#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Biden's Plan Revamped; $88M Emanuel 9 Settlement, Domestic Violence Awareness; Mix-match Vaccines?

Episode Date: October 29, 2021

10.28.21 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: President Joe Biden presents a dramatically scaled-back domestic policy package of $1.75 trillion Build Back Better Plan. We have some economists here to break the numbers down. The Department of Justice will pay the families of nine people murdered in a racist attack at a Black South Carolina church $88 million over a faulty background check that allowed Dylann Roof to purchase the gun he used in the 2015 massacre. Associated Press reporter Meg Kinnard, who's been following this story, will join us to talk about this huge settlement. He spent 45 years in prison for murdering his wife. Today, he was found not guilty of the crime. We'll have the details of an Ohio man who never should have been arrested in the first place. The FDA & the CDC say you can get the Moderna booster if you got the Pfizer vaccine. But is it a good idea? We'll ask a doctor if mixing and matching vaccines make sense. In one year, more than 10 million people encounter a domestic violence situation. We'll talk to one woman who turned her tragedy into triumph and now helps domestic violence survivors get their life back on track.#RolandMartinUnfiltered partners:Nissan | Check out the ALL NEW 2022 Nissan Frontier! As Efficient As It Is Powerful! 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3FqR7bPAmazon | Get 2-hour grocery delivery, set up you Amazon Day deliveries, watch Amazon Originals with Prime Video and save up to 80% on meds with Amazon Prime 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3ArwxEh+ Don’t miss Epic Daily Deals that rival Black Friday blockbuster sales 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3iP9zkvBuick | It's ALL about you! The 2022 Envision has more than enough style, power and technology to make every day an occasion. 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3iJ6ouPSupport #RolandMartinUnfiltered and #BlackStarNetwork via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$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. Să ne urmăm în următoarea mea rețetă. Today is Thursday, October 28th, 2021. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. President Joe Biden lays up a framework for a $1.75 trillion build back better plan. We'll break it down with black economists and progressives not happy about what is left out of what was initially a $3.5 trillion plan. The Department of Justice will pay the families

of nine black people murdered in a racist attack at Mother Emanuel in South Carolina by white supremacist Dylann Roof $88 million. We'll explain to you why that's the case. We'll be joined by one of the family members

who lost three relatives in the massacre, as well as Associated Press reporter, Meg Knaar out of South Carolina. He spent 45 years in prison for murdering his wife. Today, he was found not guilty of the crime. Man, talking about a stunning story out of Ohio. The FDA and the CDC says you can get the Moderna booster if you got the Pfizer vaccine, but is it a good idea?

Talk with a doctor about mixing and matching vaccines and if they make sense. In one year, more than 10 million people encounter a domestic violence situation. We'll talk to a woman who has turned her tragedy into triumph and now helps domestic violence survivors get their life back on track. Folks, it is time to bring the funk.

I'm Roland Martin, unfiltered, streaming live on Black Star Network, let's go. He's got it. Whatever the mess, he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. And when it breaks, he's right on time And it's rolling, best belief he's knowing Putting it down from sports to news to politics

With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling, yeah It's Uncle Roro, yo Yeah, yeah It's Rolling Martin, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's Rollin' Martin, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Rollin' with Rollin' now. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best. You know he's Rollin' Martin now. Martin. After lots of consternation, drama, negotiation back and forth, today President Biden revealed the new framework for his Build Back Better plan. Initially, he wanted to be in excess of $3.5 trillion. It's now pared back to $1.75 trillion. This is what he had to say today from the White House. He's to announce it after after months of tough and thoughtful negotiations. I think we have an historic I know we have a historic economic framework. It's a framework that will create millions of jobs, grow the economy, invest in our nation

and our people, turn the climate crisis into an opportunity and put us on a path not only to compete, but to win the economic competition for the 21st century against China and every other major country in the world. It's fiscally responsible. It's fully paid for. We spent hours and hours and hours over months and months working on this. No one got everything they wanted, including me. But that's what compromise is. That's consensus. And that's what I ran

on. Well, he said that's what he ran on, but there's a lot that he ran on that's not actually in the proposal. Here's House Speaker Nancy Pelosi weighing in as well. For a long time now, we had a framework that had our priorities

spelled out clearly and agreed to that added up to a top line, start with the priorities, and then added up to a top line, which was the limit. Priorities, I mentioned the top line, 1.75 approximately, and the commitment that we would have the same bill pass the House and the Senate. That's what we have now. That's what the president presented. And we won't have anything, regardless of whatever input we have in the bill, unless it is agreed to by the Senate. institution and one of the Howard University economists, professor, Dr. William Spriggs, also with the AFL-CIO,

my panelists, Recy Colbert, founder of Black Women Views, Dr. Greg Carr, Department of Afro-American Studies at Howard University. We joined later by Faraji Muhammad, radio and TV host. All right, Christian and William, I want to start with both of you because, so let's walk through this because a lot of attention, a lot of focus has been focused on what's in,

what the process as opposed to what's actually in the bill. All right. So let's pull up the graphic here. Let's look at the line by line. Let's pull the graphic up, please, so I can see it line by line. So child care and preschool in this. And again, this is one point seven five trillion over the next 10 years. Child care and preschool, $400 billion. Home care, $150 billion. Child tax and earned income tax credits, $200 billion. Clean energy and climate investment, $555 billion.

ACA credits, including in uncovered states, America with Affordable Care Act, $35 billion. Medicare hearing, $150 billion. Housing, higher ed and workforce, equity, and other investment. And so you're seeing that. So Bill, starting with you, progressives wanted a lot more. They didn't get it. But your overall assessment of this $1.75 trillion plan? You're right. A lot was left on the cutting board, but let's start with the positives of what is there. And as you started with the top line, $400 billion being

invested in child care and preschool, this is the gap that Black families face harder than other families because Black women have the highest labor force participation rates. Our children start off behind before they get to school, mostly behind this problem of pre-K. And this makes sure that every child will have access to quality pre-K education. This is vital. And because we're the workers in that industry, it's going to assure that we're going to get fair wages for the people who work in that industry, as well as making sure that we can solve what's called the sandwich generation. are taking care of grandchildren, but then turning around and taking care of their elder parents. And so adding money to home care so that the elderly can be cared for in their homes, this is beyond the affordability of most black families. This is going to drastically help black women where they have not been helped before, and

in so doing, help the American economy, because we have to get women's labor force participation back up, and to make permanent the refundability of the child tax credit. This is really important. Before the child tax credit did not reach low-income families, a large share of black children, over half of them, are in households where they get the earned income tax credit, but they weren't getting the child tax credit. And so now they're going to get the child tax credit, and it will always be delivered monthly. And this gives the assurance to women who want to go to work that they're going to have some help

in paying for child care or who knows what other bills come up. Anybody who's raised children knows these things can just pop up. Those three elements, they're the biggest, you know, sort of single chunk of a kind of a program. They're just essential to solving the problems that black women face in the labor market. So even though we didn't get paid family leave, we got a lot of the things that we needed to help black women face in the labor market. So even though we didn't get paid family leave, we got a lot of the things that we needed to help black women in the labor market. And then let's add in higher end equity investments,

the expansion of the Pell Grant, making it bigger, and a huge investment, over $10 billion in HBCUs. This is the biggest investment that's been done in historically black colleges and universities. It addresses the inequity in funding that many of these schools face. And of course, in Medicaid, getting a bigger tax credit so that the large number of Black people who are still stuck in those states that did not expand Medicaid and have a hard time making payments on the exchanges, expanding that tax credit is going to go a long way to giving Black families stuck in those states access to affordable health care. So didn't get everything, but there's an awful lot there that's very important in making that child tax credit permanent, the refundability of it permanent.

To me, personally, that's better than a baby bond. Don't tell me you're going to give me $1,000 when I'm 18. The problem is I can't get to 18 because my parents went out of money at the end of this month. It's important that we give every American child an equal footing and give their family an equal opportunity. And this gives that same amount to every American child, that opportunity for their parents to have unmet needs. And everybody who has a child knows every month there's some other surprise that pops up that you're going to need that money for. Christian, I saw, it's interesting that, again, process, process, process.

There was a poll that said that 10% of the people didn't even know what, only 10% of people knew what the hell was even in this bill because political reporters don't actually focus on that. Going through this, for you, what stands out? What jumps out? Is this a good bill? I'm hearing some progressives saying, absolutely not. Hold the line. Vote against this bill. Your assessment. I think that for as long as we've been talking about this, getting the 1.75 is good. Of course, it would have been great to have had the 3.5.

But for parents and for children, they need something right now. They need something last month. So I think that getting the child tax credit is awesome. If in 2023, it's not extended, then it'll revert back to 2000 from the current 3000 to 3600 that we have. And so just thinking about that, that's the difference of $1,000 a month, right? It's gonna make a really big difference

to the parents who need it the most. It's also going to affect people who work in the child care industry. Right. It means that more parents will be able to afford to send their kids to child care. Those child care centers can then afford to pay the workers who, again, are, as Dr. Spriggs said, a lot of them are low income black and Latino women. So it means that black and Latino women can go to work. They can also work in that field and know that they're going to have an income because kids are going to be there. I am disappointed, though, in the paid family leave, though. Of course, everybody knows we're one of the only industrialized countries or countries, period, that does not have that leave. And originally, the Democrats wanted 12 weeks. It came down to three to four.

It's disappointing to not have any paid leave. I was hoping that that was something that could be agreed upon. And hopefully it will in the future. On that particular point there, this time sequence was put together. Kirsten Gillibrand, the senator from New York, waited on the floor to press Senator Joe Manchin on this very issue. Go to the computer, please. I want to show you.

You see her right there in the white. If you go to the top of the screen, you see her there in the white sitting right want to show you. You see her right there in the white. If you go to the top of the screen, you see her there in the white sitting right next to the desk. So just watch this. This was about a 10 minute. She literally waited on the floor for Manchin to come in because she wanted to challenge him and demand a paid family leave. And so this is, you see her, she's sitting there, she's waiting. She's waiting for him to come on. She was not going to leave the floor. She wanted to directly press him on it. Shortly you're going to see Manchin come in.

She's going to make a beeline for him to certainly press him on this. She and others were not happy at all that family leave was removed. It initially was struck from 12 weeks to four weeks, and all of a sudden it was zero. And like I said, she and others, you see she's there talking with Senators Patty Murray and Senator Elizabeth Warren as they're basically laying in wait for Senator Joe Manchin. And then you're going to see Manchin walk in, and she's going to go right up to him to press him on this. So she's waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting. Then all of a sudden, boom, okay, boom.

She's like following him all on the floor. Reese, the thing is here, and it was Manchin was the key vote. It was him and Sinema sitting there holding out, and here's a man representing one of the brokest, whitest states in America. And he was fighting against things that absolutely indirectly could help his constituents. He didn't care,

but Democrats needed all 50 votes because not one Republican would vote for this bill. James, constituents. Go ahead. Senator Manchin's constituents aren't the citizens of West Virginia. They are the wealthy and the coal miner and the coal industry. And he doesn't give a damn about what Chris and Jill O'Brien has to say or anybody else, but I absolutely applaud her effort.

