#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Black FedEX Driver's Justice, Black Ala. Community's Environmental Fight, AG Kristen Clarke Honored

Episode Date: January 14, 2025

1.13.2025 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Black FedEX Driver's Justice, Black Ala. Community's Environmental Fight, AG Kristen Clarke Honored A Mississippi detective's intentional discovery violations have a former black FedEx driver still searching for justice as a judge dismissed all charges against a white father and son accused of shooting at the driver three years ago.  D'Monterrio Gibson is there to talk about what it feels like to see the men who tried to kill him not face any consequences.   Black residents in southeastern Alabama say a highway project caused flooding and damaged their homes, but the government isn't doing anything to fix the problem. I'll have Dr. Robert Bullard, the father of environmental justice and a community activist, in the studio to explain what's happening in the Shiloh community.  A Chicago judge's joke got her reassigned. The joke involved a picture of a Black child and a foot outfitted with "My First Ankle Monitor."  You won't believe her excuse.  The death toll in California is at 24 more than a dozen others remain unaccounted for as multiple wildfires, fueled by severe drought conditions and strong winds, burn across the Los Angeles area. The DOJ Civil Rights Division commemorates the legacy of MLK and honors Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke. #BlackStarNetwork partner: Fanbasehttps://www.startengine.com/offering/fanbase This Reg A+ offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.  This investment is speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment. You should read the Offering Circular (https://bit.ly/3VDPKjD) and Risks (https://bit.ly/3ZQzHl0) related to this offering before investing. Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox  http://www.blackstarnetwork.com The #BlackStarNetwork is a 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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Support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. I thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roller. I love y'all. All momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media

and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scary. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? Hey folks, today is Monday, January 13th, 2025. coming up on Roland Martin on Focus, streaming live on the Black Star Network. I am in the Department of Justice, where they just had their MLK program.

Also honoring Kristen Clark, who led the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ. We'll hear from her about the great things that they accomplished over the last four years as they leave office next week. Shocking details out of Mississippi where a detective's intentional discovery violations has led to a judge throwing out the case of two white men shot at a Black FedEx driver in Mississippi. We will talk to that brother about who was shot at three years ago. A stunning, stunning lack of justice coming

out of Mississippi. Also on today's show, Black residents in southeastern Alabama say a highway project caused flooding and damaged their homes. But the federal government isn't doing anything to fix the problem. I'll talk to folks there in Alabama who were in D.C. today, meeting with DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg to see if they are going to fix the problem. A Chicago judge's joke has got her reassigned. The joke involved a picture of a black child and his foot outfitted with my first ankle monitor.

You won't believe her excuse. The death toll in California is at 24. More than a dozen others remain missing as a result of the massive wildfires in Los Angeles. We will give you the latest on what's happening in Louisiana regarding this drought. More than 20,000 acres burning. Folks, we'll talk about all of that more. It is time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Martin on Filtered on the Black Star Network.

Let's go. Peace. 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 believe he's knowing Putting it down from sports to news to politics

With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling It's Uncle Gro-Gro-Yo It's rolling Martin Rolling with Roland now. He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best. You know he's Roland Martin. Yeah.

Hey, folks, a stunning story out of Mississippi where a judge has dismissed the case with shooting into the vehicle driven by DeMontario Gibson, a FedEx driver who was simply trying to do his job. Gibson, who was wearing his FedEx uniform and driving in an unmarked van at the time of the shooting, was not injured. Now, here's what happened. In August of 2023, Judge David Strong declared a mistrial after the lead detective in the case withheld evidence. That detective, Vincent Brando, was fired after the charges were dismissed last week. The defense attorneys argued that the case and charges should be dismissed, stating that the father and son had been deprived of a speedy trial and denied due process. That FedEx driver, DeMontario Gibson, joins us now from Richland, Mississippi. Glad to have you here on the show. Unfortunately, I hate the fact that you're not getting the justice necessary. So just talk about how stunned you are that this investigator did this, resulting in this case being thrown out, and now you can't seek justice in the criminal

courtroom. To be honest with you, I honestly think he did do some things wrong but i think um it was it was really just deliberately sabotaged from the very beginning a lot of people don't know that this guy wasn't even originally over the case the person who was originally over the case was actually kin to those guys they had the same last name. His name was Detective Chief Chris Case. And they had other relatives inside the police department. And from the very night that I called, it was set up for failure. It was doomed to fail. So you believe that law enforcement there in Mississippi was not interested in justice for you, that they were focused on

protecting these two white men in Mississippi? Mr. Rowland, we had to protest. First of all, it took them eight days to arrest them. They didn't even arrest them. They turned themselves in. The police said that the police chief, Kenneth Collins, said that he was scared to arrest the shooters. So they took eight days. They turned themselves in.

They were released in the same day. After that, they were trying to charge them with, like, some small charges. And we had to protest for nine months. We had to protest for nine months straight in order for them to up those charges and indict them. And even then, they still was hesitant about, like, you know, pursuing the charges and things of that nature. And, um, I can, I forget the second part of your question. Um, so, uh, I mean, obviously what I'm saying is, so you have a criminal, you have a criminal case here. Uh, so the question, what is next? Uh,

you have, you can go a civil route. You can also petition, even though of course, uh, you know, the, course, the Trump folks are taking over in a week. You could also, the Department of Justice could also have a hate crimes investigation because this could be classified as the target of view as a hate crime. Is there any movement on both of those, the civil part as well as a federal hate crimes investigation? I currently do have a civil lawsuit against those guys in court. So I'm trying to see through that. I have to find a new attorney because I recently lost my attorney due to issues that have nothing to do with my case whatsoever. And the Department of Justice is around seeking to go.

I have to file an official complaint through the website, which I'm doing this week. And I have tried to get the DA to petition the dismissal and things of that nature because we have a Mississippi statute. It's Mississippi Statute 99-49-1, Preservation of Evidence, and it also lists the victim's bill of rights and it says that if it if it's proven that the case was intentionally or the evidence was intentionally withheld or manipulated with that the d.a has grounds to um appeal the dismissal now i i emailed him today i'm giving him 48 hours to respond to me to see why won't he follow this statute. But it is proven that it was intentional due to what the judge said in his dismissal. He said that they intentionally withheld evidence and it included the state,

which is the DA's office. So the judge did say they intentionally withheld evidence. Yes, sir. He said that in his dismissal decree. So, you know, do you believe that this district attorney cares about justice for you and is going to

pursue this? To be completely honest with you, absolutely not. The first time that i met him was due to the fact that i had to set up a meeting with him he didn't he never reached out to me uh because at first you know it was a it was a different da on on a case before the mistrial but when we got the new da in he came in he never reached out to me i had to reach out to him when we did me i asked him why have they never reached out to me and they told me some lies about how they tried to and this that and the third but they never really did and honestly

and every time i asked them um like you know like what's going on with my case they were more concerned with where people are posting on social media about them than what uh than me actually for example when i asked them the other day the day, why would they not appeal the case, his assistant, quote, like, these are her words, not mine. This is what she said. And I quote, he sees what your mom posts on social media about him, but this has nothing to do with it, unquote. Those were her words. They care more about, like, I can't even control my mom. She's her own person. But they care more about what people post on social media about them

than actually getting justice for the victim and stuff like that. When I met them, they weren't, it was like I felt like I was meeting an enemy. Like, they were treating me like the adversary, and I had to be the one to say, okay, you know what? I will get them to stop posting about y'all. You know, if you guys just, like, give me y'all word that y'all going to handle this for me, that y'all going to do the best job y'all can do, which I feel like they did not do that. And I upheld my side of the work, my side of the bargain. It was just unfair from the beginning.

So, I mean, so here's the problem I see here. You're sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place. You are dependent upon you are dependent upon a system that hasn't desired from day one to be on your side. So now all of a sudden you're having to petition that same system. So do you believe that unfortunately y'all are going to have to protest again just to get justice in this case? I believe we will have to protest and things of that nature. Again, I really just wish that they would do their jobs and stuff like that. You know, what people, what people say about

you shouldn't affect what, you know, like how you do your job and stuff like that. What people say about you shouldn't affect how you do your job and things of that nature. I feel like they should have took this serious, just the same they would if I was somebody different or a different skin tone or something like that. I just feel like it was never taken serious, so I don't think they're going to handle it. I feel like it's going to have to be some more going down there

and protesting and showing them that we're not scared and we're not backing down. Um, what happened to your job in this case? Um, the day after the mistrial, they had actually, uh, fired me. The day after the mistrial, you were fired? Yes, sir. What reason was given? Um, they said that they offered me a job and I didn't want to take it.

But what I was telling them was I was having anxiety attacks and all type of things like that. And I wasn't doing good in public. I'm actually on medication and things for that stuff now. And they weren't taking me serious. They told me they had no at-home jobs, which is what I told them I wanted. And when it came about, they just said that I kept declining jobs that they were offering me and stuff like this so that was the reason they gave did you ever hear from FedEx corporate um I can't remember but I did hear from some higher ups at a point in time so where are you working now I'm currently just actually uh not Like, I have my family taking care of me and stuff like that.

I'm trying to, like, focus on healing and stuff like that. But I really just, like, don't have a job currently. Man, it is certainly unfortunate what you have had to endure for the last three years. I mean, yeah, I mean, anyone will have PTSD if they had to deal with what you actually deal with as well. So, dear Monterio, keep us abreast, man, of what happens next and hopefully you can get some justice civilly and hopefully

the Department of Justice, U.S. attorneys down there, we're looking to launch a hate crimes investigation with a targeted shooting of you. Yes, sir. I appreciate you. Thank you, Mr. Moore. We appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Folks, got to go to a break.

We come back more on Roland Martin Unfiltered right here on the Blackstar Network. Hello, I'm Isaac Hayes III, founder and CEO of Fanbase. And right now we're accepting investors in our $17 million round to revolutionize the future of social media. Today, for just $399, you can own 60 shares of stock in Fanbase at $6.65 a share.

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invest for yourself and your future. Go to start engine.com slash fan base and own the future of social media. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith.

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

Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops 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 multibillion-dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission.

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

I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man.

We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding

of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things.

Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad.

That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. Coming soon to the Black Star Network. Well, y'all, when you're on that stage, and you're seeing two and three, four generations in the audience, that's got to speak to you about the power of what y'all have become. Oh, most definitely.

