#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Donald Trump Arrested & Arraigned, Randy Cox Settlement, NYPD Report Shows Racial Disparities

Episode Date: June 14, 2023

6.13.2023 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Donald Trump Arrested & Arraigned, Randy Cox Settlement, NYPD Report Shows Racial Disparities It's a historic day as former President Donald Trump makes his first court appearance to answer for the 37-count federal indictment related to hoarding top-secret government documents.  We'll have the latest on what this means and how it could impact the political landscape. Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump will join us to discuss the largest settlement in U.S. history over police misconduct in the Randy Cox case out of New Haven, Connecticut.   The mother of the Florida black woman gunned down by a racist white woman pleads with funeral-goers not to let her daughter's death be in vain.   A shocking move in Illinois.  The Governor just signed a bill into law banning books.   And in our marketplace segment, we highlight the first minority-owned stock exchange.  We are talking to the leaders of Dream Exchange. Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox  http://www.blackstarnetwork.com The #BlackStarNetwork is a 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. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war.

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

Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 2023, I'm attorney Robert Petillo, sitting in for Roland Martin, who will be joining us throughout the show. He's at the White House Juneteenth celebration. Here's what's coming up on Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network.

You know we've got to lead off with this. It's a historic day as former President Donald John Trump has been arrested, processed, and made a plea of not guilty in the 37-count federal indictment related to the hoarding of top-secret government documents. We'll have the latest on what this means and how it could impact the political landscape. Also, civil rights attorney Ben Crump will join us to discuss the largest settlement in U.S. history over police misconduct in the Randy Cox case out of New Haven, Connecticut. We'll also continue to talk about the case of the Florida black mother who was gunned down by a racist white woman whose mother now pleads at her funeral to not let her daughter's death be in vain.

Also, we have a shocking move out of Illinois. The governor just signed a bill into law banning the banning of books. We've seen book bans around the country. Of course, Virginia with Glenn Youngkin. Ron DeSantis is the OG book banner. Texas is banning books. While Illinois and Governor J.D.B. Pritzer are working to ensure they cannot ban books in the state of Illinois. Also, in our Marketplace segment, we are going to be highlighting the first minority-owned stock exchange. And we'll talk to the leaders of the Dream Exchange. It is time to bring the funk on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Stream live on the Blackstar Network. He's got it.

Whatever the piss, he's on it. Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine. And when it breaks, he's right on time. And it's rolling. Best believe he's knowing. Putting it down from sports to news to politics. With entertainment just for kicks, he's rolling. It's Uncle Roro, y'all. to news to politics with entertainment just for kicks he's rolling he's funky fresh he's real the best, you know he's rolling, Martin. Martin! President Donald J. Trump was arraigned today at his first court appearance in the federal indictment involving his 37 felony counts and the document scandal that has been gripping the nation.

Former President Trump has been arrested and surrendered to federal authorities at the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. Courthouse. Since leaving the courthouse, President Trump has pled not guilty to charges involving misleading the federal, misleading federal investigators, as well as mishandling some of the country's most sensitive documents. Trump was quickly processed in and out before a magistrate judge at 3 p.m. alongside his co-defendant, Walter Knott. Now, the interesting thing about the co-defendant, Walt Knott, he actually did not enter a plea today because he does not have a lawyer. Now, Mr. Nada is not a lawyer, not a political official. He's Donald Trump's body man. He's the person who gets Donald Trump Coca-Colas and Big Macs and buckets of chicken, those sorts of things. And so Mr.

Nada, his entire criminal defense in this case is being financed by, not directly by President Trump, but by people who run PACs and who are supporters of President Trump. So it's going to be interesting going forward to see exactly what Mr. Nata's plans are going for in this case, because if he flips and testifies against President Trump, that may be the last nail in the coffin when it comes to this investigation, when it comes to getting a conviction in this case. Now, federal prosecutions of this nature have about a 99 percent conviction rate. So when the federal government brings a case like this, in the words of Omar from The Wire, if you don't come at the king, you best not miss. And normally the federal government does not miss.

I want to take a couple of minutes just to break down these charges against President Trump and to myth bust much of the things that have been percolating in right-wing media with regards to these charges. So of the 37 charges, 31 are for violation of the Espionage Act. So the Espionage Act does not mean that Donald Trump was actively spying on the United States government. It does not mean he was dressed up like James Bond, sneaking around, stealing files. Conversely, the Espionage Act was actually created during the Woodrow Wilson administration in World War I and has been used to prosecute individuals who have been historically misplacing and misusing government documents. The Espionage Act has nothing to do with classification of documents.

That's the most important thing to understand, because the Espionage Act was actually written and enacted before the classification system was even put in place by the U.S. government. So when we hear this argument, well, Donald Trump had the power to declassify them. It has nothing to do with declassification. The charges that are against him are two parts of the espionage act. One, with regards to retention of documents. He retained these documents without authorization. So anytime you retain national security-related documents without authorization to do so, that is a violation of the espionage act, regardless of who does it, regardless of classification level. Secondarily, dissemination and distribution of those documents, because it is widely accepted that Donald Trump did show these documents to other individuals. And we know this because Donald Trump is on tape saying that

he showed these documents to other individuals. So this is where you get 31 counts of violation of the Espionage Act. So when you hear the Trumpers say, well, he had the power to declassify them, the Espionage Act has nothing to do with classification. When you hear them say, well, he had the right to possess them, he did not have the right to possess them. When they say, well, the Presidential Records Act is at play here, the Presidential Records Act has nothing to do with this because these are not presidential records. These are records of the federal government. They have at no point in time were in the curvature or in the ownership of President Trump. They belong to our government, not to the individual being Donald Trump. The Presidential Record Act is something which allows presidents to maintain their own documents and

their own records when they leave the White House. So if you have notes, if you have letters, if you have things about your deliberation process or things for your presidential library or your biography, that is what the Presidential Record Act covers. It does not cover sensitive Pentagon documents. Also, the other seven counts against Donald Trump are primarily for misleading prosecutors, lying to federal investigators, obstructing justice, willfully retaining documents. How do we know that he willfully retained the documents? Well, it wasn't negligent because he did it intentionally. It's not as if he just had a briefcase and these documents happened to fall in there. If that was the case, then we wouldn't see charges. It's because he intentionally took these documents.

He intentionally hid them from the federal investigators. He intentionally lied to those federal investigators. That's how we know that the retention of these documents are willful. How do we know that? Because he says on tape, I have the power to declassify these documents. I did not do so. So the prosecutor, Jack Smith, in this case has worked hard to paint a very clear and direct picture and using as the sources for his charges against Donald Trump, not witnesses, but Donald Trump himself. The majority of the quotes in this 37 page indictment are in this 37 count indictment are from Donald Trump. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes.

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

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

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

In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner.

It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves music stars marcus king john osborne for brothers osborne we have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing benny the butcher brent smith from shine down got be real from cypress hill nhl enforcer riley cote marine Corps vet. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things.

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

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There's even a quote in there where Donald Trump says, what if we just tell them that we don't have anything? That is called obstruction of justice. And so for the people saying, well, Donald Trump had the right to have these documents, obstruction of justice does not require an underlying crime to be proven. That is to say, you do not have to prove that Donald Trump violated the Espionage Act to

also have obstruction of justice. Even if you're completely innocent of the underlying crime because you obstructed federal investigators and prosecutors from being able to prosecute that crime, that is still obstruction of justice. So even if you take Donald Trump's words for what they are, if you take all his defenses for what they are, if you believe him on face value, he has still committed multiple felony charges. All these charges have run consecutively, will land Donald Trump in jail for over 400 years. But in reality, more than likely, Donald Trump, if convicted in this case, will be sentenced to about five years in federal prison and will serve about a year up to 18 months in custody in reality. So Donald Trump's best bet is, guess what, a plea deal. But if Donald Trump won't get a plea deal in this case because he

continuously has attacked the prosecutor, has continuously attacked the judge, has continuously attacked the Department of Justice and Merrick Garland and Joe Biden and every part of the federal government that would be responsible for actually showing him leniency and mercy when it comes to this case. And then on this question of sentencing, well, what the jury is going to look at when it comes to sentencing is whether or not this person was actually sorry for what they did. Did they actually learn a lesson? Are they actually not going to do this again if they are let go in this case? And what we're seeing is every single statement that Donald Trump makes from the time this indictment came down until the time that he

goes to trial can and will be used against him in a court of law. So when you get to a sentencing place in this case, all the prosecution is going to have to do is play an hour of tape of just Donald Trump lying and lying and lying and tell the jury to give him the maximum prosecution that the law allows. And guess what? Interesting thing. The Republican candidates for president more than likely will not pardon Donald Trump. Only Vivek Ramaswamy has announced so far that he would pardon Donald Trump. Do you think Chris Christie is going to pardon Donald Trump? Do you think that Mike Pence is going to pardon Trump after Trump tried to assassinate him? Do you think Ron DeSantis is going to pardon Trump after Trump ostensibly called him a pedophile?

Donald Trump has dug his own hole, and it's going to be up to him to get out of it. And his attorneys need to tell him that this is the time to drop the game, to drop the hubris, and to actually come to a place of understanding the crimes you've committed and the danger ahead of you, and to beg for a plea deal. And the reason I think that this happened is the day after the indictments came down, two of Donald Trump's attorneys resigned, which lets you know that they told him what the case was. He refused to accept it. So Donald Trump has placed himself in a place that we have not seen in American history, where he will be the first president to serve jail time after his

presidency. This is a dangerous place for this nation. This is a dangerous place for our Constitution. But today, the rule of law shows that it's more powerful than the rule of men. I think it's important that we understand exactly what this moment and what this time means for America and that we work to come together around it. Because at the end of the day, we have to know that regardless of your position in American society, regardless of your wealth, of your political connections, regardless of the number of people who support you, we have to be a nation where the rule of law is more powerful than the rule of men. And that means holding responsible even the former president of the United States of America. We're going to talk more about this later in the show. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. We'll be right back.

Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. You will not be black. 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 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. Black Star Network is here. Oh, no punches! A real revolutionary right now. Thank you for being the voice of Black America. All the 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 scared.

It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? My name is Lena Charles, and I'm from Opelousas, Louisiana. Yes, that is Zydeco capital of the world. My name is Margaret Chappelle. I'm from Dallas, Texas, representing the Urban Trivia Game. It's me, Sherri Shepherd, and you know what you're watching. Roland Martin on Unfiltered.

A historic day. The $45 million settlement is reached in a Connecticut case of a black man paralyzed after being seriously injured at the back of a police van when the driver braked suddenly. Randy Kotz of New Haven, Connecticut. His case was settled today.

He was a black man that police officers paralyzed during a traffic stop in 2022. The New Haven Police Department Connecticut, his case was settled today. He was a black man that police officers paralyzed during a traffic stop in 2022. The New Haven Police Department officers Oscar Diaz, Betsy Seguin, Jocelyn Lavendaire, Ronald Presley, and Louis Rivera arrested Cotts, who was severely injured when the driver abruptly stopped the van, causing Cotts to fly headfirst into the wall of the van. Cops are now paralyzed from the chest down. The officers are facing charges. Joining me now to discuss this, one of the largest payouts ever by a city in a police brutality case,

is the Cox family attorney, Attorney Ben Crump. Attorney Crump, how are you doing this evening? I'm doing well. Thank you for having me. Thank you so much for joining us. You know, we have seen in recent years the cases you have worked on, Breonna Taylor, $27 million, this case, $45 million. Why do you think cities now are settling for more in these police brutality cases? And do you think this will help to change the conduct of police departments nationwide? BRYAN TAYLOR, National Police police departments nationwide? Well, that's certainly our endeavor. We're hoping to raise the value of Black life in America. You know, with Breonna Taylor, we had a record-setting settlement for a Black woman Floyd settled for $27 million, which was the highest in history paid out for a police misconduct case until last week when we successfully resolved the tragic paralyzation of Randy Cox because of the malfeasance of the New Haven Police Department and their officers.

