#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Baltimore Water Advisory, Jackson, Miss. Water Crisis, South Carolina Cancels BYU Season Opener

Episode Date: September 7, 2022

9.6.2022 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Baltimore Water Advisory, Jackson, Miss. Water Crisis, South Carolina Cancels BYU Season Opener Residents and businesses across roughly 56 Baltimore city blocks are under a boil water advisory after E. Coli was found in some water samples. Mayor Brandon Scott will be here to give us the latest.  Jackson, Mississippi's water crisis could be ending as reports of the city's water pumps are pushing out clean water. Help flooded the town that had been without suitable water for days. We'll talk to the owner of a black distribution company that heard the call to help thousands get clean drinking water.  South Carolina Women's head basketball coach, Dawn Staley, cancels its opening game against BYU.   A black family who says Sesame Place characters snubbed their daughters says the company's CEO was a no show for a meeting last week.  There's a real shortage of Black social workers. We'll meet a woman who says the Association of Social Work Boards uses an unvalidated exam with dramatic biases that prevent social workers of color from becoming licensed. And in tonight's Marketplace segment, we'll meet the first Black female-owned business to enter Wal-Mart's celebrations party category. Support RolandMartinUnfiltered and #BlackStarNetwork via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered PayPal ☛ https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered Venmo ☛https://venmo.com/rmunfiltered Zelle ☛ [e-mail] Annual or monthly recurring #BringTheFunk Fan Club membership via paypal ☛ https://rolandsmartin.com/rmu-paypal/ Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox 👉🏾 http://www.blackstarnetwork.com #RolandMartinUnfiltered and the #BlackStarNetwork are news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. is here. Hold no punches! I'm real revolutionary right now. Black power! Support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. Thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roller. Be Black! I love y'all! All momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal.

See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scared. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? សូវបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបានបា� Hey, folks, today is Tuesday, September 6, 2022. Coming up on Roland Martin on Filter, streaming live on the Black Star Network from New Orleans. Baltimore has a water crisis.

What is happening in that city? We know what's happening in Jackson, Mississippi. We'll talk with the mayor of Baltimore about that very issue. For the first time since Reconstruction, a government official has been thrown out of office as a result for his participation in an insurrection. Folks, we're going to explain to you that law and what that could mean for tossing out other,

other Republicans and Donald Trump supporters who participated in what took place on January 6th. Labor numbers are out, folks, in terms of their 71% approval rating for labor unions. What has happened in the last few years? We've seen the explosion of support for labor unions. We're going to get into that on today's show as well. Lots to talk about on today's show. And so let's just get right to it. It's time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Martin on Filter. Let's go. Just for kicks He's rollin' Yeah, yeah It's Uncle Roro, yo 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 Best you know he's rolling, Martel.

Martel. Business and residents living in a 56-block area of Baltimore are being told to boil their water as a precaution. There are some serious issues taking place there with E. coli bacteria has been found in some of the water supply. Now, we've been covering these water issues. Last week, it was Jackson, Mississippi. It continues to impact them there. Now, we're having the issue in Baltimore. Joining us right now is the mayor of Baltimore, Brandon Scott. Mayor, glad to have you back on Roller Martin Unfiltered. Glad to be back, Mr. Roller.

All right, so let's unpack this. Some folks said, oh, my goodness, another major American city, largely African-American, having issues with water. So explain to us exactly what's happening in Baltimore as it relates to water in this 56 block area. Yeah, thank you. And I think there's some, we understand, and of course, I am very cognizant of the issue, the crisis happening in Jackson with my brother, Mayor Chakwe, but this is a little different. So all of this information with the E. coli for us, Roland, is self-reported. So we routinely here in Baltimore take proactive samples from 90 locations within our distribution coverage area, which really equates to 360 samples a month.

On Friday, September 2nd, we tested several locations. DPW did. And 19 of those locations as identified on this map, on the map that you just showed up. On Saturday, we were notified of a possible positive test and immediately had the specimen retested for confirmation per emergency protocol. We also immediately began coordinating with agencies and the facilities in that impacted area. The most important thing is, again, you see, when you see all of those green dots on the map, those are places that had negative test results for E. coli.

Only that one red dot in that small block area is positive. And what is happening as a result of that, I opened out emergency operations center because this is an emergency situation. We have now went out yesterday after working with our state and our partners to retest 24 specimens that we collected through Monday evening. And we will provide that update. It takes 24 hours for those results to come in. You have to let it sit. water distribution to those who have been impacted by the E. coli and the contamination in that boiling water coverage area. That large area that you saw, we put out in an abundance of caution. And as of 6 p.m. today, we've already given out 172,000 bottles of water to individuals seeking such support.

And that's not and we're also taking it to senior facilities and high rises and things like that. We're gonna be here, I'm gonna be here. We're gonna continue to monitor that. We can continue to have three water distribution sites in that area to make sure, we're gonna be making sure that we get it to people who can't get to us. But we are in a little bit of a different situation

because we also know that our treatment facilities, right, all three of our water treatment plants, our plants are up to code. That water coming out of there does not have E. coli. That's tested every couple of hours to make sure that it's not happening. located. And as we go through with these retests, we'll be able to go in and see, is it as a result of a water main break or some construction that introduced contaminants into the system? And we'll be taking the efforts needed to make sure that we get that out of the system so that we can provide the water that we know people deserve. Do you have an estimate on how long this is going to be an issue? Yeah, the testing is the key, Roland. I think the most important thing that your viewers can know is that, again, this is self-reported. We tested on the second, got the results on the third, retested on the

fourth, and got that confirmation of that one positive test. And then we went back and retested all of them to make sure yesterday, and then we'll get those test results in tonight, and from there, we'll be able to then determine where we go, right? If we still have a positive test, if we have more positive, if we have more confirmed negatives in those locations that we can talk about, shorten that area and focusing in. So in the next few hours, as we go through the night and into tomorrow morning, we'll have a much clearer picture as those results come in. And even though we took those tests yesterday, the way that these work through the scientists and those folks is that you have to, these things are only come back after 24 hours after it is,

that specimen is taken, which is why we have to await those results. We again, as we've looked at what happened in Jackson, we've talked to folks in other cities as well. And look, there are mayors across this country who are having to deal with this issue. We know what happened in Flint with their water crisis there. The mayor of New York City talked about a major development there in Brooklyn impacted by issues with their water. I mean, this is one of the most basic fundamental needs of residents. And so what are the conversations being like with you, your city council, but also your counterparts across the country when we talk about infrastructure and water. Yeah, it's one of the biggest things, right?

And I think this is why you hear mayors across the country be so excited about the president and his administration infrastructure, water infrastructure. And when you think about these cities, especially your legacy old cities, your Baltimore, D.C., Philly, New York, Chicago, you know this better than anyone, Roland. These systems and things were built hundreds of years ago with the existence of the federal government Baltimore, D.C., Philly, New York, Chicago. You know this better than anyone, Roland. These systems and things were built hundreds of years ago with the existence of the federal government. And we know that for many, many, many years not having that support and that fixing has came all the way down to local governments that are already stretched thin.

Having this now once-in-a-lifetime chance to start to do that work, we're very grateful for a lot of the work that we've been able to do, working with our congressional partners. We have the best congressional delegation in the United States Congress and looking forward to going even further with that work that will also, in addition to making sure that people get the healthy water, the things that they need, all of the infrastructure, it's also an opportunity for people in neighborhoods to get jobs and opportunities they need as well. Well, look, it is certainly a significant issue. We are glad to see it is not as dire as it is there in Jackson. Folks have hit us saying, hey, if they want to offer help, how can they do so? What are you telling folks? Yeah, they should just get in contact with the mayor's office of

emergency management here in Baltimore, or they can find me on social media. It's very simple, at Mayor B.M. Scott, and we will get you connected to folks. We're very grateful for companies and organizations, Home Depot and others who have stepped up to help. And we want all the help that we can get to make sure that we're impacting our residents as they go through this very trying time. All right, Mayor Brandon Scott, we certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much for joining us. Thank you. All right, folks, Jackson, Mississippi could be seeing their water crisis ends. Reports say the city's water system is pumping clean water.

Four calls helped flooded Jackson, Mississippi in the past several days when they were without suitable water. There have been a number of folks offering assistance. We'll talk to the owner of a black water distribution company that heard the call to help thousands with their drinking water. So that is, again, it's one of those huge issues. We'll talk about that with him in a second. I want to bring in my panel right now because, again, when you look at this issue, when you look at what's happening all over, I mean, this is one of those basic things that all too often

gets overlooked. Mustafa Santiago Ali, former senior advisor for environmental justice with the EPA, joins us. Teresa Lundy, principal founder of TML Communications. Later, Demario Solomon-Simmons, of course, civil rights attorney and founder, justice for Greenwood, is going to be joining us. Glad to have all three of you here. Mustafa, I'm going to start with you. This is in your wheelhouse here. And again, you heard the mayor talk about the importance of those resources that will be coming to America's cities and states as a result of the most recent bill that was sponsored, pushed by President Joe Biden, passed by this Congress. We're talking billions and billions of dollars going into this company's infrastructure. And I keep saying it on this show until I'm until I'm blue in the face. At some point in this country, we have got to stop waiting for things to fall apart and then go,

oh, let's now fix it. The American Society of Civil Engineers, they share with us in their 2021 report that across America, when it comes to both drinking water and wastewater, America got a C minus. Places like Mississippi got a D. And then when you have that information, which all of our elected officials have that information, then when you make choices about not supporting things like Build Back Better, which would have brought even more resources into the mix to be able to address this crumbling infrastructure and nonexistent infrastructure in many communities, then it starts to also amplify, you know, the parties that actually care about this set of issues and the people who are being most disproportionately impacted. So, you know, we know that this is just going to grow because the climate crisis is going to exacerbate. It's going to put more pressure on these systems that are out there. And if we don't make the investments now, then we are going to end up paying trillions of

dollars instead of hundreds of billions of dollars. You know, Teresa, when people are deciding who they want to support, we often hear education, the economy. But look, folks have been making decisions based upon who's talking about improving infrastructure and how they're going to do it. You've got you've got now the governor trying to float. Oh, having private industry take over the water supply in Jackson. Well, Jackson had to sue a company who didn't get the job done the first time. You know, going to private industry is not always the answer. And I just think people need to pay attention, especially African-Americans. We talk about infrastructure in our communities, our roads, our bridges, our sewer systems, because too often our areas of

town are being flooded, are being greatly impacted, especially when you factor in climate change and, of course, years of neglect. You're absolutely right. So when we start looking at, you know, state and local elected officials, I'll get to the federal part in a second, but I think when we talk about the state and local elected officials, part of it is prioritizing taxpayer dollars. And so a lot of times when we are seeing, you know, the misspending or the mismanagement of some of those functions where it's like, you know, okay, well, let's wait an additional, you know, five or 10 years when it comes to some of these decisions, we are absolutely affecting those communities that they are serving. And so, you know, when we start to look at some of those who actually want to run for public office,

I think, you know, not just looking at, you know, what quality of life looks like, but let's also look at infrastructure. Let's look at the economy and what they can do locally at the position that they're running for, because otherwise, you know, we're going to have these situations where we're not just having flooding. We're now having, you know, fires. We're now having electrical issues. We're now having fires. We're now having electrical issues. We're now having real estate and some of those type of issues that can actually decrease the property value. So some of these issues that are happening that I believe right now in Pennsylvania, we're doing elections on the local and state level. And so some of these questions that are, you know, happening in the now need to be answered.

Otherwise, they shouldn't get your vote. Mustafa, I often have said on this show, my parents worked with a civic club, Clinton Park Civic Club in Houston. And there were these basic things they cared about. They cared about parks. They cared about roads. They cared about cutting down, you know, abandoned homes, getting rid of trash, things along those lines. And as people are listening, they should also be thinking about where we live and are we living in low-lying areas? Or do our areas flood a whole lot? What impacts that? And we start talking about,

again, water. Infrastructure is so huge. And I literally just left Texas. I was in Houston the last five days and Hurricane Harvey had the fifth anniversary. And out of the billions that came from the federal government, literally the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, was so spiteful, he gave none of that money to Harris County, the largest county in the state that was greatly impacted by Hurricane Harvey. And so when we talk about infrastructure, we also have to talk about politics. Mississippi had a $1 billion surplus last year and refused to give a cent to Jackson, Mississippi, even though Jackson is the largest generator of sales tax revenue in the entire state. That's how red state, Republican, MAGA, GOP-loving elected officials are screwing over African-Americans and others. Without a doubt. We always got to check the receipts.

And what I mean by that is that lots of times when these federal dollars flow, of course, they go right to the states. The governors then make a decision, whether it's with a commission or them just making the decision about the places and spaces that are actually going to receive these resources. And what we find is that, look at Jackson as an example. Jackson got a significant amount of money through the ARPA. Most folks know it as a COVID relief bill. And they made some decisions. And when you look at if Jackson got a significant portion of those dollars, they did not. When you look at the bipartisan infrastructure bill, once again, they knew what was needed in Jackson, but they made a decision to actually send

a smaller amount, a significantly smaller, than what the mayor had asked for. So we find across the Black Belt, we find in Texas and a number of other locations that when it comes to our communities, we're not getting our fair share. And they already know that there's been significant disinvestment that has happened decade after decade after decade, you know, creating these health problems inside of our communities, actually making the businesses in our communities, you know, less valuable. And Teresa just also talked about our homes. So we've got all these different dynamics that are coming together. There is a cumulative set of impacts that are literally sacrificing our communities. And we

have to change that dynamic by understanding the power in our vote, making sure that we have both governors and folks on the county level who care about our communities, are willing to move the resources to those areas that are the hotspots. And again, I want people to be paying attention to these things. And again, if you're living in Texas, you're in Harris County, Greg Abbott screwed you. That's one reason why he should be thrown out of office come November. We have to be cognizant of this whole issue of of the infrastructure. I want to bring in someone, a business owner there in Mississippi, Teresa. He has a water company. They stepped up and provided, you know, bottled water to Jackson, Mississippi. Lee Coffey is the CEO of MSM Distribution. Lee,

glad to have you on the show. Water is just one of those basic things, frankly, we take for granted. And when the call went out, your company stepped up. Thank you for having me on the show. And like you say, during the crisis, me and my company stepped up. We had water that we felt like, you know, the citizen needed. So it wasn't no question, no doubt, nothing about it. There wasn't nobody to call and ask. We know we needed to be there to help, you know, the people, the people being played a big part in my business to where I'm at today. So we tried to stand a helping hand wherever we could. And your company, how long have you had it?

I've been in business for two years now. Small business owner for two years. We started from $400 and now I'm up to shipping semis. You know, all with my own two hands. Didn't have the money to get the equipment that I needed. Family was so poor,

but we made it work. You know, we prayed. We kept, you know, asking for blessings. Other people who stepped in and helped us in time of the need, you know, donated equipment. So, you know, it was a structure starting out, but I got the hang of it. You know, they taught me the business side. So that was even better. And, you know, I just took it and ran with it, tried to perfect my craft, you know, and touch as many households and families as I could with the water we had.

Why did you decide to start the business? What were you doing before? I used to be on tour. I used to do music. I was on tour with the rapper Lil Boosie, and on one of my last performances I had, I got on stage and my lungs collapsed. And I almost died going through a lot of different surgeries trying to find out why my lungs collapsed. And I almost died going through a lot of different surgeries trying to find out why my lungs collapsed. To this day, we never found out, but I just took it as if, when I got to the height of my moment,

God found something else for me to do. So when he steered me away, you know, they took me over to the water company and they heard my music. They liked it. They wanted me to test my music with the water, you know, and take it everywhere I go. So with all the context I had in the music industry, you know,

I just came back around and formed a business and said, I want to create generation wealth to keep going. And I just want to be prosperous so I can hire other black people and make this big as possible. So me for my music, that just led me right into the water. My question is, so do you process it there in Mississippi? You know, and where do you bottle it? Just take us through that. Okay, well, our headquarters in Artugaville, Alabama, where we blow our own bottles, we fill our own bottles, we label them, we cap them, we do

everything in-house. This is a black-owned company with no additives, no chemicals, no preservatives, all natural, with a pH of 6.9, some of the prettiest water on the market tested against some of the biggest name brands. Wow, that's pretty cool there. And obviously folks are asking here in our various message boards if they want to purchase your water. Like I'm sitting here, got a bottle of water sitting next to me here. If someone wants to purchase your water, is there a website they can go to? Do you ship it to folks across the country? Yes, sir. We ship everywhere, all across the world. They can either hit me up on social media

at MSM Distribution LLC, or they can go to www.1186realartisan.com. All right. Well, look, we certainly appreciate you joining us on the show. That's pretty, pretty cool that you're doing that. And is there a Web site folks can go to right now? Yes, sir. Eleven eighty six dot com website. Like I said, go check it out. Read about it. We are the only black on a premium water company in the world. And we're based right here in the United States. And again, the website again?

1186.com. All right, then. We certainly appreciate it. Thanks a bunch. Mr. Coffey, good luck. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Thank you.

Appreciate it. Teresa, you know, one of the things that, that first of all i think why that's awesome uh is because you know again we sit here and think about something as basic as water look we buy we drink we might as well own i agree uh one i am thoroughly excited about um what he's doing and again this, this also shows, you know, what true entrepreneurship looks like. But I was actually curious, a question of mine would have been, what has the city government, how have they received his services? And how are they also offering to help him to keep it going since they currently have a crisis. But it's definitely encouraging. And look, I probably need to get a case with that type of pH balance myself.

Mustafa, again, it's all about owning. That's what it boils down to. Oh, without a doubt. You know, CEO Coffee, first of all, you know, thank you for everything you're doing in this space. Being a leader and being one of the first is never easy. So, you know, the state of Mississippi, they got a lot of work to do. So one of the things they could do is make sure they have a contract with his company because they have a number of boil water alerts that are going to happen all over the state.

So make sure that you have this in warehouses so they can get out to folks. But of course, they also need to work on their water infrastructure and get that right. But, you know, I continue rolling to share with people all across the country about these huge sets of opportunities that are in the climate and environmental space of us being able to create our own businesses, not just be workers in the space, but create our own businesses, not just be workers in the space, but create our own businesses. They're literally going to be billions upon billions of dollars. And if we don't take advantage of these opportunities to make sure that we are helping our communities to be healthier and we're creating stronger economic stability underneath of them by making sure that we're the business owners in this space,

somebody else will fill that space if we don't. We see how folks come into our communities from other races and other places across the planet and make money in our communities. We should be making sure that we're taking advantage of these huge sets of opportunities that are just going to continue to grow. Indeed. All right, folks, got to go to a break. When we come back, more on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Don't forget to support us here at the Black Star Network. Download the app, Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. Of course, Sunday was a one year anniversary of the Black Star Network. And so we certainly appreciate all of you who have downloaded the app thus far.

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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 the Carol Anderson that every university calls white rage as a backlash. This is the rise of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. There's all the Proud Boys, guys.

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and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. 14-year-old Thomas Jackson has been missing from Memphis, Tennessee, since August 14th. Thomas is 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighs 160 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. with information on Thomas Jackson should call the Memphis, Tennessee Police Department at 901-545-2677. 901-545-2677. University of South Carolina women's basketball team will not be playing Brigham Young University. That decision was made by head coach Dawn Staley. She did so after the recent incident at BYU where a black Duke volleyball player said that racial slurs were yelled at her during the game. Now, the Gamecocks were scheduled to start the season at home against BYU on November 7th, but Staley says simply that is not going to happen.

Well, it wasn't a knee-jerk reaction, obviously, because I don't knee-jerk anything. You know, I vetted it. I talked to various people that was a part of the situation. And I just felt like, I mean, I slept on it a few nights. And I just woke up with the same same gut feeling that I should not put our players in that situation. I did not discuss it with our players.

I did tell them, was it yesterday? Yeah, Friday. Friday that it's going to be happening and they know they you know they they nodded in an affirmation so and I you know I didn't do it to you know condemn BYU I did not do that this was a selfish decision you know and that was I was only thinking about South Carolina women's basketball and I didn't want And I didn't want to, I wanted to handle it on my own, which is, you know, not hopefully involve anybody else that have to deal with it, meaning our administrators,

although, you know, Coach Tanner was really good about supporting it. I didn't want to bring up Rachel as well because I didn't want her to relive it. I just wanted to make sure that our players didn't have to endure that because I don't have the words. If something were to happen in that manner, I don't have the words to comfort them. So I'd rather just not put ourselves in that situation. Well, Brigham Young, they responded.

They posted this on Twitter. We are extremely disappointed in South Carolina's decision to cancel our series and ask for patience with the ongoing investigation. We believe the solution is to work together to root out racism and not to separate from one another. Hashtag love one another. South Carolina is searching for another home opponent to start the season. Now, what's happening here? Brigham Young University says the family banned from its athletic facilities after racist incident during a recent volleyball game may not be the

person who shouted slurs during the match. The A.D. John McBride says BYU athletic staffers have been combing through the school's video recordings of the match to find anyone responsible. Now, you've had a conservative newspaper at BYU claim a source internally says, oh, no one has come forward to take responsibility for this or say they heard anyone shout it. And so I've had these trolls flooding up my timeline, Teresa, saying, you need to apologize, it's a hoax, but it's a single source within the police department. Nobody's actually stepped up. And so it's always interesting how these folks are so quick to discredit this.

You know, they're trying to call Rachel Richardson, Jesse Smollett. They're using all kind of other derogatory names. But the bottom line is this young lady said she heard what she said. And that's that. Dawn, North Philadelphia, born and raised. So, look, we have seen racism inside of our communities, left and right, up and down, daily. So, you know, also kind of going to, again, social cyberspace in general, as it relates

to Rachel, is always going to be, unfortunately, hatred. You know, people are making accounts that are private and they are hiding and masking their racism. But I think this is an opportunity for not only the league, but also an opportunity for individuals just to just read, just take a step back and also just reflect on, you know, how we should, you know, work as a team, understand that racism does exist, and also just, you know, hopefully, you know, figuring out how we could just root it out. And I think this is one of the major opportunities that they were absolutely able to do. You know, DeMario, the thing that's interesting here, I mean, you've got all these folks.

I mean, like I say, they are commenting, they're posting, they're tweeting. You need to apologize. This was a hoax going back and forth. Oh, there's no video. I mean, they're throwing all the different things out. But the reality is the police department hasn't stepped up. Citing a source in the police department, you don't even know who the hell that particular source is. But it's always these right-wing folks who are trying to discredit someone black?

Okay, DeMario's talking. What's going on? You can't hear me. You can't hear. Hello? Hello? Now we got you. Okay. I was saying I'm a true fan of Dawn Staley,

and this is a tremendous show of leadership that she's saying I'm going to punish. I know she said she didn't want to punish BYU, but racists should be punished, and racism should be punished. And I'm glad that she's not going to allow them, because Don Staley and South Carolina, they don't need to play BYU. They're a top team. BYU needs to play South Carolina. So this is the type of leadership that we talked about last week when we talked about this situation, that people, when they do racist things, they should be held accountable swiftly and it should hurt. It hurts BYU to not play South Carolina. It hurts BYU for us to even continue to talk about the racism that happened to this young lady. And listen, Roland, you and I

and Teresa and Mustafa, we all know, it does not matter if they had a video of an individual calling her the N-word on video. There will be people, those trolls, who will not believe it and not care that it happened. The same way they don't care what happens with what Donald Trump and all those other Republicans do, they don't give a dang. I'm proud of Don Staley, and I wish more Black people

in positions of power and leadership would exercise their power in this manner. Mustafa. I mean, Coach Daly as a player and as a coach has always been, you know, first class and realizing and utilizing your power in the moment is incredibly important. I'm always curious what other programs who are going to be playing BYU sometime, whether it is this year or next year, if they are going to show up. The other question is, you know, folks often talk about how they got religion after something has happened.

You know, what were the policies that BYU put in place beforehand? When you purchase a ticket, is there any language that's shared with you about being anti-racist or that we are whatever the slogan was that they had, you know, one love another or something like that? And, you know, what are the other pieces of systems that you have put in place to make sure that racism is extinguished on your campus? Because when somebody comes onto your campus and was purchased a ticket, they are part of your BYU family. So not only students, but also the other folks who are going to spend time there have a responsibility for being anti-racist. So it'll be curious to see who else may join the actions that Coach Staley did and show that their commitment to a changing world is a part of their priority system.

Indeed, indeed. Now, folks, there is something happening actually out of Texas to another volleyball player, this time on the high school level. A Texas mother says her daughters were victims of persistent racial slurs as visiting players at a volleyball match at New Bronzeville Canyon High School. Jennifer Gardner Price posted this on her Facebook page, describing how students in the front row of the student section shouted the N-word at players from Hayes High School throughout the game. She said when coaches notified Canyon administrators, all they told the boys was, watch your mouths.

Gardner said nobody got ejected from the game and the abuse continued as the girls left the gym. Comal Independent School District Acting Superintendent Mandy Epley addressed the incident on Facebook. Dear CISD community, I want to take this opportunity to address a situation that is currently being circulated on social media. Allegedly, at last night's volleyball game at Canyon High School, members of the Canyon student section made highly inappropriate and demeaning racial comments towards members of the Hayes High School volleyball team. Both the district and the Canyon High School administration are actively investigating these allegations. Should it be found that any student, any one student or group of students made any sort of racial comments at any point during or after the game, they will be disciplined to the fullest extent possible.

Comal ISD and Canyon High School will not tolerate this sort of behavior as it does not represent who we are as a district or as a campus. The students, staff and community at Canyon High School have worked hard to create a culture of inclusion and acceptance. Any comments that a single student or group of students may have made are not reflective of the overall student body at Canyon High School or Como ISD. Finally, I want to personally apologize to the players and coaches on the Hayes High School volleyball team as well as the Hayes High School community for any inappropriate comments that may have been made. Please be assured that we will get to the bottom of this issue and that Como ISD will not tolerate any racial intolerant behavior. Ironically, the Hayes players all were displaying the number three

on their hands in support of Rachel Richardson, the Duke University basketball player, who alleges that she was hit with racial taunts there at BYU. Here's what I don't, and again, this is what I don't understand, and this is just me um and teresa i'll begin with you on this one if this happened in the moment and you got the district who was saying well we first of all hey so they went to the administrators and they were like okay watch your miles i'm sorry this is a moment where i'm the coach i'm saying i'm pulling

my team off the court until y'all until y'all get on that mic and publicly say something. Teresa? Absolutely right. You know, and I think Moussaka touched on it earlier when we talk about coaches and their leadership and what does that really look like. We can't just, you know, be idly by just sitting and allowing things to happen because they'll continue to escalate.

So what if that, you know, player decided to actually react, you know, to that racial slur? Then we're in another situation and now we're trying to figure out what is the consequence for that student reacting. So part of it is, you know, one, holding people accountable, but also coaches having a firm understanding that their job is not to just call plays. Their job is to institute what leadership, what real teamwork, what is the foundation of integrity, and bring it on to the court and practice and while they're playing the game. And I think, you know, really just exercising, you know, what racism, you know, really talking about what racism is. It's not, you know, something that's blind. It is something heard. It is something seen. It is an action word. And so noting that, you know, I think also gives coaches the ability to show us exactly who they are and how they're teaching these kids.

And to Mario, to me, again, it's not going to be, well, you know, we're investigating. No, in that moment, him, him, him, all use the N-word. I want them thrown out. Man, listen, once again, for those who are watching watching this the same thing i said last week if someone is spitting or saying the n-word to you that is violence it's not inappropriate language they try to sanitize it it is actual violence and so what should happen when violence has happened it must stop and you're right roland the coaches of the players who are victims of this

violence they need to step up and be stronger and take these children, because these are kids, out of homes away. Then what needs to happen? There needs to be a police report that needs to be filed because this is violent. This is intentional affliction of emotional distress from a civil standpoint, but from a criminal standpoint, this is an assault. An assault is any time someone does something that puts you in imminent harm, imminent fear that you're going to be touched or battered. Someone calling you to inward and public, a white person to a black person, that is an assault. So a police report should be filed. An actual complaint should be filed with the Department of Education, a Title VI complaint, both against the school where they were playing, and maybe

even their own school for not stopping it, and then they should consult with a lawyer in their locale to sue the hell out of these people. Because this is intentional infliction of emotional distress. It is a Title VI violation. And it has to have zero tolerance. And do not allow people to say it's inappropriate language. It is violent language. It is violent language. It is racist language.

It is not about inclusion and acceptance. It is about being anti-racist, as Teresa and Mustafa has already stated. I just think that you got to deal with it in the moment and then not allow for the, well, you know, we don't know who said it. We don't know. We're looking into it. Mustafa, I'm like, yo, the, well, you know, we don't know who said it. We don't know. We're looking into it. Mustafa, I'm like, yo, no, no, no. I'm saying right here, them. They got to go or this game is not continuing.

Right. Yeah, without a doubt. Everything Teresa and Mario said. You know, it's interesting. When I was an athlete coming up, if you cursed at a referee or if you cursed at another coach or if you cursed at anybody, you get ejected from the game. So I'm wondering what the difference is when somebody weaponizes racial language that's different than the other things that you get kicked out of the game from. So my question also

is, along with all these other people that we're asking to be more accountable, what happened with the referees who actually are the ones who are supposed to control situations? If I throw something onto a basketball court, you know, and others do the same thing, they have no problem in telling folks, if you don't stop this type of behavior, then we're going to shut the game down and we're going to clear, you know, the arena or whatever it might be. So there's a whole bunch of accountability in this process. And we need to make sure that there is a comprehensive set of actions and strategies that we are putting in place moving forward. And, yeah, they should have just said you're gone.

That's absolutely it. All right, to a break we come back for the first time since reconstruction a political official has been tossed out of office due to their participation in an insurrection I'll explain you're watching Roland Martin unfiltered on the Blackstar Network download the Blackstar Network app

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Hey, I'm Taj. I'm Coco. And I'm Lili. And we're SWB. What's up, y'all? It's Ryan Destiny. And you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks, the 14th Amendment deals with the issue of an insurrection.

Check this out. There's a county commissioner in New Mexico. A judge has tossed him out of office as a result of his participation in the U.S. Capitol riot. That's right. The founder of the Cowboys for Trump, Cooey Griffin, is a county commissioner there. And this judge said that he violated a clause in the 14th Amendment, which keeps folks from participating in an insurrection against the U.S. government. Yeah, he's been thrown out. It's the first time a judge has formally ruled that someone that that January 6th took place on January 6th, 2021, was indeed an insurrection. Folks, this is significant.

The bar, I want to start with you. A lot of people are unaware of this clause in the 14th Amendment. It dates back to the Civil War. And folks have been unwilling to invoke this. In Georgia, some residents tried to get Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene thrown off, thrown out of office on a similar deal here. But, you know, this is one of this is one of those laws that it's sitting right there that no one has tried to use before. And frankly, there are a number of elected officials who were involved with what took place on January 6th, and they were indeed domestic terrorists in doing so. So bravo to this judge for saying,

hey, man, you got to go. Hey, no question. Once again, Roland, just like we just talked about with Don Staley, this is just another example of actual leadership and people utilizing the tools and the power that they actually have possessed to actually get things done in America today. We need more of this. It's Clause 3 of the 14th Amendment that says these insurrectionists, these people that try to do a coup in the United States, they don't have a right to be in leadership. They don't have a right to be an elected official. So I am proud of this judge. I hope other judges and other Democratic leaders would do the same thing with people all over this land who tried to overthrow this country

and are now elected officials. People like Jim Jordan, people like Josh Harley, people like Marjorie Greene, you already talked about, and many, many others. So this is just another great example of leadership and people utilizing the power that they actually had. That point there, I think, is an important one, Mustafa. Use the laws right now. You know, you're hearing people say that Mary Garland, the Attorney General, should be far more aggressive in how he is dealing with Donald Trump.

The same thing. What these folks did on January 6th, it was pure domestic terrorism. It wasn't, oh, they were just taking a tour of the Capitol. No, we saw the video with our own eyes. It was abundantly clear. Right. Without a doubt.

I'm still confused how there are members in the House whom still have their job because all of us who have taken federal service, you know, raised our right hand and said we would defend the Constitution against those both foreign and domestic. So we got domestic terrorists who are holding office, and we have not gotten rid of them. I mean, so it goes against everything that, you know, that the founders and others have written over the years. So it'll be interesting to see if folks finally expand the utilization of a point that we're making. And actually, if these folks don't want to be a part of our system, then they should not be being paid as a part of the system.

Teresa. Yeah, I totally agree with all of it. Theresa. what lesson is there to be learned? Because I think, you know, again, you know, we just got to make sure that, you know, especially those who are in elected office, that, again, they're utilizing their power, their understanding that, you know, their job is to provide justice and safety for all. So half the battle is if, you know, we have elected officials who choose to be a part, choose to, you choose to run with this rhetoric, then they need to get out of office. And I think the judge made it very clear and clean. And hopefully that is an example of what some of these others who decided to be unmasked, this is the consequence that they have to look forward to in the future and right now.

Absolutely. And again, I really hope these judges get far more aggressive in dealing with these people. They are boils on American society. And it's so funny. I was on MSNBC on Saturday and I call these folks evil. I call them exactly what they are. And all bought a right wing. They've been so upset with me, mad, angry. They've been tweeting me, emailing me their racism is showing Mustafa. And then I love these people. You know, I'm a grandmother of seven. I'm a Christian. I'm a Trump supporter and I support a border wall. I support the military. How dare you call me evil?

You started by saying I'm a Trump voter. End of our conversation. I mean, well, here's what this is. What gets this is really what gets me in Mustafa. The people who go, no, how dare you call me evil? But you progressives, you're communists, you're Marxists, your sorrows all paid off. You're living on a plantation. What's the other one? You're socialists. They. What's the other one? You're a socialist.

They love tossing those things out, but when Biden calls them semi-fascists, they lose their damn mind. Or I call them evil, they lose their mind. Yo, wear it, because you're wearing it right now. Well, you know, privilege never allows you to believe that you are anything less than perfect and everyone else is less than what you are.

It's interesting. You know, racists never believe that they are who they are. And just like those who embrace evil would never believe that they are contributing to the evilness that goes on. So, you know, a part of it is this whole neglect that folks have going on where they just don't want to deal with the fact of their views and of their sets of actions that are tied to that. So, you know, you can't change everybody. You hope that some folks will actually wake up and realize what they're doing and become better folks, but you can't spend so much time on that because there's too much work to do.

Absolutely. Absolutely. And, you know, Teresa, it's just been hilarious dealing with it for the last 72 hours. And they are just upset in their feelings. They call 75 million of us semi-fascists. Yeah. And your point. Well, look, if the shoe fits, wear it.

But if it doesn't have anything pertaining to you, then you shouldn't be responding. You know, when I saw some of your tweets over the weekend, I just said, my God, what are we doing with our lives? So, because half the battle is, you know, individuals want to be a part of a group. They want to be a part of something, something sometimes people can't even touch. And unfortunately, in this case, this is this entire magna movement where it's something, you know, really just a collective decided that they wanted to pursue. And again, it's a branding, it's a marketing. It's an interesting issue that I think, you know, we definitely need to have another conversation on. But at the end of the day, if nothing, you know, if anything that you said, Roland, had to do with anybody that took it personal, then it is what it is.

Maybe they need to check themselves. But otherwise, the truth is what it is. You know, the Mario, you know, you look, you're there in Oklahoma and it's a whole bunch of Trump suck-ups there when he had his big first rally after COVID. It was there in Tulsa. That's where Herman Cain went to die. Got COVID, came back a few weeks later and died. And these folks really get upset when you call them out. They really get upset. But look, you can't overlook the crappy stuff this man said before when he was running, what he said while he was running, what he said after he won, and what he's saying right now. And I'm sorry, if you support the stupid, I'm going to call you stupid.

Yeah, you know, and look, this is why racism is such a debilitating disease and such a destructive disease of the mind and the spirit. Because these individuals will say, oh, I'm not racist. And how dare you call me racist when they're doing nothing but racist things? I mean, it's like the same individuals who say, oh, we just go back to prayer in school. Well, when we had prayer in school, we had segregated schools. When we had prayer in school, we had lynchings going on all around this country. When we had prayer in school, we had segregated water fountains and other things of that nature. So these people, the Cromwell River, they always call them black people and so-called progressives as snowflakes.

These are the biggest wimps, snowflakes, punks, whatever you want to call them. They always get their feelings hurt because they're not used to someone speaking back on them. They like to be bullies. And as soon as you say something to them, they want to start crying. They're the ultimate Karens and Kevins. Karens and Kevins is what I like to call them. This for me is real simple.

I punch back. Every time. So if y'all don't like it, that ain't my damn problem. That's your problem. Simple as that. So I'm not going to stop punching back. I think they're so used to folks backing down from them. And so I heard that conservative radio talk show host Mark Levin was talking trash about me. Okay, Mark, bring your punk ass on. Call me.

Email me. I'll debate you. Tucker, any day. Martha McCallum, Laura Ingram, any of y'all. Sean Hannity, I take on any of y'all, any day, any time, anywhere.

There's a reason why y'all don't call me. Yeah, but of course they don't want it. No, no, no, no. No, they don't want this smoke. Now, I see the black folks they book, and that's the folks they book who on this show. But they don't want this smoke. Because they know how it's going to end up.

And so I'm not going to back down from any of them. And y'all can come on my Twitter feed. You come on my Instagram feed. You come on my Facebook page. Listen, I'm real fast with the button. I can block 700 y'all in an hour. It really is not a problem. So if y'all want to swing and y'all want to debate, let's go. Let's go. Because we're not scared and won't be scared of any of y'all. Because truth will prevail. And we're going to expose the evil and expose the lies every single day. That's why I created this show four years ago.

That's why I created the Black Star Network a year ago. And so if y'all want some of this, all you got to do is email. I'll be there. But they say, I don't know. It's going to break. They don't want to. They don't want to go into a break, y'all. We come back more on Roland Martin

Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. When we invest in ourselves, we all shine. Together, we are Black Beyond Measure. I remember being with the view when they said, we want to extend your contract.

And I knew. God said, it's time to move. It's time to go. And everybody was saying, Sherri, you got a great job. You're making all of this money. And I said, no, it's time. And they said, you ain't going to be able to. You've been away from Hollywood.

And I said, it's time to go. And when I didn't, that's when I realized I was about to go through this divorce. And it was going to be expensive. It was going to be a lot. And I said, I's time to go. And when I didn't, that's when I realized I was about to go through this divorce. And it was going to be expensive. It was going to be a lot. And I said, I'm going to stay. I said, I'm going to stay for a couple of years. Make this money.

See, go ahead. I'm going to make this money. And then I'll get out lower. So it was a compromise. I'm going to do what you say, but I'm going to do it on my thing. And he went, really? He went, really. And you know when he went, really?

They said that we were heavy in contract negotiations. And they came, my manager called. She said, they're not going to renew your contract. And I went, hey, wait, what? Just yesterday, they was offering me more money. She said, they just decided not to renew your contract. And I remember sitting in front of the mirror at the view. And I went, what happened?

And it was very clear. God said, I told you it was time to go. When we invest in ourselves, we're investing in what's next for all of us. Growing. Creating. Making moves. That move us all forward. Together, we are Black Beyond Measure.

On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach. Did you know that 43% of Americans say that they're going to go deeper into debt because the cost of everything is rising because of inflation? On our next Get Wealthy, you're going to hear from money coach Lynette Kelfany-Kotz as she shares exactly what we need to do to stay out of debt and get wealthy. When I paid off my $100,000 in credit card debt,

I was just doing strategies kind of piecemeal. I was doing like what I thought would work. And then it was like, oh great, it did. It was effective. And then I was like, I thought would work. And then it was like, oh great, it did. It was effective. And then I was like, I should document this. I should explain like how I got out of debt. That's right here on Black Star Network with me, Deborah Owen, America's Vote.

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and you're now watching Roland Martin right now. Stay woke. all y'all got a word some wisdom for white racists if you're going to show your racism, don't do it on video. And two, don't name your employer when you're showing your ass. A white chemical engineer did just that on a plane coming back from London. He got booted from the plane because of this. That's a black bag a black bag yeah obviously i'm a white male that picked a black bag because i'm racist all right you're taking me off the plane because i'm racist i didn't do anything yeah i'm a little intoxicated We'll get the bucket.

You want to kick me off the fucking plane and fuck all y'all. Okay. So that's the only way you want to kick me off the fucking flight. Are you going to compliment me with another flight when I go to? I'll get off the fucking plane with you liberal faggots. I hope all your liberal faggots fucking crash the fucking plane, you faggots. Fuck you. Crash your fucking plane, you fucking liberal. I'm a chemical engineer. I work for Laxosmith Klein.

I work for Laxosmith Klein. I'm about to quit the fucking job this week. Rich out of the company. One of the the faggots companies in the world. Get him out of here. So, homophobic slurs, racial slurs, and Zachary Easterly is without a job. Yeah, his employer, GlaxoSmithKline, canned his ass as a result of his meltdown. The company released a statement

that said, at GSK, diversity, equity, and inclusion is embraced and celebrated and we are committed in policy, principle, and practice to maintaining an environment which prohibits discriminatory behavior and provides equal opportunity for all persons. Now, Zachary admitted that he may have been a bit liquored up, but now he's without a job.

So do me a favor. If you're a black chemical engineer out there, please. There's an opening at GlaxoSmithKline. And I keep saying, you know, Teresa, all these races keep showing themselves. Hey, we could end black unemployment as they keep doing this day by day. It's unfortunate, but yes, you're absolutely right. uh mentality of individuals who now decide that you know they are bold enough you know to bring out these racist homophobic slurs and still are able to work at their jobs um because probably it's you know they're comfortable um and the skin that they're in you know so it's like literally since january 6th it's no longer these backroom conversations. They have been more widely open and, you know, bold. So I am hoping that, you know, that individual who works at GlaxoSmithKline is also having a hard, hard conversation with his HR manager about his next steps at the company.

Ain't no next step for him at the company. His ass gone, DeMario. Can't hear him. DeMario, will you stop hitting the damn mute button? He acting like me. Okay. You omegas do not know how to use technology. the damn mute button? He acting like me. Okay, I'll let you know.

Homemakers do not know how to use technology. Hey, I'm going to tell you what. I love that video you just showed, and I appreciate my sister Teresa. She's so nice. She said, unfortunately. I'm glad this happened to this guy. All I could think about was that Ric Flair said,

cocaine's a hell of a drug, because that's all I was thinking about, that he was talking to all that stuff. Look, like you said, don't be, if you go, don't be racist.

Number one, if you're going to be racist, don't be it on TV. This guy, hopefully he was arrested also. He should have been arrested because he was again, lodging threats, violence,

just because you, when you talk that way and you threaten people, that's violence to me, that's almost terror. He almost a terrorist talking about, I hope you crash the plane. And I'm so glad to hear that he got his job. He got, as you said, Roland, he got canned. I don't believe in turning the other cheek.

I don't believe in going high when they go low. I'm glad he got squashed. I hope he lost his job. I hope he has a police report. And I hope he has a lot of turmoil for this racism that he allowed the world to see. I mean, I just sit here and just laugh at these fools, Mustafa, because all they do, they just keep showing their racism. And guess what? Camera's rolling.

Please, by all means, keep talking. All I can think about was that viral video where that lady said, you're about to lose your job. As soon as he started talking, it was in the back of my head. It just kept going and going and going. I was like, you're an engineer. You're this damn dumb. But okay, that's it.

You know, he's destroyed his career. I don't think he really understood the significance of the moment. Who's going to hire you afterwards? Because folks continue to track individuals. And, you know, once you're viral, there's no way that you could ever go back into, you know, the area that you did. And if somebody does hire you, then that says that they believe in some of the things that you espouse to folks. So that's one side. Here's the other side. And I understand we live in a society that people want to, you know, kind of just, you know, stay out of stuff. But I need my white brothers and sisters to also, when they see this type of stuff, then they need to make sure that they are also calling it out. You know, I'm not asking them to get up and put hands on anybody, but they should

have been drowning him out and making sure that folks knew exactly how they feel about the things that he was saying. And then the last part, DeMario talked about, which is incredibly important. If that had been a person of color who told folks, I hope your plane crashed, we all know how that would play out. There would be some police officers waiting for you when you got off, whether it's on the international side or here in the States, and there would be a much deeper conversation, and you probably would be arrested and a number of other things that would play out in that situation.

So, you know, yeah, continue to act up. Continue to be caught on camera. You know, you need to keep that mess. You shouldn't do it, but if you're going to do it, do it in your home in the basement where you belong. And speaking of if you're not playing things smart sea world is not doing so the family of two black girls um that appeared to be snubbed by costume character at sesame place in philadelphia say all options on the table after a meeting was set up and the ceo of sea world he didn't show up

that's right folks uh the ceo mark swanson was supposed to meet with Jody Brown and her family last week, but the family attorney, B.I.V.R. Lamar, said Swanson was a no-show. Lamar said the family is tired of talking and released the following statement. To appease the Brown family and the community at large, we were presented with the illusion that SeaWorld Entertainment wanted to do right and mediate the matter. However, what was labeled a mediation this week shifted to a meeting where the Browns were finally able to voice their concerns, and they then offered a sandwich and cookies.

Lamar wrote, Sesame Place and SeaWorld are defendants in a discrimination lawsuit making similar claims. Brown is now a party to that lawsuit. Just saying, SeaWorld, first of all, owns Sesame Place. Teresa, not smart PR for the CEO to skip the meeting. No,

it's not smart, and also it also just shows where they think about, you know, this situation. You know, you know, this situation. You know, if the, you know, I just feel like there's a lot of factors here. You know, I've heard Sesame Place statement. I read it. You know, they were immediate. So shout out to their communications team.

But when it came down to actually trying to formulate decisions on solutions, the CEO was absolutely absent, which also could mean various other things that, you know, the client in this case, Sesame Place CEO, just did not agree, you know, with whatever settlement, whatever solution was being brought to the table. And then also that they weren't even willing to listen. And so half the battle is, you know, the families are just asking, you know, for change. They're not asking for a new DEI strategy, but they are asking for the attention of the corporation to actually do something. show, it also adds to the additional heartache that the family and also consumers have to deal with or they hopefully don't want to expect when they go to Sesame Place with their loved ones.

If you're trying to get a story off the front page, Mustafa, you don't contribute to another story. Exactly. You know, the CEO kind of showed folks where his priorities are. And I understand being busy, but you make time, you sit down, you listen, you share with folks what are the changes that you are going to make and what are the policies and procedures that you already have in place? And when you hire new folks, you also share what the sets of expectations are. And so it was just dumb. It was dumb not showing up.

And you really got in a situation where you're going to have black folks coming to your park. So you make choices and there are ramifications for your actions and your choices. Indeed. I'm just saying, I mean, I don't know what these folks are thinking, DeMario, but I see those families go next level. I bet you get his attention then. Well, from a legal standpoint, I don't understand what the strategy is here. I mean, obviously, we're talking about the PR standpoint. But if you say you're going to mediate something, you know, when you go to a mediation for those who are listening, anything that's said during a formal mediation cannot be used in court. So that's your opportunity to go, to listen, to speak your piece, hear from the other side. And if you don't get a resolution, they can't then come into court and say, oh, we're doing

mediation. You say you was going to give us X, Y, and Z. So I don't understand legally why would you agree to an actual meeting and then not show up? That just doesn't seem smart to me at all. Then on the other side, for the plaintiffs who have already filed a lawsuit, at this point, they're going to have to just move forward with that lawsuit. And it's a lot different than being on TV, doing press conferences, which, you know, we do a lot of those, and getting on rolling and talking about the issue. And they probably really was trying to get this case resolved without actually going into court and actually having to prove damages in a court of law, in a federal court. And everyone has to be unanimous. That's a lot more difficult than getting on TV. So it's unfortunate, I use my

sister's, Teresa's word, it's unfortunate that this could not have been resolved at this point, because at the end of the day, it's going to take more time and more resources for those plaintiffs, those family and those kids before they get any type of resolution. So I hate to see this. I don't understand the legal strategy and the PR strategy, as you stated, Roland, simply don't make any sense. It does not. But you know what? And so it goes. Hey, y'all, some good news for black Olympic swimming hopefuls. Soul cap, the swimming cap for people of color finally has gotten approval from the from the international sports governing body for swimming. It is called the Black Hair Swim Cap. The creator of Soul Cap says the new approval is a, quote, huge step in the right direction to bring inclusive swimwear into competitive swimming and helping to bring down some of the obstacles that are keeping swimmers away from the sport. Athletes like Alice Dearing, Great Britain's first black Olympic swimmer,

can compete while protecting her curly afro. This was an issue in the Olympics this year where they were not allowed to use these caps. And it was a lot of controversy. They've now gotten approved. And this is a perfect example, Mustafa, where you've got to have cultural competency, where for so long these rules were established, frankly, for white people. And you have black folks with different hair who are saying, hey, these caps don't work for us. They saw the solution, but FINA wouldn't let them use them in the Olympics. Now they can be used.

Yeah, you know, they've always had this Eurocentric lens that they've operated from. And, you know, even though you have countries from all across the planet who come together, you know, I'm glad that in this moment that they're finally beginning to actually move into the 21st century in relationship to sort of their policies that they are moving forward on. So, first of all, congratulations to SoulCat. It's a huge win for so many of our brothers and sisters who are into water sports. Teresa.

Yeah, I was literally raising my hand saying, thank God, finally. I know there's many, I remember when I used to lifeguard way back in the day, but that was always an issue. I know there's many, I remember when I used to lifeguard way back in the day, but that was always an issue. You know, there was never any caps that would, you know, help black and brown kids who wanted to swim

because they was always worried about their hair and also affording, you know, their next hairstyle was always another issue. So they obviously just didn't learn how to swim and just didn't take it seriously. So I'm glad this is no longer a hindrance for those who want to learn and are willing to learn.

And also, you know, the Olympic, you know, finally just woke up and said, hey, times are changing, and so do we. Demario, I consistently say that we are a country, a world that operates by white standards. Now what you are seeing are people who are saying, you know what, I'm just not going to conform to how y'all roll. So you know what, we're going to create things that work for us. And if that means forcing your hand, so be it.

And that's what it takes when you live in a society and a world that's been dominated by Europe for 500 years. That is an unfortunate fact. And so I'm proud of this company that they were able to, number one, create a product that was a – and fulfill a need in the market. So that was good. They created a product that was at such a high level that Olympians want to use it. And then they didn't stop with the initial no. They continued to move forward, go through the channels, do what it was necessary to do to get the actual approval.

So now not only will this help Olympic swimmers, but as Mustafa stated, it will help this company and other entrepreneurs. So more Black people can see when there is a need for something that impacts us, something that we need to create it and then create a market and be successful as an entrepreneur

and as a problem solver. And I know there's someone who is saying, well, you know, this applies to the Olympics. But with the rally, Mustafa, this impacts folks all over. This impacts every day. We're seeing how folks in high schools and middle schools and elementary schools are having to deal with their hair and these white standards in terms of what's acceptable. And hopefully this is going to impact younger swimmers, individuals who may want to swim, but they're concerned about their hair, who now say, hey, there's now a cap I can wear

and I can maintain my culture, but I can still swim. Exactly. You know, not knowing how to swim is a very dangerous situation because you never know when you might be close to water and accidentally fall in. Somebody might throw you in, all kinds of things. So being able to increase, you know, the more brothers and sisters, especially at young ages who are learning to swim, is incredibly important. I learned to swim in Puerto Rico. My uncle taught me when I was like five years old. So, you know, I'm excited.

I'm truly excited about this because not only is it going to help to build wealth, you know, inside of our community for this company and hopefully others, but it also helps us to protect our health. Indeed, indeed. All right, folks, Nikki Giovanni, the renowned poet and author, is retiring after 35 years at Virginia Tech University. She, of course, again, poet, essayist, author. She began teaching there in 1987. After hearing her speak at a conference, school faculty member Jenny Fowler recruited her to teach there. The president of Virginia Tech, Tim Sands, said in a statement,

Nikki Giovanni has been an important and deeply valued presence on our campus, giving voice to the spirit of Virginia Tech and helping us celebrate, mourn, learn, heal, and be better. Her words will continue to inspire us and touch readers around the world. And while we will miss her regular presence on campus, she will always be a beloved member of our university community. Nikki Giovanni is a Fisk University graduate, a civil rights activist and poet. She became known after her involvement in the black arts movement in the 1960s. She first established the first black arts festival in cincinnati ohio in 1967 if y'all want to see a great interview

simply go to our youtube channel uh keenan uh you're listening go ahead and load that on the black star network go to the app we had a great conversation with nikki giovanni uh in our old studio here on roland martin unf, the Black Star Network. Great chat. And what's so crazy is we talk more about food. She loves to cook. And, boy, she threw some shade at Maya Angelou. She's like, yeah, Maya thought she can cook, but she really couldn't. But y'all got to see the interview.

It was fantastic talking to Nikki. So I hope y'all enjoy that. And so, again, she's been on YouTube, I know it's on a YouTube channel, but also Kenan will load that up in our Black Star Network under our book club, Roland's Book Club, and you can check that out. All right, folks, let me go to break. We come back. Our marketplace segment, we'll talk to a sister who created her own company. You know, we always feature these black-owned companies in this particular space. And it is called

Afro Unicorn. We'll explain Afro Unicorn when we come back right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network live in New Orleans. I'll tell you a little bit later why I'm here. Big announcement we're making tomorrow. If you want to support us in what we do, download the Black Star Network app.

We're one years old. On Sunday, Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung, Smart TV. And, of course, you can join our Bring the Funk fan club. Every dollar you give goes to support this show. Our goal is to get 20,000 of our fans on an annual basis contributing on average 50 bucks each. That's $4.19 a month, 13 cents a day. And you can support us, Cash App.

First of all, check in money order to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. Cash App, dollar sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal is rmartinunfiltered. Venmo is rmunfiltered. Zelle, Roland at rolandsmartin.com. Roland at rolandmartinunfiltered.com. We'll be right back.

When we invest in ourselves, our glow, our vision, our vibe, we all shine. Together, we are black beyond measure. Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. On that soil, you will not be free. 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 the Carol Anderson that every university calls white rage as a backlash. This is the wrath of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. There's all the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources,

they're taking our women great resignation is upon us. Yes, it's real. People young and old are evaluating their lives and making some determinations whether to stay or to go. But before you take the leap, you need to examine your motives and make a plan. It's not so much about doing this thing or starting this business or, you know, leaving where you are to do something different.

It's about getting in touch with you. How to make change while also keeping balance. Here on the next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, on Black Star Network. When we invest in ourselves, we all shine. Together, we are Black beyond measure. We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not from politics to music and entertainment it's a huge part of our lives and we're going to talk about it every day right here on the

culture with me for rajee muhammad only on the black star network hey i'm Donnie Simpson. Hi, I'm Eric Nolan. I'm Shante Moore. Hi, my name is Latoya Luckett, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks. Hey, all y'all YouTube folks, why y'all tripping? Hit the damn like button.

Why are we not at 1,000 right now? I shouldn't have to be asking y'all to hit the like button, okay? Nearly 2,000 of y'all watching right now. Hit the doggone button. It ain't that hard, okay? Same as on Facebook and same as on Twitch and Instagram and other platforms where you're watching.

All right, y'all, time for our Marketplace segment. A black woman is the first black female-owned business to enter Walmart's Celebrations Party category. The company's called Afro Unicorn. It's a conscious brand that celebrates women and children of color. They have 20 exclusive products line. The 20 exclusive products line joins Walmart's roster of celebrations, brands in more than 1,500 stores across the country and on Walmart.com.

Joining me from L.A. is April Showers, the founder of Afro Unicorn. Glad to have you on the show, April. All right, so what is Afro Unicorn? Well, first, hey, Roland, thanks for having me. Afro Unicorn is a lifestyle brand to remind women and children of color how unique, divine, and magical we truly are. It's a brand of accessories and apparel just so women and children can feel confident in the skin that they're in and embrace the crowns on their heads. So that is what Afro Unicorn is. It's a lifestyle brand.

Okay, so it's in the party category. So explain that. What are the products? So we're in several categories now, but we did launch in Walmart and celebrations. So you see a lot of the products here, balloons, even the hair bowls. There's plush. There are party favors, plates, napkins, streamers, everything you could think of to throw a party that represents who you are and your uniqueness,

divineness. We have a full party line. We also have apparel. So you see the girls are riding around. We're AfriUnicorn T. So we're in all doors at Walmart for little girls apparel as well. Pinatas, everything you see is available at Walmart as well as the apparel. So AfriUnicorn. Obviously, when you sign one of these deals, you have to ramp up considerably in terms of staff. So how large was your staff before this deal? And what did you have to do to deal with the anticipated demand to be in 1,500 stores as well as be on their website? So we're actually in over 3,800 stores because we're in all doors on the apparel side of Walmart. I am a licensed brand. I'm for Unicorn. I'm the first Black woman to have a licensed brand character in major retail.

What that means is we are exactly like your Disneys, your Knicks, your Marvels. I sit on the shelves directly next to them. Because I'm a licensed brand, I do how they do it. It's fortunate that we have an equal seat at the table. So, yes, my team has grown, but I don't have 50 to 100 employees because as a licensor, I don't have to have that many people because I have partners. I have over 40 licensees that I work with to get us all out into retail. This is the first launch, which is apparel and party, but we're going into over 15 different categories in Walmart. We're also going to be launching into Target. So it's a, I said, it's a Hello Kitty of modern day. So think of whatever product you can think of, you're going

to see Afro Unicorn on it. So I'm a licensed brand character. I'm just like Mickey Mouse. I'm just like LOL. So that is how I'm able to get it out because I have licensees that are able to help execute the demand. All right. Questions from my panel. First up, Mustafa. Yeah, well, congratulations. My sister, when I was growing up, she loved unicorns, but she only had a little pink unicorn. So I'm so glad that I can now share this with my nieces. My question is, you know, how do you make choices about the products that you're going to move forward? Are there young children and others who play a role in helping you to decide what they like? Or are there others who are part of that decision-making process?

Well, I do have my inner team, which consists of my social media manager, Kalia, my assistant, Lianca, my manager, Eskia, and they all have children except Lianca. So I do rely on their children's input. I also rely on the little girl that actually got us into Walmart with a viral video. It was Cassidy Brianna. She was taking a photo shoot out for Unicorn. Somebody walked by and said, I love your hair. And she said, thank you. It's an afro. And that particular video went viral. So she is, she's now my, she'll be six on the 18th.

She is my Unicorn expert. So I tend to always lean on her with everything Unicorn as it relates. So I use Cassidy very heavily because she got us in. So I want to make sure we stay in. Teresa. Well, congratulations from a fellow entrepreneur. I absolutely love the brand. I literally was sending to my group text of friends, like Afro Unicorn is the new Marvel so very excited um so look you said it i think it's great so one of my questions for you um you know as you were starting this brand what was the thought process you know

of this you know was it you just got tired of seeing unicorn being one color um and why a unicorn so my friend kept referring to me as a unicorn and i'm like why do you keep calling me a unicorn? So my friend kept referring to me as a unicorn. And I'm like, why do you keep calling me a unicorn? He said, well, because you have your businesses. I'm an insurance agent. I'm also a licensed real estate broker. I'm a single mom of two amazing black honor roll student boys. And he said, you're a unicorn, April.

I'm like, why? He's like, because you're doing it all. I'm like, because I'm a woman. He's like, nah, you are a unicorn. So I'm like, I don't know nothing about unicorns. I did not grow up with My Little Pony or Strawberry Shortcake. It was literally basketball, video games, mud pies. So I Googled them and I saw what they were about, mystical creatures and if they were unique. So I'm like, okay, I'm going to be this unicorn. I started to use that emoji over and over again. And like you said, one day, like a pound of bricks,

it hit me. Why is it that something's supposed to represent who I am and my uniqueness and my magicness? Why is it only white? Like who determined that this was supposed to be the color of unicorns? So it no longer resonated with me. So I went out to go find one that looked like me. I couldn't find one. And so instead of complaining about it, I wanted to be the change that I wanted to see. And that's why I created AfriUnicorn.

But there was a why behind my brand. The why behind it was I was being called a unicorn because i was managing multiple businesses therefore i started my platform in 2019 on social media to promote other women entrepreneurs it really started off as a woman's brand and because i was being called a unicorn myself so i was highlighting women in their businesses and then started highlighting kids and their businesses. But I come from Zig Ziglar's. If you help enough people get to where you want to be, you'll get to where you need to be. So the platform from day one has been highlighting who you are, what makes you unique, divine and magical. And me telling my followers to go follow

and support your brands and your businesses. And that's how we actually started to grow. And that's how we got a lot of celebrity following the beginning. Everything is organic. I do not pay my followers to rock support Afro Unicorn. I support them and return. They support me. That's how the universe is supposed to work. Awesome. If you need any additional PR communication support, please reach out to us. Demario. I'm like Teresa. I'm going to be your lawyer.

This is hype. Please DM me afterwards because I got a contract coming up I need somebody to look at. Okay, sounds good. Let me tell you, I have a little two-year-old niece and I'm just in love with her. This is dope. I went on your website. I see you as a patina, the ballerina.

I'm ordering that for my little niece, Harper. It's so amazing. Just make sure you're on afro unicorn.com there are other businesses out there that are not after unicorn so please make sure you are on afro unicorn.com just want to make that clear absolutely no question um i thought about mr wonderful off uh shark tank when you talk about licensing, licensing, licensing. My question is, how do you decide who you're going to make allowed to be a licensee? And then can you explain to the audience a little bit what that actually means? So the way that I try to explain it so that we can

understand, I go back to the infamous Kanye and Sway interview where he was, you know, having that very strong, aggressive conversation with Sway saying, you know, how Sway, how Sway. And Sway was like, you know, you got money, Kanye. Just go get your own facility. Just go print your own shirts. Do your own shoes. And he was like, you ain't got the answers. Like, that's not how the Calvin Klein's. That's not how the Tommy Hilfiger's, that's not how they're getting it done.

And they're not giving me that information. I'm trying to figure out why I can't get there. I lost $13 million trying to open up the warehouse and do it myself. So that's not the answer, and you don't have it. Fast forward eight years later, or six years later, he does a licensing deal with Adidas and now he's a billionaire so licensing is basically how you're able to get your products to mass distribution all over the world without having to necessarily manufacture yourself like i don't have anyone packaging orders here or shipping them out it's all that it's about that work, smarter, not harder.

But the problem with licensing, like Kanye was saying, it's information. Our people perish for lack of knowledge. It is a very small, tight Jewish community for the most part. It's very, very tight. They're all in New York for the most part. And if you don't have a seat at the table, and I hear him, you know, he's fighting right now. They don't give you that seat at the table. You're kind of a, you kind of just don't know about licensing. So we're very fortunate as the first black woman to have a licensed brand character that sits on the shelves next to all of the other characters. It is really, really a big, big deal. And to answer your question, how do I decide, I look at to see, like, who they currently represent.

So if I know they got Disney, if I know they have Nick, I know I have the best in class. So that's what I try to navigate with. So right now it's really about me, us trying to figure out how do we get this information of licensing down to other people, minorities that look like us, and how do we get them into this licensing game? Because we're not in it. We're just really, really not in it. I know 50 Cent, they've done it. I think Russell's done it. A lot of people, a few people have done it, but not a lot because they don't allow us that access. We don't get that same information.

And so our goal with AfriUnicorn, with me and my manager, Eskia, is to help build other brands through this licensing funnel. So that is the goal of AfriUnicorn. I want to keep it from how it was from day one. And AfriUnicorn has always been to help promote other businesses. And that's what we're going to do through licensing as well. All right, then. Well, that is awesome. Give folks, again, the website where they can get more information.

So our website is afrounicorn.com. Again, please go to afrounicorn.com. Don't just search AfroUnicorn. Ever since we've popped up, there's been others on the scene. So please make sure you're searching AfroUnicorn.com. We're also available in Walmart, in the Celebration aisle, as well as in apparel. Yep, there you go. All right.

Eight more showers. We appreciate it. Thank you so very much. Thank you. Have a good one. Bye. All right. You take care. All right. April showers. We appreciate it. Thank you so very much. Thank you. Have a good one. Bye. All right. You take care.

All right, folks. I am here in New Orleans. Y'all want to be tuning in tomorrow at 4 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Central, where there is going to be a news conference, a big announcement with regards to Urban Edge Network and Roland Martin on the Fulton and Blackstar Network. We are here. We will actually be streaming it live. Trust me, you don't want to miss it. It is a major announcement we're making. Can't tell you right now, but I think it's going to be great.

We'll be live with the show right after the announcement. It's going to be a news conference taking place from 3 to 4.30 Central, 4.30 to 5.30 Eastern, and then we go live at 6. And so it is going to be great to share it with you. I told y'all some things that I've been working on, and this is one of those things. And so we

look forward to sharing this big news with you tomorrow. Hey, YouTube, y'all tripping. Okay? I don't understand why we're not at 1,000 likes by now, okay? So y'all tripping. Okay? I don't understand why we're not at 1,000 likes by now. Okay? So y'all need to go hit the dog on the like button real quick so we can knock this out. All right? So stop playing. I keep telling y'all, keep playing around.

I shouldn't have to be asking y'all to hit the damn like button. It's real simple. Pop on, hit like button, keep it going. All right. Let me thank Mustafa, Teresa, and Teresa and Mario being on today's show. Thank you so very much. Uh, folks, uh, some great things are happening. We were off Friday off yesterday for labor day.

Sunday was the first anniversary of the black star network. Fourth anniversary of Roland Martin unfiltered. It has been a great four years. Yes. Time has flown by and see what I love. It was a lot of people who are running their miles, uh, who were sitting there saying, oh, we were not going to last a year. We're not on a year for I tried. I tell I told y'all, first and foremost, y'all should never doubt somebody who follows directions from God.

That's just first to never doubt the resolve of when, as Tyler Perry said, when you want to build your own table versus you begging somebody else to be at their table. And three, do understand you have to do you. You have to do you. You can't get caught up in folk wanting you to do other things and being other things. No, you have to believe in yourself, in your vision for what it is that you are trying to create, what it is you're trying to build. And so that's what we did here. And even when we launched the Black Star Network, people were like, oh my God, it's not going to work. But guess what? Farraji Muhammad has his daily show. Deborah Owens has a weekly show. Jackie Hale-Martin has a weekly show. Greg Carr has a weekly show. Stephen Humphrey has a weekly show. Roland with Roland is bi-weekly. Then, of course, we are working on two or three other show

concepts as we speak. First of all, we are negotiating right now, launching a 24-hour streaming channel. We may very well have that streaming channel launched by mid-October. All of these things are happening, and y'all have been a huge, huge part of that. The people who have supported the show, the panelists who have come on, provided their knowledge and expertise. And so I appreciate all of them and for all of you who watch as well. And look, we're continuing to beat the doors down when it comes to advertising and trying to raise these dollars to bill because that's what it's all about.

And so when you see me calling companies out, there's a reason I'm doing so because the reality is we cannot have black news. We cannot have bill capacity. We cannot have larger media companies if we're not getting those resources. We shouldn't be begging and hoping CNN or MSNBC or one of those networks covers us. No, no, no, no, no. I ain't trying to do that. I'd rather us own our own cameras on our own platform telling our own story. And so we thank all of you who have been with us for the last four years

of Rolling Mark Unfiltered, the last one year of Black Star Network. And I guarantee you there are bigger things ahead, and one of those things you will learn tomorrow when we make the announcement here in New Orleans. And so until then, please download the Black Star Network app, Apple Phone, Android Phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. And, of course, you can join our bring the funk fan club cash your checks go to p.o box five excuse me check of money orders

p.o box five seven one nine six washington dc two zero zero three seven dash zero one nine six uh and of course uh cash app dollar sign rm unfiltered paypal's r martin unfiltered venmo is rm unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. That's it. I'll see you tomorrow, folks, right here from New Orleans. And don't forget, get your book.

You can pre-order White Fear right now. Pull the graphic up, y'all. Pre-order White Fear right now. It drops September 13th. That is a week from today. Let's get those copies in. You can order the book from Ben Bella Books, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, Indie Books, Books A Million, as well as Target, White Fear, How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds. Please get your copy today.

All right, folks, I'll see you tomorrow. Holla! This is an iHeart Podcast.