#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Black College Lacrosse Team Searched by GA Deputies, Okla. Cops Charged, Morris Brown Accreditation

Episode Date: May 10, 2022

5.9.2022 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Black College Lacrosse Team Searched by GA Deputies, Okla. Cops Charged, Morris Brown Accreditation Delaware State University's women's lacrosse team says they were humiliated while traveling in Georgia.  The Liberty County Sheriff's deputies pulled their bus over for traveling in the wrong lane.  Instead of giving the driver a ticket, the deputies decided to search for illegal drugs.  The deputies even told the young women it would be easier if they confessed instead of being confiscated.  The head coach of Delaware's University Women's lacrosse team will tell us about the incident. Two former Oklahoma police officers face first-degree manslaughter for killing an unarmed black man, Quadry Sanders, who had his hands up.  Lee Merritt, the family attorney, will tell us why he thinks these charges aren't harsh enough. The mother of the young black man killed by a convicted Minnesota police officer gets detained for recording a traffic stop from across the street. He spent 24 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.  Now, New York City will pay him $10.5 million for his wrongful conviction. One of the Black Live Matters Co-founders admits to using the $6M mansion for private parties. After A 20-year battle, Morris Brown College is once again a fully accreditated institution. The school's president, Dr. Kevin Jones, will tell us what's next for the college. In tonight's Fit, Live, Win segment, two sisters who are doctors explain how to break down the communication barrier between patients and physicians, ensuring better healthcare.   Support #RolandMartinUnfiltered and #BlackStarNetwork via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered PayPal ☛ https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered Venmo ☛https://venmo.com/rmunfiltered Zelle ☛ [e-mail] Annual or monthly recurring #BringTheFunk Fan Club membership via paypal ☛ https://rolandsmartin.com/rmu-paypal/ Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox 👉🏾 http://www.blackstarnetwork.com #RolandMartinUnfiltered and the #BlackStarNetwork are news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network, Delaware State University's women's lacrosse team says they were humiliated while traveling in Georgia. Liberty County Sheriff's deputies pulled their bus over for traveling in the wrong lane. Instead of giving them a ticket, the deputies decided to search for illegal drugs.

The deputies even told the young women it would be easier if they confessed instead of being confiscated. The head coach of Delaware State University's women's lacrosse team will tell us about this horrific incident. Two former Oklahoma police officers face first degree manslaughter charges for killing an unarmed black man, Quadre Sanders, who had his hands up. Folks, shocking story, no surprise. Though we've seen it before, Lee Merritt,

the family's attorney, will tell us why he thinks these charges are so serious. We'll be right back. We're gonna talk about Quadri Sanders who had his hands up folks shocking story, no surprise though. We've seen it before. Lee Merritt, the family's attorney, will tell us why he thinks these charters aren't harsh enough. The mother of a young black man killed by a convicted Minnesota police officer gets detained for recording

a traffic stop across the street. He spent 24 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Now New York City will pay him 10.5 million dollars for his wrongful conviction. And one of the Black Lives Matter co-founders admits to using the six million dollar mansion for private parties. After a 20 year battle, Morris Brown College is once again a fully accredited institution.

The school's president, Dr. Kevin Jones, will tell us what's next for Morris Brown. In tonight's Fit, Live, Win segment, two sisters who are doctors explain how to break down the communication barrier between patients and physicians ensuring better healthcare. Folks, it's time to bring the fog. I'm Roland Martin, unfiltered,

on the Black Star Network. Let's go. He's got it, whatever the piss, 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, yeah It's Uncle Roro, y'all

Yeah, yeah It's Rolling Martin, yeah He's rolling with Uncle Roro, y'all. Yeah, yeah. It's rolling Marten, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Rolling with rolling now. Yeah, yeah. He's bunk, he's fresh, he's real the best, you know. He's rolling Marten now. I'm holding my head down.

My head. Two former Oklahoma police officers face first degree manslaughter charges for killing a black man while responding to a 911 call for an alleged protective order violation in December. Folks, this, again, is one of those stories that is amazing when you look at what took place. Following a month-long probe by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, Comanche County D.A. Kyle Cabelka charged ex-Lawton officers Robert Hinkle and Nathan Ronan in the death of a 29-year-old Quadri Sanders.

The video you're about to see is graphic and disturbing, so we want to warn you before we actually play it, folks. If you want to leave the room, you want to turn away, please do so. It is, again, shocking and stunning to watch. Here we go. Here we go. Quit reaching! Quit reaching! Quit reaching! Quit reaching! I'm down. Stay down! I'm down.

Roll over! Roll over! Roll over! Roll over on your stomach! Stomach! Hey, can you see this door? I can't. Okay. Go ahead. I'm back up. I'm back up. You go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead. Yep. Yep.

I'm back up. I'm back up. You go ahead. Go ahead. We're going to pull him back. Go ahead. Get the door. Get the door.

I got him. Okay. I'll pull him out of the yard. Yep. Get him out of the yard. Go ahead. Pull him out. Got him.

Yep. Go ahead. Pull him out. Keep going. Keep going. Back.ubs. Okay. Hey, you got him? Yep, I got him. My police! If you're in here, come outside! Hold your hands up.

Come out slowly. I'm police officer. Keep your hands up, man. You're the husband? Alright, step out to us, sir. Step out to us. Quit moving, quit moving! Quit moving, quit reaching! Quit reaching! um Everybody's a suspect. Nobody walks without cuffs. I have nothing too. OK, where's the shot at? Fucking LT.

Where you shot? Give me 76, 77, 10, 18. I ain't got it. There's nothing but turning. It's all fine. No, no, no. Put some pressure on him. Keep him on the side.

Come here, give's all body. he's got LTE. how many? okay roll him on the side he's starting to stun him. LTE is going to be multiple. 1, 2, in and out. I see at least 4 or 5. 4 or 5. okay. give me. I know we can do it LTE. LTE is going to his back and side. Keep him rolled away. All the way on his back.

All the way on his back. What's your name, bro? What's your name? What's your name? I got it. I got it. I got it. I got it.

I got it. I got it. I got it. I got it. I got it. I got it. I got it. I got it. I got it. I got it. I got it. I got chest swelling.

Three, four, okay. Five. Right in the stomach. Hey, tell them where it's hard so we can get up here. Hey, where you at? I'm right here. Trauma kit. Trauma kit. Let me see what we got.

Tequila. We got tequila. Tequila. Uh, we both shot, so. Want an air warning? Who is this right here? Who is this walking up on us? It's Chief. Sorry, sorry, sorry.

You can't put anything on deck. Fuck. We both got to go. If you want to get Hinkle and I need one person. You okay? Yeah, we're good, sir. You good? Yes, sir.

Hold on, my car's down here. All right. I just need one person to team up with me. Hey, come on, baby. Hey, come here, baby. You should have listened. I'm telling you. Could you see it?

I didn't see nothing from where I was at. Hey, don't call me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Hey, guard. Here, come over here. Yeah, we're getting ready to leave in a minute. But if you want to team up with me, Felix is going to team up with him.

Yep. Now we're going to go to the station. Hey, did Newhouse stay inside? I'll jump in with Nick. I rode with him, so I might as well. You want to get me to the station? Yeah. Bag valve mask. Anybody? What? Bag valve man. No, no. I'm bringing my pound out to Omicongo Dabinga, professorial lecturer, School of International Service, American University, Reverend Jeff Carr, founder of the Infinity Fellowship in Nashville, Tennessee, Michael Brown, former chair of DNC Finance Committee,

based here in Washington, D.C. Glad to have all three of you here. This is what jumps out here, the Congo consistently. You see these first of all, in the next hour, we're going to talk with Lee Merritt, who's the family attorney about this case. But what happens in these cases all the time. So you see these officers now trying to respond, trying to save the man's life. Well, if you don't shoot somebody, then you're not going to have to actually do all of that. But you can also hear them trying to say that you see this, that you see that. And so clearly the officers are unclear what they actually saw that led to the shooting.

You know, this, this, as I was watching the whole thing, I couldn't help but think about Stephon Clark. You know, Sacramento was killed in his grandmother's, grandparents' home right on the lawn, and it turned out he had a white iPhone, right? And these cops have this shoot first, ask questions later mentality. And not only did they shoot him the first time, while he's on the ground with the hands up as well. And then on top of that, dragging him like a dog.

And we say things like drag like a dog, but quite honestly, they treat animals better than they treat us. And so at all levels, we see the lack of care for our community, the way they rush into the house. Everybody's a suspect, you know, ready to shoot other people. Sounded like they almost shot the sergeant who was about to come up. Who's that? Who You know, ready to shoot other people. Sounded like they almost shot the sergeant who was about to come up. Who's that? Who's that? Who's that? There's thuggery involved in this, Roland. And one of the things we said last week when Recy was here, did an incredible

job. We talked about the fact that when it comes to our community, it's never been black versus white. It's black versus blue. We don't care what color the officer is who's wearing that uniform. When it comes to our community, we get treated like third-class citizens. They slaughtered that man for the world to see, and they all need to pay.

Facing four years is ridiculous. There needs to be a lot more, and just another reminder that this is why we need the George Floyd Policing Reform Act, because anything relating to qualified immunity that might be thrown their way needs to be thrown out the door in addition to their careers. And we keep seeing this over and over and over again, Michael. And this is the frustration because you would think

we're seeing it only going down. We're not. It's increasing. And I think as, you know, we've been saying on this panel and other panels in the past, every time we talk about this awful subject and certainly thoughts and prayers to the family, thoughts and prayers aren't enough anymore. You need laws, you need legislation. And until, whether it's qualified immunity, whether it's putting their pensions on the table, there has to be something that makes them think twice first besides pulling the trigger of a weapon, or why they don't pull a taser, or why don't they shoot at the lower extremities. I mean, there just seem to be so many other options besides death, and especially when somebody's not armed.

