#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Diddy's Homes Raided, TSU Trustee Board Dismantling, Haiti's Instability, Medical School DEI Ban

Episode Date: March 26, 2024

3.25.2024 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Diddy's Homes Raided, TSU Trustee Board Dismantling, Haiti's Instability, Medical School DEI Ban Diddy’s Los Angeles and Miami Homes Raided By Law Enforcement In Connection With Federal Sex Trafficking Investigation. This week, we're focusing on what's happening at Tennessee State University. The state senate has already voted to dismantle the HBCU's board of trustees. The House will vote on the measure Thursday. The president of TSU's National Alumni is here to discuss what this means to the legacy of the university.  Chaos continues in Haiti as thousands of gang members take advantage of the country's instability. Tonight, we're exploring the role of the Haitian diaspora and what supporting Haiti's development while advocating for positive change looks like. A Louisiana Parish elects its first-ever black sheriff.  Conservatives continue their crusade to end diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. Their latest target is a push to ban these programs is medical schools. The National Medical Association President will be here to explain why ending such programs is detrimental to the medical field. I have some words for a North Carolina preacher who thinks the laws passed by Donald Trump are biblically based.  And Bill Maher says Democrats are 'pandering' to minority voters with 'identity politics.' You know I have to blast his ass for those comments. Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV. The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. you there? No, it can happen. One in four hot car deaths happen when a kid gets into an unlocked car and can't get out. Never happens. Before you leave the car, always stop, look, lock. Brought to you by NHTSA and the Ad Council. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English.

I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios.

Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you. Today's Monday, March 25th, 2024, coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network.

Breaking news. Homes of Diddy in Los Angeles and Miami have been raided by the Department of Homeland Security. Video captured by news media shows both of his sons and others in handcuffs. We will show you the latest on what's going on in the life of music mogul Pete Diddy. Also, this week, we're focusing on what's happening with Tennessee State. The Senate has passed a bill to get rid of the entire Board of Trustees. They are trying to negotiate a different deal in the House.

We will talk to student leaders at Tennessee State, plus Reverend Dr. William J. Barber, about what's going on there and our plans to be live in Nashville next Thursday, next Monday, to raise this alarm. Also, folks, chaos continues in Haiti as thousands of gang members take advantage of the country's instability. Tonight, we are exploring the role of the Haitian diaspora and what supporting Haiti's development while advocating for positive change looks like. Louisiana Parish elects its first ever black sheriff

in a runoff after it was a contested general election. Also, conservatives continue their crusade to end diversity, equity, inclusion, this time targeting the U.S. House of Representatives. We'll talk with the president of the National Medical Association about what's happening in the medical area. Also, I've got also, folks, Deion Sanders.

Deion Sanders has made it clear his son, Shadur Sanders, as well as their star quarterback, Travis Hunter, they ain't just going to get drafted by any old NFL team. And you know what? I agree with Deion. I'm going to break it down for you. Plus, Bill Maher continues to say stupid stuff. Literally, he says Democrats are pandering to minority voters with identity politics.

What the hell do you know? You're a white man. It's time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Martin on a filter on the Blackstone Network. Let's go. He's got whatever the piss he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. And when it breaks, he's right on time. And it's rolling. Best belief he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics.

With entertainment just for kicks. He's rolling. It's Uncle Roro, y'all Yeah, yeah It's Rollin' Martin Yeah, yeah Rollin' with Rollin' now Yeah, yeah

He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best You know he's Rollin' Martin Now Real the best, you know he's rolling, Martel. Martel. Folks, breaking news across the country. The homes of Diddy in Los Angeles and Miami have been raided by the Department of Homeland Security. About an hour ago, the news broke with regards to this raid. This right here is video from Fox 11 of their helicopter showing Diddy's home in Holmby Hills, you will see a number of people, including his sons, Christian and Justin, being led out of the home in handcuffs. You see Department of Homeland Security officers dressed in full gear, dressed with their submachine guns, conducting this raid on the home of Diddy in Los Angeles. Different reports say Diddy was at his home on Star Island in Miami. As you see, occupants of the house, you see right there,

they were being placed on the ground in handcuffs. And again, two of Diddy's sons were also handcuffed. No idea as to what was the purpose of the raid. Joining us right now is attorney Monique Presley. Monique, first and foremost, walk folks through, in order to conduct this type of a raid, they have to get a warrant from a judge. Yes, they would have to have a warrant in order to conduct this type of raid. Certainly, they would have to make a showing of probable cause in order to be able to do the raid. That doesn't mean that arrests were attendant to it. It just means that they laid out a particular bill or set of circumstances and facts which led a judge to believe

that it was more likely than not that they would be able to find the evidence that they were seeking in one of those properties, or at least there was justification for looking for the evidence that they were seeking in those properties. But now we know about the lawsuit that Cassie filed against him. A number of significant charges that were leveled in that civil lawsuit was filed on a Thursday. It was settled the very next day. She talked about being physically beaten, talked about sexual assault. There have been other lawsuits as well filed against Diddy in New York State by a number of people. And so he is facing a significant legal onslaught. He is, but we have no way of knowing if any of those things that you just named are connected to this at all. The only statement that's been released by the government officials who conducted

the raid is that the searches, the raids were part of an ongoing investigation. We don't know what kind of investigation. And to that point, many of the news stories are colliding, smashing together the statement from the government officials and the fact that there are ongoing sexual allegations or sexual assault allegations or different types of other allegations against Mr. Combs. But that's not the statement that was made by the government. The government just said an ongoing investigation and did not say what kind. So to assume that because it was home security, to assume that it was because they're investigators. They often assist United States attorneys offices and other offices in making investigations,

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

dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st,

and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way.

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

themselves music stars marcus king john osborne from brothers osborne we have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man benny the butcher brent smith from shine down got be real from cypress hill nhl enforcer riley cote marine corvette mma fighter liz caramouch what we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. You say you'd never give in to a meltdown and never fill your feed with kid photos. You say you'd never put a pacifier in your mouth to clean it and never let them run wild through the grocery store. So when you say you'd never let them get into a car without you there,

no, it can happen. One in four hot car deaths happen when a kid gets into an unlocked car and can't get out. Never happens. Before you leave the car, always stop, look, lock. Brought to you by NHTSA and the ad council there there shouldn't necessarily be any conclusions drawn and I do believe that in a short period of time more information will be known this is the actual statement go to my ipad uh earlier today

homeland security investigations hsi new york executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners. We will provide further information as it becomes available. That was from the Department of Homeland Security. First of all, what do you read in terms of the fact that this comes out, this was executed by Homeland Security in New York? I can't read anything into it, Roland. Well, I could. I could read lots of things into it.

Well, I'm sorry. So here's what I mean. So obviously, if Homeland Security in New York executed this, that means there's an investigation out of New York City as it relates to Diddy. And they sought assistance from Homeland Security in Miami and Los Angeles. It means that there is an ongoing investigation there. It doesn't mean that it's the only one. Right. And it doesn't say anything about the subject matter of the investigation. And I just want to be clear for people who may not have an understanding of what Homeland Security does, and all they're doing is turning on the news and seeing Homeland Security

specializes in sex trafficking investigation. Listen, the Department of Homeland Security works to improve security in the United States. Their work includes customs, border, immigration enforcement, emergency response to natural and man-made disasters, anti-terrorism work, cybersecurity, among others. So they could be the enforcement arm that was used for the raid, or it could be because of some of the things that other reporters and opiners are jumping to conclusions and saying. I'm just saying we really need to baby step it and listen to what they are saying and not make assumptions that they aren't saying. According to the, go to my iPad, this is the Miami Herald. They are reporting that two of his homes in Miami were raided.

He owns two homes on Star Island. It's one Star Island, two Star Island. They're next door to each other. They are reporting that federal agents raided both of those particular homes. And again, what they say here, while it's unclear why Homeland Security is investigating, the raid came weeks after a lawsuit alleged that Diddy was a leader of a criminal enterprise that could qualify as a, quote, widespread and dangerous criminal sex trafficking organization. That goes to your point. That was a civil lawsuit that was filed against Diddy. And so folks are putting those

two together going, oh, lawsuit filed a few weeks ago alleging sex trafficking, homeland security now conducts the raid. They must be associated when we don't actually know that at all. Right. And it's much more likely, actually, that an ongoing investigation has been ongoing, perhaps as early as the lawsuit that was filed and then resolved by Cassie. So law enforcement works at their own pace. They intentionally work in secret until they can do so no longer. People also shouldn't make any assumptions of the fact that people were let out of the homes and handcuffed. That is because the raids, when it is a raid, it is of a surprise nature and they have no idea what they're coming in contact with. And often the restraining of individuals, whether it's staff or whether it's

family members or whether it's the owner occupier, many times they restrain them in order for everything to be handled safely. It doesn't mean that there were warrants involving any individuals. It doesn't mean that any individuals were found with things that they shouldn't have or found with weapons. It is part of the protocol and the procedure when something like this takes place. All right. Well, thank you, Chris. We appreciate it. Thanks a lot.

Bye-bye. Folks, I've got Chris. We appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Bye-bye. Folks, I've got to go to a break. We come back. Let's talk about Tennessee State University, the drama that is happening in Nashville as Republicans in the legislature try to gut the leadership of Tennessee State. We'll discuss that next right here

on Rolling Mark Unfiltered on the Blackstar Network. Go to wordengine.com slash fanbase or scan the QR code. Another way we're giving you the freedom to be you without limits. As bad as Trump was, his economy was worse, and black America felt it the most. He cut health insurance while giving tax breaks to the wealthy and big business. He stoked racial violence, attacked voting rights, and if reelected, vowed to be a dictator and, quote, get revenge. He can't go back. As president, I put money in pockets, creating millions of new jobs, and capped the cost of insulin at $35 a month. There's a lot more to do, but we can do it together.

I'm Joe Biden, and I approve this message. Next on The Black Table, with me, Greg Carr. The Tuskegee Institute, now university, forever linked to the infamous and despicable syphilis experiments done on the poor rural farmers in Alabama and the Tuskegee Airmen, the famous heroes of World War II. But its history is about so much more. In his new book, The Tuskegee Airmen, the famous heroes of World War II. But its history is about so much more. In his new book, The Tuskegee Student Uprising, author Brian Jones reveals a largely untold history, rich in radical activism and reform. Suddenly the students are meeting these folks whose lifestyle is very different from theirs, very rural, but they're seeing them lose family members.

People in their family disappear. How Tuskegee became an epicenter for Black power. An amazing history lesson on The Black Table, right here on The Black Star Network. This is Essence Atkins. This is Love King of R.B. Raheem Duvall. Me, Sherri Shebron, and you know what you're watching. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered.

Folks, on Thursday, the Tennessee State House representatives will vote on a bill to dismantle TSU's Board of Trustees. Last week, the state Senate vote, it fell along party lines, 25 to 6, with all Republicans voting to vacate and reconstitute the Board of Trustees. But could we see changes in the House? Joining me now from Brooklyn, New York, is the Tennessee State University National Alumni President, Charles Galbraith. Charles, glad to have you on the show. So this has been a consistent battle. We've been talking the last year, year and a half, the attacks on Tennessee State. And I dare say

these attacks, they only really begin to come after that committee reported that Tennessee State was owed $500 million by the state. And then Tennessee State asked for $250 million of that money. And all of a sudden, you begin to see Republicans begin to make demands and begin to question and challenge and say, oh, there are financial issues. They were talking about the dormitory issues. Well, first of all, the dormitory issues. Well, first of all, the dormitory issue was a good thing because the enrollment was exploding. Had they been given the money they were supposed to give, they would have had the facilities.

And so it seems to me that because Tennessee State dared demand the money they've always been owed, all of a sudden Republicans then said, now we want to really control the state's only public HBCU. Yes, sir. Thanks for having me, Brother Martin. This is a very historic time in Tennessee State University's history. We are at the top of the charts, but we are also facing a lot of challenges. And so when we think about what has happened over the last year, we have seen this administration own up to challenges that were faced in front of them and that were exposed, of course,

within the hearings and with several of the dialogues that have had to happen. But what we must also see is the commitment from the state of Tennessee to continue the excellence that is expected from Tennessee State University. And so what we're looking at is we are looking at a state that is very difficult for a historically Black college and university to be in. The number one college and university would be Tennessee State University, the number one HBCU in Tennessee. And what we needed is legislators that understand, first of all, the history of Tennessee State University, but second of all, that the faces that are there are majority black and brown faces. And so what we need is a legislature that understands the needs of the HBCU and of those students. You had the state controller who made a number of allegations in a report.