I think we were doing our show before our break. And remember, I was watching this kid. I could not take my eyes off him because he was about nine or so. He was sitting in the front row. Over on the right-hand side. Yes. Yes, yes, yes. I was amazed that this kid knew everything.

I was like tripping to see how many songs this kid actually knew. And he knew them all. We had to go over there and bring him on stage and take a picture with him at the know, at the end of the show and stuff. Because it was just that amazing. It was like, this is crazy.

You know, the music travels everywhere. You know, like what Phillip was saying, seeing his young kid. Then you see, hear our songs on commercials, cold commercials. Then you have the younger ones that seen or hear our music and animation. Now that Roland Martin is willing to give me the blueprint. Hey, Saras, I need to go to Tyler Perry and get another blueprint because I need some green money. The only way I can do what I'm doing, I need to make some money. So you'll see me working with Roland.

Matter of fact, it's the Roland Martin and Sheryl Underwood Show. Well, should it be the Sheryl Underwood Show and the Roland Martin Show? Well, whatever show it's going to be, it's going to be good. All right, folks. I just want to bring in my panel right now. I'm a Congo Dabinga senior professor, your lecture, School of International Service at American University. He is also also the author of Lies About Black People, How to Combat Racist Stereotypes and Why It Matters. OK. All right. Y'all, what a book. Show the book. OK. combat racist stereotypes and why it matters. OK. All right. Y'all read a book. Show the book. OK. All right. Y'all supposed to show the book cover. Now we supposed to show it on our end. Teresa Lundy, she's a podcast host of the Business Corner out of Philadelphia.

Derek Jackson, state representative, Georgia District 68 out of Atlanta. Glad to have all three of you here. Derek, I'm going to start with you. It's so crazy here. I mean, here you have, I mean, we're talking Mississippi. And the reality is Mississippi is still Jim Crow Mississippi. That's what Mississippi is. To have a cop deliberately withhold information, knowing full well that could tank the case,

to have a DA not interested in really seeking justice. I mean, this speaks volumes about Mississippi in 2024 and now 2025. Well, hell, this case is three years old. I just want to say, Roland, this thing started in 2022. But it's also another example that we have a two tier in justice system, depending on who you are, what money can you afford, what judges can be purchased. I'm not saying that's the case here, but in the end, you got a two tier system. Clearly, Mr. Gibson deserves justice. And as you've already highlighted, which is the point I was going to make, I don't see any daylight in him getting this justice, given the fact that you're going to

have the next administration that's going to be taking office here in another seven days, where they're not going to have a Department of Justice that's going to come in Mississippi and make sure that Mr. Gibson gets the justice that he deserves. You also got to look at, Roland, not just the impact from a PTSD standpoint, but this is another classic example that across these 50 states, individuals that look like you and I can clearly see that we have a justice system that allows for a convicted felon to assume the office of the Oval Office. But yet a citizen like Mr. Gibson gets no justice.

Teresa. Yeah, I totally agree with our state representative. I mean, it has been an ongoing thing that we have been seeing time and time again. It's unfortunate that this young man has been going through this for the past three years. I'm not sure if it gets better with the Trump administration. But like he said, the young man that went through this, he said that him and his team had to organize, had to advocate in order to actually see some real results. So that, again, is one of the key components in making sure that we do get justice served. But, you know, I think we just got to keep amplifying our voices in support of this effort. I mean, this is our reality, Omicongo. And to sit here and have the folk who are supposed to

be caring servants of the people, who are supposed to be executing justice, sounds like the people who were in Georgia when they came to Mont Arbery, who were on the side of the shooters. Yeah, absolutely. And this absolutely reminds me of Ahmaud Arbery. And we see cases like this across the country. And shame on FedEx. I feel like they should have stepped up to help this brother in bigger ways and support his family as well. So that's also problematic. I think it's also important for us to, and none of us are doing this here, but it's also important that as we highlight the fact that Trump is coming in and his administration, that can make us in this country

be less inclined to pursue justice. Because I know a lot of people are going to say, well, they're here now, so we might as well forget. We need to continue like this brother is doing. We need to continue to document these situations and these stories. You know, there's going to be more instances of police harassment and the like, and people are going to feel like, well, it's just going to go up to the Justice Department and nothing's ever going to happen. We can't cave in. And I commend this brother for not giving up and trying to find different cases, even though he feels completely despondent about what the results may be. If we stay silent when these situations happen, then they're going to have free reign. And these types of cases and these filings are a reminder that we're not going anywhere. And also the fact that you put this out there for

the world to see, maybe people can help him get better legal services. Maybe people can help him with the financial resources that he and his family needs as well. This is a time for all of us to come together. And we can't be intimidated. None of us here are. But we in this country can't be intimidated because there's going to be more cases like this and more people who think, well, Trump's here. So we have no choice and option in going forward. We can't give up and we can't quit the fight. And so we stand with this brother and any other anyone else, because we know they're going to be more stories like this. Oh, absolutely. We are still constituents. And so we have to demand a level of justice, even if other folk want to ignore it as best that they can.

Folks, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a new request to put independent federal agencies under direct presidential control. The high court, without comment, refused to hear an appeal from LeachCo, Inc., an Oklahoma-based company seeking to stop a complaint by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The CPSC claims that LeachCo's infant loungers are a safety hazard. LeachCo maintained the complaint was fundamentally flawed because the CPSC's commissioners have job protections that insulate them from political accountability. The company argued in its appeal that the Constitution gives the president broad power to fire the heads of executive branch agencies. Leachco urged the Supreme Court to reconsider a 90-year-old ruling that paved the way for the independent agencies. The 1935 ruling, Humphreys Executor v. United States, upheld job protections enjoyed by Federal Trade Commission commissioners,

overturning that ruling has become a top priority for anti-regulatory groups and the GOP. The conservative-dominated Supreme Court, which has slashed regulatory power in other contexts, rejected a similar appeal in October. You know, we can expect to try to see more of this on the Congo over the next four years. Republicans want to completely dismantle regulatory agencies. You got right now, and this is one of the reasons why Jeff Bezos or the Washington Post did not issue an endorsement in the Harris-Trump presidential race, why Elon Musk spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars, because they want to get rid of the National

Labor Relations Board. They want to get rid of, in many of these places, all these agencies. You've got tech CEOs. The Washington Post has a story. Mark Anderson and others are literally interviewing people for intelligence jobs. What you have right now is you have billionaires, major company owners, CEOs. They cannot stand when you have protections from the federal government. They want to be able to do whatever the hell they want when they want. And this is a reason why we have to stay mindful. So many people are just not aware of what organizations like this do or like the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau as well. A lot of people across the country have been getting checks from them from a lawsuit against

Lexington Law, you know, a credit agency. And the people didn't even realize this company was supposed to help with credit, but they were playing people. And people, including myself, did it years ago, opening the mail and seeing these checks for like $1,700, $5,000, $10,000. These are from independent agencies that are designed to help protect consumers. And so again, this is another classic example of how mindful people need to be about what government is supposed to do. And at every level, like I'm saying, Trump wants to implement his Project 2025 plan. And the goal of Project 2025, as he lied about, is to make the American government MAGA. And this is the latest example of that. And so a lot of us who aren't

engaged in politics, who aren't voting, we think that the things that we are doing on a daily basis, they're just happening on our own. The fact that we're able to have paved roads, or we're able to have consumer protections, or we're able to file a Better Business Bureau complaint or something like that. This all came from activism. This all came from fighting for people to make sure that Americans had certain protections under the law. And unfortunately, as the song says, Janet, some of us won't know what we had until it's gone.

And if we don't start to speak up now about situations like this, it's going to be too late. And this kind of ties into the first story, in terms of we can't just throw our hands up and be like, oh, well, Trump's coming in. We're just going to lose all our protections. Examples like this are reasons that we need to keep fighting and we need to keep raising awareness about these independent agencies because we're going to need them now more than ever. Oh, absolutely. I mean, in the case of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Republicans have been trying to get rid of that since it was actually created. And the most laughable thing, Teresa, is to hear them say, oh, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has hurt regular and ordinary people, even though it's returned upwards of 15 to 20 billion dollars to regular ordinary people yeah so we have to really define what ordinary people is and i think they've already defined

that ordinary people is the ones that are going to mar-a-lago that are billionaires but it's not for the everyday working family people who is like, my brother said, you know, I'm not getting those $5,000 checks, but I am getting $20 checks from those credit card agencies that have done me wrong or who did not live up to their full proposal of what was supposed to be given to each consumer when they do sign up for a product or service. So we definitely do have to be very aware of these and the volume impact of independent agencies because overall it is our protection agency. We don't know anything else about what this agency does. It protects us individuals with our money, our products, and our services.

So we have to make sure that, one, we are vigilant and make sure that they're doing their jobs, but also that they keep and remain in their jobs to keep us safe. Derek, I saw this interview that 60 Minutes Leslie Stahl did with Jamie Dimon, who was a CEO, JPMorgan Chase, which I found to be laughable. And I want you to listen to when he says about pro-growth in business, because it ties into what we're talking about. Okay, so just check this out. Were you surprised that Donald Trump won the election? No.

Why do you think he won? People were angry at the, what do they call it, the state, you know, the swamp, you know, ineffective government, that people wanted kind of more pro-growth and pro-business policies, that they didn't want to be lectured to on social policies continuously. I think it's the lecturing part of it, the social superiority. It's the my way or the highway. I traveled around this country. I felt it wherever I went. There's a sense of gloom out there about the economy. Do you understand that? I do understand it because I think there are a lot of legitimate concerns that Americans have.

For example, you know, ineffective government, they're angry about it. They're angry about immigration. There are people with legitimate issues. Despite lower unemployment, a calming of inflation, and a soaring stock market, even he says he's, quote, cautiously pessimistic about the economy. And as chairman and CEO of the largest bank in America, it matters what Jamie Dimon has to say about things. Listen to him on Bitcoin. You have called Bitcoin a Ponzi scheme. You've said that it's as useless. I don't need to hit a rest of that. Derek, here's what I find to be laughable.