So until you put those two things, and remember, as a former public official, I remember how hard it was for people to go up against the police unions. No one wants to be called, oh, you're soft on crime, or the police union is not going to endorse you, and all that kind of stuff. And it makes it extremely difficult. That's why, obviously, we've talked about this before, too. As you know, I'm a supporter of the Biden-Harris administration. But one of the first things they should have done when they came in office was criminal justice reform with the George Floyd Act. That should have been the first thing to do. And clearly, as obviously momentum and the politics change and timing changes, it's not on the front burner anymore. And this is the continuing frustration, Jeff. It's the frustration not just with this

administration, the Democrats in the House, in the Senate, and when you do not follow through. People want to see action. Unfortunately, we have yet to see it. And this is going to have an impact on the midterms, and they

don't want to blame it on themselves because it was not made a priority. In fact, the George Floyd Justice Act negotiations, it was in December when Senator Tim Scott decided to go and face the nation and to say talks are dead. It's been five months, no executive order. Now, I'm assuming they're waiting because in 11 days it will be the anniversary, the second anniversary of the death of George Floyd. I guess they're waiting to announce it on that day.

But my goodness, five months after talks broke down? Yeah, there's no excuse. This is just an opportunity to continue to make excuses. And those of us who have been through that process understand what excuses are. We remember that, right? We can all recite that excuses are tools of the incompetent that build monuments to nothing, and those who specialize in them seldom succeed at anything else. We're seeing this as it relates to police reform. When I watch that video, I'll be honest with you

guys. I don't like to watch a lot of videos like that because I'm very cautious of what I absorb in my consciousness. But as a leader, I have to watch those videos so I understand what people are dealing with. Unfortunately, in this video, if Now we see that we are seeing these officers being held accountable, but as Dr. Omikongo said, held accountable for what? Four years for taking a life. When we talk about somebody being shot down like a dog in the street, I think it's particularly ironic that the one creature of God that was completely not complying was in fact the dog and the dog was not shot. The dog was not charged. The dog was not restrained. The dog was not bleeding out on the ground, being told the familiar phrases that we hear in the other checklist, which include roll over to someone who's been shot 12 times, pull him out to the yard, quit moving, quit reaching, although you're handcuffed.

This is indicative of where our state of relations are with this black and blue wall. It's crippling to see this. It hurts the spirit. But it makes us say five months is too long for action. If you can stroke a pen and make change, the Biden administration is responsible for doing exactly that, regardless of what Tim Scott, regardless of what the Republican legislators want to block. We should not have to wait until the commemoration of the death of a figure like George Floyd to attempt to spotlight what we know needs to take place. We can prevent this, like my daddy used to say, with an ounce of prevention through action, because an ounce of prevention

beats a pound of cure. Well, and here's the question, again, how we are treated. Now, again, coming up in the next hour, we'll talk with Lee Merritt, who is the attorney for the family. Coming up next, though, after this break, we're going to talk with the head coach of the Delaware State lacrosse team,

how they were racially targeted. Shameful behavior by Georgia State Troopers. We'll explain next. I'm Roland Mark Dunn-Filtriot broadcasting live on the Black Star Network. Don't forget to download our app. Available on all platforms. Apple TV, Android TV, Apple phone,

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PayPal is RMarkin unfiltered. Venmo is RM unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at rollingmarchnonfiltered.com. We'll be right back. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, you're going to learn about the silver tsunami, which means that a million people are turning 65 every day and they're going to need some kind of care. You're going to meet two sisters whose situation with their own family led them to start a business in this industry and now they're showing others. This is our passion, our mission, our purpose, our ministry. That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Black Star Network.

Pull up a chair, take your seat at the Black Table. With me, Dr. Greg Carr, here on the Black Star Network. Every week, we'll take a deeper dive into the world we're living in. Join the conversation, only on the Black Star Network. When I first moved to L.A., me and Joe lived together, right? And that was a big blessing because I didn't have to worry about paying rent. I was just struggling, doing my thing, and that was a big, big help. And then I think when I moved out, I think that's when I saw the division

because I think Joe felt like I saw the division because I think Joe I Joe felt like I didn't need him anymore right that was like I'm a grown-ass man two grown-ass men but actually that's well that is true you don't need me right when you grow up first of all you when you grow up it's like hey you help and this time you get your ass around the house right and go do your own thing right he didn't want me to move out. But I'm like, you know what? At the time when I moved out. I mean, what? Were you paying the light bill?

I wasn't paying anything. And I said, you know what? I need this responsibility. It's going to make me work harder in my career if I know I got rent to pay. I got bills to pay. I was paying the cell phone bill. That was it.

But Joe was treating me like a little butler. So I'm telling you. I was like Benson. I'm telling you, man. Please fetch me some water. He was using Jedi mind tricks. Yo, man, you still make them good grilled cheese sandwiches you made when you were little? No, you don't.

Next thing you know, I'm at the stove. Flipping. And then it dawned on me. Yeah. Picked me again. Got me again. Got me again. What's up, y'all? I'm Will Packer.

Everybody, this is your man, Fred Hammond. Hi, my name is Bresha Webb, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple.

Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated,

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Filtered. Well, I like a nice filter usually, but we can be unfiltered. Folks, the Delaware State women's lacrosse team wants to know why their team's bus was stopped and searched by a Georgia Sheriff's Department.

The team was wrapping up a three-game tour in Florida and Georgia when Sheriff's deputies pulled the bus over and asked a very odd question to the team. Why I'm coming on the bus right now is to tell you all, we're going to check y'all's luggage, okay? If there is anything in y'all's luggage, we're probably going to find it, okay? I'm not looking for a little bit of marijuana, but I'm pretty sure you guys at Chaperone are probably going to be disappointed in you if we find it.

You guys are on a lacrosse team, correct? Yes. So if there is something in there that is questionable, please tell me now. Because if we find it, guess what? We're not going to be able to help. Okay? You go hard in the state of Georgia, marijuana is still illegal in the state of Georgia.

Anything that you can put marijuana in, maybe a device where you smoke it, maybe something that you would weigh it, like a set of scales, anything. If there's nothing, then I'm thankful. It would make my job a lot easier. We're going to get this done. We'll have you guys on your way.

Do you guys have any more questions for me? Have I explained it pretty good? Yes, sir. Give us a few minutes and you guys will be on your way. Okay? The sheriffs involved were from Liberty County, Georgia. It was about 28 miles southwest of Savannah. We contacted the Liberty County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff William Bowman.

His assistant said he is not and will not make a statement until the internal investigation is complete. Pamela Jenkins is the coach, head coach of the Delaware State University's women's lacrosse team. And she joins us now. First of all, coach, I'm trying to understand. Why were y'all

stopped? That's a good question. How it was told to us is that our bus was driving in the left lane and that he wasn't supposed to be doing that. Okay, I'm now confused. Were y'all on the highway? We were on I-95.

Is it a two-lane or four-lane highway? It was a three-lane highway. Is that left lane an HOV lane or is that a law enforcement only lane? What was the left lane? Just the fast lane as far as our understanding was. So no HOV lane or any special lane at all. So, okay. So, the driver is in the left lane. Yes. They say he should not have been in the lane. Why are they not talking to the driver?

How all of a sudden did it go to, we're about to search all of your bags for marijuana? Well, how it started, they pulled us over. They asked him for his driver's license and registration. He gives it to them. Our bus driver gives it to them. And then the police officer says, you're not supposed to be driving in the left lane.

Then they ask him to step off of the bus. So he exited the bus, and my players and I are just sitting here waiting. Then one of my student athletes looks outside of the bus to see what's taking so long, and she was like, they're taking our luggage out from underneath the bus, and they have dogs sniffing through our belongings. Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute.

So at no point did these deputy sheriffs seek consent to search any bags? Correct. They did not. Okay. Continue. Yes. So we see the dogs that are walking through and sniffing through our belongings. Then maybe five minutes later, two officers come on the bus, and that's where the video, that you see the video. And they're basically saying it in an accusatory tone of, we are here looking for narcotics.

We're not looking for a small amount, as I'm sure that would still be upsetting to your chaperones. And he's saying, you know, we're looking for any how that you weigh it, that you would, you know, use it, whether it's a vape pen, whether it's an edible. And he's like, we're going to find it. So you're better off telling us now than for having us find it on our own. Because if that happens, we can't help you. How many people are on the bus?

25 players, two coaches, our athletic trainer. Total, 30. So 30 people. So when she peeked out, they were pulling luggage off. And then what did they do? Did they actually unzip all of the bags and go through all of the luggage? I did not see that.

But when they went back out on the bus, they did, they clearly did, because they came back on the bus with a gift that one of our student athletes had received from a family member, and that was inside of her suitcase. And they asked her what this was. And she's like, it's a gift from a relative.

And they were like, you accepted a gift that you don't know what it is? Are you serious? Yes. That's what the hell a gift is! Now, was she made to open the gift? They took it off the bus and opened it. They let her know that they were going to be opening it.

Wait, they have drug sniffing dogs. She has a gift. She can't even open her own gift. They opened the gift? Correct. They go off the bus open her own gift. They open the gift? Correct. They go off the bus and open the gift. Then 10 minutes later, they come back on the bus, and they're like, you're free to go.

