#RolandMartinUnfiltered - CBS diversity scandal; HUD nominee Marcia Fudge testifies before Senate; Cicely Tyson dies at 96

Episode Date: January 29, 2021

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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. Să ne vedem la următoarea mea rețetă! Thank you. Martin!

Today is Thursday, January 28, 2021. Coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, our continuing coverage of the explosive allegations of racism, sexism, and homophobia at CBS's own and operated stations. We will talk with Don Champion, who has a shocking story of how he was treated by top execs Peter Dunn and David Friend at CBS, both who now are out on leave pending an external investigation. What's this whole deal with GameStop stock and why you should care? Also, why are rich folks on Wall Street mad as hell? We'll talk with America's wealth coach, Deborah Owens. California prosecutors are revolting against new L.A. District Attorney George Gascon's social justice changes.

We'll talk with Jasmine Koenig, an activist in California, about that. A proposed Missouri bill would allow deadly force against protesters and protect people who run them over. Sounds like Republicans are back at it. Plus, a Florida cop has been fired for racism and supporting the U.S. Capitol riots. White domestic terrorists. Plus, a man has been charged with threatening the family of New York Congressman Hakeem Jeffries. And former Seattle Seahawks Chad Wheeler, yeah, viciously beat his girlfriend, a sister.

Hmm. Why didn't he get as much attention as Ray Rice? Plus, we'll show you the funeral of baseball legend Henry Hank Aaron. And today's crazy-ass white woman, she can use the N word anytime she wants to. Okay. Okay.

It's time to bring the funk. Roller Martin on the filter. Let's go. Best belief he's knowing putting it and it's rolling best believe he's knowing putting it down from sports to news to politics with entertainment just for kicks he's rolling it's rolling It's Roland Martin, yeah. Rolling with Roland now. He's funky, he's fresh, he's real, the best you know. He's Roland Martin now. Martin.

Martin. All right, folks, we have been covering this story about CBS after the Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday about alleged racist, homophobic, and misogynistic comments made by top execs Peter Dunn and David Friend. Now, those two were placed on leave on Monday after the National Association of Black Journalists, where I'm Vice President Digital, called for them to be fired pending an external investigation. A number of people since then have been telling their story, sharing the very difficult details of how they were being treated there, including Don Champion, who worked as a reporter at CBS.

Don Champion joins us right now on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Don, how how you doing? I'm good. Good to see you. Thanks for having me on. So when this story dropped on Sunday and it mentioned Yuki Washington, comments made about him and mentioned the difficulty that Brooke Thomas had to endure. When you saw the story, what was your first reaction? Anger and a bit of vindication as well. You know, anyone in TV news knows the reputation of David Friend and Peter Dunn. So this was no surprise to anybody. And quite frankly, it shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone within CBS as well. And so it was a lot of anybody. And quite frankly, it shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone within

CBS as well. And so it was a lot of anger. And then on Monday, I reached out to some of my former colleagues and I just, I heard all the fear that still exists because of these two men. And, you know, I'm out of TV now. I work in tech and I enjoy a certain amount of freedom and I don't, I don't have to be afraid of retaliation now. And so I knew I had to speak up, you know, and say something. And it's been overwhelming. I honestly was not expecting this kind of response. You know, I just wanted to tell my story. It's been a long three years since I left and just the healing that I've had to do.

And thankfully, through therapy, I'm at that place of my healing that I've been able to share my story. But I certainly wasn't expecting to have to tell it just yet. But I knew I had to say something. So was it their action that drove you out of the business? It started with them. Yeah, I am. As I said in my post, the discrimination and bigotry didn't end at WCBS. I went to the network after I left WCBS. And I do believe that my sexuality played a role in my dismissal from the network. And that just tells you how toxic the culture was at CBS at that time. And Les Moonves was still in charge.

And the fact that you had people like Peter Dunn and David Friend still in charge, it just added to this toxic, toxic environment and culture throughout the company. Did you ever contemplate suing? No, I did. I think initially I was just so I was in pain. I was in shock. I you know, this was my lifelong dream to be a journalist. Anyone who knows me knows as a kid, when I was on vacation, I used to be in my dad's camcorder, I'm Donald Trumpian. So I was mourning this dream that was lost. Years of hard work, sacrifice. And I was just so caught up in that. And quite frankly, I was scared, too. I mean, there's so much fear ensuing. And, you know, I hope that's a comment. I know I've

had this conversation with Madam President from NADJ, and I hope that there can be some resources, because this is not an isolated problem within journalism. It's widespread and it affects people who look like me, look like you a lot more than we know. And so, yeah, I definitely thought about it, but I was too scared. In a way, I kind of still am a little scared, but I am looking into some legal remedies, but I'm just glad the story's out there. and I feel lucky, like I really do. And I just want that to be told. There are tons of people whose lives and careers have been ruined by these men. And I feel kind of guilty that I'm on my feet, you know, now, but it's taken a lot. And I truly feel lucky. You talked about how this was triggering, how traumatic it was. and i've talked to others as well i mean since this happened and we've had our phones blowing up we've had people emailing us and sending us

messages on social media uh recounting all of the different stuff comments made people saying you need to change your hair color you need to do all these different things and and I explain to folks all the time, they don't quite get the micro aggressions and the comments made in our news business. I've said, and then also the people who then say, hey, you shouldn't say anything. And I remember when I, and I said this publicly, I remember when I went on Megan Kelly's show after the whole blackface incident. And I remarked when I was at CNN, when the executive vice president was there, Ken Jouts, who is still there, who is still a part of the senior management team, made a remark about me saying something. And we don't want to use the words like brother on the air because we don't want to scare away white viewers. I mean, he literally said that to me and then said that he showed, and it was actually, it was, it was a pilot I had done with, and I, and I was interviewing

then Senator Barack Obama, who had not since run for president, and then told me that he showed the video to his wife and she agreed. I'm sitting there going, Ooh, the white wife agreed. And I had people here and I've been gone for eight years in April. And folks like rolling up, you know, you should have brought his name up. I'm like, why? It happened. I'm like, so why should I carry around, you know, and protect it? Because because they were saying, well, this might hurt you down the road. I like, well, you know what? That's the problem. We shouldn't have to wait until we are 70, 75 and write a book to talk about what the hell we experience. Unless you confront it in the moment, it's going to affect the next journalist and the next black journalist and the next black gay journalist and the next black woman journalist. And that's the problem. Yeah, no, that's true. And I think, too, I think as I look back, you know, I said this to someone else yesterday, you know, culturally, I think as a black person, you don't automatically think of the law of the legal system and finding remedy in that.

We've been taught that that system is not built for us. It's not for us. And so I think that's opportunity there if we started filing cases. One of the things that was so striking to me in that L.A. Times story was the two white managers had lawsuits. And every black person affected by this was no comment out of the fear. You know what I mean? And that was striking to me. So I think there's opportunity for us to start speaking up, naming names, and taking our cases to court. And hopefully that will change because, you know because there are other monsters in the industry. And I think it's interesting too with Peter Dunn and David Friend,

they were equal opportunity bullies. I mean, it runs the gamut. I mean, my story is just about a black gay man. There are women who they've destroyed. There are straight white men they've destroyed. I mean, they were nasty. They are nasty people who should not have had this much

power for this long. And so what has been happening is, again, people have been talking. And I think, first of all, before I go to that, because you mentioned the folks who were in the article, and I appreciate them sharing it. But let's also be honest. They carried out what Dunn and Friend wanted. There are other general managers and news directors who have carried out what they wanted. Their actions also impacted. And they're only speaking now because they were also let go. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And, you know, I think it speaks to just, these were men who led by fear.

And, you know, and I think that toxicity gets into different layers of management, you know? And I know of several news directors within the group who despise David Friend and Peter Dunn and have despised them for quite some time. But, you know, again, these are very powerful men. And I think it's interesting and quite telling that too, unless Moonves was in charge, Peter Dunn reported directly to him. And that kind of power, you're afraid of that, you know, and I know that some of the news directors,

I know personally, some of them have tried to push back in every way that they can, you know, and that's been difficult. But these are two very powerful men. And, you know, I think that was part of the problem. And that doesn't make I'm not trying to make excuses for people. But I do know that if he ran the managers like he ran WCBS, it was steeped in fear and intimidation and bullying. Well, and I think, again, white executives have benefited from white superiors who are also in power because they've covered for them. They've blanketed over their stuff. Remember, that was an investigation done in 2019. And then CBS announced that

changes were made and things were done and that in their statement they released that, you know, there had been no complaints since. Well, folks said, hell, we're afraid to complain. If you complain, then you get targeted. I was told there was a meeting in February of 2020 with a group of black employees at WCBS with Dunn and Friend about a lot of these issues. And when that meeting was over, every black person in that meeting was targeted and some were forced to leave the company who took buyouts under the guise of COVID. Yeah, yeah, no, exactly. And that just that speaks volumes to just how they operate it. You know, you can't trust.

I have a friend there who feels like they were retaliated against for speaking to the lawyer. So even now, you know, that this case is public and they're being told to go to H.R., there are people who don't even trust H.R. in that building right now because of how the other investigations have been handled. And it's quite, frankly, it's sad. It's disgusting. Well, Don, we certainly appreciate you telling your story. The National Association of Black Journalists, we've made it clear we're not going to relent on this, continue to put pressure on CBS. We have reiterated our call for Peter Dunn and David Friend to be fired for there to be a massive external investigation looking at issues in the company, not only in all the owned and operated stations, but also in other areas of CBS, whether it's CBS News Path, CBS Radio, CBS News, the syndication arm, you name it, all over the

company because, again, this is widespread culture. And as you said, this is not the only other media company where you have these issues. And to all those other media companies, we're coming for you all, too. Well, thank you for your work. I appreciate it. All right, Don, thank you so very much. All right, folks, I want to bring my panel now. Dr. Greg Carr, chair of the Department of Afro-American Studies at Howard University. Of course, Recy Colbert, Black Women View now. Dr. Greg Carr, chair of the Department of Afro-American Studies at Howard University.

Of course, Recy Colbert, Black Women Views, Eric and Savage Wilson, Savage Politics Podcast. This is in 1968, Greg. The Kerner Commission issued the report that there are two Americas, one white, one black. The report was focused on the race riots in 1967, what caused them. They couldn't agree on much, but they did agree that there are two Americans, one white, one black. And the one area where they had the most criticism dealt with media and demanded there be changes made in terms of more black folks as reporters, on air, as executives as well. And so that led really to the first wave of black journalists in mainstream newsrooms. When you start thinking back to the likes of Bax Robinson and Bernard Shaw,

Carol Simpson and others, it was really after that Kerner Commission report dropped. Well, the reality is in, you know, since 1968, in the last 53 years, you still are dealing with the issue of racism in media. And what I keep telling people all the time is the operative word in white supremacy is white. And so it's not white supremacy in politics or white supremacy in corporate America or white supremacy in education. No, it's white privilege and white supremacy in all things in this country. And when you look at media, mostly white men are

in charge on television network, broadcast, cable news, newspapers, radio, digital operations. You go to Hollywood, mostly white men. You've never had an African-American in the history of Hollywood ever to run a Hollywood studio. You've never had an African-American in the history of Hollywood ever to run a Hollywood studio. You've never had an African-American in the history of broadcast news to be president of a network news division. In fact, you've never had an African-American to be the CEO and the top dog in any of these broadcast companies, never at ABC, never at NBC. Right now, George Cheeks, who is biracial, he is the highest ranking African-American ever to ascend to that level. Of course, you did have Dick Parsons, who was the CEO of Time Warner. But this is what we're talking about. When you have largely white

folks who are running these media institutions and they are determining what we see and what we watch, who gets hired, who does the reporting, how it's reported, what's left out, what's included. No, of course, Roland. And I, like everyone else who tunes in to Roland Martin Unfiltered, have been following your in-depth coverage of this story over the last couple of days. And we know one place where that isn't true, and that's your broadcast studio. And I think therein lies the next phase of the war. The first phase of the war against white

supremacy as it relates to media in this country, which you remind us of constantly, is really launched in a broad sense in 1827 with Freedom Journal, as you said. The origins of the black press, black radio. If Dr. King wanted to get a message out, he simply walked from the SNCC, the SCLC office in the same building complex on Auburn Avenue where the SNCC office was and went to the broadcast of the black radio station and broadcast. As you said, with the assassination of Dr. King and what happened in Newark and Detroit and the long, hot summers of the late 60s, these white broadcast media outlets, as you said, looked to integrate in part as an act of self-preservation. They wanted to know what was going on.

They needed some white-facing black correspondents, and they couldn't send their people in. They had fear that they couldn't. But we're in a different phase now. Over the last 20 years, 20 years ago, there was no YouTube. There was no social media. There was Rush Limbaugh raising the hillbilly hoard to what we see today. But over the last decade, there's been a splintering now. And so what these, what some people might call legacy media platforms face is an encroachment that might lead them ultimately to irrelevance. And so the fact that you can have a long-form interview tonight on Roland Martin Unfiltered to talk about this is something that we should take note of, because in any plantation formation during enslavement, the Caribbean, Latin America, here in North America, there were maroons

who had escaped the plantations. It was the fear that the Africans who remained on the plantations might run off at some point and join some of these independent Negroes that sometimes mitigated their treatment on the plantations. And I'm saying that as someone who lived in Philadelphia for almost 20 years. I remember when Yuki Washington was doing sports and then slowly, then he moved him to the morning anchor and then they moved him to the evening. And so, you know, yes, the L.A. Times report is absolutely right. We used to call KYW white witness news.

