#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Brown family views bodycam; Black women rally for Kristen Clarke; Ad agencies invest in Black media

Episode Date: May 12, 2021

5.11.21 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Brown family views bodycam; Black women rally for Kristen Clarke; Two ad agencies commit to invest in Black-owned media; Gov. Brian Kemp signs House Bill 479, repealing the state's Civil War-era citizen's arrest law; New York City Mayoral Candidate Shaun Donovan about his plans for the city if elected Support #RolandMartinUnfiltered via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered or via PayPal ☛https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered#RolandMartinUnfiltered is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It makes it real. It really does. 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. I'm Martin. Thank you. so there's tuesday may 11 2021 coming up on robert martin unfiltered breaking news the family of andrew brown jr just finished watching the 18 minute body camera footage of his death. We'll talk to one of the attorneys about what they saw on that video. Civil rights organizations and women's groups are united in their support of Kristen Clark's confirmation

to become the head of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. We're going to be joined by Melanie Campbell, who heads up the National Coalition of Black Civil Participation and the Black Women's Roundtable. Plus, after today's show, we will live stream their event, encouraging folks to back the confirmation of Kristen Clark. Ad agencies are committed to investing in Black-owned media companies, but is it enough? I'm still not satisfied. In Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp signed House Bill 479,

repealing the state's Civil War era citizens' arrest law. With the family of Ahmaud Arbery at his side, we'll also talk with Sean Donovan, former head of HUD, who's running for mayor of New York City. And Juan and Deborah Joy Winans of the legendary Gossamer family are here to talk about their new single. Folks, it's time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Martin on filter. Let's go. Puttin' it down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's rollin' Yeah, yeah It's Uncle Roro, y'all

Yeah, yeah It's Rollin' Martin Yeah, yeah Rollin' with Rollin' now Yeah, yeah He's funky, he's fresh, he's real The best you know, he's Roll, he's fresh, he's real the best. You know he's rolling, Martin.

Martin. The family of Andrew Brown Jr., of course, they just a few moments ago held a news conference after they saw 18 minutes of the two hours of body camera footage of his death on April 21st. You might recall it was a sheriff's deputies in Pasquotank them to actually be able to see, first of all, to see the footage. That's one of the things that actually took place. So today they finally allowed them to actually see it. This is a video here from Lauren Howard, who is a reporter there. Of course, this is a video of the family actually going into the sheriff's office to actually view that video. The judge last week ruled the family with 10 days ahead of opportunity to see the video. And he also placed severe limitations on

how much video they would be able to see. You see Reverend Dr. William J. Barber there. He was just hugging there, Bakari Sellers. Again, this is the video of the attorneys in the family going into the sheriff's department. So that's the video there. Again, they saw that video today at around 3 p.m. The attorneys, they also came out, the attorneys came out, and they actually did speak to the media. As I said, in a moment, we're going to be talking with one of those attorneys to get their perspective. We carry

the actual news conference live on the entire news conference on Roland Barth unfiltered. You can actually watch some of that repairs of the breach. They were also there again with Reverend Dr. Barber. And so this is what Bakari Sellers actually had to say to the folks after the video was shown. Not sure why we're getting start hearing audio, folks. So just give me a second. We'll try to get that repaired in terms of what's going on with the audio there. As I said, this is, you know, we were there on Saturday. We were there on Saturday for March there. And the families and other folks have been calling for the release of all two hours of the body camera footage.

But the judge, again, limiting to just 18, just 18 minutes. They could actually see that was a very problematic again for, for the family and for the attorneys. Let's see if y'all, we can now hear this audio. Okay. I'm not sure why we're not hearing audio folks. So let's, let's bring in my panel here. We're going to try to get that fixed. And and again I'll bring up one of the attorneys let's go to the panel right now being Dixon host Benjamin Dixon podcast killer Bethel communication strategist softest on Mustafa Santiago Ali PhD former senior advisor environmental justice EPA been I'll start with you this is one of those things where people still are questioning no transparency the judge

limiting this video. Of course, they only seen 18 minutes of the two hours worth of video footage. And the D.A., Andrew Womble, still he talked two weeks ago in court. He still has not addressed the public at all. Right. So this is the first thing that stood out to me was when you said there was only 18 minutes out of the two hours. Right. And and the critical thing is what information were they able to gather from those 18 minutes as they press forward with their particular case, but then also the criminal side of it. Like, where are we in terms of what's happening with this from a criminal perspective? Because so many times where we are able to get a modicum of justice on the civil side

of the equation, we see the real fight is holding these policing agencies accountable. And part of the lack of transparency comes from the fact that this entire system from top to bottom is 100 percent complicit with making sure that these police officers far too often are never held accountable for their crimes against black people. Harry Daniels is one of the attorneys for the Brown family. He joins us right now. Harry, how you doing? How you doing, Roland? Doing great. First of all, give us a perspective. First of all, what took place today? How many family members were allowed in to see the video? How many attorneys were allowed to accompany them? We had two of Mr. Brown's older sons, adult children, Khalil and Gerard Furby,

as well as the North Carolina attorney attorney uh chance lynch they were the one who went in to view the videos so um and so this uh this this right what we're showing right now uh this is the video here uh of chance uh lynch uh right that's who we're showing right now folks so just so y'all know uh what he looks like uh describe for us what they witnessed they only saw 18 minutes of the total two hours of video. What did they actually see? Roland, Chance describes in detail that once the deputies or the officers got out of the truck that rolled up on Mr. Brown, Mr. Brown seemed that he was startled that he was on the telephone. His hands was clearly visible. At that time, a shot was fired through Mr. Brown's window.

Mr. Brown proceeded to back up his vehicle to try to get away. The D.A. made comment last week or a week and a half ago about the vehicle making contact with the officers. But in fact, the officers made contact with the vehicle. They grabbed the handle of the vehicle and seemingly as though they were pushing off the vehicle. At no time did Mr. Brown oppose any threat to the officers. He was trying to evade them and get away from the officers while in the entire time they unloaded their weapons into his vehicle.

According to Mr. Lynch, it was like a hit squad. So the DA gives the impression in court that Andrew Brown Jr. hit the police officers. That's correct. What y'all are describing, there were no officers standing behind the car. So the officers were coming towards the actual vehicle. So for him to hit, he would have to put the car in drive. But we were there. We saw the tire tracks.

His car went in reverse. That's correct, Roland. The entire time that Mr. Lynch described, the officers were on the side of Mr. Brown's vehicle. At no time did he try to use his vehicle as a weapon. I was very clear last week or so when the DA made the comments that not to be distracted, that he said that the officers made contact. He was very careful in choosing his words not to say to officers that Mr. Brown used his vehicle as a weapon.

Roland, if he uses his vehicle as a weapon, trust me, he would have said it. But he gave off this statement that seemed to insinuate or to think that Mr. Brown was using his car as a weapon. That was not the case. Let me be very clear. At no time did Mr. Brown drive his his car as a weapon. That was not the case. Let me be very clear. At no time did Mr. Brown drive his vehicle towards the officers. At no time.

The contact was made by the officers, not Mr. Brown. Once Mr. Brown's vehicle got to the side of the vacant lot, Marlon, I know you've seen it, they unloaded on him. They unloaded on him, and unloaded on him and they killed him. No justification. I am a mad black man in America as to why these killers are not in jail today and how they can execute and kill a father of seven and still walk free. Roland, we know now why they didn't want to show the tape, the whole tape at least. We know now.

Because what we saw today was an execution of a black man in America by those who are sworn to protect and serve. Horrific. Horrific. Womble the DA, even after today, does not come out and address the public. We really, and I keep asking this question, we really don't know who is actually running an investigation.

Is the investigation being run by the Sheriff's Department? Is it being run by Internal Affairs of the Sheriff's Department? Is it being run by the DA's office, Andrew Womble, who's running for a Superior Court judge? Is it being run by the State Bureau of Investigation? Do y'all have any idea of who's actually leading the investigation? According to the district attorney that the SBI is leading the investigation, I know it had been chatted that the Department of Justice also had launched a civil rights

probe into the shooting of Andrew Brown. But, Marlon, to your point, we don't know. We don't know. But what we do know is what we saw today. We saw that an investigation should not take long based on this video. It don't take two weeks to arrest somebody who unjustified and intentionally killed somebody who was unarmed, who was trying to get away. A warrant does not give you the right to kill. A warrant does not give the right to kill. They killed this man. Be very clear, Roland, they executed this man.

The, um, y'all, also yesterday, Bakari Sillis dropped a letter calling for the district attorney to recuse himself from this case. He's the only one, though, who has the authority. He has to step back just for everybody to understand the state attorney general cannot step in this is not minneapolis they cannot assume

the jurisdiction to prosecute here the da would have to relinquish the case in order for that to happen all right i uh go ahead sorry no no go ahead go ahead i uh the the attorney general All right. Go ahead. Sorry. No, no, go ahead, go ahead. The Attorney General Josh Stein called me personally on my cell phone, and he explained that to me, that the DA has exclusive original jurisdiction. He will have to request the Attorney General to come in to appoint a special prosecutor. He has not done so.

The governor of this state has called for him to do that. He has not done so. decision to bring forth a grand jury in whether to indict people who work for him. And let me be very clear. They may be sheriff deputies, but they are prosecuting officers. Womble is the prosecuting attorney. Without the prosecuting officers, there is no prosecution in Pasquotank County. So he is basically prosecuting and making decisions as to whether he's going to prosecute his own. That is not transparency. He is joined to the help of these officers, and he should recuse himself immediately and call for the attorney general to come in. It is baffling that the state of North Carolina

have granted so much authority to a district attorney that allowed that district attorney to make a decision, a bad decision, to be overseen in investigation where his own folk are involved. When I say people, I'm talking about sheriff deputies who bring these charges. I'm not talking about people working for this attorney's office. I'll be very clear. This is no transparency

whatsoever. It is shameful. The North Carolina legislation should get to work and fix this. People should go out and vote and protest. But there's no way, no how this man should be overseeing this investigation, especially, Roland, when he made the statement

that Andrew Brown was moving forward and not until only then that the officers began shooting, which, based on the video that our team saw today, was a lie. Was a lie. What's next? You have to await whether the DA takes this to a grand jury. What's next?

Well, what's next? We are pushing for him to recuse himself. I know that the Department of Justice is involved, and maybe they have to assert their authority as under the United States government to move forward prosecution. I have no faith in this district attorney. I have no faith.

I have no faith in him because the first time I met him, he told me that the family would be shown the raw footage, the full footage of the video. Not the case. He said that. He has not kept any of his word since I met him. So I am not excited about him overseeing this matter, prosecuting this matter whatsoever. I know what our next steps are moving forward on the civil aspect of it.

But more importantly than a civil suit, we are calling for an immediate arrest. Everybody across this nation should be calling for immediate arrest of these officers who killed an unarmed black man in a manner in which it took place. It is horrific and a tragedy. I don't care if it's a small town, America. It could be New York. It could be Elizabeth City. Wrong is wrong and right is right. And it's time for the folk, everybody, black, yellow, green, blue,

to unify and say we are going to stand up for justice and we're not going to stand for any foolishness and injustice anymore in this country. Roland, I keep saying Roland because I want to say I'm mad as hell. I'm mad as hell, Roland. I'm mad as hell. And I rightfully also be mad as hell of what happened, what has happened to Andrew Brown in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Attorney Harry Daniels, we certainly appreciate you joining us here, Roland Unfiltered. Thanks a lot. Thank you, Roland. Take care. All right. Let's go back to my panel here. Kelly, you heard Harry speak there. I mean, what we're dealing with here is a DA who has all the power

in the world to determine what the next steps are. And at the end of the day, he is not being transparent with the public, saying nothing, nothing from communications office, literally nothing. What we're dealing with here, Roland, is not just a DA who refuses to come forward with the truth. We're dealing with a lynching. We're dealing with a modern-day Jim Crow 2.0 lynching and the lengths in which that the police, the DA, and even the judge, to a certain extent, are going to conceal evidence, is further evidence in itself, that this was an unjustified, unwarranted use of force. And it was a straight up execution.

And I was reading just how much the family was able to see of each video. There was a total of five videos. And in total, the videos are at least two hours long, an hour and a half to two hours long. And they've seen roughly less than 15 minutes total of an hour and a half long set of video. That to me says that there is an incredible amount of evidence in that tape that is not in the police officer's favor, that is not in the DA's favor, that is not in even the judge's favor, who let this family see the footage. It is expected at this point for those in power who want to uphold Jim Crow 2.0 to pull stunts like this.

Thankfully, we have attorneys, people, boots on the ground, and the family of Andrew Brown who will not let this go, and the media who will not let this go, such as yourself, who won't let this go, because this deserves all of our attention, and we frankly deserve to see all of the video. Video one is three minutes and one second. Video two is 34 minutes and 58 seconds, and the family was only able to see the first minute and 40 seconds of that video. The third video, 32 minutes,

only four minutes and 50 seconds into that video. The third video, 32 minutes, only four minutes and 50 seconds into that video the family was able to see. Video four, 17 minutes, only the first four minutes. And video five, 30 minutes, eight seconds, family was only able to see four minutes and 40 seconds was disclosed to the family to see. So it just shows you how much they're willing to hide. Because if there was

nothing to hide, like I said a couple weeks ago when this story first broke, if there was nothing to hide regarding this murder, because that's exactly what it is, nothing would be hidden right now. Everything would be out there. But that's not the case right now because they know what they did was wrong. So we need to hold this entire system in North Carolina accountable for their actions and see to it that justice is served on behalf of this family. Mustafa, to that particular point there, that is what is important, what is critical. And unfortunately, you're not seeing it by you're not certainly not seeing it by authorities there. And so how in the hell can we trust them? Well, I don't think we should trust them. They haven't done anything to make us believe

that they are trustworthy. You know, we've known now for weeks now, as folks have been waiting for the video, especially the family, that something was rotten. Something was rotten in Elizabeth City. And, you know, they are continuing to try to string this along. It's a game that people play, you know, hoping that there will be something else that will come along that will take people's attention, that will get the rest of the country to focus on another issue. But folks aren't going to give this up because they understand that if you are willing to execute this man in this fashion, then, you know, you're willing to do it as we've seen it play out in many other locations.

So, one, we've got to continue to put pressure on the folks who are there. Two, we've got to keep it in this media cycle constantly so that the family can actually get justice. And three, we've got to make sure the Department of Justice also gets involved. And we see this across the country where there needs to be changes that have to happen in these police departments and with these district attorneys. And then, of course, the fourth part that we often talk about on this show is that, you know, you've got to get engaged in the civic process. You have got to vote because when you don't, you have these types of individuals, whether they're sheriffs or district attorneys or whatever the elected positions are, where you have folks who don't care about our community and where they think that they can move along with impunity and do these types of things. So we have to continue to make sure that our voices are raised and that we're staying engaged in the process. Well, you're absolutely right. And it's important for us to also do our part to ensure that we have public officials who are in place to also make these things possible.

It's one of the reasons why black women are gathering and putting pressure on senators to confirm Kristen Clark to head the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. She, of course, is President Joe Biden's choice to lead the department if she is confirmed by the U.S. Senate. It will be the first African-American woman ever confirmed for that position. But you've had Republicans who were whining and complaining during her confirmation hearing about tweets critical of them, even though that's what her job was when she was the leader of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Tonight, 8 p.m. Eastern, we'll be live streaming an event being put on by the Black Women's Roundtable, National Coalition of Black Civic Participation, and a number of other partner groups. You see all of them there in support of Kristen Clark.

And, of course, the issue that, you know, you still, we have not heard whether Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia is going to support her nomination. If he says it, they've got the votes. There's also Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski. Joining us right now is Melanie Campbell. She, of course, leads the National Coalition and the Black Women's Roundtable. Melanie, earlier this week, it was yesterday, I believe, Kristen came out where she apologized for tweets critical of Murkowski and Manchin. What you've had is you've had Republican senators and some Democrats demanding contrition of Kristen Clark, of Anita Gupta, because of tweets where they were highly critical of these senators for their actions.

It's amazing they were so quiet when Trump was there. This has gone on for too long here and what y'all are doing. And it is very simple. If Manchin comes out and says he's voting for her, Democrats have the vote. What the hell's the hold up? Well, the problem, Roland, is historic when it comes to African-American nominees, women and men, women of color, have a harder time getting confirmed for these positions. And the reality is that for Black women, we are coming together and we're saying,

we want her confirmed, we want her confirmed now. A lot of these senators would not be in their seats had it not been for black women, young people, turning out to vote in 2020. So part of that is the issues around criminal justice reform and policing reform, voting rights and so many other issues that are important to our community. And the person who sits in that seat deals with those issues. And someone as exceptionally qualified as Christian Clark, who has dedicated her entire life to service, deserves that seat, that nomination to be confirmed and be confirmed swiftly. But unfortunately, history has shown it's always been's certainly tough for black folks. But we also have seen how Republican senators have been very particular in the targeting of women of color.

As I said, Neera Tanden, they actually blocked her nomination to head the Office of Management and Budget. Then, of course, all of a sudden, Vanita Gupta had to go through to be the number two at the Department of Justice. And then, of course, now what's happening with Kristen Clark. Right. Right. And so, you know, we are cautiously optimistic. What we're doing is really lifting up and just expanding our voices to just let folks know who Kristen Clark is and call and a call to action to black women and others, ally groups. Roland, we have over 20 organizations. And so I partnered with Dr. Janetta Cole, who heads the National Council of Negro Women, and Joteka Eady with Women with Black Women, and Minya Moore and Leah Daughtry with Power Rising,

all of the heads of the sororities, links, and several other, as well as civil rights organizations, have also joined forces with us. National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives support Kristen. So she has just a—and that's just the start of what's on the—when it comes to black organizations. She has enough support. It's just that the games that are played when it comes to what's going on in this Congress, in the Senate, when it comes to giving the president of the people he wants to run these departments and these divisions, and they need to go ahead and take care of this and get her out of committee this week and then go ahead and get her a full vote. But what it also does is also calls upon these organizations to not wait, to not wait until after something is done. So what this is also about, this live stream tonight, is also to encourage these members.

Guys, put the graphic back up. And members of these groups should be pressing. You have on there, you have Delta Sigma Theta, NAACP, National Action Network, NAACP, Legal Defense Fund, National Urban League, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority Incorporated, Higher Heights. You have, again, I'm looking at- Oh, yes.

We have- National African American Clergy Network. Right. And over 20 organizations representing millions. Right. And this is where those organizations should be telling their members, call, text your United States senator and every single one to say, confirm Christian Clark and call them whether they're Republican or Democrat. Right. Right. Whatever state you're in, check in with your senator. If they already supported her, thank them for supporting. If they're

not or they haven't decided, then weigh in as well. And so today, you know, tonight, Roland, we're doing the call to action. But tomorrow is a whole day around social media, and we're asking folks tomorrow, all day, just do just what you're talking about. Make those calls and also get on social media and just lift up. Confirm Kristen Clark tomorrow.

Win with black women. Our hashtags, confirm Clark, excuse me. And win with black women tomorrow, all day. And just make sure that we break the internet if there's such a thing. All right, then, Melanie Campbell, we certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot.

Again, folks, at 8 p.m. Eastern, right after Roller Martin Unfiltered, we'll be carrying that live stream, the call to action in order for the United States to confirm the nomination of Christian Clark to lead the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. Melanie, thanks a lot. Thank you, Roland. Thank you for partnering with us. I appreciate it. Thank you very much. you. The reason this is important is because having a Christian Clark at the civil rights

division, you understand it's going to be far more aggressive when it comes to police cases. The death of Andrew Brown Jr. with her running the division than we have seen the last four years under the crazy Bill Barr and Jeff Sessions under the nutcase Donald Trump. Yeah, I mean, Kristen Clark is the truth. I've known her for a long time. And, you know, they know that she's going to put pressure on folks. You know, she's going to follow the law, but she's going to make sure that she's utilizing every aspect of the law to bring justice to folks who are often unseen and unheard and forgotten.

And, you know, Kristen has fought for everybody. You know, it's not just black folks. She's fought for LGBTQ rights. She's fought for voting rights, civil rights. I can go down the laundry list. And if she was white and she had the background that she does, you know, decades of service, and then also going to Harvard and Columbia

and getting her degrees from there, you know, they would be lining up and patting her on the back for all of her accomplishments. And this is the other part that we should call out for folks, is that another reason that I think that they're scared is because she's went after white supremacists. And not only has she went after them, but she's done also put some foot to butt on them. So, you know, the reality of the situation is that we saw how some folks on Capitol Hill feel about white supremacists when we go back and saw what happened in January. So they know they got somebody they're going to have to deal with if Kristen is confirmed. And there is no reason why Kristen Clark should not be confirmed.

That again, this is why it's important for people to utilize their power uh and we often talk about this uh kelly but trust me those phone calls those text messages those emails all of those work the folk got to actually do it uh i always talk about our organizations uh organizations don't mean jack if you don't activate your members yeah with this you definitely have to put the pressure on those who are um in in the uh vicinity to to confirm her um we've been talking about how mansion is always riding the fence right now and he's kind of like the broker of washington so to speak um he needs to get on the ball with this because, again, like Mustafa said, there is no reason why Kristen Clark should not be confirmed. And frankly, I feel like she's overqualified for the job.

But if this is what she wants and frankly, this is what America needs in that division right now, then she absolutely deserves to be there. There's absolutely no reason why she shouldn't be. I feel like the Senate, both Democrats and Republicans, they know that she is qualified. They know that she deserves to be in this seat. But because of super partisan politics and misogynoir, so to speak, there's an uphill battle for her, like there is for many Black women in positions like hers across the country, where you have to work twice as hard to get

even a third, because it's not even a half right now. So hopefully, Senate will get on the ball with this. And if not, if we need to, actually, we do need to, get on the phone. Send those emails, like you said. Send those phone calls. Call people. Rally people together. Put it on your social media.

Put the pressure on these people, on the people that we put into office, to put the person that we need in the DOJ so that things like the Andrew Brown case isn't just siloed into state jurisdiction. Things like LGBT rights aren't siloed into state jurisdiction. Things like LGBT rights aren't siloed into state jurisdictions, and we can have a more balanced, a more fair, not legislation, but just policies in general across the DOJ and across this country in general. Again, you need to be able to have folk who are going to who believe in the law or believe in what's on that. But the Supreme Court, Benjamin, where it says equal justice under law. Absolutely, Roland. One of the things that stands out the most to me about this is exactly what you all have been laying out, which is the the accountability. And I don't think that's the right word, but it's the only word I have right now, the type of accountability that these senators are trying to apply to Ms. Clark and that they will not apply anywhere else.

The fact that she has to have the perfect background in terms of her anger or in terms of her venting or in terms of her service, right? She is not able to tweet anything without being held accountable for that tweet wherein we just came through an entire four years where the president was able to incite war, incite panic, incite an insurrectionist attack on January 6th. But this is part and parcel of the fact that in this country, if you are a black person, then you cannot show any dissent

because it's not even really anger. It's not anger at all. It's righteous indignation at a system that's killing us. And so if she expressed that, then this is where they want to hold her accountable. And we see this not only from Republicans, but Joe Manchin. This is exactly the type of behavior that he wants to, the type of energy that he wants to prevent from getting into power. But this is the exact type of energy that black people we need in power because we see how these systems work against us. We need somebody in that position who can actually bring us that equal justice before the law. Absolutely. And so bottom line, folks, again, 8 p.m. Eastern after this show, watch that live stream. And what you should be doing is calling the office of Senator Joe Manchin, calling the office of every Democrat, every Republican,

whether they are on the record or not, saying vote to confirm Christian Clark to head the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. All right, folks. Speaking of the police, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. They are launching an internal review of its policies after a video of a sheriff using excessive force caused a ton of controversy. In this video, a man is lying on the ground with his hands raised and empty awaiting arrest. The officer keeps one hand on his head to keep his face on the ground and uses the other to hold a gun to his head. Now, as another deputy begins handcuffing the suspect,

the officer continues to keep the gun to his head because of this video. The department will do an in-depth review of its procedures and tactics, including reviewing the officer's body cam video, which caught the entire confrontation. This is just, again, this is one of those videos, Kelly, where you look at what the cops are doing. He's on the ground. If anything sort of just happens, he's dead. That's a bullet in his head. Really? It's hard for me to watch videos like this, just for self-care reasons. This is very reminiscent of the George Floyd video.

And I'm just tired of it. It does not take this much to subdue one man, especially if he's already incapacitated. Like, he was already controlled by one cop. Why does it take all of this? How is this not excessive force? And why is it that my skin color is considered such a threat that you need all of this that you see right now on your screen in order to control, so to speak, one man? And it's a rhetorical question because you don't. You don't need all of this.

And we have seen time and time again, white people and people of other hues go above and beyond in stupidity when it comes to interacting with police officers and the like. And they don't get half this treatment. They don't get it. But when it comes to Black men, Black women, Black children, all of a sudden, because of our skin color, we need the works when it comes to pinning somebody down. You need three, five police cars, 10 officers, AK-47s, the works, when it comes to just one person who is unarmed,

who was never a threat to the officer who originally came onto the scene. It is ridiculous. And this is why we have movements such as defund the police. Wherever you are on the argument, that's why these arguments come up in the first place. You have policies that are trying to be pushed to limit stuff like this because it's not necessary.

It's hard to watch and it's even harder to experience. And I just hope that one day that stuff like this just doesn't happen anymore because it is traumatic for everybody. Right. Folks, prosecutors dismissed charges against a black woman in a wrongful police stop while Nisha Brooks was physically pulled from her car by state trooper Robert Henderling. His reason, her taillights were out. When asked why she was stopped,

Henderling told Brooks to step out of her car. Watch this. Looks like he's finally stopped on Oakwood Drive. Hello. Can I see your driver's license, on Oakwood Drive. Hello. Can I see your driver's license, vehicle registration, please? Sure. Why are you... Where...

Where made you pull me over? Can you step out here? I'll show you. Why... Why am I stepping out the car? I'll show you what's wrong with your car. You can tell me from in here? Huh?

I said you can tell me from in here. I don't really want to step outside my car. Okay, I need you to step out of the car. I don't really want to step outside my car. Okay, I need you to step out of the car. Can you step out of the car? For what? Because I need you to step out of the car because you took off from me on a traffic stop. I didn't really, I thought you were...

Are you not going to step out of the car? No, I thought you were emergency, I thought you were like a... Can you take your seat belt off for me please, ma'am? I thought you were a... What's it called? I thought you were an ambulance or something. That's why I was trying to get out of the way first. Okay, can you step out of the car again please? I'm asking you a second time. Ma'am, I need you to step out of the car.

I don't want to step out of the car. Ma'am, I'm asking you nicely to step out of the car, please. You're being visually and audibly recorded for protection. The subject's refusing to get out of the car. Ma'am, do I have to remove you from the car? Please don't do that. I want you to step out of the car. Ma'am, step out of the car. Please do not do this. Step out of the car, ma'am. What are you doing? This car is parked. Please stop.

Please stop. What are you doing? Step out. Step out. What did I do? Step out. Step out. What are you doing?

Don't grab me. Don't grab me. I'm not grabbing you. Are you kidding? Give me my phone back. Stop. What are you doing? Stop me my phone back. Stop. What are you doing? Stop.

Stop. Stop. Stop. Get off of me. What are you doing? Stop. Oh, my God. You're hurting me.

Get off. Stop. Get off. Get off of me. Give me my phone back. What are you doing? Give me my phone back. What are you doing? Ma'am, what is happening?

You're being detained right now. I don't have any. You're not reading my rights. You're not saying anything. Why are you crying? What are you doing? What are you doing? You took off from me after you stopped. Because I thought you were like an ambulance or something.

So you pulled back out in front of me. You pulled back in front of me. Do you have an ID on you? I was on the highway. I've never gotten pulled over on the highway before. Do you have your driver's license? It's in my car. Don't stand here.

Don't move. This is the Department of Defense. We're in a tough community. What are you doing? Stay right here. Don't move. The Department of Defense for its husband's community. Like, what are you doing? Stay right here. What are you doing? I'll report you to the general. Everything's being reared. Like, are you serious? Can you hold her? I have no charges ever in my life. Okay, that's being camera recorded, everything you've done. Number one, you don't have any taillights on your vehicle. Number two, you're following two cars at about 55 miles per hour two car lengths off of them

number three you pulled over and then took off again you failed to yield to my vehicle i asked you to step out of the car so you wouldn't take off again you refused to get out of the car i had to pull you out of the car you pulled me out you didn't even give me enough time to get out of the car. And I was afraid I've never been pulled over by the cops like this or handcuffed. I pulled back because I didn't know you were pulling me over on the highway. I've never been pulled over on the highway like that. First, I thought it was an emergency vehicle. So I'm trying to figure out what to do. Do I get over on this side? And then I get over and then the other car in front of me got over too. And then they went back. I didn't know. Usually if you're getting pulled up, I thought it would be some announcement. I didn't know that I was being pulled over. And that's why I got off the highway. Why are your eyes so watery when I pulled up? Why are my eyes watering? Because people have been shot by the police. I'm freaking nervous. But I thought you said

you thought it was an ambulance. After you came, that's what, when you pulled me over, I realize now, but when I was on the highway, it looked as though it was an ambulance. All I saw was red lights. I did not know what it was. Okay.

No one said pull over. No one said step like. If you would have said pull over, I would have known you were the police. Okay. I've never gotten pulled over like this. I don't know what to do on the highway. Okay. When was the last time you had something to drink?

When was the last time? Probably like two hours ago. Okay. How much did you have to drink? Just one regular cocktail. Okay. Do you know what time you had that? It was two hours ago.

Okay. Do you know what time it is now? Just one regular cocktail. Okay. And what time you had that? It was two hours ago. Okay. And what time it is now? It's around 2 o'clock. Okay.

All right. Would you be probably doing some sobriety test to be sure you're okay to drive? No, I wouldn't take a sobriety test. Okay. All right. Would you be willing to take a preliminary breath test? No. OK.

OK. Call the police, ma'am. We've got to go down and take a test. I'll read all that information just momentarily. Am I arrested? You're under arrest right now for driving under the influence and failing to yield for me. If we go back and there is no driving under the influence, which there isn't, then I won't be under arrest. You'll be issued a summons for the traffic, there's offenses, and the magistrate will make the determination from there. The officer, again, believed that Brooks was driving under the influence.

She took two breathalyzer tests, her blood alcohol level zero both times. Now check this out. After that didn't fly, the cop then charged her with resisting arrest, eluding police, failing to have her headlights on and reckless driving. After prosecutors viewed the dash cam video, they determined the stop was without proper legal basis, dismissed all charges, and called for an internal investigation conducted by state police. But here's the other thing, Mustafa, that's important to hear with this story here.

The state law was changed specifically to stop cops from pulling people over for tail light infractions. Why? Because they concluded that this is exactly why officers were stopping black folks disproportionately. So the officer actually was in violation of the law because he was ignoring the law that was actually passed. And this was precisely why. So it'll be interesting to see how this all plays out and what charges are brought against them or fines are brought against this individual. And folks should also take a look and see if he has a record of these types of, you know, pulling folks over and that type of thing.

We know that there have been police departments across the country, and there are studies that verify this, that have used being able to pull folks over to actually fill their coffers. So I'm not saying that that was what this situation was. We also understand this power dynamic that goes on. When black folks and brown folks get pulled over, we're never given the benefit of the doubt, even in the tiniest of infractions. And then folks allow these types of situations to escalate. And I don't blame the system for being nervous.

We've seen time and time again how these types of situations can play out in a very deadly fashion for far too many folks. So, you know, her being nervous makes sense and him not actually. And this is the other thing, Roland, that I still haven't been able to get my mind around. If a police officer pulls you over, he should just tell you this is why I'm pulling you over. At least then the person will have a better understanding of what's going on in that situation. But this is why many of these police departments have to change. And they're not going to change usually just because, you know,

they finally have this epiphany that the things that they've been doing have been detrimental to our community. And Benjamin, he comes up and he's like, why are you pulling me over? Step out of the car. She's like, no, I don't. It's nighttime. I don't know what the hell you doing like and so her deal is i am safer in my car but then he insists no get out of your car get out of your car get out of your car i need everybody to understand this is exact and

this is the thing i need people understand what you saw here was exactly what happened with sandra bland the moment the cop said i need you to get out of the car, and the person says no, that's when they get you on resisting arrest. Because the law says when you have been given a, quote, lawful command by an officer, you are to obey it even if you disagree with the command. And every one of these cops, that's what they use to get folks. It's sort of like when the prosecutors

couldn't get Al Capone on murder, they got him on tax evasion. Roland, the first thing that came to mind was Sandra Bland, because this is exactly this type of scenario. I think Sandra didn't make a proper right-hand turn or left-hand turn with a signal, something ridiculous. No, no, no, no, no, no. You see what I mean?

Sandra did the same thing she did. Sandra was trying to get out of his way. And when he pulled over, she said, you were all up on me following me. I was trying to get out of your way. And he's like, oh, no, you didn't use your turn signal. I was trying to get out of your way. And he's like, oh, no, you didn't use your turn signal. I'm trying to get out of your way. Absolutely.

And it's that justification. They look for anything they possibly can to pull us over. That's the point. They absolutely look for anything they can to pull us over. But also what was happening in that clip was he was looking for any opportunity he could to escalate. He took everything that she said and twisted it. He took her simple request to see, ask why am I being pulled over, which is a standard question that they should be prepared to answer. And he escalated, said, well, get out of the car and I'll show you why. And every turn he looked to escalate it, looking for a way to find

something to pin on her. And this is what we have with police officers too often, Roland. If you have the unmitigated gall to just simply ask why I have been pulled over, they do not like that question. They want their authority to go unchallenged in that moment. And so he took every opportunity he could to escalate that situation. And all of those so-called good cops are standing around watching him, knowing full well what he was doing was not right, was not proper, and could have led to something far more worse than it already did. And so it's just another testament to how often this happens, but also how they just don't see us as human. I'm sorry, you don't do this to people if you see them as equal to you, equal to your partner, to your spouse, to your wife. This was a woman in the late evenings, and he took it upon himself to violate her in this way. And that's because this country has a history of dehumanizing black people.

And we're still dealing with it in the year of our Lord, 20 and 21. And Kelly, again, luckily, this Fairfax County prosecutor got all charges and then took it further by saying this cop needs to be checked for his actions against this woman and what he put her through. Frankly, I'm just glad that this young woman is alive because, like, Benjamin and even Mustafa implied, it could have gone so many different ways. She could have been the next Sandra Bland. And, you know, I live in D.C. The fact that this was in Virginia, this is one of the many reasons

why I don't visit Virginia like that because, as far as I'm concerned, the entire state is a sundown town. And it's for reasons like this. You're talking about a situation in which she pulled over thinking that she was helping y'all out, trying to, you know, bypass you guys into an emergency that was supposed to be happening,

and that wasn't the case. And then it's 2 o'clock in the morning. You know, we have, there are stories in which you have fake cops on the road that late. We don't know, you know, I mean, in her eyes, she doesn't know that you're an actual cop. You didn't identify yourself. You just go to her door and is asking for, you know, her to get out the car. I didn't hear anything about license and registration until about two, three minutes into that tape. I didn't hear anything about license and registration until about two, three minutes into that tape. I didn't hear anything about why she was being pulled over until after they realized that she knew what her rights were and they had to come up with some BS as to why she was pulled over in the first place. This is an incredibly scary situation for anybody, let alone a black woman in Virginia, the capital of the Confederacy.

People forget about that. She was out there alone in the capital of the Confederacy, and you got basically the equivalent of Klansmen, as far as I'm concerned, approaching her vehicle, telling her to get out. That's scary. Absolutely. And then for them to not have a reason for her to be pulled over and coming up with things on the fly.

And then the icing on the crappy cake. Why are your eyes watering? I'm sorry, I think I'm about to die, sir. Because I'm not supposed to be pulled over. I'm trying to get home. I'm sober. I'm of sound mind. I know where I'm going. You don't. That's the problem. Well, and this is one of the issues, again, that we face when the cops, they hold all

of the power. Folks, on Sunday, TV One is going to be airing the Urban One Honors. I was asked to be co-host of that along with Erica Campbell. Here is a preview of what you can expect 9 p.m. Eastern on Sunday. Black women are fierce, brilliant, courageous, dope. Black women are making a difference, making history, and changing the world. I think about all of the black women who have showed up to fight for justice. We are starting to finally accept all the skills and

talents a woman can bring to the table. Urban One, thank you. This one is so special. Alright, folks, Checker Brother out, along with Erica Campbell, hosting Urban One Honors this Sunday on TV One and Clio TV, their sister network, 9 p.m. Eastern. So I want you all to check it out. Folks, New York City is having the mayoral campaign, the election taking place, and there are a ton of candidates in the race.

One of those is the former House Secretary under President Barack Obama, Sean Donovan. Also, former New York housing official. He wants to replace Bill de Blasio as the next mayor of New York City. He joins us right now. Sean, glad to have you on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Had you on Washington Watch on TV One several times. So glad to have you back. Many times.

It is great to see you again, Roland. Thanks so much for having me on. All right. So let's get right to it. So I'm sitting here. I've been crazy busy with advertising stuff all day. And then we had to. So I'm seeing these stories, all the folks saying, wait a minute. What's this all this stuff about housing and not knowing the cost of median housing in Brooklyn, what's up with that? You know, we are having a race here in New York, Roland, that is about how to make housing affordable, right? This is the thing that I hear every day. You know this.

I've spent 30 years of my career working to make housing affordable. And we've seen the last eight years under Mayor de Blasio an explosion in homelessness in this city. We've seen gentrification. We've seen so many things that are at the center of what needs to change and why we need new leadership in this city. And that's the work that I put at the center of my career for 30 years, going back to growing up in this city and watching homelessness explode on the streets, watching the South Bronx burn, and working with Bishop Johnny Ray Youngblood and the East Brooklyn congregations to build the Nehemiah Homes. All of that is work that I've done that I think is so important at this moment

when you're exactly right. When housing is at the center of what New Yorkers are concerned about. Unification is also one of those issues. And that's a problem issue that black folks have been talking about. Speaking of Brooklyn, how the cost is shot up, folks being moved out of areas, Brooklyn, Harlem and others as well. And so as mayor, how do you deal with that? Where, let's just be honest, where you have whites moving into areas that were previously occupied by Black, African-Americans and Hispanics. All of a sudden you begin to see new resources and new facilities in those areas. But folks who live there being priced out, how do you change that? How do you stop that? How do you fix that if you're mayor of New York City? Well, first, you got to make sure that folks can stay. And,

you know, I mentioned a moment ago, I started my career when I learned about the work that Bishop Johnny Ray Youngblood was doing with East Brooklyn congregations in Brownsville and East New York. And what we did was build more than 5,000 Nehemiah homes that allowed folks to buy their first home. And if you go back and look after 30 years of the way that that wealth that they've built has not only changed their lives, but their children's lives, their grandchildren's lives. This is exactly why I'm proposing equity bonds. You know, some of my opponents in the race say we should give a few hundred dollars a month to a few New Yorkers and that that's going to solve poverty. I know that

on average, a white family has 10 times the wealth that a black family does in this city. And that's why I'm proposing equity bonds, building on the work that Cory Booker did with baby bonds. What I'm proposing is that every child born in the city would get $1,000, and every year until they graduate high school, up to another $2,000 more. That means a kid born into poverty in this city would graduate with almost $50,000 in an account

to be able to buy a home, to go to college, to start a business. And it is really that wealth gap that is the primary driver of so much of the inequality in the city. And that would certainly allow folks to stay in their communities and actually benefit from revitalization to make sure that revitalization happens with them and for them, not to them. And that's a cornerstone of what I'm proposing as mayor. What about the issue that we're still seeing, the racial disparity in the top schools in New York City? That has been a point of contention.

You've had Asian parents, white parents not happy at all with Mayor Bill de Blasio, who's been trying to diversify those schools. Many of these schools that used to have a significant number of black students, now those numbers are low as all get out. And so how do you deal with that? Because if you're saying education is the issue, the problem is if you're black and Hispanic and you're getting shut out out of New York City's top public schools, you're in the same problem your parents are in. Absolutely. And look, you said low as all get out, Roland. Let's be clear, fewer than 10 black students the last few years in each of the new classes at Stuyvesant. And that has to change. Part of this is we have to make sure that folks can live wherever they choose in New York. The segregation in our neighborhoods is a root cause of the segregation in our schools.

And you know this. We talked about it a number of times. I led the work for President Obama on fair housing. And, you know, I don't know if you remember, Donald Trump, when he still had a Twitter account, was attacking my work, saying we were trying to destroy the suburbs, racist attacks, because I was trying to make sure

people could live wherever they choose. So one foundational piece of this is solving the segregation and discrimination in our neighborhoods, but then we have to solve it in our schools as well. Part of this is really making sure that we are getting rid of the screens and tests that are screening out too many black and brown kids from the best schools. But also, we need to make sure that we're creating real opportunities for a more diverse set of teachers in New schools. But also, we need to make sure that we're creating real opportunities for a more diverse set of teachers in New York. You know, Roland, all the information we have

shows that if you're a kid of color and you have a teacher of color by third grade, you're much more likely to graduate. And yet, in a system that's 85 percent kids of color in New York, we only have 45 percent teachers of color. That has to change. I've got a range of other plans as well that would do this, but we've got to solve this issue. There is no equity in New York without solving this challenge in our schools, just like you've said. Speaking of schools, you've got a lot of parents there who are on waiting lists for charter schools. They want to see those slots open up. You've got folks in Albany who oppose the expansion. Do you believe, are you going to listen to those parents, listen to the

demand, and say and agree with the expansion of high-quality charter schools in New York City? Rowan, I've said again and again, I'm for good schools. And just like you said, we're seeing real demand for charters in many communities, particularly black and brown communities. And we should not let politics stand in the way of ensuring parents can get a good education for their kids. Let's be clear. We have some charters that are struggling, too, and we ought to hold all our schools to high standards of excellence. But if there's demand and we're seeing many good charter schools in New York, we ought to make sure that they're available. But here's the other thing, Roland, I would really want to focus on. You know, the single most powerful way you can predict a kid's life chances, even their life expectancy in New York, is the zip code they grow up in. And so it's not just more good schools. It's making sure every New Yorker

has within 15 minutes of their front door a great school for their kids. That's part of my 15-minute neighborhood plan that would fundamentally change the inequity in our neighborhoods. And I would make sure it's not just a school, but it's a great job to support your family. Transportation, the health care you need, get a COVID test, get a vaccine. Deal with the underlying disparities in health that disproportionately devastated black and brown communities with COVID. So fresh food, a park where you can exercise, all of the things that are needed for a life of health and opportunity,

we should make sure every New Yorker has within 15 minutes of their front door. And that's a centerpiece of my equity agenda when I'm mayor. One question each from each one of my panelists. I'll start with you, Mustafa. Your question for Sean Donovan. Yeah, Sean, good to see you.

My question for you is, there are a number of environmental justice impacts that are happening in New York City. Asthma is one example. About 14 percent of the adults there and, of course, a great percentage of the young people, which creates its own set of challenges for folks. How will you begin to address some of the both the environmental injustices that are happening and the climate crisis that New York has had to deal with, especially with some of the storms that continue to get stronger and stronger? Yeah, it's such an important question. And unfortunately, as someone who's led through crisis after crisis, I've seen this, that those who are the most vulnerable before the

crisis hits are always hurt the worst by it. I saw this when I had to clean up the mess that President Bush had created after Katrina, when we started under President Obama. I saw it after Sandy. And what we need to do is make sure that we're leading with protecting the communities that are most vulnerable. This is what we did after Sandy, public housing, so many different communities that were hard hit. And we need to make sure that we're removing the sources of pollution. We know that whether it's toxic waste, what we call the peaker plants, those are the gas fired plants in New York that surge on at high times of need, or just locating sanitation garages and other things that contribute to asthma. There's so many ways that we've disproportionately impacted

communities of color with environmental hazards. And this is also part of my 15-minute plan. It's not just what you should have within 15 minutes of your front door. It's what you shouldn't have as well, and making sure that we're removing those hazards and really putting environmental justice at the forefront of our work on climate. Question from Kelly Bethayette for Sean Donovan. Sure. So I wanted to go back to what you do best, given your record, which is housing, specifically with income restrictive housing, for those who don't know. The way that I categorize it, you have like three groups. You have those who actually fall within the income restrictions. You have those who are definitely over the income restrictions and can afford the housing as priced.

Then you have those people in the middle who are over the income restrictions by like a dollar and can't afford to live where they need to live in order to do what they need to do. So my question to you is, how do you rectify people essentially not impoverishing themselves in order to keep housing? Because there's a problem. I know there's been issues in D.C. in which you have income-restricted housing where if you make just a dollar over, you can lose the housing that you earned by way of income restrictions. But you can't afford to live where you are without that safeguard in place. So how do you rectify being in that third group of people? Yeah, so first of all, one of the things I did as HUD secretary were push for ways

that we could be a little more flexible to ensure that you didn't have that kind of perverse impact on people. You know, earning an extra dollar and losing your housing assistance is crazy, right? But what we also need to be doing is ensuring that we're creating real opportunities for folks to save as they earn more as well. One of the programs I'm proudest of that we really expanded dramatically when I was HUD secretary is called Family Self-Sufficiency. And basically, the idea was, as a resident of public housing, a resident of other kinds of affordable housing is earning more, instead of just taking a big chunk of that towards the rent because they're earning more, put it in a savings account.

Allow them to build equity that goes to buying their first home. As I said a moment ago, there's nothing more powerful than the equity you can build through homeownership and wealth building. And that's something that we ought to make available to everyone. And it's something that I led as housing secretary as an important piece working for President Obama that ensured we were allowing folks to build wealth and not have the kind of perverse impacts that you're talking about. So that full range of programs, a little more flexibility, but also the incentives to save, be able to buy a home and then build wealth in the long term are critical to doing it as well. Next question, Ben. Yeah, Mr. Donovan, Andrew Yang is under some serious fire today because of his statement

on what's happening with Israel and Palestine, particularly because it was endorsed by Ted Cruz, Stephen Miller, and I think even Donald Trump Jr. got in on it. How do you distinguish yourself from his position and your thoughts on that particular position that he put forth on Twitter? Yeah, well, look, we should all be horrified at the loss of life that we've seen of Palestinian parents and children. And I will say as a father of two young men, I am particularly horrified to see the loss of children in innocent bystanders to this. And what I would say is this is not for political haymaking. This is tragedy. And as someone who's worked side by side with President Biden, as someone who knows well our Secretary of State, and I would just urge everyone, particularly our leadership in Washington,

to work to de-escalate this situation as quickly as possible and make sure that we're saving lives. Every human life is of value. And I think that has to come before politics here. All right, Sean Donovan, I certainly appreciate it. Thank you so very much. Good luck in your run. Thanks so much, Roland.

It's great to see you again. Great to be with you. Feels like old times. All right. Thank you very much, sir. Thanks a lot. Folks, going to go to a break. We come back. We're going to talk Georgia no longer allow citizens to arrest folks. That's next on Roller Mountain Unfiltered. Are you trying to say that as of January 20th, that President Trump will be president? That depends on what happens on Wednesday. President Trump won this election. Do you think the election was stolen? Absolutely. At this point we do not know who has prevailed in the election.

This fraud was systemic and I dare say it was effective. This is a contested election. President Trump won by a landslide. Don't pull them this way! The outcome of our presidential election was seized from the hands of voters. We have to make sure that they look into what has been the theft of this presidential election. Stop the speech! Stop the speech! Joe Biden lost and President Trump won. Whatever happens to President Trump, he is still the elected president.

I would love to see this election overturned. No one believes that this guy got 80 million votes. It doesn't feel right. It doesn't look right. No ragtime group of liberal activists will be allowed to steal this election. The president wasn't defeated by huge numbers. In fact, he may not have been defeated at all. Over the next 10 days, we get to see the ballots that are fraudulent. And if we're wrong, we will be made fools of. This is the year of the woman. We are here. We are capable.

My optimism for our future has never been greater than now. Black women are making a difference, making history and changing the world. Hello, everyone. I'm Godfrey and you're watching. Roland Martin unfiltered. And while he's doing unfiltered, I'm practicing the wobble. In Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp signed House Bill 479, repealing the state's Civil War-era citizens' arrest law. Ahmaud Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, who witnessed the signing, is thankful bystanders can no longer make an arrest in Georgia if a crime is committed in their presence. Thankful. Very thankful.

Not only for the police. I think the state of Georgia is moving in the right direction. We're passing this particular bill. Unfortunately, I had to lose my son to get some change. But again, I'm still thankful. Arbery was gunned down while running through a South Georgia neighborhood in February of 2020. Greg and Travis McMichael, along with William

Roddy Bryan, chased Arbery, suspecting him to be a burglar. The trio's state murder trial will begin October 18th. Three defendants pled not guilty in federal court today, also on hate crime charges. Now, under the repeal bill, bystanders or witnesses no longer have the right to detain people. Daintly force can only be used in self-protection, protecting a home, or preventing a forcible felony.

It still allows business employees to detain people they believe stole something and lets restaurant employees detain people who try to leave without paying for a meal. It also lets licensed security guards and private detectives detain folks as well. Someone detained must be released along with their personal belongings if a police officer or sheriff's deputy doesn't arrive within a reasonable time. Thank goodness they have that coming through, which is kind of important. Folks, let's deal with a topic that we always deal with. Let's talk about some money. Specifically, where's our money?

We've been frozen out. Facing an extinction level event. We don't fight this fight right now. You're not going to have black on you. Today, I participated in a black-owned media upfront presentation with Byron Allen and others that was designed to get black owned media in front of a variety of ad agencies. In the last week, we have seen two major ad agencies make announcements when it comes to how they're going to spend money. Let's show you one of those, please.

If you can go ahead and show that, that'd be great. One of the graphics. One of the particular companies announced that by 2023, they will spend at least 5%, at least 5% with black-owned media. Do y'all have that? Okay, I don't know why we don't have the graphics for it. Let me pull it myself.

And let me explain, folks, why why this is important. Essentially, what we have seen are companies that have spent just one percent on black on media. Did you hear what I said? One percent on black on media, we're talking about collectively. 250 upwards of 250 billion dollars being spent every single year on advertising and marketing. And they love your money. They love you spending your money. But they don't necessarily love spending that money with folks who look like you. Kind of important, don't you think? So IPG media brands, they represent billions of dollars of companies. They announced on Friday that they are going to go ahead and show it, invest at least 5% in black-owned media by 2023.

Now, here's the issue that I have with that. Why can't you spend 5% right now? Right now, media companies are going through their upfronts right now. The companies are spending money right now so when someone announces we're going to spend five percent by 2023 it begs the question how much are you spending right now so how much are you spending in 2021 how much are you going to spend in 2022? When we met with General Motors, they said, oh, oh, we weren't spending one. We're going to spend 2% in 2021.

In a later interview, Deborah Wall, Chief Marketing Officer of General Motors, announced that because of COVID, they were spending $3.7 billion a year. $3.7 billion. COVID, they reduced it $ 3.7 billion. COVID, they reduced it to 2.7 billion. That means, folks, that if

1% of their budgets were going to black-owned media companies, let me rephrase that, black businesses, that means just 27 million out of 2.7 billion

was going to black-owned media companies. Some of y'all watching may be asking, well, Roland, okay, but what's the big deal? When you're watching BET and ads pop up, that money is going to ViacomCBS, not black-owned. When you are looking at your black content on complex and complex touts, their black numbers, that money's not going to African Americans. When you're watching bounce TV,

saints and sinners and other shows and money is going to scripts. When you are listening to black information network and i got commentaries on there i got no problem saying it that money's going to i heart radio when you are watching and supporting the breakfast club that's i heart radio not a black owned media company so these companies don't mind spending with black targeted companies. The problem is when you're spending with black owned companies. So they announced that it was going to be 5%. That story dropped on Friday. Well, yesterday, Group M announced their plans.

Group M, y'all, is Mediacom. We're talking about one of the biggies. Now, remember IPG, what y'all heard me, they announced they were going to do 5% by 2023. This is what Group M announced. Group M announced a 2% pledge to invest in black-owned media over the next year. They also were going to support black creators, producers, and studios with an accelerator program. Folks, how shall I say this? 2%.

It's a start. But we ain't satisfied with 2%. That number is wholly insufficient. 2% is completely insufficient. Let's say, let's just say for the sake of discussion that group M is responsible for $20 billion of spending a year. That's just, just, just for the sake of our conversation right now. Let's just say $20 billion. Out of $20 billion,

at 2%, how much is that for black-owned media? Now, mind y'all, these companies, their market share for black people is 10, 11, 15, 20, 25 percent. Two percent. I need y'all to understand that what you are seeing in this example I'm using is economic apartheid. This is how black people are frozen out of being able to create wealth.

This is why our black- afford to have 15, 20 or 30 reporters around the country. So I know some of y'all are saying right now to me, you know, these folks like I'm going to use this example. I got a fool right here being some dumb ass on YouTube. Truth Seeker. Roland needs those white corporate donations. I get it. Well, guess what? Those white companies are getting your dollars, Truth Seeker. I remember a few years ago in the National Association of Black Journalists, we voted not to accept money from liquor companies. And I get it. I remember black organizations said they were going to stop accepting money

from tobacco companies. And I get it. And then I remember one year we had a big event at Disney World, Ben, Kelly, and Mustafa. And it was a big old event we had. event at Disney World, Ben, Kelly, and Mustafa. And it was a big old event we had. And I swear, every hundred feet, it was a big bin of alcohol. And I was, mind you, I don't drink. I've never drank in my life.

And so I remember, we had our business meeting a couple of days later, and the question came back up, should we as an organization accept money from alcohol companies? And I also remember that when we pick our conventions, we often would pick hotels that had large lobbies for our members who love to hang around at the bar and so we had a bunch of people who would stand up and they would speak high and mighty about how this is wrong and we shouldn't be taking this money and the non-drinkers stood up and i said i'm just confused i said how in the hell are y'all drinking?

How were y'all drinking at the party last night? How y'all drink? I said, we never ever come up short on our food and beverage requirement at the hotels. I said, but now all of a sudden

we spend money on alcohol but we don't want to take alcohol money as an organization. I said, that's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life. And when I made the argument, folk in the room were like, shit, he got a point.

He got a point. And then I was able to defeat the folk. And I remember Arthur Sulzberger, who was the CEO of the New York Times. We were at the closing banquet. He came up to me. Y'all got to understand, I ain't never had a problem speaking truth to power to white folk or black people. This is Arthur Sulzberger.

This is the New York Times. He comes up to me and outraged that we did this. And without missing a beat, I said, well, why don't you increase your damn support then? If you don't want us taking liquor money, I said, why don't you cut a bigger damn check? Until then, don't you tell me how in the hell you should do business in our black organization. I think that was the last conversation I had with Arthur Salzberg. But I think he learned right then, don't just roll up on me saying crazy stuff.

So the fools like Truthseeker. And there are fools out there being like him because they love, oh, we don't need money from the white corporations. Well, Truth Seeker, tell me what's in your house that didn't come from a white corporation.

Why in the hell should we as black people not participate in this economic system? Why do you think we're calling out Forrest Marsh Group, the groups that also are getting the governmental advertising contracts, when over a five-year period, black-owned

media got 51 million out of 5 billion? See, I love these people, Mustafa. I love these old fake-ass conscious fools, okay, who love running their mouths about what we should be doing and shouldn't be doing. Yet Fox is getting a billion and a half dollars profit every year. Not revenue. Profit. CNN. Owned. Profit. CNN.

Owned by Warner Media. Owned by AT&T. A billion dollars profit. MSNBC. Owned by NBC Universal. Owned by Comcast. Almost

800 million profit. And we got fools. Y'all should be doing. Damn that. Black owned media should be getting money from General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Mercedes, Clorox, Procter & Gamble, every major corporation. Because if black folks are buying the product, then they should be advertising. Microsoft, Apple. Hell, I'm sitting right here.

iPad, iPad, iPad, two iPhones, iWatch and a MacBook and a Mac Mini in there. And how much is Apple spending on advertising on Roland Martin Unfiltered? I watch and a MacBook and a Mac mini in there. And how much is Apple spending on advertising on Roland Martin unfiltered? See, Kelly, the reason we are breaking this whole thing down, the reason we are checking these folk is because, see, Kelly, they have gotten over like a fat rat. They have been spending 0.2, 0.5, maybe 1% total. So now people need to understand why Ebony Magazine was in bankruptcy. Why that the only black building that was owned in downtown, the only black skyscraper, the only black multi-level building that was owned in downtown Chicago.

The reason that building had to be sold in bankruptcy when Johnson Publishing Company filed for bankruptcy is because they were not getting their fair share. Ben, I was told by Todd Brown, a brother, we had him on the show, and he used to be over sales for Ebony. Ebony, massive circulation size, was getting $20,000

for a full page ad while Esquire, smaller than Ebony, was getting $200,000. So to all y'all black folks out there who like, well, I don't know why y'all sitting here begging a white man for money. So you telling me that Esquire should have been getting $200,000 while Ebony was getting $20,000 and Ebony was bigger than Esquire? And so this is why we're challenged. That's why I'm saying to Group M.

And Kirk McDonald, I know Kirk. Kirk is the CEO of Group M. He's an African-American who's a CEO. And my message to Mediacom, to WPP, to Omnicom, to Group M, to every single advertising agency, no, we're not satisfied. And I'm not satisfied with announcements. Let me say it again. I'm not satisfied with press releases. What I'm satisfied with, Kelly, are checks.

I'm satisfied with disbursements. I'm satisfied I will give you props when I see y'all cut checks and I'm not talking about small checks I'm talking about seven figure checks Mustafa I had to tell folk see everybody out there see all to the fools out here to all the fools who don't understand business and and I and I forgive some of y'all because you ain't never had folk in your family with businesses. Well, guess what? My grandfather had a business. My grandmother had a business. My mama had a business. My aunt Lurdie had a business. My aunt Pam had a business. My uncle Junior, Clance Junior, had a business. My Uncle Larry, his brother, had a business. My Uncle Warren had a business. I think out of the eight brothers and sisters that my, out of the eight nieces,

sons, and daughters my maternal grandparents have, I think seven of them had businesses and one didn't. So forgive me if I grew up with black entrepreneurs. So Roland ain't new to this. This is why black people are starving. Pre-COVID, 2.6 million black owned businesses, Benjamin, 2.5 had one employee. One doing an average revenue of $54,000. Now, again, I'm not sitting here trying to floss or flex, but I just told y'all an average revenue of $54,000 for the 2.6 million black-owned businesses in America.

Do y'all understand that right now, from donations from our fan group, there's $47,000 sitting in cash app. That means that in my cash app right now, due to my fan base, I have almost the same amount of money as the average black business in America. So when 2.5 million black owned businesses have one employee, we can't hire nobody. And if we can't hire Ben or give a contract to Kelly or fund Mustafa's environmental justice stuff, guess what happens? Then Mustafa, in order for him to do his work in environmental justice, he got to go ask somebody not black.

Because there's no extra money to help him. If we want to provide Kelly with a consulting contract, well, hell, if you're averaging $54,000, you can't do that because you're barely eating. If Benjamin has his podcast, if a black-owned business wants to take advertising out on his podcast, they can't because they're not getting the revenue. And so I need everybody who's watching to understand why we are putting this pressure on these ad agencies and the companies because they're not funding black people. Money that we actually are spending.

And so there's a group called Forrest Marsh, the Forrest Marsh Group. And the reason I'm going to call them out because they control a lot of government contracts. Not only that, Forrest Marsh Group also controls the COVID money. Well, we had a meeting a month ago, submitted a proposal. The next cycle is supposed to start on Monday. We ain't heard back. Sent emails, sent text messages,

haven't heard back. I told y'all, a billion dollars is spent every year by the federal government on advertising. One billion. Black people get 51 million total. Total. That means every black-owned company in America shares the 51 million out of the one billion. That's your taxpayer money.

So I just wanted just to show y'all. Just wanted to show y'all. And again, we're reaching out to Forrest Marsh. We're reaching out to them because we want to know what exactly is their black spin. Y'all, right here. Go to my iPad. These are the agencies, Ben, Kelly, and Mustafa, that Ford, these are the companies that Forrest Marsh does business with. FDA, taxpayer-funded.

IRS, taxpayer-funded. Federal Voting Assistance Program, taxpayer-funded. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, taxpayer-funded. Army National Guard, taxpayer-funded. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, taxpayer-funded. Army National Guard, taxpayer-funded. United States Coast Guard, taxpayer-funded. USDA, taxpayer-funded. NHTSA, taxpayer-funded. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, taxpayer-funded. National Institute of Standards and Technology under the Department of Commerce. Taxpayer funded U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Taxpayer funded National Cancer Institute. Taxpayer funded Centers for Disease Control.

Taxpayer funded the GSA. Taxpayer funded U.S. Air Force. Taxpayer funded U.S. International Trade Commission. Taxpayer funded. Then you have the VA. Taxpayer funded the U.S. International Trade Commission. Taxpayer funded. Then you have the VA. Taxpayer funded. The U.S. Postal Service. Taxpayer. You have right here, FEMA.

Taxpayer funded. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Taxpayer funded. The Election Assistance Commission. Taxpayer funded. Forest Service Department of Agriculture. Taxpayer funded. AmeriCorps. Hmm. mission taxpayer funded for service department of agriculture taxpayer funded americorps national then you have a u.s army y'all that's all taxpayer money don't you think it's fair for us to

ask hey forrest marsh how much of the taxpayer funded money you're getting for advertising contracts, how much of that is going to black owned media? Maybe by asking the question, we then begin to ask, well, what does the leadership of Forrest Marsh look like? That's getting all of this taxpayer funded money. I'm glad you asked. Go to my iPad. This, y'all, is the leadership of the agency that's receiving all of that taxpayer funded money. Do you see anybody on this list that looks like one of us? No. Not one.

This is the leadership. So, for everybody watching, I'm going to be sending a letter to Forrest Marsh Group asking them specifically to reveal how much of the federal dollars that they are getting that's going to black-owned media. Who are those outlets? How much is being allocated? I hope they provide the answers. If they don't, I'm then going to ask members of Congress, specifically the Congressional Black Caucus, to ask for the same information of the company. I believe that if an agency is receiving taxpayer-funded money, then we should know what's going to black-owned media.

What we need now, Ben, we need black people to stop being scared. We need black people to stop being afraid to demand our fair share. And we need black people to stop being afraid to demand our fair share. And we need black people who watch our shows to back us up because when we demand more of the ad dollars, that's how we're able to hire interns. That's how we're able to hire HBCU graduates.

That's how we're able to hire HBCU graduates. That's how we're able to hire and work with black vendors. That's how we're able to build black wealth because we're getting our fair share, Ben. Roland, I think some of them would rather see us have to spin straw into gold, right? And work some kind of magic to produce this content that is rooted in our black experience. I mean, one of the biggest things that we see is with these lack of dollars is that we don't get our stories told through our voices. We get them told through voices that may be black,

but they are, at the end of the day, they have to answer to white folks. And I know you've experienced this, but one of my, one of my craziest experiences was being told by people who claim to be, you know, on our side of the equation, that some of the stories we were covering were too black, right? Literally pulled into the office and said, we don't know if we want to do that racial justice story and we're doing it too much. And those are the type of things that we have to fight with when we're fighting against, um, when we don't have the money to do it our way and to do it with black owned businesses. And so they expect us to make miracles. But at the end of the day,

there's so much money that is just, you know, slushing around in the advertising industry. And it just, it's not coming to black folks. This is, this is business. Kelly, pure and simple. No, I thought you were going to say something else. You're absolutely right. I don't consider any time Black people, Black businesses ask for money from white entities. I don't consider that begging at all. I don't consider that any even type of assimilation. We are demanding our due.

It is something to see when you have our consumerism versus their investment in us not being balanced. You see our dollars as green, but you see our needs and our plight as limited and black. How is it that our black money is all of a sudden green for you, but our needs are still remaining to be Black and othered? Um, it is something that we have seen time and time again.

It's not going to necessarily change anytime soon, but it... Stories like this, coverage like, uh, what you do on your show on your show regularly, Roland, is something that we really need to just educate ourselves on. Because if you look at how we buy, our consumerism takes up much more than the 5% that they're giving out. They take up much more than the 2% that they're giving out. They take up much more than the two percent that they're giving out. If all we're asking for is the balance, that should not be an issue. And yet it is. So that's definitely something that needs to be rectified with all of these companies. And it starts with stories like this. And it starts with us making the demands that are necessary in order to rectify these wrongs.

Look, it ain't going to happen if we don't make the demands, Mustafa. It's always about accountability. If we don't hold people accountable, if we don't hold ourselves accountable for how we utilize our dollars, and when we don't push back against folks who continually devalue us, then, you know, then they're going to continue to do it. We know that there is a disinvestment that continues to happen in African-American businesses and in our communities. So you got to change that paradigm. And that's why you got to call folks out. I'm so glad that you're going to reach out to the CBC if things don't actually materialize in a proper direction, because it has to be real accountability. I know federal dollars.

I sat over top of many of them. And I also know that when it comes to contracting and subcontracting opportunities, that African-American businesses and Latinx businesses receive a tiny percentage. So the federal government has some responsibility here, along with those who sit in this corporate space to change this paradigm. Absolutely. Folks, gonna go to a quick break. We come back.

We're going to talk to a couple of Hawaiianians about a new project they out and also our Black business segment. You don't want to miss that on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Black women are fierce, brilliant, courageous, dope. Black women are making a difference, making history, and changing the world. I think about all of the black women who have showed up to fight

for justice. We are starting to finally accept all the skills and talents a woman can bring to the table. Urban One, thank you. This one is so special. Yo, what's up? This your boy Ice Cube. What's up?

I'm Lance Gross, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks. Relatives of Bebe and CeCe Winans are putting a spin of their own song, their own spin of Never On My Own, joining us right now. Go ahead and pull the graphic up, please, of the right there. Let's show it right there. Juan and Deborah Joy Wynans, how we doing? What's up?

What's up? How are you? Glad to have both of you on the show. And let me first start. It's been a while since I've seen you, Debra. Of course, not having Essence in all these events. We've all been locked away with COVID. But certainly glad to see you.

So many folks, of course, know you from Greenleaf on OWN as well. And so glad to have both of you here. Tell us one. First off, before we even talk about the song, it's a whole lot of competition in this family. So... Do you get

competitive family vibes from us? Oh, come on now. You can't hear that many people who sing. I know there's lots of trash talking at family get togethers. Oh, absolutely. I mean, you know, let's be honest, for sure. It happens. So have either one of y'all threw down a challenge, said, OK, since you think you all that, let's go. Let's do it right now. No, it doesn't work that way.

So that wouldn't be like the right approach. But if you're on stage in a moment and I have a microphone, this has happened, and I have a microphone, and Bebe, whom I have so much admiration and respect for, has a microphone, I start to feel when he is challenging me. And whether I win or not, I can't go, I mean, like, listen, you're not going to embarrass me up here. So that happens. I don't

think we stand up and say, hey, you right now, like, it's a duel. We're not really doing that. That would be kind of cool. Look, we all, look, it's just like, look, when I'm with the family and we debating political topics, I'm going to put it on your ass. No, no, no.

Same here. If we're debating politics, I ain't talking about being on the stage. It could be at the crib. It could be in the car. It could be like, do you want to go there? Let's go. It's not a question of do you want to go. It's one will hit a note Uncle Marvin will

hit a note and then all of a sudden Juan is like oh I can do that and I can add this on to it and so it's just a whole thing see Juan trying to be all cute we don't really you know if it's on stage we don't really you know doggone well that happened don't even front

it happens you just gotta be smart because you're like everybody comes off smiling and nice You know doggone well that happened. Don't even front. It happens. You just got to be smart because you're like, you know, everybody comes off smiling and nice, CeCe included. I'm just going to give you a little nugget. CeCe, she's one of the more competitive ones. I'll just leave that right there. Everybody comes off nice. They're smiling. We love Jesus.

We do love Jesus. But the bottom line is there are some killer sharks in the water. And if you're not, like, handling yourself right, they're going to eat you up. But see, Debra, I think people get smiling wrong. Terrence Howard, we were at, I think, Alicia Keys Black Ball, and he said, you know, he said, what I really love about you is when I'm watching you debate and you start smiling, I said, no, no, no, no. Let me explain to you what that means. If you see me starting to smile, what I'm really saying is I'm about to whoop your ass when you get done.

100%. That's what that means. Got to. Yeah, and I feel good about it. Yeah, so when I bring in a smile in the middle of the debate, prepare for the tail of the hurricane that's about

to get unleashed. It's checkmate. You know you got them exactly where you want them. Oh, yeah, absolutely. I'm sitting there going, you know when it's over. You know what's about to happen when you get finished with that last thought. Ooh! Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that heat's coming.

So, all right, so y'all, with this song here, why did y'all pick this one? Well, it's a song song we grew up, we love Patti LaBelle, and Joy had the honor and privilege of singing with Patti, and we love Michael McDonald. We grew up listening to this song on my own, right? 1986 classic song, and so I wanted to flip it. I wanted to

work with Joy since we did the play together, Born For This, and this was the perfect opportunity to do it with this song. I'm grateful to the original writers. They let us flip it and put our own little spin on it. So ours is called Never On My Own. And it just talks about God loves us. He never leaves us.

That's the relationship. And for Joy and I, I've always had her back. She's always had my back. And it's been one of the best feelings and so reassuring as we move through life, navigating Hollywood for her, entertainment. We always know I have her, she has me. We're never on our own. Absolutely. And I think that just this time that we're living in, Roland, I think it's important to kind of reassure people that, yes, we've been in a pandemic. Yes, we've been in a quarantine. Yes, we've had to be alone. But don't forget, you are never, never, never on your own.

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And so, when is the single drop? This Friday, May 14th. All digital platforms, Apple Music, wherever you get your songs, check it out. And we hope y'all barbecue to this. We hope y'all skate to it.

Hang out. Enjoy it. And it's all love. Yeah. Bye-bye, man y'all barbecue to this. We hope y'all skate to it. Hang out. Enjoy it. And it's all love. Yeah. Bye-bye, man. I do have to ask this final question here, Debra. So the final, really the final season and a half of Greenleaf. What the hell is wrong with you? Because, I mean, I was sitting here here going she want her ass whooped she just like

like like like in the godfather what did michael say fredo never go against the family eyes against the family and roland i wanted to ask the question but you asked it so much better and emphatic than I would have asked it, so I want to hear this too. Look, guys, Charity just went through a lot of things, but by the end, she came out on the other side. She was stronger. She was wiser.

She understood her power. She understood her worth. She walked away from that man. She got the church back. You know, we all make mistakes, but she got up and she fixed it. Come on now. Hashtag team whip that ass need to visit. I'm just letting you know right

now, if you were in my family, that wouldn't have been the ending. That would have been an ending. No, that's true. I mean, in our family the same way, because we grew up on The Godfather. So, yeah, it was wrong. You know, I looked at the script some days, and I was like, y'all really got me about to do this?

All I'm saying is, I was sitting there going, I know she did not. I know she did not. But it was juicy. It was interesting. I have people call me and cuss me out about this. I'm like, y'all, you've known Joy since she was six. You've got to be able to separate Joy from Charity.

But it's a struggle for people. It's a struggle. Yeah, some people who don't know me just in, will grab me and say, what were you thinking? You lucky COVID dropped. That way you escaped getting cussed out by a lot of people in public. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Being locked up in the crib helped you.

Thank God for the pandemic so I can keep my life. Yeah, now there's some separation between the show ending and now us reopening. So, folks, the single drops on Friday. Go ahead and show it again, please. Juan and Deborah Joy Winans. The song is Never On My Own.

Folks, I'm glad to have both of y'all here. Tell Marvin I said what's up. And tell Bebe I said what's up. CeCe, and it was funny. I did a deal down at, was it Bethune? Where was I at? Was it Bethune Cookman? I said, what's up, C.C.? And it was funny. I did a deal down at, was it Bethune? Where was I at? Was it Bethune-Cookman? I think it was Bethune-Cookman.

And they just asked us to speak. They asked us to speak. And so I think Marvin came after. He came after I did. And so it was like the last second. I'm sitting there going like, y'all ain't paying me to speak. And so I spoke. And I talked about it.

It was some scripture I talked about. And I told a story. And so then when I spoke and I, and I talked about with some scripts I talked about and I told a story. And so then when it sat down, Marvin going to ask me, Marvin going to ask me, uh, what scripture was that? I was like, man, I gave him some number and he was like, he said, that number don't exist. I was like, well, what I said is in the Bible. I said, so look, it's in there. So you can go find it. I said, first of all, dude, I was born and raised Catholic. So it wasn't like we read the Bible. I said, so I ain't got all them numbers memorized like you got the numbers memorized. I said, but guess what?

It worked. It worked. He said it worked. That's what matters. It worked. Somebody. Roller, did you tear the house down? Oh, come on now.

I'm like, no, come on. Come on. And then later, I spoke somewhere else, and he actually came. It was some pastoral anniversary. Oh, come on now. I'm like, no, come on. Come on. And then later I spoke somewhere else and he actually came. It was some pastoral anniversary. Oh, just destroyed it. I was like, see, we ain't got to memorize them numbers in all them books. But trust me, when you

know the word, you know it. The word. If I had a B3 rolling, I would tune you up right now. I didn't have to let him know. He gonna ask me to specify what the, man, I don to specify what the number was. This ain't what I do. But did you get the word? Right.

See, knowing the numbers ain't what I do. But speaking is what I do. I just had to go ahead and let him know that. I'm so glad you did. Yeah. I mean, I was like, man, I don't know. It was Samuel something. I'm like, I don't know, like, man, I don't know. It was Samuel something. I'm like, I don't know, like, 958. I don't know what.

That just actually happened. I was like, man, I don't know. Asking me all them specific questions. I just know the story. Yeah, I just know people got touched. What else is there? Yeah, I handle it. It's all good. Tell them I said what's up, folks. Absolutely. Thank you for having us. I appreciate it. Thanks so very much. All right, y'all. Real quick break. We come back. Our black business segment, the marketplace on Roland Martin unfiltered. Shortly after 9-11, America and its allies went to war in Afghanistan to defeat a terrorist stronghold. We accomplished that mission years ago.

Trillions of dollars lost. We accomplished that mission years ago. Trillions of dollars lost, over 2,000 Americans dead, countless Afghans dead. It's time to get out. Many presidents have tried to end the war in Afghanistan, but President Biden is actually going to do it. And by 9-11, over 20 years after the war was started, the last American soldier will depart and America's longest war will be over. Promise made, promise kept.

Hi, my name is Latoya Luckett. Joe, it's your man Deon Cole from Black-ish and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Stay woke. All right, folks. Time for our Marketplace segment where we feature black-owned businesses. And, of course, I still have my panel here, Kelly Mustafa and Ben. They're going to get to ask our owner questions. Melvin Johnson is the owner of Stitch Services. Melvin, glad to have you.

Melvin, what is Stitch Services? First of all, Roland, much respect to you. I'm a huge fan. So is my mom. And we appreciate everything that you do. Brother, I appreciate it. For sure. So, Stitch Services is a fabric solution company.

Our core services are custom sewing, fabric printing, rental drapery, and installation. So, what's a real-life application? Like, for you, for example, right? I'm sure somewhere in that studio, there's a green screen or a blue screen. Well, we make those for custom and we have a standard size available for rental.

Really? Green screens? Yes, sir. See, this is what I'm talking about. Henry, give me a five box. This is what I'm talking about when I was talking about that previous segment there, Ben, Mustafa, and Kelly, when I was talking about how you see things a little bit differently. We're moving, and I'm not joking, y'all, and I had no idea that Jackie had booked Melvin with their business was. We're moving into a new office space. We'll be there in July. And we're going to actually have in there another space for a green screen.

And we're going to need to be, it's going to be a much larger green, that's going to be pulled over and across. And so what you're talking about is, so I had no idea a black-owned drape company. Yes, sir. It doesn't stop there, Roland.

So, like, let's keep using you for example. I'm sure somewhere in that studio of yours, there's a black drape or a few black drapes that hide things and mask things. Yep. Just like this cashmere drape that's behind me. So we rent this in all different colors and all different sizes, and we do custom, okay?

We also do dye sublimation fabric printing. So using you, for example, there may be a photo op somewhere in your studio where you take pictures with your guests that say Roland Martin on it, unfiltered. So we print that. And so, and also for your people who are like the grips, what we call them, we keep duvetyn, which is a commonly used fabric that everybody in our industry uses. So we service the TV and film industry. We also service the event industry. Everything that I just said easily transfers over to the event industry. You're having a movie premiere, you need drapes. You need printing. You need our installation team to set it up. You may need something custom.

That easily transfers over to the trade show space. You go to those trade shows, 90% of those trade show booths are made out of fabric, printed fabric. We help people out in that space. So we cover the TV, film, event, hospitality, trade show space, all the spaces that were heavily impacted by COVID, but we're still here. See, Ben, this is why we created this segment. I get a lot of people, I get a lot of people,

they're like, man, you need to have Claude Anderson on the show. I said, y'all, I might actually have business owners on. I ain't got a problem with Claude Anderson, but let's put on actual business owners so folk know about these various businesses. Bean, you got a question? Yeah, so not so much a question, but first, congratulations on everything that you've done.

If I were to pull a question out of this, it would be like, how have you thrived in COVID despite all the things that have been happening around the world? Straight up, we got into the mask hustle like everybody else. And we were just cranking it out. I think what set us apart is that we really did the research because, honestly, no one knew how to make a mask, how to make it the right way. I mean, the masks that we have now compared to the masks we had when we first started are totally different. So I really went online and started

researching what makes a quality mask, considering we're only using fabric, and then to find out that no, you can make a real quality mask out of fabric. You just have the right amount of layers, the right amount of material. And so the mask kept us alive. But then I also pivoted in the sense of working with the event planners that we service. I started renting out our building because they pivoted as well. And so they were using, they needed a space for fulfillment for their baskets. And so I let them use our building for fulfillment. So between renting out the building, sewing crazy projects that landed on our plate and making masks,

taking advantage of all the government loans and grants, everything that we took that was available, we took advantage of it. Kelly. So I'm on your website right now, and it is quite impressive. Like this is this is really interesting to look at. I'm seeing that you also do installation and rentals, as you mentioned. Now, is this just for your local area in California? How would someone be able to contact you for services? Let's just say, on the East Coast? Is that even possible for you? Are you scaled to that extent? Absolutely. We go where your budget allows. So our installation team will hop on a plane and we will fly to New York. We've done it before. Las Vegas, we've done it before.

Florida, we've done it before. Things need to be shipped. Well, that's what UPS and FedEx are for. Or Old Dominion, we will ship it out. So, yes, we are able to service the East Coast and the South as well. Mustafa. Mustafa? Mustafa's frozen.

Sorry about that. Melvin, how long have y'all been in business? We've been in business two years and four months now. Wow. Wow. Wow. First of all, what's the website? Folks on our YouTube channel, Facebook, they're asking, what's the website? For sure.

It's www.stitch.services. .stitch.services. www.stitch.services. Yes, sir. You can follow us on Instagram at stitch.services. www.stitch.services. Yes, sir. You can follow us on Instagram at Stitch.services. I'm trying to think what else we got. We got the Instagram. We got the website.

You on Facebook, Twitter? No, not on Facebook or on Twitter. I guess we need to get on that. You got to get on Facebook because, first of all, especially all these churches out here are looking to do business as well. And so, yeah, that's what it is. Look, older folk are going to be on Facebook. Younger folk are going to be on Instagram.

We on all of them, so we're getting everybody. We're getting young, old, middle. It don't even matter. That's what we're doing. No, you're right. You're right. I appreciate that. That's game.

Absolutely. Well, look, man, one of the things that we're doing. No, you're right. You're right. I appreciate that. That's game. Absolutely. Well, look, man, look, one of the things that we do with this show, we do support black-owned businesses. Our lights in here. There's a brother who has a company here in D.C., this desk that was built. Our backseat that was installed, black-owned companies. And so as we're moving into our new location, we absolutely are going to be needing that green screen that we're talking about. So we'll certainly be reaching out to you. Hey, Roland, we got you. And look, man, keep pushing, man. You're doing a great job.

I appreciate it, brother. Thank you so very much. Tell your mother I said hello. I will. Thank you. All right. Thanks a lot. See, folks, this this is why we created this is why Roland Martin Unfiltered was created. Y'all can sit here and listen to all these so-called new black media people. But but they full of a full of crap. OK. Bottom line is we are about advancing the interests of African-Americans. We're about showing the profiles of these folks. That's why we created this segment. That's why we're doing what we're doing. And so we want you to support us in what we do.

Join in our Bring the Funk fan club. Every dollar you gives to this show, guess what? Allow us for us to be able to hire brothers like that to do work, allow us to be able to hire black vendors to also do work. That's why we do it. Support us at Cash App, dollar sign RM unfiltered. PayPal.me forward slash RMartinUnfiltered.

Venmo.com forward slash RMUnfiltered. And Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Also, Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. Folks, thank you so very much. Ben, Kelly, Mustafa, thank you so very much. Sorry, Mustafa, his Skype machine froze there. But I want to thank all three of you who've been with our panel today. Folks, thank you so very much. Sorry, Mustafa, his Skype machine froze there. But I want to thank all three of you who've been with our panel today.

Folks, thank you so very much. Tomorrow, I'll be broadcasting live from Jack Yates High School in Houston, Texas, my alma mater, where I'll be giving out two $1,000 scholarships to two well-deserving students, one in the School of Communications magnet program, one in Jack Yates. And so we look forward to being on campus. Doing so,

we'll be joined by a number of folks there in Texas. We'll be covering the craze that happened with voter suppression there and what Republicans are doing. Also, tomorrow they're going to vote on the Texas House on the Crown Act bill. That's right, outlawing hair discrimination.

And so we'll be discussing that tomorrow as well. And don't forget, we're going to be Thursday in Baytown, Texas, broadcasting the rally there for the sister who was shot and killed a year ago. A pregnant black woman shot by a cop. He still has his job. So we're going to be there. So we look forward to it. So H-Town, I'm coming. And I'm looking forward to being there with my fam, Jack Yates High School.

The train, that's tomorrow. Y'all take care. A live stream happening right now, Black Women's Roundtable. We're already streaming it. We're live and they're live. Y'all all go watch them right now. I'll see you tomorrow. Holler! A lot of times, big economic forces show up in our lives in small ways. Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. Small but important ways. From tech billionaires to the bond market to, yeah, banana pudding.

If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastain. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You say you'd never give in to a meltdown. Never let kids' toys take over the house. And never fill your feed with kid photos. You'd never plan your life around their schedule.

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