#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Dems cancel 2024 autopsy, Trump gives deranged speech, Warnock slams Agent Orange

Episode Date: December 19, 2025

12.18.2025 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Dems cancel 2024 autopsy, Trump gives deranged speech, Warnock slams Agent Orange Marijuana is reclassified for the first time since 1970---Georgia State Rep. Eric Bell joins us to discuss what this means for legalization efforts nationwide. Plus, Senator Raphael Warnock fires back after Donald Trump attacks his faith. We've got Warnock's response to the twice-impeached, criminally convicted former president. And as the National Association of Black Journalists marks 50 years of excellence, one of its original founders, Sam Ford, joins us live in studio. 36 years at D.C.'s 7News and WJLA and plenty to say about the state of Black journalism today. #BlackStarNetwork partner: Fanbasehttps://www.startengine.com/offering/fanbase This Reg A+ offering is made available through StartEngine Primary, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.  This investment is speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment. You should read the Offering Circular (https://bit.ly/3VDPKjD) and Risks (https://bit.ly/3ZQzHl0) related to this offering before investing. Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV. The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It's all on smoky bear.com with other wildfire prevention tips. Because only you can prevent... wildfires. Brought to you by the USDA Forest Service, your state forester, and the ad council. The social media trend is slanding some gen Zers in jail. The progressive media darling whose public meltdown got her fired and the massive TikTok boycott against Target that actually makes no sense. You won't hear about these online stories in the mainstream media, but you can keep up with them and all the other entertaining and outrageous things happening online in media

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He makes sure that our stories are told. Thank you for being the voice of Black America rolling. Hey, Black, I love y'all. All the momentum we have now. We have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal. See, this is between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be skating.

It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? 95 marijuana laws would talk to a Georgia State Representative about that very issue. Also, Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock fires back at Donald Trump over his marks regarding faith. Speaking of this idiot, Trump, he gave a rambling incoherent, angry speech last night, but it's your economy.

So how are you still blaming Joe Biden? And how dumb is maga? They're renaming the Candy Center, the Trump Candy Center. I'm sorry, that's the job of Congress. You just can't rename the department. Lots of us to talk about today on today's show. It's time to bring the funk on Roller Mark unfiltered. On the Black Sun Network, let's go.

Big Bill joins us right now. Representative Bill, glad to have you on the show. Walk us through this. What does this actually mean? What is the impact of this executive order by rescheduling Mayor Luwana on the federal crime level? Good, Beauch, Rowland. How's it going today? Great.

Pleasure to be with you from the great state of Georgia, where we believe in the the green economy. Okay, so walk is through, what is this, by the reclassification, what does it actually mean? All right. So it means that we'll be able to get marijuana products, CBD products, as over-the-counter medication, just like over-the-counter medication. Marijuana was classified as a psychoactive drug, a Schedule I drug along the lines of LSD, heroin, and meth.

Now it's being reclassified, such as Tylenol, a sleeper. aid, aspirin, Nyquil, so no longer will, federally, no longer will it be scheduled as a drug or a narcotic substance, meaning that

when cool say it again. Now go ahead. One cool thing that means is for a lot of those that want to invest in marijuana, that they have more safer investments now that

prior to the industry, which you would was a lot of individuals having money getting financing. In Georgia, I know a couple of businesses that actually had their bank accounts closed because they were, quote, unquote, dealing with narcotics. So now you also have individuals that would be able to get loans, business applications, bank accounts as well, who are working in the marijuana industry. Okay, so on that particular point there, as it relates to individuals who have been convicted. So this does have an impact on convictions, correct? Not at all. This does not have any

impact on convictions if you have been previously convicted, having a arrest record due to marijuana substances. This does not change that at all. Unfortunately, this does it does, does it impact federal law enforcement. So, for instance, when Donald Trump, when he put all of these federal law enforcement officials in national guard on the streets of D.C., there was stopping people saying, hey, you can't smoke marijuana on your porch or outside. So what impact does this have on that, on law enforcement and marijuana? Well, federal law enforcement shouldn't be enforcing those policies anymore now that it's the top schedule as Tylenol or a normal over-the-counter medication, where the difficulty

was coming with local law enforcement, your state patrol, your city police, your county police, your sheriff. Yeah, no, no, no, yeah, I don't mean local. Yeah, I don't mean local. What I mean is now with this reclassification as Schedule 1, that means federal law enforcement, federal law enforcement, you know, will they be, will marijuana be still criminal?

Or is there a certain amount of marijuana that you have to have? And so what does a schedule, what is this by classifying, reclassifying as Schedule 1, what does it mean for that? Well, for that, again, the one thing means interstate transfer. You would be able to move across state lines with the amounts of marijuana previously before individuals would get cases, RICO cases, if they were moving marijuana across state lines. Now that it's been federally declassified, the DEA, CIA, FBI, all those letter organizations

shouldn't be going to prosecuting individuals for having marijuana. Now, while looking at the policy, doesn't have a CIA, specific amount that have been able to find it, of how much a person would, should, or could have on them now that it's been declassified, but the prosecution or the prosecution of a person due to having this controlled substance federally, I want to draw that, like we said, we spoke about federally. There's a big distinction between federal, state, and local federal. Those agencies should not be prosecuting people.

We still have a lot to learn as it was just declassified. They didn't have a number amount or weight amount associated with the declassification. So theoretically, there could be, say, if you have 10 pounds of marijuana in a legal state, again, even though it's federally declassified, if your state hasn't declassified, you will still be at risk of being charged for a crime, marijuana, crime. But again, federally, you would be protected. Gotcha. So it's a whole lot to unpack once they really, I mean, instead like his executive orders are actually specific. So once we get more information, we have a better understanding of exactly what all this executive order covers. Oh, yes. So just to be safe, do not smoke or roll marijuana in front of police just

because this order has happened. Again, your state laws. have not changed. This does not mean you can go to your weed, man, your plug, and go get an ounce or whatever you need and say, well, it's now such as Tylenol, depending on your state law, your state code, your local ordinances,

you still could be prosecuted. This is more so a business move. Rather, I see than actually helping people have access to safe marijuana products or having access to medical health care. Some of the biggest players in this or pushing from the cannabis lobbyists, not from, like any lobbyists, I don't think libyes care about people.

It's about cents, coins, and dollars. You had stock falling in the cannabis industry. You had individuals having trouble with investments in growing the cannabis industry. So I really see this as more of a capitalistic ploy to make more money. While I do agree with it, let's not be hood, wink, or bamboozle to think that President Trump cares about us. I absolutely agree. So I wouldn't be surprised to be learning in the next weeks, days or weeks, that he has some kind of cannabis investment.

So that would not shock me at all. Well, I know Medicaid is working. They are piloting a Medicaid program for CBD with this. So I wouldn't be surprised if we got Trump Kush next week or Trump cannabis or something to that effect where he had. his hands in it again. I think we have a very narcissistic president that's only in office to stay out of jail and build wealth for himself on the backs of the American people. And although I do agree with this policy, we will soon see how much more wealthy the president will make or become after the domestic classification. All right. Representative Bell, we'd so appreciate to thank you a lot.

anytime rolling and thanks for what you're doing to keep spreading the message and fight the power yes sir appreciate it thank you so very much folks got to go to a break we'll be right back rolling mark unfiltered right here on the black star network hatred on the streets a horrific scene white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence white people are losing their their damn eyes as an angry pro-trump mob storms the u.s capital we're such We're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial.

This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at every university calls white rage as a backlash. This is the rise of the proud boys and the boogaloo boys, America, There's going to be more of this. There's all the proud board of guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people.

The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white fear. They said the quiet part out loud. Black votes are a threat, so they erased them. After the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013, Republican legislatures

moved fast. New voter ID laws, polling place shutdowns, purges of black voters from the rolls. Trump's Justice Department didn't stop it, they joined in. In 2018, his DOJ backed Ohio's voter purge system, a scheme that disproportionately erased black voters, their goal, erase black votes and political power. Yeah, that happened. These are the kinds of stories that we cover every day on Roland Martin unfiltered. subscribe on YouTube and download the Black Star Network app support fact-based independent journalism that centers African Americans and the issues that matter to our community.

If in this country right now, you have people get up in the morning and the only thing they can think about is how many people they can hurt and they've got the power, that's the time for mourning. For better or worse, what makes America special, it's that legal system that's supposed to protect minorities. from the tyranny of the majority. We are at a point of a moral emergency. We must raise a voice of outrage.

We must raise a voice of compassion. And we must raise a voice of unity. We are not in a crisis of party versus party. We are in a crisis of civilization, a human rights crisis, and a crisis of democracy itself. And guess what? You've been chosen to make sure that those that would destroy, those that would hate, don't have the final say, and they don't ultimately win.

This week, on a balanced life with Dr. Jackie, we're talking about the ups and the downs of the holidays, the ebb and flow of life, those things that keep us running and guns. Babes, what are you doing? What? I'm just mowing the lawn. No, it's blazing hot and dry out here. Don't you remember? Smokey Bear says. Avoid using power equipment when it's windy or dry. Where'd you learn this? Oh, it's on...

Smokeybear.com with many other wildfire prevention tips. Right. Thanks, honey, bear. Because remember, only you can prevent wildfires. Brought to you by the USDA Forest Service, your state forester, and the ad council. The social media trend that's landing some Gen Ziers in jail. The progressive media darling whose public meltdown got her fired. I'm going to take Francesco off the network.

entirely. The massive TikTok boycott against Target that makes no actual sense. I will continue getting stuff from Target and I will continue to not pay for it. And the MAGA influencers whose trip to the White House ended in embarrassment. So refreshing to have the press secretary after the last few years who's both intelligent and articulation. You won't hear about these online stories in the mainstream media, but you can keep up with them and all the other entertaining and outrageous things happening online in media and in politics with the Brad versus Everyone podcast, hosted by Me, Brad Palumbo.

Every day of the week, I bring you on a wild ride through the most delulu takes on the internet, criticizing the extremes of both sides from an independent perspective. Join in on the Insanity and listen to the Brad versus Everyone podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is, you can decide who takes home the 26 IHeart Podcast Awards podcast of the year by voting at iHeartPodcastawards.com. Now through February 22nd, see all the nominees and place your vote at IHeartPodcastawards.com.

Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. But you know there comes a time each of our lives where we need to just sit down, sit back, and relax. giving you a chance to really find out who you are and how you're going to move your life forward. How do I learn? How do I grow from this? And that's where, you know, resilience comes.

So I'm literally walking this out in real time. It's just giving myself all the grace, all the space, all the permission that I need. We're talking about all of these things this week on a balanced life with Dr. Jackie here on Black Star Network. This week on the other side of change. Book fans, anti-intellectualism, and Trump's continued war on wisdom. This is a coordinated backlash to progress. At the end of the day, conservatives realized that they couldn't win a debate on facts. They started using our language against us, right? Remember when we were all woke and the woke movement and all that kind of stuff?

Now everything is anti-woke, right? When we're talking about including diversity, equity, inclusion, higher education, now it's anti-DI. All this are efforts. to suppress the truth because truth empowers people. You're watching the other side of change only on the Black Star Network.

Hey, I'm Tasha Cobbs and you are watching. Roland Martin unfiltered. But I need a little filter. I need a something. Blow me out. Make me a little 35. We're bitter, resentful.

I think drunk dude, 80-year-old dude, gave a speech last night, talking about the economy. And it was, of course, the greatest hits biting, biting, it's biting, it's all biting, it's all because of biting, all because of Biden, I mean, he just sat here and went on and on and on and on and all he did was just blame,

just blame, former president Joe Biden. Here's the problem. This is the 11th month. This is on him. This is the 11th month. And what you saw was this constant, just whining, this constant whining about the economy. Now, if you run the numbers, his tariffs, his tariffs had been

destroying the company. He promised, oh, day one, price is going down. Day one, everything is going down. Day one. And the dumb people bought it.

The back of folks fell for it. Oh, yeah. We need a businessman back in the White House. I think this is going to be amazing. I think by putting him back in, we're going to have a golden economy. Everything is going to be amazing. Everything is going to be fantastic.

This man is going to come in and he's going to save the day. He is going to return us from this wretched world. Oh, my God. We're going to have a boom. We're going to see manufacturing. We're going to see everything explode. I mean, everybody is going to be rich. Donald Trump acted like he was going to come in there, and he was going to sort of like Oprah,

you get a car, you get a car, you get a car, you get a car, you get a car, you get a car. And all these folks fell for it. They all fell for it. And they keep fan for it. They keep making excuses. They keep saying, oh, yeah. Oh, he's, oh, it's around the corner. Oh, yeah, listen to his advisor.

Trust me. Trust me. Next year, it's going to be a killer. Next year, oh, it's going to be amazing. I'm telling you right now, it is going to be bonkers next year. Trust me, it's going to happen. It's going to happen. It's going to happen.

That's what they all promised. They all promised that. They all promised how amazing it was going to be for all of us. And you know what's happening? His white people are broke. The farmers. are losing money. All of this stuff is going to hell in the handbasket.

He's begging the Fed. Please, please, can y'all please just, can you change interest rates? And it's just over and over and over again. Now, here's the other problem. The networks covered this crap. They tried to float that, oh, he's going to announce we're going to war with Venezuela.

So they all covered his speech. They all got played again because of stupidity. All right, so just listen to some of it. It was an 18-minute speech. Literally, it was just filled with anger and resentment. I ain't going to play much of it. But if you want to see Stuck-O-Stupid, watch this. 11 months ago, I inherited a mess, and I'm fixing it.

When I took office, inflation was the worst in 48 years, and some would say in the history of our country, which caused prices to be higher than ever before, making life unaffordable for millions and millions of Americans. This happened during a Democrat administration, and it's when we first began hearing the word affordability. Our border was open, and because of this, our country was being invaded by an army of 25 million people, many who came from prisons and jails, mental institutions, and insane asylums. They were drug dealers, gang members, and even 11,88 murderers, more than 50 percent of whom,

killed more than one person. This is what the Biden administration allowed to happen to our country, and it can never be allowed to happen again. We had men playing in women's sports, transgender for everybody, crime at record levels with law enforcement and words such as that, just absolutely forbidden. We had the worst trade deals ever made, and our country was left that from all over the world, but they're not laughing anymore. Over the past 11 months, we have brought more positive change to Washington than any administration in American history. There's never been anything like it, and I think most would agree. I was elected in a landslide winning the popular vote and all seven swing states and everything else with a mandate to take on a six-year-old.

and corrupt system that extra really just took the wealth from people and crushed the dreams of the American people first of all do you know how to read I mean just making shit up just making stuff up okay and oh took the wealth

how much has he enriched himself since he's been back in the White House okay let's gonna play a little bit more the last four years the United States was ruled by politicians who fought only for insiders, illegal aliens, career criminals, corporate lobbyists, prisoners, terrorists, and above all, foreign nations, which took advantage of us at levels never seen before. They flooded your cities and towns with illegal aliens. They decimated

your hard-earned savings. They indoctrinated your children with hate for America. Really, I mean, they just released a level of violent felons. that we had never seen to prey on innocent. They caused war. They caused maim. They caused a horrible situation all over the globe. But now you have a president who fights for the law-abiding, hardworking people of our country, the ones who make this nation run, who make this nation work.