Nobody paid any attention to that. We were listening to Johnny Sample and them over on WHAT, now WURD, the radio, this kind of thing. But when we saw a black person, you realize that whoever you see, your friend Brooke Thomas, of course, who for a time was in Philadelphia, the young sister Rahel Solomon, with this white boy said, I don't like her face. You're a damn racist. We know you're a damn racist. But let's be clear. You love money more than anything. And we will start tuning you out. And what happened in Philadelphia, what has happened all over this country in New York, that this is nothing new to us. But I think finally what we have to really begin to grapple with, and this is the uncharted territory, what we really have to grapple with now is what is going to be the relationship of new independent black media like Roland Martin Unfiltered and platforms like this to the legacy,

the dying legacy media that still retains enormous power, but whose power is now going to have to be renegotiated. If they don't get rid of these white boys, we'll just turn you off. We have options. The thing here, Erica, that I don't think people really understand, they don't really understand that media is the last bastion. And when I say that, I know somebody might say, well you know, we elected a black president. We're black governors. You had Doug Wilder in Virginia, you had Deval Patrick in Massachusetts. But this is what I have been saying ever since I decided at 14 to go into media.

And I learned this as being a student of this business. Whenever there's a coup anywhere in the world, the first thing they get control of are the guns. That's the military. The second thing they can control of is media. If people want to understand the power of media, abolitionist John Brown Brown was more effective at launching what became the Civil War after he was arrested due to his writings in newspapers. Some of y'all watching and listening need to listen to what I am saying. Richard Nixon was brought down not by a congressional hearing, but by the reporting of the Washington Post. The Vietnam War was exposed not because of a congressional hearing, but because of the Pentagon Papers in the New York Times,

in the Washington Post that then spread to other papers across the country. If you want to understand how Jim Crow was brought to its knees, it wasn't just Thurgood Marshall in the courts. It was also because of Robert Abbott and the Chicago Defender, because of their their coverage to the point where the federal government wanted to arrest black publishers for treason, for daring to write about racism doing World War Two because they had the double the double V, victory at home and victory abroad. I'm painting this picture, Erica, for our audience to understand that I need our people

to stop reinforcing white supremacy by saying, man, I sure wish Roland's show was on a cable network. What y'all don't get is there is no black cable host on television or on broadcast television who has the freedom that I do because I own and control the show. They don't. Absolutely, Roland. I'm so glad, as is really the nature of the show, that you did lay out that important foundation because, you know, history does repeat itself. And so if there's not an embracing and understanding of that, then we'll continue to see the outcomes that we see where there's shock, there's surprise, there's awe when this is really history, right? When I think about media, particularly mainstream media, and how it is very much so informative and does lift platforms, What comes to mind is just the person who is no longer in office thinking about how he was able to gain another level of recognition through Twitter.

Right. The birther campaign that he led back in the mid 2000s and then will be spring forward to 2015. You then had another wholesale media campaign that was launched then, and then media was more than happy to have him call in to cable news shows and spit venom and fear and bullying right from his phone into the American people's ears, into their eyes for all to see. And so here we are yet again. I think that this also makes me think about, you mentioned microaggressions. And I was thinking about in that piece reading around the Facebook post rather that Don Champion put out where he talked about his agent said to him, very plain language that listen, you know, going to the CBS network that listen, there are things about you that he's not going to like,

talking about David Friend, that you're gay, you're black, and you're a man. He doesn't like any of those things. And even having understood all of that, because it was a freelancer, a journalist, somebody who wanted to continue in this field, he took on all of that and just really tried to comport himself in a way where he would either kind of not be the target of the bully or he would be able to work around to get a contract to work. And it just really made me think, made me think about this is the way that black folks navigate. Right. Bullying, toxicity, racism, white supremacy, all of these different things in the name of either fulfilling the dream or just really trying to make sure that they're making ends meet. And so in the hour where we're talking about all of

the different reckonings that are happening in this country, specifically COVID exacerbating all of those things to a degree, that there's also something that has to be talked about, not just in media, but in the way that these bullying, microaggressions, and targeting campaigns really do for communities that are already not well taken care of, how it continues to manifest. And this is really a time that we can really take our voices back, take our power back, though it doesn't seem like we have that much we do within our own individuality and what we choose to watch. So if I choose to buy all of smart televisions and I'm able to pull up Roland Martin Unfiltered, then what I've essentially said is that I don't have a need for all of those other things.

I'm tailoring what I watch, what I do to what feeds me, what definitely supports me. So to me, this kind of goes back into this deeper moment of reckonings that we've been seeing over the past two years. how so many of our people don't realize how so easily we fall for the okey-doke of trying and seeking and desiring white validation. See, when

somebody says, yeah, man, and I get it. I've had people say, this is what people have said. I really wish you were on a bigger platform. And I get that. I totally get it. I know the impact that I had. On President Obama winning in 2008.

I know. I know. I know the impact I had on people who watched, who ordinarily did not watch politics. They have come up to me. People have said, I ran for office because I watched you. I now am an activist because of you. I get all of that. But I then need people to go deeper by saying, OK.

So how is that platform built? Who created it? Who founded it? Where the resources come from? How are they able to get the capital to actually build it? How are they able to grow? The reason I had the advertising, the conversation on yesterday with Ben Chavis, is because that's actually how the institutions are built.

What people don't realize is that in the cable business, in the cable business, you normally go to the cable companies and you negotiate with the cable companies for a subscription fee, five cents, 10 cents. ESPN had the highest where at one point they were getting damn near $7 because you had to carry all of these different networks. But here's what people didn't realize. When Rupert Murdoch launched Fox News, Rupert Murdoch wanted immediate mass distribution. So you know what he did? He paid the cable companies. He had enough money to say, okay, you know what? I'm not going to wait 10 years to go front to get to 100 million subscribers.

I'm going to pay y'all. Roger Ailes builds it up. And then when they hit critical mass, they flipped it. Now y'all got to pay us. And they did. We don't have that position so when people say i really wish you could be on a bigger platform my response is this can be bigger my response is this can be larger. What would happen if all of a sudden I'm able to get $50 million a year in advertising from market, from agencies, and then from the federal government? That means I can then put up billboards. I can then run commercials.

I can then do mass marketing. And so we probably would go from 260 million views like we did last year to 500 to 750 to a billion views. I'm going to give you this one here, Recy. PragerU. PragerU got $7 million to launch from two white Republican billionaires in Texas. They raised $22 million their first year. They raised $22 million their first year. They raised $25 million their second year. They had $47 million in a two-year period.

The New York Times has a big story on them, how they hit a billion views. When you get $47 million, you can get to a billion views. And so our folks need to understand that we can build the exact same platforms as they can. But if we're frozen out of the money who mainstream will never call because that's somebody white who is saying, I don't really like her tone. I think I think she's too abrasive. I don't like Erica's glasses. You know what?

I can't put Dr. Carr on wearing a dashiki. I can't do those things. That's the kind of stuff that's actually said in newsrooms nationwide. Absolutely. And the ironic part is that Black people are the cultural trendsetters. We really push the envelope. We decide what's cool and what's not cool. And yet often we still take cues from that white validation. I mean, I hear it all the time too, Roland. Oh, you know, I love seeing you on Roland, but I wish you were on MSNBC. I wish you were on this. I wish you were on that. And I was like, I'm good where I'm at. You know what I'm saying? Because it's not all about being on some white network and being filtered, not being paid. Okay. For one, because most people on those shows of any race aren't even paid to be on there. And it's like,

why, why does it have to be, um, why does it have to be a status thing to be on a white network? I place more value on black media because that's really where you're getting the unfiltered truth, specifically Roland Martin Unfiltered. These other, as you call it, Black-targeted networks or media outlets that aren't Black-owned, but they have Black talent on the forefront. And Roland Martin Unfiltered was by far the biggest number of views for a Black audience. And so I think that Black people, we have to realize our buying power. We have to realize our viewing power. We have to realize that we are the validators. We have to realize that when we validate our own stuff, that's when it grows and that's when other people get behind it. And it doesn't, it shouldn't always be popular to get behind something that has white

capitalists behind it, you know, white investors. We could, we could build it ourselves and that's what you've done. And I think the proof is in the pudding in terms of the cultural impact and political impact that black media and specifically Roland Martin and filtered has. But we have to be the ones to believe in support financially and validate our own things. If we don't, then we're going to continue trying to beg for scraps, being the lowest ranked people in these positions, never acceding to higher CEOs or things like that, being filtered, being unpaid. And it's not moving the envelope forward. So we have the power to make the change and we need to be the ones to do it. One more thing I wanted to say though, too, is to black celebrities and to black, uh, you know, uh, tastemakers and things like that. You can validate these platforms as well. I see people all the time. Yay. Don

limit, Don limit got on there and I'm just no shade to Don lemon. Oh, Don lemon went off. Woo. Yes. Black man. Okay. But that's every day on rolling Modern Unfiltered, but y'all don't share Rolling Modern Unfiltered. And so, you guys have to realize, too, okay, start validating the Black stuff that keeps it real every single day, multiple times a day, instead of always rah-rah the people that have

a little bit of spice every now and again to go viral on CNN or MSNBC. And if you're promoting a product, I see a lot of people when they're on their media tours and I look at the views they're getting on other channels or interviews, and it ain't nothing compared to what they're getting from Roland Martin and Filter. So if you want to, it's in your own best interest to help promote something that is actually going to promote you, that's going to give you 10 minutes, 15 minutes,

uninterrupted speaking time to promote your causes. That's just common sense. The thing here, and let me be real clear, I want black journalists everywhere. I want us on all platforms. I want us to absolutely be able to go do a job, not deal with bigotry, not deal with racism, not deal with all of these slights and things along those lines. But I also want our people to understand how those institutions have been

constructed. CBS didn't just overnight become CBS. CBS is now Viacom CBS. CBS was started before Bill Paley bought it, and then Bill Paley took it over. Then all of a sudden, then grew that thing went from radio to television, and they began to add other assets. Sumner Redstone then comes in with National Amusements, takes over Viacom, then gets CBS. I mean, that's how these conglomerates were actually built, how they were constructed. What I need our people to understand is racism also led to that in that they had access to capital, they had access to bankers, access to money, access to advertising. And while you had black folks who were over here trying to build the very same things,

they had none of that access. And so if you look at again and what I'm trying to get people to understand why it's important to listen to what Greg said. Freedom's Journal, March 16th, 1827, wrote, We wish to plead our own cause too long. Have others spoken for us, you don't have Emmett Till's photo on the front of Jet and the Chicago defender and the tri-state defender unless they are black owned. That's why I took offense when Doris Kearns Goodwin had the audacity on Meet the Press to give the New York Times praise for putting his picture on the front page. And I was like, boo, they came after the fact. And so too many of our people and I'm saying this specifically, I'm not talking about any particular black journalist.

I'm speaking of our audience, Greg, of our people, which includes all black people. There are too many black people whose lives are being dictated by white validation. It's Joe Scarborough. Joe Scarborough regularly wears zipups on the air. There is no way in hell a black anchor could easily just wear zip-ups on air and not have a consultant say, I'm sorry, that look is not quite professional. But whiteness allows for him to be able to do that. And what we then do is foster that same viewpoint. So I know a lot of y'all out there.

I've heard y'all. And yes, I have 120 suits at home. That's winter suits. I have another 60 summer suits. But the reason y'all have rarely seen me put a suit on this show because I'm doing it for

a reason. Because I want you to understand it ain't about this. It's about this. That's right. Roland, you know, and whether it be Recy or Erica, myself, Julianne Malveaux, Scott, any of the people we see, Monique, anybody who is regularly with you in this journey, we've all made very deliberate decisions. I remember when MSNBC came to the campus of Howard University to do one of their forums on race. And they didn't have anyone from Howard involved in the conversation that was on stage.

So they came to Howard, but had nobody from Howard. Well, they wanted to rent the Howard brand, the HBCU brand. And they've done it before. They'll do it again. And, you know, the sad part about it is that many of our Negro institutions are pleased to just be invited into the conversations. They have no problem with that. Well, near the end, one of the producers gave me a microphone. They had asked me to be on call in case they wanted a Howard voice in. And within the space of about five minutes, I went after everybody, beginning with Brian Williams, and

tried to correct the record. Almost Roland Martin style. You know how you do, brother. You would have done a lot more job. You mean, I was like, you went off the way being you first met at 12 Years a Slave? My child. Oh my gosh. Shanice Thompson,

who's on the faculty of Bowie State University. That child, it started with, you were talking about, you said, you're a free black man. I've now since recognized that you are. And she said, how can you be free with the prison industrial complex? I said, that's absurd. You're absurd. We started beefing. I didn't know you had Twitter fingers like that.