They then asked for an audit. The audit's costing $2 million. His was still crazier than me. The audit has not been returned. It's not being completed, yet they're trying to make these changes. Normally, you wait until after an audit that gives you the roadmap to what kind of changes you need to make.

Correct, and that's what's unfortunate. It's unfortunate that our administrators, our students, our alumni, we're forced to be advocates and activists. fortunate that we must fight for our history and for our legacy and that we must fight against the powers that would make accusations with attitudes. That's the part of it. It's one thing to identify areas that could be better. That is something that we want to happen with Tennessee State University. We want to remain excellent. And if you must point out an area where we can improve. We love that. It is the extra attitudes and the extra

conversations around, you know, mismanagement and just some of the things that have happened. And to your point, a lot of those have come up after we have recognized that we are owed this money from the state of Tennessee. Well, it's a perfect example. First of all, let me pull up a second here. This is the report that Comptroller Jason Mumpower released right here. Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury. This was released a year ago, February 2023. And so you see here enrollment at Tennessee State University has reached record highs in recent years, leading to an increased need for off campus housing concerns from state officials about TSU's increasing reliance on off-campus housing, coupled with the university's history of poor fiscal practices, led the Comptroller's Office to begin a review of TSU on September 2nd to September 6th, 2022. The purpose of the review was to answer state officials' questions about the university's housing shortage and to support the General Assembly and TSU

in identifying what is needed in the future for student success as well as the university's overall success. And so he goes on to say, TSU management repeatedly falls short of sound fiscal practices, blah, blah, blah, blah. They question the available housing. Again, here's the whole, that cracks me up. Okay, so you've underfunded Tennessee State

for all of these years, and now you're questioning, well, how much longer are y'all going to need all-campus housing because you don't have enough on-campus housing because y'all have been shorting folks the money. And then if you're concerned about all these so-called, again, sound fiscal practices, well, where in the hell have y'all been? If you said, well, seven years in a row, where in the hell were you in year two, three, four, five, six, and seven? Correct. And that's what's unfortunate. We need decisions that lead to trust. And again, with us being historically black, that means historically we have been a part of systems

that have underfunded, undervalued, as well as disrespected people who look black and brown. And so the actions that we need from our government, specifically in Tennessee, we need actions that build trust and not tear away our trust. We need actions that build to our excellence and not tear away at it and tear away at our legacy. So it's very important for us to be involved as alumni. It's very important for us to be involved as alumni. It's very important for us to be involved as community members within Nashville, within the state of Tennessee, but all over the globe. It's important for us to connect with issues like this because it's happening at Tennessee State University. But I can guarantee you that these actions will show up at the doorstep

of many of our institutions across the country if we don't speak up and if we're not aware of how. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app,

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

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

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

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We'll be right back. When you say you'd never let them get into a car without you there, no, it can happen. One in four hot car deaths happen when a kid gets into an unlocked car

and can't get out. Never happens. Before you leave the car, always stop, look, lock. Brought to you by NHTSA and the Ad Council. Us not lifting our voice and being educated about bills and how they shape our lives and how they move and that can work against us. I mean, here's what's a joke. So go back to my iPad. Here they talk about several factors have

contributed to record enrollment at TSU and the housing shortage. They talk about a number of things, strategic corporate partnerships, but also renaissance and HBCUs. But then here's what to me is offensive. TSU's record enrollment is commendable, but the housing problems that have accompanied the record enrollment have led TSU to repeatedly seek state approval to lease off-campus housing, including hotels. They detail the explosion that's been happening in Nashville and the housing market, and they go on and on and on, and they lay this out.

But again, to me it's offensive to say to somebody. Perfect example. I use another example. I don't understand why you why you keep coming to work sick. I don't have health care. Well, don't come to work sick. I don't have health care. So what do you want me to do? They're basically saying, oh, TSU, this off-campus housing issue is a problem. Your numbers are exploding. Students want to come to your school. Guess what?

We know for a fact they will never allow that at any of the University of Tennessee campuses. Never. We stand up for that. Never, never, never. Yeah, that's the issue. We deserve the same as our peer institutions. And so historically, we have not received what our peer institutions have received. And so again, let me make it very clear. When there are challenges that an institution faces, it is very important that we take accountability for those challenges and we make changes to make them better. But we must speak also of what support we need to create all of the opportunities that our students deserve. Our students don't deserve to have

to be activists. Our students don't have to, they don't deserve to have to in these moments worry about the legacy of their degree and the legacy of the university that they so proudly chose to attend. Real quick here, this is again from the Comptroller's Report. This shows you housing capacity. 2017, the housing capacity was 2,960. Housing occupancy was 3,098. They had enough rooms to cover everybody. But you see how all of a sudden, you know, again, going, going, going. Now all of a sudden, 2022, housing capacity 3,680, housing occupancy 4,961. That's 1,300 students. And so any other, I can guarantee you, the University of Tennessee, any of all of those campuses in Tennessee would love to see that sort of excitement about their campuses. But these Republicans don't want to give the

money to Tennessee State. Questions from our panel. Dr. Julianne Malveaux, she is an economist, president emeritus, been at college and author out of D.C. At the Amakongo Dabinga Senior Professorial Lecturer School of International Service, American University out of D.C. Derek Jackson, Georgia State representative out of Atlanta. Julian, you go first. First of all, brother, thank you for your advocacy. It's so extremely important. I need to understand what the composition of this Tennessee Board of Governors,

when the TSU's board is dissolved, they're going to put this education board over it. Now, who is on this education board, and are they inclined to be sympathetic to HBCUs? Well, actually, here's what's going on. First and foremost, the Senate bill wants to gut the entire board. What we're hearing is that the House, they want to negotiate half of the board appointed by the governor. But you've got some folks for Tennessee State who want that reduced to three. We're trying to talk to the Black Caucus to find out what's going on. We reached out to the Black Caucus chair.

Apparently, Tennessee State Representative Harold Love is also a leading figure in these negotiations. And so we're trying to find out, because Love says, Love apparently says that, well, the number is going to be three, but in the House bill, it doesn't specify that number. Is that correct, Mr. Galbraith? That's correct.

And so that's what we're pushing for. Again, more faces, more voices that we can trust. In this season of transition, those of you may know, we are also in the search of the next university president. So in this season of uncertainty, we definitely need faces that we can trust in those spaces of governance. This is the current board of trustees of Tennessee State. You see right here, the folks here. So you've got 10 members, including a faculty trustee, as well as a student trustee. And so these are the current members of the Board of Trustees. Amakongo? Well, speaking of this, we've been talking about disruption, particularly in

this last segment. And I appreciate you, sir, for all of the great work that you're doing. How has this affected the students there? Are they actively protesting? Is it causing a disruption in terms of how they're able to just have their classes? How are they reacting to what's happening right now? DR. KEN MACKENZIE, University of Tennessee, The first is, we definitely have outstanding student leaders.

They are on the front line of all of the issues. And so, unfortunately, they have had to spend a lot of time advocating and serving as activists and lobbyists for Tennessee State University. But their work is to make the experience of the other students as normal as possible. And so, that's what the goal is, is to keep the students engaged and educated. But we have to remember that their number one reason for attending Tennessee State University is to be educated. Derek? My question is around, do you see this attack just like in Mississippi? They came after

Mississippi Valley State University, Elkhorn, Jackson State. Do you see TSU in this same fight as we continue to fight against those who want to defund HBCUs, defund all things DEI, all things CRT, anything that's Black education related? I believe that our state legislators have an idea that they are supporting Tennessee State University, but without understanding how it feels to alumni, how it feels to students, how it feels to the administration,

how it feels to the entire body of Tennessee State University, you're doing something to us instead of doing something for us. And so I think that they would love to not feel that anything is racist and not feel like anything is abusive or aggressive or excessive. But sometimes, especially in these times when we're speaking of money that we're owed, especially in these times when we are continuing our great legacy, it feels punitive at times. And so we want to just make sure that we can have dialogue and we can have those conversations

that are collaborative instead of conversations of blame and shame. We want to make sure that we can step up to the plate and take accountability, but we definitely don't want to tarnish our great name. Well, let me also make clear, this same legislature came up with a billion dollars to build a damn sports stadium for the Tennessee Titans. But they owe Tennessee State $500 million. They won't give

Tennessee State the full $500 million. The governor has talked about, oh, $250 million. No. The committee made it clear. They've been underfunded $500 million. If you can find a billion for a billionaire sports team owner, well, damn it, you can find $500 million for Tennessee State. Absolutely.

Well said. And we're grateful for our partnership with the Tennessee Titans. But definitely we need that money over at Tennessee State University. So, look, we certainly appreciate it. Again, we're going to be in Nashville. It's going to be a news conference at 11 a.m. next Monday. Look forward to that. We're partnering with alumni.m. next Monday. Look forward to that. We're partnering with alumni and students.

We'll be on Black Star Network. We'll be on the ground broadcasting that. Our other partners, Reverend William Barber, Repairs of the Breach, Black Voters Matter, Until Freedom, Rainbow Push Coalition with Reverend Frederick Haynes, who is the CEO. And so in the next hour, Reverend Barber will be joining us talking about that because, as we said, this is bigger than Tennessee State. The concern that we have is that today is Tennessee State. Tomorrow it could be another HBCU. We already saw how Jackson State University was being screwed by the folks in Mississippi.

We need to understand this is a significant issue that could impact HBCUs across the South where Republicans have super majorities and where most of our HBCUs are. And so we appreciate your work. Thanks a lot. Thank you for having me. And thanks for all the work that you've done. All right. Thank you so very much, folks. This is a live look of the home, one of Denny's home in Los Angeles, where it was raided earlier today by the Department of Homeland Security. Police are still on the scene. We understand they are wrapping up that investigation. It's been going on for about 90 minutes or so.

Again, no word exactly what they were looking for. But this right here, again, is a live look of Diddy's home in Los Angeles. Three of his homes were raided today. One in Los Angeles, two in Miami. Warrants executed by the Department of Homeland Security out of New York. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Support us in what we do, folks.

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

company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season One. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated,

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

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

Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. Got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two

on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. You say you'd never give in to a meltdown and never fill your feed with kid photos. You say you'd never put a pacifier in your mouth to clean it. And never let them run wild through the grocery store.

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As bad as Trump was, his economy was worse and black America felt it the most. He cut health insurance while giving tax breaks to the wealthy and big business. As president, I put money in pockets and capped the cost of insulin at $35 a month. There's a lot more to do, but we can do it together. Fanbase is pioneering a new era of social media and investment. This next generation social app has already raised $10 million and has just opened a new round to invest. For details on how to invest, visit startengine.com slash QR code. Another way we're giving you the freedom to be you without limits. I'm Faraiji Muhammad, live from LA, and this is The Culture. The Culture is a two-way conversation, you and me. We talk about the stories politics the good the bad and the down

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Stay right here. Thank you. The citizens of Haiti are on the verge of starvation as gangs continue to wreak havoc in the unstable country. The gangs are capitalizing on the country with no one, frankly, at the helm. Joining us now to give us a comprehensive overview of the situation that's there, and, of course, there's historical context there, are folks, advocates involved here, the CEO and co-founder of Politicking, Wynne Cooney-Siant, and Jean Siant, CEO of Nasham Enterprises. So first of all, I've got to add also the former director general at telecommunications

and a special advisor to a former prime minister. Glad to have both of you here. Winnie, I'll start with you. So the issue I just saw over the weekend, Dominique DuPoy, I didn't pronounce her name correct, withdrew from the special commission that they are putting together. And so it seems like everything is hinging on this commission. Is that what you're hearing as well? And when do they believe that commission is going to be fully

in place to begin this process of trying to restore some leadership and some order of what's happening there? Yes, Roland, thank you for the question. And thank you for having myself and my father on. This presidential committee is, the council is really right now what it seems like everyone's hinging on as a solution forward in Haiti. However, unfortunately, there has not been a lot of involvement by the people of Haiti to actually create this commission. And with the resignation of Dominique Dupuy, which was arguably one of the most qualified people on this council, it's extremely concerning.

