#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Black Miss. Teen Killed By Cop Cruiser, Fla. Abortion Vote, Menthol Ban Lawsuit, World Autism Day

Episode Date: April 3, 2024

4.2.2024 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Black Miss. Teen Killed By Cop Cruiser, Fla. Abortion Vote, Menthol Ban Lawsuit, World Autism Day A black Mississippi family says their 17-year-old son died after being chased and run over by a police officer. The Family attorney, Ben Crump, will be here tonight to explain how the walk home for Kadarius Smith ended up in his death.  Florida's Supreme Court will allow a 6-week abortion ban to take effect, for now, as it ruled voters can vote on a proposed state constitution amendment about abortion rights in November. Florida's Democratic Party Chair, Nikki Fried, is here to discuss how this issue will shape the state's election climate. Health groups file another lawsuit against the FDA over the Biden Administration delays banning Menthol products.  The last two Tulsa Race Massacre survivors continue to fight for reparations at age 109. Today, they faced the Oklahoma Supreme Court, requesting that their claim be heard in a court of law.  We'll chat with the retired army veteran and farmer running against that Georgia MAGA Marjorie Taylor Greene. You don't want to miss my conversation with Shawn Harris.  And today is World Autism Awareness Day. Monique Pressley and a black candle maker will explain how purchasing a candle can light up the life of someone living with autism.  #BlackStarNetwork partners:Fanbase 👉🏾 https://www.startengine.com/offering/fanbaseAli Siddiq 👉🏾 https://www.moment.co/alisiddiq"Shirley" NOW available on Netflix 👉🏾 www.netflix.comBiden/Harris 👉🏾 https://joebiden.com/ Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox 👉🏾 http://www.blackstarnetwork.com #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform 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. to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?

Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, 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. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast.

Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. 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. Today is Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024. Coming up, I'm Roland Martin. I'm streaming live on the Black Star Network. Six-week abortion ban going into effect in Florida. The Supreme Court allows for it to move forward,

but abortion and marijuana is going to be on the ballot in November. We'll talk with the chair of the Florida Democratic Party, Nikki Freed, about that. Also, also, on today's show, health groups filed another lawsuit against the FDA over the need to ban menthol cigarettes. We'll show you what took place

at that news conference. The last two survivors of the Tulsa race massacre, folks, have continued to fight. Oral arguments took place today in the Oklahoma Supreme Court. We live-streamed that on the Black Star Network. We'll show you some of that as well. Plus, I will talk with a retired Army veteran who's running against MAGA nutcase Marjorie Taylor Greene for Congress in Georgia. Also, today is World

Autism Day, and we'll be talking to Monique Presley, as well as a black candle maker who will explain how purchasing a candle can light the life of somebody living with autism. Folks, also, Chris Matthews made some

comments about Trump appealing to broke white folks. I'm going to expand the conversation, because I don't think MSNBC really understood what the hell was going on. It's time to bring the funk. Roland Martin unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Let's go. He's got it. Whatever the piss, he's on it.

Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. And when it blips, he's right on time. And it's Roland. Best belief he's right on time. And it's rolling. Best believe he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics. With entertainment just for kicks. He's rolling.

It's Uncle Roro, y'all. It's rolling, Martin. Yeah. Rolling with Roland now. He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best. You know he's Roland Martin now. Martin! Martin! Florida's moving forward with one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country after

decision by the Florida State Supreme Court. They also ruled allowing two ballot initiatives to move forward on the ballot in November, one dealing with abortion, another dealing with marijuana. Joining us right now is the chair of the Democratic Party in Florida, Nikki Freed. Nikki, glad to have you back on the show. First and foremost, listen, it was a 4-3 decision. You had these justices. Ron DeSantis was pushing them.

A couple of them, though, they're also on the ballot in November. So there is an opportunity for voters in Florida, even though they must deal with this restrictive decision right now, they could actually change all of this based upon who comes out and votes in November. Yeah, absolutely. First of all, Roland, thank you for having me on tonight. I always feel like big moments in Florida happen when I'm on your show, so thank you for that. Yeah, so we have a lot of things that are going on. So let's quickly unpack what happened yesterday. So yesterday there was three rulings, two dealing with abortion and one, as you mentioned, on cannabis. So first we'll take the law that was challenged from a year and a half ago when Ron DeSantis pushed a 15-week

abortion ban here in the state of Florida. That has been moving through the judicial system. The oral argument that that was last October. But Ron DeSantis couldn't wait for that ruling, made sure that before he launched his presidential bid that we went even more extreme to a six-week abortion ban. That law, when they passed it in 2023, said if, in fact, the Supreme Court deems that there is no right to privacy in the Florida Constitution and upholds a 15-week abortion ban. Then 30 days later, six weeks goes into place. So yesterday, the Florida Supreme Court did come out with an unprecedented ruling, a 98-page opinion that just decimated the right to privacy and precedents over decades' worth of precedents here in the state of Florida.

So that is going to be what the law of the land is going to be. Within 29 days now, we're going to have a six-week abortion ban here in the state of Florida. In the same breath, they also, in a 4-3 decision, gave the green light to a citizens' initiative to make sure that we are putting back into the Florida Constitution that right to privacy, but really more so putting into the Constitution the parameters that we saw under Roe, which is viability here in the state of Florida. Big, big issues. Abortion is on the ballot in November, and it's really upon all of us to not only make sure that we've got people registered to vote, that we're talking to not just Democrats, but independents and Republicans.

We are building a broad coalition. That is what is going to be necessary to protect a woman's right to choose, but also making sure that the individuals who push these initiatives, Republican legislatures, Rick Scott, Donald Trump, don't see the light of day after November. You have, of course, significant momentum. What I mean by that is we have seen, we saw what happened in Kansas. We saw what happened in Ohio. Where a woman's reproductive rights was on the ballot, those measures passed. Republicans

are scared to death because they've been losing every single place this has been going on. Now, voting for that is totally different than voting for candidates. But do you believe that as a result of these two measures, the reproductive rights being on the ballot, this initiative, as well as the issue of marijuana, that that is going to provide a significant boost of your efforts in terms of trying to rebuild this party to be competitive and win in Florida. Yeah, I think for a couple of reasons. One, to your point, we have seen a lot of momentum here in the state of Florida since I became chair last year. I was actually on your show again last year when we flipped a huge mayor's race in Jacksonville

and Duval County, which has historically, while numbers are blue, we have historically lost those in countywide elections. And then flipping a seat this past year, the first time that we flipped a state house seat since 2018. So the momentum is on our side because Floridians are frustrated. They're frustrated with this suppression that has been put on us, whether it is voting rights, whether it is reproductive health care, it's banning of books, it's seeing inflation being three times out of the national average.

It's whitewashing history by telling that slavery, there was a benefit to it. You know, all of these things are adding up and now adding to that cannabis and abortion on the ballot. People are frustrated and they're going to find a coalition, a correlation between these issues and Republicans who have been voting on these issues, such like the Republican legislature and both the House and the Senate, Republicans in Washington, D.C., that are already talking about a national abortion ban, Rick Scott, who said that he would have signed a six-week abortion ban if, in fact, he was still governor of the state. All of these things add up to going to be a tsunami here in the state of Florida for Democrats that are on the ballot this year?

When we talk about statewide initiatives, Amendment 4 passed. That was the last major initiative. Then, of course, Republicans were not happy with that. And so they then went and made modifications to the law, making it very difficult for folks to actually register to vote. But running a ballot initiative also is very costly. And so you also are trying to run races as well. You've had a national Democratic Party that, frankly, in the last two election cycles, has not funded Florida. Florida used to be a major battleground state, major resources put into it. Democrats have pretty much written the state off in the last two elections. What are you saying to national Democrats, the DNC,

the DGA? What are you saying to all of these different institutions, DCCC, but also these PACs, individual donors as well, about what is required for an investment in Florida if they actually want to compete and win. And that's the exact conversations I've been having for the last year and a half. I've been saying we are living through a moment here in the state of Florida that you have watched DeSantis, who we know had a failed presidential bid, but spent the first four years of his administration,

or last four years, you know, really pushing this agenda and putting us to even more extreme than in the MAGA extremism. And so while you have all these things going on in our state, as we just discussed, book banning, property insurance is not only the highest in the nation, but you've seen almost 400 percent increases on people's property insurance rates. You're just seeing these high numbers of cost of living. We're now the most unaffordable state in the nation. All of these things that are happening, that we are building these coalitions of independents that are breaking significantly towards Democrats for the last year and a half here in the state of Florida. So the message that I've been having to a lot of our partners is don't, first of all, count Florida out. Florida is worth fighting for.

And if you're going to fight against the extremism in the entire country, in this MAGA extremism, you have to go to the belly of the beast, which is here in the state of Florida. At one point, we had three Florida men that were running for president of the United States. The extremism is coming from Florida. And if you're going to fight back with the rest of the nation, you've got to expand the Florida map. Donald Trump cannot win the presidency without Florida. Democrats can win it without Florida, but enabling us to expand the map is essential. And let's talk about Rick Scott. Rick Scott has won each of his three statewide races by less than 1 percent. He is a fraudster. He is wrong on every single issue. He has a very low favorability here in the state. The last poll that I saw is 53 percent of Floridians want him gone. And so with all of

those things going on, with not great U.S. Senate maps, Florida has to be on the map, one, to make sure that we control Congress and get Hakeem Jeffries as the next speaker of the House, continue to retain the Senate, and of course, making sure that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris go back to the White House. All roads continue to go to the state of Florida to get to the White House. And we're in play. And I think yesterday's decision and momentum that we have seen in the last 24 hours continues to show that Florida's in play and that we are that battleground. I'm going to go back to reproductive rights. I mean, we just saw a race in Alabama in the last 24 hours continues to show that Florida's in play and that we are that battleground.