You came for me. The whole Howard crew came for you. The next thing you know, we rolling. And I, y'all, I'm telling y'all, all of the Howard people, man, you ain't gonna debate Dr. Carr. I said, bring your ass. Bring your ass, come on. I said, I ain't scared of no damn

Dr. Carr. No question. No question. See, this is important right here. Why? Because you couldn't do that to Brian Williams. They just gonna disappear you. You can't do that to Chris Cuomo They're just going to disappear you. You can't do that to Chris Cuomo, who he likes to put his best black act on,

coming after Don Lemon, because them cats is insecure with it. So, but what happened, I'm bringing the MSNBC example up because what happened in the wake of that, I got a call. Folks are saying, oh, you know, we might be interested in having you.

But I realized what happened, and you helped me years later understand what would happen after that. I got the same—I was brought up in the same way Gerald Horne is brought up. I was brought up the same way Malcolm Nance was probably brought up until he came through here, which is, oh, no, that's too black. And if you ever noticed that, well, and Recy, you brought up this point as well. See, I remember when Don Lemon was on NBC affiliate in Philadelphia. And now this story, listening to Don Champion, is making me think about when Don Lemon was on early mornings in Philadelphia. And as I said, we had WHAT. And when I would leave to go to the Amtrak station to take the train to work at Howard, which I did for 10 years in Philadelphia, the first thing I would hear on the radio when I would turn on was our friend and brother Jeremiah Wright.

Because Cody Anderson, the owner of WHAT, played Jeremiah Wright every morning because Jeremiah Wright's father, Jeremiah Wright Sr., was the pastor of Grace Church in Germantown. This is the power of black media. But I'm bringing all that up. And then I would turn that off, turn on the TV, and there's Don Lemon, the local affiliate. He left Philadelphia soon thereafter. It was in the wake of some scandalous stuff. There was a Sister Sharon Reed. There was a black woman who was a local reporter who was out in the field.

It was all kind of emails. They drummed all of those black reporters out of the city. And that ain't even a CBS affiliate. It was NBC. Shortly thereafter, Don Lemon shows up in Atlanta at CNN. So I'm saying all that as background to say this. The decisions that we make have to be more mature decisions. Because it doesn't matter. you know, everybody black on all of those networks, on all of those cable shows. I know a lot of those folks, particularly the academics, many of whom are my friends. I know the conversations they have when they're not on the air

because they have them with all of us. And then I know the conversations they have on the air and I'm watching them live in those straightitjackets. I'm watching them pray for something to erupt. Remember when Don Lemon was the biggest punchline in Black communities for his anti-Black stances? I was in Baltimore in front of, in the yard in front of the Baltimore City

Hall when the Freddie Gray thing went down and Don Lemon came to do the local spot. And let me tell you, I was there. Them Baltimore Negroes was like, yeah, you better get him a police escort in this city. And Don Lemon had to literally be protected from them. And it was the same Negroes who watch Roland Martin unfiltered.

Everybody who watches, who I see, I went out twice this week. I had to go out Sunday morning. I'm in the bookstore, San Cobo bookstore, and there was a sister there named Racine from Seattle, Washington. She said, tell Roland Martin I watch him all the time. The next morning, I had a call on something.

We're working on a curriculum project. Three continents were involved, Africa, Europe, and here. The sister who was on from Africa, who's Nigerian, lives in London. She said, tell Roland Martin I don't miss any of the shows. Let me tell y'all something, white media, and all the black folks on there who really want a little bass in their voice, but did you hear

Don Champion? The straight jacket you have to live in? The strength you have to live under? The fear, the harness on your life, on your life force? You better come on over here to the free Africans because I'm going to tell you right now, life is too short to eat your entire soul and then have to wait to the end of your life to publish the memoir. of American history like Doris Goodwin or sit up in front of Chuck Todd and watch him like Joe Scarborough choke his deep insignificance and

insecurities through that little vocal cord over those vocal cords and tell me Joe Scarborough would be a joke. He wouldn't last 20 minutes on this show. See, I need folks watching just to understand.

What Dawn talked about, I know what I experienced. I sold that peep when she put it on Twitter. When an executive at CNN said, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, he ain't the right kind of black. A black executive, a black executive said, yeah, Don Lemon is a good black. Rowland is a bad black. See, y'all need to understand. And see, I love these people who say, oh, you ain't say nothing when you were there. Yes, I did.

You just weren't paying attention. See, y'all got to understand. I kept all of my info. I kept the numbers. I know how I performed. I know when I filled in for Campbell Brown at CNN, a white executive producer was so pissed that I dared have an opinion on what the show lineup was.

She said, I can't tolerate this. And they went ahead and moved her over to Anderson Cooper's show. Yeah, Claire, I remember. Claire, I remember. Claire, I remember. I remember all contributors at CNN, she was a line producer. Well, why should we do this? Shouldn't we just, you know, do this a tape deal? I'm like, no, I can handle it live. And then Sam, Sam Fine and David Doss were like, well, and let me show you what happened. We were discussing how we were going to do it. And this was me thinking, and I was sitting there and what happens is when I'm visualizing something, I usually cross my, and I'm thinking

they called me into the office. Sam Fine and David Doss did and said, oh, you know, that was that was that was intimidating. And I went, oh, hell no. We are not about to have a black man thinking conversation. See, y'all don't y'all y'all. Look, I need y'all to understand Y'all don't know Y'all don't understand How many times The executives at CNN Called my agent and said You know

They had a phone line, y'all And so All of the shows, the Anderson Cooper show People were calling To the line and they would take down all of the stuff people said and they would then send an email to the executive producer and the producers

so you could hear what the feedback was. It was always, he's so angry. The executives would literally call my agent, Mark Watson, say, Mark, can you get him to smile more? Can you get him to smile more? So finally I said, if I smile any damn wider, my ass going to be doing a minstrel show dance. So while the white folks were calling in at CNN,

telling me I need to smile more, guess who was getting killer ratings over here with white anger? Bill O'Reilly. Sean Hannity. So it was handcuff rolling. But look, I remember I got chastised by David Doss because I got into a debate with Jeffrey Toobin. We were discussing Rob Lagojevich. Toobin, he has to resign. I sit on the air. Actually, Jeff, he doesn't.

There is no statute in the Illinois Constitution that says if he is indicted, he has to resign. And so I went back and forth with him. I was literally called in that, that, that wasn't, that, that, that wasn't, that, that wasn't, that wasn't. I said, well, I'm sorry. I said, so because he's a senior legal analyst, I can't check his ass when his legal analyst is wrong. I need y'all to understand. Me and Mary Matlin had this really back and forth debate. Me and Mary Matlin used to do a segment together. I knew I was jacking with Mary. Y'all, television is also entertainment, okay? So yes, was I prodding Mary? Wasn't I making fun of Mary? Yes. But it's called television. It's also you have to be engaging. Y'all, I'm telling y'all straight up. I'm a contributor.

Stephanie Katubi, white female booker at CNN, comes to me by the elevator and reams me out, chastises me. Now, y'all, I can't do what I would have wanted to do I'm like now y'all know that cameras around here now if I cuss this white woman out is about to be a straight problem So I then went to that green room and I sent a blistering email to the head of the to the Washington Bureau Chief Sam Feist Said I was grossly offended by this woman talking to me like I was some damn child. She telling me how she like to say, y'all she wasn't executive producer or the host. She wasn't a producer. Her ass

was a booker. Now I ain't dissing bookers, but on the scale of the hierarchy host, producer, booker. Who you think you talking to? Going off on me. Why am I saying all of this? Because I need y'all to understand that the hell that black folks go through in these in these companies,

they are real because white priorities are driving the conversation. And I know some folk, they got mad when i did mark lamont hill huffington show and he asked me why did i never get a show on cnn and i told him because there were white execs who did not want there to be an opinionated black show host that actually happened and what did they do and then man all these people went make blew me up got mad at me even had some black folks tell me my comments were ghetto. You didn't do the right thing. Really?

And the same black folks who told me that, they got their ass laid off the next year. But the thing is, and I'm laying y'all. But see, what I'm also trying to get our people to understand is when you are black and you get in one of those positions, you also have to be willing to challenge status quo. That's right. I'm going to end it with this. And then the final round of comments from y'all. And I've said

this every now and then, but I'm just going to go ahead and say it. And y'all feel free. I just want y'all, because I ain't got no problem saying it because it happened. I've never been on Joanne Reed's show. I've never been invited. Not her first weekend show. Not her first daily show.

Not her second weekend show. Not her current show. Reverend Al Sharpton. I've never been invited to his show. In 10 years. One of his top bookers. I encourage that person to leave CNN to go work for Sharpton's show. I've never been invited. Melissa Harris-Pair, when she had her show there, I was never invited.

Karen Finney, who I put on my TV One show regularly, who I put on my inauguration coverage, who I put on my MLK special cover 10 years ago, when she got her show, I was never invited. Never. Not invited, not turned it down. No invitation has ever been extended. But Alex Witt is called. Allie Vell, she is called.

David Gurr were called. So what I'm also saying is, when you are a black executive in mainstream media, when you're a black head of talent, when you're a black executive producer, when you're a black EVP, SVP, when you're a VP in positions, your job, when you're a black host, your job is not to freeze out other black folks like the white folks did.

Your job is to break the walls down, not to build more of them up. Because here's what I know. Tiffany Cross first got her shot as a political commentator on my show. You know why? Because Jamal Simmons said, hey, man, she's a partner with us. She has this newsletter. Get on. No problem. Angela Rye. First time. Laura, you have Laura Coates. Ask where she first hosted a show before she filled in at CNN or Sirius XM radio. My show. Paul Butler, commentator, Washington Watch, before he was a legal analyst on MSNBC. David Swerdlett before CNN, my show. Paris Denard before CNN, my show.

Gianna Caldwell before Fox News, my show. Tremichael Singleton before CNN, MSNBC, my show. Y'all want me to continue? That's what it means. that's what it means. That's what it means when you use the opportunity that you have. And I go ahead and I'll say this here. I don't last one. I have the video of a couple of pilots that I did at CNN. Rachel Maddow was on those pilots. I've never done her show, but she was on my pilots. I want y'all to understand,

when you have the opportunity to break the walls down, y'all really know really what I want to say. All I'm saying, let me just go ahead and say it. Okay? So everybody out there, please cover the ears up. No, I'm not going to say what I really want. I'm just going to use a phrase. I'm going to use a phrase that I will use what I want to say. I will go Sam Jackson, Jennifer Lewis on y'all, but I'm not going to do that.

I'm going to do what Bum Phillips did when all is lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers. If you and that is he said next year, he's going to kick the son of a bitch in. If y'all are black in mainstream media. Like George Cheeks is right now at CBS, like Marva Smalls is at CBS, like Rashida Jones is now the president of MSNBC beginning February 1st, like my boy Galen Gordon is the vice president of talent at ABC, Kim Godwin, you're the number two over at CBS, to all the other black people who are heads of diversity in all these positions, your job is to kick the son of a bitch doors down and blow the hinges off those doors and let it be known to every white executive. What Reggie Hammond said. There's a new sheriff in town.

That is the only way you will ever change mainstream media. Going to break. We'll be right back on Roland Martin Unfiltered. For black Americans, because of slavery, because of the the complete destroying of a past, there really is no direct connection to various African countries. But the reality is for Latinos, and even if you use that phrase, first of all I'm from Texas, so in Texas Hispanics is used. Other parts of the reality is for Latinos, and even if you use that phrase, first of all, I'm from Texas. So in Texas, Hispanics is used. Other parts of the country, they say, no, call me Latino. Other folks, Chicago, call me Chicano. And so you also sort of have that going on. There's a connection with country as well. And so if you're from Mexico, if you're from

Columbia, if you're from any other thing the country it's yeah I'm here but I'm also yeah from there as opposed to no no this is my country this is I mean I'm involved everything here I think that's also something that's also at play it is at play and it's unfortunate because it happens even even when we're not talking about politics i think that latino is the word but we're very it's very divided because we have we all have this allegiance to this other place that we came from but i believe that that's that's not helping us that's not unifying the country we need to come together and understand that this is where you're raising

your kids this is where you are this is where you're paying taxes this is where you're raising your kids. This is where you are. This is where you're paying taxes. This is where you're living. This is your country. This is where this is where it matters. Carl Payne pretended to be Roland Martin. Hi, I'm Chaley Rose, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. All right, folks, today on Capitol Hill, there was a confirmation hearing for Congresswoman Marsha Fudge. She's been named by President Joe Biden to be his HUD secretary. Here is some of what she had to say today. Mr. Chairman, if I may, Mr. Chairman, may I introduce my family that is with me today? Absolutely, you may.

Thank you. You've heard much about my mother today, but I'm going to have her wave at you if they can see. And this is the rest of all of my family, my aunts, my stepfather, all of my cousins and dear friends. So I just wanted you to be aware that we are all here together. I'm very, very close to my family and I'm pleased that they could be with me today. And to my senators, thank you for your kind words and certainly for your friendship. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Ranking Member, I thank President Biden for nominating me to serve as the 18th Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and will do everything possible to ensure that every American has a roof over their head.

The housing issues our nation faces are real, varied, and touch all of us. I'm a strong believer in the department's programs and its mission, especially with regard to serving those who face the greatest need. Senators, I have dedicated my entire life to public service and to working to help low-income families, seniors, and communities. I believe I am up to the challenge that is before me. As mayor of Warrensville Heights, Ohio, I saw firsthand the need for economic development and affordable housing. We improved the city's tax base and expanded affordable housing opportunities.