And so every chance I get, our legal team try to send the message that we want to make it financially unsustainable for them to continue to brutalize and kill black people unnecessarily in America. And I think many Americans became acquainted with the quote-unquote rough ride that police officers do, similar to the Cox case and the Freddie Gray case out of Baltimore. Can you talk a little bit about Mr. Cox and the injuries that he suffered at the hands of these police officers? Yeah, and it was very similar to Freddie Gray. I've made many of those arguments. The only difference between Freddie Gray and Randy Cox was obviously Freddie Gray succumbed

to his injuries. But secondly, there wasn't a video in the Freddie Gray case. And thank God for the advent of technology, because the video shows him hitting that divider in the back of that police transport van, handcuffed. And you can tell then this is very serious just by looking at the video. But what's equally disturbing, if not more disturbing, is how the police officers responded when he got back to the Sallyport back at the police station. They didn't take him to the emergency room. They took him back to the police station.

And when he said, I think my neck is broke, and he said it on more than one occasion, they act like it was a joke. They didn't give him the benefit of professionalism or consideration. They dragged him off the police transport van. They then threw him like a rag doll in the wheelchair. And then they threw him on the floor and dragged him while he was handcuffed and then put him in the jail cell, shackled him, and closed the jail cell door. And so it was just deplorable. And we believe, we argued that the conduct at the police station further exacerbated his fragile medical condition to the point where now he is a quadriparaplegic. That means he can't move anything from his chest down.

And for the rest of his life, he has to live with this life sentence. We talked about the fact that these settlements continue to come in. You know, Freddie Gray's case was over a half decade ago, but these similar actions are still taking place. What do you think it will take for police departments around the country to really get the message and stop bankrupting cities, but just change policies to treat African-Americans with actual human rights? Well, I think it is multilayered. It's going to take police officers going to jail when they commit criminal acts of violating constitutional rights of citizens. That's number one. Number two, I think we have to continue to make these cities have financial financial apocalypses every time they kill a black person unjustifiably to where it either

bankrupts them or severely affects their budget. And then they will train those police officers appropriately and say, hey, we cannot have any more bigoted policing where you trample on the constitutional rights of black people leading to their death or serious bodily injuries, because we know attorneys like Ben Crump and others are going to hold us accountable for this excessive force against black and brown people, because we don't see the videos of them doing stuff like this to our white brothers and sisters. Where are those videos? You're absolutely correct. I think the advent of video over the course of the last decade

may be perhaps the most persuasive tool that we've had when it comes to actually bringing justice in these cases. We always talk about these Black men and Black women who have been... I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was

convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

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

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

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

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend.

At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. Brutalized or killed by police officers, almost in the form of a hashtag. We know their names, but we don't know their stories. We don't know who they are.

Can you tell the viewers about Mr. Cox? Who was he as a person, not just as a hashtag or another victim of police violence? Yeah, now, Randy Cox seemed to be a salt-of-the-earth brother. He was a loving son, a loving father, a loving brother, just a good guy. This happened on Juneteenth of last year, almost a year ago. And they were having fun at a community cookout. And apparently, for whatever reason, the police came and saw fit to, you know, search all the members and so forth, and they claimed that there was a gun in Randy's car and that he didn't have a license to have

it. But everything we saw that happened in that van and to him, we argue, was for pretestual reasons, because black people were celebrating that Juneteenth took out too much. And that is the problem we keep having with George Floyd or Breonna Taylor, these very questionable police violations of the Fourth Amendment against unlawful search and seizure. But had it not been for that there, this Juneteenth for 2023 would have been just as joyous for Randy Cox as a brother, a father, and a son as last one was. But regrettably, none of his Juneteenths going forward in the future would be something that brings about merriment. It would be something that brings about the worst

nightmare of his life. For the rest of his life, he's going to have to be taken care of hand and foot because he can't move anything beyond his chest. I want to turn to the topic of qualified immunity because we hear these settlement amounts, and I think a lot of people don't understand that this money comes from the city generally, the general fund of the city. So we're taking money away from other programs that the city could be financing in order to pay out settlements for the violence of police officers when we don't have a mechanism in place to breach qualified immunity in most places. So the officers who committed the crime don't actually have to financially contribute to

these settlements. Can you talk to the people about why it's important that we finally breach this qualified immunity barrier to get justice and to change the policies and change the actions of police officers individually? Well, I think two things. Number one, qualified immunity is important to be challenged. However, in this instance, the individual officers would have not had nearly the amount of money to be able to give Randy Cox quality health care. And so it's important that we hold these cities and municipalities accountable.

But I get it when people say we want these officers to suffer personally, too. Absolutely, we do. But we don't want them to do what they try to do in Texas a lot, say, go sue these officers, bankrupt them. But the city is not going to give you any money. So you have to be careful how you make these arguments, because you can have a pirate victory where you got a $100 million verdict against a police officer who only was making $40,000 a year. And, yeah, you have a judgment against them, but your clients won't have any compensation in reality because they would just have a verdict that's on a piece of paper.

Now, the cities use qualified immunity, too. And that's—you really got to think the cities and the leadership are the people who, if they want to get rid of police brutality and bigoted policing, they can do it. They know who the bad actors are. They can terminate them. So I believe we just got to keep hitting them over and over again, and we got to keep making police officers go to jail over and over again when they kill us unjustifiably or brutalize us.

And remember, this isn't going to happen overnight. We've been dealing with racist policing for 400 years in America. So we're making great progress when you think about just where we've come in the last 20 years. I mean, 20 years ago, if the police killed you unjustly, the most black people would get would be $100,000, $200,000. So we continue to raise the bar. And 20 years ago, no police officer would never go to jail, much less even be charged for killing black people in America. So I know we have a long way to go, but we have to understand we're making progress with each case, each conviction, each settlement. We just have to continue every case to try to get a little more justice to prevent them from having so many hashtags.

Absolutely. And we all appreciate all the work that you do. You're the hardest working man in civil rights. I have a theory that there's at least three to four of you, and you're sending clones out to different cities because there's no way that you can be everywhere all at once, all the time. But we really appreciate all the work that you do in the community. Just before we go, for people who are saying, well, we need to have a legislative solution, what is state and local legislation that people can get behind to help stop police brutality? Yeah, Tesla, Figaro, our political consultant, talked to us a lot about that. It's real simple. whether it's the George Floyd anti-chokehold laws, whether it's the Breonna Taylor anti-no-not-warrant laws,

Andre Locke no-not-warrant laws, whether it's Randy Cox's duty-to-intervene law. All of these things, we talk about the United States Congress being bogged down in political gamesmanship, but it's much easier and much more impactful if you go to your city council and say in your city, I want to know if chokeholds are illegal. I want to know if no-knock warrants are illegal. I want to know if a police officer has a duty to intervene when they see an injustice, even if it's being committed by another one of their fellow officers. Because then if the answer to any of those are no, then there's something you can do in the name of George Floyd, of Breonna Taylor, of Tyree Nichols, of Andre Locke, and Randy Cox. We all have a role to play in this struggle for liberty and equality, as Martin Luther King said. Thank you so much, Attorney Crump, for all that you're doing. We'll keep us updated on any developments going forward,

because we know that you are always here advocating for the community. We appreciate you joining us this afternoon. We're going to be back after the break on Roller Mart Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. We're going to continue talking about Trump. Tune in. We'll going to be back after the break on Roller Mart Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. We're going to continue talking about Trump. Tune in. We'll be right back. That was a pivotal, pivotal time. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future

where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about

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

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

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

from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush.

What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content,

subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Here's the deal. We got to set ourselves up. See, retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early. Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback. Just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispretirement.org brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council.

Kevin Hart telling me that. He's like, man, what you doing, man? You got to stay on stage. And I was like, yeah, well, you know, I'm thinking, yeah, I'm good. And he was absolutely right. What show was the other time? This was one-on-one. Got it.

During that time. So you're doing one-on-one, going great. You're making money. You're like... I'm like, I don't need to leave. I don't need to leave from Wednesday, Thursday to Sunday. I just didn't want to do that. You know, it was just like, I'm gonna stay here.

Oh, I didn't want to finish work Friday, fly out, go do a gig Saturday, Sunday. I was like, I don't have to do that. And I lost a little bit of that hunger that I had in New York. I would hit all the clubs and run around. Sometimes me and Chappelle or me and this one or that one, we'd go to the Comedy Cellar at 1 in the morning. I mean, that was our life.

We loved it. You do two shows in Manhattan, go to Brooklyn, leave Brooklyn, go to Queens, go to Jersey. And I kind of just, I got complacent. I was like, I got this money, I'm good. I don't need to go, I don't need to go chase that because that money wasn't at the same level that I was making, but what I was missing was that training.

Yes. Was that, was that. And it wasn't the money. It was the money. You know, it was that, that and it wasn't the money it was the money, you know, it was that that's what I need Coming up next on the frequency right here on the black star Network. You need a cover We're talking about the ride-or- die chick. We're breaking it down. The stereotype of the strong Black woman. Some of us are operating with it

as if it's a badge of honor. Like you even hear Black women like aspiring to be this ride or die chick. Aspiring to be this strong Black woman. At their own expense. Next on The Frequency right here on the Black Star Network. What's up, everybody?

It's your girl Latasha from the A. And you're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Welcome back. Before we continue coverage of President Trump's arrest, we're going to throw it to Roland Martin, who is at the White House at the White House Juneteenth concert. Roland, how are you doing over there? Hey, Robert, here at the White House. So you have a couple of band recordings., a number of dignitaries out here.

This method man, of course, is handling all of the duties here. And so he is sitting here on the microphone. How you doing? I'll be right back. So again, all kind of folks are out here. So you've got a number of performances. Jennifer Hudson is

performing. Letta C is performing. You name it, they're going to be here talking this whole thing up. You've got these two performers, two band performing right here. That's what's going on right now. And so I'm going to slide right through here. I'm going to slide through here.

I'm going to grab him for a second, so as you see what's happening. And so let's show you how this here. Method man up here. I'm going to picture with you. I can't get over there. I'm going to get a picture of this. You got 20 seconds.

You got 20 seconds. So y'all, so we're here. What's up, baby? This is my uncle right here. We're live on the show right now. So are you enjoying your duties? Yes, I am. I'm glad I caught you early, because later on, you're going to be a mess.

We all is, though. Well, you know, it's going to be a I am. I'm glad I caught you early because later on you're going to be a mess. We all is, though. Well, you know, it's going to be a good party out here. I love you, brother. I love everything that you do for us. And beyond, how solid is the scale of everything you do for us? I appreciate it. I appreciate it. And Redbone not on the show today.

But you and I are both. But I miss her all the time. Especially when you're thinking about her. I love her. Yes, sir. All right, baby. You enjoy it. All right. I will. Yes, sir. All right, baby. Enjoy it. All right.

All right, folks. And so, again, we're out here. This is the first time the White House ever had a Juneteenth concert. Again, a number of performers who are going to be here. Let me just show you here the look behind us. We're on the South Lawn. As you can see, the stage area is right back here as well. And so this is the pre-show, but the concert kicks off at 7 p.m.

So looking forward to that. So I'm going to try to dip in a little bit later in the show. And we've got Ben Krupp coming up next on the show as well. So, again, there are a number of folks here, a lot of the cast of stars here, Lorenz Tate, Joseph Sikora, a number of people who are here as well, the National Down for the Arts, their HBCU initiative, they're sponsoring this. And so that's what makes all the interest. I'm just going to walk through here, just give you all a sense.

Phillip, what's up, baby? What's up, monster? How you doing? All good. So a lot of our media folks. And so I'm gonna go up here. Let's see who else I can grab. Who's all here? So let's see. Hey, how y'all doing? I'm all good. All good. Y'all good? All good. Give me one second. I'm live right now. One second. It's all good. All right. How y'all doing? How y'all doing? All good? All good? So I'm going to go over and see if I can grab

Michael Eric Dyson for a second. Excuse me one second. Excuse me one second. Hey, hey. Excuse me one second. Hey, Michael. Michael. Rolling. I'm over here live. Yeah, I'm Michael Eric Dyson here. So, Michael, your thoughts on

this first-ever Juneteenth concert, also Black Music Month here at the White House. Roland Martin is here. It's official. It's a Black event and I'm glad to be here. Look, it's amazing. And it's a variety of music. Everybody from Method Man to Audra McDonnell to Lettucey.