Have a safe trip. Was the driver ever ticketed for driving in the left lane? He was not ticketed, no. How long did this whole exchange happen? It took about 30 to 45 minutes in total. So y'all were leaving Georgia to head back to Delaware? Yes, that's correct. We were on our way out. Yes. Have y'all been in communication with this sheriff's department?

So I know that the university is investigating it. So we have left that up to the university. Wow. So, again, before I go to my panel, so let's see here. They claim the driver was driving in the left lane, but he wasn't supposed to. Right. But there's no, but it wasn't HOV, wasn't any of the designated lanes, so I don't get why the driver can't be in the left-hand lane. Two, they question the driver. They pull the driver off the bus.

They check all bags. The driver never gets a ticket. No. Sounds to me as if they were using this excuse as an effort to search the luggage and hopefully try to find drugs. Yes, that's how we felt. What was the reaction from everyone else on the bus as y'all went on your way? What was the reaction? How did you then have to deal with what y'all had just experienced?

Everyone was very quiet. We were still pretty early into the trip. It wasn't early morning. This was day six of our road trip on our way home. So we're all so exhausted. And I think we're all just in disbelief that this was happening to us. He addressed us as a lacrosse team. So he knew that. And our bags say Delaware State lacks on them. So I think we're all in disbelief. It definitely took some time before we all started talking again further into the trip.

And the bus driver was apologetic, but we were like, you didn't do anything wrong. This isn't your fault. Let's go to my panel here. Michael Brown, you first. Coach, I saw you had to go through that level of harassment, as we've been certainly going through as a people for the last, you know, 420 some odd years. Coach, and I know it's hard because when, you know, police officers, in particular white police officers, are on the bus, you know, if no one wants to really, you know, what they would probably may consider being a smart aleck. But did anybody ask at the time, and we didn't hear it on video, you know, why did you pull us over in the first place? And I know you probably don't have any lawyers on the bus and say, what's the probable cause for pulling us over besides the baloney

left lane violation or supposed violation? Right. So one of our, one of my student athletes asked the officer, how did this go from a routine traffic stop to narcotics dogs sniffing through our belongings? And his explanation was that on this stretch of highway, that they see a lot of charter buses smuggling narcotics and people, so that they have to stay vigilant with their efforts. Well, please make sure, I know you're letting the university handle it, but as they are moving forward in the process, make sure they ask the sheriff's office to give you some statistical data of how many white buses have been pulled over

in the same kind of situation. Absolutely. I sure will. Jeff. Yes, Sister Jenkins, I appreciate you and everything you've been through. As Michael Brown said, as for that statistical data, I'm going to add to that, ask for the statistical data. I'm going to add to that. Ask for the statistical data on the number of buses that have actually been pulled over where they did discover narcotics, because it's been my experience that usually when you see troopers parked on the side of the interstate, it's because they have a very specific tip. So they aren't necessarily hunting someone. So the fact that you were targeted went way beyond some flimsy excuse about trying to find drugs on the bus. Let me ask you what you're doing now,

because this was a traumatic experience for everybody involved. What are you doing now to look out for the mental health of the young people who experienced this in real time and may have said, you know what, this is something that my parents or grandparents talked about, but I'm experiencing it now. How are you looking out for them? Well, and especially the concern is for a lot of them, this was their first interaction with law enforcement. So, of course, that makes it even more difficult. And as a coach, you know, traveling by charter bus is our main way of transportation. So the last thing I want is for our student athletes to be nervous to get back on

the road for us to travel for our games. So there are virtual services that are available through our institution. Right now, the student athletes are home. They came back and they had to get straight to finals and then had to pack up their belongings and go home for the summer. So they're currently home. So our communication is solely via FaceTime or Zoom at the moment. So I'm just checking on them because I know even for myself, it was re-traumatizing seeing that video and talking about it. You know, it was a very scary experience as a coach. You want to protect your student athletes. And in that moment, I felt like I could not protect them, that I could just lead by example

and stay calm. So I'm proud of the way that they handled themselves, staying composed in that stressful situation. And there wasn't a doubt in my mind that I didn't have anything, at least for my players, to worry about. Before I go to Omokongo, on your bus, did you have any signage on the outside of the bus stating that this was the Delaware State lacrosse team? We did not have any signage on the outside. Just when they came on the bus, we were all wearing our gear, but there was nothing on the outside of the bus. Got it. Omokongo, go ahead. Yes, Coach Jenkins, this is really terrible. As a professor myself, I teach these same age students. And so I'm looking at my own students going through this experience and how traumatic it can be.

Are there things that we can do going forward to support you and the women on the team? I know with so many other issues, there are campaigns and other things going on, but I just would love to figure out if there's a way that the community can embrace them, especially now that they're home for the summer and everybody is all split up. I think going through this process and talking to others about their experience has been therapeutic. So I think giving them the platform so that they are trying to prevent this from happening to anyone else. So I think that's right now our focus is for us to kind of bind together

and do what's necessary to get the word out to make sure that no one else has to go through this. Terrible. Well, it is certainly unfortunate that your players had to deal with this. Have you heard from any of their parents as a result of this situation? I have heard from a few parents and even parents of our incoming freshmen for next year. Just voicing their support and just how proud they are of how the young ladies compose themselves during a very stressful situation.

All right, then we'll certainly keep us abreast of what happens with this story next. And I'm quite sure having a president who was a longtime U.S. senator from Delaware also helped. So I wonder if the Department of Justice will be looking into this. And, of course, the president's White House HBCU initiative is actually headed by the Delaware state president. Yes. Yes. And we'll definitely keep you posted. Thank you very much. All right, Pamela Jenkins, we certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Go back to my panel here. I mean, this this Michael speaks to, again, what happens when you're black in America. I mean, for these officers, oh, we're used to seeing human trafficking and people smuggling drugs.

You pull the officer over and apparently the left lane is only for passing. Okay? So, but here's what I don't understand. If you pull the driver over for being in the left lane is only for passing. Okay, so, but here's what I don't understand. If you pull the driver over for being in left lane, how you not give him a ticket? Especially if, I mean, I think we've all seen signs where if you're going too slow,

you can be certainly pulled over because you're, you know, clogging up the left lane. But since the person, the driver didn't get a ticket, clearly it wasn't that big of a deal. But to your first part of your query, it's unfortunate still that these officers just can act like this with impunity. I mean, again, you know, going back to the first segment, until there are some real consequences to actions against, and I think you're right, because clearly the sheriff, who is African-American or certainly appears to be African-American in the picture, you know, clearly these white officers thought it doesn't matter whether we have a black sheriff, we're going to continue to do what we want anyway.

So it has nothing to do with white, black. I think one of my co-panelists said it earlier, it's between black people and people in blue uniforms. So, you know, the only way to stop the impunity is to have consequences for actions. I absolutely cannot wait to see, Jeff, the response from this black sheriff. I can't wait either. But to quote Brother Michael Brown, who said it perfectly, he appears to be African-American in the picture. When we talk about elected officials, oftentimes people think, well, if we just get black elected officials, if we just get people in high positions, everything is going to change. I remind people that racism is a system, and that means that it is designed to operate a certain way.

So if you do not, if you can change out the operators of the machine, but if they are not systemically changing the machine, then they're just pushing the button and we're getting the picture is also in alignment with the action, and he will hold these officers accountable, because these kids are now singing the 1965 song El Pito, which is that Dizzy Gillespie hook, I'll Never Go Back to Georgia. And we want people to make sure that there are consequences. It's going to be interesting to see, as you pointed out, that the president of Delaware State is also chair of the president's HBCU commission. So this may be one of the rare occurrences where, to quote Ice Cube, they may have picked the wrong fill in the blank to mess with. On Mocongo, again, as I saw that video, I instantly thought back to that scene from the movie The Five Heartbeats.

Yep. I was thinking the same thing. I was waiting for that number, love. I mean, I literally was feeling that moment, man. And what's sad about it is we go back to The Five Heartbeats. These are grown men dealing with that situation. These young girls get it at that age and get the early trauma that they're going to have to be dealing with for forever. I remember I was driving on a highway once and an officer drove next to me,

put the flashlight into my car as I was driving, then pulled me over after realizing I was Black. And while he was having me out of the car, tried to convince me that I was drinking. And I don't drink. I had never had an alcoholic beverage in my life. And my point is, when he was talking about if y'all got something in the bag now, you might as well show it. It was like this an entrapment type of thing that he was doing. He thought that he was he was smart when what he was doing. And what if somebody did have something? Then you're going to take one of those women off the bus and what they got to sit in a Georgia jail alone for the entire night or days? I mean, this Sandra Bland thing is going on in my head right now in terms of what the possibilities were.

And so really, at the end of the day, this man introduced early trauma to these young ladies that's going to be with them for the rest of their lives. And there needs to be some real consequences because, again, like you said, Roland, no ticket, no nothing. And so the goal was to intimidate. He succeeded in that. And now these sisters got to deal with it for a very long time. And they need to make sure that they get in the services that they need. And there needs to be some consequences for their actions. Because right now, Roland, the rest of the country is caught up on the escapee from Alabama jail with the security guard or something like that.

I just saw that on CNN and Wolf Blitzer. Ain't nobody talking about this situation. And so for you to bring it to national attention, we need more of this and we can't let this story go. This is for our kids, man. Indeed. Speaking for our kids, coming up next,

we'll stay in Georgia and we'll talk with the president of Morris Brown College. They have gotten their accreditation back and we'll explain what is going to happen next for that historic institution founded by freed slaves of African descent. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network.