As a member of Congress, I tackled the unique challenges of my district, working with my delegation and across the aisle. Our housing issues do not fit into a cookie-cutter mold, and I know that the same is true in each of your states. We need policies and programs that can adapt to meet your unique housing challenges, and I would very much like to work with each of you to find the right answers for your states. It bears mentioning, particularly in this moment of crisis, that HUD, perhaps more than any other department, exists to serve the most vulnerable people in America. That mandate matters a great deal to me. It is consistent with my own values, and it is precisely what has always motivated me to service. It is estimated that on any given night in 2019, more than 500,000 people experienced

homelessness in America. That's a devastating statistic, even before you consider the reality of what COVID-19 has done to exacerbate this crisis. According to one study, 21 million Americans currently pay more than 30 percent of their income on housing because of lost income and unemployment due to COVID-19. One in five renters and one in 10 homeowners with a mortgage are behind in their housing payments. Native housing is also in crisis, with far too many families living in substandard and overcrowded housing conditions on reservations. Although Congress provided $25 billion in rental assistance and the CDC extended the eviction moratorium, this is not enough at a time when tens of millions of Americans

are behind on rent. Almost 3 million homeowners are currently in forbearance and another 800,000 borrowers are delinquent. Much like COVID-19, the housing crisis isn't isolated by geography. It is the daily reality for tens of millions of our fellow Americans, people in blue states and red states, in cities and small towns. My first priority as Secretary would be to alleviate that crisis and get people the support they need to come back from the edge. We need to expand resources for HUD's programs to people who are eligible.

Today, according to a 2017 study, only one out of five eligible households receive housing assistance. We need to deliver on the administration's commitments on improving the quality, safety, and accessibility of affordable housing and building 1.5 million new affordable homes. We need to make the dream of home ownership a reality and the security and wealth creation that comes with it. It needs to be a reality and the security and wealth creation that comes with it. It needs to be a reality for all Americans. That will require us to end discriminatory practices in the housing market and ensure that our fair housing rules are doing what they are intended to do, opening the door for families, especially families of color who have been systematically kept out in the cold across generations to buy homes and

punch their ticket to the middle class. There are so many issues we need to come together to address, everything from bringing capital back to disinvested communities, to increasing energy efficiency in housing, to dealing with the dangers of lead-based paint, to taking on our crisis of homelessness with compassion and resolve. These are only some of the challenges, and I know that many of you have additional priorities as well. These problems are urgent, but they are not beyond our capacity to solve. The only way we will meet them is by working together. And to that end, I pledge this. If I have the honor of being confirmed, I will be accessible to you, I will

listen to you, and I will be a partner to you to solve the housing challenges our constituents are facing back home. I expect you to hold me accountable. I welcome the accountability, and I will always strive to be a transparent and good faith partner as we work together to do the vitally important work we're all here to do, helping families in need. I thank you and I yield back. There were times that things got a little heated today, Recy, in that hearing, but Fudge, she handled it. Recy? Oh, I thought you were going to show a clip.

No, we just showed a five-minute clip. Oh, okay. No, Marsha Fudge is about the life. I'm a huge, huge, huge Congresswoman, Marsha Fudge fan. I think that her credentials are unimpeachable in this. And she laid it all out. I mean, there are a lot of challenges that we have to cover. I'm happy to see a Black woman specifically in this position because we have issues of racial inequities and disparities that need to be tackled.

Black home ownership is one area in which we could close the wealth gap. We have, as she mentioned, people who are on the verge of losing their homes or even their rental apartments and being evicted. And we have a huge homelessness problem. And so I truly believe that she will be very serious and steadfast in addressing all those issues. So I think that President-elect Joe, actually not elected anymore, President Joe Biden made the right choice. And I mean, nobody can argue that she is a exponential step Let me do this here. Some sad news. Variety is reporting that Cicely Tyson has died.

The actress Cicely Tyson, 96 years old, an absolutely brilliant and remarkable career, has passed away at the age of 96. She died this Thursday afternoon. This is a statement that was read by her manager. I don't have it up. I'm literally on. Just give me a second. I got a text message just moments ago that variety has the story here just so just give me a second so I can pull this up of course she recently celebrated her birthday she was praised by a variety of folks the likes of Tyler Perry and so many others. For folks in the control room, do me a favor. If you can, please reach out to Susan Taylor also while y'all are in the control

room. Normally, folks, we do this off, but literally it's just happened. If y'all do me a favor, please pull up the speech that she gave last year at the National Cares Mentoring Gala that took place. This is the story right here from Variety. Cicely Tyson, pioneering Hollywood icon, dies at 96. It says here by her manager, I have managed Ms. Tyson's career for over 40 years, and each year was a privilege and blessing. This is Larry Thompson. Cicely thought of her new memoir as a Christmas tree decorated with all the ornaments of her personal and professional life. Today she placed the last ornament,

a star, on top of the tree. Of course, so many memorable roles. A whole new generation of people got an opportunity to see her gift by her performing in a number of Tyler Perry movies, in addition to being in How to Get Away with Murder with Viola Davis as well.

She was just in Ava DuVernay's Cherish Today show. And she had a starring role in that. She was spectacular in that. From a historical standpoint, Greg Carr, just break down just how critical of an actress Cicely Tyson was to so many of adoring audience and fans. Well, Roland, you know, first of all, we have a powerful new ancestor and we wish her a safe journey as she enters eternity. Cicely Tyson, although we think of her in the context of the United States, we know her people came from Nevis in the Caribbean. And you can hear that in the lilt in her voice.

Prior to Cicely Tyson emerging, if memory serves me correctly, she first emerges in terms of a public as a model. Like Ebony magazine, thinking about that Bass Johnson empire, including Eunice Johnson. But Cicely Tyson was a trained actress, stage actress. She's part of that generation who began on the stage, the Sidney Poitiers and the many actors, the William Marshals. Remember Blackula?

Scream Blackula, scream. These are stage actors who brought their presence into film and television prior to Cicely Tyson, just immediately prior to Cicely Tyson. You see, you know, think of Michelle Nichols, who still walks the earth. Lieutenant Lujura from Star Trek. Of course, the great Diane Carroll with Julia, you know, breaking through in a role in network television. But Cicely Tyson, a generation came of age, Cicely Tyson. Right. Young people now think of her in terms of, as you say, received Ava DuVernay as certainly Tyler Perry. But I would refer them

young people who may not be familiar with a movie called Sounder. And after that, one called The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. And for those people who enjoyed Cynthia Erivo's rendition of Harriet Tubman, I would encourage you to go back and watch Cicely Tyson in the six hour mini series, A Woman Called Moses, where she played Harriet Tubman. Yes.

And then in 1977, Cicely Tyson with Maya Angelou, there in the village as Kunta Kinte is born in the TV miniseries Roots. There was a generation that came of age with Cicely Tyson in the 1960s and 70s. And Cicely Tyson became the face that framed what dignity, what passion, what intellect, what power looked like, not only for Black women, but Black women in community with Black community. She represented that commitment to Black community, and she was the standard. So by the time you get to the 80s and 90s,

when Cicely Tyson continues to move forward in another series, remember her alongside Larry Fishburne in Hoodlum. Remember her? Now there's another generation of Black women who have come in the wake of Cicely Tyson, the Yale-trained Angela Bassett. I think about

the young sisters who would then trail Cicely Tyson around and say, I want to be a little bit like you, Ms. Tyson. What's our sister's name who was in John Q with Denzel Washington and Pride.

Kimberly Ellison. Kimberly Ellison. Oh, Kimberly Ellison. Kimberly, I mean, you see them literally, and I'm talking about literally at award shows, just like trailing behind

Cicely Tyson in the sense that I want to model that. So I'll end with this. This woman worked literally until she made transition to the other side. I'm just beginning to read her.

She was on a book tour. And if you want to see what black excellence looks like, young people, you look in the face of that sister right there. Because that's a hell of a run. You got to put her next to Paul Robeson. You got to put her next to all the great stage and screen actresses because she was a culture worker. She just happened to do that in the form of acting.

When you say she was literally up until the last stand, this is a piece that aired just two days ago on CBS This Morning. The autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. I watched it again over the weekend. And now in a new memoir, out today it's called called Look at This Cover, Guys, Just As I Am. I love this picture of her. The 96-year-old Tyson is opening up about her very impressive career and her personal life. So we met her in Harlem at the Abyssinian Baptist Church. That was her home church before the pandemic. And she talks to us about her legendary career, her love life, It's a Doozy, and her process behind choosing roles.

Whenever I'm offered a script, what I'm interested in when I get it is why me. Who was that character and why did they want me to play it? And when I get to the point where I feel like her skin has fitted my arm or my mind, then I know there's something about her. This little girl, what were your dreams? I was a very shy child. If you got 15 minutes of words out of me, you got plenty. You know, I was a very shy child. If you got 15 minutes of words out of me, you got plenty. You know, I was a thinker. I sucked his finger until I was 12 years old.

That's why I have these buck teeth. Born in 1924 to West Indian parents, Cicely Tyson recounts her extraordinary life in her new memoir, Just As I Am. I am an observer of human nature. Tyson recounts her extraordinary life in her new memoir, Just As I Am. I am an observer of human nature and the dreamer of audacious dreams. The journey to stardom was not an easy one for Tyson, who became pregnant when she was 17 and had a short marriage that lasted just over two years. Tyson began her acting career as a single mother, a choice that brought conflict at home. Were you surprised, Cicely, that your mother actually kicked you out of the house because

you wanted to be an actress? Yes. Oh, she told me I couldn't live there and do that. Suddenly, I found something that I love to do, and I had a child to support. So you weren't thinking, when I grow up, I want to be an actress? No. My mother, I don't know what she wanted me to be. She thought that I was going to live in a den of iniquity because we grew up in the slums, okay? Lots of prostitutes walking up and down the street, and that's all she knew about movies. Her mother eventually came around, and their connection is a strong one to this day,

especially in this church. And I feel that her spirit is here. And so I brought this pew in her name. So this was a way to honor her. That's it. Fred Smith here told us that... Folks, again, if you could go to YouTube you can actually watch that um Erica just your thoughts on the legendary Cicely Tyson passing away today at the age of 96

wow um you know what a gift for us to be able to have been in the earth at the same time as a Cicely Tyson. I came into the earth in 1977, and that's when you mentioned Roots. And so what struck me about Roots, I watched it as a young child and of course watched it over and over throughout the years, is that when I saw her, I was struck and drawn to her, namely because she looked like me. So here's the point. You know, I'm looking at my mom. My mom's a beautiful woman. I'm looking at a woman who doesn't know me.

I'm not related to. And she is absolutely stunning. And she takes that role and she brings you into it. And I was so connected. It was like, I was watching Ruth over and over again, back in the days of VCR, uh, like it was a television show, but just rewatching and rewatching, but simply captivated by this stunning woman who has, who has such poise, uh, such ownership of the role. And then later read the, read the autobiography of Ms. Jane Pittman and, later read the read the autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman

and thankfully had the opportunity during the power rising summit that was held in February of 2018 was able to sit front row as Nicole Ari Parker interviewed her and you could have heard a pin drop when Queen Mother as many of us to her, entered the space and was seated on that stage. We all hung at every breath and every word that our now, as Dr. Carr said, now ancestor Cicely Tyson spoke. And what also struck me about just listening to her through my gaze, I was also thinking about, as you pointed out, Roland, just a few moments ago, that she was still working. And from that state, she talked about projects coming forward. You know, this is a woman that is in her 90s, and she's still yet

talking about the future, talking about the impact around school development and making sure that there was wisdom imparted into the up and coming generations. And it blew me back. And I said, well, my God, you know, this is why I wrestle with that world, that word retirement, because you don't take yourself out of life voluntarily. So that we have now in 2021, an ancestor gone on before us. I think that this really threads the needle between what you were talking about earlier, Roland, that's ownership of your work, understanding the value of you, understanding the value of your people, of your community, if that we could all make a personal decision, that that validation is not needed because we have people in our community, people that have been in industry

and have authority and have credentials in this industry that have lived a life that is worth reading about and that is worth saying, this is the blueprint. Let me find my way through this. And I love that Cicely Tyson was Cicely Tyson from the day that she entered into the day that she's departed on the day. And definitely my heart, my condolences and thoughts and definitely prayers to the family and friends, those who knew and loved our now late Cicely Tyson. Again, for the folks out there who are just tuning in to us, actress Cicely Tyson died this afternoon at the age of 36. The announcement was made by her longtime manager.

To my other guests that we had on the show, I apologize. We're scrapping all other news. I'm looking at some of these other news outlets that are on right now. They're still talking about Republicans in the Capitol. Well, no, we're covering the death of Cicely Tyson. Folks, in 20 minutes, Susan Taylor

with National Cares Mentoring Project will be joining us. Cicely Tyson was a huge supporter of National Cares Mentoring Project. Again, she spoke there at the gala just last year, gave an unbelievable speech. And we're gonna play that in just a second for you. Recy, just your thoughts,

initial thoughts about Cicely Tyson. First of all, my condolences to her family. I can't do any justice in terms of articulating words about how iconic and regal and special and amazing she was up until the very end. I mean, she never lost a step. She had this gravitas. I mean, I'm just in awe. Even at Erica's description of being front row to her. I would have loved to have an opportunity to experience that.

