#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Carlee Russell Update, VA NAACP Fight for Voting Rights, Northwestern U Racial & Abuse Lawsuit

Episode Date: July 20, 2023

7.19.2023 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Carlee Russell Update, VA NAACP Fight for Voting Rights, Northwestern U Racial & Abuse Lawsuit A racial discrimination and sexual assault lawsuit was filed on Tuesday by student-athletes against Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. We will show you what the students and their attorney Ben Crump had to say at a press conference shedding light on this disturbing case. Stay tuned for the details. The NAACP has called out Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin for trying to exclude former felons from the voting process. We'll speak with Robert N. Barnette, Jr., President of the NAACP Virginia, to get his perspective on this crucial issue. And Police finally concluded its investigation of an Alabama woman Carlee Russell who went missing for 48 hours. We will tell you why the Police believe that she was not abducted. Greenwood Inc., a Black-owned digital banking platform, is entangled in a lawsuit with The Gathering Spot, a famous private club for Black professionals. We'll be joined by the  Principal of OBI Advisors, who will break down the details of this multi-million dollar mess. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.'s 56th National Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, is coming up. Celebrating 60 years of their Social Action Commission, the Sorority has a special guest delivering the keynote address - Vice President Kamala Harris. Elsie Cooke-Holmes, the National President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., joins us to discuss this momentous event. And in our Tech Talk segment, we have a milestone to share. The mobile app Fanbase has reached new heights. Isaac Hayes III, Manager and Founder of Fanbase, is joining us to discuss this achievement. Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV. The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. "See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Pre-game to greater them. Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pregame to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispretirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. Today's Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. Carly Russell says she saw a baby walking

along a busy Alabama highway in a diaper before being taken against her wheel and held captive. Yet Hoover, Alabama police say internet searches and purchases she made leading up to her disappearance cast doubt on what actually happened. We'll play for you today's news conference in this strange and perplexing story. A racial discrimination and sexual assault lawsuit

is filed by student athletes against Northwestern University in Chicago. Today, their attorney, Ben Crump, stood alongside the former athletes while they described what happened to them in the athletic locker room. The NAACP out of Virginia wants to look at Governor Glenn Youngkin's criteria

to restore the voting rights of convicted felons. The president of the Virginia Conference of the NAACP will be here to explain. Greenwood Inc., a black-owned digital banking platform, is being sued by the co-founders, by a co-founder of The Gathering Spot, a famous private club for black professionals. They say they have not been paid.

We'll break down the details of this multi-million dollar mess with a reporter in Atlanta covering the case. Delta Sigma Theta's 56th National Convention is in Indianapolis, celebrating 60 years of their social action commission. Sorority's president, LC Cook-Holmes, will talk to us about Vice President Kamala Harris

delivering the keynote address. In addition, today, they also initiated their new honorary members. Hopefully she'll tell us who they are. Also, folks, in our Tech Talk segment, the Fanbase app is reaching new heights. The founder, Isaac Hayes

III, is here to update us on their fundraising initiative. And Florida, did they actually say that formerly enslaved people were able to develop a skill set to help them personally in slavery? Y'all, they literally put this in the history books. These folks are the ones that are gonna be to develop a skill set to help them personally in slavery? Y'all, they literally put this in the history books. These people are despicable. We'll break that down as well.

It's time to bring the funk, a roll of rock, and 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 blips, he's right on time. And it's rolling, best belief he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics.

With entertainment just for kicks, he's rolling. It's Uncle Roro, y'all. It's rolling, y'all. Yeah, yeah. It's Rollin' Martin. Yeah, yeah. Rollin' with Rollin' now. Yeah, yeah. He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best. You know he's Rollin' Martin now. Yeah.

Martin. When Carly Rosso came up missing, the nursing student led a lot of people all over Alabama to begin the search for her. People all across the country were demanding that folks look after her. A major search for her. People all across the country were demanding that folks look after her. A major search was underway. Well, a couple days later, she shows up at home. Her family said, give them time. Her brother said she fought her abductors

and fought for her life. Excuse me, her boyfriend said that. Well, today, Hoover, Alabama police held a news conference that cast significant doubt on this and essentially laid out that this was likely a hoax. This is what happened today with Police Chief Nicholas Durzis. This investigation is not over. We're still working this case and we work in this case until we uncover every piece of evidence that helps us account for the 49 hours that Carly Russell was missing. However, through the public interest and some cases, public fear that this

story has generated, we owe it to our citizens to tell them the facts that we have uncovered. So I will give you the facts that we know today. On July 13th, at approximately 8.20 p.m., Carly left work for a business at the summit. Surveillance video from her place of employment shows Carly concealed a dark-colored bathrobe, a roll of toilet paper, and other items belonged to the business prior to her departure. She ordered food from Tzatziki's at the Colonnade and traveled there. She then traveled to Target on 280, where she purchased some granola bars and Cheez-Its. From there, she remained in the parking lot at that shopping center until 9.21 p.m. when she drove to I-459. Carly communicated on her cell phone with individuals known to her while on her path of travel up to the point of calling 911 at 9.34 p.m.

And at this time, we will play the 911 call in its entirety. Hi, I am on Interstate 459 and there is a kid just walking by their cell oh hold on where where are you okay Yes. Okay. And you had mouth down or mouth down? Okay. 4-6-4-2-8. 4-6-4-2-8. Okay. And was the child on the left or right side? On the right side.

Was they walking northbound or southbound? They were walking northbound. They were walking southbound. Or how old were they, Rob? They were like a toddler. Like, could you like three or four. Did you go over with him? Are you still with him?

I think. Are you with y'all right now? No, I'm not. I'm not as far. Do you mind saying he got a little more use of it? Yeah. Yeah, sure, yeah. What kind of car are you in?

I'm in a Mercedes. Yeah, no. I was wondering if you were injured. I'm sorry. Okay. If a man came out, I think it was a boy, a little boy. A man, okay. He was wearing clothes? Yeah.

What is you wearing? You don't see any cars anywhere? Okay. All right. What's your name? My name is Harvey Russell. You don't look too much off the mark. No, no. I can't really see that I did. Okay. Try to keep an eye on the food, but I can't see it. All right. Do they have food on them? No.

I can't really see that. All right. I'll hear it along the way, okay? Okay. Relative after speaking with a 911 operator. She went missing during that conversation sometime after 9.36 p.m. Traffic camera footage of the train predicted this portion of the incident. That footage was analyzed as part of the investigation in conjunction with the 911 call and cell phone data to accurately determine the time frame.

Carly's 911 call remains the only report of a child on the interstate, despite numerous vehicles passing through the area at that time. No one has called to report that a child is missing, and the Houston Police Department did not locate any evidence of a small child walking down the interstate. Data from Carly's phone, including her Life360 app, shows that she traveled approximately 600 yards in a vehicle while she was on the phone with 911 stating that she was following a child. 600 yards.

That is six football fields straight. Six hundred yards. The Hoover 911 Center received a second call from Cardi's mother, stating that a relative was on the phone with her when they heard Cardi scream, and then they had an open phone line. Hoover police officers arrived on the scene within five minutes of being dispatched. Several other officers arrived shortly. They located Cardi's wig and cell phone in the grass near the vehicle.

Her purse was located in the front seat of her vehicle with her Apple watch in the purse. The food she ordered for Tziki's was also in the car. The items she purchased from Target, as well as the items taken from her place of employment, were not in the vehicle, nor were they located anywhere around the scene. Hoover Police deployed all available assets from the not in the vehicle nor were they located anywhere around the scene. Hoover Police deployed all available assets from the point in the search for Carly. Additional resources were called in to include our own drone unit, crime scene investigators, numerous detectives responded to the scene. Throughout the day Friday, officers from surrounded local and federal agencies assisted Hoover Police in the search for Carly Russell.

Officers returned to the scene on 4-59 at the thorough line search for evidence. K-9 teams from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department responded to check for any sign of Carly, a child that she claimed to see, and anything else that could be considered evidence in this case. Those searches all turned up empty. Private citizens, including search parties organized by our family, friends, began looking everywhere that they could to find any trace. These searches took place throughout the day Friday and again on Saturday, yielding nothing. At 10.44 p.m. on July 15th, the Hoover 9-1-1 Center receives a call from Carly's residence

stating that she returned home on foot. In subsequent investigations, detectives obtained surveillance footage of Carly walking down the sidewalk alone, prior to arriving at her residence. She was conscious and speaking with paramedics when she was transported to UAB. Detectives were able to obtain a brief statement from her about her being treated and released. During the statement, she told detectives that while driving down the interstate, she saw a baby walking down the side of the road and called 911. She said when she got out of her vehicle to check on the child, a man came out of the trees and mumbled that he was checking on the baby. She claimed that the man then picked her up and she screamed.

She stated he then didn't go over a fence. She claimed he then forced her into a car. The next thing she remembers is being in the trailer of an 18-wheeler. She stated the male was with a female. However, she never saw the female, only hearing her voice. She also told detectives she could hear a baby crying. She told detectives the male had orange hair with a bald spot on the back. She said she was able to escape the 18-wheeler and fled on foot, only to be captured again

and then put in a car. She claimed she was then blindfolded but was not tied up because the captors said they did not want to leave the questions on her wrists. She said that they took her into a house and made her get undressed. She believes they took pictures of her, but she did not remember them having any physical or sexual contact. She stated the next day she woke up and was fed cheese crackers by the female. She said the woman also played with her hair, but could not remember anything else. At some point, she was put back in a vehicle she claims was able to escape while it was in the West Hoover area. She told detectives she ran through lots of woods until she came out near her residence.

During this interview, detectives noted that Carly had a small injury to her lip and she claimed that her head was hurting. She also had a tail on her throat. Detectives also noted that she had $107 cash in her right sock. Out of respect for Carly and her family, detectives did not press for additional information in this interview and made plans to speak with her in detail after giving her time to rest. Detectives continue analyzing data from Carly's cell phone and what's left behind at the scene. We enlisted the help of the United States Secret Service in conducting this analysis. Part of what data includes several internet searches, and the days leading up to her disappearance I I think, are very relevant to this case. On July 11th at 7.30 a.m., the term, you have to pay for an Amber Alert, was searched.

On July 13th at 1.03 a.m., the date of her disappearance, the term, how to take money from a register without being caught, was searched. On July 13th, at 2.13 a.m., the day of her disappearance, the term, Birmingham bus station, was searched. On July 13th, 2.35 a.m., a search for a one-way bus ticket from Birmingham to Nashville was conducted with a departure date of July 13th. On July 13th at 12.10 p.m., a search for the movie Taken, a film about a production, was conducted. There were two searches related to Amber Alerts on a computer at Carly's place of employment, including one regarding the maximum age of an Amber Alert.

There were other searches on Carly's phone that appeared to shed some light on her mindset, but out of respect for her privacy, we will not be releasing the content of those searches at this time. We have asked to interview Carly a second time, but not been granted that request. As you can see, there are many questions left to be answered, but only Carly can provide those answers. What we can say is that we've been unable to verify most of Carly's initial statement made by investigators, and we have no reason to believe that there is a threat to the public safety related to this particular case.