You mean the twice impeach, criminally convicted, 34-count felon-in-chief? Donald Trump? That's the law and order? Oh, okay. One year we have achieved more than anyone could have imagined. Starting on day one, I took immediate action to stop the invasion of our southern border. For the past seven months, zero illegal aliens have been allowed into our country, a feat which everyone said was absolutely impossible.

That's just a flat out lie. Do you remember when Joe Biden said that he needed Congress? to pass legislation to help close the border. He was always blaming Congress and everyone else. As it turned out, we didn't need legislation. We just needed a new president. We inherited the worst border anywhere in the world, and we quickly turned it into the strongest border

in the history of our country. In other words, in a few short months, we went from worst to best. We're deporting criminals, restoring safety to our motion. Okay, that's awesome. lie. The reality is Obama and Biden actually deported more people than this idiot did. I'm not going to play any more of this. I'm just going to go to my panel. Again, what you have to understand, y'all, this is just, oh my God, everything is about Biden's fault. Donald Trump

cannot accept the reality that he, he, he has destroyed this economy. And no matter how there, there, you cannot tell enough lies to cover up how they have to, strong this economy. Now, rich folks, oh, I saw where Clay Travis, like, oh, this is the best first-year-per president in my life. Oh, golfer, Bryson DeChambo. Oh, yeah, if you're rich, oh, you love this idiot. You love this idiot. But that's not what's going on. Now, the Gray-Car Department of African-American Studies, Howard University out of D.C., recent COVID, host the recent COVID show, Sirs XM Radio, DC, Joy Chenney, Joy Strachians out of DC. Let me have all three of you here. So,

Um, Reese, I saw a post where you like, oh, if we're going to get all this money and we've gotten

like, like, like, oh my God, this is great. They're liars. But he lies about lies. And here's the deal.

These MAGA people, they see what's going on. With health care, wages, prices going up, they cannot lie themselves out of this debacle. So it would be clear,

what I said is if we were actually going to get $11,000. And we're not. I will put a MAGA hat on my damn self. But you can fly before you see me in a MAGA hat and before we get $11,000 check

because all of the analysis says that 99% of the country is going to see less income in 2026 as a result of this big, ugly as bill that he passed. And here is one thing I do very much enjoy about the fact that Donald Trump

was given this platform to lie in front of the American people for 18 minutes is that all he did was sit up here and raise expectations for what he can actually accomplish expectations that are in no way shape or form going to be fulfilled. People are going to lose money when they file taxes. People are already being pinched in their pocketbooks because of these tariffs. And so I want the Democrats to clip and I want them to shove these clips down his throat and every Republican's throat who voted in lockstep with Donald Trump. Because the reality is you can't gaslight people away from what they're experiencing.

Nothing is more affordable. Housing for Fuxhall isn't. Groceries aren't. Nothing is cheaper. And nothing is going to be cheaper because eventually all of these businesses that have been kind of, you know, holding their fire in terms of raising prices are going to have to raise their prices because Trump is not backing down on these airs. Now, if we get lucky, the Supreme Court will overturn it,

and that's a whole other thing that people are going to have to deal with. But Donald Trump's policies have been the singular biggest wrecking ball, not just in the American economy, but internationally. It has killed manufacturing jobs. 1.1 million jobs have been lost. Nothing has been fixed. You could say Somalians. You can say trans.

You can say whatever little boogeyman you want, but the reality is that you were supposed to fix this shit on day one, and it's still fucked up. Joy, Daniel Dale, of course, is the fact checker at CNN, and he had a really busy time last night walking through all of the lies. Watch this. Daniel, obviously, we heard a lot from the president squeezed into those 15 minutes that were allotted to him. The White House makes that request to the networks. What did you hear in the president's remarks?

Caitlin, that was a fact check at half-asleep kind of presidential speech. So many of these claims have been debunked. so many times. For example, the president said inflation is stopped, as Harry pointed out. It's not stopped. It's 3%. In fact, September, that 3% rate was the fifth consecutive month inflation had increased. President also said that he inherited the worst inflation. He said some might say in the history of the country. Again, he inherited 3% inflation in January. Even the 9.1% peak of the Biden era in June 2022 was about a 40-year high, not a 48-year high, nowhere close to the all-time high of more than 23%. He spoke of cutting prescription drug prices. He spoke of cutting prescription

drug prices by 400 to 600 percent. Those figures are mathematically impossible. If you cut it by more than 100 percent, people would get paid to get their medications, which of course is not happening. He said the price of eggs has fallen, which is true. But then he said everything else is falling rapidly. Everything else is not falling rapidly. In fact, even on groceries in particular, far more products have increased in price this term than have decreased. He said, again, he secured $18 trillion in investment this year. That number is total fiction. Even the White House website uses a figure of $9.6 trillion. And my detailed review, found that that figure is a wild exaggeration, accounting vague promises, vague, not even promises,

and so on. He spoke of some states hitting $1.99 for gas. The lowest state average today is closer to 240. About 100 stations out of about 150,000 stations are below $2,000, according to the firm gas buddy. He also talked about immigration, made false claims there, saying that an army of 25 million people invaded the country under President Biden, leading aside this army rhetoric. The number was not even close to 25 million. It was under a 11 million. It was under a 11 million, and that counts millions of people who were rapidly expelled from the country. Crime was nowhere close to record high under President Biden. He has not settled.

President Trump has not settled eight wars. That list includes various wars, various situations that were not even wars, and some conflicts that have not actually been resolved. I could go on. I don't have time. So visit CNN.com. We'll have a full list later. That's called massive liar.

Exactly. These aren't exaggerations. These are lies. He continues to lie to the American people. And the only question is, are we dumb enough to fall for it? And what we've already seen is not black people. Not black people. It's good to be black.

But even white Americans have caught on to him, as Reese said before, we already know the consumer confidence. People are really concerned about the future. They're present, but also their future. Whatever, you know, dips and goes over one month to the other, overall, they feel like they are paying more and earning less. And while there may be some increases here, some decreases there, the fact of the matter is the economy is not better under Trump is worse under Trump.

And there's no amount of gas lighting he can do to make that not so. It is clear that his tariffs are, it's clear that the Republican Party's inability to address the looming health core crisis that is coming. The only thing Reese didn't get a chance to me. All right, son. Time to put out this campfire. Dad, we learned about this in school.

Oh, did you now? Okay. What's first? Smokey Bear said to... First, drown it with a bucket of water, then stir it with a shovel. Wow. You sound just like him. Then he said... If it's still warm, then do it again. Where can I learn all this? It's all on smoky bear.com with other wildfire prevention tips.

Because only you can prevent wildfires. Brought to you by the USDA Forest Service, your state forester and the ad council. The social media trend that's landing some Gen Ziers in jail. The progressive media darling whose public meltdown got her fired. I'm going to take Francesco off the network entirely. The massive TikTok boycott against Target that makes no actual sense. I will continue getting stuff from Target and I will continue to not pay for it. And the MAGA influencers whose trip to the White House ended in embarrassment.

So refreshing to have the press secretary after the last few years who's both intelligent and articulate. You won't hear about these online stories in the mainstream media. you can keep up with them and all the other entertaining and outrageous things happening online in media and in politics with the Brad versus Everyone podcast hosted by me, Brad Palumbo. Every day of the week, I bring you on a wild ride through the most delulu takes on the internet, criticizing the extremes of both sides from an independent perspective. Join in on the insanity and listen to the Brad versus Everyone podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is, You can decide who takes home the 26 IHard Podcast Awards Podcast of the year by voting at IHeart Podcast Awards.com Now through February 22nd. See all the nominees and place your vote at IHeart Podcast Awards.com. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible.

There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at Audible. dot com. Were tax credits and that premiums are going to increase in some case double, some places, triple what they were in 2025. Americans already know this. And yet the Republican Party left D.C. without addressing it.

And they absolutely could have. Let's have one year extension. You know, maybe Democrats would have supported it. Maybe they wouldn't. We were looking for three years. But they could have come to the table. They did not do it. They were willing to shut down the government over it,

and then they said they were going to try to work on it, and they have not done so. They have not done so. So people of 21 million Americans are going to see a huge strike. And P.S., that's not just them. Right. It will be residual from the rest of us. This is malpractice of a grand order,

and Donald Trump is to blame for it, no matter what he said last night. So here's one of the things for me, Greg. And again, and this is one of the problems that I always have with folks like CNN. Daniel Dale had two minutes. He said, I don't have enough time. You're a 24-hour cable

network. See, this is what... So, they would rather spend an hour to hours on nonsensical discussion back and forth as opposed to say,

Daniel, we're going to give you all the time that you need to lay out all of the lies, the distortions. And this is why we're in this place right now. Because mainstream white media, first of all, they should have never given him 15 minutes of national airtime for that trash-ass speech.

But this is the problem that we're national media. Oh, I don't have enough time. Go to CNN.com for the rest. No, they should have said, Daniel, what is it going to take? five, eight, ten, fifteen minutes. Imagine if Daniel Dale said, it's going to take me

23 minutes to walk through all of the lies. That's when you say, Daniel, you've got 23 minutes. Yes. Yes. Unfortunately, Daniel won't have any minutes soon, even though the Warner Board has said to they have advised not to take this

this propped-up deal from the Ellisons and the Saudis and the United Arab immigrants and Qatar in a minute understand that Netflix doesn't want CNN. They want the back catalog of the film and they want Batman and Superman and the devil

takes the hindmost and all Bozo wants his CNN. So Daniel should probably take his minutes now before the Scott Jennings show is on primetime and Abby is looking for a job somewhere. By the way, you probably saw, I'm sure you did that Scott Jennings is one of several other hosts that has been offered a prime radio spot to occupy the

time slot that was once held by Charles Christian Kirk. So, yeah, he should probably take those minutes now. But what we're watching is the fire sale. This is the fire sale for the country called United States of America. Bozo doesn't care as long as he's enriched. You know, his dead man suit wearing son-in-law running around the world with Steve Wilcoff, trying to figure out how they're going to throw up these hotels everywhere from Palestine, occupied Palestine to wherever else they could put up a hotel. He doesn't care. The ideologues are getting what they want. We saw Brendan Carr, that slipped malfascist on Capitol Hill this week. Russell Vote, that little nasty piece of work, smarming around this week. Car telling people the FCC is, in fact, not an independent agency.

And Russell Vote doing his best now to pancake the chest of yet another facility, in this case, in Colorado, the folks that try to help us understand the weather, all of this is going on, but the key element here, and we saw it on display last night again, is what Steve Bannon said years ago. Flood the zone with ish. Yep.

In other words, keep the distractions going while we make these deals, while we rob you blind and they double take to hide most. You can't change the name of the Kennedy Center. Joyce Bailey was muted. Nobody cares because it's an act of Congress. You can't change you anyways. What do you do? There was a unanimous change, and propaganda Barbie runs out

there with her college and plump lips and spits out another lie. But the point is that if you keep those distractions going, people don't know which way to go. Meanwhile, you are selling everything you can. That is what we're watching right now. Oh, yeah. And, of course, they announced today that Trump Media is joining some other company, a $6 billion deal. That company ain't Trump. Y'all, I got more revenue as a company than Trump Media has made.

but their stock fails 75% now after announcing this scam of a deal now it goes up 33% it's all insider trading one of the people I love the death of Jessica Tarloff because she sits on the Fox News on the 5 and corrects those ignoramuses especially that idiot Greg Gutfeld

and even dumber Jesse Waters I mean it's hard to get dumber but Jesse Waters does an excellent job at doing so here's Tarlov giving them the business and exposing again Trump's massive lies. He said unemployment is down. It's up to 4.6% where it hasn't been since 2021. He said that he secured $18 trillion in investment.

I asked Grok about that. And Groff said the White House own tallies list totals at around 8.8 to 9.6 trillion, but they include commitments from the Biden administration, double counting, and pledges that were likely to occur regardless due to AI development. Then the crazy stuff, like on bringing down drug prices by 600%. I don't know if you saw John Roberts asking Howard Lutnik about that today. You can't bring down prices by 600%. Drug companies aren't paying you to take the medication.

And then this warrior dividend. Now, that was the thing where I said, oh, this is going to be it. This is going to be like the Trump checks or something. This is amazing. But it's not. He's taking already allocated funds that were supposed to go towards housing subsidies for our troops and branding them with his 1770s. Trump sticker. So you get a bonus, but you lose a benefit. It's not coming from the tariff pot. It's already been allocated. That is dishonest, and that is very uncool. If there is another explanation, I would love to hear it. But if that is your big marketing item from all of this, and you are just taking money from troops that are moving to a more expensive place and need extra money to live in San Diego. So you can say that you gave them a rebate that's not even from that tariff pot. Not uncool.

A man risked his... I saw it's a reason you're going to love this. So I'm looking at this video, and this woman, she's married to a soldier, and she says, my husband and I last night, we were watching Trump's speech, and Trump announced that military families are going to get a $1,776 bonus. I looked at my husband, and I said, oh, my God, isn't that great? Anybody in America should be celebrating that our troops are going to get a $1,776 bonus. As Tarlaufe said, you're not getting a bonus. Congress actually authorized a housing allowance for members of the military.

Trump is taking your housing allowance that was authorized by Congress, not him, by Congress, and now is convincing you idiots that you're getting a $1776 bonus. This is how stupid MAGA is. Well, it also shows how unsurious Donald Trump is about actually solving problems. You're taking an actual solution, which is giving military personnel, a housing allowance, and then you're branding it as some sort of warrior Trump check. Get the fuck out of here. And why is housing so expensive?