Ooh, America's out there. They want more, you know, pro-growth business policies really what I find to be laughable this notion of doom and gloom of the economy and I keep saying it it wasn't because of people like Jamie Dimon Jamie Dimon for four years kept going recession is coming recession is coming

recession is coming recession is coming recession is coming, recession's coming, recession's coming, recession's coming, recession's coming. That's all we kept hearing. And so, and the thing is, media took that, oh, because, you know, he leads the biggest bank in the country, and people fell for this nonsense. And so that created this whole notion of doom and groom, doom and groom, doom and gloom. And then he's like, oh, more. Anytime you hear Wall Street talk about, oh, ineffective government. effective because you can't find a president who had positive job growth every month for four years

if you look at the stock market today and where it was a week before the inauguration January 2021 not even close you look at inflation today to where it was four years ago. It's the same. So this idea of that, oh, my God, the economy is just oh so awful. It's really BS. It's because folk like him kept whining and complaining about a recession was coming that never came. And guess what, Roland? The same individuals who said the sky was falling, they knew the sky wasn't falling. This is what we call in the military psychological warfare. You keep telling those individuals one particular thing, knowing the fact that there are no facts, there's no evidence and there's no data to prove otherwise. And so it's really easy to get on one's platform and say the sky is falling or to better yet say you can't afford eggs, three dollar eggs or you can't afford bread or gasoline.

But here's the interesting thing, Roland, after the election, you know what happened? Eighty million Americans went and traveled during Thanksgiving. You know what also happened during Thanksgiving, Roland? We broke records on Black Friday and Cyber Monday and Give Back Tuesday. Broke records during this economy. Wait, wait, wait, wait. I'm going to show you this here. This was just at CNN.com. Jamie Dimon, April 12,

2024. Jamie Dimon says chance of a bad economy is, quote, higher than other people think. Okay, Jamie, what happened? Our GDP was almost 3%. And as you also stated, the number of jobs that were created every month during this administration.

So let's tell Jamie Dimon the facts. The facts are Barack Obama gave Trump a healthy and strong economy. Joe Biden is about to give Trump a healthy and strong economy. And so when you start talking about the sky is falling, that's one part. The other part that and I appreciate what Oma Congo and Teresa also mentioned about the deregulation piece. Roland, we all remember what happened last year when the Supreme Court overturned the Chevron doctrine that was in been in place for 40 years, something that was put in place since 1984 to make sure that we have an EPA to make sure that we have agencies and organizations to make sure that we have the right guardrails in our society

to keep us safe. Can you imagine if we didn't get if we deregulated FAA? Do you think anybody's going to get on a plane if we deregulate FAA? Do you think if we do away what Project 2025 wants to do and get rid of OSHA, you think people are going to want to go to a plant and come back and be okay? And here's the last part, Roland. Guess what else they want to do this year? They want to do tort reform, Roland. Why do they want to go out and do

tort reform? Because then they could put a cap on how much citizens can sue corporations. That's wrong. Well, here's what I think is really interesting here. And again, and the reason I am singling J.P. J.P. Morgan, CEO Jamie Dimon out is because of the Congo.

He is part of the problem. This is September. This is September 2024. CEO J.P. Morgan warns U.S. of economic fate worse than recession. The worst outcome, stagflation, which we saw in the 1970s, which is where you have high inflation along with high unemployment. Guess what, Omicongo? You don't have high inflation. You don't have high unemployment. And so these are the kinds of scary stories. So when he comes out and says it, all these mainstream media people repeat it. And then people watching, oh, my God, here's what's going to happen. And so then you have companies. This happened when Biden and Harris took over Amazon. If I'm correct, Walmart. I know Facebook did.

All these folks were laying off people in January and February and March of 2021 because of recessions coming, recessions coming. And it never came. So maybe Jamie Dimon needs to look himself in the mirror and say, hmm, did I contribute to the doom and gloom? Because I kept saying what was coming and it never happened. And maybe because you had the Fed chair and President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, who were being proper stewards of the economy, maybe what they did actually worked. And I would say, in addition to a never happening, quite the opposite happened. Everything from oil production to their stocks and everything, it went up under Biden. And so all of these guys, you know, they're in their little vest at their country clubs and everything talking about the doom and gloom, and they are benefiting hand over

fist from Biden's policies. And on top of that, when you look at what's going to be happening with some of these other CEOs in these companies, so much of Biden's infrastructure plans, things that are not going to be going into effect until after he's out of office, there's going to be a boon for years to come. And so I believe that Jamie Dimon and others like him intentionally try to keep this negative perspective on the market because they want to be able to try to position themselves to benefit in any way, shape or form. And on the low, he's trying to stay close to the Trump administration as well, because he knew that there was a possibility of Trump coming in. He knew if Biden or Harris won that he wasn't going to get any smoke from them. But of course, they're fearful of anything that the Trump administration is going to say.

It makes sense to go with that MAGA doom and gloom mindset. You know, and again, you know, facts really do matter here, Teresa. And I think just for a lot of people, you know, they really get confused when we talk about things along those lines and we talk about inflation and all of that. So if you go back to January 2021, inflation was 1.8 percent in December 2020. It was 1.9 percent in January 2021. Then all of a sudden you begin to see gasoline prices rise. What nobody wants to own up to is that was part of a deal that Trump cut with OPEC because gasoline prices increased after he left office. But nobody wants to deal with that. But here's also the reality when you talk about inflation rates.

And the reason this is important because, you know, for the people out here who want to say, oh, my God, look how sky high it is. And somehow Trump is going to make things better. Huh. 2017 was 2.1%. It went down to 1.9% and went up to 2.3%. It dropped to 1.4%. Then, of course, 2021, we're talking about...

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

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

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

I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man.

We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown.

We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does.

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Here's the deal. We got to set ourselves up. See, retirement is the long game.

We got to make moves and make them early. Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback. Just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispretirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. In COVID, coming out of COVID, it jumps to 7%, then 6.5, then it's cut in half to 3.4, then down to 2.7. It's even lower right now. So the reality is our inflation right now is close to where it was in 2000, 2019 when Trump was there. And so what you have is you have these people out here who love to lie and just make stuff up. In fact, I cracked on one of them earlier. You know, Laura Logan used to be a really great reporter, but she since lost her damn mind by being a deranged MAGA person. And so she posted this tweet and I had to smack her on it because I'm trying to find it where she talked about, oh, how how Trump is going to come in and he's going to save

our economy. And I'm sitting there going or fix it. And I'm trying to understand what are you fixing when unemployment is at an all time low? You've had positive job growth every single month for four years. Look at the stock market. Look at wages, all the economic indicators. So what the hell is he fixing? And when Jamie Dimon talks about this pro business growth. Hey, Jamie, how about pro-worker growth? How about their wages? Yeah, JP Morgan isn't thinking about the pro-worker, but that is a very good solution.

If they did start thinking about that, I believe their numbers will be way different. Going back a little bit in terms of disinformation and how um you know even uh with the recent announcement of meta and how you know pretty much they are no longer having these uh tracker to tell us if uh something is misinformation misinformed um and and just you know the many folks that I think the high level talk appointments, I think Magnus' team did a very good job of not being descriptive of how we're going to fix America, how we're going to make America great again, how we're going to fix the border. When Democrats, we got really descriptive of it's already fixed. Wages are high. People are back to work. The GDP is doing great. Inflation is down.

And so I find it very interesting about these CEOs. But like I said, and like you said before, Roland, it's very dangerous language that JP Morgan and the rest of them, it's either they're not paying attention to what's going on to lay the land or their forecasters and analysts are not necessarily doing their job as effective as they should be getting the lay of the land data versus just a high level scope that is, it sounds like a portfolio analysis for pro businesses that aren't small businesses, are not micro businesses. Um, but it definitely looks like a, a, a testament to what we are about to see in the next seven days when we, uh, Magna fully gets launched. But honestly, I don't, uh, I, I'm a little bit less, how do I want to say this, less, I'm not fearful of a Trump administration. I think when we start really looking at the details, it'll self-destruct itself.

So I really do see a lot of opportunity here for those who do fight for the working family, those who do fight for Democrats, civil rights, justice in general, that when we look at the facts and the numbers, I think it'll definitely come to light. I think just right now, we're seeing such a short term, we saw a short term of analysts with the campaign and the messages that has been coming around that. But I think, you know, when the rubber hits the road, we'll start seeing the truth come out in full scale. Well, first of all, listen, listen, I can sit here and say with what I do and what my income is and what I own. Oh, I say, yeah, I'm not scared, but I'm scared for millions of Americans. When you see these folks talking about $2 trillion in cuts, I know exactly what they're

targeting. I know exactly if they're going to be targeting folks who depend upon food benefits. They're going to be targeting individuals who don't have economic means. They're going to be targeting the poor. They're going to be targeting the working class. That's who they're going to be targeting. And so people need to be on guard for what is about to happen. And again, I dare say this here, that one of the reasons why, and look, inflation was real. Prices were real. Food going up, goods and services going up was real. But we also had price gouging that was going on. We had companies that were literally looting this country trying to make as much money as they can. And people blame the president. They blame the vice president. They blame Democrats. They blame all of that. Well, guess what? You can't blame them now. You can't blame them now.

And if you look at the economic success that you've seen under the Biden has administration, Trump, you screw it up. Even one negative month. It's on you, son. And then let's see what they have to say. Folks, I got to go to a quick break. We'll be right back. Roland Martin unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Support the work that we do. Of course, bring our bring our bring the funk fan club. Our goal is to get 20,000 of our fans contributing on average 50 bucks each a year. That's four hours and 19 cents a month, 13 cents a day. You can support us by going to using the Stripe app to give via Cash App. Since Cash App shut down all of our accounts and others as well with a change in their rules.

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Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. Folks, we'll be right back. What's up, y'all? Look, Fanbase is more than a platform. It's a movement to empower creators, offering a unique opportunity for everyday people to invest in Black-owned tech, infrastructure, and help shape the future of social media. Investing in technology is essential for creating long-term wealth and influence in the digital age. The Black community must not only consume tech, we must own it. Discover how equity crowdfunding can serve as a powerful tool for funding black businesses, allowing entrepreneurs to raise capital directly to rule their community through the jobs ad. Now streaming on the Black Star Network.

