#RolandMartinUnfiltered - #BlackVotersMatter fights voter TX suppression; Biden meets rights orgs; DC Crown Act mural unveiled

Episode Date: July 9, 2021

7.8.21 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: #BlackVotersMatter fights voter TX suppression; Biden meets civil rights groups; DC Crown Act mural unveiled; Seven people suspected of killing the Haiti's president are dead, six others are in police custody; FBI reviews the autopsy of Ronald Greene; Ma'Khia Bryant update; Sneak peek of the new comedy "Run The World" + Essence throwback with Bishop T.D. Jakes, Sheila Johnson ​at the NOPSI Hotel and a look at Roland at EssenceSupport #RolandMartinUnfiltered via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered or via PayPal ☛ https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered#RolandMartinUnfiltered 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. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Martin! Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă.

Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă cu toate pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă.

Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Să facem o pătrunjelă. Today is Thursday, July 8, 2021. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered,

civil rights groups still meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House focused on voting. Vice President Kamala Harris was at a forum sponsored by the Democratic National Committee at Howard University. While they were in D.C., Black Voters Matter, they were in Texas holding their news conference, ready to fight Republicans in Texas

against their voter suppression bill. We'll talk with Cliff Albright, co-founder of Black Voters Matter. Also today, the Crown Act, they actually, the people who are behind the Crown Act, advocating for it, they actually released a mural here in the nation's capital. We'll show you, talk with the artists,

as well as folks who are advocating for the Crown Act to become national law. Terry McAuliffe is blocking black candidates from getting the Democratic nomination. Well, that's what the former governor of Virginia, Doug Wilder, said, but also, he also talked about why is he supporting a candidate who he called to resign as the photos came out of him in blackface.

In Michigan, a school district said no racial bias was found as an employee cut a child's hair. Also, we have an update on the story we gave you yesterday about the assassination of Haitian president, Jovenal Moise. The cast of the Starz series Run the World was gonna join us, plus today's Essence Throwback, and the president, Jovenal Moise. The cast of the Starz series Run the World was gonna join us, plus today's Essence Throwback,

Bishop T.D. Jakes, as well as businesswoman Sheila Johnson. Folks, it's time to bring the funk on Roller Mark Unfiltered, let's go. He's got it, whatever the piss, he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. And when it breaks, he's right on time. And it's rolling. Best 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 rolling now. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's Roland Martin. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Rolling with Roland now.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best. You know he's Roland Martin now. Martin. In Georgia, a federal judge is refusing to block parts of Georgia's new voting restrictions. U.S. District Court Judge Pete Boulay says last-minute changes to voting procedures will confuse voters for next week's runoff elections. Voting rights advocates requested prohibition of the state from enforcing sections of a new law that involve observation of elections and the new deadline for requesting absentee ballots. Texas Republicans are backing, actually trying to move forward with their voter suppression bill in that particular state.

They've already moved forward with another bill. It's going to be a special session called by Governor Greg Abbott that is filled with a number of different issues that, again, deal with the issue of voting restrictions. While that is happening, of course, civil rights leaders are meeting right now down the street from us at the White House with President Joe Biden. Vice President Kamala Harris was at Howard University today with the DNC held an event focused on the issue of voting rights. Joining us right now is Cliff Albright. He's the co-founder of Black Voters Matter. Joining us now from Texas, Cliff, all the Republicans are backing off of actually making a couple of modifications, which includes cutting polling hours on Sunday and wording that would have made it easier for judges to overturn an election. But y'all still say that this is

absolutely the kind of bill that should not become law in Texas? Absolutely, Roland. It's still got a number of horrendous provisions in it. Even those provisions that they've taken out, they're not even being honest about how and why they've taken it out. They've acted like they don't even know how those provisions got in there, particularly the one talking about making it easier for a judge to overturn an election. And so you really can't trust anything that they say. But again, there's still provisions in there that criminalize mistakes for helping a voter to vote. There's still provisions in there that criminalize the actual elected officials for sending out ballots to folks to get their vote-by-mail ballots. There's still the provision

in there that allows election observers to come in to have basically unfettered access to the polling place as people are voting, including the possibility of video recording people as they're voting. And we already know that Republicans were using this to recruit. There's Republicans on video that were actually using that provision to recruit, saying that they wanted to have an army of thousands in the polling places. So we know what they're going to use. This is old-school Jim Crow intimidation factors at the polling places. So there's still, and that's just the tip of the iceberg, there's still literally dozens of provisions in this bill that they would pass that would still make the worst voter suppression bill in the country, on top of the fact that Texas is already the hardest place to vote in the country. It's nothing but straight-up

Jim Crow, and this is nothing. This so-called special session is just what we call a suppression session, because the voting bill is actually just one of 11 horrendous bills that they are trying to consider in Texas, even as they're going through an emergency, an energy emergency,

that months ago had people freezing and right now has people burning up. But that's not even included in this so-called special session. It's nothing but a suppression session, and we and our partners in Texas are going to fight it with everything that we have. Folks, you and LaTosha and others of Black Voters Matter, y'all have been doing the work for a very long time.

You have, of course, calls from the White House president, Joe Biden, to do more. That's what he actually said in Tulsa. Latasha, your co-founder, she tweeted this earlier today. "'Let me get this right. "'Y'all want us to do more work, "'register more people and turn out more voters. "'The last time we did that, we got attacked

"'and now have fewer voting rights. "'Please explain the logic of why do we have to "'bear the burden to do more only to get less.'" Again, the DNC had this particular event today at Howard University featuring Vice President Kamala Harris. But the bottom line is simple. Unless President Joe Biden gets in the face of Senators Christian Sienema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, we're going to be stuck with the Republicans who don't give a damn about bipartisanship passing these onerous bills all across the country.

Yeah, and unfortunately, it looks like that Biden is basically throwing in the towel, right? They're now talking about that they want to have a campaign talking about I will vote. That's the name of the campaign Kamala Harris talked about today. Vice President Harris talked about today at Howard University. But that's putting the burden of dealing with the voter suppression on the backs of the very voters that risked our lives, literally risked our lives in order to give them the power to deal with this. So we didn't put them in power so that they could then turn it back on us and say, well, I guess y'all got to work harder to vote. I guess you activists got to go out and work harder to organize folks. Like I just tweeted out a little while ago, this isn't a bag or van. So the Green Miles, we're not some magical Negroes that you just call up and ask us to work some miracles

because you are unable to do your job. The White House has got to use everything that they have at their disposal, including pressuring or using carrots on Manchin and Sinema. You know, a few months ago, Biden did a statement on one of these networks, he did an interview, where he said that he would be open to modifying the filibuster. But now, all of a sudden, that's out the door. He never actually presented a proposal

saying, not just am I open to it, here's my demand, here's my proposal on how to change the filibuster. Make it happen, Chuck. Make it happen, Joe Manchin. He never did that. He just kind of out there acting like he's an innocent bystander in this.

That's not what we need from somebody who had 40 years of Senate experience. Don't come to me or in our organizations trying to get us to solve a problem that you're supposed to have the experience and the power to deal with. And you have that power because we gave it to you. Make it happen or just be prepared for the consequences.

But you can't count on us or ask us and demand us to just out-organize the voter suppression. That was not the remedy after slavery and Reconstruction to just say, oh, go out and I will vote. You know, you had to deal with systemic issues of racism and Jim Crow. And if they're not prepared to do so now, then he's not really serious about saying, as he said in his congressional speech, that he wanted to see these bills passed as soon as possible.

Here is Vice President Kamala Harris speaking today at Howard University. These laws create obstacle upon obstacle. These laws make it harder for you to vote because they don't want you to vote. And so I will say again, your vote matters. Your voice matters. Your will matters. Your desire for yourself and your families matters. And regardless of who you are, where you live, what party you belong to, your vote matters. Your vote is your power. And so I say, don't let anybody ever take your power from you. Don't let anybody take your power from you.

Especially the power of your voice. We will not let anyone take away our power. And that's why we are all here together today. We're not going to let that happen. Thank you. We're not going to let that happen. And so we need to fight back.

So, Cliff, the question is, what's the fight back part? Right. I mean, I don't need that from the vice president of the United States. Like, that's, you know, my auntie or somebody, you know, on the street can say that to, you know, the folks that we're trying to get registered and mobilize saying, you know, don't let them take your vote from them. We're going to fight this. That's cool for, like, our organizers on the street or the neighborhood mama who's trying to organize the community. That's not what I need from the vice president. That's not what I need from the president. You've actually got the power to stop them from taking our votes. I don't need from the vice president. That's not what I need from the president. You've actually got the power to stop them from taking our votes.

I don't need a pep talk. And I'm only, you know, mentioning Kamala Harris because the clip was of her, but at the end of the day, this falls on Joe Biden. This falls on the president. He's got to use everything that he has at his disposal to make this happen, or else we just got to, you know,

we may just have to come to a conclusion and just say the quiet part out loud. Maybe he just doesn't really mean it when he cares, when he says he cares about voting rights and he wants to see these bills passed. You can't say I want to see the voting rights bills passed as soon as possible and then put an asterisk at the end of it saying, but I don't want to see it if that means that we need to modify the filibuster or end the filibuster because I'm not that committed. Like, that's not the asterisk that was at the end of his sentence in his speech, but that's what they're demonstrating by their actions.

We don't need a pep talk from them. We don't even necessarily need the $25 million, which is really literally a drop in the bucket. Like, I know that sounds like a lot of money, but in terms of, like, organizing electoral campaigns across the state in the face of voter suppression, that's not a lot of money, but in terms of, like, organizing electoral campaigns across the state in the face of voter suppression, that's not a lot of money.

We don't need the pep talk, and we don't need the allowance money. We need them to use the power that we gave them to actually block the voter suppression, pass the bills, expand the court if you need to, which they ultimately will, but to use the power that we've given them to actually get things done.

The meeting that's going on in the White House right now with President Joe Biden, he's meeting with a number of civil rights groups, National Action Network, National Urban League, National Council of Negro Women. He's also meeting with he's also meeting with Leadership Conference of Civil and Human Rights, NAACP, a number of those. Were y'all, so this is the photo of the folks who are meeting, were y'all invited? Was Black Voters Matter? I mean, y'all have been on the ground with the direct action. Were y'all invited to today's meeting? No, we weren't invited to today's meeting. My understanding is that, you know, that he made a commitment when he was running or after inauguration that he would meet with the legacy organizations.

