#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Black Men & Economic Recovery, S.C.& Amputation Rates, Men of Change Exhibit, Color Noir

Episode Date: March 31, 2022

3.30.2022 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Black Men & Economic Recovery, S.C.& Amputation Rates, Men of Change Exhibit, Color Noir The economy and black folks. As our economy recovers, black men are still being left behind. According to a recent report by the Center for American Progress, black men continue to experience consistent unemployment gaps and limited economic opportunities. We'll have one of the authors of that report explain the findings. Vice President Kamala Harris announces improvements to a pilot program to help underserved entrepreneurs. An investigative report calls a South Carolina zip code one of the most medically dangerous communities in the South. We'll have both of those reporters on to talk about why so many black people in Columbia, South Carolina, are getting their limbs amputated at an alarming rate. The leadership of a town in New Jersey is accused of paying off a whistleblower who allegedly recorded town leaders making racial remarks about black people. An art exhibit is uplifting the black man at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture in Baltimore. The executive of the museum will tell us about the Men of Change. And today's Marketplace segment, a husband and wife team created an adult coloring app depicting the black experience. #RolandMartinUnfiltered partner: Nissan | Check out the ALL NEW 2022 Nissan Frontier! As Efficient As It Is Powerful! 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/3FqR7bP Support #RolandMartinUnfiltered and #BlackStarNetwork via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered PayPal ☛ https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered Venmo ☛https://venmo.com/rmunfiltered Zelle ☛ [e-mail] Annual or monthly recurring #BringTheFunk Fan Club membership via paypal ☛ https://rolandsmartin.com/rmu-paypal/ Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox 👉🏾 http://www.blackstarnetwork.com #RolandMartinUnfiltered and the #BlackStarNetwork are news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend.

At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit adoptuskids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the recording studios. 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. Thank you. I'm real revolutionary right now. We support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. Thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roland. Hey, Black, I love y'all. All momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal.

See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scape. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? Wednesday, March 30, 2022, coming up on Roland Martin, unfiltered on the Black Star Network,

the economy and black folks. As our economy recovers, black men still are being left behind. According to a new recent report by the Center for American Progress, black men continue to experience consistent unemployment gaps. And of course, lack of economic opportunities will break this whole thing down and explain what's going on. Vice President Kamala Harris announces improvements to a pilot program to help underserved entrepreneurs. An investigative report calls a South Carolina zip code

one of the most medically dangerous communities in the South. We'll have both of those reporters talk about why so many black people in Columbia, South Carolina are getting their limbs amputated at an alarming rate. The leadership of a town in New Jersey accused of paying off a whistleblower who allegedly recorded town leaders

making racist remarks about black people. An art exhibit is uplifting the black man at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland. African American History and Culture will talk with the executive director of the museum about the Men of Change exhibit. Plus, today's Marketplace segment, a husband and wife, sorry, our Tech Talk segment,

a husband and wife, of course, they created an adult cooking app depicting the black experience. Quite interesting. It's time to bring the funk on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Let's go. With entertainment just for kicks He's rollin' Yeah, yeah It's Uncle Roro, y'all Yeah, yeah It's Rollin' Martin, yeah

Yeah, yeah Rollin' with Rollin' now Yeah, yeah He's funky, he's fresh, he's real The best you know, he's Rollin' Martin Now He's real, the best you know. He's rolling, Martel. Martel. The Center for American Progress recently released a report confirming that discrimination negatively affects black men despite claims of national economic recovery. Unemployment for black men,

folks, is at 6.4 percent. That's double that of white men at three percent. Yeah, more than 400,000 black men would be employed monthly if they had the same unemployment rates as white men. Last year, one in five black men worked frontline jobs exposing their families to COVID. Let's talk about this with Rose Kalar, Associate Director, Rapid Response and Analysis for the Center for American Progress based in D.C. Rose, glad to have you here. And so, OK, so we have this gap. We know historically we have had this gap. We know historically we have had this gap. And so the question is, how do policymakers address it, especially when you have a lot of people, namely Republicans, who say,

oh no, systemic racism, it doesn't exist? I mean, I find it hard to believe that anyone can look at the data and say that systemic racism doesn't exist. Like you said, consistently, since the data's been collected, Black men had twice the unemployment rate of white men. And that is just absolutely not acceptable. And so the statistics from the last couple of months are no different to what we've seen since we've collected data on this issue.

So, um, in what areas is it most pronounced? So essentially, when we talk about the unemployment rate, we're talking about the overall economy. But I do think there is one thing in particular where we should really be focusing on is for the black men who are working, they're overwhelmingly concentrated in low wage jobs, jobs that tend to be frontline jobs as well. So they've been exposed to some health risks during the pandemic. But even irrespective of the pandemic, these jobs have been low wage jobs, jobs without access to benefits. So they wouldn't be classified as high quality jobs. Even for the black men who managed to find a job, those jobs tend not to be good-quality jobs.

And so, you know, with this gap, obviously, if it's impacting Black men this way, it's impacting Black families and Black children and their, of course, their partners or spouses. Absolutely. You know, the consistently high unemployment rates amongst black men, as well as the economic opportunity that black men experience, of insecurity as well as disproportionate higher unemployment rates as well in the labor market, too. So it's just not something that affects black men. It also affects black women. And taken together, this has really catastrophic impacts for the black community. This is one of the things that I often talk about with Reverend Dr. William Barber in the Poor People's Campaign, why they are pressing President Biden and Congress to deal with

the impact of the working poor. And this is really in line with their work. Absolutely. I think you're right. There is this like missing concept of the working poor. I think people tend to expect that once someone has a job, that's it. That's great news. When that's actually not true, it really matters the types of jobs that people can access. And we know historically and today, Black workers tend to access low quality jobs. And so there's a very easy solution to that. We need to lift up the quality of all jobs, especially jobs where black workers are concentrated in. And one of the things that we've we've constantly talked about that part of the issue is how how this country has shifted really to so much with jobs that that are driven by technology or finance, very few people are really working with their hands.

When you begin to talk about industrial jobs, what also plays into this is when black men and black people are shut out of trade unions and not being able to get those kind of jobs as well. We're about to spend $660 billion with the infrastructure bill. And I specifically have said to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, said again today to the Senate Democratic leadership in the African-American media roundtable, that they've got to ensure that those billions also go to Black businesses who are more than likely going to employ Black people. That's absolutely correct. We have to very much diversify the makeup of high quality jobs that exist today. There is money out there for workforce development strategies that are intended to make sure that black's not just about lifting the quality of low wage jobs. It's also about making sure black men and black women can access jobs that we already know are high quality jobs.

And those are basically going to be the jobs of the future. All right. Rose Kalar, well, the Center for American Progress, we certainly appreciate you joining us. Thank you so very much. Thank you. I want to bring my panel, A. Scott Bolden, former chair of the National Bar Association Political Action Committee, Robert Petillo, executive director of the Rainbow Push Coalition

Peach Tree Street Project, Monique Presley, legal analyst, crisis manager. Let me have all three of you here. I'll start with you, Robert. On this issue, when we're talking about economics of black men, you know, look, this is what the Rainbow Push, Reverend Jackson has long dealt with.

When you talk about well-paid jobs, again, today, this morning, you had about 15 or 20 Democratic senators who met with about 20 or so black journalists and members of the black-owned media. And, you know, folks were talking about voting rights. They were talking about, you know, other different issues. I was like, let's get to the money. At the end of the day, let's deal with the money. And when we began to challenge folks on the money, yesterday, President Joe Biden, they put forth their defense budget. $31 billion more than what the Department of Defense got last year.

This is what Reverend Barber has also been saying. I'm sorry, didn't we just do a 10-year defense bill that we're to get by $700 billion a year? I mean, at what point are we going to recognize that if you do not deal with your workers, then you're not going to have a country to defend? Well, Romy, you're right. And even Dr. King said the next struggle in the civil rights movement is the struggle for economic justice and economic opportunity. It's not enough simply to take the boot of Jim Crow off the necks of the African-American community. We have to lift them up economically in order to be able to compete in this 21st century. And to your point about the defense spending bill, it went from $765 billion that they passed last week. Now it's going to be $813 billion next year.

With that, we have to remember that if you take in the real cost and real contracting expenses, we're looking at over a trillion dollars in defense spending. This is multinational money laundering. That's what they're doing. You give Ukraine $14 billion. You tell them they can only buy weapons from America. And then you funnel that money back to the American companies, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, so on and so forth. And then you ask the taxpayer for more money to do the whole thing again. So you are encouraging perpetual war. And the only ways that African-Americans benefit from this is by being servicemen to women. What we have to do is create the pipelines to economic opportunity, create those causeways, because even we're going to talk about the NFL issue later on. It's about having that pipeline

from elementary school into the C-suite, elementary school, high school, not simply into vocational education. But I want my share of those military contracting dollars. Why aren't HBCUs being cut in to the research and development dollars that DARPA is putting out there that are going to MIT and Stanford and many of these other institutions? What do we need to do to make sure that African-Americans can get into leadership positions in federal programs? Many of these six-figure jobs that are out there, that if you look at the people making those, they're almost predominantly or almost totally not African-American. So there

are various ways that the federal government can address these issues. One is to address the educational issues at the K-12 level that are not preparing students to compete for the jobs of the future. And also we have to address the prison industrial complex where we're jailing more black men than we're spending more money to jail black men than we're spending to educate them. So we need a holistic approach across the board and tell somebody takes this bull by the horns and really makes it a priority issue, then we're going

to continue to spin our wheels going forward. It always amazes me, Scott, when the issue of the Pentagon and the budget comes up, no one ever says how are we going to pay for it? Can't we get a CBO score on that? No, it's like, okay, sure. How many more billions?