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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. We 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.

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Bring your eyeballs home. You can't be black on media's be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You can't be black on media and be scared. You dig? Yo, it's your man Deon Cole from Blackish and you're watching. Roland Martin, Unfiltered. Stay woke. So, folks, in 1881, Morris Brown College was founded by the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

The dollars that were used to create the institution came from freed people of African descent. And over the decades, Morris Brown graduated a significant number of people, prominent African Americans. In fact, it is the only Georgia HBCU literally founded by black people. But more than 20 years ago, Morris Brown found itself having significant financial woes. As a result, Morris Brown lost its accreditation. There were many efforts to try to save the university, but they still lost the accreditation.

Now, what does that mean? Well, if you're not an accredited institution, then your students cannot apply and receive federal financial aid. Any of you who watch this show understand how often we've talked about the fact that HBCUs, anywhere from 80 to 90 percent or higher of an HBCU's budget is based upon students receiving federal aid. But even though they lost their accreditation, they had to also sell off assets, sell off land. Morris Brown actually never closed. Well, last week there was a big ceremony in Atlanta where they announced that Morris Brown had received its accreditation

and they were eligible for students to be able to apply for federal aid, financial aid, and then be able to enroll in the school. Joining us right now is the president of Morris Brown College. Kevin, glad to have you here. First of all, Dr. Kevin Jones, who's the president. And so explain the people who don't quite understand when they hear accredited and what all that sort of stuff means. What happened here?

What was the accrediting agency that Morris Brown was initially dealing with? And then there was a change that also impacted and allowed for y'all to now be able to get accredited through another route. Yes. Well, good evening. Thank you for having me on your show. Morris Brown College, like you mentioned, founded in 1881 by former slaves. It's an institution that has been here in the city of Atlanta for 141 years. We've been educating, pouring into our communities, the original FUBU for us, by us. Originally, Morris Brown College was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SACCOC. And a few years ago, when I took the helm as president, I told the board of trustees that I felt like this institution should go back to its Christian roots. We were founded in the basement of Big Bethel AME Church.

And we have always provided a Christian education, but we got a little bit away from that a little bit. And so we are now accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools, a Christian-affiliated accreditation agency, approved by the United States Department of Education, just like any other accreditor. And we are now officially accredited. It was a three-year-long journey, a lot of hard work, blood, sweat, and tears. But we were able to show that we are an institution of quality, that we met all the standards required by the United States Department of Education, indicative of the word quality. And we're just very, very excited to make history in this way. And so for people, again, people who don't quite understand this process, it's a major deal when universities have to go through SACS accreditation. I mean, you know, I was talking to one university

the other day. They were trying to get me to do some things. And they were like, hey, we finally have funding for this, funding for that. Because in essence, accreditation is like review. It's when you are dating a young man or a young woman and you put on your best behavior. All of a sudden, folks are cleaning stuff. They're bringing it. I mean, you're having to put your best foot forward because the last thing you want is to either be put on provisional or lose your accreditation because that's the whole ballgame.

Absolutely. Well, you know, yes, you put on your best behavior. You put on the best foot to show that you are doing what you're supposed to do. However, it's not just a one and done. You know, we are monitored on a yearly basis. They check our audits, they check our yearly reviews, and we're monitored every single year to continue that monitoring process of showing that we are continuously improving our process, procedures, standards, fiscal stability, enrollment, et cetera. And so Morris Brown, like I said, is accredited by TRACS, an approved accreditor by the United States Department of Education, and we are moving forward with our new accreditation. So by switching to the accrediting council that deals with related institutions, does that impact the type of majors you're able to offer, or does it matter?

No, we're still a liberal arts institution. We have STEM programs. We have liberal arts programs. We have our business program, which is our bread and butter. And so the premise of the degrees is not what they're looking for. Every TRACS affiliate school has to have a faith statement proclaiming their Christian faith and, of course, again, providing Christian education. And so Morris Brown, again, founded in the basement of Big Bethel AME Church. We have been affiliated with the AME Church since our founding 141 years ago.

And so we were already Christian. We're just getting back into the service of providing a Christian education. I'm going to go to my panel in a moment for questions. Obviously, there was just a whole lot of things happening. So many people have been pulling for Morris Brown. Just let folks know how dire the situation, though, had gotten for Morris Brown. Yeah, it was pretty bad. You know, $35 million bankruptcy, $9.5 million to the U.S. Department of Education.

We settled a debt with the AME Church for $4.2 million. We literally went from about 3,000 students to about 50 students overnight. And like you mentioned earlier, when we lost our access to accreditation, we lost our access to federal financial aid. So students transferred out and had to leave the institution. We lost a lot of our land. We lost our reputation. We lost so much. But I'm just very proud to say that Morris Brown was able to overcome something that would have closed other institutions forever. And so we're very, very excited that we've made history in this way. From my understanding, we're the first HBCU to rebound after a 20-year hiatus. And being able to continue to educate students over these last 20 years

is a testament from God that he's been with us since the beginning. And so we've been through a lot, but we've been able to overcome those negative obstacles, and we're now ready to take the institution to the next level. It was obviously a big deal last week. There were folks there. I saw one particular video where Pastor Jamal Bryan spoke, and actually they enrolled one of his music folks as a student there at Morris Brown. Yes. You know, Pastor Jamal Bryan is a friend.

He's been a friend of this institution. And he said something very, very instrumental. He said, listen, we've been able to do this, but now we need to build our enrollment. And so he called on all clergy and everyone who was listening to him to send one student to Morris Brown College. And I hope that they meet him like he did, you know, the task that he set forth.

You know, it is, first of all, when you said that regaining that accreditation was really a huge deal. Your alumni base, absolutely loyal. In fact, I can't even remember why I was in Atlanta. I was in Atlanta for something. And y'all happened to have, when you're fundraisers and I sort of just dropped, just sort of just walked in just to say, hey. And that's another piece. Your alumni base never gave up. These are folks who wanted to see the only HBCU founded by African-Americans to remain active and alive. Absolutely. You know, three reasons why Morris Brown never closed. And I say this very proudly and boldly. God has been with this institution. The AME Church has been with this institution.

And the best alumni in the world has remained with this institution. They never gave up. And, you know, a lot of people told them, hey, just give up. You guys keep trying. Won't you just give it up? And they never gave up. And because of those three reasons is the reason why Morris Brown College never closed and the reason why we were able to get our accreditation back. Absolutely. This here is going to show in a second some of the video that was, of course, from the news conference that took place on your steps. You also, of course, had significant support from your

U.S. senators, Raphael Warnock, John Ossoff as well. And so, you always had folks actually pulling for Morris Brown but you just had to get over that whole issue with the accreditation. Let me first start with Reverend Jeff Carr. Jeff, go right ahead. Oh, thanks a lot. Dr. James, first and foremost, man, I want to say congratulations.

You've got a string of hits going on since you took over the presidency down there. Morris Brown is absolutely in good hands going in a great direction. I'm going to tell on myself a little bit with my age. Thirty-six years ago, almost this fall, I had my first performance as a member of the Tennessee State University Aristocrat of Bands in the stadium at Morris Brown. That was my first time playing in front of a massive HBCU audience. So I carry that memory with me forever. And that's what HBCU life is really all about.

Let me ask you about the accreditation route route because it was a brilliant move to take the steps that you took to get accreditation through TRACS. When you think about universities like Oral Roberts University, who may be regionally accredited, or a school like Liberty that may be accredited by SACS, a more traditional space, is this the first step? Is this a long-term move?

Or will you eventually move toward an organization like SACS? Or does it even matter at this point? At this point, and by the way, let me just say that I did not come up, this was not some brilliant scheme that I came up with regarding going to tracks. I utilized a model that was undertaken by Michael Sorrell at Paul Quinn College. They had some issues with their accreditor, and they decided to go back to their Christian roots. They're also AME, and they went to TRACS, and they're doing very, very well. So when I went into my very first interview, I told the board of trustees, if you hire me as president, I believe that Morris Brown would have a better fit right now with

TRACS than with any other creditor. And so they approved that, of course, unanimously when I got the position, and we decided that process. Two years ago, the United States Department of Education made a ruling after some investigation that there was no difference between regional accreditors and national accreditors. They all had the same standards. They all had the same rigor. And as a matter of fact, the U.S. Department of Ed no longer uses the words regional accreditor or national accreditor. All accrediting agencies approved by the U.S. Department of Ed are now known as institutional accreditors. So really, right now, TRAX has been very good to us over these last three years.

They're a perfect fit for us. Right now, we're focused on growing our enrollment, growing our academic... I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution.

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

I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Profile and tracks is a good fit for us. And right now,

we're very, very satisfied with tracks. Keep up the great work, man. My wife has a long history in the AME church, so she's excited about seeing the school come back to the level.

Omokongo? First of all, Dr. James, congratulations. I mean, I was a student in Morehouse in the 90s. And so that whole AUC life, you know, Morris Brown was, you know, a huge part of it. And so to see it back, it's just really incredible. You talked about our ancestors, You talked about AME. You talked about the beautiful work that the alumni have done.