That's the kind of effort that I want to see from Chuck Schumer, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. And I think it's important that at least pressure was put on him. But unfortunately, he just doesn't care. But I think it's important, as you said, Roland, only 10 percent of the people even knew what was in the bill. So to the extent that those of us who follow the process, who follow the sausage making might be a little bit disappointed at some things being left out. Most people didn't even know what was in there in order to be disappointed about a specific provision being left out. And so if you go on today as a starting point, if the Democrats really start pushing this message and selling what's in the bill, which is a lot of transformative things

are in the bill. I was fully prepared to be disappointed and gripe about the frame laid out. But when I started reading the details, I said, this is pretty damn good. Nobody has a magic wand. President Joe Biden doesn't. Vice President Kamala Harris doesn't. And even the Senate and the House leadership doesn't. And so they don't have magic wands. Nothing was, you weren't going to be able to solve all of the country's ills in one

massive reconciliation package. So I think the priorities that made it in there, particularly targeting children and families with children, are incredibly important. One of the things that's in there that I think is really important is making meals free for school-age children. That's something that's going to impact over 8.7 million children. That's a huge deal. Food insecurity is a huge deal. And we saw a lot of kids who experienced more food insecurity as a result of the pandemic because they weren't in the school. And so these are very important things that made it in there. Congresswoman Lauren Underwood and Alma Adams got their momnibus bill in there. This was something that Vice President Kamala Harris championed as a senator,

and she championed it from the inside of the White House. That's incredibly important. Black women have three times the black mortality rate than white mothers do. So we're going to start making a dent in a lot of these problems. It's not going to solve everything. But I think the priorities that made it in there are going to be transformative. It's on the Democrats to sell this as a win instead of a compromise or a loss on that particular point there again Greg uh when I follow the folks with the young turks and other folks and I'm seeing

uh again a lot of progressives who are saying we got screwed screwed we got rolled all these things are out uh and and and they're saying do not vote for this. Others who are saying, what the hell are you talking about? This is bigger than what FDR proposed, that there are wins here. And so your assessment, yes, it's $350 billion a year. Defense is $750 billion a year. But your assessment on whether or not this is something that House Democrats and should get behind, endorse, and vote for?

Well, I think you have to vote for it because the alternative is zero. My heart and my mind are with the progressives because, of course, what the progressive agenda is a human agenda. And to correct the president of the United States, he did not run on compromise with Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. He ran on compromise with the white nationalist party that is standing lockstep and firm, saying let the country burn unless we're in power. And of course, we know Joe Biden's got to get on a plane and go to go overseas to talk

at this climate summit. And we know that in this bill, a third of the money, around a third of the money is about electric vehicles and trying to enhance the grid, not of the money, right on third of the money is about electric vehicles and trying to enhance the grid, not enhance the grid, but trying to convert from gas and coal to clean energy. And we know that in the world, we just saw a report yesterday that stakeholders are calling on Shell to break itself up into a legacy company, which is oil and gas, and a clean energy company, and ExxonMobil, the same thing.

We know that the world is moving on. And so when Joe Biden today said that this vote will be a test of perhaps House and Senate majorities in 2022 and the presidency in 2024, he's absolutely correct. And I would just add that given the voter suppression efforts going on, Democrats are probably likely to lose the House and the Senate in 2022, and perhaps even the presidency in 2024. The White Nationalist Party has made it clear that they would rather the damn country burn than anybody get any relief, including all of those non-Black people for whom Medicaid expansion would speak to them.

So let's just talk for a moment about these two soft white nationalists in the Democratic Party, including the one that Senator Gillibrand laid in wait for today, Joe Manchin. Joe Manchin has a problem with the oil and gas lobby, as we just heard Arisi say. And so he can't really support fully the details of moving to clean energy because he's hostage to these special interests and he don't give a damn. Now that's important to understand because what we've seen, this is really an outline of a budget bill. It's an outline of a bill. It isn't, the details haven't been worked out. There's a front page article in the New York Times today saying that they're trying to literally rewrite the tax code years of work in days to find the money to fund this,

this bill. And let's not forget that there's also a trillion dollar bill, infrastructure bill, that has already passed the Senate. And so finally, the progressives, who I am with 150 percent on principle, have to make a decision to understand that this might be the last time in the foreseeable future that the people in this country will get relief from those who are either hostage to white nationalism and or special interests because the foreseeable future, the road is going to be very rocky. So, Kristen Sinema, we know you're not going to go

for full Medicare expansion to deal with prescription drug prices, but you better get on board and somebody better lay in wait for these two senators because if we don't get this, we might not get much of anything for the foreseeable future. And I'm talking about the next 10 years. See, Christian and Bill, that's the thing right there.

And it's the rally is when we talk about Washington, D.C., when we talk about getting things done and when people talk about, no, we want everything that we want. The problem that you have is you don't have the votes. So the question is, do you go for this? Do you wait? I'll remind people. That's exactly what happened with the criminal justice reform bill. Democrats had the votes, but then they said, you know what? If we wait, we can get a better bill when Hillary wins. She didn't win. She didn't win. And so

then they had to deal with Trump. And so that was the first step at, but it was not the bill that Democrats had sitting on the table before Obama left the White House. And so that was a dilemma. And to Greg's point, it's a midterm election next year. You don't do this, you

may not have anything coming up next year. And then what do you know, really what's left? And so that's why Biden is talking about as a compromise. And so I'd love to get both of your perspective on that. Yes, I think the first thing, Roland, I'm just looking at the universal pre-K. Right. That's six million three to four year olds that are going to get to go to school six million right so i mean even if it's that alone like we want to give up on on six million kids and then as dr sprig said

i mean he's at howard i worked at howard i've worked at a number of hbcu the pell grant that that investment increasing that helps not just hBCU students, not just Black students, but low-income students overall, helps them be able to go to school. Of course, it would have been great to have had free community college, but it's like we don't want to cut off our noses to spite our faces. As you said, we may not get anything ever again, or at least not in our lifetimes. So it's like, help the kids, help the college students, help us to save this planet. When you look at clean energy, that's not a Democratic or Republican industry. So let's help everybody and not wait another trillion dollars, another $2 trillion. We're not going to get it, and we may not get anything.

Or, Bill, do you get the $1.75 trillion right now, then try to come back and get another trillion later? Well, you know, part of the problem is the American people have never had a government on their side, and who knows? We can't remember. So I think it's worth it to ensure that you're taking home to the American people something tangible they can see, that the government can act on their behalf.

And, you know, we talked about this earlier. Many people don't know what's in this. Many people didn't know what was in the American Rescue Plan. And so despite people having extra money in their unemployment check, despite getting the second stimulus check, despite being able to have forbearance on their mortgage payment, despite not having to pay their student loans for the last year, many people didn't know that was Joe Biden. That was Joe Biden who got them that. So I think you got to deliver something so you can remind people what you gave them. You know, Republicans are even winning on what Joe Biden gave the American people. You know, they went back home and found out people actually like all of those benefits. And even though they voted against it, they want to pretend they voted for it.

This is another one of those instances where when they go back home and their constituents are happy with being able to have access to child care, they're going to claim victory. So take the victory. I absolutely positive want it more. And I know there are people inside the White House who are practically in tears they didn't get family leave because we all were quite convinced we were going to get paid family leave. Black mothers work more than anybody else all the way up to delivery. That's part of the reason that, you know, we have these disparities in maternal health. But laying down a foundation that we're going to get a 15% corporate minimum tax globally. So we don't have these corporations running around pretending that they're Irish paying no tax to the United States and collecting billions in the United States.

Like we know Google and Amazon and many of them do. We will get 15% effective. That's not, you know, in current law, the U S has this tax rate, but we know these corporations don't pay it. This is a 15 percent minimum effective tax rate on large corporations that the White House has negotiated through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the OECD, gotten them to agree to it. Now this is in the legislation.

No more hiding. And that's so important to restore fairness to the tax system, because labor share of income has been falling in the nation, profit share has been going up, and we tax labor, but we don't tax those profits. Putting a tax on stock buybacks. All these corporations that got the big tax cuts under Trump turned around and spent them all on stock buybacks. They didn't invest in the American economy. You heard Mitch Romney talking about, well, you know, stocks, that's how companies build and invest. Those companies weren't building and investing. They were buying back the stocks and inflating the price of the stock. This puts a tax on the stock buybacks.

This goes after those at the very top who benefited the very most from all of these kind of policies and made a lie, a total lie out of this notion that we can't afford to make investments in American children. What we couldn't afford, as we now know, was taxing corporations fairly, taxing the rich fairly. This political decision that now we're going to have a fairer tax system, that we're no longer going to have to hide behind, well, you can't afford American children to get pre-K with every other nation. That's an advanced national economy like ours, advanced industrial power like ours. They have pre-K.

That's why their labor force participation for women exceeds that of the United States, when it used to lag behind for the United States. We can afford this as the richest nation if we get the political will to make people pay fair taxes. And that's an important message out of this as well. Let's have the people who have benefited from all the policies pay their fair share. That's an important message out of this as well. Let's have the people who have benefited from all the policies pay their fair share. That's an important message. So I don't know. I would that, yes, people at the very high end can get to pay taxes the way they used to in the 1980s, under Ronald Reagan, that we can return to that level of taxation. And then as Dr. Brody was talking about, you know, making sure that we take care of American children. These are important principles to lay down a gauntlet

so that these are harder to erase. Faraj, I want to bring you in here. I'm seeing this story here that apparently progressives have been pushing back on this bill. There's not going to be a vote on this infrastructure bill tonight. Your assessment of this $1.75 trillion compromise? I mean, I'm staying with like Dr. Carr and everyone else. I mean, you know, at this point, considering the contentious nature of what's happening in Congress right now, it seems like

we got to get something going. I'm saddened, too, that we don't get the universal child care. I'm saddened, too, that we don't get the free community colleges. I mean, these are certainly pathways to get generations of black and brown communities out of economic, educational, and poverty. But what I am concerned about is still getting some things done. I mean, we still got to talk about climate control, the climate change issue. I mean, politics is about compromise, especially at a fundamental level. You've got to give and take. Now, does it all make sense? No.

Will we all be happy? Absolutely not. But at the end of the day, we got to get something. Because like Dr. Carr said, I'm looking and the president mentioned this. I'm looking at 2022 because the game will change just next year, just next year. I mean, we're in October right now. So come 2022, things are going to change. And you don't want to be left on trying to be in a place of like, well, no, we're going to try to get all of it. When you then come 2022, if things change, the dynamics of power change, then you won't have none of it.