Yet when you begin to talk about people, American workers, the working poor, oh, I don't really know if we can afford that. Well, the idea for Republicans and Democrats when it comes to the safety and security of America is rooted in the fact that the more money we give the military, the more we will be training black, white, yellow, and brown folks who are in the military a skill set. And that justifies, arguably, not only our American security and personal safety, but also you can join the military and be trained. But there's another issue here,

and I don't think we're going to disagree, is that when we talk about these numbers of Black men being less employed or employable than white men, then you can't talk about that gap without talking about dollars to be spent on jobs, job training, entrepreneurship training, so that our community of black men and our communities of color are prepared. We take away the excuse that why we can't, we aren't hireable by saying, not only are we trained and tested, we're ready.

We need that opportunity. Because our critics will always say, well, most of your community are either in jail or untrained or dropped out of school and what have you. We've got to take that negative narrative away. And no matter what systemic racism says, we've still got to be prepared. If we're part of the least lost and left out, we still have to be prepared. And counseling our young men to stay prepared, no matter how difficult it gets, ought to have dollars behind it. You know, it's always interesting, Monique, when I start talking about the money. And I'll have black folks, man, why are you always bringing that stuff up?

This is America. If you don't talk about the money, then you're having the wrong damn conversation. And when we're talking about this underemployment of black men, the underemployment of black men, the underemployment of black men and black women and black youth has a direct impact on one of the reasons why we're broke, we're poor, why we can't be able to afford a home, send our kids to schools. And so it's not even a question of, oh, intellect or skill set. It's literally being still frozen out of sectors that exist.

And so there has to be a completely different view, frankly, in this country in terms of how we are going to employ people and deal with wages. There's so many. We talk about outsourcing things along those lines, I've said for years we made a grave mistake when we got rid of technical training out of our school system because what that did was it limited the opportunities of people who may not go to a four-year institution, who may not go to a two-year institution,

but can still be able to get a very good job, be able to raise their family, be able to buy goods and services, get a home, and send their kids to college. That's really how we were able to grow the black middle class, looking at those manufacturing jobs, even during the period of Jim Crow. The types of questions that you are asking are the ones that we have been conditioned to not ask. We are supposed to be grateful for whatever it is we get. If we have a job, we're supposed to be grateful for the job.

We're not supposed to demand more pay, let alone equal pay. If we have an opportunity to own houses, we're not supposed to complain about redlining. We're not supposed to complain about the manner in which our school districts are in the areas where we have housing. If we are being disproportionately mistreated in any area, then the whole notion that has been ingrained in generations until we got to this one is a false sense of gratitude where because we had nothing, we are supposed to be thankful. All right. All right. Looks like Monique froze. Looks like Monique froze. And that's what has to change.

Okay. She's back. All right. You froze about 20 seconds. So why don't you finish the end of what you were saying? Am I unfrozen? Huh? Am I unfrozen? You're unfrozen. Go ahead. Oh, great. I was saying the whole notion of us being offered something that is subpar, the notion of us being given something that is not equitable, that is not fair, but we're supposed to be grateful for it. That is conditioning over time. And that is the very thing. As you just said, when you ask about the money, people get uncomfortable because they don't want us to get frozen out of an entire system. When for real, we the only way we get more is if we demand it. And everybody knows that. Well, again, let's just be real clear.

I will always talk about the money because that's one of the things we don't talk enough about. And so hopefully, folks, hopefully you're going to be joining us on June 18th. We will be in the nation's capital standing with the Poor People's Campaign, Repairs of the Breach, Reverend Dr. William Barber for their big event on that particular day, driving that economic agenda. That will be, of course, on June 18th. We'll be broadcasting it live on that day as well. So, folks, coming up next, we're going to talk about this disturbing story out of South Carolina where the number of black people who are losing their limbs when they really

shouldn't be. What's going on in that particular state and the health care of our folks? We'll be discussing that next with reporters, two reporters who actually wrote this story, which is actually really a shocking and stunning story. Also, folks, don't forget, we want you to support us. Download the Black Star Network app on all available platforms, Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV.

You can also support us by bringing the Funk Fan Club. Every dollar you give goes to support this show. Our goal is to get 20,000 of our fans contributing a minimum of 50 bucks each, $4.19 a month, 13 cents a day. And that course allows us to be able to cover the stories all across this country, especially with the lecture season coming up. A lot of you who do not like technology, y'all old school, we got you. If you want to send your check or money order, PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C.,

20037, Cash App, it's dollar sign, RM Unfiltered. PayPal is rmartinunfiltered. Venmo is rmunfiltered. Zelle is rolandat, rolandsmartin.com, roland Roland at rolandmartinunfiltered.com. I'll be right back. Nå er vi på veien. I'm going to show you. Now, did you ever want to do a soap opera? I did it before on Another World. I did it years ago with Joe Morton, Morgan Freeman, called Another World. It's the funk now, but that's how I started, in TV.

You? My first job. You? My very first TV job. Joe Morton and Morgan Freeman were on it another word. It's the funk now, but that's how I started, in TV. You? My first job. You? My very first TV job. Joe Morton and Morgan Freeman were on a soap opera? Together. Yes. I know.

Oh, I loved it. I played a prostitute. I was real raw. My name was Lily Mason. I was a hoe on Tuesday, and then I owned the town two weeks later. That's how they do you. Right, that's how soap operas.

You know, you evolve. Yeah. So now I'm on this, but I'm so bothered. You know, you evolve, yeah. So now I'm on this, but I'm rich right from Jump Street. So I'm loving it. Pull up a chair, take your seat. The Black Tape with me, Dr. Greg Carr, here on the Black Star Network. Every week, we'll take a deeper dive into the world we're living in. Join the conversation only on the Black Star Network. Hi, how's it doing? It's your favorite funny girl, Amanda. I'm Martin.

I'm Martin. A South Carolina zip code is listed as one of the most medically dangerous communities in the deep south as diabetic amputations continue to rise across the nation. Look at this map here, folks. Approximately 10 of every 10,000 residents in the 29208 zip code received a lower limb amputation due to damage from diabetes between 2016 and 2020. That topped the amputation rates of zip codes in Charleston, Atlanta, Montgomery, and Jackson, Mississippi.

So what the hell is going on? Investigative journalist Andrew Kaplan, Gina Smith, they wrote the story called Cut Off for the State.com, highlighting these numbers. They join us now from Gainesville, Florida and Columbia, South Carolina. Either one of you start. What the hell is happening in this zip code? Well, it's great to be with you, Roland. Thank you so much for having us and putting a spotlight on this really important issue. You know, it really started about a decade ago with a rumor that's been around South Carolina that this one zip code had the highest diabetic amputation rate in the nation is what we had often heard. But nobody knew for sure if that was true.

Nobody knew if that was a verified number. And about two years ago, my boss at the newspaper was having a meeting with an official at the hospital here in Columbia. And that hospital official mentioned to my boss that, you know, we do have really high diabetic amputation rates in this zip code. And so my boss came back to the office and said, we really need to look into this. What is going on and why? And so that started us on our journey. It took us about two years to crunch the data and to really work on this story to highlight the health disparities and the problems that are happening in 29203. Wait, wait, wait. It took y'all two years, Andrew?

Yes. There was actually many hands on this one. I know I spent probably a year of my life in Columbia just crunching the numbers and trying to figure out what the issues were. It started before me, as Gina stated. You know, this was an idea that started a few years ago. We had some reporters that were digging on the issue then. And then, yeah, it's not easily accessible data. And the surgeons that we spoke to, when we brought up the issue to them as well, they tried to find the data, and it wasn't, it's just not easily accessible.

Here's one of the things, Gina, that people don't understand, and I'm always trying to explain to people this. I love these people who hit me on Twitter and they hit me on social media. You should investigate this. And I keep telling them, do you have any idea what investigative journalism is? And one of the problems that we have right now in this country, as it turns out, where we are in media. The massive cutbacks have prevented many newspapers and digital outlets from having real investigative

journalism because of the time it takes to be able to do these stories here. You talked about having to crunch the numbers. So what was it? Were they not gathered in one place? Were they being mislabeled? What really was the biggest reason why sending it to the correct agency within each state, really, to get it. double checking their numbers with other numbers. So one issue that we had several times was that they gave us, we were given numbers that, or a data set that was incomplete, or one was astronomical compared to another one. So you really have to clean it up and then basically go back to them and check saying, hey, are you sure that you're not counting patients multiple times?

You know, maybe they lose two toes, right? So it's not two patients. It's one patient. So we wanted to make sure that we got individuals counted. It's just a lot of that, really. And going through states and filing records requests. And it's very time consuming. So, Gina, I'm trying to understand why the amputations, because what your story lays out is that you don't have

the same number of amputations elsewhere. Is it healthcare? Is it just, oh, is it just easier just to go ahead and get these people in and out? Yeah, what our story found was this one zip code, it's just a layering effect of problems that you see in a lot of communities across the United States, particularly communities where a lot of people of color are living. You know, this is an area that is a food desert. It is a very big zip code where you have nearly 41,000 people live. There are four grocery stores in that entire zip code, Roland. And those four, two of them might as well not exist

because they're tucked in the northeast corner of the zip code. So a lot of residents, you know, a lot of the residents rely on public transportation. You know, they can't access those grocery stores very easily. So access to produce is very difficult for so many residents. It's things like there aren't that many primary care physicians working in this zip code. If you're a diabetic, you know, you don't have access to physicians to help you manage your disease.

You may not even have access to a physician to even know that you're diabetic. It's things like South Carolina is one of a handful of states that refused to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act about a decade ago. In fact, South Carolina instead chose to make some cuts during the Great Recession. And one of the cuts they made, they decided to cut visits to podiatrists. So lots of folks who need to go to podiatrists to help them look and their legs, they don't have access to podiatrists. Now, South Carolina has recently added those visits back. But, you know, for many years, if you were, you know, a Medicaid recipient, you could not go to see a podiatrist in South Carolina. We still have not expanded Medicaid here in South Carolina. So there are

an estimate 100,000 people who are in insurance coverage gap in South Carolina that have no insurance. Who knows how many of those folks are diabetics who are in danger of getting amputations. It's just a layering effect of those sort of things. That right there, Andrew, I think shows, and people need to understand, I always say on this show why elections matter, and the shameful Republican leaders in South Carolina, what they did. And we're talking about a state that already gets a significant amount of money of its budget from the federal government. And

if you're unwilling to take care of people, then if you're amputating folks, now their lives are becoming even harder and even more difficult. So you're just sitting here going, what the hell?

