#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Biden Nominates Ketanji Brown Jackson, Man Thought He was a Citizen Gets Deported, FL Family Update

Episode Date: February 26, 2022

2.25.2022 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Biden Nominates Ketanji Brown Jackson, Man Thought He was a Citizen Gets Deported, FL Family UpdateFlanked by the first black woman Vice President and the first black woman nominated to the Supreme Court, President Joe Biden upholds his campaign promise. He announced Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his pick to fill the vacancy left by the retiring Judge Stephen Breyer.The black Tennessee woman sentenced to six years in prison for trying to vote is free tonight. A judge found she deserves a new trial.He spent more than 30 months in ICE custody before being deported to a country he had not been to in over 30 years. The attorney for Kelvin Silva will be here to explain how a man who came to the U.S. as a child got deported. He thought he gained citizenship through his father.The cause of death for Brenda Rawls, the Connecticut woman who died the same day as Lauren Smith-Fields, has been ruled a natural death. But the family is not buying it after they say police botched the investigation.Kansas City is shelling out almost a million dollars to a black man who was wrongly arrested.In our Education Matters, we'll look at the importance of quality early childhood education and how it can make a big difference.Plus, last night, we put up the Go Fund Me page for the family of the Florida man who is facing attempted murder of law enforcement charges. You won't believe how much has been raised since.And we are taking your calls tonight!#RolandMartinUnfiltered partner: Nissan | Check out the ALL NEW 2022 Nissan Frontier! As Efficient As It Is Powerful! 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3FqR7bPSupport #RolandMartinUnfiltered and #BlackStarNetwork via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered or via PayPal ☛ https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfilteredDownload 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. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. I'm real revolutionary right now. Black media. He makes sure that our stories are told. Thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roller. 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 scape. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? 25th, 2022, coming up on Roland Martin, unfiltered on the Black Star Network. History made today as President Joe Biden, flanked by two women, including Vice President Kamala Harris,

appoints the first black woman to the United States Supreme Court in its history. We'll show you what he had to say, as well as Judge Katonji Brown Jackson. Also, the black Tennessee woman sentenced to six years in prison for trying to vote is free tonight. A judge found she deserves a new trial. He spent more than 30 months in ICE custody before being deported to a county he had not been to in over 30 years. The attorney for Kelvin Silva will be here to explain how a man who came to the U.S. as a child got deported. He thought he gained citizenship through his father. The cause of death for Brenda Rawls, the Connecticut woman who died the same day

as Lauren Smith-Fields, has been ruled a natural death. The family is not buying it after they say police have botched the investigation. Kansas City is shelling out almost a million dollars to a black man who was wrongfully arrested. In our Education Matters segment, we'll look at the importance of quality early childhood education and how it could make a huge difference.

Plus, last night, we talked about the GoFundMe for the family of the Florida man who was facing attempted murder charges from law enforcement. From law enforcement there, folks, guess what? Y'all made it happen. Y'all hit their goal in less than 24 hours. Folks, it's time to bring the funk.

Roland Martin, unfiltered, right here on the Blackstar Network. Let's go. And when it breaks, he's right on time And it's rolling, best believe he's knowing Putting it down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling, yeah With some go-go-royale Yeah, yeah It's rolling, Martin, yeah

Yeah, yeah Rolling with Roland now. He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best. You know he's rolling, Martin. Martin. When you get knocked down, get up, and everyone's entitled to be treated with dignity, no matter what, no matter who they are. My also that everyone should be represented, everyone and no one's better than me and I'm no better than anyone else.

The fact is what we should be doing. We talked about the Supreme Court. I'm looking forward to making sure there's a black woman on the Supreme Court to make sure we in fact get government representation. Not a joke. Not a joke. I pushed very hard for that. And my mother's motto was, she said, you know, you're defined by your courage, you're redeemed by your loyalty. I am loyal. I do what I say. And that's exactly what he did two years to the day after making that statement at the debate in South Carolina today. President Joe Biden spoke at the White House and nominated the first African-American woman to be on the United States Supreme Court.

It's my honor to introduce to the country a daughter of former public school teachers, a proven consensus builder, an accomplished lawyer, a distinguished jurist, one of the nation's most — on one of the nation's most prestigious courts. My nominee for the United States Supreme Court is Judge Ketanji Jackson. For too long, our government, our courts haven't looked like America. I believe it's time that we have a court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation with a nominee of extraordinary qualifications, and that we inspire all young people to believe that they can one day serve their country at the highest level.

I've admired these traits of pragmatism, historical perspective, wisdom, character, and the jurists nominated by Republican presidents as well as Democratic presidents. And today, I'm pleased to introduce to the American people a candidate who continues in this great tradition. I share a birthday with the first black woman ever to be appointed as a federal judge, the Honorable Constance Baker Motley. We were born exactly 49 years to the day apart. Today, I proudly stand on Judge Motley's shoulders, sharing not only her birthday, but also her steadfast and courageous commitment to equal justice under law. has been a true inspiration to me as I have pursued this professional path. And if I am fortunate enough to be confirmed as the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, I can only hope that my life and career, my love of this country and the Constitution,

and my commitment to upholding the rule of law and the sacred principles upon which this great nation was founded will inspire future generations of Americans. Thank you again, Mr. President, for this extraordinary honor. Folks, we're going to play more of what she had to say. She is indeed an historic appointee. Not only does she serve on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, which is considered to be the number two court in all of the country, she is one of the nation's brightest legal minds.

In addition to that, of course, she was appointed to the bench by President Barack Obama and, again, has been confirmed twice by the United States Senate. Now, of course, that's kind of important because when you have folks who are all of a sudden whining, complaining about her qualifications, it's a little hard when they've actually voted for her before. We're going to break this down with a variety of voices. We're going to first start with Melody Campbell. She's the president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black

Civic Participation, also convener of the Black Women's Roundtable. Melanie, this has been certainly a day a lot of African Americans but especially black women have been waiting for for quite some time. In her remarks, Judge Jackson noted that her birthday, she shares it with Constance Baker Motley, the first African-American woman appointed to the federal bench, separated by 49 years.

And so that is one heck of a connection to history. We're not hearing you, Melanie. My fault. My fault. Now we got you. It's started out really early this morning. You know, all the rumors were floating around. And I tell you, Roland, I think I was more emotional about this appointment than when the vice president, although that was also monumental. And I think it's because we know this will be a lifetime appointment.

And no matter what the makeup of the court is today, as long as we hold on to the democracy that we have, the pendulum always swings. And so her opinions will matter in such a profound way. So it's been a very emotional day, very exciting and very, and also ready to roll up our sleeves today. We had to also keep pushing back on some of those negatives, but it's just, it's a blessed day for this country that we're, this is happening. And, you know, I know you have nieces and I know, and I do, too, and just to be able to know that they could look to that court and see a black woman with such qualifications.

Right. It's just it's just it's just a great day. Great moment. That is important here. Again, when you look at the fact that more than 100 and less than barely 120 federal Supreme Court justices, two African-American men. When you look at women, Sandra Day O'Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, Amy Coney Barrett. So she would be the sixth woman on the Supreme Court. And when you hear folks, explain to people who say, well, you know, this is symbolism. No, this is one of nine. This is the highest court in the land. And even though conservatives will have a 6-3 majority on this court, her opinions still will matter decades, centuries down the road.

Most assuredly. And when people say that and you look at as you broke down that number, so when it's all said and done, what we're talking about is having access, opportunity to even be considered. And so it's so critical and vital, as this country is diverse, but yet you didn't see that in the highest court in the land. For 233 years, we have waited for this moment. And so those who use ideas that this was some kind of symbolism picked or not less than, all of that at the end of the day, her record speaks for herself.

Her lived experience that you can just read about speaks for itself. Her presence is so, so very powerful. So I don't know her personally, but I almost feel like after these last reading, I feel like I know her. Right? I know the lived experience of being a Black woman and a woman in this country.

And you walk in the door with both of those things and those lived experiences. So I think it all will be well for, may not happen immediate when it comes to some of the decisions that may be had, but she will be there for a lifetime. That's powerful. I want to bring on Damon Hewitt. He's the president, executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Glad to have you on the show. She will be the first public, former public defender ever to be on the Supreme Court. That distinction, Damon, is very important when you think back to when Thurgood Marshall was appointed, not only being the first African-American, but his vast

experience in the courtroom. In fact, Judge Brown, when you look at her judicial experience, she literally has more judicial experience right now than Justices Thomas, Roberts, Kagan and Barrett combined. That's right, Ruler. Thanks for having me again. You know, qualifications are really not the issue. They can't be the issue here. Anybody who tells you otherwise is leading you on or they have a hidden agenda. But really to pick on what Sister Melanie Campbell was talking about, it's about the lifetime, right? It's about someone who's qualified being able to serve for decades.

You know, we're in Black History Month, we're two years to the day of President Biden's promise or promise he's kept. But it's important that in Black History Month, with two years to the day of President Biden's promise, a promise he's kept. But it's important that in Black History Month, we focus on investing in Black futures, not only looking at the past, honoring the past, but building it for the future. And having a well, highly qualified nominee who can serve for decades is critical. And people say it won't change the balance on the court right now in terms of ideology. We understand that. But we never build. You don't build a house to live in a house just for the day. You build that

house for the future. And I think that's exactly what we're seeing today. Not only that, Damon, when we begin to look at, I mean, look, things shift. They change. The reality is you have two justices that are over the age of 70, Thomas and Alito. No one knows, obviously, what will happen in 2024. So even though right now conservatives hold a 6-3 majority in the Supreme Court, one never knows what happens in the future. Things could shift. And so every seat absolutely matters. Brown is 51 years old.

It also was a part of the calculus for Democrats because they want somebody who can be there for 30, 35, 40 years. These are appointments for life. Without question. It's a long game. And look, you know, the Republicans have done it for years. Two can play that game, right? But it's actually very strategic.

It's highly strategic. And it's something that we have to take a look at the record of a record on the bench. We'll do that. We'll issue a report. All the civil rights legal organizations, that's what we do. But we're doing it not to critique. We're doing it to lift up the importance of the issues that we work on, the issues that we address, the issues that are important to black America and, frankly, all of America. Because this is we're talking about what we want the judges, the jurisprudence, so to speak, to go.

We've seen the erosion of key civil rights protections like the Voting Rights Act. It's taking a one-two punch. They're looking for a knockout punch in the next term. We need justices who can actually counter that, who can address it, who can build a body of law, logic, and, as we say in legal terms, jurisprudence, that is going to withstand those kinds of attacks going forward.

I want to bring in Janice Mathis, Executive Director of the National Council of Negro Women. She's also an attorney as well. Janice, this day, just put it in the context, you represent the organization that Dorothy Hite founded. She was one of the folks who, unfortunately, was too often left out of many of the pictures and the critical decisions during the Black Freedom Movement, even though even though black women played a huge role in that movement. And so put in the context today. I will do that Roland,

but first I want to thank you for the opportunity to be here tonight and for what you do each and every night to keep our community informed. Today among other things, I was preparing to celebrate Dr. Height's birthday, which is March 24th. And I was looking at some old video clips and interviews she did at the Portrait Gallery, oh, 20 years ago. And what struck me about it is that

her first realization that her life's work would be civil rights was when, as a teenager, she wrote a paper and argued it in an oratorical contest about the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. That is really what's at stake. Will we enforce civil rights statutes and laws, and will we enforce them equally so that there's real equal protection under the law? I confess I got a little emotional today. I'm not ordinarily an emotional person. But when I thought about what it meant

to finally have the voice of Black women and, frankly, of Black folk, period, on the highest court of the land, it reminded me that one of the last barriers to full citizenship was removed today. And that is, if you were a Black woman, you were automatically disqualified. You were not considered Supreme Court material. That is no longer the case, and that's a reason to celebrate. I want to go back to the history point, Melanie, and I know that people who are watching, folks may say, yeah, okay, but no, today was important to actually show that visual.