All right, folks, it's a whole lot we've got to unpack. We'll do so with our panel next after this break. Folks, be sure to be watching YouTube. Hit the Like button so we can exceed 1,000 likes in the first hour. Also, don't forget, download our Blackstar Network app, Apple Phone, Android Phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. Also support our Brena Funk fan club. Send check-in money orders to PO Box 57196,

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You can also say Alexa, play news from Black Star Network. And you can also watch us on Plex TV. And so simply go to Plex, search for Black Star Network. Find us under Live TV News and Opinion. And don't forget, get a copy of my book, White Fear, How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds, available at bookstores nationwide. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target. Also, you can download a copy on Audible. We'll be right back. For decades, the tobacco industry has deliberately targeted Black

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

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

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It's me, Sherri Sheppard, and you know what you're watching, Roland Martin, unfiltered. All right, folks, my panel, Robert Petillo. He is the host of People, Passion, Politics, a news and talk 1380 W-A.O.K. out of Atlanta. Rebecca Carruthers, she is vice president, Fair Elections Center out of D.C.,

a Scott Bolton attorney and former chair in National Bar Association and the D.C. Chamber of Commerce. PAX out of D.C. as well. All right, Rebecca, a whole lot to unpack and digest here. If you look at social media, it's a bunch of pissed off black people because there are a lot of people who organized and mobilized quickly to demand folks search for her. We know cases where black women come up missing and they don't get the same amount of coverage. That was not the case here.

Authorities move quickly. And based upon what we've seen thus far, this was all a hoax. You know, it's sad to say, but this doesn't look good. I'm glad that Carly is physically safe. And I just want to emphasize she's physically safe. But yes, there's a lot of mental health and other considerations and undergoing evaluation and treatment that's going to have to happen the next few days and even into the coming months. What's really sad about this is on social media, you know, people are comparing this to Jesse Smollett and what happened, you know, a few years ago with him claiming to go the subway in the middle of the night on a cold, wintry, blizzard-filled night in Chicago. But like you said, we also know that Black women and girls, Hispanic women and girls, and Indigenous women and girls go severely underreported and missing across this country, as well as resources aren't used or targeted towards the effect of finding

and returning them back to their friends and family. This situation is very sad. I know we're going to find out more in the next coming days. But, you know, I really do feel for the young woman and I do hope she gets the help that she needs. Let me say this here, Robert. I've seen a lot of black folks say, unsocial, say, oh my goodness, this hurts our race. This hurts when there's a real case where a black woman is gone missing or abducted. This is just not right. Let me remind people of what took place last year. Go to my iPad. California woman who admitted to faking her kidnapping sentenced to 18 months in prison. Sheriff Sherry Papini gained natural attention

when she was missing for weeks and then they found her actually with her ex-boyfriend. She also said, as you see the story here, she eventually reappeared with an elaborate story of being abducted by two Hispanic men, chained to a pole for three weeks, beaten and branded before being released by the side of a highway. She was actually, so while people were sitting here looking for her, she was actually, as the article says, she was actually staying with a former boyfriend nearly 600 miles away in Southern California and had injured herself to back up the false statements.

I don't recall anybody saying that, oh my God, this is devastating to the white race. I don't recall people saying, oh my goodness, that this now means that the next white woman who comes up missing, folks are not going to look for her because of Sherry Papini. So black folks, pump the brakes. I get in terms of what happens, but this ain't the 1920s and 30s when we got to deal with that BS, you know, your credit to your race. One black person does something. Is that reflective of all black people? You're absolutely correct, Roe. And I think I'm going to paint a silver lining around this as much as possible, because what we have seen in the past, it's a

lack of media attention, a lack of law enforcement attention, a lack of public attention when it comes to missing Black women and girls. That has been a problem that we have had. This time, that did not happen. We saw that social media was able to come together, push this story into the national forefront, push this into the national media to the point that you had the Today Show and every other outlet covering this. For years, the only person covering Black and Missing was you. This program was the only place that stories like this would be covered. Now we are seeing this work its way into the national zeitgeist. That means that the activism we've been working on has been affected. That means that the pushes that we have created in order to have the American people

and the American media actually concentrate on the needs of black women and missing black people is being effective. Don't let Carly being a liar, she's going to have to go up under the jail for a while. She's going to serve her time. She's going to be punished for this. But don't let that take the, let's not lose the forest for the trees here, and the fact that finally we're getting to a place where people actually will pay attention to these stories. And I think that the power of Black Twitter to blow these things up has to be harnessed, that the power of Black social media and influencers to take stories like this and push them into the national forefront and be used for something good as opposed to something negative. I think we can take silver

linings away from this. I don't want people to think of this as being a completely negative story just because this girl was lying to forget that this might benefit us going down the road. Scott, your assessment. Well, I'm not so sure or I'm not going to rush that her story's false. As a former prosecutor and someone who's been in this space looking for missing people in New York and other places. Let me say this. Lies have no details, right? And right now, the police don't have any details, have these broad strokes of facts. They're looking for corroboration. Right now, they don't have it. Secondly, you can run, but you cannot hide. You cannot fake being missing. There's just too much technology,

too many cameras, too much monitoring, right? And you're not going to be good at it because it's not something that you do on a day-to-day basis. Thirdly, and most importantly, of that press conference, there were two other research items on her phone or on her computer that they would not disclose. What were they not disclosing? It probably had to do with mental health or something else that they're going to pursue, but they weren't ready to disclose it because it'll tie up the facts whether this is true or not. And so if it is a mental health issue, they couldn't disclose that anyway, but they're going to pursue that. And then secondly, we should wait to see when and if that second interview is going

to take place, because, you know, only Carly knows where she was, what she was doing and who else was with her. And if she's mentally ill and faked all of this, if, then she'll also have the answer to that. If she makes the police put more time, money, and resources into piecing this thing together, it's more likely than less likely that if it was a hoax, she's going to be prosecuted. You know, it is a issue that we know this when it comes to black and missing Rebecca, that it is a problem. And the reality is that when one of these things happen, it might cause folks to say, oh my goodness, hold up, let's pause here. But the reality is until somebody has been found, guess what? You treated the way you treated. Sure, this white woman, Sherry Papini, she faked her abduction,

but it doesn't mean that when the folks should not have been looking for her, people do crazy sorts of things. You had the woman in South Carolina, I forgot her name, Susan whatever, who said a black man tried to kidnap her. She ended up drowning her damn kids. We've seen those examples all the time as well. So let's just be clear. White folks have blamed black people and Hispanics and others for trying to harm them,

and it turned out to be erroneous. And so if this turns out to be erroneous, that she blamed some white man, she just goes down with the rest of the other folk who are white who have actually lied about being kidnapped. Yeah, and I think, too, even Robert's point about the silver lining, the silver lining is that people united, they use their particular platforms, whether you are an individual influencer of just your own family or friends, or if you're Cardi B and you have millions of people around the world who listen to the things that you send out and post on your social media. So I would just encourage people out there like, hey, there are a lot of Black women and girls, children, period, who go missing every year. There are many great partners who try to put out that type of information. So use your social media as a platform to magnify, to make sure that the thousands of black women and children who are missing are found,

that their families are able to get some type of closure if it turns out that they're not being able to be found safely. All right, folks, can I go to break? We come back. We'll talk about the NAACP in Virginia. They are demanding answers from Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin when it comes to restoring the felon rights in that state. Also, there's been a lawsuit now filed against Ron Sanders in Florida for his stunt where they arrested formerly incarcerated folks who registered to vote. And that was all bogus because the charters all got tossed because they were told they could vote.

So we'll talk about both of those next, right here on Roller Mark Unfiltered on the Blackstar Network. My early days on the road, I learned, well first of all, as a musician, I studied not only piano, but I was also drummer and percussion. I was all city percussion as well. So I was one of the best in the city on percussion. There you go.

Also studied trumpet, cello, violin, and bass, and any other instrument I could get my hand on. And with that study, I learned again what was for me. I learned to what it meant to do what the instruments in the orchestra meant to each other in the relationships. So that prepared me to be a leader. That prepared me to lead orchestras and to conduct orchestras. That prepared me to know, to be a leader of men,

they have to respect you and know that you know them is you have to be the teacher of the music you have to know the music better than any there you go right so you can't walk in unprepared hatred on the streets a horrific scene a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence white people are losing their damn minds there's an angry pro-trump mob storm to the u.s capital we're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history.

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

This is white fear. Hey, what's up y'all? I'm Devon Frank. I'm Dr. Robin B., pharmacist and fitness coach, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks. In Virginia, Governor Glenn Young, in ways restoring the voting rights after criticism from the NAACP. He's deliberating some of the circumstances of the crimes, focusing on being less likely to favor those who used a firearm to commit a crime. Youngkin's administration is accused of operating

an increasingly slow restoration process, which could result in thousands of voters being blocked from participating in upcoming elections, drawing a lawsuit from the NAACP. Their lawsuit points out that Virginia has the fifth highest number of citizens disenfranchised for felony convictions. Black Virginians comprise under 20% of the state's voting age population,

but account nearly half of those disenfranchised due to felony convictions. Keep in mind, in Virginia, this all goes back to the early 1900s when a racist legislator literally said the reason they were passing these laws was to keep the darkies from voting. That is the origins of Virginia's racist felony disenfranchisement law. Robert Barnett Jr. is the president of the NAACP conference in Virginia. He joins me now from Richmond. Robert, glad to have you here. Have you heard back from the governor's office?

Well, Roland, we haven't heard back from the governor's office, although he did come out with the statement you just made indicating that the process is in place. I mean, what he's saying is that people who are incarcerated get all of the information when they leave the correctional facility. But that's not the procedure. What we want is the procedure for restoring rights. Let us know what that procedure is so we can communicate it and we can respond to persons who want their rights restored. Now, the previous governor, Terry McAuliffe, Democrat, he actually issued a blanket, in terms of a blanket clearance to allow people to vote.

Then the Republicans sued and they said, no, he had to do it individually. So he said, fine, I'll sign individual. So in Virginia, it ebbs and flows depending upon who's in the governor's mansion. That is correct. And the previous two governors have found ways to speed the process up. And if this governor wanted to do that, I believe he could do that. If the other two did it, why can't he do it? Give us the criteria so we can help felons restore their rights and get back into the community. Once they're in the community, we know that they contribute vastly to the economy and re-engaging in the community.