I was challenged by my uncle early on, before I even had a career. Like, I was maybe eight years old, and my uncle said, what do you want to do? And I told him I wanted to be a rapper. And he said, okay, well, I don't know anything about the music business, so what you should do is learn everything there is to know about the music business,

and I'll make sure that you have the resources to push you through. And so I went and bought books. All you need to know about the music business hit me, and I just went and bought a bunch of books to just start reading as a 10-year-old, just reading, reading. And so I learned, you know, all things licensing, mechanical rights. I learned about publishing.

I learned about how composition is broke up into two pieces, the writer's portion and the producer's portion. But by the time I actually learned I can't bend, I was ready to like, okay, I got it. He would go into prison. So I had all this information. All this knowledge. All this knowledge.

You like, retired, and you're watching Roland Martin on Filth. Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait. All right, folks, welcome back. The one thing we can always count on for sheer stupidity is MAGA. And when you listen to some of the absolutely crazy, idiotic things that they say, you go, what's wrong with you people? Todd Rokita, Republican, has been elected the Attorney General of Indiana. And look, AG positions are important. And remember, they used to have a black AG in Indiana,

but he was about as useless as Clarence Thomas. But if you want to hear stupidity, just listen to this nonsense. And as your Attorney General, and with your help, together we will make Indiana a truly free state where we are rewarded for the results of our work and not the politics of DEI, ESG, CRT, or whatever other acronym or pronoun they want to throw at us. Where lawfare is outlawed.

Where innocent life is respected just as our constitutions demand. Where we can raise our children the way God intended without interference by woke schools, doctors or courts. where there are two genders, male and female, and they each have their own sports teams, where our immigration laws are respected and criminals are kept behind bars. And where we are no longer vaxxed or masked. And finally, where we can speak our own opinion, especially when it's not politically correct or establishment approved, without fear of losing our livelihood. I'm going to say it right now. And if y'all watching me, you're in Indiana, y'all really need to pray because I'm going to tell you right now, Teresa, I don't want to hear Jack from one of these white folks.

One of their kids die because of lack of vaccinations. See, these fools, these fools are against vaccinations. They are against folks being treated. All the stuff in school. And so these idiots who've been complaining about math. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at

what's going on, why it matters and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek We'll see you next time. to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them.

From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th.

Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way.

Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man.

Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Caramouch. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real.

It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to,

you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-up way, you gotta pray for yourself as well as for everybody else but never forget yourself self-love made me a better dad because i realized my worth never stop being a dad that's dedication find out more at fatherhood.gov brought to you by the u.s department of health and human services and the ad councilask and vaccinations and all of that. They're complaining about, oh, our woke schools. First of all, Indiana is real white and real red.

But see, it's always a whining deal. But I'm going to tell you, see, they think they've got RFK Jr., who should not be the Secretary of Health and Human Services. They think folks like that should be in charge. But I'm telling you, when they white, when a little white killed children start dying because they're in the classroom with some other kid who's not vaxxed and they start bringing in some diseases. I don't want to hear a damn thing because that's the kind of y'all clap for that fool. You're going to get what you think you're not going to get. And I'm telling you, we're just going to look at you and go, we tried to tell you. I think we've seen a lot of that even when the first round came. You know, the amount of disinformation that was coming across when it came to the vaccine,

but the amount of lies that were seen, I think we started to see that disinformation that was coming across when it came to the vaccine but the amount of lies that were seen i think we started to see that disinformation that's actually fizzle out within the first year um i mean i did kind of like on social like there was a entire uh report i can't remember who put the report together but that report indicated how many folks were not anti-vax. And, you know, it's unfortunate that it takes lives lost in order for people to believe that something does work. But I do believe that most people have common sense and know, like, I've gotten a vaccine. I've never caught COVID, but I'm also using precautions as well. That virus is still out here today. So we just need to continuously be cautious.

But I think we're still going to hear the cries, the yells, the anti-vax. But those who do use common sense will be getting the vaccination. I mean, again, Derek, I'm watching these people and you hear that sort of nonsense. They're like, oh, that's right. We now can say what we want, do with what we want. We don't have to get fired and we're against vaccinations. They whine and complain about masks. And I'm sitting there going, OK, all right. But trust me, we all start dying. And you saw how where's the government? Where's protection? Because it is like that are now in charge. You know, Roland, I don't think when they start dying, that's going to change anything.

I mean, they were dying during covid. Here in Georgia, we've had 12, maybe 13 hospitals that closed in the rural parts of Georgia, and they ain't doing anything about it. In rural Georgia, that's where most of their constituents are. Here's the bottom line, Roland. I think their propaganda machine is exactly what you and Teresa outlined. And that is, you know, they're going to keep this fuel, this red meat going. DEI, anti-woke. You know, I was just watching the NCAA president and they asked him, are you seeing this whole transgender movement in the NCAA. And he said, when you combine Division I, Division II, Division III, you have over 500,000 student athletes. 500,000, Roland.

They said they had nine cases. That's it. Nine cases. In those nine cases, the student elected to stop playing the sport. They went through the conversion. So it wasn't like a young man went through a conversion and started playing women's sports or vice versa. Nine out of a half a million. And so they got this propaganda machine to keep going to talk about immigration, talk about DEI, talk about woke, talk about, you know, we need to ban books because, you know, you are making our children, you know, uncomfortable.

This is just part of their propaganda machine to keep that red meat for their base going. Absolutely. And again, what you see when these things happen, you see sheer stupidity. Perfect example, you've got House Speaker Mike Johnson of the Congo who, when asked about aid for California wildfires, this idiot said this. What would you provide aid to California without any conditions at all? I think we've had a serious conversation about that. Obviously there's been water resource mismanagement, forest management mistakes, all sorts of problems. And it does come down to leadership.

And it appears to us that state and local leaders were derelict in their duty in many respects. So that's something that has to be factored in. I think there should probably be conditions on that. That's my personal view. We'll see what the consensus is. I haven't had a chance to socialize that with any of the members over the weekend because we've all been very busy, but it'll be part of the discussion for sure. What about the debt limit increase? What about tying the debt limit increase to it? There's some discussion about that, but we'll see where it goes.

I'll say this here. Okay, all right. Y'all want to roll like that? Next time something happens in Louisiana, Florida, South Carolina, and Democrats are in control, then say, fine, we're going to slap

some conditions on that. So again, I need people to understand if this is the game you want to play, all right, let's play. You know, I need people to understand if this is the game you want to play. All right. Let's play. You know, I was I was really loving your session that you had with Michael Steele and Tim Miller and Karen Hunter over the weekend watching. One of the things you were saying in there is that Democrats got to play hard. They got to come out and be tough. They got to fight back. And how they're basically playing off of a model of politics that's about 15 and 20 years old. And I really appreciate you

saying that because this is another example of that with Mike Johnson talking. And in all of the states that you just mentioned, Roland, and as we also put Indiana in it, most of these Republican states are among the poorest states in the country. They are among some of the most crime-ridden states in the country. But what they like to do is focus on particular cities, black-led cities, but you never hear them talk about the states, which are red leadership, right? And so, Indiana, is Indiana tops in education? Is it tops in, you know, crime prevention? Is it tops in economics, you know, in terms of income?

None of these things, none of these factors. So, where all of a sudden they're going to say, we're going to liberate Indiana, you know, in terms of income. None of these things, none of these factors. So where all of a sudden they're going to say we're going to liberate Indiana, you've had, you know, Republican leadership forever. And so right now your students are going to become less intelligent. People are going to become sicker. They're going to get less access to resources. They're going to have their programs cut. Notice he didn't mention anything about women's right to a woman's right to choose because maybe he felt like that wouldn't get applause. So they are going to implement as many draconian policies as possible to keep them at the bottom. And if you feel like you're struggling now as a state, what do you really think is going to happen over these next four years?

And the fact that Mike Johnson wants to tie conditions to what's happening in California right now, this already shows their lack of humanity. As far as I know, I don't believe Trump has agreed to go and visit California, although he's already gone to places like Europe acting as president. These people have evil policies, and they want to put as many people down as possible. But as the late Joe Madison always reminds us, LBJ's Johnson's quote, if you can convince the poorest white man that he's better than the best colored man, he won't realize you're picking his pocket. Give him someone to look down on and empty his pockets for you. I think that's why Derek is saying he's feeling like representatives saying that he doesn't even feel like they're going to care even if their kids do get sicker and poorer because more of us are suffering as well.

Again, when they start whining and complaining, I don't want to hear anything. All right, folks, we come back. We're going to talk about the Alabama community fighting against environmental injustice and warning the Biden administration to uphold what they said they were going to do with just one week remaining. Also, we were the only media outlet live streaming the MLK program at the Department of Justice, department of justice where they also were saluting uh assistant attorney general christian clark who leads the civil rights division will show you what she had to say about their work over the last four years uh we'll also uh talk about what's happening in los angeles where the fires continue smoke excuse me the winds are are increasing and so they are really concerned that this may get worse before it actually gets better. So lots more for us to talk about right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Back in a moment. Hello, I'm Isaac Hayes, the third founder and CEO of Fanbase.

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Don't wait until it's too late. Invest now. Invest for yourself and your future. Go to startengine.com slash fanbase and own the future of social media. Next on Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, women of color are starting 90% of the businesses in this country. That's the good news. The bad news, as a rule, we're not making nearly as much as everyone else. But joining us on the next Get Wealthy episode is Betty Hines. She's a business strategist and she's showing women how to elevate other women. I don't like to say this openly, but we're getting better at it. Women struggle

with collaborating with each other. And for that reason, one of the things that I demonstrate in the sessions that I have is that you can go further together if you collaborate. That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Blackstar Network. On the next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, we're talking about leveling up or to put it another way, living your very best life. How to take a bold step forward that will rock your world. Leveling up is different for everybody. You know, I think we fall into this trap, which which often gets us stuck because we're looking at someone else's level of journey. What level up means to them. For some, it might be a business

venture. For some, it might be a relationship situation, but it's different for everybody. It's all a part of a balanced life. That's next on Black Star Network. Now streaming on the Black Star Network. I was challenged by my uncle early on before I even had a career. Like I was maybe eight years old, and my uncle said, what do you want to do? And I told him I wanted to be a rapper. And he said, okay, well, I don't know anything about the music business, so what you should do is learn everything there is to know about the music business,

and I'll make sure that you have the resources to push you through. And so I went and bought books, All You Need to Know About the Music Business, Hitman. And I just went and bought books. All you need to know about the music business hit me, and I just went and bought a bunch of books to start reading as a 10-year-old, just reading, reading. And so I learned, you know, all things licensing, mechanical rights. I learned about publishing, learned about how composition is broke up into two pieces, the writer's portion and the producer's portion.