But I just have a question for you. 20 years in the game there, and then you come in three years ago. With the qualifications that you had, could have gone anywhere. What made you decide that you wanted to come to Morris Brown and lead it on this process towards its original greatness? Yes. Well, first of all, I honestly believe that God sent me to Morris Brown College. I was at home watching the news in December of 2018, and I saw where my predecessor had retired, resigned. And I literally said out loud, oh my God, I want to be the next president of Morris Brown College. I immediately pick up the phone and I called the sixth district of the AME

church. And the way that God worked it out was the chairman of the board's assistant answered the phone and two complete strangers talked on the phone for 35, 45 minutes. And at the end of that conversation, she said, send me your resume. I'm going to put it directly in the chairman's hands. And about a month later, I got my first interview. Three interviews later, I was named the interim president of Morris Brown. About a year later, I was named permanent president of Morris Brown College. So yes, I could have gone to other places, but I believe that God sent me to Morris Brown. And it was a lot of hard work, a lot of blood, a lot of sweat, a lot of tears. And I'm very, very excited to be the 19th president of Morris Brown College. Again, the best is yet to come.

We're just getting started. Michael. President James, congratulations again. Let me echo my co-panelists congratulating you for overcoming. I take, obviously, a lot of pride in Morris Brown, considering I think maybe some of my ancestors may have helped create it. Question about the accreditation. My mother is a proud graduate of Fisk University, and Fisk went through its own challenges several years back. And what is it about accreditation of HBCUs? Is it economic, or is there something else that puts HBCUs in the crosshairs?

Listen, I've had other people ask me that question, and it's a very bold response. Financial stability. HBCUs do the best of educating us. Whenever you see an HBCU getting in trouble, 9.9 times out of 10 has something to do with finances or fiscal stability. Someone mentioned earlier that these institutions are so heavily driven on tuition revenue. When you look at Harvard and Yale and Georgia Tech or Georgia State, these institutions have multi-million or billion-dollar endowments. HBCUs don't have such endowments. And again, like I said, we are so heavily reliant on tuition, and we have to move from that model. So, you know, again, we do the best of educating us, but we have to do a better job of creating stronger business models, creating other revenue sources where we can get out of the business of best assets that HBCUs have is their land. So I'm sure with some tough

decisions, you have to sell off pieces and parcels of the campus or whatever land you own outside of the campus. Yeah. At the time when we filed bankruptcy, we had no other choice. Now, we're going to utilize the land that we have. You all have seen us in the news. You may have seen that we just signed a deal with CGI Merchant Group in Hilton Hotel. We're right here at Morris Brown College. We're building our own hotel right here on the campus. It's a Hilton Hotel, $30 million hotel. That's going to be tied directly to our hospitality program. Our students are going to learn right in our own hotel on the campus.

And so, you know, God said, use what you got. And what we have is location, location, location right here in downtown Atlanta. And so we're going to continue to move forward with what we have. Well, keep up the good work, Mr. President. Well, I'll add one thing. And again, and folk, if they want to take issue with this, that ain't my problem. I did a segment of last month on this, Dr. Jones, where I also said that our black institutions, which includes HBCUs, includes black organizations, includes black owned media,

we have also got to embrace professional leadership. What I mean is people with skill set. So what you just described there, you can't have a successful hospitality program unless you have people who know what the hell they're talking

about in hospitality. And one of the things that we are seeing, we see ego, we see folk who are putting themselves before institutions. And that's also something that I'm real particular with. And I get people who say, oh, you can't say that because you didn't go to HBCU. I've run three black newspapers.

I've done black media my whole life. And I can tell you there's a continuum in too many of our institutions where we have some nice people who don't need to be in positions of influence because they don't know how to operate at a major level. Yes, I would agree. You know, we have to make sure that our organizations and our institutions are led by competent leaders who have students at the forefront. And so here at Morris Brown College, we've done a phenomenal job of making sure that we have competent leaders who are helping us to take the institution back to her former glory. All right then. Well, look, I was last on the campus. I think Senator, I think John Ossoff had an event there and we were covering the event there. So we look forward to, and before that, the quad, which was on BET,

was actually shot on the campus of Morris Brown. And so I can't wait for you guys to open up. Just last question for me, what do you anticipate? So when are you, when are you anticipating having your fall class? And any idea how many students you're going to open with? Yeah, we anticipate having a few hundred students

here on campus in the fall, in August. Actually, we're going to start even before then. We're going to have summer school starting in June. And so we have to remember that Morse Round never closed. We've been educating this entire time, but we're going to have our first graduating class next week on May 21st. And then the summer school and then the fall.

How many graduates? We're going to have five graduates. Five graduates on the 21st, next Saturday. All right, then. Well, Doc, we appreciate it. Congratulations to you and the staff there. Anything that we can do, be sure to let us know. You got my number so you can text me anytime.

And so certainly, and a big congratulations to the alumni because they want to see this day actually happen. Absolutely. Thank you all for having me. I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. All right, folks, when we come back, I'm Roland Martin, Unfiltered.

We'll talk with Attorney Lee Merritt about the story out of Oklahoma. We showed you the video in the last hour, and we'll talk about that next. Folks, don't forget to support us in what we do. Because you heard what we just laid out there. Part of this issue, and you heard me say this continuously, is that we have the means.

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it's easy to say we should support them, but it's different when you actually do it. It's easy to say, oh, how we really, really need black owned media. But it's a difference when you're watching somebody else's stuff, when you're retweeting somebody else's stuff, but then you wonder why we don't have black-owned media with capacity. The same thing when it comes to HBCUs, when it comes to our organizations. The capital resides in our hands. The difference is how we spend our capital and who we spend our capital with. And so our goal of course is to achieve 50,000 downloads. We wanted to hit it by May 1st, we didn't. We're still targeting that goal.

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What comes to mind? Probably too many things to comprehend right now. Our moms, whether they're with us or not, are still probably the most impactful person in our lives. On the next A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie, a tribute to our mothers. You won't want to miss it here on Black Star Network. Hey, what's up everybody? It's Godfrey, the funniest dude on the planet.

Hey, I'm Taj. I'm Coco. And I'm Lili. And we're SWV. What's up y'all? It's Ryan Destiny, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Folks, in the first hour we told you about and we showed you this video of a disturbing shooting in Oklahoma where a black man with his hands up was shot and killed by two police

officers. Now those officers have been charged. But the family says that, sorry, folks, first-degree manslaughter charges for killing Quadri Sanders simply is not good enough. The family's attorney, Lee Merritt, joins us right now. Lee, glad to have you here. So what were you and the family looking for in terms of charges for these officers for the death of this 29-year-old brother? Lee, we can't hear you. All right.

There we go. Thank you, sir. When the Comanche County prosecutors released the video on Friday, it was the first time that I or any member of the family had a chance to actually see what happened to Mr. Sanders. It's difficult to find how the facts given or laid out in that video fit into a manslaughter or accidental death category. These men seemed to move with intention and malice when they told him to put up his hands and repeatedly shot him, you know, body center mass. It seems like their intent was to cause the death,

and that should be more appropriate for a murder charge in Oklahoma. Obviously, it is a lot more difficult to convict officers on murder, so could it be that prosecutors felt they had a better shot at conviction by going the manslaughter route? You know, historically, we've seen

prosecutors charge a lesser included. It turns out that if you don't have the facts, circumstances, the mens rea, for example, to actually prove out the lower charge, then you stand a greater chance of an acquittal in that case. And so instead of building in a defense for these officers, we've seen prosecutors aggressively go after murder charges. We saw that in the case of Amber Geiger and Botham Jean recently. We saw that in the case of Amber Geiger and Botham Jha recently.

We saw that in the case of Jordan Edwards and Roy Oliver. And each time, although in the case of Botham Jha, you will recall, the investigators recommended a manslaughter charge, but the prosecutor saw that the facts were more consistent with the murder charge, went after the higher-level charge, and was able to get a historic conviction. In this case here, first of all, these two officers are no longer on the force, correct? That's correct. They were terminated shortly after the December shooting. So clearly, that is important when it comes to, when this

case goes to trial, the fact that the police department felt that their actions were not justified. Yeah. Although the standard, the employment standard is not the criminal standard, it certainly is an indication that there was no justification in the shooting if they were terminated after the fact. Questions from my panel. First off, Michael Brown. Hey, how are you, man?

Keep, as usual, keep up the good work. You're always on the front lines. Thank you, Brother Brown. Hey, how are you, man? Keep, as usual, keep up the good work. You're always on the front lines. With the, outside of the criminal part, any chance of any kind of civil action, because we've been talking about on the show earlier, is until we have, until these officers face some consequences, we just don't know if, indeed, conduct will change. So whether you hit them in the pocketbook, whether because of, you know, on the criminal side, if it's related to their pensions or there's qualified immunity, or you sue the city or the police department. So are you guys considering that as well?

Yeah, we're certainly looking into a federal, federal Rome for Death suit and a civil rights suit. I'm really particularly glad you asked that question in this case and put it in that context because the officer who fired the initial shots and fired 11 of the 15 shots fired into Quandre Sanders was suspected of excessive force and guilty of shooting another unarmed black man just last year, one that was the subject of protests. And we often see that, that an officer who was found to use deadly force wrongfully in a big, high-profile case, you scratch the surface just a little bit and you'll find repeated instances of excessive use of force. That's something that has to be dealt with in the civil suit.

So that's why we're bringing our Monell claim and our federal claim. But also as we push for policy out of D.C. that would help reduce the amount of shootings, we're asking for better tracking methods for officers and decertification methods for officers who have been guilty of the misuse of force in the past. Well, good luck. Thank you. I'm a Congo. Yes, Mr. Merritt, I am just I have so much respect for what you do. I mean, you've been such a true warrior for us and our community.

