#RolandMartinUnfiltered - #BlackStarNetwork at #EssenceFest2022 brought to you by Coca-Cola

Episode Date: July 2, 2022

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This is an iHeart Podcast. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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we are live from New Orleans and the Essence Festival. Of course, Coca-Cola. We're partnering with them for these special edition shows. Also, they are the presenting sponsor of Essence Fest. Man, we've got a jam-packed couple hours for you folks. We've shot some amazing stuff. Of course, people are already in New Orleans, all around the city, at the restaurants, walking the streets, convention center, the Essence Eats. They're going to all different sessions. Last night, we caught up with Congressman Troy Carter.

They always have the opening party at Generation Hall, so we'll hear from him. Also, we'll hear from McDonald's folks and their future 22, including one of the youngest black female stockbroker. We talk about her history, but also she gives one of my staffers, schools him on crypto and how it's not a good investment. Also, we'll talk with a McDonald's official who's trying to get more African Americans to be owners of franchises. Plus, we stop by the Coca-Cola kitchen at Essence Each with my man, Chef Kwame. And they had a culinary contest. And, man, y'all, I had some fantastic food, including this braised short rib.

It was supreme. And so we'll show you some of that as well. Plus, what it's like when you get, I got out the roll-on bill and ran and just door opens, and who's standing right there? Chef! And so we caught up with my man, Richard Roundtree, as well. Plus, EPA Administrator Michael Regan, Quentin James. He's the co-founder of Collective PAC. up with my man richard roundtree uh as well plus epa administrator michael regan quentin james uh he's the co-founder of collective pack what they're doing to elect more african americans

uh to office we will show you the black women's round table the pound that they had uh folks is all kind of stuff we've been out here covering and so we've got the best coverage of Essence Fest right here on the Black Star Network. It's time to bring the funk. Let's go. Whatever the biz, he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the vibe. And when it breaks, he's right on time. And it's rolling. Best believe he's knowing.

Putting it down from sports to news to politics. With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling, it's on for a roll, y'all It's rolling, Martin, yeah Rolling with rolling now He's funky, he's fresh, he's real, the best you know, he's Roland Martel.

Yeah. Martel. All right, fam, what's up? Roland Martin here. I'm in New Orleans. We've been here since Monday, getting prepared for this very moment. Essence Festival began last night here. Kevin Hart performed at the Smoothie King Center and already supposed to be coming into town. Even with all the rain that's been happening here, a lot of excitement.

People hit the streets, restaurants, walking the streets, going to the convention center, going to all the different sessions. Things are really being taken off. Our cameras have been all over the place because I've got multiple crews doing social media posts. We've been shooting events and live streaming. If you miss a lot of that, you're going to go to the Black Star Network app to see what we streamed earlier today from Essence Festival. We're going to be covering stuff today, tomorrow, Sunday as well, so you don't want to miss it. And so we've got lots of stuff to show you. And so let's kick this thing off we talked to Congressman Troy Carter he of course is the member of Congress

the only African American in the Louisiana delegation who dropped by this massive party that is held every single year at Generation Hall he of course in the past Congressman Cedric Richmond had a party I ran into some friends that's my girl Christine Granville out of Atlanta

and so many people we saw last night at the party had a fantastic time. Y'all know I had to go ahead and get it in on the stage. We were dancing, having a good time. But we did, it's called a party with a purpose. And so we did talk a little purpose with a man, Congressman Troy Carter. And so we talked about politics. We talked about economics. We talked about the importance of this festival. We also had a conversation about the power of black love.

Here is my conversation with the Congressman. I understand. I understand. I understand. Always good to be with you. Indeed. I see you folks getting here early this year. Oh, yeah. You know, people have been so waiting on the moment to get back to Essence, to get back to New Orleans.

And after two years hiatus, you can see people are very happy. Very glad to see you brother. Always good to be with you. Folk out having a good time, enjoying Essence, good, clean, fun, partying with a purpose. A party, but yes, a party that talks about what we need to do to lift up our people, to fight against the evils that's going on with the Supreme Court, to fight against those efforts to turn back the clock. It's a good time. And one of those evils, I mean, the way it should be going down, you should be having a second black colleague after November.

And what the Supreme Court did was truly foul. Absolutely. Listen, math is math. You can split Dysus any way you want. We've got six members of Congress and we are one third of the state. Should be two members. There should be two black members. Two black members in the United States Congress from Louisiana.

And unfortunately, this Supreme Court has dealt us yet another dirty hand, and we're going to continue to fight. And what I tell people all the time is don't let this lull you to sleep. Let this energize you to come out, to vote, to push. The more they try to move the ball, the more they try to take away our rights, the more we have to fight. The more we have to get to the ballot box because elections have consequences. And we're seeing them manifest themselves right now. One of the things that I was just the other day, Gary Chambers, I think it was on a radio interview, and he said that New Orleans, Monroe,

and I think one of the city, literally the black turnout was from 20 to 36 percent. And what I've been saying is, in these places where our folks are, we've got to get that number to 50, 55, 60. We do that, we can run elections. And so what is it going to take to get, again, the black number above 50 percent? Let me tell you, I think the Supreme Court action on stripping the rights of women, their reproductive freedoms, and the right to choose is going to backfire, and it's going to mobilize people to come out and vote like they never before. When you hear Senator Cornyn from Texas who says we should revisit Brown v. Board of Education, we should revisit Plessy v. Ferguson, the separate but equal doctrine,

man, if that doesn't get your attention, nothing does. We need to energize and come out, and I believe come November, you're going to see a turnout like we've never seen before. We have to stay angry. We have to stay hungry. We have to stay laser focused on making sure we did what Georgia did. We picked up two Senate seats that we weren't supposed to get. Now we've got to go after those who don't understand the basic decency of serving people.

Get them up or get them out. I'm glad you mentioned Georgia because I've seen some numbers that estimate that there are 300,000 unregistered but eligible African Americans in Louisiana. And so is there a movement here to create a new Louisiana project like Georgia did, to go after those folks, to touch them where people have been, frankly, not talking to them, ignoring them, to activate that base, that's what changed Georgia. And let me tell you, we don't need to recreate the wheel.

I was with Nekima Williams today, who's my dear friend and colleague in Congress and who is chairman of the Democratic Party. And I talked to our Democratic Party leaders and said, listen, let's borrow a page from their playbook. We don't have to recreate the wheel. We've just got to take the method that they use. And they got to cut the check, energize our people, raise the money. And the party has to weigh in. Louisiana is not a lost cause. We used to be blue and we can be blue again. But it's going to take the kind of effort that we saw happen in Georgia. I'm totally confident in our Democratic Party here in Louisiana to energize and get people going, but we've got to do it together.

Now, as blue, let's talk black. And so one of the things that what I have been saying is that when you look at this festival, it speaks to black collective in terms of economics. And what I am constantly saying is we should be looking at this period, this post-George Floyd period, as a third reconstruction. If we're not having a money conversation, we're not having a real conversation. That's right.

I had a conversation today with Secretary Buttigieg of Transportation, and I said, listen, we've got $1.2 trillion, the largest infrastructure package since the creation of the interstate system. Now, how do we take that and utilize it and make sure that we have African Americans that are part of the mainstream and making some money? Being a part of design, road build, the whole nine yards. We're getting there, and we've got to keep pushing because the last thing we can afford to have happen is

we have the largest infrastructure bill passed and black folk not have an opportunity to partake. We've missed the boat if that happens. We're not going to let that happen. And that's the thing with us getting 1.67% of all federal contracts. And my deal is, look, we move back to 3 to 5 to 10, all of a sudden you go now from 9 billion annually to 56 billion annually. I'm like, that changes our community and changes black owned businesses. That is the kind of life changing opportunities. This infrastructure bill,

build back better at all of the efforts that the Biden administration is pushing. And this Democratic caucus is pushing because it's not about a stimulus that's a one-time pop. It's about the life-changing opportunities through education, economic development opportunities. That's what changes things. So I'm going to ask this question here that speaks to this festival. In your own words, explain what black love feels like when folks are here, whether it's a party, whether at the festival, in this city, in the restaurants, and just what does that feel like, black love? It's an unconditional, unexplainable, from the heart, deep, the essence of love. When you look at all of these beautiful people that are here

that come from all over the world to enjoy the music, the culture, the food, and the party with a purpose, it's like when we had the Million Man March years ago. When people came together and there was a sense of belonging, a sense of love, we've got to keep tapping into that. And as I say to our brothers and sisters, we've got to learn to talk more to each other and less about each other. We've got to commit ourselves to a new us.

Fight to uplift each other. Put down the guns. Put down the drugs. Let's love each other the way it's supposed to be, the way we did at Grandma's house on Sundays. That's where we are. Well, for me, it was Grandmother and Grandfather's house. There you go, brother.