And at this point, we just got to look at, OK, what can we get now? Can we come back to the table? I think we can, Brother Roland. I think we can come back to the table. If Democrats show up, if folks vote their good conscience in 2022, getting state lawmakers and all of those folks into the right places, we can possibly come back and have another conversation about another bill. I mean, we did it with the stimulus. We had trillions of dollars coming out to the American people in a very short period of time. We can do that. We can do that. But I think that this is safe politics right now. And in any safe politics, this is like the art of time. We can do that. We can do that. But I think that this is safe politics right

now. And in any safe politics, this is like the art of war. You've got to know the rhythm. You've got to know when to speed the tempo up, when to slow it down. And at this moment, we just kind of take a safe step because things can change dramatically. We need a win

somewhere on the table. And if this has got to be the win, then let's take it. All right, then. Kristen, Bill, we certainly appreciate y'all breaking this down for us. Again, too many other shows are spending their time talking about

the back and forth and the process, things along those lines, not really walking through what's in the bill. We're going to take some time over the next few days as well to also go over other elements of the bill so our viewers and listeners know exactly what's in this $1.75 trillion plan so they have a better understanding. So we appreciate it. Thanks a lot.

Thank you. All right, folks. Got to go to a break. We come back. We're going to talk more news. Today, black women protested, kept the pressure up when it comes to ending the filibuster. We'll have that for you.

Howard University students held a Zoom news conference. We live streamed that as well given their latest concerns was happening on that campus. And a huge settlement with the families of the people involved who were killed at Mother Emanuel by the white supremacist Dylann Roof. We'll tell you what that was all about and hear from one of our settlement with the families of the people involved who were killed at Mother Emanuel by the white supremacist, Dylann Roof. We'll tell you what that was all about

and hear from one of those family members. That's next on Roland Martin Unfiltered, broadcasting live on the Black Star Network. GONG Nå er vi i Norske Norske. Betty is saving big holiday shopping at Amazon. So now she's free to become Bear Hug Betty. Settle in, kids. You'll be there a while. Ooh, where you going? That's Kim Whitley.

Yo, what's up? This your boy Ice Cube. Hey, yo, peace world. What's going on? It's the love king of R&B, Raheem Devon, and you're watching Roland Martin, Unfiltered. Many of us, of course, were shocked and stunned, still are, when nine African Americans were gunned down in Mother Emanuel by white supremacist Dylann Roof.

Folks, it was shocking and stunning, but he should never have been able to access a gun as the basis of a settlement. Announced today by the families in the Department of Justice, there was a news conference on the steps of the DOJ. This is what was said this morning. Every day. And my girls know, you know, the anxiety is there. The crying is still there. So you take one day at a time, you know, and I know that I have to be strong for my girls. I have to represent, be the representative for my girls. I h the representative for my there is a settlement and

think about that. I think the opportunity to bring switch. You can all take my husband back to me, br to them. No amount of compensation will ever replace my father's life, but through the help and the opportunities that the government and the people standing behind me have provided, it allows me and my sister to have the opportunity to make sure that we're doing everything we can to make sure that my father's legacy doesn't go away, to make sure that we are

doing everything we can with the rest of our lives, living to our fullest potential, and making sure that his legacy stays uplifted. They accuse the FBI of negligence when it allowed a licensed firearms dealer to sell a gun to Dillon Roof. The families will receive anywhere between $5 million to $7.5 million. Each roof, of course, is now on death row. Joining me right now is Meg Kennard. She is a reporter with Associated Press. Meg, glad to have you here. And, of course, glad to have you back as you've been battling breast cancer

and glad to hear about your latest results. It was good news that we shared with our viewers last week. Hey, Roland, it's really good to be with you. And thank you so much to the fam out there for all the support, all the prayers, lifting me up through this whole journey. It's been a long one. There's more work to be done,

but I'm feeling really good. And I appreciate all of y'all so much. All right then, let's talk about this here. This is certainly significant. A lot of folks not knowing the details here of the role that, again, the failure, the loophole Congressman Clyburn is always talking about, allowed Dylann Roof to be able to access this gun that killed Nye and Mother Emanuel. Yeah, that was the whole crux of these lawsuits from Jennifer Pinckney, Senator Pinckney's widow, as well as some other claimants here, some survivors and families of those slain, is that Dylann Roof shouldn't have ever been able to purchase this

gun. He went in and he had been arrested several months earlier on a drug charge. And that charge didn't show up when the background check was being run on him. There was an error in the system. The wrong law enforcement agency data was pulled. And three days later, after the waiting period for a handgun purchase, Dylann Roof went back and was able to walk out with the handgun that he then took down to Mother Emanuel. That is something that even at the time, officials at the FBI, including then-Director Jim Comey, talked about, you know, that shouldn't have happened. And there were some mistakes made here. So that's what was going on in all of these lawsuits from Jennifer Pinckney and others. And in a statement today,

the Attorney General Merrick Garland noted that he's pleased with DOJ being able to work with these families to try to bring them what amount of closure they can get at this point. And has consistently said that there is work to be done on that particular issue still. It is one of those things that when we talk about these loopholes, when we talk about how the NRA and others do all they can to ensure folks have easy access to guns, I mean, that's one of the fundamental problems that we're talking about here in dealing with and really how the end result, you've got nine folks who are dead. That's right. Unfortunately, this is just one of the most glaring examples of what Congressman Clyburn and plenty of other lawmakers at all different levels of government attorneys for the families and also one of Senator Pinckney's daughters, Eliana, the one whose clip he just showed there. And with them, you know, one of the things that we were talking about is the fact that there still does remain a lot of work to be done on these issues. It keeps coming up legislatively. And sometimes, unfortunately, as we saw with the Confederate flag situation here in

South Carolina, right after the slaying, it does take one of those big moments for there to be action taken, for there to be changes that are actually made. Here we are, you know, more than six years after those nine deaths at Mother Emanuel. So there has been a considerable chunk of time, really. There's no heat of the moment still going on for that. But the argument is still very much there. And this very unfortunate ad situation continues to be the one that is mentioned over and over when lawmakers and legislators are discussing this. And I can guarantee you that the attorneys involved in this case, one of whom is a state lawmaker, State Senator Gerald Malloy, he's going to continue to remind folks, especially in the Senate chamber here in South Carolina, of their colleague, Senator Pinckney, who

was killed, his best friend, his roommate. He's always been their family lawyer. And so he'll continue to bring up the nine as evidence that something still needs to change on that front. Mayor Kennard, Associated Press. We certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you, Roland. Good to see you. Likewise. All right, folks, let's now turn to Reverend Sharon Risher. Her mother and two cousins died in that massacre and must now as well.

Reverend, glad to have you here. Sorry under these circumstances. Talk about how this settlement came about, how people focus on the money, $88 million, but the reality is it's still loss of life. Well, Roland, soon after that horrific night in Charleston at that church, a couple of months later, in really understanding what had happened and putting evidence and things together, we realized that there was a—there were big errors that were made. And those errors needed to be addressed because if Dylann Roof had not been able to get that gun and had really gone through the background check properly, then maybe they might not have been dead.

But it's been a long haul with this lawsuit. It's been nothing. It's just been hard. You know, it had been dismissed. The court said that we didn't have a case. We appealed. And those judges said we did. And, you know, our government, they are not about just giving away money.

So that money that happened today, I mean, yes, we are grateful beyond grateful. in that church has gone through pure d-hell and for the DOJ to finally acknowledge that white supremacy and racism is abound and that they are trying to make some kind of step in saying that we are listening. But it's been long and hard.

And no amount of money could bring my mother back i mean you know reverend pinkney surely was a south carolina senator and all but you know senator pinkney was not the only person that died in that church. And the thing is for so many people there are a lot of people who talked about this immediate rush towards forgiveness. Compassion.

But what this is also about is changing the law. So another family doesn't have to go through this if it occurs again. I've spent so much time with the grassroots organization Moms Demand Action to get this Charleston loophole passed. From my understanding from a congresswoman that I'm very close to, she had said that, you know, she don't think that the Charleston loophole will ever move from where it is. We're wanting the Charleston loophole, the law to be changed.

That will show America that we really are trying to do something about the systematic racism that occurs in our system that would allow anybody to buy a gun in those days, be extended so that background check can be completed as it should be and not a botched job like it happened with my family. What do you want those who are watching and listening to do when it comes to that Charleston loophole? What kind of action do you want the public to be engaged in? I want the public to be engaged in making phone calls to their senators, writing postcards, signing petitions, getting on board on a volunteer group that their main job is to get gun legislation through. Like Moms Demand is one that I'm very familiar with. You know, you can sit in your chair and use your iPhone and make calls

and send letters by email to your legislative people in your states? It is still difficult to fathom, Reverend Richard, what took place on that day. For you and others who were directly impacted, there's no doubt one day goes, no date goes by where you don't think about those loved ones who had to suffer the way they did in that church basement at Bible study. We appreciate you coming on the show. Thank you. And we're going to certainly keep pushing the issue as well, because we want to make sure that we don't have to talk to another family member who loses someone as a result of this loophole. Thank you so much, Roland, for having me again.

I appreciate you. And for all of the listeners out there, just know with gun violence, it could be you. It could be you. We can't stand by and let the lax gun laws continue to happen. Thank you so much, Roland. Thank you so very much. One of my panel, Greg, Recy, and Faraji.

This is, obviously, this is a big settlement, but the law still has to be dealt with. And Republicans, for all the talk, for all of the talk, for all of the thoughts and prayers, for all of those things, they still did not want to end this loophole. Some Democrats, too.

When they're not going to. They're white nationalists. I mean, you know, I don't want to reduce it to that because there are other things in play. But let's be very clear. This is about white nationalism. We're in the middle of a World Series where tomorrow night the world will see thousands of white people with styrofoam tomahawks engaging in an openly racist act, chanting as if they are Native Americans just outside of Atlanta in Cobb County.

In South Carolina, neighboring South Carolina, these white boys don't care. And here we have a little bit more complicated situation because there was a law on the books and they dropped the ball and called a clerical error. So I mean, it was very moving to hear Jennifer Benjamin Pinckney, the wife of Clementa Pinckney and the mother, of course, of Ilana and Milana, say, I'd give all this money back if my husband was there. And see, what you have in this country is Black people have engaged in what Derrick Bell called the involuntary sacrifice, since we were brought into this criminal enterprise. And our deaths are then the things

that people dip their pens in into the blood and try to rewrite the nature of this country. Now, I'm not saying that's something that shouldn't be tried. I mean, Reverend Richard is absolutely right. We can't give up. But we have to be very clear out about where we are. These people are full set against our common humanity and they cannot be negotiated with. They cannot be reasoned with. Frankly, I mean, and you all remember this. When the Charleston nine were killed, were massacred, that all night session in the South Carolina legislature. And I stayed up all night watching. And I know, Roland, you know, you talked about this at the time to watch those legislators in there trying to excuse away and reason away and prevaricate away, taking that flag down. But in that moment, it was righteous indignation. And some of them could be shamed because those black folk, particularly the sister who I think she's the leader of the South Carolina Democratic Party, at least the elected officials, she rained natural fire down on those folks.