The question I have for you is kind of a two-part question. Number one, why has it taken five to six months for this video to be released for the family to even see? And how is this family and so many other families you deal with dealing with the re-traumatization of having something like this broadcast to the entire country and really the world? Yeah. So Oklahoma, as you know, we live in the deadliest police culture in the modern world. So no other developed nation kills or incarcerates so many of its citizens. And Oklahoma is right up there with California, Texas, and Louisiana as one of the most difficult places to hold police officers accountable. And in one of the locations where officers are often acquitted, the investigation begins with

law enforcement officers independently determining whether or not use of force was lawful. They make that determination and they make a recommendation of prosecution to the prosecutor. Now, in Dallas County, where I work, in some of the more progressive places like Minnesota, where we saw the convictions for the murder of George Floyd, the reverse is true. Prosecutors lead the investigation from the beginning. And we often see more accountability in those cases because when law enforcement investigates their own shootings, they often, you know, will justify themselves, although this shooting was just very difficult even for officers to justify. Jeff. Yes, Attorney Merritt, thanks again, man, for everything you're putting in the world. Again, you're on the front line, man, and we talk about where people go. A lot of times as a spiritual leader, somebody sees me in a bar somewhere in the middle of

the night. They say, what are you doing here? I say, I go where I'm needed. So you are absolutely needed in Oklahoma, and you're there. What does the timeline for justice look like? Because a lot of people, we can get impatient when we say, why didn't this happen the next day? What does the journey to justice look like in this case? Are we talking months? Are we talking years? Well, again, we can only go by way of example.

Now, more recently, we saw the Ahmaud Arbery case go to trial and get convictions within a year, a year and a half of Ahmaud's murder. We saw the same being true in George Floyd, because some of the high-profile nature of these trials have accelerated the process, frankly. But in the case of, let's say, a Tatiana Jefferson who was killed nearly three years ago in Fort Worth playing video games with her nephew, you'll recall, we just showed up to court for that last week, and we got another delay until sometime this summer in June. In three, four-year trials later down the line with officers free on bail until then is the pattern that is normal in places like Oklahoma and Texas. Look, it is certainly a sad story.

Having to watch that video was shocking, stunning, but hopefully we will see a conviction in this case. Lee Barrett, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you so much. I'll certainly pass that on to the family. The other question asked was how they were doing, and yeah, this has destroyed them that it's going and circulating through the media

again. They need it because they want the attention on the case, but it has been a difficult time for them. So we are soliciting your prayers and support. All right. Thank you so very much. Folks, an anonymous donor pays off the ballot. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time. Have you ever had to shoot your gun?

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

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

Sorry. Watch this. Bless you. You are debt free. You do not owe the college a penny. If you have a balance, you had a balance. You no longer have a balance. I want to give you. a balance. You no longer have a balance.

So again, what the president there announced, and many folks are doing this, you see where if they owe the university a balance, and so a lot of students, they owe fees, parking tickets, if they owe certain fees. And so that's what AA Donor did. And so, of course, you had about $300,000, if you will, in terms of the balance. And so, first of all, the estimated balance, it was 100-plus students, so the balance they owed to the university was about $300,000. So the anonymous donor took care of that.

So we certainly, congratulations goes out to those students. And in fact, I think Nicole Hannah-Jones had tweeted that she never got her University of North Carolina degree because she had a balance she owed to the university. Well, she recently got that in the mail. All right, folks, got to go to break. We come back, Fit, Live, Win, and also our Black and Missing segment. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered,

the Black Star Network. When I first moved to L.A., me and Joe lived together, right? And that was a big blessing because I didn't have to worry about paying rent. I was struggling, doing my thing, and that was a big, big help. And then I think when I moved out, I think that's when I saw the division, because I think

Joe felt like I didn't need him anymore. I'm a grown-ass man. Two grown-ass men. But actually, that's what, that is true. You don't need me anymore. When you grow up, first of all, when you grow up, it's like, hey, you helped, and this time you get your ass

out of the house and go do your own thing. Right. He didn't want me to move out. But I'm like, you know what? At the time when I moved out. I mean, what? Were you paying a light bill? I wasn't paying anything.

And I said, you know what? I need this responsibility. It's going to make me work harder in my career if I know I got rent to pay. I got bills to pay. I was paying a cell phone bill. That was it. But Joe was treating me like a little butler.

So I'm telling you, I was like Benson. Now I'm telling you, man. Please fetch me some water. He was using Jedi mind tricks. Yo man, you still make them good grilled cheese sandwiches you made when you were little? No you don't. Next thing you know, I'm at the stove.

Flip it, and then it dawned on me. Trick me again, Got me again. This is Judge Mathis. Hi, I'm Teresa Griffin. Hi, my name is Latoya Luckett, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks. Pinto Dos Santos has been missing from Spring, Texas, since April 29th. A 16-year-old is 5 feet tall, weighs 112 pounds, with brown hair, brown eyes. Anyone with information regarding Belcia Pinto Dos Santos. Again, Belcia Pinto Dos Santos should call the Harris County Sheriff's Office,

713-221-6000, 713-221-6000. Patrice Cullors, one of the Black Lives Matter co-founders, admits to throwing two parties at the organization's $6 million Los Angeles mansion. Cullors says she never used the property for personal gain when the news came out about the multi-million dollar home. But in an interview with the Associated Press, she said that she hosted her son's birthday party and an event celebrating President Joe Biden's inauguration.

We've reached out to Cullors to get her on the show. We're waiting to hear from her. Now, of course, many folks have been going after her, critical of her as well. In fact, here's a snippet, if you will, I'm going to play in a second, of the interview that she did with the Associated Press, talking about the criticism that she and others have endured as a result of their finances. To pay for your home or the homes of your family members or any other funds that were

donated to Black Lives Matter to essentially enrich yourself. No, I have never used Black Lives Matter donations to pay for any of the properties that I own in the past or own right now. You know, the idea that Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation received millions of dollars and then I hid those dollars in my bank account is absolutely false. Is there any truth to the reports that your family has been hired to work at the property that was purchased by Black Lives Matter? While my brother is the head of security and my mom and sister did work at the property,

there are also dozens of other people who work in the organization that are black folks and are doing amazing work. It's not like I literally, you know, opened up the bank accounts and was like, I'm bringing all my family and friends in. Folks had skill sets. It's been a really bizarre experience to know the truth

and to have false and misinformation be spread about me, especially around my own personal resources that I've worked my ass off to attain. So let me bring my panel in here. Um, this is, so it's a couple of things here. And this is the quandary that I believe activists today need to look at the past as a way of understanding criticism. Anyone who has read books and seen documentaries regarding Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. knows that his wife, Coretta Scott King, wanted a new home. She said, Martin, we've got four children. We are expanding.

We need a new home. He was reluctant to do that because he said, what will it look like to our critics if I get a new home. When he won the Nobel Peace Prize, he accepted it on behalf of the movement and opted to give the money to the movement. Again, Coretta Scott King was not happy because she was the one who was having to deal with the finances of the family. Dr. King was very cognizant of the perception of what it would look like if people say that the book deals that she has gotten, the

production deals, all of those things have been a result of the movement. And so using those millions to then acquire property feeds those critics over the weekend. She posted a video on Instagram page where she said that Candace Owens and a crew she had with her was standing outside of her home wanting to ask her questions about this. This is a perfect example, Jeff, where leadership has to understand that your critics are always going to come after you by looking for the money. And I understand Patrice now doing an interview

with Associated Press to clarify this, but I warned other activists about this type of stuff years ago, that this is how they come after you. They look at what you're

driving, they're looking at what you're wearing, they look at where you're living, and then they can say, oh, you're grifters, you're driving, they're looking at what you're wearing, they look at where you're living, and then they can say, oh, you're grifters, you're thieves, you're stealing money, then it's hard to shake that. And so you can't, you can't have a video of you and two of the leaders at the house toasting champagne and talking about your work or using the home for personal use. That is how they're all the there's always an effort to discredit the movement by discrediting discrediting its leaders. Yes, absolutely. Roland. And I think, you know, a couple of things emerge here. I personally could never personally criticize Sister Colors or any of the

movement leaders. I don't know them personally. You know them personally. What I can speak to is actions. And what I can speak to is a process as a longtime leader of a nonprofit, of a person who, I'm a person who also consults with nonprofits and young people who want to start nonprofits and foundation and do work. When you study history, you can see that there's something called, first and foremost, movement capture. This is what Dr. King was really concerned about. He knew that as soon as you start making significant strides to freedom, corporate America, the establishment, they tend to throw money at you. There's nothing inherently wrong with that because money moves America. But what I've come to know personally is that

transparency is important. So several years ago, I launched an effort to build tiny homes. We wanted to build tiny homes. We did a GoFundMe report page for that. I stayed in a tiny home for 45 days to crowdfund this money. We raised $60,000. We promised that within 30 days, we would build the tiny homes. And within 10 days, we delivered the building that I'm in now, the Infinity Center. We raised over $100,000 for it. We purchased the building in less than six months and spent two years renovating it. I say that not to toot my horn, but I do say that so that younger people out there and new people to fundraising understand one thing. You have to ask the question that a person who is a donor is asking, what am I giving my money for?

