#RolandMartinUnfiltered - DOJ Reviews Biden, MS Denies Discrimination, Commerce Capital Readiness, Fisk Gymnastics Team

Episode Date: January 11, 2023

1.10.2023 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: DOJ Reviews Biden, MS Denies Discrimination, Commerce Capital Readiness, Fisk Gymnastics Team The Department Of Justice is now investigating classified documents found at a DC Facility left by Joe Biden when he was Vice President. We have a White House political correspondent to explain what the DOJ has and what this means for President Biden.  New details emerge from Mississippi about the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality denying the NAACP's water discrimination claim. We will tell you what was said and why the State believes they could not discriminate against the majority black city of Jackson.  I got a chance to talk to Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves, who will explain the benefits of the Commerce Capital Readiness Program and how the Program is helping minorities and other underserved entrepreneurs launch and scale their businesses.  Fisk University Women's Gymnastics team made history as the first HBCU to compete at the NCAA level. We will speak with the Gymnastic Coach Corrinne Tarver about how Fisk transformed into a gymnastics powerhouse. In our Week long Fit Live Win segment, the founder of "FIT" (Faith, Intuition, and Tenacity), a Ms. Olympia title holder, will be here to talk about women over 50 getting into the best shape of their lives. Support RolandMartinUnfiltered and #BlackStarNetwork via the Cash App ☛ https://cash.app/$rmunfiltered PayPal ☛ https://www.paypal.me/rmartinunfiltered Venmo ☛https://venmo.com/rmunfiltered Zelle ☛ [e-mail] Annual or monthly recurring #BringTheFunk Fan Club membership via paypal ☛ https://rolandsmartin.com/rmu-paypal/ Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox 👉🏾 http://www.blackstarnetwork.com #RolandMartinUnfiltered and the #BlackStarNetwork are news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. We support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. I thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roland. Be Black. I love y'all. All momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scape. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home.

You dig? Să ne urmăm. Today is Tuesday, January 10th, 2023. Coming up on Roller Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. The Department of Justice, they are now investigating classified documents found at a D.C. facility left by Joe Biden when he was vice president. We have a White House political correspondent to explain what the DOJ has and what this means for President Biden, but also the difference between what Donald Trump did. New details emerged from Mississippi about the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality denying the NAACP's water discrimination claim. We'll tell you what was said and why the state believes they could not discriminate

against the majority black city of Jackson, Mississippi. I got a chance to talk to Deputy Secretary of Commerce, Don Graves, who will explain the benefits of the Commerce Capital Readiness Program. Now the program will be helping minority and black owned businesses scale their companies. Fisk University women's gymnastics team made history as the first HBCU to compete at the NCAA level.

We will speak with the gymnastic coach at Fisk University about this achievement. And in our Fit, Live, Win segment, of course, we continue our segment, our focus on a new you in 2023. And we'll talk with Miss Olympia, Cheryl Grant, about fitness for women over 50. She's 61 years old.

She says she wants to win the title again. So we look forward to that conversation. Folks, it is time to bring the funk on Roller Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Let's go. He's got it. Whatever the miss, he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. And when it is, he's got the spook, the fact, the find 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 Yeah, yeah It's Uncle Roro, y'all Yeah, yeah It yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Ah!

Martez! Department of Justice, they are reviewing classified documents found at a D.C. facility left by Joe Biden when he was vice president. The Justice Department is currently reviewing 10 classified documents found in a locked storage closet at the Penn-Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in an office formerly used by then-Vice President Joe Biden. The documents found on November 2nd by Biden's attorneys include U.S. intelligence memos and briefings for Ukraine, Iran, and the United Kingdom, dated between 2013 and 2016. Now, none of the materials are currently being sought by the National Archives, and Biden's legal team is cooperating with the Archives and the Department

of Justice. Joining us right now to explain this is Jaron Gaynor. He's a White House correspondent and managing editor of politics for The Griot. Glad to have you here. So, all right. So, Republicans are excited, hyped, saying, oh my goodness, double standard. Look what happened here. Walk us through the difference. First of all, let's talk about first, the difference with the documents that they actually discovered. Yes, so as you mentioned in your opening,

the documents that were discovered in President Biden's former offices are just 10 classified documents, memos, briefings related to, as you mentioned, Ukraine, Iran, and the UK. There's nothing so far that suggests that there is any grave threat to national security. As you know, any classified document can potentially be a threat to national security. I think it's also worth knowing that there are three levels of classified information. There's top secret, there's secret, and then there is confidential. And so the National Archives does note that confidential classified documents can be something as simple as sensitive personal information. So there is a chance that of these 10 documents that were found

in President Biden's offices, that they were perhaps personal information related to him and not necessarily something that is a grave threat to national security, which is a big difference between what we're seeing, what we saw in former President Donald Trump and the hundreds of cases, so a huge volume of classified documents. And obviously there's a big difference in the scope of the investigations, at least presently. And also the difference here is that Biden's attorneys immediately turned them over once it was discovered. Exactly. So President Biden's personal attorney was clearing out the offices,

and he discovered an envelope with these documents and found those 10 classified documents. He immediately that very same day contacted the National Archive and Record Administration. The White House counsel also got in contact with the office, as well as the DOJ. And so, obviously, if anyone – I'm a White House correspondent. I follow the administration very closely. They're very careful to follow the law, especially coming out of the Trump years, where there was a lot of worry and worry about how the Trump administration was using the DOJ for political reasons.

The difference on the other side, President, former President Trump, he tried to resist the obtaining of these documents. The National Archives repeatedly tried to get access to these documents. They returned some documents, and then they reached back out to the Trump administration and said – well, to Trump himself and his personal lawyers saying, we think you are still in possession of documents. We need you to turn them over. Former President Trump believed that some of these documents were his personal possession, and because he was president, he had the right to keep them. That is not the case by law. And while he fought to the very end, ultimately that ended in an FBI raid, which we know became huge headlines for former President Trump. And so now Republicans are trying to compare the two. but the big difference is that the National Archives was not aware of these documents that were in possession of President Biden, but they were very aware of the documents

that were in possession of Trump and were actively working to get them and were being resisted every step of the way. And Donald Trump, there were 320 documents. And he fought absolutely and then basically said, oh, it's mine. I can declassify anything that I want. And so for people to somehow suggest that, well, this somehow exonerates Donald Trump, but the Trump probe is also a criminal probe, correct? Correct. Currently, the DOJ, there's an active criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump because of the resistance in these documents.

And also, we don't know the full scope of these documents that were in possession of Trump. But we do know that there was at least some documents related to nuclear weapons. And so when you're thinking about classified information and whether or not it's a harm to national security, it is whether or not those documents, if it was in the possession of a bad actor, could that be a threat to national security?

And I don't think we would want a bad actor to have nuclear weapon information intelligence in their possession. So what exactly is next? So next, Attorney General Merrick Garland has to, he's playing a very careful line here. He is currently having to lead an investigation of a sitting president. And he also knows that he is that that Biden is a Democrat and he doesn't want to make it seem as if the person who appointed him into the role that he is giving him favors. So he has appointed a preliminary special counsel, John Lausch, who is a Trump appointee. And that is important to note because, again, he doesn't want to make it seem like he is being biased against Trump or biased in the sense of trying to help President Biden in this investigation.

It is not a criminal investigation. It's simply a preliminary investigation to determine, to gather the facts and then present it to Attorney General Merrick Garland, who will then determine whether or not with that information he should open up a criminal investigation. And if there is enough in this investigation, if he finds that these 10 documents are somehow nefarious or a huge threat to national security, or perhaps if he finds out whether or not President Biden knew about these documents and tried to hide it, which it doesn't look like that is the case,

then he would have to consider those things and determine whether or not he will actually elevate this to a criminal investigation. All right, Gary Ganner, we sure appreciate it. Thanks a lot. Thanks for having me. All right, folks, got to go to break. We come back. We'll talk about this with our panel. Also on today's show, we'll talk about Fisk University, the gymnastics program, and also Fit Over 50. How women over 50 get themselves in shape. We'll talk with Olympia's Cheryl Grant. You're watching Rollerball Unfiltered on the Black Star Network.

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Hi, I'm Dr. Jackie Hood Martin, and I have a question for you. Ever feel as if your life is teetering and the weight and pressure of the world is consistently on your shoulders? Well, let me tell you, living a balanced life isn't easy. Join me each Tuesday on Black Star Network for Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie. We'll laugh together, cry together, pull ourselves together, and cheer each other on. So join me for new shows each Tuesday on Black Star Network, A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie. We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not.

From politics to music and entertainment, it's a huge part of our lives. And we're going to talk about it every day right here on The Culture with me, Faraji Muhammad, only on the Black Star Network. Hey, I'm Deion Cole from Blackest. What's up? I'm Lance Gross, and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. It's always hilarious to see how Republicans respond to these issues.

So check this out. Listen to Congressman Comer, James Comer on the floor of the House, with his righteous indignation. Listen. Yesterday, we learned that classified documents from Joe Biden's time as vice president were stashed in an unsecure closet. The National Archives knew about these documents several months ago before the election, but the American people were just informed yesterday thanks to some investigative reporting.