And you know what it ended up with? Take it off the pole and put it in a museum, but we will never retire it because it lives in our hearts. That's why the figure was $88 million today. Those eight symbolize the eighth letter in the alphabet, H. And 8-8 together means Heil Hitler in white supremacist symbology. So it was very significant that they settled on that number. But at the end of the day, they give it all back to have their mama back, to have Comenta Pinckney back.

And I will say one other thing. I went down to the museum. There's a new exhibit at the National Museum of African American History and Culture called Make Good the Promises on Reconstruction. And there's a Bible in the last part of that exhibit. That Bible belonged to Mother Shepherd, Polly Shepherd, who was a survivor who was getting $5 million with the other survivors. And just standing there looking at that Bible, I thought to myself, as somebody who was raised Christian, not only do I not forgive, not only do I not forget, I have the same righteous indignation that Henry McNeil Turner, a bishop of the AME church, had when he said, in the 19th century, there is no future in this country.

Racy. Yeah, it's always impossible to improve upon anything that Dr. Carr says. I mean, I don't think that you can put a price tag on what was lost, a measure of what was lost on that day, what was taken, actually, to be more accurate. And I think it's obvious to everybody that these survivors, the families of the survivors are those who were taken, would much rather have their family. But unfortunately, the only thing that people, especially particularly, you know, politicians seem to take notice of is money. You know, if there's no penalty, if there's no financial incentive or disincentive involved, then nothing happens. Nothing comes of it.

So I hope to the extent that this settlement makes these politicians and elected officials take pause, take notice, to the extent that it makes the FBI do its job the next time, and people actually enforce the laws that were on the book. I hope that it does have that impact, but we know that this is not justice. This is not bringing anybody's loved ones back. But it is important that the families did fight for that recognition that there was an error that was a deadly error and a tragic error and an irreversible error. And that is something that certainly is worthy of, you know, the settlement and being acknowledged. Faraji. Just real quick. I mean, I think it's absolutely crazy that, you know, this conversation is more about gun control than hatred.

You know, I mean, yes, they've got they've gotten the settlement because of an error, like you said, Reesey, in gun control. But the real error was the was the thinking and the mentality of Dylann Roof. I mean, that was the that's the error. He walked into a black church. He prayed with parishioners for 45 minutes and then he killed him. roof. I mean, that's the era. He walked into a black church, he prayed with parishioners for 45 minutes, and then he killed them. I mean, that's not... Gun control has nothing to do

with that. That is all-American white hatred. And, you know, to see that they're getting a few million dollars for a situation related to, you know, background checks versus it leaves the conversation about race in this country unanswered, Dr. Carr. That's the part I'm getting to. It doesn't get to the crux of the matter is this dude was a white nationalist. He was racist as hell.

And the whole gun control thing, it just seems to me to kind of, just kind of, you know, gloss over the fact that we are in, you know, six years ago, we are still dealing with racism at as blatant as this situation. We didn't, let's not forget the fact

that they gave him a burger after the situation, after he was arrested. I mean, I just, I can't wrap my mind around it. My heart's still pained for the nine families and all of the victims of this situation, but we cannot let it loose that white supremacy, racism is still alive and well in America and that it can happen anywhere. And I would say that's why it's important that even in the churches, I mean, in the Nation of Islam, everybody knows we got security. You want to talk about gun control? Do security in the churches.

Do security in the churches. Like, have the men make sure that they provide the security. Have the women provide the security. I mean, you know, that's where we are at this point. That's great. Got to go to break, folks.

We come back. We're going to talk about Moderna, Pfizer. Can you mix vaccine and booster shot? We'll talk with a black doctor who will break that down for us. That is next. Roland Martin, unfiltered, right here on the Black Star Network. Oh, that spin class was brutal. Well, you can try using the Buick's massaging seat. Ooh, yeah, that's nice.

Can I use Apple CarPlay to put some music on? Sure. It's wireless. Pick something we all like. Okay, hold on. What's your Buick's Wi-Fi password? Buick Envision 2021. Oh, you should pick something stronger that's really predictable that's a really tight spot don't worry i used

to hate parallel parking me too hey really outdid yourself yes we did the all-new buick envision an suv built around you all of you once upon a time there lived a princess with really long hair who was waiting for a prince to come save her. But really, who has time for that? She ordered herself a ladder with Prime one day delivery. And she was out of there. Now, her hairdressing empire is killing it. And the prince? Well, who cares?

Prime changes everything. 16-year-old Zion Webgartner was last seen on September 15, 2021, in Chicago. She is described as standing five feet, six inches, weighing 143 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. She has a piercing on the left side of her nose. Anyone with information is asked to call Chicago's Special Victims Unit at 312-747-8274, 312-747-8274. All right, folks.

COVID has impacted us in a great way over the last 18 months. The vaccine has been widespread. People are still taking that. Now, of course, you have the booster shots. Now, you've got three different vaccines, really. You've got Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. The question, though, is should you have more than one? What about if you have a Moderna vaccine, but then you want to buy the J&J booster or the Pfizer booster? Does it make sense? Well,

CDC has officially endorsed and recommended booster shots for all three brands of the COVID vaccine. It also allows recipients to mix and match the original vaccine brand with a booster of their choice. Joining us right now is Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick, founder and CEO of Grapevine Health. Doc, so, okay, so is it a good idea? Should you be matching? Should you say, I got the Moderna shot, I should get the Moderna booster? Does it make sense? Hi, Roland. It's great to be here.

Yeah, you know, it's fine to mix and match because the truth is, before we even had the data to be sure it's okay to mix and match, people were doing it already. So, for instance, people who got a Pfizer shot, they may have found a way to go and get their Moderna shot. I even know someone who got all three shots, and I said, why did you do that? He said, just to be sure. Damn, he got all three shots? He got all three shots because he said, I want to be sure. And I checked in with him

and he's completely fine. But you know, because the Moderna and the Pfizer vaccines use the same mechanism, it's completely okay. But we also know that even if you got J&J, the recommendation is to get a booster with the Pfizer or Moderna and it's completely fine.

What is the efficacy of the booster shot? We know the longer you've had the vaccine, it diminishes, but what about the booster? First of all, what does the actual booster do for you? Yeah, so the booster is like a top up. So you've probably heard that after you get the first one and then the first and then the second shot over time, the protection you have starts to drop off. And so getting a booster, the data show that the protection, it basically skyrockets. But the best protection we understand is people who've had COVID and then they get a shot on top of that, then they have the best protection of all. So if you've already had COVID, you just need one shot. But if you've had, if you're fully vaccinated and it's been several months, then you should get the booster because it's going to increase your protection,

even though your protection started to drop. So I got the Moderna shot in April. So what you're saying is that if I'm eligible for the booster, actually before I go to that question, who's eligible for the booster shot? Is it folks 65 and older or is it anybody? Yeah, that's such a great question. I know there's a lot of confusion about who should get the booster, but unquestionably people who have chronic health conditions, older people.

So think about anybody who you would be concerned if they got COVID, they might end up in the hospital, in the ICU, on a ventilator, or even die from the vaccine. And so we've known for this last year and a half or more that the people who tend to be at higher risk are those folks who have diabetes, heart disease, are seniors, people with chronic health conditions. So Colin Powell is a good example. People know, people are saying, well, you know, why should I get vaccinated? Colin Powell got vaccinated, but he had a condition of blood cancer that that meant his body could not respond to the vaccine. Like, you know, someone who had who didn't have cancer. Right. So it's it's really the same groups of people that we have been concerned about all alone. What do you say to those folks who still won't take the vaccine, who say, sorry, not going

to do it for any number of reasons? What do you say to them? Yeah, you know, this is what I do just about every day. We were just in Mobile, Alabama, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, last week talking to people on the street about this. And we just have to accept that there are some people who will never get vaccinated. But what we have to do is find those people

who are on the fence and they need their questions answered. Because a lot of these questions are legitimate. And this is very confusing stuff. So if we answer their questions and support them to get vaccinated, they will. But, you know, for those people who just, you know, they're just, they're dug in, they don't want to get vaccinated, then the best we can do is ask them to do their part, which is wear a mask, social distance, make sure you get tested if you have symptoms. Because remember, Roland, we can prevent the spread of coronavirus. And we forget that because we're talking about vaccines

and boosters. But we have to find people who have COVID-19 and practice prevention so they don't continue to spread it to other people. And that's still just as relevant as it was in 2020. Questions from my panelists. Reesa, you first. Hi, Dr. Fitzpatrick. I asked this on Twitter, but I would like for you to answer it so that the audience can hear. What is your position or do you have any data about pregnant women getting the booster shot? I know that it's been shown that the vaccine is safe for pregnant women, but that's two doses or even the Johnson and Johnson one dose. What is your position on a pregnant woman if they're

outside of that six-month window or if they were vaccinated with Johnson and Johnson getting a booster shot? Yeah, so I think, first of all, I want pregnant women to know they can get vaccinated because we are still behind the eight ball with pregnant women. In a lot of places, they have the lowest rates of COVID-19 vaccines. And we've seen pregnant women die from COVID-19. So that's the first thing. We want them to get vaccinated to begin with. But if there's someone who are in these categories of people we're concerned about, then they should get a booster. But they need to have that conversation with their doctor. But if it's a pregnant woman who's a pregnant woman or a pregnant person who's already delivered and they're fine, they don't have underlying health conditions and they're healthy, then they may not be the person who's in line for a booster.

It's pregnancy that puts you in the category that makes you, that makes us concerned that your immune system needs a bit of help. We call that being immunocompromised. So pregnancy is an immunocompromising condition. Greg? Thank you. Thank you, Roland. And thank you, Dr. Fitzpatrick. As a teacher with high blood pressure who teaches on a college campus, we're teaching virtually this semester, but, you know, we just had Howard's homecoming. He invested in young people involved in Blackburn

Takeover. But I saw, you know, packed gym of everybody swag surfing and people going to events. I guess my question is, and I'm planning on getting the booster, how much at risk are folk with high blood pressure or diabetes in contact with young people who have been vaccinated but can still transmit the disease? Is that an issue we should be worried about teachers around the country, including college faculty? So there are a couple of issues here. First, the vaccine getting vaccinated protects the person who you could transmit it to someone else, simply because if you come in contact with the virus as a vaccinated person, once your body recognizes you've come in contact with COVID, it goes to work shutting down the factory

so the virus is not copying itself, which means if you don't have a lot of virus around, you're less likely to give it to someone else. So I think students who are vaccinated, even if they come in contact with a teacher or anyone else, I'm not concerned that they're going to have a severe case of COVID. But I still think it's really important for folks to get vaccinated if they're going to be in the classroom, whether they're teaching or learning, because that's our it's our best protection. But but the second issue about transmission, as I was saying, we have to pay attention to whether or not we have symptoms of COVID. So remember, in the beginning, we were obsessing about fever, cough and chills or shortness of breath. But some people just feel tired. Some people just feel achy. So it's up to us to mind our symptoms, pay attention, check in with our bodies and say, I don't feel so good today. Maybe I should just, you know, hang back and make sure this isn't COVID, get tested before going back into the classroom. And I think that's the only reason we're still seeing transmission. It's because people who get COVID-19, they're still mingling with other people and spreading it to, you know, people who, even if they've been

vaccinated, they can still pass it to someone else. But I'm more concerned about the people who are unvaccinated because that virus is unchecked in their body and they can spread it to so many people, especially this Delta variant. Yeah, Doc, thank you so much for being with us tonight. I'm wondering, you mentioned that the vaccines like Moderna and I think Pfizer, they have some of the same elements. But can given the fact that that people are going to be mixing and matching, doesn't that open the door for many scenarios to happen where, you know, since all of these vaccines do, they contain some core parts, but then it still something pretty different. With the mixing and matching, doesn't that open the door for different outcomes that could affect a person's body differently based upon that situation? No, I'm not concerned about that. So all of these vaccines

are actually pretty good at teaching your body how to respond and protect you from getting COVID-19. So we've heard a lot about these breakthrough infections for all the vaccines. But the truth is people who have breakthrough infections, it's rare for them to die or be hospitalized. So what we want from all these vaccines is just that, you know, core protection, which is what they do. They have a job to do. Once that vaccine's in your body, it teaches your body how to recognize COVID-19 or the coronavirus, and then it gets to work. And so that's all we really need from any of these vaccines.