What did the politicians say when y'all reached out to them, the state leaders of South Carolina, with these numbers? Did they even care? I will say we tried to steer clear of a lot of the politicians in this story, but there were some in particular that represent 29203 that are aware of the statistics and are doing work in communities. One in particular is a member of the Antioch Baptist Church, which has a senior program where they try to educate people on healthier eating habits and exercise, and they bring nutritionists in there.

Sadly, this representative told me that they actually had one of their members actually die shortly after an amputation. So some of them, at least in the 2923 area, are very aware of it, and they're trying to. But I think limited resources and the one thing that we kept hearing over and over is just the need for more partnerships, more people to do it. It's one group can't solve this problem alone. And so, well, again, I would hope policymakers actually will say something. I'm going to go to each one of my panelists and give them an opportunity to ask a question. I'll start with A. Scott Bolden. Hi, thank you for your study. My whole family has had type 2 diabetes, and my brother-in-law has it now.

And I think you're right about the continuum of issues, whether it's lack of access to health care, not dieting the right way, having a healthy diet, living in a food desert. What's the solution, though, in this area? Because I've read most of your report. It's excellent reporting. It does a good job at laying out all the factors that contribute to these high number of amputees, including within five years of you getting an amputation, you know, you're likely to die. You know, if you don't take care of your diet and you don't have access to health care and you don't manage that diabetes, it's a killer disease. You know, it's not a silent killer. It takes time, but it'll get there. But, you know, neuropathy, for example, which is a symptom, if you don't

feel that limb and you get cut or you get bit by a spider, for example, that can be a major health issue because you don't get it addressed. And so what are the answers to changing this high amputee ratio in this South Carolina community? And have you shared those recommendations with health experts as well as elected officials? I would say, yeah, wonderful question. And I would say two things. Number one, vascular surgeons. We absolutely need more vascular surgeons who can revascularize legs and save limbs

versus amputating. And one of our primary sources in this story is a man named Dr. Dan Clare, who started the vascular surgery program at Prisma Hospital, the hospital in the zip code. And something he said that was just astounding to me that he even said it to us on the record, because you all know doctors don't usually like to tattle on other doctors, right? Right off the bat, Dr. Clear told us when he arrived in Columbia, South Carolina in 2016, he was amazed at how few doctors in the area could do revascularization procedures, that he was meeting with general surgeons

and others who were doing amputations when they could be revascularizing legs. Andrew and I have often talked about how sad that people were losing limbs who could have had their limbs, their mobility, and their lives saved. So one of the solutions is, how do we get more vascular surgeons to this area? The hospital, to their credit, is very much dedicated to recruiting more vascular surgeons. They were on a good roll. They're currently down to just two. So there's some work to be done there, and I know they really are dedicated to doing that. The second thing that the hospital is also really leading the effort on is really grassroots starting in the community. It's educating about the dangers of diabetes. It's doing screenings in churches in between services, right?

They're working in elementary schools, doing curriculum about nutrition and providing support at home. They've been working with the city to find out why don't seniors exercise more in 29203. One of the things they've discovered from talking to seniors is that there are a lot of stray dogs that were keeping a lot of seniors from getting out and exercising. And so that's led to some additional animal control efforts to get those dogs out of there and so seniors can enjoy their afternoon walks. So there is a belief right now that there needs to be more of that. But the hospital says we cannot do this alone. We need more entities to hold hands and to join the fight so we can stop this crisis. Next question, Monique.

What involvement has there been on the federal level, and is there anything specifically that they could do in addition to the things that you mentioned that can be done on the state and the regional level? On the federal level, I don't think much, sadly. I mean, we talked about South Carolina is one of the handful of states that don't have Medicaid expansion, right? So that was something that was an option for us, and for whatever reason, South Carolina chose to scale back its coverage by reducing the podiatrist visits.

Yeah, but on the state level, I mean, there's funding for some of these centers that treat diabetics and uninsured patients, there's grants that go out to certain groups, but sadly, I think that's really all we had. Have the two senators from South Carolina weighed in, either of them? No, we have not talked to them. Is that the next part of your reporting? And that is to see what folks are going to actually do about it. So you've spotted the problem, but how are they going to try to fix it if they actually care to fix it?

Yeah, I think that may be where our reporting goes next. You know, what are the next steps to solve this problem? Who's willing to take the next steps? That would be terrific to see if there were more efforts to help 29203, because it really needs it, and its residents deserve it. Robert, your question. Thank you guys so much for all the work you've done thus far. Things are endemic not just in South Carolina, but throughout the South and Black communities in general.

What can we do to address the cultural issues around these? Often in Black communities and poor communities, you don't see health food stores, not simply because of food deserts, but because they're not profitable because people don't go to them. There's a, you know, there's still very much a social stigma around being a vegetarian or being a vegan. You see the entire body positivity movement. There's a new reality show, Lizzo, one for the big girls, but they don't talk about the long-term effects of that, where you might end up getting your foot cut off later on in life. How can we address these cultural issues while also being

sensitive to people's feelings and emotions to not feel like they're being attacked? Oh, man, that is a tough one. That is a tough one. I guess a lot of it is education, right? I mean, a lot of it's starting at the, you know, the grassroots level, too. You know, is it messages at churches? Is it, you know, messages at home? Things like that, that maybe you don't get through TV, you know, that help counter that. Messages through school. Like I said, the hospital is doing a lot of partnering with the school system to try to catch kids early and teach nutrition. But, I mean, you all know part of Southern culture, too, is, you know, we all love that food. It's awfully hard to change those eating habits. It really is.

But you make a wonderful point that this is not a situation that's unique to 29203. It's not even a situation that is unique to even the Deep South. Another thing that really surprised me when we started digging in on this reporting is that nationally, African-Americans receive amputations at three times the rate of white patients. Three times. Okay? And those are studies that take into account the fact that African-Americans are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at a higher rate. Now, the rates in the South are even higher, okay? But nationally, we're talking about rates that hover around three times the rate of white patients. So something is going on and it's not just in the deep South. All right. Well, look, we look forward to more reporting. We thank you so much for this

really critically important story that took us so long. Adam Kaplan, Gina Smith, thank you so very much for thestate.com. Thank you. All right, appreciate it. All right, folks, I've got to go to a break. When we come back, more on Roland Martin Unfiltered. We'll talk about Vice President Kamala Harris and the issue of resources for black entrepreneurs. We'll talk about that and a number of other stories as well. Don't forget, folks, if you want to support us

in what we do, please join our Bring the Funk fan folks, if you want to support us in what we do, please join our Bring the Funk fan club, where every dollar you give goes to support what we do. You know, we've got a lot of people here. Pam wrote us, congratulations Black Star Network, I love what you're doing. Keep showing us who we are and what we should be. I certainly appreciate.

That's a great note right there. Let's see right here. Let's see here. Thanks for all you're doing and all you accomplished. I'm happy for you. And also, I'm in the U.S. military. Please keep up the good work. And so, Greg, I appreciate that, Greg. And we also thank you for your service.

Let's see right here. None of these notes are from Scott Bolton. So we'll let you all know that. So, Greg, thank you for your service. And I appreciate it. Thank you. And we also thank you for your service. Let's see right here. None of these notes are from Scott Bolton, so we'll let y'all know that. Napoleon Keys said, got a support. We appreciate it.

Yes, Scott, I call you out. Sherman Henderson said, thanks for what you do. I appreciate that. Let's see here. Wendy said, Roland, I hope this works. Please carry it on. Trust me, Wendy. Every dollar that is given to us is put to good work. Let's see here.

You're doing an excellent job. I don't watch any other news. I get my info from your black-owned network. Here's a $50 check. Bring the fuck fan club. Carol Lacey. Carol, I certainly appreciate it as well. Thank you so very much.

I'm going to read one more before we go to the break. And let's see. Yolanda Spencer. It is my pleasure to support what you're doing. Keep on doing what you're doing. Yolanda, we certainly are going to do that. So, folks, if you want to support us in what we do, of course, send us a check or a money order to PO Box 57196,

Washington, D.C. 20037. Cash App with Dallas Sign, RM Unfiltered. PayPal is RM37. Cash at Medallosan, RM Unfiltered. PayPal is rmartinunfiltered. Venmo is rmunfiltered. Zelle is roland at rolandsmartin.com. Roland at rolandmartinunfiltered.com. Ben Isom, you get a shout-out. You have given to us during the show.

Jacarro Bailey, you get a shout-out as well. Let's see here. I'm scrolling down, looking for other names that have come in to give folks a shout out. That's how we do it. So, if you give during the show, I'll give you a shout out. No delay. And of course, all names go on the scroll on every Friday that we show everyone.

Avery Whitley, thank you so very much as well. And let's see here. I'm going to read one more. Let me go. Let's see, let's see, let's see who comes up. So you got to see, I get emails, y'all, every time someone gives on any of the platforms. So I get a notice.

Paul Lee, thank you so very much as well. Folks, I'll be right back. I'm Roland Martin, unfiltered on the Black Star Network. I'm sorry. Mm-hmm. On the next A Balanced Life, as we grind down to the end of another long winter, it's easy to slip out of balance and into the foggy doldrums. On the next A Balanced Life, ways to push through the gray days until the warm days of spring arrive. Join me, Dr. Jackie, on A Balanced Life on Black Star Network. We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not. From politics to music and entertainment, it's a huge part of our lives. And we're going to talk about it every day right here on The Culture with me, Faraji Muhammad, only on the Black Star Network.