But I just think she's the prototype. And, you know, I was just watching Hulam the other day and I loved her. And as I mentioned, Ava DuVernay's Cherish the Day. She played that role of the, you know, the the the elder, you know, Queen Mother. Thank you, Erica, for that role. But she's just she just has that it factor. And she's something that we can all aspire to in terms of that confidence and that authenticity. But yet she was also known to be very kind and, you know, very supportive and not one to just want to be the only one. Right. The magical one, the one that's the chosen one.

You know, she really did invest in community and the community of actresses, as Dr. Carr pointed out. And so it's such a huge loss. But one thing I can say I am grateful for is that she just released her memoir. She was working up into the very end. She got to tell her story on her terms. And in the past couple of years in particular, she was given many flowers from many people, you know, whether it's in terms of formal accolades or in terms of people, you know, that she's worked with that have sung her praises.

So I hope that, you know, she knew how much she was beloved and how much of an impact that she left. I believe hope that, you know, she knew how much she was beloved and how much of an impact that she left. I believe she does, or she did, but it's just such a monumental loss. But if, you know, even amongst the tragedy of it, it's really comforting to know that she went out with her story being told in her own words and with that regal head held high. And, you know, she just, she just, she just, she just, she's like I said, she's the prototype.

She's the blueprint. And it's just such a huge loss. Again, folks, if you want to understand why it's important to have Black-owned media in times like this, it's because we know what is important. But not only that, when Cicely Tyson was honored at National Cares Mentoring Gala, that was actually two years ago. Well, we were one of the folks who actually live streamed

that entire event. So the reason you're even able to see this is because we had this platform two years ago. This is the National Cares Mentoring Gala where they honored Cicely Tyson. And wait until y'all hear her speech. She was as feisty as ever. And then two years ago, she was 94.

Watch this. Paying tribute to a woman who takes my breath away. As a person whose career is in the public eye, I'm always aware that the spaces I have occupied were not guaranteed. They were fought for, demanded, and finally made inevitable because they were the there were those who did the hard work of pushing, opening doors, and with extraordinary grace she's done that and they've done that following her legacy not just prying and pushing but for the grace of God I am here because they this woman held the door open and there is no one

who pushed harder or had more elegance, no one who has opened the door wider than the legendary Cicely L. Tyson. I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of you.

I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of you. trained and nurtured at the Cicely L. Tyson School, the community school of performing and fine arts in East Orange, New Jersey, where Lady Tyson is the guiding light. The school is an oasis for the 700 primarily black and Latino middle and high school students who attend the school that was named one of the most technologically advanced schools ever built in the state of New Jersey. The school upholds Cicely Tyson standards. It exceeds professional performing arts standards and houses an 800-seat theater

built to the Broadway theater standards of lighting, sound, and acoustics. The classrooms at the Tyson School all feature smart boards, advanced integrated audio-visual systems, and multiple computer workstations. While we love Cecily Tyson for all she has given us and continues to give us, she and Viola Davis are magic together on how to get away with murder. We honor Ms. Tyson tonight because she has, for the whole of her life, embodied the wisdom of our ancients who understood that children, they are sacred. They are our gifts from God to be respected, revered, and elevated. This is what tonight is all about, a way of being and showing up in the world that Cicely Tyson exemplifies. Ladies and gentlemen, it's been a long night, but it has been worth the wait. Please stand without further ado, Ms. Cicely Tyson.

Thank you. and skips, then we'll go right back to that. Go ahead. Yes. As Ms. Tyson makes her way to the stage, I will tell you this brief story. Before I left my job, she came on to promote how to get away with murder. I said, oh my gosh, you smell so amazing. She reached in her purse and gave me this little tube of lotion. When I tell you I would kill you and the devil and anybody that looks like you for this lotion, it sits in my keepsake box of ancestors. And I look at it, I cherish it, and that speaks to just what she wants to give,

the smallest of things and the largest of things to us all. So, Ms. Cicely Tyson. Thank you. I think maybe you better hold that. I can't say anything to any of you, simply because I will just break down and cry like a baby. I am so proud of you, all Where is she? I know I gave her a hard time. I don't see you. There you are. I want to say thank you to every single one of you who are standing and ask you to please sit. I thank you because I know that if it were not for every single one of you in this house this evening, I would not be standing here.

It's important for me that you know that. I've been here for 93 years. I am very proud to say, and during the course of those years, I have been like my old friend Jane, which I will have her say a few words to you when I'm finished. I have to tell you how I got involved with these children. I received a call from my agent one evening and he said I got an extremely I consider very important call today from a woman who said she was the principal of a school in East Orange, New Jersey. And they have decided that they want the children of that particular school to have a role model that is alive, that they can associate with, that they can lean on when they want someone

to lean on to, and they cannot do it with their parents. And we have voted to have Cicely Tyson that model. Well, needless to say, I'm a person who says no the minute I'm asked to do anything. Because no gives me time to go home and think about it before I say yes. Well, this principal, whose name was Mrs. Trimmings at the time, refused to take no for an answer. She pursued me for one solid year. And she said, you know, you really ought to let them do that.

And I said, why? She said, my parents are from the island of Nevis. And yes, yes, you can do that. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. My mother would be very pleased. And she said, when my father came to America, she came to live, her father being my father's oldest brother. She said the house they live in is six blocks away from the school, and it is still standing. I took a deep breath,

and I realized that this was a mission that I had to fulfill, that I was selected to complete the cycle of Tysons that lived in New Jersey. I anxiously put a call in to Mrs. Trimmings and I asked if the offer was still valid. She said yes. I will do it, I said, with one exception, that you allow me to be personally involved with the students. She said, that's what we hoped you would say. And I want you to know that with all the acclaim and the praise and validation that I have gotten through the years of my involvement with these children, they cannot begin to understand what they have done for me. I remember the first time I was asked to come and speak, and I looked out over the audience into the faces of these young children, and what I saw there hooked me for the state of New Jersey be built from a middle school through a high

school. Last year, with our new principal, who is here this evening would you please stand where are you yes and we also have here musical director who I won't shame you. I will not. I will not. But anyway, she's also here, Miss Jean James. Yes, would you stand please? 2017, we had 104 graduating students. And they garnered over $6 million in scholarships. Alright, folks. Again, we're going to return back to that

in just a moment. In a few moments, we'll be talking with Susan Taylor, of course, who honored Cicely Tyson three years ago, her National Charism Mentoring Gala, which literally took place on Saturday. Also, we'll be talking with Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. in a second as well. We'll go back to my panel, Dr. Greg Carr, Erica Savage-W wilson reesey colbert um the the thing that um is um first of all i am so great that her book is out because greg with all your books behind you, when I interviewed Harry Belafonte a few years ago, Harry Belafonte lamented the fact that Marlon Brando never wrote a book. The reason Mr. B did his memoir, the reason they did the documentary, well, they shot some 800 hours of video. He said because the world needed to hear those memories of Marlon Brando and the insight that Marlon Brando would have brought to historical events.

And he said, unfortunately, they are buried with him. And the fact that her book was released just two days ago at the age of 96, we should be thankful for that. We should, because a person should be thankful for that. We should because a person should be able to give the testament of their life. The ancient Egyptians would call it a seba'it. When a person reaches an advanced age, an ancient Egyptian example of tawtep comes to mind. They say, may we be advised to make a staff of the future generation?

In other words, can we speak the truths we've experienced to the next generation? And she was able to do that. You know, Roland, as I was watching this and everyone watching, there's no excuse for everyone not to put some resources behind Roland Martin Unfiltered, because all you're going to see in white commercial news media and most of the, as you say, as you say, recently, Erica, the the black servicing media are snippets. What we're going to hear from in a minute from Susan Taylor and Jesse Jackson, it's not going to happen anywhere else. But as I was sitting there, I'm thinking about the things. And just as I am is on its way here. I'm going to be reading in the next couple of days. I'm sure I'll probably be up all night reading it. anxious to see how she narrates the things that we know her

through and for that I'm sure she was well aware of and it's clear there that she was well aware of it. But Erica, something you said, sis, she looked like you. She looked like black women, but I mean a dark-skinned black woman. Remember now, this is a woman who was married to Miles Davis. God bless

her. I'm sure they're on the other side now working out that situation. It's a whole other conversation. But understand that when the white record companies would not allow black jazz artists to put pictures of black people on their albums. Go back and look at Duke Ellington's album, Black, Brown, and Beige. I think Mahal Jackson may be on that one. That was an outlier because mostly a drum is a woman. It's a white woman sitting on a drum with her hands up. Miles

Davis said, my wife going to be on the cover of the album. That was Francis. That was his first wife. Someday my prince will come. Y'all see Francis. That's Miles Davis' wife. He was in the process of divorcing her when he first started dating Cicely Tyson. Cicely Tyson shows

up in that classic profile, like on that book. She's got that classic profile on a Miles Davis cover. Understand that Cicely Tyson's beauty, and it is stunning. Black women, look here, that woman's 90. Do you

understand? There is some cats sitting in that audience scheming on Cicely Tyson right there. Cicely Tyson right there. Come on, Ray. I'm looking forward, no, seriously, I'm looking forward to reading this book because every time I saw Cicely Tyson, she got an honorary degree from Howard a few years ago, a couple years ago.

But I remember seeing her at the New York African Burial Ground. Maya Angelou was still alive. With Delroy Lindo and others. It was the things people didn't see. She was there when they reburied the remains of those 413 Africans who were

buried there in the New York African Burial Ground in lower Manhattan. She stood up to give a talk, and there are thousands of people. We all crowded there, and her aura could reach out over thousands of people. And when I think about it, and Erica, when you said finally, when you said watching her in Roots, I felt the same way. A woman called Moses. Yes. I was sitting here reminded of a film, maybe it was 72, 73, 74, called The River Niger.

Where she plays, she and James Earl Jones play husband and wife. And Glenn Turman is back from the war in Vietnam. And she's the thing that keeps that family together from a play, a stage play. And she and James Earl Jones, actually, I think we have to look it up. They were in something in the last couple of years on stage. But Cicely Tyson's ability to project the beauty of Black womanhood. She played more in college. I'm just sitting here thinking about all the different people.

And she turned down work that did not meet her standard for the dignity of African people. And that, my friends, is a standard that I don't know too many people working in any commercial-facing media of African descent can meet today, even those applauding for her on that very stage. And I ain't going to name nobody, but I'm glad it came right there at that moment. Yeah. I'm going to stop.

It is... We're going to go back to play. We're getting some guests online right now. We just feel want to hear more of Cicely Tyson. Harvard student. Is he still here? Yes. We have six or seven, seven Morehouse student, male.

And we have four young women at Spelman. I cannot tell you how that makes me feel. That has become my mission in life. And so, Susan, I understand exactly what you're feeling from what you're doing. I understand it. People who came on occasions when I invited them to come to the school, turned around and said to me, Cicely, why don't we know about this school? I am a person, once I choose or

become involved with something, I do it. I do it. I choose to do it and so I do it. I decided that I was just going to ask all of my friends to come and speak to these children so that they could see what I saw when I stood on the stage for the first time and saw them. The first person I approached was Wynton Marsalis. And I approached him with the expectation that he would tell me he had a very fine student that would come and speak to our musical students. And when I explained to him what I was interested in I said perhaps you would allow one of your finer students to come and just mingle

with ours and say I'm not gonna do that he said I said I'm so sorry. I apologize. I didn't mean it in any way. I'll do it myself, he said. And he was our first celebrity public speaker. And they have come religiously every single year. Rosa Parks, when she was on her way to the White House to get her Medal of Honor, stopped by the school and spent, I don't know, an entire day with the students. And so I wanted them to see that there was a world outside of East Orange, New Jersey,

which was considered a degraded area and that children were struggling, were trying to salvage their lives from poverty, from drugs, from homelessness. To have that in a country, and this has been said over and over again, that is the richest country in the world, is unacceptable. It is important to me that adults who consider themselves mothers and fathers are not necessarily parents. I was pleased to hear that there is a university for parents. If you do not know what to teach a child, you cannot teach it anything. And that child will find a way to teach themselves. And nine times out of ten, they end up dead or in jail. We have got to find a way to educate adults who have children on how to be a parent.

That is something that should be first and foremost on our agenda. It goes, I mean, anybody can have a baby. Anybody can have a baby. Not anybody can bring a child into the world and know how to parent it so that it becomes a contributed adult. Thank you. That's one. I'm on a battlefield for that. The other one is young ladies stop allowing anybody to call you a guy. You are not a guy. You are a young lady hoping to be a contributed adult. Guy skips you of your femininity. Guys were born boys, not girls. And when you allow, you know, we don't realize how important it is for others to demean us. And they do it in a manner that makes us think it's flattering. It is not flattering when a woman, a young lady, is called a guy. That's a man. Okay?

You are a young lady. And if you cannot be referred to as such, do not respond to it as such. Okay? I didn't mean to preach, but I, I, hey, when I get on the warpath, it's just that it's insulting and it's degrading and they are constantly trying to strip us of our womanhood except for one purpose, okay? We are always attractive for that one purpose. Well, you are the one that has to let them know that you are not, okay? All right? You know, I had a mother. And I really stand here cruel. She was a real West Indian mother.