So by the time I actually learned, I came back, I was ready to like, OK. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek.

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

Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops 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 multibillion-dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad.

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

I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player,

Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is.

Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them.

It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves.

We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council.

I got it. He was going to prison. So I had all this information. All this knowledge. All this knowledge. You're like, well, what am'm going to do with it now. Hatred on the streets. A horrific scene.

A white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. You will not reflect on that. White people are losing their damn minds. There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to the U.S. Capitol. We're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history.

Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at every university calls white rage as a backlash. This is the wrath of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. Here rise of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white beer. Hey, this is Motown recording artist Kim.

You are watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Boy he always unfiltered though. I never known him to be filtered. Is there another way to experience Roland Martin than to be unfiltered? Of course he's unfiltered. Would you expect anything less? Watch what happens next. Latin residents of a small community in Alabama say when it rains, it floods. The shallow community is located between Elba and New Brockton along U.S. Highway 84. Residents say flooding has been taking place and has been constant since 2018 when work began expanding U.S. 84 from two lanes to four. This has led to persistent issues with septic tank overflows and an invasion of water moccasins, rats, and mosquitoes.

As a result of the flooding, they are struggling to keep up with rising homeowners insurance and many homes there have gone unrepaired. Joining us right now is Dr. Robert Bullitt, a professor and the director of the Bullitt Center for Environmental Justice and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University in Houston. And Pastor Timothy Williams, director of the Shiloh Community Center. Now, so let's talk about. So what are the folks in Alabama said? State officials there. They don't even want to do nothing she wouldn't even come out she kept avoiding my calls and pretty much they don't want to do anything for the shallow community let's talk about the demographics there. How many people live there? It is 13 homes. It's 13 homes on the side that we are, which is the shallow community,

13 homes. And that's how many people live on the side that's been flooded. Okay. But I'm talking about the town. How large is the town? And what do city leaders say? What do county leaders say? Well, we're in a rural area, which is the country, but it's county. The county wants to help, but at the same time, the county cannot touch state property. Okay. So this highway is, so this is state property? Yes, state and federal. Okay.

Yes, sir. All right. And so the county cannot do anything without the state allowing them or giving them permission to do anything. Okay. Go ahead. Okay, let me just break it down, Rowan. I wrote a book

20 years ago, 2003, called Highway Robbery, Transportation, Racism, and New Routes to Equity. If I had to put a cover on that book, today I will put Shiloh on the cover. What has happened is that an area that is outside of the city proper of Elba. Elba is about 3,000, 4,000 people. I grew up there.

Very segregated. And the landowners in Shiloh, like my family, have owned land out there since reconstruction, since 1870s. What they did is they took a two-lane highway and made it into four lanes. They elevated the highway about 12-15 feet high, which was flat before, and turned the drains, the stormwater drain system on the community. So the community now is in a bold and the area never flooded but it floods down and it's been flooded for six years as a result of a flawed highway, US 84, which is a highway that goes from Florida all the way to New Mexico. But

this is the last leg. The only part of the highway that floods right now is Shiloh. Okay. And when they developed the environmental impact statements for the highway, they knew that this area would flood if they elevated the highway and turned the drains. You're saying they knew, meaning the state knew? The state knew and the federal government, the FHWA. The highway was Federal Highways Administration under the U.S. DOT.

This highway was constructed under the previous administration in 2018 under the Trump administration. And it flooded for two years, from 2018 through 2020. It has flooded four years under the Biden-Harris administration. The community filed a Title VI civil rights complaint in 2022. It was resolved in 2024

by the federal government, USDOT, under Secretary Pete Buttigieg, on the voluntary resolution agreement to fix the highway. They admit that the highway was flawed and it's flooding the community, but they didn't go the full force of justice by saying the highway flooded, the highway flooded the community, the community's

houses are damaged, they're sinking, and how can you say you're going to fix a highway that the state built but not require the state to fix the homes and repair and all the damages. That's the injustice that's going on right now. So Pete Blue Judge was talking to ABC News about this in November. This is what he had to say. I came here to see for myself. Yo, I got no audio in here. Where are the speakers? Better position to make sure that we can engage the state of Alabama in meeting their responsibilities to this community to make sure that these community members are not left behind. So you agree that it's the highway that caused

this? I can't say anything about the investigation that's underway right now. So I got to I got to be color within the lines. But let me me say this we have a significant and substantial concern about the impact of the highway on this community and about what members of this community are going through that is part of why there is an active investigation and active engagement with the Alabama DOT the experiences of a homeowner here in this Shiloh community matter just as much as anybody else in the wealthiest zip code in America. But the bottom line is, people who live here need to be taken care of.

All right, a bullet judge also said that the residents there, they were not at fault. One thing I'm sure of is that nobody in this community is responsible for what you all are going through. And nobody should have to live with what you all are going through right now. Alright, so y'all came to D.C.

Did y'all meet with Secretary Blue Judge today? No, sir. What happened? He kept pretty much avoiding us. We've called before trying to set up a meeting with him. You know,

after he came in April and the appointment was turned down, they said he can't meet with you. Well, this is what's happened. There have been promises

when he came in April. Yeah. April 3rd of 2024. Yeah. He walked the community. He looked at the horrific condition. He looked at the highway up. The highway is at the level of the community's rooftops. He said, this is insane.

And he looked at the houses that are sinking into the mud. He watched all of that. And he said when he would go back to Washington, he was going to ensure that this community is made whole because it's not their fault. Now, the fact he say now he's kind of quibbling about, well, we don't know what's causing the problem. But if you don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that if you elevate a highway 12 to 15 feet high and turn the drains toward the community and the community is now in a bowl, the law of gravity will dictate what's going to happen you don't have to have a phd for that and this community has been flooded for this period of time and even when the the complaint the civil rights complaint that they

filed it took two years for them to finish the investigation so under the this administration this community flooded two years years during the time that the investigation was going on and it still floods. So we're talking about four years under this administration and two years on the previous administration. That's six years. It should not take six years for any community to receive funding to resolve the problem and there's money available for for that and USDOT to correct this problem. So it's not a lack of funds, it's a lack of will. Who's the member of Congress for this area?

Barry Moore. Barry Moore is the member of Congress. What is, so Republican? He's a Republican. What has he done? Well, he hasn't done anything. I talked with him a month ago asking him what could he do. And I've been talking with Congressman Barry Moore, asking him what could he do and I've been talking with

Congressman Barry Moore asking him different things. What can they do to help Shiloh? They haven't done anything now I can say that he brought people out some of his People that works with him over in the Montgomery office They came out and they saw the problem, but they couldn't guarantee us that they were going to you know Get this problem resolved and so we also have a represent Okay, I'm confused here. Yes. He's a Republican member of Congress. You get Republicans who control the state His job is to be there for constituent. That's right. That's right And he's and they say oh we can't do anything. Yeah, because I asked him I said they also try to push off We got to push a bill through Congress.

And he was saying that take 10 years. I said, but what can you do? He said, well, because I'm going to push a bill through Congress to do what? For shallow to get funding to help the shallow community. It was pretty much to blow us off. Okay. Okay. This is why we call this highway robbery.

The fact that there's new development occurring along that highway on the other side. And the fact that even the county engineer, the Coffey County engineer, when ABC News came and asked him, did this community flood before the highway? They have maps and charts in there. We all know. I used to come out there all the time. It didn't flood. And then ABC News asked them, well, why would they build a highway like this,

designed and engineered, so that it's so high and the community is placed in a bowl? And the county engineer said on tape that the engineers that developed this highway, built this highway, cared more about the highway not flooding than the community. So this is

the dilemma that we're in now, in terms of the Shiloh community, the 13 homes on that side, on the downside of the highway, basically were to be sacrificed. They were expendable. And they were supposedly be sacrificed. They were expendable. And they were supposedly be washed away and never be heard of

again. But that's not the case. That's right. Questions from my panel. Derek, you first. You know, as a state representative, I'm saddened by your case because you do not need legislation to bring funds to Shiloh. And my question to you is, given that this administration is about to end and another one begin

in seven days, what steps are you planning to take to address the needs of Shiloh community with the next administration? Given that it started when he was in office. Let me just answer this. There should be justice under the previous administration, this administration, and the next administration. We will continue to press the case. The fact that this highway has, in essence, performed an act of takings of this community's, of the resident's

property, illegally taking the use of their property. They can't have picnics. They can't grow gardens. They can't do all the things that they would do before this highway And so the the fact that we are now here in Washington to make a last-ditch effort to To plead with and appeal to the secretary DOT to keep his promise that he made in April and to have his legacy not be that he left office in a few days and Going to Michigan or wherever he's going to and let black people drown. Their homes sink into the mud and their legacy and their history washed away. That's what we're saying. And that the new administration coming in, we will appeal to the new Trump administration, whoever the U.S. DOT secretary is, to say that this needs to be addressed because a highway infrastructure project should not destroy a community.

And that's what we'll be talking about. And we're not going anywhere. We're not going to go home and just shut up and just let this be because our property is historical property has been passed down from generation to generation and is generational wealth. Uh, we've had land back in reconstruction and this, this is the land that we're, we're fighting for because the whole bottom line is, is that they want our property is right by us highway 84 and they want us just to go away Shut up and just let this be and give you pennies. That's not happening We're gonna continue to fight, you know If secretary Pete Buddha just doesn't do anything within these seven days and we're here in Washington DC

For a final push like dr. Bullard said to let secretary Pete know that we're not going anywhere You promise us and we need you to deliver. It's nothing hard. All you got to do is do what you have promised the shallow community people because the people betted on Secretary Pete Buttigieg when he came. They had high hopes that he would come back to D.C. and do what he told us that he was going to do. But he failed the shallow community because he didn't do anything. He waited months and months, waited this thing out. And then in October, we got a VRA in October and he still sat back and waited and waited. And he began to talk about how it's not the shallow community

fault. And so our thing is, you know, it's not our fault. We need you to deal with it before you leave. Rebecca. I'm sorry, Teresa. That doesn't seem like a hard ask. One, I definitely appreciate you gentlemen actually coming on. It has, I've been sitting here Googling and researching just a bit more about your story. I do question the one, I do question the, uh, one, I think, uh, the concerns is what are some of the, and maybe you already said it and I missed it, but would like for you to talk about the conditions that people are dealing with right now.