I thought Donald Trump was supposed to solve the fact that housing prices are so high by kicking out a whole bunch of people. But he is not solving it because the reality is what's driving housing prices is all this algorithmic rent pricing collusion and Wall Street investors buying up all of these homes. That's what's actually creating it. And guess what? Deporting a whole bunch of people and making people too afraid to come to construction sites is also not helping replenish the housing supply. And so, yeah, if people want to sit up there and get excited about the same money they were

already going to get, okay. But Donald Trump cannot unilaterally issue checks. That's why you ain't got no dose check. He went from $5,000 dollar dollar tariff rebate check, you're not getting that either. And now these military personnel, God bless them, they deserve a housing allowance, but that ain't

a bonus. That is to survive. And this is the thing, Joy, that I thought is hilarious. They fall for the oki-doke and the brand and tailpipe every single time. And they go, look at this, Donald Trump loves us. He cares about us. And I'm like, no fool, no he don't. And here's the other deal. Okay, the Senate

just authorized a $900 billion defense deal. We are on the brink of spending a trillion dollars annually on the defense budget. If you actually want to give troops a huge bonus, how about

to say to the military contractors if you go over budget, y'all pay for it? How about the annual $150 plus billion in waste? Because the Pentagon has failed an audit seven consecutive years. That's a great place to grab, to grab abominious. But again, what this is, they, oh, by the way, Trump is also laying off 35,000 people in the Department

of Veteran Affairs. It's also going to decimate the veterans' health care. So when these veterans' wives and these vets post these videos, how about you actually, as Paul Harvey would say, now the rest of the story? Exactly. As a practical matter, every time it appears that Donald Trump is giving you something, rest assured, as recent said, not only can he not write checks, but his practice has consistently been. That if he appears to be giving you something, that is because he is taking away more out the back. He's at your door offering you a flower, but he's still in your TV and your couch out the back door. This is a thief. This is what he does. And he tricks you. So give no tax on tips. That sounds really good, and I give him kudos for at least pandering to tipped workers, right? There's something to be said for it.

But the major thing to be said for it is that two-thirds of these workers don't pay taxes such that they are going to benefit from the no tax on tips. So something he mentioned it last night. It sounds good. It means nothing. It means nothing. He is tricking people over and over and over again. Meanwhile, wealthy people are doing better.

The wealthiest Americans, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos make the same thing that half of the country make all together, just the two of them. He is creating an oligarchy. Meanwhile, you are going to spend more and make less. And anytime he says he's giving you something with his name on it, Rest assured, it will not make up for what you are losing every time twice on Sunday. And each time I'm like, you know, someone like, well, maybe, maybe this time, because we all want to believe the best. It's always a lie. Donald Trump has consistently been a grifter dishonest.

And this has carried through to his administration and it didn't have to. He's chosen this. absolutely tied to this if you will is Ken Martin who is the chair of the Democrat National Committee

announcing that the DNC is scrapping their report of what went wrong in the 2024 election had the people who were hitting me today and they were like oh my God this is ridiculous they shouldn't be doing this this is wrong

and I was like, no, actually it's not. It's not. Because first, I've already seen two autopsies. In fact, if I'm correct, in Risa, you may have seen this as well, and Greg and Joy, y'all may have seen this. I swore earlier this week, let me pull it up. I swore earlier this week, or was it last week, somebody posted. something called, oh, yeah, right here. Somebody posted,

democraticautopsy.com, dot org. And it's a Roots Action Report on the 2024 presidential election called Autopsy, how Democrats lost the White House. And you can actually download it, and you can read the report online.

So if I click right here, I can read the whole report and download it, whatever. So here's my whole deal. If I'm Ken Martin, I'm not trying to have another what happened last year conversation. because the 224 election is over, okay?

It's over. We all know how they lost. This report says it right here, and it jumps out 6.8 million fewer people voted for Harris than they did for Joe Biden. It talked about the impact of Israel and Gaza. It talked about any, it talked about Harris not, you know,

cutting herself from a lot of Biden policies. All right. She talked about it in her book. All right, we're good. So if I'm kidding Martin, hell, no, I'm not talking about it because I got these folks on the run. I got Republicans breaking away in the House scared to death because their own people are going to lose health care. And there are 35 voting Republicans who are like, oh shit, we might lose our jobs, might lose the House. You've got senators, Joni Ernst, not running for re-election.

Susan Collins is in trouble in Maine. You've got Republicans cannot find a top candidate running against Osoft in Georgia. they're scared of death of Roy Cooper in North Carolina. And so why in the hell I would put a report out that's going to lead to massive negative headlines and crapping all damn day when they're catching all the heat. To me, hell, that's called smart politics.

Yeah, in fact, to be even smarter, they maybe should take a page from the White National Party. Remember when Barack Obama won re-election in 2012 and they had the autopsy, the GOP autopsy. And the report said, you know, Romney didn't reach out to these minorities and they need to make a kinder, gentler, GOP. There was a madman sitting in his golden tower in Manhattan that tweeted out. That's absurd.

You need to double down. Leave that immigration alone. Let's talk about immigration reform. That was Donald Trump. Notice how quickly they shut the F up once they quadrupled down on white supremacy and took the White House in 2016. Let's fast forward to now. Ken Martin's on the right road,

but to continue on that road, and Risi, thank you, says, for taking some of our cosplay left friends to the woodshed around Jasmine Crockett because, you know, you read two pages, Carl Marx and Arson is some kind of genius, and I didn't realize the corpse of Jill Stein

was still animated until I see them floating around on some of these left websites. But at any rate, the whole point is at this point, what you don't double down now on Democrats is chasing these toothless white voters that ain't never coming back to you. Now you go on the opposite direction.

You go to Mom Dani. You go, Ken Martin and him, if you're not ready to do to that, you need to be quiet. Finally, let's be crystal clear about what we're facing right now. Donald Trump's scared of two things. He is scared of not making as much money as he can. That's number two.

Number one, he's scared of Epstein files. Let's be very clear about all of this. This man is running crazy. And in order to survive, he will do anything since we've been probably on air. You see that TikTok now, the deal is going through. He got his little white supremacist friend, Larry Ellison and him. They got a little piece of it.

A couple of other companies got a piece of it. And bite dance still has a piece of it. Meanwhile, China announced this week, they are testing now this huge facility they built to produce the cutting edge semiconductor chips. China go blow past the United States and all them billionaire fools with all the technology. It's just a matter of time.

And so in this collapsing entity, we call United States of America, the billionaires are raiding the piggy bank. Bozo's trying to stay out of jail and get him $5 on the way out as well. The world is moving on and preparing for a post-American future. And we trapped in this entity, got two choices. We can pretend like this is business as usual, or we can take a page from the Republicans who said, we're going to go in our direction completely and go in our direction completely. And that means Ken Martin's going to have to probably catch up. a little more other than just dead and autopsies.

Now, bro, you need to come on over here with us. When you're in a media game, Risi, what you don't do is invite you getting pimps left. And we all know what would happen. If Ken Martin released this report, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, ABC, NBC,

they will all be booking James Carville, Paul Bagalia, every strategist in the world. What if they do? This was bad. This was awful. You would have nothing but, they would knock Republicans off the front page,

off the front of the website, off the main line on the stories, and it will all be about how awful Democrats ran in 2024. We already know that. So, and like, people come up to me all the time. And they say, and they're stunned. They say, dude, I mean, like, you just move.

I was like, yeah, the election was Tuesday. I was focused on 25 on Thursday. They were like, I don't understand. We're so hurt and depressed. I went, she lost. I said, I'm sorry. I can't sit here and expend energy on losing. My whole deal is, what's the next race?

And then what, that's why I was like, no, my mind's on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. no my mind of all those constitutional amendments are in louisiana no my mind is on this mayoral race in this race in this race that's i'm like yo you can get caught up in that and then people who come to me i can't reach it i know what happens to you as well risi who's going to be the nominee in 28 fool we said 25 i tell everybody i ain't talking 28 i ain't talking 27 i'm not talking 26 we're going to finish 205. And then after, after the holidays, we're focusing on the primaries that are coming up in March, in April, and May, we're going to deal with those. And then once the primary is over, and those primaries, then we're going to deal with the Florida primary, which is in August,

and the other was in August. And then after that, we're going to deal with November. That's where the focus has to be. Right. Well, first of all, Republicans are getting their asses kicked right them. Yeah. How the hell would we sit up here and change the motherfucking topic? You don't throw nobody no life jacket. You go, I'm going, I'm let your ass drown. Yeah.

And the reality is we're in a different world than whatever political calculations these dumb motherfuckers made, when they stayed their asses at home or when they switched over to vote, bitch, welcome to Trump to Trump crow. Because it is a whole lot of fucking worst. So your complaints on the battle of Biden is, uh, or, uh, uh, inflation is how all. inflation is even higher and it's not going down. And so if the results that we've been living in over the past 11 months aren't enough of a wake-up call to those 7 million fuckers, to those 89 million fuckers, to the 75 million fuckers who voted for Trump, then what the hell is a goddamn PDF going to do? It ain't going to do a goddamn thing.

So moving right along, figure to shit out how it works best in your particular race. but I'm Everyone needs to take care of their mental health even running back Bejohn Robinson When I'm on the field I'm feeling the pressure I usually just take a deep breath When I'm just breathing and seeing what's in front of me

Everything just slows down It just makes you feel great before I run the play Just like Bejohn We all need a strong mental game on and off the field Make a game plan for your mental health At love your mind playbook.org Love Your Mind Brought to you by the Huntsman Mental Health Foundation

the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and the ad council. The social media trend that's landing some Gen Z years in jail. The progressive media darling whose public meltdown got her fired. I'm going to take Francesco off the network entirely. The massive TikTok boycott against Target that makes no actual sense. I will continue getting stuff from Target. And I will continue to not pay for it. And the MAGA influencers whose trip to the White House ended in embarrassment.

So refreshing to have the press secretary after the last few years who's both intelligent and articulation. You won't hear about these online stories in the mainstream media, but you can keep up with them and all the other entertaining and outrageous things happening online in media and in politics with the Brad versus Everyone podcast, hosted by me, Brad Palumbo. Every day of the week, I bring you on a wild ride through the most delulu takes on the internet, criticizing the extremes of both sides from an independent perspective. Join in on the insanity and listen to the Brad versus Everyone podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is you can decide who takes home the 26 IHard Podcast Awards Podcast of the year by voting at IHeartPodcastawards.com now through February 22nd. See all the nominees and place your vote at IHeart Podcast Awards.com. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com.

Actually happy that Ken Martin recognize that in addition to what it gives the media to do in terms of changing the subject, because they don't really want to talk about how fucked up Donald Trump is. They really want to talk about Democrats. I'm glad that he didn't really take debate. And I personally don't want to hear shit about the Ohio white voter. I don't want to hear anything about that. And so I'm interested in listening to the people who have a solution for getting our disaffected and disillusioned voters off the damn couch.

I'm interested to people who want to reach the black voters that stayed home because something didn't resonate with them or because they

were effectively targeted with disinformation, disinformation, I mean, and other propaganda. That's what I'm interested in having. We should be having

a project 2028, a project 2026, a project, what the fuck we're going to do for the next 15 days? That's what I want to see. Not a goddamn

rehashing of what happened in the election. We lost. Get over it. Elections have consequences. So yes, kudos to Ken Martin. You could talk

about transparency, all that shit, it don't fucking matter. What's done is done. What are we going to do to move forward? And guess what? That moving forward does not look like telling black women, telling black people to go to the back of the bus. You're a great white hope candidate. Everybody's going to have to compete.

And good luck on activating the people that are actually reliable Democratic voters and good luck on getting people who have felt completely left out of the system to the ballot box. If you can do that, you can win. You ain't got to worry about who else is running. Your ass can win. That's right. That's right.

So, Joy, you have to follow. That was like 11 F words, and that were three MFs. What? I don't know. Wasn't that name? Yeah. Yeah, it was that man. Like, when you hit, like, six, I was like, I got to start counting.

Then it was like, another one, my bad, my bad. Another one, then, no. So can't none of y'all send me no emails about me cussing? Oh, I get all the hate mail for you. Y'all. I get all the hate, I get everybody on my ass and all. That was three F words and three MFs. 11 F words and three MFs.

Joy, you got to follow that. It's the end of the year. Now, listen, here is the only thing that Ken Martin could have improved upon. I wouldn't have even released that I wasn't releasing it. It really owe us all of that. And let's be clear, just because they're not releasing it, doesn't mean they're not learning from it.

What the American people need are results. What we want from the DNC is an actionable plan. We don't need to all discuss it. We need them to discuss it. We want them to do it. We want them to get us wins on the books. Forget transparency, forget all of this, whatever. Wins on the books.

Book of crook, however you do it. That's what we want. And we all have discussed here what's winning. Zohamam Dani is winning in New York. We have Abigail Spanberger. winning in Virginia, but what they are all doing are focusing on what people want to see. They want to see increased earnings, decreased costs. They want to see improved lives for them and their family.

It's just that simple. They want to be able to go and know that their vote is going to be counted and not wait all day. They want a society that works for them. you can there's just nothing else beyond that that's what they want that's what the democrats are asking for that's what moderates are asking for that's what they need to deliver and so talking about it creating headlines that are distractions and are just fodder for the jake tappers of the world really would not have benefited anyone and what we already know is that they did not invest properly in the communities that have been the democratic base They just didn't do it.

Yeah, they just didn't do that and they got to do more. Hey, hey, I'm going to tell y'all stuff right now. I got a text message yesterday. I ain't going to name the person. A person's black. And send me a test, hey, we want to send some house candidates your way on your show. I said, y'all sending checks. I said, let me be real clear.

The D-Triple-C didn't spend any money on ads in 2024. The DSCC didn't spend any money on ads in 2024. The House Majority Pack, the Senate Majority Pack, spent zero on ads on Black Star Network. Oh, and I know they gave money to Sinclair, Comcast, Disney, Fox. I mean, I can name Next Star all the companies. And I made it clear, don't send me no names if y'all ain't advertising. because guess what? This infrastructure that we built

and just understand, I've hired three people in the past week. I'm about to hire, I'm about to make a big hire for Blacksternetwork.com in the next week. All that stuff costs money. So, see, we ain't playing, we ain't playing this game. We ain't

playing this game because, you know, I stay my ass at home. There's a whole lot I can talk about right here from the studio as opposed to getting on the road and traveling around the country in disrupting my sleep in eating patterns because we're out there. But again, folk need to understand something.

We ain't playing no games. And see, I ain't going to sit here and have conversation with the folk in the third week of October about all y'all are going to spend anything. Let's just be real clear where I stand on that. And for all you simple Simon Negroes out there who are like, oh, you got a check,

you got a check, you got a check. Well, guess what? They're going to run ads on IHart Radio. They're going to run ads on Urban One. They're going to run ads on Cumulus. They're going to run ads on all these media companies.

It is projected the next year, the 2006 election, $10 to $12 billion is going to be spent on the 2226 midterms. Black-on media, stop acting like a crumb is a meal. That's why a whole bunch of black-on-media people right now are suffocating.

Look like they got emphysema because they broke because they keep sitting here promising you meetings. And that's all you get paid in is meetings. So we ain't going to do that. We'll let me real clear. Before I go to break, this ain't just politics. I've said to Netflix, Apple TV, Prime Video, Peacock, Paramount Plus, stars, Showtime, HBO, do not call me trying to get celebrities on my show to promote a new show y'all got

if y'all are unwilling to advertise. Because if y'all value my audience enough to want to, promote the show and the celebrity to them, then y'all should be cutting a check as well. Because I could talk about a whole bunch of other stuff, then talk to y'all's celebrity. So again, that's the difference when you have integrity and decency and principles

where you say, you're not going to play me small. Or as Wesley and Snipe said in the movie Rising song, wrong Negro, wrong century. I'll be right back. Roland Martin unfiltered on the Black Studd Network, support the work that we do. Join our Breed and Funk fan club. Do you want to contribute?