She didn't take no tea for the fever and I was the bane of her whole existence. If she told me to sit down, I stood up. If she said walk, I ran. All right. However, it wasn't until she left me that I felt as though my right arm was gone. I understood for the first time what amputees meant when they said that it felt as though the arm was still there. And that's the way I felt about her. Joining us right now is Susan Taylor, founder of National Cares Mentoring Project. Susan, we were just playing that tribute to Cicely Tyson where she she said, I didn't mean to preach, but she certainly had a word to say to the young ladies there. Can you hear me? I can hear you, Susan. I can hear you. Oh, yes. It's hear you. Oh, yes.

It's a challenging moment. Did we lose Susan? Okay. All right. So, guys, if we can get her back, please, that would be great. Please let me know once we have her back. Just the other day, Susan Taylor turned 75. And again, when you talk about someone who,

tremendous impact on anybody in Hollywood. We have Susan Taylor back. Okay, Susan, go right ahead. I was just saying that, you know, high heels, high standards, high style, and high heels to the end. Just an extraordinary human being, a neighbor. You know, our parents were from Sister Islands, hers from Nevis, mine from St. Kitts. She lived down the street from me. Just a beautiful have dinner with her and you're going to eat grass. She took care of herself, you know, very, very health conscious and so very beautiful and very delicate in one way, you know, two opposites, delicate and fierce at once. But more than anything,

Roland, high standards, just the standard of excellence and holding it strong for Black people and not doing anything ever, taking no role, no matter how much they would offer her, playing no part that would be demeaning of us as a people or Black women ever, ever. And that's really what she stood for and spoke about all the time. And going out to her school, there's a school named for her in East Orange. And I visited there frequently with her. I think you were with us the night when her students danced and one played the harp. Yeah, we were actually just showing that.

We were actually just showing that. Oh, okay. Oh, yeah. Yeah, because we also live-streamed it that night, so. Yep. So this is, you know, what the truth is, my heart, there's a part of me that says, you know, I'm waving goodbye. She's gone and I'm glad that says, you know, I'm waving goodbye. She's gone and I'm glad that I didn't ever see her in a wheelchair or having had a stroke or incapacitated in any way.

The last time we were together, she was wearing heels and I'm the one who had on flats or sneakers. Just an incredible thing. Yeah. The thing that's also, that I always loved, Susan, is that the reverence that folks had for her, but especially Black Hollywood. When you

talk about actresses, when they were near her, when they were just, the ability to be able to talk to her was so important because they paid the level of respect they had for her. When I think about Denzel and Chadwick Boseman and others, when they talk about Sidney Poitier the same way, so many talk about Cicely Tyson. And deservedly so. Deservedly so. It had to do with the dignity,

the dignity that she brought to every role. And the first, that love scene, I know everybody's talking about that love scene in Sounder. I think, I don't know that ever before that we had ever seen such joy between a black man and a black woman when she's calling him Nathan is that you and she's running it gives me chills to even think about it she's running down that road and falls

leaps not falls but leaps into his arms and you know I want to say until the end there was a girlishness about Cicely Tyson a real girlish, yeah. Oh, she was so funny because I can't tell you how many times when our paths crossed, she would always gently touch my face. She would hold my hand. She would always say something precious. Cicely Tyson was always flirting. I used to always have fun.

It was always great just to see her. And just a sweetness. And a tiny woman. You know, I'd bump into her. She began traveling with this little cart. So she'd put all of her groceries in there. And she lived down the street. Her daughter lives down the street, though.

She lived on the other side of the park. But she started staying with her daughter more frequently. And every time I saw her, I wanted to pick her up. I would say, I want to pick you up and just hold you. I just, I can't even talk about her in the past tense. Can't do that.

Just love her. It's always, just the other day, we lost on Friday, and he was buried yesterday, we lost Henry Aaron, passed away at the age of 86. We, you know, Larry King passed away the next day. And we lament, obviously, obviously when someone passes away, we certainly miss them and we talk about what they meant.

But that's also why, Susan, it's vital that you do something with the days that you have. Because there's nothing worse than, frankly, passing away and no one misses you. That is not the case with Cicely Tyson. Not at all the case with Cicely Tyson. And look at the greats we have left. Let's honor Harry Belafonte, who we just spoke with night before last. And Sidney Poitier. It's funny, you talk about it. I literally just, I called Mr. B

while we were actually playing the video. Yeah, absolutely. And I called him last week just to say, hey, I left him a voicemail just to check on him. And you know, that's what we have to do. He lives, well, she lived down the street and he lives around the corner. This is the Upper West Side, you know, and that's what we have to do. He lives, well, she lived down the street and he lives around the corner. This is the Upper West Side, you know, of Manhattan. And Harry Belafonte

is still just so vital and strong. And that's, that was Cicely Tyson until the end. And I'll tell you, though, we're going to miss her. I know I'm going to miss her. I am so happy that I just didn't see her daughter Marlena rolling her down the street in a wheelchair. I'm glad she didn't have a stroke. I'm glad she wasn't infirmed in any way. I don't know what caused the passing, but you know, 96 is a lot of living. That's a whole lot. You know, and we know how to, we know how to accept birth, but we don't know how to accept death. And it's a transition that we're all going to make. And so what we do is let's lift up her life.

Let's hold high her standards and try to use those and remember them, because that's what we need in our community. That's what we have to really sort of inculcate in our young people. Stand for something. Stand for something more than making another dime, another dollar. Have standards that really uphold not just you, but also your family and your race. She was a race woman. A race woman just to the core. Susan Taylor, it's always a pleasure. And also,

happy 75th birthday. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Thank you very much. Tomorrow, folks, we will absolutely pay further tribute to Cicely Tyson. I want to bring back in my panel, Greg Carr, Recy Colbert, Erica Savage-Wilson. The thing that Susan said there, she said, we can accept birth, we can't accept death. Everyone will go that path. I saw the video the other day where Larry King said, look, I think about it. He said, I fear it. I gave an interview with somebody and actually it was,

I think it was with the Jasmine brand. And then I think the question that she asked was, she says, what do you fear? I said, death. And people have asked, it's very interesting. People have asked, oh my goodness, Henry Aaron, he was 86. What did he die of? I said, he was 86.

I said, his wife said he passed away in his sleep. Cicely Tyson was just giving interviews. In fact, Monique Presley sent me talk about, again, her last tweet. She sent her last tweet. There was a tweet that went out actually five hours ago. But that was a tweet from her people. She always signed the tweets with her initials. I'm going to pull it up. And it's actually quite fitting, this last tweet.

Erica, this is it. It was at 4.56 p.m. on yesterday, and the Variety story announcing her death literally was almost one hour, excuse me, almost to the hour, 24 hours later. This is what she said. The Amanda Gorman, your words remind us that we will rise, rebuild, reconcile, and recover. Thank you for your words and light, CT. Cicely Tyson giving props, 96 years old,

uplifting and celebrating the 22 year old Amanda Gorman who gave the poem at the inauguration Isn't that just like our as Reese said iconic Cicely Tyson in what you showed and what you broadcast for viewers, there she was surrounded by children

and talking to adults about their responsibility and ensuring that the child that they have within their care, the outcome of that child dedication, the dying to yourself and actually saying that I am going to do everything within my power to shape this human because this human has to live outside of the walls of their home. And then they're out into the world. And I talked about when she was at the Power Rising Summit in 2018 that she was talking about the work that she was still yet doing, projects she had upcoming about education. And so it's no surprise that we would have Cicely Tyson again pouring into another generation. And we're not talking about the next generation. We're talking about this wise world of a woman who was almost 100 years old being very focused in what she said to a 22-year-old young person. You know, would we not all be better if that were the perspective and lens that we came from? I'm not saying that we're not just thinking about, you know, the work that Greg does with engaging students on a daily basis, the work that we see, the work that you do. But just to be very focused in that lane to say that what I have, I'm going to make sure that it's not just for the next generations, but those that are yet coming. And it also made me think about the interview that she did with Gayle King a couple of days ago, that an interview she did with Gayle King a few years before that. And she was always with her words, you know, very much so sharp.

And she said what she said very much so graceful. But she talked about she was on the ladder and she talked about holding on to those rungs. And that always has stuck with me. And in that, she talked about how Black women are holding on to that last rung, the top of the rung. You have white men, white women, Black men, then a Black woman. But because our fists have been trampled over so much and we have this unique perspective, we're able to look up and that grip that's developed that will hang on and besides hanging on we also pour into so what uh what a legacy and as um the indelible susan taylor pointed out you know that she lived

a good long time but she worked in her high heels um as beautiful Cicely Tyson doing that work. What an incredible legacy in having released the book. Risi. Yeah, it's just really remarkable to see visually that speech. And it's fitting, too, that her tweet is speaking life and love and, you know, empowerment into black women and black girls. I mean, it was just really, really striking that the first thing she did, she didn't take in the crowd that was applauding on their feet. She took in the beautiful faces of the young black woman and black men, our children that were on that stage. And it just speaks to her character and just the kind of person that she was, that she really was focused on lifting up others behind her and really deliberate and how she wanted to model, you know, black excellence and her regalness and

things of that nature. But it was from an authentic place. And so I just think it's, I think it's, it's just really beautiful to see just, just how, how true she was to that throughout her entire life. It wasn't just on the screen, but it was in her philanthropic, her philanthropic work and just her interactions with people. So I just think there's such a huge, such a huge takeaway from her is to speak light and love to people and to notice people. And I'm sure that it really meant

a lot to those kids to be seen by an icon like Cicely Tyson. And so see people speak light into them, speak love into them when you're in their presence, you know, but hold people accountable because that was also what she was doing with her words. And so you don't have to be one or the other, but it's so important to not just, like I said earlier, want to be that chosen one. And it's so important to really, to really leave behind more than, than just, you know, awards and, and, and, you know, pretty gowns and, and looks, but really leave behind a legacy that's worth holding on to. Dr. Gregg Carr. I think two things immediately come to mind. One is how fortunate we are and how grateful I'm sure we all are that we have this space to be able to experience this

in real time. As old folks used to say, we all got to go that way. But to be able to do it in real time in this space. So thank you, brother. And thank you for bringing Susan Taylor's voice in because that's the second thing. And as I look forward to seeing who you're going to bring in tomorrow to have a conversation. When Susan Taylor said lift up her life and meet her standard, I think that just about says it all.

I hope in the next few days, folks, young people in particular, will seek out Sounder. I forgot about that embrace. She and Paul Winfield. And it made me remember, she played Coretta Scott King. Paul Winfield played Martin Luther King in a six-hour television series called King. Indeed. Indeed. Got that DVD.

It's an amazing job. My God. So, yeah. Let's lift up her life. Let's celebrate those who are still here and let's meet her standard. It's a heck of a standard. It's a powerful reminder. Thank you, brother, for having this, for doing this. You're producing it in real time. So thank you. We've already folks. We have been in contact with a number of different people. We will indeed have a special tribute to Cicely Tyson tomorrow right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered.

We'll be chatting with Reverend Jessie Jackson Sr., who knew her very well. I've already heard back from the likes of actress Kim Fields and so many others who I was literally communicating with and talking with while we were here. Folks, go ahead and get the video ready. We're going to end the show when she was honored by the Television Academy. She was honored by the Television Academy. She also was honored with the honorary Oscar. She was honored by the putting to the Hall of Fame by the Television Academy in 2020. The Oscars tookars 23 years ago. So we actually will hold one of

those. Go back to the medal. She also is a member. She got the Congressional, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And so we'll actually end it with this. This is, give me one second. Well, I was, sorry, I was going to end the show, do this, but Maxwell literally just hit me back and wants to come on and talk about Cicely Tyson. So we're going to play, because at the end of that, when she was honored by the National Charismatary Gala, Maxwell serenaded her. In fact, my wife actually sent me a short clip of a video of the audience serenading Cicely Tyson. So let's play first when President Barack Obama honored her with the presidential medal of freedom. For 60 years, Cicely Tyson has graced the screen and the stage, enlightening us with her groundbreaking characters and calls to conscious humility and hope.

Her achievements as an actor, her devotion to her faith, and her commitment to advancing equality for all Americans, especially women of color, have touched audiences of multiple generations. From the autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman to Sounder to The Trip to Bountiful, Cicely Tyson's performances illuminate the character of our people and the extraordinary possibilities of America. Applaus This was a video here that my wife just sent me, literally when the audience was singing with Maxwell, they serenaded Cicely Tyson at the National Cares Mentoring Gala. Thank you. Thank you. as there was a short clip there i i thought she had something along there but again that was we were there that was it was amazing to watch. Y'all, do we have Maxwell?

All right, we're going to pull him up in a second. I was going to wait until tomorrow. Kim Fields will be tomorrow. She did hit me back. She's driving right now. So I said, hey, let's do this right and get you on video. And that's about to close the show out. But Maxwell said, he said,, my man, he said, so I got to I got to do it. Is he there? Got it. Maxwell, always good to see you, my brother.

How are you? I think I'm paused right now. Can you see me? We got you black. What you what you what you you got us, Paul. There we go. There you go. There you go got us paul there we go there you go there you go man we can't actually okay no no no you can't see you can't see me you're being routed through our control room so or maybe you can okay well they'll figure it out but i'm lying that you just looking to the phone talk i was i played as a snippet the video when you serenaded cicely tyson at the national cares mentoring gala uh that was we, man. That was a special night. Yeah, I mean,

I'm broken a little bit, but that's because I'm selfish. And obviously we all are at some level. We never want something that incredible, someone that impactful to the culture, to women, to, I mean, even men, you know, everybody, humanity at large. I'm wearing these red glasses because I know that I'm probably going to get emotional. And, you know, when I think back at that time, it was so unscripted. It wasn't like we knew we were going to do that.

But when I knew she was in the audience, I had to literally walk over to her. And she had a little pep in her step. She still had some moves. I mean, I've seen her so many times during, you know, random occasions where I just literally bow, you know, I get on my knees and I thank her for her just breathing, just for being. And, um, and, uh, this is a, this is a tragic loss, uh, amidst so many incredible advancements in women.

But I guess maybe in some ways she probably felt her work was done and that her impact was, I don't know what to say. It's just, uh, how does it feel? How does it feel? First of all, people love and adore you.

They come up to you. They, they, they, they praise you. But how does it feel to meet a legend? And just a, so you said you bowing down,

you know, people will say, Oh, but you're in this, your People will say, oh, but you're peers. But will you meet a legend like Cicely Tyson? No. I am not her peer at all. I am

standing on the shoulders of shoulders of shoulders that led to who she is to be able to be to be able to even breathe the same air as as miss cicely tyson i will never consider myself as her peer because what i've had to experience in comparison to what she's had to experience not as not only as a Black woman, but as a woman in Hollywood. I'll never understand that. I'll never know that. But she knew it and she forged ahead. She tore the wall down and she made it possible for Amanda Gormans. She made it possible for

Beyonce. She made it possible for Indi Irees. She made it possible for Kamala Harris. She made it possible for Beyonce. She made it possible for Indi Irees. She made it possible for Kamala Harris. She made it possible for Oprah Winfrey. She made it possible, she made it possible, she made it possible. It's very different. The Black woman's experience is completely different from the Black man's experience. It's not less, it's not greater, it's not beneath, it's not above, but it is distinctly different than any

experience as a person of color. And so when I met her, I knew indeed that I was like looking at royalty. And I, you can ask the people that walked her in, I got on my knees and I bowed for that woman. Because I knew that it is not easy to get to this place. You have so many people telling you that you are not. And she was steadfast in her understanding that she was all deserving. And she wasn't doing it just for herself. She was doing it for the legacy that she would be leaving behind for so many other women and men to take heed and to take note of. So as I sit here 30 minutes deep into this, I can only send my condolences to her family.

And I hope that they are feeling the love and the impact that she's given us. And I unselfishly would like to let them know that if they need their time to grieve, if they need their time to whatever they need their time for, because in the social media realm, you know, it's instantaneous and we're all human beings. And when we lose people, we actually know, not people we know from, you know, television or whatever it is.

There are real people who actually know Miss Cicely Tyson. and i think they probably need their time right now so i send them my love and my condolences maxwell my brother is always good thanks for taking my uh my call and uh joining us uh we just getting the news a little more than an hour ago, but we wanted to definitely have our focus and give tribute to an amazing sister, Cicely Tyson. Yes. Thank you, Mr. Roland Martin, my Haitian brother. I love you. My brother, I appreciate it.

Love you as well. Focus on Maxwell. In a second, we're going to be joined by actress Kim Fields. We were talking about Erica. We were talking about, again, you just heard it there, that reverence, that respect. And that's really what it's about. I always tell people that when, for me,

any time, any time I'm in the room with a hair Belafonte, it doesn't matter. When I heard that Mr. B and Sidney Poitier were going to be presenting award, the NAACP Image Awards, I immediately called Ben jealous and I was like, yo, I need to meet Sidney. I called Harry. I had never met Sidney Poitier. And it was interesting because, so when they came out to present the award, I got up and went backstage. I was like, I ain't gotta say, no.

Because when it's over, he might get back in the car and go home. So I go backstage and the guy was like, like, you have the right credential. I was like. Maybe let my ass back here. So got back there some way. I'm waiting in the wings. They come off the stage and it's like so glad Mr. Point finally means I know we met before. I'm at him like no we haven't he's like ah yes we have you and I have met through television and and he begins to talk about how he enjoys my work. And I'm like, nah, bruh, uh-uh. And that was the second, see this is why I think

it's what I was saying, it blows you away because the same thing happened with Henry Aaron at the White House in 2013. Same thing with Cicely Tyson. Same thing with Maya Angelou. We forget that these people, they watch the news. And it's always an amazing thing. But for me, it's reverence. It's reverence. I stood up one year at the National Association of Black Journalists and I said, I said, I'm an alpha, as y'all can see, 1906. I said, we hold, we revere our seven jewels.

I said, we still have members, we still have founders of NABJ who are still amongst us. I said, don't you ever allow yourself to be in the room with the NABJ founder and you not acknowledge them. I said, even if we have 100 sessions at a legend, for someone who's an icon. Yeah, and I think that that is why this platform is so very important. You know, we've been talking about this, just having agency over who it is that is able to be invited to your platform, the voices that people hear, and then being able to effectively put a message into Maxwell and to get him on the show to talk about his experience being in the same room as Cicely Tyson. And I think what it also speaks to, and I'm just listening to what everyone is saying and they're recounting.

And now, Greg, you're going to have me going digging, looking for my copy of Sounder. I love, love, love that book. I got the copy of the DVD at the crib. I got a whole collection of black movies, black DVDs. Sounder is in that collection. And the other day, about two weeks ago, I watched Busting Loose about 2 o'clock in the morning. Oh!

Richard Pryor and Cicely Tyson. Oh, my gosh. What a catalog. Like, that's something to brag on. But it is indeed just to hear that, you know, Maxwell, when he talked about that he is, you know, standing on the shoulders of the shoulders of the shoulders of those individuals. You thinking about that,

just to me, visually, just thinking about that honor and that steeped in honor that there are for many communities, very absent from that, that there is not a true honor and a true reverence for people that have gone before you, you know, definitely acknowledge all of those around you, but those that have gone before you. And then to put a finer point on it is when he said effectively that that was not his colleague. And that again, brought me back to honor that, you know, because we are in the same room that we are not the same, right? And so that someone who actually experienced things at a different place during a different time, though history repeats itself, but understanding that, as you mentioned, a Sidney Poitier and a Harry Belafonte and a Cicely Tyson had much different experiences coming through this nation in the 20s and now still, you know, and still, you know, up into the current time.

That there are hosts of experiences. There are things that we have not experienced. There are things that we can learn from. That is the seed of honor, understanding that you are not the smartest person in the room and there is something to be learned. There is something to be understood. But Recy pointed out that she, you know, definitely has that grace and regalness about her, but accountability, she will hold you accountable through her words. So understanding that it doesn't have to be one way, as Recy said, that that kind of historical presence, the ability to not just survive, but to live and to be an authentic storyteller, which that's the community that we come from, having the honor to actually sit, reverence, reread, and actually learn from that is really kind of what we really see when we see people's lives that kind of build to

a certain place. There is a seed of honor that has been placed on their life to understand that there is something to learn and engage from people who have traveled a way that we've not ever known before. Folks, we've known her for a long time, watching her as a child actress. Joining us right now is actress Kim Fields. Kim, welcome to Roller Martin Unfiltered. Hey, brother. Thank you so much. I hate that I'm joining you for this, but I'm glad to be joining you to celebrate. Amen?

Absolutely. Absolutely. I was just talking about when you were in the same room with someone like Cicely Tyson, you are in the presence of royalty. Absolutely. Absolutely. The first two words that I could think of, and actually I heard from you that,

that this, this, this, this, this light has transcended is how I'll put it. But when I heard it from you, the first two words I could think of was all hail. All hail.

And then the next two words, bow down. The thing that I, for you, as a black female actress, what did Cicely Tyson mean? I mean, I see how brothers, I see how when Denzel and Sam and Chadwick and Michael B. Jordan, when they talk

about Sidney Poitier. Yeah. Talk about it. What she meant for sisters. Sure i mean you know you're gonna hear the words a lot groundbreaking trailblazer um but but it it it's truly authentic when you place those monikers on Cecily Tyson. You know, about two hours ago, I was doing an interview for People magazine regarding the passing of Cloris Leachman. And one of the things that I said, because we had worked together for a couple of years,

was that she was very fearless. And I was a fan long before I'd gotten a chance to work with her. But I think I would also apply that in, I mean, a hundredfold to Cecily Tyson, that element of being fearless and matchless in her fearlessness. And you had to have a certain grit and grace to forge the path that she was blessed to forge when it didn't always seem like a blessing to forge that path. That was a, just the other day, somebody had posted, there was an article that was done where a New York Times writer

had written about Cicely Tyson that she wasn't this, that basically she wasn't good looking. It was something along those lines. And folks are like, how the hell did that even get in print? This was a sister who was

the polar opposite of Alina Horn. This was a short, small, dark-skinned sister with a gap in her teeth. I mean, like, all those things. And so forget just being a black woman. How Hollywood, oh, no, this is not how we want to view a black woman because look they they kicked out Dorothy Dandridge again that was sort of this model for what they wanted and

if you were a dark-skinned sister you had to be basically the maid exactly so you got to put all that on top of what she also had to endure. Absolutely. Well, you know, it's it's it's one thing to endure it, but then to endure it publicly, to endure it in the face of all of that, the culture and that we were going through as a people, not to mention her own generation. You know, so so she was forged in fire, you know, in a number of areas in a number of ways, in my opinion. And I love like her Blair. Blair was just telling see it and to talk about it and to share and to pass everything down and to have so many gems and takeaways. He was so thrilled about all that. But here's the thing for me was the cover of her book is so striking. And of all the pictures, because we will see thousands of photographs of Cicely Tyson today and in the days to come.

I love that she chose that as her cover because that's so indicative of her beauty and her uniqueness and her strength and her power. And I'm not going the way of everybody else. I march to the beat of my own drum, you know, and people talk so much about having a seat at the table. And to me, Cicely Tyson made the table, made her chair, and looked at you funny if you just rolled up on that table without her allowing it. Kim Fields, actually, the article I was talking about, they were referring to Shirley Chisholm and not Cicely Tyson.

But the reality is we know how Hollywood operates in Cicely Tyson. So I can't wait to read her book where she really just lays bare what she had to deal with as well. Sure. But like you just said, Roland, the fact that she, yes, you were talking about Shirley Chisholm in that article, but that still was a part of Cecily Tyson's journey and how she was regarded in a medium, in an industry that is so very visual. these other what society was deeming as beauty. And she would not back down. She would not change who she was from the outside in nor from the inside out. Kim Fields, I appreciate you sharing your thoughts with us on such short notice regarding the great Cicely Tyson. Thanks, bro.

Appreciate it. Thank you so very much. Yeah. In a moment, folks. And again, I was, we were, I was prepared for us to end the show. Then all of a sudden folks start responding. In a moment, we're going to speak with the great actor, Danny Glover. I've reached out to him and he's going to join us. And then actress Erica Ash will join us as well.

This is, and this is, you know, I say it all the time, Recy, Greg and Erica. But this is, this is precisely why, this is precisely why I created this and why we have to have it. Because we have to do this for our own. We can't simply depend upon others to pay them proper respects. And that's why it matters. That that's why it matters when i think back growing up when ebony would put out a special edition uh when jet magazine will put out a special

edition and this is why i keep and other black folks in black media keep getting mad at me so i keep telling them hey y'all gotta have relationships with other folks. So when things like this happen, you can pick the phone up at a moment's notice and you don't have to run what they told Associated Press or what they told the LA Times or the New York Times. Our audience can get it directly from them. That's why that matters. Y'all, is Danny ready?

Folks, welcome to the show. My Danny Glover Danny. How you doing? How you doing brother? I'm doing great I have not forgot about me you supposed to have a gumbo cook off and let's San Francisco Bay Area gumbo you were talking that trash about so Oysters and other stuff you were talking about but we get to that another day. I Just got to get your thoughts, man, just about the life and legacy of the amazing, stunning Regal Cicely Tyson. She belonged to us, us particularly.

Whether they're our mothers, whether they're our sisters or our lovers, but she belonged to the world. She was just extraordinary, those moments, you know, when you would see her. Not only did she light up the screen, she had her own way of dignifying who we are. God, I could go on and on. I remember seeing her the first time on Naked City.

Way back then, I was a kid. translations of who we are in every ounce of her body, every ounce of her work, in every time she opened her mouth. I can't say enough for it was. You know, basically they used to talk about her playing every role, but every role that she played was essential and important to establish a code, to establish a presence of being beyond. She was something incredible.

This was... When you would meet... you see the big screen, and she just so large with her talent. This was such a small woman, but just had just supersized giant gifts. Without a doubt. You know, without a doubt. You said it right. You hit the nail right there. And she is,

even when you watched her in something that had aired years ago, a movie, a series that had aired years before. There's something where she just stood out. And she stood out in everything she did to the last moment she stepped in front of a camera, to the last moment she stepped on the stage. It's just unforgettable. She was just unforgettable. And her connection to us at that particular moment where there was this small window where she was a very, that would grow into a larger window, but she was never she was never passe.

