#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Buffalo Shooting Victims' Families Testify at Senate Hearing on Domestic Terrorism

Episode Date: June 8, 2022

6.7.2022 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Buffalo Shooting Victims' Families Testify at Senate Hearing on Domestic Terrorism Today, on Capitol Hill, family members of mass shooting victims testified during the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on the increasing threat of domestic terrorism. We'll show you some of that emotional testimony. And I'll be talking to a woman who lost two relatives in the Buffalo massacre and civil rights attorney Ben Crump.   A Uvalde, Texas family says goodbye to 10-year-old Xavier Lopez. An Arizona judge blocks the GOP's effort to cut mail-in ballots. A white South African pastor is found guilty of plotting racial genocide. He planned to poison the water supply for thousands of black South Africans. I'll talk to real estate mogul Don Peebles in our Marketplace segment. He's leading an all-black team to build New York's first skyscraper built by African Americans. And I've been holding on to something for about a month. Today, the news dropped, and I can't wait to let you know what it is! Support #RolandMartinUnfiltered and #BlackStarNetwork via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered PayPal ☛ https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered Venmo ☛https://venmo.com/rmunfiltered Zelle ☛ [e-mail] Annual or monthly recurring #BringTheFunk Fan Club membership via paypal ☛ https://rolandsmartin.com/rmu-paypal/ Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox 👉🏾 http://www.blackstarnetwork.com #RolandMartinUnfiltered and the #BlackStarNetwork are news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Black Star Network is here. Hold no punches! I'm real revolutionary right now. Black power! Support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. Thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roland. Stay Black. I love y'all. All momentum we have now, we have to keep this going.

The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scary. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? Să facem o pătrunjelă. Today is Tuesday, June 7, 2022. Coming up, a Roland Martin unfiltered streaming live

on the Black Star Network. Today on Capitol Hill, family members and avast shooting victims testified during the Senate Judiciary Committee on the increasing threat of domestic terrorism in the country. We'll show you some of that emotional testimony. And I'll be talking to a woman who lost two relatives

in the Buffalo massacre, as well as civil rights attorney Ben Crump. Uvalde, Texas family says goodbye to 10-year-old Xavier Lopez and Uvalde native Matthew McConaughey speaks at the White House in gripping speech laying up a need for gun reform in this country. An Arizona judge blocks the GOP's efforts to cut mail-in ballots.

A white South African pastor is found guilty of plotting a racial genocide. He planned to poison the water supply of thousands of black South Africans. And I'll talk to real estate mogul Don Peebles in our Marketplace segment. He is leading an all-black team to build New York's first skyscraper built by African Americans.

Also, I'll talk about me being named to the Hall of Fame as out of the professional journalist. We'll tell you about that as well. It's time to bring the funk on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Let's go. He's got it. Whatever the piss, he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine.

And when it breaks, he's right on time. And he's rolling. Best belief he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics. With entertainment just for kicks, he's rolling. Yeah, yeah It's Uncle Roll-Royale 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 Rollin' Martin Now He's fresh, he's real, the best you know. He's rolling, Martel. Martel.

You elected to protect us, to protect our way of life. I ask every one of you to imagine the faces of your mothers as you look at mine and ask yourself, is there nothing that we can do? Is there nothing that you personally are willing to do to stop the cancer of white supremacy and the domestic terrorism it inspires. Because if there is nothing, then, respectfully, Senators, you should yield your positions of authority and influence to others that are willing to lead on this issue. The urgency of the moment demands no less. My mother's life mattered. My mother's life mattered. My mother's life mattered. Your actions here today will tell us how much it matters to you. Folks, that was Garnell Whitfield, the son of Ruth Whitfield, the oldest victim of the Buffalo Massacre,

sharing his testimony during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today on Capitol Hill. It was called examining the, was that satizing? Domestic terrorism threat after the Buffalo attack. Now, keep in mind, this is the same Senate that chose not to move forward on the bill passed in the House to deal with domestic terrorism. It was blocked by Republicans. The committee heard from

family members and experts on the impact of domestic terrorism in the country. We're going to show you some more of that. We're joined right now by Ben Crump, civil rights attorney, and Michelle Spite, who lost two relatives in the Buffalo mass shooting.

She attended the hearing today. Actually, both of them did. They certainly join us right now. I'm glad to have you here, Michelle. Certainly sorry for the loss that you and others experienced by what took place at the hands of this white domestic terror, terrorist in Buffalo. I got to get your thoughts on listening to what many of the Republicans, senators had to say in this hearing.

It gave the impression that, again, they offered their thoughts and prayers, but in many ways were defending actions that could stop domestic terrorists. Absolutely. Absolutely. They did offer their, what they term as condolences, but the back end of that was a lot of deflecting. And I think it's really critical or was actually critical today that the family be present and that testimony did go forth from a family member so that they can see the vital necessity to keep the focus where it needs to be. And that is parked, quote unquote, at tops. That is where this person just came and, you know, massacred loved ones and just riveted the community.

So, yes, there was lots of deflection, more of that than there was sincere apologies. loved ones and just riveted the community. So yes, there was lots of deflection, more of that than there was sincere apologies in my turn. You know, there were family members who lost folks due to police violence. And you had Republicans, Senator Tim Scott, Senator Lindsey Graham, and others talking about doing something about it, they actually never did.

And this shouldn't be the case. It should not be the responsibility of family members to continue to apply pressure on them. But we see this with other shootings, Parkland, for example, Sandy Hook, Columbine, where those family members are continuing to apply that pressure to force members of Congress to do something. Are you and others prepared for what could be a very long battle? You know, we certainly are taking this in stride. You know, in addition to,

you know, the natural process of grieving, it has been therapeutic to many and to me personally to fuel that, you know, that grief and some of that anger into something very purposeful. So we are very intentional with that respect. And yes, we are up for the long haul. Ben, that question, look, is one that we have to confront. You represent a number of families, and the list only grows having to continue to come to Washington, D.C., talking to the White House, talking to U.S. senators, talking to House members. The only way anything is going to get done when, talking to U.S. Senators, talking to House members, the only way anything is going to get done when it comes to this fundamental issue is if there is massive public pressure that is put on the senators,

they're going to have to be, family members are going to have to be in their face constantly to force them to act. Roland Martin, again, you're correct. You know Washington, D.C. probably better than most. And right now we have a gridlock with the Republicans inactivity. One of the things I said in the press conference with Dick Durbin and Senator Rosenblum and Senator Chuck Schumer was, it was a sin how they killed the Buffalo 10, that monster. But it was also sinful that this Senate has failed to act.

The previous administration removed the requirement for the Department of Justice to investigate and report out to the Justice Department in the White House on white supremacy. And Senator Dick Durbin said he believed even if that was in place, that could have had an effect on preventing this massacre. But you can't even get the Republicans to agree to a vote on this matter, because they don't want to be on the record. And that's what Garnell Whitfield and Michelle and others said so eloquently and passionately, Roland Martin, is do something. What are you going to do about this? Our families' deaths won't be in vain.

Now, here were you and others, Michelle, raising this point, and this is what one of the things that Senator Ted Cruz of Texas wanted to focus on today. I do think my colleagues on the Democratic side of the aisle try very hard to erase the history of the Klan, that it was formed by elected Democrats, that its leadership was almost entirely elected Democrats, that the authors of the Jim Crow laws were, without exception, elected Democrats? Well, actually, those of us who know history

already know all of that. But what's interesting, Michelle, is that that has something to do with what happened at Topps Grocery Store in Buffalo. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. And that is why we are very, like I said, very intentional and we are very driven to make sure that, you know, what happened at Topps on May 14th remains current and that we keep the focus where it is. We cannot change some of the, you know, historical things that have happened in the past. But again, this is not a roll call for everything that went awry previously. We need to keep the focus where it is. The focus is a white supremacist, very calculated and very concise, made a 180-page missive of how he was going to gun down and execute black people who had no choice but to go to

the only supermarket in this black neighborhood that just so happens to reside in a food desert. We have to keep the focus that white supremacy is not something that came up yesterday or even started on May 14th. He, along with others, have been fed an appetite of hate. It has gone down throughout history unprecedented of anything being done about it, and we're demanding accountability at this point,

and we're not going to be silent until something's done. I did find it interesting, though, Ben, that after Senator Ted Cruz said that and Justin Herdman gave a response that Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who was actually sitting in the chair's position because Senator Dick Durbin had stepped out, she had a few words to say after what Senator Ted Cruz had to say. So I thought, Ben, this also was important to note. Senator Durbin went to vote. And so I just want to start out by noting that the intelligence community has identified racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists as a category of people most likely to conduct mass casualty attacks. I think we have an agreement on that. But one thing

that wasn't noticed, and this is just one year of statistics but was not noted by Senator Cruz, and that is that the FBI reported that of the racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists it was investigating in 2020, so let me be very clear about the category, 87% were white supremacists. So I just think it's very important that the record reflect that. It's certainly not all of them, but it, at least for the recent year that we have data on, it was the majority of them. And the reality being, Crump, they don't want to talk about that because many of them vote for folks like Ted Cruz.

Yeah. And, you know, the expert panels at the hearing, they kept stressing about the race replacement theory and how Fox News continues to make this a legitimate news matter over and over again. And so they continue to be, I guess, as the experts say, Roland Martin, they are promoted for espousing this racism, this hatred. And you have it with the politicians. They said get higher poll numbers amongst the Republicans when they say this evil, hateful rhetoric. And they said the news cable broadcasters get higher ratings. And they said that was the problem. And until we're going to deal with, we cannot celebrate intolerance, we cannot celebrate evil and hatred like the race replacement theory,

then nothing is going to happen. And the irony of what Ted Cruz said, Roland Martin, was this. He talked about all these violent acts, and he named instances when Black people were the culprit. And he ran through about six or seven of them. But he never talked about the violent insurrection of January 6 that he to defend. And so it was just hypocrisy. And it was very, it was very agonizing sitting there watching him with all those family members like Michelle, who had their family members

killed by a young white supremacist. And he would not even address white supremacy. Absolutely. Michelle, go ahead. and he would not even address white supremacy. Absolutely. Michelle, go ahead. Absolutely. And Senator Booker spoke to it and said it best, you know, and I'm paraphrasing what he said, but it's almost as if, you know, our country has grown to have an appetite for contempt

and an appetite of insurrection. And it definitely is a threat to our democracy. And those are the things that we need to bring to the forefront. And I know they have been brought to the forefront previously, but those are the things we need to just keep driving home. Because if we do not stop this in its tracks, you know, God forbid, I don't know what our democracy will be as we know it. So, you know, seemingly, as Mr. Crumpet said, you know, Cruz never spoke to any of the insurrection. He never spoke to any of the, he never spoke to the group of Proud Boys and the propaganda that is promoted on these different media streams. And that really is at the seat of what is fueling, you know,

the hatred and the anger and the bigotry. So we definitely have to take a look at that seriously, and we can't stop talking about it. Well, we can't, and we certainly will not on this show, Michelle and Ben Crump. I certainly appreciate both of you joining us. Thank you. Thank you, Brolin. Nice attack.

Appreciate it, Doc. Appreciate it. Folks, we talked about the hearing, and here's more of some of the craziness that came from Republicans in the hearing, including Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, as well as Senator John Thune. You want to hear crazy?

Banning AR-15s? Why do people need them? Oh, I mean, I know AR-15s often use this. I know a lot of people have AR-15s. I don't personally have one, but I know a lot of people do. I mean, that's used for sporting events, for sporting activities all the time. It's pretty common.

I mean, I can count on my hands real quick. A bunch of people, you know. People misuse them, obviously. Well, sure. People misuse handguns. I mean, you know, so all the time. I think this kid had a handgun as well, unfortunately. So, you know, no, I would not support banning those. Why do people even need AR-15s? Well, I mean, the challenge you have on that is there's 20 million of them in the country already. They are a sporting rifle, and it's something that a lot of people, for purposes of going out, target shooting. In my state, they use them to shoot prairie dogs and other types of varmints. And so I think that there are legitimate reasons why people would want to have them. And I think the challenge you have already is that there are literally millions of them

available in this country. There's two U.S. senators. You see, oh, oh, shooting prairie dogs, and oh, shooting raccoons. Today at the White House, Matthew McConaughey, a native of Uvalde, Texas, spoke from the podium. And I want you to hear how he described

what AR-15s did to the bodies of 19 children in his native Uvalde. Trust me, what he is about to describe is far different than the nonchalant attitude of those two Republican U.S. senators. We also met Anna and Danilo, the mom and the stepdad of nine-year-old Maite Rodriguez. Maite wanted to be a marine biologist. She was already in contact with Corpus Christi University of A&M for her future college enrollment. Nine years old. Maite cared for the environment so strongly

that when the city asked her mother if they could release some balloons into the sky, in her memory, her mom said, Oh, no. Maite wouldn't want to litter. Maite wore green want to litter. Maite wore green high-top Converse with a heart she had hand-drawn on the right toe because they represented her love of nature.

Camilla's got these shoes. Can you show these shoes, please? Wore these every day. Green Converse with a heart on the right toe. These are the same green converse on her feet that turned out to be the only clear evidence that could identify her after the shooting. How about that? Maite wrote a letter. Her mom said if Maite's letter could help someone accomplish her dream, that then her death

would have an impact, and it would mean her dying had a point, and was it pointless that it would make the loss of her life matter. The letter reads, Marine biologist, I want to pass school to get to my dream college. My dream college is in Corpus Christi by the ocean. I need to live next to the ocean because I want to be a marine biologist. Marine biologists study animals and the water. Most of the time I will be in a lab. Sometimes I will be on TV.

I want to play in a little bit another part of that speech where McConaughey described the bodies of the children and what the AR-15 did to their bodies and what the families and the morticians had to do just to be able to have their funerals. Let's go to our panel. Demario Solomon-Simmons, civil rights attorney, founder of Justice for Greenwood, joins me here in D.C.

Breonna Cartwright, political strategist, journalist as well from D.C. Xavier Pope, host of Suit Up News, owner of the Pope Law Firm there in Chicago. Glad to have all three of you here. It was something else, DeMario, to listen to the testimony, to listen to these senators just sort of blow things off, to act as if, oh, you know, all the people out here, things are just fine. He listened to Ted Cruz talk about the KKK, Democrats, Democrats, Democrats. But he forgot the KKK endorsed Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020. But it goes to show you how these Republicans do, they plan to do nothing to address this issue.

No question. Roland, it's really good to be here with you personally. It was very sad to see this video. Obviously, I see it earlier today and see those Republicans. They don't care. And it's very sad that, you know, my good friend Brother Ben has to be here once again

with families of victims to try to plead for something to be done and to know you're talking to, I mean, Josh Harley and Ted Cruz, they are white supremacists. And that's very disheartening to know that you are talking to white supremacists about doing something about white supremacy. And I just wish that these senators would be kicked out of Congress under the 14th Amendment, I think it's clause number three, because they were insurrectionists. So my heart goes out to those victims. We had a shooting, as you know, Roland, last week in Tulsa,

where four people were killed and the gunman killed himself. And one of those individuals, Dr. Preston Phillips, was a personal friend, a huge loss for our community. And that gunman, who was a black gunman, bought an AR-15 just a couple hours before the shooting, and it shows how powerfully destructive these instruments of war are in our society. I mean, That right there is what makes no sense

whatsoever, Breonna. When these folks are just so unwilling to confront the reality of they don't even want to raise the age from 18 to 21. They don't. And it's like,

that's not, you're trying to't. And it's like, that's not, you're trying to tell me that it's so painful to raise the age from 18 to 21 to buy an AR-15? Yeah, it's weird to me because for handguns,

I'm pretty sure for handguns, it's 21. So something that's even more dangerous than handguns, I'm not quite sure why they are trying to fight and raising it. We have alcohol raised to 21 because we've decided there's a certain age where the brain is fully formed, right? And that's why we have it until 21. And so if we think about something as

dangerous as a gun, we should make sure that who's holding it has their brain fully formed and goes into background checks too. The fact that there's these senators that are fighting for any change is crazy. We see, you know, as someone said today at the airport, we still have to take off our shoes and can't have water in our backpacks because we saw a threat. And we made quick changes and we kept them for years now. But we see all these shootings, mass shootings from Buffalo to Tulsa to Texas, you know, all in one short period of time. And we still don't have any slight of changes. Well, Xavier, what we're seeing here, again, we are seeing individuals, we're seeing individuals who do not want to lead.

They have no intentions of changing anything. I mean, New York Times has a piece where Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the lead negotiator, is saying, oh, incrementalism. Small steps, small steps. Roland, it's designed to run the clock out on the news cycle of mass

shootings. The hope is that America will get fatigued talking about this issue. No political pressure will be put on Republicans, and then they can just move on and not do a thing at all. And that's exactly what they're doing. This is what they've been known for doing. They did this in terms of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act with Tim Scott and his fake outcome. This is powerful for the course of Republicans. And for Ted Cruz to compare Democrats in terms of the history of white supremacy is completely irrelevant to passing the necessary legislation that's happening right now in America.

Well, that is certainly the case. Now, at today's hearing, Senator Cory Booker addressed those senators and also spoke to this issue, how critically important it is. That you have to be here and the pain that you and your family are enduring is unimaginable. I want to thank you for turning your pain into purpose. Coming down here has got to be very difficult. And the fact that you're testifying before Congress

on these issues just shows me what kind of mother you had. I was also kind of moved. I walked in late to the hearing coming from a classified briefing and I heard you talk about very candidly what it was like growing up as a black man in America and how you realize very young that you're perceived as a justification for people taking police action. We know that blacks are more likely to be killed by the police. We know that implicit racial bias, you have study after study that shows a black person, a white person in this country accused of the same nonviolent drug crime, the black person will get longer sentences. We know that even black women in this country are more likely to die in childbirth, even

when you control for race and education, because their pain is not perceived to be taken as seriously. And the kind of subtle dehumanization that often comes. And what's moving to me about you is that you understand that this is not about black versus white. This is us. We're all in this together. And that we are a nation that needs each other

far more than we realize. And I think on that fateful day in Buffalo, we realize the danger of allowing hatred in any form in our country to fester. Because that hate is not just visited upon one. Its effects and impacts are felt directly by families and communities. But it tears at the overall fabric of our democracy. Mr. Pate, I think your testimony was really moving to me because this is about the hope of our democracy. It really is.

I have never imagined that I would be this worried about the future of our country. And the mainstreaming of these ideas begins to undermine the necessary cohesion for a democracy to function. This is the great question in America's history, and every generation seemed to answer it the right way. Will we get better at being a multicultural democracy? Will we not let the hate of the Irish, the hate of Catholics, the hate of Southern Europeans, the hate of Asian Americans, will we not allow that to undermine the highest ideals of humanity that this country represents? And so I feel like we're on a perilous precipice. I think that so much of this, when I turned on my TV and saw that the is not militia, and those are all concerns.

And I thank my colleague for bringing up the issues of the ease of access to guns is what causes the violence. And we should not ignore that reality. But I'm more concerned about the culture of contempt we have in our country. And you said something, and I don't want to create false equivalencies, but I know me as a politician probably would have raised a lot of money if during a State of the Union address, I yelled out an expletive at the President of the United States, Donald Trump, if I had said something like, you lie. I know this because it happened to President Obama and that person had their best fundraising quarters after he did something by bringing in that kind of outrage into our sacred civic space in a congressional hall for a presidential speech.

And so I guess the two things I want to get in my 10 seconds. So that was Senator Cory Booker. That was Senator Cory Booker speaking today. DeMario, here is the bite of Matthew McConaughey talking about, again, this is the juxtaposition we heard earlier from these Republicans about AR-15 and how people, oh, they hunt with these. But yeah, 19 children were also hunted. This is what he said. We also met a cosmetologist. She was well-versed in mortuary makeup. That's the task of making the victims appear as peaceful and natural as possible for their open casket viewings.

These bodies were very different. They needed much more than makeup to be presentable. They needed extensive restoration. Why? Due to the exceptionally large exit wounds of an AR-15 rifle. Most of the body so mutilated that only DNA tests or green converse could identify. Many children were left not only dead, but hollow. So yes, council... To hear that, DeMario, how in the hell can these people not respond?

You know, again, very difficult to listen about that. And the bodies were hollow. I mean, these little bodies were just torn apart. You know, I'll just say something, Roland, and I'll be very 100, keep it 100 with you. In 2012, when Sandy Hook happened, and you had all those dozens, a couple dozen, you know, wealthy, white, upper-middle class kids slaughtered, and nothing happened. That's when I really thought that this country

really does not care about gun violence, because if they didn't do anything after Sandy Hook, I mean, these are 19 beautiful brown kids down in a poor little town in Texas. I think it makes it even easier for people like Ted Cruz and Holly and the guys, John Thune, saying that we shoot, you know, rodents, which is, you know, the language matters

when he's talking about shooting rodents and things of that nature. This AR-15 is a problem. Cory Booker's right. The hate is a problem. We must continue to organize, continue to put pressure, as you say, Roland, all the time on the Senate. The president continued to bully pulpit.

I don't know who bought out Matthew McConaughey. They should do more of that, because he was able to really speak to the issue in a way that's very, very powerful. But boots on the ground is necessary. There needs to be money and funding for black organizations to go out and organize within the community, make sure we're getting out to vote, and be very specific. I don't like to use the term, and it's the last thing I'll say here,

saving our democracy. I think as black folks, we need to be talking about saving our lives. And that's it. The reality is, Breonna, it is going to have to take a full court press. I mean, this is not something that is going to happen in the next full court press. I mean, this is not something that is going to happen in the next couple of months.

I mean, these Republicans are steadfast. They do not want to do anything when it comes to guns because that is who their voters are. It was Howard Dean who said in 2004, the Republican Party focuses on God, gays, and guns to appeal to their core voters, and their core voters are white people. Yes, I agree. I would add on one more, because we have the issue with them trying to remove abortion. But I do think that it's going to be a slow process. And it's very sad, because this has been happening since Columbine. And so I'm not sure why we still haven't had any incremental changes. We just say our prayers and not actions.

And so I don't know what it's going to take. Clearly even white little kids getting killed didn't change too much. But we're the only nation that has such proliferation of mass shootings. And it's not that we're the only one who have guns. And so there has to be a solution to it. And I'm hoping that they get it sooner rather than later. I don't necessarily think it's going to happen sooner, Xavier. I mean, they just I think that they, bottom line, don't want to change anything.

I think that for them, it is appealing to their voters. And let me remind the people who are watching, when Ronald Reagan was president, there was a huge push in this country to change the drinking laws. Do you know how that got done? Do you know how they forced the states? Easy.

The highway. The highway money. That's right. They said, hey, if you would like to receive federal highway funds, then you have to change your drinking age in your state to 21. Louisiana was the last state in the union to change to 21. They made so much money on alcohol.

They resisted all that time, but they could not resist the billions needed for their highways, and that's how it got changed. Congress has actually done that before. So here's the whole deal. Do the same thing. But see, they don't want to do that. So, you know, fine. Hey, states, you want education money?

Raise it 18 to 21. Republicans are standing in the way and and Democrats like Joe Manchin are standing in the way because for them, it's about guns, guns, guns. Yeah, and you can also see that.

Yeah, Roland, I think that. Brenna, one second. Xavier, go ahead. Yeah, Roland, I think this latest tragedy put more political pressure in terms of the inaction of Republicans and some of the rhetoric they use, like great replacement theory, as you mentioned earlier, being connected to a real-world impact of some of the language that they use. And we have the one-sixth televised things that are happening up in this week. And I think that as long as the pressure is kept up on connecting the Republicans to violence in this country as a culture of violence, I think that will happen.

And that's why, DeMar, great. Keep the pressure on. Connect what you're saying to what's actually happening. And I think that's what was not present in some of the debates about gun control in the past. It didn't connect the actions or the inaction to

members of Congress. Brianna, go ahead. Brianna, go ahead. Brianna, go ahead. You're going to make a comment? Sorry, Roland. I have a fire alarm going off. Okay. All right.

So cool. Just let us know when the alarm goes off. I'm going to do this here. I'm going to go to a break. When we come back, we're going to talk politics as well. Why is the White House so damn afraid to meet with poor people? We'll discuss that on the show as well. Plus, of course, we'll get some details on folks buried in

Uvalde. Plus, the unveiling of a memorial for Gabrielle Gifford, this violence memorial. We'll tell you about that installation. So a lot of things we're gonna be discussing right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Folks, if you're watching on YouTube, hit the like button, Facebook as well.

Hit that like button. We should be at 1,000 likes. So we're at about 300. Y'all, come on now. We should have to wait for a whole two hours to get that done. And please support us in what we do by, of course, downloading the Black Star Network app, available on all platforms, Apple Phone, Android Phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One,

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We'll be right back. Come on down. Come on down. Come on down. Y'all come on down. We welcome you to the launch of the mass poor people's low-wage assembly and Mara March on Washington, D.C., June 18, 2022. We are a new unsettling force and we are powerful. A new unsettling force and we are here. We're rising up to demonstrate the compelling power that we, poor and low-income people, have to reconstruct society from the bottom up. And we need to do it with the loudest voices possible, the biggest actions possible.

Because we know that there is no scarcity in this land. The only scarcity is the moral will to do what's right. We are those with sub-minimum wage jobs who can't afford sky-high rent. People with disabilities are the fastest growing minority group. It's crazy to me that in 2021, it's still legal for workplaces to pay a sub-minimum wage to people with disabilities. There's still so much trial and tribulations that we go through as indigenous people. We can't get a decent wage to sustain ourselves, nor can we get adequate housing. Veterans across this nation say enough is enough.

We can't pat essential workers on the back on one day and then cut their health care the next day. Health is a political choice. What more do I need to do to prove that my voice is just as valuable as anyone else's? There are still forces in denial that would try to slow walk our transition to a clean economy and a just future for us all. We have an immoral system run by immoral people. But together we walk and we walk and we fight. It's time for a change!

Reconstruyamos esta gran nación! See, we are people of resilience as we fight these interlocking injustices together. When we work together, mobilize together, and rise together, we become a voice for the voiceless, and we become an agent of change in a time where great change is needed. We need the third reconstruction to ensure that deaf people, people with disabilities,

and all people can have the right to live and to thrive. We know what they are doing, but the question is, what are we going to do? Reconstruction begins when we change our mentality and say, it's time for you to get your foot off of my neck. I know justice is coming soon. Hey!

Do you believe that or today? What's up, y'all? I'm Will Packer. Everybody, she made it for Ed Hammond. Hi, my name is Bresha Webb, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. And... Well, I like a nice filter usually, but we can Martin Unfiltered. And... Well, I like a nice filter usually, but we can be unfiltered. © BF-WATCH TV 2021 Xavier Lopez's smile is what his mother, Felicia Martinez,

will miss the most. She told the Washington Post that her 10-year-old was funny and never serious. Family members and friends gathered to say their goodbyes to Xavier. He and 18 other children and two teachers, of course, were killed on May 24th when a gunman burst into Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

Folks, so much conversation is still around that story and also the issue of guns. And while this fight continues on Capitol Hill for gun reform, today in D.C., the National Gun Violence Memorial opened, and it's a pop-up memorial that's going to be open through June 11th. The installation includes 45,222 flowers representing gun violence victims.

Founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords who survived an assassination attempt during a mass shooting in 2011, the Giffords organization commissioned the memorial. During a ceremony today commissioned the memorial. During a ceremony today at the memorial, Senator Amy Klobuchar spoke about raising the legal age to purchase an assault rifle. Time and time again, we've seen this happen,

and we know what the solutions are because we've seen them work in certain states, and we've certainly seen them work in other countries. So how can anyone go home and explain why an 18 year old can't get a drink but he can go and order an AR-15 off of the internet after he gets targeted from a company with an ad destined for him? How can anyone explain that? And so I think we have gotten to the point where you look at the numbers, 70, 80 percent of the public with us on that, where our colleagues can no longer walk.

And that is why they're working with Chris and Dick. That's why we're working to get this done. So number one, I'm for an assault weapon ban, OK? I think you're not surprised by that. But 18 to 21 would be a major game changer in a lot of these shootings. Number two, doing something about the new technology, the ghost guns, doing something with Lucy's bill on the extreme risk orders, knowing that that has worked and bringing that out across the country, closing the boyfriend loophole, which, thanks to the speaker's leadership, they actually passed in the House with, wait, get this, 29 Republican votes voted for the Violence Against Women Act.

Then it got stripped out in the Senate. I'm not going to go into it. I won't. Moving forward, we're moving forward. But this is an opportunity to close that loophole, as we know the number of deaths that result in domestic violence cases. Folks, on Saturday, on Saturday in the nation's capital, young folks from all across the country will be gathering to march, march for our lives. It will be taking place again. Of course, they gathered in 2018, and now they're gathering again

in 2022. Please show it. Thank you very much. Here we go. Folks, again, June 11th. You see the text information right there. It's going to be live streamed as well. And so we certainly want to salute March for Our Lives.

Again, continuing to put the pressure on Congress to do what's right. Speaking of putting pressure, a week after their march on June 18th, the Poor People's Campaign, they're going to be here in the nation's capital. And folks with Religion News Service put this story out. We've been talking about this here where Reverend Barber, Reverend Liz Theoharis, and others with Repairs of the Breach have, calling for a White House summit on poverty. They've been wanting to meet with President Joe Biden directly. And for some reason, the White House has just, you know, since the since Biden became president, they've been unwilling to do so.

They have been have been asking this over and over and over again. And DeMario, here's what's been happening. So what the White House has been doing is they don't want to meet just with Reverend Barber. Excuse me. They don't want to meet with all the folks. They want to meet with Reverend Barber. And so Barber has been consistently saying to the White House, look, we meet with disaffected people. We don't just meet like individually.

They meet multiracial. So when they meet, it's Barbara, it's Harris, and it's actual poor people. That's what the White House has been resisting. They have been trying to do this since Biden became president. Here they are, you know, almost 10, 11 days out and the White House still will not do this. And how hard, what's the problem having them White House summit on poverty? I mean, it certainly should happen because we have so much poverty in this country, as you know, and too many times they want to isolate leaders and put them on a pedestal

and be able to talk to them in private. It's like as a lawyer, as a practicing lawyer, it's the worst thing that can happen when you have a sidebar, go back behind chambers with your judge and your clients to sit back out there and try to figure out what's going on. It's the same thing here. Reverend Barber is a servant leader. He wants to bring the people that he's working for. He's not a poor person.

He's working on behalf of the poor people. So he wants those people there and allow their voices to be heard. But too many times in this country, Roland, all we hear is about the middle class, the middle class, the middle class, when the fact of the matter is there is an amazing amount, disgusting amount of

poor people in this country that need to be heard. Well, here's what I find to be interesting, and that is Reverend Barber, they talked about this here where they have been trying to meet with them and what's very interesting here is that there was a meeting Reverend Barber was at the White House for the anti-lynching bill and they were there for that and and so they had a little aside where he

was able to check with the president. And what often happens when they do that, they try to operate as if, like, that's the meeting. Right. And he was like, no, no, no, no, that wasn't the meeting. He said, let's be real clear. Y'all can't just sit here and think, you know, we're going to have a little sidebar, and then that actually replaces the meeting. This is a photo that Barbara actually placed on his Twitter feed where this is him telling the president directly,

March 29th, the need for this meeting, the White House still has not done it. You know, it doesn't make any sense. I mean, Reverend Barbara is a national leader. He's someone of moral clarity. He's someone that can bring folks together. As you stated, he brings a multiracial, multicultural, across all religions, sexual orientation, whatever. Reverend Barter shows up with those people because all these individuals are dealing with issues of poor people. And that's what needs to focus today. You know, I'm a broken record on this.

If we can send $40 billion, $50 billion overseas to Ukraine. We can use $50 billion to help people that are poor, that are struggling to pay these high, unbelievably high gas prices. I mean, in Oklahoma, the minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Gas is almost $5 a gallon. That means someone has to work a full hour just to get a gallon of gas, almost. You have to work a full day just to be a gallon of gas almost. You have to work a full day just to be able to fill up a tank. It's ridiculous and he should be meeting with Reverend Barber immediately.

Xavier, here's what's interesting. The you know, Biden met about a few weeks ago with some Amazon workers who were at the White House. But here you have union leaders who are also pushing him to meet with the Poor People's Campaign.

This is actually a piece that was put out by People's World where leaders of the service employees, AFSCME, and the Association of Flight Attendants, CWA, are pushing Biden to sit down with poor folks. But here's what's crazy. When you look at the numbers, numbers don't lie. That is, the number

of poor people, working people in this country who are voting, look, these are people who are going to the polls. I get this whole fascination with the middle class and middle class, but talk to these folks as well. Stop just saying middle class with giving speeches.

Right. Roland, the assumption is if you're talking to poor people, you're talking to black people and brown people who a significant portion of the country is now connected to replacement theory and that something is going to be taken away from them. Well, speak to poor white people, too. I mean, they're poor in this country. They have they're poor people in urban communities that are facing a multitude of issues. So Joe Biden and this administration has to be sensitive about all Americans that are poor and making sure that they have a voice to the poor and him going beyond just focusing on a certain class of people when there are so many different people are struggling in America of all backgrounds.

Okay. DeMar, go ahead. Well, I was going to say, Roland, you know, that's one of the problems we see with our people wanting to even get out and be involved in the political process because when they go, go out and they stand in these long lines that we see in our communities, they vote, they get people in office, they stand in these long lines that we see in our communities. They vote. They get people in office. But their lives don't change. At the end of the day, politics is about who gets what, when, where, and how.

We're not getting anything out of the process. Most people's lives are not changing. So these poor people, you cannot continue. These people are making minimum wage, hourly jobs. And they go stand in line three or four hours, five hours. They're losing real money that can go and pay for gas, food, rent. They put people in office and nothing changes. So, I mean, meeting

with them is the bare minimum. They need real policies, but you can't even meet with them. It really says something about the priorities of the White House. Precisely. And I just think that at some point, you've got to have folks who are willing to address the issue.

This was another video that Reverend Barber had put out on his social media. Check this out. Nineteen deaths reveal that the poorest counties in the U.S. have lost twice as many people as the wealthiest counties. And in the latter waves of the pandemic, deaths have been five times higher in poor communities. The pandemic did not discriminate, but we did. And none of this data can be explained away by vaccination status alone. The neglect of poor and low-wealth people in this country during a pandemic was the accelerant for far too many deaths. It's immoral, shocking, and unjust, especially with the trillions of dollars that profit-driven entities received while low-wage workers were forced to go to work. Called essential, but treated as expendable.

We must talk about this. We must repent of this. We must cry and wail over this. We must speak out against this. We cannot say that this is because of individual choices or behavior. Something deeper is at work. Systems that prey on poor people of every race, gender, creed, color, and sexuality, and region. We must compare this nation to see these realities that have been hidden for far too long. On June 18th, we will come together to lift the voices, stories,

and faces of poor people and low-wage workers who know that change is not only possible, it is essential for our survival as a democracy, a democracy committed to the establishment of justice for all and equal protection under the law for every person. We will make the connections to show how systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, the denial of healthcare, the war economy, and the false moral narrative of religious nationalism are literally diminishing our humanity and hurting all of us. We will show the nation the faces of Americans

who cannot afford to go back to normal, but who are demanding a third reconstruction moral agenda that will move us toward a society that works for everyone. Everybody in, nobody out. Visit poorpeoplescampaign.org to get all the information you need. Forward together, not one step back.

Here's the thing, DeMario, if you are in a tight race, if you are in an election where your polling numbers are low and you're trying to get people to turn out, primaries are going on, we're talking about upwards of 90 million people. This is a huge voting block. Many of them who don't vote, if you show you give a damn, they might actually vote, and you might hold to the House and the Senate in't vote, if you show you give a damn, they might actually vote,

and you might hold to the House and the Senate in November. Right. You show you give a damn, and you pass policies that help them. You raise the minimum wage. You provide better health care, better education. You protect people in communities like Buffalo and Uvalde from these monsters who are coming in with these guns.

It's simply disgusting to see how this political system, and we always say protecting democracy, we always say protection of democracy. America is not a democracy. It is not a democracy where everyone can freely be a part of the system. We have corporations as people, which is a bogus concept that the Supreme Court has endorsed. We have corporations that are profit-driven to give as much money as possible, freezing out regular folks for their voice to be heard.

So I would just repeat, they need real policies, we need real laws, but just a meeting is the bare minimum. I don't know what they have planned for this particular march, but hopefully they have an opportunity to have the stamina and the wherewithal to stay in place until the White House meets with them. Oh, no, let's be real clear. I mean, we were there when they had the march a couple of years ago. They've actually been having events all across the country for the

last few weeks. They've been actually going to New York, going to West Virginia, going to other places as well, and actually rallying their base, rallying them to step out on this issue, and they have not turned away. This here is some of the marches. Y'all can go to it. You see right here, they've been to Alabama, West Virginia, D.C. They've been to New York. They continue to Ohio. They continue to put that pressure again on this country.

And Xavier, that's what it requires. It requires that constant, constant pressure. That's what it requires. It puts pressure on media, on the narrative, as much as they possibly can. They've been working at Roe versus Wade for 40-plus years, and so they are now going to get what they want. They didn't stop talking about what they wanted to do. The same goes for Black people protecting Black people and protecting

poor people in this country. It has to step up. The message has to continue to ring loud in the streets, in the barbershops, in the neighborhoods. And here's the thing, Roe. What's the most common complaint you hear from people who don't vote? It doesn't matter who's in power. My life is not changed anyway. So the point that DeMario brought up was very true. If you take substantive policies that really change people's lives, that you shift that balance from the voice corporations that influence the lives and wages of people

and do what's right in the lives of people, they will vote for you. They will go to the polls. Make it easier for them to vote. Make it easier for their lives so when they vote, they vote for you. Yeah. And so, again, I'm just saying, hey, you might want to, you know what, talk to the folks. I mean, it ain't that hard. This is the rally that we covered when they were last in D.C. I was one of the folks who was at the podium there. And it's just and so, folks, we're going to be there. We're going to be broadcasting live again from the nation's

capital, the Mall in Washington, standing with the Poor People's Campaign. Again, that's going to be on June 18th, beginning at, gathering at 9. The start time is going to be at 10 a.m. And so we look forward to that. Alright folks, got to go to a break. We come back.

Our Black in Missing segment of the day. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be And so, we look forward to that. Alright folks, got to go to a break. We come back. Our black and missing segment of the day. We always are keeping our focus on brothers and sisters who are missing in Arizona. The Republicans are trying to stop mail-in voting.

A judge is like, nah, that ain't going to happen. That ain't going to happen. And yeah, I know they've been voting for years, mail-in voting there, but this is part of Donald Trump's big, big lie. And if y'all wanna see a big lie that all black people have rhythm, wait till we show you this fool, Hershel Walker,

that y'all see this dumb ass video he put out. Oh my God. Dude, stop embarrassing black people. Oh, I, y'all, it really is pitiful. It really is pitiful. It really is pitiful. Yeah. Folks, don't forget, we want y'all to be on YouTube and Facebook. Hit the like button, please.

I keep telling y'all, Facebook tripping. The data is throttling down our viewers. I don't think we even have 300 people who are watching on Facebook, which makes no sense. I got 1.3 million followers. Y'all, seriously, what's up with that? So, anyway, y'all want to see the show? Go to the Black Star Network app.

You can download it on all platforms, Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, and also join our Bring the Funk fan club where every dollar you give goes to support this show. So you're checking money order to Cash App, P.O. Box, Cash, so you're checking money order to Cash App, PO Box, Cash, so you're checking money order to PO Box 57196,

Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. Cash App, the dollar sign RM unfiltered. PayPal is RM unfiltered. Venmo is RM unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandXMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. We'll be right back. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, you'll hear from Elizabeth Davis.

She left a flourishing career in the construction industry to build her own business using her same skill sets. And oh, by the way, now a multi-million dollar business. Every day I was looking at my numbers rather than looking at them weekly or monthly. When you're first starting your business, my recommendation is look at your numbers every day because are they balancing out each day? If they're not balancing out for three days in a row, that means your week

is going to be off. That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Blackstar Network. I'm Dr. Greg Carr, and coming up on the next Black Table, we're speaking with Dr. Lucius T. Outlaw Jr., master teacher and philosopher. He takes us on his journey to discover and celebrate black philosophy. From my undergraduate years at Fisk all the way through my Ph.D., I was never in a philosophy class where I had a professor who was a person of African descent, nor a sign or touch written by a person of African descent, ever. How he pushed back at those who said there was no such thing and got us all thinking about what it means to be black.

That's on the next Black Table, exclusively on the Black Star Network. What's going on? This is Tobias Trevelyan. Hey, I'm Amber Stephens-West. Yo, what up, y going on? This is Tobias Trevillian. Hey, I'm Amber Stevens-West. Yo, what up, y'all? This is Jay Ellis, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered.

All right, folks. Alright folks, our black and missing of the day is Robin Austin. Robin Austin has been missing since May 23rd. May 23rd, folks. This is out of California, okay? She left her sister's Valley Glen apartment on May 23rd, has not been seen since. Robin is 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighs 140 pounds with brown hair and eyes. She has two tattoos, a tiger on her collar bone and a venom on

her right shoulder. She also has a cut in a line on her first three front teeth. Anyone with information on Robin Austin should call the L.A. Police Department at 213-996-1800, 213-996-1800. An Arizona judge has blocked the state's GOP's attempt to block mail-in voting for the midterm elections. Mojave County Judge Lee Jansen said,

there's nothing in Arizona's constitution that prohibits mail-in voting, which has been in place since 1991. 31 years. 31 years. Folks, Arizona has one of the highest rates of mail-in voting

in America, accounting for 89% of the ballots in the 2020 presidential election. This effort to block mail-in voting, led by Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelly Ward, was to suppress voter fraud. Arizona's midterm election is on August 2nd. Do y'all know how stupid these people are? Here's the deal.

They had that fraudulent examination of the ballots. There was no evidence of voter fraud. These white Republicans cannot handle the fact that Donald Trump got his ass whooped, Xavier. That's all this is about. They cannot handle the fact that he got his ass whooped. So you That's all it's about. They cannot handle it. He got his ass whooped. So you trying to change ballot voting? So this is a perfect example, and I need people

to understand these folks don't like losing. They're going to try to rig the system to guarantee they win. Yeah. That's what they do, bro. They win. Yeah. That's what they do, Roland.

That's the Republican response. They found out how they lost. Now they're figuring out how to cheat to win, to close up the holes where they lost. It's in plain sight. They use quote quote, unquote, election integrity, replacement theory. The election was stolen. All the different things they could possibly muster. Fraud about mailing ballots when there's no evidence of it whatsoever. But you see different states where people have cast multiple ballots that were Republican.

And so the only voter fraud we've seen is on the right. different states where people have cast multiple ballots that were Republican. And so the only voter fraud we've seen is on the right. And they will continue to do this. And that's why we have to be diligent about what they're doing and why they're doing it. It just, it keeps cracking me up, DeMario, when I see these fools. And they literally are trying to change laws all across the country because they can't handle losing. And their own Republican governor and secretary of state in Arizona was like, that was no fraud.

Didn't exist. But, oh, no, that was fraud. No, it wasn't. Right. And this was a Republican-appointed judge appointed by the Republican governor who said there's nothing in our law. And when these folks said they want to go back and take America back, they truly meant they want to go back to a time where they just showed up and they won because there was no ability for black, brown,

and other folks to participate in the process. This is another great example why I say we got to stop saying our democracy, our democracy. It's not a democracy when everyone can't freely participate. And one other point, and you and I know this because we live in black communities, a growing black community, black folks have to stand in line for hours to vote. Nobody's going to go stand in line for four hours, vote, then go get back at the bottom, back of the line to stand another four hours and vote. It's so utterly ridiculous. These people are all about power. We have to continue to ring the alarm.

We need the federal government to use every possible lever of power to stop these folks who are doing what Xavier just stated in plain sight. In plain sight, they're trying to make it where they will not have an opportunity to lose. Yeah, that's what it is. All right, folks, we told you on Monday about these three Arizona cops who watched a black man drown despite his pleas for help. Well, the Tempe Office Association says the officers are not trained for water rescue and do not have the equipment to save someone from drowning.

Here's their statement. Attempting such a high-risk rescue could easily result in the death of the person in the water and the officer who could be pulled down by a struggling adult. Officers are trained to call the fire department and or get the Tempe police boat. That's what officers did here. Now, y'all, on May 28th, police responded to reports of a domestic dispute between Sean Bickings and his wife.

The couple told the officers nothing was going on. For some reason, Sean fled and jumped into the lake. Now, y'all heard what they just said. Now, we're gonna play you the video. We played before, but listen to the cops. Did y'all hear a sense of urgency when he jumps into the water? So I want y'all to cue that up and play that.

Listen to the cops when the guy jumps in. You would think, based on what we just heard, there would be this sense of urgency by the cops when he jumped in. No, there wasn't. Matter of fact, you can see the body camera here. One of them is just chilling on the rail. Press play. Press play. What are you doing my friend? That's just a... Huh? What are you doing?

I'm getting over a swim. I'm pretty alright. You can't swim in the lake man. I'm pretty alright. You're not can't swim in the lake, man. You're not allowed to swim in the lake. Really? Yeah. I'm pretty all right. In that statement, you would think there's a sense of urgency by these cops.

They're just chilling. Right. I'm like, oh, they don't have the equipment. He's literally just chilling, watching the guy swim. Right. You know, and it's disgusting. As it goes on, we're going to hear them say, hey, I'm not jumping in after you and things of that nature. Listen, the cops, anytime they say that, hey, I'm afraid of a black person, they can shoot.

But anytime they say, I'm afraid of losing my life, they don't have to do anything. And we saw this in Parkland. We saw this in Uvalde. And we're seeing it here. The inhumanity of just watching someone die. You could take off your belt, your vest, and get out there and say this guy. Xavier, look at him. He just, yeah, they're going to say, when you coming in to get you?

Well, if you're not going to come in and get him, get somebody who will. Don't be a coward like the police and all. Get the fire personnel, EMS. Get another service that if you're not trained to do it, get someone else that's trained to do it. There was zero sense of urgency. And if you know that's what you're not trained to do, then you are certainly trained to get other enforcement

and other safety personnel involved to be able to do something about it. It was a disgusting display of humanity. And how do you reform this? You don't. Go ahead. No, you can't. This is not to be reformed.

And you don't need to be trained to say your job, the job of a police officer is to protect and serve. You volunteer to be a police officer to protect and serve lives. There's nothing that you need to be trained. If you can swim, there's nothing that's stopping you from taking off your gun belt and getting out in that water and trying to save this person's life because that is your job, to save other lives. That's what you're paid for. Indeed. You're still

trained for crisis situations, so you still calm the man down. Hey, we have help on the way. There's none of that there. Nope, nope, it's not. Folks, the trial of two former Minneapolis police officers charged with George Floyd's death will take place next year to improve prospects for a fair trial. Tau Thao and J. Alexander King, their trial should have started this Monday.

The two are facing aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter charges. While Judge Peter Cahill delayed the trial until January 5th, he denied a motion for a change of venue. Cahill said two recent connected cases in their publicity have created a reasonable likelihood of an unfair trial if it were to begin next week. Folks, in St. Louis, the man who pulled the trigger killing the grandson of reality TV star Robbie Montgomery

has pled guilty. Travelle Anthony Hill copped to his role in the murder for hire of Andre Montgomery. Hill killed Andre and implicated Andre's uncle, James Tim Norman, who also starred in the reality show Welcome to Sweetie Pies. Hill said a woman Norman knew lured Montgomery outside. Hill admitted to being paid $5,000 for the shooting murder. Norman and the woman and several others actually faced federal charges in that particular death. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal from the Missouri couple who pointed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters outside of their home until 2020. The court declined

to hear Mark and Patricia McCloskey's petition to end their probationary period. The ruling allows the couple to continue practicing law. However, they must complete 100 hours of pro bono legal services for one year to avoid having their law licenses suspended. The McCloskeys

claim that the Missouri Supreme Court ruling violated their Second Amendment rights to defend their property. And there you go, you idiots. All right, let's go to South Africa, where a South African court convicts a white pastor plotting to overthrow the government and kill

thousands of black people in the country. On Monday, Harry Johannes Nolson, the National Christian Resistance Movement leader, was found guilty of high treason, incitement to carry out violence, and recruiting people to commit attacks. The prosecution says his group explored the possibility of using a biological weapon to kill black people, including the poisoning of water reservoirs supplying black communities. Nolson was also found guilty of unlawful possession of firearms

by the Middleburg High Court. During his 2019 arrest in Middleburg, South Africa, officials found weapons and ammunition. Now, you may say, why is that important? Well, just the other day, we saw, of course, members of the Proud Boys who were indicted by federal authorities and the Oath Keepers for their involvement on January 6th. We talked at the top of the show

about this domestic terrorism happening in America, and this white domestic terrorism. And I'm telling you, DeMario, I keep trying to tell people, and people keep sitting here thinking, oh, Roland, you just hyping this thing up. No, I'm not. I'm telling you

what we are dealing with, what we're dealing with in this country, across the world, we are dealing with white fear. We're dealing with, and these people want to act like something's wrong with us. Now, we see what's going on. You know, look, I'm dropping my book in September. Y'all, there's a reason. There's a reason this book cover is using the photo from January 6th in front of the Capitol on January 6th. There's a reason why you see

this white guy's hands basically saying this is ours. This is our reality. And I keep reminding people, DeMario, the reason they were pissed on January 6th were because black people voted in Atlanta, Fulton County, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Detroit. Those were the four places Donald Trump kept singling out for voter fraud.

When he would say Fulton County, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Detroit, what he really was saying is them Negroes. That's right. That's what he was saying. That's right. We know what the hell. We know what code is. Right, right.

If you tell me, man, them folks in Vermont, you ain't talking about black people. That's right. Facts. Facts. No, absolutely, man. This is something we got to continue to raise the alarm. Can't wait to get to see your book. I know it's going to be fire. This is real. And when we saw like the memo that came out yesterday, this is why this is very dangerous for us.

That memo that I saw yesterday on Twitter were on January 6th, the highest ranking defense official said, don't bring out your guns. You can't. Don't shoot these folks. Don't just pretty much held their hands for the National Guard and allow them to rampage this way. That's what makes it much more dangerous, Roland, because when these folks can get away with these shootings, when they can get away with these type of activities and they're not actually swiftly prosecuted, it's a big problem. Even the hearings that are coming up, I guess, next week,

when they're going to do the primetime hearings, you know what would be more powerful than primetime hearings? Actually arresting and prosecuting the highest level of conspirators who did the insurrection. That's what needs to happen. Not some hearings, some made-for-TV hearings, but some actual DOJ actually putting some actual people in handcuffs that tried to overthrow this country.

And as you stated, Roland, overthrow this country because they don't want black people to have any sort of power, any sort of say in this country. The thing here that we're dealing with what's happening here, again, what

we're dealing with here, Xavier, are people who are saying this is our country. And we don't care what y'all think. This is our country. That's all we're dealing with here. And according to various Democrats, they're going to unveil from their perspective a clear and concise and coordinated conspiracy to overthrow this election, and the Trump White House was very much involved with it,

which is why Fox News ain't showing the primetime hearings, because their own on-air people were involved with it as well. They were sitting here texting these people. They were sitting here offering their advice in counsel. So, hell, I guess Fox doesn't want to actually show the hearing because they don't want to tell it themselves. Yeah, Roland, I've said this repeatedly on Suit Up News, that there is a segment of the population

that feels they're in the middle of a race war. And replacement theory or the election is stolen are just convenient ways to say the quiet part out loud. And so it is in the body politic. It is in right-wing media. It is in the lips of Marjorie Taylor Greene saying she's here for Christian nationalism. And all of that is all part of this discussion. And they don't want America to hold them responsible for what their words are doing and what their

politics are doing. And it now is being embedded in our laws in multiple states across this country. So this isn't just rhetoric. And that's why it's important. The conversation we're having here on your show is because we have to keep trumpeting louder and louder and louder. And so there's real policy change to be able to combat what's happening in our right and before our eyes. We all saw it, Roland. That's why I keep saying, Roland, we've got to stop letting them say we've got to protect our democracy.

We need to protect our lives and our livelihoods because that's what's really being destroyed here. These individuals, as Xavier just stated, they're making things mainstream and the Democrats and the federal government is not doing enough. I was at a meeting today talking about this very issue, saying, listen, we need the Democrat administration to come harder, put more resources, and do everything. No, you need the Attorney General Merrick Garland.

I don't know. They're going to be real specific. Well, absolutely. No, no. It's like he was at my meeting today. It's like he was in the meeting with me today. It's real simple. I mean, Attorney General Merrick Garland has not been as aggressive as needed.

And what we saw January 6th, again, this was a coordinated effort. You're right. This was a threat. This was an absolute threat. These people have not gone away. And I keep telling people, all these black people keep saying, man, I ain't going to be voting. Y'all,

the folk who were trying to overthrow the election on January 6th. Going to be voting. Not going to be voting. Could be in charge. That's right. The same white Republicans who gave tours to people, they're going to be in charge.

They've already made it clear. They get the majority. They're giving Marjorie Taylor Green her committees back. Okay? They will be in charge. They'll be in charge of committees. They'll be in charge of subpoenas. So my deal is, this ain't no game here. They want the power.

That's right. And they'll do anything to get the power. They've already shown that. They will burn. My grandma told me something a long time. They will burn down the country instead of sharing power, that segment of the population. And that's why the federal government, and you're right, Roland, the DOJ, that's what I don't understand.

You're going to come out on a prime time and say about this vast conspiracy? No, these people should be arrested. Let's learn about the conspiracy through the court system where it should be. Black folks, we don't get the opportunity to just have things that we've done to be just at a primetime show. They will be locked up underneath the jail. And obviously those who have been storming the White House or the Capitol would have been shot in the first place. Indeed. Xavier? Yeah,

DeMario is correct. I mean, I think it's extremely important that to the highest levels of government that they are held criminally responsible for this. And it's really interesting that Fox News thinks they can just ignore what's happening and hope that the nation forgets and

have some sort of fatigue. How could you have fatigue over something that's currently in advancement, when 10-plus Republicans that were president in January 6th were actually elected to public office, where they're taking county commissioner offices so that they can impact votes in states? So this is an ongoing, rolling, slow-rolling coup that's happening in our government right now. We have to be very diligent about pressing against it. It's not even slow rolling, to be honest with you, Xavier. I mean, I know you're just kind of saying that as a figure of speech, but it's happening just so fast in real time. And the Fox News is complicit with it, as Roland stated.

They're complicit with this entire vast conspiracy. So, of course, they don't want to participate in it. Well, again, we see exactly what... Those are Trump people right there. That's Trump folks right there. That's the reality. Those folks, we knew that was not... Oh, they were just a nice little walk in the park. And I remember, I was in Atlanta, and I was at a post-victory luncheon

for newly elected Senator Raphael Warnock. And, like, you see how they were beating back the cops there and, look, tearing stuff down. And somebody said, look, storming through the windows, and people told me, they were like, Roland, what's on your mind? I said, I was glad. I said, I was smiling. I said, I was smiling.

I said, because they actually, I said, now the whole world got to see what black people have been trying to tell these people, these crazy people. These are the same folk who were trying to kidnap the governor of Michigan. These are the same people who were storming state capitol.

It looks like we got Breonna back. I mean, that's what we're dealing with here. I need everybody to understand these crazy, deranged people, they want to be in charge. They want the power. That's what

they want. Don't sit here and, look, you got so many people who say, I see some of y'all comments, oh, the Democrats and Republicans, they are the same. Show me what Democrats did this after Bush got elected when the Supreme Court handed him the election. I'll wait. Can y'all show me the video of what happened in 2004 after that election?

I'll wait. I'm telling you. Xavier, go ahead. We can't sit here and play games and go, oh, well, if they get back in charge, it's really going to be the same as if the Democrats

are in charge. No. These people, look, they... Look, they were talking to Trump. Do advance pardons of criminal acts on January 6th. Bruh! Go ahead.

Plain sight, Roland. This is insulting our intelligence to show us this and not for us to think that what's happening is in front of our face. And it's just something that just, it just baffles the mind that we have, as Black people,

have sounded the alarm over this over and over again. But you said I'll show you something else about Black people doing different things. Well, that's why the Republicans tried to include, in terms of looking at political violence, what happened with protests in the summer of 2020 after the murder of George Floyd. We're still trying to hold all the officers accountable for what happened.

And it's this country taking whatever black people do and making it criminal, making it violent, when that was certainly not what happened in the summer of 2020. I keep telling folk, don't, don't, don't, don't let these people be in charge. For real facts are. And the reality is it's black people. We don't really, most black people I know, don't really care about Republican or Democrat.

We're simply trying to live better lives, have opportunity to raise our children, pay, pay our mortgage and not get shot and killed by the police. And we're not dumb. We can see that one group is worse than the other group. You can say it from both sides of two wings of the same bird. Okay, fine, I agree with that. But it's certainly this group that we're watching on TV

right now is worse than if the Democrats are in place. And that's just a fact of the matter is, and I'm not no huge Democrat, and I'm certainly not a Republican, but I do have eyes, and I can see the difference between the two when it comes down to my life and my family's life. That's right.

Trust me, you do not want these folks in power. I'm telling you, you do not want them. Is Brianna there? We finally got it straight? Okay. Brianna, again, I keep trying to warn these people. I keep trying to warn them to don't let these folks get in power. I'm telling you.

Yeah. Someone said today there's two questions that they want to ask every elected official before they vote for them. One, do you support gun reform? And two, do you support democracy? Everybody elected should. And if they don't want to do their job, they really should just see.

Because we need people who, you know, respect democracy, respect the processes that we have. Jerry says it's crazy. I mean, even more crazy that, you know, they're going to do the special hearing coming up to listen to everything in regards to what has more unfold. It's been so long and not enough has been done in regards to that. We're seeing hate still being generated on that because nothing has been going on in regards to that. White supremacy is blossoming because of that. And our nation hasn't done enough or really anything in regards to that. And so it's interesting, but what they call themselves, Fox News Channel, is not going to show any of it.

But it's going to be quite interesting to see the results and what the punishment is actually going to be for something that one side is going to argue was a protest. And that wasn't for intention of actually distorting the outcome of the election. While there's a higher standard of treason that, you knowason that's going to be argued. I don't understand. I mean, I do understand it, but it's terrible to see people, elected leaders, defending what we just watched on January 6th. How is that not treason in and of itself? You're an elected official. You take an oath to protect the United States of America and the Constitution. These folks had a stated purpose of trying to overturn the election, and you support that. Again, the 14th Amendment allows those type of elected leaders to be kicked out of Congress.

They should not be there. And even if you don't have all the votes to get them kicked all the way out of the Senate, they should still move forward with the impeachment process because you show people that there are consequences. When people are able to get away with these type of activities, just like the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, no one was ever prosecuted, nothing was ever done. White people felt like we can just destroy black communities, no big deal.

It's the same thing here. It's the same with police shootings. When things happen to black people and there's no real swift prosecution and accountability, it only beholdens and emboldens those individuals to continue to go forward. So with Ted Cruz going back to where we started at this show to talk about the KKK back 150 years ago when he supports what happened on January 6th, he's an insurrectionist. He's a white supremacist, and he should be out of Congress,

and they should be doing everything they can to get him out of Congress right now. All right, folks. Hold tight one second. When we come back, we're going to talk about an all-black team making history by developing the first skyscraper in New York City built by African-Americans. We'll talk with real estate developer Don Peebles next in our Marketplace segment right here on Rolling Martin

Unfiltered. Folks, don't forget to please download the Blackstar Network app. You can, of course, every platform, Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, as well as Samsung Smart TV. You can also support us in what we do by joining our Bring the Funk fan club. Our goal is to get 20,000 of our fans on an annual basis donating on average 50 bucks each. That's $4.19 a month, 13 cents a day. You can, of course, there's no minimum. You can give more. You can give less. We certainly appreciate every dollar that comes to us.

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Roland at rolandmartinunfiltered.com. We'll be right back. A powerful movement is rising across America. From the Mississippi Delta to the Apache Stronghold. From the homeless encampments of Washington State to the coal fields of App From the homeless encampments of Washington state to the coal fields of Appalachia or West Virginia. We are the 140 million poor and low-wealth people

in this country, and we are building the Poor People's Campaign, a national call for moral revival. On June 18th, ahead of this year's midterm elections, while the Congress is still in session, we will hold a mass Poor People's and Low Wage Workers Assembly and Moral March on Washington to arrest the attention of the nation,

to put a face and a voice on poverty and low wages in this country. This is a watershed moment for justice and democracy in America. There are those who say that transformative change isn't possible, but history teaches us that it is precisely in times like these

that people must build a broad and deep movement from the bottom up. We must compel this nation to repent, to lament, and to see the realities that have been hidden for far too long. On June 18th, we will come together to lift the voices of the poor and low-wage workers who know that change is not only possible, it is essential for our survival. We will make the connections to show how systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, the denial of healthcare, the war economy, and the false moral narrative of religious

nationalism and white supremacy are hurting us all. We will show the nation the faces of Americans who cannot afford to go back to normal. We will detail the policies that can move us toward a society that works for everyone. And we will pledge to go home and build power for transformative change in this year's election and for years to come. Because the question should have never been, how much will it cost to address poverty? The real question is, how much is it costing us not to? Somebody's been hurting our people. It's gone on far too long.

And we won't be silent or unseen anymore. Join us in D.C. on June 18th. Build with us for a third reconstruction in America. Visit poorpeoplescampaign.org. Hi, I'm Israel Houghton with Israel the New Breed. What's up, what's up? I'm Dr. Ricky Dulles, the choir master. Hey yo, peace world, what's going on? It's the love king of R&B, Raheem Devon, and you're watching Roland Martin, Unfiltered.

All right, folks, an all-black team is trying to make history in New York City to be the first builders of a skyscraper in New York City. Don Peebles and his team are joining forces with some heavy hitters to create what is called Affirmation Tower, which will be the tallest and most inclusive building in Manhattan. Don Peebles is the chairman and CEO of the Peebles Corporation. He joins us now from Los Angeles. Don, glad to have you on the show. So tell us about this Affirmation Tower.

Well, it will be the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, 1,633 feet tall. And it will be the first major skyscraper in the United States developed by a black development team and built by the oldest black-owned construction company in the country that also happens to be run by a woman, my friend Cheryl McKissack. And as amazing as it is to think about New York City with what it's known for, which is skyscrapers, in a city that is 69% diverse people of color, nearly 30% black, and yet African-Americans have not built one major building in New York City. And we're about to change that and do it in a big way. So this particular skyscraper, we're seeing the photos and everything.

Go back to it, please. Tell me about this design, because it's certainly interesting and unique, the design of it. And then also the green space below. Is this office? Is it residential? What type of building is this? Well, first of all, it was important also that this be designed by a Black architect. And so David Adjaye, who was the architect for the Museum for African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., which is the most visited

museum and has been the most visited museum in the Smithsonian system since it's open. And so the idea was to have the most talented architect in the world. And David is one of the most talented architects in the world and the premier black architect to build the Western Hemisphere's most tallest building. And that building will basically be different buildings within a building. So if you start at the base, we have a sculpture garden that will showcase with sculptures black New Yorkers who have made major contributions to our society. And then, as you go into the podium there, the base of the building, we have the NAACP

and their cultural center. And then we have Reverend Sharpton's Museum of Civil Rights that we're working through the details now to have the Civil Rights Museum there. It's across the street from the Jacob Javits Convention Center, so it's one of the most productive and largest convention centers in the country. Then it has two hotels. So hold on, Don, one second. So right now on the screen we have this wide shot of the building in terms of what it looks like.

So what's the body of water it's across, and where is it actually located in New York City? So it is located in Midtown West. It's on the Hudson River just north of the Hudson Yards development. So the development you see to the right of the screen is a newly developed Hudson Yards development project. Got it. And then in front of the building is the green roof of the Javits Center, the low-rise building. And so the idea is that it's across the street from one of the most visited locations in

New York City, prominently visualized as from the Hudson River, from New Jersey and from when the airports fly into New York City. So it's very prominently placed. So you were saying that what's going to be in it, you said Sharpton's Museum and the NAACP? Yep. And then as you go up the building, it's broken up. If you look at the building, it's broken up into five parts in the tower. The first part of that tower is one hotel.

The second part is a second hotel. And it's outdoor area all throughout the property. And then you go up and the rest of the tower are office buildings, office space rather. And then on the top, we have exhibition space, entertainment venues, event venues. And then on the roof, an observation deck. And during the winter, an ice skating rink. And as you notice, the building, the way David designed the building is it starts off small and gets bigger as you go up, which is the opposite of how buildings are most often built. They go big and then get slender as they go up. But we wanted to turn things upside down in every way we could, and then David did that.

And if you look at the facade of the building, especially the precast that has the little arches, that's basically designed after, it's inspired by a pick that many of us used when we had Afros back in the day. And so that was to give the skin of the building our history, a part of our history. Wow. That is, that's what we call a blackety black building.

Questions from my panel. Brianna, I'll start with you. Thank you so much, Mr. Peel, for this. This is outstanding. I'm very proud. And I can't wait to see the finished piece. So when I look at this, right, because it's one of the tallest,

it's going to be one of the tallest buildings in the Western Hemisphere, and it's in New York, I think about 9-11 and the Twin Towers. Is there any, I guess, airspace coverage above it or anything you're thinking about in regards to some of that risk as a black building is getting erected and very tall? Well, I think first one of the things we did do is one world trade, which got rebuilt, the Freedom Tower, actually has a spire, which is a,

you know, a basically a metal pole that goes up and that gives that building more height than us. And we kept ours lower to pay respect and homage to it. But we I mean, we feel that our country is safer. We feel that it's important that black Americans, especially our young people, can look at the skyline, especially people who live in young people who live in New York City and live in New Jersey, that they can see that there's a building that's for them. Because what the market has said and what New York City has said is that economics aren't for us. You know, think about this, that basically less than 1% of the city's contracts go to black businesses,

and yet 30% of the population is black. So our young people don't see that inspiration. So we wanted this building to make a very powerful statement, and also to the world, to say, given the opportunity, which we're fighting hard to get, we can do great things as a people. And if we're going to build the first skyscraper in New York City, or for that matter in the Western Hemisphere, why not build the biggest one? And that's really what it's more about, is that to be a symbol for everybody to see that this is what our people can do when we get a remotely fair opportunity.

Xavier. Don, thank you for being a trailblazer to be able to create something of this great magnitude. What do you see as any obstacles in the timeline to getting some of the size that you're looking at in terms of some of those businesses that will occupy the space. Great. Two good questions. I appreciate that. And thanks for the kind words. First of all, I think the obstacles are political. The end of the day, I mean mean New York had a change of governors. Como had started this RFP process and his administration I think was poised to award it to us. Governor Kathy Hochul took over as governor and has taken a more cautious approach. And so we think that that's going to slow us down until after the election for them to make a final decision on it. But

we're offering the state more money than anyone else. We're building the most impactful building than anybody else. So we're paying more money building the most impactful building and the Civil Rights Museum. Reverend Sharpton has been working tirelessly to get a Civil Rights Museum built. And they've had many obstacles. This one will get built. And we think that's very important again to our people for our young people and for people all over the world who come to visit New York to know our history. One of the things that's important as a black business person is it can't be just a win for us. It can't be a win for Cheryl, Craig, and me. It's got to be for everybody. So we committed that 35 percent of all of our contracts will go to minority businesses as a minimum.

So think about this. This project is $3.8 billion. So over a billion dollars of contracts at a a minimum, will go to Black-owned businesses. And we believe that it is critical. In fact, my company does what we call affirmative development, because I think affirmative action was a positive thing for our people. It got turned back because of the far right taking issue with so-called reverse discrimination. So we are affirmative, and because we got to right these wrongs that have been done to our people. This country is built with 250 years of free labor from our people, and this country owes our community a debt, certainly an opportunity. And so we think it's important that we as Black business people step up and be aggressive in providing economic opportunities. All of our projects, we've got about $8 billion in projects right now in the development phase. And I'm in L.A. working on a billion six development with my partner, Victor McFarlane.

And there we've committed 35 percent as well. So we're going to do as a company a company all of our projects all eight billion dollars or so will be at least 35 percent black owned because we have to give our people economic opportunities because big challenge we cannot continue to carry the disproportionate burden of poverty and the reality is is that we need to be talking about and securing economic opportunities but that's not a political issue as much as it is a responsibility for those of us as Black business people. DeMario.

Don, I'm so excited to talk to you. I just spent four days in New York, so to think that this type of a building, the largest in the Western Hemisphere, can be built by you and your team. I'm the founder and executive director of the Justice for Greenwood Foundation,

where we're all about trying to get back that black Wall Street and that understanding of communal economic growth within our community. What I wanna know is, how can we best help you as a community, as people that are very committed to black empowerment and black entrepreneurship and black development, how can we best help you get this project off the ground and make sure it goes to fruition

so we all can go with our picks in our hand? I don't have any hair, but I'll still bring a pick with me so I can be like the builders. Well, I appreciate that. So, look, first of all, if we think about the biggest challenge that black businesses confront every day is equal access to capital. And right now there's about $70 trillion invested in venture capital and private equity.

Less than a quarter percent of that money goes to black businesses, black entrepreneurs. Only 1.3 percent goes to people of color and women combined. So 98.7 percent of all venture capital money goes to white men. And the irony here is that the biggest investor in venture capital and private equity, a public employee pension system like New York State, and that's our money. That's our relatives and our friends and our parents and so forth are paid into that system. And so we've got to give fair access to capital. In terms of supporting Affirmation Tower, we need to tell the governor of New York that if you want our support and you want us to be a dependable voting block for you, you've got to provide economic opportunities for us,

and I mean meaningful economic opportunities. And what's the problem if we got a black team that's paying more money, we got the best design, we're committing to more diversity in terms of contracting opportunities than anybody else, and we've got the tallest building in the Western hemisphere, which will make this the most visited building in the country. And we need them, the governor, to make a decision and award this project to us. And everyone needs to say that this is important because this is not just about us. This is about affirming opportunities for black people in New York City.

And we are looking to break the barrier there. But hopefully that barrier is broken and many, many other people get to walk through it. So my last question. So explain that when you say y'all need the governor to award this to us. So y'all are you've designed this. You laid it all out. But the product has not been awarded to your team. Yes, that's correct. So what has happened is that they had a request for proposals and that started under Governor Cuomo. And as the and during that process toward the end of it, Governor Cuomo left office. He resigned from office and Governor Hochul took over. And so instead of proceeding with the project, the governor put it on hold until after the election. And and so what we need is for her to step up and make a decision. We feel good that if we pay more money than anyone else, and by the way, our building, by've got to rebuild this country and we've got to rebuild it differently, as Biden has said,

and as other people have talked about after the murder of George Floyd, that we've got to have economic equality and economic justice. So this project meets both economic empowerment for our people and rebuilding. It's the equivalent of a Rockefeller Center or the Empire State Building coming out of the Great Depression. We're coming out of COVID, and we're building a landmark building that will say to the country and to the world, New York is coming back, but it's coming back in a different way, one that's inclusive of the people who helped build New York and make New York the city that it is. All right, then. Don Peebles, we certainly appreciate it, man. Thank you so very much. Let us know exactly what we can do to help.

Thank you, Roland. Appreciate it very much. Thank you for having me on. All right. We certainly appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Folks, there's a couple of more items here. We did have an in memoriam, folks. The journalism industry lost a trailblazing giant. Trudy Haynes was the first black weather reporter in the United States. She then became the first black reporter in

Philadelphia, where she spent most of her career in terms of there in Philadelphia. She interviewed many historical figures including the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., President Lyndon Baines Johnson, Muhammad Ali, and yes yours truly. Of course Trudy was involved in NABJ. And so it was always great to see our fellow journalists. She, of course, continued to do many interviews,

talking to younger journalists. She received numerous honors and awards, including an Emmy and two Lifetime Achievement Awards. Sorry, folks. Last item. So, again, Trudy Haynes passed away at the age of 95 95 and so certainly uh condolences go out to her family last item folks i've been sitting on this for a month when i was in los angeles um for the george lopez golf tournament but actually on that friday

when we did our coverage, it was the 30th anniversary of the Rodney King riots. I got a phone call from Rebecca Aguilar, as well as the executive director of the Society for Professional Journalists, letting me know that I was a member of the class of 2022 being inducted as a fellow in the Society of Professional Journalists. The announcement was made today. It's basically their Hall of Fame. They call them being a fellow of the society. And so that announcement was made today among the other honorees of the folks who are involved here.

You have, of course, at the top left there, you have Jerry Green, longtime sports writer. To my right, you have John Quinones, longtime reporter for ABC. You have Clarissa Ward, who is an international correspondent for CNN. And then you have Bill Whitaker, who is a longtime journalist for CBS. And so that will take place at their convention in October. And so we look forward to that. Now, this comes on the heels of in December, I was

inducted into the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame. That was virtual ceremony. We have our convention in Las Vegas in August and so we're going to, they're going to be, of course, honoring the class of 2021, 2020 and the class

of 2021. Both of those are virtual because of COVID. They'll be honoring us there in Las Vegas. And so we'll be there. And so looking forward to it. And we're actually planning a, now that, now you have two Hall of Fames, we're planning a celebration in November in Houston. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Alpha. He, when I was inducted to NABJ Hall of Fame, he said, hey, we want to do something where your hometown honors you.

And so we're looking at November 11th or 12th in Houston to do something big there. So I'll give you all more details what we're doing. And so look forward to that. So certainly let me thank the folks with the Society of Professional Journalists for that. For my frat brother, Mark Watts, Alpha. Mark Watts, my longtime agent, longtime CNN correspondent who wrote the letter to SPJ. And so we certainly appreciate that. So thank you so very much. So DeMario got to us. So DeMario's not mic'd up, is he?

He's not mic'd up, is he? I need a handheld or something like that. So we got to get that other wireless mic. So, Demario, I'll take this off. So this is your first time being in the studio. Normally he's coming to us late in Tulsa. You know, his wife has him doing honeydews. And so he's always running around.

So he got to come to D.C. for his meeting. So what do you think of the new digs? Man, this is amazing. Your studio is amazing. I'm so proud of you, what you're doing. And I'm proud of the fan club who are supporting this. This is real. This is something that's necessary and tangible. And so when you're telling people to hit the likes and to send in their donations, you know, I've been doing it for a long time. This is what we see here. I'm proud to be here. It's like what the brother Don Peebles was talking about.

This is not just a win for Roland Martin. It's a win for all of us. So I just appreciate it. I'm excited to be here and hope to be here more often in person because it's a lot of fun. Oh, yeah. So we got, and so again, it's so funny because folks have stopped by. They're like, okay, okay, you show the video or the photos,

but it's totally different when you're experiencing it. So glad to have you here next time. Don't be wearing no purple tie up in here. I had a black tie on all day for my meetings. You should have kept that damn black tie on. I went to my hotel to get my purple tie. The only thing that would make this place better, man,

if I was to see a picture of me up in here. There's too many pictures of you. Lost your damn mind. What you think this is. What you think? What you think this is? What you think? See, first of all, we got, you know, of course, hey, here, honorary signal, but I don't care about honoraries. But of course, you know, we got that Dr. King photo right there, so you know

it's an alpha. You know it's an alpha hanging up in here, so, you know, that's how we do it. Hey, let me just say this too, Roland, I really appreciate you. You know, last week, you sent that really nice video. You had your alpha cell phone, but I appreciate you sending that video. Give me lots of love, brother. I appreciate you and everything you do for me and this community. So y'all Tiffany Crutcher. So Tiffany Crutcher asked me, Tiffany said, Hey, we got, uh, the math. I'm gonna see if I can pull this video. So, y'all, she said, hey, we have this thing. We're honoring DeMario.

You know, can you send a video? And I was like, now, look, now, y'all know I sent a video. Y'all know what's going to happen. You put that on specifically for my video. What? Your alpha attire. I think it was alpha from head to toe, specifically for my video. It was a beautiful video, but you put that on, and you talked about Alpha, which is cool.

It's all good. I wanted you to understand what was going to happen when I actually, what was going to happen when I did that video. Yeah, I know you did. I know you did. And like I said, you said such great things, but you let it be known, hey, I got my Alpha stuff on. And I like the way you plugged the show, too, so it was all good. Well, I knew there were going to be other people in the room, and she said, she did tell me, she said, yeah, his Omega Pratt brother didn't appreciate.

She said, oh, he was crying laughing. She said, but they were like, I know he didn't go there. Absolutely, man. It was beautiful. It was really, really touching. And again, because you are really down with the people, you go across this nation, and it's not just something you do because it's what you want to do.

It's something that's a real benefit to us. So, you know, you had your Alpha stuff on. I still appreciate it. But you see this purple, this royal purple. I do like what you got rocking on right now, though. First of all, did y'all notice where he almost I'm gonna show y'all the video. So let me Let y'all know what I did for for the Mario's event But yeah, I had to make it as black as possible Because you know what? Let me do this here cuz this alright

Let me see if I can do this because I'm gonna show y'all the video. So let me show y'all the video So let me show y'all the video. So let me show y'all the video So let me show y'all the video So let me show y'all the video So let me show y'all the video So let me show y'all the video I did for Demario's event. But, yeah, I had to make it as black as possible because, you know what, let me do this here. All right, let me see if I can do this here. Okay.

No, wrong one. So I'm connecting. Demario don't know what I'm doing. I'm connecting to our Roku, which allows me to show the video. Okay. See, Demario, he don't know about this technology. He ain't got no clue. All right, y'all.

I got it queued up. Y'all go ahead and take it. Five, four, three, two, one. All right. Big congratulations to Demario Solomon Simmons for your fantastic work with Justice for Greenwood, as well as the descendants of the Tulsa race massacre. This recognition is critically important. We appreciate your voice and your work out there

putting it in for the people, for the culture. There's a lot of people out here who talk about what we should be doing, what we could be doing, and all kinds of stuff along those lines, but there are very few people who are actually putting it on the line. So, DeMario, you're certainly one of those folks. And you see, I purposely rocked the Alpha gear.

I mean, we'll forgive you for joining that second-class fraternity, Omega Psi Phi, but it's all good. It's all good. People make mistakes. It's all good. Pray about it. That's why God gives grace. We make mistakes.

All right, man. Congratulations. Hope everyone there. All right, man. Congratulations. Hope everyone there, you enjoy the program. And please keep tuning in to Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network where we're going to keep doing what we do, and that's bringing the funk. Be well. Holla! All right, y'all.

Mario said he just, what did you just say? I just realized, because I was really touched by everything else, I just realized you said second-class fraternity. Man, that's pretty low, man. That's all right, though. That's all right, though. I see that, Ian. Hey, y'all, I meant to show this here to Breonna and Xavier.

I meant to show this earlier. Now, this video is from May of 2020. If y'all want to see how pitiful, there are some black people, you know, people assume that everybody black got rhythm. No. But Hershel Walker is showing us that we're going to snatch any and all black cards from him. This video is now circulating, y'all, on social media. If y'all want to see a rhythmless, I can't call him a bruh.

Y'all, play this video. Hi, this is Herschel Walker. Hey, you can see me sweating, but I'm going to tell you the reason why. First of all, keep reading the CDC guidelines right now. Everything is becoming interesting. Stay six feet apart. Also, wash your hands.

But, you know, I was thinking, guys, when I'm working out, I have music on and this is for me just doing some of my stuff early on but I'm going to show you what I want you to start doing just create it I'm gonna create things watch this right here all right I want you to watch this and stay with me but here if you want to do this all right take a look I love you And I need you Hell yeah

Love you I do Need you No matter what I do, all I think about is you. Even when I'm with my boo, you know I'm crazy over you. No matter what I do, all I think about is you. Even when I'm with my boo, you know I'm crazy over you. I met this chick and she just moved right up to me.

I can't even. I mean, look at the look on Breonna's face. Y'all, look at the look on Breonna's face. Breonna, if you were at the club and a dude rolled up on you and said, let's dance, and he started off like that, what would you do? I'd go get help. I don't know. I think he said he was trying to exercise,

but he doesn't look like he's exercising. I do not. I don't know what's going on. Maybe he had a little bit too much to drink before he started. Xavier, what the hell is that? When he should have been voting, he should have had a shot at doing something dope. But he should have chose, I don't know what that was, man.

He had the heebie-jeebies and the screamy-weebies. I don't know what that was. Hey, y'all, if y'all are undecided on who to vote for, I can let y'all know if y'all are undecided on who to vote for, I can let y'all know Alpha Raphael Warnock got way more rhythm than what you just saw right there. I don't know what the hell that was, but that was, that was awful. That was, that, I thought he was about to next throw the hooks up. We were wrecking you to come up there and do it like that. He confused me with a bunch of omegas I've seen dance over the years.

He did a lot of alpha moves. Nice try, son. Nice try. He was doing his hands. DeMario, you want to? Listen, it's sad to say. When I grew up, I was a Dallas Cowboy fan. Oh, hell no.

Herschel Walker was a beast player. I just can't believe what he's become. It's unbelievable. I mean, what is he? I don't even believe that's really what he. I don't believe he really dances that way. I think this is just clearly planned to the white base to be a performer. I don't believe he dances that way.

Well, I done told y'all. I done told y'all. This is why you should not support Texas Longhorns, Omegas, or Cowboys. Hey, don't put me down there. Don't put us down there with Herschel Walker. Y'all in the same category. Absolutely. Y'all in the same category.

Same category. Hey, my old knees right now can throw off a better hop than that. I'm not. I'm not going to do that. Yeah, you ain't lying. Yeah, you ain't lying because you're going to blow something you try to hop. now, I could throw off a better hop than that. I'm not. I'm not going to do that. Yeah, you ain't lying. Yeah, you ain't lying because you're going to blow something if you try to hop. Now, I can.

I can still step, stroll. I can do all that. There's a difference between stepping and hopping, sir. There's a difference. Let's be clear. You know doggone well. First of all, if we were in here with these wooden floors and we just hit just that down.

It's your show, man. I'm going to digress. I'm going to digress. See, and we just hit just that. It's your show, man, so I'm just going to digress. I'm going to digress. See, you scared to even do that. First of all, your one knee will be hurt just doing that. I just don't want to hear Tom McDowell. Your one knee, you can't even hit one. This guy, you challenging me, dog? That's it?

That's all I'm going to do. That's all I'm going to give you right now. Now, y'all notice he did a half spin. He couldn't do a 360. He looked like Buddy Lewis. He looked like Buddy Lewis when we were in L.A. doing that. Y'all remember we were in L.A. andall remember we went to LA and buddy Lewis could not Wanted one of y'all one of your degenerates

One of your fellow degenerates Yeah said again Xavier Oh on that set. Don't hurt yourselves. Your man just got on set for the first time. Oh, I ain't. Look. He said you almost hurt yourself. I almost hurt myself? No. Your wife texting you right now. She's like, your wife texting you right now, and she's saying, go get that

Ben Gay. You know you're in role to go. Get going. Do not get on there and go acting crazy. So, baby. Your wife's saying, right now, I ain't trying to sit here and have to call the insurance, call your doctor. He challenged me, baby. I'm cool. I'm going to relax.

It's his show. It's a roller coaster. That's all he had. She know that's all you have. She know. I love your staff. They laughing. Because they knew.

They were like, that's all he got. That's all he got. That's all he got. Brianna, all DeMario got now is about an eight-second hop. Well, DeMario. He won't even get to the bridge of the song. I can't hear you. Can you hear me now? Yes.

Okay. So, Demario, I'll give you your credit because Roland still owes me a squat because it seems like my squats are better. What squat? What squat? Okay, first of all, you can't even sit here and come up down. You can't even spin around, come back. Brianna, you better leave me the hell alone. You better focus on your fire alarm over there.

You better focus. Brianna, you, Brianna, uh-uh, Brianna, don't, Brianna, don't get your feelings hurt. Don't get your feelings hurt. Now, see, Brianna, wasn't no pause going down. See, that's just, see, what? She said, she was talking about some squat. We had a fitness segment. She was talking about squatting. She don't even know. See, that's your thing. What? She said she was talking about some squat. We had a fitness segment. She was talking about squatting.

She don't even know. See, she don't know. She's like, no pause, Brianna. Come on. We're going to see where he's going to be tomorrow. I'm fine. First of all, I do this all the time. You the one going to be laid up with bandages and sitting here called a chiropractor.

I ain't going to be laid up. Uh-huh. Yeah. Somebody on YouTube said, don't split your pants tomorrow. Oh, that's right. That's right. Because he got enough. She said, no, actually, no.

No, Ag Den, I'm not breathing hard. Now, breathing hard is. Hold up. Now, I'm not breathing hard. Now, I'm going to give y'all a story. I'm going to give y'all a story. I'm going to give y'all a story. I'm going to give y'all a story. This did happen.

Okay. In Mexico. I wish I had the video. We're on the Tom Joyner cruise. Y'all, this is the last story for the day. We're on the Tom. Y'all. Y'all.

I tell y'all he lasted eight seconds. So we're on the Tom Joyner cruise. And the previous year, we had this dance off, okay? And so, now you remember, Tom, he a Lil' Mega. So we on the cruise, we on the cruise. He a Lil' Mega. Okay, it's his cruise though, right? Okay, go ahead.

Don't matter. No, go ahead. Don't matter. Go ahead. And so we on the cruise, and so they had a little concert. And then all of a sudden, Chubb Rock come out there. Now, again, he a little mega. Chubb Rock.

And so I sit here and just smoked him and his brothers. Just smoked them. I ain't lying. Just smoked them. Who's verifying this? Matter of fact, no, it's all good. I ain't lying. Just smoked them. Who's verifying this? Matter of fact, no, it's all good. It's all good. Matter of fact, hell, here.

Y'all call Chubb right now. Y'all call Chubb right now. I'm going to tell the story right now. All right? I'm Carol. Y'all call. Matter of fact, hold up. I ain't even going to call y'all.

Let me see if Chubb going to answer the phone. See, y'all think I'm lying. I'm calling Chubb Rock right now. Call my frat brother. I'm going to call your little frat brother. Yeah. Because he remember what happened. Y'all hold on one second.

Hey, Chubb. Hey. Roland Martin. What's going on with you, my brother? I'm live on my show, and I'm here with one of your little frat brothers, Demario Solomon Simmons out of Tulsa. And also, I'm live on the air to let you know. So I was letting Demario know what happened when I smoked you

and your Omega brothers on the Tom Joyner cruise. Talk to me, bro. Is this a factual statement? What are you talking about, smoked you? What is he talking about? Say it again. What are you talking about, smoke to you? What is he talking about? Not a little. Say it again. Oh.

DeMario, you chugged. Now, we can't hear you. Go ahead, talk again. You got disconnected for a reason. Yeah, we got you now. Thank you. All right, you must have got that cricket phone. You got that cricket playing, Chubb.

We can't hear you. Okay, we still can't hear you. See, Alpha got Verizon or AT&T. You got that cricket phone. All right, hold on. I'm going to do this here. I'm going to do this here. I'm going to have the control room call you. I'm going to have the control room call you. I'll call you right back. All right, hold on. I'm going to do this here. I'm going to do this here. I'm going to have the control room call you. I'm going to have the control room call you.

I'll call you right back. All right. I always bring this out of Roland. This is what happens when we get together. This always happens. What? I'm just trying. I'm just trying.

So y'all call that number. We call Hassan. He up here. He flexing. It's his show. So he can shut it down any time. But no, it isn't. First of all, I'm going to shut it down anywhere. I know. It's your show. You can do it. Matter of fact, Demar'ia, it was so he can shut it down anytime, but no I'm gonna shut it down anyway

It was your show I shut it down my wife say I gotta stay respectful I said the Carol Yeah, I want to hear I want to hear what Chuck Brock has to say. All right, so I'm gonna let y'all know right now No, I'm gonna tell y'all what happened he gonna confirm it so we on the Tom's on the cruise so chub I Smoked his little mega the year before so chub Chubb, I smoked his little omegas the year before. So Chubb's like, yo, I got something for you this year. So Chubb went out and got five other omegas. Now mind y'all,

I'm the only alpha on stage. It's Chubb and five omegas on stage. And so Chubb just start hitting them. And y'all, they start off 20 seconds in. They start dropping

like flies. 45 seconds in. 45 seconds. 45 seconds in. They over there behind the speaker. Behind the speaker. Behind the speaker. It's five of them and Chubb. 45 seconds in, it's two people left on stage.

Me and Chubb. Chubb was even like, damn, bros. I had five of y'all. He said, I said, five of y'all can't handle one alpha. Doc was still, I was still getting So you and children one-on-one Well trouble Joe was like man. I get chill was like yeah, you know you took he brought five of y'all call him Y'all call him yet. Oh

Chubb ain't Chubb. I know that's the office calling. Let's see here. Let's see. Y'all think I'm lying. All right. Y'all got him? Chubb, you there?

Yeah, I'm in a bad area, brother. Okay, Chubb. What happened on the Joyner Cruise when you brought out five of your fellow brothers when you were on stage dancing against me? How long was it before they were out of breath? Roland could not handle the competition. You know damn well, Chubb. Really, Chubb?

Hold on, stop. Hold on, stop, stop. Chubb, you're going to knowingly lie, Chubb. Now, first of all, I'm gonna tell you one thing. Roland was good. He was in shape. He did good. I'm not gonna lie about him. He did good. He was really good.

The brothers were incredible. I think what happened was Roland was there by himself so it makes him feel that he had a lot of vigor, which he did. I give it to him. He's 98 years old, and he did pretty good.

Chubb, Chubb, 30 seconds in. And I happen to love the brother. I think he's an incredible human being. He did pretty good. He did pretty good. I don't believe we're talking about this. The reason Chubb laughing is because he knows we got video evidence. Now, Chubb laughing because he know we got video evidence now Chubb, Chubb

30 seconds in, how many of your bros were leaning behind those speakers trying to catch their breath we're talking about one on one wait, wait, wait, Chubb, hold up so you can hear this laugh Chubb was looking like, I be damned y'all couldn't even get to 45 seconds they were behind that speaker bent over

trying to catch their breath it wasn't bad it was nothing like that If you get to 45 seconds, they're behind that speaker bent over trying to catch their breath. Now, like Chuck. No, no, no, no. It wasn't bad. It was nothing like that. Yeah. I think they all did good. Roland did.

It appeared that he looked good because he was by himself. Hold up. Hold up. If I'm the last one standing next to you because they behind the speakers trying to get some oxygen tanks. No, no, no, no. There was. I forgot what that brother's name was. I think he's a cop.

He was doing great. He was in shape like crazy. There was another one of those brothers that was like from, I forgot, he was some kind of, I forgot what you call those kinds of people, firemen. Easy, out of breath people. Out of breath people. That's what you call it.

And I'm not going to lie. If I'm not mistaken, when that was over, you looked pretty tired too. You wasn't no spring chicken out there. Oh, I wasn't a spring chicken out there, but y'all were flatline chickens. Y'all were baked chicken, fried chicken. Y'all were grilled chicken because y'all were dead. No, no, it was nothing like that. Hey, brother, I'm sorry that I'm having to.

No, first of all, first of all, of course, of course, of course, of course, of course, of course, Chubb going to dispute the story because he can't admit that his Omega's were tied. No, no, no, no. First of all, let me tell you something. DeMarco, be quiet. We were all out there having fun. That's true. Roland did a little bit of something.

I gave him a little bit of props because he's a, you know, he seemed like he was having fun. He got into the energy of it and everything. It wasn't where he's talking about everybody was out of breath. There's no way like that. It's like there was a couple of cops on that stage too. Chug, I went over there and patted them on the back. They were out of breath. Now, you know doggone well. But it's alright.

I'm going to crack that video out. The Chug, there's video. See? There's plenty of video. It's going to be like January 6th up in here. You signed the Republicans. Oh, no. It was a walk in the park. There's plenty of video. It's going to be like January 6th up in here. Uh-huh. You signed the Republicans. Oh, no. It was a walk in the park.

Mm-hmm. Nah, nah, nah, brother. Yeah, I apologize for the- It's all good, brother. It's all good, man. Tell everybody how they can check you out on the radio. Yeah, man. You can just follow the Chub Rock Show, and you'll see everything that's going on.

Right now, we're really getting involved with a program when we're really trying to help young black males and deal with this violence and some of this gang stuff, man. So that's really where a lot of my passion is right now. All right, man. Well, look, whatever we can do to help, you let me know. You can call me anytime. Always good to chop it up with you.

And again, next time, tell your boys, be ready, because I'm ready. Alpha's always ready. Love you guys, man. Love you. Love you, Chubb. I'll holler at you, bro. Peace out. All right, y'all. See, I told y'all, you'll know what to expect when you watch this show. I'll call somebody in a heartbeat.

It don't even matter. All right, we got to go. Brianna, Xavier, I appreciate it. Brianna, now, come on. Come on, Brianna. Come on. Come on. Come on. With your little squats. Come on. Matter of fact, why don't you go do a squat right now? Let's see. I'm good right now. Oh, see?

Now she good right now. Now she good right now. Uh-huh. See? As somebody said on YouTube in the chat, they said, now you're high-siding. You're high-siding. Uh-hmm. You're high-siding. Uh-huh. Appreciate that. I ain't going to tell y'all about Xavier last time I was in Chicago

where we went until 4.30 in the morning. I ain't going to tell y'all about that. Oh, see? You forgot how, see? See? You forgot how. See? Oh, wow.

Right, right. His Skype about to go out real quick. Oh, wow. Right. He about to lose connection real quick. He about to lose connection real quick. All right. His Skype about to go out real quick. Right, he about to lose connection real quick. He about to lose connection real quick. All right, I appreciate it, y'all. Thank you so very much.

Mario, thanks for coming by. Tell the wife what's up. And again, you need to go practice that hop because it needs to last longer than 10 seconds. Y'all, I appreciate it. Don't forget, download the Black Star Network app, Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One,

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Zell is rolling at rollingmarchetunfiltered.com, rolling at rollingmarchetUnfiltered.com. That's it. I'm going to see y'all tomorrow right here on the Roland Martin Unfiltered show on the Black Star Network. You know how it was in the show. Holla! this is an iHeart podcast