I appreciate it. Thanks a bunch. Always, man. We love you, brother. All right, folks, got to go to a break. When we come back, we will show you what happened at the National Urban League's Gumbo Awards. Also, we'll have for you folks Kiki Palmer.

She was a part of the panel at the McDonald's Fortune Future 22 event. We'll also hear from one of the franchisees talking about what they're trying to do to get more African-Americans involved as owners at McDonald's franchises. Plus, we'll hear from Richard Roundtree, also EPA Administrator Michael Regan. Folks, it's a jam-packed show. We got more for you. Y'all hold tight as we sit here. And I have this special edition of our show on the Black Star Network with Coca-Cola at the 2022 Essence Fest.

We'll be right back. We made the simple way. With real lemon juice, 75% less sugar, and mmm, mmm, mmm. Say yes to simple. Thank you. You Lots of oranges half the sugar 1000% delicious that's simple math say yes to simple It's time to be smart. Roland Martin's doing this every day. Oh, no punches!

Thank you, Roland Martin, for always giving voice to the issues. Look what Roland Martin in the world wins, to quote Marcus Garvey again. The video looks phenomenal, so I'm really excited to see it on my big screen. We support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told.

See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. I got to defer to the brilliance of Dr. Carr and to the brilliance of the Black Star Network. I am rolling with rolling all the way. I don't want to be on a show that you own. A Black man owns the show. Folks, Black star network is here i'm real uh revolutionary right now rolling was amazing on that i love y'all i can't commend you enough about this platform that you've created for us to be able to share who we are what we're

doing in the world and the impact that we're having. Let's be smart. All right, folks, welcome back to our special edition of RMU on the Black Star Network. Powered by Coca-Cola, we are here at a 2022 Essence Fest in New Orleans. National Urban League had their Gumbo Awards. Mark Morrell, the CEO of the National Urban League, former mayor of New Orleans, native of the city. His dad was mayor here as well. The convention center is named after his dad, Ernest Dutch Morial. And so our cameras were there for the Urban League's Gumball Awards. Here is what took place.

This event is important to me. who've contributed greatly to the growth, the development, and the progress of this community, who do not and have not gotten just and due recognition. And as Judy said, we need to recognize people while they can experience that recognition. And as I reflect as a member of what I like to call the Joshua Oliver Generation, there There are also many who before us pioneered, paved the way, knocked down barriers, opened doors, helped out, issued tough love all along the way that has helped so many of us do what we do and make our contributions to public service. So I want to apologize in advance that this list of honorees is not complete, because there are, Don Hubbard, some others in the room and some others who are not here who we may have unintentionally forgotten, but that's just a reason to do this again next year. To recognize those that have not been recognized. So I want to begin today by asking a few people

to come up and share some thoughts. $28,000 to one or two bedrooms to what it is now to accommodate me, my oldest sister, my youngest sister, my mom, and whoever else would stop by. It was from my dad I learned how to walk with and be among community in everything you do, not just in your personal life, but in your professional life as well. And I'm just so glad to be home in this gathering seeing people I haven't seen in so long. Now, I want to say a quick word about Mark.

When I was a baby lawyer at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, we had tragedy strike New Orleans in Hurricane Katrina. And I was sent down to figure out what we could do to help. And we saw Torrance Sanders and Oliver and so many other people figuring out, trying to figure out what could we do. And we're in the strategy room with Mark and he turns to me and says, what do you think? What do you think? And he continues to do that to this day, giving people opportunity, giving you a chance to step up, an opportunity to lead, but not leading for yourself, but leading for us, leading for our community. So that is the Gumbel Coalition and that is Marc Morial. ...care of things and taking, stepping in the breach and taking advantage of an opportunity.

I clerked for Dutch Morial after I finished law school. What we had in common was Dutch Morial was the first African American to attend law school at LSU, and Gamil Gray and I were the first women, black women, to attend law school at LSU. And when I finished law school, he hired me as law clerk. A lot of you don't even remember that old St. Peter Claver building on Orleans Avenue, but that's where I started my legal career. And I have to give, you know, just let you know how grateful I am to young lawyers like Mark Morial, who stepped up and filed a Chisholm lawsuit. Ron Chisholm agreed to be the named plaintiff, you would have to understand the courage it takes to be a

young law graduate and to file a lawsuit against the justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court. That's what Mark Morial did. And of course, as a result of that Chisholm lawsuit, I had the great opportunity to serve as Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, the 25th Chief Justice. But it wouldn't have happened without everybody here in this room, because every time you want to move forward, there's always a challenge. And so my colleagues were suggesting to me, well, we'll let Justice Victory be chief, and then Justice Noll be chief, and then you'll get your chance to be chief.

And everybody in this room says, no, we're not going to step back. We can't do that. We can't let somebody leapfrog over us and take advantage of an opportunity that we're entitled to. And so, you know, I could not have done this without the people in this room. It wasn't really me. It was everybody else in the community who was saying, no, it's her turn, and she's got to be the next Chief Justice. So I just want to let you know how much I appreciate

you. There's a lot of battles ahead, and I always talk with all the young leaders in this room, the ones that I've had a chance to mentor. I'd let them know that Royster Plessis and all of the others that, you know, the battle is, you've got a battle ahead because you've got folk who are fighting you on redistricting and voter rights, and there are lots of challenges ahead, but I know you're equal to the task, and so that's why I'm enjoying my retirement. Thank you very much. All right, folks, coming up next, we are going to show you the McDonald's Future 22.

They awarded $10,000 to 22 young folks who are doing some amazing things. We'll hear from Kiki Palmer, who was on the panel as well. We'll also hear from a sister with McDonald's who's trying to get more African Americans as franchisees. And we'll talk to a young sister, the youngest black female stockbroker on Wall Street, where we talk about her journey. She also gives a little education to one of my staffers about the risk of crypto. In addition, later in the show, folks, we're going to hear from Richard Roundtree as we caught up with him on the streets of Essence. We'll hear from the administrator of the EPA, Michael Regan, who's here at the Black Women's Roundtable. They were also here talking about reproductive rights and also the power of black women. We talked to Quentin James, co-founder of Collective PAC,

about the importance of raising money and giving to black candidates to elect them to office. And so, folks, a lot of things are happening here at the 2022 Essence Festival. And we, of course, are doing this in partnership with Coca-Cola and certainly glad to have them with us as a partner. And so a jam packed show for you. Got to go to a break. And here's what we're doing. We're asked today's question is, what does black love mean to you and so we're going to show you some responses right here on the black star network live from new orleans of the 2022 essence festival

powered by coca-cola back in a moment Thank you. For me, it's curiosity. It's curiosity to learn that feeling black is part of the exact same thing from when I was a kid. Being curious about the entire diaspora of who we are as a people. It's understanding and patience. I mean, as the world changes, it does not change for the better sometimes. It's being patient with yourself and each other getting older. Made the simple way. With real lemon juice, 75% less sugar and say yes to simple. Thank you. Lots of oranges. Half the sugar. 1,000% delicious.

That's simple math. Say yes to simple. It's time to be smart. When we control our institutions, we win. This is the most important news show on television of any racial background. Y'all put $2, $3, $4, $5, $10, $15, $20, $30 on this and keep this going. What you've done, Roland, since this crisis came out in full bloom. Anybody watching this, tell your friends, go back and look at the last two weeks, especially of Roland Martin and Filch. I mean, hell, go back and look at the last two weeks,

especially of Roland Martin unfiltered. I mean, hell, go back and look at the last two days. You've had sitting United States senators today, Klobuchar and Harris. Whatever you have that you have, you can bring to Roland Martin unfiltered to support it. Please do, because this information may literally save your life. Watch Roland Martin unfiltered daily at 6 p.m. Eastern on YouTube, Facebook, or Periscope, or go to RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. Support the Roland Martin Unfiltered Daily Digital Show by going to RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. Our goal is to get 20,000 of our fans distributing 50 bucks each for the whole year. You can make this possible. Roland Martin, unfiltered.com. Roland Martin's doing this every day.

Oh, no punches! Thank you, Roland Martin, for always giving voice to the issues. Look what Roland Martin in the world wins, to quote Marcus Garvey again. The video looks phenomenal, so I'm really excited to see it on my big screen. Support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. I got to defer to the brilliance of Dr. Carr and to the brilliance of the Black Star Network. I am Roland with Roland all the way.

I'm honored to be on a show that you own. A black man owns the show. Folks, Black Star Network is here. I'm real revolutionary right now. Rolling was amazing on that. you Thank you. Welcome back to our Essence Fest show on the Black Star Network, powered by Coca-Cola. We dropped by the McDonald's Feature 22 luncheon today, where they honored 22 young people who are doing amazing things, who are game changers, even awarding them $10,000 each.