And then also, are there any national organizations, uh, you know, taking an interest in what you guys are doing and trying to help? Because this is something that is happening presently that you are dealing with. Well, some of the things that people are dealing with in Shiloh is the over flooding of the septic tanks. The houses are sinking. The roofs are cracking. Mildew, mold. The people didn't ask for this. Their homes are destroyed. I know for a fact, if I can just talk about my home, I'm not just a community leader, but I'm one that's dealing with a home that is sinking, a home that is cracking.

It's not safe. The structure is not safe. We've had contractors to come out. We've had insurance taken away. And it's been rough. Lungs infected with mildew, mold. And, you know, it's a lot. Homes been flooded. People, it's just been devastating. I mean, their homes are cracking. I mean, it's sinking in the red mud. And Secretary Pete saw this, you know. And it get emotional because, you know, we lost everything.

When I stepped up to speak about Shiloh, I lost my company. I lost my restaurant, you know, just to shut you up, you know? You got to shut up about this and leave it alone. You know, we've lost everything, you know? It's a real fact because in Alabama,

racism is prevalent. They don't hang you anymore. You know what I'm saying? They come after your finances and they say, well, we kill his finances, kill all his contracts for his cleaning business. He'll go away. But I told him, I'm saying they come after your finances and it's a well we kill this finances kill all this contracts for his cleaning business He'll go away, but I told him I'm not going away

I'm here until shallow get justice and that's what the people are dealing with so they're trying to shut everybody up now The state of Alabama is in Al dot is in shallow, you know trying to give people pennies trying to buy them off and everything But we're not going anywhere. We're going to continue to fight because shallow will get justice The other thing you have to understand that Anytime you have an area that's flooded for six years you have Subsidence which means the land is sinking their homes are sinking They are on level when you have an unlevel home, your foundation is cracked. Your roofs are compromised. When it rains, it rains into the the the attics.

The attics get mold. People breathe in mold. Well, he didn't tell you that that he has mold in his house. And when you breathe mold, the families are sick. And in terms of mold and getting bronchitis, it's not just an infrastructure problem, this is a health problem. That's right. It's also a problem in terms of, if you can't get damage to your house because of the highway that's flooding,

and you turn in a claim to your insurance company, they're not going to pay. That's right. So he's lost his homeowner's insurance that he's had for many years, didn't need flood insurance because it didn't flood. Right. If something would happen and it still floods, he would be totally homeless. So what we're talking about is devastation.

Now, the national groups that we have on board right now is the Sierra Club. Ben Jealous is working with us on a national basis. We're having a press briefing tomorrow at the National Press Club, the Bullitt Center for Environmental Climate Justice at Texas Southern University. We teamed with Sierra Club to make the issue national. This is not a local issue. As I said before, I just spoke on highway robbery. There are case studies like this all across the country, disproportionately black and people of color.

Well, highways have not created opportunity. Infrastructure projects that have... A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering

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

Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future

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

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

Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes sir, we are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit man. We got Ricky Williams,

NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne

from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill.

NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does.

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves.

A wrap-away, you've got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. Destroyed neighborhoods, communities, wealth, and inheritance. That's how it translates out and how we are making sure that those who are in power, when we voted and elected

the Biden-Harris administration, when Pete Buttigieg came in with the infrastructure law, there's billions of dollars for this kind of project and not one dime has been spent in Shiloh on correcting the problem as it relates to the homeowners. Omokongo? as it relates to the homeowners. I'm a Congo. What is it that we can do, the average person who's not part of the government? I mean, are there GoFundMe campaigns? Are there petitions? Are there other things that people

who are across the country who are not part of an administration can do to support this cause? We have a GoFundMe. Dr. Bullard got up the Bullard Center and people can sow into the GoFundMe. They can send funds there as well and keep spreading the word. We've got petitions. The Sierra Club has done over 5000 petitions. They get ready to deliver tomorrow to the Biden and Harris

administration, also to Secretary Pete. But we got word that Secretary Pete Buttigieg is cleaning up his office and he's getting ready to get out of here. You know, he's running and not wanting to help the shallow community because people's homes are damaged. People will have to have new homes. And their health. People are mental, too. Mental destroyed. I mean, within six years, they kept getting false hope, you know, promises that people are going to do this and they're going to do that. And they failed the people. And the people have no confidence in the administration.

They don't have any confidence that the people are going to come through and work for them. And that's why ALDOT is trying to move in and try to capitalize on this and take people's property. You know, like we said earlier, the property has been in our family since Reconstruction. There's a historical value there. is the fact that Secretary Pete Buttigieg did an interview with NPR All Things Considered a couple of days ago. And it was an exit interview

talking about all the things that have been done with USDOT with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the $1.2 trillion. And he mentioned all the different projects. I forget how many thousands, 67,000 projects. And he's leaving. He's clearing out his office.

He's packing up. And what we say is that there's still one project that's unfinished. Business is unfinished, and he needs to finish this before he leaves in a few days. And we're not talking about millions and millions and millions of dollars. We're talking about a community of homeowners that could be made whole and justice to be done. And we're not talking about busting anybody's budget except the budgets that are being broken and busted by homeowners

paying for loss and damage to their homes. And many of the families on fixed incomes and a number of them are veterans. I mean, we're talking about hardworking taxpayers who own their homes, who inherited that property. If we want to keep that property, that's what we're talking about. It's not just talking about a highway and flooding. This is talking about a destruction and wiping away an entire community that has deep history and a legacy of transformative wealth passing on, passing on, passing on. That's what we're talking about. All right, then. Well, we will reach out to the Department of Transportation to see an answer. Bottom line is they are there until 1159 a.m. next Monday, and we'll see what they say.

I sent Pete Buttigieg a text message. We'll see if he responds as well. So, gentlemen, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Yes, sir. Thank you. Thank you. Folks, got to go to the break.

When we come back, we're going to talk about Jack Smith's report. Is it going to finally be released? We'll discuss that right here on Rolling Mark Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Don't forget, support the work that we do. You can also hear from Kristen Clark, of course, who gave her a farewell address today at the Department of Justice. Support the work that we do. Join our Bring the Funk fan club. You can actually go to if you want to give you a cash app you can do so by using the stripe app of course cash you have closed our accounts because they changed their rules impacted a lot of churches and non-profits and others uh and so you can use the stripe app in order to give you a cash app so the qr code is right here on the screen if you are listening just simply go

to blackstar network.com we have the qr qr code on the website as well if you want to send your check and money order p.o box 57196 washington dc two zero zero three seven dash zero one nine six paypal is r martin unfiltered venmo is rm unfiltered zelle rolling at rolling s martin.com rolling at rolling martin unfiltered.com also download the blackstard network app Apple Phone, Android Phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. We'll be right back. What's up, y'all?

Look, Fanbase is more than a platform. It's a movement to empower creators, offering a unique opportunity for everyday people to invest in Black-owned tech, infrastructure, and help shape the future of social media. Investing in technology is essential for creating long-term wealth and influence in the digital age. The Black community must not only consume tech, we must own it. Discover how equity crowdfunding can serve as a powerful tool for funding Black businesses, allowing entrepreneurs to raise capital directly through their community, through the jobs ad. Coming soon to the Black Star Network. Well, y'all, when you're on that stage or when you're and you're seeing two and three

or four generations in the audience that that's got that's got to speak to you about the power of of what y'all become oh most definitely i think we were doing our show before our tour before our our break and remember i was watching this kid i could not take my eyes off him because he was about right nine or so he's sitting in the front row with over on the right hand side side, yes, yes, yes, yes. I was amazed that this kid knew everything. And I was like tripping to see how many songs this kid actually knew. And he knew them all.

And he knew them all. We had to go over there and bring him on stage and take a picture with him, you know, at the end of the show and stuff because it was just that amazing. It's like, this is crazy. You know, the music travels everywhere, you know, like what Phillip was saying, seeing his young kid, then you see, hear our songs on commercials, cold commercials. Then you have the younger ones that sing or hear our music and animation. Next on The Black Tape with me, Greg Carr. There's a lot of talk about the inevitability of another Civil War in this country.

But on our next show, we'll talk to a noted author and scholar who says we're actually in the middle of one right now. In fact, Steve Phillips says the first one that started back in 1861, well, it never ended. People carrying the Confederate flag, wearing sweatshirts saying MAGA Civil War, January 6, 2021, stormed U.S. Capitol, hunted down the country's elected officials,

built the gallows for the vice president of the United States, and to block the peaceful transfer of power within this country. On the next Black Tape, here on the Black Star Network. Hi, everybody, I'm Kim Coles. Hey, I'm Donnie Simpson. Yo, it's your man Deon Cole from Black-ish. And you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Well, nutcase federal judge Eileen Cannon made a sensible ruling. What a shock. She's extended, denied a request to extend the injunction against the Jack Smith DOJ Justice Department report from releasing that particular volume.

And, of course, she stopped it from doing so. And so the report could be released as soon as midnight tonight. Barring any future legal action, the judge prohibited releasing a portion of the report about the classified document case because two co-defendants are still facing charges. The DOJ still has a pending motion before the 11th Circuit asking to immediately release the portion of the report about January 6th. But the court has yet to rule on that motion. Also, Jack Smith resigned from resigned from his position on Friday. You know, a lot of people have been highly critical of Attorney General Merrick Garland saying he waited way too long to appoint Jack Smith two years into his term to hold Donald Trump accountable. And the question, which I think is a legitimate question on the Congo, you know, will Merrick

Garland go down as one of the worst attorney generals in American history? Now, granted, you had the attorney general under Richard Nixon who went to jail because of his involvement in Watergate. But there's no doubt in my mind that Merrick Garland was an awful was one of the probably the worst decision that Joe Biden made in his four years as president. Yeah, absolutely. And of course, it depends on who's writing the history. But from our perspective and those of us who work on this side of the aisle in this space, he's absolutely one of the worst. Look, when you come down to it, if it wasn't for Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony and it wasn't for the January 6th committee, there probably would have been no charges filed against Trump in any way, shape or form.