It's an extraordinary, if you will, cornucopia of black expression. And it's beautiful in this White House celebrating Juneteenth and the musical traditions that sustain us. It's a beautiful thing, my man. And, of course, you've got Tennessee State picked up two Grammys this year. Okay, wait a minute. We're still stalling for the birthday of that man. They're a great of the marching bands. Yeah, they're amazing.

I'm sorry. They're in the city. You know I'm at Vanderbilt right now. So I got a chance to sample their genius every now and again up close, my man. All right. I'm about to read this last card because I think we're at our conclusion. Again, I'm going to dig back in. I just want to give y'all a taste of what's happening here at the White House.

Back to you, Robert. Everybody knows there's no parliament. Make sure you have a good time out there for us. I'm sure you'll have a full report on this tomorrow. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer

is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley

comes a story about what happened when a multibillion-dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English.

I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player,

Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug ban. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote unquote drug man.

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

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

But some people only see who I am on paper. The paper ceiling. The limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at tearthepaperceiling.org.

Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. We will be back after the break. We're going to talk more about the Trump arrest. The first time in history a former president of the United States of America has been arrested by federal prosecutors. You're watching Rolling Water Unfiltered, streaming live on the Blackstone Network. We'll be back after the break.

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.

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RolandSMartin.com. On a next, a balanced life with me, Dr. Jackie, owning your energy and how to use it. Trust me, it impacts the people on your job, who you attract, and even your love life. What you give out is what comes back to you. So like attracts like, right? So if you come in with a negative space and I match that negative energy, then two seconds later, somebody else come in with more negative energy,

and then I was just always just matching negative stuff. And here's the kicker. If you're not careful, that energy can even be stolen. That's all next on A Balanced Life on Blackstar Network. Hello, I'm Marissa Mitchell, a news anchor at Fox 5 DC. Hey, what's up? It's Tammy Roman, and you are watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Welcome back.

We're continuing coverage of the arrest of former President Donald Trump for, of course, espionage, violation of the Espionage Act, additional crimes he's committed, including obstruction of justice and conspiracy. One of the things that I've heard throughout the day, I was just checking Twitter for some of the conservative arguments, is this argument about, well, why didn't they charge Hillary Clinton? Why didn't they charge Mike Pence? Why didn't they charge Joe Biden? For a very simple reason. None of them did what Donald Trump did. What the 31 counts for the Espionage Act, that requires you to have national security information. Mike Pence didn't have national security information. Joe Biden didn't have national

security information, and neither did Hillary Clinton, based upon what James Comey told us. This is why they weren't arrested. Also, with regards to these other charges, you have to obstruct justice. Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Mike Pence, none of them did that. They turned over the documents when they were asked. The investigations took place. It was only Trump who instructed his lawyers to hide documents. It was only Trump who lied to investigators about where the documents were. It was only Trump who lied to investigators about where the documents were. It was only Trump who decided to willfully break the law. And that's the reason Donald Trump is being indicted. Don't let these people try to what about you to death. They will try to do

whataboutism and never have to talk about what actually happened. I want to bring in the panel on this. Joining us this evening, Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali, former senior advisor for environmental justice at the EPA, as well as Randy Bryant, DEI distributor Washington, D.C. Easy for me to say. Thanks, both of you, so much for joining us this evening. I want to start with you, Randy. What was your takeaway? What were your thoughts while seeing the former president of the United States of America being arrested and having to surrender to federal authorities? I must admit, I get a bit of joy.ed that he, you know, he gets this, you know, very much special treatment as if he is a celebrity. It's still quite disgusting. And his arrogance.

I mean, this is a man who, you know, afterwards went to a Cuban restaurant as if this is a reception. But he's also, we have to give him credit for being quite strategic and that he knows that this will only rally his supporters. It's not about what's right and wrong. It's just about having power. And they don't care what crimes he committed. They really don't. They're not trying to research it.

They're not trying to learn. Their cognitive dissonance is on full display. They just want Trump in power and they feel empowered by this criminal. And Mustafa, on that point, we've talked a lot about the politics of this. The Trumpers are claiming, well, this is a political prosecution. We're seeing more and more sharper criticism, even from other Republicans, now that the indictment has been unsealed and that Donald Trump has been arrested. Do you think the Republican Party is finally turning away from Trumpism? I think that there is a percentage that is beginning to turn away from Trumpism.

Of course, there's politics that's in there because we're moving into the 2024 election cycle. But, you know, politics should not be a part of the equation that we're dealing with now. We are literally dealing with national security. And people should really take that serious. There's a reason why documents are classified. I worked at the high level in the government, and I understand, you know, how we were trained to make sure that we were protecting the documents that we had. And then when we left, the steps that we had to follow before we could be released from federal service. You've got agents who are out there working. When you have top security information, if that is actually leaked, people could get

hurt. You've got the military and all the things that they're doing. You've got a number of different dynamics from everything from energy to our economic system that when you see those documents that are sitting on the floor and you see the labeling that's on there, there's a reason why people have to go through immense background checks to make sure that they are even allowed even close in the room for many of these documents. So we should really take this much more serious than we are because there could be huge ramifications and the president shouldn't have done the crime if he didn't want to do the time. You know, and staying on that point, I'm going to stay with you, Mustafa. Michael Cohen,

President Trump's former attorney, said something this weekend on social media that kind of flew under the radar. But I think it might be the most significant thing that we've heard thus far, which is he said, pay attention to those Iranian documents that President Trump was waving around. So just by way of explanation, one of the charges against President Trump is that he took battle plans for the United States to strike Iran, and that he was waving those around, talking about them for other people, showing them to other people, et cetera. When the federal government raided Mar-a-Lago, as they call it, they really searched Mar-a-Lago, but Donald Trump calls it a raid, when they searched Mar-a-Lago for the documents, everything that they recovered, they never got those Iranian documents back.

What we saw during the Trump administration was what? We saw him doing the saber dance with the Saudi Arabian sheikhs. We saw him with his hand on a globe glowing while they were making a deal in a pact. We know that when Khashoggi was murdered by the Saudi Arabian government, Donald Trump did nothing inside it with MBS, Mohammed bin Salman. We know that Jared Kushner, since leaving the White House, has made a $2 billion deal with the Saudi Arabian government. We know that Saudi Arabia and Iran have been in a pitched cold war for nearly 20 years in the Middle East. But suddenly,

Senator Donald Trump gets out of office, and these documents about these battle plans for Iran are in his possession and have gone missing. Iran and Saudi Arabia just a couple of weeks ago went to Beijing and struck a peace accord. And now they're working directly together against the interests of the United States of America. So when we say these documents may be more important than we understand, I think it may take years for us to unravel just how deep this tank goes and just how many documents President Trump has been a hold of. So Mustafa, when people make this argument that this is some kind of political witch hunt, how should people respond? They're incorrect. This is a deadly game that the president has placed us in. When you have that type of level of information that has disappeared and that people had access to.

You know, it's... I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them.

From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

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

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

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

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Here's the deal. Plus on Apple Podcasts. a setback, just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position, pregame to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispreetirement.org, brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. It's not that difficult for someone to slip a significant amount of money to somebody who was, you know, in and out of Mar-a-Lago. It could have been somebody who was cleaning or somebody who was visiting or whatever the situation is. So we've got a very significant situation that's currently going on with the

information that has circulated and the eyes that will be able to be placed on it. And then, of course, in having a former commander in chief who did not see the value in helping to keep our country safe by following the rules that were set to help make sure that these types of things did not happen. And Randy, piggybacking off of that, we talk about the political ramification for this, since Republicans want to pretend this is some kind of radical partisan witch hunt. I would argue that President Trump getting indicted actually hurts President Biden, that it doesn't actually help President Biden get reelected at all, because this takes the attention off of President Biden's achievement and focuses the entire light of the world media back on President Trump. This election ends up being

a referendum on Trumpism, as opposed to a referendum on the Biden record. Do you think there's actually a political angle for this prosecution? I agree with you. No, I don't. I don't believe. I agree with you in that this does take the focus off of Biden and places it right back on Trump. Trump, I was so relieved for a while because, see, things were somewhat quiet. I mean, when Trump was in office and some time after that, every day he was still monopolizing the news, which is exhausting because it was always something that was, frankly, like what's going on right now, scary. So, yes, I think it really does distract from some of the great things that Biden's administration is doing right now and places the attention right back on Trump. And because he's seen more as a hero for some people and not even as a person,

it helps him quite a bit. You know, I think if the Biden people wanted to, they could make one of the most persuasive arguments that President Biden has been one of the most effective presidents of the past 50 years. If you look at the fact that President Biden, coming out of both a pandemic and an insurrection that tore this nation apart, coming out of unprecedented times and a point in time where you have a balkanized MAGA movement that refused to work in any way, shape, or form with Democrats, he was able to push through a $1.7 trillion infrastructure deal. If you look at the highway collapse on I-95 in Philadelphia or even the highway collapse on I-85 in Atlanta, you know that we need infrastructure in this

country. President Biden was able to deliver on that campaign promise. When we're talking about the weather patterns that we're seeing nationwide between the wildfires sending a giant cloud over the eastern seaboard and the effects of climate change throughout the country, he has a record investment in climate change that his nation never seen. We were talking a lot about inflation last year. President Biden pushed through the Inflation Reduction Act, $1.5 trillion. Since then, we've seen 11 straight months of inflation decreasing. Last month in May, we saw a jobs report, 3.4 percent unemployment, 350,000 new jobs created. We saw the passing of the omnibus spending bill, 3.5 trillion dollars to keep the government up and running.

The debt ceiling deal, so spending the debt ceiling through 2025, as well as taking the issue off the table and maintaining many of the gains that have been made. Mustafa, when Joe Biden can reel off a record like that? And the two leading Republican candidates, Donald Trump has been indicted twice in the last two months. And then Ron DeSantis went to war with Mickey Mouse and he's losing the war to Mickey Mouse. How can Republicans make a credible claim to the White House and to make change in this country?

Well, they really can't. They have no policies that have been beneficial to the country. They have actually been blocking many of the things that you just mentioned. They tried every trick in the book to stop those things and then to shrink those things. So when President Biden rolls off that list and then brings forward individuals from across our country who are moving from surviving to thriving, who, you know, areas are now in this positive transformation,

then I think he has a positive, not only a positive message, but he has a winning message. But again, what you see is this chaotic situation that's currently going on that is taking away from being able to share all the amazing things that are happening and the additional things that could happen if you continue to have a leader who is focused on actually helping the American people and not creating these systems and these situations where folks continue to be further and further away from what the American dream looks like. Absolutely. And Randy, talk to me about the political division that we're looking at nationwide right now. What do you think the impact will be of President Trump continuing to claim that this investigation is rigged against him,

that the prosecution is rigged, that the judges are rigged, that the FBI is rigged, that the Department of Justice is rigged, CIA is rigged, the deep state is rigged, everybody is working against me, me, me, me, me. Oh, poor me. All I was was a billionaire president of the United States. However, could I ever get justice in this country? What impact do you think that will have writ large on the MAGA movement and on the political division in this country? Because once you lose faith in those institutions, what actually holds the nation together? I am scared that we will see another January 6th. I believe that he is rallying his troops and that he likes the mayhem. He wants to get the government off track because he is so

invested in just himself and having power. So, I mean, we see it day to day. I believe we're seeing a great rise in violence. It is very clear, like Biden said, that white supremacy is our biggest worry when it comes to terrorism right now. And I believe that we're going to see a rise of that. I am concerned about us Americans living from day to day, but also what the major impact is going to be on our country. His goal is to divide. and he's been quite successful at it, particularly when he is creating fractions between the races. He's doing a very smart job. Him and DeSantis and those like him are doing a great job of trying to create fractions between people and groups and identity groups.