What's going on? This is Tobias Treville. Let's go. Today, Vice President Kamala Harris was at her alma mater, Howard University, folks, to announce the improvements to a pilot program targeted towards helping underserved entrepreneurs. The Small Business Administration's Community Advantage Pilot Loan Program was launched during the Obama-Biden administration and was set to expire in September. However, the Biden-Harris administration has extended the program and added a few provisions. The VP highlighted the difficulties many minority entrepreneurs face when starting their businesses. Consider.

Black entrepreneurs are three times more likely to report that they did not apply for credit for fear of being turned away by a bank. Black and Latino entrepreneurs are rejected at a much higher rate when applying for small business loans from traditional financial institutions, even when they have credit profiles similar to other applicants. People who live in rural areas, including many Native Americans, often lack access to traditional banking services of any kind. And many Asian American business owners, in particular immigrant business owners, face language barriers that limit their opportunity and ability to access capital and banking services. And let us acknowledge that when we think of the importance, the relevance, and the

strength of traditional banks, we must also acknowledge that they've not always necessarily seen the vision of small business owners who are women, small business owners of color, rural small business owners, and small business owners who serve low-income communities. All right, folks, let's break down what some of these improvements are. Of course, as we said, they're extending the pilot program. They're lifting the four-year lender moratorium, increasing the maximum loan size,

also removing various restrictions. It's going to last through September 2024. It's going to provide more certainty for the Community Advantage Program, which was set to end in September of this year. And so that's obviously critically important. The SBA, this will enable the SBA to grow its lender network, opening up a critical capital program to more mission-based lenders across the country, increasing the maximum loan size, as I said. The expanded number of lenders will be allowed to access the SBA's seven government-guaranteed loan programs and lending levels up to $350,000, which represents an increase over the current $250,000, also removing the restrictions that could keep individuals with criminal backgrounds

from accessing the Community Advantage Program. All this is important. This is the kind of stuff, Robert, that we talk about when we talk about access to capital. It's access to capital, access to capital. the federal government can actually make it easier by providing this money to community development financial institutions. You're absolutely correct. I think that this is part of the issue that we need to be addressing, one, on the issue of education to ensure that small business owners have the proper information to know where to go, where to turn to to have access to these things. And then also putting the financial house in order to help small mom and pop businesses grow

into larger businesses. We all know somebody who's selling fish plates out of the kitchen right now. Well, imagine we could hook those people up with financial planners, get them the proper loans, get them the education needed to grow that into a food truck, grow that into a standalone restaurant, and then grow that into a franchise truck, grow that into a standalone restaurant, and then grow that into a franchise. That's how you take a hobby, that's how you take something that you're passionate about and turn it into an industry. And that's how we address those numbers we talked about in the first segment today of unemployment. Well, then you become the employer for your community and you can help rebuild the economic base of your neighborhood. And see, that's the thing I'm talking about, Monique, when literally today, as I said,

we were in that session with those Democratic United States senators. I said, look, this is real simple. If Black-owned businesses, if we are actually, if we're getting the access to capital, if we're getting the dollars, then we are in a position to actually hire people. Right before I asked the question, I sent a text message to Ron Busby with the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc., and make a note, get Ron on the show tomorrow.

I sent him a note, and this is what he hit me back, which it actually pissed me off. And of course, you know, I had no problem raising it in the meeting. They should know by now I'm going to talk about the money. And this is what he said. He said that across the federal government, across the federal government, across the federal government, black-owned businesses were getting 1.67% of the government spend. 1.67%.

I raise the point. Black-owned media were getting 1% of the federal advertising contracts. And it was really interesting because one of the senators remarked that, oh, all the work that had been done in the Minority Business Development Agency and how they've been doing a great job of really getting out there and letting folks know how to access the money. But when I talked to her afterwards, I ain't going to call out right now. Right now. I said, I appreciate your point about the MBDA, but I also want you to be aware that their budget used to be $110 million and a budget got slashed to $44 million.

So you telling me how great they're doing when they're now having to do it with more than half of their budget cut does not bode well for your argument about how great and wonderful they are doing. Right. But I guess the thing that I was thinking of when I was hearing all of this, because, you know, we've got midterms coming and then it'll be a blink and there'll be a general. And these are tangibles for all the talk from all the different people. Where are the tangibles? Where are the tangibles? No, it is not a reparations check. In my opinion, though, I think that is something that should happen.

A single check is one thing. An opportunity to do the things that Robert just talked about, where you were growing a business that makes for generational wealth, is a whole entirely different thing. And make no mistake about it, the Republican Party that is supposed to be in favor of businesses, not just big corporations, but supporting small businesses and supporting the middle class through business endeavors, this doesn't happen and did not happen under the prior administration. So I just want people to pay attention. I want

people to pay attention to where their health is coming from and to govern themselves and act accordingly. In fact, Scott, what folks, again, what people don't understand, and this is something that I've been talking about. In fact, very soon, Senator Tim Kaine is going to be dropping a bill that's dealing with the issue of pension funds and how diverse they are. And I told him, I said, oh, that's not a problem, Senator, because I've been talking about this for a decade. See, that's the thing that I keep trying to tell folk. This ain't no new conversation for us when it comes to the money. And so I made that clear to them that when you're talking to me, you are not talking to somebody who has a very limited understanding when we talk about the money. And so the thing that jumps out there is that under the Bush administration, what they did under George W. Bush, what they

did was they were bundling contracts. So only large firms could actually apply for the contracts. Obama, Obama, Biden unbundled the contracts to allow for black and other minority firms to be able to compete for the contracts to allow for black and other minority firms to be able to compete for the contracts. Trump came in and bundled the contracts back. And so Biden-Harris is now trying to unbundle the contracts. And so for the people who are watching, the people who are listening. I need them to understand. You can holler reparations all day. You can holler tangibles. You can holler the black agenda. But here's the piece. You cannot talk about how do we as African Americans fund our own politicians if you don't have the money to fund them.

You cannot talk about how do we take control of our HBCUs and how do we sit here and the month if you don't have the money to be able to give. You cannot talk about what our civil rights groups how they should be fighting for black people and nobody else If we do not have the capital to be able to fund our own institutions When I when we gave the the the paid Internship North Carolina a&t student on Monday We're gonna be giving three more that doesn't happen if we don't have the

resources to actually do it. Scott there, Scott needs some more resources to get better Wi-Fi. But, Robert, speak to that point because, again, it's hard for a lot of people to get that, to understand what we're talking about. If you do not confront folk over the money, the existing money being spent, you're wasting your time. Well, look, Roland, this is what people have to understand. Your first day of political science class in college, during orientation, they tell you politics is the question

of who gets what when. And once you get to grad school, they'll say how and why. But on that question of who gets what when, we're talking about a country in the United States of America. Our national GDP is $20.7 trillion. $20 trillion per year is the money going in and out of this country, the gross domestic product. If you compare it to, let's say, a country like Russia, where we claim their superpower, their GDP is $1.7 trillion. So they're not even competing

with us. So when you're looking at $20 trillion flowing through this country, the question is, how exactly does that relate to the African-American community? And how do we get our piece of that $20 trillion? One, you have to look at governmental contracting. We talked earlier about the new defense spending budget that Biden put out yesterday, talking about $813 billion in defense spending. Okay, well, we got to buy tires for trucks. How many Black contractors are going to be making tires for the trucks? We have to feed people. How many Black contractors or Black catering companies are going to be catering events for the military as part of that budget? These are small points, but the point is that we have to figure out everywhere that we can cut into this, because that's how you start addressing those issues of unemployment.

That's how you start growing these businesses out. Every big business you see today started as a small business at some point in time, and that initial capital, that initial contract sometimes, and what it takes to boost them to that next level. So we have to be in those rooms fighting for every penny that we can get. Yes, a long-term goal in reparations is great, but we can't ignore the forest or the trees because we have to make sure we're getting what we can now

while we're building towards a more macro goal. I got to do this here. We're going to talk next about an exhibit at the Reginald Lewis Museum in Baltimore. I got to deal with this right now because let me just go ahead and let me take a breath before I go there. Let me just take a pause. I am really sick and tired. Matter of fact, give me this camera right here, camera seven. I am really sick and tired of some of you keyboard gangsters who all you do is say dumb shit. When Lana Latham says black politicians are failing us, all of them, that's the dumbest damn thing I've heard today. It's the dumbest damn thing I've

heard today because it's stupid comments like that when you ain't got no clue what black politicians do. First of all, you said black politicians. That means council members, school board members, county members, state legislators, members of the House, members of the Senate. And the reality is one of the reasons you even see the level of spending right now happening is because of black politicians. And so this whole notion that somehow, oh my God, they're failing us and people go, oh my goodness, the CBC, why aren't they doing more? You ain't got a clue what the hell they doing right now.

Matter of fact, most of y'all, let's just be real clear, a lot of folks, you don't even know who the hell represents you. You've never gone to a school board meeting. You've never gone to a city council meeting. You've never gone to a county meeting. You've never gone to a school board meeting. You've never gone to a city council meeting. You've never gone to a county meeting. You've never gone to the state legislature. You've never gone to Congress. You've never emailed.

You've never called, but you sit your ass at home saying, why they not doing more? I wish they would be doing more. Well, what the hell are you doing? Because I can guarantee you, there are other people who are calling, who are writing, who are emailing, and who are sitting here trying to make this whole thing happen. Hell, I'm sitting first of all, y'all asses can't even hit the like button on YouTube and you're sitting there commenting in the chat.

But you want to talk about, oh, why we don't have this and why we don't have that. At some point, some people are going to have to learn that when you have generals in a battle, you got to have some troops in the fight. Your generals can't always lead, plan to have all the actions and do the fighting you got to show up and do something too.