I'm going to go back to reproductive rights. I mean, we just saw a race in Alabama that I think shocked a lot of people over the issue of IVF. I think that's a perfect example of how major this issue is when it comes to voters, especially women. Yeah, because this is the ultimate personal decision. When to start a family, how to start a family, how big you want your family is such an intimate decision between a woman and her significant other and her doctor and family members and whoever they pray to. It is not for government to be making those decisions. And so what you have seen since the decision of Dobbs and just completely vacating of Roe, where you've seen now these Republican legislatures and Republican governors, specifically in the South and other conservative states, thinking that they, you know, that

they got this big win and that the people are with them. And so every time that they've tried to take a step forward, whether it is a six-week abortion ban here in the state of Florida, the IVF decision in Alabama, you're seeing people saying, wait a second, this is supposed to be my decision. This is supposed to be such a private decision that I do not want government involved in it. And so this is even one of those things that even if you personally don't agree with abortion and the medical procedure itself, you also don't want government making that decision for you, for your siblings, for your daughters, for your neighbors, and for your friends. And this is why you're seeing really

that cross-section of support of regardless of party affiliation, people coming together and say, hold a second. I want this right. I don't want to give it up and are going to go fight for it. One of the things that I continually say on this show is that Democrats must be engaging in, I say, I call it hand-to-hand combat, but really direct conversations, walking people through what has gotten done, what has happened in D.C., resources, things along those lines. Are you seeing even on the ground that a lot of folks just don't know? And so, therefore, if you're not properly messaging, then they don't know what the hell Biden-Harris accomplished. And that makes it difficult to sort of explain to them what did happen in order to get them to come out and vote. Yeah, and we are. And I think this is a product of bad messaging that Democrats were always pinned on.

You know, we don't do a good enough job bragging about the accomplishments, all the things that President Biden has been able to accomplish in three and a half years. While he was able to accomplish bipartisan support, first-time legislation in almost 20 years that has been passed dealing with gun violence, the first time that we've seen real movement and real resources that are used to deal with student debt forgiveness, environmental issues, protecting women's right to choose, passing huge landmark legislation to bring dollars into everybody's neighborhoods, to fix the potholes, to fix the bridges, to fix the roads, which has a direct impact on

people's, you know, bottom lines and their purses. And so it is going to be really important that Joe Biden's campaign, as well as the Democrats across the country, start to brag about those accomplishments and brag in a way that resonates with people. Because we can have this conversation about what the CHIPS Act did and what the IRA did and the Inflation Reduction Act, IRA, and some of the infrastructure money being sent. But unless you are able to have that conversation with that individual voter saying, this is why you are seeing gas coming down, this is why you're seeing more construction, which is why you're seeing more high-paying jobs in environmental sectors and in construction, and that we're bringing a lot of those manufacturing jobs here and the impact into local governments and resources at home. But it is going to be all of us taking that message and people understanding this is a clear choice.

You've got somebody who has spent his entire life getting up every day and saying, how can I make America a place where people are proud of, where we can make sure that people have educational opportunities and purchase of the homes and have good opportunities for success. Where, on the other hand, you have a guy who has spent all of his life saying, me, me, me, me, me, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump. How do I—and I think that the decision is just so clear. But unfortunately, the Democrats are going to have to sell it one more time to the American people.

Well, absolutely. It is going to be quite a battle. I keep telling folks that. It is going to be a very close one. And what I really hope and what I keep saying, and I just feel I was a little reason I was late because I was doing a national radio interview, and I was saying that the thing for me is, especially for African Americans, I need our folks to understand turning out. The reality is, I mean, I will never forget looking at that chart in the Gillum-DeSantis race. When the Tallahassee Democrat had a graphic that showed the top voting counties,

and I think you had to go down to 11 or 12 before you got to a blue county. And Broward and Miami-Dade, both of them were under 60%. The reality is if either one of those counties is at 65 or 68 or 70%, Gillum wins. And so that's what it boils down to. It boils down to turnout. So people who are frustrated, who are upset, I keep saying, guess what? Other side is going to vote. And so if you sit at home, that's essentially a no vote.

And that's just the reality. I did have one more. Are you seeing anything regarding, let's say, Robert F. Kennedy? He could play a spoiler very much like Ralph Nader did in 2000. Are you seeing anything like that in Florida, any impact of his third-party candidacy? We haven't. And I think that as voters continue to wake up, getting closer to the reality that it is a Trump versus Biden campaign again. And people start understanding the existential threat of another Donald Trump presidency, that democracy as we know it will be gone.

You know, the attacks on our minority communities and on our immigrant communities, that they're seeing that they have to make a clear choice. And so RFK is just not an option. He's never going to be president of the United States. And so when people start waking up to option. He's never going to be president of the United States. And so when people start waking up to this election, understanding what's at stake, his numbers are going to continue to diminish. And people have a very clear choice. Either you're going to vote for democracy and a quality way of life and somebody who is going to wake at home and make sure that we are voting for or we're voting for somebody who only cares about his 91 indictments and how to become president to make sure that he doesn't go to prison? The clear choice and all of our people that we've seen, not even here in Florida, but across the country are going to realize that what they're doing is giving it to Donald Trump and are going to come home to Joe Biden.

All right, then, Nikki Freed, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thanks for having me. Folks, we comeed. We appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thanks for having me. Folks, we come back. I will unpack this with my panel. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered right here on the Blackstar Network. Fanbase is pioneering a new era of social media for the creator economy.

This next generation social media app with over 600,000 users is raising $17 million and now is your chance to invest. For details on how to invest, visit startengine.com slash fanbase or scan the QR code. Another way we're giving you the freedom to be you without limits. As bad as Trump was. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways.

Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action, and that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin.

And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and three on May 21st and episodes four, five, and six on June 4th.

Ad free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives.

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

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

Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. His economy was worse, and black America felt it the most. We'll be go back. As president, I put money in pockets, creating millions of new jobs, and capped the cost of insulin at $35 a month. There's a lot more to do, but we can do it together. I'm Joe Biden, and I approve this message. I'm Faraiji Muhammad, live from L.A.,

and this is The Culture. The Culture is a two-way conversation, you and me. We talk about the stories, politics, the good, the bad is a two-way conversation. You and me, we talk about the stories, politics, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. So join our community every day at 3 p.m. Eastern and let your voice be heard. Hey, we're all in this together,

so let's talk about it and see what kind of trouble we can get into. It's the culture. Weekdays at 3, only on the Black Star Network. What's up, everybody? It's your girl Lat Weekdays at 3, only on the Blackstar Network. What's up, everybody? It's your girl Latasha from the A. And you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Thank you. All right, folks, my panel, Dr. Mustafa Saltego Ali,

former senior advisor for environmental justice at the EPA out of D.C., Randy Bryant, DEI disruptor out of D.C. as well, Joe Richardson, civil rights attorney out of Los Angeles. All right, let's get into it. I'll start with you, Mustafa. As I said to Nikki, Florida has been written off by Democrats for the last couple of cycles. Republicans have dominated them.

They've gotten crushed when it comes to the Latino vote in the state as well. And the leadership has been awful. Nikki Freed was the last statewide Democrat elected, lost in her run for governor in the primary. And so now she's running it. I really do believe that what she is doing, the team she's put together, they can't put it back together. But it's going to take a whole lot of work. And these two ballot initiatives could actually be very crucial to them being able to make some inroads in Florida in this November. Yeah, well, first of all, congratulations to Nikki for the work that she's been doing. It is about building the infrastructure there

in Florida and making sure that you are supporting that and expanding that. And that cannot happen without resources. It cannot also happen without making sure that diverse voices are a part of the design that's happening there. Now, these new ballot initiatives, you know, they will energize the base. The question becomes, can you make sure that you are providing an opportunity for everybody to see themselves reflected in the sets of issues that are currently going on? And if you do that, then you begin to have a winning ticket. pretty regularly is that making sure that black and brown media, those that are there inside of the state and those that are national like this show, are having the resources also to help to amplify the issues and to be supportive of the things that folks are asking for. So, you know, it is one of those transformational moments. The question just becomes

if the powers that be that hold the purse springs are actually going to do the right thing and make sure they have the resources that are necessary and allow those who know how to share the message to share the message. You know, Randy, messaging is absolutely important, but also Florida is a huge state and it's really going to require rebuilding that thing brick by brick. Well, it is because they've certainly worked hard to seem to dismantle it and tear it apart. I believe, though, that this issue of abortion is going to really add some steam to the Democratic Party and at least give us some inroads there. You know, there are 80,000 abortions happened in Florida last year, 2023. And so there's not going to be a place for those people to go unless things change, you know, in November. You know, where do those people go? Because Georgia is, you know, also has the same six-week ban that they have proposed. And Florida's laws will actually be stricter than that.

So anyone who's in the South that seeks an abortion, and clearly 80,000 people did last year, where are they going to go? And I believe that when it comes to reproductive rights, I mean, women are active voters. We, you know, We have strong voices. And even those people who may have fundamental opposition to abortion, you still want people to have the choice. And so I am interested to see how this is going to pan out. I do believe this actually hurts the Republican Party.

You know, Joe, it has been a powerful. I mean, literally, reproductive rights on the ballot has been extremely strong in the last year. And you have Republicans like Kellyanne Conway and others who are warning the party saying, yo, we're losing on this. And they feared this being on the ballot in Florida. Yeah, you know, it's amazing how quickly things change. You know, after Roe was overturned, they were getting, you know, very bold, like, let's go state to state, put it, you know, the acroline. Of course, they weren't going from state to state, but then they did, and get abortion

outlawed on ballots. No, you know, in the state constitution. No, actually, it started going the other way. Every state that has voted statewide related to abortion has restored abortion rights, many of the states putting it into their constitutions. So there's nothing, you know, the best thing you could do to take something that you thought was out of play and put it in play is to put a very, very unpopular thing, allow something very unpopular to be put on the ballot that you stand in the front of.

And so because they stand in front of this abortion thing, a big goal, of course, of the Democrats has been to get this on the ballot. Now there's going to be a whole lot more folks that are going to be voting, and not only for the marijuana initiative related to the abortion initiative, and then as well as some of those justices are actually could be voted out at the same time. And so now it is in play, and people have real short memories. It wasn't long ago where Gillum lost a race that he really shouldn't have lost. If we had showed up at the polls every time this happens, it's because we don't show up at the polls the way that we need to.

Any state that is large and diverse, we should be trying to compete everywhere. But any state that is large and diverse, we should absolutely be seeking to compete in and continue to compete in, particularly when the issues are on your side. And so that's what they have to do. A whole lot of Republicans don't like it, but it's going to be interesting. And DeSantis didn't help himself by running for president. He thinks he may have for next time, but he's not more popular and more strong and more infallible after getting his butt kicked by Trump. So a lot more is in play than the Democrats would seem to want to admit as it pertains to the powers that be, and they need to put money behind it. All right, folks, hold tight one second.

We come back more on Roland Martin Unfiltered, including Chris Matthews talks about poor white people supporting Donald Trump for president and saying that Biden needs to be talking to them. I got a few comments about that. I'll unpack it. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Blackstar Network. When you talk about blackness and what happens in black culture,

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This next generation social media app with over 600,000 users is raising $17 million and now is your chance to invest. For details on how to invest, visit startengine.com slash fanbase or scan the QR code. Another way we're giving you the freedom to be you without limits. Thank you. One of the craziest, dumbest people in Congress is Marjorie Taylor Greene. Ever since she got there, this MAGA nutcase has been nothing but a menace to society. That's all she has been, and of course, she

won her last election against a retired vet. This time she is facing retired Brigadier General Sean Harris, and he says it's time for a representative who focuses on the issues that matter the most. General Harris, glad to have you on Roland Martin Unfiltered. When did you make the decision to run against Marjorie Taylor Greene?

Roland, first of all, I just want to say thank you for having me on your show. To get right at your question, when did I make the decision? Roland, I just finished doing about 40 years in the military, retired, came home back here to Georgia, and we started our cattle farm. And right out here on this farm, as I look out the window, it was Republicans that came over here as I was putting up a fence and actually asked me to continue to serve. And it was Republicans that actually asked me to run. And I told them,

I'll think about it. And then I told them, guys, I'm actually a Democrat. And then they said, you know what, Sean, we're still going to support you. And that's when I knew then that this Northwest Georgia was prepared to get somebody else into Congress and get Marjorie Taylor Greene out of there. And I mean, look, this is I mean, she she won convincingly. This is a red dishwasher. This is a MAGA district. How are you going to beat her? Well, I tell you, a lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways.

Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action, and that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms,

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

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

Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, It's really, really, really bad. Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives.

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

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

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Yeah, I'm glad you asked that question. It is simple. One we're doing right now,

we're making sure that we go to every zip code in the district and we're talking to everyone. We're not overlooking anyone. That's making sure we're making sure that all the Democrats are zip code in the district and we're talking to everyone. We're not overlooking anyone. That's making sure that all the Democrats are motivated, registered, and ready to come out and vote. We're talking to all the independents in the district, and it's a significant amount to those. And then in addition to that, like I already mentioned earlier, Republicans have actually started to come to me and say, hey, Sean, we still want to vote for Donald Trump. However, we are embarrassed by Marjorie Taylor Greene. We're going to support you as a farmer, as a cattleman. I have Republicans that are saying, please let us put your sign up in our pastors. And you'll start

seeing that crisscrossing the entire northwest Georgia, where we're getting everybody out to vote. So that's how we're going to get at it right now. Explain to us how does the district look? What are the demographics? What is the district made of? Well, I tell you, and thank you for that question, is the district, for all practical purposes, is roughly about 10 to 12 percent when it comes to African Americans. The district, as you know here in Georgia,

all of the districts were, the lines were redrawn. In my particular case, I'm actually very lucky. And what I mean by being very lucky, that when the Republicans redrew the lines, they took Gordon County away from us and actually gave us a third of Cobb County. So now when you actually look at our district, it is still ruby red. However, as we move down to Paulding County and we move into Cobb County, we get more Democrats and more African-Americans. So that's where we plan to run the numbers up. But again, like I said, we're going all over to North Georgia and talking to everyone. Obviously,

you've got to raise money. Where's your target goal? Right now, I will tell you, you know, I had a great conversation with Marcus. As a military guy, that's what you're supposed to do. You're supposed to go talk to the last person that did it, and Marcus did an outstanding job. And in that conversation... Yeah, I mean, he raised a lot of money. Yeah, Marcus

raised a lot of money. And what we're doing, Roland, we're not doing it the same way Marcus raised that money, but we are raising money not only in the district, not only in Georgia, but throughout the entire United States. And in order to beat Marjorie Taylor Greene, I have to raise a whole lot of money so that we can actually fight her on all fronts. So one of the things I always say when I'm out there talking is, hey, please go to my website. That's Sean Harris for Georgia.

And actually give to our cause because it's going to take a whole lot of money to beat Marjorie Taylor Greene. But what I'm happy to say is across the board right now, we've got over 100,000 people following us on all our social media platforms. So we built an army, and those people are donating every day, and more and more people are donating to the cause to help us get Marjorie out of here. So even though he raised $15.6 million, lost by 31 points, you think with the change in the lines that this is going to make this district a lot more competitive? Yes. And yes, he raised a whole lot of money. But what Marcus would tell you, he raised that money, but he never had the money at the right time to make it work for his really his benefit. The other piece that I would tell you is Marcus

and I are both veterans taking nothing away from Marcus. However, as a senior officer that just retired from the military, more Republicans are actually reading my profile and liking what they see. And that is the major difference, is that I have the ability not only to get Democrats and independents out, but I have the ability to pull Republicans over, and that's what we're going to have to do to win this district. Questions from my panel. Randy, you're first.

I'm just so happy to see that you are challenging this despicable person. Randy, how you doing? We went to school at Tuskegee together. You're a Tuskegee grad? Yes, yes, yes, Randy. How's it going? Good to see you.

It is wonderful to see you. Oh my goodness, you probably have some secrets on me. Yeah, he remember you, you remember him. It's all good. It's all good it's all good now well well yeah well i'm i'm doubly happy then um you know what has been do you think what do you have to do to show your constituents the problem that major retailer green is because i believe that they feature what she's done for a day and then it goes away

because she's kind of anti-everybody almost. Yes, yes. I tell people all the time, Marjorie Taylor Greene is my greatest asset. Every day she does something that I can talk about to show the contrast between myself and her. Just the other day, as you saw, when the president was speaking, how rude she was to him at the State of the Union. And then the last thing she just did two fries ago when she said she wanted to get the Speaker of the House out. Those are the things that are embarrassing the people of Northwest Georgia. They are tired of being a place that when you say Northwest Georgia

and then you say Marjorie Taylor Greene, people say, oh, you're from that place. That's not us. So that's what is actually when I talk to people, they know that I'm a leader. They know I'm going to work. And they know I'm never going to be an embarrassment to them. And I'm actually going to bring jobs back here to Northwest Georgia for them. Thank you for that. And good to see you, my Tuskegee fellow alumni. Good to see you, too. Joe.

Brother Harris, thank you so much for your service. First of all, kind of piggybacking a little bit on Randy's question, I wonder if how much or how little folks actually know and are you going to help enlighten them on this is what somebody in Congress is actually supposed to do. And we can show you that she's got no receipts. In other words, she talks out loud. She's on Fox News, but she's burning bridges with Democrats and Republicans. And at the end of the day, what the congressperson is supposed to do is to bring home the bacon. And like I like to say, when you burn bridges, you can't burn bridges and then wonder why you're swimming.

Can you talk about how you're going to educate people that actually she doesn't do what a congressperson is actually supposed to? Well, that is a great question. What we're currently doing right now is part of that education piece. We have been asking the people of northwest Georgia on social media and in person, what has Marjorie Taylor Greene done for you in the last three years, three and a half years? That no matter if it's social, social media or in person, cross the board, Democrats, independents and Republicans cannot name anything that she's actually done. Also, believe it or not, Marjorie Taylor Greene does not have any offices open nowhere in

Northwest Georgia. So you cannot go to Rome and go to her office and say, hey, I want to speak to somebody about an issue. She doesn't have any offices. And then lastly, she says she votes no on everything. And just like a week and a half ago, she put in her own newspaper how all of the Biden infrastructure things she tried to take credit for and we called out on it and then she actually retracted it. So as a when I get to Washington D.C. what is Sean Harris going to do? Sean Harris would make sure that he partners with our two senators that are already up there and that's what I call team Georgia. I would make sure that I bring the bacon home. I would make sure that I have at

least two to three offices open in Northwest Georgia. So it's very easy for you to be able to get and talk to me or my team so that we are listening. That is a key part. If you're going to be a representative, you need to listen to the people. And then when I fly back home on Friday, I will go out and talk to different people throughout the district. The other thing that the people in the district already know about me, because I'm a farmer, a cattleman, you can come over to my house and we can talk about any issue you want to out there in that cattle pasture. It's unfiltered. And that's what people in the rural community is looking for. Somebody that would represent them and understand what is going on in the rural community. Excellent. Thank you. Mustafa. Yeah, well, Brigadier General Harris, thank you

for being here with us. You know, I was going to ask you about the opportunities that you see in front of you, but I think you answered that question. And since I'm country, I was going to ask you about the opportunities that you see in front of you, but I think you answered that question. And since I'm country, I'm going to ask you this question. Country folks like to look folks in the eye, like to shake your hand and know who you are. So if somebody asked you who you are, what would you share with them as a reason for them to vote for you? That was a great question. And you're right. I am country. When I went to Tuskegee,

I left a country dirt road. And the cool thing is, guess what? When my mama house is still down there in Early County, it's still on a dirt road. So I call myself a dirt road Democrat. And what does that mean? That means that I will talk to you and listen to you. I will look you dead in the eye and tell you, yes, I'm going to do this, or we're going to work on it, or we're going to continue to have further conversations about it. What also makes me a little bit different from all the rest of the Democrats that are actually in other places is because I'm a dirt road Democrat, guess what? I carry. That's part of being in the country. I was just out in my pasture today and walked up on a snake. At the end of the day, you don't want to be in a bad situation that can't defend yourself.

So I'm not saying that when it comes to a weapon that's about going out and doing stupid things, what I'm saying is, is Marjorie Taylor Greene would not be able to paint me into a box and try to put an umbrella on me as being a particular type Democrat because I'm a dirt road Democrat. I'm a Democrat that all people here in the Northwest Georgia, not only have they already seen it, they will continue to see where you can talk to me out in the public. And many people in the district have my direct phone number because as a representative, my job is to represent the people so they can call me. They know not to call me about a pothole, but they definitely can call

me about larger issues or strategic issues that we need to get done here in Northwest Georgia. All right then. Well, General Harris, look, good luck. We'll be paying attention to this race and it'll be one of the many that we'll be watching. Well, I thank you for giving me the opportunity and thank you for putting this out to African-Americans across the entire country. And I'm just honored to be on your show and you're doing an outstanding job for us. Keep doing what you're doing, Roland. I appreciate it, folks. If you want to connect with Sean Harris, this is his Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and website pages as well. And I'm sure Randy will be raising money from your fellow Tuskegee alumni for your campaign.

Yes, they already have. Thank you very much, brother. All right. Appreciate it. Thanks a lot. All right, folks, when we come back, Chris Matthews talks on MSNBC about Trump voters and his appeal to white voters.

I got a few things to say about that. That's next. Roland Martin on the filter on the Black Star Network. Supporters of what we do, Join the Bring the Funk fan club. Senior check and money order at P.O. Box 57196, Washington, D.C. 2003-7-0196. Cash app, dollar sign, RM Unfiltered.

PayPal, RM Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zale, Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered. Roland at Roland Martin unfiltered dot com. We'll be right back. I'm Dee Barnes and next on The Frequency, Beyonce has always been country. We're talking to music, pop culture and politics writer Taylor Crumpton about her new article on Beyonce's new country songs and how country music has always been part of Black culture. Since the release of Texas Hold'em and Sixteen Carriages,

there has been a definition of what Black country music is and a definition of what white country music is. White country music historically has always won the awards, they've always got the certification. Black country music has not. This is a conversation you don't want to miss. That's next on The Frequency on the Black Star Network. Fanbase is pioneering a new era of social media for the creator economy. This next generation social media app with over 600,000 users is raising $17 million.

And now is your chance to invest for details on how to invest. Visit start engine.com slash fan base or scan the QR code. Another way we're giving you the freedom to be you without limits. As bad as Trump was, his economy was worse, and black America felt it the most. He cut health insurance while giving tax breaks to the wealthy and big business. As president, I put money in pockets

and capped the cost of medicine at $35 a month. There's a lot more to do, but we can do it together. Hello, I'm Jameah Pugh. I am from Coatesville, Pennsylvania, just an hour right outside of Philadelphia. My name is Jasmine Pugh. I I am from Coatesville, Pennsylvania, just an hour right outside of Philadelphia. My name is Jasmine Pugh. I'm also from Coatesville, Pennsylvania.

You are watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Stay right here. You've heard me talk on many occasions the reality of white voters in this country, how broke white folks are fully supportive of Donald Trump. It really makes no sense whatsoever. And yesterday, the topic came up on MSNBC, where former host Chris Matthews raised the issue when they were talking about how these white folks, especially the evangelicals, are treating Donald Trump like he is God. Watch this. When I was up there in New Hampshire, my 10th primary up there, I saw a lot of really poor people waiting in line for

two hours to see Donald Trump. Really poor people, white people in most cases. And I said, what's going on here? And I don't know if the cross tabs relate or why it relates, but they really want this guy to be their president again. And then I saw the Florida Atlantic University poll that came out in March, and it pointed out that the only economic group in the country that likes Trump is under 50,000 a year, not 50 to 100, not above 100, only people below 50,000. I can't put it all together. But maybe people are hard up. People have a grievance against society because society has been tough on them.

White, Hispanic, white, Hispanic, black, all kinds of people below 50,000 a year are for Trump. Somebody's got to get that into their heads if that's what's going on here. And somebody's got to start thinking about why Trump is appealing to those people who are hard up. And people like in the White House, like Reschetti and Mike Donnell and Anita Dunn, somebody in that big, smart group of anonymous people have got to start thinking about who they're up against. Trump has been able to wire himself into people of basic needs who live out there, are not rich, they're not all going to Florida to get the tax break.

They're not like that crowd. Oh, that crowd really is out there, too. That crowd's going to benefit from these poor people. The people looking to get a tax break from Trump, they're going to benefit from that. The people below, in the lower economic groups, THE PEOPLE IN THE BOTTOM, THEY ARE GOING TO BENEFIT FROM THESE POOR PEOPLE. THE PEOPLE LOOKING TO GET A TAX BREAK FROM TRUMP, THEY ARE GOING TO BENEFIT FROM THAT. THE PEOPLE BELOW IN THE LOWER

ECONOMIC GROUPS, THEY ARE JUST GOING TO GET LEFT OUT. AND IT IS SO CLEAR. SO DEMOCRATS HAVE GOT TO GET TO THE PEOPLE THEY HAVE ALWAYS ROOTED FOR, THE PEOPLE AT THE BOTTOM, THE PEOPLE WITH TRUE GRIEVANCE, THEY HAVE ALWAYS SAID

WE ARE FOR THOSE PEOPLE. THEY HAVE GOT TO START ROOTING FOR THEM SOMEHOW OBVIOUSLY AND THAT MEANS BIDEN HAS GOT TO START TALKING TO THEM. they got to start rooting for them somehow, obviously. And that means Biden has got to start talking to them. And it's not happening yet. Trump's talking to them. As somebody once said of FDR, I didn't know him, but he knew me. Trump knows those people. When he was up there in New Hampshire, I heard him say something. My people have figured out that I should come to this area, Laconia, because there's a lot of poor people.

And he said, it's the way he did. Remember back in 2016 when he beat Hillary, he went to Erie. he went to Wilkes-Barre, the Luzerne County. He knew where his Hillary was stuck down in Philly. He knew where he was going. I think people like David Urban, who is running his campaign last time, they know where to advance him. They're going to go out there and advance him to the right places. And I tell you, it's fast. I don't know if the Democrats have really thought through this campaign and what they're up against. This guy's calling himself God. God.

Now, sound not how strange God is. Yeah. And if he can get away with that, then he is truly a cult. And people got to be taught, I mean, thought through it with them. Somebody's got to start talking to people and saying, this guy is not for real as a secular leader. He's not Jesus. Now, on another day, they had a similar conversation, and Matthew said this. First white people in the world.

I mean, on their rags, on their backs, they look like East Germans coming out of East Berlin back in the 80s. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business,

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

Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple.

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

It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1 Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get

your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English.

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

Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Caramouch. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them.

It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. They were waiting for Trump for two hours, and they believe everything he says. And they had this notion that the family, the flag, the country, this really big, primitive notion of what they care about, the religion, everything.

He's tying into that. He's saying, I'm your savior. I'm taking the bullet for you. And he says, I'm here. I'm saving the vote for you. I'm saying that each day, and country, and family, Trump has perverted all of that. And I know, I know, because I grew up in the southern part of the United States. Evangelicals love him. And what do they love? I mean, some evangelicals love him.

Evangelical, though, even the term, it stopped meaning going to church. It's become a social identifier. It's a social identifier where I support authoritarian forms of government. I support using anti-democratic approaches to get what I want. It has nothing to do with it. So it's Christian nationalism. Is that what that is? Yes. Christian nationalism is you pick three or four issues and maybe it's translating library books. Maybe it's guns. Well, it is guns, which is the most bizarre thing. It's guns. It's abortion.

It's immigration. Right. Which which let me just tell you I mean yeah that sure lines up like hating all immigrants sure lines up with what Ronald Reagan or what Jesus said when he was talking about the Good Samaritan I mean none of this makes sense none of it

alright so allow me to unpack. What the conversation failed to do was to really unpack that and walk through that and get people to understand really what's at play. Okay? So Chris

Matthews says that, what is it about these 50,000 and under? Who does Trump lose in the biggest? College educated people. What's his group? Non-college educated people. So he's purposely playing on people who are not as smart as others. Now, let me be perfectly clear.

I'm not saying all those with college degrees are smarter than those without, but it's also discerning the lies from the truth. And so what Donald Trump does very well is he lies. He paints this broad picture. He says, oh, I'm fighting for you. I'm standing with you. But all of those broke white folks Chris Matthews talking about, they couldn't even walk through the lobby of one of his hotels.

But see, he presents this whole notion of the plain, the excess. And so they're like, I could have that life. I could have that life. But you can't. You can't have that life. I can have that life. But you can't. You can't have that life. And you're not going to have that life. Because he says this one thing. But he does something else. So he's fighting against China. Terrorists.

Oh, I'm making them pay. That's not how terrorist works. You actually pay more. In fact, he's saying, reelect me and I'm going to impose more tariffs on China. You know what's then going to happen?

What's going to happen is it's going to cost more people, more for Americans to buy goods. Those are facts. Now, those folks who are believing that, they don't understand that. They look at you like

you're crazy, like, what are you talking about? It's not going to cost me more money. Because Trump said it's going to save us money. They believe the lie. And so he feasts on that. He feasts on ignorance and he weaponizes ignorance. So you look at his tax cut. His tax cut did not help any of those broke white people or the broke Latinos or the broke

black folks who listen to Donald Trump. It didn't because they're not in that income bracket. He bragged in front of a bunch of rich people at Mar-a-Lago. I made y'all a lot of money, and I'm going to do it again, because that's who he cares about. So the Republican Party has created this notion that we're for the little man. Really?

So how can you be for the little man, but you oppose a living wage? How can you be for the little man but you oppose the living wage? How can you be for the little man when you oppose Medicaid expansion? How can you be for the little man when Republicans are passing laws in Florida and Texas preventing cities from passing laws requiring businesses to provide water and water breaks for people who work outdoors. Now, where Chris Matthews is correct is Biden-Harris. They've got to speak to those voters. Last three years, Reverend William Barber has been trying to get a meeting with President Biden, not by himself. But Barbara always says in the Poor People's Campaign, they always put up affected workers. The Biden White House has been unwilling

to actually do that. He says, no, the president needs to hear from affected workers, poor workers. They don't want to hear from that. The fact is, poor to low-income workers are a huge voting bloc that has not been tapped. Chris is right. Democrats haven't reached him. But Chris said Trump is focused on the family flag in the country.

Trump's family flag in the country in 2024 is no different than what Howard Dean said about Republicans in 2004 when he said, God gays guns. So God gays guns. God's still the same. But Trump now presents himself as the Messiah. The gay part in 2004 is now transgender. The gun part ain't changed. He's playing to a fictionalized view of what America used to be. Y'all know what I'm talking about.

You're watching a movie, and they're talking about the American dream. And you see people on the big screen, they're smiling and they're talking about the nice home and the suburbs and a white picket fence. And mom is at home and the kids come home from school and she's got an apron on and she's got baked cookies for them, and then daddy pulls up from home with his briefcase, and he kisses mommy and hugs the kids and grabs the paper and then begins to ask them how their day was. That is literally the world that Donald Trump presents. And for a lot of white people, that was America. But in that same time, black folks were getting their heads split open.

Houses were being bombed. Jim Crow was running rampant. And so what you have is you have a set of people who are pining for another America, that America that we used to be, the America where we used to go to church as a family, the America where it was man and woman and not these gay people and these trans people, America where we stood for the flag

and we sang proudly the national anthem. That's really what he's doing. But these people are not paying any attention to actually what he's saying. They are paying no attention to the massive lies. They're paying no attention to the craziness that's literally coming out of his mouth. They're paying no attention to his economic policies and how they did not and will not help any of these people. They're not.

So they're sitting here thinking, that's my guy, that's my guy. Which is why I keep trying to tell black folks We can't sit this thing out The reason I'm saying that to black folks the reason we can't sit it out because these people are mesmerized By Trump But see where morning Joe Didn't want to go. They didn't want to deal with the issue of race. I lay this thing out in my book, White Fear. I lay it out. Don't forget, President Lyndon Johnson called it as well.

Remember this quote? He said, if you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man. He won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on and he'll empty his pockets for you. That's what is going on. Oh, these things are happening before our very eyes. And what people don't want to deal with, they don't want to deal with the reality that Donald Trump is speaking a very explicit language of race. Yeah. What he's talking about is, oh, how the demonizing the immigrants, and they're the reason. It's them that's causing these problems. How dare they?

He's already said, I'm sending everybody back on day one. These poor white people are like, yeah, that's it. That's it. Because they've got our jobs. They're taking our jobs. But he's also doing this. This is from Axios, exclusive. Trump allies plot anti-racism protections for white people.

Hmm. If Donald Trump returns to the White House, close allies want to dramatically change the government's interpretation of civil rights era laws to focus on anti-white racism rather than discrimination against people of color. Trump's Department of Justice will push to eliminate or upend programs in government and corporate America that are designed to counter racism that is favored whites. Targets would range from decades-old policies aimed at giving minorities economic opportunities to more recent programs that began in response to the pandemic and the killing of George Floyd. Hmm.

Did I not tell you that was coming? Did I not warn you that this is what they were planning all along? But you have to understand, when you're talking about those poor white Americans, when you're talking about why are they so aggrieved, remember, they were there in 2016, they were there in 2020, and their grievances were there because they even see black folks problem. So how do you think the anti-CRT took hold? What do you think is the reason behind right now anti-DEI?

What do you think? We could go on and on and on. This is all a part, folks, of the same situation. Now, here's what you gotta remember. Pew did a study and 13% of whites who think they suffer a lot of discrimination. 13%. Now, let me set this up for you. So this is the graphic right here. Large

majorities see at least some discrimination against many groups in our society. Muslims, Jews, Arab people, black people, Hispanics, Asian people, evangelical Christians. Those those last two right there those are trump voters so when trump is attacking migrants when he's attacking dei when he's attacking things like that keep in mind it's stephen miller who was a top trump aide who sued to block the money to the black farmers who's suing other folks as well. This is also about race. It's about race. It's about how can you reach that individual, reach that poor white person and get them to buy into your vision and get them to see that you are the one who could change this. You are the one who can be the difference. So therefore you. And oh, that demon, that demon, Joe Biden, that demon, Kamala Harris. Oh, no, those people,

they are the reasons. They are the ones. They are the fundamental problem. So therefore, it must be me. But see, this is where Morning Joe also completely missed the mark because they did not talk about history. They did not talk about in the history of America, every period of every period where you've had black success has been followed by white backlash. They talk about that. They didn't talk about what we keep seeing happening in this country when it comes to whites and how they respond. But see, a lot of people don't realize is that you can take this thing all the way back to post-slavery. You could take it all the way back to when plantation owners, they were the ones who said, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up. We can't have these poor white people and these free slaves of African descent joining

together. Mm-hmm. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin.

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

I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple.

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

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back.

In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means

to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug ban. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill.

NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. This is what MLK said in his book, excuse me, in his speech after the 7th of Montgomery March. He said, our whole campaign in Alabama has been centered around the right to vote and focusing the attention of the nation and the world today on the flagrant denial of the right to vote. In focusing the attention of the nation and the world today on the flagrant denial of the right to vote, we're exposing the very origin, the root cause of racial segregation in the Southland. Racial segregation as a way of life did not come about as a natural result of hatred between

the races immediately after the Civil War. There were no laws segregating the races then, and as the noted historian C. Van Woodward in his book, The Strange Career of Jim Crow, clearly points out, the segregation of the races was really a political stratagem employed by the emerging bourbon interest in the South to keep the Southern masses divided and Southern labor the cheapest in the land. Y'all see right there? Southern labor the cheapest in the land y'all see right there southern labor the cheapest in the land you see it was a simple thing to keep the poor white masses working for near starvation wages in the years that followed the civil war why if if the poor white plantation or mill worker became dissatisfied with his low wages the plantation or mill owner would merely threaten to fire him

and hire former Negro slaves and pay him even less. Thus, the southern wage level was kept almost unbearably low. Now, let me stop right there. You have poor whites, family flag country. Trump's my guy. But he opposes unions. He opposes living wages. Now I need you to, that's, I'm sorry, that's, wait a minute, y'all broke. So let me just be real clear, okay. You're broke, you got awful healthcare,

you got awful education. So you're supportive of the people who wanna gut public education with vouchers, and those are actual scam programs. They're not meant to help the least of those. They're meant to help folk who are already sending their kids to private school or who have the means to

but need several more thousand dollars to get it done. They're opposing health care. Trump wants to kill the Affordable Care Act. So if you pull in white, what's the one law that has actually helped your health care, the Affordable Care Act? And then wages. Hmm. So, King says this.

Toward the end of the Reconstruction era, something very significant happened. This is what was known as the Populist Movement. The leaders of this movement began awakening the poor white masses and the former Negro slaves to the fact that they were being fleeced by the emerging bourbon interest. Not only that, but they began uniting the Negro and white masses into a voting bloc that threatened to drive the bourbon interest from the command post of political power in the South. To meet

this threat, the Southern aristocracy begin immediately to engineer this development of a segregated society. I want you to follow me through here because this is very important to see the roots of racism and the denial of the right to vote. Watch this. Through their control of mass media, they revised the doctrine of white supremacy. The use of mass media. The conservative ecosystem, conservative radio, Fox News, digital media. Constant drumbeat, the anti-blackness

being constantly fed to them drives this wedge. Go back. King says they saturated the thinking of the poor white masses with it, thus clouding their minds to the real issue involved in the populist movement. Come back. So if I can keep y'all minds over here, then I can keep you from realizing you're being fleeced. So Fox News over here keeps saying, oh my God, inflation hasn't gone down. It has. These are awful

Biden programs. They're not. They're helping. They're not helping you they are so that's why you have Republicans who vote against infrastructure bill but then take credit for the money when it comes there that's what your Republicans who vote against taking money that's actually helping to put broadband in rural communities but then they actually take credit for it. But they're saturating the media, and so these poor whites, what do you think they're listening to? King says, they then directed the placement on the books of the South of laws that made it a crime for Negroes and whites to come together as equals at any level. And that did it. That crippled and eventually destroyed the populist movement of the 19th century.

So when you hear people say Trump is a populist, Trump is a white nationalist populist. Trump's message is appealing to largely white people, white poor people. You do have some clueless Negroes who believe the nonsense, but that's who he is channeling his energy to because in the last election, 70% of those who voted were white. So when you hear me say,

we gotta have black folks forward voting at least 70% of our capacity, because we've got to offset black folks voting at least 70% of our capacity because we've got to offset where those white folks are. If you change the election, you have to drive that number down to about 68, 67. Those three points makes the difference

in Georgia, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, seven battleground states. So all of you who are watching and listening, I need you to understand that Trump's messaging, strong guy, save America, only I can do it, love the flag, stand for the anthem, all about family. He's against everything that he says, but because he is a showman,

because he's a circus leader, because he understands how to manipulate the minds, which is why he was reading all those Hitler books, because Hitler was a master of manipulation, these poor white folks are going, yes, yes, yes, Trump's our guy, not realizing that they actually are going to be screwed. Remember those tariffs?

When Trump was president, I'll never forget. There were white dairy farmers who filed for bankruptcy and lost their family farms because of Trump's nonsensical tariff war. And one of them actually said to a writer that it was worth losing my family farm for what Trump is doing. Mike Lindell literally destroyed his multi-million dollar pillow business to advance Trump's lying election deal. John Eastman has been disbarred from practicing law because he stood up with Trump talking about the election was rigged. Sidney Powell is next. Rudy Giuliani lost a massive case in Georgia.

He owes in excess of three plus million dollars. He actually owes way more than that for standing with the fool. So what am I telling you? These are so-called smart people who literally sacrifice their careers and their livelihoods for this fool Trump, and he will never help them out. So poor white people and confused black people and confused Latino people, let me make it clear.

This man doesn't give a damn about you. He doesn't like you. He doesn't like you. He doesn't respect you. And he will do nothing for you other than sell you a pipe dream and hope you run with it while he laughs all the way to the bank. Joe, you first.

You know, this is divide and conquer one on one. It's always been this way. How do you stay in charge when the people that you're in charge of have much more in common with each other than they do with you? The way that you do that is by dividing and conquering, whether it was, you know, back in the day, the field Negroes and the house Negroes, or whether it was white folks of simple means, along with immigrants and other people of simple means. You can let that white cat know, well, you know, you're not the richest, but hey,

you know, at least you're white and therefore superior. Our brother Ozzie Davis talked about this in Childhood Fever, actually. And so you continue to do that. So Trump's not doing a new thing. OK, he's certainly elevating it for sure, but he's not doing a new thing. It's been happening since the very, very beginning. This is why people that have nothing to do and very little in common with regular people continue to be in charge of states that are diverse, people of modest means. Most people are people of modest means. And it amazes me to no end what anyone with any type of dependence on any form of government support or government program at all would be doing voting for Donald Trump, because their stuff is going to go away.

And I do agree that what they seem to miss in that reporting is just the notion that this country was about race from the very beginning. That's still the issue. That's still the notion that this country was about race from the very beginning. That's still the issue. That's still the key issue. That's still the thing that's more threatening to white folks, particularly white folks who want to be in charge, than anything. It's always been about race. And so, and I don't necessarily expect that to change.

It should be about class, right? But if it was really about class, the people that were in the same class that had connection because they had common look at him and overlook this whole mountain that represents their enlightened self-interest, what should be their enlightened self-interest. Here's what I need. I need health care. Here's what I need. I should unionize so that I can't just lose my job after 20 years because they want to cut me away. Here's what I need. I need for my, you know, elderly person in my family to be able to have health care, you know, et cetera, and look over that entirely. Despite all the evidence of the contrary and look towards Trump, who's not from the city, who's not who's from the city. He's not rural. He's not any of these things. He didn't come from modest means either.

There's no connection to him but this. That's all there is. So we have to stop paying attention. People have to stop paying attention to that suggestion. But it starts off by being honest about what we really have. Sure, you can find a kernel of truth, I guess, in the Chris Matthews argument about how he— the fact that Trump touches these folks. But you have to go back to the beginnings of this country and why we got mentioned in the Constitution as three-fifths of a person and no other group. Right. Mustafa, though, you can't run from it.

You must challenge every lie. You must call him out. You must say that man is not going to do anything for you, and you have to be explicit. You must say that man is not going to do anything for you and you have to be explicit. You must say, hey poor white people, this man doesn't give a damn about you and let me explain to you why.

So, yeah, they should be doing that. Reverend Barber talks about it all the time. Democrats, they should be mobilizing, organizing and mobilizing those low income and poor voters because actually they could flip this entire election and become a blowout if they target those folks and get them to turn out by saying, I've done stuff for you and I'm going to do more for you. And that fool won't do've done stuff for you and I'm going to do more for you. And that fool won't do a damn thing for you. Yeah, without a doubt. You know, for some reason, we're resistant or

allergic in this country to say the word poor. Like you listen to politicians talk and they never talk about poor folk. The middle class, the middle class, the middle class. That's what it's about. And, you know, I grew up in Appalachia before I moved to Detroit. So folks often felt that the system had always failed them. They also always felt that nobody saw them. So Trump at least tells folks that he sees them. Now, we know he's lying. We know that he doesn't care. We know all of the things that are untrue in that statement. But if you're not willing to acknowledge the fact that people are asking you to see them and not just see them, but also spend the respective amount of time that's them to understand how you are already making investments and what the future sets of investments will look like to make sure that they can have that life that they've always hoped that they would have. When Trump first won, I went back home to visit my mother. And I remember I went into this meeting, listened to some people talk.

And then afterwards, I asked them, I said, well, why did you vote for Trump? And a bunch of the folks said because they could finally, finally become a millionaire. Now, a couple people chuckled after that because some of the folks, you know, they never even graduated high school. Some did. But when people perceive that they now have an opportunity, you have to also be able to address that perception that they have, because we know perception is a big driver. So this administration, you know, the Biden administration has actually put significant resources into communities across the country, has to do a better job of making sure folks, one, understand where they came from, but what does that change actually look like? And giving people something to hold on to, to know that if I give you my vote this time, that I will be able to, you know, build upon the change that's happening. But folks have not done that in a very effective way.

So, yes, we can talk about Trump and his lies, but you've got to also talk about how you actually help everyday hardworking folks who might be lower income to actually be able to see a better way forward. Yep. Randy. Well, Trump to me, I mean, what is a white person's greatest currency, particularly a white person from modest means, greatest currency. It is their whiteness. I mean, the reason why they are putting, making poor decisions when it comes to logic is because they recognize, although they don't want to speak about white privilege or own that it does exist, they recognize that their greatest power, their greatest currency in life is their whiteness.

So if you do have a person that is saying, I'm going to take you back to the days where whiteness means more than it is these days, he is God to them. He is the Jesus. He is the second coming. Because that is, as you say so eloquently in your book, Roland, that is what they fear the most, is this changing society. And so I also believe that what the current administration needs to do is they need to talk frankly about that. While we are uncomfortable using the term poor and talking about economics, we're more afraid to talk about race and the changing demographics. And I think I would say to people, I understand that change is hard, but it's going to happen. The demographic is going to change. People are not going anywhere. Like, we're not going to disappear. They seem to think that Trump is this big Superman that's going to, you know,

change the world as it is, and it's not going to happen. So what do we need to do to ensure the future for everybody? Because this man cannot take y'all to the promised land. We're not going back to the 1800s. It's not going to go back to—you know, we're not going to make America great again if great again means that all minorities are somehow pushed down and white people, regardless of their socioeconomics, are elevated. So that's another—even with Dave Matthews, who's this seasoned, respected journalist,

I feel like he skirts around talking about race and the power that it has on the population here, because they're not looking at, they're not, they don't, they're not, a lot of people are not even paying attention to the actual legislation and things that have been passed and things that have happened. All they know is this man gets up and essentially says that I'm going to take us back. And that, you know, and that's all they care about.

So we really need to address that. We got to get for real, for real and address that. And be honest, like, I know you're scared, but guess what? Ain't nobody in this country going anywhere. So how do we ensure that everyone from one, you know, all socioeconomic levels can get where they're living in a way that they want to live and they have opportunities. Indeed. All right, folks. Can I go to a break? We come back. We'll talk national autism awareness. That's next. on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network.

Fan base is pioneering a new era of social media for the creator economy. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith.

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

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

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

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

reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug ban. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill.

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

Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Next Generation's social media app with over 600,000 users is raising $17 million, and now is your chance to invest. For details on how to invest, visit startengine.com slash fanbase or scan the QR code.

Another way we're giving you the freedom to be you without limits. Next on The Black Table with me, Greg Carr. We look at one of the most influential and prominent black Americans of the 20th century. His work literally changed the world. Among other things, he played a major role in creating the United Nations. He was the first African American

and first person of color to win the Nobel Peace Prize. And yet today, he is hardly a household name. We're talking, of course, about Ralph J. Bunch. A new book refers to him as the absolutely indispensable man. His lifelong interest and passion in racial justice, specifically in the form of colonialism. And he saw his work as an activist, an advocate for the Black community here in the United States as just the other side of the coin of his work trying to roll back European empire in Africa.

Author Cal Rastiala will join us to share his incredible story. That's on the next Black Table, here on the Black Star Network. On the next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, people can't live with them, can't live without them. Our relationships often have more ups and downs than a boardwalk rollercoaster, but it doesn't have to be that way.

Trust your gut. Whenever your gut is like, this isn't healthy, this isn't right, I don't like the way that I'm being treated. This goes for males and females. Trust your gut. Whenever your gut is like, this isn't healthy, this isn't right, I don't like the way that I'm being treated. This goes for males and females. Trust your gut. And then whenever that gut feeling comes, have a conversation. Knowing how to grow or when to go, a step-by-step guide on the next A Balanced Life on Blackstar Network. What's good, y'all? This is Doug E. Freshener watching my brother Roland Martin unfiltered as we go a little

something like this. Hit it. It's real. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Martin! Thank you. Thank you. All right. Sorry, folks. When a source calls you working on a story, you got to take that phone call anytime you can. So I apologize for that delay. All right, folks. Today is National Autism Awareness Day

and this is an issue that is really ramped up I will say in the last decade or so there's been a whole lot of attention on the issue of autism, especially when it comes to vaccines and things along those lines. But it's impacted a lot of folks, a number of people in this country, a number of children in this country.

There are many people. You often hear Holly Robinson-Pete talks about her son dealing with autism. Well, Monique Presley, often on our show, also as a mother is dealing with this with one of her children. She's joined, she joins us right now on the show to talk about this. As well, she's joined by Tiffany Rose, who's the co-founder and creative director of Schools Sense Candles. And of course, which is a group of parents of children with autism. All right, glad to have both of you. So what are you doing together with these candles to raise awareness but also money? What are you doing? Well, first, I want to say happy World Autism Day to everybody who's affected by autism in 1997, I believe it was.

No, actually backwards, 1979, the United Nations General Assembly declared it World Autism Awareness Day. And that was so that a day could be taken to reflect on the growing incidence of autism around the world, and so that there could be increased awareness, and now so that there can be increased acceptance and inclusion. Roland, we're looking at one in arguably every 44 children who are dealing with this neurological disorder. And it disproportionately affects black and brown communities like anything else. When something is terrible that's happening in the United States, especially, it disproportionately affects the underserved. It disproportionately affects black and brown communities. So little black boys are at higher incident of being diagnosed with autism.

And they also, as are the poor, are diagnosed later, which directly affects the chances for recovery. My own son, our firstborn, was diagnosed before he was two years old. When he was almost two, he is now 18. So this has been thus far an over 16-year journey for our family, but we are far from alone. There's 75 million, million people around the world who are facing autism. So my hope today, wearing my blue and being active as always in the month of April, which is Autism Awareness Month around the world, is to highlight ways that we can provide help, ways that we can provide inclusion and support.

And one of the ways that we're doing that this time around with my show, Make It Make Sense, is by supporting Areva Martin, the attorney. She has an organization called Special Needs Network that is based in L.A. that helps people all throughout the United States. They provide concierge services online, not just in the L.A. region. And through Special Needs Network, they provide a full boutique of services, whether you're in need of speech therapy, occupational therapy, if you have developmental disabilities, whether you're in need of speech therapy, occupational therapy. If you have developmental disabilities, if you are looking to try to help your child or your loved one to get back in the workforce, they do all of these things. And they've just opened an entirely new center in the Los Angeles area. to help black women who are doing great things in this area as we increase awareness, but also

bring help to those who need it. The final thing I'll say, Roland, is lots of times people are focused on research. People are focused on recovery. People are focused on therapy. People are focused on how to help the person who's been diagnosed, but what they ignore is the respite that families desperately need, that moms, dads, caregivers, sisters, brothers, aunties, uncles, grandma and them, everybody, everybody in the family is affected and everybody in the family is usually

in part of the process trying to help to give wraparound services for the child, but nobody's taking care of mom or dad. It's hard to get a nail appointment. It's hard to just have a break and sit in the garage and do nothing. It's hard even to go to church without having someone as a caregiver. So what we're doing with this campaign, with this fundraising effort, with the help of my dear friend, Tiffany Tiffany Rose who started School Scents Candles. What we're doing is selling candles and all of the profits are going to Areva Martin's foundation to her organization Special Needs Network and my hope is that first

we name the candle a good day which people can see the screen, but I'll hold mine up right here because I know what it is to have some really dark, bad days and for you to need something to help it to turn into a good day. So we are selling the candles. All the profits go to the network. And my hope is that people will buy them and give them to people who they know who are affected by autism spectrum disorder. So you told your story. So let's talk about the candles. First of all, how long have you had your candle company? I've had my candle company for three years. January 20th. We launched January 25th of 2021. And walk us through that. And so you could have started any number of businesses, but why this particular business? Well, it was something that we were doing as far as burning candles. We were all in COVID and burning candles every day. So

I was like, because my kids were struggling with school on Zoom and I was struggling with just trying to figure out what we were going to do as a family and how we were holding it together, decided let's do something meaningful. We started making candles just as a fun thing to do as a family. And I had so many materials still left over, so decided to send out over 150 testers to family and friends. And the positive response led us to actually turn it into a full-fledged business. And so you built it and you've been growing it. And how are you now looking to expand it, obviously to drive sales, but also to aid in this this battle with autism?

Well, with the battle with autism, me and Mo have been speaking about this actually probably weeks after we started, after she got her testers and we figured out what can we do to support and how she can spread the word for autism and raise money as well? So this has been something we've been talking about for the last three years, and we finally brought it into fruition. Awareness Day, Autism Awareness Month, but that it be a long standing project that we continually be able to sell the candles, but also to be able to support those specific charities like that Areva Martin has in order to be able to continue to provide services because it's not just the research, but it's also providing jobs and other resources that they need. For me, oh, I'm sorry. No, no, no, go ahead, go ahead. For me, our candle company basically is all about having,

all of our candle names are named after nostalgic moments from elementary to your collegiate experiences. So we have names like Star Athlete, Letterman Jacket, News Student. It's those fun, fond memories that we want to kind of hold on to. But we do it through the power of scent. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one

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

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

This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast.

Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves.

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Podcasts. Go to our panel. Rana, you first. Well, I so appreciate you being here and talking about this important topic. 23 years ago, I was blessed with a beautiful son and he was on the spectrum, very low, low end of the spectrum. And yes, it is very challenging as you're trying to figure out, you know, what is going on. And, and, you know, a lot of prayers, a lot of crying, a lot of even, you, even I tell people I grew so much in that time because you're oftentimes embarrassed because your kid is not responding in the same way other kids are. And at that time, 23 years ago,

it wasn't something that people talked about. I do wanna say for the people who are listening, if early intervention is so incredibly powerful because, you know, my son is a graduate, an honor roll graduate of Hampton University, has an excellent job, is studying now to go to business school. He's only looking at the top 10 of business schools. You know, it's thriving, but it took a lot of work and patience and, like I said, love and tears. And so I relate to the story personally, and I applaud what you're doing. Congratulations, Randy.

I did not know that. That is so exciting to hear, and it's also personally encouraging to hear. And what is so true that early intervention matters. And the thing that I think people in the United States either don't get it is that also means money matters, right? Because people who come from families with more money have better outcomes. People who come from families with better education have better outcomes. It's things that should not affect whether a child gets the free and appropriate public education services that they're supposed to get. And like anything else that's medical related or pharmaceutical related, it seems like the money just isn't in getting our kids all the way out, especially when it's brown and black kids predominantly. Can I just say one thing on that? I mean, amen for saying that, because I definitely feel as if what people do to our brown and black kids

is they just want to throw them in a special education classroom and forget about them. And that's why this knowledge is so important. What struck me is that, you know, elderly patients, after they've had a stroke, you know, they have learned to remap the brain, right? So the area that may have died because that was for speech, they could remap the brain so they could speak again. And I said, if they can remap the brain of an elderly person, our baby's brains are not fully formed, right? And so if you're working with children every day, you really do see miracles. And so don't allow anybody to tell you, well, this is what it is.

This is as far as they'll go and give up on, you know, your child, because bankruptcy, to be honest, my husband and I was, because we were paying for therapies out of our pockets because there was no, they weren't paying for it. But even if you, if they're not paying for it, if you have to buy a book and learn about what you can do at home, do it. Do it because it works. Yeah. Mustafa. Yeah. Mustafa. Yeah, a quick two-part question. Tiffany, I'm a big candle fan. I'm curious, do you have inspirational stories that are also tied to folks who have purchased your candles?

And then for Mo, you know, on the other side of the equation, when we talk about autism, I'm always curious if folks also can help the folks who are thinking about voting, why it's important to also think about autism while you're voting. I know from the work that I do on the environmental side of the equation that air pollution is also one of those drivers that we found connections with autism. So, Tiffany, first question is for you. Well, for me, my daughter was diagnosed with ADHD, not autism, but ADHD when she was five. So for us, we knew that scents, they're a mood booster. And for her, she's creative, but scattered. She's smart, but scattered. So she needed something that could

help. As far as some of my clients, they say the same thing, that our scents, the clean ingredients that we use, they help in making them feel good. You know, when you light a candle, and then also the types of ingredients that we use, it's a mood booster. It's clean. They're non-toxic. So it helps in all those in aiding not to create a toxic environment, but a clean and safe environment for you and help with that mood booster. Joe. No. I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. Monique, go ahead, then Joe. Go ahead. Yes. Okay. No. Okay. And I want to answer your question, Mustafa.

Thank you for asking it because obviously environmental toxins are one of the things that they think is a cause of autism, even though they're not sure. But I wanted to first say where SchoolSense is concerned and the beautiful company that TIFF is growing, which, Roland, you'd be pleased to know, Tabitha Brown already highlighted in her Candle of the Week, and she's been doing pop-ups and other things, and I'm just so proud to watch her take something that was just an at-home exercise and turn it into a vibrant business and do it with excellence. I love all of her candles, so that's my testimonial. Favorite is Nuscent other than a good day. So I'm encouraging everybody, please go to my Shopify store for the candle that will support special needs network, but then go to Tiffany's website in order to get all of the rest of her wonderful candles.

Your question is concerned, Musaf, legislation matters, right? The only reason in Maryland that we have an autism waiver that helps to provide wraparound services for children is because legislators were educated about what needed to happen and they made it happen. And even with that being said, children and families wait a decade or more to get off of the wait list and to actually get the services. We personally joined when our child was three. We just started getting services last year, so that should tell you the story on that. Marijuana, can I say it? Legislation around medical use for marijuana directly affects children and adults with epilepsy. Children and adults, now they're learning as a treatment for autism. And research is another area where your vote matters, because

if you're looking to vote for candidates and for politicians who are going to be willing to put the money that's necessary into figuring this out, they know that the environment matters. Well, let's think about it. Why would the United States and big business not want to do something about the environment and help our children because there's no money in it, like I already said. So this is definitely state by state and in national elections where your vote matters. All right, then where can people go? Check the candles out. You can go to make it make sensemyshopify.com in order to get a good day. Also, just at Monique Presley on Instagram or on Facebook, you can get the link there.

My link tree is there. And for Tiffany's candles, you can see the website is schoolsense.com. Thank you so much for doing this, Roland. We really appreciate you. Tiffany, how can folks reach you? They can reach me at www.schoolsense.com. And then we're on IG at school period sense. Yeah, we'd love to send you some stuff too, Roland.

All right. Well, look, we got candles on the news desk here. So we absolutely. You don't have booze, and you don't have good day. Okay, okay. I did not specify the candles that I had.

I said we have candles here on the news desk, so I'm stating that we are receptive to having candles. Lord have mercy. All right. We'll be sure you have some candles.

I appreciate it. Thank you so very much. Thank you. All right, folks appreciate it. Thanks so very much. Thank you. All right, folks. Real quick today in Oklahoma, oral arguments were heard in the case of the two survivors of the Tulsa race massacre. We live streamed those arguments on Roland Martin on Filters on the Black Star Network. Here is some of those arguments today. On your unjust enrichment claim, what is the equitable relief you're seeking? Are you seeking money held by the defendants? Yes, we're a disgorgement. We're seeking disgorgement. If we're in discovery, we're able to prove that the defendants received unjustly money, that we believe that they utilize the survivor's story.

We're seeking the equitable remedy of discouragement, which is exactly what happened in Shorewood. But the money you seek is money, I take based upon your statement, money into the hands of the defendant from third parties, not from the plaintiffs directly. It was not money from the plaintiffs directly, that's correct. Is that not a requirement of unjust enrichment, that the defendants hold money that's directly owed to the plaintiffs? How do you show that? I think in this court's case, Fault v. Blair, 2010, okay, 16, which is a decision that Justice Edmondson wrote, the think in this court's case, Fault v. Blair, 2010, OK-16, which is a decision

that Justice Edmondson wrote, the four elements this court has laid out for unjust enrichment is the unjust retention of a benefit received at the expense of another. And I think this is such a great case of that, as we played it in our actual petition, that the actual perpetrators of the massacre utilize the survivors of the massacre stories to benefit themselves and again this is a pleading case we have not had a chance to prove it we think we can and we're hoping this court will give us the opportunity to prove our case reverse this decision by judge wall send us back to and remand it back for discovery to start as soon as possible and we want these survivors to see justice in a lifetime. I see that my time is up, and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Yeah. These two individuals that are in the courtroom today, is it your position that they are the only two individuals that can bring the case? No, Your Honor. We think because we've alleged an ongoing public nuisance that's ongoing that anyone within the Greenwood community that's suffering from that blighted community and their health, safety, and welfare

is annoyed pursuant to the statute, but they could bring that particular case. But we think these two individuals are obviously those who we want to see justice in their particular lifetime. Thank you for the question. I have a question. obviously those who we want to see justice in their particular lifetime. Thank you for the question. Yeah, I have a question.

I'd like you to speak to the, you are alleging that there was a stipulation that was violated when the later motion to dismiss was presented. Can you speak to that a little bit? Yes, sir, Justice Gang. Thank you for the question. It is our position that during our hearing

in May 2nd, 2022, there was a stipulation between the parties that if we made certain amendments to our unjust enrichment claim, that our understanding was that the defendants would not file another motion to dismiss on that particular claim because they agreed we could cure the problem. And that's what our understanding was. And I think if you look at the record, I believe Justice Wall on an open court basically said she kind of understood that was the agreement also. The defendant said that was not their understanding. They filed different motions, and now, you know, we're here today. And, you know, we don't really understand why the unjust enrichment case was dismissed. There was no discussion about it in any of the orders that Judge Wall, either her August 3rd, 2022 order or her July 7th, 23rd order or her July 12th, 2023 order. Well, let me talk a little bit about what Judge Wall did, because I need a little help with that, too. Yeah, you're right on the timeline. On August 3rd of 22, she made her first order on the defendant's motion to dismiss. And then the next year, she made a one-page order on July 7 that granted a dismissal.

And it was said based on what was set forth in the defendant's brief, if I recall correctly. And then about five days later on July 12, there's what's now called the final order of dismissal with prejudice. And she dismisses, but then incorporates by reference the earlier order she'd made back in August of the prior year. And on page six of that order, Judge Wall says, applying Oklahoma's liberal pleading standard, the court cannot find beyond any doubt that plaintiffs Randall Fletcher and Van Ellis Sr. can prove no set of facts which would entitle plaintiffs to relief on their public nuisance claims, which seems to militate towards saying that she was not dismissing that. So what do you make of all that? I totally agree with you, Chief Justice, and I think it goes exactly with what, in the case McGee v. El Patio that I discussed earlier,

where you stated that a motion cannot be granted if there is no set of facts that we can prove. And she actually stated that on August 3rd. So we were completely surprised and just couldn't believe that the case had been dismissed based upon the August 3rd, 2022 order. Council, it seems to me that you're more interested in what's happening now, the failure to abate, to let the public nuisance exist as a result of the massacre, but you really can't go back to the massacre. Is that right? Really it's what's happening now is what you're complaining about.

Yes, we understand that, Justice Calgar. Thank you for the question. There's an ongoing public nuisance that started because of the massacre. That is what we've alleged. This really is, Joe, the last ditch effort. They have been denied into different places, and this is the last effort they can get to seek some justice for these two survivors, both 109. Yeah, that's amazing. And there is some daylight here. I mean, we'll see. Oklahoma's pretty conservative. But the chief justice indicated that, you know, he might be amenable underneath. It sounds like there was no intention to completely dismiss the entire case. There are also a couple of interesting arguments.

Unjust enrichment, if you do it broadly and you're saying something is taken at the expense of another, it doesn't have to physically come out of my pocket, but I, you know, derive a detriment. That's one thing. And then the public nuisance, saying that it's a continuing public nuisance, that gets you around a statute problem, because you're not technically suing about the riots that took place all those years ago. You're suing about the conditions now that were brought about by the riots.

So we'll see what happens. I mean, you know, again, Oklahoma's pretty conservative, but this is, you know, a last ditch with these particular 109-year-old folks as the living embodiment of what the problem is, but the way it's been alleged, if it survives, that anybody in that community can bring it because it's a continuing nuisance and there's no standing problem. Mustafa. They say justice delayed is justice denied. You know, waiting over 100 years to be able to receive justice speaks to that particular quote and the impacts, as Joe just shared, that continue to go on. So there's a systemic set of issues that have lasted, you know, from the bombing that happened

over 100 years ago. And hopefully folks will finally be able to receive, you know, the justice that they've been asking for for now a century. Randy? I'm sure what the justices are afraid of is that if this case rules in our favor, that others will actually have the audacity to sue for some of the cruelty that Black people have had to survive at the hands of white people. And that will open up a can of worms that I think terrifies them. So I don't think they're just considering how they're voting about this specific case, but also what it means for the future. All right. Joe, Randy Mustafa, I certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much for joining us.

Thank you. Folks, see you guys tomorrow. Be sure to support us in what we do. Join the Bring the funk fan club so you're checking money or the peel box five seven one nine six washington dc two zero zero three seven dash zero one nine six cash app dollar side rm unfiltered paypal r martin unfiltered vimmo is rm unfiltered zale rolling at rolling s martin.com rolling that rolling mark unfiltered dot com also download the boxer network app apple phone android phone apple tv android tv roku amazon fire tv xbox one samsung smart tv also you can uh check out our 24-hour streaming channel we're available on amazon news by going to amazon

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Folks, Black Star Network is here. Hold no punches! I'm real revolutionary right now. I'm proud. We support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. I thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roller. Stay 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 scared. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? Outro Music A lot of times, big economic forces show up in our lives in small ways. Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding.

But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. Small but important ways. From tech billionaires to the bond market to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastain. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time,

have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, 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. I'm Clayton English.

I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their 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. This is an iHeart Podcast.