It wasn't until after that that people started getting serious. This should have been something the day after the insurrection happened. But this idea that has been driving me nuts, they keep saying this, oh, we didn't do such and such because we didn't want to be political. Not doing anything is a political decision. Inaction is a political decision. And so they left this slide for months, was it 14, 16, whatever it was, before they decided to actually do anything. And Merrick Garland has just been too slow on so many things. And many of us wanted somebody like a Doug Jones. And it's sad because the Justice Department has done some incredible things. We talked about Kristen

Clark. We're going to talk about her later as well. But some of the things that happened directly under his leadership as it relates to Donald Trump are ridiculous. And we are partially be where we are today because of his inaction. And so he absolutely goes down in history as one of the worst. Teresa. Yeah, I agree. We can say a lot about the choices that were made. And in terms of expediency, we didn't get it, just even as American people on so many issues that were happening during this administration. And what we needed was a justice system that actually stood as tall as some of these issues.

So it's a very unfortunate. But I would hope this is another lesson learned as they are writing the history books of the person that we are choosing is not something that looks like a garden. Derek. Yeah, Roland, you know, I agree both with Dr. Omokongo and Theresa. Mayor Garland is one of the worst AGs due to his inaction. But I also want to make sure that we get documented that Mitch McConnell, if Mitch McConnell would have done what he said from the floor in the Senate chamber about Donald Trump, about January 6 going to make the correction right, which they didn't. And they just thought January 6th was just enough travesty that it was going to be enough for the American public to say say no to Trump. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Folks, earlier today, I was at the Department of Justice where they had their annual MLK program. It also was a opportunity to salute Kristen Clark, the assistant attorney general who led the Civil Rights Division under the Biden-Harris administration for the last four years.

They did remarkable work. And I have said consistently that this DOJ was the most aggressive civil rights division since Robert F. Kennedy served as attorney general. There are a number of civil rights luminary leaders who were actually at the ceremony today. Members of Congress were there as well. Ben Crump spoke and shared these words about Kristen Clark and her role at the Department of Justice. Dr. King, oftentimes when we talk about the law

and how we use this instrument, I believe that we should always use it for an instrument of good. But there are many who believe it should be used as a weapon of oppression. Dr. King said in his letter from the Birmingham jail, which I believe is one of the most incredible documents ever written in the course of human history, Ryan, In that jail, everybody remembers he said, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. However, I submit to you, my brothers and sisters, I think that wasn't the only profound statements that he made in that letter. I submit that the most profound statement he made in that letter. I submit that the most profound statement he said in that

letter was when he talked about just because they tell us it's legal, that don't make it right. He said we must remember everything Hitler did to the Jews in Germany they said was legal but that didn't make it right he said we must remember that they said slavery was legal but that didn't make it right he said we must remember they said

segregation was legal but that didn't make it right and he said everything they did to that little boy in Money, Mississippi they said was legal, but Dr. King said but that doesn't make it right. I thank God, I thank God, I thank God that when the local officials

said what they did to George Floyd was legal, that Christian Clark in the Civil Rights Division said that don't make it right. When they said what they did to Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky was legal, that Christian Clark in the Civil Rights Division said that don't make it right. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the

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

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

From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a 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. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way.

Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real

from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corps vet. MMA fighter. Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new. It makes it real.

Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers. But we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you've got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else. But never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad.

That's Dadication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. Maude Aubrey, when they lynched him in Brunswick, Georgia, and they said that was legal, that Christian Clark and the civil rights division said that didn't make it right

and when they beat Tyree Nichols to death five black police officers in Memphis Tennessee and they tried to say that it was legal, that Christian Clark and the Civil Rights Division said, but that doesn't make it right.

And now Sonia Massey, Springfield, Illinois. Roland, I know you showed the video on your show many times. Derek, I know that's where NAACP first started after the race riots. It reminds us that we still have so much work to do. National Fair Housing Center, Kim, I know we got so much work to do. Christian Clark, I've said it on many occasions, and I heard some of my colleagues say it. Save Robert Kennedy.

And what they did back in the 60s with Dr. King and Congressman Lewis and Fannie Lou Hamer and others, I cannot think of a Justice Department and Civil Rights Division that has done more to make the Constitution real for all Americans. I'm so moved by this program, I'm going to try and keep it together here as we close things out. My remarks today are in tribute to the extraordinary career staff of the Civil Rights Division, who are the ones who really make the magic happen. I want to ask all of the current and former members of the Civil Rights Division, and I see that there are many here, to please stand and be recognized.

It is a profound honor to be with you today reflecting on the enduring legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a great American whose vision, courage, and commitment to justice transformed our nation's moral and social fabric. As we close today's tribute to his life and monumental contributions he made, we also celebrate our own hard work to advance his dream, a dream of a nation where equality, justice, and fairness are not just aspirational ideals, but tangible realities for us all. Dr. King was a visionary. He believed deeply in the promise of America, even as he recognized the profound inequities and systemic racism that plagued our society. He fought tirelessly for civil rights, practiced nonviolent resistance, and embraced the inherent dignity of every human being. His leadership during the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s ignited a fire that continues to burn in the hearts of those who seek justice and equality. It burns in our own hearts.

But as we have seen today, the work Dr. King began is far from done. When President Biden nominated me on the morning of January 6, 2021, and the Senate confirmed me for this role on the one-year anniversary of George Floyd's death, our country was in the throes of unrest with echoes of the nation's earlier civil rights movement sounding in the streets. Black people had been tragically killed. Ahmaud Arbery died for the apparent offense of jogging while black. Breonna Taylor died on the floor of her apartment because of an illegitimate search warrant. George Floyd died with a police officer kneeling on his neck. And not just black people felt the brunt of prejudice and violence. The previous year, COVID had unleashed hate-fueled violence targeting Asian Americans. Anti-Semitic and Islamophobic violence were also skyrocketing.

The targeting of LGBTQI people, especially children, was rampant. But the proliferation of violence and hate sparked a counterreaction. Protesters of all stripes mounted more than 10,000 demonstrations. Yellow paint on the streets reminded people that black lives matter. Activists toppled Confederate statues. Mississippi removed the Confederate symbol from its flag. Corporations, states, and localities designated Juneteenth a holiday. Washington's football team shed its racist name and logo. And in a seemingly small move that actually matters, publications began to capitalize black

when using it to describe people. This change acknowledged the shared history, identity, and community among people who identify as black. It seemed to suggest understanding by institutions that previously privileged an archaic style over a minor edit that cost nothing. It hinted at respect and a willingness to confront a collective history of racism and injustice. All welcome, overdue, and symbolic steps, but none of them enough to fully realize Dr. King's dream. I stepped into this role with great pride to return to the place where I started my career

as a baby lawyer in 2000, but also with a sense of the urgency of the moment. At the Civil Rights Division, we have long enforced federal laws that protect people from discrimination based on race, national origin, sex, disability, religion, and military status. For 67 years, our explicit mission has been to give force and meaning to the law, to elevate them beyond mere words on paper, to integrate them into the reality of everyday life for all Americans, regardless of their background, zip code, or circumstance. We've sought to redeem the promise of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Fair Housing Act of 1968, and more. As we reflect on Dr. King's legacy, I want to talk about how the Civil Rights Division has fulfilled this mission in the last four years.

Under the leadership of President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland, we have revitalized and empowered the division. We have expanded the scope of our action to address both overt and covert barriers to civil rights. We have made progress that will be difficult to reverse and changes that are more than symbolic, more than gestures. George Floyd's tragic killing ignited not just a wave of protests, but a renewed national conversation about policing in the criminal justice system. Dr. King had earnestly hoped for such dialogue, but to see the persistence of police misconduct today would have left him heartsick. peacefully submitted to arrest a fact that critics of the Black Lives Matter movement might have invoked as evidence that he was not critical of law enforcement, but King was critical. In his 1963 at the March on Washington, he said, we can never be satisfied as long as Black Americans are victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.

This is as true today as when he spoke those words. As true for white and brown victims as for black ones. As true in the north as it is in the south. In case after case, the division has prosecuted police officers and officials in our jails and prisons who thought it was acceptable to brutalize people, disproportionately people of color who didn't show the right level of respect, who did not comply with police orders quickly enough, or who ran away in fear.

Through our prosecutions, we have shown that such impunity by law enforcement is not acceptable, that the job of police is to enforce the law and ensure public safety, not to adjudicate guilt and mete out punishment that could lead to loss of life. We've also worked collaboratively with local law enforcement agencies to implement reforms. I've engaged with law enforcement groups across the country and participated in trainings. And we also have conducted pattern or practice investigations, yielding invaluable findings reports that lay bare for the public that police brutality persists. Decades after the sit-ins, the marches, and the letters from jail, we have uncovered and exposed systemic problems and discriminatory policies and practices.