Then when I talk about Gary chambers running in Louisiana, folk like all Gary chambers, he'll shiver Democratic Party. Oh, I don't know. I don't care about that. Well guess what? Sherry Beasley's running in North Carolina. You got Malcolm Kenyatta running in Pennsylvania. You got Mandela Barnes running in Wisconsin. Charles Booker, who's running in Kentucky. Val Demings

running in Florida. All of them black. So what you doing? Okay, you can't give to their campaign. Can you call somebody? Can you volunteer for a phone bank? Can you put some signs up? What you gonna do? Or

all you gonna do is sit your ass down on YouTube, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, on Snapchat, on Tumblr and go, I TikTok, on Snapchat, on Tumblr, and go, they not doing anything. No. No, they how we roll. Sometimes you got to get checked when it comes to what's going on. And the fact of the matter is, we should be pushing to do more. But don't

sit here and say somebody failing when you ain't even said what the hell you've done. I was I was watching. I was watching a movie with Charles Dutton and Omar Epps and Meg Ryan and just happened to bepps and Meg Ryan. And it just happened to be on. And Meg Ryan went out and recruited Charles Dutton to train, who was a famous trainer, to train Omar Epps, who was wrong.

And Epps is real cocky, and he said, no disrespect, but man, what have you done? Who have you trained? What have you won? And then Dutton said, you first. What have you done? Who have you trained? What have you won? And then Dutton said, you first. And all Omar Epps' character do is just turn his head away because he had no resume. So for all y'all saying, what's somebody else doing? I say to you, you first.

What have you done? I'm going to break. We come back. We're going to talk, you first. What have you done? I'm going to break. We come back, we're going to talk about an exhibit at the Reggie Lewis Museum in Baltimore. I'll be back in a moment on the role of Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. I'm sorry. I'm Debra Owens. On the next Get Wealthy, meet Dr. Stacey McCoy, whose American dream became a nightmare because of student loan debt.

Whether you're paying $300 a month or eventually I got up to $1,700 a month. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Hold that. Hold that for just a minute. You were paying $1,700 a month on your student loans? Yes. And I know other people who are paying more than that. Learn the one piece of advice that made all of it go away right here on Get Wealth black star network my name is charlie wilson hi i'm sally richardson whitfield and i'm dodger everybody this is your man fred hammond and you're watching roland martin my man unfiltered All right, folks, our black and missing for the day is a young brother from Ashland, Wisconsin. Christopher Goopser weighs 5'8",

is 145 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes, has been missing from that particular city. Do this here. Call the Taylor County Wisconsin Sheriff's Department, 715-748-2200. It. 715-748-2200. It's 715-748-2200. All right, folks. Black men, of course, get subjected to dangerous and potentially deadly situations.

We told you various stories about that. But what about showcasing what black men, the power of black men? Well, there's a new exhibit called Men of Change, Power, Triumph, and the Truth at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture in Baltimore. Now, first and foremost, if you don't know who Reginald Lewis is, you need to know who Reginald Lewis is. He really was one of the most brilliant businessmen we've ever had who led the, who was the first African-American lead a nearly one billion

dollar leveraged buyout of the TLC Beatrice company unfortunately he died way too soon of a brain cancer a brain tumor and certainly a sad story I've had the opportunity to emcee various events for the foundation, his wife, Lloyda and his children as well. And so they have, so this museum, of course, his name after him there in Baltimore,

joining us now, Terry Lee Freeman. She of course is the executive director of the museum joining us from Baltimore. And so, so let's talk about this, this exhibit exactly. What do you want to achieve? What do you want people to take away

from this exhibit? Well, good evening, Roland. What we really want is for people to come to the museum and take in the power of this incredible exhibit that changes the narrative that we see on most media

about black men. This exhibit lifts up black men and talks about their contributions throughout the many years of our nation's founding, from our nation's founding to where we are now. And what I really like about this exhibit is that, you know, a lot of people are not museum goers. But this exhibit has something for everybody

because, um, it actually combines... It weaves kind of the historic with the contemporary to talk about how we've gotten to where we are and who these great men are that have contributed to this, like Reginald F. Lewis, who, like you said, if you don't know the story, you need to know the story about Reginald F. Lewis. But it covers everyone from Frederick Douglass to Kendrick Lamar. And I think that there's something in this exhibit for everyone, but particularly for people to note that, uh, Black men are doing great things,

always have been doing great things, and will continue to do great things. And, uh, the artists that are involved, are these all Black artists that contributed to this? They are all Black artists that contributed to this, and they are doing their interpretation of many of the gentlemen that are portrayed in the actual exhibit.

So you've got a photographic exhibit that is complemented by, um, original artwork that is a description of particular individuals in the exhibit. I've got some folks who are online who are asking the question. They say, hey, they live in other cities. They can't get to Baltimore. What are you doing with this for it to be interactive, anything online?

We actually have created a digital twin of this exhibit, which resides on our website, which is lewismuseum.org. If it's not up yet, it will be up really soon, but it is a digital twin, so you can really kind of walk through the exhibit without being in Baltimore. That said, if you're close to Baltimore, I would suggest you just drive to Baltimore and come see the exhibition. Here's what's interesting about this exhibition. It has traveled around the country, but on the East Coast, the full exhibit has never been seen because other museums have not had enough space to show the entire exhibition. We do, however, have the space. So we're the first

museum on the East Coast to actually be able to show this entire exhibition. It's an incredible exhibit. Of course. And I'm seeing some of the photos here. Dick Gregory, W.E.B. Dubois, John H. Johnson. Y'all, y'all can keep scrolling. I know who these people are. Y'all can keep going. So I don't need I don't I don't I don't need to read the captions and know who's in the photos. Let's go with Robert. You got a question for Terry?

Certainly. This is an outstanding exhibit. Will there be more things like this in the future? Will this be an ongoing series, so to say? Or will this exhibit be expanding out in the future? You know, it is a single exhibit. It was developed by the Smithsonian Sites Museum Traveling Exhibit Service. And so they have created this exhibit,

and Ford Motor Company Fund is the funder for this particular exhibit. It's interesting, though, that you ask that question because there are so many men that we could all name who are not in this particular exhibit. So we could have a men of change, too, and I might encourage them to consider that. But no, we don't have a second of this particular exhibition. All right. Monique? Yes, I'm wondering if the students in the Baltimore area

are being given an opportunity to be able to visit the exhibit in a sponsored way. Yes, they can come in through schools to see these exhibits. We're also encouraging men's groups. Like I happen to know that Roland is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Only the greatest, the coldest and boldest frat of them all. Of course. It's not a Kappa Fans museum.

Well, first of all, Scott, let's be real clear. You can talk about it's a Kappa Man's museum. Reginald Lewis, brother, one of the greatest that's ever done it. It's still a second-rate fraternity. Terry, keep going with your point. Go ahead. So I would like to get the men of Alpha Phi Alpha, the men of Kappa Alpha Psi, the men of Phi Beta Sigma, the men of Iota Phi Theta, all of them, Omega Psi Phi Phi, to bring young men to the museum to see this exhibit.

I know all of those fraternities work with young men. We would love to have those fraternities come in and spend time in the exhibit with young men to teach them about these, many of these men who they don't know who they are. Even some of the contemporaries, they may not know who they are. So yes, we are making this available. School groups are welcome all the time. And I'll have to tell you, we're just starting to now see school groups come back into the museum because of the COVID situation. All right, Scott, you get your little question. Just a big question. Since you're finally back, you must have got that cricket Wi-Fi over there at the office. So I'm glad you finally got it sorted out.

Your rental equipment failed, but I'm back now. Yeah, right. But listen, let me just congratulate you on just a tremendous exhibit. It is so necessary. Unfortunately, if you could even expand it and take it around the country, around the world, whether it's TV, movies, you name it. There are so many positive images of black men out here who take care of their children, who are educated, and who are doing great things in their community as leaders and as leaders of their family. And I just can't congratulate you and the Smithsonian enough for doing this, and it ought to be a lifetime exhibit,

not just one that's temporary and for this year. It ought to be a lifetime exhibit. Thank you. Thank you. So, again, first, when is the museum open for folks who don't know? The museum is open Thursdays through Mondays. We are open from 10 to 5 on Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

And on Sunday, we're open from noon to 5. The cost of admission is $12. And then we have discounts depending on seniors, students, members. And that fee, you get to see this particular exhibit as well as our permanent exhibition, which is a history exhibit about African-Americans in the state of Maryland and what they have done to help Maryland get to the point where we are now. So we are open five days a week. We would love to have you come down to the museum and spend some time with that exhibit. Well, we know Alphas are going to show up and show out since our international headquarters is right there in Baltimore.

What's the name on the museum? I'm sorry. What's the name on the museum? I'm sorry. What's the name on the museum? Yeah, but you need Patriots. What's the name on the museum? It is the African-American Museum of... Beatrice Fruits. No, no.

It's the Museum of Maryland African-American History and Culture. Yeah. What's the name on the... The name is Reginald, right? Yeah. Look, y'all get one. Yeah, you get one. You got him and me? Yeah. Look, y'all get one. Yeah, you get one, you got him and me.

What are you talking about? You get one. You got him and me. You never give me my just due on this show. Scott. You gonna do right by me one day, Roland. Scott. You gonna do right by me.

Scott, you do know who the richest black person in America is, right? Yeah. What's his name? You mean dead or alive? What's his name? You mean alive? What's his name? Well, there or alive? What's his name? You mean alive? What's his name?

Well, it's two or three of them up there. No, no, no, it's one. No. It's one. What's his name? You tell me. His name Robert Smith. Oh, yeah, but he's a Morehouse man, you know. Oh, oh.

Morehouse. He's also in the exhibit. Right. He actually went to Cornell. Yeah, that's true. But he came to Morehouse. He's also in the exhibit. Right. He actually went to Cornell. Yeah, that's true. But he came to Morehouse. Yeah. He gave a speech.

Right. The alpha did. Check this out. Doctor, how many Kappa men are in your exhibit? Do you know by chance? Not that many. Matter of fact, matter of fact, do this here. Y'all were scrolling names.