She was the only woman on the council. She was the youngest person on the council at 34. And unfortunately, both sexism and ageism have been at play here as we see her withdrawal from the council. As far as a timeline, unfortunately, the presidential council hasn't really offered one. And I think right now people are hoping that seven different presidential candidacies, seven different presidential parties can, seven different presidential parties can actually work together to create a solution for Haiti. But unfortunately, Roland,

I think that this might be yet another dead end. John, John, please weigh in. Yes, can you hear me? Yep, we got you. Go ahead. Yes, just like Queenie said, I think for the sake of the people, the Haitian people have never been consulted to know exactly what they want. Those seven political parties that put themselves together to choose each one, a presidential councilloror is not the solution.

There has been no census. There has been no poll to see where really the people are heading. And I must say, the most popular presidential candidates, they did not send anybody to that council. That's one. Secondly, you can see where sexism plays a great role. They did not send anybody to that council. That's one. Secondly, you can see where sexism plays a great role. I mean, this is the 21st century.

Only one lady out of seven got nominated, and she got so much threat and harassment, she had to leave, She had to quit. And this is to tell you, the Haitian diaspora has all the human resources in it, and yet there's been woodblock for them to participate in almost anything in the country. So that's why everybody think that this presidential commission is not going to work for him. I've heard a number of people say the people haven't been involved. OK, how do you do that? I mean, normally you have representatives of the people.

OK, how do you get the people to have a say in the forming of the commission? What does that look like? Well, first of all,go ahead, Duane. So my particular thoughts is the first issue is that there's been little to no involvement from the Haitian diaspora. Even if things are dire in the ground in Haiti, there's plenty of people here that are Haitian-born that have now exodus, left the country due to the violence and political instability that still have not been involved in the political process. And so we have to consult

folks that have been on the ground and have the experience in the space. Secondarily... Hold on, hold on. I want to stop you there. How do you do that? So for instance, is there a prime organization made up of Haitians in the diaspora that represent those interests? So how do you do that? I mean, who talks to who? And I mean, that's what I'm getting at. So I understand the concern. I understand you want folks in the Haitian diaspora and Haitians in the country to have a say, but there has to be a conduit for that to happen. What does that look like?

Well, if I can piggyback on you, Winnie, we have many different diaspora organizations that is well-known, and it's worldwide. They have branches in France, in Canada, in other parts of Europe, and in all the major cities of the U.S. They even have a convention in Louisiana with General, retired General Honoré. And they were left out. There is an organization on the ground that's part of the civil society. They were not consulted. So it doesn't mean like the parties that have the biggest radio speaker, that does that represent the people. What do you do with the old army guys that have a big organization? They were not consulted.

You know, where is the Protestant church? They were not consulted. They only talked to the Catholic church. Where are the Vodouism? The Vodou people, which is an African country with 95% of the people who practice the Vodou religion, they were not consulted. So, in other words, it was a choosing game. And I can tell you, once the bar nickels give his tweet,

what he says, that's what goes. And we said—and this is why ILO was kept for over 30 months over there. The Haitian diaspora has 95 percent of the human resources of Haiti that can have Haiti coming out. Wyclef said it. You have all the voices in the diaspora that says it. The know-how of Haiti is outside of Haiti. How can we bypass them and just go to a choosing seven-party commission that doesn't have even 40 percent of the people of Haiti? This is not the way 1010 should be done.

The Haitians among themselves could have formed this commission and give two or three names to choose from, but not the way it's done. It's a dictator. All right, so, okay, so right then, okay, Winnie, what's next then? Okay, so if all of these other entities were not consulted and they were not involved, okay, what's next? What are, I mean, are all of these entities coming together? Are all of these entities coming together themselves and saying, okay, you've got that commission.

We're forming our own group as well, and we want to make recommendations. I mean, what's happening there? Because, again, I get not reaching out, but I'm still looking at how do you get something done? So, Roland, previously there was the Montana Accord, which was proposed, that actually was a bit more inclusive than what we're seeing currently with this current council. The Montana Accord included 15 groups. We also, you know, in terms of organizations, there's the National Haitian American Elected Officials Network. These are Haitian Americans that are currently sitting in office in the United States. I think that would be a great place to start in terms of community building, in terms of coalition building.

What are they saying? What are they saying? They're saying that they want to be included. They're saying exactly the same thing. Why does not everyone, why they didn't reach out to everyone to form that commission? You don't need seven guys. Haitian, listen, the Haitian history tells you those Haitian that put together and make that revolt in 1904, they are from different tribes,

but they were former soldiers. So they make the revolution, but they're not accustomed to sit together and to solve an issue in one or two days like it is done in other countries. They have to give them time. Right, right, right. So here's my question.

Here's the question then, and maybe one of you can answer this here. Okay, so I got it. You've got different factions. Okay. Who then calls the sit-down meeting who then mediates the conversation who right now oh yeah right now has winner but right now it's Karakom no no no no no that's not what I mean I know what care comm is doing so what care comm is doing in terms of this presidential commission what I'm

speaking about all the groups that you're talking about that are not familiar with frankly having to negotiate these things okay what's the entity so so it's sort of like if if i believe that there was an issue that we need to be addressing i would would then go, all right, I'm going to call a meeting. And I'm going to call X number of people, X number of organizational leaders, civil rights groups, D9. I can go down the whole line. I'm going to call all those people. I'm going to call them in. Got it. So the question now is, who calls this meeting? Who mediates it? How do we actually get it done so we can begin to make progress?

I get what CARICOM is doing, but what y'all talking about is something separate. Got it. Who's calling that meeting? I can tell you right now, there are organizations that are meeting on a daily basis, because once Caracol fell, they're going to look around for other people. And those other people are meeting on a daily basis. Those are other Haitian political parties. Those are the Voodoo representative, the Protestant representative. They are meeting right now to give an answer to the problem, not the way Calcom wants it.

These people that were chosen could form, could be part of it. And we don't need seven guys. You're going to have seven presidents? You're going to have seven troops guarding each president with 20 policemen in a country where there is no police presence. You're going to have seven armored cars for those guys, seven armored cars for their wives and their kids. What are we talking about?

It's mounting all the 500 people that are going to monopolize just for a transitional commission that could have one, two or three people maximum in it to do this thing. And then this is the beginning. What are they going to do when they have to choose a prime minister? Can you imagine? And in the meantime, people are dying every day. So the way that should have worked is to take those seven groups and said, OK, you guys put together, choose one guy to be the president.

And then in the minister's position, everybody could be part of that government and then lead the country to this transition. But when you take seven guys, they have the same power. So you have seven presidents. OK, so it's going to be really a cacophony. It's going to be a cacophony. Winnie, go ahead. So my thoughts are that we need to mobilize.

We need to consolidate. We need to talk to the diaspora. As far as your question, Roland, is who is supposed to call this meeting to action, I think, like I suggested, the National Haitian American Elected Officials Network is a great place to start. These are people that are trusted community leaders here. Most of the organizations and communities and constituents they lead are Haitian communities, so there's already buy-in there.

And so I think that's a great place to start. Unfortunately, anything that's coming out of the United States, there's a deep amount of mistrust because of the storied history between Haiti and the United States. And so I think that's one place to start. I also think we need to hold on. If those hold up. So. So. So if the if the distrust is there, but this body of elected officials are from the United States,

are they trusting them? Or is it going to be we don't trust them either? I do think because they're Haitian and Haitian Americans, there will be trust there. Because they are people that are trusted both by the United States, but they are elected officials. Got it. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes.

But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission.

This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man.

We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote.

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

Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. You say you'd never give in to a meltdown and never fill your feed with kid photos. You say you'd never put a pacifier in your mouth to clean it

and never let them run wild through the grocery store. So when you say you'd never let them get into a car without you there, no, it can happen. One in four hot car deaths happen when a kid gets into an unlocked car and can't get out. Never happens. Before you leave the car, always stop, look, lock. Brought to you by NHTSA and the Ad Council.

And they are Haitian of Haitian descent. So I think it's the best in the world. Got it. Okay. Well, listen, I would love if y'all could pass on the leadership of that network. We would love to talk to them because when we've had multiple people on talking about this, I've seen the different comments coming out of the federal government as well. And again, like any issue, it always comes down to whether we're talking about Haiti, whether we're talking about, you know, gangs in the United States,

whether we're talking about any sort of dispute, it comes down to who can call the parties together, who has the credibility and the integrity and the leadership to get it done. That, to me, I think is really what's important. And when you have so many different factions and voices and whatever, there has to sort of be that sort of gathering of the people. And so if this thing that CARICOM is doing is not it, then something else has to be done. I just would love to see that happen

because otherwise I think we're going to be on this same thing repeatedly. Well, distrust, don't know, don't like. I don't like them. I don't like them. And then you have no leadership in Haiti. You got no military, no police, no structure, no nothing. And chaos reigns.

And frankly, the only people who are mobilized is organized crime, gangs. And that obviously ain't the answer. Okay, Mr. Martin, I'm going to give you one name now. You call that guy, problem solved tomorrow. It's called General Russell Honore. No, no, I don't. Hold up. I had him on the show Friday.

I had him on Friday. Oh, you had him. Okay, okay. This guy, every Haitian trusts him. And then he knows Haiti deeply. So you take him and you said, okay, I want that thing solved. He will get you there because he's been in the Haitian community for a long time, holding meetings.

Yesterday, he had a meeting. Every single week, he's meeting with different group of Haiti. So you're saying that the United States government should be communicating with retired General Russell Honore on this, as opposed to just depending upon State Department diplomats? Definitely. Okay. And when you interview this guy, you're going to see how much he knows about Haiti.

The schematic, the upper class, the professional class. He is in contact with all of them. Okay. Of course, this is somebody that you could take the exact issue. So he's not going to be for this group or this group. This is a problem. And you know what he's done in the past. So that's what got him the trust.

You take someone like that, you know, tomorrow morning, everybody will get to work. And then he will do some good for Haiti, I believe. Well, I will run that by the White House and see what the response is. I appreciate both of y'all being on the show. Thank you so very much. Keep us abreast of what's going on. Any way we can help, we'll try to do so. Thanks so much, Roland.

Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Thanks a lot. We'll go to a quick break. When we come back, my panel will react. When we come back, right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Back in a moment. As bad as Trump was, his economy was worse, and black America felt it the most.

He cut health insurance while giving tax breaks to the wealthy and big business. He stoked racial violence, attacked voting rights, and if reelected, vowed to be a dictator and, quote, get revenge. We can't go back. As president, I put money in pockets, creating millions of new jobs, and capped the cost of medicine at $35 a month. There's a lot more to do, but we can do it together. I'm Joe Biden, and I approve this message.

BAMBASE is pioneering a new era of social media and investment. This next generation social app has already raised $10 million and has just opened a new round to invest. For details on how to invest, visit startengine.com slash fanbase or scan the QR code. Another way we're giving you the freedom to be you without limits. I'm Dee Barnes, and next on The Frequency,

we're talking about the rise in great Black literature and the authors who are writing it. Joining me will be professor and author Donna Hill. Discuss her writing journey and becoming a best-selling author. I always was writing, but I never saw anybody that looked like me in the books that I was reading. Plus, her work with the Center for Black Literature and next year's National Black Writers Conference. That's right here on The Frequency on the Blackstar Network. We'll see you next time. I'm a Congo. I'm not trying to simplify what is a very complex issue in Haiti.

But when I think when I think back to Ralph Bunche, who became the first African-American who won the Nobel Peace Prize, and the negotiations that he was involved in. When I think about the things Dr. King was involved in, when I think about Reverend Jackson bringing home hostages, I mean, when I think about these various, you know, complex negotiations, it requires there to be a trusted person who's trusted by multiple sides, who can bring people together to have the dialogue needed. But it's like nearly every conversation that we've had with Haiti, it's, well, this group and they weren't included and they weren't included and they weren't included and they weren't included and they weren't included, and they weren't included, and they weren't included, and they weren't included, and they weren't included. And it's sort of like, okay, how do we begin to advance? How do we move?

Because right now, everything is stuck. You had assassinated president. Prime minister asked to resign. CARICOM, folks not trusting them, not trusting those leaders. Everyone talks about this sister, Dominique DuPoy. We're trying to reach out to her. I hope I pronounced her last name correctly. Being young and vibrant.