And so, you know, he's got some of the some of our oldest existing organizations that he's been meeting with. We didn't get that invite. If we did, I would have told him the same thing I just said right here on your show just a couple of minutes ago. And be clear, you know, those are organizations that we work with a lot. You know, at least half of those were organizations that were partners with us in the Freedom Ride that we just did going through nine, nine days, 10 states, including D.C., where we had a national rally. And many of those organizations, the Legal Defense Fund and National Coalition of Black Participation are partners of ours. So, you know, we're glad that they have his ear. But we need him to not just have a listening session, to not just have a photo op. We need him to commit to doing what he promised. He gave a speech. Was it his inauguration or his acceptance speech?

He said to black folks, you've had my back, now I'm going to have yours. And again, I guess when he said he would have our backs, that wasn't including if it meant that they had to modify or end the filibuster in order for us to have the voting rights that we've been demanding ever since they gutted the Voting Rights Act eight years ago. And then they re-gutted it. They expanded the wounds that they gave, the Supreme Court did just last week. These are not normal times that we're in. This is literally a historic attack on voting rights, and he has not lived up to the moment. He needs to have an LBJ

moment where he digs into this. But instead, what he's having is a Rutherford B. Hayes moment. For those who don't know the history, that's the president who basically ended Reconstruction, removed the federal troops from the South, and basically told the white racists in the South that they could go on and do whatever they want. It feels like he's having that kind of a moment instead of the moment that we need him to have, which is the dig in and the fight for us. And like he said, his words, to have our backs the way that we had his. Epic failure.

Cliff Albright, co-founder of Black Voters Matter. We so appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thanks, Roland. All right, let's go to our panel right now. Joining us every Thursday, Dr. Greg Carr, Department of African American Studies at Howard University. Glad to have him here.

Also, we have Recy Colbert, Black Women Views. And we also have Faraji Muhammad, radio and TV host. All right, let's get right to it, Greg. We keep talking about voting. We've got elections coming up. You've got 2022. We see what happened there. The Georgia law impacts local races going on as well.

Black activists are saying, White House, we've got to see results. Again, this whole idea of just, you know, we're just going to accept this. What are you actually going to do? Your thoughts on that and what the president, what President Biden needs to do. Should he be going on the road, taking this issue directly to various places? Supreme Court decision came down during the Arizona case. Will he go to Arizona and speak fear? Will he go to Texas?

And while they are in session, rallying Democrats there when it comes to this issue as well. Well, thank you, Roland. I would say we have to remember just a couple of very basic things. Number one, nothing changes in society except from the people out. So that's number one. So what Cliff and LaTosha are doing and all of the hundreds of thousands of people who have organized, we have to keep that up and intensify it. Oh, shovel mouth Greg Abbott, who is basically kicking off his presidential campaign today with this special session of

the legislature. And, as you say, your family, my family there in Harris County, in Houston, they're not addressing. They don't even have, as Cliff said, they don't have anything dealing with the energy crisis they have down there, because this is designed for Abbott to shore up his bona fide white nationalist credentials, because his corn-pwned brother in Florida, the governor of Florida, has been able to get his five o'clock shadow bills passed with his Klan-adjacent agenda. So they're positioning for 2024. But remember that,

number two, politicians are not your friend. So that Rosa didn't sit for a politician to fly. These people are tools. We can like them. We cannot like them. That's beside the point. And so we have to understand that Joe Biden was never committed to our agenda. Our agenda is different than Joe Biden's agenda. Our job is to stand him up and force him to do what we need him to do. We need to break his back as well. And that extends, of course, to a sister who's a good sister, but she is a politician, the vice president of the United States. Using Howard University, renting out the Howard brand, which is increasingly popular these days, only intensifies the idea that individuals somehow are stand-ins for institutional power.

We have to continue to organize. Finally, the Georgia case is very interesting, because when you look at the Coalition of Good Governance, a right-wing crew out of Colorado, the thing that they went to court to ask this Trump-appointed judge, district judge in the Georgia district, J.P. Boulay, to stop are actually things that would make it even worse. They want to take pictures of your ballot while you're voting. They want to get up close on people to see how they're voting, all this kind of thing. The judge said it's too close to the election to overturn.

We have to understand that, unlike Reconstruction, unlike Jim Crow, when we had to literally fight to get to the ballot, you can put all the mother the may I rules in place, we need to follow all those rules while they're in place, overflow the ballot box, we need to continue to put pressure on politicians, and then when the politicians get in, we need to tell them, hey, we like you personally,

after this we'll have drinks, but right now, I'm gonna break your political back. We have to be them, hey, we like you personally. After this, we'll have drinks. But right now, I'm going to break your political back. We have to be smarter than to treat politics as if we're watching an episode of The Real Housewives or House Husbands or something or other. Recy, what you're dealing with here is, again, the president, he's meeting now with legacy civil rights groups. Yet, the folks who are providing a lot of the energy on the ground, Cliff and Latasha, Black Voters Matter, Until Freedom and Others, not invited. Is it a mistake for the White House to sort of say, well, we will meet with the legacy civil rights groups,

as opposed to the folks who you need on the ground putting the work in? I mean, I don't understand how the, how an organization like Black Voters Matter was excluded. I do know that Latasha Brown tweeted about Vice President Kamala Harris reaching out to her shortly after Vice President Harris was announced as taking over for the voting rights initiative on behalf of the Biden administration. So I don't know who is particularly responsible for the guest list. It does seem like an oversight or a slight, I don't know which one it is, but they do need to

hear from a more diverse group of Black organizations and not just the legacy organizations. But I think that the interview that you just conducted with Cliff is a prime example of the challenge that Democrats face. The bottom line is that people don't want to hear about the filibuster. People don't want to hear about the political realities of not just Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, but the Democrats that are hiding behind those two senators who also don't support the filibuster reform. And so I don't, I mean, I understand the frustration. And I've been saying that Democrats are going to have to deliver results irrespective of how much headwinds they're facing from Mitch McConnell, how much obstruction they're facing, because people don't care about the particulars of

how things do or do not get done. But with that being said, I do think it's important what they are doing right now. As Cliff said, $25 million, a drop in the bucket. I do agree with him on that point. But I do think that the thing that we saw that was most effective in 2020 was the fact that voters knew the onslaught of voter suppression tactics that we were facing, and we showed up and showed out anyway. Voter education is a very critical part of our civic engagement. People don't even understand that the Congress is a co-equal branch of government to the White House, which is a co-equal branch of government to the White House, which is a co-equal branch of government to the judiciary. There are basic civics understandings that people

lack. People need to know all the rules, as Dr. Carr just said, and know how to follow them. And so that is a key component that has to be addressed. You can put in a place for the People Act that's not retroactive. It doesn't necessarily, it may not even get past the John Roberts, Gorsuch, Comey-Barrett court at this point and Kavanaugh court. It's stacked. And so you cannot just only tell – do something in the Senate. You have to have an all-of-the-above approach, and I think that that's what the White House is signaling there. I don't think that they're signaling that they're throwing in the towel. I think they're signaling that we need a multi-year-long voter education effort, which I wholeheartedly agree with. I'm sick of them trying to crash a whole bunch of things into

the last two months of an election and show up and say, okay, this is how you guys do stuff. We need to have continual voter education. I think that is an important part of what they're doing right now. $25 million is a down payment. Yes, this is photo ops. Yes, this is some political theater. But that's what you do when you're the president and the vice president. You use your bully pull point to force the narrative, to get the media to pay attention, to get folks to pay attention to something that they might not otherwise be that tuned into. So I understand the complaints.

I understand the frustration. But I don't discount what they're doing right now because it has to be a part of the toolbox that they use. Because at the end of the day, the last thing I'll say is the states have the ability to set the laws as they see fit. And that's what we're seeing. And we're seeing the judges and the judiciary back them up on that. And so there's only so much that you can do at the federal level. But what they do have at the federal level is resources. And that's what they're putting a down payment on with this $25 million. Not enough. It needs to be $250 million, but it's a down payment. Well, Faraji, what people

are looking for, they're looking for Democrats to fight. They're looking at Republicans who are flexing their muscle left and right. They want to see Democrats actually show some gumption, step up and swing? Hey, look, that's the big thing that and that's one of my biggest frustrations, Brother Rowland. The fact is that we do not see Democrats going blow for blow with the Republican. I have great respect

and admiration for Michelle Obama, but a lot of times we have rested on that principle that she said, that when they go low, we go high. They're not thinking high. They're thinking power. They're thinking control. They're thinking about

the legacy of their agenda. We have to go blow for blow. I want to say something of what Reesey said in terms of voter education, which I think is highly important, Civics 101, the whole nine. But let's put it where the goats can get it. Why aren't people voting? Because people do not believe in the American, quote, unquote, the American experiment. People have lost hope in this country. We saw what we saw on January the 6th. And you would have thought that even after such an abrupt,

obvious situation as that was, that there would be people just, you know, there would be some level of accountability, some high level of punishment. We all would say, well, if they were black, it would have been half a different. And look at what happened. Very little accountability, some high level of punishment, we all would say, well, if they were Black, it would have been half a different, and look at what happened. Very little accountability, very little punishment. So people are seeing a country constantly going on a decline, which is why people aren't voting.

It's not that people don't care. It's not even that so much that people don't understand the power, especially when you're talking about black youth and brown youth. It's just that people are essentially have lost hope in this country. So when we're talking about voter registration, voter suppression, voter empowerment, let's talk about let's let's get on a very fundamental level. Do people believe that this government has and will do what it needs to do to protect the interest of the people? Do people believe in democracy anymore? Or are people looking for something else? And last point, when Frederick says power without a demand, power won't concede to nothing without a demand, what is the demand?

If you are talking to civil rights legacy organizations, what is the demand? Is the demand to just say, hey, we want to have our right to go to the ballot box to cast our vote? Got it. What is the demand? There has to be something else. There has to be an activism level. There has to be a political component to it. It's the demand. There has to be something else. There has to be an activism level. There has to be a political component to it. But most importantly, you've got to talk to about raising the hope of people. Well, I want to bring in former Virginia Governor Doug Wilder.

We're going to talk to him about another issue. I do want to get his thoughts on this very issue here. And Governor Wilder, look, this is not hard. Republicans play hardball. They want to take Democrats out. They will do

whatever they can to win. It seems Democrats want to play patty cake. They want to sit here and play jump rope. Can we all get along? Democrats are the only ones talking about bipartisanship here in the nation's capital. And I'm sitting here saying

if you know you are fighting a thug, you might want to fight like a thug with a thug because they are not trying to play nice. Governor, can you hear me? Yes, I can hear you. I just want to get your thoughts on what

would you... You didn't ask me any questions. I want you to respond to that. What would you tell President Biden that he needs to do, and what would you tell Democratic leaders, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, in terms of how they should be responding with a sense of urgency when it comes to voting rights

and the assault on voting rights in this country? Well, first of all, it's good to talk with you again, Roland. But, and I've listened to some of the commentary that has been going on before. You don't have to tell somebody that you have their number when you have it. In other words, if you cannot be but for me, then I shouldn't have to argue with you

or fuss with you about anything. If your record shows you've done nothing for me, then why should I look for it? And so it's one thing to have what we see going on as it relates to the president, the people who are very concerned with immigration and who comes in and who comes out

and arguing about the 1619 project as to, well, did she really mean what she said in terms of what happened, the effects of the COVID on those people who were already affected at the bottom rung of the ladder. And so I never believed in arguing with anybody. If you are not doing what I want you to do, I'm going to do all I can to get rid of you, to vote you out of office. There's no need to argue. There's no need to fuss.

Now, the next guy might be just as bad. Vote him out. And so don't think these people are not made aware. They know who they're dealing with. They know what they're dealing with. They know what they're dealing with. Just look what the current governor of Virginia is doing with reference to blackface. He withdrew the apology, didn't he? Oh, no, he apologized.

Oh, did he? Then you've got the former governor, who now says he's going to bring bold leadership. Well, in bringing that bold leadership, is he saying what we have now is not? And then the first person he kicked out of the box was Justin Fairfax, the lieutenant governor, because McCaul says he had credible evidence. Has he produced that evidence? No. He chose to run against and oppose people of color, two black women. And to that extent, he's running with the same man who was in blackface, Mark Herring.

And so when that's taking place right here, 100 miles from the nation's capital, Where are the voices speaking out against that, Roland? Have you heard them? I have not heard it. And for folks to understand what the governor is speaking of, when the Mark Herring, first of all, when the blackface controversy came out involving Governor Ralph Northern, there were calls for him to resign. The call came from McAuliffe, the first person.

Right, Governor Terry McAuliffe. Then, of course, when it appeared as if on a Sunday that he was going to be stepping down, all of a sudden a story came out alleging sexual harassment, sexual assault against Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax. Then, literally within minutes, I'm talking about within two or three minutes

of that story dropping, Governor Terry McCullough calls for the resignation of Justin Fairfax. What then happens? Then they find out there was a blackface controversy involving the Attorney General, Mark Herring. Well, who had called for Northam's resignation? Himself.

Right. So what then happens is, when that then happens, now Democrats in Virginia are like, well, wait a minute. Okay, you got blackface for the governor. You got sexual assault allegation against Lieutenant Governor. Blackface with Attorney General. Nothing actually happened there. But here is what's interesting.

McAuliffe runs again for governor. He can only serve one term as governor in Virginia per the Constitution. Runs against Fairfax and several other candidates, including several other African Americans. Critical of Fairfax, yet now, to Governor Wilder's point, he's now rescinded his call for Herring to resign and is endorsing Herring as attorney general.

I'm sorry, I'm confused. I'm not. And that's what I wanted to get to, and I think your people on your show who preceded me in this instance need to not look too far in terms of blaming where the blame is. The blame is with leaders. Now, are you a leader because you get elected to office?

No, you are elected to an office of leadership. But you have to make that difference. And where are those voices now raising what you just discussed? As far as I can see, Roland, I have not heard those voices. To the contrary, we've had black leaders saying that the black women that were running for governor should wait for the appropriate time for them to run. So this is not the time, they were saying, for them to run. And they had far more experience than Terry McAuliffe ever had, who never held an elected office when he ran. So my sound off on this is this. Nothing has changed from 1619.

Nothing has changed from 1607. We have never really addressed the root causes, the real causes, the separations, divided into the extent of dealing with what? Money. And when you're talking about where the dollars are spent, how they are spent, and yet, let's get to this last point that I want to make. Terry McAuliffe has no chance of winning

unless there is strong turnout in what? The black community. can't win without it but does he worry about it no why because obviously he takes it for granted the the primary is over um why did you wait why not say this before the primary? Why not publicly force Terry McAuliffe to address this issue, force Herring and Norlin to address this issue before the primary? Well, because I wasn't running. You had black people running.

Why didn't they do it? Where are their voices now? You ask why I didn't do it before the primary? No, I wasn't running. But I'm doing it now. And where are their voices before or after the primary? Have you heard a single word from one of them or one of those leaders? So what it sounds to me like what you have is you've got folks who don't want to tick off who they think might be the future governor again. And not and not. What do they lose? Right. And not holding them accountable. So I have a post out, as you know, because you read it.

Wilder visions. I have a post out, as you know, because you read it, Wilder Visions. I stated it all out. I haven't just started being critical. I stopped any numbers of things from taking place. And I get people who call me from all over the country, letters from all over the world saying, thank God somebody is calling it like it is. And let me say this to you, Rory. These calls are coming not just from black people,

mostly white people, who are saying Virginia deserves better than this reputation. If it's bad when it was somebody else involved, it's bad now. Blackface has never been good. With Eddie Cantor, with Al Jolson, and anybody else, blackface is blackface, and it means just that. Difference, despicable, hatred, and prejudice throughout.

When you raise the question, why aren't those black candidates not saying anything or actually speaking up, when it comes to, let's just say, is it Virginia NAACP? Are there other black groups in Virginia who are— But you asked me why I didn't say something. You didn't ask why those groups didn't say anything. No, no, no, no, no, me why I didn't say something. You didn't ask why those groups hadn't said anything. No, no, no, no, no, no. I'm asking...

I know, I know, I know. But let's keep it back on those candidates. Why haven't they said something? And in addition to that, there has been a diminution and almost a lessening of community involvement with the people. I'm talking about the real people.

The voters, oh, yes, we've got to have you at election time. After that, we might invite you to a picnic. We might invite you to a party. And we might even let you come to one of our groupings until such time. And we'll even put one of y'all on a committee or something like that. The question is, the NAACP groups, fine people, good people. I was a registered agent for the one in Virginia taking Spad Robinson's place when he left. That group needs revitalization. All of our groups need community support. They need some municipal support.

But you cannot and should not ever, and I know you don't, eliminate the responsibility that's reposed in those who are there in elected office, black people who are there. Why have they not spoken? And so one of the things that we have done, we have reached out to Terry McAuliffe to get him on this show. He did come on my TV One show when he was governor. I used

to, I couldn't, actually I used to have his phone number, but then I got a number that got lost and trust me, I'll be tracking it down because the questions deserve answers I lost it. Trust me, I'll be tracking it down because the questions deserve answers because if you are a person of integrity and if you call

for someone's resignation before, then you should be sticking with it and publicly saying you should not be running again as Attorney General. Exactly. And likewise, when Justin Fairfax, who's not been indicted, nor charged with any crime,

and yet I couldn't say the same thing about Mr. McCarlett, and yet he asked people to give him the benefit of the doubt, to believe in due process of law. And the governor of any state has the responsibility to uphold the law. And one of the prime things to do is to uphold the presumption of law. And the governor of any state has the responsibility to uphold the law. And one of the prime things to do is to uphold the presumption of innocence. He determined that Justin Fairfax was guilty and has yet to show anything that would make you, me, or anyone else believe that he had evidence to show that. If he had it, show it. If you didn't have it, say it.

But be person and man enough to own up to what you do and what you say, because all of us are not going to forget. And one of them you're talking to right now. I take it you haven't heard from Terry McAuliffe? Well, yes, he did call me shortly after he announced and said he was going to stop by. He wanted to chat, and maybe we could have a beer or something. I said, no, we'll meet at my office

if we talk about anything. I haven't heard a word from him since then. Nor am I asking him to come by or to call me or to talk. He knows who I am and where I am and the things that I stand for. And I will not ever forget the people who elected me to serve. They had confidence that I would represent them. I hope I have.

And I haven't forgotten that I have that responsibility still in me. Well, you certainly are always welcome to come on to this show. All you got to do is call a brother. When you want to come on and say your piece, just let me know. We'll make that happen. So there's always an open invitation for you, Governor Wilder. Even though, you know, you pledged that little youth group, it's all good. You are more than welcome to come on this Alpha show.

You have always been there for the people, Roland. You and I have had a great relationship during the time we've known each other. That is never going to change. God bless you. Thank you. And I will be back. Yes, sir.

I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. You take care. All right. Thank you very much. Former Governor of Virginia Doug Wilder. Go back to my panel here, Reesey. What you heard Governor Wilder say is important.

That is if Terry McAuliffe, running for governor, if you call for Herring to step down the blackface scandal, you call for Fairfax to step down, how all of a sudden now you run against Fairfax and others to be Governor of Virginia again, and then now you're endorsing Herring to be attorney general. We call that being a hypocrite. It is being a hypocrite, but that's also politics. I mean, Herring won the primary. I'm not quite sure what we're supposed to do about this information now. I mean, like, McAuliffe run.

He won the primary. He won it overwhelmingly in a state that's 19% Black, over 1.6 million Black people, and he overwhelmingly beat out the Black, three Black candidates, two Black women who would have made history as the first Black woman governor in the entire United States. I was supportive of them. Higher Heights

was supportive of them. So I'm just, I mean, I respect Governor Obama. Don't get me wrong, but the primary's over and done with, so I'm just not exactly sure what we're supposed to do with this information other than to be like, he's still sick. I think what he's saying is, McCullough,

why didn't you have the guts to say this before the primary? I agree. That's really what he is saying in challenging him. I think that's what he's doing. So, I mean, I get it.

I get it, but I also think it's a moot point because he already won the primary. And so I think what we have to do as black people is we're in—there are so many states where black people have a sizable amount of voters where we could get a Black senator, we could get a Black governor, and yet we don't. And part of that is voter suppression and disenfranchisement and things like that. And part of it is also just the political calculations that sometimes we make. It takes a white man to beat a white man or it takes a white man to beat a white woman or whatever the situation may be. So I'm not trying to turn this back on Black voters when it's about Terry McAuliffe, because Lord knows I do not like to defend white men. That's not my ministry whatsoever. But I do think that, you know, at the end of the day, the voters, a large number of them Black, made their decision. that are running and put our support behind them. I think anybody who said that Jennifer McCullen or Jennifer Carol Foy should have waited their turn, they announced before Terry McAuliffe announced.