So whether we're mixing or matching or sticking with, you know, the same vaccines, it's the outcome or the result we want, which is what we know from the science. These vaccines do a really good job at keeping coronavirus at bay if you come in contact with it. All right, then.

Well, Doc, we certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much for providing your expertise on that. Thanks a lot. And sorry to catch you in my car today, Roland, but it's my fault. It all works the same. That's what's called being mobile. We get it. Yeah.

All right. Thanks a lot. I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. All right, folks, going to a break. We'll be back. More Roland Martin Unfiltered. We'll talk about a black man in Ohio, 45 years in prison

for killing his wife. Jury said he didn't do it. Y'all, he's 83 now. That's next on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Blackstar Network. НАПРЯЖЖНАЯ МУЗЫКА I'm going to go get my stuff. I'm going to go get my stuff. I'm going to go get my stuff. I'm going to go get my stuff. I'm going to go get my stuff.

I'm going to go get my stuff. I'm going to go get my stuff. I'm going to go get my stuff. I'm going to go get my stuff. I'm going to go get my stuff. I'm going to go get my stuff. I'm going to go get my stuff. I'm going to go get my stuff. I'm going to go get my stuff. Maureen is saving big holiday shopping at Amazon.

So now she's free to become Maureen the Marrier. Food is her love language. And she really loves her grandson. Like, really loves. Hi, I'm Gavin Houston. Hey, what's up, y'all? It's your boy Jacob Lattimore, and you're now watching Roland Martin right now.

Eee! Folks, a stunning story out of Ohio after serving 45 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. An 83-year-old black man is acquitted in his second murder trial. A Cleveland jury spent 90 minutes deliberating before delivering a not guilty verdict to Isaiah Andrews. Last year, a judge reversed his conviction

in the 1974 slaying of his wife, Regina, and released Andrews from prison. The judge ruled prosecutors at his 1975 trial for slaying of his wife, Regina, and released Andrews from prison. The judge ruled prosecutors at his 1975 trial failed to disclose information about another suspect who died in 2011. But the prosecutor's office declined to drop the charges and opted to retry Andrews. 90 minutes, the jury said wasn't him. Greg, how

in the hell do you get back those years? The man's 83 years old now. 45 years he spent in prison.

I don't know, Roland. Well, actually, I do know. You don't. It's very simple. I don't know about you or Faraji or Recy, but every time I see one of these brothers or sisters, and it's usually the brothers unfortunately, although there are women locked down as well, and I see them smiling and saying they're glad to be free, my first reaction is, how can you be smiling?

And then I put myself, as I try to, in their shoes. Russell Maroon Schultz was released from prison this week. He's dying of cancer. And a life sentence is a death penalty. That's how of cancer. And one of the ways, a life sentence is a death penalty. That's how they use the death penalty in this country often. Russell Schultz was a Black Panther who's been in jail for almost 50 years. And he was just released this week. And one of the things that goes to my mind when I see something like this is this country treats incarceration as the afterlife of slavery. They take people's freedom.

And in this case, I want to raise the name of someone who I want everyone to know. That's Michael O'Malley. This is a white boy who was the Cuyahoga attorney who wanted first a plea bargain so he could still say, you know, we prosecuted somebody and convicted him, and then took this man back to trial. And so the jury let him go, but there's no justice here. As you were talking, I was thinking to myself, you know, I was 10 years old when this man went to jail. I was in the third grade. And here I am now, I've been a college professor for 21 years and went to all the rest of school. And this man was in a jail cell. Russell Schultz spent 22 years in solitary confinement. This must be dismantled. It must be dismantled. These people are more interested in putting people in jail than they are in finding out the truth. And the man wouldn't take the deal because he said, I want justice for my wife.

You know what? When everybody dies and if you believe in heaven, he goes to heaven. I'm going to tell you who's not going to heaven. Martin O'Malley. You're not going. And I will say that. And I don't give a damn who is saying, oh, you can't judge another man. No, you're going to hell if there's a hell. And I'm going to tell you who's going to be reunited in heaven. That brother right there.

Isaiah Andrews and Regina, his wife. It is beyond sad to think about that, his wife. It is beyond sad to think about that, Farage. A man going in at 38 years old gets out at 83. I mean, it's not just beyond sad. It's like a travesty.

But again, you know, when we talk about cases like this, I mean, 45 years, like with all this technology, Brother Roland, you are a man about technology. With all of this innovation, it still takes a long time to get one black man some justice. And that's sad. That is sad.

There's nothing to celebrate about this. Man lost, I mean, people live and die within 45 years. And I hope and pray that this man lives enough time to enjoy some freedom. But you can never give that back to a man. I don't care how much money you pay him. I don't care. I mean, he probably missed family members that have died that he couldn't see. I mean, at 83 years old, who's around in your immediate family?

And it's sad. And the only thing that the government can only do is say, we're sorry. And that's the sad part about it. It's just, we're sorry. Oops, we made a mistake. Does the prosecutor go to jail? Do the people that said that he was responsible, do they go to jail?

No, they probably did. So, I mean, it's absolutely sad. And I'm glad our brother is out of prison. But I hope and pray that God blesses him with long life to enjoy the fruits of freedom. You know, Rich, see, thinking about what Faraji just said, I thought about the state of Maryland. They disbarred a retired prosecutor for withholding evidence, exculpatory evidence in a murder trial that took

place in 1981. And if you want to talk about sheer arrogance, if you want to talk about what this asshole actually said, when he was asked about it, I'm trying to pull a story up right now, his response was, whatever. Wow. Wow. Wow.

Whatever. I mean, this was, yeah, his name is Joseph Cassidy. He withheld exculpatory evidence that surfaced in a 1981 double murder case and lied about it over the years he lied about it over the years when the baltimore son called him to ask him about him said, oh, whatever. That's beyond appalling, but to Faraji's point, is the system going to say sorry? No, because

it's working as designed. What is most remarkable about this situation is the fact that the prosecutorial mindset did not change over almost five decades. This man was unjustly and falsely tried for a case and convicted for a case 45 years ago. And somebody in the 2020s decided that they're going to take up that cause again, despite the fact that exculpatory evidence

was withheld. It's disgusting. The mindset hasn't changed. The system hasn't changed. And the only way we're going to get some kind of measure of change is for people to start seeing the humanity in the accused, particularly when it's a Black person, whether it's a man or woman, who's being accused of the crime. The fact that this man served all this time for his wife's killing is even more injurious and disgusting and appalling. And I'm glad that the jury saw through it. But the fact that this prosecutor even took this case up again is scary. Because if he won't even, or he or she won't even say that 45 years is enough time when there's even a slither of a chance, because it's supposed to be beyond a reasonable doubt,

that this man was actually innocent, then imagine what he's doing to people who are just everyday citizens right now, particularly black and brown citizens in his city, that he has the authority to decide whether they go free or go home. Again, it's one of those stories that is hard to deal with, but it is the reality for black folks in this system. In Georgia, the Glandon County's clerk of courts office had to call several potential jurors who did not show up today to be questioned by attorneys in the murder trial of three white men who killed Ahmaud Arbery.

42 potential jurors have advanced to the 64-person jury poll. Attorneys hope to reach that number by tomorrow. Father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael and William Roddy Bryan chased and gunned down Arbery as he went for a jog in a South Georgia neighborhood, of course, in 2019. This is, but, you know, again, hopefully we'll see some justice when it comes to this trial here. But jurors, you might want to show the hell up.

In Fort Worth, the murder trial for a former police officer who killed Atiana Jefferson began on November 16th. Aaron Dean shot Jefferson after he entered her backyard unannounced as she peered out of the window. A neighbor called 911 for a welfare check after they noticed Jefferson's door was open. If convicted of murder, Dean could spend life in prison. Jefferson's uncle,

Ropeca Jefferson, filed a wrongful death civil lawsuit against Aaron Dean and other city officials, including the former police chief and the mayor. The suit claims Jefferson's constitutional rights, including the right to be released from excessive and unreasonable use of force, were violated

as a result of this shooting. All right, folks, going to a break when we come back on Roland Martin Unfiltered. More news of the day, including black women protesting today in Washington, D.C., fighting for voting rights and to end the filibuster. That's next on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Don't forget, download the app. All of them are platforms. Android, Apple Phone, Android TV, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Xbox Smart TV. Also, if y'all want to support what we do here at Roland Martin Unfiltered, please join our Bring the Funk fan club where every dollar you give goes to support this show and what we do.

Cash App, dollar sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal is rmartinunfiltered. Venmo is rmuniltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zill is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. I'll be right back. Oh, that spin class was brutal. Well, you can try using the Buick's massaging seat. Oh, yeah, that's nice. Can I use Apple CarPlay to put some music on? Sure. It's wireless.

Pick something we all like. Okay, hold on. What's your Buick's Wi-Fi password? Buick Envision 2021. Oh, you should pick something stronger. That's really predictable. That's a really tight spot. Don't worry.

I used to hate parallel parking. Me too. Hey. Really outdid yourself. Yes, we did. The all-new Buick Envision. An SUV built around you. All of you.

Once upon a time, there lived a princess with really long hair who was waiting for a prince to come save her. But really, who has time for that? She ordered herself a ladder with prime one-day delivery, and she was out of there. Now want some hood girls looking back at it and a good girl in my text break. Now, her hairdressing empire is killing it. And the prince, well, who cares? Prime changes everything. I'm Angie Stone. Hi, I'm Teresa Griffin. Oh, Roland.