And when I think about why is that important, because also young voices matter. Senegal just elected a 44-year-old president, and the young voices were there. But you got to have somebody who has the credibility. Yeah, absolutely. And I got to be honest, people on the ground are always going to be skeptical of leaders from the outside, even if they are Haitian or of Haitian descent. And so, you know, when a sister mentioned that, you know, some of the leaders, you know, who are part of the diaspora should be part of the conversation, people on the ground who have been forced to stay or have chosen to stay are going to be skeptical of that, because people have talked about the United States' influence and how it has ruined Haiti over the years. So we have to be mindful

of that. A second thing we have to be mindful of is that we can bring all of these different parties to the table, and this person can bring that person, and that person can bring that person, but if no one's stopping the violence, then what's then? No leadership is going to come in and change the situation. Congress has it on the books. General Honore was talking about this on your show last week. Congress has it on the books in the United States where they're not going to help build the Haitian army. They're just going to send them pistols. And they're sending pistols, what, against bazookas from these gangs, these gangs who are getting arms from Florida,

from the United States. So the gangs are getting supplied, not from Congress, obviously. The gangs are getting supplied with weapons that are coming from America. But nothing is happening as it relates to the military. So Haiti doesn't have an army. Also, the United States Republicans have blocked Kenyans going in there because they need U.S. funding as well to go in and do their work. And so we need to focus right now on not peacekeeping, but peacemaking, mobilizing the forces that need to be in place to get in there and stop the violence. And then, Roland, what you're talking about, about these trusted sources, you are absolutely right that everybody wants to have their say in

it. But until people actually coalesce, and maybe it'll be somebody like an honoree who is respected on the ground, like the brother was saying, but until we stop the violence, all of these conversations about who's going to be involved in the process, it's not going to go anywhere because they're going to be leading a nation with no military might to stop what's happening on the ground. But Derek, the reality is this here, and that is you can't stop the violence until you have infrastructure.

You can't get infrastructure unless you have political leadership. You can't get political leadership unless you get all the factions to agree who's going to lead. And so you got to, I mean, at the end of the day, I sort of think back to, I mean, I used to have these arguments and disagreements with a lot of folks who were involved in Occupy Wall Street,

and even Black Lives Matter, where folks said, hey, we're gonna have consensus decision making. I literally said, you can't. You gotta have hierarchy. You have to have, I mean, I don't care what system exists. You to have hierarchy. You have to have, I don't care what system exists. You've got to have hierarchy. And I think the problem that we're facing here is that, and this is just a fact, when it comes to Haiti, the United States government is not a trusted source.

It's not. And we have to accept that. And the United States government has to recognize that. And the United States government then has to go, okay, who can operate in a, I ain't got no dog in this hunt, peacekeeper role, who could bring them together. And hey, if it's General Russell Honore, great. That's a start. I just think you got to have that. Otherwise, this is going to be a circular conversation.

This is a complicated equation to solve, Roland, to your point, because if you have trust issues, all those things you just outlined will not be mitigated, will not be resolved. So we, as in the United States, we have to ask ourselves, we have a history with Haiti, putting corruption aside, putting when Haiti had to deal with a natural disaster back in 2010, you know, the earthquake. And then

two years later, they had a hurricane that came through. And then a couple of years later, they had another earthquake. Right. And then they also have outbreaks because Haiti needs, you know, medicine. They need the things that the United States can provide. And so when you have all these multiple dimensions at work, time becomes of the essence, because the violence is going to continue to grow stronger and stronger. You're going to continue to have fatalities. You're going to have Haitians dying from either hunger or violence by way of the gangs. And then you still got this instability from a political standpoint. And you really need to have that in place first in order for the United States to even

start, you know, having this negotiation. I mean, it's more than just sending the Marine Corps over there to make sure that the embassy is safe and secure and Americans are safe and secure over there. But this this thing about around trust is going to be a very hard nut to crack because of the history that we have with Haiti. Well, and I got to say this, Julian, it also comes down to the money. And so if you talk about this group of elected officials in the United States from the Haitian diaspora, that matters because they're going to have to utilize their heft, if you will, to get the United States to release the money that's needed for security. And so, you know, it's a whole lot of moving parts, but you do have to have trusted voices who people on all the different facets can say, you know what, that person not picking

sides or whatever. Hey, we can all agree on that person. That's literally how mediation works. And, you know, that is what has happened, Roland. But, you know, there's a background question here, because Derek talked about the 2010 earthquake and subsequent tragedies. Frankly, Haiti has been in a state of tragedy since its inception. It had to pay France money back when they rebelled and when they got freedom for enslaved people, that destabilization has raised all kinds of questions. And the underlying question is, in whose interest is it to have a destabilized Haiti? Who benefits from a destabilized Haiti? We know that gun smugglers, et cetera, like Oboe Congo said, the army can't get guns, but the gangs can. They don't manufacture guns in Haiti.

So where are these guns coming from? The notion of a trusted person, and the fewer the better, persona, persons, General Honoré seems like he would be a great choice, that basically papers over some of the underlying issues. And obviously people can't get to the underlying issues right away. But I fear, and I'm of Haitian descent, but I fear a permanent destabilization or dictatorship, which is not acceptable either, unless these folks can come together. Now, the Montana Accord was a wonderful document. 15 organizations, with 400 people, real consensus.

And I'm not sure what happened to it. I'm also not sure what happened with the CARICOM effort. But again, you have this issue of trust and people not being able to get along or to agree. And until they get to that point, we're going to have a recurring cycle of this. And it doesn't only destabilize Haiti. It destabilizes the whole Western hemisphere, because soon people will be coming from the DR, which doesn't like Haiti, has a lot of antipathy toward Haiti. From some of the CARE-COM countries, people will take advantage of the predatory capitalist opportunities that exist there in Haiti. So I'm pessimistic, but hopeful. Same. So hopefully we get some resolution because at the end of the day, there is massive

suffering going on. And man, it would be great for folks to be able to get a reprieve from the suffering, from the violence, from the death, and be able to just begin to actually build a stable country. Folks, going to break, we come back. We'll talk with the head of the National Medical Association about the attacks on DEI in medicine. Also, I got a couple of words to say about Bill Maher and his constant whining, complaining about identity politics. And Deion Sanders says, my son and Travis Hunter, there's some teams they're not going to.

And I agree with Deion. I believe all professional drafts are completely illegal, unethical, and a restraint of trade. All of that, rolling mark, unfiltered on the Blackstar Network.

Terry and I, we couldn't play in the white clubs in Minnesota. It felt like such a, you know, strength through adversity type moment that I think black people just have to go through, you know we have to figure it out you know, we make

lemons out of lemonade, but there's a reason we rented a ballroom did our own show, promoted it got like 1500 people to come out clubs were sitting empty. They were like, where's everybody at? And I said, they're down watching the band you wouldn't hire.

So it taught us not only that we had the talent of musicians, but we also had the talent of entrepreneurship. It wasn't like a seat at the table. It's like, no, let's build the table. That's right. We've got to build the table. And that was the thing. And of course, after that, we got all kinds of offers.

Of course. Right, to come play in the clubs. But we didn't do it. You're like, no, we're good. No, we're table. That's right. And that was the thing. And of course, after that, we got all kinds of offers. Of course. Right, to come play in the clubs. But we didn't do it. We said, no, we're good. No, we're good. We're good. And that's what put us on a path of national. And of course, when Prince made it, then it was like, OK,

we see it can be done. Thank you. open a new round to invest. For details on how to invest, visit startengine.com slash fanbase or scan the QR code. Another way we're giving you the freedom to be you without limits. What's up, everybody? It's your girl Latasha

from the A. And you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution.

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

Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes one, two, and three on May 21st and episodes four, five, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast.

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

We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. Got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things.

Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content,

subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. You say you never give in to a meltdown and never fill your feed with kid photos. You say you'd never put a pacifier in your mouth to clean it and never let them run wild through the grocery store. So when you say you'd never let them get into a car without you there, no, it can happen. One in four hot car deaths happen when a kid gets into an unlocked car and can't get out.

Never happens. Before you leave the car, always stop, look, lock. Brought to you by NHTSA and the Ad Council. Racist white conservatives continue their attack on DEI. Y'all know CRT, affirmative action. We can go on and on and on. That's what they're all about. Now, led by Elon Musk and others, they're saying,

oh, DEI is gonna lead to folks dying because we have all of these unqualified black and other minorities in the healthcare space. These are the same people whining about black pilots, saying, oh, there's gonna be crashes all around. As if we haven't seen a lot of accidents with white pilots. As if we haven't seen medical

deaths from white doctors. But y'all see what the thing is. What they always do is try to attack, attack, attack people of color. This is really an anti-black effort. So you've got North Carolina Representative Congressman Greg Murphy, who's introduced the Educate Act, embracing anti-discrimination, unbiased curricula, and advancing truth in education.

That's what he's calling the bill. It will prevent medical schools to provide DEI programs from receiving federal funds. Murphy says DEI could end up costing people's lives. Listen to this fool. Medical schools are then charged with educating and training their doctors to be the most competent and excellent in their fields. In the past, students were admitted based upon merit, excellence, and aptitude. Sadly enough, those days are changing. DEI, the so-called diversity, equity, inclusion theology, is sowing mistrust in the field, in the field, trust is so reliant. And so when it comes down to patient care, DEI can even lead to harmful, if not deadly, consequences. Guys, this is medical school.

It is not art school. It is not English school. It is medical school. As Dr. Ben Carson, whom you all know, the black neurosurgeon, said about medical school, putting aside merit instead of emphasizing qualities like race, sex, religion, and all others. By putting aside merit, we hear only that can endlessly cost people their lives. What you just heard there is complete and utter bullshit, but that's what they do. You see what they do, what they say, oh, no one's discussing merit.

That's a lie. He's lying. He's a doctor and he's lying. Dr. Yolanda Lawson is president of the National Medical Association, the nation's oldest and largest organization representing black physicians and health professionals. She joins us right now.

I'm glad to have you here. So, I mean, listen, since we got here, and it wasn't my choice, every time something happens, it's like, oh, oh, no, no, no, no, no. They're not qualified. They're not qualified.

Take your pick. Automotive industry, healthcare, legal. I mean, you can name it. White, racist. That's their go-to. Oh, if they are allowed in, all hell is going to break loose. It's devastating, to say the least. We at the National Medical Association, I've had calls from doctors all over the country who are outraged by this. We know that 5.7 of doctors in this country are Black. And then you look at health disparities in this country. Black people are more to die of almost every disease state I can think of. We're disproportionately affected. And so,

first of all, I'd like to say around merit, you can't get through medical school, right? If you cannot comprehend, and the curriculum is so demanding, it's disheartening to hear this. And it's definitely disheartening to hear this from a medical professional who I know understands what we are up against in this country. You have the Association of American Medical Colleges. They've responded to this nonsense. Let's go to my iPad. They say the AAMC firmly reiterates its commitment to addressing and mitigating the factors that impair effective physician-patient relationships when preparing the future physician workforce. The presence of diversity, equity, and inclusion in medical school curricula

is intended to train the next generation of physicians to respond most appropriately to the rapidly diversifying populations that they will serve. Doing so increases the likelihood for better health care and healthy lives for all patients, including individuals who have been historically marginalized by the health care system. So they basically are saying, Congressman Murphy, you can go to hell. Well, they didn't say it exactly like you said it, but all of us in the industry, we're all working together to come out and speak out against this. Because like I said, it's a really devastating and unfortunately we are not able to rely on folks always doing the right thing. Right.

And so these DEI structures and these frameworks were put in place for a reason. And if you think about it, government mandated reasons, right, to ensure fairness, equity, and justice. And so, again, when you talk about reversing these frameworks, it's not only Black race is going to be impacted. You have to think about ageism, sexuality, right, will come to play, gender issues. So there's a broader conversation here. And I don't think anyone can be a bystander around this. Well, Representative Murphy, you don't see him talking about racism in the healthcare industry. You don't hear him talking about, oh, why is it that when black patients get treated by black doctors, their outcomes are different than white patients? Oh, it's amazing how they gloss over all of that,

but they didn't want to lock in on DEI. Absolutely. You heard him talk nothing about disparities. You look at maternal mortality. Black women are three times more likely to die in childbirth. You look at infant mortality. Our babies are twice as likely to die than a white baby. You look at diabetes, heart disease, cancer, black men, twice as likely to die from prostate cancer than a white person. And so he's not addressing it. It's narrow and it's unfortunate. Questions. Derek? You know, one of the things that's really appalling, just listening to a medical doctor to attack others who are in that profession. And as you stated, you know, 5.7% Black doctors in the United States, 2.1 percent dentists, and 1.5 percent lawyers. So, when you think about the contributions that blacks have done for a long time—I mean, we just had Black History Month rolling just last month. I mean, when you think about the black doctors who had cutting edge around blood

transfusion, my question is, how do we combat this? Because this kind of information is really disheartening for those who are in Meharry right now, both on the medical and dental side, those in the Morehouse School of Medicine, they're hearing this kind of language. And so how do we need to change this narrative while they're, you know, stressing over getting through some predominantly black schools? Meanwhile, they hear someone that's a doctor that's in a profession that they're looking to go in towards. I'm going to comment to what you just said, because over this last year, we have witnessed multiple crusades around and attacks around DEI. Probably the most unfortunate to me are around scholarships, right? So we can no longer provide scholarships for Black students, right? And so when you think about last year as Howard and other HBCU medical schools started getting

letters, right? They're included in this, that they can't, but you have to go back, as Roland just mentioned, you have to go back. There's historical evidence and there were historical occurrences. These structures, we had to open our own medical schools because they wouldn't let us into theirs. And so it's very unfortunate that this is happening again. And so what's being done, we are all coming together. And so I started reaching out. And so in April, we're having a convening of all the Black healthcare entities and organizations. The National Bar Association is involved. The National Business League is involved. We are doing a convening, really, and this stemmed after last year's SCOTUS decision, because my concern was the workforce. What downstream implications will this have on

the workforce? And now this is even worse, what just happened. Julianne? First of all, Doc, thank you so much for your work and for basically helping to combat this ignorance, because that's what it is, it's ignorance. And they want to, they don't even know what DEI is. So we need to insist, they say, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Who is against inclusion? And I'm glad that you raised the stats that you raised about the health disparities, because they very much do exist.

You didn't notice that man talking about the Tuskegee experiments or the whole half a dozen things, black female mortality. What happened to Serena Williams? You didn't hear him deal with any of that. But I'm wondering, in terms of the national med—and two or three of your former presidents are good friends—but I'm wondering if there's a legislative strategy that you're working on. We know that right now—I hate to be paranoid, but they are out to get us by whatever means necessary.

Anti-affirmative action, voter suppression. This man didn't have to do this. He basically, this is all ideological. It is not based in reason or fact. It's based in ideology. But National Med at one point did have, and I haven't kept up, but did have some folks who were working on legislation. And I look forward to your summit. Please invite me.

I look forward to your summit because getting everybody under the same roof is going to be really important. But what about legislation? Are there ways that you have identified that we could fight back legislatively, not just nationally, but state by state? Because we know that southern states that have a preponderance of black people are going to be the ones that are going to ride on this man's coattails if they can. You're absolutely right. And, you know, I'm based in Texas. And you know what just happened here, the dissolution of DEI offices in Texas. We knew Florida, and then today we hear we know Alabama came on board. So our approach to this will be at a national and federal level. And then through our state

societies and locals, you're right. You're absolutely right. We have to advocate at the state level. But we have got this. If there is no time in history, people have got to vote. When you look at Texas and there are more black people that live in Texas than any other state, right, we have got to vote for the interest broadly because, of course, our interests are not being taken into account. And so this advocacy work is going to be ongoing. We're doing some other things and some strategies. In April, again, bringing everyone together to determine how, while we are mutually aligned, how do we advance policies and prevent some policy or legislation such as this from passing. I'm a Congo. Dr. Lawson, thank you so much for your work and your leadership. The question I have, and I don't know if it's too early to see this, but are you starting to see an effect from hospitals and other medical facilities as it relates to the hiring practices? Are they starting to slow down in hiring black doctors or taking you know, taking, you know, black med students

into their residencies and the like? Is it too early to tell or are we starting to see trepidation from the people that do the hiring? So the hiring piece is one piece, but again, you only have a set pool. When you look at black men, it's been 80 years and we haven't increased the number of black men in medicine. You look at the numbers for medical school admission for blacks as a whole, fairly stagnant. Right. So for us to get over that five percent, because you understand what the goal here, the goal is racially concordant care. Are there enough black doctors in this country to take care of the black population? And it's not right. So you could seek out a black doctor. You just may not be able to always get one. And so we know that there's distribution issues.

There are all these issues that we want to address. But when you look at the hiring piece, your pool of applicants is not that great. And then you're right, there are institutions that may not be very inclusive environments for black doctors to work in. I'll say it like that. We even look at residency programs. Look at me. I mean, you know, so I think about these situations that we are put in, but these practices and these policies that are being proposed are not going to be positive or beneficial for this country. We know that last year, JAMA,

there was a study having one Black doctor in the county improve the lifespan, not only of the Black people, but everybody, even the white patient, I mean, the white community. So you have to think about the value of the Black doctor. And that's what I advocate is the value of the black physician. Well, absolutely. When is this gathering going to take place in April? It's April 11th. We will have a press conference on the Hill on April 11th. April 13th is the convening. That is when all of the African American healthcare organizations and others will convene in Washington, D.C., working on formalizing, right, this policy structure, because the legislative piece of this, we understand,

is going to be important, right? Prior to this, I was on with our policymakers, right? Working on what that looks like. And I'm also reaching out to other minoritized organizations. You heard me state, this is going to be more than about race. There are other implications that could be impacted if this legislation was to pass. And Roland, you're actually on the schedule to be there on April 13th. I hope you have not forgotten. No, no, I got it. I'll be there. That's Saturday. I'm there. I got you. All right. I appreciate it. Thanks so much. Looking forward to it. Thank you. All right. Folks, going to break. We come back. We'll chat with Reverend Dr. William Barber about our action next week in Tennessee State.

Also, got a few things to say about Deion Sanders. His comments regarding where his son and Travis Hunter should go for the NFL. And also, Bill Maher shows his ass again and shows you he is not the brightest bulb in the dark room. I got to discuss that, too. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Let me shout out Lisa Jenkins. Lisa literally contributes, y'all, every single month to this show since we launched, and so we appreciate her support.

We got some other folks who have given during the show. Let me shout y'all out. Dorothy Young, let me shout out. GT, Rima Dev Divine, Carla Taylor, Norma Neek Holmes, Tommy Williams, William McKinnon, Pamela Rogers. Let's see here. Who is this?

Hold on. Where's the name? Where's the name? Charles A., Renee. Let's see. Derek Jackson, Brenda Cowan, Sharper, Don Hunter, Ronnie Jones, Stacey Robinson. I appreciate it.

If y'all want to join our Bring the Funk fan club, do so. Everybody who's doing the show, I give you a shout-out. Senior Check and Money, order the PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. Cash App, Dollar Sign, RM Unfiltered, PayPal, Martin Unfiltered, Venmo's RM Unfiltered, PayPal, Martin Unfiltered, Venmo is RM Unfiltered, Zale, Roland at RolandSMartin.com, Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. We'll be right back. Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time,

have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated.

I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back.

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

Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corps vet. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them.

It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content,

subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We'll be right back. You'd never let them get into a car without you there. No, it can happen. One in four hot car deaths happen when a kid gets into an unlocked car and can't get out. Never happens. Before you leave the car, always stop. Look. Lock. Brought to you by NHTSA and the Ad Council. White people are losing their damn minds. There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to the U.S. Capitol.

We've seen shouts. We're about to see the rise of what I call white minority resistance. We have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University calls white rage as a backlash. This is the wrath of the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys. America,

there's going to be more of this. Here's all the Proud Boys guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white fear. We'll be right back. For details on how to invest, visit startengine.com slash fan base or scan the QR code. Another way we're giving you the freedom to be you without limits. On the next A Balanced Life with me, Dr. Jackie, beware the generational curse. They're everywhere in our families, in our workplaces, and even in our churches. It's like a minefield, identifying the curse and knowing what to do about it.

When we're talking about generational patterns, oftentimes we get locked into those patterns because we don't want anyone to say, oh, you acting brand new, or you doing something different from how this is how we always did it? It's okay to do something different in order to get the results that you want to see in your life. That's next on A Balanced Life on Black Star Network. When you talk about

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Be job ready and qualify for in-demand jobs. Farquhar, executive producer of Proud Family. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Folks, next Monday, I'll be broadcasting live from Nashville on the campus of Tennessee State University where they are fighting a battle against conservative Republicans in Tennessee. They want to replace the entire Board of Trustees.

Like I said, all of a sudden, since Tennessee State started asking $4,500 million, now Republicans are interested in Tennessee State. The students there, the alumni, they're inviting us in. Reverend William Barber, of course, repairs of the Breach Poor People's Campaign. One of the folks involved in this effort, he joins us right now.

Reverend Barber, glad to have you here. We're going to be in the state capitol at 11 a.m. on Monday, and then I'll do my show from the campus that night. And the point that we're making, this thing is bigger than Tennessee State. Black folks had better understand, Republicans control these legislatures. This is going to be a problem for HBCUs. It's a real problem, Martin. We're talking about billions of dollars, not millions. Billions of dollars that are underfunded for years and how these state legislatures are using the state legislature to go around federal efforts. On one hand, you've got the president, Biden,

trying to get money to the HBCU. These Republican legislators trying extremists blocking it. Now they're trying to take over boards of trustees that they appoint. It's not just happening there. It's happening in Alcorn State. It's happening at Temple, Elizabeth City State, North Carolina, and other places. And the students are fighting. And too many people have been too quiet.

You know, I've been out to Tennessee State. And I was there a few years ago and actually challenged the governor who claimed that he believed in the values of Martin Luther King, but then was actually operating contrary. So I want your audience to be real clear, Roland. The students have asked us to come. They've asked for national voices to come. They are hosting, in fact, the young man who is the trustee appointed, the student appointment to the trustee board. And I know that. I served in that same position almost 30 years ago, Roland. We fought for those positions to get students on boards of trustees.

So he and the vice president of student government, student government, have invited us to come. Freddie Haynes, myself, LaTosha, the Black Voters Matter, Cliff and others, 100 Black Men, they asked us to come. We're giving the mic to them, but we're going to draw the media in to hear them. But not only about Tennessee State, we're launching a call for everybody to challenge this governor to veto anything that's an overreaching. They want to take the whole trustee board in one swipe and then fight to stop that. But we also are saying that alumni around this country and students, we need to get focused on

these HBCUs. And in addition to that, we need to register our votes. But you know, Molden, that over 50 percent of poor and low-wage—or black folk in Tennessee are poor and low-wage, and over 44 percent of voters are poor and low wage. Now, that means that we don't have to take this. Uh-oh. Excuse me. It's all good. It's all good.

So— That's just a drop on the phone. But that means we don't have to take this, Doc, that we actually have power, voting power, that could transform these state legislatures. And they know it. They know it. And at the center of it are HBCUs and students that can vote where they go to school. I want to say it again. They can register and vote where they go to school. You talked about the money. Go to my iPad. The Biden-Harris administration had announced, this was in

September, that you see land-grant HBCUs had missed out on $13 billion over the last three decades. And they sent these letters to the governors of 16 states. It came from Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and Ag Culture Secretary Tom Vilsack, which are the governors of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia. They cited data from the National Center for Education Statistics, which said found that the gap in funding quote, could have supported infrastructure and student services and would have better position the university to compete for research grants.

And these HBCUs quote, will be much stronger and better positioned to serve its students, your state and the nation have made whole with respect to this funding gap. What I don't understand, Reverend Barbara, is how every black organization in America, but especially in those 16 states, are not raising holy hell about these schools being screwed out of

$13 billion over three decades. Exactly. We should be on fire about this. We should be mobilizing our message, mobilizing our votes, mobilizing our political power, and mobilizing our call to action. And, Rolla, it's the money that's being held back, then that's holding back development in our community and dreams, development of our minds, that the reality is HBCUs are still the number one place that turn out our black engineers, turn out people that become

lawyers and doctors, turn out those that make a difference in our community. And you're talking about political robbery, man. This wasn't a mistake. This is an intentional action by extremists and state legislators and extremist governors to undermine and block. And there's another question, Roland. If the $13 billion was

available, where in the hell did it go? Right. You know where it went? It went to white land colleges. Okay, okay. You see? So that's robbery, man. That's theft. And in fact, if that's supposed to go to HBCUs, here's my whole deal. The Department of Justice should sue these states.

Exactly. And our civil rights groups and others should be calling on the DOJ to sue these states to say y'all cheated these schools out of the money. Should have been called on it, should be active in doing it, should be bringing suits on behalf of the students, on behalf of alumni, because the other side of it, historically, Roland,

these schools were limited in the amount of money they could raise. A lot of people don't know that. When these schools were founded, these regressive legislatures in the early 1900s, late 1800s, put limits on how much they could raise. So in the beginning, you put limits on how much they could raise. Now you're taking from them what's there legitimately and rightfully there. This is no time to be quiet. And if anybody wants to know why you ought to be voting and why you ought to look at the record and why you ought to be engaged in voting and the state legislatures, here's the issue right here.

Everyone that's taking this money and using this money and putting it somewhere is elected. They are elected by the people. And massive turnout of black and brown votes mobilized with other people who of goodwill can change this. We do not have to take this, but we've got to mobilize in the courts, in the streets, and at the ballot box. Again, we're going to be in Nashville 11 a.m. next Monday. We'll be live streaming it right here on the Black Star Network. In the Rotunda.

Yeah, in the Capitol Rotunda. So folks, if you're there, meet us in the Capitol Rotunda, 11 a.m. next Monday in Nashville as we stand and support Tennessee State. Reverend Barber, thanks a lot. Thank you, man. Appreciate it. This, Julian, is the only way.

And, again, this came out in September. I mean, look, I've been saying this, Julian, but, you know, I'm trying hard to be patient. But all these black groups pissing me off for this silence. Well, you and me too, Roland. I mean, and I have no patience. I literally have zero patience. And I'm watching these folks, our friends, our colleagues, many who were educated at HBCUs,

they know how important our HBCUs are. And they know what kind of challenges that leadership at HBCU faces. I mean, Glenda Glover at Tennessee State, she was like rolling a pea up a hill. People were against her from the time she got there. And her last couple of years before she was there, it had just escalated. Why? Because they did not want that school to thrive. When they can draw 4,000 enrollment and they only have room for 3,000, and I'm just remembering the numbers, I'm off a little. But when they can do that, it says that young people want to come to HBCUs. One of the reasons that they want to come is because the racism that they experience at PWIs has become so pervasive that they look at HBCUs as a safe and healthy alternative for

their lives. I mean, I was just talking to a friend a couple of minutes ago, right before I came on the air, about her daughter, his daughter, who, brilliant young lady, violently raped by some white boys at a PWI. But that's not unusual, and it shouldn't be something we accept. What we have to accept is that we must fight. If we do not fight, we will not get anything. So our job is to fight. Our job is to be out there. And I'm calling them all out, the NAACP, the Urban League.

Again, these are our friends. We know them. We hang out with them. But there is a strand, Roland, of silent conservatism that exists among Black civil rights organizations, and it partly has to do with their corporate sponsorship. Now, if somebody's going to challenge me on it, then please do. But I just know that there was a time when we were more vocal, but we were less dependent. Now, I think that many of our organizations are very dependent.

And so leadership, while relatively progressive, does not want to offend. And because they do not want to offend, they're not going to tree shake. They're not going to try to... They will try to change. Of course, we're all committed to social economic justice. But, Roland, it's time to turn the heat up. It is just time to turn the heat up.

Yeah, I mean, I'm a Congo. I mean, what's bothering me again, this is $13 billion over three decades. Okay, fine, split it up, decade by decade. That's almost, that's more than four billion a decade. Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so let's see here. Again, Alabama, Arkansas.

So you go Alabama, here's Alabama State, Alabama A&M, we got others. Arkansas, so you go Alabama, here's Alabama State, Alabama A&M, we got others, Arkansas, I'm rocking today, the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff band hoodie, okay? You got Florida, so you got Florida A&M, you got Georgia on this list, your HBCUs, you got Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina,

North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia. All these problems we've been talking about of these schools, facilities, research, staff, what they could have done with that $13 billion. You're absolutely right. I feel like the title of your next book needs to be Black Fear, you know, because some of these organizations are fearful of speaking up and take a stand. And, you know, we also have all of these conversations about reparations and what America owes and everything, and people talk about how far back can we go and all of this. This has documented over 30 years money that is owed to our schools. And so everybody should be in an uproar about this, just as much as they talk about other things that have gone in our community, dealing with the

effects of Jim Crow and slavery and all of these. This is real money that belongs in our schools that helps create the future generations of leaders across all of the fields, in engineering, science, so many of the areas that we've been talking about. And if we're not going to get up and protect our HBCUs, it's like, what are we really doing? And every week, well, then you're going on social media. Every week, you're talking about where these organizations at, and they still have yet to heed the call. And like Dr. Malvo said, so many of them are graduates of these organizations or have other connections. But that dependency piece that Dr. Malvo mentioned, I think, is a real problem. And I think that that's part of the reason why much of this effort, as Reverend Barber was saying, is being led by students, because they don't have that type of connection to these organizations and they feel like they have to fear something.

And maybe if they continue to lead and like Reverend Barber said, he's going to be there to amplify their voices. They're going to show us the way. Derek, you are Georgia State Representative. Have y'all, have the Black Caucus there, asked Georgia to do an audit on the federal land grant money it's gotten in the last three decades? And based upon this analysis, how much HBCUs in Georgia were shortened or screwed out of? No, listen, Roland, we didn't ask for an audit.

The audit was already done. And so what we did when President Biden came out with that letter in September of last year, 30 days later, we didn't ask questions because we're the largest black caucus in the United States. What we did, we filed a lawsuit, Roland. We filed a lawsuit because Fort Valley State is owed $603 million. Wait, wait, wait. Y'all filed a lawsuit against who? The state of Georgia.

Okay. The state of Georgia. Go ahead, go ahead, go ahead. Yeah, we filed a lawsuit against the state of Georgia because in that letter, Brian Kemp, Governor against the state of Georgia, because in that letter, Brian Kemp, Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia, his response to the Department of Education of the Biden administration, he said, we'll look into it. There's nothing to look into, Roland.

And so Fort Valley State is owed $603 million in accordance with the 1862 land grant, Merrill Act of 1862 land grant. And so here in Georgia, Roland, we're sitting on $16 billion surplus. Surplus, $16 billion. So there's nothing to discuss. There's nothing to discuss. There's nothing to evaluate. All we're saying is, pay the debt that the state of Georgia owes to Fort Valley State that was identified in this letter. So I'm looking over here, and this is the story right here. So this dropped in September.

And so, first of all, what you're saying is that one of the three HBCUs underfunded by $600 million. That's correct. So the number is higher when you say all three. That is correct,

Roland, but our goal was to immediately strike because we cannot allow That is correct, Roland, but our goal was to immediately to strike because we cannot allow for the silence of our friends to become part of the inactions of the largest black caucus in the United States. So y'all are saying that Fort Valen State was underfunded by $600 million. $603 million. $603 million.

So how has the governor and the legislature responded? And so, so that's what I'm saying. So when we filed that lawsuit, Governor Brian Kemp responded, well, we'll look into it. And of course, now we're tied into litigation. And so those things are now beyond our, our, you know, outside the scope of my role as a legislator. Yeah, but here's the deal, though. Even though a lawsuit has been filed, the legislature doesn't have to wait for the lawsuit. They could literally say, you know what?

Hey, they're right. We're going to do the money. Look, I covered the Maryland case. That was a 13-year lawsuit that went on and on and on before they finally got that money. They should have gotten $2 billion. That's not what they got.

And so, okay, so he said, look into it. Well, this is October, November, December, January, February, March. Can we five months? What the hell is he saying five months? And so the question is, well, do we have the money? And the answer is yes, because we're sitting on $16 billion surplus. So what you're saying is after we go to Nashville, then next stop should be Georgia. We will welcome you, as we always do.

See, this is the thing that I've been talking about, especially when, you know, look, there's a whole bunch of people out here who believe in reparations, mad, and like, man, you should be covered every single day. And I go, I'm looking at the money that's on the table right now. Right, that's right.

This is $603 million just for Georgia. We're talking about $13 billion. So if we're talking about making action, I'm challenging people like, what the hell are we doing? I just think there's a lot of people who love talking and just having panels and conversations versus putting some pressure. This money here, if you're talking about $603 million just for Fort Valley State, you throw the other two in, you're talking about that could exceed a billion dollars. Imagine if the three HBCUs in Georgia got that billion dollars in the next 12 months. Game GAME CHANGER. ROLAND, WE DON'T HAVE TO WAIT. THAT'S MY POINT. WE'RE SITTING ON $16 BILLION

SURPLUS. AND SO IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, HOW IS IT THAT GEORGIA HAS A SURPLUS? WELL, WE'RE NOT PAYING OUR BILLS. WE'RE NOT PAYING OUR BILLS TO ALBANY STATE UNIVERSITY.

WE'RE NOT PAYING OUR BILLS TO FORT VALLEY STATE. WE'RE NOT PAYING OUR BILLS TO SAVANNAH STATE, PAIN COLLEGE. I MEAN, IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, it, Roland, 90% of HBCUs are in 10 southern states. This is all by design. 90% of HBCUs are in 10 of the southern states. Again, Julian, look, you ran Bennett College. The fundamental problem that we're seeing is that schools are chronically underfunded.

And not only that, people got to think about the DMA, and that is the area around the school. When you properly fund the schools, you're impacting the local economy. You're going to be... See, for all the black people who are paying attention, this ain't just about whether your ass went to that school. This is the town it's in.

This is the businesses that are around that particular school. All of this is impacted when you talk about the money. You know, Roland, we did an economic impact study. I had a board member, God rest her soul, Andrea Harris, who was very into looking at economic impact. She ran the Minority Business Development Organization in North Carolina. And we did an economic impact study when I was able to refinance our loan and get that $21 million construction. And believe me, if they have gray hairs up here, it has something to do with that. We did an e-commerce

impact show because I built three new buildings. The construction, we hired a whole lot of local people. But dig this. Our own people, Black people, one of my staff people, I said, I want at least one-third of this money

to Black folks. We can't do that. That's discriminating. You know, I told them to see me another day and did it and got in trouble for it. But we have to be our own strongest advocates. And too many of us are not. We, you know, we're happy to eat the crumbs off the man's table. When we built the table, when we put the food out, then we're prepared to take the crumbs off the man's table. When we built the table, when we put the food out, then we're prepared to take the crumbs.

So these HBCUs are economic drivers, and the more rural you get, you know, you're looking at Tuskegee, Tougaloo, the more rural you get, the more you see how much a part of economic drivers they are. And not just for our people. You know, we hire white folks, too. Much to my chagrin, but that's another story. We hire white folks, too.

We hire other people. 20% of all HBCUs are non-black. Yeah, Kentucky State. And there are non-black faculty at HBCUs. So, yeah, this ain't... Folk need to be speaking up. I have a lot of non-black faculty. If you're in a small market like Greensboro

and with a limited number of colleges, if your boo gets a job at North Carolina A&T State University, they're going to come looking for everybody, every other college and say, can you hire me too? So, no, we have relationships with majority communities and good relationships at that, mostly. Not always, but good relationships at that, mostly, not always, but good relationships at that. But what I'm saying, we are economic drivers for areas, not just for black people, but for areas.

When you see construction, you know that all those folks are not going to be African-American. When you see—I mean, the manager of our cafeteria at one point was a white guy, very good white guy. But, you know, he was a white guy. So you have to look at what you're doing, not just HBCUs are a national treasure. And, I mean, they are a national treasure that is well ignored. This finding is about $13 billion, $6 billion. As you say, what could these schools do if they had that money?

What could we do? All of us, we all struggle with financial issues. And part of it is low endowments. And as Reverend Barber said earlier, often legislatures prevented us from accumulating or raising money in certain ways. So, you know, I'm getting agitated, Roland. I'm getting agitated because it just takes me back down memory lane and how hard we had to fight just to get the buildings, you know, the new buildings. And again, sometimes we are our own worst enemy. Sometimes we, I mean, I kept what did one person tell me? You were just moving too fast.

Yeah. Yeah. What did King say? Why we can't wait? Oh my God. Alright, y'all. Let me take a quick break when we come back. I gotta talk about a couple of things here. But let me deal with this fool Bill Maher when we come back.