If you are giving your money to an organization that is supposed to be fighting for liberation, then yes, it is going to be disconcerting and angering, at the very least, to see them inside a mansion toasting with champagne. If you gave your money to help support a movement, then you have to explain why chapters, including the local chapter here in Nashville of Black Lives Matter, no longer want to associate with the national organization because they cannot get hold of the financial resources. We're talking about over $90 billion. Optics are terrible. We also have to make sure that we reinforce the message that we have reinforced on this show, that you have reinforced as well. You must have your finances in order. Whether you're Morris Brown or Black Lives Matter,

NAACP, Urban League, that is the first place they are coming. People do not mind if you are successful. Many of us looking back in the past, I say I wish King would have taken the money and spent it on his family, his family sacrificed. Because years later, 40, 50 years later, we say what? Oh, they're digging gold because they are licensing his image and likeness. You have a family who lost their patriarch, who was assassinated, and now you have a single mother raising four kids. She was right to want and to expect a new home.

But I think there is a gray space in the middle that we have to launch ourselves into to let people understand that, yes, this is a double-edged sword. You got fame because of a movement, and yes, you turned that fame into personal gain, but you have to keep that separate, you have to keep it transparent, and you cannot be angry when people ask you to come and now, to just sit down and have a conversation. And sometimes you have to say, you know what, my judgment may have been off, but we've gotten it in order. We've not even heard that yet emerge from this situation. Well, and look, Omicongo, one of the big issues that I have, again, is that Patrice Cullors is the one who keeps doing the talking. She's no longer with BLM.

The existing leadership of the Black Lives Matter Foundation, they have not done interviews. They have not been out here. They have not been offering transparency. I've been communicating with them saying, when are y'all going to talk? And I get they're going through their 990s and preparing those, but you're going to have to come clean because staying quiet ain't good enough.

Look, in this day and age, I mean, we talked about Dr. King back in the day and his scrutiny. But in this day and age, every day you're silent. It's like 90 days goes by, quite honestly, because with social media and the way people are trying to destroy these organizations, you cannot be silent. Silence is your enemy right now. And one of the challenges that's going on with the Black Lives Matter organization is that they're also preventing future people from wanting to get involved in the movement. I was teaching one of my classes up at American, and I had a student from Brazil who was interested in Black Lives Matter but was a little skeptical. And this was just two weeks ago, Roland, and said, wait, didn't they just buy that $6 million house? They didn't know much about the organization, but she saw it on some conservative news story because she leans conservative and ran off it.

And then I had another student in my other class doing that as well. My point is that the more they stay silent, they are allowing too many other people to control the narrative about them. And so when the current leadership comes out, it's going to be too late. And like Reverend Carr was saying, with Patrice and any others who are involved in the organization, come clean about any mistakes that were made. Just own it. And people, we've seen this all over the place. People are willing to be forgiven if you can just come clean if you feel like you made a mistake. Because what people are doing right now, just as people critique what we call prosperity gospel, people are trying to turn Black Lives Matter activists into prosperity activists. And they are not that.

And we believe that you can make mistakes and come out and speak up for it, but if you don't do it now, by the time you get up, they say a lie can travel around the world while the truth is still getting the shoelaces on. So I appreciate the sister for doing that interview. We need more of that. And we need some real just confessions

if there were some things that could have been done better in hindsight. That's how people will roll with you. Michael. Yeah, it's hard for me to add anything that my co-panelists just mentioned. It's, you know, one of the things that I think we all know, or at least we should know, is kind of 101 is the rules are different for us. And even I'm sure that there's some critics or folks on the right who'll say, well, here's what happened to a white organization.

That may or may not be true when you find a few. But for us, the rules are always different. And until they, I think, have kind of an independent audit, also, as again has been previously mentioned, take some responsibility and then move on. Because you're dealing with a couple of, certainly, challenges. One is this one. And the other is that the right is trying to define BLM as not protested, that they're looters or rioters. So, you know, when you put all that in context, everything has to be on the up and up. So I think they should have an independent audit and then take responsibility for what they need to take responsibility for.

If that means there needs to be a change in leadership or a change in policy, whatever it is. They have to do that. Then when that independent audit is done, they present it to the world and say, here's what this independent auditor found. Here's where there are some mistakes. Here's where we did well. And I think that's the only way to really move on because right, everything's on the defensive and excuses, and so it's going to be difficult. Time for Fit, Live, Win. Well, two sister physicians are on a mission to break barriers

between patients and doctors during medical visits. Doctors Shmoli Wyckoff and Elita Wyckoff-Jones authored a book with ease, Navigating the Medical Office Visit to Help Patients Become Active Participants in Their Medical Care. Dr. Smalley joins us from Atlanta. Dr. Alita joins us from Raleigh, North Carolina. Glad to have both of you here. So when you talk about navigating the visit, what does it really mean? Okay. Say that again.

I would just say that it's how we can best serve our patients and kind of get the most out of that office visit. So when you go in to see that provider, you can maximize the information you give to them or maximize how much as a patient you can receive. So you're looking to yourself, you're empowering yourself to get the most from that provider, get the most from that doctor, to get all the information as much as you can in the few minutes you have with the doctor. So when you talk about that, I mean, do you find that people come in and try to put the best face on the situation when it's like, look, you're at the damn doctor's office, so you need to tell the doctor everything that's going on

and not try to sit here in shade because you're going to get found out. Well, yes, it's helpful to just be honest with your provider, your physician. A lot of times we get calls from our family or friends asking us about the medications or they're faced with a decision regarding their health care and they don't feel comfortable talking about it with their doctor or they don't know if that's appropriate to say to the doctor and so we want to bridge that gap so that you know not feel intimidated and know what what questions to ask so they can go in there and be confident and honest and get the best outcome.

So, I mean, look, so like, you know, one of the things for me is I'm a hit doc with a whole bunch of dead questions. Okay. What's that? What's that for? How long? What's the deal with that? That's the only option. Oh yeah. No, they going to get interviewed when I walk in there because, again, I want as much information as possible. And that's the way it should be. You should be familiar with your provider. Know what kind of provider they are. Are they a doctor? Are they a nurse practitioner, physician assistant? What information can you get from them?

Are you there for a diagnosis? Are you there to review medications? But you also have to keep in mind your time with that provider is limited, so you have to make the most of that time. Yeah, I think you're absolutely right. One of the things that, again, when I'm there, I'll actually make them check my blood pressure two or three times. Because I get it regularly checked.

If it's high, I'm like, no, no, no, check that again. And then, of course, you have the machines. Then you have actually the manual. I'll literally say, no, no, no, y'all going to do it again. That's right. And you seem like you're very self-aware and you're familiar with the manual. I'll literally say, no, no, no. Y'all going to do it again. That's right. And you seem like you're very self-aware and you're familiar with the health. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time. Have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer

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

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes one, two, and three on May 21st and episodes four, five, and six on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. ...health care system. There's those that English is not their first language or those that are self-employed and they might not be in the health system very much. So they might not know to do those things or ask those things or the elderly. So it's important to do those things and to make sure you understand why they're doing things, why they're recommending things. And if you don't understand, being comfortable to ask them that. And if you still don't understand, get them to

write it down until you can take it home and to look things up. Indeed. All right. Questions from our panelists. Let's see. Well, I guess I'll go ahead and start, Michael. Ladies, thank you for your very, very good and important work. And I wonder if you've discovered that patients don't understand about the HIPAA laws, that everything they talk about, in particular with their doctor or medical professional, is all protected. And they do have a level of privacy. And if they don't know that, could that be one of the reasons why they're scared to ask questions or scared to tell them what's bothering them or ailing them?

Are you discovering that, or is it something much simpler or certainly more complicated? Typically, it's a little bit simpler than that. They just don't trust their provider, whether that's, again, a physician, and maybe they're just not comfortable with divulging that information because it's a very sensitive topic, whether that has to do with a physical ailment or body part that they're not comfortable speaking about. For them, it may just be trust, not necessarily that the doctor will go and tell anyone, but they may not understand or have never been in that type of situation. I guess what Roland was talking about. Oh, I'm sorry. Go right ahead. I apologize.

Oh, no. I was saying that sometimes there is some intimidation as far as patients have divulged that they don't want to seem, ask any stupid questions or come across just ignorant to their health. So they don't mention things at all. Thank you. Okongo. I think that this book and this project to just get more people to understand the medical visit process is just really amazing. And it's needed for especially for our community. The question that I have is that we all know the stories about how many so many of us who are older in our community have been hesitant about going to the doctor for various reasons. Are you seeing the same thing with your younger patients? Is there a hesitancy,

a lack of trust, or are they coming in more energized, owning the process, getting more engaged? Or is it kind of like a in particular, I'm an OBGYN, so the women I see feel empowered, emboldened to come in, even search out physicians that even may look like them to foster that connection, that comfort level, so they can divulge the physical ailments or concerns that they have. And I'm in musculoskeletal care, and so I find that a younger generation tends to not come as much because they have done a lot of research on their own. They're trying a lot of things on their own that they feel like will be working or a lot

of holistic things. It's a little bit of a shift as far as younger people not coming in as often or until really bad. Before I go to Jeff, I do have to ask y'all,

how do y'all deal with people coming to y'all office with that bullshit they researched? And y'all, let's just go ahead and be honest. Y'all sitting here like, okay, I got to ask these little dumb ass questions because somebody thinks that they are a Twitter doctor. So come on now. Y'all know I ain't lying. I tried to listen to their concerns and their research, and then I follow that up with facts. I encourage them to go to reputable websites that I know are from board-certified physicians just to counteract the lay material that they've come across. That's right. And some of it is a learning process for us as well. So a lot of times when

they're bringing me things, I review them. And then we discuss them. I let them know if there's any evidence-based information out there about it. And if there's not, I inform them of that and let them know that this is more experimental. But as far as standard of care, it would be A, B, and C. But definitely acknowledge that the research they've done and the interest that they have in options, but really letting them know that that's not usually the standard of care a lot of times. So y'all being real nice when people come in with their Twitter research.