Hey, Roland. I am so disappointed that you are not here, first of all. Where's our dance? It's like we get a dance in every time I see you, and so now you're not here for me to dance with, sir. You and your ascot. I need it. I need that in my life right now.

Okay, I love you, Roland. What's up, I'm Lance Gross, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Today, several voting rights groups gathered in the nation's capital to ask lawmakers to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the Lambert-John Lewis Act. Organizers asked President Joe Biden to push voting reform laws just as he did for the Build Back Better Infrastructure Plan. Of course, earlier this month, city Republicans used the filibuster to keep the Freedom to Vote Act from moving forward.

Now, of course, we were live-streaming this event today, and so here's some of what took place as they marched from the offices of the National Council of Negro Women to the Supreme Court. Must say, Recy, the black women certainly are out there making it plain that they're going to keep the pressure up. Per usual, black women saving democracy or at least fighting for it. I'm interested to see what Dr. Carr has to say because we know how he feels about this nation.

But I always appreciate the activism and the tireless and selfless activism of Black women. And Black men are out there, too. Shout out to them. You're showing Reverend Dr. Barber as well. But I think that hopefully we'll see with the passage at some point, hopefully it won't draw out too much longer, a shift to where the Voting Rights Act or the voting rights legislation that's in the Senate will get a fresher look, will get more of a full-court press. I know that Vice President Kamala Harris has been doing a lot of advocacy on that. But I think that even more pressure from President Joe Biden, particularly the openness that he signaled in his last town hall to doing some reforms to the filibuster. I think if we do see more of a push,

we might get some measure of movement there. But I think that, I think the person, to be honest, I think they should be really putting a lot more pressure on Chuck Schumer about this and at least doing something, whether it's the talking filibuster or some sort of reforms to the filibuster to make, to kneecap it just a little bit. And so far, he's kind of gotten a free pass, in my opinion, on this. But shout out to black women, as usual, being out there fighting for a very just cause. Greg. Greg, you're on mute. Sorry about that. Yeah. Yeah, I agree. I agree with you, Reese. I mean, look, we're here, so we have to fight. We have no alternative but to fight. But, you know, I agree with W.E.B. Du Bo thing that they're going to respond to is power, not even pressure.

So to watch, as you showed earlier, Kristen Gillibrand sit there and wait for Joe Manchin, that isn't because she had a change in conscience. That's because the pressure is being applied. Joe Manchin, the cosplay coal miner from West Virginia, whose state has consistently one of the lowest voter turnouts in the country, is to see that he must be broken by organizing, by doing what Melanie Campbell is doing out there, by doing what William Barber is there in support. In other words, go into there and invade West Virginia and go knock on all the doors and turn people around. No, we have to fight. But it does no good to fight in a situation where we're fighting on fantasy. I heard Latosha Brown a couple of weeks ago,

and you had a conversation with her, Roland, when she said, you know, I'm going to fight as hard in the midterm elections as Joe Biden fights to get this legislation passed right now. Now, hell, at that point, I'm listening to somebody who has reached the limits of her tolerance. But I'm also looking at somebody who understands that if we don't go out and exercise this right to vote, even if no legislation passes, we are going to be the ones that suffer more than anybody else. Joe Biden is going to be OK.

So I guess what I'm saying is at the end of the day, there is no choice but to fight. And so not only must we support these sisters, not only must we support these movements, we have to join them and overwhelm these folks, not as Martin Luther King would say, with our capacity to love, but with our capacity to exercise the simple art of self-defense. That's why we're in the street. Not because we love America so much, but because we know that if we're not in the streets, we'll be the first ones in the fire, in front of the firing squad. Faraji.

You know, Martha Jones, who is a legal and cultural historian here at Johns Hopkins University, she wrote a book called Vanguard. And one of the big things that she said in her book is she talks about the value and the importance of black women, how black women really served as the vanguard of democracy. We see, say, once again, black women are saving democracy. But she said that black women should be honored as being among the founders of democracy to the degree in which they are alone for most of our history in insisting, promoting, working toward an ideal that says no racism, no sexism,

and arbitrating political rights in the United States. So when we look at what was happening with our sisters today, they're continuing a tradition of mothers and grandmothers and aunts and sisters and just black women who have always been on the forefront. But it is out of the struggle. If you look at how democracy is right now and the gains that we have made, the gains of democracy comes out of the pain and struggle of the oppressed. And so if we're talking about black women being on the forefront, and Dr. Carr, you're absolutely right. Black women need to be supported. We all need to support it. But we got to understand that we're not just supporting some sisters. We're

supporting the founders of a new form of government in a way that we've never seen. And I'm convinced at this point, as much as we talk about destroying the system, the system needs to be teared down and all of those things, I'm convinced, black women are going to be the bedrock or should be the bedrock of the new way of governance. They understand it. Risa, you understand it because inherently you understand it, being a mother, how to take care of things, right? So, I mean, it's just in there.

And so for us to see this, this is nothing new. It's just that we got to get out of our own way, especially as men. We got to stop, you know, expecting women to always be on the forefront and help them. And then guess what? When we help women, we help ourselves. Because why? No nation can rise higher than its woman. It's just that simple. I do want to play some of that. Here's Melanie Campbell speaking today on the Supreme Court. What do we want? Voting rights.

When do we want it? Now. In the what? In the what? The filibuster. When? Now. In the what? Filibuster. In the what? Filibuster. When do we want that?

Now. No justice. No peace. Thank you. Thank you, my sister, Jocelyn Tate, who is our senior policy advisor and all other things we ask her to do. And we thank her for all she is doing. And thank you for that introduction. I want to thank all of our partners first.

I want to thank National Council of Negro Women for being our convener. We want to lift up Dr. Janetta Fetch-Cole, who is the chair and president, and we lift her and we hope she's watching. We love you. So let's say we love you, Dr. Cole. We love you, Dr. Cole. We got and we know you got us where you are. So thank you. And so we did that one mile. Y'all all right? Yeah. Let's do it again. Are y'all all right?

Yeah. So we, as Jocelyn stated, my voice is leaving me. Apologize for that. We are no ways tied. We are no ways tied. Don, get up here. Today I had a whole, I got a script. I'm going to try to stay with it.

But the spirit is moving. No matter, Reverend Bishop Barber, how far they think they're going to push us back. We're gonna keep moving forward. We, the black women and allies are here. All of our allies, all of our movements and Reverend Barber and I were talking a few weeks ago a few months ago now and we said no matter what I got you, you got, I got you, you got me, LaTosha, all of us, black, white, red, yellow, vanilla, the people are demanding voting rights when? Now! Voting rights when? Now! Voting rights when? Now! So as I stated, we started over three months ago

over there at the United Methodist building demanding the Congress pass federal voting rights legislation. Since that time we have worked in coalition to try to connect the dots for the American people that voting rights equals justice. Voting rights equals economic justice. Voting rights equals reproductive justice. Voting rights equals women's rights. Voting rights equals the right to choose your religion, your the House of Representatives, what judges will be in that building that's lost its way when it comes to justice. But we are here today. We are not going

anywhere until we get our white voting rights. All right, folks, if you want to see that full protest, we live-streamed it on the Black Star Network, as well as on YouTube channels, so be sure to check it out there. Going to break, we come back. Domestic violence is a huge issue in this country, even among African-Americans. We'll discuss that next

on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Nå er det en av de flesteorske Norsk Norsk. Maureen is saving big holiday shopping at Amazon. So now she's free to become Maureen the Marrier. Food is her love language and she really loves her grandson, like really loves. Hi, I'm Eldie Barge. Hey yo, Peace World. What's going on? It's the love king of R&B, Raheem Devon, and you're watching Roland Martin, Unfiltered. filtered. Alright folks, domestic violence has always been a problem in America. October is coming to an end and certainly that is

this month is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. It is not discriminated. It can happen to anyone regardless of age, gender, socioeconomic status, race or even culture. Nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States.

That means nearly 2,000 people have been physically abused since the start of this show. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million Americans. One out of four women and one out of seven men experience domestic violence in their lifetime. Children also are impacted. 10 million witness some form of domestic violence in their lifetime. Children also impacted. Ten million witnessed some form of domestic violence annually. They eventually, of course, become victims of child abuse themselves. Alma Davis is the founder and CEO of the Alma Domestic Violence Foundation in Atlanta.

She joins us now. I'm glad to have you on Roland Martin Unfiltered. How do we effectively confront this? How do we deal with it? Because it continues. You see these stories of folks who all of a sudden one thing, the football player, was stabbed almost flatline twice when he was stabbed by his girlfriend. Then when she was about to go to prison, he stepped in to get the charges reduced, and they still have a contentious relationship. I mean, it is a very, very difficult issue that impacts so many people.

Yes. I think the first thing we have to do is truly understand the whole meaning of domestic violence. People think when we talk about domestic violence that it's all about the physical. But there are so many warning signs prior to the physical that people can actually see and get help with, meaning finances number one is the number one issue why people stay in domestic violence or in domestic violence situations. But prior to that, you see other types of trauma, whether that be verbal abuse, mental abuse, sexual abuse, even religious abuse. And so a lot of these behaviors are learned behaviors from past traumas that may not have been treated, or especially in our culture, we grow up in a household where what

goes on in our house stays in our house. And so we never actually go out to seek the help that we need to look at all the dysfunctional things that we have been brought up in and really address them. So I think, first of all, helping people to understand those signs, those warnings. A lot of times we see our culture doesn't want to get therapy and counseling. And that is a huge component of pulling back all the layers to identify trauma that a lot of times people don't even know that they've even been abused. When you talk about, you know, in terms of when we see it, but also there are warning signs when you talk about folks who have a short fuse where something and then all of a sudden they just go left real quickly.