So it's scary. It is scary. I had hoped that he would just go away like a movie when he finally was, but he refuses to. It's like a bad mold that just keeps creeping. Mustafa, there's a concept in law called res et solocator, the thing speaks for itself. And when I read through this indictment against Donald Trump, it just felt like it spoke for itself. You don't need testimony. You don't need witnesses. You look at what the law is. The law is you can't tell your lawyers to lie for you. The quote in the indictment is, Donald Trump tells his lawyer to lie for him. These things speak for itself. Why do you think that instead of actually these people who are supporting Trump coming out and just saying Donald Trump didn't do this, he's an innocent person, he will be vindicated by the law.

Instead of doing that, we get these searching conspiracy theories. Well, what about Hillary Clinton? And this is about 100 Biden's emails., and the DOJ just did this to cover up for the bribe that Joe Biden took from the Ukrainians that the whistleblower said behind closed doors. But he doesn't say he has any evidence, but he has allegations around it. Why do you think they are focusing so much on the distractions as opposed to just saying he's innocent? They made Donald Trump a deity. Let's be real. You know, he became for them the person that they want to be and would say the things that they always wanted to say. And it's so hard for them to let go of that. And because they refuse to let go of that, they are playing a role in the deconstruction of our country. So we just got to understand the mentality of individuals who are refusing to actually evaluate the truth, the information that's out there. And when folks refuse to do

that and they shut themselves off from that, then you get the cultish behavior that we see going on across the country and the refusal to actually face the facts. Now, what we saw today, you know, Trump is famous for his big rallies, always talking about his rally side, the people who support him. Only, it seems like, maybe 50 to 100 people turned out in Miami to support President Trump. Do you think—I'm going to stay with you, Mustafa—do you think Trumpism is finally starting to wear out Republicans? Are they finally just tired of this? And is he losing some of his luster, even though these polls are saying that he's up by 50 points over the rest of the Republican field? Well, we know that there's at least 35 percent

of the Republicans who are going to stick with Trump, have stuck with Trump. Maybe that will erode a little bit. So you've got that dynamic going on. But I think that there are those others who are making the calculations of who might be able to actually be a competitive candidate in the 2024 election. And, you know, for them, you know, the election is much more important than Donald Trump is. So if this continues, and I think as the news, does some special stuff that Donald Trump might not, you know, it may take longer for the conviction to happen than folks might imagine. Randy, you know, on that issue of the nation kind of fraying at its edges, we saw when Richard Nixon was potentially going to be the first president to be arrested

and first president tried and convicted and jailed. Gerald Ford pardoned him for the good of the nation, they said, at that period of time. We've already had some Republican candidates come out and say that they will pardon President Trump. So the answer, the question becomes, should President Biden, if President Trump is convicted, pardon him to try to stop what you said, the MAGAs from becoming an insurgency, from bombing buildings, from killing government officials, to turn into a guerrilla army in this nation? Would that be the best way to bring the country back together? No. I believe that would add to further destruction. I believe it shows that we have absolutely no law and order whatsoever in this country.

I believe it would make us make others lose faith that when someone does something egregiously wrong, obviously wrong, if people would take the time to read the documents, that we still are weak and we don't hold our leaders up to a standard. I believe it would be a grave mistake for Biden. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission.

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

Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man.

We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding

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

Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family.

They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. To pardon Trump if and know, he's guilty.

We still stand behind him. But we're still seeing more and more Republicans jumping into this primary field. You got Tim Scott. You got Nikki Haley. You got Asa Hutchinson. You got Vivek, the author. You got Ron Scott. You got Nikki Haley. You got Asa Hutchinson. You got Vivek, the author. You've got Ron DeSantis. Now we've seen Mike Pence and Chris Christie jump in in recent days. Now there are Larry Elders apparently found out today as the presidential candidate for Republicans.

Now they're saying that people are trying to recruit Georgia Governor Brian Kemp to run for the Republican nomination. Glenn Youngkin's name is out there. So what I've said from the beginning is that these people will not be running if they thought that President Trump will be on the ballot. None of those people can compete with President Trump. But if President Trump is in jail, then it's a wide open field. Randy, just last word to you. What do you think it says when you have this many Republicans running against Trump for this nomination when they're still claiming to believe that he's going to be exonerated. Well, the Republicans have always done a good job of appearing in a solid front. They've always

done a good job with that. But if they read, if you read, I mean, like you said earlier, it is very clear. These are some serious charges, and there's a lot of evidence provided by Trump himself to prove his guilt. So if they read, as most of his supporters I don't believe are, then they see the writing on the wall. And the judge, who will probably most likely do some favors to delay this proceeding in a smooth manner. But I believe ultimately Trump will be found guilty. And people are recognizing that behind closed doors. But they're always going to present a united front, the Republicans. Yeah, I always tell folks I can see better than I can hear.

So if you're telling me that he's innocent, but I still see more people jumping in the race, that tells me you don't believe that he's actually innocent and you believe he will be in custody. And let's remember that even if Donald Trump is pardoned on the federal level, let's say Joe Biden just finds it in his heart of hearts to pardon Donald Trump, there's still a case in New York State, there's still a case in Fulton County, Georgia. And the New York State case, he would have to be pardoned by Kathy Hochul, a Democratic governor. And in Georgia, if convicted on those RICO charges, he would have to be pardoned by Brian Kemp, the same Brian Kemp that he ran a primary challenge against with David Perdue, the same

Brian Kemp that he has been going at like a savage dog for the last two and a half years, that Brian Kemp will be in charge of whether or not Donald Trump's been the rest of his life in a South Georgia prison. Gotta love politics. We're going to keep this conversation going on the other side of the break. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. Question for you. Are you stuck? Do you feel like you're hitting a wall and it's keeping you from achieving prosperity?

Well, you're not alone. On the next Get Wealthy with me, Deborah Owens, America's Wealth Coach, you're going to learn what you need to do to become unstuck and unstoppable. The fabulous author, Janine K. Brown, will be with us sharing with you exactly what you need to do to finally achieve the level of financial success you desire through your career. Because when I talk about being bold in the workplaces, I'm talking about that inner boldness that you have to take a risk, to go after what you want, to speak up when others

are not. That's right here on Get Wealthy, only on Black Star Network. Next on The Black Table with me, Greg Carr. The Supreme Court is back in session. God help us all. It is no exaggeration to say that this current session could completely reshape this country and redirect our future for generations to come. And not in a good way. We invite Dr. Valethia Watkins and Professor Angela Porter, our legal roundtable, back to the show to put it all in perspective. That's on the next Black Table.

Please don't miss it. Right here on the Black Star Network. Hi, everybody. I'm Kim Colson. Hey, I'm Donnie Simpson. Yo, it's your man, Deion Cole from Black-ish. And you're watching

Roland Martin Unfiltered. Today in Black and Missing, the Gwinnett County, Georgia Police Department needs your help in locating an endangered teen. Nivea Ashley Bell left Little Burns Parkview High School on May 24th and has not been seen since. The 14-year-old, 5'3, weighs 130 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Nivea was last seen wearing brown pants, a white shirt and black and white Converse. Anyone of information about Nivea Ashley Bell is urged to call the Gwinnett County, Georgia Police Department at 770-513-5300. That's 770-5130-0. We're hoping for the safe return of young Miss Bell to her family as soon as possible. That's why we do these stories, because we hope for happy endings. Shifting gears, we're going to the state of Florida. Of course, all news had to emanate

out of the state of Florida, where hundreds of people filled a central Florida church to pay their last respects to a Black mother who was federally shot in front of her nine-year-old son by a white woman firing through the door of her home. We have video from the funeral. On Friday, June 2nd, 2016, at approximately 9 p.m. A racist white woman fatally murdered Ashika through a locked, closed metal door.

I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time. Have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them.

From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission.

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

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

In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner.

It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. We'll be right back. Season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content.

Subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I always had to be so good, no one could ignore me. Carve my path with data and drive. But some people only see who I am on paper. The paper ceiling. The limitations from degree screens to stereotypes that are holding back over 70 million stars. Workers skilled through alternative routes, rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves.

Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersceiling.org. Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. I should pose no threat to her. She was standing there with her innocent, young, nine-year-old son. She's been called home to eternal rest. Now, as I go to my seat and prepare to lay our daughter, our granddaughter, our sister, our aunt, our niece, our cousin, our friend to rest. My plea to everyone in this sanctuary and across the nation. Please don't let our baby girl's death go in vain. A change must come. Amen. Ajita, AJ Owens is depending on us.

Those four kids are depending on us. To my Bootsy, she'll always be Bootsy you'll always be Bootsy I love you I miss you and I vow to keep your four beautiful children together

as I promised you as you so desired village village everyone in this room is a part of the village. We need you. They need you. That was A.J. Owens' mother, Pamela Diaz, who spoke at her daughter's funeral today. A.J. Owens was remembered today for her deep faith and devotion to her children by civil rights leaders, local ministers, and family members who were demanding justice during their memorial service with a 35-year-old mother of four. Susan Lurich is charged with the first-degree felony of manslaughter, with a firearm, as well as culpable negligence battery and two counts of assault. And we're

hoping for justice in that case. I want to bring our panel back in. Mustafa, in this case, I think that what we have not talked enough about is the weaponization of conservative media, creating this fear complex within white America, Roland Martin's book, White Fear. We have to think about the McCloskeys, the couple who pulled the gun on black protesters. Think about Kyle Rittenhouse, the young white man who killed three people. The rhetoric around these violent mobs that they say are coming to storm your house, BLM and Antifa, et cetera. What role do you think conservative media has in whipping up these white people into being so afraid that we're seeing these driveway and these door shootings on the increase nationwide? Well, there's blood on their hands. And now they will try to say that all they're

doing is educating folks based upon their worldview. But what they're really doing is creating a very dangerous situation inside of our country. We have seen, one, we know that we have close to 400 million guns in our country. We know that we've continued to see these hate crimes continue to grow. We've seen everything from the Boogaloo Boys to all these other nationalistic groups continue to move into spaces and do things. And now we are actually also bringing everyday people into this mix who are now also picking up guns, who are using language that you would hope that folks wouldn't use, and then, of course, taking people's lives. All that they have done is dehumanize black and brown folks

to be able to justify the types of violence and life-taking that we see continually going on. And they do it by making people scared and nervous and, once again, creating these chaotic situations. And Robin, we've seen this every few weeks, it seems like, where, sorry, Randy, we see this every few weeks where there's another black person who's either knocking on a white person's door, then we have the young man who knocked on the wrong person's door, they were shot, this mother knocking on the door was shot. How exactly do we move from this place where we have this weaponized part of America that believes that every time a black person comes to your door, that has BLM rioters coming to

carry you on? How can we get back to a place of this normal dialogue? I'm going to be really candid here. I don't believe that most of these people who are brutally murdering innocent folks for doing nothing but living are scared in that moment. I think they're using that as a defense, as an excuse. I think that the real fear comes in that they are losing power in America. I think that is what white fear stems from, that they are losing their position, they're losing their privilege. As they see just daily, you know, when we had our first black president, as certain laws are being passed and policies are coming up, that as we're fighting back, as we are rallying and voting and showing up at the polls, I believe that that is what they are afraid of. But in those moments when they are shooting

people, I do not believe that they are, most of them, I mean, some sure, but are genuinely afraid in that moment. I believe it comes from a place of honest hate. I believe these are hate crimes, and I believe that they're using fear as an excuse to justify their sick behavior. You're absolutely correct, and we want to make sure we provide as much attention to this case because we know, we saw this in the Ahmaud Arbery case, that until the community is paying attention, it's very difficult to get justice. So we have to keep our eyes and keep our activism on this case, and we'll, of course, keep you updated. Going back to the headlines, in California, a California skate park has been named for Tyree Nichols. The skate park at Regency Community Park in the Tomas has been renamed in honor of Tyree Nichols,

a Sacramento native killed by five police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, earlier this year. The avid skateboarder Nichols spent much of his youth at the skate park and learned how to skateboard there. The organization, the Skate Park Project, founded by legendary skater Tony Hawk, worked with the city officials to renovate the ramps and half pipes ahead of the renaming, despite the city's unusual policy of not allowing dedications for someone who died less than a year ago. An exception was made for this project due to the connection to Mr. Nichols' legacy. And Mustafa, what does it say to you that we've got to this point of stratification in this country, where you can have states like