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

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

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Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. You say you never give in to a meltdown and never fill your feed with kid photos. You say you'd never put a pacifier in your mouth to clean it and never let them run wild through the grocery store. So when you say you'd never let them get into a car without you there, no, it can happen. One in four hot car deaths happen when a kid gets into an unlocked car and can't get out.

Never happens. Before you leave the car, always stop, look, lock. Brought to you by NHTSA and the Ad Council. Another way we're giving you the freedom to be you without limits. I'm Faraji Muhammad, live from L.A., and this is The Culture. The Culture is a two-way conversation, you and me. We talk about the stories, politics, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. So join our community every day at 3 p.m.

Eastern and let your voice be heard. Hey, we're all in this together, so let's talk about it and see what kind of trouble we can get into. It's the culture. Weekdays at 3, only on the Blackstar Network. It's John Murray, the executive producer of the new Sherry Shepard Talk Show. This is your boy, Herb Quay. And you're tuned in to... Roland Martin, Unfiltered. Okay, so I'm used to Bill Maher saying stupid stuff when it comes to race, and this just continues. So this is the ridiculous stuff

this clearly aggrieved white man said on Friday. Democrats lose elections. When Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi put on kente cloth, I don't think it earned them one vote for their powerful emotional ties to Ghana. Here in California, we're now segregating kidnapping. Really. California doesn't just have amber alerts for missing children.

We have ebony alerts for black children and feather alerts for Native American kids. What is that? We look for them by listening on the ground? Look, even if you like identity politics, this kind of thing is antiquated. From 2010 to 2020, the number of people identifying as multiracial in America went up 276%. One in five newlyweds now are in an interracial marriage, and that number goes up to 100% in ads for Subaru. You couldn't do a remake of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner today

because almost 100% of Americans approve of interracial marriage, especially with rich in-laws. And 95% of white women would leave their husband to marry Idris Elba. Idris Elba, who says, as humans, we are obsessed with race, and that obsession can really hinder people's aspirations. Actress Raven-Symoné agrees. She told Oprah,

I'm tired of being labeled. I'm not an African-American. I'm an American. She... She says, I don't know what country in Africa I'm from. My roots are in Louisiana. And you don't have to agree with that. But it's a point of view a lot of people have.

It should be respected. Morgan Freeman says the way to finish off racism is, stop talking about it. I'm going to stop calling you a white man, and I'm going to ask you to stop calling you a white man, and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man. There's even a movement now to ban racial questions on the census, and many of its leaders are people of color, like Professor Sheena Mason, who says, to undo racism, we have to undo our belief in race. The liberal group MoveOn.org formed in 1998

to urge Republicans to move on from the Clinton impeachment. Today's Democrats should move on from identity politics. It's not working. It's not working for them or for us. Democrats are hemorrhaging the very voters they think they're pandering to. The Financial Times writes, Democrats are going backwards faster with voters of color than any other demographic, and suggests the reason is that a less racially divided America is an America where people vote more based on their beliefs than their identity. Exactly.

Far left liberals are living in an old paradigm. Americans don't fit into neat little boxes anymore. Who has the number one country song right now? Beyonce. Lil Nas X won a country music award, and he's black and gay. And a brand ambassador for the waspiest purse in America, Coach. The biggest new star in country is Jelly Roll, who was a drug dealer, then a prisoner, then a rapper, and then a face-tatted country music star.

Not to mention a giant middle finger to the idea of staying in your own lane. No. In America now, you're allowed to be many things all at once, and that's a good thing, even when it's really stupid. Look, we're all jelly roll now.

We're sloppy, complicated, and contradictory. Two-thirds of Republican voters support weed legalization. And 40... Yeah. And 41% of Democrats own or live with someone who owns a gun. Ms. Marvel is Pakistani, and the winner of the last two NBA dunk contests is white. The new Captain America is black, and Spider-Man is black and Puerto Rican,

just like AI.I. George Washington. Latinos make up half of the Border Patrol, and the name of the coolest black dude on the planet is Lenny Kravitz. RuPaul has a ranch in Wyoming that does fracking. Really. And has a fortified compound with a bunker to die for. And somehow the leader of the village people was straight.

Really. He just went to the YMCA to work out. And the leader of the proud boys isn't an old white guy. He's Enrique Torrio, an Afro-Cuban. He burns crosses on his own lawn. Caitlyn Jenner is a pro-Trump trans woman who supports a ban on trans athletes competing in women's sports. And there's even an LGBTQ organization

called Gays for Trump. And why wouldn't there be Gays Love Drag Queens? Our black president was half white. And our black vice president is half Asian. And Tiger Woods is... Oh, we don't even have the time. My point is... Look.

You're still building your politics around slicing and dicing people into these fixed categories. Democrats need to get the memo that you can't win elections anymore by automatically assuming you're going to get every voter who's not these guys. The more you obsess over identity, the more you ignore the bread and butter issues that win and lose elections. The real issue is class, not race. And the real gap is the diploma

divide and the real future of the party and maybe democracy depends on Democrats figuring that out. Well, now that we've finished airing that piece of shit, here's the deal that Bill Maher wants to talk about.

So he wants to talk about there being the diploma divide. Okay, Bill, do me a favor. Why don't you just have the same conversation that we had about the $13 billion that HBCUs did not get that clearly went to white land-grant institutions? Oh, you and I want to talk about a diploma divide? Oh, by all means, Bill,

let's talk about the reality of race in this country when you've got white conservatives right now trying to run a voucher scam in Texas, in Tennessee, in Kentucky, and other states to pull money out of public schools to send that money to largely white suburban communities and say, screw the people who are people of color in these public schools. Oh, you want to mock? Oh, we now have an Ebony Alert. Go to my iPad. That was legislation that was sponsored by then California State Senator Stephen Bradford. Here's what white man Bill Maher does

not want to own up to in the press release when it was signed into law September 28th, 2023. According to the Black and Missing Foundation, 38% of children reported missing in the United States are black. The U.S. population is 14%. Black women and girls are at increased risk of being harmed and trafficked. A recent report on human trafficking incidents across the country found that 40% of sex trafficking victims were identified as black women. Hmm.

Do you know why there's an ebony alert, Bill Maher? Because, see, you're a white man. So if your mama or your sister or your cousin came up missing, it's a good bet it's going to be covered by national media. Oh, my goodness, when a white woman comes up missing, oh, we send federal authorities, state authorities, local authorities to find that white woman. The New York Post, the New York Times, television and radio

are all going, man, find that white woman. Yet when black women come up missing, black people have to protest, yell and scream to make it happen. There's a reason why, Bill, we have't care about Aaron Hope, who has been missing from his South Bend, Indiana home since January 22nd. He's 16 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighs 140 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Anybody with information regarding Aaron Hope should call the South Bend Police Department

at 575-9201, 574-235-9201. See, we do that every single day, Bill. You know why? Because white media does it. It does it. I can guarantee you, Bill Maher, you can name off the top of your head at least five prominent white women who came up missing where their story was plastered all around the country. Bill, can you name me one black woman? One black woman? I mean, you have an affinity for black women, so I would think you could name one black woman who's been missing.

Since you care about black women, probably only in the bedroom. See, here's the reality. You are a white man, Bill Maher, and you, yourself, are the epitome of identity politics. Yes, you. First of all, anybody who knows politics knows all politics is about is identity politics. NASCAR dads, they ain't black. Soccer moms, they ain't black. We know the game.

And for Bill Maher, clearly somebody who has no sense of knowledge. To think that identity politics only is on Democratic's side means you've been asleep for the past 60 years. What the hell do you think the Southern strategy was all about? What do you think Trump's initial speech coming down an escalator was all about? What do you think Trump's initial speech coming down the escalator was all about? What do you think the attack on CRT and DEI and the Affirmative Action Bill is all about? See Bill, since you want to talk about how, oh no, it's the bread and butter issue,

okay, well then tell me why 2% of all venture capital goes to black people. 2%. 2% of all venture capital goes to black people. 2%. Please tell me, Bill, why the federal government spends some $600 billion on contracts and 1.67% goes to black people. Is it that we don't own businesses? Is that we are not smart? Please, by all means, Bill,

since you care about black women only in the bedroom, please share with us in your infinite wisdom why black women, maternal health is more dire than that of white women, even, Bill, when you are a rich black woman like Serena Williams. Oh, but then the white savior Bill Maher wants to parade the exceptional Negro. Look at this. Beyoncé, the black woman,

has the number one song country charts in America. But I noticed, Bill, how you skipped over the racism that Beyonce encountered in 2016 when she performed at the Country Music Awards. I noticed how you gave no nuance in Beyonce's statement when she alluded to what took place at the Country Music Awards. Hmm. Were your researchers asleep on that part? Oh, then you want to mention, oh, this person. See, this is what white men like Bill Maher do. This is what they do. Look at Thurgood Marshall.

Oh, so when Thurgood Marshall became the first black on the Supreme Court, did that somehow eliminate all racism in the criminal justice system? Please tell that to all the black men that have been released from prison since

Thurgood Marshall was on the Supreme Court who were sentenced to death row for crimes they did not commit, Bill. Oh, I'm sorry. See, in your world, that's identity politics. We shouldn't talk about those things, those little pesky things. And so you sat here and you went, oh, on and on and oh, oh, my goodness, Kamala Harris, she's, you said, oh, she's half black and she's half Asian. So are you somehow suggesting that she has not had to endure a significant level of racist attacks?

Oh, you mentioned, oh, we had a half president, half black, half white. Oh, oh, so we don't want to talk about the double standard that existed between him and Trump? Super white man, half black, half white man. See, you don't want to deal with that. See, guys like you, Bill Maher, you're the white liberals I talked about in my book, White Fear. How the browning of America is making white folks lose their minds.

It's white men like you. It's white men like you, Bill, who are also threatened. It's white men like you, Bill Maher, who don't want to see your whiteness, who don't want to see your white maleness. See, the reality, Bill, is that when you assign identity politics to only Democrats you act as if that we are just this wonderful America and things are great when Bill we can go down the line health, education, economics, real estate. Oh, you didn't think that racism was there? Oh, see, I guess you missed when I did Patrick Bet-David's podcast,

when I had to jack him up, and I had to break down in the racism in census tracts and appraisals. Oh, oh, I'm sorry. Is there identity politics? I mean, are we supposed to talk about that, Bill Maher? Are we supposed to talk about the reality of how black people in this country are getting screwed out of wealth as a result

of home appraisals? Oh, I'm sorry, Bill. You call that identity politics, right? So you mean to tell me, Bill, that we shouldn't focus on this here? Should we? Hmm. Widespread racial bias found in home appraisals. Researchers found evidence of a persistent practice that gives higher values to homes when the occupants are white and devalue them if they own the people of color. Hmm. See, when I did Patrick Bette Davis' podcast, he said, oh, well, those are isolated. Those are isolated.

Really? Go back. Huh. Right here. The appraisals, which were compiled between 2013 and 2021, present evidence of a persistent widespread practice in the home appraisal industry to give higher values to homes when the occupants are white and devalue them if the owners are people of color. by using census tracts as a proxy for neighborhoods and comparing communities with nearly identical housing stock, two researchers found that the results showed a clear correlation.

The higher the proportion of white residents in each community, the higher the appraised value of individual homes. Hmm. The researchers restricted their study to neighborhoods, metropolitan areas, with at least 500,000 people and at least 50,000 residents of color, and ensured that not only did the houses

in the same compared communities look similar, but residents were of the same socioeconomic status and amenities like parks, grocery stores, and local services such as banks and post offices were on par. But see, in Bill Maher's white man world, that's identity politics. So what then happens, Bill, when black people get screwed out of their home appraisal. That means that you sell your house for $100,000, $200,000, $300,000 less. That means black people now don't have an additional $100,000, $200,000, or $300,000 to invest, to save, to pass on to their

children, to pay for their college education, to do other things, to give to various communities. So is that identity politics? Is that it? Is it identity politics, Bill, to showcase how black people literally encounter racism.

Bill, I know you love smoking weed, but are you aware that racism initially helped black people when it came to the opioid crisis? Oh, Bill, you weren't aware of that, huh? I guess your largely white research team on your HBO show couldn't find this out. Yeah, white doctors, Bill Maher, white man, would often give black people Tylenol because they thought black people were trying, were on

heroin, so therefore they would not prescribe black people opioids. So when the opioid crisis hit, it was just wiping out white people, Bill, because they were taking Oxycontin and those powerful opioids. So when it started, I literally said, wow, this is the first instance

in the history of America where racism helped black people. Few of us were dying from opioid epidemic because the racist white doctors would not prescribe us the pills. But Bill, you call that identity politics. So Bill, here's the deal. October will mark the 10th anniversary when I last appeared on your show.

You remember that, right? When I killed it. But then when the show was over, you told the producers that I was on social media, which was bullshit because I was actually checking my notes because we were discussing Bill Cosby. And on the way to the show, I had called a rape survivor, Shalai Abrams, and I had called Dr. Jeffrey Gardier to get their perspective on why women

come with their story 20 years later. And I knew Bill Cosby was coming up and I wanted to properly quote them. And that night, Bill, I pulled up my notes when your producer told me I had the rap party and I showed them the notes. And I walked up to you and told you

I hear you have a problem thinking I was on social media. And I showed you the notes. Have been invited back since. But you got your podcast. Where y'all sit there and when you smoke and drink First of all, you could drink in front of me, but I don't inhale weed Bill I'll be happy to come do your show anytime

I'll be happy to invite you right here. And if you want to have a real conversation about identity politics and the reality of America Bring it because all that bullshit you said Friday night politics and the reality of America, bring it. Because all that bullshit you said Friday night was exactly that. Did not pass the smell test. Because you, Bill Maher, are literally in denial. As a white man in America, you are in denial about the reality of what we face in this country every single day. But you get to sit in your largely white enclave on HBO, and you do know what I'm talking about and sit here and pontificate in a snarky, arrogant ass way when the facts

simply do not line up. So take your pick, Bill. Pick the lane. Education, health, economics, and you and I could have a real conversation about the reality of race, of class, in any of those areas. But you know what? You punked out that night 10 years ago. Because when I showed you I wasn't on social media and I showed you the notes,

you'd probably punk out on this conversation. Because that's what a lot of arrogant, white, liberal men do. So yeah, you deserve to be called out for the bullshit that you showed on Friday night. I'm closing the show out. It's when my panel can comment. So, Derek, you first. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution.

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

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

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

of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. Got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working

and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content,

subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. a fire in your mouth to clean it and never let them run wild through the grocery store. So when you say you'd never let them get into a car without you there, no, it can happen. One in four hot car deaths happen when a kid gets into an unlocked car and can't get out. Never happens before you leave the car. Always stop. Look, lock. Brought to you by NHTSA and the Ad Council. You know, Roland, today's news could not have been a better bookend to what you just articulated. Today's news where Donald Trump, his $454 million bond was reduced to $175 million. He's dealing with a hush money case. But then on the other bookend, Roland, we watched the raid of Sean Diddy Combs. We watched folks getting arrested. We watched the aerial shots, the helicopters and everything. And I'm not trying to rush the judgment on Sean Combs,

but the bookend is very clear. If Bill Maher doesn't understand what you just articulated, I mean, his analysis around identity politics was ignorant. And I'm trying to be very polite on the show. It clearly demonstrates those with privilege, those who have a spirit of entitlement, right? They cannot walk, forget a mile in our shoes, they can't walk one block. And they refuse to look through the United States through the lens of a black person. And so for him to say Democrats is around this identity politics, but yet you don't want to talk about Trump selling gold-plated sneakers for $400. You don't want to talk about Trump having 91 felonies. No one in the country or United States ever had that number of felonies. No one in the country of the United States ever had that number of felonies. No black person.

If Barack Obama had one felony, he would have been arrested. And I know people tend to say, Roland, I get it. There you go again. Y'all talking about race. But they continue to demonstrate and illustrate why we're so frustrated.

Because if you're going to talk about these United States, is United States racist or not, today's news is the perfect bookend. You watch Trump continue to attack the courts, the judge, and everybody in the justice system. But meanwhile, you watch a raid. Diddy did not get an opportunity to negotiate for 18 to 19 months of a person that took

classified material. Classified material. And so this is the problem that we have with people like Bill Maher. Here's my dear Julian. I would love, it would be awesome to have a non-r dear Julian. I would love, it would be awesome to have a non-race conversation.

That would be amazing. It would be amazing, absolutely amazing to have an education conversation, but you can't talk about HBCUs being cheated out of

$13 billion and leave out race. You can't talk about HBCUs being cheated out of $13 billion and leave out race. You can't talk about the voucher scam that they're trying to do in Texas and Tennessee and Kentucky and you leave out race. You can't talk about healthcare in America and disparities and you leave out race.

You can't talk about economic prosperity in America, housing, venture capital fund, private equity, stocks and bonds, and you leave out race. White men like Bill Maher would love if y'all could just stop. And then, oh, he quotes, oh, Raven-Symoné. Ravens, he quotes Raven-Symoné. Can we stop? Oh, I'm from Louisiana.

No, you're not. Because guess what, Raven? My maternal grandparents are from Louisiana. But their parents and grandparents came from somewhere else. Raven, please, go get a map. It was a thing called a Louisiana purchase. So the reality is, Louisiana wasn't even from here. See, then, oh, Morgan Freeman, if the race

thing would go away, if we could just stop talking about it. Let me know how that would work in the home appraisal business, Morgan. Matter of fact, I thought that was laughable, Bill. Especially considering Morgan lives right there in Mississippi. One of the racist states in America. Then he shows, who was the other person he showed? Oh, well, there's one woman said

that we could take race off the census. Okay. Roland, I wish you could show our faces when we were listening to that fool. Because literally about three times, like, shut up, fool. Not funny, Bill. Yeah, I mean, he tends to be funny but that that was

patronizing it was ignorant i will say a couple things one steve bradford state senator c bradford in california was pressured actually i mean he'd have to be pressured because he's he's a good dude but black women's organizations were looking at the fact that we go missing, nobody gives a block. Nobody. Nobody. And then, Roland, one of the things you didn't say that we should is that when these white girls go missing, half the time they're lying. The runaway bride, she just went somewhere. She didn't want to get married, so she ran away.

And guess what? We would have no problem. There'd be no need for the Amberdine Alert if black people were included in the Amber Alert. Hello? How about... See, since Bill want to sit here... See, again, see, now he pissing me off. Okay? Because, see, what Bill...

What Bill Martin want to deal with, the black boy in Louisiana came up missing. And the cops told his mama, oh, he may just be playing at somebody, a friend's house. When the white woman and her son came, picked that boy up, and later found that boy murdered.

But the cops were like, oh, yeah, we're not going to look for him because he's probably out there. They did not take that woman seriously. And her son was found dead. They never take the missing of black girls seriously. We always either ran away, you know, we were involved in something illegal.

I mean, but, you know, like I said, let the least little white girl go missing and they won't even investigate it. I mean, they'll investigate, they'll look for her, but they won't investigate the story. How did the runaway bride get away with it as long as she did? In the longest run, Bill Maher is tripping. And we know that he's tripping.

And as you said, if we choose to be myopic, which many white men are, we might be able to have a conversation or two, absent race. I guess we would have to talk about food, maybe clouds. I'm trying to think about where we have a conversation that does not include race, because race is part of our life. Race is part of our very existence. And literally everything, I would tell you a short story about some white people.

I came home the other day. So white people standing in my yard, standing in my yard. I said, what do y'all do in my yard? Oh, we just looking around. WTF. I also believe white lady told me, can you prove you own this house?

Now when she had said that, I said, I have a driver's license with my name on it and this address i said i also have a phone in my hand i'm fit to call the popo and then i called one of my friends because i don't know you haven't instructed me on how to take a picture while i'm on the phone thus i called a friend of mine she said take a picture hurry up and i couldn't figure it out but as soon as she said take a a picture, they ran the you-know-what out of my yard. But would you ask a white person, can you prove you own this home? Right.

It's in our very daily interactions. Right. So we're not race-obsessed. We're not racist. We're racial. Wait a minute. Hold on. And we are realist. Exactly. And we'd be GD fools

if we denied our own experiences. But also, but also, how to fix this issue in Omicongo, that to me is the thing here. And again, what white men like Bill Maher

don't want to deal with, they want to live in this space age... You know what? They wanna live in the bottom part of King's I Have a Dream speech. They live in that world. Old little black boy, little black girl holding hands. But the rest of us, we live in that part that was the top of the speech. Yeah.

That's real talk. I mean, the whole conversation about identity politics, everything the Republicans have been doing has been based on identity politics. Look at their transgender ban. Look at the don't say gay bill. Look at, you know, the marriage laws. Look at what's happening with women across the country as it relates to who has the right to say who can have children

and when and what they're doing with IVF and everything. That's about against women's identity, right, and their ability to assert themselves. So every single thing that they've been built on has been built on identity politics. And furthermore, if you want to talk about the history of racism, you talk about Obama. Yeah, he's black, but he's half white and this and that. Are you going to mention that and not mention the one-drop rule that said if you had one drop of black blood, you are black no matter what other parentage you had? Like, that's part of the history. That's part of the story. And also, Roland, he's lying about Democrats have been losing because since 2018, they've been winning everything.

Right. You know what I mean? So it's like, it doesn't make sense with the elections that have been going on. The Republicans keep losing because they are the ones trying to hammer down on identity politics. They're the ones trying to keep us divided. And they are the ones playing this grievous. Maher, it sounds just like the guy, that doctor guy from Tennessee that you played earlier, just more of a comedic version.

And so he keeps talking about all these individual things relating to racism. And by the way, Raven, Simone, go to a Trump rally and say what you just said and see what happens. He keeps talking about this individual, but does not talk about the institutional racism which you laid out when you laid him out. And so every single day when we talk about the bigger issues, Bill Maher looks more and more idiotic and more and more like somebody who has no idea what he's talking about

but is playing off the politics of grievance. And you laid it out better than anybody could. I'm gonna close with this. Since Bill Maher, since you. If we just focus on class, okay, Bill? So, Bill, help me out here, Bill. Bill, I want you to look at this black boy right here. Kawan Bobby Charles.

November 3rd, 2020. 15-year-old boy. His friend and his mama, his white friend, 17-year-old Gavin Irvin, and Irvin's mama, Janet, came by his house and picked him up.

His family said he was missing. His family called the cops. The cops said, oh, he had a football

game. Three days later, Bill, this was the discovery in a sugar cane field. He had been beaten and tortured. This is how that boy left home. And Bill, this is how his mama had to bury him. And that white woman wasn't immediately arrested. There were no answers from the mama or from the son. Nothing.

And Bill, do you know what that white woman was charged with? or from the son. Nothing. And Bill, do you know what that white woman was charged with? Contributing to the delinquency of a minor and failure to report a missing child. Uh-uh. So Bill, you tell me this. How a white woman and her 17 year old white son could pick up a 15 year old black boy from his house in new iberia louisiana in 2020 and three days later that boy is found dead and nobody to this day has been charged in this boy's murder.

You then talk to me then, Bill Maher, about your bullshit attack on identity politics. I'm also closed this since we in Louisiana. That was the election over the weekend bill. And a black man named Larry White Henry Whitehorn. He ran in a general. Well guess what happened Bill. The white man he ran against contested the election because Henry won by one vote. They forced a runoff.

Well, guess what? That brother right there, he won by 5,000 votes. He overcame the BS. And you know what he became? The first black sheriff in Cato Parish. And he's only one of, I think, two black sheriffs out of 63 in the entire state. But hey, Bill Maher believes that we just focus too much on identity politics. Must be nice to live the life of a white, unbothered man, Bill Maher.

Folks, that's it. Derek, Julian, Omokongo, I appreciate y'all joining the show. Folks, please support us in what we do. Join our Bring the Funk fan club. Your dollars make it possible for us to do what we do. Send your check and money order to PO Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196.

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See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scared. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? We'll see you next time. You say you'd never give in to a meltdown and never fill your feed with kid photos. You say you'd never put a pacifier in your mouth to clean it and never let them run wild through the grocery store. So when you say you'd never let them get into a car without you there,

no, it can happen. One in four hot car deaths happen when a kid gets into an unlocked car and can't get out. Never happens. Before you leave the car, always stop, look, lock. Brought to you by NHTSA and the Ad Council. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated.

I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir.

Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter and it brings a face to it. It makes it real. It really does.

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