Jeff, go ahead. First off, sisters, thank you so much for the work that you're putting in the world, for walking and living in your purpose. And I'm speaking that with ease is going to help cure us from dis-ease going forward because we're going to take agency. As a person who was once diagnosed with an advanced neuromuscular disease, I was self-diagnosed by looking at too much WebMD. And I got to the doctor's office with the diagnosis and gave all the symptoms, and my doctor just giggled and said, just change your pillow. You're going to be fine. There's

nothing wrong with you. So this is a very dangerous space we're in. But I was reading in Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell about the difference between kids who are taught to speak up for themselves in doctor's visits as opposed to kids who were taught to just go in and be quiet and not say anything because the doctor's an authority figure. And so the question that comes up for me to you all is how important is it for us to begin to teach young people, our children even, to take agency with their health and to stand up and begin to ask questions at a young age? I think that's very important. I think it starts from education about their health at home, from the simple lifestyle choices that we make every day,

and having them learn how to be self-aware of their body and when changes occur, knowing what's normal, what's not. And then with that being, getting confidence and being able to go to professionals when those things occur. So I think it's a process that should start very early in that, especially with the landscape changing visits may be harder to get into. It's important to get started with having a healthy life earlier and earlier. All right, the book is,

show the book please y'all, With Ease, Navigating the Medical Office Visit. You can of course get the book at witheasebook.com and also follow Elita on her Facebook page as well. Folks, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Okay. Thank you, Roland. All right. Y'all have a good one. Thank you so much.

All right, y'all. Real quick here for my panel. So, the U.S. Senate is trying to move very quickly to pass a bill to provide additional safety measures for the families of Supreme Court justices because the folks have been protesting at the homes of the justices. But here's what I find to be interesting here, Michael.

Somebody tweeted this, and I think it's fantastic. They said, why? Supreme Court's own opinion in 1984, Madsen v. Women's Health Care, said protesting outside the homes of abortion providers is protected free speech. This bill violates their own opinion. They're right. Okay, you know, you've got folks out there, Kavanaugh's house. In fact, one of Kavanaugh's neighbors is protesting him. And then you've got folks at John Roberts' house as well. And people are saying, oh, my God, this is shameful.

This is despicable. The White House has released a statement as well. This right here is one of the videos outside of Kavanaugh's house. But, okay, they literally issued that protesting outside the home of abortion provider is protected free speech. Oh, was good for the goose and good for the gander? Yeah, it's too bad. There's always hypocrisy, though, on the right. I don't think many folks, I certainly don't have a problem with security for not just Supreme Court justices, but also our federal judges that are also in harm's way, as we discovered a couple of years ago with that case in New Jersey. But I think the larger issue is you're still, even as a judge, you're a public official.

And if you're a public official, that means people can protest outside of your house, outside of your office, and that's part of being a public official. And so with that, yes, it's too bad, but the court is exactly right. The tweet was exactly right. And I think you just have to deal with it.

The neighbors, sorry. It's hard. But when you live next door to a high-profile public official, this kind of stuff can happen. You know, there are people on Macongo who are saying that this is not right. This is not just. In fact, as we speak, go to the video, see this on Twitter, there are protesters who are headed to the house of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.

And so, Omicongo, there are people out there who are saying that this is wrong. You should not be protesting at their homes. They're only doing their job. But the Supreme Court also ruled that there was no buffer zone around abortion clinics. Yet when that draft was leaked, first thing they did was put up fences around the Supreme Court. I mean, so again, how in the world can, and look, nobody wants to have their home protested. And you're like, hey, I got my family here. But this notion that the families of the justices are somehow unsafe is simply not the case just because folks are protesting. Right. And mind you, there are eight footfoot-high fences that they're putting up.

And as people are having this conversation online, I'm also thinking of Christine Blasley Ford, who also accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault during his hearings, and people protested at her. She got death threats and all of that. And some of these guys who are saying leave Kavanaugh alone didn't have much to say then. Look, the fact of the matter is, this is an activist Supreme Court. They're actively working to take people's rights away, as opposed to other things like Brown versus Board. Those things are about giving people rights to equality. This is an activist court, and they are getting the response that they deserve,

because this is why they were put there. They were put there to start with abortion and start taking our rights away. And people are fed up and they're pissed off. Now, we can have that conversation about we should have been pissed off a lot earlier and not let them get there. But the fact of the matter is, when you take Clarence Thomas and his wife

and what they're doing in terms of how he won't recuse himself, they are showing that they can snub their nose in front of all of us, in front of all of the people of America, and the people of America are fighting back. And so this just is what it is, and the hypocrisy is glaring. And I say we got to keep challenging and protesting.

This is video yesterday outside of Chief Justice John Roberts' house, Jeff. And, again, you've got lots of hand-wringing here in D.C., and I'm sure there are people who will say, well, Roland, I can't believe you're saying that, because if they were protesting outside of the liberal justices, guess what? If that's allowed, if that is actually protected free speech, that's what it is. So this is the result of what happens when you are in public office. This is it.

When you choose to be in public office, and yes, a Supreme Court justice with a lifetime appointment is paid by the taxpayer. You are a public official. You're a public official. You're also our employee. You work for us. Those of us who go out in the world and make our way and pay our taxes and take care of business, they are public officials and they are public employees. Everything that they get from their benefits to their salaries comes directly from our tax dollars. So it's not as if they have a sponsor that they have to answer to. They have to answer to us. When you ask me what I think when I see it,

I think it's absolutely awesome. And it has nothing to do with endangering the safety of a family. It comes from a background of understanding that if you talk to a watchmaker, if you talk to an engineer, if you talk to a builder, there is always some tiny point in a mechanism where you can apply the smallest amount of pressure and stop the entire mechanism. When we're feeling powerless, when people are feeling hopeless, when they feel as if there's no way that they can block what the right has put in place, what we've seen over the last several months is people trying to experiment with the machine to find that sweet spot that will bring the machine to a halt.

And that's what we're seeing with democracy. When I see it, I'm taking back to my college days. I went to a public institution, Tennessee State University. We paid tuition. When the showers weren't working or when the hot water didn't work, we got all the brothers from the dormitory, we put on our shower robes, and we walked down to the president's office and lined up in front of it and knocked on the door because we knew the president's office or the president's residence had hot water. So we knocked on the door and we waited because they were our employee and we said, when you give us hot water, we'll stop coming down here. Miraculously, the next day, the water was always fixed. This is the case now. People have been oppressed,

they've been suppressed. The justices work for the people and now the people are starting to figure it out. Go stand across the street. Don't violate the property, but make them so uncomfortable that they realize that this is just the beginning of a wave because when people are pressed and they are pressed down and they are held down, they will always find a way to find the sweet spot that will bring the machine to the hall. And isn't it interesting that the United States Senate has unanimously passed by a bill to provide additional security for Supreme Court justices and their families. The bill now goes to the House, yet that same Senate could not pass the George Floyd Justice Act to protect black families and others from police abuse. It's amazing how fast Congress can move when it wants to.

It's amazing how fast they can move. Michael, Makongo, and Jeff, I certainly appreciate all three of you being with us on today's panel. Thank you so very much. I want to thank all of you as well, folks. We had a great time at the Formula One Grand Prix, Miami Grand Prix race over the weekend. We'll have some photos as well.

We'll be talking to Willie T. Ribbs, who F1 has hired for diversity, who was our host down there. We're going to have him on the show in the next couple of days. So look forward to that. Don't forget, Thursday, we're also going to be broadcasting live from Kansas City, Missouri. Kansas City, Missouri. If you have the graphic, please pull it up. I'm going to be there on behalf of the Kansas City Urban League. You might remember we had them on the show talking about the police brutality that was happening there in Kansas City and also how the treatment of black police officers. And so I said, look, we'll be happy to come there to do a town hall. That's what we're actually going to be doing.

So we're looking forward to that. YouTube, y'all should be hitting us by 1,000 likes by now. It don't make any sense. We have not hit 1,000. So y'all got about 60 seconds to get us to 1,000 likes so we can get out of here. And so, again, y'all, this is, again, so here's the graphic. Pull it up, please. I'm going to be in Kansas City on Thursday, Thursday, May 12th at the Robert J. Mohart Center, 3200 Wayne Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri.

Again, 5 p.m. Central, 6 p.m. Eastern, where we are going to be talking about the racism in the Kansas City Police Department and how it is impacting African Americans. And so this week we'll be in Kansas City. Next week I will be holding a town hall in Cedar Hill, Texas with Jasmine Crockett, who is running for Congress. We'll be in Cedar Hill next week, May 18th. But May 12th, this Thursday, we will be in Kansas City. And so looking forward to being there, talking about what is happening with black police officers on that particular force. And so that's why, folks, you understand what we do. We

don't just sit here and sit behind the desk, hide our face, talking trash about other people. We don't just stay here. We actually go out. We're in the community. So I get a kick out of these people who call themselves grassroots. But it's amazing how you see people say they say they're grassroots, but you ain't never seen them walk on other grass. And you've never seen them plant anything else.

They never go anywhere else. You never see them in the community. You never see them actually covering stories. You never see them going outside of their own bubble. Well, we actually do that. And so, look forward to being in Kansas City. Folks, that's it. I will see y'all tomorrow right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on Black Star Network. Don't forget, download the app please if you have not done so.

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Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. Alright, folks, that's it. I will see y'all tomorrow right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Y'all take care. This is an iHeart Podcast.