California that can honor someone like Tyree Nichols. You can have liberal parts of the country where they'll name buildings and statutes for George Floyd and for Breonna Taylor and for people who are victims of the racial crimes. But then in the other half of the country, in places like Tennessee, in places like Florida, the usual suspects, we still have laws and policies in place that still put black and brown people in a position of being second-class citizens. Can a nation so divided survive? It makes it tough for it to survive. I think the question is, can it thrive? Because just being in a survival mentality is not enough. There is stress that's tied to that. There is violence that's tied to just being in a

survival situation. I think the question becomes if we're not willing to heal, if we're not willing to, one, deal with the injustices that have happened historically and yet still in this moment and put the actions in place to change and evolve, then we'll always be in that survival situation or survival mentality. If we are willing to do the hard work, then we'll always be in that survival situation or survival mentality. If we are willing to do the hard work, then we can move to a thriving type of a paradigm to operate from, which can actually help to heal and can help to uplift everyone. No one has to be left behind. That is a choice that we make in the ways that we invest or don't invest, in the laws that we see value in or don't see value in, and the people who we either see value in or don't. And if we change that paradigm, we can actually be moving in a very positive direction instead of

getting stuck and then actually moving backwards. Absolutely. And Randy, real quick, do you think dedications like this and honorary things such as this will help to push the ball forward on criminal justice reform? In a small way. I believe that it reminds us. We can't bury it when there's something that's named, but we want policy change. That's what we want. Yes, the skate park is nice, and I hope it provides it. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution.

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

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

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

Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug man. Benny the butcher, Brent Smith from shine down. Got be real from Cypress Hill, NHL enforcer,

Riley Cote, Marine Corvette, MMA fighter, Liz Caramouch. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter. And it brings a face to it. It makes it real.

It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the war on drugs podcast podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers,

but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you've got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. Some healing or some comfort that Tyree will be remembered in that way to his family and friends, but ultimately we need major change so that innocent victims are not killed. You're absolutely correct. The symbolism is nice. We appreciate the symbolism,

but at the end of the day, we would like to have fewer hashtags, fewer, less symbolism, less need to have memorials for people. And the type of reforms necessary, as we talked about with Attorney Crump earlier in the show, that will stop this plague from continuing to ravage the black community. We should be able to have as much trust in government as any other individuals that pay taxes and are citizens of this country. We can no longer accept simply being second-class citizens because we have a federal government that's too recalcitrant to act, and state and local governments have not been pushed and conjoled to the point of changing their policies.

It's happening step by step, day by day. Don't think that things aren't changing, but there's still much that needs to get done. We're going to continue this conversation on the other side of the break. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network. We'll be right back. I'm Faraiji Muhammad, live from L.A LA and this is the culture the culture is a two-way conversation

you and me we talk about the stories politics the good the bad and the downright ugly so join our community every day at 3 p.m eastern and let your voice be heard hey we're all in this together so let's talk about it and see what kind of trouble we can get into. It's the culture. Weekdays at three only on the Black Star Network. Hatred on the streets, a horrific scene, a white nationalist rally that descended into deadly violence. White people are losing their damn minds. There's an angry pro-Trump mob storm to the U.S. 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, guys. This country is getting increasingly racist in its behaviors and its attitudes because of the fear of white people. The fear that they're taking our jobs, they're taking our resources, they're taking our women. This is white fear. Hey, what's up, y'all?

I'm Devon Franklin. It is always a pleasure to be in the house. You are watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. Stay right here. Welcome back. We're going to take you to the state of Illinois, where Illinois has become the first state in the nation to prevent and prohibit book bans. As it has been popularized by many conservative governors around the country, the new culture war issue is book banning. We've seen it in Virginia. We've seen it in Florida. We've seen it in Texas.

This is where conservative parents are so outraged by the idea of adult messaging being in books that they have decided to start banning entire curriculums. Now, of course, this is all just an excuse. One, to cover for the Republican lack of policy on education. You can ask them. America has a school bus shortage and a school bus driver shortage. Around the country, we do not have enough buses or bus drivers to get kids to and from school. Do Republicans have a plan on that? Absolutely not. But do they have a plan to ban books? Absolutely. This also goes into their war on the LGBTQIAPK plus community. Conservatives have decided that the new group that they will

launch a culture war on are gay people. Now, gay folks are just minding their business, not bothering nobody. But conservatives decided that the new front in the culture war would be claiming that members of the LGBTQ community were trying to indoctrinate your children into becoming gay. That is their argument. Now, can they raise test scores? No. Can they help the kids read and write better? No. Do they have any plan to make sure that our kids can compete in the second half of the 21st century against China, against India, against all the other rising nations who want to take our position as leadership in the world? No.

But can they bother gay people for no apparent reason? That's the cornerstone of the modern GOP. So today, the state has continued to challenge and ax literature from public schools and libraries across the country. Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a law prohibiting public schools and libraries from banning those sorts of books. Let's have the video from Governor Pritzker. In 2022, there were 67 attempts to ban books here in Illinois.

Books about coming of age and mental health. Books about LGBTQ plus kids and teens. Books about the black experience and racism, renowned classics like The Kite Runner and To Kill a Mockingbird. This is not the first time in history that we've seen this. The United States has gone through periods of protests against works by authors like Charles Darwin and Mark Twain and J.D. Salinger. The argument for banning books always begins with the claim that it's about protecting the children. And yes, of course, we all want to protect our children. So they're reading age appropriate material. But banning books from libraries isn't about that at all.

Book bans are about censorship, marginalizing people, marginalizing ideas and facts. Regimes ban books, not democracies. Nazi Germany, fascist Italy, the Taliban's Afghanistan. We refuse to let a vitriolic strain of white nationalism coursing through our country determine whose histories are told. Not in Illinois. This is the land of Lincoln, the home state of the first black president. Illinois was the first state in the nation to ratify the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery. We were the first state in the nation to ratify the 19th Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote.

And in a few moments, Illinois will become the first state in the nation to officially ban book bans once and for all. This measure, which takes effect January 1st, says public libraries must adopt the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights or other statements prohibiting book banning to be eligible for state money. The Association's Library Bill of Rights that reading materials should not be prescribed or removed because of partisan or doctoral approval or excluded because of the origins, background, or views of those contributing to their creation. PEN America found book bans rose during the first half of 2022, the 2023 school year.

Almost a third of the bans resulted in newly enacted state laws. Book bans are most prevalent in five states, Texas, Florida, Missouri, Utah, and, of course, South Carolina. And, Randy, I want to go to you on this. What do you think of Governor Pritzker's example? Do you think it will be picked up by other progressive states? Bravo. Bravo. I was very happy to see this news come out today. It's been disgusting with the power that people have had banning books. When Amanda Gorman's book was banned, I think it was either South Carolina or Florida, it was one parent who complained. One parent complained and had this woman who has read the

poem at the inauguration for President Biden wiped out. And so it shows the power that one very conservative person can have in these states. So something like this needed to be done. At some point, we need to stop the foolishness. So yes, I do believe, I do earnestly hope that other states will follow what Illinois has done, because we can't have it where we are indoctrinated with just one type of literature that people want us to read. It's very much like CRT. They want us not to understand the full history of America. They don't want other people's stories to get out there, other people's voices to be heard.

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

comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. podcasts. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves.

Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush.

What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers, but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-up way, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth. Never stop being a dad.

That's that occasion. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. They really just want the narrative that they want to be pushed forward. And that's control. That absolutely is not democracy. Absolutely. And Mustafa, we've seen that Ron DeSantis had a very interesting technique when it came to banning books in Florida. And so he had the goal of banning most Black history from the curriculum, and he knew that would result in blowback. You know, you're going to have protests,

you're going to have marches, you're going to have rallies in opposition to that from the Black community. But what he did was he used the undertone of homophobia that pervades many Black communities, and he used that as a way to deflect much of the blame where he said, oh, I'm just going to ban queer studies because that shouldn't be about black history. And I saw that that ended up tamping down a lot of the potential protests against Ron DeSantis for the move that he made. What do you think it says about this country where Republicans have figured out that just by being anti-gay, they can get other groups to align with them that are against every other part of their agenda. It's a part of their strategy and their

intentionality around hate. They know that, you know, anytime there's a difference, whatever that difference might be, that they can use it as a wedge. And unfortunately, we have far too many people who fall for the okey-doke and allow these types of things to happen. We've got to understand that what happens to one happens to all. It may not happen to you immediately, but it will eventually make it to you or your community. So that's why when we see these injustices happening, we have to stand together to make sure that they can't take root. We've seen through history in this country and beyond how these types of actions that the folks are doing, and I'll call them out, DeSantis and Abbott and the rest of them, how destructive it actually is, how it has allowed,

you know, the annihilation of people. So if we really need to wake up in this moment and understand the game that is going on, but also that we have power to change the dynamics of what these folks are trying to move forward with. And Randy, you know, we've seen Governor Pritzker making more waves and getting more attention lately. We've seen Gavin Newsom announce his 28th Amendment on gun violence and do a sit-down interview with Sean Hannity, of all people. Do you think any of these people will actually hop in and attempt to challenge Biden for the Democratic nomination in 2024? I've been wondering the same thing myself, as they're boldly making moves and publicly fighting back against some of these antics that have been

going on with Republicans. I've been wondering if they're going to step into the ring. I'll be honest, I've never been one to try to predict when it comes to politics because there's so much happening behind closed doors. It's a losing bet most of the time, but it will be interesting to see. For me, I think what they're doing is they're putting themselves in a position where, hey, I'm not saying I'm going to run, but just in case anything happened, just saying I'm right here if you need me. So I'm not going to run, you know, if everything's fine, but, you know, if Biden falls down or something, you know, I'm right here in case y'all need a nominee, I'm over here for you. And I think that's what they're doing more so than having an open challenge to Biden,

who is, of course, the thoroughbred of the Democratic stable. Mustafa, going back to you, why do you think this has been so effective among white parents, weaponizing this level of fear that they have, telling them that these books are going to make their kids hate being white, telling them these kids are going to indoctrinate them into the LGBTQ community, that they're going to radicalize them and turn them into communists and Marxists. Why do you think it's so effective, even when millennial parents are supposed to be more progressive? I think it goes back to the lack of experience with people. If you actually spend time with the various communities that are across our country and get to know folks, then you would know that this is

nothing but foolishness. It is definitely a political strategy, but there's no reality in the situation. None of the studies show that because you read a book or because you hang out with somebody that that is going to make you become a member of the LGBTQ plus community or any of the other communities that have been under attack. So one, we need to read more in this country. We need to be more educated and we need to spend more time with all kinds of folks. And that will help to strengthen our humanity and also build our resolve against these types of actions that, you know, unfortunately, the Republican Party is the one who is really trying to dismantle

and deconstruct and weaken our country. And Republicans are biting off or cutting off their nose to spite their face because a recent study has shown that one out of every four high school students in this country identifies as being on some part of the spectrum in the LGBTQ community. So when you're making the entire backbone of the Republican Party in 2024 being anti-LGBTQ and banning books and changing state laws around that, well, guess what? In four years, those 14-year-olds are going to be 18, and they're going to be voting the 2028 election. In eight years, those 12 year olds, those 10 year olds are going to be voting the 2032 election. So you may get a slight boost right now, but you're really cutting off your, cutting yourself off at the knees going forward because those voters are going to remember the policies you

put in place right now. And you're not, you can't stop the wave of time. You can't stop the wave of history. Things are progressing. America is becoming a blacker and a browner nation. We're becoming more diverse. Women have more power. More ethnic groups have a bigger slice of the pie. This idea that you're going to, quote, unquote, make America great again, I.E., go back to a period of time where white people were at the top of the pecking order in America. It's not happening. The birth rate ain't high enough. So either you get on board with the changes that are taking place or you get left behind by history. We'll keep this conversation

going on the other side of the break. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered streaming live on the Black Star Network. We'll be right back. and something like CNN. You can't be black on media and be scared. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? That was a pivotal, pivotal time. I remember Kevin Hart telling me that. He's like, man, what you doing, man?