There was a panel discussion, and Kiki Palmer, she was on it. So we got a chance to see Kiki. We live streamed that event. So if y'all want to see the whole program, go to the Black Star Network app to check it out. But here's some of what Kiki had to say. All right, folks, we got an audio issue. We're going to come back to play Kiki. I did catch up with one of the winners, one of the future 22, a young lady who, the youngest stockbroker, youngest black female stockbroker on Wall Street.

And here is our conversation. Okay. All right, Lauren. So they hand out some big checks. You're one of the future 22. What do you do to be one of the future 22? You have to be a game changer. And in my case, I made history by becoming the youngest trader and the second African-American woman to ever

work at the New York stock exchange. Gotcha. So when did we last talk? Was it? Cause I've actually interviewed you before. Yes. And it was, yes. Future Black America with Rev Run. Was it that one? No, we sat down. I'm trying to remember where was it. I literally was looking at my hair lady. I was like, I know that we've done something together. I don't know.

Yes, we have. We have. I have a terrible memory, and I'm only 27, so I got a memory of a 70-year-old. It's all good. No, because when you said, youngest stock trader, I said, hold up. We already did an interview. And so I was trying to remember where we did it, but I know we did the interview. So let's talk about that because with the other folks who are here,

the other young folks who are here, it's also about, you would say, gain terms but also creating pathways, not saying I want to work for somebody else, but I want to have folks who work for me, or as I say, not cashing checks, writing checks. Right, being an entrepreneur, and I think with this new generation, we are really evolving from our parents, our grandparents, and really just taking the leap of finding our passion and being entrepreneurs and actually making money from it, which is beautiful. Well, look, that's always a good thing. Again, I prefer to be one who's handing out checks.

So what would you say has been the biggest thing that you've learned doing your own thing? Because it's not always peaches and cream. Being from Georgia, I feel a little peachy now, you see. I saw that. I love that. Thank you for that. The biggest thing I've learned is how much people, whether they are intentional or not about it, will doubt you

and will put fear in your mind and make you believe that you can't achieve what you have set out to do. And I'm a true believer that we individually know ourselves better than anyone else. So if you believe that you can do something, go out there and do it. Don't listen to the noise. Don't listen to the people. Make your dreams a reality. Where did it start for you to do this?

Like what was the idea? What was the seed that got planted when you said, oh, I can do that? You know, it's my family, honestly. My family is the most supportive, and I have a brother with a disability, and he has this most optimistic mindset, and if he could do anything, he would. And so for me, I felt like, what is my excuse? But did you have a family history of Wall Street? So what was it where you said, oh, I want to do that?

What was that thing that sparked that? You know what? Nothing sparked that. I had a gentleman say to me, do you want to work at the New York Stock Exchange? And what did you do at the time? I just graduated, and I studied genetics. And I said, hell yes. I don't know if I can say that.

So you studied genetics. Yes. And he says he's going to work at the New York Stock Exchange. Yes. How do those two go together? It doesn't. It doesn't. He't he just figured oh you smart like you mentioned genetics yeah you smart as hell you can figure this out i don't know but he definitely opened that opportunity and i'm a big believer of opportunities and take the opportunity and do what you will with that

and so i said yes i did have a strong background in math math so there's a lot of correlation in that y'all know I that ain't wrong I can count money I can negotiate I can negotiate deals but I hated math What are we trying to do? I don't even. Well, first of all, I pay for everything in cash, so I don't even need credit. I'm sorry. I don't know what I'm saying. Everybody needs credit, even a business owner. For what? You need it.

For what? To build. It helps build your capital. It helps to be leveraged. I got a capital in the bank. Don't be silly. Don't be silly. Anyways.

Math did drive me crazy. I told my professors, I said, look, I can count money. I can go make money, negotiate deals. I ain't use the Pythagorean theorem for nothing. No, and I think that that's, I mean, simple math at its finest is what you need for finance. And if you can do that, then you're fine. And I think people get intimidated about finance and being in the industry because of the other things that we learn in school that just isn't applicable to your everyday life. Although I'm still not understanding crypto.

It's still like I actually like one spot. Don't invest in crypto. Thank you. Period. He on my team, he's a. Thank you. Period. He's on my team. He's a crypto fiend. No. No, absolutely not.

Go ahead and talk to the camera. Don't invest in crypto. Get over here. Tell him why. Get over here. All right, y'all. So I'm having this conversation with Lauren, and then crypto comes up. And she's like, oh, hell no, don't get involved in crypto.

Well, Anthony Hampton, who works on on the show he is all into crypto and so i said why don't i have a conversation about crypto here that is his conversation not to invest in crypto lauren do what you do crypto is a speculative asset there is is nothing backing it. And as of yesterday, it has dropped down to the lowest that it's ever dropped down. So everybody that's saying that crypto is a hedge against inflation, it's not. It's not. It's not a hedge against inflation right now. There's regulation that's being drawn up and discussed. So once it gets regulated, institutional investors will start investing.

So if you get in early, the assets won't change. So I would say it's lowest right now. I think it's a good time to get in, especially if you have money. You've got to have money to do it, though. I wouldn't put my last dollar in, but if I have $1,000, I would definitely invest it in a crypto. Okay, so what I say to that is, yes, it's going to be regulated, but it's not going to be regulated under the SEC. It's going to be regulated under commodities and future trading.

Futures that trade are not traded and backed on any kind of value. It's also considered speculative trading. And the difference for people that don't know as being regulated under the SEC, being regulated under the SEC means that you are a corporation that you have to disclose your quarterly financials. You actually have money to give to your shareholders. All that is great, but do you go to the casino? I don't.

Okay, maybe not you, but there's millions of people that go to the casino. There's okay maybe not you but there's millions of people that go to the casino there's millions of people that also play the lottery right so and 99 percent of their money but they don't lose 99 percent of their gambling no they don't really 99 percent of their money how would they afford the gas to get there how would they they're not losing 99 percent of their money they're usually they're losing maybe 99% of the money that they're gambling with, but that's just the fun in it. So it's like, if I'm, I have other ways, I have Roths, I have other ways that I invest my money. I have other companies as well. But if I want to be speculative about crypto, it's just a choice because everybody has a choice. So it's like, it could work,

it couldn't work, but I'm not going to put my – you know, people do DraftKings, everything. I mean, there's DraftKings, there's Caesars betting, like there's crypto. So you're telling the people that are listening to this interview to go out there and gamble? No. No, what I'm telling them is – He's not on the air. He's behind the camera.

Yeah, exactly. I'm not on the air. This is not financial advice at all. I'm just saying this is this is Anthony Hampton advice. So if you want to do crypto, do crypto like. All right. Go back to work, Anthony. But yeah, I look, I'm serious. I've had people hit me up like, well, you should accept crypto for your breeding fund fan club. I said, let me what I will say is that I don't believe in crypto.

What I do believe is the blockchain technology. And I do believe that they, blockchain technology will be a disruptor in its space. Okay, so now me, you're going to definitely talk later. Okay. Because I've had people on my show. I still don't know what the hell they're talking about with blockchain. It's software. At its rudest, at the root, it's just software.

And the software and what it's going to be able to do, amazing. As far as blockchain, crypto, Ethereum, I don't know what that, we're already seeing that. And all the money, honestly, that has been made in crypto has already been made. I know Anthony said, like, more institutional investors will go into it. Institutional investors are going to something else, right? Because we see this trend happening. They're going to put their money probably into NFTs and then that's going to crash and then to something else,

metaverse, and then that's going to crash. So like it's a- So you ain't down on NFTs or metaverse? NFTs, no. The metaverse is still open because I'm not really sure what they're- They can't figure out what to do in this universe versus trying to figure out the metaverse. No, I agree. I agree. But it's open. It's open. Alright, well look, it's good to see you.

Yes, we got to communicate again so I'll give my information. You can explain to me what the hell walked me through blockchain because I'm sitting there and I'm like, I don't know what the hell you're talking about. Again, I like what I know. i know my chance it was in my pocket i like that i mean i know i know what that does i agree i know what that does too all right then good seeing you appreciate it now folks uh as i said we got it now ready i actually

uh so kiki palmer kiki palmer was actually on the panel on the band because, we got it now ready. Actually, so Kiki Palmer, Kiki Palmer was actually on the panel. Because, yeah, we played it earlier. We had an audio issue there. So go ahead and get Kiki Palmer, get Kiki queued up. Get Kiki queued up. Kiki was on the panel beforehand. We're going to talk to Kiki. Then we're going to hear from Vicki Changeler.