We actually see that in individuals early, but a lot of times people just dismiss it by saying, oh, that's just them having a bad day. Their bad day can lead to you having a bad day and a bad life. Right, right, exactly. When we see those type of things, again, being able to say, hmm, that's not normal, but again, we have so normalized this function that we brush those things off,

and those should be red flags, first of all. In our organization, we address a lot of healthy relationships. What does that look like? Not just in a partner relationship, but healthy relationships, period, whether that's your family, whether that's friends, and understanding those boundaries and those definitions of what you can automatically see as a warning sign. So when we start talking about, okay, domestic violence, so isolation is one of the first big things that we see when people are starting to get in abusive relationships. Their abuser is pulling them away from family, from friends, telling them they really don't need to be around people or that that abuser is the person for them and has their best interest. That is a warning sign that we see when you are on a job and you start to see a lot of absentees or tardies. So those are just little small things. There's something that's going on in the background, whether it's domestic violence, but something is causing those side effects of that person either coming to work late or violence and start really pulling out the dysfunction,

then we're not so easy to just wipe away. Oh, he's just he or she is just having a bad day. No, those are some mental issues or some mental crises that we need to be paying attention to. Questions for our panel. Recy, you're first up. Yeah, I'm sure you're aware of these, but just for the audience's purposes, I want to just rattle off a couple of statistics. As it relates to domestic violence, Black women are disproportionately impacted by it. More than 40 percent of Black women experience domestic violence in our lifetimes, compared to 31.5 percent of all women. 53.8 percent of Black women experience psychological abuse. 42, 41.2 percent have experienced physical abuse. Black women are 2.5 times more likely to be murdered by men than white women. And 92 percent

of the person who killed them knew their victim. Fifty-six percent of homicides were committed by a current or former intimate partner. And nearly all of them, 92 percent of these killings were interracial, meaning Black man killing a Black woman. I think in our community, and nearly all of them, 92 percent of these killings were interracial, meaning Black men killing a Black woman. I think, in our community, and I would like for you to kind of tell me if you think I am off on this, that we have a humanity issue in how we see Black women, the amount of abuse that Black women have to endure before it becomes an issue. If you look at R. Kelly and what happened with him and others who have been accused of being sexual predators in our communities, what do we do so that when Black

women are called upon, are calling upon our brothers and our sisters to protect us, protect Black women, how do we get through that conversation and just kind of underscore the severity of what we face without it seeming like, you know, people kind of like to coin it like you're anti-Black men. Or, you know, some people have accused me of being lesbian, you know, which I'm not, which is fine to be if that's what you are. But people have accused me of doing that or like I hate Black men just because by times I've held Black men like R. Kelly accountable. What do you think we do to get people to see the humanity of Black women so that they understand that these statistics are important and we have to change them? Number one, like we see that 85 percent of our clients are African-American women. So we definitely know that women are black women are getting victimized more than our counterparts. One of the reasons that we address that and we

see that, and so you understand, when I talk about finances, when we look at economic statuses, a lot of domestic violence and family violence happens in poverty areas, private stricken areas, which refers back to even women being on the lowest part of the payroll. You know, when we can start equalizing those things, it makes our women less vulnerable to get into situations where they are dependent upon someone else financially. And I think when we can start looking at each one of those things and making changes in that arena, then we will start to see some changes. Also, as you said, addressing this is a real issue in our community.

This is a real issue with our Black women. We are so de-minimized as if this is just a part of the norm. And I always say, when you look back, even in our culture, when we look at slavery days, you know, here you have all of the different types of abuse that we had to endure as African Americans. And then you think that just turns off. That doesn't happen. That is cultural. That is long-term. Those are generational lines.

And again, when we start to address those, I think that's when we start to see change. That's when we start to see real change. Faraji. Alma, thank you so much for the work that you're doing. I want to get your take on some policy things. In Ohio, they passed a house, the Ohio House of Representatives passed House Bill 3, which they call Aisha's Law, which is named after Aisha Frazier, who was a black woman who was fatally stabbed in November of 2018 by her husband, her ex-husband, who

was a court judge and a state senator. But the thing about the law is that it talks about expanding the definition of domestic violence to include strangulation, granting a temporary protection order for victims who file outside of court hours, and screening protocols for police officers dealing with domestic violence issues at home, creating new training programs, excuse me, and screening protocols for police officers. I'm wondering, Alma, how do we get this type of policy in the House of Representatives of states across the country?

How do we make policy that is going to be realistic, that is going to be able to be implemented, but most importantly, it's going to really push the needle on protecting victims of domestic violence? Great question. One of the things that I know I did, and we have to understand domestic violence is bipartisan. It doesn't matter. It doesn't have any type of faith or it doesn't care whether you're Democrat or Republican. It has no it has no faith like that. So pre-pandemic, I went to up to D.C. and visited with senators, congressmen on both sides to talk about the effects of domestic violence on the economy. What's going on? As you say, even in our policing violence on the economy, what's going on.

As you say, even in our policing, our police officers need to be more trained. We see so many incidents of where a victim has called for help, but the abuser either turns it around or the police have not been trained and the victim actually gets arrested for protecting themselves or is that we end up in court having to help prove that, no, this was the this was the victim. This abuse has been going on year after year after year. So the more we talk about and we get in front of Congress, people, we you know, the bill sat for several years. It just got passed about the VAWA at the Violence Against Women Act. It's been sitting, it was sitting for years and just got passed this year to help get funding out to organizations like ours to help push resources into those areas, into those neighborhoods to actually educate our communities about it. So we have to keep making this a topic of conversation, not just during the month of October or not just when it shows up on TV with an Art Kelly or an athlete, but talking about how it affects our economy.

Most people don't know that $8 billion is lost a year in corporations due to direct incidents of domestic violence. $5 billion is due to the health care costs that companies pay out for incidents of domestic violence with their employees. And the other three billion is lost productivity. So when you start putting dollars to the topic of domestic violence, you know, we talk about sex trafficking. But do people actually acknowledge that over 80 percent of sex traffickers are people coming out of domestic violence households, even the kids that's being trafficked. So when you start putting dollars and cents to this topic and making it a subject that's comfortable to talk about, not just every blue moon or every month, this should be a dinner conversation, especially when it's the number one issue on college campuses,

it's the number one issue in the LGTBQ community. I think that's how we start bringing more attention and start getting laws changed. Absolutely. Thank you. Greg? Thank you, Roland. And again, thank you for your work. It is incredibly important. I want to ask a question around the question of culture. Several times you've been in isolation. We know COVID, we've seen a spike in domestic violence. And I agree with you wholeheartedly, enslavement was a process that attempted to dehumanize us in ways that we've yet to recover from. And when we talk about our community, it often sounds like almost like a demographic description, not a cultural one.

So I guess I want to ask, what kind of best practices have you seen Black communities engage in that can be useful for those of us who don't necessarily view this although clearly the victims overwhelmingly women necessarily as a gendered issue like if domestic violence happened in my family for example it was my sister or my that's my issue but we would in fact in fact the problem would be are you going to pull him off of this guy before he kills him? But I'm not looking at the affinity as a gendered affinity as much as a community affinity. But nevertheless, what kind of best practices have you seen with us trying to address these kind of things from a perspective of community? Or are those some things you've encountered in your work?

Well, the first thing is people feeling comfortable enough to talk about it or ask for help. So when Roland talked about the stats earlier, one in four women, one in seven males, that's only because 5% of cases are reported. So if you bring in the other 95% of cases that we don't hear about, it's more of one out of two women, one out of four males. So as a community, the more we can become comfortable talking about this, but then again, asking, getting helpful resources.

The age limit that we started for 16 years, we've been addressing 13 and over. Because of COVID and the 82% increase, our youngest client right now, which is getting mental health services and things of that nature, is seven years old. So that goes to show, and I said seven, that goes to show what is happening behind closed doors, especially COVID exacerbated those things because we are not getting a lot of resources in those neighborhoods. I cannot stress enough the mental health component of this with people getting counseling, getting therapy to address, to be able, first of all, to stop being scared to ask for help. You know, we deal in a community where we don't want to ask for help from the police because we

don't know if they come there, we'll live once they show up at the front door. So reaching out to organizations like ours, we are black run. Majority of our staff is black. We understand a lot of us have gone through domestic violence. A lot of us know how to address the issue. We know how to talk about it. But, you know, reaching out to people like us that can help walk you through those steps and then to help you understand that you don't have to be in this situation. It takes a woman on average takes a woman seven times that she leaves before she officially leaves.

That means she keeps going back. And a reason being before, because, number one, how am I going to survive? I have children involved. We see situations where people am I going to survive? I have children involved. We see situations where people don't want to leave because they have animals involved. But there are resources. Even if you have a pet, we can get your pet covered where someone is, your pet is in a shelter for three months, up to three months, while you get the health, the care that you need to get back on your feet. So I can't reiterate enough that as a community, we have to stop normalizing this

and making this normal. We have to start talking about this is wrong. We need help. We need to get finances into our community so that our vulnerable populations don't stay in households that this is taking part of because they have lack of finances. And we got to get money into organizations like ours that are out here beating on the ground, working day and night to try to help our community. All right, then. Can folks get more information about your foundation? Yes, they can go to our website, which is AlmaDVF, which stands for AlmaDomesticViolence.org. We are on all social media platforms,

Alma underscore DVF on Instagram, Facebook. We have a toll free number, 844-435-6468 that people can, can contact us. So we are all out there. Even if they Google our name, we've been in existence for 16 years.

So we, we, we are, we're able to be contacted. All right, then we appreciate it. Thanks a able to be contacted. All right, then. We appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you.

All right, folks. I've got to go to a quick break. When we come back, there's a couple more stories before we go for the day. Back on Roland Martin on Filter on the Black Star Network. Oh, that spin class was brutal.

Well, you can try using the PX massaging seat. Oh, yeah, that's nice. Can I use Apple CarPlay to put some music on? Sure. It's wireless. Pick something we all like. Okay, hold on.

What's your Buick's Wi-Fi password? Buick Envision 2021. Oh, you should pick something stronger. That's really predictable. That's a really tight spot. Don't worry. I used to hate parallel parking. Me too.

Hey. Really outdid yourself. Yes, we did. The all-new Buick Envision. An SUV built around you, all of you. Betty is saving big holiday shopping at Amazon, so now she's free to become Bear Hug Betty. Settle in, kids. You'll be there a while. Ooh, where you going? What's up, what you going? showing their loved one allegedly climbing in the back of an unused police van in front of the police department.

Christina Nance was missing for 12 days before her body was found on October 7th in a Huntsville, Alabama police van. The family viewed this edited version of footage of the lot where Nance was found and does not believe it is her in the video. Let's go to Charlottesville where opening statements began today in a civil lawsuit against organizers. The 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. One person died and a dozen others were injured as white nationalists, white supremacists

and counter protesters clashed. Twelve jurors will decide whether organizers knew the event would turn violent. Charlottesville residents and counter protesters claim organizers engaged in a conspiracy. They're seeking damages for the physical and emotional injuries they suffered on that particular day. NFL Hall of Famer Brent Favre has repaid the state of Mississippi the welfare money he received, accepted for scheduled speeches that he didn't show up for. Favre reportedly paid $600,000 for this week, but the state said, I'll play yours, $228,000 more dollars in interest.

If not paid off by mid-November, the Attorney General could sue Brett. Of course, he received $1.1 million and repaid the first $500,000 in May 2020. Former quarterback is not facing criminal charges, but others are facing charges in what's being called Mississippi's

largest embezzlement case ever. How about paying that money, Brett? I'm just saying. All right, final thoughts from each one of our panelists. It has been quite a busy day. It's been quite a busy week. We talked about all the drama that's been happening on Capitol Hill. So I'll start with you, Recy. What stands out for you? Biggest story of the week. In your estimation, that people are not paying enough attention to. Well, I think people are paying a lot of attention to the biggest story, which is the Build Back Better plan and the framework that has been outlined.