Meanwhile, the FBI conducted a raid on former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence for the same violation. Why has President Biden, who has repeatedly kept classified materials in an unsecure location for years, never faced a raid? Is it because we have a two-tier system of justice? Just yesterday, we learned that classified documents from Joe Biden's time as vice president were stashed in an unsecure closet. All right. So let's see. Why was there a raid? Oh, could it be that Donald Trump refused for months and months and months and months to

turn it over? And then they discovered that actually the documents were being moved and shipped out. That could be why there was a raid. Here's Pete Aguilar, Congressman Pete Aguilar, Democrat, saying, hmm, OK, y'all that hypocritical? This is Republican hypocrisy at its finest. When the former president had 320 documents found at his personal residence, they said that, quote, that will not be a priority. What President Biden did was disclose this to the archives, let law enforcement know that is exactly the way that you should handle this. So joining us right now, Dr. Larry J. Walker, assistant professor, University of Central Florida,

as well as Erica Savage, founder of the Reframed Brain. Okay, so this is why I'm sort of laughing here, because it shows you how silly these people can be, Larry. Oh, this is no big deal. Oh, well,. Oh, this is no big deal. Donald Trump did this, no big deal. Why are we doing this? Why was there a raid? The man literally ignored, obfuscated.

He pushed them off. He refused to turn the documents over. Biden's folks found them, said, here you go. That's why there was no raid. So essentially, they want this is their apples and oranges. These are not the same situations of what you had the correspondent from the Griot and you highlight it. So, Roland, listen, there's a big difference between, like you said, President Biden, his personal attorney, following the necessary steps you need to take when there's any time this kind of classified information is found anywhere that's not secured the way it should be.

So he followed the letter of the law. Compared to former President Trump, who tried to utilize executive privilege by saying essentially I'm kind of blessed all these documents and they're mine to own forever. Obviously, you talked about maybe, you know, when they say that some of these classified documents that President Trump had in his private residence were quite sensitive as it relates to, you know, nuclear weapons and various other issues that are serious and could have an impact on national security. But once again, he thought these were kind of, he owned these documents and he shouldn't be penalized for that. And then Roland, as we highlighted, he lied about it. So it is attorneys to make it seem like they didn't possess all these documents. The National Archives knew they possessed all these documents. And you highlighted an interesting and important point

in terms of the small number of documents in which it was reported by President Biden's personal attorney, and hundreds of pages of highly classified information that were in Mar-a-Lago, which is a place we might also add that people frequently come in and out of. And you can't be sure who President Obama, former President Trump is having dinner with or showing off as we know he likes to do. So we have no idea what kind of foreign national or other individual knew those documents, was there, and had access to those documents. The thing here, Erica, before I go to you, even Karl Rove on Fox News was like, yeah, there's a difference. Watch.

Oh, let's bring in Karl Rove because, well, this sounds a little similar, Karl. Well, there are differences, but you can't make this stuff up. But there are differences. For example, how many documents? In Biden's case, there appear to be about 10. In the case of President Trump, hundreds. How did they get there? We don't yet know how the documents got to the Biden office connected with his activities on behalf of the University of Pennsylvania.

We know that President Trump ordered the removal of the documents to Mar-a-Lago. How responsive were they when the Biden people found out about it? They called, immediately called the appropriate authorities and turned them over. We spent a year and a half watching the drama unfold in Mar-a-Lago, and it had to end in a police search to recover the documents. But still, despite the differences, this is going to create lots of headaches for the Department of Justice in deciding how to handle President Trump's issues because now they have an issue that, at least in the minds of a lot of ordinary Americans, are going to be conflated as

being roughly the same. That's why I think they did a smart thing in turning this over to the U.S. attorney in Chicago to look at initially that because that's the one of the two remaining Trump U.S. Trump appointed U.S. attorneys left in the in the Justice Department of that in the Delaware who the Delaware U.S. attorney is looking into Hunter Biden. But this this strikes me as being very problematic for the for the Biden justice. So this is what Bob Lott, Erica, it ain't the same. Isn't in Carl's role, you know, honestly, he has nothing to win or lose. He's already made great gains. So what Carl is saying, I wouldn't put a lot of money on that. What I will say specifically in talking about

the Republicans, we're talking about the same people who have a slim majority in the House that did not on 1-6, I think it was only maybe one that was peeled off, that actually would stand in solidarity to honor what happened at the Capitol that affected every member on the Hill. So we're talking about people who love chaos, who definitely stood with their chaos agent, the son of a Klansman from the time that he was on the campaign trail until he exited. So I think in terms of, you know, this discovery, again, there's nothing to complain. You're talking about not having a warrant executed, as was just stated before, at the personal residence to collect documents that did not belong to him. You're talking about, in this case, a personal attorney that made a

discovery and did the proper thing. So you have protocol and you have theft. These two things are not the same. And so this is really par for the course. You know, in 2022, we read several articles and pieces that told us exactly what the Republicans would do if they maintained or if they assumed control of the House. And they do have that slim, but they do have it. And they are operating exactly as they have presented to each person, especially since the advent of Trump, which was to be chaos agents. So the theatrics that we see on the floor is more cover for what they aren't doing to make sure that the power of the purse is executed in the way that it would be most beneficial for Americans. So this is really a separation of personalities,

if I've ever seen one before. And I just really hope that because Republicans love the theater, they really do well in their messages, social media, making it short and making it seem like it's the two, that this will be really another place for people to really honestly understand that Republicans only want what works best for them, which is power. And that doesn't work for everyday American people as they love to say. And the key word, Larish, you used there was theatrics. That's what this is. I mean, this is theatrics. That's what we're dealing with. And so just get used to this is the drama we're going to see for the next two years. Yeah. So, Rolly, we know we know the Republicans. We just watched last week. We actually go through multiple votes. And in between that, run the Fox News or social media or Twitter and highlight

their own dysfunction. So we already know, you know, when I see the Republicans, you know, we talk about this in classified documents and what we know we're going to see. I'm reminded of the movie, Jim Carrey movie, Dumb and Dumber, when it comes to the Republicans and the antics we saw over the last couple of days. And we'll see. They like drama. They want, like I said, they want to be on Fox News. They want this false equivalency between the documents related to found President Biden's president, Biden's attorney found compared to President former President Trump. And they're not like I said earlier, they're not the same, but they like drama. They like it on the floor of the House. And the point I want to make it about this Republican House is, Roland, they care more about the drama being on TV, the antics, than governing. That's it. That's what they do. So, folks, that's what we're going to see. All right. Got to go to break. We come back. We're going to talk about the water crisis happening in Jackson, Mississippi. That's coming up next on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Be sure to download the Black Star Network app,

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And I have a question for you. Ever feel as if your life is teetering and the weight and pressure of the world is consistently on your shoulders? Well, let me tell you, living a balanced life isn't easy. Join me each Tuesday on Black Star Network for Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie. We'll laugh together, cry together, pull ourselves together, and cheer each other on. So join me for new shows each Tuesday on Black Star Network, A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie.

Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. On that soil, you will not replace us! White people are losing their damn lives. There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to the U.S. Capitol. 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 people. Yo, it's your man Deon Cole from Black-ish and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Stay woke. Să ne urmăm în următoarea mea rețetă. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Regulator has denied the NAACP's claim regarding the water discriminating against Jackson, Mississippi. The agency denies the state discriminated against the city of Jackson in its distribution of federal funds. Executive Director Christopher Wells to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, stating, Jackson received a loan for every completed application it submitted.

And because the loan amount is based on the project's cost, no loans were reduced for any reason that could be considered discriminatory. The capital city of Jackson has persistent water problems. Jackson's water system failed in August and the water lines broke again in December, causing a decrease in adequate water pressure. The EPA announced an investigation in October into whether Mississippi state agencies discriminated against Jackson after the NAACP filed a federal complaint under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, alleging Mississippi officials assured a water crisis by depriving Jackson of much-needed funds to upgrade infrastructure. The EPA could withhold money from Mississippi if it finds wrongdoing, and the EPA could refer the case to the Department of Justice. Jackson, Mississippi City Councilmember Aaron Banks joins us right now.

Councilman Banks, glad to have you here. So what do you make of the state? Obviously, it's no surprise that they would say no discrimination here. And so how will the city respond? Well, look, Roland, first of all, thank you for having me and giving us the opportunity to highlight what I think everybody knows what's going on. First of all, I would say this, you know, a state revolving fund, SRF, is a loan. And those are monies that are set aside in the fund for municipalities like ours to dip into when it comes to fixing things a piece at a time. However, what we're talking about, Roland, are decades of disinvestment that have happened within this municipality. Jackson being 85, almost 90 percent African-American, we see communities like my community where I stay in South Jackson, Ward 6.