Guys, pull a video up, please, to see the visual. Here you have President Joe Biden standing at the lectern. To his left is Vice President Kamala Harris, black woman. To his right is Judge Jackson. And so, again, them walking out, again, I think back to when President Lyndon Baines Johnson shocked everybody and orchestrated the appointment of Thurgood Marshall when he think back to other historic moments in history, we, being alive in this moment, actually get to witness something that has never been done before. Most definitely. When I saw that image, and I'm like my sister Janice, and so glad to be on here with Janice and Damon, you know, all of the work is just to be able to just take a moment and take in

something you know will go down in history, not just for history's sake, but to move our people that much more forward. And really, it indexes and this nation forward because we've not addressed the disparities, not had full access in this country to, when it comes to levels of power. And when you talk about the fact this is the highest court in the land, and no matter what, 20, 30 years down the road, they will be able to make decisions, because what Janice made a point that I want to lift back up and that is we feel like this is the next by way of how these decisions have been made uh and not made uh in the interest of uh the constitution being for our people that we now with with her confirmation

I believe that we will have that. We have not had that with Clarence Thomas. I'm just going to just call it out. We have not had that. And he has been there a long time. And this will be a voice that will be in there to bring that lived experience unapologetically, I believe. And that's just that's just a blessing. And thank President Biden

and the Biden HarrisHarris administration for all that they did to keep their word. A lot of times that doesn't happen. But we're going to lift them up when they do right and fight them when they do wrong. And this was a good one today. But, Damon, on that particular point there, one doesn't know.

Let's just be honest. The reality is when the person she's replacing, first of all, you look at David Souter. But before him, first of all, you got Breyer. But you think about previous justices, you know, in terms of when Bush appointed Souter. And all of a sudden I thought it was going to be a conservative voice. He ended up not being one. But the thing that really jumped out at me as well to what Melody just said was she mentioned Clarence Thomas. And so even when he was appointed, it was very interesting looking at Black reaction. I remember Andrew Young telling the story of Thomas meeting with a number of civil rights people.

They were there in Georgia. And it was off the record. It was very casual. There were there in Georgia. And it was off the record. It was very casual. There were drinks aplenty. And they really, really thought that Thomas was going to be in the mold of Thurgood Marshall. That clearly has not happened. And so put in the context, Damon, for the people who say, well, all right, well, Thomas is African-American. Judge Jackson is African-American. Look, I don't understand what the difference is. No, there is a huge difference in terms of how African-Americans view these two. Well, there's a huge difference. I think one's record speaks for themselves, right? Justice Thomas's record speaks volumes about how he's essentially voted against the interests of racial justice time and time again. Having the same experiences of people like my parents, but coming out as Judge Jackson has observed early in her life, he comes out in a very different way.

It's difficult to understand. And look, we will analyze Judge Jackson's record as well, right? We're celebrating the moment. We supported her for a circuit court nomination as well at the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and the Law. But we'll also issue a report about her record, because it's important that we hold everyone to the same high standard. But I do believe that what we'll find, based upon her background, based upon her qualifications, is that she is someone who is not an ideologue. She is someone who certainly is not an arch-conservative cloaked as something that seems like she's not. I do have all the hope in the world and faith in the world that her record

will show us something very different. I think we've already seen that in the public, and we'll see that through our analysis and reports as well. Janice, the White House has wasted no time marshalling their forces. One of the things that we're already seeing is there are forces already aligned against her. The folks at Media Matters posted a piece earlier. I'm trying to pull it up right now. This shows that there's a major dark money group that is actually behind an effort to discredit her. Go to my computer, please, if you all don't have it up. Then we'll try to pull this up.

What the White House understands is that these things are always a battle in terms of ensuring how the votes come down. It is 50-50 in the United States Senate. Again, you already had Manchin on record saying that he wanted Judge Childs. You had Congressman Jim Clyburn was pushing Senator Lindsey Graham, who was already whining, complaining, saying that, oh, the progressives pushed Biden far to the left, even though he voted for Brown twice. And so you have the plan of action right now to ensure that you're going to see money spent, ads being run, leaving no stone unturned to ensure that she gets confirmed by the United States Senate.

You know, if you look at all the objective criteria, Harvard Law School, editor of the Harvard Law Review, clerk for Supreme Court justice, was a defense counsel, which is unheard of on the Supreme Court, to have a lawyer who's been a defender, actually try cases, something that a couple of sitting Supreme Court justices have not done much of. There is nothing objective in this woman's record to do anything but recommend her for the court. And I think it is, dare I say, hypocritical

for someone who voted for her confirmation about a year ago to now say that she is a radical, that she is a leftist. That will not be borne out in her record. And I think if people just look at the objective facts, how can you be a woman who is the child of schoolteachers, one of whom sent himself to law school after he was a father, who's got members of her family who are police officers and members of her family who have been incarcerated. She is the American experience, the quintessential American. And if that's not what we want on the Supreme Court, we are misguided. Now, politicians will say whatever they think they need to say for political advantage.

But I trust that the American people will be able to cut through the noise and see this nominee for who she actually is. We are all product of our experiences. And there is nothing in her experience. The DC Court of Appeals is where, I won't say most, but lots of Supreme Court justices start their careers or their last stop before they get to the Supreme Court is the D.C. Court of Appeals. And that's because lots of federal issues come before that court. If we don't want Katanja Jackson, we don't want a Supreme Court justice.

She is the quintessence. The only thing that disqualifies her in some people's minds is the fact that she is black. And, of course, you already see how the Republicans are responding. It is quite laughable to see this here. Joe Biden just nominated a radical left-wing activist to serve a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court. His pick was the preferred choice of far-left special interests. Republicans will make sure voters know how radical his pick is. Jackson repeatedly ruled against the Trump administration and struck down conservative policies.

Jackson is a Democrat partisan, having worked for Obama's presidential campaign and donated to Obama. Jackson has a record of defending terrorists detained at Guantanamo Bay and continued to advocate for these terrorists after she went into private practice. And so we can expect more of that, Melanie. Oh, yes, definitely. They've been queuing up even before Judge

Brown's name came out of President Biden's mouth today. They were ready by the way they were attacking just the whole notion of a Black woman. So they've been queuing up and getting ready, but so have we. use all our tools in our toolbox as advocates to make sure that we push to make sure that she has a fair hearing and is ultimately confirmed. Damon.

Well, we today, you know, put the entire U.S. Senate on notice. And my statement that we issued on behalf of the Lawyers Committee, and we saw it in the statements from the NAACP, the other organizations, we put them on notice that there must be a fair process. There must be a swift process with no games.

And if you do it right, you do it fairly. I think we know how this will turn out. And, you know, also who's put them on notice is all the sisters, all the black women-led organizations, like the Deltas, like Black Women's Roundtable, that have said from the sisters, all the Black women-led organizations, uh, like the Deltas, like Black Women's Roundtable, that have said from the beginning, this is historic, this is important, and this has to be done right.

I like what I've seen from this administration so far. I give them all kudos and props, and we need to make sure the Senate follows suit. Janice? You know, I think about, um, the nominee, and her record speaks for itself. Now, I haven't studied it with a fine-tooth comb, but everything that I see is that she calls the cases as she sees them, takes the facts, applies the law, and makes a decision.

I don't necessarily agree with all of her decisions, but I can certainly tell you that she follows the law. She knows the law, and she's not going to be swayed by political considerations. It just happens that she is Black. Today, we had people sign on more than 100,000 women. Organizations represent more than 100,000 women. The AME missionaries, the AME Zion missionaries, Delta Sigma Theta, Sigma Gamma Rho. You name the organizations. As you know, NCNW is a collaboration of organizations. We're in partnership with Black Women's Roundtable. Across the spectrum, degreed and no degreed, professors and house cleaners. There is no shame. There is no status. There is no class in this. We

are united in support of this nominee and her getting a fair hearing before the United States Senate. If that happens, I'm confident that we will see a new day. And I think about Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court. She said, to be credible, all the pathways to leadership have to be open to all Americans equally. That's all we're trying to say. Give her the same treatment that any other qualified nominee would get. Certainly, she's more qualified than some of the more recent candidates who have ascended to the bench.

Somebody says she's got seven times as much trial experience as the last three combined. All right, then. Janice Mathis, Damon Hewitt, Melanie Kamas, I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you. All right, folks, we're going to play more of what Judge Jackson had to say. Then we're going to talk about this with our panel. Let's hear more of her speech today at the White House.

Thank you very much, Mr. President. I am truly humbled by the extraordinary honor of this nomination, and I am especially grateful for the care that you have taken in discharging your constitutional duty in service of our democracy with all that is going on in the world today. I also offer my sincerest thanks to you as well, Madam Vice President, for your invaluable role in this nomination process. I must begin these very brief remarks by thanking God for delivering me to this point in my professional journey. My life has been blessed beyond measure, and I do know that one can only come this far by faith. Among my many blessings, and indeed the very first, is the fact that I was born in this great country. The United States of America is the greatest beacon of hope and democracy the world has ever known. I was also blessed from my early days to have had a supportive and loving family. My mother and father, who have been married for 54 years,

are at their home in Florida right now, and I know that they could not be more proud. It was my father who started me on this path. When I was a child, as the president mentioned, my father made the fateful decision to transition from his job as a public high school history teacher and go to law school. Some of my earliest memories are of him sitting at the kitchen table reading his law books. I watched him study, and he became my first professional role model. My mother, who was also a public high school teacher, provided invaluable support in those

early days, working full-time to enable my father's career transition while also guiding and inspiring four-year-old me. My only sibling, my brother, Ketaj, came along half a decade later, and I'm so proud of all that he's accomplished. After graduating from Howard University, he became a police officer and a detective on some of the toughest streets in the inner city of Baltimore. After that, he enlisted in the Army, serving two tours of duty in the Middle East. I believe that he was following the example set by my uncles who are in law enforcement. You may have read that I have one uncle

who got caught up in the drug trade and received a life sentence. That is true. But law enforcement also runs in my family. In addition to my brother, I had two uncles who served decades as police officers, one of whom became the police chief in my hometown of Miami, Florida. I am standing here today by the grace of God as testament to the love and support that I've received from my family. I have also been blessed with many dear friends, colleagues, mentors, law clerks.

I could not possibly name all of the people to whom I owe great thanks. But I must mention specifically the three brilliant jurists for whom I had the privilege of serving as a law clerk at the outset of my legal career. U.S. District Judge Patty Saris in Massachusetts, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Bruce Selya in Rhode Island, and last but certainly not least, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer of the Supreme Court of the United States. Justice Breyer, in particular, not only gave me the greatest job that any young lawyer could ever hope to have, but he also exemplified every day in every way that a Supreme Court justice can perform at the highest level of

skill and integrity while also being guided by civility, grace, pragmatism, and generosity of spirit. Justice Breyer, the members of the Senate will decide if I fill your seat, but please know that I could never fill your shoes. To my dear family, those who are here with me now and those who are watching from home, I am forever indebted to you for your love and support. To my beloved husband, Patrick, thank you for being my rock today and every day for these past 26 years.