Go back to the website. So now, see, Scott? See, Scott? Here we go. Hashtag team whip that ass just showed up. So go ahead and pull that back up. So slow it down. Let's see right here.

We got Bob, Moses, Muhammad Ali. Keep going. You see LeBron here. Keep going. Keep going, y'all. Right there. Robert Smith. Right there.

Right there. Now, Charles Hamilton, Houston. Ain't he one of y'all? Oh, he's an American Right there, right there. Now, Charles Hamilton, Houston. Ain't he one of y'all? Oh, he's an Omega. He's a newt. Okay, he's a newt. He got you. Byron Rustin, Andrew Young, Alpha.

Oh, he's a newt, too. Uh-uh, uh-uh. Don't try it. James Baldwin. Keep going. Keep going. Oh, Duke Ellington, Alpha. Oh, he?

Uh-uh, uh-uh. Keep going. Keep going. Too busy playing. Of course, Charles Bolton. I know he's an Omega. No, he? Uh-uh, uh-uh. Keep going. Keep going. Too busy playing. You got, of course, Charles Bolden. I know he's an Omega. Alvin Ailey. No, he isn't.

Alvin Ailey, he's a Texan. Carl G. Wilson, he's an Omega. No, Alvin Ailey. Dick Gregory, Alpha. Keep going. W.B. DuBois, Alpha. Yeah. John A. Johnson, Alpha.

Uh-huh. Lord, it was only one cap, but we scrolled. I don't know. I don't know. It's a long list. I named so many albums. We could do half the list. Lord, it was only one cap or we scrolled? It's a long list. I named so many albums. I named so many albums, we could open a chapter. Terry, I appreciate it. Thank you so very much.

LewisMuseum.org. Y'all go check it out. I appreciate it. Scott, you ain't gonna never win this, son. You know what? You should have more capas on your show. You discriminate against us. Every time you turn around, you got another half on the show.

No, no. See, then. See, again. Y'all got to do something. We don't have folk on the show who don't do nothing. Your lawyer, I answer the phone at 10 or 11 o'clock at night, and I'm doing something. Yeah, right.

Yeah, right. I didn't even get a thank you. That's cool, though. No problem. No problem. Really? You need Jesus. Y'all, let me go to a break, because he has lost his mind.

Folks, don't forget, watch y'all sit here and download our Blackstar Network app. And Monique, I don't know why Monique... Let me tell y'all how trifling Monique is. Let me tell y'all how trifling Monique is. How Monique

trifling ass gonna give a dollar on Cash app just so she can get a shout out. Yeah, I'll let y'all know. I'll let y'all know Monique trifling ass gave a dollar a dollar. Oh, but you know, that's one dollar more than Scott.

So I give a grand every year. What are you talking about? I got we seen your grand this year. Scott, we ain't seen your grand this year. Scott, we ain't seen it. Scott, you can't claim a 2021 donation in 2022. Anyway, anyway, anyway, let me go ahead and Marcella Pagan gets a shout out. I appreciate your donation during the show. Monique, your dollar.

You're welcome. Melinda Hardy. I appreciate it. Damon Porter. Ben Isom. I appreciate it. Thank you so very much. I'm sitting here looking.

Again, if y'all give during the show, I'm going to give y'all a shout out. Even if you give a dollar like Monique. And, of course, I'm going to call y'all if you ain't giving nothing like Scott Bolden. Don't forget, y'all. Cash out. Dollar sign is RM Unfiltered. PayPal is RM Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered.

Zelle is rolling at rollingasmartin.com. Rolling at rollingasmartinunfiltered. Venmo is rmunfiltered. Zelle is rolling at rollingasmartin.com. Rolling at rollingmartinunfiltered.com. Y'all can send that check or money order to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037. YouTube, y'all got to come on, man. It's almost 2,000 of y'all on here. Why are we sitting at 791 likes? Just go ahead and hit 1,000. I shouldn't have to ask y'all to be sitting here hitting that doggone

like button. Facebook, hit that share button as well. Watch on the Black Star Network app. Put your comments up as well. And so we appreciate that. We got to go to a break. We'll be right back. I'm Deborah Owens. On the next Get Wealthy, meet Dr.

Stacey McCoy, whose American dream became a nightmare because of student loan debt. Whether you're paying $300 a month or eventually I got up to $1,700 a month. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Hold that for just a minute. You were paying $1,700 a month on your student loan? No, I said I'm going to go home. Yes, and I know other people who are paying more than that. Learn the one piece of advice that made all of it go away. Right here on Get Wealthy on Black Star Network.

We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not. From politics to music. That's right. Hit the damn like button. It's a huge part of our lives. And we're going to talk about it every day right here on The Culture with me, Faraji Muhammad, only on the Black Star Network. I'm Bill Duke. This is DeOla Riddle.

And you're watching Roland Martin, Unfiltered. Stay woke. Man, y'all lucky when I'm getting cussed out during the break, so everybody can hear me on the hot mic. All right. National Football League pledges to increase diversity in leadership positions. All right. National Football League pledges to increase diversity in leadership positions.

This bullshit. The NFL created a six-person diversity advisory committee that will be responsible for bringing more minorities into key league roles like coaching and team ownership. In one provision, the league requires all its teams to hire a minority or female offensive

assistant coach for the 2022 season. Okay, the announcement comes after former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a class action lawsuit against the NFL claiming racial discrimination. The league's commissioner says the NFL will continue working with civil rights leaders and experts to increase diversity.

Okay, I mean, I'm just going to go ahead and just go, okay, look, I'm straight up down for women getting hired in roles. Brian Flores' lawsuit is a racial discrimination lawsuit. Let me be real clear. Ain't nobody benefited more from affirmative action than white women. Nobody.

And so, I'm sorry, this is some bullshit. That's what it is. And the only reason they're doing it is in response to the Brian Flores lawsuit, which y'all are admitting y'all got a problem. Monique, your thoughts on this, this new rule when this year is the 20th anniversary of the Rooney rule. Yeah, you said it. That's all I got. I'm disgusting. I'm tired of it.

I don't even know at this point what to say about the way that people continue to poach our blood, sweat, and tears for their own efforts. And every time something happens that we fight for, it's not just that other people get the benefit, which I think is good. Everyone should get the benefit. The issue is that they jump line, and they're the only ones or the first ones to get the benefit, and it's unacceptable.

I mean, this is, again, what we're dealing with here, Robert, line and they're the only ones or the first ones to get the benefit and it's unacceptable. I mean, this is again, what we're dealing with here, Robert, is a response to the Flores lawsuit. Now, first of all, they said, oh no, his lawsuit has no merit. So why all of a sudden we changing the rules? You know,

I find it interesting, like, why don't they have to put a rule like this in place for running backs? They never have to say you have to have a black running back or you have to have a black the core that you have to, they tried the carrot approach, saying, well, if you hire Black coaches, we'll give you extra draft picks or something like that. They tried the stick approach. Well, if you don't hire Black people, we'll fine you, we'll take away draft picks, we'll drop your draft position. That doesn't say, just have a Black person around every once in a while. And they are still claiming this is reverse racism on conservative news outlets. So by putting this provision in there, say, a woman or a minority, guess what's going to happen? Bill Belichick can make his

daughter-in-law offensive running backs coach or something, and you'll satisfy this new rule. So you're still going to keep the same system of nepotism in there. You're not going to do anything to actually have a merit-based system where African-Americans who make up 80 percent of the league almost are getting promoted at a proportional rate. And you can keep the good old boys system going the same way they always had. This just shows how entrenched this racism is in the National Football League. And I keep seeing these other leagues pop up. The USFL is back. The XFL is back. What is the NFL going to do when the BFL, the Black Football League, pops up that's

well-funded by Black millionaires and billionaires, that has Black coaches, that has Black players from around the country, and is able to compete for real Black talent? Well, then you won't have any product, and then they'll be clamoring for the opportunity to have Black folks back in their organization. But this is a complete, this is a newsletter, a PR stunt. It's only going to be a one-year pilot program, and I doubt we'll hear much about it after that. Well, but there's a lot to unpack there, though, Roland. OK, let me unpack that.

First of all, you've got to have a black person or a white woman be an offensive coordinator. The one reason they're doing that, or at least interviewing for it, is because... No, no, no. No, no. Offensive assistant.

That does not mean coordinator. I've read coordinator, but okay. No, because Kappas can't read. No, I can read, and I'm intelligent, too. But let me make my point. It says assistant. Whatever the case might be, they're doing this because most of the people who are getting hired

are coming from the offensive ranks of teams who are hired from head coaches. That's the first thing. They included white women to make it more palatable, as we know. And I'll be honest with you, when you've got an antitrust exemption and you can't tell billion-dollar owners who to hire, you can only tell them that they can't, you cannot restrict your hiring as a basis of color or race or some

protected class, what would you have them do? Like, I understand our inks, my inks, your inks, our collective inks, right? What would you have them do that they're not doing now? Hire black, hire damn black coaches. Stop all, hold on, and make it transparent. Stop sitting

here changing the damn rules, because he's, oh, oh, we want hot offensive lines. Okay, so explain to me, no, no, no, no, no he's, oh, oh, we want hot offensive lines. Okay. So explain to me. No, no, no. No, no, no. Explain to me how the hell. Explain to me. Oh, wait, wait, wait. Explain to me how the hell Eric

be into me, not a head coach. Then what they do is, no, so we need you to be able to call the plays. Oh, really? The new head coach in Minnesota, he didn't call the plays. Oh, so we need you to be able to call the plays. Oh, really? The new head coach in Minnesota, he didn't call the plays. Oh, Dan Campbell, the head coach in Detroit, was a tight end coach for the New Orleans Saints. His ass wasn't even offensive coordinator.