You got to stay on stage. And I was like, yeah, well, I'm like, you know, y'all don't think I'm got to stay on stage. And I was like, yeah, but I'm like, you know, I'm thinking, man, I'm good. And he was absolutely right. What show was the other time? This was one-on-one. Got it.

During that time. So you're doing one-on-one, going great. Yeah. You're making money. You're like. I'm like, I don't need to leave. I don't need to leave from Wednesday, Thursday to Sunday. You know, I just didn't want to do that.

I was just like, I'm going to stay here. Oh, I didn't want to finish work Friday, fly out, go do a gig Saturday, Sunday. I was like, I don't have to do that. And I lost a little bit of that hunger that I had in New York. I would hit all the clubs and run around. Sometimes me and Chappelle or me and this one or that one, we'd go to the Comedy Cellar at 1 in the morning.

I mean, that was our life. We loved it. You know, you do two shows in Manhattan, go to Brooklyn, leave Brooklyn, go to Queens, go to Jersey. And I kind of just got complacent. I was like, I got this money, I'm good, I don't need to go chase that because that money wasn't at the same level that I was making. But what I was missing was that training.

Yes. Was that was that. And it wasn't the money. It was the money. You know, it was that that's what I needed. Bruce Smith, creator and executive producer of Proud Family, Louder and Prouder. You're watching Roland Martin Unkilled. Hey, folks, Roland Martin here. We're live at the White House for the Juneteenth concert.

It's Black History Month. I'm sitting right behind the Black Benjamin Button. What's up? You know, it's live on Roland Martin. My big brother. What's up? What's happening, man? Listen, you always are in the right places at the right time all the time. And you and Roland, you know everybody.

More importantly, everybody knows you. Everybody knows you. I mean, these are real important people up in here, man. And they're like, Roland, you know everybody. More importantly, everybody knows you. Everybody knows you. I mean, these are real important people up in here, man. And they're like, yo, Roland, what's happening? Roland's got no time for them. Hey, hey, hey, you know, y'all be a man of people. I mean, you got President Biden, you got Vice President Harris, I'm the mayor of Black America. Yes, you are. You are.

You really are. You're an ambassador to the mayor of all of us. We appreciate you. That's number nine. Oh, man, how you feel about being here? I feel great, man. You know, celebrating Juneteenth and black culture, the amount of contributions we've made, not only here in America, but around the world. And it's just great for us to continue to celebrate and never forget, you know, our contributions and how important we are to the world.

Yes, sir. All right, man. My brother. Looking forward to it. Number one. Yes, sir. All right, folks. So it's about to start. I'm, sir. All right, baby. Looking forward to it. Number love. Yes, sir. All right, folks, I'm just giving you,

so it's about to start. I'm gonna show y'all here. So this is the stage here. You see the staging that's right here. But a concert is gonna be taking place as well. You got all the folks who are back over here. So we got folks on the other side over here as well. The second gentleman just walked in.

Of course, you got the Lieutenant Governor of Michigan, who's right here as well, the Attorney General of Illinois, the Attorney General of Nevada, the Prime Minister of Illinois, Aaron Ford of Nevada, with the Texas A&M together here at Capitol. But again, you got a lot of folks. Here, here, here. I'm here. I'm here. I'm here. Here, Capitol. Here, Capitol. Here, Capitol.

You know. I got to point that out. The disrespect. The disrespect. The disrespect. The total disrespect. Yes. I'll be extremely petty.

Absolutely. Because Alphas, they that. And so, again, so we're about to start right now. We're trying to get everybody seated here. And again, this is the first ever Juneteenth concert at the White House. First ever Juneteenth concert. Shirley Davis over here, of course, the body man for Reverend Jackson, sitting next to my wife Jackie. You look down here, a lot of people, a lot of the cast of stars, they're here as well.

You trying to get in the show? That's what Cap was doing. That's another Cap back there. You know, Alan Williams, from out of Florida. He's here. Vice President, excuse me, the President is walking in right now, folks. And so let me just give you all a shout of that.

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

It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and three on may 21st and episodes four five and six on june 4th ad free at lava for good plus on apple podcasts i'm clayton english i'm greg glad and this is season two of the war on drugs podcast sir we are back in a big way in a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner.

It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corps vet. MMA fighter Liz Karamush.

What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content,

subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Here's the deal. We got to set ourselves up. See, retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early. Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback. Just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position.

Pre-game to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispretirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. All right. So we're going to, so obviously the president walks in. It's time to start the show. So waiting to see what is next, he's there as well. Did not see Vice President Kamala Harris here. So, again, it's a packed concert. The schedule here, Lettucey is performing, Jennifer Hudson is performing.

Method Man was, you talked to him earlier, of course, he was emceeing. Then we also have on here the Fisk Jubilee Singers, who's here. My man Coleman Domingo is here as well. Hey, Aaron, that's an alpha man right there. Distinguished guest. Congressman Gregory Mixtapes. Here comes Vice President Kamala Harris. So she's coming out.

Malcolm, Malcolm Kenyatta, Pennsylvania, right here. Here, we're live on the show. So that is what we're doing. Good evening, everyone. Good evening. All right, y'all. We're going to with live on the show. So that is what it is. Good evening, everyone. Good evening. All right, y'all. We're going to go live to the stage. So I'm going to toss it back to y'all.

So this year, take the live feed of the vice president. All right? I'll see y'all later. All right. Roland Martin, live at the White House. Hey, boys. Please have a seat. Please have a seat. Please have a seat.

And to my Divine Nine family. Good evening, everyone. So tonight, with joy, we gather with friends and generations of family members. We gather here at the White House, steps from where the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, to celebrate America's newest national holiday. And we are joined by so many incredible leaders, including members of Congress, members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and CBC Chair Stephen Horsford. And we are also here with so many leaders who brought us to this day, including the one and only Ms. Opal Lee. The mother of Juneteenth.

So when I served in the United States Senate, I was so proud to co-sponsor a bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. And as vice president, it was my honor to stand beside our president Joe Biden as he signed the legislation that finally made that dream a reality. Indeed. And over the past two years, thanks to the leadership of President Joe Biden and because of the support of all the leaders here, our nation has made incredible progress. We have created more than 13 million jobs and achieved record low black unemployment. We have capped the cost of insulin for our seniors at $35 a month. So folks don't have to choose between paying for insulin or

being able to buy groceries. With your support we invested an historic nearly seven billion dollars into our HBCUs in acknowledgement of the fact that they are centers of academic excellence. And to make sure our young leaders can succeed after they graduate, we will continue to fight for student debt relief. We've also been able to pass one of the most significant federal gun safety legislations in 30 years to help protect our communities from the horror of gun violence.

And we will keep fighting to pass the assault weapons ban in the belief that all people have the right to be safe. In addition, since we took office, we have appointed more black judges to the federal appellate bench than any administration in history. Yes, including the first black woman to sit on the highest court in our land. Her name is Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. So thank you all, everyone here, for your support. And thank you for joining us tonight. This Monday, this upcoming Monday, Americans from all walks of life will again come together to celebrate Juneteenth.

To honor black excellence, culture, and community, to remember the full, full history of our nation, and to celebrate one of our nation's founding principles, the principle of freedom. On Juneteenth, we remember that after the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in the Confederacy, hundreds of thousands of Americans in Texas were kept in servitude for two more years. Then on June 19th, 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston to enforce emancipation.

And the enslaved people of Texas claimed the freedom that was theirs by birth and by right. And as we celebrate, we also remember that it would be six months more before the 13th Amendment was ratified and all enslaved people in America were declared free. America is a promise, a promise of freedom, liberty, and justice. The story of Juneteenth, as we celebrate it, is the story of our ongoing fight to realize that promise. Not for some, but for all. On Juneteenth, we are also reminded of the duality of progress. As we fight to move forward to expand freedom, we must also fight to protect the freedoms already won. And as we know, we can take nothing for granted in that regard. For example, let us look at the sacred freedom to vote, the freedom that generations fought,

bled, and died to secure, the freedom that is under assault in states across our nation and the freedom That we must defend by passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the freedom to vote act At the same time we continue to fight to restore the freedom and the right of every woman in every state to make decisions about her own body. And we fight to make sure that all Americans have the freedom to learn our country's history in full. Because while we celebrate a holiday dedicated to teaching and honoring America's full history, extremists across our country attempt to ban books and erase our past. And on this point, let us be very clear. Black history is American history. So in conclusion, as we gather tonight, let us remember the words of the great Coretta

Scott King. She said the fight for civil rights must be fought and won with each generation. She reminds us that our freedoms will not be permanent unless we in each generation are vigilant to protect them. So let us stand together as Americans to teach and honor our history, to protect our liberty and to continue the fight for freedom. And with that, I have now the honor, I don't know if she knows, but I have asked Ms. Opalee to join me on the stage so we can thank her with applause. There she is. Can we please stand and applaud Ms. Opal Lee. Hello, young people. And know you're all not young people if you're not 96.

Please, could I just say this to you, young folk? Make yourself a committee of one to change somebody's mind. If people can be taught to hate, they can be taught to love. And it's up to you to do it. We are the most powerful country in the whole United States. And we must get together and get rid of the disparities, the joblessness

and homelessness and healthcare that some people can get and others can't and climate change that we are responsible for and if we don't do something about it we're all going to hell in a handbasket and with that

and with that... And with that... And with that, I thank you, Ms. Opalee, for your years of advocacy, leadership, and truth-telling. Happy Juneteenth to everyone. May God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America. Best footage you'll only see here on the Black Star Network on Role of the Martyr Unfiltered. The other networks are covering Trump and whatever he's doing. We're bringing you that kind of information.

That's why it's so important to support black media. We'll be back after the break. You're watching Role of the Martyr Unfiltered streaming live on the Black Star Network. Coming up next on The Frequency right here on the Black Star Network, Shanita Hubbard. We're talking about the ride or die chick. We're breaking it down. The stereotype of the strong black woman. Some of us are operating with it as if it's a band of honor.

Like you even hear black women like aspiring to be this ride or die chick. Aspiring to be this strong black woman at their own expense. Next on The Frequency own expense next on the frequency right here on the black star network we talk about blackness and what happens in black culture we're about covering these things that matter to us uh speaking to our issues and concerns this is a genuine people-powered movement a lot of stuff that we're not getting. You get it. And you spread the word. We wish to plead our own cause

to long have others spoken for us. We cannot tell our own story if we can't pay for it. This is about covering us. Invest in Black-owned media. Your dollars matter. We don't have to keep asking them to cover our stuff so please

support us in what we do folks we want to hit 2 000 people 50 this month waits 100 000 we're behind 100 000 so we want to hit that y'all money makes this possible check some money orders go to peel box 57196 washington dc two zero zero three seven dash zero one nine six the cash app is dollar sign rm unfiltered paypal is r martin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered. Zelle is Roland at RolandSMartin.com. I am Tommy Davidson. I play Oscar on Proud Family, Louder and Prouder. Right now, I'm rolling with Roland Martin, unfiltered,

uncut, unplugged, and undamn believable. You hear me? rolling with Roland Martin, unfiltered, uncut, unplugged, and undamn believable. You hear me? I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season One,

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

And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves.

Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush.