And the right to vote is key to that. You know, when and what we're seeing again, this is one of those distinctions when I try to make clear to people and people say, oh, Republicans and Democrats, they are the same. This is one of those cases that are not. In nearly all cases, Democrats are likely going to support restoring the voting rights of those formerly incarcerated, and Republicans seats are up for election. And we need everyone who's qualified to vote to do so. And restoration of rights to felons who have lost their rights is key to making sure that they have a voice in our democracy. That's what's happening, Roland. They do not have a voice in our democracy

if the governor continued to slow down the voting rights restoration process. So when you talk about a process, I mean, it's kind of simple. That is, all right, where do I file? What do I do? Do I write something? Like for instance, in Florida,

they have this commission the governor sits on where they literally will call people where they have to actually go personally testify. And so what you're saying is that Glenn Youngkin does not have anything that's on a website or whatever that lays out how somebody who's formerly incarcerated, who's formerly a felon, how they can try to get their voting rights back. It's just in the air. It's just in the air. And that's what we for you, the governor's office, to ask.

What is the process? Give us a clear explanation of the reason why a person's application has been denied. We asked for the number of people who had applied, the number of people who were denied, the number of people whose applicants are still in the process, and we haven't gotten an answer as of yet. And so, again, that's why we're calling for a clear explanation of the steps that the applicant must take in order to get their rights restored. All right, then, Robert Burnett, Virginia NAACP, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you. To our panel, in Florida, a lawsuit has been filed against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over the issue of voting.

This is a political story. Go to my iPad. Florida and DeSantis blasted over voter eligibility in a new federal lawsuit. The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, they have actually filed that lawsuit in a federal court in Miami asserts, as the story suggests, says asserting the current process surrounding voter eligibility in the nation's third most popular state is unconstitutional and violates federal voting laws. Keep in mind the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, they were able to get the amendment passed to restore voting rights for those formerly incarcerated. Republicans then went back and said, oh, well, well, actually people thought that what you really meant

was they had to pay all of their fines before they actually get their rights back. Then the Republicans who packed the Supreme Court agreed with that as well. And so what you had is then you had Ron DeSantis who intimidated voters by having formerly incarcerated folks, a number of them arrested right before the election saying that they had voted unlawful. All those cases were thrown out by judges who said that was a lie. This is a perfect example, Scott, of what happens in these states that are led by these Republican governors. And again, when people say, oh, both parties, they're the actual same. This is an example of whether or not Republicans want to restrict voting.

Democrats want to expand voting. Well, the Republicans want to constrict voting because they're the party of no. And they know they don't have enough votes straight up in order to win most federal elections. Maybe the state elections are very different. But Ron DeSantis is a piece of work. There is no limit to his meanness and what he wants to do. He gets empowered, I guess, by his voter base of Republicans by showing black people being arrested for exercising their right to vote, regardless of what the judiciary will say. Now, what's even worse about this is we know that black people don't have a great relationship with the police. So you create an environment where you issue an arrest warrant, you send the police out to arrest a black man in front of his home, as your video indicated. And who knows what the circumstances

will follow from there if they don't have their video cam on or if the person runs or is afraid or has some issue. He gets beat up or he gets tased or worse, he gets shot. And the core reason for why they were there to arrest him was an invalid reason regarding their vote. And they were told to vote, and the case was dismissed. If harm came to that defendant despite the dismissal of the case, that individual may not be here or may be arrested for a resistant arrest. It's a risky environment by merely going out and arresting these people falsely. That's the danger of this, despite the as well as the unconstitutionality of it. That's the danger of this. And they know it.

Rebecca, this is what the political story says. Kerry Dunn, who works for the Free and Fair Litigation Group, one of the firms representing the coalition, said, quote, ever since the people of Florida passed a constitutional amendment to grant people with felony convictions a new right to vote, the governor and the state have done everything in their power to prevent those 1.4 million voters from actually voting. You know, Roland, my organization actually helped make sure that that particular amendment passed in Florida. And we've been fighting ever since to make sure that folks who are otherwise eligible and should be able to register to vote, they should be able to vote.

I do want to just backtrack with Virginia for a moment. My organization actually filed suit in April against Governor Youngkin for this arbitrary rights restoration process. And specifically, the three previous governors had made it very clear and objective, and they've used neutral criteria in determining who gets their rights restored and who doesn't get their rights restored. I just want to say that we're representing No Left Turns, which is a Black-led, Black-founded organization that supports returning citizens getting acclimated into society after they serve their time. But I also want to push back here, too. It's not just Republican governors here,

but we actually have a Democratic governor and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. Andy Beshear, in 2019, he signed an executive order which allowed for rights restoration for certain felony convictions in Kentucky. My organization is currently suing him because he doesn't include certain federal felony convictions and certain out-of-state felony convictions, that if it was a Kentucky conviction, the rights would be restored. But because they happen in a different state, the rights aren't being restored. And so while we do see that Democrats are—the trend is that Democrats are leading with expansion and supporting voting rights, I just want to point out we do have pockets where we have Democrats who aren't doing a good job with this either.

And so we need, whether you're a Democrat, Republican, nonpartisan, people should have the right to vote in this country. If they're eligible to vote, then it is imperative for our democracy for us to keep people civically engaged in this country through voting. Robert, the lawsuit also says through this campaign, the defendants have created a climate of intimidation, even among people who believe in good faith that they are eligible to vote. They fear that they may be criminally prosecuted, go to my iPad, please, if their belief turns out to be wrong, the lawsuit states. This effort, coupled with the earlier created roadblocks

to registration, has turned the simple act of voting into a complicated and risky venture in the eyes of those who were reenfranchised by Amendment 4, as well as others who have been affected by the defendant's conduct. What happened was they literally sent cops to arrest people. These were people who were arrested. They had jobs. They had to get bail. And then so it's a chilling effect because if you know you didn't get arrested, you're like, hey, I don't want to chance this thing. I got to go through that crap.

This is the time I like to remind people that felony disenfranchisement is not constitutional. The concept of felony disenfranchisement is based upon a portion of the Civil Rights Amendment, the 15th Amendment. This is a person's right to vote will not be abridged unless yada, yada, yada. is based upon a portion of the Civil Rights Amendment, the 15th Amendment, that says a person's right to vote will not be abridged unless yada, yada, yada. And then it says conviction of a high crime or participation in an insurrection. That is to say, the reason that we even have felony disenfranchisement right now is a misinterpretation of the post-Civil War amendments that were meant to stop former Confederate soldiers from voting and for holding public office after they rebelled against the United States of America. Courts in the, as recently as 1974 in the Ramirez decision,

held that to mean that somebody convicted of a felony on the state level could be disenfranchised. We could change that with an act of Congress and we get the 60 vote to the United States Senate. If this case went back before a Supreme Court that wasn't controlled by MAGA justices, it could be overturned on the federal level. So instead of playing this kind of whack-a-mole, this kind of state-by-state issue or trying to determine what felony disenfranchisement is and isn't, what are the free states and the slave states when it comes to who's allowed to vote.

I think this is a time that we have to make a federal push on this issue. I've been talking about this for 20 years at least. This is the time when it can happen. If you want to get Republican... I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes.

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really, really bad. Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives.

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

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

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We got to set ourselves up. See, retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early. Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback. Just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to greater things.

Start building your retirement plan at thisispretirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. ...on board. Retirement dot org brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. On board, just remind them that after President Trump is convicted of all these felonies, he won't be able to vote unless we change the felony disenfranchisement rules. And the point I said earlier, Scott, that people need to understand many of these laws go directly back to post-slavery. They go to Jim Crow. And we just cannot act as if that's not the case. So they can try to say, well, you know, that was so long ago. We've updated. And so there are other reasons today. No, the purpose of these laws and the laws were changed because the white folks needed black people to be out there giving free labor and then they

knew they'd go to prison, then the 13th Amendment doesn't apply and therefore they can have free labor in those prisons. The peonage system was real and so the laws were changed. They were specifically changed to target black people. So you can add black people to the whole Confederate soldier

piece that they didn't want to be able to vote as well. It's all rooted primarily with slavery and racial discrimination against black people and brown people. And you still have the majority of these prisons in the U.S. filled with black and brown people because they're unfairly targeted. But the reality is you can throw bail reform in that federal legislation, Robert, also because at the state level, Illinois just did away with, and the Illinois Supreme Court just said it was constitutionally feasible to do away with bail requirements, which is also caught up in this whole— Yeah, cash bail. Cash bail. Cash bail, cash bail. Cash bail. Yep.

Cash bail, at least. So, but again, that cash bail, people kept people in jail if they had prior records or if they had, they couldn't afford to pay $500 or $100 to get out of jail. So lots of reform to do. Black people got to vote. You get black people to vote, put Democrats in who share their values, you can change a whole lot of this stuff legally. But we don't vote, so we're stuck with trying to manage the results

of not voting. Well, we vote. We're simply not voting. No, we don't vote enough. No, no, no. Excuse me. Excuse me. They don't vote enough. Scott, Scott, Scott. You're a lawyer. You're a lawyer and I operate factually. Black people vote.

We don't vote in terms of maximizing our numbers. There are places. I said that. No, no. When you said black folks don't vote, that's what you said. Well, they don't. We need them to vote. Well, no, but again, though, saying that we don't vote and saying that

we need to be maximizing our numbers are two separate things. The reality is well, again, though, you were wrong, and so you're being corrected. So the reality is black folks do vote, but there are many places that we're not maximizing our numbers,

and so even in places, if you look at Florida, if you study the election of DeSantis and Gilliam, the reality is Broward County, Miami-Dade County, the blue counties in Florida, not one blue county voted at a rate of 60% or higher of registered voters. There were a number of Republican counties that were actually above 70.

And so you can't handle- Except your friendly amendment. You can't handle... It ain't a friendly amendment. It's a factual statement. And so, again, alphas have to continue to school cap. What's to get on?

You don't get on with anybody else on the panel but me. Why don't you jump on Robert or your other gang? You're always coming after me. Robert and Why don't you jump on Robert or your other guests? You're always coming after me. Robert and Rebecca don't make factual errors. Real quick, I wanted to stick this in. Earlier today, I was on Middle Eastern Broadcast Network

talking about the situation of human rights in Egypt right now, where they're detaining people without trial, pretrial for months and years at a time. And you have Amnesty International, the U.S. State Department, human rights organizations around the globe trying to fight to have those 65,000 detainees released. It's hard for us as Americans to talk about the human rights of people being wrongfully detained when we have the same laws in America, where we're doing the exact same things here. So I think in order for America to really be the shining city on the hill in this example of human rights internationally, we're going to have to get our own house in order because we look like fools on the international stage trying to advocate to get people out of jail in Egypt and we're getting people out of jail in Evanston, Illinois. Well, we've always been fools on the international stage. Remember,

it was Malcolm X who wanted to go to the U.N. to deal with the issue of racism. That is America. And so we've always been hypocrites where we tell the rest of the world one thing and then we actually do another. Got to go to break. We come back. We're going to talk about the Northwestern lawsuit. Ben Crump

is leading. He is going to join us to talk about that. Of course, he had a news conference today in Chicago and where these foreign players are alleging massive hazing, massive hazing going on. They've since fired not only the football coach but the baseball coach as well. So lots to unpack there as well.

Florida just staying stuck on stupid. You got to hear what these fools actually said about slavery and what they're actually putting in their history books. These people are demented. So we'll talk about that. Plus, we got the founder of Fanbase,

the social media app on, talking about their crowdfunding effort. So all of that, right here on Rolling Mark Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. When you talk about blackness and what happens in black culture, we're about covering these things that matter to us,

speaking to our issues and concerns. This is a genuine people-powered movement. A lot of stuff that we're not getting, you get it and you spread the word. We wish to plead our own cause to long have others spoken for us. We cannot tell our

own story if we can't pay for it. This is about covering us. Invest in Black-owned media. Your dollars matter. We don't have to keep asking them to cover our stuff. So please support us in what we do, folks. We want to hit 2,000 people. $50 this month. Waits $100,000. We're behind $100,000. So we want to hit that. Y'all money makes this possible. Checks and money orders go to

P.O. Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. The Cash app is Dollar Sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal is R Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Coming up next on The Frequency, right here on the Black Star Network, Shanita Hubbard. We're talking about the ride or die chick. We're breaking it down. The stereotype of the strong black woman. Some of us are operating with it as if it's a bad daughter.

Like you even hear black women like aspiring to be this ride or die chick. Aspiring to be this strong black woman. So at their own expense. Next on The Frequency right here on the Black Star Network. Hello, I'm Paula J. Parker. Judy Pryor on The Pryde Family. I am Tommy Davidson. I play Oscar on Pryde Family, Louder and Proud.

Hi, I'm Jo Marie Payton, voice of Sugar Mama on Disney's Louder and Prouder Disney+. And I'm with Roland Martin on Unfiltered. Thank you. Să ne vedem la următoarea mea rețetă! All right, folks. Former players at Northwestern are angry and upset. They are alleging massive hazing taking place among the athletic programs there. They say the leadership there has allowed racial discrimination, enabled and concealed sexual misconduct amidst a hazing scandal. Two coaches, the football coach and the baseball coach, have both been fired. Today, civil rights attorney Ben Crump and several former players describe what they experienced and why the lawsuit is critical.

Over 15 young men and women who were college athletes at Northwestern University. And we're here this morning after talking to over 50 former college athletes at Northwestern University and being retained by over 15 young men and women who are former athletes who articulated their experiences while participating in that Northwestern University athletic program. Unfortunately, all of us were placed into a culture where, as you've heard, sexual violence and sexual assault was rampant as a hazing practice. Unfortunately for us, we were incoming freshmen. So we had no reference point to know if this was just a college football thing or just a uniquely Northwestern thing.

So that's kind of what went into normalizing it for us and leading us not to question it too much. Obviously, in the moment, it was weird, but when you zoom out, like, everybody else was doing it. So is this a normal thing? We're also 17. So the reason why the rest of us are coming forward is to strengthen and empower other student-athletes who potentially are going through this at this very moment and to have our story be heard and encourage other people to do the same thing. I was a scholarship quarterback and wide receiver for the Northwestern Wildcats for the 2015, 2016, and 2017 seasons. I graduated early and left the team before my final season.

I grew up in Oak Park, and I come from a family of proud Northwestern graduates. My great grandfather, my father, and my older brother are all Northwestern alumni. Growing up, I attended Northwestern football games and used to watch my brother lead the drumline while imagining how amazing it would be to follow in my family's footsteps and put on that Wildcat jersey. Like the other players involved in this legal action, I was very proud and excited to accept a scholarship and be part of the football program. However, the University and the football program has let us down. That's why we're here today.

Upon arrival to campus, we were thrown into a culture where physical, emotional, and sexual abuse was normalized. No teammate I knew liked hazing. We were all survive, to be respected, and to earn the trust within the football program. There was a code of silence that felt insurmountable to break. And speaking up could lead to consequences that affected playing time and could warrant further abuse. Normalizing this culture became a necessity. The abuse of hazing was so entrenched in the Northwestern football culture that even some of our coaches took part in it. The graphic, sexually intense behavior was well known throughout the program.

We were physically and emotionally beaten down, and some players have contemplated suicide as a result. The abuse of culture was especially devastating for many players of color. My situation was unique. I am a legacy student, and my parents had the means to send me to Northwestern or any college with or without a football scholarship but that was not the case for many of my teammates especially those of color many of them are the first in their family to attend college and this football scholarship was their only ticket to a better life whether that was pursuing it professionally or getting a great job post-graduation.

They were under great stress to fit in and succeed within the Northwestern football program. They had so much at stake and had no voice or power to stop the abuse. So today I'm proud to come forward amongst my brave teammates here today to let the truth be known, a truth that has perpetuated for decades. We hope that with our public efforts that we will empower those affected by physical, emotional, and sexual abuse to share their stories. And we're letting you know that we're in this together and we support you. It's not easy for any of us to come forward. A lot of this stuff is embarrassing.

It's painful. And we know that we're making ourselves targets for criticism. But we feel strongly that we must do our part to make sure that this type of behavior ends. Not just at Northwestern, but throughout college sports. We're here to support and validate the accusations of the current Northwestern whistleblowers regarding the true abusive nature of the hazing. We do not want any more college students or athletes to endure what we had to endure for so long and repress. Scott, when I did my, I did a variety of interviews with Vlad TV, but also when I did my commentaries talking about how I despise hazing, I've had people come up to me, alphas, kappas, omegas, sigmas,

saying, man, I'm glad you said it. Guys who said they experienced it, but they didn't say anything, they went along with it. I've run into people who said they still to this day bear the scars and the trauma of being hazed when they pledged. What people need to understand is that we know what happened when the drum major of Florida A&M was killed. There was massive hazing in that band and other bands as well. I remember my high school band, they actually haze. They were pissed off at me because they had a rule that if you were first

chair, you couldn't get haze. Well, I came in because of the thinking, well, a freshman, they'll be first chair. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a

multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad.

Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back.

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

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

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

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I always had to be so good, no one could ignore me. Carve my path with data and drive. But some people only see who I am on paper. The paper ceiling. The limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree.

It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersilling.org, brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. Came in first chair, so they were pissed because they couldn't haze me. And I'm like, well, that ain't going to happen anyway. Then, and I, no, because I was like,

because I'm sorry, I'm not letting somebody abuse me and do some stupid shit, especially if we're the same age. Man, get to hell on. So then what people are now understanding is you see this hazing, this sort of this sexual deviancy, if you will, among football teams as well. There's no way in hell coaches are unaware of what's going on in their program. Yeah, because it's their program. And when I was listening to your story, the lead-in in the press conference,

I was thinking, how does being sexually deviant or racist to a football team where players help you win on the football field. And we can go back and forth about the hazing of fraternities and stuff. I mean, I pledged in 81 in a Southern school, Morehouse. There was a lot of that still going on. And over the years, I've evolved. I'm 61 now. And looking back, I still raise the question, what do they tell young men and women? Men and women. What do they tell us at 19 and 20 years old to accept that type of abuse, to make you closer to the brotherhood or the sisterhood, and to create a stronger bond when you go over? It's a lie. It's a lie.

It was a lie then. It was a lie when you were 19. It was a lie. It's a lie. It was a lie then. It was a lie when you were 19. It was a lie when I played in 1989. It was all total bullshit. But people accepted it, like a lot of these football players. You heard this guy say, hey, if we didn't go along with it, then we're not looked upon as being part of the team. But there, with the football team,

slightly different. Hear me out. Because what the presenter at the press conference, the young man who graduated early, what he said was, a lot of these students who play football, that was their only way out. They wanted to go along and get along because in the end, they were trying to get to the NFL. With fraternity

hazing, black or white, you could reject that, not pledge, pledge some other time and still get your education and go to school. Nah, it's the same. It's the same. It's the same. The mindset, the mind, what am I talking, the mind manipulation at that age is pretty powerful from a peer pressure standpoint. But you're right. We agree. It's all bullshit. It's been bullshit. I bought into it at 20 and well into my 30s. Over the last 20 or 30 years, the liability of our fraternities, yours, mine, the Sigmas, all of them, they've all had to really get serious about enforcing against hazing

because the liability and the lawsuits and the exposures, because people at 19, 20, 22 years old, they don't have the judgment of a snail. And so they're physically beating these people, hurting them, even killing them sometimes. And they have a lot of control over that. The fraternity, the national level, national offices had to step in and say, OK, no more, we're going to force zero tolerance. And that made the most sense because of the lawsuit, but also the physical and mental abuse and the byproducts of that, of these young men at very impressionable ages who were there to get an education and to be leaders in this country. So the thing here, Rebecca, when we talk about what this football team is laying out, again,

just the unbelievable, crazy antics that were involved in that just made no sense whatsoever. And what's interesting to me is there are a lot of people who love to defend this because they talk about, oh, it's culture. And that's the one thing we always hear, culture, the way we do things. We hear the exact same things in fraternities and sororities. And the thing that I am constantly trying to get people to understand is that I don't care who, culture can be recreated. Culture can be reestablished. You don't have to actually stick with it. And you heard the guy say that he knows of several players who contemplated suicide. When you talk about what has happened in fraternities and sororities,

they're people who've actually died. I crossed April 27th, 1989. Scott talked about going to Morehouse. There's a gentleman who this year should be celebrating his 34th anniversary as an Alpha. But his family this year is commemorating the 34 years since he died. Go to my iPad. Joel Harris, that's his name, Joel Harris, Joel A. Harris, was an 18-year-old sophomore at Morehouse who had a heart ailment.

Well, the folks who were pledging him didn't know that. So what did they do? They were beating, they were hitting the pledges in their chest. Well, what ended up happening was that led to a heart attack and he had cardiac dysrhythmia. He dies. And I have said consistently, no parent should be sending their child to school and their child pledges a fraternity or sorority

or plays on a football team and should return home in a body bag. So my sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority Incorporated, just like Alpha Phi Alpha Kappa Alpha Psi, as well as the rest of the Divine Nine, Black sorority and fraternities have taken an anti-hazing stance. I think when we use the language, when we use the language of hazing, it can mean many things to many different people. And when I watched the press conference with Northwestern, I was thinking about that and thinking about the term hazing. And I was thinking about what was outlined by Attorney Crump,

as well as some of the former athletes who spoke at the podium. And what really came to my mind is sometimes if we just use the term hazing, people don't understand what it is. They might just think, oh, it's a practical joke that goes slightly too far. However, our organizations have also seen people who have died, and that is public, it's in lawsuits, it's out there in the public domain I think what's really important here Especially for what has occurred at Northwestern Is calling out the specifics of things that have happened Talking about the sexual humiliation Talking about the racial humiliation

Talking about other physical things that should not have happened And does not go towards team building It is not building someone up. Sorry, it's not tearing someone down just to build them up and to strengthen them and to strengthen the core of their character. That's not what happened here. It was assault. It was sexual assault. It was physical assault. It was harassment. It was intimidation. It was coercion. And those are the things that aren't acceptable in any athletic program in this country and any music program in this country and any sorority or fraternity in this country. Fitzgerald. They fired the baseball coach. There are two investigations going on right now. And that means that they understand they have a serious problem on their hands.

Well, I think we have to also look at the generational shift that's taking place. As you said, if you grew up in the South in the 1980s and 1990s, you started getting hazed for peewee football all the way up through middle school. You get hazed in middle school band. You get hazed in high school band. You get hazed in academic decathlon. That's not a joke. We literally had hazing in academic decathlon. You get hazed when you get to college at HBC

when I played Kappa Kappa Psi, the band fraternity. There was plenty of hazing going on, not in our chapter, but in other chapters around the Southeast District. But when you think about Gen Z, this is the generation of children that have, you know, child psychologists all the way from elementary school on up that are taught non-content and non-violence training. They're the generation that has life coaches when they're in high school and when they're into college. This is not the generation you're going to just be beaten on

and that you're going to be treated a certain way. This generation files lawsuits against their parents for hitting them, let alone against other individuals and coaches. So I think we have to understand that hopefully this is the generation that puts an end to this cycle of this thing that's been put in us from slavery that somehow beating us makes us better people. I'm beating you because I want you to be more united. I'm beating you so you value the organization more.

I'm beating you so you'll come together with your brothers on the line, et cetera. None of that makes sense. That's all these ideas that are left over from when we were in captivity in this country. And I'm hoping Gen Z and their more social, emotional learning will put an end to this from now on. And again, in this lawsuit, they are alleging that Pat Fitzgerald, as well as Northwestern University President Michael Shield, A.D. Derek Gregg, and the Board of Trustees

supported and enable a culture surrounding sexual misconduct and racial discrimination. So we will continue to follow this story as well. All right, folks, got to go to a break. We come back. The Gathering Spot, long been celebrated as a black economic success story. Then Greenwood comes along, a black-owned digital banking platform, celebrated as a black success story. So why are one of the co-founders of the Gathering Spot now suing Greenwood

who purchased them? We'll break that thing down next on Rolling Mark Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Next on The Black Table with me, Greg Carr. We featured the brand new work of Professor Angie Porter, which simply put, is a revolutionary reframing of the African experience in this country. It's the one legal article everyone, and I mean everyone, should read. Professor Porter and Dr. Valetia Watkins, our legal roundtable team, join us to explore the paper that I guarantee is going to prompt a major aha moment in our culture.

You crystallize it by saying, who are we to other people? Who are African people to others? Governance is our thing. Who are we to each other? The structures we create for ourselves, how we order the universe as African people. That's next on The Black Table, here on the Black Star Network. For decades, the tobacco industry has deliberately targeted Black communities and kids with marketing for menthol cigarettes. It's had a devastating impact on Black health. Tobacco use claims 45,000 Black lives every year. It's the number one cause of preventable death.

In the 1950s, less than 10% of Black smokers used menthol cigarettes. Today, it's 85%. Ban menthol cigarettes. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple.

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

Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back.

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

to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill.

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

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

I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. Save lives. Hey, what's up, y'all? I'm Devon Franklin. It is always a pleasure to be in the house. You are watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Stay right here.

All right, folks. Greenwood, Inc., a black-owned digital banking platform for black and Latinx individuals. I hate that phrase. Latino. I hate Latinx. They don't even use it. Two percent use Latinx. So never put Latinx in a script. They don't even use it. Okay. All right. For black and Latinos, business owners. They acquired The Gathering Spot, a popular private members-only club for black professionals, in May of last year. Nearly a year later, The Gathering Spot co-founder Ryan Wilson has now filed a lawsuit on behalf of himself and co-founder Tequil Peterson against Greenwood CEO Ryan Glover and board members Dr. Paul Judge for alleged fraud and deception. The lawsuit filed in Fulton County, Georgia Superior Court, claims Greenwood failed to make post payments based on their sales agreement.

The filing comes after the former chief financial officer, first of all, Peterson, he was a COO, They announced that he was leaving. Now, it's okay, did he leave? Was he terminated? You know, all this up and up. So again, Peterson was over the gathering spot. What they then did was they hired a white CFO, Greenwood. Social media was reporting that Peterson was replaced by the white CEO.

But Glover put out a statement saying, no, that was not the case. The job had been open for a year, and this is what transpired. He actually sent that to me over the weekend. That was Saturday. Sunday, when we saw the news of the lawsuit dropping, I then reached out back to Ryan Glover and also to Paul Judge, asking them to come on the show to discuss this. Neither responded.

We also reached out to Peterson and Wilson, and they also have not come on. So let's talk about this with Shamite Obialo, who, of course, reported the story in Forbes, called a multimillion-dollar mess. Gathering Spot faces off with Greenwood. She joins me from Atlanta. Glad to have you here. So, all right, what's really going on here? Because you know, the Gathering Spot, they launched, they opened in Atlanta, they opened in D.C., they opened in L.A., they've got virtual memberships in other cities. Now what you have is now you have Glover or the folks at Greenwood

saying, oh, well, they lost two million dollars on the gathering spot in Los Angeles, that the numbers were something was up with the numbers or, you know, what they suggested, what their sales were were actually not the case. What the heck is happening here with what was supposed to be seen as a black success story. Absolutely. So first of all, thank you for having me. I appreciate the opportunity to explain what I've gleaned from looking at the court documents. I'm a deal attorney. I'm an M&A attorney by training. And so it was just incredulous to see everything that has transpired. Just to take a step back. So Greenwood acquired The Gathering Spot in April of 2022, so last year. And it was exciting to see two Black-owned businesses come together. But it was also

surprising because they're both startups. So they're both really small companies. The Gathering Spot was founded in 2016 and kind of started in Atlanta and more recently expanded to D.C., very recently Los Angeles. Greenwood Bank started in 2020. And when you think about typical acquisitions, there's a much larger company, and then there's a smaller company that's being acquired when you talk about strategic acquisitions, which this was. And so immediately some flags went up when the acquisition was announced, but everybody's excited to see Black folks building together. Now, the challenge here is that I think the acquisition was done fairly quickly. I actually spoke with Ryan Glover in May, and he was super excited about just

sharing how he knew Ryan Wilson's father, and so they could move quickly through this process. But when you typically have an M&A transaction, it is done after months and months of due diligence, after months of sort of working through all the kinks. And I don't think that's what happened here. Because ultimately, what you saw was both Ryan and TK filing a lawsuit individually, as well as on behalf of all of the gathering spot sellers and saying that, hey, Greenwood, you didn't pay us what you were owing us post-closing payments. So the deal was, when they purchased it, it was supposed to be a stock and cash deal. And so they're saying, we got the stock, we ain't get the cash. Yeah. So typically in a lot of M&A transactions, it's not just you're getting a lump sum of cash.

Typically the consideration, as it's called, is broken down into a couple pieces. And so in this case, it was cash up front, but that cash was also, there were some contingencies around it. So I read an article in Forbes and it kind of breaks it down, but essentially, typically there's adjustments and true-ups that happen once the closing has happened and the buyer, in this case Greenwood, has an opportunity to review closely the financials and make sure everything lines up. So even that cash component that they got was subject to adjustments. And then also they got stock in Greenwood. So they got to roll their stock that they had in the gathering spot, and they got some stock in Greenwood. And so, you know, there were different components to it. But unfortunately, when it started coming time to paying some of these, I'm sorry, the final component was an earn out. All right. So an earn out is where you have to reach certain performance milestones. You have to reach certain revenue metrics and then you get another lump sum of money. So there were all these contingent payments. And essentially, Greenwood has refused to pay any of it. All right. So and what this also has done, this has also led to a lot of folks, a lot of folks now asking a lot of questions about Greenwood.

In fact, Philip Lewis actually had this piece on his sub stack where he said that, and I've actually had people who hit me, blow my phone up as well. What is happening is you've got a lot of people who are saying they're looking at canceling their gathering spot memberships as a result of what is taking place. And so one of the things, so again, we talk about what's also now going on here. One of the things that people have jumped out is that initially, again, the folks with Greenwood, when they came out and actually came on this show as well, laid out that they were going to be a bank. But they're not an actual bank. They're a fintech company. Explain that.

So Greenwood is trying to figure out its identity, in my opinion. And so what they have decided to do, so they started, they launched as a digital bank. At this juncture, what I see them moving towards is a membership community. Well, first of all, let's go back. You see that digital bank. They're not a bank. They're not a bank. They were partnering with a coastal bank, which is a white owned bank, to provide certain services. So you do you can when you join Greenwood, they have a MasterCard-branded card you have that you can open up a savings account. So in that way, it is acting like a quasi-bank. They're not lending money, so you can't borrow money.

So that's obviously a big reason. They're not issuing, like, credit cards. So there's a lot that's to be desired when it comes to calling yourself a bank. But they at least do have the savings account element to it that they're able to provide in partnership with Coastal Bank, which is like a white owned bank. Yeah. And that's what I want to say with that, because what happened is, again, when this story really began to blow up, what a lot of people then realized, they said, wait a minute, hold up. I thought we were doing business with black people.

Come to find out Coastal Bank is white. I've had people say, well, wait a minute. There are actually black owned banks out there. Why did Greenwood not go partner with the black owned banks? Why are they partnering with this white bank, this coastal bank? That's that's one of the questions that other people actually raising since this story became public. Right. I mean, I think that sometimes we. There's the rhetoric and then there's the reality. So if you look at who's funding greenwood top banks uh venture arms of top banks

truest banks city ventures pnc bank um these are all like white banks right yeah that's the banks where they raise money but the people who have been signing up were black people and it was sold because again when they came on this show, it was sold as, hey, this is a black digit. This is a black bank. That's how it was sold. Right. And so you're absolutely right. And I think that we have to ask ourselves, what does it really mean to be black owned? What does it really mean to be black run when when you go up the sort of cap table and when you go up to the vendors and the service providers, those are not all sort of Black folks. And I can't say exactly how the gathering spot

did on that front. I know there's another Black co-working space in Atlanta, the Russell Center. They have made a point of essentially hiring and working with entirely black vendors. But it's honestly difficult. And so I don't want to hang Greenwood for not being true to that, consistent with that message all the way through, because most companies aren't doing that. And to be a neobank, to be a digital bank, you've got to have a back office essentially doing the banking services. But you're absolutely right. I don't know what conversations happened and why they weren't able to partner with a black community bank. I have no idea. But coming back to the lawsuit, I did want to make sure that folks understood that it actually wasn't Ryan and TK that initially alleged fraud.

And I don't believe they have been the ones to allege fraud. Essentially, it was a breach of contract claim that they came out with, right? So they immediately said, hey, you didn't pay us what was called the Los Angeles operating reserve. It was a $900,000 payment that would have been triggered basically back in February based on their financials. And so Greenwood didn't produce a statement, that closing statement that comes after the deal is signed and closed. They didn't produce that. They didn't give the money. And so immediately, Ryan and TK kind of gathered up their documents, hired their

lawyers, and filed. It's Greenwood that responded and said, hey, no, we don't owe you this money. Why? Because your financial statements were all wrong. So they weren't consistent with what the purchase agreement said, which is supposed to be GAAP. It's supposed to be an accrual-based accounting methodology. And you guys use a cash-based accounting methodology. And what that can do is that can change what your revenue looks like, what your expenses, what your debts look like drastically,

especially if you're looking at a specific measuring period. But here's what I don't understand. This is what I don't understand. I was involved... We were looking at doing a crowd fund. Yeah. And so what we then did was we then were going through financials. Yeah.

And what you just described, that's what they said. They said, hey, you guys are operating via cash accruals. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple.

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

Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big

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

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

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I always had to be so good, no one could ignore me. Carve my path with data and drive.

But some people only see who I am on paper. The paper ceiling. The limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersceiling.org brought to you by opportunity at work and the ad council and then we need a gap so we're like okay so we went through a process to actually do that i'm trying to understand if you are acquiring them, how in the hell you don't say that up front? How are you saying it after the fact?

Absolutely. It makes no sense. That's why I said it was rushed. I literally said before we do a crowd fund, before I even think about selling equity, let's get the book straight to make sure that we are, we're satisfying this gap accounting versus a cash accruals. And that's what we did. Now I never did the crowdfund. I didn't sell any equity, but that's what we're now. That's how we now have it set up. Yeah, no, absolutely. So I think, I mean, I can't say for sure, but this feels opportunistic. You know, it feels like they can't say for sure, but this feels opportunistic. You know, it feels like they didn't understand the business that they were acquiring. Because

you look at something like The Gathering Spot, this is a co-working space, essentially. It's a members club, and they've got a restaurant element. But at the end of the day, it's a brick and mortar business. So it's a capital-intensive business, right? And then not only with the real estate, but also think about the people that they're hiring to operate, the hospitality staff. So it's a capital-intensive business. And Greenwood, if they did their due diligence, they would understand that. And so the fact that they're coming back now and so shocked that there isn't net income or profits in the Los Angeles location after just one less than a year of operations. It doesn't make sense. The fact that they didn't do a quality of earnings, which is typically done before you acquire any business, you typically hire accountants. You do a quality of earnings

report to kind of pressure test the financials. So things things aren't adding up there. At the same time, the language in the purchase agreement was quite clear that it's GAAP, you know? And so the fact that the gathering spot didn't have the correct financials, you know, you're big boys. You can't just say, well, we just did it cash basis. We just did it that way. We always have. That's not a good enough excuse. So on both sides, it looks like they were kind of sloppy. And so in my view, like there's like, you know, there's good people on both sides,

there's bad people on both sides. I think the issue here is the fact that Gathering Spot, their equity was rolled into Greenwood. And so right now they're looking at like Greenwood being attacked and Greenwood's sort of brand equity really declining. But that also means that the gathering spot is also being, you know, in a sense declining because all the shareholders are now tied up in what happens with the gathering spot, with Greenwood. And also there's something else to kind of talk about here, which is that Greenwood was going after kind of like a roll-up strategy. So they didn't just buy the gathering spot. They bought Valence, which was a professional networking kind of career jobs platform. They bought another company called AC3. It's like a festival. They bought a company, another kind of tech tech fintech banking platform called Kinley, all black owned, all startups.

All these folks are tied up in Greenwood because these are all startups that essentially roll their equity into Greenwood. So this looks bad, not just for Greenwood. It looks bad for the shareholders of the gathering spot. It looks bad for all these other businesses that came along with it. Well, it is an absolute mess. Again, prior to finding out about the lawsuit, go to my iPad. I did reach out to Ryan Glover to talk about the Peterson issue. He sent me this statement they posted on their site. They said that T.K. Peterson moves on to other endeavors. His last day as chief operating officer of The Gathering Spot will be July 31st. And then it says, but then they go on to then explain that Mike McCloskey is coming on as the chief financial officer of Greenwood. And so, again, if you look at it, Peterson, y'all, he was not the CFO. Peterson was the chief operating officer of the gathering spot.

He was one of the co-founders and McCloskey McCloskey. They hired him as a CFO of Greenwood Inc. About 20 seconds. Go ahead. Yeah. So in the court documents, you know, what happens at the end when you do some kind of a merger, usually there is an employment agreement. And so things things change around management changes. Yeah. And so things change around. Management changes. Yeah. And so I think at that time, essentially, TK became COO and he became a VP at Greenwood. So people might not have understood that. But really, I think that was sort of like the red herring. And well, actually, there were people who posted social media posts and they said that, oh, Peters is being kicked out, replaced by this white guy. And that was the initial report. And so then they had to come out because that's literally, I got started getting text messages about it.

And I reached out to Ryan Glover and I was like, yo, what the hell's going on? He was like, no, this is what happened. This guy's not replacing Peterson. And then, of course, literally the next day, the lawsuit dropped. So yeah, it was so much. It was so much more to it. That was the tip of the iceberg. All right. Well, it is

a whole lot. It is an absolute big mess. And then that's why there are lawyers who are going to get paid a lot of money to sort this thing out in the courts. We appreciate it. Thank you for having me. Bye.

All right. Thanks a lot. All right, folks. Just absolutely just wow there. Okay. Coming up next, the international president of Delta Sigma Theta joins us. They're kicking off their conference in Indianapolis. They also today name seven new

honorary members. One of them is a history maker down the street at the Supreme Court. We'll tell you who they are next on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, Dexter Jenkins is a faith-based financial mentor with more than 20 years in the financial services industry. He's passionate about helping families build generational wealth.

Even though I'm talking about things like prayer, I'm talking about things about reading the word. I'm talking about things like fellowship. I'm talking to members who are dealing with losing their houses, or I'm talking to members who, because of a lack of handling their finances, they're working two or three jobs. And so what I'm finding is that they're not coming to church because they don't have a handle on their finances. We're talking how to get wealthy through faith and our finances on the next Get Wealthy right here, only on Blackstar Network. On the next A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie, we're talking all things mental health and how helping others can help you. We all have moments where we have struggles.

And on this week's show, our guests demonstrate how helping others can also help you. Why you should never stop giving and serving others on a next A Balanced Life here on Black Star Network. Bruce Smith, creator and executive producer of The Proud Family, Louder and Prouder. You're watching Roland Martin Unkilled. All right, folks. In the wake of the Dobbs decision, many of these states are going crazy. Kentucky is going to seek the private medical records of women who are going out of state to get an abortion. Attorney General Daniel Cameron of Kentucky is among the 18 Republican state attorney generals who co-signed a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services opposing the proposed rule change.

The attorneys say the change will unlawfully interfere with state's authority and does not serve any legitimate need. The rule change is intended to shield the medical information of patients who receive reproductive health care services out of state, such as abortion and gender-affirming care from state officials that have banned or criminalized these procedures. It would make it harder for state officials to obtain patient medical information to investigate violations of state laws. Advocates of the rule change argue that it aims to protect better sensitive information related reproductive health care enhanced patient provider confidentiality Here's what is crazy to me Rebecca Okay, you pass a law

Where you say we are banning abortions in the state What the hell Obtaining the private medical records of somebody who left the state? How do you govern somebody's actions if they leave the state? You know, wrap him up in plastic. He's acting brand new. He's an attorney.

He knows better. He knows you can't do this. I think he is desperate. Like, I guess he wants to be governor that bad. Like, you can't demand someone who has left your state to give to turn over their medical records. My other question is, is he going to compel other states or is he going to compel private doctors and private clinics and hospitals to turn over those records? I don't even understand how he thinks he can do this. I don't have anything else to say about it. I don't understand what Cameron's doing here. Robert, I'm confused here as well. I mean, literally, and this is not just Kentucky. There are other Republicans. They are trying to, how do you obtain the private medical records of somebody? They're not breaking your state law. They're going somewhere else. And so are they now trying to say that if a law is passed

in this state, it governs you wherever you go in America? I would like to mention, just as a slight tangent, this is the Republican Party that is always talking about freedom, that is always talking about the heavy-handed government that's going to be reaching into your homes. They've been talking about since the 1980s this idea that big government is the enemy of the people. But now they want your private medical records to be given to government bureaucrats so they can find out what you've been doing. How about this? I will agree. They can go ahead and have women's private medical records. But for every old white man who gets Viagra, Cialis, Hems.com, balding medication, any of those things, you have to turn over your private medical records also.

How about that? This is completely ridiculous. This is silly. This violates federal law. It will never happen. But what it is is red meat for a Republican base in a campaign season during an election. It's something that you know will never happen, and therefore you can make it as extreme as possible. Think about what's going on on the national level. Trump and the Santas are arguing, well, I had a 15-week abortion ban. Well, I'm going to have a six-week abortion ban. Well, I'm going to ban abortion before she even gets pregnant. That's the way that they're arguing now.

They've come to the point of absurdity. The Republican Party has become a parody of American politics. They no longer talk about policy. They no longer talk about things that affect the American people. They think they can get enough Twitter likes and enough follows that social media will carry them to the White House. This is the death of a political party, and they're doing the last rattle before they go out the way the Whigs did.

So here's what's interesting here, Scott. Perfect example. There are some states that now require you to show an ID in order to view porn. Louisiana is one of those states. Virginia

is one of those states. Yes, Rebecca, straight up. They've actually passed this as a law. They say to protect minors. So, Scott, if in Virginia I have to show an I.D. to watch porn or Louisiana, does that mean that if I'm from Virginia or Louisiana and I go visit Texas or I go to Idaho or I go to California, that that law follows me? That's literally what these people are saying, that they get to demand your personal information because you left the state.

It's ridiculous, like Robert said. But Mr. Kentucky AG, newsflash, your jurisdiction stops at the Kentucky state line. It stops. But the purpose behind this, and this is going to be constitutional, these states who have said six weeks or no abortion or a total ban on abortions, they are also trying to pass laws that say you can track those who leave the state just so we know how many people are leaving the state. And if we can, we want to arrest them or incentivize them not to leave the states. But now the Supreme Court took the federal ban off and said, let each state decide. Think about that. So they're going even beyond that. And so

it really makes no sense. But the purpose behind this is so they can track who's leaving the state to get abortions. And then they want to pass a law to criminalize or to say to bar you from leaving the state to get an abortion. So you can't get an abortion here in eight to ten weeks or more, but you also can't leave the state to go do this so that you're going to have to stay in Kentucky and have the baby. Oh, but we're not going to provide prenatal care or pre-kindergarten or any of the other programs or federal entitlements to support raising this child. It's complete lunacy.

And it's unconstitutional, too. It's absolutely crazy. I mean, it's stunningly stupid. All right, we're going to break. We come back. Isaac Hayes created his fan base, a black-owned social media app. Look, it's really grown exponentially. They want to continue doing so.

They're going through a crowd fundraise. We'll talk about that next. Also, we'll be chatting with the president of Delta Sigma Theta about what's happening at their conference in Indianapolis, as well as their new seven members, which includes Supreme Court Justice Katonji Brown-Jackson. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Folks on YouTube, hit that like button, y'all. Hit the like button.

Also, download our app, Black Star Network app, Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. Also, join our Bring the Funk fan club. Your dollars are important. Allow us to cover the stories that we wish to cover. See a check in money order. It's the PO PO Box 57196 Washington, D.C. 20037-0196. Then you also have Cash App. Of course, dollar sign RM Unfiltered. You got PayPal or Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. And Zale, Roland at RolandSMartin.com.

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Download your copy on Audible. And, folks, beginning tomorrow, we are going to be in Cincinnati, folks, covering the Cincinnati Music Festival in partnership with Procter & Gamble. We're going to be covering their hip-hop panel tomorrow. And, of course, you see the acts there, the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, the Andrew Brady Music Center. Then, of course, they got Al Green, Jill Scott, Jodeci, Midnight Star, Joe Albright, Snoop Dogg, Babyface, P-Funk Connection, Avery Sunshine, Norman Brown. We're going to be on the ground.

So Blackstar Network, Roller Martin Unfiltered will be on the ground in Cincinnati beginning tomorrow. Be there Friday, be there Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Cannot wait to see y'all in Cincinnati. I'll be right back. I'm Faraji Muhammad, live from L.A., and this is The Culture. The Culture is a two-way conversation. You and me, we talk about the stories politics the good the bad and the downright ugly so join our community every day at 3 p.m eastern and let your voice be heard hey

we're all in this together so let's talk about it and see what kind of trouble we can get into it's the culture weekdays at three only on the Blackstar Network and black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be black-owned media and be scared. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? Farquhar, executive producer of Proud Family. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. I know a lot of cops,

and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to

one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people,

real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King,

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

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

And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Here's the deal. We got to set ourselves up. See, retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early. Set up goals.

Don't worry about a setback. Just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispretirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. All right, folks, while Twitter is going through all of its drama, you also, of course, have things happening at Facebook and Instagram.

There, of course, is a black-owned social media app called Fanbase, which allows for you to actually reach all of your followers as well as allow for you to also get paid for your content. Isaac Hayes III, he is the founder of Fanbase. We've had him on the show before. I'm familiar with it as well. I've invested in part of his crowd fund. They have raised a lot of money, allowing regular, ordinary folks to get in on this

because normally when these things happen, it's normally the venture capitalist folks and rich folks who get to get rich off of this and he wants to do something that's different. He joins us right now. And so what's the latest with fan base, Isaac? What's up, Roland? How you doing, man? All good.

All good. Yeah. Well, actually, we are closing our final round in RECCF crowdfunding on Fanbase. So, so far, I've raised about $9 million. We're at about $3.4 million, and I'm stopping at $5 million. And this is the last chance to invest in Fanbase in a RECCF. So, I've done three of these rounds, two, three successful rounds, and we're wrapping this one up right now, trying to close in the next week or so.

So I wanted to tell people about that first and foremost, that you can go to startengine.com slash fan base and invest and actually own part of these tech platforms where you put all your content, your energy, your life, your passion, and actually be an owner as well. And the minimum to invest is $250. So just come on in and grab some shares because we're about to close this round out. And so when you said Reg C, explain that. So Reg C is regulation crowdfunding. Thanks to Barack Obama, I was able to raise capital outside of accredited investors so that I could give

opportunity to anybody that wants to own part of a company to be able to invest in Fanbase. And I always say, who better than to own part of a social media platform than actual users itself? And so the users are taking part and having an enormous amount of power in boosting this platform through our crowdfund. And we have like 12,000 investors from all over the world, all different races, all different backgrounds with people that are saying, hey, look, I never got a chance to invest in Instagram. I never got a chance to invest in Facebook or TikTok. And so regulation crowdfunding is a way that people like me can raise money for their businesses through the general public.

And so you've obviously, you've been building and a lot of different things have been happening. And so how have you been able to just build and grow Fanbase? Well, I mean, through the money we've raised, we've been able to scale the platform to over 400 000 users um globally um through the united states of america india is the second most popular uh country-owned fan base we're in africa we're in europe we're all over the place um and people are downloading the app and making content um and then at the same time monetizing their content which is really the main the main focus that i really wanted to give people is the optionality to actually make money from your content. So you can have followers like you do on any other social media platform, but you can actually have subscribers. And I know you're probably hearing that a lot lately from these other platforms. But Fanbase was the first app to ever allow another person to subscribe to another person using an in-app purchase on your phone. And that's extremely important. So, first of all, questions from the panelists.

Robert, you first. Yeah, I did have a question about the growth pattern on this. As we know, there are many U.S. social media apps are banned in places like China, Iran, other countries. Do you have any plan to expand to other markets besides some of the traditional markets where there's more competition? And what would you do to process for that? So right now, we're currently in 212 countries. We're all over the globe. Like I said, we're heavy in Africa, heavy in Asia and Europe, South America. Fanbase is pretty much everywhere. So wherever you are in the world, you can actually download Fanbase and use it. Even in Europe, South America. Fanbase is pretty much everywhere. So, you know, wherever you are in the world,

you can actually download Fanbase and use it, even in Russia, which is ironic, but it's weird, but you can actually download Fanbase even if you're in Russia. So we're on iOS and Android, so the platform is worldwide. It's global. Rebecca. Rebecca, you're on mute.

Rebecca's muted. There you go. Hey, good seeing you tonight. I am an investor in Fanbase. So I have a quick business question. Is it your goal to be majority Black-owned, or is it your goal to continue to grow and then to be able to sell the platform? So I'll say this, every platform, every company is built to be sold in one way or another, either acquired by another company or go public on the stock market.

The goal, and currently at Fanbase, I am the majority owner, but of the 12,000 investors that are invested in Fanbase, the majority of those are African-American people as well. And what's important about that is building generational wealth sometimes in our community seems like a competition rather than a culture. And I want to change that. I want to let people have the same opportunity that VCs get to put $5,000 into Uber and it turn into $24 million. That's a real story. There's a guy named Orrin Michaels that was allowed to put five grand into Uber and then turn it into $24 million. But meanwhile, the consensus is you should go spend your money on

lottery tickets and try to win the lottery or go to Vegas and gamble. But you could put $250 towards a startup, $1,000, $5,000 towards a startup, and you have better odds of coming out on top than you do with winning the lottery. It's just mathematics. Even though most startups struggle, fan base has performed well above most social media platforms. Even a lot of our copycat competitors have either gone out of business that were founded after us or even been acquired by companies and then dissolved. So we're holding strong because, number one, the tech team that I have is phenomenal. My CTO is phenomenal.

The business model is phenomenal. And it's really disruptive. It's really taking advantage of the opportunity to do direct consumer content distribution and monetization. So it's incredible. Robert. I mean, Scott. Sorry, Scott. You mean Scott?

Yeah, Scott. Yeah, Scott. I thought you were abusing me again. Yeah, whatever, whatever. Just stop whining and ask your question. Scott Bolden here. So if I'm an unsophisticated investor, is there a minimum give? And after I give, then is there a process for payout?

Or is the idea you hold the investment until you sell fan base and then I make a bunch of money? Yeah, so the minimum to invest in fan base is $250. And so this is a seed round investment. So this is no different than if you were investing in Facebook or Apple or Uber or platforms like those. And really what that means is you're going to ride the life of the company. So there's two eventualities to Fanbase, right? Fanbase will be acquired or it'll go public on the stock market. When that happens, when we're acquired, we just get bought out at a higher valuation than we are now and currently fairways is valued at $85 million. And then either we go public on the stock market, and then the day we go public, you sell all your shares at the increased value of the share price at the time that we go public.

So that's the difference. Now, you're just along for the ride, which is typical with any startup that people invest in, even in venture capital or angel investors. All right, then. All right, tell us where they can go to, they want to invest in Fanbase. And again, this is the final raise.

Yeah, so you can go to startengine.com slash fanbase to invest. That's startengine.com slash fanbase to invest. That's startengine.com slash fanbase to invest. And the minimum to invest is $250. We're at about $3.4 million, and we're closing this round at $5 million. And when I do programs like these, the raise tends to go viral. I got another interview in the morning on about 80 stations nationwide.

So I'm really putting out that effort to really go ahead and close this round out in the next week or so. So I hope to get as many people to invest, to tell a friend to tell a friend, to go to StartEngine and invest in Fanbase. And if you go to StartEngine, just startengine.com, you'll actually see Fanbase.

We're on the most funded section at the top of the app. I mean, at the top of the website, when you go in there, you'll see Fanbase right at the top of most funded startups. So we've broken records. I am the black man that has raised the most amount of money in equity crowdfunding ever. So this is history, what's been going on with fan base. So I want to make as many people a part of it as I possibly can and give us an opportunity to have equity as opposed to the other guys. All right, then. Isaac, thanks a lot, man. Appreciate it. Thank you, the other guys. All right, then.

Isaac, thanks a lot, man. Appreciate it. Thank you, guys, man. All right, folks, quick break. Coming up next, we'll chat with the international president, Delta Sigma Theta. They're kicking off their conference in the convention in Indianapolis. And just a few moments ago, they unveiled their seven new honorary members.

She'll tell us exactly who they are next. Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Blackstar Network. My early days on the road, I learned, well, first of all, as a musician, I studied not only piano, but I was also drummer and percussion. I was all city percussion as well. So I was one of the best in the city on percussion. There you go. percussion. I was all city percussion as well. So I was one of the best in the city on percussion. Also studied trumpet, cello,

violin, and bass, and any other instrument I could get my hand on. And with that study, I learned again what was for me. I learned to what it meant to do what the instruments in the orchestra meant to each other in the relationships.

Right. So that prepared me to be a leader. That prepared me to lead orchestras and to conduct orchestras. That prepared me to know, to be a leader of men, they have to respect you and know that you know them. You have to be the teacher of the music. You have to know the music better than anything. There you go. So you can't walk in unprepared.

Coming up next on The Frequency, right here on the Black Star Network, Shanita Hubbard. We're talking about the ride or die chick. We're breaking it down. The stereotype of the strong black woman. Some of us are operating with it as if it's a badge of honor. Like you even hear black women like aspiring to be this ride or die chick. Aspiring to be this strong black woman.

At their own expense. Next on The Frequency right here on the Black Star Network. Hi, I'm Jo Marie Payton, voice of Sugar Mama on Disney's Louder and Prouder Disney+. And I'm with Roland Martin on Unfiltered. Thousands of deltas are gathering in Indianapolis right now, including my wife and my sister and a whole bunch of other folks I know for the Deltas International Conference. They, of course, there do business.

Also, a thousand vendors are there as well, in addition to covering the business of the organization. Joining us right now is the international president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated. Yeah, I've got to add that last part before they get attitude. Elsie Cook-Holmes. Elsie, glad to have you on the show. How are you doing? Glad to be here, Roland. How are you? And thank you for having us on the show today.

Doing good, doing good. So first off, a few moments ago, and the story was just released, y'all went through your process where you named seven new members, seven new honorary members, correct? We absolutely did. Today has been an exciting day for us because we officially kicked off our 56th National Convention right here in Indianapolis, Ohio, Indianapolis, Indiana. And part of our official opening is the initiation of honorary members. And we're very excited to have seven new honorary members from various fields, if you will,

all very accomplished in their respective areas. So we have Rashida Jones, who's president of MSNBC, Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins, who is the undersecretary for security and arms control and cybersecurity with the State Department. We have Channing Dungey, who is president and CEO and chairman of the Warner Brothers television division. We have Tamika Ketchings, who is one of the most renowned WNBA players right here, living right here in Indianapolis for playing 16 seasons with the Indiana Fever and broke a lot of records and has done so much philanthropic work as well. Then we have Phyllis Newhouse, who is an entrepreneur and does billion-dollar deals and really helps so many and helps women's empowerment, especially women of color as well.

We have Deborah Lee, who, as you know, for a number of years was president of BET. And we're very, very excited to round out that class with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. He's the first African-American U.S. Supreme Court justice. So we are very, very excited. Pretty good. Pretty good lineup there. And so obviously you're there. First of all, how many deltas do you expect? First of all, how many have registered? How many expect to be in Indianapolis? Registered for in person, we have almost 13,000. We have over 10,000 registered virtually. So though they won't be heading to Indianapolis, they are joining us.

Actually, some of them, I think they are here in the city. So a few of them came, but most of them are joining from the comforts of their homes as well, their respective places, if they were not able to join us in person. So all in all, we'll have an attendance of over 23,000. And then we have additional guests. And as you mentioned, vendors that bump up that number even farther. So again, we are quite excited. It's been a busy week. Last weekend, the AKs had their leadership conference in Chicago where they announced the creation of their credit union. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

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

It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th.

Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives.

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

NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Caramouch. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of

the War on Drugs podcast season 2 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers,

but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-up way, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. So my question for you, how much of your agenda is focused on economic power of African-Americans, especially black women? We have one of the key focus areas. We have two things. So our five point programmatic thrust includes economic development.

It has for a number of years. And part of my administration's focus is financial empowerment. Financial fortitude is what is coined for us across the lifespan, regardless of age, and to look to build generational wealth. So we have a number of programs that assist entrepreneurs. Yesterday, we had our Delta Red Tank competition, and there were a number of awards, monetary awards, to help existing businesses as well as new business ventures. So we have several different programs dedicated to entrepreneurs,

and we are looking at some other areas as well. And then, again, we have a number of programs that really are focused on financial empowerment in our communities as well as for our members. All right. I do want to mention... Yeah, go ahead, go ahead. No, I was just going to say, if I can shift gears a little bit, because we are very focused on financial empowerment. For this administration,

we're also very, very focused on the importance of mental health and wellness. So we launched a new program called Live Well. And certainly in this month where we're celebrating Minority Mental Health Month, this is Minority Mental Health Month, we are amplifying, again, lifting up our new program, Live Well, that

we've had a number of wellness and focus areas on mental health and wellness. We have Wellness Wednesdays. So we look to empower the community as well as our members with information and also let them know it's a safe space to really be able to deal with any types of mental health issues as well. And I think the final thing I would mention was about social action tomorrow. Right. Social action tomorrow, and normally you have Deltas who are speaking, but you have an AKA

who's going to be speaking tomorrow. We absolutely do. So two things. First of all, as you know, Delta has social action in our DNA, and we have from the very beginning. So social action and DST really are synonymous with each other. But we certainly join with our D9 sisters and

brothers because there is power in our collective unity. We are excited to have the Vice President of the United States of America, who happens to be a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, to be our speaker. So the honorable Kamala Harris will be the speaker for our social action luncheon tomorrow. And that luncheon is always a high point for our convention. Joy Reed, MSNBC, hosted the readout. She is an honorary member for Delta Sigma Theta. She will also be providing

the call to action and charge speech toward the end. So we are excited about both speakers, but everyone as you know will be welcoming our Vice President though she wears different D9 colors, we will

be very, very happy to welcome the vice president to our midst tomorrow. Questions from the panel real quick. Rebecca, you first. So just a comment. As a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, wish you well on your convention and congratulations on your newest grouping of honorary members. Thank you. Thank you so much. All right, Robert, what did you say you pled, Robert? Kappa kappa psi, the band frat, is that what you said? Yeah, the band frat, yeah. Yeah, you probably pled the band frat and the gun frat. Robert, go ahead with your question for LC.

Well, I have no questions. I simply want to say congratulations on another outstanding year. Delta Sigma Theta is always a strong partner in the movement for social justice. We absolutely commemorate everything that you have going on, and we look forward to finding out what's going on in the next year and all the outstanding things that the women of Delta Sigma Theta will be doing. Thank you very much. You know we're gearing up for 2024, Sigma Theta will be doing. Thank you very much. You know we're gearing up for 2024, so all roads will be leading there.

And certainly gearing up before then even to partner with other coalition members across various coalitions, including the DEI, to support the march on Washington in August as well. And I guess I'll let the CAPA, Scott Bolden, ask a question. Scott? On behalf of every CAPA man in America, we're on our way to Tampa next week, or this week, rather. Congratulations on your convention.

I do have a question, though, and that is, I'm sure you've been a longtime member of Delta Sigma Theta. What makes a great convention this gathering? On the last day when you leave, What makes a great convention this gathering? On the last day when you leave, what does a successful convention look like to you? A successful convention? It's funny you ask me that because that's what we started with the end in mind thinking when we were doing our planning.

A successful convention, being able to not only take care of the business of Delta Sigma Theta, which we know we will do, but to have a memorable experience full of sisterhood, full of connection, full of being able to see SARS from across the mile. It's almost like a reunion, if you will. So to really be able to have a memorable experience for our members, to be able to take care of the business of Delta, and to be able to leave something back in our community. So part of our convention includes an impact day, which this year is happening over several days where we are there are various programs in the community that are going on including a girls empowerment day which was held yesterday and there will be additional things going on with that for the balance of the week there's also providing opportunities for backpacks for back to school, but also suitcases full of supplies and clothes and other things for foster children. So there are several different programs that are going on. Our members from all over the country have donated to these programs. And so those

programs are being done for the benefit of the community right here in Indianapolis. We always have an ecumenical service, an appraised worship service, and the funds that are gathered for those offerings are also left here in the city of Indianapolis for various nonprofit organizations that we are supporting. All right. So that helps. Well, Elsie, we certainly appreciate it. Good luck on the conference.

And I won't even waste my time checking my bank account to see how smaller it will be after Indianapolis. We like to stop, too. So I'm sure I'm going to look for your wife. There's enough Delta stuff in the house, trust me. I can guarantee you that. Far more. Far more than the Alpha stuff I've accrued in 34 years.

I'm just saying. All right. I appreciate it, Elsie. Thanks a lot. Good luck. Take care, Roland. All right. Thanks a lot. Good luck. Take care, Roland. All right. That's it.

Let me thank Kappa Kappa Si, Robert. Robert, I know you played as a gun frat, too. So, I mean, surely you did. What's a Kappa Kappa? Yeah, okay. All right. Okay. Well, there we go.

Then, of course, we got AKA Rebecca. And then we got that little Kappa, Scott Bolton. All right, folks. Big cap. Yo, yo. That's enough. We don't need all that. We don't need that.

Always remember, Alpha's your daddy. Always remember. Always. You said that at my birthday party. Pissed off all the noobs at the party. And they all knew it was true. They all knew it was true. And I also told them, in a present for the Alpha, kiss the party. And they all knew it was true. They all knew it was true. And I also told them

in a present for the Alpha, kiss the ring. You almost started a riot at my party. Yeah, yeah. 20 Kappas, one Alpha. That's unfair for the Kappas. All right. We got to go. That's it. So tomorrow, folks, I have to. Crazy busy

day. I'm flying out of Houston tonight. I got to go give the eulogy tomorrow for my cousin who passed away. I'll be in Houston at the Church Without Walls. Then I fly to Cincinnati for the Cincinnati Music Festival. We're covering that. So look for that. We're going to be there with our coverage on the Black Star Network Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. And then, of course, I'll see my man, Wendell Haskins, for his original T-Golf Classic honoring Gary Sheffield on Sunday.

Then back in the saddle on Monday. We're on the road next week as well. We'll be at the Alpha Convention. I'll be participating in making a huge announcement on Wednesday. And then Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, we'll be in Houston covering the convention for the National Urban League. And so a lot of things happening. Your support is crucial for us to do what we do, folks. I can tell you that right now. It is not easy for us to do what we do traveling around the country in terms of the amount of money we have to spend. It's about

covering the stories that matter to you. And so that's why it's important. So please support us. First of all, download our app. If you want to know exactly what's going on, all of our shows and all of our interviews and the content, the live stuff that we live stream, you can always count on the Black Star Network app,

Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. If you want to give, please contribute to our Bring the Funk fan club. Your dollars are crucial. Our goal is to get 20,000 of our fans on average contributing 50 bucks each. That's $4.19 a month, 13 cents a day. And so we appreciate everybody who's giving. Check, money, order, cash app, Venmo venmo zelle paypal all of that it all

makes a difference uh i'm gonna tell you that point blank uh because again without you we would not be in business today so senior checking money orders the p.o box 57196 washington dc two zero zero three seven dash zero one nine six cash app is is $RM Unfiltered. PayPal is RMartin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com.

And don't forget to get a copy of my book, White Fear, How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds. When you support us and buy that book. That money comes right back into the show. You can get the book at Ben Bella Books, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indie Bound, Bookshops, Chapters, Books a Million, Target.

You can also download a copy on Audible. Folks, that's it. I'll see y'all tomorrow. How? Folks, Black Star Network is here. Hold no punches. I real uh revolutionary right now black media he makes sure that our stories are told thank you for being the voice of black america

i love y'all all momentum we have now we have to keep this going the video looks phenomenal see this difference between black star network and black owned media and something like cnn you can't be black owned media and be scared it's time to be smart bring your eyeballs home you dig pull up a chair take your seat the black tape with Dr. Greg Carr, here on the Black Star Network. Every week, we'll take a deeper dive into the world we're living in. Join the conversation only on the Black Star Network.

Hi, I'm Dr. Jackie Hood Martin, and I have a question for you. Ever feel as if your life is teetering in the weight and pressure of the world that's consistently on your shoulders? Well, let me tell you, living a balanced life isn't easy. Join me each Tuesday on Blackstar Network for a balanced life with Dr. Jackie. We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not. From politics to music and entertainment, it's a huge part of our lives. And we're going to talk about it every day, right here on the culture with me for Raji Muhammad only on the black star network. I'm Deborah Owens, America's wealth coach, and my new show get wealthy focuses on the things that your financial advisor and bank isn't telling you,

but you absolutely need to know. So watch Get Wealthy on the Blackstar Network. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. music and sports. This kind of starts that in a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

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