#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Breonna Taylor Civils Rights Violation Trial, Black Unemployment Fluctuating, Biden's AI Safety Plan

Episode Date: November 4, 2023

11.3.2023 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Breonna Taylor Civils Rights Violation Trial, Black Unemployment Fluctuating, Biden's AI Safety Plan We're LIVE from Mobile, Alabama. Today on #RolandMartinUnfiltered: The only cop to ever face criminal charges in Breonna Taylor's death is on trial in federal court. Until Freedom's Co-FounderTamika Mallory, will let us know what happened on day two of testimony.  A former Memphis, Tennesee, police officer pleads guilty in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, becoming the first of five officers charged to change his plea. We'll hear Tyre's mother describe what she heard from one of the five men charged with killing her son.  The jobs report shows 150,000 new jobs in October, with a significant unemployment increase for black women. We'll talk to an economist who can break down the numbers.  The Republican-controlled House approves a military aid package of nearly $14.5 billion for Israel, but it has little chance of passing in the Senate.  The Senate confirms the first woman Joint Chiefs of Staff, circumventing that crazy Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville.  And President Biden is creating AI safeguards by signing an executive order addressing his concerns. We'll talk to an AI expert about how those standards will keep us safe.  Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV. The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

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 podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. Today is Friday, November 3rd, 2023. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network.

I am live here in Mobile, Alabama for the Port City Classic between Alabama State and Grambling State. Earlier today, I moderated a couple of panels with the HBCU president, as well as a group of black mayors and business leaders. We'll be live streamed on the Black Star Network. You can check it out there. On today's show, the first cop involved in the Breonna Taylor murder. We're on trial this week in Kentucky. We'll tell you about that. Also, one of the officers who was indicted for murdering Tyree Nichols,

guess what? He has pleaded. He has pleaded in that particular case. And so we'll tell you about that as well. Jobs report shows 150,000 new jobs in October. Unemployment goes slightly ticks up, but still under 4%. And the Republican-controlled House House approved $14.5 billion for Israel. They won't take the money from the IRS, which is going to cause the deficit to go up. It's going to cause us to lose revenue. It makes no sense whatsoever. Also, the Senate confirmed the first woman to be one of the joint chiefs of staff

over the objection of a crazy Alabama fool, Tommy Tuberville, and also President Joe Biden creating AI safeguards, including that which targets African-Americans. We'll break all of that down right here on Rolling Mark, not unfiltered on the Black Star Network. It is time to bring the funk. he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. And when it breaks, he's right on time. And it's rolling. Best belief he's knowing.

Putting it down from sports to news to politics. With entertainment just for kicks, he's rolling. Yeah, yeah. It's Uncle Gro-Gro-Yah. Yeah, yeah. It's rolling, MartinGro-Yo! Yeah! Yeah! It's Rollin' Martell! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Rollin' with Rollin' now!

Yeah! Yeah! He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best, You know he's Rollin' Martell now! Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell

Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell

Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell

Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell

Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell

Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell

Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell

Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell

Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell Martell who has been charged in the botched raid that led to the death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville. Former Louisville detective Brett Hankinson, who was acquitted of all three counts of felony wanton endangerment in 2022, is facing federal excessive force charges by firing blindly into Taylor's apartment on March 13, 2020, through a sliding glass door and a window covered by curtains. Joining us right now is Tamika Mallory.

She's the co-founder of Until Freedom. She joins us from Louisville. So, Tamika, glad to have you here. Look, this is critically important, the work that Until Freedom and others did, keeping the pressure on made this trial a reality. We know that Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, Republican, African-American was running for governor, did nothing, found nothing. But it was the Biden-Harris Department of Justice that stepped up. And that's how we got these indictments. Absolutely. Absolutely. Thank you, Roland. Thanks for having me on. I haven't seen you in a while. Miss you much. You know, I sat in the courtroom for the last two

days alongside Tamika Palmer, Breonna Taylor's mother, and other family members and friends. And I have to say that, you know, it's obviously very traumatic that there's three years of this continuing where this family is unable to begin the real healing process and trying to put their lives back together. Because every time you turn around, they are dealing with something in relation to the details of this case. I think it is also very, you know, I think that the family also feels a sense of slight satisfaction that people are beginning to hear the true details. This is what Daniel Cameron was supposed to do. He was supposed to ensure that the officers went before a court of law and that a jury of their peers were there to determine the facts of the case. And so now it is being litigated. It is now in front of a group of people and the entire community. It's open to the public to be able to hear so many of the details of what happened that night. I do think that you mentioned Brett Hankinson and his role and how he is on trial now. And what is unfortunate

is that the officer who actually shot and killed Breonna Taylor and all those people who were involved with how she actually died, none of them are actually being charged or at the time, excuse me, at this time, none of them are actually facing charges for her murder. And so that still does not leave the family with any peace. However, it is important that the details of what happened to her that night come out and that people are able to hear it. And, you know, and thank God we have the United States, the feds there handling this case, and they are not leaving any stones unturned.

You know, the thing here is that you mentioned Daniel Cameron. I mean, here's somebody who goes, oh, I couldn't find anything. But the feds did. And let's be real clear. The feds don't charge unless they absolutely believe they can get a conviction. Well, let me correct that. He didn't just say that he couldn't find anything. He said that the jurors were unable to find charges for those officers for killing Breonna Taylor. He said it was tragic, but that the jurors did not come back with an indictment for those officers. And the jurors, several of them, I believe it was four, it was either three or four, several days after the grand jury concluded, they came forward to say that they were never presented with charges

for the officers specifically for killing Breonna Taylor. Now, it's important to note that when we arrived in Kentucky, Memorial Weekend of 2020, Breonna Taylor had been, she was killed on March 13th of 2020. So this is two plus months later. When we got there, we went to a place that was named Injustice Square Park. It is where the protesters were living, many of them occupying that park. It was also used for community functions. It was the beginning point for many of the protests that was happening. When we got in town, people told us, you got to go down there. Everyone we met, from Pookie to Ray Ray to Titi and Maria, told us the details that we are now hearing right at this time coming out in court. That means

that Daniel Cameron knew this information. And as far as I'm concerned, I've been told by our friend attorney, Ben Crump, to be careful what I say, because Daniel Cameron is probably the type of person to try to sue me, you know, for something, for defamation or something like that. But I believe that if you, as the attorney general, have a responsibility to put forth the facts before a grand jury and you don't do that, what else do we call that except obstruction to justice? Well, let's just be clear here. Daniel Cameron did not want to indict any cops because he knew he was running for governor. And he did not want that to get in the way of his run. And I think it's very interesting that this trial is happening right now in the.

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 multibillion-dollar company

dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way.

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

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

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

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives.

Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. Final month of the governor's race. Right. Final day. Well, no, no, final days, I'm sorry. Final days. That's right. Early voting today is the second day of the trial. And today is actually the second day of early voting. And so this is all closely aligned. And you and I both have very strong spiritual beliefs. And I believe that this is happening at this time for a reason, not because the government chose the dates, but because the court has allowed this case to go on at this time. And it lined up in this way to ensure that the voters in Kentucky,

those people who we've been out, we've knocked on doors, we've knocked on hundreds of doors. We've talked to people, we've registered voters. But you know that our people and all people need several touches so that they can remember the job that they need to do on November 7th and even now, as I said, in early voting. And so people are being reminded of what happened to Breonna Taylor that night. You know, so many things are sort of this case. It has so many different components. It is not just about Breonna.

The case is also about other individuals. Kenny Walker, the sister who lived next door, Chelsea, she was seven months pregnant, the direct adjacent apartment. So Brianna lived in apartment four and she, Chelsea and her family lived in apartment three and they shared a wall. And in her apartment, along with her being seven months pregnant, also the child she was pregnant with, father was there sleeping with her in the bed. But her five-year-old son was in the bed as well. And there are bullet holes that you can see that went through the wall in the room where he was sleeping. Bullet holes riddled all throughout her house where a five-year-old child

was sleeping. And the most riveting moment on yesterday during her testimony was when she was asked, why did you lay on top of your baby? What were you doing? Why did you lay on top of your baby? And she said, I laid on top of him because he's my son and I'll take a bullet for my son. Everyone, especially those of us there with Brionna's family, started to cry because the idea that this woman had to shield her child from wild bullets that was just flying everywhere. Absolutely no care for the citizens in the building, for the other residents. Of course, Kenny Walker and we see what happened to Breonna Taylor. It is completely inexcusable. And that is why Brett Hankinson is on trial.

And I mean, you know, obviously now everyone wants to tell the truth, because if you remember when you talked about the trial of the past where Brett Hankinson was cleared, they were tight-lipped. They had all of them got together, the officers. We now know this because one of the female officers came forward to say that they met in a parking lot and they discussed their strategy, which was one to criminalize Breonna Taylor and also to stay quiet, keep their heads down, and basically deny, deny, deny. But now the facts are coming out and the other officers are having to say that this particular officer, Brett Hankinson, shot through a glass, the glass doors and the window that had blackout shades. We've seen the exhibits. We know the blackout shades

were there. We know that the blinds were closed as well. And you know, in Black Folks Home, we put the blinds and then we put the blackout curtains behind it to ensure that people cannot see in and that light does not go in or out so why would you shoot at those windows not knowing who was on the other side all of those details are coming out it's a very serious trial and as i said while it is painful and it it's it's gut-wrenching um to have these all these accounts for this family to have to hear. I think they are somewhat satisfied or they're very satisfied that the government has pushed it to the point where they are making the story be told in front of the court and the world. It is indeed tragic. And this is also why.

And again, I keep telling people, this ain't about being in love with Biden, being in love with Harris, any of that. But I need people to understand the Trump Department of Justice, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Attorney General Bill Barr, they said, we want to pull back on these consent decrees.

We think that this is hurting the morale of police officers. There was only one patterns and practice investigation in the four years of Trump. This is the difference between a Biden Harris Democratic DOJ and a Republican Trump Department of Justice. Black folks need to understand that when it comes to voting next year. Yeah, I mean, I don't disagree with you. And I think that, you know, it's a show for a different day to talk about some of the frustration that we see in this moment, which I think people are righteously indignant and that folks have the right to say that in this moment, all we see happening in this country and

abroad that we are supporting, people are angry. I do think, though, that those things, Kristen Clark being appointed as assistant attorney general to the civil rights division of the Department of Justice, which I believe has a lot to do with how this happened, because even with Biden and Harris in office, if you did not have the right person sitting in that seat, reviewing these, pushing the issue, we could still not see, um, you know, this type of trial coming forward for Breonna Taylor. Uh, how, however, I do understand that it's important. And I think some things will take care of itself, that as time goes on and we get closer to the election in 2024 and you start to hear more from the other side, if you will, or hear more from the Republicans

and whoever the Republican nominee will be, and as folks are able to get out there and begin to explain, talk about some of the issues that are, you know, really critical for our communities, that there will be some people who will understand the importance of why they need to shape up and go to the polls and make sure that they express themselves and that they cast their vote. However, I am not in this moment, I feel righteously indignant. I have not said I'm not going to vote, but I do feel and I understand people who are watching what is taking place and watching children die. And in this particular moment, I think we do best not to lean so much

on the people who, again, are rightfully angry, but to go to the administration and tell President Biden and the Vice President Harris that they need to see that the people are rising up and the emotion, the feeling that folks are going through and feeling at this moment may make them stay home.

And so I think that the pressure must be focused on them and not so much on the people who are in a moment where we are fighting to save lives. Oh, again, my whole deal is I've always said keep applying pressure. But what I also understand, what I also understand is that there is a difference in results. When I look at correction officers, jailers, the Department of Justice just launched a civil rights investigation into a jail in South Carolina. None of those things were happening under Donald Trump.

And so we have to understand how do we use our power to achieve the things we want to achieve? how do we use our power to achieve the things we want to achieve, but I know what did not happen at all under those last fools, and they damn sure won't give a damn about us if he gets back in there. Absolutely. So again, and again, I've challenged him on a lot of different stuff, but what I do understand, there's a very clear choice between who not going to give a damn about us and who we can actually have a conversation with to get some stuff done. And that's a stark

contrast. So we're going to keep following this federal trial in Kentucky until the end. Tamika Mallory, appreciate it. Thanks a lot. But hey, before I go, I just want to make sure that folks know that today, Janiyah Palmer, Tamika, Breonna Taylor's sister, who lived in the apartment with Breonna, but wasn't home that particular weekend or that day, she testified. But on Monday, Kenny Walker will be testifying, which is Breonna's boyfriend, who was actually there when she was murdered. And so prayers to them and also all the coverage, everything that folks can do to send their positive energy to Kenny, because he will have

to relive that moment and hear the takes of being called out of the house and just all the things that happened that night. And then for anybody who wants to share that court is happening in Kentucky, and if they want to come and be a part of it, please do so. We'll be there. And he was initially charged as well. And sued. And sued. And sued.

But all of that has now. All right, Tamika. Sorry, I was going to say the lawsuit has been dropped. No, that was it. I was just saying the lawsuit has been dropped. No, that was it. I was just saying the lawsuit has been dropped. Everything. Now Kenny is a free man. All right.

Keep up the great work. We appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thanks. Bye-bye. Folks, can I go to a break? We'll be right back. Rolling Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network.

Next on the Black Table with me, Greg Carr. We welcome the Black Star Network's very own Roland Martin who joins us to talk about his new book, White Fear, how the browning of America is making white folks lose their minds. The book explains so much about what we're going through in this country right now and how as white people head toward becoming a racial minority, it's going to get, well, let's just say even more interesting. We are going to see more violence. We're going to see more vitriol because as each day passes, it is a nail in that coffin. The one and only Roland Martin on the next Black Table, right here on the Black Star Network.

When you talk about blackness and what happens in black culture, you're about covering these things that matter to us, speaking to our issues and concerns. This is a genuine people-powered movement. There's a lot of stuff that we're not getting. You get it. And you spread the word. We wish to plead our own cause to long have others spoken for us. We cannot tell our own story if we can't pay for it.

This is about covering us. Invest in Black-owned media. Your dollars matter. We don't have to keep asking them to cover our stuff. So please support us in what we do, folks. We want to hit 2,000 people. $50 this month. Waits $100,000. We're behind $100,000. So we want to hit that. Y'all money makes this possible. Checks and money orders go to P.O. Box 57196, Washington, D.C. 20037-0196. The cash app is Dollar Sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal is R. Martin Unfiltered. 5 7 1 9 6 Washington, DC 2 0 0 3 7 dash 0 1 9 6.

The cash app is dollar sign. RM unfiltered. PayPal is our Martin unfiltered. Venmo is RM unfiltered. Zill is rolling at rolling S Martin.com. I'm for ride to Muhammad live from LA. And this is the culture. The culture is a two-way conversation.

You and me, we talk about the stories, politics, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. So join our community every day at 3 p.m. Eastern and let your voice be heard. Hey, we're all in this together. So let's talk about it and see what kind of

trouble we can get into. It's The Culture. Weekdays at 3, only on the Black Star Network. Hello, I'm Paula J. Parker. Trudy Proud on The Proud Family. Louder and Prouder on Disney+. And you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes.

But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad.

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

I'm Greg Glod. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding

of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine 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. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more.

Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. folks our panel michael m hotep host of the african history network show out of det Matt Manning, civil rights attorney out of Corpus Christi, Texas. Kelly Bethea, communications strategist out of D.C. Matt, I want to start with you. I totally agree with Tamika. I understand the anger. I understand the frustration. And I agree with many of that. But this is what I also understand.

And that is Donald Trump was just in Texas where he literally called the January 6th defendants hostages. These are individuals who absolutely, positively, I don't care what anybody says, have no intentions of holding cops accountable, of holding jailers accountable. And I don't think we would see any of these investigations, these trials, these guilty verdicts, these guilty pleas, cops and jail people going to prison if Donald Trump and Republicans were in control of the administration. And when the Department of Justice actually takes those cases, you might see relatively half-hearted attempts to really hold people accountable. But what I did when Sister Tamika was talking with you is I looked at the indictment in this case, and I was wondering how the Department of Justice intends to fare differently than the state fared in that Louisville or in the stateside case.

And basically what I'm getting at is Kristen Clark and her team are obviously fantastic lawyers because reading that indictment, I think the way they've written that indictment is what will potentially secure the conviction in this case. The way they wrote that indictment is they wrote that basically Hankinson used excessive force beyond the point that he was lawfully able to use force. And the reason I think that's important and goes to your overall point that the right person in the presidency, you know, feeds into the Department of Justice doing the good work the right way. The reason I think that's important is because that indictment allows them hopefully to get around the evidentiary issues that the state may have had in that stateside case. And basically what it says is it almost concedes

that there was some point where he may have been able to use lawful force. But once that ended, that's where it became a deprivation of Breonna Taylor's liberty and also the liberty of the people in the other apartment. And I think that's crucial. That shows not only good lawyering, but I think it shows that the Department of Justice intends to actually try to win this case and hold him accountable. And that is the kind of output and the kind of buy-in you get when you have a Department of Justice who's truly focused on seeking justice for people. So I commend Kristen Clark and her team for the way they're apparently prosecuting this. I haven't seen the testimony, but just the indictment alone to me shows that someone over there really took the time

to craft it the right way to put them in the best space to potentially secure justice in this case, which I hope they do. You know, Michael, it is, I won't say frustrating, but the reality is a lot of people do not fully understand bureaucracy, don't understand how things actually happen. I was literally just moderating a panel with black mayors and state legislators. And one of the panelists, the state representative who said, he said, although we are in the minority and Republicans have a super majority, and although we voted against a particular bill, we were able

to change the language in the bill to be a benefit to black business owners. And this is the, so I think a lot of times people are like, well, they don't see the end result. We wanted this to happen. Well, it's a whole bunch of stuff that black people have long fought for. It did not happen in one, two, three, four years, but that we work to to build. That's what I want people to understand. If I didn't get the George Floyd Justice Act last year because of Republicans, I damn sure can keep trying. But in the meantime, we can still seek accountability in other areas. Absolutely, Roland. First of all, we have to understand how the game is played. And even though the three main points I want to make here, even though the George Floyd Justice

and Policing Act was blocked by Senator Tim Scott, people put blame on Biden. No, that was the black Republican from South Carolina who blocked the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act when the negotiations happened in the Senate. Let's be clear, that bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 220 to 212. It was Senator Tim Scott who blocked it. But Biden did sign an executive order dealing with policing with what he can do within his Article II powers based upon the U.S. Constitution on the second anniversary of the death of George Floyd. Somehow that gets left out of the conversation as well. But you look at this Department of Justice, it's much better than the Department of Justice under

Donald Trump. You would not have this prosecution, which is a federal prosecution dealing with civil rights violations, alleging that Breonna Taylor was deprived of her civil rights. You would not have this if Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were not elected by 16.9 million African Americans, if Attorney General Merrick Garland had not been confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Okay. You would not have this as well as Kristen Clark being confirmed by the U.S. Senate, okay? You would not have this, as well as Kristen Clark being confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and Senator Tim Scott voted against Kristen Clark as well. Let's keep that in mind. But I would encourage, I always take it back to this, because I deal with facts and evidence. Proper documentation ends all conversation. All the people who are frustrated and upset, channel that frustration into doing research in what this administration has actually accomplished and compare this to what Republicans are talking about. Whitehouse.gov, fact sheet, the Biden-Harris

administration advances equity and opportunity for Black Americans in communities across the country. Compare those policies to what Republicans are talking about, compare it to what any third party candidate is talking about, and you'll see that these policies are much more beneficial for African-Americans. They're not perfect. We need to challenge them to push for more. But we also have to protect the gains that have been made in these past two and a half years. What we're dealing with here is a constant battle for justice, Kelly. And there is without a doubt. When you look at Project 2025, when you look at the Steve Banners of the world, when you look at the stuff that Donald Trump is saying, that if that man gets near the Oval Office, we can forget any type of justice involving cops in this country? I mean, for sure. But even with that

looming over our heads, I also want the Democrats to come up with a public strategy, so to speak, such that it doesn't look like we are only voting for Democrats because they aren't Republicans, right? And that is a communication strategy issue. And we've talked about this on your show many times before in that Democrats are really doing great things for the American public from national security issues to domestic issues to international issues, everything that Democrats, the reason why we haven't gotten worse in a lot of respects is because of what Democrats have been doing under the Biden administration and even before. But because it is not touted as a victory, because it is not in front of the public as something that is good,

we don't necessarily know about it. And that goes back to your point that you made earlier about a lot of people don't understand how bureaucracy works. Why? Because there's not a communication strategy to explain that to the public so that they can also be informed and actually be, frankly, appreciative of the bureaucracy that has been happening on their behalf. So yes, Trump doesn't need to be in office. Absolutely not. But Democrats also need to be on the ball when it comes to exactly what they're doing on behalf of the American people so that we don't have these, frankly, moot points of either or, or like, well, the Republicans aren't so bad because that's a

narrative that's happening too. No, they really aren't that bad. And here's why. That's a narrative that needs to be happening and it just isn't. Yeah, exactly, Kelly. And I'm slipping in for rolling for just a minute here. One of the things I think is really important is to deal with facts and evidence. OK. And oftentimes people get upset and they don't understand how the process works. I can talk about firsthand experience when I was on the committee to write an executive order for the city of Detroit under a previous mayoral administration. And it was a large it was a big learning experience for me. And one of the things that I found out front and center, actually at our first meeting from Corporate Counsel Sharon McPhail, is that race-based policies are illegal at the federal level. So you have a lot of African-Americans out here who are saying, we only want policies

that are for Black people. That's illegal. That's based upon Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Section 601, non-discrimination and federally assisted programs. I encourage everybody to go to archives.gov and read the 1964 Civil Rights Act. But what you can do, and I'm going to come to Matt with this question, what you can do is you can write policies that are disproportionately, positively beneficial for-Americans, but you also have to write them in a way so you don't get sued, okay, because you will get challenged in court. We saw that with affirmative action in college admissions being struck down, okay, the executive order from President Joe Biden, all right? So, Matt, can you talk about, as an attorney, talk about better understanding the process and how to get policies put in place that are more beneficial for us, but also can withstand a

legal challenge? Well, I think that's a really astute balance that has to be drawn and an astute discussion that has to be had. Because frankly, what it comes down to is as much as we want policies to be written directly for us and crafted for us, as you said, that violates federal law. But on the backside of that, which kind of is the corollary to that, there are a lot of times where laws very clearly are going to have a disparate impact on one group of people. Right. So in the bureaucratic process, if somebody is crafting that policy in order to not only pass constitutional muster and make sure somebody is not being, I guess, cordoned off as the only group that will be the beneficiary of a policy, you also have to consider how is this policy, that's exactly what we've seen historically. And that's why you see that if a municipality or a government is smart in how it's crafting its policy, that's one of the first questions. Who is this going to hurt in an outsized way such that when someone files a lawsuit, you know, we're going to have a problem? Like, where's our risk lie in terms of drafting this policy. But, you know, kind of the larger question about all of this is really that

when we're looking at things, how do we make sure we don't make perfect the enemy of good? And what I mean with that is, look, a two-party system and a government system is never going to be perfect. But there is clearly a line of demarcation between one group that is actively fighting

to prevent you from exercising your rights and one group that is actively fighting to prevent you from exercising your rights and one group that is actively fighting to allow you to exercise those rights, right? Even if you don't think one group is perfect, i.e. Republicans or Democrats, there is a way to assess whether there are groups or contingencies of political actors who are trying to actively deprive rights. And I think when we have these conversations, we talk to absolutely. We talk about whether somebody's all or nothing. But the reality is right now, at least, Republicans are acting in political ways that intend to roll back the clock on our rights. And that's just demonstrably

the truth. That's to your point about facts and evidence. So in terms of crafting policy, you have to make sure it's not going to have a disparate impact. And you have to make sure that the widest swath of people possible can make use of the policy that is being put into place. And that's how I think good drafting goes. But obviously, you know, bureaucracy is a difficult thing when you have lots of hands in the pots and you have lots of hoops to jump through to promulgate law. Absolutely. Back to you, Roland. Hold tight one second. I'm back. Hold tight one second. Got to go to a break. We'll be right back right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Lots more to discuss live from Mobile, Alabama. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time,

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

comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 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 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st,

and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way.

Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little 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 Sh Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown.

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

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before.

I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. on the next get wealthy with me deborah Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, are you trying to figure out how to earn more revenue in your business during these volatile times? Learn how to tap into the largest marketplace in the world through government contracting. Our next guest, Akia Hardnett, will be sharing how you can get wealthy through government contracting.

We've got a young lady, government assistance to government contracts. She literally was on government assistance when she came to us. And in less than a year, she has been winning multiple government contracts and it has changed the trajectory of her family. That's right here only on Black Star Network. I'm Dee Barnes and next on The Frequency, we talk to award-winning screenwriter and director Chanel Dupree about her film, You Think You've Grown, The Adultification of Young Black Girls. This is a conversation that all women can relate to.

This woman was like, oh my God, you know, I went through this when I was a kid. She wore something, it was a maxi dress, but the way it fit

on her body, this female teacher thought that she looked too grown and spun her around in front of a male teacher and said, do you think she looks

grown, right? Oh my God. So that's next time on The Frequency on the Black Star Network. Carl Payne pretended to be Roland Martin. Holla! You ain't gotta wear Oh, my god. So that's next time on The Frequency on the Black Star Network. unplugged and undamned believable. October job support has come out. 150,000 new jobs added. Unemployment slightly went up to 3.9%.

Joining us right now is Morgan Harper from the American Economic Liberties Project. To break down the numbers, Morgan, glad to have you here. So what's the good news? Well, the good news is that, yes, the forecast is a little lower in terms of job creation, though there's an explanation for that with what's been going on with the autobanks, which we can talk about that. And that we're seeing the unemployment rates at historic work level being low, under 4%, even though it's increased a bit, still very, very low relatively. And then that the wage growth is fairly steady. I believe it

is a sign where unlike the latest interest rates increase, which is a thing for anybody who has debt or is looking to acquire more debt. Good news, bad news. Black male unemployment dropped. Black female unemployment went up. This is interesting. And one thing that we need to continue to monitor, I would say, the next month or so, child care. Now, we know since 2019, child care costs have increased over 30 percent. And we're going to be seeing the end of federal supports that were created during the pandemic to support care providers. So as what will occur, and we're already seeing a bit of, is child care center providers are closed shop, there'll be fewer options and prices could increase even further, which means it might

be harder for women, in particular black women, to be in the workforce at the same rate. And so that could definitely impact these job numbers. And we're already beginning to see potentially some of the unemployment figures. On that particular point right there, I saw a story a couple of weeks ago that said how Black wealth increased from 2019 to 2022. And people were touting this. And I said, guys, calm down. That was largely due to the amount of money that was being sent out from Congress, Democrats in the House, Republicans in the Senate until they flipped. I said, but then that's not continuing. And so when we talk about this economy, I think the next, if you will, rocky road, to your point, is when a lot of these COVID era economic practices are now completely going away. That's going to give us a much different picture of this economy. I think so. And we're already starting to see some indicators of exactly what you're describing,

that people were able to build up a bit of a nest egg. Even if that wasn't an increase, one of the figures or shares are showing the Fed that minute, like you used to have $400 savings. Now you have $500. That's a big jump, even overall, talking about wealthy people. But we're starting to see an increase in consumers dipping into their savings. And that could be a sign that, okay, I had that little necessity, but I'm not able to maintain that right now. I've got to start going into that reserve, and we're not going to see that same savings rate. So we're going to pay attention to it.

Now, the flip side, though, I would say is another dynamic play in the economy, right, going back to the auto strikes that I mentioned earlier, is we have a lot of labor activity. We have a lot of labor organizing. We saw with the auto strike that we're able to secure a higher wage after a few weeks of scheme. And one of the responses to that was a company like Toyota that doesn't have unionized labor force saying, hey, we're just going to go ahead and proactively increase wages for our workers by 20%. And so that is going to be a factor on the plus side, on the positive side, that potentially increase wealth overall for a lot of folks, especially those usually at the bottom quartile of income earners.

And look, right now you have casino or what so in the last quarter. And they're going to take $3.5 billion of that and plowing it back into stock buybacks. And workers are going, hey, wait, what the hell? We're the reasons why you got those huge profits. Right. And sometimes it can take seeing a couple of examples of success to make people believe. I was just at a panel yesterday to talk about some of the, you know, trends that are happening right now and hearing from some folks involved in that writer strike,

Hollywood writer strike. And they were telling that story of, know you know folks to see that the organizing was happening Amazon facilities that we were starting to see some movement happen to really get that courage to believe hey we can selves out there to and not only can we we have to have to there's the possibility that we might be able to do better than we've done in the done in the past. And for a lot of folks, though, and a lot of industries, it does take hitting some breaking point. The writers, the business model change, they're like, we can't live like this. This has got to go. We've got it all on the line right now. How many other industries this has hit remains

to be seen. This week, seeing Green, CVS in ways that are also walking out. They're not used again, but they're just organizing themselves to push back on some of the policies, treatment, work conditions, etc. I agree. I think we're going to see a lot more of this as we have also success like UAW's efforts. All right, Morgan Harper, we still appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thanks for having me. You know, Kelly, I'm cracking up laughing at all of these CEOs. Oh, my God, this is horrible. What are you guys doing? I mean, this is going to hurt our businesses. I saw the Ford CEO saying that, and the workers are going,

when's the last time any of y'all announced you're going to take a pay cut? I mean, right, because if I recall correctly, more industries are contemplating going on strike because they haven't gotten the pay raise. They haven't gotten a solid benefits package in years. Their retirement is in trouble, all of those things. And it's definitely becoming a case of the haves and have-nots, and that the gap between the two is ever-increasing in this country simply due to greed and loopholes in policy such that the CEOs can get more money without sharing the wealth to their subordinates and the like. So, I mean, are the numbers as good as they were last month? Not necessarily, but it could be far worse. And there's, you know, always room for

improvement here. So I'm, you know, I'm not necessarily mad at it. I'm just curious to see where it's going to go. You know, Matt, every time I see bernard marcus uh who of course one of the founders of home depot go and see in bc and damn these people what is wrong with them this is not right and he's sitting there going you're a billionaire man shut the hell up and when you see these CEOs making $28, $35, $40, $50, $100 million, trying to tell workers, oh, you should be more concerned about the company and its well-being, when right now you have the largest disparity between CEOs and workers than you have ever had in American history, that tells you a lot about the state of this economy. Well, I'm sure somebody will call me a Marxist, but the reality is there's more proletariat than there is bourgeoisie. And the reality is if you like a five-day work week,

if you like having protections at work, if you like all of the things that bargaining collectively has given American workers, then you have to like that people are standing up for their rights from a labor standpoint. Now, there are times where that can become difficult. For instance, right now in Oregon, I know there are some teachers that are planning a strike, and the district there is saying or the districts are saying, look, we only have so much money. So there is a point where financially demands can be difficult, particularly if you're talking about the public fisc. But when it comes to a Fortune 500 company, as the gap widens between the workers and the people at the top, if the workers are getting less than in American culture, it's enshrined that based on our labor laws, you should go and demand more. And that's the reality of it.

At the end of the day, we've got to keep it 100, keep it a buck, right? If you're working for a company, it's that company's job to makequal, then you should get with your fellow co-workers and say, look, let's go demand more because we are producing what this company is selling, but we're getting a smaller percentage of it relative to those at the top. So I don't feel any sympathy whatsoever for people like Marcus. And I also don't think that two things cannot be true at the same time. okay? In American culture, we have a real love affair of work and glorifying hard work, right? And making work this thing that is in and of itself

supposed to be a value system, but it's not. It's a value system incidental to us being able to provide for our families. And at the end of the day, if we're producing what a company is selling, you should get a bigger piece of the pie. So I don't care that a billionaire feels some kind of way that people are demanding rights, because at the end of the day, that's who actually produces what he sells and what makes Home Depot its money. And it's as American as it gets.

Well, absolutely, Michael. And look, I tell people all the time, if you ain't having a money conversation, I have an American conversation. But it's a little hard for workers to have to hear, hey, we need to pull back. We need to tighten our belts. We're not filling jobs. We can't increase wages when they see a shale doing $3.5 billion stock buyback. That doesn't improve the economy. That doesn't impact wages. That doesn't increase jobs. All it does is put more money in the shareholders' pockets, and it screws the workers. Yeah, and you'll see stock buybacks to increase shareholder profits. But this past summer, summer 2023, there were approximately 270 strikes across the country. All right. So this was the this was the summer strikes.

And people are understanding the importance of being part of a union. Right now in Detroit, not only is UAW still on strike, even though you do have tentative deals, it's going to be a couple of weeks before they're finalized because they still have to be voted on. But not only do you have UAW on strike, you have Blue Cross and Blue Shield workers on strike, but also Greek Town Casino workers on strike as well. And when we look at the casinos here in Detroit, they had near record profits, if not record profits, this past year or so. And the workers are saying, you have to share those profits with the employees that got you those profits. It's not just increased wages, it's also increased benefits, retirement plans, et cetera. So what we're seeing here is we're seeing people starting to wake up to the power of

organized labor. And the irony here is the unions, the national unions, like the National Labor Union created in 1866, largely were created right after slavery ended to lock African-Americans out of the jobs we had been doing for free for 246 years because we dominated the skilled trades. But once we were able to get into the unions, especially in the early 1900s, mid-1900s, once we were able to get into the unions and rise up in them, then we start seeing them really benefiting African-Americans. Folks, hold tight one second. I'm going to go to break. We'll be back on Rolandland martin on filter on the

black star network don't forget hit the like button if you're watching on youtube love it want to hear your comments if you're watching the black star network app please join our bring the funk fan club your dolls makes it possible let's travel around this country covering the stories that matter to you i'll send your check and money order the peel box 57196 washington dc 20037-0196. Cash App at Dollar Sign, RM Unfiltered, PayPal, R. Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle, Roland at RolandSMartin.com, Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com.

Be sure to get a copy of my book, White Fear, How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds, available at bookstores nationwide. We'll be right back. Hi, I'm Dr. Jackie Hood-Martin, and I have a question for you. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution.

But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated

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

We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. Do you ever feel as if your life is teetering and the weight and pressure of the world is consistently on your shoulders?

Well, let me tell you, living a balanced life isn't easy. Join me each Tuesday on Blackstar Network for a balanced life with Dr. Jackie. We'll laugh together, cry together, pull ourselves together and cheer each other on. So join me for new shows each Tuesday on Black Star Network, A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie. Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. 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 wrath 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 people. Bye bye, Papa. Hello, I'm Marissa Mitchell, a news anchor at Fox 5 DC. Hey, what's up? It's Sammy Roman, and you are watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Filters. One of the five former cops who has been charged in the beating death of Tyree Nichols in Memphis

has pled guilty to federal charges. Desmond Mills pled guilty to second-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, and official misconduct charges. As part of the deal with federal and state prosecutors, the DA's office recommended Mills serve 15 years in prison. The judge would make the final decision at the May 22nd citizen hearing. Mills remains free on bail. Tyree Nichols' mother, Rovon Wells,

describes what she heard from one of the men who beat her son to death. As I was sitting in that courtroom today, listening to the charges that was brought against that officer, and listening to the officer say all the things that he did to my son, that was very difficult to deal with. As I'm sitting there, and I'm watching this Mr. Mills gentleman, and I'm looking at him, and I'm noticing how big he is. Like, really?

This big man, he looks to be about 200 pounds, was beating up on my son. So just imagine, 200 times 5, that's a thousand pounds beating up on my son. This is one of many things that our family has to go through. This one today was very difficult for me because this was really the first time I actually heard somebody tell and say what they actually did to my son. So this was very difficult. But I'm hoping that Mr. Mills, it was his conscience that allowed him to make this plea agreement and not because of his lawyers telling him it was the right thing to do. I'm hoping his conscience is telling him the right thing to do instead of his attorneys. So with that being said, we still have more to do. And this is just one of many

that I hope will come in our favor. Four other Memphis police officers are still facing charges in connection with Nichols' death. Nichols died on January 10th, three days after a traffic stop. The beating Nichols suffered was caught on video. Matt,

one down, four to go. I'm telling you, know you're a defense attorney if you're representing one of these four knowing full well the world has seen that video one of these guys has already played what are you telling your client i'm telling my client that he needs to be the next one to the table because first, let me give full gravitas to the sympathy I feel for this sister because this is, I mean, abhorrent, right? Unthinkable. But I don't agree with her, unfortunately. I doubt it was his conscience.

I think it was a lawyer telling him, y'all are all cooked. Everything's on video. I mean, if you go to a jury, I don't know how it works in Tennessee, but like in Texas, a jury can actually issue your punishment. So you can go to the jury for punishment or to the judge. I would have a very hard time telling my client to go to a jury here or to a judge really, because honestly, this is a circumstance where it's such an, an, a clear case, um, that it's going to be very difficult to defend this. And this is a circumstance where it's such a clear case that it's going to be very difficult to defend this. And this is a situation where I think both a jury and potentially an elected judge will give a statement verdict, meaning that you're absolutely going to get popped. So I say all that to say I think his lawyers probably told him you have federal and state charges.

This is all on video. It's very compelling evidence. You need to be the first to the table and you also need to be willing to testify against the others, because the other thing that we don't have is we don't have all of the evidence. There could be text messages between the officers. There could be conspiratorial stuff to cover it up. There could be any number of things that we don't see that exacerbate this case. So I suspect his lawyers told him this was in his best interest. And to that end, the other four lawyers are probably telling them, unless they're on the periphery of what was going on, you need to get there ASAP

because he's gonna testify against you. And if you're the last one to the table, then the government doesn't have any incentive to give you a good deal. So I think that's what happened here. That's what I suspect will happen with the other four. And I suspect their lawyers are telling them, do not risk this going to a jury or judge, because you're absolutely going to get popped if the government is offering you what is a relatively short sentence compared to the severity of this. You need to take it.

I mean, that's what's in his best interest as a defendant here. But on the opposite side, very quickly, what I'm surprised that the prosecutors did is made a deal with him outside of him probably testifying. That's probably why the deal was made. But if they didn't, what a lot of times prosecutors do is they say, we're not going to make deals on any of these cases. We're going to take every single one to trial and we're going to let a jury of this community tell us what we think this case is worth. And this is the kind of case that a DA very often would say, there's no deal on this. We're not making you any offer. You're going to go to trial and the citizens or a judge is going to tell us how long you need to sit in jail. And I suspect here that they flipped him and he's going to be testifying against the others.

Michael, if I'm one of them other dudes, ain't no way in hell am I letting the weekend conclude without saying, man, call them folks, please. You can't get around this tape. Absolutely, Roland. Not only can't you get around this tape, but this is a federal case. And as we said, as you stated in the segment with Tamika Mallory. No, no, state and federal. No, no, state and federal. Yeah, but yeah, but this right here, these are federal charges right here. So the yeah. Yeah. And as part of the plea deal with federal prosecutors,

Desmond Mills Jr. must fully cooperate with a separate state case against the officers that includes charges of second degree murder. But this is right here in court, this court case, this is a federal case. Okay. So they only bring charges unless basically they, you know, really have all the evidence. So the other four, we all saw the video, but the prosecutors have a lot more evidence than we've seen. And what I want to know, and I still haven't heard this, hopefully it comes out in one of the cases, I want to know why. Why did they beat Tyreed Nichols like this? Why did they savagely beat him?

Okay. We still haven't heard why. But, yeah, they're, they're, they're cooked and they should be. Um, I, not only, uh, do you cut a deal, uh, Kelly, what you also say is, can I please serve these years in federal prison? You do not want to serve your time in any state prison. You much prefer to be in a federal prison. I don't know

about that because I don't know who's in federal prison, right? Like, are there chances of survival? Kelly, Kelly, Kelly, Kelly, Kelly, this Tennessee, you don't want to go near no state prison in Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Texas, Arkansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, California, Illinois. I mean, it's well known that federal prison is a lot more comfortable. Remember, the kills of Ahmaud Arbery were,

please, can we serve this in federal prison? And remember, the Arbery family was like, no, hell no. Send they punk asses to state. True. But again, you still have these federal prisons in those jurisdictions as well. It might be a little bit more comfortable, but probably not by much. Again, you never know with these things but to michael's point regarding you know hearing a why out of this i don't think you're ever going to get a lot an answer as to why that is justifiable because there is no justifying this and i sincerely doubt they even have a real legit answer to that question because they're what this again is unjustifiable it's irredeemable like it it was absolutely heinous it was one of the worst tapes

i've ever seen you know and that's saying something considering the tapes that i have seen um it is absolutely heartbreaking and there there is there's just simply no justifying that kind of malice, that kind of callousness all under the guise of a badge, no less like there really is no justifying such hatred to somebody that you don't know. So, you know, put them under the jail as far as I'm concerned, state, federal, whatever, but they can't be on the streets. Again, Matt, I'm trying to cut me a deal to say please let me serve my time in the feds.

Please. Not only that, I'm surprised it took this long because once it came out that everything was on this camera, I mean, that to me is a huge aggravating factor, right? Because, you know, it seems like all of these defendants, not only to Kelly's point, this is abhorrent and just absolutely indefensible. They all did it under the guise that nobody would ever know. And it's captured on an overhead, you know, camera, right? So it's not like even a body cam or something where they might have some reason to believe they're being recorded. That to me adds to the heinousness, like, you know, compounds it significantly. So to that end, absolutely.

I'm surprised that he waited this long to cut a deal. And I wouldn't be surprised if he was asking for his time to be served in federal prison. And Michael's right. These are federal charges and I don't practice federal criminal defense, but they're basically sentencing guidelines that happen where a federal judge generally has to work within certain parameters for their sentencing. But the other thing about, you know, cutting a deal on a case like this is that you can to some degree mitigate the risk. You're not going to get the big sentence potentially that a jury could give you where you have no idea. I mean, in Texas, this is a first degree, right? Five to 99 are life. You could go and the jury could give you five years or they could give you 99 years. Now, there's some nuances about how much time you would actually serve. But the point is,

a jury could absolutely pop you. So this is about risk mitigation. And I'm surprised he waited this long, because if he were my client, this is one of the very rare circumstances where I would say it's in your best interest to act immediately and to take whatever the government wants you to do so that you can get the most leverage out of this situation, i.e. serving it in federal prison. But to be clear, prison anywhere is obviously a horrible thing. But state prisons, from everything I've ever heard with my clients, are demonstrably worse than federal prisons. All right, folks, hold on one second. We've come back more on Roland Martin Unfiltered right here on the Black Star Network. 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 the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission.

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

I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. 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 Tman trophy winner it's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves music stars marcus king john osborne for brothers

osborne we have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug fans. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corps vet. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them.

It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey.

We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,

and the Ad Council. Next on The Black Table with me, Greg Carr. We welcome the Black Star Network's very own Roland Martin, who joins us to talk about his new book, White Fear, how the browning of America is making white folks lose their minds. The book explains so much about what we're going through in this country right now and how, as white people head toward becoming a racial minority, it's going to get, well, let's just say, even more interesting. We are going to see more violence. We're going to see more vitriol, because as each day passes, it is a nail in that coffin.

The one and only Roland Martin on the next Black Table, right here on the Black Star Network. I'm Dee Barnes, and next on The Frequency, we talk to award-winning screenwriter and director Chanel Dupree about her film, You Think You've Grown, The Adultification of Young Black Girls. This is a conversation that all women can relate to. This woman was like, oh my God, you know, I went through this when I was a kid. She wore something, it was a maxi dress, but the way it fit on her body,

this female teacher thought that she looked too grown and spun her around in front of a male teacher and said, do you think she looks grown, right? Oh my God. So that's next time on The Frequency on the Black Star Network. Hello, we're the Critter Fixers. I'm Dr. Renard Hodges.

And I'm Dr. Terrance Ferguson. And you're tuning in to... Roland Martin Unfiltered. folks on monday president joe biden signed an executive order dealing with artificial intelligence uh it has been talked about left and right it is all the rage and a lot of people On Sunday, President Joe Biden signed an executive order dealing with artificial intelligence. It has been talked about left and right. It is all the rage. And a lot of people are trying to figure out we'll be losing jobs. Also, what's going to be impact on African-Americans as well? The order creates an early set of guidelines that could be fortified by legislation and global agreements.

The new standards include requiring developers of the most powerful AI systems to share their safety test results and other critical information with the U.S. government, protecting against the risk of using AI to engineer dangerous biological materials, and protecting Americans from AI-enabled fraud and deception by establishing standards and best practices for detecting AI-generated content and authenticating official content. Patrick Dix, artificial intelligence expert. Joins us from Williston, South Carolina.

Patrick, glad to have you. First of all, look, here's the deal. When we talk about artificial intelligence, I was talking to somebody today who was telling me about these AI movies that someone made and how that's changing the game. And so for people who don't understand any of this, I mean, how broad of the impact is artificial intelligence going to be on our society? Artificial intelligence is going to have a devastating impact on society, particularly with the Black community. And you were just mentioning the executive order that Joe Biden signed that passed out.

Back in October 2022, they came out with an AI Bill of Rights. I've read through the executive order. And for the Black community, none of that executive order would really help us. It would actually put us back at the forefront. I mean, not at the forefront. It would actually keep us at the back of the line. And so are we looking at potential loss of millions of jobs? And if so, in what area? You're looking at millions of job losses in administrative. You're looking at jobs in repetition manufacturing. If you look at the UAW strikes that just happened and just concluded, when you look at manufacturing, those types of jobs, to sum it up, any job that is repetitive based to where you're doing one motion and moving something from one to the next part,

those jobs are going to be eliminated in any job administrative, I'm talking about financial analysts, I'm talking about business analysts. Artificial intelligence is what we call decision support systems. We are using it to make better decisions. And they use machine learning to replicate the human mind for cost-saving measures and also to ensure they have a consistent revenue throughout every company. Questions from the panel. Michael, you first. All right, Dr. Patrick, thanks for coming on today. This is something that I've been looking at because I'm also looking at possibly getting a certificate in artificial intelligence from Michigan State University. So I've been following this. You mentioned that the executive order from President Joe Biden would set African-Americans back.

If I heard you correctly, could you elaborate on that? He's doing the executive orders based upon Article two powers. But why would it set African-Americans back? Because artificial intelligence, when you hear the word artificial, it's man-made, it's synthetic. One of the first parts of the order is it's learning from pre-existing data sets. So those data sets that exist already exclude African-Americans. And we're moving into a new world, for instance, where they have to pick landlord. One of the things in there is about federal landlords. It's about employment. So if you're already producing information off of an old data set, it's going to further dilute and further exclude African

Americans. Okay. All right. So it deals with the data sets. So you have to include African Americans into the data sets because I've been studying racism when it comes to artificial intelligence. And we see this when you look at facial recognition technology. We had a case here in Detroit where you had a woman, a black woman, who was eight months pregnant who was identified as a suspect because of facial recognition and come to find out the facial recognition was wrong. So that plays into what you're talking about, it sounds like. Yes, it exactly plays into it. It's learning from pre-existing data sets. The technology is only as

good as the information it is getting from a program. We call that garbage in, garbage out. So if you're already having garbage diluted into the system, it's going to give a garbage output. You were just talking about the young lady up in Detroit. So us as African Americans, we know we have different facial structures. So if you teach that algorithm and that software to recognize specific faces, it will automatically tie on to African American men and women and say, hey, that person right there, it may be incorrect that they missed and did something, but it's

automatically going to pick up on the face. You know, I'm looking, look at my face and look at your face. So if our faces are shaped different from European, it's automatically recognizing, hey, that's an African-American. Make sure that software focuses on them more. All right. Thank you. All right. Kelly. So to expand on that line of questioning, doctor,

how do you, in a perfect world, if you were to create this executive order, which to me does sound necessary because there does need to be government involvement regarding AI development, what would you have done to make sure that this is inclusive and as unbiased as possible when coming to applying to African Americans? One of the first things I would have done is put people like myself on an executive committee or a task force. One of the major things they should have done with the algorithms, in programming, there's open source code. If they want to make sure these algorithms and data sets are not going to be biased, they should have let everyone that is qualified to see them to look at open source code to say, hey, we're actually letting you see what is ran. We're actually letting you see the output. Those are the two major things I would have started off from the get-go. Matt?

Yes. Patrick, thank you for coming on the show and for explaining this to us. I have a couple questions, a couple of which are kind of strange. So the first question I have is do you have any idea about the viability of this executive order in court? Because one of the first things I thought is that it seems to me like there's an executive order between the White House or the White House is promulgating it, but the companies are only going to be compliant as long as they choose to be compliant, right? But presumably somebody is going to be filing saying this is not constitutional because you're either impeding on our business or not allowing us to express ourselves. So what conversation is there in that space, number one? And then the second question is, to your point about open source coding, how can this meaningfully protect consumers and the citizenry? Because the thing I was immediately concerned about is a lot of this is being programmed by people who

are not a part of these companies, right? So how does the government meaningfully regulate AI safety if I have the coding skills and in my basement I can build something that's dangerous? Like, how is this executive order actually going to keep people safe outside of the confines of the Fortune 500s who have signed off on it? Well, to start off on the second question, that is actually a good question. One of the things is, if you're going to program software that is going to, say, already be biased, you must have people like myself and yourself that are qualified and have the skill set to program it. You can't have someone that is non-African American program something because they don't know about being

Black. So how would you know how to program something and look at those parameters? And on the other question about the legal side of it, I have already been talking to some of the legal experts, and there's a young lady that I follow on Instagram. There's already AI lawsuits in the making. And I was talking to her about it, saying someone's going to go to court and say AI told them to, let's say, for instance, rob a store. The legalities and how deep this software can go haven't even been touched on yet. And the executive order does not even cover the deepness of saying, I'll take it back to this. If you've ever seen the movie Megan, it's a doll to where the doll actually gets into the little girl's brain and has her commit crimes and do other things against her neighbor.

So what's eventually going to happen? You're going to potentially face artificial intelligence manipulating people to have them commit crimes. And people think that's far-fetched, but that actually can happen. You're potentially face artificial intelligence, manipulating people to have them commit crimes. And people think that's far fetched, but that actually can happen. So when you talk about the legalities of it, we not only must dig deep into that, we must go deeper to prevent those types of things from happening. Roland, I have one more question, if I may. Go ahead. Okay. Go ahead. Thank you real quick. So Patrick, is there any kind of like blockchain software or any mechanism where we can actually figure out who created either an AI generated image or program for the standpoint of like forensically figuring out who may be behind either the commission of a crime or behind some kind of racist act. Is there any way to even do that with the current capabilities of AI? Because that's the problem is there's no way to seemingly figure out who's created things and the veracity of it, whether it's a real thing that it purports to be or some, you know, AI analog. So, I mean, how is that addressed now in the software?

That's not currently addressed. And one of the executive orders that the Biden administration came out with was a watermark to state that it was an authentic communication. You know, for instance, over there with the Israel and Hamas crisis going on, Israel or Hamas, I can't clearly remember which one it was, they were using images that were AI generated to depict the crowd waving a flag. So there is no research at this moment and no software that can actually track back and leave a forensic fingerprint. I've been researching, trying to locate that, and I've been talking to other people. To my knowledge from research and all and concurrently and continuously researching, I'm trying to locate that there is nothing right now that can realize and validate where that is coming from. It's

kind of like leaving a blank fingerprint. Thank you. All right. Patrick Dix, we appreciate it, man. Thanks a lot. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. All right. Thank you so very much. All right, folks. That is it for us. Michael, Kelly, Matt, thank you so very much for joining us for this short edition of Roland Martin Unfiltered. Folks, I'm here in Mobile at the Port City Classic. Earlier today, I moderated two panels featuring historically black college presidents, as well as black mayors and other black elected officials. We live streamed those two events on the Black Star Network.

We're going to be restreaming those later as well. So please check those things out. Please, I hope you have an hour. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution.

But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad.

It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way.

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

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

It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend.

At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. Absolute fabulous weekend.

I am, no, I'm not going to be, I was about to say I'll be back in town, back in the studio on Monday, but I'll be broadcasting live from Dallas on Monday. And so look forward to seeing y'all. Folks, have a fantastic weekend. I will see you on Monday. Holla! The Thank you. The The Thank you. Thank you. Să ne urmăm. I'm Martin. Thank you. The Thanks for watching! I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?

Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war.

This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter and it brings a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios.

Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens

to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more.

Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. This is an iHeart Podcast.