Vicki, she's actually one of the black operators, really is all about trying to get more black folks on and operators. And so they had a panel discussion. As I said, we live streamed it on the Black Star Network. You can our YouTube channel or go to the app. You can actually check it out. And so they had a very good conversation. And so we're going to share some of that with you. And so, Kiki. Yes, Kiki. Here, Kiki, y'all. Still trying to figure out what the problem is with Kiki's audio. So let's hear it.

Key up Vicki Chancellor, y'all. So Vicki Chancellor works. She's an owner-operator with McDonald's, and we got a chance to talk to her about the importance of African-Americans owning their own franchises. Watch this. All right, Vicki, look. Now, I know because of all the stuff that I've done for the black McDonald operators, what they do. But for people who really don't quite know the history, it's a long history of African-Americans who are operators. But people don't also realize they're owners.

Not just operators, they're owners of the franchises. We are definitely owners. And the difference between just being an owner and an operator, for us as owners, that means that we own our cash flow, we own the branding and the marketing and everything in our store, versus just being an operator where you go in and you run that store, but you really, when you sell it, you don't have anything to sell. As an operator, when we sell it, we own that cash flow and are able to hopefully become

multi-millionaires. I've known a lot of operators when I was in Houston or Dallas, Chicago, D.C., and unlike, no dissing the other owner-operators, but the black operators have really been critical players in philanthropy in many black communities across the country. Yes, we pride ourselves in giving back to our communities. And when you are a black operator, you know that you stood on the shoulders of somebody else. You know that when you lived in that community, it was that your minister or that black teacher

or just that neighbor that made sure that you were on the straight and narrow. And as a community, we always had to look out for each other and make sure that we were helping the next person up. And obviously, what are you doing, what are the black operators doing to create that next generation of owner-operators? I've met several. Many of them, their parents own stores. But for somebody out there

who's looking to actually say, I want to be an entrepreneur, how do they get involved and say, hey, that might be a possibility to become McDonald's own operator? So excellent question, and I'm glad you asked that. Because one of the things that we are looking for, McDonald's, is we are looking for, I will say, black, young people that would like to get in the McDonald's system. And actually, McDonald's just has started a $250 million fund that will be able to help people in diverse communities and whether and I say black because I'm black but that would include Hispanics that would include my black show we say black yes with a capital b yes so that means that if you have an interest if you're out there now and you have that drive to be an entrepreneur and you want to build wealth

for your family, I would ask that you can give me a call, but you can also give Roland a call and he will put you in touch with McDonald's. Okay. All right. We certainly appreciate it. Always good to see you. Roland, I want you to know that McDonald's has a great love for you. You have always stood by us, and we just like everything that you do,

and we wish you much love and success. I appreciate it. Thanks so much. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Now, y'all know I always liked dancing, see, and me and Kiki Palmer got history. When I was on the show that she did, it was GMA3, Michael Strahan.

It was a show that came on in the afternoon, and so I actually stopped by one day, and so they had the music going, and so we started doing the two-step. And so when she finished her session today, she came off. Of course, you know we had to have a little conversation. So here's me and Kiki cutting it up. Thank you. I'm trying to do that. So. So. How long have you been here? Are you speaking to someone? No, no. We actually got a meeting tonight. We did. We did. I appreciate you. We're all here.

We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here.

We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here.

We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here.

We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here.

We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. We're here. McDonald's, owner-operators. McDonald's owner-operators, please meet in the Carrollton room on the first floor. Carrollton room first. All right, y'all. Again, it was great to see Kiki, and we look forward to having a one-on-one with her on the Black Star Network. All right, y'all.

Got to go to a break. We come back. Black Women's Roundtable had a conversation about reproductive rights and the power of black women. We'll also hear from Quentin James, co-founder of Collective Pack, talking about the importance of fundraising for African-Americans.

And plus, Michael Regan, the administrator of the EPA, he talks about environmental justice in African-Americans. All of that right here on the Black Star Network special edition of the Essence Fest 2022, powered by Coca-Cola. We'll be right back. Made the simple way. With real lemon juice, 75% less sugar, and mmm, mmm, mmm. Say yes to simple. you I am to be smart. Roland Martin's doing this every day.

Oh, no punches! Thank you, Roland Martin, for always giving voice to the issues. Look what Roland Martin in the world went, to quote Marcus Garvey again. The video looks phenomenal, so I'm really excited to see it on my big screen. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. I got to defer to the brilliance of Dr. Carr and to the brilliance of the Black Star Network. I am rolling with rolling all the way. Honestly, on a show that you own, a black man owns the show.

Folks, Black Star Network is here. I'm real revolutionary right now. Rolling was amazing on that. you Thank you. Thank you. All right, folks. We've been traveling all around New Orleans asking the question to many folks, and that is, what exactly is black love? And so we've had an opportunity to catch up with some folks, and they've been sharing their thoughts about this. And so we've been using this as sort of being a question we've been asking.

So check this out. Hi, we check this out. Hi, I'm here. And Black Love for us is all about loyalty, friendship. Family, you know, showing, you know, fighting. And if you're fighting, you're still family, still getting each other's backs. You know, just being there for each other. Absolutely. each other's backs, you know, just, you know, being there for each other. All right, then. So again, that's what, uh, black love is all about. And so, uh, again,

it's been really interesting, uh, as we, uh, have been, uh, looking at the conversations that have been taking place, look, listening, uh, to, uh, a lot of these discussions. Uh, we had a chance to catch up with, folks at the Black Women's Roundtable. Of course, they were sharing their thoughts and perspectives. You know, black women are a centerpiece of Essence Festival. And one of the things that we have been, of course, dealing with has been this battle with reproductive rights. That's one of the issues since the Roe v. Wade decision came down with the Supreme Court. That was a major part of a panel conversation today, but also the power of black women. The Black Women's Roundtable, they actually had that session, Melanie Campbell and her group,

and so we had an opportunity to chat with them and to actually showcase that. If you go to our Black Star Network app, you'll actually see the entire event. We live streamed the entire event, an opportunity for us to be able to show you that conversation. So I want to play some of that right now, y'all. And so hopefully we won't have any technical issues. And so let's go to that conversation.

Yeah, we're having a slight issue with our cable here, so let me get this straight again. Let's see if I can now, if it now shows up in plays. All right, y'all have it now? It's different medications that are FDA approved, that they have the right to access those medications through the mail, and they're willing to stand up for those protections, that's really important. You know, I think that there are other implications around access to contraception and just other health care services. There are some requirements under the Affordable Care Act and even under Medicaid and people's ability to access those sorts of services.

So I think that the administration can do a lot to speak up on that, but I also think that they just have to be bold and unequivocal that this is a ruling that cannot stand. We should not accept it as anything but a politically driven effort to deny women and people who give birth their rights. And they need to be bold and loud and consistent in saying we will fight it. We will fight it at every place we can because it is unacceptable and it is inconsistent with what we know about the Constitution and our rights generally. But that's where they can start. I think you said that so beautifully, and I'm so glad you said it first because I don't have the nice words to say what I think they need to do, right?

I just think this administration needs to boss up. Like, that's what they need to do. They need to, like, stop playing this, like, little pitter-patter game and actually take off the gloves and do the work, right? So, yes, we have our role to play. I know we're going to talk about voting and the power of that, and all of that's important. But if we don't have folks who are willing to stand in the ways that we need them to, like unapologetically, like by any means necessary kind of attitude, then why are you in this office, right? I don't understand.

So I think I'm coming with, I appreciate those who can like put it with this, like give us the right things to say, and I lean on these folks right here because I'm ready to say get off your asses and actually do the work that you were put in your position to do. Our previous administration used everything and then some to put us in the situation that we are in. Why are we not doing the same thing and not trying to say we're trying to be like the opposition, but it is important for our people to use their power that they have to the fullest extent of that and do that thing for real, y'all. So I think I'm coming with a lot of fire today in case y'all haven't noticed, but I'm ready for them to boss up. So we're looking at Roe v. Wade.

We're looking at EPA. We're looking at an interesting border decision. And before that, it was guns everywhere, right? And so what we divide up, and my sisters to the left, they're going in hard on Roe, and we know the impact. But this is like, you know that thing of you got to know your history or you'll repeat it? These folks. That's right. your history or you're repeated. This folks, this a bunch of folks that always had an agenda with a very, very few. So I want some white folks to understand that you weren't included

either. They coming up for yours as well. The folks on the plantation, there wasn't a whole lot of folks in the big house. It was just a little crew over there and everybody else served them. So that was the plan. And now there's a movement to say, how can we, the few, control the rest? And everybody, so the only way that can happen is if some of us work on road and some of us work on environment and some of us work on the environment, and some of us work on that. And we miss the bigger picture. And then the other thing is our numbers. They got black folks in the mindset that we like 13%. I travel. Everywhere I go, there's black people.

Everywhere. I go to South America, there's black people. I go to Africa, there's a lot more black people. I go to Europe, there's plenty of black folks. So the issue and what time it is, we have to understand that we got to make the leap forward. We can't do what we've done. And we have to set an agenda for these young people that enables them to reach for the future. We're going to hold it down. And those of us that are in the blue states where you can get pills, the best thing I heard, buy a lot of them if you can afford to, so that we can distribute where they need to be. It's like I am gangster.

So we come to gangsta. Let go! Yes! Dealing with a sister in a situation. We're going to drive you. We're going to provide you. We're going to do. We've done it for other stuff. And look, I'm not trying to party and get high.

I'm trying to save a life. So we got to be there. And let it be known. If you come for me, you come for all of us. That's it. So that's what time it is because this is not a situation. We want to, what did it would be just about abortion? The only thing that I would just raise again, and I'm going to pick up where you put down,

is that we need to be intersectional and creative. So what does that mean? That means that even though this conversation is about abortion access, we know that black women are not just about abortion access, and abortion access is not just about abortion. It's an economic issue. It's an environmental issue. It's a criminal justice issue. It's all these other things that come into our lives.

So our administration not only should be thinking about Roe, it should also be thinking about how do we make sure that the lives of black women regardless if they want to have an abortion and are keep their pregnancy right that they are creating the conditions for that to happen. So we also need to be keeping them accountable of what does it mean to have fair pay. We also need to be keeping them accountable of what does it mean to have fair pay. We also need to be keeping them accountable of what does it mean to also have paid parental leave. What does it mean for us to be thinking about this full range of things so folks can actually give themselves options? Because abortion access is more than about, oh, well, I just woke up and I just don't want to be pregnant. Even though sometimes that is the question or sometimes that is the answer. Abortion access is about all the pieces because

we know that most people who have abortions are already parents, right? We know that, so they are making, and most times they are making economical decisions. So how do we also address those issues as well? So when folks tell you that there is nothing to do because of the Congress and the way it's at, don't believe them. That's right. Tell them that there are many things that they can be doing around abortion access.

There are many things that can be doing around reproductive and sexual health access. And it doesn't just stop at one piece of legislation or one court case. That's very important. I'm hearing a common thread is tell Congress, tell Congress, which pivots me into where we're headed. We're headed to the midterm election. Well, we vote folks in and we vote folks out. What should we be thinking about

right now? Also planning and preparing to do for the midterm to impact what's going on. We vote at high numbers. We get out there, black, older black women are more seasoned. Black women are one of the highest, highest propensity voters in the country, right? But we need to also make sure that our vote is getting paid off after they get into office. So what do we also do after the voting? How are we holding them accountable? Are we asking them questions? What are you doing?

How are you helping Black folks? And then after, make sure that they are actually holding back holding the folks accountable we can be asking elected officials right now where are your stance on abortion access where is your stance on all these issues just because you came to my church doesn't mean that you got my back so we need to be also having all of those conversations and having them answer to black women in particular and black birthing folks. So I think that's the first piece. I think the second one, this is not normal times.

So we can't be acting normally. So that means that we got to again think big and creative on how we are engaging with our people. So that means we might have to have roundtable discussions in our living rooms. We might have to have roundtable discussions in our bedrooms. We need to be making sure that all folks are aligned and having conversations so you got cousin and them coming to the elections and coming to the polls with you and asking those same questions. So I'm so glad to know that I'm at the end of the stage with the not normal.

So I sat in the right chair because while I'm working to get everybody to, everybody that I can to vote, we have the opportunity to lift up things. We can say, oh, your choice is this. And we have a Reverend Warnock from Ebenezer that's articulate, educated, the examples. So it's like you can go with this or you can go with that. I want to be a little bit ahead. So where I am in the curve, let's make voting mandatory for anybody that gets a government amount or pays taxes.

Now, it's not going to probably happen, but that's my position. Let's make voting mandatory. What is that? That is going beyond where we are. And then I want the people with the Constitution to explain, let them get on the page. No, we don't want to do that because they've had me running against a flow. So I want to change the flow of the river and say anytime we're in a state where people can visibly try to tear down the government, we need that big change that you're talking about and a bigger vision. So make it mandatory. So in my conversation with young people, I would say, yeah,

I'm working hard to make sure you're going to have to vote, so you might as well practice now. Folks, Faith Daniels, who is a social media correspondent with HBCU League Pass, she caught up with a couple of young voters after that panel discussion and a couple of things to say. And so today I'm here with Olivia Duncan and Aniyah Vines. So I heard you guys are HBCU grads. Rip your hood. CAU 22. HU, you know, Howard University, period.

OK, so we're here at the Black Women's Roundtable. What has been your biggest takeaway from today? Just being able to be in a space with such amazing black women. Anytime it's an event with the Black Women's Roundtable, it's always life-changing. Yeah, just to piggyback off of Liv, this has been a great experience. From the panels to the poetry, everything, the food, just always top tier. I love my black women. What would you say your definition of womanhood is? To me, especially with the state of everything right now, I would say vulnerability.

It takes a lot to be a woman, to be in difficult conversations, to be in difficult positions, to always have to be the strong black woman, and then not really have time for yourself. So I would definitely say vulnerability, and that's not always a negative thing. Sometimes it's good to be vulnerable. Sometimes it's good to come into these spaces and have difficult conversations, but understand how to better love yourself and how to take care of yourself and how to identify with issues that you didn't even know you were dealing with. Yes, I would say for me, womanhood has always been our power. And I feel like it's one of America's greatest fears. I feel like there has been so much historically that has gone against women, specifically black women, to where it's like we're seen as like a threat to America.

And that just, I feel like, amplifies the power that we hold as black women. So it's always been something that has been looked at as a power for me. With recent headlines of Roe versus Wade being overturned, what was your initial emotion? I was actually at work. I work for this nonprofit called Georgia Stand Up. And all we do is get in the community and support the people. So as we were sitting there, we were like, wow, like, what do we do? No, like we were I was speechless. And there were a lot of emotions going through my head, like, oh, my gosh, plan B's abortions. All these difficult conversations that I'm going to have to talk about and deal with.

I didn't realize it, but later on that day. So immediately I was talking to my boss and amongst my coworkers and peers, and I was like, we have to get up. We were actually one of the first organizations and groups in Atlanta to go downtown to the courthouse, not even two hours after the decision was made, and go out there and protest. So urgency. I felt a lot of urgency and disappointment and hurt, but hope as well. I think when I heard about the overturning of Roe v. Wade, of course it was disappointing,

but in my head I felt like I wasn't surprised. I feel like there's so much expectation that we still have as a black community and black people in America. And just through experience, understanding like America and those that are in positions in government, they do not fight for us as black people. It is us that fights for us. It's us that has to make sure that they're held accountable. So when I heard about the decision, I was like, dang, what do we need to do next? Now it's next steps. Now it's, you know, how do we mobilize on the streets? How do we change this? Because since 1972, I believe that behind closed doors, they've been actively working to overturn it. So now for us, we wake up and we see, okay, this has been a thing that's been overturned, but this has been in motion for 50 plus years. So now it's just what's next. Now, both of you guys were on a panel today talking about women's rights.

Of course, you guys are fighting. Your mothers have fought. Your grandmothers, everybody has been fighting for women's rights. What would you say the reason is why it's so pivotal now? Because we are the next generation. We are the generation now. And the generations to come, these are our children. These are our bodies.

For so long, I've watched my grandmother protest. I've watched my grandmother organize. I've seen all these things that she's done, and it's time for me and my generation to step up and take on these roles and to stand up for something. Yes, I feel like saying, you know, why is it so important now sometimes can be a loaded question because we have been taught to fight. Just our ancestors have been taught to fight. Us as black people have been taught to fight.

There has not been a time for black people since we arrived from the Transatlantic Slave Trade where we had time to just live. We have always been fighting to survive, fighting to speak, fighting for our rights, for our womanhood. So I feel like we're fighting because that's just our instinct at this point. I just cannot wait until we get to a point where we are not just fighting, but we are actually living. So before I let you all go, to the little girls that look up to you guys, that aspire to speak out for what is right for them, what is your advice to them? My advice is as overwhelming as this may be, as complicating as the terms and the words and the politics can get, do what you feel comfortable doing and get a little bit uncomfortable and be

okay with being uncomfortable. If it's going on Twitter and that's how you protest and go on Twitter and that's how you protest. If you want to boycott a certain organization, organization, company, brand, whatever, do that. If you are into policymaking, if you like to write, write about what's going on, take your camera and take pictures, amplify the voices and the work that's already being done. So find your place in the movement and get involved. I would say just know that you are naturally strong and you have not only God with you, but you have those that came before you with you. So just channel that power is more so a thing that you are born into and born with rather than

taught. And being a black woman in particular, you have you have nothing to fear because you are walking in the path of giants. So you'll be fine. How would you say today's event went? How excited were you for it? Today's event was phenomenal. Anytime Melanie Campbell calls me, I'm going to come running because I know when she does her events, you feel empowered, you feel a sisterhood, and there's this camaraderie that you can't get when you're just kind of on your own. But when we come to these convenings, it's phenomenal,

and you're energized and you're just ready to get out and do the work. What is your definition of womanhood? My definition of womanhood. That's a good question. I think that I would call womanhood just – I don't necessarily think that womanhood has to just be a woman. I think that men can feel empowered by knowing that they are protecting and looking out for the best interests of people.

It's looking out for one another. It's caring for one another. It's holding one another up, you know, win beneath other one's wings and just helping to light someone else's candle. You don't have to do this alone. You don't have to be alone. You can work with other women, work with other men, work with other people to lift everyone up. So for the little girls and young ladies that look up to you and aspire to have as much courage as you all have in order to actually have

a table talk such as this, what is your advice to them? Just keep doing the work. Don't think that you cannot do this. Don't think that you are not smart enough. You are not gregarious enough. You're not outgoing enough. You can do this work. You know, the quietest voice can be the most powerful sometimes. So never believe that you cannot do it. Always know that whatever you put your mind to, whatever you think about, whatever comes to mind and thought of, I wonder if I could. Yes, you can. Period, period. Thank you so much.

And I'll see you next time. Thank you. All right, y'all, when we come back, Chef Kwame has a culinary competition. Y'all, man, we had some good food there. And so we got an opportunity to judge that. Wait till we show you this from the Coca-Cola kitchen in the Essence Eats Pavilion. We're going to go to commercial break right now. And, again, one more of our folks talking about black love.

You're watching the Black Star Network, folks, live from the 2022 Essence Fest, powered by Coca-Cola here in New Orleans. We'll be back in a moment. I need to know something. I'm from Tampa Bay. What is it? What is black love? What is black love?

Black love is just being out there, doing whatever you want, and it's your fault. Okay, good. doing what government does and keep the problems. My name is Dolly and I'm from Tampa, Florida. And we know that black love is everybody, our black culture united together. Thank you. Made the simple way. With real lemon juice, 75% less sugar, and mmm, mmm, mmm. Say yes to simple. Thank you. win to quote marcus garvey again the video looks phenomenal so i'm really excited to see it on my big screen support this man black media he makes sure that our stories are told see this difference between black star network and black owned media and something like cnn i gotta defer to the

brilliance of dr carr and to the brilliance of the black star network i am rolling we're rolling all the way honestly on the show that you own. A black man owns the show. Folks, Black Star Network is here. I'm real revolutionary right now. Rolling was amazing on that. Hey, black, I love y'all. you. James from Montgomery, Alabama.

And the question was, what is black love? Black love is unity and love for one another and a sense of family because we're a united family. It's good to make sure that your heart is there so you can do for others and help them. They moved it from the inside of the to the outside and they've got a staging area, they've got concerts there. Well, they've got their large kitchen out there. My man Chef Kwame was out there today judging a culinary competition. I stopped by at

the right time when the food almost came out. We got an opportunity to check that out and to taste the food and judge the competition. And so here is some of that culinary competition. OK, everyone. Hey, how you doing? OK, so we've got supper over here.

So clearly this is a black event. What's going on? Nothing's going on here that's not really good here it smells like garlic yeah butter well i don't know if y'all know this but this man cooks okay like he makes not enough- Not enough time, not enough time. There's one thing that he makes that I don't really know about, but what is it, barbecue spaghetti? I call it Texas spaghetti.

It's barbecue sauce with spaghetti. Barbecue sauce, I use Italian sausage. But, trust me, it's good. I did- I tried. Hold up. I'm trying. Now my brother, who's an executive chef, he was hating on it until one day I went by the crib.

And it was gone. No, no, no. He was making spaghetti. Family came over. And I spotted a bottle of barbecue sauce on the counter. I went and cussed him out. Because he had been dogging me for months. And I went, you've got barbecue sauce on that counter.

And so that started me. I tasted it. And it was good. It was weird, but it was good. It was an alien. But remember, it started, I was in college. All I had was noodles, spaghetti, and barbecue sauce. I ain't have no meat.

But you hit it sauce. So I was hungry, so I put it together. And then when the check came in, I got some meat. And I went, damn, this is going to taste bad. And so then one day I was at the store, and I said, I want to spruce it up. And I thought, why don't we throw some Italian sausage in there? So I started using Italian seasoning, spaghetti, with the barbecue sauce, put that sucker together. And my family is like, when are you making that sucker again?

And if you go to YouTube, I learned, we did one of my holidays, I live streamed the entire process. And it was, it was about a three minute video. It was three minutes. And I had all of my nieces and nephews cooking.

They were all cooking. I made them all cook. I love that. Chopping everything. Alright, so how do you feel about this competition here? What do you think? Well, first off, again, I'm from Texas, so we like beef. I don't do nothing plant-based.

So I'm just saying. I mean, I do some lettuce and tomato, but that's about it. So I love braised short ribs. I love it when they're falling apart, so I'm looking forward to that. Now, what's the other dish? The other dish is chicken with fried rice, and the chicken is glazed in a Coca-Cola Asian sauce. All right, so y'all heard Chef Paul. He said it's chicken fried rice.

Y'all know we all black. That's called chicken and gravy. Come on, chicken, rice, and gravy. Keep it real simple. Make sure there's no barbecues on simple. Let's let them interpret it. You know, you want your grandmama house, you're like, what y'all got? We got some chicken and gravy and rice. Got it.

But in 2022, it's chicken with fried rice. Well, in 2022, the black experience is not monolithic. There are so many different layers. It is. There's nothing happening with the black experience is not monolithic there are so many different layers it is that can happen with the black experience it is that's why we're here we're selling the diaspora in all different ways and give it up for these two women because there is four minutes left all right we have four minutes thank you all so much it's looking good smelling Good. Smelling good. Smelling good. Smells great. I mean, she cooked in a tennis outfit. Isn't it cute? I just feel like I'm going to try it. She was like, I play tennis and I'm going to cook.

Girl, you got four minutes. Don't be pausing. She got four minutes. She trying to pose. The polo open. You know, I always get some new ways to wear a chef uniform, and I'm going to steal that idea. All right.

All right. Okay. All right. Okay. You want to come to your table? It's a little bit too much. It's a little bit too much. It's a little bit too much.

It's a little bit too much. It's a little bit too much. It's a little bit too much. It's a little bit too much. It's a little bit too much. You know, I always get new ways to wear a chef uniform, and I'm going to steal that idea. All right, all right. Okay, all right. Okay. You want to come to your table? It's hot out here. You can breathe with the skirt on, right? Come on now.

She came from the golf course right to the kitchen. Let's go. What's going on here? Leeks. Leeks? L-E-A-K-S? L-E-A-K-S. What's that? Chow. Leeks are in-A-K-S? L-A-K-S. What's that?

Shallots. Leeks are in the onion family, green onion family. Got it. That's it. But they're just very healthy. Okay. What else? I've got some shallots over here.

Shallots? Also very delicate. Not quite as intensive in taste. But I make them into soups, sauces, any kind of things. It's not quite as intensive in my life. I'm here. I'm here. I'm here. I'm here. I'm here. I'm here. I'm here.

I'm here. I'm here. I'm here. I'm here. I'm here. I'm here. I'm here. I'm here. I'm from Chicago. I went there for summer school.

I was a black guy in my family. And I met grandma. She taught me how to read, read shit, read, read, read, read. All that things. I was in the world. My father was a gourmet chef. And he worked there.

I spent a lot of time in hotel kitchen. I went to culinary school. I went to college. I opened my first nightclub and catering business at 19. Nightclub and catering? Nightclub. Breaking news. We have two minutes until the dishes are ready.

And I already see chefs plating. So let's get our attention to these chefs, please. All right. And let's hype them up. Two minutes for us to get pressure on. Two minutes for us to get pressure on. We got mashed potatoes. Stuff my daddy made me eat.

What have you got over there? Ariana. Oh, Geronimo. Geronimo's got a plate. How do you feel? Aragon for garnish. Aragon. How do you feel? My dad. Hey, I'm coming, I'm coming. She got the mashed potato in the barn. All right, all right. I'm still playing over there, so let's give her some love. We got a little crowd going on here, ladies and gentlemen. All right.

How many people do you think are out here? That's a high school, Matthew. How many do you think are out here? 50. Right here? Okay. I'm fishing with a number between 1 and 50. And no money's coming out of it. Raise your hand if you get it right, and you're going to take this 50, all right?

One minute. One minute. You already eat. Okay, I'm sorry. I'm gonna raise your hand and you get it right, and you're gonna change the district, Whitney, all right? One minute, one minute. You already said that one. Oh, okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Who is this? I go, oh, no. Oh, yeah. That's not right. What's her name?

Whitney. Nope. Oh, that's Whitney. Yes. Nope. Whitney, all right, go on, Whitney. She said 25, nope. Nope.

150, come on, say it in the grammar. Nope. Nobody. Whoo, you didn't warn her. 30? You said 30? You said three? You're wrong. You. 50. You.

15. Now. 30 seconds? Yes. Let me know when it's 10. I'm in place. 21. Close. 20 seconds, Chef Bonnie. 27.

27. You got it. Comeita. 27. You got it. Come on. 15. Come on. 14. 13. Everybody.

12. 11. 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5.

4. 3. 2. 1. Woo! Six, five, four, three, two, one. All right. So what's your name on the side? Ariana and Whitney. Ariana and Whitney. Ariana. All right.

So we're going to start with you, Ariana. Tell us what you got. All right, so we're going to start with you, Ariana. Tell us what you got. All right, so I have Nola Cola chicken bites on the top of a bed of garlic fried rice. And it's in the Flirty Lee, right? Yes. Nola Flirty Lee. She's playing to the crowd. Nola Cola.

Yes. Nola Cola. And I have Coca-Cola. Oh, she said it. I got Coca-Cola. Let me. That's called Brandon. Coca-Cola, gray sharp ribs on a bed of garlic mac potatoes.

All right. All right. All right. Love it. Love it. All right. So we're going to taste some of this food here. All right.

Let's see what's going on. You got this? Yes. You got this from her? This up? Yes. Put this underneath and get another photo of her, please. OK.

To the right, to the right, to the left, to the left. Right, ready for me? Yes. Right over here. Nice the left. Right here. Yes. Nice power pose. Got it. Two, three. Yeah. Got it.

Right here, Whitney. Look over here. Boom. Thank you. Whitney, where are you from? I'm from Luling. Luling? Yes.

Texas? No, 30 minutes away from here. Louisiana. I know, I know away from here. Louisiana. I know, I know. I cook at my son. Huh? Larry Marrow.

All right. All right. Whitney, I appreciate your mashed potatoes, but... So hold on. We're going to get Whitney to walk over here and explain her dish, why y'all eat it. Okay, so the garlic mashed potatoes, I did russet potatoes. The cream sauce is garlic infused cream sauce with thyme and garlic and bay leaf. And the braised short rib was braised in Coca-Cola red wine vinegar, carrots, the miracle, which is your carrots, your onion, your,

I don't know what you wanna say, carrots, your onion, and celery, and your celery. And I braised the short ribs in orange peels and orange juice, fresh orange juice and orange peel. So there's also orange zest on top, and the liquid I used to complement it with brown sugar to make the glaze on top with the Coca-Cola. Okay.

That sounds delectable. So all that Coca-Cola is in the meat. It's in the meat and the glaze. Okay, all right, here we go. Let me have one first. The flavors are really nice. Let it marinate on the tongue. Let it sit there a little bit.

Ooh, I love the adding of the citrus. Yeah? That's pretty cool. Getting a little contrast. Yeah. What about, do you taste the Coca-Cola? I do. I know, I do.

I do. So when you reduce anything, it concentrates the flavor. And I definitely taste that Coca-Cola coming out of that. Right? Really nice. But I love the disposition of the Coke and the citrus. So you can actually, it's a good combo. The Coca-Cola is the tea leaf.

Right. You need that citrusy contrast. Love it. This is good. The brother won the number 27. man this is good very tender all right all right whitney okay this this was a dish made with love and whitney whitney i love your interpretation i love what you get with the Coca-Cola. It was a very creamy, lightly seasoned, it's not overly salty. And this reminds me of Grandma's cooking with a twist.

A modern twist. I love the Coca-Cola in here. Now, my grandmama cooked, and my grandfather, but this reminds me of my daddy was a chef. And I love the other elements because it changes the taste of it. Versus just the typical heavy seasoning, sometimes too salty. And so that works. See, I'll be real black. Give me, I need two slices of bread for a sandwich.

You like my daddy. Right, so we keep it real simple. All right, so we're gonna go to the sweet steaks winner and get her opinion after she has her photo shoot. You want me? Yeah? I do. Got it. All right. Which one, me? Yeah. I do. Got it.

All right, what do you think of the dish? As an honorary judge? This is some awesome stuff, I'm telling you. This is really, really good. The mashed potatoes are super creamy. This meat is fabulous. Ooh, that's delicious. Yeah, it's fabulous, this is fire.

Falling off the grill. Nice job. All right. Rice. Ooh, that sauce. So we got to watch the next dish. We got a competition to do. Can you bring your next dish over, please, Jack? You might not come back.

All right. Can you explain your dish to us now? Yeah. So I braised my chicken. I fried my chicken in a Coca-Cola sauce that I like a marinade. So it's oyster sauce, soy sauce, sweet chili, and I use the Coca-Cola to kind of hyphen it up a little bit. And I also have garlic fried rice. It's just like a regular stir-fried rice, but with garlic, it's light, not as heavy. So, here you go. heavy so enjoy enjoy i love your florida leaf thank you

actually i thought i thought it looked like texas i'm from texas that look like texas i'm from houston I'm from right here. I'm from right here. All right. Let's get this. Like the butteriness of the meat.

Mmm. That sauce is powerful. I like the butteriness of the rice. Mmm. Tastes like some kind of... No, no, no. That sauce is powerful. That sauce, it hits you. It hits you. I like to taste the ingredients without the soft part. And see what we're working with. And then I want to taste it with the sauce and the protein.

Now what else did you put in it? I mean, beyond the Coca-Cola, it was something else you said. Say it again? Sweet. There you go. With the classic Asian ingredients. Mm.

And then we have sweet chili. I do taste the sweet chili in it. Mm-hmm. I like this dish. All right. Raise it up. I like this, too. All right. And it got a little kick to it. It got a little

kick to it. I love it. It got to get one of my favorite ingredients. It got a little kick to it. Yeah, it does.

All right. We love the banter, but we are black and it is raining, so we need to speed this shit up. Why don't we take a moment, turn your mics off, let's liberate.

Where's my judge at? You know this, but the first prize is actually $1,000. So the ante has upped. Can we play that song? Ante up, yes, okay. The second prize is $500 So it was a hard push battle. Both of you, first of all, I want to give it up for both chefs here. I think both of you did an amazing job. 15 minutes, I mean I've been there.

15 minutes is a very, very quick turnaround to put a dish together. No, 15? 15 minutes. I'm not kidding. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes, it's actually special. We understand. But to put together dishes of this magnitude,

both of these things, you know, I would say, I just wanna say, great job, Sequoia. Yep. Thank you. So without further ado, it is a competition, and I have to award somebody with first prize. Okay. Can we get a drum roll, please? For the first prize, Coca-Cola Essence Festival Cook-Off of All Time, first place prize goes to Chef Whitney.

Judges, can you please explain why you chose Chef Whitney? I love the interpretations from both chefs, love the execution, and I always find ways to, like home cooking is what I love. And I find ways to relate the dish to public food and both offers that we say. Both, like you said, you both execute everything very, very well, But I really, really love those braised pork ribs.

Thank you. That would be one of my favorite cuts. And with the creamy potatoes and the sauce injection. Very well done. Thank you. I am not a sauce fan. My executive chef brother hates me for that. Not like my food can be dry nothing else that on top but

when chef said hey don't forget the sauce for some lunch it brings me in the spread around the plate I was like oh damn that sauce. That was my reaction I let it cook. Oh damn that was good. So that that's what that's what elevated it for me so the braised shrimp with gravy really that sauce really just just put it to another level and i was like man if i had some rice yeah i would agree as well um i'm really a steak and potato type of grill, but the gravy, the sauce, put it over the eggs, it was just phenomenal. Thank you. Really good, nice job.

Thank you. And I'll say for Ariana, like Ariana, you packed a lot of flavor in in a very short period of time. So the only thing I would say is that the sauce overpowered the Coca-Cola. So it wasn't a Coke challenge. Oh, that was really good. And again, I like when you sort some foods you clearly in mind when you taste it here. I like it when it hits you back here and your sinuses go, hey, your sinuses jumped. So that kick I thought was really good.

Chili is one of my favorite ingredients, any kind of chili. I just love spice, and so that penalized all my taste buds, and I really enjoyed it. Really did, thank you. Thank you, that was so good. Thank you, thank you. So I need to get the recipe.

We're gonna get all the recipes that are in here. I wanna give a big shout out to everyone who stood out here in the rain and watched this show. Well, thank you. My name is Kwame Awachi. I had an amazing time with you all tonight. Give it up for Jeff Winnie again. Thank you so much. You're both winners.

Thank you so much. You're watching Roland Martin on LTV. Boom. All right, y'all. Way too much fun. And so y'all dropped by the Coca-Cola kitchen in Essence Eats. All right, y'all. Now, we were headed to the Collective Pack event with EPA Administrator Michael Regan.

And so the Roller Mobile opens up, and I get off, and who do I see? Shaft. Richard Roundtree, my man, he was outside of the Lowe's Hotel. He's actually shooting a show in New Orleans. Well, he spent lots of time here in New Orleans. So man, I caught up with him. And y'all, he is turning 80 years old. And so when I walked up to him, he asked me, did I get the invitation to his birthday? His 80th birthday party is next Sunday in Los Angeles. I told him, I said, Richard, don't worry about it. I will be in LA for your party. And so, man, we had a great conversation. So, man, it's always good to see Richard Roundtree. Y'all, brother, looking good. And it was so funny.

He's on the phone, y'all. And so all of a sudden he sees me he sees me and he's like man what you doing uh and so we we got a chance to catch up there uh and so again it's always good to see the original chef uh richard roundtree and so uh great to see him out there all right you folks gotta go to a break. When we come back, we're going to share some of what Michael Regan, the EPA administrator, had to say at the event for the Collective Pack. Our cameras were there. Plus, we talked to Quentin James, who was the co-founder of the Collective Pack, about the importance of funding African-American elected officials. And so we'll have that for you next right here on this special edition of the Black Star Network here at Essence Fest 2022, powered by Coca-Cola, and we certainly thank them for partnering with us for this special as well. We'll be back in a moment.

Here's me, my black love. Hello, I am Anthony Dangerfield. I am known as the good fella. But what does black love mean? Oh, I apologize. But what does black love mean to me? The source of all life. I think that black love not only encompasses unity but it spreads itself everywhere in almost godlike manner. I think it's the purest form of life, the greatest form of life, and we are all the benefits of it. Through Black Love we have been able to grow beyond our wildest dreams and also through Black Love it's brought us down to a point to realize strengths that we never knew we had. So all in all, black love is the thing that keeps this world spinning.

Made the simple way. With real lemon juice, 75% less sugar, and mmm, mmm, mmm. Say yes to simple. Lots of oranges. Half the sugar. 1,000% delicious. That's simple math. Say yes to simple. you i am to be smart roland martin's doing this every day thank you roland martin for always giving voice to the issues look for roland martin in always giving voice to the issues look for roland

martin in the whirlwind to quote marcus garvey again the video looks phenomenal so i'm really excited to see it on my big screen support this man black media he makes sure that our stories are told see this difference between black star network and black owned media and something like cnn i gotta defer to the brilliance of Dr. Carr and to the brilliance of the Black Star Network. I am rolling with rolling all the way. I don't want to be on a show that you own. A Black man owns the show.

Folks, Black Star Network is here. I'm real revolutionary right now. Rolling was amazing on that. I love y'all. I can't commend you enough about this platform. Thank you.. . . Folks, tomorrow here in New Orleans, Vice President Kamala Harris will be here speaking from the main stage in the Superdome.

But there are many other administration officials who are all around New Orleans for Essence Fest. One of them is Michael Regan, a North Carolina A&T graduate who is now the administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency. Huge issue. We talk about environmental justice, environmental racism in the black community. And so Collective PAC had a Q&A opportunity for a fireside chat. And here's that conversation with him with the former mayor of Greenville, Mississippi. The second thing is the media following it. Well, when you put that kind of pressure on local communities,

the things that I can't get done from EPA, those locally elected officials after the social media, after the MSNBC, after the CNN, they start to be embarrassed and they start to take action. So after that tour, not only did we ramp up our enforcement and our inspections because we saw things firsthand, a lot of the locally elected officials, because of the coverage, decided to start taking action. But the whole game plan was to bring attention to the issue.

And I'll tell you, it's 2022, and I've visited communities where I'm talking with mothers whose children have been lead poisoned. If you are a black child in this country at or below poverty level, you are four times more likely to have elevated levels of lead in your blood. This is not coincidence. This is by design. I was in Jackson, Mississippi at an elementary school because I was supposed to talk to eight and nine-year-olds about water quality. And I pulled up to this school and all you could see was porta-potties for as far as the eye could see with no construction happening. Those porta-potties

are what the students were using because they didn't have good water pressure. This is in the middle of a pandemic. These are our children. And so my goal has been to use our voice, our bully pulpit, to bring attention, whether EPA can solve the problem or not. Bring attention to these issues because these issues are very real. Last thing I'll say is I was in Lowndes County, Alabama. 30% of the population in Lowndes County, Alabama has hookworm. 60% of the people in the community don't have good sewage connection. The kids play in the same yards that raw waste is spewing in those yards. This is happening in 2022 because government has failed so many people.

So the passion is there, the need is there, and the will is there. Now, thanks to the President's leadership and our rep, because of that $1.3 trillion that Mitch just mentioned, there's a significant portion of those resources that can go to solve these problems. We just have to make sure that the right people get those resources. You know, it's amazing to think about the fact that we are sitting in a space where not only are we having to address these issues, but we're also having to correct past harms at the same time. And I think we are all grateful for not only the work that you're doing in that space, but the encouragement that you're giving,

and what I'm hearing is the call to action for all of us. That wasn't made easier this past week. That wasn't made easier with the decisions that have come down. And I know that you put out a public statement really stressing the public health aspects and the continued work that we have to do. And just knowing that there's been such a great recognition of the disparate treatment and impacts as you've described for minority communities, particularly black and brown communities, can you talk a bit about how we are going to or what you could encourage us to do to really encourage local, state, federal policy to come together and put action with what both Mayor Landrieu outlined, what the environmental groups can do.

How can we turn that into action in light of the opinions that we've just experienced? Well, this is one of these situations where you wish you could Monday morning quarterback it. I mean, it's unfortunate that we don't remind ourselves that the power of our voices is something that we have to use. We have to wait for a Roe v. Wade or we have to wait for the Supreme Court to roll back our Clean Air Act statutory authorities. So we have to have a sense of urgency. Congress gave EPA $100 million just to focus on environmental justice grants and air quality monitoring. We're trying to distribute those resources to organizations that have never had a seat at the table. The big national green groups have finally started to mobilize and rally around environmental justice, but we also don't want to overlook those groups

that have been on the ground since day one. Collectively, with the big green groups and those organizations, we need to push resources collectively from philanthropy to our budgets, to really shore up the infrastructure of those people on the ground. It's nice for me to come into town and talk to people, but I'm not a trusted voice of the community. The trusted voice in the community are the community members themselves. We have to start having more conversations like this one. We have to have more Journey to Justices. We have to really just get in the room. And the great thing about the Journey to Justice tour was I reached out to the leaders in the communities and said, you designed this tour. You tell me where to go.

You tell me what time to show up. And that's something different. Folks, if you want to see the full conversation with EPA Administrator Michael Regan, simply go to our Black Star Network app or go to youtube.com forward slash Roland S. Martin to check that out. Folks, we'll have Quentin James talk about the importance of electing black officials tomorrow. Also tomorrow, folks, Congresswoman Val Demings is running for the United States Senate. She'll be sitting down with us. We'll be chatting with Tammy Roman.

Also, we've got the Smart Water Walk in the Morning with Mayor Cottrell, in addition to Angela Simmons. We'll be broadcasting that live, so look forward to that live stream. Plus, we'll have a recap on the show as well. So a jam-packed day tomorrow here at the 2022 Essence Fest, powered by Coca-Cola. And so we're going to have wall-to-wall coverage. Look forward to having all of that.

Tonight, Nicki Minaj takes the stage at the superdome and so uh look forward to that they're also going to be having uh different news conferences and things happening there and so man just a lot of stuff going on and so that's why we are here we got it all covered for you you're not here in new orleans tell a friend what we're doing be sure to check out our content we're gonna be really restreaming all of this content uh over the next 24 hours in case you missed it as well. Folks, thanks so very much. I'll see you tomorrow right here from New Orleans.

The Black Star Network, working with Coca-Cola. Folks, it's having a grand time here. The 2022 Essence Festival. Holla! I'm from Kansas City, Kansas. Thank you.