Let me be clear, the vast majority of law enforcement in our country works to keep us safe. They make personal sacrifices and put their own lives on the line. But we also know that police officers need more resources, training, and accountability to do their jobs properly. Since 2021, we've negotiated and implemented consent decrees with cities such as Louisville and Minneapolis, where city leaders and police departments all agree on and stand with us in the pursuit of reform. Our decrees address issues such as excessive use of force, biased policing, and the failure to protect people's civil rights. Our work has also yielded powerful success stories in places such as Seattle, Albuquerque,

Newark, and Baltimore, where we have worked hard to make real the goals of existing consent decrees. Where policing has improved, violent crime has declined, and constitutional policing policies are becoming rooted in the culture of the communities and their police departments. Our decrees require independent monitors and provide accountability both within police departments and with the community, creating long-lasting change that aligns with Dr. King's vision of a just society. And we've been dynamic in our approach to this work, using other tools like the Americans with Disabilities Act to address the full range of complex issues that we face. Dr. King regarded the right to vote as paramount. He understood that the ballot made

public officials accountable, that it made them responsive, that it made them listen to the voices of marginalized communities. So long as I do not firmly and irrevocably possess the right to vote, I do not possess myself. I cannot make up my mind. It is made up for me. I cannot live as a democratic citizen observing the laws I have helped to enact. I can only submit to the edict of others, King observed. The Civil Rights Division has carried forward Dr. King's vision for voting rights by vigorously enforcing the Voting Rights Act and fighting voter suppression across the country. In recent years, states have introduced restrictive laws that make it harder for historically disenfranchised communities to access the ballot. We've sued to enjoin unconstitutional voter ID laws,

pushed back against racially gerrymandered redistricting maps, worked to ensure language access for minority voters, stood up for military members participating from overseas, advocated for voters with disabilities, and worked to address other tactics that, in the words of one court of appeals, quote, targeted African Americans with almost surgical precision. The division has continued to push for restoration of the full protections of the Voting Rights Act, worked to undo the Supreme Court's 2013 decision in Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder that eviscerated key provisions of the law and opened up the floodgates of voter suppression. We've worked

hard to make it clear that the right to vote is not an indulgence or reward bestowed by the state. As we prepare to mark the 70th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, we must all continue to push for something that should be beyond dispute. That we all deserve to have a voice in our democracy. I'll say this here. And y'all heard what I said before. Macongo, Derek and Teresa, when you talk about this Department of Justice and, you know, while I was sitting there, you know, it really ticked me off because I have said numerous times to Kareem Jean-Pierre, Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, Steve Benjamin, on and on and on. I have implored this White House. How is it that this Department of Justice Civil Rights Division has done so much great work,

police accountability, prosecuting hate crimes, putting cops in jail, putting jailers, prison wardens in jails. When it comes to redlining, mortgage discrimination, housing discrimination, I actually sent a video in at this ceremony. There were a number of people that sent videos in, and they played my video as well, and I talked about that. And if there's one thing that probably drives me crazy the most, Teresa,

is that the White House press office of communications folks just for four years screwed up, never from the podium highlighting the great work. And that was one of the reasons why people believe that this administration hadn't done anything on criminal justice reform, but they did, but they never talked about it. And Merrick Garland was an awful communicator. If you want to understand how awful this is, the Department of Justice has cameras. They actually live stream news conferences. Today's event, we were the only camera

at today's event. We were the only camera at today's event. Wow. We were the only camera. Christian asked me to come, Roland, please come on Monday. I was like, listen, I'm going to try to be there. I said, hey, let's send a camera. We were there. We live streamed it.

If y'all want to see the whole ceremony, go to our YouTube channel. Go to the Black Sutton Network app. We're the only camera that's there. And I'm like, no one will ever know your story unless you tell your story. And so that's probably the one thing that just drove me crazy. All the great stuff they did, the public rarely heard about it because the White House never amplified it. And that's a tremendous failure on the Biden-Harris administration, especially when we are going through consistent issues back to back about civil rights, about injustice, about fighting for our neighbors and community.

And then you have an AG like Kristen Clark, who literally probably should have been Merrick Garland in that position because it seems like her and her team is actually doing the work. And so the priority is what it seems like is that, one, the justice system has been doing the work. So when we say, you know, how do we make sure that black and brown communities, more so African-American communities, had a voice? It is because our assistant AG, Kristen Clark, and her team did what they were supposed to do. It's very unfortunate, like I said before, on a communication side, because this would have been an easy win at the podium during White House briefings, starting off with a justice report that has to do with how they are taking back and upholding our constitutional rights as Americans, as citizens, would absolutely have made Americans great

again. You know, perfect example, Derek. They released, you know, the only report the federal government has ever done on what took place in Tulsa in 1921. That took place last Thursday. They had a community forum on Saturday. And there were a lot of people who said, oh, well, this is just symbolic. It means nothing. No, setting the historical record, I believe, is important. And who you put in charge is important. And I can tell you that Christian Clark, the work that she did in her staff, absolutely has been amazing. And I just hate the fact that this White House did not do more to lift them up.

When you talk about the prosecutions, when you talk about the guilty verdicts, when you talk about, again, not just civil rights, but economic rights, all of that's so important. And I can guarantee you, Derek, the DOJ Civil Rights Division for the next four years won't even come close to what Kristen Clark did the last four years. You know, Roland, I would never bet you, but I agree with you that the next four years will not be like his first time in office. You know, Omokongo said it best. Despite him coming into office, we can't give up. And while Christian Clark was giving her remarks, Roland, a couple of things came to mind. When you think about what the Supreme Court has done in the last nine years, when you think about what the Republican Party has done in the last nine years, what you think about what the Republican Party has done

these last nine years, what just took place recently during this last election, Roland, the second time Trump's going to be in office won't be like the first time. And a lot of folks thinking while we survived the first four

years, we should be able to survive it this time. And a lot of folks thinking, well, we survived the first four years. We should be able to survive at this time. He won't have the kind of voices around him that needs to be around him that preserve and protect the Constitution. And so when you think about, you know, Kristen Clark mentioned about the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act. Well, that's not part of the 13th Amendment, 14th Amendment, 15th Amendment. Those three laws, Rowley, can be overturned just like the Chevron case, just like Roe v. Wade, and just like the affirmative action. Things that have been around 40, 50 years that set precedent are no longer the case in the United States. So we can very well wake up in the next four years without a Civil Rights Act of 1964, without a Voting Rights Act of 1965 and without a Fair Housing Act of 1968. That's what concerns me. I'm a Congo.

Christian Clark is a hero. I mean, period, bottom line. I mean, when it comes down to it, I've seen you tirelessly on this network bring up the various things that she has done under her department. And I was hoping for the Kamloin so she could be an attorney general. But we talk about, well, the next administration, what's going to happen? I actually believe that the next administration is going to be the opposite effect. The people that she was fighting for, or in terms of fighting to convict, are going to be the people that they're setting free. And so this actually ties into our first one or two sec blocks tonight. We were talking about

the protection bureaus and the like. People don't know what they have until it's gone. And the fact of the matter is that they fought for so much for us under these four years, protections we didn't know we had, because unless you're watching the Black Star Network, you weren't getting it anywhere else. But now when we see so many of these criminals, these racists, these anti-Semites, these Islamophobes who are going to be walking free, the folks who are going to be pardoned, all of this, we're going to be like, where's the Justice Department? Where's the Justice? Well, we had a great Justice Department in terms of its civil rights division that was doing incredible work for us

every single day. I know that she's not done. I can't wait to see what she's doing next. But the mainstream media and media in general missed a great opportunity in highlighting her work. But as you started off with this, Roland, the Biden administration itself did a terrible job of promoting what this Black woman did to help keep us safe. And not just Black people, like she said, but so many of us safe. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action.

And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Business Week editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our

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

comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English.

I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner.

It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette.

MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves.

A wrap-up way, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. And I'm glad that you were the only camera in the room, but there should have been a hundred more, but I'm glad we have that story to share with the country and the world. Um, so for folks, if you, if you missed it, uh, simply go to our Black Start Network app or go to our YouTube channel, youtube.com forward slash Roland S. Martin, uh, to actually see, uh, that full program. And you'll listen to

all of the amazing people and listen to things things they had to say about the work of Christian Clark and her civil rights division. So we thank her profusely for being a patriot for the work that she did over the last four years. And trust me, we will remember that. And it's going to be tough for any Democrat administration to equal or surpass what they did. And because we clearly know no Republican administration will come close, will remotely come close to having a strong civil rights division, especially with the nutcase Donald Trump has named to lead the civil rights division. Derek, I'm a Congo and Teresa, thank you so much for being on today's panel. Thank you so very much, folks. That is it for us. Don't forget, support the work that we do.

What I said to you earlier is a perfect example. And I'm not making this up. I stood up. I said, actually, when I got there, I sat next to Kristen Clark and only one camera that was in the back of that room today that was live streaming or recording this event. And that was ours. And look, it cost it cost me to pay somebody to pay it, to pay, you know, a freelancer to get our gear to go there and stream that event. We didn't make any money off of that event. No one paid us to actually be there, but it was important to be there. So when I'm walking you through this, when I'm telling you about the work that we do, when I'm talking about the events that we cover, when I talk about the people that we bring on, there's a freelance producer who I am onboarding. I talked to her today, who's going to be helping us produce our show and then two of our other shows on the network. Guess what? That's going to cost money. When we talk about bringing on two additional show hosts,

I'm working on that as we speak. When We talk about also bringing on a couple of writers. Those things cost money. And listen, these ad agencies out here, they don't want to support news. We talk to them and like, oh, no, our clients want to be away from news, especially any opinionated news. So, you know, they ain't trying to support any black news. And so when we talk about joining our Bring the Funk fan club, that's what we're talking about. And those things are real. Those costs are real. And so we want you if you have. And again, our goal every year is to get 20,000 of our fans. So far, we get about 37,000 donors who've been a part of our Bring the Funk fan club since we launched this show six years ago.

And the goal is to raise a million dollars a year from our fans. And there are people who say, hey, you know what? I can't do 50 bucks. And people have donated 25, 30, 15, 10, 5, 1 dollar. And so we support all of them for doing that. And we've had some other people who say, you know what, I can donate more than that. In fact, I've had people I've had people I saw some of the people who gave today. And so we appreciate all of that. But do understand, do understand. You take the story of the folks, Shiloh, Alabama.

National media isn't talking to them. National media isn't covering them. Tomorrow on the show, we're going to talk about the water problems they're having in Richmond, Virginia. National media isn't talking about those things. And so when you support this show with your dollars, you are supporting black news and information. There is no other black media company, black owned media company doing what we're doing. Not black targeted or black owned. Not one. None of them are doing what we do every single day. And so please be sure to support us in every way that you can. If you want to contribute via Cash App, you can't do it direct because cash up got rid of all of our accounts because they change their rules and so the way to give you a cash app is

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tv xbox one samsung smart tv uh be sure to get my book, White Fear, How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds, available at bookstores nationwide. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, of course. You can also get the audio version, which I read on Audible. And don't forget, you can get our Roland Martin Unfiltered Black Star

Network merchandise. Our two newest shirts, We Tried to Tell You, FAFO 2025, and also, don't blame me, I voted for the black woman. Some of you have had some issues in receiving your merchandise. The folks there with Creator Spring, they have had one of their suppliers, one of their warehouses, they shut down, So they've been trying to make some adjustments. And so we have been talking to them directly about making sure you're able to get your products

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to fund the work that we are doing. So, folks, we appreciate all of you. Thank you so very much. I will see all of you tomorrow right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered and the Black Star Network. Holla!

Black Star Network is here. Oh, no punches! A real revolution right now. Thank you for being the voice of Black America. All momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scared. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You can't be black on media and be scared.

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