And then, oh, wait a minute. We're looking for the hot assistants. The Rams, didn't the Rams win a Super Bowl? Yeah. One of the reasons the Rams won a Super Bowl was because of their defense, right? Yeah. What's your point?

Raheem Morris is a defensive coordinator for the Rams. And he's been a head coach. Hold on. No, no, no, no. No, wait, wait, wait, wait. He's been a head coach. Adam Gay. No, no, no, no. Wait, wait, wait, wait. He's been a head coach. Adam Gay says he was a head coach in Miami. Failed.

Became a head coach in the New York Jets. They recycled these white boys as head coaches. Well, because they're white. That's the privilege of being white. So you asked the damn question. What are we asking for? I just told you. Because you can't tell an employer

that hired this black person. You damn right we can. And if you don't, you're going to penalize them. You damn right. You damn right. Let me off the hook. There's got to be a plausible way to do this that makes sense.

If they don't want to hire black people, what are you going to do? Throw them out the league? That'd be a good way to do it. Or they can't want to hire black people, what are you going to do, throw them out the league? That'd be a good way to do it. Or they can't own a team. But white people aren't prepared to go all in on the race question because they don't understand it because they've never been black. They've never been discriminated against. And as a result, they can never be passionate or go all in the way you and I can because we felt that sting of racism. We've lived with it culturally and historically.

And so unless you're going to throw them out of the league or pay them less money or share more less TV money with them about the race question, that it's going to always be on the terms of the white owner and the white coaches and the white GMs. You got to take that power away from them and force it or you've got to try to allow them to figure that out. The problem is they're never going to figure it out if they don't look and sound and feel like us. How do we solve that?

I understand what you're saying. It's more complicated than that. No, no, no, no. It ain't complicated. And this is exactly what I said last week, Monique. No, I, I, no, no, no. It ain't complicated. And this is exactly what I said last week, Monique. Maybe Eric Benham does interview well. I'm talking. I don't know. I don't want to hear that bullshit about interview well.

Guess what? Guess what? Guess what? Joe Judge, Joe Judge. Anytime you hear that interview well stuff, that's the kind of crap they make up to keep us out of the room. And that's the nonsense. And that's the nonsense.

And hell. What? You done? Monique, Monique, I'm full of shit. All right. Right you are. Sure. Sure you are.

No, no, no. Sure you are. Because here's what I know. At the point that he said the word articulate, I knew he wasn't serious. Well, I'll tell you this here. Well, first of all... He's got to have good oral hygiene, too. That's very important. Well, the reality

is here. What we're dealing with is we're dealing with owners, and the only way you do that, you hit them where their money is're dealing with is we're dealing with owners. And the only way you do that, you hit them where their money is. And this is what I want to see. I want to see that black mayor of Buffalo. I want to see those black city council members in Buffalo. I want to see black people in Buffalo protest the $850 million in the state of New York

about to give the Buffalo Bills to build a new stadium when the owner of the Bills is worth $7 billion. You want to know how to go after them? You slap some EEOC standards saying you cannot qualify for any local state or local county or state funds if you are not having open and fair EEOC policies. That's how you hit them. And then all of a sudden, let's see what happens. Or you pay them more or less based on their diversity numbers. No, no, no, hell no.

First of all, I don't believe in taxpayer-funded stadiums for a bunch of rich-ass billionaire owners any damn way. Build your own damn stadium. Finance it your own. NFL, if you want to get diversity on your teams, then you either pay them more money or less money. Scott, Scott, Scott. Scott, that's an utterly illogical statement.

Do you know why? Why? Who owns the NFL? No. Who owns the NFL? Based on their diversity. Who owns the NFL? The owners.

Right. Millionaire owners. Roger Goodell is a well-compensated employee. Yes. So what's your point? He ain't got no power. They own that joint. You hit their pocketbook, that's what you do.

I say what you do is various protest groups should be saying to all the sponsors of the NFL oh, if you have EEOC requirements in your company, you should not be doing business with any company that does not also match your EEOC requirements. Okay, you want to hit them? Oh yeah, that's how you hit them. Okay, got one more? You go after the

money. Got one more? There are lots of ways to go after the money. I just told you. There is. I just told you. But are they willing to do that? No, no, no, no, no. It's not when you say they. That's the owner. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Scott, it's not the owners.

Scott, it's not the owners. External pressure has to be applied. And when you impact their pocketbook, then they pay attention. That's what happens. All right, y'all, real quick before I go to be applied. And when you impact their pocketbook, then they pay attention. That's what happens. All right, y'all, real quick before I go to a break. Senator Susan Collins is the first Republican

to publicly announce she will be voting to confirm Judge Katonji Brown-Jackson to the Supreme Court. Cue the music, please. Collins said in a statement, cue the music, please. After reviewing Judge Katonji Brown-Jackson's extensive record,

watching much of her hearing testimony, and meeting with her twice in person, I have concluded that she possesses the experience, qualifications and integrity to serve as an associate justice on the Supreme Court. I will therefore vote to confirm her to this position. The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote Monday to refer Jackson's nomination to the full Senate.

A final confirmation vote is expected later next week. Jackson will take the place of retiring Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court term beginning in October and of course would be the first African-American female on the U.S. Supreme Court. When we come back, our Tech Talk segment next on Rolling Mark Unfiltered on the Black Star Network.

Now, did you ever want to do a soap opera? I did it before on Another World. I did it years ago with Joe Morton, Morgan Freeman, called Another World. It's the funk now, but that's how I started in TV. You? My first job. You? My very first TV job.

Joe Morton and Morgan Freeman were on a soap opera? Together. Yes. Wow. I know. Oh, I loved it. I played a prostitute. I was real raw.

My name was Lily Mason. I was a hoe on Tuesday, and then I owned the town two weeks later. That's how they do you. Right, that's how it's so popular. You know, you evolve, yeah. So now I'm on this, but I'm rich, right, from Jump Street. So I'm loving it.

Hey, I'm Deion Cole from Blackest. Hey, everybody, this your we have our Tech Talk 7, the color of the world through the lens of the black experience. That's what this black entrepreneur and his wife want to do when you download their app. Color Noir is a visual ode to black culture through the form of an adult coloring book. The co-founder says despite the form of an adult coloring book. The co-founder says, despite the increasing popularity of adult coloring books, there remains a considerable void for adult coloring books that encompass visuals representing the black experience.

Moyo Akema, co-creator of Color Noir, joins me now from New York City. How you doing? What's going on? Pleasure to be here. It's Moyo Akema. Moyo Akema. All right. I got the first part right. First of all, what the hell is an adult coloring book? All right. So I learned about it in probably about, I think the trend was like 2017,

2018. It's basically just a coloring book, but people started using them to relax and lay back. And I just noticed there was a trend. First, it was in the physical world, then it moved into the app store. These apps were doing really well. Um, but they lacked melanin, like, you know, just a lot of industries, a lot of products. So, um, yeah, we decided to address that.

So, but when did you first, I mean, first, were you in, did you have, you have kids? Were you in the coloring books? And, were you in, did you have, do you have kids? Were you into coloring books? And then all of a sudden it became adult. Like, literally, I've never heard of adult coloring books. I got you. I got you. Yeah, so I didn't know about it.

It's not something I did. The way I came to it was I've been involved in mobile apps since around 2011, and I'm always looking at the market, just researching what's new, what's going on. And I noticed these apps just popping up and getting millions of downloads and a lot of engagement, making a lot of money, getting really high ratings. So that's when I started to check it out and try to figure out why people were using them and what was going on. Wow. So how popular are these adult coloring books? Not as popular as they once

were, but I'd say the most popular ones are definitely used by millions of people each month and making millions of dollars. Wow. Now when you say they were not as popular as they once were,

so what period when adult comic books were the bomb? What? So I think they probably peaked out... It was definitely a few years ago. It was definitely a few years ago. So are they physical? So are they physical? Or are people using the pencils and, you know, things like those lines on their iPads and their phones? Yeah, there are both. Oh, okay. So I believe they started as a physical product, just like a children's coloring book that you would know.

And then somebody had the bright idea to bring it over to the app world, and they kind of blew up over there. So they're still there. People still use them every day. Like, the one that we have, there are still thousands of people that use it every day. But, you know, there's always a natural cycle with every kind of product

where they just go up in popularity and maybe taper off over time. All right, then. Let's see. Questions for our panel. I would say probably out of the three of them, Scott probably has coloring books. Robert, I'll go to you first. This is a novel idea. It gets me thinking, are you thinking about expanding this out? Because it seems to be a lot of imagery

of strong and independent fierce black women. Are there other types of coloring books that you create? And have you ever thought about expanding this out into the physical space? Yeah, we actually did expand it into the physical space. We had a Kickstarter around

last October, November. And so there's a physical version now. You know, people, we started out aiming at adults, but people use it. I hear grandparents using it with their grandkids, their adults using it, their children using it. So, yeah, we definitely did that. And, you know, it's just been, it's a side project and a passion project for me. So it's not something I'm looking to, I guess, get investment for in scale.

But as long as there are lots of people enjoying it, I want to keep on growing it and, you know, making it successful. And follow up question. Have you ever thought about partnering with, I know this is going to sound funny, have you ever thought about partnering with marijuana distributors or edible distributors to make this kind of a package deal? Because I could see somebody wanting to color after, you know, kind of partnering with other industries. Have you thought about making a package? I can't say I had that idea. You got my wheels turning. Maybe I need to have a conversation with you. So what we got?

We got sip and paint parties and what you want to have? Puff and color parties? Oh, boy. Yeah. I'm not saying I'm partake, but I'm just saying it will be fun to color. No, I think Robert wants to have target practice in coloring sessions. Monique, go ahead. No, I just, I think it's wonderful. My daughter is an artist, and one of the things that she constantly complains about is all of the different sets of pencils and even the oils that she has to order in order to be able to reflect the beautiful hues for black folks' skin.

And she has much better time of it doing it in the apps because there's so many beautiful colors at your disposal. So I can't wait to tell her about this. Oh, yeah, I appreciate that. Thank you. All right. I guess we'll go to Scott. All right, so let me ask this question. So do the coloring books have storylines? And if they do, how adult and mature do the storylines get

vis-a-vis love and romance and having families and marriage and culture and Black Lives Matter, things like that, that are fairly sophisticated? Yeah. So ours, I'm not sure if there are others on the market that do have storylines. Ours doesn't. It's strictly we just update the content every couple of weeks, add new images, and then people color them. They post them online, and that's about it. I'm not sure. No, they, you obviously being able to color different shades of black women and black men and their wardrobe. How much time do you put into the design part and, and, and really what

your messaging is since there are no storylines. Yeah. Yeah. So at this point, so I don't do the, I don't work on the design myself. There are artists on my team who help with that. So the art comes in a couple of ways. So one is that there's an artist in Ghana who did this cover image that you see here and we licensed that from him. And then artists on my team turned that you see here and we licensed that from him and then artists on my team turned that into line art and we upload it. Then there are other black artists, we see their work maybe on Instagram, maybe on whatever platform and we ask for their permission if they'd like to appear in the app to perhaps pick up some more interest in their art.

So that's another way that the content and art comes through. And then in terms of the design for the actual app, yeah, that's something that we're always working to improve on. I have a developer on my team who, you know, we definitely put time into it and just iterate on it every month to try to make it a little better. Just look at what people are saying in the comments, where the frustrations are, what people like, and just improve it that way. Yeah. Well, congratulations. If you're looking for partners in the future, let me know.

Thank you. I appreciate that. Yeah, because he did lots of coloring. And I'm sure he may want a guy to do a cap of coloring book. I think he's going to make some money at it if he wants to. Nah, that'll be a money-losing book right there.

Moyo, tell folks where they can get more information on your app, Color Noir, the website, all kind of information. Yeah, yeah. I guess the best place to go is appmagic.co slash colornoir, and you can get the app. That's on iOS or Google Play.

The physical version I showed you, we have a free printable version as well. So all of them are available at that link. And then we're on all the social platforms that you would expect. So, yeah. All right. We appreciate it. Thanks would expect. So, yeah. All right. We appreciate it. Thanks a lot.

Yeah, thank you. All right. Good luck with it. All right, y'all. Real quick, I just, story just came across. I'm just going to start cussing. So now the Academy released a statement stating that Will Smith was asked to lead the Oscars on Sunday, and he refused. Go ahead and scroll up. So now, of course, they're looking, investigating him, looking at various things. And so the board of governors today initiated disciplinary

proceedings against Mr. Smith for violations of the academy's standards of conduct including inappropriate physical contact, abusive, blah, blah, blah, blah. He's going to get 15 days notice of a vote as well as opportunity to be heard in a written response. It says, quote, Mr. Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused. We also recognize we could have handled this situation

differently. They've reached out to Will Smith for comment and have not heard back. Okay, so let me just go ahead and say this. Monique, this is some bullshit. What's today? What's today? What is today? Wednesday. today? What is today? Wednesday.

Today, Wednesday. When was the Oscars? Sunday. Sunday. So you try and tell me Sunday night, Monday, Tuesday. Nobody said we asked him to leave and he refused. They actually think we about to buy.

It took y'all 48 damn hours to come up with this. So what? They were shocked and traumatized by what happened. If they could not tell the media what happened, I'm not buying this damn story. I'm not buying it at all. You being tell, so all of Monday,

Monday just go by. All of Tuesday, and all of a sudden on Wednesday, oh yeah, we asked him to leave on Sunday, but he refused. Y'all buying it? I don't know. Somebody might have. I don't mean they didn't have. It was poor crisis management. It was poor rapid response.

They had not had any plan or contingency for this. So I can't say what did or did not occur. And to me, it's just, it's ancillary. Really, it's not the point. This ain't nothing but, Scott, Scott,

this ain't nothing but called cover your ass. CYA. Yeah, you're right about that. What I, my commentary on this on social media has been, it was just a, a, a a huge screw-up by both sides. This is a little late, too, by the way, this kind of storyline they're putting out, because whether you're prepared for an assault or not, Will Smith committed a crime on national TV. He assaulted and committed a battery. And it doesn't matter whether you've got a contingency

plan or not. He not only should have been asked to leave, he should have been escorted. The police should have left. There's no other forum in the world or in America where that would have occurred in any forum, and he would not have to leave the building and be forced to leave the building with security or the police. There's just hands down. Figure out what to do with the award later so somebody can accept it.

Maybe you take the award. You have to be prepared for that. And that just did not occur. Now, when that didn't occur, you're letting people take the award, then you're endorsing that violence, whether you like it or not, you just are. And so this was a failure across the board.

It's unfortunate that it happened. Don't get me wrong. I certainly don't endorse it. But then the Academy has to take some responsibility. And now, what are they going to do? Take the award or bar him for suspending from the Academy? Hell no. Everything else seems underwhelming.

You mean except for sporting events, right, Scott? Because every time there's a fight in a sporting event, the person doesn't get arrested. Yes, you do. No, you don't. You mean if it's the player? The professional player? Yes.

Obviously. Oh, you get thrown out of the game. I don't care what game it is. Sometimes you get ejected. Sometimes you got to go to whether it's the dugout or whether it's the room. Name me a professional sport

that you don't get thrown out of a game if you assault someone. If you walk on the court or the field and physically punch somebody because you don't like what they said and you don't get suspended or ejected. Robert, you're in the twilight zone right now. Yeah, yeah, he is. Yeah, he is. Robert, go ahead. I am? Scott, another forum where you will call Scott. Scott, Scott, Scott, Scott. You can't stand for a couple of awards. Scott. Name one. Scott.

It's called hacking. It's called hacking. Robert, go ahead. You get fighting. Look, Roland, I think my biggest issue with this is the normalization of violence when it comes to black men. Because if that was Amy Schumer telling that joke and Will Smith got there and slapped him upside the head, they would have took him out of there in shackles. And we all know that.

And this is the issue that I have. Scott, Scott, he's talking. Go. I'm agreeing with you. Well, agree silently. Just nod your head. And so to this point, I do think the Academy, what they really were doing was they took Monday

to look at what public opinion was. They wanted to see what the media coverage was about around it. And then when it started turning against Will Smith, that's when they decided to come out and say, look, we tried to get him to leave, but he wouldn't. I think that they were definitely, they never had a contingency plan because this really hasn't happened since John Wayne tried to slap a Native American woman at the Academy Awards back in the day. So all across the board, this was a hot ghetto mess. The only person that we saw really comport

themselves as an adult was Chris Rock because Chris Rock could have very easily escalated this to a whole other level and turned this thing into WrestleMania. So I think across the board, the Academy's going to have to put some contingencies in place going forward. But I do think Will Smith will probably be banned for life from the Academy

Awards, which I think is just part of it. Like an adult. Okay, hold up. What? You letting her talk over here. First of all, he finished. Jada Smith comported herself as an adult

with dignity and with grace. It is certainly not true that Chris Rock was the only one who comported himself as an adult. And part of being an adult is to not render verbal abuse for jokes from white folks. So I'm not condoning and I don't even want to talk about assault. I'm sick of it. 15 seconds. It's done. But let's not do this thing where it's poor Chris Rock and damn Will Smith. And it don't even matter that Jada was the original person who was wounded and insulted. Let's just figure out what the Academy is going to do.

They're not going to do a damn thing. They're not going to do a thing. Well, first of all, I believe Robert is absolutely correct in terms of Chris Rock could have responded. How he responded was absolutely... He was stunned. I'm not done. He turned the other cheek.

And yes, he was indeed stunned. And what he did was gathered himself, went back to presenting the award for Best Documentary, and then gave Questlove and his team their moment, presented them the Oscars. And yes, was indeed shocked and stunned by it. And so it could have escalated. He chose to de-escalate.

But the issue that still stands is this here. We don't know what the Academy is going to do, but let me just say this here. Will Smith ain't losing his Oscar. Because if you want to take Will Smith's Oscar, how in the hell would you give Roman Polanski an Oscar in absentia after he acknowledged raping a woman and fleeing the country?

A child. And fleeing the country. A child. And fleeing the country. A child. Yes. Yes. Fleeing the country. Are you going to take any of Harvey Weinstein's Oscars? I mean, if we want to go down that path,

the Academy, we can go down that path. Because you know what? If you want to go there, let's snatch whatever the hell John Wayne got for being a virulent racist son of a bitch. No, I don't think they want to go there. No, I don't think you want to go there.

Because see, you go there, then you really open a can of worms. So yeah, I think there'll be some action taken. I wouldn't be surprised if it's at least a year suspension from the academy or something along those lines. I doubt very seriously it's going to be a lifetime ban. But, again, I think this is still CYA. I think it's a CYA that you came out on Wednesday saying, oh, we asked him to leave. No, I ain't buying it. All right, y'all. That's it for

us. Last one. Shout out to my niece, Anna Bird. Anastasia, today's her birthday. How old is your sister? She 22. She wasn't 22 in that photo. She was like about four years old in that photo. And so I wasn't going to

show a recent one. Nope. I'm going to show that one. So what? I can. That's what I do. So as we were visiting Rainbow Push in Chicago. And so Annabird, 22 today. So Annabird, happy birthday.

And I'll see you soon. Monique, Robert, LaCapa, we appreciate it. Thanks so very much. Y'all definitely go visit the Reginald Lewis Museum. Trust me, Alva's going to turn it out. Let's see if Scott brings any of his Kappas out. Hey, y'all, please download the Black Star Network app, all the platforms, Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV.

Also, of course, you can support us. Bring the Funk Fan Club. Every dollar you give goes to support this show. And please do so. Of course, you can mail your money order. PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037. Cash App is Dollar Sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal's R Martin Unfiltered.

Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. That's it for us, folks. I'm going to see y'all tomorrow. Holla!