What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content,

subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Here's the deal. We got to set ourselves up. See, retirement is the long game. We got to make moves and make them early. Set up goals. Don't worry about a setback. Just save up and stack up to reach them. Let's put ourselves in the right position. Pre-game to greater things. Start building your retirement plan at thisispretirement.org. Brought to you by AARP and the Ad Council. In today's Marketplace segment, in 2020, the nation's first black-owned stock exchange

opened in Chicago. Dream Exchange is currently preparing an application to become registered as the first minority-governed-owned company that operates stock exchange in the United States. The founders of the company want to list smaller companies that want to go public, especially minority-owned businesses. The company recently released its new anthem, Dream Again, created by internationally acclaimed musician and saxophonist Mike Phillips. The anthem captures the spirit of the Dream Exchange's goal to serve people better using financial systems power to expand access to a purpose-driven capital

market that instills trust, humanity, and fairness into finance. Dream Exchange founder and CEO Joe Sikella and director Dwayne Skiles joins us now. Men, how are you doing this evening? Doing well, thanks. How are you? Great. Thank you for having me. Thanks, both of you, for joining us. I'm excited about this. So, Joe, can you tell us what is Dream Exchange and why is it essential to part of this conversation about civil rights? So Dream Exchange is on its way, hopefully by the end of this year, to being a licensed stock

exchange, a registered exchange, just like New York Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ. One of the seven that exists now will be the eighth. So, you know, in direct competition. Why is it important to civil rights? Well, we've made progress for the last 60 years, but there's one final element that Duane and I are really focused on, and that's prosperity. We need to bring the prosperity that was part of Dr. King's vision for America. And really by creating the first black owned and controlled stock exchange in the history of the country, we believe we're going to open the capital market system to people who have never had access to it before. And that really is the final, as Dr. King said, coming to cash the check. So it's a perfect way to build prosperity in our communities, which is going to really lift the community and get the prosperity that we need in the underserved marketplace.

Absolutely. And just for people who don't know, you know, most people understand kind of the idea and concept of a stock exchange. But what does a stock exchange do? And what will the dream exchange allow Black businesses to do? So stock exchanges really do two things. The first one that everybody's familiar with, the IPOs, they form capital for companies where people can go and get all the money that they need to expand their business. We're definitely interested in doing that for very large companies, but we've designed a way to do it for the very, very, very small companies, and specifically we're targeting through black legacy organizations in our nation

how to reach a marketplace where small business owners can come and the American investing public can invest in them through our exchange. The other thing that Stock Exchange does is it governs, it's the seat at the table governing how about $30 trillion of invested dollars are spent in America. So we will, for the first time ever, be a seat at the table amongst the other stock exchanges to help decide the rules, determine the way that the stock market actually works that's more fair, open, transparent, and has a tremendous amount of humanity in it that is for everyone. Our slogan is we put the all in Wall Street. Absolutely. And for Mr. Kyle, can you talk a little bit about why black businesses so long have been shut out from this part of the community,

shut out from the ability to raise the money needed to expand? So many people operate in this space of, well, I need to save up $150,000 before I move out of my kitchen into a physical space. But in reality, there's always been these marketplaces available. What have been the barriers for African-Americans from accessing these sorts of things? Historically, the black entrepreneur has had to rely on bank loans, government financing, and more recently, you had more folks turning to venture capital or private equity. The fact of the matter is that the public capital markets Joe mentioned represent $30 trillion of capital that's invested from pension funds and all kinds of public entities that have money to invest for pensioners, public and private. We, as a stock exchange, will, well, people who own companies that are not listed on a stock exchange do not have access to that capital. So when you look at the real engine for developing American

capitalism and American businesses, Banks obviously play a role, play roles, as do venture capitalists and private equity players. But the real money, that $30 trillion that's coming down, is coming from those pension funds and other resources. And they grease the skids. I mean, they are the ones that really make sure that people have access to the kind of capital to grow, not just to operate, but to thrive and to really expand. That we will be, especially through our venture exchange, we'll have a regular national market system exchange, but we're also doing something to pass legislation to develop a venture exchange so that small cap companies that historically have had to rely on those banks and government programs and others to get their capital will now have access to the huge $30 trillion capital market.

And that's just not happened before. And we think that when we're able to do that, it will make a huge difference with regard to the ability of these companies to grow and thrive within our own communities. And Joe, before we bring the panel in, can you just give us a walkthrough, just once this is fully up and running. If I'm a small business owner sitting at home, I just created an app I know is going to be the next big thing. What is the process from going from having the idea to having it listed on your exchange to raising the funds needed to expand out the business? So we're in a four-phase development process. The first phase, which we're in right now, is actually creating a fully compliant electronic stock exchange co-located with all the other stock exchanges in data centers in New Jersey.

It's a very big feat. It's taken two years of technology development to get us to where we are today, and we have that done. Then we become registered to be in the marketplaces and exchange. As soon as that occurs, which will be early next year, large capital companies, companies that are looking for a lot more than the little guys that Dwayne just mentioned, that will begin that process early next year. During this time, we're going to be educating the marketplace. We're going to be going out, and the answer to your question is, we want the business owners to come to us so they can actually be trained to use the tools we're creating, literally from if you have a concept and you're not there yet, so maybe you're not ready for stock exchange marketplace. But once you have a product and you're selling it, then we need to put in the tools. And we're working with major universities to bring that training, which a good portion of it will be free of charge. And it'll be online. It'll

be application because we want them to go through the application process to fix whatever's needed to get themselves prepared to get substantial amounts of money in what is the smaller stock exchange called Dream Exchange Ventures. That will be towards the end of next year. But that doesn't mean it's hopeless. Right now, the development process is we're going to be launching educational programs. In fact, there's a webinar next week, the 22nd of June, I think it is. If you go to our website, you'll see our educational webinars so we can begin the process of getting everyone ready to use the tools. Because it isn't good enough. We're not in this for phase one. We're not really even in it for phase two. We're in this for the long haul. Dwayne and I, this is what we're doing. We need to reach the small cap marketplace.

Companies looking to raise between $5 and $75 million. It's not a lot of money in capital markets. And we really want to get them the money they need to expand their ideas. So we want to train them during the process. Starting shortly, there'll be more programs coming out so that by the time we launch the small exchange marketplace, we're going to have plenty of people that can actually avail themselves of the help. So it's about 18 months, 20 months away, but don't sit back and wait because it may take some time in preparation so that we can actually help those companies use what we're building. It doesn't do any good to build it and have no one

come. So the process of education is starting to be put in place for launch even now as we speak. All right. We only have a couple of minutes left, but Randy, did you have a question? Is your focus really equity? I mean, this seems like providing such a great opportunity to very small companies that's going to help reach many marginalized, underserved communities. It's 100% an equity market. There's, that's the missing component. It's actually investment equity. When you think about the changes that happen to a company when

it's got public equity, all of its banking relationships change, all of its lines of credit change, all of its ability to work with its vendors change. So as soon as you can get an equity component, especially public market equity, it changes the landscape of a company. Allstate Insurance is about four miles from my front office here. They have 30,000 employees at their world headquarters. We need to bring and restore small public companies so they can have a headquarters, they can have facilities, it's job creation, and these are career path jobs. This isn't just minimum wage. When we build this infrastructure, we're really restoring an ecosystem for building up the entire community where that equity component, that's what's been missing. An equity investment in the public capital markets will completely change the ecosystem and the landscape. Those companies can grow up. It's where wealth creation and job creation exists in our nation.

It's where all the wealth creation and job creation has been for a long time. It's an idea whose time has come for the black community. And quite frankly, it's a vocation for Duane and I. All right, Mustafa, do you have a question? Yeah, well, first of all, thank you. I've been investing since I was 16 years old. So this is really exciting for me. I wanted to ask you a question about market analysis and how you all make some decisions. But I think I'll have a more general question around public participation and perceptions. And how will you when there are so many of the big established ones out there, how will you build that trust and that interest in this particular exchange?

If I may. Yeah, I was just going to say, Dwayne, you want to take that one? Yeah. We understand that our community is so far behind in understanding equity and understanding how to invest and why to invest and having enough money to invest. So particularly with the venture exchange, small cap companies will have stock that's very affordable. You'll be able to invest in these companies and watch them grow and really see how your money can multiply. That's what's going to be, I think, the tipping point for our community. When people see that you can take your money in these smaller companies that have been vetted

and really have been shown to be worth investing your money in, you will see that money grow exponentially with these companies that are really successful. And that, I think, is going to be a game changer. We understand that for so long, there have been so few of us who really had access to the knowledge, really trying to understand having someone to encourage them to invest in the market. We plan to invest heavily, particularly through our foundation and educational programs through the existing legacy organizations that are out there to provide financial literacy training and really helping kids to learn in experiential ways how to solve the problems in their community by being entrepreneurial and really engaging in the other aspects of their community. So education is going to be key. And if we can really get the cooperation of these organizations and individuals in the community who have influence. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time,

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

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

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

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

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

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

rather than a bachelor's degree. It's time for skills to speak for themselves. Find resources for breaking through barriers at taylorpapersceiling.org. Brought to you by Opportunity at Work and the Ad Council. We think we can really change the game and begin to really move the needle.

And to highlight one other thing, I think this can't be understated enough. We're organically coming through the community. Our presence in the legacy organizations we're working with and going to have a presence. We have an agreement with the Chicago Urban League. We're working with the National Black Chamber of Commerce. We're going to work with the National Business League. So our organic growth bridges this gap to we want to physically be there in the presence of the company, and we're going to be staffing it like it's retail

so that the tools can be delivered so that we can actually deliver help. No one comes to us with an idea and is kicked to the curb. We're here to help. We're here to expand on those things. So the trust is going to be in the proof will be in the delivering it organically through the community itself because we are the community. We want to be a complete and integral part of where Black-owned businesses go for finance so we can reach the public. Well, we really are looking forward to this. We're, of course, going to keep an eye on all of the developments. Keep us stay ready, you got to get ready. Thank you to Joe and Dwayne for joining us today. Also got to thank our panel, Randy and Mustafa, for this most important day of news coverage.

Got to thank Roland for letting me keep the seat warm for him. After we sign off here, we're going to go directly back to the White House to the Juneteenth concert. So make sure you stay tuned after this. Got to thank everybody in the production room for making this all look so smooth. How's it? Thank you for tuning in with me. Without you, it's a crazy person sitting in front of a camera.

And as I say at the end of every show, the words of Gil Scott, Heron, no matter the consequences, it appears to grip your senses. You've got to hold on to your dreams. Hold on to your dreams, America. Head back to the Juneteenth concert. In the Lord, my soul's been anchored in the Lord. In the Lord, in the Lord, my soul's been anchored in the Lord. My soul's been anchored, been anchored in Jesus. My soul's been anchored, been anchored in Jesus. He could, he could, in Jesus.

He could, he could, in Jesus. Jesus, lover of my soul, led me to thy bosom fly. While the nearer waters roar. While the tempest still is high. Hide me, O my Savior, hide. Till the storm of life is past.

Safe into thy haven guide. O receive my soul at last. In the Lord, in the Lord. My soul's been anchored in the Lord. Anchored in the Lord, in the Lord, my soul's been anchored in the Lord. Anchored in the Lord. Anchored in the Lord. Anchor in the Lord. Anchor in the Lord.

The soul. The soul. Is encore Is encore Encore In the Lord. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Takk for at du så med. Please welcome Tennessee State University Marching Band, the Aristocrat of Bands. Thank you. ¶¶ ¶¶ We are the champions, we are the champions We are the champions, we are the champions We are, we are, we are, we are the champions We are, we are, we are, we are the champions We are, we are, we are, we are the champions

We are, we are, we are, we are the champions. I'm gonna dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance.... Here we go! Thank you. Please welcome Emmy Award-winning and Tony Award-nominated actor, writer, and producer, Coleman Domingo. Hello. There we go. Hello. How's that? How y'all doing this evening? Wait, how y'all doing this evening? On this June 10th? How y'all doing this evening? Wait, how y'all doing this evening?

