#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Bovino Out. DOJ Drops Don Lemon Case. Dems Target Noem. Pam Bondi Threatens Minnesota.

Episode Date: January 28, 2026

1.27.2026 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Bovino Out. DOJ Drops Don Lemon Case. Dems Target Noem. Pam Bondi Threatens Minnesota. Trump's top Border Patrol commander is out.  The Border Czar is taking over.  A Minneapolis Councilwoman will let us know whether this is a welcome change of the guard.   The Department of Justice is dropping its pursuit to arrest Journalist Don Lemon and others who protested in a church. Democratic leaders are calling for the termination and impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kirsti Noem. More on that ahead. Attorney General Pam Bondi sends a threatening letter to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, demanding and setting conditions for the Trump administration to crack down on ICE agents in Minnesota. A study from St. Louis University shows the impacts of long-term discrimination and trauma affecting black people's lives span more than other demographics. Longtime Washington D.C delegate, Eleanor Norton, retires after 36 years of being D.C's Warrior on the Hill. In our Black Star Network Marketplace, we'll talk about a family-owned potato chip business that began as a spice company. Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV. The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. Everyone needs to take care of their mental health, even running back Bijon Robinson. When I'm on the field, I'm feeling the pressure, I usually just take a deep breath. When I'm just breathing and seeing what's in front of me, everything just slows down. It just makes you feel great before I run the play. Just like Bijan, we all need a strong mental game on and off the field.

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It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? Folks, today's Tuesday, January 27 of 2026 coming up on Roller. Blymore Unfiltered streaming live on the Black Star Network. Donald Trump's top Border Patrol commander is out as the border czar is taking over a minute of a Athens council. I'm going to let us know whether this is a welcome change of the guard. The Department of Justice, they're dropping the pursuit to arrest journalist Don Lemon and others who protested in a church.

Democratic leaders are calling for the termination and impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Christy Nome. She's now complaining that when she made those comments about Alex Pruddy, though, That's what Stephen Miller told her to say. Attorney General Pam Bondi sends a threatening letter to Minnesota Governor Tim Walls demanding and setting conditions for the Trump administration to crack down on ice ages in Minnesota. A study from St. Louis University shows the impact of long-term discrimination and trauma affecting African Americans. It spans more than any other demographic. Plus, longtime Washington, D.C. congresswoman, Eleanor Holmes Norton, retires at the 36 years of being the D.C.'s representative on capital.

Capitol Hill. Lots to talk about. It's time to bring the font on Rollin button unfiltered on the Black Stud Network. Let's go. All right, Donald Trump and his imps are showing signs of retreat after a federal immigration agent descended upon Minnesota late last year. As we said yesterday, top Border Patrol official Gregor Bovino and several of his agents have left Minneapolis to return to the respective jobs. Leadership switch comes after the murder of U.S. citizen Alex Freddie. White House borders are Tom Homan is expected to oversee ICE operations in the city. It's a welcome change from Minneapolis. Hmm. City Councilwoman Letricia Vita joined us right now. Congresswoman, glad to have you on the show.

Listen, the White House realizes they've screwed up. They realize it. They realize that they have been getting nailed public opinion fully all against them. Fox News also criticizing them as well. So what do you make of this decision? Is it going to satisfy folks in Minneapolis? Thank you for having me first, Roland. And I'm sure if we don't have 3,000 agents in our city, folks will be somewhat satisfied.

What we've been arguing for is that it's not safe here. And the number of agents that have been in our city has been causing so many problems. Well, you said 3,000. They're only removing a few. They're not removing those 3,000. So you say that Minneapolis is saying, hey, until all these folks are gone? hey, we're not going to be happy. So we heard that they brought 3,000 in, and I think that's what we're asking.

Remove the untrained officers that you have here that are wreaking havoc on our city. I don't know how many are leaving. I spoke with the mayor yesterday. He didn't have a number. I'm sure that'll come out soon, but we don't know how many are going to be removed at this point. The mayor's also made it clear that Minneapolis, they will not be participating when it comes to federal immigration laws. You've got some moderate to center right Democrats say, oh, that's the wrong position to take. Why are they wrong and the mayor's right? So I think what the mayor is saying is that,

you know, we don't want these criminals that they say they're targeting in our cities. And we want to know who those people are. We want to know who you're looking for and where you're going to get them from, right? Not that Minneapolis police will be going. We have very few resources in Minneapolis with the police department since the murder of George Floyd. And our police officers are saying they're exhausted with what's going on in the city. So I don't think the mayor wants to further, or none of us want to further exhaust our police department for helping with ICE agents. So do you expect the protest to continue?

Do you expect the pressure to remain on ICE Border Patrol, these federal law enforcement agents, as long as they are in Minneapolis? So I was, you know, the temperament has settled a little bit rolling in Minneapolis for what it was on Saturday and then on Sunday. Yesterday when the president and the mayor and the governor and the president had conversations around removing some of these agents. I think the temperature settled a little bit. And so I don't know that anyone would ever stop protesting in Minneapolis, but I do, and in Minnesota, because it's not just, they're not just here in Minneapolis. was there in our entire state. And so I don't know that that will ever stop,

but I do know that removing these 3,000 officers would, you know, people will feel relieved. You know, the Trump people keep saying, oh, our aim is to remove, to remove criminals. But if you look at the people that are arrested, their own data shows, that's not who they're removing. And so I keep saying this is all about a television show. This is all about, we're going to,

going to show this brute force and show people who voted for us remain business by these tough tactics against folks. Yeah, I mean, we're not seeing that. Even with my own personal experience, I know people that have been taken by ICE and they're not these criminals that they said they were going to be picking up. And, you know, we're seeing little Liam who got picked up in the suburb of Minneapolis. And, you know, we know that that's not what's happening and that's what we want to be clear about. None of us in this state want the people who they say they're coming to get. What we don't want them doing is attacking everyday folks. We don't want them pulling people over asking them for documents and then taking them into ICE custody. We don't

want them knocking door to door. We don't want people being picked up on their jobs and at the grocery stores. We want to know who they're looking for and where they're located. I want to bring my panel right now joining me on my panel. It's just a Dr. Mustafa Sautago Ali, former senior advisor for environmental justice at the EPA. He joins us out of Washington, D.C. Randy Brown entrepreneur, author, speaker, creative the truthing game out of D.C. Dr. Larry J. Walker, Associate Professor University of Central Florida out of Orlando. Glad to have all three of you here. Larry, you're first. Your question for the councilwoman. Yeah, Councilwoman. Thanks for appearing this evening. Can you talk a little bit of, we've heard a lot about,

you know, individuals who were just highlighting or U.S. citizens who are being. picked up and dropped off at various locations. Is there any kind of, you know, funding available that you, you know, sought through the city council and working with the mayor to make sure individuals who find themselves, you know, the doors kicked in or other challenges dropped off in places other parts of the city. Will you pod people with some kind of funding in terms of helping them adjust? So the city has not, thank you for the question, doctor. So no, the city has not helped with funding, but what has happened to Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs is neighbors have stepped up to help. There's been a lot of collection of money to help with rent

with in the ward that I represent someone's door was knocked down and within an hour neighbors had the door repaired. So I would say communities rallying around each other right now to help out with those things. Lot of food deliveries are being coordinated for folks who are scared to come outside rides are given to people to work who need to get to work and their children to get to school also. Mustafa? Yes. You know, I'm always curious about the impacts of the children, especially when they have to deal with traumatic situations. I'm curious about the steps that you all have put in place for, you know, the children wanting to help them better understand what's going on.

But two, I'm sure there are a number of children who don't feel comfortable and being able to go to school or to a number of other locations. So how are you all navigating that? Thank you for the question. So the school system, the public school system in Minneapolis, went to a hybrid model about a month ago, but maybe at the beginning of this month. So children who don't feel comfortable coming to school don't have to go to school, they can learn from home and kids who still want to go to school can. And you made a good point around the trauma and the impacts this have on children. I know here at the city of Minneapolis, we funded lots of organizations around trauma grants and they've reached out to a lot of the families who have

impacted and provided services. There's a lot of services in Minneapolis in particular that are being utilized by our families, not only for the children, but the parents also. Randy? I know that mainstream media has blocked a lot of the news, the real news coming out of the state, but when we've become to rely on these independent journalists,

people on social media, have they contacted you the officials to be interviewed, are to participate in the conversation that's going on since it has to be done through non-traditional means. Absolutely. I don't think I've gotten more immediate requests for something happening in the city. I've been elected in the city of Minneapolis for eight years.

And I think this topic, people are reaching out. People want to hear the stories when I'm out on different scenes when things are happening. People are there and they're asking questions from local folks. And I'm really proud of that. Thank you. Thank you. We also have this here. The Department of Justice, they've withdrawn the request for an arrest warrant for journalist Don Lemon, along with four others involved in the Minnesota church protest. The DOJ initially made the request after the Minnesota judge refused to prove criminal complaints against several individuals involved in the protests, including Lemon. The investigation remains open, but the DOJ may still pursue a case against Don Lemon, including a grand jury indictment. He's predicted that he's on his podcast, the DOJ likely would try to bring charges against him. Councilwoman, your thoughts on this action, this determination by the Department of Justice.

Yes, so I've never seen anything like this. This is definitely unprecedented action. And one of the persons who was arrested that went into the church, I actually represent on the council. I know her very well, and I haven't had a chance to talk to her yet. I've still been reaching out trying to figure out how I can help as a council member, but I've never seen anything like this. So it's going to be interesting to see how this plays out. All right then. We're surely appreciated it. Thanks a bunch and good luck there in Minneapolis. Thank you. Folks, several Democrats are calling for the firing of ice.

Canadian women are looking for more. More to themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders, and the world are out of them. And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast. I'm Jennifer Stewart. And I'm Catherine Clark. And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women, entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers. all at different stages of their journey. So if you're looking to connect,

then we hope you'll join us. Listen to the Honest Talk Podcasts on IHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts. And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is, you can decide who takes home the 26 IHeart Podcast Awards Podcast of the year by voting at IHeartPodcastawards.com now through February 22nd. See all the nominees and place your vote at IHeartPodcastawards.com.

Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audit Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audio books, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. Everyone needs to take care of their mental health, even running back Bejohn Robinson. When I'm on the field, I'm feeling the pressure, I usually just take a deep breath.

When I'm just breathing and seeing what's in front of me, everything just slows down. It just makes you feel great before I run the play. Just like Bejohn, we all need a strong. mental game on and off the field. Make a game plan for your mental health at love your mind playbook.org. Love your mind. Brought to you by the Huntsman Mental Health Foundation, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, and the ad council. Harvey Christie Noem, they would like to launch impeachment proceedings against the Homeland Security Secretary in response to the weekend killing of Alex Freddie in Minneapolis. Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania posted this in social media. Donald Trump,

I make a direct appeal to immediately fire Secretary Noam. Americans have died. She's betraying DHS's core mission and trashing your border security legacy. Do not make the mistake President Biden made for not firing a grossly incompetent DHS secretary. Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Catherine Clark and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, issued the following statement about known. Taxpayer dollars are being weaponized by the Trump administration to kill American citizens, brutalized communities, and violently target law-abiding, immigrant families. The country is disgusted by what the Department of Homeland Security has done. Republicans are planning to shut large parts of the government down on the fighting so that the DHS

killing spree unleashed in Minnesota can continue throughout America. That is immoral. Dramatic changes at the Department of Homeland Security are needed. Federal agents who have broken the law must be criminally prosecuted. The paramilitary tactics must cease and desist. Taxpayer dollars should be used to make life more affordable for everyday Americans, not kill them. them in cold blood. The violence unleashed of the American people by the Department of Homeland Security must in fort with. Christian known we should be fired immediately or we will commence impeachment proceedings. Put the statement back up, please. Impeachment proceedings in the U.S. House representatives. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. That is the full statement

coming from Democratic leaders in the House. Now, Axios has a report talking about the blame game that's going on. They use. They use this language claiming that Alex Prattie was trying to massacre federal agents. This is their story right here. Well, Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Nome, she's being blamed for that. But she's saying that, guess what? She got thrown under the bus because that stuff was dictated to her by Stephen Miller. Let me go to my panel, Mustafa.

Everybody in this administration, they're playing, cover your ass. Yeah, well, you know, I work for a number of administrations and the buck stops with the leadership. And, you know, when you do something well, of course, you give credit to the people who work for you. And if something goes wrong, you have to take the responsibility for it. This administration has a very difficult time in accepting responsibility for some of the most egregious things we've ever seen in the history of our country, or at least in, you know, the 19th and 20th centuries. So, you know, it's just amazing. And it is also because we've literally got people who are dying. You know, some folks have called some of these situations murder.

Some people call them executions when you look at some of the videotape. I mean, that's up for folks to make some decisions for themselves. But when I look at these individuals and them also, you know, pushing back on folks who are asking for, you know, more transparency and more accountability, you know, we remember those words that said, you know, the dead cannot cry out for justice. Only the living can do that. So when you see folks on Capitol Hill, asking for responsibility and accountability, when you see folks who are in the streets and folks who are in community who are saying

these types of things can no longer go on, that should be a clear message to this administration that not only are people watching, but people are also expecting things to change. Randy. You know, I don't think anybody's surprised that the wolves are eating the wolves. Of course, they're the blame-glaim is going to start.

is going to start, they're going to start pointing fingers at one another, but they're all working together. They all, none of them have a conscience, and this is exactly what they wanted. And so, yes, I guess it would show some sort of accountability if we got rid of known, but the entire administration orchestrated and wanted what we're seeing today. This is something that everybody has blessed from Trump all the way down. And so she's just a figurehead. So if she's removed, I don't think much will change whatsoever. And I think that the only hope that we have is that when they are pulling at each other,

I like to see the weakness within the administration that they are showing some cracks. And that does bode well for us in the long run. Larry. Yeah, I think Randy hit on some very important points, particularly listen, the call is coming from inside the house. In this case, the West Wing. She, like Randy said, she's a figurehead.

This is not going to change the administration's policies as it relates to how they view those who immigrated here, those who are undocumented, and US citizens who look from racial ethnic backgrounds in particular. So we see that, you know, the civic activism is working, it's applying pressure. And if we continue to do that, then maybe we will see a shift, a dramatic shift in the administration's policies.

But the reality is they'll fire her, get rid of her, And then this put another person. I don't. Do you know why I wasn't sure? So we have to make sure that we continue to apply pressure. But this is just once again, another example of individuals, you know, taking the blame. But the reality is these priorities have been set by the White House. You know, Randy, when you talk about cruel, you talk about shameful behavior, that absolutely describes Megan Kelly. and she really is a despicable, despicable human being.

And so listen to what this idiot had to say regarding the murder of Alex Pready. I know I'm supposed to feel sorry for Alex Pretti, but I don't. I don't. Do you know why I wasn't shot by Border Patrol this weekend? Because I kept my ass inside and out of their operations. It's very simple. If I felt strongly enough about something the government was doing that I would go out and protest, I would do it peacefully on the sidewalk without interfering via a whistle, via shouting, via my body, via any other way. I would make my objections known by standing there without interfering because interfering is where you go south and laying hands on a police officer trying to or border patrol officer or ICE officer trying to.

conduct a law enforcement operation is a felony. And now you are going to get arrested. And if you do anything, anything that resembles resisting, you're in serious trouble. My goodness, Randy, what a trash individual. She is absolutely vile. But what I will say about her is that she is consistent. And how dare she blame the victim? It's not the first time we've seen people do this.

I mean, this is common in the black community where police enforcement kills one of us and then makes us a victim before our bodies even start to cool. That she's trying to blame a man who was protesting peacefully, tried to get in the way and protect two other women, that she is blaming Prattie and calling him the aggressor. And even if he did, let's just say that he did do something wrong. did he have to be killed? Was murder the right answer? Her heart is cold and dark and stone and just black. And I don't see heaven opening their doors for that woman. Well, what's crazy to me is you have these people, you have these people, Mustafa,

who have these double standards. You've got Donald Trump saying, oh, oh, he should have. have come to the protest with a gun. I'm sorry, that ain't what y'all said about some other stuff. And this is who these people are. It's amazing how they want to sit here and start just changing things up. And this is what they do. And so it's like, yo, y'all just want to create these whole new worlds.

And again, this woman has no compassion, no desire, no nothing. And she's just, again, she's just crass, trash. and this is how the right wing operates. Yeah, well, you know, karma always finds a way of circling back around and lots of different ways. And you're not going to change these folks. You know, some of it may be truly what they believe, others. It's they're trying to be a part of the rating system

and they'll continue to try and go down to the lowest common denominator and how they report. You know, it is interesting, though. So we all have eyes, but yet they expect us not to be able to conceptualize the things that we actually see. We know that he was not being an aggressor. He was actually protecting a woman, something that my father and grandfather taught me to do. The other part of it was that when you have an individual like Kyle Rittenhouse who brought a semi-automatic weapon and had it out and walking down the street, you know, they thought that that was fine. So there is this

double standard that exists. And, you know, we have to call it out. But we also have to make sure that we're using, you know, the tools that we have to address some of this stuff. One of it is to continue. The Constitution allows us to stand there to protest peacefully, to record, all the various things that you do in a nonviolent way of engaging. And then the other side of it is, as we talk about time and time again, is that when you have the opportunity to actually vote, remember these situations, and then vote accordingly. And if you don't, you're going to continue to get what you get. Larry? So, Roland, I'm not sure what Bible verse is. She's citing when she talks about another human being losing their life. You know, we hear this conversation about, you know,

the importance of Christianity. We know certainly in the black community how important it is, but these folks, their idea of what is fairness is shifts. And a lot of this is centered, even though the victim is white, it's centered in white supremacy. We know this, right? This idea of gun rights for you, but not gun rights for others. And like I said, this situation was a white male was killed. But as Randy highlighted and Mustafa, listen, black folks have been dealing with this issue as it relates to, you know,

government sponsored violence for generations. Now this is shifted to those individuals whose ideologies may not match the White House and some of these other state officials. So now, you know, people understand that we're all at risk. But the bottom line is when you hear, you know, you hear this kind of, you know, these kind of points about an individual losing their life

and the way she explains it and dismissive of the importance of civil rights. You get an idea of what kind of people you're dealing with. And once again, if we don't call it out, then they will continue this. The other thing is rolling, we have to remember, you know, as a pundit, she's speaking to a very specific audience who agrees with what she says. So we should be mindful when we hear this kind of nonsense. Absolutely. All right, folks.

I've got to go to a break. We'll be right back, rolling on the election on the Black Stud Network. Welcome to the other side of change only on the Black Star Network and hosted by myself, Maria Baker, and my good sis, Jamira Burley. We are just two millennial women tackling everything at the intersection of politics, gender, and pop culture. And we don't just settle for commentary. This is about solution-driven dialogue to get us to the world as it could be and not just as it is.

Watch us on the Black Star Network, so tune in to the other side of change. Supremacy is, quote, the most persistent and lethal threat in the homeland. The greatest terrorist threat. the homeland is the home ground violence stream, including hate crime committed on behalf of some kind of white supremacist ideology. They are coming after everything in Black America. MAGA and Donald Trump are specifically targeting Black America. They are going after the money. Attack Black Lives Matter.

Attack critical racism. Attack, WOT. DEI. MAGA wants to defund Black America. This is a perfect example of their desire to complete to completely degrade and be emphasized black. What's up? It's your girl, Tamika D. Mallory,

and you are watching The Black Star Network. All right, folks. Let's talk about this absolutely crazy Department of Justice. Using the threat of continued ice operations as leverage against Minnesota on Saturday, Republican Attorney General Pan Bondi, sent a letter to Minnesota Governor Tim Walls just hours after Alex Preddy was killed

during an ice operation, The message was clear, hand over Minnesota's voter data, share state medical and food assistance records, and publicly support ICE officers, and Trump administration may end immigration enforcement in the state. In the letter, Bondi claimed the federal government needs access to this information to ensure the state's practices comply with the law. Minnesota lawmakers basically are like, kiss my ass, call this extortion. These people literally are stupid, Randy. They're absolutely stupid. But they are absolutely extortionists. The Department of Justice is supposed to be a neutral arm,

but this Department of Justice is clearly working to be the henchmen of Donald Trump in this administration. They are threatening people. What they're saying is either you do this, give us over the voter information, if you want to have just a decent place for people to live, if you want us to stop abusing the people that live in Minnesota. I mean, it is something like the mob that's running our country right now. And I'm glad that people are standing up and saying absolutely not. We're not going to do it.

I mean, why do they want the information of who was on public assistance that votes? Why do they want our driver's license information, if not to continue to cheat and to abuse the constituents in Minnesota? So I hope they do continue to fight back against what is absolute extortion. Canadian women are looking for more. More to themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders, and the world around them. And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast. I'm Jennifer Stewart.

And I'm Catherine Clark. And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women. Entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers, all at different stages of their journey. So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join. Join us. Listen to the Honest Talk Podcasts and IHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts. And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is, you can decide who takes home the 26 IHeart Podcast Awards podcast of the year by voting at IHeartPodcastawards.com. Now through February 22nd, see all the nominees and place your vote at IHeartPodcastawards.com.

Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. Everyone needs to take care of their mental health, even running back Bejohn Robinson. When I'm on the field, I'm feeling the pressure, I usually just take a deep breath. When I'm just breathing and seeing what's in front of me, everything just slows down.

It just makes you feel great before I run the play. Just like Bejohn, we all need a strong mental game on and off the field. Make a game plan for your mental health at love your mind playbook.org. Love your mind. Brought to you by the Huntsman Mental Health Foundation, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, and the ad council. Larry, I just sit here and go, oh, so y'all think, I love this here.

Give us all this data, and we might take them out. Yeah, this is basically growing this administration's approach to everything. Is give it to us or you'll feel the pain. And it would also highlight that rolling, this is no longer a democracy. This is now an authoritarian government. Because in the past, no DOJ would have sent this kind of letter to state demanding data and this kind of voter data, et cetera. And explicitly saying it. But then on top of that, like you said, say, well, look, if you do, we tell you to do, then you'll be okay.

And I think Randy's point is good. This reminds me of something like the movie Goodfellas that came out, you know, back in the day. You know, you're essentially, you're extorting states. And, you know, I think the other thing to keep in mind is that the Trump administration is not, I know they've lost a lot in court, but they don't fear going to court. You know, and I think one of the reasons why is this Supreme Court has turned the blind eyes to a lot of these illegal policies. But once again, extorting states by explicitly saying do this or is not consistent with what a democracy. And it's important that we make sure that, I mean, obviously Minnesota said no, but the other states continue to stay stead. fast and not provide them with some of this data, even though I know some red states have already.

Mustafa. I mean, there are a number of states that have their own sets of laws to be able to, you know, not have to follow the directive from the Department of Justice, of course, which is coming from the White House. You have the, the federal 1974 Federal Privacy Act, which also creates some protections that are there. I mean, I know the law doesn't mean a whole lot to this administration. unless they're trying to utilize it, but there are tools that are there to address some of this. Just like we use to deal with the mob and we deal with, you know, a number of other nefarious characters. There are some tools that are out there, but the ultimate tool lies in the hands of the people, being able to push back and to be able to make sure they understand that these types of actions are not going to be accepted.

And of course, November is not that far away. So we have to make sure that understand that we have power and you've got to get together and figure out how you're going to use that power. Absolutely, absolutely. All right, folks, the Virginia legislature, they have approved a constitutional amendment that will go to the voters and go to the voters to for them to vote on whether or not they can actually change their district.

There's the, this is actually the vote here in the Senate. Let me just want to show you here. This is a gauge 21, Mays 18 for this Constitution amendment. Now, here's the problem though. Today, a state judge ruled that they actually did this thing wrong and saying they actually can't actually can't have this election. They're going to appeal this particular ruling to the state Supreme Court. So this takes some of the win out of their sales on this particular issue.

And this is what the Speaker of the House, Virginia said, Don Scott. Today's ruling won't deter us. Republicans who can't win at the ballot box are abusing the courts. So confusion and block Virginians from voting, we will appeal immediately. We expect to prevail. Voters, not politicians will have the final say. The reason of this is critically important is because it impacts the 2000. 26 midterm elections.

That is huge. You see what this all started Larry with Republicans. Donald Trump demanding to come up with five seats in Texas. That kicked this whole thing off. And Virginia's talking about 10-1, wiping out Republicans in the state and having 10 Democrats elected statewide and only one Republican. Yeah, Rowan, I'm glad you mentioned how all this started with the demand from the executive branch and a lot of states.

And we talked about Texas a lot, had, you know, already made those changes. And so this is a setback. It'll be interesting to see what happens with the appeal. But this is critical, you know, because, you know, some other states have already taken the necessary steps to change their redistrict and make change their maps. And so you highlight a role in as the election comes, you know, at the end of this year, what will the House look like in terms of numbers and will, you know, we have the opportunity to see Democrats take control?

and obviously things in the center a lot more up, you know, up in the air. But this is critical decision here. And I'm looking forward to find over the next couple of weeks, months, to find out what happens with the appeal process. But hopefully, as Scott mentioned, hopefully Democrats prevail on this issue. This is what this judge, a judge on the Tazewell Circuit Court rule. This is a political story here. He said that Democrats, Randy,

did not follow the right procedure to approve the proposed constitutional amendment that will allow for the last minute redraw the state's lines. He also said the judge here said that Democrats used the still open special session. They were not allowed because early voting in last year's elections had already begun and state law requires legislature to pass proposed constitutional amendments both before and after an election. Hurley also ruled that the proposed constitutional amendment was not properly noticed in state courts. And so he's ruling this based upon a technicality.

The judge also noted the lawmakers in the special session passed a procedural resolution along party lines with the Democratic control legislature delivered the decisive votes for the resolution's passage because lawmakers did not vote unanimously as it's required on the legislature's own rules and did not pass it by a two-thirds Senate majority was a violation of the rules governing a special session. So we'll see exactly how this turns out. But Randy, Democrats said they are going to definitely appeal. appeal this decision. And they must. They must appeal the decision. We know, I mean,

they've been, Republicans have been very open that essentially they're going to try to stack the election as much as they can and as they always have, because they know if an election is run fairly that Democrats will prevail. So the Democrats have to, you know, it behooves us to ensure that we have a counterattack and we're ensuring that we do take over the House. We have to. So I'm going to be watching very closely in Virginia and all of these states where similar things are happening to secure these elections. These elections are done also fairly. Mustafa. Well, you know, it always goes on a fair map. So I keep talking about that all the time. In this situation, you know, Republicans are the ones that brought, you know, who started the ball

rolling. And I'm pretty, you know, I'm pretty confident that when folks went into the war room to decided they wanted to move down this road. They ran all the various scenarios. They understood what was needed in this moment. But again, we'll see how it all plays out. Anytime you're dealing with the courts, you're never going to be 100% sure about anything. I do want to talk about this here. And I've raised this a number of times. I don't think people really understand. We talk about population shifts in this country. You look at to be elected, It's look, look, you win the popular vote in the state, you get the, you win electoral college. And the number is 270. And listen, Democrats, this is why, now people need to understand something.

Republicans want to do their best to restrict the census. That means that whoever wins the White is in 2020, they're going to be controlled of the census. Well, when that census comes up, the American Redistricting Project, and I've been seeing these numbers, for the past several years. It's not gonna vote well for blue states when you have the next sensitive. And this is also one of the reasons why when you see Republicans out here, they're saying, oh, Democrats wanna bring in these voters

because they wanna still elections, but Republicans are desperate to try to control population. So just check this out, understand here. Look at this map here, and that is, Um, based upon, if when you look at the 2000, the census, that'll be done 2030. Texas is expected to pick up four seats. Well, for people need to understand something, uh, congressional districts in the country are based upon population. And so because of the population will rise in Texas, they're going to pick up four seats.

Florida will pick up to Arizona, Georgia, um, Idaho, North Carolina, Utah. they'll pick up one each. California is expected to lose four seats. And then when you look at who also will lose, Illinois, Minnesota, New York State, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, all expected to lose one seat. So you're talking about if you just look straight up red, blue, North Carolina, it's red, but it's also blue. You're talking four, six, seven, eight, nine. That's 11. That's 11 seats right there that red states will pick up.

Blue states will lose 11. That means that when you start talking about the map, and you see right here, you see right here, the impact. That is going to be significant, Mustafa, for Democrats, because what this map is going to show, blue states are going to lose 11. So if you look at a map right now at 270, so if you just look at the map here,

let's just say if you look at California, obviously that's blue. One of the reasons why, and I've been saying this, Democrats are going to have to do some serious work in driving out the black vote in North Carolina in Georgia. It is because of this map. It's also why they've got to do better in Florida. Also, Texas, because the reality is this here.

If Democrats lose, let's say those 11, if you pick up a Georgia, so let me just, I'm going to go to another map, 270 to win.com. It's going to use the existing numbers. If you look at Georgia and North Carolina, okay, so we're going to look at it right here, okay? Let's see here. So when you look at two, 70 to win.com. You look at Georgia represents 16 electoral college votes. North Carolina

represents 16 electoral college votes. That's 32 votes. You win those two states. Again, you can make up for the loss of those 11. This is why Arizona is also going to be critical. If you lose 11 electoral college votes in those other blue states in California, if you win Arizona alone, you pick up 11 electoral college votes. If you turn Nevada blue, all of a sudden, Arizona and Nevada, that's 17. And so Democrats had better understand the map and understand why you must turn out, because what they cannot do, lose those 11. They cannot concede Georgia as a red state and North Carolina as a red state because now you're changing the numbers. And they've got to get back to competing in Florida because Republicans right now,

they can lock on Texas 40, Florida 30. That's 70 right there, electoral college votes. And so the math is the math, Mustafa. And again, this is where organizing and mobilizing is going to be so critical. And all these folks, they always talk about, oh, Wisconsin, Michigan, those places, I'm telling you right now, after the 2020 election, those western states of Nevada and Arizona and those southern states of Georgia and North Carolina are going to be even bigger for Democrats and Republicans.

Yeah, and you just got to do the work. You start the work now. You know, how many times have we, you know, had these officials on from the Democratic Party and others and, you know, really asking the tough questions of them about when are you actually going to start funding properly? When are you going to build the infrastructure? When are you going to make sure that the groups who are on the ground who know folks have the resources that they need? You know, you've got to give the Republicans credit, right? Because they have both an immediate and a long-term vision, and they make sure that they stick to it, and they make sure that they fund it. So if Democrats really want to be competitive in the future over the next couple of decades, then they've got

to actually do the things that people have been sharing with them that would help them to be in a better, stronger position. And if they don't, if they go back to the old playbook, let's just say, you know, they have a big win in 26 and, you know, maybe they have a win in 28. And then they revert back to the old ways of doing business. You will set yourself up for the next decade, at least, if not two decades, of losing and losing and losing. I'll just say this last point. When you look at Georgia, when you look at North Carolina, they are very winnable. All you have to do is look at the work that Reverend Barber did and others in North Carolina to understand that when you meet the needs of people, that you can actually help them to

understand who's the best party to help them to achieve the things that they're looking for. And then when you go out west, you know, whether it is Nevada or Arizona, those are also very winnable, but you've got to make the investments. If you don't do it, then you're going to find yourself in a very precarious. situation moving forward. Absolutely. And Larry, it comes down to the math. And all too often, what you're seeing is that these white Democratic consultants,

they want to appeal to these places like Pennsylvania and others, and we're going to be in the suburbs. But guess what? When you start studying the map, when you start studying, you know, how you win, listen, if we saw Republicans win Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, when those Western states, the reality is you're going to have to pick up some wins in some other places. And what that means is the best bet I'm going back to this map right here. The best bet is where are there black voters? Where are they black voters, but also Latino voters? Those Western states are critically important. If I put, again, if I put Wisconsin, if I play with this map and I put Wisconsin red and let's just say, let's just say Michigan blue. Okay. And then Pennsylvania, I'm going to put Pennsylvania in a toss-up. All right.

So right now, right here, I have Georgia is a toss-up, North Carolina is a toss-up, Pennsylvania's a toss-up. I've got Iowa red. I've got, sorry, Iowa red. I've got Illinois blue. I've got Ohio red. And so obviously I've got Texas here. Let me go blue here, or deep blue here. Bottom line, Larry, when I look at this map right now,

it's sitting at 241, 246. All of a sudden, Republicans win Pennsylvania. Let's just say they're at 265. That means that Democrats, you have to win North Carolina, Georgia. You got no choice. to win because right there, that's 34 electoral college votes that gets you there. So they have got to be focusing on they've got to get away from this idea. I'm telling right now, someone this chat to chat discuss Ohio. Ohio's red, okay?

Those white union workers, they're red. Democrats have better understand. Georgia and North Carolina and then Arizona, I dare say Arizona and Nevada, though that is the pathway to the future, assuming they win a Michigan but losing Wisconsin and lose of Pennsylvania. Larry, you've got to pick up those western states or you've got to pick up those two southern states, pure and simple.

Absolutely. And this, Roland, we talked about this. A lot of your show, this really comes down to GOTV, get out the vote. And the Democratic parties, you know, weighing the interest, in really a long-term investment and strategy in the black community to get folks out to vote.

And that's what it really comes down to. Even when we look at the most recent election, there are a lot of black folks who just did not vote. Now, we could argue this for what the reasons are when we see some research, misinformation, etc. But the reality is we got to get folks off the couch. So that means marketing, that means giving, providing some advertising dollars for this show.

But in addition to that, we need boots on the ground. You know, this has to be a community-based effort to increase the black vote, North Carolina, Georgia, and some of the other states we talk to, even my home state of Pennsylvania. If you're not willing to do that, then you're gonna, we're constantly be caught in a cycle war, we're fighting against the tide.

And there are a lot of black people out there, like I said, who are hesitant voters or don't vote, that we can encourage to vote if we invest in the infrastructure and truly talk about topics that are important to the black community. And this is the big, Ray, and I'm going back to this map here. Okay, so if I give Democrats Nevada, now I give Arizona to Republicans,

and I'm giving Minnesota to Democrats, I'm giving Wisconsin to Republicans, Michigan to Democrat, I'm giving Pennsylvania to Republicans. That means Republicans are sitting at 259, Democrats sitting at 263. This right here, this state right here, it comes down and again, that's I'm giving George,

some, that's also based upon Georgia, being blue. Okay. So let's say Georgia goes blue. Okay, let's just say, okay, let's say Georgia stays red. Republicans at 291. Okay. Now, if I give North Carolina, if Georgia goes red, North Carolina goes to Democrats, probably can still at 275, which means Democrats have got to win a Nevada. So they have to, if they split Georgia in North Carolina, they got to win. one of the Western states. If they lose Randy, if they lose both Western states, Nevada and Arizona, but they win Georgia and Oak Carolina, boom, they're at 273.

Right. Math is the math. That means Latino voters. That means black voters. Latino voters in the West, black voters in the South. Canadian women are looking for more. More to themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders, and the world are of them. And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast.

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I usually just take a deep breath. When I'm just breathing and seeing what's in front of me, everything just slows down. It just makes you feel great before I run the play. Just like Bijan, we all need a strong mental game on and off the field. Make a game playing for your mental health at loveyourmind playbook.org. Love your mind. Brought to you by the Huntsman Mental Health Foundation, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, and the ad council.

And these folks need to stop using the same old tactics they've always used and focusing on the same audience and taking and really just taking black voters for granted and not targeting us. They've always just said, oh, they're going to come out and vote and they're going to vote Democratic. And no, they first of all need to be, you know, realistic about the real situation of what's been going on. First of all, this current administration has done so much to strike fear in the hearts of

black and Latino voters, I think people are going to be more hesitant, so they need to realize they need to do some more work. They also need to realize that not take people for granted and that they need to target us, talk about the issues that really, really affect us, like Dr. Walker was saying, that we care about and to get us out there and vote and be creative. I do get sick of, you know, we sit on the show and we talk about you really are these sane people who call themselves experts leading these drives, but they're not, it doesn't seem like looking at what's happening now. What's the current situation of America? And they're just depending on the same old way of doing things.

And we need for them to wake up, take a real look of what's happening, because we can absolutely win those states. I mean, there's no reason we cannot get North Carolina and no reason we cannot get Georgia and Nevada and Arizona. And quiet as kept, I really think. think if if this administration continues on the path that they're going right now in Texas where there's more black folks in Texas than anywhere where else i mean Florida has to be shook has to be shook about what's going on we can't just assume that those states that we don't have to do

anything in those states because they're lost because I think we have a real opportunity to actually win those states and make and create some penetration there so just so people are clear this is the existing, this is the existing map. Okay. And again, I need to understand something. After the 2000, with 2030 census, it's estimated that California is going to lose four. And then you're going to see a loss of seven others. So right now, if you're talking about blue states, California, again, if I, if I'm going to go back to the graphic here, this is what they are. are saying, they're saying that,

that Illinois, California, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, they're gonna lose 11. I gave Pennsylvania to the Republicans. That means folks that according to, if you're talking about 2030, that means when you look at this, when you look at this map, when you look at this map where you see all, where you see right now, let me get one,

I made a mistake here. When you look at this map right here, that means that this map, 273, Democrats will lose 11. 11 with the census in 2030. So that means that's the equivalent of Republicans losing Arizona.

That means that if you lose 11, if you lose, none of them to use 10, because I gave Pennsylvania to the Republican, because they're going to lose, lose one, which means that even if Democrats win, and this is the key folks, the Democrats win, the Democrats win Georgia, North Carolina. They got to pick up 11, Arizona, becomes even more critical. That means Wisconsin becomes critical because Wisconsin has 10. So the math is the math.

So I'm telling you right now, folks had better understand massive turnout. You've got to be connecting with the voters to get them to the polls. All right. I'll be right back on rolling on the filter of the Black Studd Network. Support the work that we do join our bring to funk fan club. Conversations we have. Y'all know you ain't getting anywhere else,

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Rolling at rolling martin unfilter.com. We'll be right back. They said the quiet part out loud. Black votes are a threat. So they erased them. After the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013, Republican legislatures moved fast. New voter ID laws, polling place shutdowns, purges of black voters from the rolls.

Trump's Justice Department didn't stop it. They joined in. In 2018, his DOJ backed Ohio's voter purge system, a scheme that disproportionately erased black voters, Their goal, erase black votes and political power. Yeah, that happened. These are the kinds of stories that we cover every day on Roland Martin unfiltered. Subscribe on YouTube and download the Black Star Network app.

Support fact-based independent journalism that centers African Americans and the issues that matter to our community. If in this country right now, you have people get up in the morning, and the only thing they can think about is how many people they can hurt, and they got the power, that's the time for mourning. For better or worse, what makes America special, it's that legal system that's supposed to protect minorities from the tyranny of the majority.

We are at a point of a moral emergency. We must raise a voice of outrage. We must raise a voice of compassion. And we must raise a voice of unity. We are not in a crisis, of party versus party. We are in a crisis of civilization, a human rights crisis, and a crisis of democracy itself. And guess what? You've been chosen to make sure that those that would destroy, those that would hate, don't have the final say, and they don't ultimately win.

Hey, I'm Malcolm Lee, and you're watching the Black Star Network. Folks, some good news for a black Minnesota family whose son was killed by a Minneapolis cop. Supreme Court declined to stop a damages lawsuit against police from the family of a near lock, a 22-year-old killed by police serving a no-knock warrant in 2022. Officer Mark Hanneman, represented by the city, sought a reversal of a decision for the St. Louis Bay's eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that denied him with qualified immunity. This legal doctrine shields police in certain situations. Police were searching for a murder suspect in the apartment when they roused Locke who was holding a handgun. Eight seconds after entering, Hanaman fired three shots, striking Locke who died within 15 minutes.

His family sued for damages arguing the officer's action that violated the Fourth Amendment. Hamann relied on body camera footage to bolster his claim that Locke raised his gun and pointed it toward police officers before shooting, giving him probable cause to believe Locke posed a threat. But the federal trial court concluded that the footage did not contradict allegations that Locke was actually lowering the gun and responding to police instructions. Amir's mother, Karen Wells, his aunt Linda Tyler, and their attorney, Jeffrey Storm, join us right now. All right, so Jeffrey, but folks who just don't understand the law and whatever, what does this now mean? Supreme Court is not ruling the case of your favor, it's allowing your suit to go forward, correct? Well, that's correct, Roland.

And it's a great piece of news for the family. It's a great piece of news for justice and accountability. But it's also disheartening because here we are. We've filed this lawsuit almost three years ago. And we're just now getting into discovery. And one of the reasons I find it particularly disheartening, if we think about the timing of it, as you and many of your viewers have seen, we've watched very emotional public outcries from the mayor of Minneapolis about shooting deaths here in Minneapolis.

But we did not see that same response when Minneapolis police officers killed a young black man. And instead, we've watched the city now drag this case on for three years before we've even really got started. So while it's a great day for the family and a great day for justice, a little disappointing in light of the reaction to other events. in our city. Absolutely, Karen. This has to be difficult because you're constantly trying to pursue justice and all too often when you have these police shootings. Frank, these cases very rarely go anywhere.

Well, actually, from day one, I just give everything up to my higher power, our Father God in heaven, because without him, I would not be able to be here sitting here talking to you about my son going on four years later, waiting for at least some form of justice for my baby boy. Like our attorney, Jeff said, you know, it's it's bittersweet for me, but it's hard for me when I hear the mayor and other people in Minneapolis. you know, speak about what's going on now as far as with the ICE agents on the federal level. But when it comes to the state level, they know that they have blood on their hands. Not only do they have the blood of a mere lock on their hands, but they have all the other stolen lives in Minneapolis as well on their hands when it comes to the state law enforcement.

So where do we go from here? Like that's a slap in the face when it comes to my son. So it's been hard for me the past several days. Even hearing about, you know, that we can move forward. The Supreme Court denied their appeal. And but what about my baby? He should still be here. And I want all forms of justice for a mayor.

I do. And to that point, obviously, Linda, people sort of judge different reactions to different shootings based upon how lawsuits are defended. You're on mute. Sorry about that. I want to correct something and I just want to make sure that we're aware of this is when you started off, you talked about Amir was holding a gun. When they went in, they knocked him on the ground. They kicked the couch twice. The gun was not in his hand when they went in. They kicked it. It was lame and he picked it up. So I want to make sure, because what's important for us as a family is that the narrative is always correct.

That's the one thing that we've been challenging the courts and everybody that they're telling the truth at all times, that it is what physically happened and that they understand it because this is really hard. But as a family, we chose to fight and we understand that sometimes things work out. in our time. They're in God's time. So we understand that and we just, that's why it's important that we stay prayed up because you have to pray your way through this because here we are three years later and still fighting and every time something goes on in Minneapolis, it's a trigger for the family. To that particular point there, Jeffrey, first of all, what always happens, what always happens in these cases, it always happens. And we've covered,

my God, a thousand of these cases, unfortunately, is that you have how police in the cities, how they establish what a narrative is, and then lock that in to say what actually took place. We've shown that particular video a number of times, and again, that's part of the deal. In this case, I remember the story vividly, Because, Jeffrey, if I'm correct, that the Minneapolis police were joined. This was a St. Paul warrant. This is a St. Paul warrant. And then with this particular no-knock.

And if the mayor, based upon other shootings, had declared no more no-knock warrants in Minneapolis. And so it was crazy that they conducted this with St. Paul, knowing full well, that they had made the determination, no-knock-no. No knock warrants. Well, and that's right, Roland. It's an excellent point. St. Paul, when they obtained the warrant, originally obtained a knock and announce warrant. And it was Minneapolis who said, we're not knocking first. We're conducting this as a no knock.

And then as we start to dig in, what do we find out that over the months preceding a mere being killed, they do conduct no knock warrants, but really only in black homes. it was almost at a 100% level, Roland. And so to have the mayor said what he had to say on the campaign trail, which we now know is false, which were in those advertisements, to know that another city was prepared to conduct this as a knock and announce. And here we are. We filed this lawsuit three years ago, and they fought it up all the way to the Supreme Court before we even got going. It just shows a stunning lack of voluntary accountability. And again, you know, it is very difficult for folks to have to see this.

But Jeffrey, for folks who do not remember, again, it's a no knock warrant. They entered the apartment. Amir is actually sleeping on the couch and is startled by them coming in. And it was, and so Jeffrey, then what happened? Well, what you see happen is, is, they shout a whole bunch of confusing commands at Amir where they bust in. And within seconds, Amir shows textbook trigger discipline. You can see there is a gun at some point in Amir's hand, but Amir is pointing the gun down.

His finger is clearly never on the trigger. He's raising his thumb up, which is another sign of disarming oneself and starting to put his other hand in the end. And as you're talking, at you're talking, I found one of these. So this, it's one of those body cam, footage, go right ahead. So you actually see a mirror do what you would expect a reasonable gun owner to do who might have a weapon near them for protection, which is identify what's going on, observe it's not a threat, and relinquish your weapon. Where meanwhile, Officer Hanneman, who shot a mirror, had the benefit of being awake,

had the benefit of knowing that they were going to be conducting this warrant, and he simply did not give Amir the opportunity. Canadian women are looking for more. More to themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders, and the world are out of them. And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast. I'm Jennifer Stewart. And I'm Catherine Clark. And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women.

Entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers. all at different stages of their journey. So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us. Listen to the Honest Talk Podcasts and IHeart Radio or wherever you listen to your podcasts. And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is,

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Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. Babes, what are you doing? What? I'm just mowing the lawn. No, it's blazing hot and dry out here. Don't you remember? Smokey bear says... Avoid using power equipment when it's windy or dry.

Where'd you learn this? Oh, it's on... Smoky. Bear.com with many other wildfire prevention tips. Right. Thanks, honey bear. Because remember, only you can prevent wildfires. Brought to you by the USDA Forest Service, your state forester, and the ad council. To complete the act of compliance that he already started and save his own life.

And here, the court critically recognized the mere possession of a firearm in the United States of America should not result in you being. shot and killed. We are allowed to possess weapons in this country. It's a well-established right in the second in the second order in terms of the Bill of Rights. And you cannot just shoot him because he possesses a gun. And so here we have a young man who did everything you were supposed to do to de-escalate a situation and prevent a tragic outcome. But the Supreme Court has now, by not taking this case, maybe not explicitly recognized, but tacitly, because they put everything in front of the Supreme Court, Roland. They gave them the videos. They gave them still images. They gave them all the same arguments that they tried to feed to the trial appellate court who rejected it and said, we are not going to look at this video and accept that Mirlock's rights were not violated. We're not going to, we are going to have discovery in this case, and we are going to get. to the truth of what happened. And I think it's really powerful that the Supreme Court did have

all that evidence. They had amicus briefs from very powerful law enforcement agencies represented by great local attorneys who were pushing the Supreme Court to take this case, and they still said no. And so, and I will tell you, what gives me some hope for this case, Roland, as we, I know that whenever we take one of these cases on, we always look at it as, hey, there are going to be some struggles. But federal judges, they put bad people in prison sometimes. They do. And I have no doubt that many federal judges in this country sleep with firearms next to their dresser. And it's not too hard to envision a scenario where someone may be doctors, find out where a federal judge lives, report something. And a federal judge reaches for that firearm exercise in their second

amended and right. And so I think that most people can look at this and can relate. And I think that includes federal judges at bottom. Yes. So and the thing here is again, I mean, I remember this when I happen. And listen, if I'm asleep on the couch and all of a sudden somebody bust through the door, I'm thinking it's a home invasion. That's right. I don't know what the hell it is. And so all of a sudden, if you're coming in, you have to establish very quickly that it's police and the timing. I remember when we broke this video down on the show, I mean, it was mere seconds after they bust in, they yelled police.

And it was just, it was just illogical that they would think that somebody, um, would just somehow, uh, if I'm sleeping and you yell police, then, oh, I could, I could sit here and, and, and, and, and make reasonable decisions. I mean, it was just, it was just absolutely chaos and different, for, for the audience, what was a warrant for? Well, it was, this was just a search for property. It was related to a criminal investigation, but this was not a search to seize anyone in this apartment, and no one in that room was a suspect. And what time was the no knock warrant? The very early hours in the morning, because that's what they try to do when they execute the no knock, is to catch you in a manner.

in which you're unprepared and you're startled. Right. That's just, that's just absolutely, yeah, it was bewildering. I remember when this happened and it just made no sense whatsoever. And this was a perfect example of why no knock warns make no sense at all. And so, if I can add, this is a Minnesota is a castle lost state. So it allows you to bear arms. It allows you to protect your home as you just, talked about. And so, and Amir was a law-abiding citizen. He was, his gun was registered. He didn't have a criminal record. Don't these things sound familiar? Because that's just what they said about

Alex Peretti. He was a law-abiding citizen. He was a gun owner. He had his rights. And Amir was in the same situation. And so for me, as Auntie, when I look at things that's happening now, you know, I never compare. I think about his mother and how his mother's, as we said, get the story right. Tell the truth. Because the narrative that came out about him was that he came toting a gun, getting ready to go after these officers. It's like this playbook of brutality in the city that continues, whether it's ice or the police. It's like saying the same thing over and over again. And it's really important that we just hold people accountable and say, just tell the truth. Because if you have nothing to hide, then it's okay to tell the truth.

Well, we all, we've done some of these stories and the idea of telling the truth that's a little hard for a whole lot of these officers. Karen Wells, Linda Tyler, Jeffrey Storms, and certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you for having us. All right, folks. Going to a break, I'll be right back with Hey, Leland. with Brittany Noble right here on Rolla Martin on Children Blackstone Network. If in this country right now, you have people get up in the morning, and the only thing they can think about is how many people they can hurt, and they've got the power, that's the time for mourning.

For better or worse, what makes America special, it's that legal system that's supposed to protect minorities from the tyranny of the majority. We are at a point of a moral emergency. We must raise a voice of... voice of outrage. We must raise a voice of compassion and we must raise a voice of unity. We are not in a crisis of party versus party. We are in a crisis of civilization, a human rights crisis and a crisis of democracy itself. And guess what? You've been chosen to make sure

that those that would destroy, those that would hate, don't have the final sense. say and they don't ultimately win. I'm Risa Colbert and you're watching the Black Star Network. All right, folks, time for Black Star Network headlines with Brittany Noble. Maryland Congressman Kwaizi and Fume introduced a new bill. It would make it easier for Americans to track their mail and ballots. The goal was to increase the transparency of mail and ballots in hopes of boosting the confidence in our elections. This will also help Americans verify that their votes are counted.

The Vote by Mail Tracking Act will act. official logo and standardized tracking barcodes to each mail and ballot. This will also allow voters to track their ballot status. In North Carolina, a former police officer is suing another ex-officer who shot them more than 10 times during the 2019 drug raid. Former officer Clarence Belton says that the only black member of the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, and he was first accidentally shot by another task force member during a standoff with a suspect. As Belton tried to crawl to safety, he was then shot repeatedly by task force officer Heather Lovridge until someone yelled that Belton was a cop.

The Charlotte District Attorney's Office declined to file criminal charges. Loveridge was fired in 2020 and now argues that the civil lawsuit should be dismissed under qualified immunity. More than six years later, the case remains unresolved as a court decides whether Lovridge is protected by qualified immunity. rapper Kanye West is opening up about his mental health in a full-plage letter published in the Wall Street Journal. Wes has a brain injury from a car accident decades ago contributed to his bipolar disorder diagnosis, which he says did not come until 2023. He also describes a month-long manic episode in early 2025 that he says upended his life. In the letter, Wes addresses the black community directly, acknowledging its role in his success and expressing regret for letting people down.

The statement is sparking renewed conversations about mental health, accountability, and the stigma in our community. Well, actor Quentin Aaron, best known for his role as Michael O'R in the Blindside, collapsed at his Atlanta home. He was on live support while doctors treated him for a blood infection. His wife says he is now partially breathing on his own, has opened his eyes and was able to give a thumbs up, though doctors are still working to determine the cause of his condition. A GoFundee launched to help cover medical expenses has surpassed its $35,000 goal as Aaron faces a long recovery that may include physical therapy and relearning how to walk. Roland? All right then, folks, don't forget, you can check out.

We've got a new daily noon news show right here on the Black Star Network. Every noon at noon Eastern, the breakdown with Brittany Noble airs right here on the Black Star Network. So it allows you to get caught up with the headlines, the news of the day. So when you're on your lunch break, you can check that out. So every single day, every single day at noon Eastern. So check out the breakdown with Brittany Noble. This is a new show. We launched it on Monday.

And so it's all about giving you another way of getting the news that we covered. So lots of stuff to talk about, lots of stuff to break down. And so you can certainly check that out. And so again, every day, noon Eastern, the Black Star Network to break down with Brittany Noble, check it out. Folks, a recent study conducted by brain science researchers at Washington University in St. Louis indicates that nearly half of the mortality gap between black and white adults can be attributed to the cumulative effects of lifelong stress and inflammation. The researchers analyze blood samples from over 1,500 black and white adults as part of a 17-year aging study in the St. Louis area. They discovered that lifelong stress, including experiences of trauma, childhood diversity, discrimination, and economic hardship was linked to higher levels of inflammation and earlier mortality. According to federal data, the life expectancy for Black Americans is just 74 years in 2003.

Among the lowest in the nation, health equity researchers note that this kind of research has been targeted for elimination by the Trump administration because it is associated with diversity, equity, and inclusion. See, that right there, Randy, is the problem. See, the Trump folks don't want to deal with the reality of systemic racism, don't want to deal with the impact of things that have happened between blacks and whites. And this is a perfect example of what is, what's true, what's facts. Right. They want to act as if this country was not founded on the separation of races, that it didn't exist, that we were oppressed and not even seen as human beings. They want to rewrite history. That's why we're seeing every day as they go through.

museums and try to take away what proves what really happened in this country. I mean, if there is, if they deny the history of America and actually what's happening right now, then it's easy for them to say there is no reason to have diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. You know, and I just happen to know, because this is, you know, area I focus on that the NIH, the National Institutes of Health, the studies that they've been doing that affect black people, and certain diseases that affect us more, like sick of cell anemia,

those programs are being cut. It's gonna have tragic, was, you know, consequences for black people because they're saying if there's, there's something that is targeted for black people or helps black people, then all of a sudden somehow that's racist. That's reverse racism, which we all know that reverse racism isn't real and is absolutely ridiculous.

Whereas the studies that they've always done that focused on white people. You know, most of the time when they're looking at diseases, even the, the, the, the, their people who come in to be tested are white people. So we don't even know, you know, about diseases that affect us. Of course, not a lot of money was even ever given

in the first place to help diseases that affect us. And now they're absolutely cutting that. So this, this, you know, wiping out of our history and, and justification for killing DEI is literally killing us. and going to have severe consequences on the black community. Well, what it says, Mustafa, is they don't give a damn about racial inequities. They don't care at all. And they just want to label anything to EI.

So they don't Trump, Steve Miller, all the people, they don't give a damn by black people. No, it's about there's intentionality in the erasure that's happening. They understand that if you can impact the science, if you can tell, say, science, you can no longer look at X, Y, and Z, then you can, you can make sure that the funding that is necessary to address whatever the impacts are, no longer has to be a part of the equation. And of course, the extra that they get by that is that they begin to erase us. Because as the study showed, you know, that we die earlier because of all these impacts,

the cumulative, as well as the synergistic and the multiple impacts that continue to, you know, happen to our community. You know, I've been talking about weathering for 20 years now. The research has been going on, I believe, for about 40 years now, bringing that in, helping people to understand. When we talk about environmental racism and the continued stressors that are a part of that, both the physical and the mental stressors, you know, it all begins to have this cumulative impact on folks. So, you know, there's real intentionality in these sets of actions that are going on. And people need to just understand that it is about money, but it is also about no longer having you a part of the equation. And I mean,

the bottom line is if you have a stress-free life as a kid, as a young adult, as an adult, you probably are going to have less health issues. And again, what the impact of a stressful life on African-Americans is real when you tie in economics, when you tie in food insecurity. So lots of you can tie in here, Larry. Yeah, you can, Rowan.

So it's interesting. Interestingly enough, I'm working on a journal article, and I talk about black faculty stressors at predominantly white institutions. So I'm going to cite this study because, you know, I know we talk about socioeconomic factors, et cetera. But I think the other thing we keep in mind is that black folks, you know, even from, you know, who are, you know, consider, you know, college educated, you know, work in various fields. It deal with extreme stressors in the workplace that impacts their well-being. I know plenty of black folks who are college professors who had the same. leave academia because the stress was so intense that they were, that their body was breaking down.

So these challenges that black folks encounter are not just black folks underserved communities. Black folks, like I said, who've gone on and spent many years in college also experienced these in the workplace. And like I said, it's coincidentally I'm working on something right now. But this is very serious situation. And as Mustafa noted, there has been a lot of research to the last couple of years to talk about how these stressors and even aces for young people. have a cumulative impact on black folks.

And so we need more studies like this. And we have to keep in mind that the counter to that is that we have to look at our own well-being, having therapists, eating right, and also, you know, going to the gym, et cetera. But these things are real. And it's unfortunately, black folks have been dealing with these issues for generations. Absolutely. And it's just, I mean, this, this is the reality of what it means to be black in this country. And this is also what happens when you've got administration that doesn't give a damn about that. Doesn't give a damn about studying it.

Doesn't give a damn about how to fix the problem because they don't care. They just want to sit here and do anything to make white folks feel happy. And so that's what you see going on here. Folks, let's talk about a retirement. Washington, D.C.'s longtime member of Congress, Illinois Holmes Norton, says she's retired for 36 years. She's represented D.C. in the House since 1990. He's a long time advocate for statehood with notable achievements, including revitalizing neighborhoods,

such as the Wharf and Capital Riverfront, transfer into RFK Stadium site, introducing education programs. But here's a deal. The reality is for the past couple of years, a little less four or five years, there have been a lot of questions surrounding her health. And there were people coming out very close friends of her saying she needed to step down. And a couple of days ago, someone, they submitted FECDD.C. documents regarding fundraising indicating that she was terminating that and then the announcement came out and really what we have seen we've seen a whole lot of this the questions that have been raised the courses that have been raised um is the questions that have

been raised just is it Alzheimer's it's dementia whatever and and and the problem is it colors her long career um Mustafa a career as a civil rights uh uh uh uh activists as EEOC, as member of Congress. And it's one of those things that, and we've dealt with it on this show. We wanted the first folks that said she needed to step down and not run it. We said she should not have ran in 2000 and 24. And this is the issue that people raise it. Sometimes when you, when you're around too long, knowing when it's time.

Canadian women are looking for more. More to themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders, and the world are at them. of them. And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast. I'm Jennifer Stewart. And I'm Catherine Clark. And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women. Entrepreneurs, artists, athletes,

politicians, and newsmakers, all at different stages of their journey. So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us. Listen to the Honest Talk podcast and IHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts. And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is You can decide who takes home the

26 IHeart Podcast Awards Podcast of the year by voting at iHeartPodcastawards.com now through February 22nd. See all the nominees and place your vote at iHeartpodcastawards.com. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award.

Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. Everyone needs to take care of their mental health. running back Bijan Robinson. When I'm on the field, I'm feeling the pressure.

I usually just take a deep breath. When I'm just breathing and seeing what's in front of me, everything just slows down. It just makes you feel great before I run the play. Just like Bijan, we all need a strong mental game on and off the field. Make a game playing for your mental health at love your mind playbook.org.

Love your mind. Brought to you by the Huntsman Mental Health Foundation, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, and the ad console. To go and pass the baton to the next generation. You know, we're thankful, right? We're thankful to her for everything that she has done. She deserves to rest. Too many of our elders have to continue and, you know, to carry the baton. And as you just said, you know, we need to make sure that we have plans in place for them to be able to pass that baton.

We need to make sure that, you know, this next generation is trained up so that they can take it to the next level. You know, we just talked about, you know, weathering and stress and to be in the fight on Capitol Hill for D.C. statehood. and a number of other critical issues, she had to carry all that weight. So we just need to be able to create scenarios and situations where we continue to honor our elders who have given so much to let them know that it is okay to rest, to let them also understand and know that we are still going to need them.

We need their wisdom and we will call upon them in certain situations, but it's okay. You've done all that you needed to do, and now it's time for somebody else to step in, and to continue to fight, if you will. So I'm thankful for everything she did. Yes, and you know for a whole bunch of our folks, you know, Larry and myself working on Capitol Hill,

we saw members who were there, you know, 10, 20, 30, 40 years. We've got to just change that scenario and also say thank you. To that point, Larry, again, when we talk about, we talk about service, we talk about, you know, you know, what you do. And even this conversation shows it. If you leave at the right time, the focus is on what you did.

But if you stay too long, the focus is your state of mind and you staying too long. Well, and this really is heartbreaking. And Mustafa highlights some really important points. You know, my former boss saw the one then at the government reform committee with Congressman Holmes Norton. And I saw her head her best

and had the chance to work with her and staff on a number of occasions. And to see, you know, that vibrant person, you know, knowledgeable, et cetera, to what we see today, it is, it is heartbreaking. And, you know, it's unfortunate to say when people often see in politics at the federal state level, particularly in this case, senior shiro's diminishing not what they used to be. And her own, you know, former staffers calling her out and saying she stepped down. It really does break my heart, particularly, like I said, is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. but this is once again an example in which sometimes it is important to pass the baton.

The one thing about leadership is you have to have a transition plan, right? Who's the next individual individuals who's going to take the lead to make sure the next generation of Washingtonians? And I live in the city can make sure that we're protecting members of the black community, and particularly as we've seen these ongoing fight in this to take over the city by the administration. So once again, you know, I'm sadden to see her see this happen. But once again, this is a cautionary tear in terms of politicians learning when the transition out. Randy, this video I'm playing right now. This is a video that Mayor Muriel Bowser put out as a tribute to Congresswoman Illinois Holmes door.

Randy, go ahead. Share your thoughts. I thought some sound was going to come with the video. But absolutely. I mean, I hope I'm glad to see this video. I hope she knows how very much we. respect and value her and how thankful we are for her service. But absolutely, as everyone has already said, there needs to be really, you know, almost, I think, term limits. When someone, we have to be

honest about the aging process. And, you know, we need people that have the energy to be able to fight, particularly us. And we don't have the same energy as we age sometimes. So I am, I'm happy for her that she will be able to rest in these years. But I am also happy for the district, you know, as we transition and we have someone who could maybe bring, you know, a new vigor because it has been, you know, there has been a slow decline that people have been watching Norton suffer through. And so I think it's a new beginnings are great.

This is a video that D.C. vote put out. So let's check this here out. Mayors dubbed me the warrior on the hill. You've got to have somebody who not only fights back, but enjoys fighting back. Gay women yield. Home rule. I will not yield, sir. But District of Columbia has spent 206 years yielding. You have had your say that you think that the people who live in your capital are not entitled to a vote in their house. Shame on you. What's the good of being a third generation from Washington. If you sit on the sidelines

while your city is denied, everything everybody else has. And like anybody who's bullied, we don't know how to do anything but fight back. It's an anomaly in the world. There's no other capital city where the residents do not have the same representation in the House and the Senate.

It is what the framers meant when they said no taxation without representation. I'm proud to represent the District of Columbia in the House of Representatives. fight for democracy in the capital of the United States. All right, folks. So again, the race is on for individuals to replace Councilman-in-Lone Holmes-Norton.

That election will be taking place, of course, in November. Have a quick break. We'll be right back. Rolla-Mart unfiltered on the Black Stud Network. If in this country right now, you have people get up in the morning, and the only thing they can think about is how many people they can hurt and they've got the power, that's the time for mourning. For better or worse, what makes America special,

it's that legal system that's supposed to protect minorities from the tyranny of the majority. We are at a point of a moral emergency. We must raise a voice of outrage. We must raise a voice of compassion. And we must raise a voice of unity. We are not in a crisis, of party versus party.

We are in a crisis of civilization, a human rights crisis, and a crisis of democracy itself. And guess what? You've been chosen to make sure that those that would destroy, those that would hate,

don't have the final say, and they don't ultimately win. I'm Risa Colbert, and you're watching the Black Star Network. So the story where the co-haired of Latino for Trump said, Stephen Miller is going to cost us to midterm elections. I don't know what planet she's been living on, but trust me, it goes beyond Stephen Miller.

You've got critical elections this year. And really the question that I think is in the air, we look at these various polls and what they show. For instance, there's this new generic ballot polls showing when it comes to independent voters that I'll quickly show you this here. Democrats, 49% Republicans, 23% last poll. Democrats were plus 15% and now plus 26%. And, you know, listen, you've got to make the case. But I keep saying, Mustafa, and I'm going to continue to say, and long as I've got a breath in my body,

that you have to run elections today a lot different. Today, you really have to be focusing on much earlier, being able to reach folks at an earlier stage, reaching, talking to people the earlier stage. Really, as I say, enlightening, you know, empowering, informing, educating folks. It has to happen. But this comes down to a massive turnout game.

And we better understand that when Donald Trump and his folks are asking for the voter rolls, they are desperately trying to suppress the vote. They do not want a massive turnout in November. Yeah, they do not want it, but it should happen. And it will happen. if people make the investments. You know, folks are fired up right now, right? Jobs are not being created.

The prices of food and utilities is just skyrocketing. And people want something better. You know, I think Trump is out right now on his affordability tour, visiting a few states. And beyond the folks who are going to stand there and cheer, most folks are saying that they are in a worse position than before. So if you have that as the backdrop,

All you need to do is actually, one, listen to people and make the investments early and often. And if you do that, then you have, you know, a recipe for success. And if you don't do it, then you just missed an opportunity to actually be able to, you know, get some folks into office who actually care about folks and who are going to do something to uplift, you know, folks across the country, especially black. Larry. Mr. Mustafa hit a right on the nose rolling. One of the things we had to do is we have to make sure, you know, in terms of getting people early you talked about, we got to invest in young folks, you know, as early as possible.

Look at what's happened in North Carolina, A&T in terms of the moving polling site. You see a lot of those college students at, you know, these election board meetings. What's the Democratic Party doing in the area to support these young folks and encourage other folks, young people in the area there to register to vote and be active? But that comes from funding and it comes from a long-term commitment and strategy, something that Democratic Party has lacked. And the Republican Party doesn't care about black folks. So, you know, it's really important once again. And I guess you have a strategy that is sensible.

But not only says I'm going to, you know, talk to young people, but make sure young people are creating a platform and the also initiatives to make sure that we can use the language they understand and appreciate. Randy. And Roland, shows like this are so important because I am flabbergasted at the misinformation that is everywhere these days. I mean, now the Republicans, MAGA, control the media. They own most of the social media sites, but they also, you know, are running the major media stations. And so what they're putting out there are just outright lies. And so people don't even know the truth. So it is vital that people are receiving the correct information and not just receiving it.

It's being repeated to them over and over again. So they understand what's really going on with the administration now. And also, I don't want the Democrats just to count on I'm anti-Trump, but tell us what you're going to do differently. What is your plan? People want real concrete information about how their lives can be better than they are. their lives can be better than they are today. Absolutely. Hey, folks, Senator Raphael Warnock,

dropped this video about 30 minutes ago. He went to Minnesota and he shared this. I want to go ahead and play it for our audience as well. And so I'm spending time on the streets of Minneapolis. And while this is indeed a dark time in our country, I have to tell you that what I'm seeing from the people of Minneapolis is no less than inspiring. With courage and commitment, they are standing up against Trump

as he tramples upon basic American rights. ICE cannot continue in this way, kidnapping children off of streets, killing Americans with impunity, barging into homes without a warrant. This cannot stand. And it's the people who are standing up in this moment. Here's my promise to you. As I stand up in the United States Senate,

I will block ICE funding. I will use the power of oversight to hold them accountable. Keep raising your voice and know that I'm standing. All right, folks, that was again, ZUS Center, Raphael Warnack. Quick break, come back, shop Black Sun Network, Marketplace, that way. You watch the roll about our filter. The Black Sun Network support our work. Braina Funk fan club you want to give your cash out you to strike QR code you see it right here on the screen also you can also support via checks and money order make it payable to roland martin unfiltered peel box 5711196 washington dc 203 790196 paypal r martin unfiltered benmo r m unfiltered zail roland at roland s martin dot com back in a moment if in this country right now you have people get up in the morning and the only thing they can think about is how many people they can hurt and they've got the power. That's the time for mourning. For better or worse, what makes America special, it's that legal system that's supposed to protect

minorities from the tyranny of the majority. We are at a point of a moral emergency. We must raise a voice of outrage. We must raise a voice of compassion and we must raise a voice of unity. We are not in a crime. Canadian women are looking for more. More into themselves, their businesses, their elected leaders, and the world are out of them. And that's why we're thrilled to introduce the Honest Talk podcast. I'm Jennifer Stewart. And I'm Catherine Clark.

And in this podcast, we interview Canada's most inspiring women. Entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, politicians, and newsmakers, all at different stages of their journey. So if you're looking to connect, then we hope you'll join us. Listen to the Honest Talk podcast and IHeart Radio or wherever you live. listen to your podcasts. And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is, you can decide who takes home the 26 IHeart Podcast Awards Podcast of the year by voting at IHeartPodcastawards.com now through February 22nd.

See all the nominees and place your vote at IHeart Podcast Awards.com. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible, there's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. Everyone needs to take care of their mental health, even running back Bejohn Robinson. When I'm on the field, I'm feeling the pressure,

I usually just take a deep breath. When I'm just breathing and seeing what's in front of me, everything just slows down. It just makes you feel great before I run the play. Just like Bejohn, we all need a strong mental game on and off the field. Make a game playing for your mental health at loveyourmind playbook.org. You're mine. Brought to you by the Huntsman Mental Health Foundation,

the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, and the ad council. Crisis of party versus party. We are in a crisis of civilization, a human rights crisis, and a crisis of democracy itself. And guess what? You've been chosen to make sure that those that would destroy, those that would hate, don't have the final say, and they don't ultimately win.

Folks, it started as a spice company. but a retired Las Vegas chef Andre Anderson decided he needed to put his 28 herb and spice gland on chips. Thus, sympathy chips were born. Andre's son, then Andre is now continuing his father's mission, providing a healthy snack option. Dan Andre joins us from Atlanta. Glad to have you here. Okay. Um, so he put it on chips. Like, how? What was he just like in the kitchen going, man, let me do something else with these herbs and spices? Actually, actually, rolling in this, first of all, I'm saying it's a pleasure to be here. I'm a big fan of the show. But no, what happened was my dad, you know, you mentioned a retired restaurant shop from the famous Las Vegas strip.

He actually made me breakfast one morning, and he put the spices on some eggs. And we've all had eggs before, just a little salt and little pepper. But when you put spices for the original, there are now original chips on those eggs, oh, oh, my God, what are these? I mean, what is this? You know, what, tell me what's the mixture. And when he showed me, it was a ramecan, a small ramecan on his stove and spooning. I'm like, Pops, what you doing with this? This is amazing.

He was like, nothing is just, I just used this, this, that, and third. I'm like, well, hey, with your blessing, I think we should bottle it and sell it. So that's exactly what I did. I bottled it and got it on to a grocery store shelf, actually here in Atlanta. And when we got it on the shelf, you know, just kind of sat there. Because people, I quickly found out people don't buy spices they can't taste. So in an effort to get people to try our spices, I'd put it on the one thing, 99.9% of people would try. Potato chips.

So right there, live in the store, with the help of my two daughters, we actually made potato chips right there in the store. We made them, took them right of the grease, sprinkled some seasoning right on there, and handed them out. And people were like, oh, my God, the spices are good, but where can I get these chips? Where are the chips? So because this store's service all walks of life, we've done. When you have all walks of life telling you the exact same words verbatim, where can we get the chips? I think it was time for me to answer that question, and show them where they can get the chips. And it was symphony chips at that point was actually born.

So, okay, so, and how long ago was that? So we did this. Pops made the breakfast for me about 2010. And from 2010, because my background is actually software engineer, if you can believe that. And I was looking for an actual product because I, you know, read that. And I believe that having a product would work a lot better than having a service because the product shows up instead of me. So when he, when he offered the spices as a venture, I was like, well, that would be great. So 2010, so from 2010 to about 2012, it took me to get the packaging right for the spice bottles.

Because I really went into the grocery stores and I had to learn how do people buy spices. And because it was a specialty spice, I figured we would probably be in a specialty store. So I went to the specialty stores and kind of stock people in the aisles like, how do you buy spices? And they pick up something and look at it. And if this packaging look pretty, they would put it in their baskets. I said, okay, well, that's the trick. Let me give me a graphic artist. Let me give me a pretty package and put it on the shelf.

And I thought that would work. And we got some sales, like I said, it wasn't moving as fast as I wanted to. So that's when we had the idea for the end store demo. But I said, that was about 2012 when we did the end store demo. And then my next move, the one thing I knew about business was, most businesses failed because they cannot supply the actual demand. So I said, well, if the right person walks up and says, I love these chips, I want 100,000 bags.

Then my thing was, I want to be able to fulfill that order. So instead of just launching by frying them up in my kitchen, I actually took the time and worked out a supply chain. So it's a multi-level, multi-million dollar supply chain. I worked out. It took me about two and a half years because at that time, manufacturers were not online. So I had to work it out, found them. And then we launched 2017 from our supply chain.

Labor Day weekend, be exact. Actually, that's a set pretty cool there. And so how have you been able to expand the business? So that came down to marketing, right? Because at first, I figured, you know, we were a partnership company. We're all natural. We'll just go everywhere. But I quickly found out that, hey, our lane, because we were all natural,

was more of an upscale lane. because people will pay more money for products that are all natural and good for you. So we're vegan friendly, no MSG, non-GMO, and still all-natural. So we started to go, like I said, to a luxury lane or what have you. So that got us into luxury air, I'm sorry, luxury hotels, private airports, private airport lounges, marinas, and also golf courses, which turned into us being the actual, the actual official chip for the masters two years in the world. The name?

Symphony. So real simple, really simple. My dad believes that every bite should be harmonious. So we named it the symphony. All right. That makes a lot of sense. Questions from the panel. Let's see.

Who's the biggest chip eater on here? I think Larry is probably the king of the late-night snacks. Yeah, I don't do late-life snacks, but I love chips. I love chips. So I'm very interested in what you described you, the great job of, you know, promining how this all played out. So my question is, how did your, you talk about your professional background, how did that help you in terms of launching the potato chip line, your actual background? Were there any commonalities that helped, helped you

kind of tooling some gaps and kind of lead you to where you are today? I would say the biggest thing because, you know, from that baby boom boomer era, which was what my dad is from, you know, there was no trust fund, right? So having that software background allowed me to be my my own venture capitalists. So, you know, paying for the graphic artists to do the spice bottle, what have you, and then paying graphic artists to get the potato bags, and then doing the first run. And then having to go and oversee the runs. Because I understand the market I'm in, right? So my chips, like I said, I love your hotels. So, like, not just regular hires, but also like the park high, for example. So you expect every bite to taste the same. So I had

I actually had to go to the production facilities and actually oversee the actual production to make sure every bite was the same. All 28 herbs and spices showed up on every chip. Randy, we know she loves food. I do. I do. And I love some chips. So I see you have multiple flavors now, though. So you've expanded from that original spice that your father created.

What is your most popular flavor of chip? What was interesting is that when we. hit when we hit the market we knew we had to be different right so we have we have we have we so we don't have barbecue we have smoked right so for you barbecue connoisseurs we decided to make a a smoke flavor chip versus the chip that chases the sauce when you're a barbecue a barbecue connoisseur you want to taste the actual smoke you want to taste the hickory the the the cherry wood those things that the pit master put in so then we have smoked we also have balsamic and we also have our latest flavor we launched which is the hibiscus

bouquet. Yeah. I saw that Hibiscus. That was very interesting. Yeah. It actually comes from a black lacquer, a black on lacquer company called Sorrell. Actually, you know, the owner. So what would happen if we paired chips with a liqueur?

And we got this wonderful flavor that was just magnificent. Congratulations. I hope you got. Mustafa, what you got? Well, actually, we're not in studio because of the weather. weather like matter of fact it is it is insane what is happening out there in the streets in fact i was just sitting here um looking at something uh and if you want to understand why we are completely remote uh this tells you right here uh this is right now the traffic are on the 14

street grid from arlington to Washington dc so uh we didn't get in that mess we had to create I told us that I told us that everybody stay at home don't bother to get out in this mess we can do the show remotely and so when we get back in studio we'll be able to test the chips Mustafa go yeah I was like when I was looking at that picture I was like brother if you could get those chips there by who's stuck in traffic you would be all right brother I'm curious so first of all congratulations um where is symphony of moving to over the next couple of years so so again because like I said we're more of a of a

of a of a luxury brand so we so we found out so we're moving into like fortune 500 companies like moving into their break rooms for example and then we're just expanding our foot our footprint into not only hospitals but also the game industry as well so it's it's you know 2026 is going to be a phenomenal year for our company somebody asked um I'm YouTube chat would you define these as healthy absolutely absolutely because we don't have any artificial flavors no no additives again it's all natural vegan friendly no MSG non GMO and again it features our 28 urban spice proprietary blend so nobody else in the market has our flavors nowhere all right

then I'll give up to you folks if you all want to get these chips the Symphony chips do be a favor go to shop black start network dot com shop blackstar network.com you see this here uh an orchestra of flavor original pack 12 pack is 5299 these are these are premier uh chips and so you want to check that out and so folks go to shop blackstar network dot com shop blackstar network dot com den Andre we appreciate it man uh good luck thank you so much rolling it's the pleasure being on your show and everybody simp simply chips is out there go and get them they're online right right now Get your back.

Shop. Yep, Shop blackstart, network.com. All right, we appreciate it. Thanks a bunch. Let me think,

let me thank Larry. Let me think Randy. Let me think Mustafa being on today's show. I'm really appreciate it. Thank you so very much. As I said, y'all, y'all stay warm. Well, Larry, your ass in Florida,

so we know you warm. I ain't got to worry about it. Yeah, I'm good. Yeah, you good. Mustafa and Randy, stay away from the ice and snow. It's causing way too many problems in on the East Coast.

so we appreciate it. Thanks a lot, folks. That's it for us. We've got to go. Do me a favor of y'all. Support us, Breed the Funk fan club. Your dollars are critically important for the work that we do. If you want to contribute to be a cash out, do so right now using the strike cure a code. You click the cash up pay button to contribute. Of course, send checking money orders to peel, make them out to roll a market on filter. PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C. to zero zero three seven that zero196. Paypal's R. Martin, unfiltered, Venmo, R M unfiltered, Zell, at RowlandSmartin.com, rolling at rollingmarketingunfilterun.com, download the Blackstar Network app, Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV,

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Nightcap at 16. Then when you go up, you've got the, you got, let's see here. Let's keep going. Joe and Jada, this week was at 33. When you go up, the 85 South Boys, they're at 39. You got right-winger, DeVoree Darkens at 42. Gilbert Arenas, he's at 45. Then you keep going up. You're going to see Neil de Grassy Tyson at 57. Then when you go up, you're going to see. Joe Button podcast at 64. Trevor Noah at 66. The pivot guys at 69. And then Cam Newton came in at 74. The 520, Jeff Teagan, those guys, 520 in the morning. They're at 80. And we're right here at 85. And so listen, we're still in the top. We're still in the top 100. And the bottom line is here. We are the only. Roller Martin unfiltered is the only, the only black on, first of all, black, black. news show black news show in the top 100 that's critically important anybody doing we're doing folks and i say that all the time it's important uh and so we're out here speaking to the issues everybody else you're seeing you're talking about entertainment folks uh and others in fact you go down here candace on she's snuck in a 100 top 100 she's at 97 uh but the reality is you talk about who's centering african americans speaking to our issues only this show at number 85. And so again, we got to be able to have our voices. And listen, we,

there's no black female on this list. We want to make that happen to. That's what we're building the content that we're building. So we got the other side of change. We got that show with Brea and Jamira. Of course, we got Ebony's show coming on. We've got a Britney show coming on. We've got Reverend Dr. Jacket Hood Martin show. We've got Dr. Greg Carr's show. Again, I really, I really want to launch a business show. And so your support is really critical for us being able to do that. Folks, that's it. I'm going to see you all tomorrow right here.

I don't know. I might be at the crib tomorrow. I may be in studio. We don't know how this weather is. Hopefully the roads are no longer iced in snow. I want to make sure that our staff is safe. And so we want to put anybody in harm's way. So we'll see what happens.

Right here. Rolling Martin Unfilter on a Blackstone Network. I'm going to see you all tomorrow. Hala. May 2nd, country's biggest stars will be in Austin, Texas. Our 2026 IHeart Country Festival presented by Capital One. Tickets are on sale now. Get yours before they sell out at Ticketmaster.com.

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