So that's really stupid to have that kind of attitude towards it. But, I mean, I agree with Governor Wilder. Terry McAuliffe is a hypocrite. He's full of shit when he denounced the blackface scandals. But like they say, show business, that's politics. And like you said, I think Dr. Carr actually, you said it in the show, they're not your friends. They're there for politicians.

And that's really, I'm just like failing to muster up any kind of outrage behind this. I'm sorry. Greg? Oh, Reese is right. I mean, let's be crystal clear about it. One thing I will say at the onset, though, about Lawrence Douglas Wilder at 90 years

old, that generation ain't having it. Let's be very clear. So you got to understand, when you get close to the end, you look back and say, you Negroes about to pay the same dues. You know how you slipped that in there? I want y'all to understand, there's a name, he

name-checked somebody that went right by probably most of our ears. He said, you know, I took over NACP. I was arrested for them. I took over for Spot Robinson. Spotswood Robinson. Y'all go look up Spotswood Robinson. Everybody talking about third-grade Marshall. Y'all go look up Spotswood Robinson. I'm going to leave that there.

But my point is this. That's number one. Number two, Reese just said it. Politicians are not our friends. Look, Terry's slick, oil McAuliffe with the Clintons. We'll talk about Haiti in a minute. We could tie McAuliffe to that, too. Terry McAuliffe ain't never been nobody's friend. This is what Terry

McAuliffe did. He decided, I'm going to win the governorship the day I'm going to go after Ralph Northam. And by the way, Ralph Northam, 2025, wait for it. I am after Northam threw Justin

Fairfax under the bus to save his ass, and that was his white boy, Cabade, got up in there in Richmond late in the night and said, how are we going to survive this blackface? Let's throw this out. Check out what Governor Wilder said. In Massachusetts,

I want you all. In North Carolina, please investigate this. They baked Justin, and then they made a deal. Come on now. This is all that's going on. And guess who else got through under the bus immediately? The two sisters were Ford and McClellan.

Meaning what? Ralph Northern is a racist. Did you hear what the governor said? He said, oh, I apologize. He said, really? Did you hear that? And then, and you know what he just did? He just trolled brilliantly, because you know how old black people do it. He just trolled

everybody. They may invite you. They may even put you on a committee. That was to the whole Congressional Black Caucus. That was to the Vice President of the United States. That's for all you Negroes that make t-shirts out of politicians and wear them around like they're somehow kind of damn freedom fighters. And that's from a man who was the governor

of Virginia, then the mayor of his hometown, Richmond, who's sitting at 90 years old and said, I have no I give no F's. I have no chill. And McAs, I have no chill, and McAuliffe may have won the primary, but you're about to mess around and lose the governorship

because you've got that percentage, Reesey just said, almost a fifth people in Virginia black, and they know who you are. They might stay at home, and at that point, you've got the straight clan running the government. We need to understand. Listen to what he just said.

Faraji. You know what? And I'm so happy that you and Dr. Carr mentioned this, but I want to throw another thing in. First, I really appreciate the fact of the testicular fortitude of

Governor Welk. Just simply because you are right, Doc. When he is, when you get to a certain age, you don't give a damn. After a while, I mean, he's been doing this for a very, very long time. But the question that Roland, that Roland pointed out,

that I think that we need to key in on is that he said, I didn't say anything because I'm not running. The man is 90 years old. And to be able to kind of take a rest, and then those of us who have the platforms, who have the testicular fortitude, who have the vision, should be saying, should be exemplifying what

the Bible says that, you know, older men and women for counsel, younger men and women for war. At this point, that is the approach that we need to take. Now, look, the narrative around voting, the narrative around the belief in the system, but let's look at talking about voting because I think that's another part of this. The narrative around, hey, if you vote, you are doing some revolutionary act. Voting is akin to the basic rights of any citizen. It's like a parent getting kudos for taking care of your children.

You're supposed to take care of your children. You created them. So let's not put voting in a space that's like, oh, I voted. So therefore, my revolutionary act is done. I'm, you know, I'm in the street. I'm on the transit zone. No, that's very basic. That's like welcome to the struggle.

That may not even be a welcome to the struggle. That's like, okay, you just did your thing, what you're supposed to do as a citizen. At this point, we have to look at where is the state, and this is what I think we don't have the balls to call out injustice? What is the state of black leadership in this country where we keep asking for clums when we're sitting directly at the table? We always talk about we need a seat at the table, let's sit at the table. What the hell is on the plate if we're at the table? What are we really asking for? Because you've got another generation that you're going to just pass on mediocrity, pass on this kind of go-along-to-get-along mentality. And at the end of the day, what? So my children is left with carrying the burden of 50 years with all of this intelligence, with all of

the brilliance in the black community. We have to just continue the same battle 25, 30 years from now of fighting for voter rights, of fighting for political leaders to just simply be decent human beings. I mean, I'm trying to understand you by rolling Dr. Carr. I'm just trying to understand all of this. It adds to why this thing of getting people engaged, getting people out to vote, getting people to believe again, this is the reason why.

This is the reason why. And if you ask black folks, if you wanted to, if you could, if you had the resources to leave this country, would you? Because at some point in time, people are just saying enough is enough. All right, folks, let's stay in Virginia, where a statue of one of America's greatest racists, Harry F. Byrd, a former governor, U.S. senator, and staunch segregationist, has been removed

from Capitol Square. This is the video right here where the statue, which was erected in 1976, was removed earlier yesterday off its pedestal and taken away on a flatbed truck. The statue will remain in storage until lawmakers determine its final disposition. Lawmakers voted to remove the statue earlier this year. Again, we talk about what happens when you take over. Republicans controlled the legislative body there in Virginia for a very long time.

Now they don't have that power. Democrats are controlling, so those racist monuments are being removed and taken away. Good. All right, y'all, gotta go to break. We'll be back on Roland Martin Unfiltered. I believe that people our age have lost the ability to focus the discipline on the art of organizing.

The challenges, there's so many of them and they're complex and we need to be moving to address them. But I'm able to say, watch out, Tiffany. I know this road. That is so freaking dope. We're setting off our Freedom Ride for Voting Rights. So we're down in New Orleans. We're in the historic neighborhood of Treme.

Everybody is a Freedom Rider. Even if you're not getting on the bus, you're still a Freedom Rider because you're on this bus on this journey that we are taking towards voting rights and liberation. What's going on, Mr. B? We are the heart and the belly of this movement. I am a Freedom Rider. Black dollars. Black dollars! Black dollars!

Freedom riders. We had about four or five folks who were either freedom riders or in the lunch counter sit-ins. We had local organizers. Day three of the freedom ride. When we flex our collective muscle, we will always win. Can you imagine it?

Will you fight for it? Yes! Welcome to Rock Hill, South Carolina. Woo! Some may run, others may crawl, but we're all trying to go in the same direction. Yes! That's it!

Now! I believe. I believe. I believe that we will win. I believe that we will win. West Virginia got something to say. This is what it's about, and everybody making a demand that we want the 40 people act passed. So we're on our way, y'all.

Next stop, going to Richmond, Virginia, and then it's on to D.C. You not hear where y'all at? Whoo! I hear the end now. Pass the torch and pass the flag. And now we're in D.C. We stand by! We stand by!

We are deadly serious and laser focused as we make our demands and we say we want the Florida People Act and we want it now. You are founders of a new nation and a new world. Stand in your radical re-e go to the restaurant. I'm going to go to the restaurant. I'm going to go to the restaurant. I'm going to go to the restaurant. I'm going to go to the restaurant. I'm going to go to the restaurant. I'm going to go to the restaurant.

I'm going to go to the restaurant. I'm going to go to the restaurant. I'm going to go to the restaurant. I'm going to go to the restaurant. I'm going to go to the restaurant. I'm going to go to the restaurant. I'm going to go to the restaurant. I don't know whether I would say that. That was a great opening line. Okay, a praise party. Well, I have been to Essence Music Festival about four times, mostly speaking.

I'm being honored with a humanitarian award. My daughter's come along to be with me since my wife didn't come, and I'm glad to be here. Bishop, what does this gathering mean? Because it really is one of the biggest events targeting African Americans anywhere in the country. Well, it celebrates African American communities from all aspects of life, not just spirituality, but music, culture, Black business. It is a galvanizing point for the Black community, and I think it's very, very important

that we support one another. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back.

We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back.

We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back, fool. You know he ain't afraid of no party. I mean, don't he? He ain't got to be all holy. First of all, wasn't Jesus at a party

when he turned water into wine? I'm just saying. It's all good, Bishop. All right, y'all. An update out of Haiti. Seven people suspected of killing the nation's president are dead, and six are in police custody. Two are believed to be Haitian Americans.

According to a senior Haitian official, one of the men was possibly a former bodyguard at the Canadian Embassy in Port-au-Prince. Volkspresident Jovenel Moise and his wife were ambushed at their home early Wednesday morning. The suspects are described as highly trained professional killers. The arrest took place in an upscale neighborhood outside Port-au-Prince. Folks since the assassination of Moise, the country has been in a state of unrest. Gunshots can be heard across Port-au-Prince. The First Lady was flown, First Lady Martin was flown, she was injured in the shooting, was flown overnight to Florida to Fort Lauderdale Hospital where she's in critical but stable

condition. Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph is calling for the United Nations to hold a Security Council meeting and for the international community to launch an investigation into the assassination. Greg, you shared some thoughts about the turmoil going on in Haiti online. Will you share that with us? Oh, yeah, brother, yeah. Your colleague in the Black media, in the media,

Karen Hunter and I were talking about it. I mean, let's be very clear. Those talking points that we heard from Claude Joseph were probably typed up in Washington at the American Embassy. He and the guy, Ariel Henry, who Moise tried to appoint a couple of days before he was killed, both them guys

have been vetted, man. I mean, Carl Joseph was on faculty here. I think he got his Ph.D. from the New School in New York. He was on faculty in the United States in New York at one time. Ariel Henry is an M.D. He was supposed to be the prime minister. He was the one who was in charge of the cholera response, which was disastrous in Haiti. And he is the he was after being vetted by the Organization of American States,

which is another client organization. So when you hear this guy stand up and say, I think the UN, the Security Council met yesterday, today, the OAS should be involved, and then the United States, Anthony Blinken endorses him, that lets you know that that's the first layer you've got to peel back. These guys ran up in Petionville. Petionville is the most secure place in Haiti. That's overlooking Port-au-Prince. That's where the president lives. That's like you walked up in

the most secure, it's like you walked up in Beverly Hills or the Bill Gates house, knocking on door to my DEA. Who knows whether they were DEA? More is they got enough enemies so that anybody could have killed him. But don't believe for a minute that the United States wasn't either monitoring or aware of the danger the man was in. Finally, this, and here's where it really is important. Understand that the United States is Haiti's largest export partner, that in 2019, Haiti did $1.3 billion in exports, and the first thing they exported was knit crochet accessories and clothes.

Levi Strauss got a big factory down there. Understand that the business interest goes on unimpeded. And whoever's in charge of Haiti has already been aligned by these companies and by these countries who have decided that this will be in our best interest. So look for this.

Look for some form of occupation. Either the UN gonna go in, the damn president of Colombia talking about the OAS should go in. Yeah, the president of Colombia. Colombia where the narcos use Haiti to push the cocaine into the United States because that and sex trafficking and child trafficking

are two of the underground biggest economies in Haiti. This is criminal business as usual. We have to stand with Haiti and stop acting like these flags mean something and don't believe nothing the United States government says or, for that matter, the white-facing mass media. Faraji? FARAJI PAKKALA, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CNN CORRESPONDENT,

Yeah, I mean, I'm looking. There was a report that just came out, Brother Roland. CNN had just put it out that among those detained in the assassination of President Muezi, one may be American. A gentleman by the name of James Solange, Solange was part of the group, according to what they're saying. And they asked, when CNN asked whether the suspect was an American, the elections minister, Mathias Pierre, said that so far that's the information that they have on the situation. So listening to Dr. Carr, and look, I know that without a shadow of a doubt there's American pain involved in this in some way, shape, or form. The question is why.

And that is going to be the destiny of Haiti. And more importantly, how do we make sure that the people of Haiti are empowered? How do we connect with those who are trying to get Haiti into a better space? Just like we have those organizations that are doing work on the ground here, there those organizations that are doing work on the ground here. There are organizations that are doing work on the ground there, and we should be able to connect. We should be able to empower the people because as all of these, as this tragic event has happened and all of these political, you know, dynamics continue to unfold in that play here, the people, the people are still trying to figure out what is going to be the future of their country. And so that's when we can do our part. And I think that

we have to expand our thinking. And I mentioned this the other day too, Brother Bull, of course, we got to really expand our thinking that my Haitian brother down in that part of the world, he's my brother, even though I might be here in America, in the States, that that's my brother. And so what happens to him affects me, and what happens to me should affect him. But we have to generate and cultivate that type of love, that type of concern, so we can provide that type of support when moments like this happen.

Ray, see, this here is a photo from the Associated Press of the suspects who were arrested there in Haiti. One of the former officials in Haiti is saying this is flat out a contract hit on the president of this country. Recy? I'm sorry. It broke up a little bit there at the end for me. Yeah, I mean, obviously, as Dr. Carr said,

something had to have broken down significantly for anybody to get access to the Haitian president in order to pull off an execution and unfortunately even injuring the first lady. But I will be honest, I'm not well-versed enough in the history, the very complex history of Haiti. I completely defer to Dr. Carr and Faraj on this. Dr. Carr, I did get a chance to check out your interview with Karen Hunter. I thought it was amazing. So I'm going to just I'm not going to

sit up there and talk about my asshole and just say something because, you know, I'm on the panel. So I'm just going to go ahead and defer to those who are more well-versed on this because I'm not a very conspiratorial person by nature and so I'd rather those who are more well-versed on this, because I'm not a very conspiratorial person by nature, and so I'd rather those who are more versed on this do the speaking than me.

Well, y'all know on this show, we are huge fans of Gerald Horne. Last he was on, you know, Gerald's got about 35 of some of our books. He's got a new book out on boxing. We're gonna show you that interview very soon. Uh, but I do want you to know that to know that there's a great book that he has out called Confronting Black Jacobins, The United States, the Haitian Revolution,

and the Origins of the Dominican Republic. This is the book here. Y'all go ahead and zoom in. And so while you are zooming in, I already know, y'all already know Greg got a copy of the book. So he can go ahead and get, Greg can go ahead and give us the book review. Greg can go ahead and give us the book review. So if y'all want to have an understanding of Haiti, you got to go back to how it all began.

See, I told you, I told you. Go ahead and show it again. Come on, Josh. Come on, bring it on. Look, all these books right here, all those books on that shelf, that's Gerald. That's just Gerald. So you're right. That's just Gerald. That's right. So, Greg, just go ahead and give us a book synopsis of Horne's book on Haiti. Let's just be, look, in a thumbnail, and we can keep this very short. That island of Hispaniola, the one Columbus visited, Spain had, then France tried to take it from.

That eastern third, the western third is Haiti, the rest is Dominican Republic. At one time, that was one place. The Haitian revolution, the Haitians tried, the Africans there tried to free the whole island, and for a minute, they had it. There shouldn't be a Haiti in the Dominican Republic. What Gerald is tracing is that Haiti, to the point that Faraji raised, Haiti is still paying today for what it did in the 1700s and 1800s to overthrow what happened to them. And so what we're seeing today is a series of stooge governments that are propped up

by external interests, finance capital, the global north. And what Gerald Trace is in that book and in another book he wrote called Cold War in the Hot Zone on the Dominican Republic, is that a lot of the tensions, that's why I say you can't trust the white press. When they start talking about Haiti is the poorest country in the hemisphere, why? It's poor because you set it up to extract value, and once those Africans revolted, you surrounded them and said, you will never get out of this. And every time they've tried to come

out of it, you've either assassinated, you know, the last presidential assassination in Haiti was 1915. And what happened? The United States sent the Marines in and occupied Haiti for 19 years. That's why I say you look for the past for what they're about to do next. They are coming, going to come in and invade. When Aristide came out of the slums, the Port-au-Prince with Lavalier in them, they disqualified them from elections so that he could never come back after they had not one, but two coups to put him out. The first one, shout out to Terry McLaughlin, was under the Clinton administration, who then go in with the Clinton Global Initiative and they criminal enterprise so they can profiteer, racketeer off of what happened. So they disqualified that party in the last two elections, which

is what brought an entertainer, sweet Mickey Martelli, as the damn president of Haiti. And then after him, this guy who they called the banana man because he was a businessman and the corruption was running so thick that they couldn't even control it. This guy who then gets assassinated in a hit that somebody knew about, because at the end of the day, as Gerald begins in that book to trace, Haiti has all has been all about the thing that brought us here and having this conversation in English. Profit. We were never meant to be full human beings

in this criminal corporation called settler colonialism. And until we understand that, oh, I should say one other thing, because Faraj, you brought this up, brother, and I won't go too long, but the reason that picture was taken with those guys who were in the hit, the reason they burned those cars that they drove in, the reason they delivered the other ones to that Haitian police force, which is a whole work of art in itself in terms of problems,

is because, through it all, the people of Haiti have said, you can prop up governments, you can neglect the ones we want to vote and put in office, but we will never stop fighting for a better society. So while they write in the paper that there's no government in Haiti, the fact that they delivered those cats, those were the dudes on the street like, we don't even know. We don't even like this president. But guess what? You killed the president. Y'all did it. Snatch

them. Put them there. What's the next? You will never defeat Haiti. And if we were smart, we would understand that we have to stand with Haiti because the fight they're fighting is the same fight in a different way that we're fighting against that shovel-mouthed Greg Abbott of Florida, against that disheveled governor, I'm sorry, shovel-mouthed governor of Texas, that disheveled governor of Florida. We are fighting the same fight. These people never wanted us to be anything other than

to help. And the minute we moved, they moved against us. You better wise up. The Haitians are us, and we are the Haitians. So I told you all Greg can go ahead and do that book review. My bad. In the absence of Gerald Horne. So, you know, couldn't get Gerald on the phone. But that's fine. Greg can just stand in.

All right, y'all. Again, the book is confronting, is it black Jacobins? Is that it? I think they usually say Jacobins. But since it's French, we don't care. We can say Jacobins, brother. You know, a Texan would say Jacobins. Yeah, a Texan would say, I'll say Jacobins.

I don't know, maybe we'll call it something else, but what the hell. I'm going to call it Jacobins. The United States, the Haitian Revolution, and the Origins of the Dominican Republic by Gerald Horne. And as I told Gerald, I probably have sold more Gerald Horne books than anybody else by having him on the show. And Gerald did say,

he said, yes, because of you, I've sold a lot more books. And so we support that brother. All right, y'all. Today, the nation's capital, that was an event that took place celebrating the Crown Act. Crown Act was actually on Sunday. Excuse me, on Saturday.

It was the second anniversary. Folks, the Dove has really been a big supporter of that. The Joy Collective, a black-owned firm here in the DMV, they've been working with them on that. And so what you'll see here is, go to my computer please. And so they're trying to actually get the Crown Act passed on the federal level but also on these various state levels. And so we talked to, we're out there for the unveiling

of this mural. There are a number of murals that they actually have all around Washington, D.C. And so you see the action they have here. You can actually go to their Twitter feed to check that out. But Candace Taylor, who is an artist here in the area, she actually, this is what the mural looks like right here, folks. It's a photo of it. We had a chance to talk with her about her work, about this mural and what it means. Guys, let me know when that is queued up for the interview

with Candace. And so go ahead and roll it. This is my conversation with Candace. All right, so I want you to explain for us the mural, inspiration behind it. How did you, let me just sort of extend this. That way when you're talking, I can actually extend it. Okay, all right, take us through this. So, yes, this is the piece. It's called Crown. This piece was inspired by images of black girl magic,

black joy, looking at images of black women and women of color in just full confidence, high poise, full glam. I just wanted to elevate black beauty in a way that just felt like attainable for everybody. I wanted anybody who, you know, black woman you can look at this and see a bit of yourself in it or if you love and care for black women then hopefully you can see a bit of someone you recognize or someone special to you. I wanted this piece to be relatable. I wanted it to be bright, vibrant.

I wanted it to radiate energy and give it back to this community that this work lives in. I don't see no brothers. Yeah, there ain't no brothers on this one. But the next one can certainly be about the brothers, yes. But even looking at this, I mean, I was definitely looking at it. Y'all hear her say, she said, the next one will be the brothers. So she's like, what she's really saying is, let me get a second contract. I don't know.

Hey, that's it. That's it. You're right. Absolutely. Yes, let's do it again. This time all about the brothers. Natural hair, we can do beards and all of that stuff. Let's go.

I'm with it. Now, what you also did here was, so walk us through, because you also focused on, I can easily tell, the different shades of black. Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. So I wanted to show, like, that spectrum. So, you know, we are, you know, we come in light shades, we come in darker shades. Our shades are riches and reds and blues and yellows.

And so I wanted to use tones to basically speak to that variety and just speak to, like, that spectrum that, you know, we can fall in so that anybody looking at it can't find a bit of themselves somewhere in there I didn't want it to be singularly focused and so that's hopefully yeah I'm glad that's coming across that's awesome again you got you got your light skin sister over here yes you got all the different shades so how many different many murals have you done? Murals? Oh, man, I don't even know.

Like seven, eight? Not, yeah. All in D.C.? No, no, not all in D.C. A majority are, yes, in D.C. And sometimes it's a mural on a wall. Sometimes it's like a large scale canvas or some boards or something that then gets mounted onto something.

So, you know, murals can come in different types of forms. How long did this take you? This took about a week fighting the weather. It was hot. It was a heat wave and then it was raining. There was some summer storms. This ain't hot. I'm from Texas.

This ain't hot. It was hot then. I was out here sweating. It was, you know, when that sun is just beating down on you and all you're doing is this. It was pretty warm. So you sun is just beating down on you, and all you're doing is this. It was pretty warm. So you're painting a mural this size.

Is it just you, or do you have someone helping you? No, it's not just me. I have my business partner with Creative Junk Food. My business partner and I be with Lau. So he gets out here with me, and he gets the cans, and, you know, he's in it with me. And I also have my wife actually out here helping me do this installation. All right. And so what type of paint do you use? What do you mean? So is it a certain style? Yeah, this is a combination. Yeah, yeah. So this is a combination of latex and aerosol paints,

like latex for the background to get that pink up there. Want that to real nice to give me a good solid surface to lay my aerosol paints on. Come behind it, spread a nice polycrylic layer just to kinda give it some UV protection and it'll last for years. Okay, all right, cool. All right, so folks wanna actually check out your work, where do they go? Yes, you can check me out online,

on Instagram at Eshvion or at Creative Junk Food. That's where you can- You gotta spell that first. Eshvion, E-S-h-v-i-o-n yes they don't know what that's doing do it slowly okay so yeah some social media you can find me at ash beyond e-s-h-v-i-o-n or at creative junk food uh you can see some more of my work at creativejunkfood.com and just hit me up, follow me. All right, we got it, I appreciate it. Thank you.

All right, thanks a lot. Thank you. All right, folks. All right, y'all, we did a great interview out there with Ajoa Asamoah, but she was so vain, she wouldn't let us run the interview because she didn't have any lipstick on and makeup. Go ahead and run the interview.

So she's like, no, no, no, hit play, y'all, come on. she's like, no, no, no, I gotta, hit play y'all, come on. She's like, no, no, I gotta come on the show because I didn't have any lipstick on. And I'm like, you were fine, it was all good, you looked just fine. So yeah, we not gonna roll an interview because she says she gotta come on live. Come on, where you at?

I don't believe you, Roland. What? What? I told you. What? What? Did you not think I was not gonna roll a video? You know what? Because I know you, I absolutely did think that you would do exactly that.

Greg Carr, I don't understand what your sister's problem is. I don't know who she thinks she was talking to. Hey, man, that's one of the biggest Gs in the game, brother. But the fact that you just did that, she wasn't surprised. She planned surprise. No, she's sitting there. I mean, she was like, no, no. I said, you don't want to.

I said, you can go do whatever you want to do. I said, we already got the interview. We fine. We good. We can roll. No, no, no, no. I ain't look right. I ain't have a man. No, I ain't have lipstick. I was like, girl, you fine. No, no, no, no. I ain't look right. I ain't have a man. No, I ain't have lipstick.

I was like, girl, you fine. No, it's hot out here. Y'all roll a supportive video. Go ahead. Roll it. Uh-huh. See? Rolling. She's good man. How's she going to talk about it's hot out here? Thank you. And then I told her, I said, we can have the mural in the back of the interview. Everybody can see it. No, we got it. So. All back of the interview. Everybody can see it. No, we got it. All right, so let's do the interview again. Again.

I cannot believe you set me up. So first of all, one, thank you so much for having me join you. But this is why I wanted to do the interview, because I was prepared to join you all today and to be around family. So that's why I wanted to do the interview because I was prepared to join you all today and to be around family. So that's why I wanted to do the interview live. I don't often get to share the screen with my brother and my sister and with you. So I wanted to come on to be live with you all this evening as scheduled. And Greg, yes, I am a very proud Black star. However, in Ghana, it is dry heat, and it happened to be quite muggy today.

So put that on the board. No, that's nonsense. Look, first of all, I'm born and raised in Houston. Hell, I was in Ghana in December 19, 2019. It was humid and it was hot, and so it didn't feel like I was in the desert in California. No, problem is, you're bougie. See, that's the problem.

Y'all spend too much time in air-conditioned places, and y'all can't stand the heat. But we ain't even gonna go there. Let's just go on right to the... It's dry heat in Ghana. It wasn't no damn... Wasn't no damn dry heat when I was in Ghana. I was in Ghana in July 2008,

and I was there in December 2019, and hell, that was heat. I can't believe you, Roland. You have to go back to Ghana with me, and then the weather will be, you know. Oh, so when you go to Ghana, it turns into dry heat. But when Greg, me, Recy, and Faraj go, our ass is dealing with heat and humidity. Okay, all right.

That is exactly right. Yeah, okay, all right. Anyway, tell everybody what's happening with the Crown Act on a federal level. I already know because I already talked to you one time, but we can't run that interview because you ain't have no lipstick on. And so walk people through what's happening,

what has happened with the Crown Act across the country. First of all, do y'all see how he does me? This is what we go through every time. But anyway, thank you again so much for having me. Where we are in terms of the federal bill, the bill has been reintroduced in both chambers of Congress. As you know, it passed during the last session under the leadership of former Congressman Cedric Richmond, with support from then Congresswoman, now Madam Secretary Marcia Fudge, and Congresswoman Barbara Lee, as well as Ayanna Pressley.

Senator Cory Booker introduced it during the last session. He has again introduced it during this session. And now it is Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman who has reintroduced the bill. And so I am excited to be partnering with them, doing sort of the grassroots advocacy work to ensure that this bill to outlaw race-based hair discrimination actually passes and becomes law at the federal level. And the first state to actually make it law, but also here in the DMV, thanks to Will Juando, my alpha brother who was out there, Greg, our alpha brother, they became the first county to actually pass the Crown Act, correct? That is absolutely right. So California and New York being our first two states to pass the bill.

But what we have seen is that people have been supportive at the local, state, and federal levels. So, yes, Brother Will, my West African brother, certainly took this on and ensured that this type of hair discrimination was outlawed in Montgomery County as well, which is a critically important point, because while this movement is certainly Black women-led, I am proud to have developed the legislative strategy for this movement and to lead this movement on behalf of the Crown Coalition, working alongside my amazing, small but mighty squad, including Kelly and Orlina and Acey, as well as Marcy and Melanie, the sisters, who when we developed this strategy, we worked together since the very beginning.

So it is certainly Black women-led, but because we know that Black women, Black men, Black children, we are all inextricably linked, you see that brothers like Will and as well as, again, Senator Booker and former Congressman Cedric Richmond, they are also introducing this bill and supporting the movement. Because as you know better than, you know, perhaps anybody, this issue of anti-Blackness is pervasive, it is global, and it must be challenged. So what we are doing, essentially, is to really control this narrative around standards of beauty. And this movement is not about judgment. This movement is about celebrating the versatility and beauty of black

hair. So whether you are natural, but your hair is blown out like mine is today, or in the twists that I had two weeks ago, or in the twist out that I had four weeks ago, we are fighting to preserve and protect the right to rock our crowns however we see fit. Speaking of that, folks, there's a story out of Michigan where a school employee who cut a biracial girl's hair without her parents' permission and in violation of school policy will keep her job. The Mount Pleasant Public Schools Board said it did not uncover any evidence the incident was motivated by racial bias. They acknowledged that cutting a student's hair on school grounds was a violation of school policy, but the employees had good intentions when cutting a student's hair on school grounds was a violation of school policy,

but the employees had good intentions when cutting the child's hair. We've seen these examples before where you've even had the wrestler who had his hair cut. We have other examples as well. And so there's a constant assault on black hair in this country. That is absolutely right. As I think about the work that I've done, again, at the local, state, and federal levels, I am thinking about a beautiful girl, Faith Finity,

sent home literally in tears because she wore beautiful braids that were deemed a violation of school rules. I am thinking about a boy, and I use that language very intentionally because we know words matter, and the adultification of Black children is something that we should probably talk about on another show if you ever have me back with my lipstick on. We have seen, and a boy, now a young man who was in college, but DeAndre Arnold, who testified with me on a panel for the Crown Act in Texas, being told that he could not participate

in his graduation ceremony because he wore locks, which for him, given his father's heritage and his heritage, is a display of ethnic pride. And to your point, we were talking about another boy, a student wrestler, Andrew Johnson in New Jersey, who was forced to make a decision no child, no child, nor adult should ever have to make. And that is to decide on the spot with people looking at him and cheering him on to make a decision that no child should ever have to make, and that is to forfeit a match that you earned the right to participate in or to have your identity attacked and your locks cut.

We are seeing this across the country. This is not new. While we certainly have done something historic in terms of advancing this anti-hair discrimination legislation, this issue is... is... is... has been around since we've been here. We can go back to Louisiana where they said,

you know, you got to cover your hair. Okay, cool. We'll cover our hair and it'll still be fly because you cannot do anything to get rid of Black beauty. So this movement is really part of a larger movement that really challenges this, you know, these Eurocentric standards of beauty. And that really looks at the African aesthetic and lifting and celebrating that. And to ensure that our children are not in these school climates and cultures where they're, you know, where they're not nurtured. And instead, they are told that essentially that the way that your hair grows out of its head is wrong. And so that our people are not in working environments where, you know, again, these Eurocentric standards of beauty are reinforced. We know that this impacts the upward mobility of the individuals and the families that are

impacted. And you're talking about folks being fired, having offers of employment rescinded, being passed over for promotions because of my hair. Yeah, nah. Questions. Recy, we'll start with you. Hey, sis. So good to see you. You look beautiful without your lipstick. Don't lay it rolling, give you too much of a hard time.

No, I was trying to tell her she look fine. Nah, I got a pretty awesome lip. Thank you, sis. Listen, I relate. I relate because I got to have my lipstick on too, but you did look beautiful. But anyway, I just want to thank you for your advocacy. I was there at an event for Essence Festival, actually,

where you were instrumental in this. So this has been a years-long fight that you've been on. And I really want to hone in on the impact this has on children. I mean, we've seen cases where parents have had to move their kids to other schools as a result of hair discrimination. Hey, you just kind of kind of just speak to the to the how disruptive this hair discrimination truly can be. And even if you're not the person that's being discriminated, if it's your child, if it's your spouse, how this is really impacting people who might think like, well, I don't wear a lock. So what does this have to do with me or I don't wear my hair natural. What does it have to do with me? But it really is truly disrupting the lives of

Black families throughout the entire country. Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for the questions, sis, and for always lifting other Black women who are doing work. So I just appreciate you separate and aside from this, and you know why. So I wear a couple different hats. As it relates to this conversation, I'm proud to be the, you know, all things racial equity champion who developed the legislative strategy for this movement on behalf of the Crown Coalition, co-founded obviously by Dove and the National Urban League and others, and, you know, includes so many of our Black organizations. Rowling, you were talking about our legacy organizations, all part of this Crown Coalition that is pushing for this legislation to pass. But one of the hats that I wear is as a clinician and as someone who started in K-12 education,

who has earned licenses as a pupil personnel worker, a psychometrist, and I'm still a licensed behavior specialist. And I share that only because I have witnessed the harm that negative school climate and cultures can do. And I know the psychological impact of being told that the way that you were born is not okay. That is something no child, no adult, nobody should have to endure. And so the damage to one's self-esteem can be long-lasting, and your perceptions of self-worth can be impacted,

all in ways that simply shouldn't exist. So when you talk about the psychological impact of, you know, seeing these images, being bombarded of images that say that you must conform, we are saying, actually, no, we are not. And we are going to outlaw doing that. And so for, you know, people are like, I can't believe there's a law for this. And I'm like, well, you know,

we have to outlaw a lot of things. And so, yes, we are fighting across the country to ensure that our people are not on the receiving end of this. And it's not just a shift in policy, but it is also a shift in culture. And so there are several people, too many to name, who are also helping to lift the work

and to really change the narrative around beauty with you being one of them by elevating the work. So as someone who has lived in the village with dry heat rolling, then I can say genuinely that yes, this absolutely takes a village. And again, just shouting out, you know, Kelly,

Orlina, Acie, Marcy, Melanie, the sisters who have been there since the very beginning, wearing our respective hats, whether it's PR or marketing or creative or strategy. Just proud to work with the sisters to help do this work. Faraji.

So, Sister Jo, first and foremost, thank you so much for your work. I haven't, you know, I've talked about this on my radio show, The Crown Act, here in Baltimore, Maryland, because it came up in our state legislature, and, you know,'s a big big conversation. But I want to kind of speak to the the the issue of hair discrimination among black people because we as a people we still are kind of going back and forth with each other. You know what you're speaking up from the generation perspective. And even when you're talking about including, quote unquote, extensions, fake hair,

into part of the crown. How do we have those conversations among ourselves as Black folk about the beauty, the importance, the value of keeping our crown, our hair, in a certain place? Or should we not, you know, try to discourage people, discourage black women and other folks to do things with their hair?

I need seconds. I need a short answer. Good, Greg, a quick question, because I got next topic, but go. Absolutely. So let me go as quickly as I can. One, again, this is not about judgment. This is certainly about preserving your right to rock your crown however you see it.

What happened? She froze? Did we lose her? Whoa, her Skype froze. I didn't cut her off. I'm trying to tell you, I didn't cut her off. But, yeah, Skype, you still... I set that apart. Okay, is she back?

I'm here. Okay, now... Yeah, whatever, whatever. Go ahead and finish. Go, go. Again, not about judgment at all. This is not about telling people what to do with their hair versus, again, protecting their rights

to do what it is they want to do with their hair. So I'll just put a button on this quickly because I know you have so many other important topics to talk about. We are talking about preserving the health of our hair as well. So you are talking about having these standards of beauty that say you should chemically straighten your hair and use chemicals, things that would require you to essentially go and perhaps go to a master's degree in chemistry or to constantly heat your hair. All of those things are problematic. We are

not interested in having people tell us that we must conform to these standards of beauty in order to be accepted. We have self-validation, self-love and we are elevating black beauty throughout. Greg, she took all your time, Greg. Oh, that's fine. No, you have to let my brother ask me.

Greg, she was long-winded. Look, now, all I was gonna say was, number one, I'm glad to see both of y'all in Southeast D.C. This is the Blackest, this is the work that's there. And so the only question I would ask, I just, you know, I love you, and you led African-American outreach

for the Biden-Harris ticket. How important is it that we get engaged in the political process so that we can have lawmakers that will make this kind of effort? I mean, say a word about that. That's what I've been talking about tonight, from Cliff in Texas all the way down to now. How important is that? You got 30 seconds. Go.

Well, you talking to me, I'm talking now on my own behalf, not on behalf of any particular client or coalition, et cetera. Civic engagement is critically important. And as a people, we have to realize, and that's not to suggest that people don't, but that our responsibility does not start or stop with voting, and that it is also black public opinion that must inform policy the same ways in which we have seen historically white public opinion inform public policy.

So lawmakers work for us unless and or until we decide they don't. And so we must literally leverage our collective power to ensure that bills that serve our needs are passed and those that are harmful do not. All right. That's it.

Okay. You go take your lipstick off now. We appreciate it. Thanks a lot. I love you, Roland, anyway. Uh-huh. All right. We alphas tolerate you deltas. We tolerate that. You married to one. Huh? No. Let me correct you.

Remember, she married an alpha. She plays delta later. We're that. Whatever. You married to one. Huh? No. Let me correct you. Remember, she married an alpha. She plays Delta later. We're done. Are you married? Uh-huh. Whatever. Thanks a bunch. I appreciate it.

All right, folks. Happy birthday, brother. I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Good luck with the, again, second anniversary of the Crown Act. All right, y'all. It's a new comedy on Starz about four friends who help each other deal with life as it comes. From boyfriends to husbands to careers, these four girlfriends not help each other deal with life as it comes. From boyfriends to husbands

to careers, these four girlfriends not only keep it real with each other, but they are also living life to the fullest. Check out a sneak peek of Run the World. Am I in a state? Like right now or generally? I mean, are black women in a state? Well, I'm trying to be in a state of relaxation, and you're killing my butt. I found power. Way back. At this point, we've known each other longer than we've not known each other. Another round?

Yeah, we need to take that in stages. Way back, my way back. You hit the birth jackpot when you were born a black woman. Hallelujah. Way back. Anyone who has ever stood on the precipice of world domination has felt fear. Fear is good. Fear is fuel. Anyone who has ever stood on the precipice of world domination has felt fear.

Fear is good. Fear is fuel. Ola is literally the first and only person that I have ever been with. I've experienced so little. As your friend, your soon-to-be-divorced friend, I get it. I know we agreed to keep it civil, but we both can't keep living here. Sometimes you look up and life is different. Well, I've been with my thesis advisor,

which could get him fired and me thrown out of school. Reimpeaching, that's the game. This weekend, I am a black girl gone wild, and I will do anything I want. Anything. I found my way back I am just trying to blow up some steam, so if you could just let me. Sometimes you just gotta jump off the cliff.

Nobody ever talks about what it feels like when you're falling. What makes you think the next time you jump, you're gonna fall instead of fly? I am a woman phenomenally. I heard Donald Glover's going to be there, and I feel like he missed out on dating me when he lived in New York. He's like married with three kids.

Girl, life married is not married. All right, folks, joining us is the cast of the show, Amber Stevens West. Amber, how you doing? I'm well, thank you. How are you? Doing great. Andrea Bordeaux? All right, folks, joining us is the cast of the show, Amber Stevens-West. Amber, how you doing? I'm well, thank you. How are you? Doing great.

Andrea Bordeaux? Hi, I'm so great. How are you? Corbin Reed? Hello, I'm great. Thanks for having us. And, of course, the most ignorant one on the show, Brisha Webb.

What? Snap! What's up, Roland and your crazy, crazy self? Telling people that they can't wear lipstick. What's wrong with you? I'm going to call your wife. And? Do I look concerned?

Now, since you want to call somebody, how about I call your new fiance? Y'all may not have heard, but somebody lost their mind and actually proposed to Bresha. Go to my computer. This is from her Instagram page, y'all. And so she is, you know, she got the videos out. She done doctored it all together.

And so it's all that. Doctored it all together. My best friend did that. Give him his props. Oh, okay. Okay. Alright. So, yes, over. Alright, so, yes, over the weekend, Bresha got engaged, and so, for all y'all out there who believe love will

never find you, there is hope. There are people crazy enough to propose to you. You see how he talk about you, baby? You see how he talk? You see how he do you? I see how he do you. Hey, bruh, hey,, bro, listen to me. I'm telling you right now.

I will hook you up with a men's prayer group. I'm going to send you Stormy or Marty's book, The Power of a Praying Husband. My wife got a book on daily devotions for married people. Trust me, we're going to hook you up. Because, Lord, you're going to need all the prayer. Thank you, Roland. Thank you so much to the Martin family.

Thank you. But let's talk about this show. All right, so how did this show come together? How did all the four of y'all get connected, get hooked up? How do we start that? Yeah, that's the intro to the segment. Well, someone wrote it. Lee Davenport, she's our show creator.

She was inspired to write this show because she saw some... She didn't see herself reflected in television and her group of girlfriends. And so she said, well, I'll do it myself. And so at the time she was living in Harlem, she had a tight group of girlfriends, and so all of our characters are based off real people.

And, uh, and then she got, um, a vet to sign on board and help, uh, shepherd the show, and we came to S.T.A.R.S., and now here we are. So any one of y'all, did y'all have a, y'all own real life crew like the cast of this show? 100%.

120,000%. And we're that for each other, which is really funny. Yeah. So you have, obviously, you have the creator based upon real life, but how are you infusing your own sort of crew experiences into the show, helping them as they put it together? Miss Bordeaux, you can speak to that. Well, I really haven't been infusing my own experiences

with my friends into the show. I've really been relating to my character through my relationship with the rest of the women that I'm working with, with Brisha, Amber, and Corbin. And using the friendship that we've been able to develop over the last year as really my inspiration for Ella. As far as Ella's individual experience, I definitely can relate to where she's coming from

in terms of her career setbacks and her setbacks in romantic relationships and just feeling like her relationships or her confidence has been shaken and how she really leans on her friends to kind of like lift her up as she's navigating this new career landscape that she's experiencing. Corbin? Yeah, I was just gonna say, I also feel like Lee and Yvette even were very, you know, they did a great job casting for women who are very close in real life to who these characters are. And they also were very, you know, thoughtful about, like,

curating events to sort of observe us. And letting actual elements of our personality thoughtful about like curating events to sort of observe us and, and letting actual elements of our personality while we were filming the pilot, you know, socializing, um, spill over into what they wrote for the rest of the season. So, you know, there were definitely moments where we were like, Oh, I think I said that at one point we were all hanging out or, you know, they took us to karaoke and there was a karaoke episode.

There were just, like, little things that came out about our real personalities in real life, and even the way that we interacted with each other socially, that ended up in the season. So that was probably smart. Good research. Brisha, no shock, you're the most extra one on the show. No shock.

You know that all too well. Talk about your character. I mean, Renee is a lot like me. My middle name's Renee. The character description was a chihuahua in heels. I have a chihuahua. I wear heels all the time because I'm 5'2". So I relate wholeheartedly to Renee. She's also a Taurus, just like me. And she has fun

and she twirls through every situation in life, whether it's hardships in her marriage, you know, things going on at work, where she doesn't feel that she's being appreciated or that she doesn't feel her power. She twirls through every situation in her Prada Gucci Louis Vuitton lifestyle. And she honors her friends and she's the strong friend. And she's also cracking in the seams. And that's what I love about all of the women that are on this show. We're complex people.

We have great careers. We're living successfully in Harlem. And we also have our real lives that are troubling our lives as well. So that's Renee. I mean, she's a black woman living free in the world, honey. Well, I have three panelists. One of them was so desperate to ask y'all a question

that she literally texted me, please, please, please, pretty please, can I ask the cast a question? So, Recy, you're begging work, so why don't you go ahead and ask your question. Okay, bro, you're putting extras on it. Thank you. He's putting extras on it,

but I did make sure I said I want to get my question in. First of all, ladies, let me say I am absolutely obsessed with this show. I love it. I've been tweeting about it. You all are gorgeous. I love the fashion. I love the camaraderie that you guys have.

It's interesting, though. One person tweeted to me, and they had this, like, long tirade about, oh, representing Black women and Black women, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And it was just going into this big rant. I was like, whoa, it's a sitcom. It's, like, a dramedy. It's 30 minutes. That's not their responsibility,

to represent all Black women and Black women in this kind of relationship or that kind of relationship. Anyway, I'm talking fast, obviously. My bad. But my whole point is, how important do you think it is that this show is kind of representing that... that you guys represent a group of Black women that are friends, but you don't necessarily make it a point to try to represent all Black women?

Because so many shows nowadays are trying to, like, hit the checklist of all the points that you have to be to be a representative of the Black race. And I don't see that in your show. I just see a really, really authentic group of Black women being free or not so free in some of your cases, some of your characters, but just really living your life authentically and with all these great layers of complexity. What do you think? Was that intentional to not try to represent all Black women, but to really hone in on these characters and bring those characters to life?

Yes. I mean, I'm just offended that why do Black shows have to have every representation of every Black person? Like, that's impossible. Do we see that on Sex and the City? It's a lot of pressure. It's a lot of pressure to put on a Black show

and on Black creators, and it's unrealistic. I mean, the great thing about our show is, and I've had women, black women come up to me and be like, I actually feel seen for the first time ever. I think we're showing black women supporting each other in positive, strong female friendships. I mean, we've all seen the franchises where we're at each other's throats, right? This is where we're supporting each other's throats right this is where we're supporting each other and it's beautiful and these are women that again that the creator leave davenport knows they're they're culminations of women from her life um each of us has a piece of of somebody

that she knows so you know it's too much pressure to say every black woman is represented on this show that's that's yeah unattainable and impossible to do yeah yeah i feel like there's a cure i mean one of the things that we've been really um we've been saying a lot throughout the process of talking about the show and doing press is really just stressing the fact that black women are not a monolith. You know, we have a wide range of experiences and viewpoints and skin tones and perspectives. And, you know, we are showcasing four of those within the context of this universe. And all of those are valid experiences. And as Corbin just, you know, stated, there are so many black women and even women of

other ethnicities that love the show because they feel very represented by the characters that we all embody. And there's a little bit of feedback that I've read regarding episode 106, which was about all of the women being in therapy. And I read a lot of comments from people that were kind of frustrated that we were all going to see a white therapist. And, you know, I just I find that so silly because we're always placing these limitations on ourselves of what kinds of experiences we can have, the types of people that can be there to help us. I mean, we talk a lot about allyship within, you know, the context of race relations. So, you know, why can't we go to a therapist who doesn't look like us? I know for me personally, I had a really hard time finding a Black therapist. I searched for over a year looking for a Black therapist. And in all that time, I

wasn't getting the help that I needed. And so, you know, we have to really think about the limitations that we're putting on ourselves and just release ourselves from the bondage of those limitations so that we can actually thrive. And I really do think that that's what we're showing with these four women on the show. So hats off to Leigh and AnyVet for giving us this platform. All right then.

Well, folks, it premieres this Sunday on... No, you're all wrong, Rolly. You're all wrong. Okay, well... I'm sorry. Excuse me. Excuse me. Calm down.

We're on the eighth episode. Calm down. First of all, Woosah, damn it, Woosah. The season finale is this Sunday. Got it mixed up. Because, see, also, while you're running your mouth, I sent an email to the Starz marketing people in March Allie is this Sunday. Got it mixed up. Because see, also, while you're running your mouth, I sent an email to the Starz marketing people in March about making sure they advertise on the show,

so I was reading that email while I was talking. And if you think I'm tripping, her name is Barbara Jeffrey. That's the email. Don't be putting people on blast like that, Roman. See, see, see? I mean, see? tell your fiance this is what I'm talking about. Right here. Run your mouth, Bresha. Run your mouth, girl.

This is what I'm talking about right here. Run the world. I'm coming from T.V. No, no. Y'all might run the world. She was bougie. He said all that stuff to that lady who was speaking about the crown egg. Shout out to her and all the work that she's doing.

Hey, y'all might run the world on stars, but damn it, I run this world. All right. Well, thank you for having us, Roland Martin. Yes. We just brought a lot of beauty and light to your platform, so you're welcome. Oh, Lord. See, here y'all go. Amber,

Andrea, Corbin, y'all are most welcome to come back. Brisha, you know, I got you on probation. Whatever. I appreciate it. You know I love you. I love you, too. Give Jackie my love.

Yeah, I guess. All right, I guess I do. I appreciate it. Y'all take care, folks. Y'all watch Run the World again on Starz. Thanks a lot. Bye. All right, take care.

All right, Brisha, you happy? a lot. Bye. Alright, take care. Alright, Risa, you happy? I'm very happy. I love that show. Sorry, Greg and Faraji, I couldn't bring y'all in there because Risi was fanning out way too much, so you know. I was. Y'all lost my composure. Yeah, Faraji. Normally, I'm more cool than that. Normally, I'm more cool than

that, but I had to stand out a little bit, because I love that show. Yeah, I went to Reese's at 754. They ain't finished till 8. I'm like, how long this damn question gonna be? That means I asked a good question, Roland. I asked a relevant, pertinent question

about the show. I just fanned out a little bit. That's all. No question. That was beautiful. That was a great question. That's all. No question. That was beautiful. That was a great question. Yeah, it was all right. All right, y'all. That is it. That is it for us. Look, I got some other stuff I would do, but I got

to jump on this. The Memorial Foundation, which, of course, built the MLK Memorial, they have created their program of scholars, and I'm helping them out. I'm about to moderate a conversation with Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza. So we're about to do that. So we got to jump. Y'all, fantastic

show today. Thanks to everybody who were guests on the show. Thank you to Faraji, Recy, as well as Greg for being on the panel. Y'all want to support what we do. Look, wasn't nobody else out there live streaming the mural unveiling today. That's why your support on this show absolutely matters.

Your dollars absolutely matter. It allows for us to be able to broadcast and do these things all across the city and the country. Y'all can join our Bring the Funk fan club by going to Cash App, dollar sign RM Unfiltered, Paypal.me forward slash R Martin Unfiltered, Venmo.com forward slash RM Unfiltered. Zell is Roland at RolandSMartin.com,

Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. And of course, normally Erica Savage-Wilson is with us on Thursday. And so, Erica, yes, we're giving you a shout out. Folks still hit me on Twitter saying they miss having you on Thursdays. And so, we just want to give you a shout out. Show our love to you as well. Alright, Reesey, Greg, as well as Faraji, thanks a bunch. Y'all take care.

Folks, I will see y'all tomorrow right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. We'll see you tomorrow. Have a great day. Alright, Reecey, Greg, as well as Faraji, thanks a bunch. Y'all take care. Folks, I will see y'all tomorrow right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered as we are slowly but surely.. You can go to the shot right there, Henry. We're putting our new office space together, y'all.

Y'all are only watching literally just what is 20% of what you're going to see. We are doing it. I'm taking my time to unveil it. And so, I don't want to show y'all the whole spot until we got it all on lock. But I'm telling y'all right now, it's going to blow y'all away.

And y'all see, now go back to that shot. And I know my man Leroy Campbell is loving how his artwork. That's what you're seeing right there. If y'all are new to Roller Mark Unfiltered, that is actually an art piece from the artist Leroy Campbell. If you go to his website, it's Black Folks Standing in Line to Vote. If you actually pan down, you'll see the name of it.

We have the name of it. We have the name of it pan down. I think it's on the piece there, what we actually call it. And so, ain't nobody else black enough. Not even, ain't nobody. Oprah Network, Black News Channel, BET, TV One, ain't nobody black enough, Greg,

to put the artwork of a black artist actually on their set. Nobody. You broadcasted from Southeast D.C. You covered Haiti. You went from Africa all the way back here. And if y'all look at that close, that art, there's a button there that says Lenora Filani for president.

How many of y'all know that? Right there. That's who I voted for, Faraj. That's who I voted for in 88. Quietly. Wow. Hey, hey, look, Dr. Carr, I remember her campaign. I was a young man then.

I remember her campaign, because she was breaking new ground with that. Yeah, Dr. Pilate, yeah. The blackest boy. So if y'all want to understand what a real black show feels like, looks like, sounds like, that's it. Roll the mark and unfilter. Folks, I will see y'all.

I'm telling you, there's a fantastic art piece by Leroy Campbell. That's how we do it. And so, we appreciate it. Folks, I'm going to see y'all tomorrow. Holla! 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. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend.

At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. 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 starts that 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.