I love you. To my daughters, Talia and Layla, you are the light of my life. Please know that whatever title I may hold or whatever job I may have, I will still be your mom. That will never change. Alright folks, Michael M. Hotep, host of the African History Network show, Matt Manning, civil rights attorney, Dr. Cleo Monago, social architect, chief advisor of Black Men's Exchange. Matt, you're the lawyer on this panel. Certainly want to get

your thoughts on what we witnessed today, the history that we witnessed today. I think your three prior contributors said everything that needed to be said, but I echo those sentiments. She's immensely qualified, and I think as Damon and Janice said earlier, the only reason anybody would oppose this nomination is they have some negative reason

that's likely her race or her gender, if we're being honest. She has written over 600 opinions, went to the best school in the country for both undergrad and law school, has served as a public defender. And I want to mention that to your listeners, you know, I've tried about 120 cases, 30 or so murder cases. I've defended half of them. It is an extraordinary thing to stand next to somebody who is accused of a crime. As much as we as a society, you know, like to vilify people, the reality is sometimes people are one mistake away from being there in front of a jury who's determining their fate. And the reason I mention that is a judge who has stood next to someone and

defended them before charges has a different lived experience than a judge who never has. It's very easy to always rule for the prosecution and always fine for the state if you have never had to stand 10 toes down, as they say. So I think that's one of the things that's most important about her nomination and about her hopeful confirmation here is that she's been in the trenches, both as a judge and as a lawyer, and her qualifications are unequivocal, bar none. I mean, there's no one out there that has this kind of qualification. So I'm really glad to see her nomination, but I do hope that we as a people and we as a society demand that more qualified Black women and qualified people who have not had access before

continue to have it, because it's ridiculous that the Supreme Court has been around for 232 years, and we are just now getting to the nomination of a black woman. I mean, that's a thing to be celebrated today, but it's also a thing to be lamented because it's coming far too late. Those are my thoughts on it.

You know, Michael, I'm sitting here. I've been reading comments on Twitter. I'm looking at what the folks are saying in the chat room. I'm looking at some of these whiners out here and folks are saying that, oh, nobody black asked for this. We want tangibles. This is symbolism. Anyone who says that a black nominee to the Supreme Court is symbolism is stupid as hell. Well, out of 115 Supreme Court justices, only two have been black, and one could make the argument against Clarence Thomas. But there's never been an African-American female. You know, I would encourage people, number one, to read the U.S. Constitution. Number two, to understand that there are going to be court cases that go to the U.S. Supreme Court that are going to impact African-Americans.

You have an affirmative action case done with a substance psychologist for affirmative action. You have on Tuesday, when I was on the show Tuesday, John Boyd was back on from the Black Farmers Association, the lawsuit blocking the debt forgiveness, the $4 billion in debt forgiveness from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that only Democrats voted for, no Republicans voted for it in the House or the Senate. John Boyd before, they want to take that all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where you're going to have to have judges to rule on it.

And this is, this is, this ain't even cash. This is debt forgiveness, $4 billion. When you look at civil asset forfeiture, at some point, that's going to come before the U.S. Supreme Court. Civil asset forfeiture, many people argue, is used disproportionately against African Americans and violates the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution against unlawful searches and seizures. And then you have

people who advocate for reparations. Well, if the if we ever get reparations, a lot of these strategies we're using, we ain't going to get it doing that. But if we ever get reparations, you do realize that's going to be challenged in the courts and it's going to go to the U.S. Supreme Court. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Why don't you repeat that for all of the dumb asses who are watching and listening,

who all they yelling about reparations intangibles, who don't understand that you're going to need federal judges in place who agree with you because just like the black farmers lawsuit where they're suing, and that's $4 billion, if you even remotely get reparations, oh, yes, there's going to be a lawsuit. So if all of the dumbasses are saying, oh, this don't mean nothing, you probably want a federal judge. Well, first thing you should do is read the U.S. Constitution. Go to loc.gov, Library of Congress website, or go to archives.gov.

You may want to study the 1841 U.S. Supreme Court case of the United States versus the Amistad, because that ties into Article I, Section 9, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution. Oops! That was Supreme Court! That was the Supreme Court, 1841, which ties into Article I, Section 9, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution. Oops! That was Supreme Court! That was the Supreme Court, 1841, which ties into Article I, Section 9, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution, which is why the international transatlantic slave trade

was made illegal March 2, 1807 by the U.S. Congress, and then it went into effect January 1, 1808, and all the Africans that were brought into this country from January 1, 1808 through July of 1860 when the Africans that were brought into this country from January 1st, 1808 through July of 1860 when the Clotilda comes into Alabama was illegal based upon federal law, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled,

and you can go to archives.gov, National Archives, and read the Supreme Court ruling. They have some of the original court documents there. They ruled that those Africans, Josephson Q, Josephson Q and those Africans from Sierra Leone, they ruled that it was illegal Josephson Q, Josephson Q and those Africans from Sierra Leone, they ruled that it was illegal for that slave ship to come into U.S. waters because the international transatlantic slave trade was abolished. This is why they got their freedom.

They put it in the movie, but people don't understand history and law to understand what they saw in the movie. to give you a legal foundation for reparations because federal law was violated from January 1st, 1880 to July of 1860, and there are court cases that back up your legal argument. With this here, the $4 billion in debt forgiveness, that's not even specifically or only for African-American farmers. That's for Latino farmers, Native American farmers. But white farmers didn't give a damn, and they sued. And what John Boyd talked about

on Tuesday's show, people need to go back and watch it, 222.22, he said they went to federal judges that Trump appointed. They went to these conservative federal judges and filed the lawsuits in those districts. Trump

nominated, Trump got 226 federal judges confirmed, many of them very unqualified. So, see, we don't understand long-range planning, okay? This is... These are lifetime appointments. The judges Trump got appointed can be on the bench for the next 40 years. Lastly, if you look at President George

H.W. Bush, the father. He nominated Clarence Thomas' ass in 1992. George H.W. Bush is dead. Clarence Thomas is still on the goddamn bench. Okay? So people don't understand even how to get what the hell it is they say they want. You know, Cleo,

I got some fool named Christopher Perkins in our chat room who goes, she does not support reparations. It does not help black people by having her in that position. As if civil rights don't matter. As if police misconduct don't matter. As if the death penalty don't matter. I mean, look, it's a whole bunch of stuck-on stupid people who actually think there's only one issue

the Supreme Court decides, when in fact there is nothing in our lives, Cleo, the Supreme Court doesn't rule on. Nothing. Well, let's see how stuck-on stupid I may be. I agree with my today's colleagues' comments. I think it's very important to understand that there's a lifetime position. That's true.

And right now, the people that are in place for a lifetime, rarely have they been advocates for our community, even the physically Black man that's present. And I must say that I hope that this sister gets a fair hearing and that she goes through a process that's going to be responsible and respectful of the fact that she's highly qualified from a technical perspective. But I don't know whether she's symbolic or not.

I haven't seen her in action to be able to go, okay, this sister is going to have issues that I think are important covered. Well, that's because, first of all, no one gets to see federal judges in action because there are no cameras allowed in the federal courtroom. Well, no. What I mean by action is we

know how Clarence Thomas feels about issues based on how he's voted. That's what I mean by action. Right. And that's why... I'm not. Right, but so, and that's why... I'm not talking about cameras. Right, and that's why what you heard Damon Hewitt say... So here's what historically happens. The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, they have an apparatus set up where they literally go through the judicial record of any Supreme Court nominee, and they prepare an extensive report and then present that to all of the civil rights organizations in terms of so that they can actually see

that. So a lot of the folks who I see who are commenting have no clue whatsoever about any of her judicial rulings, any of those things whatsoever. They're just chattering. They're just smacking gum. Some of them are reacting

to that Judge Jackson has a white husband. And who gives a shit? Well, let me finish. I mean, you can give or take some shits. But the point is that some of them are reacting to that Kamala Harris,

Clarence Thomas, and Judge Jackson all have white partners. And there's no such thing to this day of someone in those positions that are modeling black people loving black people on a personal basis. Now, some people... Hold on, hold on, hold on.

You left out one person. You left out one person. Emma Barra? No. When Thurgood was appointed to the Supreme Court, his wife wasn't black. Oh, well, I'm real clear about that. He's no longer with us.

Okay, but... I'm talking about who people are witnessing now in real time and what they're witnessing in terms of a pattern. There's no such thing as an accidental pattern. Okay, what's the pattern? I just said it. That all three people I just mentioned have white partners. So let me finish, because I know

that that kind of comment causes reaction. No, no. First of all, I've been hearing that. First of all, I've been getting tweets on that all day. I think it's immaterial to the conversation. But again, the reason I brought up Thurgood Marshall, because people brought that up, and I said, his wife was Filipino, first wife was black, second wife was Filipino,

when he got born to the Supreme Court. I'm well aware of that. I'm talking about modern-day patterns. Okay. That the people who are likely commenting right now are witnessing. And what is probably may or may not be said that is part of what people's impulses is informed by. I, like I said before, I hope that the sister who is the nominee has a fair hearing and that she's treated fairly, but I'm real clear about that there's anxiety. I spoke about this

before, that there's anxiety in our community among some people, and I'm one of them, about the attack on black-on-black love and the corporate and media perception of black people that's disproportionately shown by racial and mixed couples, blah, blah, blah. And that's a real and justified thing to be concerned about that people prefer people not talk about

that Judge Jackson happens to look like. So when we had the first black attorney general with a black wife, did that count or not count? That counts for what? It don't count for the Supreme Court. No, no, I'm saying, but here's the whole point, though. I mean, there are black people

playing on Earth with black partners. Right. Okay, so what I'm trying to understand is, what I'm trying to understand is, what's the point? I just articulated the point. The point is that people are looking at this pattern and wondering, what the hell? A pattern. Hold on, hold on.

A pattern. Two people. Hold on, hold on, hold on. You said a pattern. Hold on, hold on. Hold on. A pattern. How many appointments define a pattern?

Two, three, five, ten? How many... how many appointments define a pattern? Two, three, five, ten? How many? Well, in this instance, we have two black people, one who's already in the Supreme Court, one who's likely on their way to the Supreme Court, both who are gonna show up with white partners. Okay. So, the... so... the... the... So, Childs, out of South Carolina,

who is... who has already been nominated for the D.C. Circuit Court, which is the second most powerful one on the Supreme Court, her husband, Black. So does that count, or what do we do with that? Well, you can ask me what counts. No, I mean, again, I'm still trying to understand what's the point. Well, I'm talking about what people are reacting to

in the context I've already broken down. I'm being about what people are reacting to in the context I've already broken down. I'm being more dimensional. But who she married to ain't got nothing to do with her judicial rulings. Well, we'll see. On a Supreme Court context. On a Supreme Court context.

I thought it was strange, frankly, when y'all were talking about Amistad and reparations. I'm like, what that got to do with Jackson? No, because some of the people... I've never seen her take a position on those issues. No, no, here's why. Because some of the people... Because I actually read the comment.

Some of the people who are complaining are like, she ain't reparations. And I raise that because they're just throwing stuff out there. And what I'm saying is you got people out here who are just throwing out stuff, not based on anything, just throwing it out. Well, I'm not doing that. I understand the theoretical importance of Jackson.

I understand the importance of having somebody in theory like Jackson on the Supreme Court and interrupting a pattern of people who are majority there who have not been supportive of some things that are important to me and voted them down. I understand the symbolism and the theory of her, but I also understand these other perspectives. And I'm not coming from a place of not understanding what either of you have broken down. And like I said, to a good extent, I agree with what I've heard from the other panelists. However, I was thinking in my mind,

when I heard about reparations, and I heard about Amistad, I'm like, well, that's some romantic theoretical deductions, which, to my experience, or what I've read so far about Jackson, don't got nothing to do with her and her attitudes. Well, I can tell you, based upon the people who also, uh, who are talking about, who are clamoring for reparations, I can call that theoretical as well the people who also, who are claiming for reparations, I can call that theoretical as well,

because that ain't happening. So, again, we can have a theoretical conversation. We can have a real conversation. We can have all of those conversations. But I tell you... We can talk about what we assume might be the important elements in terms of people's thinking in case reparations comes up in a serious way

that might be a benefit. Actually, you can't assume somebody's thinking when they talk about a federal judge when you don't even know their legal philosophy. So I don't assume what that conversation is going to look like. I just don't. Here's my whole deal.

And here's my whole deal. Before I'm going to assume how somebody is going to rule on reparations, they might want to get H.R. 40 first. Just saying. Just saying. Might want's my whole deal. Before I'm going to assume how somebody's going to rule on reparations, they might want to get H.R. 40 first. Just saying. Just saying. You might want to get it commissioned, because here's the deal. You ain't even close. You ain't even close to actually getting it, but

you might want to get that. So here's the whole deal. The process is going to probably take place a month. We're going to have more conversations. Dick Durbin, who heads the Judiciary Committee, has already said that he wants this confirmed by early April. Excuse me, yeah, by early April. So we're breaking this whole thing down.

Let me do this here. Let me go to break when I come back. We're gonna talk about this very strange case. Again, we had a strange case last night. We got another strange case about someone who served time in prison that, again, it's mind-boggling. Again, all these things are interrelated when you look at how these judges make decisions

and people go to jail for crimes they did not commit. You got a black woman who was sentenced to prison, six years in prison, for trying to vote. We're gonna talk about her case where she's now out of jail when the judge granted a new trial. Why are we discussing this? Because of the importance of judges. Judges. So for all

y'all who keep hollering symbolism, say that to the people who are sentencing folks to prison for crimes they did not commit. You're watching Roller Mark, unfiltered on the Blackstar Network. Nå er vi på veien. I'm sorry. on the next get wealthy first generation investor a technology professional. She increased the returns on her investments from 5% to 84% in just one year. Investing in stock was a big shift for me. I got a little bit more comfortable with investing, and then I wanted to do it more. And so I'm looking and actively seeking out ways that we actually can grow our income as a family.

Watch Get Wealthy on the Black Star Network. Hey, I'm your host, T.J. We'll be right back. Hey, I'm Cupid, the maker of the Cupid Shuffle and the Wham Dance. What's going on? This is Tobias Trevelyan. And if you're ready, you are listening to and you are watching Roland Martin, Unfiltered. All right, y'all, so take this story out. Kevin Silva came to the United States when he was 11 years old. He was a lawful citizen because his father became a naturalized citizen. Well, that wasn't the case. After being detained in several ICE facilities

for more than two years, Silva was deported back to the Dominican Republic last week, while his mother, children, and siblings remain in the United States. Peter Isbister is an attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center. He breaks down the law and the ongoing case. He joins us from Atlanta. Glad to have you on

the show, Peter. We have seen a number of these stories in the last, well, I would say decade, of course. We had lots of deportations that took place under President Barack Obama. Then, of course, President Trump is continuing under President Joe Biden. You have people who are being deported to Haiti, Dominican Republic, to Mexico, people who have never, ever lived there. I forgot there was one story of a man who was deported who ended up dying in the country. He literally didn't even speak the language.

He gets dropped off and he's like, where in the hell do I go? So talk about this, your client as well. How do we get to this point? Yeah, well, thank you, Roland, and thank you for having me. I'm really enjoying your show tonight. It's an honor to be here. As you say, our client, Mr. Kelvin DeSilva from the Dominican Republic, born in 1976 to his mother and father there in the Dominican Republic. His mother abandoned him, left the family early on in his life, and he was raised by his father. His father came to the United States in the late 80s and became a citizen

of the United States, I believe, in 1988. And that's when he sent for Kelvin. So Kelvin was approximately 11 years old when he left the Dominican Republic and came to the United States and has lived here and created his life, as you referred to, you know, with his many relatives and children here in the United States up until last week. So he is indeed returning to a country where he has lived none of his adult life and has none of his immediate family and really no familiarity as a grown person with which to rely on to now navigate what sets out before him following last week's removal to the Dominican Republic. So Kevin, he was in Dominican until he was 11 years old.

That's correct. And then he came here. How old is he? Well, at 1976, so he's approximately 46 years old now. So he's been in the United States 35 years. And so does he have any family in the DR? Did he ever go back there? So is he essentially like a fish out of water in the DR. Did he ever go back there? So is he essentially like a fish out of water

in the Dominican Republic? Yeah, I think a fish out of water is an accurate description. And to my knowledge, he never did return in the interim. He has arrived with an uncle. And, you know,

so that's the grace of God, I think. Uh, but no... no close family. And, um, you know, I-I don't think we can really speak of any strong foundation from which to build a life going forward, which is, um, really all that's guaranteed, right? I mean, there he is. So... so his... okay, so what happened? His dad wasn't a citizen?

Right, so let's get into the issue here. The issue is his father did naturalize, was a citizen. And why we're spending so much time and energy on this case is because as the law, the Citizenship Act, as it stood at the time that Kelvin was a minor child, so under 18, required that to derive citizenship, which is to say to gain citizenship through the father, not the mother, but the father, and it was his father who became a citizen, then there needed to be a legal separation. If the parents were, you know, if he was driving through his father, you know, the parents either needed to be married or they're needed, you know, in the case that the

child, again, was driving through the father, there needed to be a or there needed, you know, in the case that the child, again, was driving through the father, there needed to be a legal separation, which presumes a legal marriage to begin with. And that's where we have the problem. And that's where our case alleges that this is racially discriminatory, both in intent and impact, is that the predominant family structures in Latin America, in the Dominican Republic, especially at the time that this law was put in place, was not to formalize marriages legally in the way that we might understand them in 2022 United States. That's not how families and marriages were organized. So that's where the discrimination comes in.

So his mom and dad were actually not legally married. That's correct. Okay. And so as a result, based upon the law, if they were not legally married, then he's not really a citizen. That's correct. He couldn't get his citizenship through his father because he's got no proof of a legal divorce because there was no legal marriage in the first place. If it had been through his mom, the law provided an exception for deriving citizenship through your mom,

even if you're born out of wedlock, but no such pathway at the time. Now, in 2000, in the year 2000, the Citizenship Act was revised, and this discriminatory clause is no longer the law. So y'all are trying to get it applied. Right. Well, the case law says at the moment that, well, when they put the legal change in in 2000, that does not say, and we're going to apply this retroactively to anyone who may have been harmfully impacted by the prior racist law. They said, you know, if you are over 18 now in 2000, which Kelvin was, there's no going back. So we've got this slice of men or kids deriving citizenship through their fathers who are living the impact of what we contend is a racist law because of what I explained about how it has a disparate impact on kids who are coming through countries that, you know, where black and brown folks are not marrying and divorcing

the way the, you know, predominating white American society presumes that everyone is and should be, right? And I take it that there are, beyond Kevin, there are other individuals who are sort of caught in this limbo, caught in this gray space of the law. Yeah, we're aware right now of two people who are in South Georgia, been in the same detention center where Kelvin was held, who fall squarely in this law. And it's hard to know the hard numbers, but we presume there are probably thousands of

people affected the way our client is. Gotcha. All right. Well, Peter, look, this is certainly an interesting case. It's one of those things when it comes to immigration law, when it comes to our laws and the courts that a lot of people don't think about unless they are caught in that. Certainly keep us abreast of what happens. Thank you very much, Roland. Thanks for the opportunity to talk about Calvin. Thank you very much. I want to bring back my panel in here because I'm going to pick up on what I was talking about going to the break there, Matt. And that is, you know, I tell people all the time that, you to practice civics 101 on this show.

And this is a perfect example right here why when we're talking about the black agenda, we're talking about things that we should care about, we've got to be thinking much broader than some folks to understand that there is nothing, and let me say it again, there is nothing in our society that we deal with that you're not going to be going through a court system. Here you had Peter just talking about how the law was modified by policymakers, but it is going to be interpreted by judicial either appointees or folks who are on the state or local level who have been elected. And so when we're talking about black agenda, when we're talking about how do we move forward, we have got to be thinking about

the American court system as a part of this. Otherwise, we can elect whoever we want on the policy side, but those laws could be invalidated on the judicial side. That's 100% right. And, Roland, I would say your point as it relates to judges mattering has not been more salient than in this exact context because I don't practice immigration law, but I have a colleague in my building who does. And it's my understanding that immigration judges

have the widest latitude of any judges on any bench. They can decide basically whatever they wanna do. They don't have to necessarily follow precedent. They don't have to follow the same procedure in every case. They have wide latitude. So in a case like this, it's heinous, obviously, because he was a minor when he came here. There was a belief that his father had citizenship, that the law changed, and then it doesn't apply retroactively. So just logically, you would think he should have a grace period to remedy that. But the problem is the

judge here can look at his convictions or whatever else and allow that to overrule in his or her decision. So judges don't matter arguably more than anywhere else in the in the immigration context. And as it goes to the black agenda, anybody who is coming from an African country or from the Caribbean or anywhere that that is black, you know, phenotypically black. This is something they absolutely need to be concerned about, Because if you get caught in this immigration lurch, these judges can do whatever they want. So that's why it's important for us to have a president who's appointing people who actually care about our issues and care about doing the right thing.

Because here, this brother should be given citizenship. This is an absurd outcome. And, of course, Michael, you've got the folks. You've got KCGet Get Money 07, the Black Agenda has nothing to do with immigration, though. You've got somebody saying Hank Hinton, immigration doesn't benefit black Americans. Oh, but if you marry an immigrant, it's going to be a problem. See, again, though, that's why, and see, again, the folks who are commenting, who don't pay attention to what I'm talking about, judges don't rule on narrow things. Federal judges have wide latitude in terms of what they decide on.

State judges matter. We discussed this week the voting cases in Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, all went up to the state Supreme Court. Wisconsin went up to the state Supreme Court. And so I'm just trying to get people to understand you can sit here and talk and tweet and post on YouTube and Facebook all you want about the black agenda, the black agenda. But if you do not add the judicial component

to the black agenda, then you don't understand. In fact, check this out. Four years ago, four years ago, when we were in Texas, it was 2018. Y'all might remember when 18 black women ran for judicial positions in Harris County. Okay? In Harris County. They ran. They all won. This year, because they're trying to get me to come to Houston for a luncheon on Sunday, I don't think I can get there. You got not, listen to me, y'all. All y'all folk who keep smacking your gums, who know nothing about public policy and the law.

There are nine former county prosecutors who are running against those sisters to take them out. Right. Because they understand what it means to have black judges now in positions of power. And they're making the argument we need to get rid of these, quote, woke judges. The right understands the power of judges. They the power of judges u.s supreme court federal court they understand power judges absolutely the judicial branch of government interprets law from the legislative branch of government so people have to understand it's it's one thing to pass laws to get what you want, but you got to have judges that are going to help you keep

what you got, because it can be struck down, that law that benefited you can be overturned in the judicial branch of the federal government. Okay, this is one of the reasons why federal judges and U.S. Supreme Court judges are so important, and these are lifetime appointments. This is why in 2016, the presidential election in 2016, one of Trump's platforms was federal judges and Supreme Court judges. And this is what a lot of people who ended up voting for Trump,

for some people, he wasn't their first, second, third, fourth, or fifth choice. But they said, this is about the courts. Okay? So this is something that a lot of people don't understand. I understand, you know, we want policies that benefit us, things like this, but you got to be able to keep it

when it gets challenged in court, which it will. All you have to do is look at the $4 billion in debt, in debt forgiveness for African American farmers, Latino farmers, and Native American farmers. That's tied up in court right now. Eleven white farmers have filed lawsuits, and they.... That's tied up in court right now. Eleven white farmers have filed lawsuits, and that's tied up in court right now.

It's something else important to understand. Depending upon where you live in this country, you may not encounter a lot of Black immigrants. But if you went, like, New York, okay? Because I can tell you the first time I went to Brooklyn, I thought

I was at the United Nations. I saw all these different... Because they drive around in their cars, they have the flags of where they're from. And I remember seeing brothers come towards me and I go to speak to them, they're speaking Spanish. It blew my mind. That was their natural language,

Spanish. So if you don't experience that, if you haven't been to those areas of the country where you have a lot of black immigrants, you may think this don't benefit us or impacts us. Well, for many of us, it does. Especially if you have family members,

you marry to families, you have friends, things like this. And the last thing is, the black immigrants are the ones to get deported first, even if they're here legally. Now, Cleo, Cleo, I had to come back to the other desk here. Check out this post here. Judge elections tend to be very sleepy,

but not in Texas next week. Prosecutors, with the help of the police union, are running to oust incumbent judges who helped bring bail reform in the Democratic primary. And so you'll see this article here. It says judicial elections test profound cultural shift in Houston. And so all the folk, Cleo, I'm going back to the other position, all the folk who were yelling about the black agenda, well, guess what?

Bail reform is one of the major issues we saw in 2020 and 2018. We elected judges talking about bail reform. Now you have, y'all, listen, police unions putting their money and resources behind county prosecutors who are running against these incumbent judges to change the very thing you fought for. all y'all sitting your asses at home saying, Roland, why are you spending all this time talking about judges?

Because you can't talk about a black agenda and leave out the courts. Roland, just like you, I set up when Trump was president and watched him orchestrate putting judges in places on all level of judgeship all over the country to make sure that white supremacist perspectives were always in the House and always in a judicial judgment position for years. I

watched that. And a lot of Black people watch that and understand what you're saying in terms of seeing the practice. One of the things that we deal with, and I think we should deal with it in a rational, problem-solving way, is Black people have trust issues. For example, one of the things that we deal with, and I think we should deal with it in a rational, problem-solving way, is black people have trust issues. For example, one of the reasons why there's been a slow uptake of black people running to get COVID-19 tests is not because black people are stupid, et cetera, these other kind of things. Black people have, from a DNA level, distrust of the system. Now, they need to understand the system so they can work the system and be able to manipulate instead of just sitting paralyzed, not liking it from a distance and doing nothing. Because I certainly don't respond to the whole thing. Like, did I use the system?

I engage the system. I make sure I'm literate about the system, including policy and law. But I understand behavior because that's where I live and that's what makes a difference to me. And I engage black distrust not as something that's stupid. And I'm not saying that you're saying that black distrust is stupid. I'm saying that it could be implied.

No, what I'm saying is if your ass can't read, if you refuse to read, if you refuse to listen, if you refuse to actually have critical analysis, yeah, you're ass stupid. Sometimes you got to call this shit what it is, bro.

And there are some people who are commenting who don't know what the hell they talking about. They ain't read a damn thing. They ain't studied nothing. They quote, so-and-so I heard say this. Then you ask them, where they quoted from? I don't know. I just heard so-and-so say it.

Well, damn, dog! Well, I'm not reading the comments. No, no, no, no. I ain't talking about... But guess what? Folk commenting exists. Of course. Of course they're commenting. But I'm talking about cause and effect here and why there's apprehension for example. And I'm just talking

about cause and effect. The people who are commenting, who are driving misinformation are impacting other people who don't know. That's a major issue. And people who don't acknowledge black trauma and black distrust in ways that can engage it, put it in perspective and get people to navigate past it to do some of the things that you're suggesting,

that's problematic, too. Because people are not intentionally, quote-unquote, stupid. People have their defenses up. No, no, no, Cleo. No, Cleo. It's some intentional dumbass people. Well, that exists, too, on all sides.

But we ain't talking all sides. Yeah, but when the Republican parties are dumb, they still have power. Well, that exists, too, on all sides. But we ain't talking all sides. Yeah, but when the Republican parties are done, they still have power. Well, guess what? And they're still organizing to stay in power. And I'm talking about black people. I'm talking about black people.

I'm contrasting strategy here and perspective. And what I'm saying is... Perspective is what drives people to do what they do and don't do. And what I'm saying is... Respect is what drives people to do what they do and don't do. And what I'm saying is our responsibility is to drive real information as opposed to allowing the folk who don't know nothing, who can't break down nothing, sitting here and smack their gums. Because here's what I do. Look, we all know a lie travels faster than the truth, which is why from my vantage point,

you've got to cut the lie off at the root. But you also got to deal with attitude and behavior and cause and effect and why people think the way they think and do what they do so we can resolve it and engage it and get people to get past their paralysis. Michael. Paralysis, so-called stupidity and behavioral paralysis is not a choice. It is the outcome

of consequences unresolved and improperly addressed. And black people have been improperly addressed almost all the time in this country when it comes to most issues, even how to get black people prepared and thoughtful about voting for judges and taking power in their local communities.

When I was in... Where was Michael Brown murdered? That city. St. Louis. Ferguson. When I was in Ferguson, I asked those people, I said, you're the majority. You can choose who you want to be in civic responsibility and be the police chief.

You can make sure that it's not a white supremacist who's running your life and killing people like they did Mike Brown. And in so many cases, they were like, me, power? Me, making a difference? Yeah, you are numerically the majority. You could make all kinds of things happen.

Well, the first thing I had to teach them was that they were worthy of being in power and that they were valuable enough to run things and that they were not inferior. Because I ran into all kinds of people with inferiority complexes, irrational inferiority complexes, because this society on a normal basis implies on a regular basis

that black people are inferior to white people and everybody else. Mike. And we're not resolved. I got you. Hold on. Hold on. Michael, get in. Go ahead. No, I just want to interject something quickly here. And what Dr. Cleo Monago is talking about, I agree with. Something very specific that he said, he talked about African-Americans' behavior being influenced by their trauma, okay, and having trust issues, okay?

So I can totally understand that. That's a specific group of people. There's another group of people that purposely put out misinformation to prey on African Americans who have trust issues and take advantage of it. Okay, so I totally understand what you're saying, Cleo, and I agree with that. And I think we have to deal with both of those. We have to deal with both issues. Yes advantage of it. Okay, so I totally understand what you're saying, Cleo, and I agree with that. And I think we have to deal with both of those. We have to deal with both issues.

But the thing here... Hold on, wait, wait, wait. But the thing here, Matt, the thing here, Matt, which is vital, and again, and I'm going to keep coming back to it over and over again, we have finally seen the impact of people understanding district attorney positions.

We not people now. Whoa, hold up. That D.A. If I'm talking mass incarceration, that D.A. is in a critical position. Now people are understanding that. And so what I'm saying is the education has to go even further to say, you better recognize these judicial positions because how they rule, you can have the greatest lawyer, but if a judge ruled differently, it don't even matter. You can bring Johnny Cochran back. You can have, you can have 20 Johnny Cochrans, but if you ain't got the right judge, it does not matter. That's true. That's true. I mean, I got a case dismissed today

because the judge likes me, if we're honest. Another judge may not have gone that same route, but literally today, what you're saying played out. But I think both Brother Michael and Dr. Cleo have said things that we need to make sure we understand are not mutually exclusive. I think his point about black distrust is a brilliant one because he's 100 percent right. We need to empower the people to have the knowledge to understand how the system works.

But we also need to give them grace to understand that they're not necessarily going to readily take everything that's presented to them because the history of trauma in this country. We have a duty to be, uh, informed, but we also have to come from that trauma-informed background to understand how most effectively to move forward. So I think it's a-it's a dual thing. It's not mutually exclusive. And we also got to be willing to call out the disinformation artists that exist in our community, uh, who are there by design to lead people astray and to muddy the waters.

All I'm simply saying is this here. If you're watching and if you say judges don't matter, if you say that, well, you know, I hear you, but let's focus on U.S. Senate congressional races, I'm saying no, no, no, no, no, because you can pass all the laws you want to, but if you don't have the right judges in place, they can invalidate those very same laws. Got to go to a break, folks, when we come back. Well, I'm not sure black people are saying that judges don't matter.

Actually, actually, no, actually, Cleo, they are. No, no, Cleo, Cleo, Cleo, they are. Cleo, I have been, Cleo, I have been dealing with this in the media for my entire career. And here's what validates that. When you look at voting, people vote at the top of the ticket. The further you go down the ticket, the numbers get lower. When you look at the amount of attention that's placed upon who's running, we typically spend more time

focused on presidential, gubernatorial, U.S. Senate, congressional, those races, the further you go down. I've literally had people say, not one or two, not five or 10, man, those judges don't matter. We went through the election. We talked

consistently about the importance of the federal bench. Folks said, man, that don't matter. I had to explain to people that who you elect as the United States Senate, they're going to be the ones who are going to vote on federal judges.

And so, I'm not done. So, I have to walk folks through. And if you only vote for the president and say that don't matter. I had a sister in North Carolina, activist, young sister, Cleo, call into my radio show. And she said, you know what?

This is 2016. I ain't really feeling Trump, I ain't feeling Hillary. You know what, I'm just gonna ignore the presidential campaign and I'm gonna focus on my state. And I said, sister, name me the three top issues for you in North Carolina. And when she named them, I then walked her through to show her that the federal decision makers have a direct impact

on the three things she cared about. This sort of an activist, college educated, she said, dang, I didn't know that. She said, I'm trying to fight voting. I said, do you know who is going to determine the gerrymandering laws in your state when it comes to the redistricting? She said, no. I said, North Carolina Supreme Court. Do you know who's going to determine that? The U.S. Supreme Court. I just saw the story. Republicans in North Carolina have filed, a Republican in North Carolina have filed, matter of fact, I'm just going to go ahead and show it for all the folk who think I don't know what I'm talking about, just so y'all can see what I'm talking about, because I ain't crazy, because I need to understand what's going on here. Now, y'all might remember that the Supreme

Court ruled a couple of years ago that they could not make decisions when it came to political gerrymandering. Well, guess what? They then grabbed the case, correct me if I'm wrong, Matt, out of Alabama when it came to racial gerrymandering. They're now going to consider that case. Now, Republicans in North Carolina are so upset because the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled against them. Democrats control that by four to three, that what they now want is, they now want the U.S. Supreme Court. So North Carolina Republicans have filed an emergency brief with the Supreme Court in order for them to step in and overrule, listen to what I just say,

they want, let me show right here, boom, breaking at SCOTUS, North Carolina Republicans filed an emergency application challenging North Carolina State Supreme Court ruling against gerrymandered congressional districts. So when that sister was telling me that she

cared about, she cared about voting in her state, I said, baby, guess what? The Supreme Court may impact your state. And so, Cleo, there are people who do believe that the federal stuff don't matter. It's who we elect. We have to walk folks through to connect the dots

to say there are three branches in this country. There is federal, there's legislative, and the federal judiciary, there's legislative, and there's the executive branch. federal judiciary, there's legislative, and there's the executive branch. And guess what? All three have a role. We can't say let's focus on one, ignore two,

can't focus on two, ignore the other. All three work together. Roland, I'm clear as a bell about what you're saying. I know you are, but I'm trying to tell you a bunch of other folks not. But let me finish. I have done workshops, but I'm trying to tell you a bunch of other folks not. But let me finish. I have done workshops, talks on the importance of understanding public policy and the law and connecting the dots. So I'm real clear about that.

I'm also talking about the issue, again, that I raised earlier about, and I've also heard, let me make this real clear, I almost forgot to say it. I've also heard people say to me, none of that matters. That don't matter. We just want reparations. Like there's no connection between the law and judiciary systems, judges, et cetera, and you're just going to get reparations. And I've seen people who are linear and don't understand how to connect the dots. But I've also seen people, sometimes they're in the same room and in the same body, who don't know how to say, I just don't trust

this shit. Or people who do know how to say it, I don't trust it. Or who have said, okay, well, we got a black person on the Supreme Court now. It has not cooled down to make any difference in my life. Now we got a sister with a white man

who's going to the Supreme Court. I don't trust her yet. She's going to have to prove to me. I'm not saying this is right or wrong. I'm telling you what people are thinking. She's going to have to prove, just like they said about Kamala, she's going to have to prove...

Okay, hold on, hold on, stop. First of all... Hold on, hold on, stop, stop. Hold on, hold on, stop. First of all, again, it's Kamala. Her damn name is Kamala. Can we pronounce the black woman'sala. Her damn name is Kamala. Can we pronounce the black woman's name right?

Her name is Kamala. It's not Kamala. It's Kamala. So can we go ahead and get it right? Her damn name is Kamala Harris. Kamala Harris. Thank you. Go ahead.

Okay. I'm just saying that people are looking at Kamala Harris, pardon the mispronouncing of her name, along with these other people and going, I got this, it's symbolic to me until I see practice. And some of the people that respect the role and do have critical analysis. Some of them have great intelligence.

And that's fine. But here's the point I'm saying. There's something, when some folks say, oh, I need to see practice, some stuff can be done, and that ain't good enough. That ain't good enough. All I'm saying there's something when some folks say oh, I need to see practice some stuff can be done and all that ain't good enough That ain't good enough All I'm saying is this here if you sitting around waiting to say I need to see practice That's fine But why yo ass sitting there waiting to see?

Somebody else is plotting to take over and all I'm saying is and I get the whole thing. I don't trust this I don't trust that I can guarantee you who I don't trust this. I don't trust that. I can guarantee you who I don't trust. I don't trust no right-wing federal judge who does not believe in civil rights, does not believe that we should exist, does not believe in the environment. So I know who the hell I damn sure don't

trust. And so folks can sit here and wait for the perfect politician, the perfect judge, the perfect person to match up with all they believe in, and I'm letting you know it don't exist. What I can tell you is you sit this one out,

trust me, the other side is working and mobilizing to take your ass out. I can guarantee you that. Now you want a guarantee on what you can't trust? I can show you what you can't trust. Now if we want to guarantee what you can't trust? I can show you what you can't trust. If we want to have that conversation, we can.

Our conversation is informed by what you just got finished saying as well. That they coming, they're organized. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. They ain't coming. They here. Donald Trump, listen, listen to me. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, back me up, Matt, I don't need backing up,

but you know what I mean, is considered the most liberal federal court in America as California. That's the West Coast. Donald Trump appointed so many judges to the Ninth Circuit that they literally are one away from having the majority of what has historically been the most liberal circuit in America. Donald Trump appointed 25% of all appellate judges in America. Donald Trump appointed 25% of all appellate judges in America. They specifically appointed judges between the ages of 45 and 55. They appointed a white woman who was 11 years out of law school. That white woman is likely going to be on a federal bench for the next 40 to 50 years. They ain't coming. They been coming. They're here. And I'm trying to get us

to understand that while we can sit here and argue about whether somebody got a white husband or a white wife, we can argue about judicial philosophy. We can argue about, well, I gotta wait to trust how they gonna rule. The other side ain't waiting. They're executing. And what I'm saying is, we better be executing as well. I gotta pay some bills.

We'll be back on Rolling Mark on the Black Star Network. I'm going to go get some food. ТРЕВОЖНАЯ МУЗЫКА When did the damn Woo Woo song just become like stupid crazy? I came home, and I'm playing it around the house, you know, and my daughter was three. Tiffany was three years old at the time, so that's a while long ago. Yeah. And she kept walking it around the house, you know, and my daughter was three. Tiffany was three years old at the time. So I'll tell you how long ago. Yeah. And she kept walking by singing Woo Woo. And she said, Dad, I love that Woo Woo song.

And I'm like, you can barely talk. That's not the Woo Woo song. It's called You Should Be Mine. No, it's the Woo Woo song. I called the songwriter and I said, my daughter said, this is the Woo Woo song. And they said, well, maybe she's right. So they kind of named it the You Should Be Mine,

but in parentheses. Right. Called the Woo Woo song, right? Wow. So the record company went out in the street with microphones in the city and had people sing Woo Woo Woo. And people were going crazy over just singing, can you woo woo woo woo? And that song just blew up. And from then, now people call me the woo-woo man.

Right. I'm like, the woo-woo man. Exactly. All right, folks. We have this black and missing. Thank goodness they had been found. Police in Philadelphia, they were searching for a mother and her young son who had been missing since Tuesday. Sophia Speller, 25, as well as her three-year-old son, Hassan Matthews. Both of them, again, have been found.

So we certainly are glad to hear that news. All right, folks, now it's time for Education Matters. All right, y'all have heard us talk a lot about all these political issues and how important education is. Part of that's really, y'all, because what we're not getting early on, and that is something that I think is critically important, that is critical thinking. Now, if we want to be honest, that really ain't happening. Okay? Many of our children are being taught how to memorize things.

They're being taught how to take tests. But they're not being taught critical thinking. When I was at TV One, even here, people ask me all the time, my bosses used to always say, Roland, why is it that you keep saying the biggest problem that you have with your staff is they don't think? And I said, cause they don't. And I was sitting with the president at TV One,

he was like, he said, I'm just not understanding. I said, thinking means I have a problem. I can't Google it. I can't look it up. I can't ask someone. So therefore, I need to go through the critical steps to think through what the problem is and then come up with the solution. Well, that's all learned. That's why places like Wonder School emphasize the importance of early childhood education, critical thinking, not just studying. Chris Bennett is the founder of Wonder School. He joins us from San Francisco. And so, Chris, let's talk about this here. Again, thinking, talk about how y'all are teaching students to think and not

just take tests. Yeah, there's this belief, Roland, it's a pleasure to have, pleasure to be here. Thanks for having me on. There's this belief that, you know, we need to teach children before they're five, how to count, how to sit still, how to do ABCs, academics. But that's actually far from the truth. There's this thing called play-based learning. And it's, you go to the playground and you fall. Why did you fall? Because it was gravity. Oh, you feel pain?

You feel pain because you fell when you hit your friend. You're not supposed to hit your friend. You're supposed to be friends with your friends. And you have a teacher who's guiding you and explaining to you, you know, how to interact with other children, how to interact with adults, how the world works before the age of five. Then when you learn that, you're able to go to the K-12 system, the elementary school system, and start to learn the rote memorization. Or, as you mentioned, learn how to problem solve if you're in the right schools. But getting the right early childhood education is critical to being able to succeed in the K-12 system and then afterwards in the real world. I mean, I'll give you a perfect example.

One of my nieces, first of all, most of my nieces drive me crazy. I mean, when I say drive me crazy, drive me crazy. And the crazy thing is, is just, for me, just that inability to think. I'll tell you one, and I don't care, she's sitting over in the control room. I would tell my niece, Atlantis, to go look for something. And she would come back, I can't find it. And I would walk in there, and I'm like, it's right here.

I'm like, you know you got to look behind something. Everything just not sitting in front of you. And I'm like, and I'm telling you that that literally drives me crazy. And I know somebody thinking, well, they got no new education, but actually it does. I remember when I was in high school and we had this construction paper and this dude,

he balled it up and he put it in the trash can. And I said, dog, what you doing? He's like, well, what do you mean what I'm doing? I said, well, now we can't throw nothing in the damn trash can. And so I then pulled, I was in the 11th grade, I think. So I pulled the construction paper out and I started to fold the construction paper.

Oh wow. And I began to fold it and then all of a sudden, fold it, fold it, fold it, and then just drop it in. And I said, do you see how much space is now left in the garbage can? I said, it's called circumference. And I'm telling you, I just think that this is one of the biggest problems that I see with education. I've got brother, two sisters who are educators. Yeah. That this is one deal

that we're literally not saying to students, figure it out. Yeah. What do you mean? Figure it out. I'm not going to rush to your aid and help you. I need you to figure it out. You know what's crazy about it, too, is we have Google, right? We have the internet now. So you can actually... The world is at your fingertips. You know, when we

were growing up, we had encyclopedias. We had to go and look in a dictionary or an encyclopedia, but now there's the internet. You can actually go on the internet and figure anything out. But you still got to know how to look. Yeah, it's true. You got to know the right questions,

right? You got to know the right questions to get the right answers. I'm going to bring in my panel here, and I'm very curious. I'm going to start with Matt. Matt, when you've had to bring on legal associates or you work with students, have you found this to be a consistent problem, the inability for them to think, and it's kind of like, oh, I can't find it, and you're like, I'm going to need you to figure this thing out.

Hell, if I got to figure it out my damn self, I don't even need to have you here paying you. You know, that transcends young people. I've known some lawyers that couldn't find their nose if you asked them where it was. I mean, that's just the truth. Critical thinking is something that everybody needs. And unfortunately, a lot of people don't develop that skill early. But if you'd oblige me, Roland, I had a question for Chris. So would you describe, please, how the program works? If I want to put my children into it, do I basically search where I live, a program, and you have a patchwork of programs across the

country where I meet directors who then put me into the program? How does it work precisely? Yeah, so we modeled it after Airbnb. And so now you can go on Airbnb and type in a zip code or type in a city and then you see options. Then you can send a message to someone and then pay. You can do the same thing with Wonderschool. So you can go to wonderschool.com,

type in your zip code, type in your city name and find childcare programs that are near you. And then you can see reviews. You can see the prices. You can read about the program. You can read about the teacher. And then you can send her a message, learn about the program, and then go schedule a tour, and then eventually enroll in the program. Okay.

And presumably the program has a bunch of different pedagogical approaches, so you can get Montessori or get some other approach if you think that's appropriate. Yeah. So we don't care about, you know, religion. We don't care about the pedagogy. So it could be a Christian-based Montessori program. It could be, you know, a Russian, you know, or a Spanish immersion Reggio Emilia program. We really wanna empower entrepreneurs to understand what people in their community are looking for and develop schools that meet the needs of the families in the community.

Cleo. Yeah, well, it's good to meet you, man. And I am very impressed with what I read in terms of the Wonder School. I understand real deeply the importance of critical thinking. If you go to the Charles R. Jewell University of Medicine and Science website,

you'll see a model there called CTCA, which stands for critical thinking and cultural affirmation. It's a model I developed that was scientifically evaluated by the CDC under the project being called the Men of African Descent Legacy Empowerment Self Project, and we studied the importance of critical thinking. And speaking of children, I ran a program in L.A. called WaTU WaNJUA,

which stands for Children of the Sun of Swahili, that specifically taught Black children from the ages of 5 to 15 the importance of culture affirmation. However, we also synthesized the importance of cultural awareness and unlearning anti-Black messages in this society, along with their wake state. I'll close this tangent by saying it's my perspective that Black people are in a trauma trance. We're in a trance. So even when you're in a trauma trance, even if somebody is intellectually capable, you can give them great information.

But if they're having some behavioral challenges, it doesn't stick to their ribs. while giving them critically affirming or cultural affirmation messages, the critical thing, cultural affirmation, the better it can transform the child into a hungry learner who understands the value of themselves along with learning. So I clearly understand the importance of critical thinking, and it makes me very excited about what you're doing because you understand that children need to do that. And our children need critical thinking to better navigate through the society

because the society puts us to sleep. Seriously. Seriously. Seriously. Michael. Hey, Chris. This is, I think, great what you're doing. The article from Afrotech and MSN, msn.com, you

talked about how we basically historically relied on a fragmented, outdated system when it comes to child care. Can you talk about that some? Because we have some of the same problems when it comes to the educational system in this country. But can you talk about the fragmented, outdated system of child care that you are referring to? So when I think about fragmented system of child care, it's really what the government, the way the government's operating

childcare right now. In many states, childcare, the way childcare providers communicate with their state or local government is a pen and paper, right? In a time when, you know, we have incredible technological advancements, we're connecting over FaceTime, We're using iPhones. We're using computers. We have the internet. And childcare is sort of in the 80s, maybe 70 child care provider to start a program, to get licensed. And it's going to make it easier for parents to find child care programs to enroll their children. Well, I'll tell you, again, the idea of early childhood development, I think back to when there was a report that was released here in D.C. It was several years ago on the state of black children in America by Mary Wright Edelman, the Children's Defense Fund, and Dr.rey Canada was there. And someone asked the question of Geoffrey Canada,

how do we deal with this issue of black kids not falling behind? And he literally said, we're gonna have to go into the womb. He said that even in the womb, black children are behind white kids primarily because of prenatal care of the mother. He said how those kids are coming out being healthy.

One of the things that he also talked about was, and he referenced, the number of words the average black child is able to speak by the time they get to kindergarten, which is far fewer than the average white child. And so when we talk about, so when you hear, again, going back to all these people who talk about why you bringing up politics, when you start thinking about Head Start, you start thinking about federal funding

for early childhood development, a lot of that stems from the fact that our children, unfortunately, because of economics, because of health, because of racism, because of white supremacy, are literally beginning their lives behind white kids and are in a constant state of trying to play catch up. It's true. 90% of our brains develop before the age of five. And if our children aren't getting access to the right early childhood education options, you know, they're entering the K-12 system behind. And it's, by that point, it's really too late.

It's really, really hard to catch up. And I think that what Dr. Canada is saying around going into the womb, he's right. He's right. Well, let folks know when they can get more information about your program. So they can, if you're looking to start a childcare program, if you're a government official wanting to learn more,

if you're a parent looking to find childcare, you just go to wonderschool.com and you can access our platform. All right, then. Look, we certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much and good luck. Thanks so much. Really appreciate it.

All right, folks, gotta go to a break. We come back, some more headlines, as well as a preview of the 10-part docuseries on the year of return that I will be launching next Friday right here on Black Star Network. We'll be back in a moment. ДИНАМИЧНАЯ МУЗЫКА Nå er vi på Norske Norske. The leverage that the players have is that we cannot be replaced. These are the best basketball players on the planet. The league can't say, okay, you're all fired.

We're going to get some more. Who's watching that, right? The dance is to make it not worth their while to lock us out. No one's making any money if you try locking these men out. And I said to Adam, you know, I don't mind a fight. That's what I do. Y'all wanna lose all this money.

Y'all want us to win? Right, let's do that. You know, there's some things you can say are unacceptable, and I think I can probably believe it. But when I say that there's something unacceptable, you should also believe it. At the end of the day, I know my guys aren't going to make any money

if you lock us up, but you know what else? You're not either. Hey, everybody, it's your girl, LuMail. So what's up? This is your boy, Earthquake. Hi, I'm Chaley Rose, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. In Connecticut, the chief medical examiner says Brendan Lee Rawls died of cardiovascular disease brought on by diabetes.

Rawls died on December 12th, the same day as another woman in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Lauren Smith-Fields. Both families did not get notified of their deaths until days later. The detectives investigating both cases have been suspended. Mission Police reports called Rawls' death untimely. An attorney for the Rawls family believes a more thorough investigation needs to be done and the family has more questions

than answers. Also, folks, in Wisconsin, a Wisconsin family is demanding answers on how their loved one died in Milwaukee police custody. Kashawn Thomas was pulled over for a traffic violation early Wednesday morning. Police discovered he had an outstanding warrant and took him to jail.

Sixteen hours later, the 20-year-old was found dead in his cell. His mother says he had no underlying health issues. Again, more questions than answers. In Kansas City, the police department has agreed to pay a $900,000 settlement to a black man who was wrongfully arrested when he was 15 and held for three weeks before being released without charges. Tyree Bell sued in 2017 over his arrest for a crime he did not commit. Attorneys on both sides agreed to the settlement, but the judge still must approve it.

Bell was arrested in June 26, 2016. Officers said he resembled a black teenager who ran from them earlier that day. An appeals court found in October 2020 that Bell's only resemblance to the suspect was that he was Black, juvenile, and male. Again, Matt, judges matter. They do. They absolutely do. And to show that in this case in particular, he lost at the district court because they determined that the officers were entitled to qualified immunity. But thankfully, the judges on the court of appeals there determined that the officers didn't have probable cause, and as such, the case should be renewed. So thankfully, in that instance, the judges made the right decision in determining there was no probable cause. But to that point, as it goes to civil rights cases,

I practice in the Fifth Circuit, which, by contrast to the Ninth Circuit, is the most conservative circuit in the entire country. And if I had this case, there's not a good chance that it would be renewed the way it was. So judges matter, and the person who puts those judges in place absolutely matters, as is emblematic in this case. Let's talk about the psychology department chair at Columbia University. He's been suspended after commenting on a photo of a South Sudanese model. Here is the photo. Folks, Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman tweeted, whether a work of art or freak of nature, she's a beautiful sight to behold. Lieberman lost his position as psychiatrist-in-chief

at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York Presbyterian Hospital. As a result of this, the model, Nikeem Gatwick, has been named Queen of the Dark and uses her platform to share self-acceptance and body positivity. Dr. Lieberman did apologize. He admitted his comments were racist and sexist.

He said he will make personal changes to regain the public's trust. You believe him, Cleo? I don't know the dude. Well, I know you don't know the damn dude, Cleo. Shit, I'm talking about the damn story. I ain't say y'all hanging. Damn.

I don't know the dude. The reason I said that is because I can't answer the question whether I believe him or not until I know him and I'm in his presence. No, but here's my whole point. Here you are. You have this photo. Go ahead and pull it back point. Here you are, you have this photo. Go ahead and pull it back up.

And you see what he actually says here, okay? Whether a work of art or freak of nature, she's a beautiful sight to behold. First of all, what the hell is a freak of nature? And see, and the reason I think the language is important, let's extend this thing beyond even this guy commenting on this photo. When you listen to the certain language of basketball commentators and football commentators and how they describe

black athletes in terms of typically using superhuman or using animalistic terms uh it again it's so oh this is like oh my god just so unbelievably different than anything we've ever seen in our lives and it's like freak of nature really his problem his his commentary is very problematic but i'm not sure he knows why i'm not sure he gets it intrinsically in terms of what's problematic about what he said everybody apolog apologizes, especially these white folks who say crazy stuff. They always want to CYA-ing. But I'm not sure if there's disassociation or transformation, because there is a difference.

People often disassociate from something that's gonna be... cause criticism, particularly when they're gonna be called racist. But does that mean that there's been a transformation? That's what I'm saying. See, I-I- I really believe, and again, I'm not sitting here letting anybody off the hook, Michael, but I really do believe that what you have here

really speaks to, whenever I'm talking about the issue of racism, again, here's what happens in this country. We say, give me a solo shot. This is what we do right here. We go racist, not racist. And so then our conversations, Michael, tend to be I'm not racist. You are racist.

As opposed to all of this stuff that's in between these two. And that is where most people actually lie. And so here's a guy who's thinking, let me follow my sword. And some people say, I don't want to see what the whole big deal is. What I'm realizing is how have we been conditioned? Somebody might see me wear this and I might go to the store and they might go, oh, you're going to a costume party? Why? Because we have been conditioned in this country to think, oh, you're wearing a costume.

Because that's not what is common for us. And what we have to understand is that that's what you're wearing a costume because that's not what is common for us. And what we have to understand is that that's what you're dealing with. When you show the picture again, when you see the picture again, how does it, oh, my God, oh, my God, look at this magnificent, listen to my language, look at this magnificent creature. If you think about that phrase, magnificent creature, that is rarely assigned

to a white woman. But it will, no, no, I'm serious. But it will be used typically to describe a non-white woman. Michael? Well, yeah, he's looking at her

as something exotic or some type of exotic creature. And the reason why it's not used, that term is not used for white women is because in this culture, white women are held up as the standard of beauty. So, you know, one of the things that's problematic with his tweet is he used the term freak of nature, whether a work of art or a freak of nature. If you want to say this is a beautiful woman, say that. You don't have to use the phrase freak of nature. But

the other thing is there's something deeper here. In this society and in other European societies, but especially this one, there's a fear of African people. There's a fear of African peoples, a fear of Black people, because of our melanin, we have the ability to genetically wipe white people off the face of the earth. And this is why they had anti-miscegenation laws in this country, to keep Africans from

intermixing, especially African men, from intermixing with white women. Okay? Even though we know it happened the other way around. But you had laws put in place to preserve genetic white survival. So there's this lingering fear of dark skin. And

when he says freak of nature, what he's really saying is, is that for me to say this is beautiful is counter to really what I've been taught. But see, let me unpack it even further. So if you really break, if you really break down, I'm going to go to the monitor. If you really break down this picture, pull the picture back up. If you break down this picture here, she's glistening. I guarantee you, put a picture of the same woman in her native setting, they ain't saying that. See what I mean? See? So what happens is, with this photo, it becomes, oh my

goodness. So she's sitting on the bed. She's glistening. She's glowing. Oh, whether a work of art or freak of nature, she's a beautiful sight to behold. I can guarantee you if that same image was her in her native country? That would not be the reaction Roland My concern is that black there's a lot of black people who see her the same way he does. I agree

No, i'm not i'm not saying there's him see that's why I expand that's why I expanded the thing it's Oh We're now seeing her through I'm not saying there's him. See, that's why I expanded the thing. It's, oh, we're now seeing her through our prism. Oh, she's glistening, what she's wearing, sitting on the bed, reading a newspaper. Oh, now she's gorgeous. Now she's amazing. Now she's this freak of nature. But you wouldn't say the same level of beauty if she was in her native setting.

But we mad at this white man for saying it. And we have become internalized white supremacists in terms of our beauty standard just proportionally as well. That needs to be addressed as seriously as this white do. Well, actually, which is what, well, first of all, I do. In fact, that was one of the things when I was talking to a variety of groups when I was in Liberia for eight days. That was one of the things that we talked about. We talked about the depths of white supremacy. We talked about how even we view things. We talk about, because when we were talking about this history, because what they're celebrating this year,

they're celebrating the 200th anniversary of the formerly enslaved people of African descent going to Liberia and actually starting the country. Well, you already had indigenous people there, so the land there was bought. And so I was talking to this one sister who's been doing research, and she talked about how sad it was to read these letters of these folks who were

African American who were just talking about the friction and not getting along with the indigenous people because those African Americans brought over those European American ways. They brought over the system of slavery with them. It was also very interesting that the guys pull up a photo of President George Weah. And I forgot, he told me, but I can't, he told me about the outfits that he wears down.

And he called it a profo, proto, I just can't remember. And so really what it is, is, and all of a sudden, all these men in Liberia have been wearing it. So essentially, it's a linen top, linen bottom, and they wear them with tennis shoes. He's a former international soccer star. And he said, I'm bringing this back. Why? Because, yeah, that's the photo right there. So if y'all go ahead and pull that photo up.

Why? Because of the African-American influence, which means the European influence, they wore suits and ties. They didn't actually, many of them didn't wear, first of all, there are 16 tribes there. And so you have these, what they would call Comerico Liberians. Some call them the Congo people. But they brought those ways. And so again, so what he's saying is I am embracing our history, embracing our culture. And so he's been wearing outfits like that. embracing our history, embracing our culture.

And so he's been wearing outfits like that. And so I forgot again the name, but a lot of the men are now wearing that same thing. How the influence of those African Americans on this African country change that culture and how they operated and how that and how they that is they have been in conflict in that African country for all of these years because of that worldview and so one of the things that the yeah go ahead go ahead one of the things one of the things that the brother said earlier, the educator, was that we have Google now and we have access to all this information.

And Michael Hoteb is a great historian. people Google what they value. And they Google what they can fathom and what they have been taught to care about. So there's wonderful information out there about black people, about black beauty, about black culture, about black history that never makes the Google search among black people because we haven't been trained to value what comes from black people.

But also, Cleo, it doesn't make the Google search because the Google search is not being programmed by black people. One of the things that, I don't know if y'all could find it, please find the Super Bowl commercial that Google did for their new Pixel phone. And there were some people who said, oh, here's Google playing the race car in the Super Bowl,

not realizing that literally these devices have not been designed to properly take photos of black people. The whole deal, Matt, right now with artificial intelligence is that literally AI has artificial intelligence has often shown, and there's a documentary that's on Netflix, you folks ought to check it out, where sometimes when a black person is seen in AI,

an animal comes up. They've talked about how the racism is built into the artificial intelligence. So even when you talk about the inability to Google, it's what's inputted in Google. I can tell everybody who's watching right now, let me pull it up, that we have been battling Facebook, to some degree even YouTube, over our content. Because what happens is African Americans, we might use the word black, and our content is stricken or is placed in the category of domestic terrorists. Same thing as the Proud Boys.

And so all of a sudden, our views have been limited. We've been throttled by the algorithm as a result of our content. Perfect example. We're sitting here right now. Look, I've got 1.3 million followers on Facebook. Right now, 124 are watching. I hit folks at Facebook. Three years ago, Matt, I was told there's a glitch in their system. September, Matt, I was told there's a glitch in their system. September, Matt, I was told there's a glitch in their system. So you can't explain. There's no way you can explain to me how I have 1.3 million followers on Facebook and there are only 124 watching the live stream.

And really in the past, I would say year and a half, we've rarely exceeded 400 when we used to have 2,000 and 3,000. Go ahead. Yep. They don't want your information out to the people. I mean, that's all that is, and that glitch is going to be there every time, the same way every time you go to

McDonald's, the ice cream machine doesn't work. Same thing. Not the ice cream machine doesn't work. Same thing. Not the ice cream machine. I was mentioning, and we're going to go three more minutes. I was mentioning that Google commercial. I ain't trying to give folk anything free. So why don't I do this here?

Put me in a box and put the commercial in a box. I ain't trying to give them a free damn ad. But I want to show, this is the commercial I was talking about. Go ahead and roll it. Put me in the box and I ain't trying to give them a free damn ad. This is the commercial I was talking about. Go ahead and roll it. Put me in the box and put the commercial in. Roll it so y'all can see what I'm talking about. Guys, it's the

worst. Yes, it's from my gammy's recipe. Announcement. Pull the audio up, please. Announcement. Colin left the oysters in the car for five hours. It's probably better Alexa can't read your mind.

Bad idea. That's the game. Something's brewing at D&D. All right, so y'all got some audio playing In the back of that deal So just kill the audio please Just kill the audio So what y'all are seeing here

They're showing with their new phone Real tones There were white folks on social media Who were saying Google playing the race card No They were talking about how the technology Is used against us. All of these things,

going back to this professor, all of these things are a part of how this system does not see us as being as equal when the system, whether we're talking about technology, whether we're talking about Google, whether we're talking about phones,

whether we're talking about how people look at photography, about Google, whether we're talking about phones, whether we're talking about how people have a look at photography, it is all through the prism of whiteness and seeing us as different and as exotic and yes, as creatures or freaks of nature. Michael. Yeah, Roland, you know, this is why we have to challenge these images.

You know, the humanization of African people has always been entertainment in this country. Whether you go back to 1828, 1829, T.D. Rice, Thomas Dartmouth Rice, who is known as the father of the minstrel shows and created the Jim Crow character. And this becomes the minstrel shows become one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the country, in the North and the South. And it's lampooning and making fun of especially enslaved Africans. And then there was a city slicker who was the sidekick of Jim Crow. And his name was Zip, the C word that we don't use on this show. And he was a northerner. And they created this person. He wore the finest clothings, but they were showing that even if you educate African Americans,

they're still going to be ignorant. I encourage people to check out the Jim Crow Museum at Ferris State University on their website. Dr. David Pilgrim runs that museum. They have some tremendous documentation there. But this is why we have to fight back against these images. You only protect what you respect, okay? You only protect what you respect. And, you know, what you do for yourself, what you do to yourself, and what you allow other people to do to you and get away with is based upon what you think about yourself. This is why we have to take back our history, take back our minds and fight back against these images.

Oh, and folks, this is why, again, for us having this platform, we get to tell our story. We don't have to leave it up to anybody else. And so we're going to have a lot more content showing you over this next few weeks and this year with dealing with Liberia and their 200th celebration. But also next Friday, we're going to debut the first part of a 10-part series on the 16-19-2019, the year of return, the trip that I took to Ghana. We shot some amazing things. And so we wanted to give you guys. So here's a preview of what we're going to show you it's it's absolutely uh it's gonna be fantastic we're gonna launch the first episode next friday here is the preview you read about in history yeah you talk, you see it on our side, you know, of the United States, but to actually come here and see where this story

of slavery started and connecting the dots, it's just a wow factor for me right now. It's gonna be dark inside. You might not see too much, but you're going to feel everything. Just imagine seeing prisons in the yard in the United States. A lot of us get to be real live, but it's required in 2019, 2020, specifically for us to be reprogrammed. What they promise needs to be removed and extracted. It just doesn't make sense that the richest continent in the world should be inhabited

by the poorest people in the world. Part of that is by design. Self-hatred has been a very tragic part of our whole existence. And I'm not blaming anybody for it. But if you look at most characterizations of being of African descent in the world, it's with these kind of tats.

Always say, you're going to do a lot of shopping. They go, oh, I don't think so. It's with these kind of tats. Always say, you're going to do a lot of shopping. They go, oh, I don't think so. And then they come, so they brought limited reserves, and then they spend all their time running to the ATM because they see all these clothes they want and fabric they want. It's overwhelming.

I've been here for eight years, and I'm still taking pictures out of my car because it's just, it's a feast for the eyes on any given day. The kind of opportunities you have in Africa, you don't have those in America. The kind of money that you can make in Africa, very few of you would have that opportunity to do that in America.

Cordy, who was working for the Congress in the United States, she has started a waste management company. She's the number one here in Ghana now. She looked at- She's got a thousand trash. There it is. What used to be jeans-

Used to be jeans. Is now a huge- Huge. In Ghana alone, we have a two million unit deficit in housing. Two million. Two million. I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Seven of the 10 fastest growing economies

right now are African nations. Why in the world would we not be trying to figure out how to connect? Because the Lebanese are. Yeah. The Chinese are. Everybody else is doing it. We would be crazy to figure out how to connect because the Lebanese are, the Chinese are, everybody else is doing it. We will be crazy to do it. And it's for people who look like us.

We will be crazy to do it. We will be crazy to do it. We will be crazy to do it. Again, our first episode launches next Friday right here on the Black Star Network. I want to close out with this here. Yesterday we talked about the story of the brother out of Florida who was being charged with attempted murder when the cops burst into his home in Pensacola, Florida. He grabs his gun. He fires.

And he says, you bust into my house. And supposedly they were looking for some electronics and clothing. It wasn't even a warrant for him. Well, on the show last night, we had him on. And so this was about 25 hours ago. And when they came on, their GoFundMe was sitting at $935. They had launched it the day before. Well, I want to show y'all what y'all did because before we signed off, we were around

$8,000. Well, this is where the GoFundMe is right now, folks. $27,440 raised. Their goal was $25,000. And so I want to thank all of y'all who watched this show, who follows us on social media. Y'all circulated this. This is the power of black-owned media, of African-Americans. But not only that, I want y'all to understand, thanks to Jasmine Koenig and those attorneys, they did not go to MSNBC first. They did not go to CNN first.

They specifically came to this show for the first interview with that brother, with Corey, with his wife, Moya, with the attorneys. And so I hope other black attorneys out there will stop looking down on black-owned media and realize we can tell our stories just like anybody else. And we can send it out. we can make it go viral, but you got to look at us with respect and treat us with respect, and you see what happens when we follow up with that. And so certainly congratulations for that family. They have not cut the GoFundMe off because, again, that brother was fired from his job from Navy Federal Credit Union.

And we're going to be reaching out to them to find out why. Why did he lose his job when he was charged? It makes no sense whatsoever. And so let me thank our panelists today, Cleo, Matt, and Michael as well. A great conversation today. More to come. Folks, if y'all want to support what we do, please do so by downloading the Black Star Network app. Look, we appreciate being on YouTube, being on Instagram,

but here's the deal. By you support our app, we don't have to go through anybody else. We completely control that, own that. And so download to the Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. Also, the dollars that you give allow us to be able to do the stories, do the places where we go, whether it's Liberia, stuff in the United States. You can send your check and money order to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037. Cash app is dollar sign RM unfiltered. PayPal is our Martin unfiltered. Venmo is RM unfiltered. Zelle is rolling at rolling smart and calm rolling that rolling Martin unfiltered calm and some of y'all have been asking. So yes, so the outfit that I am wearing when I was at the celebration there, which camera are you going to be on? Right here?

You're going to be on this one. You're going to be on this one or one? Okay, I'll turn this way. All right, so the celebration, when they had the celebration at the sports stadium, this was one of the gifts that I was presented by the Liberian government. And so it comes with a hat as well, and so I certainly appreciate it. So I wanted to go ahead and rock this. And I've already gotten some posts from folks from Liberia.

So yeah, so on behalf of the president, George Weir, and the government, they gave me this. This is an amazing top. Yeah, you know I got the right colors because I could rock up my alpha stuff. And so I certainly appreciate that. Folks, that is it for us. We're going to see y'all on Monday

right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. You know we always close the show out showing you our Bring the Fuck Fan Club members. So here they go. I will see y'all Monday. Ho! This is an iHeart Podcast.