Every time we have a winter emergency, every time we have a flood, we go 15 to 20 days without water. And so, you know, when we look at historically, when we look at when cities like Madison, Ridgely, when cities around us get millions, two millions, three millions of dollars from legislative appropriations, and Jackson may only get $50,000 to fix a bridge in a predominantly white neighborhood, then it has to sound the alarm. Furthermore, when the attention of President Biden through BIL, bipartisan infrastructure law, and through ARPA funding was to actually make sure that there were investments into disadvantaged communities and to make sure that those communities were propped up by having adequate water supply, then when those monies are funneled to the state, for the state to begin to say, well, one, we're

going to take a portion of this money and put it into the Central Mississippi Planning District. And then not only that, we're going to take Sehazard City, which is a rural city, and call it an urban city, so that we can make sure that we direct those funds elsewhere. But then also say, we're going to lock your ARPA funds up. We know that you have other issues in your city, like public safety. We know that you got other issues in your city, like the declining workforce development. We don't want you to use your money on none of that. You have to use your money on strictly water, and then we'll

give you some of that money that was appropriated for disadvantaged communities. And so, you know, that is the fact of what we're dealing with. And, you know, shame on this leader from this environmental quality for, you know, trying to spin instead of just really addressing what's going on so that we get to the bottom of this. And look, you've had the governor who has stated how he proudly withheld money from Jackson. He said it out of his own mouth when he was, what, state treasurer? Yeah, yeah. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. One time. You know, the dynamic that we deal with is when you deal with a majority Republican House, a majority Republican Senate in the state of Mississippi, the feeling is that, well, Jackson got all these people. They're one of the biggest, well, they're the biggest city in the capital city. They got the type of leadership they want.

Their people let them figure it out themselves. That is the attitude. At the end of the day, we just got to figure it out themselves. That is the attitude. At the end of the day, we just got to be honest about it. That is the attitude. And so we will have to fight for things rolling like a 1% referendum, where we get the 1% sales tax that goes for us to address infrastructure issues, roads. We have to fight to get CCID. But then there is a governor appointment, a lieutenant governor appointment, a speaker of the House appointment, a business community appointment by the governor, and then only four people from the city of Jackson, which causes us to now have to be in disagreement

of making sure that those monies get spent in disadvantaged areas. Mind you that almost more than 50 percent of the state properties are in the capital city of Jackson and they pay no pilot. There's no payment in lieu of taxes. And so when we have a simple ask, you know, you know, two million dollars to help us with our to make sure that we don't have sanitary sewer flows, you know, you know, five million dollars to help us with our to make sure that we don't have sanitary sewer flows you know you know five million dollars to help us with this you know we get considered last and then we end up going through the politics and and and fingers can be pointed we could play the political you know game back and forth all day long but at the end of the day the citizens of jackson's are residents and citizens of the state of mississippi Absolutely. Councilman Banks, we certainly appreciate you joining us. Thanks a bunch. And look, it's an ongoing battle,

and it is one that we see happening in cities all across the country when we're dealing with red state legislators. Thanks a lot. All right. Thank you. Erica, that particular point is exactly what I'm talking about. And that is when we talk about these majority black cities in these red states all across the country, this is what we are seeing. We are seeing these legislators want to basically deprive them of resources. But these are residents who are paying taxes to the very state. Yeah. Welcome to Republicanism. You know, thinking about Mississippi,

and this has been something that's been happening for decades, we were stationed there for some time, and it was really a shock because though I'm from the South, as a military brat, going to different spaces, it literally almost feels like you're walking back in time. And you're talking about the 90s. That's the feeling that we had in Mississippi. So to know that there's somebody like a Tate Reeves who has been in state legislature for quite some time and he understands kind of the framework of oppression, for him to be governor and for these problems to

be exacerbated says a lot about leadership. And so I would say this is really a red warning signal, fireworks, if you will, for people to actually understand that though we have to grin and we're going to have to bear these two years as a nation, this is the reason why people need to need more involved in what's happening in their municipality, what is happening in their borough, what is happening in their state, because you do have people that are elected representatives and that are passionate and that they do the work just like the gentleman from Ward 6 that we just had on. But it's not all on their shoulders. The people also have to be there to actually speak up and make demands.

There's no way that you have all of that Black power, Black excellence. We just saw homecoming footage from Jackson State for it to be in this, and not saying that it's something that would, you know, happen overnight. This has been, as was said before, decades in the making and literally centuries in the making when you talk about oppression and the economic oppression there in Mississippi. However, saying that Mississippi is really a warning for all of us. So people to be checking their voter registration, knowing when those council meetings are happening, what war they're in, how is it that they could support their person because it's really supporting them and their family. Not having clean water, running water is a basic human right that Republicans do not mind running over all day long. The thing, Larry, that again, we're seeing African-Americans are

moving back South and this is what we're encountering, which is why it's so important for folks to maximize voting because they're going to do whatever they want to do if they have, you know, if they have, you know, super majorities in the legislature. And Rowan, it's important to remember that this issue, infrastructure issues, decades in the making. These things don't happen overnight. So you're talking about, you know, when you talk about the state legislature or you talk about the executive branch, the governor's mansion. This is decades in the making of ignoring the needs of a predominantly black city and really not caring.

It essentially kind of idea, well, those are my people, my people over here, not over here. But it is an example of poor leadership. And Governor Reeves, I remember a few weeks ago, he making at an event, making a joke about the water situation and Jackson. And once again, the idea of whether you I consider you to be my people. And this is the other thing about as it relates to Republicanism and the contradiction, this idea of, well, as they talk about, it's kind of America first. But what about the citizens of Jackson? We have to make sure that these things don't happen. And unfortunately, we know that it only happens in Jackson, but it happens – we can talk about Flint, Michigan and a number of other states where these kind of infrastructure issues occur.

But once again, let's be clear. This is environmental racism. And once, like I said, decades in the making. And it's really important that, you know, the Biden administration continue to apply pressure. I know the DOJ has gotten involved. They'll get the money from the infrastructure bill. But we need to continue to apply pressure and keep the magnifying glass on what's happening in Jacksonville. Absolutely. All right, folks, got to go to break. We come back. More on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the streets a horrific scene white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence white people are losing their damn lives there's an angry pro-trump mob storm to the u.s

capital we're about to see the rise of what i call white minority resistance we have seen white folks in this country who simply cannot tolerate black folks voting. I think what we're seeing is the inevitable result of violent denial. This is part of American history. Every time that people of color have made progress, whether real or symbolic, there has been what Carol Anderson at Emory University

calls white rage as a backlash. This is the 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. Pull up a chair, take your seat. The Black Tape with me, Dr. Greg Carr, here on the Black Star Network. Every week, we'll take a deeper dive into the world we're living in.

Join the conversation only on the Black Star Network. We're all impacted by the culture, whether we know it or not. From politics to music and entertainment, it's a huge part of our lives. And we're going to talk about it every day right here on The Culture with me, Faraji Muhammad, only on the Black Star Network. Hi, I'm Vivian Green. Hi, I'm Wendell Pierce, actor and author of The Wind in the Reeds. Hey, yo, peace world.

What's going on? It's the love king of R&B, Raheem Devon, and you're watching Roland Martin, Unfiltered. You've been frozen out. Facing an extinction level event. We don't fight this fight right now. You're not going to have black on you. The Biden administration has launched a capital readiness program in the Department of Commerce that will allow for organizations to tap up to $100 million in grants

who help black and minority businesses be able to grow their companies. Earlier today, I talked with Don Graves, who is the Deputy Secretary of Commerce, who explained the program and who it's going to benefit. Here's our conversation. All right, Don. So let's talk about these resources here because I often talk about we can have discussions about starting more businesses, but the real issue is scaling Black-owned businesses and other minority-owned businesses. Roland, that is exactly the issue that we've had for generations. Historically,

African-Americans have started businesses at very high rates. The problem has always been the ability to grow those businesses over time, to create more jobs, to scale them so that they're actually competitive with majority businesses. And that's what this program is all about. $100 million, the Capital Readiness Program, to support the ecosystem that will provide the technical assistance, the legal support, the accounting, and, yes, the capital and credit that's necessary to make sure that these businesses are successful and can scale over time. So this program here, I mean, are we talking, are they grants? Are they loans?

Exactly what is this $100 million? And who gets to qualify? Well, the program, again, the Capital Readiness Program, is providing support for this ecosystem. We know that minority businesses, especially in the African-American community, has had trouble being able to have success over the long period of time. So what this program is meant to do is to provide grants to those organizations, including the nonprofits that have historically been supportive of minority businesses, the historically black colleges and universities and other minority serving institutions. And those grants are providing the support that they need to be able to reach more minority businesses, to essentially be there as a resource, as a relationship provider,

as a connector to opportunities, to again, as I said, provide legal accounting training, to provide technical assistance, and to also ensure that our businesses have access to the credit and capital that they need. And that program will then allow minority businesses to access broader programs across the federal government for credit and capital, like the State Small Business Credit Initiative, a $10 billion program that is providing that type of financial support. So it's assisting organizations, and so it's not directly assisting businesses, correct? That's correct. It's providing support to those businesses that for a long time have been supporting minority businesses, but never get the type of resources that they need to reach as many

businesses as there are that are looking for that type of support or to provide the longer term type of support that these businesses need to, to your point, to scale up and be competitive with majority businesses. With these grants, is there a cap on the grants? What's going to be the size of these grants? Well, part of it is going to be dependent on the number of institutions that apply for the funds. So we're waiting to see just how many organizations and institutions across the country apply. But the key here is knowing that $100 million,

it sounds like a lot of money, but that's not going to go as far and as long as we'd like. And that's why we're continuing to part with other organizations, with philanthropies, with the corporate community, to see if we can get additional funding to support these institutions so that it's not just the $100 million that's going to be here for a short period of time and then go away, but we're building that long-term capacity. So we don't have a decision yet on exactly how much money is going to go to these institutions. But the great thing is that the Minority Business Development Agency, the one agency in the federal government who's solely focused on the long-term health and success of minority businesses, the MBDA also is providing support to minority business centers in just about every state around the country. So we'll continue to have resources through those business centers, working closely with the organizations that are getting these grant dollars.

