right? You don't completely understand what that full picture looks like. So I spent a lot of time doing consumer research, both qualitative and quantitative. So asking people questions and that

kind of thing. And from there, really anchoring the brand in the authentic experiences of our customers so that they could find us. Being a small business that's bootstrapping its way through the world, we can't just throw a few million dollars at advertising and go and find everyone. So really building up a community, you'll see with our Instagram, we have just such wonderful connectivity with the Black travel experience in particular. And that's what's really helped to draw people in through iOS updates and all of the other things that have made it difficult to be an advertiser in the small business space right now.

All right, Representative Jackson, a question for Orion. I'm going to get that name right. Thank you. Absolutely. Well, listen, first off, I am very impressed with your product. As a father with four daughters and three sons, it's always them. My four daughters, they got to have their hair product regardless of whatever that vacation destination may be. My question is around those of us that look like us have very sensitive skin, eczema and things of that nature.

Do any of your product line have something for those with very sensitive skin? Yes, definitely. So there's two things that are really important. One is to understand that most of the stuff that's marketed to us in the ethnic aisle, about 80% of it, has toxic ingredients in it. And about 50% of them don't even put it on the label. So that's the first aisle, about 80% of it has toxic ingredients in it. And about 50% of them don't even put it on the label. So that's the first challenge, right? So if you do have sensitive skin, or even if you just have quote unquote normal skin, knowing what's in your product is really important. And we're very, very transparent about products. People ask me questions all the

time. I have a whole conversation on chat with you guys about it, like no problem at all. The second piece though, is we have been getting feedback. Sometimes we'll talk to folks and they say, shea butter is great, but I'm allergic to it. What can I get? And so this is where our product pipeline is starting to develop out and branch a little bit so that we can find those places where we're hearing from customers like, Hey, I have a sensitivity to this or that. And then we're starting to develop around that. The other piece though, is all of our products are based in natural oils, butters. Everything is either a natural ingredient or a safe synthetic. And I use EU standards to formulate. So I encourage folks to try the product. You know, if you have sensitive skin, do a patch test. If it doesn't work out for you, just send it back to me. We got you. No problem.

Representative Jackson, you have a whole house full of young people in your home, and I bet you have a lot of products under those cabinets. I really do. But the beautiful thing is the travel size. Do you also have travel size? Because that's the other thing. We were going through the Atlanta Hartsville Jackson Airport, and we had to discard so much because it did not meet the TSA standards. Yes, yes. So that was the first thing I started with. You'll notice anything. So we have our products currently in jars and bars.

So you'll see a jar like this, which is our body balm. You'll see a bar like this, which is our conditioner. This is a solid. So the tricky part is TSA is not necessarily consistent about what they consider a liquid or a solid. So what we actually did, and you'll see that in the image that's up right now, we have smaller jars. They're at the two ounce size point, which cannot be disputed. It is well under the necessary limits. And because these products are all concentrated, they're the equivalent about four or five times the amount of like liquid. So when you see that shampoo bar, and I have a small co-wash bar here with me as well, this size, while it's a solid and it will definitely

get through TSA, it also will last really long. This is the equivalent that'll get you to about 15 washes, so four to six ounces of the liquid stuff. So it's really about balancing both making it easy for you to travel with, less spills, that kind of thing, but also not dealing with the TSA headache because nobody's trying to catch a case. Yes, no one is. All right, Randy, question for Araya. Well, first, I just have to congratulate you on a brilliant idea. When we used to talk about companies being inclusive, we would talk about the hotel industry specifically because we would say, if you look at the hotel industries, if you go to a hotel, every product that there has really been designed for the majority culture, right?

And so if you were actually being inclusive and wanted to have products for all people, like, you know, products that considered somebody that was not white, you wouldn't just have a blow dryer. You might have a flat iron or a curling iron, right, because we're not usually going to be round brushing our hair. You wouldn't have that watery lotion because, you know, it's a sin in the black community to be ashy. So we're not going to have black lotion. You're going to give us cream, right? So, you know, if some of you are considering a diverse group of people that do stay at the hotels, you know, we're the fastest growing travelers group that is traveling now. So what you're doing is so smart. So what I wanted to ask you is, are you approaching hotel chains to say, so you can be more and have a more inclusive

brand? Why don't you have these black boxes here? And so, you know, cause that watery lotion is not doing it for us. That part right there. And the funny thing is, is, um, you know, when I've pitched investors and things like that, and they're like, I really don't understand what the problem is. Cause you know, we're all, we don't, nobody likes the stuff that I said, go find your black friend and ask them what ash is and if they would ever use hotel lotion. And you know, someone will come back and be like, I had no idea. Um, and that's, I mean, that is a part of the experience that we can really speak to. Someone asked me earlier about like how we approach advertising. It's talking about the real experience that we have in those spaces. So yes, we are going into hotels. We

actually just launched into Roomza, which is a startup in the hotel space. So you guys check them out. Our shampoo, our solid shampoo beads, these are like little one-shot beads that you can use as well as a body bar. And we're going to continue to expand that out. I have been relentlessly connecting with folks within the hospitality community at both the boutique level, as well as some of the well-known platforms that are out there. And we are pushing forward to get that done. Yeah, yeah. It's a lot of work out there. Dr. Ali, did we already go to you?

I can't even recall. You did, but maybe you're saying I need to know more about these products. No, no, no. Your hair is looking good over there. You mentioned the stores and networking already on. I'm wondering, what about these big box chains? Have you gone that way? I've heard stories of people that have tried to entertain them, but the profit margin isn't big enough, depending upon if you

have a large investor like you've been talking about. And I'm wondering what your experience has been with maybe a Target or Walmart or someone in that range. Yeah, so, I mean, the key, it always feels like it's a... A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on

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

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them.

From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad.

It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I always had to be so good no one could ignore me. Carve my path with data and drive.

But some people only see who I am on paper. The paper ceiling. The limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersilling.org, brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. Great idea to be in a big box store, and I'm not saying that that's not the way to go, but the ability to be successful within those spaces is really predicated on two things. having the infrastructure in place to be able to service a business that could, you know, get you that level of volume,

as well as having the funding to be able to support that. That's getting that foot traffic. At the end of the day, yes, people walk into a Walmart and they discover things on shelf, but oftentimes they're discovering things on shelf because trade dollars have been spent because, you know, sales, those sales aren't coming from nowhere. Right. And so really the key is, is to go in when you're ready. And I had that experience from a corporate perspective. You know, as I started to build the business, we were approached from a.com. So on a digital marketplace of a couple of well-known retailers. And unfortunately, those were not the right spaces without the right support. And so when we see that there's been a resurgence of interest, say, in black entrepreneurship and folks want to do partnerships and do those types of things, it's key to really be discerning about what partners you work with and whether or not they've really put a foot forward to make sure that this is going to be

a successful endeavor. Absolutely. And I do want to point out, I mentioned at the beginning that you were, in fact, curated by Beyonce's people. We have about 30 seconds. Just talk to me a little bit about that because it came as a surprise to you. Oh my gosh, it was out of body experience. Out of body experience. I thought I was being, I thought people were like punking me. I was getting notes in the DMs and I was like, what Nigerian prince is telling me

that I'm on Beyonce's website? I don't believe it. And then finally somebody I know personally texted me and they were like, congratulations. And I was like, what happened? And it was Zarina Akers and her team had done this for Beyonce.com and her Black Parade route, the page, the splash page that she put together when she launched the Black Parade album. And we were one of the first dozen or so beauty brands on that page. And my big head is still on that page now.

If you go to Beyonce.com. Not a bad thing at all. Well, congratulations on your brand. As you did, like so many people will do when they have a great idea. You saw a need. You feel that need. And it's continuing to grow. O'Rean Brown, founder and CEO of the Black Travel Box. Thank you for being with us.

Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it. Absolutely. I also want to thank my guests this evening, Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali, Randy Bryan, and Representative Derek Jackson. Thank you so much for being with us today and imparting your knowledge on just everything. As always, good to see you. Thank you. Thank you. All right. And that's it for Roland Martin Unfiltered.

See you next time and have a good evening. Black Star Network is here. Oh, no punch. I'm real revolutionary right now. Thank you for being the voice of Black America. All momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scared. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig?

A lot of times, big economic forces show up in our lives in small ways. Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. Small but important ways. From tech billionaires to the bond market to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?

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

This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at the recording studios. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real.

Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast.