#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Breaking out of "debtor's prison, La Dems Endorse 3 Candidates, Melanated Mindz Repping Blackness

Episode Date: August 16, 2022

8.16.2022 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Breaking out of "debtor's prison, La Dems Endorse 3 Candidates, Melanated Mindz Repping Blackness A huge problem for those trying to reenter society is restitution. Paying those fines can create a life sentence for many returning citizens. We'll talk to the  Founder, and Executive Director of  The Ladies of Hope Ministries, who is teaming up with REFORM Alliance for the Remission Now Campaign to help women get out of "debtors prison." Louisiana's Democratic Party is endorsing the candidates challenging Republican incumbent John Kennedy. Gary Chambers says the decision bypasses the executive committee's choice. Chambers will be here to explain. President Joe Biden signs the Inflation Reduction Act into law, finalizing a landmark piece of legislation to fight climate change, lower health care costs, and raise taxes on corporations. We'll break down what that means to the black community. In today's Marketplace segment, we'll feature an all-female black company that's positively representing Black culture while embracing positive images of our culture. We'll talk to the founder of  Melanated Mindz. Support RolandMartinUnfiltered and #BlackStarNetwork via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered PayPal ☛ https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered Venmo ☛https://venmo.com/rmunfiltered Zelle ☛ [e-mail] Annual or monthly recurring #BringTheFunk Fan Club membership via paypal ☛ https://rolandsmartin.com/rmu-paypal/ Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox 👉🏾 http://www.blackstarnetwork.com #RolandMartinUnfiltered and the #BlackStarNetwork are news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man.

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Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication.

Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. Black Star Network is here. Hold no punches! I'm real revolutionary right now. We support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. Thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roller.

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Today is Tuesday, August 16, 2022. Coming up, I'm Roland Martin-Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. Topeka Sam was very much involved in getting the First Step Act signed into law. She also was working on and partnering with the Reform Alliance on reintroducing people back into society who served time in prison. We'll talk with her on today's show.

Gary Chambers Jr., boy, did he get screwed with the Louisiana State Democratic Party. Wait until we tell y'all how they completely blew off their own rules to screw him out of the state party's endorsement and keep him from accessing the dollars that go to the candidate of choice. Also, President Joe Biden signs the Inflation Act. Republicans are still upset with the increase in taxes of the wealthy. We'll talk about the impact of this law and and we'll talk to an all black female merchandising and apparel company, what they're doing for the culture. Folks, it is time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Mark Dunn-Pilcher,

on the Black Star Network, let's go. He's got it, whatever the piss, he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. And when it breaks, he's right on time. And it's Roland, best believe he's knowing Putting it down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling, yeah

With some go-go-royale Yeah, yeah It's rolling, Martin, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's Roland Martin. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Rolling with Roland now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best. You know he's Roland Martin now.

Martin. Hey, folks. Roland Martin here. Yes, I'm in the car driving. I just returned from Los Angeles. We're at the Cynthia and Traynor Golf Tournament. We're going to show you some of the highlights of that at the end of today's show. And so head to the office as we speak. My guest at the top of the show is Topeka Sam. She is the executive director and founder of Ladies of Hope Ministries.

They are focused on helping people reenter society. Topeka has a story for her own about her reentry into society. She also was very much involved in the passage of the First Step Act, which has freed thousands of people who were in federal prison. Topeka, glad to have you on the show. Now, I was supposed to be in. It's crazy. I was supposed to be in studio.

You're there. I'm flying in, trying to get to the studio. But we got you on the show. Glad you're there. Let's just start right off. And first of all, I want to talk about, you know, it's very interesting. There are a lot of people who still talk about how they felt the First Step Act, you know, should have been better, should have been stronger. Republicans got behind it.

But I have to remind people, and you were on a panel at the Roc Nation conference. Congressman Hocking Jeffries was there as well. When the reality is, black folks were really involved in that. And they said, damn Donald Trump, we got to get our people out of prison and not get so caught up in saying, oh, he can't get a win. So talk about how important that was from the perspective of the people who were affected, not the political folks, those who are in prison. Absolutely.

Well, first of all, thank you for having me. You did get me in the studio and you're not here, but it's all good. I'm just happy to be here anyway. Well, what I would say about the First Step Act, you know, it was the first piece of legislation that freed, as you mentioned, thousands of people since locking up hundreds of millions of black and brown people. And for us, it was people over politics. Right. For the sisters and brothers that I communicate with every single day since my release from federal prison, when I asked them, like, what should I do,

they said, you have to go in, because if you're not there, then that means we're not there, that there are other people that are there at the table that are not speaking for us, that are not bringing in our concerns, that have not lived our experience. And so for me, irrespective to the noise that was happening, it was important that I did what I would want anyone to do for me,

which is go in, make the changes that are necessary to try to bring our people home. And look, I mean, there are people, look, we all have political leanings, things on those lines. And I remember meeting with Jared Kushner and myself, trying to get an understanding of what they were doing. But this was a case where I had to remind people that it was Democrats in the House,

led by Congressman Hakeem Jefferson, who pushed this thing through. You have some Republican support, but it was also Democrats who strengthened it in the Senate. Yeah, so, you know, I mean, it was interesting because, you know, with Van Jones, Jessica Jackson at the time through Cut 50, when we were working on that, we had met with the Black Caucus. And it was interesting how, you know, often we forget what led us to these issues. Right. So it was both black and brown elected officials that allowed legislation to pass to lock up millions of black and brown people. So it would take the same people, if not others, for us to be able to be free. And so when you don't lean either way, but you really lean to the people, then you understand

really what the people need. And without this legislation, if we would have waited until today, we would have been still waiting. Because in this current administration to date, we haven't seen any real efforts as it relates to releasing people from prison and really big decarceration efforts. So, you know, I'm just grateful to have been a part of that history-making legislation that allowed, like you stated, thousands of my sisters and brothers to be free. And again, one of the things that we talked about there was there actually was a stronger bill in the last year of Obama's presidency than the First Step Act. But you had some Democrats who said, oh, if Hillary wins, we can get a stronger bill. Well, she didn't win.

That's a perfect example of you have to also sometimes take what you can get today and then come back tomorrow. So this was called the First Step Act, which implies there should be a second. Absolutely, and a third and a fourth, and hopefully the full decarceration of people from prison and jail. So look, you know, as you mentioned, we can't wait for another person, another administration,

when there are people who will die in prison without us advocating for them and getting them out now. My people in prison, even when I was in prison, I wouldn't have wanted to hear for advocates, people who I elect into office to then tell me that I need to wait until another administration comes just because you don't want to either get a win for someone or wait for someone, which then speaks to really the culture. So do we truly believe that people deserve these fair chances, second chances, and deserve to be home from prison and jail or not? And I think that's why we do the work that we do at the Ladies of Hope Ministries, because we do believe and understand the necessity for fair chance and opportunity critically around this country for

our sisters and brothers coming home from prison and jail. And let's talk about that coming home from prison. You know, people automatically assume, oh my goodness, a person is so excited and happy to be released. But it's a whole different world for many of them, especially if they've been gone 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 years. The world they knew no longer exists. I mean, for me, I often, you know, joke and say when I, you know, came, when I went into prison, there was an iPhone 3. And when I came out, it was an iPhone 5, so not much changed for me, but I had been incarcerated with sisters when they came home, 19, 20, 25, 30 years, who went in, I'm from New York, so there were tokens, right, to get on the subway or the bus, and now there are metro cards. They never had an ATM card. They don't know where,

you know, because of redistricting and everything else, you don't even know where to go. The fact that you have to try to find something to eat, a place to live, and a job in a very short period of time without support. And so, you know, it's important that we understand that there are over 20,000 barriers to people who are coming home from prison and jail each year. 20,000. And when, you know, the reason why we're in D.C. today is because we were talking about some of those barriers as it relates to financial crimes and people who have financial convictions or restitution and how those are also compounded. People can't buy homes. They can't refinance or remortgage their homes. They can't get cars. They can't get jobs because even often they're

checking credit. They can't get a credit card. It's so much that these additional punitive causes and also harms that people are, the country is doing to our sisters and brothers are just really, really deplorable. And for us, it's how we bring awareness to these issues so people have more compassion and empathy to give people those fair chances that they truly deserve. Because let's face it, 95% of all people who have been incarcerated are coming home one day.

Do we want people to come home smarter, healed, and better? Or do we want people to come home re-traumatized, even into worse conditions, and then causing further harm, not only to themselves, but also the community? So the point that you made there, a lot of people don't even understand how politicians have ostracized and penalized individuals, even when they get out. I remember when the welfare bill was signed into law by President Bill Clinton. That bill prevented individuals who had been to prison from getting student financial aid. So how, on one hand, can our society say, oh, we want you to better yourselves. We don't want you to go back into prison. We want you to be better when you can't come out. But when you look at

this system, how they literally put barriers into laws on the local, state, and federal level that causes folks to say, well, damn, the only option I got is to go back to stealing and committing crimes in order to survive. Exactly. And you said it right. It's crimes of survival. You know, if I come home after serving, even, you know, there are people who lose everything after a month in prison, right? And I come home and then I'm trying to find somewhere to live. I'm trying for women, trying to, well, 95, 85% of all women who are incarcerated are mothers or dependent of dependent children. And so I have to find my children. I have to find housing. I have to find a job and yet, or want to go back to school. And I can't because there's all these educational barriers,

these financial barriers, these housing barriers, then what do you expect, right? Anyone would, they do what they need to do to survive. And so, you know, prisons are big business. We know that. But we can combat that by providing those opportunities, opening up the pathways for people truly to have a chance to change their lives. And I mean, that's what platforms like this isn't critical for us to talk about these issues, because unfortunately, though incarceration disproportionately impacts people of color, we act like it doesn't impact us. And we're not really moving in the work the way that we should to help our sisters and brothers who are being released from prison and jail daily. So let's talk about what you're doing with the Reform Alliance. Explain what this initiative is. Yeah, so we launched a campaign called Remission Now in partnership with Reform Alliance,

and it's to bring awareness to, on a federal level, people who have restitutions or financial debts that they have to pay after incarceration, that this is considered a lifelong sentence. For example, you have sisters who have ranging from $2 million to $550 million of restitution that one, they never even received any of that income, but two, they'll never pay it back in their life. They spent years in prison. They come and paid restitution while they, payments while they were inside, came home on probation or parole, still have to pay those debts.

And then when they get off, up to 20 years of having to pay those debts. And that is just being overly punitive, over-incarcerating people within the community, and it's just shameful. So on a federal level, the President of the United States can use their clemency power. We hear so often about clemency and pardons, but there's something called remission

that is a part of the clemency or pardon application that will allow the President to relieve that debt that a person has been sentenced to give. And so we're bringing awareness to this issue. PM and invite anyone to join us so they can learn more about these issues, learn how they can continue to work with us to advocate for these issues and begin to, you know, change what's happening again with our sisters and brothers around these types of charges. I'm going to bring my panel now. I'm Dr. Mustafa Sartago Ali, former senior advisor for the environmental justice at EPA, Theresa Lundy, principal founder of TML Communications out of Philadelphia, Demario Sullivan Simmons, rights attorney, founder of Justice for Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Mustafa, Mustafa, you're first. All right. Well, sister, thank you so much for all the work that you're doing. I mean, I know we've got about two million folks in our country who are incarcerated in, you know, state prisons, federal prisons and other incarceration. And I'm just curious, you know, when we have that big of a set of problems, you know, what are the additional resources that we need to get to organization like yours and others to be able to make sure the right legislation is in place? Absolutely. So thank you for that question. Well, two things. There is the over 2 million people who are presently incarcerated within, to your point, you know, local, state, and federal prisons and jails in this country. But there are also over 4 million people that are incarcerated

within our community under community supervision. And what we need as organizations, we need access to resources. We need access to buildings, developments, housing. We need access to the state and federal and local grants. So therefore, we can make sure that we're giving those resources directly to our folks. I mean, let's face it, often community-based organizations like mine that are ran by previously incarcerated people of color and women, we're the least looked at as it relates to funding and opportunity. And so we have to diversify our funding when in fact it's those state, local, and federal grants that really sustain the work that we're doing so that we can

be larger organizations like we see out there. And so I would say that's what we need so we can continue to hire people from our community. We can continue to pour those resources and opportunity into our people so that we can have better, safer, and healthier communities for Black and brown folks in this country. Teresa. Yes, Tamika, thank you so much for this vision. I'm here in Philadelphia, but I work with Pennsylvania legislators and community organizations, and I probably have about six organizations you need to tap in with. But I know one of the questions they may ask you is how can they be a part of your coalition

and where do they go to sign up to make sure that you also have a stake in Pennsylvania. Absolutely. So they can text the number 41444 and text the word the T-H-E-L-O-H-M 2022. And then get connected to our work, to our movement, to what we say is our epic vision of ending poverty and incarceration of women and girls globally, to our website, thelohm.org, any social media platform at the LOHM. And again, join us on Thursday at the event here in D.C. to learn more and connect to us.

I do have one other question, and that is, the First Step Act dealt with the federal level. Have you seen, have others seen movement improvement on the state level? Because typically what you often hear is that when things happen on the federal level, that impacts what happens on the state. So are we seeing states try to reduce prison populations? We have seen it very far and few in between, but even as we see these efforts happening around the country, we're also seeing the number of women who are in prison increasing, right? Like we know it's an 800% increase of the incarceration rate of women over the last 20 years. And so while even- Why? Why? Why? I argue to say, you know, once black men were taken off the street, then they started kidnapping black women.

That's just what it is. And often when you leave, you know, a person single with children, with no resources, men are in prisons and jails, then often, you know, there comes substance misuse, mental health issues, sexual trauma and violence, early childhood trauma, all of these other issues that we don't talk about in our communities, but they are driving forces of what's happening to women in prison. Outside of misogyny and patriarchy and all the racism and all the things that we understand that are part of the why. But for us, it's important that we take that, we understand what's necessary to change that, which is what we're doing and other organizations around the country are. I mean, we decided that because we didn't see a lot of organizations that were doing our work or

our housing model, we have a house in the Bronx, one in New Orleans, Louisiana, one in Trinidad and Tobago, just closed on a house in Prince George's County, Maryland. And because we couldn't get with developers or real estate agents or brokers who would rent to people who have convictions, we decided to get into that ourselves. So we're building our first 20-unit affordable housing development project in Miami, Florida. And we're scaling our work because we know exactly what we need in order to successfully succeed in the country. And you made a point, the question I think was from Mustafa, when you talked about the support that you don't get. organizations that are dealing in this space, as opposed to black-led or people of color-led organizations that know very well the work. And we see this in multiple, multiple spaces. Yeah, what I would say, you know, the irony of that is that in our work, we only really get funded by two foundations or people, individuals of color.

Everyone else that funds our work, which, you know, for me, I'm grateful that people notice our work and want to support our work, but also saddened that not enough people of color are supporting our work. And so, you know, it is important that we also elevate those issues, because again, as I mentioned before, you know, incarceration, poverty disproportionately impacts people of color. So why aren't people of color investing in people of color

in order to do the work in the way that we also know how? So, you know, that is a conversation that often we do not talk about. It is true that as a conversation that often we do not talk about. It is true that as a black woman who was previously incarcerated, it is incredibly difficult that each and every time I'm going for,

you know, funding, I have to continuously talk about my trauma, which is exhausting each and every day. And that sometimes when we're going for different funding opportunities, that we will get a third of what another organization, a white-led organization, will get, you know, three times what we've asked for who do less work than we do.

And that is something else that needs to be addressed. But I think it's, you know, important that while there are organizations like our organization that is actually doing this work, that people know what we're doing, how they can get involved, how they can connect us to these resources, not only through foundations, high net worth individuals, corporate social responsibility, ESG, all of the things in order to help us to help ourselves. This is the last question. You mentioned, I sound like a Baptist preacher, You mentioned the problems with acquiring housing. Have you had any conversations with the black real estate brokers?

I spoke at their national convention a couple weeks ago. I'd be curious if you considered reaching out to them and partnering in this space, because, I mean, these are people who actually sell homes. Well, I have. Maybe I haven't reached out to the people you did, so if there's any contacts you can make, that'll be great. Oh, yeah, well, I go to the top, so it'll be the CEO and chairman of the board.

Take me there, because often even, you know, presidents and CEOs aren't chairpeople. What I find, even where we are in Louisiana, for example, and even in the Bronx, we're in communities that are, you know, of color. And there are still these biases, not in our backyard. And it goes also to developers often, also, you know, brokers and real estate agents that they just do not want to take the chance.

So it's not necessarily where I notice that it's bias based on color. It's just bias based on what people think around people who've been to prison. Absolutely. Okay, so for the folks who are watching, the folks who are listening, how can they reach your organization? If they want to give, they want to assist,

they want support. Absolutely. So again, they can text the word T-H-E-L-O-H-M-2-0-2-2 to the number 41444. They can go on our website, thethelohm.org. They can follow us on any social media platform at thelohm, or they can follow me at TopekaKSAM or any platform as well. All right, Topeka, I appreciate it. Thanks for coming in.

Looks like I'm almost there with all this traffic, but hey, that's the world. But luckily with technology, we still made it happen. I appreciate it. Good luck and keep us abreast of how things go.

Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me here. I feel you in spirit, even though you're not really here present with me, but grateful for this opportunity. Thank you so much for having me here. I feel you in spirit, even though you're not really here present with me, but grateful for this opportunity. Thank you. Absolutely. I appreciate it. Thanks so much.

Folks, coming up next, we're going to talk with Gary Chambers, Jr. Man, did he get screwed by the Louisiana State Democratic Party when it came to getting their endorsement. Wait until you hear from him on what happened. That is next right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Don't forget to support us in what we do, folks. Download our Black Star Network app, Apple Phone, Android Phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. You can also, of course, please join our Bring the Funk Fan Club. Your dollars make it possible for us to do what we do. Our goal is to get 2,000 donors this month, giving an average of 50 bucks each. That's $4.19 a month. That's $0.13 a day. You get, of course, you got this show, Raji Muhammad's daily show, weekly shows from Debra Owens, Jackie Ed Martin, Stephanie Humphrey, Greg Carr, plus Rolling with Roland, our interview show every two weeks.

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We all shine. Together, we are black beyond measure. Hatred on the streets. A horrific scene. A white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. You will not regret that. White people are losing their damn lives. There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to the U.S. Capitol. We're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance.

We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University calls white rage as a backlash. This is the rise of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this.

There's all the Proud Boys, guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white fear. When we invest in ourselves, we all shine. Together, we all shine. Together, we are Black Beyond Measure.

We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not. From politics to music and entertainment, it's a huge part of our lives. And we're going to talk about it every day right here on The Culture with me, Farhaji Muhammad, only on the Black Star Network. Yo, what's up? This your boy Ice Cube. What's up? I'm Lance Grossing. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time. Have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

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I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Dr Podcasts.

I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people,

real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players

all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug ban is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. Got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette.

MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to,

you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov.

Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks, welcome back to Roland Martin Unfiltered. So Gary Chambers Jr. is seeking the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate. You've seen his commercials. He is campaigning all across the state. And one of the things that happened this weekend was the state Louisiana Democratic Party meeting where they were going to decide who was going to get the state party's endorsement. Well, there's a procedure that's followed, this process that's followed. Gary followed that. But that's not what party leadership did. They essentially

changed all of the rules to prevent Gary from being the one who is endorsed by the state party. Gary Chambers, Jr. joins us right now to tell us if you've been following social media, you'll see what happened. So, Gary, for folks who don't know, so walk us through what happened here, where the meeting took place, and just what went down on this wild Saturday. Well, thank you, Roland, for having me. So this Saturday at the Louisiana State Capitol, the Democratic State Central Committee had their endorsement meeting, which is something that happens for every statewide elected office. We won the executive committee vote. There's a process by which the executive committee votes.

We won that vote in a vote of 97. We then were supposed to be presented for an up or down vote on Saturday before the Democratic State Central Committee. The chair of the party allowed the rule place to work for. And then when they got to the U.S. Senate race and the Public Service Commission, they allowed someone to get up and offer a resolution. They never even allowed the executive from being able to be the sole endorsed candidate like they did with the congressional candidates, which helps unlock resources to build a true

apparatus and campaign to be victorious. And so the question becomes, does the Democratic Party really want to beat John Kennedy, or do they just want more moderate white men to run statewide so that campaign consultants can raise money. So let's talk about this. Okay, so you have the executive committee. How many black folks on this executive committee? The executive committee is about, I think it's majority black. Okay, so majority black. Okay, so it's a nine to seven vote. And the way it normally happens is if you get that, they then take your name, they go to the floor, and then folks vote it up or down. So meaning they could have taken your name, gone to the floor, and the membership votes. That's how they always do it, correct? That is correct. But here's the caveat, Roland. In March, they changed the bylaws to ensure that only one candidate, the candidate who comes from the executive committee, could be nominated because in order to nominate

someone else, you had to nominate them five days prior to the meeting. So the chair, we believe, created these bylaws in anticipation that I would not win the executive committee's endorsement. So I- Wow. Reforced. Okay, so first of all, who is the chair?

Her name is Katie Bernhardt. And Katie, white, black, and what part of the state is she from? Katie Bernhardt is white. She's from the Lafayette area of the state of Louisiana. Katie actually came to power. There was the chair of the Black Caucus, State Representative Ted James, who now works for the Biden administration, was seeking the chair. And Katie kind of operated a coup to get him out of the race to take the chairship of the party from a Black man. And now she's preventing a Black man from

being able to win the endorsement in a statewide election, the first time a Black candidate beats a white candidate in this process in Louisiana history. So, okay. So they changed the rules in March for one candidate. And so you get that. So tell people what then happened, because this is what blew me away, when she all of a sudden pulled 50 proxies out of her pocket, just out of the blue. So a resolution was presented, which the rules say that in order for a resolution to be presented to the body, it has to be 15 days prior to the vote. She suspended that rule. It said that you have to have the resolutions committee meet.

The resolutions committee met. We won the vote five to two where the resolutions committee rejected the resolution. She still brought it to a vote. And then she pulled 50 proxy votes of people who were absent from the meeting that she could assign to people in the meeting who supported her view about a triple endorsement. Those people then cast those proxy votes. And there weren't even, Roland, there weren't 100 people in the room, but the vote passed the resolution 80 to 40. Okay. So this happened because she decides to drop these proxies and that's what changed everything. The proxy votes changed the vote. We know that if it was a vote of the DSCC members that were in the room, that we would have won the vote. But because the chair was able to use proxy votes, she was able to assign those votes. Each DSCC member can carry three proxy votes, which means three people who

didn't attend the meeting can be assigned by the chair to someone who will vote the way that the chair believes that the issue should be resolved. I'm sure that the members of the Democratic State Central Committee had no clue that the chair was using their vote to suspend the rules in order to pass an agenda to endorse someone else. Okay. So explain this to me then. Okay. So when she did this, so when she does this, how then do folks respond? Because surely, if surely if you're sitting there and you're seeing this thing play out, you're like, what the hell just happened? People were angry. People came to the microphone. People were speaking out against it. She did not let all of the members of the committee speak,

which is par for the course because she also didn't let the candidates speak. There were a line of people standing there to speak against what was taking place. Attorneys were challenging her on the rules, on the fact that she had just endorsed four candidates by these rules and then said that she didn't agree with the way the rules were done. It was just walking hypocrisy. I felt like I was in the Republican National Convention rather than sitting in the room with Democrats who are supposed to defend the right of people to have their voices and their vote heard. But she got a chair who manipulated the entire system in her favor. So what has Louisiana Black Caucus said?

So the Black Caucus at this point has not reached out to us. We've had conversations with members of the caucus. I believe that the caucus should take a position on this. A member of the caucus is the person who brought the resolution. And so I think that members of the Black Caucus should question, if a qualified Black candidate wins in the Democratic Party's endorsement process and the party sets precedent by approving four candidates for office through the same process in the same meeting, how then does a member of the caucus and the chair of the party strip away the sole endorsement from a black candidate and the black caucus be quiet about it? And the thing here is you've abided by all the rules. You did everything the right way. And it seems they're pissed off that you actually worked the system and was going to come out ahead.

Roland, for me, that's what's the most egregious about it all. We played by the rules that they set when they bent the rules and made the rules really so that if we didn't win, we would have no recourse for a floor vote. And we still jumped that hurdle and won. And then to have the chair of the party, by the way, Roland, this woman told me last October that a black man could not win in the state of Louisiana. She failed to tell me that a black man couldn't win in the state of Louisiana because she would do everything in her power to prevent him from winning. On that particular point there, I mean, what you're dealing with is there's this assumption that, oh, only a white conservative Democrat can win in Louisiana.

But, hell, you've got to win the primary first. Well, here's the deal, Roland. There are 900,000 registered voters in the black voters in the state of Louisiana. John Belkett was the Democrat that is the governor of the state of Louisiana, would not be the governor of Louisiana were it not for black voters. In the election where he won, 450,000 black voters showed up to vote for him. John Kennedy, the senator I'm running against, was elected with 536,000 votes. If 450,000 black votes showed up to elect the Democrat governor that's there and John Kennedy won with 536,000 votes, the math is there. We can win this if we have a party and the resources to actually go out there and build

infrastructure to defeat Republicans. What you see on display is why Louisiana continues to fail to Republicans because we have quasi-Republicans leading the party. And on that particular note there, when you talk about what's happening with those Democrats and how they're supposedly leading in Louisiana, how in the hell do you think you're gonna get black people to be interested if they're trying to screw you over? Look, you've got people like James Carville out there.

They've been trashing you, attacking you for this other candidate who, last I checked, did he just become a Democrat? Well, he didn't vote for President Obama, that's for sure. And he's not supportive of

reproductive rights. He doesn't support student loan forgiveness. For God's sake, Roland, if you wanted to be a Republican, you could have just went and joined the party. We need people who actually care about the things that Democrats care about on the ballot. We keep chasing this mythical white margin when 50 percent of black voters in the state are staying home. 30% of white voters in this state consistently show that they want a Democrat elected. 50% of black voters have stayed home in the election where we elected a Democrat statewide because we ran a moderate Democrat who does not share their values. And so I believe we can turn that base out at a higher number if we are activated behind the things that

are important to the base of the party. What's the next thing for you? What are you going to do? Well, we are calling for the resignation of Katie Bernhardt after the conduct that she displayed at the meeting. I don't know if Katie understands, but I don't take kindly for people playing with me in the process. And so as long as she was playing in private, I allowed the political process to play out. But she played with us in public. And so we're going to take every recourse we can to try to have her removed as the chair of the party. People are already calling for her resignation. We want people to continue to call for her resignation.

And we want the leadership of this state to recognize that while you may feel like Katie did this because this is Gary Chambers and he's radical, but Katie would have done this no matter who the black candidate was if she felt like they weren't the one who should be in front of the white candidate of her choosing. Let's see here. Panelists, any questions? I'll start with you, Theresa. Yeah, thank you so much for that information. I think it has definitely opened up our eyes. It looks like your mansion is everywhere at this point. So tell people how they can support you

and when the deadline is for election. So people can go to, thank you so much for that, people can go to chambersforlouisiana.com to make contributions. You can also sign up to volunteer. We have in Louisiana what's called a jungle primary. And so all the candidates on the ballot are on the ballot November the 8th. If we keep John Kennedy under 50 percent, under 51 percent, we force a December runoff and this will be the last seat in the U.S. Senate. And so we believe that we have the groundwork and the infrastructure to do it. We just need the resources. Mustafa.

Well, Gary, I've been following your campaign and you've definitely been speaking to the people. And I think you're running an excellent campaign. So I just want to say thank you for keeping it real. How do we also make sure that Katie doesn't do these types of actions moving forward? Is there a way that we can engage to make sure there's some do right on that side of the equation? So we're going to roll out methods to communicate back to the party. We're in the process of sending a formal complaint right now. And as we go through that process, you know, I never expected to be in this position. But as we go through this process, we're going to share that more so people can help beat the ground grain, the legs and the feet to help us move this forward.

Demario. What's up, Brother Gary? I appreciate your commercials. I really love the one where you had the you were shooting the Confederate flag or burning it up, man. Keep doing what you're doing. Again, we know that you're getting treated unfairly by the Democratic Party, but more than anything else, we need people to vote for you so you can unseat John Kennedy. So I'm going to go with what Teresa stated. Tell us once again how we can help you tangibly right now from wherever we are. I'm in Oklahoma. How can someone like me that does not live in Louisiana, how can we help you?

You can go to our website and donate. You can sign up to volunteer on our website, Chambers for Louisiana. There's a take action tab there. For us, we're gonna organize something different and bringing people to Louisiana for days of action where you can come and get on a bus this fall and knock some doors for us to help us galvanize people

around this state. And you can call all your aunties, cousins, and grandmas that are Black folks in Louisiana and show them these videos because I don't believe that the people of Louisiana will take too kindly to the treatment that Katie Bernhardt has done to a black candidate running for office. And the thing here is, again, so explain to people again, when you say jungle primary, because they hear that. So what actually happens on election day in November? So on election day in November, all of the candidates, Democrat, Republicans, Independents, whatever, are on the same ballot you vote. John Kennedy, if no candidate gets to 51 percent, the top two vote-getters go to a December runoff.

So we don't have closed primaries in Louisiana. And so everybody runs on the same ballot. And then if no one gets to 51 percent, there's a runoff in December of the top two vote getters. We intend to be in that runoff. John Kennedy's polling right now at 51 percent. He's not a very popular senator. If we continue to galvanize and get national attention around this race and get people to pay attention, if the DNC takes the second blackest state in America seriously, we can defeat John Kennedy. And that particular point right there is one that I have talked about beforehand. And that is, look, you have a significant number of black folks in Louisiana. That was a federal court that ruled that Louisiana should have a second black congressional district. Supreme Court put a hold on that.

And so the reality is if the resources are poured into Louisiana, again, you could potentially have Louisiana do what Georgia did, and that is if you're able to register a lot of these unregistered black folks and turn folks out in numbers. Unfortunately, when you talk about black turnout, I think you had put it out beforehand, the low numbers of black turnout in the three largest cities in the state. When John Kennedy ran, black voters turned out around 28 percent in the state of Louisiana. When the Democrat that is elected statewide ran, 50% of black voters

turned out in the state. If we turn out black voters at 60, 65%, we will do something in Louisiana that's not done in any other state and elect black candidates up and down the ballot statewide. And that goes right to one of the things that I have said to people numerous times is we've got to get black turnout. I think when you put it out there, I think you said it was like New Orleans, Monroe, Baton Rouge, and the highest was like 36%. 32. 32. So we get black turnout at 50, 60, 65, 70, 75. Those margins can determine the election.

They absolutely will. They absolutely will. And so, and we've seen it done. We did it in 2015 and in 2019 with John Bel Edwards. The problem is the party has only activated behind moderate white men. And so the reason we haven't seen it done is because we haven't activated behind anybody other than moderate white men. And so if we want to see people elected in this state that look different, think different, and actually produce for Louisiana, Ronan, I always lead with the numbers. Louisiana ranks 50th in the nation. And we rank 50 in crime and 49 in opportunity. And I think we rank 50 in crime because we rank 49 in opportunity. If you change your leaders, you'll get a change in your community.

You mentioned the effort to go door to door. First of all, how is that process going? Are you getting support from organizations when it comes to signing people up, things like that? We are the only campaign that's currently knocking doors in Louisiana. We're excited about it. We're knocking all over the state with volunteers. As students come back on campus at all of the universities around the state, we intend to ramp up our volunteer apparatus. And so we're just activating and building out as we go. Of course, it takes financial resources to make all of these things move. And so our fundraising is working in concert with that so that we'll have

the resources to get it done. All right, then. And so, as you said, you're looking for folks who want to assist, who want to support. And I also take it that you're going to a lot of those places where black folks are in rural Louisiana who otherwise are ignored by those white moderate to conservative Democratic politicians? We were in Jackson, Louisiana, just last week, talking to folks in east and west Feliciana because those folks are dealing with things in their communities and not getting any attention from their elected leaders. And so we're spending time with people in small towns and big cities to talk about the change that we can make happen for the entire state of Louisiana. Well, it's one of the things

that I keep trying to tell people, the best way for a person to lose is never to run. And at the end of the day, you got to to actually put it together. You've got to put a campaign together. And I just want our people, and I guarantee you, there's somebody who's watching right now who's saying, see, right there, those damn Democrats, that's why I can't support them. But the reality is you are running as a Democrat. We can actually change the party, and we can change the party with the power of our vote. And all of a sudden, we start throwing folks out right now who have power, and by voting our numbers, then guess what? That'll get their attention.

No doubt about it, brother. We just got to keep pushing. All right. Gary Chambers, Jr., we certainly appreciate it, man. Thanks a bunch. Let us know what happens next with the state chair, Louisa and Democratic Party. And we'll also be calling her to see if she wants to come on to talk about how she changed the rules to screw you over and keep you from getting that endorsement.

Thank you, brother. I appreciate you. All right. Thanks a bunch. Go back to our panel here. You know, this is the thing, Mustafa, I continue to tell folks, and we're going to keep, just keep hitting it over and over and over again. We can go historically what happens. We can look at Atlantic City in 1964, when the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party went there and they were denied representation in the Mississippi delegation. And they were not happy when a compromise was brokered, one African-American and one white person from their group. But they were not happy. Bob Moses wasn't happy.

Fan Lou Hamer wasn't happy. They were angry at Bob Rustin and Dr. King for the decision that they took place. But in 1968, it was a completely integrated delegation. We've seen this where the rules were changed by Reverend Jesse Jackson, Sr. and the late Ron

Daniels and the late Ron Brown, where you begin to see far more representation as super delegates after Reverend Jackson's run in 1988. And so this notion that even on Democrats have been always embrace black folks, no, that ain't the case, but black folks have always flexed our muscle in order to achieve the desired result.

Well, you know, W.E.B. Du Bois said that a system cannot fail those it was never meant to protect. So we have a responsibility in this moment to dismantle these systems. How do we dismantle these systems? By utilizing our leverage and our power to get our individuals into the positions to make sure that these entities work for us and to make sure that we have an actual chance, that there's equity and justice built into it. So we have to realize that we do have power. We've just got to be able to utilize that power to make these changes happen. And then we'll make sure that we're getting the right types of policies and other things that help our communities to be able to move forward, along with the resources.

So in my mind, this is something that we can do. We just have to get motivated and we've got to get focused on the steps that we have to do strategically. And Teresa, if you are a black Democrat elected office holder in Louisiana, you should be kicking your party's ass of what they did to cheat Gary Chambers out of this. Bottom line is if you got rules, follow your rules. But don't all of a sudden change the rules on the fly because you don't like the results. That's what Republicans are doing with Donald Trump

and trying to rig elections. You're right. Democrats now more than ever need to stick together. So if they want to go outside of the actual guidelines of what it means to actually vote, especially in that state, then they might want to set up another party because it is very clear that the Democratic Party needs to remain unified. They need to remain respectful to one another and also just

understand that this election definitely does mean more. We say, we say every election it means more, but this one in particular does mean more. And they should uphold the same rules, you know, that they give any candidate that's running. So if it doesn't work for them on their behalf, they need to not have a selfless behavior, but more of unification, start thinking about the people where they desire to serve. DeMario, I hear people who say, forget that, start our own party.

You can look at the recent history, I think the last 40 years, how that has gone, people understand that. I also am a firm believer that if something isn't being done right, guess what? You change it. You literally go in and you try to take it over and change it. And that means being willing to challenge authority. Yeah, and that's what Gary is doing down there in Louisiana. And it's unfortunate that he has to stay focused on a race

and not get too veered off on this discrimination that he's received. I mean, that was really race-based discrimination. They tried to be real slick because they actually nominated another Black candidate. What's the value of endorsing three people? That doesn't make any sense at all. But the reality is this.

He needs the votes to win. Even if he gets the endorsement from a Democratic party, that in and of itself is not going to move those Black people back in those rural areas you talked about, Roland. It is about getting on the ground and putting resources. So I think we need to be calling upon Jamie Harrison and the Democratic National Party to be putting in resources to help Gary get people out to vote so they can beat John Kennedy. When you're talking about the less than 25% of black eligible voters voted in the last Senate race with John Kennedy, man, that's a big opportunity.

So while we're upset that Gary got discriminated against because of an endorsement, what's more important is getting people out to vote. So our people that's listening now, we need to donate to Gary. If you can get to Louisiana to walk and knock on doors, do that and call the National Democratic Party to put in resources to elect Gary Chambers, not because he's a Democrat, but because he's someone that believes in truth,

justice, and equity for our community. You know, Mustafa, I remember 2012, it was either the night of or the next day, was preparing to go on CNN, and then Congressman Chris Van Hollen was in the wings waiting to go on. He's now a senator from Maryland. And he said, I said, why are y'all not putting millions of dollars into Georgia to make it purple and allow you to contend? He said, not going to happen. Georgia's red. I'm like, have you actually seen the numbers? Have you bothered looking at the numbers? At the time, there were 800,000 unregistered African-Americans in Georgia. 800,000. And so what Stacey Abrams and Raphael Warnock and others did in Seufo

with the New Georgia Voter Project, what they did was they did the work. And so part of the problem has been, and Gary alluded to this, this is part of the problem if you're Democratic Party. Louisiana's red. We can't win. Well, you're guaranteed to lose if you never compete. So you absolutely will lose. And so this is also where we were talking to Topeka about independent black dollars, where we need black institutions that are saying, you know what, we're not going to wait on a party to actually activate our base. What we're going to do is we're going to put the resources there. What Black Voters Matter is doing,

that's what they're doing, going all around the South, saying we're going to go to those places that people ignore because if we're able to talk to those people and activate them, we can change policy by changing the policymakers. Without a doubt, we know that, you know, continually our communities have been undervalued and marginalized, especially when it comes to folks making significant investments, making sure that we have the dollars to be able to make the moves that we know how to do. And, you know, it's interesting, whether we're looking at Marcus Garvey or Malcolm X, you know, in many instances, you know, they shared with us about the power that exists inside of our own communities, about the power that exists inside of our own black dollars, and that if we focus them, there are amazing things we can do.

All you've got to do is look north from Georgia and look up to North Carolina when folks told Reverend Barber and the Moral Monday movement all the things that they wouldn't be able to do. And they said, OK, we'll show you. And they actually were able to move North Carolina and to make real changes happen there. So the examples are out there. The green prints, the blueprints are out there for folks about how when you support our communities, when you support our institutions, and when we support our own, that we can make real change happen. But the issue here is simple, Teresa. You got to do it's this this is not going to happen by running uh commercials on television it is going to happen when you are hitting the ground and you are touching people that's how this hat changes you're absolutely right i can't tell you how many times you know

i have to tell you know either clients or friends who are now running for public office, you have to, you know, not only do your strategy, you know, not only six months till it's time for people to vote in the primary election, you have to do it year one and year two, way before then. So if you haven't been in a community, it's time for you to get up and actually be active, hit the doors, talk to people, learn about their issues and concerns. So when it is time for you to make that announcement, you now have a backing of supporters who see the vision and understand your leadership. Otherwise, you're wasting time, you're wasting money. And, you know, the campaign falls by the wayside, you know, less than six months to when it's time to announce. So it is incumbent for every individual who wants to run for public office and not only hit the ground running, but also understand the people's concerns, who then will help you raise money for that seat.

And Demario, you understand that, what y'all have done for Justice for Greenwood. I mean, look, if you don't get out there and make it happen, nothing will happen. That's right, Roland. I just reiterate what Mustafa and Teresa said. It's so true. You have to be on the ground. You've got to knock on doors. And I appreciate Gary talking about the program that his campaign is doing to bring people into Louisiana, people who are excited about him having an opportunity

to represent not just black people in Louisiana, not just Louisiana, people in Louisiana, but the black community as a whole, because you can look at the track record of a person like Gary Chambers. They always spoke truth to power. He's always tried to fight for what was best for black people. And I remember when President Obama was running for office in 2007, and I drove down to Dallas,

my wife, myself, and my best friend, Jeff Trevelyan, Attorney Jeff Trevelyan. And we walked around Oak Cliff knocking on doors, trying to convince black people to vote for President Obama instead of Hillary, or Senator Clinton at the time. That's what it takes. That is what it absolutely takes. And that takes resources. So, again, I implore everyone to send Gary a donation. And if you can send him $5, send him $5. If you can send him $500, send him $500. We need to support this brother and other black candidates around this country who need our resources and our time. If you cannot get to Louisiana, if you cannot get to a particular state, call your friends and your nephews and your cousins, as Gary said, your nieces and them, and have them get out there and knock on those doors.

And, you know, I had called out some of these FBA, ADOS, B1 folks who were sitting here whining and complaining. And I said, why don't y'all not support Gary Chambers? Then you had people sitting there going, oh, he'll sell out. He ain't real. And I'm like, it's amazing. I'm like, boy, y'all will complain about anybody. I'm like, why don't y'all run? See, this is my whole point.

You can sit here and bitch and moan about somebody else and with the work that they're doing, or you can do it yourself. But if all you're doing is sitting your ass on the sideline, complaining about somebody else, well, your opinion don't mean a damn thing to me because you're not choosing to be involved in the game. So I think, uh, I think what, uh, what Gary is doing is great.

Other candidates who are running is great. That is what's important. We must be in the game. We must be fully engaged in the process. But most importantly, folks, using our elected power. If you're sitting your ass at home and you ain't voting, nothing changes. Well, I just, brother, if I may, we got to vote, but we also got to, we got to fund our candidates. We got to, yes, we got to do more than vote. It's more than voting. Voting is great, but we got to vote, but we've also got to fund our candidates. We've got to phone-bake for them.

We've got to do more than vote. It's more than voting. Voting is great, but we've got to do the full, we've got to participate in the political process the entire way. Yes, and that's why I always say that voting is the end, is the end of one process and the beginning of another. Because even if your chosen candidate doesn't win, we still have to be engaging that school board, that water district, that DA, those judges,

the legislature, the county, Congress, because again, we are constituents. And I think too many people walk around saying, oh man, I'm nothing. I have no power. No, you do as a constituent. But if you don't vote and you don't speak up, it's guaranteed you'll get ignored. All right, folks, got to go to break. We'll come back and we'll talk about politics of the day. We'll also, of course, have our Marketplace segment featuring a black-owned business. A group of sisters run this company dealing with merchandising and apparel. That's for the culture. And we'll show you some of the sights and sounds from Sippy Entertainer's

ninth annual Celebrity Golf Classic. I was playing in it on yesterday. The VIP party was on Sunday. Ellen Champagne King was doing her thing. And so we'll give you a taste of what took place there. You're watching Roller Martin Unfiltered on the Blackstar Network. Don't forget, download our Black Star Network app. We're trying to get to 50,000 downloads. We should be there by now, y'all, seriously. Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. And of course, you can support our Bring the Funk fan club. Your dollars make it possible for us to do what we do, to cover the news that matters to you. And so the way to do that, folks, is contributing to our fan club. Your dollars make it possible for us to do what we do, to cover the news that matters to you. And so the way to do that, folks, is contributing to our fan club.

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Keep the music going. Kia Richardson, thanks a lot. Stephanie Smith, Madison Gunter, Stanley, Timothy Poole, thanks a lot. Joy Jenkins, I appreciate it. Vernon Murphy, Rochelle Folkwet, Jennifer, let's see here. Schaefer, Shafar Flowers, Colette, Stacy Johnson, Veronica Ramirez, Cherry Jackson, Gwen Lawson, Yergin, Robert, Raymond Harrison, flowers colette stacey johnson veronica ramirez uh cherry jackson gwen lawson year again robert raymond harrison han solo daniel devon julian drew knight brian reed cynthia hollinger katira jones

crystal handy alva jay martin uh kasimi cole sharon gordon jeffrey uh grande wright maria Jeffrey Grande Wright, Maria Rivera, Rosalyn Fontaine, Demita Hankerson, Stephanie Booth, Brian Alex, Carolyn Snowden, let's see here, Sherelle White, Kalia Walker, Theotis Rice, Courtney Hart, Richard Jackson, Gwendolyn Cannon, Demetrius, Harriet Jones, Tommy Williams, Kenan Morris, Maurice Williams, Samoto Dabney, Fayetta Sawyers, Benny Burrison, Sammy Sawyers Jr., Juwan Yvette, Scotty Cole, Angie A.K., Mocha Mima, Christian, Matthew Price, and I think one just came in, Briante Brewer. I appreciate it, folks. Thanks a bunch. I'll be right back. When we invest in ourselves, we're investing in what's next for all of us.

Growing. Creating. Making moves. That move us all forward. Together, we are Black Beyond Measure. On a next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie. Summer is flying by and back to school is just around the corner. And fall is here. That's right. A new Summer is flying by and back to school is just around the corner and fall is here.

That's right. A new season is upon us. On our next show, we talk about jumping into action and putting procrastination in the rear view mirror. That's on a next A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie here on Black Star Network. When we invest in ourselves, our glow, our vision, our vibe, we all shine. Together, we are Black Beyond Measure.

Next, on The Black Table, with me, Greg Carr. A conversation with Professor Toyin Falola, a man described by many as an African intellectual legend. He is without a doubt the most important and prolific writer, thinker, teacher, and servant of African studies in the modern world. And then today, we have George Floyd, the Black Lives Matters, and the re-images of radical Black talk. We're honored to welcome him

to a very special, can't miss episode of The Black Table, only on the Black Star Network. I'm Deion Cole,ey. You're watching... Roland Martin, Unfiltered. Stay woke. Alright y'all, so there are new excuses from Donald Trump as relates to why he had classified documents. So let's see. I'm trying to keep up now, DeMario, Mustafa, and Teresa. So first, if I'm correct, evidence was planted. Okay, so then that thing shifted to I'm being targeted and harassed.

And so then the new one then became, let's see here. No, I had a standing order to declassify everything. Okay, so now the new one is, it's Mark Meadows fault. And now the new one is, is Mark Meadows fault. And now the new new one is, hey, Bear Garland, you might want to like go ahead and chill because you know, my people might get violent. And I don't want no shit to go down if they get violent.

So the best thing for y'all to do is to stop investigating me because that's gonna keep them from getting violent. Well, any of y'all awake during January 6th? I was. So I'm just trying to understand, Teresa, why these fools think that threat is somehow going to work right now. We've already seen what Trump's thugs will do. So prosecute his ass to the fullest. I agree. You have to make an example out of Trump. Otherwise, the mayhem and the issues that we're still having outside of his presidency is going to continue. You know, I've never seen a more amplified, you know, commentators on Fox News and other related media platforms

that, you know, really, you know, just doesn't care about the law. They don't care about the justice system. And they're picking apart the case like they are actually attorneys instead of commentators and opinionists. So it's very unfortunate. This is kind of where we are in the country, and we're not actually covering the news that is necessary for people to know, but we are covering this case so aggressively that it's almost fear-mongering versus actually saying, even from the Presidential Justice Department, that we are going to prosecute Donald Trump and his crimes and his affiliates.

So I don't think the Justice Department needs to be scared. I'm not sure what this tactic that Trump and his designees are doing. But they absolutely need to prosecute. If it's not on a federal level, then they absolutely need to do it in New York, and they need to do it fast before this becomes a virus that we cannot cure. Well, but here's the deal, though, DeMario. There ain't no bottom.

See, here's part of the problem. All of these people have been trying to use common sense to deal with Trump and his people. There is no common sense. There is no bottom. There is no such thing as him going, you know what? I think we've gone too far. It doesn't exist. So as long as you let, if you let a criminal continue to rob you and they suffer no repercussions, they going to keep robbing you. That ain't changing. That's just fact. And people need to come to grips with this reality on what needs to happen when you're dealing with this thug, Donald Trump. A hundred percent facts. And Roland, you know, for the last year, I've said almost every Tuesday

that they need to arrest this guy. And as Teresa said, his designees and affiliates. Listen, this is reality. Any of us, I'm a lawyer, everyone knows on this platform. I've never seen people with this guilty get these many chances. He's still getting kid gloves. If this was any other individual that did the things that he's done, had the things in his home that he had, they would have been arrested, period. And so this is another example. Is this a nation of laws or is it only a nation of laws when it comes to black and poor people? Now, Brian Stevenson, my mentor, always says it's much better in this country to be rich and guilty than poor and innocent. This is a great example. Because Donald Trump is a powerful

white man, he gets to continue to flaunt the laws that anybody else would be imprisoned by. It's ridiculous. I want to see the Justice Department continue to be aggressive and continue to make arrests and do what they need to do. As Teresa said, I couldn't agree more. Contain this virus or it's going to get out of hand and we're going to be looking around saying, look, wow, if they only would have. Here's a perfect example, Mustafa. This is the fool who tonight is like, who not likely, who's going to beat Congresswoman Liz Cheney, Lynn Cheney in Wyoming. Listen to this.

Joe Biden is the largest or the most destructive human trafficker in our history. Joe Biden is the largest or the most destructive human trafficker in our history. Okay, all right, so now I'm gonna play, now this is a video of the fool who won the Republican nomination for governor in Arizona, former TV anchor, Carrie Lake. Really think it's important for our representatives, governor centers, everyone to try and apply pressure to Republicans with national

influence to disband the FBI, to make sure that we reduce the scope of the IRS. It's a litmus test for me now. 100 percent. I agree. You know, and we're going to push back with our state's rights. You know, we're sovereign states. We are not serfs of the federal government. We created the federal government. And now they're like this big monster that's taken over our lives. And we're going to push back here. We're going to push on a 10th Amendment. And we are going to start taking on these issues from a state's point of view and a state's perspective, instead of letting these agencies with people who haven't been elected by the people dictate what we should be doing in our lives. So they're upset. They're upset because the Inflation Reduction Act authorizes the IRS to hire, you know, thousands of more people. That's because literally the Republicans have been defunding the IRS because they don't like them catching tax cheats who are rich.

In fact, they have been, I mean, I remember Eric Erickson, a not-known conservative out of Georgia, he put this thing out that, oh, the IRS, they're going to be hiring all of these IRS agents to go after black and brown people, and I'm going, no fool, they're going after rich white people. And in fact, and and in fact and in fact mustafa and in fact the uh the janet yellen the treasury secretary has made it clear and has said

given a directive to the irs they are not going to be investigating and auditing people who make less than four hundred thousand dollars they're using this new money to go after the millionaires and the billionaires who've been cheating this system. But these are so I'm trying to get people to understand people have got to stop saying Trump, Trump, Trump. No, this is the entire Republican Party, local, state, national. They're all crazy. Right. I mean, you know, Trump ran his presidency as a dictatorship. We all know that. But what he also did was for all these folks who've been holding these types of views, you know, maybe their whole lives, you know, to now be able to bring those forward. And it's a very dangerous situation. You know, people always talk about the dangers to democracy.

Yes, that's important. But it's also dangerous to everyday folks out there across the country because these folks want to destabilize and create chaos so that they can hold on to power and so that they can seem like once they've created this chaotic situation, that they can then swoop in and try and give some normalcy and try and settle things down. When you have individuals, not just, you know, former or Donald Trump, but also these other individuals who are running for office, they're doing such a disservice because they continue to fan these flames. And as we've talked about on this show for a long time now, we see how it's starting to play out. We see all these militias. We see these nationalists.

We see all these, the increases that are happening, you know, around causing additional violence inside of communities. And now even the FBI is now having to deal with, you know, the violence that's being directed toward them. All of it goes back to the rhetoric that these folks have been, you know, just infusing into the country. And they're creating a situation that will be hard for people to come back from if we don't vote in this midterm and in the general election and begin to get things back on the right track and to begin to get some decency and humanity back into our everyday lives. And I really do. And people keep hearing me talk about this here, DeMario. They really don't understand these people right now, I mean, everybody who's watching me right now, they have been meeting in D.C. and all around the country.

And Republican billionaires have been funding this. They right now with the Heritage Foundation, with all of these groups, they are putting together a master plan to come in and fire thousands of government workers. They are building a database of crazy followers of theirs who

if Trump wins, and here's the other deal, if it's not Trump and it's DeSantis, they're still going to do it. They want to come in and wipe out everybody at the EPA, at the Department of Education, at DOJ, at the Pentagon. think you saw crazy from January 2017 to January 2021, you ain't seen nothing. That's why I keep telling black people, I don't give a damn how you feel about Biden-Harris. The evil that these people are planning to unleash is nothing that we, this generation, has ever witnessed. Go read the Axios story where he details their planning. What they're doing is beyond crazy, DeMario.

And people, oh man, we dealt with Trump before, it'll be fine. No. What you saw then pales in comparison to what they want to do. No, man. The fact of the matter is these people want power and that's all they care about. And they want to be in control and they want to

eradicate any guardrails that's going to keep them from their goals. And that means that they have to burn down the federal government. We already saw that they stormed the capital of the United States of America and was willing to do whatever it took to get their power. So that's a given. We need more white people saying these things to their brethren and their sisters and being very clear about the true and present danger of these white Republicans that they present to the entire country. Also, Roland, I wanted to just go back. You brought up Eric Erickson about the IRS is going

to come after Black people, as if Eric Erickson gives a damn about black people. You know, they do not want the IRS agents there because they know that most likely they're going to go after people with wealth and rich folks. Now, I don't want to deal with the IRS like the next person, but all of our government has been underfunded. Right here in Oklahoma right now today, we have so many openings across government and across the federal government. One of the issues we're having here is our judiciary system is moving at a glacier, a glacial pace, because we're down judges, because we don't have enough judges being appointed.

But guess what? We want those judges appointed by Biden-Harris administration and not the Trump administration. So you used another word, Roland, when you talked about the evil that these Republicans, these MAGA folks want to unleash. And when I say MAGA, all the Republican Party want to unleash upon this country. We have to be very clear. Yes, there are less of two evils in this when you're voting Democrat versus Republican as a black person. But lesser of two evils means it's less evil. So let's have common sense. Well, let me be clear. And the reason I don't say that because you got some black Democrats who are

doing the right thing. And so I'm not going to call those folks evil. I'm going to call the people who are evil, evil. And when I say the entire Republican apparatus, I'm talking about the moment these people have fully accepted Trump. When you have folk like Senator Tim Scott, they will not condemn them. When you have folk like Congressman Byron Donald out of Florida, who's black, and Burgess Owens, Congressman out of Utah, who's black, and they are perfectly fine with this level of crazy, what I am saying, that does not bode well for us because what they are planning, what they are planning to, the only way to stop them is to defeat them. And that's the critical piece here, Teresa. Teresa, you're there in Pennsylvania.

You've got a MAGA nutcase who is the Republican nominee for governor. This man has already said, if I become governor, I am invalidating all registered voters and all y'all are going to have to register again. Don't mess around. He has said that. You've got Oz buying into Trump stuff as well. These people have fully accepted the crazy and if I'm faced with that level of evil, the only way to stop them is electing Democrats. But, and I'll say this as well, you also have got to let folks know who are Democrat.

You get my vote, but here's what I expect in return. And I will be showing up the day after you get sworn in to make sure it happens. That's why I keep saying end of one process at the beginning of another. Teresa, go ahead. You're absolutely right. You know, from Monstriano and Dr. Oz, you know, Pennsylvania has been looking like a celebrity overhaul. It's got to a point where the Republican candidate, Doug Monstriano, sent a letter to the Democratic nominee, Josh Shapiro, indicating he will not do any debate unless it's in one setting and a moderator of his choosing and vice versa. And then they have it on an open media platform where everybody can get involved. So as we are counting down the days, literally days and weeks at this moment, to figure out

who the next elected official will be, we also have to be very aware in Pennsylvania, we have a Working Families Party that are taking votes away from Democrats, so this independent party that is working their way up and, again, will also, I believe, from Democrats. So this independent party that is working their way up and again, will also, I believe, harm Democrats and their voting. So, you know, it's so many nuances here in Pennsylvania and it baffles me why the DNC is not doing more. We just got finished electing the chair during Juneteenth, the chair, first African American and Muslim chair, Senator Sharif Street to public office. He was the vice chair of the Democratic Party, and now he's the chair. And so, you know, he's ready to hit the ground running. But again, the extra resources and support needs to come from the DNC,

and they need to activate now versus doing what they usually do is at the end because Pennsylvania is absolutely on the radar and under attack. All right, folks, I'm telling y'all, and I know it's hard for some people to go, okay, man, I think that's histrionics. I think you're just over the top.

No, they are literally studying where Trump went wrong and the mistakes, and they have vowed we will never make those mistakes again. They are forcing people to sign loyalty oaths to carry out this crazed agenda. These people are sick and demented, and trust me, they are not out for the best interest of black people, period. These yahoos in Arizona, they are absolutely nuts. And they have nominated for governor, secretary of state, attorney general, all the races, MAGA nut cases. Ain't that many of us in Arizona, but every damn one of us should be voting in Arizona

to keep those fools out the Secretary of State He's had some racist all racist and Semitic all kind of stuff on his own one of his pages I mean, that's what you're dealing with and I'm telling you you could play games all you want to but these people are sick and They damn sure don't care about any of us. Can I go to a break? We come back. We'll have, of course, Black and Missing and we'll show you some of the sights and sounds of the entertainers golf tournament in Los Angeles. I was there yesterday and we'll have our marketplace segment.

Our guest, a group of black women, they lead a company where they have merchandising and apparel. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them.

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

Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod.

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

Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush.

What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content,

subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-up way, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication.

Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. It's all about black folks and our culture. That's next on Rolling Mark. I'm filtered right here on the Black Star Network. I challenge myself as an artist and knowing that i'm going to challenge the audience right so oftentimes you come into this business off of one project where everybody's like oh you stand out

okay for me it was barbershop ricky da da-da-da-da-da-da. Ricky was nothing like me, right? Nothing like me growing up. But if that's people's first experience with you, right, as an audience member, they tend to think that's the real you. So, you know, for me, after that, I got a whole bunch of offers to play roles just like Ricky, right, this Tupac-esque type of, type of thug, right? And I just said no over and over again.

And then you keep trying to do other things. Then I went through a series of romantic movies and romantic leads, and, you know, I always try to bring some sort of gravitas to those roles. And then it was like, okay, well, but before I get into all of that, let me hit y'all with, you know, for color girls and, you know, step outside of the realm of, you know, what you expect of me to do, um, as an audience member in terms of being this romantic lead. Because I didn't get

into this business to be the romantic lead, you know, that dude. Like, I didn't get into this business. Because you can get locked in. You can totally get locked in. When we invest in ourselves we all shine together we are black beyond measure on the next get wealthy with me deborah owens america's wealth coach you see the headlines all frightening right interest rates are going. The recession is on the way. The stock market is up and down.

But you know what they say, scared money, don't make money. That's why I'm excited on our next Get Wealthy to have a conversation with someone who has written a new book, Fearless Finances, and she's going to share exactly what you need to do to secure your bag regardless of the ups and downs of the economy or the stock market. Oftentimes you can start with as little as $5. That's right here only on Get Wealthy on Blackstar Network.

When we invest in ourselves, we're investing in what's next for all of us. Growing. Creating. Making moves. That move us all forward. Together, we are Black Beyond Measure. Carl Payne pretended to be Roland Martin.

Holla! Hi, I'm Chaley Rose, and pretended to be Roland Martin. Holla! Hi, I'm Chaley Rose, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. 72-year-old Eddie Joe Taylor has been missing since August 4th. Eddie is 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighs 155 pounds, with gray hair and brown eyes. He was last seen driving a dark gray 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT in San Diego, California. Eddie may be in a state of confusion and may have taken a wrong turn while attempting to drive. Back to his residence. Anyone with information about Eddie Joe Taylor should call the San Diego, California Sheriff's Office at 858-565-5200, 858-565-5200.

All right, folks, got back to school going on. And so like many of you, I'm sure you wanna have your kids represent when it comes to school supplies and make sure it's about black culture and you're supporting black owned businesses. Well, a group of sisters, they were trying to buy school supplies. They were like, damn, we couldn't find none. So they decided to create a company called Melanated Minds, folks. They join us right now. These supplies include backpacks, books, notebooks, flashcards that positively reflect our culture in Melanated Magic. Joining us right now is the co-founder, Tangela Steele from Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Glad to have you on the show. How you doing? I'm fine. Thank you for having me. All right. So y'all were sitting here looking for some school supplies and y y'all like, man, we don't see nothing black. We didn't see anything black. And this was a few years ago in 2016.

My daughter was starting kindergarten, and I couldn't find anything for her, anything that represented her. And so I got on the phone, called my best friend, and I came up with the idea. I was like, you know what? We should come up with something that represents us, something that our kids can relate to, something that they would have and go to school and rock that represents Black culture and Black pride. And we sat on the idea for a few years, but in 2019, we decided to jump all the way in and get going. And it has been an experience, I must say. It's great to see now that there is something out there

that represent our kids, something that they can relate to. And it's even better now that I have another daughter who is in first grade now, but here she is rocking the backpack and she can say, my mom made this and this little girl looks like me and I'm rocking it because I'm representing the culture. Wow, so you started in 2016.

And so here are, this is like one of the backpacks right here. And so this is pretty cool. It says, I want to be, I'm gonna go to camera seven right here, y'all. So come to camera seven. So it says here, I want to be a, check the box, a chemist, an entrepreneur, a programmer, or anything that I want. And then this backpack here says, educated queen. So how many different of these types of backpacks do y'all have? So we have a few. Those are two of our products. We also have an Educated King and an Educated Queen. We have cultural backpacks. We have pretty much sold out of most of our cultural bags for this season. We do have some more of our Haitian bags left, and there are a few Jamaican and African-American bags on Amazon. We also have our I Can Be Bag

is what you showed, and we have our superhero, our male superhero, which has the African knot to represent education and strength and intelligence as well. All right, that's pretty cool. And again, these are

the millinated alphabet flashcards right here. Come on, seven. Give me seven. And, of course, we've got Zora Neale Hurston right here. Just got a go-to shot right there. That's pretty cool.

Then we have, let's see here. Again, Melanated Numbers flashcards here. 20 Peanuts. George Washington Carver discovered more than 300 uses for the peanuts and some of the flashcards here. And these are like some of the binders here. They still use binders. Those are notebooks. They still use notebooks. They still use notebooks. Yeah. Damn, I thought everything is technology now. Young, gifted, and black. And then same thing. I want to be a chemist, entrepreneur, programmer, anything that I want. And so how many different products do y'all have? So you have notebooks, flashcards, you've got, let's see here,

this is a millinated conversations, family edition, conversation starters. So how many different products do y'all have? That's a great question. So we have about eight to 10 different lines for our backpack. We have the ABC cards, the number flashcards, notebooks, conversation starters. We also have our social action box. This is something that we started during George Floyd, when George Floyd was murdered. And we were having those conversations with our kids, explaining to them what happened. And we came up with the idea of creating the social action box because we wanted them to understand what it is that we're going through and what's happening

and the need to continue our fight for equality for all. All right, cool. Got questions from our panel. Let's see here. See, who got kids? Demario, you got kids? I don't have kids. You don't? I don't. Well, you're a big assario, you got kids? I don't have kids. You don't?

I don't. Well, you're a big-ass kid, so you go first. Oh, my God. First of all, good to see you tonight. My question is, I want to know what type of pushback you've received, if any, from, like, school systems, because I represented a kid a couple of years ago who wore a shirt that said Black King here in Oklahoma and Edmond. And he got in trouble at the school. They tried to suspend him. They made a big deal about it. There was another case in Ardmore,

Oklahoma, where they said the kids were, they had a Black Lives Matter shirt on, and they said they were being discriminatory towards the right white kids. I want to know, have you experienced or heard any of that type of reaction from your products? And if so, what are you doing about it? That's interesting. I have not heard any of our clients or any of our buyers or kids going through that. I will say the pushback that we have received is on our advertisement. Whenever we do online ads, we have received comments that say we're being racist. What about the whites? You can't leave us out. We're discriminating. Those are the pushbacks that we have received.

Fortunately, it hasn't touched any of our babies. They haven't experienced that part of it. All right. Teresa? touched any of our babies and they haven't experienced that part of them. Alright, Theresa. Well thank you so much as you've been talking I was literally searching the website and sending group text messages out because I don't have kids but I know a lot of folks with kids that are black and brown so my question to you is, is your product line only in English or do you have a Spanish version coming out soon? So right now it is only in English. We will have to figure out how the Spanish will look and I suppose it wouldn't be too difficult because we could hire a

translator. We haven't thought that far ahead yet but that is definitely something that we will look into for the future yes mustafa well i love the name melanated mind so thank you um for that as being your foundation so i'm curious you know you have amazing set of products there when you're beginning the design process, are you working with younger students and asking them what they're looking for or what motivates that process work? So, yes, we have. I have twin nephews who are brilliant. They're in college right now. Their freshman year in college. And I have picked their brains a lot.

They are gifted. One of my nephews almost made a purpose-growing SAT, but he's also very in tune with the culture and what's happening. So we pick their brain. We go out into the community. We ask questions, especially since we are in South Florida. So we get a chance to go out and meet our clients often whenever we do vending events. And we talk to them, ask them, you know, what do they think of our products, what type of feedback, what they give, and what do they think that we need to do in order

to improve and make it better. We, even with our graphic designers who we work with, we work with a variety of designers in age range because we want to be able to target across groups because now something that we've noticed is that we've appealed a lot to elementary and some middle schoolers. So now we're looking into spanning out more to high schoolers. So we are working a lot more with the high school crowd to figure out how could we get them more engaged with the product. All right then. And so for all of our Roland Martin Unfiltered Black Star Network viewers and followers, folks, they are offering a 10% discount from the Melanated Minds website. Use the promo code MARTIN22. That's M-A-R-T-I-N-22.

You get a 10% discount from this. And we certainly appreciate that. And, again, we just showed you folks here just some of the backpacks here and, again, the conversation starters, flashcards, as well as the notebooks as well. And so it all looks great. We certainly appreciate it. Good luck. I'm sure y'all have been quite busy this month and last month with school starting up.

Folks are getting back in the groove of school. Those of us with no children, I'm no longer raising my nieces. So my last two nieces graduated from high school, praise the Lord. So I ain't got to buy none of this stuff. And so, matter of fact, I just have one, out of all my 13 nieces and nephews,

one left still in high school. My nephew Christopher just started his freshman year. And so, but this is pretty cool and some great products here. And so, Tangela, we certainly appreciate it. And good luck in building the company. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you for having me here today.

All right. Thanks a bunch, folks. Don't forget, again, 10% discount from Millinated Mines. Use Martin22 code. That's M-A-R-T-I-N 22 code. Thanks a bunch, folks. Don't forget, again, 10% discount from Millinated Minds. Use Martin22 code. That's M-A-R-T-I-N-22 code. All right, got to go to a break. We come back.

We're going to show you some of the sights and sounds. We're going to hit the Entertainers Celebrity Golf Tournament. I was there Saturday and, excuse me, Sunday and Monday. We had a good time. And so it was just way too much fun. Before we do so, hey, if you're watching on YouTube and Facebook, why y'all tripping? Hit the damn like button. Why I got to tell y'all this every single show?

Okay, more than 2,000 y'all watching and it's 880 likes. Okay, the math don't math. I don't need a flash card to say, that don't make any sense. If you pop on, click like, and then you start counting, okay? So when I come back, it should at least be 1,200. I ain't asking for 1,000. Should be 1,200. That's what it should be, okay?

All right, this ain't that hard. Click the doggone like button. And if you haven't downloaded the Blackstar Network app, do so now. Download it to your Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, and also we want you to join our Bring the Funk fan club. Y'all get this stuff

for free. I don't charge a subscription fee, and it's important for you to support us in what we do because I want as many of our people to see it as possible, but this stuff ain't cheap. I told y'all our OTT platform, that's $160,000 a year. Okay. That's real money. That's real money. And so we luckily we've had, we've had some support. We appreciate Target coming on with their ads, General Motors. We appreciate in the past, we've had Verizon, Procter & Gamble, Nissan, Amazon, but none of those are multi-year contracts. We're trying to get multi-year contracts so your dollars actually make it possible. We're trying to hit $100,000 this month and we actually need $100,000 each month until the end of the year because we're actually behind where we were last year.

So you can send a check or money order to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. Cash app with dollar sign RM unfiltered. PayPal is rmartin unfiltered. Venmo is rm unfiltered. Zelle is rolling at rollingsmartin.com. Rolling at rollingmartinunfiltered.com. We'll be right back. When we invest in ourselves, our glow, our vision, our vibe, we all shine.

Together, we are black beyond measure. Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. You will not regret that. White people are losing their damn lives. There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to the U.S. Capitol. We're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress,

whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at every university calls white rage as a backlash. This is the rise of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America, there's going to be more of this. Here's all the Proud Boys guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs,

they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white fear. When we invest in ourselves, we all shine. Together, we are black beyond measure. You are watching Roland Martin, and I'm on his show today, and it's what, huh? We should have some true cards show today, and it's... What? Huh? We should have some true cards. Hey, what's up, y'all? It's your boy, Jacob Lattimore,

and you're now watching Roland Martin right now. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them.

From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives.

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

Brent Smith from Shinedown. Got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Caramouch. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them.

It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being

able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. Arapahoe, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else. But never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council.

All right, fam. This weekend, Seth the Entertainer had his ninth annual Celebrity Golf Classic, benefiting the Cowles Family Foundation. We play Spanish Hills Country Club every Sunday. The day before the tournament, There's his VIP pairing party where there's entertainment. We get to mix and mingle. They got food, drinks, cigar, all

that good stuff. Lot of great folks who are always there, Dr. J., Marcus Allen, Alex English, D.O. Hughley, Anthony Anderson, Joe Torre, Willie Gault, so many, Willie Buchanan, David Justice, a lot of cats in the sports world, a lot of cats in the entertainment field, and so we're always glad to be there.

Normally broadcast from there. I decided to take a rest. I said, no, I'm just going to play this year. So let me thank Erica for filling in, hosting the show on yesterday. But I did want to show y'all a little something-something. I'm always shooting video, and so here is a little bit of this weekend. Check this out. Thank you. ¶¶ ¶¶

¶¶ The CIA put on watch The CIA made the city up and down To keep it rockin' To keep it rockin' Listen, listen, listen They're takin' over master plans Open that shit up Open up what's inside my head Cause I dig up in my pocket all my money is fresh

My digsigma is still comin' up with licks I leave my pockets, pocket all my money and friends. I dig stigma. It's still coming up with me. I leave my pockets. I leave my residence. Coming up. So never that person's dead. I used to hold up. This was a roll up. Stop, stop.

I'm not moving. It ain't nothing new. But the money. Now I start to earn some fine money too. I feel great. Cause maybe without the money I'm still a witch. Cause I don't wanna dream about getting paid. It's a bullshit.

It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's a bullshit. It's the bullshit, it's the bullshit, it's the nonsense I made Mike really is a bad up in there Listen man, cause we're playing a ball Come on y'all I'm on fire, nobody but me Come on y'all I'm on fire, nobody but me In the city of...

We live in a world without no man! We live in a world without no man! We live in a world... From the city of... We live here right there! We live here right there! Hey! Listen to, yo! Hey! Now listen, man.

Y'all said we could go all the way back. We could go all the way back like La dee da dee, I like to party. I don't cause trouble. I'm just a man that's on the bike. I'm on the bike, I rock the bike like All of y'all sipping y'all inhale Just to see you smile and enjoy yourself.

Hey, school will be more than just a condition That we create Cause that's our mission Listen up to what I say Because this life is tough And it's never ending I just woke up about 12 o'clock in the morning I get up out of the kitchen

I'm already out Hey, what's in the bathroom to my shirt? I put my hands on my head I put my hands on the floor I'm like, you're on the floor All the more I'm moving the sadness I'm moving all the more in the bathroom come on Come on. Come on, y'all. What, what? Hey, hey. I'm gonna go outside and party Hey! Hey! I'm gonna go out there

Hey! In the city I'm gonna go out there Hey! In the city City of London We keep it rockin' We keep it rockin'

Make some drum, make some drum! Rock the whole world I can't believe it, I can't believe it Make the drum, make the drum Right now I'm going for the ride I'm leaving my soul I'm wishing Happy feeling You know what I mean Happy feeling

I, I, I, I, I I, I, I, I Happy feeling Happy feeling Come on Happy feeling All right I'll sing the line, yes Watch this shine out on me I'm gonna spread my wings, yeah I'm gonna tell them all I feel

Hit a little tip Oh, just like the river I've been running ever since It's been a long, long time coming, I know a change gonna come. Oh, yes, it will. And it's in the wind. I'm gonna win. Are you ready to sing? Oh yeah! It's a shame, burning.

You keep my cold eyes and burning. You got me soaking through. It's a shame, I love to lose it. It feels like a shame. I wouldn't want to lose it. Oh, shame. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Yeah. Shame. It feels like a shame. Woo woo woo woo woo woo woo Yeah Yeah Lookin' out through the door Lookin' out there, yeah Are you ready to see me get down? Come on! Let's go! Let's go! I love you! Thank you, Cedric! To all of you, God bless you, stay safe.

So we can do this again. God bless you. All right, Ced, so you you, stay safe. So we can do this again. God bless you. All right, Sid, so you got, uh, look at this here. So... I got to pick my ride. I guess, you know, you said, uh, Joe and Lopez can't be the only one.

Yeah, yeah, he got it all, he got it all Mexican-ed out, you know what I'm saying? Like, you got the chucharitas and the moriatas. But, uh, no, they just made this for me, man. These guys made this for me man these guys made this wow look at this here we got oh we got we got the screen here look at this here a little very white going oh yeah okay all right it's not this is and not only that he got the nerd to have some you see the wheel you see the wheels. He got the nerve to have low profile wheels.

I see the wheels. Yeah, that's the thing about him right there, man. You know, truly representing for St. Louis, huh? Yeah, I'm putting on my skirt skirt. Hit him with the skirt. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday. Happy birthday. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday. Happy birthday.

Happy birthday. Happy birthday. Happy birthday. Happy birthday. Happy birthday. Happy birthday. Happy birthday. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday to you. Y'all, that was a good time there. Anthony Anderson was his birthday yesterday. So, you know, we feel sorry for that Omega. So, you know, say it's a Kappa, Anthony's Omega, but they all know Alpha's reign supreme. That's how it is. Mustafa, Teresa, as well as DeMario, it's always a pleasure.

Glad to have y'all on the show. Thank you so very much. We had a good time there, folks. A great time there raising money for the Boys and Girls Club in California. And so that was just, it was awesome. Now, Saturday, so before that, y'all, so Saturday, I stopped by comedian J.B. Smoove's house. He had a pool party. And so we had a good time there. That was quite interesting because Olden Polonese, former NBA player. So we go by J.B. Smoove's house and then J.B. has a putting green in his crib. And so Olden made the biggest mistake of actually challenging. See Demario, look at he left.

So Olden Paladins, y'all, is a sigma. He's a sigma. And Olden sort of made a mistake of trying to challenge me on a putting contest. I beat Olden the first time. Then he said, well, let's do it again. And I said, so you just want a second ass whooping. And so this is the end result of that second ass whooping to Olden Polonese. Check it out. Where you go, Olden? You need a drink? You need a drink, Olden? You need a drink, Need a drink? Oh. Need a drink?

Oh. Yeah, Doc, he need some happy ice. Because right now, he is not happy after missing that putt. Oh, he had to putt the way? No, hell no. Hell no, he was already down. He already down. He walked off.

He just walked off. Y'all see what alphas do? We just, Big Cat and Sigma, just walk away. He just say it's hot. We snatch their heart. Oh, he hot. He can't handle the heat. Oh, he hot.

He can't handle that heat. It's hot, boss. No, it's ice cold. It's alpha ice cold. The state of Mississippi. It's alpha ice cold. Don't give a damn about your meteorological assessment. It's alpha ice cold.

Rollin' on it again. What he got to do with it? It's alpha ice cold. He got me. He got me. Twice. He got his own putter. Got him twice.

Yeah. He got him twice. Don't you always see, don't you always see rolling out to wherever he's traveling? He got the golf stick in his hand, man. Wherever he at, I be seeing him. I got him, too. I just want my brother. This man be doing it, man. Wherever he at, I be seeing him. I go, too. I just want my brother.

This man be doing it, man. Come on. Okay, I'm going to get his number. We're going to play next time I come back. I'm better than him. I'm way better than him. We're going to play next time I come back. Hey, hey, oh, you see this here?

I had to put my putter in it because it's too hot. It's too hot. I got to cool my putt off. I got to cool my putt off. I got to cool my putt off. I got to cool my putt off. I'm getting everything I deserve right now. And I ain't mad. I'm getting everything I deserve.

If I don't step up and win, I should be ready. Just remember this right here. Oh, right here, right here. See that? Just remember that. No, I just remember that. No, it's 06 oh six no it don't see he thought that was longhorn see he knew that was y'all sigma side your little sigma sign he can't handle that oh six all right y'all so uh last one so uh

jb now mind you this jb's house y'all. So we sitting here and JB wanted some of the action. Did not go well for him. Comedian Finesse Mitchell is doing the camera work while I did that other work. Let's just say I beat JB's ass 11 to 1 in a putting contest. Every two days. I follow you your boy. That boy went way off on that one. One hit.

One hit. One hit. Come on now. What you got? That wasn't it a hole. That wasn't it a hole. All right, it's one-oh through two holes. We tied up right now.

You ain't beating the hell out of nobody. Okay, we're not tied? We're tied. You didn't win a hole. You only won one hole Why is one over two holes? Let's go. We got a long way to go. Okay, this game is longer than you think it is What I'm going to be up. I won't get not long as Odin as only up by one You know there about one hole Play ball play ball man. Let's play ball. Let's play ball, man.

Let's play. Game just started. Ooh. What's that, Red? Ooh. Tell Uncle JB that we're still in the game, Uncle JB. I don't know. Wait, wait.

What do you say? It don't matter. You can pump me anywhere over there. You ain't going to make this. Get the ball out of there, number one. Hold up. All right. You need the ball to see where they can come on come on i don't want to i don't want to skip come on So after that, it in 11 to one, but it was cold. I told JB's wife shot to go ahead and lay hands on him. I'm talking about prayer because his golf stroke needs it. All right,

y'all. That's it. I appreciate it. Tomorrow I'll be broadcasting from Tampa, Florida. I got to give a speech there early Thursday morning. So I'll be in Tampa tomorrow. And then later in the week, I'll actually be going to the Bahamas for the Grand Boulet Convention there. So it's a busy travel week. I appreciate all of y'all watching the show. Don't forget, folks, to support us in what we do.

Download the Black Star Network app, Apple Phone, Android Phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. Support our Bring the Funk fan club. Check your money orders. Go to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. Cash, Shapp, Dollar Sign, RM Unfiltered. PayPal is RM Unfiltered. Venmo is RM unfiltered.

Zillow is rolling at rollingmartin.com. Rolling at rollingmartinunfiltered.com. And why should you watch this show? Y'all, you never know who you're going to see on this show. Again, we popped in. So it was JB and Finesse and Old and Polonese. And the weekend was all kind of different. Other folks have got some other video.

And so we'll share some of that stuff later in the week. Nobody does it like we do. Folks, we keep it real, keep it black, and keep it unfiltered. And I appreciate all of y'all for supporting us. And yes, when I go to LA, I do wear my Houston Astros stuff because I love pissing off all them Dodgers fans who are still mad we beat them in the World Series.

I told them, get over it. We're gonna beat that ass again this year. I'm gonna see y'all tomorrow. Ho! I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. On the iHeartRadio app, Apple lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at the recording studios. Stories matter and it brings a face to it.

It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-up way, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget

yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. This is an iHeart Podcast.