One of the things my brother and I were having this conversation yesterday, just the other day, because he runs and owns our family-owned catering business. They just recently won. They're part of a major food contract at Hobby Airport in Houston, Le Mans Kitchen. And he and I have this conversation because, you know, they've got to do a build-out, something to the tune of $2 million. And so one of the things that we said that, but again, one of the issues that black owned business is facing, and I remember Maynard Jackson dealt with this

when he was the mayor of Atlanta, is that we're able to, when we're able to fight through everything and then land the contract, then the issue still becomes, how do you then fund your business and float your business until those checks come in? And I was telling him in my case, you know, I'm not interested in getting a loan or line of credit.

For me, it's being able to access the contracts on the advertising side being frozen out. And so even when you go through all of these steps, it still is another barrier when it comes to that next level. Roland, that's exactly right. And part of what we're trying to do with all of the trillions of dollars of spend that the federal government is going to be doing over the next 10 years on building bridges and highways, fixing water systems, on building new semiconductor fab facilities, on making solar plants and making our homes more energy efficient.

Those contracts are going to go out to a range of businesses. And what we can do is build in the program requirements, whether they're grant dollars going through states or they're contracts going to big companies that are actually building the roads and bridges, et cetera. We can actually stipulate how those dollars are going to be utilized to make sure, just to your point, that companies are especially small minority-owned businesses, the Black businesses that always have trouble, that they're able to use those contracts to bring forward the payments, to be able to get the types of credit and capital that they might not get, and that they can use that to help build their businesses over the long run and count on that for the spending decisions that they might be making, the hiring, the capital

investments that they need to make to make sure that their businesses are going to be able to actually perform on the contracts. At the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation dinner, President Biden talked about dramatically increasing the, I think by 50 percent, the contracts that African Americans receive on the federal level. Is this particular program, again, a part of trying to achieve that goal? That is exactly right. Part of what we're doing, again, is building that ecosystem, that supportive network that will allow our businesses to be more successful over the long run, to get the type of support that majority firms get all of the time. The other great thing is that this minority business development agency that was made permanent through the

bipartisan infrastructure law, MBDA now has the ability to go to every single federal agency, every department in the federal government, and say, we want to see your plans for how you're going to utilize minority businesses. We want to see how you're sticking to their plan. So it's the first time in history we've had that ability through the Minority Business Development Agency to check on performance and then hold these agencies and just as importantly, the prime contractors accountable for their performance? Well, one of the things that I've suggested repeatedly to the head of the SBA and others is that I know in our particular area, it would be great. You know, we do these things called media media up fronts where the agencies bring all the media folks together. It would be great if there was a federal government black-owned media or minority media up front where we're able to understand who literally holds all the advertising contracts. Because, you know, the federal government spends about a billion dollars in advertising,

but black-owned media only gets about $51 million because part of the deal is knowing who's doing what and who has the information. Well, that is a great suggestion. I'm going to go to the to the undersecretary for minority business development at MBDA today and suggest that he take this industry and look at that that very issue, because I think you're exactly right. There are so many of these different industry silos where the federal government is a major player, and we just haven't done enough to figure out how we can make certain that the minority businesses that are in that industry have the opportunities, can actually pursue these contracts, and can win them. Well, feel free to give my information. I know this stuff very well. I've been working with Congressman Hank Johnson

on this as well, and so whatever assistance we can give, because again, that's really what it boils down to. We can actually grow our businesses when we get the contracts. A lot of us, like for me, I don't have any debt. So I'm not trying to run out and get a loan. But our deal is we can grow with the contracts. And so again, I'm really glad to see this effort because again, the federal government

has the ability to really reshape what Black African Americans get, what, 1.67 percent off federal contracts. If, based on what President Biden said, you know, you grow that by $100 billion, you dramatically change Black America. No question about it. And that's, this is just the start. We expect to continue to expand and grow these opportunities. And, you know, hopefully, Roland, you'll hold us accountable for all of this. Oh, that's going to happen. Don't worry about that. So we certainly appreciate it.

And again, look forward to the next conversation. Thanks so much, Roland. Great to be here. All right, thanks a bunch. All right, folks, we're going to go to a break. We come back, we'll chat with Larry and Erica again about Where's Our Money, this particular program, but specifically why we must be putting pressure on the Biden administration to drive more dollars

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I'm Angie Stone. Hi, I'm Teresa Griffin. Oh, Roland. Hey, Roland. I am so disappointed that you are not here, first of all. Where's our dance? It's like we get a dance in every time I see you. And so now you're not here for me to dance with, sir.

You and your ascot. I need it. I need that in my life right now. Okay. I love you, Roland. What's up? I'm Lance Gross, and you're watching Roland Martin unfiltered. Erica and Larry, the conversation we just had, first of all, this program,

someone even asked in the chat, well, the money's not going to the businesses. No. What you have is you have organizations out there. You have incubators. You have other groups that are out there that help black-owned businesses. There are a lot of Black-owned businesses. First of all, let me just explain this to people who don't even understand really the reality of Black-owned businesses in America. And I'm using pre-COVID data. There were 2.6 million Black-owned businesses in America pre-COVID. 2.5 million had one employee. So really,

they're sole proprietors. And the reality is many of these businesses do not have the accounting, the legal, and the other types of support that you see in a business. Now, when we started this show, and again, I'm just trying to get people to understand the difference. When we launched this show, we started with what most black-owned businesses don't even have. First of all, they only have one employee. Of the 2.6 million, 2.5 million have one employee. And so when we began, we had seven people. We now have 15 people. We have legal. We have accounting. We have HR. We have all of those services. And so many black-owned businesses don't. And so these grants are going to be able to help folks in these individual cities then be able to get that technical support,

which then puts them in a position to be able to go for the contracts because the contracting process is a whole different deal. But this right here, Larry, is why it is important that black organizations, black business organizations and African-Americans be pressuring their members of Congress and United States senators because the federal government spends annually five hundred and sixty billion dollars a year on contracting. And right now, black owned businesses are getting 1.67 percent of the 560 billion. If we all of us, which is about nine billion dollars, if we all of a sudden go from, let's say, 1.67 percent to 5 percent. Now, all of a sudden you're talking about a dramatic increase, which has a direct impact on black wages increasing the size of our business um i mean in our case let's just say the federal government spends a million a billion dollars a year on advertising black owned media gets 51 million okay so that's one percent let's say black owned media actually got 10 percent of the $1 billion, which is $100 million.

Okay, let's just say we got 5% of the $100 million. All of a sudden, that's a game changer. So we have to understand the money game. We use a lot of our black capital, which we should be, George Floyd Justice Act, fighting for voting reform, fighting for housing, things along those lines. But if we're ignoring the money, we are losing out. I think discussing this topic is why your show is so important, because they're like you say, you're educating folks who have no, I didn't know about these statistics and numbers. And I know you talk about this frequently when

it comes to black owned media you're really you're right you hit it right on the nose in terms of a we need to continue to pressure the biden administration members of the house and senate whoever is in the white house we have to consistently talk about these issues because we know the importance of economic power so if if some of these, you know, black-owned businesses are able to get more access to more capital, they can build out, hire more employees, as you said, particularly have an impact on the local community. The other important thing, Rowan, is we talk about building black wealth, particularly generational wealth, which black folks haven't had the opportunity to do because of systemic racism when it comes to being an

entrepreneur or owning a home in terms of whether you try to refinance, being charged a higher rate. There are consistently obstacles in a way in terms of building black wealth. The other thing is that this can do is in terms of these entities that receive this funding, bring together other Black businesses to collaborate. I like the word, he used the word ecosystem, and I think that's really important in terms of working with nonprofit organizations, foundations, as he described, but also, like I said, in terms of that ecosystem also impacts Black-owned businesses who or in the same area or someone's outside of the area, but they have a great business plan or an idea of how you can scale up. These are the kind of conversations that black folks don't really have the opportunity to have because not only, A, they don't have access to the capital or the know-how, but they haven't really been given the opportunity to be able to say, hey, you have one.

It's just you. We can expand this to five or 10 over the next couple of years. Let's help you develop a long term business plan. So this is a great first step. Right. And again, Erica, the reason why we have this segment is not just about corporate dollars. What people need to understand is that when black people were frozen out of corporate America, the black middle class was actually built through government jobs. And so when we see government layoffs, it has an adverse impact on black people because there's a higher number of African-Americans who work in government who make high five and six figure salaries. Higher than what's happening in corporate America.

So you take the contracts. When we're frozen out of those contracts, what then happens is we're only able to be here and then we can't go here, here and here. I'm going to go back. I'm just using the example, folks. I'm telling you about the data. It was Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton who commissioned a study for the GAO, General Accounting Office, and what they discovered is that a billion dollars is spent every year in advertising by the federal government.

Black-owned media got $51 million out of the $1 billion. That's 1%. So if black-owned media got 10% of the billion, that's $100 million. Okay? Let's just say we went after 5% of the $100 million. That's 5. Okay. That alone, I mean, everybody who's listening to me right now,

$5 million from the federal government advertising contracts alone volts us to almost $10 million a year. Now, everybody listening, what then happens if we go from a $3 million or $4 million a year business to almost $10 million a year business? Then all of a sudden, we go from 12 or 15 people to 30 or 40 people. Now all of a sudden, we're actually hiring more black journalists, more contractors, utilizing more businesses. And now all of a sudden, we're able to pay even more competitive wages for folks who are working in mainstream media.

That is how you build capacity. But you've got to be able to access the contracts. Yeah, and everybody has a budget and you show someone their budget, then you can see what their priorities are. And this is definitely a priority for us to be looking at the money every week or as often as you have these segments on the show. And, you know, one of the things I was thinking about, Roland, when you were talking about, when you were rolling through the numbers, thinking about Black women being the fastest growing entrepreneur group. But then when we start looking down a little bit further at what that means, we also see that in terms of capital, it's very difficult, as we've just discussed around raising capital,

but we see that that revenue, the revenue streams look a lot differently. So instead of having an infrastructure of support, because it's pretty much self-funded, we see Black women entrepreneurs only bringing home about $24,000 a year in comparison with their white counterparts, who are also women, doing about $140,000 plus a year in revenue, which is, again, a big difference. So that is why we have to have these conversations. We have to bring on people who lead agencies to walk us through different programming and what's available.

And when you were talking- And that was something he said, Erica, that was so important that I don't want people to miss. He said that the MBDA, they now have the authority to go into each agency and say, we need to see your paperwork. We need to see if you're meeting the numbers.

And they can go to the contractors. People have no idea how huge that is going to be. It's checks and balances. It's making sure that what is being said, and this takes me back to 2020, because remember, Roland, we spent pretty much that year talking about a racial reckoning.

All of these different, especially in the tech space, made these pledges of all of this money that they were going to give. And so following back up here a few years later, we see that very little or almost none of those people held their pledges. It was in the moment. It was the right thing to do in that moment. But it was a lot of emotion and a lot of lies. So we're seeing accountability here. And that's what matters. And let me say this here, because it kills me. These people who run their mouths in the chat who ain't never run a business.

OK, so one person's like, oh, Roland, you begging for crumbs. Let me be real clear. You can't get to five million unless you got to a million. You can't get to a million unless you got to 500,000. Okay, so for all y'all who's saying, oh, you asking a million is too low. You don't know what the hell you're talking about. Because what you also don't know is when you have a business, you got to have capacity of staff to handle a larger contract. There's nothing worse. And I've seen it where a black owned business qualified and won a major contract, but they couldn't service the contract because they didn't have the staff to actually do it. So for all y'all who run y'all mouths talking about, oh, that's just too small, what that tells me, you ain't never run a business.

What you are doing is running your mouth about somebody else's business. So what you should do is get you some business and leave the business to the business people. Gotta go to break. We'll talk with the sister who's running the Fisk University gymnastics team who participated in the NCAA tournament over the weekend. We'll be right back. Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. You will not replace us. White people are losing their damn lives. There's an angry pro-Trump mob storming the U.S. Capitol.

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 Feet. I'm Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, and my new show, Get Wealthy, focuses on the things that your financial advisor and bank isn't telling you, but you absolutely need to know. So watch Get Wealthy on the Black Star Network. Pull up a chair, take your seat. The Black Tape with me, Dr. Greg Carr, here on the Black Star Network.

Every week, we'll take a deeper dive into the world we're living in. Join the conversation only on the Black Star Network. What's up, what's up? I'm Dr. Ricky Dillard, the choir master. Hi, I'm Amber Stevens-West from the Carmichael Show. Hi, my name is Latoya Luckett and you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Went down. This ball is huge. This university made history as the first HBCU to participate in an NCAA gymnastics event.

Of course, they launched their program. The fifth lady Bulldogs launched their program. And they now, of course, are competing against the likes of Oklahoma, Michigan, UCLA national champion, folks. The team's lead off gymnast Naima Muhammad and fifth five-star recruit Morgan Price made national headlines with their athletic ability in grace. And so they stepped into national headlines on Friday at the Super 16, inaugural Super 16 event in Las Vegas. They finished in fourth place with a score of 186.700. Corrine Taubert, a U.S. national team member during the 1985-86 season,

a national floor title holder and two-time title holder with Georgia in 1987 and 1989, is the coach there, and she joins us. Glad to have you here. Thank you very much. Glad to be here. So how was it for your team to go there? Were they nervous? It certainly is a huge deal being the first HBCU to participate in gymnastics at this level.

I would say they were nervous, yes, but they were excited. We've been training all fall, so they were ready to get the season started, and this was a coming-out party. It was definitely a coming-out party. Obviously, there was lots of attention when the season started and this was a coming out party. It was definitely a coming out party. There was obviously there was lots of attention when the program started when Morgan signed as well. And so I'm sure you were you were happy to to get all that behind and actually go into competition versus folks talking about just talking about the program as opposed to now seeing them perform. Yes, definitely. We have the longest preseason of any sport. So it started back in August and we compete in January. So it's

quite a long time and it's hard to keep people motivated for such a long period of time. So everyone was happy to get out on the floor and be able to show what we are capable of and show what an HBCU can do. So explain to folks how this works, because when you look at football, you obviously have different divisions. You know, Fisk is an NAIA school. So how are you able as an NAIA school to compete in a tournament against other larger programs? We're technically right now considered like a club, even though we're not a club. We are, in fact, a collegiate program. But until we get our waiver approved from the NCAA, we can compete and we can actually qualify for USAG Gymnastics Collegiate Nationals. So that is what our goal is for the year. And you said y'all are classified as a club?

Well, not really a club. We're a college program, but because we're NAIA, we're still competing against NCAA schools. So we're kind of in this limbo. So the Super 16 event, what other schools were there? Oklahoma, UCLA, Michigan, Arizona State, BYU. We competed against Washington, University of North Carolina, and Utah State. There was also Rutgers and a couple others. So there was 16.

There was 16. You were the only HBCU. And y'all came in fourth. Pretty damn good. We came in fourth in our session. There was four different sessions. So every competition is a different competition. So we weren't really looking for placement or really even worrying about our score.

We just knew that we had to step out on the floor. I have a very young team. Most of my athletes are freshmen, so they've never been on a college stage. It's very different than what they did in the club level. So I just wanted them to go out there and get a great experience. And we got such an amazing and warm welcome that it helped the girls to relax and go out there and just do what they're capable of doing how many team members we have 15 15 50 and all 15 traveled yes all 15 traveled all right no i take it back 14 traveled all right

questions uh for my panelists erica you first Carver, it's indeed a pleasure and congratulations. Very excited for you all. Wanted to ask you, because your team, and you were a gymnast as a black woman, you have young black women, women of color, what is it that you say to them to prep them to be in the experience? Is there sport, gymnastics, but going in as Black and

women of color, how do you prepare them for that? Honestly, these girls have all been doing that for years. They've all been competing for a minimum of five to, and some of them up to 10 years. So they're used to being one of the only. That's something that is just basically part of the sport. As a gymnast myself, I was one of only, I was the only black gymnast on the University of Georgia's team. So we get used to it. As far as competition, I really don't focus on that. What I focus on is them doing their routines, touch their training, trust the preparation, trust their teammates, trust their coaches, and just go out there and do what they're capable of doing. Larry.

Yeah, so Fisk is known for his academics, you know, alum like WB Du Bois, among others. And so I'm really, I've been following his story for the last couple of months. I just read a few articles, you know, the last couple of weeks about leading up to this event and a couple, read a couple of quotes from you. So congratulations on, on all the hard work and finally having the opportunity to kind of, so to speak, hit the floor. So my question is relating to recruiting, recruiting, and you talked about a number of your individuals on the team are freshmen. So you're the only HBCU with the program. So, and obviously when you talk about there, you know, we saw increasingly in the Olympics and

increase the number of black women participating in gym and gymnastics of the last 25 years. So talk to me about recruiting and, you know, is it make it easier for you? Because like I said, Fisk has an excellent academic reputation and the only HBCU, do you think it's going to make your recruitment efforts easier or are there obstacles? Believe it or not, Fisk kind of recruited itself. A lot of people ask because I was hired in February to start a program that the athletes reported at the end of July. So I basically had about four months to get everyone together and to convince them to come to Fisk. But in all honesty, they kind of contacted us once they heard about the HBCU because many of these athletes wanted to go to HBCUs. They

come from families that are HBCU alum and they've grown up in that environment, yet they knew that they never had an opportunity to go and continue to do gymnastics. They would have to give one up. So Fisk adding a program allowed them to be able to do both dreams, to be able to get that HBCU experience, to be able to do gymnastics. And like you said, the academics are strong. We are a very strong STEM school. So a lot of my team members are going into the medical field of some way, shape, or form.

On that particular point there, since you announced the program, of course, all the different stories that have been done, have you been deluged with phone calls or emails or letters from parents and other folks expressing interest? And have other schools contacted you about saying, hey, we would love to try something similar at our school. How do you make it happen? Yes, to all of them. We get a lot of we've got a lot of interest from recruits. We're looking at the class of 24 and 25 at this point in time. So we are looking at trying to bring in maybe anywhere from five to 10 athletes next season,

depending on how many of them are going to get academic money, because that is something that we do rely on a lot. We do have athletic scholarships, But we are looking to go NCAA division two. So we keep it in the limit that the NCAA has for gymnastics. So we have to be careful with that. But we do do academic money a lot. As far as, you know, the other things, we're just here. We're ready to go. And so many athletes want to be a part of the HBCU experience.

We have gotten calls from other schools, but most are taking a wait-and-see right now. Right. I mean, look, the bottom line is everyone understands college athletics. The reality is football pays for many programs. Fisk doesn't have a football team. No, we don't.

Secondary basketball does. It's even harder at an NAIA school because you don't have the television contracts, things along those lines. And so it really comes down to when you have some of your top athletes, you're getting scholarship offers from other places and it comes down to money. Yeah, it does. It really does. But as many people know that gymnasts tend to be very strong academics, students. So many of my team members are getting provost or presidential scholarships. So that is our goal is to find athletes who are good in the classroom as well as good in the gym. Well, certainly congratulations.

What's the next tournament? What's up next for y'all? We are at the University of Michigan on Friday and the University of Georgia on Monday. Wow. All right, then. Well, and folks, I'm not sure if any of those are televised. And so do you have any idea how people can watch them if they are? Well, they're always live streamed if they're not live on TV.

So you can always go to their websites and they always have them streaming. So we'll be able to see the meet. I don't know how much they show of different programs, but it'll be on somewhere. Okay. All right then. Well, look, congratulations and good luck this season. Thank you so much. All right, folks. When we come back, we'll tell you we've got some headlines.

We'll talk about Black Lives Matter, folks in Florida wanting some officers to be fired for their actions. Also, are black and missing. We'll talk about that as well and some other news of the day. And don't forget, we'll be chatting with Miss Olympia Cheryl Grant, who's 61 years old, talking about fitness for sisters over the age of 50. She says, look, any of us can do it. We've got to commit ourselves to it. Look forward to having the conversation with her.

That's going to be coming up at 7.30, so you don't want to miss that conversation. Folks, if you're watching on YouTube, hit the Like button. I see all y'all commenting, got all your thoughts and opinions. Hit the like button. Don't be trying to ride for free. We should easily be more than 1,000 likes every single day. I shouldn't have to be asking this late in the program for y'all to hit the like button.

So when we come back from the break, we should be seeing at least 1,000 likes, okay? Facebook, hit the share button. Same thing, rest of the programs. Going to a break. I'll be right back on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. When you talk about blackness and what happens in black culture,

we're about covering these things that matter to us, speaking to our issues and concerns. This is a genuine, people-powered movement. There's a lot of stuff that we're not getting. You get it, and you spread the word. We wish to plead our own cause to long have others spoken for us.

We cannot tell our own story if we can't pay for it. This is about covering us. Invest in Black-owned media. Your dollars matter. We don't have to keep asking them to cover our stuff. So please support us in what we do, folks. We want to hit 2,000 people. $50 this month.

Waits $100,000. We're behind $100,000. So we want to hit that. Your money makes this possible. Checks and money orders go to P.O. Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. The Cash app is Dollar Sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal is R. Martin Unfiltered. PayPal is R Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered.

Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. Hi, I'm Dr. Jackie Hood Martin, and I have a question for you. Ever feel as if your life is teetering and the weight and pressure of the world is consistently on your shoulders? Well, let me tell you, living a balanced life isn't easy. Join me each Tuesday on Black Star Network for Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie. We'll laugh together, cry together, pull ourselves together, and cheer each other on. So join me for new shows each Tuesday on Black Star Network, A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie. Pull up a chair. Take your seat, the Black Tape with me, Dr. Greg Carr, here on the Black

Star Network. Every week, we'll take a deeper dive into the world we're living in. Join the conversation only on the Black Star Network. Hello, everyone. It's Kiara Sheard. Hey, I'm Taj. I'm Coco. And I'm Lili.

And we're SWB. What's up, y'all? It's Ryan Destiny. And you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. We got black and missing, folks. Thank you. brown eyes. Anyone with information about Makia Humphreys is urged to call the Chicago, Illinois Police Department at 312-745-5020. Folks, today is the second day of the federal trial in a civil lawsuit over a 2020 traffic stop in which an Afro-Latino armed lieutenant was pepper-sprayed in the handcuff by Virginia cops. Do y'all remember this video? Roll it. What's going on? How many occupants are in your vehicle?

It's only myself. Why are your weapons drawn? What's going on? Open the door slowly and step out. Open the door. I'm not getting out the vehicle. What's going on? Get out the car! Open the door slowly and get out! What's going on? Get out of the car, now! Open the door and get out the car!

Hold, hold, hold, hold, hold. Keep your hands outside the window! Keep your hands outside the window. Keep your hands outside the window. My hands are right here. What's going on? Get out of the car now. Get out of the car. What's going on?

Get out of the car now. Get out of the car now. I'm serving this country and this is how I'm treated? Yo, guess what? I'm a veteran too. I'm going to obey. Get out of the car. What's going on what's going on you're fixing to ride the lightning son i'm sorry what get out of the car now what's going on now get out of the car

sir just get out of the car work with us and we'll talk to you get out the car now! Get out of the car! Sir, just get out of the car! Work with us and we'll talk to you. Get out of the car! You received our order. Obey it. I'm honestly afraid to get out. Can I ask you what's going on? Get out! On-camera video shows Windsor Police Officer Daniel Proctor and Joe Gutierrez,

who was an officer at the time but has since been fired over this case, pepper spray and point their weapons as second lieutenant Karan Nazario as he held his hands up in his vehicle. The stop sparked nationwide backlash and Virginia's attorney general later sued Windsor, a small town about 70 miles southeast of Richmond, alleging the town's police engaged in discriminatory policing against black Americans. Nazario is suing the officers for $1 million in compensatory damages. Folks, a Florida Black Lives Matter chapter wants four Lakeland, Florida police officers arrested Korn, Anton Jefferson, Jason McCain, and Sergeant, and removed the newly appointed police chief, Sammy Taylor, following the shocking incident. Officer Eby stopped Antoine Glover for possible controlled substances on December 18th

when the officers tried to remove a bag from Glover's possession. They started punching Glover. Lakeland police said there's an ongoing internal investigation into the incident. The department policy allows 180 days to close a review. The parents of three black Georgia students have filed a lawsuit against the school district for banning Black Lives Matter attire but allowing nooses and Confederate symbols. Lakeisha Hamilton and Loretta McCray filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Effingham County School District on behalf of their children.

The suit alleges that dress code enforcement is unconstitutional and violates their First Amendment rights. Effingham County High School and Effingham College and Career Academy forbids Black Lives Matter attire because they say it is disruptive. A black student allegedly was refused entry to a football game for wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt, but a white student was allowed to wear a shirt that read, stomp on my flag, I'll stomp your ass. The Effingham County District Superintendent, Yancey Ford, and the school board have been named defendants in the lawsuit.

They assert they hadn't yet been served. What does that tell you right there, Erica, in Georgia, that, oh, yeah, Black Lives Matter, that's disruptive, but, yeah, the Confederate flag, go right ahead. That sounds like Georgia. You know, we're talking about the state as a whole, but then also looking at the regions. And, you know, when I think about Southeast Georgia, one of the names that comes to mind is Ahmaud Arbery, unfortunately, who was hunted and essentially lynched by a few saltines. So I say that to say that it does not surprise me that this has happened. But, you know, as Recy has said this on this program many a times before, we have to be more litigious,

we meaning Black people. And so I am so proud of Ms. Hamilton. Suit the hell out of them. Get every penny you can, because one of the other things that has to be brought forward is that culture of the Confederate flag having a place in Georgia and that people that wear that Confederate flag, though they may be your neighbors, they may be administrators at the county, city level or whatever, are not bad people. It's a part of their heritage. So I think that this is a—I'm really happy that her children communicated this to her and glad that this did get some media attention. And I hope that she wins as much as she possibly can get and that these are the types of messages that need to continue to be blanketed across areas that are very resistant to change and on par with global white supremacy or nationalism. And Larry, it shows you when they actually believe that Black Lives Matter, how is that disruptive? They give it away, Black Lives Matter.