I think that people really should focus on the transformative aspects of it. I have been seeing some tweets to you and to those of us on the panel, you know, expressing dissatisfaction. I have seen comments on it. And I think a problem that we have is that we want to solve every single problem with one bill. I remember, back in the day, you used to have one bill address one thing and another bill address another thing. And we don't have that kind of system anymore with the

obstruction from the Republicans. And so what you get is one or two cracks a year at actually doing transformative policies. And so I think that what we're seeing laid out is a massively transformative policy, particularly as it relates to children in this country. And people that really need the help the most are a lot of things that would have been nice. But you cannot underestimate and you cannot marginalize the impact that this bill, this Build Back Better plan will have if it does come to pass. And so I hope that they get it done. And I hope that we can move on to the persuasion and the messaging part of it, as opposed to the sausage making. Because I think once people really figure out what's happening and what's at stake in this bill, that there will be a lot more support of it. Now, whether they can get that in terms of

voting, that's going to depend on what they do with voting rights and the gerrymandering and voter suppression that's happening across the country. But in terms of the substance of the Build Back Better plan, it's very necessary. And I think it's a win. I think it's a win for the Democratic Party, and more importantly, for the country. Faraji, what story that people are not paying a lot of attention to that they should? I think this big Facebook story is so fascinating to me about Roland family. Them changing their name to Meta. Right. To Meta.

And here's the thing, like Martin Zuckerberg, he talks about creating a platform that would meld online, virtual and augmented worlds that people can transverse. Like what are we, I mean, this social medium, and I know, you know,

this is a digital show, digital platform, but this thing is taking on a whole different life. Like, I remember when Facebook started, right? I mean, and you know, it was just like, oh, we just want to connect with friends. Now it's becoming this

platform from misinformation to this platform that wants to, like, take over people's world. It's always interesting and fascinating that we're constantly told, hey, don't believe social media. But then social media companies are constantly telling us to stay engaged, to stay involved, to participate. And so I think that that's a big story. Like, look at what Facebook is doing, folks. Watch how Facebook is moving, especially now with their whistleblower and saying that, you know, they're not this is not your grandmother's, you know, I mean, like communications company. This is something very, very different and I can't put my finger on it. Maybe you can,

Brother Roland, but this is something very interesting to see. It's like the Sims meets Facebook, but we're the Sims now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right, right. And how everything is connected, just

real quick. I mean, look at how technology, whether you're talking about Facebook or Google, like everything in our lives are connected. Our homes are connected. Our car is connected. Of course, we got phones. It's like we are so involved in being on the grid of technology that even if you wanted to walk away from it, you really can't. Greg? Oh, yes. Well, Roland, I mean, while Mark Zuckerberg is planning on taking the world into virtual reality, the reality-based community has been paying a lot of attention this last

couple of days to China launched a hypersonic rocket that they can maneuver like a space shuttle and deliver a bomb payload that will render the United States military nuclear defense system irrelevant. It was confirmed yesterday. Mark Miley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Chinese tested it once in July, another time in August. They've got a rocket that moves five times, more than five times the speed of sound that they can put a nuclear weapon on and hit you, and your systems can't do a damn thing about it. Miley called it a sputnik. So while we're all scrapping in, looking at virtual reality, the Chinese are preparing to basically handle the business in the reality-based community, and I haven't heard a word about

it anywhere other than here. I haven't heard about it either. That's crazy. All right Alright folks, that is it for us. Tomorrow I will be broadcasting live from Indianapolis where I'll be moderating a panel put on by the Stewart speakers that is going to

involve of course Eddie Glaude of Princeton University as well as Alicia Garza. We'll be talking about activism. So we look forward to that. And so we're going to be there. So in addition, I'll be doing the story from there. We're also going to be live streaming

the program as well. This is the promotional video that they put together for the event. Check this out. Our conception of democracy. We can't become the kinds of people that our very idea of democracy requires. Precisely because we cling to this notion

that some people are valued more than others are. Lots of people are terrified to step into leadership because of how much scrutiny they receive and how brutal we are with leaders. Declaration of Independence says all men are created equal, not women. When they said all men are created equal, they meant white men. But what we've experienced, what we've lived,

is actually a reflection of what's at the heart of the country. All right, folks, because of COVID, you need to register for that. So if you go to Stuart Speaker's website, it is free, open to the public, but you have to register. They have COVID protocols, and so we look forward to that. This is, I think my, I've spoken on this twice, but then I've now moderated. I think this is the third time I've done that.

So I'm going to be live streaming this as well. So looking forward to that. And so, yes, the event will be going on just as gang three is taking place. My Houston Astros, the last time. Oh, that's right. The last time I moderated the's right. The last time I moderated the panel, we were in the World Series. Yeah. So,

all tied up 1-1. I know all y'all Atlanta fans out there, y'all a little sick because last night our bats came alive. Get used to it. It's going to happen again. I do want to close this way. 45 assholes going to be in Atlanta.

First of all, let's talk about a joke. Travis Tritt is going to be singing the national anthem. He's the big time anti-vaxxer who's upset. Matter of fact, he blocked me and a whole bunch of other people. I don't know why, dude. I ain't got none of your damn music on my iPod. Never will. I got other country artists.

Travis, you don't make the cut. But Trump is going to be showing up for the game. The Braves are giving him a suite for the game. I have yet to. First of all, I may be at game four. I have to be in L.A. on Sunday and Monday for Eric Dickerson's golf tournament.

So we'll see if I go. But let me just let y'all know right now, if I'm at the game, I'm booing the hell out of Donald Trump if they if they introduce his ass And if anybody around me say something I'ma say he's a grifter he's a liar and bag of people are stupid Go ahead. Yeah, Go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead. Go all in. Just letting y'all know. Dusty gotta get that ring, baby.

Dusty gotta get that ring. Yeah. Bro, this don't end up on TMZ. We don't want to see you on TMZ. No, you ain't gonna end up on TMZ. I'm gonna live stream that shit myself. You gotta respect that. You gotta respect that. I'm gonna live stream that shit myself. You gotta respect that. You gotta respect that.

I ain't gonna let nobody else get the views. If I'm there, this is gonna be me. Boo! Boo! Boo! Wait, landscape, right? Landscape. Damn, skip it.

Landscape, horizontal. Full screen, 16-9. Just letting y'all know. Just letting y'all know. And if I'm sitting in a suite with somebody, and then if he come down the hallway, I'm going to sit there and say, Traitor, January 6th. Go ahead.

They better hope we don't cross paths. I'm going to say, bye to Harris. Winners. Y'all know I will. Look, I have told this Dane for that fool. I don't give a damn. I don't give a damn.

What you going to say to Herschel Walker who you know he's going to have on a leash right next to him? I'm going to say, Herschel, when's the last book you read? That's not fair. That's not fair. Oh, my God. I'll probably follow up. Pictorial?

Damn. Yeah. Trust me, I got no love for any of those fools. Any Republican who supports Donald Trump, and I said this as well, what's that fool name? Who's that fool running for lieutenant governor in Virginia? They've been doing stories about her, the black woman.

She's... Yeah. I don't remember her name, but I know who you're talking about. She's a damn fool. Is it Victoria Owens or something? It's something. No, Winsome Sears. Winsome Sears. First of all, crazy

demented Donald Trump supporter. You know, her photo was like her, you know, with a big old gun and all. You know, she big time, Second Amendment. And so the story I saw today is they said, you know, it would be a first woman person of color, Lieutenant Governor.

Y'all, this literally was her campaign photo. Do you actually think I want a fool like this representing? I mean, this is, you know, I guess she was in the military. I don't care. I don't care, okay? What? Yeah, this was her campaign poster. She's a rabbit.

She's a rabbit Donald Trump supporter. And so I'm telling you right now, Virginia, I think, first of all, Terry McCullough has been running a very weak campaign. They're scrambling right now. He was up by five points in a Fox News poll a few weeks ago. Now they're showing him down eight to Glenn Youngkin. So Democrats are scrambling big time in Virginia. But I'm sorry, I don't want crazy as lieutenant governor in Virginia. I don't care.

You can be black. I don't care. So Winsome, she can go do a podcast with Candace Owens for all I care. So if y'all in Virginia, be sure not to vote for the crazy people. Glenn Youngkin, crazy. Winsome Sears, crazy. All I'm saying is make sure y'all get out and vote because enough of these crazy people. Any Republican out there who chooses to be nuts

and chooses to support Donald Trump, I want all of you to lose. All of you. U.S. Senate, congressional races, state races, county commission, city council, water district, dog catcher, DA, don't care. I want all y'all to lose. We cannot have these crazy, demented people in charge in this country. It's as simple as that.

And if y'all don't vote, well, then that's on you, and you're going to get the kind of government that you didn't elect if you chose not to vote. That's all I'm saying. All right, folks. We'll see y'all tomorrow from Indianapolis. Greg, thank you so very much. you didn't elect if you chose not to vote. That's all I'm saying. Alright, folks. We'll see y'all tomorrow from Indianapolis. Greg, thank you so very much. Recy, thanks a lot. Raji, thanks a lot. Folks,

if y'all missed the news conference today of the students at Howard University, go to Black Star Network. We actually live streamed the whole particular news conference as well. And I'm about to send an email to IBM. I have some questions. IBM actually has the contract for Wi-Fi on the campus of Howard University. Why is it not properly working? Yes, IBM.

I'm gonna be sending... Greg, go ahead. No, I was gonna say thank you, really. Not only behalf of those young people, but all HBCUs. Thank you for covering this in a way that is allowing transparency. And I love the way you framed a possible town hall

the other night. But man, you couldn't... Yeah. And again a way that is allowing transparency. And I love the way you framed a possible town hall the other night. But man, you couldn't, yeah. And again, the invitation's out there and I will happily text President Frederick that. That is, the students are asking for a town hall. I am more than, I will happily moderate that town hall. That way, take the questions. We will take online questions.

We will stream it as well on Black Star Network, on our platforms. That way, you know, we can really get some answers there. And what I say is have the administrators there, have student leaders there, but also have the companies that have the housing contract, that have the Wi-Fi, IT contract, have all of them there so they can answer the questions on the spot.

I am more than happy to do that. And so Howard University, let me know when y'all down with it. Remember, I own my own shit, so I ain't got to ask nobody. Just saying. All right, folks, I'll see y'all tomorrow right here on Roller Market Unfiltered and the Black Star Network.

Holla! ТРЕВОЖНАЯ МУЗЫКА I am to be smart. Roland Martin's doing this every day. Oh, no punches! Thank you, Roland Martin, for always giving voice to the issues. Look for Roland Martin in the whirlwind, to quote Marcus Garvey again. The video looks phenomenal, so I'm really excited to see it on my big screen.

Support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. I got to defer to the brilliance of Dr. Carr and to the brilliance of the Black Star Network. I am rolling with Roland all the way. Honestly, on a show that you own, a Black man owns the show.

Folks, Black Star Network is here. I'm real, uh, revolutionary right now. Roland was amazing on that. Hey, Blake, I love y'all. I can't commend you enough about this platform that you've created for us to be able to share who we are, what we're doing in the world, and the impact that we're having. Let's be smart. Bring your eyeballs home.

You can't be Black on media and be scared. You dig? so this is an iHeart podcast