Cash out. Use the Stripe, Cure Code. You said right here, bottom left-hand corner. PayPal's R.M. Unfiltered. Venmo's R.M. Unfiltered. Zail at Rolinssmartin.com. Rolling at rolling martin unfiltered. Check your money order to make it payable to Roland

Unfiltered. Peelbox, 57196, Washington, D.C. 203-7-0196. Back in a moment. one ad one ad drop and then come back to me

I'm gonna do I'm gonna do Sam around 720 I'm gonna do this candid scene discussion and then put them on set that's the time for morning for better or worse what makes America special it's that legal system

that's supposed to protect my body just one commercial drop come to me I got it over here just be ready to sit here We must raise a voice of outrage. We must raise a voice of compassion. And we must raise a voice of unity.

We are not in a crisis of party versus party. We are in a crisis of civilization, a human rights crisis, and a crisis of democracy itself. And guess what? You've been chosen to make sure that those that would destroy, But those that would hate don't have the final say, and they don't ultimately win.

Hey, what's up, everybody? It's Godfrey the funniest dude on the planet. And you're watching. Roland Martin unfiltered. Well, you have a narcissist sitting in the Oval Office who's pretty stupid. What are you going to get? You're going to get somebody's all about them. So this fool, now remember FIFA gay, that fool, a peace prize, nothing.

So today, these idiots announced that the Kennedy Center board has voted unanimously to name it the Trump Kennedy Center Performing Hearts. Okay, first of all, just like the Department of War, you just can't just do that because Congress actually passed the law naming it at the Kennedy Center. And so they put out this statement, Carolyn Levin, who's the chief liar for Donald Trump, put out this statement saying that, oh, it was unanimous. Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, who's on the board was like, that's bullshit. I'm Congresswoman Joyce Beatty. I'm sitting here in my congressional

office in Washington, D.C., just ending a call with the Kennedy Center, where I serve as an ex-officio member. I am bringing this to you live today because what you may hear is that there was a unanimous vote

to rename the Kennedy Center, the Trump Center. Be clear. I was on that call, and as I tried to push my button to voice my concern, to ask questions, and certainly not to vote in support of this, I was muted. Each time I tried to speak, I was muted. Participants were not allowed to voice their concerns who were online. Yet it was said at the end, it was a a unanimous vote. Clearly, the Congress has a say in this. This center, the Kennedy Center, was created by the Congress. I think it's important for us to know that this is just another attempt to evade the law and not let the people have a say. As a strong supporter of the arts, As someone during my entire time here in Congress,

I have participated in the Kennedy Center's programs, and I salute all the artists who have performed things. All right, Joy, again, they lied. And again, you just can't just change stuff, but when you are nothing but ass kissers, and that's what Maga is, oh, my God, he's been so amazing, he's been so incredible. We're going to name it after him.

I'm telling you right now. Then again, we got them bullshit ass, all that gold, the plaques and the photos all on the White House wall. Yo, I'm telling you right now, when they get that ass whooped in 28, I'm, hey, I'm, hey, listen, see, Joy, I ain't gonna never ever work for a politician. but I'm telling you right now I'm telling you right now if it's President Westmore on January 2009

if it's president somebody else I'm gonna have somebody at the White House with a big ass trash can and at 1201 I'm just I want a split screen

hell I want them to hold the phone up and just be streaming it on Instagram or streaming it on YouTube. I'm just throwing shit in the trash can. I'm sitting here, I'm like, take all that shit down. I'm sending somebody over to the peace building

take that bullshit down. I'm telling you right now. See, this is where Democrats, I think, are too nice. They got to be... Matter of fact, they need to run on... When I'm elected, I'm tearing that bullshit

well first of all the ball remain even gonna get built I'd be like yo I'm sitting here dynamite and that bad boy you know I don't know who these people think there is always tomorrow and when tomorrow comes

we are gonna know who they are and we're gonna know where to find them and how to fire them and how to get rid of them and how to certainly take their name off the Kennedy Center building you know I almost don't want us to push this too much because obviously he can't change the name officially.

I would rather him kind of Kabuki Theater change the name so that we don't have to go through the... Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy. He's going to send somebody over there to put his name on the side of the building. Oh, to be sure. To change from Department of Defense to the department of...

It's going to cost $2 billion. They don't care. They don't care. I'm just saying that whether it's officially there or not, we can always undo it. It'll cost us money, but it'll be well worth it to try to wipe this authoritarian period off the history books, or at least so that we don't have to see it every day, and to really show that we're putting down what is this, almost this authoritarian insurrection, this happening by MAGA against the people of the United States. But here's what I would say.

I hope that media who are reporting this story really focused on the fact that they didn't allow people to really say their peace and to vote and that that's not legitimate. Because I feel like Joyce Beatty, if she had not come out so forcefully, we never would have known what really happened.

And the other members are... You ain't going to see that clip. You ain't going to see that clip on CNN. Right, which is a real shame because the notion was that everyone on their agree, and that they agreed to do this when that's a lie. And so much of this is a lie.

What is true is that the Kennedy Center is in financial strain. The Kennedy Center has had a decline in subscriptions, a decline in shows wanting to come there, a decline in audiences. No business could do this work and be sustainable. Hell no. Hell no. What is great, however, is all the other theaters.

I'm a theater go on Sunday I'll be at the Shakespeare Theater washing guys and dolls. Yep. All theaters. I was at a theater last week. Hey, hey, hey, we ain't got to go there. We ain't got to go there. Larissa, I'm telling you right now.

Y'all remember five years ago? Matter of fact, it's, damn, it's almost to the day. It's almost to, it is to the five years. This is the fifth anniversary of Kyrie Irvin, burning sage at the Boston Garden. This is exactly what I will be doing to every federal agency, Recy, when, like, just, like, we were moving all evil, nasty-ass spirits. And then we firing everybody on every board, every commission.

We ain't even waiting to the following week. Everybody getting fired day one. well you know listen it is the um it's the 35th anniversary of waiting to exhale so i'm gonna channel another iconic moment which is bernadine burning all that shit down she went in that closet everything got to go hell she was even born a rolexes that's the kind of energy that we need to have when it comes to undoing dismantling every bit of damage and carnage and vanity and ugly-ass tacky decor that this man

with his illiterate self who has to talk about what he wants to put to type out because he can't barely fucking write or read take all that shit out take all of it out don't leave nothing up there I don't care if you do like it still take it out but you know what what bothers

me so much about what he's done to the Kennedy Center is not just the naming of it I'm actually, as disgusted I am by it, I'm happy that it will be so blatantly obvious that this man has put his groby, degenerate, funky-ass hands on the institution so that everybody knows that it's illegitimate. But it saddens me that it is now an illegitimate institution. It was a beacon of cultural inclusivity in our country. Roland, we were sitting up there, groving and dancing before Trump was in office at the Kennedy Center. with club quarantine in January.

He has stripped from the people of D.C., the people of the United States, a place where you could affordably, and oftentimes for free, take in world class culture, world class plays,

concerts, comedy, youth programming. He has taken that away. The same way that he has taken a hatchet to all kinds of cultural institutions throughout this country. And so as we talk about the disgusting renaming that he has added his

degenerate self to, we have to also talk about what he has actually done to bastardize the Kennedy Center and all of our cultural staples in this country. Absolutely. And what's crazy, Greg, is that

that was a D.C. family for 47 years, they made the Kennedy Center ribbon and metal. This is a photo of them. Well, stuck on stupid is so arrogant that he decided to say

oh no, no, no, we're gonna just redo it. Same thing. Tosting that damn metal in the trash can and bringing one bag. I'm telling you, listen, we got to deal with three years of this scumbag sitting in the White House. But what I keep trying to explain

the people, Greg, this is not a moment for folks to just be sitting there, pissed off, mad and upset. This is mobilized. Mobilize, mobilize, mobilize, organized, organize, organized. You cannot stop him because he's going to be sitting in the White House

for three years. Oh, but you can take the House. You can take the Senate. This is all hands on debt. This is absolutely maximizing every single vote. And I don't give a damn. If you a woman, and if you, I saw a video, the sister, matter of fact,

it was one of them popped a balloon video. She actually sent me an email when she's in a dude was like, I ain't really downed that vote. She's like, mm-mm, no, I ain't dealing with your ass. I don't give a damn. If you a dude, hey, if you a sister and that dude you with, his dad said,

I ain't voting, mm-mm, I need you to rise your ass on up. No, no, you can't be here. If you're a brother, if you're dealing with a woman, she ain't voting, you take your ass on back to your mama house. I ain't sitting here. Hey, if you got some old punk-ass, MAGA family member, you ain't coming to Christmas dinner. You can't eat at my table.

I don't give a damn. I'm telling you right now. I don't give a... Hey, ain't nobody MAGA at our Thanksgiving Christmas table because I'm gonna tell you right now, it'll be hell. I ain't gonna let their punk ass eat.

I'm gonna tell their ass. Matter of fact, I'm gonna sit and say, going to get you the Popeye's get your ass a three piece ain't that shit in the car because you ain't coming in this house with a red-ass hat.

I'm being straight up serious. Waring a MAGA hat in my house is like wearing a clan hood. Yeah, you damn right. I said it. It is wearing a It is wearing a clan hood. It's not like wearing a clandah.

It is wearing a cland. Because they are attack on black America is clear and undocumented. That's exactly right. I suppose the obligatory European reference would be Liss Estrada, the Greek play where the women would not have sex with the men

if they refused to go to war. I guess the hip-hop reference would probably be Shirek with Nick Cannon and Wesley Snipes and them. But no sex until you all stop fighting each other in the street. But the reality is that that's the line we have to draw. You know, what you say at a minute ago is very, very, very true and accurate. We have to fight the fight in front of us right now with a long-term vision for sure. I agree with you recently. We need a project 2028, a project, you know, 20, whatever,

32, but we have to fight that fight in front of us an advance moment by moment. If Ken Martin is serious, like you said, Joy, you got to invite Mom Dany, you got to invite often Ben, you've got to sit down and have a conversation, bring in Spamberger, but bring in Westmore, if you're serious. But we know we've seen this show before. They're not going to do that unless they are forced to do it. And here's where I'm with regard to the Kennedy Center. Everybody can read this for yourself.

If you read 20 U.S. Code Section 76I through L, you can see for yourself the statute authorizing the Kennedy Center. And you can see the public law that preceded it because, remember, they were going to build the National Cultural Center for the Arts anyway, and Kennedy, John Kennedy, was raising money. And then he's killed in November, 1963. The following year, Linda Baines Johnson is the one who signed the law. But before that, the public law said, whereas the statute had already been floated to call it the National Cultural Center, they explicitly put in the statute everywhere in here where it says National Cultural Center,

you would now replace it with John F. Kennedy. Bozo can't do it. Now, but here's the problem. What you said is true. bringing the sage, bringing in the construction team, bringing in a bit. But the cover story

this month's mother Jones got picture of John Roberts at punk ass. And they got fingers pointing at him and says, all John Roberts' fault.

Here's what you can't, you can't predict and you can't guarantee. The very same thing that they let Donald Trump get away with, when you go in there and say, take that shit

off the wall, they go into court and do not guarantee that these fascists, the MAGA-6, won't try to figure out of way to say, and herein lies the real issue, what we're facing right now. They are taking a jackhammer.

I'm talking about that punk-ass Russell Vote. I'm talking about Kevin Roberts, who's got a whole ass insurrection now at the Heritage Foundation because all this anti-Jewish stuff, his friend Tucker Carlson is doubling down on it. He's with him. Now the board is splitting the donors or scrimand. The point is that they are taking a jackhammer to the institutions. Now, it may seem like, okay, all this can be reversed, but never, underestimate the motivation of a good white supremacists.

Remember what Susie Wilde said in Vanity Fair about Russell vote. He's a full-ass ideologue. He's a zealot. So please, don't underestimate the Supreme Court. Don't underestimate John Robertson, and certainly not Alito and Thomas. They could turn around and say, President Moore, you can't take it down. Why? Because we said so.

Bottom line is, y'all take him out at the ballot box. And as far as matter of concern, y'all can kiss my ass. This will always be known as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It is not the Trump Nut House. That ain't what it is. All right, we come back 50 years of the National Association of Black Journalists, how critically important are black griots to our community? We'll talk to one of the founders next right here on RollaMont Unfiltered on the Black Star Network.

This week, On a balanced life with Dr. Jackie, we're talking about the ups and the downs of the holidays, the ebb and flow of life, those things that keep us running and gunning. But you know there comes a time in each of our lives where we need to just sit down, sit back, and relax, giving you a chance to really find out who you are and how you're going to move your life forward. How do I learn? How do I grow from this? And that's where, you know, resilience comes.

I'm literally walking this out in real time. It's just giving myself all the grace, all the space, all the permission that I need. We're talking about all of these things this week on A Balance Life for Dr. Jackie here on Black Star Network. Hello, I'm Bishop T.D. Jakes, and you're watching Roland Martin unfiltered. Folks, time of Black Star Network headlines with Brittany Noble. Brittany? Well, Roland, the Y News investigation finds that the majority of children in New Jersey's foster care system are black and his state. Hispanic. Camden and Essex counties account for the highest number of foster care placement

statewide, with black children making up the largest share in both counties. Across all racial groups, children between the ages of six and 12 make up the largest share of foster care placements statewide. Everyone needs to take care of their mental health, even running back Bijon Robinson. When I'm on the field, I'm feeling the pressure, I usually just take a deep breath. When I'm just breathing and seeing what's in front of me, everything just slows down. It just makes me great before I run the play. Just like Bijan, we all need a strong mental game on and off the field. Make a game plan for your mental health at love your mind playbook.org.

Love your mind. Brought to you by the Huntsman Mental Health Foundation, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, and the ad console. The social media trend that's landing some Gen Z ears in jail. The progressive media darling whose public meltdown got her fired. I'm going to take Francesco off the network entirely. The massive TikTok boycott against Target that makes no actual sense. continue getting stuff from target and i will continue to not pay for it and the maga influencers whose

trip to the white house ended in embarrassment so refreshing to have the press secretary after the last few years who's both intelligent and articulate you won't hear about these online stories in the mainstream media but you can keep up with them and all the other entertaining and outrageous things happening online in media and in politics with the brad versus everyone podcast hosted by me brad palumbo every day of the week I bring you on a wild ride who the most delulu takes on the internet, criticizing the extremes of both sides from an independent perspective. Join in on the insanity and listen to the Brad versus Everyone podcast on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is, you can decide who takes home the 26 IHeart Podcast Awards podcast of the year by voting at IHeartPodcastawards.com now through February 22nd. See all the nominees, and place your vote at iHeartpodcastawards.com. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen.

Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. And the statement posted on ex-FBI director Dan Bongino thanked President Trump for what he called the opportunity to serve with purpose. He rose to prominence over the past decade as pro-Trump far-right podcaster on the Dan Bongino show, who promoted conspiracy theories, including some targeting the FBI itself. His departure follows reported clashes with Justice Department leadership over the administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Well, the Palm Beach County Commission is investigating in, they are investing, excuse me, in a new museum and research library, all dedicated to African-American history.

The $80 million project will be housed in a 20,000 square foot two-story facility built on the grounds of historic Roosevelt High School in West Palm Beach. Once the city segregated Black High School, the development is something alumni have long advocated for. Plans include gallery space, research library, or history projects, and youth programs as well. Also, a 34-year-old white man is facing federal charges tonight for allegedly violence, the housing rights of his black neighbor. Prosecutors say Jonathan Finkel fired a gun and shouted, you better keep running, boy, in the gated neighborhood.

Now, if convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison on the housing rights charge, plus an additional 10 years on the firearms charge. Now, authorities say this marks the first time that a hate crime's arrest has happened under Richland County's new hate crimes ordinance and acted earlier this month. Well, music legend, Dionne Warwick, is facing a lawsuit over Doja Cat's hit song, Paint the Town Red. Artist Rights Enforcement Corporation filed a complaint claiming they negotiated the deal that allowed Doja Cat to sample Warwick's 1964 classic walk-on-by. Well, the company says that Warwick signed a contract back in 2002 that entitles the firm to 50 percent of royalties. We will have so much more coming up right here on Roland Martin.

unfiltered. We appreciate that. Folks, Friday, December 12th was the last Friday, of course, was the 50th anniversary. The day the National Association of Black Journalists was founded. One of the folks, Sam Ford, is a founder. This was a video that he put together and we'll chat with him on the other side of this. Watch this. Hi, I'm Sam Ford. At age 22, I was one of the youngest founders of NABJ. In 1975, I was both a grad student at the University of Minnesota and an on-air reporter at WCCO TV, Minneapolis, being trained on a fast track to become a correspondent for CBS News. Sam Ford, WCCO Television News reporting. Between those tasks, I produced a documentary on a Wisconsin Indian tribe for a group of liberal

Republicans who paid me $1,000, $6,000 in today's money, and gave me a free trip to D.C. to observe a political conference. It was the third conference of black elected officials, mainly organized by black Republicans, but attended mainly by black Democrats and a large contingent of black journalists, held at Washington's now defunct Sheridan Park Hotel. NABJ was created by black journalists there to cover the conference. Many came there for that purpose. They were mainly from Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

As for a 22-year-old me, I didn't know anybody there. I had seen Reginald Bryant on the PBS show Black Perspective on the news, and I recognize D.C. anchorman, Max Robinson, from spending summers in D.C. with my sister. He was a trail place. The first black local anchor in the country. Reporting the news from Washington is like watching a constantly boiling kettle that often boils over. At the same time as the conference, outside the White House, black protesters opposed President Gerald Ford's joining South Africa in financing a war against the leftist government of Angola.

I was just there with my new Manalta 35 millimeter camera and decided my job was to do. take pictures of these famous black people so WCCO TV could add them to our news files. Wow, 34-year-old Jesse Jackson. He was next to Dr. King when King was assassinated. And there she was, Coretta Scott King, Dr. King's widow. As a teen, I had read and enjoyed her book on her life with Dr. King. He'd been gone now more than seven years. faith in the Constitution is whole, and I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator

to the diminution of the Constitution. Congresswoman Barbara Jordan of Houston, Texas, whose voice made others stop and listen, a star on the Watergate Committee that had led to President Richard Nixon's resignation the previous year. Senator Edward Brooke, Republican of Massachusetts, one of the most distinguished members until his own children later forced him from office for alleged infidelity to their mother. In the middle, Cleveland mayor, Carl Stokes, one of the first black mayors of a major American city, to his right, Carl Rowan, national newspaper columnist and the most famous black journalist of that day. Also there, then three-term congressman Charles Rangel of

New York, who would serve 20 more terms, 46 years. He recently died. Between snapping photos of the black politicos at the conference of 50 years ago, I was in the big suite where NABJ politics were underway. Chuck Stone of the Philadelphia Daily News beat out Max Robinson of DC Channel 9 to be president of NABJ. I had voted for Max. And as for NABJ regions, they pulled out a map of the Department of HEW Health Education and Welfare and pretty much made those regions, NABJ's regions.

And I became one of the Midwest Regional Directors, and proud to say, we were the first to organize a regional convention, December, 1976, at the Mulebach Hotel in Kansas City. All right, folks, joining us in studio at Sam Ford. First of all, that's a great video, and I'm glad to have you here. So you were 22. How did you get to the meeting? Well, you know, it's quite a...

You said you were working in Minneapolis. It's one of these things. My late wife, Gloria Murray Ford, used to call me Forrest Gump. I was there, but I wasn't really involved. But the story was, and I sort of talked about it there, these Republican women wanted a documentary done on this Indian tribe in Wisconsin. I was a young reporter, just started at this television station, and I guess probably expendable.

So the head of the station, who I guess was involved in Republican politics, said, call me in and says, will you do this documentary for these ladies? and I said, sure. So, being a cameraman, went over to Wisconsin, did the documentary. Afterward, the women watched it, they liked it. And the next day he called me in and says, well, they were very happy with that.

How would you like to go to Washington tomorrow? I was like, yeah, sure. And so, the first time I ever flew first class, might have been the last. They flew me here to Washington with a couple of black Republicans. Now, I don't know if I was here as a, let's say, to enjoy the meeting or as a spy.

Because afterward, he asked me about these two Republicans. Nevertheless, we got here, we saw all these people I'd seen on television. You know, I grew up in the Midwest. Right, right. Small town for the most part, so I didn't know about all this stuff. And I get to see Jesse Jackson and Koretta King, and I had my Manauta. Because that was a meeting here. It was the, it was the third conference of black elected officials.

It was here in Washington. So, as I said, it was just an example of, you know, something great that I could go to to learn more about black folks. And the two black Republicans were at that same conference? Oh, yeah, they were there. So they were there to watch the conference. So people came from all over the country. It was a one-day event, just one-day event. And a lot of the black journalists came there from different places.

And I knew none of them, nobody. Right. But they got together and said, you know, go to room such and such. you know, we're starting an organization, and so I went to this room. So here you are, two and two years old. D.C., you're like, I'm going to the room.

That's right. And you go to the room, and they're all these journalists. And, you know, I'm sort of awestruck because I had spit my summers here in Washington because my sister lived here, and I'd watched Channel 9, so I knew who Max Robinson was.

Of course. So I was like starstruck. You got Max Robinson, Mal Good, who was the first. the first black network correspondent at ABC. Greg, our fellow Alpha brother. And Maureen Bunyan was here. So I saw these people.

And so then the contest started as to who was going to be the president of NABJ. And so you maxed at his group. Hold up. Before you can go there. So you're in this meeting and you're like, hold up, there's an organization going on. Now we've got a vote going on. So what are you doing in the room while you're watching all of the, machinations happening. What are you doing?

Well, we're coming and going, basically. You know, I'm going out there, taking pictures, then we come back in here. And it's a lot of things like that, and it's laid back, really, you know, for the most part. And, again, it's an opportunity for me to see a lot of these people, like Jesse Jackson, whatnot. So I come back into the room and the politicking starts.

And so Chuck Stone, who I did not know at that time, is from the Philadelphia Daily News. And he was the catalyst for this meeting. Right. And he said, you know, we can start an organization. You've got the dentist they've got their organization. You've got the lawyers they got their organization. We need one for black journalists.

So you've got factions. So now you're sitting in the room, and you've got factions trying to sit here. Okay, who's going to do what? Yeah. Who's going to be president? Right. So Max is lobbying. Chuck is lobbying.

Basically, it was the Philadelphia. Now Max is lobbying for him to be president? Correct. Okay. And Chuck is lobbying to be president. Okay. And Chuck is the one who called him even. Well, I'm not sure exactly who.

I think it was kind of a combination of D.C. and Philadelphia journalists got together. Philadelphia already had a chapter of black journalists. Correct. Correct. So anyway, here they come together, and it's a question of who's going to be the president. Max campaigns, we hear his spiel. Chuck campaigns, we hear his spiel. Chuck is probably more organized about this thing.

And he says, you know, we're going to start this organization, and we're going to call it Nabja, NABJ. That was Chuck's word, Nabja. And so they had a vote, and they were more newspaper people than TV people. So they won. Who'd you vote for? I'm voting for Max. Of course.

I didn't know who Chuck was. You stuck with the broadcast people. Of course. You're like, oh, I know him. I know I know him. But first of all, I always joke with people because, so a lot of people did not have not realize that NABJ's colors are black and gold. they didn't even realize that

the colors are blacking up well certainly this year on all the decorations because Chuck Stone was also an alpha oh really we were had you don't realize that you don't even realize that Chuck Stone was an alpha

and so but the longest people I mean we were in some meeting they were like oh we had this cult skin like I said these are actually our colors and then they were kind of like what I said oh yes and they'd be just colors are black and gold.

Oh, that's hilarious. Speaking, as an hour. I did not know that. Yes. Absolutely. But a wonderful photo, and I wish I had it to show folks now, but a wonderful photo that one of Chuck's associates said he always kept on his desk. It was in 1961, they were in New York City and you see Chuck

Stone sitting at the front, looking back and smiling, next to Chuck is Malcolm X, behind Chuck is Adam Clayton Powell, and behind Malcolm is Kwame and Krumah. And this, they're all sitting there at this event in New York City and as I said it was just a wonderful thing

and I wish I had the photo here but Chuck has been obviously involved for a long time and they said he was known in Philadelphia as the guy that criminals would want to turn themselves into when they wanted to turn themselves into yeah but see also Chuck's history before that Chuck was the other Chicago defender

so you're talking about obviously the most dominant black newspaper in the country as well and so some of those folks Vernon Jared came to Chicago because of Chicago defender and all were sort of crossing paths together. It was also interesting, and we've had other foulings on this week,

the fact that, yes, there are 44 foulers, but there were people who were in that room who were scared to sign the sheet. Why did you sign it? Well, I wasn't scared. I mean, you know, I was the youngest NABJ member and I had gone to Minnesota to go to school.

So you're in the room. You're the youngest person in the room. I'm the youngest person in the room. Now, I know that because Allison, asked me, she says, what month were you born, Sam? I said, May. She was trying to claim. May. She was born in April.

It was that close. But yeah, it was you know, no concern of mine. You know, at that point, we really didn't have many black people in the media. And I had gotten into this traineeship with WCCO television

and ultimately they got to pick a person to be a trainee for CBS News. And so WCCO picked me. And so, you know, my thing is we're trying to get black folks in there. This is a great thing. We need an organization to try to get more black people in the newsroom. I'm older than you, and I don't know if you heard this, but, you know, there were so few black people on television at that time. Jet Magazine every week had a list of the black people who were going to be on national television so you could watch.

In fact, so y'all, so we, the video was playing, and I'm familiar with this because it's been talked about. I knew Randall Robinson, Max Robinson's brother. So when Max was in Virginia, they had him, he was working for a television station because Max Robinson had this unbelievable voice. I mean, he had a television anchor's voice. He also had a television anchor's stature. He walked into the room, you're like, okay, that's the man. So he's in Virginia. He's in Virginia, and they had a partition.

You could not see Max. You could hear Max, but you couldn't see Max. So one day, Matt just got tired of that shit. And he just tore the damn partition down. The white folks in the town went crazy. They were like, oh, my God, that's a nigga. They literally lost their minds because... And he lost his job.

Yeah, he got fired. But he just got sick and tired of not being seen. Like, okay, y'all just wanted my voice. And tore the partition down. Oh, the... some white folks lost their mind. Max was a very distinguished gentleman. I mean, you really knew you were in the room with class

when you were with Max. And, of course, ultimately, he left Channel 9 here in Washington and he went on to ABC News. He was one of the triumbrance of anchors there on their evening news. Peter Jennings, Max Robinson, and Frank Reynolds. And so, New Well, we were a family, in fact, in Houston, KTRK to ABC, Philadelphia, with number one station and still is. in fact

in fact the main anchor there last name Ward he just died he was anger there 50 years so yeah so I watched I knew those three every single day Peter Jennings was in London

Reynolds was in D.C. They had Max in Chicago so knew it quite well so all of a sudden so you're in this group and you're the youngest and like any organization I mean you're trying to get it started and then it's again so you know those four men of years. Now you go into the 80s

and all of a sudden you're trying to build in, build and build. So as you're seeing this thing grow, how is it making you feel to literally watch this thing just go from just this meeting and to a literal

organization, to national conventions, to what it is today? Well, it was interesting because for many years it was just basically a club. And so we would have our convention and then afterward we'd have our business. And then afterward we'd have our business meeting and somebody would stand up and say, this is the worst convention that I have

ever seen. And they would complain about this and that. And it was pretty much a club until we had our Atlanta convention in I think 84. And at that point, the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists, they had a good organization down there. They organized a professional convention. And I remember Catherine Graham, the head of the Washington Post. She personally came down there and, you know, and ate with people and, you know, and chatted with people. And then the 84 campaign was going on with Walter Mondale. And Andrew Young, who was the mayor of Atlanta, came to the convention and used the phrase smart-ass white boys. Yes.

Who were with Mondale. And, you know, being the black journals organization, we heard this. I thought, okay, well, you know. But it was big news. Suddenly CBS News led the newscast that night with smart-ass white boys. So suddenly I think our organization got stature and it became a lot more professional. And so at that point, we were going to different places. And, you know, now I honestly, I don't know because I don't, you know,

I'm not in leadership of the organization anymore. I am. Well, that's right. I'm on the board. Congratulations. That's right. I'm back. Fourth time.

So what do you want us to do? Well, no, no. I was just saying that what has happened is that the organization is much more professional. It doesn't really matter where we meet. The organization is well-run, and it's been that way for many years now. But at the beginning, as I said, we were more of a club. Well, before I go to my panel with questions,

I know Risi had to go. The thing, though, is that, and this is, so I sort of sit in this unique position because this is the fourth time on the board. So I was the National Student Rep in 1989. And so that was a New York convention, so NABJ is only 14 years old at that time. So here I come in.

And the thing for me, and what was interesting, is so crazy now. NABJ couldn't stand students. Like, students didn't do jack. That were damn into no workshops. There were no awards. In fact, this was crazy. We had the Palo Theater. They announced, first of all, the student election wasn't even on the agenda.

It was like, oh, is a student election? So I had to literally force them to actually do that. Then when they announced the new board, they don't even mention me. Like, I'm sitting in the power theater like, oh, so we're just going to bring up the whole board? Then the crazes, it gets it worse. So then we get back, they send the letterhead of NABJ out. I'm not on the letterhead. Now, the problem is, so everybody thinks I was the first.

I wasn't the first. There was a woman who was before me. She never showed up. for the long as I knew her name I can't remember her name so she was actually the first I don't know how I don't know what the hell she literally never

I've never met her she never showed up and so they were just like he gonna be the same nah that wasn't the case I made them destroy all of the new letterhead unless they put my name on it and I said

and if you don't I'm gonna get a pen and write my damn name on every sheet of paper they were like damn we gotta order some new letterhead But it was, so when you talk about how the organization has grown, what I want us to get back to is what I call, and King talked about in this book, Chaos of Community, what do we go from here, when he called it the Negro press to remain, to be substantive and militant.

I don't see militant as a bad word. I believe we have an obligation, just like when Trump was there. I was extremely vocal about not letting that man come to our convention and lie to our face. And my whole deal is, do I believe in challenging elected officials? Absolutely. But I said, but you don't let somebody

come in your house and disrespect to you and lie, and then you just go, well, I'm just let go ahead and let it. We disagree on that quite honestly, but one of your producers brought this up. This was the Chicago Convention. This was when Trump came.

I'm looking at this paper. Then I look and realize that's me. See? See? Right here. See? So we're... Job you're... Because he was lying. He was lying, but he

always lied. No, no, no, but here's my whole different point. My, my, my, my, the problem, because what happened was the night before I was on MSNBC, Jason Johnson was hosting, and this is what I said. I said, Jason, tell you right now, if Trump lies and nobody on the panel correct him, you're going to

hear me correcting him. So what happens is, so he comes in, he immediately starts lying, and I'm on the front row going, that's a lie, like literally he is not far from me. So Drew Barry, who was our executive record then, he was like, rolling pipe down because if you, they're

going to throw you out. I said, who the hell is that day? I turned to Drew, I said, this is our shit. I said, he goes security. I said, who's security? I said, Drew, who is going to throw a member out of

the member's convention because of him? I said, try that shit. So he kept, so as a point there, you actually wrote back the video, He's like, oh, this guy must be one of, you know, Kamala's people. Because I was like, he's lying. And my whole deal is, because I'm as a firm believer. I believe media.

I don't mean just any of J. I believe when you're so nice and a person is lying in front of you, somebody got to say, that's a lot. Everyone needs to take care of their mental health, even running back Bejan Robinson. When I'm on the field, I'm feeling the pressure. I usually just take a deep breath. When I'm just breathing and seeing what's in front of me,

everything just slows down. It just makes you feel great before I run the play. Just like Bijan, we all need a strong mental game on and off the field. Make a game plan for your mental health at love your mind playbook.org. Love your mind. Brought to you by the Huntsman Mental Health Foundation, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, and the ad console. The social media trend that's landing some Gen Z years in jail.

The progressive media darling whose public meltdown got her fired. I'm going to take Francesco off the network entirely. The massive TikTok boycott against Target that makes no actual. sense. I will continue getting stuff from Target, and I will continue to not pay for it. And the MAGA influencers whose trip to the White House ended in embarrassment. So refreshing to have the press secretary after the last few years who's both intelligent and articulation. You won't hear about these online stories in the mainstream media, but you can keep up with them and all the other entertaining and outrageous things happening

online in media and in politics with the Brad versus Everyone podcast. Hosted by me, Brad Palumbo. Every day of the week, I bring you on a wild ride who the most delulu takes on the internet, criticizing the extremes of both sides from an independent perspective. Join in on the insanity and listen to the Brad versus Everyone podcast on the Iheart radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is, you can decide who takes home the 26 IHeart Podcast Awards podcast of the year by voting at IHeartPodcastawards.com now through February 22nd. See all the nominees and place your vote at iHeartpodcastawards.com. Audible is a proud sponsor

of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. What you just said is not true. And I just think sometimes we are too nice that we don't want to tell somebody.

I'm sorry, what you just said is not true. Well, I mean, the thing that the biggest one was when he said, that Kamala Harris only recently discovered that she was black. And of course, we were shocked that he said something like that. He understands a race, though.

I can tell you that. Of course he does. But the thing was, Rachel Scott, who was the ABC correspondent, said, well, you know, she was a member of FCAA, a black sorority, and she did attend Howard University to, you know, sort of knock that down.

Of course. But the things he said was amazing. But I disagree with you. I think if the president of the United States or who might be the President of the United States wants to come and speak to us and tell lies. I think we're an organization, we're a journalist organization. Right, but what I'm saying is, well, first, my objection was, first of all,

and I told I was then president of this. First, because when I got word, I was one offended that was not a black male journalist on that panel. That's one. And I literally told Ken Lemon that. Two, I was offended. We were in Chicago, and that was not a member of the black press on that panel. And I said to him, if you had a panel of four black men,

and not a sister, I said the sisters in NABJ would be lighten your ass up. I said, so I had a problem there. And so the issue for me is not, the issue for me is that if you're going to invite a known liar, then you better have folk there

who are prepared to challenge every lie and not allow the lies to be told. Last point before I go to the panel, I also was greatly offended that they allowed Harris Faulkner or Fox News to be on that panel, especially when she wasn't even a member. So my whole deal is, now, if you can't pay your dues,

you ain't sitting your ass on that stage. Yeah, I felt that might have been some deal made to get him there. Right, and my whole point is, we don't make deals. And if she wanted to be on that panel, tell us sitting that check. That's just me. That's just me.

Greg, your question for Sam. Yeah, thank you, Ronald McMan. Really enjoying this conversation. And thank you, Brother Ford, for being one of the founders and it's honored to be in conversation with a living legend. The brother that you mentioned

at the beginning of that brilliant short film, I'm going to show that to my students, in fact. The great Reggie Bryant. I knew Reggie Bryant, you know, Philadelphia. He was the first first national black program, really, was hosted

by him. W-H-Y-Y Philadelphia. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. And he spent, as you know, as you both know, as you all know, spent time in black radio. When I came to Philadelphia in the early 90s, he had a show on WHAT called In Pursuit of Truth. And the question I want to ask you is about the current generation and future generations and preparedness. Reggie was so brilliant in his questioning, in his debate skills,

and his conversations, because I think in part, he was so very well read. How do you see the current generation meeting the challenge of being deeply and well-read in order to be prepared as a journalist. Yeah, I understand that. Well, you know, I can't really speak there. I mean, I think most reporters,

and I do know some young reporters, tend to be, let's say, well-read enough to know what they're talking about on the particular story. But when you talk about well-read, honestly, as I've moved through the industry, Not a whole lot of people are well-read anymore. They know what they got to know to get the message across. But, you know, that's kind of rare these days.

And I think it was probably pretty rare those days when we started in ABJ. You know, I just don't think so. But he was definitely good. He was definitely well-read, as you said. And I was impressed because, again, we really didn't have many blacks on TV. And here was a black man on television. talking about issues, and of course, he is a deceased, as you probably know. Well, I think the point there that Greg is raising is one that I believe in our responsibility

at our convention and our other events is to explain to people that you may have the technical know-how. You may be polished with your live shots. But what's important is not leaning on some cards in front of you or producer in your ear. And that was my whole point when I was talking about, again, at the convention. When I was at CNN, used to piss me off, I'm sitting here

and I'm like, that's a lie, that's a lie, that's a lie. I'm looking at the anchor like, you don't know that's a lie? And look, most people have worked there, they weren't smart. They weren't. And so they weren't well read. And so the problem is, so lies get spit out,

they don't correct the lie in real time. And I don't believe in, well, last hour, so-and-so was on, so here's so-and-so to tell us what was true and what was it. No, I'm a firm believer in, no, no, in the moment, you actually check it. And what we have to do is, and when I talk to young drummers, I tell them, you got to be reading. Yeah.

You got to have the knowledge. So when that thing happens, and when you see it, you know what is true and what is not. And that to me, I believe, is a huge, huge problem for next generation journalists is that they have been trained to pass test. They've been trained to know technical pieces, but they have not been trained to think. And that's the biggest, every intern who come through here, I said that's the biggest issue. Can you think? Can you be able to recite something and you know that because you've prepared. yourself before.

And I think that's just a huge thing. And that's our responsibility to drive that home. Because otherwise, there's going to be out there doing interviews and folks are going to just say stuff and they got no response. And the line is going to stand. Joy. Well, first of all, this has been such a fascinating conversation and I'm so honored to be here.

Along the lines of what we've already been discussing, what is NABHJ's goal? and responsibility and mission in this moment, in your own words? Well, you know, the only thing I can do is kind of look back from 50 years ago. We were 44 journalists. And, you know, not everybody in the U.S. knew that we were forming an organization. As I told you, I just happened to be there. But some did.

But the next year, obviously there were a lot more people because they realized the organization existed and we were of course spreading the news when we had that Chicago convention that we were just talking about we didn't have 44 journalists we had 4400 journalists and so that was really significant it made me feel good I know that's your hometown is uh I worked that six years I'm from Houston oh you've worked that six years I associate you with Chicago but in any event you know Chicago and so it was I guess a special thing for for you is it was great for me to see all of this happening. And, of course, at the beginning, I was the youngest one.

Now I'm like one of the oldest ones still there. I think that there were about half of us still living, which is pretty good if you think about 44 years, 44 journalists and 50 years later, about half are still there. But our mission at that time was getting more black people in newsrooms. That was really, that was what I wanted to do. That was my mission. My whole idea was getting more black people into newsrooms.

And then once they got into the newsrooms, the idea was to make contributions or whatever. But I think that's been a good thing. And I think, you know, you don't have to have a real complicated mission that nobody understands. But getting more black people into newsrooms is something that we can understand. Yeah, I think absolutely. I mean, that is, I think over the last 50 years, that has been the goal, and it still is. But we also have to recognize that our industry is contracting. and what we have not been able to do is understand the pivot.

And so where we are now is, and this is, as the Vice President Digital, I'm trying to get us to understand, is that we have to recognize that now we're living in this content creator economy. Now we're living in a totally different world than we used to. Radio, basically news, radio jobs have been obliterated. I mean, they're virtually wrong. Yeah, it's not. It's not. You're right. So then when you talk about what's happening, you used to have on newspapers, you got an education beat. I covered City Hall in Fort Worth.

We had two City Hall reporters. We had a county government reporter. We had a political reporter. We had a, now all of a sudden, you don't even have those beats anymore. And so now with this creator economy, now it's, which is the hardest thing for a lot of people, it's teaching journalists to also understand the business of the business. Because in this creator economy, now you've got to do that. So, yes.

But again, there's something like we didn't have digital back then. Right. We do now. So there have been some trade-offs. Well, actually, what was interesting is that we talked about even with digital, it was so amazing. The Bingham family in Kentucky, the Louisville Curry

Journal, they're really the first ones that have an online newspaper. That was actually in the early 80s. And then all of a sudden, because I remember when I went to the Fort War Star-Telegam and went the thing called Star Text, and I was kind of like, what's y'all doing? Nobody else in the news wouldn't even talk to him. I was like, no, what's y'all doing? And so I'm

sitting there talking to them. So I was one of the first even downloaded damn thing and I immediately saw what this could be. And so now where we are is now what we have to do as an organization is now the retraining, or not retraining, really training this generation to understand what the next 20 years is going to be like. Because now we're in a situation where, okay, I own this. This is 50, 100 square feet. We're adding three new shows.

All of a sudden now it's, okay, how do you now, how do you now literally create? create your own media company. And even as an individual, an individual content creator, is really individual content creator, Inc. So now we have to train people not to work for the newspaper or the TV station, but how can you literally build and create your own media

company? Because that's what the industry is shifted. And one other thing, Roland, that NABJ has done, we have the exhibit center, right? And this is a center where young people come from all over the country to get jobs. My daughter, who is a she's in communications now,

but she was, you know, at the University of Kansas where we both went to journalism school, University of Kansas, and she came home and I said, well, you need to get a job. So I'm sending you to the San Diego NABJ convention and I hope you can get a job. She went up that she didn't get a job.

But nevertheless, that is where a lot of people got because the television companies are there. Right. Now, Channel 7 is owned by Sinclair, right, which is a right-wing outfit, and I worked for them. They were fine to me, but nevertheless, one good thing about Sinclair is they have a lot of television stations, a lot of small market television stations. And you come in there, you can get a job from them. I mean, you're not going to be making much money, but the point is you just really, you need to get a job. So one of the things NABJ is it's become a place where if you want to find a black reporter or you're a black reporter who wants to find a job,

you meet at NABJ. Here's what we experienced this year. We had a drop off of 40 of those exhibits this year. Donald Trump. And because of the entire anti-D-EI, what I've been saying is we have to fortify the organization because of the next three years, we're going to see the exact same thing.

So now we're going to see in the next three years, we're going to see who actually gives a damn about diversity. Who actually cares about hiring talented black journalists and who was doing it just. because of the climate the climate we're living in is real. Well, I noticed, though, I was thinking about that, but Sinclair had a big

operation at NABJ this year. Fox News had a big operation in NABG this year. So, yeah, I mean, but the point is at some point, you want, if you're a black reporter, you want a job, if you're a company that you want to want to hire black reporters, because they're, you know, you

need black reporters if you're covering the news in these cities. Okay? And so So the fact that NABJ exists, it is a place where the two can meet. And that's been one wonderful thing about our organization. Well, look, Sam, we appreciate it. Thanks for being at that meeting and being one of the 44 finals. We appreciate it. Thank you.

Folks, got to go to break. We come back on Marketplace segment. Of course, Christmas is around the corner, and, of course, it's all about supporting our black-owned businesses on shop, blackstead network.com. That's next right here on Roland Unfiltered on the Blackstead Network. They said the quiet part out loud. Black votes are a threat. So they erased them. After the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013, Republican legislatures moved fast.

New voter ID laws, polling place shutdowns, purges of black voters from the rolls. Trump's Justice Department didn't stop it. They joined in. In 2018, his DOJ backed Ohio's voter purge system, a scheme that disproportionately erased black voters. their goal, erase black votes and political power. Yeah, that happened. These are the kinds of stories that we cover every day on Roland Martin unfiltered. Subscribe on YouTube and download the Black Star Network app. Support fact-based independent journalism that centers African Americans

and the issues that matter to our community. If in this country right now, you have people get up in the morning, and the only thing they can think about is how many people they can hurt, and they got the power, that's the time for mourning. For better or worse, what makes America special, it's that legal system that's supposed to protect minorities from the tyranny of the majority. We are at a point of a moral emergency.

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and you are watching Roland Unfiltered. Christmas is next week, and of course, we've got all of our Shop, Black Star Network products. You see them all to my left here, so you name it, we got it. Get a shot of that. Come on, get a shot of that. So now we've got one more to add to all the products here. We've had other folks on talking about skin care

and talking about all the different things along those lines. But what comes to men, most of these folks we've had on, have been talking about skin care and hair for women. as opposed to men. Well, join me right now is the owner and founder Miguel Martinez. That's right, smooth redefining self-care. You look at the products right here. And it's called That Smooth.

And so Miguel, glad to have you here. So take me through here. All right, so you've got, again, when you look at this business, it's a massive business targeting women. But in the last 10 years or so, we've seen an increasing number of companies focused, on skin care and products for men. You got me?

Oh, yes, I'm sorry. I had lost my audio for a moment. So what I was saying is, what I'm saying is that, like really out there I say the last decade, we see an increasing number of companies really focusing on the skin care and beards and all of that when it comes to men. Talk about how you,

when did you create this and what was the impetus for it? Okay, well, first I want to thank you. thank you for featuring us on your show. And I want to thank the viewing audience as well. So our journey started really as a result of personal need. So I'm a former investment professional. I was stockbroker, then the mortgage professional. So I always had to, you know, look presentable.

And there was a time you remember when there was a thing about beards. And so just over decades, my skin just suffered from a lot of irritation. I was getting hyper pigmented under my jaw. Around the same time, my sons were having issues too. My son Miguel, he was really stepping up. Actually, he went to work on Capitol Hill as special counsel to John Lewis and also on the House Ways and Means Committee. And he was bumping up badly.

my other son Robert, he was an artist, an art curator. He produced music. In fact, you know, Snoop Dog's latest track, they're actually using, or his latest song, they're actually using his track, Rob Ayala. So he had issues with his beard, skin flaking, and the like. So I just decided, you know what, I'm going to do something about it. But with one caveat, because we have, a strong oral history in our family. And my mother was the first one who we know of who contracted

cancer. And so now we know that if you live in next to, you know, smoke stacks and, you know, you're drinking contaminated water. Certainly, you know, that's what we saw, you know, cancer rates high. Well, that was not the case for us. And so I began to study and realized that there's this thing called acute poisoning. And I started to look at the ingredients that were in our products, things like phthalates, which actually affect your genitalia, I mean, your reproductive capacity, paraben, which cause male breasts to grow, causes erectile dysfunction, artificial fragrances. So, for example, if I put fragrance or I put parform, I can legally put up to 300 chemicals in there to enhance the aroma.

So we just, I went with essential oils, but the point was, as I wanted to create something that would, that was effective in the way that it would not only improve the appearance and condition of my skin, but would allow me to shave and my son to shave without razor bumps, irritation. So, for example, you know, like one of our products, our shaving, cream. mask. It's literally infused with dead sea mud, which removes impurities, rebalances the pH. It's basically a mask. Keeps your pores tight, vealab oil, actually rebuilds the skin from the inside out, and argon oil, which is a super penetrator and salfa oleos to retain the moisture. So after a

period of time, people started to notice the difference, and they started to ask me, for it. So my wife challenged me. She said there are millions of guys like you and the boys in America, so you should look at it. And so I did the math, and I realized that just in men's grooming, that men of color comprise about 30% of that market. That market right now, I mean, that number right now is right at about $5 billion with $1.1.1 million leaning toward luxury products. And so I always bought luxury, healthy guy, had a professional background. So I wanted to create something that was a luxury product for us, but that was built around multi-purpose ingredients that provides multiple benefits per product, as opposed to the competition. It's usually

one product, one benefit. We're one product, three benefits. And so, you know, we were successful at it. The thing I'm most proud of is that in seven years that we've been in existence, we've yet to have a product return because it didn't live up to its claims. So let's talk about the products. So right here, we've got the premium natural shaving product set. That's what we got right here. And so we got pre-examined.

pre-shave oil, shaving cream, after-shaved balm. So walkers do that. So shaving. Why should we be using a pre-shave oil and why should we be using an after-shaved bomb? Explain that for the folks who just simply just shave and they move on. Right. Well, and obviously, and I'm taking a skincare approach. So for us, but it's especially important for men with textured hair.

What the pre-shavenor does, first and foremost, it's going to coat the skin to prevent irritation and allow the razor to glide. Ours, the way it's formulated, literally binds to the hair and makes it slick. So it prevents you from getting razor bumps because, you know, the hair maintains, you know, its pliability, it's slickness. And I would say prior to that, of course, is we need to. wash our face and always apply a hot towel, like these commercials that we see, and we have to go way back. I had an uncle who I would just watch him groomed, and I remember, you know, going in the barbershops when I was younger in Harlem, and I would watch them, you know, wrap towels

around the face and apply heat. And so it's important first to start there so that we make the hair pliable. And then when you add the pre-shaven ball on, that's going to coach you, keep the hair slick so that it doesn't curl back in when you're shaving. When it comes to the shaving cream, again, as I indicated, it doubles as a mask, a dead sea mask. So what a dead seamut mask, forgive me. And so the important thing was I wanted to create something that had the thickness, the viscosity, to hold up to very textured hair. That's number one. All these products that I were using for decades,

the reason why I was suffering from tremendous irritation, was because they didn't hold up, bottom line. So I needed something to literally hold up to prevent, again, irritation, and most importantly, to keep my hair in line so that it would prevent me getting razor bombs. but at the same time, so when I apply it, I literally apply it all over my face and all over my stubble,

and I shave, and then I allow what's on my face to drool. And in so doing, just by doing... Everyone needs to take care of their mental health, even running back Bijon Robinson. When I'm on the field, I'm feeling the pressure. I usually just take a deep breath. When I'm just breathing and seeing what's in front of me,

everything just slows down. It just makes you feel great before I run the play. Just like Bijan, we all need a strong mental game on and off the field. Make a game plan for your mental health at loveyourmind playbook.org. Love your mind. Brought to you by the Huntsman Mental Health Foundation, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, and the ad council. The social media trend that's landing some Gen Z years in jail. The progressive media darling whose public meltdown got her fired.

I'm going to take Francesco off the network entirely. The massive TikTok boycott against Target that makes no actual sense. I will continue getting stuff from Target. and I will continue to not pay for it. And the MAGA influencers whose trip to the White House ended in embarrassment. So refreshing to have the press secretary after the last few years who's both intelligent and articulation. You won't hear about these online stories in the mainstream media, but you can keep up with them and all the other entertaining and outrageous things happening online in media and in politics

with the Brad versus Everyone podcast. Hosted by me, Brad Palumbo. Every day of the week, I bring you on a wild ride through the most delulu takes on the internet, criticizing the extremes of both sides from an independent perspective. Join in on the insanity and listen to the Brad versus Everyone podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is, you can decide who takes home the 26 IHeart Podcast Awards podcast of the year

by voting at IHeartPodcastawards.com now through February 22nd. See all the nominees and place your vote at IHeart Podcast Awards.com. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. Doing that a few times, we're in ourselves a facial.

So there's no need for any hearty exfoliants once a month or anything like that. Just by doing that, you're naturally exfoliating your skin. and, you know, removing the impurities and rebalancing the skin's pH, etc. Now, the aftershave facial balm, that's a super product. I actually use it every day, whether I shave or not, and even now, I'm sporting a very low beard. I still use it. It's benefits. It's first and foremost.

It calms the skin, okay, with things like chamomile, colloidal oatmeal. And then it's got beta glucans, which helps to rebuild the skin. But also, beta glucons is to the skin, what mortar is to bricks. It fortifies it, protects it against environmental stresses. There's natural menthol, which cools the skin. There's hyaluronic acid, which women know about weight more than we do. But what it does, that carries 100 times its weight in moisture.

So it keeps the skin plump and useful looking. and then the ingredient I have in there called safflower oleosomes, and that is nature's moisture delivery system. So what the oleosome does, let's say, in the safflower plant, is that it releases hydration constantly so that the flower doesn't wither. So we actually grabbed the patent formula. It's not our patent, but we infused it with safflower oliosomes to release hydration all day long.

So it is non-greasy. None of it's going to compete with your cologne. And it's very light, but it's going to keep your skin hydrated and protected. Absolutely. Now, before I go to our panel, before I go to Joy and Grid to ask questions. I've been to do this for several years. Now, you have this two-piece single-blade razor. And for the longest, a lot of men were sitting here buying the razors,

and they were spending crazy amounts of money buying razors. buying razor blades in stores. And a lot of folks have been going to these blades here where you're just buying the steel blade replacements. Explain why. Okay, well, it is interesting. If you see here, this was a 1950 Gillette Black Beauty that I inherited from my uncle.

Wow. The family gave it to me. And even before that, you see this straight razor, And this is 100 years old. Now, that bad butt was used for some other stuff, too. We're not going to go into that. That's right. It started to go out of style in World War I

because in World War I, they had to wear gas masks to protect from chemical warfare. But the reason why that razor is so good, first of all, it does have new technology. I don't know if you open it up, you'll notice that it's got a heavy handle. Yeah, this is a very heavy handle. It's got a neural handle. So even if your hands are wet or soapy, it's not going to, and I was going to take, it's a two-piece.

So you turn it upside down to open it. I got it. As opposed to three pieces, and you just stick it back in and just put the blade on, roll it back on. But the benefit, the real benefit to that razor is that first and foremost, it's perfectly weighted so that you apply zero. pressure to the blade. The other thing is with the closed comb and the design that it has, it's not going to put

too much of that blade on your skin in order to irritate it. So it's going to give you a very close shave without irritation. All you do basically is you tilt it, 30 degree angle, and you just and you take short strokes

and you spin it and take short strokes. The other thing is it's more, environmentally friendly because it's made out of chrome-plated solid brass. So it's made out of metal. So if it was left and lost in whatever amount of years, it's going to disintegrate back into the earth as metal. But the other thing is that it's permanent and it's really more economical. Because if you really look at the cost of cartridge raisers, which affect us, which affect

us more. because first of all, those razors were really created for men with straight hair. That ain't us. Okay, hold on. This is a black show, Miguel. Those razors were created for white men. Go ahead.

Right. Plain and simple. And the reason being is that because their hair is straight, that first blade literally comes and it pulls and overpuls the hair so that when the other blades come, that means the hair has some space between the skin and where it is in the follicle.

And see, that doesn't work for us. Because first of all, you have two, three, now of the five blades coming against barely protected skin, which means it's taken off too much of the skin barrier. When that happens, the first thing that the skin loses is moisture very rapidly. But the other big danger is that by overcutting our hair, and if it's sitting, below the skin level, then when it dries, it's going to do its natural curl. It's going to curl, wave, and that's where that's the main cause of razor bombs. Wow.

And I speak to a lot of young cats said, man, I'm afraid of razor. I said, first of all, groom shaving was invented in Egypt by men who look like us. Come on. So we created the game. We were the first groomed people on the planet. So it's not that, it's technique. And if you look at pictures of your grandfathers and your great-grandfathers and great-uncles that were shaving, you don't see them bumped up. It's the method of shaving and having more than one blade.

Also, if you go to any premium barber who shaves in the world, why aren't they using double multi-blades? Yep. They use a single blade because it gives them precision. it allows them to shave close and there's a method of shaving that in a nutshell with our system you're going to get you're going to get a barbershop

level shave but at home and we also have instructions in there on how to use it Greg first question Greg from Miguel with that smooth man that this is an amazing conversation you absolutely right

brother Miguel up into Egypt a dozen times Kim it and led tours and what you don't see on those walls is men with beards. Usually the beards are the foreigners. But the shave is tight and across Africa. Where are the bumps? The fades are tight, man. So I want to ask you, I wanted to ask you about your mother and I wanted to ask you

about your beloved Harlem. And when you lift it up that straight razor, of course, I thought about bumpy Johnson. And so I wanted to ask you about the, I wanted to ask you, see you so, you're so cool with I've been looking at the website. What is the role of style in general and Harlem style in particular in your approach, brother? Well, Harlem, it's like, and I grew up on 125th Street. So you can imagine, I'm a couple of blocks from the Apollo. And we, and just in my era, even the gangsters, like, they dressed up.

I mean, I don't know what decade that happened in the 90s or early 2000s, you know, where thugs want to look, you know, like thuggish. Well, well, and all change when Timberlins became dressed shoes. Right. I'm sorry. I got to wear shoes that are either swayed or can be polished. Right. And also growing up, you talk about the sneaker style now.

So in Harlem, we would dress. I mean, you know, alpacas, you know, we were impeccably dressed. And we even had a sneaker game with it. Back then, it were like pro kids. but they made them in several different colors. So, you know, you throw them on, but that's when you were casually dressed. You wouldn't do it in a suit. So Harlem has this history, you know, of it being a place of Renaissance, of art, of culture.

And, you know, and so, you know, that's part of it. And then the other part of it, going back to my mother. My mother, our parent company's name, Audia for Shave. My mother's name is Audia. Okay? and she's black Puerto Rican. My father's Afro-Cuban. And so she just always wanted us impeccably dressed.

In fact, I saw pictures. And when I went into my professional life, and when I was looking at, you know, having to dress the part, I was like, man, like, Mommy had me dressing this way when I was five years old. I mean, French cuff shirts, you know, cufflings, both ties. you know, braces, wingtips, split-sow shoes. She would have our clothes custom-made even. And she was at the door making sure that we look presentable before we left.

And if not, she would send us back to do it. Now, she didn't necessarily care how we look coming home as long as our clothes weren't ripped up because she knew we were all athletic. But so she really set that standard for grooming because, Because she said to me that I'm never going to get a second chance to make a first impression. And most importantly, she just putting me that ability to dream. I remember watching a television show. I don't know, Father knows of ass or something like that.

And I saw the way they were living. And I said, so, Mom, what's it going to take for us to live that way? And she said, well, first of all, you have to do grade in school. And I'm like, okay, that's not a problem. she said, but then you have to go to this thing called college. And I said, okay, is that another school? She said, yeah, but that's a school that you have to pay a lot of money for. And unfortunately, I won't be able to pay for it.

But she said to me that there is nothing, nothing that's ever been done by any human being on this planet. And she's a Christian, short of Jesus Christ, that's not accomplish it. So as long as you set your heart and your mind, and you're not to accomplish it. and you keep committed to it, then God will show you away. And so, and he'll get you, you know,

to college. And that's how I wound up at first, you know, the basketball scholarship in Texas, but then I transferred to Howard University. Well, it's so funny. And it carries me to this day.

It's so funny. Before I go to joy, when I look at this, this brush, all I can think about, my dad had like a coffee mug. And then, you know, like,

And you know how you would sew the soap, the hand soap, and then it would be like that little small little piece left. They would simply crush that up, take that brush, put that Greg laughing up, put that brush in there. Oh, yeah. Put that brush in there. And that was the shaving cream. And so, Miguel, I understand,

because my dad used to get clean and dressed up to go grocery shop. I'm like, he just going to the grocery store. And even if you had blue collard, of parents, which most of us did, the men in my family, they came home, they showered, they got dressed. Right. Even if it was to be at home or just to go to something.

He was shaking, clean up, get dressed to go grocery shopping. I was like, where he going? Oh, he wouldn't come back with some grocery bags. I'm going to throw some sweats on. Joy, what's your question? Well, first of all, let me just thank Recy for leaving early so I can be all with these three

fine black men. Y'all, All right, you're looking great tonight, Miguel. Thank you. Miguel, who! Listen, let me ask you, what are you doing, you know, to get in some stores so that we can get more... Uh-uh, uh-uh, we ain't getting those stores. No, Joy, they're going to the website. We're buying direct black.

All right, we'll go to the website. That's fine. We're buying direct black. Yeah, but I'll answer your question, Joy. And actually, I was watching Boris, uh, uh, uh, Kejo, and I think he gave a great explanation. What it is, we have been in retail. We launched in Whole Food stores, okay?

And then when Amazon purchased them, they went from, if you know Whole Foods, mantra was local first. So we started in one store in Harlem, spread around the region. Amazon comes, purchases them, and they go national first. On top of that, they didn't want to give us exposure on the website. and they had this marketing or merchandising deal that we had to do, which I felt that it was a loss leader because if no one's showing your product that has the incentive to sell it,

more than likely they're not going to sell it. So we pulled out of that. We were accepted and our products were offered at Macy's. It was online because it was during the pandemic. And we now do have product that's being sold. sold at Belk Department stores from Maryland through Texas. But we're not renewing those relationships. And the main reason why is this is what our people really, really have to get.

And that is when I'm dealing with a retailer, okay, first of all, since the pandemic, nobody's afraid to press a button. You're going to get what you order. Yep. Number two, the deal with a retailer is this. we are sending our customers to the retailer and then the retailer maintains the first-person relationship with our customer.

So even if I'm stocking a retailer, okay, and let's just do the math, you give up 50 cents on the dollar just to establish the relationship. There you go. You have to come up with additional capital in order to put end-of-isle displays on, to put visual collateral up,

all that comes out of our pocket. And then third, they want us to spend tens of thousands of dollars to market to you to send them to their store. And I will never have more than a second person relationship. So you're going to take it off the shelf, but the reality of it is I have no way of communicating with you. We don't have a one-on-one relationship. Right. So you actually can't collect data.

A number, number, and that's the big one. So, therefore, by going direct to consumer, we establish a one-on-one relationship. We have data readily available, you know, I mean, instantly, daily. And the other thing is we now have the pricing flexibility that we lost with the major retailer so that we can offer special pricing and other things. We can run specials when we want and things of that nature. And then the biggest thing, and Roland, you're big on this, and this is why I'm such a fan. You see, black people have to understand that there's a difference between income and wealth.

And let's go there for a second. Black and brown people earn $3.2 trillion in America alone. Left alone, we'd probably be the fifth largest nation on earth. But why is our wealth one-tenth of white people? Well, and it's because, it's because through quote-unquote integration or what have you, they learned the method to remove our money from our pocket ASAP. And so we're earning this money, number one, number two, they good, they goodness, because when the internet got live, that's when I saw it as the great equalizer. Yep. So now, we now can put in whatever you want, and you can finish it by a black-owned company.

or black founder, what have you, and you're going to get a list of everything. Heck, we've even building cars in Atlanta. So the fact is, is that when we circulate our money within ourselves, which is what, you know, shop Black Star Network and now, you know, places like, you know, shop red bag or directly with us, then now by circulating that money, you are building community wealth. Yep.

that allows us to be able to provide resources and things of that nature to our community. We don't have to worry about DEI. We don't have to worry about any of that because we have those trillions of dollars that is circulating as much as possible. And we're raising up multi-million deck of million dollar businesses that really, really impact us. And that's the story. I get you this here real quick before we go. We had our fast channels. We had four fast channels.

We were on Prime Video, we were on FreeV and a couple of others. And the reality is it was costing me more money to send the signal. Everyone needs to take care of their mental health, even running back Bejan Robinson. When I'm on the field, I'm feeling the pressure. I usually just take a deep breath. When I'm just breathing and seeing what's in front of me, everything just slows down. It just makes you feel great before I run the play. Just like Bejohn, we all need a strong mental game on and off the field.

Make a game plan for your mental health at love your mind playbook.org. Love your mind. Brought to you by the Huntsman Mental Health Foundation, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, and the ad console. The social media trend that's landing some Gen Z years in jail. The progressive media darling whose public meltdown got her fired. I'm going to take Francesco off the network entirely. The massive TikTok boycott against Target that makes no actual sense.

I will continue getting stuff from Target. And I will continue to not pay for it. And the MAGA influencers, whose trip to the White House ended in embarrassment. So refreshing to have the press secretary after the last few years who's both intelligent and articulate. You won't hear about these online stories in the mainstream media, but you can keep up with them and all the other entertaining and outrageous things

happening online in media and in politics with the Brad versus Everyone podcast. Hosted by me, Brad Palumbo. Every day of the week, I bring you on a wild ride who the most delulu takes on the internet, criticizing the extremes of both sides from an independent perspective. Join in on The Insanity and listen to the Brad versus Everyone podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is, You can decide who takes home the 26 IHeart Podcast Awards podcast of the year by voting at

iHeartPodcastawards.com now through February 22nd. See all the nominees and place your vote at IHeartPodcastawards.com. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. Then I was making in advertising.

And what they wanted me to do, they wanted me to go hardcore to promote, watch Roller Mark on the Black Star Network on their channel, but I wasn't the one making the money. And I couldn't even sell my own ads. They sold the ads. So I cancel the channels. That's why I cancel them. Because I would rather tell people, go to my YouTube channel where my economic split is actually greater than what their split was. But again, when you – and what you tell you people, Miguel, when you understand the money gain, then you understand how business actually works.

Folks, the product is called That Smooth. I want to try to go to shop, blackside network.com. If y'all are buying Christmas gifts, hey, this is a great gift for the men and your family. for you. You've got the teenagers. They start shaving. Uncles, cousins, you name it. Again, you've got the brush. You've got

the blade. You've got the pre-shaved oil. You've got the after-shaved balm. You've got the beard oil. You've got the exfoliating beard and facial wash. All of that. So go to Shop Blackstarnetwork.com. And I keep telling y'all, when you buy

from shop, blackstudnetwork.com, now only are you supporting the black business with the product, you're also supporting this show because we also participate economically. And so you're actually helping build multiple black businesses. Miguel, we appreciate it.

Congratulations on the product. Thank you so much. I'm going to be trying I shave before I came on a show today. I shave every other day. So I'll be trying out your on Saturday. Yeah, please. And listen, I love to hear from you

and tell me your experience you know, of all the hundreds of reviews that we have, we average a 4.8 out of 5. And just one last thing, too, for our women who shave as well, women love the product because when they use their shaving cream, they also use it as a mask, but also by shaving under their arms, the last thing a woman wants is to raise her arms

and her pit be darker than the rest of her skin. So it's all about the hair texture and not, you know, whether it's a, a male or female. Your textures just like ours and y'all shave more of your bodies those of you do shave than even us men. All right, that's smooth.

Shop, blackside network.com. Miguel, we appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thank you. It's my honor and a pleasure. Thank you very much. Let me thank Joe for me on today's panel. Let me thank Greg. I'm not going to see y'all before Christmas. Y'all have absolutely Merry Christmas. Happy Kwanza.

What was it? Hanukkah? What else we got? All the holidays mixed in So whatever y'all celebrate and do all that, y'all enjoy your sales. I appreciate it. I will see y'all. I just bought a shaving kit.

There you go. That's all. That's what I'm from shop, blackstarnetwork.com. That's what I sure did. That's what I'm saying. So we appreciate that. So thanks a bunch.

Folks, y'all have a fantastic holiday. I'll see y'all, of course, after the new year. To everybody who's watching the show, thank you so very much. Don't forget support what we do. I'm telling you all. y'all have no idea i'm telling you we're about to blow this shit out in 2006 okay

y'all i'm not joking okay we're literally launching a new daily news show britain nobles going to be hosting that show we just hired producer for that show um i can't with dr evanie hilton yeah she's going to be hosting our weekly health show i'm gonna tell you more about that we got that uh we completely rebuilt if you Y'all pull up in the control room, pull up blackstar network.com. I hired a black own company out of Los Angeles, Quantancy. We completely rebuilt Blackstar Network.com.

No, guys, pull up Blackstar Network. Not shop Blackstar. Pull up Blackstar Network.com. So if you pull up Blackstar Network.com, what you'll see is, you'll see how we completely did that. So you're going to be seeing more stories. You're going to be seeing a lot of the interviews that we do here in written form. This is it right here. You're going to be seeing original reports.

on there as well. A lot of y'all have been some of y'all have been getting our newsletter in your email. We're actually expanding that. We're going to be launching newsletters for multiple shows. We're building all of that.

You've got the 2026 election. We're going to be doing multiple town halls all across the country hosted by me and others. I was talking to somebody today. I can't go through it. No, go back to the website, y'all.

You ain't got to show me. Somebody today, who I'm going to be hiring to be the editor of the website. And so, when you talk about columns and other things, all of that, here's a perfect example, y'all, happened today. Now, that's the app. Now, some of y'all have been saying, what happened?

The Black Star Network app disappeared. But we're switching providers because the other one was too costly. We got a better deal and better functionality. So we're going to be rolling out our new Black Start Network app next week as well. so all of these things are happening and I'm telling you all it's amazing. Let me tell y'all what happened.

Yesterday, Blavity did a story based upon the Washington Post story about the president at University of Maryland Eastern Shore suing the professor for defamation. Then Black Enterprise saw the Blavity story and they posted their Instagram channel today.

Then another Instagram page, Black, something culture, they posted the same thing. We interviewed her a month. month ago. We had the exclusive. So what we're going to be doing is we're taking blackstar network.com and that is going to become our news portal. That's going to become our black newswire. You got Associated Press, that's what Black Star Network is going to be. So I'm telling you all right now, it's some amazing things. So when you support this show financially,

I went to the post office today, probably had about 30 or 40 checks and money orders in there. when you support this show. We are black people always talking about. We got to have our own. You got New Year Times. You got CNN. You got, guess what? We ain't waiting.

So we got this show, another daily news show, adding two more weekly shows. They were building up the website. We're going to be completely building out this black news and information network. That's what we're doing. So when you give, that's what you're going. that's what your dollars are going to support. This week alone, I've already hired three people. I'm about to hire a fourth person.

I hire another person. So literally, we've got five new people who are going to be joining our team in 2020, that we didn't have in 2000. No, not five. We're going to actually, no, not five. I'm sorry. It's going to be seven.

Seven new people who will be joining our team in 2020 that we didn't have in 2025. So when you, so when I, when our anniversary, September 4th, when you saw me saying, hey, has raised a million dollars, This is what I'm talking about. Okay?

I just pressed the button yesterday where we are doing almost $200,000 in equipment upgrades. All right? Massive equipment upgrade on audio in the control room, new robotic cameras, stuff on the road as well. Y'all, all this stuff costs money. And so I'm always saying that we can't keep saying, man, you know, why we don't have anybody covering our stuff?

Y'all, because they can't afford it. They can't afford it. They can't afford reporters. They can't afford the equipment. We're building this. And we ain't got millionaires, billionaires who are supporting us. We don't have, matter of fact, we got one, we got one major person. I'm not going to get the person's name.

A person said us $100,000 after they saw what this appeal is because they believe in what we're doing. But we have been able to build this on one, $5, $5, $10, $20, $20, $50 donations. And I'm telling you all right now, we ain't playing games. Trump is going to be in there for three years. They are trying to defund black America. Corporations are not spending money. Somebody has to hold them accountable. And that's going to be us.

So if you want to contribute using the cash app, use the striped, cure a code. You see it right here, bottom left-hand corner. PayPal's R. Martin Unfiltered. Benmo's R.M. Unfiltered Zelle. Rolling at Roland Smartin.com. Rolling at Rolandununfiltred.com. Checks your money order, make it payable to Rollin Martin Unfiltered.

Peelbox 57196, Washington, D.C. 2.003-0196. I'll tell you once the new app goes live to download the app, and so I'll let you know that's. Get my book, White Fear, How the Browning of America's Making White Folks Lose Their Minds, available at bookstores nationwide. You can also get the audio version on Audible that I read. You also, of course, can get our Black Star Network,

Rolla Martin Unfiltered Swag, by going to shop Blacksutnetwork.com. You want to get that shirt. Don't blame me. I vote for the black woman. We got it in a t-shirt, we got it in a hoodie, we got it in a crew neck right there on the website. We got it in black and white. So you've got different colors right there as well. Then, of course, let's see here, download the app fan base.

Now, the investment has already ended for start engine.com for slash fanbase, but we still need folks downloading the app because we need to build that app up and using that as well. And so like I told you, it's a lot that we're doing. I was not joking around. We're putting the infrastructure in place. telling me right now. There is nobody in black-owned media that has the infrastructure that we have here. We're sitting, y'all. We signed this year. The lease kicks in. We sent a new eight-year lease. And look, I ain't got a problem being transparent with y'all. It's going to cost us $24,000 a month where we are right now. But this is a 5,800 square foot facility. It allows for us to be able to do stuff in our kitchen, do stuff in here, the different looks, completely changing the control room, the robotic camera.

We, look, it's going to happen in 2026. You're going to see us hosting a live studio audience here in our studio. You're going to see us on the road in North Carolina, Georgia, and Texas, doing town halls, talking politics. So I'm telling y'all, we're not playing around. There's a reason why we don't waste our time doing gossip. Y'all, I don't, I don't give a damn about the Ditty documentary. Ain't watched it, got no interest. You know why?

because the stuff that we're dealing with is life and death that's impacting black people in a huge way. Somebody has to be focused on the news that matters and that's what we're doing. So, I appreciate it. I will see y'all tomorrow right here. Roller Mark and Filted on the Black Star Network.

The more you listen to your kids, the closer you'll be. So we asked kids, what do you want your parents to hear? I feel sometimes that I'm not listened to. I would just want you to listen to me more often and evaluate situations with me and lead me towards success.

Listening is a form of love. Find resources to help you support your kids and their emotional well-being at soundedouttogether.org. That's sounded outtogether.org. Brought to you by the Ad Council and Pivotal. The social media trend is slanding some Jen's ears in jail. The progressive media darling whose public meltdown got her fired and the massive TikTok boycott against Target that actually makes no sense. You won't hear about these online stories in the United States.

the mainstream media. You can keep up with them and all the other entertaining and outrageous things happening online in media and in politics with the Brad versus everyone podcast. Listen to the Brad versus Everyone podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And the winner of the IHeart Podcast Award is, you can decide who takes home the 26 IHeart Podcast Awards podcast of the year by voting at IHeart Podcast Awards.com now through February 22nd. See all the nominees and place your vote at IHeartpodcastawards.com. Audible is a proud sponsor of the Audible Audio Pioneer Award. Explore the best selection of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals all in one easy app.

Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free trial at audible.com. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.