No, in this case, right? And so look, you know, we talk, my colleague just highlighted some of the cases in Georgia, and I agree, you need to sue people because the bottom line is people only understand the purse strings. So when you start taxing localities and they have to pay, then you would assume that would have an impact on police behavior or school behavior in this particular situation. But listen, Roland, it's deplorable, but it's not surprising. We see this a lot, not only in terms of pre-K through 12, but also seeing some of these issues in higher education. But the fact that we're in Black Lives Matter, that Black Lives Matter is controversial, but wearing a Confederate flag and other symbolism, particularly when you talk about relating to the Civil War, which was

fought over, which fought over slavery. And that's not controversial. But all this other imagery, Donald Trump, who is an insurrectionist, and like I said, you know, the shirt you just showed on the right, but Black folks can't simply say that we matter. That's what they're really, what you're're saying is it's also saying that whatever suffering you deal with, do it in silence and away from me. So I'm glad they're suing them. But it's once again, people don't don't see our humanity. All right, folks, let's go to your Florida, Larry, where Governor Ron DeSantis, he's targeting no shot diversity at Florida universities. The Dissidence Administration now requires that all universities report how much money is spent

on programs for diversity training and critical race theory projects and initiatives. The requirement was announced last month by the Director of Policy and Budget. The Department of Education and the state university system must report the name of staff, programs, and activities related to race and diversity ideology and the amount of state funding spent towards it. A Florida judge blocked a piece of the Stop WOKE Act last year, prohibiting schools and companies from inserting critical race theory teachings. This just shows you how trifling he is.

And the reason my book, White Fear, How the Browning of Americans Make White Folks Lose Their Minds, Larry, is important is because you have a lot of white Americans who want to attack anything dealing with race, equity, diversity, inclusion, equality, you name it, multiculturalism. They've always hated that, and this is

the newest attack. So I first want to say please everyone pray for me. As I try to navigate this as a Black professor who writes about racism. That's first. All you folks pray for me. But secondly, I think it's really important when we talk about this issue, fighting over this, and obviously my institution, among all the, I think, 12 or 14 other public institutions

received the same letter. This is the thing. Just a few days ago, Roland, we had the 100th anniversary of the Rosewood Massacre, which occurred in Florida. So my question is to these individuals that, you know, want to talk about CRT and DEI initiatives. Are we supposed to talk about the Black folks

that were massacred a little over 100 years ago and the reasons why. And also, we're not allowed to make the connection between the violence, the white violence we saw in Rosewood to the violence we saw on January 6th. Because see, what's happening is when people don't want you to talk about these issues, you can't make these linkages, educate people, and may possibly prevent some of this violence we've seen throughout this country's history. So I'm on the front line of this. And like I said, I know that the faculty union are at our school and statewide aware of

this. I'm aware of this faculty member and we can continue to fight this issue. 30 seconds, Erica, go. I would urge, you know, I'm looking at all of the lists of the colleges and universities in Florida. I bet you if black athletes walked away, that as we continue to talk about this underlining message of the power of the purse and money, I bet you that would have a serious impact on what that thing's name, DeSantis, the decisions that he's making to really starve out Florida of being able to be multicultural. Indeed, and I guarantee you, black athletes did that. They would all be freaking out, and he'd be back in the hell up real, real quick.

All right, folks, got to go to break. We come back. We'll chat with Cheryl Grant in our Fit Live Win segment about fitness for sisters over 50. That's next on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Blackstone. Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. You will not be free.

White people are losing their damn lives. There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to the U.S. Capitol. 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. There's all 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 people. Hi, I'm Dr. Jackie Hood Martin, and I have a question for you.

Ever feel as if your life is teetering and the weight and pressure of the world is consistently on your shoulders? Well, let me tell you, living a balanced life isn't easy. Join me each Tuesday on Black Star Network for Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie. We'll laugh together, cry together, pull ourselves together, and cheer each other on. So join me for new shows each Tuesday on Black Star Network, A Balanced Life with Dr. Jackie.

Hey, yo, peace world. What's going on? It's the love king of R&B, Raheem Devon. Hey, I'm Qubit, the maker of the Qubit shuffle and the wham dance. What's going on? This is Tobias Trevelyan. And if you ready, you are listening to and you are watching Roland Martin Martin Unfiltered.

All right, folks, welcome back to Roland Martin Unf Unfiltered. We have been having a conversation since I got back from Jamaica about the new you in 2023. And when I was walking along the beach, when I was going through this shredding, shedding, cleansing process, just thinking about this new year, the business, people, staffing, personal stuff, all this sort of different stuff. I said, you know what? There were about seven people who came into my mind. I said, you know what? I want to have on the show. And Funk Roberts was one of the folks, and he has a program for men 50 plus. And I said, well, I need to find somebody to talk about for sisters 50 plus. And so I was seeing her videos and then posting videos talking about being 60.

She turned 61 in December. And I said, wow, this could be a great person to have to talk about this. And so Cheryl Grant is a former Miss Olympia. She, as I said, turned 61 in December and really talks about the importance of not just fitness and looking great and healthy lifestyle, but really encouraging other women, especially Black women, to do what she has done. So Cheryl, glad to have you on the show. Thank you. I'm excited to be here. Thank you, Roland. So it's interesting. So I was looking at some of the comments on my Instagram page and there were some people who

were saying, oh, you know what? I don't want to have to go that far. Or some people said, well, really, if you look at her, this is genetics. This is really not, you know, really working out. When did your process start? First of all, were you always a fitness person? Were you always this size or was it something that happened where you said, you know what, I need to make a change in my life? Well, I started really when my first child was born 35 years ago. And I started this fitness journey, but it was just more working out casually. It really took place when I was in my career in corporate America. My background is in high tech.

I was in high tech for 30 plus years. And I found that I was constantly hitting what most would call, Roland, a glass ceiling. But for women of color, it is a brick ceiling. And I found myself getting stressed, depressed, because I couldn't figure out how to break through to the C-suite. And rather than allowing the systems that were in place to manage me, I decided to go on this fitness journey. And the biggest thing that I learned is that the brick wall that I was talking about, yes, corporations do put those in place, but we also put brick walls within our own minds about what we can and can't do. At that point, I decided to go on a fitness journey and just, I became Miss Olympia. My first audition ever was in March of 2017. And I took second place, first place, and then I went on to take the title.

But it did something for me. It really transformed me inside and out about what is possible. And especially as we begin to age, fitness is everything. How will you take care of yourself? I was just listening to your segment and listening to all the things that are going on in the world outside of us. And let's let alone what we have to deal with individually, whether it be with family or whether it be with taking care of our parents or raising our children or going back to school or our social life. There's so many anxieties in life. This became for me not an option. It became a way of life. And I think that's very key to understand

what it is, how you're taking care of yourself and to start as young as you possibly can. And the genetics, I will say, you know, my mother is amazing. She looks amazing. My mother is 80 years old, but it really has to do with us rethinking about how we take care of ourselves, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. And my approach is really a holistic approach.

Fitness, you can't, you won't stick to a program if you're not mentally fit first. And for me, fitness stands for faith, intuition, and tenacity. It's the ability to believe in the impossible. It's learning how to trust yourself and that navigation system. And then the tenacity, you got to get up and go do it. And we as women, as we age, we lose skeletal mass and that becomes critical. We, if we fall, we have a greater risk of injury. This is not just optional. This is important. And I think if the pandemic didn't teach us anything, it should have taught us that our health is our wealth. What was interesting to me, I was,

the video that we showed when you were walking into the room, somebody came on your page and they said, you know, aren't you too old to be wearing a swimsuit?

I think that age is a number, in my opinion. I don't look at life that way. Your perspective is everything. Les Brown is my mentor. He said, how you do one thing is how you do everything. I want to be excellent in every area of my life. So it doesn't matter. Bikini, what does that have to do with it? What's important is, am I mentally fit? And living in a world today, that should be the priority versus wearing a bikini. That's just a part of the process of

the fitness journey that I'm on and the competition that I did. That was a requirement. That's the level of competitiveness that I competed at. But I think that it's okay. Why do we put these definitions about age and what you can and can't do. If you feel good, do it. And the more you work out, I guarantee the better you will feel, not only in life, but in every area of your life. And I'm all about that. Being fit for life. That is everything. That is my mantra. That's what I teach. I actually went on, a lot of people will ask me, Roland, if I'm a personal trainer. I'm not a personal trainer, but what I've created is an all-inclusive platform that allows individuals to not only get fit physically, but to get fit

mentally, and then to apply that in every other area of their life. I am a business entrepreneur that's about collaboration and building a network and a community of other people. So I have nutritionists on my platform. I have wellness coaches on my platform. I have doctors on my platform. All here to help individuals be their absolutely best self. And isn't that what we all want in life? I mean, especially at this given time. And especially with all the things that come along with our lifestyles and the way of eating.

And I'm a firm believer that it's all about balance. It's all about balance. You don't have to want to compete. That doesn't have to be your North Star. But you should have a North Star in terms of how you're taking care of yourself. So that as you begin to age, you can live your best life. Your health again is your wealth. Well, the reason I find that

interesting because you're 61. Go to my iPad. You may know about this. Her name is Chef Babette. She's 72. She's 72 years old. And if you go to her Instagram page, you'll see her videos. And yeah, y'all, anybody who's what? That's a 72-year-old black woman right there. But the key, I think what you said is you said it's the mind. And I think what happens is for a lot of us, and I don't care whether we're talking about fitness or eating, whether we're talking about how do we grow a business, whether we talk about how to do anything. So many people, they take in so many negative things from other people and then add on top of their own negativity. And it stops them from even starting a journey. Yes. And I'm a firm believer in, you know, you have to take care of you.

And I said this on social media, never, never, never allow somebody else to stop you at reaching your greatness or your pinnacle. I can tell you about the fitness journey for me, that it transformed my life. But I had to also transform everything around me, what I ate, who I hung out with, what I did, what I thought, what I was thinking, all of that makes up the whole of you. But if you are living this life and you want your best life, your absolute best life, then you need to make you a priority. And if not you, and if you're not taking care of you, then who will? And, again, it is so amazing to me how many people, again, they listen to all kinds of other people. Like I saw one person, and they were like, you know what, look,

you can sit here and walk, but that stuff ain't going to work. When if you ain't running, if you ain't jogging, if you ain't sprinting, you got to start somewhere. And if that means that you start walking a half a mile a day, and then it goes to a mile, then the two miles and three miles, that's a start. But the point is, is to get somebody start and being consistent. Consistency is everything and surrounding yourself around others who equally have that goal will keep you. You don't want to surround yourself with somebody who will allow you to make and help you fight for your limitations. You have to surround yourself around people who are going to encourage you to get fit. And fit doesn't have to be like you just said, Roland, perfect example, walking.

If you can't walk, run. You know, if you can't run, go to the gym. I'm going to tell you, as we age in over 50, one of the best things you can ever do is lifting weights because it helps you to build your muscles so that you're more flexible, so that you have more energy, so that you're more, you're capable. It helps also with your mental clarity, how you think. And as we begin to age, you know, you start to forget things. All of that matters. And you have to start somewhere. And if you don't start now, where are you going to start? Why wait before you get sick, before you have to take action, or you have to be something critical has to happen to you before you're willing to take the steps.

And I say to everybody, before you start any regimen, consult your doctor. The second thing I will tell you, too, is get around people that are like-minded. Right. That's like everything in life, that are helping you. Hold tight one second. I'm going to go to a break. We're going to come back. I want to pick up on that. Got questions from Erica and Larry.

And we'll do more. We're talking to Cheryl Grant. Folks, about fitness for women over 50 as we keep our focus on a new you in 2023. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Most people think that these television shows that tell stories about who we are as black men and then they paint these monolithic portraits of us. they think that they're being painted by white people. And I gotta tell you, there are a whole bunch of black folk that are the creators, the head writers, the directors

of all of these shows, and that are still painting us as monoliths. The people don't really wanna have this conversation. No, they don't. When you talk about blackness and what happens in black culture, you're about covering these things that matter to us, speaking to our issues and concerns. This is a genuine people-powered movement. There's a lot of stuff that we're not getting. You get it. And you spread the word. We wish to plead our own cause to long have

others spoken for us. We cannot tell our own story if we can't pay for it. This is about covering us. Invest in black-owned media. Your dollars matter. We don't have to keep asking them to cover our stuff. So please support us in what we do, folks. We want to hit 2,000 people. $50 this month. Rates $100,000. We're behind $100,000. So we want to hit that. Your money makes this possible. Checks and money orders go to P.O. Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. The Cash app is Dollar Sign RM Unfiltered. PayPal is R. Martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com.

Hey, I'm Deion Cole from Black-ish. Hey, I'm Arnaz J. Black TV does matter, dang it. Hey, what's up, y'all? It's your boy, Jacob Lattimore, and you're now watching Roland Martin right now. Stay woke. All right, welcome back, folks.

We continue our Focus on Fit, Live, Win daily segment on a new you in 2023. We're talking to a former Miss Olympia, Cheryl Grant. Cheryl, yesterday I saw it was a story that came down. It was in a Wall Street Journal. And it said doctors are recommending drugs for children who are obese. And I said, you know what? I want to put that to our folks because, look, we are a society

where we first run to drugs. In fact, right now, people who have diabetes, there's a shortage of medicine because people are now getting that medicine and paying for it to lose weight. There was these TikTok videos went out and now there's a shortage of that. And so, so much of us is what's the quick fix? Can I take a pill? Can I sit here and get some drugs and get it all done versus putting in the work organically and naturally? Well, you said a key word there, Roland, quick fix. We're always looking for a quick fix. There are no quick fixes in life. Anything that's worth it is you have to work for it. And your health

should be worth that. Taking care of your temple, taking care of your body. I personally think that it's really sad that how we are set up as a Western society, that everything is geared towards appeal when all you need to do is get into a regimented system. There's, I mean, you can go to the doctor, you can get surgery, you can do all of these things, and you can equally take the road to get there naturally. Not only will it be better for you in the long term, there's always side effects to anything that you're taking. There's always side effects. If you ever read the list, it just amazes me that we would still even want to take those steps. I can tell you that it's not easy. I will be very honest with you that, you know,

getting up at 5 a.m. in the morning every morning is not something that I want to do, but I can tell you I feel, one, much better as a result of doing it versus not doing it. You mentioned, before we went to the break, you mentioned lifting weights. And, again, there are some who say, and you see these videos now, see these ads on YouTube all the time. Stop, get off that treadmill, get off the elliptical, don't do any

walking. No, that does nothing for you. You should just be focusing on weights or resistance bands. What do you say? I say any form of exercise is better than none. That's what I say. And I also say that depending on where you are in your life will depend on what type of workout is going to work best for you. I believe in trainers. I work with them. As a matter of fact, I am training for Miss Olympia. I'm on the road to Miss Olympia this year at the age of 61,

but I have three trainers. I have a nutritionist and two trainers, but I think it's important to get somebody. And if you can't afford to train, if that's fine to take a walk, anything is better for you than doing nothing. And I don't necessarily subscribe to anything that tells you not to do anything or anything. That's a quick fix. Yes, treadmills are okay, but if you're over 50, like if I'm 61, then weight training is going to be better for me because as you age, your muscles start to get weak and so you need to reinforce them. Erica, question. Yeah, absolutely. So Cheryl, congratulations on all the fantastic work. Congratulations on the path to Miss Olympia again. Definitely rooting for you. And I want to say I'm so glad that you are putting a fit person, but what you were saying in terms of brain health, making sure that we are active, my body though, it took a lot to get back to a good

place within a position to heal because of the work that I've been doing before. So that led me into the wellness space and talking about brain health and unseen injuries. So I said all of that to say, could you just briefly share the importance of people, not just I walk when I work, you know, I'm going from this cubicle to the next, just building up the next, the importance of staving off life-changing diagnoses by 20 minutes of walking a day, being in nature. Can you talk about the importance of that, especially as black folks? Yes. You know, when I, a lot of people, I have a very, um, my energy is very positive 99.9% of the time, but it's very important that you, that's why my platform is all about mental fitness is that you're taking care of yourself mentally. And anybody who has had any major accident or injury or anything of that nature, my mother had a heart attack. I can't

even count how long ago, but little things that she can do along the way to recover. It doesn't mean you go run a mile depending on what your injury is, but you can do something, whether it be stretching, something as simple as yoga, anything that can help you to start to strengthen and get the recovery process. The point, as you know, is if you don't start moving that muscle, it'll get stiff, and then you'll have more troubles with it, and then you'll start to baby it, and then you'll start to overcompensate. So I'd strongly recommend exercising is everything. I personally think it's the elixir to youthfulism. So I encourage people exercising is your, is God's gift to us. I got two minutes left. Larry question. Yeah, really quickly. I'm glad you talked about the 50 over crew. I work out five days a week and you're right. It's hard work and folks don't realize that you have to stay committed to it. And so that leads to the two points I want to make questions. Talk about consistency and also talk I really love because it talked about when you work out,

let's say you do it for about two weeks or even let's say 30 days and you don't see any results. You want to give up. One of the things that my coaches taught me early on is trust the process. You can't see it because you see you every day. So being consistent, having an accountability partner is everything. That's why I have a coach because if I go in the gym, I'm not going to push myself. I'm not going to push myself to take it to the next level. An accountability person, whether it be a friend, will help you to maintain.

And the beautiful thing is, I promise you this, that you will be so happy with the results. And not only will you be happy with the results, it will change your life. It will change how you do everything, your thinking process, how you start to interact, old things you will put away because working out is truly, truly a gift from God again.

Cheryl, it's great to have you. Look forward to having you back. Good luck in your journey. Folks, follow her on Instagram at S-H-E-R-Y-L-G-R-A-N-T. Same on Twitter. And, again, good luck in your journey. And, Roland, thank you. And thank you for taking time out to bring this awareness of fitness to everybody.

Thank you. Not a problem. And so, folks, again, pull up the information where you can find Cheryl right there. Of course, Instagram and Twitter, Facebook, e-mail and website is there as well. Who do we got tomorrow? Is it Funk Roberts tomorrow? All right. So tomorrow, Funk Roberts is going to be on the show talking about men 50 and over.

And then I'm in Houston on Thursday. And then Rodney Lennon will be on the show. He's the brother we had on before. He lost more than 130 pounds. And Rodney's going to talk about the importance of what Cheryl just said, the importance of lifting weights to lose weight as well. And so I hope, folks, y'all have been enjoying this segment. Thank you so very much, Larry, Erica.

Thanks a bunch. And, again, I'll see y'all tomorrow right here on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Black Star Network. Download the app. Available on all platforms. Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. I will see y'all tomorrow.

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