She was never something that that you you you would remember in a particular point in time. She was the past, the present. And I would say the future. She's the past, the present and the future. Not all in one. Not afraid to let to share the future. All in one. Not afraid to share the stage. Recy Colbert, question for Danny Glover about Cicely Tyson. I don't even feel worthy of asking any questions,

to be honest. I just thank you for sharing stories with her, that you have with her with us. Anything that you want to share is, you know, welcome for me. First time you met her, Danny, you remember? Well, I'm sure, you know,

I think we must carry our memory of her with us as artists, with us as citizens. We should carry, because she was a citizen as well. I mean, she was there with us as well. She wasn't just an artist who sustained herself and made her living. She lived inside of us, lived with us in every juncture of this last part of this, you know, from the civil rights movement. There's something that I don't think any of us could have, could breathe the way we breathe, could breathe the way we breathe, could

move the way we move, and challenge ourselves the way we've challenged ourselves without having something, someone as definitive as Cicely Tyson. Greg Carr. Thank you, Roland. I mean, Brother Glover, it's an honor, man, to be in conversation with you. As you were talking about her, when you said she belongs to us particularly, even as she belongs to the world, it reminded me of a film that I show my students, that film you did, To Sleep With Anger, Charles Burdett. And I wonder, you know, as a man who, more anybody I can think of has straddled the world's commercial media, Hollywood, also independent black filmmaking.

Could you maybe speak to how important it is for folk who, particularly for our young people like you or Cicely Tyson, have made it in that commercial world. I mean, you went all the way back to a TV show, Naked City, man. But at the same time, have the integrity to say, there are certain roles I will not play, and I will continue to support making independent Black film. And anything you see me in, you can guarantee I'm going to be in my full humanity.

I will not let anyone see me other than as my true Black self. I mean, I think it's essential for us to be a part of some of the most extraordinary projects that were independent. You know, there's something, and the beauty of those films, To Take for Sleep with Anger, they sit with you. You know, the moments sit with you. You as the artist.

And you know you've uncovered something, something transcending. And that was the beauty of that. You know, the transcendency doesn't come with how much the money, the box office, how much the money the box office how much the film gets the box office it's because when you touch people and and and and and and you're touched by the work that you do as well you know because you you you there's an underlining importance of value to that that work you know and and that it it it lives on you know in terms of of of making it i i i don't i don't want to say make a statement but um i i i don't know i i think

it's much larger i always think that what we do is much larger than us. And in our ways, even though we do do it as we speak, and honestly, Tyson, at this particular moment, that she whatever she did was much larger than her, the individual. And no more the example of that work is that some of the work that independent filmmakers, black independent filmmakers make is much larger

than them in the sense you can't categorize it within a system which exploits who we are, who we can be, what we can be. You can't categorize it and characterize it in that. But there's something about independent films in us tells you the underside of the story and provides another level of truth, you know, another level of vulnerability, different other levels of consciousness as well. Real quick, Erica Savage Wilson, real quick question for Danny Glover before I let him go.

Yes, Mr. Glover, thank you for all of the work that you've provided to us and the humanitarian work. Very quickly, because we're in the vein of talking about work and the value of that work and how it touches people, could you share with us a little bit around Ms. Cicely Tyson's work ethic and what about her work ethic have you observed that will definitely be beneficial for the generations now and those that are to come? Well, I mean, I've never had the privilege or honor of working with her, but there's something else about her. It is not because the screen captures you in a certain level, your truth in a certain level of intimacy. And that intimacy that she exhibited, whether it was on stage, whether it was in film, wherever it was, was such a guiding light for all of us you know uh i i i can i we we uh i don't want to i i you know i i um i i can say that much you know i'm i'm proud to be a part, with hope, proud to be a part of the lineage and the foundation that you lead. Danny Glover, my brother, it's always a pleasure.

I appreciate your kindness and your friendship for you joining us and always, and let me say this right now for everybody who's listening. Danny Glover is always taking my phone calls. Doesn't matter when I was at CNN or TV one or just to call just to, just to say hello. He always takes a phone call. So Danny, I appreciate it.

My brother. You appreciate you very much. Thank you, sir. All right. Yes, sir. Take care.

Be well, be well. You too. Now I just sent, um, I just sent, Thank you, sir. All right. Yes, sir. Take care. Be well. Be well. You too now. I just sent Greg a text to Tyler Perry. And I said to him, you know, in this age of COVID, these are the only homegoings we really have. They had the funeral for Henry Aaron. Very few people were there. The church was almost empty.

When Chadwick Boseman passed, the family had a service in South Carolina, but there wasn't, you know, what we normally see. There wasn't one when Reverend Dr. Joseph Lowry passed away. Obviously, there was a massive one for Congressman John Lewis. But again, I go back to why Black media matters. It's in moments like this, not just in life, but also in death, where we do what we do in honoring our own. I saw one of the networks, they broke in. First of all, they broke in very late.

And then when they did, did about 60 or 90 seconds of Cicely Tyson and went back talking about COVID and the Republicans. As far as I'm concerned, I can talk about that every day that can wait yeah as someone who now has been honored and privileged enough to be

one of the many who've ridden shotgun as you have held public made people invited us into public rituals of grieving. Muhammad Ali, for example, I'll never forget, you covered that whole thing from beginning to end. Leah Chase, you know, the tributes you've done. Every time somebody makes transition, you convene. You know, and this moment here,

and I echo what Erica said, again, it makes this space so important. The convening that you're doing here, which is allowing people to grieve, allowing people to celebrate, allowing people to put things in combination that won't be combined anywhere else. When Kim Fields said she just left an interview on Cloris Leachman, they're going to spend more time talking about Cloris Leachman. And Cloris Leachman is an important actress, very important moment in American popular culture. But there's not going to be someone who puts Cloris Leachman in the context of Cicely Tyson anywhere else other than

this moment. This becomes the homegoing. The other thing is, I'll say that I've been to a couple of these virtual homegoings, and you know, you can trust our people to turn anything into the best it can be. I went to Marcus Garvey Jr.'s funeral.

He was in Florida. It was a small crowd, but the whole world was I went to Marcus Garvey Jr.'s funeral. Now, he was in Florida. It was a small crowd, but the whole world was assembled there for Marcus Garvey Jr. Marcus and Amy Jakes, Garvey's oldest son, who just made transition a couple of months ago. And it was a professor at Howard, Victor Zizeno, who was a longtime associate dean in the School of Architecture, a brilliant brother who was one of Kwame Nkrumah's deputies, and worked there, Ghanaian. And when I tell you that black folk have turned these virtual fields, there were about 500 people in this field. They got the video tribute, they got the digital doves. I mean, his son, I'm very close to his son, he's one of my former students, Yofi. I said, Yof, you Africans done turn this thing into about as good as it can

be turned into. And I think that's what we're realizing in this moment of COVID. This is a bigger home going than Cicely Tyson would have in real life that we're having right now, Ron. I mean, it's just, you know, we do what we have to do in these places.

Joining us right now, you've seen her Survivor's Remorse and so many other shows as well, my good buddy Erica Ashe. Hi there. Erica, it's always great talking with you. I hate to do so under these circumstances, but we are certainly saddened by the death of Cicely Tyson at the age of 96. But we're celebrating an absolutely amazing life and career. Absolutely. I mean, you know, 70 years is that is that is more than a lot of people's lifetimes, especially, you know, given last year and how many deaths we had so soon and so young.

She I mean, she's she was beyond a trailblazer. When we think about the U2 movement, or sorry, the Me Too movement, and, you know, just how Black women are not really represented in Hollywood, this is someone who found her space. She found her spot, you know, from early on. I mean, Emmy nominated, Emmy winning, Tony nominated, Tony winning, Oscar nominated. She just, her whole career was just definitely a model for any actress to pattern their life after. And, you know, I think she did what she came to this earth to do. It's always heartbreaking and sad to lose an icon. But, you know, I think more of a celebration is certainly in order for Cicely Tyson's life and legacy. For as a young actress, just one that y'all passed ever across?

You know what? Yeah, they did. I was actually on Broadway in New York, and I had stopped off at a juice bar in Upper West Side. And she just strolled in, I guess, to get her daily juice. And I low-key freaked out. I did. It was one of those moments because, you know, you see people who are really just effectively doing the craft. They've honed their craft. They've been working. And, you know, you just know that I knew her from so many movies growing up, you know,

and just to kind of see her. And she was just so low-key, so easy, and just very kind. That was the only time our paths crossed. You speak to her? Of course. I'm just checking because some folks folk i've asked that question before folks like i was just too scared uh to say something it took a second i will okay i'm gonna go ahead and give you that it took a second because for a moment i was like but then i was like you're never gonna get this opportunity again

so you know i was like hi miss tyson and she's like oh opportunity again. So, you know, I was like, hi, Ms. Tyson. And she's like, oh, hello. Just really, I mean, you know, we didn't have a long conversation or anything like that. But I just, I loved the way, she reminded me of how I move around, you know. You just never know. There was not this big fanfare. She didn't expect to come in and jump the line. It was just, you know, she had a rolling cart with her, actually. And she was just there getting her daily juice.

Was that you? No, that's not me. We're good. We're good. Well, Erica, I know you were shooting. Yeah, I'm actually still in my dressing room. Well, I appreciate you stopping for a moment to I'm actually still in my dressing room. Well, I appreciate you stopping for a moment to share with us just your thoughts about Cicely Tyson.

Well, thank you for giving me the opportunity to do so. I mean, the fact that I even get to speak on such a legend is really an honor. And I'm grateful. She was one of those people who really, really left her mark. She won't ever be forgotten. Well, you know I love you, so I had to hit you up. So glad to have you with us.

Thank you. I appreciate you, Roland. I appreciate it. Thanks a lot, y'all. Actress Erica Ash. Maxwell sent me this photo here. Boy, you want to talk about an iconic photo, Recy. This is Cicely Tyson and James Earl Jones.

Yes. Yes. Wow. Magnificent. One of, a one of, I have never met James Earl Jones. Our paths have never crossed. I've said, yes. And I, that's, that's one of the things I said, look, I need to meet James Earl Jones one day.

Our paths have never crossed. I've never been in the same room with James Earl Jones, so I'm trying to figure out how I can fix that. He recently turned 90 years old as well. Wow. We will, as I said, folks. That's from their play, The Blacks, Jean Genet. That's a landmark play, early 60s. Man, you digging in the crates I said, folks. That's from their play, The Blacks, Jean Genet. That's a landmark play, early 60s. Man, you digging in the crates right there, brother.

Well, I give Maxwell credit. He sent that to me. He said, please, this is beautiful. Please share with your people. I thought that was a photo of Maxwell for a second, you know, with the short little fro. Then I said, oh, that's James Earl Jones. So, Max, I appreciate you sending that to me. We will, folks, tomorrow.

We're going to have more on the life and legacy of the great Cicely Tyson. Roland, can I say one thing? Go ahead. I just want to echo what everyone has said because I appreciate when we see tributes, right, to Black icons, if we see them, they're curated to give you the people that people think are going to draw on the ratings. They're not curated necessarily based on these authentic moments and these happenstance moments and the people that have been impacted by a legacy of somebody so iconic as Cicely Tyson. And so I just appreciate that you gave us this moment that's not about ratings,

that's not about getting certain names. It's really just about honoring and paying tribute to such a worthy woman like Cicely Tyson. So thank you for that. Well, I certainly appreciate that. We're going to have a lot more folks who will be sharing tributes tomorrow. Of course, we got the word

about two hours ago of her passing and we, of course, scrapped the rest of the show. Then we've got lots of folks who we have reached out to. So many people are stunned. If you go to the pages of a lot of prominent black celebrities, they haven't commented yet. So I think people have to understand this is a moment of grief for a lot of people. And I was sitting here reflecting and I swear, wasn't she at Aretha Franklin's funeral?

Yes, she was. Because I remember, the reason it hit me, because I remember when she came in and when we went over to greet her again, we were always, y'all kill the music, please. We were always careful around Cicely Tyson because she was so small. And there were some people would just bum rush her and her people would literally because you were afraid that folks would knock her over uh and so i i because i was just sitting there i was like hold up i remember i remember the the scenario i remember the scene because i remember it was whoopi goldberg because i was trying to remember who was to my right to my right was whoopi goldberg jenn Lewis, Gladys Knight, Tala Perry.

Yeah, and I remember when she came in and folks rushed her, they were kind of like, okay, everybody back up, back up. It was the same way at the National Cares Gala deal because she was so small and in her 90s. But again, she wanted to be sure to certainly be there to pay respects to the Queen of Soul. As I said, I'm getting a lot of text messages back,

people who want to come on right now, who want to be with us. I'm telling them, y'all, I got to let staff go home. But when you have breaking news, I mean, this is certainly what happens when you have breaking news. I mean, this is certainly what happens when you have breaking news. I mean, this is what you do when you're in this business. And we will do that.

I don't care what everybody else does, but I can tell everybody watching right now, it's going to be a whole bunch of blackness tomorrow, celebrating the icon, the legend, Queen Cicely Tyson, who is now moved from one of our elders to one of our ancestors. I'll see you guys tomorrow, right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered. And no, you would not play the music. You will simply fade to black. the blood. I buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. Small but important ways.

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