On this Juneteenth? Come on, we're our ancestors' wildest dreams. Give some love. Good evening, Mr. President. Good evening, Vice President Harris and Mr. Emhoff. Let's go to the next one. In the 1960s and 70s, the music changed and so did the nature of the struggle. As black communities and businesses grew in strength,

so did violent forces and opposition of all that progress. But leaders emerged who encouraged us to expand the foundation of liberty for all Americans and taught us that true equality is the fulfillment of a dream. Through the annual celebration of Juneteenth, we are reminded that emancipation is a process. Freedom Day is more than a day to just celebrate.

It is a reminder that freedom is precious, and it is a gift to be given the responsibility to protect it for future generations. Can I get an amen? Amen. So we gather to honor those whose shoulders we stand upon. Leaders who have the courage to fight for what is right. And the voices that tell us to speak our truths and be proud.

We celebrate community, culture, and music with the understanding that the sound of the civil rights and black power movements was more than the sound of buses moving through neighborhoods. More than shouts of protesters, barking of dogs, wailing of sirens, and the quiet sound of jazz and the blues, of hope-filled gospel, and the soothing strength of soul music. In the second half of tonight's program, we'll hear musical expressions that motivated a generation to march.

Songs that sustained the weary during long nights of fear and silence-filled grief and inspired hope for the young, gifted, and black leaders of the future. Thank you. Please welcome Emmy, Grammy, and six-time Tony Award winner, Audra McDonald. Summertime And the river nears its end Fish are jumping And the cotton is high. Oh, your daddy's rich. And your ma is good looking. So hush, little baby, don't you cry. One of these mornings

You're gonna rise up singing Then you'll spread your wings and you'll take the sky. There's nothing can harm you With daddy and mama standing by Standing by Oh Standing by Thank you. We are never, never alone. We are the, we are the, we are the Justice Boys. We are, we are, we are the, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, Allen Renee Lewis, please welcome the Broadway Inspirational Voices. Thank you. Come, take a journey with us to 1932. Thomas Dorsey, a young black man, born of the blues and the black church. Under unimaginable tragedy, put his pen to the page and in his anguish, he wrote these words.

Precious Lord, take my hand. This song, making its way through the pews and the airways, became a pillar in the fight for freedom. It helped people who needed change, people who were suffering, people who were under the weight of oppression, people who knew that the only way to get to the other side of whatever it was that they were going through was to let the Lord lead the way. Take my hand, lead me on Let me stand, I am weak, I am worn

Through the sun, through the night Lead me on to the light. Take, take my hand, precious love, and lead me on. When my grave goes real Precious Lord, internear When my life is all a stone Hear my cry Hear my call

Hold my hand Lest I fall at the wheel of death. And I might be. Hold my hand to the storm, through the tide, with the oar to the right. Take my hand, precious Lord, and lead me home. Yes Lord! Yes Lord! Yes Lord! Yes Lord! Yes Lord!

And with that comfort, hope came. People began to see the light. People began to believe that a new day was coming. Did you hear that? The rain has stopped. Did you see that? The clouds have begun to roll away. Did you feel that?

Trouble once again has come to pass and not to stay. You see, friends, we may not be where we want to be, but thank God we're not where we used to be. I tell you once again, the storm is passing over. Yeah! Hallelujah! Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Oh, courage my soul

And let us journey home For the night is dark And I am far from home Thanks be to God The morning light appears For the night is dark And I am far from home Thanks be to God

The morning light appears The storm is passing over The storm is passing over The storm is passing over Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah. Just like the everlasting Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah

Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Take it to Jesus Take it to Jesus Seems like nothing ever turned out right Take it to Jesus Take it to Jesus Seems like nothing ever turned out right Take it to Jesus Take it to Jesus

See I'm trying to hold my head But I don't need nobody else He loves to make everything alright He'll make it all right! Yes, I do not win! We'll make everything all right! I'll make it all right! We'll make it all right!

All right! We'll make everything all right! I gotta pull the trigger! We'll make it all right! I'll make it all right! We'll make everything all right! Yeah! We'll make it all right!

All right. Yeah! I know the local soup is hot. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right.

All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right.

All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right. All right! See, I've turned up my heart, yeah! And I don't need no party, yeah! See, love, I'll make everything all right! CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Thank you. We are never alone

We are Never, never alone We are never alone We are the real ones We are the real ones We are the real ones We are the real ones We are the real ones We are the real ones

We are the real ones Thank you. Please welcome Tony and Grammy Award winner, Patina Miller. I wish I knew how it would feel to be free. I wish I could break all the chains holding me. I wish I could say all the things that I should say. Say it loud. Say it clear. Say it for the whole round world to hear. To hear I said I wish I knew how It would feel to be free I wish I could break

All the chains holding me Oh, I wish I could say all the things that I should say. Say them loud, say them clear, say it for the whole round world to hear. I wish I could share all the love that's in my heart. Remove all the bonds that keep us apart. Oh, I wish you could know what it means to be me. Then you'd see and agree that every man deserves to be free Oh, I wish I could give Like I'm longing to give

I wish I could live Like I'm longing to live Oh, I wish that I could do All the things that I can do. Though I'm way overdue, I wish I could be Like a bird in the sky How sweet it would be If I found out I should fly

Oh, I would soar through the sun as I looked down past the sea. And I sing because I know, I sing because I know, I sing because I know. How it feels How it feels To be free free Thank you. Yep, Africa. Takk for at du så med. Thank you. Let's go. Up, up. Up, up. Up, up. Hey, hey, up, up. Up, up.

Up, up. Up, up. Thank you. Come on! Bring it up! Bring it up! Let's go! Let's go! Let's go! Let's go! Woo! We're going down! Come on now! I'm pushing it out!

All right, now! Let's go, y'all! Bring it around! Woo! Here we go! Bring it around! Come on! Here we go!

Bring it around! Woo! All right! Woo! All right! Woo! Bring it around! Bring it around! Come on! Whoo! Oh, yeah! Whoo! Hey, hey! Come on, now!

Come on, now! Quick stop! Come on! Hey! Quick stop! Hey! Hey! Quick stop!

Come on! Hey! Quick stop! Hey! Hey! Quick stop! Hey! Hey!

Quick stop! Hey! hey! Next one! Hey! Ooh! Shh! Hey! Ooh! Hey! Hey!

Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Kanskje er det eneste som er i dag? Come on, ladies. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.

Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.

Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.

Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.

Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.

Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.

Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.

Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Come on. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.

Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.

Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.

Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Come on, quick. Ha! Get off of you. Come on, quick. Ha! Hey! I'll break y'all. Come on. Come on.

Come on. Come on. Ha! Come on. Come on. Up, up. Up, up, up. Up, up. Up, up. Up, up.

Oh, yeah. Good job. Good job. Up, up. Up, up. Up, up. Up, up. Up, up.

Up, up. Up, up. Up, up. Up, up. Up, girl. Hey. Come on. Hey. Hey, get focused, y'all. Put your hands up. Hey, get focused. Go, focus. Hey, get focused. Go, focus. Hey, get focused.

Go, focus. Hey, get focused. Go, focus. Hey, get focused. Go, focus. Go, focus. Go, focus. Go, focus.

Go, focus. Go, focus. Go, focus. Go, focus. Go, focus. Go, focus. Go, focus. Go, focus. Let's go! Let's go! Step Afrika! Step Afrika! Step Africa. I know you got it. I know you got it. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony.

Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony.

Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony.

Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony.

Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony.

Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony.

Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony.

Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony.

Come on, Anthony. Come on, Anthony. Thank you. so so Please welcome Grammy Award winner, Lettucey. There's a lot of people out here. I want to do a song and dedicate it to everyone, but really it's kind of a tribute to the great Tina Turner. And also our wonderful Al Green who wrote this song. It's R&B time y'all, y'all ready? Here we go. I I'm so in love with you

Whatever you want to do Is alright with me You make me feel so brand new. I want to spend my life with you. Let me say since, babe, since we've been together, oh, loving you forever is all I need. Let me be the one you come running to. I'll never be untrue.

Oh, baby, let's, let's stay together, yeah. Loving you wherever, wherever. Times are good or bad, happy or sad. Why somebody, why people break up Ah, then turn around and make up I just can't see You'd never do That you'd be that you breathe would you be

being around you is all I see all I see oh baby let's let's stay together together

loving you wherever, wherever, wherever. Times are fun, happy or sad. Love. Ah, yeah. Take it. Yes. Well, the times are good or bad. Happy or sad. Good or bad.

Bad or sad. Good or bad. Happy or sad. Happy or sad. Happy ourselves Oh, oh, oh Let's stay together Thank you!. and everyone ought to do. We will do what we demand,

our determination, and our numbers. We shall spread the segregated South into a thousand pieces and put them together in the image of God and democracy. We must say, wake up, America, wake up, for we cannot stop stop and we will not and cannot be patient. The President of the United States, accompanied by Ashley Biden. Good evening, everyone. How are you tonight? My name is Ashley, and I am the first daughter of the United States of America.

I am a proud social worker, criminal justice reformer, and an advocate for healing. I have spent the past 20 plus years working with communities most harmed and least protected to help realize safety, justice, and healing. This is an historic occasion for our American family. We are so honored to celebrate Juneteenth here at the White House. On Juneteenth, the United States made a crucial step forward, away from slavery, and towards the realization of a more equal, more just, and more healed country. After decades of advocacy from Ms. Opal Lee, my dad, Joe Biden, made Juneteenth officially a federal holiday. My dad has instilled in me a deep commitment to serving and honoring our history and making material changes to the lives of African Americans.

Through his courage, he leads bringing jobs, justice, and healing to communities all across the country. It is my great honor to be here today to introduce him. Dad, I tell you this all the time, but I want you to know how proud I am of you. America, you are so lucky to have him as your president. I don't know anybody who really, truly works harder for you, for the American people. Ladies and gentlemen, please help me welcome the 46th president of the United States, Joseph R. Biden Jr.

My name is Joe Biden. I'm Ashley's father. She's the love of my life and the life of my love. Oh, no, I couldn't be proud of her. Thank you all for being here. Our outstanding Vice President Kamala Harris, the second gentleman. Members of the Cabinet and the Congress. Grandmother to the Movement of June Teeth

and the federal holiday, Ms. Oprah Lee. Opal, thank you for being here. You're the reason we're here in large part. And a special thanks to tonight's gifted performers. You know, I was leaning over and telling Kamala, I followed some tough acts. I've spoken before Nobel Prize winners. I've spoken before the Prize winners. I've spoken before after the Pope.

I've spoken to every Medal of Honor winners, military heroes. But my Lord, I've never spoken before a group like this. I had the honor to bestow some of our nation's highest awards to some of our most important black artists, writers, performers, producers, theater, and ballet companies. To paraphrase Maya Angelou, people will never forget how you make them feel. And you all made us feel incredibly well. Tonight's performers helped us feel the power of June teeth,

Black Music Month, among other things. As Kamala described earlier, to honor the true meaning of Juneteenth, our entire administration is continuing to charge forward to literally redeem the soul of America. When I announced I was running the first time, I said I was running for three reasons. And even some of my staff thought I was crazy.

I said, one of the first reasons is to restore the soul of America. Restore decency and honor. Let me just add this. To me, making Juneteenth a federal holiday wasn't just a symbolic gesture. It was a statement of fact for this country. To acknowledge the origin of the original sin of slavery. To understand the war was never fought over it.

It wasn't just about a union, but it was most fundamentally about the country and freedom. To remember the Emancipation Proclamation wasn't just a document. It captured the essence of freedom that galvanized the country. Sometimes as dads, I think we're too hard on ourselves. We get down on ourselves on not being able to, you know, we're the providers,

but we also have to learn to take care of ourselves. A wrap-away, you got to pray for yourself as well as for everybody else, but never forget yourself. Self-love made me a better dad because I realized my worth.

Never stop being a dad. That's dedication. Find out more at fatherhood.gov. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Ad Council. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English.

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

Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast.